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 Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 12:22 am
The chaos of the recent attack had somewhat settled, at least enough that Jerry had pulled his whits about him. He had parted ways with Petra, promising he was alright. He wasn't alright. Killzone was dead. Sasha and several other friends were captured. Jerry was not alright at all. Still weak and dazed, he drifted as though his feet were in control, through the halls of the dormitory, up the steps and towards the familiar doorway he knew would either be open or unlocked. He knocked out of politeness, but his voice was uncharacteristically terse. "Allan, Sir!"
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 12:32 am
It was hard to be that guy. The guy who everyone eventually needed for support, because for some reason or another, two of the five leads were missing, because once again, he had failed someone and once again, the only thing left in the aftermath of battle was the lingering feeling of prolonging sadness, of something that just continued to crumble.
It was hard to be that guy, but someone had to do it. He wasn't diplomatic, and he was, by far after attempting time and time again, either tactful or resourceful, and yet after five years of being on the battlefield, it was something he had accepted. People just wanted him to be himself.
The door was open, and so were most of the windows. Reconstruction was going by slowly, as was everything else, almost as a sluggish pace as so-called investigations continued. The current view of Allan's room showed the half-blasted exterior of the infirmary, which of course, was another story on its own.
The Sun lead himself was currently balancing two Runic daggers on top of each other, on top of one fingertip - and somehow succeeding. He managed to crane his head in Jerry's direction at the noise, somehow not dropping the masterpiece. He beamed. "Jerry-kun, come in!"
The daggers promptly dropped as he suddenly remembered something. "You'll have to jump over the hole on the ground, gomenasai." A thoughtful pause. "But it will build inner spirit and character!"
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 12:53 am
Normally, Jerry would have been impressed by the display of balance and coordination, but the man was on a mission. He stiffly concentrated on shimmying around the gaping hole before leaping the rest of the way.
He was glad Allan was in at all. "Sir- we've been... cleaning up for days," He panted as he found more stable ground. "We... we are going to go after the captured, right?" He hesitated, brows knit before he straightened, his expression hardening, jaw set. "I... I'd like permission to go after them, sir. In any case."
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 1:14 am
"Jerry-kun, I-" Allan paused, then frowned, then knitted his eyebrows together in a look of intense concentration. He cleared some of the weaponry and debris off the plush couch and gestured to the Sun Hunter. "Here, have a seat."
The Sun lead was a moment later, opening the still in tact fridge. "Anything to drink? I have Pocari Sweat, Ramune - only the melon kind cuz the others took strawberry - and-" Here, he pulled out a white container that had a dangerously smiling cat face on it -"The Life labs gave me this one, some sort of experimental Calpis? Anyway they told me to save it for later, so I dunno." He scratched his head, before pulling out three random drinks and bringing them all over. Each bottle was placed on the coffee stand. A pause.
"I understand how you feel." Allan looked away, a nervous reaction. "After what happened, I was going to go too. We don't leave nakama behind ever, no matter what. But... when you try to help someone... If you went and then got yourself caught, how do you think your nakama would feel?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 1:25 am
Jerry shifted on his feet, his hands trembling again before he finally sat. He drew in a deep breath, "A team of us, then. Those... if we are armed with those experimental runic weapons from... from that mission in the jungle... we could rip our way in and portal out the moment we have them." There was a subtle twitch to his face as he reached for one of the drinks, but didn't open it. "I... I have to get her back, Sir. I have to at least try."
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 4:26 pm
As Jerry reached for the drink, he was also intercepted by a single hand on his shoulder. Allan smiled reassuringly back, without judgement, without hesitation, without apprehension. "It's all right Jerry-kun, I am on your side." He steeled the Sun Hunter back on to the couch and took a seat facing his peer. "Anything you need to say, say it, don't be shy, let it out, and be proud of yourself. Everything you have suggested is right. You are a good person, I know it, and I can see it. You want to help others, you would do anything for them. I know this because I would too. Anything for- for our nakama, without holding back, one-hundred thousand percent of everything we have, with every single piece of this."
The Sun lead pointed to Jerry's chest. His heart.
He shifted a bit, looking down, suddenly interested in his un-open Ramune. "But, I.... can't. I can't let you go, not right now. Not with what you're asking. We are Suns, we go down fighting, always at one-hundred thousand percent, but not like this. This wouldn't even be a fight, it isn't close to equal terms, we are just walking right into their trap. Not like this." He repeated the words, as if he was talking, was reassuring himself, the other occupant in the room temporarily forgotten as he knit his eyebrows and really tried to think. It was hard. He didn't really understand it himself, just what he kept on being told over and over again. Be the good guy, wait for your turn. Don't be rash. Don't fall into the trap. That would mean losing another-
-"If- if you don't believe in me, I do know someone who would be very sad if I let you do this, Jerry-kun. He isn't here right now, but he asked me, asked us, to look out for each other, including yourself."
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 5:37 pm
There'd been some missing hunters in the wake of the attack. Some worse than missing.
But there was one who'd been missing a few days prior.
Who hadn't answered calls or texts, who hadn't shown up even when most everybody had regrouped.
Harrison wasn't eager to visit Allan in the wake of current events. Allan was a nice guy, but bringing Rep to his attention meant bringing Rep to Simon's attention, and the administrator who had vouched for Rep's continued survival was dead.
Sasha was gone, and good riddance, that at least could be worked towards their favor. They could have found somebody more open-handed about the runic situation. Killzone's death could mean more than one head ended up on a platter. All the guys that had been under his guidance and protection were right back to being problems. Problems that didn't have the qualifier of somebody else's.
Jordan's disappearance was not somebody else's problem either.
So with the same grim, silent wariness that he'd attended the first meeting under, Harrison followed Rep to Allan's door. He stayed at his elbow like a junkyard dog with a very short chain.
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 5:59 pm
For Rep, the world tended to be divided fairly neatly into things that were important and things that were not. Right now the list of things that were important weren't that different from what had been beforehand. Right at the top of that list was Jordan - even the chaos had only made his absence that much more pronounced. With the whisperings of other hunters missing in the wake of the horsemen attack, time felt even shorter. They had to ask.
He also still had the all important weapon tablet from the fallen Life hunter wrapped in his jacket and held to his chest. It was also important. He refused to let it leave his sight until he was sure it was safe, it was his last act of gratitude to the man who in a short time had taught him so much.
It was an effort not to think about how potentially dangerous this visit could be, but he managed it by sheer virtue of faith. They wouldn't leave Harrison alone.
Giving the blonde hunter a sidelong smirk in defiance of his grim expression, he freed up a hand and rapped on the wall next to the open door with his knuckles. "Awright if we come in Sir?" he was almost tempted to say sensei instead - one of the words he'd learned on his card-making adventures. But no one liked a swot.
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 6:12 pm
A trap. of course it would be a trap. Bait. That didn't mean Jerry could accept it that easily. His hands were shaking harder now, gripping the bottle even tighter as he shook his head, "No. No no - They... They k-killed Frances, Sir! They killed him there was n-no reason-eason-eason- There was no reason-" His breathing came quicker as he suddenly lurched to his feet to face the Sun Lead, desperation and rage on his face as he fought the urge to hurl the bottle across the room, "And they took her!! I can't just- I can't just do NOTHING!! Golems, we could send golems! With back up golems in case they destroy the first! We have to TRY! Something! Anything!! There were those massive Yetis and... and I'm sure they have SOMETHING in the labs! They took Francis, I can't let them take her from me too!"
He hesitated as there was the sound of voices at the door, his face red and eyes watery as he spotted Rep and Harrison. What did they want? What did they care? They hated her.
And then he did throw the bottle.
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 6:47 pm
Allan winced just a little as the bottle hit the ground, shattering right against the figurines case. He didn't go to retrieve it and simply stood - well, sat - his ground.
Silence.
And then Rep and Harrison was at the door, staring in to the conversation, at Jerry, who continued to stand, angry. Emotions were rising.
The Sun lead sighed, deeply, and finally stood up. "I'm sorry Jerry-kun." Before the Sun Hunter could ask what, Allan curled one hand into a fist and punched Jerry in the face. The action was controlled though, sending Jerry simply reeling instead of sprawling backwards. He crossed both arms. "Jerry-kun, you are a man. Even if everything is going wrong, do you know what men do? They fight. They fight and get over their slump, and stay strong no matter what. Now, I don't mind listening to you, but your nakama are also worried about you! You can't just disappoint everyone like this, and if you're angry, then fight until you get stronger! Everyone, even you, can make a difference, but you can't just break every single rule. The greatest fight is here"- he pointed to his heart again - "So until you gain control of that, you have to keep on fighting yourself."
He sighed, offering one hand to the Sun Hunter while nodding at the door. "Come in Rep-kun, Harrison-kun. Gomenasai."
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 7:40 pm
"Gomenaschwarnaba," Harrison mumbled back.
Jerry, right. He was upset about Sasha, probably. Not everybody wished her good riddance.
He looked broodingly around the room for a clean-pressed suit or a flash of guns.
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 7:46 pm
Rep actually, for once in his life, knew what gomenasai meant. He was clearly learning important things. It was almost as satisfying as watching Jerry get punched for whatever had made him obstinately throw a bottle over. He didn't mind the other sun even half as much as he had before, but it was always mildly amusing to watch anyone get socked out of nowhere, besides, it meant someone else was in trouble.
He stepped into the room once invited, looking a lot less anxious than he actually felt.
"Ahray-gateau" he said hopefully, using about the last of his linguistic mastery up in one fell swoop.
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 8:31 pm
Jerry took a step back, and nearly fell through the gaping hole in the floor.
At least the blow had quieted him for a moment, blinking as though confused what had just happened.
He adjusted his glasses, his voice dropping down to a more indoor-voice level as he side-stepped the hole to glance to the two newcomers, his expression still trembling, "That's what I want to do. Fight. And... and I'll fight for my right to try." He murmured weakly, although with the blow went most of his fire.
He should probably leave, he didn't know what brought Harrison and Rep there but they probably didn't want him listening in.... but he was there first. Lips pursing, he swayed to sit on the couch again, staring down at his shoes intently. With Sasha gone, and unable to make sure he kept up with his daily hygiene, he was approaching hobo-scruffy again. The stress levels weren't helping. "There's got to be SOMETHING we can do."
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 8:54 pm
Allan sat next to Jerry on the couch, waiting for Rep and Harrison to join the little pow-wow. He gave a somewhat stern look at Jerry, pointing at his kokoro, before offering the Sun Hunter yet another bottle of Ramune as if to say try again.
The bottle was held for about a good two seconds before the Sun lead suddenly stood up. "Actually, there is something you can do, I'm sure Simon wouldn't mind!" Fizzy pop went flying everywhere at this sudden revelation before he sat back down again. "Hang on, let me call him, make sure it's not too much of a problem, which it shouldn't be, not if you have a will to succeed." He covered the dialing phone with one hand for a second, blinking at the two new arrivals. "You're here for special training too, right?"
Before the two could answer, he was already blathering on the phone. "Simon-kun! I think we have some volunteers for the mission we're gonna take this afternoon, the one with the -" he paused as he looked around - "Okay, hang on, yep, I got my runic gear. Nope, won't forget the note, I promise! I'll see you here in a couple of minutes then?" Pause. "Ganbatte Simon-kun!"
A thumbs-up. "Fight in any way we can, right?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 9:09 pm
Harrison looked instinctively over his shoulder before answering.
"No. Sir. We're- that is." He looked very hard at the floor. "We came to ask about Jordan, sir. We haven't heard from him since before the attack. And we thought..." his gaze flickered briefly up to Jerry, then back down again, "that he was...out on a mission, maybe, and to ask if it...was something we had clearance to know about, sir."
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