Ｏｕｒ Ｌａｄｙ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ Ｕｎｄｅｒｇｒｏｕｎｄ (Sk8 the Infinity)

13: King of Shadow, King of Shades

You met at the same A&W on the night of the beef. For some reason, you never thought you would make it this far without trying to convince Reki one more time to cancel the beef. Maybe it was the fact that you were too late in even preventing it. You, Reki, and Langa were in the backseat while Miya was riding shotgun as Shadow drove.

"Thank you old man," Reki said as he adjusted his seatbelt.

"Get out," Shadow said. Although, you were sure he was joking since it was Reki participating in the beef.

"I was just joking," Reki leaned forward. Miya turned his face away from him. "Huh? Something wrong?" Reki tilted his head, turning to the other boy.

"Your face is too close," Miya muttered. Reki leaned back again.

"Reki, do you brush your teeth?" Langa asked. That was a good guess on why Miya made him move back. But from the way he was still looking out the window, you were sure that wasn't it. Then what? What could be troubling him so much?

"I do brush. Salt Crystal is my favorite," Reki's finger brushed under his nose.

"Just don't eat it," you said. In a way, the conversation lifted you tension a bit. If anything, Reki would at least live through this night. The injuries however, would be a mystery since he was still participating. The severity you imagined they would be only grew each day, leading up to now. You did not get any sleep last night as a result. This pattern was akin to whenever Mama left for her work. If she would only just stay, an incident like all those years ago wouldn't happen again. Luck was the reason why that never came up.

S was especially crowded tonight. You weren't sure if you would walk on the actual ground because of it. Shadows were cast by people standing in the lamplight. They covered the ground as you walked. Up ahead were more people, as well as an endless darkness where your line of sight for the course ended.

"So many people," Langa said.

"Of course there is," Reki said. "It's because they can watch Adam. The legendary man. The undefeated champion. The god of S." Reki counted the number of nicknames the man had on his hand.

"You sure made a terrifying enemy, Reki," Langa commented.

"Don't you get it. If I lose, you're gonna be up next," Reki frowned.

You forgot about that bet. It wasn't enough to have Reki be a victim to Adam. The universe must've known that. You needed to suffer a little bit more. Why not have both of your subjects be hurt because of a man you hated? That seemed so logical to the universe. You sighed. If only you had your camera with you. Then you could take a photo of the boys while they were still in one piece.

"Oh. Right," Langa said.

"Rabbits don't have a bad memory do they?" you said.

"They're definitely short term," Reki said.

"Oh, just like Langa then."

"Should I be offended?" Langa deadpanned.

You couldn't hear Miya's footsteps as you continued walking. At first, you did not think anything of it. He might've had to tie his shoe. But, MIya's foot was stepping forward for a moment, before staying put.

"Let's call it off," Miya finally spoke, causing the boys to stop, and for your to turn around. "There's no need for him to apologize to me. 'Empty' isn't necessarily a lie anyway."

He was shaking. Even in shadows, you found fear being stored in his hands. His eyes were fixated on the ground, yet you knew fear resided in them too. It could be seen all over him. The emotion embraced him like the shadows created by the crowd and the night sky above. He was afraid too. Fear caught both of you in its cage then.