Saturday morning. Ranga had stayed up all night without a single wink of sleep. The word he'd thrown at Kiriko last night—"heavy"—kept spinning round and round in his head. The light slipping through the gap in the curtains was painfully bright, making his eyes sting and blur. "[whispers]Ah, damn it..." He picked up his phone. He opened Kiriko's account and tried typing out a message over and over. But his fingers stopped, not knowing how to put it into words. In the end, all he could send were three letters: "sorry." No read receipt. Anxiety churned and swirled inside his chest. Ranga grabbed his skateboard and, unable to stand still any longer, bolted out of the house. He headed for Kiriko's place, near the shopping district in central Uruma City. He stood in front of that building—Kondou Chiropractic, with the clinic on the first floor. He took a deep breath and slid the aluminum-framed door open with a rattle. "[gentle]Excuse me! Is Kiriko here!?" The face that emerged from the back of the counter was Kiriko's father. A quiet, middle-aged man in a white coat. He lowered his brows in a troubled expression and shook his head. "[sad]...Ah, Ranga-kun. Kiriko left early this morning and hasn't been back. She seems to have left her phone at home too, so I can't reach her." "[surprised]Huh... You don't know where she went?" "[gentle]I don't. But she seemed especially down this morning. Do you have any idea what might have happened?" He had every idea. Ranga's chest ached, as if it were about to be crushed. In the end, with no clues to go on, Ranga stepped back outside the clinic. The tropical sun beat down relentlessly on his skin. The streets were overflowing with the laughter of tourists, yet the air around Ranga alone felt oppressively heavy. (What am I supposed to do?) Unable to move, he stared at his smartphone screen. His fingers unconsciously opened "Vortex." There, a thread had appeared on the timeline before he knew it. *'[Breaking] Kiriko to Forfeit Tonight's Beef?'* — The comment count had already surpassed 300. *'lol knew she'd get scared of going up against Adam-sama'* *'She picked the wrong opponent. Now the boy belongs to Adam-sama~'* *'zamaa lol'* Every single character stabbed into him now like pure violence. (No. Kiriko isn't scared.) Ranga bit down hard on his lip. He walked without knowing where he was going, and before he realized it, he was standing in front of the skate shop "Demi-Glace." The red sign looked terribly faded today. He reached to open the door—and his hand slipped. THWACK! "[surprised]Ow, that hurts!?" He'd slammed his forehead full-force into the glass door and reeled backward. From the back of the shop, the owner Oka emerged with an exasperated look. "[sarcastic]You, look. If you're coming in, come in. If you're not, step back. You'll break the glass." "[sad]S-sorry..." As Ranga stood there hanging his head, clutching his helmet, a familiar voice came from behind. "[sarcastic]Seriously. You're still just standing around here?" He turned to see short black hair that flipped up like cat ears. The ends, dyed blue, swayed in the wind. Miya was glaring up at Ranga with his deep green cat-like eyes. His skate bag had the usual cat plushie keychain dangling from it. "Miya..." "[cold]You're the talk of Vortex. What you said to Kiriko last night. 'Heavy'—you said that to her, didn't you?" Ranga couldn't find the words to reply. Miya raised his index finger and jabbed it firmly into Ranga's chest. "[angry]You hurt her, didn't you? And yet you're just standing here, not even looking for her? That's the worst." It wasn't his usual teasing tone. It was a voice filled with genuine anger and emotion. "...You're right. I really am the worst." Ranga muttered it, still looking down. His pathetic shadow clung to the asphalt. That's when it happened. "[crying]Ranga...!!" Reki came running from the street. His reddish-brown hair was a disheveled mess, and his usual energetic bandana had slipped down. His eyes were bright red, as if he'd been crying his heart out. "[scared]I... I've been... lying to you this whole time...!" Reki stopped in his tracks, gasping for breath, and continued in a trembling voice. "I wasn't the one who leaked the photo. But... I couldn't help being so jealous of you, getting further and further ahead on your skateboard. I was so frustrated... So I kept my distance. And when the photo got leaked... there was no way I could say it wasn't me, feeling the way I did...!" Tears streaming down his face, Reki bowed his head deeply. "[crying]I'm so sorry...!" Ranga grabbed Reki's shoulders firmly with both hands. "[serious]Something like that isn't going to end things between us." "...Ranga." "[gentle]I mean, you're my best friend, right? It's okay that you were jealous. It just means you love skating that much, doesn't it?" Reki looked up, mouth agape, his face a mess of tears and snot. "[laughing]...Man, you're so damn clueless it pisses me off." Saying that, Reki gave Ranga's shoulder a light shove, his face a mix of tears and laughter. At that, Miya gave a single dry clap. "[sarcastic]Touching reunion, great. So, what about Kiriko? Tonight's beef—at this rate, she loses by default." Ranga's head snapped up as if struck. Inside his chest, images of Kiriko's many faces flickered. —The close-contact training in Hangar 7. Her profile, looking embarrassed every time their hands touched. —That night at Black Pipe when the lights went out and she was slammed against the wall. Her eyes, injured but still worried about him. —And that voice yesterday, crying out in the pouring rain, "My feelings will never reach you anyway." (Was she... protecting me all along?) Ranga murmured quietly. "[gentle]Kiriko... she was always there by my side, wasn't she?" "[sarcastic]Huh, what, you're only just realizing that now?" "[serious]I... I think I might like Kiriko." Ranga said it with a straight face. Then, as if understanding what he'd just said a few seconds late, his face suddenly flushed bright red. Miya let out an exaggerated, heavy sigh and put a hand to his forehead. "[sarcastic]...Now he gets it. Seriously, how many episodes is this gonna take?" Reki, wiping his tears, gave a wry smile too. "[laughing]You realize things way too late, man~. You're such an idiot, Ranga." As if to hide his embarrassment, Ranga pulled his helmet back on firmly. The tips of his ears were still bright red. Then, slowly, but in a voice without hesitation, he spoke. "[serious]So, I'll go. I'll take Kiriko's place and beef against Adam." Miya's eyes glinted sharply. --- Late at night. The "Pit" at the abandoned Camp Falcon site was overflowing with the white glow of monitors and the buzz of voices. Over 200 spectators had gathered to catch a glimpse of tonight's beef. The live Vortex stream displayed a viewer count of 3,000. Comments scrolled across the screen. *'This is a forfeit'* *'It's already time to start'* *'Knew a girl couldn't handle it lol'* At that moment, a figure silently appeared at the starting point, "Gate Zero." The murmur of the crowd fell silent, like a receding wave. Long, bluish-silver hair swayed gently in the night wind. Translucent, pale blue eyes stared straight into the lights of the Pit. Tucked under one arm was a single skateboard. —It was Ranga. "[surprised]Hey, isn't that Ranga!?" "Why's the boy here alone!?" Amidst the uproar, slow footsteps echoed from the depths of Gate Zero. Long silver hair slicked back, multiple silver rings on his fingers. Behind his mask, golden eyes fixed solely and intensely on Ranga. The mad absolute king. Adam. "[gentle]Oh my, little boy. What happened to Kiriko-chan? Don't tell me she got embarrassed about our date and ran away?" A low, throaty laugh. Without backing down a single step, Ranga declared. "[serious]I'm taking Kiriko's place." Adam's mask shifted ever so slightly. "The wager is my S-rank and the complete deletion of my Vortex account. If I lose, I'll never show my face in S again." The crowd's murmur instantly erupted into explosive cheers. The stakes were enough to make anyone freeze. Adam fell silent for a few seconds. Behind the mask, his golden eyes slowly narrowed. "[gentle]Interesting. Truly excellent, little boy." Adam spread his arms wide and raised his voice theatrically. "[excited]I accept your terms!! I proclaim it before my 9,800 followers—tonight, right here, I shall make you entirely mine!" In that instant, the Vortex stream froze for several seconds. The server was screaming under the sheer volume of access. The comment section exploded, filling up rapidly. *'lolololololol'* *'wtf I can't predict where this is going lol'* *'Ranga-kun's mental fortitude is way too steel lol'* The beef was officially on. In a corner of the Pit, Reki whispered anxiously to Miya. "[whispers]Miya... I'm sorry, but actually, that board Ranga's got—I threw it together in a rush to repair it last night and this morning. It's only fixed up to about halfway through Black Pipe... It probably won't hold." "[scared]What!? Why didn't you say that sooner, you idiot!" "[sad]Because I really didn't have time...!" "[angry]Enough, shut up. Don't you dare tell Ranga right now! If he loses focus, he could seriously lose his life!" Unaware of any of this, Ranga stood quietly at Gate Zero. The night wind gently stroked his silver hair. Before him lay the legendary "Black Pipe"—180 meters of total darkness. And beyond it, the absolute king, Adam. The board at his feet let out a small creak. *Gulp.* The sound of someone swallowing echoed strangely loud in the silence.