Step City

It wasn’t often that Hide ventured into the Orange District. Truth be told, he never really had a reason, until now. He’d dressed down somewhat, not quite trying to go incognito, but at the very least looking to draw less attention– his jacket is black with a few studs at the shoulders and his sunglasses were much more plain than usual (though they were still brand name, of course). Still, a bit conspicuous since it was actually nighttime.

The area around The Hub was still inhabited by what seemed to be the last line of defense for the metalheads in UG, not wanting to give up ‘their territory’ without a real fight. They’d get it soon enough, if they didn’t convert. Some of their remaining, smaller venues would be a great fit for new Mafia hotspots once they were cleared and remodeled. A few spots would even make nice additional housing… and that old pizza place could become a pizza place that was actually good. Of course, everything was hypothetical. Nina certainly didn’t order him to location scout (he can’t remember the last time Nina ordered anyone to do anything), so as far as anyone else knew, he was just taking a stroll.

A few people glanced at him as they walked by. Hide almost wanted to be seen, just enough to plant some thought seeds into UG’s residents. If they saw him scouting around the south, no one would suspect an attack further north… When the time came, of course. He waves at one of the people watching him and smiles passive-aggressively before continuing on about his business, making mental notes of all the various venue locations.

It was rare for Steven to be alerted to possible confrontations along the boarder that separated the south side of the Orange district FM were squatting on at the moment unless they were substantial. Red Button, an app designed by Lynne whilst he was away, dealt with most of the scuffle and pitiable attempts of FM as they tried to steal more of UG’s land.

However, if a situation needed a certain ‘delicate touch’, Steven could go if it was necessary. Of course, he would of sent an MC in the past, but he was still deliberating on who to pick… Spilt milk, hindsight and all that, when Steven got the message through that a barely disguised new FM Boss was just blatantly just stalking around his turf and probably being an absolute jagoff, who was Steven to deny a humble request to come deal with this problem personally?

---

It didn’t take long to find this Hide. Steven had a continuous feed of ‘last seen on this street’ lighting up his phone from concerned UG citizens. And it probably wouldn’t take long for the Mafioso to find him either, since he was cladded in a brightly gradient romper, overly large gradient puffer jacket and his complementary kicks to match. The last time he showed this much leg around an FM Boss seemed to have quite effect, so why not go for a twofer?

He ran a hand thorough his thick, loose curls as he shoved his phone into his jacket, slightly jogged across the street to catch up with the surprisingly shorter man to surprise him first, voice low and sweet as he pulled up right beside them and walked in tandem.

“Alright? Think you're a bit lost, mate. Need some help?”

Hide hears as someone is approaching him from behind, so when Steven speaks up, he doesn’t even flinch. He just keeps walking in the same direction, stopping after a few moments to look at another venue. He holds his hands up in a mock picture frame gesture, smiling as he looks through his fingers and imagines what the place might look like in a new light.

Once we was done with his little trip to imagination station, he puts his hands down and nonchalantly turns to look at Steven.

“Hello, sorry...! Did you say something to me… mate?” He smiles. “Something about being lost…. Oh, right. Yeah, I’m not lost. Thanks for the concern though, Martin.”

He squints and tilts his head, a wicked sort of smile making a home on his lips.

“Or was it Steven, now?”

“Martin? I haven’t heard that name in a while.” Steven laughed as he elbowed the shorter man with a padded elbow, not really caring if he was rough or not.

“But yeah, it’s Steven. Always have been, always will be. And you’re er…” He paused for a moment as he stepped ahead of Hide and walked backward, face scrunched up in mock thought as he looked the blonde man up and down.

“Nina’s new little lackey! Wow, congrats~” He said in a high-pitched and nasally voice as he gave a little golf clap. Even though he did know this little man’s name and now got a good look at his face, it wasn’t clicking who this person was at all.

“Were you… one of Martin's fans ~?

“You could say that,” Hide replies, continuing to walk and brushing off his side where Steven elbowed him. “More like a friend, though. A supporter, I suppose. Bought some of his original prints, helped him paint at night when it was dark, you know. The works.”

As they pass one of the streetlights, Hide does a little spin-and-stop to lean up against the lamp post, aiming the light directly at Steven like a spotlight. He crosses his arms.

“Real useful to have a buddy that can light up your canvas, eh?” He scoffs. “Those original prints made great starters in my fireplace, by the way. I hope everyone else got as much use out of them as I did!”

“Awww, how embarrassing for you~” Steven pouted, his eyebrows quirked up sadly as he trailed a finger from his eye and down his cheek just to let Hide know how really broken up he was about all of this.

“You must of been just so fucking sad when Martin disappeared~ Especially if you only burnt those prints now.”

Steven stopped under light, glowing eyes peered up at the bright beam as something came loose in his memories. But not loose enough to stop the ball from rolling.

“Awwww, we can start again if you want~? Start fresh. Like what do I call you?” He hummed as he motioned his hands in Hide’s direction, as if to waft the smell of Hide’s bouquet his way.

“Like, your name is on the tip of my tongue. Not Valentine of course, though- “ He dropped his voice a little, a little conspiratorially . “You’re obviously made from the same little blonde bitch factory, albeit they were running low on supplies that day… Naw, its-” He snapped his fingers as if it would jog his memory.

“It’s Hide Miyagawa, right?” He smiled brightly as he said the name with perfect pronunciation. He’d hadn’t watched Nina’s stream, but he’d caught the highlights around the office and oof, imagine having your own leader butcher your name when announcing you. This was just an embarrassing week for Hide, it seemed.

Hide’s face is expressionless as Steven goes on. He waits, deadpan, for the UG Leader to finish, and then blinks slowly.

“That’s right,” he confirms. “Nice pronunciation, by the way. Do you practice saying my name often? Have a wank while you do it?”

He chuckles and fishes a cigarette out of the pack in his pocket before extending them to Steven, if he wanted to take one. It’s only polite to offer.

“If you’re trying to dig at me for Nina’s butchering, sorry to say you can’t have worse thoughts about it than I already do— her announcement was a fucking nightmare. It’s no use to poke fun at something I’ve already acknowledged.” He lights the cigarette and exhales some smoke out of the side of his mouth.

“If you ever get tired of practicing my name at yourself in the mirror, you can always just call me the guy who’s gonna own a good chunk of your district within the upcoming year— Maybe I’ll rent you some spaces.”

“Yeah, that’s right.” Steven threw Hide a cheeky smile, his glowing tongue teased his between his teeth before he began to make a lewd gesture with his hand, panting out: “Oh~ Landlord me more, Hi-de Mi-ya-ga-wa~~” His voice hitched at the end as he dragged out the last syllable as a moan, but he couldn’t maintain the façade for long and cackled.

“Fuck me, no one can say your easy ass name right unless they’re- “ He made the wanking motion again. “ I’d be pissed too. Guess I’m just talented~ ” Steven snickered as he waved a dismissive hand at the cigarettes.

“Naw.” He drawled as took a step closer, his shoulder began to sway back and forth, the glow of his eyes brightening a moment as he stared down at the younger man, the low hum of his vibe seemed to grow louder with every slight movement of his body.

”I just like to know the name of the person I’m gonna make eat dirt for prosperity…And why wait months? I have my club ready to bet~" Steven smiled brightly as small wisps of coloured smoke began to curl from the corners of his upturned lips.

Steven’s lewd response actually gets a laugh from Hide, a genuinely amused sound as he puts away his cigarettes when they were declined. A sort of shimmering cloud of light also appears above him, similarly to Steven’s glowing smoke, and then dissipates.

“Ooh, I like an eager partner,” he says smoothly. He doesn’t move as Steven approaches, still cozy against the lamp post with his cigarette. “So ready to jump right in. Are we about to kiss?”

“Then just say the word, sunshine.” Steven hummed as he took the final step and leaned in, his puffy jacket crinkling slightly as it pressed up against Hide’s front and a bit under his chin.

“And don’t get your hopes up.” A sly smile spread across his lips as he brought his prosthetic hand to his mouth. “I don’t kiss on the first date, so-” He made a show of kissing his middle finger before turning it over to press it to the corner of Hide’s mouth, emphasizing it by doing a little ‘mwah’ sound effect.

“Hope that tides you over.” He blinked innocently as blew a little citrus ring of quasi-smoke in Hide’s face before he stood up straight, turned on his heel with a little flourish and took a few steps back.

“So go on, challenge me. But I get to pick the song, yeah? And I play for keeps.” He grinned over his shoulder as he popped his collar.

Hide stays still while Steven presses up against him. He’s not the nervous type, so he remains perfectly composed throughout the confrontation, even giving Steven’s middle finger a little mock kiss back.

Hide blows some real smoke at Steven in response to his hot orange air or whatever the fuck it was, and then drops his cigarette on the street and stamps it out with a dark red, heeled boot. Orange District streets were already disgusting anyway.

“How are you going to be this horny for a fight and yet so painfully prude…?” He sighs in mock frustration, with a shrug. “Not even willing to kiss on the first date… Tch.“

He unzips the front of his black jacket to reveal a black sheer shirt underneath— cooler and easier to move around in with the zipper undone, and then tilts his head to whistle for a DJ Bot.

“Alright then, date’s choice. Let’s get dirty, doll.”

Steven’s eyes flickered down to stamped out cigarette as the other just littered blatantly on the clean orange street, when a bin was no more than a few feet away.

Be as disrespectful as you wanted to him, he would make you eat your words and a lot more, but being disrespectful to his district in front of him?

He made a mental note to make the other eat his trash after this fight was over.

“Sorry, I only barely find you Funkers attractive when you're battered, broken and bleeding at my feet, so maybe wait a few minutes.” He said dryly with a shrug, the motion making his jacket slide off his shoulder, down his arms and into his hands. He took something out of his pocket before he tossed it causally to the side and he made his way to the center of the street, fingers interlocked and raised high above his head for a deep stretch.

“Fight accepted. DJ, play ‘World’s End Dancehall, Rocketman Remix’. Thanks.” Steven called out as the DJ Bot approached, all orange, tall, and lanky with a faux Mohawk made out of discarded metal cutlery.

“What are we betting? Cus as much as kicking your shit it would be fun, I want more than memories, yeah?” the taller man smirked as he slipped on two scuffed knee pads before he bent his knees experimentally to make sure they were secured correctly.

Hide rolls his eyes as the music queues up. Good thing you can swing to just about anything once you nail down the tempo.

“I can get into the whole sadism thing,” he says at Steven’s ‘battered and broken’ comment, “but I didn’t really take you for the type. Oh right— the bet. Hm…”

He follows Steven out into the street properly, average throwdown distance away, facing him fully.

“We’re just having a bit of fun, right? I guess we could bet (X large number) cred, eh? On top of that, ‘spose you could take what I’m wearing if you win. Like strip poker.” He laughs, highly amused at his own joke of a suggestion. “I’m kidding, mostly, unless you’d like to shoot for seeing me in my knickers.”

The light under the street lamp next to them seems to almost wiggle in the nighttime street, and a gold glint briefly shines from behind Hide’s sunglasses.

“Of course, if I win, same goes for you. I’ll just be taking your pride as well by default, if UG’s famed prodigal son loses to FM’s brand new boss.”

“What can I say? Funk Mafia really brings out the worst in me.” Steven had been back for just a year now, and the most he’d gotten into is a few scraps with some overconfident lackeys and some guy who lacked any common sense. He wasn’t really perturbed by Hide’s confidence either, it was more….

“Also, mate. You're coming across real desperate for me to be attracted to you, but I can’t be a substitute for your own Boss’s lack of admiration and respect, so please keep your mummy problems to yourself, yeah? It’s a bit cringe.” The Leader smiled apologetically as he shrugged before he flipped a thumbs up in agreement with the terms as the DJ Bot to start the music.

Steven rolled his left shoulder backward and locked it into place, the jerky moments making it seem robotic in nature before doing the same with his right on every other beat with the discordant opening of the song. He did the same again with his legs, fluidly rolling them before locking them into place as he stood tall and static, only slightly rocking on the spot as if someone had cut the power to him.

But as soon as the singular drum beat entered and accompanied the lyrics, he started moving again. His hips, legs, and arms moved with the still jilted movement, as he pulled off quite a few cute idol-like poses, even going as far to mechanically pose with a peace sign, tilt his head cutely, and a wink on the two beats of shin-de, all with a stoic expression before the full instrumental began to play.

The tell-tale signs of his vibe had already begun to gather and pool around his skin from the few movements. A few areas where the vibe was densest collected together like condensation on a cool glass and dripped off his body, floating harmlessly into the air before they all coalesced around him to form a very thin, translucent orange film around his body.

Enough chit chat. The more Steven talks, the more irked Hide becomes under the surface. He was so annoying-- and so was his song choice, but he’s not surprised. He should’ve remembered that Martin was all but secretive about his weeb-ish proclivities. Beginning his warm-up steps at the same time as Steven, Hide starts out with some basic disco footwork, adjusting to the beat of the song.

As he’s dancing, he eyes Steven, watching as the glow builds and drips upward off his skin. An opponent who emits a constant source of light... Would he be able to use Steven’s own glow against him, the same way he would pull from Zeta?

With a struck pose, Hide taps a finger on the side of his sunglasses and then reaches behind his back, over his shoulder. The light from the streetlamp beside them bends toward him until he’s standing in its glow, and then in one swift movement, he produces a long, blindingly bright whip from behind himself and swings it around front, cracking it against the ground like a taunt. As it moves, the whip leaves behind a fine, shimmering mist of light in its wake, culminating with a flash as it strikes the ground that would almost look like lightning through the windows of the apartments lining the street that night.

“Kutabare… asshole.” Surely with his fascinations, Steven would know what that one meant.

With another loud swoosh and crack, he lashes the whip out at Steven and it coils tightly around him, instantly pulling him at a near break-neck speed across the street, closing the distance between them. With Steven yet again pressed to his front, Hide slams the heel of his boot down hard into the top of the UG Leader’s foot.

Aw, Steven had seemed to struck a nerve with Hide if all he could do was to tell him to drop dead. He couldn’t help but say cheerfully in a response “Only if you go first~ Fucker.” as he watched the light whip materialise, barely even blinking as the street was flooded with sudden flash of white light, his vibe already beginning to absorb the waves as they came his way.

He was aware when the whip was struck his way, ready for his vibe shielding to take the brunt of the blow, but he didn’t expect it to be lassoed, dragged towards and in front of the cocky little man so quickly that he barely had time to blink, let alone react to the vicious foot stomping. Good thing he wasn’t fucking about this time and had his shielding up already, so the sharp pain was only a mild one and the rest of the kinetic motion rippled out across the translucent second skin before being absorbed into his vibe.

“Aw, a snack? You shouldn’t have.” Steven grinned as he latched a vibe-covered hand on the crackling line of light and with a sharp jerk, brought it up to his mouth and took a large bite right through it as if it was a piece of liquorice lace. He knew this irked a lot of Steppers, to just literally consume their Vibe in front of them, so he made a show of chewing for the FM and all the viewers watching as he placed his prosthetic hand on Hide’s face and violently shoved him away to give the two some space.

The lasso around him loosen as he bobbed back with a few energetic steps and began to dissipate into sparks of light, now it wasn’t connected to Hide. Steven swallowed the vibe exaggeratedly, then burped a bellow of thick white smoke with a grin as the glow of his eyes brightened a little more.

“Kinda fizzy. ” He teased as he blew a little raspberry before he casually fell into a Double Indian Step, feet stepping forward and backwards before reversing and repeating the pattern with ease. White smoke steadily turned back to its usual colours as Hide’s Vibe was processed and assimilated, ready to be used against its owner.

Steven swung his arms wide as he dipped down and planted a hand down on the ground and used the twisting motion to help whirl his legs around. He planted his next hand down to keep the momentum going, his feet never touching the ground as the top and bottom part of his body twisted in tandem. His Air Flare picked up a little speed as ripples of Orange energy began to pulsate in waves around Steven’s hands and across the asphalt and only grew larger as he pulled his body taut and straight like an arrow. The sudden tight moment caused him to spin even faster a few times on just his palm before he dropped to the floor and into a pose, legs crossed over one another, one arm supported as the other saluted Hide as the large wall of bassy, orange energy left him and came towards Hide fast.

Hide knew all about Steven’s Vibe eating capabilities, but he’d never experienced them first hand. There’s a look of shock and disgust on his face the moment Steven severs and eats a bite out of his whip, compromising his cool demeanor for a second. The feeling was entirely unpleasant, like a part of his own health was being drained... He was used to feeling down or ill when he couldn’t get enough adequate natural light, but he’d never experienced that feeling being actively applied by someone else. If Steven kept eating his light… would it make Hide himself sick?

He growls as Steven pushes off his face, skewing his sunglasses a bit. Furious at the childish (and somewhat humiliating) behavior, with a flick of his wrist, Hide bursts the remainder of the whip into mist as he’s forced to think fast with Steven’s wall of energy bursting toward him. Behind his sunglasses, his eyes flick upward to a balcony with an apartment window that was still lit— he barely had time. Between quicksteps, he snaps his fingers and shoots upward toward the balcony window, becoming nothing but a streak of bright light on his way.

But he wasn’t quite quick enough. Despite traveling almost literally at the speed of light, he’d hesitated too long before acting. The wall of orange energy clips his streak of light at the very bottom, feeling like a massive ocean wave, jarring him back into his physical form and sending him into a forward free fall as bassy beats erupted around him, near deafening. The beats rattle through him enough to make his bones ache.

Years of dancing with a partner made of light had given Hide the advantage of core strength worth bragging about, however— partner dancing (especially fast swing) without any real counterweight was no small feat. In his falling motion, he corrects himself into a forward flip and reaches out to draw in some of the orange glow from Steven’s wall (now behind him) as he quickly approaches the ground. He lands on his feet, only slightly unsteady, and slides into some shuffle footwork and a spin.

After stopping on a heel, he re-manifests his whip, this time glowing UG Orange.

He quickly approaches Steven like he’s walking a runway, with a bright, taunting smile, poise and rhythm. Making flashy, pointing gestures on beat with his free hand as he advances, he ruthlessly slices at his opponent with the whip— one, two, three times.

Hide’s reaction had been worth it, even though he could feel himself gradually getting filled up on ‘low-carb snacks’.

Sound had always been Steven’s main go-to for his meal of choice, was the most enjoyable to devour and disseminate, and Light was just something he had to just naturally block out the most, since he was surrounded by day in and day out or was a little extra tasty fancy on top of a good meal/ vibe attack, like a nice vinaigrette on a fresh salad. It was fine by itself, but with Hide’s barrage of nonstop poses and lashes, Steven had to concentrate mostly on absorbing mainly Light attacks that cracked against his vibe shielding in between his own intricate footwork to lessen the damage he took. What was fighting without a little feedback of pain after all, but it left him feeling a little …

He didn’t have time to examine that feeling as he had to take in his surroundings. Hide seemed to turn into light for a moment, seemed to be flying and would have gotten away if his wall of vibe hadn’t clipped him- Two bolts of energy flung out from Steven’s hands as he did a kick up, and both sailed wide around Hide to impact with the wall of vibe that had already made it halfway down the street and showed no signs of stopping, wavered and dispersed as the bolts connected.

Close range is where he thrived in these more enclosed arenas, not because he couldn’t hit long-range strikes, but the further his attack go from him, the larger the area of destruction would be if his attacks missed or just didn’t meet enough force to stop them.

Plus on top of worrying about damaging his own district, it looked like he had to worry about Hide taking the glow from his own glowy attacks and using it against him… Eh, it was just light. How much damage could that do on its own?

Steven feet criss-crossed and weaved intricate patterns with a fluid and practiced ease as he grabbed Hide’s whip on his last attack. A small drip of his Vibe that had been steadily growing, traveled up his chest and down his arm with each mechanical twist and pose of his body before it explosively got fired down the length of the long whip of light, which caused the steady light to warp and vibrate, and straight towards its owner’s hand.

Steven’s dancing and attacks were quick, but Hide was adjusting. As soon as he sees the energy traveling back up the bright light of his whip, he flicks his wrist again to dissipate the weapon. He swiftly dodges the energy as it reaches him by gliding into a slide-step, showing off a little for the stream and winking in the direction of the DJ Bot.

Steven didn’t seem to be taking much damage from his attacks, but he also didn’t seem to be fighting with quite as much ease as Hide would’ve expected him to. Something was holding him back a little… perhaps the sickening love for his trashy district streets?

“Sorry man, collateral damage is part of accepting a challenge,” he says after Steven destroys his own wave of energy to stop it from going further. “You didn’t suggest a different spot… So how about you focus on stopping me instead?”

With a wicked grin, he lifts a finger in the air to point and pose, and when he brings his arm back down, he brings all the light with him like he’s pulling down a thick curtain. The street is plunged into darkness, and he can be heard laughing over the music as he runs to the faint, gold outline of a fire escape on the side of the street.

He’s moving quick, but if one was attentive enough and focused in the right direction, they may still be able to see tiny gold flecks of light where his freckles sit naturally, streaking off in the direction of the nearby alleyway and onto the metal stairs.