[Drabble] Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
Yara/Yamamoto
604 words, PG, random AU
Title is thanks to the blast. :| You know who you are.
Yamamoto held his breath as he shifted, leaning his body forward until he was crawling in mid-air. He hung a precarious five feet above the ground, moving slow so as not to imbalance himself, ruining his efforts.
“Okay,” he finally breathed, relaxing.
But evidently Yamamoto had spoke too soon, quickly losing his grip on the air and plummeting to the ground. He hit the mat with a grunt, the breath getting knocked out of him, and then lay there, feeling defeated. No matter how many times he tried, he just couldn’t get it to work the way he knew it was supposed to. That he was the only student in his class still unable to manipulate the air around his entire body - and therefore unable to pass - only frustrated him further.
Somewhere above him, someone chuckled, the sound warm and familiar. “That was quite a spill there, Ryo-chan. You okay?”
Flushing, Yamamoto scrambled to his feet, embarrassed at being caught falling out of the air by his favorite senpai. “Yaracchi! I’m fine,” he quickly added, smoothing at his canvas uniform.
Eyebrow raised as he surveyed Yamamoto, Yara pushed away from the pillar he’d been leaning on, stepping his way carefully over to Yamamoto. “Whoa, Ryouta, you look like you got put through the wringer… Tell me you haven’t been here since classes dismissed.”
Unwilling to lie, Yamamoto just bit his lip, staring at the blue of the mat beneath his feet.
“That’s over four hours,” Yara sighed, resting a hand on Yamamoto’s shoulder and guiding him off the mats. “C’mon, let’s sit down.”
“Ryouta,” he continued, once they were seated on the nearest bench, hand still on Yamamoto’s shoulder, forcing Yamamoto to meet his steady gaze and serious eyes, “your body can’t handle that much strain all at once, you know you can’t push yourself like that.”
“But…” Yamamoto slumped. Yara was his favorite mentor and it was embarrassing to have been caught as such a moment when Yamamoto tried his best to keep up. It didn’t matter that Yara was nearly initiated, had joined years before him, he just wanted Yara to know he was good too. “I can’t pass until I have full body air control.”
“It’ll be harder for you,” Yara said, shrugging. “You’re too much like me, you need to work with something solid, something tangible.” When Yamamoto’s expression remained glum, Yara kicked him gently. “Hey… did you know it took me nearly a year to pass my exams?”
“What?” Yamamoto gasped at the incredulity. “No way!” The idea of taking even a month to pass the first level exams was bad enough, but an entire year? “That’s impossible!” Yara was one of the top mentors, there was no way that was true.
Yara ruffled his hair, laughing. “Not impossible. I had a hard time with that trick too and it took a lot of basic air training before I mastered it. These things happen, Ryo-chan, and you just have to keep moving forward with it… but you can’t push yourself too hard because that isn’t progress. You’re good, you’ll get the hang of it.”
When Yamamoto met Yara’s gaze again, Yara was smiling and Yamamoto vaguely wondered if he’d somehow managed to float a couple of inches off the ground.
“C’mon, Ryouta,” Yara said, hand warm against Yamamoto’s wrist as he pulled him upright. “Why don’t you go get cleaned up. If you’re quick,” and there was a playful dance of merriment in Yara’s eyes as he spoke, “then maybe I’ll take you out for dinner.”
Yamamoto tried not to race back to his locker. “Be right there, Yaracchi~!”
Yara/Yamamoto
604 words, PG, random AU
Title is thanks to the blast. :| You know who you are.
Yamamoto held his breath as he shifted, leaning his body forward until he was crawling in mid-air. He hung a precarious five feet above the ground, moving slow so as not to imbalance himself, ruining his efforts.
“Okay,” he finally breathed, relaxing.
But evidently Yamamoto had spoke too soon, quickly losing his grip on the air and plummeting to the ground. He hit the mat with a grunt, the breath getting knocked out of him, and then lay there, feeling defeated. No matter how many times he tried, he just couldn’t get it to work the way he knew it was supposed to. That he was the only student in his class still unable to manipulate the air around his entire body - and therefore unable to pass - only frustrated him further.
Somewhere above him, someone chuckled, the sound warm and familiar. “That was quite a spill there, Ryo-chan. You okay?”
Flushing, Yamamoto scrambled to his feet, embarrassed at being caught falling out of the air by his favorite senpai. “Yaracchi! I’m fine,” he quickly added, smoothing at his canvas uniform.
Eyebrow raised as he surveyed Yamamoto, Yara pushed away from the pillar he’d been leaning on, stepping his way carefully over to Yamamoto. “Whoa, Ryouta, you look like you got put through the wringer… Tell me you haven’t been here since classes dismissed.”
Unwilling to lie, Yamamoto just bit his lip, staring at the blue of the mat beneath his feet.
“That’s over four hours,” Yara sighed, resting a hand on Yamamoto’s shoulder and guiding him off the mats. “C’mon, let’s sit down.”
“Ryouta,” he continued, once they were seated on the nearest bench, hand still on Yamamoto’s shoulder, forcing Yamamoto to meet his steady gaze and serious eyes, “your body can’t handle that much strain all at once, you know you can’t push yourself like that.”
“But…” Yamamoto slumped. Yara was his favorite mentor and it was embarrassing to have been caught as such a moment when Yamamoto tried his best to keep up. It didn’t matter that Yara was nearly initiated, had joined years before him, he just wanted Yara to know he was good too. “I can’t pass until I have full body air control.”
“It’ll be harder for you,” Yara said, shrugging. “You’re too much like me, you need to work with something solid, something tangible.” When Yamamoto’s expression remained glum, Yara kicked him gently. “Hey… did you know it took me nearly a year to pass my exams?”
“What?” Yamamoto gasped at the incredulity. “No way!” The idea of taking even a month to pass the first level exams was bad enough, but an entire year? “That’s impossible!” Yara was one of the top mentors, there was no way that was true.
Yara ruffled his hair, laughing. “Not impossible. I had a hard time with that trick too and it took a lot of basic air training before I mastered it. These things happen, Ryo-chan, and you just have to keep moving forward with it… but you can’t push yourself too hard because that isn’t progress. You’re good, you’ll get the hang of it.”
When Yamamoto met Yara’s gaze again, Yara was smiling and Yamamoto vaguely wondered if he’d somehow managed to float a couple of inches off the ground.
“C’mon, Ryouta,” Yara said, hand warm against Yamamoto’s wrist as he pulled him upright. “Why don’t you go get cleaned up. If you’re quick,” and there was a playful dance of merriment in Yara’s eyes as he spoke, “then maybe I’ll take you out for dinner.”
Yamamoto tried not to race back to his locker. “Be right there, Yaracchi~!”