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[deputychief]

You've reached Itsuki Koizumi; I will be sure to return messages as promptly as possible.

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[integrous]

[ Now he's just abusing it. Abusing it for sure. But Asahi isn't fast enough to catch onto that while she's embarassed, apparently. Especially not when he's asking it like that, the last thing she wants is for him to misunderstand.. ]

I.. it's more than just fine! It's.. awesome, yeah, awesome! [ the yelling increases along with her embarassment by now though. ] Don't understate my feelings..!

[deputychief]

[Okay okay! He would feel bad if it weren't totally harmless and pretty hilarious. Also, if she's embarrassed, she shouldn't be yelling like that, anyway, right?!

Still, how should he try to calm this from a raging torrent to a more reasonably flowing river that can provide hydroelectric power?

He elects to try putting an arm around her shoulder.]

I'm not. I might be teasing you a bit, Asahi. Don't worry, I don't understate you at all. Or underestimate you.

[integrous]

Don't do that.

[ The teasing, that is -- but even though she doesn't want to be embarassed anymore, it's not like she entirely minds the teasing, hence why she doesn't say anything like 'I hate it'..

And she might just be leaning a little into the hold either way. ]

Not.. too often, at least.

[deputychief]

Not too often... Hm, all right. Once in a while, then.

[His smile finally dims a bit, into a more just-typical expression. It's a fine if crisp day here, and walking like this is especially nice since it's warmer with her next to him. There's nothing like the feeling of being warm when it's cold outside. It's an old thought but a true one.]

Anyway... How have you been doing lately? Did anything of interest happen to you during the recent plant invasion?

[integrous]

I guess nothing too interesting.. [ It's almost as if being this close to him actually makes her a little more quiet - a little more on a normal person's level, at least. Apparently even Asahi (with as obliviously thick-headed as she can be) can sense that being too loud would just not really suit the situation, walking this close to him.. A nagging voice in the back of her head reminds her that people could see them, but after that post it's not like there are people that don't know yet, right? So.. it's.. not embarassing, definitely not..! Just keep telling yourself that.. ]

The animls were pretty nice though, so I tried to buddy it up a little with some of them. Thinking about it, it's probably one of the least bad things that happened here, huh? Since it wasn't that bad at all in the end.

[deputychief]

[And he appreciates that she's not yelling right into his ear. It's better if she gets all the embarrassment out of the way now, right...? Soon she won't think anything of walking around like this. And why should she, after all? Nothing wrong is being done here, Ms. Tsuntsun...]

Yes, I agree. Personally, I thought it best to avoid the situation if possible, but it became clear it was relatively benign. And it is what happens in the end that matters, after all. I hear that some people received presents, apparently in response.

[A smile twitches at the corner of his lips again.] Do you think there are other events that look better in the end? For example, you recall the "hugging" one, I suppose?

[integrous]

[ You can take a tsundere out of the tsun but you can't take the tsun out of a tsundere, okay.. But at least when the conversation is casual and she's this close to him she doesn't seem to tsun as much.

Except then there's the mention of that event. And the faintest eyetwitch, but she tries to shake it off. ]

That one was.. well, not really good either.. [ she grits her teeth just slightly. ] It caused a lot of people embarassment, you know! [ like you, asahi? ] And one of my friends seemed to get super upset about it, forcing something like that on people just.. isn't right.

[deputychief]

Ah, I agree. But there are good aspects to bad things sometimes, aren't there? For different people, an event can be good or bad. Most things can sometimes be both good and bad. And perceptions of it can change, too. In retrospect, I didn't mind hugging you. For example.

In any case... it seems from what they say that that kind of memory may be a lesser concern in the upcoming future.

[integrous]

Yeah, I won't deny that you're right about that, but it doesn't change anything about the fact that the gods are just complete selfish jerks. [ Even though she says it fairly calmly for her standards, there's still an obvious distaste flowing through her words - if a tone could kill...

(also casually ignoring that 'i didn't mind hugging you' up there okay, there's only so much she can handle at once..!!) ]

I'll keep trying to do my best though, no matter what happens. I don't want people who can't fend for themselves becoming the victims of their whims in dragging us here.

[deputychief]

And I won't deny that some of them are. But it's best not to overgeneralize about gods or people, I think.

[He smiles.] Either way, though, I know you wouldn't do anything less than your best in that cause.

[integrous]

Nakama said the same. All of you sure believe in me.. [ But it's a nice feeling, even so. It's just that some part of her still feels guilty over her failure during the darkness event and partially questions herself - can you really do it when it comes down to it?

But in the end, all she can do is try to rise above her insecurities. ]

But it would be pretty sucky if you didn't believe in me, either way. [ turning it into slightly more of a joke. ]

[deputychief]

Of course. [A smile plays about his lips.] It's fortunate that I do, then, because I'm sure it wouldn't be good to lie about it, either.

[He pauses, with a hint of curiosity. It seems to him that she's dwelling on something -- probably the same thing she was dwelling on the last time this came up, which they did discuss. But there's nothing more he can say than what he did then, after all.

Better to just change the subject.]

By the way, Asahi, I met someone a few months ago who said she had a power similar to yours. To see who was 'qualified', she put it, for things. Was that someone you knew by any chance?

[integrous]

.. Oh, that's Koyuki! [ She seems a little surprised - even though technically she shouldn't be, it's only natural for a lot of people to know that girl since.. well, Koyuki is Koyuki.. of course she'd have a lot of friends here. ]

She's my best friend from back home, but.. she disappeared from here a while ago. [ At least that's something she manages to still sound pretty calm over - she's accepted it by now. ] She's a pretty cute girl, isn't she?

[deputychief]

Hm-- yes, as I recall, she is quite cute, though personally I think I prefer other types. [ he turns a smile on her to make it clear what in this case he means, although mercifully he doesn't actually say it out loud. In fact it's true that Sasamori was a bit too Asahina-like for him, at least as he recalls it. He's gotten quite a distrust for the too-sweet too-moe type.]

It's too bad she left, however. Is there anyone else from your home here still?

[integrous]

[ Oh, it's clear alright. And that earns a somewhat embarassed, but genuine small smile in return, even if it's a little more timid than what she usually displays thanks to the embarassment. But it's good to hear it, either way, especially with how she worries about not being like the cute girls and all.. ]

No, there's nobody. [ she sobers up a little at that again. ] Some guy I've known since I was little, Toru, and two other friends, Shinozuka and Nanase.. they all left too. I'm the only one left. [ .. a glance at him-- she never did ask him about this.. ] What about you?

[deputychief]

[gosh he thinks she's a cute girl okay...]

Ah. There was one person who was here before me... he left before I got here, too. It was... surprising, to say the least. Since then, there's been no sign of anyone.

Would that be Nanase Kuga-san, by the way?

[integrous]

[ he thinks it more than she does.. ]

Yeah, Nanase Kug-- wait, you knew her too? [ itsuki's collecting all the iris zero girls, huh.. ] But.. it sucks that you just missed that person by a little bit, geez.

[deputychief]

[you bet he does... what, should he just say it some more out in public then???]

Ah, I spoke to her briefly when she was stuck on a slide in Freya House and had a paper bag on her head. I think I helped her a bit--at least, she was no longer stuck to the slide.

[He tentatively leaves the trolling aspect out.]

As for him... well, I suppose there wouldn't have been much point in it anyway. Technically, we've only known each other for a couple of weeks.

[Technically.] Besides, it's complicated. I suppose it's just as well that none of them are involved here. It would be a complication, even if it would be somewhat ... more familiar.

[Less "lonely." He supposes. That word makes it sound bad, though...]

I think it's probably worse to have had them here and for them to have left. [Another brief squeeze of his arm around her.]

[integrous]

[ it's okay, maybe she'll learn with time.. for now she's fine just walking together like this okay!!

And she's pretty much thinking along with him - mostly that the first part sounds like.. a really.. weird situation-- even if she does remember the slide incident, but she never saw the paper bag part of it, huh.. and then there's a thought about the person from Itsuki's world (for a brief moment she can't help but wonder what he's like, honestly) and to downright call it a complication is a little exaggerated in her mind, but there might be special circumstances she doesn't know about..

And then all those thoughts are interrupted by the squeeze, which prompts a smile that's at first a little small and almost sheepish, but then grows as she shakes her head. ]

No way, it's better this way. At least, I think so. I'm honestly glad for any time I got to spend with them here.. they're my friends, after all. [ .. ] But you're right. It's better for them to not be here, so in that case I'm glad it's just me.

[deputychief]

Ah.

But you wouldn't like to be here either, I suppose, if you had a choice in the matter?

[He asks the question lightly, although it's a rather important one. She's coming from a slightly different place; he also is glad that the SOS Brigade and company aren't here. They would make his self-presentation complicated, they would possibly pose larger problems in this world, and they would be in danger. Only two of them matter to him much in that regard, though. The Organization, on the other hand, might be decidedly useful. In any case, it's only that last reason which he reads in her explanation.

Not that it's really relevant to anything; that question is much more so. His own feelings about Asgard are, he knows, more positive than many, after all.]

[integrous]

[ She goes quiet for a moment - yes, she's seriously overthinking it, but in the end - although you'd almost expect someone like Asahi to agree right away - she shrugs instead. ]

I.. don't mind this place. I like the people here. [ and sliightly more hesitantly-- ] I like the fact that I actually am given a chance by most of them. [ unlike back home - it's all since her power doesn't work here, huh? ] If I never came here, I never would've been able to meet all these people.

[ At that she glances at him - after all, he's one of the major examples of that. Normally she never would've been here in this situation, walking this close to him, she would've missed out on a nice experience.

But on the other hand-- ]

But.. those gods can go suck it! They're the thing that's horrible about this place.

[deputychief]

[He nods seriously enough. This doesn't seem like overthinking to him. It's an important question, one on which their whole existence here kind of comprehends. It is a little unusual for her, but hey. Whatever.]

That's true. It's an eye-opening experience, and it allows us to explore different sides of ourselves. [Like this one.... geeze...] Maybe something we didn't think we'd be doing at home.

[He pauses.]

The gods are individuals, too. I certainly think some of them are malicious and overbearing, at best, but--I wouldn't be so quick to categorize them all in one way, Asahi -- don't you think?

[integrous]

[ .. Huh?

That last bit makes her pause for a moment too, staring sideways at him and looking.. well, genuinely pretty surprised. ]

You mean.. you like some of them? [ of course since it's Asahi she's quick to jump to the opposite conclusion then. ]

[deputychief]

I mean I haven't had enough contact with them to judge them. But some of them certainly seem to deserve some sympathy. As we know, Freyr and Freya are, technically, hostages themselves.

[He says it matter-of-factly but as gently as he can, too.]

But really, in general, the impressions we have had are fleeting, and they are by no means unified.

[integrous]

[ Just because it's gently makes her a little less likely to immediately yell back (and the fact that it's him and this situation helps that, too) so instead she almost awkwardly twirls a lock of hair around a finger. ]

But the gods in general did a lot of awful things to the people here, right? If they were good people, then there's no way any of that would've happened! Even kidnapping people is already bad, but.. if this war is really what they say, then maybe I could find that okay, but some of the other stuff is just inexcusable..!