infreefall | redacted ★ claude

[ it's a little later after their arrival that ochako goes to find claude. and when she does, she offers him a wave. ]

You talked to Hikaru-san, right? She missed you a lot.

[ if he says no she might punch him (no) ]

(And guess who's just going to tilt his head and act like he has no idea what she's talking about!!!

Except he winks at her. Again. Which is the sign that he's teasing.)

Yeah, I just shook her off. (Sent her to go catch up with some of the others.) Gotta share and all that.

(Can't keep her all to himself! But it's fine. They'll have more time to catch up. He knows it.)

[ well if he's going to wink at her again then he can stand some teasing in return. ]

Hm, I don't think she'd mind so much if you didn't. She did say you need more friends, though.

Hah! (He laughs at that,) I do have friends.

And people who are dear to me, too. (But why don't they go find somewhere nice to sit for a bit?) ... It just takes me a while to really show it, I guess. I'm not used to it.

Maybe you do now, but how many of us were still here this week?

[ who was there to chase claude down if he needed it?? (did he need it, she actually doesn't know.) ]

...I am sorry about that part, though.

Not as many as before, certainly. But in some ways, more than I expected, too.

(Hua Cheng. Xie Lian. And he'd even stumbled onto Usagi. )

... It was your choice, wasn't it? Don't be sorry.

Good. I'm glad you still had someone while we were gone.

...I only volunteered because we needed the numbers, and my team could handle it. I didn't actually want to die. I knew it would still hurt the people who were still here. So... I am really sorry for that.

(...)

Everyone here has had to make decisions they're sorry for in some way.

(Everyone.)

Xie Lian told me you volunteered. Knowing it was your choice and that you weren't alone on your last night... being able to talk to you and spend time with you this week. And knowing we'd see each other again? That was some peace of mind.

(One way to cope with the loss.)

If you'd made the decision easily, I don't think I could forgive you but... you really thought about it, didn't you?

(And the people she would leave behind.)

I was a little too scared not to put a lot of thought into it. And I would have told you myself, but...

[ she saw how xie lian took it and didn't want to hurt anyone else that same way. ]

...I didn't want to worry anyone if we didn't know it would actually happen, you know? But I don't regret it, because we're back now, and we're all fine.

I'm the last person that gets to demand anyone tell them anything.

(Claude, your secrets. He has no right demanding others spill their thoughts to him even if he picks at them.)

It's better that way, anyway... I already knew enough about what was going to happen that week. (Knowing more would have made it harder to lie and tell the truth.) The less I knew, the better for everyone involved.

(Yeah. He was... involved in some things that week. He's been involved in a lot of things here.)

Fine for now. Things aren't over yet.

Right... Your team was responsible for Archer-san, wasn't it?

[ teammates covering up for each other's murders... it's just like that sometimes. ]

I know, I know. But I know we can win, even if we don't know much about this monster or virus or whatever it is. We've come too far to mess it up now.

I didn't know it was going to be him, but yes.

(Unfortunate situations all around that week.)

Exactly. With everyone together again, nothing can stop us.

(Everyone's spirits are already up and that's... a lot by itself.)

It's because he volunteered, too.

[ unfortunate, maybe, but sometimes... it's rabbit season. ]

Mm. So I'm not that worried. It is kind of frustrating that we have to wait to finish it, though.

So I've heard.

(RIP Soo-won who had no choice this week apparently. )

Consider it a break instead of a wait. After everything and before what might be the final fight? Everyone can use one.

... It's good to spend time with everyone again, too.

Mm... I think I'd rather win first, though, so we can all have some time together without all the pressure. It would be a little easier to relax that way.

...But I am still glad we have the time at all. We've all got stuff to get back to and all, important stuff, but... I don't really want to leave everyone here behind. It'll be weird not having you around to talk to anymore.

Rest when you can. Fight when you have to.

(And right now, there's... nothing to fight.)

Yeah. You know, I was thinking... I've never really met anyone like you or Hikaru before. There's no one like you back in Fodlan or Almyra. Everyone sort of just lets me do my own thing, even if they have questions. Even Teach leaves me alone for the most part.

(There's no one back home that grabs him by the collar and shakes him to open up like Ochako or Hikaru.)

That's... actually good advice. Sounds like something my teacher would say.

[ it's a little odd, coming from claude, but somehow he keeps finding new ways to surprise her. and it makes it a little easier to believe he'll win that war of his. ]

Sounds like you needed someone like us, though. [ she smiles, kicking her feet idly from wherever they're sitting. ] So it sounds like some good came out of being stuck here after all, huh?

(To be fair though, Claude will probably spend the next five years skipping sleep to focus on w a r and keeping his own dang country together during it all but that's fine. No one has to know how hard Claude really works when no one is looking, especially back home once he claims his title and becomes a true leader.)

They sound like a good teacher. Make sure to listen to them. They'll help you get through anything if you pay attention.

(Speaking from experience, there. But hmm...)

Maybe... (It's kind of amazing how much he's opened up in two months here compared to all of his years in Fodlan.) There's someone back home, my professor. She isn't as direct as either of you but she always had a way of drawing me out towards her.

It was nice, really. (And he laughs lightly,) She was the kind of person I wanted to be more myself around. Because I could be myself around her.

But I guess I needed a bigger push, still.

(And he found that push here.)

I know he will. He's... already helped me through a lot.

[ she's assuming claude says that because his professor did the same for him, but. once he finishes, ochako's leaning forward a little, grinning slyly. ]

Are you saying you actually trust someone with who you really are? [ scandalous, claude! absolutely scandalous! ] I never thought I'd see the day!

(Oh, what a cute smile...)

I'd trust her with my life. More than that, I'd trust her with my dream, too.

(He can admit this proudly! He loves his professor a lot. The first person in his life to ever really inspire him and make him feel like anything was possible.)

There are things I still can't tell her but I will, some day, I promise. It's not like here where there aren't any politics getting in the way.

(Politics truly ruin everything.)

What, you don't tell everyone about that?

[ it doesn't sound like something that should have to be a secret? ]

Even if you can't tell her now, I'm glad you have someone like that at home. You just have to win that war, right? Then you can make your dream happen? You'll be done in no time.

[ it's not that simple and ochako knows it, but like. it's easier to think about it this way, and she has more faith in claude than she'd maybe like to admit. ]

Everyone would think I was a madman. They'd take away my title and hide me away if they didn't chase me out the country.

(Things are so complicated back home, Ochako.)

Yeah. (He'll pretend it's that simple. In some ways, now that he remembers who will be at his side, it really is that easy.) It'll take awhile still but don't worry about it.

I'll have home all cleaned up and ready for your grand visit. ... I might surprise you, too.

Then they're wrong. [ it really isn't that simple, ochako! ] It's a good dream - one that they should all support.

And I'm going to worry no matter what. We're friends, right? That's what friends do when someone they care about is in danger... but I know you'll do it.

[ there's a soft laugh. ]

You make it sound like such a big deal... I'll be looking forward to it, though! I like surprises.

I know, but I have a lot of people I need to convince still.

(Fantasy racism is real.

But hah, he just gives her a smile at that. He really hopes he'll be a different person when they meet again after the Realm. He has his dream but he also has a private, personal wish that will come true if his dream becomes reality,)

This will certainly be a surprise. (He says like he's keeping a joke all to himself. A secret. Heh.) I've never told you much about myself. I kind of forgot, you know? And the same goes for you, too, right?

Since we have time... why don't we get to know each other? We're actually able to now.

[ ...oh. well, he isn't wrong! she is surprised, and it shows! they did talk about this before, but maybe ochako just wasn't expecting him to open up so soon? ]

Okay.

[ problem is, she doesn't really know where to start? maybe... ]

But first... Is it okay if I call you by your given name? Hikaru-san said I should ask, since we're friends and all.

week 7, friday.

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