Showing Up [Chapter 1]

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I'll just have a small segment for my own introduction. I do actually cycle a bunch at this point and I can say that this and a few other shows inspired me to try road biking instead of regular cycling and I have come to enjoy the sport a lot.

When rewatching some of these, I realised how shallow it was and how much of it was not mentioned so part of my intention of writing this is to hopefully let those reading learn just a little more about cycling.

I also wouldn't mind writing your own characters and possible ideas into this since it's also meant for myself to read, let me know if you'd like for it to happen.

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Characters
Onoda Sakamichi
Imaizumi Shunsuke
Teshima Junta
Aoyagi Hajime
Naruko Shoukichi
Kagamihara Kon [OC]

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Vrrr. The humming of the wheels would always  be present at the dusk of the day, when the Sohoku cycling team does their trainings. Students who walk to school and back, will always be able to see the strength of such national-class talents as they zipped up the hills and along the flats like it was nothing.

This... is a story about a rider that was transferred over to the school from overseas. They were just ever so slightly older, at 19 years old. However, attending the same school was no problem due to their country having a slightly slower education system.
Thus, the story of Kon begins.

"Oi, Oi! Hotshot, you going out for the training ride today? Teshima said that there was a surprise for us, knowing him, it'll probably be nasty.", Naruko smacked Imaizumi's back a couple of times as he spoke, with a nonchalant tone. The coolheaded Imaizumi simply glanced at Naruko before pushing his shoulder away, "You are getting too close to me. I will go either way, now that the seniors has graduated, we have no choice but to get stronger for the next inter-high.". Onoda would then butt into the conversation in a rather meek manner, "Errr... Teshima said to come to the ride in the Sohoku team jersey.".
"Why the weird request? Team jersey? I did bring it but...", hearing that their present captain had such a weird request, it was no wonder that they were confused.
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Teshima could be seen with Aoyagi, already fully prepared for the ride. Both of them seemed quite carefree even though the air was tense. This vibe... was the same one as inter-high, like the calm ocean right before a storm.
"Yo. You guys are here, get ready. I've invited some people over for tea time, or specifically, just one for today.", he'd lift his hand up for the tea time gesture, his signature pose as a loud whirring noise could be heard. It was the sound of a full carbon bicycle, the distinct swoosh of the air came from a combination of deep wheels and a stiff carbon frame with the sound reverberating within the frame and then out of it.

"That sound, you either invited a sprinter or a hell of a rider. Going up the rear gate hill with deep wheels.", Imaizumi would smirk and give a look of anticipation as he waited for the mysterious 'attendee' to arrive.
Kon would finally make her way to the top of the hill with an unorthodox set up for her bicycle. It had deep rims and a climber's frame, which didn't make sense to any of them there at first. But then it struck Naruko. The wheels are carbon, which meant that the weight difference in the first place is slim with climber wheels but compared to the frame plays an extremely big role in cutting through the wind. Her set up is the ideal one for those who are all rounders.
"Good evening! I'm kind of late, sorry about it. The hill was much steeper than I thought.", Kon would rest her forearms on the handlebars to take a small break while Teshima welcomed and introduced her. "Welcome Kagamihara Kon. She is a rider from overseas transferring to our school for a year. We'll be racing against her, all six of us.". All of them understood the weight of Teshima's words as he is not the type to exaggerate things. Well, all but one, who was the carefree Onoda.
"Shall we head out? I hope you don't mind me playing my music, I just can't ride hard without it.", with a beep on an electronic device attached to her handlebars, a map would show up on the screen. "I already have the route so no need to worry.".
Naruko did seem quite irritated from the vibe she was giving out naturally, almost like they were being looked down on."Just who is this second hotshot! Hotshot generation 2! Sounding so confident in front of us inter-high winners.".
Teshima would clip into his pedals at the same time as Aoyagi before rolling off first, followed shortly by somewhat cheerful Kon and the rest.
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At the starting point, it would immediately start out with Teshima ordering everyone to stay in a train. "Aoyagi. Let's start. Everyone, make sure you hang on tight! We are six against one!".
Onoda, Naruko and Imaizumi all quickly lined up behind Aoyagi who then already learned of how to mimick his senior's, Tadakoro's, human bullet train. They were fast, very fast, for a high schooler's standard. This was the power of the inter-high champions. However, this only let Aoyagi ride at 38 to 40 km/h if he wanted to sustain it.
Kon would just be riding at her own pace around 33km/h or even slightly lesser, nonchalant about their breakaway as an entire team. It was faint to them but music could be heard coming from Kon's bicycle at where the bottle is supposed to be. She had replaced one of her bottles for a speaker. As the gap opened up to an unbelievable amount, Imaizumi would be questioning Teshima's plan, [Just why would Teshima try so hard to breakaway from someone that isn't really chasing. She seemed quite weak to me.]
"It should be happening soon guys. I guess I should give you a hint first, I have ridden alongside her once but it is obvious when she attacks and how fast she goes.", he'd then tap his ears twice.
This brought the realization to them that there is something playing in the background. Some kind of EDM, with a fast tempo. In no time at all, after that massive breakaway, she would already be back riding beside Aoyagi to give a comment, "You are pretty strong. This pace is considered fast, even for me.". Everyone there except for the year 3s were shocked, perhaps this was the true intention of Teshima. He wanted them to realise that six against one was not him being cautious but a necessity.
With the music blaring so loudly, it was difficult for them to really hear each other or to ignore it. However, as the music got quieter, almost like a wave receding before a tsunami, Teshima would shout at the team "Pedal until your legs give in now!!!". Everyone was caught off guard by the sudden command but mamaged to compose themselves to do it to establish yet another big gap. Both Teshima and Onoda was barely hanging on at thie point, unable to go any faster.

When the music came back, it was even louder, faster and a lot more rough. In a blink of an eye, Kon would already be right beside them again. A momentary lull in the music would happen once again as she sat back down on the saddle, giving them a few seconds to rest. However, this was meant to break a team apart, with the neverending attacks. In just a few seconds, she launched another attack in sync with her music, leaving the team chasing after her again.
Both Onoda and Teshima as climbers could not continue anymore and had to fall back while the rest powered through to Kon who was once again sitting down.
This cycle of torture would repeat itself over and over, almost as if she had infinite stamina. For every time the beat dropped, she'd attack. Like Teshima said earlier, it was as obvious as it can get but it is practically impossible to overtake her. The songs all had so little downtime or rest inbetween the drops that they had to push themselves again right after catching up to Kon.
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Crossing the finish line first, was without a doubt, Kon. Followed up by Imaizumi about a minute behind and the rest, more than three to five minutes. The difference in strength was clear. This was when who Kon really is, was revealed by Teshima. "She is the transfer student with a pro license and is ranked just right below contracted professionals that travel around the world to race. She'd be here with us for the next year or so.".
Imaizumi was still in a daze, gasping for air as he sat on the ground. "Forget Hakone. She is the strongest I've met thus far.". Even the sprinter Naruko was on the floor, unable to take the relentless attacks from her. "Kagamihara-san will be training and having a race every week with us. Prepare yourselves.". Being complacent after winning or becoming a champion is common, and getting Kon to put them in their place and motivate them to grow even more was the motive of inviting her in the first place.
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I hope my writing wasn't too bad and is somewhat enjoyable. Please do pardon me for any bad writing and teach me a little on what I can do.

As the story goes on, I will be introducing new terms and things about cycling that are true to the real world as well. I am doing this as a hobby so it might take a little while to write other chapters.

You've reached the end of published parts.

⏰ Last updated: Oct 24, 2019 ⏰

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