[center][img]https://s1.postimg.org/pvkcpuza7/fl36r_OW_75.png[/img] ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ [img]https://s2.postimg.org/fvjow1qex/title108419120_295x.png[/img] ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 𝔇𝔦𝔞𝔩𝔬𝔤𝔲𝔢 𝓒𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 || [color=#F50A83]#F50A83[/color] ||| 𝔗𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝓒𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 || [color=#0A8BF5]#0A8BF5 [/color] ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬[/center] Fumika stared in surprise and disbelief. She'd answered the sheep girl - no, Hitomi's question, so she'd expected that she'd just go back to what she'd been doing. But instead, she had simply smiled and said... she wanted to be friends? It didn't make sense. No matter how she looked at it, today was definitely strange. [color=#F50A83]"Friends...? Okay... I like having friends, but... Everyone here is so weird. I'm not doing anything. I'm not even getting in their way. And yet people keep saying they want to be friends with me..."[/color] Fumika murmured to herself. She wasn't a paranoid person by nature, but... Really, how could she be expected to believe something like this? For years, everyone had only reacted to her attempts to communicate with annoyance and disgust, so she'd made a careful policy of meticulously staying out of everyone's way. She was an observer who never interfered, who was never even noticed. That was what she was used to. No, that was what was "normal." And yet, despite not knowing anything about her, and despite the fact that they surely must have realized that she was too stupid to be like them... Fumika's attention seemed to slip, and her eyes began to wander as her focus completely abandoned the conversation she was having. Hitomi might find herself quite confused, watching as Fumika's otherwise placid expression slowly changed into one of intense concentration, her brows furrowing in thought and her lips slowly pursing themselves into a sort of contemplative pout. She thought about it long and hard, and then, suddenly, the answer came to her. Of course, there really was only one obvious conclusion. She was honestly disappointed in herself that she hadn't realized it sooner. It was probably because she'd kept getting distracted. A computer worked best when it was focusing on one problem at a time. She knew that, but she still hadn't focused on finding the answer even when it was right in front of her. Maybe she hadn't wanted to know the reason. Maybe she'd wanted to think that she had changed. But Fumika was a person who operated very heavily based on past precedents, since, after all, she couldn't forget her experiences even if she'd tried. As such, she knew well enough that she wasn't acting any differently now than she normally did. And so, if it wasn't her who had changed, then it was... Of course. It was her environment that was different. This place was a school for heroes, and heroes were supposed to be nice, right? That must have been why nobody had asked her to stop being annoying yet. And the reason why they wanted to be friends wasn't because she was behaving differently, but because heroes were supposed to work together. She'd been thinking about it all wrong. She couldn't just work with herself anymore, and remain an observer who never got in anyone's way. She would [i]have[/i] to work with them, one way or another, so of course they'd try to be friends with her, no matter how awkward it was. She should have realized sooner, should have understood that by distancing herself, she was only further burdening them. It was bad enough to force them to deal with her. By not understanding how much of an inconvenience she was being, she'd only be making it worse. So, then... the right answer... It must have been a balance between what she wanted and what she was familiar with. She needed to make friends with everybody, but stick to just observing and doing what she was told, like she had done when working with Luelle. They wouldn't be mad at her so long as she was useful to them and didn't interfere when she wasn't welcome. That way, she wouldn't drag anyone down like she had during the training exercise when she'd foolishly tried to decide things for herself, either. The optimal path, the path of least resistance, was right in front of her... But it felt wrong, somehow. It didn't make her chest feel warm like it had been when she was with Yoshida. Wait. Now that she thought about it, was there any guarantee that her friendship with Yoshida was any different? He'd seemed happy to see her, had been nothing but nice to her... But now that she thought about it, hadn't he looked kind of strange sometimes? It was like he'd been sad, or angry. And he'd run off during lunch... Was that because she'd been bothering him? Her sister had done things like that sometimes. Fumika hadn't even realized she was causing her trouble, but in retrospect, she'd always taken any chance she could to leave. It wasn't until she'd finally said it that... No. A computer worked best when focused on exactly one problem. There was no time for distraction. Besides, those things... Fumika didn't like thinking about those memories. Any time she remembered, it would only hurt. After Yoshida had returned, he'd even said that she didn't need to follow him around... Haruka had never told her anything like that. She'd always been so excited, always wanted to tell Fumika a new story or teach her a new lesson. Because Fumika was there, Haruka had always seemed more energetic, more happy. She hadn't even had to say anything. Just listening to her talk, just admiring how amazing Haruka was... that much had always been enough. That was what it was really like to have a "friend." Yoshida was cool like Haruka was. He'd praised her, had been nice to her... He'd even smiled when he saw her. But he'd always been the one asking questions. He'd always kept her thinking about things, always tried to make her do or say things, like he was testing her somehow. And then... Since he'd left... Since he'd said those things, didn't that mean he'd realized it too? [center][color=#0A8BF5][i][b]He realized that I'm stupid. I only got in his way. That's why he didn't want to see me. He wants me to leave him alone.[/b][/i][/color][/center] In an instant, Fumika felt something change. Up until that moment, the "wanting" she'd felt had been warm. It was uncomfortable, like a fever, but at the same time, there was something consoling about it, like a warm blanket to keep the chills away. Even if she'd felt as if she was burning up, she wouldn't have wanted to take the "blanket" away, because it was better to be warm than to be shaking in the cold. But now, suddenly, it felt as though her chest was made of lead. It was as if the "blanket" had been stripped away, and an ice pack was shoved against her shivering body. Every part of her being screamed at her, told her that this situation was wrong, that something needed to be different, that this couldn't be right. But how could it be wrong? It was just like it always was. The only difference now was that she'd learned her lesson since last time - that she'd managed to realize her mistake before it was too late. She should have been happy, or relieved. After all, she'd figured out all the right answers, and had finally determined how best to go about her life without bothering others. This was it. This was the path of least resistance. And yet, even though she knew that, still the feeling didn't go away. She shook her head, rubbing her bangs against her cheeks to try to banish the thought. It wasn't entirely successful. Even when she didn't think about it, the strange feeling didn't go away. It still hurt. It still... Conversation. She'd been having a conversation. But the teacher looked like he was about to start talking... [color=#F50A83]"Sorry. I thought too much,"[/color] Fumika apologized cryptically, then immediately silenced herself, hardly even looking at the girl next to her. It was fine, though, because Hitomi probably wouldn't care so long as she wasn't saying or doing anything to make a nuisance of herself. It was best this way. This was the best course of action. She didn't need to think about it, didn't need to question it. All she needed to do was... The teacher finished his introduction, and asked them to explain what they could do. Instructions. She could follow instructions. That was easy. That wouldn't bother anyone. She waited until most of the others had finished talking, and then, seeing that nobody else was standing up, reasoned that it must have been her turn. So, she stood up, and did as she'd been told. [color=#F50A83]"My name is Motome Fumika,"[/color] She began, giving the exact same introduction with the exact same emphasis as she had when Hitomi asked her name. [color=#F50A83]"Whenever I look at something, I can record it and store it in my hair. Then my body can generate a copy of anything I saved, and make it do what it was doing when I looked at it. I can also copy myself based on what I remember, which is everything. Well, everything since I had hair."[/color] She reached out a hand to demonstrate, and her eyes flashed green as her hair sparked to life, sticking up for just a moment, a thin shell of "dust" splitting off from the surface of her skin and forming itself into what appeared to be a baby wrapped in a blanket, which she caught and held up. It was rather plump, and one could just barely make out a few faint golden strands atop its head, like the fuzz on the surface of a peach. It appeared to be squeezing a rather plush stuffed rabbit, its face half buried in the toy's fuzz. [color=#F50A83]"This is me from my first birthday. It's one of my earliest memories. I remember everything after that."[/color] The baby vanished into blue light, and Fumika's eyes returned to their normal azure hue, her hair flopping limply back down around her face. She took a deep breath, rubbing her eyes before pushing up her glasses and continuing again. [color=#F50A83]"I'm not sure what else it's good for, but it can be used to rescue people. Like, when the roof collapses, I can make things to hold it up. Oh... but then I got trapped, so maybe that's not a good example... Anyway... I think Yoshida called it a video camera?"[/color] She trailed off, realizing what she'd just said as her former train of thought came back unbidden, and her chest clenched in an odd sort of pain. She should have known, should have- No. No more. A computer worked best addressing one problem at a time. She had her instructions, she'd finished introducing herself. Thinking now would be an inconvenience. So, she stopped thinking, and did as she remembered. [color=#F50A83]"Anyway, it's nice to meet you."[/color] She bowed, sat down, and then returned to silence, trying desperately to focus only on the lecture even though the pain in the back of her mind still wouldn't go away. But this was the right choice. If it meant that she wouldn't bother someone as nice as Yoshida, then... ...Then why did it still hurt?