Discussions of the Present (Emily)

[Matrim Gallagher]

And just like that he figured he would talk to Emily given his new position. It was something he had been deciding on, whether to work for Militia's goal and rid of the Pillar system. But he decided against it in the end. Mostly because he wouldn't give the title up, no way no how. Someone would have to steal it from him, but in his hands he could trust the Pillars because he was the one moving them. He was calling the shots, not someone he didn't know well enough. And if Linda was humble enough to step down and let Matrim take the title, then by all means he would do so.

She regrets her past, she wants a peaceful school. I'll try to do that... I'll try to give her peace at least by handling this fight on my own. So much to do, so much to take care of and get prepared for. There is no way I'm going to get through this without toughening up. But I better see where I stand with Emily....

Matrim pulled out his phone, giving Emily the following message Via text messaging.

Kari, it's Matrim. We need to meet up, I'm at..... and the rest of the message contained the address of where he was at, as well as the name of the place. It was a coffee shop that he had sat at with Ryuu (Edit: NOT LLOYD) after their fight in the middle of the street. Playing in traffic had been one of those fun once in a lifetime experiences he just felt like doing. But now he sat with his green tea, waiting for Emily to show up.

"I wonder what she thinks of all of this...." Matrim said to himself. He told her once that she could trust him. He hoped she still knew this.

[seishounohana]

Emily took the morning off from tutoring today. It was best she did so every now and then considering her hectic lifestyle nowadays. She always had to worry now about expenses, and it was something she was getting used to. Then again, she was looking forward to these difficulties. She had to face them sooner or later, after all. The real world wasn't so considerate.

She had received Matrim's text not more than half an hour ago, and the address Matrim gave was luckily not so far from where she lived. She walked the way there, clad in a relatively new set of clothing she had bought just the other week.

Emily hoped she didn't take too long.

After a few glances, she would notice Matrim already seated and drinking a tea. She approached him and smiled. "I'm here. Did you want something?"

[Matrim Gallagher]

"I'm here. Did you want something?" She asked and he looked up while drinking his tea. He hadn't had to wait all that long which was good considering how much he really needed to talk with her. He smiled up at her putting his tea down, kicking the chair opposite of him out with his foot so she could take a seat. He leaned back in his chair thinking about what he would say.

"Linda made me School Captain," Matrim said, looking at Emily, trying to gauge her reaction. He wasn't sure how she'd respond. So he would continue on after a short moment, "I'm not going to get rid of the Pillar system.... not as long as I'm calling the shots. That being said, where do I stand with Militia?"

Matrim was probably going to be an enemy, but the truth was that he didn't want to be. There were ways to solve this without fighting. Without war, he had just succeeded in doing so if only Emily would listen. He told her he would take care of this, and somehow he managed to, even if it was by luck he managed to find a solution to Militia's problem. They had an inside man who was none other then the School Captain. If students wanted something changed, they could talk with Matrim.

[seishounohana]

"Linda made me School Captain," Emily blinked. Oh? He was the school captain now? Interesting. "I'm not going to get rid of the Pillar system.... not as long as I'm calling the shots. That being said, where do I stand with Militia?"

Emily smiled and sat down, "I don't know about Gabriel, but personally I think it's fine you're a pillar. Just do your job well and I won't be in your way, or at least I'll hope Militia won't lead me to that point."
She smiled. As far as Militia was concerned, no one but "Unfettered" could tell her what to do. She was on her own right now, and her decision was to make sure that the pillars were doing their job; probably even help them maintain the peace in her own way.

But of course, they may clash one day.

[Matrim Gallagher]

And that's about the time that Matrim felt a little more at ease, he wouldn't be as tense or intense rather, "Gabriel is insane. I want you to know ahead of time that I won't hesitate to kill him. If I were you, I would consider burning all bridges with him... get him out of Militia and make sure that his intentions and Militia's are nothing similar whatsoever. Because to be quite honest after getting a little into his mind I've realized that there is something wrong with him in the head... he seems to think the pillars are the bad guys. They aren't, strangely enough."

Matrim took a sip of his tea and said, "It's been awhile, I've been eating healthy. I've had cravings for all my vice's but... in the end I've got motivation to quit. Me and my Fiancee patched things up, and she's.... we're.... I'm going to be a father," Matrim said with a big smile on his face, "Can you believe that? I'm gonna have a kid! I kind of hope it's going to be a boy... Reira is thinking the same thing too so I don't feel especially bad about saying that. Although if I have a daughter that'd be amazing too I just... I just think that I'd totally not know how to treat a daughter if I had one since I never grew up around girls. I never even lived with one until I spent some time with my grandmother a year or so ago."

Matrim wasn't sure why he was spouting out stuff about his life, but for some reason he thought of Emily as a potential friend. He was friends with Kate sure, but she was a Reaper, and part of that scared him off from letting her in on the more personal stuff. But still, Matrim decided to ask her something seriously, "So have you ever thought of leaving Militia? If you had a boyfriend, or a lot of close people that you wanted to spend time with... would you leave Militia for them? Or would you use Militia to protect them?"

[seishounohana]

Gabriel, insane? Maybe there were times when Emily felt as if he may be getting out of hand. Then again, she couldn't be sure at all. There was slight distrust on his end from the most recent events, and suspicions arising from every corner. Militia didn't feel the same without "Unfettered", and leaving it in Gabriel's leadership more or less had worsened the situation.

Is she really the only true member of Militia left? "I cannot kick him out of Militia, only "Unfettered" can. Unfortunately, He... isn't here." there was slight heartbreak in her tone. Pained, unrequited love which somewhat felt like it was slipping away. "I will still make this clear; as far as I've known, Militia was created at a time where the Pillarship in 259 wasn't as efficient as it should be. We were supposed to be a gang that would serve the purpose of the pillars then, but right now -- as far as I'm concerned, the pillars can rest at ease."

He then began telling her snippets and stuff about his own health condition, and to her own surprise - Matrim was now officially a father. Emily was smiling excitedly. Wow! This would be the first time she would ever hear about a friend and/or acquaintance being a parent at such an age. "I'm glad that you're being healthy, but god!" She said, the last part exclaimed out of excitement. "You're a father! Congratulations. A boy, huh? I learned from a nutrition book I had that a low-calorie, high-saturated fat diet would increase the chances of the child being a boy. But yeah, I'm happy for you!"

Emily smiled. "So have you ever thought of leaving Militia? If you had a boyfriend, or a lot of close people that you wanted to spend time with... would you leave Militia for them? Or would you use Militia to protect them?"

...

Emily's smile subsided into something softer as she leaned against the backrest. It seemed as if she was a lovestruck teenage girl and yet depressed about the topic in general. In truth, she was -- she wouldn't be waiting outside the gates every day if she wasn't. "I will be honest with you, Matrim." she began, "I have. I've considered that ever since Rem, my brother, and I fought over Militia and him taking over... but I've already given my word that I will help "Unfettered" with his goals. Militia has become my family too, so as far as I'm concerned... I find it hard to think about." A blush appeared by her cheeks at the mention of "Unfettered"; after all, she could be really obvious about her own feelings. She wasn't aware of it though. "I wouldn't use Militia for my own reasons. Militia exists not for me, but for the students." She said, looking up at Matrim smiling. "I will protect the things I treasure with my own strength."

That was why she wanted to become stronger.

[Matrim Gallagher]

"You really like this guy huh?" Matrim asked and chuckled a bit. She mentioned this man a lot, and something about her almost seemed to just glow when she brought him up. When she mentioned him not being here she got sad, and it wasn't like he had ever known her to have a boyfriend or anything like that. She was really faithful and devoted to this guy, even though he hadn't been here. Matrim wasn't sure what the whole story was on this, but part of him couldn't help but want to meet this Unfettered person for himself. In all his time at 259, however short that may have been, he had never met the guy.

"What's he like?" Matrim asked, "I haven't met him, and aside from hearing what his goals and stuff are from you that one time... I haven't really heard what he's like as a person. I don't even know what he looks like or what he does with his free time. Stuff like that, where's he from, does he enjoy roasting marshmellows, tell me about him..."

Matrim wanted to hear more about this person called Unfettered. He wanted to know who he was, because he thought that Militia was relatively good. He was worried that he'd become their enemy, but if what Emily said was true then all he would have to worry about is Gabriel and those who followed him. Otherwise, him and Emily were square, and Matrim would keep his promise as far as a gang war was concerned should one ever occur way down the line. Because as a Reaper, he knew he didn't side with Kate. She was his friend, but she was making a bad choice by leading that gang.

[seishounohana]

"You really like this guy huh?"

"EHHH?!"

Emily immediately blushed a bright red, and if this was an anime, steam would be huffing out of her ears. Was she really that obvious? Man, she needs to stop thinking about "Unfettered" at this point. After all, it had been months and it seems as if he wasn't going to San Francisco at all.

Maybe he -- No. She better not think of that. "Ah, he's... he's..." She paused. Has it been a long time since they've talked? "Ah, He's... a really hardworking guy. Brilliant, but sometimes I wonder what's in that mind of his. I think he'd enjoy roasting marshmallows -- he's good at cooking, so I think ... yeah."

She was smiling as she said all these things. It was just sad though, that in spite of this much loyalty and love, it would all go completely unrequited.

[Matrim Gallagher]

"He's a good cook, that's nice," Matrim said. He wondered what type of fighter this guy was. The leader of Militia, perhaps he was expecting too much, or maybe... just maybe this guy would live up to his name and be some great motivational hero. Or maybe Emily was just beefing him up because of her obvious feelings for him, "I think I'll have to fight him when he gets here. In fact, eventually I'll want to fight you again too... though I'm guessing the situation at the moment probably suggests we should put that off....."

Matrim grinned and looked up, "Nothing personal. It's just that I've been beefing up, and the only way I can measure my achievement is to see who I can beat in a fight. It's my way of seeing how far I've come. And something about fighting your Militia leader seems.... intriguing...." Matrim held back a devilish grin but his eyes were lighting up. His temptation to fight was so great right now. Talk of this great man made Matrim want to see where he stood with him.

"So.... have you ever fought him? Have you seen him fight before? Does he have Qi? Don't tell me what it is though... I want to be surprised... but fighting Qi users is just...." Matrim thought about it, "A lot more fun...."

Matrim's mood swung a bit, his calm and caring demeanor replaced with a taste for destruction. It was more subtle then it could have been though, and he was still on the fence, but the fact was that he was aching to fight. He was aching for a lot of things recently.

[seishounohana]

Emily blinked when Matrim expressed interest in fighting with her again. Well, to be honest, Emily had been slacking off in terms of getting herself some good training. Guess she should so something about that soon. "Oh?" She asked, "Good luck with that. Unfortunately I haven't fought him yet, but I have fought with him during the time when the enforcers were causing a ruckus in 259. As for me, I've not really been able to train as much as I used to. Work and all, but yeah -- I'll let you know when I've caught up with you and maybe we can have a fair fight. Deal?"

If anything, Emily could feel the zeal in Matrim right now. He was probably really itching for a fight though Emily hoped that it wasn't the sort that involved being an all-powerful dictator, considering he was a person in power within the school. But yeah, Emily dismissed that thought to be merely unprecedented speculation on her part.

[Matrim Gallagher]

"Yeah sure whatever," Matrim said slightly pissed off at the idea of her holding off on the fight. He wanted a fight a little sooner than what she suggested. He didn't know if he was stronger than her, he just knew he was stronger than last time. And since she won last time they could very well be the same now. In any case his fighting spirit was killed by her passive shrug off, as if the challenge didn't excite her at all. It was almost as if she was scared to fight again or didn't have much fun the last time they fought. He leaned back in his chair, thinking about everything.

"You didn't seem so against what I said earlier... about killing Gabriel... why is that?" He asked, not looking at Emily, "He was locked away or something like that, a prison for quite some time. Also, he doesn't really think very highly of his allies. In fact I'd say he's got one hell of a superiority complex. But still you didn't exactly get angry at me for suggesting that solution. That's.... comforting in a weird way."

[seishounohana]

Emily blinked. He sounded a little angry. What? Did she offend him any way or something. Uh, what to do what to do -- oh! "U-uh!? If you really want to though, we can fight whenever you want to." She blinked, holding her hands up defensively. Maybe it was a bad idea to actually try and prepare, but heck. Fighting Matrim was fun anyhow, so why the hell not? "I really had a lot of fun on our last fight by the way, despite you calling me Reira and all."

She laughed nervously until he mentioned that thing about not being against killing Gabriel. "There are things I question about him and the way he thinks." She shrugged. As of now, she had yet to realize the psyche that moved Gabriel's darkest depths. But that would come soon - very soon. "Things like this make me think I should leave Militia, but then again - I wish to find more things out for myself before making any conclusions."

Yup, and she would learn it by being fried.