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This is kind of a post for random comment-sized fics. I'll be putting them in the comments and indexing them as needed.
Note that most of the Garo entries take place in a kind of High School AU set in the world of Kamen Rider Fourze. Yes, it's complicated. Some others take place in the Go-Busters universe.
Note that most of the Garo entries take place in a kind of High School AU set in the world of Kamen Rider Fourze. Yes, it's complicated. Some others take place in the Go-Busters universe.
GARO Makai Senki, HS AU, Mio yells at Leo.
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There's nothing like being scolded in sign language.
I know I shouldn't probably be at school. But my parents let me go back - I need to go and absorb magic there, apparently. Mio's face is scrunched in ways that I really never want to ever see again, and her hands are moving stiffly and angrily. "Mio," I tell her in sign, "I couldn't not go. I have to pick up magic."
"Leo, you ran into a wall." She's trying to be calm. "Before that, Gentarou-san and Kaoru-san had to take you to hospital because you were tortured by a supervillain, remember? I've read the rules and there's nothing in there to protect you from danger. I know you have a bracelet, but that won't stop everything. How are you supposed to pick up magic if you get sent to the hospital again?"
"I know," I protest, but I know it's useless. I agree with Mio. I don't want to be here. I don't care how strong I'll become. But my parents want me here. They think that if I stick around, I'll have a lot of power in the long run. They might not like it either, but Sigma tells me it's in the rules.
"I don't want you to die. I want you to marry Kaoru-san and start a mage lineage." Family lines are her area of interest. "I wish your parents would let you and Sigma transfer."
But we both know they won't. Not for me, not for Sigma. We'll have to live with it somehow.
I don't know how, but I'll find out.
GARO Makai Senki, HS AU, Mio and Sigma, Sigma apologizes and schemes.
This takes place in more-or-less the Dark!Takeru/Dark!Shinkengers!verse storyline, though it's influenced by what I've written for "Deciphering the Circuit Diagram". In DtCD, Leo gets a bracelet that helps him pick up the power from the nexus (which is right near the locker to the Hutch for this universe and that one), but he hasn't got it yet here.
=================
"I could have used your help yesterday with Leo." Mio is upset. I can tell by her expression, how she signs, and her entire body language. A lot of people think that sign language is just paying attention to someone's hands, but it's much, much more than that. When I talk to Mio, when all of us talk, I automatically shift to paying so much attention to the person I'm talking to. It makes the occasional word-shift between sign and spoken Japanese so much easier when there's a mental shift as well.
"I'm sorry," I tell her. I know it was wrong to leave Leo by himself in the condition he was in, but I couldn't stomach going to school. Not when I'm in danger of being a mage as well. I think I've found some protection to keep that from happening. "Was he okay?"
"Kaoru-chan and I got him through his classes, yes. And I made sure he stayed in the library sitting down."
I'm relieved. There's nothing much I can do for Leo other than make him realize that he should accept what he is and is becoming. But her change of honorifics for that girl are a little troubling.
"Sigma, it's dangerous for him to be there, while that maniac is running loose. Our rules and the mage world's rules put him in more danger."
"Then we'll have to protect him." I hope Leo doesn't mind being with us for a while. "I'm really sorry. But our parents won't go against the mage's advice."
Mio sighs. "That doesn't mean we have to obey the rules, Sigma. We can make sure he doesn't have to be there."
He has to gain power. But Mio's right. I can't endanger him. "If we can find the nexus location, then we can get him exposed better and he wouldn't have to stay at school longer."
She doesn't look happy, but her hands ease up, de-tense. "He's Gentarou's friend, but...."
At least Leo had the sense to be befriended by the school's protector. "Maybe we should get Leo to practice with him, or something. Better a little bruising now than him having no defenses that he can control."
"I'll talk to Gentarou." She sighs again, and looks down at her book. It's genalogy, I can tell, and it's one of ours.
"Researching family lines?" I ask her.
"I was talking to Kaoru-chan yesterday and... yes. I think she might have had mage ancestors herself."
Something clicks into place. What if Leo had been developing magic when he was first attracted to the girl? It would explain why he was. Something in him must have realized what he was becoming and sought out an appropriate partner.
It's too bad my brother is so shy. He obviously needs my help. I can pass as him if needs be.
"What are you thinking, Sigma?" Mio asks. She looks at me like she isn't sure if she likes what I'm thinking about.
"I'm thinking of ways to make things up to you and Leo," I tell her.
Her eyes widen. "You're going to help me and Gentarou-san get them together?"
"Of course." My brother is just going to have to live with what he is, and if that includes getting married a bit early, that's what I'm going to do. We can't allow this to slip through our fingers.
I lean back in my chair. Sometimes I make the best plans.
Sigma and Leo, post Sprinkler sequence
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Sigma slumps next to my futon. Mom isn't too happy about me being sent home, but it's something to be worked around more than anything else. She thinks I have plenty of time over the next year or so to pick up power. So, I'm staying home until I get cleared again.
Maybe I'll be able to sleep.
I know I'm not the only one in this condition. Kurosawa-san is as well, and it didn't look like his nightmares were any better. He was beat up, as well; I escaped that, for the most part.
"Seriously, could you find yourself another girlfriend, Leo? Because I'm getting sick of dealing with this one."
I have no clue on why he thinks that Kaoru-san is my girlfriend. We like each other, yes, and I wouldn't mind dating her, but she's not my girlfriend.
"I wasn't aware that she was." I rest against the pillow. "Sigma, you worry too much. Kaoru-san is just worried. We're friends, and she knows I'm not sleeping well."
That has to be an understatement.
"I don't know how to deal with her." Sigma shakes his head. "I can't deal with her."
"Then treat her as a mage." I'd talked to mom about what had been said about me.
His eyes widen. "She's showing power?"
"Not yet, but mom thinks if she keeps spending time around me...." I shake my head. I don't think so, but I like Kaoru-san and I'd rather Sigma not be upset when I'm around her. "She needs to have things explained to her and you know a lot more than I do, big brother."
My twin looks relieved. "That's something I can do. If she's going to be a mage, it won't hurt her to be ready."
"Speaking of being ready... I'm going to be absent from school for the next few days. Mom consulted with the mage that tested me, and she says that all the stress is preventing me from absorbing the nexus power correctly." At least that's what I think mom said.
Sigma nods. "We can't have that. I'll do what I can for you at school. You just rest."
I smile at him. Maybe the next few days will be quiet.
GARO Makai Senki, HS AU, Sigma watches Leo spar
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Sigma clung to a tree as he watched his brother. Not because he normally clung to trees, but... well, when their mother had said that Leo's specialty was air, she wasn't kidding. Leo had been sparring with Kisargi Gentarou, and the other man had apparently asked Leo to test his limits.
When the wind had started, Sigma realized what was going on and had grabbed the tree. The winds had been fierce, and it appeared that Leo was indeed a strong mage - and doing well for an untrained one. He hadn't looked at his bracelet at all, not that he had to, as long as he was aware of it.
There were some mages that were strong in one element but not others. Leo could be one of those - Sigma hoped not, though Air was pretty versatile. Still, he would have to look up some historical examples of air spells to aid Leo. Just in case. He reminded himself that there was no shame for mages in what their limits were. Sure, they were always trying to exceed them, but they didn't care if someone was limited to only a single element, or strong in just one.
And he had to admit that Leo was at least accepting his magic. Give things a day or two, Sigma was sure that things would calm down in the house and they'd start recognizing that he should start training as well. Leo had said that Sigma was going to get the title all along, but Sigma refused to believe it, because his brother was a nice person and therefore would probably lie to spare Sigma's feelings.
Sigma wondered where Kaoru-san was. She usually showed up when she was needed. He'd noticed that she was spending time with that guy in the kendo club - Saejima Kouga, was it? Sigma didn't know whether to try to help Mio matchmake Kaoru-san and Leo, or to let her go off with that guy. It was probably better for his sanity that Kaoru-san date the other guy, bloodline be damned.
There was still the possibility - if remote - that she could develop into a mage, but Sigma doubted it. It wasn't impossible, but it was rather improbable. Still, Leo and Mio were right; he and Mio had the responsibility to monitor her to see if she did. He'd have left it to Mio, but she was too close to Kaoru-san to probably notice the changes. He had to admit that he wouldn't have noticed Leo's magic if Leo hadn't out and told him.
Sometimes, duties could be distasteful. This was one of those times.
But Sigma wasn't going to let that stop him. If his brother could learn to be a mage, he could take on Kaoru-san if he needed to. She didn't need what Leo was getting; she just needed to have a master found for her. Leo could handle helping her learn her powers.
Maybe things would work out after all.
GARO Makai Senki, HS AU, Leo and Mio talk about mages
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"What's wrong, Leo?" Mio asks. We're at school, but signing makes it easy for us to discuss things. I'm sleeping better, which means no more lunchtime naps at the nurse's office. I'm still sleeping uneasily, but the family's compromise is that I go straight to bed after dinner and anything that needs to be taken care of school, which is right after I get home.
I'm still jumpy. That will take time, the doctor tells me. The important thing is that I'm getting enough sleep, which will help make the pain fade a little. It won't ever go away, but it will not be as traumatic. And, though he doesn't know it, the magic won't fade either.
"I was sparring with Gentarou the other day." I have to finger-spell Gentarou's name; we don't have a name-sign for him like we have for each other and Kaoru-san. "Sigma was watching."
"I know," she tells me. "He mentioned it. He's proud of how you're developing." There's a smile on her face, an encouraging one. It's a bit eerie, I have to admit, being around people who are pushing me to be... abnormal. What I really want is to go back to what I was before the figure came and I blew him over.
I never wanted to be a scholar of abnormal things like Sigma and Mio gracefully accept being. I wanted to be an electrical engineer and make things. To have a life clear of the supernatural, as abstract as it was before I came here and before I developed powers of my own.
I wanted a peaceful, normal life.
But I know I can't be normal, not now. I know my mother is right: I have to embrace the powers I have. I can ignore them if I want after I control them, but I will never not be a mage. I might eventually go to college like I want to, but it won't make me less someone who uses magic.
And somehow, I have to integrate my magic into myself. Accept it as part of who I am and will always be.
"Leo?" Mio asks me. "Are you all right?" She worries about me, I know. She wants me away from this place and its nexus, in a safe place. But we both know I can't leave until I graduate. I'm not complaining, because I want to finish high school so I can go to college.
"I'm only good with air." When I tested my magic against Gentarou, everything except Air was weak. I could do other elements, but they were hard and worked best with air. Steam, mist, dust. Distracting, but not dangerous. Sigma tells me I should at least be able to learn telekinesis and lift what I can't manipulate.
"Nobody's perfect with everything," she reminds me. "It's a very accepting community, Leo." She puts a hand briefly over my heart. "You just have to accept it here."
"I know." There is that. I hope I can accept it back. I can't help but be a bit nervous."
"Marie-san says that it'll get easier as you get used to it." I know that Marie-san is one of Mio's email penpals, though I didn't know she was another mage until recently. I guess Mio practices English with her and she practices her Japanese with Mio. "She has an easier time with creation, she says, when she thinks of things as chemical reactions."
I seem to recall that her penpal's strength is fire, and to her people she's a pyrokinetic, a destroyer. Her element is relatively simpler; it destroys things, melts them, purifies them. Fire mages are the transmuters and healers of the mage world. Air mages are manipulators of things; we don't change, we just move.
Maybe I am starting to accept what I now am. I nod at Mio.
"She says she had a hard time too, because she prefers healing." I can see where she'd have problems, from what I've been told. Mages tend to have inborn specialities, and Mio's penpal's happens to be the destructive side of fire. Pyrokinetics are war mages. I'd trade her power for mine in a heartbeat. Air is a great defensive power, but a lousy offensive one. "Don't worry, Leo. You'll be fine."
"I was worried that I'd hurt Sigma." I'm a mage, Gentarou is a superhero. Sigma is a normal person. He can't fight the way that Gentarou and I do, and I want him to be safe. I stepped outside my normal life when I held up my bokken that day, but I can still protect those around me.
"Sigma knows the danger of being in that kind of fight, Leo." She smiles more at me. "He knows it better than anyone. The important thing is living through this... place." She doesn't like me being stuck here, I know. Her parents are talking about having her transfer. Ours would like to do the same thing, but they can't.
"I know." Having a minor power in a high school full of superheroes and villains is a hard thing. But I'll survive through this. I have to. For my sake.
GARO Makai Senki, HS AU, Mio reads her penpal's letter
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Mio sat down at the computer. She enjoyed corresponding with Marie-san, who was more than willing to talk to her about what it felt like to be a Mage in America. She hadn't convinced Marie-san to find a husband and settle down to get married, but she supposed that was a quirk with some mages. Especially Marie-san's kind, the pyrokinetics, who were usually too busy defending other peoples' families to start their own. (At least the good ones were. The bad ones were usually the ones that ended up passing on their genes.)
She ran Marie-san's encoded message through PGP, through her key. Marie-san had taught her to use the encoding software in order to email messages back and forth on such a sensitive topic. Not that most people wouldn't think that the two of them were discussing fantasy games - Marie-san was also active, as a cover, with a local group that played role-playing games once a week, mostly something called "Pathfinder" - but it was better to be careful.
"Mio-san," Marie-san had written. "I had wanted to talk to you for a while." Her sentence caused Mio to frown, and she wondered if her friend had used the wrong tenses by accident. Japanese was not easy for the American. But she continued reading Marie-san's letter. "Your friend is doing well - he's going to be a good Mover, isn't he? Fire is a difficult element for him, isn't it? It was hard for me, too."
Mio had to smile at that. Marie-san had told her a little of how she'd discovered she was a mage, and she was glad that Leo hadn't manifested that way. "Fire is mostly moving chemical bonds," Marie-san wrote, and Mio had a feeling that she'd been limited by what words she knew. But she'd tell Leo anyway what Marie-san had written.
It was sometimes hard to talk to Marie-san, given her English needed improvement and so did Marie-san's Japanese. But it was important. She'd have to ask Marie-san to write things out in English when it came to Mage abilities. She could get an English speaker far easier than Marie-san could find a Japanese one.
"He should not give up hope," Marie-san wrote next. "If he can do air now, he will learn the others later. Tell him 'work hard'."
Mio nodded at that. It might help Leo to have some encouragement - if he could concentrate on air, it might save him.
"I look forward to your reply." Marie-san wrote short letters because she was embarrassed about her Japanese proficiency.
She shouldn't be, Mio knew, but there was little she could say. Instead, she opened her own text program to compose a letter in English, hoping she was good enough that Marie-san would answer back.
GoBusters (canon-ish), Hiromu and Ryuuji, Hiromu thinks Ryuuji shared his bed.
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"Hey, Ryuu-san." Hiromu had gotten up that morning and noticed that Ryuuji had left the bed before he did. Not that it was impossible. Ryuuji did tend to get up earlier than he did. "When did you get out of bed?"
His fellow Buster - and sometime boyfriend - looked up. "At my normal time. Why?"
"Nothing. Just I woke up and you were gone." He folded his arms. "Are you feeling better?"
Ryuuji looked confused. "But I wasn't in your bed last night," he protested. "Gorisaki had me sleep in my own."
"It had to be you!" It had to be. It made no sense for anybody else to be in the quarters area, and to slip into bed with him. "If it wasn't you, who was it?"
There was no way that it could have been anyone else. He knew his fellow Buster from anyone else, and he doubted he would have been comfortable with a stranger sleeping in his bed.
"Maybe you were dreaming," Ryuuji suggested.
Could he have been? If Gorisaki had told Ryuuji that he needed to stay in his own room, Gorisaki probably had spent the night with his partner. And Ryuuji couldn't be in two places at once, could he?
But he knew that it had been Ryuuji in bed. Somehow. He didn't care how. He'd been there for his fellow Buster, and that was what mattered. No matter what Ryuuji said.
GARO Makai Senki, weddingverse, Leo about his unexpected EMC adventure
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"I'm so glad you're back," Kaoru-san tells me warmly. Gonza-san is serving a light snack; Kaoru-san said she was going to try to make me something, but everybody knows better to allow her anywhere near the kitchen. Kaoru-san is brave and a good artist, but a horrible cook."I can't imagine how horrible it was...."
"It wasn't bad, Kaoru-san," I hurry to reassure her. Sakurada-san had been very understanding when I'd ended up in his bed, and the holding cell, while sparse, wasn't a bad place to stay for a few hours. If anyone checked up on me after I went to sleep, I'd never know.
Sakurada-san had visited me briefly after he'd gotten up for the morning and made sure I had breakfast. He'd taken to having an unexpected intruder in bed very well, I think.
And, of course, Kouga-san had come before lunch. I was just glad that he'd appeared in the cell and not outside, given he'd appeared with sword drawn. I hadn't precisely jumped into his arms, but I certainly didn't want to spend any more time in the cell than I had to. As soon as Kouga-san gave me my brush (and my sword), it was easy to get us out of there.
"But still! A cell on a military base. It must have been very scary."
I smile. "I was asleep during most of it." Half of it, at least. I don't want Kaoru-san to worry. She's got enough on her mind.
Like her wedding. Both of them. One will be a small one for friends, in one of those western chapels.
One of them will be a Makai one, the one that counts in our world. That one's more complicated, and will only have a few people present: Jabi-san and Rekka-san, myself, Rei-san, Gonza-san, and of course the bride and groom. Outsiders would probably be alarmed at the use of magic in the ceremony, as well as the fact that we literally tie bride to groom during the ceremony. It's a test, of sorts, to make sure the marriage will last.We're very serious about our weddings.
Jabi-san will be presiding, with Rekka-san's help. I offered to join in - extra priests are always welcome - but Jabi-san told me that I wasn't needed in that role. There's no other role in the wedding that I can think of, so I expect I will just be an observer. It's up to Jabi-san, of course; nobody would gainsay her, even Kouga-san, in what she has planned.
Though the fact that Rekka-san practically attacked me with a tape measure after I got back and told me to stop squirming was a little alarming, to say the least. There isn't anything special that I should be wearing as a participant so I'm not sure what Jabi-san has in mind.
I regret not meeting Kaoru-san before Kouga-san did. I would rather be the one marrying her. But I'm not going to make either of them unhappy.
"Still, Leo-kun." She looks up at me wide-eyed.
"I've been in worse situations." There's little I can do to assure her that it's not going to happen again. My work is dangerous, both as a Knight and a Priest. I'm sure to be recalled to my own area soon, and the only reason I'm still here is because of the wedding.
And I know she knows it too. She ducks her head a little. She knows what kind of life Kouga-san has and I have. She is going into this with open eyes and and open heart.
I swear to myself that I will make her wedding day the happiest in her life.
Repost - Stars Their Brilliance AU
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(This is a side fic to a bit of RPing I've been doing, set very loosely in the Harder to be Brave/Stars Their Brilliance Hide general universe, TW for suicidal ideation.)
Ziggy groaned as he heard Doctor K paging him. Walking down into the lab area, he smiled up in the direction of the monitor. "You wanted to see me?"
"Yes. I wanted to have a further discussion of your medical history and conditions."
This was so what he didn't want at the moment. Especially with what he'd just finished doing. "Yes, Doctor K?"
"Yes. From my observations, there may be medical conditions you are either not aware of or have deliberately been hiding from me."
Seriously? Ziggy wanted to groan again. He didn't mind Doctor K being tough on him in training, but he did mind Doctor K being anal in other ways.
"Um, like what, Doctor K?" he asked bravely. Might as well get it over with.
"Have you ever been to see a psychiatrist or psychologist, Ranger Green?" Doctor K asked.
He shook his head. "I haven't." He'd been called in because Doctor K had forgotten a question? Figured. And then a chill ran through him. Doctor K thought he was crazy, and wanted medical proof.
"Then I will schedule you for an appointment, as I suspect you may need testing for a psychological condition." Doctor K made a sound that sounded suspiciously like a sigh. "Is there anything you would like to share with me regarding your mental health?"
Well, he'd wanted to say goodbye to Doctor K anyway. This was the best time, when he wouldn't be believed. "Yeah. I'm suicidal."
There was a moment or two of silence. "Have you made a plan?"
"Doc, I'm always making plans." He raised his eyebrows.
"Are you making specific plans regarding ending your life?"
Oh hell. The last thing he needed was for Doctor K to believe him. He started backing up towards the door. One good thing out of all this was that he was getting good at sprinting and dodging if he needed to do either.
"Doc," he said, "I was joking."
Reprimands didn't matter. He could survive those.
"I do not believe you were, Ranger Green. You have been displaying symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder over the last few days, which may explain why you are not bonding to your power properly."
Oh hell oh hell oh hell. His back bumped against the door. It should have opened.
It didn't.
"Doc, can I go now?" he asked. Getting out of the lab would be the hard part. Improvising a parachute would be easy.
"Ranger Green, you have just told me that you are in danger of harming yourself. I do not think it would be wise for you to leave this room for the moment, at least not while you have the ability to do so."
"Translation: I'm not getting out of here unless I'm wearing a straightjacket and going to a psych ward."
"I would ask you for your plan, but I do not believe that you would tell me truthfully." The voice was quiet for a moment. "I am recalling Ranger Red from where he currently is and he and I will discuss this matter."
"You can't have a private conversation about me if I'm in here," Ziggy said, hoping it made sense. When K liked to have private conversations, he always called the person in question into this lab.
"I had already considered that. I have decided that, for your own safety, I will have to render you unconscious until measures can be taken to treat you."
"Um… what?" Seriously, sometimes Doc K was really wordy. But he caught the unconscious part.
It was time to start dodging, he realized as he heard something whirr.
Garo Makai Senki, HS AU, Sigma has plans for Leo involving girls
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"Leo-kun?" Kaoru-san walked up to him, a confused expression on her face. She held out a piece of paper. "You wanted to see me?"
He took the piece of paper, confused as to why she'd think he'd have left a note in her locker instead of calling her. They had each others' numbers, after all. As he unfolded the note, he read the writing on it. The handwriting was similiar to his own, but some of the characters had Sigma's characteristic handwriting quirks.
It was signed with his name. "Let's discuss this outside, Kaoru-san," he said, and she nodded, surprised. As he walked out with her, he wondered why Sigma was doing this; he didn't like Kaoru-san, thought she was too interfering. And it wasn't like he wanted her to be a mage. That would require Sigma to actually interact with Kaoru-san and that was not his brother's idea of fun.
"Sigma wrote this," he explained, as soon as he was sure they were reasonably alone. "I don't know why he's doing it, Kaoru-san."
"He doesn't like me." Kaoru-san looked up at him. He knew that Sigma had had a problem with Kaoru-san ever since she'd gotten in his face after Leo had collapsed.
"I know." He wished he could explain it to her, but he couldn't. "But I'll find out, Kaoru-san."
"It's not your fault, Leo-kun," Kaoru-san told him gently. "But you need to stand up to him."
He boggled at the contradiction in those two statements, but nodded. "I'll try."
----
Leaning against the doorway, Leo addressed his twin, who was caught up in a thick book. "Sigma."
"Yes?" Sigma didn't turn his attention towards the door; he seemed completedly absorbed in his book.
Leo stepped forward and walked until he'd reached where Sigma was studying. He thrust the note into Sigma's hand. "What's the meaning of this?"
"I did what had to be done." Sigma looked up from his book, glaring at Leo. "Now, can I get back to reading? I have a lot to learn."
Sigma had thrown himself into learning whatever he could, Leo knew. Leo himself was more at peace with the idea of being a mage, since there was nothing he could do about it. He still wanted to transfer, but he knew that his parents would never condone it.
"You don't even like Kaoru-san." Leo shook his head.
"We all have to do things we don't like," Sigma said, sounding tired. "Once she understand what had to be done, she'll have no choice but to accept it. Just ask her out, Leo. Make it easier on all of us."
Leo doubted Kaoru-san would be that forgiving towards his brother.
Sigma looked up. "I suppose I could suggest to mom and dad that you get married to that penpal of Mio's," he said. He was frowning, though, absently. "She is a trained mage, and her fire would go well with your air."
"Isn't Mio's penpal a little *old*?" Leo asked. He was sure she wasn't in high school.
"She is Christmas Cake, no doubt about it," Sigma went back to his book. "And you'd probably have to move to America. But you'd have time to get her pregnant before you apprenticed."
"Sigma." Leo plopped down on his brother's bed, suddenly woozy at the thought of an arranged marriage to someone twice his age. "I'm not interested in marrying Kaoru-san or Mio's penpal."
"There are celibate mages, but...." Sigma sighed. "I just don't want to see you be alone, and once you start training we won't be as close. I want to have you be with someone your own kind. Or at least someone who can give you mage children."
Mio had mentioned something about families such as theirs distancing themselves from their mage children. That those mages were now distant family, not close. Maybe they felt obligated to their now-distant mage kin to make sure they did well.
But being without Sigma and Mio? Leo couldn't imagine such a future.
A chill ran through him.
"Sigma, is there a reason you're doing this now?" Leo asked. "I'm sixteen. I'm too young to get married!"
"You're not," Sigma countered. But he didn't look up from his book. "It's time to start thinking about that."
Something had disturbed Sigma so much that he'd actually consider Kaoru-san as a possible sister-in-law, which worried Leo. "I know you too well. What's going on?"
His brother sighed. "I've heard rumors that you're not just sparring with Kisargi Gentarou."
Leo opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Closed it. "He's taken! And straight."
"I've heard things that say otherwise." Sigma shook his head. "And I know you're attracted to boys as well as girls."
"So you want to marry me off." It made sense. Sigma was sensitive to that kind of thing.
"I don't want to talk about it," Sigma said, abruptly ending the conversation. "Just consider what I've said."
Leo would, if only to avoid being married off.
Garo Makai Senki, HS AU, Mio's penpal reacts to marriage proposal.
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Marie opened the letter that had come in the day's mail. It was Japan - did she know anybody from there? Well, anybody who would send her postal mail, that was? She decided after a bit that the answer was "no".
A picture tumbled out, that of a teenager. Marie caught a brief flash of a letter that she didn't have a chance to read before the characters danced around and reformed. A letter that discussed mage matters, then, enchanted to be a mundane, boring letter to most readers. She didn't recognize the surname on the envelope, though at least they'd put it in Romanji.
She looked at it, and realized quickly that she'd need a translation spell. Her Japanese was barely good enough to decipher her own name and the "to". And if somebody was bothering to send her something so sensitive over the mail, she couldn't afford to try to read it without something that could make the words something she could understand. Translation spells weren't easy for her, but she managed one.
"To the esteemed warmage Marie Brown," she read out loud. Focusing her spell on the first paragraph, she willed it to translate itself. "My name is Fudou Namie and I am writing to you from Japan. My family has long aided the mages of the area, and I hope that you can help in return."
Marie's eyebrows rose. What aid could a Japanese family need from an American mage? Like most warmages, her expertise was blowing things up. And there had to be warmages somewhere closer than where she was. Warmages weren't common, but they weren't rare, either.
"You know my son's friend, Mio. I know she's told you about the fact that my son Leo has acquired his own magic recently." Marie shook her head. She would be the wrong person to teach him, given that their elements were completely different and the fact that her Japanese was far from fluent.
She took a quick peek at the photo. Well, he was cute. He'd hopefully make a good mage. Concentrating, she continued reading the letter. "Mio tells me that you are unmarried. I do not know if you are looking for a husband, but if so, I hope you will consider my son. He is only sixteen, but he is bright and a hard worker, and a natural Air mage. I don't know how it works for mages in America, but he is a good age for marriage here."
"What?!?" Marie lost the translation spell as the last paragraph sunk in. "You seriously want me to what with your teenage son?!?" She had to admit that the one thing she liked about being a warmage was that nobody seriously expected her to get married and have kids, at least in America. Warmages were too busy defending other peoples' families to have their own, the popular view went.
She sighed, recasting the translation spell. Might as well read the rest of it.
"My son's English is far from fluent, but if you agree to the engagement, I will make sure he takes English lessons before coming to America. He still has to apprentice, of course, but that can be delayed if you need it. He wants to become an electrical engineer and I think he'd be a good provider for you so that you can concentrate on your own duties. I've enclosed a photo in case you're interested."
Marie was fairly sure that she couldn't marry a sixteen year old. She didn't want to marry a sixteen year old. She was probably older than Leo's mother!
"If you are interested in the engagement, please let me know. Fudou Namie."
Letting the spell lapse again, Marie rubbed her eyes. Sometimes she had difficulties communicating with other American mages - how was she supposed to tell this lady that no, she wasn't really interested in marrying her son?
Garo Makai Senki HS AU, Mio reflects on Leo's marriageability and his mother's choices.
----------
Mio was surprised when Leo came to her shortly after school had ended. She was sure he was going to spar with Gentarou as part of his regular practice at controlling his magic. "What's wrong?" she asked, moving her fingers gently.
"Mom wants me to ask for your penpal's email address." The way he signed it said that he wasn't that happy about asking her.
She raised her eyebrows. Marie-san had said nothing on the matter other than that she'd gotten Leo's mother's letter. "Why?" Leo was better settled with Kaoru-chan than her penpal.
"Well, she didn't say no," Leo said, sighing. "Mom says that she told her that I was too young and she couldn't marry a legal minor from another country. Besides, she's a warmage."
"They don't usually marry," Mio acknowledged. "I still think you belong with Kaoru-chan."
"I just don't want to get married." His confession shocked her so much that she dropped her hands, unsure of what to say. He was a mover; they usually did get married.
"You're not old enough to get married." Mio hoped she'd convince him that he was being rash. She knew that Sigma thought that Leo was having sex with Gentarou, but even if Gentarou was bisexual or gay, which Mio doubted, Leo didn't seem that interested in him. At least she thought not.
And if he wanted to date Gentarou? There was no harm done as long as he found a wife after.
"That's what I told Sigma and Mom." He put his hands up as if he was going to say something more, but didn't.
"But she still wants you to email my penpal?" she asked.
He nodded agreement. "She thinks that if your penpal gets to know me, by the time I'm a legal adult in four years, she'll want to marry me."
It would be hard, Mio knew. Warmages couldn't be concerned with just one person; they had to be protectors of all. It was part of their natures. Most of them were female, too, which made it even more interesting. And Leo didn't seem that interested. "I don't think you're going to convince her to marry you," she told him. "But I think she'd be a good friend."
"I agree. It'll make mom happy until I apprentice, and then… I'll figure out something." He gave her a small smile. "I don't think she can protect me from nightmares."
"No." There was little a warmage could do about that. They were beings of flame and other elements, reaching into the heavens to bring wrath upon people that would hurt others. They were not healers of the mind.
But she didn't blame Leo's mother for trying. She was still worried for him. Mio was too. But it wasn't something to be solved by marriage.
GARO Makai Senki, Wedding AU, Leo packs up to go to the Go-Busters' world.
-------
Kaoru-san… Kaoru… is watching me as I pack. I know she's not happy with what's going on and the fact that she has to watch me leave so soon after the wedding ceremony. But when word reached the Senate with what Jabi-san had done, I knew that our sham of a marriage was over.
I've felt like an intruder ever since Jabi-san and Rekka-san surprised me the morning of the wedding with clothes and ropes. In some ways, trying to take care of the Horrors in Sakurada-san's world is a relief. And the Senate is all too eager to send me there as Rodo - a Knight instead of a Priest - to take care of the matter.
Kouga-san is not happy about this. I can tell that from his expression and the way he looks at me. He knows we have duties and that I must do this, but he dislikes the political motive behind this. I have a feeling that it's because of his long friendship with Jabi-san too.
Kaoru-san comes up to me. "Leo… tell me the truth. How long is this going to take you?"
We're all so bad at that, telling her things. Because we don't want to hurt her.
"I don't know, Kaoru." I remember to leave off the honorific because I don't want her to correct me. "I'm hoping that there are Makai there, and I won't be there long at all. But it might be a while if there aren't." I'm trying to be honest.
"I talked to Jabi-san, and she says that she can open the gates and I can visit, sometimes." Kaoru-san's hand is over her stomach, and I remember her insistence that I come into her ever since she knew I'd have to leave again. There might be a heir to my line whether I like it or not, because I can't say no to her. Or Jabi-san.
I might be raising a family there, children without their mother. It scares me, a little, in the ways my fights with Sigma didn't. There's the bloodline to think of, and this way I don't have to search for a wife. I just don't like the idea of putting her in danger, at least any more than she is.
"I'd like that." The confession brings a small blush to my cheeks. For practical reasons, I do have to become a father at some point. I'd hoped not to, that the one bright spot in the whole farce was that I didn't have to pass my genes along.
But this new world might need people who can naturally do magic, so I know that it's my job to make sure that happens.
Kaoru-san smiles at me. "I would, too." She leans against me, and I wrap an arm around her. I know I have to go soon, but I'll miss her. Her and Kouga-san.
That's what I do. Sacrifice myself for the good of many. I just hope it won't hurt as much in the future.
GARO Makai Senki Weddingverse, Kaoru worries about Leo
She knew it wasn't a legal marriage, either by Makai standards or mundane ones. But she'd taken comfort in the fact that Jabi-san was willing to marry them, and Leo had been willing to marry her. It didn't matter if it was legal or not. The family knew it belonged together. Kaoru had worked hard to make sure that if Leo died in that far-away dimension, at least he'd have a chance to be a father. And she'd succeeded.
It didn't hurt that she and Kouga had time, and Leo might not, and Kouga didn't have much of a sex drive. Leo had more of one, for all his shyness.
"It's really that bad?" she asked.
"I tried to warn him," Rekka-san snarled. "I tried to tell him that it was dangerous. Of course he didn't listen."
Rekka-san had told her about the horrible place, how they'd restricted her movements and didn't allow her out unless she was under guard. Yes, they had fed her and housed her, but she couldn't go where she needed to go to close down gates. And she didn't have free movement in the base, either.
She'd gone back at Kaoru's request, and been unable to see him. Kaoru didn't like the idea that Leo might be under guard in what was essentially a prison, but she knew he'd had no choice. Horrors had to be dealt with. Leo's unique experience, and the fact that the Senate didn't like the relationship, meant that he had to go.
And there was no way that she'd be able to go. If it wasn't safe for Leo, it wouldn't be safe for Kaoru, most definitely. There was the possibility that she could get stuck there, held for Leo's good behavior. And that wouldn't be good for the baby, either, with the stress, even if she had medical care.
So, she stayed, even if she didn't want to.
GARO Makai Senki weddingverse, Leo ponders his relationship with EMC
----------
Rekka-san had been right.
Sakurada-san was doing his best, but there were tight restrictions on his movements - most of the time, he was confined to base except when there was an attack or a suspected portal. And even then, he had guards - Kuroki-san had deemed them 'assistants', but Leo was sure that it was to make sure that Leo didn't run off.
Also, there was an awfully large amount of paperwork involved.
But at least Sakurada-san and his teammates were able to focus on what they were supposed to be doing - preventing a rogue computer program from emerging into the world - and Leo was glad he could take the pressure off of Sakurada-san a bit.
Kuroki-san had requested that Leo start training people in Makai, or at least in how to defend the world from Horrors. Leo knew he was going to have to do it anyway, so he took it probably better than Rekka-san had. With Kuroki-san's permission, Leo had started interviewing staff to look for people who could be Knights and Priests. He had some prospects - a female technician looked like she has promise as a Priest - but it was slow going.
It was going to take a long time, but he'd known that going in. He knew he'd probably be in this place the rest of his life.
His superiors had spoken about "anulling" the marriage that really didn't happen, cutting the tie to Kaoru-san, in order to free him to marry someone in this world if needed. Kaoru-san had said she'd visit, but who knew what was going on at home? He wasn't suprised that she hadn't come.
He thought sometimes about gating out and returning away from EMC, but as much as he hated the restrictions that Kuroki-san put on him, there was a job that needed to be done. Eventually, they did need more people than him, and on the outside. But this was a place to start.
There was a rap on the door, and he answered it. "Thought you might want to be reminded to eat," Sakurada-san said wryly.
He had to admit that there were some advantages to the whole thing. He was fed, and EMC did give him a roof over his head and supplies. And company. Sakurada-san and the others might not completely understand what he did, but they respected him. And it was obvious that the staff that worked with him, especially his guards, respected him even more.
It still didn't excuse holding him against his will, but unlike Rekka-san, he was ready for the long term. EMC was working to get him citizenship, an existence of sorts, of this world. He could hardly ask for more.
no subject
There are some areas I can't go into, which I knew. But Kuroki-san, perhaps with some prompting beforehand from Sakurada-san, points out that there's a duck pond on the grounds, and I'm welcome to go there. I have the idea that he doesn't want to repeat what happened with Rekka-san. They lost a lot of people between when Rekka-san left and I came.
One of his assistants shows me around, giving me a tour of the facility and making sure I know where to go and where not to go. They feed me lunch and show me where to put my laundry. I don't think Kuroki-san wants me to leave anytime soon, that they'll hold me as long as they need to.
But that doesn't matter. I'll do what I have to do. I'll go where I need to go, with or without their cooperation.
no subject
--------------
"Leo? This was delivered for you."
Leo looked at the envelope in his mother's hand before taking it. He didn't usually get mail, not that way. Mio was the closest to writing letters and even she prefered text messages.
"Oh, okay."
"What is it?" Sigma asked, leaning over. He had insisted on hanging around the engineering lab after school, as if to make sure Leo stayed there. He was back to the whole "expose Leo to Magic" thing. Well, that and trying to manipulate Kaoru-san into staying longer as well. Which was hard, but he had Mio's support, in a way. Sigma had told him that he was right, that it looked like Kaoru-san might be developing magic, and so she fell under Sigma's field of interest.
Kaoru-san was going to hate Sigma for it, Leo was sure. And he dreaded the day when she did develop magic and had to deal with Sigma nosing in on things. And he was equally at fault for mentioning it to Sigma. If he hadn't said anything, Sigma wouldn't be paying attention to Kaoru-san's possible magic.
"I don't know." He sat down at the table and opened it, and money fell out, as well as a note.
He read the note carefully. It was from a Shiba Takeru, with deep apologies for what he had done, and some money to make up for what he had done. The language was stiff, and extremely polite. "Who's sending you money?" Sigma asked, curiously.
"I don't know." He shook his head. "Who would-"
A form, a man in uniform. Stiff language, stiff figure. Being held down by computer cables, pain going though his body, his magic rising up and trying to get out.
Had this person, this man, been the uniformed figure? Had he been brainwashed? Was he a good person?
Maybe the school was safe for Leo now, if it was true. Nobody else besides Gentarou, Sigma, and Mio knew that he had magic. Of course, there were always others, the Zodiarts, but nobody would single him out now.
He hoped.
"You know something you're not saying," Sigma told him.
"I want to make sure that what I'm thinking's true," Leo responded, not wanting to get the man into trouble. He looked at the letter, realized that it didn't have a return address. But that didn't matter. Mio might know who it was. It was the kind of thing she would know. "But if it is, I'm safe now."
"Does that mean..." Sigma was looking at him. "Does this mean you're going to be staying at school more? Without me making you?"
"I want to make sure, but yes." Leo was looking at the money. There wasn't much to do with it other than repay the bracelet.
"Oh, good. I'll ask mom to save some for when you start dating." Sigma was grinning.
Leo groaned. "Marie-san is not interested."
"Kaoru-san is. I heard her tell someone."
Leo wondered how much stalking Sigma was doing and if he should warn Kaoru-san. It would be only fair to her. She'd been learning sign, so he might teach her under that guise. "Sigma...."
"She will be a Mage, and you will be dating her, Leo, and that's final!" Sigma shook his head. "But I think you should make sure that the two of you are safe, first, too. So, do what you need to do."
"I will." And then he'd warn Kaoru-san that she should probably transfer schools.
It was the least he could do.
Kamen Rider Fourze, futurefic
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"Core child?" Maribeth pinched her nose. "What's that, and how essential is it?" They'd been working with the Japanese space agency and several others to facilitate the whole meeting-up-with-aliens thing.
"We don't know, so we're asking the Japanese." Jim looked at his paperwork. "As for how essential, I think we're going to have to find it and produce it if we plan to get further here."
"Great. Obviously, we need to make that high-priority. Though I think they'll cooperate."
* * *
Maribeth hadn't expected one of the Japanese techs to end up in her office. Kengo Utahoshi was a young man who had entered the program straight from high school. One of his colleagues sat nearby, just in case he needed a translator.
So far, he hadn't. "So, you know where to find the Core Child?" she asked him. The translator translated it for him automatically.
"I am the Core Child." Kengo was looking at her with an intense, almost annoyed expression. "Or I was, once."
"Can you convince them that you are, still?" If they needed a Core Child... well, if this young man was willing to fill the role, Maribeth wasn't going to complain.
He thought for a second, and then gave her a nod.
* * *
Kengo walked into the negotiations with the trepidation of someone who might be shot. Or in his case, having his recorded data taken from him and then finding himself discarded.
The aliens that were on the other side of the room would have looked at him, he was sure, if they'd had visible eyes. One of them flowed over immediately to where he was, reaching out with a pseudopod to touch him. There was an excited babble among the aliens, and Kengo had to wonder if he'd stopped being a Core Child after all.
He didn't want to be a Core Child, not anymore. But he forced himself to stand stiff as another alien came forward with a device, touching his forehead. It was like everything was being copied, before it let go.
"You are a Core Child," one of the aliens said finally. "Do you wish to stay, or return?"
"I'm staying. When you look at the data, you'll understand why." Those seemed to be the right words. The alien gave what his memories said was a nod, before continuing to chat with its fellows.
* * *
"So, what is a Core Child?" Maribeth asked.
"A living recorder, apparently. There's some change in Mr. Utahoshi's brain structure that allows him to retain memories more efficiently, though his memory's not photographic. It's more for their use than his."
As Jim finished up his report, she ran her hand through her hair. "And how much access has he had to things?"
"I believe that he specifically requested to be excluded from discussions deemed highly confidential." Jim was shuffling papers. "He knows fully well what he is. I'd say he did his best to keep them finding out what they shouldn't."
Maribeth had to admit, she liked the young man based on that. He knew that he was essentially a human data recorder and so he worked to make sure they weren't in danger from his memory. "Can he turn it off?"
"I think he made a request, via the Japanese portion of the team, to see if the aliens could turn that capability off in his brain. I don't blame him." Jim was looking at his papers again. "He's got a kid. She's three. He doesn't know if she inherited the recorder stuff."
"Probably not." Maribeth shook her head. "See what we can do to help him out in that request, will you? I'm a bit nervous knowing he records everything he sees."
"So's everybody else. Japanese government's paying the guy, but he's on sick leave and isolated until we can make sure he's not recording. Too bad, though, he's got a brilliant mind - I was really impressed - and the team could kind of use him, but he totally agrees with the isolation thing."
"Sounds like someone I'd hire in a heartbeat." He seemed to speak English pretty well.
"You and most everybody else. He's going to be having countries fight over him if we can get that recorder in his head shut down."
If not, it would probably be safer to send Kengo Utahoshi and his daughter - if she had that gene - back to the aliens. Let them record themselves all they wanted. But Maribeth hoped he would.
Fatal Frame, Miku returns to Himuro to rejoin Mafuyu.
=============
It finally becomes unbearable. Miku finally packs her small purse and travels back to Himuro Mansion, because no matter how nice Aso-san and Kurosawa-san are, she doesn't deserve their kindness.
No, it's obvious to her that she should have died in that cave-in with Mafuyu, and it's time to remedy that. It doesn't matter that she can't see Mafuyu or Kirie, she'll be able to see them after she dies, and that's all that matters, doesn't it? If she wants to be with them, she'll be with them.
She leaves a note in her room, makes sure everything's tidy so that Aso-san and Kurosawa-san can just pack everything away. She makes it clear that it's not their fault, it's hers, and she just needs to be with Mafuyu.
By the time she reached Himuro, she's tired. The house looks ready to fall apart, like it did when she left it a month ago. She hopes against hope that it will stay in one piece long enough for her to get out to the Moon Well.
The entrance is unchanged, all cold and foreboding, with the giant hole in the middle of it. She shivers, remembering all she went through, and opens the door again. Not to leave, though, but to make sure she can leave.
There are a few routes she can take, but hopefully she can get to the outside via that great hall down on the left-hand side of the hallway with the ropes. She doesn't want to see either place again, not really, but she has to. She sees the hallway far too often in her dreams.
That great hall, too, but mostly the rope hallway. Mentally, she maps the route out, through the room with the candles out into the Atrium, and then out to the Well.
She can't quite get up the courage to go through the door. She stands in front of it, reaching out to grasp it and open it, but she isn't ready for the ropes. Not really. It's not tiredness, not really, but fear.
"I have to get there," she reminds herself, and forces herself to pull the door open. Inside, the ropes hang, forebodingly, from the beams. Ogata isn't there, she knows that, and neither is her brother's camera. All she has to do is take steps, more steps, more steps. The more steps she takes, the sooner she'll be outside.
Outside is safe. The place might not be haunted anymore, not by anybody other than Mafuyu and Kirie, but it's not exactly structurally sound.
There's a small pressure on her shoulder as she stands in the doorway, as if someone had put their hand there, as if to tell her something. But she doesn't think that Mafuyu is up here, and Kirie definitely isn't. She's probably imagining things in her desire to get to where her brother is.
But she can't step forward. And she can't leave. Aso-san is sweet and kind, like her brother, and he might decide to come here, to bring her to his home. He'll serve her tea, look at her in concern, and she'll never be left alone to do this again.
So, she shudders as she walks through the ropes. If she's careful, none of them will touch her.
The door to the great hall is boarded up, like it had been. The door to the fireplace room seems stubbornly stuck, as if some natural or unnatural force is stopping it from moving. She goes back into the entryway, remembering the third way around: take the hidden hallway to the stone garden and through the room with the buddhas, and around that way. It wasn't the way she wanted to go, but it's the way she has to go, apparently.
When she comes back, she heads towards the hidden door.
The mask is gone. Was it there before? She can't remember. She tries to open the door anyway, but it refuses to budge.
She's so tired. She's expended so much energy to come here and she can't get to where she wants to go. If she can't get into the Mansion, she can't join Mafuyu and Kirie. And if she waits too long, she'll be taken home by Mafuyu's well-meaning friend.
Miku decides to nap behind the screens, near the door. She won't be seen easily that way, maybe Aso-san will miss her and assume she went home. She closes her eyes, making a pillow of her jacket, and wills herself to sleep.
When she wakes up, she's in a car. Aso-san is driving, and he gives her a small smile. Her jacket is draped around her, slightly worse for wear. But he doesn't say anything until they get home, after she's sat down in the living room and handed a cup of hot tea. Aso-san is obviously worried when he shouldn't be; he sits there, not condemning, but just sits there.
She doesn't want to talk, either. She should be in hospital, for what's effectively a suicide attempt, but she's glad he's decided she just needs comfort and friendship. She's starting to see why he and Mafuyu were such close friends.
"I know you don't want to talk about Mafuyu," Aso-san says, and she remembers that she's never really said what happened to him. "But I know it's hurting you, Miku-chan."
Miku wishes she could say something useful, but it would be a lie to say that she doesn't want to go back. She does, she wants to find her way back in. She still wants to join her brother.
"It would have been better if you'd left me there." She remembers how he wasn't there, nobody was, when she went to find Mafuyu. He was the only one she could count on in the world. She should have stayed.
"Mafuyu would have wanted you to live." The words are gentle, in gentle tones, so much gentle that she's amazed she isn't drowning in it. "Miku-chan, just because he's gone doesn't mean it's the end of the world."
Aso-san can't understand. She finds herself sniffling, because what she really wants to do is break down, cry, and then try again. Of course, Aso-san probably won't let her. He doesn't understand what Mafuyu did, and how she didn't stop him from dying and didn't stay with him.
"There's not much I can do," Aso-san says. "But I want you to feel like you can come to me and Rei about it. You don't have to hold it in, and you don't have to feel like you're a burden to us. Miku-chan, when Mafuyu asked me to take you in, in case something happened to him, neither of us wanted you to feel guilty about it."
Aso-san slides over on the couch, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Cry if you need to, Miku-chan. I'll be here."
There isn't much that she can do, but cry. She doesn't know how to get to Mafuyu, she doesn't want to live, but she doubts that Aso-san will let her do that again. No matter how wrong it was for her to live, Aso-san is the kind of person that forgives her, just like her brother would.
She wishes she could forgive herself, but it won't be that easy. In the meantime, she leans on Aso-san, Yuu, and cries into his shoulder because that, finally, is the only thing that she can do.
Garo Makai Senki HS AU, Mio emails Marie about seeing Leo.
----
Dear Marie-san,
Leo and I saw each other this weekend at the school. I can tell you that he's doing fine and seems to be turning out to be quite the mage. He keeps talking about magical enhancement of mechanical devices, which is more your field than mine, I'm afraid. I'm sure that he will be emailing you about it.
Apparently the nexus in our old school caused the plumbing to become sentient, but Leo had a talk with it and it agreed to behave as long as he promised to visit every so often. I think it wants someone to talk to that can fix it if needed. I think that his talent, other than the movement all of his kind of mage specialize in, is dealing with anything mechanical.
I hope you can visit here someday, or at least come for enjoyment instead of keeping the world from being destroyed as you had to last time. I think Leo would like to meet you too.
Mio.
Mio and Leo, Mushverse
=========
"So," Mio signed, sighing audibly as the two sat together, "You're free to stay here as much as you want."
Leo nodded. "Yes." He didn't really want to stay, but the threat from the man was over, and he had to get on with his life. Besides, with that threat gone, he could once again duck and run with the rest of the student population instead of being a target. Only a few knew he was a mage, after all.
He wondered what would happen if he ran into the man again. What he'd say. What he'd do. But it wasn't likely to happen, not unless he was unlucky.
"You should," Mio told him. "I don't always agree with Sigma, but I think this will help."
"I have to go practice every so often with Gentarou anyway." Sure, they didn't do it much, but Gentarou was pretty good at tactics, and they were working together so that if Leo was caught in an attack, he could at least support his friend. "I don't mind being a stronger mage, Mio." He still didn't want to be a mage, but he figured he had no choice. The faster he could go through all of this, the sooner he could get into engineering and forget he had magic.
"Gentarou will take good care of you," Mio said approvingly.
Leo blushed a little, still glad that Gentarou was seeing somebody else. It made things easier.
Mio put a hand on his arm briefly. "We'll make it through, Leo. I know we will."
He was starting to believe her
Garo Makai Senki, Leo doesn't want to stay at school
------
"What do you think you're doing?" My twin catches my shoulder. I'm heading out of school, because I just can't deal with being there any longer than I have to, absorbtion be damned. It's not like Engineering Club's meeting today, and I don't feel like fiddling around in the labs when it means that I'll get more magic.
Given how much trouble it's gotten me into, I'd rather ignore it.
He signs the second part, because Mio's there and it lets her participate. "You know you have to stay here and absorb magic. Do I have to find a way to shackle you to your worktable?"
"I can't deal with having magic right now." The answer is far more blunt than I'd like to admit. "I'm leaving."
I can defend myself, and Sigma and Mio if I need to. I actually have a fair amount of power, I just don't know how to use it very well. Marie-san has been trying to help, but she's a war mage and I'm interested in getting away from conflict, not get into it. Plus, while her Japanese has gotten stronger, it's sometimes hard to communicate with her.
Mother, at least, is pleased that we're getting along so well. I think she still hopes that Marie-san will decide to marry me.
But all of that's in the future. Right now, I have to convince my friend and my brother that I need to go home.
"You can, but I'll tell mom and dad." Sigma shakes his head. I'm pretty sure he's serious about the threat; my parents are adamant about me staying at school.
"We can stay with you," Mio adds. "Or I can ask Kaoru-san."
I don't like being pushed into this, but they're right. I have no choice. I should keep a good relationship with my parents before I'm pushed away because I'm a Mage. I'd rather not have bad memories of them.
"If you would...." I sigh. "If watching me tinker wouldn't bore you too much."
"We'll do whatever you need us to do," Sigma assures me. He's wearing his necklace, I can see, with whatever he thinks will protect him from becoming a Mage like me. From what we've put together, our bloodline is one of those that rarely produces mages, but apparently is vulnerable to some mystical stimuli that's present at school. So, it was less a case of if, more like when. It was just my luck that my talent erupted in the middle of a war that is above my power level.
Needless to say, we're not sharing this with our parents, because I'd like Sigma to be as normal as possible even if I can't be.
Mio is smiling at me. So is Sigma. Resigned, I head back in, them following, and hope that this is all worth it.
Leo and Sigma, Leo took a walk
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"Where were you? I thought you were joining Mio and I for Saturday club." Sigma blocked his sibling's way.
"I was walking." Leo didn't mention it was with Shiba Takeru, the man who, under possession, had tortured him. He felt better about himself and his strength, and it was worth a day of not hanging around school and the nexus. He didn't just need the strength of his magic, he needed the strength of not being afraid.
And just walking with Shiba-san had helped. He was hardly going to ask the man for anything material, even if the other man could clearly afford it. Apprentice mages paid their way by working for their teachers. His mother had thought about some money for English lessons, but Leo had resisted.
Just as he'd left when his family started discussing mentors for him. It wasn't like he'd have much input on the subject.
"Leo, you know it's important for you to be on school grounds as much as possible."
"It's just as important for me to do this." Leo looked at his brother. "I had to walk with my fears. If I'm afraid, all the power in the world isn't going to help."
"Some fear is healthy, you know." Sigma put his hand on Leo's shoulder. "Did it really help, Leo? This walk?"
Leo nodded. "It actually did. It will help me to stay on school grounds, Sigma. I feel better about things."
"Then maybe doing that instead of school was a good thing, then." Sigma was nodding. "Then you'll be joining us next Saturday?"
"I will." Leo smiled at his brother. Sigma smiled back.
Maybe a walk had been a good idea after all.