This story is part of the Wanderer series.
With a light crouch, Rin leapt onto the carriage and walked to the front. She grabbed a hold of the seat with her right hand and the front bar with the other. With a tug, she pulled the bicycle towards her, righting it, then slowly wheeled it backwards, glancing at where she was stepping. Her sheathed sword, which rested behind the bicycle, slowly slid down the straw, settling into the indent the wheels left behind. Loose pieces of straw fell off the bicycle frame while the wheels picked up more and tossed them.
When she returned to the back of the carriage, Rin adjusted her hands down the frame to lift the bicycle, swinging it perpendicular to the opening. Dropping down to a crouch again, she raised the bicycle to chest height and took one look before jumping down, further bending her knees on contact with the ground to soften the landing.
Standing up, she pushed the bicycle to where Nozomi was standing, watching with curious eyes. “Right,” Rin patted the long, thinly cushioned seat behind the cycler’s seat. “You sit back here.”
Nozomi’s smile widened. “Okay!”
Rin lightly frowned. “And… your feet go here. On these bars sticking out from the wheel.”
“Okay~!”
“And don’t move, all right?”
“Mhm!”
“I’m serious.”
Dropping her foot from the footrest, Rin turned to face Nozomi directly.
“If you fidget or anything, you could make me lose balance and we both fall down.”
Dropping her smile, Nozomi’s expression became focused and confident. “I won’t do that! Don’t worry!”
Still, Rin gazed at her dubiously for a brief moment. Then, a subtle and sly smile broke across her face.
“You know how many people get seriously injured riding bicycles, right?”
Blinking, the confidence was quickly wiped off Nozomi’s face, her shoulders flinching up. “Heh?”
“When you fall off, it’s always bad,” Rin continued, her voice becoming more ominous sounding as she leaned forward. “Some get scratches all over their skin. Some never get to walk again.”
Nozomi shrank away, exclaiming loudly with fear. “R-r-really?!”
“And that’s all because they never learned how to use a bike and fell over.”
Seeing the horror she wrought, Rin straightened back up, shutting her eyes and nodding as she crossed her arms.
“Now do you know why it’s so import—”
“I won’t ride it!” Nozomi interrupted.
Rin opened her eyes, head dropping forward. “H-huh?!”
“I don’t wanna get hurt!”
“You— You won’t if you listen to me!”
“I’ll just run!”
“Run?!” she exclaimed.
“Yes!”
“Don’t be silly! You aren’t keeping up with me on a bicycle!”
“I can! I’m fast!”
“I don’t care! Not faster than a bicycle! You don’t even know how it works!”
“I’m faster! Sen can’t catch me unless she cheats!”
With a loud sigh, Rin flung her leg over the seat and sat down, gripping both handles.
“Sit down.”
Nozomi crossed her arms and whipped her head to the side, shutting her eyes, puffing her cheeks, and pouting. “No!”
“You won’t keep up.”
“I can!”
Turning forward and giving Nozomi one last side glance, Rin hunched forward, strengthening her grip. “Here… I’ll show you…”
With a strong push off her leg, Rin shot forward on the bicycle, the clattering gears coming to life as she sped up.
Opening her eyes, Nozomi flinched, arms winging out to her sides as Rin pedaled away. “H-hey! Not fair!”
Under her accelerating breaths, Rin huffed a haughty chuckle hearing Nozomi’s protest.
Dropping forward, Nozomi sprinted after Rin, kicking up dirt behind her. Her arms swung wildly by her sides as she quickened, closing the distance. However, she quickly lost pace as Rin got up to full speed.
Realizing she was falling behind, Nozomi dipped her head down, expelling a grunt, and, with her eyes locked forward, a concentrated frown on her face, her silhouette began to glow bright pink. Imbued with energy, her kicks gained strength. Her arms swung faster, and her strides lengthened.
After pedaling for a while, Rin finally glanced over her shoulder with a smug grin, only to promptly replace it with shock when she saw how close Nozomi was.
“Wha— What?!”
Seeing Nozomi glowing, she instantly clued in on how the girl kept up.
“You cheater!”
Nozomi maintained her focused gaze, teeth clenched as she focused all of her strength on catching up.
Returning her attention forward, Rin leaned into the bar and pedaled furiously. The gears grinded with protest from the hastened pace. Uttering a grunt, her shoulders pulled back, scapula winging out, but she did not imbue herself. She simply put more stamina into her pedaling, her calves bulging out.