pslplz | Futureverse

No rest for the wicked, so the saying goes-- and not much more for those that chase them. This much Naru knows from experience. He taps a patch hidden under his sleeve for an infusion of caffeine.

He keeps a good distance from his mark, a distance afforded him by virtue of technological advancements in night goggles that could track not just heat but heat trails. So much the better for enabling him to chat while he tracks. This job would be a lot lonelier without that constant connection.

"I dunno. I could see it having some advantages! Never having to deal with the weather, you can snack whenever you want... No worries of being seen by someone you know that doesn't realize you're in the middle of a job."

Naru might have sounded a bit awkward about that last one. Ah, the pitfalls of being popular! Getting distracted like that was risky, though. Every magician knows you only need one second of averted attention to pull off a trick. It wasn't as bad if you were waiting anyway, but when you were following like this, it could be the difference between keeping tabs on your target and losing them to the night.

"Why? You wanna try being out here on foot?"

Maybe Naru is right. Omi isn't sure if it'll actually work or not, but it's worth trying, right? Assuming he doesn't also fall out of the simulator... that would be embarrassing. But he can't be that bad, can he? It's not like he goofs the beginner slopes. Maybe he just tries to push himself too hard to keep up with everyone else, and he should stick to the intermediate courses a while longer.

"They'd cancel the whole trip for everyone over one essay? That's gotta be a bluff."

"Maybe. I mean, I can probably talk my mom down, but Dad seemed kinda adamant." He sighs wearily, as if a high schooler being denied a trip to one of the most glamorous locations in the world is the worst thing that could ever happen to a teenager. (Okay, maybe he's a little bit spoiled...but Singapore is awesome, okay? One of these days, they should all plan a trip there together, he thinks). "I'll try to finish like, half of it and see if that'll be enough."

Naru finishes his beer, and sets the cup on a hover tray nearby, which will shuttle the glass back to the bar while expertly avoiding bumping into anyone.

"What did Ken say he was doing?"

On his screen monitoring Naru's vitals, Nagi can see a slight uptick in blood pressure when the patch is activated. Meanwhile, Nagi himself sits back sipping on Americano, a habit he picked up in college, when he was trying to stay awake for midterms. He feels like drinking his caffeine helps him regulate the amount better, but in truth, he just likes the flavor.

He snorts softly at Naru's awkwardness.

"Maybe you should think about curbing your dating life a little bit. For professional reasons."

He's teasing, of course.

"Anyway, I was just asking." Tech supports suits him better, which they're probably both aware of. He's trained in the field too, of course. You can't be an agent without the proper credentials in every facet.

Omi straightens when Nagi comes out, his eyes scanning him over for any sign of distress. It's a fool's task, of course. Nothing more visible than mild discomfort. Sometimes, Omi envies Nagi for the degree of composure he's able to keep.

The nice thing is, this is the last class before lunch, so they don't have to rush to the next lesson without talking.

"Hey. Ready for lunch?"

The conversation is already turning in a way that makes Omi both uncomfortable and defensive. It feels like a gang-up, too, with Yuushi sitting there in predetermined agreement with the teacher. Which isn't surprising, really, favored as Yuushi is among the staff here, but it is isolating. Did no one care about Gilmore's treatment of Nagi?

Omi feels his jaw tighten.

"Respectfully, Professor, if we're going to talk about what happened this morning, shouldn't we also talk about everything that happened that led up to it? This didn't come out of nowhere."

"If you have a concern or complaint to log about someone not named Honjou Omi we can discuss that separately. It's not pertinent to your rigging the teachers' bathroom."

"It is pertinent, Professor. Gilmore's spent the whole semester bullying another student in the class for not coming from a family of money. He berates him, makes snide remarks about things out of his control, regularly humiliates him in front of the whole class. It's an outright hostile learning environment even though Nagi is smart and studious and well-behaved. We've tried protesting and get punished for it! I've been sent to stand in the hall for standing up to him. I've been given detention for it, recorded for insubordination and disrupting class when it wouldn't be happening if he treated everyone with respect! On Monday he asked Nagi if he washed his clothes in the toilet. I've had all I can tolerate of it-- he shouldn't be allowed to teach if he's going to be like this!"

Shimizu offered no reaction for five seconds. Then: "Have you filed a formal complaint about Professor Gilmore's treatment of another student?"

"...No."

"Have you informed another teacher prior to now?"

"No."

"Are you offering this context as a defense of your actions? It sounds like you consider it a just retaliation that you were entitled to carry out."

"I-- Professor are you really okay with this?"

"As I said previously, any complaints you have about persons not named Honjou Omi are irrelevant here, because you are not the school's disciplinarian-- I am. It is not your job or your right to enact punishments on others for their behavior, especially teachers. Further, you did not attempt to resolve this through the appropriate channels first, as you just admitted. I see little reason to grant lenience to your case as a result. This should have been handled much differently than it was."

Naru just needs to move his goal posts. If he has to finish before the trip, that's his real deadline. Omi knows that Naru feeds off the last-minute pressure, and he can use that to his advantage here, too, as long as he makes his up-all-night-to-finish night the one before his parents need it instead of the one before his teacher does.

When the question of Ken's spring break destination arises, Omi shrugs nonchalantly and glances down. More than once, he's toyed with the idea of asking his parents if he can invite Ken to come skiing with them. It's a bad idea. He knows it is. But in his mind he pictures a week of playing in the snow together, then coming inside to sit by the fire with soup or hot drinks, and maybe they'd even share a blanket or cuddle. Maybe they could hide in a room and more-than-cuddle.

It's probably a good thing the room is dark. Something definitely just stirred that shouldn't have. Omi grins in embarrassment, but has had just enough alcohol to not be nervous over it.

"I dunno. I haven't asked really."

"Aw, if you'd seen how cute she was you'd have understood!" Naru protests with the same playfulness. Come on, Nagi, work-life balance!

"Haha, I'm kind of glad to hear it. You would totally rock field work, but it'd suck balls to lose you on tech supports!" He's so knowledgeable about systems operation and infiltration, more than anyone else on the force Naru can think of. This is really where they most need Nagi.

"Hn." Nagi rolls his eyes, not that Naru can see it or anything. Pretty faces can be faked quite easily these days, even outside of VR. But maybe Nagi is just a little more jaded about people in general compared to his friend. He's never quite understood how he could make such fast friends with so many people. Nagi just doesn't find that many people very interesting. He's always been this way.

"And you're better out there, even if you get distracted sometimes."

An agent in the field is much more valuable than a drone or a bug. Programs can only do so much, when following a real person. People are unpredictable. Naru is good at reading them.

"Are you still dating that girl?"

Oh, Omi. Can you make it any more obvious? It's a good thing Ken's so dense about this sort of thing, because that would just be awkward. And Omi's too hung up on his own feelings that he doesn't realize what's going on with Nagi.

It's all very messy stuff.

"Why not?"

He just nods in response and falls into step beside him as they make their way down the hall toward the cafeteria.

Nagi sneaks a peek at his friend, wondering if he's still upset.

"...are you okay?"

Obviously, there has to be some explanation. Yuushi knows his brother isn't just a prankster who would do such a thing for the thrill of it. (Though maybe under Naru's influence, he might...)

The teacher himself sounds like quite a tool, and Yuushi doesn't blame Omi for being angry at the man. At the same time, retaliation seems like a self-defeating reaction. Or maybe it only seems that way to someone looking in from the outside, with the benefit of being in society for a while. Boarding school can be quite the insular universe in many ways, and students often take it upon themselves to create their own rules to handle things.

The fact is, it's landed Omi into this mess that even he must surely see is not the outcome he expected either.

"Disappointed as I am to hear about this professor's behavior, I think even Omi would agree-" he glances briefly at him- "that things got a little out of hand with his...response."

The headmaster kept her face quite neutral. She always was a little difficult to read.

"Regardless of intentions, I can't just let this pass. Omi, I am suspending you for two weeks, and you will report to remedial class, where you will be given additional assignments to augment your regular studies."

Mamoru looks weird about it.

Goku wonders if maybe he said the wrong thing. It's been a while since he's talked to his brother and mother. Maybe there's a reason for it. Maybe Mamoru isn't telling him everything.

"Is she okay?"

"I'll have to consult the calendar. We do have some deadlines coming up in the next week or two. But I'm sure there's a day in there somewhere."

Mizuki is a busy guy, but that doesn't mean he can't set aside an hour or two for leisure.

Omi does agree with Yuushi: the health and safety angle of the stunt had not been considered and it should have been. He wasn't out to actually hurt the guy, and he manages an abashed grimace and a small nod in the silence from the headmaster that follows.

It's a short-lived agreement, unfortunately. Yuushi understood-- at least Omi thinks he does-- and he knew how to speak in a way that mollified the sense of righteous anger the brothers could share to make room for recognition of error. The professor either lacks that same skill or does not care to use it in the circumstance.

"Remedial class?!" Omi balks. Somehow, that's a far more offensive element than a long suspension. Remedial classes were for people struggling with grades, for those who were not able to keep up with the learning pace of the normal class. Omi's grades aren't Yuushi's perfect record, but they're well above average.

Only after the knee-jerk reaction does Omi recognize the deeper danger.

"What about Nagi and Gilmore? Who's going to do something to make that class somewhere he can go and not be bullied?" Who's going to look out for him while Omi is under suspension?

"...That's supposed to be my line," Omi quietly parries. Nagi showed less on the outside, but he was the one who'd been targeted. And as angry as Omi may still be, he isn't about to forget that; this isn't about him.

"I don't know! I mean..." Omi stalls pathetically. The truth is, he's been afraid to ask because he doesn't want it confirmed that Ken can't go along. And what would he even say if Ken were available? 'Would love for you to come ski with me but I haven't asked my parents because I'm pretty sure it's a bad idea for Reasons'?

"I guess I should."

Naru gives a soft snort. He thinks about it for a moment and decides to just go for it:

"Are you ever gonna tell him how you feel?"

"..."

Nagi isn't sure what to say to that. It's relatively new, being the object of concern to people. Certainly not in the way Omi treats him. He doesn't look at him with pity.

"It's nothing new," he finally says. People like Gilmore have always existed. You just have to tolerate them for as long as you need to, and move on. But he also realizes that it's not something Omi has ever had to deal with.

"...but thanks."

Remedial class was the boarding school equivalent of writing "I will not blow up the teacher's toilet" one thousand times on a chalk board, except more sobering. It's supposed to teach humility and patience. Of course, Yuushi has never had to do it, so he wouldn't know. But he's heard about this method. He sighs.

"Professor Gilmore will be spoken to, once he returns from the hospital and is able to resume his duties," Professor Shimizu says. "We don't tolerate that kind of behavior from anyone in this institution...even from a professor."

"I'm glad to hear that," Yuushi says. He doesn't really want his brother exposed to that kind of attitude either, especially from someone in a position of power.

"Who, Minako? That was weeks ago." Not that she isn't still cute, but there are so many fish in the sea!

"I mean we still talk, but I'm seeing a girl named Mimi now. Tall, light brown hair, really good at karaoke!" Naru pauses to take note of his target making a turn and adjusts his course to shortcut over in the same direction.

"...You know if you're interested, I could totally hook you up with her. Mina-chan is a blast, super friendly."

Of course Naru would know. Omi didn't even have to tell him.

"...Do you think I should?" The very idea is sort of terrifying.

Edited 2018-09-29 23:29 (UTC)

Just because it wasn't something new for Nagi doesn't make it right or okay. Maybe he's hoping to reassure Omi that he's used to it and it's no big deal. To Omi, that isn't an idea that makes him feel better. He shouldn't have had to deal with it enough to be used to it.

"...Does anyone else here talk to you like that?"

"Right." Weeks ago, as if dating someone for any longer would be unthinkable. Nagi snorts softly.

"Do I look like I'm interested?"

When was the last time Nagi showed any interest in anybody? He's too busy with his career.

There is surely a very right and a very wrong way to respond to this question. The question is, which way is the very right one? How much information is too much information?

"She's okay. I think waiting for the weekend is better because she won't have to work. That makes better timing... That's all."

Futureverse

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