(AN: Hey all. Yeah, I know I'm frankly a LOT late on this than I'd like. When I first started writing it, I was a lot more cosistent but overtime I started lagging behind both out of lack of motivation but also self-doubt after an incident I had where I got duped by a fake job. It really brought me down hard and frankly it was a miracle I managed to finish this. But hey, even if I do take forever, I'm not cancelling this story.
Once again, I'd like to thank my Twitter friend for fixing up some of the Japanese translations featured in this chapter. It means a lot :)
With that out of the way, I'm sure you guys wanna see what happens to Espio next, so don't let this AN distract you!)
It was almost seven in the morning the next day as Valdez stood in Headmaster Robotnik's office, relaying everything that had happened the previous night. He told him about Espio's charges, what would happen if he was found guilty, and his bail price.
"I… I just don't know what to do," Valdez said in a timid voice. He placed his right hand on his left elbow. "I didn't… didn't expect this to happen…"
"Valdez…" the headmaster replied. "Did you think that something like Espio forgetting that he was no longer in his village wouldn't occur?"
"N-Naturally! But I thought because he had already become so accustomed to living life here since August, that he would realize that perhaps holding up a knife to someone wasn't okay here compared to Gojo! And now… and now if I have to release him… I may possibly lose so much. I have to do this, and yet… yet I know that I don't have the money for this, Headmaster… I don't want to think about how much debt I'll be in! There's also the fact that… what'll happen if Espio IS found guilty? How can I explain to his mother that he's being kept in Central Mobius?!"
By now, Valdez had already begun to shake, and he quickly took a seat. He started to sweat beads, hyperventilating as he pictured Bride of the Constant Vigil's rage upon hearing the news.
"How much was it that you said?" Headmaster Robotnik asked.
"It was twenty-five thousand mobiums," the blue chameleon replied. "To be paid before 8 P.M. tonight. If it's not paid, Espio will be sent to Central City State Prison. I thought he would just be sent to a county jail but… state prison?! They must be insane!"
"Yes, that certainly doesn't seem right. You don't think it might be discrimination because he's from out of the country?"
"I fear that being the reason. Regardless… until about three last night, I stayed up not only looking for good bail loans, but also a good attorney. But the money for BOTH of those services… goodness, I don't see myself getting out of this pit of debt anytime soon," Valdez put his hands on his head, shaking it. "I just… I just don't know what to do, Headmaster. I want Espio to stay here, but I also want him to learn from what he's done and realize that stuff like what he did yesterday isn't how you handle situations like this here."
The blue chameleon looked into the portly overlander's eyes. "But please sir… I beg of you… don't let what happened yesterday convince you that Espio needs to leave. I can promise you he had a good reason, even if what happened yesterday looked bad on his part. Espio may be from a family of ninjas, and his upbringing is far more outdated than yours and the rest of your students, with Historic District societies being built around what Northern Mobius once was hundreds of years ago. But, he's not a violent person just for the sake of being violent. Espio was taught from birth to protect allies with all his strength, to fight for what they believe in and to do things for the greater good. Even I was taught this during my time growing up in Gojo."
Valdez's look became stricter. "And I reject whatever someone might say about him, whether it be calling him a savage, or other borderline xenophobic remarks. Because I KNOW… that's not what Espio is."
Headmaster Robotnik continued to look into Valdez's eyes, nodding. "I see… you make a very convincing defense of him, Valdez. But… you do understand that not everyone will agree with your point of view, right? After all…"
The headmaster turned to his computer, and began to type away at it, turning the screen about a minute later and throwing a newspaper in front of the blue chameleon.
"It seems even the media hasn't agreed with how you view things. Frankly, it was a miracle convincing them not to include Espio's name, even if, at the end of the day, it wouldn't stop him from getting a job or something."
Valdez looked over to see the headline on both the newspaper and the computer screen read, "MOBIUS UNIVERSITY STUDENT ARRESTED AFTER ALTERCATION, 5 OTHERS ARRESTED". He turned his head away, not wanting to read any more.
"It hurts to look at, doesn't it? Even if it's just students getting arrested, it paints a bad picture for your school, no?" Headmaster Robotnik continued, touching his moustache.
"This… this…" Valdez murmured.
"Valdez… I understand everything that's happened has you incredibly worried. And I know that you don't want this to define Espio. After all, from his time here, Espio has proven himself to be a courteous and smart student, especially for someone whose view of the world opened up once he travelled outside of the only place he's called home for all his life. All his professors have given him good marks, and Professor Montclair even shared with me the essay he wrote for Social Science 101. You helped him with that one, correct?"
"Well, he tried his best writing some of it on his own in English, but I helped him translate it from Japanese to English."
"Professor Montclair noted how Espio had such a way with words. And yes; true while he isn't… one that has full marks due to the language barrier and the teachers limiting you on how much you can tell him out of fear that he'll cheat, I will say that Espio is quite the student."
"W-Well… I do pride myself on having transfer students who are serious about the work they can produce for the school. I've been checking up on each of my transfer students this year and I've been proud at the work they've been producing. One student from Knothole is even planning to-"
"That's not so much what I mean, Valdez. It's that… I get why you want to protect Espio. And believe me, while I do care about the school's image, I know that to you, bringing Espio here is possibly the high point of your career, wouldn't you agree?"
"I-I do… I'm just worried about what this could mean for the future."
"Have you talked about this possibility with Espio's mother?"
"And have her kill me? I don't think you'll have a foreign language department head anymore if I did."
"Well, if things don't go your way, I think it might be for the better that you do. But… so it doesn't come to that…"
The headmaster lowered his head and opened one of his drawers. Valdez looked confused as the mustached man pulled out some kind of horizontal blue book and a pen. He opened it up and began to write, and it was halfway through writing it that Valdez realized what exactly Headmaster Robotnik was writing.
"H-Headmaster! Th-that… that isn't-?!"
The overlander ripped up a check for the blue chameleon and passed it to him. "Here. While I can't cover the costs of everything, our funding for this upcoming semester left us with quite a bit of extra money. Unfortunately, you'll have to pay the remaining ten thousand mobiums with a loan. But better that than the original price, no?"
Valdez swiped the check from Headmaster Robotnik, in absolute shock. To make sure he wasn't dreaming, he wiped his eyes and read the check again.
"15,000ɱ
𝐼𝓋𝑜 𝒢. 𝑅𝑜𝒷𝑜𝓉𝓃𝒾𝓀"
Valderz continued to look at the check, then back at Headmaster Robotnik, who had a smile on his face.
"H-Headmaster… I… I can't accept this!" he said.
"I know, I know… you've always been so humble, Valdez," the overlander said, his moustache bouncing as he straightened his posture.
"N-No! It isn't even about my upbringing causing me to be humble, sir! I-It's just! First of all, this is just… you don't need to do this! I swear to you, you don't! I feel awful accepting this much."
"Call it some help, not from Ivo Robotnik the Headmaster, but Ivo Robotnik the friend. That's all."
"I-I wish, b-but… but what if the media learned of this?! How will you explain to not just the media but our funders that fifteen thousand mobiums just randomly vanished?! This school would be facing such an intense scandal if that broke out!"
"Well, the more you panic about it, the more that people will know about it," the headmaster put his finger over his mouth. "Look, I understand what I'm doing here is a dangerous game. Even I have my doubts, but I care about my students and my staff. And at a time like this, it pains me to see you go through this much grief, even if it means not acting like a prim and proper headmaster."
"I…"
Valdez slouched back in his seat, starting to tear up. "This is…"
"You don't need to say anything, Valdez. And, I'll try to find you a good attorney. In fact, I'll call up the school's personal attorneys to see if they can recommend you someone."
"S-Sir…" Valdez wiped his eyes. "Sir, I really WILL start crying…"
Headmaster Robotnik laughed. "Ho ho ho! Oh, you're supposed to be the stoic yet panicky one, Valdez! Well, I understand. But please, I ask just one thing…"
"Yes?"
"When Espio comes back, make sure he's on his best behavior from here on out. I'm sure that what I'm doing I likely wouldn't be able to do it again."
"Absolutely. Besides, I need to let him know what he did wasn't okay."
The two got up from their seat, and Valdez quickly grabbed Headmaster Robotnik's hand. Quickly shaking it, he looked up at his boss. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you SO much for everything you've done…" he said.
SOME TIME LATER…
That morning, during the Advanced English Literature lecture, Professor Finitevus changed the slide on the projector as he walked over to the white board, picking up his dry erase marker and beginning to write.
"Now, let's talk about why multiple sonnet writers chose to write sonnets before we look at several famous ones, take a look at how they're composed and structured with their short albeit descriptive use of language," the white echidna said, writing 'WHY?' on the board and underlining it before writing and talking simultaneously. "One thing to understand about sonnets is that they're very shorts in terms of lines, having only fourteen lines in total. Page 401 in the book mentions that during the time of the Writer's Revolution, where Sonnets were invented in West Mobius-"
While most of the students were busy taking notes on that day's lecture, filling their notebooks with information about sonnets and older forms of poems during the Writer's Revolution of almost four hundred years ago, one student had his mind somewhere else.
Vector sat in his usual spot at the back of the classroom, tuning out Professor Finitevus' lecture with the thoughts of his friend. Espio was still lingering in his mind since last night after leaving the police station, and no matter how hard Vector tried to occupy his mind, he couldn't take his mind off his friend.
He looked down at his notes, seeing that they were almost blank. The crocodile knew he had to pay attention since the next test was this Friday and he knew the Writer's Revolution was going to be part of it. And yet, every time he put his pencil on his paper, the sight of seeing Espio being loaded into the police car entered his mind.
"AAARGH!" Vector yelled at himself mentally. "Why can't I fuckin' concentrate?!"
It turns out, he already knew the answer himself: he was worried for the chameleon. He wanted to see his face again, verify his safety, and more importantly, comfort him since he knew the chameleon wasn't used to a place like prison. Seeing Espio like that continued to haunt his thoughts, and he wanted to make sure before anyone else that his friend was okay.
Just then, as Vector sighed and looked out the window, a sudden voice cleared out her throat.
"Are you thinking, Vector, honey?"
The crocodile turned to face Rouge, who had her head turned towards him.
"O-Oh… yeah…" Vector replied.
"I heard about what happened yesterday," the bat continued. "The vandalism stuff, and mainly, what happened to Espio. Cuffed up by the cops and it hasn't even hit Thanksgiving break yet. What a semester he's been having, huh?"
The crocodile didn't laugh.
"Ah, sorry. Just trying to lighten the mood," Rouge's face fell. "Hey, everything's gonna be okay. Don't worry about it."
Vector looked over at Professor Finitevus, who was still lecturing, and then back at Rouge. "That's what I would think," he whispered back. "But Espio's bail is at twenty-five thousand mobiums."
Rouge's eyes widened. "O-Oh! Well, I never… That's… certainly quite a lot. Still, that's not to say his bail CAN'T be posted."
"I just… dunno what to do…" Vector rested his head on the desk. "I dun have that money, and I just… I wanna see him again. And fuck, I'm supposed to want a law degree but I dunno how to do this shit! I never cared fer the public defendin' stuff, and now look at where it got me…"
Rouge looked at the crocodile. "You know, a few weeks back, Espio was in a similar boat as you."
"He was?"
"It was when you had that football injury, remember? Espio's mind was in the clouds and I was there comforting him, telling him that he'd be okay. I must say though, this school certainly would be a lot more boring if you two weren't here. One day, one of you sprains your collarbone and arm in front of almost the entire university, the next day, the other is arrested for running from the cops. Life certainly is interesting with you two around."
"Ya think so?"
"Of course I do, honey. You and Espio… you're like bread and butter. You seem to fit together so well, even if you still dunno a lot about each other. One might be gone for a bit of time, but it won't be long before they return."
Vector stayed silent as Rouge turned back to face Professor Finitevus, and then back at Vector. "So, trust me when I say that Espio will come right back to you as he always does. I just know it. Now, come on. Finish your notes so you don't fall behind. After all, you don't want Espio to fall behind in his classes too, do you?"
"N-Nah… nah, of course not."
"That's the spirit, Vec."
As Rouge turned back around in her seat, Vector raised his body up.
"'Ey… thanks."
"Don't mention it, honey."
MEANWHILE
That morning, when Espio woke up, he felt a familiar feeling.
His throat was scratchy, it felt like something was tingling in there, he was slightly hot, and he was coughing.
Sure enough, he felt himself getting ill.
Normally, whenever he felt himself coming down with a cold (which is what he felt like he was coming down with), his mother would immediately take him to Gojo's doctor, Yuen-Li. Upon taking the doctor's remedy for colds, Juuzen taiho tou, he would be sent home to rest for the day, with his meals consisting of two daikon and umeboshi rice balls and shougayu to wash it down.
However, he had nothing like that here in this… place…
In fact, here he was still in the same cubicle, waking up on this very stiff and uncomfortable bed, a different person by the desk compared to last night when Valdez came to visit.
Valdez…
Heaven knew how he was feeling. Even in his cubicle, Espio could see the pained expression in Valdez's face as more and more was discussed. Espio couldn't help but feel like he was now becoming a burden to his family's friend.
All night, he had mulled over everything since first arriving to the outside world. He remembered his first steps outside, the feeling of wanting to go back arising within him.
And now, more than ever, he was getting that feeling again.
He didn't like it here. He didn't like how the people here looked at him, the silence, and the unfamiliarity…
Espio coughed, covering his mouth with the sleeve of his bloodied and dirty haori he wore yesterday. He wasn't sure what today was going to bring, but he needed to come up with a plan of escape, and fast-
That was, until someone came in.
The doors to the station opened up and Espio looked up, gasping upon seeing who it was.
Valdez took deep breaths as he entered inside the station, this time seeing an Overlander working the front desk today. He hoped that with the money that Headmaster Robotnik gave him, as well as the loan he took out from T.W. Barker Bonding of Central City, this would be enough to let Espio free for now.
The overlander looked up at the chameleon, who was just on his computer. "Ah, excuse me. Can… I help you?"
"Y-Yes…" Valdez caught his breath in that moment. "I'm… I'm here to release… that boy…" he pointed at Espio.
"Ah, Mr. Espio?" the overlander continued. "Well, from what I've been told by the other officers as well as the higher ups, he's currently facing several charges and in just a couple of minutes, we were going to bring him in for questioning."
"I-I know that! I just… can I please just post his bail in full so once questioning is done, he can be let out?"
"Well… let's see…" the overlander said, typing on his keyboard. A few seconds later,..
"Ah, found him. Of course, you DO know that Mr. Espio's bond is set at twenty-five thousand mobiums. "Normally, we would have you do this with a bail bondsman, but considering that we have no records on file for Mr. Espio-"
Valdez shoved the check in front of the officer's face. He grabbed it and looked slightly alarmed.
"W-What is this?! You… you have the full money on you?"
The chameleon nodded.
"…I… see… let me get this confirmed with our finance specialist…"
There was some more waiting to be done as the officer got up from his chair and left the room, so Valdez walked over to Espio.
"V-Valdez-san…" Espio said. The blue chameleon didn't want to give Espio a piece of his mind just yet, but just then, the fuchsia chameleon sneezed.
"E-Espio-kun… did you catch cold?" Valdez asked. Espio nodded. "…I see… Well, don't worry. I'll be getting you out soon, so please hang on tight and we'll return back to campus soon-"
Just then, the Overlander officer appeared once again alongside two other people aside him: another Overlander, this one much older, and a middle-aged monkey wearing a black suit and pants.
"Ah, it seems we're just in time," the old overlander said. "Officer Whipple, return to your duties."
The officer who talked with Valdez nodded as he returned to the front desk. The blue chameleon turned his attention back to the two in front of him.
"So, you must be Mr. Valdez the Chameleon," the overlander continued. He held out his hand. "I'm Commissioner of Police of this facility, but please, call me Commissioner Walters."
"N-Nice to meet you, commissioner," Valdez replied, shaking his hand. "And, you?"
The monkey cleared his throat. "My name is Lau Khan, Consul for the Northern Mobius Embassy here in Central City. I was called here today on behalf of Commissioner Walters to testify on behalf of Mr. Espio the Chameleon and his upbringing, due to some conflicting statements we've received last night from you as well as lack of information from our Embassy in regard to Mr. Espio. I figured you'll be able to help us, correct?"
Valdez nodded.
"Good! Now, Commissioner?"
Commissioner Walters nodded as he walked towards Espio's cell, letting the chameleon go. Espio gasped as he walked out of the cell, but Valdez grabbed his hand.
"I'm sorry, Espio-kun," Valdez said in Japanese. "But we can't go back to Mobius U just yet."
"What's he saying?" Commissioner Walters asked Lau.
"He said that they can't return to Mobius U?" the monkey said. "It seems Mr. Valdez here works there."
"That's what we were told from the officer last night… Okay, regardless… I think it's important that you let Mr. Espio know that we're going to take him in for questioning."
"Commissioner Walters," Valdez said. "If… if it's not too much of a hassle… may I ask that I be present for his questioning as Espio's personal translator? He does not have a grasp of English very well, and I don't want anything to be lost in translation."
"Wouldn't it be for the best that Consul Khan here translate for him?"
"I feel that the boy would be more comfortable with me around. He's not used to something like this still."
"…what do you think, Consul Khan?"
"I was told here to testify on behalf of certain parts of Northern Mobius and lack of information on Mr. Espio. I don't mind Valdez being the translator."
"…very well. Come."
After a minute or two of walking down corridors, with Espio coughing a few times, the four entered the questioning room, white walls surrounded by a glass window, a table in the middle of the room, and four chairs. Valdez, Commissioner Walters, and Consul Khan took a seat, while Espio took one last next to his family's friend.
"I think it's important I explain this," Commissioner Walters said. "Right now, this entire conversation is being recorded for testimony for your trial in January, so remember that you will tell the truth, and nothing but the truth."
Espio stared at the man until Valdez tapped the shoulder, translating for him in a language that Commissioner Walters couldn't understand.
"Did he hear me?" he asked.
"Yes," Valdez replied.
"Okay. So, let's begin by stating this: Mr. Espio the Chameleon, right now, while you are being charged, please do not hold back any kind of statements. As long as you don't stay silent or lie, you aren't going to be in trouble. In fact, I would say coming clean would be key to helping you clear your name."
He faced Valdez. "Mr. Valdez, relay the information."
Once again, the blue chameleon translated for Espio, and when he was done, Commissioner Walters' posture stood up.
"Now, let's begin. What is your connection to the five boys you assaulted yesterday around 1:21 PM?"
Espio looked down at the table, silent. He coughed once with his mouth shut as silence beckoned the room. Valdez translated for him again, and when he was done, it took a couple of seconds for Espio to speak up softly.
"Kinou wa, inshoku-ten nite karera o kikitorimashita. Aitsu-ra ga sono tsumi o okashita hanashi o… soshite jibun no tomo ni shita koto e no fukushuu ga hoshikatta nodesu," he began.
"Espio is saying that the five boys, he first encountered at a restaurant and that, after overhearing what they said, he wanted to take revenge for what they did to his friend," Valdez replied.
"By revenge, what do you mean?" Commissioner Walters looked confused.
"If I may speak on Espio's behalf, and as a staff member of Mobius University, commissioner… Yesterday, a vandalism incident occurred on campus at Mobius University committed by five boys from the Crisis City University football team. I was told from the officer yesterday that the five boys were taken back to their retrospective city after their car was searched and evidence was found pointing to them as the culprits of the incident."
"Ah, that. We were also called by the Commissioner of the Crisis City County Jail regarding that earlier this morning. Not only were we told by a school official that Mr's. Drago Wolf, Sleuth Dawg, Jun Kun, Sarge Simian, and Diesel Bear were all expelled from the school and kicked off their sports team, but that they've been arrested and taken into custody for vandalism. Tell me, Espio. What were those boys like?"
Valdez translated for the chameleon once again, and he spoke up.
"Egetsunakute jaken'na hitobito deshita. Jinsei-jou atta hito no dare yori mo issoo warukattashi. Uchi no hitori ga o-ten no josei no… oshiri ni fureta sei de zen'in ga oidasa rete, jibun ga ato ni tsuitakara karera no sekininda to shitte kimashita to iu wakedesu,"
"Espio is saying that the five men were worse than any persons he's met. Cruel and nasty is how he described them," Valdez said. "Particularly, the reason why he specifically learned they were the culprits was because he followed them after they were kicked out by a woman at the restaurant he was out after one of the men touched her… her buttocks."
"Her butt?" Commissioner Walters looked confused. "I… wasn't aware of this. According to what we were told by the Crisis City Commissioner, the five students didn't testify ANYTHING regarding something like that. One party isn't telling the truth…"
"Excuse me, Commissioner," Valdez said before returning to Espio. "Espio-kun, kinou wa doko no shokudou ni itta no ka?"
"Aa! Kegawa ga shiroi josei no o-ten no katadesu. Shuzoku ga oboete imasen… ga, mimi ga kuroi nodesu."
"He's saying that the restaurant, while he can't remember the name, there was a white furred girl with black ears… Ah! I just realized! I believe the restaurant he may be talking about is the Sub Station II restaurant located almost less than a mile from the Mobius University campus!"
"So, one of the men sexually harassed a woman there, is that correct?"
"I do believe that is what Espio is testifying, yes. I believe the woman he's referring to is a server at the restaurant, as I too have visited the restaurant in question and one of the employees there was the same woman Espio is describing-"
"We are speaking to Mr. Espio, Mr. Valdez. Don't testify for him," Commissioner Walters went to rubbing his chin. "But if it's as he says, well, it seems we may need to pay the restaurant in question, and if it turns out that this accusation is valid, Crisis City officials may be able to add a sexual assault charge to the five boys provided that the woman in question is willing to testify. Do you know which person did it or did all of them participate?"
Valdez translated again and Espio quickly spoke back up.
"Chairo no inu deshita."
"He says it was a brown dog."
"Brown dog…" Commissioner Walters mulled over. "I believe he's referring to Mr. Sleuth Dawg… Very well, I'll let the Crisis City Commissioner know about this before we personally interview the woman in question ourselves. Next, let us move onto the next important thing: why specifically did you choose to assault them? What lead up to you fighting all those men in the parking lot and holding up one of them with a knife instead of finding someone?"
Once again, Valdez translated for Espio as he spoke quieter.
"Ato ni tsukinagara, karera ga iki satte ita koto ni kidzuita sonotoki, moshi dare mo nani mo shinakattara ya jibun ga Bekutaa o yobi ni kake dasou to shitara, aitsu-ra ga sugata o keshi batsu o nogareta to kidzukimashita. Dakara, tomete mukaiawaseru yō ni ashi ni kunai o ippon nagetsukemashita.
"Espio said that in that moment, after following them and seeing them walk away from what they did, if no one did anything, or he ran off to get Vector-"
"Pardon the interruption," Commissioner Walters said. "But… who is Vector?"
"If I may testify on behalf of Espio, Vector the Crocodile is the roommate and friend of Espio. He's the quarterback for the university's football team."
"I see. And… why would he wish to get him?"
"I believe-"
"This isn't about what YOU believe, Mr. Valdez. Let Mr. Espio speak."
Valdez kept his mouth shut as he translated once again for Commissioner Walters.
"Bekutaa nara tome rareru to omoi mashita."
"He says that he thought that the Vector he mentioned could stop them."
"It seems like he idolizes this Vector person," Commissioner Walters said to Valdez.
"To him, Vector is basically the closest thing he has to a best friend," the blue chameleon replied.
"Anyway, what after?"
"He said that had he run off, they would have gotten away with it. So, he threw a kunai at their feet to get their attention for the purposes of confronting them about what they did."
"Now, when you say kunai, do you mean this?"
Commissioner Walters crouched and brought out a box from under the table, opening it up and revealing the kunai and shurikens that the police had taken from Espio. The transfer student gasped as he reached out to grab them, only for the overlander to swipe them away.
"No sir, you will not be getting these back. Not only are these weapons at the crime scenes, but I think that for the safety of your fellow university students, it's best that we seize these," he said. "Now, continuing further… were you planning to use these weapons to commit harm?"
After translating the sentence for Espio, he spoke up once again.
"Buki o omocha atsukai koto o shite wa ikenai to jibun wa yoku osowaremashita. Ikakuda to shite mo sonkei subekida to. Keisotsu ni furimawasu koto wa tan'naru mubōda to."
"He says that he was never taught to treat weapons like toys. While they can intimidate, they're meant to be respected. And that to use them without care is reckless."
"So what, he has some kind of rule against using weapons?" Commissioner Walters asked. "After all, look at these. No one these days uses weapons like these."
"It has to do with how he was raised, Commissioner."
"Ah, so I assume this is now where Consul Khan comes in, correct?"
The monkey was starting to doze off, but when he heard his name, he snorted and quickly woke up.
"Don't sleep on us, Consul Khan," the commissioner continued. "Well, Mr. Valdez, perhaps you'd like to explain?"
"Espio's ideology on weapons is based on what he was taught in his home village of Gojo. I told this to the officer from last night that it him being born in this village is why he doesn't have any records on file. No birth certificate, no ID number, no medical records, no criminal records, the like. None of that."
The overlander raised an eyebrow. "I don't understand. Surely someone like that can't exist… Consul Khan? Can you confirm if Mr. Valdez is telling the truth?"
The monkey placed his tablet on the table and turned it on. "Well, to begin, Commissioner Walters, even among us within the Northern Mobius government, there's very little information we have on the Historic Districts of Northern Mobius."
"Very little?"
Consul Kahn looked at Valdez, then back at Commissioner Walters. "We… might need to explain this so, just stop us in case things don't make sense. However, the short story is that about a century ago, as Northern Mobius began to emerge as an economic and technological powerhouse, one part of the region became disillusioned with the new growth as they wanted to preserve the teachings and lands of their ancestors. As such, the four 'rulers' of what would later become the Historic District petitioned the government to allow them to secede from Northern Mobius, essentially, allowing them to still live on their lands but having it be governed by said rulers. Somehow, it got passed and that's how the 'Historic District' came to be. The whole rule with them is that the Northern Mobius Government leaves them alone, and the people of the Historic District just do their own thing."
"So, what does that have to do with Espio?"
"Well, when I said that the Historic District has very little contact with the Northern Mobius Government, I mean it. While there are records of every citizen of Northern Mobius, this doesn't apply to the people of the Historic District. No birth certificate, ID, medical, criminal records, the like. Anything you can name, it doesn't exist."
"I told the officer last night," Valdez added. "That when I moved here to work, upon getting my citizenship, I had to apply for a birth certificate. After they didn't allow me to put Gojo, I had to get in contact with the people at the Northern Mobius Embassy, as someone like me is a very rare case of someone from our area leaving. The rulers, known as the four Brides, do not allow ANYONE to leave at all. I was just lucky that the woman who leads Espio's and my village allowed me back."
"So, essentially, by all accounts, even if Espio has committed crime in his village…" Commissioner Walters said. "It wouldn't mean much because no criminal records exist?"
"I don't think you realize, commissioner, but despite what the police saw yesterday, Espio is not a violent person. While his methods are not what we call normal here in Central Mobius, in his village, this is very common. I would also like to remind you as well that Espio has only stayed in Central Mobius since August. If the boy can still not understand most English because… well, learning English takes a long while, how can we expect him to understand the laws of a country that is such a massive culture shock to him?!"
The two were silent as Valdez continued. "And… and besides… his mother would never allow this."
"What do you mean… his mother?"
"Do you remember just moments ago when I mentioned the ruler of our village? That ruler is his mother, Bride of the Constant Vigil."
Consul Khan's eyes opened wide. "H-Her?!"
"Who is that woman?" Commissioner Walters asked.
"I-I-I've only seen her once before. It was when I was visiting the Official Residence of the Prime Minister of Northern Mobius alongside several of my fellow embassy consuls that I happened to come across her and three other women dressed in these very ancient and traditional clothes talking with our Prime Minister. Even from across the room, they all had this aura of importance and pure… goodness… what's a good word? It's like meeting your president in person."
"So, why you're pushy about Espio being released…"
"Please, commissioner…" Valdez said. "If Espio is found guilty… I don't think that she would take the news very well. Remember, this is not the traditional mother we're dealing with here. She's not going to call your manager or anything."
"Well, even so, don't you think we've gotten massively off topic?" he looked around the room. "So, Espio told us that he wouldn't use weapons willy nilly, yet he threw a knife at someone's feet. We also were told from the Crisis City boys' testimony that upon grabbing the knife in question from the floor, the boys thought Espio was going to attack him and retaliated in self-defense."
Valdez looked shocked.
"Don't bulge your eyes, Mr. Valdez. I think it's best you get Mr. Espio speaking now. Is this what happened?"
The blue chameleon quickly translated for Espio who then nodded and began to speak.
"Tachimukaou to shita nochi, eigo de domotte shimai, warawa remashita. Jibun no buki o jibun ni taishi tsukawa reru no ga iya deshita node sumiyaka ni kunai o torimodoshitaga, warau no o sassoku yamete, rei no chairoi inu ga kare jishin no ha o dashi jibun no moto e to hashiridashite kirou to shitaga, kunai de fusegemashita."
"It appears…" began Valdez. "…that when Espio confronted them and messed up on his English, they started to laugh at him. He quickly grabbed his knife to make sure they wouldn't use it, but it seems that they stopped laughing thinking they wanted to fight, and the brown dog he mentioned earlier who likely assaulted that worker at Sub Station II came at him with a knife and attempted to slash at him, but Espio blocked the attack with his knife-"
"Wait a second… Mr. Espio DIDN'T throw the first attack, AND the knife at the scene wasn't his?!" questioned the overlander commissioner, shocked at the revelation.
"Why the surprise?"
Commissioner Walters rubbed his face. "Well… according to testimony from the Crisis City Boys, well, as you just heard, they assumed that Espio was going to attack first. But… none of them made mention to the fact that the pocket knife we found was theirs. In fact, they claimed it was yours. So… the boys before you fought committed sexual harassment and then immediately threw the first punches while you acted in self-defense…"
"Does this mean that Espio will be let off the hook-"
"That'll depend on the jury. Both this video will be used in the trial, and any testimony you provide during January's trial could be used either in your favor… or against it. So, I recommend not acting so brash, Mr. Valdez…"
The blue chameleon lowered his head as the overlander looked around. "Well, if we're done here, I believe that this questioning session has finished. Thank you for the testimony that you three provided. We will review it before presenting it in January. Thank you for appearing, consul," he then shook Consul Khan's hand. "And Valdez, thank you for helping translate Espio's testimony.
The blue chameleon looked uncomfortable as he shook the overlander's massive hand.
"Of course, you won't forget to appear in court in January, will you, Mr. Espio?"
The fuchsia chameleon was silent, not wanting to look the commissioner in the eyes.
"Don't worry, Commissioner. I'll take him on the day of."
He then smiled. "Good. Well, if you'll excuse me, I'll show you three the way out. Come on, follow me."
From the entire time that Valdez and Espio drove back to Mobius U, there was absolute silence. The only sounds were the sound of the car and the wheels driving on the road as the blue chameleon kept his eyes away from the transfer student, a blank look of anger on his face. Espio turned to face his family's friend, noticing Valdez's expression.
"Valdez-san?" he asked, hoping he could apologize for what he's done. However, there was no response, and Espio immediately began to cough, covering his mouth with his haori. He hoped he would return to school as soon as possible, see Vector, and most of all, see what he could do to cure his illness. After all, it wasn't like he was going to get any of Yuen-Li's medicine here…
However, Valdez maintained the same face the entire drive, not changing it, not breaking his attention away from the road, and most of all, not responding to Espio's calls.
It wasn't until he pulled into the same parking garage that they took on Espio's first day at Mobius U did Valdez's actions change. Upon parking his car, he grabbed his bag, unbuckled his seatbelt, and opened the car door. Espio, remembering how to unbuckle his seatbelt, quickly did so and opened the car door, walking over to the blue chameleon's side.
"Valdez-san? Valdez-san, what is going on-"
That was the only words to come out of Espio's mouth before he was quickly and strongly slapped by Valdez on the cheek. This sudden move shocked Espio, who held the side of his cheek as he looked at the angered Valdez.
"What were you thinking, eh?! Did you really think this land's laws worked the same way as Gojo's?!" he yelled. "Did you not think about what you've done?! You've not worried myself, you worried Vector, his friends, and Mark, the headmaster had to bail me out to help pay for you to be released, AND you don't have the kunais and shurikens I frankly should have told you to leave back home! Did you not think for ONE second that maybe you shouldn't take things into your own hands?!"
Espio simply looked smaller and smaller the more Valdez yelled.
"And FURTHERMORE, what you did may likely have consequences with our funders, meaning that my job could potentially be at risk! Espio-kun, what you did was not only HIGHLY irresponsible, it was illegal too! You should be thankful I'm not telling the Bride about this as she would figure out we're disobeying her, but I think this goes to show that I don't want you getting carried away with the amount of freedom you have here! Well? Do you have ANYTHING to say for yourself?!"
Espio was silent, only taking a few steps back as everything replayed in his mind. Saying sorry wouldn't cut it at this point. The anger in Valdez's eyes, his voice, and how he spoke of what happened because of what he did… there was only one way the chameleon knew to apologize.
With Valdez having his arms crossed, and the silence of the parking garage filling his ears, Espio got on the ground on all fours and bowed, bringing his head to the floor.
"I… I have… nothing! No excuses can justify my actions and I apologize!" he said. It had been a very long time since he had to apologize performing dogeza, the last time being before Shami was born, as he didn't want to train in the middle of the harsh winter when he was still sick. Sure enough, his mother did not approve, and after striking him on the thigh with a bokken, he had to apologize in the same manner as he did with Valdez.
He never thought he would have to apologize in such a manner again, but it seemed that anything went here in the Outside World…
As he continued to hold his dogeza, he heard footsteps coming towards him. A couple of seconds later, a hand was placed on the back of his head.
"…I accept. Please, get up. It isn't like you to do this, Espio-kun."
Espio raised his head up to see Valdez crouching above him. The chameleon quickly undid his bow and got up, as did Valdez.
"Valdez-san… I…"
"Just promise me one thing: Be on your very best behavior from here on. And, while I won't tell the Bride, I will come up with a punishment for you. I'm not sure what it'll be and when it'll be, but I want you to understand that you did a mistake. While there's nothing we can do to change the past, please understand that I'm not doing this because I want to be mean or cruel. But it's because I'm worried about you, Espio-kun. And… I apologize for slapping you. Frankly, if the Bride found out I hit you-"
"Mother would instantly have you banished."
Valdez smirked. "Yes, exactly. Now come, you're probably still not feeling good, right? Let's get you to bed so you can rest off your illness, and I can get you some medicine and inform your professors that you'll be off for a few days until you feel better."
"You mean… the Outside World has…" Espio cut himself off as he began to cough. "…h-has medicine like Yuen-Li's?"
"Well… not exactly… but it should do the trick."
Unusually for Vector, he was back at the dorm after lunch today.
While the rest of the school were back to their ordinary lives after yesterday's incident, Vector couldn't get what happened out of his mind the entire day. Even if Rouge attempted to comfort him earlier, it didn't really do much for him.
Even members of the team were confused about why Vector left, as they were discussing not just the Crisis City players who got caught, but also… Espio.
Word of Espio's arrest had reached the entire team, and most of them were gossiping about what happened. The crocodile didn't want to stay around as soon as he began to hear Thrash mentioning 'that chameleon kid', even if he knew the Tasmanian devil didn't mean any harm.
He looked at his phone's clock, seeing that it wouldn't be long before his Math 103 class. He sighed, pulling up social media in the hopes that it would distract him, but with his timeline up to date, there wasn't anything to take his mind off what happened.
That was, until there was a beep at the door.
Vector quickly raised his head up and turned to the door, seeing it open revealing…
Mr. Valdez and… and Espio…
Vector gasped as he quickly got up from his chair.
"E-Espio!" he said, almost rushing towards his friend to hug him but Valdez held up a hand.
"Hold on there, Mr. Vector. I'm sorry to tell you, but it seems Mr. Espio came down with a cold last night after staying at the county jail. I don't want you getting sick either."
"H-He's sick?!"
The two chameleons passed by the worried looking crocodile. "That's right. I'm going to come back and get him some medicine. If you get the chance, can you let Professor Finitevus and Morgan know he'll be out of class for the coming days? I know you have their classes too."
"O-Of course… but… but Mr. Valdez-"
"We have plenty of time to talk about what happened later. Don't you have class soon?"
"I do… b-but…"
"Espio will be fine. I'll get him what he needs, but I'm counting on you to give him his medicine and the like after tomorrow. I called off today because of what happened."
Vector turned back to face his friend as Valdez got him into the bottom bunk, coughing.
"Hey uh… not to be like… well, not to sound like… OFFENSIVE or anythin' but… isn't it dangerous that Espio's sick?"
"What do you mean?" Valdez asked, turning to face Vector.
"Well… with all yer talk 'bout Espio bein' from some village that's like far behind on everythin', that means he probably doesn't have resistance against illnesses, right? I saw somethin' like that on a documentary one night last semester."
"Ahh that…" Valdez looked down. "Well, I understand your concern, don't worry, I can understand why you'd think that Espio hasn't been vaccinated. But haven't you noticed that he hasn't gotten sick before today?"
"Now that ya mention it…"
"In truth, he HAS been vaccinated."
"He… has? Wouldn't his mom or somethin' think like vaccines are like… I dunno, the devil cause it ain't from her village?"
"Well… in truth, that's how the previous generations of Brides thought too. Once vaccines to illnesses and diseases started getting imported into Northern Mobius around sixty years ago, the Northern Mobius Prime Minister heavily advised the Brides to allow them to enter the villages to vaccinate everyone from all five villages from our district. As you can imagine, they all heavily disagreed to the decision, not trusting 'outside medicine' and walked out on their meeting."
"What caused them to change their mind?"
"…probably one of the worst tragedies in the Historic District's modern history. Three years after that incident, after the Brides returned to modern Northern Mobius to conduct another meeting, the Brides unfortunately brought the flu virus with them back to their villages because it was conducted during flu season. Most of the villagers ended up getting infected with the flu, and there was very little our doctors could do about it. Even Espio's grandmother as a young girl was infected too. The worst outbreak of it was in the village of Kaku, where thirty-two people died, and the Bride of that village pretty much shut off all communication. It was the only time in the Historic District's history that the four Brides personally reached out to the government for help, and since then, all the villagers, and all newborns in all five villagers are required to be vaccinated yearly. It's frankly the closest the government gets involved with the Historic District, since the government sends multiple doctors to the Historic District for the purposes of mass vaccinations on the villagers."
"Wow… that's a lot… to think I just thought of gettin' a shot as that scary needle they'd put in me… but with yer village… it was life and death…"
"I understand, Vector. But don't worry, Espio too was vaccinated when he was a young child and is up to date. Frankly, with how dirty Central Mobius can get, having him be unvaccinated would be a death sentence. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to the school store to get him his medicine. Make sure you aren't late for your next class, okay?"
Valdez got up from the floor and headed out the door.
"Sure, no prob!" Vector said. As the blue chameleon left, he turned towards his friend. "…hey… how ya doin'?"
Espio slowly turned his head towards Vector, trying to suppress a cough. He did however, sniff.
"V-Vector…" he said in a hoarse voice. "I… I am… I am so-sorry…"
The crocodile looked down at his friend. "Well… I didn't want ya to go THAT far… but I'm happy that I meant so much to ya that yeh wanted to figure out who did it fer me. Yeh've turned into the talk of the whole university since yesterday. Even the guys on the team wanna know where ya are. Heh, enjoy the fame, Espio."
Espio's breathing hitched, but he still softly smiled.
"Still… I hope ya just learned to not do that again. Ya dunno how worried ya had me when I saw Officer Wachowski pointin' a taser at ya. Never again do I wanna see ya like that…"
"I-I'm sorry…"
"Eh, dun apologize. The most important thing now is that yer safe, yer back at Mobius U… and that… y-yer… yer right here in front of me…"
Vector felt his face slightly warm up when he said this, feeling slightly embarrassed that he was acting like such a mother to Espio. Espio however, paid no mind as he rolled in his bed.
"Hey, I gotta get to class soon, but I'll see ya later tonight. I'm hoping yeh'll get to feelin' better soon. Ya gotta lot of catchin' up to do. Okay?"
Espio turned back to his friend and nodded, even if the quarterback felt he didn't understand him properly. With that, Vector grabbed his bookbag, put it over his right shoulder, and headed out the door as he plugged in his headphones. As he did, he turned around and gave Espio one extra smile before leaving.
Over the next couple of days, Espio's condition did improve slightly. Despite thinking that his first ever bowl of chicken noodle soup wasn't as creamy as he expected, or his surprise at how cough syrup tasted (according to Valdez's translating, he expected it to taste bitter), Espio was thankfully getting better. Valdez even gave him a facemask to wear when he wasn't eating or drinking to protect Vector from getting ill (even if it took some time for Espio to get used to).
Finally, that Thursday, after spending the past few days in bed, catching up with his schoolwork as well as getting as much rest as possible, Espio found that he felt much better that Thursday morning, and decided to join Vector for breakfast.
"Ya think yer okay, right?" he asked as they walked down the hall. Espio touched around his neck and felt his forehead, which felt fine. Plus, he knew today was the day he would get the results on his art project with Jewel, and he didn't want her to hunt him down personally, lest Vector get involved.
When they arrived to the K building and entered into the dining hall to get some breakfast, Espio couldn't help but notice that as soon as he entered, quite a lot of the noise stopped as some people stopped eating their breakfast to stare and point at them. Some people even were holding up their phones, and Espio just looked at them confused, wondering what about him getting breakfast was enough to hold their phone at him.
Still, the chameleon tried not to let it bother him, and he decided to have porridge and fruit after he had the same meal for breakfast yesterday. He was surprised at how used he was becoming to Outside World food, even if he sometimes wish he could have his meals back at the Dojo again…
Following after Vector, who got himself a bagel, a muffin, and toast, the two headed to their usual spot. With everyone around them still silent as they sat down, even Vector's teammates looked the same way, all except Connery, who had his nose deep in this month's issue of Mobius Men's Sports Weekly. He briefly looked over at the crocodile and chameleon before returning his cross stare back at his magazine, raising up the cover depicting the this year's Mr. Mobius bodybuilding champion, recent Green Hills Zone graduate Dingo the Canine.
As Espio watched Vector spread butter on his toast, the chameleon got started with putting some blueberries into his porridge as Valdez gave him yesterday. Taking his spoon and going into his first bite, it was just as delicious as yesterday, and the chameleon smiled as he chewed.
"H-Hey…"
Espio opened his eyes and turned to face Rotor, who had spoken up.
"A-Are… are you okay… Espio? We… we heard everything."
The chameleon stared at the walrus, looking at the faces of Vector's teammates. "I… I am… I am good."
Just then, a commotion began as most of Vector's teammates all got up and began to surround themselves around Espio. All of them began to talk at the same time, most of them slapping his elbows.
"Dude, I didn't know you could outrun the cops like that!" Brawny said.
"And you actually managed to find the Crisis City fucks who did that?!" Bull Bones said.
"Yo, Vec! Maybe coach was right! Maybe we SHOULD let your little friend on the team! He's totally not what I expected at all!" Thrash joked.
"Screw being on the team," Rudy added. "Maybe we should make him our new mascot! Maybe we could have a name change like… what if we become the Mobius University Ninjas! That's what Espio looked like when he ran from those cops from what I heard!"
This continued for several other members of the team too, all of whom praising Espio and seeing him as some kind of hero for the team. Espio smiled softly as he looked at his roommate.
"See? I told ya, I knew they'd miss ya," the crocodile responded, winking. "They're all thankful that-"
But in that moment, Vector was interrupted as someone slammed their hands on the table and growled.
"Will you all STOP this?!" a familiar voice said. Everyone stopped talking as they turned their heads to…
"What's up, Connery?" asked Rudy.
"What's up?! What's UP?!" questioned the horse. "What's UP… is that you all want to sing praises to that… that THUG right there!"
Connery pointed at Espio, who looked shaken by the action.
"Dude, will ya let it the fuck go?!" Vector said. "Does it bother ya so much that even when Espio finds out who ruined our field, it's apparently not good enough for ya?!"
"While I'm glad that the perpetrators were found and will be getting their just desserts, that SUDDENLY doesn't mean that we should all be okay with disturbing law and order!"
"So what?" Thrash questioned. "He found out who did it! So what if Espio did all that? Doesn't the thing that matter the most is that the guys were caught and our field is fixed up so we can play?"
Connery's face began to scrunch up. "I can't believe you all… defending this hooligan act, not doing what he was told, is this the hill you want to die on?! Defending… defending a criminal?!"
"Dude, have you considered that we just… don't give a fuck if he is or not? I didn't see YOU do anything about finding the culprits yourself," Rotor said.
"So what if I didn't?! That makes it okay to disrespect our officers, disrespect our school, our laws, and our society?! Is that okay to you, Rotor?!"
"Connery, has it ever occurred to ya that right now, yer a one-man army?" Vector asked. "No one here agrees with yeh."
Monk and Axol, who hadn't joined the rest of the team in praising Espio, simply turned their eyes to Connery as they continued to eat.
"I frankly couldn't care less. I don't care if my position makes me the most unpopular position on this team, or even in the entire school itself. I will not let this team be bogged down with vermin who deserve to be locked up if it means defending our values and our school and staff!"
He started to grab his bags, but then turned back to the team. "And let me tell you all this right now: our next game is the coming week. And the more I see you treating… treating HIM-" the horse pointed at the chameleon again. "…like some kind of god, the more I see FAILURE in your futures. And no, I don't care if that offends you. So, I would stop the idol worshipping, accept the chameleon right in front of you is a criminal who now needs to stay FAR away from our team, and-"
"Oi, what's goin' on here?!"
Everyone shut up as a familiar voice caused them to freeze. Espio looked over to see a large bulldog with a build similar to Coach Augustus (albeit just a little shorter), the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up to reveal his muscular forearms, and a thousand-yard angry stare. The chameleon was confused at this mystery person until Vector spoke up.
"A-AD Sommersby!" he said. "Didn't think we'd see ya outside yer office…"
"I decided to have a bit of a later breakfast today," the bulldog said in a gruff tone. "But that's beside the point. What's going on here? I don't appreciate any athletes I oversee getting heated, especially this early in the morning…"
"We're just getting into some very mild discourse that has already ended, AD Sommersby," Connery said as he placed his bags over his shoulder. "And I was already finished with my breakfast."
"Hey, don't you try to run out on me, Connery! I've heard my fair share of complaints about you. Keep up with that attitude and I think you'll find less and less support with your fellow teammates. Don't ostracize them, encourage them."
"Oh, believe me, AD…" he turned to face his team, giving them one of his signature 'I'm watching you' stares. "…I try…"
With that, the horse walked off as AD Sommersby turned to face the team.
"As for the rest of you, if I find you getting heated with another teammate, Gaia forbid I get my hands on you before Augustus does…"
With that threat, the bulldog turned and walked away as everyone looked down at the floor. Espio continued to look confused.
"Who… who… eeh…" he said, trying to remember his lesson on asking people questions.
"Who was that?" Knuckles added. "That's the Athletics Director of Mobius U, George Sommersby. He's pretty much in charge of all the athletics stuff around the university. He's coach's boss too."
"Not just his boss," Vector continued. "But he used to be Coach Augustus'… well, coach, when he used to play here years ago. Ya seen the way Coach gets angry, right? Comes from that AD Sommersby. He takes athletics even more seriously than Axol."
"I can hear you from here, Vector," the water buffalo said. "And besides, AD Sommersby is right. You all better stop with all this drama, otherwise we won't see a championship OR college bowl to play in. That doesn't just go to Connery, it goes to ALL of you. And I better see that you especially hear this, Vector."
"Besides, I ain't gonna let Connery be on his own here. You ain't gonna turn him into the team's punching bag!" Monk said, angrily glaring at the team. "He's just concerned and that's how you all wanna act?!"
"We never were gonna make him a punching bag!" Knuckles said. "We just want him to stop with all this Espio hatred! Or at least, keep his mouth shut at best!"
"Not when you want to silence him by trying to brandish him as some kind of bigot…"
Vector sucked his teeth. "I ain't even say anythin' like that, where do those two get this shit from…" he grumbled.
"Dude, ignore them," Thrash said. "Don't worry though, we're gonna make sure they don't try to pull this shit anymore, okay, Espio?"
He placed his hand on Espio's shoulder.
"Frankly, it was just better to ignore Connery," Rotor said. "But if he wants to act like an asshole, well, don't be surprised if people act rude back!"
Espio looked down at his porridge, feeling like that while he had many people he could turn to, he couldn't help but feel like this once tight band of friends was now starting to split… because of him.
As he stared at Monk and Axol, who were purposely ignoring him, Vector tapped his shoulder.
"Hey, doncha have Creative Drawin' soon?" he asked. "Better get movin'!"
Espio gasped as he quickly finished the rest of his porridge, the rest of the team returning to their seats to finish their breakfast.
"Hey, dun give yerself a stomachache!" the crocodile said. "Slow and steady, Espio!"
The chameleon swallowed before wiping his mouth, quickly throwing out his trash before grabbing his bag and running out, enjoying no longer having the attention on him now that he was settled back into school life. He looked back at the table just before leaving, seeing that most of the team returned to their seats, but Vector was staring right back at him.
"Before we begin 'ze next project, it iz time 'zat I return to you 'ze projects from last week!" Professor D'Coolette said after taking the attendance for that day's Creative Drawing I lesson. "'Zo, when I call your name, please come up and grab your project and rubric. Beginning with Gadget and…"
Espio sat in his stool with Valdez by his side, wondering what kind of grade he and Jewel got. Maybe it was a 90? After all, they did have to rush the piece to get it finished thanks to the canvas Jewel lost during the Halloween Party. Maybe it was an 80 to Professor D'Coolette's standards, and now Espio was going to have to hear the end of it from Jewel?
Sure enough, the answer would come when the coyote professor called Espio and Jewel's name. The chameleon got down from his stool and walked towards the table of canvases, his geta clacking on the floor as he did. Grabbing his canvas, he wondered where the grade was , so he flipped it around and-
"A-Are you KIDDING me?!"
The chameleon turned around to see Jewel with the rubric in her hands, looking shocked. Espio walked over to the jewel beetle as she put it in Espio's face, seeing that they had made a 98 on the project.
"G-Gu-Good… j-job!" he said, still struggling on how to say compliments in English. As he returned to his seat, he continued to watch the jewel beetle look confused.
"Did you make a good grade, Espio-kun?" Valdez asked.
"I believe… I did so," the transfer student replied.
It was after class that everyone began to leave the classroom one by one. With the students assigned to having to draw a person and break down the proportions of the body and identify where certain parts go for this week's assignment, Espio was finishing packing up when the flapping of wings caught his attention.
"Hey."
Espio turned his head to see Jewel standing on the stool next to his. He looked confused as he turned his head.
"Oh, don't act like that. Listen I… about our grade… I… no… we passed."
The chameleon could tell that the jewel beetle seemed not just uncomfortable with the situation, but also unsure about it too. It was like she was trying to comprehend what happened in real time.
"…you… you really did help me. And not just that too. I… I heard about what you did yesterday. And... and I..."
Espio froze, likely expecting her to act like Connery did during breakfast. But to his surprise, Jewel's face grew pink as she simply flew out of the room, not saying anything else to the chameleon.
It seems that even with his weapons gone, he had come out victorious in this battle of wits.
END OF CHAPTER 13
