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(no subject)

Who: Sekimiya and Mirai.
Where: Counselor's Office, Medical Building.
When: Thursday, April 20th.
What: Calling in.

Mirai stood outside the room, looking at the art print perfectly aligned on the wall. Then he approached the picture, tilting it to the right first, and then lifting it a little up on the wall. He had moved it only a little, hardly noticeable. This pleased him. He stood there admiring it at every angle he could think of, and towards the office made no move of any kind.

He kept his arms folded and tapped his foot. It was both boring and nerve-inducing. The receptionist who had directed him to wait was mousy and utterly forgettable, but the suspicion he was here for a private talk was the opposite of that - it was unsettling, not to mention conspiratorial. Had anybody else been called?

His head turned and he stared hard at the door, but still it would not open. Annoying! But what did he care? He went back to admiring his work.

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Eventually, the door slid open, and permitted Mirai entrance into the office.

It was a fairly simple affair, with wide windows and a northern exposure offering abundant natural light, unadorned but well-crafted wooden furniture with cushions just thick enough to be reasonably comfortable, and a few calligraphic prints and elegant flower arrangements providing decoration.

Mirai would have to look down a bit to see Sekimiya herself at first, short as she was, but she stepped back to allow him entrance. "I'm glad you chose to come by so quickly. Please, have a seat."

This made Mirai smile and he took a seat. He leaned back and, feeling down his sleeves with composed hands, kept his thoughts to himself whilst he crossed his legs and forced himself to ignore some of his aggression. He had begun to think that the room reminded him of home.

He gave Sakimiya a look of distant curiosity at that.

"I'm sorry about before," he said. "I guess I annoyed you."

"Not at all." Sekimiya brushed off the concern with a sharp wave and a slight smile as she took her own seat, neatly crossing her legs. "Though you left Yorie-- pardon, Yachiyo-san, in quite a state."

She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "This isn't a counseling session, per se--I'd simply like to be sure that you'll be continuing to work with us." A brief pause, another faint smile. "Officially. Unofficially, I was hoping for a little more substantial chat than we had last time."

Edited 2013-09-01 18:22 (UTC)

Mirai's head tipped as he gave a curious expression. Conversation or not, there was nothing subtle about what she was hoping. He could think of nothing worse to do than talk about his situation at home. A noise like a curious murmur came from him - and he seemed a little happy with the news she'd given. Or perhaps he was happy with the opportunity to talk about something thoroughly strange.

"... Oh?" He wanted her to elaborate in some fashion. "And please tell Yachiyo-sensei she may relax. I'm not going to do anything to make this hard."

Yet.

"I'm sure she'll be relieved to hear that."

There was something faintly like a laugh in her voice, a slight dryness to her tone. "As for me, well--I'll believe it when I see it."

Her eyebrows raised just the slightest fraction, and she linked her hands in front of her chest; with the way she was leaning, and the way her legs were crossed, and the way she was looking at him over her glasses, she looked more like she was having a casual conversation than an authority figure speaking to a student.

"You would, though, wouldn't you? To spite him."

As it went, that was exactly it. The thought of appearing on their side and then on his - it was as if Mirai was anxious for his feelings to be seen. For a moment, there was the calmest aura where it might happen. Then he brushed his hair out his eyes and his face became somewhat unreadable.

Here he told himself that she, like he, wanted him working, and he was not quite all sure that was on. He kept his hands folded; it was getting harder to say no to his father these days. So he tried another way - by changing subject.

"... Hmmm?" He was quiet for a short while, then asked, "What else are you going to ask me?"

"Just that. For now." It seemed Sekimiya wasn't about to let him get away that easily.

"For what it's worth, if you actually trust me at all, I'm not about to tell your father. Nor Yachiyo-san. This is my own personal curiosity speaking."

Mirai was intrigued by this extension of Sakimiya's friendship. He leaned forward looking to return it. One man's offer which would be welcomed by some, and regretted by others.

"Well then, you've already passed a judgement. Everybody has, right? Please could you tell me what you think I would do, sensei?"

He did harbour some personal curiosity.

"Indeed, everyone does pass their own judgement. It's part of human nature." Sekimiya had unlinked her hands, and accompanied the line with a small wave. "But I like to be sure mine are correct before I proceed."

She didn't lean forward, still retaining some physical reserve--but her words were frank enough to cross the distance. "My thought is that you would do just as I said. Nothing so problematic that it would cross a line with your father, but toeing that line as closely as you might dare. Even if he forced you into this, you don't want to give him the satisfaction of making it easy on him, do you?"

From this Mirai realised that Sakimiya - if you ignored that incident in the laboratory - was a very perceptive woman. There was no mistaking cleverness when he saw it. Almost saw it, because of course if she knew who she was dealing with then her cards were close to her chest.

But Sekimiya would watch the smile grow on his face. He was looking at her with the expression that said he had found an interesting toy. He gave the impression that she had discovered everything about him, and interjected:

"... Nope," he said. Tell me more. He had thrown the cat amongst the pigeons, looking satisfied and curious.

Edited 2013-09-02 07:41 (UTC)

"As expected." But Sekimiya moved on--perhaps she'd satisfied herself? She seemed self-satisfied, to be sure, but there'd been a faint hint of that ever since the meeting had begun.

"You are aware, I hope, that doing your job poorly is worse than not doing it at all. You could put your classmates' lives in danger."

"... Hmmm? Can you explain, sensei? I feel confused. What job is this? Nobody's given me a specific briefing."

The banter was flowing quite quickly. Mirai finished his with a word of army terminology that made it quite clear what his thoughts on the issues were, but then he waited till the moment Sekimiya was almost going to speak and chose his moment to speak.

"Please relax. I'm not going to do anything bad. It's a matter of my own pride that they're safe and sound."

His smile was beaming quite brightly. He had no intention of hurting anyone. Or at any rate, he wouldn't hurt them as badly as he could. He would rather aim that at a few certain people alone.

"We won't know your precise role until we've seen your Persona in action, of course. But like it or not, you all have a responsibility to protect each other, as we have a responsibility to protect you. If you slack off in a dangerous situation, regardless of your intention, lives might be at risk. Of course, I'm sure they don't all matter to you, but no doubt at least some do."

She was smiling faintly as well, but her eyes were watching him, sharp as a hawk's. "But I'm sure someone as clever as you can find other ways to fight your fate."

Mirai was annoyed at this assumption of his feelings. But hiding them had given him a good experience of putting on a smile. He had even learned how to still the corners of his mouth so that his emotions would not slip. He leisurely stretched out his left leg and, very slowly, circled his ankle. The slightest mention of fate had put stress into his head and he wanted it out of him.

"... Yeah." He stared at her for a while. "How about indulging me for a second, Sekimiya-sensei? You told me that you're well acquainted with my father, right?"

He had been keeping a wary eye on her. Now he watched her fully, not just her face but her body and how she was acting. He wanted to know how they had met and what they talked about. Any lie could tip him off.

This time, Sekimiya allowed the change of conversational topic. "That's correct. After all, he's part of the project, so it's only natural," she added just a bit too airily.

Mirai thought about this for some time. He was not so young that he could not tell she was - in his opinion - hiding more. He found himself wanting to know more. And the subject of what his father hid from him was genuinely interesting.

"I guess it's something to do with his job, right? That would make the greatest sense." He narrowed his eyes but smiled as he spoke. "Hey, Sekimiya-sensei? How about telling me how long he's been part of it?"

"Quite some time. Nearly from its inception, if I recall correctly. Though of course his involvement hasn't been constant--he does have other obligations, after all."

And that was all she was going to offer on that point, it seemed. The way she leaned back was expectant, awaiting further questions.

Mirai didn't think he would get more than that. He unclenched his hands and smoothed his trousers down to his knees.

"Well then, you don't need to know anything else, right? I may go?"

He had places to go, people to do, things to see.

"Of course." She stood up smoothly to see him out. "Do feel free to come by anytime, won't you? Even if it's just to chat, my door is always open."

Mirai stood up and bowed, and went to the door quietly. He wished he could be certain that was the last of it. He turned his head to look at her before he left. "Thanks," he said. Then he was gone.

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