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[ Minato's just trying to look out for his Guest... ]

That's... pretty impressive. But, "repression methods"?

[ This sounds like the opposite of what a therapist does. ]

Ah, yeah, um...

[ He rubs the back of his neck a little. ]

I wasn't... at my best state when I first met Jace and he had to handle on making me "better" as fast as possible, so he had to push back the more painful stuff first and then worked on treating me when it wasn't as bad. It took several years.

[ ...That doesn't explain anything. She can't imagine what Terry used to be like, that it took several years to work on everything that needed to be fixed, but Jace is the doctor, not her. Jace would know Terry best, especially since they were best friends.

So, the more important thing, would be: ]

Were you guys able to work through everything, in the end? Are you doing okay?

Yeah, I was doing fine back home. It was really peaceful and I didn't really have to deal with anything else. Life was fun, and I got to just spend my days in mundane routine without worrying about anything.

[ Well, except the impending war, but he can't do anything about that.

Or could he? Terry bans that thought from existence real quick. ]

It wasn't until I came here that everything started to get bad... Maybe it's because I'm in a different environment.

If you were getting used to a normal, boring life, that's kind of an understatement, don't you think?

[ gestures at bears, gestures at Vassago, gestures at basically their first month here and not a week goes by where there's any chill ]

It's enough to wear anybody down. Being here is terrifying... There's so much we don't know, and it's dangerous every night even if we're asleep, and I can't help but worry about everybody we left behind, too.

It reminds me a little before I met Jace, the kind of life where someone needs to struggle to survive... but you're right. It's a hard life here, but we're all managing okay, aren't we?

[ He... doesn't want to think about Jace, because it felt like he left him behind to die. :') ]

[ Are we managing okay? Are we really? ]

We're managing better than I would have thought, at least... I'd probably have an easier time of it if my friends were here. One of them is like you, actually. He's very fast, very strong, and always has a dumb expression on his face. I think you'd like him.

[ And then he gets corrupted and kills everyone!! He's very like Terry. ]

[ Wow. They have so much in common! Terry's the only casualty so far. Everything is fine!! ]

Haha, really? Tell me more about your friend!

[ He won't pass up a chance to learn more about Kido and her life before this from her mouth. ]

Are you really that interested?

[ She looks amused, if only because the more she thinks about it, the more similar they are. ]

We've only met recently, in the past day or so before I came here, but his name is Konoha. He's pretty quiet, can probably eat his weight in a single sitting, and is a bit taller than you are, I think... When I met him, he single-handedly stopped a terrorist attack inside a mall downtown.

[ That's the part that reminds her most of Terry, actually. ]

[ Only in the past day and Kido already considers him a friend... he must be amazing. Terry is very impressed regardless. ]

Seriously? That sounds so cool!

[ ... Wait a minute. ]

You passed by a terrorist attack?!

[ Anybody who stops a terrorist attack is a hero and is worth of friendship status, it's easy. ]

Yeah? They were going to bomb the entire mall, I think... I was there with two others from my gang, Mary and Kano.

[ She should sound more scared than she was, but Konoha had stepped in before anything happened, so there isn't really anything to be scared of. ]

I have a feeling that if I was in a similar situation, you'd just scold me and get all worked up compared to what you're doing now...

[ This isn't fair, Kido... ]

Well, yeah, because one person going up against a bunch of grown men with guns and bombs would be stupid. I care enough about you to scold you for doing something so stupid.

[ Not that she doesn't care about Konoha... But, look, he was a complete stranger and she didn't meet him until after the fact so she can't exactly get mad at him? Konoha would probably start crying if Kido yelled at him. These are two different situations, Terry. ]

[ Terry huffs a little, but he's still pretty happy anyway. It's easy to make him happy when he's like this anyway. ]

Thanks, Kido. But what was he? He doesn't sound human from what you're telling me.

He's human.

[ ...She doesn't sound so sure. The guy can jump several stories into the air, has superhuman strength and speed and appetite and all of that, but if he's not human, then what could he be? ]

[ Well... ]

Then... a human with modifications? Special power?

Oh, it's definitely an eye ability.

[ She taps at the corner of her eyes, letting the iris shift from black to red for a moment before changing them back. ]

But we hadn't gotten the chance to talk about the details of that much, before everything happened. He was looking for two missing children... It would have been helpful if you were there.

[ When Kido's eye color changes like that back and forth, Terry looks amazed again. He's pretty easy to please... ]

Eye abilities sound convenient. I definitely would help if I was there though... my power doesn't extend outside of worlds.

[ Terry is the one with the OP everything, what does he have to be amazed of? ]

Yeah... We'll figure it out on our end. Or, at least, the rest of those guys will. [ Since she's dead or dying, you know. ]

Eye abilities aren't all great, though... All it means is that we died, and came back, somehow. I'd rather live a normal life than have this ability.

[ He's easily amazed by things like this if he's not involved, but rather other people having abilities too. ]

Yeah, I think I remember you saying something like that... [ Flashback to when Vassago caused an invisible ruckus in town in broad daylight. ]

Normalcy is really highly valued for those who aren't normal, and the ones who are normal want something exciting in life... that's how it goes, doesn't it?

[ There's exciting, and then there's being treated like a monster and being feared and hated at the age of six. Maybe that's why all Kido ever wanted in life was a safe space to live, and safe people to be with. ]

Yeah. You're a weirdo, so you always look happy when we're sitting around the house doing nothing.

I wasn't doing nothing! I was totally doing something!

[ He doesn't know what time Kido is referring to, which probably says a lot. ]

And it's better being happy than anything else when you're relaxing.

Hm.

[ She doesn't believe for a minute that Terry doesn't just space out and do nothing sometimes. Everybody does, and the fact that one can zone out points to them being comfortable enough to do so. ]

You're right about that, at least. You should feel happy and relaxed in your own home, anyways. Taking time for yourself doing nothing isn't a bad thing either.

[ And so, when Rei and Terry are working, Kido just sort of lounges around listening to her music doing nothing... but happily doing nothing ]

I guess that's true... but it's so hard for me to do nothing. I have to do something, even if it's just sleeping to pass the time--

[ Oh, they're at the hospital now. ]

[ One day Kido can teach Terry the joy of sitting around and doing nothing. But they're at the hospital, and Kido takes the lead to where they need to be, left down the hall past the large windows, second unit on the right. It's not a sprawling hospital with multiple wings and is easy to get lost in, at least, so Kido apparently has the layout memorized. Maybe Terry does too, since he's been here so often. ]

I guess I can take the cats... Call me when you're finished?

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