Description: On a winter's day, Mimiru and Rocket are reunited by a chance encounter at a soup stand in the Southtown Village Mall. They talk about school, parents, tubes, and most importantly, nunchucks. By the end of it, Rocket has an official fighting mentor.
If there was one thing Mimiru missed about Southtown it was there special Village Mall -- the open street with the various street vendors lining up. Mimiru has grown to love the delicacy food had to offer, and she remembers fondly a special chinese street vendor and his hot soup.
Fortunately, it seems the old man is still there after the years Mimiru spent away from Southtown. What's the best thing to have in winter, if not a hot soup? Standing not too far from the food stand, Mimiru waits, a woolen cap on her head and a scarf added to her usual attire to make up for the cold weather. Her large dog sits by her side, head tilted up, waiting patiently for the food to come.
Rollerblading is generally thought of as a summertime sport. In the wintertime, the ice and snow covering the street and sidewalks make for a hazard if you don't adapt your style to compensate for them, and the extra moisture can rust the bearings on your rollerblades if you're not careful. Overall, it's just a lot more effort and potentially a lot more dangerous.
None of these factors dissuade Rina O'Reilly, though. She may not be able to go quite as fast as in the summer, but even on the slick Southtown streets, it still feels more natural to be rolling than walking. She gets even more attention than usual with her unusual winter style of skating as she passes the vendors along the village mall, maintaining momentum almost entirely with one leg at a time before switching up every now and then. She's wearing a black and purple outfit, including a pair of leggings, a puffy black vest, black mittens and a purple scarf in addition to her usual attire.
When she comes around a corner, a flash of pink catches her attention. Her green eyes blink a couple of times, then a grin spreads across her face. Her scarf trails behind her in the breeze as she starts pumping her legs furiously, for a moment completely forgetting everything she knows about winter skating and just trying to close the gap with Mimiru as fast as possible.
"Heeey! Mimiru-chaaan!"
Of course, her lapse in care results in her picking up way more speed than she can really manage to let off in the short distance remaining before colliding with Mimiru.
Finally! It was here. Her cup of soup : Egg Drop soup. The girl held it almost like some sort of holy grail and she enjoyed the cup in her hand. Its heat warmed her hands, after all. Mimiru leans over and closes her eyes, inhaling its scent.
The dog stares up at Mimiru, but it seems the girl ignores him. He knew better not to ask anything to eat from a food stand like this, obviously. Fortunately for Mimiru, Max was alert for her and he barks a few times, tail wagging when he notices the girl skating closer, just a moment before Rocket comes in skating rapidly.
With swift reflex, Mimiru manages to put the bowl back on the stand and she braces for impact, attempting to catch Rocket and prevent her from actually crashing into the stand and ending up making up a mess. She slides a bit on the icy paved street, but the stand absorbs the remaining force that pushed them, with no damage whatsoever.
Mimiru blinks a few times, obvious in surprise and confusion as she straightens herself up and the girl, "Rocket...?" She asks, "Is that you?" And then, when she recognizes the features, her smile widens, "Ahah! It /is/ you! The hell are you doing on my turf!?" She says, her intonation playfully teasing.
When Mimiru catches the purple-clad menace, Rocket wraps her arms around the taller girl's middle, both to help her regain her balance and to give her friend a tight hug.
"Of course it's me! How many other people would skate in this shit?" Rocket replies, steadying herself on the street's surface and finally, after a long few seconds, relinquishing her grip on the pink-haired girl. Still smiling, she speaks animatedly. "I've been here for like, a few months, now. I got kicked out of my grandparents' place for smashing up some guy's car, and they said I had to come live with my uncle here in Southtown and go back to school. I was just taking the afternoon off to check out the shops here. I figured if I wasn't at school when it was time to go home, I could skip detention. What've you been up to? I mean, besides..."
Rocket gasps.
"...totally beating *Rainbow Mika* for real!"
Once the two have regained their balance, Mimiru returns the tight hug. She leans back and takes a good look at Rocket, lowering her gaze some, as if assessing her, "You're the last person I expected to meet in Southtown," The pink haired lass lets go of her and she arches a brow, "Really? You got finally in the neighborhood? Ah! Nice..." Mimiru gestures with her hand idly, "I've grown up around this place, did you know?" Mimiru asks, beaming almost proudly at the thought.
Mimiru heaves a sigh and she folds her arms against her chest, "Rocket, Rocket... A shame you didn't stay with me long enough, I could have taught you plenty of tricks. Rule number one to be a real badass : never get caught," Mimiru says with a wink. Tilting her head to one side, Mimiru says, "Let me guess... You must be in Gedo High? If the school still exists..."
When Rocket mentions her recent victory against Rainbow Mika, Mimiru laughs. She scratches the back of her head, "Ah, oh, heheh, you've seen that?" She says. Of course she might have! It all happened in Southtown, and in this place too, "Yeah, never really expected that to happen, really.. Guess you're still into fighting, eh? Gotten addicted to it?"
Rocket scratches at the back of her neck sheepishly, placing her other hand behind her waist as Mimiru speaks. "Well, uhh, I probably wouldn't have gotten caught, but it kind of ended up on the evening news. My friend video'd it on their phone and put it on Youtube. I mean, it was Ken Masters's car... speaking of which, I got to meet Ken Masters!" she adds brightly, her posture shifting and both hands coming up in front of her, fingers curled with excitement.
"I totally saw it! That was wicked sick! Did I ever tell you I'm a big Rainbow Mika fan?! I guess I can tell people I'm a Mimiru fan now, too!" She bounces at the knees a little, hyping up as she speaks. "I go to Gedo, yeah! How'd you guess? They're having a school tournament too, but I got knocked out of it already. There was this crazy pirate chick and she had a -real- anchor! I don't know how she swung it around but I think she might've been possessed by a demon or something, like that one guy in that show..."
Mimiru frowns a bit at Rocket as she explains how she got caught. She gives her a shrug of her shoulder, "Well, you'll learn from your mistakes... The best school there is in life," Mimiru admits with a slow nod of her head.
Mimiru chuckles a bit at Rocket's cheerfulness, "Ahah, sorry I kicked her butt then, had no choice... Gotta defend the title after all," Mimiru grins a bit and she waves her hand dismissingly, "Meh! You're better than a fan, you're my friend... Really, I'm probably the worst role model you could have," Mimiru admits with a laugh.
Mimiru gives a shrug of her shoulder to Rocket and says, "Gedo High used to be a school of delinquents and troublemakers back in my days. My brother went there," Mimiru says, "But... I didn't. I had my trouble making phase a bit older in my life," Mimiru admits, sticking her tongue out a bit, "The schools still hate each others, do they? Back in my days, it was crazy..."
When Mimiru asserts that she makes for a poor example for Rocket, the cyan-haired girl arches an eyebrow incredulously. "Huh? Why would you be a bad role model? If it wasn't for you, I might not've gotten into fighting! Plus, I got my first real job because of you! Which... well, I kind of screwed up that one job before I had to leave, but Frank still said I could get the job back when I'm done with school!"
The skater reaches into the satchel slung over her shoulder and pulls out a leftover Christmas cookie bound in soft plastic. Unwrapping it, she continues speaking between bites. "Yeah, I think there'sh shtill shomething going on there. Like, thish one *ulp* school, where they have all these giantsh? Apparently they're jerksh, sho I tagged up their school. And these kids from thish other school stole some pantiesh from another school, sho we roughed up the ringleader. And then thish other school shtole our mashcot! It'sh crazy. Oh, and I think the principal exploded part of Gedo or shomething." By the time that she's done rambling, the cookie is gone. She starts rifling through her satchel again. "Do you want a cookie? I have lots."
Mimiru shrugs at Rocket's question, as if she didn't know what to say to that. Her lifestyle was probably not the kind of things parent would like their kids to have, but if it suited Rocket. "Cool. Figured this kind of job was perfect for you, I mean, you were born with skates in your feet. I don't see someone who can beat me in a race all that often, after all," Mimiru says with a nod.
She grins and then adds, "At least it tells me I was right about you, heheh." Mimiru lifts her hand up and shakes it at the offer for a cookie, "No thanks... I've gotten myself a soup. At least, not right now," She says as she glances over the waiting cup and takes it into her hands, "It almost all got wasted, but luckily I managed to save everything and everyone, heheh," Mimiru says.
The pink haired girl listens to Rocket's tales in school and she heaves a nostalgic sigh, "I had a great time back then... I think the best part was the rivalry and gang wars against schools.. Always left you wanting to beat the other schools whenever you had the chance, ahah.. Glad to see things haven't changed.."
"Actually, I heard of another job that sounds cool," Rocket muses, her tone becoming more thoughtful as she taps a finger against her chin. "I found out that in like, Paris or something, the cops actually wear rollerblades." She grins again, placing one hand on a hip and making a sweeping gesture with the other. "So like, picture me on my skates, chasing down bad guys! Pretty awesome, huh? Except, then I'd be working for the Man, and that would be kinda lame."
Deflating a little, Rocket folds her arms across her stomach with a sigh. Then, abruptly, she perks up again. "Oh! Speaking of the Man! Something totally freakin' weird happened after my fight with the pirate girl. The last thing I remembered was getting pounded with that anchor, over and over again. And then, I remember waking up and I was like... floating, in this tube or something. I was still kinda out of it. I think I remember these bright flashing lights. And then, I woke up in the nurse's office at school. And I was /totally fine./"
She pauses for a dramatic beat, then speaks in a hushed half-whisper.
"So basically, I think I have superpowers now."
Mimiru tilts her head to one side, amused at Rocket's description of her job. "Huh, funny you say that," She says with a slow nod of her head. "When I was younger, I always thought I'd end up following in my mother's footsteps and become a police officer... Except like, no rollerblades, ahah," Mimiru turns a bit to face the chinese food stand and she takes a spoon so she can eat her soup.
She slowly sips the soup and takes a spoonful after another while she listens to to Rocket. She arches a brow at her story and hums softly. Her lips curl into a wide grin and she says, "Wanna know a secret?" Mimiru says, glancing around, as if to make sure no one can hear them.
"When I started manifesting my chi and fire, I had... You know, a weird stage in my life where I thought I was a superheroine of some sort. I called myself Super Mimiru. I had the whole arsenal. Super Mimiru Punch, Super Mimiru Kick..." Mimiru shakes her head slowly and heaves a sigh, "Yeah... Ahem..." She hums softly and arches a brow, "What Super Powers you've got, huh? Power of the chi flame? Or you got something new from your alien tube? You sure they didn't put some probe in your ass or something while you were there?" She says teasingly.
The revelation about Mimiru's mother elicits a couple of blinks from the younger girl. "Oh, weird. I didn't know your mom was a cop! My dad's in jail, so... I guess that's kind of the opposite of being a cop. You know Mad Gear? He was with them when Mayor Musclehead showed up and started throwing his weight around..."
The wheels of her skates click lightly as she trots over to a bench next to the food vendor and plops down on it.
"Super Mimiru Punch? I call one of my attacks Super Rocket Shot. I wonder what kind of punch I could do on skates to call it Super Rocket Punch..." She trails off, then adds, "Oh, I think I have like, a super healing factor now! 'Cause I should have totally been all banged up still, from getting anchored like a hundred times or something, right? But after I woke up, I could skate the next day! So I -"
Suddenly, she pales, going even whiter than the natural Irish complexion that she has inherited. She squirms a little on the bench."Wait, what? You don't think someone would actually do that, do you? I - no way! I'm sure of it! Nobody put anything in my ass!! Probably!"
The last bit is yelled maybe a bit too loud, and a few nearby passersby pick up the pace a little to get out of the vicinity.
The pink haired girl gives a slow nod of her head, "Yeah... My mother's the chief of the police department of Southtown," Mimiru says, turning her gaze away thoughtfully, "My brother," Mimiru adds lowering her eyes to the ground, thoughtful, "Used to be an Interpol agent," There's a bit of sorrow in her voice, but it quickly fades away as Mimiru dismisses it with a casual wave of her hand, "Guess I'm the rotten apple of the lot, ahah, I guess... Profession : Kinda like a homeless hobo or something,"
Mimiru takes her soup and she walks to Rocket's side, taking a seat on the bench next to her. Max follows and sits in front of Mimiru, staring at her, waiting as she takes another spoonful of the soup.
Rocket's reaction makes Mimiru laugh out loud and she gives a pat on Rocket's back, "Ahah, relax, I was just kidding..." She says. She grins mischievously though and adds, "But I guess we can't never be certain if they did..." Mimiru doesn't seem to care much about the reactions of the bystander -- or what others would think about them for that matter.
"So.. Now that you got those special powers..." Mimiru muses, "What will you do with them, hum?" She asks.
Rocket's expression relaxes for a moment when Mimiru says she was kidding, but a slight unease returns to it at the girl's further words. Then, when Mimiru poses her question, Rocket cants her head a little to one side. "Oh, I dunno. I haven't really tested for sure if I have them, 'cause, nobody's kicked my butt again since then. I guess I could use them to fight crime or something, but I don't know if your mom would be cool with that. She's really the chief of police, huh?"
Rocket's eyes widen just a little as she slumps back against the bench, crossing one knee over the other. She brushes away the hair dangling in front of her face over the strap of her ballcap - a fruitless gesture, as it just falls back again. "So that basically makes your mom The Man. Except not a man, 'cause she's a she."
The girl's brow creases as she considers the idea. "So, uhh... maybe I shouldn't tell you about when me and these guys from school went to some school for witches, huh?" She turns her head to Mimiru beside her on the bench and quirks an eyebrow. "Actually, come to think of it, I didn't -really- do anything bad that time. It was my cousin and some other guys who were perving out..."
A soft chuckle escape her throat and Mimiru leans on the bench, lifting her gaze up, "Guess you could say that," Mimiru admits with a shrug of her shoulder, "She worked hard for it, I really always looked up to. I mean, she raised two children on her own, and can't say we've been angels, ahah," Mimiru laughs a bit at the thought.
"I..." She wonders, "Not sure, really. If you really had those powers, maybe. I've always had a rough time reading into my mom, not sure what she thinks of this whole fighting thing.." Mimiru says dismissingly.
She shakes her head and says, "Ah, come on, I'm not my mom, I'm not cop, like you think I'd tell you out on anything, eh? Pfft, you know me better. You brought you to your first illegal fighting ring? Mimi," She says, tapping her chest.
She grins teasingly and says, "Well, didn't get caught this time, I hope? Learned your lesson? Ahah. Let me guess... Trying to get a look at the girl's changing room in Seijyun High?"
"Yeah, I guess so," Rocket replies to Mimiru's question, reaching into her bag to pull out another Christmas cookie and setting about unwrapping it. "One of the girls there caught us. Or, well, caught my cousin, anyway. Then I showed up to bail him out, but that girl, like... cast this spell or something and blew us all out of the schoolyard. I mean, like, magic? How come they only teach that shit at fancy schools where you gotta pay to get in?"
The cyan-haired girl starts to chew on her cookie, then adds, "Hey, you know, even if I got my ass handed to me, fighting that pirate chick was pretty fun. And did you know they actually let you practice fighting and shit at Gedo? Anyways, I was thinking, maybe I could become a real tournament fighter. I mean, you still get paid if you lose, right?"
Mimiru blinks a few times and she arches a brow, "Ah... You see, that's different, back in my days, they didn't teach magic there..." Mimiru admits. Her lips curl into a smile, "Ahah, yeah... My brother was from Gedo High. My mother thought the martial arts could have helped him focus, I think..." Mimiru admits.
"Yeah, sometimes... Depends what tournament and league fights you're going for," Mimiru says with a slow nod of her head. She taps her chin thoughtfully, glancing over at Rocket, as if gauging her, "Tell you what... I think you could learn the ropes in the Neo League," Mimiru offers, her lips curling into a wide grin, "I could give you a hand, if that's what you want, get you registered and all... It generally pays the expenses to travel around the world, and you get some money out of it... Doesn't pay much, but it's the price to pay when you're a rookie," Mimiru says with a grin.
Rocket's face lights up at Mimiru's offer, a bright grin spreading across it. "You think so? I mean, you think I'd be ready for something like that? I mean, of course I'm ready for it! I have superpowers now, after all! Plus, I know how to do fireballs and stuff! I just need to ask my grandparents if it's okay..." She trails off, looking thoughtful and holding a finger up to tap the side of her cheek, then grins.
"Nah, I'm sure they'd be fine with it. I mean, it's like a real job, right? Plus, I could like, travel around and see the world and whatever, so maybe I'd learn stuff. Like how they have rollerblading cops in France, except stuff I don't already know." She turns her body toward Mimiru on the bench. "Hey, you're a champion, right? I bet you could probably teach me how to fight better..."
"Huh, yeah... I guess..." Mimiru admits with a shrug of her shoulders. Champion -- the word sounded weird, but it was what she was with her title. Her lips curl into a wide grin, "But... I'd do that for my friend," Mimiru says with a nod. "I can teach you a few things... Some jujitsu, or help you with your flame manifestation. It's an old man in Southtown who taught me all about them... I still remember his lessons, ahah..."
"Yeah... And let me tell you something : league fight is not any worse than when you fought this Mountain dude back then. It'll be your league deflowering, but that's okay -- expect to get your ass kicked a few times, but that's how you improve. You learn from your mistakes. And it's by fighting stronger fighters than you, always remember that," Mimiru says.
"But... If you want special training for me in the meantime, I guess I could spare some of my free time for that," Mimiru says with a smile.
"Oh, yeah! I learned how to fight from an old man, too. My granddad stopped teaching me how to make fire and stuff when I accidentally blew myself through the fence in the backyard, though. So I had to practice by myself. But with you helping teach me, no one has to worry about voiding homeowner's insurance or whatever it's called!" Rocket smacks a fist into her other palm, cracking her knuckles with a devilish grin. "Soon the world will fear the name Rocket O'Reilly, Super Tournament Fighter! Awesome! I should think of a way to pay you back, though."
She looks thoughtful for a moment, then suddenly a hopeful expression comes to her eyes as she leans toward Mimiru. "I wanna know one more thing, though... can you teach me how to use nunchucks?"
Mimiru's lips curl into a gentle smile as she listens and stares at Rocket. In many ways she reminds her of herself when she was younger, full of energy and always looking for trouble. "Nah, no need to," Mimiru says, turning her head away, a bit thoughtful, "I guess you could say, it's my way of giving back to life what it gave me, eh?" Mimiru says.
She lifts the bowl of soup to her lips, to sip and finish what's left into it. "Ahah, got the wrong girl, poor Rocket. I'm no ninja," Mimiru says. She shrugs and adds, "Best I can do is teach you some jujitsu, if you really want..."
For the sudden crestfallen look that comes over her when Mimiru reveals that she cannot teach her to use nunchucks, one would think that Rocket was devastated; completely heartbroken. "I... I understand, I guess," she says, scraping her front wheels against the path beneath the bench. But then, within a matter of moments, her expression is sunny and animated once more.
"That's okay, though! I'm sure you'll help me get more badass like you! I'll take whatever you teach me, and then put it on rollerblades! It will be awesome!" Luckily Mimiru seems to have finished her soup, because Rocket gives her a sudden, tight hug. "Thanks for agreeing to help me, Mimi! You're the best!"
The hug seems to surprise Mimiru a moment but once the surprise is gone, Mimiru has a faint smile as she returns the hug. She gives a tight squeeze to Rocket and she closes her arms, enjoying the embrace. Her friendship never seemed to last, alas... Much to Mimiru's fault and trouble to commitment for some reason, and it had been a while since she had a close friend like Rocket.
"Yeah... It's a pleasure," Mimiru says, rubbing the girl's back a bit. She gives a few pats and says, "I think I should get going... But where can I find you, so we can talk again and get on with this?" Mimiru asks, slowly pulling out from the hug.
"Oh, yeah!" Breaking away from the hug, Rocket slips a hand into her satchel, rummaging around inside it, her tongue poking out a little in concentration. Eventually, she comes up with a cell phone - a rather cheap-looking, off-brand thing in a Rage Against the Machine themed case.
"That phone you gave me doesn't really work over here, so I got a new one! It was on sale and the plan was cheap, but, uhh, it's best to call me at night or on weekends. Anyway, I'm staying at my uncle's place on the north side, his name is Hitachi Kobayashi. Here, I'll give you my number and the address and stuff..."
And so the information is given over. As the girls prepare to part ways, Rocket picks herself up off the bench, easing onto her skates smoothly. "Anyways, you can come see me anytime! Except most of the time I'm not at my uncle's place anyway, so you should probably call. But it's best if you call at night, so - actually, fuck it. It's not like a lot of other people are calling, so I should have plenty of time. You can just call me whenever!" She offers the other girl a smile and a small wave. "Hopefully see you soon, Mimi-chan!"
The pink haired lass takes up the information, picking up her phone. It was a different one than the previous one Rocket might remember. Looks like Mimiru switched phones quite often as well, for some reason. "Alright," The girl says. She glances at Rocket, a bit lost at all the explanations, "I'll just call you whenever," Mimiru adds, a wide grin growing on her lips.
"Definately. And whatever you do, remember the first rule," Mimiru says, waving a finger in her direction, "Never get caught, ahah... Take care," She says, waving to her. Mimiru puts her hand down on Max's head and ruffles the dog's hair a bit, "Alright, time to get going ourselves,"
Log created on 16:06:59 01/09/2015 by Rocket, and last modified on 16:03:20 01/14/2015.