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

[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.

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo smirked. "She's not kidding. You guys are totally in for a surprise."

"Yeah?" Kenji gave Alluka a long, thoughtful look, as if considering reevaluating her. "I guess we'll see, huh?"

Aoba rolled her eyes at him before turning to Alluka, too. "You want to give it a try?"

[that_oldsaying]

Kenji's look left her feeling a bit unsettled, so she darted a glance at Ringo, before saying, "Can I see it again, please?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo leaned over very slightly to brush her shoulder against Alluka's. Just a reminder that she was with a friend.

"Sure!" Kenji started into it again, but Aoba put a hand on his shoulder.

"Do it step-by-step, this time. So she can watch how you move."

"Ah. Right." Kenji rubbed at the back of his neck and offered an apologetic grin. "Sorry about that."

[that_oldsaying]

"It's okay," Alluka said, a bit helplessly, comforted by Ringo's touch. She watched seriously.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"You already know how to go backwards, right?" Kenji asked, straightening slightly. "Well, you do that with one foot, but go forward with the other." He demonstrated, beginning a relatively slow spin in place. "While you do that, you bend your knees, and speed up the spin just before you jump."

Again, he demonstrated, doing a spin and a half this time. When he landed, one foot came down before the other, and he stumbled for half a second before catching his balance.

"The trick is to make sure you land with both feet," Aoba offered with a teasing grin. "Well, unless you're trying a harder trick, anyway."

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka laughed, only because she thought she was supposed to.

"It...," she thought about the jump, and the way he'd stumbled, and to her own surprised realized that she was pretty sure she could do it. "Can, can I try?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Of course!" Aoba and Kenji chorused together.

Ringo grinned with the other two. "You've got this."

[that_oldsaying]

Well, she hoped so.

Alluka moved so that she wasn't right near anyone, rolling back and forth on her ATs thoughtfully, as she considered what Kenji had done and what she had to do. She did a circle one way, and then in reverse, and then took a deep breath.

Balance was the only thing she wasn't worried about, but that meant--that meant she knew everything that this trick was about.

Like she'd been shown, she sent one foot moving forwards, the other moving backwards, and just before she jumped sped everything up. The noise of the crowd faded out as she focused on her jump, spinning, once, then twice, then landing. She didn't even wobble as she landed, just looked up breathlessly.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Awesome!" Ringo squealed, clapping her hands hands in delight. Sure, by now she was used to how fast Alluka could pick things up, but it never ceased to delight her.

Kenji just blinked in surprise as Aoba punched him in the shoulder. "Look at that. She's already better than you."

After a moment he recovered from his surprise and grinned, offering a helpless shrug. "What can I say? I'm just that good of a teacher?" For which he got another punch in the shoulder.

[that_oldsaying]

"I did it!" she crowed, mostly to Ringo, flinging her arms out for a hug. "It was all about balance, so I thought it wouldn't be too bad!"

And it hadn't been.

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo laughed as she hugged the other girl tight. "And you were right." She pulled back slightly. "You've always had great balance, so I knew you'd be fine."

[that_oldsaying]

"Are you going to do it too?" she asked, beaming.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Sure." Ringo grinned. "Why not?"

She considered for a moment. Then gained a little distance from everyone before starting a little spin of her own. She decided not to go all out, it'd feel like showing off. But a little showing off was probably okay. So Ringo began her spin, then launched almost immediately.

Her leap was higher than the others around her, and as she rose she extended her right foot straight out from her, which slowed her spin, almost making it look like she was going in slow motion for a second before she hit the top of her jump. She kept her leg out, sort of helicoptering down to land on one foot and coming to an easy stop.