Shiki's staring at a Reaper, and it takes a lot more willpower than it should to keep any anxiety from showing on her face. She should've really known that she couldn't live out the rest of her life in peace without having to interact with one again.

Langa makes a face and pitches his voice to easily play dumb. "What's a love hotel?"

Reki rolls his eyes. "Now you're pushing it."

Snake holds out a black card in the shape of a heart with loopy red handwriting on it. "For you," he says.

"Uh, it's in English," Reki points out, taking the card.

Shiki looks down at the card. "It says 'Dear the Third Wheel.'"

Reki frowns. "The third wheel?"

Langa leans in to look at the card. "Do you know what that is? Someone that's in the way."

"What the— if you have three wheels that's not enough." Shiki internally sighs at the remark.

Langa frowns down at the card, any possible meanings likely going through his head. "I don't think it's about a board."

Snake ignores their antics. "Adam has nominated you to be Shadow's substitute. You would be wise to decline."

"What? After getting nominated?" Reki complains at the suggestion.

"He was only playing with you the first time you raced. But this time, Adam's serious." Was Shiki seeing things or was there concern in the man's eyes?

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

And from Shiki's perspective, it is a bad thing. If last time truly was that bad, then this time…

"You're not listening to me! Are you willing to throw away your whole life for a skateboard?" Snake snaps, stepping in close. "It's not gonna make you rich or famous. If you get injured it will be in the papers. If that happens everything that's been built up will come crashing down."

"What does that mean? Look, I don't think you know who you're talking to. You clearly don't understand. There's only one reason anyone should get involved with skating. Because it's fun!" Reki turns to smile at Langa. "Right?" Langa nods in agreement.

"Great, that again? It'll make sense when you grow up. Everything can't be fun, that's just not how life works." Snake glances at Shiki. "I'm sure your friend there could tell you all about that."

Before Shiki can say anything in response, Snake turns on his heel and leaves, the bell on the door chiming cheerily as it shuts.

That guy may be a Reaper, but he's an Okinawa Reaper, not a Shibuya Reaper. So how did he know that she survived the Game? Was their particular game really that famous throughout the UG?

Reki frowns as Snake leaves. "The heck was that all about?"

"Not sure," Shiki shrugs. "Are you gonna race him?"

"Yeah! It sounds like fun!" Reki says immediately.

"Okay, just… be careful." Shiki requests, trying to keep any doubts out of her voice.

"'Course," Reki nods, voice serious.

"Good," Oka says, arm pulling Reki into a headlock. "So. A love hotel?"

Oh yeah, that was something that happened apparently.

"I was wondering about that, too," Shiki admits.

Langa opts to stare at Reki for an explanation rather than use words.

Reki turns red, "I-It's not like that! H-He just took me there after I passed out when he accidentally hit me with his car—" His hands shoot up to cover his mouth. It's too late, the truth already thrown to the air.

"He WHAT!?" The three of them demand. Reki flinches a little.

But that doesn't quite process because Reki got hit by a car?

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Shiki demands, rushing forwards. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I'm okay," Reki quickly assures her, understanding on his face. He must've remembered what she had told him before. "He wasn't going fast at all. I passed out from shock."

He looks fine but Shiki can't help but scan him with her eyes (it's not like she can still use her Player Pin to read minds anymore) as quickly and thoroughly as she can to see if she can spot a lie, and the lack of one calms her down immensely. She had to check.

Because the last (and first) time she got hit by a car and lost consciousness, she had woken up in the UG.

"Okay, good. Sorry for freaking out on you."

Langa and Oka seem to relax too from his account of the situation.

"Hey, Reki?" Langa asks. "Can we go work on my skateboard?"

"Oh, crap, right, yours broke," Reki blinks. "C'mon, let's go to my place."

Right, yeah, that did happen. Right at the end of Langa and Joe's race.

"Shiki, do you want to come, too?" Langa asks.

"Oh, uh, sure, why not."

She looks at the polite demand to talk that she had received on her phone via text. It was the city's Inspection day, but she doubted that this message had to do with said event.

She sighs and slips her phone into her pocket and rises from her desk, crossing the room to the file cabinet that only she has the key for. Only to keep such sensitive information away from prying eyes. The files inside are meticulously organized by date, and folders are separated by year, a page for each month of the year kept inside.

This level of organization created by habit almost annoyed her. She hadn't done it intentionally, but such is the result of living a double life. Especially one as paper-heavy as police work.

She grabbed the file containing all the information of the previous year and tossed it onto the conference table behind her. There was a Game that week, but it hadn't finished left, being only the end of the second day (and the Okinawa games did occasionally have night games, considering some events that happened), and there were still a fair amount of Players left, despite all the Noise in the area.

Hm, on second thought, maybe she better read up on who's visiting before he arrives. She unlocks the bottom drawer and sifts through the files before pulling out the folder neatly labeled "2018". She reads through the report of the most notable event of that year, occurring in the summer.

The infamous Shibuya Long Game. The report has the basic information listed, game masters, entrance fees, players who won, and the always long list of players who got erased. Along with the few follow-up reports of Players who were selected for revival. The most notable being Neku Sakuraba, who was a player the entire time.

Players who return to the RG after the game are few and far between. However, they remember every bit of the game in order to prevent their Souls from withering due to the lack of memories to remind them how far they've come and why they've made the changes that they had. Along with the prevention of any attack on the UG, should they get any ideas.

And after the rise of the Shibuya Composer, there was now a rule made by the higher-ups themselves that stated that any living person with a strong sixth sense would be marked down and checked on occasionally in the case that they attempt to overthrow the UG for themselves. Like one Yoshiya Kiryu had (and succeeded to do).

There were a few interesting discrepancies in the Long Game report that always piqued her interest. One being Raimu Bito's erasure on the fourth day of the first week, only to be listed as one of the winners of the final game along with Shiki Misaki despite neither of them being participants in the last game. It was also a marvel for that week that there were two players at all due to Sakuraba's entrance fee being all other players, which was a loophole in itself.

But Daisukenojo Bito joining the Reapers in an attempt to save his sibling, along with betraying them to save a friend, reminded her of a far more local case.

After a glance at the long list of rules violated during the Long Game (abuse of power at the very top, just barely above the interference of both a Composer and Producer), she puts the file back into its proper place before returning to the reports of the Okinawa game, written by her own hand. It's an old report— one from a few decades ago —so it's farther back into the drawer, but it's not too hard to find.

Okinawa, similarly to other districts, are brutal with their Games. Not many are intended to survive, and the few who do are not always worthy of revival. You can't let coming back to life be a common occurrence. There would be major repercussions in the RG otherwise and the higher-ups have made it a point that they'd rather avoid anything like that from happening.

So they let miracles be miracles in the eyes of the humans.

But on rare occasions that they have more than one survivor that's worthy of revival, they try to let the survivors select between themselves who returns and who doesn't. It usually never ends well, or indecisiveness forces the Conductor or Composer to make the choice for them.

In this case, there were two survivors, both worthy of revival. Tadashi Kikuchi and Ainosuke Shindo. The two lived together— one rich and the other their servant. They had both apparently died in an accident while skateboarding together. And the consequences were what had pushed Kikuchi into insisting that Shindo go back. Of course, Shindo refused as a best friend would, saying that it was his fault they were there in the first place.

They had gone back and forth, the Conductor listening to both their arguments like some sort of courtroom judge. The Composer had stepped in, in the end, making the decision that Shindo was to return and the Kikuchi could go with him, on the condition that he joins the Reapers and serves them whenever able.

The boys had no choice but to agree and Shindo was sent back. Reports say that he moved back to America shortly after and Kikuchi devoted most of his time to his job as a support Reaper.

But since Kikuchi hadn't been selected for revival, his entry fee was not returned to him, a rule unique to Okinawa. Normally, all winners get their entrance fee back upon returning to the UG or returned in order for a new one to be claimed if one were to play another round. But since he was just joining the Reapers, he had to go on without his fee.

She looked over the report where his fee was listed among the many other players who had whatever was most important to them taken. Kikuchi's entry fee was his emotions, rendering him very monotone.

However, that didn't mean that they were gone for good. Raimu Bito would be in a similar boat with their dreams not being returned to them.

Should a person's Soul strengthen enough, their fees could return to them in a snap, reforming what had been lost in the empty hole in their heart. Like erasing a hole in a heart drawn by a pencil, then filling it in with a colored pencil. Different, but ultimately the same as what had been taken from before. Kikuchi's strongest emotions and Bito's life's dream might be different from before, but the concept of them weren't forever gone.

She puts the file back, careful not to bend it too much, and shuts the drawer, the auto-lock kicking in. And in time, too, apparently, as she can sense a presence appear behind her.

She doesn't need to turn to know who it is. So, she breaks the ice with a simple question.

"How's your little art thing going?"

A huffed laugh. "Can only go so well with, y'know, house arrest and all."

"No inspiration?"

"No canvas."

"Well, I suppose that might be your own fault. One who's fallen from grace cannot very well continue to masquerade as a famous artist."

"Don't forget the hip cafe barista job."

"Mm. Which one are you disguised as, then?"

"Up to interpretation."

She turns to greet her elder properly. "I'd ask you to sit but it seems like you're already a step ahead, Sanae."

The man grins wildly, but eyes still kind behind his sunglasses. "No need to be so formal, Kiriko. We've both been around for some time now."

She frowns. "I'd prefer to keep things professional for now, since you're here on business. I assume based on your message that you have something else you wish to talk about?"

"We can save it for after," Mr. Hanekoma shrugs, pulling the file on the table closer to himself. "Just the normal ol' inspections for now."

Kiriko sits down and shoots him a curious look. "Are you even qualified to perform those?"

"Sat through so many myself the higher-ups figured I was qualified to conduct one myself."

"No, qualified to answer the question regarding purification, but that does raise some interesting questions about your age."

"Ah, that," He ignores the jab and doesn't answer for a moment, reading through the files and turning the pages.

Kiriko can't help but shift uncomfortably at the silence. Hanekoma himself has had to hear the answer to that question himself numerous times, and yet he always held himself with an air of calm confidence.

It's a big question, and it won't be a pleasant experience bringing it up to the Composer if the answer is the one she's not hoping for. Mainly because then it'll be between them and the Higher Plane, and she'll have no interjection allowed.

The file is slid back at her and she jumps a little in surprise, stopping it from sliding off the table.

"Inspection says all clear with no impurities noted," Sanae grins at her.

She lets out a breath. "Good." Then, "Speaking of impurities, the rumor mill has some pretty interesting things to say about Shibuya right now."

"Is that so?"

"An Executor is there? I know Shibuya was marked as impure, but I thought no actions were going to be taken."

"Not ours."

"Excuse me?"

"Executor of Shinjuku. Apparently, he followed their crew to Shibuya."

"Shinjuku? And Mikagi hasn't done anything about it yet?"

"Don't really think he cares."

"Well, I suppose he's never really cared too much for the rules. He nor anyone else in Shinjuku."

"Or he's interested in seeing how it will go down. You'd think he'd be bored by now, seeing how nothing's happened and it's been over two years since they arrived. Between you and me, I think he's trying to follow in a certain someone's footsteps."

Which is code for he's trying to be like the Shibuya Composer.

Kiriko sighs, "How is it that we're the sanest Angels out of the whole Orchestra?"

Sanae returns a mischievous grin. "I'd argue that we're the insane ones, seeing how much belief we have in humans."

Kiriko gives her own amused smile. "Then I suppose that makes you the most insane of all."

"Ha! Maybe so!"

"Anyways to get us back on track, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

"I think you know."

"Misaki?"

"Yep."

"The Composer and I talked it over, and we are in agreement that any changes that she inadvertently causes will only serve to refine the Souls of those around her."

"Tha's great and all, but I wanted to discuss the fact that she's close friends with my Composer."

"Ah." Yeah, that's an issue.

"J won't act without reason, but he prolly will if she finds herself in any trouble. And you know how he can get. I'll see if I can get him to back off a bit. "

"I suppose that it would be problematic if we had any international conflicts happening. I'll see what I can do."

"Many thanks. I've got some time 'fore I have to head back. Up for a drink or two?"

"I suppose I could check my schedule."

"Busy, busy, huh?"

"I live a double life as a police inspector. What else would you expect?"

A chuckle. "Nothing less. Well here comes a few questions then, Producer to Producer."

Oh dear, what was he going to ask?

"What's the weirdest thing your Composer's ever asked you to make."

Kiriko blinks, not having expected the question. But if he's asking…

"Oh, that's easy. I was asked for a…"

The two slip into the UG and chat and complain about their experiences as Producers and the whims they occasionally have with their Composers.

Reki, Langa, and Shiki all pile into the shed in Reki's backyard that's been converted into a space to hand-make skateboards.

"Your mom seems nice," Shiki observes. "Even if she totally had the wrong idea of me coming over at first."

Reki scratches the back of his head. "Sorry…"

"No, don't apologize. Your mom is fun."

"The cake last time was really good," Langa mumbles. "Will she bring some more?"

"Probably," Reki shrugs. "But, on with your board."

"You said you can't fix it, right?"

"Well, the deck snapped."

"What if you tried salvaging parts from this board and repurposing it for the new one?" Shiki suggests. "It saves time since you already know they work for Langa's preference."

"I was thinking about that," Reki says, surveying the board. "Thankfully I can reuse those trucks. But the wheels are kinda banged up a bit, so it'd be best to use some new ones. Check out these wheels I've got. I made this one," Reki pulled open a drawer in the desk, revealing a multitude of different wheels. He places a wheel with mini sharp spikes on the curve of it.

Langa's eyes practically sparkle, gazing at the skateboard wheel. "How do you skateboard on something like this?"

"Well, it turns out that you don't."

"I see…" Langa mutters as Shiki snorts at the statement. "What about this one?" He points to a white wheel with yellow and blue grooves on it.

"Oh, that's for rainy weather. The grooves on it kinda act like car tires so you don't lose your footing over mud."

"And so you don't go sailing off your board if it gets stuck or does something weird on the mud," Shiki finishes.

"Yep. I saw it in a magazine, the one over there." Shiki picks up the magazine he had pointed out. "Skate Fun."

Langa frowns at the magazine. "You mean Skate Fan?"

"Oh no way, did I say fun?"

"Yeah, I think that may be a different magazine altogether."

"Well, they're… both about liking stuff?" Reki shrugs.

"That's a good way to look at it," Shiki smiles.

"Eh, guess it doesn't matter too much. Alright, let's resurrect this board!" Reki declares.

Langa gestures to something on the broken board. "Those foot clips seemed good, right? Or felt good at least."

"Foot clips?" Shiki can't help but ask.

"Helps me keep my foot in place on the board. I used to snowboard so I'm more used to it like this," Langa explains as Reki shows off the foot clip.

"Wanna try keeping them off?" Reki asks. "I added them to work as training wheels, but are you sure you really need them anymore?"

"No judgment here if you need to keep them on," Shiki tells him. "Whatever is most comfortable for you."

Langa stared down at the board in thought. "No," he eventually said. "I'll be okay. What about you, though? Are you okay?" He continues after Reki excitedly starts taking it off. "That beef with Adam, do you know what you're going to do about it?"

Reki hums in thought before staring out the window in front of them, Langa and Shiki following his gaze outside. "Well, I'm not gonna skate in the rain, that's for sure."

Shiki pulls out her phone to check the weather. "You might have to. It's supposed to rain tomorrow night, too. Not a super high of a chance, but fairly likely."

There's a pause as the three of them stare at the wheel on the table.

Reki looks at both of them and grins. "You guys thinking what I'm thinking?"

Langa wordlessly points to the wheel while Shiki just smiles. "You've got this."

Adam growls under his breath as he watches over all the drone-mounted cameras displayed on the wall of TV's in front of him. Puppy wasn't with him at the moment, pulled away by business that he dare not interrupt. (He calls him Puppy to rile him up. Blames him, taunts him, insults him, threatens him, all just to get some kind of reaction. But there's always nothing. No opinion, no anger, no fear, no guilt, no smile, no meaning frown, no hope, no nothing! He hasn't been the same since—) He cuts himself off. Clearly if the puppy refuses to fight back, then he's obedient to a fault, more than likely because of love that's equal to the love he has for his aunties.

He directs his attention back to the screens where the one he desires the most and the two he despises the most interact. His eve needs to be the same as him. Needs to be good enough to not get injured and sent there. He needs someone who can keep up with him.

And there is one. He's on the screen in front of him. But he was led away by a few third wheels. This wouldn't have happened if that girl had never shown up. She was a snake, and she lured his eve, sweet little Langa, away with a bright red apple. And now, his eve has run off without him!

This is absolutely unforgivable.

(On another plane, Noise begin to gather.)

When they get to S, everyone else, minus Shadow, is waiting for the three of them. Even Cherry is there, sitting elegantly in a purple wheelchair that Shiki has a suspicion is somehow related to Carla.

Reki and Adam's match is displayed on the projected screen high above the stage, causing bystanders to wonder why Adam was racing Reki, since he lost in the first round of the tournament.

Eventually, Miya, Cherry, and Joe leave to wait at the finish line, leaving Reki, Langa, and Shiki free to chat until the race starts.

"You can do it," Langa smiles, causing Reki to blush a bit.

"The plan should work, theoretically," Shiki reminds him, glancing up at the sky. "We just gotta hope that the weather is in your favor."

"The plan will work," Reki says, rare confidence in his voice.

"I hate to say," a voice drawls. "That whatever plan you have will be hopeless."

Ugh. Adam.

Reki falters slightly. God, did Adam really come all the way over here to crush him emotionally? Make him give up before the race even begins? Shiki needs to distract him somehow. What would the others do? Beat and Eri would probably pick a fight, Rhyme and Neku would try and diffuse the situation which wouldn't really work here. Which left Josh. And Josh would just be an ass overall, but is good at annoying people to distract them from the current topic. And Shiki knows exactly what he would say right now. She hates to say it (not really) but she does.

"Sorry, but did I ask?"

Adam grits his teeth and gives her a death glare, successfully pulling his attention away. A moment later, he's back to normal, as if he hadn't been trying to kill her with looks alone. "Oh, you're still here," He says, bored. "In any case, I do believe that it's time to start the race."

"R-Right," Reki says, still not looking completely confident.

"We'll be waiting for you at the finish line," Langa tells him. "See you soon."

"Good luck, Reki," Shiki wishes, before she and Langa walk away towards the finish.

"Yeah, thanks," Reki nods his head before taking a deep breath to calm himself. He glances up at Adam. "Don't do that smoke break thing this time."

Shiki's too far away to hear Adam's surely over-dramatic response as the overhead lights count them down.

The race starts with Adam in the lead with Reki behind him, which is unsurprising considering the state of Reki's board, but he still manages to keep up with Adam. Or, as Shiki suspects, Adam's letting him. Then, Adam pulls his board around and skates directly towards Reki.

"Love hug already?" Cherry narrows his eyes at the screen.

Shiki can't help but clasp her hands in worry. She'd heard the implications of Snake's warnings from earlier. Adam wouldn't let Reki lose so easily. No, not without getting revenge for whatever accusation he has this time.

And Shiki had noticed Adam's rage when he approached them earlier, before she had gotten him off their backs. It was bad, really bad. And if something isn't done about it soon then the situation will get worse, a lot worse. But they're going so fast. Nothing would be able to be done until they reach the bottom and the race is over.

Reki doesn't back away from the love hug, instead going towards Adam and prepping to dodge. But then, Adam lets him pass, arm motions similar to a matador letting a bull pass, but follows closely behind Reki.

Joe murmurs a worry about Adam following so close behind, his worries prompting Miya to try and scream a warning to Reki through the screen.

Shiki flinches as Adam throws Reki off his board and onto the ground. Though Adam picking up Reki's board with his other hand doesn't bode well. He doesn't want the race to end yet.

"No, Reki!" Langa shouts in concern when they continue racing as Adam continues to beat Reki back to the ground.

The crowd murmurs uncertainly at Adam's brutality and Shiki wonders if Adam's about to lose a whole bunch of fans. It'd make sense, the top skater showing up and beating another with such violence. It probably feels like losing all faith in an idol.

Miya begs someone to make Adam stop, but Snake appears before them, telling him that getting Adam to stop now is impossible. And Shiki's come to the same conclusion. His rage had put him into tunnel vision, and she wouldn't be surprised if a few Noise have latched on. He's definitely not possessed by Noise, anger and rage take longer for Noise to find because it slightly repels the Noise, but still attracts them (which is why so many possessed people found on the streets are just confused or sad or frustrated with themselves and everything else. Never just pure anger).

But still…

"He'll be fine," Shiki tells Snake. "He's not giving up without a fight."

"Yeah," Langa agrees. "Reki's not gonna go down so easily."

Snake frowns. "How can you be so sure?"

"He gave me his word."

Shiki smiles. "Just watch."

Snake doesn't seem to quite believe them, but he backs off anyways.

Adam appears to be saying something to Reki, but it's clear that Reki isn't listening. And then, without warning, he skates past Adam at top speed, not at all preparing for the turn.

Cherry and Joe immediately figure out what he's planning on doing.

"Is he seriously about to jump off a cliff!?" Cherry demands, leaning forwards.

And the utterly shocked look on Adam's face when Reki does exactly that is worth every second of watching their friend make it through his torment. Adam doesn't follow him off the cliff, instead making the turn, trying to make it to where Reki would land before he does.

"Go, Reki!" Langa yells, despite the fact that there's no way Reki could hear them.

"See?" Shiki gives a triumphant look towards Snake, who's staring at the screen. In shock, she can't tell, but at the very least it seems that he hadn't been expecting that.

Adam starts to catch up to Reki, face seemingly more amused than anything else. And then Reki turns his board around, coasting the distance between him and Adam, and then… hugs Adam? His arms are wrapped tightly around Adam, but Adam's arms are still free.

Startled laughs catch a few in the audience, but the rest just make confused sounds.

"Uh, what's he doing?" Joe asks.

Langa and Shiki can only look at each other and shrug because what is Reki doing?

"It's part of his plan… I think," Shiki guesses.

"Quite a… bold plan," Cherry observes. Shiki can't help but agree, but the blood dripping down Reki's face still worries her.

And then, Adam starts hitting Reki's back in an attempt to make him let go, each hit harder than the last. Miya yells for Reki to back off, but she and Langa know that he won't.

"He's not done fighting yet," Langa says.

Shiki gives an encouraging smile to Miya, who's gripping her arm in a tight hold. "Believe in him." She tries to ignore how her hands, still clasped together, are shaking. She blinks as a raindrop hits her eye, having dropped the very specific space between her eye and her glasses, as Reki quickly backs away.

The rain picks up quickly, making short work of soaking all of them. The crowd complains about getting wet, but a few point out how the track is getting muddy, making it liable for Reki and Adam to have a hard time skating.

Perfect. All part of the plan.

On the screen, Shiki watches Adam look up to the dark clouds and frown, annoyance on his face. Both reach the turn at the same time. Except Adam's board slips across the ground while Reki's remains stable.

"It looks like Reki's pulling ahead!" Miya exclaims.

"He has wheels made for rainy weather," Langa reveals.

Shiki can't help but smirk up at the screen. "He was expecting the rain, counting on it actually. But because of how the wheels are made, he's a lot slower on dry ground."

"Which explains why he was going so slow at the beginning," Cherry realizes.

Adam seems annoyed, angry, and calm at the same time. Then, at a turn, Adam picks up his board and sprints through the trees to cut Reki off, board ready to swing.

They had known that Adam trying this was a possibility but they hadn't discussed a way to deal with it, Reki only saying that he'd "figure it out" at the time. But now Adam was trying to do him in the same way he had with Cherry.

"You don't have to take that hit!" Miya screams out as Adam swings. But, somehow, Reki had ditched the jacket he had worn over his hoodie, the jacket taking the blow but making Adam think he had.

And then, Adam trips, the momentum of the swing dragging him with it. Directly into the mud. And Reki keeps going, attaining an ever higher lead, a look of pure confidence on his face.

The crowd murmurs in shock at Adam's performance. Most are in disbelief at the fact that Adam fell, something never witnessed ever before.

Cherry, on the other hand, bursts into laughter. "It serves him right. Defeated by the weather!"

Joe can't help but laugh too, and Cherry's own must be infectious as several in the crowd begin to laugh, too. "His entire legacy— washed away with the rain!"

Shiki laughs, the positive emotions swirling around lifting the stress on her. The camera follows Reki who's getting closer to the finish line, just outside the abandoned mine. There's no sign of Adam nearby.

Wheels against metal start to echo across the factory.

"You're almost there, Reki!" Langa calls out.

Shiki follows his lead, "Just a little bit more!"

They hear Reki let out a shout of excitement in response. And then suddenly, Adam's there, skating at speeds that Shiki's sure even a daredevil like Beat has never topped. And his rage catches her off guard. It was high, and she's sure that there are a ton of Noise surrounding him. But she can tell that they haven't gotten to him yet. The Noise are surprisingly intelligent and are more than likely waiting until the right time.

By the time Reki's down by the finish line, Adam's caught up. And they're both screaming, trying to will their boards to move faster. Then, Reki's position slants slightly, Reki giving a startled look as they pass over the finish line.

And just by a hair, Adam wins the race.

Reki may have lost but Adam is covered in mud so Shiki's counting that as a personal victory.

The group runs over to greet Reki who's picking himself up, having fallen after crossing the line. He's observing his board, a wheel having snapped off.

"Aw, I knew I shoulda double-checked the screws," Reki sighs. "Ah well."

"You still did great, even if you lost by a smidge," Shiki points out.

Reki returns a blinding grin, "Yeah. It was so much fun, too." Shiki moves aside so Langa can talk to Reki more. Adam is muttering something, something about the scene before him being "her fault". And just for a moment, Shiki thinks Adam is talking about her, based on the way he's glaring in their direction.

But then she gets distracted. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees them. Large red symbols converge onto Adam, making him have a blood-red flaming aura, not visible to the naked eyes. Only those with a strong sixth sense. Even Shiki herself can't see it fully, more feeling it than anything else.

"Woah, what was that?" Reki asks, staring at Adam.

Wait. Wait, Reki could see that? Shiki turns to look at Reki, mouth open to ask for clarification, when he suddenly shouts something.

"Wha— Shiki! Look out!"

She turns and sees a skateboard about to become well acquainted with her face.

A lot to unpack this chapter so have fun with that.