bluediligence | (no subject)

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[ Having the ability to warp between worlds is pretty great — it gives Delphi complete freedom to visit friends and family across the multiverse! Heck yeah! ]

[ … Except for when timespace has a wibbly-wobbly moment. Like, right now. She could end up anywhere, and anywhen: from teamnesia games past and present, to jamjar games, to literally anybody’s world at literally any time. You’re minding your own business and, whomp, suddenly a young woman with fluffy short hair is just … there. Holding a bowl of plump red strawberries. ]

[ Hi?? ]

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[He's still sure that she's an alien, technically...!! But, wow.]

That's a lot to process... do the quirkless in your world use magic instead, then?

Nope! Powers just aren't a thing at all where I'm from. [ Except for Akako, but details. ]

I only got this [ tweaks her pendant ] after the second time I got dragged to another world.

No quirks at all? Fascinating... but you say that pendant is tied to your soul? How does that work?

I don't know exactly how it works.

[ She ]

[ Makes. A. Face. ]

As far as I understand it, the ... framework? For the magic? Is stored inside the pendant, and the pendant is tied to me. It takes my energy and focus to make it work. You could pick it up and try all you wanted, and it wouldn't do anything at all.

[That's very fascinating and all, but also-]

What happens if the pendant is damaged? Will your soul be okay?

[He is Concern??]

[ Opens her mouth to say that it'd be fine, of course - ]

[ Stops ]

[ Slowly closes her mouth. ]

... I sure hope so!

[That's. Not reassuring!!]

Hopefully you'll never have to find out... ah, but the curry should be ready by now-

[He stands, tugging a tissue from his pocket to catch a few coughs with a grimace before hobbling off to wash his hands and serve up some curry. He can feel exhaustion creeping up on him, but it's fine, he's still fine for now.]

[ Is any of this really fine ...! ]

Haha ... Hopefully. [ Maybe let's not mention the debilitating effects of going over the pendant's limits. ]

[ She stays seated, squashing every instinct to get up and offer her assistance. He's a grown man; he doesn't need or want a strange kid fussing at him. She fusses with the pendant instead, a nervous habit she's never been able to shake. ]

[ Once he's back with the curry, and she's offered her sincere and profuse thanks, she asks, thoughtfully ]

By the way ... You said something before. About licences. Would I have gotten in trouble for helping out earlier, if the police had realised?

[It's totally fine!!]

[He brings over two plates of curry and rice, his own serving much more conservatively portioned. He politely accepts her thanks before returning to his seat with a muffled sigh.]

Ah... it may have caused some difficulty, but I'm sure you wouldn't be arrested for it! It's just that, there is a system in place to ensure that professional heroes have the proper training to master their quirks and qualifications to act as civil servants- and are paid as such by the government. I suppose it's similar to how you wouldn't expect a civilian to act as a police officer without having an official badge! Helping or saving someone isn't against the law, of course. But in emergency situations, it's safest to leave it to heroes and law enforcement, for everyone involved.

Mm ... [ Takes a thoughtful bite of curry - and makes a soft sound of appreciation at the taste. ] This is good! Thank you. [ Will she ever stop saying thank you? ]

[ Evidence points to nah ]

I guess I can understand that. My father's a police officer. [ She smiles, fond and unspeakably proud. ] The phantom thief he's after is very, very different from the kinds of villains you deal with here, but he still grumbles about the high school detectives that get involved with his cases.

[ Another bite of delicious curry, and she laughs, a touch sheepishly. ]

... Still, it's a relief that nobody's gonna try to arrest me. [ Try would be the keyword. ]

I should be thanking you, really- it's a simple meal, but I rarely get the chance to cook for anyone other than myself these days.

[And other people can enjoy food much more than he can. Today may not have been the best day for it thanks to his failing body acting up... but he's still thankful. It's a good thing he found himself in a position to help her too, considering her outlandish situation.]

Oh? You say that like high school detectives are a common nuisance where you're from!

[If only he knew.]

Well, I can't guarantee you wouldn't be taken in for questioning, which I think you would rather avoid under the circumstances. What you did was admirable, but it may be wise to avoid using that "magic" if you can.

[He still has to figure out what to do about this. It wouldn't do to just drag Aoko to Nezu or Tsukauchi and claim that aliens are real, much less to any authority he doesn't have as much trust with. It doesn't seem to be an imminent threat, but the unpredictability of it is unsettling...]

[But he can think on that tomorrow. Right now it's taking most of his focus just to shovel food into his mouth at a careful pace.]

Thanking me? No way, no way! [ She's laughing even as she protests. ] I barged my way into your life on false pretenses. You're just ... you're a very, very kind person. [ Her laughter settles into a smile. ] Probably one of the kindest I've met, if I'm honest. But - cooking always is more fun when you're sharing it with somebody else ...

[ Cooking just for one can be lonely. Lonelier still, if you were waiting for somebody who'd rarely have time to come home. She pulls herself away from those thoughts quickly. ]

There are a lot of high school detectives where I'm from. They're famous. Thanks to them, some of Japan's toughest cases were solved. They've saved lives. And they've given a lot of adults grey hairs.

[ A thoughtful hum - ]

... I'll be careful not to flaunt it, or use it all unless it's really important. I don't want to cause any trouble for the people here. [ She absolutely will risk it if her inaction would mean somebody else could get hurt or killed, though. Some things are too important. ]

[ And also sometimes she's just a busybody. She's trying her best, okay ]

Surely you're exaggerating! It's only natural to help someone in need.

[Well, at least for him it certainly is. And it's not as if he has much room to talk when it comes to false pretenses...]

Famous high school detectives... if they're that effective, then perhaps they should be given license to do so! Less gray hairs for everyone that way.

[However that would work, in her world.]

[He nods. He isn't about to tell her to not use that magic under any circumstances. That's not a rule he would be able to stick to himself, if the situation called for it. But hopefully she won't end up in any more villain encounters...]

Thank you. For the time being, you should take it easy. I'll fetch some blankets and pillows for the couch after dinner.

[ only natural, huh ... ]

For some people, mm. [ For others, it's only natural to lash out, or to hurt people for fun and-or profit. But that sure doesn't make for a casual dinner-time conversation, so she's quick to move on. ]

I'd love to see their faces if anyone told them they needed licenses. [ The great Kudo Shinichi, licensed detective! How would that even work? It'll be something to think about if she has trouble sleeping tonight. Speaking of which ... ]

[ She gives him a tiny bow of gratitude ]

That would be great. Thank you again. Is there anything I can do to repay you for all of this ...?

[He gets the sense that she's encountered more than her fair share of cruelty, between her response now and the more obvious signs like her scars. If nothing else, it doesn't seem to have dampened her own kindness.]

I would only ask for your cooperation in finding you a way back home.

[He wants to add on any investigation into these strange phenomenons she spoke of, but... he's not even sure where to begin with that yet, much less as Toshinori. It's not like he knows where to begin with "fixing" her teleportation issue as it is. He's almost finished with his food despite eating slowly, simply because there wasn't very much of it to begin with.]

And let me know if you want seconds! There is plenty to go around.

Oh, for sure! I wanna get home as soon as I can; my family's going to get worried if I'm gone for too long. [ She laughs, somewhat rueful. They're probably already worried. She hadn't meant to even be away for this long ... ]

So I'll help in any way I can, short of taking off my pendant.

[ Sorry not sorry about that. It's too important for her to hand it over to anyone, however well-meaning or trustworthy they may be. ]

I'd love another bowl, though! All I've eaten today are those strawberries, I'm pretty peckish.

[He just nods to her condition, even as he's sure it may cause difficulties down the line. But he also understands why she wouldn't want to hand it over to anyone. It's essentially the power of multiple quirks contained within an item. Though he's not sure if anyone else would even be able to use it, if it's linked to her...]

[Thoughts for another time, especially since it's getting harder to keep a train of thought going.]

Of course, let me get you another helping-

[He stands, and nearly topples, catching himself on the back of his chair and catching some blood on his sleeve with the other as he suffers another bought of coughing, leaving him dizzy. Shit.]

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