Timeless

Lets begin

Kaoru POV
‘S’ Was formed. As we sat in that Café I looked between the two sitting with me. Adam loved to skate. He called me his ‘reluctant Eve’. Said I inspired him, the way I moved on a board. He got pissed when I told him it was Kojiro who had painstakingly taken the time to teach me. Joe was the best skater I knew. The raw power and passion he had for the sport astounded me.
It didn’t hold a candle to Adam’s flame. His passion was bright. He strove to be the best. Tadashi had spent years following other skaters, learning their tricks and coming back to show Ainosuke. Tadashi was a truly inspirational skater.  Adam refused to see it. No servant could be better than him. He told me this after he informed me of the fact that it was Tadashi who got him into skating.
Adam was a passionate person. He thrilled at anything that could get his heart racing. Which was mostly just skateboarding. He only was with me because I provided him a challenging opponent. When he saw me working on my AI board, he bought me the rest of the parts I needed. Told me I would be a formable foe for him, when it was done. That was all we ever talked about. Skating, and my relationship with Joe.
Adam despised my closeness with Kojiro. Not out of any real love. I knew Ainosuke didn’t love me. Adam only loved my ability one a board. Adam saw my time with Joe as less time he had to skate against me. That was all. He had begun to talk about a skating ramp that would test every ounce of a person’s skill, and courage. Hence he built the trail.
Then there was Joe. Kojiro, my love. I had known I was in love with him under that tree. Maybe even sooner. Since he first took the time to sit beside me. I always hated to be alone. Kojiro refused to ever let me be alone. For that alone, I owed him everything. I followed him to this high-school because I didn’t want to be alone. I had him, what more could I ever need? Kojiro was kind, caring hardly ever a mean word to anyone, unless it was me. Which was mostly due to me turning any discussion we had into an argument. But he never left. Just fought back with me.
I rested my chin on my hand as I listened to Adam talk, my eye straying to the injured teen across from us. Joe. He was born out of Kojiro calling me Cherry Blossom. I loved the name. It was the one he had given me. To me it was my real name. Kaoru was an act. A performance. But Cherry Blossom was who I truly was.
Joe smiled at me when he caught me looking. “I’m fine, Pinky stop worrying.”  Joe sounded bored. I knew he wasn’t, he was tired and in pain. I frowned at him.
“You’re not.” I insisted. “You look like you are about to pass out. I think we should take you home now.” I stated. Adam sighed.
“He said he was…” he stopped talking when Joe’s head flopped against the back of the seat he was in.
“KOJIRO!” I screamed scrambling over the table to get to his side. I slapped his face gently. Tiredly his eyes peeked open. I smiled down at him.
“Let’s get you home.” I insisted.
“Yeah,  might be a good idea.” I hopped down. We got our boards and left.
“Go take care of him. I have other things to do.” With that Adam was gone, leaving me with the gorilla who could hardly stand.
With extreme difficulty, I managed to get Kojiro on his board. He leaned heavily on my shoulders as I propelled us to his house. My back ached by the time I got there. Carefully I searched his pockets for his keys. The light clicked on and the door opened. Gi stood there, arms folded she eyed her son.
“What happened?” She demanded.
“He fell.”
“Anything broken?” I shook my head. She then helped me get him inside. We managed to get him upstairs where he fell onto his bed. My back cracked as I straightened up.
“It’s late, spend the night. He already has the futon out.” Gi pointed to the other bed. I thanked her. Once she left I took Joe’s shoes off. The new jacket I bought him was shredded. I would have to get him a new one. It looked really good on him. I smiled brushing his hair out of his face.
In sleep he was even better looking. Always carefree and friendly he never appeared to worry about much. Now, he just looked peaceful. My Joe. I thought. I covered him up before making the futon up. I found one of his huge t shirts to wear to bed. Curling up so that I could stare up at his face in the moonlight, I drifted to sleep.
Over the course of the following summer, we got S to take off. I designed a sticker that we would give out to people we wanted to come up to S. They would skate. Some would have fights with other skaters. Adam instituted a ‘beef’ race. Each participant would put something cherished on the line. Whoever won, got the thing. It was fun, for about a month. That was when the accidents became a problem. Many skaters had gotten hurt on the dangerous trail.
Adam stated if they couldn’t handle it, they had no business skating. When two skaters ended up in the hospital, Joe and I began to look at other trails. Then the inevitable happened. A skate went horribly wrong. One racer ended up in a coma for ten days. The other ended up dying from his injuries. Joe and I refused to skate at S any longer. That was unless Adam changed the course.
We had mapped out an easier, far less dangerous course. It would still take skill to accomplish completing it, but it wouldn’t kill anyone. Adam fought it. He throw tantrums. Joe and I created S pins. We set up the other course. Everyone who had the stickers loved the new course. Within a week, no one was skating up on the mountain.
We even grew the crowd. Had more skaters than ever. Adam was forced to join us. He built his own watchtower. He would only skate against those he deemed worthy. Yet his tactics were brutal. All skaters were safer on this trail, unless they went against Adam. The only injuries ever came form his skates.
Joe and I soon discovered that Adam was insane. “Cherry, you need to leave him.” Joe begged me. I had finally finished my AI board. I knew there was only one way to leave Adam. I challenged him to a beef.
“If I win, I get my freedom. We are through.” I said.
“Just what do you have to offer me if I win, darling?” He drawled out the endearing term.
“Me. For life. I will give up everything.” I told him with more confidence than I felt.
“Even Joe?” he demanded. I swallowed.
“Everything, yes.”
“Deal. I am so going to love torturing you, my pet.” He cooed. Of course I didn’t tell Joe any of this. He supported me right up to the starting line. Only then did he ask what Adam got out of this.
“Oh, he didn’t tell you?” Adam had arrived. “He agreed to be mine, and only mine. You won’t see him again after tonight.” I couldn’t look at Joe.
“Kaoru?” The way he whispered my name like it was killing him to say it.
“I will see you after the race, gorilla.” I snorted. The countdown started. I had to win. If I was to ever be free, I had to win.
“Carla, execute.”  The board beneath my feet hummed to life. She gave me instructions on the best way to maneuver the course. Even as I was skating on it. We twisted and turned together. My skill added to her intellect, we should be unstoppable. Even if our opponent was the best skater I had ever seen.
We flew through the night. Turns zipping by. Adam using anyway and anything in his way, to beat me. Carla continued her instructions. We progressed. Just before we reached the abandoned warehouse, Adam came back towards me. His infamous love hug. I dropped low. One hand clutching my board. Kicking out, I changed direction. Shifting my body, I soared over Adam’s head. He looked at me wide eyed as I flew past him. He really was pulling out all the stops tonight. That was good, because so was I.
In the warehouse I hit the straight away. Beams came flying out of nowhere to knock me off. I dodged them. Adam wasn’t far behind me. Once we were through the gauntlet, he caught up to me.
We pressed forward. Neither of us giving ground to the other. We flew at speeds unsafe for anyone without our level of skill. The last part was coming up. We were side by side. “Carla, expand” I called to my board. Instantly she went from a cruiser to a long board. I shifted my weight to control such an awkward board. I managed to hang onto it. As we crossed the line, I saw Carla was ahead. I had won.
I stood there on my board, gasping for air. The replay played on the large screen. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had won. I had beaten Adam, finally! The pride grew in my chest. This was the best day of my life. Strong arms wrapped around me from behind. I was lifted off of my board.
The stupid gorilla was crushing my chest. I flailed in the air as he yanked me to him. As Cherry, I wore a mask that covered the lower half of my face. Since his arms were wrapped around me, the idiot used his teeth to pull the mask away. Then he kissed me. It wasn’t long, it wasn’t anything spectacular. Just a mashing of our lips together for a few seconds. He pulled away.
“You won, that is amazing!” the crowd was cheering.
“I won.” I smiled down at him. He finally realized the position we were in. Slowly he lowered me to the ground. I stood on my own, watching him.
“Where the hell did you get this board?” He asked.
“I built her. She is a fully functional AI.” I stated rather proudly.
“Beauty and brains. Now if we could just fix the attitude, you would be the perfect man!” He smirked at me.
“I am perfect, you idiotic ape!” I cried back my chest swelling with happiness. He beamed at me.
The next day I went to Adam’s house. It wasn’t the first time. I just wanted to see him, maybe talk over what had happened the night before. Get a final resolution to our issues. I knew I wasn’t going to date him any longer. I had my eyes set on a beefy gorilla. Maybe I could challenge him. If I won he would have to go on a date with me. I was smiling as I rang the doorbell.
A woman in a maid outfit answered. “Hello, I am looking for Ainosuke.” I stated. I figured she would just go get him. Instead, she gave me a sad look.
“I’m sorry sir, Ainosuke doesn’t reside here any longer. He was sent to live with his aunties in America.” She closed the door as my brain fought to process this.