Ben10 & Digimon Tamers
Heroes and Humanity
Part 01: Heroes and Humanity
Chapter 12
Originally Written: Sunday February 5, 2012 1:30AM to Saturday February 11, 2012 2:26PM; Monday, January 09, 2012 4:37AM to 4:59AM; Wednesday January 4, 2012 8:37AM to Thursday, January 4, 2012 5:09AM
"Geeze, did you sleep at all?" Jenrya looked over to Albedo.
The gray haired male stared at the ceiling in the darkness of Jenrya's room. "I woke up a few minutes before your alarm."
"A few meaning-"
Albedo wondered if he had an eyebrow raised, "About a half hour. Not that long."
Jenrya sat up and yawned while stretching, "You excited? Nervous?"
"Excited for what?"
"Your exam."
Albedo sat up and shrugged his shoulders, "It's just an exam."
"Does anything amuse or excite you?"
"I told you about that girl, you know, Aimi, with the Netbook? Akira face planting on his skateboard is usually amusing for a short time." Albedo shrugged, "You can be pretty entertaining."
Jenrya scratched at his forehead, "That's...not much."
Albedo carefully climbed over him, "Considering you're the least annoying human I've ever met...Unless you were looking for hobbies." Albedo stood in front of Jenrya looking down at him. His red eyes seemed to glow in the darkness.
Jenrya stood up and shook his head, "That's alright." He moved to his dressing, rummaging for clothes, " You may get caught up in a quantum physics rant."
"That'd be a how do you say it, piece of cake, this early in the morning."
"I bet it would be Mr. Genius. How's red?" Jenrya tossed him a shirt.
"That will be fine." He caught the pants and underclothes Jenrya tossed to him. He slung them over his shoulder. He followed him out the room in silence as though he was a second shadow. His footsteps were quiet. He kept his eyes squinted slightly. It wasn't easy to hide when you had red eyes that seemed to glow occasionally. He'd have to take some time to figure out what was causing it.
They brushed their teeth, washed their faces and shaved in silence. Albedo stared at himself in the mirror as Jenrya set the water for him. It was just a habit they had fallen into, as most of their days were. He ran his fingers against his cheeks.
'Disturbing...' He pulled at the pale skin. He stared hard into the mirror trying to keep himself in his memories, his mind. He kept coming up with green eyes and brown hair. He clenched his fists. His lips curled into a silent snarl, 'A horrid thing they're attempting to turn me into.'
"You okay?" Jenrya placed a hand on his shoulder.
Albedo's snarl quickly disappeared. He relaxed his arms and hands. "Yes."
Jenrya looked away for a moment, "Are you sure?"
His anger flowed away for just a moment, "Yes."
Jenrya smiled up at him, "Your hair's really long now." He pulled at a white lock of hair. Albedo watched as Jenrya used his hands to pull his hair up into a high ponytail. "Reaches past your shoulders now." His voice was light with mirth. "Maybe we'll put it up in a ponytail for the exam?" Jenrya tilted to the side to look up at Albedo.
Albedo held in a shudder as he looked in the mirror. His hair was STILL brown. It was even worse because now he was female. Albedo gently pulled his hair from Jenrya's grasp and placed it into a low ponytail. 'I've got to get out of this disgusting shell...'
Jenrya circled around him carefully. He pulled a few strands from the hairstyle leaving them to messily frame his face. "Perfect. Dignified, but not stuck up."
"I'm not stuck up."
Jenrya turned around whistling.
"Being a smartass is my schtick." Albedo undressed and entered the shower.
Jenrya sat on the toilet bowl lid, with his arms folded over his lap, "At least you admit it."
"Of course I would." Albedo's voice oozed with snarky confidence. "Being a smartass annoys everyone but the smart people and it's certainly not my fault people are stupid."
"I'm beginning to think that compared to you even geniuses are stupid."
"Maybe." Albedo smirked to himself. He moved carefully as he washed, 'Don't be clumsy.' He mentally chided himself. By himself, despite Tennyson being a man of average human height, the feeling that he was a giant overtook his senses and if he wasn't careful, he'd start knocking things over. With others, it wasn't bad. Next to others he suddenly was normal height.
He looked at Jenrya's silhouette on the shower curtain. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Jenrya leaned against the tank, tapping his fingers softly on his legs. Albedo opened his mouth to speak. Again nothing came out. He blinked for a moment the feeling of the water soothing on his skin.
'It's a simple question, idiot.' Albedo scolded himself. He stared down at the floor, 'Can't even blame him for being stupid this time. I hate humans, and I hate being human even more...'
Henry stared at the copy of the completed application he saved for Albedo's records. He hadn't even told Albedo it would be something good to keep. In fact, it was Albedo who had given him the request to copy the documentation.
He hadn't seen the document as Albedo was filling it out. This was the first time seeing it completed. There was so much here that he didn't know about Albedo.
He sat on his bed, reading the document. A small portion of him regretted doing such a thing, but he had decided to look anyway. ''I don't know anything about him. I should have found out something more than his intelligence and the fact he likes chili fries before letting him in here.' Henry shook his head.
"He's not Trang. I did good, not really letting anyone meet Trang. I did..." Henry looked at the picture on the table next to his computer. Dr. Iris' words rang out in his mind.
"Don't force it. Only when you're ready to, can the wounds start to heal."
"I'm tired of looking at that picture already. It makes me angry. Besides. I have Albedo now."
"Albedo? Your friend?"
"...He's a good one. Unlike Trang."
"It always comes back to you, doesn't it? Asshole." Henry turned to face the window. He tapped his hands against the bed. The application fell off his lap. Henry picked it up. "Why are you...-!?" He groaned, "And who's the idiot who let you get by with no high school diploma? I know you've had to have graduated by now with that intelligence level. You wouldn't stand for anyone holding you back." He placed a hand on his chin, "How long have you been homeless...?"
He fell back onto the bed, his upper back, neck and head hanging off the side. "You're too perfect to be only sixteen." He looked up at the ceiling. 'Why do you keep doing this to me? Is it because I'm a freak of nature? Are you punishing me for your own amusement?" He looked at the application again. "Albedo Lowenthal…"
"You're very confident." Jenrya fixed Albedo's jacket.
"If you have the skill, why not be confident in it?"
"Too much confidence is bad, you know."
Albedo smirked, "Too much of anything is bad, but I know what I'm capable of." Albedo picked up the tail of his tie. "What an absolutely ridiculously unnecessary clothing accessory." A smile of amusement came to his face as he watched it flop about in his hand.
Jenrya circled around behind him. He held up his hands, "It makes you quote unquote 'look like a responsible mature gentleman'. Wear a tie and for some stupid reason people will take you so much more seriously."
Albedo raised an eyebrow. He looked at Jenrya in the mirror. It took a few seconds, but the two of them started laughing, "That's the most ridiculous reason to wear something like this. The only thing this accessory could be used for is asphyxiation." Albedo pulled at the knot.
Jenrya circling around in front of him, "You have to look professional." He loosened the tie and fixed the jacket, "No matter how stupid it is that a tie or a modest pair of heels displays professionalism that your personality alone should."
"How can an article of clothing, if it ever can be called such, display maturity?"
Jenrya shrugged his shoulders, "Just follow the herd with this one."
Albedo shook his head, "Stop tugging on my clothes already. You're not taking the exam."
"One of us has to be nervous. A good teacher isn't just good at teaching."
The image of a certain Galvan appeared in Albedo's mind. He shook off the image and the rising thought. He gave Jenrya a bland look. "I'm sure."
"That's not what I meant. If I wanted to I could probably teach. I'd probably put the students to sleep, but I could do it."
Albedo stared at himself in the mirror. He was aware that such things were somewhat important. However, as it was that the student came to learn and not the other way around, it wasn't the teacher's job to make sure their students stayed awake. Assuming he got and kept such a job, he'd only worry if he was sitting in front of a class of attentive people and none of them understood him. Unlike Azmuth, he would take pride in his work, and not leave the results with the stupid who had no chance of making something of themselves.
Jenrya stood behind him looking at him in the mirror. "You look near perfect."
"Near perfect?"
"I like it, but hopefully the examiners won't think you look old or something." Jenrya picked up his hand, "If not for the pigment of your skin, I'd think you had albinism."
"I bet the majority of people don't even know what that is."
"You'd probably be right."
"Hence the bet." Albedo tugged on a lock of gray-ish white hair, "It shouldn't be a problem. If this place can handle Digimon, I'm sure they can be a bit more mature about a hair and eye color."
Jenrya looked off to the side, "You know a few days back, when you told me 'Maturity over intelligence'?"
Albedo mentally sighed. And that was the problem.