The Flavor of Powerlessness

Nightstripe

Nightstripe

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Emily was seated on a bench, organizing her books in her bag. She just finished up her classes for the day and had stopped to organize her things and review a couple of notes she hadn't quite clicked with. She was looking forward to going home and relaxing for a while, but unfortunately fate had different plans for these moments.

"Hey, who's that? She's hot." Several flavors entered the range of Em's power, a mixture of lust, something like rebelliousness and a hint of aggression. She glanced up to find a group of people not too far away observing her, circling closer like vultures.

"Oh, Her? I think her names is... I can't remember. I think I heard someone call her Emo." "Emo? Why Emo? She doesn't have any tight close or piercings. Or maybe their hidden eh?" Emily stood up and attempted to hurry away, but she was cut off as one of them stepped in front of her.

"What's the rush? We'd like to talk to you Emo." "I think her power is she can taste feelings or something." "Oh yeah? I can give her something to feel and taste."

Em backed away from them until her back made contact with the wall. A tense anxiety was slowly beginning to cloud her mind. "... N-No... Please... L-Let me go..." "L Let you go? B But were n n not done t t t t talking yet."

Her breathing was beginning to quicken, and her heart pounded in her chest. What was she supposed to do? Scream? But wouldn't they hurt her if she did that? "... P-Please stop..."

@Romi
 
Romi

Romi

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Naoko was, in so many ways, that girl. She was the one who stuck her nose into everyone else's business, and while she was aware that was one of her many flaws, Naoko often tended to come up with reasons why, right then, she should probably save her 'don't butt into other people's business' idea for later.

Watching a girl--timid and terrified looking--get bullied was as good a reason as any.

While Naoko had no powers to speak of, she was well versed in both the school rules and judo, and was relatively hard to intimidate. If anything, she was brave to the point of stupidity, well aware that the cavalry would come running if anyone started fighting on school grounds.

"Excuse me!" Naoko yelled rather loudly from only a few feet away, her face even lowlier than it normally was. "Shouldn't you be giving that girl some space?"

Nothing made bullies back off faster than calling attention to what they were doing. Rare was the bully who who'd actually follow through in full view of the public.

 
Nightstripe

Nightstripe

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The two that were running defensive backed off pretty quickly once Naoko started yelling at them. The one doing the bulk of the harassment, probably the leader of this small gang, turned and leered at the one who had decided to interrupt him. "We aren't doing nothing. Just talking with this friendly lady."

Emily saw the opportunity and darted off from the bench. Had she been a less considerate person she might have just sprinted away, but her concern for this other girl stopped her. Instead she just ended up cowering behind Naoko, still not sure what to do, perhaps running would have been the smarter option.

Meanwhile, the bullies were attempting to brush off Naoko's appearance and recover. "Awe, I get it. If you're jealous we can give you some attention too, it ain't no big deal."
 
Romi

Romi

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The goons were barking up the exact wrong tree, as far as Naoko was concerned. There were lots of people on campus who came from horrid backgrounds, who would be intimidated and terrified when confronted with someone larger than themselves. Naoko wasn't quite brave, but she was a little bit on the arrogant side, and she genuinely doubted that any of the bullies knew anything in the way of self defense. People their size rarely did--they got by with bravado and intimidation alone.

Two could play at that game, and Naoko refused to back down, well aware that the girl was effectively cowering behind her.

"I have to admit, you're braver than I thought," Naoko said, her usual scowl stuck right on her face, her tone even. "It takes a lot of guts to harass a girl on campus, but it takes even more guts to harass the headmistresses niece."

 
Nightstripe

Nightstripe

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The bullies immediately flinched at such a thought. If they were smarter they might have thought to call the bluff, but they weren't the most intelligent students on campus, or at least the boss wasn't.

Rather then retort or find an excuse for their departure, the goons simply took a few steps back. They looked around the surrounding area, as if searching for a ghostly apparition, before turning and hurrying away.

Emily watched them go from over Naoko's shoulder. Her breathing was still slightly ragged and panicked, but it was slowly calming down along with her. "... Th... Thank you... I-I don't know what I... Would h-have done... If y-you hadn't shown up w-when you did..."
 
Romi

Romi

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Naoko wasn't expecting them to fully believe her. They didn't really have to for it to be effective. They just had to consider that maybe, just maybe she wasn't lying. As long as that doubt existed, they'd back off, because no one wanted to bother someone who could get them kicked out of the school. Starlight Academy wasn't the only game in town, but it was the biggest and the best by a longshot.

It was also the only one that did free tuition, which was also important.

"You'd have been fine," Naoko said, waiting for the goons to be out of sight before turning back to the younger girl. "They wouldn't have done much more than harass you. I can't imagine many people would be stupid enough to actually pick a fight on school grounds, after all."

Naoko paused, looking the girl over again. She was certainly nervous, wasn't she?

"Are you new to the school?"

A safe assumption, even if it was wrong.

 
Nightstripe

Nightstripe

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"I... I guess th-that... M-Makes sense... It was f-f-frightening though..." Emily let her eyes drop to the ground, fidgeting around a little bit. "It m-makes sense... I-In hindsight... But in th-the moment it's... It's n-not always... Obvious..."

She glanced back up at Naoko when she asked her question, and shook her head. "N-No... I-I've been here... For a-a while now..." She glanced around a little, checking to see if they were in the way, or the center of attention. "I-I'm Emily... What's y-your name..?"
 
Romi

Romi

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She was so nervous that Naoko had just assumed that she was new to the island, but the revelation that she'd been there for a while pushed that thought of her mind.

"Naoko," Naoko said, rather proud of her name. "Naoko Tanaka. I've probably been around longer then you though - I was born on the island."

She was rather proud of that too.

"People will talk tough here, but not many are stupid enough to really fight on the school grounds. It's pretty safe here."

 
Nightstripe

Nightstripe

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Emily smiled at Naoko as she introduced herself. "O-Oh... Yes... Y-You have certainly b-been here... Longer th-then I..." She licked her lips, tasting the pride flowing from Naoko. "D-Did your parents... Move h-here then..? Or m-maybe it was an... A-An older generation..?"

Em cast her eyes in the direction the bullies had run, nodding a little bit. "... I-I'll try to keep that... In m-mind... I j-just... Get f-f-flustered... Rather easily..."

Her tongue crossed her lips again as she turned her eyes down towards her feet. It was only a few moments before she glanced back up at Naoko. "... Wh-What are you studying..? Is it... D-Different... Attending th-the school when... Y-You've lived her s-so long..?"
 
Romi

Romi

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Naoko nodded at the mention of her parents.

"Not long before I was born, although only my dad is a supernatural," Naoko didn't think it was some big secret that had to be kept that her mother was a full human. There were full humans on the island, they just tended to be rarer.

"I guess the biggest difference is you get used to meeting a lot of new people. Some don't stay on the island long term--they're here to fix their powers and then go home. But there's always a ton of people coming in. The earlier years are pretty empty and mostly have second or third generations like me, but by the time you get into highschool you start having a lot of outsiders coming in."

Teenage years were when a lot of powers came out, and they were overwhelmingly represented in the school.

"I'm only in highschool, so no degree yet," Naoko said with a shrug. "But I was thinking business or something like my mom, once I've graduated."

She'd thought about doing something like nursing or therapy, but doubted she'd be up to it in the long run.

"I'm guessing you're in college?"

 
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