getting_better

[ He's happy too but hearing it from her feels good. ]

So you've been friends for that long, huh? That's nice. Does she have powers like you as well?

[Shiho can't help but to bask a little in those positive feelings she can see in him, leaning a little closer.]

I've known her since I was five years old. And she does. That's how we met, at a daycare for espers.

[Though just really for the most powerful of espers which ended up being her, Kaoru and Aoi and then no one else.]

[ A daycare for espers, he wonders what that even looks like. A teacher showing kids how to bend spoons with their minds, or levitating objects. ]

Does she have the same ability as you?

[ The tingle of the moonlacing was subtle but pleasant as they walked. Many thoughts swirled in his head, mostly around Shiho, some about her powers, and the rest about the future. He wanted to know so much about her but didn't want it to sound like he was interviewing her. Who knew conversing was so hard when you focus on it so intently? ]

[It's basically one large, multi-level room full of toys for the mental and psychological development of little esper children. Except the teacher was terrified by the kids' powers and was only just barely holding that in. Even as a child Shiho had been familiar with the feeling of being slapped across the face by an adult for her powers.]

She's a psychokinetic so it's not the same. But adults were both scared of us so I guess that part was the same. [Even if Kaoru had been adorable even back then and Shiho had found it both incomprehensible and yet... understandable why the adults had been scared of them.]

...You can ask, you know. [She turns to smile at him, trusting him to lead her safely.] As long as I get to ask questions too.

[ Psychokenisis. The ability to move objects with the mind. Interesting. ]

I'd like to see that someday. It sounds handy.

[ Then her words earn a blush and an embarrassed smile. ]

Then, I've asked a couple already so it's your turn now. What do you want to know?

She'd describe it that way too. [Then again, Kaoru has always been the strong, positive one. Their powers are one of those things that is both handy... and yet so deeply terrifying. What if they hurt someone they loved because of their powers? What if they lost control? There were always too many variables.

Which is why she doesn't start with the burning, difficult questions. Instead:]

Tell me your birthday. What's your favourite thing about living here? If you could pick one meal to have for the rest of your life, what would it be? [Because they have plenty of time for difficult questions but for today, she kind of wants to start small, start easy, start at a first step.]

[ He smiles as he realizes he should have started with those kinds of questions first. Those were always so basic and kind of mundane when he went information hunting, other old habits from his career. He'll start training to turn that side of his brain off. ]

December eleven. [ A beat. ] It's actually the twelfth but, it's bad practice to celebrate anything on that date in my world so those born on that day either move up to the thirteenth or back to the eleventh. Though since thirteen is an unlucky number, everyone pretty much moves back.

[ 'Though that hasn't stopped me from quietly celebrating on the day itself', he thinks to himself while saying a quiet apology the people in his world. It's hard to be afraid of superstitions and monsters in the dark when he can shoot them in the face. ]

As for here...[ 'That's tough' ]...Well, I suppose it'd be how relatively peaceful things are here. Being able to just sit and relax without rushing from one place to the next is nice. [ 'Though things do get pretty pear shaped quickly as well' ]

As for the meal, that's easy. Sukiyaki. I could eat that stuff forever.

[ He's not kidding. If had to have one last meal, he'd have that. He's seriously thought about this. ]

[Shiho first, quickly ducks in to whisper into his ear:]

There's nothing wrong with wanting to do information hunting. As long as you also ask me these kinds of questions, it's fine.

[Then with a soft smile, she curls her hand around his arm again.]

It's not unlucky here though, I bet. We could celebrate on the 12th. [She'd like to celebrate it then, actually. Quite a lot, really.]

Sitting, relaxing... and I could make sukiyaki too. [Or you know, she could always make sukiyaki before that, it's a choice they could make.]

It's your turn now, right? Ask me anything you want.

[ She was right, of course, about his birthdate and about asking questions. He's starting to wonder if all the women who walk into his life are always going to be smarter than him. ]

Hmm, now that I think about it you're the first person in three years to know when that day is.

[ 'It looks like my birthday this year will be lively'. ]

We can have sukiyaki on that day!

[ And a chance to try Shiho's cooking? Yes please. ]

Alright then, when is your birthday, what hobbies do you have, and what is your dream vacation?

[It's sad to think that she's the first person in three years to know what that his actual birthday is, even if she's happy that at the very least, at last he's been able to tell someone.]

That makes me special, huh? [She'd make it up to him though, make that birthday wonderful.]

And we can have anything you want on your birthday. It'll be fun, I promise. [She's even a really good cook thanks to her psychometry.]

My birthday is February twelfth, I like weapons and solving murders.

My dream vacation though... [That takes a bit of thought. Then again she's never been very many places since as an esper she's not allowed to leave her country. Or go on a plane.]

I think, as long as I'm going on the vacation with someone I care about, anywhere is fine. Like on a cruise, or to a cute little village that has amazing food.

[Now it's her turn again, right?]

What about you, what are your hobbies, your favourite kind of music to dance to and your favourite holiday?

February twelve...

[ 'Just a few days apart from...' An image of a woman came to his mind, shoulder length blonde hair with wisps of grey, the same deep blue eyes as him, full lips, trimmed brows, and a slender shapely face. Sam loves this woman deeply but with that love came a strong guilt. He was quick to stem the flow of guilt as if he'd done it a million times before, exceptionally fast now since the next few words stuck in his head.

'Did she just say weapons and solving murders???' Now that he realizes it, she didn't freak out about the guns. More on that later. ]

Uhhh, well my main hobby is cooking but I turned that into a career here since I work at a cafe, Salon de Marie. Fishing and travelling, learn some new recipes from each place I wander into. [ A beat. ] I guess it's all about food.

[ His motivation to do things are apparently very simple. ]

Hmmm, well, I guess if people are going to watch or if I have a partner then ballroom with a more upbeat tune, like our dance when we first met. And Halloween and Christmas. I have a sweet tooth so, free candy and an excuse to bake cookies everyday for a month.

[ He might also just slightly, very slightly, still believe in Santa Claus. Demons are real in his world, why not the jolly fat man?

It's his turn, but he waits just a moment as they approached the Prismanode, paid, and punched in their destination, the Groves. ]

You have some interesting hobbies. I should have noticed when you didn't freak out over the guns I have.

[The image is strong enough that Shiho definitely sees it even as she's trying to keep her reading light. Who is that? She shouldn't pry, she knows that she shouldn't but it's a real struggle to pull back and she's glad he'd cut off that guilt so she couldn't follow it to its source.

She'd said easy questions. Easy questions!]

[But she also won't betray his trust and she waits for him to finish, trying to formulate her own question.]

Food is great though, so it's fine if your main hobby is food. [More than fine because Shiho likes eating and especially eats a lot to refuel after harrowing missions where she'd had to use a lot of psychometry. It's definitely a point in his favour.

She curls her arm more around his, stepping closer since they've now chosen their destination.]

I started hobbies like that back when I was a kid. [Because as a psychometer, she couldn't retaliate against the adults that hurt them with just her own powers and so had started first with a slingshot then slowly moved onto things that were clearly much too dangerous for her to have.]

...And... when I said February twelve... What... happens a few days from February twelve?

[ He has concerns and questions, but Shiho having those things as hobbies is normal compared to some of the other stuff he's heard on his travels. Besides, she said solving murders not committing them, so clearly on the right side of things. ]

Well, aside from Valentines day, it's my mom's birthday.

[ He says with a smile. The woman comes back to the fore front of his thoughts along with the happiness and guilt though in small prickling sensations. ]

She always kept telling me and dad that she didn't want to do anything for her birthday since valentines was just three days before but, we knew she always secretly wanted to. So we tried to always do something nice, even if it was just flowers or dinner somewhere nice.

[If Shiho committed a murder, Minamoto would probably cry.

Besides at nine years old she definitely planned (along with two other nine year olds) to leave a bunch of people to die in a chemical fire in order to escape their terrible childhood, so...?]

Your mom's birthday. [He says it with a smile... but he also refers to her in past tense.]

Is she... back at your world?

[ The smile never fades even if she did put two and two together. ]

Yeah, in a manner of speaking.

[ He pauses as he thinks of a memory, a day when he and his father served her breakfast in bed. Her smiling and kissing him on the brow, then a flash of a grave on a hill in a cemetery, "Eric and Charlotte Mercer" were the names. ]

It's been a long time since I went and saw them though. How about you? What're your parents like?

[She hold tighter onto his arm and gives her comfort in the only way she knows how: by being there for him, listening quietly and being one more person here who would know of his mother.]

I'm sorry. [That it's been a long time since he's gone back to see them.

Her own parents though....]

[Her own parents weren't as normal or as domestic, really.]

My father is the chief of police and my mother is a housewife. [When she was five years old, they had given her to the government to raise because they were new parents, because for all that they'd prepared, they hadn't prepared to have a level 7 psychometer, because they were stressed and frazzled and knew the world might never be able to love her like they did. She knows because her father had been holding her hand tightly then and she'd seen guilt, relief, but also deep, deep love. And for that she could never blame them for making the choice they did.]

Papa is a tsundere dad who tries to act like he doesn't care but then he's also the first one worrying and trying to do nice things for me. And mama has a really, really sharp tongue and just goes and says anything she thinks.

[Both ways of coping with the fact that they'd given their daughter away and had come too close to losing her forever. Her father chooses to only let her see what was in his heart. And her mother chooses to never hold anything back, not her feelings, not her thoughts.]

...They try though.

It's okay.

[ His world isn't a happy place and his story wasn't unique or uncommon. But people found ways to cope and to carry on. He was no different in that sense, save that he's had a few more tragedies than the average person but Shiho's hold on his arm made things easier and to think about.

He lets out a small laugh at the mention of 'tsundere dad'. That's a term he hasn't heard in a while. ]

Parents are always trying. It's the best they can do. [ He pauses. ] But wow, the daughter of the police chief, that's pretty cool. Your dad must be impressive.

[ He wonders, if by some twist of fate he meets him, what's an appropriate gift for dating his daughter? One that isn't him in cuffs or behind bars. ]

[Shiho isn't sure where he heard tsundere dad the first time??

She raises an eyebrow at him, but can't help smile on hearing him laugh.]

It is the best they can do. [And Shiho appreciates that they try, that no matter what they believe in her.

Being close now though means that she can look up at him, cheek pillowed against his arm since they're still waiting to arrive.]

My dad can be intimidating-looking but he's a softie and he knows that I know what I'm doing. As long as you're polite, he'd like you too. And if he doesn't, I'll set him straight. Promise.

[Really though the one he actually should be trying to impress is Shiho's mother who is definitely the smarter, sharper one.]

Thanks for the assurance.

[ He's no stranger to sharp tongued individuals, but because she's Shiho's mother he'll be on his best behavior. The whir of the node reaches a crescendo and soon they're greeted by the scent of greenery and clean cool air. He guided out of the node and took a deep breath, relishing the scent as he feels little more peaceful. A part of him finds peace in the forest, he thinks it's the owl side of him. ]

I think it rained a bit, it smells really fresh here.

[ If he went soaring through the forest now he'd probably end up sleeping up on a branch for a few hours. His feathers might get a bit damp but that was never really a problem for him. ]

[Mrs. Sannomiya is definitely very... forthright with her thoughts but that also doesn't change the fact that she loved her daughter. And really, as long as she thought he'd take care of Shiho, she'd be there to support him too.

Shiho moves away slightly as they exit the node and she breathes in the clean, sweet air. There's definitely a touch of influence from his thoughts in hers too but she closes her eyes to relish in the scent, to see so very clearly in her mind's eye the image of him flying.

She opens her eyes and smiles at him.]

It does. We should come back here again sometime.

[Here she is, her date barely started and already planning another. That's a first for her too.]

[ Nothing wrong with that. He'd love to. He's thinking a picnic with sandwiches, maybe they could even make them together. A bit cliche but who cares?]

Sounds like a plan.

[ A very good plan. ]

It'd have to be in the morning though, since summer is almost here it might get too hot in the afternoon.

[Luckily for him, Shiho doesn't mind cliches, especially not if they result in sandwiches. And hey, she will even help this time instead of just grazing from the ingredients!]

Hm... mornings, huh...

[Shiho is not a morning person, at all. She's more of a 12pm kind of person.]

I'm not sure I could actually wake up for a morning picnic.

Not a morning person, huh? That's fine.

[ He thinks for a spot in the groves that's wide and covered with wide trees. He scours this place often so finding the right spot wasn't that hard. ]

We can go after lunch. I know a few nice quiet places around here for that.

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