(AN: So, I wanted to get this out last night to say, 'Hey, I did two chapters in a month! Look at me!'
And then I forgot because I was watching a ProtonJon stream last night... oops!
Anyway, welcome back! I'm glad from all the reactions I got from the last chapter that you all really enjoyed what went down. Trust me when I say that it's just the START, but this time we're back to a little bit more fluff, now with 10x more Knuckles and Mighty! Besides, after what happened last chapter, I don't blame you if you want to see happy warm gooey fluff, trust me, it can be fun. So for now, let's start off with exploring a few people that we haven't touched since October in universe! And you might see who they are once you get to reading... so as usual, enjoy!)
12:02 A.M.
There was nothing but pure silence among the sea of footsteps, whirring printers, and keyboard typing as many of Mobius U's staff packed the ST building, ignoring the sounds of the loud party coming from the K building. Professors and some staff walked up and down the halls, holding papers or their laptops, rushing to get their student's exams and records submitted before the 6am deadline, at least before raising the anger of the Central Mobius government's college education committee.
Within one of the staff lounge rooms, Professors Morgan, Montclair, Starline, Von Schlemmer, Finitevus, Remington, D' Coolette, and Longclaw all spread around the room, furiously typing in information and going through papers. They sat alongside Valdez who had only joined them a couple of hours ago, and Whisper, who had to be called in despite her shift ending to verify information as well as make calls to the committee in her tired state.
With a dozen of boxes of pizza for nourishment and to get the entire staff through the night, they worked hard as Valdez looked over grades of all the exchange students he was managing this year, including Espio's.
"It almost feels like it's never ending," Valdez said, looking up from his work to alleviate the tension. "We've been here for hours and yet there's so much to go through. I don't know what the committee is trying to think, making us go through this."
Whisper peeked into the room from outside of the hall, looking at the chameleon. "Easy for you to say, Mr. Valdez…" the wolf said as she put her cellphone down. "You're not the one having to come in past your bedtime all for what feels like a bunch of nonsense… Ugh, why won't the committee answer?! Professor Quack has been having trouble submitting information all night, and just when you need them, the committee doesn't answer a single damn call, but they sure as hell want you to bust your ass off until six in the morning, all for something that probably isn't even happening!"
"Calm down, Whisper," Professor Morgan said. "I'm sure you'll be able to get through to the committee eventually. It is strange though… it's almost like they're accusing us personally despite this being for every college in the country."
"Pff, tell me about it," the gold wolf replied, mouth turning into a scowl as she closed the door behind the group of staff.
"What makes you say that, Nate?" Professor Montclair asked, twirling his hair out of the way. "I thought the committee liked how things were running here. After all, the Headmaster DOES have a good relationship with the committee's heads."
"Your guess is as good as mine, Bartleby," Von Schelmmer replied. "I think that's nonsense though, nothing more than a conspiracy theory, Nate. We shant accuse the committee of such a… large action. I mean, what could possibly be going on here to require such an investigation into every college in the country?"
"I must interject and say that quite a lot has happened in this semester alone just here at Mobius University," Professor Starline interrupted. "With our incident such as those boys from Crisis City vandalizing our football field, as well as some… characters of interesting note, it's safe to say that I think the committee must interject, least of all before something ELSE happens."
"But what else would 'appen 'zat would require interjection?" Professor D' Coolette asked. Just then, the door to the lounge opened again, and two figures stood by the doorframe.
"Ah, Augustus! And… oh, George!" Professor Longclaw said. "It's a rarity to see you out of your office, sir. Glad to see that you're both back from tonight's football game. Did you hear what happened and-"
"I… I'm not in the mood for idle chatting, Longclaw…" Augustus said stoicly as he walked towards an empty chair just next to Professors Remington and Finitevus. "Mind if I sit here?"
"G-Go ahead…" the white echidna professor said.
"Thanks, oh… look, you got food…"
As the other professors watched, everyone, including AD Sommersby, was shocked at what Coach Augustus did next. He opened up the box of pizza, grabbed a slice of pepperoni pizza, and put it to his open mouth, biting down. Their eyes wide, they simply watched as the polar bear chewed his slice.
"A-Augustus!" AD Sommersby growled.
"Did you just…" Professor Remington asked as the polar bear looked at the two, then at the slice of pizza he held in his hand.
"...huh…" the coach added as he swallowed. "I just realized… This is the first slice of pizza I've had in almost twelve years. I almost forgot how it tasted. I think it was even… with you, Remington."
"Augustus… this isn't like you. What happened?" Professor Longclaw asked, turning her attention away from her laptop.
"I… I don't want to talk about it."
"You can't keep running away from this, Augustus," AD Sommersby replied, the bulldog looking cross. "Eventually, you have to face the truth about what happened."
"Look, I told you earlier, George… I didn't get security or anything involved because I gave them one more chance, and it seemed like it worked."
"That isn't a sufficient enough punishment! I told you I'd be more than happy to deal with them!"
"Wait wait wait!" Professor Finitevus interjected, shaking his hand. "What happened? Augustus, you NEED to tell us. This is very out of character for you."
The polar bear sighed before facing Valdez. "Mr. Valdez… tell me; throughout the entire time you've had your foreign exchange student program, has it… caused any drama?"
The blue chameleon looked confused. "Drama?" he questioned. "Not… that I can particularly think of. If something did happen, I would usually tell the students I take under my wing that they can inform me about it and that I'll report it to the proper channels. Why are you asking me though?"
"It's-"
Suddenly, AD Sommersby interrupted. "I'll tell him. It seems that some of the students on the football team seem to have an issue with one of your exchange students, Mr. Valdez."
"What? Who?!" said both Valdez and Professor Longclaw.
"That one boy, the one you're always around when you're away from work. I don't quite know his name."
"No… not… not Espio?" the blue chameleon looked at the floor upon hearing the words come out from AD Sommersby's mouth.
"What do you mean, George?" asked Professor D' Coolette. "Who would have an issue with Mr. Espio?"
"One of the players on the team. Apparently he's been having beef with Vector, our quarterback and Espio's roommate, over him. And they fought in the damn locker rooms after tonight's game!"
Everyone soon had their attention away from their work and towards AD Sommersby and Coach Augustus. Valdez most especially was concerned.
"Why have I not been informed about this?!" he questioned. "I've specifically taken Espio under my wing primarily due to the language barrier he has, and to now only hear that there's been discord between the people around him…"
"Who is it, George?!" Professor Longclaw sharply questioned. "I will NOT let this slide in any way possible. The fact that this has been happening for quite some time means that we need to talk to whoever this is, least of all remind them that harassment goes against campus policy!"
"Does it even matter anymore? What's done is done, Longclaw…" Augustus gloomily said.
"I… how could you say that, Augustus?! Are you suggesting we just let this go?! A student is being harassed by one of YOUR players! Shouldn't you do something about it?!"
"Look, Longclaw! I would love more than ANYTHING than have the university place Vector and Connery under academic suspension, but-"
"Excuse me?" questioned Professor Montclair. "Did you just say Connery?"
"Who is that?" Professor Von Schlemmer asked.
"The running back for the Badniks," AD Sommersby replied. "But you likely know him more as the student representative of the Mobius U branch of CCOCC."
"Is that why you don't want to make this a big deal, Augustus?" asked the female owl.
The coach sighed. "Trust me, frankly I'd love for something to happen, but I know that if I try to go as tough as I can on Connery, he WOULD be willing to sue the university, citing free speech."
"You say that like it's happened," Nate replied before Professor Von Schlemmer cleared his throat.
"Because it has, Nate," the blue skinned humanoid added. "It happened while I was working at Soleanna University, where a two year legal battle happened between the school and its CCOCC branch. I didn't get much information about what was going on since it wasn't in my department, but I saw first hand the university scramble while they defended themselves. It was an interesting sight seeing an entire university almost crumble under what is essentially a student organization once things got a little more heated…"
"That's besides the point! Free speech and harassment are not the same thing!" Valdez retorted. "The fact that I was unaware about this… he could be doing this to other transfer students too!"
"It's just Espio from what I hear…" the polar bear shook his head.
"Well, what about Vector? You mentioned those two got into a fight after the game tonight."
"I got on their asses and told them that unless they want me to get George involved or to resign from the team, to come up with a solution themselves before we return from questioning by reporters. I'm not going to treat them like a bunch of kids. The fact that there's this amount of drama in a COLLEGE setting is frankly ridiculous! You expect this behavior from high schoolers, not full grown adults! These boys even get paid not just by the school, but all the advertisers and the TV networks who give them a cut of the check they pay us. And the way they thank us is regressing to a younger sort of mentality?!"
"You'd be quite surprised, Augustus," replied Starline. "Many adults of our age and even older still get into dramatic situations with other peers. It's humanity's nature to look for conflict when issues arise, something that all of us are all guilty of."
"Is that what you found out after years in your field?"
"Let's just say, there's much more in common with adults that have promising careers and school children than you might think."
"That aside… did they come up with something, Augustus?" Remington asked.
"Well… when I got back, they were gone and did as I told them. Trust me, Remington, my throat still hurts from screaming at them…"
"That still shouldn't be enough!" Longclaw retorted. "You don't know if Mr. Connery will stop his harassment of Espio! Frankly, we SHOULD be going to the Headmaster about this!"
"Unfortunately, there might be a few issues with that," Sommersby replied. "Not only did Vector and Connery's fight happen off campus, which yes, while it did occur during an event hosted by Mobius U, the Federation Dome isn't OUR building. Meaning, we can't punish them via the Mobius U rules on fighting on campus. But on the terms of Espio's harassment, we would need a statement from Espio himself and an investigation that would take some time. And even then, should Espio testify that harassment from Connery did not reach physical status, there's very little the university can do."
"Very little?!"
"I've been here working at Mobius U longer than most people in this room. I recognize the rules like the back of my hand and the date and time me and the missus got married."
"The code of conduct should have specifications for verbal harassment too, George! It feels like you two want to protect Connery!"
AD Sommersby began to growl softly. "Hey, I'm starting to not like your attitude, Longclaw. Trust me, as Augustus said, I'd frankly love it if those two got the proper punishment they deserved! But unfortunately, due to multiple factors, we're the only ones who can punish them."
"He's right," Augustus replied. "On the topic of verbal harassment, Vector mentioned to me that a lot of what Connery says towards Espio is done when he's not present or is usually directed towards Vector himself as a sort of middle man for Espio. The code of conduct doesn't necessarily have rules for talking behind someone's back, even if it is petty."
Longclaw's face fell. "So… there really is nothing we can do?"
AD Sommersby shook his head. "It doesn't seem like it. I'm sorry, Longclaw."
Valdez got up from the floor and looked at the two larger men. "If you'd be willing, I can talk to Mr. Connery myself. I think the way to get him to understand would be to have a fellow Yurashian try to help him see things from Espio's perspective," he said.
"It sounds like a solid plan… but Connery's biggest flaw is that he refuses to change his mind. If there's something he believes in, he'll die on that hill. Nothing more, nothing less…"
There was an aura of silence throughout the room, the staff feeling solemn at being useless at a time like this despite having authority to enforce campus rules.
"I… I'm sorry for being rough on you two, Augustus and George…" Longclaw said, breaking the silence. "I always want students like Espio, who aren't used to a place like this, to have a safe and welcoming environment and to not worry about people messing with them."
"You care deeply for the boy…" Augustus replied. "I think we all do, in our own way. But… I shouldn't be angry with you either. It's not mine or your fault."
"Likewise," the muscular bulldog shook his head. "I think the best thing we can do, as staff, is make sure that Connery stays far away from Vector and Espio for the time being and vice versa, let them all cool down and just move past this. Augustus, you remember what we talked about when all the boys left the bus, right?"
"Of course. I'll talk to Vector and Connery later today about what's going to happen since I'm still not entirely done with them."
"Well… as long as you manage to keep this up… I have faith in you… and, again… I'm sorry about being angry at you two," Longclaw added.
"He understands, Longclaw." Professor Morgan replied. "Frankly, over the years, Augustus has mellowed out a lot more and is much more compassionate and cares about the feelings of others."
"W-What's that supposed to mean, Nate?!" the polar bear retorted.
"I don't quite see high school era you doing something like this," Nate proceeded to drink from the thermos next to his laptop.
"Oh, now you two just want me to feel guilty, huh?! At least Longclaw has a reason!"
"Ooh, the big jock on campus is getting maaaaad, don't worry, I made sure my wallet is bursting at the seams with rings today!"
"Now you're just asking me to be your bully again!" Augustus, starting to grin, walked over to the Biology professor. "Hold still, jock wants to steal your lunch money!"
Professor Morgan attempted to shake himself free from Augustus' grip as the others, sans AD Sommersby, watched with amusement. Despite the tension from minutes ago, the staff felt relieved to have a moment to take a break from all the work they had been doing.
"Okay, Augustus, you've had enough foolishness for one night. I'm not gonna let you start acting childish now," the bulldog said.
"Aw, if ya ask me, I think Nate and the rest of these guys need it! Hey, that begs a question… what ARE you all doing here anyway this late? George and I stumbled in here wondering what was going on and Whisper told me that there was food in here so-"
Just then, there was a sudden knock by the open door as the sound of dangling keys and leather boots hitting the tile floor was heard as everyone in the lounge turned around to face the origin of the noise. It was Officer Wachowski, who looked beyond confused.
"...what are you all doing here?" the Overlander officer questioned. "Whisper was too busy taking a call so that's why I'm here asking you all."
"Ah, nice to see you, Thomas," Longclaw replied. "You likely didn't get the message, but us staff were required to submit a lot of documents and such to the Central Mobius college education committee."
"...is that why this building is packed with staff? I came here because I thought students were in here vandalizing the place, considering that loud party going on in the K building. Well, imagine my shock seeing you all run around the place like you all need to use the bathroom."
"No students here, just us staff being forced to work…" Valdez replied. "We'll be fine here, although if you're worried, perhaps leave the master key you carry with one of the staff so they can lock up just in case?"
"Doesn't sound like a half bad idea, Mr. Valdez. Thankfully, the students have been behaving themselves, despite me telling off Jet AGAIN… Ugh, the kid will never learn… Well, I'm about to head out to make sure the K building hasn't been set on fire since arriving here. But before I go…" he then pointed at the pizza boxes. "...mind if I have one?"
"Sure, go ahead," Von Schlemmer replied. "I didn't have too many slices myself, so we have plenty of leftovers for the other staff, but I know you're going to be hard at work monitoring the place."
"And let us make sure that no one vomits after being in a drunken stupor on the walkways," Professor Montclair added. "Goodness, the smell is so vile and all that excrement is so hard to get out… it almost makes me green in the face! Snively already complains about it enough as is when it happens."
"Anything for you, your highness," Officer Wachowski replied as he snatched three slices before swiping a plate next to the boxes and plating his slices..
"Don't you think that's a lot you're carrying, Tom?" AD Sommersby replied. "Heaven knows how many calories and unhealthy additives those must have."
"Eh, I'll be fine. You've seen me in the mornings."
"I… haven't actually."
"What was 'zat nickname 'ze staff gave you? I do not 'zeem to remember…" mused Professor D' Coolette.
"What, you don't remember how Coach Zazz started calling him Donut Lord and we all just started doing it?" Whisper said as she suddenly peeked into the room, covering the phone she held with her hand before the gold wolf returned back into the hall. "Sorry about that, a professor just…"
"Oh right! That's what it was!" Remington replied. "Ha, yeah, cause every time someone brings donuts in the morning for the staff, you usually take about a good 4… often 5… sometimes 6 if you're peckish, and the way you devour them, Tom!"
Most of the staff laughed, all sans Augustus and George, who glared at the officer out of disapproval for his unhealthy eating habits.
"Well, I'm sure you're going to need as much energy as you can get tonight, Thomas," Longclaw added. "And remember, be sure to inform us if something's happened. We'll have the walkie talkie lines open, okay?"
"No problem, I gotta head out anyway. Spent wayyy too long here if you ask me," the Overlander gave a peace sign as he walked out the lounge with his plate of pizzas slices. "See ya."
With that, the officer left as AD Sommersby shook his head. "I tell you, I dunno how Tom can be such a glutton…"
"Oh, let him be, George. The guy works hard," replied Finitevus. "Well, we should really get back to work. We've spent FAR too long dillydallying, and the more time we waste, the more we'll be stuck here," The white echidna proceeded to turn towards the coach and athletic director. "But since you two are here, you might as well head back to your offices, get your laptops, and get back here. Many of your players are in our classes and we'll need to know information about them. Plus, even if you are a part of the Athletics department, the Education Committee definitely won't take kindly to not submitting the required information."
Augustus sighed. "It's like tonight won't give me a break…"
The bulldog proceeded to head out the door, turning and waiting for the polar bear. "Come on, Augustus, you heard the man. Whether you like it or not, we have to do it."
"I suppose I got no choice…"
With that, the two men left as the other professors returned back to their computers and papers, a lack of voices flourishing throughout the room again.
7:09 AM
Espio stared down at Vector, frowning at the crocodile as he had his back turned towards the chameleon. His tail slumped over the bed and down onto the floor, Espio was attempting to get Vector up for their usual training but…
"Vector, are we n-not g-oing?" he asked. Vector simply grunted in response, still not looking at Espio. Now the transfer student was only getting more concerned… What happened last night to cause all this? Before and during, and even after the game, the crocodile was his usual happy, grinning self. Now, it was nothing like Espio had ever seen before. It was like the person Vector usually was… was now gone.
He still attempted to wake Vector up, even at one point, shaking his shoulder in an attempt to wake him up, but the quarterback only did one thing: grunt in response.
It was starting to feel futile. He wondered if he should maybe be more serious in his attempt to wake the crocodile up. Back in Gojo, if the guards of the Shinobi Clan's dojo wanted Espio to wake up, he was forced up by them if he didn't immediately wake up upon the first call. He wondered if, at that moment, he should do the same…
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Espio turned towards it, wondering who it was. If the door didn't beep, it must not have been Valdez. So… who was it?
Curious, the fuchsia chameleon walked to the door, opening it to see two faces he wasn't expecting to see this early.
"K-Knuckles… and Ma-Mighty…" he said.
"Hey there, Espio," Knuckles said, holding up a hand as if to say hello. "How's Vector doing? We came by 'cause we wanted to check up on him."
Espio turned back to the crocodile, then back at the echidna and armadillo. "I do not know w-what is g-oing o-on…"
Mighty sighed. "Don't worry, Espio. We know the full story. It isn't your fault… uh… can we come in?"
Espio opened the door, but he pointed at the floor as soon as the two stepped inside.
"R-Right, your little rule…" Knuckles said as he took off his shoes, Mighty doing the same. It was the only rule that Espio enforced in the dorm and while Vector SOMETIMES disobeyed it and he didn't mind, the chameleon was stricter with everyone else on it, his customs from Gojo not dying when it came to this matter.
Once this was done, the two athletes stood in front of Vector's bed, looking concerned.
"Geez, didn't realize it was that bad," Knuckles said. "Yo… uh… Vec… you doing alright?"
Vector once again, grunted in response.
"Knuckles told me what happened after you guys came back to campus last night. How are you feeling today? A… little better?" Mighty added, with Vector giving him ANOTHER grunt in response. Knuckles sighed.
"Look, last night was rough, I won't lie. I don't think I've ever once seen Coach THAT pissed off period. But… you know you can't stay like this forever, Vector. Eventually, you're gonna have to get up and face him again."
"...I appreciate the thought…" Vector FINALLY said. "...but I ain't in the mood… go away…"
"What happen?" Espio asked as Knuckles and Mighty looked horrified, realizing they would have to tell the truth to the chameleon. Knuckles turned around, teeth gritting from shock.
"Uhh… erm… it's… it's a bit heavy…" he said, running his hand through his dreadlocks.
"Promise that you won't blow up?" Mighty asked. "It's very serious but… I don't want you to do anything rash, Espio. We rather not have a repeat of the whole vandalism thing, right?"
"Y-Yeah! Trust me, you're frankly scarier when you're angry, and that's saying something cause everyone likes to call me a hothead! I at least don't beat up like 5 guys and leave them bloody-"
"Knuckles!" Mighty elbowed the echidna.
"S-Sorry! Anyway… can you promise you'll stay calm?"
Espio nodded his head in response.
"Good… anyway, what happened was that last night, Vector got into a really heated argument with two guys on the football team," Mighty began. "From what I was told, it started with them just getting into a heated argument, but then it devolved into something even bigger when Connery just grabbed Vector's arm and they just started to roll on the floor and fight-"
"Er… Mighty, maybe you shouldn't mention that?" Knuckles said as he began to notice the change in Espio's expression.
"I mean, it happened, didn't it? I didn't expect Vector and Connery of all people to get into a fight-"
Suddenly, Mighty was interrupted as he began to hear Espio breathe heavily.
"Co… Connery?" he asked. Now, the chameleon was starting to become enraged. Were they telling him that Connery… hurt Vector?!
"N-Now now, Coach Augustus sorted the whole thing out!" Mighty quickly said, shaking his hand. "He stopped their fight and they cooled down, and they didn't look at each other once so I think they're gonna have some space from each other! Ha ha, no need to get angry. Besides, I'm sure we can just acknowledge that the dude is a dick and move on with our lives-"
"He ha-hur… hurt Vector!" Espio argued back, now becoming furious at the idea that the horse that hated him so much now suddenly got into a fight with his best friend. He wasn't sure why they fought, but one thing was for certain, Espio was NOT going to stand for this. The horse could give him dirty looks all he wanted, but this was now the chameleon's tipping point.
As he began to walk out of the room, he was suddenly grabbed by the arm. Espio turned around, glaring daggers at Knuckles.
"Let me go…" he softly growled in his native language.
"Dude, it ain't worth it!" he said. "Frankly, Connery ain't shit and we should just do everything to just ignore the dude at this point!"
But Espio was having none of it, and he ripped the echidna's grip off of him. The chameleon continued to stare at Knuckles with intense scrutiny in his eyes, not wanting to cause a scene with his friends despite them starting to push them over the edge. However, Mighty too began to intervene as he walked in front of Espio.
"Come on, Espio!" he said, blocking the doorway. "You know this isn't right! If you try and fight Connery now because of this… well, it's stupid! You gotta prove to yourself that you're a better man than him, and what's better than showing that you aren't bothered by him?"
Espio attempted to wiggle his way out from the room, almost pushing the armadillo out of the way only for him to not stop. Angered, he continued. "He hurt-"
"I don't care if he hurt Vector, what would VECTOR feel if you fought Connery for him?!"
Espio stopped, a bit confused by the question, but… when he heard Vector's name, he turned around and looked at his friend. The crocodile had now rolled over, staring back at him with… sadness in his eyes. This mellowed out the chameleon, who lowered his arms and hung his head.
"It's okay, bud," Knuckles said, patting Espio's shoulder. "Trust me, plenty of the guys on the team aren't happy with Connery or Monk right now. They share your sentiments too, and frankly, a lot of them kinda haven't been on board with them for a while. We just kinda sorta tolerated them, but I think that this was just the tipping point for a good number of them. I know Thrash is pretty pissed, so is Brawny too."
"It's at least good they're standing up against them," Mighty said. "From the way you described it, it felt like it just came outta nowhere."
"Regardless…" Knuckles walked back over to where Vector was. "Did… did you wanna at least get breakfast together before class?"
"...I ain't in the mood, Knux," Vector replied. "I ain't in the mood for anythin' really."
"So you're just gonna stay here and wallow?"
Vector shrugged, arms wrapped around himself. "I 'unno, I guess."
"Dude, you know you can't do that! Not only do we got practice later today that you can't miss, but you're really gonna miss like… midterms?"
Mighty looked over at Knuckles, surprised. "I'm surprised you're getting on his case about studying, considering I haven't ONCE seen you study until yesterday."
Knuckles rushed over to silence the armadillo's mouth with his hand. "Shut up you fool, he doesn't need to know that! I'm trying to motivate him for a reason!"
"I dunno, Knux…" Vector replied. "I'm free today but besides practice… I frankly feel like skippin' class. Hell, I don't even feel like gettin' out of bed."
Mighty let go of Knuckles' grip to speak. "Don't wanna get out of bed? But Vector! We were all gonna go to the mall after our first classes to go Christmas shopping, remember? We talked about it last week!"
"Do you even have time to go past today?" the echidna asked. "Today is pretty much our only free day where we don't got something going on! From what I remember you telling us AND our schedules, you got midterms for the rest of the week, then the game is on Friday evening, and then it's Christmas Eve on Saturday, which not only will you barely have time to go out, campus is shutting down at 6 in the evening and we're all expected to be off it by 7! Don't forget that we wanted to do our yearly gift exchange!"
"Look, I'll find the time somehow, okay?" Vector responded, sighing as he rolled over. "I just dun wanna go… if it's such a big deal that it'll be yeh two, why not take Espio with yeh?"
"We've been planning this for weeks dude! Besides, there's-"
Knuckles stopped when he turned around to look at Espio. The chameleon was a bit confused, why was Knuckles just… staring at him?
"Actually…" he said, tapping his finger on his chin. Just then, Knuckles slid towards the chameleon. "Huh, I never thought about it!"
Espio turned his head, confused as Knuckles put his arm around Espio's shoulders. "Say, Espio!" continued Knuckles. "Looks like Vector's tapping out for today. If you aren't busy, why not come with Mighty and me to the mall after we're done with our Advanced Weight Training class? We thankfully don't have any class until about… 2ish PM, and we get off around 11! C'mon, whaddya say?"
Then, Mighty came up next to the chameleon, adding to the conversation. "Yeah, bud! We haven't hung out properly ourselves despite being your friends! I'm sure you can live a day without Vector, right?"
Espio looked at the two, still not sure about what they wanted him to do. He turned to the calendar by the bulletin board, which had all the important things that Vector wrote down on it that were coming up. Walking over to it, he looked at the date and the mix of English and Japanese on each date. For today… nothing of note was written down, as every other day this week had either marked an exam for a class for either of the two reptiles, and Friday had a reminder for the Playoff Finals and Espio's art show at the Museum of Arty Art.
"Well, would you look at that!" the armadillo wrestler said. "You got no exams today! Guess we're all lucky, huh? Then that means you can go with us, right? Right?!"
Espio still was a bit unsure. Not only was Vector not going to be there, what would Valdez say about where they were going especially since he likely was going to be far stricter on the transfer student studying this week.
"I… I ma-must… no, c-can… ah… how do you say that word…" Espio said, trying to remember how to say, "I have to ask" in English. "Ba… ah, Valdez must… no…"
"Valdez must know?"
"Yes! He must know!"
"Who is that, Vec?" asked Knuckles.
"Ya seen that blue chameleon with Espio?..." the crocodile replied from bed. "That's Mr. Valdez, the guy in charge with foreign language stuff and the dude who helps translate fer him. Ya might have a bit of trouble though, the dude has been real hard on Espio when it comes to studyin' fer midterms. He'll likely say no."
"Then we'll take him after we get off from Weight Training! When does he have to be back?"
"...2pm. He ain't got his personal English lessons today."
"Great! Well, Espio, you're about to enjoy a couple of hours of fun to take a break from all the stress of exams! Don't worry, Vector will be alright, so while he rests up here, you get to spend some quality time with us!" Knuckles once again patted Espio's shoulder. "Just meet us outside the I building after 11 and we'll get you, okay?"
"And we'll help you pick out gifts too!" Mighty added. "We've always done a gift exchange, the three of us, since high school, and this year isn't different! However, it'll be more fun if we get you involved! Vector was telling us that you don't know what Christmas is, so we're gonna show you first hand what Christmas is like!"
Espio smiled softly. He was glad that Knuckles and Mighty were in a much better mood than when they arrived, but… that didn't change how worried he was for Vector. The poor crocodile still had that aura of solemness around him, and it hurt Espio knowing there didn't seem to be much he could do. One thing was certain to the chameleon, Connery would NEVER be forgiven for what he's done to his friend.
"With that outta the way…" Knuckles continued. "You uh… not coming to breakfast or Weight Training, Vec? I know I asked but I just wanted to be sure just ONE last time."
Vector went back to grunting again as the echidna shook his shoulders.
"Let's just let Vec be for now, guys. If you need us for anything, you know you can text us, right?"
The quarterback was silent, turning around in bed and back facing away from the three.
"And… Vector? Things will get better, I promise," Mighty said. "C'mon, Espio. Let's get some breakfast."
"But Vector…" Espio said, pointing at his friend. Mighty, however, grabbed the chameleon's arm and shook his head.
"It's best if we respect what Vector wants, okay?"
Espio wanted to open his mouth to protest, but seeing Mighty and Knuckles tell him otherwise reminded him of his mother at that moment. After all, it was one of the golden rules of the Shinobi Clan: "Do what you're told, no matter how much you don't want to do it".
And so, they walked out of the room for Breakfast, leaving a sighing Vector behind alone.
LATER
After getting out of Creative Drawing I around 10, and presenting his final project to the entire class, the chameleon waited outside for Valdez to finish talking with Professor D' Coolette, likely about the art gallery show this Friday. Once he was done, the blue chameleon went through his bag as he walked out of the doorframe.
"Ah, there you are, Espio-kun. I thought you left after me," he said. "Sorry for keeping you waiting, I was talking with Professor D' Coolette about your show on Friday. He got to confirm something I wanted to know. Anyway, as you know, you don't have any exams today, but starting tomorrow, you're going to spend the next three days working on exams, so expect you to be studying harder than you have before. If I recall… your Advanced English Literature and Environmental Studies exams are tomorrow, then Biology on Thursday alongside your ESOL exam with Professor Longclaw and myself and finally, your Algebra and Psychology exams are on Friday, alongside the art show. I need to head back to my office and find the last transfer student apart of my program to find out what classes they'll be taking next semester. Once I'm done with them, I'll find you next and help you figure out what you want next semester. In the meantime, either study back at the dorm or in the library, take a break for lunch, and then continue until I come for you…"
"Yes," Espio nodded, understanding. "Oh, Valdez-san… are you okay? You look very tired."
The blue chameleon rubbed his eyes with his fist, clear bags under his eyes. "I'm fine… just stayed up a bit later than I normally do. I'll be fine though. You just do what you know what to do, okay?"
With that, the blue chameleon walked off as Espio watched him. He knew he probably should have been studying, but… he did make that promise with Knuckles and Mighty. The chameleon did consider for a second to visit Vector again back at the dorm to check up on him, however, he knew that the crocodile wanted to be left alone. So, with his options limited, Espio decided on waiting outside the I building for the two near the steps. It was a bit painful waiting in the snow for Knuckles and Mighty, but there was thankfully no wind.
And so, he stood there for almost an hour, letting the snow pile up on his head, bag, and his haori, the snow on the ground almost reaching up to the entirety of his geta. Just like in the times where he'd be waiting for Vector or Jewel, due to his years of training, patience was an art he had perfectly mastered years ago.
It would pay off once the clock reached a couple of minutes after 11, as in between students walking in and out of the building to work out in between or before classes, a large swath of students piled out of the I building. There were some that Espio recognized, like Thrash and Storm, others like Monk, who shot him a VERY dirty look (for unknown reasons), and finally…
"There you are, Espio!" Knuckles said as he slid down the steps, snow sticking to the tips of his letterman jacket. He turned his head as he looked at his friend. "Geez, what's with all the snow on you? Gonna be a snowman or something?"
"Did you actually wait for us out here since you got out of class?!" Mighty exclaimed. "I'm flattered dude, but you know you're a reptile! That's dangerous, isn't it?"
Espio said nothing, simply only sneezing in response as the snow on him fell off his body.
"...okay, we're gonna head out now, first so we can leave as quickly as possible, but second so that you don't get sick, dude," Knuckles said as he helped the chameleon move from the snow, getting him onto the pavement as they walked alongside him, first talking about their workout for Advanced Weight Training before…
"Okay, so here's the plan," Mighty said as the three walked past the front campus and towards the parking garage used by students and staff. "The closest mall, Route 99 Mall, is about 10 minutes from campus. Provided that we can rush there, we probably got about two hours and thirty minutes there if we can time manage. We have quite a lot of gifts to buy. Some for our family, some for our friends and that gift exchange, the like. Say, you got a way to pay for your gifts, Espio?"
The chameleon looked confused as the three walked into the parking garage. "I don't understand what you are saying?" he asked. Knuckles turned to the armadillo, looking a little concerned.
"Oh shit… he WOULDN'T have money… fuuuuuuuck, I didn't quite expect this," he said, ruffling his dreadlocks. "What should we do, man?"
"Why don't we both give him money but help him pick out? That way, he doesn't blow it on something pricy for Vector."
"Ha! He probably would. Alright, don't worry, Espio! We'll help you with money when you arrive! And… probably gonna have to teach you how rings and mobiums work now that I'm thinking 'bout…"
The echidna, looking concerned, turned away from Espio and sighed. The chameleon continued to look confused, but didn't pry. After another minute or walking, the three found themselves in front of a red car, one that was far bigger than the one Vector or Valdez had. Knuckles reached into his pocket, pulled out his keys, and unlocked the car as the three opened the door. Getting inside, Espio took the chair behind the echidna as he started up the car, cold air blowing into his face.
"Whewf!" he said, shivering as he stopped the AC. "Let's wait a bit for this to warm up."
With that, he started to back out and began to drive out of the parking garage.
"I so want something warm now…" Mighty commented.
"I think there's a Star Fox at Route 99. You in the mood for coffee?" Knuckles replied.
"Sure, sounds like a deal. But uh… maybe we should get something for Espio too?"
"Has he even HAD coffee before?"
"I'm going to take a wild guess and say no. I dunno how he would take to being on a caffeine rush. Vector told me that, while he doesn't get sugar rushes, he DEFINITELY reacts to stuff like sodas cause he isn't used to that much sugar."
"Then maybe we should get him something else. Don't they serve tea? I see Espio drinking a lot of it when he eats with us."
"Oh man, good idea, Knuckles! I didn't think about that! I just never really go for the tea when I go for Star Fox."
Espio was unsure of what the two were talking about, but he wanted to be apart of the conversation and not be left out, least of all because they were his friends.
"What are we du-doing?" he asked.
Mighty turned around at that moment. "The plan? Well, I figure we can start off by getting family oriented presents first before getting lunch and then tackling stuff for our gift exchange on Saturday."
"I say we start off with the kids first," Knuckles replied. "You know those parents are gonna be in the toy stores filling up the damn place. And I rather not disappoint them even if Kneecaps is just a toddler."
"Good idea, Ray and Matilda have been begging my parents all year for certain things and I think I'll be the good big brother and get them what they wanted."
"Who is that?" Espio asked.
"Oh, that's right! You don't know!" Mighty reached into his sweater pockets, pulling out his phone and unlocking it as he scrolled for a bit before handing the phone to the chameleon. Espio looked at the screen, seeing Mighty with two kids he didn't recognize, a boy and a girl, next to him. All three of them seemed to be eating something based on something yellow in their hands with a swirl of something white on it.
"Those are my siblings," the armadillo continued. "The yellow flying squirrel is my adopted little brother, Ray, and the girl with the green shell is my biological little sister, Matilda. We adopted Ray years ago after his parents died in a car crash, and he had no other family willing to take him in. He was only about… four at the time it happened. He's doing a lot better now but he's still really shaken up. Matilda's only a year older than him, but my parents had her when I was seventh grade. I was a bit surprised they did, as I thought I would have been an only child like Vector. But honestly… I'd give my life for those two. Not only is Ray still suffering with a lot of trauma from that car accident, Matilda's been in and out of hospitals most of her life. Frankly… I think those two are the reason I have a set goal for what I wanna do once I graduate."
Espio awed to himself, looking back at the picture of the happy flying squirrel boy and armadillo girl with their big brother. He couldn't help but think back to Shami, wondering how she was doing now…
"I got one too, but my story ain't as impressive as Mighty's. Yo, get my phone from my right jacket pocket." Knuckles said as Mighty reached over to the offensive tackler's right jacket pocket, pulling out a phone and unlocking it for him. "My parents divorced years back, but about two years ago, Mom started dating this one dude and before my high school graduation, she remarried and had my half-brother, Kneecaps."
Mighty showed another picture to the chameleon, this time, of a small looking echidna baby wearing blue clothing.
"N-nee… ka-kaaps?" Espio questioned as he looked at the image, wondering what kind of name it was.
"Well, TECHNICALLY his name is Knecapeon. It's ancient Echidna for Warrior, but I think that it's wayy too complex for a toddler so I call him Kneecaps for short. Mom HATES it when I do it though. But… well, he is a toddler. Running around, hitting me with whatever he can find, but I think he'll be a good kid. Dad somehow hasn't been too upset that his ex-wife had another kid that he wasn't involved in but honestly, I prefer to stay with mom when I visit. Dad can be a… bit of a kook."
"I see…" Espio said, learning a lot more about his friends than he expected. The car came to a stop in front of a red light as Mighty continued.
"So what about you, Espio? Any siblings?" he asked. Espio looked confused, never hearing the word siblings.
"I don't understand that word,"
"You know, you got a big or little brother or sister?"
Now Espio understood, remembering all the English words for family. Thinking about it… only Vector knew about his other family, and he was surprised that Knuckles and Mighty were now taking interest. So, he answered.
"A-Ah! Yes, I have a li… litt- no… little… s-sister…" he replied.
"Really? A little sister just like me? What's her name?"
"Her name is Sha… Shami."
"Shami, huh? Well, maybe we can get something for her too! Since we're gonna stop by the Toys for Us, we can help you pick out something for her!"
Espio however, was conflicted. Based on what he could pick up, it seemed that Mighty and Knuckles wanted Espio to get a present for Shami. While that was nice of him to do, no one in Gojo celebrated Christmas or for that matter, even knew it EXISTED. How could he explain to his mother that he gave her a gift for a holiday only celebrated in the Outside World? He knew she wouldn't react very positively, but…
"I did promise I'd send gifts back home…" he thought to himself at that moment. Besides, as long as it wasn't anything his mother would be TOO opposed to, then maybe it wouldn't be the WORST idea… right?
After a couple of more minutes driving, and some more time trying to find a place to park, the three got out of the car as they began to walk past the crowded and cold parking lot to the Route 99 Mall, the largest mall in Central City.
"Geez, didn't think there would be so many people here today…" Knuckles mused. "Wonder why."
"Maybe the public schools are off for Christmas Break already? It is the 20th today," Mighty said, hands behind his head.
"I think. Damn kids sure are lucky to get on break so early... Anyway, let's warm ourselves up first with a nice hot drink and get started. You're gonna like Star Fox, Espio. I think we can find you something you might like, okay?"
Espio simply followed behind the two athletes, simply nodding as his geta clacked against the pavement of the road. He shivered, feeling a bit of wind chill hit his face despite trying not to let it show. He walked past various mobians and Overlanders, some of who stared at him likely due to what he had on. It was one thing if it was Mobius U, but now here he was, back in a VERY public space with so many eyes on him…
Doing his best to ignore them all, he followed Knuckles and Mighty as they walked into the mall. When they did though, Espio awed at what was in front of him.
As far as his eyes could see, there were so many different types of people walking all across the mall, and plenty of them sitting down on tables and eating. Smells of all kinds filled his nostrils, a new one what felt like every second. He saw Knuckles and Mighty walk to the left, and following them behind, stood in front of a long line in an area with a very strong smell he wasn't familiar with. What he did know was that… it was a very good smell.
"Don't worry about your order, Espio," Mighty commented. "We'll take care of it. It can be a bit confusing, so sometimes, when the guys on the wrestling team go out for coffee, I gotta order for them. Storm never can remember the cup size names and Ripper's just too shy to speak."
Espio nodded, not sure about what he meant but going along with it nonetheless. As they waited, Knuckles continuously looked at the clock on his phone, hoping that they would still have time to shop and then head back to Mobius U.
"Damn line… come on..." he said impatiently, tapping his foot.
Eventually, they reached the front counter, and Mighty and Knuckles made their order, alongside Espio's. After another batch of waiting, the three were finally handed their drinks, and soon walked out of the Star Fox, drinks in hand.
"What is this?" Espio asked.
"Green tea," replied the echidna. "Figured you'd probably not handle coffee well, and I know you like to drink tea for your meals. Lemme know if it tastes good."
Knuckles began to sip his macchiato as Espio turned to his cup of tea. He had been regulated to drinking nothing but cold tea all throughout his time at Mobius U, and to think he FINALLY had a cup of hot tea? It was far too much, and Espio immediately went to drink it, not caring about how hot it was. He could feel the steaming drink burn his mouth and down his throat, the very clear flavor of green tea hitting his taste buds. It was really good, and he missed the flavor so much… but it didn't beat the tea the Shinobi Clan's nanny brewed.
"Okay, so since that took longer than we expected, we gotta head to Toys for Us right now," Knuckles said. "C'mon, we gotta optimize time!"
Espio had already awed his way on the way to Toys for Us, the ceiling so high up, all the decorations and music all over the mall, everything in all the shops around him as far as the eye can see, and all these people… It was nothing like he had ever seen before. Was this how people celebrated Christmas in the Outside World?
The chameleon likely got his answer by the time the three arrived to Toys for Us. He was in a trance like state looking at the store, toys all over and stacked high up and parents with their children walked in and out of the store. Espio didn't quite know what he was looking at or where to even look FIRST. So many things caught his eye in that moment, it felt like there were another five things to notice after he honed in on something interesting him.
"Espio looks like a kid in a toy store himself!" Mighty joked as he grinned. "Okay, so what's the plan?"
"Well, I've been looking around and I found Kneecaps this, like, spelling toy where you spell out words and they read it out to you? I think it's perfect for a kid his age. What about Ray and Matilda?" asked Knuckles.
"Ray told me he wanted an RC Airplane, and an Ulsterman figure alongside that Battle Marble set thingy he really likes watching on TV. My parents likely are gonna get him the latter since I told them I can take care of the first two. Matilda said she wanted that Merlina the Wizard doll, the one that has a voice box specifically."
"Surprised Matilda asked for less."
"Considering how much she's been in the hospital… she's kinda worried she's putting a strain on my parent's finances. Frankly, with how much I get paid being a school athlete… I think my parents will be fine. I'll likely find her something extra."
"Alright, and then once we got our things, we'll help you pick out something for Shami!"
Espio softly bounced in place, almost forgetting that Shami was going to receive a present. But if it was whatever one of… these were… he knew Mother would VERY much not appreciate it. In fact… toy… toy… what did that word mean again?
He gasped as he suddenly remembered. "O-Omocha?" he said to himself. All of these were… toys?! He didn't think they were so big or so colorful, so many words he could use to describe all the toys around him.
In fact, as Knuckles and Mighty led and Espio followed, he began to look at everything around him: not just toys, but everything on display. He face lit as he passed by a dancing device that moved in place and shone light, a display of plastic dolls all arranged very neatly in a setting, aisles and aisles of plushes and figures, it was very hard attempting to look at everything to a point that it became overwhelming. This wasn't lost on either Knuckles or Mighty as they were looking at RC airplanes for Ray.
"Say, Espio, which color do you think I should get?" the armadillo asked, looking up to see Espio mesmerized by a wind-up knight toy with gold armor, a key in one hand, large pink cheeks, and a large moustache walking back and forth in a glass display.
"Uhh… Espioooo? You… you doing okay, bud?"
"You should have seen him when he walked in. He was COMPLETELY blown away by this place," Knuckles said as he turned to his two friends.
"A-Ah.. I am so s-sorry…" he said, apologetic for ignoring the two. "This is… k-ne… new to me."
"Heh, I can tell. You had toys in Gojo? You had to have."
"Toy in Gojo?"
Espio realized what Knuckles meant at that moment.
"Ah, yes! We have kendama, tako, taketombo, koma, ohajiki, ba-but my favo… favorite was daruma otoshi."
He felt happy getting to share some of the toys he had not only grown up with, but that he had seen Shami, or many of the children in Gojo play in the streets after their studies and training were done for the day. It was also partially nostalgic too, as he remembered his father gifting him a daruma otoshi set during Children's Day when he was 7, treating the toy like a memento, even after his death.
However, Knuckles and Mighty simply had looks of confusion on their faces.
"Did you catch any of that, man?" the echidna asked.
"Nope, flew by me fast. Can't say we've heard of those, Espio," Mighty added. "But hey, you can help us decide on a color for Ray's RC airplane!"
And so, the three continued their shopping, finally finishing up as they got what they needed for their little siblings.
"Now that we got that under control…" Knuckles said. "Time for us to pick out something for your little sister! Tell us, what does she like?"
Espio knew what Shami's liked to play with during the evenings when her training and studies were done for the day. Alongside making origami to play with, her favorite thing was the kite the nanny brought home to the Dojo during Children's Day last year, often flying it in the outdoor garden in the middle part of the dojo. He just… didn't quite know how to say 'taketombo' in English.
"I don't know how to se-say it," he admitted.
"Considering all that stuff he mentioned," Mighty said. "They likely don't have a lot of primitive toys in Gojo. And also judging from all the stuff you told us… I don't think a doll would cut it."
"Why wouldn't it? Girls love them!" Knuckles replied.
"I don't deny that they don't, but you gotta remember that the place Espio is from mentioned that they don't like 'Outside Influence'. A lot of the toys here would be seen as such!"
"So what do you suggest?"
Mighty put his finger on his chin, thinking for a bit before snapping his figure.
"I got it! Wait right here."
The armadillo quickly rushed forward, almost running into a female Zeti as he turned the corner. Knuckles and Espio turned their heads in confusion, not sure where Mighty was off to. Their question was, however, answered, as the wrestler soon came back with a small yellow and green box and a book.
"Kids love to color with crayons!" he said. "So, why not give her a box of crayons and a coloring book?"
"Whoa, great idea! She probably doesn't even know what one of those would be, so it's a great first gift!"
However, Espio was unsure. These… 'kreiyons' looked strange, and the book in Mighty's other hand seemed small. And when the chameleon was able to get a look, he was shocked to see that there were no words, rather, blank images.
"What is this?..." he asked.
"It's a coloring book," Mighty explained. "You know, you get crayons or something to color with, and you draw in the lines of the blank things. See?"
He proceeded to open up the box of crayons, showing off eight colors to the chameleon. Espio looked back to the two, quickly realizing that this must have been a way to color just like the paintbrushes he used in Creative Drawing. And if he could do that… could it be that he can write with these too?
The transfer student realized a way he could explain this to his mother: Now that he thought about it, Shami WAS starting to become the age where she would begin to start learning kanji, taught by the Bride herself. When he was a child, he remembered having a lot of trouble differentiating between the katakana, ta, ka, and ro, and the kanji for evening, strength, and mouth respectively, much to the frustration of his mother. Perhaps using the different crayon colors could be a helpful way for Shami to learn her kanji easily? It was the only way he could see the gift being justified to his mother.
Willing to take the risk and downfall should she disapprove…
"Okay," Espio said, nodding as Mighty placed it into Knuckles' cart alongside the toys for their siblings. Knuckles sighed.
"Alright, one down, plenty more to go. And we got… oh shit, we spent half an hour in here! Let's split!"
After finally leaving Toys for Us, passing by an Overlander girl in a pink shirt and yellow skirt throwing a tantrum on the floor while her portly mother shook her head and sighed, Espio, Knuckles, and Mighty held multiple bags in their hands as they wondered where to next.
"Now that we got the kids stuff out of the way, there's the things for everyone else. Our parents, Vector, each other, and any friends we got. I might also see if I can get Rouge a nice gift too… heh heh…" Knuckles said.
"I'm sure she'll appreciate it…" Mighty replied sarcastically. "That sounds like a plan though. We might need to split up when we get your gift, Espio. After all, it's a surprise! Say, who are you getting gifts for besides us and Vector?"
Espio looked at the two, wondering who else he could gift something to. He had already gotten something for Shami, and maybe it wouldn't be a half bad idea to find something for his mother. There was also Vector which was the most important, and Knuckles and Mighty as the armadillo just said. As for his other friends, that left him with…
"...Mark, Jewel, Sonic, Manic, Sonia, Bow, Alan, Thorn, Buck, Munch, Norris, Dave, Hack-Hacker, a-and Valdez."
"Wow, didn't think you were so popular, dude," Knuckles said. "You got a tight knit group of friends. Course, we were your first friends here, so we get special privileges."
"Says who?" asked the armadillo.
"Says me, directed by me. Well, I suppose we can go and try and find our gift for Vector. I got a few things in mind we can get him, and we can help you out too, Espio! Not to mention, we can also see if we can find stuff for all our friends too! But first, let's get you to an ATM so I can hand you some money. Time to explain how Mobiums work!"
Knuckles led the way as Mighty and Espio followed behind, smile on his face as he likely was thinking about what gift to give Rouge. As Mighty continued on forward, Espio stopped as he turned to the right. The two didn't realize that Espio didn't follow behind them until twenty seconds later, where they returned to where the chameleon stood.
"Espio, what are you doing, man?" Knuckles asked as he walked up to him. "We don't have as much time as you think!"
However, it was WHAT Espio was looking at that the two noticed quickly. The transfer student pointed at what was in front of them, what seemed to be a large purple cat in a red suit with a child on his lap and a long white beard.
"Wha-what is that? Who is that?" he asked. Knuckles and Mighty suddenly stopped, their eyes widened as they realized.
"Oh Gaia…" the echidna said. "It didn't even occur to me, dude…"
"He doesn't even know who Santa is..." Mighty said before slowly turning towards the echidna as a sly smile appeared on his face. "...is it just me, or is what I just thought just now a mutual feeling?"
Knuckles returned the stare, quickly catching on to where Mighty was going with his thought as a similar smile formed on his face. Espio looked at the two, confused as to what was going on.
Despite the detour taking longer than was expected, it was all worth it in the end for the result. While a line of impatient part mobian, part Overlander parents and kids had to wait, the adults confused at what was very much NOT a child sitting on Santa's lap, there was a mutual feeling as Espio sat on the lap of whoever this strange person was. Both Espio and the red suited cat man had looks of bewilderment on their faces, not sure what to make of the situation.
Meanwhile, Knuckles and Mighty stood by the sidelines, snickering to themselves as they took pictures of the sight.
"Uh... And… what can Santa bring you… er… this year?" the cat said in a slow voice. Espio couldn't help but realize two things: the person was trying to make themselves sound deeper, and… he couldn't help but think that he's seen this person before...
"I… I don't understand what you are saying," Espio replied, utterly confused. The cat, in an attempt to stay in character, tried his best to explain it to the chameleon.
"Well... uh... oh! Oh ho ho, you can ask Santa... uh... for anything you want for Christmas!... Yeah... And he may be able to grant your wish!"
But even in spite of that explanation…
"What?" Espio replied.
After a back and forth of almost five minutes, the cameramen by the two soon got fed up and just settled on taking the two's picture. After paying the three mobiums for the picture thanks to Knuckles, Espio walked away with a look of confusion as he wondered what just happened. Football player and wrestler soon walked up to Espio, both of their faces red from laughing.
"Man, you should have seen the look on that Mall Santa's face!" Knuckles laughed. "He really seemed like he couldn't believe an adult had never even heard of Santa!"
"Oh god, you should have seen BOTH of their reactions, it's like a mutual understanding of, 'What the actual hell am I doing?'" Mighty added. "Ahh, don't feel bad, Espio. You did great for your first time sitting on Santa's lap. Trust me, I know Vector's gonna LOVE these pictures."
But Espio didn't laugh. In fact… what WAS so funny? It felt like a joke he was being left out of, and he didn't know if it was just something the people of the Outside World just… did. Whatever it was… Espio sure was confused about it, and there were too many questions to ask.
After leaving the area and with Knuckles withdrawing 500 Mobiums and explaining how it worked to Espio, the three would continue their shopping for the next hour, somehow fortunate to find things just less than a week before Christmas. Espio was able to find a multitude of gifts for his friends, including a book on art history for Jewel, binoculars for Bow, a pair of wrestling shoes for Munch (under Mighty's recommendation), a music journal and a string instrument night light for Alan, a print and mug with quotes from The Holy Book of Solaris for Buck, a flute cleaning kit for Thorn, and a brand new tablet charger and stylus for Valdez. That left gifts for Mark, Norris, Hacker, Dave, Knuckles, Mighty, Sonic and his siblings, and most important of all: Vector.
In the meantime, the three stopped to take a break and have lunch at the food court. With Mighty insisting that Knuckles eat healthy to prepare for the game this Friday, the three went and got salads, but not without the echidna going to order breadsticks for the three to share (Mighty was less than pleased, but knowing he would enjoy them, didn't raise much a fuss). After spending some time eating and sharing their breadsticks, the three soon got up to throw away their trash and continue until 1:30, leaving them ample time before they had to return back to campus. As they were just feet away from the trash can and Mighty opened up the door for the trash, another hand simultaneously reached in to throw away their trash, blocking the two from doing so.
"Oh, sorry about that! I didn't mean-" he said before stopping, realizing who it was. It was Wave and Storm. Immediately, the armadillo hid his face away from the swallow girl.
"Well, look who it happens to be," she said. "If it isn't Jet's favorite toy…" Wave looked at Espio then at Knuckles. "...and Storm's number one rival."
"She's right!" Storm said, cracking his knuckles. "Whaddya think you're doing here, red knucklehead?!"
"Shopping for gifts like anyone else!" Knuckles retorted. "What, can't a guy do that?"
"Ha ha!" Storm bellowed, holding up his stomach. "Are you so poor that you had to wait for everyone to get the good gifts while you shop for the scraps? Is that why you're shopping just days from the holidays?!"
"Storm, WE'RE buying Jet's Christmas gifts while we're here. Did you forget?" Wave asked as the albatross looked confused.
"Huuuuh? We were? I just thought you wanted to get out of the campus!"
"That was my excuse because Jet was in the room! Don't tell me you didn't catch on! Ugh, whatever. Still, it's a surprise to see you here. Heard you stood up Jet and Storm, bud," she said towards Espio. "That's rather risky of you to do. You don't think we won't go even harder on you?"
Espio's expression didn't change, but he didn't like where things were going.
"Well, don't worry. We aren't here to torment you today anyway. I don't really care much for when Jet decides to do it anyway. They get more enjoyment out of it than me."
"Yeah but it isn't fair anymore!" Storm whined. "He was getting more fun by the day, then he stopped reacting to us!"
"That's what happens when you bother someone so much, you dolt. Well, if you guys don't mind. We'll be off. And uh… you right there."
"Hey, Mighty! Didn't think that was you there! Come on, whaddya doin', hiding your face like a wuss? What's wrong?"
The armadillo slowly turned towards Wave, staring at the girl.
"...there you are. Didn't think I'd see your face. Make sure Storm's on the right track with wrestling, okay? Seems like you're the one with their head screwed on the most right out of all the wrestlers."
"O-OKAY, SU-SU-SURE!" Mighty quickly and loudly said as the two birds walked past the three, his face cherry red. With him not breathing, Knuckles and Espio watched as Wave and Storm walked away.
"...and you and Vector call ME a simp…" Knuckles said towards Mighty, still red in the face. "Come on, lower your boner and let's go find as many gifts as we can before we gotta go."
The echidna patted Mighty's strong arm as he walked with Espio, the armadillo gulping before following behind.
MEANWHILE
Back at Vector and Espio's dorm at Mobius U, the crocodile had stayed in bed all morning and afternoon, only moving to get a protein bar and a bag of beef jerky from the mini fridge for 'breakfast'. He had simply just moved from either napping to staring at the wall to scrolling blankly on his phone. He had emailed his Physiology II professor about what they went through on the study guide today, and besides that, there was no interruption or anything. In fact, much of Vector's mind had been blank. He wanted to just continue ignoring the events of last night, but he knew eventually at some point, he'd have to get up and get lunch before preparing for practice later tonight.
Just then, there was a sudden beep at the door. Vector rolled over in bed to see who it was, wondering if Espio had somehow returned from his trip with Knuckles and Mighty. It wasn't, however.
"Vector?" Mr. Valdez asked as he looked inside. "What are you doing in bed so late? Did you not go to class today?"
The crocodile ignored him, knowing that he likely would have gotten on the quarterback's case.
"...I'll take that as a yes," he proceeded to sigh. "I won't be upset, I understand that this is college and we won't penalize you just because you decide to skip for one day. But don't make this a habit."
"I ain't, Mr. Valdez…" Vector murmured.
"Which reminds me, have you seen Espio? It's almost time for his Biology I class and I haven't been able to find him for an hour. I've been meaning to talk to him about what classes he'll be taking next semester."
"He's with Knux and Mighty at the mall gettin' Christmas Presents."
Valdez sputtered, quickly turning his head towards Vector. "He WHAT?! Oh… oh no no no, this can't be. He hasn't shown up yet and he's likely going to be late! I can't have him do that!"
"Why are ya freakin' out? Ya dun have an issue with lettin' me skip."
"The difference is that, you know more self control when it comes to skip days and tardiness. Espio DOESN'T, and I worry that he's going to become too accustomed to skipping."
"I'm sure he ain't Mr. Valdez. Besides, ya dun even know if he's comin' back right now."
Valdez sighed. "I suppose… I just don't want him to end up having any kind of destructive behavior, especially now considering that I'm trying to get him more used to being on his best behavior considering he'll be returning to Gojo for New Year's hopefully."
"...really now? I didn't know that. Sounds pretty cool. Any reason?"
"His mother would like to see him back for New Year's. It's also a very important holiday for the people of the Historic District too, and everyone is expected to be in Genshu for the New Year's festival and celebration."
"Sounds like fun…"
There was a bit of silence between the two before the blue chameleon spoke up again.
"While I'm here, Vector, I'd like to ask you something. Earlier this morning, I had heard from both Coach Augustus and AD Sommersby about what happened between you and Mr. Connery Horse last night after the game."
Vector groaned, pulling his pillow over his head.
"Can we just forget 'bout it, Mr. Valdez? I'm done havin' to think 'bout that piece of shit," he said.
"Unfortunately, the person that he's targeting has been friends with my family for years, and he's who I'm closest to here on campus. So, I want to hear it from you. What happened?"
Vector sighed as he pulled his pillow off him, rubbing his eyes. "Do I have to?"
"I think it's best for the both of us if we talk."
The quarterback raised himself up from bed, scratching his thigh. "Well… it happened right after I got into the shower…"
And so, Vector recounted everything, both Connery and Monk ganging up on him, how they felt about what the two reptiles did, the accusations the purple gorilla shot, which was something that Valdez had to ask Vector to stop over.
"Wait, what was it that he said?" he asked.
Vector sighed as he shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno, there's apparently like this thing goin' 'round talkin' 'bout how soy has like a lot of estrogen in it and that it's really bad fer men. I dunno too much 'bout it but Monk really believes it hardcore. I've heard him plenty of times in the locker room tellin' off people for so much as even suggestin' trying soy based stuff, saying it turns real men into like, 'cowardly, sniveling, womanly degenerates', as he puts it. Just a whole mismash of stuff I've heard him say since last year"
"...and that has to do with LGBT people… how?"
Vector shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. I never really looked too deep into it. Doesn't sound too true though. Monk's gotten mad at some pretty fake bullshit before. Hell, on that topic, I remember last year durin' the League Bowl when a lot of us on the team sat and watched the finals in the K buildin', Monk got SUUUPER pissed at Rotor fer eatin' one of those meatless burgers and forced him to throw it away. He was kinda bummed out at doin' so too."
Valdez's expression changed. "Well, that isn't right. Sorry, I suppose you could find myself a little confused at this idea primarily because… I grew up eating soy based foods nearly all my life in Gojo yet I don't consider myself apart of the LGBT community or however Mr. Monk described it. It wasn't until I left Gojo at age 25 that I actually started eating non-soy based foods. Soybeans are one of Gojo's top exports to the other villages in the Historic District, and food made from them is what makes up a majority of the diet of us Historic District villagers since we aren't allowed to eat meat. Heck, Espio has been the same way all his life, eating foods high in soy content such as tofu, and yet feminine isn't a word I would use to describe him."
"I dunno, sir. It's weird and hard to comprehend, but total bullshit knowin' the type of person Monk is if he's accusin' me of bein' Espio's boyfriend."
"Well, you two are very close, good friends heavily look out for one another. But that doesn't mean you're inherently in love or something. Look, don't worry about it, Vector. While I highly disapprove of what you've done, and you should be very fortunate you weren't sent to the Headmaster, I implore that you simply ignore those teammates for the time being. Your season is almost over, so you have all the better reason to do so."
"Trust me, I was already plannin' on doin' so… Tch, fuckin' assholes. Showin' their true colors like that. Is this what happened when I ignored all their talk last year?"
"More so that because you were never the subject of their conversation, you didn't think they meant it towards you. Now, look how's the case."
"...yeah, yer right…"
"Regardless, I'm trying not to make you feel bad, Vector. I suppose you needed someone to talk to, and you know that me and the other staff will gladly listen to you if you need help. Don't worry, I'll be on the lookout for Espio too. The last thing I want him to do is get into another fight…"
Vector smiled softly. "Heh, tell me 'bout it. I dun wanna see him in another jail again."
Valdez returned the smile as he nodded. "Well… how are you feeling, Vector?"
"A… little bit better. Guess I just needed a bit of company. Thanks, Mr. Valdez."
"Of course. Being alone like this isn't healthy. Sometimes, you need another person to talk to in times like this. And on that note, while I came to find Espio, there's another reason for me coming here. Coach Augustus wants to see you in his office in the I building, preferably before your practice later tonight. Not only was he wanting to discuss your class plans for next semester, he wanted to talk to you again about what happened last night."
Vector's face fell. He was happy to be feeling even the slightest bit better, but knowing that he was going to get yelled at by Coach again? Oh, joyous day…
"What more else is there to talk 'bout…" he said.
"I'm not sure what, he just told me to swing by your office. I say you should do it now so you have time to eat something. By now, the dining hall is starting to clean up and preparing for dinner, so you'll have to get something to eat from the student store."
Vector sighed as he scooched over the bed, getting up as his body felt frail and his bones brittle. He stretched his arms up high, his lower abdomen being exposed as he lowered his arms. "Figured as such. I'm gonna get dressed now."
"You do that," Valdez replied as he got up from where he was sitting. "In the meantime, I'm going to see where I can find Espio so I can ask why he thought skipping class was a good idea. But, before I go…"
He looked at Vector once again. "Everything will be okay, Vector. I promise."
With that, the blue chameleon walked out of the room as the crocodile watched by his dresser. How could Mr. Valdez even say everything was going to be okay? He got into a fight with his teammate, got yelled at by his coach, all for a person that… in all fairness, he still was in the dark about. There was still so much he didn't know about Espio, and yet… he was protecting him from Connery and Monk's wrath no matter what. They thought of him as gay because of it, and perhaps they had a point… men didn't protect other men like Vector did to Espio.
The crocodile shook his head. "Stop it," he said as he undressed. "That's just Monk's bullshit gettin' to ya."
But as he looked at himself in the mirror, he couldn't help but think about that idea that was cropping up in his head. The idea, that had been festering there for almost a month, the idea that he'd done his best to hide and bury as best as he could, the idea he was going to deny no matter what…
After spending some time getting ready, fixing up his appearance and bundling up to go out into the cold, Vector walked through the halls of the back part of the I building where all the coach's offices were. He found where he was looking for: I-212: Coach Augustus' office.
Knocking on the door and slowly opening it, Vector peeked his head inside as Coach Augustus looked up from his desk.
"Ah, Vector. You're here," he said. "I assume you got my message from Mr. Valdez?"
"Yeah," the crocodile replied. "He came by the dorm earlier to tell me."
"Well, that's good. Don't just stand there, come on in and take a seat. We have two things we need to discuss."
The crocodile walked inside, closing the door behind him as he pulled up a chair in front of the polar bear, letting his tail slink off the chair lazily.
"So, how are you feeling?" Coach Augustus began.
"Like total fuckin' shit…" Vector replied in a solemn tone.
"Good. It shows me that you've been reflecting on what happened. Had you said you were doing fine or just okay, I frankly would have gotten on your ass for thinking you can just brush aside what happened as if it was nothing."
"Trust me, coach, I frankly haven't even had the mood to do anythin'."
"I can tell, you weren't present at Advanced Weight Training today."
There was a bit of silence before the coach continued. "Well, I suppose I can let you in on what I need to talk to you about. First, let's get the very giant elephant out of the room first. As I'm sure you know, you're going to be seeing Connery tonight during practice. And yes, I know how much he's probably the last person you want to see right now. HOWEVER, I'm not going to let a repeat of what happened last night happen again. And frankly, I'm going to be VERY strict from here on."
Vector didn't move a single muscle, continuing to listen.
"So, because what you did should receive disciplinary action, there's two options I have for you. The first is that I suspend both you and Connery off the team until Friday, so you'll still be participating in the Finals, but not the final three practices."
"What?! Coach, ya can't do-"
"Hey," the coach pointed his finger at the quarterback. "I'm not finished. Either you take that to take some time to cool off… or, you continue going to practice as usual, but both myself AND AD Sommersby will be monitoring you two both on the field and in the locker rooms. And we will be doing it VERY closely. No, I don't care if you think that it's embarrassing or that we're treating you two like kids. You reap what you sow, Vector."
Vector opened his mouth to protest, but stopped. He didn't get why Coach didn't want to see his side.
"And let me warn you now: ONE. CHANCE. If either of us see you two are planning to start something, we will NOT be afraid to not only call campus security, but take you two to the Headmaster, where you will have further disciplinary action taken against you, up to possible expulsion. Do you understand?"
"Coach… I wanna practice, but I PROMISE I ain't causing this! It's all been Connery from the start!"
"That's not what I'm asking. Which option do you want?"
Vector stared at Coach Augustus before staring at the floor.
"Vector, look at me."
The crocodile, remembering the last time he refused to look the polar bear in the eyes, quickly looked up at him.
"Do you remember what I told you when we first had a talk about what was going on with Connery?" Coach Augustus continued. "How a team is made by everyone harmonizing together, and that if one person is off, then the rest of the team falls with that one person. And unfortunately, your quarrel with Connery has caused you, alongside him, to be desynchronized."
"I ain't, coach! I just get so pissed off that it seems like Connery's gettin' away with so much, nevermind him harassin' Espio, meanwhile I'm the one takin' the brunt of the punishment!"
"I brought you here to talk about what our plan to do was, not to listen to you whine about how it isn't fair. Trust me, I WILL talk to Connery once I'm done with you, mark my words. But now it's time you chilled too, Vector. I'm not doing this to be a big bad mean evil Coach Augustus, I'm doing this so that you and Connery don't try to start more drama again."
"D'ya know what it's even about?!"
"Of course I do. I also told Mr. Valdez about what's going on, so you can trust me when I say he knows too. Look, all I ask is that you behave yourselves and follow what you two talked about when I was gone last night. Is that clear?"
"He mentioned that yeh told him when he came by the dorm."
"Yes. AD Sommersby told him last night. We said it was for the best that you and Espio avoid Connery for some time."
While he didn't like being talked down to, well… when coach put it like that, maybe it was better that Mr. Valdez knew? After all, with his personal connection to Espio, maybe FINALLY the foreign language department head could knock some sense into the horse. He sighed, making up his mind.
"I understand," Vector finally said as the polar bear nodded. "I'll go to practice tonight."
"I'm glad you understand. And please understand, Vector. I'm not acting like this all because I want to antagonize you. In fact, the complete opposite. I see you and I see someone who has a very prominent future career in the world of Football once you graduate. I wouldn't want your dreams of getting recruited into the CMFL to be ripped up in front of your eyes all over some petty drama. It isn't worth it. So, don't lose sight of that, okay?"
Tough love was always how Augustus treated his athletes. One day, the polar bear could be all smiles, and then the next, he was barking orders at you red in the face. While Vector was somewhat annoyed that he still felt enough wasn't enough being done about Connery, he knew at the end of the day, Coach didn't want him to lose anything all over some idiot. Heck, he was certain that the way Connery treated Espio would come back to bite the horse in the future, and he'd be getting front row seats whenever THAT was.
"Now that we got that out of the way, time for the second thing to discuss. Don't worry, it's not as loaded as the last topic. Since you're already here in my office, I might as well get you signed up for your classes for next semester," Coach Augustus continued as he tapped away on his keyboard. "Tell me, your student ID?"
"001382"
Augustus continued to type as he stopped for a minute.
"Okay, so we already have 21 credits in Athletic Training, which you're still majoring in with a Bachelor's, right?"
"Still the plan coach," Vector put his hands over his head.
"Nice nice. Good that you have ideas for what you wanna do after graduation. Many people like you often don't realize that you might be a football star one day, but the next, you're a minimum wage slave to a massive corporation longing for those days. On that note, are you still doing your alternative plan? You know, taking classes from the Criminal Justice major?"
"Ya know it coach. Just a second backup in case everything goes wrong."
"Always good to be prepared, Vector. Frankly, you're a lot more responsible than most people I've coached over the years. How many classes were you taking?"
"What am I doin' next semester?"
"Well… Physiology II extends to next semester, as does Advanced English Literature, which is counting towards credits towards Criminal Justice. I do think it would also be a good idea to take Algebra I, which is only a half semester in preparation for Algebra 103, which you'll need to have done two years of in order to graduate in the Athletic Training field. And I noticed that you didn't do it either this year or last."
"C-C'mon Coach… maybe we can skip the math?"
"No can do. I'll put that down. So, from what I'm also seeing, you'll have at least four open classes next semester due to electives this semester. From what you can do in terms of core classes, you've gotten your credits for Physiology and Biology which are required, so we can start with… how does Psychology I and Kinesiology 101 sound? Professor Morgan also teaches that latter class too."
"Sounds… fine. So, I dun seem to have any electives?"
"Besides Injury Evaluation II, Athletic Training Clinical II, and Emergency Care and First Aid? Doesn't look like it. So, we only have one more open thing. Did you still want to do a class in Criminal Justice since I rather you fill up your schedule with as much as you can with Athletic Training while also not overworking you. Thankfully, we just went light this first semester since it was football season."
"Sure… what can I do?"
"Well, besides Psychology and or… I guess Sociology since you haven't done that either, which is required for both Athletic Training and Criminal Justice, here at Mobius U, we also recommend that people in the latter field take at least one year of a foreign language class."
"Ugh, seriously? I never was good at learnin' them…"
"Well, being fluent in a second language could be helpful."
"What's mah options?"
"From what Mr. Valdez set up, we offer Spanish, French, Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, German, Russian, Japanese, and Hindustani-"
Vector's eyes shot open. "Wait… say that again coach?"
"Say what?"
If the crocodile's ears didn't deceive him, Coach Augustus JUST said that Mobius U offers Japanese classes… huh…
He knew he would have to either take classes in the summer to get credits, but… learning Japanese… He was the one who taught Espio all the English he knew, maybe it was time he put himself into his friend's shoes and try to learn his language. Besides, considering Espio's much better Japanese, it would be fun to attempt to talk with him.
"Y'know what Coach? Put me under Japanese. I think I'm satisfied with next semester's schedule as is."
The polar bear blinked at Vector. "I suppose I would be a bit surprised you're excited, but I can take a very wild guess why you want to take Japanese 1. You're lucky too, we're one of the very few colleges in Central Mobius that offers Japanese for Foreign Language study. Okay, so besides the non-elective classes that lasted one semester, we have Psychology I with Professor Starline and Kinesiology I with Professor Morgan… did you still want to do Sociology?"
"Eh, save it 'till next semester. What's an elective I can do that lasts a semester?"
"I say we can put you in Strength and Conditioning. It's… sort of like Advanced Weight Training, just more teaching involved when it comes to helping others. That'll be taught also by myself just like with Weight Training. Finally, we have Japanese I, taught by Professor Cinder. Does that sound fine?"
"Sure does!"
"Alright, I'll submit this and get all the information to the different department heads who aren't me. As for you, I'll see you later tonight. And… please, Vector. You know what you have to do. Not just for me too…"
Then, Augustus' eyes lowered.
"Think about how Espio would feel too."
Vector felt his face fall a bit. As much as it stung… the polar bear had a VERY good point.
"I understand. I'll see ya too."
With that, the crocodile left the office, glad that the heavy talk was over.
MEANWHILE…
With not much time left to return to Mobius U, Knuckles, Mighty, and Espio were rather surprised at the amount of progress they were able to make. Not only was the chameleon able to find gifts for the hedgehog triplets, at the same store he got Manic's gift, the weasel smoking from some sort of electronic device also sold Espio pure tobacco, something he knew his mother would love. While it wasn't her usual batch of cherry flavored tobacco, this vanilla scented one he felt would have been one she would have liked to try.
Unfortunately, they didn't have enough time to get everything, as not only were Mark and his friends lacking a gift, but so was Knuckles and Mighty, and… Vector, especially.
"If you want," Mighty said. "We can try again later this week if you got some extra time! We don't have to get EVERYTHING today!"
However, Espio still felt bad that he didn't have anything for his friend. More especially, he wasn't sure what he would get him…
It was almost getting to be 1:30, and by this point, the three were ready to leave. As they walked past the food court, Espio looked back at the massive sea of people, wondering if he would ever get to visit such an amazing place again.
And that's when he spotted him: there, by a table occupied by an owl family, sat a familiar looking tapir with huge glasses and brown hair eating a sandwich. Espio gasped as he recognized him.
"Mark!" he said, running towards his friend. Knuckles and Mighty turned around to see Espio running off.
"E-Espio, where the heck are you going?!" the echidna hissed. "We gotta get back to campus!"
"Hey, isn't that Espio's nerdy friend?" Mighty asked. "Gaia, what was his name again?"
"Didn't he just say it? Mark, was it?"
Shrugging, the two followed as the tapir looked up from his sandwich at the chameleon, who almost choked in response.
"Espi-arrrh!" he said before getting a piece of his cheesesteak sandwich caught in his throat. Espio looked concerned as Mark began to cough before quickly taking a drink. "Ugh… sorry, had a moment," he continued as he shivered, trunk wiggling with his head. "What are you doing here? I didn't know that you knew how to get to the mall! Is Vector with you or something?"
Just then, the football player and wrestler walked up behind the chameleon.
"You one of Espio's friends?" Knuckles asked.
"Y-yeah… his first one after Vector. Who are you? Sorry, I don't recognize you two."
"Two of Vector's friends. The name's Mighty! And that knucklehead right there is… well, Knuckles," the armadillo replied as the echidna looked red in the face.
"Is that how you introduce me to someone?!" he yelled back.
"Oh, I'm sure Mark here definitely will need to identify you in some way."
As the two friendly-quarreled, Espio turned towards Mark.
"I am with Knuckles and Mighty," the transfer student replied slowly.
"Really? What for?" Mark asked. That's when he noticed what was in Espio's hands. "Whoa, you went Christmas shopping? I bet you were surprised the entire time? You know, since I'm sure you likely didn't celebrate Christmas in Gojo."
Espio shook his head.
"I was doing the same. I'm almost done, but there's one more store I needed to trek to. The card shop me and the others go to all the time in downtown carry a ton of manga and anime DVDs, both in English and Japanese, as well as a whole bunch of other things like video and board games, DotC related stuff, comics, the like. I needed a few more things to finish up my shopping, and I was hoping I could maybe find a few things for you there too! If you want, did you want to go with me? Maybe we can find a few things you can gift! Don't worry, I'll be SUPER happy to help you pick out stuff!"
Knuckles and Mighty, upon overhearing Mark in between their quarrel, turned towards the tapir.
"Whoa there dude," he said. "I know Espio's your friend, but we gotta get this dude back to campus soon, otherwise that Valdez dude is gonna freak. At least, that's what Vector says."
"Oh… uh… Knuckles, was it? No, don't worry, it's fine. That place is the last stop I need to make. Besides, I don't need to get back to campus until 4. I promise that Espio can get back in time."
"...are you sure? Can you drive there and back before 2."
"Drive? Uh… I actually don't have a car… I still haven't passed my driver's test, so either I ride with Norris or Dave, or I take the train or bus. Besides, the place is actually a five minute walk from here."
Knuckles and Mighty turned to look at each other.
"Err… I don't think he might get back in time…" Mighty said.
"I'm almost done here anyway. We can head there quickly and back to campus!" Mark said as he dunked one of his last steak fries in a pool of ketchup.
"Well… okay dude. We're about to head back ourselves," Knuckles replied. "Hey, Espio, let me hang onto your gifts for now. We'll put it in our dorms until you're ready to give it to Vector, us, and the rest of your pals. Don't worry, we'll take REALLY good care of them!"
Holding out his hands, Espio let Knuckles carry the heavy bags he held, the echidna lifting bags from all the way from his bicep to his wrist.
"It's like a secondary weight lift!" he said. "Alright guys, we'll leave you two to it. Just be sure to get back to campus safely. And let us know when you want to get the remaining gifts, Espio! We'll be happy to help you pick out things for Vector!" Mighty added with a smile.
"Go ahead and keep the cash I gave you, I don't mind if you carry on to it. Well, see ya!"
With that, the two athletes held up a hand as they both walked out of the mall, leaving Espio and Mark behind. The tapir wiped his mouth and crumbled up his trash in his hands before throwing it onto a tray in front of him.
"Alright, lemme just throw this away and we'll head out! It won't take long, and when we get back to campus, we'll be taking the train. I think you'll like how riding a train is like, it sure is different than a car!"
Walking with his tapir friend to the shop that he mentioned, it was a small store in between a to-go only Meh Burger and a watch shop. Mark and Espio stood in front of it as many mobians and Overlanders walked past the two.
"Well, here it is!" Mark said. "Come on, you said you don't have long, right?"
The tapir opened the door as a bell rang from above. Espio looked up at the door as he looked around the small store. There were stalls and stalls of various things he had and hadn't seen before. He recognized a shelf filled with DVDs, which he walked up to. The first shelf's spines were all in English, but the second one, which wasn't as large as the first one, had all their titles in Japanese. He skimmed by the names, trying to see what he could recognize.
"Hey, Espio?" asked Mark, tapping his shoulder. "So, I'm about to go find some gifts for not just some of the guys, but you as well. I think I might pick out a few series for you, so can I ask if you find something else? I wanna keep it a HUGE surprise for you. If you want, you can maybe find something for me!"
Espio frowned, not wanting to be torn away from where he was standing, but he understood wanting to keep things a secret. With that, the chameleon walked away from where he was, looking around. He passed by a small group playing that card game Mark and his friends would sometimes play in the K building, the three of which turned their heads to stare at him as the transfer student passed by. He noticed glass cases filled with cards, and another with what… LOOKED like DVD's, just a little more different.
That's when Espio looked up towards his right and saw a wall with a lot of books and other things he… actually recognized. It was that game he played with Mark and his friends some time ago, the same game that… he felt those things towards Vector with.
It had been a bit of time since he thought about that. For the most part, he had all but forgotten how he acted, worrying Mark and the others. What he hadn't forgotten were the thoughts he felt at the time. They weren't AS prevalent as they were that day, but every once in a while, he would stare at Vector and just… well, stare. Sometimes, it was better just to take in how beau-
"Excuse me, how can I help you?"
Espio gasped as he turned to his left, seeing a rabbit wearing a red jacket alongside a blue uniform underneath.
"A-Ah… I-I…" he said, stammering.
"From the looks of things, it seems like it's your first time coming here. Most people who come by don't normally dress the way you do. If you want, I'd be happy to help. Did you want something from our DotC shelf? If you must know, the latest expansion to the sixth edition of DotC, Guardian Warhammers, just recently came out, and it's been a hot seller! Thankfully, we still have a few copies left in stock!"
"A… y-yes," Espio nodded, not sure what he was being sold. "Th-this is… a… g-gi…" he scratched his head, wondering what was it that everyone was saying today. "Giift..?"
"Oh, a gift? Well, in that case, if you need help with anything, just ask. What does your friend like?" the rabbit asked. Espio pointed at the cards in the glass case.
"Did you want something from the glass case?"
"My fri-friend likes that."
"Oh, Warriors and Wizards? We've not only got singles, we've got packs and sealed boxes as well. If you're looking for a good gift for your friend…" the rabbit walked towards the back from behind the counter, grabbing a box and holding it out. "...Champion's Call is a really great recent box set that has a lot of competitive cards all for cheap considering some of the cards in this set!"
"Okay…"
With the DotC book and the Warriors and Wizard boxset bagged up, Espio grabbed the remaining mobiums that Knuckles let him have and paid for Mark's gifts, with very few rings and mobiums left over.
The rest of the time was spent waiting for Mark to finish, and after some time away from the counter as to not spoil his gifts, Mark returned and walked up to the chameleon with a large double bag.
"Okay, I got your things! I got you several new anime series and even a few manga that have yet to receive adaptations!" he said. "Now, if you wanna get stuff for Dave, Norris, and Hacker, lemme help you!"
More time was then spent at the same sections Mark was just at, showing Espio series he hadn't heard of before and recommending them not only to them, but wondering what would be best for each of the three. After going around the store a few minutes later and Mark mentioning a few things, Espio picked out a dice box for Hacker and a Warriors and Wizards playmat for Dave. The two were finishing up by picking out a manga for Norris when…
"There are many in Ja-Japanese," Espio said as the two looked at the Japanese manga.
"Yeah. It won't be the best if we get Norris something from here unless it's completely brand new. He tends to read a lot more newer stuff than me and quicker too. Huh… this sure is tough… Norris only plays on PC so the console games here won't work, most of the Warriors and Wizards sets here he already has nearly every card, usually myself and Hacker are the ones who carry all the DotC stuff alongside our Cryptmaster..."
As Mark was talking, Espio suddenly noticed one manga towards the bottom of the shelf. He took interest as he looked at it, reading the title as he picked it up.
"おもチャオ" it read.
"Omochyao?" Espio said, grabbing the manga.
"Oh, that's Omochao. It's a manga series for kids. I haven't read it, but apparently it's really popular with Yurashian children. Norris probably wouldn't be too into it…" Mark replied. However, at that moment, Espio stopped. For… kids he said? He already had Shami a present, but… this manga that Mark had introduced him to was very invigorating. With all his desires to show that the Outside World was not as dangerous as it seemed, could this be the thing he could show Shami-
He stopped. What was he thinking? If his mother found out he GAVE this to his little sister, he knew the end result wasn't going to be pretty. Plus, of the few mangas he had read thanks to Mark that weren't in English, many of them had a lot of kanji, plenty of which would be kanji she wouldn't learn for QUITE some time. Shami would NEVER be able to read it properly.
"Did you want it or something?" Mark asked.
"This is… for ki-kids… ra-right" Espio replied.
"Yeah… why?"
"I have a lit-little sister."
Mark's face lit up. "Oh! You never told me you had a little sister! I see... so, you wanna get her into manga early! Good choice, good choice... There's plenty of kids manga and even Shojo as well that's perfect for her. Plus, kids manga tend to be easy to read, and they have furigana in it too! I'm sure she'll be able to read it no issue!"
Espio looked at the cover, depicting the head of some sort of metallic Chao creature he had seen many of in Central Mobius. The only stories Shami was familiar with were the historic legends of the Historic District and the myths of their gods. Maybe… something different would be fine for her.
"I'll get it," Espio said.
"I'm sure your sister will like it! Now come on, let's find Norris' gift and get outta here! We're…" he checked his phone. "Uh-oh, it's 2:14! We gotta get you back soon!"
After quickly finding a new volume of a manga Norris was reading that he actually didn't have as well as a keychain of an Overlander girl in a uniform of some sorts and paying for his other gifts, Espio followed Mark to the closest train station, the tapir secretly handing his metro pass to Espio as he passed by the gate ("They'll never know what won't hurt them!" Mark whispered after the chameleon watched someone next to him to see how he used it and passed throguh the gate). They then rode the train back to the station closest to Mobius U, Espio looking around the entire train, then out the window in awe as the train passed by while a few others stared at him in pure confusion.
Getting off, Espio and Mark travelled down the steps and through the station as they walked a few blocks down near the familiar parking garage, knowing they were back at Mobius U.
"We're almost there!" Mark said, breathing heavily as he was sweating slightly despite being bundled up in a heavy coat, hat, and scarf. Espio wrapped his arms around himself as they trekked back to campus, soon getting on as they passed by a few students walking on campus.
"Looks like we're done here! In that case…" Mark said. "I'll be sure to come by your dorm on Christmas Eve before we're all expected off campus and exchange gifts! I can't wait to see what you got me! And the others told me they're getting you something too! I know they'll get you something nice, although I'm a LITTLE worried about what Norris initally suggested for you-"
"Espio-kun…"
The two looked up as the saw Valdez standing at the top of the stairs leading towards the A building.
"M-Mr. Valdez!" Mark exclaimed. "I… I'm sorry about-"
"I'm hoping you had a fun time," he said, voice stern and arms crossed. "I wonder if it WAS worth it, skipping a class. While that's allowed here up to five times, it sets a bad example, Espio-kun! ESPECIALLY during Midterms week!"
"V-Valdez-san… I… I'm sorry!" Espio replied before bowing. "I just-"
"That's enough excuses for now. I already told Professor Morgan you wouldn't be in class today and to print out the remaining answers for your Biology Midterms. Now that you had fun, it's time I get you into the library so you can study. Come!"
Espio sighed as Mark frowned, sad that he had to see the chameleon go. Accepting his fate, Espio walked up the steps and followed behind Valdez, at least glad that he was able to have just a little bit of fun and exposure to new aspects of the Outside World.
"I'll see you t-tomorrow during Algebra then, Espio!" Mark called out. However, the two had already went through the door as Espio knew it was time to study.
But besides his exams, right now, there was only one thing on Espio's mind.
"I must get Vector something…" he thought to himself. "I want to make him happy and see… him smiling at me."
END OF CHAPTER 20
