Reading Steiner

"I... really don't think this is on the way to your lab." Kurisu grumbled.

"Really?" Kyouma looked at her. "And how would you know? Have you been there before?"

"...No." Kurisu admitted with a sigh. "Just call it a feeling. Anyway, why did we have to walk? Couldn't we have taken the train?"

"No, foolish Assistant! Trains are tools of the Organization! Assassins lurk within every train station, waiting to trap the faithful! Besides, walking is good for exercise."

"Easy for you to say," answered Kurisu, struggling to match the long-legged man's pace. "Look. it's just I rather this didn't take too long. I need to get back in time to pack."

There was a short pause. "...pack. Of course. For your flight." Kyouma's tone seemed odd somehow, but when she looked at him, his face looked utterly normal. "What time does your flight leave, did you say?"

"I didn't say, and not only that, it would highly improper of me TO say." Kurisu snapped, stopping short. "Not to mention rude of you to ask. Why don't you find out with your Reading Steiner thing?"

"You mock me, Assistant! More, you mock the power of Reading Steiner." Kyouma looked grave. "It is not to be used for such trivial matters as ascertaining a subordinate's travel plans."

"First of all, and for the last time, I'm not your subordinate. Never was, never will be." Kurisu raised a finger. "Second of all..." she raised another finger. "...how is Reading Steiner too important for my travel plans, but not too important for my internet history?"

The question seemed to catch Kyouma off-guard, and Kurisu caught herself smiling victoriously. Though she didn't want to admit it, that channel discovery had rattled her badly, and she was desperately curious as to how this pretentious hipster had actually found it out. He was hiding something, she was certain.

Kyouma quickly regained his composure. "Because, my dear Christina—"

"—third of all, that's not my name—"

"—because while your history is set in stone, your future is not." He leaned forward and smiled gently, flustering Kurisu most inexplicably. "But if I had to guess, I would say that in your future, you will not take that flight."

"I most certainly will." Kurisu snapped, fighting down an irrational flash of terror. That hadn't been a threat. Probably.

"We shall see, shall we not?" Kyouma grinned. "Come!" He raised himself erect and pointed down the road. "The first destination on our journey of destiny awaits!"

Kurisu groaned and followed after.

"So... you're not a girl."

Ruka seemed embarrassed. "N-no." He admitted softly.

"Ah-heh." Kurisu had the grace to look embarrassed. "Sorry, it's just..." She coughed. "So... you and Kyouma... you're not..."

Ruka's eyes widened. "N-n-n-no! Of course not! That would be wrong! It would be..." He spluttered for words. "N-no. Sensei is my sensei. Nothing more."

Kurisu followed his adoring gaze to Kyouma's distant form, standing at the entrance to the shrine and talking animatedly into his phone. She had to wonder. Not about anything going on—she believed that part. But something about Ruka's expression rather belied his apparent disgust.

"Why do you ask?" Ruka questioned unexpectedly.

"Huh? Oh, ah... just wondering." Kurisu mentally kicked herself. "So sensei schools you in... what, exactly?"

"Oh, all sorts of things!" Ruka's face lit up. "How to pass coded messages, how to exorcise demons... mostly, we practice with Samidare, the demon-slaying sword!"

"Really." Kurisu was divided as whether to blame Kyouma's delusions on his friends, or his friends' delusions on Kyouma. She supposed it was a vicious cycle of some sort. "Lab work too?" She asked.

"Oh no!" Ruka's face was wide again, this time with wonder. "I am not worthy to be versed in the exalted secrets of the Future Gadget Laboratories!"

Kurisu frowned. "But you're a lab mem..." She indicated the golden pin affixed to the boy (?)'s gown. "...aren't you?"

"Oh yes!" Ruka flushed, fingering the badge with obvious affection. "But that is only through the extraordinary generosity of sensei! I have never worked in the lab, but he came by today and gave me this, saying that I was an eternal comrade of the lab." A smile of pure joy glimmered across the boy's face. "I shall never forget it."

"Heh." A smile graced Kurisu's lips. The "boy" looked so sweet, smiling like that. Obviously the poor child was shy... he'd probably been teased relentlessly growing up. His father dressing him in girl's clothes all the time couldn't help. Kyouma was probably one of his few friends...

Ruka shifted uncomfortably. "U-u-um... wh-why... why are you st-staring at me?"

"Huh?" Kurisu blinked. "Oh, um, no reason."

But Ruka didn't seem to believe her. "I'm strange, I know." He answered, hanging his head.

"No, no, that's not it..."

And suddenly Kurisu realized how completely "not it" that was. It was not that Ruka was strange, it was, in fact, that Ruka was not strange enough. For some reason this felt perfectly natural and expected, this girl-who-was-a-boy-with-a-crush-on-another-boy-but-in-denial. She wasn't shocked by any of this, only... slightly bemused.

To put it simply, Ruka seemed oddly... familiar.

"...that's... not it at all." Kurisu wrenched her thoughts back to the moment with an effort. "It... don't worry about it, okay? It doesn't matter."

That evoked a smile. "That's what sensei said." Ruka answered, looking over again at Kyouma. "When we first met. He said, 'it doesn't matter.'"

"Really." Kurisu felt a tiny warming of her heart for Kyouma. Sure, perhaps the man was crazy, but he'd taken this poor bishi under his wing.

"He's wrong." Ruka said abruptly, his face suddenly hopelessly sad.

"Wh-what?" Kurisu was taken by surprise and looked at him askance. "No, that sort of thing doesn't matter at..."

"Yes, it does." Ruka answered, closing his eyes. "If I was a girl, it would matter to sensei."

"It would... oh." Feeling dangerously embarrassed by the line of conversation, she shrugged her shoulders. "Y-you don't know that."

"Yes, I do." Ruka answered. He turned away. "If I was a girl... maybe he'd look at me like he's looking at you."

"...look, just whip something up, okay? I don't care what, just... nothing with microwaves!" Kyouma threw her an anxious look as she approached. "Okaygottagobye!"

"What was that about microwaves?" Kurisu frowned.

"Nothing important!" Kyouma insisted, folding up his phone and stowing it in his voluminous labcoat. "Just ordering the other lab mems to prepare the laboratory for your arrival." He looked at her. "Did you have a nice visit with Ruka-chan?"

"Oh yes." Kurisu threw a look over her shoulder at the boy sweeping the steps of the shrine. "Er... has he ever been to the States?"

"Oh no." Kyouma shook his head. "He and his father have always been here to tend the shrine." A curious light entered his eyes. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason." Kurisu shrugged. But her eyes were still studying the boy. What was so irresistably familiar about him?

"Come, Assistant!" Kyouma once again struck a pose. "Future Gadget laboratories awaits!"

"Yay."

"Okay, that shrine was definitely not on the way." Kurisu gasped, half-an-hour later, as she and Kyouma sat, exhausted, on a handy bench. "Why did we go there again?"

"To see Ruka-chan!" Kyouma managed to pant. "And to throw off the agents of the Organization!"

Kurisu looked at him, puzzled. "Won't that just lead them to Ruka and put her in danger?"

Kyouma appeared stumped by that one. "Eh... Well... they won't... the sword of... of... ahh, it doesn't matter." He shrugged. "Ruka can handle herself. Himself." He corrected.

"What..." Kurisu stared at him. This sudden apathy appeared very unusual.

"Come!" He stood with a little burst of energy. "It is not far."

"You said that half-an-hour ago..." Kurisu groaned, standing nonetheless. "Why can't we simply take the subway?"

"Too many agents of the Organization! Now come!"

Kurisu clenched her teeth and followed the madman. "He saved your life, he saved your life, he saved your life..." She repeated to herself.

"Behold! Future Gadget Laboratories!"

"A Cathode Ray Tube shop?"

"What?" Kyouma glanced at her in surprise. "No! It's... No, see, it's upstairs. The television store is run by the guy who owns the place. We rent from him."

"I see." On one level, Kurisu felt she should probably be disappointed about how... un-impressive the much-vaunted Future Gadget Laboratories looked. It was barely even two stories high, and the building was in terrible repair.

She should be disappointed, after spending so much time and effort to reach it, but amazingly enough, she wasn't. Rather, she was caught up in a beautiful feeling of joyous euphoria as she stared at the rickety, outmoded, ugly little deathtrap.

What is wrong with me?

"Ah! And there is mister Braun!" Kyouma waved wildly. "Good evening, Mr. Bruan!"

A burly man was just exiting the CRT store, followed closely by a small girl and a...

...bang a pop of red and purple on a white shirtfront like a doll with strings cut years of torture...

Kurisu actually stopped short at the sudden wave of hostility she felt as the curly-haired blonde behind "Mr. Braun" came into view. The pale skin, the subdued body language, the black glasses, the pink-and-purple phone pressed into her hand... All of these filled Kurisu with a wave of almost violent animosity. And... fear, she realized.

"Kurisu?"

She came out of her reflections with a start. Kyouma was studying her with a questioning... no, an inquisitive... no, a curious look. Almost... oddly hungry.

"Are you alright?" He asked, and she found herself surprised by the tenderness in his voice.

"I'm fine." She managed. "Just... um... why don't you introduce me to them?"

"Of course!" Kyouma took her by the hand, and Kurisu followed, struggling to master her irrational feelings.

"Mister Braun!" Kyouma announced loudly as they approached the group. "I must present to you FGL's newest lab mem, Christina, my assistant!"

She closed her eyes. "My name is Makise Kurisu." She said, offering the man a polite smile.

"Pleased to meet you." The man's easy smile relieved a lot of the unease generated by his massive bulk. "But, eh, why're you hanging out with this loser?" He jerked his head at Kyouma.

Kurisu's smile grew wider, relieved at finally finding someone who seemed relatively sane. "Kyouma-san helped me with something." She answered. "Now I'm helping him."

"Good luck with that. He needs it." Mr. Braun half turned as his daughter hid behind him. "Ah, you'll have to forgive my daughter, she's a little shy."

"Quite understandable." Kurisu shook her head. Actually the small girl creeped her out a little, though again, she could not have said why. It seemed to be her day for irrational judgments of people.

"Well, this is MY assistant." Mr. Braun gestured to the blonde, who looked up in surprise at his motion. "Moeka just started here, but so far she's fit in like one of the family. A sight more useful than this lazy ass." He glared at Kyouma.

Kurisu hoped her smile was not too forced. "Good to meet you also." She said, extending her hand to the girl.

Moeka did not answer right away, she was looking at Kurisu with a far-off expression, and when she noticed the hand she shied away just a little, but then she shook it. "G-good to m-meet you." She replied, brow furrowed.

Kurisu's heart was pounding, and she could feel her teeth clenching a little, but even through all that, her brain was sufficiently engaged to realize one thing.

Moeka was trying to remember her.