Welcome back, my lovely reader!
I've got a pretty chunky episode for you this time, lovely! What can I say? I was inspired I suppose. Regardless Hiroshi is doing alright now it seems, especially with Kai helping him with recovery.
There's a lot going on this episode and it's going to be a pretty wild ride, but stick it out and I think you'll have a nice saucy scene at the end with our favorite sibling trio!
Let's jump right in!
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Episode 9:
Pride and Glory
Kai peered down over Hiroshi as the buck lay across the bench. "C'mon, one more, give me one more!" The leopard hissed out, his gloved paws hovering over the bar.
"Fu- You're gonna make me break my fucking arm before I even get back on the pipe tomorrow!" Hiroshi snarled back, but his paws tightened their grip as he puffed his cheeks out and strained to heft the bar up one more time, the weights on the ends clinking a little.
"You'll be fine you big baby!" Kai mewed out as his own paws grabbed the bar once it was high enough, pulling it back to rack it. Hiroshi just flopped his arms down while panting.
After sitting up and taking a drink from his sports bottle, the buck grumbled as he pushed his wet locks of hair out of his face. "Are we done yet?"
"Nope! We still gotta go for a run!" Kai called back to him with a grin before hopping a few times on his own footpaws that were already in running shoes.
"It's below freezing out there and sleeting." Hiroshi sighed as he looked out at the frost covered window pane.
"We board in below freezing all the time, just make sure you wear your slip resistant shoes!" The leopard grinned as he thrust a gloved paw out to the buck.
"I think you're just trying to kill me before tomorrow." Hiroshi spoke dryly as he gripped the slightly larger paw and stood from the bench, his arms still feeling like gelatin.
"Mwa ha ha! You've seen through my devious master plan a moment too late, Mr Yukazama!" Kai cackled out in his best spy-movie villain voice, then gave the buck a smirk. "Get your shoes on, man."
The first thing Hiroshi did when he got back in was sling his jacket off, the thermals doing a good job to wick away the sweat from his fur as he heaved and put both paws on his hips, slowly pacing, knowing better than to double over or he'd throw up.
"Heh... it's only been two weeks, already that out of it, man?" Kai called out as he panted himself, but not nearly as labored, calmly tugging his own jacket off.
"You said a mile... that was like... three..." The buck panted out before finding his bottle and drinking from it.
"Uh huh... you'll thank me working all the injury kinks out now, vs you feeling them halfway through the competition tomorrow!" Kai shoved his thumb into his own chest. "I've gotta push you hard now, so you'll be limbered up and ready to lose to me tomorrow!"
"We'll see about that." Hiroshi fired back in that cool tone of his, but still had a light pant on his breath.
"Heh... that's the spirit!" Kai mewed out and threw his fist forward.
Hiroshi just rolled his eyes as he knocked his fist with the leopards. "Thanks..."
"It's no big deal, I kind of feel responsible anyway. I got you using an X3, I also whipped you up with my shit-talk that day. Least I can do is help you bounce back." He gave a shrug before moving for his own bottle of water.
"Yeah? Well, trash talk is part of the game. I should have kept my head level. Still, I appreciate you being such a good... friend." Hiroshi hesitated on that last word.
"We're all your friends, Roshi. You don't have to stay so closed off. Look at Madeline and Kayla. They're absolute monsters because their feelings fuel their own competitive spirit, just like with me and them! We all care about one another, so we try our best to challenge one another!" Kai gave a jovial laugh then shrugged again with a smile.
"You almost make it sound like you're also dating Madeline, Kai." Hiroshi huffed out casually.
"Ha! I wish! You seen the ass on that bunny?" Kai fired back with a snarky grin. He'd been working on his deflections since the Raul incident a few weeks ago. He knew it wasn't just his twin's career but his bunny-sister's too that could be put at risk if it got out, so he made his mind up to put the effort in to protect both of them.
"Yeah? I don't really pay the girls or the boys much mind." Hiroshi shrugged.
"Nothing wrong with that, man. Life's not all about chasing tail and adding notches to your bedpost like Jarome!" Kai gave another chuckle as he rolled his shoulder.
Hiroshi just snarled at the mention of Jarome and picked up his phone, just staring at the lock screen. Kai frowned and moved his paws to his own hips. "Roshi, what are you gonna do after you one-up your Mom?"
The buck frowned as he looked over at the larger boy then shrugged. "I don't know, and honestly, that scares me a little. Maybe I'll just retire and go be an instructor or something."
"Hey, do you even enjoy boarding?" Kai took a seat on one of the benches in the Altima gym area and looked up at Hiroshi.
He folded his arms, rubbing under his muzzle in thought. "It's complicated... the air and tricks are exhilarating when I'm in the zone, but a lot of times I just feel like I'm on autopilot unless I'm being pushed. Truth be told, I'm actually not very competitive with anyone but myself, so-"
"Hey!" Kai interrupted him with a lifted finger. "What about slopestyle or a big air style?"
Hiroshi slowly blinked at the cat, processing things. Slopestyle was a lot like freestyle skateboarding. You would grind on course obstacles, still would hit hills for tricks too, but it was a very different beast compared to half-pipe. Big air was as the name implied, where you just built up a lot of speed for one jump and just went as crazy as you could before you had to stick the landing.
He shook his head and sighed at him, "Kai, those are usually their own things. It's rare that-"
"Madeline does all three, and Kayla is thinking about getting into slope-style. I've thought about trying slope myself. I used to love trick riding on my skateboard as a kit!" Kai offered the buck a grin.
"Madeline is a savant, and your sister hasn't actually done it yet. Most riders need to stick to one style for a reason, Kai." Hiroshi's voice took on an edge as he folded his arms.
"Things like prodigies and savants? I call bullshit on those terms, man. It's all about how much effort and time you're willing to sink into it. Sure, you need to have the time and equipment for it, but if you've got the means, anyone can be a savant with enough effort!" Kai fired back and cocked a brow.
Hiroshi glared at him, then sighed and put a paw on his own hip. "What are you getting at, Kai?"
"Your mom just did half-pipe. Groomed you for surpassing her in that, yeah? Sure you could follow your prescribed destiny, but wouldn't it be cool to get to the olympics doing other stuff too? Sure Mom you got a half-pipe medal, but I got medals in multiple sports, on my own terms!"
Hiroshi perked his ears at that and Kai could see his eyes darting about, as if he were processing things. "I... do really like going fast on the board... that's probably my favorite part."
"Ha! Sounds like you need to start practicing your high speed turns and flag dodging then!" Kai hissed out as he stood and clenched his fists.
Hiroshi cocked a brow. "Are you proposing I look into the slalom competition? That's very different from half-pipe, Kai."
"Exactly! It's snowboarding, but very different, and something totally different than what mommy-dearest groomed you for! Have you ever even tried it?" Kai perked his ears.
"Uh... I've not. Mother wanted me focusing on tricks and air. I distinctly remember as a fawn I wanted to once and she told me it was a waste of ... time." Hiroshi looked up at Kai, his eyes looking clearer.
"There you go then. Keep doing what you do, but let's talk to Altima about getting you a Slipstream in your paws so you can start practicing before the next games!" Kai mewed out excitedly.
Snowboards are just like many other athletic tools. Different ones are used for different styles of competition. You'd not try to figure skate on hockey skates for example. Nor would you try to play baseball in soccer cleats.
Hiroshi sighed at the leopard, "Kai, I appreciate your enthusiasm, and I like this idea, but the Olympics are next year, I can't poss-"
"You'll be fine! I like going fast too, my mom used to joke around that I should have been born a hedgehog! We'll start training together and both get in, then I'll ride your tail to do your best all the way to the podium!" He offered the buck that challenging grin he always did when it was about competition.
Hiroshi offered a small smile at that and shook his head. "I feel we both are overestimating ourselves, but... alright. Let me see how I hold up in tomorrow's competition, and we'll go from there."
"Shake on it!" Kai thrust his paw out, the buck cocking a brow but shoving his gloved paw into the larger one before him, both the boys giving a few firm shakes before parting grips.
