Axel_Wildfire>    (on the stero: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JruuMkV0gM&NR=1)
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Duffelbagging. I feel like a goddamn thief." Kenoko mutters - she's in the office of her 'happy' little junkyard (which still has the charred remains of the Robot Chicken in the main drive), grabbing whatever Haruka's agents didn't 'transport' for her when that fucking slutbat knocked her out. Picture frame here, poster there; she's currently staring up at the cape hanging from the wall - a...
    <Axel_Wildfire>    ...black affair, worn by a heavy chain around the neck, with a fiery, stylized roaring lion on the back. Sort of the closest thing she has to a wall scroll. Kenoko seems to be debating whether or not to take it.
    =-=    BSRaven is now known as BedRaven
    <AdventFalls>    There was a knock on the door, and a familiar voice. "Classic rock? Not a bad pick, all things considered. My first squad leader liked that stuff."
    <AdventFalls>    "I'm a bit partial to it, considering how hard he drilled it into us- hell, the obstacle course was set to the tune of 'Purple Haze'."
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "It's open." Kenoko glances back as Rebecca enters, her expression oddly sad. "It's not actually the kind of music I enjoy."
    <AdventFalls>    "Oh?" Rebecca walked in, wearing a blue coat and jeans. "What's your fancy?"
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Not this. Easy rock. Nice coat, by the way." she goes back to considering the cape, seemingly unable to decide whether to take it or not; Kenoko rests one hand on a picture frame on her desk, tapping a finger against the top.
    <AdventFalls>    "Thanks- was a gift for when I graduated Basic." She approached the desk. "You moving out, I take it?"
    <Axel_Wildfire>    Kenoko barks out a laugh. "That's rich. Being forced to, more like. Haruka doesn't trust me not to do something dumb."
    <AdventFalls>    She nodded. "From what I heard, you're basically killing yourself.... so I guess there's a bit of logic behind it. No offense."
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "... it's a bit more complex than that. I could offset it, but I'd risk killing you all. Lesser of two evils." she shuts her eyes and smiles. "In a way, I suppose it's pretty cowardly."
    <AdventFalls>    Rebecca nodded. "A bit, unless you can find a way around it. I guess that means you're staying with JUNKER then?"
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Given that Haruka can just roll over me, I don't really have a choice." Kenoko admits.
    <AdventFalls>    "Well... welcome to the team. I guess." A shrug of the shoulders. "Need any help packing?"
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Packing, no. Deciding which parts of me to take and which to throw away... that's the hard part." she raises a hand, tracing her fingers over the roaring lion.
    <AdventFalls>    "...I'm not sure I can really help with that," the coated girl conceded. "I don't really know you."
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Half your luck." Kenoko grins in spite of herself and finally pulls the cape down from the wall, stuffing it into the already-packed duffel bag; the chain clinks a bit but somehow she manages to get it in. "Shall we see about this bike?"
    <AdventFalls>    "Sure." She tilted her head. "The bike must mean a lot to you."
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "That bike is responsible for the best week of my life." she tucks the picture of her and another black-haired woman into the duffel bag and slings the bag over her shoulder, making for the door, which she holds open for Rebecca - noticeably, Kenoko leaves the stereo running as it switches to another song.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIZ-bxN9qrc)
    <AdventFalls>    Rebecca walked through, nodding out of respect. "Sounds like you've gotten to live life."
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "More like run from it." Kenoko mutters bitterly, locking the door behind them and hanging the keys around her neck, by the case that seems to perpetually be there. "I went from dead to dead to waiting to die."
    <AdventFalls>    "...Still sounds like you got more out of it than I did," she mumbled.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Not really. I -" another coughing fit that forces her to lean against the wall for support; this time blood runs over her hand. "... god *damnit*." Kenoko growls out hoarsely.
    <AdventFalls>    Rebecca looked genuinely concerned. "Maybe we should do this another time?"
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "I'm fine. Fine." she mutters, still hoarse. "It happens, that's all."
    <AdventFalls>    "Would you like some water, or...."
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "... no. It's my penalty, I have to live with it." Kenoko says grimly, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and spitting more blood onto the ground. "Eugh. Whatever they replaced my blood with tastes *foul*."
    <AdventFalls>    "If you say so." Rebecca started looking at the various junk piles.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Yeah, I don't suggest you find out for yourself." she manages to smile, though grimly still, and nods towards what appears to be the biggest pile of junk. "It's in there somewhere. Honestly, I just need you to spot for me so I don't run that," Kenoko points to a mover-crane, "into one of the power lines."
    <AdventFalls>    "Right, right. I'll cover for you then."
    <Axel_Wildfire>    It doesn't actually take long; Kenoko has had decades to practise this and she works quickly and efficiently, slowly unearthing the pile... when something like a roaring scream (actually, it sounds like a *jet turbine*) echoes from within the diminished scrap pile. Kenoko blinks and shuts off the crane, leaping down from the cabin and gesturing to Rebecca. "Come here and get down."
    <AdventFalls>    The girl did as she was asked.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    The howl continues, actually causing the plastic windows on the crane to vibrate. Kenoko looks embarassed. "I didn't realise it was still awake... can you hear that?"
    <AdventFalls>    "...That can't be the actual BIKE, can it?"
    <Axel_Wildfire>    She grins; for just a few moments, the old Kenoko is back. "If you can hear that... if your soul has not truly given up..."
    <Axel_Wildfire>    The bike *screams*.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "... then you can hear the sound..."
    <Axel_Wildfire>    It revs, *loud*, and the vibration actually causes a *landslide* in the scrap-pile, the ground seeming to shake between the howling engine and the collapsing 'hill'.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "... that races through the end of the world...!"
    <Axel_Wildfire>    Another loud rev, this time accompanied by the squeal of tires. Kenoko's voice rises. "Come on, Sliger! Come with me!!"
    <Axel_Wildfire>    And then the bike *explodes* out through the hill of scrap, peppering the crane with foot-long chunks of junk; when it slides to a halt on the main drive, it's a sight to behold - even though it hasn't been touched in sixty years it looks as good as new. It's roughly the size of a large sedan, with tires you'd normally find on a truck; the front is sharp and angular, like a landbound...
    <Axel_Wildfire>    ...torpedo, though it eventually gives way to a clusterfuck of no fewer than six exhaust pipes.
    <AdventFalls>    "...What in the hell...."
    <Axel_Wildfire>    The entire thing is painted in gunmetal grey, and vibrates like an antsy horse, like it wants to be underway.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Like it?" Kenoko smiles, releasing Rebecca (she'd accidentally grabbed her and pulled her down when the junk-explosion had happened) and reslinging her bag over her shoulder.
    <AdventFalls>    "...Holy shit."
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "That was my reaction. You should have seen my reaction when a guy with a *normal* bike came along and made me look like shit." she grins. "That was a fun week."
    <AdventFalls>    Rebecca just stared. "If someone like you's joining JUNKER.... man, you'd be the cream of the crop easy....."
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Not really. I'm just a washed-up loser who can't let go of the past." Kenoko shakes her head, tying the duffelback to the side of the Sliger's saddle..
    <AdventFalls>    "Better than being chaining yourself to the safe and easy path," Rebecca sighed.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "You call being a Trooper 'safe'? You're going to be out there on the frontline anyway, you may as well be wearing something that isn't paper mache."
    <AdventFalls>    "It's the devil you know," Rebecca trailed off.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    Kenoko flinches as if she's been stung. "... yeah."
    <AdventFalls>    "Sorry, I'm brooding again."
    <Axel_Wildfire>    She sighs and pokes Becca's nose, very very gently. "Leave that to me. I'm older and broodier."
    <AdventFalls>    She shrugged, flinching from the touch.
    <AdventFalls>    "Maybe."
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Urgh.. look." Kenoko puts her back against the side of her Sliger, pinching the bridge of her nose. "If I promise to train you up into a right badass, will you promise to go through with this Rider thing instead of wasting your talents?"
    <AdventFalls>    "...Why is everyone so determined to make me into a Rider?"
    <AdventFalls>    She looked at Kenoko, eyebrow raised. "Why you so interested?"
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "... Haruka and I don't always see eye to eye, but I trust her judgment. You should, too." Kenoko says finally, and then looks down, as though admitting to a crime. "As I said... you remind me of myself."
    <AdventFalls>    "And you already said that wasn't necessarily a good thing."
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "I don't want you to go the same way I did."
    <AdventFalls>    A sigh. "...Fine. I'll do it."
    <AdventFalls>    "But when people start dying, I don't wanna have to say I told you so."
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Living dead girl here. I'll tank one death meant for someone else and the rest is up to you." she ruffles up Becca's hair. "Come for a ride?"
    <AdventFalls>    "I guess...."
    <Axel_Wildfire>    Kenoko shrugs and mounts the bike; it's clearly meant for a Rider rather than a human, and the dash looks extremely high-tech. She leans down to offer Rebecca a hand up. "Hang on tight. Oh, and it vibrates like mad, so be prepared."
    |<--    Haruka_Emmerich has left irc.rizon.net (Read error: Connection reset by peer)
    -->|    Haruka_Emmerich (~kamenritt@Simulacrum.iwa.jp.krv) has joined #RideAloneIC
    =-=    Mode #RideAloneIC +o Haruka_Emmerich by ChanServ
    <AdventFalls>    Rebecca wrapped her hands around Kenoko as she got on. "Sorry, just this thing sounds like it'll sooner throw me off than let me ride."
    <Axel_Wildfire>    Kenoko's still cold to the touch, but a little warmer now, and she rests one hand over Rebecca's. "Haven't done this in a while..."
    <AdventFalls>    The woman gulped, nervous at the roar of the cycle.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Just hang on and don't worry. It won't bite back if you're kind to it." she smiles gently, remembering someone else's words. "Remember, a bike isn't an object. It's a living, breathing thing. Listen to it and let it tell you what it wants."
    <AdventFalls>    The wrap tightened. "...Go."
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "That's more like it." Kenoko leans forward and revs the bike, actually kicking it's front wheel up into the air briefly and then taking off... literally. Rebecca soon finds herself looking *down* at the city - Kenoko's Sliger doesn't exactly *fly*, but highway seems to phase into the air in front of it, crumbling away into nothing once the bike has passed.
    <AdventFalls>    The best comparison Rebecca can make is being on a rollercoaster that didn't need hills to go fast. "How fast is this?!"
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "This? Eh... 60. The thing moves a lot faster than that, but that's sealed off at the moment." Again, Kenoko's left hand flies to the case at her neck.
    <AdventFalls>    Rebecca actually looked kind of excited, a small smile on her face.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "So, getting a feel for it?" she leans, leading the bike into a turn.
    |<--    BedRaven has left irc.rizon.net (Ping timeout: 240 seconds)
    <AdventFalls>    "Kind of!" She closed her eyes as the bike began to turn.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Don't be scared!" Kenoko's voice cuts through the wind. "Lean into the turn."
    <AdventFalls>    Rebecca shook as she leaned into the turn, visibly scared.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Feel that shimmy?" Having guided her through the corner, Kenoko accelerates slightly; there's a vibration in the bike, the front wheel wobbling left and right slightly.
    <AdventFalls>    "Yes?"
    <AdventFalls>    She shuddered slightly.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Know what it is?"
    =-=    OvermanXAN is now known as DinnerXAN
    <AdventFalls>    "Murphy's Law coming to kill me?"
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "It's your hind legs trying to outrun your front." Kenoko revs the bike harder, causing it to shoot across the sky, now hitting 120, easy.
    <AdventFalls>    Rebecca's heart was racing furiously now. "I've never gone this fast before!"
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Know what to do?" she asks, smiling as she accelerates yet further. !40...
    <Axel_Wildfire>    140*
    <AdventFalls>    "No, what?"
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Stop being a passenger, and start riding." Kenoko lowers her left hand to Rebecca's, gently prying the girl's grip off her shirt and leading her hand toward the left handlebar.
    <AdventFalls>    The sheet power of Kenoko's hands made such a task simple, and Rebecca looked simultaneously excited and afeared. "Oh god, oh god, ho god...."
    <AdventFalls>    *Sheer
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Grip it." Kenoko urges her gently; she's moved up far enough that Rebecca can reach easily. "Then the right one. Don't worry, I'll guide you."
    <AdventFalls>    Her hands were shaking visibly as one by one, she tried to grasp the handlebars.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    Kenoko shifts her hands to rest over Becca's; she can take charge easily enough if she has to, but for now it's on Rebecca. "Now ride. Guide the bike with your whole body."
    <AdventFalls>    "You mean steer?!"
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "I mean *ride*."
    <AdventFalls>    A deep breath, and then Rebecca started to steer the bike, gently going around a curve despite its speed.
    |<--    Athon has left irc.rizon.net (Read error: Connection reset by peer)
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "There, see? It's not so hard. Just be confident." Kenoko breathes, her words carried more to Rebecca by the wind than her force of voice. "Feel what the bike wants with your legs and hips, and make it happen with your arms."
    <AdventFalls>    Rebecca's eyes were wide open as she began to truly drive the bike, still in shock she was doing this.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Yeah, just like that. Good girl." Feeling that she has it, Kenoko takes her hands from Becca's, leaning back into the other girl somewhat and resting her hands just below the dash. "Easy if you try, right?"
    <AdventFalls>    The white-haired girl was clearly blushing as she continued the pilot the vehicle, nodding numbly.
    =-=    DinnerXAN is now known as OvermanXAN
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Wanna try something a trickier?"
    <AdventFalls>    Another numb nod.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Take her down, then. Hold the chassis between your legs and raise yourself up, push down on the handlebars - but not too far, or else we'll go vertical and that's bad. Nice and easy."
    <AdventFalls>    Rebecca gently tried to follow the instructions.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    It takes a moment, but then the road that the bike seems to generate starts sloping downwards, leading them down into the city. "Easy, not gently. Be a little firmer."
    <AdventFalls>    A bit firmer, the blush on Rebecca's face clearly visible.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    The added firmness definitely makes the descent easier. "Watch for buildings..." Kenoko sounds vaguely amused at the prospect of crashing. "Remember, it's alive, so you have to be firm when you guide it. You don't do what your told if the person ordering you does it all meek and unsure, right?"
    <AdventFalls>    "Uh-huh!"
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Treat this thing the same way, and it'll respond to you. But remember to be kind to it, too."
    <AdventFalls>    Rebecca grinned as she handled the bike shockingly well....
    <Axel_Wildfire>    =JUNKER Base, Hangar=
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Good, huh? Nothing like riding a bike; throb of the engine between your legs and wind in your hair." Kenoko leans up against the side of her parked bike, shaking a cigarette out of her ever-present pack of smokes. "Better. Than. Sex."
    <AdventFalls>    Rebecca sat perfectly still on the bike. "I... I wouldn't know," she breathed.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "She likes it, I think she likes it~" she smirks as she lights up with a match, shaking the stick out and crushing it under the heel of her boot. "So, how'd you enjoy being in charge?"
    <AdventFalls>    She blushed. "I-I-It was strange...."
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Felt good though, right?" Kenoko tips her head back against the Sliger's nose, exhaling smoke into the air.
    <AdventFalls>    A quiet nod, the blush contrasting against her hair.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "And you were scared of fucking up at first, right?"
    <AdventFalls>    "W-Well, it wasn't like I was alone...."
    <Axel_Wildfire>    She tucks her hands up behind her head. "You're not alone as a Rider, either. At least, not with Haruka and co watching over you. ... and me, I guess."
    <AdventFalls>    "T-Thank you." She wrenched herself off the bike, her legs almost like jell-o.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Oops, easy there." Kenoko turns to catch Rebecca as she comes down. "I told you it vibrated a lot."
    <AdventFalls>    It wasn't that Rebecca was falling down, she was just regaining her legs. "That was amazing....."
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Hey now, I was going easy on. When you're a bit more confident we'll do it properly."
    <AdventFalls>    Her eyes widened, the blush somehow increasing. "I... I think I'm gonna go for a walk now," she breathed.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Um, yeah, take it easy, since you look like you're about to fall down." Kenoko blinks down at her, still holding Becca gently to make sure she doesn't fall. "You *are* okay?"
    <AdventFalls>    "Y-Yeah, j-just need to walk," she nodded a bit too eagerly.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    "Shoo then." she lets go slowly, still worried that the younger... older... *other* woman might fall. "Well, I'll be down in the gym teaching myself to not suck again if you need me."
    <AdventFalls>    "R-Right." She stumbled out of the garage, trying to get her balance back.
    <Axel_Wildfire>    Kenoko watches her go with a small, somewhat sad smile, her fingers toying with the case around her neck; her free hand gently ran over the curves of the cooling bike. "Maybe I just haven't gone for a ride in too long... and it has been too long since I rode with someone else." She's silent for just a second, and then shrugs, starting for the base proper. "I wonder how long it's been since...
    <Axel_Wildfire>    ...I've thrown a real punch."
    <AdventFalls>    Rebecca clearly looked like she was trying to force down the blush. "Second time so quickly... what the hell is wrong with me?!"