i_am_not_cute | ⚡ 9th zap

[Early in the morning, Pao-Lin returns from her mission, exhausted but itching to get back to normal (Luceti) life. Two weeks just for combat testing? What the hell was that about? She's a pretty fit girl, and there'd been two days of break in the middle of it all, but some of the things the Malnosso made her do strained even her. Which, she supposes, was the point of it all, but it still sucked. She's so very glad to be back in the village, with friends and good food and her own apartment, and when she gets back to said apartment she sits on her couch with some snacks and her journal to check what she missed. There's going to be a lot to go through, but after being up and about nearly nonstop the past two weeks, Pao-Lin doesn't mind sitting still for a while, so sit still she does, eagerly flipping through the pages.

The eagerness quickly fades when she comes across Ginia's journal post not two days before, declaring the departure of one Rupert Giles. The announcement unsettles Pao-Lin: Giles was one of the first people she'd met in Luceti, someone who seemed like he'd always been around and always would be. Although the two hadn't been that close, she'd liked him a lot and they'd experienced quite a few things together. To have him just suddenly be gone...

With unease burning in her throat, Pao-Lin continues perusing past entries. Seems like some sort of experiment happened while she was away...not that anyone seems to remember what happened then. (Perhaps for the better? She's certainly glad she missed out on things.) There's an announcement from the Malnosso about the missions, and --

Toph. Toph is gone, too.

Her heart thuds against her chest, tripping over the news. She has to take a moment to catch her breath so she can process things. How could this happen? Pao-Lin wonders. Weren't she and Toph supposed to become even better friends in Luceti in the future? They couldn't do that if she were gone! Were Toph's future memories really just fake ones created by the Malnosso, then? In other circumstances, Pao-Lin's innate optimism would take over and reassure her that maybe Toph, like Luca, would come back eventually. She'd have to, if they were going to be much closer later on. But Pao-Lin's tired from her mission, and barely recovered from learning about Giles' departure, so she's not bouncing back into shape as easily as she should.

The final blow comes when she finds Mia's voicepost about Amiti being sent home. After that, Pao-Lin doesn't even bother checking the rest of the entries.

Three friends, gone within two weeks. She didn't even get to say goodbye to any of them properly. And none of them had even known she was gone, either: by the time she'd actually found the mission summons in her journal, Pao-Lin had to report in. There was only enough time for a quick message to Luca letting him know that their drawing lessons were temporarily on hold, and then she had to get ready and head out, more concerned with what she'd have to do on this mission than about losing friends in the meantime. It's not like the girl has any shortage of them in Luceti, but they're still all dear to her, seeing how few she's had in her life prior to this.

Pao-Lin slowly closes her journal and sets it on a nearby coffee table, next to her forgotten snacks. She lies down on the couch, clutches a pillow to her chest, and silently cries a little.]

***

[Once she's pulled herself together sufficiently enough, Pao-Lin heads out into Luceti to go about her day. Despite having spent most of the past two weeks involved in strenuous physical activity, she'll still go through her kung fu forms by the river, though her movements won't be as spirited or as focused as they usually are. She'll take her main meals at Seventh Heaven, but she'll drop by the bakery for some pocket food before wandering aimlessly through the streets, not going anywhere in particular but not wanting to stay at home and brood, either. At night she can be found at Good Spirits, staring morosely at a melting milkshake. If approached at any point, she'll put on the brightest smile she can, but at this moment the brightness will be less like sunshine and more like a flickering lightbulb.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Crap. Pao-Lin has to work better on her poker face ~~her p-p-poker face~~, doesn't she.]

Ah...it's fine! I'll be okay. I just came back from a mission, so I'm kind of tired...

Ohh, how did it go? [She seen people come and go for those, but never really asked about them.]

It wasn't too bad. They wanted me for combat testing, so they made me do a lot of fighting simulations with and without my powers. It got kind of boring and tiring after a while. [As she talks, she scans the pastry case, trying to decide what to get today.]

Ah, that still sounds like really intensive work. [...hold on a moment.] Powers? [Pao-lin, you had powers?]

[Nothing special! She can just electrocute a person to death if she wanted. No big deal!]

Oh...I never told you? [Weird.] I can make lightning.

[Remind me not to get on your bad side.] Eh~? That sounds really dangerous but amazing...You got to give me a demonstration sometime! [Wait, wasn't Pao-lin here for something?]

Oh, wait, I should probably stop holding you back from ordering. What would you like to have today?

Oh, I haven't decided yet! Everything looks really good. [As she's looking over the selection:] But I'd be glad to show you my powers sometime.

You should try the honey biscuits! We just made a fresh batch. [And there she goes, offering one.]

So you know kung fu and can shoot lightning. I'm curious, did you have a sort of job back home?

[Pao-Lin takes the biscuit and bites into it. It is pretty good, actually. She nods, both in appreciation of the treat and to answer Yui's question.]

I was a Hero with HeroTV, so I was being filmed catching criminals and saving civilians alongside other Heroes. My code name was Dragon Kid.

Really...? [She looks at Pao-lin in amazement. That sounded so cool.]

That sounds like something Fujiwara-san would watch, only you're actually stopping crime! That sounds amazing...! And dangerous too...

It's definitely dangerous, but I really enjoy doing it! [Headtilt.] Who's Fujiwara-san? [A friend or acquaintance, she's assuming, but something about the way Yui worded it made her curious.]

Oh he's...a friend back home. He was always a fan of super hero shows, especially Guricho.

"Guricho"...?

⚡ 9th zap | action ⚡

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