EXTRA - Experience

To clarify, Ascension is over. This is an extra, side story that isn't part of the main plot, nor affects the main plot in any way. Thank you for reading :)

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Y/N had done a lot in his short life so far.

A lot - definitely more than a lot of people did. Who else could claim to be the survivor of a secret illegal testing facility, twice? Who else could claim to be one of the best soccer players in the world, go head to head against the best players from every country? Who else could say they lived with Japanese prodigy, Itoshi Sae?

Not many, he'd wager.

Yet, it wasn't enough. Y/N's life may have been 'successful' by most definitions, but it wasn't his yet. From his birth, he'd never owned his life, not really. He'd lived for someone else's purposes, he'd been forced into a path he didn't want, he'd owed everything to everyone for no reason except just simply existing.

So while Y/N was able to, he wanted to experience it all.

He wanted to live. He wanted to see the world, go to France and Korea and Brazil and all those places that he'd only ever seen online. He wanted to explore the countryside, stand in endless fields of grass and get completely, utterly lost in the quiet. He wanted to try music. He wanted to learn guitar, he wanted to sing his heart out in a karaoke room with Chigiri, he wanted to dance the night away with Bachira or watch the city skyline with Reo.

That wasn't it - not half. He wanted to dye his hair with Barou, he wanted to try cooking with Niko, he wanted to scuba dive, go to the beach, hike the mountains with Gagamaru, lay in bed for a full day with Nagi. A lot of his things involved people - but not all.

He wanted to raft. He wanted to camp. Y/N wanted to stand under waterfalls, see the stars for the first time in his life, swim in lakes. He wanted to try festivals, try concerts, try movies, hell, even try a different sport. There was so much out there that Y/N had never even considered doing - and it'd taken him hours online searching up bucket lists to compile it all.

But never. Ever, ever, ever. Had he thought he'd do what he was currently doing. Especially not on the west coast of America.

A man's voice spoke in his ear. Y/N was currently sat between his legs, leaning with his back to the larger man's chest. And yet, he didn't notice the position at all, eyes wide, heart pounding, and body trembling with adrenaline. "You okay?!"

"What?!"

"Are you okay?! We're ready!"

"I'm not!"

Y/N's cries went unnoticed. The man shuffled forwards along the metal floor, Y/N being moved forward with him. The boy glanced down, hands scrabbling at the harness that connected his torso to the man's. "Wait- no, no no!"

The man had seemed like a nice guy. He'd greeted Y/N and Sae politely, he'd talked with them for an hour or two, going over safety instructions, telling them exactly what would be happening. His name was Zeke, he was thirty, he'd been doing it for years without any trouble, Y/N was safe with him.

But, sitting connected to the man thirteen thousand feet in the air, Y/N felt anything but safe.

The plane around them shuddered, beginning to level out high in the air. Out the small, shoddy glass windows, bright sunlight filtered in. They were above the clouds. Y/N paled. Who said this was a good idea??? I'm gonna kill whoever suggested skydiving. Aka, me. If I don't die here, I'll kill me. Stupid me. Stupid, stupid me.

The noise was tremendous. Rattling, clunking, Y/N's heavy breaths as the plane levelled out fully. A light flashed green above, on the roof. Zeke had the nerve to laugh, loud even over the howling of wind and Y/N's shrieks.

Y/N threw a glance back at Sae, as he was shuffled closer to the front of the plane. "Help me!"

Sae, also attached to his own guide, just shrugged. He held up a GoPro, capturing Y/N's terror in glorious 4k video. Y/N didn't even have the energy to snap at him, too busy thinking about how he was about to die. Splat on the ground. Y/N jelly. Y/N jam. Y/N cola, if it was high enough.

"No help for you!" Zeke chortled over the wind. Y/N screamed bloody murder. "Just fall. Only fun!"

In front of them, a man gripped a handle. Y/N tensed - and then the man pulled, yanking open a huge door in the side of the plane. Scorching cold air flooded the plane almost instantly. The noise doubled. Wind ripped at Y/N's cheeks, making him eternally grateful for the protective glasses over his eyes. His hair teased itself into knots, his stomach curled into a ball and died.

Out of nowhere, Y/N was glad he hadn't eaten much for lunch.

He turned his eyes to the door. The man was already throwing himself off it with a jaunty wave, completely solo. Y/N gaped. Beyond the metal of the door...

Los Angeles spread itself out below them.

Y/N was on top of the world.

They were on the outskirts of the city, but below, Y/N could make out buildings, compounds, warehouses, tiny rectangles on a green and grey mat thousands of metres below. It kept going - the buildings just kept going, an endless city, alight with lights. Y/N wasn't making much sense. He didn't care.

Y/N gulped. Well, he tried to, but just got a mouthful of cold air. It was hot, humid on the ground. Why was it so cold up here?

You're in a plane, Y/N. His singular braincell chided him. Of course it's cold.

I'm not gonna be in the plane for much longer?! He screamed back at it. Who even gave you permission to speak?

Zeke shuffled them even closer to the open door. Y/N cringed, his entire body shaking, terrified. And yet, he couldn't take his eyes off the drop. Off the mist rising from the city, the tallest buildings rising from a grey haze. In the bright sun, LA looked mystical.

"Ready?!" His voice in Y/N's ear.

"Not at al-"

"Okay!" The man laughed loud, sitting on the edge of the plane. Y/N hung over the drop. His heart rate doubled, legs swinging, wind tearing at every single inch of him. "Three."

"Wait!"

"Two."

"No, no, no!"

"One."

"If I die, make sure Sae's name isn't in my will-"

"Woohooo!"

No woohoo. Y/N screamed - and immediately was shut up by the sheer force of the wind shoving his jaw closed again. The ground became the sky, sky became the ground. Y/N's world devolved into a mass of colours, brown blending with green blending with red-

He clutched onto his harness, white-knucked, stomach in his mouth as they tumbled through the sky. He was going to die. He was dying already - and yet, he'd never felt so alive.

Every molecule in his body was alight, vibrating at max speed. Y/N was going to combust. Liquid energy raced through his veins. His heart jackhammered in his chest. Y/N opened his mouth to scream, but again, it stopped in his throat. What came out instead was a primal whoop, a laugh bubbling up inside of his throat as LA rose up to meet him.

He tossed out his arms, immediately feeling them get shoved backwards, into the sky. Y/N was flying.

A sudden jolt. Y/N's stomach plummeted into his toes, as his freefall slowed immediately. In his ear, Zeke laughed, and Y/N laughed with him. He looked up, the bright orange parachute undulating in the wind above him. They slowed.

Y/N was presented with two toggles. He yanked on one, and, magically, they turned left. He yanked on the other, and they turned right. He pulled hard on both, and the wind lessened on his face.

They were gliding.

Y/N craned his head up and to the side, bright eyes scanning the sky above him. Sae and his own guide's parachute blossomed to life above them. Y/N waved, not that they'd see him.

Then, he stared forwards, and let out an exuberant yell into the nothingness of the air.

🥕🥕🥕

An hour later, Y/N was still on wobbly legs, the brightness still present in his eyes, voice a little more high-pitched than normal.

Sae wasn't much better. He'd been dignified up until the drop itself, but after, his skin still hadn't returned to its normal hue, and he hadn't stopped feeling for his own legs and arms like he might've lost them in the fall.

They were headed... actually, Y/N had no clue where they were headed. Sae'd planned it all. But he promised it would be good, so... Y/N trusted that.

They were only in Los Angeles for a few days. After, it would be moving along the country, to Las Vegas, then Cedar City, Denver, Kansas City, and onwards from there. A lot of driving, but with both Y/N and Sae taking turns, it would be manageable. Yes, Y/N knew how to drive. Yes, he'd nearly crashed, the first time they'd visited the US a few months ago. Yes, he found driving on the right strange as hell.

Sae stopped at a traffic light. He glanced across at Y/N, who was tweaking in the passenger seat. "...You okay?"

"Nope. Not at all." Y/N murmured. "I'm going to explode."

Sae groaned. His quiet voice did nothing to soothe the buzzing in Y/N's bones. "Don't remind me of Shidou."

Y/N winced. "My bad. What did he do?"

"The usual. You get it."

"Yeah... How many calls this time?"

"Five."

Pausing, Y/N frowned. "That sounds really low-"

"Hundred."

"Ah."

"Ah indeed." Sae repeated. He kept driving. Leaning forwards, Y/N pressed the radio. English music filled the car. Y/N glanced across at Sae, smiled to himself, and kept quiet.

It took a while before they were pulling into a parking spot, Y/N out of the car in seconds to stretch with a groan. The surrounding area was busy - in fact, Y/N could liken it to some areas of Tokyo with the sheer amount of people moving around. The main difference though, was that while there, they wore coats, suits, and slacks, here everyone wore shorts or jeans, with loose shirts or even no shirt in the case of some men.

Y/N envied them, briefly. It was incredibly hot, no clouds in the sky to prevent the sun's rays from blasting the ground, and his loose t-shirt suddenly felt a lot hotter than it should. Though, when he noticed the sunburn a lot of them were sporting, the envy disappeared like any chance of Shidou getting a reply from Sae had.

Getting from the car, Sae frowned at Y/N. "Have you got suncream on?"

Y/N reached up, touching his cheek. "No."

Sae leant against the car's door, a bottle in his hands. He waved it slightly, looking across at Y/N. Y/N obediently wandered around the edge of the car, taking the bottle from Sae's hands and squeezing a little into his own hand. "I don't see the point."

"Your skin will thank me in ten years."

"Bold of you to assume I can last that long."

"Don't be difficult."

"I don't have a mirror."

Sae raised an eyebrow. Then, he dabbed his own fingers into the cream on Y/N's palm, and dashed it along his cheek. Y/N recoiled at the sudden coolness, and Sae clicked his tongue. "Don't move, you'll get it on your shirt."

Y/N hesitated, but stopped. Sae spread the sunscreen over Y/N's cheek, forehead, across his nose and chin. Then down to his neck too. Y/N just stood there, semi-awkwardly, watching Sae's teal eyes flicker back and forth as he worked. He hadn't even realised Sae was done until the man was stepping back, wiping his hands off on his own exposed arms.

"Can you do your arms yourself?"

"Yeah." Y/N swallowed. "Yeah, I can." He did so, the sunscreen drying in literal seconds.

Only then did he look around.

They were parked just a street away from the beach. Across a busy road, Y/N spotted flashes of bright pink rubber animals in a storefront, white sand, and crowds of people. A blue arrow sign read Venice Beach in big white letters. Y/N blinked.

"Isn't Venice in Spain?"

Sae tossed him a bottle of water, and locked the car. "Italy."

"Same difference."

"Two thousand kilometres difference."

Y/N shrugged. Then he paused. "Wait, how do you know that?"

"You wanted to go to Spain."

"Yeah?"

"I want to go to Italy. Road trip."

The smile froze on Y/N's face. Then he was letting out a breathless laugh, in disbelief. His smile grew wider, brighter. "Kay. Sure. Next year."

"Next year." He agreed.

They crossed the road. As usual, Y/N dashed right across, earning himself a series of honks, and a flurry of swears from an angry driver that couldn't be repeated. Sae followed hurriedly after, raising his hand in apology to both sides of the traffic as he joined Y/N. He made a face.

"You're gonna die doing that."

"You let me jump out of a plane, but not run across a road?" Y/N drawled. "Nice."

"You begged me to jump out of that plane." Sae snapped. "And it's safe. That was not."

"It's faster."

"It's stupid."

"Well, that's on brand." Y/N grinned lopsidedly, his cheek scrunching up.

Through a gap between two stores, noise from the beachfront echoed. Y/N glanced down the small alleyway, seeing sand and sea on the other side. "After you."

Sae scoffed. But he walked down the alley anyway, towards the beach.

🥕🥕🥕

To the average person walking along the concrete path, next to the beach, Y/N and Sae wouldn't be the strangest people they'd seen. But they'd certainly draw a lot of attention. Many eyes would turn to them.

A smaller boy, dancing between shop to shop, eyes childishly bright. Dressed in a loose shirt and simple shorts, he'd get distracted by every single little thing, gawking over colourful fabric, trying on hats and making poses with them, or scanning every single trinket and bracelet in a stand. Some people would recognise him to be the soccer superstar Y/N L/N, others would notice him because of his bright grin, laugh, and the fast way in which he talked.

And with him, Sae. Following behind, with a mildly amused expression. Wearing longer shorts, and a form-fitting shirt, he'd walk along the path slowly, letting Y/N take his time going off on tangents before the boy would inevitably dash back towards him. Some people would realise he was Itoshi Sae, the Japanese superstar. Others would stare at his pale skin, perfect posture, and high cheekbones, and think he was a prince of some sort.

"Oh my god." Y/N gushed - not something he did often. "Sae! How do I look?"

He spun around, facing Sae with a pair of black sunglasses sitting low on his nose. Y/N struck a fancy pose, only holding it for a split second before bursting out into laughter. "Kidding, kidding. This one, maybe." Y/N replaced it with a pair of wide frame sunglasses.

"You have to be kidding as well."

"Nope?" Y/N blinked. "Is it that bad?"

"Yes."

Y/N cringed. "At least lie or something. You're supposed to say I look amazing no matter what."

Sae laughed softly. "I'm not that good of a person. Put them back, Y/N."

Two shops along. "Can we get some?"

"It's not gonna be good."

"We're in America! They like it here."

"We're in a tourist area. Overpriced."

"I'll buy." Y/N pleaded, practically dragging Sae by the wrist towards the ice cream shop. "You can't come to America and not eat ice cream."

"Yes, you can."

"I can't. I need my sugar. Sweet tooth, or something." Y/N doubled his efforts, straining to pull Sae towards the ice cream. "I'll die without it."

"That's not how a sweet tooth works."

"How do you know, huh?" Y/N groaned. "Pleaaaase!"

"I'll pay."

"Not if I pay first."

"I'll pay, then you can get it."

"Nuh-uh." Y/N sped up slightly, dropping Sae's arm in favour of speedwalking to the ice cream shop. He reached into his pocket - then paused, lowering his head with ears that were rapidly going red. "I forgot my wallet."

"Classic." Sae snorted, and waved his card. "What do you want?"

Just a few minutes later. "Wait, Sae, come here!"

"What now?"

Y/N licked a strip up his ice cream, catching a part that was melting, and pointed towards a picture frame just a few metres to the side of the pathway.

It was a photo opportunity, of sorts. An elegant, person sized picture frame, the bottom sunk into the sand. Along the top, Venice Beach was scrawled in gold lettering. Sae didn't even have time to reply before Y/N was hurrying towards it.

The boy took a few steps off the path onto the sand, padding over to the photo frame and standing inside of it. He made a heart with finger and thumb of one hand, ice cream in the other. "Can you take a picture?" He hollered.

Sae did exactly that. In fact, he took five, snapping them off one by one. Y/N took another lick of his ice cream. And then he snatched Sae's phone, approaching a nearby stranger.

They exchanged words. Y/N handed them the phone. And then, he was heading back to Sae, taking the man's wrist, and guiding him behind the picture frame. The stranger knelt on the floor a few metres in front of them, calling out for them to say 'cheese'.

When Sae was handed his phone back, it was to a new home screen.

It wasn't a perfect photo. Not by any means. The picture frame wasn't big enough for two people to fit in, so Y/N and Sae were sort of half squished in, half sticking out with Y/N's arm around one of the frame's sides, ice cream in hand. In the photo, Sae was looking at the camera, the hints of a smile curling the ends of his lips. Y/N wasn't looking at the camera though.

No. His bright smile, wide eyes, were both fixed on Sae.