Quote:She is kind of oddly caught between comedy and sheer will, isn't she?
The office thing is an interesting idea to keep in mind for the future. Though I've no idea if I'm going to be able to write Haruka worth a damn.
*bump*
Taking down those notes was proving to be a better and better idea - not so much for the reassurance they gave me about the quality of my memories, but for the way they simplified the process of briefing the others in on what they needed to know.
The way my logic ran for the neccessity of doing that in the first place was something like this:
With the exception of Mai and Shiho and Alyssa and, well, just about everybody, none of the HiME's long-term goals were inherently incompatible - or, at the very least, irreconcilable.
A cooperative effort would have a greater chance of overcoming any obstacles in the way of those goals.
All of them were, more likely than not, rational enough to internalize this if in full posession of the facts.
Between the five of us already involved, it seemed likely that we'd be able to contact the remaining eight HiME without terribly much difficulty, especially since Natsuki had access to the Academy's copy machine.
Because I was an idiot, it didn't occur to me that she'd likely read them first.
But that came later - the plan we'd worked out had Mikoto, who had even gone so far as to describe herself as 'bad at people', working alongside Shiho, who had more social skills but wasn't as levelheaded. Which, in retrospect, honestly wasn't saying much about either of them. Anyway, they were supposed to talk to Yukariko, while Natsuki handled Shizuru - for obvious reasons - and Nao, who was a lot more likely to take her seriously than any of the rest of us, and Mai got in touch with Akane and Midori. That left me with the job of finding a quiet moment to talk to Yukino and then tackling the entirely-too-interesting matter of what to do about the Mysterious Ninja before we all met up and trooped off to brace the Director - and Fumi-san, natch - in her lair.
The first step, for me, was reporting to the student council.
Helpful survival tip: Never inquire about Suzushiro Haruka's blood pressure.
She was about what I'd expected, really - dynamite body, perpetual scowl, and a command style halfway between Adolf Hitler and a jack-in-the-box - but the impact was a great deal greater in person. Surprisingly, given her reaction to my concern for her health, she ended up deciding she liked the 'new Tate', which I guess just goes to show that good manners and some common sense will go a lot farther than a lot of people would think. So, of course, she piled my arms full of paperwork and errands and sent me off with a smile.
In its own bizzare way, that would turn out to be a stroke of luck, but first I got to meet 'Kanzaki' Reito.
I actually had to restrain myself from checking for a mucus trail or inquiring if he knew where I might find a decent used car. Good looking or not (and, hey, I'm not blind, he was), the man oozed, and I'd already decided I didn't like him even before he decided to dump another three folders worth of work in my arms. The fact that 'Tate' was a couple of inches shorter than I had been even at the same age just rubbed salt in the matter, since I'd never like looking up at anyone.
No, sir, I did not like him. Nope.
Most of the papers turned out to be a list of expenditures from the student council over the previous semester - office supplies, train tickets to official business and the like - and only needed to be put into the correct drawer, but a couple of them were more exotic, which, as I said, was a stroke of luck... since what should be more logical than asking the Student Council Secretary for advice on such a thing?
I delivered all the bits I could during the homeroom period, then poked my head back into the 'Council Chamber'. "Kikukawa-san? Could I beg your assistance for a moment?"
She smiled and stood, shutting her laptop. "Of course."
I took a closer look as she walked over - the really immediate thing that struck me was that she was tiny. None of the other girls had really been very tall, but she was barely five feet, and more, had a sort of fine boned slenderness that had her tied for the title of the frailest-looking human being I'd ever met. Mikoto and Shiho were even shorter, of course, but their builds were heavier and they seemed so obviously young - even though Mikoto wasn't, really - that the comparison didn't suggest itself. I held the door for her, once she reached it, then we set off towards the records room.
"What did you need?"
"Two things, actually," I told her, and held out the last folder. "First, there's these three - they're either for the 'Misc' pile or the Director's desk and review, but I haven't got a clue what the notation means."
She took it and glanced at them. "That means that they've already had verbal approval, but still need to be processed and signed normally. And the other thing?"
I fished an envelope out of my pocket and handed it to her, and carefully paid no attention to her gasp when she saw the HiME version of the international power symbol that had been sketched on the back of it. The hallway was empty except for us now, but there was no guarantee that it'd stay that way.
"There's kind of a new club being founded - the first meeting is tonight. You're invited - if nothing else, it'll give you a chance to ask some questions."
Out of the corner of my eye I saw her stare at it for a moment more, then she nodded and calmly tucked it away under her jacket. "I'll come."
An interesting story is somebody else's bad day, far, far away. ^_^
Ja, -n
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"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."