Settling everything didn't take long; I haven't brought too many things, to begin with. It's better to keep things simple, you never know when you have to get ready to move.
The first class, "A History of 6th Heroes", won't start until two hours later, so I have some free time until then. I figure that I can take a look around the school grounds, get familiar with the surroundings in case something happens, and know where I can keep up with my training.
It's a good day to walk, the weather is fairly pleasant, and so is the view. I allow myself to grin slightly when I come across a set of flowerbeds. Miu would certainly love this.
The quiet doesn't last long, as I hear someone scream even as I feel their aura.
I recognize both right away. It's herI should know better. Her aura doesn't say "in trouble". Yet I find myself heading to where I heard the scream come from, obviously not that far from here. It doesn't take me much to find her
( ... )
Hiroto. A few meters away. My view of him's obscured by Sen-chan, which is just fine by me. I can only see a tiny sliver of him, so he'll only barely be able to see my face. I didn't even hear him approach, I suppose because he moves quietly and I was distracted.
I tense, just a little, not up to a confrontation over my inability to control myself -- but then I see his face and catch an impression from his mind.
Empathy. Not pity, not irritation, not sickly, patronising sympathy, just... empathy for someone who's not coping.
I'm still embarrassed that he's seen me like this. It's bad enough that Sen-chan should see, though at least he's family. I don't think Hiroto's realised that I have seen him, which is a relief. He's already closing himself off again -- I feel his mental walls come down, and see that same dismissive expression come over his face. He turns and walks away.
Jasmine seems to finally relax, and even manages a weak smile. Or at least, as best as she can.
I'm about to smile back at her, when I notice her tense again, albeit just a little and not for too long. She's looking past my shoulder, even though I'm sort of shadowing her viewing range. Frowning, I turn my head to see what she's looking at.
A man wearing a sand-colored jacket - is it reading "batabata bata"?? What is that? - is walking away from us. But soon enough, as if he notices that he's being watched, he pauses and slowly turns back to look at us.
No, scratch that. To look at Jasmine.
His face looks expressionless, and his body language gives away nothing.
I look at him, then look at Jasmine, then at him again. There seems to be an odd tension between them that I just can't quite grasp, but before I can begin to analyze it, the man turns again and walks away.
I turn back to look at Jasmine. I don't ask, but I know my face says it all.
Sen-chan looks down at me with a confused expression on his face that I have to admit is quite adorable. I sigh, rest my head on his shoulder for a moment again, then push away from him gently.
"I helped him earlier today. His name is Hiroto. He wasn't... impressed at my attempts to help. The person he was fighting got away." I continue hastily, not wanting to dwell on that, "He's with the Go-ongers. His team seems quite pleasant."
I wince, wishing I could take that back, as it's a backhanded insult to Hiroto -- and I don't mean to do that. It's not fair to him, even if I don't particularly like him.
Except, unlike with Go-on Blue, it's obvious that Jasmine doesn't like this Hiroto person. I noticed her leaving him out when she said that his team seemed pleasant (even if she winced as soon as she said it, clearly regretting it - Jasmine hates insulting people even when she doesn't like them). Not to mention the tension take over her again when she talked about his reaction upon her trying to help.
Jasmine's one of the most cool-headed (without being cold) people I've met, and with everything she went through, little can get to her.
Yet this guy managed to get under her skin. Pretty badly, in fact.
What did this guy do??I'd love to ask Jasmine, but of course, I don't. Now is not the time, she doesn't need that
( ... )
Sen-chan looks thoughtful, then appears to divert his thoughts onto another track. I wonder what he was going to say instead?
"Go-ongers, huh? I think my roommate is one of them... though I haven't met him yet. I've only met Renn-san so far. If the rest of the Go-ongers are anything like him I'm sure I'll like them, too."
I nod. "They seem to have a variety of personalities, all quite likeable."
Fairness forces me to admit, "I don't think Hiroto was really that difficult earlier -- he wasn't the most pleasant of fighting companions, but I think I'm reacting badly because of other things. Which is why I'm taking all of the attention today when I genuinely meant to talk about you, Sen-chan," I say apologetically.
Then my hand flies to my mouth as I remember just what else has happened today. "Sen-chan! You don't know about Tetsu yet, do you! Lisa's arrived." I put a hand on his arm, frowning with worry. "She wants to take him away."
"When?" I ask, fully into business mode. When did she get here? Hadn't she accepted Tetsu staying on Earth? Why is she wanting to take him away, this time? "And why does she want to take him away?"
Even as I ask, I think I do know the answer. The incident where Jasmine was being taken over by the Genki. Of course it'd get to her ears. We've been reporting everything to DekaBase. But we all know that it wasn't really Jasmine's fault... right? Then again, this is Tetsu's chief. She doesn't know Jasmine like we do.
"Does Boss know that she's here?" I ask her. Perhaps he could help us. Or at least report to Chief Numa-O. I think he'd be more reasonable, and not even Tetsu's chief could go against his word.
I sag, but keep up my professional attitude as much as possible... well, given how stupid I'm feeling and how much I've already leaned on him today.
"It was only today. I think it was a complete surprise even to Tetsu. She wants to take him because he's in danger here." I stop, swallowing hard. "Which I can understand. And I think he might want to go. No, I don't think Boss knows. That's an excellent idea, Sen-chan."
"Stop that," I say, my tone a gentle scolding. "You can't blame yourself for something you couldn't control. Tetsu knows that, too, and don't say he doesn't," I stop her even before she can protest.
I don't know exactly what happened, but now some things are starting to make sense. Of course there was more to all this. Even for someone like Jasmine, Tetsu's chief would not be an easy person to deal with. I do remember how scary that lady could be, with one look being able to have you feel colder than if you were in the South Pole.
As if all the stress Jasmine had to go through wasn't enough. Add Tetsu's chief and whatever happened with Hiroto (even though she said that it was mostly because of other things that it's affected her, I saw the looks they exchanged. No one could possibly ignore that), the breakdown she had earlier is really nothing.
"We'll figure this out, somehow," I tell her. "All of us, together. But for now, let's contact Boss. He needs to know."
"Stop that. You can't blame yourself for something you couldn't control. Tetsu knows that, too, and don't say he doesn't."
I blink, wanting to protest, because I didn't fight hard enough... but I can tell from the look in his eyes that any argument will get me nowhere.
And maybe he's right. But I'll have to think about that another time.
His tone is gentle but determined. The perfect policeman. "We'll figure this out, somehow. All of us, together. But for now, let's contact Boss. He needs to know."
"You're right," I say, nodding. "We need to tell the others, as well. Umeko knows already, but not the others. Boss should be able to pull some strings, and if need be we can all just tie him to something and stand in between him and Lisa."
The first class, "A History of 6th Heroes", won't start until two hours later, so I have some free time until then. I figure that I can take a look around the school grounds, get familiar with the surroundings in case something happens, and know where I can keep up with my training.
It's a good day to walk, the weather is fairly pleasant, and so is the view. I allow myself to grin slightly when I come across a set of flowerbeds. Miu would certainly love this.
The quiet doesn't last long, as I hear someone scream even as I feel their aura.
I recognize both right away. It's herI should know better. Her aura doesn't say "in trouble". Yet I find myself heading to where I heard the scream come from, obviously not that far from here. It doesn't take me much to find her ( ... )
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HIM.
Hiroto. A few meters away. My view of him's obscured by Sen-chan, which is just fine by me. I can only see a tiny sliver of him, so he'll only barely be able to see my face. I didn't even hear him approach, I suppose because he moves quietly and I was distracted.
I tense, just a little, not up to a confrontation over my inability to control myself -- but then I see his face and catch an impression from his mind.
Empathy. Not pity, not irritation, not sickly, patronising sympathy, just... empathy for someone who's not coping.
I'm still embarrassed that he's seen me like this. It's bad enough that Sen-chan should see, though at least he's family. I don't think Hiroto's realised that I have seen him, which is a relief. He's already closing himself off again -- I feel his mental walls come down, and see that same dismissive expression come over his face. He turns and walks away.
...there may be more to him than I'd thought.
He's still infuriating.
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I'm about to smile back at her, when I notice her tense again, albeit just a little and not for too long. She's looking past my shoulder, even though I'm sort of shadowing her viewing range. Frowning, I turn my head to see what she's looking at.
A man wearing a sand-colored jacket - is it reading "batabata bata"?? What is that? - is walking away from us. But soon enough, as if he notices that he's being watched, he pauses and slowly turns back to look at us.
No, scratch that. To look at Jasmine.
His face looks expressionless, and his body language gives away nothing.
I look at him, then look at Jasmine, then at him again. There seems to be an odd tension between them that I just can't quite grasp, but before I can begin to analyze it, the man turns again and walks away.
I turn back to look at Jasmine. I don't ask, but I know my face says it all.
What was that about?
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"I helped him earlier today. His name is Hiroto. He wasn't... impressed at my attempts to help. The person he was fighting got away." I continue hastily, not wanting to dwell on that, "He's with the Go-ongers. His team seems quite pleasant."
I wince, wishing I could take that back, as it's a backhanded insult to Hiroto -- and I don't mean to do that. It's not fair to him, even if I don't particularly like him.
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Except, unlike with Go-on Blue, it's obvious that Jasmine doesn't like this Hiroto person. I noticed her leaving him out when she said that his team seemed pleasant (even if she winced as soon as she said it, clearly regretting it - Jasmine hates insulting people even when she doesn't like them). Not to mention the tension take over her again when she talked about his reaction upon her trying to help.
Jasmine's one of the most cool-headed (without being cold) people I've met, and with everything she went through, little can get to her.
Yet this guy managed to get under her skin. Pretty badly, in fact.
What did this guy do??I'd love to ask Jasmine, but of course, I don't. Now is not the time, she doesn't need that ( ... )
Reply
"Go-ongers, huh? I think my roommate is one of them... though I haven't met him yet. I've only met Renn-san so far. If the rest of the Go-ongers are anything like him I'm sure I'll like them, too."
I nod. "They seem to have a variety of personalities, all quite likeable."
Fairness forces me to admit, "I don't think Hiroto was really that difficult earlier -- he wasn't the most pleasant of fighting companions, but I think I'm reacting badly because of other things. Which is why I'm taking all of the attention today when I genuinely meant to talk about you, Sen-chan," I say apologetically.
Then my hand flies to my mouth as I remember just what else has happened today. "Sen-chan! You don't know about Tetsu yet, do you! Lisa's arrived." I put a hand on his arm, frowning with worry. "She wants to take him away."
Reply
"When?" I ask, fully into business mode. When did she get here? Hadn't she accepted Tetsu staying on Earth? Why is she wanting to take him away, this time? "And why does she want to take him away?"
Even as I ask, I think I do know the answer. The incident where Jasmine was being taken over by the Genki. Of course it'd get to her ears. We've been reporting everything to DekaBase. But we all know that it wasn't really Jasmine's fault... right? Then again, this is Tetsu's chief. She doesn't know Jasmine like we do.
"Does Boss know that she's here?" I ask her. Perhaps he could help us. Or at least report to Chief Numa-O. I think he'd be more reasonable, and not even Tetsu's chief could go against his word.
...just ideas, but we've got to start somewhere.
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"It was only today. I think it was a complete surprise even to Tetsu. She wants to take him because he's in danger here." I stop, swallowing hard. "Which I can understand. And I think he might want to go. No, I don't think Boss knows. That's an excellent idea, Sen-chan."
Reply
I don't know exactly what happened, but now some things are starting to make sense. Of course there was more to all this. Even for someone like Jasmine, Tetsu's chief would not be an easy person to deal with. I do remember how scary that lady could be, with one look being able to have you feel colder than if you were in the South Pole.
As if all the stress Jasmine had to go through wasn't enough. Add Tetsu's chief and whatever happened with Hiroto (even though she said that it was mostly because of other things that it's affected her, I saw the looks they exchanged. No one could possibly ignore that), the breakdown she had earlier is really nothing.
"We'll figure this out, somehow," I tell her. "All of us, together. But for now, let's contact Boss. He needs to know."
Reply
I blink, wanting to protest, because I didn't fight hard enough... but I can tell from the look in his eyes that any argument will get me nowhere.
And maybe he's right. But I'll have to think about that another time.
His tone is gentle but determined. The perfect policeman. "We'll figure this out, somehow. All of us, together. But for now, let's contact Boss. He needs to know."
"You're right," I say, nodding. "We need to tell the others, as well. Umeko knows already, but not the others. Boss should be able to pull some strings, and if need be we can all just tie him to something and stand in between him and Lisa."
Assuming he truly does want to stay.
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