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 Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 3:30 pm
Recruiting was slow for the Destiny City Protection Squad, or so it seemed to Zachary. He'd had thought that for all the ruffians at Hillworth, there would be at least one or two others who wanted to fight the injustice of the sparkly terrorists, but alas, most of the people who heard his plea thought that he was crazy shortly thereafter. It seemed no one except for Zachary wanted peace and justice for their own city, for the people they lost every day. Wanderlust had infected the boy, who had quickly turned to roaming the areas of Destiny City at night, seeking out another elusive encounter with a skirted warrior. Maybe, if he ran into enough of them, he would send the right message, or one of them would be able to answer his questions. For all of his tough-guy act, that's all he really wanted, deep in the recesses of his mind. Answers.
The Shufflepuck Cafe wasn't exactly the place for answers, but they served a good cup of coffee and Zachary needed the caffeine for the hours of sleep he wasn't getting. There were bags under his eyes, and he hadn't shaved in a day or so, but that was starting to become common fashion for him, his school uniform still on, if a little disheveled. If there was one thing he'd learned, it was that most people didn't want to pick a fight with a Hillworth student. He glanced down at his watch and noted that the buses would stop running in an hour, but seemed not to care, his gaze wandering out of the window and into the streets, where he was hoping to see something glitter or gleam. Either way, he had his lacrosse stick leaned up against the wall behind him, just in case. It was, after all, an ever-vigilent search. Evie's memory deserved no less.
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Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 3:48 pm
Tate was late. Well, out late; she had long blown off the party her attendance had been expected at for a video game tournament. She'd finally broken into the top fifty of the Soul Calibur regional rankings, and had just that night placed third in a fifty-player competition. The group of people had proceeded to Shufflepuck to have celebratory coffees, and Tate had gone along with it. After all, she did have a decent amount of prize money to spend...
The last few people had left, and Tate was nursing her mixed soda; the thick raspberry flavor was glorious. She loved it a lot, but hadn't had it since... since... well, before Giselle died! But now Giselle was back, so she could have it again. She smiled around the straw, looked around the cafe, and--
"Oh," she said, "Hello, Zachary." She recognized the boy at the corner table near the window; Tate herself was in a booth along the back wall, but her voice carried pretty easily because of how empty the shop was. Rolling her soda between her hands, she got up and moved across the cafe to sit across from him. She still felt terrible for encouraging him into getting himself a restraining order. Sent to Hillworth! Because of her! Well, not really because of her... But it was partially her fault anyway.
Well, his bad, she supposed... It was a shame, still. "I heard about your sister, I'm really sorry," she said, because that was what you were supposed to say. Her own triumph could wait for a bit.
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Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 5:10 pm
Zachary heard his name, though he didn't really give much thought to it at first. There were loads of people named Zachary all throughout Destiny City, and even sparse as the business was in Shufflepucks there was still a pretty decent chance that there was another Zachary in the room. But then there was movement out of the corner of his eyes, and he noticed a familiar face headed his way. He looked up to the girl, then down to himself, and suddenly felt rather uncomfortable in his own skin.
"Tate? Oh, hi, Tate," he said softly, only then realizing what sort of mess he must have looked like. This was not the Zachary from Meadowview, from a more cheerful time, but he tried to keep up appearances nevertheless, straightening his posture and pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose to cover the circles under his eyes. He even did his best to smile as she sat down across from him, shallow as it was.
And then she mentioned Evie, and he almost seemed to shudder, shaking his head.
"We...there was no way we could have known," he said in a monotone voice, suddenly becoming very interested in stirring is coffee. His brow furrowed, and added, "We thought she was headed for a better place. I mean, in a way, she did..." He laughed, despite how he was tearing up, and took another sip of his coffee, which smelled something like almonds and cinnamon. After a moment, he sighed, and seemed to regain his composure.
"But how've you been, Tate?" Zachary asked, eager to talk about anything else. "You still doing that anime club thing?" His speech sounded practiced, maybe restrained, but at least it kept him from sobbing like a little girl in front of an old friend from math class.
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Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 6:50 pm
She was giving him a look. Sure, they hadn't spoken much since... well, that whole debacle at the end of junior year. It was still weird seeing the physical effects of Hillworth on someone, and though she was by-and-large okay with the school, Tate was still suspicious. Zachary kind of looked like he'd fallen on hard times.
Her mind immediately went bad places: Crack. Heroin. Being a sailor senshi. She wasn't sure which was worse.
"That sucks," she repeated lamely, looking off at a particularly interesting floor tile. "I'm really sorry."
At the mention of the anime club, she tuned back in on his face. "Yeah, I'm back to being more involved," she said, "now that. Well. I guess you know Giselle's back, huh." She made a face. "She is, so. That's better, I guess."
It was awkward. Giselle had survived where Evie had not. It was a cruel subject to bring up. "Anyway, what are you doing out? Doesn't Hillworth have a curfew?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 11:57 pm
At the mention of Hillworth's curfew, Zachary scoffed, almost laughing to himself. "They might have one, but no one ever follows it. I hear about all sorts of stuff the guys get into after hours, it's a surprise they haven't just converted the whole school into a prison." He shrugged, looking down at the remains of his coffee. "The way I see it, sitting in a coffee shop is the least of what I could be doing, if I have to wear this stigma of a uniform." Stigma was a word he'd come across while writing in his journals, and when he thought about it, he decided he liked it in his vocabulary. It made him sound smarter than he really was.
He thought about telling Tate what he was really doing, why he was actually out this late. A part of him told him that he should probably keep his mouth shut, that he didn't want to look insane, but the better part of him didn't see the point in being anything but honest. "If you really want to know," he continued, reaching for his lacrosse stick, "I'm protesting the Senshi. I stake it out, look for one, and when I find her, I tell her to go back to sparkly-butt-bow-land. Something like a civilian retaliation, you know?" He leaned back in his chair, looking to the side sheepishly. "They don't have a lot of extracurriculars at Hillworth. It gives me something to do."
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 7:36 pm
"Huh," said Tate, who was pretty sure that Crystal's curfew was enforced. Ridiculously enforced. That was why she rarely, if ever, saw Giselle, so of course she would know. Who knew that an elite girl's school was harder to escape than a boy's facility rumored to be barely above juvie?
She sighed. "True. I guess I should be glad you aren't out dealing crack and raping little girls." Though the comment wasn't really funny, she smiled a little bit. It amused her, anyway. "Not like I think you would," she said after a long pause.
Tate had changed, too.
"Hunting senshi, huh? Is that what you do for-- oh, I see it is." She took a sip of her mixed soda. "You should walk me home. My area's had a plague of a particular senshi recently, maybe you can scare her off. She's got some pretty massive scales, though, you'll have to be careful, man."
Maybe she was kidding.
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Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 4:29 pm
Zachary tried to smile or laugh with Tate, but the drug-dealing comment went a shade to close to how accurate most Hillworth boys were, and so he responded with a resigned sigh and a shake of his head, twisting his torso so he could place his lacrosse stick back to its leaning position on the wall. However, at the comment of the senshi, the boy tensed, contemplating on whether or not he should keep his weapon in hand after all. Finally, he decided against it, and slowly returned to his seated position, frowning with disdain at his coffee cup. It was almost empty.
"Do you mean it? I mean, I could help you home, no problem," he said, his voice both eager and unsure of himself. "I think I could handle massive scales for a friend, and besides, I wouldn't want you getting hurt. There's no way of telling what their real agenda is. It's not helping people, that's for sure." He nodded, somewhat more sure of himself, and sipped the remnants of his coffee.
"Seriously, though. It's not safe on the streets by yourself. I should probably walk you home."
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Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 5:17 pm
She sighed, set down her plastic cup of soda. It wasn't in her to apologize and mean it, so she wouldn't, but she did still feel terrible. If she hadn't encouraged Zachary to keep trying, he might have stopped. Maybe. She couldn't say yes or no, and.
"Yeah, there really is a senshi around my neighborhood. She popped up after the, you know. Thing." Tate was not the best at skirting around uncomfortable topics. It tended to show in one-on-one situations. With Giselle, she could manage; Giselle tended to take physical violence better than most people, but only if it came from Tate. Here, it was awkward, and hard to manage.
With a look outside, she continued, "Anyway. I figure, if the senshi were really trying to help, that kid wouldn't have died. What was his name?" She shrugged; it was clear that she wanted it to come off as nonchalant, but it wasn't quite working. Anyone could see she was worried now, thinking about it. "Would you?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 5:29 pm
Zachary didn't get why Tate was trying to skirt around the issue. Not admitting what had happen didn't change the fact that it had, and if anything, it made the situation all the more awkward for it. But, he supposed he had to appreciate her efforts (since he of all people understood what it was like to handle a situation poorly), and instead of pointing out what she was trying to say, he simply nodded in agreement, allowing her to continue.
"Of course I would," Zachary replied, pulling himself out of his seat. "I mean, I'd walk anyone home who wanted to get walked home, but you're my friend, so you'd get, like, priority walking home or something like that...yeah." He ruffled a hand through his hair, hoping that the action would make him seem smoother than his run-on sentence did. "My point is, everyone has a right to feel safe where we live, so if you want someone who knows how to look menacing with a lacrosse stick to help scare the senshi away, then I'm you're man." Part of him wanted to puff out his chest with the last little declaration, but Zachary ended up just looking at his lacrosse stick and laughing a little incredulously.
"Just tell me where you live? Not in a creepy way or anything, but...directions would be helpful."
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Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 6:24 pm
Tate unfolded herself--that really was the best word, she was so gawky and long-limbed she resembled some kind of toy cranking into motion--and trashed her empty cup. "Priority walking home," she said, smiling in disbelief. "Works for me." She laughed at the whole situation, shoved both hands in her pockets. "I live over on Worth Avenue South, do you know where it is?"
Well, she knew the way home. Luckily, her house was in the same direction from Shufflepuck as Hillworth; it shouldn't be too far out of his way, or so she hoped. Tate pulled her earmuffs out of her pocket, pulled her coat back on, and walked to the door. "Are you ready, then?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 6:56 pm
Zachary shuffled into his Hillworth standard issue coat, left a few coins next to his coffee cup as a tip, then reached for his lacrosse stick, rolling it once in his hand as if he were warming up for a game. "Yeah, I know where that is, vaguely. I think." He paused, second-guessing himself, then ultimately nodded. "Yeah, I know where it is. Just tell me if I start walking the wrong way." He walked towards the door and opened it with a gentlemanly sweep of his hand, waiting for Tate to leave before he finally closed the door, stepping out into the crisp evening air.
The sidewalk wasn't as crowded with people as it usually was, but Zachary supposed it was to be expected: after all, with the sun's light waning quickly, most people were hurrying to their homes, their families, or their dorms, especially with things like senshi and monsters roaming about. Destiny City was not a safe place to be, but it almost didn't feel like it, the way the sun cast the streets in a warm glow before nightfall, the clouds all shades of purple and pink. Evie used to talk about how pretty the clouds were all the time, always pointing out shapes and faces in the sky. Looking up, Zachary realized he hadn't noticed them in quite some time.
He also realized that he had left the area with a good bit of awkward silence, and turned his gaze to Tate, his thoughts scrambling for something relevant to say. "So what's this senshi look like, other than scaly?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 2:17 pm
"Thank you," she said as she stepped out the door, flipped up her hood over her auburn hair. Her eyes followed him for a minute, and then she was sighing, stepping off the sidewalk to cross the street. Back before he'd gone to Hillworth, they'd never talked outside of class. He had never been to her house and she'd never been to his; mostly, they'd talked about the object of his affections, and about her video games. It had been casual.
Walking home in the dark, along a set of sidewalks Tate normally walked by herself, didn't feel quite so casual. She scowled behind the hood of her coat, grateful for the high collar and the unusually large hood. Awkward conversations were not her forte; she'd just suffer through it.
Eventually, he spoke again. Tate shrugged. "She's not scaly, per se. She fights with a giant set of scales, or at least carries them around, I guess. Her hair's blonde and her fuku is red. I dunno, I usually only see her on nights when my friend Giselle is over."
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Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 9:35 pm
"Scales? Like, balancing ones? That's kind of weird."
Zachary was never one to be specifically attuned to the subtle cues of body language, and so it didn't seem to particularly bother him that Tate was tucking herself away in her giant hood. His eyes looked back and forth with a cautious edge, as if he expected a monster to jump out any moment, and his steps were steady, just slightly ahead of Tate's pace so that he could be the first to take the hit, when something happened. To the outsider, it was probably a little paranoid, but Zachary was sincerely doing his best to protect Tate from the evil of Destiny City. Butt-bows were lethal in this day and age.
As it turned out, the Konstantin home was not far from Shufflepucks, and Zachary found himself stopping while there were still slivers of sun lighting up the evening. He paused, looking at the house uncertainly, then turned to Tate for reassurance, still gripping his lacrosse stick like he might have to beat someone in the immediate future. "This is it, right?" Zachary said, pushing up his glasses with a quick brush of his hand. "Do you want me to wait for you to get inside or anything?--That sounds awkward, but I swear my mom used to do it whenever she dropped me off at places." He became suddenly aware of the built-up tension in the air, and rubbed his neck while he laughed nervously, shaking his head.
"Or I can just go, you know. That, uhhh...that's cool, too."
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Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 10:27 pm
She smiled, shrugged her shoulders, looked away. "They're all weird, this one is just a little weirder." It was also weird how Giselle always seemed to be in the bathroom when she was around, but that was easily explainable as a coincidence, or maybe her friend knew the red-skirted senshi. Tate wasn't going to worry about it right then, with her conqueror at home again.
"Um..." Standing at the bottom of the sidewalk leading to her door, she watched him adjust his glasses, observed the tight grip he had on his lacrosse stick. Hesitantly, she put her hands over his on the lacrosse stick, kissed him goodnight and backed off, quickly. It had been a chaste kiss, the sort you gave when you weren't sure of reactions. "I'll be all right," she said, hurriedly, face practically glowing from embarrassment; "Good night, Zach, I'll see you around."
Tate retreated up the walk, unlocked her door, went inside; she waved before shutting it, tightly.
Why in the world had she done that?
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