#if only kenta had been a little braver

[pharawee]

"If you step out of this house, I will assume that you and I are no longer brothers."

[irisviel101]

Sounds intense. Surprised how well thought out you made this. In your opinion, what makes the Ryuga/Kenta work out so well in Fury?

Thanks!

About Kenta and Ryuuga, well, to me, it seems like the perfect conclusions of their character arcs over the first two seasons.

We meet Kenta in Metal Fusion as this wimpy little kid with big dreams and a big heart and we see him grow stronger and braver throughout the season. His fight against Reiji in the Battle Bladers is a great example of how much he grows in just that season alone. The Kenta from the beginning of Metal Fusion would never be able to stand up to Reiji; he would never be able to look at this really terrifying opponent who has crushed people way stronger than Kenta and challenge him bravely, to the point where his determination unsettles even Reiji.

And in Metal Fury, this character growth reaches its peak when Kenta, feeling like he's not good enoguh to help put by staying with his friends, decides to follow Ryuuga and convince him to join them. The Ryuuga who is way stronger than him and has given no indication thus far that he would ever even listen to Kenta. But Kenta looks at this guy and just follows him around stubbornly to the point where even Ryuuga has to resign himself to having Kenta around all the time, travels with him and argues with him. Kenta fights Ryuuga and forces Ryuuga to acknowledge him, and he, of all people, earns Kenta's respect and perhaps even his friendship.

The Kenta of season one would never have been able to do this, and the fact that this is the same scared little kid that whose introduction to the series is being bullied around by a street gang of all things is honestly astounding. Back then, the thought of Kenta even holding his own against Ryuuga was downright laughable, which makes his character growth in Metal Fury all the more apparent and satisfying.

For Ryuuga, he's introduced in Metal Fusion as the main antagonist and he is, for the majority of the season, downright evil. He "kills" Ryo in Gingka's flashback, steals power from several bladers, absolutely destroys Hikaru, Tsubasa and Kyoya to the point where Hikaru develops PTSD severe enough that she has to quit bayblade, and he abandons Yuu to Reiji's mercy when the latter has had nothing but the utmost respect for him until that point. So, yeah, he's almost completely evil in Metal Fusion. That is, until he's freed from the Dark Power at the end of the first season.

Fast forward to Metal Masters where he's gained control over the Dark Power and is much more mellow and reasonable. He's still not on Gingka's side and any help he provides in this season is simply because he's repaying his previous debts (infecting Tsubasa with the Dark Power which he helps by teaching Tsubasa how to overcome it, and training Gingka for his battle with Julian to repay Gingka helping him defeat the Dark Power by defeating him in the Battle Bladers when it took over him completely). And the only reason he helps with the Spiral Force is because of his own grudge against Ziggurat for manipulating him through Doji behind the scenes in season one, and because the Earth would pretty much be destroyed if he didn't and Ryuuga kind of needs the Earth to live.

So, up until this point, Ryuuga has always either been an antagonist (Metal Fusion) or an absurdly strong unlikely ally only due to circumstances (Metal Masters).

That's why him slowly sort of befriending Kenta in Metal Fury is so important for his character. It opens up a side of him that we haven't got to see yet. Sure, Ryuuga mostly seems to ignore him because, well, he's Ryuuga and he is not a friendly person, but it doesn't change the fact that he eventually starts taking Kenta along with him while using L-Drago's lightning to teleport to and from places (Better Island for example) and that he basically camps with him, counting on him to gather firewood at one point if I remember correctly. Still, while he's begun to warm up to Kenta at a glacial pace, Ryuuga still does his own thing and mostly just takes Kenta along for the ride; that is, until Kenta puts his foot down and fights him, earning his respect in that fight by being one of the very few people who can get him to fight seriously.

Still, Ryuuga tries to fight Rago on his own because pride has always been Ryuuga's biggest flaw and he's never been one to work in a team. Yet, in his final moments, when he finally sees the consequences of his actions, Ryuuga chooses to give up his Star Fragment and give it to Kenta, solidifying the fact that he sees Kenta as someone worthy of his power, and perhaps even his friendship. And for someone like Ryuuga, who has always done his own thing up until now, that's saying a lot.

[sabraeal]

Both Always Facing Forward

(A Seven Suitors for Shirayuki timestamp for @akai-vampire for the AnS Valentine’s Day Gift Exchange)

When they’re like this, Obi loses time, loses sense of place.

He gasps into her mouth as she presses into him, her body unbearably hot in his hands. Even through the layers of her winter clothes her body burns. Her thighs bracket his hips, trapping him as she bears down with her kisses, tongue tangling with his. Against his back, the statuette wobbles in its alcove.

His palms slide down, kneading her thighs. She whimpers into his mouth, and his mouth curves, smug. She pulls away for the barest second to catch her breath, chest heaving pleasantly against his.

“Why, Miss,” he purrs, palms dragging over her thighs. “To what do I owe all this enthusiasm?”

She grunts, annoyed, and tries to claim his lips again. He lets her linger for a bare moment before darting away again, drawing a huff of frustration from her.

“Does it bother you that Their Highnesses were occupying my attention?” he teases, though he’s curious just how close to the mark he has come. They had been playing quite a rousing game of peek-a-boo when she had informed him she needed him, in the urgent way she spoke of matters of the pharmacy.

And now they are here. Strange, that.

“I promise,” he murmurs, leaning close so their lips just barely brush, “you’re the one I love most.”

She stills in his lap, as she always does when he mentions how deeply she has embedding herself in his heart. Now he knows it is not that she fears it but that -- that she is savoring it. Letting the words wash over her. She told him once, in a similar interlude, that no one has ever cherished her as he has. That he was the first.

Oh, if only she knew how he had not yet even begun.

He closes the gap, just enough to press his lips against hers. “So there is no need to steal attention from a baby, Miss.”

Shirayuki bridles at that, sitting back on his thighs. “I’m not jealous.”

“Mm,” he hums, unconvinced. “I believe you.”

“It’s not that at all.” Her gaze leaves his, falling to when her hands are smoothing out the wrinkles she has made in his coat. “It’s just that...”

Her mouth quivers, the tips of her ears flushing pink. Interesting.

“Yes?” he purrs, ducking is head to meet her gaze.

She giggles, turning away. “When I see you with Isamu and Kenta, I just...” She lets out a heavy breath. “I think of what it might be like if -- if --”

Her eyelashes flutter uncertainly. He squeezes her hips, silently urging her to continue.

“-- If they weren’t Haki’s,” she blurts out, her blush unmistakable even in this dim light.

It is utterly silent, for his heart has stopped. “Who --?” He licks his lips. “Whose would they be?”

She hunches, making herself so small, trailing a hand over the flap that hides his closures. “Ours?”

“Ours?” he breathes. She cannot -- not with him -- she couldn’t --

“And once I thought about that,” she continues, a little braver, almost coy. “I couldn’t help but think of how -- how such things come to be.”

His heart starts again, the pounding of it loud in his ears but -- she wants him, she wants -- wants more than him, wants --

“Shirayuki,” he breathes.

She slides closer, her front pressed to his from chest to hip. How it is that she ruins him with simple seductions, he will never know. “And then I think about how eager I am to -- to --” her lips brush just behind his ear -- “to practice.”

He feels the heat of her blush against his skin and -- that’s she’s excited for -- for practice, for spending her nights with him --

“Oh,” he growls, low. Under his hands he feels her shiver. “There will be plenty of that.”

His hands slide down her back, palming over the soft swell of her ass. “O-oh?�� she breathes, arching into him as his mouth suck at the skin just above her neckline. He’s achingly hard beneath her, and he knows she feels it with the way her hips shyly seek his, rubbing against him.

He moans, not bothering to dull the noise. Everyone is outside, now that the weather has turned warm, and the princes can do more than simply roll. They are the only two in here.

“Yes,” he promises, teeth nipping at the tops of her breasts. She clutches his shoulder, breathing hard, whining as he speaks. “At least twice.”

He wants to wait, he does, but there’s a wealth of things between this nothing and being buried to the hilt inside her. He wants to show her, wants to make her see how good it will be to be his wife, just how satisfied he can make her --

“A week?” she gasps, leaning into his touch. He pulls back, lets the slant of his grin be her answer.

“O-oh.” Her flush spreads over her cheeks, down her neck. As shy as she seem, he sees the hunger in her eyes, the anticipation. “Oh.”

His hands run up over her leggings, right to the crease of her thighs, and she whimpers, hips thrusting forward into his hands, and --

“Why, I was wondering where you two ran off to,” Haki drawls, swanning into the room like she isn’t interrupting the best moment of his life.

Shirayuki tumbles off his lap, his hands only just keeping her from falling to the floor. He sighs, standing, trying to pull his clothing so that his arousal isn’t so obvious. She keeps eyeing it curiously from the corner of her eyes, and -- it’s a lost cause, really, until one of them leaves the room, but he makes an effort nonetheless.

Haki, at least, does not deign to notice. He’s not sure how long that will last, once Shirayuki is out of earshot. “The boys were beginning to look around.” Her smile is immeasurably fond when she adds, “I think they miss their Obi.”

His ribs feel too small to contain his heart. “Tell them I’m coming.”

Haki is not a soft woman, but one would not know it from seeing her now. “Excellent.” She casts a speculative look over the two of them. “Don’t be long.”

Shirayuki lets out a long breath, once the consort has left. She turns to him, catching him by his straps. “How long?”

Her desperation tells him she does not mean until they can be alone again. “Two months.”

Her hands trace over his coat, fingering the catches. “But it could be sooner...?”

He does not need to be tempted like this, not when it is so hard to do what is best. “Two months.”

She sighs, leaning into him. “Two months, until you are mine.”

He laughs, pressing a kiss to her hairline. “No,” he breathes, “I’m afraid that fight was lost long ago.”