[center]
[color=f49ac2]Sakura Level 8: 74/80[/color] 
[color=fff200]Karin Level 4: 21/40[/color] 
Location: Metro 
Word Count: 849
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]

[color=f49ac2]”Thank you very much!”[/color] Sakura had said to Belle, Wise, and Kyle. Happily, she carried all six radios in her arms, though they were contained within a plastic bag. They were short-wave, for long distances but small enough to be used on the fly. If they could evenly distribute these among the group, it’d be easier for them to remain in contact with each other! Sakura felt very clever.

[color=f49ac2]”Tora-san! Poppi-san!”[/color] She said, running into them. [color=f49ac2]”Look what I got; short-wave radios! We can use these to talk to each other from far away. They have different, um, frequencies. You press this button here and you can talk into it and everyone else’ll hear it unless their radio is turned off. And you have to end every sentence with ‘over’ otherwise no one will know when to press their own button to start talking. Pretty cool, huh?” [/color] Sakura said, a tinge of hope in her voice. Tora and Poppi both seemed pretty smart, especially Tora, so she was going to be validated by their ‘smart-person’ approval more than she thought. 

At that moment, some bikers roared down the street on their vehicles, forcing civilians into cover. Even some kids! Sakura’s mouth worked up into a pout, but she was also, admittedly, a little excited. Frankly, it had been too long since she’d been able to dispense some street justice. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard and saw a familiar face- it was Edge! [color=f49ac2]”Eh?!”[/color] 

Sakura and Edge had crossed fists- or rather, she had crossed fists with his knives- a few times in the past. They both knew each other through their mutual friend Akira Kazama, and anyone Sakura had a friendly street fighter with, she considered friendly. There’s few faster ways to bond with people, in her opinion. Moving the plastic bag full of radios to her right hand, she waved one hand over her head and sprinted over to him. [color=f49ac2]”Edge-san! Mister Edge! It’s me, Sakura Kasugano! Remember me?”[/color] She sprinted all the way to him and skidded to a stop on her heels, leaning far back as she nearly blew right past him.

The spiky-haired young man looked her way suddenly, taken by surprise. On reflex he dodged away from the girl when she came at him, ready to pull one of his trademark knives if a Punk had come back to finish the job, but he stopped short. There were a lot of students in Gutsford, but since nobody traveled much everyone tended to see one another around, especially within the same academy. Friends made here lasted for life, however long that might be. Yet while Edge faintly recalled this girl as someone he'd seen before, he couldn't call her a friend or even someone he really knew. He wouldn't have remembered her name if she didn't give it to him. "Sakura...Kasugano, eh?" He eased up a little, his hand straying from his pocket. At the very least, this clearly wasn't a Punk, Jock, or Frat. "What's...?"

[color=f49ac2]”Hey, those guys suck, huh!”[/color] Giving one last concerned look to any threatened schoolchildren, she turned to Edge with a resolute smile on her face. [color=f49ac2]”I think I’m gonna go beat ‘em up and win their bikes off them because I need them and also it’ll be fun.”[/color] Her long winded sentence summarized all her goals. [color=f49ac2]”I’m new in town- do you know a biker bar where all those guys hang out?”[/color] She asked.

Edge ran his hand through his iconic 'do. "Nah, not really, they're just..."

[color=f49ac2]”And also, what’s a Clustertruck and can I…rent one? Me and my friends need a way to get to Midgar as fast as possible. And maybe after all this is done you and me can throw down!”[/color] Sakura said, excitedly. [color=f49ac2]”Sorry, I’ve been talking too much- what do you think?”[/color]

Eye twitching, Edge carefully opened his mouth to reply.

She waited a beat, and then interrupted him. [color=f49ac2]”Edgewise!”[/color] She pointed at him. [color=f49ac2]”I haven’t been letting you get a word in [i]edge[/i]wise. Ah, crap, it’s too late now. Dang!”[/color] She snapped her fingers. With both Nadia and Ace no longer in this group, there was a lack of punnage that Sakura was trying and probably failing to compensate for. 

"No kiddin'! You wanna hear it, or not!?" the dude exclaimed. He waited a moment longer to see if Sakura had anything else to say, but since his old acquaintance seemed to have gotten her motor mouth under control for now, he let out his breath. She covered her mouth and gave him a thumbs up. "Nice to see ya again too, I guess. Just listen, those guys are the Punks. They're a pain in the ass but they can't fight for shit, so they just screw around while out joyridin' on their bikes. You wanna beat 'em up, be my guest! Might even tag along. They don't serve alcohol in this town -believe me, I checked- but there's an ol' garage where the Punks hang out down by the place with all the trucks."

He leaned forward conspiratorially, his hands upheld to aid in his explanation with violent gestures. "Speakin' of, ya really [i]are[/i] new in town if ya ain't heard about the Clustertrucks. They're like, the whole reason we're stuck here in the boonies while everything's happenin' in the big city. Get a load of this: out in the wastes, there's these giant herds o' wild trucks with no drivers! They cruise around suckin' up oil shale, but if two herds get too close, they all go nuts and stampede, smashin' and slammin' into one another 'til the whole thing's one big cluster-truck!"

Edge then crossed his arms and leaned casually against the brick wall by the storefront. "It's stupid dangerous, and everyone says not to go out there, but sometimes me an' the guys head out and ride on the trucks. If you can run and jump worth a damn, you can cover some real ground goin' between herds. Yeah, basically I guess you could say we're super badass." He nodded to himself, full of confidence. Sakura nodded with him, taken in by his narrative craft. 

Sakura paused before responding, not wanting to interrupt again. [color=f49ac2]”That's insane! I really wanna see those trucks! Thank you very much, [i]Edge-kun! [/i] If you do help me find my way there, your reward will be watching me beat up the Punks."[/color] Sakura punched her palm. [color=f49ac2]”Or, y'know, you could fight, too, haha.”[/color] Secretly, she was excited to beat up some weak losers who bullied people but were all talk. It was a serious power trip, which was something she tried not to induldge in...but if the bad guys deserved a beating, Sakura wasn't exactly going to become a saintly beacon of restraint. Hopefully it wouldn't be too hard to bait them into a fight.

[hr]

Karin and Midna had split up at some point to cover more ground. Neither the Bus Depot, Trade Depot, or even the helicopters overhead were easily accessible. There wasn’t even any cars to buy. Karin ended up pacing back and forth in an alleyway. [color=fff200]”Well it’s [i]wonderful[/i] that they have such a delightfully walkable city. Truly the automobile can be such a blight on quality of life.”[/color] She muttered to herself.

[color=fff200]”But must there be not a [i]single[/i] vehicle available even for [i]rent?![/i][/color] She complained loudly and almost put a huge dent, or even hole, in a nearby dumpster, but averted her kick at the last moment into the air. 

Karin Kanzuki didn’t need to ask for transportation! She had a fleet of private limousines, helicopters, jets, cars! She traveled the world on a regular basis! And now she’s been reduced to a base commoner, [i]asking around![/i] This was not her role! This was not her place in life! Curse that Galeem! Galeem had taken away nearly all of her power and influence. Though naturally she still had far more than most people, it was limited to a single city! Her global reach had been taken from her by some glorified street lamp! Her entire life’s work! Due to the danger, she hadn’t taken her staff with her, which had already proved to be a wise decision. But now she missed them. If nothing else they afforded her the respect she deserved.

Karin ran her hands up her forehead and exhaled, reigning in her temper. [color=fff200]”All right. You’re out of ideas. Let us simply collect our thoughts and go on a walk.”[/color] With that, she reorganized her hair ringlets and began to walk around town by herself to relax and get to know it a little better. She stopped at a coffee shop and purchased some tea, and sat down to drink some in peace. She still had some time before reuniting with the other Seekers, and some time alone with her thoughts and some decent tea would do her some good.