AN: Kind of feels weird that an update comes from not to Digimon Re: Tamers or Starlight Ablaze after such a long time, considering I've been ever so badly needing to update Reflection Code more often because that's so far the sole remaining handicap as to why I can't update SAO: Special Edition.
Reflection Code Chapter 2:
The interior of the elevator showcases the entire exterior of the walls, floors, and ceiling of the compartment itself to be made of some kind of transparent metal; definitely not class, as William's footsteps allow him to hear the distinct clanking of metal being touched by a hefty weight. William, at this point, doesn't do anything; he waits to see what Yumi does first; her coincidental appearances are bothering her, so he simply leaves the terminal at bay all the while thinking about going to floor two to see the homeroom of his former science teacher.
Yumi activates the terminal with a press of her hand, and sends the duo heading up to floor three.
"You seem rather bothered, Mr. Dunbar." Yumi says to William in a stoic manner, as William hesitantly nods.
"Kind of, just talking things over with Jean about my job here; looks like you've only recently signed up for a job here as well?" William asks Yumi, as Yumi nods.
"Yes, I'm also going to be working security just like you will be." Yumi tells William, as William stops what he was about to say, only to try and begin to speak, before Yumi interrupts him.
"You're a strong man who can easily lift Jim up over his shoulder; why else would you be hired here? Jim doesn't have the stamina he had used to have in the past, so you're more or less going to be Jim's replacement as a security guard." Yumi explains, as William looks less than amused with the choice of wording.
"Replacement my ass-"
"Language; there are children present here." Yumi interrupts again, as William closes his eyes as he pinches his brow to try and concentrate, as he lets loose an exasperated sigh. He sets his hand on the wall nearest to him away from Yumi, as William's eyes glance over the elevator's small room.
"Something tells me you're going to be finding yourself in my path very often, aren't you?" William asks Yumi, as Yumi looks the other way, all the while William notices something in her sudden movement.
"Honestly it's like you consider that something hard to accomplish." Yumi states to William, her emotion somewhat perking up, but only by a small amount to where William takes notice; Yumi had been relatively stoic until now, and William had been wary on Yumi once he had talked to Jean about Jérémie.
"So I have a question, Yumi; care I ask how exactly you know about something going on with Jérémie?" William asks, before adding, "I mean, I don't even know the guy yet and already you're wanting me and Jean to go easy on him and-"
"He's on the spectrum." Yumi interrupts with a harsher, yet still emotionless tone that catches William off guard, before William lets out a sigh as he rubs his temples.
"Riiight… special needs kid, got it, that answers most of my questions… except for why he's breaking curfew according to the security footage." William said, as Yumi blinks.
"… You seem oddly reassured with telling me this information, William."
"Well maybe that's because I had just discovered your little trick, Yumi." William says, as he points to the metal walls. "These walls are transparent, and we've yet to come across any other elevator doors right now; we're not actually moving right now." William says, as he catches Yumi's attention, but notes her expression remains stoic.
"And from what Jim told me earlier about Stern's kid being a student here, from what I've last talked to about him a week ago, he mentioned his son has the hots for a girl capable of doing magic tricks."
"William, stop-"
"Perhaps those kinds of tricks explain why and how Jérémie avoids getting caught red handed?!"
"WILLIAM!" Yumi shouts as she holds her palm outwards as William is suddenly sent recoiling back into the wall, a noticeable crack in the metal forming as William yells in excruciating pain over a sudden jolt along his spine having been hit as if with the force of a metal baseball bat. William falls onto the floor, panting heavily as he recovers from the impact, all the while Yumi holds her hands over her mouth as her eyes widen in horror.
"W-William, I…. I-I'm…" Yumi stutters as she's recovering from the shock of witnessing what had happened to William; what she had done to William when she had been pushed too far. Even if William was getting nosy, even he didn't deserve the physical pain that still surges from his backside right now.
William, grabbing a hold of a nearby railing in the middle of the walls of the elevator, lifts himself up as Yumi moves to try and assist him with getting up; William, gently, pushes her away to signal her to stay back, giving her a shocked, confused, and disorientated glare of questioning right now to her.
"When and how?" William asks as he still catches his breath, as Yumi blinks for a moment in surprise.
"W-Wh-What..."
"You didn't lay a hand on me at all when that happened, Yumi… You're a psychic, I can assure you that; literally checking the security footage will prove that." William states to Yumi, as Yumi shudders a bit as she holds her hand out and more blatantly conjures up a rift in space before the two of them.
"Do you want to get to the floor you're going to? Lunch is due to begin soon and I'd really just-"
"Yumi you can't dodge this subject forever; you're a psychic, your powers are going to get discovered by everyone at some point, and there's going to be nowhere to run about it once that happens, the very least you can do is give me some answers to avoid further accidents!" William yells at Yumi to get his point across, as Yumi pulls her hand back, the wave of energy dissipating, as space warps back to normal around the two of them.
"Alright… meet me at my quarters on the third floor and leave getting lunch to one of the assistants, we'll talk about it there; I'll fill you in on everything, provided, however-" Yumi says as she nearly moves her hand to try and do something with this ability to William, as William braces himself for an impact that doesn't end up happening, as Yumi rubs her brow to get herself to calm down.
"S-Sorry, I stepped out of line thinking that logic would work… L-Look, let's just talk this over-"
"In your room at lunch, right? Got it; anything you'd like me to do to prepare?" William asks, as Yumi thinks it over.
"If one of the assistants to arrive to deliver lunch is my brother, than that might be something we need to worry about." Yumi says to William, as William nods.
"Alright, so can we please get out of this elevator already?"
Almost as if Yumi had flicked a switch online, the elevator shakes and trembles as it begins to move after having been halted; William recoils a bit from the sudden quake, but Yumi uses her hand to keep things stable.
"Sorry; kinetic energy buildup I had to fight against the whole time, even right now as well." Yumi states as she stops the elevator at floor two, as she sighs. "Jean and Jimbo will want you to get set up in your own quarters first, the furthest room from this elevator to the left; my quarters are literally merely a floor above yours." Yumi explains to William, as the doors open as William gets out.
"Just do be careful with those outbursts next time, Yumi." William tells her, trying his best to act perfectly normal as possible as he waves Yumi farewell for now, as Yumi proceeds to head to floor three as planned. William looks around at the floor as he begins to have a headache over the sudden introduction to Yumi in such a fashion; all of those stories he had heard from Stern's father and they were all apparently true.
William could only imagine if all of the other stories also happened to be true or not as well.
As William begins unpacking various boxes and bags in his new room to prepare for what would be up ahead, William contemplates to himself as to whether or not he'll even be actually prepared; Yumi's indeed a psychic from everything he has observed, and even having the back injury to prove it. No woman of Yumi's small size or stature could ever inflict such an injury on William in such a small space, let alone with how strong William is, under normal circumstances.
'Do Jean and Jimbo know of Yumi's abilities? Then again, probably not; they only would've known her for a single day now; they're known me for years.' William thinks to himself, as he unpacks a laptop and sets it on a desk facing a window in the room; only a single window and a small amount of room to work with in this dorm-like living arrangement.
"Oh boy, William; what did you get yourself into on this new job? I did not sign up for supernatural stuff like this…" William speaks to himself, as he takes out his cellphone with a USB cable to plug it into his laptop for it to charge, after having plugged in the laptop itself into the nearest outlet.
Thinking about it more, he recalls what he had seen from Jérémie on the monitor; he looked no older than 18, perhaps even being younger than that such as 16, or perhaps even younger. William couldn't tell how old Jérémie was, but one thing is for certain.
William did not sign up for the supernatural stuff; he did, however, sign up for the capability to protect those of his junior who are in need of help. Jérémie is a special needs kid as far as he's been able to determine, so perhaps William needs to talk with him first above anyone else.
A knock on the door catches William off guard, however, as William sighs as he stands up and opens the door to answer it; the 18 year old known as Odd from earlier today is at the door, as Odd looks with uncertainty up towards William.
"Um… Hello… My name is Odd Della Robbia, I've been told to meet you ahead of your shift begins." Odd speaks to William, as William raises an eye, before closing his eyes and sighing.
"Look, kid, I'm sorry about jumping at the accusations earlier towards Jim, it's just-"
"First, I'm not a kid, I'm an adult; second… you're right to be concerned, but I don't mean any harm at all with my antics." Odd tells William, as Odd looks both ways as he seems rather frightened by William's tall stature. William notices this, as he kneels to Odd's level in terms of height.
"Odd, just do me a favor and relax; you being all timid over someone you barely know isn't going to make things any better." William tells Odd, as Odd slowly nods as he looks concerned.
"A-Alright, just, er, go easy on Ulrich will you? I know his father's a… well, for lack of a better term, a-"
"Hold on; why should I be concerned with a kid I probably don't even know? What's his last name by any chance?"
"Stern."
"That explains that, then." William stops himself as to give himself some room to breathe. "Okay, so Ulrich is someone to go easy on just like how Yumi says to go easy on Jérémie. Any advice you can give me for anyone else?" William asks, as Odd looks at him with a serious, but still concerned, glance.
"Look, I don't know who has been telling you anything about Einstein or what he does, but regardless of whether or not it is true, I want you to just pretend you have no idea what's going on with him; he gets scared easily when he thinks you know what's going on in his head." Odd tells William, as William nods as he rubs his temples to calm himself down.
"Also, one last word of advice I can give you; don't go out late at night around early in the morning. Animal control has been frequently called to the forest outside for a long while, but…" Odd says, as William's eyes widen. Did this have anything to do with that oddity he saw on the camera?
"Let's just say none of the student body is convinced that what's roaming the forest is a normal animal in the slightest." Odd says, as William nods.
"I'll keep that in mind; now can you head off now as I have some unpacking I still need to finish, alright?" William asks, as Odd salutes.
"Yes sir." Odd says, as he moves to leave for elsewhere. William, however, takes the time to contemplate what Odd was saying about the strange creature he saw on the security footage; animal control had been apparently called to Kadic for a good while now, and yet something bugs William about what Odd had said.
What exactly is convincing the whole student body that it's probably some kind of monster?
After unpacking what he was given and what little he had brought with him, William heads out to the third floor as he goes to check on Yumi; lunch is prominent as many of the classes had dismissed their students, but right now students were not allowed into their dorms until the afternoon hits. William knocks on the door to Yumi's dorm as he waits for an answer; eventually he gets an answer from Yumi, who opens the door without being near it with a telekinetic grasp.
"You're late, but I can understand why." Yumi tells William, as William nervously chuckles as he moves into Yumi's dorm, as Yumi shuts the door behind him. William looks around and notices a lot of Japanese décor in Yumi's room, as well as an odd scent filled the air of the room; a fragrant, fruity smell is present, as William focuses his attention on Yumi.
"Alright, so you'd like to continue our talk from earlier in a more private setting, I can understand that." William says, as he looks at Yumi seriously; Yumi nods as she looks at William with concern.
"How is your back feeling?" Yumi asks, as William shrugs.
"Still a sore pain in the end, but nothing I can't withstand with my sturdy build." William tells her, as Yumi sighs in relief.
"Thank goodness, I honestly thought I broke something…" Yumi says to William, as William nervously chuckles.
"It's fine; nothing is broken. You, well, you still need to be careful with this power of yours." William says, as Yumi nods.
"As if I hadn't been trying, to say the least; I've sometimes taken my frustration out on inanimate objects every now and then, usually in an abandoned lot further into the forest. Problem is it hasn't exactly been safe going there anymore, and when I saw you coming into Kadic from there you had just barely avoided getting telekinetically vaporized on the spot had you turned out to be what I thought you were." Yumi says, as William's eyes widen, before he becomes serious.
"Let me guess, this monster that Odd is saying the whole student body is worried about?"
"Precisely; animal control had been called time and time again, but they could never identify the creature lurking in the forest outside of Kadic Academy, nor what one of them is apparently… speaking, out towards Jérémie in hopes of getting his attention." Yumi says, as William nods.
"Which explains why he's been going out so late at night." William says, as Yumi nods.
"Precisely; I can actually hear a conversation going on in his mind, and I've had suspicions to believe that bizarre creatures are appearing in the forest as a means of keeping me out of the situation." Yumi says, as William nods.
"Would only seem natural; I'm surprised it never addressed you directly with its own telekinesis. Though, that does remind me… where did this whole telekinesis thing… 'begin'?" William asks the big question, as Yumi looks out of the window, as she looks and sees the lower floors and outside area are empty.
"William; I am about to entrust you with information that only a few select students know about; I need you to absolutely promise me that this won't be spoken of lightly around the public at large. Understood?" Yumi asks, as William nods.
"I promise; if this is a big deal, I can afford to keep secrets; but I'm not going to allow this to happen if it threatens all of the school at large." William says, as Yumi looks shocked.
"William, think about this; even if there is a big threat to the public, we do not want people reacting in mass hysteria as much as possible; that will only make things worse, have people make rash decisions, and just overall make solving the problem all of the more difficult." Yumi says, as she asks again, "Do you promise you'll keep this secret, please?" Yumi asks.
William lets out a heavy sigh as he takes this in; he didn't sign up for this, but innocents could be hurt at any moment, and he does want to know why Yumi has this telekinetic power to begin with, and why it apparently is a big deal for her to keep the origins of such a secret. William focuses his gaze on Yumi as he gives her a reassuring nod.
"I promise you, Yumi. I won't spill a word on any of this." William tells Yumi, as Yumi takes a moment to process William's words; closing her eyes as she focuses on William, it isn't hard for William to notice that Yumi is scanning his whole mind, not only to see if he's legitimate with his promise, but whether he could even be trusted at all. Yumi eventually reopens her eyes as she gazes at William.
"Alright." Yumi says, as she moves to stand and head out the door as she opens it and heads outside into the hall.
"Follow me; you'll only be able to believe these answers if you see it for yourself."
AN: Yumi's telekinesis is actually something lifted directly from Garage Kids here; it's a power she had in the real world in the original pilot. Speaking of which, that's actually going to be serving a lot in the basis for the supercomputer in this story; it won't be the iconic factory for obvious reasons, but due to the fact the Hermitage is an equally iconic location; it's actually going to be not remotely far away on a surface level from the Hermitage; it's going to be mostly underground just like the actual supercomputer was.
