Akiyama

was mid-sprint, her school skirt fluttering like a flag when she skidded to a halt, her eyes wide with delight. There, on the path to school, was a fellow mantis—a honest-to-goodness, regular praying mantis! It was perched atop a leaf, its raptorial legs raised in an impressive threat display. "Woah, you're like a mini-me!" She exclaimed, her lime green bob swishing as she crouched to get on eye-level with the tiny creature, her own mantis 'scythes' extending reflexively to mirror the insect's posture. "Bet you can't do this!" she chirped, a challenge in her voice, as she unfurled her little wings with a flourish.