Description: Following his discussion with Hotaru, and a worried meeting with Daigo, Raizo Imawano searches out one of Southtown's other premier fighters, the Taiyo grad Sakura Kasugano, to appraise her of the situation...and hopefully learn just how much she already knows.
Saturday afternoon on a nice, lazy day. Sakura has had a lot on her mind lately, mostly with regards to Hotaru. Sakura's faced similar issues to Hotaru's current conundrum over her development as a fighter -- when to fight with one's all, when not to -- and it's even bothered her in more recent contexts. But never has it really been quite as clear-cut as with that new power Hotaru's been wielding lately. It's just =wrong=, she can't explain it, but it is!
You'd never be able to tell there was a care in the world just by watching the college freshman stroll through the park though -- iPod earbuds dangling from her ears, a cheerful gait, and a sunny smile look right at home amongst the other spaced-out park-goers.
Does she have an agenda? Probably not -- she's just now leaving the Seijyun campus, but not in any great hurry.
Ah, but not everyone in the park is so blissfully able to fritter away the time! /Some/ people have children to eat.
Which is to say, talk to.
There are those Raizo Imawano would greet with a laugh, a bellowed "I have you now!" and then a leaping thrust punch, or at least a crushing bear hug. But, alas, the great bear-principal of Justice High doesn't feel himself on quite good enough terms with young Sakura to get away with an entry like that, which is why he emerges from /behind/ a tree, rather than descending from above with a terrifying bear-spec Rider Kick.
He's dressed about as usual, with the tan suit and white shirt and red tie and the slightly terrifying monstrous face, but he's smiling as he steps out from behind a tree some distance ahead, and waves to Sakura to get her attention. iPods. His eternal nemesis.
Yeah, Sakura would probably respond very very VERY violently to that kind of a surprise, especially in the middle of 'That's What You Get' -- which itself would be rather ironic, really. As it is, though, the hoodie-clad warrior maiden is only partially paying attention to her surroundings, so even the eagle-eyed martial artist takes a moment to separate the ursine Justice High administrator from the surrounding natureland. "... hm?" she mumbles in detachment narrowing her eyes to focus on the figure. "Oh," she comments to herself, her happy-go-lucky smile replaced with one a bit more cheerful. "Heeey, how's it going, Mr. I?" she calls out, twiddling her fingers in a wave as she jogs to cover the ground between the two. "Do you -normally- visit the park all dressed up in your Sunday best?" It's a social environment, so she can be a bit more relaxed than in a school setting, right?
Raizo's grin doesn't abate. When Sakura's in earshot, he lowers his arms, stepping away from the tree and approaching at a steady walk. He's about to answer her question when she asks her second, and he looks down at his attire. Her smirks. "Only sometimes, Miss Kasugano. Mostly when I have just come from a meeting with your lovely chancellor."
Someday, the image of her eyes burning in the darkness will go away enough for him to sleep at night.
Of course, administrative business isn't the /only/ reason Raizo came by today. He's wanted to speak with Sakura again for some time; it has been a while since he and the young woman had spoken, enough time for quite a bit to transpire. It is time to, at the very least, catch up. But, there's time enough for that: Raizo doesn't cut to the chase just yet, instead offering, "Otherwise, things are going well enough. Nothing particularly troublesome at Justice for some time, aside from Hyo gallavanting off to who knows where."
Sakura realizes once Raizo begins talking that she hadn't quite shut her music off yet. She hits her pause button about the same time Raizo says her name, and nods with a conspiratory grin. "Yeah, I can see why, there..." If there's one =bad= thing about going to this school, it's the artificial formality -- distasteful, but a necessary evil for a teacher-in-training to get used to.
"... Hyo? Oh... heh, I guess he does that. Both him /and/ Kurow have been kinda quiet lately, yeah..." Kasugano, still grinning, doesn't seem -overly- concerned about that -- if they're plotting something, she figures it would make itself obvious in due time.
Or maybe this =is= due time. She passes Raizo a skeptical look for a moment, as if she were -about- to ask something...
Ah, hell, she does it anyway. What's to lose, aside from being treated to a couple complimentary bear claws? "Did you hear they were up to something? I haven't come across anything recently, anyway..." Well, really, Kurow was the reason for their =last= discussion, right? Sakura can't think of anything else the principal would want to involve himself in, at the moment...
Raizo monitors Sakura's words, thoughtful. She doesn't trust...hmmm, well, that's not a surprise, is it? "Hyo...I don't blame you for distrusting him, but I am for the moment allowing the boy a long leash," he admits. "With any luck, Mugen's work has already been thoroughly undone. If we aren't that fortunate, there is always Plan B." The latter probably involves calling down a posse of Daigo, Sakura, Kyosuke and everyone else he can think of to punch Hyo until he explodes. That's pretty much the Imawano MO: First, fairly subtle; second, incredibly obvious.
The principal chuckles, and adds, "As for Kurow...well. We did speak about him at some length, before, didn't we? I doubt he'll be a problem, for a while. He's...occupied." Heh heh.
The Principal looks past Sakura a moment, pondering the school beyond, and then turns toward the college freshman again, wondering, "How have things with you been? There isn't much to report from Justice. I did have Billy Kane drop by my office the other day, which was... ...interesting." They're still trying to get the scorch marks off the ceiling.
"Mmm. I still talk with Kyosuke every now and then, but... yeah." She smiles faintly at the suggestion of a Plan B, and from the pounding of her fist into her palm, it's quite clear she's onboard with that plan!
As for Subject B, well, Sakura's got every reason to have a hate-on for Kurow now. She didn't like him much before, and she =really= doesn't trust him now. ... On the other hand, well...
AHEM, MOVING ON. She coughs lightly into her fist, nodding slowly. "Oh, uh... okay! That's good! As long as he's not out making trouble..."
She glances back towards the school when Raizo does, but finding nothing interesting there, she looks back at him owlishly. "Billy Kane? Man... guess everything went okay there?" She chuckles, not really knowing if she'll get an answer there, and adds, "But yeah, everything's pretty peachy here in Seijyun! ... Mostly, anyway. Lot of people here seem to think I'm inbred sewer trash an' shouldn't be allowed to even set foot in this place, but I'm trying to fit in." With a confident smile, she adds, "Wearin' my Sunday best five days of the week, anyway! The rest of the week's mine!" Therein lie the advantages of the university over the high school...
"Oh, he blew up my chair," Raizo says, with a slightly theatrical sigh. "I'm afraid I'm the one who punched my desk to flinders, though. It was due for a replacement anyway. Amazing the old girl survived that visit by the elder Kusanagi, really. And apparently now I have to speak with Geese Howard about a possible donation."
His tone suggests he is not looking forward to this meeting.
Raizo then frowns, just a little, at Sakura's assessment of the other students' views of her. "Not surprising," he admits. "It is Seijyun's image. Many put a tiresome amount of emphasis on appearances." He tugs at the lapels of his jacket, as if to emphasize the problem goes as high as the administrator he just met with. Then he offers that big bear grin, and adds, "But I'm sure you'll show them what Taiyo Spirit can accomplish, hmm? You're more than qualified for such an institution. Things will work out, in time."
Then he looks past Sakura again, back toward the school, his face growing just slightly troubled. "I was at Seijyun's high-school section, just the other day, in fact. They've had a student who's been proving...troublesome, for their administration." Yes. Troublesome. That's one word for it.
"... Huh. Nice guy!" Kasugano flashes the administrator a smirk at his description of Billy's visit. She can piece together a rough-cut of the scene from his description, and nods slowly. ... What he had to do with Billy, though, who knows. Not really her place to ask!
"... Mmm, I don't really =mind= it, or else I wouldn't have come here! I just mean that they get fussy at me for not being prim and proper when I'm actually being more prim and proper than they are, y'know?" ... It's a moment later that Sakura realizes she's not being the best example of 'prim and proper' =right now=, and she self-consciously coughs into a balled fist. "I mean, I can be, if I'm trying, y'know? It just takes the right mindset, kinda like, uh... fighting!"
Still, Sakura appreciates the elder's big bear grin. It's the main reason she's talking so informally, really: even though he's a principal, he's still talking with her as more of an equal than a student. She'd prefer to talk like that with =her= students, when and if she gets her credentials...
She'd muse on that further, but Raizo's lead-in to another conversation seems... intriguing. Even though she has no idea what could interest the Justice president so. In typical fashion, Kasugano makes her best educated guess.
"Huh... Zaki? She's got her own little fanclub on campus, sure, but she's, y'know, =good= at stuff... why, has she been gettin' more stuff started?"
Raizo goes out of his way to treat students as, roughly, equals. His appearance is so very intimidating, from the simple fact that he is more than six feet tall and almost as wide across, to his animalistic feature and growling voice...offering them kindness is often the best way to keep them from panicking and calling animal control. It is a lesson Raizo learned long ago, that charisma, that /trick/ to dealing with others with a body like his. It's paid off well; Project Justice certainly isn't a cheap thing to operate, after all. Raizo is having to work would-be donors regularly.
"Oh, I wish it were Miss Himezaki," Raizo murmurs. "I would've /expected/ it, from her. No, no - I believe it's a young woman of your acquaintance, actually. She's mentioned you to me, anyway."
His eyes narrow, thoughtfully, troubled by a remembered conversation and the implications of it ever occurring. "Young Miss Futaba," he admits.
Sakura has a strong tendency to stick with her first impression of someone -- and Raizo's first impression wasn't all that special. Being that he was brainwashed. Her second impression, though, was of him as a pretty swell guy, so that stuck. Thankfully. And she's responding in kind!
It's not Zaki, though? "Huh, really...?" There's =another= problem student at Seijyun? Well who could it--
=Oh=. The answer was right in front of her all along. Her problem is Raizo's problem too? "... Oh." Kasugano frowns quite emphatically, folding her arms behind her back and starting to pace. "I should've guessed I wasn't the only one noticing, heh..." she admits, looking down at the ground. "It's her, uh... change of attitude, and the powers, right? She said someone named Marise gave them to her, showed her how to use it, said it'd make her strong."
Kasugano looks back up at Raizo, still half-frowning, with a raised eyebrow. "Name doesn't ring a bell, does it? I couldn't find any data on her... 'course, I'm not sure if I'm spelling the name right in Google..."
"Marise..." Raizo mumbles. Well, the light-hearted talk can't last forever, not with a situation like this in the air. The old man crosses his massive arms, staring off into the middle distance. "No, I don't know the name. Not surprising." He gives Sakura a mirthless smile, supplying, "If I knew everything, life wouldn't be nearly as interesting. Still...attacks like that, I imagine they're in the Imawano lore somewhere. I'll check, but I can't guarantee I'll find anything. The archives I have left are...fragmented." Well, of course. Raizo has salvaged some of the Imawano records, but there's only so much a man on the run can do.
He frowns. "Those techniques are what trouble me most. Vile, vile energies. I've never felt their touch, but just /watching/..." A shake of his great head. "My clan dealt extensively with techniques of that sort, Miss Kasugano, and I assure you...nothing good can come of her using them."
He taps his elbow, thoughtful. "Nothing good at all."
Foo. Kasugano was hoping the elder would know of the name. She would ask her geeky brother to look into the matter for her if not for her own pride, but... right now, she's got nothin'. Maybe if her studies allow, she'll do a bit more research...
"Huh, really? I... yeah, like I was telling Hotaru, she, uh... well, you know, my master told me to stay away from attacks like that." Scratching the back of her neck, she leans off to one side, momentarily lost in thought. Looking down for a moment, she states in a quieter, ashamed voice, "... And heck, even when Shadaloo had me under their spell, their powers still didn't /hurt/ me half as bad as Hotaru's trick hurts her."
Stuffing her hands in her pockets, she looks up at those words. "Oh, yeah. It's no good. She managed to hit me in the chest a week or so ago. I'm still hurtin'. It's... it's hard to describe, y'know..." She thinks on this for a moment, then gives Raizo a wry smile: "'It really hurts when I chi!' or something..." She acknowledges that is =far= from the best phrasing with a weak chuckle. "Like it's... poison somehow. She'll cripple herself if she keeps this up, and I told her so."
Kasugano looks back towards this school; apparently Raizo's behavior is contagious. "She told me she'd stop, and then she went off and did it again like a moron..." Her mouth turns into a notable frown, at this: she's quite irritated at her friend. "How can she be so stupid?"
Raizo listens...and as he does his lip curls up just slightly at the news of how the attack works. "Recruitment tactic," he mutters. "Or...probably, anyway. A promise of power that turns on the student - inspiring the student to return for further tutelage. There's probably some fatal flaw in how she's performing the attack right now. Correcting it will no doubt increase the power of the attack, or lead into some permanent alteration of the way her body processes chi, enabling her to pull on even more powerful energy. But..." He shakes his head. "If she went for such tutelage - received it, that is, if she was fully trained in its use..."
His frown deepens. "We would probably have to count her as lost. By that point, the moral and chi corruption would be so complete that she would be little better than Kurow. A smiling face hiding a monster-child...but, when I spoke to her, she seemed fully cognizant that what she did was wrong. That's good."
He looks up at Sakura. "As long as there's still a sign that she is repentant, we must not give up hope. I told her a few things...she told me she would not use it again, as well. If she'd already given you the same promise...there is that possibility that the technique is physically addictive...or slightly aware. There are some truly vile abilities whose very knowledge can rise up and strike at the mind while it is weakest. Some can even perform themselves, regardless of the user's will."
He hums, eyes narrowing slightly as he thinks. "Either way...I doubt it was entirely of her own volition that she did it again. She will need you and her other friends, Miss Kasugano. I have guided her, told her things that will help her to resist, but...one person's will, particularly degraded by a force as vile as the one assaulting Hotaru, may not be enough."
"Mmm... yeah, I guess. This Marise person probably told her exactly what she wanted to hear, and offered the solution." Thinking on that a moment, she covers her mouth for a brief snicker. "Come to think of it, I can't see Hotaru holding her own against door-to-door salesmen all too well..." In Sakura's estimation, Hotaru was a bit too... accomodating. Having the power at her fingertips is a form of empowerment, a way for her to assert herself. There =are= other ways, but as Sakura had told her before... this power is a cheap shortcut to a more proper form of communication, nothing more.
"Yeah, totally..." she agrees, to the notion that Hotaru would be lost. "My master warned me about... someone. He had practiced so much, learned so many killer techniques, so many ways to destroy, kill, maim... just out of the sheer evil in his heart. His power and his hatred just... fed off each other, right? And whenever I see Hotaru doing that... I just can't help thinking that..." Kasugano shakes her head. She's quick to anger, and almost as quick to cheerfulness... but true sadness doesn't visit her face often. It's here now, tugging down at the corners of her lips.
"She... she =can't= stop herself." She looks back up to Raizo, still visibly agitated. "I know it's not her doing it, not entirely... but she looks me straight in the eye and tells me she won't do it again. I believe her, like I believed her, trusted her lots of times before." She looks down for a moment... but when she looks up again, it's with a sardonic half-smile. "Can't you guys just, y'know, fiddle with her mind and make her -not- want to attack people with it?" Chuckling, she adds, "Hehe, like that stuff is ever permanent..."
Looking back towards the school, she adds, "I'unno. Seriously, I ... I don't know what to do, other'n just stand by her side and slap her hand with a rolled-up newspaper whenever she tries usin' it. It feels that way, y'know?"
"I could," Raizo says, plainly. Was she expecting an answer like that? Raizo is giving her a very serious look, now - he is admitting to her honestly his position, the options at his disposal. "It would not be difficult. Imawano mind control - the very techniques Hyo used years ago - specializes in things like that, neutering evil through control where neutering it through force and more constructive means have failed. Utter brainwashing is relatively fragile, of course...but something like this?" He shakes his head, wrinkling his nose dismissively. "No. It would be all too easy."
He closes his eyes, frowning. "But that is itself the evil technique of the Imawano, MIss Kasugano. That temptation to subjugate the will...it takes strength, to remember the sanctity of a person's freedom. I could save her from this with the Imawano techniques passed down to me, yes. But what sort of man would I be, if I did so? No..."
He sighs, quietly, and then reopens his eyes, matching Sakura's. "No, this is a challenge Hotaru must face on her own. I have faith that she will become a great force for good, someday. She must overcome this on her own strength, if she is to glimpse her true potential."
He watches for a moment. Sakura is so sad - torn up by her friend's decay, her weakness. He nods, smiling a sad little smile. "Your friends are the blade of justice, Miss Kasugano. That is what I told Hotaru, and I think you could do with hearing it as well. She has courage, now. She has seen that what she did was wrong, and I hope with my discussion with her, has the fortitude to resist the temptation. But I believe that what she needs now is not the...hah, the rolled-up newspaper. She will need a friend willing to give her a solid whack, if she needs it - if that technique seizes her will, overcomes her strength, you or another will need to stop her."
He uncrosses his arms, holding them outward expansively. "But she will also need a hand to hold. The greatest thing you can do now is be there for her. This is a challenge she must overcome with her own strength...but a person's strength includes the strength of their friends."
Kasugano wasn't expecting Raizo to assent so /quickly/ to her joking request to fix Hotaru and make her better... but she is glad he couched his response with the explanation of why he =wouldn't= do such a thing. At least in that regard, she's pleased that she's on the same wavelength as the monocled administrator. "Heh, yeah... nothing's ever that easy. Besides, even if it =did= work, what's to say this Marise person wouldn't undo it?" She nods slowly with Raizo, flashing a bittersweet smile at him.
Yes... she's sad. Her fingers clench into tight fists, out of worry, not aggression. And when she hears that she and Hotaru, and others, are the 'blade of justice'... well, that causes a noticeable shift in her temperament. She turns up towards Raizo with an inquisitive look, apparently emboldened by the honorable metaphor, listening as he ascribes a cure for the beleaguered patient. "Y...yeah. I need to stand by her, definitely..." Sakura already -had- been there to toss down thunder, and give her that solid whack...
But what she'd been missing was the compassion. She had come across very heavy-handedly -- and why not? It's how her master had talked to her, she'd =needed= discipline. But Hotaru is very different -- she =would= help door-to-door salesmen, due to her overabundant compassion. She needs to realize that it's not that her =desires= are not wrong, it's the way she goes about achieving them. She needs, as Raizo says, that hand to hold. Sakura's been through it herself -- especially when she was with Shadaloo -- and she can help.
"R-right..." she stammers, snapping out of her reverie. Raizo's making her think, and it's not often she can think and talk at the same time. Chalk it up to her tomboyishness, if you must! "I'll... stand by her. Let her know I'm there for her when she needs me." She smiles -- weakly at first, but a bit more brightly as she realizes that this is something she can pull off if she tries. "Okay, yeah." She's so happy all of a sudden, she almost breaks out into laughter. "Thanks for talking with me! I wasn't sure anyone else would even... know what I'm talking about with Hotaru. I'm glad I'm not the only one who knows the score!"
Raizo doesn't prompt Sakura more - the girl's thinking, and some people need that time. Especially during hard times like these, allowing people the time to reach their own conclusions properly is necessary. He merely grins, and offers a pleasant, "You're quite welcome, Miss Kasugano. Please, don't hesitate to come to me if you do have need of my help. I believe this is a challenge you, Hotaru...all of you, are more than capable of handling on your own, but if you need my assistance, or my advice, my door will always be open." Provided Saishu hasn't set it on fire again. Jerk.
He gives her that big friendly bear grin again, and says, "You young people are the future, Miss Kasugano. I'm sure you've heard old men like me tell you that time and again...but it is true. If you believe in yourself and your companions, the world cannot help but improve."
But even whiel Sakura exults, there is something else on that great big face of Raizo's. He doesn't speak of it, merely looking past her again toward Seijyun, thoughtful. Daigo gave him news. He should tell Sakura - she deserves to know. She could be in danger.
But he'd feel pretty terrible for ruining her mood, too. For the moment, he allows her to work herself up.
"Oh, definitely!" assents Sakura, nodding her head enthusiastically. "Thanks!"
But ... as Raizo compliments her and her generation, the Ansatsuken Angel can't help but show a little bashfulness, smiling weakly and scuffing the grass with her foot. "I'm tryin' my best, I know that much. I'm really looking forward to teaching kids the same kind of wisdom folks like you give /me/ all the time." She stuffs her hands back into her pockets, clearly more relaxed than she had been earlier in the conversation.
Once again, Raizo looks towards Seijyun... and now, Sakura looks towards the school at the same time. It's infected her, noooooooooooooooooooooooo "Y'know, I used to be pretty terrified of you!" she says to break the silence, "but you're alright!" Seeing nothing new over there in Seijyun, she looks back to Raizo with a grin. An /expectant/ grin -- because while she may not know he has something else to say... he hasn't said goodbye yet. And she doesn't really have any place to be at the moment.
Raizo watches the school for a moment, thinking.
They're coming. Daigo said as such - they are coming, coming for the students. The students need to be allowed to learn their own lessons, to be sure, but Raizo is nonetheless their overseer. He cannot protect every school in Southtown, but even with Justice mostly off the targets list...he needs to do something. Keeping that information to himself is unacceptable. Keeping secrets is important, but being afraid to divulge them when the time is right is madness. Let the old men on the mountains sit on their lore, collecting dusty tomes never opened in five millenia. Raizo has lives to protect.
It's getting harder. But then...perhaps, that was inevitable. Project Justice was a lofty goal. He had to see it through.
His eyes travel back down, even those his face is still pointed upward. "I try to be, Miss Kasugano. With what I've done, and the way I look, it's important to try and let people see I don't mean them harm."
Then, he sighs, deflating slightly. "Unfortunately..." he murmurs, turning to face Sakura more fully. He's more serious, now. Yet another bombshell, loaded and primed. "Daigo Kazama came to me the other day. He gave me news I think you should hear."
Sakura knew the man had /something/ else to tell her... but what? So she's already looking over his expression, trying to ascertain just what the grizzled administrator could be contemplating.
She smiles at the belated acknowledgement of her compliment, hands shuffling about in her hoodie's voluminous pockets. It's good to give honest compliments!
... but why's he sad all of a sudden? Oh right, that 'something else'. "... Daigo? He's a good friend of mine... mostly. What's he after?" And, more importantly in Sakura's mind, why would he tell -Raizo- something and not her?
Perhaps he merely didn't have the time. Raizo doesn't know about /that/, but: "Roberto Miura apparently went to him...some time ago, I do not know how long," Raizo says, shaking his head. "I imagine recently. Apparently there is someone attacking students of the Southtown high schools. The targets are..." A deeper frown, then: "...people who participated in the situation in Thailand."
He gives her a deep, troubled frown. "I doubt I need to spell out the possible implications. I'm sorry to ruin the mood, but I couldn't leave without telling you."
Kasugano was worried as soon as Raizo had brought up Daigo in less-than-cheerful tones. Brow furrowed in perplexion, she nods slowly as he speaks. ... But when the connection is made to Thailand, she frowns even more.
"... Thailand? But... there's nothing l-" Kasugano pauses for a moment, then considers who of the Thailand operation is still around. Sagat, yes... he's dissociated himself from it all. For one moment, she thinks aloud, "Kurow's still..." But she shakes her head afterward, letting the thought progression complete. Vega has been destroyed, as completely and utterly as Gill was. Bison had left almost immediately after Sakura was drafted. Cammy left the force, and was instrumental in her recovery. And that Chao person most likely left really early.
So who does that leave? Sakura looks up, her face forged of cold seriousness. "... Were the attackers girls, um... about my age or less? Or do you know?" Her mood's been broken, sure, but she doesn't put much thought into it -- her moods are extremely short-lived as it is.
Raizo watches Sakura's reactions. His face is serious, but his mind is buzzing. She completely does not believe it. Of course, Raizo has no idea - Daigo seems to think it's possible, as does Roberto. He wants to believe she's right, but Raizo knows perfectly well how hard it is to stamp out an organization like the one that attacked Thailand. Thrust back into the darkness, certainly. Its leadership decapitated, its resources destroyed, sure...but they always seem to come back.
He doesn't tell her this. Perhaps she knows already, that someday that darkness, or one very similar, will return. For now, he merely answers her question: "Daigo didn't say. He may not have known. Roberto would know more, he was apparently among those attacked."
Another moment to think, and then Raizo puffs breath out his lips, an annoyed, troubled sound. "I want to believe you're right, Miss Kasugano," he says. "It would be kind, for such an evil to leave this world." Which is why he doesn't think it happened, but: "Either way, it seems someone is taking action. I will be monitoring the situation as well as I can, but...unfortunately, my knowledge of what I'm dealing with is limited."
"N-no, it's not that, I just..." Kasugano shakes her head from side-to-side -- on the contrary, she =does= believe Raizo's story, and Daigo's warning. It's just something she's fought to ignore, to push out of her mind, a sweet, believable lie she'd been using to lull herself to sleep each night. It's over, Sakura, there's nothing more to see here...
No, her speaking aloud isn't an indication that she believes those words -- just a -desire- to believe. "I'll talk with Roberto, then... I've been needing to visit him anyway." She smiles tightly, nodding her head.
Pulling her hands out of her pockets, she gives the administrator a formal bow. "Thanks for coming to visit me, today, Mr. I." And an informal statement! "I really appreciate it!" There's more she could say, but she doesn't want to frustrate him with more babbling!
The Principal of Justice nods, slowly, at Kasugano's words. She understands. Good. If she were too adamant in the belief that they were gone, it'd be a problem later. As cold as it may seem...well, sometimes cold is necessary, in Raizo's estimation.
"Yes," he says. "I may need to speak with him, as well. Daigo...believes that it may come to the point where the schools must be united against this. Given I haven't seen a lot of this yet, we probably have time yet. The possibility exists, but it's also quite possible the boys are mistaken."
He shrugs. "Either way...I felt you would want to know now, early in the going, given your experiences."
He smiles, grimly, returning an appropriate bow to the teacher-in-training. "Never a problem, Miss Kasugano. I do enjoy checking in on promising students from across the schools. I'm afraid I need to take care of some things, but we can talk again soon. As I said, please, do come by if ever you need advice or assistance."
He turns, after another moment, beginning to move away...but stopping, just long enough to turn back and offer Sakura a grin. "I look forward to your progress in the program, Miss Kasugano. You have potential."
Well, well! She came here lost about how she should be helping Hotaru; now she not only has her path marked, but she has a second mission to look into as well! So much for the schoolgirl feeling a lack of purpose... now she has something serious to think about instead of her schoolwork!
This is good thing, really.
Kasugano nods back. She was rash and impetuous when she started this whole 'fighting' thing, even throughout the Justice High incident... but experience has taught her to be calmer, and more reasoned. "Oh, yeah, better safe than sorry, right?" She returns an eager smile to the stately principal!
"Will do!" she announces in response to his request to be saved from the banal drudgeries of paperwork at some point in the future. And when he turns, she starts walking off as well -- pausing only to smile back at the principal, bowing her head once more. "Thanks! I hope I can make you proud!" And with that... she starts jogging off, presumably to go visit her friend Roberto! (But not before turning her iPod back on...)
Log created on 15:58:37 04/05/2008 by Raizo, and last modified on 03:50:41 04/07/2008.