after the explosion--

[newhire]

[The explosion draws Vivienne out of her lab and-- it's hard to read the expression on her face. It's tense and full of worry, but she's refusing to break down.

But seeing Tsukasa on his knees... she snaps back out of it and gently nudges him, helping him to a secluded area of the school lobby away from the others.

And she gives him a big hug.





...and only then she whispers in the smallest voice.

"Be careful what you express. But... I promise... everything's okay. Trust us."]

Comments

[swordsinternally]

I will. Just... stay safe. Please.

[newhire]

...I won't lie, I'd sacrifice myself before anything bad could happen to Akira.

But... I'm going to stay close to you all and-- close to James.

[Because if there's anyone she's worried about right now, it's that man.]

[swordsinternally]

Thank you.

[ He's very appreciative of it, and it shows in his voice. ] Anyway, I should probably get going. I don't want to stay here too long when I can go help the others. At the very least... I can be a convincing liar for a short time.

[newhire]

...he wasn't initially supposed to be a part of this. I was... going to do it myself. But... I wanted to be able to go with you all... to your final test just... in case.

But I hate hiding things from you all.

Thank you. Tomorrow... Tomorrow we're going to make this school pay for everything it's done.

[swordsinternally]

[ He's groaning because he knows the kind of person he is. Of course he's fucking like this. Of fucking course he is.

God.

He hates this. ]

Yeah, I understand. Everyone might... [...] But you're welcome. You're really important to me, Vivienne. Just as important as everyone else.