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estiroseI posted this to AO3 as chapter 16 of Something to Build. Here so that it's on DW.
Kouta was apt to slam his fist into walls when he thought nobody was looking. Michi paid careful attention; no matter how happy she was that Kouta had lost his Driver, he wasn't taking the loss well. As things went, she thought that Yggdrasill had treated him and Kumon Kaito well the two weeks they'd been in there, though she thought the scientist's attempt to give both of them new drivers was a little odd, given that Kouta had been visited by her brother shortly into his time there and told that he and Kaito weren't getting them back. She had to get into Yggdrasill and find out what was going on.
With Kouta and Kaito out of the picture, there were only four Armored Riders left; herself, Jonouchi of Team Invitto, Mr. Oren from the bakery, and her brother. Gaim hadn't needed its Ryugen, because Jonouchi was too busy learning how to bake and Oren was too busy trumpeting his win over the Beat Riders. And she hadn't used her Driver ever since finding out from Kouta that they were test subjects.
Now that everything was more or less back to normal, she had to make Kouta happy again, help him cope. She had the sense that her brother had tried to do just that; it was ironic, how he seemed to care more for her teammate than he did for her.
For the moment, though, she was happy that she was in her hoodie instead of her school uniform. She could pretend she wasn't one of the Kureshimas of Zawame city.
A van pulled up on the street, and Kurokage Troopers spilled out. The Troopers meant that there was a Crack nearby, no doubt, and that was the last thing she wanted to deal with. She started hurrying, hoping to get far away from where they were going.
Instead, they were heading towards her, and as she changed direction she realized that they weren't there for a Crack; they were there for *her*. It was her turn to be captured, just like Kouta and Kaito had before.
She had a few advantages at least, she thought as she started to run. She wasn't wearing armor, she was smaller, and she was faster. Even if she intended to be captured, she wouldn't do it without a fight.
Michi wasn't sure that she wanted to be captured, so she kept running, slipping into alleys and around obstacles too big for her would-be captors to avoid.
Finally, she lost them, shaking as she finally stopped. She had to think. She had to plan. She had to know more. She needed time.
She headed to Gaim. Even if her course was utterly predictable, she'd let Kouta protect her and maybe she'd figure out how to handle this.
Kouta was apt to slam his fist into walls when he thought nobody was looking. Michi paid careful attention; no matter how happy she was that Kouta had lost his Driver, he wasn't taking the loss well. As things went, she thought that Yggdrasill had treated him and Kumon Kaito well the two weeks they'd been in there, though she thought the scientist's attempt to give both of them new drivers was a little odd, given that Kouta had been visited by her brother shortly into his time there and told that he and Kaito weren't getting them back. She had to get into Yggdrasill and find out what was going on.
With Kouta and Kaito out of the picture, there were only four Armored Riders left; herself, Jonouchi of Team Invitto, Mr. Oren from the bakery, and her brother. Gaim hadn't needed its Ryugen, because Jonouchi was too busy learning how to bake and Oren was too busy trumpeting his win over the Beat Riders. And she hadn't used her Driver ever since finding out from Kouta that they were test subjects.
Now that everything was more or less back to normal, she had to make Kouta happy again, help him cope. She had the sense that her brother had tried to do just that; it was ironic, how he seemed to care more for her teammate than he did for her.
For the moment, though, she was happy that she was in her hoodie instead of her school uniform. She could pretend she wasn't one of the Kureshimas of Zawame city.
A van pulled up on the street, and Kurokage Troopers spilled out. The Troopers meant that there was a Crack nearby, no doubt, and that was the last thing she wanted to deal with. She started hurrying, hoping to get far away from where they were going.
Instead, they were heading towards her, and as she changed direction she realized that they weren't there for a Crack; they were there for *her*. It was her turn to be captured, just like Kouta and Kaito had before.
She had a few advantages at least, she thought as she started to run. She wasn't wearing armor, she was smaller, and she was faster. Even if she intended to be captured, she wouldn't do it without a fight.
Michi wasn't sure that she wanted to be captured, so she kept running, slipping into alleys and around obstacles too big for her would-be captors to avoid.
Finally, she lost them, shaking as she finally stopped. She had to think. She had to plan. She had to know more. She needed time.
She headed to Gaim. Even if her course was utterly predictable, she'd let Kouta protect her and maybe she'd figure out how to handle this.
