''So you're alive, after all.''
You came to a halt, stepping on your skateboard to make it pop before catching it. ''Somehow, I am.''
It was Saturday, meaning you could spend their whole day skating, so you'd decided to meet at the skatepark to help Langa learn one of the most important things in skating - the ollie.
''Yeah, they stayed until really late and I just passed out right after they left,'' you explained. ''Minoru was as annoying as ever, though. I hate him so much! If only his dad wasn't my dad's boss.''
Langa looked at you in pity, though he was annoyed at whoever this Minoru guy was for having caused you discomfort.
You sighed. ''Anyway, have you tried doing an ollie yet?'' you asked as you looked at Langa, your previous discomfort gone from your features.
''No, we just got here,'' Langa explained.
''Oh, alright! Let us show you, then!'' you said as you let your board and raced ahead, climbing on and pushing off, popping an ollie mere seconds later. Langa stared in astonishment, noting how easy you made it look, whilst Reki cheered you on.
Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as you'd made it look. He'd tried a few times already, yet each time the board would roll away from under his feet. He tried to jump over the two water bottles Reki had put down for him, but alas, he'd ended up falling on his side once again.
You and Reki, of course, noticed your friend's failed attempt and approached him, each of you on your skateboards.
''Are you okay?'' asked Reki.
Langa put his fist on the ground, not standing up. ''To think an ollie is this difficult . . .''
''You have ollies in snowboarding, too, right?'' Reki asked in curiousity.
''That's true. But your feet are attached and your feet don't change stances, so amateurs can pull off something like it,'' Langa explained. ''But in skateboarding, your feet aren't attached. It flies with you. It's completely different. How long did it take you guys before you got it down?''
Reki stood on his skateboard proudly, throwing up two fingers. ''Me? Two months!'' he said. ''But it usually takes around three months or so.''
''That long?'' Langa looked at Reki in discouragement, turning to look at you in hopes you might've done it faster.
''It took me two and a half,'' you admitted, shrugging. ''Popping an ollie isn't an easy task, so give yourself some time. It'll be worth it when you manage to do it for the first time!''
Langa sighed. ''Do you have to be able to do this?''
Reki explained to Langa how important the ollies were, whilst you took a seat down next to Langa and rolled your eyes at how extra your best friend was being. ''If you wanna pop an ollie, you won't be able to do it if you're duct-taping. Just get used to it.''
Langa looked away. ''I'm scared. I can't keep my cool.''
''How many years have you been snowboarding?'' Reki asked.
''Let's see . . .'' Langa said as he started counting on his fingers, putting more and more down. ''Fifteen years, I think.''
Your and Reki's eyes widened. ''Wait! From when you were two?''
''If you've been doing it that long, no wonder you can't shake off its sensations,'' Reki said before he got up. ''Let's go!''
- - -
''Reki, your room's a mess,'' you pointed out as the three of you walked inside, having just arrived at the Kyan household. You plopped down on his messy bed, not really caring what he'd say.
''I didn't have time to clean, sheesh!'' Reki said as he bent down in front of his desk. ''Langa, just sit around there somewhere. Um, I think it was somewhere around here.''
As Reki rummaged through a box and you took out your phone, Langa simply stood in the middle of the room, looking around all the posters and stickers and belongings Reki had. His eyes unconciosly landed on you, who was now laying down, observing you. You looked nice in your normal clothes, being mostly used to seeing you in your school uniform.
You looked good.
He shook his head, reminding himself he had a soulmate and so did you. He couldn't think, couldn't feel such things, right? He had to stay faithful.
There was a presence next to him, causing his breath to hitch, immediately forgetting what he had been thinking about. He sat petrified as the small girl looked at him in wonder, confused as to who he was.
''Nanaka!'' Reki said, causing the girl to get up and run away as quick as her small feet could take her, startling Langa even more.
''Nanaka?'' you asked as you sat up, not having heard the girl enter at all.
''Who was that?'' asked Langa, still quite frightened.
''Third oldest little sister,'' Reki explained, as if it was unimportant.
''Reki, you should tell me if you have friends over!'' Reki's mom appeared at the doorway. ''Hello, Y/n!"
''Hey,'' you simply waved, already quite familiar with the woman.
Reki's mom looked at Langa. ''Welcome! I'm Reki's mom. He hasn't given you any trouble, right? Are you okay?''
''Yeah, Langa, blink twice if you need help,'' you added, causing Reki's mom to laugh.
Reki, on the other hand, was not amused. ''Like I would! More like I take care of him!''
''There's no way that would be true!" Reki's mom laughed.
''Why can't you believe your son for once?'' Reki asked in annoyance.
Two of Reki's sisters entered the room, noticing you on the bed and quickly climbing up the mattres to sit on each side of you, still wary of the unknown boy in front of them.
Langa was watching them, too, before Reki's mom spoke to him again. ''Oh, are you hungry? I have some tasty cake! Would you like some, too, Y/n?''
The sisters cheered that they did, in fact, want cake, while Reki looked at his mom in annoyance. ''I don't want any!''
''You'll have some, right?'' Reki's mom asked in a slightly pushy way.
''Take it while you can, Langa. Her cakes are really good!'' you said, imagining the tasty dessert.
Langa sweat dropped. ''Yes.''
''Then I'll bring some over!'' Reki's mom said as she and the two sisters left the room, closing the door behind them.
''It's quite rowdy,'' Langa pointed out, looking at Reki.
''A huge family only embarrasses you,'' Reki said in exasperation before returning to rummage through the cupboard in search for whatever he was trying to find.
It was silent, each of them doing their own thing, when you decided it was too quiet. ''Hey, Langa,'' you said as you slid down the bed to sit on the ground and lean against it. He turned around, indicating he was listening to you. ''What's your soulmate like?''
Langa looked down, a small smile appearing on his face as he thought about his soulmate. ''They're really nice. And fun. They seems to be outgoing, too,'' he explained, looking up at you. ''How . . . how about yours?''
''He seems to be more on the shyer side - not with me, though, I think. He's really nice, too. He's currently learning how to skate - though he used to snowboard, like you!'' you explained.
''That's nice,'' Langa nodded, feeling slightly uneasy. ''My soulmate skates, too. They love it a lot.''
''What a coincidence!'' you laughed.
Reki perked up at their words, curiosity filling him. Yesterday, they'd both said they'd just discovered both their soulmates were in Japan the day prior. Now, apparently, each of them likes skating, and your soulmate used to snowboard.
Could it be that . . .
Reki's thoughts disappeared when he finally found the magazine he was looking for, completely forgetting about his train of thoughts. ''Here it is!"
Both you and Langa stopped talking, looking towards Reki. You put your cakes down - Reki's mom had brought them in a few minutes ago - and crawled towards Reki to take a look at the magazine as well. ''How about this one?''
''The feet are fixed in place. I didn't know they had stuff like this,'' Langa said as the three observed the skateboard Reki was showing them. ''Yeah, this would keep me from being scared.''
''Want me to make one?'' Reki asked.
''You can make this?'' Langa asked.
''I made that one that you used in the beef against Shadow, too,'' Reki explained.
Langa looked to his right, seeing Reki's battered board. ''I had no idea.''
''You want a bigger deck than that, too, right?'' Reki asked.
''You can tell?'' Langa asked.
''Based on how you skated the other day,'' Reki explained. ''With a bigger deck, the wheel base can be wider, as well, giving you more stability. You're worried about being unstable, right? Did you wobble in a corner in the middle of your skating?''
''Yeah, I did! How do you know so much?'' Langa asked in astonishment.
''He may be shit at school, but he's a genius at skateboarding!'' you pointed out, causing Langa to chuckle and Reki to grunt.
''I see,'' Langa said, the small smile on his lips.
- - -
Reki pushed open the door of the garage, turning on the lamp and letting his two friends inside. It was full of skateboard equipment - from boards, to wheels, to tools, to paint. Whatever you need to make a skateboard, Reki probably had it.
''There was a garage like this in the back?'' Langa asked as he looked around.
Reki walked up to the planks propped against the wall, picking up one. ''This might work.''
''What?''
''They don't sell decks that would suit you,'' Reki said as he turned around and held up the plank. ''So I'll make one by shaving this board.''
Reki put the board on the table and took out a cutting tool. Langa watched as he cut the board until you tugged on his sleeve. ''You should think about the wheels you want!'' you yelled over the noise.
''Wheels . . . you mean on the skateboard?'' Langa yelled, too, as he looked at you.
''Yeah,'' Reki joined the conversation. ''Bigger ones go faster, but they're heavy, and little ones mean the opposite. You also have to think about the trucks that go along with the wheels.''
''Trucks?''
''Oh, jeez!" Reki sighed as he stopped cutting. He put the tool away, taking out a cut out page from a magazine, showing three different boards. Pointing to the biggest one, he said, ''This is a long board. It's used in surfing for offshore training.'' He pointed at the smallest one. ''This is a cruiser. It's for going around city streets.'' He pointed to the middle one. ''And this is street. It's like the ones Y/n and I use.''
Reki took out his phone, playing a video of people doing different tricks with a street, and showing it to Langa. ''If you want to do tricks, go with this one.''
''How did he just do that?'' Langa asked in curiousity.
''Looks cool, huh?''
''Yeah,'' Langa said, watching another cool trick. ''That, too!''
''It's wicked! Only a handful of guys can pull that off, though,'' Reki said, not looking away from the screen.
''But it's possible,'' Langa said.
You nodded. ''It is. I'm sure you'll be able to pull it off someday.''
Langa stared into nothing at your words, contemplating. This caused you and Reki to laugh lightly.
''They skate in places like these, too?''
''Of course, it's skating.''
''Amazing,'' Langa spoke, his eyes wide. ''You can skate anywhere.''
''You can't snowboard unless you go up in the mountains, right?'' Reki asked.
''It's no good if there's no pileup of snow, but it's not good if there's a blizzard, either,'' Langa explained. ''Indoor facilities are too cramped.''
''But you can skate even in school!''
''The park, the mountains!''
''Morning, evening!''
''Even if it's not snowing!''
''Yep!"
''Anytime, anywhere. Under any circumstances, you can skate!'' Reki exclaimed as he stood up, hands stretched up. ''Time, places, possibilities . . . skating is infinite!''
''Infinite . . .''
You observed, watching as Langa watched Reki in wonder, seeing the moment as the boy fell in love with skateboarding.
- - -
''It's getting late, guys, I should head home,'' you said as you checked your phone, seeing it was nearing eleven. Your parents would probably be wondering where you were by now.
''Oh, yeah, me too. My mom's probably worried,'' Langa said as he stood up, looking away from Reki cutting the board. ''I can walk you, if you want.''
''If it's not too much trouble,'' Y/n said, looking at Reki. ''You going to stay up to finish?''
Reki nodded. ''You bet!''
''Alright, just don't cut your fingers off!'' you said as you picked up your skateboard that had been leaning against to the wall.
''You don't have to stay up to make it, Reki,'' Langa said, worried about his friend getting no sleep.
Reki waved him off. ''It's fine, the excitement won't let me sleep anyway. Just come over tomorrow so we can test it!''
Langa nodded, though rather reluctant, then the two of you made your way out of Reki's house, bidding a quick goodbye to his mom and sisters on the way.
It was unusually quiet, now that Reki wasn't with you. You realized that this was the first time you were alone with Langa, and it felt weird, though not in a bad way. What were you supposed to talk about alone with him?
''How long have you been skating for?'' Langa asked, saving you from trying to come up with a topic for conversation.
''I started when I was seven, so ten years, more or less,'' you said, thinking about it for a second.
''That's a long time, no wonder you're so good,'' Langa nodded. ''Did you start learning along with Reki?''
You shook your head. ''I didn't know Reki when I started. I met him at the skate park one day and we just clicked, I guess. We've been friends ever since.''
Langa nodded again. ''Skateboarding really is amazing.''
''It is,'' you agreed.
There was a moment of silence, a rather awkward one, though not unbearable. You could go as far as to say it was kind of nice.
Langa looked at you as you looked ahead, observing your features. He couldn't see much due to it being dark already, but the street lamps illuminated your face, providing him with enough light.
They're really pretty . . .
He looked away, feeling his cheeks getting warmer. He shouldn't be thinking this, it wasn't appropriate. Stay faithful, he reminded himself.
''Hey, Langa, your hair looks really nice.''
Langa looked at you again, confusion evident on his face at the randomness. ''I, uh, thanks?''
''No problem,'' you smiled. ''It looks really fluffy, too. I'm jealous!"
Are you jealous of the hair texture or of his soulmate?
Langa reached up to touch his hair in confusion. ''I don't really think it is. You can touch it if you want.''
Your eyes widened, not expecting this response of his. Nevertheless, you reached up, running a hand through his hair, hesitating slightly as to not make him uncomfortable. It felt nice, your hand running through his hair. ''It is fluffy! I'm even more jealous!''
Of the hair texture or his soulmate?
- - -
Langa praticed, day after day, on the new board Reki had made him. It looked different, though pretty cool nonetheless - even though Langa didn't seem to be very fond of the yeti Reki had drawn on the back of te board.
The three trained at the skatepark, at school, in the breaks they got during work. Slowly, Langa learned how to do an ollie in one place, rather shakily, but an ollie nonetheless. Now, he only had to be able to do it while moving.
''Are you okay?'' Reki asked as Langa fell down once again, holding his arm. You were at the park and the sun was setting, so you would be going home soon.
''Ouch!'' Langa said, shutting his eyes in pain. He slowly opened his eyes to take a look at his hand, only for panic to strike him. ''Huh? Blood! I drew blood! Blood!''
You and Reki watched him, dumbfounded. ''You're overreacting.''
Langa suddenly stopped, leaning back and passing out. ''Langa!"
''You sometimes bleed when you snowboard, right?'' asked Reki as you put band-aids over Langa's arm to cover his wounds.
''Almost never,'' Langa said as he watched your fingers work. ''It's mainly bruises or broken bones.''
''Oh . . .'' Reki said. ''But for skating, it's like a rite of passing. The more you bail, the better you get! So, bail to your heart's content!"
''Though, don't kill yourself while you're at it,'' you warned, leaning slightly back as Reki gripped on Langa's shoulders.
''You make it sound like it's not your business,'' Langa said, then a small smile stretched on his cheeks. ''But then, it was like that in snowboarding, too.''
There was a moment of silence, before Reki spoke. ''Langa . . . why did you come to Okinawa? Did your parents get relocated?''
''It's because my dad died,'' Langa spoke flatly, causing both you and Reki to gasp quietly, your eyes never leaving the blue haired boy. ''This is where my mom grew up. I was looking for a job so I can help with the family income.''
''I see,'' Reki said as he looked at the sunset. You, on the other hand, kept on looking at Langa, shifting slightly closer to him and putting a hand on his shoulder in reassurance, though unsure if it meant anything. Langa looked down at your hand upon the contact, giving a tight-lipped smile.
''Is it boring out here?'' Reki asked.
''Huh?'' Langa looked at Reki in confusion.
''I mean, it doesn't snow here. You can't snowboard.''
''Oh . . .'' Langa looked down. ''After my dad died, I didn't snowboard in Canada, either.''
His dad passed away and he stopped snowboarding. He moved to Japan and looked for work, and is currently learning how to skate. This sounds kind of familiar . . .
Langa stood up, cutting your train of thoughts as your hand fell off his shoulder. ''But . . . after getting on a board for the first time in a while . . . for some reason . . .'' Langa pushed off, accelerating towards the sunset. ''. . . right now . . .'' He pushed the back of the deck, flying up along with the board. ''. . . I'm having fun!"
He looked magestic, you could say. The light hitting him just perfectly, much like it had in his beef with Shadow. It was a beautiful sight you wanted to see more of.
You gasped as he popped his first ollie, as did Reki. A smile found it's place on your face as you stood up and cheered. ''GO, LANGA!''
Unfortunately, he didn't manage to land gracefully, falling on his back instead. You and Reki both approached him and kneeled down next to him, grins on each of your faces.
''So? How do you feel after nailing your first ollie?'' Reki asked.
''It feels really good!" Langa said and let out a relieved sigh, stretching slightly before relaxing again.
''Langa,'' Reki put his hand up. The blue haired boy watched in wonder for a second before giving a high-five and then the two fist pumped - much like you and Reki usually do.
Langa looked towards you, expecting a similar gesture. What he didn't expect was for you to throw your arms around the boy, causing him to almost fall on his back for the who-knows-which time today.
''Good job, Langa!'' you said as you wrapped your arms around his neck, giving him a hug. Langa was reluctant to wrap his arms around your body, looking at Reki in confusion, unused to the affection. Reki seemed to be surprised, too - it was quite unusual to see you being that affectionate, really., He still grinned at his friends, enjoying the moment.
- - -
''It's rad! This guy's a genius!'' Reki wrapped his arm around Langa's shoulders and brought him down, ignoring the boy's exasperated look. ''He nailed an ollie in just two weeks! And it took us two months!"
''That was simply jumping over a twig, right?'' Oka asked.
The three had gone back to Dope Sketch to tell Oka about Langa's success.
''Don't be a buzz killer, Manager Oka! Besides, he started skating like what, two weeks ago? That's an achievement if you ask me!'' you crossed your arms in front of your chest.
The door opened, and Oka turned to look at the door. ''Welcome-'' He cut himself off. ''You're . . .''
You, Reki and Langa looked towards the door, the first two's eyes widening. ''You serious?''
''Miya Chinen, the Japanese national hopeful!'' you pointed out, recognizing the middle schooler immediately.
''Hey you there, run a beef against me in 'S','' Miya spoke, a small smirk on his face.
''Beef?'' Reki asked, before smirking as well. ''That's out of the blue, and I . . .''
As Reki gushed, Miya walked past you and him, approaching Langa who stood behind you, his hair messy from Reki rubbing it. ''I have no use for slimes.''
''S-Slime?'' Reki asked, suddenly panicking and pointing at himself. You, on the other hand, looked at the boy, confused as to why he was being so rude.
''I want to hear the ding of leveling up for the first time in a while,'' Miya said, not paying any attention to Reki. ''You're fine with it, right?''