Duel 01; Video

[andtherevolution]

[There aren't any questions about what this place is or what it's like. Utena's already gotten used to all of that. She does, however, have a question about something else that's been on her mind: employment. She flops on her new bed and turns on her device, and the network will see a zoomed in image of her eye before she stretches her arms and raises her communicator, showing her from the shoulders up]

So. The government gives us these jobs when we get here, right? But what do you do when it's something you're not cut out for? Like...

[Okay, recording like this isn't very comfortable after all. She stops and rolls over on her side, and adjusts the camera so it's focusing mostly on her face]

I'm supposed to be a teacher, sort of. Or maybe instructor is a better way to put it? ...anyway, I'm supposed to give fencing lessons now. And it's not that I'm bad at it, but...

[She bites her lip and glances away for a moment, uncertain of how much she should (or how much she even wants to) explain about the duels.]

Well, I'm not really used to "standard" fencing matches. I mean, I've fenced before, but the last time I did the rules were kind of weird, and as soon as I got used to it the game would change again. The only real advice I could give is, "hey, don't get stabbed," but that's not really good advice, is it? I mean, that's what swordfighting is all about, I guess, but...

[She sighs, and flops back on her pillow]

I'm not really sure what I should do about this. I still need to talk to them - the people who run the lessons, not the guys who gave me the job - but... I guess I'm just worried that they'll expect more from me than what I can give them. That they'll expect me to be some master fencer from a movie or storybook or something like that. Has anyone else had to deal with that? With their bosses expecting them to be something they're not, I mean.

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[restingstitchface]

[By the time the end of the message rolls around, Crane's mulling over what he heard near the end. Oh, sure, Bruce Wayne is technically his boss, but he's not his superior. He sighs and supports his chin between thumb and forefinger, and speaks with a bemused tone.]

Oh, mine expects me to behave myself. I pin this down to how it serves as a nice counter to the activities he indulges himself in out of hours. He's something of a masochist.

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[andtherevolution]

[Wait. Wait a second. She remembers this guy... and, once she sees the name, she remembers the stunt he pulled at a certain theme park. Her eyes go wide before they narrow, showing not an ounce of sympathy for his own employment woes]

Yeah, I can't see why he'd want someone like you to play nice.

[restingstitchface]

[If anything, that comment makes Crane more amused. He gestures in a flamboyant fashion. Full-on hammy judge mode.]

Neither can I, honestly!

[Terrible, yes, but least he's not Akio.]

[andtherevolution]

[That's a pretty low bar. Not that she knows that yet.]

You know, maybe you're right. I mean, somebody has to be a masochist if they want you around.

[a pause]

...and how did you even get a job, anyway? Is this some kind of reform thing?

[restingstitchface]

Hardly. Given my enjoyment of my research, my employer made me a fantastic offer.

[He raises a brow.]

Is redemption that important to you?

[andtherevolution]

[An offer? An offer researching what? Before she can ask anything about that, she's caught off guard by his question, and stiffens before glaring at the camera]

Redemption's not the word I'd use. I just couldn't see anyone offering you a job unless they wanted to keep an eye on you. You know, like the parole officers.

[Having a guy like him around is kind of a risk, isn't it?]

[restingstitchface]

[A high risk.

If anything, he looks to be enjoying that, and he demonstrably shrugs before questioning her motivations.]

I see. You don't believe I have the tenacity to make it last? Ever the skeptic.

[andtherevolution]

You'd have to prove it, first. How long have you-

[And suddenly, she realizes that she doesn't even know what his job is. She looks away for a moment, more than a little embarrassed, before jumping back on topic]

...what are you even doing now, anyway?

[restingstitchface]

Clinical research. [He checks his nails.] My medicines are intended to efficiate psychological and physical wellbeing for human subjects. Humanoid, I guess.

[It's taken some practice to roll off his tongue like that.]

But to answer your unfinished statement; six months now, almost to the day. Does that satisfy you?

[andtherevolution]

So, you're back to being an actual doctor, huh?

[Her voice is quieter now, and she remembers their conversation in the park. But she also remembers the news story she read about frightened parents who were suspicious of some dark past. Someone else told her that it was a different Crane, but...]

I'm still surprised that anyone gave you a second chance, to be honest.

[restingstitchface]

[One of his eyebrows raise. He wants to correct her. He earned his license and nobody can take that away.]

The world's a large place. It's reasonable someone might, isn't it?

[andtherevolution]

I don't know. It feels pretty small to me.

[Even if there is a big world out there, it feels like her entire world is their little community of imPorts. It's almost like school, in a way.]

[restingstitchface]

I see.

[Crane slips his fingers under his chin, lifting his head up.]

You don't travel a lot, do you?

[andtherevolution]

[That question catches her offguard, and she stiffens before she glowers at the camera]

And what's that supposed to mean?

[restingstitchface]

That you are isolated and lack experience.

[Though he's spent some time in Gotham and travelled for study and work, he had to leave a backwater village to do it. It hadn't hit him for a while until he'd settled into his course... how big the world is. He sees how she stiffens and knows he's right.]

And that there is much you do not know.

[andtherevolution]

[Ooh, looks like someone struck a nerve. Utena grits her teeth and balls her free hand into a ball, too angry to focus on the nagging sense of deja vu she feels]</small You have no idea what I know!

[restingstitchface]

[After seeing a response like that, he confirms it.

She's a small town girl living in a lonely world. Please.]

I'm a psychiatrist. I know more about you than even yourself, I'd wager.

[andtherevolution]

[She fumes for a moment longer, and takes in a deep breath before she responds]

Then prove it. Tell me how much you really know.

[restingstitchface]

[He draws in his breath and builds himself up before respoding.]

Your confidence reveals a girl who is very much admired. Almost everybody in the small world you inhabit wants to be you. [Much as many girls had wanted to be Sherry.] You are a savior; you rush to the rescue of anybody who wants to be saved. A rebel and a hero whose flawlessness makes her impossible to relate to. This is why you have little in the way of actual friends.

[Is he wrong?]

[andtherevolution]

[Her anger starts to fade into a wary sort of curiosity. He knows more about her than she gave him credit for, but the way he's saying it, the way he's presenting it so clinically is unnerving. Still, he can't know everything-

And then there's that last comment, about friends]

That- that's not what it's like at all!

[restingstitchface]

[One of his eyebrows raise. All the forms of teenage denial he's witnessed, and she responds with that? It would be charming were it less insultibg.]

Oh. I'm wrong, then?

[He begins scratching under his chin with his fingers. He knows he isn't.]

[andtherevolution]

You...

[The words die before they can be spoken.
She's caught just enough glimpses of herself for his argument to ring false, but not enough to explain why. How is someone supposed to fight for a truth that they don't fully understand? How do they expose a reality that they're only barely aware of?]

Look, it's not that I don't have friends. It's just...

[Her voice goes quiet and she glances down]

...it's just that there's some things people just don't understand. Most people, anyway.

[Facebook status: it's complicated]

[restingstitchface]

[One of his eyebrows rise. He could reply that most people wouldn't include someone like him, and that she was trying to misjudge him, but he suspected she was referring to those who did understand her, moreso than those who don't. He balances that opinion against her isolation, and concludes her closest relationship puts her in the role of a friend to an unhealthily codependent person.]

I see. And I suppose those few who understand you possess an overwhelming desire for your love and affection? Your words imply one person at least has a certain level of fascination...

[andtherevolution]

[She breathes in deep, and while she remains thoughtful, she's regains some measure of confidence when she speaks again.]

Not exactly - I have a friend sort of like that, but I wouldn't call it overwhelming. And my other friend, she's actually pretty quiet about that sort of thing. It's more like... how do I put it... it's more like we support each other. We help each other out, when nobody else can.

[Wakaba's the first friend, and while she's certainly affectionate, she'll never understand the dueling games. Utena wouldn't want her to, for that matter. There's the other duelists, but even the ones that could become friends are still technically her rivals. The only one who understands their strange world while still staying close to her is Himemiya and Himemiya alone.]

[restingstitchface]

You depend on each other?

[His tone contains a measure of calm. He had never tried depending on anybody and he was doing fine. That this youngster had fallen into that trap, well, he almost feels disappointed.

Almost.]