[AQ] The Other Half [Sayuri/Ai]

[Sayuri]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}

School Bang
+ Description: A fight breaks out on campus between two students and the teachers are nowhere to be found! How do you react?!
+ You're the one fighting! Give it your all and beat your opponent!: -1 Guardians, +1 Faberge, +2 Roost
+ Attempt to break up the fight before things get out of hand: +1 Guardians, +1 Faberge, -2 Roost
+ Join in the fight! Back someone up!: +1 Guardians, -2 Faberge, +1 Roost
+ Stand back and watch it all go down. You don't need to get involved: -1 Guardians, +2 Faberge, -1 Roost
+ Call a teacher instead of intervening. An adult will know how to handle the situation: +1 Guardians, -1 Faberge, -1 Roost
+ Requirements: None
+ Submitted by ShimminyCricket and Cherimsy

Despite knowing the day was quickly approaching, Sayuri was still absolutely baffled when her Guardian Character finally hatched.  It had been after a particularly long day of classes, her legs aching and her mind filled with the jargon of information handed to her during lessons.  She'd joined Math Club to help with some of the studying but it seemed like she was still too far behind to catch up for exams.  Try as she might she couldn't grasp the most basic ideas in the text, juggling all sorts of terminology that went in one ear and out the other.  As she read through the textbooks she could only focus on everything she didn't know and wouldn't be able to achieve.

That's when she hatched.  A tiny guardian that seemed more interested in the world around her than in Sayuri.  The moment the sprite was out she was zipping around the room, documenting each and every thing she found with a tiny laser pistol in her hand.

"Star 94294.81.  This strange alien planet is filled with books containing strange characters and stranger pictures.  Could this be a new language or some ancient text that has yet to be translated?"

Sayuri wasn't sure what to do, watching her guardian fly in the air before finally tiring herself out and falling asleep.

Now she was at school, egg in her bag as she hobbled around with her crutches to the lunch room.  Her luck hadn't improved much but the tiny guardian seemed to be staying out of trouble.  Now if only she could find some way to talk to her without learning about every known alien species in the galaxy!

Ai

[Ai]

Guardians were funny little things, or at least so Ai thought before learning more about his. Nagamasa was unlike any guardian he’d ever met, considering that he’d only seen four so far. They were all cheerful and pleasant to be around. Even to this point, Ai wished that Nagamasa had been born the same. Among other things, he was especially hard to communicate with and the boy felt that it put off a lot of people and guardians alike. As if his own appearance didn’t intimidate others enough.

He’s been confused about Nagamasa for the longest time, about why he was so cold, although he was supposed to be his would be self. Ai was friendly and wanted to remain that way. In the end he gave up and accepted that it was because of his wish to be strong and get revenge. It had been a little one sided for him to make that sort of wish, but he started to figure out, after Nagamasa dragged him into numerous fights, that it felt good to punish people who were in the wrong.

Albeit, he always ended up going too far and knocking them unconscious. Ai was scared of his own power, scared that he might actually get expelled if he went on. He’s been careful to never be found anywhere near the scene so he’s escaped detention and any other sort of punishment, but for how long would that last? It was just a matter of time before someone reported him, and then, he wouldn’t have any excuses. ‘ See, I was not myself… quite literally’. If he said that to the teachers, it wouldn’t work, not in a million years.

Since he’d recently been in a fight, Ai was sporting some nice bruises on his face. If that didn’t make him look like a delinquent, then I don’t know what would. He was getting used to people avoiding him, thinking that he made some few good friends and he should pay attention to them instead. Nagamasa was floating next to him, as always, waiting for another opportunity to change. The little guy was unstoppable. Ai was almost starting to feel like a container. Did that sound right?

As he was heading to the lunch room, his handmade lunch box in his hands, he spotted a familiar face: His newest- and only band member- Sayuri. She was such a nice and talented girl, Ai was glad he was able to make friends with her. But there was... something off about her. She was walking with crutches. Ah, right, she’d told him about her health issues when they first met, but it was one thing to be told and another to actually witness it. A hint of concern crossed his face as he ran up to her.

“ Hey, Sayuri!” He flashed her a smile. “How are you today? You alright?” He certainly hoped she was. If Sayuri was anything like his mom, she wouldn’t like to get too much attention because of her illness, but Ai couldn’t help but give it anyway. If he was needed, he just… wanted to do something.

[Sayuri]

Sayuri had barely made it into the lunch room before she heard a familiar voice come up to her. Turning, she was met by none other than the painfully generous Okazaki Ai, her newest friend and fellow rock band member. Brightening up considerably at his presence she bowed politely, maneuvering her crutches out of the way to greet him in her usual manner. She was more than used to having to work around whatever she might be forced to bring along with her.

"Ai-san, it's good to see you!" Sayuri said once she had straightened up, her usual gentle smile gracing her shining face, "Are you here for lunch as well? Ah, actually... of course you would be, why else would you be here! Are you going to buy the super famous bread I keep hearing so much about?" She whispered that last part as though it was one of the seven wonders of the school, keeping her head down as she stared up at the other with sparkling eyes. She still hadn't achieved buying the critically acclaimed lunch she kept hearing so much about.

Then again, she really didn't need to buy it. Her parents had sent her off to school with a perfectly balanced lunch containing all the major food groups from organic stores. She couldn't exactly blame them for making her such a meal either. She'd indulged just a bit too much the day before and had been suffering from a flare up in her joints ever since.

"Hm? Oh, I'm alright! What about you though?" Her cheery expression had changed to one of worry as she reached up to inspect his bruises, hand faltering halfway when she realized how out of line she'd stepped. Staring at the limb just hanging in the air, she quickly brought it back to her side, gripping the handle of the crutch as she looked him over. "You're covered in bruises! Did you fall? Did someone hurt you or something? I know there's a lot of fights in this school but I didn't think the rumors were true!"

"Wait, wait, let me get you some bandaids," Sayuri pulled her bag forward, leaning on one crutch to rifle through it for her mini first aid kit. As she zipped open one of the pockets, a tiny blur zoomed out, orbiting around her head while she tried her best to find her supplies. She'd been fretting so much over the injuries she hadn't even noticed the tiny guardian floating around Ai or her own guardian locking on.

"Commander come in," the tiny guardian whispered as she suddenly stopped her flying, "We've identified two strangers entering our atmosphere! Abort the mission, abort! Enter the emergency shuttles, we need to hyper drive out of here!"

[Ai]

Ai let out a small sigh as Sayuri bowed to him. Why was she still being so polite? It made him feel sort of bad for being the only one all informal and using her first name, but forcing her into changing her approach towards their friendship would be even more selfish of him. He should just accept it and let Sayuri walk at her own pace, that would be the right thing. She didn’t seem to have much experience with people, just as she previously said… missing school because she was ill certainly wouldn’t have given her a lot of opportunities to interact with others.

Ai narrowed his eyes at the mention of some kind of popular bread, thoroughly confused. He had no idea that there was something like that, but then again, he was a new student as well and all the lunches he’d had so far were homemade. He also didn’t actually go to the cafeteria to eat too often and preferred the park. “ Ah, really? I haven’t heard anything about that, sorry.” He smiled apologetically. “I usually bring homemade lunches so I don’t have to buy anything.” Never been in a cafeteria crowd, but then again, money was quite short for him. It was better to save whatever he could.

But, ah, no, she noticed his bruises. Not that they were subtle anyway, he’d been punched in the face quite badly. Still, Ai hoped she wouldn’t worry about him too much. She was about to touch his face but she stopped in the middle of it. Ai just shrugged that random gesture off.“ Well, every school has their bad apples…” He sighed, looking down.

Getting into fights was starting to become a habit and Ai wasn’t sure if he liked the dangerous side of it. Sure, he got to protect the innocent and make justice, but he probably cared about himself more than he wanted to admit. “ Ahh, it’s okay, you don’t have to!” He waved his hands. Ai couldn’t help but wonder whether it was hard for her to move around with those crutches… actually, of course it would be hard, but she was probably used to it by now.

But then suddenly… something flew out of her bag. Something that very much resembled a guardian character. So she had one of her own… Ai wondered how come she failed to mention that. He’d just thought she couldn’t see Nagamasa since she never really said anything about how he folloed them around all the time, but she had been able to see him all along? “ Wow, a new guardian character!” Ai smiled. “Look, Nagamasa, it’s another one of your friends!”

At his master’s statement, Nagamasa couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Why in the world was he assuming that every guardian character they ran into was his acquaintance? That wasn’t true! He’d never seen this one before either! One of these days, they’ll need to have a talk about this. And besides… what was this guardian’s problem? She had a very funny way of speaking. Nagamasa didn’t think he’ll ever be able to get along with someone like her. But then again… he didn’t need anyone besides his master. It would be useless for any guardian to try to get close to him.

Ai stared at Sayuri’s little guardian as she flew around, seemingly alarmed by his and Nagamasa’s presence. “ Aww, it’s a little astronaut…” He wondered what Sayuri’s wish could possibly be since the guardian was like that. Maybe she wanted to be an explorer? That would make sense…

[Sayuri]

"Ahhh, seriously? I'll buy you one too then. We've got to try them together to seal the deal of the bread experience!" It was absolutely important that if she got to try the bread then the other would as well. Besides, homemade lunches could get stale if eaten every day. The other would have his entire life to eat homemade lunches but the thrill of fighting classmates for famous school food was a moment one could only capture in high school.

Still, food could wait. The most important thing was to treat those bruises. "I guess you're right. Seiyo's not much different from West Otonoki's high school. There's tons of facilities but the student body is still super diverse. We have all sorts of people going here. I just wish they didn't have to take their anger out on each other! There's more productive ways to de-stress like yoga or music or cooking! Maybe if they joined rock band they'd get into less fights."

She was slightly huffy as she spoke, cheeks puffed out as she dug through her bag. Violence was never a good idea in her book. She'd heard terrible stories of bullying from her older brother. It would be absolutely terrible if people started picking on Ai as well. Oh, where were they? She knew she had bandaids in here somewhere! "Ah, found them! They patterns are kind of....um.... cute..... I hope you don't mind! If you'd prefer, I'm sure the nurse as something even better!"

Sayuri held out the small, star-themed band aids to her band mate when she heard his words. Her eyes widened considerably and she nearly dropped everything in her hands when he mentioned astronaut. "G-guardian character?" She said, suddenly realizing there was yet another sprite flying around, this one quite different from her own. That's right, he had one when she first met him! The tiny fairy that was lingering around the booth back at the activity fair! She hadn't thought anything of it at first, her own egg unhatched for the longest time. Now it was clear that the other not only had a guardian character but was able to see her own.

"Hoshiko!" she called out, reaching out to grab the tiny space ranger between her fingers as she grasped at the bandaids. The sprite barely resisted, settling into the palms of the girl as she stared suspiciously at the other two. "Don't say that, it's rude! They're our friends, you can't just call them strangers. I'm really sorry about that, she tends to fly around a lot."

Hoshiko just crossed her arms, pushing the fingers away and floating back up. Her tiny space backpack let out tiny glowing pulses as she flew higher and higher to inspect the other two. "State your names, aliens! I'm Hoshiko, Space Ranger 100316 under Space Station Commander Sayuri! What privileges would you like to have in our galaxy?!"

The tiny guardian yelled her orders at the other two, Sayuri turning redder and redder the more her guardian spoke. The second the sprite finished she reached up again to trap her in her hands, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "U-um... i-it's nice to meet you too, N-Nagamasa-san.... I didn't even realize you had an egg.... uh.... yeah. Please excuse her, she's still learning."

[Ai]

“Ah- Y-you don’t have to…” Ai game a dismissive wave of his hand. He was touched that she’d want to buy him something but… really, he didn’t exactly have a taste for westernish food. Ai liked eating his daily bento… and occasionally brag to his friends about cooking it himself. Though, the boy could appreciate Sayuri’s drive of wanting to experience new things. It must have been frustrating for her, missing out on so much while being stuck at home. He guessed that this was perfectly reflected in her wish which was materialized as an astronaut, a space explorer.

Ai sighed deeply, remembering about his days at West Oto. They weren’t actually… that bad? People were nicer and more accepting… but then again, that was before the whole family issue thing happened… and before he underwent a total style change. He liked the way he was right now more, but apparently some people didn’t… not in a strict school like Seiyo. But well, since the teachers didn’t actually ask him to cut his hair/ dye it black and drop his piercings, it seemed lenient enough.

“ Yeah I guess you’re right. I admire your enthusiasm about rock band though.” He gave her a thumbs up. Though they had yet to find a third… or a fourth member. If bullies would channel their energy in something like a band, they may get less destructive but…. There really was no guaranteeing it. Besides, after Ouji, Ai swore not to let a bully or a shady person in his band ever again. It might be cruel to dismiss people just based on personal preference but he’d really had enough of fights and betrayal between band members. They were supposed to be a team, to complete each other… to stand up for each other. A whole.

All that was ironic, actually, since Ai got into fights himself a lot more recently. It was for a good cause- or at least so he liked to think- but it didn’t change the fact that, with Nagamasa’s ‘help’, he was starting to become a bully himself. And he felt bad for that. Bad for not stopping it… bad for starting to enjoy it. “ No way, those are perfect!” Ai’s eyes shined upon seeing the band aids. They were so cute- he liked them! “ Thanks Sayuri, I’ll use them well!” He took one from her and proceeded to stick it on his face. “ Am I cute too now?” He giggled.

Ai just watched Sayuri get frustrated about her guardian with a confused look on his face. The sprite hadn’t really done anything wrong… perhaps she was not very used to having one around. “ It’s alright! Besides, she hasn’t met us yet so we technically are strangers. But that doesn’t mean we can’t change that.” He extended one of his hands to the little astronaut guardian. “ Hey, My name is Ai. Nice to meet you, Hoshiko-chan!” Or did she prefer to be called Space Ranger Hoshiko?

Meanwhile Nagamasa was starting to get annoyed with the loud fairy. But he did owe her master a greeting. He bowed slightly and addressed Sayuri with a polite tone. “ Pleased to meet Ai-sama’s acquaintance.” He did see Sayuri before but… it wasn’t typical of him to intrude while his master was talking to other people. His only job was to fight for his master and not get involved in other unnecessary human interactions.

[Sayuri]

Oh god, this was so embarrassing. She wasn't necessarily angry at Hoshiko. The tiny guardian seemed to be brimming with energy and behaved well enough when left to her own devices. It was when she met other people that she seemed to only be interested in causing trouble. Already there were instances of the tiny guardian flying around her parents' heads, landing on their shoulders and pulling at their hair. They hadn't noticed anything but she'd seen awkward looks from her eldest brother that left her stumbling over chairs and tables trying to catch the little sprite.

Now there was someone that could actually see her and Hoshiko was acting so rude! You couldn't just ask someone what their privileges were! Ai had been more than welcoming to someone like her and the guardian was treating him like public enemy number one. Couldn't she be a little less curious?

"Very cute. They really suit you, Ai-san," Sayuri replied with a small but content smile, continuously moving her fingers to keep the little guardian from flying too high. If left alone she'd end up checking out the other's earwax for foreign material or pulling a hair for DNA inspection. He might have had strange hair but that didn't mean he was an alien. The little guardian was having none of it though, pushing away from the other until she finally escaped. She zipped over to Nagamasa, floating in front of him with her tiny hands on her hips. With a single button the glass covering of her helmet rolled back.

"Civilian Nagamasa, please to meet you as well! It seems this school's orbit has been breached, I need a status report on all incoming X-energy activity. Houston's not responding and we've got a situation on our hands! Stay calm and we'll have a shuttle arrive shortly," She saluted the other, standing up straight before pulling her helmet back down. Almost immediately she took off, flying around the other at lightning speed to escape Sayuri's hands.

"Hoshiko! I'm really sorry Ai-san, she's just so active all the time. Hoshiko, come back. I'll give you konpeito if you relax!!!" She sighed, hands gripping her crutches as she bowed her head. "Ever since she hatched it's been 'explore this' and 'explore that'. I'm really sorry she's acting this way, I thought for sure she'd behave after being in the school. It seems nothing can deter that energy though."

"Well, at least she'll liven up rock band a bit," Sayuri said, laughing a bit under her breath as the tiny guardian finally stopped her spinning in favor of inspecting a passing classmate. The girl would come back once she was done with whatever it was she was trying to find, "Not that we really need it. Have you had anymore luck with members at all?"

[Ai]

If Hoshiko was a curious and hyper guardian, Nagamasa was the opposite. The little sprite didn’t even talk unless it was absolutely necessary. He always stuck by his master’s side, scouting for potential threats or injustices being committed. He did his best to stay out of Ai’s way unless he was needed. However, that didn’t mean he never caused trouble. It did not happen very often, but when it did, it was huge. Ai always ended up badly injured and possibly at risk of tainting his student record. Luckily, he was never found out. But that luck couldn’t last forever, could it?

So he was cute now, that was good. He probably looked a little funny, his looks contrasting with the cute bandages, but he didn’t mind that. Maybe it would help with changing his image of a ‘bad boy’. Because, depending on how you looked at it, he was just a regular nice guy … one that everyone would get bored of at some point. But everyone thought otherwise, that he was dangerous and a bully... which was sort of starting to become true. But that wasn’t his TRUE self, so it didn’t count, right?

Who was he trying to fool, of course it mattered. For kids with no guardians, it was just him, and even for those who had powers, it was his would be self, so he would still be judged for that. They would still think he wanted to be recklessly violent. Why was this situation so damn complicated? Though, Sayuri seemed to be having a hard time with her guardian. Ai thought Hoshiko was cute (and she undoubtedly was), but he could understand why someone with her personality could potentially be troublesome. But Sayuri could handle it, he trusted her.

“Don’t worry too much about it, Sayuri.” He patted her shoulder gently. “ Sure, these guardians can be a handful… and potentially get us into trouble, but they’re ours. We have to treasure them and protect them, as they protect us.” Ai wasn’t sure he believed his own words but, that would be the right thing to do, no? Besides, Nagamasa wasn’t that bad, Ai thought he could accept him, as long as they reached a common ground. He did seem to care too, seeing as he always called him ‘master’.

As Hoshiko started speaking nonsense at the speed of light, Nagamasa narrowed his eyes, not sure if it was really worth thinking about how to answer. He gave his master a helpless look, as if he was waiting for a translation or something. “Please stop flying around. You are making me dizzy.” The guardian demanded. From time to time, he could speak too.
“Ah…um… Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find anyone else… I’m sorry.” He knew he couldn’t disappoint Sayuri, she was too enthusiastic and he wanted her to have a nice experience with a proper band. But he was a bad founder, not being able to attract any member so far. “But I won’t give up. Let’s do our best, yeah?” He smiled apologetically.

Although the two were caught up in their conversation and didn’t seem to pay too much attention to their surroundings, it didn’t mean that nothing was happening. Actually, there was quite a commotion around because two older students were trying to steal money from a freshman in broad daylight. Some people were watching but they were too afraid to step in. “ Don’t make that face. Who cares if you’re the victim? Look at them, do you think they’re going to help you?” One of the bullies teased.

[Sayuri]

"Protect us?" Sayuri said, tilting her head to the side. That was an odd way of phrasing all these abilities, wasn't it? Sure, she knew they helped their students in sticky situations but what did he mean by protecting? It wasn't like these tiny sprites could do much outside of pulling out strands of hair and possibly leaving a thumbtack on an abandoned chair. "I don't... I don't think I really understand, what do you mean by protecting? Is there something bad out there or something?"

Could he perhaps be mentioning the rather unfortunate students that were gracing the school with their despaired presence? She knew there was a huge amount of stress placed on high school students to do well and get into decent universities, but she couldn't believe it to be that hard. Exams were something to cry over but not to scream and shout. Already she'd had someone get up in class and just leave. The teacher paid them no mind, continuing with lessons as if that was a common occurrence.

She continued to stare at the other, worry building up inside of her when the other patted her shoulder. No matter what, Ai's presence always comforted her. It might have been his much taller stature or the enthusiasm he held for his passions, but when he was around she felt her heart calm. He was just so nice, always looking out for her after accepting her into the rock band group. She was still concerned about his own problems as well, especially those bruises on his face. Later, when they were able to hang out in the club room without classmates running around she'd ask him about those injuries. She had a feeling they weren't just from bullies but she didn't dare cross that line in public.

Just as she was about to open her mouth though she heard a commotion nearby. Peeking over her shoulder she noticed two students cornering a freshman. From the looks of it they were trying to steal his lunch money or notes or something, the fearful look evident on the younger students face.

Sayuri didn't like fighting, that much was obvious, but she also didn't like bullying. Without thinking, she walked over to them with crutches in hand, leaning against the metal poles while she spoke.

"Excuse me, but you really shouldn't bully others," Her voice was clear as she spoke, clearly interested in turning this school into a safe place for all students, "Seiyo Academy does not approve of these sorts of engagements on campus. Besides, as upperclassmen you should be helping out your fellow classmates, not hurting them!" Ignoring the once over and the sneer she received from the two, she stepped in between the freshman and the bullies.

"If you really want to continue this sort of behavior I'll have to call a teacher. Seiyo is supposed to be fun! Let's make it an enjoyable place for everyone, okay?" She finished her lecture with a gentle smile, holding out a hand as a peace agreement between the four.

[Ai]

There was probably such thing as protecting, or so Ai thought. His eyes widening a little at her question, the boy shrugged and attempted an answer. Sayuri may not know about the character transformations or changes. “ Have you ever experienced their power?” Maybe that was a little vague. “I mean, character change or character transformation.” Ai knew for one that without Nagamasa’s power he wouldn’t be able to fight bullies and protect those dear to him, so that was a good thing, at least.

Of course, one could also argue with his statement, for problems perhaps wouldn’t even exist without guardians, thus there would be no need for protecting. But as far as the boy was aware once you got a guardian, you can’t send it back, unless it disappeared naturally as you grew or you broke its egg, which would be extremely cruel and would mean stepping right into egg breaker territory. Did Sayuri even know about those people? Perhaps it wouldn’t be a good idea to tell her. Besides, she was so pure that he wanted to keep all the bad things away from her.

He caught her staring at him with a concerned look and smiled a little. “What’s wrong?” Was there something on his face? He subconsciously brought one hand to his face to wipe whatever might have been there, though there was probably nothing. Ai really hoped she wasn’t concerned or something, he was fine… he’d been worse. Sure all the recent happenings had taken a toll on him both physically and mentally, but Sayuri didn’t have to know that. She just had to think that guardians were funny little fairies who did nothing more than follow you around occasionally do silly stuff. Absolutely no danger involved in that.

But Sayuri suddenly got distracted by something going on nearby. Following her gaze, he saw the cause of the commotion he somewhat failed to notice before. Two older students were picking on a poor freshman for some reason. What a good time and place to do it, really. With Sayuri here, Ai couldn’t possibly unleash his character change and beat the crap out of them, that would surely cause the poor girl to be scared of ever approaching him again. He really didn’t want something like that to happen. He couldn’t lose yet another friend. Not again. Not anymore.

Just as he was about to pull Sayuri away from the crowd- Not wanting to risk the character change triggering on its own-, the girl was already talking to the bullies which made Ai instinctively call out to his friend to come back. But no, there would be no coming back. Especially not with those smug smiles on their faces and their mocking laughs as Sayuri tried to plead with them. He just knew they won’t have any of it. People like them couldn’t be reasoned with for the world and he would know- because he already tried. Other than fighting, there was no better solution.

“ Awwww, Look at that helpless little girl~ How cute.” One of them spoke. “What, do you really think you can do something? Hurry up and leave before we pick on you too. We don’t have any prefferences, you know?” They shot her a dirty look. Similarly, the first year who was being bullied urged her to go away and not get involved. “ Looks like your savior isn’t whom you’d thought it’d be, eh, nerd? Just face it, Justice doesn’t exist in this world, hahah.”

And that was it. With anger already building up inside of him as his friend was being made fun of together with the use of that unfortunate word, Ai’s character change was triggered. As the bullies were about to land another punch on the freshman, Ai, quick as lightning, dashed to them and stopped the fist with his own hand. “Don’t you dare…” His voice was a hint deeper and the now blue eyes radiated thirst for revenge. He didn’t even hesitate before kicking the bully right in his stomach, almost knocking him to the ground.

[Sayuri]

Sayuri was honestly taken aback by the other's words. She'd thought her speech would have a bit more of an effect on the bullies but she must not have seemed to intimidating in her current state. Trying her best to stand on shaky feet, she pulled the crutches from under her arms and placed them down on the ground. She could stand without them even as her knees ached. It was a peace offering towards the others to cease their actions and join with her in being respectful students.

What she hadn't been expecting was the sudden shove as the bullies pushed her out of the way, aiming another punch at the poor freshman. "Hey, wait!" She called out for a moment as she fell to the ground, landing right on her crutches as she heard footsteps rapidly approach the group. Faster than she thought a human could move, Ai had arrived with his arm outstretched. The impact on the freshman never came, the energy completely throttled by the older boy's movements.  Sayuri breathed a heavy sigh of relief, the fight over before it even started.  How lucky it was that the other had been nearby.  She might have gotten in a little over her head but she could always rely on the other to pull her out of it iall.

"Oh, Ai-san! You managed to stop that, I didn't think you would make i---"

Sayuri never finished her sentence, the words dying in her mouth as Ai's foot suddenly shot out and kicked the bully in the stomach. The poor boy hadn't seen it coming, the wind knocked out of him as he crumpled over. He coughed, looking down at the ground with disoriented eyes as his vision blurred slightly from the pain. His friend next to him only swore, hands balled up as he stared at the state his partner was in.  Students began to stop as the boy coughed and stumbled on weak feet.

"What the fuck?! Who do you think you are, bud?" He said, pushing at Ai to get his friend away. The crowd around them were watching with eager eyes as they waited for the next attack, clearly treating this entire spectacle as an entertaining show to break up their boring day. Whatever teachers might have been in the area before were gone now, oblivious to what was going down in the hallways.

As for Sayuri, she stared at the three of them as another punch was aimed at Ai, the boy in his hands still doubled over in pain. Without thinking, she pushed herself up off the ground and grabbed her classmate's hands, pulling it closer to herself to get him to stop holding the other.

"Ai-san, Ai! Stop it Ai, it's not worth it, they're not worth it!" She closed her eyes and shook her head as she tried her best to get him to stop. What was going on, why was he acting like this? He was so nice before and now he was in the middle of a brewing fist fight. She ducked her head down to avoid any stray punches, instead tightening her grip on the other's arm. "You'll only get more hurt, just stop it. Don't fight anymore!" 

Was this why he had all those bruises on his face?  What kind of school was this, she just wanted it to stop.  "Ai, if you hit them again you'll get in trouble!  The teachers will come out and blame you, they're not worth it so please.  Don't you want band club?  They won't let you run it if you get into fights with your classmates, please!"

[Ai]

What Sayuri thought would be an offer of peace, only gave the bullies an extra reason to laugh about. They didn’t very much care about respect, unless someone respected them and not the other way around. Sayuri was going to find out that things in school are not that simple. Just because you want to end things on a peaceful note, it doesn’t mean that it’s possible. Even without X-eggs, some people are thoroughly bad, wanting to be mean only to tease and humiliate others and it usually takes more than words to deal with them.

Ai knew that very well and although it wasn’t the most ideal solution to the problem, something had to be done. If it had to be violence that finally brings them down, then so be it. In his current state, Ai wanted to fight, no, he craved it. He wanted to see these people suffer deeply, to inflict the same pain that the other student felt as he was being abused. And most of all, the boy wanted to prove them wrong. Justice did exist, it was just a matter of who could implement it… and Ai had more than enough power to do so.

But how did his real self feel about these cruel thoughts? Ever since the first time he character changed, Ai had been having serious doubts about it. Although he didn’t feel as useless anymore, the enhanced strength finally allowing him to protect those he wanted to protect, Ai was by nature a more peaceful person who hesitated before violence. When he saw what kind of damage he was able to inflict onto other people, the boy became afraid of his own abilities. He was, most of all, scared of hurting the innocent. And above all, as the fact that he was starting to unconsciously enjoy harming the guilty was slowly creeping up in his mind, Ai started to doubt himself and his ways even more.

Ah he kept on delivering hits to the perpetrators, Sayuri’s words seemed to completely pass through him. It was like he was in a frenzy state, unable to snap out. One of the guys got back to his feet and caught Ai off guard, punching him straight in his right side. Now while his strength and agility were enhanced, his endurance was the same and the strong hit left him pretty vulnerable. “So you think you’re tough stuff, huh?” The bully spit up some blood from his mouth and charged right towards Ai, luckily, the boy managed to get out of the way, even injured as he was.

He could feel that there was something more… something he was missing. Something that he needed to do. Ai finally noticed a very desperate-looking Sayuri clinging to his arm and begging him to stop. This helpless little girl… why did she care so much about what he did? Why was she trying so hard to bring him back? If he changed to normal, they’d be all in danger once again. Ai glanced at the injured first year who took advantage of the situation and was trying to run away. Of course the bullies didn’t care about that since Ai was their main focus now.

The real Ai knew that Sayuri was right and it pained him that she was like this because of him. He made a friend who cared about him so, yet he did nothing but disappoint her. Why did his change have to lack so much self-control when it came to fighting? Catching him off guard, the other bully aimed a punch at Ai as he was paying attention to Sayuri. He might have been able to avoid that, if his character change didn’t wear off in that exact moment.

So now, a half-conscious Ai was laying on the canteen floor, his face much more badly bruised than it had been before. He felt thoroughly exhausted and in pain, hardly able to get back up.

[Sayuri]

"Stop!" Sayuri watched as he faltered in his attacks for a moment, a fist coming out of nowhere to make one final impact. He crumpled to the floor in front of her as the grip on his arm loosened. She probably would have followed him if the bullies weren't still in the area, one shaking his sore hand after that punch. She watched the other one back away slowly, his face worse than Ai's from the amount of hits he'd taken. Just as she was about to speak the crowd dispersed, a teacher standing in the hallway. From his stiff posture he seemed more than displeased by this entire scenario and the students scattered like rats in a sewer.

Sayuri stood in front of Ai as the teacher approached the group, the two bullies already looking nervous. They took a step back with each movement the adult made before finally turning tail and scrambling down the hall. He didn't follow, watching them go before sighing and looking down at the mess on the ground. "Goddammit," he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking over at the remaining kids still lingering to get a look at the punishment about to ensue. "Alright, get out! All of you, show's over. If anyone's still here by the time I count to five you're getting detention for a month."

They moved so fast he didn't even have to count to one, the three of them the only people left in the entire hallway. With Ai bruised on the floor and Sayuri clutching her crutches in one hand it looked more like a mugging than a school fight. He ran a hand through his hair as he sighed again. "Just... just get him out of here before any of the others see. Get him to the infirmary or something. Don't let him go to class either, he's done for the day. If you need me to call his parents, come find me on the second floor."

Without another glance in their direction the teacher walked away, scoping out the area for them to make a safe getaway to another place. Once he was out of sight Sayuri fell to her knees. Her eyes were teary as she pulled at the sleeves of her cardigan, one hand lingering over her injured classmate. The bandaids she carried wouldn't exactly cover it now. "C-can you stand?" She asked quietly, her hand still lingering above him as though afraid to touch him. The adrenaline of the moment had her grabbing his arm before, but now she withdrew her hand, scrunching up the ends of her skirt between her fingers.

"I... I'm sorry. I should have done more, I should have called for a teacher or something. I'm really sorry Ai-san.... I didn't mean for you to get hurt like this..." Her words sounded caught in her throat and she took a deep breath before continuing, "We need to move. Y-you can use my crutches if you need to, but we have to get out of here. There's going to be more teachers if we stick around..." She wasn't sure whether to stand up or stay sitting with the boy. She definitely couldn't carry him herself, but if he could get up for a moment then maybe they could make it to the infirmary.

[Ai]

For a moment, Ai didn't know what was going on anymore. He forgot all about bullies, fights and character changes as he laid on the cold floor. For a single moment, he was alone, fine and nothing mattered anymore. He just wanted all of this to stop. What he didn't know, though, was that they really did stop, thanks to a teacher who just showed up. His intimidating appearance was enough to throw everyone off, but when he urged them to go away, the bullies and otherwise the crowd of students quickly dispersed. Now all there was left was Ai and Sayuri.

It took Ai a little to come through, but all he did see was Sayuri standing in front of him and talking to someone. From the lack of people around, he guessed that they might be in trouble. Well, he should have expected that.So much for always getting away... he'd finally get scolding for the teachers, maybe even be expelled... but he did that with his own hands. He should have tried harder to fight back his change, he should have thought of the consequences more. Now Sayuri got involved in this too, and that was probably the worst thing. It was one to get in trouble on his own, but other thing to get one of his best friends involved. Ai wouldn't be able to forgive himself if anything happened to his friend.

But then Ai heard the teachers words who was telling them to get away, and he let out a small sigh of relief. It looked like they won't have to face any consequences, at least for now. Honestly, Ai was too hurt and tired to deal with anything anymore. He just wanted to rest... after making sure that Sayuri was okay, though. Ai propped himself up on his elbows a little, trying to make sounething out of the blurry background in front of him. He saw Sayuri who looked at him with a concerned expression and he felt guilt take over again. She wasn't meant to see him like this... What if she got scared of him and left too?

After his eyes cleared up more, he saw that... oh no, she was crying. And it was all because of him. "Don't apologize, please..." He couldn't bring himself to look into her eyes. "It's my fault... I started this... All because I can't control myself in that state,I... I'm so scared. I don't want to hurt anyone anymore." Part of him felt like crying, but he couldn't just selfishly cry in front of Sayuri. Not when she already saw too much. "I'm sorry you had to see that... It wasn't supposed to turn out like this."

Ai finally attempted standing up. His legs were a little shaky and his head was spinning a bit, but he'll make it to the infirmary, at least. "I'll be fine.." He groaned, using the wall to steady himself. Yeah, he definitely didn't look 'fine', but what could he do? Complaining about pain would only make him feel worse. "I'll mke it to the infirmary, but you don't have to come with me. I feel like I've caused you enough trouble for one day..." The boy chuckled, but even so, he looked like he was in pain."Just please, if there's something I want to ask for you... please forgive me."

[Sayuri]

Sayuri bunched up the ends of her skirt in her hand, shaking her head as she tried her best to will away the sadness. She shouldn't be crying, she wasn't the one that was hurt. She had to toughen up if she wanted to survive in this school and besides, Ai was the one injured her. He was the first priority and they had to clear the hall before more teachers came. As the other stood up she followed suit, letting go of the ends of her skirt to straighten it out. Her crutches were still off to the side so she grabbed them and situated one under her arm, handing the other one over to Ai to use.

"Don't worry about me," she said, voice cracking a bit as she offered him another one of her smiles. It wasn't nearly as bright as it usually was but at least she was trying. Ai was clearly in pain and if anything he needed to know that she would be okay. "It was my fault we got into this entire mess. Well, technically it was the bullies that started it but technicalities." She waved her hand in the air, shaking her head as she realized she was getting distracted. This was no time to place blame, not when Ai seemed to be suffering where he stood. "I insist on coming with you. At the very least I can give my side of the story before the nurse calls another to give their story of what happened. Besides, I couldn't possibly leave today knowing you were stuck in bed with something broken."

Once the two of them were standing and situated, she looped one arm under Ai's, using all of her weight to try and keep him standing. She wasn't terribly strong but with the combined efforts of the crutches and her own physical therapy she was sure she could at least assist him in getting across the school.

His request though made her pause and she bit her lip as she tried to answer. It wasn't like the other had done anything necessarily wrong, persay. He was in the right to try and fight the bullies, especially when they were about to cause harm to the other boy. It should have been labeled as self-defense, but even so...

"Of course," she said, her smile not quite reaching her eyes as she gave him another warm look and started them off in the direction of the infirmary. "It was self-defense after all. Besides, it's not like you hurt me. I'm sure someone would have stood up to those ridiculous upperclassmen if you hadn't, you just happened to be in the area." Realizing she was babbling, Sayuri quickly shut her mouth. There really wasn't much else to say until they got to the infirmary after all and she had a lot to think about.