An Old Industrial District, Tokyo, Thursday Evening

[soniaroadsqueen]

One of the things that Ringo really loved about visiting home, besides seeing her awesome sisters, was getting to AirTrek with people who had been doing it almost as long as she had. The scene had continued to evolve since the last time she'd visited, but that just meant that it was possible to get involved in a pick-up match of almost anything. You could even get into a casual game of Balloon, which hadn't really been something she'd ever imagined.

And while she might find it difficult to admit, the public nature of AT gatherings in Tokyo (well, public within the community, anyway) gave her a chance to show off. Sure, Ringo tried not to be too, you know, arrogant or anything, but she knew she was good. Really good. And having people who could recognize that, and appreciate it, was a real thrill.

It just felt awesome to have people clap and whistle appreciatively at some of the tricks she'd spent so much time practicing over and over back at Fandom. The hard work wasn't for nothing.

"This is so much more amazing than last time I came out to one of these!" Ringo declared excitedly as she flopped down on the ground next to her sisters to take a quick breather and chug water from the bottle she'd brought with her.

Comments

[that_oldsaying]

"That's true!" she said, relieved. "And, and Ume's friends are happy, so Mr. Bubbles will be happy with them."

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo leaned forward, lowering her voice to share a secret. "I think they really like Mr. Bubbles, you know. He's a good friend."

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka beamed at Ringo, then kissed Mr. Bubbles on his head and skated over to drop him off with Ume and her friends before hurrying back to Ringo.

"How should we skate?" she asked. "I can't do what you were doing earlier."

With all the showing off...

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Hmm." Ringo grinned as she reached out for Alluka's hand. "I don't know. Anything you've been wanting to try? Or, maybe something you've seen someone do out here that looks fun?" People were out doing tricks at every level, from grinding on stairway rails to little hops and flips, to some of the more aggressive stuff Ringo had been doing herself.

[that_oldsaying]

"I like the look of some of the twisty jumps," Alluka admitted, taking Ringo's hand again. It was comforting. Not the same way that Mr. Bubbles was, but it made her feel less alone when facing all of the people she didn't know.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Yeah? Want to try one? Maybe a little 360?" Ringo pointed over at one of the groups where someone was practicing little jumps and twists and getting shouted advice from the crowd. "Like that, maybe?"

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka looked at the group a bit nervously.

"Are, are they going to shout at me like that too?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"They might," Ringo allowed. "But if you'd rather not have that happen, we could always just find a little out of the way spot of our own." Would that be easier?

[that_oldsaying]

It would be, but...

"But everyone looks like they're having fun here..."

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo nodded. "They do, don't they?" She cocked her head slightly. "Want to go see if they'll let us join in?"

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka's hand tightened it's grip on Ringo's.

"Okay," she said, though she wasn't sure of it at all.

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo squeezed back. "I'm right here," she promised as they approached the group. One of the guys gathered around spotted them coming, and turned to toss the two of them a wave.

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka wasn't hiding behind Ringo, not exactly, but she was letting Ringo take the lead.

She waved back tentatively as they got closer.

[soniaroadsqueen]

Once they got a little closer, he squinted at Ringo then at Alluka. "You two new? Not sure I've seen you around before."

"We're from out of town," Ringo answered easily.

"Oh, cool. You here to get in on this?" he asked, waving to indicate the informal circle of AT-wearers doing simple little tricks among themselves.

[that_oldsaying]

"If, if it's okay?" Alluka said, not sure why Ringo was lying but not going to call her on it. "I can't do some of those moves, so I..."

Wanted to learn? Please?

[soniaroadsqueen]

Well, they were from out of town. Ringo wasn't back often enough to be recognizable, really. So in a manner of speaking, it was true.

The guy grinned. "Want to give it a try?" he offered Alluka, turning to look over his shoulder without waiting for an answer. "Hey, Aoba, got a minute?" he called to a tall, skinny girl with long hair. "Want to help these two with a couple of tricks?"

Ringo opened her mouth to point out that she didn't need help, but then shrugged and let it be.

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka beamed at him and at the girl.

"Oh, yes, please!"

[soniaroadsqueen]

The girl grinned. "Hey," she waved. "I'm Aoba." She looked over at the boy who'd led them to her. "And did Kenji mention his name?" she asked, swatting at him.

"Nope. Sort of forgot that part," Ringo laughed.

Aoba rolled her eyes. "Of course. Well, just for that, he's going to help us by demonstrating!"

She leaned toward Alluka and Ringo with a little laugh. "So we get to tell him what to do."

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka didn't think she'd be very good at telling someone what to do, but she giggled anyway.

"I'm Alluka," she volunteered. "And this is Ringo. She's better than I am at AirTrek."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"That's because I've been riding for longer," Ringo grinned, offering Aoba and Kenji each a little, informal bow.

"Oh, someone with experience. Want to show us what you've got?"

Ringo shook her head. "Maybe in a bit. But Alluka said you guys looked like you were having fun, so don't let me interrupt."

"Fair enough," Aoba responded. "So, Alluka, what did you want to try first?"

[that_oldsaying]

See Alluka, see Alluka's eyes go huge at being put on the spot.

"Um, um, I liked the look of some of the spins you were doing..."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Oh, yeah?" Aoba grinned, then turned to Kenji. "Jumping 360!" she snapped, swatting at him.

He laughed and complied, bending his knees and setting his ATs going in opposite directions to start a spin, then jumping about a foot off the ground to make a full rotation before landing.

It looked almost effortless.

Ringo clapped and grinned. "Nice!"

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka clapped too, her eyes big.

"Is, is hard to learn?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Not at all," Aoba said with a friendly grin. "I mean, plenty of people can do a spin like that without ATs on at all." She smirked. "It just doesn't look nearly as cool."

And they couldn't do much more than one rotation. Maybe two if they were incredibly athletic.

"Yeah," Kenji agreed. "The trick is just learning to keep your balance right when you spin. Once you do that, the rest is easy."

[that_oldsaying]

Killua could probably do more. But then, her family was... well.

"My balance is really good," Alluka said eagerly. Ringo had said so more than once, after all.

And it was true. Alluka's balance was nothing short of remarkable.