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The Warehouse District, Wednesday Afternoon

It had taken about a week and a half, but Crazy Apple was beginning to feel like she was in something approaching fighting shape again. Ringo's usual schedule of AirTrek runs had meant that there wasn't actually that much work to do. Speed, endurance, strength, and flexibility were all excellent, so she'd mostly spent her time focused on the absolute precision that was the foundation of combat on the Sonia Road.

The ridiculous hours she'd put in over the past ten days had paid off, though, and Crazy Apple could once again land a long jump within a millimeter of her intended landing spot. No more relying on improvisation to deal with any landing that was "close enough", it was all about planning and execution.

So with the basics of movement down again, it was time to see just how much her body had forgotten about fighting. She'd spend the morning doing a careful self-Tuning pass of the Thorn Regalia. There had been some drift there just because Ringo tended to be pretty casual about Tuning, seeming to think that as long as things were "close enough" she could get by. Which was true enough for just playing around, but in a serious situation, the inefficiencies of poor Tuning could make or break a fight. On top of that, Ringo and Crazy Apple didn't really move the same way. They shared a body, and they weren't really even separate people, so the differences were subtle, but those subtleties mattered when it came to AirTrek.

Now, though, she was in the same area she'd spent most of the past week, the high-pitched whine of ATs following her along a route of jumps and grinds and wall-rides, but with a twist: as she moved, Crazy Apple sent out the long metal whips that the rear wheels of the Thorn Regalia uncoiled to reveal slicing through the air to strike the same point on the ground in the middle of her route.

The snap-cracks, and the feeling of impact as the metal repeatedly dug into the ground, dredged up memories of that little jaunt to LA where she'd unleashed those same strikes against zombies, the exes, that had stood between them and getting Kathy home. The memories that had forced Ringo into hiding didn't really bother Crazy Apple. After all, what she had done had been necessary.

So while her body remembered the feeling of the metal striking home, the vibrations traveling back up her leg, and while some part of mind recoiled from that memory, Crazy Apple simply continued her practice. She still had a ways to go before she'd consider herself truly back to combat readiness.

[ooc: Open, if anyone wants.]

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Since she'd been unable to find Ringo in the dorms, Shiemi was out looking for her! She followed the sound of ATs on the wind and was soon wandering the warehouse district looking for her sempai.

They were a pretty distinct sound, and since Crazy Apple was staying in mostly the same area, it would be pretty easy to home in on her. She was bouncing from walls to rooftops to railings, staying pretty much constantly in motion to keep the metal whips flickering through the air to the spot on the ground that was starting to get dug out from the repeated strikes.

It took a while to get the exact location, but soon enough there was a young blonde kohai watching wordlessly, awestruck as Ringo moved, the earth chipped away at each return. It was so fast.

Beautiful.

Dangerous.

~~Crazy.~~

"Sempai..."

Edited 2017-03-25 03:04 (UTC)

Crazy Apple noticed Shiemi's presence. Of course she did. But she didn't interrupt her practice. Or even give any sign that she knew the other girl was there.

Ringo would have stopped immediately, of course, and raced over to say hi, but Crazy Apple had things to do, and if the other girl needed her attention, she could call for it.

Every loop it seemed to Shiemi like Ringo would be sent flying into a building or crashing to the ground or... or...

She held her breath so many times that she was exhausted just watching!

Though she didn't want to interrupt, it did finally occur to Shiemi that maybe Ringo-sempai had not noticed she was there. She waited until it looked like it was safe and then gave a hesitant wave hello and a smile.

A couple of seconds of deliberation had Crazy Apple deciding that the wave was enough of a call for her attention to interrupt her practice. Besides, Shiemi's timing was pretty good: this was a good place to take a break.

So she shifted suddenly in mid-air, changing direction abruptly slam into the ground, wheels accelerating her straight toward Shiemi. She twisted her hips, skidding to a stop a couple of feet from the other girl.

Her eyes were far more calculating than Ringo's usually were, and her usual smile was nowhere to be seen. "Hey, Shiemi. What's up?" No real enthusiasm in her greeting, either.

"Eeeeeeeehhhhhhh!!" Ringo-sempai was spared crashing into a demon-created barrier of branches by the fact that Shiemi trusted her to stop in time.

"Sempai!" Shiemi peeled open her eyes and smiled bravely at her. "Sorry to interrupt. I've been looking all over for you."

"What was that you were doing?"

The first part of that, Crazy Apple just ignored. She didn't feel a need to explain why she hadn't been around much. As for the other.

"Practicing. I haven't done a very good job of staying in fighting shape." She lifted her right foot and tapped it against the ground twice, sending the little metal whip in motion for a moment before it settled again.

"What do you need?"

"Ano... You practice a lot, though." And now Shiemi was noticing the way her sempai was acting. "I... wanted to ask you about phones..."

She leaned a little closer, as if trying to see her better. "Is everything okay, Sempai? You seem a little off today. Are you sick?"

Edited 2017-03-25 04:34 (UTC)

"Of course I'm fine." Crazy Apple flashed a smile that was quite un-Ringo-like. It didn't really reach her eyes.

"And phones? Sure." She shrugged. "What's up?"

"Ano..." Shiemi really needed the help but she was suddenly more concerned about her sempai! "Are you sure? Maybe you have a fever?" She was reaching a hand up as she asked.

Crazy Apple didn't pull away, and her skin was a perfectly normal temperature for a girl who'd just been doing a lot of exercise.

"Quite sure," she said, sounding a tiny bit impatient.

See? That definitely didn't sound like Sempai. But it did sound like someone who was being annoyed. "No fever," she confirmed aloud. "I... I guess if you say you're okay?"

What to do? She didn't want Ringo-sempai mad at her, but Shiemi was also worried about the other girl. "Ano..."

The sigh that Crazy Apple let out sounded impatient.

"What did you want?"

Shiemi startled at that. "Ah! Uhm. A cell phone!"

"You can get one at any of a number of stores," Crazy Apple pointed out.

Helpfully.

"You can?" That was helpful!

"Ano. Which ones?" Shiemi twisted her fingers a little. "I've never looked for one before, but I thought I should have one."

"You should have a phone," she agreed.

Crazy Apple eyed Shiemi for a moment, then sighed. "Would you like me to take you to some of the stores and help you find something?"

There was more fidgeting. Shiemi hadn't thought about the possibility of it being a bother to ask Ringo-sempai for help.

"I was thinking it might be fun. To, uhm. Go shopping with you again. Yes?" Then she waved her hands, a broad smile blazoned across her face. "Ah. But if you're busy, I'm sorry!"

Crazy Apple shook her head. "Don't fidget," she said.

"You ready to go now?"

"Ah?" She dropped her hands. "Hai!"

to both questions.

Sempai was totally in a bad mood. Shiemi would have to buy her cake later to apologize.

It would be Ringo apologizing about this whole situation. Eventually. She'd feel pretty terrible sticking Shiemi with Crazy Apple.

"So, what kind of phone did you want? Something with email?"

"I... I don't know. I think so? Is that how I would contact my friends? Or find out if something happens? I usually don't find out unless someone comes to tell me."

Crazy Apple eyed Shiemi for a moment.

"Do you have an email address?" Or was she going to have to help with that, too?

"I can use the one I already have, right? The one from my computer?"

It was a really cute one!

"Yes. In fact, it's probably better if you do." Less confusing for everyone that way.

"Then yes! I have one! That's good." she smiled and her steps lightened a little. "One less thing to do, right?"

"Yes." Fortunately.

"How much do you have to spend?" Crazy Apple asked next. "Phone prices vary quite a bit depending on features."

Shiemi pulled a note from her pocket, reading aloud the amount her mother had authorized. "But it has to go for the phone and the plan," she cautioned her sempai, looking up again. "And I have to make sure that it works at home, too."

"That should be plenty, then."

She fell silent for a moment, thinking. "I wonder if picking something that would work in my world would make sure it works in yours."

"Ah, I never actually asked..." Shiemi stopped as a thought struck her. "You are from Japan, right? I just assumed."

"Yes. From Tokyo." She glanced over. "Likely not the same as yours."

"I know about different worlds," Shiemi assured her. "Now. I just never thought about it. About you not being from Japan."

"I heard that American phones didn't work in Japan, though. Yours works both places?"

"I brought mine from home, and it works fine here." Ringo shrugged. "I don't know how it all works, but we can ask someone at the shop."

"Thank you, sempai! I was so worried about doing this and messing up." Shiemi smiled again and reached out for Ringo's arm.

Crazy Apple glanced over, eyes narrowing, but didn't pull away.

"What is there to mess up? You just find the right store, and ask them questions."

Well, she wouldn't do it that way. No way was Crazy Apple going to trust some salesperson. But other people could.

Shiemi's forehead rested against her friend's arm. "How can I do that when I don't know what the answers should be?"

She would totally overspend and get unnecessary features. At the least. If it wasn't medicinal or garden-related, Shiemi was totally a salesman's dream. If she could be dragged into the store in the first place.

The leaning got no response.

"Well, you've already asked for assistance. That is one way to solve such a problem. But you might also do some research? You could look for information online, you know."

"I did!" Shiemi lifted her head to make sure sempai saw she was telling the truth! "I looked and looked until my head spun! I thought it would be simple, but there are so many options."

"Model, size, colour." She counted on her fingers. "Something called a platform? Applications, network, memory, resolution, pixels... if there's camera or not..."

Her head drooped.

Crazy Apple looked over at Shiemi curiously. "Do you not have phones back home?"

"You mean in my world? Of course!" But Shiemi made a face. "I never had a need for one. I... said, right? That I used to not leave home? So I never paid any attention to them."

"I see."

"Well, in that case, we should probably keep things simple. We'll just see if they have the same phone that I have."

"Really!? You're sure?" Matching phones! The idea made Shiemi happy. Friends had matching things! Ringo-sempai seemed so distant, but if she was suggesting matching phones... That meant they were still friends, right?

"Of course." Crazy Apple glanced over. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Shiemi beamed at her. "That's what friends do, right?"

"Sure."

Why not?

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The Warehouse District, Wednesday Afternoon

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