tushanshu_logs | 013 ✤ closed

Characters: Tiny Nerd #1, Prof. Big Nose, and Burnt Cinnamon Roll
Date: March 18th
Location: Metal Sector
Situation: Tiny Nerd #1 is getting his tiny nerd lessons from Prof. Big Nose and Stuff Happens and they both run into Burnt Cinnamon Roll.
Warnings/Rating: PG-13; likely to be references of an abusive childhood

--

Akito doesn't trust Callaghan - not entirely, at least. But it's enough that he visits the man every second afternoon to be tutored in the subjects he should have learned years ago (at least in his mind). Basic mathematics and physics were both a breeze to complete, and Akito has now moved on to advanced calculus and advanced physics, though his previous knowledge of physics is making it fairly easy to learn as well.

Sometimes he wonders if it's only because Callaghan is a good teacher (something he's never had before, no offense to Miss Tomita), or if he actually is the genius everyone at home claimed he was. Compared to Tony he's nothing but a moron, Akito knows. But some days, when he looks at a question and instantly just knows the answer, he feels like he lives up to the title. His brain absorbs the information like a sponge, and it doesn't take long for him to master whatever Callaghan throws at him.

Today he has a notebook filled with what he's pretty sure are correct answers to the questions he was given the other day. They'll go through them together, making sure he was doing everything correctly (because he has to show his work, which is super annoying when your brain tells you the answer is X or Y before you can even go through the steps. but it's important for trouble-shooting and so does so without complaint), then Akito will copy down another one-hundred questions to answer for the following lesson and learn a new concept if deemed ready for it.

He thinks today will be a new concept day. At least, he hopes it will be.

Akito knocks on Callaghan's door politely, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he waits for an answer. He's bundled up more than usual; shivering despite the extra layers.

"Hey! Professor Oyaji! It's really cold today, so please answer quickly!"

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Callaghan's own is a bracelet cuff, hidden by his sleeve- he's worn it for so long, the one time he removed it, his wrist felt bare. It's small enough that it doesn't bother him. The deep red crystal - so dark as to be brown, when not illuminated by the light - occasionally gets worried at when he's alone without much to occupy his thoughts, but this is far from that sort of situation.

Instead, his attention lingers on Tadashi, taking another long look at him. Just like he remembers...

"Mhm. When I got here, it was..." He pauses to think. "...it was just really getting in to winter. Now, we're pushing the thaw. It has to be at least three months, and that's just counting here. The showcase itself was a bit before..."

Robert takes another sip, words chosen deliberately so that he can gauge Tadashi's reaction. He's either going to jog some very unhappy memories, or...what? What is he really expecting, here?

He wasn't expecting Tadashi, at least, so anything from here he'll just need to take as it comes.

Edited 2015-03-30 12:35 (UTC)

Tadashi's takes a sip of his own drink, mulling over the timeline Callaghan's presented and, after a moment, setting his mug on the table with a frown. Three months on a turtle's back in another dimension, alone... It's nuts, but it's yet to occur to him things are even less linear than they currently appear.

"It's so crazy to think about. I mean, it's been that long for you, but for me the showcase was, well, yesterday. Hiro's presentation and getting his acceptance..." He sighs, sitting back in his chair a bit and rubbing at the back of his neck with one hand. "He were just talking, then... poof." Tadashi let's his hand drop to his lap, the other worrying at the handle of his mug even as a slightly self-depreciating smile creeps onto his face.

"I must've spent hours looking for him yesterday before someone told me how this place works."

Poof.

Another sip. Another pause, easily explained as taking it all in- which he is By the utter lack of concern or distress Tadashi shows, short of missing his brother...

"Just talking?" he asks neutrally. After the presentation and acceptance...this has to have been, well...when things were just getting started. He swallows at the memory, trying desperately to think of something to say. "I'd have thought you two would go out to celebrate."

"We were going to go back to the cafe for dinner. Us and Aunt Cass and everyone from the lab."

There would've been dinner (Hiro's favorite) and probably cake. Scratch that, definitely cake. A small celebration among friends and family, because that's what's always seemed to work best for them, but then poof. Goodbye family, goodbye friends, goodbye world. Tadashi shrugs, an oddly indecisive gesture for him.

"... I just wanted to make sure he knew how proud I was of him. How proud I am. He's going to be amazing."

"You couldn't do that at the cafe?"

There's a hint of teasing to it, while Robert wonders if there's the slightest chance, the slightest possibility...

"I'm sure he knew, either way."

Tadashi manages a chuckle. "I wanted to get the sappy stuff out of the way before we met up with the others. He's a teenager, y'know?"

Not that he ended up saying anything all that sappy, but with these brothers it's often about the non-verbal messages. The quirk of an eyebrow, a disapproving frown, or the sappiest brotherly love that smiling eyes can communicate.

"I know... So I- Is there really no way to go back?"

Whether Tadashi knows it or not, the change of subject is a welcome one. Robert takes a sip of the tea again, giving him time to think about his response.

"Not that I've discovered," he finally responds, lowering the glass. To be fair, he hasn't really tried yet, but that's not worth mentioning. "They say sometimes people return, but they're still dealing with some of their own troubles here. And I don't know how much you've seen yet, Tadashi, but these people..." Callaghan shakes his head. "There's a lot of work to be done, here, period."

He's in no hurry.

That answer is the negative he was expecting, but there's a part of him that can't help feeling a little disappointed. It's unreasonable to expect Callaghan to have all the answers, to have a solution to all of... this, and Tadashi knows it, but that's the place he holds in his student's mind. The trusted mentor, the guiding hand...

He pushes those grasping, childish thoughts aside and nods.

"The people at the Welcome Center told me the basics. A long war, less-than-effective heroes..." Tadashi sighs. He's been on the turtle for less than two days, so there's no way he's seen the worst of what Keeliai has to offer, but with what he has seen? He can make a few guesses.

"Is that what you've been doing?"

"Bit by bit, yes." He's not making nearly the strides that he could back in San Fransokyo, but he does think he's gotten enough of a feel for this place that he could look in to taking more direct action. "I don't have the same resources I did back home, I'm afraid, either in materials or available minds- and don't get me wrong, there are some very, very smart people here." He casts a glance towards the closet where Akito rests before shaking his head slightly.

"The problem is, as always, figuring out a way to get things going the way you want them to. And I want to be sure I'm not making them worse by overstepping the boundaries- some people here have a bit of a grudge against people like us, for matters entirely out of our control."

He nods again, taking another sip from his mug. A lack of resources is something Tadashi's experienced in dealing with. Cass always tried to provide what she could to keep her tech-savvy nephews occupied, but there was only so much she could get her hands on as an average citizen without ties to government laboratories. Or military contracts. Tadashi and Hiro grew up learning how to use what odds and ends they could find and make them work. You didn't always need a 3-D printer or other fancy machinery. With the right kind of resourcefulness, a shopping cart and a few parts borrowed from the washing machine could make wonders.

(They were going to put the washing machine back together, really. Scout's honor.)

Of course, their situation on the turtle isn't quite the same as playing chop shop with Cass' appliances. Washing machine parts won't fix Keeliai's problems (probably), and there are politics involved here. Important public relations. Overstepping their boundaries could lead to worse than being sent to bed without dessert.

"... So it's a matter of convincing the locals that we want to help them. And that Foreigners aren't going to let them down again."

013 ✤ closed

tmw you realize you never figured out what your chara's jewelry piece is whups

eh, prof's not the sort to wear his heart/soul out on his literal or metaphorical sleeve anyway |D

depends on how he's feeling that day

gotta let those feelings out, man. it's good for you.

and that's why he's running around at night

not the outlet Tadashi would've chosen, but if it works XD

it's a perfectly harmless hobby that will end with no reprocussions whatsoever :')

gdi robert

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