Chapter Text
It hadn't been that long since Reki had been happily teaching Langa the basics of skateboarding. Not long since the two of them had laughed and celebrated Langa's fast improvement together, yet here was Reki, running away from Langa and his immense success.
He knew he should be happy for his best friend, after all, Langa who had only started skating a few months ago had just beaten Joe. Joe was by far, one of the best skaters at S. Reki was, however, unable to bring himself to feel happy for Langa. He could deny it all he wanted, but he knew why these ugly feelings welled up inside him. Langa hadn't actually done anything wrong and Reki knew that, but he needed someone or something to blame, and he couldn't help but blame Langa for the way he felt as he fled S, stopping only to give one of the people at the entrance his badge of entry. He wouldn't be coming back until he knew he could skate alongside Langa and the others as their equal. He wouldn't be back until he had improved. Until he could jump high enough to touch that mark that Langa could, the one he had tried and failed endlessly to touch.
He looked back at S one more time as he left, not knowing how long it would be before he was ready to make a comeback and prove to Shadow, Miya, and all the other spectators that he wasn't an insignificant side character.
Back near the track, where the current beef between Adam and Cherry was taking place, Langa was frantically trying to find Reki. Reki could not have gone far. After all, Langa had just heard and seen him in the middle of his race. If it wasn't for Reki, he knew that he wouldn't have been able to win his beef with Joe. He would have fallen way behind. The fact that the excitement of skating had only reappeared for the first time in days when Reki was there supporting him after having fizzled out when Reki wasn't around after their fight had not completely escaped Langa. He needed Reki to properly feel excited while skating. He also needed Reki to fix his skateboard. No, really he just needed Reki, plain and simple. And if Reki was there and cheering for him, didn't that mean that Reki was no longer upset at him?
In all honesty, Langa was still a bit unsure as to why exactly Reki had gotten upset. When Reki said "You and I aren't a good match anymore," what had he meant? Why did he say that? Langa had spent every waking moment since Reki had said those words poring over their conversation in an attempt to figure out why Reki was so angry. He knew that Reki had been upset at him for breaking his promise, but Langa was sure that there was more to it than that. Especially because at the time, Reki had said "I can't keep up." All he knew was that Reki was referring to something about their respective beefs with Adam.
Surely all that could be put behind them though, right? Reki had shown up at the tournament after saying it was none of his business and he had even cheered for Langa. If Reki hadn't cheered for him like that, he wouldn't have been able to come up with the energy and excitement that he needed to win against Joe. So where had Reki disappeared to now then? Why had he left him behind? Why hadn't he waited for Langa to finish? How could he make sure that everything was good between them if he couldn't find the person he needed more than anything?
As he continued searching for Reki, the beef between Cherry and Adam that Langa had been ignoring up until now had finished and Adam's voice calling his name, or rather his pseudonym had startled Langa. He turned to the giant screen in time to hear: "You are truly wonderful! You should be able to go together with me. Because you are the one I found... Eve!"
"Eve?" Langa said in confusion. What had Adam meant by that? Did it mean that Adam wanted another beef with him? He shook himself out of his thoughts a few moments later, deciding that finding Reki was more important.
It didn't seem like a long time had passed before Langa found himself in front of Reki's house, but it was late and he didn't want to go ring the bell and wake up Reki's mom and sisters even at the cost of learning whether or not Reki had returned home. He went to the side where Reki's window was, but the light was off which either meant that Reki was asleep or he still wasn't back yet.
Langa waited a few minutes longer before deciding that he could wait for school the next day to talk to Reki.
Inside the very room that Langa had been looking into, Reki was wide awake. He had kept the window open that night because he needed the fresh air when suddenly he heard the scuff of shoes on the pavement right outside. A part of him knew exactly who would be out there, but he still forced himself out of bed to look outside. Lo and behold, there stood Langa holding two pieces of a broken skateboard. The skateboard that Reki had made for Langa. Something twinged inside Reki as he pulled away from the window and waited for the sound of Langa's footsteps leaving.
His chest felt tight and he felt like he was drowning. It felt like Langa was everywhere. In his thoughts, in person, in the mouths of everyone around him. As much as he cared for his friend, he felt overwhelmed. It's easy to lose sight of your goals when you're surrounded by people who are so much better than you, even if you're close to them. Every time he heard Langa's voice or his name, every time he saw Langa, he was reminded of the fact that Langa found skating against someone as terrifying as Adam exciting. Reki couldn't fathom how that could be exciting, but all it proved to Reki was that there was a growing distance between him and Langa.
By the time his alarm began to ring for school, Reki felt as if he had hardly gotten any sleep. As he got out of bed and got ready for school, he felt like he was just going through the motions.
"Reki!" He heard his mom call out as he was about to head out. "You forgot your bento again! Since when do you forget your bento?"
Without a word, Reki turned to grab the bento and continued out the door. Numb, he got onto his skateboard and made his way to school. He became a bit more aware as he neared the place where Langa used to wait for him, though he had stopped after Reki had told him they weren't a good match anymore. His stomach filled with dread when familiar blue hair came into view. He picked up speed and did his best to ignore the cries of "Reki!" that followed as he skated past Langa.
The breath of relief he released knowing that Langa wouldn't be able to catch up with him because he didn't have his skateboard was a shitty feeling. He shouldn't feel relief at the idea of escaping his closest friend.
Langa was at a loss when Reki continued skating past him. The last time Reki had skated past him just like that, Reki had at least stopped when he heard Langa calling after him, but this time, he hadn't. Langa tried to comfort himself by telling himself that Reki must have just been tired and that he wasn't still actively avoiding him.
It was getting late though and Langa had to practically run to school because he had spent too long waiting there for Reki and he didn't have a skateboard to take him to school faster. He managed to get to class a few minutes before class started, but oddly enough, though Rekihad been way ahead, he wasn't there yet.
After what felt like an eternity of nervously waiting for Reki, the door finally opened and he came in right as the bell began to ring. Langa immediately perked up and sat up straighter. Throughout the lectures though, every time Langa would look over at Reki, it seemed that Reki was staring off in the distance again somewhere hundreds of miles away. For a moment, Langa had thought their eyes had met in the window, but he was sure he was just imagining things. A couple of times, he still tried to whisper out Reki's name and get his attention, but Reki made no indication that he had heard Langa.
During lunch, Langa immediately headed towards the roof, hoping to find Reki there where they usually sat when things were still good between them. He was sure that if he found Reki there that it would mean that Reki was no longer angry at him, but Reki wasn't up there. Langa tried searching around the rest of the school for him but to no avail. He only found him again when lunch ended and Reki had gone back to his seat in their classroom.
He decided that he would at least catch Reki once class ended, but as soon as school was over, Reki was out of his seat and out the door before Langa even had a chance to call out to him.
Reki was determined to avoid Langa at all costs, deciding that he would rather go to his part-time job and start his shift earlier than usual. Manager Oka was manning the front of Dope Sketch, so Reki headed over to the back to work on some orders they had for other skaters. As he worked on the skateboards, he couldn't help recalling what that shoemaker had said on TV about quitting because he didn't have the talent and turning to shoemaking because he still wanted to be involved in track even if it meant something different than running. The quote that had stuck out to Reki the most about how he enjoyed supporting athletes echoed in Reki's mind.
Reki was nothing like that man. He could not be satisfied just by supporting other people through making skateboards but not actually skating. He couldn't be satisfied just living in Langa's shadow as some "lowlife that just hangs out with him" that no one needs to remember, as that one guy had said last time Reki had been to S while he and Langa were still on good terms. He wanted to be more than that. He wanted to be recognized as his own person and he wanted to be just as good as Langa and the others.
Sure, he enjoyed all parts of skateboarding, from racing in beefs to building actual skateboards, but what made him the happiest was the actual act of skateboarding. Not that he had been able to feel much of that happiness while skating recently.
He couldn't even say that he hadn't enjoyed teaching Langa because he truly had enjoyed it and he had had so much fun with Langa. But now Langa was so far ahead of him and Reki felt like he couldn't catch up. It felt like the distance between them was infinite and endless. Langa had no need for him anymore, he would be just fine without Reki. Maybe one day though, Reki would get good enough to be able to skate alongside Langa and support him by his side instead of supporting him from the background.
At the same time, Langa was standing right outside the door of Dope Sketch, trying to gather the courage to go inside. The only place Reki could be was inside, it was his part-time job after all and since it was a skateboarding shop, Langa thought he could bring his broken skateboard so that Reki could fix it or build a new one if this one was irreparable. At this point, it had become quite clear that Reki was most likely still mad at him, but Langa also knew that Reki enjoyed working on skateboards. Langa also knew that he couldn't accept a board that wasn't made or fixed up by Reki. It wouldn't be the same.
Langa needed Reki after all. He wouldn't be able to survive in skating without Reki. It was Reki who introduced him to skating. It was Reki who had built him a perfect board that went well with his skillset from snowboarding. It was Reki who had pulled him out of the darkness from when his dad died. Only Reki could make him excited to skate. While the thought of skating against Adam had excited him before, he was only excited to do it with Reki by his side.
Manager Oka was at the counter as Langa looked around the store seeking Reki.
"Are you looking for Reki?"
"Yes!" Langa exclaimed. "My board broke and only he can help me."
Manager Oka gave him a small, knowing smile before he went to the back to call for Reki. When Reki finally came to the main part of the store, he had a grease stain on his cheek and he was using a sweatband on his wrist to wipe the sweat off of his forehead. Something about seeing Reki at that moment made Langa's heart skip a beat. Langa could tell though that Reki had been working on skateboards which meant that he had caught Reki at the perfect time to ask for help with his broken one!
"What can I help you wi-" Reki's voice trailed off as his eyes landed on Langa and they widened with recognition.
Langa held up his broken skateboard. "Can you help me with this?"
What Langa had not expected was for Reki's face to completely drop.