Chapter 3.2
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Friday, October 23, 2009
The lobby of Sakura Heights Middle School hummed with quiet activity as students milled about, their conversations a low murmur in the background. Amu slumped into one of the couches, her pink hair a stark contrast against the muted colours of the room. She couldn't help but notice the furtive glances cast her way, followed by hushed whispers and quick turns of heads when she looked back.
Quite a lot of glances, actually. She felt the weight of their attention.
They were between classes. There were quite a few students moving through the lobby area, mostly in groups of three or four. Either waiting for the next period, hurrying to class or just talking to each other—it wasn't consistent, and Amu didn't want to check.
Most were girls. Sakura Heights was only recently co-ed, and the addition of Amu's class would nearly double the male population of her grade. Amu wished her male classmates the best of luck; at least a couple of the passing conversations had been eager speculation about boys.
Otherwise this was a standard, government-pattern public school. Amu hadn't liked them as a child studying in one, and four years at Seiyo had done little to change her mind on the subject. Schools like these were... unimaginative.
First years were on the ground floor, second years on the second, and third years on the third.
The layout was predictable: long corridors lined with identical sliding doors, each leading to a classroom filled with rows of desks all facing the front. The shoe lockers were near the entrance, the staff room was centrally located, and the gymnasium a separate building connected by a covered walkway. Even the beige walls and linoleum floors seemed to echo the countless other schools just like it across Japan. It was efficient, practical, and utterly lacking in the charm and character that had made Seiyo feel so special.
She palmed her face. She shouldn't be judging this school by its looks! She had been raised better than that. Besides, this was a temporary thing—she would be attending school here for two or three months, at most. She couldn't let herself fall back into old habits...
Habits such as watching people's minds, apparently.
A trio of girls spent several seconds staring at her, then hid behind a corner to peek out at her. Amu couldn't technically see them. But she'd have had to be blind not to notice their excitement. She'd been able to keep from looking at thoughts while she was walking from the exam room, but the second she stopped focusing on not looking? There they were again.
It wasn't even like keeping her eyes closed. She didn't have eyelids.
Amu heaved a sigh, wishing for the third or fourth time that Miki would get here already. She was trying. She really was, but right now she wanted nothing more than to ignore them. To run away, ignore the problem, and bury herself in a book or phone or homework or even hiking, anything that would let her pretend she wasn't looking at them, that she wasn't desperate for friends to talk to, that she was able to follow Mom's instructions and not feel so… alien.
She wanted Ami.
Amu blinked, staring down at her lap as she felt an overwhelming rush of loneliness wash over her. She wanted her little sister? What? Except-
She chased the thought backwards, tugging at threads in her own mind until she found the memory attached to it: last evening, waking up with Miki next to her on the couch. A spike of concern and affection and protectiveness radiating from Miki as they huddled together under blankets for warmth. And Ami, walking upstairs but casually first just... hugging her? Except in her mind. Amu had reached out, the way she automatically did to anything even remotely humanlike, and Ami had just-
She hadn't thought much of it at the time, but Ami had slipped right into Amu's mental space as if it belonged to her; not just accepted the ping, but embraced her with enthusiasm. She hadn't noticed, because it had just been...
Normal. The same thing Ami always did. That she'd been doing since before Amu could notice.
And now she was nearly crying. Amu angrily wiped away tears with a sleeve as she struggled to regain control of her emotions; this wasn't the time or place to be crying! What did it look like, she wondered. A pink-haired, weirdly dressed—in Seiyo's uniform—overly tall girl bursting into tears in the middle of the school?
She didn't have long to worry about it, because her phone beeped, and then it beeped again—because Miki was texting her pictures of herself getting into the car with Dad—and now she had ten minutes, maybe, and that trio of girls was still staring at her.
She could keep sitting here. Just... go away. Miki would be happy enough to hug her. Maybe. She might never hear the end of it. Tell everyone around her to go away, too. Old habits. Ignore everything. Be the cool, unaffected girl she'd spent years pretending...
A slight gasp sounded in the distance, then giggles. Her ears perked up, but it was just someone talking about some sort of dance?
She slumped a little.
It wasn't 'cool'. She'd learned that, just not how to do better. Mostly, it was lonely. She had her friends, but none in her class, and none of them here. This was a new school. If she couldn't make new friends... she had Miki, but she could tell already that Miki was going to be just like her; and while having Miki in her class sounded just a little bit awesome-
Amu pushed those thoughts away with an effort of will. She'd never been good at talking to people. Baring her inner self to them? Sure, but what if she didn't want to do that? Well, that was- that was what Ran and Su were for-
They weren't really, and she felt both awkward and a little abusive asking them for that instead of doing it on her own. Though weren't they part of her now?
She'd spent months trying to avoid that...
Amu got to her feet anyway. Just Amu, not either of her charas. Her legs felt slightly wobbly, but she forced them to move. She might have used a spot of telekinesis.
She hadn't exactly overcome her nervousness...
The girls quietened as she approached their corner.
⁂
Rin had spotted her the second they'd stepped into the lobby, of course. Her group had been asked by the teacher to deliver a stack of test papers to another classroom for distribution (why did they have to do that? Didn't they have people for that?) but before they left they'd had to pass by the lobby and—there she was! Hinamori Amu, in the flesh! And none of them were ready! They hadn't even thought about what to do if they encountered her! Not seriously!
"So that's Himamori," Mio-chan said with an expression of awe on her face. Rin turned a startled look on her, but quickly regained her composure. "She's really here."
She really was!
They all hid behind a corner to stare at the pink-haired girl sitting cooly slouched on the couch, Hana hiding behind Rin who hid behind Mio, a formation they'd practised before during dodgeball games that wasn't ever meant to be used against a single person, let alone one sitting in the middle of a public space! What would their parents think?!
It was a slightly hysterical thought, from a slightly hysterical group of middle-schoolers, who'd never won a dodgeball competition. They'd seen Hinamori on the TV, most of the country had, and they'd spent evenings at Mio's place fantasising about what it'd be like to be her, but now... well... they weren't going to talk to her or anything—they weren't that brave!—but now Hinamori Amu was right there! Just like the teachers had warned! She wasn't being chased by demons or anything, or calling fire from the heavens; she was just sitting there! Like a normal person! Like a totally ordinary normal person who hadn't been on TV covered in blood and fist-fighting demons and...
"Is she crying?" Hana asked worriedly behind her shoulder.
-what?
"I don't think so," Mio answered hesitantly. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Doesn't seem like it."
Rin shook her head vigorously in agreement. No way! Not a chance. Though she did seem awfully... slouched. Which was cool, but she was also- Frowning. Lonely.
Rin couldn't say precisely why she'd had that final thought, except that it was obvious, wasn't it? Just from looking at her. Although she also wasn't sure why it was obvious, exactly. She felt Hana grab onto her arm and squeeze it tightly, the smaller girl evidently feeling lonely as well. Normally Rin might protest, but right now she didn't mind.
They watched a little longer as Hinamori made faces at herself. Then she suddenly raised her head, staring right at them!
"Is she... is she getting up?" Mio hissed nervously.
She was.
"She's coming right for us!" Hana gasped. Rin tensed up involuntarily. "What do we do?! What do we do?!"
"Shhh! She's coming!"
The three of them watched Hinamori approach with growing trepidation. Hana squeezed Rin's hand tightly in panic; Mio shot her a pleading look while Rin shook her head frantically in response. Her heart pounded rapidly as she struggled to calm herself down. If she'd found out they'd been watching her then...
...uh. Then... then what? What would happen? It wasn't like Rin knew what Hinamori was like outside of fighting monsters, or had any idea what Hinamori would do if she spotted them lurking around corners. They hadn't discussed what they'd do in this situation because they hadn't actually expected Hinamori to appear in front of them for real!
But she'd find out, right, wouldn't she?
She felt a growing sense of determination not to run.
⁂
Amu stopped in front of the trio, her bag held loosely in one hand. She regarded them with a cool, almost disinterested gaze that belied the nervous flutter in her stomach. The three girls stared back, a mix of awe and trepidation on their faces that mirrored the intense anxiety churning inside her chest. She'd spent years practising this expression; the disinterested face, the icy stare. She'd spent years perfecting the art of looking tough and aloof without actually doing anything intimidating—except in hindsight the look had always been enough, hadn't it? She was doing it again!
The trio were all different heights. The smallest hid behind the moderate sized one, who hid behind a girl nearly Amu's height, an arrangement that would've worked better if the two smaller girls weren't constantly peeking out from behind their respective defences. Which weren't just their classmates—they were each carrying a stack of papers, each easily a kilogram or more. Those added to the visual oddity.
"So," Amu said, her voice coming out far more nonchalant than she felt, the attitude like winter gloves when autumn rolled around, "you've been watching me for a while now. Got something to say?"
The shortest girl squeaked and ducked behind her taller friend. The one with glasses adjusted them nervously, while the third - a girl with long, dark hair - seemed to be trying to find her voice.
Amu felt a pang of guilt. She hadn't meant to scare them. But before she could soften her approach, the girl with glasses blurted out, "Is it true you can fly?"
"Eh?" Amu blinked, genuinely taken aback. "Fly?"
"On the TV!" the short girl piped up from behind her friend. "During the... the thing at your school. You were floating!"
"Oh," Amu said, her cool facade slipping for just a moment. "That." She paused, unsure how to respond. Part of her wanted to brush it off. But another part...
She peeked.
Oh. Oh, wow they were nervous. Was she that intimidating? Amu felt her face begin to burn with embarrassment. She scratched the back of her head awkwardly as she tried to gather her thoughts, letting her apparently successful attempt at intimidation collapse into shambles as quickly as it had materialised. She hadn't wanted it to work that well. Or at all? The trio stared at her expectantly, waiting for an answer.
"I, uh," she stammered, still struggling to come up with an explanation that didn't involve discussing the whole psionics thing.
And she didn't know that anyone had spotted her-!
"Yeah," she said finally, deciding to just roll with it. "Just a few seconds that time. But yeah. I can fly." She paused for a moment, then added in a quieter voice, "Just... don't tell anyone about it, okay?"
The three girls' eyes widened in surprise at Amu's admission.
"Really?"
"Tanaka was right!"
"Wow!"
"And... everyone already knows?" Amu asked hesitantly, drawing startled nods from the group. "Er..." Her eyes flicked to one side. "I mean..." A flutter in her stomach. She moved closer to the three of them and lowered her voice conspiratorially, nostalgic thoughts of the Guardians in the back of her mind . "Do you want to try it?"
They stared at her blankly for several seconds before excitedly nodding their heads in agreement.
⁂
As Makoto and the other girl from Seiyo Academy finished their tests and stepped into the lobby, they were greeted by an unexpected sight. There, in the middle of the room, was Amu – their classmate whom they'd just seen too bored to stay awake during the exam – now wide awake and... juggling?
But it wasn't balls or clubs she was juggling. No, Hinamori was carefully levitating three girls, each giggling with a mix of delight and nervous excitement as they floated a few feet off the ground. An entire classroom's worth of other students were watching, laughing and cheering as the girls flew past them, waving their hands and kicking their feet in an attempt to balance themselves without success. It was almost hypnotic, watching Hinamori effortlessly manipulate the trio in midair while they flailed about. It would also get them in trouble.
Last week she'd have cared about that.
"Hinamori, what are you doing?" Makoto called out, her voice a mix of exasperation and amusement.
⁂
Amu, startled by the familiar voice, momentarily lost her concentration. The three floating girls wobbled in the air, eliciting a chorus of surprised yelps.
"Ah! Shokuhou-san!" she exclaimed, quickly stabilising the girls. She gently lowered them to the ground, her face flushing with embarrassment. "I was just... um..."
The three Sakura Heights students, once safely on their feet, looked between Amu and the newcomers with a mixture of awe and confusion.
"Making friends?" the other girl from Seiyo suggested, a hint of amusement in her voice.
"Yeah," Amu said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. "Something like that. And I just realised, I... um, I didn't get your names." She reflexively, not quite deliberately bumped off Makoto's mind—a fuzzy, static-charged ping, like brushing shoulders!—as she looked at the other three girls with an awkward smile on her face. "I'm Hinamori Amu. This is Shokuhou Makoto and..."
"Watanabe Kana," the girl with glasses replied, smiling politely. "It's nice to see you again."
Her chara peeked up out of Watanabe's bag—a small fairy with purple hair and blue eyes—then stuck a tiny tongue out at Amu before disappearing back into hiding again.
"Nice to see you too," Amu replied, returning Watanabe's smile with a nervous one of her own.
"It is good to see you again," Makoto added dryly, offering Amu a polite nod. "I was hoping I'd catch you before you go home. We have a lot to discuss." She took a deep breath before continuing in a more subdued tone, "Later. I just wanted to thank you for saving as many as you did. We've never really talked, and I'll admit I..." She trailed off as she looked around at the trio from Sakura Heights, then continued in a hushed tone, "...well, I didn't know what it was like. Now I do. Friends?"
Makoto stuck out a hand awkwardly towards Amu; she looked so stiff and formal that Amu couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy. She'd seen Makoto kill at least one demon. It'd looked like it had hurt.
"Sure," Amu said, nodding slightly in response. She took Makoto's hand and gave it a firm shake. "And don't worry about it. I want to change that, but I wasn't exactly... approachable."
And on that note...
Her eyes swept past Watanabe, lingering for only a second—Kana, really? They looked nothing alike—before meeting the eyes of the trio.
The middle one spoke up first. "I'm Yoshida Hana," she said, bowing slightly as she spoke. "It's an honour to meet you."
"Sakamoto Mio," the girl with glasses said after a moment's pause, smiling shyly at Amu.
"And Tanaka Rin," the last one finished with a slight grin on her face. "Thanks for... y'know... letting us fly." Her hand reached for Amu's just long enough to give it a light squeeze, then let go. "We're all in 1C. Maybe we can hang out sometime? Maybe at lunch next week?"
Amu felt a sudden wave of anticipation emanating from the three girls' minds, mixed with a healthy dose of nervousness and excitement. She still couldn't keep her senses to herself. Maybe she shouldn't try. She'd made friends! Her! As hard as it was to believe...
"Sure," Amu said, grinning happily at the trio. "That sounds like fun!"
Hana's eyes lit up at Amu's words. "Really?!"
"Absolutely." Amu smiled warmly at Hana and the others, then turned to Makoto and Watanabe with a questioning look. "Do you two want to join us?"
Makoto nodded carefully. "I've got... plans for later today," she replied, avoiding Watanabe's gaze. "But if you want to grab lunch together next week..."
"We'll have a lot to talk about," Watanabe added with a nod of agreement. She glanced at Amu and smiled slightly before continuing, "If that's alright with you?"
"Yes," Amu said firmly, a grin spreading across her face at their responses.
She'd done it. Amu took a moment to bask in the glow of victory, while Hana checked her watch.
The girl's eyes widened in panic.
"Ah! We forgot!" Hana gasped, grabbing Rin's arm in a vice-like grip. "Mio! Rin!"
Mio also froze and stared at her watch with an expression of horror on her face. "We have to get going," she said as she hurriedly scooped up her pile of papers. "Sorry! We'll see you next week!"
In seconds, all three girls were sprinting down the hall, leaving behind a rather bemused Amu.
Makoto snickered quietly to herself.
"Well, that was odd," Watanabe commented with a faint smile on her face. "I wonder what that was about."
"Something important, I bet," Amu replied with a shrug.
"You don't just know?" Makoto asked, tilting her head to the side slightly. Amu froze, her cheeks flushing slightly as Makoto gave her a knowing look.
"I... uh..."
"We were always pretty sure you could read minds," Watanabe whispered, glancing at the slowly dispersing crowd. "Are you just trying to be polite?"
Amu grimaced slightly and shrugged in response, unable to meet the other girl's gaze. Makoto nudged Watanabe, whose eyebrows rose. It was, in fact, tempting. She could, in fact, 'just know'. Only, Amu was pretty sure—and it wasn't just because her mother had said so, but. She had. So Amu was pretty sure that reading their minds would be...
She'd never truly thought about it. At first she just couldn't. It had been like glimpsing something through a dirty window. And the window had gotten less and less dirty, but Amu hadn't actually realised when thoughts went from something she could glimpse, to something she could just... see. But they had. It had slowly gotten easier. Too easy.
"I'm trying not to do it," she said.
Her cheeks were pretty red. Watanabe pinched her nose, suddenly fascinated with the wall. Makoto placed her hands on her hips and nodded once. "Okay," she said simply. "Just so you know. If you'd told me that last week, I'd have punched you."
"Um," Amu replied eloquently. Watanabe made an odd sound in the back of her throat. Makoto sighed.
"Fine," she said. "When you say 'trying not to'..."
Amu gathered her courage and looked Makoto in the eye, forcing herself to maintain eye contact despite the gnawing feeling of guilt in her chest. "It's always there," she explained, as calmly as she could manage without pulling on Ran or Su. "Emotions at least. I'm trying not to see them, but I can't. Sometimes it's like trying not to hear a jackhammer. I'm sorry. And I'm not reading your thoughts or anything. But I can't not feel it when someone's nervous or upset, Shokuhou-san. That's just... it's... part of who I am."
She shifted uncomfortably under Makoto's gaze, taking a step back from the other girl as she tried to regain her composure. She could feel Watanabe's gaze boring into her as well.
"Last week," Makoto repeated, "I'd have punched you. Hard. And then I'd have tried to stay away." She paused for a moment before adding, "That wouldn't have worked." A grimace crossed her face, and she shook her head. "That was last week. Now I've got more important things to worry about, and Watanabe doesn't care. Half the class doesn't care, all the ones I've talked to. Am I the weird one here?"
She laughed bitterly, looking at her feet. A few sparks shot off her fingertips.
"Last week I wouldn't have understood even a little bit," Makoto finished.
Watanabe touched Makoto's shoulder gently, looking at Amu with a thoughtful expression on her face.
Makoto reached into her pocket, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. She handed it to Amu. "If you want to make up for it? Come here," she said.
"...what's this?" Amu asked, unfolding the paper—with some difficulty; it looked like it'd been ripped from a notebook—to reveal an address...
It looked familiar.
"My house," Makoto said. "We're meeting up at three o'clock tomorrow. Me, a couple of our classmates, and you. I hope. If you're free? And if you can pull off being helpful without reading anybody's mind. It's creepy."
"Makoto." Watanabe nudged Makoto in the side gently.
"I'm sorry," Amu said quietly as she stared at the crumpled piece of paper in her hands. Of course it was familiar. She'd picked up Ami once or twice.
"I know." Makoto sighed heavily. "Trust me, I know. I broke the TV in my room last night. Anything you can do?" She smiled humorlessly at Amu, and shook her head in resignation. "It's just... what we've got to deal with."
"...I could ...probably fix the TV, actually," Amu said. "I'll have to ask. I might be grounded. But if I can be there, I will. Can I bring Ami?"
Makoto blinked in surprise, then smiled slightly in response to Amu's question. "Why not," she replied with a nod of her head. "She'd distract the midget. The more the merrier."
"Then... I'll see you tomorrow?"
Makoto nodded as she picked her bag up to leave. "Hope so."
Amu hesitated for a moment before saying in a quiet voice, "It's not just me who can read minds, you know. It's Ami too. And your sister."
Makoto froze, her expression suddenly serious as she stared at Amu with narrowed eyes.
"...I'll see you tomorrow," she repeated, turning to leave as quickly as she could without running.
"Bye."
Amu watched Makoto walk away, mixed feelings swirling in her mind. She turned to meet Watanabe's gaze. The other girl looked slightly amused by the whole situation.
"Don't worry," Watanabe reassured her. "She's not mad."
Amu sighed heavily. "I feel like I'm doing something wrong," she admitted softly. "I've never really had to think about how it affects people before now... but now everyone's talking about how they know I can read their minds and I just... you know I didn't actually do that, right? Not usually. Just emotions."
"'Not usually' still means 'sometimes," Watanabe replied in a slightly teasing tone of voice before frowning slightly. "It's really that hard not to? Really?"
"Yes," Amu said wearily, rubbing her temples in frustration. "Really."
The other girl looked at Amu thoughtfully, then gave her a sympathetic smile. "Then I guess you're doing fine," she said encouragingly. "I promise, Makoto-chan's not so scary once you get to know her. And I guess that's true for you as well?"
Amu nodded sheepishly, stuffing Makoto's address into her bag alongside her cell phone.
"Thank you for trusting me enough to share this," Watanabe continued sincerely. Amu, once again, couldn't help but tell. Non-psionics were hard enough; those she could usually ignore. Watanabe?
She wasn't a lighthouse. Her mind was a small, quiet thing, but bright and clearly there. It rang with confidence and sincerity like a bell struck by a hammer, and Amu couldn't help but hear. She could tell what Watanabe was feeling right now—warmth and admiration and a little bit of amusement at herself for being so sappy—but there was something else there too: something deeper that Amu couldn't quite put into words, but which made her feel oddly uneasy. A sharpness?
"I don't think the teacher liked me very much," she said, mostly to have something to say. "Do you think it's because my hair makes me stand out too much?"
Watanabe laughed softly, shaking her head in response. "No," she replied with a grin on her face. "I think it's because you spent most of the day snoozing away while acing the entire test. You left before you could see them trying to grade it. Trust me, that was a sigh-"
Then there was shock.
Amu turned to see Miki approaching, her sister's bright smile a stark contrast to the astonishment reverberating through the room.
"Miki!" Amu called out, relief washing over her. "You made it!"
Miki nodded, coming to stand beside Amu. "Dad sent me to pick you up, yup." She turned to Watanabe, her smile softening slightly. "Hello, I'm Hinamori Miki. Amu's cousin, and best not forget it. Pretty sure you've seen me before. Making friends?" She raised an eyebrow.
Watanabe stared at Miki, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly. Her chara peeked out from her bag again, this time looking just as stunned as its owner.
"But... you... how?" Watanabe finally managed to stammer out.
Amu and Miki exchanged a quick glance. "It's... complicated," Amu said.
"Very complicated," Miki agreed, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Maybe we can explain another time? Sorry to cut this short, but Dad's waiting. We have an appointment to get to."
Watanabe nodded jerkily, still looking dazed. "Right... of course. Another time."
= = =
You have a chance to get in ahead of Makoto's issues, if you choose to take it. The session on Saturday is not a part of said issues; this is still an Ami-centric chapter, as requested, but the two do have some interplay. What you do with it is up to you.
Right now it's off to JPs, where you have a choice to make. Two, actually. Write-ins are allowed as usual.
[JPs][ ] Be moral support for Miki
- This is the "don't do much" option. Miki doesn't need moral support.
- She appreciates it anyway.
[ ][JPs] Seek aid
- [ ] For what? Kana is an obvious option; of course, you didn't discuss this with anyone beforehand. If you think that would be a bit of a betrayal, then maybe you want to be a little vague?
- [ ] Advice? (On what? What do you feel safe asking them for?)
- You're allowed to call Naoto if you want to. Or other people.
- You'll be moral support for Miki regardless, skipping out on her isn't actually an option.
[ ][JPs] Offer aid
- [ ] In what form? Asking if there's something you can do to help with possible demon incursions, for example, will almost certainly just get you rebuffed.
- Just because you get rebuffed doesn't mean there is no impact.
[ ][Saaya] Check if she's awake
- You don't, technically, know that she is. But it will be thoroughly unsurprising, and you already voted for this.
- Each of the below is a different approach to the issue of Saaya.
- [ ] And ask for your locket back
- [ ] And ask if she's okay
- [ ] And ask if she wants to be friends
The lobby of Sakura Heights Middle School hummed with quiet activity as students milled about, their conversations a low murmur in the background. Amu slumped into one of the couches, her pink hair a stark contrast against the muted colours of the room. She couldn't help but notice the furtive glances cast her way, followed by hushed whispers and quick turns of heads when she looked back.
Quite a lot of glances, actually. She felt the weight of their attention.
They were between classes. There were quite a few students moving through the lobby area, mostly in groups of three or four. Either waiting for the next period, hurrying to class or just talking to each other—it wasn't consistent, and Amu didn't want to check.
Most were girls. Sakura Heights was only recently co-ed, and the addition of Amu's class would nearly double the male population of her grade. Amu wished her male classmates the best of luck; at least a couple of the passing conversations had been eager speculation about boys.
Otherwise this was a standard, government-pattern public school. Amu hadn't liked them as a child studying in one, and four years at Seiyo had done little to change her mind on the subject. Schools like these were... unimaginative.
First years were on the ground floor, second years on the second, and third years on the third.
The layout was predictable: long corridors lined with identical sliding doors, each leading to a classroom filled with rows of desks all facing the front. The shoe lockers were near the entrance, the staff room was centrally located, and the gymnasium a separate building connected by a covered walkway. Even the beige walls and linoleum floors seemed to echo the countless other schools just like it across Japan. It was efficient, practical, and utterly lacking in the charm and character that had made Seiyo feel so special.
She palmed her face. She shouldn't be judging this school by its looks! She had been raised better than that. Besides, this was a temporary thing—she would be attending school here for two or three months, at most. She couldn't let herself fall back into old habits...
Habits such as watching people's minds, apparently.
A trio of girls spent several seconds staring at her, then hid behind a corner to peek out at her. Amu couldn't technically see them. But she'd have had to be blind not to notice their excitement. She'd been able to keep from looking at thoughts while she was walking from the exam room, but the second she stopped focusing on not looking? There they were again.
It wasn't even like keeping her eyes closed. She didn't have eyelids.
Amu heaved a sigh, wishing for the third or fourth time that Miki would get here already. She was trying. She really was, but right now she wanted nothing more than to ignore them. To run away, ignore the problem, and bury herself in a book or phone or homework or even hiking, anything that would let her pretend she wasn't looking at them, that she wasn't desperate for friends to talk to, that she was able to follow Mom's instructions and not feel so… alien.
She wanted Ami.
Amu blinked, staring down at her lap as she felt an overwhelming rush of loneliness wash over her. She wanted her little sister? What? Except-
She chased the thought backwards, tugging at threads in her own mind until she found the memory attached to it: last evening, waking up with Miki next to her on the couch. A spike of concern and affection and protectiveness radiating from Miki as they huddled together under blankets for warmth. And Ami, walking upstairs but casually first just... hugging her? Except in her mind. Amu had reached out, the way she automatically did to anything even remotely humanlike, and Ami had just-
She hadn't thought much of it at the time, but Ami had slipped right into Amu's mental space as if it belonged to her; not just accepted the ping, but embraced her with enthusiasm. She hadn't noticed, because it had just been...
Normal. The same thing Ami always did. That she'd been doing since before Amu could notice.
And now she was nearly crying. Amu angrily wiped away tears with a sleeve as she struggled to regain control of her emotions; this wasn't the time or place to be crying! What did it look like, she wondered. A pink-haired, weirdly dressed—in Seiyo's uniform—overly tall girl bursting into tears in the middle of the school?
She didn't have long to worry about it, because her phone beeped, and then it beeped again—because Miki was texting her pictures of herself getting into the car with Dad—and now she had ten minutes, maybe, and that trio of girls was still staring at her.
She could keep sitting here. Just... go away. Miki would be happy enough to hug her. Maybe. She might never hear the end of it. Tell everyone around her to go away, too. Old habits. Ignore everything. Be the cool, unaffected girl she'd spent years pretending...
A slight gasp sounded in the distance, then giggles. Her ears perked up, but it was just someone talking about some sort of dance?
She slumped a little.
It wasn't 'cool'. She'd learned that, just not how to do better. Mostly, it was lonely. She had her friends, but none in her class, and none of them here. This was a new school. If she couldn't make new friends... she had Miki, but she could tell already that Miki was going to be just like her; and while having Miki in her class sounded just a little bit awesome-
Amu pushed those thoughts away with an effort of will. She'd never been good at talking to people. Baring her inner self to them? Sure, but what if she didn't want to do that? Well, that was- that was what Ran and Su were for-
They weren't really, and she felt both awkward and a little abusive asking them for that instead of doing it on her own. Though weren't they part of her now?
She'd spent months trying to avoid that...
Amu got to her feet anyway. Just Amu, not either of her charas. Her legs felt slightly wobbly, but she forced them to move. She might have used a spot of telekinesis.
She hadn't exactly overcome her nervousness...
The girls quietened as she approached their corner.
⁂
Rin had spotted her the second they'd stepped into the lobby, of course. Her group had been asked by the teacher to deliver a stack of test papers to another classroom for distribution (why did they have to do that? Didn't they have people for that?) but before they left they'd had to pass by the lobby and—there she was! Hinamori Amu, in the flesh! And none of them were ready! They hadn't even thought about what to do if they encountered her! Not seriously!
"So that's Himamori," Mio-chan said with an expression of awe on her face. Rin turned a startled look on her, but quickly regained her composure. "She's really here."
She really was!
They all hid behind a corner to stare at the pink-haired girl sitting cooly slouched on the couch, Hana hiding behind Rin who hid behind Mio, a formation they'd practised before during dodgeball games that wasn't ever meant to be used against a single person, let alone one sitting in the middle of a public space! What would their parents think?!
It was a slightly hysterical thought, from a slightly hysterical group of middle-schoolers, who'd never won a dodgeball competition. They'd seen Hinamori on the TV, most of the country had, and they'd spent evenings at Mio's place fantasising about what it'd be like to be her, but now... well... they weren't going to talk to her or anything—they weren't that brave!—but now Hinamori Amu was right there! Just like the teachers had warned! She wasn't being chased by demons or anything, or calling fire from the heavens; she was just sitting there! Like a normal person! Like a totally ordinary normal person who hadn't been on TV covered in blood and fist-fighting demons and...
"Is she crying?" Hana asked worriedly behind her shoulder.
-what?
"I don't think so," Mio answered hesitantly. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Doesn't seem like it."
Rin shook her head vigorously in agreement. No way! Not a chance. Though she did seem awfully... slouched. Which was cool, but she was also- Frowning. Lonely.
Rin couldn't say precisely why she'd had that final thought, except that it was obvious, wasn't it? Just from looking at her. Although she also wasn't sure why it was obvious, exactly. She felt Hana grab onto her arm and squeeze it tightly, the smaller girl evidently feeling lonely as well. Normally Rin might protest, but right now she didn't mind.
They watched a little longer as Hinamori made faces at herself. Then she suddenly raised her head, staring right at them!
"Is she... is she getting up?" Mio hissed nervously.
She was.
"She's coming right for us!" Hana gasped. Rin tensed up involuntarily. "What do we do?! What do we do?!"
"Shhh! She's coming!"
The three of them watched Hinamori approach with growing trepidation. Hana squeezed Rin's hand tightly in panic; Mio shot her a pleading look while Rin shook her head frantically in response. Her heart pounded rapidly as she struggled to calm herself down. If she'd found out they'd been watching her then...
...uh. Then... then what? What would happen? It wasn't like Rin knew what Hinamori was like outside of fighting monsters, or had any idea what Hinamori would do if she spotted them lurking around corners. They hadn't discussed what they'd do in this situation because they hadn't actually expected Hinamori to appear in front of them for real!
But she'd find out, right, wouldn't she?
She felt a growing sense of determination not to run.
⁂
Amu stopped in front of the trio, her bag held loosely in one hand. She regarded them with a cool, almost disinterested gaze that belied the nervous flutter in her stomach. The three girls stared back, a mix of awe and trepidation on their faces that mirrored the intense anxiety churning inside her chest. She'd spent years practising this expression; the disinterested face, the icy stare. She'd spent years perfecting the art of looking tough and aloof without actually doing anything intimidating—except in hindsight the look had always been enough, hadn't it? She was doing it again!
The trio were all different heights. The smallest hid behind the moderate sized one, who hid behind a girl nearly Amu's height, an arrangement that would've worked better if the two smaller girls weren't constantly peeking out from behind their respective defences. Which weren't just their classmates—they were each carrying a stack of papers, each easily a kilogram or more. Those added to the visual oddity.
"So," Amu said, her voice coming out far more nonchalant than she felt, the attitude like winter gloves when autumn rolled around, "you've been watching me for a while now. Got something to say?"
The shortest girl squeaked and ducked behind her taller friend. The one with glasses adjusted them nervously, while the third - a girl with long, dark hair - seemed to be trying to find her voice.
Amu felt a pang of guilt. She hadn't meant to scare them. But before she could soften her approach, the girl with glasses blurted out, "Is it true you can fly?"
"Eh?" Amu blinked, genuinely taken aback. "Fly?"
"On the TV!" the short girl piped up from behind her friend. "During the... the thing at your school. You were floating!"
"Oh," Amu said, her cool facade slipping for just a moment. "That." She paused, unsure how to respond. Part of her wanted to brush it off. But another part...
She peeked.
Oh. Oh, wow they were nervous. Was she that intimidating? Amu felt her face begin to burn with embarrassment. She scratched the back of her head awkwardly as she tried to gather her thoughts, letting her apparently successful attempt at intimidation collapse into shambles as quickly as it had materialised. She hadn't wanted it to work that well. Or at all? The trio stared at her expectantly, waiting for an answer.
"I, uh," she stammered, still struggling to come up with an explanation that didn't involve discussing the whole psionics thing.
And she didn't know that anyone had spotted her-!
"Yeah," she said finally, deciding to just roll with it. "Just a few seconds that time. But yeah. I can fly." She paused for a moment, then added in a quieter voice, "Just... don't tell anyone about it, okay?"
The three girls' eyes widened in surprise at Amu's admission.
"Really?"
"Tanaka was right!"
"Wow!"
"And... everyone already knows?" Amu asked hesitantly, drawing startled nods from the group. "Er..." Her eyes flicked to one side. "I mean..." A flutter in her stomach. She moved closer to the three of them and lowered her voice conspiratorially, nostalgic thoughts of the Guardians in the back of her mind . "Do you want to try it?"
They stared at her blankly for several seconds before excitedly nodding their heads in agreement.
⁂
As Makoto and the other girl from Seiyo Academy finished their tests and stepped into the lobby, they were greeted by an unexpected sight. There, in the middle of the room, was Amu – their classmate whom they'd just seen too bored to stay awake during the exam – now wide awake and... juggling?
But it wasn't balls or clubs she was juggling. No, Hinamori was carefully levitating three girls, each giggling with a mix of delight and nervous excitement as they floated a few feet off the ground. An entire classroom's worth of other students were watching, laughing and cheering as the girls flew past them, waving their hands and kicking their feet in an attempt to balance themselves without success. It was almost hypnotic, watching Hinamori effortlessly manipulate the trio in midair while they flailed about. It would also get them in trouble.
Last week she'd have cared about that.
"Hinamori, what are you doing?" Makoto called out, her voice a mix of exasperation and amusement.
⁂
Amu, startled by the familiar voice, momentarily lost her concentration. The three floating girls wobbled in the air, eliciting a chorus of surprised yelps.
"Ah! Shokuhou-san!" she exclaimed, quickly stabilising the girls. She gently lowered them to the ground, her face flushing with embarrassment. "I was just... um..."
The three Sakura Heights students, once safely on their feet, looked between Amu and the newcomers with a mixture of awe and confusion.
"Making friends?" the other girl from Seiyo suggested, a hint of amusement in her voice.
"Yeah," Amu said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. "Something like that. And I just realised, I... um, I didn't get your names." She reflexively, not quite deliberately bumped off Makoto's mind—a fuzzy, static-charged ping, like brushing shoulders!—as she looked at the other three girls with an awkward smile on her face. "I'm Hinamori Amu. This is Shokuhou Makoto and..."
"Watanabe Kana," the girl with glasses replied, smiling politely. "It's nice to see you again."
Her chara peeked up out of Watanabe's bag—a small fairy with purple hair and blue eyes—then stuck a tiny tongue out at Amu before disappearing back into hiding again.
"Nice to see you too," Amu replied, returning Watanabe's smile with a nervous one of her own.
"It is good to see you again," Makoto added dryly, offering Amu a polite nod. "I was hoping I'd catch you before you go home. We have a lot to discuss." She took a deep breath before continuing in a more subdued tone, "Later. I just wanted to thank you for saving as many as you did. We've never really talked, and I'll admit I..." She trailed off as she looked around at the trio from Sakura Heights, then continued in a hushed tone, "...well, I didn't know what it was like. Now I do. Friends?"
Makoto stuck out a hand awkwardly towards Amu; she looked so stiff and formal that Amu couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy. She'd seen Makoto kill at least one demon. It'd looked like it had hurt.
"Sure," Amu said, nodding slightly in response. She took Makoto's hand and gave it a firm shake. "And don't worry about it. I want to change that, but I wasn't exactly... approachable."
And on that note...
Her eyes swept past Watanabe, lingering for only a second—Kana, really? They looked nothing alike—before meeting the eyes of the trio.
The middle one spoke up first. "I'm Yoshida Hana," she said, bowing slightly as she spoke. "It's an honour to meet you."
"Sakamoto Mio," the girl with glasses said after a moment's pause, smiling shyly at Amu.
"And Tanaka Rin," the last one finished with a slight grin on her face. "Thanks for... y'know... letting us fly." Her hand reached for Amu's just long enough to give it a light squeeze, then let go. "We're all in 1C. Maybe we can hang out sometime? Maybe at lunch next week?"
Amu felt a sudden wave of anticipation emanating from the three girls' minds, mixed with a healthy dose of nervousness and excitement. She still couldn't keep her senses to herself. Maybe she shouldn't try. She'd made friends! Her! As hard as it was to believe...
"Sure," Amu said, grinning happily at the trio. "That sounds like fun!"
Hana's eyes lit up at Amu's words. "Really?!"
"Absolutely." Amu smiled warmly at Hana and the others, then turned to Makoto and Watanabe with a questioning look. "Do you two want to join us?"
Makoto nodded carefully. "I've got... plans for later today," she replied, avoiding Watanabe's gaze. "But if you want to grab lunch together next week..."
"We'll have a lot to talk about," Watanabe added with a nod of agreement. She glanced at Amu and smiled slightly before continuing, "If that's alright with you?"
"Yes," Amu said firmly, a grin spreading across her face at their responses.
She'd done it. Amu took a moment to bask in the glow of victory, while Hana checked her watch.
The girl's eyes widened in panic.
"Ah! We forgot!" Hana gasped, grabbing Rin's arm in a vice-like grip. "Mio! Rin!"
Mio also froze and stared at her watch with an expression of horror on her face. "We have to get going," she said as she hurriedly scooped up her pile of papers. "Sorry! We'll see you next week!"
In seconds, all three girls were sprinting down the hall, leaving behind a rather bemused Amu.
Makoto snickered quietly to herself.
"Well, that was odd," Watanabe commented with a faint smile on her face. "I wonder what that was about."
"Something important, I bet," Amu replied with a shrug.
"You don't just know?" Makoto asked, tilting her head to the side slightly. Amu froze, her cheeks flushing slightly as Makoto gave her a knowing look.
"I... uh..."
"We were always pretty sure you could read minds," Watanabe whispered, glancing at the slowly dispersing crowd. "Are you just trying to be polite?"
Amu grimaced slightly and shrugged in response, unable to meet the other girl's gaze. Makoto nudged Watanabe, whose eyebrows rose. It was, in fact, tempting. She could, in fact, 'just know'. Only, Amu was pretty sure—and it wasn't just because her mother had said so, but. She had. So Amu was pretty sure that reading their minds would be...
She'd never truly thought about it. At first she just couldn't. It had been like glimpsing something through a dirty window. And the window had gotten less and less dirty, but Amu hadn't actually realised when thoughts went from something she could glimpse, to something she could just... see. But they had. It had slowly gotten easier. Too easy.
"I'm trying not to do it," she said.
Her cheeks were pretty red. Watanabe pinched her nose, suddenly fascinated with the wall. Makoto placed her hands on her hips and nodded once. "Okay," she said simply. "Just so you know. If you'd told me that last week, I'd have punched you."
"Um," Amu replied eloquently. Watanabe made an odd sound in the back of her throat. Makoto sighed.
"Fine," she said. "When you say 'trying not to'..."
Amu gathered her courage and looked Makoto in the eye, forcing herself to maintain eye contact despite the gnawing feeling of guilt in her chest. "It's always there," she explained, as calmly as she could manage without pulling on Ran or Su. "Emotions at least. I'm trying not to see them, but I can't. Sometimes it's like trying not to hear a jackhammer. I'm sorry. And I'm not reading your thoughts or anything. But I can't not feel it when someone's nervous or upset, Shokuhou-san. That's just... it's... part of who I am."
She shifted uncomfortably under Makoto's gaze, taking a step back from the other girl as she tried to regain her composure. She could feel Watanabe's gaze boring into her as well.
"Last week," Makoto repeated, "I'd have punched you. Hard. And then I'd have tried to stay away." She paused for a moment before adding, "That wouldn't have worked." A grimace crossed her face, and she shook her head. "That was last week. Now I've got more important things to worry about, and Watanabe doesn't care. Half the class doesn't care, all the ones I've talked to. Am I the weird one here?"
She laughed bitterly, looking at her feet. A few sparks shot off her fingertips.
"Last week I wouldn't have understood even a little bit," Makoto finished.
Watanabe touched Makoto's shoulder gently, looking at Amu with a thoughtful expression on her face.
Makoto reached into her pocket, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. She handed it to Amu. "If you want to make up for it? Come here," she said.
"...what's this?" Amu asked, unfolding the paper—with some difficulty; it looked like it'd been ripped from a notebook—to reveal an address...
It looked familiar.
"My house," Makoto said. "We're meeting up at three o'clock tomorrow. Me, a couple of our classmates, and you. I hope. If you're free? And if you can pull off being helpful without reading anybody's mind. It's creepy."
"Makoto." Watanabe nudged Makoto in the side gently.
"I'm sorry," Amu said quietly as she stared at the crumpled piece of paper in her hands. Of course it was familiar. She'd picked up Ami once or twice.
"I know." Makoto sighed heavily. "Trust me, I know. I broke the TV in my room last night. Anything you can do?" She smiled humorlessly at Amu, and shook her head in resignation. "It's just... what we've got to deal with."
"...I could ...probably fix the TV, actually," Amu said. "I'll have to ask. I might be grounded. But if I can be there, I will. Can I bring Ami?"
Makoto blinked in surprise, then smiled slightly in response to Amu's question. "Why not," she replied with a nod of her head. "She'd distract the midget. The more the merrier."
"Then... I'll see you tomorrow?"
Makoto nodded as she picked her bag up to leave. "Hope so."
Amu hesitated for a moment before saying in a quiet voice, "It's not just me who can read minds, you know. It's Ami too. And your sister."
Makoto froze, her expression suddenly serious as she stared at Amu with narrowed eyes.
"...I'll see you tomorrow," she repeated, turning to leave as quickly as she could without running.
"Bye."
Amu watched Makoto walk away, mixed feelings swirling in her mind. She turned to meet Watanabe's gaze. The other girl looked slightly amused by the whole situation.
"Don't worry," Watanabe reassured her. "She's not mad."
Amu sighed heavily. "I feel like I'm doing something wrong," she admitted softly. "I've never really had to think about how it affects people before now... but now everyone's talking about how they know I can read their minds and I just... you know I didn't actually do that, right? Not usually. Just emotions."
"'Not usually' still means 'sometimes," Watanabe replied in a slightly teasing tone of voice before frowning slightly. "It's really that hard not to? Really?"
"Yes," Amu said wearily, rubbing her temples in frustration. "Really."
The other girl looked at Amu thoughtfully, then gave her a sympathetic smile. "Then I guess you're doing fine," she said encouragingly. "I promise, Makoto-chan's not so scary once you get to know her. And I guess that's true for you as well?"
Amu nodded sheepishly, stuffing Makoto's address into her bag alongside her cell phone.
"Thank you for trusting me enough to share this," Watanabe continued sincerely. Amu, once again, couldn't help but tell. Non-psionics were hard enough; those she could usually ignore. Watanabe?
She wasn't a lighthouse. Her mind was a small, quiet thing, but bright and clearly there. It rang with confidence and sincerity like a bell struck by a hammer, and Amu couldn't help but hear. She could tell what Watanabe was feeling right now—warmth and admiration and a little bit of amusement at herself for being so sappy—but there was something else there too: something deeper that Amu couldn't quite put into words, but which made her feel oddly uneasy. A sharpness?
"I don't think the teacher liked me very much," she said, mostly to have something to say. "Do you think it's because my hair makes me stand out too much?"
Watanabe laughed softly, shaking her head in response. "No," she replied with a grin on her face. "I think it's because you spent most of the day snoozing away while acing the entire test. You left before you could see them trying to grade it. Trust me, that was a sigh-"
Then there was shock.
Amu turned to see Miki approaching, her sister's bright smile a stark contrast to the astonishment reverberating through the room.
"Miki!" Amu called out, relief washing over her. "You made it!"
Miki nodded, coming to stand beside Amu. "Dad sent me to pick you up, yup." She turned to Watanabe, her smile softening slightly. "Hello, I'm Hinamori Miki. Amu's cousin, and best not forget it. Pretty sure you've seen me before. Making friends?" She raised an eyebrow.
Watanabe stared at Miki, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly. Her chara peeked out from her bag again, this time looking just as stunned as its owner.
"But... you... how?" Watanabe finally managed to stammer out.
Amu and Miki exchanged a quick glance. "It's... complicated," Amu said.
"Very complicated," Miki agreed, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Maybe we can explain another time? Sorry to cut this short, but Dad's waiting. We have an appointment to get to."
Watanabe nodded jerkily, still looking dazed. "Right... of course. Another time."
= = =
You have a chance to get in ahead of Makoto's issues, if you choose to take it. The session on Saturday is not a part of said issues; this is still an Ami-centric chapter, as requested, but the two do have some interplay. What you do with it is up to you.
Right now it's off to JPs, where you have a choice to make. Two, actually. Write-ins are allowed as usual.
[JPs][ ] Be moral support for Miki
- This is the "don't do much" option. Miki doesn't need moral support.
- She appreciates it anyway.
[ ][JPs] Seek aid
- [ ] For what? Kana is an obvious option; of course, you didn't discuss this with anyone beforehand. If you think that would be a bit of a betrayal, then maybe you want to be a little vague?
- [ ] Advice? (On what? What do you feel safe asking them for?)
- You're allowed to call Naoto if you want to. Or other people.
- You'll be moral support for Miki regardless, skipping out on her isn't actually an option.
[ ][JPs] Offer aid
- [ ] In what form? Asking if there's something you can do to help with possible demon incursions, for example, will almost certainly just get you rebuffed.
- Just because you get rebuffed doesn't mean there is no impact.
[ ][Saaya] Check if she's awake
- You don't, technically, know that she is. But it will be thoroughly unsurprising, and you already voted for this.
- Each of the below is a different approach to the issue of Saaya.
- [ ] And ask for your locket back
- [ ] And ask if she's okay
- [ ] And ask if she wants to be friends
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