Replay

4-4 Battery

A/N: I've been waiting for this pun since I decided on the theme for this arc's titles. At long last, it's here. 

I'm curious how the pacing feels to you readers. If you don't mind giving feedback, do you think scenes are longer than necessary, Blake monologues too long and/or too often, etc? Conversely, would you prefer a bit more fluff that doesn't necessarily contribute to the plot? Any comments, positive or negative, are appreciated.

"Ah, you're that girl that I heard came yesterday, aren't you? I see that the Boss didn't assault you—that's the best invitation he can offer, so welcome in."

After a prolonged stare at the smiling boy holding the door open to me, I shrugged, wiped my shoes at the doormat, and stepped into the Shibas' house with a muttered "sorry to intrude."

Despite the sun shining through the cracks of the cloud-covered sky, bestowing much-needed warmth after the morning's onslaught of rain, the house remained cool. I balanced my unused umbrella against the shoe rack and buttoned up my jacket. The house was silent aside from the faint din of a television from one of the rooms along the hallway. "Is Taiju-san not home?"

"He just left," Kokonoi Hajime replied, his arms linked behind his white coat. "But his siblings are still home, to your luck. The little lady's in the living room, and the young master's in his room. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work." I politely thanked him and watched as he left into the first room on the right, his overcoat swaying behind him.

I followed the path Yuzuha had escorted me along yesterday, ascending the stairs and taking the corridor along the right. The first room was not Hakkai's; above a dresser hung a framed picture of a smiling woman hugging the bob-cut, preschooler look-alike in her lap, the white wallpaper sparse in any other furnishings—I looked away and continued to the next room.

Hakkai sat on his bed, its sheets neatly done, and stared at nothing discernable. When I tapped his open door with a knuckle, his head spun towards me, and he jumped to his feet. "Frank, thanks for...coming back. You didn't have to, but you did."

"I wanted to talk with you, but I'll come over every now and then," I said.

His face lit up. "Thank you, I really mean it. Thank you."

Somehow, he felt...younger from yesterday. At least today he didn't refuse my visit, but this contrasting eagerness felt further removed from the boy I'd known as the 2nd Division's Vice-Captain.

It was an uncomfortable mood.

I switched topics. "Can you see anything with your telescope at night, from here?"

"Oh, yeah." He walked over to his telescope, its silver tripod glinting in sunlight, and delicately picked up from a velvet case beside it a clear, cap-sized lens. "There are some light pollution filters that are pretty decent. I also have some others that help increase contrast—" He pulled out a lens tinted red, and I came closer to watch him explain. "And a bunch of other filters depending on what I wanna look at, and—" He opened another case and presented a stout, cylindrical scope, one end covered by a grooved knob. "—some eyepieces for different magnifications."

I chuckled. "You seem really passionate about astronomy."

His eyes seemed to sparkle. "I've always wanted to go to the moon since I was little. It's just always there—except when it's the new moon or cloudy, of course—this little white spot in the night sky. Aren't you curious what it'd look like there, what kinda sights you can see in the galaxy?"

I'd never been too interested in astronomy, but even I had heard about some of the fantastic discoveries that would occur in the next decade. "I'm sure they'll be stunning, with new technology permitting deeper exploration of the universe. By the time we enter the workforce, there'll be expanding opportunities," I said. "Do you plan to be an astronaut?"