Summary: Feeling terrible on the boat, Alex spits out some cringy dad jokes to make you less sea sick.
Pairing: Alex Weiss x Reader
Content: Just light angst, Romance hinted.
A/N: Why does this guy have no fanfics, I thought all the girls love the nerds.. LMAO
Being on the way to Yamatai was hell. Not only because of the tense nature of your group. But also the swishing waters. Filling your nostrils with salt and metal.
What made it worse was watching Alex gawk at Lara. The guy you couldn’t help but fall for on the way. Always having good intentions, just bad at executing them.
You hated how he obsessed over Lara, eyes trailing as she made a small move. Ready to defend her, but keeping silent. It filled you with severe pain, not because Lara isn’t amazing. But because you knew you couldn’t ever be on her level.
When Whitman began to complain about where to go, until Roth pointed him in the right direction sternly. Shutting up his and Lara’s debate. Giving you the opportunity to swiftly leave the room of the ship and take a minute to breathe.
With how tense the room was, it only added to your dizziness. Walls blurring as you stumbled to the balcony. The ocean air only really made it worse. Huffing and puffing to yourself to regulate your nausea.
Hearing the door shut behind you, believing it’s Lara, you give an “You know how to give them a show, don’t you?” Until your eyes meet Alex’s. Pausing before looking back down at the ocean.
“Sorry,” You add an additional whisper. Retreating back, remembering how much he admired Lara. Fighting off the urge to throw up your meal into the ocean.
Alex noticed your expression and almost knew right away. “What’s a Fish without an eye?” He asked, pushing his glasses up. Taking on the superhero role he was meant to.
You let out a groan, too busy thinking about your breathing. “Uh.. what?”
“Fsh,” He continued. Side eyeing him in your state. Watching him awkwardly smile to be reassuring. For a minute it almost worked, almost made you forget everything. That sting in your chest when you watched him gaze at someone else, or the tears that fell at night when you thought you weren’t good enough for him.
Before coming to a reality check. He’s just helping you, it’s nothing special. A frown on your face as you bluntly waved him off. “I don’t need your help Alex.”
Hearing a long exhale leave his lips before muttering, “How many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh..?” You audibly groan, running a hand over your face. Wishing he would just leave, it would make the ache easier. Hell, it would probably make your sickness disappear. Your other palm began to squeeze the railing tightly to lighten the flowing liquid in your neck. “Ten-tickles!” Instead of hearing a laugh leave your lips, you hurled.
Nerves leaving your body, but not the dread of being next to Alex. Tensing when you felt his hand gently rub circles on your back to help.
“I’m just gonna—thanks,” You awkwardly blurted. Striding around him to your room.
The rest of the day was spent in bed tossing and turning. Trying to remove the event from your head. To not care about how simple it was. He was just helping, like any friend would. Which was okay, but deep down, you couldn’t help but wish for more.
Which was why you had to stop, take time to yourself. Planning to avoid him for a while.. it would probably make things easier. Sleeping in for the rest of the night. That debacle went from a day to a week. Hanging out with everyone except for him. Not exchanging any kind of words. You were better off anyways.
The trip was almost over, you guys were almost at Yamatai. Hopefully it’s everything you wanted. A cultural experience, something that could change the entire group’s lives in a positive way. Ready for whatever comes.
Until you heard a knock on your door one night after getting ready for bed. Approaching your door opening it and whispering a, “Lara.. what’s up?” Until you found that it was Alex. Dark circles under his eyes, his hair unkept and shaggy, he stared at you. Walking in without your welcome.
“What the hell Alex?” You questioned. Before he simply sat down. His lips parting to say something before shutting.
“I couldn’t help but notice you ignoring me ever since that day you had—god I couldn’t piece it together at first until I did. I just want to ask.. why?” He was so quick to say it. Your brows initially furrowed. Thinking he would accuse you of something. But he actually asked why.
“What exactly did you piece together Alex?” You demanded. To which he let out a sigh.
“I know you like me,” He responded.
The rest of this night is gonna be a long one.. isn’t it?
Once the sun beamed through your curtains, you got ready for the day ahead and headed to breakfast. Since you gained immunity from the previous challenge, you were given a day off and granted immediate advancement to the second day. The dining area smelled of fresh butter, pancakes, and syrup. Even with no scheduled matches, you still went to breakfast dressed for the day. You smiled the second you saw Skylor, and you both got in line.
She was speaking about strategies for winning that she had learned over the year. You noticed that the elderly man who was on the boat was still here. The thought of the boat reminded you of why you were there. There was still no information on your parents or power. You were running out of time. The second Skylor was done with her advice. You asked about him.
"Do you know that man?" You looked over to him.
"Apparently, he was one of my father's pupils a very long time ago." She smiled. "Why?"
"Just curious. I thought he was competing." You joked.
She laughed and continued to talk about various things. While standing in line, you overheard those loud ninjas speaking about their grudges. The one in blue and the one in black were the ones arguing the most out of the team. "Yikes, one of them stole the other's girlfriend."
Suddenly, the two ninjas, who were fighting over their own grievances for each other, spilled their biscuits and juice onto the floor. It reminded you of your time working at the restaurant, having to deal with messy customers. You looked away from the scene and pretended to mind your own business. Eventually, you and Skylor made your way to get food. Before you could get a table, Master Chen's voice was heard over the loudspeaker. Everyone in the room froze in excitement and awaited what Chen would say next.
"The tournament of elements continues! Will the following masters please make their way to their assigned arenas?"
He paused before announcing the masters. Even though you were not competing, you were still on edge for Skylor. You glanced over at her, and she did not seem to mind the competition at all; she seemed more than happy to compete.
"Speed, Gravity, Smoke, Nature, Mind, and last but hopefully not least," he paused again for the anticipation.
"Fire." You looked over to Kai as his jaw dropped.
The ninja clearly hoped they would all have gotten the day off, but one of them did not seem as lucky as the rest. You saw how all his friends gasped in shock.
"Remember, only one can remain."
After breakfast, you went out to watch the matches. Each match was on a different playing field with varying terrain.
The first match out of the three was Speed vs. Gravity. You weren't given any time to learn any of the other competitors' names yet, but that was on your to-do list.
You had gotten to the match just as it was about to start. Skylor waved you over, and you had to climb past Chamille and Tox. "Just my luck," you thought while smiling, and politely said excuse me as you passed the two girls.
"Turner, master of speed, vs Gravis, master of gravity. Fight!" Chen commenced the match to start. The two started at the base of the tree and started to search for the blade.
In the bleachers, you and Skylor watched as the fight started. There was a level of amped energy from the crowd. It was the first one-on-one fight of the entire competition; you got lucky and didn't have to be in it. For the rest of the day, you spent every match analyzing each fight from the sidelines.
The jade blade was hidden at the top of the cherry blossom tree, covered by branches and hidden by flowers. With your view in the audience, you couldn't see it. Gravis used his powers to fly through the pink-petaled tree. Turner used his powers to climb through the tree's branches hastily.
"Go for it, Griffin!!" one of his friends cheered. You assumed they were talking about Turner.
"You got this, Gravis!!"
The pink cherry blossoms blocked most of the fight, but at some points, you would get glimpses of the two searching for the jade blade.
There wasn't much that the audience could see due to the flowers, but it seemed like Gravis used his power to make the jade blade float to him. Quickly, Griffin sprinted faster than a blink and grabbed the blade from the air. Griffin was declared the winner.
The second match of the afternoon was Mind vs Nature. The sun was about finished, and the cool air was felt throughout the other contestants.
"Neuro, master of mind, vs Bolobo, master of nature. Fight!" Chen commenced the second match to start. Instead of fighting, Neuro paused and closed his eyes to predict what Bolobo was thinking about doing.
"They call this a fight?" the blonde-headed green ninja scoffed loudly.
"Wait for it," the elder man said.
After reading his mind, Neuro jumped up really high to avoid Bolobo's vines and used them to get closer to the jade blade. Bolobo trapped him in his vines. He used his vines to try to grab the jade blade, but Neuro used his power to mess up Bolobo's thoughts.
Neuro used this to his advantage and got the jade blade. He climbed up the vines on the rocks and made it to the top. The blade was pulled out of the rock by Neuro, making him the victor.
He was declared the winner, and Bolobo was dropped through the ground.
Before the final match of the first bracket, there was about an hour break period, so you headed to your room to grab a hoodie to fight the cool night breeze. As you headed up to your room, you saw Kai leaving his own room. This was the first time you'd really seen him without other ninja friends. He caught your eye and looked away. You continued walking to your room, but just as he was about to head to the same stairs that you came from, you said something to him.
"Good luck on your match," You called out.
He paused in his tracks, turning back towards you. He didn't expect one of his competitors to be wishing him luck. It was completely out of the ordinary to hear.
"Thanks, um…" He returned the smile and fully faced you. "I don't think I know your name yet."
"It's Y/N."
"I like your name, Y/N. I'm Kai, Kai Smith," he said, taking his time admiring you and trying to remember where he had heard your name from.
"I've heard," you watch him closely.
"You've heard? Are you like a fan?" he asks, furrowing his eyebrows and crossing his arms.
"No." You reassured him defensively and quickly, making his smile return, and his arms drop back to his sides. "I just overheard your name on the boat, after you know, the fight and stuff-"
"Wait, I'm sorry." He interrupted you and then apologized. "Are you the girl who got a bye for this round?"
"How'd you know that?" You asked, confused.
Basically, confirming you were the girl he was thinking of. Being the only one getting a pass probably showed some form of talent. You had no idea that anyone else knew about that. It's not like it was announced or anything. Rumors and news spread fast. You assumed nothing on this island was a secret. "So much for staying low."
"I've heard," he smirked again, repeating your own words from earlier.
For a few milliseconds, you felt as if he were trying to dissect every part of you just by looking at you. For another second, the two of you forgot about your own goals during this tournament and your other competitors. He completely forgot he was only a short 45 minutes away from his first real match, but it was as if the whole world around you and Kai stopped for you to talk.
With no words to say, you try to read his mind through his eyes. It was a look of unadulterated interest and curiosity. He hid the curiosity in his eyes and refused to dwell on it for too long.
A tiny part of you that you had previously brushed off wanted to know more about him. Now that he was in front of you, it drew you into wondering more about him.
"Kai!! You coming?" You heard someone from the first floor yell up, snapping you out of your thoughts.
You glance over the gold railings and saw the other ninja on his team and their mentor waiting for him. He already had his place in life right in front of him. They seemed like his family waiting for him.
"I should get ready for my match." He blinked out of his thoughts, too.
"Yeah, of course."
"It's nice to meet you, Y/N." He grinned.
The way your name rolled so easily off his tongue felt like honey. He made it seem like everything was so easy to him.
"You too, and good luck again." You smiled again and watched him scramble down the stairs.
"Thank you," he said, jogging down the stairs.
He quickly looked back with a smile and waved goodbye. His friends looked up at you briefly. For the rest of the night, Kai could only think about one thing: you. Only you. Even with his match only being in a few minutes, your words of encouragement stuck in his brain, and it felt like your words clawed their way through the grooves, sinking deeper.
As he was prepping for the match, his friends were all giving him a pep talk. Once the pep talk was over, they headed to the bleachers to watch the fight. He noticed you in the crowded bleachers alongside Skylor. You didn't notice his quiet gaze on you.
The final match of the night was Fire vs Smoke.
"Kai, master of fire, vs Ash, master of smoke. Fight!" Chen commenced the last match to start.
The jade blade lay in the middle of a bridge that was hovering over lava. You were no longer affected by the cold night breeze because of the hoodie you grabbed from your room and the lava that was in front of everyone.
Kai sprints towards the blade, but Ash shakes the bridge, knocking down the blade and causing Kai to lose his balance. Everyone in the crowd watched as the blade fell and Kai dangled from the side of the bridge.
The blade lands perfectly, wedged into a stone pillar.
"Come on, Kai, you can do it," the green ninja says.
Ash and Kai race to the blade below them. Ash runs on the bridge while Kai uses the boards as monkey bars. Kai uses the momentum to launch himself into the air and tries kicking Ash. Unfortunately, he uses his power, and Kai fades through the smoke, sliding behind him.
Ash sends waves of smoke at Kai to knock him farther, but it gets sent away. Kai attempts the same attack as before and jumps through him, landing on his back. With no way to hit him, Ash was untouchable.
Kai tries to land at least one punch on him, but it is of no use. Ash repeated the pattern of faze and hit. His last punch was hard enough that it threw Kai back into the bridge, causing it to split down the middle. Barely hanging onto anything, Kai was above lava.
The crowd, mostly Chen and his goons, cheered for the drama. Skylor gasped along with the other ninjas. You just watched it and believed he knew what he was doing. Chen would stop the fight if something went wrong… right?
Still barely holding on, Kai dodges smoke balls and swings himself up into the air, doing some spinning move. Bright orange and red fire erupts from his spinning move, pushing Ash back. Neither of them was going for the blade, yet.
"Come on, Kai. Use your power." the green ninja stressed.
Kai uses his power over and over again, but Ash just turns his whole body into smoke. Ash jumps over to Kai's side of the bridge and holds him. Kai uses his fire to burn the opposing side of the bridge. The bridge fully falls, and Kai jumps to the rock pillars. Ash follows.
They both land on separate platforms. With a glance, they both jump to the blade and attack each other. Both of them were in the air, throwing punches and landing on different rock pillars. They both look at the blade with hand eachother back.
Ash turns to smoke again and leaps backward towards the blade. Kai smirks and throws a flame at him, which Ash turns to smoke. Simultaneously, Kai jumps through Ash and grabs the blade in victory.
"Winner!" The audience cheered. He held the blade up with a proud smile. You saw him looking for something for a quick moment, but then went back to being proud.
After that match, you were glad you got immunity for the first round, because they all looked so intense. You headed up to your room and prepared for the last matches of the night. From what Skyler said, there were going to be more matches.
As you began heading up the stairs, you heard a voice call from farther down at the bottom of the stairs.
"Y/n!" You turned around, and it was Kai.
You smiled as he caught up to you. "Hey."
"I was just heading up to my room." He panted from running up the stairs.
"Me too, I watched your match." The two of you walked together with a smile. "It was pretty cool."
"Are you saying I'm cool?" The corners of his mouth lifted higher as you both reached the top of the stairs.
"You wish," you laughed softly.
You two went your separate ways to your rooms. There was a dying silence in that hallway. He felt empty like the competition was no longer important to him.
"Maybe I do," He thought, silently watching you go to your room.
Skylor came up the stairs and saw him watching you. He liked how sincere you were and how different your presence was compared to the other people in the competition. She coughed and made her presence known.
"You know, staring isn't going to get you anywhere, right?" She leaned on the gold railing.
"What!? No, me? I'm not staring." He jumped a bit and whipped around.
"Right, whatever you say."
There was a small gap of empty silence. Skylor was thinking hard and tried to read Kai's intentions. They stood there for a moment.
"I'm warning you, don't mess with her," Skylor said, choosing her words carefully and breaking the silence.
Kai was confused. What did she mean? You were nice, and he assumed the two of you were close because he saw you sleeping in her room the night before. Or at least assumed it was you. Why would she say that? Was this competition that serious? A million questions ran through his mind, but he picked one to ask.
"What do you mean?" He narrowed his eyes.
"Look, I know you and your ninja friends have an alliance." She started.
"What does that have anything to do with this?" he cut her off.
"I don't want that to hurt or mess with her odds of winning," Skylor said straightly.
"What? I wouldn't; that's not my intention."
"No, I know, hear me out," she paused. "I want her to win, and if people see you talking with her, they aren't going to like that."
"And you don't want to win?" He tilted his head, interested.
"Winning doesn't interest me."
"Then what does?"
"Maybe I'm still figuring that out, but that's none of your business," she shrugged. "What about you?"
"Me?"
"Yeah, what do you want from this competition?"
"To win, obviously."
"Oh come on, that's boring, everyone does," she laughed. "There has to be something else you want here."
He thought for a second. There was no way he was going to spill the real reason and expose him and the ninja. For once, he decided to keep his mouth shut. "Nah, just to win."
"Mhm…" she nodded.
"Well, great chat. I should probably rest before tomorrow." He quickly said so he wouldn't dig himself into a bigger hole.
"Don't forget about what I said." She said in a serious tone
"I got it." He said shortly and left.
It was already 8:30 pm, and the day two bracket was on the board. But before going down, you updated your parents on how everything was going. They texted immediately and said they missed you. You didn't want them to know that you were still lacking answers.
Eventually, you left your room and headed down to see who would be put into matches. There was an unhappy crowd surrounding the board; it was only the ninja crowd. They seemed unhappy about the fact that they were now going up against each other.
Once they cleared out, you got to see who you'd be against. The board was shiny gold and had all the current players' faces. Since you got immunity, you did not think your face would be on the board; it was. You would be against the master of light, the invisible guy. Great, you thought you got out of it, and also didn't even know who they were.
You went to your room to mentally prepare yourself for your match the next morning. The immunity thing confused you; Chen said you'd be moved onto the next round, but now you were entered into this new round of matches.
Did he lie or did you misunderstand?
There was a good few hours to spare before the next day of matches, and you went out on your balcony. Murmuring voices echoed and came straight from the garden.
The voices you had noticed were from the ninja and Neuro. You ducked so they wouldn't and couldn't see you eavesdropping. Neuro seemed to have sensed the ninja's presence; you couldn't exactly hear what they were saying until the green one started.
"If you want what's best for you, just look into my head, and you'll see what this tournament is all about," the green one says.
Neuro listened and seemed to see something unsettling. "It's only a matter of time before Chen-" His voice gets muffled from his two friends fighting.
What was Chen up to? What could Neuro have seen in the green ninja's head? You left your thoughts on the balcony and headed to sleep. Going to sleep with adrenaline was horrible. There was no time to dwell on it.
In the morning, you headed to the room where the match would be held. Down another hallway, you saw Kai, the green one, and their mentor. You wondered where the blue-and-black ninja were. You were told to wait outside the room due to them still setting it up. As you were waiting, a familiar red-suited figure came down the hallway.
"I wanted to come over and share some luck." He flashed a bright grin.
"Thanks." You said quietly.
"You ready?" He saw the scared look on your face.
You picked at your nail. "Hopefully."
"Look, I know we just met, but I know you'll do amazing out there." He spoke sincerely.
There was no reason for him to be so sincere or even kind to you. He was speaking from his heart. You felt unsure of whether you could trust him or not. Maybe it would be a good thing.
"You think so, or are you just saying that?" You laughed a bit.
"I feel it." He dramatically held his hand over his chest.
"Thanks." You smiled, and your nerves melted away for a few moments.
"Also, I heard you were against the master of light."
"Yeah. Why?" You asked hesitantly and froze. "Any secret details I should know?"
"I brought these for you." He reached into his gi pocket and grabbed a pair of black-framed sunglasses. There was tiny scuff marks on the sides. They were visibly used, and his own personal pair.
"I can't take these, isn't that cheating?"
"There are no rules to fashion, angel" He winked and handed them off to you. "And, this is far from cheating."
"Ms. L/N, they are ready for you." One of Chen's pretty kabuki held the door open for you.
"You'll do great." He said, leaning on the wall, holding up his thumbs before watching you get rushed into the room. He called you an angel? Kai heads to the viewing bleachers and sits with his assumed mentor and green ninja.
There was no time to waste; you were escorted into the room with the sunglasses in your hand. The room was extra bright with mirrors surrounding it. The lights were pointed directly at the mirrors and on you and your opponent. In the middle of the room was a sculpture made of marble and gold. It was of an angel, holding the jade blade high above your heads. The angel sculpture looked like it was made to be destroyed.
You immediately put on the sunglasses and saw your opponent standing across from you on the other side of the sculpture. With a glance, you saw Kai in the bleachers and Skylor on the other side. Before the match started, your adrenaline levels were going crazy, and you tried to focus. You tried to think about what this invisible guy's weaknesses could be.
While using your eyes, you looked around the room for the blade. That room was still blinding, but the sunglasses were helpful. You noticed that your opponent had the same idea with the sunglasses; maybe it helps him see better too.
"L/N, master of peace, vs Mr. Pale, master of light. Fight!"
So that's what your element was called? Peace…
You didn't think about it for long and ran to the blade in the middle of the room. Looking up, you barely climbed the sculpture, and you felt Mr. Pale grab your arm to yank you off. He held his other hand out in front of your face. You accidentally looked into his hand as he used his power to create light to blind you. It happened so fast you couldn't think about ways to avoid it.
You stumbled back and closed your eyes fast, but not fast enough.
The glasses were protecting you, but couldn't protect you from everything.
It took a few more moments and blinks to readjust your eyesight.
That was when a plan formed in your mind. Break his glasses. Since he was invisible, you assumed he couldn't see clearly either, due to the lack of light going into his eyes. His gold glasses were vision enhancers for people with no physical eyeballs… probably…
He strikes you without hesitation, and you barely have time to block it. You kick him back and try to catch him off guard. He regains his balance.
You closed the gap. Trying to create a distraction, you go to punch his stomach, but use your other hand to grab the glasses. He immediately reached for his stomach to block it, and you took the opportunity to reach for his glasses. You grabbed them and planned to throw them at one of the mirror-covered walls.
It seemed to have worked for a second, and he kept barely missing his attacks.
As you threw it, he grabbed your wrist once he heard you. His glasses that you threw didn't break, but it got out of the way. With a tight grip and a quick attack, he swept your legs from under you and tackled you to the ground, knocking the air from your lungs. You saw stars from the rough fall onto your head. You could've sworn you heard gasps of excitement in the crowd the second you hit the ground. He let go and went to find the blade. Using his hands to find the statue with the blade. With a groan, you blinked the pain away.
The cheering from the crowd faded out of your ears. You needed to get up and get that blade.
As you got up, you focused hard on him and tried to trigger your powers. Mr. Pale gasped in pain and held a tight grip on the statue. Was that your doing?
He made the statue fall down, making the marble and gold pieces fall apart. The crowd exploded with energy. He collapsed over the broken pieces. You felt a pang of worry at the second sight of pain that you caused. First with Tox, and now Mr. Pale; neither of them seemed alright after you used your element. Guilt flowed through your veins.
The blade- you just needed the blade. The pain from before had already faded away, and you saw the jade underneath some broken pieces. It was closer to you, so you rushed over to that pile.
Your opponent, Mr. Pale, must have heard the sound of you. He barely used his powers and pointed them at the mirror in front of you; it was angled perfectly so the light went straight into your eyes. His light was strong. You felt more anger rush through your body, not because of him but due to the room you were competing in.
You closed your eyes and felt for the blade. Once your eyes were alright, you opened them again, only to see him also looking for the blade. You quickly found the jade blade under some pieces. Still under the more intense effects of your power, he slowly crawls to where the blade was. You reached to grab it as he does the same.
By only a few milliseconds, you grab the blade and win the match.
You held the blade up with your head low. Your powers relaxed.
"Winner!" Chen announces. The crowd cheered for you, or maybe just the entertainment. You didn't even bother to look into the crowd and kept your head low in shame. This wasn't a victory, at least not in your eyes.
Immediately after he declared you the winner, you dropped the blade into the rubble and rushed over to Mr. Pale, picking up his glasses. He didn't seem like he was okay; he looked like he could barely stand up. You put Kai's glasses on your head to get a good look at Mr. Pale. He was invisible; there was nothing to see on his face. His posture was bad, slouched and withered.
You go over to help him up, holding him up, and even offer to use your powers to heal him.
He adjusted his glasses.
"I don't need your pity." He snapped and pushed your assisting hands off of him.
"I'm sorry." You say sincerely, backing away, but are cut off by Chen making him fall through the floorboards.
The crowd's cheers continue to echo in the room. Even with the cheers, there was an empty feeling that the match had left you with. You gaze up at them, Chen and Clouse. Clouse had his arms crossed; you couldn't tell what he was thinking while Chen was laughing about sending another competitor away into the abyss.
Instead of celebrating, you walked out of the exact door you entered from. You had already secured your spot for the next round. There was no point in rubbing in your victory.
The following round was the blue ninja and the black ninja; it was another outside match. It was still early in the morning, and the sun was still rising. You were one of the first people to be seated in the bleachers and wait for the match to start. Surprisingly, the arena was huge; you would not have wanted to be in this match.
The two opponents were held in caged spaces like animals. Kai and his green friend were down in the arena coaching them. You spotted Neuro speaking to the ninja. They all seemed to be having a tense conversation. Soon after, the ninja plus Neuro, who were not competing in that round, came back up to the bleachers. Skylor was mentally preparing for her round, so you did not want to bother her.
"Let the tournament continue!" Chen announces.
"Jay, master of lightning, vs Cole, master of earth. Fight!" The cages were opened, and the spotlight shone on them. You took a mental note and tried to remember their names.
They immediately started fighting; flashes of lightning lit up the arena. Cole jumped over the beams of lightning and used his powers to attack Jay, which made him do a backflip. The audience couldn't hear anything they were saying down there. They went back and forth with their elements, and Chen was getting giddy.
They both used their elements against each other, meeting in the middle. Rock and lightning struck each other. Buzzing and crackling rang through the arena. They pushed back and forth until Cole ultimately took over.
Jay was hit with the rock and was pushed backwards. He got up from the ground and summoned lightning in his hands. There was a gap between fighting; they seemed to be talking to each other.
A second later, they started to fight again and get into action. It wasn't as aggressive as before; actually, it seemed like they were play-fighting. Chen, holding his popcorn, got upset about the change in action.
"What is this patty cake?? I'm bored, release the contracts," Chen declared.
The doors opened, releasing about five cars with sharp propellers on the top. Jay and Cole did their spinning tornado move and dodged the car speeding towards them. That car kept driving straight into a wall, launching the driver into the wall.
"They fight together. Good work, son." The elder man spoke from next to you.
So they were related, and the green one was his son. Like Skylor and Chen.
"Yeah, I do listen to you every once in a while." He smiled.
Focusing back onto the match, you watched it play out. Cole used his powers to make a ramp for the car heading towards him and grabbed the tail of the car to swing it around into one of the last cars.
There was only one car left, heading straight to Cole. Jay jumped on top of the car and electrocuted the driver with a skull mask. The car barely stopped in front of Cole. After stopping the car, Jay jumped out and dapped up Cole.
"I know what you are trying to do. Neither of you will win, then BOTH of you will lose." Chen pressed a button, triggering the tiles below them to fall one at a time.
There was no time to decide who gets the blade. If neither of them won, that would worsen their chances of continuing as a team. Cole and Jay jumped to still existing tiles, but Chen kept pressing more buttons. They seemed to be deciding who would continue the tournament. There was no way both of them could win.
Cole advanced and climbed the pole for the jade blade. Grabbing it from the pole, he paused, thinking of another way. Cole threw the blade down to Jay. The audience gasped; Jay won and would be the one to move on. He jumped down from the pole and spoke to Jay. The selfless actions of Cole were not enough to let him stay, and Chen pushed the button to make him fall into the abyss.
Their sensei made it into a lesson for them to stick together through thick and thin. There were still many more fights to come in this competition. You were worried about what the next challenge would be, but couldn't focus on that; you had to be supportive of Skylor.
Skylor's round was next. Her round was in a completely different room inside the building. As you walked through the narrow hallways, you bumped into Kai, his sensei, a blue and green ninja, as you were turning the corner.
Kai greeted you and acknowledged your presence. He went on about your match and complimented your talents. You were about to thank Kai for the glasses, but you heard another voice behind you.
"Y/n!" It was Sky. She walked over next to you and saw Kai and the other two.
You smiled at her as she stared at Kai.
"Uh… thanks for the glasses." You took them out of your pocket and gave them back to him. A part of you expected him to say something, but he didn't. Saying nothing, he took the glasses back and left with a quiet good luck to Skylor. It was stiff and emotionless.
It was definitely a change in emotions. Had something happened in private?
"I don't trust them." She said quickly as you two headed to her match.
"Who?" You hummed carefully.
"The ninja."
"Why? They seem genuinely good people." There was no reason for you to be against the ninja; most of them seemed kind. It would be a smart move to keep them on your side.
"My father hates them." She whispered, peeking to see if anyone was in earshot.
"Chen?" You asked.
"Y/N, you can't tell anyone I'm related to him." She shushed you gently.
"Ok, but why?" In truth, Skylor had not been honest with you. You had no idea why she was keeping secrets. "Sky, why do I feel like you are hiding things from me?" You kept a hush voice.
"I'll explain later," she said as the skull servant waved her into the room.
"Okay, you got this." You smiled as she was taken to the match arena. Then you headed to the second floor to watch her match. You sat down next to a few other people you didn't know well. She was against the master of sound.
im sick of this damn app its all the sammmee shit ovvverrr and ovvverrruhhhhhhh WHERE ARE THE GOOD SASUKE X READER FICS WHEHHREHHREJHRHEHEHEHRHE WHEREHHWHEHEHEHEHEHRHEHE
itoshi sae x bubbly reporter! reader 𐙚˙✧˖°📷 ༘ ⋆｡ ˚
Itoshi Sae thinks you’re annoying. That’s what you have come to believe anyway.
Being a new, young sports reporter who’s still green behind the ears wasn’t half as easy as some may think. But you didn’t join because you wanted it to be, you joined because it had always been a point of intrigue to know what someone was thinking when playing the game of a lifetime.
And to your surprise, it was going far better than you had initially thought. Because with the grace of tiktok and a sense of humour the internet came to love you, which meant your dreams weren’t just dreams, they were reality.
Clips of interviews went viral, and your follower count on tiktok hit a gleaming 700k within the few months since you graduated university and officially ran head first into working.
But that wasn’t even the most astounding part about your new life, what truly was astonishing to you was how the athletes came to like you to; and you were sure that was, in part, why their fans came to love you as well.
You didn’t question them as machines meant to entertain, you questioned them as humans. And that recognition of one’s humility is all it takes for it to be returned.
For everyone but one man.
Itoshi Sae.
Most athletes you interview genuinely enjoy the brief chats, laughing and joking along with you, keeping a lighthearted and entertaining conversation for fans. Except for Sae.
Itoshi Sae never laughed at your jokes, never cracked a smile, and never seemed to purposely return a joke. Even as you tried to laugh with him after his blunt sarcasm it was never returned.
So to say you felt a slight pit of anxiety whenever your boss told you to ask him for an interview after a match, would be an understatement.
Trying to slip your way through the crowd came as a slight challenge, though as your own popularity arose it had gradually became a bit easier. People recognized you, people respected you and that was more than enough.
It wasn’t too hard to find the coral locks along the crowd, Itoshi Sae with his bag strewn over his shoulder as he stepped through the lobby with his usual mask of nonchalance.
He never flinched at the cameras even as the bright lights flashed over his strong features, highlighting the bright teal of his burning gaze when it met yours.
Sae hated interviews, he hated talking to reports and paparazzi. Yet when he saw you amongst the crowd, two microphones resting between your tapping fingers with a smile on your lips, for whatever reason he didn’t turn to ignore you. He allowed himself to push forward despite his usual reservations, just enough to see if you’d stop him.
“Itoshi!”
His mind reeled, but he didn’t let it show as he turned to you casually—acting as though hearing his name from your lips brought an ease to his mind.
“What?”
Cold, to no one’s surprise. But you smiled all the same, warmly.
“I was um— I was wondering if I could get a quick interview, if you have time?” A nervous stammer, a hand moving to quickly push a hair from your face as you faced him. You’d interviewed him twice before, but it was enough to make you jittery.
You expected a scoff, or maybe just a silent departure. But instead, he nodded, stepping towards you as you stood stunned for a moment before your smile illuminated and you handed him one of the mics in your hand; waving over your camera man.
Did Sae always stare this intensely? Did he do that to all the interviewers? Or was he just trying to pick you apart?
“Hello everyone! Today I am joined with the one, and not the only Itoshi, Itoshi Sae!” You quickly greeted the camera before motioning to Sae who didn’t pull his eyes away from you even as you introduced him to the camera that shot live.
“That was a very intense match against Brazil, you played amazing by the way, as always.” You complimented, meeting his weighted stare as he blinked down at you silently.
Amazing start, you cleared your throat—unfaltering. “You know I’ve always wondered what you think about when you make those plays, does it come to you naturally or is there a lot of calculations involved?”
Silence stretched for a moment, before Sae adjusted his hand on his bag unconsciously.
“skill.”
“Oh, well you definitely have a lot of that!” You tried to joke, laughing as Sae just stared.
and stared.
and stared.
“Well! I do hear that you’ve been playing for a while so I’m sure it’s all pretty much engrained by now, huh?”
Sae nodded, stare unwavering. “Flow state.”
“Oh like the meme.”
His brows furrowed slightly, “What?”
“Like the tiktok..meme, like entering flow state?”
“Yeah, flow state.” You smiled, though it was almost glaringly obvious that the two of you were not on the same angle.
“Well, I don’t want to keep you too long in case you’ve got a big celebration plan but I just have a few more questions if you don’t mind, that’s my version of ‘flow’”
“You don’t have to rush.”
He, to your surprise, reassured. You faltered for a moment, biting hack the way your smile threatened to widen enough to make your cheeks burn. “Thank you, that is very kind of you.”
The interview carried on for a another five minutes, and it all came with the same ‘flow’ as it had began. You smile, he stares. You laugh, he stares.
“Okay! Well thank you so much for speaking with me, and putting up with my horrible soccer jokes. But don’t worry, I’ll let you run away now!” You laughed off, turning to the camera. “Sae here is going to be playing again in three weeks in this same arena, so make sure to score a seat..get it? score a..yeah you got it.”
Your hands pulled into your signature peace sign to depart and end the interview, waving your two propped fingers to the camera when Sae mimicked your action. His fingers raised, and though his lips didn’t, it was enough.
The interview went tripple platinum.
As it turns out, fans love Itoshi Sae, and they love you too. Combine the two of you and they’re sufficiently fed, maybe.
GOJOSHOLLOWPURPL6767: DID YOU SEE HOW HE LOOKED AT HER? UGHHH
ITOSHIGOBBLER literally grumpy x sunshine ughh i love then
THUKUNA ao3 writers get to work NOW
> ALLIEMALLIEA already on it 🫡
POPECODYLUVR WHEN HE COPIED HER PEACE SIGN? HE WANTS THAT COOKIE BADDD
SAEMUNCHER it’s the fact he never does interviews but has done three with her, Sae I know what you are
itoshi.sae has followed you
itoshi.sae sent you a message:your soccer jokes were funny.
does anyone else feel that choso is like.. idk how to put this, but like he’s ALWAYS written SO out of character, does that make sense???? IM NOT CRAZY RIGHT??
people infantilize him so much its honestly gross, no he wouldnt act like that bro💔💔
