[@Crimmy]

[url=http://pa1.narvii.com/5800/61c2dc2e7d9b80962f51bdcf08dd705383e9f6dc_hq.gif][b]75% GLAD[/b][/url]

[color=ffcf40]"Thank you, thank you, [i]thank you![/i] I knew you were still a good guy deep down, Nii-chan!"[/color]

[i][b]"AAAAARGH WHAT THE HELL GET OFF GET OFF GET OFF!"[/b][/i]

Picture this scenario, if you would.

A young man of a slight build is trapped in the position of leaning against the edge of a table, where there sits a very intricate piece of partially disassembled machinery. He is trapped for reasons twofold: one being that the necessary force to free himself could send something, like a small and difficult to notice gear or widget for instance, flying.

The second is what he is trying to escape: In this instance a little sister. However, she is no normal little sister. Struggle and squirm though he might, with all of his available might, he is at a distinct disadvantage in three areas.

Firstly, and most simply, size. Despite being her elder by 3 years and male, the young man is actually shorter and only mildly stockier than his sister. Her longer limbs give increased leverage on her squeeze, making his advantage in mass nearly useless.

Secondly, positioning. He is leaned, practically seated upon, the edge of the workbench, which thereby leaves his body in a suboptimal position for force generation in relation to it's base and center of gravity. She is fully clinging to him, and squeezing tight leaves her no need for such stability in the base.

Finally, skill. She is a girl who regularly trains her jiujitsu with black belts, and is herself at the upper end of a brown belt level. He is the result of some slapdash cross-training in many arts for a mere six months, with an emphasis on getting skills up and running as fast as possible since the time for refinement was lacking.

All in all, it's a desolate scene for him, isn't it? 

[b]"April, this is seriously starting to freak me out!"[/b]

Even as I thrashed and tried my level best to extricate myself from her clutches, the most dangerous thing to wear bumblebee colors since nuclear waste held fast, giggling happily. [i]Giggling! Happily![/i]

Call hell, tell it to stop freezing!

[color=ffcf40]"Heeheehee, it's been so long since I've given you a big ol' hug like this..."[/color]

[b]"[i]I know[/i], that's why it's creepy! What's with this sudden 180 in personality?! We've fought since middle school!"[/b] I demanded, trying and failing to pummel for an underhook. What happened to the mutual antagonism from five minutes ago?! I mean, I could understand if my offer had simply gotten her off of my back, but how the hell did glomping enter the equation?

[color=ffcf40]"Well... To be honest, Nii-chan,"[/color] she began, calming down but still not letting go. P-Progress, right? [color=ffcf40]"I was actually [i]really[/i] hoping I would get to use those gauntlets one day. Like, super hopeful about it."[/color]

[b]"...Is that right?"[/b]

Well, it wasn't as if that didn't make sense. April had always been the one we all agreed took after our mother the most, and not just because she inherited all the height. Though it's tempered with age, I've heard stories of Mom being a similar firebrand who loved brawling when she was younger, and it's not hard to see where all that heat in April's blood comes from.

If you choose to believe it, that is. But it's reflected in Dawn too, if more subtly, and therefore I'm fairly sure it's my only option to believe that the unbelievable woman that was my mother was once a crazy kid too.

[color=ffcf40]"Mm. It's right."[/color] April affirmed, somehow finding space to casually use me as a springboard when she finally let go. What a mind-bendingly understated handspring... Forget martial arts, she even made gymnastics seem like a cakewalk. You're that Ninja...

...Or maybe I'm just stiff, slow, and unathletic.

We [i]are[/i] Huntsmen-to-be.

[color=ffcf40]"I was pretty down when I learned they were headed off to Beacon with you, but I've been making sure not to show it. Whining about your own misfortune isn't justice, right?"[/color]

I blinked, plopping back down into the chair with a thoughtful [b]"hunh"[/b].

[b]"So then, you've been holding out for me to not use them anymore?"[/b]

What kind of plan was that? For someone who could make due with just her fists and semblance, I suppose it was more feasible than it would be for most. 

But even so, she herself admitted that it wasn't going to last her for much longer than it had. If I weren't planning on giving up the gauntlets, where would that have left her aside from shit out of luck?

[color=ffcf40]"Of course not, stupid."[/color] she scoffed. [color=ffcf40]"Like I said, I was beginnin' to think of other options... But none of them would have felt as right as taking up Mama's mantle. So I'm really happy you'll let me, is all."[/color]

[color=00aeef]"Wow, so you guys actually made up? Impressive!"[/color]

I was fairly sure I had [i]not[/i] heard that door open.

In walked two young women, one I instantly recognized and the other I had the vaguely familiar feeling about that, in hindsight, should have told me who she was. Dawn Schwarz was very distinct in her colorful yukata, feminine and subdued demeanor (comparatively [in regards to her sister]), and family resemblance to me, being my little sister and all.

The other was a girl about April's age, maybe a bit older, with dark hair and all the expressiveness of a particularly joyful rendition of the Thinker statue. Very familiar, but I was drawing a blank at the moment with the whirlwind I was going through.

[color=ffcf40]"Oh, Hiya, Dawn an' Galla!"[/color] April chirped in greeting, raising a hand.[color=ffcf40] "Sorry for running off on you guys like that, but I found Nii-chan!"[/color]

[b]"...Hi. I'm Luke."[/b]

I didn't really know what to think or say beyond that. It wasn't like Galla was giving me much to work with...

[color=00aeef]"Aw, drat, I wanted to handle introductions..."[/color] Dawn groused momentarily, before returning to her prim smile. [color=00aeef]"You look well, Onii-chan! In one piece and everything!"[/color]

[b]"Don't say 'in one piece' like that's exceeding expectations. I'm not porcelain."[/b]

[color=00aeef]"Yeah, but like I was telling Galla here, April [i]was[/i] trying to rip your head off..."[/color]

A very poorly, "innocently" whistled tune from my left cued a flat look aside to my bigger sister before I continued to address the littler one. 

[b]"Alright, fair point. And yeah, I am managing, more or less, but the year's just started and it's about to kick in. As in, kick in in full."[/b]

And kick in my teeth.

I refused to delude myself whenever I appraised where I stood in life. And, to speak of appraisal, I shifted in my seat to face the stoic girl alongside my sly little sister, and inclined my head in a small gesture of supplication.

[b]"I'm sorry if they've been dragging you along on their hijinks, Galla. These two don't understand the concepts of 'personal space' or 'leaving well alone', so it's alright to let me know."[/b]

Galla.

GallaGallaGalla.

...Was that [i]Central[/i] Mistralese?

Hm.

I just [i]had[/i] to know the answer to this...

I knew this. I could figure it out.