CHAPTER 12 — SEPARATION

YEAR 194

When he was ten, Sho became an official cadet in the White-Clad's ranks. Unlike the other children, he was also assigned to an adult unit, specifically the one that Arrow was in: the Knights of the Ashen Flame. He alternated training with the cadets and with the adults.

Arrow personally made his uniform when she was at work. After all, it's not like there were any child-sized Ashen Flame uniforms around: everything had to be custom made for Sho. She was especially pleased with how his cloak had turned out. Arrow told him that he looked very handsome and knightly in his new uniform. He rolled his eyes, but was blushing.

Sho and Arrow were assigned new quarters in the boys' dorm and women's barracks respectively. Unlike the other soldiers, they did not have to share bunks, and each got a fairly large room all to themself.

Arrow had brought Sho to her new room to show him how she'd decorated it.

"And now I have space for my own sewing machine." Arrow indicated a table pushed against a wall.

"Arrow... why do you still have that picture?" Sho was looking at a crayon drawing taped to the wall above the table. It was a portrait of Arrow that Sho had drawn when he was six. He'd tried drawing her eyes with their arrow-shaped pupils, but didn't quite get them right and she looked like she was having a stroke. There was a caption at the bottom: "My buddy".

"Because it's adorable. I remember when you brought it home from school. You were so proud of it that you showed it to everyone on the hall." Arrow grinned as Sho covered his eyes in embarrassment.

There was a beautiful, framed drawing of the church sanctuary hanging on the opposite wall. Kurenai had drawn it and given it to Arrow to congratulate her on finally moving into "the grown-ups' building". Kurenai was going to be transferred to Asakusa in a few weeks. Arrow was disappointed: she had been looking forward to living on the same hall as her friend again.

On her dresser, Arrow had a small, framed photo of her and Sho together.

It was taken in Solar Year 191, the day that Arrow graduated the cadets. They were both wearing new uniforms: Arrow, age seventeen, was in her first Knights of The Ashen Flame uniform, and Sho, age seven, was in a brand new White-Clad school uniform. Arrow was standing behind Sho with her hands on his shoulders. She was five feet, six-and-a-half inches tall: nearly two feet taller than Sho was at the time. Sho had just made it to four feet this year. The pair in the photo looked properly serious, but it came off as slightly comical because of the height difference. Sho had refused to stand on a stool.

The White-Clad did not take many pictures for security reasons, but graduation day was a special occasion, and it was good for morale.

Arrow had one of the most coveted pieces of furniture in the barracks: a couch. It had only two seats, and was third-hand, ugly as sin, and pretty uncomfortable, but Arrow just draped a blanket over it and put an extra pillow on it. Sho had a little couch in his room too, but it wasn't hideous and uncomfortable.

"And... that's pretty much it." Arrow's room tour had taken about three minutes total.

They stood there awkwardly.

Sho put a hand on his forehead and sighed. "Arrow, do you want a hug?"

"Yes."

Sho held open his arms and Arrow came over to him, but she was so much taller that she got down on her knees so that her head was about level with his chest. She wrapped her arms around his waist and he patted her on the head a few times.

"Geez, Arrow, for someone so tough, you sure are a big baby."

Arrow laughed into his shirt then stuck her fingers into his armpits. "Gotcha."

He squealed and started swatting at her.

Sho was really scared. He did his best to hide it, but Arrow could tell.

Arrow helped him move into his new room, and Sho kept up a brave face until the end. Once Arrow had said goodnight and was about to walk out the door, Sho threw his arms around her waist. "Please don't leave me here! I want to stay with you!"

It was breaking Arrow's heart. It was hard enough for her to leave Sho, but now he was begging to go with her? Arrow hated this; Sho hated this. Maybe the elders were wrong, and it was too early to separate them... no. It was time.

Arrow gently removed Sho's arms from around her waist. "Sho, you're big now. You have to sleep in your own room. That's the rule." She told him goodnight, shut his door, and forced herself to walk away even though she thought that she heard him crying.

When Sho knocked on the door of her room after lights out, she felt even worse.

"Sho. You cannot sleep in my room anymore." Arrow walked him back to his room and put a hand on his head in an attempt to reassure him. "I'll see you in the morning." Arrow couldn't make eye contact with him as she said that: she knew that if she did, then she might have taken him back with her.

Once again, she closed Sho's door and made the long, painful walk to her new room.

Sho was back at her door at 6:30 the next morning. Arrow had not prepared for this situation at all.

Since she was already up, Arrow let him in.

After all, Sho had slept in his own room last night. Letting him in to visit with her for a bit wouldn't be spoiling him: it would be rewarding him. Arrow's decision had nothing to do with how disoriented and lonely she felt when she had woken up all alone in a new room.

No sooner had Arrow sat down on the couch than Sho climbed onto her lap, then wrapped his arms around her neck and tucked his head under her chin. Sho hadn't done that in a long time; he must be really upset.

Arrow draped her arms around him. "You did good sleeping in your own room last night."

"Mmph. Didn't sleep much."

"You'll get used to it."

"Hmph." He repositioned himself on her lap.

"You're getting a little big for my lap, Sho."

"Am not."

"And I thought I was the big baby."

"You are. I'm sitting on your lap to make you feel better."

Arrow laughed. "Whatever you say."

It really did make her feel better. Arrow was lonely a few minutes ago, and now Sho was sitting on her lap and cuddling with her. All things considered, Arrow was feeling pretty good right now.

After about twenty minutes, Arrow told Sho to get up so that they could get ready for breakfast. Sho was still in his pajamas, and had to go back to his room to change and get his school bag in order for the day. Sho decided he would rather keep sitting on her lap, so Arrow stood up. Sho was hanging off of her neck, but he let go when Arrow tickled his sides.

Arrow would have liked to say that it got easier after that first night, but it didn't.

For the next two nights, Sho appeared at her door around 11pm, and she walked him back to his room. Arrow was getting fed up with it by then, and told Sho that if he didn't stay in his room at night, then he couldn't come see her in the morning before breakfast. After that, he stopped coming to her room at night.

Sho was still at her door bright and early every morning for a week. Then, one day, he just didn't come. Arrow waited for him, and was getting a little worried by the time she had to go to the mess hall. Nothing was wrong; Sho had just decided that he could wait until breakfast to see her now.

Arrow was disappointed. Now she didn't have anyone to talk to first thing in the morning. Sho was right: she was a big baby.

For the first three weeks that they were living apart, Arrow kept tabs on Sho as he went about his daily routine. Except for prayers and dinner, Arrow didn't accompany him as he walked from place to place, but she checked to make sure he was getting where he was supposed to be on time.

All of his teachers gave her the same report: Sho was punctual. It helped that every class, teacher, and trainer punished tardiness. Arrow also periodically checked in with his teachers, and they confirmed that he was doing his homework and taking his studies seriously.

Sho took pride in being responsible, and Arrow was really proud of him.

Torch was the adult soldier that oversaw Sho's hall in the boys' dorm, and Arrow asked him if Sho was in his room at lights out (neither of them could enforce a bedtime, so they just had to trust that he would get enough sleep without being told). Torch said that Sho was behaving and—though still quiet and somewhat reserved—getting along well with the other boys. Arrow had no need to worry.

Arrow thought about going to visit Sho in his room to see if he'd decorated it more or if he just wanted to hang out, but she didn't know if she should: the other cadets would be around and she didn't want them to tease Sho because his "big sis" was checking up on him. For the sake of his reputation, Arrow decided against it. If Sho wanted her to come over, he would invite her.

While Sho was adapting well to his independence, Arrow was not.

After he stopped visiting her room in the mornings, it sunk in: Sho didn't need her.

Arrow didn't know what "not being needed" felt like. Her purpose in life was caring for someone who needed her. Sho didn't need her, so... now what? Wait a second: Sho would still need a bodyguard. That part of her duty remained, thank Sol. Arrow wouldn't be useless to Sho.

Arrow realized that she should back off and let Sho live his life. The whole point of raising him was so that he could learn to live on his own. Children grew up, and stopped living with their parents or guardians. That was the way this world worked, and people who couldn't conform to the world were fools.

Arrow felt foolish for missing Sho so much.

She was too spoiled. You don't get what you want, but it doesn't matter what you want: you're an adult and you deal with it.

Arrow needed to break herself from being selfish like this. Since Sho didn't need her, Arrow wouldn't bother him by following him around and trying to get his attention, no matter how much she missed him.

Arrow would survive. It didn't matter that Sho didn't want her around most of the time now: she was still his bodyguard, and that was enough for her. At training, in battle, at church services, and whenever he left the base, she would be at Sho's side. The 3rd pillar would still need a guardian to ensure his safety. The rest of the time, Sho could have a personal life without her. It was probably better that way.

Even if Arrow was sad that her best friend had grown up, she knew that feelings didn't matter in the end.

It didn't stop her from crying at night sometimes.

The time between dinner and lights out was the time of day Arrow dreaded the most.

Even if Arrow couldn't talk with Sho much in public, or if they were both busy during free time, after dinner was special. It was their time.

Now it was gone. It was gone, and Arrow didn't know what to do.

Arrow settled on hiding out in her room and distracting herself from how lonely and pathetic she was until she fell asleep. Arrow could've spent it visiting the other women on the hall, or she could've gone to the rec room, or done some extra training, but she just... didn't.

Arrow did a decent job of acting like she was fine whenever she was around Sho. She didn't want him to worry about her: she was the adult, after all, and adults were supposed to take care of kids, not the other way around.

Arrow and Sho trained together, but that was business, not social. They attended prayers together, but that was a time of listening and meditation. After prayers, they ate dinner together and finally got a chance to talk. Arrow didn't have to act fine during dinner: she was genuinely happy.

The rest of the time, Arrow withdrew farther and farther into herself.

Arrow and Sho made sure to visit Dr. Ochibana every week. They'd tapered off for a while, but now that their lives had changed again, they were back every Sunday.

The 3rd pillar and his guardian were upset about being separated, but given their ages, it had to be done. Sho was going to hit puberty soon, and Arrow was not equipped to deal with that.

Dr. Ochibana knew Arrow was taking the separation particularly hard.

Arrow told her all about Sho: how he had learned to sleep in his room, how he came to visit her in the mornings but eventually felt secure enough to stop, how he was responsible enough to keep to his schedule on his own, and how she was really proud of him because he was so independent now.

Arrow never talked about how she was having an identity crisis while starving for attention and affection.

Arrow didn't understand the difference between "not needed" and "not wanted". She also could not articulate what she needed or wanted, though, Dr. Ochibana supposed, that was due to how she had been raised. All her life, Arrow had been told what to do and that it didn't matter how she felt or what she wanted. Arrow neither resisted nor initiated change: she just stoically accepted her circumstances.

That made Arrow a good soldier... but a clueless and anxious young woman when separated from the child she was assigned to take care of.

Arrow couldn't get out of this pit on her own. She didn't know how. Sho needed to help her, and soon.

And if he didn't catch on within the next week or two, Dr. Ochibana was just going to tell Sho to talk to Arrow. She was supposed to let them figure things out on their own, but it was getting hard to watch Arrow suffer in silence when the solution to the problem was so simple.

Fortunately, someone else intervened.

Sho wasn't sure why Arrow always left so quickly after dinner now. Maybe she had grown-up things to do. He was down about it, but if she had things to do, he had to let her do them.

Sho was just thinking about this when Torako and Kurenai caught up to him outside the mess hall.

"Sho, would you please talk to Arrow or something?" said Torako, frustrated. "She won't quit moping around and looking at her stupid sad face is driving me crazy."

"What? Is something wrong with Arrow?" Sho asked. She seemed fine a few minutes ago.

"Dunno. Go ask her. She won't talk to me or Kurenai about it."

Kurenai took advantage of the pause in conversation. "Torako, would you give us a sec?"

Torako flashed a salute and started heading back to the barracks.

Kurenai made sure they were alone, and then turned to Sho and crouched down to be eye-level with him. She put a hand on his shoulder. "Listen, Sho: I'm worried about Arrow. I don't know if something's going on with you guys or not, but I think she's lonely."

Sho was surprised. Lonely?

Kurenai continued, more softly this time. "Sho, it's probably not my place to say this, but I don't care: Arrow might look tough, but she actually needs someone to take care of her. That's your job, little man."

Kurenai teared up. "I'm leaving next week, and I need to know she's going to be okay. Arrow won't talk to me, but I'm sure she'll talk to you. Go see her, okay?"

Sho nodded and ran off to the women's barracks. If Kurenai was worried, Sho knew something was very wrong.

Sho stood at Arrow's door and knocked. "It's Sho."

"Come in."

There were a few more decorations since he'd been there two weeks ago. The most prominent addition was Arrow, laying facedown on her bed. At least he wasn't interrupting anything.

Sho came in and sat on her back. She responded with an "oof" but didn't say anything else.

"Are you sad, Arrow?"

"Yeah."

"Well, stop being sad!"

Sho started bouncing up and down on her back.

Arrow groaned.

Torako was right: Arrow was really mopey. He would just have to cheer her up, then. Sho reached over and tugged on a section of her hair.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Let me brush your hair."

Sho felt Arrow relax at that. "Okay," she mumbled.

Arrow sat up and Sho sat down behind her, and then took out her hair clips. He combed his fingers through her hair a few times, checking for tangles or knots. When he was satisfied, Sho picked up the brush and started pulling it through her hair in long, smooth strokes.

Before long, Arrow's shoulders were shaking, and then she started crying.

Sho was taken aback: he thought getting her hair brushed was Arrow's favorite thing. He wanted her to feel better, not worse. He immediately stopped brushing. "Arrow? What's wrong?"

"I... I've... just missed you... so much." Arrow started rubbing her eyes.

Sho was stunned. Arrow missed him? She'd been avoiding him. "Then why didn't you just come and see me? I've been hoping you would."

"But... won't your friends laugh at you? If they see me in the hall? Won't I embarrass you?" Her voice was still shaky.

So that's why she didn't come. Sho knew that Arrow could be embarrassing, but she was also the best. Arrow always had his back, even if nobody else did. No matter what.

He stood up on his knees and hugged her neck, resting his chin on top of her head. "Doesn't matter. My buddy is more important."

Arrow pinched her own cheeks between her thumb and forefinger. The sign for "I love you".

As he went back to brushing, Sho sighed. "Arrow, if I was sad and worried, would you want me to hide it from you, and pretend everything was fine?"

"Of course not."

"Then don't do that to me. At least come and be sad in my room instead of being sad all by yourself." Sho huffed for dramatic effect. "I'm going to keep an eye on you so that you don't do something dumb like this again." He flicked her lightly on the side of the head.

"Ow!" Arrow protested for appearance's sake before laughing. That was good: she was feeling better.

After Sho had finished brushing Arrow's hair, they swapped places and Arrow started rubbing Sho's shoulders. He was in heaven.

Arrow was much more at ease now. "Hey, Sho: how come you haven't come to visit me here?"

"You usually run off right after dinner, so I thought you must be busy. And you said not to come to your room at night, right?"

Arrow hung her head and sighed. "I just meant not to show up after lights out because you didn't want to sleep in your own room. You can still come see me in the evenings."

"Oh! Good! I've been wanting to talk to you lately, without everyone in the mess hall around. I really miss hanging out with you after dinner."

Arrow's hands stilled, and Sho looked back at her. She looked a little surprised, and then smiled gratefully. Sho smiled back. She poked his cheek, and then went back to rubbing the stiffness from his shoulders. It had really built up lately, but Arrow was really good at shoulder massage and got some of the worst knots out. Sho had missed this a lot.

Arrow finished up his shoulder rub, and then Sho had to leave: he still had some homework to do before bedtime. They said their goodbyes.

"Now, Arrow: I know you miss me, but you have to sleep in your own room," said Sho sternly. "You're big now, even bigger than me."

Arrow heaved a (pretend) disappointed sigh. "Yes, sir."

Sho reached up at her, and she leaned towards him. He hugged her neck, and she wrapped her arms around his back.

"Promise me," Sho said. "Promise me that you'll tell me if you're sad or worried."

"I promise."

"Good." Sho kissed her cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Sho almost never kissed Arrow, but he wanted to let her know he was serious... and that she was still his most important person. Plus, it was fun to see her blush.

Kurenai was right: Arrow needed someone to look after her. His big, strong guardian was kind of like a kid.

Sho resolved to take better care of Arrow from now on. He would not let her get sad and lonely like this again.

The following day, everyone noticed an immediate improvement in Arrow's mood.

Kurenai smiled.

The night before Kurenai left for Asakusa, she stopped by Arrow's room to say goodbye to Arrow and Sho.

When Kurenai saw them standing there, she almost laughed. "You two look so gloomy! Don't worry: I'll come back to see you."

"I'm still going to miss you," said Arrow.

Kurenai pulled Arrow into a hug. "Same. But you're going to be okay, because Sho's taking care of you so I don't have to worry."

Kurenai released Arrow and looked up, "Hey... when did you get taller than me?"

Arrow was two years younger than Kurenai, but now four inches taller. Arrow's eyes were teary, but she gave her friend a little smile.

Kurenai grinned down at Sho, and then ruffled his hair. "I'll see you around, little man."

"See you around, Kurenai," said Sho.

Kurenai saw that Arrow was still about to cry. "Arrow, stop getting taller; you're making me look short. Sho, don't let her drink any more milk."

Arrow and Sho started laughing and waved to Kurenai as she left to visit Torako.

Once again, Arrow and Sho spent their evenings together. First prayers, then dinner, and then a few hours hanging out.

If Sho had a lot of homework, then Arrow often sat in his room reading or sketching sewing patterns while he worked. Sometimes Sho asked her for help, so Arrow went over his assignment with him.

If they decided it was hair brushing and shoulder rub night—or better yet, ear cleaning night—they went to Arrow's room. Arrow finally trusted Sho with the ear pick. His day had come.

Arrow was tense the first time Sho cleaned her ears, but he was very careful with the pick and didn't hurt her. Arrow hadn't gotten her ears cleaned in a while—and they lived in the dusty, dirty tunnels of the Nether—so Sho had plenty to work on that night. By the end, Arrow felt so much better. Sho made sure to tease her about her nasty earwax until she threatened to take the pick away again. In reality, Arrow was too pleased with the results to follow through on her threat. Sho still looked a little too smug for her taste.

They still played Othello and checkers, but sometimes they went to the rec room to play ping-pong or card games. Arrow was nearly unbeatable at ping-pong, but really bad at card games. Her strategy was good, but her arrow-shaped pupils would point up or down and give her thoughts away. Sho took advantage of her weakness and showed no mercy. The evening was still their time, but sometimes it was fun to play Old Maid with the other soldiers.

Some evenings, they worked on their code signs. They needed to stay in practice.

Though Sho and Arrow could often tell when the other was upset, Sho came up with the idea to make code signs that meant "I'm not okay". Arrow readily agreed to this. Even though she had promised Sho she would, Arrow still had a hard time actually saying that something was bothering her. Now, instead of dropping hints (moping around) or outright saying it, Arrow could signal Sho and he'd know that something was wrong. Sho had his own sign, but was more reluctant about using it when he needed to. However, after taking care of him for six years, Arrow was accustomed to his moods, and would just ask him if something was wrong. He couldn't fool her for long.

There were a few nights where both were very sore from training, or had gotten chewed out, or were just really tired, and they ended up just cuddling on the couch until it was Sho's bedtime.

Arrow enjoyed having Sho lay across her lap and stroking his hair like she did when he was little. It really relaxed them both. Arrow learned to only do that while on the couch in his room, because running her fingers through his hair while he had his head on her lap put Sho to sleep within minutes. Once he was asleep, Sho did not want to get up and move. It was a lot easier for Arrow to escape being his lap-pillow than it was for her to drag a cranky, half-conscious Sho down several tunnels to his dorm room at 8:30 or 9 at night.

A goodnight hug became part of their routine.

It was Sho's idea. At first, Arrow felt a little embarrassed that he went out of his way to reassure her, but it'd be a lie to say she didn't love it.

Sho didn't say it, but he loved getting hugs from Arrow. When Arrow hugged him, Sho felt like nobody could hurt him. Her arms were the safest place in the world.

And subconsciously, they both knew that they needed this.

Sho may have been living on his own, but he was still a child separated from his guardian: the primary source of security in his life.

Arrow may not have been a mother, but the maternal instinct she'd developed urged her to take care of and protect her child.

Once Arrow and Sho started spending their evenings together again, they individually became more stable.

Dr. Ochibana was so thankful.

Something had been bothering Arrow lately.

Now that he was ten, Arrow wasn't sure if it was okay to give Sho hugs and affection. Soldiers didn't usually hug each other.

Sho was a cuddly child when he was younger. He liked sitting on Arrow's lap and climbing on her back and just generally being all over her. What's more, Sho only acted this way towards Arrow; everybody else had to settle for a high five.

Since she was not used to receiving affection, Arrow was a little unnerved at first, but give a teenage girl a small child that dotes on only her and see if she doesn't quickly grow to enjoy that attention.

It meant that she was special to someone. Arrow had never experienced that... and she really liked it. Sho had felt the same way when Arrow became his guardian when he was four. No wonder they got attached to each other so quickly.

Last year, Sho had grown out of PDA, prompting the invention of their code sign language.

But when was Sho supposed to be too big to cuddle with her when they were hanging out in one of their rooms in the evenings? Arrow could ask Dr. Ochibana, but she didn't want to be scolded... or told to stop. And Arrow did not want to give up that goodnight hug.

During one visit to Dr. Ochibana, Arrow accidentally let it slip. She went quiet and wouldn't make eye contact, a guilty look on her face.

"Miss Arrow, what's wrong?"

"I... don't know if it's allowed."

"Sho sleeps in his own room, takes baths himself, does his homework, and is otherwise independent, correct?"

"Correct."

"And you said he is the one who usually approaches you for attention?"

Arrow nodded.

"Neither of you embarrass the other in public?"

Arrow shook her head.

"Then don't worry, Miss Arrow: it's perfectly fine that you hug Sho and let him lay on your lap sometimes." Dr. Ochibana chuckled. "I bet he's getting a little heavy though."

Arrow smiled. "Yeah, he is."

"After all, Sho is still a child: he craves affection and security, and as his guardian, you are the best one to provide it for him.

"And actually"—Dr. Ochibana fished around on her desk until she found a certain paper—"it may be doing you two some good."

She handed the paper to Arrow. It was a recent article about a hormone called oxytocin. Oxytocin promoted feelings of trust and helped people bond. It also relieved stress. The easiest way to get more oxytocin? Hugging and cuddling, and other forms of affectionate touch. Hair brushing and shoulder rubs fell into the latter category.

A strong bond meant Arrow would fight even harder to protect Sho. Too much stress was detrimental to a person's health, especially a young child's. The time that Arrow and Sho spent together in the evenings was actually beneficial to them on a medical level.

Arrow was so relieved.

Privately, Ochibana wasn't sure that she should have encouraged Arrow. She didn't have any issue with Arrow giving Sho hugs or anything, but Yona and the elders might.

If questioned, Ochibana would stand by her belief that closeness was good for a pillar-guardian relationship, and affectionate gestures kept Arrow and Sho from getting too stressed out to work efficiently. Besides, Arrow and Sho came up with the ideas on their own: Ochibana had never suggested any of them.

Ochibana may have been ordered to monitor Arrow and Sho, but she had grown fond of them over the past five years. They'd both grown up so much.

At Dr. Ochibana's suggestion, Arrow and Sho used their free time to develop separate hobbies.

Since she now had a sewing machine in her room, Arrow spent her free time making stuffed animals. She drew her own patterns too. Arrow kept some of her creations and donated the rest to St. Lilith's Elementary. Arrow was especially fond of making stuffed kittens. Sho said it was because real cats hated her and stuffed ones couldn't scratch her. Arrow threw several stuffed kittens at him when he said that. Arrow didn't only make stuffed animals: she also made winter hats for anyone who wanted or needed them, including the kids at St. Lilith's. They were always excited when Miss Arrow stopped by. (Arrow was embarrassed by the attention and stopped coming by when the children were out playing. The day after one of her visits, Sister Hikari would bring her a stack of thank you notes written in crayon.) She was still working as a White-Clad seamstress, and they let her have plenty of fabric scraps. Arrow bought other types of fabric—and lots of stuffing for toys—with the little bit of money she got from work. Her coworkers were surprised that she wanted to keep sewing in her free time: most of them didn't want to see another sewing needle until they absolutely had to.

Sho's hobby was building model kits, and he was getting really good at it. He got a table that he used for this specific purpose. Arrow watched as his collection grew over the months. He had assembled some vehicles and painted some figurines, but he liked models of buildings the best. His big, ongoing project was a scale model of Amaterasu. No matter what he built, Sho wanted the paint job to be perfect. He would spend hours painting and repainting the littlest details. Some days, Arrow had had to run and get him for prayers because Sho would get so absorbed in his work that he lost track of time. It became a recurring problem, and for a while, Arrow had to keep his kits, tools, and paints in her room on weekdays so that he would do his homework.

Saturday night in the rec room was movie night, and since the soldiers never got to watch TV anywhere else, there was usually a big crowd.

The White-Clad's tech guys always played a Haijima Studios action or martial arts movie, using an outdated Haijima projector and a patched-up screen that took up most of one wall. Dr. Giovanni had courteously provided the movies, the projector, and the screen. Sometimes the projector broke halfway through, so it took two weeks to watch one movie.

Haumea and Charon were prohibited from attending movie night. Haumea got banned because her ability's electromagnetic waves interfered with the projector (it was still unclear whether she did it intentionally or not), and Charon got kicked out because he wouldn't quit talking during the movie.

Arrow and Sho tried to get there early enough to get spots on the couch or the folding chairs set up around the room, but if they couldn't, they sat side-by-side on a towel on the floor.

Arrow and Sho were sitting on the floor in the rec room eating popcorn. This week, the movie was about a martial arts tournament where the finalists would be pitted against each other in mortal combat.

"Hey, Arrow," Sho whispered. "Catch." He tossed a piece of popcorn and Arrow caught it in her mouth.

She ate it, and then opened her mouth expectantly. Sho threw another piece. It veered to the right, but Arrow still caught it easily. She picked up a piece of her popcorn and held it up. She threw it to Sho, who caught it.

Arrow and Sho had been going back and forth like that for several minutes, when Assault—who was sitting nearby and had been watching with great interest—whispered, "Hey, Arrow: throw me a piece."

"Assault, just eat your own popcorn," said Sho flatly.

"Oh, so you're not going to share your personal popcorn thrower, eh, Sho?"

"Fine, I will consult with her." Sho put his hands together and turned toward Arrow. "Arrow, do you want to throw popcorn to Assault?"

"No. Throw me another piece."

Sho smirked at Assault, and then tossed Arrow some popcorn. She missed.

"Aw, come on: I really want to try it," Assault whined.

"Okay, fine," said Arrow. "Open your mouth."

He did, and Arrow picked up the piece of popcorn from the ground and threw it so fast that Assault didn't realize what had happened until the dirty popcorn was in his mouth. He spit it out.

Sho and Arrow snickered.

The popcorn game had started attracting attention.

Sho started making his throws harder to catch, but Arrow caught almost all of them. Her eyesight was second-to-none, and calculating distance and trajectories in her head was an important part of using her ability. As Sho tried fancier throws, Arrow rose to her knees so that she could move better. The most impressive moment was when Sho threw a piece of popcorn high up into the air and Arrow bent way over backwards and caught it. A few people even clapped.

The game ended when Arrow failed to catch a piece and it hit her in the eye. She spent the next five minutes rinsing her eye under the faucet of the bathroom sink.