Monday, Early Evening, On way from School to Dorms

[greenexorcist]

Shiemi might be going to school in America, but she was still an ExWire level exorcist and she still had missions to go on and cram classes to take. Or so she'd found out when the summons from the Director had come and she'd been whisked off back to Japan to help the team chase away young kappa from school pools.

But but but! Shiemi had been given a new exorcist key! The Director had given it to her personally! Exorcist keys, he'd reminded her, worked to bypass anti-demon barriers around the town and the Japanese True Cross Exorcist headquarters; any door opened with an exorcist key would open a portal to get to the one specific place that the key was primed to. And this new key opened a door to Fandom Island. She now had THREE exorcist keys! None of the other ExWires had three! Shiemi gave her now heavier key ring a small jangle and beamed happily at it as she put the new key into her family shop's front door - "I'm off, Mother!" - and stepped eagerly through.

And promptly fell onto the floor of the school hallway, the door of locker 327 swinging shut behind her and closing the portal.

"Eh?!" She'd expected her room or maybe outside the dorm building, not in what appeared to be a hallway of the school building. "Well, at least no one saw me fall?"

Shiemi stood and dusted off her kimono. Huh. Why was the school so quiet today?

"Ah!" She headed for the school exit; she needed to get to her room and give Margaery the present she had for her!



[Shiemi is walking from the school to the dorms, open!]

Comments

[soniaroadsqueen]

"No."

"No, no, no, no, no." Ringo threw in a theatrical shudder for good measure. "That's just. Ugh! That's the worst idea I've ever heard!"

No it wasn't. But it was a pretty terrible one.

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

"Eh?" Shiemi blinked away the sparkles in her eyes. "You're not dating him? But you sound so close."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"No. Definitely, definitely not."

Well, Ringo shrugged and relented slightly.

"I mean, we're friends, sure." Though you generally had to twist her arm to get her to admit it. "But that's it."

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

"Oh. That's okay!" Shiemi bounced towards Ringo as if to encourage her. "That's good too. Having friends in your classes must be so nice!"

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo blinked, then laughed and grinned. "Of course," she agreed. "And friends in general are pretty great, too, you know?"

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

"They are!" Sure, get Shiemi excited. "And I'm going to make lots and lots of them!"

"Nee!" Nee-chan raised a fist in solidarity from his perch on Ringo's hand.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Of course you are!" Ringo agreed easily. "You've already made a good start, right?"

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

"I have?" Huh?

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo widened her eyes in a sudden pout. Totally fake, and pretty obviously so.

"Are you saying we're not friends?"

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

"Are we?!" Shiemi's eyes opened wide, eager. "Really?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Well, we don't have to be if you don't want to," Ringo said with a reassuring smile.

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

"I do! Oh, I do!" Shiemi fixed a determined look on her face. "P-please be my friend, Ringo-sempai?"

And then she bowed deeply.

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo grinned, reaching out to ruffle at Shiemi's hair. "You got it." She hesitated for a moment before adding. "Kohai."

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

Shiemi's head lifted, her smile brilliant. "Thank you!"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"You know," Ringo said with a laugh, "you don't have to thank someone for being your friend. You just have to be a good friend back."

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

"I will!" She replied earnestly. "I promise!"

"Nee!"

Ah! Shiemi clapped. "That's a good idea! Nee-chan? Alstroemeria please? Natalie." And suddenly the small greenman lept into the air and a pile of flowers exploded from his belly to Ringo's arms.

Catch!

[soniaroadsqueen]

Well, Ringo was definitely surprised, but she had good reflexes so she managed to to catch the flowers despite that. "Oh. Wow. Um. Thanks!"

She was more impressed by the whole out-of-nothing part than the flowers themselves, though they were pretty.

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

"They mean Friendship! And they remind me of you!" Flowers had been Nee-chan's idea, but the choice was Shiemi's. And speaking of the demon, he floated back to sit on Shiemi's head again.

"By the way, how were you going so fast back then?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Thank you." Ringo's smile was still a bit surprised, but it was also soft and genuine.

And it brightened at Shiemi's question. "Oh, you mean my ATs?" She balanced effortlessly on one foot so she could hold the other up near head height for examination.

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

SEMPAI WAS SO ATHLETIC!

"Eighties?" Shiemi leaned forward a little to look closer at... "Skates?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"A-Ts," Ringo corrected, enunciating more clearly. "It stands for Air-Trek. And they're like skates, but way way better."

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

"A-Ts?" She reached a finger towards a wheel. "What makes them better?"

Not that Shiemi knew how to skate.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"They have electric motors built into them. It's why you're able to go so fast when you have them on." Ringo was still holding her foot up so Shiemi could see, but she shifted her foot slightly to trigger the motor, setting the wheels spinning with a high-pitched whine.

[greenexorcist.livejournal.com]

"Oooh. That is fast!" Shiemi pulled her fingers back quickly. "How do you keep from falling?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo cocked her head curiously. "Um? Balance, I guess?" There wasn't any special trick to it or anything.