Sk8 the Infinity: 𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐝𝐞

chapter four.

A/N: Thank you so much for the comments and votes. They always make my day and thank you for being patient since I had a little writer's block :)

"Do you mind if I go somewhere with a friend tonight?" Kaia asked. 

Kaoru had been in a sour mood ever since the restaurant situation. He looked over to him and looked suspiciously. He planned to ask with who or where exactly Kaia was going but he stopped himself mid-sentence. "Go ahead. Let me know if you're not coming back tonight."

"I will, Mr. Sakurayashiki."

Kaia went to leave and Kaoru stood up while letting out a sigh. "There's no reason for me to pry. He'll be fine."

**

Later in the night Kaoru began to skate into S and noticed the crowded people. Everyone was being drawn to a commotion near the start of the course. Since the previous rookie never reappeared from the night of his race, he assumed he'd finally returned. Though when he skated to the front of the crowd, all of his relieved worries resurfaced. Of all the places he could've been, Kaia was here. 

At S.

He headed through the crowd and went over to Kaia. Not only was he here at S but Kaoru's blood boiled when realized who'd brought him here. 

"Joe."

"What a coincidence seeing you here, Cherry Blossom," he put on a smile while swinging his arm around Kaia and pulling him towards him. "Meet my new friend~" 

Kaoru glanced over to Kaia who gave an awkward smile as if being found guilty. He dragged Joe to the side. "Why did you bring Kaia here?!" he whisper-yelled. He began to scold him in harshly but Joe held up his hands to make him pause. 

"Listen Kaoru. I just have a feeling."

"A feeling? You brought him out her on some crazy whim!" He yelled in whispers back. 

"Kaia is going to be fine. You just have to watch and trust my instincts."

"I wouldn't trust you as far as I can throw you!" 

Joe pat his shoulder playfully and began to walk away. "Good, we're on the same page."

"I never said that you stupid gorilla!"

Joe gave him a reassuring look and Kaoru reluctantly bit his tongue. He tightened his grip on his board with concern. "Carla, what are the chances I'll regret this?"

"It won't be an accurate calculation since I don't have much information. You have a 50% chance of regret."

**

Kaia looked longingly at the board he was given by Joe. He wasn't very familiar with skateboarding or was even interested in trying it. However, some desperate convincing from Joe led him to this situation. He even had to wear his own costume to S. Kaia's tattooed upper body was exposed and a few girls came to compliment him. That was until a large punk guy came angrily towards him.

"You, rookie! Let's run beef!"

"You mean like race?"

"You bet. Why? You scared to go up against me?"

"Am I supposed to be?"

A furious grin appeared on Shadow's face at his remark. He saw this as the perfect opportunity to redeem his reputation. Being bested by a rookie was not going to be what he was known for. He was ready this time. On the other hand, Kaia was had a worried look and turned to Joe to help him. 

"What am I supposed to do?" He pulled on his jacket frantically and impatiently waited for his answer. "I don't skate!"

"Remember what I said," was the only response he gave and pushed him towards the starter line. A woman stood in front of the both of them as Shadow prepared to start and Kaia tried standing on the board. She waved the flags wildly, signalling them to go and Shadow rushed forward. Kaia was able to keep his balance quicker than expected and eventually kicked himself forward. Kaoru couldn't bare to watch and Joe cheered him on, "You're doing great!"

Kaia kept his focus solely skating the race and blocked out the sound of everything else. He adjusted his feet and lifted his arms for balance. As he continued to skate down the hill and gain speed a familiar feeling overcame him. The air swept past him and blew his hair away from his face. He swore there was a faint smell of sea salt. 

"This is..." A corner was coming close and Kaia showed no signs of slowing down. Shadow looked back and began to laugh loudly. He was sure that he couldn't make that turn and even if he could he was headed straight towards the rocks at an alarming rate. 

"He's done for."

A large grin appeared on Kaia's face and the reality he was in quickly faded away. The only thing in his sight was the perfect wave for him to ride. He rode towards the rocks and skated up them as if going up a wave. He then used the momentum to flip gracefully in the air. The crowd went completely quiet and Shadow snapped his head around to understand why everyone seemed so starstruck. Until he saw a figure falling from above and instinctively moved out the way. 

He grit his teeth and increased his speed. The raven haired male followed closely behind and he discreetly prepared his bombs as they approached the indoor route. When he skated inside he threw the bombs behind him in hope of slowing Kaia down. When he saw the bombs being thrown towards him his eyes widened but his grin only grew. The words Joe used to convince him to show up in the first place came back to him

'If you come to S, I promise you'll finally find what you lost.'

 He forcefully kicked his board forward before jumping up to grab on the bars above at the entrance. Then he swung himself forward and barely got back on his board. He let out sigh of relief and looked down at his hands while shaking with anticipation.

"What the hell are you?!"

Kaia was now ahead of him and turned his head back, "A surfer."