Month later than usual but my excuse it that I just got a job and AP testing (time for AP Stats Failure speedrun any%).

Anyways enjoy and don't mind me setting up future plot points.


The unfortunately true thing about trauma is that it never really goes away. You just get better at dealing with it. And some things hurt less and less and other random events become less of reminders and simply something that just exists (and sometimes, you just simply stop caring). But no matter how buried a person's trauma can be, that just means that there's a way to dig it up.

And even Shiki's own shared trauma that's been buried for almost three years now has its moments. How could it not, after all of them had fought so hard and desperately to stay alive? To fight so hard and win just one more fight all so she could see Eri again. In Shibuya she would never be alone. She had Neku, Beat, Rhyme, Eri, and sometimes Joshua to help each other. Eri doesn't know what they've been through but she always did take it in stride.

Even the streets of Shibuya itself were comforting. She knows where every twist and turn was, where every street leads, what shops are new, which ones are old. She has a good and bad memory for every street in the city. All her achievements can be found somewhere in the city.

But, of course, that doesn't stop her from remembering the other half of the city, an existence a few frequencies higher than the norm. Animals with graffiti limbs prowl the city looking for their next Soul to consume, the undead residents ready and prepared to get in the way of any unfortunate soul who comes through who only wants to go back home.

And she's been in that role before. Running down the streets in Eri's body, fearing for her life, Noise and Reapers on her heels. Waking up in a dark sewer by herself in a part of the city she's never dared venture to. Finding her friends preparing to risk their entire existences to save the city. Joining in so readily. She's had to free people unable to see her from Noise that had possessed them and amplified all their current negative emotions.

All of that is why when she witnesses Adam become possessed, plus the flicker of Noise in the corner of her eyes, is why she doesn't see everything properly when she turns her head at the shout of her name.

Instead of a skateboard flying towards her at the finish line of a skating tournament that's hosted at the dead of night, she sees an impossibly sharp blue claw made of graffiti about to hit her. And she's not in Okinawa, she's in the middle of a completely empty Scramble Crossing in broad daylight and she's surrounded by Noise. She flinches away from the claw that somehow doesn't hit her. Something must've hit her when she wasn't looking because now she's on the ground, looking up at the Noise.

A tadpole Noise must've jumped her from behind because she flinches away from where it had landed on her shoulder. It, thankfully, releases her right away. She needs to do something, she can't just sit here and let herself be erased. She— she needs to defend herself. Her powers— groove pawn —are for Mr. Mew.

Mr. Mew. Where's Mr. Mew? Her fingers twitch, longing for the familiar grasp of Mr. Mew, but she doesn't see him. Eventually, though, a Noise shifts him into sight and she reaches for him. She would've lunged for him if he wasn't already in his hands.

That strikes him as a little odd. She hadn't picked him up and yet here he was, in her hands. Did a Noise hit it into her hands by accident or something? Well, whatever the circumstances, it didn't matter. Mr. Mew was in her hands and now she could fight.

She runs her fingers over Mr. Mew's cheeks before pausing and doing it again. The fabric is different from what she had made Mr. Mew with. She pauses before scrutinizing Mr. Mew further. It's… just his head? Where's the rest of his body? She finds straps on top of Mr. Mew's head that connects… to her?

Mr. Mew is a purse? And hey, she's wearing white and green and not a single part of her stomach is showing. She hadn't worn that during the Game. She blinks and realizes that she's wearing her glasses. She hadn't needed her glasses during the Game, since Eri doesn't need glasses. Meaning that she's in her own body. Which is way different than the Game.

But she's still in Shibuya, right? See she's sitting on some… dirt? Not concrete? Weird, she could've sworn she had just been at the Crossing. Where was she anyway? She looks around a bit but nothing registers. She fights the panic that rushes through her at that.

Breathe, Shiki, a voice soothes. It's familiar but not at all her own. Relax. You're fine, dear.

Heh. Always pretending that he doesn't care about any of them. Thanks, Josh.

And she does just that, and the panic in her mind disappears at the command of the imprint. Reki's worried presence to her right is more apparent now. Cherry's leaning down to meet her, hands hovering next to her shoulder. He's saying something to her, but whatever it is hasn't processed as anything other than pure words.

Joe is in front of her, Miya next to him, both trembling in rage. Joe has his arms up defensively, hands grabbing hold of a skateboard. Oh… did he take the blow instead? Langa and Snake are standing off to the side, staring at Adam wide-eyed. A moment later, Snake turns around and disappears into the crowd. Shiki has a few guesses why, considering that one look at Adam shows that the Noise still have a hold on him.

A hand gently lands on her shoulder and Shiki flinches a little, turning to the source. Cherry looks worried but relieved by the movement.

"Shiki," Cherry says, voice low. "Tell me five things you can see."

She's familiar enough with this procedure. She's probably fine without it, she's calming down already, but hey. What's the harm in humoring him anyways?

"You," she starts off with. "My purse." She glances to her left at Reki who's watching her nervously. She gives him a smile that she hopes soothes him enough. "Reki. Miya and Joe."

"Four things you can feel."

"My glasses, the ground. The seams on Mr. Mew. The ends of my hair on my chin."

"Three things you can hear."

"Your voice. Joe yelling at Adam," Shiki frowns, glancing at them. Reki and Cherry follow her gaze. "Some people in the crowd are whispering." And indeed there are. They're shocked and uncertain of Adam. What else was there to expect? He had attacked three people now.

"Two things you can smell."

"The rain. It stopped but I can still smell it. And, hm…" Shiki ponders for a moment. "Sweat. The people here are really active."

"Uh, might be me," Reki shrugs. "Sorry?"

Cherry snorts and Shiki offers a smile. "Don't be."

"One last one to go," Cherry gives her a soothing look. "One thing you can taste."

"Um. My… tongue? Myself?"

"Doesn't count."

"Uhm. Then," Shiki stumbles over her words, trying to formulate any kind of answer that would satisfy Cherry.

"Joking," Cherry admits after a few agonizingly long moments. Shiki pouts at him.

"Mean."

"So, um." Reki turns to look at the commotion. "What do we do about that?"

"All of them, not just Adam, need to calm down before we can do anything," Cherry frowns.

Shiki sighs. "Guess we just have to wait and see."


It's natural that an event such as this would receive live updates. Nothing can go unrecorded, after all. And after the events that occurred that night at S, it's absolutely unsurprising when Shibuya storms in.

"You know why I'm here," Shibuya growls out.

"Good evening to you, too, Kiryu," Okinawa greets. "And the answer is no."

Kiryu rolls his eyes. "You think that after all that, I would just stand idly by? And here I thought that my tales of fame spread even as far away as Okinawa."

Okinawa sighs. "I respect you and your UG, Kiryu, but I also know that exorcizing a single human would cause a lot more trouble than is worth. And, with my role as Okinawa Composer, wouldn't you agree that it is my duty to protect my territory along with those who live in it?"

"And I'm doing the same thing."

"This isn't your territory, Shibuya."

"She is one of mine, Okinawa."

"Exorcize, erase, or kill him, it doesn't matter. You're already on very thin ice with the Higher Plane. If you do this, they'll erase you and your city. Then it won't matter at all."

"A single human won't make much of a difference."

"You and I both know that you're wrong."

Kiryu falters. Kiryu should know better than anyone else. After all, he had changed his plans to erase Shibuya all for a single human.

"You would be acting the same if our positions were reversed," Kiryu points out.

"Your point being? I am not making an exception for you. Please understand that it is also for the safety of you and your city."

Shibuya glares at him but makes no move to immediately argue back.

"Please, don't interfere. For both of our sakes."

"A game, then?"

That won't do. Not with Shibuya's reputation with Games. Those always end with lots of death and erasure.

"Could I counter with a deal? I'm not listening otherwise."

"It appears you've twisted my arm. Shoot."

"In exchange for not interfering here, I won't interfere should any of mine fall into your territory."

Kiryu studies him for a moment, an intrigued look in his eye. "I take it you haven't looked into the future yet."

"Actually, I have. It's quite a predicament for them, isn't it?"

Kiryu laughs. "And yet you still think they'll survive that Game without any help?"

"I believe in your ability to pick a successful proxy."

"Then I better pick wisely, hm?"

"Do we have a deal?" A deal is properly sealed with a handshake.

"Yes, I suppose so." Kiryu reaches forward to shake his hand. "I look forward to seeing how this ends."


They all meet up at Sia la luce afterwards. Partly in celebration of Reki nearly beating Adam, partly a get well soon party for Shadow (who had been discharged that night after S ended), and partly to keep an eye on her and make sure she was really okay, to which Shiki is entirely unsurprised. She was sure that she'd be doing the same to Neku once he gets back.

Shiki figures that Joe must be tired given the time, but he's more than happy to cook for them all, Reki not hesitating to order pizza and Langa a few burgers. Shadow joins Langa on the burger quest (Shiki assumes that it's because he doesn't like the food he was given at the hospital). Miya orders something healthy and Cherry doesn't hesitate to order the most expensive and elaborate item on the menu.

"What would you like, Shiki?" Joe asks, popping his head out from the kitchen.

"Oh, um, I'm fine, thanks." And she really is. The events earlier had killed any appetite she might've had.

Joe frowns. "You sure? I'd be more than happy to get something for you."

"It's okay. I'm not really hungry."

"If you're sure, kiddo."

Her phone buzzes and she looks down to see a call from Joshua. That's odd, he never calls. And isn't he out of town right now? Unless… something happened with Neku?

"Um, gotta take this, hang on," she excuses herself and gets up from her seat and moves to the corner of the room, accepting the call as she walks. "Josh? You never call."

"I know what happened, Shiki. At that tournament with the man wearing the truly terrible costume."

She can imagine Josh's nose wrinkled up in quiet disgust.

"I'm fine, Josh, you don't need to worry about me."

"Dear, just say the word and I'll have him participating in the next available Game."

"What? No! Josh, no! Do we really need to have a talk about not murdering people?"

She hears Joshua giggle in that infuriating way of his on the other end. "I'm only joking, Shiki. I already had a strong chat with the Okinawa Composer about it. Oh, and, congratulations on the new friends, by the way."

How does he know that?

"You know, I'm starting to see why Neku thinks you stalk him. That's creepy, Josh. You sound like a stalker."

"How hurtful of you. I'm wounded, truly."

"Yeah and there's more where that came from so you better watch it," Shiki warns gravely. After a few seconds she breaks and lets out a small giggle, barely catching one from Joshua on the other end. "Hey, Josh?"

"Yes?"

"Is… is Neku okay? Wherever he is, he's not all alone, right?"

There's silence on the other end and Shiki almost has to check to make sure that Joshua didn't hang up on her.

"Josh, please…" Shiki whispers into the phone, hoping her voice isn't breaking.

"He hasn't been alone the whole time. Coco checks in with him from time to time."

"I don't trust her, Josh," Shiki sighs.

"I don't either," Joshua admits. "But there isn't anything we can do for him right now. And if nothing else, he trusts her. So for now, all we can do is trust him."

"Trust your partner, right?"

"That's what we've learned, isn't it?"

Shiki isn't sure if she's truly satisfied with that answer, but she'll let it be. She trusts Neku, and if he really does trust Coco, despite what she did to him and Beat, then she'll trust her to keep him safe.

"Josh, one last thing before I hang up."

"So needy," Joshua sighs dramatically. "What is it?"

"Um, I wanted to discuss something with you and the others in the chat later. Will you be there? I'd really like your input on it."

"I suppose I can make the time. Just make sure to notify me when you do."

"'Course. Thanks for calling, Josh."

"Anytime, dear." A pause. "Oh, and, Shiki?"

"Yeah?"

"I'd recommend the risotto alla milanese. I'm quite the fan of it."

"Huh? Wait, how did you—" She's met with the dial tone. He had hung up on her. He always wants the last word. "Meanie. So creepy," she huffs.

Shiki just shakes her head and returns back to where she had been sitting.

Miya reaches to tug on her arm gently. "Is everything okay?"

"Yep. All good here. Just checking in with a friend."

"Hey, Joe, when's the next race?" Langa asks. "I still need to race Snake."

"Snake dropped out of the tournament," Cherry answers before Joe can speak. "Normally they would've had that race tomorrow, but it just means that they're pushing up the finals. They'll be the day after tomorrow."

"Huh? Why the hell would he drop out?" Shadow frowns.

"No clue," Reki shrugs. "But that means Langa's going straight to the finals, right?"

"Do you think you'll be okay racing Adam?" Shiki asks. "It's okay if you want to drop the race."

"Yeah!" Miya quickly agrees. "Who knows what that evil overlord will try to pull when you two race."

"No one will judge you, kid," Joe says gently.

Langa takes a moment to think about his decision before answering. "No, I'll race Adam. If I back down because I'm scared then he wins. And he might start tormenting someone else. I won't let that happen. Besides," he glances at Joe and Cherry. "You used to be friends with him, right? I think that something happened to him and he's lost sight of what made him start S and hang out with you guys. I want to remind him of that. Of how much fun skating is. But I'm not gonna get through to him with just words alone. I have to do this."

There's a silence throughout the restaurant after Langa finishes his short speech on the matter.

"Well said," Cherry grins.

Joe gives a nod of agreement. "Right now, Adam's got no one. But we'll all support you kid."

"Give 'im hell, snowboy," Shadow flashes a peace sign at him which Langa readily returns.

"It'll be the revenge of the ages!" Miya declares.

Reki slips an arm over Langa's shoulder. "And the greatest revolution of all time."

"Maybe not that extreme," Shiki smiles.

"He is overthrowing Adam after all. Everyone at S is gonna freak when Langa wins."

"Hm. Maybe. Your thoughts, Langa?"

Langa has a focused and extremely determined look on his face. "I got this."

"Someone's confident," Shiki teases. "Just be careful, okay?"

"I will, don't worry."

Shiki nods as Joe pops out from the kitchen. When had he gone in there?

"Sure you still don't want anything, Shiki? You should at least take something with you."

"Mm. On second thought…"


Dead Children

[4/5 online]

lose the pants if you want to live

KiryuYoshiya

Sewer Jesus

Ah, I suppose it's time?

FunkyBeat

time fo wat?

Raimu!

Did you want to talk about something, Shiki?

lose the pants if you want to live

Yeah

lose the pants if you want to live

So I made some friends in Okinawa, but I think I may have discovered something kinda big about one of them

lose the pants if you want to live

I think Reki can see into the UG, or at least he did for just a moment

FunkyBeat

yo is he a reaper or smthn?

Raimu!

I don't think so, Beat

Sewer Jesus

Hm. Do you know what caused him to see through?

Josh probably knows what's causing it, he is the Composer after all, but he's going out of his way to not just say it outright like he normally would. He's hiding something.

lose the pants if you want to live

I'm pretty sure someone got possessed by Noise. They were pretty mad and I saw Noise for a split second

Raimu!

Do you think that Reki saw the Noise?

lose the pants if you want to live

Yeah

FunkyBeat

never heard of someone seein noise from the rg before

Sewer Jesus

I could.

Wait, what?

FunkyBeat

fo real yo?

Raimu!

You could see into the UG from the RG? For how long?

Sewer Jesus

Ever since I was born. It's how I met Mr. H.

lose the pants if you want to live

I feel like that explains a lot about you

Sewer Jesus

That's quite rude of you to say.

Raimu!

Like, constantly see into it?

Sewer Jesus

That's correct. Seems I won the grand prize for being special.

FunkyBeat

dats gotta suck man

Sewer Jesus

Don't concern yourself over me— I came out just fine.

Raimu!

That's debatable

lose the pants if you want to live

I'm not so sure about that

FunkyBeat

came outta where?

Sewer Jesus

Where indeed.

Sewer Jesus

In any case, Shiki do you think your friend constantly sees into the UG or if it was just that brief moment?

lose the pants if you want to live

Pretty sure it was just for that moment

lose the pants if you want to live

He seemed pretty surprised by it, but it seems like he forgot about it already

Sewer Jesus

He should be fine, then.

Raimu!

Do you think he'll see into it again?

Sewer Jesus

He might catch a glimpse every now and then if things in the UG start to affect the RG more intensely, but other than that the chance of seeing through is highly unlikely.

FunkyBeat

so he wont see the ug no more?

lose the pants if you want to live

Doesn't seem like it. Thanks, Josh

Sewer Jesus

Anytime.

Raimu!

Oh! One last thing

Raimu! has changed Sewer Jesus's name to gay gay homosexual gay

lose the pants if you want to live

PFJDSFSFWFE

FunkyBeat

lmao

gay gay homosexual gay

I hate all of you.

Rhyme leans back into their chair, eyes pulling away from their pc that was currently displaying Shiki's phone. They had been getting better at hacking, but it was easier since it was someone that they're close with. They need to improve.

The skill, motivation, and purpose to get better is there, but something's missing.

What will this give them in the end? Sure, it has the possibility of helping their friends right now, but it's not guaranteed. Getting really good at hacking is highly likely to be a time sink into something illegal that probably won't help at all in the end.

But… they can't give up hope. Hope is what is keeping them going.

Hope that hacking will find Neku, hope that Neku will return to them after three long years (they owe their life to him, after all). Hope that their brother, Shiki, Eri, and Josh will all be able to smile from the bottom of their hearts again. Hope that their dreams will come back to them after they were stolen away.

Hope that they'll find a new dream one day.

But for now, they need to find a way to break into the UG.

Rhyme has a special connection to the UG. It's a lingering feeling, a call to return and Rhyme resists it. Knows it's a remnant of when they were erased and turned into Noise. But they need to trace that connection somehow.

And if Shiki's friend Reki, a boy who's never even heard of the UG, could see into it just for a brief moment, then there's gotta be a way in.

And they'll stop at nothing to find it.


Shiki scrolls through her phone briefly before closing out of the app she had had open for less than a minute before opening it again out of habit. She clicks the phone off and lets it fall into her hand.

Why was she so nervous? Langa's gonna be fine and the tournament isn't until tomorrow. Even if he is skating against Adam.

She sighs a little to herself. She just needs to calm her nerves a bit.

"Uh, you good?"

The voice startles her and she whirls around to see a younger girl with reddish-brown hair in high pigtails leaning over her, chopsticks and a bowl of rice in hand. The girl raises an eyebrow.

"Sorry— startled me. Um, Koyomi, right?"

"Yeah, that's me."

Koyomi is the oldest of Reki's sisters if she remembers correctly. A ball of sass and snide comments he had described. And apparently a fan of Gatto Nero.

"Mind if sit there?" Koyomi gestures vaguely to where Shiki's sitting on the edge of the patio.

"Sure, go for it."

After Koyomi sits, there's a moment of silence. It's not uncomfortable, just a tad bit awkward since Shiki doesn't know her that well. It kinda seems like Koyomi wants to ask something. Maybe she's just trying to get the courage to ask it?

"Is there something on your mind?"

"Oh, not much. Just wondering how you met my brother. He's not the type of guy to go out and meet new people all the time."

"Mm, well," Shiki leans back, propping herself up on her arms. "I met him pretty soon after I got here. I'm only visiting, after all."

"Where from?"

"Shibuya, but I'm here more for work stuff. Anyways. He was down about something and I happened to be walking by when he was really frustrated. I talked to him to see if I could help. And we just kinda hit it off after. He introduced me to Langa, too."

Koyomi thinks on her response for a moment, chewing on the end of a chopstick. Shiki doesn't interrupt her thoughts, instead listening to the wind chimes that are hanging above them as a breeze comes through.

"Not that I'm complaining 'cause he's insufferable when he's moping, but why'd you help him out? You didn't really have to. I don't really know him all that well and I'm his sister. I probably wouldn't have asked."

And yeah, Koyomi has a point. Maybe a few years ago she wouldn't have asked either. Not enough courage to even talk to someone outside of school, her family, and Eri. She had only been determined to get through to Neku because it was what Eri would have done. When she started acting like herself again is when their friendship truly started. And if it weren't for him then she wouldn't be here today (something that Joshua would insist is purely the result of his own actions via the butterfly effect when really they all changed themselves).

"I could relate to what he was going through," Shiki says eventually. "He was struggling with something that I've gone through before and so I helped him sort out his thoughts on everything." A pause. "You should ask him about it."

"Huh? Why?"

"Well, you said you wanted to get to know Reki better, right? No better way to do that than to just talk with him."

"I don't know if he'll listen to me, though."

Shiki gave a small encouraging smile. "He will. Just be honest with him. And don't be afraid to try something new."

"Okay. Oh, and I was wondering about something."

"What's up?"

"Are Reki and Langa, y'know, dating?"

Shiki gives a mischievous smile. "That's something you'll have to ask Reki. He and Langa are having a private conversation right now so you can ask him when they're done."

"Oh, so you're making me work now?"

"Yeah, I am."

Koyomi laughs. "When are you heading back to Shibuya?"

"Want me gone that fast, huh?" Shiki teases.

She gets a snort and a sarcastic response in return. "Yeah, you're terrible. Get out of my sight this instant. No, I was just wondering how long you'd be here for."

"Mm. I'm heading back in three days."

Koyomi pouts a little. "Really? But you're so cool." Then, Koyomi's eyes light up a little. "Hey wait, if you're from Shibuya, have you heard of Gatto Nero?"

"Yeah, I have. They've gotten really popular lately. I'm surprised you know about them, though."

The younger girl leans back in thought. "Well, Gatto Nero didn't really get all that popular here until recently. Actually, it was a photoshoot that got it popular."

"A photoshoot?"

"Yeah. One of the models had some Gatto Nero clothes with them. Apparently, it ties in her whole look."

That… seems familiar.

"Do you remember the model's name?"

"Yeah. She was the one who introduced me to Gatto Nero, after all, even if it was unintentional. The model's name is Honoka Kando."

"Oh I've heard of her." Hired her is left unsaid. "She's an up-and-coming model. She got super popular with a few others. I think I first saw her in a magazine featuring… It-Boy Kashiki and Ms. Banks?"

"I haven't heard of either of them."

"Kashiki is a model who's interested a little bit in acting while Ms. Banks is a pod idol with her band the Paroxidolls."

"Oh, I think I've heard of them. They're the super clean freaky band, right?"

"Pretty much."

The conversation stalls for a moment, neither of them having anything to say.

"You two getting along well?" A voice says from behind them. Shiki turns to see Reki's mom, Masae, standing behind them.

Koyomi grins at her. "She's telling me about a bunch of stuff about Shibuya."

"That's wonderful. Would you two like something to eat or drink?"

"Just some lemonade would be great, Mom. Oh, and is there any cake left?"

"No, but I would be happy to make some more if you'd like."

"Would you like some help?" Shiki asks. "Actually, we all could. I could talk Reki and Langa into helping once they're done talking. It would be a lot of fun."

Masae gives a gentle smile. "That sounds lovely. We could make some for both you and Langa to take home as well."

Shiki gets to her feet. "Sounds great."


For once, they aren't taking the Shadow's company van to S. They're taking Cherry's, who, for the record, had offered to drive them and they had all agreed. So, that's how they ended up piled into a van with Cherry driving, Shadow in the front with him, Shiki and Miya in the middle rows of seats, and Reki and Langa in the back. Joe was with them, too, a glance out the rearview mirror showing him waving to some fans as he was driving his motorcycle.

Shiki frowns out the window. "It rained pretty hard last night. Will the race be canceled?"

"Doubt it," Shadow says, eyes laser-focused on the road. "Doesn't seem like Adam's gonna let anything get in the way of his race with Langa."

Shiki looks down at Mr. Mew who she had decided to take with her. "I'm worried."

Shadow sighs. "Me too, kid."

Langa's head appears between them, leaning forward from the backseat. "I've got it. Don't worry about me."

"Well, you did pretty well against him in that match the other day," Miya points out.

"Adam wasn't fully invested at the time," Cherry denies.

Shiki fiddles with Mr. Mew's arms idly as she looks up at him. "You and Joe have skated with Adam for a long time, right? How invested can he get?"

"If I'd ever seen it for myself, I'd tell you." Cherry's grip on the wheel tightens. "But neither of us have witnessed Adam really get into it. Nothing other than being in the zone."

The zone? Like being extremely focused on something? Eri says that she does that sometimes, usually when there's a huge backlog of clothes to get done on a short deadline.

"The zone?" Reki perks up from the back. "What's that?"

"I've never heard of that before," Langa frowns, Miya nodding along in agreement.

"I've heard of it happening in sports with some olympic athletes," Shadow shrugs. "But not skating. You have to constantly be aware of your surroundings, we can't exactly afford to zone out on everything else."

"Which is why it's so dangerous. Think of it as a mixture of an intense state of concentration and tunnel vision," Cherry explains. "He gets so focused on being better at skating that everything else just fades away from his focus. He's gotten his opponents seriously hurt before while in this mindset."

There's a pause as they all stop to let that sink in.

Langa would be out there alone against this guy, with no one there to help him if he got hurt. And Adam had a reputation for injuring his skating opponents. She could take comfort in the fact that the course would be familiar to him. But…

Would Langa really be okay?

No one says anything before Miya breaks the silence with a subject change, throwing a half curious and half judgemental look towards Shadow. "Your injuries healed suspiciously fast."

"I can't sleep my life away in a hospital."

"Amen to that," Cherry solemnly agrees.

Shiki huffs a little. "There's a wheelchair for him in the trunk. He shouldn't be on his feet too long. Don't want his legs giving out on him."

"Are you calling me old!?"

"Yeah, I am."

"I'M TWENTY-FOUR!"

"Careful there, old man," Miya teases. "Don't want you to go throwing out your voice."

Shadow's practically frothing at the mouth, now. "I'm younger than Joe and Cherry over there, why don't you go call him old!?"

"Because I still display the poise and looks of someone younger than yourself." Cherry counters, eyes not leaving the road. "The dopey gorilla, not so much."

"I don't know, I think you're all old," Reki shrugs. "Except Miya, he's the youngest here."

"The baby," Shiki coos.

"Hey!" Miya swipes at her, Shiki blocking the playful attempt with Mr. Mew, before hiding her face behind the stuffed cat to laugh.

"Could it be that Joe is the old man?" Langa says seriously, as if having the greatest mind-blowing epiphany of his life.

There's a pause for a moment, followed by Miya frantically rolling down his window to tell Joe that he's old, causing an argument that lasts all the way to S, only rising in intensity the closer they get due to the bottleneck of other people forcing them to go slower while also giving a wide berth to the passengers of two vehicles screaming at each other.

All in all, it's exactly what they could've all hoped for.

Eventually, Cherry lets them out so he can park and it isn't long before Langa's whisked away to the starting line. They had all agreed to wait at the finish line and watch on the holographic projectors, footage streamed from Adam's drones. But Shiki couldn't shake the uneasiness that filled her at the sight of the unfamiliar track.

"That's the first course we ever used for S," Joe notes. "It got too dangerous so we had to shut it down and use the usual one instead."

Snake approaches them from the crowd. "He thought it appropriate for tonight. The rain made the normal course unusable due to the mud and other environmental factors. The finish line is all the same in the end." It doesn't take a genius to understand that he's talking about both the physical and metaphorical finish line that this race details.

The projectors focus on Langa approaching a completely redesigned Adam, the matador theme clearly ditched for some kind of the evil love theme.

"Ugh, what on Earth is he wearing this time," Shiki scowls, causing some bystanders who had heard of or witnessed the previous theme-shaming incident to snicker. "So, so awful."

"You can rag him on it all you want later," Cherry says. "But it's time."

They watch as Adam tosses a coin into the air as they get into positions. The coin hits the ground and they're off, both recklessly taking turns on the track with very less than ideal safety precautions, the edges of the cliff crumbling away near their boards. She grips Mr. Mew tight in her hands.

The final race has begun.


I've got a somewhat plan for how the rest of the fic is gonna go. Hint hint it has to do with Neo and whatever the next sk8 project is (I'll talk about it in detail at some point in the future).

Also Langa radiates massive frog energy, no I will not elaborate.