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the strongest team.
gundam build fighters drive, episode one
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"Oof."
Yup that's me! My name is Watanabe Haru, seventeen years old and a senior transfer at Hibiya High School. You might be wondering how I got here. It all started when I was a young boy in the Nagatachō-
Rubbing a soon-to-be red spot on his temple, Haru jumped to his feet and dashed to his dresser, grabbing his pants, shirt, watch, jacket--he spun back around for his wallet-- and ran to the bathroom. His morning routine for the weekend often consisted of things like sleeping in and being late to practice, but also other nice things like the wafting smell of last night's cooking and internal monologues.
"SCHOOL OF-SCHOOL OF! THE UNDEFEATED EAST!," his phone pinged, interrupting what would have likely taken two or three hours to explain.
Anyway, I've become one of Anaheim Electronics' newest starting members and the Burning Soul of the Gunpla world. We're aiming to be Japan's number one team and it all starts today with Akihabara's All-Out Brawl Out!
His trip downstairs (after wrestling with his duck beak-shaped hair) only confirmed what he already knew: he missed his delivery from Kiwi Kitchen. Opening the door, he grabbed a brown bag and unloaded its contents on the coffee table: a box of cooked rice, a clear container of curry, and a small bottle of water. Judging by its temperature it had come pretty early in the morning, but the notes of tumeric, cumin, and paprika made him want to stay in his home for just another hour.
"No Sumiye's going to kill me even more," Haru pouted, popping the lids back on and stacking the food.
Heading the fridge, he moved the other nearly identical tupperware further into the back before he split the items. Rice went on the top shelf, Things You Eat With Rice on the middle shelf, and water went on the side shelf. He technically had no need for bottled water anymore as his refrigerator generated its own (although he wasn't entirely sure how), but he liked that he could bring them out when he needed to travel. Or he would if he actually remembered to use them. Nonetheless, he slammed the door shut and went to the den for his backpack and his newest model: Big Zam.
Green, hulking, and armless, the machine was a mixture of memes, power, and in the right hands, the power of memes. Though Anaheim Electronics' main goal today was training for the upcoming tournament he wanted to test drive the crazy thing for the sake of learning a new play style and stepping all over Fumio's face (in a joking way of course).
"Weeeeeeek woooooooo...Weeeeeeek woooooooo..."
With a single foot in the air he lunged forward and then another, mimicking the movements of the Gundam he so enjoyed to walk out of the room and then the house and then sprinting to the metro.
By his count nothing of interest happened on the ride to Akihabara save the young boy who pulled out his Gundam (an AGE-3 if one could believe it) and challenged him to a play battle. In an unlit part of the galaxy, untouchable by even the biggest and brightest of suns lived a planet with arctic terrain and aliens forged from snow. Instead of building machines, they piloted metallic animals that could fly and breathe outside of the atmosphere. When the Zeonics and Earth Federation simultaneously discovered the planet they fought for the rights to use the planet's precious metals. Sending their best fighters, they decided to have a duel to the Gundam death.
"Fighting on the side of the Principality of Zeon is Watanabe Haru and fighting on the side of side of the Earth Federation is-"
"Yamamoto Hiroshi!"
"Yamamoto Hiroshi! The two clashed back and forth, crushing trees and smashing mountains. Pew Pew! Nothing could stop them until-"
"Suehirocho Station. You have arrived at Suehirocho Station."
"Oh shoot."
Big Zam toppled down onto Haru's lap before Haru dramatically fell into his seat.
"Yamamoto-san unleashed his secret weapon: BLUSTIA PHOTON SUPER GALAXY RAY! He shot a giant hole through Big Zam and won the planet, saving everyone."
Haru stood up and waved to the kid before running out the station and toward the cafe. As usual the line was bursting at the seams but rather than waiting traditionally he walked along the building before plastering himself against one of the windows to garner Sumiye and Fumio's attention.
"Hey guys I'm here!"
Unfortunately, one of the waitresses threw him a harsh look so he backed off and snaked through the line until he entered and found his fellow teammates sitting near the back.
"Wow where have you guys been? I've been here for three hours!"
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She casts Haru a poisonous glare while sucking the life out of her virgin Pink Haro. The atmosphere, while insanely nerdy, is also dangerously incendiary. With a small frown, AE's team captain tries to keep his cool. It is more or less Fumio who is constantly irritated with everyone else. He might cast scathing internal remarks, but is not the kind to pick petty battles nor become inexplicably enraged. As the team’s peacemaker, Fumio attempts to ease the mood.
“Hi Haru. As cheery as ever,” Fumio cheerlessly says. He tosses his friend an empty smile, and Sumiye kicks him from underneath the table.
Wincing, he adds, “. . .Please be more careful during tournament week. Our careless actions can disqualify us.”
Another kick.
“. . . your careless actions can disqualify us.”
He almost expects a third kick, but Sumiye seems satisfied with his answer. They look at each other for a moment. Then, she returns to stuffing her mouth with Zeonic cakes, while looking purposely behind Haru. Frowning at her childish behavior, Fumio stiffens in his seat and maintains good posture. After a bit of awkward demurral, he tugs his own sandwich plate closer to himself, though he is too full to eat anything.
He and Sumiye had arrived earlier in the morning, ate their way through a club planning session, and waited for Haru’s arrival. Today is the Akihibara All-Out Brawl-Out, and entering the competition didn’t feel quite right without Haru. The loudmouthed Gunpla pilot had only been with Anaheim Electronics for one season, but he fits snugly between Fumio and Sumiye, for better and for worse. Haru’s arrival, while auspicious, incited interesting new dynamics between the Anaheim Electronics team members. For one, he brought out a sharper, more savage side of Sumiye that Fumio never quite saw while growing up with her. She’d always been sassy, but she’d at least watched his feelings. Even during her first idol debut, she was simply a. . . strongly opinionated Lacus Clyne.
Nowadays, Sumiye just didn’t give a shit. And it was probably Haru’s fault. At first, Fumio thought she might have developed a crush on the newbie, but seeing Haru’s true form, Fumio could hardly buy into the idea. Regardless, Sumiye and Haru share a dysfunctional partnership that Fumio continues to be baffled by.
No longer glaring at Haru, she hands him a plate of crust, gesturing for him to finish her seconds. She had eaten away her lip gloss, which means that she has no faux sugariness to spare for anyone. With a sigh, she points a fork at the team idiot.
“You’re late. Eat. Pay. For all of it.”
Although unfettered, Fumio tsks, and Sumiye digresses. Rolling her eyes, she re-inserts the fork into her mouth, before taking it out again, and prodding it towards Haru.
“Fine. I’m not that cruel, so if I beat you in a Gunpla battle, you have to pay for all of this… and…” she quickly surveys the menu, “...this Desert Zaku Plate!”
“Ah. But...you just had one,” Fumio says, though he knows better than to be surprised at this point. Before Sumiye can quip back at him, he glances over at a large scale model of a Strike Freedom standing near the entrance. Its legs are completely covered by the steady influx of customers. With a grimace, he notices that the competition crowd has only thickened, and that Anaheim Electronics would need to pierce through more bodies before claiming the Gundam Cafe trophy as their own.
Not wanting to dial back into his friends' domestic spat, he distracts himself with the projection screen playing some highlights of the newest Iron-Blooded Orphans episode. Unfortunately, Sumiye is not one to be easily silenced, and abruptly jumps to her feet, blocking his view of Gundam Barbatos’s epic last stand. He considers interjecting, but Sumiye is off before he can begin.
If Haru is loud, Sumiye can be even louder.
“Watanabe Haru!” she cries. “I, Tetsurou Sumiye, Gunpla idol, challenge you to a bittersweet match!”
Fumio sighs. It is hard thinking of what to say. He supposes with Sumiye and Haru, things generally ended up like this. To the casual observer, the two probably look like a charged couple, but Fumio knows better. Whether together or against each other, Sumiye and Haru are absolute maniacs. Like their past opponents, the Gundam Cafe would soon find out.
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He stays silent for a second, drawing back his finger and panning it across the room before he finally stops on Sumiye.
"-accept your challenge and I will be using..."
With an unnecessarily sharp turn he reveals his newest model and pops it onto the table, slightly rattling the plates.
"Big Zam!"
Behind the trio a crowd appears to be gathering, either to take pictures of the not-at-all elusive Sumiye Tetsurou or spectate the ensuing battle. Either way, a pink-clad waitress has to force her way through before finally popping out, in front of everyone to calm them down.
"Everyone, everyone! The Akihabara All-Out Brawl Out will begin in ten minutes! Participants must be ready to check in Gunpla and find a participant to challenge off with! Those still in queue may wait until more stations open up."
"Miss, can you check us out a battle station upstairs? We would like to begin," Haru asks, turning over to her.
"Sure! Just check in here!" she chirps, taking out a tablet.
After a few taps, she places the device on the table for the two of them to sign in. Though the three of them plan on competing in the tournament, none of them (especially not Haru) can resist a battle of bets. From makeup challenges to Gunpla they love going toe to toe, albeit everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. In Haru's case, he seems to lose in few things, but he has a decent win ratio in Gunpla. Even if Sumiye holds a higher rank he never feels outmatched or outgunned.
"Right this way." The waitress leads the trio past the dissipating deluge of customers, past display cases of Gundam memorabilia, and up stairs painted in white with a glass guardrail.
"Oh and one more thing Sumi-chan," Haru grins as he flounces to the battle station, "if I win, I want you to eat nothing but pickled radish for a week."
- 4 posts here • Page 1 of 1