ᴬ ᴮˡᵒˢˢᵒᵐ ⁱⁿ ᵐʸ ᴴᵉᵃʳᵗ (ᴬ ᴹᵃᶜʰᵃᴮˡᵒˢˢᵒᵐ ˢᵗᵒʳʸ)

•Chapter 4: Practicing•

"Why did you have to follow me here again?" Kaoru groaned, watching as Kojiro scared around the old skatepark they used to go to together when they were younger. No one ever visited it so Kaoru decided that'd be a good spot to go practice before his match with Adam. And, just as promised, Kojiro stuck around. He had to close his restaurant early in order to do so which he didn't particularly like but he cared more about Kaoru than some money. If it meant helping his friend, he would gladly lose a few bucks. Plus, he was actually having a lot of fun. As much as he would hate to admit it, Kaoru was also enjoying being around Kojiro alone for once. Skating and having fun.

"Well, can't have you getting hurt again and, since we've seen him in action before, we know exactly what to watch out for. So, I'm gonna help you out." Kojiro said, skateboarding towards Kaoru. Kaoru sighed, tying his hair up in a high ponytail. He usually only tied his hair up when he went skateboarding. Their was just something he enjoyed about having long hair. At one point, he wanted to cut it all off just because people always mistook him for a girl. He was so close to actually doing it but Kojiro somehow talked him out of it. Said it made him unique and he actually liked it. He'd kept his hair long ever since that day. "I'll be fine. I just need to make sure I can dodge all his tricks."

That was something he was never able to grasp. Ever since high school when they'd met, he was always able to pull cool stunts and knock Kaoru off his feet. Physically and Metaphorically. He originally thought that he had aged and gotten talented enough to beat him in their last race. Boy was he wrong. "Well, that's what I'm here for. I wanna help you and act as a stand in. You can't practice alone." Kojiro said, watching as Kaoru got on Carla, his 'high tech for no reason at all' board as Kojiro called it. Kaoru rolled his eyes, pushing off so he could get some speed, skateboarding around with Kojiro. "Alright gorilla, what's our first move?" Kojiro grinned, grabbing Kaoru's hand and bringing him onto him. "Well Kaoru, we're going for his signature move, the 'love hug'." Kaoru almost lost his balance but used Kojiro to balance himself out again. He could feel his face heat up, mostly out of embarrassment. "Well, this couldn't be any more awkward." Kaoru growled at Kojiro. "Well, would this not also be awkward with Adam?" Kojiro shot back. "Touche."

They were practically rolling side by side, skateboards right next to each other, face inches from each other. Kaoru tried pushing off to back up but wind up stumblingling back, losing balance and falling backwards. Kaoru closed his eyes and braced himself from the ground. However, before he could hit the ground, he stopped. Kojiro had jumped off his board, grabbed his hand and caught him, an arm behind his back. It brought Kaoru back to that day, the day he met Adam in high school. The day he developed a crush on who is now his enemy. He could picture his face and hoodie and the sound of his voice like it was yesterday. He could practically hear the way he asked if he was ok. "Kaoru? You alright? You zoned out their for a minute." He zoned back into Kojiro helping him stand up. Kaoru shook the thought out of his head and nodded. "Yea whatever. You just got lucky with knocking me over." He pulled away, trying to cover his embarrassed face with his bangs.

Kojiro could tell their was some awkwardness in the air. Something about him falling backward threw him off. "Hey, if you need a break, we can take a break-" "No," Kaoru interrupted, "we just started. I'm just a bit thrown off my game today with you being here." Kaoru immediately got back on Carla and stared at Kojiro, awaiting his help. Kojiro sighed. "Alright, but if i'm being too much, let me know." "Nothings too much when it comes to Adam." Kaoru said in a deep tone, starting to ride his skateboard again. Kojiro pushed off and did the same move he tried last time, the love hug. Kaoru had to think this time. Their was a lot of advantage he had over that move. If he tried to back away he could trip or Adam could stop him like he did Langa. If he didnt move, then that was basically submitting to Adam and inviting tons of tricks.

What if he ducked out of his grasp? If he ducked, that would put him out of Adams grasp and would give him more speed with more of his weight being on the bottom of the board so he could easily zip away. As long as he didn't fall off his board, he should be fine for this one race. So he tried it. He ducked out of Kojiro's arms and zipped away from him... until he fell backwards onto his bottom. "Ouch, you ok?" Kojiro asked, pulling up to Kaoru and offering him a hand. Kaoru grinned, looking at him. "Yea, I did it. I know how to get away from that. I just need to practice my balance some but I think I finally got it." He was overwhelmed with joy, finally having an idea of how he was going to beat him. Seeing Kaoru smile made Kojiro smile. His smile, which was rarely ever shown, was always so sweet and soft. Sure he enjoyed their bickering, but he always enjoyed making him smile. It just made it seem like heaven on earth.

........

They continued practicing the same move until he got it down and didn't fall, which took about 25 minutes, and then some to make sure he had it down. By that time, it was around 8. Kaoru was exhausted from all that practicing and falling. Luckily he had on wrist guards so his hands didn't really get too scratched up. "You ready to retire for the night?" Kojiro asked as Kaoru finally stopped on his board. He nodded, picking up Carla and turning it off. "Yea, i'm exhausted." Kojiro nodded, smiling lightly. I've got some leftovers from today in the fridge at the restaurant. Wanna go get some dinner?" Kaoru narrowed his eyes. "You're lucky I wasn't planning on fixing dinner when I got home anyway." Kojiro chuckled to himself. Food was his weakness. No matter his mood or how tired he was, he was always up to some of Kojiro's food

even if it meant he would always fall asleep at the bar. Kaoru really was a mess. It just gave Kojiro a reason to carry Kaoru to his house and stay the night. I mean, who would argue with that opportunity.