September (3)

Yu linked his fingers together, then pushed his arms out and over his head in a stretch. Exams. Bleugh.

They weren't even essay exams, which were at least interesting. It wasn't enough that he had to translate for himself, then answer. They had to be bland, multiple-choice, fill-in-the-circle slogfests. Really, bland seemed to be the word of choice for his school of the year. Arcadia was a fine school, with open grounds and wide hallways, and it was in much better financial shape than most of the institutions Yu had been assigned to over the years. He'd passed by a couple of computer labs and a science room, while following the chattering administrative assistant who had led him to the private study room for placement tests, and even a brief glimpse had been enough to convince him that the equipment was relatively new. And yet…

And yet, he hadn't heard a single rant on morality as he walked down Arcadia's halls. No declarations of honorbound tradition, no impassioned poetry reading, no thoughtful hum of meditation, or ruminating on the positions of the planets. Only the tap-tap-scrape of chalkboards, and the droning undercurrent of lectures. The school didn't even have a set uniform, and no one was taking advantage of it to wear any sort of enthusiastic hat. Everyone was doing just as they were supposed to.

Yu had never thought he'd find calm and order so distressing. Perhaps it was the change in scenery to blame, or maybe this was just what happened to people who took a vacation after orbiting their lives around danger.

Yu stretched again, glanced at the clock on the wall—mathematics required little translation, so he'd finished early—and decided to fold his arms and rest his head on the desk. He felt so… restless. Both kinds of restless. He felt like he'd gone without rest, and yet was too energetic to rest now. Had he experienced this while still in Inaba? Yes and no, Yu decided. The quietly gnawing tension was familiar, but it had not had such a grip with there being so much else for him to turn his attention towards.

There was a subtle, warning pressure on his heart. He amended the thought: in Inaba, there had always been someone he could turn his attention towards. Yu could not lie, especially not to himself. The pressure faded to a reassuring, drowsy warmth.

Yu only realized that he'd started to doze off when a cough from the doorway drew his attention. He raised his head from the desk, then gently peeled the exam's sheet of extra paper for doing calculations on away from his face. The proctor was standing in the doorway, her lips held just shy of a smile. "Mr Narukami? That will be all for today. You'll take the history and social studies tests tomorrow, so please be at the faculty office again at 8 o'clock."

Yu nodded, mumbled a thanks, and started packing up his things. A half-day wasn't so bad. That would give him time enough to explore the city a bit, and look into a few things. A check into his bag produced a pamphlet of local bus schedules. That had been a rather considerate action on Mr Wallis's part. One of the first things Yu had inquired about was public transportation, since Brockton Bay was considerably larger than Inaba, and there was little chance of being able to cross the city on foot in any reasonable amount of time. Mr Wallis had paused, agreed that it was a practical concern, and immediately taken him downtown to the Transportation Authority for the city and purchased a 3-month pass for him.

A lucky break that it had been the first thing Yu had asked, because he'd barely even seen the older man since.

Yu found the bus route map that seemed the most applicable—he'd already circled Arcadia's location on it—and started wandering in the vague direction of the faculty office. Finding a public library was his first goal, assuming they had available internet connections, because from there he could not only study, but find locations for other areas of interest in this city. Brockton Bay was simply too large to go wandering in, at least not all at once; he'd have to plot out different districts to explore on foot. The run-down buildings and glimpses of squalid streets were an ominous indicator, but Yu would not be deterred.

Determination quickened his steps and set a fierce grin on his face. Somewhere in this city, there would be a perfect fishing spot. And he was going to find it.

* * *

The Brockton Bay Central Public Library was quite accommodating, Yu was pleased to find. Quite a bit busier and a little noisier than he'd like, perhaps, but this was a large city. Most importantly, there was free (if time-limited) computer use for anyone with a library card, which Yu wasted no time in acquiring. Once he had a small cubby under his domain, he set about the most important task of the day: making an email account.

Yu sent off a quick mail, then started some research while he still had access to the internet. There was a disappointing lack of Parks and Recreation information for this city, but he jotted down a few notes anyway. He quickly enough moved on and was investigating a few other goals when a reply to his mail arrived. Yu blinked at it, then smiled. With the time difference, he hadn't expected such a prompt response… but, Naoto did keep odd hours when she was on a case. He opened the email to find a link to a chat server, and followed it.

Welcome to the Parahumans Online Message Boards
You are currently logged in as Guest

You have entered a private chatroom with: ElementaryDearWatson

ElementaryDearWatson: there u are! was waiting 2 hear from u
whered u end up?
evry1 misses u

Guest: I miss everyone too. My parents sent me to America this time, I'm staying with my aunt's brother in law, apparently? And I'm in a city called Brockton Bay.

ElementaryDearWatson: weird thats kinda a stretch of family
guess ur phone wont work there?
city sounds famiiar tho

Guest: Yeah, I'm out of network. I get charged for calls and can't use text or internet. I'll let you know when I get a phone that can text to Japan, but it might be a while.
Education Visa means I can't be hired anywhere :(
I'll need to get creative to find a part-time job.
How is everyone doing?

ElementaryDearWatson: mostly good, Rise is on tour. Hong Kong i think
Yukiko busy w/ inn as always, im on missing person case outside kyoto
Yosuke Chie & Kanji getting restless tho
Yosuke talking about going sentai after graduation

Guest: Not surprised. Keep me posted?
I'm on a public computer and need to quit soon. Stay safe, Naoto. Say hi to everyone for me.

Yu logged off after exchanging goodbyes with the prodigal detective, and sighed when he noticed the time at the bottom of the computer screen. About time to head back to Mr Wallis' house. The man himself probably wouldn't return until at least eleven, but that was no excuse not to leave something prepared for him in the fridge. The contents of the cupboards promised that to be some manner of box-readied meal, but Yu could keep an eye out for grocery stores along the bus routes, to correct that in the future.

* * *

"This is ridiculous. I should not have needed to explain this three times to him." Armsmaster spoke through gritted teeth as he closed up one panel on his current halberd and opened another. He needed to run a systems check on the Model 02 before the planned strike on a Merchants supply deal tonight, but someone had decided to be obtuse. Now he had to rush things, which was not only aggravating, it was an active danger to the operation. "I know he didn't graduate all that long ago, but Triumph is usually better than this."

"What was the problem?" Dragon's voice spoke up from a nearby laptop. She was working too, so her avatar display was missing, but a simple voice chat program wasn't intrusive to either of their projects.

"Tactics and strategy for a bust later. He couldn't seem to wrap his head around half of i— you think it's on purpose?" It seemed unlikely. Armsmaster didn't have much contact with Triumph, maybe as much as Assault; just a matter of different talents and schedules. He didn't think he'd offended the Blaster, but a second opinion was always a good idea on that front.

"Well, that doesn't sound like him. Can I ask what it was he was having trouble with, specifically?" Armsmaster closed up another panel and started a voltage check on the Model 02 halberd's taser function, reciting what was by now a familiar briefing as he did so. He heard a 'hmm' sound from Dragon over the speaker. "I can see what you're going for there, yes."

"Exactly. It's practically self-evident."

"To you." Armsmaster took a moment to shoot the laptop an irritated glance, despite the lack of visual feed. "You're an intelligent and clever person, Colin, but you tend to assume that everyone already knows what you know. You almost never give any context for things, because it already seems obvious."

"You don't seem to have any trouble keeping up," he muttered.

"You keep me on my toes," Dragon agreed cheerfully. "Just maybe keep it in mind for next time."

Armsmaster huffed, and started running a quick systems check on his armor's internal components. 'No context,' she says. A Merchant bust operation shouldn't need extra context, not in this line of work. Even the Wards knew the basic rundowns of the local gangs, and full Protectorate members were expected to keep up-to-date on internal status briefings. A strike on villain-held assets was routine by now, so maybe Triumph just needed to keep up. It wasn't like the Merchants even had many capes, and the big names were well-documented, Armsmaster was pretty sure even most school-age children could talk about Skidmark and Mush's powers. How much more context could he possibly Yu was a Japanese immigrant in Brockton Bay Jesus fuck.

Feeling suddenly very far away, Armsmaster heard himself call over towards the laptop. "Dragon, if you'll excuse me, I have to make a call."

"Huh? Sure, Colin. I should get going anyway, so I'll just drop the server. Talk to you later."

"Mhm," he replied, as he fumbled out his personal phone from its compartment and started dialing. After a full five rings, the call connected. "Yu, this is Colin Wallis."

"Hello, Mr Wallis. Is there something you need?"

"No, but I wanted to warn you about the local gangs. Brockton Bay isn't a very safe city. Stick to full streets and well-lit areas, and try to be home by dark." A glance at the clock— he needed to get moving or he'd be late for his own operation. "Listen, I'll give you a better rundown later or write you a note or something. Just be careful."

"I understand. I will be careful."

"Good. Goodbye." Armsmaster hung up, then shoved the phone back in its compartment and hurried out the door, bringing up a basic notepad program on his HUD as he did so. He wrote in a quick reminder to explain to his charge about the ABB— how had he overlooked that? 'Everyone' knew that the ABB targeted people of Asian ethnicity, that was how. Maybe Dragon had a point.

* * *

"I understand, I will be careful." Yu replied, then listened to the voice on the other end of the call mutter a goodbye before disconnecting. He pulled the phone away from his ear and addressed the semicircle of toughs who had cornered him in the alley. So much for taking a shortcut. He hadn't heard any motorcycles— were the muggers part of a gang? Yu rather doubted that the distinction mattered, for the moment. "My uncle wants me to be safe, and avoid gangs."

There was a smattering of snickers, and the man nearest him grinned, showing off several blackened teeth. "Good advice, pretty boy! Suggest you take it, an' stay safe by handin' over yer phone an' yer wallet."

"I see… Yes, I will be careful." Yu said, then dropped his small bag of groceries to the pavement as gently as he could. His phone went back in his pocket, prompting a snarl from the toughs and a couple of them to smack their baseball bats against their palms. None of them looked to be wearing any kind of protective gear at all, so he was going to have to be very careful indeed.

"Little shit!" One of the men with a bat spat at him, then swung the implement with a whistle of air. Yu brought up his arm, and the worn bat collided with a thunderous crack, the impact sending cracks and splinters all the way down to the handle. In the sea of his soul, Yu thought he heard a faint chuckle. The rest of the thugs abandoned their smiles and insults. He heard one whisper the word 'cape.'

"Do not worry," Yu assured them, "I will be very careful."

* * *

It was a bit after dark when Yu returned to Mr. Wallis' house, which was later than the maybe-curfew his uncle had suggested, but the groceries he'd picked up had survived the tussle with the maybe-gang intact, so Yu was counting this as a net win. He'd picked up a couple mild bruises from the assault, but they had immediately been swept away by Izanagi-no-Okami's power, so that was no concern at all. Instead, he busied himself with investigating the kitchen cupboards. Hopefully, Mr Wallis liked fried rice.