Asuka Yakushi

//Content Warning for foul language. (https://youtu.be/kXOqyImTTOo?si=i9KvzPQGqiEJ4c4U) With the blaring of a buzzer, six figures rocket out of the garage of the old Helfire Coal Plant. The moment they clear the door, two of the figures, a pegasus, and a blue dragon, unfurl their wings, and take to the skies. Below, a pack quickly forms between the remaining four. Ryuji is in front, with Nar not far behind. Juno follows fairly close behind, and Steeltrap brings up the rear a fair distance away. The group makes a tight turn into a small downwards slope, leading to the main road of the old industrial district. Ryuji takes the turn without slowing down, while the others are a tad bit more cautious when making the turn. When the turn ends, and the road straightens out, Nar begins to pick up speed, and quickly catches up to Ryuji, but doesn't pull ahead. Instead, he matches pace with Ryuji, and skates alongside him. Just far enough to be out of reach of his claws, wings, or tail, but close enough to shout a bit of banter. "Your bassist has the right idea! You guys are gonna need a mask when you have to eat my dust!" Behind the two, Juno's face contorts. That insult was so 'schoolyard' that it gave him secondhand embarrassment. "Oh yeah? You think he's wearing that mask, and those chains for looks?" Ryuji lets out a slight chuckle. "No. It's because if he wasn't, this wouldn't be a contest. He'd eat you alive the moment this race started." At this, Juno turns his head to look back at the black dragon at the back of the pack. He's definitely being slowed down by all the metal on him, but with the unhinged snarling he can hear from behind the steel mask, that's definitely a good thing. Ryuji might very well mean what he said literally. Well, that sure wasn't unnerving. Not in the slightest. Racing a murderous psychopath surely wouldn't end in something bad, right? "As if!" Nar retorts, before swerving to avoid a decently sized pothole in the road. "That walking case of indigestion would burn himself out before he even got he chance to get ahead!" From behind, Juno cups his hands over his mouth to shout "Better comebacks Nar! C'mon!" Down the road, it appears the race organizers have blocked off the main road, forcing the racers down a much more windy side street. Nar is the first one to take the turn, with Ryuji hot on his heels. Juno spots a gout of flame exit Ryuji's nostrils as he attempts a risky maneuver to overtake Nar during another turn. He attempts to switch from the outside of the turn, to the inside, intersecting behind Nar. Only, when he goes to go to the inside of the turn, Nar cuts in front of him, nearly clipping the sidewalk next to the road in order to cut him off. Realizing that he's lost focus, Juno initiates a powerslide to complete his turn without crashing onto the other side of the sidewalk. Behind him, Steeltrap continues a slow, but steady advance. His snarling, and incoherent rambling grow ever louder with each moment that passes. From the starting line, Asuka watches the race unfold VIA the giant screen behind her. Watching the main pack, Asuka develops a few question. Firstly, why does Juno seem so out of focus? He's making a lot of last-second maneuvers to avoid collisions, and it really looks like his head is elsewhere at the moment. Second, What's up with that Steeltrap guy? He's at the back, but he hasn't made any attempts to try and catch up. He's just slowly inching closer, and closer to Juno. No fancy maneuvers, or tricks like the rest of them. His skating style is crude, but functional. Does he even know how to skate properly? Lastly, why is Nar going so slow? Asuka knows Nar can go a lot faster than he is right now. Is he just conserving his stamina for the last half of the race? Maybe he's trying to keep it entertaining, and make people think the race isn't one-sided? Or is he so nervous that he's scared to try anything risky? Bah. It's not like Asuka would get answers to these questions. Not until the end of the race anyway. Everything she knew about skating came from Nar, and even then, she forgot a good two thirds of everything she taught him. For now, she'll just have to watch, and see what happens next. Above the pack, Sapphire and Ruby soar above the track. They are so close together that their wings have barely an inch of space between them. They bank, and twist around turns, all the while throwing insults at one another. "You know, ripping up your dresses so that guys will stare when you walk by won't fix your daddy issues!" Ruby shouts during a straightaway. "Oh please!" Sapphire snarls back. "You're just jealous I actually get attention! Unlike you! It's no wonder you came crawling back to your old band! they're the only people who can stand to be around you for longer than 10 seconds!" Ruby quips back in turn. "At least I have actual friends, unlike you!" Sapphire lets out a gasp, which quickly turns into a snarl. During the next turn, she banks hard, slamming into Ruby's side, knocking her off balance. This is accompanied by a vitriolic "Bitch!" Ruby responds by pulling a similar stunt on her during the next turn, accompanied by an angered shout of "Whore!" Sapphire attempts to respond, but when she attempts another bump, her wing manages to partially tangle with Ruby's. The two quickly begin to lose control of their flight, fighting against one another to free their now tangled wings. They attempt to turn just before a small cluster of trees on the edge of the track, but their movements are awkward. Ruby, on the outside corner of the turn, is unable to make as tight a turn as she needs to, and ends up flying into the trees ahead. In turn, Sapphire is pulled into the brush with her, and the two tumble down the branches to the floor below. By now, Asuka has entered the EMS SUV, and the driver begins the descent down the track, towards the site of the crash. Inside, a small screen displays a broadcast of the race, where the camera is currently focused on the site of the crash. After a few moments, Ruby, and Sapphire's upper bodies begin to poke out from behind the foliage. Their wings appear to have been untangled, but are fairly injured. Ruby shouts out a "We're okay!", only to wince when she tries to move her injured wing. The camera begins to zoom in, only to stop when Sapphire lets out a startled cry. Ruby's eyes appear to go wide before she turns so her good wing can flash out, and obscure Sapphire from view. The camera pans up slightly to reveal the tattered remains of a sparkling, silver dress hanging from a branch in the tree. The camera begins to pan back down, and is met by the face of an outraged Ruby, who begins to yell at the crew. "Hey! Turn the camera away, you creeps!" Despite their quarrel in the air, not even a minute prior, Ruby was not about to let another woman face public humiliation on live TV. Enemy or not, Sapphire deserved basic decency. From there, the feed cuts back to the main pack, who pass by the two grounded fliers not long after. From here on out, the race will be decided by those on wheels.

//Much like the first challenge in this Battle of the Bands, I'm going to be posting this one in parts throughout the day/multiple days. Mostly highlighting the more notable parts of the challenge. (https://youtu.be/aw9IMpvWo0w?si=mI62gevztJqwnZTM) 7 PM, Vanhoover Time, Helfire Coal Plant, Old Industrial District. Fans of the city's top two bands crowd the interior of the coal plant, while a small group stands before the plant's massive garage door. Currently, all are facing away from the door, with their focus turned towards a massive screen, and a mare in a flashy dress standing before it. In this line (from left to right) stand Ruby, Sapphire, Juno, Ryuji, Nar, and Steeltrap. Juno and Ryuji both carry a skateboard, while Nar, and Steeltrap stand atop pairs of rollerblades. Notably, Steeltrap sports a solid, steel muzzle, and his torso has been wrapped entirely in heavy steel chains. Of the six, only Juno wears any protective gear. Behind the mare, Asuka, and the remaining members of Dragonautica stand, flanked by a single EMS SUV. "Ladies and gentlemen!" The mare begins. "It's time for Tartarus on wheels! It's do, or die for Attack on Mango! If they lose this race, they lose the battle of the bands! Which means, they'll not only lose their number one spot in the city, but be forced to disband!" The crowd is a mix of cheers, gasps, and cries of 'You guys got this!' The host allows this to continue for a few moments before she continues. "Before we begin, let's go over the rules for this race!" She then motions to the screen behind her, which now displays an old warehouse. "Your goal is the abandoned warehouse at the end of the track, which has been marked for you all!" The screen then transitions to an overhead shot of the old industrial district. A line has been drawn through a long, complex stretch of roads, and passages within the industrial district, indicating the track. "Distractions, and slowing your opponents down are allowed, but serious injury or worse will result in disqualification!" She then pauses again, waiting for a signal from the producers that their camera crews are ready. From her position by the EMS SUV, Asuka carefully inspects the faces of all the races arrayed before the host. Ruby appears calm, cool, and collected, while Sapphire is showing the same disdain for those around he that she always does. Juno's face is more quizzical than anything. It appears he's studying the map of the track quite closely. Looking for some sort of shortcut perhaps? Ryuji is grinning from ear to ear, and waving to the crowd. Nar is trying his best to keep a confident smirk on his face, but Asuka can tell it's forced. He's nervous. That's not what Asuka expected from her brother. Of all the people here, Nar should be the most confident in his abilities. This race was practically MADE for him. As her eyes glance over at Steeltrap, Asuka finds herself wondering just why Nar seems so nervous. Maybe he had a bad dinner, and was trying to hold in a poop or something? No, Asuka knows what face Nar makes when that happens, and it isn't that. Could he just be getting pre-show jitters? Maybe he'll feel better once the race starts, and he can pretend it's not being filmed. No. Nar has never had problems with being filmed, or being in front of a crowd before. Well, if it's not that, then what is it? Surely he's not ACTUALLY worried about losing, is he? All that would happen if they lost is... Oh. OH! Asuka gets it now. Of course her brother was nervous. He probably thinks the fate of the band is resting on his shoulders. He's treating this like he's the only person in the band who could possibly win this race for them, and placing the burden of the consequences of potential failure entirely on himself. Maybe there's something she can do to calm him down before the race starts. She thinks for a good while. Nar scans the crowd with his eyes, looking for some sort of sign from his prayer from the night before. He scans over the crowd three times over before he finally spots something. It's his sister, out by the SUV. The two lock eyes, and Asuka begins to smirk, giving Nar a simple thumbs up, and a head nod. 'Crush them.' He returns the gesture with a nod of his own. It's then that the host begins to speak again. "Alright racers! Get ready!" The sound of the large garage door opening behind him causes Nar to turn around. "On your marks!" He takes up a stance. "Get set!" The motors within his skates begin to whine. "Go!"