[AQ] Guardian Festival II (Shura/Calli)

[Yasuko Kobayashi]

Calli seemed to pause, a hand on her chin, as her brows furrowed a little at the other's words. "Oh," she soon voiced, before beaming brightly back at Shura. "That's one way of looking at it, yeah!" She gave him yet another grin. A kind of individuality huh? She never thought of it that way before! Shura was such an interesting Guardian Character! In fact, she couldn't help but laugh at the way he described his 'brother'. It was funny, but it was also...kind of endearing in its own way. But she blinked at the yellow fairy. "Tech...Technophobe...?" the brunette fairy repeated, knitting her eyebrows together in confusion. "What's a technophobe? Probing into technology?" she said, crossing her arms across her chest as she mulled over that word. "Hmm, but how do you probe into technology anyway...?" And Calli blinked as the other continued to talk about Leo - before she begin to laugh a little once again. A kind of awkward laugh. "I-I guess I can't deny he's a bit...uh..." What was the word? "...rigid?" Granted the other had used it before; and she didn't feel it quite described Leo, but it will do for now.

"Oh," the sprite began, blinking at the other - before her brows begin to knit together as his words sank in. "Oh I see," she continued, her gaze flitting to the tent. Her hands touched the hard material beneath, feeling the rough weaving of the stall's roof rather absent-mindedly as she mulled over his words. So that was what he meant. Overreaction is bad; different from just 'reaction' itself. But when was it an 'overreaction' and when it was it a 'normal reaction'? But when Shura brought up personalities, the Guardian Character seemed to perk up a little, looking back at the yellow fairy with shining eyes. "Yes that's true!" she nodded, a wide smile on her face. "People can have like - good sides and bad sides! Like you said, Leo sounds like someone who is really efficient!" She laughed at that, before she returned her gaze up to the dark skies. "Yasuko's always grumpy too too," the Guardian Character said, frowning a little at those words. It was true; the girl was someone who didn't take pleasure at the smallest of things - and certainly was someone who was easily riled up. "I wonder if being grumpy's a bad trait," she continued, tilting her head to the side. "...But maybe it's because they want things to be perfect? And that's why they get upset easily when it's not?" She seemed to be thinking hard about it, her brows furrowing together as she said those words. "But you can't get perfection can you...?"

The brunette fairy whipped back around, surprise on her face for a split second. "Hasn't had a good life?" she said, her brows furrowing in concern - before remembering that time when she, Leo, Shun and Yasuko were stuck in the Literature Club room. She had thought that the second-year's retelling of his life sounded...dreary, yet she was confused at how nonchalant (and sometimes upbeat) he sounded. It was something she still hadn't a clue how to feel about it. "Oh, Shun talked about it before," she began, turning her head back down to the tent below her. It looked a little ragged now that she thought about it. "But he seemed...calmed about it? I-I didn't know how to take it-" Calli continued, scratching her head as she said so. In fact, she tilted her head even more at the other, puzzled about his choice of words. "Don't know right from wrong...?" Shun didn't come off as that kind of person to her. "But Shun's so nice though!"

Calli blinked at the other's suggestion - before bursting out into laughter. That was such a strange thing for the other to say! "Well I don't know how Leo would feel about it--" she began, but she beamed at the other. "I would love to hang out with you and Leo one day though! It sounds like it could be loads of fun! Maybe we could even find scanners and stuff and see Leo do his thing!"

"Yes!" Her big blue eyes were shining bright and she nodded furiously. Another fellow poetry-lover! It was going to be great! "Of course!! I'll totally show them to you!!!" She was vibrating on the spot as she continued to talk, her eyes sparkling. "We could even like, read together or something!!! Wouldn't that be fun?! Oh oh oh maybe we could even write poetry together!!" Ahhhh it already sounded so awesome! "Wouldn't that be cool?! Oh wait-" Shouldn't she be asking one important question first before she should suggest something like that? "Do you write poetry Shura?"

[Deleted]

"Technophobe is the term for someone who doesn't know how to use the latest technologies. Or in my case, I just don't care." He shrugged. "These days, kids are on their phones, on the umm....Social medias? I think that's what they're called, yes. And you need to make them pay attention to you. Sometimes in the most surprising ways." And by surprising, he really means a rather violent or forceful ways. While he normally left it to Leo to make threats to the well-being of Shun's phone, he is much less patient about it and will pick it up and throw it away without asking should he get no respect from the boy. That hasn't happened yet, though. "Why yes. Yes he is. He is rigid. He lives out everyday with a set schedule. He is a robot. At least, sometimes I think he's a robot."

"Nobody is perfect. You can strive to be, but there is no perfection to be gained." He answered simply. There's no point in trying to obtain perfection, but there is a point in trying. "Perfection is not something you can obtain, but I understand the need to aim close to it. And no, being grumpy is not a bad trait. I learned that from living with Leo. Who is also a perfectionist of sorts." He and Yasuko seem more alike than he thought, then. "But in Leo's case, he's only grumpy because he's outright DENYING that he needs other guardians and people to be around him. He talks big about being by himself, being independent, but truly, you cannot live without relying on others for at least one thing in your entire life." That was just logic. Logic with a very good point. "So tell me, does this Yasuko of yours accept help, or does she deny it too?" He is curious, simply because of their similarities.

"Ah, he has a way with looking strong and 'calm' about everything bad that's ever happened in his life. A strength me and my brother admire, but we wish he could stop for a moment to let it all out. I'm sure you know, that penting up your emotions is a one way ticket to disaster somewhere along the road." Shura sighed as he floated about, lying on his back. "But he won't even talk to us honestly, unless we choke the details out of him. There is inner strength to smile no matter what, but there is also taking it too far." He would opt for a less forceful way to talk to him, but sometimes, there is really no choice. And for one who enjoys revelling in the chaos, he wouldn't even mind roughing him up for a confession. That's just the way he rolls, anyway. "Everybody has secrets they have to hide under a brave face, I'm sure."

"Heh. You can always take him out to the library, and then watch him do his thing." He laughed. It was a secret he learned a while ago. That when Leo was taken anywhere by someone he considered to be a 'friendly' figure, he wouldn't really outright say no, insisting it's more of him accompanying them so they won't get into trouble. But the library, with copier machines and other wonderful machines, will definitely prompt him to do his thing.

"Sounds like a good time. What do you like to read the most? I love history and legends. Sometimes, romanticized ones are a joy to read." Simply because covering the truth is an interesting way to interpret things. He does have a fascination with liars, after all. "Yes, I do write poetry on my spare time. We should share ideas one day. I am already looking forward to it."

[Yasuko Kobayashi]

"Oh!" was Calli's first response; and she tilted her head to the side as she pondered on his words. Someone who didn't know how to use technologies...huh. She seemed to be mulling over it, as if she was trying to make sense of it - but at the other's mention of social media, she suddenly perked up, a little bit of sparkle in her eyes. "Ah yes, all the social media!" she repeated, her eyes shining. "Like Twitter and stuff right?" she said excitedly, before clasping her hands together. Ever since Yasuko had gotten her own Twitter, Calli had been stealing glances every now and then to read through her feed, humming to herself all the time as she did so. "Ahhh I love Twitter! Being able to read every single student's tweet; hearing about all of their lives, and their feelings and their stories - Isn't that wonderful?! You get to learn about all of them without ever having to talk to them!" The Guardian Character wasn't allow to post anything as per her human's request, but that still didn't stop her from reading every single tweet ever made. "Oh but that doesn't mean that talking to them is a chore or anything but you know like you garnered a different perspective of their lives through Twitter! Yeah!" But she soon paused, turning her head back to Shura with a confused look. "In surprising ways...?" she repeated, a puzzled tone in her voice. Yasuko wasn't someone that was hooked on social media, so she didn't understand what the other fairy was referring to.

The brunette fairy looked back at Shura as the other talked, blinking as he spoke. Her gaze soon fell upon her hands, which was now lying on her lap, her mind mulling over the other's words. Shura had a point. No one can be perfect...but people do anyway, because of wanting to be perfect. To be good at what they do, to be proud of what they have done. But if one were to keep on going on that quest to become perfect, does one end up losing themselves to it? Forgetting that they aren't at all perfect, but simply an imperfect person with vulnerabilities? And that by continuously striving to be perfect, one forgets that they aren't, and the need to be perfect versus the imperfect self causes conflict? Her brows furrowed. This was becoming complicated. "Understand the need for it..." was what she repeated at first. "Is being a perfectionist bad though?" she asked, looking back at Shura. There were concern in her blue eyes; obvious that this question had come about because of something bothering her. "Is there...a way to be a perfectionist...but...you know...like a helpful version of it or something?"

"Yasuko?" she said, before she tilted her head to the side once again, a finger on her chin as she pondered over what to say. "Hmmm..." she began, her arms crossing over her chest as she thought hard. Grumpy...and denies help....oh. "I think..." Calli began, before she started on a nervous laugh. "I think Yasuko's kind of the same way..." she continued, her head dropping in a defeated manner. Leo and Yasuko were beginning to sound more similar than she had initially thought they were. She didn't Yasuko had Leo's level of sass though.

"Oh." Calli knitted her brows together, a concerned look on her face as she looked back down on the hands in her lap. She didn't say anything for the duration of Shura's talk, frowning at her hands. She wanted to ask further, about what kind of 'bad' things that Shura had meant, but at the same time, she wasn't sure if was something she should ask. Even if she did have an inkling what those things could be. She drew her knees up towards her chest, her arms folding over them, resting her chin on top as she did so. "Yeah..." was her only answer at first, staring down at her feet now. It felt to her that Shun seemed to put on a smiling face so as to stop dwelling on those issues. Hearing those only made her wonder about Yasuko herself. Whenever something bad happened, she would return to work on something, be it assignments or something Faberge-related, or the like. Was that her way of dealing with it? By constantly working? "It's nice that you can still get Shun to talk about it though. To let it out since everyone needs to," she finally said, turning her head a little so that she could look at Shura. "Yasuko never wants to talk."

"History and legends?" the Guardian Character repeated - before her eyes grew big and wide. "I love history and legends too! Isn't it way cool when you read about stories of the long past, what's even cooler is that it's happening in our world! It's not fiction or anything!" There was a pause, before she perked up again. "Oh I know! Maybe we could all hang out at the library together! Me, you, and Leo too!" She beamed. "Then we could see what Leo does to the scanners and printers! And then and then--" She jumped onto her feet, her eyes still sparkling with excitement. "We could scour the library for the poetry section and read all the poems! Or even the history books! Or - you know what, maybe everything in it! Maybe, maybe we could write poems together too and like read them to each other and give criticisms and and and--" Her feet swiped across and she twirled at every suggest she made, her eyes shining as she did so. "It'll be loads of fun--!"

But wait.

"Oh," she suddenly stopped in her tracks, turning her head to look back at Shura again. "Does Leo like books?"

[Deleted]

"I must admit that social media is not my...Preferred playground. Not even Leo likes the stuff. But he did seem intrigued by what it did. A window to the lives of others. That seems about right." Though, how personal or truthful it is might be up to anyone's interpretations. "Oh don't sweat the details. Everytime I want Shun to pay attention to me, all I have to do is give him a command. I don't know. He listens to me more than Leo's threats, it seems." He laughed it off. Well, he is the more 'brutal' of the two guardian characters if anyone could believe that at all. "It's good that you enjoy that entire thing about the social media. I can't really stand it myself when people get especially mean." He pretended to cry too.

"of course there is. Perfectionism is only bad when you take it too far." Examples. That's the best way to explain this to Calli. "Say, if you are trying to do a perfect job to help someone do something and THEN something goes wrong, what do you think will happen? Self destruct." He even made an 'explode' motion with his hands to further explain his point. "Nobody is perfect. But you would do good not to point out the tiny details to a perfectionist, lest you want them to burn." At least, that's how he thought he could deal with perfectionists in general.

"I'm not the best spokesfairy for logic. That would be Leo's job. But even I know that sometimes you just can't explain things with logic." He thought he'd leave that out there. "Then they are sort of or mostly alike, then." Hmmmm...Would it really have been better for Leo to have Yasuko as a human? But then again, he won't be a significant wish, since most wishes are the opposite of their humans in personality and flair. Damn, his head is starting to hurt from trying to think about it too much. Where is Leo when he needs him to do all the thinking? But then again, nevermind. They're playing a comparison game and the other fairy would most likely not appreciate it.

"It gets difficult, because he really won't talk about it unless we coax him to. But yes. I imagine he's easier to convince than Yasuko to talk about his feelings." Seeing as Leo and Yasuko look like they have their own agenda and mostly kept to themselves, it would be near impossible to get any of them to talk. "But you mustn't lose heart. There is always the option of giving them time, or observing them better on a personal level. So many other ways." He still believed that with time, people would eventually open up. "How long have you been with her? Does she...Trust you as much as you thought she does?" It seems like a question with a potentially dark answer, but a difficult question must be asked at one point, right? "I think with her, the slower more relaxed approach is much better." Especially with being quick to irritate, these people really need more time for themselves.

"Then we will definitely get along super fine." Shura laughed. It never fails to sound refreshing. Her enthusiasm is something else. "Oh, if there's one thing me and Leo agree on, it's how much we both love books and knowledge. You'll hear no complaints from him." In fact, he's positive that even Leo could have a good time with the both of them in the library. "And yes, I'm up for that. Is it a challenge for who can read out the entire library? Cause I don't think I'll lose." Still, it would be fun. "Ah yes. Criticism is an integral part of growing as an individual. I think we're all set to have a good ol time at the library. Leo included." And wait till she sees the things he does with printers.

[Yasuko Kobayashi]

((Istg, all of my replies to Shura are so long because Calli has so many deep thoughts because of him _{I love it /cries}

"Oh?" was Calli's response at first, tilting her head to the side as the other spoke. So it wasn't something Shura was fond of? But she was distracted - soon enough - by his words again, and her eyes shone with delight. A window into other's lives! That was exactly it! Man, the yellow fairy really knew how to phrase things, that was fantastic! And she was learning more and more about Shun and Leo in their conversation! Gosh, now she didn't want this whole thing to end. But she soon paused, blinking at the other. Mean? "People being mean?" she said, another tilt of the head to the side. Had she come across some mean comments? on Twitter? Or maybe she had skipped them altogether and she just didn't remember them at all? "There were people being mean?" she asked, a furrow of brows in query.

The brunette fairy seemed to stare at him as he talked, her mind slowly ticking as she mulled over his words. "Oh," she finally said, realisation dawning in her eyes - and she sat back down next to Shura again, her hands on her lap. "Oh, I see," was what she had said next, her eyes fixated on her hands. She slowly nodded at the yellow fairy's words, a nod of acknowledgement as it were. "Yeah...that sounds about right." She soon gave a bit of a nervous laugh. But she took a deep breath, and a determined look settled upon her face again. Shura said that perfectionism is only bad when taken too far...so that meant it can be good too! Just...not when it was taken too far. But when will you know when it has been taken too far? "How would you know if it becomes like...bad perfectionism?" she asked. "And how do you prevent becoming like a bad perfectionist?"

She gave a bit of a smile - and an amused giggle. "Yasuko and Leo are sounding a lot more like each other than I thought," she said, laughing a little. "A human and Guardian Character that is pretty similar...what are the chances of that?" she continued, grinning. There were, however, millions of people in the world and there was bound to be a chance that two or more of them would be similar; maybe it wasn't as surprising as it initially seemed. She tilted her head to the side again, a finger on a her chin in thought. "Then again, Leo is...Leo has a way with words that I don't think Yasuko has."

But at the Shura's words, the brunette fairy dropped her smile, and her hands fell back onto her lap. "Um..." she began, subconsciously beginning to play with her hands. Now that she thought about it, did Yasuko really trust her? She wasn't sure. "I mean, I've been with her since the start of the year but..." She paused, her fingers nervously fidgeting against each other. "...But I don't know if she...really trusts me. I mean, I know I make mistakes and stuff-" There had been times where she had said things that had made situations worse - and her excitable personality wasn't exactly something that Yasuko was fond of either. Probably one of the few (or was it many) personalities that Yasuko really honestly didn't like. "But she never wants to talk about things that bother her." She gave a pout. "Even with all of the X-eggs and X-Characters and Egg Hunters, all she wants to do was work on assignments. Like a distractor. I mean, I know sometimes it helps but, she's been getting stressed because it's all so overwhelming and stressful and--" She heaved a large sigh - before realising something. In a frantic state, she brought her hands up, waving it about as if tryig to diffuse the potentially tense atmosphere that she had brought out. "Oh my gosh, I didn't want to complain about her! I've turned our happy conversation all sad!" Calli paused once again, as she clasped her hands tighter against each other. "Slower relaxed approach..." she repeated with furrowed brows. "In what way would you say is slow and relaxed? Like - well forcing it out of her is out of the question, she just yells at me and gets angry and it never solves anything..."

Calli beamed at him. So Leo liked books too! She couldn't help but vibrate on the spot with excitement. She, Shura and Leo in the library! Reading all of the books in there! Watching what Leo does with all the technology in there! It was already sound so fun! But she blinked at the yellow fairy, staring at him when he worded it that way. Before she broke into a laugh, a wide smile on her face. "I love a challenge!" she said, her eyes sparkling. Whether or not she appreciated it was a competition, it wasn't clear, but she was excited about it nonetheless. "It sounds like fun too! And I'll love to see how fast you can read all the books in the library!" There were so many books in there - how long would it take to read them all actually? Ah who cares, it sounded like fun and that was all that mattered! Plus they would be able to glean so much information from them too! "Yes!" she said, pumping a fist into the air. "We can learn what we do well and what we don't, and use that to become better at something yes!" She grinned at him - before nodding furiously back at Shura. "It sounds like so much fun! Ahhh I wish we could do that now; we need to convince Shun and Yasuko to bring us to the library or something! Oh! And along with Leo!"

[Deleted]

KJASNAJKSN DW I REALLY LIKE THIS TOO, he is happy to have someone listen to his words of wisdom ahahaha))

"Oh dear, you mean you don't know? How do I say this..." It's surprising that the world of social media is still all sunshine and rainbows to her. Even when he claims to dislike it, he knew that it can be a cesspool of degrading comments rolled into a ball of hate. That's the best way to describe it. "If you've heard of real life bullies, you must have heard of the cyber kind, right?" They wreak havoc in people's lives. Their social lives to be exact. And more often than not, they start to cave in. "Life isn't a walk in the park. Social media can very well be your downfall if you are not careful. But...I might be too negative."

"Obsession. Don't let your perfectionist ways become an obsession. If that happens, then you might be too late. You will destroy yourself trying to obtain the impossible." It isn't that he's trying to be a wise guy. It's the truth of reality. When one becomes obsessed with being perfect all the time, all they will have left is a gamble. "Take for example, when you go out of your way to win all the time, to be perfect and right all the time, think about all the underhanded tactics that stem from obsession. It will not only ruin others, but also yourself. I for one, have seen such things happen. It is not a good way to live." And this is why he is always hell bent on embracing the flaws of life as is.

"Ohohoho~ You think so? That Leo? Well, I won't argue otherwise, but with him, there are certain buttons to push just to get him to talk the way you predict him to. I don't know if Yasuko is the same in that regard." Well he should probably leak another information out. Just go all out. "You can bribe him with pineapples too. He would never say no to pineapples." But maybe other guardian characters know this bit all too well already. Leo and his pineapple obsession. "I think...From what I hear, Yasuko's morals aren't as easily bent to fit the situation. That is where they differ." It was true, that Leo would just bend his answers and actions to fit a specific situation. He didn't care if it was right or wrong. Whatever is most logical, he's always take that.

"Let's get one thing straight first, Calli." He took a more serious stance at this point. "You mustn't change yourself to fit her. You ARE her wish. But to get her to completely trust you, you must find a way to make a point she can't refuse. In a way...You might want to make her depend on you a bit. But let go of the reigns when you believe she could do it by herself." Did that make sense? He was into the more lax approach, but Yasuko is a different story. She isn't like Shun who is more easily herded towards an ideal. "Leave her to her own devices, but never let it get under your skin when you force your help on her. You should know better than her. But you must also let her grow." That...Was a pretty good explanation, right? He's not really implementing the same thing. Since Shun never really asks for help or when he does, it's usually for something ridiculously unimportant that he can do by himself. He has messed up priorities. At least with Yasuko, that isn't a problem.

"I have my work cut out for me then. The library isn't his favorite place. But he won't say no if both me and Leo say we're meeting friends." Ah. To take advantage of the social butterfly's social tendencies. "Well, I won't pull any punches. I am quite the reader. But maybe if I tell Leo, he'll definitely be driven to kick butt. He...Doesn't really like losing to me. Or anyone for that matter. But we can always distract him with the pretty printers." Then, they'd gain the advantage and wouldn't have to worry about things.

[Yasuko Kobayashi]

Calli stared at him as he spoke, tilting her head to the side at first as her brows furrowed in a slight confusion - before realisation seemed to dawn on her face and she looked back at the hands on her lap. Oh. Oh. "I...I see," she said, her fingers fidgeting in a bit of a disheartened manner. That...made sense. If there were real life bullies, then there would be those that would venture to the cyberworld to do the same. Perhaps it was easier too, as people could hide their real identities; no one would be able to find them or reprimand them. "I wonder why people do that..." she began, playing with her hands as she did so. "Does it really make people happy if they're cruel to others? Or is it because they can't stand seeing other people happy if they aren't happy themselves? Or is it their way of lashing out at the world?" Ahhhh, so many questions.

She looked back at Shura as the other talked, and she simply nodded slowly at each sentence he said, though it was more of an acknowledgement than anything else. Her eyes widened when the other gave the example - and flinched a little at the idea as if it spooked her. She didn't think that it would go to such extremes. "That's terrible!" she said as she pulled a grimace. Obsessing over perfectionism to the point of using underhanded tactics...that was terrible. Yasuko wouldn't get that way, right? She wouldn't go so far to betray human decency, right? But wait, what did he mean he had seen it happen? "You have...seen it before?" the Guardian Character asked.

"Pineapples?" the brunette fairy repeated, blinking - before, a split second later, she started to laugh. Leo was easily bribed by pineapples? Somehow, it was incredibly funny, to think of the stern serious Guardian Character be so easily enticed by a piece of fruit. And somehow, it was adorable in a way. "Oh right, I think...I think Shun had said something like that before!" she said, giggling. Or did he? She couldn't remember what exactly he said, but she remembered something about pineapples. "I didn't expect that somehow! It's really cute!" she remarked, laughing once again. Was Yasuko like that? "Actually...now that I think about it, Yasuko does have something like that too," she said, a hand on her chin in thought. "Yasuko likes strawberry ice-cream! Sometimes it's how her brother gets her to do stuff - though really, I think she gives in only because her brother would probably try even more terrible ways to bribe her. Like maybe hold her computer hostage or something..." She trailed off then, giving a nervous laugh, before turning back towards Shura. "I'm sure if I tried it, Yasuko would know I'm up to something and wouldn't buy it anyway," she continued, laughing. It wasn't even in the Guardian Character's nature to do something like that either; she would feel bad if she had to bribe somebody in that manner. Yet somehow, hearing that Shura didn't think Yasuko would easily bend her views to fit a situation made Calli a little glad. Maybe...maybe she was getting too worked up over possibilities that wouldn't happen. Yasuko would never bend her morals just to fit something. Yeah.

But she stared at the yellow fairy as he continued, a surprised expression upon her features. She...hadn't expected that. Yet, maybe it was something she had hoped to hear from someone. That she had to mean something if she was here. Even if Yasuko wasn't really into the wish. There was a pause, as she seemed to mull over his words in her head, turning her gaze back to the hands on her lap. She was silent for a good while, pondering, contemplating, thinking. "Depend on me a little...but also know when to let go," she finally said. "Like...convince her that she needs my help, but not be like...too smothering that she ends up depending on me too much?" she said, looking back at Shura as if hoping she was interpreting it right.

"Oh, does Shun not like libraries?" Calli said, blinking a little in surprise. "That's really interesting! I mean you and Leo like books, but he doesn't." She gave a laugh. What a pair. Or a trio? "Really?" she said at the other's comment about Leo. So the green fairy was a competitive one...that was a trait Yasuko shared too. Gosh, they were getting more alike by the minute. "I don't know how good I'll be, but it sounds fun, so that's all that matters right?!" she said laughing. "Oh oh, maybe afterwards, we could like share the intriguing bits of information we learned from the books or something!"

[Deleted]

"The human mind is a complex machine. In order to feel superior, sometimes, one must make another suffer. Truly a very sad state of affairs." Shura looked sad. If there's one human trait he hated the most, it's the part where one might have to pull someone down or sabotage them to feel better in life. "Life is a competition, but at the same time, it is not. Lashing out is another possibility. That is why...You must learn to co-exist and let go of your past. Let go of a troubled soul and move on." Wise words. He's actually very passionate about this now.

"I have. The discord in one's heart when they strive for perfection through any means necessary...It's like staring into a black hole. One that will choke you out of your own life. Ah. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so negative." But his observations about life had always ended up negatively. "Don't let it get to that point. Underhanded tactics...They aren't fair. You would have a blemish in your soul that won't ever go away. Forever shrouded in what you call 'perfection'. Nobody is perfect. And it's really about time we all acknowledge that." If someone was perfect, how boring would that be? Just another observation from Shura about living and socializing.

"Pineapples, yes. He loves pineapples. I bet he'd even marry pineapples. They're better than you and me and humans, or so he says." Shura can't help but snicker at the thought of Leo getting married to a piece of fruit. "When Shun wants something Leo normally said no to, he'd go buy the best looking and best tasting pineapple slices out there. Though, that really only guarantees a 40% chance of success. If you weren't Shun, though, it'll probably work 80% of the time. Almost double the amount. It's because Shun bribed him too much that he learned to maneuver around it." Leo was also the embodiment of control, limitation, and the constant search for benefits. They seem to contradict each other at times, but that's all Leo. "Oh, is that so? Then maybe you can start there. Give her some strawberry ice-cream. Then make her talk to you, slowly." Judging from what her brother did, it seemed like the right strategy to use on Yasuko. "Calli. You understand that sometimes playing the 'bad cop' is necessary when your human won't budge, right? But then again, what do I know. It always works on Shun when he fails to heed my words." Yasuko is probably different. Probably smarter and more aware than Shun.

"Yes. That's it! That's the way to go!" He clapped. She got the point, and super quickly too! "In order to get her to open up to you, you have to balance trust and control. Any imbalance between the two and she might go one of both ways. Defiant, or distrustful. Both are negative. Again." He is pretty sure that that's a good start with the tough cookies like Yasuko. She doesn't seem like the type to want to pour her heart out at any given moment and wasn't one to trust anyone. At least that's the vibe he's been getting from her.

"He doesn't like libraries, unfortunately. Too much learning, gives him a headache. But I don't believe him." He's just lazy, he's sure of it. Shun isn't much of a reader anyway. "I had to wonder why he joined the literature club. All of his writings are sub par and almost always colorful and too happy for my tastes. He seems out of place there." Of course, he didn't know that Shun was held 'hostage' at the club because he annoyed the leader. "You know, we are almost always the opposite to our humans. An interesting thought." Stop him, before he digs any deeper. "Yes, that will be lovely. Skill matters not. We'll all have a good time. And the more knowledge we have, the more edge we'll have."

[Yasuko Kobayashi]

"Oh..." Calli twiddled her thumbs as she listened, a sad expression on her own face. She said nothing as Shura continued, only playing with her fingers idly, staring down at them with a sombre look. She only looked up then, when the other talked about how life was like a competition, but it did little to uplift her spirit. To hear about people doing terrible things because they felt that way...it wasn't a nice thing to hear. Was it bad that she just wanted everyone - including the bullies that Shura had mentioned - to feel happy? That she wanted to do something about it to help them move on, so that they wouldn't be hurt and that they wouldn't hurt others anymore? "Ah..." was all she said in response, this time swinging her legs over the edge of the tent to get a little more comfortable. But it was the other's suggestion did she finally look up, staring back at the yellow fairy. "I see," she said, and it sounded less sad at the very least. "Let go of the past, move on, and learn to live with others," she said, frowning a little, wondering if she had gotten that right. But something about those words didn't sit too well with her. "Does that also mean...letting go of someone in your life too?" she said, a concerned expression upon her face. "I mean...what if you knew someone who was like that...and you knew the reasons why...do you have to let them go too? What if the bully was your friend; do you have to let them go too?" Somehow, it reminded her of when Yasuko's friends became corrupted; sure, they weren't the same as the bullies that they were talking right about now, but when they have gone X, they hurt people around them too. And Yasuko right now wasn't ready to face them yet...But did they have to? Did they have to leave them behind? When it wasn't really their fault in the end?

She nodded, though it was really more of an acknowledgement - but she soon shook her head, bringing her hands up to wave them about in a dismissive manner. "No no, that's okay!" she said, trying to make it seem like she didn't mind it at all. "It might be sad but...sometimes maybe you have to understand that the world isn't as nice as it really is..." She looked down sadly at the hands on her lap as she said that, playing with her fingers a little as she did so. "But but like you said!" she suddenly piped up, a determined look in her blue eyes. "It's about making sure you don't get to that point, right? And accept that we all aren't perfect!" Right?! She seemed to take a pause then, as if she herself was still taking it all in - before she voiced another 'Yes!', though it seemed to be more for herself rather than for Shura to hear.

But at the topic of Leo and Pineapples, the Guardian Character blinked. "Marry...pineapples?" the brunette fairy said, tilting her head in a confused manner. Though the longer Shura talked, the more amused Calli got; giggling a little as she thought about Leo and pineapples. "If he did marry a pineapple, what would he be wearing? Would he be wearing the tux and the pineapple a wedding dress?" Somehow the imagery was hilarious to think about. "Ahhh, I feel like I want to try it though, offering pineapples to him..." Before she paused - and suddenly realised that it probably wasn't a very nice thing to say, and she quickly threw her hands up to try and dismiss the thought. "N-not because I want to take advantage of him no!!" she cried, panicking a little. "I just...thought it was interesting for someone like Leo...I mean he's all rigid and stuff, and to think he'll change his mind when you offer him pineapples. Though I mean, I don't mean he's a fickle person or anything like that! It's just--" Gosh, did she just dig herself into a hole? One minute, she thought it was cute and now it already seems like she's going to bribe him with it. What a terrible impression.

Hearing Shura's encouragement only made the Guardian Character smile a little and she nodded enthusiastically. "Okay!" she said, a determined look upon her features. It sounded like a good plan! "I'll try it next time when I see her!"

"Huh, really?" was all she responded with, before she tapped a finger on her chin in a thoughtful manner. Was Yasuko like that? Well, she was more of the type that believed immensely in hard work and discipline; just plowing through exams by working and working and working. Which was...unhealthy in some ways, but it was clear the first-year didn't seem to care about it. "Oh right, he's in the literature club too!" she said, laughing a little. "I would love to read his writings though! I think having colourful and happy imagery's helpful sometimes too!" But she soon paused at the other's words, before she furrowed her eyebrows in a bit of thought. "Hmm...Maybe it shows that they really want to change?" she said, tilting her head to the side. Apparently, she too found the topic interesting to talk about. "Like...the more of an opposite you are, the stronger the wish to change?" she offered, though she wasn't quite sure.