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Gorman Carvolo
"This will be an interesting problem to have to think around, that's for certain."
0 · 353 views · located in The Commonwealth of New Tokyo
a character in "Tundra || Remaster", as played by Eddy V. Sovorov
❝Do you have any idea how weird it is to be middle-aged and still look like I'm in my twenties?❞
∞ Full name ∞
∞ Nickname ∞
Other's shall develop them.
∞ Ethnicity ∞
He's a mix of blood, his parents having no real distinguishable heritage. The closest thing he can identify himself with is Slovakian, as he knows his grandmother on his mother's side was slovak.
∞ Age ∞
53 (though he still appears to be in his twenties)
∞ Gender ∞
*∞ Sexuality ∞
∞ Role ∞
Strategist within the Freedom Fighters
∞ Ability ∞
Hyper Regeneration
∞ Face Claim ∞
Lavi, D.Gray-Man
*∞ Height & Weight ∞
5' 11", 162lbs
∞ Hair color ∞
∞ Eye color ∞
*∞ Distinguishable Facial Features ∞
He keeps his right eye covered with a patch
∞ Birthmarks/Scars/Tattoos/Piercings ∞
Both ears are pierced with simple rings; his symbol also formed over his right eye, which is why he keeps it covered.
∞ Physical Description ∞
He has a lean build, as what most would describe as a runners body. Due to his healing ability, he has little to no scars, only those that he suffered before his abilities had awakened. His red hair is usually left to its own devices, though when he needs it up out of the way he'll keep it back with a green and black bandanna. He'll occasionally have a red scarf around his neck, depending on how cold it is wherever he might be.
Oddly, the most distinguishing about his appearance, and one that throws off anybody who does not know his actual age, is that he still looks like a twenty-year old man. His body is still in its prime, despite the fact he is over fifty years old. This is a result of his healing ability, which counteracts the effects of aging and results in him aging at a very slow rate. Since his powers had awakened when he was in his twenties, he has essentially frozen at that age.
His symbol is a white triangle that is on his right eyeball. The white of the eye is now a ice-blue color, with a white triangle surrounding a black inner triangle. The white triangle is the actual symbol, where the black center of it is actually the pupil of his eye. It still functions, however he chooses to keep it hidden so as to draw less attention to himself. Especially nowadays living in New Tokyo.
* ∞ Habits/Quirks ∞
✦ Smoker: It is rare for him to not have some kind of tobacco based product lit and between his lips, whether it be a pipe, cigar, or a cigarette.
✦Foot Tapping: He has a hard time sitting (or standing) still, and so he has a tendency to tap his foot or bounce his leg when he isn't moving otherwise.
✦Nail Biting: It is not as a nervous tick, just he can't help but chew on them unless distracted by something else that requires physical activity.
∞ Likes ∞
♥ Rain: He simply enjoys the grey tint of the sky, along with the rhythmic patter of rain drops hitting the ground.
♥ Smoking: He enjoys the calm feeling that a good puff of tobacco provides. He also just enjoys the act of smoking, so he tends to switch between cigarettes, cigars, and even a pipe at times depending on his mood.
♥ Strategy Games: If it requires thinking and planning, then he will fall in love with it, without a doubt.
∞ Dislikes ∞
✖ Hot-headed people: They can't be trusted to follow a well devised and thought out plan. They are the ones who makes things escalate when it doesn't need to and tend to only make things worse.
✖ Spiders: No matter how old he gets, he just had a difficult time getting over there spindly little legs and creepy looks. He can tolerate them to a degree, but one gets to close and he'll throw a bit of a fit about it. Touch him with one to hear a fifty-three year old man flip-out.
✖ Hot and Humid Environments: Such places simply makes him feel lethargic and make it hard for him to concentrate and focus on whatever work needs to be done. Give him a cool place to work, and he'll be content.
∞ Talents ∞
✔ Strategies: He wouldn't be the strategist of the Freedom Fighters if he wasn't skilled at it. He has always been fairly skilled at predicting the actions of his opponents, but also he is adept at changing his strategies at a moments notice.
✔ Mechanic: Next to developing and tweaking strategies, working on machines and tinkering with them is his next favorite thing to do. It is something he picked up through his years, and he can usually handle simple jobs such as minor repairs or tweaks. He usually leaves the more complex and heavy work to others more skilled at it however.
∞ Fears ∞
✘ Losing Freedom Fighters: It upsets him when he hears news of a Freedom Fighter lost during a mission or at any point. Mostly because he is the one devising the plans and strategies, and he can't help but feel at fault if someone is killed.
✘ Intelligent Opponents: This plays in part to his fear of losing Freedom Fighters, as when faced against someone who can match his ability to strategize it means the likelihood of losing a fighter is very possible.
✘ Ira Winning: He is no stranger to the hardships of the world as it's been, and if Ira wins it'll only get worse. He prays that he'll never see that day, or if he does that he at least dies. Gorman has a long, long life ahead of him and he doesn't want to spend those years under the shadow of a monster.
∞ Flaws ∞
✘ Expressing Emotions: He has always been terrible and expressing what he is feeling beyond being angry. If upset or sad, he always keep it to himself as he believes he does not have the time to spare to deal with his pain. Likewise, he isn't one to celebrate, as he always sees it as time to devise a new plan.
✘ Emotionally Distant: This goes along with his difficulty in expressing emotions, and yet also seems to contradict his fear of losing Freedom Fighters. It is not to say that he is apathetic and doesn't care for the Freedom Fighters, it's just he has a difficult time forming any kind of real bond beyond simple camaraderie with fellow fighters.
✘ Weak Combatant: He is not hopeless in a fight, but he is not one to be relied upon to handle the heavy stuff or to hold the line at the most battered point. He knows how to wield his weapons enough to be a threat, but he is no master of warfare. He's a strategist first, a soldier second, and only uses his weapons when he has no choice or an extra gun is needed.
[font=font of choice]∞ Weapon ∞
He only carries with him two weapons, both small, easy to carry, and non-encumbering. They are a telescopic baton that he carries in a holster on his thigh that is also strapped to his belt. The second is a sawn-off, double barreled shotgun that is held in a holster on his other thigh. His belt is filled with pouches for spare shotgun shells, and each one is different colored depending on the type of shell it is.
∞ Personality ∞
Many would describe Gorman as seemingly indifferent to the people around him. He genuinely cares for the people with the Freedom Fighters, it is just that he is not one to really express his emotions. He usually keeps them to himself, cracking a smile here and there possibly if something makes him happy enough, but those are few. Regardless of hos indifferent he may seem, he is one who can be relied upon to help in his comrades in whatever they may need assistance for. It is simply best that they do not expect much in the way of smiles or warm responses.
When it comes to fighting against Ira though, especially on missions or when briefing for plans, he becomes far more strict and will not tolerate any fooling around from those listening or out on the mission. He does not want to see people be hurt, or worst yet die, and so he wants to see people focus on the task at hand to prevent such possible outcomes.
[font=Choice of font]∞ Romantic Interest ∞
None yet, though he does not see much chance of it occurring considering he's at least twice the age of the next oldest Freedom Fighter.
∞ History ∞
Despite his somewhat lengthy life, Gorman's life has been relatively calm for the majority of it. His childhood and adolescent years within the United States did not have any real exciting events occur for them. It wasn't until he was twenty-one that his powers first came to reveal themselves. Truthfully, he doesn't even really remember much of what occurred and how it was triggered. He really only remembers bright lights, a loud sound, pain and then blackness. Later he ended up waking up to find himself on a stretcher in an ambulance. From what was described to him, he had knocked some child out of the way of an oncoming car, only to be hit and run over by the vehicle himself. According to witnesses, as he lay there badly injured and unconscious, his right eye had begun to glow with a bright light, bright enough to the point that it glowed from beneath his closed eye-lid. They said that after that, his wounds suddenly began to rapidly heal themselves over, to the point that by the time the paramedics arrived he only had a few scratches which quickly sealed up not long afterwards.
Since then, he has always worn an eye-patch over his right eye to the hide mark there, the mark having taken the simple shape of a triangle. Since then, he had begun wearing the eye-patch so as to draw less attention to himself. Not much occurred to him for the first few years of having the mark, as the United States had always been much quieter.
However, upon hearing of the things going on New Tokyo, he couldn't help himself to moving there to see just how things were there. It was then that he finally saw just how miserable and terrible things were there. Once he learned of the Freedom Fighters, he quickly join their ranks to help them combat Ira and his regime. He's been with them no for over a decade at least, and has managed to climb his way up the hierarchy to become strategist for them. Now he uses his experiences to help his comrades to tear down Ira's regime.
So begins...
Gorman Carvolo's Story
Seen 21 Times • Page 1 of 1
The Commonwealth of New Tokyo
Characters Present
0.00 INK
# 2014-12-23 01:28:43 , as written by Masquerade (Skye)
As you sleep peacefully, I watch over you from the outside I'll be the cocoon that protects you from all the world's emotions.
The snow drifted gently from the sky, the frigid temperatures reaching a record breaking low as the gray clouds lazily drifted through the ashen air. Everything about this day had a dreary tone to it, as though the atmosphere was suffocating from the powdery flakes and was attempting to squeeze out a final, dying breath. New Tokyo had not seen many colors since Ira took office, the greenery that used to adorn the land had whittled away to yellows and browns, eventually being overtaken by grays and blacks. The harsh, yellow, artificial lights coming from the neat row of dark houses glowed with a ferocity of lion, cutting through shadows and casting themselves over the blankets of snow. Fake wreathes and colorful lights adorned living units as the holiday season began, attempting to uplift the devastating atmosphere with little success.
Standing among these decorations, under a lamppost that was lit far too early in the day was Yui. It was her first time outside and she wasn't sure how she felt about it yet. She nervously ran her fingers over the spot where an ID chip had been embedded under her flesh. It was a fake, just so she could get in and out of places without raising suspicion but still the thought of having something so foreign inside of her was a bit daunting. The cold bit into her skin and she shivered, attempting to huddle further into the thick coat she was wearing. Yui was always cold because she was underweight, but this was not the type of chill she was used to. It was much worse and as she tread across the sidewalk that was thick with salt, her boots crunched with every step.
Yui had gotten about ten steps away when the front door to the house opened and someone came running out. "Where are you going?" They called after her, grabbing Yui and attempting to drag her back inside. "I wanted to see it," Yui replied quickly, resisting with every ounce of strength in her little body. "What are you talking about? You aren't supposed to leave the house." Yui had planted herself stubbornly on the sidewalk and the woman who had come to retrieve her sighed. "I wanted to see the world you're all working so hard to save." The woman's expression softened and she shook her head, taking Yui's hand gently and leading her back towards the gray building that looked just like all the others on the block. The only individuality were the type of decorations they put up and the FF's were minimal, only enough to not raise suspicion.
"Maybe if you ask Mitsuko-san she'll let you go shopping with Chi-kun." Yui nodded her head as the door closed, the lock automatically clicking shut behind them. She kicked off her shoes and winced as her skin began to crackle. The woman noticed the cracks forming on the surface of Yui's epidermis and ran to run the bath. Slowly Yui followed her up and when she was inside the bathroom pulled off her clothes and slipped into the porcelain tub, relief running through her body as Yui's body rehydrated. The girl closed her eyes and went under the water, her mind fluttering between thoughts. There wasn't much to think about, she had only been awake for a week and so her memory only went that far. Yui had no idea where she came from, how old she was, or what her real name was. She knew they had found a file when they rescued her, but it was only the types of drugs they had injected into her and a cryptic list of scribbled out names.
A few minutes later Yui emerged from the bathroom, she looked up at the black clock ticking away on the wall; her blue eyes widening in alarm; she was going to be late for the meeting! Quickly Yui rushed down the hall, sliding across the wooden floors on her socked feet, and slamming into the door. She bit back a cry and opened it up, glad to see that only Mitsuko was there so far. "Hi," Yui said quickly and took a seat at the table.
Some days Yato wondered when he would see the sun. Assignments were normally coming day in, day out, but lately they had trickled to a stop and he was trapped in the sub levels of the research building; resigned to wondering if he had done something wrong. Yato had been playing all of his cards right, he came when called and barked when they wanted; playing the faithful dog they were training him to be. It was awful really and Yato could hardly sleep without seeing the faces of those he was forced to kill.
The door to his room opened with a hiss! Footsteps echoed on the tiled floor, the sound of a cart being wheeled in followed. Yato stiffened, knowing all too well what time it was. "Get up," a gruff voice invaded his ears, tearing through his head and Yato obeyed, the thin blanket he had wrapped himself in falling from his body and revealing his light bearing mark. A Chinese dragon that was a brilliant white against Yato's oddly tan skin. Lately they had been trying everything they could to turn it black, to change Yato into a being of darkness, but the mark always reverted back to its original color.
He was pulled from the bed and dragged over to a chair by the wall, his wrists and ankles restrained with metal cuffs. Yato didn't bother to resist as he knew it was futile and if he tried he would be punished. They at least had the sense to wipe the injection site down with sanitizer before plunging needle after needle into his skin. Yato grit his teeth as the murky contents were emptied into his body and he instantly began to feel the affects. His chest tightened, blood trickled between Yato's lips and his body began to feel hot. His head swam and he wondered what they could possibly be injecting into him.
Just when Yato couldn't take it anymore another stabbing pain entered his arm and it began to clear. Once again Yato could breathe normally and think straight. "Get dressed, you're expected in Ira's office in twenty minutes." The cuffs were undone and Yato stood, going over to the drawers in the wall and pulling out a shirt and change of pants. Ten minutes later he was at the elevators, ascending to the place where his worst enemy stood waiting for him. The doors opened, revealing a large office, Hiashi from the sub levels, and Ira Shoku.
"Thank you for joining us Yato, take a seat." Yato did as told and sat down in the chair next to Hiashi. "It has come to my attention that these Freedom Fighters are a much bigger threat then my advisers originally thought." He cleared his throat and turned to look out the window in a dramatic manner. "From today onward, your job will be to hunt down and annihilate them." Yato remembered the raid the Freedom Fighters had pulled off last week. He had been out on a job but when he came back they were in full alert mode. "You begin tonight, both of you are dismissed."
"Yes sir," Yato stood and went back towards the elevators, excited for the hunt.
# 2014-12-28 02:42:14 , as written by Eddy V. Sovorov
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gorman stared down at the array of papers in front of him, looking them over as his cheek rested in the palm of his hand, elbow propped up on the table. Both his eyes scanned over the various reports, notes, and maps spread out before him, the man seemingly oblivious to the slight haze of smoke that filled the room. In his mouth sat a pipe, the tobacco within the chamber burning slowly as he lightly took some puffs on it, breathing out the smoke from the side of his lips. His brow furrowed some as he continued to mull over the things in front of him, his mind trying to decide just how they were going to approach this monumental task of attacking Ira's headquarters.
This was going to be a tough battle, as after their successful raid of the research labs, Ira was sure to step up his own game at dealing with them. The tyrant now knew just how dangerous the Freedom Fighters were, and that meant he was going to protect the bit targets even more than he had before. Not to mention, it being his headquarters also meant that the original defenses were already going to be quite a bit. Now it was going to be a gauntlet of guns, guns, and lord knows how many more guns.
Gorman sighed, bringing his hands up to bury his face in his palms, sitting there for a few moments. They weren't even sure what else Ira had up his sleeves at this point, so there was no way that Gorman could come up with a solid plan. Everything was going to have to be flexible and the "And then you do this.." parts were going to end with "..."if the situation permits it." He lowered his hands as he looked back down at the papers before him. "Hell with it, I'll get this later." he mumbled to himself before standing up from his desk. Besides, Gorman knew that at this point he needed to get to the briefing and Mitsuko would certainly be getting impatient by this point.
He picked up his eye-patch from where it lay on the table, though he didn't put it on as he made his way towards the door. He didn't put it on though, as it wasn't a necessity within their own HQ. Still it was nice to have on hand in the chance they needed to leave or somebody that didn't know the full story of them all showed up. He set the pipe down on the ash tray that sat upon the desk before he turned and made his way towards the door, weaving around the boxes of papers, writing implements, and other office supplies that cluttered the room. He opened up the door to his small office, watching as the smoke seeped out quickly before he stepped into the hallway and shut the door, beginning to make his way towards the briefing room.
He nodded his head to anybody who greeted him as he made his way through the hallways, reaching the doors of the briefing room rather quickly. Quietly he opened the doors, slipping inside and shutting the door before he began making his way towards a seat near the front of the table. As he walked, he nodded his head to both Hachirou and Yui, saying a simple "Hello." to each of them before he situated himself in his seat. He settled down, looking towards Mitsuko as he did, and he couldn't help but notice how their beret wearing leader's beret was sitting atop her her head at an odd angle. Odd, considering ho she treated that thing like a holy relic sometimes. "Hello, Mitsuko. That a new way to wear berets, or just feeling wild today?" he asked as he rested on of his legs on the other, sliding his hands into the pockets of his jacket as he did so.
# 2014-12-29 03:26:47 , as written by C O S M I C
"Day number 3 of no sleep. I finally accomplished that deck of cards tower i've been working on. It actually looks pretty good. I learned my lesson from the first time. This time i decided to play it on a table. Genius right? Well hopefully it stays up longer than the other one.
Ken quickly closed the journal and smiled as he looked at his latest achievement. It was amazing what someone can achieve when they aren't wasting time asleep. He laughed a bit as he looked at the large pyramid on the table. It was quite large and even was taller than Ken himself. He felt like a king. Like he had beat the odds and conquered a kingdom. A whole damn kingdom! It felt pretty good to get something done around here; well that wasn't work related he suppose. It was actually a bit fun having to start over and over again. As a usual king with power going to his head, he began to think of expanding his land. Maybe he could get his hands on some more cards or something and make a bunch of other pyramids! Yes, it was a perfect idea.
"Y-You idiots! Do you even know how late you are?!"
He jumped as he heard the all too familiar voice. He turned towards the door and rubbed his neck. Yep, that was Mitsuko alright. He then gulped as he heard a small crash. He slowly turned his head only to seeing his beautiful creation on the ground in pieces. He felt shame, humiliation and confusion. Mostly confusion. He whined as he began to approach the ruins of his kingdom. He grabbed a hand full of cards and held them to his face.
"M-My baby!...."
He soon began to carry his small stack with him as he rushed out of the room and to where he heard the voices of the people gathered. He glared at Mitsuko and gasped. "You baby killer!" He said before looking at the others. Oh right, that meeting thing. Oh god, he was late. He rubbed his chin and nervously laughed before clearing his throat.
"Ehm... It's uh... Good to see all of you up and at it...." He ruffled his hair a bit before taking the stack of cards and neatly placing them in a small stack. He placed it in his pocket and sighed. His kingdom will rise again.. Probably in a few days or so. He looked over at Yui and smiled. "Heya kiddo." He said while lightly ruffling her hair. He then laughed a bit. "Erh guess I guess i shouldn't be calling you kiddo. Sorry, relex of mine. But I guess I can't help it ya know. Meh, whatever."
Yui looked up at Mitsuko and smiled, nodding her head. "Uh-huh! It was hard at first, but I think I'm finally getting the hang of things." She brushed her bangs out of her eyes and wondered if she should tell Mitsuko what she had done before. "I went outside!" Yui suddenly blurted. She knew she wasn't supposed to go and yet she had done it anyways. It wasn't like Yui was planning to go far, just around the block and back but still she had gone out unsupervised and without permission which was breaking the rules they had given her. Yui didn't know why she wasn't allowed outside, but everything the Freedom Fighters did had a reason.
Hachirou chose to come in then and sat meekly in the corner without saying a word. Yui smiled gently at him, knowing that he startled easily and wondering what his history was. She hadn't really talked to him as he always seemed to be out buying food for the kitchen or avoiding everyone else. "Hello Chi-kun," Yui greeted in hopes that they could become friends eventually. She wanted to get to know everyone and help out in whatever way she could, even if it meant continuing the menial housework she was doing now.
Gorman came in next and Yui tried not to stare at his eye. She hadn't seen it uncovered, but his light bearing mark was in the spot where he normally wore a patch. Yui looked at the table as he said hello and returned his greeting with a quiet "Hi." She tucked her legs underneath her and wondered what the meeting was about. A briefing? An attack plan? A simple gathering of the heads to collaborate on their next move? She couldn't wait to see the Freedom Fighters in action.
"Heya kiddo." Someone suddenly said, ruffling Yui's hair. Her head jerked up on reflex and she reached up to smooth the tousled strands. It was just Ken, whom Yui didn't mind. "Erh, I guess I shouldn't be calling you kiddo. Sorry, reflex of mine. But I guess I can't help it ya know. Meh, whatever." Yui smiled, she could tell she was a lot younger then most of them so being called a kid didn't really bother her. "It's alright, I don't mind." Yui responded to the shark-toothed boy. Ken's gesture reminded her of something else and an odd, foreign feeling filled Yui's chest. Someone had once done the same thing, but every time Yui stretched for the memory it lingered just out of reach.
She frowned as she thought, trying to push through the mental block harder and wincing when a terrible pain filled her head. Yui ceased her attempts to think back and leaned forward in her seat, reaching for a pen when she suddenly realized she had no idea if she could read or write. Yui's frown deepened, she really was useless.
# 2014-12-30 07:41:48 , as written by Gintoki Sakata
Mitsuko listened intently, happy to find that Yui had started to get used to the FF lifestyle. That was until...
'What did she just say?' Mitsuko thought. For a moment she considered asking Yui to reiterate her prior statement, before she realized that her ears weren't playing tricks on her. Suddenly springing to her feet, Mitsuko looked to Yui with an expression of panic, almost foreign to the FF leader. She wanted to know exactly what had happened. How far she went, who was with her, anyone who had seen her. All of this information was crucial.
Before she could utter a word, her train of thought was interrupted by Hachirou's rather stealthy entrance. This was however, ruined by Yui's cheerful greeting. Even had she not called him out in greeting, it was kind of hard for Mitsuko to miss someone coming through the only entrance to the room. After taking a few seconds to revaluate her priorities, Mitsuko ultimately decided to pull Yui to the side later to question her. Right now, the more important task was gathering everyone for the meeting and personally scolding those who hadn't met the scheduled time limit, without proper reason.
"Oh, Hachirou-kun~" Mitsuko called out in a sickly sweet tone. Without giving the child-like man time to react, she swiftly caught the front of his collar and pulled him in to face her. "Remember what I told you I would do to you last time you were late?" Mitsuko asked him. The malice in her voice seemed almost venomous. Hachirou's timing couldn't have been worse. Not only had he been late, but he had intruded on Mitsuko and Yui's personal time. There was also the fact that she had no one to vent on before him. This was truly the worst time Hachirou could have showed up.
Luckily, he was saved by the appearance of none other than Gorman Carvolo. "Well if it isn't the resident geezer. I won't except any excuses this ti-... Huh?" At the mention of her beret, Mitsuko instinctively let go of Hachirou and lifted her hands to where her beret should have sat. To her surprise, only one hand actually touched it, while the other feebly grasped at nothing. "I just wanted to try out a new style. Got a problem with it?" There it was. Mitsuko's knack for pulling out an excuse or flawed reasoning, seemingly from thin air. This task had almost become subconscious for her by now. Despite her words, Mitsuko sullenly resituated the beret back onto her head, the way it was supposed to be worn.
To Mitsuko's distain, another idiot joined the fray. "You baby killer!" Mitsuko merely stared at Ken in silence, slightly bewildered by his sudden exclamation. Before long, she passed it off as Ken just being Ken. Eyeing him down, Mitsuko smirked as the realization of the situation began to dawn on man. Walking in on his and Yui's conversation, Mitsuko smacked Ken on the back, intending only to inflict a little pain. "What's with that awkward speech pattern, K? That's a little unlike you." Giving him a mischievous smirk, Mitsuko turned around as if to taunt him. "Don't tell me you were staying up all night again. There's no way I can let you participate in the new mission in this condition. Don't worry about the mission. Go get some rest." Anyone who knew Mitsuko long enough could tell when she was bullshitting, not that it kept her from putting on little displays like this. Spinning back around, Mitsuko raised and extended her left index finger towards him. "As if. What do you think you're doing staying up so late when you knew we were having an important meeting today?"
Arcing her finger from Ken, across the room over everyone else, Mitsuko continued. "This includes the rest of you(minus Yui). I'd like a half-decent explanation of why you all showed up so late... Or else." Mitsuko turned her head sharply towards Hachirou with a sinister twinkle in her eye. Seeing him as the easiest target among the group, Mitsuko knew exactly who to shoot for if she needed to make a point. In a monotonous voice, she uttered two words, supposedly meant to be the group's time limit to get their story straight. "30 seconds." The entire time, Hachirou never left Mitsuko's glare.
# 2015-01-01 04:21:35 , as written by Alliqua_Dark
Hachirou blinked as Yui greeted him, he wasn't usually greeted so kindly. Hachirou waved timidly back. Then Mitty-Chan got hostile. . . Again. She snapped at him and he started stuttering something but he was saved by the entrance of Gorry-Chan. He praised Gorry-Chan silently as more people stumbled into the room. Hachirou took out his notes and wrote down the time as the arrived by name. Then he wrote down everything Mitty-Chan said to anyone, and he also wrote the time they were said. He was enjoying be a bit of a wallflower, smiling kindly and nodded quietly as people spoke.
He always loved when everyone gathered together, it made him feel like it was a happy family. . . He shook his head sadly remembering his lack of a . . . Happy childhood. Sniffling a bit he was interrupted by Mitty-Chan threatening him . . . Again.
"I-I w-we-well I wa-was la-late beca-because I g-got su-super l-lo-lost Mitty-Chan. Pl-please don't be so sc-scary. Your a cutie-bug when yo-you aren't so me-mean." Hachirou winced and recoiled like he knew Mitty-Chan was going to slap him upside the head. Tears rolled down his face as he felt her anger sweltering. While he cried little pens and such levitated off the table because of his telekinesis.
"Al-also. . . To an-answer your fi-first question. . . I re-remembered the no-notes this ti-time. Also ag-again, I'm sor-sorry for cal-calling you sc-scary and me-mean." Hachirou said very shyly stuttered like crazy as Mitty-Chan glared him down, his body shivered slightly under the pressure. He hated it when Mitty-Chan got angry at him. . . Maybe Gorry-Chan or Kenny-Chan or Yui-Chan would come to his aid. . .
# 2015-01-05 05:17:12 , as written by Mat_z6
Yuuka Fujiki
Aaanndd that should be enough for now. With the final photo taken with the camera of his cell phone, Yuuka Fujiki slipped back into the shadows of the alley way of a nearby building. Tasked with acquiring images of Ira's headquarter's outer perimeter security camera's, as well as gathering intel on the guard shifts and positions, Yuuka finally had gotten all the information he needed after spending a day and a half creeping around enemy territory. Exhausted and sleep deprived, he sat himself down on a quiet street corner after he had made a good ways away from the enemy HQ. It was time to take a breather before the long trek home. Yuuka powered on his cell phone and checked the images he had taken. For a cell phone, they were surprisingly of good quality and the zoom was something else. Though they were clear enough to see positioning it was still a bit blurry to see exact detail anywhere but it was enough. If Mitsuko wanted to complain then she would have to come out here and take them again herself.... Or get him a better camera. A few snowflakes had begun to fall on the touchscreen surface of his phone and Yuuka decided that he should get going before it got too cold. Wiping the snow from his goggles he got to his feet and began making his way back home.
Yuuka made good time and was back in the Freedom Fighter's home district in under an hour. The train ride back had been hell for him but that was particularly his fault for not exactly riding the train like normal public transportation customers would. Mitsuko always told him to take precautions when leaving HQ. He could never draw unnecessary attention to himself nor could he even be seen. The risk of those loyal to Ira discovering his identity was too great. The Freedom Fighters had already taken great measures to put him under the radar and he dared not waste their hard work by being discovered. So Yuuka had found himself riding atop the speedy bullet train in the middle of the night during a heavy snowfall. Thanks to his abilities, he was able to magnetically stick himself to the top of the metal train to keep himself from sliding off the high speed train but that meant his hands weren't free to shield his face from the falling snow that pierced his skin as he blazed along with the train. Thank god for his goggles. He probably would have been blind without them. He had to remind himself to at least bring a face mask or scarf next time.
Finally arriving at the Freedom Fighter HQ, Yuuka breathed a sigh of relief. A nice hot bath was sounding heavenly right about now but unfortunately he had just gotten a notification that a meeting was going to be held in just a few minutes. He had arrived just in time. If he had stayed any later and missed the meeting, Mitsuko would have his head. It was best not to anger the hot headed leader. Shaking all of the snow that was caked to his jacket, Yuuka began to make his way around the house to the hidden entrance, again not wanting to be seen even entering. Though before he could slip to the back a small figure standing a little away from the front door. Instantly recognizing the young new member Yuuka froze with confusion and disbelief. What was she doing outside? In the moment he was right about to dash over and pull her inside, the boy relaxed. One of the other members had beaten him too it and Yuuka watched as Yui was led inside. A small sigh of relief escaped from Yuuka's lips as he finally made his way inside as well.
Without even bothering to visit his room to rest even for a second, Yuuka made his way to the meeting room. Hopefully he wasn't the last one to arrive. He wasn't in the mood to being scolded but right now he really wasn't in the mood for anything at the moment. Usually he would brush off Mitsuko's rude insults or comments and politely apologize when she scolded him but being as dead tired as he was, he REALLY wasn't in the mood. But... He would deal with it. This is the life he chose and now wasn't the time to be complaining. Hopefully with the intel he was about to provide, the Freedom Fighters would be able to successfully launch an assault on Ira's HQ without any incidents. Arriving at the door of the meeting room, Yuuka could hear commotion inside. Well.... Commotion as in Mitsuko scolding the others for arriving late. Damn..... So I was late after all. Well... Here goes nothing.
Yuuka entered the meeting room and found only 5 of the other members, including Mitsuko, inside and seated. At least he wasn't the last to arrive. Even Yui who he had seen only a few minutes before was here before him. Christ... How fast did that girl walk to get here? Yuuka nodded greetings to the members present and sat himself down. "Sorry I was late. The trip from Ira's HQ to here was longer than I expected. I have all the information you requested right here." Yuuka turned on his phone and slid it across the table so Mitsuko could take a look at the photos. "By the way, it looks like I'm not the only one late to the meeting. Where are the others?"
Gorman rolled his eyes at Mitsuko's remark on wearing her beret in a "new style." He looked back to her, nodding his head, "Of course it is, Mitsuko. Of course it is." he said, raising an eyebrow at the shouting that came from outside the room. He turned his head to watch the eccentric sharp-toothed Ken slip into the room, Gorman just closing his eyes and turning his head to face forwards again. These kids were the strangest group he had ever worked with, he thought about. He couldn't help but scoff in amusement, his the corner of his lips twitching up slightly in a smile before he opened his eyes up to meet Mitsuko's scrutinizing glare as she asked them all where they had been.
He opened his eyes when he heard Hachirou speak up, only for the young man to begin crying under the pressure of their leader. Gorman's small smile vanished as he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before lowering his hand and looking up at Mitsuko. "Leave the kid alone, would you?" Gorman said, snatching one of the floating pens out off the air as he began to lightly tap it on the table to the rhythm of a song stuck in his head. "You really need to lay off of him, Mitsuko." he said before turning his head to view new member to this cluster.
He watched as Yuuka stepped up, removing his phone and sliding it across the table towards Mitsuko. The mention of information on Ira's HQ had Gorman sitting up in his chair to lean forwards some. He let the phone go to Mitsuko first, as much as he wanted to see the pictures now. He knew that it would eventually get around to him, so there was no need to fight with the beret-wearing-spazz over it. "Good to know then, Yuuka. Thank you." Gorman said, looking at the man before looking back to Mitsuko and the phone. "Anything to help get a plan in motion is appreciated at this point..." Gorman said quietly, to no one in particular. If anything, it was more so an expression of irritation with himself, because he was not having an easy time figuring out how to approach this attack.
# 2015-01-10 04:14:52 , as written by CabbageAngel
"Mmm..." Margaret blinked her ruby eyes open slowly, a deep sigh escaping from her lips. Her surroundings were gradually becoming less like colourful blurs and more like her familiar office, with sheets of paper spilling over every surface and a stack teacups balancing dangerously over a stack of corny bodice rippers. Despite having only moved in to her new office recently, it was already a workplace hazard. She stretched up and yawned loudly, her arms disturbing the sparkling wind chimes hanging over her desk. "Babyface, I'm awfully sorry about that... Mum wouldn't let me go, you know how it is... so, did I take your blood already or do we just have paperwork to..." Maggie swiveled around on her chair and murmured sleepily, rubbing her eye and flashing an apologetic grin. When her vision came into focus once more, she blinked hard, discovering her visitor to no longer be visiting. The only "people" to be seen were her 5 penguin familiars, looking up at her disapprovingly.
"Ehh? Gorman's gone?" She leant back against her chair, letting one arm rest on her desk. "Geez, that's no good. These blood tests are important, so he should have woken me up. Besides, it's rude to leave a lady without saying goodbye, at least." Her shoulders sunk down and she sighed exasperatedly. "Honestly, I still need to ask about the prospect of getting a bone marrow analysis from him, and I'd rather do it sooner than later..." At this she scraped the side of her mouth to rid herself of dried spit as her other hand crept down to her bottom draw. From within it she pulled out a large packet of something and plucked out a lollipop from her pen holder, undoing its wrapper with one hand. One of her penguins had clambered up on top of her desk and was staring at her. Maggie stared back, dunking her lollipop into the packet and bringing it out covered in small white grains, then reclined suddenly. "What do you mean, Gorman's blood extraction was scheduled for tomorrow? I could have sworn he was here just... how long have I been asleep for?!"
The penguin tapped her desk, drawing her attention to what was laying in front of her. A crossword puzzle was lying open, not even half done. She smiled sheepishly at the penguin, scratching the back of her head. "Well, maybe I was asking for it - ouch!" The penguin pecked her square in the forehead and jumped down from the desk, waddling over to join the rest of its kin. "Don't you go ganging up on me..." she said, squinting her eyes and jabbing her salt-crusted lollypop at the birds accusingly. With that she swiveled back around and popped the... er... "sweet" into her mouth, sucking noisily. Even the penguins waddled backwards while watching her and one retched - after all, as pieces of her soul they could taste whatever she could. Maggie's focus was back to her crossword. She couldn't ditch the nagging feeling that she had forgotten something. Perhaps it was one of the crossword answers?
"Grahhh..." she grumbled, readjusting her lab coat in an attempt to make herself believe that she was smarter... well, at least more awake, "An arrangement with one or many to meet at a particular place or time... why, that's too easy! It's an appointment!" Maggie laughed and tried to write her answer into the squares, only to find it too long. "Whaaaaat..." she moaned and dipped her lolly back into her secret salt and licked it, disheartened. For a few seconds she was only interested in her lollypop, humming a tune to herself. It was an odd tune with strange ups and downs to the melody, at some bits high and whiney and at others deep and throaty. She continued to hum until a voice inside of her replied,
"It's 'gathering', dumbass. Read the multiple definitions and wake up already, it's the freaking afternoon. Why isn't this ringing any bells for you? You know what, screw it! I'm done here! If you haven't gotten a clue from this, I'm not even going to tell you what you've forgo-"
"Thank you, Mum~!" Maggie tapped her head with her pen and wrote in her answer. In under a minute, the rest of the crossword was filled in - even the difficult bonus crossword in the margin, which would be considered an incredible feat. Maggie's self satisfaction lasted less than 10 seconds, up till when she realized that the sense of forgetting something had not left her. Her familiars were jumping up and down, trying to remind her of something, but they wouldn't tell her anything... Maggie threw her lollipop stick into her bin, and for once it actually made its mark. "This isn't helping at allll... Chi-kun?"
A spark went off in her mind and she stood up suddenly. Her familiars, who were circling her at the time, flipped back and scrambled away from her in alarm. "Return!" Maggie's fist clenched, gathering her invisible threads up in her hand and yanking at them. Her mark glowed bright silver and her eyes shined as the glowing threads that wove her penguins unravelled and returned to her, sinking themselves back into her skin. She slipped off her lab coat and tossed it over her chair in her rush to leave her office, speed walking down the halls of HQ as she searched for the boy. "I know it... I can feel it..." She patted her skirt pocket, just to make sure that she had a napkin at the ready.
"Good morni-" When Maggie burst through the meeting room's doors, her eyes snapped straight to Hachirou, tears dripping down his cheeks. "Chi-kun!" Maggie cried out to him, whipping out her napkin and walking straight over to his side. Taking one of his hands gently, she placed the napkin in his palm and let his fingers curl around it before guiding his hand up to his cheek. She tilted her head and smiled down at him affectionately. "What's wrong, Chi-kun? Is Mitty-chan teasing you again? There's no need for tears, we both know she doesn't mean anything cruel." Maggie let go of his hand and paused to listen to anything Hachirou felt the need to blubber about, a concerned look in her eyes but a comforting smile on her lips. Eventually her mind drifted over to join the rest of the room.
"An arrangement with one or many to meet at a particular place or time..."
Maggie gasped as the realisation finally hit her and the guilt bubbled up inside her like boiling water in a kettle.
"Now? You get it freaking now?! Oh, for crying out loud, this woman..."
"I am so terribly sorry!" Maggie bowed her head down again and again in a nodding motion, "I will not make any excuses for myself, and I understand that I really am a terrible influence, but you must understand how terrible I feel for this." Looking up again, she smiled at everyone brightly. "But I'm here now, right? So, let's get this started!"
She twirled around, swinging her arms out, before pointing straight to Gorman. "Babyface, take it away!" She chimed and pulled out a chair. She patted the seat next to her as an invitation for Hachirou to join her while she looked up at the strategist, waiting for, well, a strategy.
Hachirou was twitching nervously sitting on the ground in front of Mitty-Chan when Gorry-Chan spoke up and saved him! A light sparked up in Hachirou's eyes and he smiled happily gathering up things scattered about that had been thrown by his telekinesis. He looked to Gorry-Chan with a look of admiration, he admired the strategist, he was tough and nothing seemed to scare him!. Just then, some tears were still on his face as a woman barged in. Maggie-Chan! Hachirou loved seeing Maggie-Chan, she was always to very nice to him. As Maggie-Chan smiled at him, he was taken aback by her beauty. . .Could it be?. . . No. It's impossible.
"Ye-yeah, Mitty-Chan is ju-just stressed a-again. . . She li-lik-likes blaming me for her pr-problems. . . I don't blame her, it pro-probably is my fault somehow." Hachirou explained to Maggie-Chan as he took the seat next to her, she seemed to really like Gorry-Chan. They'd be a cute couple, Hachirou thought as he smiled and then wrote down all that had happened so far in the meeting. None of it was very important but he knew Mitty-Chan needed it. Since Hachirou wasn't much of a fighter, he was more of a coward he knew all he could really do was just write notes and go fetch things from the store. No one ever suspected him of anything, how could they? He cringed and yelped at the sound of thunder! He really wanted to be brave like the others but how could he? Sure, they tried training him how to fight. The only really good thing he could do was shoot a crossbow, so that's what they gave him to defend himself, and he doesn't usually miss because of his telekinesis.
Fighting has never been something Hachirou liked to do, he hated hurting others. So, taking all these notes, being snapped at by Mitty-Chan, it was all worth it to help the brave ones, to help those who have a chance at making a difference. With a sad little sigh he looked at Maggie-Chan, she was always so confident, so lovely. She was like his guardian, and he loved her for that. Although he'd never ever tell her that. It would remain inside of him forever, but maybe someday he could repay all the kindess she'd shown him. Yes, one day he would be her savior, but he'd tell her Gorry-Chan had saved her. They deserve each other, she doesn't need a pathetic coward like Hachirou. . .
As Hachirou sat there all these thoughts were floating around in his head but then he remembered all at once that he was supposed to be paying very close attention! He gasped a little and shook his head lightly before focusing in once again. He needed to be alert to everything around him if he was to retain any of what gets said at this meeting. Although there was one man in the room Hachirou didn't know very well at all, Mr.Yuu-Chan. He was a mystery to Hachirou, he had walked in a little before Maggie-Chan had, and all he did was nod. Hachirou wrote down everyone was late, except Yui-Chan. Mitty-Chan liked Yui-Chan a whole bunch.
Yui was thankful for Mitsuko's sudden shift in attention, although it certainly was busy in the room now and all of the noise was making Yui's head hurt. Her mind spun and she reached up to touch the spot behind her ears where the odd feathers were, trying to make the pain go away. Things were still a bit overwhelming and she had been fighting a sensory overload since this morning. It was another reason Yui had decided to sneak outside, to attempt to get away from all the hubbub even if it was only for a few moments. Between Mitsuko's screaming and Hachirou's crying it was all growing to be a bit much and Yui moved from rubbing her temples to covering her ears. They were far too loud and Yui contemplated leaving when Yuuka, a boy who her conversations had been far and few between with, came in and slid a phone across the table. Yui's curiosity won over her headache and she decided to stay, giving a silent thanks for Gorman who told Mitsuko to stop teasing poor Hachirou and changed the topic to strategy.
Relieved at the silence, Yui uncovered her ears just as Maggie walked in. The girl retreated further into her chair, attempting to move away from the doctor; for no specific reason the woman made her uneasy. Perhaps it was because of the needles she had to chase everyone with in order to get samples of their blood? Maggie was the first one Yui had met, it was the face that had greeted her when she awoke in the med-bay of the FF headquarters and yet Yui did not trust the doctor one bit.
"Good morning sleeping beauty, finally awake are we?" A voice perforated the darkness, slicing through the comforting cocoon she had built herself so that people would stop hurting her. A cold feeling slowly snaked through her veins, jolting the female from her sleep and causing her to sit up abruptly, suddenly alert. Her blue eyes were wide and aware of the fact that she was in a rather messy office, papers skewed across the desk and teacups stacked haphazardly and far too close to the edge. "Where am I?" The child asked quietly, her voice soft and scratchy from not being used in a long time. The woman standing before her had hair as blonde as snow and bright red eyes that were as blinding as her smile, she was wearing a lab coat and holding a syringe full of blood that she quickly hid behind her back. There were penguins waddling around as well, but they were not normal looking creatures. They appeared as though they were spun from light and for a moment the girl believed she was dreaming. The child looked down at her arm to see that the cold feeling was coming from an intravenous drip that had been stuck into her arm.
"You're at the headquarters of the Freedom Fighters!" The woman spoke softly; then as a second thought added, "We should introduce ourselves. My name is Margaret Van Bokhoven, the woman who has been watching you sleep for the last week. Ah! Not creepily at all -" the doctor called Margaret smiled and scratched the back of her head. "Will you tell me your name?" The child opened her mouth to answer, then closed it, realizing she did not know. She furrowed her brow, trying to think but pain shot through her skull, causing her to cry out and clutch her head in agony. "You can take your time getting comfortable speaking to me, if you like." Dr. Margaret said and sat down in the chair beside the desk.
"I-I don't have one."
"What?! How could you not have a name?"
"I don't remember it.... I don't remember anything."
Yui's attention was brought back to the present when Maggie sat down in the seat between her and Hachirou. Yui shivered, suddenly cold and zipped up the jacket she was wearing. It was a borrowed article of clothing that was far too big and hung on her like a dress. Yui didn't mind though, the sweatshirt was well worn and comfortable. "Can I see the pictures?" Yui asked although there was no real reason for her to, she was just curious.
Mitsuko continued to stare down the young man as he trembled underneath her gaze, a sadistic smirk placed upon her face.'What's a cutie-bug? It sounds gross...' Momentarily confused by Hachirou's unnoticed compliment, Mitsuko missed the rest of what Hachirou had to say entirely. She returned her attention to him only to notice him mentioning his notes. Mitsuko was just about to praise him for remembering, when she heard the rest of his sentence.
'Wait... When did he call me mean? Does Hachirou really think of me that way?!' Mitsuko's heart cracked a little upon the sudden realization. Now internally distraught, Mitsuko held back a tear and attempted to reply before Gorman stepped in.
"Leave the kid alone, would you? You really need to lay off him, Mitsuko." Mitsuko nearly gasped at his sudden statement. Since when had she suddenly become the bad guy? Mitsuko stood there, dumbfounded. She seemed like that of a child who couldn't understand what they had done wrong and was being pressured by an adult. She couldn't handle the fact that her subordinates and family were turning against her. 'You jerks... That hurts, you know.' Mitsuko thought, now weeping on the inside while maintaining a strong front on the outside. "H-hmph! He is a grown man, you know. If he can't handle a small beating here and there, then he won't be able to survive in this world." Mitsuko replied, not even thinking about her choice of words. Even her now guilty conscience couldn't get through that thick head of hers, allowing her to see that she was only making the situation worse.
Her moment of distress was interrupted by the arrival of Yuuka, who Mitsuko looked to with hope of good news. Mitsuko was actually quite glad to see him as his presence proved to be a nice distraction from the awkward atmosphere. She had almost entirely forgotten about persecuting the lot at this point. Almost... "Good ta see you made it, Yuu! At least you brought a decent excuse with you this time." Mitsuko remarked, all of a sudden back to a cheery mood. Scrolling through the pictures, Mitsuko smiled, content with Yuuka's findings. "Nice job, Yuu. These'll be useful for when we raid Ira's headquarters." Mitsuko stated, while subconsciously fanning the phone in his direction. Upon Yuuka mentioning that there were still absent members, Mitsuko's thoughts immediately shifted over to a particular individual, when-
"Good morni-Chi-kun!" Mitsuko's eyes lazily shifted over to Margaret's direction, as she burst through the door and rushed to Hachirou's side. 'Cruel?! I'm not cruel, am I?' Mitsuko paled a bit at the mention of the word. Margaret's arrival only helped to add to her guilt. Upon hearing Hachirou's reply, Mitsuko mentally fell to her knees in defeat. 'You jerks... I'm really gonna start crying soon.' She would have to rant to Yuuka about this later.
Shaken out of her guilt-induced daze, Mitsuko's looked to Yui who asked her if she could see the photos. Mitsuko was just about to hand her the phone without hesitation, when she remembered the real reason for this meeting. She needed to get the meeting started, pronto. And that would mean giving Gorman all necessary information pertaining to the raid, with him being the strategist and all."Sorry, Yui. Just let me take care of some business real quick. Then you can see the pictures afterwards. Just make sure to give Yuu back his phone when you're done." Reluctantly chosing not to play favorites, Mitsuko handed Yuuka's phone to Gorman, sighing a bit as she did. "Hey, Geezer~ Make sure to let Yui see this later, k?" Mitsuko asked him, with a devilish smirk creeping across her face.
Having taken care of that business, Mitsuko returned to her seat at the front of the meeting table, resituating her beret as she did to make sure it looked presentable. If any of the other members were late, then Mitsuko would just fill them in later after their initial scolding. "Alright, you lot! You'd all better be playing close attention, cause this meeting has officially started." Mitsuko exclaimed, slamming a button on the bottom right of the monitor behind her. The lighting of the simple room dimmed and the monitor behind Mitsuko glowed a bright blue with a loading screen and the words "Briefing Manager" appearing on it. 'Wow. So they really did fix the lighting effect.' Satisfied with the introduction sequence, Mitsuko sat down in her chair as the PowerPoint presentation she had prepared presented itself on the monitor.
"As you can see, during our raid last week, we successfully infiltrated and disabled Ira's communications unit. For now at least, he won't be able to call in any reinforcements and will be stuck with the men he currently has on hand. Thankfully, we didn't sustain any major casualties. However, our raiding captain is incapacitated for the time being because of a leg wound he received, which fractured his ankle." As a mild look of annoyance spread across Mitsuko's face, she made sure that everyone would hear the next part. "To ensure that this does not happen again, I will take the lead of our next raid." Making sure to use her diaphragm, Mitsuko looked to everyone in the room before continuing. She took particular notice of those who didn't seem to agree with her decision. Whatever their reasons may be, she wasn't going to change her mind on this matter.
"As you all may know, the upcoming holiday celebration is a time of year when the locals are allowed a bit more freedom. That being said, we're going to use the festival as a distraction. A distraction for what, you may ask..." Mitsuko shifted her weight onto on foot as she smirked vibrantly. "What else?! We're going straight for Ira's head!" Mitsuko beamed proudly at her exclamation, taking a moment to soak in the atmosphere. The next moment, Mitsuko was pointing at Gorman, who she could only hope had finished scrolling through the pictures by now. "Well, Mr. Strategist? Have anything to add?"
Mitty-Chan seemed like she was sorry was yelling at Hachirou, he hated seeing her sad and he knew she was sad now inside. She covered it well by changing the subject but Hachirou knew her too well. Her entire speech Hachirou was just sitting there, thinking. He knew very well whenever Mitty-Chan got stirred up in this FF things she wanted complete attention and as such he gave it to her. To Hachirou, even though Mitty-Chan would get angry he knew she cared for him, she cared for everyone.
Hachirou liked to think of Mitty-Chan as a big sister type, looking briefly across Maggie-Chan to glimpse at Yui. She didn't seem very okay to him, she was obviously overwhelmed by all the noise. Hachirou felt like he understood her, she was scared and overwhelmed and tired. Hachirou smiled right at Yui-Chan when she was looking, he tried to seem like he was brave. The smile probably came across as a scared little thing but in his mind he looked very brave. Maggie-Chan was also paying close attention to the lecture, smiling sweetly like she always did. Hachirou liked these lectures, it made him feel like he had a big warm happy fanmily again.
Then he perked up when Mitty-Chan said she would be leading the next raid, he was worried, if she was the leader. . . Then if she got caught. . . Who would take over? What would happen to Mitty-Chan? A surge of bravery coursed through Hachirou and he stood up bracing his hands on the table.
"Mitty-Chan I can't allow you to lead the raid! You'll get hurt. . . Besides! you're the leader, they know that if you get caught. . . The rest of us are leaderless!" His bravery had fueled him, he didn't stutter and he spoke with authority, maybe even authority rivaling Mitty-Chan's. He began to feel his nerves rising up when he realized. . . All the attention was now on him.
"Mitty-Chan, you know if you lead the raid you can oversee it, and I-I" Hachirou's stuttering was coming back with a vengeance. No. . . Not until I finish!He cleared his throat but his nerves were then showing in other ways. . . Mitty-Chan's special monitor started glitching, pens and papers started floating.
"Mitty-Chan, I can't let you go and get hurt." Hachirou stared Mitty-Chan right in the eyes and realized his legs were frozen in fear from everyone's eyes trained on him. He couldn't sit so all he could do was maintain his gaze. However his bravery was running out and his face twitched slightly. On top of all of this, hachirou realized Mitty-Chan had called on Gorry-Chan and Hachirou had cut him off! Now he was even more terrified and he was sure it showed on his face . . . Pens and papers flew spastically as Hachirou fell onto the ground, on his hands and knees. His breath was coming in rapid breaths. Showing that yes, he was still very much a huge coward.
"Good ta see you made it, Yuu! At least you brought a decent excuse with you this time." Yuuka blinked at Mitsuko's cheery greeting. He was expecting more of a scolding from her but it seemed like he was getting let off the hook. Watching as the hot headed leader scrolled through his work Yuuka hoped that his findings would prove useful for this dangerous operation. "Nice job, Yuu. These'll be useful for when we raid Ira's headquarters." Relieved that those sleepless nights brought satisfactory results, Yuuka sighed and sat back in his seat giving Mitsuko a "Thank you." and a smile. Gorman, the strategist, seemed satisfied as well. It seemed the meeting was about to officially begin even with a few of the other members missing but Yuuka's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden entrance of the Freedom Fighter's head medic, Margret. A gorgeous woman for her age, Margret Van Bokhoven was the ever cheery "mother" figure of the group and Yuuka always enjoyed her company as she was always willing to listen to anything he had to say as well as give great advice and comfort when anyone needed it. Though Yuuka had recently noticed that the silver-haired beauty would talk very little about herself. To him, she was still a real mystery to him and he realized how little of Margret he actually knew.
"Good morni-Chi-kun! What's wrong, Chi-kun? Is Mitty-chan teasing you again? There's no need for tears, we both know she doesn't mean anything cruel."
Yuuka's eyes drifted to one of the newest members of the FF, Hachirou and to his confusion it seemed as if he WAS tearing up. The boy sighed. Did Mitsuko go a little far again? Hachirou was constantly the target of their leader's strict treatment but it was understandable. Though the man was a few years older than Yuuka, it felt like he was the weak younger brother figure who had a big heart but weak personality. He always tried his best at whatever he did but his meek attitude often got the better of him most of the time. Yuuka wondered what Mitsuko had said to the man before he arrived and it seemed as though everyone was rushing to Hachirou's defense, ganging up on the young leader as they often did when she got too harsh with him. Mitsuko, looking defeated and disheartened at their remarks. Well, she did bring this upon herself but he understood why she was a bit more harsh on Hachirou than the others. He needed a little... toughening up... If you could call it that. Though Mitsuko's mood instantly turned a full 180 and the "lets get down to business" look was fully apparent on her face. It was time to begin.
"Alright, you lot! You'd all better be playing close attention, cause this meeting has officially started."
Yuuka listened to Mitsuko intently as she announced that the date of the raid on Ira's HQ was nearing. Apparently it would be during the time of the holidays which was an appropriate time. It might even catch them off guard though if Ira and his men knew anything of the FF by now Yuuka's guess is that they would always be on guard. With everything they had done as of late, it wouldn't be much of a surprise. Either way, this was not going to be easy and the stakes were running extremely high. This was the enemy base they were talking about, not some small research facility or database. And to Yuuka's surprise, Mitsuko announced that she herself was to be leading the charge. The boy's excitement ran through the roof when he heard that he would be fighting beside her once again. It had been forever since she had personally led an operation and Yuuka always found it quite the rush when he fought beside her. She was quite the warrior and Yuuka had noticed how gracefully and efficiently she carried herself in a fight. It made him wonder what had she done before all this? Even from all the time they had spent together simply talking, he still had no idea who she was before the Freedom Fighters. There were times when Yuuka had even asked simple questions about her past but Mitsuko always managed to turn the conversation in a different direction, skillfully dodging his questions. Before long, he stopped asking. If she wanted to tell him then she would. There probably was a good reason she kept her past from him and whenever she was ready, he would be there to listen. Though no matter who she was before this, Yuuka knew that he was always ready to follow her. She gave him as well as the rest of the members a place where they belonged. When the world and society rejected them all, she took them in. The least they could do was to put their trust and loyalty in her for all that she had done for them. Yuuka couldn't help but smile at the young leader as she went on about the operation. Though as Mitsuko was about to hand the floor over to Gorman, Hachirou suddenly jumped in which was very unlike him.
"Mitty-Chan I can't allow you to lead the raid! You'll get hurt. . . Besides! you're the leader, they know that if you get caught. . . The rest of us are leaderless!"
Yuuka sighed once again. What a naive remark. Though again it was understandable. He had not been with them long and probably did not know of Mitsuko's great fighting prowess. The man surprised Yuuka. He was unusually passionate about his statement and this voice was strong and true. A large contrast to how he usually spoke. Hachirou continued but it seemed that his brave outburst was wavering. "Mitty-Chan, you know if you lead the raid you can oversee it, and I-I" Yuuka could tell he was struggling to finish. He was thinking too much about what he had done and was faltering in his resolve. "Mitty-Chan, I can't let you go and get hurt."
Suddenly Yuuka felt a slight heaviness in the air. It was as if the atmosphere had thickened and a heavy weight was pressing down on his shoulders. Yuuka stared at the table and began to notice that the pens and papers that was laying on the surface had begun to levitate and the digital monitor behind Mistuko was failing. This was... 'Telekinesis'. Yuuka's attention once again shot to Hachirou. What the hell was he doing? The man was suddenly on the ground on his hands and knees obviously having some sort of breakdown. Had his brave outburst been too much for him? Whatever it was Hachirou had to get his powers under control before someone got hurt. In his mind, Yuuka knew that he should do something but decided against it. Hachirou's comments were directed towards Mitsuko. Though not intended as insulting Yuuka felt as if Hachirou's words were a bit humiliating to Mitsuko's ability. Knowing full well that the man's intentions were heartfelt and kind, Yuuka couldn't help but think how wrong Hachirou was. Mitsuko, though she had the appearance of a young teen, was probably the strongest out of all of them. There was a reason WHY she was the leader of the Freedom Fighters. When it came down to it, Yuuka trusted her with his life and she was one of the people he knew would never let him down. In reality, Mitsuko was the one that needed the least protection. Hell, she had protected all of them from the hand of Ira and if it wasn't for her, they would either be dead or imprisoned, never to see the light of day again. Yuuka shot a concerned look at Mitsuko which hopefully gave her the indication that she should be the one to say something if anything to calm the man down.
Gorman just sighed at Mitsuko trying to brush aside his comment of Hachirou, saying that he should be able to defend himself. In all honesty, he wanted to argue the point, especially because it seemed like an odd statement considering that as Freedom Fighters, they were fighting for people who couldn't fight back on their own. However, he knew getting himself flustered like that would just be a terrible idea; not to mention he would not be the only getting flustered, as he would also possible rile up Mitsuko or others more.
Yuuka's entrance had distracted her though, and Gorman just watched the phone intently as Mitsuko looked through the photos on it. The next person though to burst into the room though was Margaret, who cried out to Hachirou before quickly moving to tend to him. Just like a mother, she quickly tended to the younger man to help simmer him down. Gorman was glad she had showed up, because he really, really did not want to hear more crying from Hachirou.
He crossed his arms onto the table in front of him, lowering his head down until his face was hidden against his arms. Mitsuko would get his attention when it was his turn for the phone, as well as for when she'd begin the briefing. Until then, he was going to do what he could to relax himself and his racing mind. Then he heard Margaret's nickname for him, the moment the phrase "Babyface" came form her lips he tensed up, groaning in irritation. He didn't even bother to lift his head up when he spoke, "Margaret, why must you call me that...?"
He lifted up his head, looking at her while leaning his cheek against the palm of his hand, elbow resting on the table. "At least Mitsuko's 'Geezer' crack is a bit more accurate, though still a little exaggerated." He said while looking at the leader before back to the doctor. Still, he couldn't help but crack a small smile some. He may not be the biggest fan of nicknames in general, but the fact that they had nicknames for two very different ages, and yet both still worked, was just amusing even to him.
He then looked to Mitsuko when she held out the Yuuka's phone to him, Gorman sitting right up and quickly taking the phone. "Thank you," he said, though he glanced over at Yui, his smile becoming a frown at the request to give her the phone. He would really rather not, as he'd like to hold onto the phone as long as he could. He could just get the photos copied to his own phone for him to look at, though. Keeping his eyes on Yui for a moment, he spoke again, "Yeah, I will."
He began scrolling through the pictures, going back-and-forth through them all and carefully viewing each one, even as the lights of the room dimmed as Mitsuko began her briefing. He was listening, despite his eyes being on the phone in his hands. He did look up at the leader at her mention of leading the raid, and Gorman raised an eyebrow for a moment. It wasn't that he didn't believe her to be capable, it was just something he hadn't expected her to say. He did not look away from her, now watching though his mind was half there as plans began to swim through his mind. When she asked him for his input, Gorman's eyes narrowed as they slowly fell to look at the table in front of him. What did he have to add? Right now, there was not much he could think of that would be different than the previous raid upon the lab. At least, nothing brand new and game breaking.
The usual of cutting power, trying to attack guards during the sentry patrols to try and sneak through the building as much as possible, attack from multiple points simultaneously so as to spread the enemy forces out as much as possible, and just various tactics such as that. Truthfully though, and much to his irritation, there was little that Gorman could really add to the plans. Yuuka's pictures and some other information on the building was all he really had. He had nothing about what was inside, and what might be lying in wait for them. Not to mention that after the last raid, Ira mostly certainly was going to have beefed up his security, and Gorman could only take shots in the dark on that.
He went to speak, but instead turned his head at the sudden outburst to his side. His eyes widened in surprise when they settled on the source, a strangely articulate Hachirou. Gorman just watched and listened to the young man, mostly out of mild shock, as this was definitely a new step for Hachirou. However, his surrounding caught his attention a bit more, as he noticed the flickering of the nearby screen as well as the various small items that began to move about in sporadic fashions. He even had to bring up a hand to catch a pen that was moving quite rapidly towards his face, as though the injury would be meaningless to him, a pen in the eye would still hurt like a bitch.
Hachirou finally collapsed to his hands and knees, but it did not stop the items from moving through the air and towards whatever happened to be in their way at a rapid rate. Hachirou needed to calm down, and the worse part was that Gorman really had no idea how to do that, but he felt he at least needed to add some part or try. "Hachirou, Mitsuko is right in that we need someone to lead the raid and she is perfect for it." He had raised his voice slightly, though it was hardly a shout. It was only enough so that he could be heard. "She will be ok; she wouldn't think to die on us like that. So just...please simmer down, before I end up with a pen impaled into me." as he said the last part, he swatted aside a pen that moved towards his face again. He frowned slightly out of annoyance when he accidentally managed to stab himself on the point of the pen when he had swatted it aside. "Not to mention, we have Margaret here to patch up any injuries, so long as people come back at least alive, we'll do fine in the end." he glanced once more to Hachirou as he said it, his tone raising a bit as he tied to keep annoyance from becoming to apparent.
Hachirou clutched his head tightly in his hands, he was unraveling and everyone knew it now. . . He had deep rooted issues and he didn't know why, he was impeding this entire meeting, everyone hated him now. He only wanted to protect his friends. . .That's all, he had never had any friends before, but now he did. But, just like that he had lost them it seemed like. He felt silent tears roll down his face, he was shivering a little, he was frozen in fear. He knew his ability was out of control and he hated himself for letting it loose but he couldn't control it. He couldn't be brave. . . Not like Gorry-chan or Yuu-chan or . . . The one he admired most, he could never be brave like Mitty-chan.
Hachirou knew full-well Mitty-chan was brave enough to handle the raid, he knew, she was the strongest. He just saw himself. . . This had been building up for a long, long time. He had realized today, he was useless. He was nothing but a nuisance, a cowardly waste of male anatomy. Mitty-chan was upset, everyone was upset at him now. He couldn't move or breathe or control his abilities.
Yuu-chan was staring daggers at him, then he looked away. Hachirou knew he had to become calm or he was going to be the reason Mitty-chan got hurt. Then from the darkness in his mind he heard a voice. . .
"Hachirou, Mitsuko is right in that we need someone to lead the raid and she is perfect for it.She will be ok; she wouldn't think to die on us like that. So just...please simmer down, before I end up with a pen impaled into me.Not to mention, we have Margaret here to patch up any injuries, so long as people come back at least alive, we'll do fine in the end."
It was Gorry-chan, from the tone of voice Hachirou knew he was upset, very annoyed at him. . . Impaled. . . Impaled?! Hachirou bolted up from the ground, clambering a bit, struggling to stand but he finally managed it. His eyes were glowing a bit and stuff was flying sporadically around in the air, more tears slid down his face as he realized he was a menace. He closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath in. The room calmed and the pens and papers all fell with thuds and clanks back onto the table and the floor. The monitor began to work again, although now it read ERROR in big red lettering across it.
Biting his lower lip trembling in fear he couldn't look up, all he could do was sit in his chair again and hope. . . No, he wanted to leave, he wanted to run away. Maybe he'd get caught, maybe he'd even be executed for breaking the strict laws and then everyone would be better off without him. Then suddenly he tasted iron in his mouth, hot liquid, he had bitten through his lip trying to stifle his crying. Now he was bleeding into his mouth, not wanting to look up or let anyone know he swallowed the pool of blood that had been forming in his mouth with a heavy shudder.
Mitsuko was well aware that there wasn't much to change as far as tactical advantage was concerned, but was prepared to take any alteration Gorman could think of into consideration. If it came down to it, then they could just go with the same rinse and repeat method they've been using for raiding missions. Although, it would be risky to continue utilizing the exact same methods, this time. Rather than thinking of a plan of invasion, they should first focus on how exactly they were going to use the festival as a distraction. She waited silently for his reply, until it seemed that he had gathered his thoughts together. Mitsuko raised her head to listen, when suddenly Hachirou let out a burst that seemed foreign to the young man.
"Mitty-Chan I can't allow you to lead the raid! You'll get hurt. . . Besides! you're the leader, they know that if you get caught. . . The rest of us are leaderless!" Mitsuko thought for a moment to retort, but found that Yuuka summed up whatever she had to say in a simple gaze. Carefully, she began thinking about her plan of action. As she did so, Mitsuko looked from each of her subordinates to the other as they exchanged words. She took particular notice in Gorman's rising irritation, which she could tell he was fighting to suppress.
Her attention was cut off by the monitor behind her, as it suddenly started freaking out. Realizing that now was the time to strike, Mitsuko ever-silently began her decent towards Hachirou. While the others were busy either consoling or attempting to calm him down, Mitsuko was thinking up what words would be best for this situation. Ultimately, she came up short and just said fuckit. As the distance began to close, a small sliver of crimson caught Mitsuko's eye, as Gorman swatted away a pen that successfully managed to jab itself into his hand. That was the last straw. Finally reaching Hachirou, Mitsuko slightly cringed at the sight of his blood. Despite Hachirou's efforts to hide it, Mitsuko couldn't be fooled. Gritting her teeth, Mitsuko took in a deep breathe.
"YOU IDIOT!" Filling up the room with a roar that could startle a lion, Mitsuko grabbed Hachirou's shoulders, not even considering the prospect of being gentle. She jerked his body backward, forcing him to make eye contact with her. Mitsuko grimaced as a small dribble of blood escaped his lips and leaked down Hachirou's chin. Swiftly, she rose a hand above Hachirou's head, at first appearing as if she planned on hitting him. Surprisingly, she brought the hand to the back of his head and slowly pulled it in closer until his forehead was touching hers. "Not a word. Ya hear? Just focus on me." Mitsuko commanded, closing her eyes. Utilizing her control over thought, Mitsuko began combating Hachirou's negative emotions. After a few seconds, a deep sense of serenity began to overpower Hachirou's fears and doubts. Letting out a long sigh, Mitsuko let go of Hachirou and grasped her own head, signaling that she had won. 'I really hate doing that... Ow.' Going from one battle to the next, Mitsuko fought to control the headache that was now purging her brain.
Using Hachirou's shoulder for leverage, Mitsuko cautiously pulled herself up, swaying a bit as she did. "Listen here, Hachirou. Cause I'm only gonna say this once..." Opening a single eye, Mitsuko made sure to look him dead in the eye. "While I may not be the greatest of leaders or the strongest of people, I will never let my friends down. You can definitely count on me to come back. No... I'll bring all of us back alive." Mitsuko stated with a smile. As empty a promise as it may have been, Mitsuko meant it. Sure the odds of everyone making it back alive were senseless and just plain unrealistic. But if it served as a guard to keep her people's will's strong, then it was a promise Mitsuko was determined to keep.
"How touching. And you're calling us corny, eh Boss?" Whatever atmosphere Mitsuko had worked to make was utterly crushed by the appearance of Mayoi. After the monitor had switched to the error message, it seemed to activate the last signal reading Mitsuko had accessed before the meeting. "M-Mayoi?! How di-" Mitsuko began, her face turning a shade reder. "Not important. But I did wanna let you know that the mechs fixed up that old piece o' shit car you guys managed to scrap a few missions ago. Still seems like a lost cause to me." Mayoi stated, unwelcomely adding in his two cents. Mitsuko took this new information into consideration. Having a vehicle added into the plan could change a lot of things. For one, they would have a get-away ride, instead of having to escape Ira's HQ by foot. They may even be able to cause a bit of havoc at the festival with it.
"Not bad! Maybe we should move you to our communications divisions, since you're so much better at that than writing, Mayoi."
Mitsuko commented, giving the man a smirk, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Tell the mech guys that we'll be sending over a team to pick it up right away." Without giving the man a chance to respond, Mitsuko flickered off the monitor screen.
Mitsuko then spun around, once again giving off the air of a carefree individual. "Alright! I'd say that was a bit of good news. So who wants to accompany me to the delivery point?" Looking them all over, Mitsuko's eyes drifted over to Hachirou once more. Eyeing the cut on his lip, she still couldn't help but find it a little unnerving. "Oh yeah. Hey, Maggie. Can you tend to Hachirou?" Not that she really had to ask.
Things were getting loud again as Chi-kun began sobbing his heart out over the fact that he did not want Mitsuko to lead an invasion on Ira's headquarters. Personally Yui thought it was fine, after all she had come back alive last time? Well, Yui did not really know as she hadn't been there, she had been asleep and had heard everything from Maggie. But if Maggie was dead then she would not be standing before them. Pens and papers began to fly and Yui dodged a flying apparatus that embedded itself into the wall behind her. Her eyes widened in shock but not over the fact that she had nearly been stabbed, rather she was staring at the blood coming from Gorman's wounded hand.
The sight of the liquid plasma was entrancing and for a moment Yui could do nothing but stare as it ran down his hand, bubbling up from under the pen. Yui stood from her seat and went to where Gorman was sitting; she gently took his stabbed hand in her own and pulled the pen out, watching more blood dribble down his palm. Yui's fingers twitched and the flow stopped, rolling backwards and back into the cut. Yui frowned as a feeling of dizziness overcame her and she went to sit back down. Once seated she looked at her hands, wondering how she had accomplished such a feat. "Is that what my power is?" Yui asked herself quietly as she flexed her fingers and looked up when someone burst in through the door, teasing Mitsuko and announcing that the car they had stolen was fixed and ready to be picked up.
Mitsuko sighed and asked who would like to come with her, instantly Yui's hand shot up. "I would like to go with you!" She was expecting the answer to be no of course, Yui wasn't supposed to leave because they didn't know if she had a tracking device and if she left the building they wouldn't be able to intercept any signals. Regardless Yui would try to go with her, she wanted to see the outside so badly and her sneaking out today had left her with a feeling of longing for more. There was a city beyond the skybridge and a whole world outside of the Freedom Fighters Headquarters that the small female was practically dying to see.
"I-I mean if I could of course... Never mind." Yui's hand slowly lowered and she looked at her lap, balling her hands into fists. She shouldn't get her hopes up, there was no way she could leave besides Yui would just get in the way as she had no idea what her abilities as a Light Bearer were and if something happened out there.... Well they would be at the mercy of the people and whatever witnesses were around. "I'll just stay here and organize papers or something." It was what she had been doing all week, menial labor that wasn't arduous on her body as she was still healing from the wounds that had been inflicted upon her in the medical research lab.
Speaking of which she was supposed to visit Maggie's office later to have the bandages on her wrists and leg changed. Yui made a mental note not to forget as she did not want to get an infection from wearing dirty gauze.
Maggie lifted her head from wiping the blood from Hachirou's lip.
"What? O-oh, I'm... I'm onto that!" She stammered with a smile to Mitsuko before turning back to Hachirou with a worried expression. She let out a little puff of air and slouched in defeat. These kids honestly gave her a heart attack sometimes. The first heart attack was when Mitsuko announced that she would be leading the raid. She had wanted to stand up and shout out something like, "Not over my dead body, young lady!" but she had just bit her tongue and sat in silence. Mitsuko was their leader and a strong person - the strongest person that Maggie had ever known. She had been in the front lines of many missions before and none of them had failed. It was just how the young girl worked, and though she seemed small, Maggie knew in her heart that she made up for her lack of years with experience... from experiences that she would most likely want to forget.
The second heart attack came from Hachirou suddenly standing up and shouting right next to her. She couldn't help but smile slightly at the words that came from his mouth - not out of humor, but because she found the truth behind his words touching. That smile turned quickly into a concerned frown when Hachirou lurched over, trembling. The third heart attack came from a paper weight hitting her near the eye. After plucking pens and other stationary from the air around her to spare others from a similar accident, she was granted another heart attack by Gorman stabbing himself on a pen. Maggie had shouted out and stood up suddenly to run over to him and get him to a tap to wash the ink out of his bloodstream, but she sat down straight away and covered her mouth. He was the one person that she didn't have to worry about. She felt her face heat up from embarrassment at her outburst when another heart attack occurred as Mitsuko stormed up to Hachirou with what looked like the intent of strangulation. Thankfully, it was not.
"Oh, you kids..." Maggie murmured, to herself and to whoever else was listening, as she held a tissue against Hachirou's bloody lip, "We can't ever seem to get through one meeting without a bit of bloodshed and you expect me to see you go out and work together under life-or-death situations?" She laughed almost bitterly and bit her lip, lost in thought. When she came to, she blinked and smiled at Hachirou, patting his back.
"You'll be fine, it's only a bit of a split!" She reassured him. His bleeding had stopped now, so she began fumbling around her skirt pockets for something. "A split lip is nothing more than irritating, and the best way to get an even speedier recovery is by keeping your lips moisturized. If they get dry they'll crack and whenever you smile it'll split over and over again... and we don't want anything to ever keep you from smiling! Ah, here we go." She pulled out a small pink tube from her pocket and held it over her head triumphantly.
"I know it's a little girly," Maggie said sheepishly as she screwed off the top and smelt it, "But, it smells yummy! It doesn't taste so good though, so that'll keep you from licking it off..." she held it out for him to take it and spoke in a soft whisper, "Before I forget to tell you, never get nervous about speaking your mind to your own family. But because you were and did it anyway... it was very brave of you, Chi-kun." She finished genuinely with a bright smile. In some ways, Hachirou was braver than her, but she was the only one who would ever believe that.
When she turned back to the table, she saw Yui shooting her hand up as she offered herself up for the task. She ran her fingers through her hair and looked up at Mitsuko with a glance that said, "Can she?" She was pretty sure that the child wasn't allowed off premises, but that didn't mean that they couldn't make an acception for just this once... speaking of leaving HQ, when was the last time that Maggie stepped outside? She spent all of her time cooped up in HQ just working and taking care of the others that the thought hadn't occurred to her. She shook her head and let the thought be buried back beneath everything else she had to do that day. There were most likely others, namely Yui, who wanted to get out much, much more than her. Besides, they needed her here. They always needed her here.
Hachirou was taken totally aback, jumping in his skin ten feet as Mitty-chan's yelling perforated the air with a loud roar. He had begun to wince away when she raised her hand. Here it is, she's really gonna do it this time! He thought to himself, but was equally shocked when all she did was hold him close to her. He knew what she was doing. He was about to stop her because he knew it took a lot out of her to do that. Especially when it was him, Hachirou's mind was always a constant flux of pain and intense fear. . . Which is why it was hard for Mitty-chan to soothe him, even with her immense abilities.
All his worries slowly faded however, and sweet happy tears escaped his eyes, very slowly. More controlled than the bawling that had previously occurred. Then a man came, bearing good news, however Hachirou was too busy with his own thoughts to pay much attention to the man or to whatever Mitty-chan said to him or even after he left. All he knew was that Yui-chan had gotten super excited, but then regretted it.
Hachirou almost wanted to go, but he decided after his violent breakdown he was in no shape to accompany anyone anywhere except maybe an asylum. Before his thoughts could return to the depressing, Maggie-chan was wiping the blood from his lips. Maggie-chan always made Hachirou so very happy. As she spoke to him, he locked eyes with her, never faltering away from her gaze. Something about her always captivated Hachirou. She made him feel important and not just a burden. Then he was snapped out of his momentary daze as she held out to him some pink lip-balm. Hachirou blinked and looked at it and then back to Maggie.
"Th-thank you Maggie-chan. I-I'll rem-remember th-that." Hachirou then graciously took the small pink tube from her, and smiled brightly. A smile he hadn't used in years and it felt great to smile genuinely again.
Gorman watched Hachirou, seeing the fear and anxiety roiling around in him, something that was easy to see for even someone as usually thick as Gorman could be; the boy's body language spoke volumes. As he watched, he suddenly jerked his head over though when he heard a shout, his eyes settling on Margarret who was standing up in her seat. Gorman just blinked, confused as she sat down with ah and over her mouth, now wondering if the red tint on her face was because of the error message on the screen.
He didn't say anything, mostly because he was at a loss for words, and confusion only settled in his mind more when he looked over to Yui walking over next to him. He had been reaching up to pull the pen from his hand, but watched as Yui walked up and pulled the writing utensil out. Scowling, Gorman opened his mouth to scold her, as he was a bit irritated at her just doing it. No words came out of his mouth though as he watched the blood n his hand seep back into the wound, which closed a moment later as his own abilities took over. He glanced at the spot, which was free of any marks before watching a Yui walked away. "Ok then..?" as the display was a tad bit random for him.
Then he jumped slightly as another female shouted, though this time in clear words and he knew immediately who it was. He watched Mitsuko grab the still emotionally upset young Hachirou, and Gorman watched Mitsuko go to work with her own abilities. He recognized the motions she was doing, as well as the apparent discomfort she went through when she was finished. That was as much as he really understood of her powers though, other than the fact that they were nowhere near as straightfoward as his own were.
As things finally began to die down, Gorman finally just lowered his head and let it thunk onto the table. This had turned into one hell of a crazy and antic filled meeting, which in a way was nice, as it distracted a bit from the fact that he was empty right now on the strategies. He caught word of the others going to retrieve a repaired vehicle to make use of, something he had no real interest in being involved in. He heard Yui perk up, her voice a little louder than was needed; Gorman was silently thanking whatever had bestowed these powers on him that it prevented him from getting headaches, as right now he was certain his head would be pounding by now.
"Well," he began while lifting his head up to look at the others, "Unless you need me to go on this trip with you, I am going to retreat to my office and see if I can cook up...something..." he said, the last part trailing off into a tone of irritation. He stood up from his chair, looking towards Mitsuko first, "Good luck to you, squirt."] he said as he turned to leave the room.
He stopped just as he reached the door, turning to look back towards Margaret who was tending to Hachirou, who seemed to be donning a rare smile. It almost made Gorman smile himself, "If you want to get the blood, Margaret, just come and grab me." he simply stated, giving all of them one last look before he turned to leave the room and head for his office. Hopefully some smoking of his pipe would help to settle his thoughts and get his mind on track. Hopefully.
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