"Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose. But what if the one you are seeking is not a memory? Are they truly lost? Sometimes the one thing you are looking for is the one thing you can't see."

Y/n's POV:

A peaceful night...

That's what I remember as my eyes scan my surroundings. The streets are empty because this is normally the time when people should be asleep, especially little kids. But not me!

I gain more speed on my skateboard, hoping that I make it to my destination in time. The sudden change in velocity causes the cold wind to blow against me, creating a little drag for me to slow down. But that also sends a shiver up my spine.

The only thing keeping me warm on this cold night is my jacket. This jacket was something that my mom gave me before we moved here to Japan. It was plain (2/f/c) colored with (1/f/c) highlights going down along the zipper. But this isn't the only thing that I'm wearing.

I am also wearing black leggings and boots, along with a (1/f/c) skirt that wraps around my hip. Dangling on the back of my skirt is an orange and yellow tail feather that resembles one of a bird.

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I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is (Y/n) (L/n) and I am nine years old! I have (e/c) eyes and (h/l) (h/c) hair. I am from the United States and just moved to Japan a few weeks ago. Well, I'll explain other things about myself later. I'm almost at my destination!

After a few more minutes of skating, I pass by a familiar-looking gate that leads to a race track in an abandoned mine. And it is as cool as you can imagine it. I've been coming here for a while after I got to Japan. But this place is a secret so... You can't tell anyone! The only way I could get in is showing an "S" looking sticker that I got from my mom before we moved here. I don't stick around long when I show it to the guards. I show them and go before they could say anything.

It's not because I'm hiding something from them or that I'm a shy kid, it's just that-- surprise surprise-- I can't understand them!

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Literally! I can't understand a thing people say because they speak Japanese. The only language that I speak and understand is English. So that's why I don't stick around and bother trying to understand what people are saying. It won't make any difference.

But now I'm in the main area where people like to hang out. It's usually where the cool people like to hang out. There's a halfpipe nearby, so a lot of people could go up and do a few tricks with their skateboards. As cool as this is, there is a drawback.

A lot of people stare at me because of my age. It's not common to see a nine-year-old girl skateboarding at a place like this. I always keep my hood over my head to block those intense stares from everyone around me, but I still know they're looking at me.

And you might be wondering yourself, "Why is a nine-year-old girl skateboarding at a dangerous place like this?" Well, it's because I'm on a mission. It's not a mission someone gave me, it's a mission that I gave myself. I'm in search of something-- more like someone. The one I'm searching for is my dad.

I've never met my dad before, so I don't know his name or what he looks like. And what sucks is that my last name isn't his last name. It's my mom's. But the only thing I do know is that he is a skateboarder. If there is a place where any awesome skateboarder likes to go to, it's this place!

Okay, I think that's enough about me. Right now, I'm leaning against a rock with my skateboard in my arms. As I was deep in thought, I hear the sound of a siren blaring throughout the mine. Knowing what this meant, I quickly look up at the giant screen that is standing inches above the ground. My eyes widen at the sight.

There's going to be a "beef," and one of the competitors is a guy everyone calls, "Shadow." He's a famous skateboarder here and everyone seems to like that about him. If anything, I get excited whenever I see him race against another opponent. I've always wanted to skate against someone as talented as him. It'll be a challenge that I will always wish to accomplish.

Speaking of the opponent, I look at the person Shadow is going up against and see that it's a teenager with red spiky hair along with a dark blue headband that wraps around his head. He seems to be wearing a yellow hoodie underneath a black sweater.

The two of them get ready at the starting line and once all of the lights on the traffic light above them turns green, they take off. The race has begun!

Keeping my eyes on the screen, I could tell that Shadow was talking to the red-haired boy in the Japanese language, but I don't put all of my focus on that. All of my focus is on their actions. After a sharp turn, the red-haired boy finally caught up with Shadow and is starting to skate past him. I was starting to debate whether or not the new kid was going to win this, but it looked as if Shadow had other plans.

From behind, Shadow pulls out some firecrackers and throws them at the boy. "..... ....!!!" Shadow yells in Japanese, with me not understanding a thing he said. It may seem like he was aiming directly at the boy, but he wasn't.

I watch intensely as the firecrackers explode at the redhead's wheels, causing him to lose balance. He doesn't fall-- good thing-- but I don't think he was going to have time to turn that corner. His facial expression changed to a scared one as he started to get closer to the turn.

I was hoping that he would pull a cool move at the last second... But he didn't. He fell into the bushes just as his skateboard skated off of the track, giving Shadow the win of that race.

A whistle blows as an announcer on the speakers of the mine announces something in Japanese, most likely of Shadow's win. I hoped that the redhead would win, but it seems that no one can ever beat this clown skater.

Timeskip

After that race Shadow pulled off, I pretty much called it a night and I'm heading back to my place. It may take a while to get back from "S," but at least I know how to get back. Especially when it's really late at night, it's easy for a kid to get lost. But I usually like to know where I am at almost every moment I'm out so that it's not hard to get back just in case I do get lost.

Right now, all I have to do is turn one more corner, and...

"Here I am," I say to myself as I look at the sight in front of me. The place I'm at is an abandoned drive-in that nobody seems to visit anymore. Yeah... This is home. Here's another thing about me. After my mom and I got into that horrible car accident right when we arrived here, I was the only one who escaped and ran off without being noticed. And after a while of running, I ended up finding this place. It didn't feel pretty homie to me in the beginning, but it's not all that bad.

There is a lot of graffiti on the outside, but that doesn't compare to how everything looks inside. Going to the doors, I grab onto the door handle and pull the door open, closing it behind me once I was in. I walk over to the table that had my backpack laying on top of it and sit down on one of the benches.

After putting my skateboard down along with my "S" sticker, I open up my backpack and rummage in there. After a few quick seconds, I feel a solid object. I grab it and pull it out of the bag. I look at it and recognize it as the wooden box that my mom gave me the day we were moving. It's not entirely mine, I just told my mom that I would hold onto it until we got to our new house. I've never opened it either because I was always told that it's rude to look through people's things without asking for permission. So, I just don't bother to open the box because I haven't gotten permission from my mom yet... Only because I've never asked her.

With that in mind, I place the wooden box to the side and reach inside my backpack once again. I feel something as thin as paper inside and pull it out. This was what I was looking for. It's a photo of me and my mom. I was maybe five or six years old in this picture. Looking at Mom, I could see how much I look like her. We both have the same (h/c) hair and (e/c) eyes.

Her looks never changed, especially since the last time I saw her. Remembering that car accident, a tear rolls down my cheek as I look down. I didn't feel like crying right now because I'm a big girl, now. I was able to fend for myself for the past few days, I could still do it for a long time from now... I hope.

Putting the picture down on the table in front of me, I take off my jacket, revealing my (1/f/c) T-shirt. I then lay down on my side along the bench I was sitting on. I cover myself up with my jacket as a blanket and use my arm as a pillow to cushion my head against the hard surface.

I haven't realized how tired I was once my eyes started to close. I've gotten used to staying up late at night, but I think this is a bad habit for me, especially at the age of nine. But I have to do this.

It's the only way to find my dad.

3rd POV

It's been two days since that night (Y/n) went out and watched Shadow beat that one redhead in a "beef." The nine-year-old is currently walking down a sidewalk by the Sakurayashiki Calligraphy shop while eating a sandwich that she found thrown away in a trash can. The girl doesn't have any money, so she can't buy any food, not even close to cooking her own food, either.

She had her (2/f/c) jacket tied around her waist, revealing her (1/f/c) shirt. She's not wearing her skirt with the tail feather, instead, she's just wearing her black leggings that go underneath the skirt. She doesn't want to wear her skater outfit when she's out in public because there could be a possibility that someone would recognize her. That would be bad because there's a rule that (Y/n) follows when skateboarding at "S": Whatever happens at "S" stays at "S."

(Y/n) was too deep in thought to notice even notice that something was coming towards her at full speed.

"Hey, kid! Watch out!" someone yells to her. Even though the girl didn't understand what the person said, it still got her attention.

Taking one last bite of her sandwich, she looks up and sees a skateboard rolling toward her. Out of reflex, she lifts her foot and slams it down on the nose of the board, causing it to flip up in the air. She then extends her arm and catches it with ease.

But wondering who yelled at her, she looks in the direction ahead of her and sees a teenage boy with red spiky hair. He was running towards her while another boy with medium-length sky-blue hair was walking at his own pace.

The red-haired boy comes to a complete stop in front of (Y/n), almost causing her to flinch back. She seemed to recognize him from somewhere but doesn't quite remember where or when she saw him. Reki, on the other hand, gives the nine-year-old an apologetic look.

"I'm so sorry about that. My friend can be a bit clumsy when riding a skateboard," he tells her as he gestures to Langa, who just finally caught up with his classmate.

(Y/n) didn't seem to hear him say that as she was staring into space, deep in her thoughts while trying to figure out where she's seen this boy before. Then it hit her!

"The redhead," she says to herself in English. Reki tilts his head to the side a bit, not understanding what she said.

"Hmm? What was that?" he asks, getting the girl's attention. Realizing that she had just spoken in English, she started to freak out. She has never spoken to anyone in Japan before and doesn't know how to communicate with them.

Hearing what kind of language she spoke, Langa takes a step forward and bends down on one knee to get to the girl's eye level. "Do you not speak Japanese?" he asks (Y/n), which surprises the girl because someone spoke to her in the same language she knows.

(Y/n) shakes her head in response. Langa smiles warmly and introduces himself to her. "I'm Langa. My friend here is Reki," he says as he gestures towards the redhead, who is standing there cluelessly. "I'm sorry about earlier. I'm still new to skateboarding."

(Y/n) smiles, knowing that it is not entirely his fault for not knowing how to ride a skateboard. "Oh, that's okay. I'm (Y/n), by the way," (Y/n) introduces herself to the blue-haired boy, to which he smiles.

Reki, on the other hand, just looks at the two repeatedly, confused about what they're conversing about. "Uh, can someone fill me in on what's going on?" he asks, mainly to Langa. The said boy stands back up and looks back at his friend, who he forgot was standing there.

"She said her name is (Y/n). She only speaks English, and that's why she didn't respond to you earlier," Langa explains. This made sense now, but this made Reki wonder if the nine-year-old was from here.

"Hey, can you ask her if she was born here or somewhere else?" Reki nudges Langa. He nods and then looks back at the girl.

"Are you originally from here?" he simply asks the girl, to which she shakes her head so that both Langa and Reki can understand her answer.

"No. I'm from America and I currently moved here with my mom," (Y/n) says. Langa looks back at Reki and translated everything she said. But it didn't seem Reki was focused on that. He noticed how (Y/n) caught the skateboard as it was rolling toward her at a high speed. It's not every day you see someone with no experience in skateboarding catch a board like that.

He tilts his head to the side as a smirk forms on his face. "You seem like you've experienced riding a skateboard before. Do you like to skate?" he asks (Y/n), totally forgetting that she can't understand him. So, she just looks at Langa, hoping that he could help translate for her.

Seeing the struggle, he repeats what Reki said but in English. Surprised that Reki was able to see how experienced she is, she looks up at the redhead with stars in her eyes and nodded. His smirk seemed to brighten more.

"You wanna hop on and show us what you got?"

After Langa translated for (Y/n), she looks down at the board she was holding under her arm. She admired how the design looked. It had a few scratches here and there, but it was nothing different than her skateboard. If anything, she could most likely pull an ollie on the board.

Without saying anything, (Y/n) turns around and runs up the hill that she was walking down earlier. Standing a few feet away from the two boys, she places the board on the ground and lifts her dominant foot on it. She closes her eyes for a quick second and lets out a breath that she did not know she was holding. With the amount of courage the nine-year-old has, she uses her other foot and pushes against the concrete floor, gaining some momentum as she rides downhill.

She feels her heart rate starting to pick up speed, almost like how the skateboard is as she's riding straight toward the two boys. Seeing as she's getting closer, the red- and blue-haired duo quickly get out of the way, but just as they do, they turn around and see her already in the air. The sunlight shines behind her, causing a shadow to appear over the boys.

Reki sees how the girl is in the air. Any minute, it looked as if a pair of wings would spread out from her back. She's like a predator ready to strike down at her prey.

'This kid has quite the potential,' Reki thinks to himself as a smile creeps onto the redhead's face.

After another millisecond, (Y/n) lands back on the ground. She stops the board and looks back at the two boys. Both of them had stars in their eyes, but Reki showed his excitement the most.

"That was awesome! Who knew a child could learn how to do an ollie at such a young age!" Reki yells as he jumps in the air. Seeing how he is reacting, (Y/n) could tell that he was complimenting her. So she smile shyly at his words that she could not understand.

"Who taught you how to do an ollie?" Langa asks as he and Reki walk up to the girl.

"My mom taught me how to ride a skateboard, so she pretty much taught me everything I need to know about skateboarding," (Y/n) replies with a smile. Mentioning her mom, she tries not to show her sadness towards that subject. These boys don't need to know about her past.

"You've got talent, kid," Reki tells the nine-year-old as he rests his hand on the girl's shoulder, causing her to look up at him. "Maybe you could help my buddy, Langa, here how to skateboard. We work at a skate shop over there, so you'll know where to find us if you ever want to help," he finishes as he points down towards the street.

(Y/n) looks in that direction, but is confused because she doesn't understand what he said. "Huh?" she questions as she tilts her head to the side like a lost puppy. Reki then facepalms, remembering that she only speaks English.

"Oh, shoot! I forgot," Reki says, and then looks at Langa. "Langa, can you translate for her?" The said boy nods with confidence and looks at the girl in front of him.

"If you ever want to help me learn how to skate, you can always go to the skate shop that's over there. We work there, so you'll more than likely see us part-time," Langa tells (Y/n) as he points in the same direction Reki pointed to earlier. This shocks the girl. No one has ever asked for help from a child like her. This is exciting for her. This was the first ever time she communicated with someone in Japan.

"Sure! I'll help!" (Y/n) says with a look of determination in her eyes. Reki seems to know what she said by the excitement on her face, and he smiles warmly at this.

With that said, Reki elbows his friend to get his attention. "Hey, speaking of, we should start heading back to the shop. We've been out for a while and Oka is probably wondering where we ran off to," he tells Langa.

Langa nods to him and looks back at (Y/n). "Reki and I need to get back to the skate shop. I guess we'll see you later, then," Langa tells the nine-year-old. The said girl nods and hands the skateboard back to the sky-blue-haired boy. She then bows, knowing that this is a polite way to say goodbye in Japan.

"It was nice meeting you, Langa and Reki. Bye-bye!" The girl then waves as she runs off in the direction she came from. The two boys stand there as they look at the nine-year-old running with a smile on their faces.

Reki then places his injured hand on his cheek, thinking to himself before speaking out loud. "I wonder if she knows about 'S.' I bet it'll be cool to show her a place like that. She would fit in nicely."

"But wouldn't she need to have that sticker in order to get in through the gates?" Langa then asks Reki, causing the redhead to look at him dumbfounded.

"Yeah. But who knows, anyway," he said before walking back towards the skate shop. "Come on, Langa! We still have to deliver that board to that client tonight!" Reki calls out to his friend. Langa follows behind Reki as they go to the shop.

They might be thinking that they were the only ones impressed by the child's talent for skateboarding, but what they didn't know was that a certain pink-haired skater was watching the whole time from the window of his shop...