Rika tapped away at her keyboard, pouring over various schematics, mathematic equations, and other data that looked entirely alien to the untrained mind. Right now, it was helpful to have a distraction she could find solace in for the moment, though the noise coming from her shower kept her from finding complete isolation in her work. When the sound of running water ceased finally, she sighed and tried to brace herself for the conversation she knew was coming. She wasn't very good at things like this.<br/><br/>The click of the bathroom door opening told Rika she was no longer by herself in the room. Rapidly, she worked on finalizing what her approach should be. A few more clicks on her keyboard helped buy her more time to think. The computer came to life with several beeping noises, followed by its mechanical voice saying, "Update in progress. Please stand by..." letting the blonde know that she was out of time.<br/><br/>With a sigh, she slowly turned to face her companion. Yoko, clad in a blue bath towel, sat in the sofa in the room across from her. Rika's "lab" was actually a converted apartment. The lab room itself was normally concealed behind a false wall, though it was open at the moment. There, in the center of the room, was a twenty-foot tall mechanical device with two blue, metal, frustum-shaped pieces at the top and bottom. They were connected through a glass tube, which currently contained thousands upon thousands of small, mechanical, insect-like devices. They flew about in the container seemingly in the process of some purposeful work foreign to the unfamiliar.<br/><br/>Rotating in her chair, Rika stared past the container towards her living room and the girl sitting there with a stoic face seemingly born of so many mixed emotions that it didn't know which of them to favor. Deciding the best strategy for now was not to breach the subject, Rika interrupted the silence. "I should have the update finished in about twenty minutes. I've managed to increase the power output of the suit by 10%. It should help if you run into that freak again."<br/><br/>This drew a nod from the girl, though it did little else. This wasn't going to be easy, much as Rika suspected.