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Well, if there's anyone in the library at this hour, then she'll probably be smart enough for Ogami to talk to without having the conversation turn into something completely and utterly inane which, in turn, may or may not turn into a blatant opportunity to score points with her.
Maybe Maria, or Kohran, or--
... or... or this will become a conversation that's completely and utterly inane which (omitted).
[Ogami]
Yup, that's right. And the library's fine?
----
[Sakura]
Ogami-san... all the library has is books. Very few things can make a library NOT fine, and all of them start with "on" and end with "fire."
[Ogami]
That's what they'd said about the secretary's office, and the one time I DIDN'T ask if everything was alright, well, it turned out that Kasumi had been trying to dispose of the severed pig's head that some prankster had thrown through the window.
[Sakura]
Yes, I remember when we caught her, too. Standing in the middle of all those papers with that head in her hands... she was like a real lord of the files, huh?
[Ogami]
...
[Sakura]
I-I'm sorry, I couldn't resist.
----
[Ogami]
Were you looking for something to read, Sakura-kun?
[Ogami]
A penmanship textbook? What's that?
[Sakura]
The characters and words that are recorded in this book act as a model for when you're writing.
Lately, there've been a lot of things that have gotten me a little out of sorts, so... I thought this could work as a sort of spiritual self-discipline.
Alright, I can kind of see how forcing yourself to sit down and crank out entire sections of kanji for hours at a time could serve as a kind of self-discipline, but...
[Ogami]
I see... as expected of you, Sakura-kun. Nice job.
----
[Sakura]
Words that are... appropriate for me as I am now...
----
[Ogami]
"Insane Stalker Viciously Surprise-Sexes Innocent Ticket-Taker?"
[Sakura]
... no, Ogami-san, that sounds like a headline, not a phrase.
[Ogami]
(Yeah, I guess it DOES sound like something that'll crop up in about a year's time.)
----
[Ogami]
Hmm, let's see... words that would fit Sakura-kun...
The choices change after a few moments. Hopefully it'll be something that fits Sakura to--
-- a "T."
[Ogami]
Maybe... "Pretty Flowers Have Thorns"?
...
Fine, fine, I'll be the first to admit that she can be kind of cute sometimes.
[Ogami]
No... I meant what I said.
[Ogami]
Ah... no, that is to say...
[Ogami]
S... sorry.
About a week later, Ogami was caught red-handed trying to scrawl that phrase onto Sakura's door.
It was Sumire who caught him in the act, so it was all good until Sakura caught up with Ogami and kicked him so hard that his rectum went halfway up his small intestine.
----
Ogami's mostly sworn off of ever setting foot in the hangars during off-hours for fear of bumping into Kohran. This night's slightly different, though...
Now he can be frightened of Kohran's "handiwork" AND of Maria's ultra-itchy trigger finger, all at the same time!
[Ogami]
Aah, it doesn't look like there's anything wrong here. So... what're the both of you doing?
----
----
[Ogami]
Iris... fights? I was under the impression that she just kind of frolics around and cutes things to death.
[Maria]
It is a fighting style with much potential, I think. If we could convince the army to--
[Ogami]
Prance around in frilly dresses and hurl teddy bears at people while singing girlishly at the top of their lungs?
[Maria]
T... touche, Captain.
----
[Kohran]
She teleports t' move 'round, an' she can slip right through walls...
[Maria]
And she also has the ability to repair damage that the Koubu take. Where battles are concerned, this is reassuring.
----
[Kohran]
Since most of th' damage we've been takin' at this point has been self-inflicted, believe you me, this IS reassurin'.
[Ogami]
(The question is, does the enemy suck at THEIR job, or do WE?)
----
[Ogami]
I see...
[Ogami]
It's amazing, even though she's still a child, huh. That she'd be able to stand side by side with us and fight.
----
----
[Maria]
Also, Captain. If you treat Iris as a child, you will have a bad time of it.
[Ogami]
Y, yes. I'm sorry.
----
[Maria]
Don't apologize to me, Captain. You should be apologizing to yourself when your foolishness turns you into a smear on the wall for forgetting the lesson that saved your hide LAST month, when Iris--
[Ogami]
Alright, I get the point.
----
[Ogami]
Well, in any case... I'll also keep an eye out for Iris's sake.
[Kohran]
Seeya, Ogami-han. Y'all be sure to do your best on tomorrow's mission. Night~.
... probably. Just as long as we don't end up desensitizing Iris to the sheer amount of violence that's flung around during these calm, happy little picnics where everyone chats and drinks tea instead of actually fighting battles.
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