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"Uncle Koaru?" Yuichuro called, entering the young man's office as his sister followed. "Who is that, Mr. Shindo guy that we met earlier?"
Koaru looked over at the two, questioning himself whether he should tell you both or not.
"Well, he is a friend of mine." He began. "But try not to concern yourselves with him too much. Especially without my knowledge."
The two twins looked to each other with curious glances before turning back to the adult.
"Why is that, Uncle Koaru?" (Y/n) asked, despite having no interest in ever seeing the navy haired man again.
"It's because his skating style may be a little too much for you two." The male twin's eyes widened as his uncle finished his sentence.
"Wait- Mr Shindo skates?!" The boy was practically sparkling with curiosity and excitement when he heard that, whilst the pink-haired adult sighed.
"Yes, Yuichiro, but please don't be reckless and go out to see him or anything."
The little (Y/n) looked over to her brother, worried that his excitement might lead him to not listen to Koaru.
"Don't worry, Uncle Kaoru. I won't do anything reckless!" The kid smiled as the adult wore a small grin.
"Make sure you stick to that."
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Curiosity goes a long way, doesn't it?
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As you sat on a bench in the emergency hospital beside Miya, waiting for Reki to be let out, the words that Adam had said that night began to make you curious.
'I wonder if Adam knows what happened... but would he tell me?'
Whilst you thought, the door to the room your redheaded friend was in opened, causing he group of you to stand up properly. You stared blankly at the boy, as he had a smile on his face and his arm in a sling.
"They said two weeks until I got a full recovery." Reki began. "There's no problem with my head!" At that, you all slouched back into your previous positions.
"It's fortunate for you that you got off with only that." Miya sighed as you hummed in agreement.
"Sorry about that, Miya." Your classmate now said approaching the teen next to you. "I said that I'd win."
"I already told you, the slime can never defeat the final boss." The Chinen started to stand up and walk past Reki. "But... I'll promote you to golem or whatever." The teen mumbled the last part.
"What did you say?" Reki asked him as you stood up yourself.
"He said that you looked cool." Langa stated, making the kid step back a couple of spaces to be in line with the Canadian.
"I didn't say that!"
"Gosh, Japanese is so difficult."
"There's no time for fooling around now." You turned to see Shadow wearing his hooded cloak. "We have someone here who's next in line to race against Adam."
"It's my fault I dragged you into this too, Langa." Reki said, looking over to his friend.
"It's not your fault." The blue-haired boy spoke. "Besides..." The four of you looked questionably towards the male.
"Langa?"
'What's going on in that guy's head...?'
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Whilst you slept in class the next day, dreaming about clouds and cats, you suddenly and annoyingly woke up to a scream.
"LANGA!" You turned to look questionably behind you, still with your head in your arms, at the now standing Reki.
The whole class looked at him, wondering what had come over him to yell out the Canadian's name so loudly.
Later that day, when Reki, Langa, and you sat down on the rooftop for lunch, the blue-haired male began to question the redhead.
"What was that earlier?"
"Sorry about that." Reki apologised.
"You woke me up..." You sighed, picking at your spaghetti that Joe had packed you.
"Oh yeah, (y/n), I don't think I thanked you for last night." You tilted your head at the boy, not having a clue of what he was on about. "I hope you were okay after that. If it wasn't for you, I probably would have gotten worse injuries."
You look over to the Canadian and then back at him. "What did I do again?" Both boys sweatdropped at that.
"Don't you remember? You used your super-speed and strength to catch Reki, but you both went tumbling after that." Langa explained, as you thought again.
"Ah, I might've done that..."
"Anyways, (y/n), thanks." Reki smiled, causing you to look over at him wide-eyed.
"You remind me of someone." You stated, causing the two males to look over at you curiously, but before you could add to that, you heard footsteps rushing over to you.
"(Y/n)!" A pink and green haired girl called out to you. "I'm so sorry we weren't able to check on you before!" You tilted your head at her.
"Mitsuri?" As you said her name, she immediately picked you up, along with your food, and ran off with you, causing your two classmates to blink in disbelief of what had just happened.
As Kanroji carried you to the hahsira's club room, you tried to ask her what was going on, but she didn't say anything. Soon enough, you found yourself planted down in a chair along the meeting table of the room, facing the rest of your seniors.
"Um, what's going on?" You questioned, having no idea why you were suddenly brought there. After a couple of seconds of silence, each hashira began to say something.
"(Y/N)! What were you thinking going to 'S' last night?!"
"You could have gotten hurt!"
"I know you went for your friend, but in that situation, you should have just stayed home."
"It's ADAM we're talking about!"
"He's unhinged!"
Once they had finally calmed down, each one huffing from their previous exclamations, Shinobu was the first to come forward. "(Y/n), listen, we are all worried for you, and we know that going to 'S' must have been difficult for you."
"So, because of this, you should just not go until further notice." Giyu added.
"But Langa is -"
"No one could care less about your friends!" Sanemi spoke up. "We just don't want to see you hurt again -!" The male immediately stopped talking as all eyes landed on him.
"Hurt again?" You questioned, not recalling a time where you had ever been severely hurt. "Are you talking about the time I got a scrape on my knee from... from... what was it again?"
"Yeah, sure, yeah, it was that time I was thinking of!" The short silver-haired male said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Anyway, don't go to 'S' for a while." Obanai stated as the rest of them nodded. "Mrs Ubuyashiki advised us not to go as well, and she did say she went to speak with you, so you may have gotten some sort of permission from her."
"But we don't want anything unflamboyant to happen to you, so please, listen to us."
"I don't mind going with you to explain everything to your friends, (y/n)." Gyomei offerer as you shook your head.
"Okay, I understand, but I'll tell them myself." You told the other hashiras, as they all sighed.
"Alright then, oh, and make sure you visit us more frequently!" Mitsuri added, whilst you continued to eat your lunch.
"Sure."
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Once you had met up with Reki and Langa again, all the redhead would talk about is getting Langa to call off his beef with Adam.
"(Y/n), you tell him! He doesn't listen to me!" You looked over at Langa, wondering what you would even say, before turning back to the both of them.
"I'm not allowed to go to 'S' anymore until further notice." Once the words had come out of your mouth, your two friends looked at you shocked.
"Where's this coming from?!"
"Remember when I was dragged off before? That was when I was told that I wasn't allowed to go."
"No wonder that girl looked familar." Reki said. "Isn't she the famous love hashira at 'S'?!" You gave him a thumbs up.
"Who's that?" Langa asked, lost on the subject.
"She's part of a skating group at 'S' known as the hashiras!" Reki explained. "(Y/n) here is one of them too, the super cool mist hashira, Muichiro!" He smiled, doing jazz hands around you as you flinched at the name.
"Each member has their own special style of skating. For example, remember that trick (y/n) did when she skated with you against Shadow? She was named after the mist she can create."
"That makes sense." Langa hummed.
"Reki, why do people at 'S' call me Muichiro?" You asked him, having been wondering that for a while now.
"I thought you knew." The boy held out a hand for you to pass him your board. "You were named after the writing on your board, 'Mui'. I have always thought that that was a name you had given yourself."
You stared at your deck for a while, not remembering why or how that had gotten there. You recalled asking your uncle about it, and he said that you had written it on yourself. When you asked why, all he did was sit silently, so he never ended up answering that question.
"Anyways, (y/n), if you can't go, then that's all the more reason for Langa not to skate against him!" Reki argued.
"Nuh-uh." Langa frowned in response.
"Who knows, maybe Langa will have a chance..." You thought aloud.
"Huh?!" Reki exclaimed, slightly surprised by your statement.
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The next day, as you sat in your uncle's store, writing some calligraphy inspired by him, you heard a knock at the door. You sighed as you stood up to go attend to it.
"Mr Sakurayashiki is not here right now - oh, it's you three." You looked down at the three figures as you stood on the higher level of the path. "What do you want?"
"We were wondering if you wanted to come with us to help Langa for his beef with Adam." The teen explained.
"Give me a moment."
Once around an hour had passed, you found yourself seated beside Miya and Shadow on top of a skate ramp, watching Langa skate in the park. Suddenly, your attention was taken from the male to the two newcomers.
"Where were you?" Shadow questioned the redhead whilst he stared at Langa. You simply stared at the slightly older figure who had come in after Reki, curious of why he had been brought there.
"That casper slide he just did is one of Adam's hardest stunts in freestyle." Stated Miya blankly, referring to the Canadian. "We just taught him the basics, but look at him now."
You turned back to Langa, deciding that you didn't want anyone to know of your relations with the famous skater yet, but alarmingly, you were hit across the back of your head with a familiar fan.
"How long was it going to take for you to greet your uncle?" You blankly stared at the pink haired man as he narrowed his eyes at you. Your classmate stopped skating at that whilst they all stared at the two of you.
"Uncle?"
"Sorry, Uncle Kaoru. Afternoon, Uncle Kaoru." You sighed, getting a smile out of the male.
"(Y/N)! Cherry Blossom's your UNCLE?!" You turned away at the sudden noise.
"So loud."
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After a couple of minutes, the group of you found yourselves at a familiar Italian restaurant.
"This is classy."
"It would be nice to bring my boss here someday." The ginger adult blushed.
"I don't like tomatoes."
"Do you have poutine?" The Canadian asked.
"Doubt they would; I want pizza!" Reki stated.
"Everyone, feel free to sit wherever." Your uncle told you all, as you walked on over to a spare table.
"Who gave you permission to use my joint?!"
"Shut up, muscly gorilla." You blankly told the green haired man whilst you sat down.
"This one says he wants to beat Adam." Koaru told Kojiro, making the man calm down.
"You saw how Adam skates, right?" Joe asked, now speaking directly towards Langa. "So don't do anything stupid -" He was cut off by the Canadian's stomach.
"You know -" Reki was silenced by his own. Then Miya's and your own followed suit.
"Five bowls of ramen!" Shadow ordered, slamming his hand on a table.
"This is an Italian joint!"
Once you all had eaten, you, Reki, Langa, Miya, and Shadow were seated in chairs, turned backwards along a table so that you could see Cherry and Joe's demonstration of the love hug.
"Let's start by recreating it." Your uncle began stepping onto a skateboard.
"Why me? Why not (y/n) -?!"
"How dare you suggest my niece's name as an option, you feeble minded gorilla." Kaoru said, receiving sweatdropps from the bunch of you. "Anyway, you start by accelerating with maximum speed in the distance you're travelling in, then do a 180-degree spin with minimal turning radius."
You stared blankly at them as thoughts of when the navy haired man used it on Reki and Rengoku filled your head.
"I'm going out now." You stated, just as your uncle finished explaining the trick. Everyone turned to you, slightly confused as to why you would need to leave so early.
"(Y/n), are you alright -?"
"Make sure you have a cup of tea before going to bed." The pink haired adult cut off Miya as you waved them all off at the door with your skateboard in hand.
"Sure. See ya." And with that, you skated off in the direction of home.
You knew that tonight was the day of Langa's beef and that you should have been there helping him as much as possible, since you weren't going to be able to watch, but seeing the love hug in slow motion only made you think of the pain your friends went through.
You decided that you needed to clear your head space, so you quickly headed home. However, a familiar black limo pulled up beside you on the street.
"How lovely it is to see you again, my sweet (y/n)." The voice made you pause. "How are you?"
You turned blankly to your side to see Adam seated in the back of the car with his window winded down.
At first, you wanted to ignore him and continue skating, but then your question from earlier came back to you.
"Do you know what happened on that night?" The man made a curious face at you.
"Hmm, what night do you mean? Tadashi, do you remember any particular nights?"
You turned your attention to the front of the vehicle.
"No, sir." The said adult replied.
"I'm sorry, my dear, but you're going to have to be more clear." You sighed at that, deciding it better to just leave the matter for now.
"Forget it."
Whilst you prepared to skate off again, the man called out to you.
"Or perhaps I do know what event you are talking about." Adam began, catching your attention. "Maybe the night you're on about is the same night you -"
"Sorry to cut you, Sir, but time." Tadashi spoke up, earning a sigh from Adam.
"Well, I apologise, (y/n), but it appears that I must be going now." He now turned to face forward in his seat as the window began to wind up. "Let's finish this conversation another time."
You stared as the car drove off. You were disappointed that he wasn't able to finish his sentence, but at least you now knew that he had information about something to do with you. From there, you continued your journey home, deciding that you could look into it further some other time.
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When you got home, you left your board at the doorway before going to boil the kettle. As you stared at the bubbles slowly beginning to rise, gaining pace with every second, you thought about the adrenaline skating had.
'Why would anyone want to race against a madman like Adam?'
You leant your arms over the counter.
'Maybe Langa has a chance. He was given tips by Uncle Kaoru and Kojiro.'
You now rested your head on your raised hand.
'Should I go to 'S'?'
A few seconds of silence passed.
'I mean, if I go prepared, then I should be fine, right?'
Without much further thought, you left your tea and. Headed straight for the door. After you had picked up your board and left your house, you were immediately stopped by a long white-haired woman at the doorway.
"Mrs Ubuyashiki." You greeted her as she smiled down at you.
"(Y/n), how are you?" You looked up at her, not really knowing how to respond.
"You knew I was going to go to 'S', didn't you?" She nodded in response.
"I was told by the others to come and talk to you as they felt that them telling you was not enough." Mrs Ubuyashiki explained. "But for you, you to come out willing despite your redheaded friend's defeat shows that you feel something different about your other friend."
"Yes, Langa operates differently when it comes to skating. He picked it up so easily and well, which was likely influenced by his past experience." You now faced the lady with determination in your eyes. "I want to see him skate against Adam."
The Ubuyashiki looked to you with both corners of her lips raised.
"As you feel so passionate about it, I'll allow you to go." She then bent down to your ear level. "And I will make sure that the other hashiras don't hear of this, for the moment anyways."
Your eyes sparkled as you lifted your arms to embrace the woman. She gladly accepted your hug before gently pulling away and resting both hands on your shoulders.
"You should be on your way then."
And with that, you skated off happily to the mines.
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As you reached the illegal skating place, you quickly approached your friends who were standing in front of the big screen at the starting line. Noticing that Langa and Adam weren't there, you instantly tapped Reki on the shoulder, grabbing his attention.
"(Y/n)! Are you alright?" The male asked you, hands on your shoulders.
"Yeah, but how's Langa doing?" At that, he turned back towards the screen. You did the same, and as you did, you felt a hand grab yours. You turned to your side for a moment to see the Chinen still facing the screen.
Once you looked back, you saw your blue-haired friend just speeding up to get ahead of Adam at the turn. "Will it not last until the abandoned factory?" Miya asked, just before Langa made a turn around a corner.
You half-worriedly watched the screen as Adam began to do some sort of dance on his still moving board.
The man began to speak, and as he did, he was able to swiftly catch up to the Canadian and lock his skateboard with Langa's. You stared in horror as the adult danced and skated with your friends, hands forcibly grasped together.
As you were about to look away, you suddenly felt calmer; as if you knew that Langa was going to be alright. Fortunately, you seemed to be correct as your friend pushed himself into Adam in a way that they would speed up, and soon enough, he was free.
"He's going to do the love hug." Stated Reki, you momentarily looked at him through the corner of your eye before keeping focus on the big screen of 'S'.
"Carla, how far is the abandoned factory now?" Your uncle asked his AI assistant.
'They are halfway there.' The robotic voice replied.
"If he can keep at this pace, could he actually beat Adam?" Shadow questioned, causing you to also wonder. You felt a small relievement when you saw them approaching a curve, but then, the terror struck when the navy haired man began to do his infamous move; the love hug.
"No way..."
"Impossible!"
"I thought he could only do that trick on straightaway!"
"He's also predicting how Langa will react!"
"He's mirroring him!"
Suddenly, you felt this urge inside of you. "LANGA!!" You hadn't realised until you had begun yelling that your redheaded friend beside you had the same feeling.
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The Canadian jumped over him.
Surprised by the stunt he pulled, you stared as Adam went to grab the space that Langa had just leapt away from whilst the boy continued skating ahead.
"He for real?" The ginger adult beside you spoke, clearly shocked by the scene as well.
"The love hug..." Miya added
"Langa managed to break out of it." Reki stated.
"He's incredible." You awed.
You watched the screen, feeling hopeful that your friend had a strong chance of winning. Langa was much further ahead of Adam, but soon enough, the man appeared from behind him, accelerating quickly on his board until he just came in front of your classmate.
The two were going at such insane paces that it was beginning to get dangerous.
"He's going way too fast!" Chinen said. "If he were to trip..." You could feel your hand being squeezed in the teen's grasp at his words.
"He really can't stop now!" Shadow stated.
As you were watching the screen, alarmingly, the sound of blaring police sirens began to ring out, causing everyone to dissipate around you and the big screen to prepare to shut down.
"(Y/n), hurry and come!" Koaru was about to grab hold of your hand when you pulled away and went after Reki. He stared after you for a moment before sighing and running off with Joe, knowing that you wanted to ensure the safety of your classmate.
You followed the redhead onto the back of a motorcycle and headed off down the track. Once the two of you had reached Langa, he was already met by a police car, so you quickly ordered him to hop onto the bike as Reki prepared to drive off.
'How eventful...'
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The next morning, after you had woken up, the sound of a knock at your bedroom door was heard. Having a feeling you knew who it was, you swiftly got out of bed and went to open it. A grin immediately made its way to your face as you gazed up at the women.
"Good morning, Mrs Ubuyashiki."
"Good morning, (y/n). It pleases me greatly to see you well, especially after the events of 'S' last night." She greeted you with a smile. "Kaoru told me how your friend skated surprisingly well against Adam, so your idea about his abilities must have been accurate."
"Honestly, I wasn't expecting Langa to do as well as he did or get that far." You answered. "He shocked us all."
"As long as you are happy and well, (y/n). I must be leaving now. Please stay healthy." The lady said, preparing to depart.
"I will, Mrs Ubuyashiki. Stay well, and good health to you and Mr Ubuyashiki."
"Thank you, (y/n), and you too."
After she had left the house, you turned back to your room and stared at the suitcase that lay on the ground.
'Packing for a trip takes so much work...'
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