(no subject)
Title: Recall
Notes: Adult!ToQgers are the best, yo. Also this is just an exercise at writing ToQger and Hikari/Mio again; let's see where this takes me. Idk. I just can't stop thinking how they'd be like as adults, or them talking like boring adults. IDEK WHAT THIS IS.
Takes place before the ToQger movie.
-
If there was any indication that she was surprised to see him right outside her office, she hid it very well.
"Hikari?" she said, blinking rapidly. Just as quickly, a smile bloomed on her face. "What a pleasant surprise! What are you doing here?"
He shrugged, shoved his hands in his pockets. "I was in the area," he replied. "Business trip. I thought I'd drop by, see a familiar face."
"I see." Mio closed the door behind her. "You've got great timing; I've just finished my shift. Let's grab something to eat. You must be starving."
He wasn't, but it was just so like her to worry about his health - about anyone's health, for that matter. He nodded, then fell into step beside her.
"It's been quite some time since I've seen you," she said, glancing at him. "How have you been? You look--"
"--like the adult me?" he said, once it was apparent that she'd become lost for words. When she grinned and nodded, he said, "Yeah. You too. The adult you, of course." Her hair was curly and longer; while she wore it differently from what his memory of her did, it suited her well enough.
She laughed. "Well, it's not like we're going to change appearances, right? I do like what you've done to your hair, though." And just as she was about to reach up and touch it, he dodged and quickly moved away. "What? But it looks so-- different! I just want to--"
He patted his hair and shot her a look. "Don't!" He spent quite some time perfecting this look, thank you; it made him boyish, yet mature at the same time.
At least, that's what his female colleagues told him.
She raised her hands in surrender. "Fine, fine. I swear I won't touch your hair. Men." She looked around them. "Oh! Here we are. Come on, let's go inside."
He followed her into a quaint-looking restaurant. There weren't a lot of patrons inside, save for a few people occupying two or three tables. She chose an area right beside the garden, and she smiled as she sat on the chair. "You'll like it here. They have a lot of sandwiches, and some of them don't have any trace of vegetables in them."
He waved the sentiment away. "You don't need to worry about that."
She blinked at him. "--eh? Does that mean--"
"I still dislike vegetables. so don't get any ideas."
"--oh." She pouted. "And here I thought you're already open to the idea of eating them."
"I am." When forced to, or when he was in public and needed to keep up appearances. He grimaced. "Just-- in very small amounts."
"You're an adult now, Hikari; you should know that you need to eat vegetables to be healthy."
"I take vitamin supplements," he insisted, frowning at her now. "That should be enough."
"Fine. I really should know better than debate with you on this." And she went to the counter to order their food.
It didn't take her long to return to their table, holding a tray with two cups of coffee and two plates of cake on them. "You didn't answer my question earlier," she informed him loftily.
"You got distracted by my hair."
She glanced at it. "What can I say? It's really distracting."
For a moment, he didn't quite know how to respond to that. He very tentatively ventured with, "...is it?"
"...in a good way!" she quickly assured him. "It looks great on you."
It was ridiculous how pleased he was to hear it from her. Then, picking up on her earlier question before they got sidetracked - again - he shrugged and told her, "I've been very well, thank you."
She rolled her eyes. "Hikari. I didn't see you for at least three years; you should give me something better than 'I've been very well'. How are you, really?"
"I'm--" He tried to choose his words carefully; but she was looking at him very keenly and he knew when he was beaten. "--just tired, I guess. Very lately I've been feeling... drained."
"From work?"
"It's challenging," he said quietly. Not that he couldn't cope, but sometimes, he felt as though he was always given too big a load, whereas the pay wasn't as rewarding. As though he was being taken advantaged of because he was still fairly new, and fairly young, and if he wanted to advance quickly, he had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.
And he found himself unloading all these things to her.
So much for choosing his words carefully.
She was all sympathetic ears; she placed a comforting hand on his arm, and said softly, "I'm sorry, Hikari. But there's always a way out, isn't there? You can always--"
"--leave?" He scoffed at the idea. "I can't. I've invested too much of my time and efforts already. If I leave and start somewhere else, I'll have to start at the very beginning. I can't." He rubbed his temples. "I just-- I just need to last a while longer."
"Then that's what you should do," she said. "You've always been strong. You've always been the strongest of us. I know you can do it." And she smiled at him.
He chuckled softly. "Your turn. How are you?"
She sipped her coffee. "I'm okay." At his look, she laughed. "No, seriously. I'll be taking my civil service exam soon, and if I pass that, then I can be a full-pledged civil servant."
"A social worker," he said, taking a sip of his coffee as well. "It's funny; there was a time before when I can't see you as anything other than a policewoman."
The smile on her face was softer, then. "I thought so, too. But-- well, you know the story." Her father had been shot - accidentally - while in the line of duty, and afterwards he'd all but begged her to reconsider her choice of profession.
Ultimately, she gave in.
How could she not? It was her father who told her to.
"You're a natural when it comes to caring for others," he said. "It's a logical choice."
"Hmm, we'll see," she said noncommittally. "If it doesn't pan out--"
"It will."
"How do you know that?"
"Because you're strong, too." He almost reminded her about the time they were ToQgers; warriors from the Rainbow Line, excellent at fighting and wielding weapons and defeating Shadows. Treading adult life shouldn't be hard, compared to what they've been through.
Still, the words didn't come. They all sounded so childish, even if he knew them to have happened, once upon a time.
Still, his words seemed to have the desired effect - soon, she was attacking her cake with gusto. "How long have you been here, anyway?"
"I arrived yesterday," he replied. "I'll be staying until the end of the week."
"Have you seen the others yet?"
"Tokatti's next on my list." He'd already arranged for them to meet for lunch tomorrow.
"Right?"
"After Tokatti." The question was if he could catch Right, given that the man tended to drift from place to place, unlike Tokatti.
"...Kagura?"
He straightened on his seat. "Maybe. When I have time." It was expected; of course Mio would bring the topic up.
She stared at her half-eaten cake, fiddled with the cherry at the top, then said, "I'm sorry things didn't work out for you two."
It was the perfect thing to say; she basically told him that, while Kagura was her best friend, she didn't blame him for what happened between them - and that was something he appreciated.
Of course, being Hikari, he didn't say any of this out loud.
"Come on," he said, rising to his feet. "I still have some time to kill before I have to go back to the hotel - want to go for a walk?"
And with the way she fairly beamed at him, he already knew the answer before she gave it.
Notes: Adult!ToQgers are the best, yo. Also this is just an exercise at writing ToQger and Hikari/Mio again; let's see where this takes me. Idk. I just can't stop thinking how they'd be like as adults, or them talking like boring adults. IDEK WHAT THIS IS.
Takes place before the ToQger movie.
-
If there was any indication that she was surprised to see him right outside her office, she hid it very well.
"Hikari?" she said, blinking rapidly. Just as quickly, a smile bloomed on her face. "What a pleasant surprise! What are you doing here?"
He shrugged, shoved his hands in his pockets. "I was in the area," he replied. "Business trip. I thought I'd drop by, see a familiar face."
"I see." Mio closed the door behind her. "You've got great timing; I've just finished my shift. Let's grab something to eat. You must be starving."
He wasn't, but it was just so like her to worry about his health - about anyone's health, for that matter. He nodded, then fell into step beside her.
"It's been quite some time since I've seen you," she said, glancing at him. "How have you been? You look--"
"--like the adult me?" he said, once it was apparent that she'd become lost for words. When she grinned and nodded, he said, "Yeah. You too. The adult you, of course." Her hair was curly and longer; while she wore it differently from what his memory of her did, it suited her well enough.
She laughed. "Well, it's not like we're going to change appearances, right? I do like what you've done to your hair, though." And just as she was about to reach up and touch it, he dodged and quickly moved away. "What? But it looks so-- different! I just want to--"
He patted his hair and shot her a look. "Don't!" He spent quite some time perfecting this look, thank you; it made him boyish, yet mature at the same time.
At least, that's what his female colleagues told him.
She raised her hands in surrender. "Fine, fine. I swear I won't touch your hair. Men." She looked around them. "Oh! Here we are. Come on, let's go inside."
He followed her into a quaint-looking restaurant. There weren't a lot of patrons inside, save for a few people occupying two or three tables. She chose an area right beside the garden, and she smiled as she sat on the chair. "You'll like it here. They have a lot of sandwiches, and some of them don't have any trace of vegetables in them."
He waved the sentiment away. "You don't need to worry about that."
She blinked at him. "--eh? Does that mean--"
"I still dislike vegetables. so don't get any ideas."
"--oh." She pouted. "And here I thought you're already open to the idea of eating them."
"I am." When forced to, or when he was in public and needed to keep up appearances. He grimaced. "Just-- in very small amounts."
"You're an adult now, Hikari; you should know that you need to eat vegetables to be healthy."
"I take vitamin supplements," he insisted, frowning at her now. "That should be enough."
"Fine. I really should know better than debate with you on this." And she went to the counter to order their food.
It didn't take her long to return to their table, holding a tray with two cups of coffee and two plates of cake on them. "You didn't answer my question earlier," she informed him loftily.
"You got distracted by my hair."
She glanced at it. "What can I say? It's really distracting."
For a moment, he didn't quite know how to respond to that. He very tentatively ventured with, "...is it?"
"...in a good way!" she quickly assured him. "It looks great on you."
It was ridiculous how pleased he was to hear it from her. Then, picking up on her earlier question before they got sidetracked - again - he shrugged and told her, "I've been very well, thank you."
She rolled her eyes. "Hikari. I didn't see you for at least three years; you should give me something better than 'I've been very well'. How are you, really?"
"I'm--" He tried to choose his words carefully; but she was looking at him very keenly and he knew when he was beaten. "--just tired, I guess. Very lately I've been feeling... drained."
"From work?"
"It's challenging," he said quietly. Not that he couldn't cope, but sometimes, he felt as though he was always given too big a load, whereas the pay wasn't as rewarding. As though he was being taken advantaged of because he was still fairly new, and fairly young, and if he wanted to advance quickly, he had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.
And he found himself unloading all these things to her.
So much for choosing his words carefully.
She was all sympathetic ears; she placed a comforting hand on his arm, and said softly, "I'm sorry, Hikari. But there's always a way out, isn't there? You can always--"
"--leave?" He scoffed at the idea. "I can't. I've invested too much of my time and efforts already. If I leave and start somewhere else, I'll have to start at the very beginning. I can't." He rubbed his temples. "I just-- I just need to last a while longer."
"Then that's what you should do," she said. "You've always been strong. You've always been the strongest of us. I know you can do it." And she smiled at him.
He chuckled softly. "Your turn. How are you?"
She sipped her coffee. "I'm okay." At his look, she laughed. "No, seriously. I'll be taking my civil service exam soon, and if I pass that, then I can be a full-pledged civil servant."
"A social worker," he said, taking a sip of his coffee as well. "It's funny; there was a time before when I can't see you as anything other than a policewoman."
The smile on her face was softer, then. "I thought so, too. But-- well, you know the story." Her father had been shot - accidentally - while in the line of duty, and afterwards he'd all but begged her to reconsider her choice of profession.
Ultimately, she gave in.
How could she not? It was her father who told her to.
"You're a natural when it comes to caring for others," he said. "It's a logical choice."
"Hmm, we'll see," she said noncommittally. "If it doesn't pan out--"
"It will."
"How do you know that?"
"Because you're strong, too." He almost reminded her about the time they were ToQgers; warriors from the Rainbow Line, excellent at fighting and wielding weapons and defeating Shadows. Treading adult life shouldn't be hard, compared to what they've been through.
Still, the words didn't come. They all sounded so childish, even if he knew them to have happened, once upon a time.
Still, his words seemed to have the desired effect - soon, she was attacking her cake with gusto. "How long have you been here, anyway?"
"I arrived yesterday," he replied. "I'll be staying until the end of the week."
"Have you seen the others yet?"
"Tokatti's next on my list." He'd already arranged for them to meet for lunch tomorrow.
"Right?"
"After Tokatti." The question was if he could catch Right, given that the man tended to drift from place to place, unlike Tokatti.
"...Kagura?"
He straightened on his seat. "Maybe. When I have time." It was expected; of course Mio would bring the topic up.
She stared at her half-eaten cake, fiddled with the cherry at the top, then said, "I'm sorry things didn't work out for you two."
It was the perfect thing to say; she basically told him that, while Kagura was her best friend, she didn't blame him for what happened between them - and that was something he appreciated.
Of course, being Hikari, he didn't say any of this out loud.
"Come on," he said, rising to his feet. "I still have some time to kill before I have to go back to the hotel - want to go for a walk?"
And with the way she fairly beamed at him, he already knew the answer before she gave it.