The S.H.A.N.E. Game (editing)

Chapter 19: Coincidentally by Accident

Before I start, this chappy is dedicated to @AshleiJahz for adding this story to her reading list! Thank you so much for your support! =D

|| Hana ||

I watch in awe as Kazuki flips his skateboard in midair before landing on it just in the nick of time before he slams back down on the halfpipe floor. The ground goes wild and the person who skated before him walks off the pipe, giving me room.

Before stabling my board at the top of the halfpipe, I manage to find eye contact with Kazuki and he gives me an encouraging wink before doing another flip. Shaking the nerves off my fingers, I tip the board over the edge of the landing and zoom down the pipe.

"W-whoa!" I stammer, startled at how fast I picked up momentum. My long black hair is being teased--no, not teased, pulled--by the wind and I nearly fall off. But I didn't, and that's what matters.

"Is that the best you can do?" Kazuki yells over the sound of metal on metal. I raise an eyebrow although I know he can't see it, and yell back, "Oh, you're on!"

Back in Japan, Kazuki, our friends and I ruled the halfpipe in school. We were even known as the Kings and Queens of Skateboard, and we were the ones who hosted competitions monthly just for entertainment. The five of us had one mutual dream--to one day save enough money to buy our own skateboard loop, which is basically two halfpipes stuck together.

Positioning the board in a manner that I can easily tip it, I leap off the landing and manage to do two quick board flips in midair before landing on the bottom of the halfpipe. The kids watching cheer Kazuki and me on. 

And then it happens. I don't know who did the wrong move first--me or Kazuki--but before I know it, our boards clash in midair, causing us to lose balance. It's all I can do not to flail my arms like a drowning chicken. "Whoa!"

Kazuki's red skateboard clatters on the ground, and he lands hard on it on his back with a grunt. For some reason or other, fate makes me fall right on his chest, and my board hits my back hard. We share an 'oof',

At first, we're both so winded that we do nothing but stare in bewilderment at each other, but then some random skater does this weird whistle that gets everyone going 'ooohhh!' and my cheeks flare. Before I know it, someone has me by my collar and pulls me off Kazuki.

My insticts scream 'KILLER! BAD GUY! DANGER!' and I try kicking him with all my might. But then he sets me down on the floor and I meet Shane's set gaze. Oops.

"Are you okay?" he asks worriedly, giving me a once-over. I nod reassuringly and he crosses his arms and turns to Kazuki who's getting on his feet shakily. Shane says, "What was that for?"

"What?" Kazuki asks dazedly, taking some time to focus on my friend. He turns to me. "Who is this?"

"I think that's my line," Shane informs us. 

"Kazuki, meet Shane Walker; my friend in school. Shane, this is Kazuki Harune. It's... a long story," I finish weakly, shrugging. Kazuki immediately bows to him, and Shane has this weird look of both ego, pride, embarrassment and confusion written all over his face. But he smirks nevertheless.

I nudge the still-bowed Kazuki with my arm. "Kazuki, don't bow to him! You'll only inflate his head!" I exclaim, in Japanese, of course. He rightens himself quickly and shakes his head, flustered. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Shane."

"Same here." Shane looks at his watch. "Hana, it's thirty minutes to eight. Do you wanna go home now?"

"I--"

"We were supposed to catch up on stuff," Kazuki points out. "Can't she stay for just a few more minutes? I can bring her home."

"You... you don't have to. I'll just wait," Shane mutters, crossing his arms and walking over to the juice bar. Kazuki tilts his head in my friend's direction. "What's his problem?"

"I have no idea," I mutter, rolling my eyes. "Do you want something? I can get you a drink."

"I think that's a guy's line," Kazuki says, laughing. "Do you want anything? I have enough money with me."

"Just a can of Coke Light is fine," I reply, smiling gratefully. My red-haired friend disappears into the crowd of teenagers and I get us a spot under a nearby oak tree. Who knew fate would make us meet here?

**

|| Nikki ||

"Hurry, Sara, Alicia," I exclaim, shooing them into Mission Control and taking my seat beside Erin. They inquire anxiously about the bullet wound, but after Erin reassures them, they are silent. I pass out the three bicycle chains to each of my friends.

"While Erin and I were investigating the crime scene, we came across several clues, this included," I explain. Erin takes out the paper of the cross-analysis results. "After I cross-analyzed them, here is what I got.

"Each of the chains have different brands and qualities. For example, Chain A, the one you, Sara, are holding, came from an outlet store a few blocks away from here. While Chain B, Alicia's, was bought from a local bicycle store. Chain C, mine, came from a garage sale a city away from West Harston. I have yet to track down where the previous owner got it."

"What does this mean, Erin?" Sara asks, intruiged.

"If they were working for a proper agency, all their devices and important objects would've been bought at more or less the same location, for example, at a company with a durable reputation. They would've wanted to make sure that the objects they'd bought were of quality. These chains, here, have a poor durability."

She nods at me and I use the head of my gun to strike one of the links of her chain. I already manage to nick a piece of metal off its loop. 

"That makes sense," Alicia muses. "So you're saying that these three killers just... I don't know... teamed up and came up with this ambush? With no true mastermind behind all of it?"

"That's what we suspect," Erin tells her. "Also, Nikki picked up something on the floor at the scene, too."

I take out the contact lense from my front pocket and place it in the center of the table where everyone can see it. I press a button on our signature remote to play the footage that Erin managed to hack from the alley's camera. "Guys, check this out."

Sara and Alicia watch closely as the clipped video plays, starting from Mr. Mark walking past the alley to when the two hands dropped out of nowhere and readjusted the camera. Alicia stutters, "T-that was... gory."

"Remember the scene where Killer A stuck the camera near his eye? And we saw a brown pupil?" I ask them, and they nod. I point to the brown contact lense on the table. "This could be the one."

"Wait, so you mean that Killer A purposefully showed his eye color to the camera? Not just to check its resolution or something?" Sara inquires, fingering the fragile lense in between her fingers. I nod.

"That's a high possibility." I press another button on the remote to show them another video window. "And look at what else Erin's magnificent mind managed to find out."