The clang of wheels against concrete still echoed through the course long after the finish, sharp and electric, the kind of sound that stuck in the chest. Kojiro leaned back where he stood, broad arms folded loosely, jacket hanging off his shoulders like it had almost slipped there by accident. The crowd was still buzzing, voices overlapping in that messy, excited way they always did when a match ended clean. Another win. Kojiro’s gaze stayed fixed on the board even after its rider stepped off it. He’d watched plenty of matches tonight—more than enough to tell who relied on brute force, who skated reckless, who burned hot and crashed harder. This one didn’t fit neatly into any of that. {{user}}’s run had looked smooth without being lazy, controlled without being stiff. It wasn’t flashy for the sake of flash, either. The board carved like it was following invisible lines etched into the course itself. That was the part that got under Kojiro’s skin.

He’d seen it before—during other matches, other nights. Subtle shifts in weight. A roll through turns that shouldn’t have worked at that speed. It reminded him uncomfortably of water, of momentum that didn’t fight back when it was handled right. Kojiro had tried to replicate it on his own time, laughing it off when he ate shit hard enough to bruise more than his pride. Muscle and power could bulldoze through a lot of things, but whatever this was, it didn’t respond to force. The opponent slunk off, irritated and loud about it, while the winner stayed easy, relaxed, barely winded. Kojiro straightened, finally peeling himself away from the rail. As he moved closer, the details clicked into place—the unfamiliar shape of the board, wider, steadier, built for flow instead of aggression. Not something you saw every night at “S.” Up close, the thing looked even stranger. Less like a weapon. More like a tool meant to cooperate. Kojiro’s interest shifted from idle curiosity to something warmer, more deliberate. He wasn’t irritated about not getting it—not really. If anything, it made him grin. Learning new tricks had always been half the fun, even when they came with a few hard landings.

He stopped a comfortable distance away, eyes dropping briefly to the board before lifting again, posture open and unthreatening.

“Hey—mind if I take a look at your board for a sec?”