Chapter Text
Hotdogs and taquitos roll endlessly at the Seven Eleven. Jin waits at the counter with a Monster energy drink as the sales clerk grabs a pack of cigarettes. Jin throws a ten down at the table and walks off drink and cigs in hand.
"Hey!" The clerk calls out.
The word shatters Jin's hungover head.
"You want your change?" the clerk kindly asks.
Jin squints at the clerk briefly and then walks off. The clerk shrugs and pockets the money.
Jin walks out to what seems like an endless expanse of white light. It's mid July and the summer sun washes out everything outside. Jin takes a seat on the curb and lights one of the cigarettes, he takes a drag, and then drinks half of the monster in one gulp.
Jin's friends the Torna Crew are hanging outside.
Akhos is on DJ duty playing music from Mikhail's 1989 Volvo Station wagon. The song, Two of Hearts by Stacy Q plays. The song is garbled and full of static but Patroka and Mikhail dance beside the car. Mikhail gets to in the zone and dances in front of Patroka, waving and pumping his arms in her face. Patroka then shoves Mikhail into the Volvo several times, the pain accented by the rigid metal frame of the car.
"So how was your night"
Jin jumps not expecting the sudden question. He turns and to find Nia already sitting on the curb next to him.
"How long have you been there?" Jin asks. He presses two fingers onto his forehead trying to alleviate the pressure.
"You sat next to me you doof"
Jin rubs his eyes and drinks the rest of his Monster. He tries to remember the night before. All that he can recall is a flurry of color and loud electronic music. Bodies and unfamiliar faces.
"Did you black out again?"
Jin snaps back to reality "No, well not all the way…".
"Jin, look check this out" its Mikhail, he is wearing a sleeveless black shirt with massive choppy holes for the arms exposing most of his torso. He poses multiple times.
"Ok, what am I checking out?" Jin says.
"You know how I said I had no summer clothes"
"What?" "You did?" Nia and Jin look at Mikhail confused.
"Well I did, so I made my own" Mikhail poses again lifting his arms over his head.
"Those holes big enough for you" Nia's words break Mikhail's composure.
"Actually I cut the arms for optimal summer cooling" the shirt exposes a nipple.
The Vovlo's car horn then goes off in rapid succession.
"What are you all doing?! Let's not be late for registration for once" Patroka yells over the parking lot. Mikhail yells back taunting Patroka. All the noise takes out all of Jin's senses like a flashbang. His vision goes out as an overwhelming ringing sound blows out his head.
An hour or so pass, they are on the road packed into the Volvo. Mikhail drives while Alkhos sits shotgun. Nia sits in the middle between Patroka and the still comatose Jin.
Patroka unplugs Akhos phone stopping the music.
"You said you downloaded tunes, that was like four songs" Patroka yanks the aux cord frustrated.
"The app said the drive would take less than thirty minutes" Akhos scoffs. The car sits motionless stuck in dense freeway traffic.
Patroka finally manages to plug the cord into her phone. She plays a song but nothing comes out the speakers.
"What gives"
Patroka unplugs and plugs the cord back in.
"It looks like the cassette came loose"
Mikhail ejects and then reinserts a cassette into his car's stereo. It's an adaptor, that the cord aux cord plugs into.
"Wow I have never fully comprehended how crappy your car was until right now".
Patroka's words ignite a rage in Mikhail.
"I don't see you offering to drive".
They glare at each other through the rear view mirror.
"I'll drive but you fucks aren't allowed into my car again… well except Nia"
Nia smiles "Yeah that does sound a whole lot better, ditch these guys a drive something from this century".
Groggy and struggling to get the words out Jin asks "What did I do?".
"You ruined the backseats!"
"You don't remember the stains, a couple of weeks ago... did you blackout?" Nia prys.
Jin tries to recall but the memories can't surface over Jin's headache.
Patroka's music finally comes on and the moment passes. Akhos sulks while Patroka chooses the playlist. The car finally starts moving as the traffic finally decongestants.
The Torna group finally reach the venue, its a large manor like house and several people are gathered out front.
"I think I've been here before" Patroka says as they all approach the house. They walk inside to find Zeke and Pandoria sitting at a table at the entrance. Pandoria is hard at work on a laptop setting up the brackets and registering everyone. Zeke insists on talking to everyone that comes in whether they like it or not.
"Hey guys glad you could make it" Pandoria waves at the Torna group to come.
"We registered online before we got here" Patroka tries to say nicely.
Pandoria diligently focused finds everyone.
"Yep, looks like your all here… wait Jin what's your tag this time"
"Sole"
"Soul?"
"Sole like solo"
Pandoria confused looks back at Jin and shakes her head.
Zeke peeks over at Pandoria's computer.
"Gentlemen, it appears you registered yourself as 'swole' not sole"
"Zeke is right, looks like you registered yourself as 'swole'" Pandoria vigorously clicks around the screen.
"Don't worry about it" Jin says squinting through a headache.
"Looks like your 'swole' for tonight" Mikhail slaps Jin's back and laughs.
Though the slap was playful it feels like a baseball bat was taken to the side of Jin's head. Jin wanders off with a groan.
Everyone is briefly confused.
"Well we got some setups and snacks in the back, help yourself, its gonna be a little bit until we're set up" Pandoria gets right back to work on her laptop.
The Tornas start to meander away but then Zeke calls out to Mikhail.
"Hey chum, sick tank"
Mikail turns around.
"Thanks bro" Mikhail smiles at Zeke.
"Where you get it? I've never seen a cut for the arms like that" Zeke stands up and places his hand on his chin admiring the cut.
"That's my handywork, its a cut I invented"
"Intriguing"
Zeke starts fidgeting with his short sleeve shirt, its tight and clings to his body.
"Bro, let me show you" Mikhail places a friendly arm over Zeke's shoulder. The two walk away together, Mikhail shows off a pair of scissors in his pocket while they walk into the bathroom.
Pandoria looks up from her laptop.
"That was quick, they better not make a mess"
Thump!
Two hands slam onto the table. Its Malos wearing a snapback.
"I'm here to register"
"Alright that will be ten dollars also whats your tag?"
"The tags 'wreck' and how about no dollars"
"Uhhh. No, you gotta pay"
"Is there a student discount?" A child asks behind Malos. Malos moves to the side its Rex.
"Hey there?" worry fills Pandoria.
"Who's kid is this? Who brought a kid?" Pandoria calls out to the room.
"I came to register, my mom dropped me off"
Rex shows his ten dollars and his Link themed Gamecube controller that plugs into a Wiimote.
"That's not legal" arrogance fills Malos's voice.
Pandoria is left scratching her head as Malos explains Smash tournament rules.
Should I not let either of them in? But, ten dollars is ten dollars though.
" Hey what's your tag" Pandoria gestures for Rex to come closer.
Malos begrudgingly takes out his wallet. As Rex registers.
"Who's the money even going to huh?"
Malos slams the money on the table.
"Well half goes to host, thank Sheeba for letting us use her place, and then the other half goes to the prize money". Pandoria places the bills into a box under the table. She gets back to work, ignoring the two. They walk away.
Behind the table and Pandoria is a large living room, with a connected dining room. The dining room tables has been put away, several televisions are hooked up to Nintendo Switches all playing Smash Ultimate. Couches have been moved and dining room chairs have been all arranged to face a TV. Despite all the setups the attendance is light.
"Pandy the stream is ready"
It's Adenine assisting Pandoria with the tournament.
"Good let's get going then"
Jin still in a haze from the night before battles with his surroundings. The lights are way to bright and it feels like the room is spinning. He sits in front of one of the set ups with Nia. He rubs his eyes as his vision comes back to him. Nia is talking to two women.
Its Brighid and Morag who is sitting behind her, offering support and shoulder rubs. Morag wipes the non existent sweat off of Brighid’s head, she notices Jin wallowing.
"Is he ok"
"He's fine, he's just dying" Nia laughs.
Pandoria approaches with a laptop in hand.
"Where your friend? He's about to be on"
Everyone looks at each other confused.
"I just saw him in the bathroom"
Its Malos again. He gives Jin a firm slap to the back.
"Really?! Still?"
Jin stands up.
"I'll get him".
All this noise was starting to be too much for him anyway. Jin walks around strangers and chairs making his way to the back where the bathrooms are.
He steps inside to find Zeke and Mikhail standing shirtless in the bathroom. The bathroom is tiny so the two huddle together as they look at themselves in the mirror. In their hands are the tattered remains of their shirts.
"Mikhail your sets about to start"
Jin immediately steps out of the bathroom.
Half a minute later Zeke and Mikhail walk out together. Zeke's shirt is now shredded with several rough cuts, and huge holes for the arms that reach the bottom inseam of the shirt.
Mikhail rushes to his set, while Zeke lingers around Jin.
Zeke looks at Jin and says "What do you think?".
"It looks… well ventilated"
Jin walks walks away but Zeke follows attempting to carry on the conversation.
"Exactly, the freedom of movement is amazing and with these holes there's enough air circulation that I will never sweat….. Your friend do you think he does special orders I wouldn't mind modifying more of my wardrobe ..."
Zeke keeps talking as Jin eventually takes a seat next to Nia, Morag, and Brighid again.
"B, B, Up B, Up B, wave dash, quarter A" Morag yells commands behind Brighid while she presses random buttons and inputs on her controller.
Patroka stands in front of the two.
"So where are you two heading after this"
Morag points to Brighid while looking directly at Patroka.
"Your place"
Patroka raises a curious eyebrow.
"Nooo, I meant Brighid’s place, not your place"
As Morag stumbles over her words Brighid and Patroka playfully point finger guns at each other, messing with Morag.
"Binch, spelled B-I-N-C-H, your on"
Adenine walks by calling for a "Binch" looking for the next competitor.
"Looks like I'm next, I'll see you later" Patroka walks away with a confident strut.
The tournament continues into the evening, with the crowd becoming thinner and thinner as people get knocked out. The Torna Crew would have left earlier but Nia is about to be in the semi-finals.
As Nia destroys her opponent an uproar builds in the back. Malos and Rex are arguing with each other, taunting and slinging insults. The remaining audience, Pandoria hosting the stream and even Nia stop briefly as the argument intensifies.
Adenine whispers to Pandoria.
"Should we do something"
"If he starts throwing hands with a kid then I'm calling the cops. Don't worry I can handle this"
Pandoria adjusts the audio levels so their arguing can't be heard on stream. Adenine crosses out "All Ages" from their flyer.
"Alright money match, when we go to finals winner takes all the money"
"Your on, I got nine dollars and a coupon for a free personal pizza from Pizza Hut"
Rex pulls out his meager offings from a Pokemon themed wallet.
"That Pizza is as good as mine"
Malos offers a handshake to Rex solidifying their deal and the two shake on it.
Nia wins going onto Loser's Finals. Somehow Rex cheesed his way through the bracket making his way to fight Nia.
Malos is up against Brighid in the Winners Finals. Their feud rages on despite everything else going on and the lack of interest from others. Completely assured that they would face each other in the finals they get absolutely demolished by Nia and Brighid. Nia four stocks Rex with skillful Wolf play, and Brighid bullies Malos by only finishing his stocks with Jigglypuff's rest.
It's a bloodbath.
Now onto grand finals Nia and Brighid prepare to fight each other. Morag and the Torna Crew are the only one's remaining. They center around the final match while Pandoria makes Zeke start putting the setups away.
Meanwhile, the defeat only fuels the flame of Malos and Rexs' feud. Everyone else is over it and ready to tell Malos to stop bullying a highschooler.
"Hey there has to be one more match right"
"Yeah third place or something"
Malos and Rex plead with Pandoria, but behind her laptop she glares at them. They have been the biggest hassle of this tournament, but looking at these two she sees an opportunity.
"Ok you can do you money match… On stream! But you have to stay and clean"
"Sure"
"Of course"
Pandoria clasp her hand and smiles, the biggest pain should now be taken care of. Cleanup.
"Sheeba has very high standards of cleanliness, so don't make me regret this"
Malos and Rex hurry over to help Zeke carry away a large TV.
Brighid and Nias' game is close but Brighid walks away the victor. The pot, a cool eighty dollars and a Kirby Amiibo are now Brighid’s.
Everything winds down after the final game with everyone eager to leave.
As people begin to meander out of the house and say their goodbyes Malos calls out.
"Everyone come look, I'm about to win a pizza"
No one bothers but Pandoria who agreed to keep the stream going.
"This time I'm going with my real main"
Rex selects Link, he then chooses the Fierce Deity color palate.
"Alright same goes for me"
Malos hesitates but in an instant Malos selects "Dark Link" as his fighter.
Pandoria rubs her head while the two roll around the stage. Adenine with a ginger ale in one hand and a beer in the other hand.
"Well at least it's clean"
Adenine hands Pandoria the beer.
Outside the Torna Group gathers outside the Volvo waiting for Mikhail.
"He better not be in the bathroom again" Akhos says trying to open the door.
They look around themselves but Mikhail is nowhere to be found. Suddenly, Mikhail walks out of the house. His jeans have now been cut into jorts.
"What the hell"
"What happened to your pants?"
"You like it, me and Zeke are going to reinvent the fashion industry"
Everyone shakes their head.
"Just drive us home" Jin says with a groan.
Despite all this time his hangover remains.
They all hop into the car but before Patroka gets in she receives a friendly tap on the shoulder.
"So you coming?"
It's Brighid and Morag holding their new Kirby friend.
"With, with you?!"
"Of course, you gotta ride though?" Brighid asks putting on a motorcycle helmet.
"I'm afraid we only got space for two" Morag adds putting on a helmet of her own.
Brighid hops onto a motorcycle. Morag gets on behind her and firmly grabs Brighid’s waist.
"I came with these guys, I'm getting a ride with them"
Pandoria points and the junky Volvo.
Brighid opens up the visor of her helmet.
"That's too bad"
Brighid starts the engine and skids out before speeding off with Morag.
Patroka takes her seat in the car. An angry scowl on her face.
"What was that?" Akhos asks.
"I was about to have a threesome"
Patroka slumps defeated in her seat.
"Well that was fun"
Mikhail then starts the car but then the whole car suddenly shakes. Everyone looks back to find Malos shaking the back of the car.
"Where are you guys going? Do you wanna hang? I got this pizza coupon"
The Torna Crew silently and mutually decide to not let him in.
"Guys… guys… guys…" Malos says tapping on their back window. Mikhail rolls up the windows as they back out of the place.
"Hey guys where we going?" Malos says as he opens up the back window latch.
"Holy crap" Mikhail in a panic speeds out, knocking Malos to the ground. The Torna Crew share a collective sigh of relief speeding onward to dance in front of more convenience stores.