Summary
Ringo Noyamano, known as the Thorn Queen of Sonia Road, appears to be an ordinary junior high school student but is actually the successor of the legendary Storm Riders team, Sleeping Forest. She holds the title of King Class AT user and serves as one of the eight 'Kings' in the AT world. Although she harbors deep feelings for Ikki, she initially struggles to confess them. Instead, she assists Kogarasumaru during emergencies by disguising herself as the Croissant Mask. Her primary motivation is to make Ikki experience the "fear" of flight to protect him from suffering the same fate as the previous Wind King. To this end, she engages him in battle using her 'Thorn Regalia', initially dominating the fight with total control while Ikki is outclassed. However, Kururu Sumeragi intervenes by installing Bagram prototype cores mid-air, allowing Ikki to surpass her abilities. The duel concludes in a draw, with Ikki carrying a defeated Ringo home. Before leaving the Noyamano residence, Ringo finally confesses her love and kisses him goodbye. Later, at the Tower of Tropheum, Killik reveals Ringo’s true role as the leader of Sleeping Forest. Her immunity to the dense air and crushing atmospheric pressure of the Sky King’s battlefield makes her the ideal guardian for the Sky Regalia. Visually, Ringo is often depicted as a warrior clad in armor, wielding a shield and blade, and equipped with wings fashioned from blades. Her introduction scene, which features her amidst dead bodies in a forest, remains consistent throughout the manga, accompanied by the description: "The Fruit of the Forbidden Forest Which Lures One into a Deep Slumber... Crazy Apple," a pun on her name, as "Ringo" translates to apple in Japanese. It is revealed in Chapter 154 by Kilik that Ringo, along with Mikan and Ume, are not biological sisters of Rika. Approximately a year after the original Sleeping Forest was formed, Kilik disclosed that three unknown "gravity children" were residing with Rika, suggesting that Air Treck research continues elsewhere. In Chapter 174, Ringo is observed watching Kogarasumaru train for their B-Class match against the White Wolf clan, and later witnesses Hako conversing with a mysterious girl previously seen with the Sora brothers in Chapter 163.
