Today, was the 9th of June a Monday and it was around 13:00 pm, in District 4's public Esper school and that meant that today students could go home early, as per usual...
"Finally! Math class is over..." Tatsurou, that was wearing his gakuran with a hoodie under it, said while he stretched and walked down the long hallway of the school.
"I have to agree, math is not my favorite subject..." Marie, that was wearing her sailor fuku and her usual nun's habit on her head, said as she let out a sigh, while she walked next to Tatsurou.
"Say, Tatsurou, don't you think that we could buy a pair of glasses and a school uniform for, Shirayuki?" Marie asked with a curious tone as she looked at Tatsurou.
"You're still thinking about that, Marie?" Tatsurou said with a joking tone, as he looked at Marie and smiled.
"But of course! Shirayuki looks exactly like Kuriyama, from the beyond the boundary, I bet that if we placed a pair of glasses on her, she would look like an exact copy and even cuter!" Marie said with an excited tone, as she clenched her fist.
"It makes me really happy, that you liked Beyond the boundary that much, but I don't think we should do something like that, after all, Shirayuki might not want to dress up like Kuriyama..." Tatsurou said as he let out a sigh, but deep down, he wouldn't mind seeing how Shirayuki looked with glasses and a school uniform on.
"I know that, but Kuriyama is her's and my favorite character! I bet she would like this idea and I would also love to see her do that "cosplay" thing that Amélie was always doing!" Marie said again with an excited tone, while she let out a sigh.
"I see...let's talk about it with Shirayuki, then we'll see about it..." Tatsurou said as he smiled, something that made Marie even happier as she gave a smile back to Tatsurou and with that, they were reaching, the school's main entrance.
"Oh, I just remembered, Marie, I have to go to the hospital today..." Tatsurou said as he looked at Marie that tilted her head a bit while she looked at Tatsurou a bit confused.
"You're going...to the hospital? Oh, right! It's because of the gauntlet, right?" Marie asked with a confused tone that turned into a curious one, as she looked at Tatsurou.
"Yes, I'm going to go there and talk with Emma about it and update her a bit about its powers and my powers..." Tatsurou said with an informative tone as he scratched his head a bit.
"I understand...but speaking of which, I was really surprised when you showed me and Shirayuki that you could finally call it!" Marie said as she placed her index finger on her cheek.
"Surprised? I thought that you two were going to faint..." Tatsurou said with a joking tone as he laughed and remembered Shirayuki and Marie's reactions, upon telling and showing them the gauntlet, that went from placing their hands in front of their mouths to grabbing Tatsurou's arm and moving it around to have a better look.
"Cut us some slack, Tatsurou! It was really unexpected and we were both happy that you could finally call it!" Marie said with a faintly angry tone as she pouted, but it didn't last long as she smiled again.
"Thanks, Marie...but controlling it was just the first step, now I need to learn how to use it, but I want to hear what Emma thinks before I start anything..." Tatsurou said as he looked at his right hand for a bit.
"That's not a bad idea, especially if Miss Emma is helping you with it! But say, can I come with you, Tatsurou?" Marie asked with a curious tone, as she tilted her head a bit.
"I don't mind...but I thought you might want to go home early and rest a bit..." Tatsurou said as he scratched his cheek.
"I'm not that tired and to be honest, I don't like to walk home all by myself..." Marie said with a faintly embarrassed tone, as she blushed a bit.
"I'm with you on that one, I'm also not a big fan of walking back home alone either...so let's go together!" Tatsurou said as he smiled at Marie and with that they were now close to the school's entrance.
"Well then, how about we go now? The faster we go to the hospital, the faster we can go back home!" Tatsurou said as he pointed at the entrance of the school with his thumb and Marie just nodded as they made their way towards it but...
"Tatsurou!" A voice called Tatsurou from behind that made him and Marie, turn around to see who it was.
"Thank god, I caught up to you..." Yumeko, that was wearing her usual business suit and hair tied into a ponytail, said as she got close to Tatsurou, huffing a bit.
"What's wrong, Yumeko?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone as he looked at Yumeko, that regained her composure a bit.
"Don't worry, nothing's wrong, it's just that I need to have a quick word with you..." Yumeko said with a reassuring tone, as she moved her right hand a bit.
"So, Marie-san, you don't mind that I steal him away from you for a bit, right?" Yumeko asked while she placed her hands together and looked at Marie.
"I don't mind, Kuroiwa-sensei! So Tatsurou, I'll be waiting at the front gate, ok?" Marie said as she turned towards the entrance while looking at Tatsurou.
"I'll try to be as quick, as possible! Now let's go to the teacher's office, Tatsurou..." Yumeko said while she turned in the direction of the teacher's office and began walking towards it.
"Sorry...see you soon, Marie..." Tatsurou said as he quickly turned to Marie before proceeding to follow Yumeko, Marie just waved a bit upon seeing them take their leave.
"It happened again...Kuroiwa-sensei wanting to talk to Tatsurou in private..." Marie said with a stoic tone, while she pouted, something that didn't last long.
"W-What am I getting all angry for...she's like an older sister to Tatsurou, w-we have nothing to worry about here!" Marie thought as she let out a sigh, while she prepared to leave the school building and wait for Tatsurou, at the front gate...
And so a few moments later, in the teacher's office...
"Go on, take a seat..." Yumeko said as she got close to her desk and pulled her chair to take a seat.
"Ok...so, Yumeko, what is it that you want to talk with me about?" Tatsurou asked as he pulled the chair of the desk, next to Yumeko's and took a seat on it.
"Let's just say, that I have some really good news to tell you! But before that, there's something else we have to talk about..." Yumeko said as she took her seat, so she could face Tatsurou.
"Oh! Now, I'm even more curious, but before that are you ok, Yumeko?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone as he looked at Yumeko.
"I am, why are you asking?" Yumeko asked also with a curious tone, as she tilted her head.
"It's a bit uncommon for you to huff after running a bit and also, you have bags under your eyes..." Tatsurou said a bit worried, as he scratched his cheek a bit and Yumeko just blushed, while she placed her fingers under her eye.
"Oh, this? Don't worry...well I...I just watched some late-night wrestling yesterday and went to bed late...yeah, that's it..." Yumeko said with a rather nervous tone as she laughed, something that made Tatsurou even more worried, as the real reason for this, was all the extra work that Yumeko had to take care of in Emiko's stead and let's just say she had a lot of paperwork to do last night...
"You're a terrible liar, Yumeko..." Tatsurou said with a stoic tone and expression as he let out a sigh, that made Yumeko blush again.
"I swear...since when did he became such a worry-rat..." Yumeko thought a bit embarrassed, as she let out a sigh.
"I already said it, didn't I? I'm ok, so don't worry about it!" Yumeko said with a reassuring tone, as she crossed her arms.
"But..." As Tatsurou said this Yumeko placed her hand on his head.
"Honestly, I already said I'm ok...so stop worrying so much about me, you idiot!" Yumeko said with a reassuring tone as she let out a sigh and head patted Tatsurou.
"So, with that said...let's start with today's first topic!" Yumeko said as she stooped head patting Tatsurou and raised her index finger a bit.
"If you say so then...sure, what is it?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone as he crossed his arms.
"Well, for starters, I hope that you didn't forget what you have to do this Wednesday..." Yumeko said as she placed her hands on her lap.
"Of course I haven't forgotten, I have to go to the Soteria headquarters for a meeting with your superior...wait does that mean that you just wanted to remind me of the meeting?" Tatsurou asked a bit curious, as he tilted his head.
"No, it's not to just remind you of the meeting! I just want to tell you to be on your best behavior there on Wednesday! No acting weird or saying weird things in the presence of my superior, you hear! I technically recommended you for the Soteria, so it's only normal that you should be well behaved, I don't want my Captain to think you're a delinquent!" Yumeko said as she pointed at Tatsurou and looked at his sharp eyes and messy hair.
"I see...don't worry, I'll behave, but it's not like you have to ask..." Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he let out a sigh and laughed.
"Good then, Oh! I also gave your phone number to Naoki, I hope you don't mind..." Yumeko said as she crossed her arms again.
"I don't really mind that...but why?" Tatsurou asked as he tilted his head a bit.
"Since this meeting is both for you, Naoki and Miyubi, you'll have to be there together, so she asked me for your number when I visited her on the hospital the other day, so you could meet up before going and, after all, you don't know where the Soteria building is, right?" Yumeko said as she pointed at Tatsurou with her index finger, while she kept her arms crossed.
"Fair point, but now...I have to prepare myself for the upcoming storm..." Tatsurou said with a faintly scared tone as he remembered what he did to Naoki in the hospital and imagined the divine retribution he would get for it.
"Hmm? What do you mean with that?" Yumeko asked with a curious tone as she tilted her head.
"Don't worry it's nothing...say, Yumeko, is there anything else I should worry about?" Tatsurou asked as he tried to change the topic a bit.
"Not really, this is all I believe, I just wanted to make sure you look good in front of my Captain, that's all!" Yumeko said with a happy tone as she smiled and nodded.
"And now that that's done, it's time for the really good news, I hope you're ready for them!" Yumeko said with an excited tone, as she pointed at Tatsurou that sighed.
"I'm already way too curious here...so stop teasing me and tell me what happened..." Tatsurou said with a joking tone, as he looked at Yumeko.
"Here they come Tatsurou! This is going to blow you away! Well then, ahem...last Friday, I was able to convince Michiko to finally move in with me!" Yumeko said with a very confident and smug tone as she crossed both her legs and arms.
And for a moment upon hearing this, Tatsurou just looked at Yumeko in complete silence with his eyes opened wide as a long silence filled the office, that ended with a skyward "heh!?" from Tatsurou that felt as if the whole school was going through an earthquake.
"N-No way, Yumeko! You were finally able to convince Michiko to move in with you?!" Tatsurou said with all synonyms of surprise in his voice, as he got up from the chair he was sitting on.
"What can I say, I'm quite persuasive!" Yumeko said still with a smug tone as she smiled.
"Honestly, I wasn't expecting this, we have been trying to convince her to move in with you for the past 3 years...just what kind of sorcery did you use on her this time?" Tatsurou asked with a very curious tone, as he took his seat again.
"A woman never reveals her secrets! But let's just say, I had an ace up my sleeve this time around..." Yumeko said as she smiled again, but it didn't last long as she stooped crossing her arms and legs.
"I'm kind of scared of asking what that "ace up your sleeve" was..." Tatsurou said with a worried tone as he sighed.
"Come on, you worry to much! But...if I had to be honest the "ace up my sleeve" was just part of the reason she agreed to live with me...if I had to guess the real reason she decided to move out...its would be because she's just sick and tired...of living in that apartment..." Yumeko said as she looked a bit down, Tatsurou got worried upon seeing this.
"Did...did Michiko say anything about her mother?" Tatsurou asked with a worried tone as he looked at Yumeko.
"She didn't and as you know, talking about her mother, is still a taboo topic for Michiko, not that woman deserves to be called "mother", in all honesty..." Yumeko said with an angry tone as she clenched her fists hard, something that made Tatsurou look at her with worry written all over his face.
"I-I'm sorry, for losing my cool a bit here, Tatsurou..." Yumeko said with a faintly embarrassed tone, as she realized her reaction rather scary reaction upon thinking about Michiko's mother.
"You don't need to, I understand...I'm also not very fond of that woman, despite never having met her, but after what Michiko told us...I never want to meet her, for as long as I live...and I hope she stays in prison, where she belongs..." Tatsurou said with a sad tone as he looked at the ground.
"Good to know that we're on the same page here...but let's stop talking about people that don't deserve our time and let's concentrate on the good things, Tatsurou!" Yumeko said with a comforting tone, while she crossed her arms and tried to change the subject.
"Your right, let's focus on the good things! Well then, since Michiko is going to finally move out, I think one of those special eclairs with extra cream filling is in order and it would be the perfect gift to celebrate!" Tatsurou said with a happy tone as he rubbed his chin a bit, but Yumeko on the other hand.
"Listen, Tatsurou, I'm not against giving Michiko a gift...but don't you think you spoil her too much, by giving her so many eclairs?" Yumeko asked with a worried tone, as she let out a sigh.
"Well...I'm just really happy that she's going to finally take a big step to change her life, that's why I think, that she deserves a reward..." Tatsurou said as he scratched the back of his head a bit.
"I understand and I agree, but I just don't want her to eat so many sweets...so you can only buy her one, maximum two of those eclairs, you hear me!" Yumeko said with a faintly angry tone, as she pointed at Tatsurou.
"Ok, ok...I'll only buy her one or two, but speaking of which, when is she going to move into your place?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone, as he tilted his head.
"Hmm? Well, I already have all the documents ready, so she could move in with me today, to be honest, but Michiko still has to transfer some things to her towers, hard-drives and spare hard-drives...so after a few calculations, she said she would be ready to move out...this Saturday, I believe..." Yumeko said as she moved her hand a bit.
"This Saturday? That's rather quick! Oh, do you mind if I go to help with the moving, Yumeko?" Tatsurou asked as he crossed his arms.
"Of course not! The more help we have, the better!" Yumeko said as she gave Tatsurou a thumbs up.
"Ok, then I'll bring her those eclairs when we go make the moving, it will be a good surprise and after moving boxes around, it's a good reward!" Tatsurou said with a happy tone, as he slowly got up from the chair he was sitting on.
"With that, I have to agree..." Yumeko said with a happy tone, as she crossed her arms.
"Now if you don't mind I'll take my leave, Yumeko..." Tatsurou said as he finally got up from the chair and prepared to leave but...
"Sure...but before you do that, do you mind if I ask you something, Tatsurou?" Yumeko asked with a curious tone, as she looked at Tatsurou.
"Hmm? Not really...what is it...?!" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone, as he turned to Yumeko but he shivered as soon as he placed his eyes on her.
"Since we are talking about "moving in" and "moving out" I remembered that there was something, that I have meant to ask you for a while now..." Yumeko said this with a smile on her face, but the aura that covered her body was a dark one.
"You see, the other day when I took Marie home, I asked her where I should drop her off and to my surprise, she asked to drop her off at your place...so my question is the following, why did she ask me to drop her off, at your place?" Yumeko asked while she tilted her head and still with a smile on her face, as she crossed her legs and looked at Tatsurou, that began to sweat nervously.
"C-Crap! I forgot to tell Yumeko, that Marie is living with me and Shirayuki..." Tatsurou thought as he looked at Yumeko, that had a face that asked the question "what's taking you so long to answer?".
"Y-You see...Yumeko...M-Marie is really good friends with Shirayuki, so she went to visit her on that day, you see..." Tatsurou said with a very nervous tone, while he raised his index finger and laughed, and upon hearing this Yumeko got up from her chair.
"Do you think that with a reaction like that, I would believe you, huh?" Yumeko asked with an angry tone, as she got close to Tatsurou and pulled on his cheeks.
"Ow! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Tatsurou said with a pained tone as he contorted himself with the pain of being pulled on his cheek.
"Now, you better stop lying and tell me the truth..." Yumeko said with a monotonous tone, as she tilted her head.
"I can't tell her that Marie is staying at my place, because she has to observe me...looks like I have to use that excuse!" Tatsurou thought as he now held Yumeko's arm so that she didn't pull so hard.
"Y-You see, Marie came here to study in Takamagahara as part of an exchange program from her school, but there was a problem with the house she had to stay in when she arrived, so she is staying in my place for now!" As Tatsurou said this Yumeko stooped pulling on his cheek.
"Hmm, I did hear that she came here thanks to an exchange program, but is Hime ok with her living with you?" Yumeko asked while she crossed her arms and looked at Tatsurou rubbing his cheek.
"Yes...Hime said it was ok..." Tatsurou said as he rubbed his cheek a bit more.
"I really hate lying to Yumeko, but for now it's better to keep things like this...but honestly, I better start gaining some courage to tell Hime all of this...before it get's out of hand..." Tatsurou thought while he let out a sigh.
"I see, if that's the case then it's ok, but say, aren't you a lucky one, Tatsurou...having two cute girls living with you...so lucky..." Yumeko said with a stoic but also faint jealous tone as she blushed and pouted while looking away from Tatsurou.
"W-Well..." Tatsurou said with a faintly embarrassed tone as he scratched his cheek and he couldn't deny Yumeko's words, he was lucky to have the chance to live with two cute girls such as Shirayuki and Marie, a situation that many would love to be in.
"But speaking of which, I do hope you're not doing anything naughty to them! What am I even thinking, there's no way you...!" As Yumeko said this she looked at Tatsurou that upon hearing Yumeko's words, began to blush, as he remembered a few not so "safe" things that happened in his place, from Marie sneaking into his bed or most recently, when Marie fell on top of Tatsurou the other day...
"Oi, Tatsurou...you mind explaining me that reaction, just now?" Yumeko asked with a very angry tone as her violet eyes became opaque, while she tilted her head.
"D-Don't get the wrong idea, Yumeko! N-Nothing happened..." Tatsurou said with a scared tone as he flailed his hands around while he took two steps back.
"If nothing happened, then why are you trying to run away?" Yumeko asked as she took a step forward and a black aura that looked like a hannya mask, appeared behind her and it was at this very moment, that Tatsurou ran out of the office as his life depended on it.
"Not so fast, you idiot!" Yumeko said with a very angry tone as 10 vermilion magic circles appeared behind her and out of each came a pair of hands that began to chase Tatsurou.
"I-I'm telling you, nothing happened!" Tatsurou said with a panicked tone as he kept running away and Yumeko's "hands" getting closer and closer to him...
Meanwhile at the school's front gate...
"I wonder when Kuroiwa-sensei, is going to finally dismiss Tatsurou..." Marie, that was leaning on the wall close to the gate, said as she let out a sigh, but it didn't last long, as out of the school gate came Tatsurou with a scared expression on.
"What the..." Marie said with a surprised tone as she looked at Tatsurou, that grabbed Marie's hand, as soon as he placed his eyes on her.
"Run!" Tatsurou said with a scared tone, as he began running while he pulled Marie with him.
"Heh? What's wrong Tatsurou...?! Wait why are those hands following you?" Marie asked with a curious tone that turned into a scared one, as she looked behind her and saw a group of hands chasing them.
"No time to explain now! Just run!" Tatsurou said with a worried tone, as he kept running while he briefly looked at Marie.
"Ok!" Marie said with a determined tone, as she held Tatsurou's hand tight...
And so, an hour later in District 4's public hospital, in Emma's office to be precise...
"Here you go, Kurokami-kun..." Emma, that was wearing her usual lab coat with fancy clothes under it, said as she handed a plastic cup to Tatsurou that was sitting in a chair, huffing a bit.
"Thanks...Emma-san..." Tatsurou said as he grabbed the cup and began drinking from it and a brief silence filled the room.
"Kurokami-kun...did something bad happened?" Emma asked with a worried tone as she placed her hands on the pockets of her lab coat.
"Huh? N-Not really...well let's just say that I got into a misunderstanding with Yumeko and the rest pretty much explains itself..." Tatsurou said with a nervous tone as he finished drinking his water.
"I see, so you got Yumeko-chan angry and you ran away from her...thank goodness! I thought you got into serious trouble when I saw you coming in here running with that girl..." Emma said with a relieved tone, as she remembered how Tatsurou came inside the hospital running as he held Marie's hand and bumped into Emma by chance.
"I'm sorry about that, but Yumeko's hands can now travel a bit longer without needing her to be close...we had to run all the way here..." Tatsurou said with an apologetic tone as he sighed and handed his cup to Emma.
"I see, you don't need to worry about that, and also please try to not get Yumeko-chan angry, no matter how funny it is to do that!" Emma said with a joking tone and expression as she grabbed the cup Tatsurou was holding and threw it into a trash can.
"You're the only one that does that, Emma-san..." Tatsurou said as he let out a sigh, but it didn't last long as he also laughed.
"What can I say, her reactions are too cute, but say, Kurokami-kun, the girl you came in here with...it's that nun girl that came to visit you, the last time you got hospitalized, right?" Emma asked with a curious tone, as she looked at Tatsurou.
"Y-Yes it is her..." Tatsurou said a bit nervous as he nodded.
"Hmm? And do you mind filling me in, on the, why she's back in Takamagahara?" Emma asked with a stoic curious tone, as she tilted her head, something that made Tatsurou jolt.
"It's...a long story, Emma-san..." Tatsurou said a bit nervous, as he looked a bit away.
"Oh! I do have some time now, so I don't mind listening..." Emma said with a smug tone, as she leaned a bit forward.
"I...don't want to really talk about it..." Tatsurou said as he looked a bit away from Emma, as he already felt bad for lying to Yumeko and he didn't want to lie to Emma too.
"Ok then, I'll let you off the hook...for now...so tell me, what brought you to the hospital today, Kurokami-kun?" Emma asked as she regained her composure and while she took a pack of cigarettes, out of her lab coat.
"Thanks, Emma-san...well, I came here because I wanted to tell you that Frida, has talked to me again..." Tatsurou said as he looked at Emma, that was placing a cigarette in her mouth.
"Frida? Oh, you mean our little Valkyrie! That's some really good news!" Emma said with a happy tone, as she looked at Tatsurou.
"No time to waste then! So tell me, what did she talk with you?" Emma asked with an excited tone, befitting of a child, as she took a seat on the chair facing Tatsurou.
"I'm sorry but...she didn't tell me a lot about my powers..." Tatsurou said as he laughed a bit nervously.
"Heh? Please say that in advance, Kurokami-kun! I got all excited for nothing..." Emma said with a faint angry tone, as she pouted briefly.
"I'm sorry, but Frida didn't remember a lot about my powers, but she did tell me that they were hereditary and the abilities that the gauntlet has which is already good!" Tatsurou said as he raised his index finger a bit.
"She said that your powers are hereditary?" Emma asked with a curious and surprised tone as she looked at Tatsurou that nodded.
"That's weird, but it's not uncommon for Magic or Esper abilities to be hereditary, but then again in your case besides being dark magic, it's also hereditary...really weird..." Emma said as she took a puff from her cigarette.
"I-Is it bad?" Tatsurou asked with a worried and curious tone as he looked at Emma.
"Don't be scared, Kurokami-kun...I just happened to find a book the other day that talked about dark magic and it said that it's one of the most uncommon types of magic to be passed down from one person to the other..." Emma said with a reassuring tone as she took another puff from her cigarette.
And it was true, Magic both normal and Esper related was, in essence, something that could be passed down from one person to the other let's say, for example, a couple with different magic or esper abilities has a child, that child will have upon birth either the powers of the mother or the father, but in very rare occasions the child can end up being able to use both abilities of its parents or use both magic and esper powers, but unfortunately this wasn't Tatsurou's case...
"I see...so what do you think it is, Emma-san?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone as he tilted his head.
"Hard to say...that book only said that and I do have a theory about it, but I don't like to present my "theories" without proof or materials to back it up and I could be wrong about it, so could you wait a bit, Kuraokami-kun? It's just until Erika comes back from England, I promise!" Emma said with an apologetic tone, as she placed her hands together.
"I don't mind, but how is, Erika-nee, going to help us? She's a beastkin doctor, right?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone as he crossed his arms.
"You see, I talked with a fellow doctor from District 10 and she said that if I'm looking for books about dark magic the Birmingham library is the best place to get materials to study it, so I gave Erika a call and asked her to bring me a few books about it, to see what I can find about your type of magic and honestly it's the best bet we have at the moment, after all, England is a land of magic, myths, and creatures, right?" Emma said with a determined tone, as she briefly pointed at Tatsurou, that looked at Emma with an impressed face on.
"And by the way Kurokami-kun, please don't call my sister "Erika-nee" it feels weird when you do that..." Emma said as she took a puff from her cigarette before she let out a sigh.
"I know, but Erika, won't talk to me unless I call her like that ever since we met...so it's more or less engraved in me..." Tatsurou said as he let out a sigh.
"I see...looks like I'll have to talk with her when she comes back..." Emma said with a faint angry tone, as she let out another sigh.
"But with that said, let's go to the next thing our little Valkyrie talked about with you...the powers that the gauntlet has, right?" Emma asked with a curious tone as she crossed her legs.
"Yes, Frida told me about the powers of the gauntlet they are "Strength enhancement", "Strength limiter", "Negate magic" and "Localizing enemies"...if I remember them all correctly..." Tatsurou said with an informative tone, as he used his fingers to count the abilities Frida told him about.
"That's quite a lot and pretty impressive, especially that "strength limiter" one, no?" Emma asked with a curious tone as she tilted her head a bit.
"Yes, that one was what stuck with me, ever since Frida told me about it...so I was thinking of learning how to use that one first, before anything else..." Tatsurou said as he looked at his right hand.
"I understand, like that the level system Hime and I came up with, will work as it's supposed to in a way..." Emma said as she took a portable ashtray from the pocket of her lab coat.
"Exactly...I want to have some control over my powers and how much I can input...but there's just one problem...Frida didn't tell me how it works..." Tatsurou said with a robotic stoic tone, as he sighed.
"R-Really? She didn't tell you?" Emma said with a surprised tone, as she placed her cigarette in the portable ashtray.
"No and I didn't get a chance to ask, since she vanished again, but she did say that she is going to talk to me again, so there's still hope...but once again I don't know when that is going to happen..." Tatsurou said with a faint depressed tone, while he got up from the chair he was sitting on and let out a sigh.
"Looks like I was right...she's a bit spontaneous..." Emma said as she laughed a bit while she also got up from her chair, Tatsurou just nodded a bit.
"But well...even if you can't talk to her whenever you want, you can still try to learn how to use those powers alone, it won't hurt trying, right?" Emma said as she placed her hands on the pockets of her lab coat.
"That's what I will do, until we have a chance to talk again...but let's hope it happens soon..." Tatsurou said as he smiled a bit.
"It's like I said before, positive thinking, Kurokami-kun! I will also do my best to find anything while I wait for Erika to come back!" Emma said with a determined and comforting tone, as she head patted Tatsurou.
"I know...I'll do my best, Emma-san..." Tatsurou said also with a determined tone as he smiled.
"That's the spirit!" Emma said as she stooped head patting Tatsurou and looked at the watch over the door of her office.
"No way! It's already 15:43 pm?!" Emma said with a worried and impressed tone as she looked at the watch.
"I'm sorry Kurokami-kun, but I have to go now, I have a meeting with the hospital's director! Would you be a sweetie and close my office?" Emma asked as she made her way towards the door.
"Sure, no problem..." Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone as he looked at Emma taking her leave, and when she was finally gone...
"Emma is always doing so much to help me and even makes time to hear me out when she's already so busy...I have to make it up for her one of these days..." Tatsurou said while he let out a sigh and made his way out of the office...
And meanwhile, in the waiting room of the hospital's first floor, Marie was sitting in one of the many available chairs with a can of juice in her hands, as she waited for Tatsurou, but she didn't look too happy...
"I can't believe that the first time that Tatsurou held my hand, we had to run away...I couldn't even enjoy it properly..." Marie said with a angry tone as she pouted and placed the can of juice she was holding on a trash can next to the chair she was sitting on.
"I...I won't count this as a "hand-holding" moment! I'll only count it as one when it's done properly!" Marie thought determined, as she looked at the ceiling for a bit.
"To be honest...I really want to do couple-ish things with Tatsurou! But that will only happen when Shirayuki finally gains the courage to tell him how she feels, but then again, I don't blame her for taking so long...I'm also a bit embarrassed about telling him myself...hmm...just how can we two get closer to him?" Marie asked herself as she let out a sigh and it was also at this moment, that Tatsurou entered the waiting room.
"Sorry for the long wait, Marie..." Tatsurou said with an apologetic tone, as he got close to Marie.
"Don't worry, it's alright..." Marie said with a monotonous tone, as she got up from the chair.
"Is...something wrong?" Tatsurou asked as he looked at the depressed Marie in front of him.
"Not really..." Marie said with a monotonous tone, as she looked a bit away from Tatsurou.
"She's a bit down...just what...!" As Tatsurou thought this, he finally realized the reason why Marie was down.
"I-I'm really sorry, about holding your hand earlier like that to run away, Marie!" Tatsurou said with an apologetic and embarrassed tone, as he briefly bowed.
"You don't have to apologize Tatsurou, it's alright..." Marie said with a reassuring tone as she smiled, but in reality, she was still upset about the hand-holding part not happening, as she had imagined.
"No, I have to apologize! Is there anything I can do to make it up for you?" Tatsurou asked with a worried tone, as he looked at Marie.
"You don't need to..." As Marie said this, she suddenly stooped.
"Wait a minute...I can use this to my and Shirayuki's advantage, to get closer, can't I?" Marie thought as she looked at Tatsurou for a bit.
"Well, actually I want to go back to that book store we visited the other day to buy a cooking book...so if go there with me, I'll forgive you...but only if we can go today, that is..." Marie said as she scratched her cheek while looking a bit away from Tatsurou.
"Sure, we can do that today before going home..." As Tatsurou said this Marie interrupted him.
"But you'll have to let me hold your arm while we walk there!" Marie said with a stoic embarrassed tone, which surprised Tatsurou quite a bit as he heard her.
"H-Holding my arm, really?! T-That's a bit embarrassing..." Tatsurou said with an embarrassed tone and expression as he blushed.
"Heh? But when we were running away, so many people saw us holding hands...and it was also embarrassing for me..." Marie said with a stoic tone, as she looked away then back at Tatsurou.
"I know that I shouldn't be doing this and take advantage of Tatsurou's goodwill...but I want to do something couple-ish, even if it's just once..." Marie thought, a bit embarrassed, as she looked at the still embarrassed Tatsurou, that didn't know how to react to this request.
"Marie's kind of right, it was a bit embarrassing, especially for her...I'll have to do it embarrassing or not..." Tatsurou thought, as he slowly regained his composure.
"Well...ahem...I don't mind, but is it ok, if it's only...until we reach the monorail station..." Tatsurou said as he looked a bit away from Marie that looked as if she was beaming with light.
"That's fine by me! Let's go then Tatsurou!" Marie said with a very happy tone, as a big smile appeared on her face, while she gently warped her left hand around Tatsurou's right arm.
"Wait, Marie! I should call Shirayuki first, to tell her we're going to get home late..." Tatsurou said this to Marie, but it was mostly useless, as she was too happy and excited with the situation she was in, as she pulled Tatsurou close.
"I'll call Shirayuki when we get to the monorail station..." Tatsurou thought as he let out a sigh and smiled upon seeing how happy Marie was.
"Kya! I'm finally doing something like this with Tatsurou! I don't mind if it's until we reach the monorail station, I'm so happy!" Marie thought as she kept smiling.
"But well, once this is over, I have to tell Shirayuki what happened and make it up for her! And I might just have the perfect plan for that!" Marie thought again, as she kept smiling but her thinking of a "making up" plan for Shirayuki would have to wait as she was a bit busy enjoying this, holding Tatsurou's arm moment as of now...