Kick It To The Wind (Riana)

[Deleted]

Naozumi didn't always go to the track meets. In all honesty, he thought it was unfair to the other members; a person with super speed on the team gave him an unfair advantage, he decided. Maybe some of the other members had said so as well when he told them what his power was. Nao...didn't like feeling like he was being excluded over something that he didn't help. So he kept away for the most part, showing up according to his own particular schedule to ensure that he participated enough to still be considered a member of the team.

One of the reasons he enjoyed track was because it game him another venue to practice his power. Moving at normal speed was typically very slow for the meta boy, but when he used his power, it typically went straight into overdrive at maximum speed. That proved difficult to control if he wasn't paying attention, especially for a perpetually absent-minded person as Naozumi. So he liked to practice doing the track runs while adjusting his speed slowly each time and trying to maintain the constant speed. There was also learning how to time his stops - inertia was difficult to calculate when slowing down - how to keep his eyes out for obstacles, and how to pace himself so he didn't use up all of his stamina. When he did that, his hunger usually went through the roof. Sometimes it got so bad, he was never certain he could get to the lunchroom in time to satiate his stomach pangs.

Today, however, he was interested in something else. Nao was surprised that he hadn't heard about this girl earlier, it was the same people who gave him a hard time about being on the team that finally informed him. Riana...that was her name, right? At least, that's what he thought he heard. They'd pointed her out to him before. Naozumi may not be terribly good with names, but he could at least remember a face, or at least that's what he thought. Nao, dressed in his track gear - a pair of shorts and white shirt - stepped forward once he had found her on the field. "Hello," he said hesitantly. Naozumi was so nervous, his heart was about to burst out of his chest. His face, unfortunately, failed to reflect that, being as static as it naturally was when at rest. Or when he was actively trying to hide his nervousness. "Are you Riana?" he asked, looking upon her with that blank face.

[Riana Skye]

Having just finished a 100m sprint, Riana couldn't help but feel frusterated. Her super speed was actually making her track times worse. Back in Texas, Riana had been a great sprinter. She had loved track. Here at Hammel, Riana was trying to continue in the sport she loved, but her powers kept messing her up.

It was a matter of pride. Riana had been fast before receiving her powers, and she wanted to prove, both to herself and to others, that she was still athletic with her powers. Riana went to track practice as much as possible, and throughout every one, she held back. Riana tried to run as fast as she could without activating her powers. It was a difficult spot to find. Riana was used to giving it her all, but now she had to strike a balance. Try too hard and not only would she quickly tire herself out, but people would credit her accomploshments to her super speed. Try too little, and Riana wouldn't run as fast as she did before having powers. The entire principle of it was stupid.

Riana was wearing black shorts and a yellow running top. When she was resting, which she was currently doing, Riana wore a light track jacket that said "District Champion: 2014". She was busy gulping down water when a blank-faced boy greeted her.

"Hey. Yep I'm Riana. You are?"

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Nao disliked having to search for the balance between trying his best and using his power. He didn’t like unfairness himself, so he could understand where the other members of the team were coming from. It was times like this that he wished that Xun, another with enhanced speed, was also on the track team. Then they could run together. Ray was, but they’d already had that contest once before and with unfortunate results. Nao still had to make time for them to try again, though. He wanted to see more of what Ray could do with his wings.

It was for this that he was happy to have heard about Riana, even though it didn’t show much. A faint smile appeared on his lips when the girl confirmed her identity. “I’m Naozumi,” he introduced himself right away, and then, caught up in his stoic excitement, Nao immediately continued onto, “Would you like to race?” He offered no other explanation, his reasons being lost behind his nervousness.

[Riana Skye]

The boy smiled a little, prompting Riana to offer a small smile in return. She wasn't sure why he was talking to her in the middle of practice, didn't they both have work to do?

Naozumi soon made his intentions known. Riana was a little taken back by his unexplained bluntness, but she didn't let it show. If he wanted a race, she would give him a race. She just needed to inform him what he was getting into.

"Sure I'll race. Warning though, my meta thing is super speed".

[Deleted]

Nao’s slight smile extended into a small smile as the girl Riana accepted his challenge. In truth, Nao was not a competitive person. He didn’t care what the outcome of this race was, just that they got to do it and see what the result was. His intention was to share an experience with someone who held a similar power and to see if there were similarities or differences between the two. And then after, perhaps gain a friend with whom he could share the burden of controlling such a power.

“That’s okay,” he said with a nod. “Mine is too.”

Yes, yes, this was good. This was going well, Nao was super glad he had the courage to come up and ask her, so glad that his small smile widened into a small smirk. “I wanted to see which of us is faster,” he added.

[Riana Skye]

Riana smiled wide. Not only was Naozumi smiling more, but he had super speed too! Riana didn't have to hold back. She could go as fast as she could against Naozumi, and there would be nothing saying that she only won because of her powers. This was great.

In response to his smirk, Riana answered with false seriousness:

"Obviously I'm faster".

She smiled to show she was kidding.

[Deleted]

Naozumi’s smile faded as Riana instantly declared that she was faster. How did she know? They hadn’t even raced yet. And why was she smiling like that?

“I think we should race first before deciding that,” he said innocently. Because that’s what made sense, right?

But the real question was what the course would be. Should it be around town or just around the track? Should they get someone to referee? “We should use the track,” he decided. “How many times do you think you can run it?” Nao didn’t know what her stamina was like. His wasn’t very good either, but he wanted to see if there was a middle ground they could find to determine the course and parameters.