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Post by zuyuri on Aug 25, 2022 4:40:40 GMT
Zuko’s stomach gurgled as he sat down with his lunch tray. Exercise was said to make people hungrier, and if that was true, he was feeling the pangs. He couldn’t complain about the food. He had eaten far worse in his time. He picked up the clementine and began peeling it, but as he did, he thought of the moisture from the fountain and that strange rock creature he and Ruby took down. Had anyone else had a similar encounter?
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Aug 26, 2022 22:49:59 GMT
"And I was just about to start knocking heads, but they practically ran off after that," Utena said with a grin. "Load of cowards, that's what I say.
"Sounds like you've been saving a lot of people from bullies lately," Bella commented. "Are you okay with a Knight in Shining Armor reputation?"
"Why not? I think it sounds cool," Utena replied. "And it's not like I do a whole lot. Most of these jerks are all talk, no walk."
Bella didn't say anything as some mashed potatoes got plopped onto her tray, but she worried about Utena's savior complex sometimes. It was bound to put a target on her back sooner or later. However, she got distracted when she saw a familiar face sitting by himself at a table near the back of the cafeteria.
"Bella? Hello? Earth to Bella?" Utena waved a hand in front of her sister's face until she saw who she was looking at. "Who's that? Friend of yours?"
"Yeah, Zuko," Bella replied.
"Oh, right. Isn't the one with the scar?" Utena had been hearing quite a bit about the friends Bella had been making recently.
"Don't bring it up, he's probably self conscious about it," Bella warned.
"If you say so," Utena said with a shrug. "I think it's pretty gnarly. Let's go sit with him."
"Whoa, slow down!" Bella called, hurrying to catch up with her sister, who was confidently striding over to Zuko's table.
"Hey there," she said. "Mind if we join you?"
"Hey Zuko," Bella greeted over Utena's shoulder. "This is my sister, Utena."
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Post by zuyuri on Aug 27, 2022 2:31:52 GMT
Zuko heard footsteps rushing over, and fight it flight instincts put him on edge. He wouldn’t fight. Not unless someone threw the first hit. But as she set his fork laden with mashed potatoes down, he saw a familiar flash of pink hair. Bella? He hadn’t seen her in a long time. No, that wasn’t Bella. Her face was far too tough to be so. But then Bella appeared behind the newcomer, and he relaxed. They both asked him to sit, and he gestured to the empty seats around him. “Make yourselves at home.” He looked over at Utena. “Bella mentioned you, and it’s good to put a name to a face.”
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Aug 27, 2022 23:01:47 GMT
"Thanks," Utena said, grinning again before she sat down. At least this guy was polite. He didn't seem as stony as her sister had described though. Maybe it was because Bella herself was here and he was more relaxed around a familiar face.
"How have you been?" Bella asked as she sat down as well. "It seems like a lot has happened over the past few weeks." On top of classes getting into full swing, there was always something going on in the city, what with monsters running around or a villain trying to pull off a heist. People were still talking about the cinderblocks that had been running around, mostly because so many students had gotten involved in stopping them. Nothing like that had really been pulled off by a bunch of kids for a long time.
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Post by zuyuri on Aug 28, 2022 2:34:19 GMT
“Yeah. Lots.”
Classes, customers, oh, and apparently stone face monsters running amok. The fountain in town had taken collateral damage from his and Ruby’s fight. We’re there more baddies like that thing running amok? Had Bella and Utena run into a few. Well, best not jump to conclusions. Better than making an assumption.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Aug 28, 2022 19:38:18 GMT
Zuko's response was brief. Maybe he was stressed out? Utena couldn't tell if it was that or he just always looked that way.
"I'm sure things will settle down," Bella said optimistically. "If it gets hectic around here, it doesn't last for too long."
"Eh, sometimes quiet also means boring," Utena said with a pout. "I like some excitement every once in a while." Yeah, the cinderblock thing from a while back had been a little scary and they'd done some damage, but Utena was still riding the high of taking one down with Bella and Riku. She felt like if anything like that happened again, she could handle it no problem.
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Post by zuyuri on Aug 28, 2022 21:43:28 GMT
Zuko swallowed his bite of food and listened to the twins. Utena expressed disdain for a lack of excitement. Bella, on the other hand, wanted some peace and quiet. "I see both sides of the argument," he said. "A little quiet is nice, but after a while, having nothing to do can get pretty boring." He felt that dull roar sometimes at work. On days when the cafe was completely dead, it was hard not to turn on the news and see what crimes could be stopped or helped by heroes at the ready.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Aug 30, 2022 0:11:22 GMT
"See? He gets it," Utena said. "Although I guess I need a quiet afternoon every once in a while too. Sometimes you just gotta take a leisurely walk or watch some TV, you know?"
"Guess we better enjoy it while we can, the school's probably going to start flinging events at us left and right now that people have been settled in," Bella brought up. "Get ready for pep rallies, fundraisers, and dances soon," she said to Zuko. Stuff like that was okay, but she preferred to stay on the sidelines rather than be the center of attention.
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Post by zuyuri on Aug 30, 2022 0:28:10 GMT
Zuko immediately felt his stomach drop. Right. Schools weren’t about perfecting heroism no matter how much he focused on that. He didn’t like the thought of being swarmed around people during pep rallies. Maybe it was time to invest in ear pieces to give the impression he was there, but deep down not caring about being in the cluster. Dances? He’d rather chew aluminum. Watching games? Boring. Zuko had never seen the appeal of big social interactions. Well, correction. A long time ago he had been, but that interest was burned away long ago.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Aug 31, 2022 1:51:33 GMT
Was it just Bella, or did Zuko's face get a little green? And it didn't look like it was from the school food. Did he hate social stuff as much as she did? Maybe she should say something upbeat and try to get rid of the "doom and gloom" looks on his face.
"There's other stuff that's, uh, more laid back too," she quickly added. "The school tried an art gallery last year where students could show off their work and that was pretty neat. They might do that again." She'd dragged Utena to that event last year. She'd like it, although her sister had questioned some of the more "creative" choices the students had made for their art pieces.
"They could have more new stuff too," Utena chimed in. "Some guys tried to get a battle of the bands going last year, but not enough people were into it. Maybe that'll change."
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Post by zuyuri on Aug 31, 2022 2:07:06 GMT
Battle of the bands did have an interesting ring to it. As it the quiet of a superhero student art show If something like that did off the ground, Zuko showed a very tiny interest in it. Maybe not as a musician or an artist himself, but as a spectator. His best “art” was a half assed latte leaf at the coffee shop, which he knew didn’t count. “I mean, as long as there’s something other than dull live debates or over the top preaches about super rights or whatever.”
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Sept 5, 2022 15:11:45 GMT
"Bleh, who cares about politics?" Utena said before sticking out her tongue. "I mean, I guess we have to at some point, but I'm saving that for after graduation." The relationship between superheroes and law enforcement was always a fine line to walk. Most of the time, the two sides got along, but there was always a conflict to resolve every now and then. Superheroes may have the final say in how to solve problems, but they still had to respect the people they were working with. Otherwise, people would just see them as tyrants holding all the power.
"Too focused on the fighting stuff?" Bella lightly teased. She knew her sister tried to be diplomatic when she could, but she didn't have a whole lot of patience before deciding to throw hands with someone.
"Hey, it's important," Utena countered. "I mean, it came in handy when those cinderblock things were running around, am I right?" That had been a pretty clear-cut situation. No talking, no diplomacy, just jump in and take them out as soon as possible.
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Post by zuyuri on Sept 5, 2022 16:08:56 GMT
“Wait, back up. You fought a cinderblock man, too?”
Zuko’s eyes were wide. Here he had thought that the stone guy was a one and done deal. But if what Utena was implying was true, then there were more monsters for other supers to be weary of. Maybe there was one in the streets right now, terrorizing more people. He remembered Bella saying that Utena was a fast healer, but how did that fare against a guy literally made of rocks? Plants could hinder him, sure, but Utena and her “fight first ask questions” attitude - something Zuko completely understood and related to - wasn’t enough to keep a rock giant down. What part of town had they seen him in? Were they take him down safely? A million questions ran through Zuko’s head.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Sept 7, 2022 0:48:58 GMT
"Hell yeah, we did," Utena replied with a grin. "We teamed up with this other kid, Riku, that did all this cool shadow stuff, and it was all woosh! Kabam! Slice and dice!" Her hands flailed about with exaggerated movements. Although it took her a second to realize what exactly Zuko had meant. "Wait, 'too?' As in, you fought one too?"
"Oh no, did you have to take it on by yourself?" Bella asked, already scared thinking about it. Although she assumed that if Zuko was still here in one piece, then he must have handled it okay.
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Post by zuyuri on Sept 7, 2022 0:57:50 GMT
The reactions from the twins was like peanut butter and jelly. One was enthusiastic and ready to go in for another round with the stone guy, the other was concerned and sweetly asking about Zuko's safety. They shared that they had teamed up with someone named Riku, who apparently had shadow powers. He hadn't seen anyone that would have had them around campus. Then again, he did prefer t keep to himself and wasn't exactly the social person. When Utena and Bella asked about his encounter, Zuko rubbed the back of his neck, "You know, if it hadn't been for Ruby, I probably would have. We slowed him down by making a fire dome. She ran literally ran circles around him, and when I added fire, I guess he slowed down and collapsed into the fountain?"
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