[open] i wouldn't do this for just anyone.

[whatagoodgirl]

Who: Nakama and anyone who wants to be crashed into?
What: Teaching herself a new skill. Again, badly.
When: Day 143
Where: All over the city!
Rating: Assuming G, will edit if necessary.


Nakama's on a mission. A very cut up, bruised, aching mission.

No, it's not fighting or weapons this time. She's brought so much drama and sadness into Roxas's life lately, and they may have plans for fun times later, but she feels like this needs more. A gesture like the ice cream on the roof, something bigger that's all her.

So she's dipped into her savings and bought herself a skateboard, and the plan was to expand on his one brief lesson until she was good enough to go out riding with him. Unfortunately, that first lesson didn't go very well, and she doesn't know anything about skateboarding other than that. So she's careening around the city, arms waving wildly to keep her balance and legs occasionally flying out from under her and sending her sprawling onto the pavement. But like the thousands of needles she took to her fingertips while learning to sew, she barely feels any injuries left behind.

If you find her early in the day, she'll look alright; later in the day, there'll be a large tear in the left knee of her jeans with a bloody knee beneath, and a limping gait that suggests more bruises and wounds under her clothes. Heck, you might even meet her halfway and have to leap out of the way. It's hard to say!

Make your choice, but choose carefully.

Comments

[kd_0079]

[ Maybe today just wasn't a good day for fresh air. He'd already dropped and stepped on his sunglasses, gotten lost in the Odin district, and only managed to find himself back in Hel a few hours later. Since he had learned the city plan, he never got lost. So...why was today just feeling off for him? Maybe he didn't sleep enough, or maybe breakfast wasn't filling, or

Maybe he should just pay more attention to his own surroundings. By the time he allows his ears to pick noises out from around him, it was already too late for him to turn, see, and dodge the oncoming bullet on wheels. All he could say, seconds for impact, was- ]

Nakam-! [ He should have just stayed home today. ]

[whatagoodgirl]

[She lets out a shriek when she sees him, then dives off the board and does a shoulder roll to safety. It hurts on the pavement rather than training mats, but that's just another bruise for the collection. It was worth it to minimize the damage - a skateboard rolling into his legs will be far less hazardous than one with a person on it.]

[kd_0079]

[ The skateboard collided with his shins, but didn't stop, and in fact caused him to trip onto the ground. Goddamn...this is not what he asked for today. He looked up, a bit of a glare on his face. ]

What. What the hell was that? [ Skateboarding? Out of no where?! ]

[whatagoodgirl]

[She leaps up, wincing a bit, and drops into a deep bow.]

I'm sorry! I'm not very good yet! Are you hurt? Do you need a healer?

[kd_0079]

[ He didn't move from his position on the ground, simply grumbling to himself. ]

No, I'm fine. [ He was about to ask her the same, but he already noticed cuts and bruises. ]

...You got that all from skateboarding?

[whatagoodgirl]

[She looks away, blushing deeply.]

I told you, I'm not very good. Sometimes the board just starts going faster than I do, and... my legs go out from under me. I've only done this once before.

[kd_0079]

[ He just looked from her, then to the skateboard behind him, using his arm to pull it closer to him. ]

...You should take a break so you don't hurt yourself more. [ He picked it up now, examining it from all angles. ]

Besides...I...never rode one either.

[whatagoodgirl]

It's not as easy as people who are good at it make it look. Balancing is hard enough, but then you have to shift your weight to turn, and taking your foot off to stop usually just makes you fall over.

[She considers his advice, then shakes her head.]

I have to learn fast. I want to be able to ride with a friend of mine, and he's really good.

[fortitudo]

[Suddenly, there might be this huge shadow that catches Nakama before she can tumble. Darkrai had managed to get away from Lucas for the time being, not a very smart thing- all things considered, but that's just how the phantom rolls.

But yes it had spotted her and right before she was about to fall Darkrai had gone over to her and caught her!!]

[thoughts]

[ For 'round about half an hour now, River has been stalking watching stalking Nakama. She's never seen anything like the board in the younger girl's hands, and her interest was piqued immediately with the desire to figure out how it works.

Only, it seems that Nakama doesn't know how it works either.

River simply follows for awhile, observing quietly from behind, but the next time Nakama falls, she'll pad over (Simon made her put on shoes this time, the jerk) and bend down to look closer. Sorry, what is personal space? ]

I think you're doing it wrong.

[kd_0079]

[ Tch. That all sounded like a serious pain in the ass. ]

...You have a friend who does this? [ He never noticed anyone skateboarding before. At least not when he chose to go outside. ]

[whatagoodgirl]

Yeah, he's amazing. He can do tricks and everything. I'll probably never get that good, but I just want to be able to go out riding with him.

[whatagoodgirl]

[She lets out a shriek of surprise, struggling for a moment - is she being attacked? - then calms down when she recognises the spooky figure behind her.

No, Darkrai is helping her. How embarrassing.]

Sorry, Darkrai... you just startled me, that's all. Thank you for helping me.

[whatagoodgirl]

[Luckily, Nakama recognises River, although she thinks it's best not to let on. Her first thought is to worry for Simon, who will now have quite a job protecting her, but eventually she shakes that off and looks up at River from the ground. Her expression is deeply embarrassed.]

Yeah, I'm not very good yet. I only got one lesson, and I didn't do very good that time, either.

[thoughts]

[ Sorry, Nakama. River's all f!sked on the social cues. Instead of recognising her embarrassment, she just sits down in front of her and pushes the board back and forth curiously, tilts it side to side. ]

Structurally sound. Not optimal for balance.

[ She looks up at Nakama. ]

Center of balance is key. Like walking; can't go too far one way or you'll tip.

[whatagoodgirl]

[She really does talk like some kind of genius. It reminds her of the spelling bee, and she smiles a little.]

That's what I'm working on. You have to shift your balance a little to turn, and I just don't have the right amount down yet. But I'll get it.

[frequent_flyer]

Hinata had certainly been busy that morning. Taking a brisk walk over to Thor to steal some sporting goods from the arena, then to Sigyn to whine until Otonashi got out of bed. He was itching to play some baseball..! Even if they only had two people...

He would drag Otonashi towards Baldr so they could go play at the park. Of course, by the time they got there, the sun would be high in the sky. Running all over town took a while!

Eventually...

"Otonashi-kun, do you hear that?" He asked, looking around for the source of the sound. Wheels on pavement..?

And then like a bat out of hell, there was Nakama. Realizing she probably couldn't stop at the speed she was going, he braced himself, holding out his arms to catch her... kind of like a big, breathing baseball. If successful, he'd fly back on impact, holding her and crashing down on his back in the road, as the skateboard nailed him in the shins.

[fortitudo]

[Darkrai lets go of her once she's upright again. He moves down to pick up that skateboard of hers. He glances down at it, then back at her, shrugging a bit.

In other words, what are you doing?]

[trainwrecking]

Two person baseball? Whatever, they were used to having teams that were more like circuses than teams.

Yuzuru was too busy shaking his can of coffee when Hinata first noticed the sound. Which of course meant that when he did see Nakama? His shock was a lot more evident on his face.

And when that impact happens, he'll be immediately looking over the both of them. It looked like Nakama had already suffered at the hands of the evil skateboard overlord! Yuzuru wasn't in her trajectory, so he'd be fine. But Hinata and Nakama?

"Hey, are you all right? You look like you've taken a few falls..." But he can't ignore Hinata, because Hinata might cry or something. "And are you hurt, Hinata?"

[whatagoodgirl]

Oh - that's a skateboard. It's just a fast way of getting from one place to another, kind of like a bike. It's a little harder to ride, though.

[She smiles bashfully.] One of my friends rides, and I wanted to be able to ride with him.

[fortitudo]

[Darkrai nods, moving to put it on the ground, gesturing for her to try again.

If only he could ride it too... it seemed like fun. Alas, he just floats.

In any case, Darkrai holds out a claw, it seems like he wants to hold one of her hands while she tries this again. Wherever Lucas is, he'll probably come find them eventually, but for now Darkrai is here to help!]

[whatagoodgirl]

She's startled when there are suddenly arms around her and she's falling toward the pavement, but he breaks her fall and she's left with no new injuries at all. Him, however -

- then there's a new voice, and she quickly leaps up off of the one who's caught her, embarrassed to be caught in such a position. "I'm fine! It's just a few scrapes and bruises, nothing serious."

Her attention immediately turns to the young man on the ground, full of concern. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay? Should I call a healer?"

[frequent_flyer]

Hinata groans, writhing on the ground for a moment like a turtle turned on its back.

Once she jumps up and starts panicking, he sits up, reaching for Otonashi so he can be helped to his feet. True to form, he slaps on a goofy grin.

"Haha! Don't worry!" He brushes himself off a bit, flexing for effect. "It's okay! Besides, Otonashi-kun is a healer!" He jerks a thumb in the dumbstruck redhead's direction.

He looks around for whatever caused the sharp pain in his shins, finding the skateboard some distance away. He goes over to retrieve it, handing the screaming metal deathtrap back to her.

"Are you a newbie..?" He asks, innocently enough, a warm smile on his face. "I used to skateboard a little back home..!"

[whatagoodgirl]

Oh... thanks, Darkrai. [She grins, then takes his claw and steps on the board. She's gotten to the point where she can stand on it without wobbling, but once she starts moving, she's a little more unsteady.]

[trainwrecking]

The redhead helps Hinata up, needing no prompting. The girl looks so worried, like she's done something wrong... "It's fine! My healing may not be very strong yet, but I can at least help a little. I should have brought a first aid kit..."

He looks over both of them again. It's okay, he's almost a doctor..! "Hinata, point out where it hurts?" As for Nakama... "And can I at least fix up some of those scrapes?" It would be important to him, you see, and this might show in his almost-pleading face.

But Yuzuru will only laugh a little at Hinata's talk of being a sporting pro. "He could probably give you pointers, yeah! I've never really tried skateboarding... Is it any fun?"