It wasn't long after Naoko splintered off from what they were doing in the lab that he encountered Eryu on the third floor. It looked like he was taking a break from their work, just like Naoko was, so he figured that he'd say hello to him.

"Hey, Naoko," Eryu greeted him. "Good job thus far. You've been a great help."

"Thanks," Naoko replied. "I'll admit, it's definitely confusing, but I'm doing the best I can."

"Yeah, I feel the same way," Eryu agreed. "Wanna pass the time together?"

"Sure."

They were pretty much on the same page, all things considered, so it only made sense to Naoko that they'd use their free time to just hang out, rather than have to spend time trying to figure out the fourth floor. It wasn't like they didn't have all the time in the world to figure it out, so spending some time to grow a little closer just felt natural.

After spending a little while together, Naoko decided to be courteous and give Eryu something nice. He settled on a red armband with a worn symbol he couldn't quite make out. Something about it felt a bit odd, maybe even a bit familiar, but Eryu seemed to like it.

"Now this is nice. Thanks, Naoko. It's been a long time since I got my hands on one of these."

Content as they both seemed, Naoko was able to recall that the last time they spoke like they currently were, things took a bit of an odd turn. Was he supposed to just try to address it?

"Sorry about asking you a bit of a point-blank question last time," Naoko offered up. "I can understand why your formal title as an Ultimate might be hard to dwell on."

Eryu sighed. "Yeah, it's not particularly positive, from what I've gathered. From what I understand of the term 'autocrat', it's used to describe someone who's either in a position of absolute power and authority, or just acts like a domineering prick. Maybe the former could be seen as kind of a compliment, because then I seem powerful, but either way, it really just makes me sound like some sort of…power hungry jerk."

"Have you always felt that way?" Naoko asked.

"For quite a while, at least," Eryu admitted. "I remember…well, technically, I can't remember any faces, but for some reason, I still have the distinct memory that people who heard it for the first time tended to give me weird looks. And sure, it's not totally inaccurate. I like putting myself into positions where I can lead people, and I can get very frustrated when people disobey my wishes, but…that doesn't make me a control freak, does it?"

"I don't think that that inherently makes you a control freak, but if you take it too far, you definitely can end up becoming one," Naoko reasoned.

"Yeah, that makes sense," Eryu agreed. "The problem is, it's hard to say where exactly the line is between 'well-intentioned disciplinarian' and 'overbearing control freak'. If people get this negative impression of me, just from my title, I definitely don't want to live up to that impression, or else they won't respect me. I may not like that sort of thought process, sure, but it definitely ends up crossing my mind at one point or another. It can actually make things kinda hard for me when I'm doing the best I can to rein people in."

"You really worry about that, even when you're trying to keep people in line?" Naoko asked.

"More often than I'd like," Eryu admitted. "At the very least, I think it makes sense to think about what might happen if you say the wrong thing, or do something reckless. Still, even just when it comes to that, sometimes my emotions get the better of me, and I make bad judgments. And obviously, I know that that's normal, but…well, obviously it means I'm not perfect."

"Nobody is," Naoko shrugged.

"Yeah, but if you put yourself in a position of power, and you make a mistake, people are bound to end up thinking you don't deserve to lead them," Eryu argued. "That doesn't mean I don't care about what other people think about me, obviously, but…Hm."

"I see. I think I understand what you're getting at," Naoko assured him. "If I have to be honest, I actually have a good deal of experience with that sort of thing."

"'That sort of thing'?" Eryu replied confusedly. "As in, doubting your own ability to fulfill others' expectations of you?"

"Yeah," Naoko confirmed. "That's basically what I'm going for. Sorry if it sounds like I'm trying to one-up you. I'm just trying to say I know what it's like."

"No worries, I get it," Eryu replied understandingly. "I just didn't consider that…This really has been a downer of a conversation, huh?"

"It's not pleasant, sure, but if it's really how we feel, we have to express it at some point," Naoko reasoned. "Still, if you wanna pick this up at a later time, I'm open to it."

"Sure, that sounds good," Eryu agreed. "Thanks."

Walking away from that talk, it sounded like Eryu was, indeed, quite self-conscious about his own area of expertise. Or, at least, the way that it appeared to others. Naoko remembered being rather confused about it when they first met, so he could certainly believe that other people might look at him oddly, like he had said. Perhaps, then, that had something to do with what he talked about the last time they spoke, about not liking to dwell on how people are categorized? That seemed right, even if he didn't flat-out say it. Something to get back to at some point later on, he supposed.

After that, the rest of the day came and went without incident. He went to sleep, and the following morning, he found that he still had some time on his hands, so he decided to seek out someone else.

This led him to the second floor, where he found Yori by herself in the hallway. He wasn't sure what exactly she was doing, so he decided to engage her.

"Oh. Hey, Naoko. Sorry, I was just giving myself some time to sort things out in my head. I can't help but feel as though there's something we're not considering."

Naoko figured that that was understandable, since he himself had thought the same thing on more than one occasion. Maybe it was just because they had a lot of work ahead of them, but beyond that, whether there was something that they simply hadn't taken notice of for one reason or another was very much prevalent. The two of them ended up confiding their own concerns on the topic with one another, as it seemed to be something of a commonality between them, and it wasn't like dwelling on it individually was any more productive than trying to come up with a satisfying conclusion together. They weren't able to do so, unfortunately, but putting their heads together did definitely help him feel like they were getting closer to one another.

Naoko topped off the discussion with something that he figured would be nice. He handed her a bag of chips. He didn't really know if she'd like it, but he didn't have much else of substance on him at the moment.

"Hm. Thanks, Naoko. I can't say that I normally search out this sort of thing."

Naoko remembered that the last time they spoke one-on-one like this, they brought up something that they could talk about. "So, Yori," he began. "You said you wanted to talk about science fiction, yeah?"

"I…I suppose I did," Yori replied hesitantly. "And I think it would be very interesting, for me. However…"

"However?" Naoko asked.

"However, I don't think it would be very fun for you," Yori replied. "Besides, it just seems kind of…childish."

"So, you don't want to anymore?" Naoko asked, feeling a bit disappointed.

"I'm sorry," Yori apologized. "Did you want me to? Hm. I suppose I shouldn't have gotten your hopes up."

"Well, I guess I just wasn't expecting you to change your mind," Naoko said. "If it's something that interests the both of us, I think we can talk about it without much issue."

"Well, alright…" Yori sighed, looking like she was trying to formulate her thoughts. "I…like the idea that, in the future, people will be able to use advances in technology to improve humanity as a whole, and do things we consider to be impossible today. That's the basic appeal."

Naoko nodded understandingly. "Yeah, that makes sense. I like that about science fiction stories too."

"Thank you," Yori replied. "It's speculative, of course, and…obviously, quite unrealistic most of the time, but it's still something that I suppose I, for lack of a better term, identify with."

"Ah, I see," Naoko said, feeling as though he was starting to understand what she was getting at. "So, you like it because it represents what you're hoping for people."

"Yes," Yori confirmed. "I've always been interested in how technology will be able to shape our future, and…it's nice to have hope for that future, obviously."

"True," Naoko supposed. "Then again, there's a lot of grim future stuff, too."

"Oh, yes, that," Yori said awkwardly. "I…suppose that sort of thing is nice, too. If, perhaps, just for the aesthetic."

"Oh, definitely," Naoko affirmed. "It's dark, and kinda cynical, but it's still really awesome."

"It is," Yori nodded. "I…Hm."

"Is something wrong?" Naoko asked.

"I'm sorry," Yori apologized, " I just feel as though this conversation is on a bit of an odd track. Like I said, if we start gushing about how 'cool' things are, it will probably seem a bit silly."

"Really?" Naoko responded thoughtfully. He hadn't thought that himself, but he supposed that was sort of where the conversation was going. "Well, even if it's silly, it could still be fun."

"Oh, I agree," Yori admitted. "I just…if I get too into that sort of talk, I'm afraid I might embarrass myself."

"Embarrass yourself how?" Naoko asked.

"Well, I could…" Yori trailed off and stayed silent for several seconds. "Oh, I'm sorry. Should I have said something else?"

"Something else? Like what?"

"I don't know," Yori replied. "You can forget I said anything. Next time we do this, I'll be sure to put this into words."

That was when Yori walked away. It was a bit odd, honestly, seeing Yori struggle to come up with what to say. What would she possibly think would be "embarrassing"? Presumably, something she'd say that would steer the conversation into a rather "childish" direction, but what could she possibly say that would do that?

…Well, obviously, he didn't know. He'd just have to hope that they'd be able to pick their conversation up later.