justscribing | The City

I'm the mightiest!

[ Cheerfully. ]

But also I'm the plan-maker if the first set of plans doesn't work out. And the mood-maker to keep things lively! Oh, and I guess I've had to go for diplomacy a few times and I hit the hardest when I have to and...

[His first thought is oh, she's the strategist, but then her list of responsibilities goes and goes...]

If you're doing all of that, shouldn't you be the leader?

I don't mind taking the lead, but I'm better as support. Not everyone can do that.

[ And she says this so calmly and straightforwardly. ]

Not everyone can lead, either. Everyone has different responsibilities in a group, but you seem to have more than most. It would be difficult for most people to keep up with being the strategist, moral support, diplomat, and front-line fighter.

I'm not most people, Al! I'm Tsuruno Yui!

[ Emphatically, at that. ]

If something needs to get done, I'll do it!

[Heh.] That you are.

[She says it with such ease: that she's not most people. She recognizes her own potential above others, and Alhaitham believes that same self-certainty that he shares must benefit her the same way. She is able to achieve more because she recognizes her own difference.

Uniqueness is an asset.] What if you fail?

[ "If" he says, and Tsuruno's gaze grows a little distant before she answers him.

Because of course she's failed before. Her wish. Her choices. Her weakness.

It's nothing she can really talk about with Alhaitham, as much as she already likes him. He's sharp, incredibly perceptive, and doesn't talk down to her. He's Kaveh's roommate, which would have automatically made him good in her book, but she likes what she's seen of him.

But she's very bad at talking about herself in more specific terms. ]

I keep going. And if it's something I can fix, I fix it. And if it's something I... can't, I do what I can to make sure it never happens again.

["If" he says, because he doesn't know Tsuruno's life well enough to assume. But nobody gets through life without experiencing failure. Anybody who claims so is only lying to the world to hide their own inadequacies.

His gaze levels on her with idle curiosity, and yet the intensity of the gaze itself is too bright. It is the forest fire in the center that burns straight through. It is the look Alhaitham gives to that which earns his full, considered attention. Many would consider themselves worse off for the honor.

It's a vague mollification. Tsuruno is someone who holds things close to her chest, and so it doesn't surprise him. It is the droop in her expression and her tone that says more than the words themselves.

If it's something she can't fix, she'll do what she can that it doesn't happen again.]

Some people would mistake pride for self-assurance, but someone who isn't humble about their own capacity to make mistakes will never be able to truly overcome their failures. As long as you remember that, self-improvement is possible and you can avoid the same pitfalls in the future.

[Pride is the first thing that must be sloughed off to see things in an objective truth, and that is what he has always believed is the key to one's full potential. Tsuruno's perspective is young, because she is young. But he sees that capacity to be great if she can maintain her ambition and her confidence without falling prey to vices and vicissitudes in life.]

Anyway, there's about five hours to kill before this place closes down. What were you planning to do with it?

[ Why does it feel like she just climbed a mountain in order to find Alhaitham seated at the top, prepared to dispense worldly wisdom? That's so deep, she's honestly kind of impressed.

Especially when he stares at her and it's very intense, actually, and she's not sure if this is a situation to stare at someone intensely, but here they are. ]

I think it'd be hard for me to forget, at this point...

[ And it's a little murmur, though properly audible. ]

But I was thinking about going on some of the rides and eating something, of course!

[A puzzle requires focus. Alhaitham, who finds the dissonance of people like Tsuruno and Kaveh fascinating, seeks to understand it.

It is very weird but Tsuruno is at least spared his level gaze any further as his interest shifts to the carnival itself.] Are any of them familiar to you? This isn't what any festival in Sumeru would look like, so I'm out of my element.

Yeah, this is just like an amusement park back home! Except kinda like it feels more haunted. I'll show you around, if you want?

[ And if he says no, regardless-- ]

What's a Sumeru festival like?

[Amusement park. It is an apt name. Alhaitham has already been around yesterday with Kaveh, but he still gestures along.] Lead the way.

[As for Sumeru festivals...] Food and craft stalls are common, as are games for children and performances. But many traditional festivals have lost popularity in Sumeru with the Akademiya's emphasis on the pursuit of knowledge above all else. Their galas have largely been used for arrogant scholars to posturize at each other rather than be a genuinely happy celebration.

[ Wow, can't believe you guys went on a date without her. Terrible. ]

... You know, I somehow get the feeling you don't like them very much.

You think so? [Granted, even getting Alhaitham to show up at a gathering of people he likes is like trying to drag a cat to the vet. But he has a particular disdain the farces the Akademiya spearheaded under Azar's leadership. Man wouldn't know joy if it bit him in the ass.] You have experience with a very different kind of festival, don't you?

Yeah, places like this usually don't have a bunch of scholars being boring at each other... Oh, but we have different kind of festivals, like in the summer, we have booths where you can catch goldfish and dress up in yukata and watch the fireworks! And we have school festivals where every class does something different, like a cafe or a haunted house or a play or selling food at a stall!

[Alhaitham nods along. He has vague knowledge of Inazuman holidays. Like her name, these sound comparable enough he can visualize it.]

So it's a school festival but none of it is related to the actual schooling, correct? It's just run by students.

Right! It's nothing as formal as what it sounds like for you.

The Akademiya runs something similar, but student activities are usually more thematic as it also acts as a way to recruit future students to their darshan. [Hm, that's probably not a term she familiar with.] Think of them like areas of expertise. Past general education, those admitted to the Akademiya will then specialize in a field of research.

[So, yes, the Wisdom Gala is a more formal school festival.]

Ohhhh! So like a university with majors! I get it.

[ She understands a lot better now, judging from the brightness in her eyes. ]

Did you go there, Al?

[Alhaitham nods with a hum.] I did. As did Kaveh.

[And Tighnari. And Cyno. But Alhaitham doesn't assume Tsuruno has met the entire nerd crew.]

[ All of them but one! She's making the rounds. ]

Is that how you wound up becoming roommates?

You could say that, since we met when we were students there.

[The actual story is much longer, but ultimately Alhaitham was never going to open his home to Kaveh if he wasn't his ex-bestie. Anyone else would be swiftly denied no matter how on time with their rent they were.]

"You could say that"... meaning there's more to it than just that, huh?

You and my friend kind of do the same mysterious vague thing when it's more personal.

[ Ah, she misses Yachiyo. ]

It is a person question, isn't it? You can always ask Kaveh--I'm sure he'll have a lot to say.

[The more subtle dance: Alhaitham lets Kaveh say it to decide what he wants to be known. There had been a friendship ending fight. There had been the selling of a house and incredible debt and Kaveh had been left with no choice if he wished to maintain even the veneer of a reputation suited for his title. So there had been the acceptance of an offer, and the first olive branch in years when they lived under one roof in Sumeru.

Kaveh moved back out three weeks ago. Alhaitham did not ask him to stay.

As they walk he points at one of the large swinging rides.] Is that something familiar to you?

[ Wow. She's never going to hear about this, probably.

But imagine if she did. Just imagine. ]

Yep! Do you want to give it a try? I'll go with you.

[ For moral support and not because she's a kid who loves rides, even if she is definitely a kid who loves rides-- ]

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