[center] [color=f49ac2]Sakura Level 8: 72/80[/color] [color=fff200]Karin Level 4: 19/40[/color] Location: Metro Word Count: 1,610 Points Gained: 2 New EXP Balance--- [color=f49ac2]Sakura Level 8: 74/80 [/color] [indent][color=fff200]Karin Level 4: 21/40 (pending)[/color][/indent] [/center] Sakura and Karin rushed into the train, with Sakura flinging herself onto a seat and Karin taking a seat. For a moment, both girls flattened out their skirts. It took them both a second to realize they didn’t have skirts anymore and they both chuckled. Sakura rubbed her head and shoulder, and Karin wiped her lips to make sure there wasn’t any saliva on them. [color=fff200]“My goodness. Splendid work, everyone. Geralt, Roxas, Pit, Susie, Blazermate, Tora, Poppi, Midna, Peach, Bede, Raz…Sakura. It seems all of us but Wonder Red made it to their intended destination. Our mission can continue unhindered.”[/color] Karin said, straightening her posture. [color=f49ac2]”I hope everyone’s okay…” [/color] Sakura whispered. [color=f49ac2]”I think we’ll see them all again in a few days, at our next meeting. After we defeat the next two Guardians.” [/color] She said, nodding resolutely. Then, suddenly: [color=f49ac2]”I’m not going to let this experience ruin my opinion of cats.” [/color] Sakura said, clapping a fist against her thigh. [color=f49ac2]”I mean, I am a dog person. I have a dog. But cats are cute too, y’know?”[/color] Karin nodded sagely. They listened in on Roxas’ introduction to the Seekers. Sakura nodded as he stated his new mission. [color=f49ac2]“That’s right, Mister Roxas. I think a lot of us are looking for our friends and, uh, family. I’m sure they’ll turn up. Besides, nobody covers more ground than the Seekers do, right?”[/color] Sakura said optimistically, mostly free of her doubt. Since her time in the World of Light, she’d come to terms with the ‘Gleaming’ situation. Karin stared thoughtfully at the back of Sakura’s head, drawing the Street Fighter’s attention. [color=f49ac2]”What’s up, Miss Karin?”[/color] [color=fff200]“During our battle you asked to trade opponents. Why?”[/color] [color=f49ac2]”Oh, um.”[/color] Sakura shrank into herself lightly. [color=f49ac2]”I…I dunno. It was…it was weird.”[/color] Hesitating, she geared herself up to share some pretty heavy intel. [color=f49ac2]”Back on, um- there was- okay. There was this really scary ship called the Maw. Remember I told you about it?”[/color] Sakura asked. Karin nodded. [color=f49ac2]”Well, um…on that ship, it was really scary. I was tied up and, I was gonna be eaten and…”[/color] Sakura exhaled. [color=f49ac2]”Wow, this is harder than I thought.”[/color] [color=f49ac2]”And when that Cliffheart girl got my hands together, it was- it was like I was [i]there[/i]. It was like I was back on the Maw. I’ve never seen- never [i]felt[/i] anything like it before. I can’t describe it, but it was awful. And it caught me so off guard, I just- I just couldn’t fight her.”[/color] Sakura finished, rubbing her own arms and suppressing a shudder. A thought occurred to her. [color=f49ac2]”Now that I think about…I wonder if something similar happened when I was fighting Risky? My memories got a little fuzzy afterward.”[/color] She said. [color=fff200]”...I see.”[/color] Karin said. [color=fff200]“How bizarre. Perhaps you’ve been traumatized?”[/color] [color=f49ac2]”T-traumatized?!”[/color] Sakura was alarmed. [color=f49ac2]””Geez I- I sure hope not! I don’t wanna be traumatized.”[/color] She dropped to the floor of the subway and started doing push ups. [color=fff200]”Oh, must you? That floor is disgusting, surely.”[/color] Karin said, nudging Sakura’s shoulder with her boot. [color=f49ac2]”Oh, right, probably.”[/color] Sakura jumped up and started doing jumping jacks instead, her hair and bandana bouncing up and down. Karin watched Sakura, eyebrow raised. [color=fff200]”We’ll have to look into this. You can’t freeze up in battle.”[/color] [color=f49ac2]”I know! I don’t like that idea more than anybody. Just not sure what to do about it.”[/color] She said, jumping up and down. [color=f49ac2]”I really didn’t like that feeling.”[/color] Karinn showed Sakura her wrist-mounted grappling hook weapon. [color=fff200]”Perhaps some testing is in order. Once we have a moment. For now we should focus on the objective at hand- we’ve no idea what’ll be waiting for us at our destination.”[/color] Sakura reluctantly nodded, finishing out her set of jumping jacks and moving onto a series of stretches. Soon they were at their destination. Yasoinaba Station in particular struck Sakura as fondly familiar. [color=f49ac2]”This looks like it could be from someplace right where I live! It’s exactly the kind of train station you’d see in my hometown. ”[/color] Smiling, she spotted lettering on the wall. [color=f49ac2]”Yasoinaba station!”[/color] She read aloud for everyone, proudly showing off her bilingual ability. Karin smirked and rolled her eyes and made her way outside. Emerging into the daylight, they spotted not one, but three academies. A trio of them all relatively huddled together. Karin set her finger on her chin, a bead of sweat running down her head. [color=fff200]”Hmm…I see.”[/color] [color=f49ac2]”Wow, look, Karin.”[/color] Sakura said flatly. [color=fff200]”...M’yes, I-”[/color] She began. Sakura jumped on Karin’s back and started pulling on her ear. [color=f49ac2]”If only someone here had a freakin’ school uniform!!”[/color] [color=fff200]”Ah! Unhand me!”[/color] Karin, indignant, managed to grab onto Sakura’s arm and dislodge her to the ground. Sakura laughed, facepalming. [color=fff200]”It’s- they’re western schools, anyway, you buffoon!”[/color] Karin said, crossing her arms and looking away from everyone.[color=fff200]”If anything the track suit makes you blend in [i]more[/i] than a seifuku would!”[/color] [color=f49ac2]”I guess you’re right, Karin.”[/color] Sakura said, teasingly. [color=f49ac2]”But hey, yeah, everyone! This almost looks like a place where we’re from. Though the schools wouldn’t be so close together, I think.”[/color] She stood up and looked around, scratching her brown hair. [color=f49ac2]”Huh. It must really suck to still have to do homework. This is kind of confusing to me. Are they just learning the regular stuff and pretending like nothing crazy is going on because of You-Know-What?”[/color] Sakura pondered. She turned and spotted Midna’s magical ability to produce awesome space-vehicles from mid air. [color=f49ac2]”That’s amazing, Miss Princess Midna! Oh, man! If I had my bike, I could ride that around…I left it at Alcamoth because we had to take those weird, small boats.”[/color] Sakura complained. Enviously, she looked around at everyone with their bicycles. [color=f49ac2]”...I wouldn't have freakin’ bought it if I knew we were coming to a place like this! I could go buy one right now and actually get to use it! Aw, man, this sucks!”[/color] Karin was looking away, and noticed along with everyone else the massive city in the distance. [color=fff200]”Now, that, I imagine…is our point of interest. Midgar, no doubt. If our Guardian is anywhere, it’s either there, or we can learn of its location there.”[/color] Karin concluded confidently. [color=fff200]”In addition to battling whatever injustice may be occurring, of course. [/color] Sakura jogged up alongside. [color=f49ac2]”Wow, that is the biggest building I’ve ever seen! If I were a bad guy, I’d be sitting right at the tippy top and looking over my entire empire, stroking a cat with an eyepatch. Isn’t that right, Karin?”[/color] She nudged her friend with her elbow. [color=fff200]”Precisely.”[/color] Karin nodded. [color=fff200]”Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?”[/color] Sakura had already moved on. [color=f49ac2]”Yeah, that place is cool, but [i]this[/i] place is also cool. If it really is like where I’m from, then we won’t be seeing any magical monsters or scary bad guys. At worst, just some creeps. But I can happily beat up any creep in the world, so that’s not a problem either.”[/color] Sakura said. [color=f49ac2]”There’s gotta be something we can use here. Not at these schools, though. If there’s a car shop we could buy a truck! I dunno about a coach wagon though, Midna. At the very least, I’m going to go see about a new bicycle. Maybe I can guilt Miss Karin into buying one for me since she’s so rich.”[/color] [color=fff200]”...I’m right here!”[/color] Sakura was still talking. [color=f49ac2]”Come on everyone, let’s go look around! There’s gotta be something useful or fun around here. Like an electronics store full of radios! We can meet back here soon? Like, an hour? Thirty minutes? Something? Thumbs up thumbs up?”[/color] Sakura was already backing away, shooting semi-automatic akimbo thumps at her fellow Seekers, hoping to compel at least one of them to follow her. Karin snatched Sakura by the wrist before she got too far away. [color=fff200]”Take this coin purse, if you must. I’ve no interest in keeping up with your wondrous sense of exploration. Practical purchases only.”[/color] Karin said, handing her a small bag with the equivalent of 1000 gold inside. Sakura grinned. [color=f49ac2]”Kasugano ‘Practical’ Sakura. That’s me.”[/color] If all went well and she wasn’t interrupted, Sakura dashed off into town with anyone that chose to accompany her. If she was all alone, so be it! The Street Fighter was on the lookout for bicycle shops, and maybe an electronics shop. To buy walkie-talkies for everyone, an idea Sakura had right at that very moment and was now very excited about. And also, troublemakers. Goons, gangsters, etc. If she ran into any bullies like that, she wouldn’t complain. Or anyone or anything that looked interesting or fun. Best case scenario, she ran into someone strong and she could get into a quick street fighter before the Seekers moved on! Sakura would freerun up onto rooftops and across them, or she’d take ‘shortcuts’ through any alleyways to cover as much ground as possible. Karin, meanwhile, would stick with the largest group and continue to strategize. [color=fff200]”Those odd roads look interesting. They’ll lead us to Midgar. Walking would take far too long. If we cannot buy or rent our own vehicles, there might be…public transportation, of some kind.”[/color] Karin said, failing to completely hide the distaste in her voice. [color=fff200]”Since that went so well last time. Regardless. Let us begin our search for automobiles, or, any other type of ‘ride.’”[/color] With that, she went to find the largest street around. A main street, if you will. Such a place would be a nexus of the town. While Sakura piddled and paddled about in the side streets, Karin searched in search of transportation with, ideally, some of the more non-distracted Seekers.