——As the teenage girl looked out of her balcony, the sound of New York traffic rang in her ears. Even at night, the city never seemed to quiet down. The skyline was a view that y/n l/n was blessed to see. After all, an apartment with a nice view was extremely pricey in New York.
Glancing down at her watch she could see that it was 15 minutes till 9pm, which meant she had to get going for a skating event.
Every Saturday night at 9pm, the community of New York skaters would gather at a designated skate park and participated in a competitive terrain park tournament. That night was the finale, where the winner would be determined. Y/n l/n, versus (opponent name).
They would be doing a skateboard trick battle, where they would try and one-up each other into doing increasingly more difficult tricks until someone failed or gave up.
Y/N had managed to last till the end out of over 150 competitors.
——"I CAN'T BELIEVE I LOST TO SOME 13 YEAR OLD GIRL! SHE'S LITERALLY A CHILD! UGH, SHE MUST BE CHEATING!"
"You know, a person's skills should not be limited to their age." Y/n said right back at her opponent. They stared back in shock, surprised by her mature response.
Under the moonlight, the light shone on
Y/N's face. She was wearing a pair of neon glasses glowing a hue of dark purple on the top of the rim, and an indigo on the bottom. Her skateboard and shoes glowing, matching her glasses. Other than those accessories, nothing else really stood out.
Perhaps that was the whole purpose, it was to emphasize her amazing eyesight, her immaculate speed on her feet, and her natural talent at skateboarding.
Earlier at the match, y/n had beat against one of New York's most well known skaters. Her agility had aided her; she was able to match every trick her rival showed her, while they had trouble keeping up with y/n.
The skateboard tricks y/n did were no ordinary ones you would see regularly at skate parks. They were usually a combination of two tricks, or a twist added on top of an already existing trick.
The move y/n did to win against her opponent was called "Neon Lights". This trick almost guaranteed her to win every single time.
Looking from the sidelines, you would see that y/n, or better known under the alias of Neon, had jumped into the air at great height with an Ollie. Once in the air, the skateboard would flip over once while she was in midair.
Then at the part when the board starts to fall down, y/n would put her feet on the board in midair, rotating along with the board for 180°. When she lands, she continues her spin from the momentum of the jump, completing a 360.
With all these steps combined, her glowing skateboard and shoes would create a tiny light show, practically putting on a whole performance in front of the audience.
"Wow! Neon's Neon Lights trick never fails to amaze me!"
"She's so young, but her skateboarding skills are better than most pros already!"
"The Neon Lights move is practically 4 tricks in 1! So impressive!"
Y/n wore a smug face, hearing all of these comments boosted her ego. She had already won the tournament 3 times in a row, and it was no surprise she won again.
"So much talent, but now you're just reusing your same tricks over and over again. You're not going to learn anything if you use your Neon Lights move to guarantee your win every time. What if they were skilled enough to match it?" A voice called out, interrupting y/n's slight daydream about being the world's best skater.
Turning around, she could see her father, one of the moderators for their tournament.
"Dad, I'm already the best, what else is there to learn?" Y/n yawned slightly, looking up at her father.
"There are so many better skaters out there than you, plus you're only good at terrain park. What about speed skating huh? And new tricks? You've still got a bunch to learn. It's about time you get rid of that big ego of yours." He said firmly to y/n.
"Heh? What's that supposed to mean?" Y/n asked her father.
"Y/n, would you consider skateboarding as your future career?"
"I mean it would probably be my main career, yeah. I've already made quite a name for myself in the skating world."
"That's good to know. I'm planning on sending you to Japan so you can participate skating there. If you manage to make yourself a name there too, then you have no problem become an international professional skater."
"W-what? That's so sudden!"
"There's nothing more to offer you in New York. It's time that you go to Okinawa and meet some of their best national skaters."
"Okinawa?! You mean that island?"
"Of course. My friend who goes by Adam is there, and he'll be keeping an eye on you. But you'll be staying at your own apartment, is that ok?"
"Wait, you're staying here in New York?"
"I still have work here, I can't abandon it. It would ruin my business."
"Do I really have to go?"
"If you want to skate seriously, then yes."
"Fine, I guess I'll go whatever."
"Great. You'll be leaving in a month, just in time for the start of a school year. I'll give you more information later on. For now, practice more of your skating, but remember to practice on your academic abilities as well.
"Alright then, let's head home together."
—— The echoes of y/n's now empty bedroom could be heard. All of her items were removed a week prior so she could settle in her apartment with everything set up when she arrives at Japan.
Brushing her fingers against a pin her dad gave her, it read the letter S in a graffiti kind of style. He had told her to go to this abandoned mine at midnight with that pin on to participate or spectate a top-secret skating race.
Around 2 weeks ago, this was the conversation y/n had with her dad.
"How did you get this pin? Shouldn't S be open for locals only?" Y/n asked her father.
"I used to live in Okinawa, and let's just say I was one of the people that started S." He replied abruptly.
"You mean, all this time I thought you were just a regular former skater, but you were good enough to be founding a skating race?"
"I guess so. Adam and I were the main people who started it."
"Dad... why don't you skate anymore?"
"I'm a bit too old now, my body isn't what it was before. Maybe I can cruise on a skateboard, but terrain park is completely out of the picture. I was the oldest one there when I founded S."
"Makes sense. Anyways, thanks to your Japanese lessons and all the anime I've been watching, I'm able to speak basic Japanese that people would probably say in an everyday situation. Just thought I'd let you know."
"That's good news."
There was a small comfortable silence.
"I can't believe my little girl is going off to a different country by herself already..."
"You suggested this in the first place!"
"It's for the best. You're not going to learn if you stay in one spot. Life is about taking risks and learning from those experiences, so you can be the best version of yourself. Keep these words close to your heart."
Of course dad, I'll live by this. I promise I won't let you down!
Y/n l/n snapped out of her flashback, as she took her packed suitcase and backpack along with her into the door way. Today was the day where she would explore a new world.