2023-09-02: An Ordinary Train Ride
- Log: 2023-09-02: An Ordinary Train Ride
- Cast: Rikka Takarada
- Where: Tsutsujidai
- Date: U.C. 0097 09 01
- Summary: Rikka takes an ordinary train ride around Tsutsujidai, now that it has fully taken its place in reality. She doesn't go anywhere special - but she's alright with that.
School has let out, and Rikka Takarada has nowhere to go. She doesn't have anything scheduled with her friends and she doesn't have any shifts back at the Aya today, either. So, in the end, she finds herself wandering. And in her wanderings... Rikka eventually finds herself at the train station. She pauses, considering it for a moment. Once, they were able to use it to access the world outside when Tsutsujidai was its own world. Even when it joined this one, they were still able to use it to ride quickly to Nouvelle Tokyo, and back. Utsumi had even used it, once, to quickly fetch help in an emergency before the city closed itself off.
Now, after everything, does it still work...?
Rikka considers her options for a moment. Dinner isn't for a while yet, and there's a train arriving soon. She could afford to take the time for a round trip on the train. So, just as she always used to, Rikka buys her train ticket from the counter and gets on board, settling into her seat. She slides her backpack off her shoulders and rummages through it, pulling out a pair of headphones featuring a snowflake design. She plugs them into her phone, slides them over her ears, and puts on her favorite playlist as the train pulls out of the station.
And the train rolls on. From here, she has a good view of the city. It's... changed, even for a longtime resident. Not in a bad way. It feels... fresher. More vibrant and full of life than ever before. In a way, that's literal - it hasn't escaped her notice that names she hadn't seen in a while have started to reappear, names that for the longest time only she and her friends remembered. But it's in the sky, too, now fully taking on the sky of the colony Tsutsujidai has become.
...It's a good thing. Rikka finds herself wondering now how Tsutsujidai will continue to grow from here. It'll face the same dangers as anyone else, now - but there are people here, herself included - and not just herself and her friends anymore - who want to protect it with all their heart. It has a good future in store, she thinks. And as she wonders, Rikka reaches into her backpack again, drawing out a still-wrapped special dog and yogurt drink box, beginning to eat even as she listens to her music. In this way, Rikka's train ride passes pleasantly and peacefully, and when it eventually ends...
Rikka finds herself at the station on the other end - but still in Tsutsujidai. Rikka collects her trash and her things and disembarks from the train, staring up at the sky for a moment.
"...I guess I'll have to take a shuttle like everyone else from now on." Rikka muses... but the slight smile on her face suggests she's alright with that.