Apples to Oranges || Elise | Saga ||

Haruto lightly smiled. That was Elise-sa... Elise. Always wanting him to drop the formalities. He acquiesced, smiling helplessly. "Very well, Elise it is." He volunteered. It was rare enough for him to use someone's first name, let alone dropping the honorific- He was just habitually polite! But she was telling the truth- When it came to his friends, there was nothing he would not drop. "Oh, you applied for a new job?" He was surprised, but then- That was Elise for you. Never stopping, always moving ahead. Now that was what he wanted to be like. He smiled. It seemed some things hadn't changed, at least.

All in all, it was a nostalgic moment. A rare bit of peace. It almost made him wish that they could remain reminiscing forever, without moving on to the future- But time, as always, moved on. "Indeed it does. But that's what Heroes are for- Protecting those small moments of peace. So even if it gets hectic, I won't regret my decision." For those small moments of peace- To protect the friends he had made, and the ones he was yet to make. Even if it meant that time would continue to fly by like this. As for Elise's wish- He couldn't help but smile. Elise and Tetsuko were a constant, even if nothing else was!

A moment of silence fell upon them as the conversation took a darker turn. Even not knowing about Spymaster's death, or his relation to Elise- Haruto knew that she was right. Too many villains had escaped, too many heroes been injured... Nimue-sensei and Serperior-sensei, both on leave. it was a sobering thought... And one that maintained his determination. He wanted to be there when it was his classmates raiding the villains, so that when they came back alive, he could make sure that they were also in one piece. Or, failing that, putting the pieces back together. He just... Wasn't sure if he was capable enough to do so.

And it was that renewed determination which led to him being able to speak his mind so firmly. To lay out the insecurities he had not even let Chise know about, the fears he could not even show before his teachers. And Elise listened to them all, as his friend. And gave him advice, as one who had been there and done that. She was right. He was getting ahead of himself. It was amazing how Haruto could assume the best of everyone he met, and yet assume the worst about himself. But Elise's follow up forced him to pause- Eh? It was clear by her words that she hadn't meant what his first thought was. It wasn't that he was trying to put his desires before his skills, but that he was looking at the wrong skills in the first place.

If it was anyone else telling him so, Haruto may have been more skeptical. But Elise was one of those people with the talent he lacked, someone who had taken the path he was staring down. And moreso than that, she was his friend. "Is that so? That does... Put me a lot at ease." He admitted. After all, if there was one talent he had, it was at working hard. He didn't know if he would be called stubborn, but... He sort of got her point. If he did decide to do it, he had to see it through to the end. He couldn't give up in the middle. The question was, would he be able to do that?

As for a goal... A goal was something he had too many of. Becoming a doctor. Rescue studies. His work in the infirmary tied into the first... But would he be able to keep it up alongside working on college courses? And his time spent as a TA... He couldn't just abandon those kids! Was his goal worth abandoning the things he had found? Were the things he had found, worth abandoning his goal? He simply couldn't be sure. He kept listening.

And her next words aligned with the words that had been pushing back his self doubt all this time. That the teachers believed in him- Or they wouldn't have given him so many opportunities. Even Hatsumomo-sensei deferred to him with regards to the infirmary. He wasn't that skilled, didn't deserve such treatment... And yet, they saw something in him, that even he himself had not seen. His lips pursed as he contemplated. Elise thought it was worth trying. The teachers thought so as well. Why was he the only one to not think the same way? He paused... "Thank you." Elise was telling him exactly what he needed to hear. Giving life to the tiny voices in his heart that had been screaming at him ever since he was given the choice- The ones saying, you can do it!

However, she did not simply stop there. The downsides were laid clear- Inexperience. Immaturity. The dangers of impatience. His pride chilled as soon as it had warmed- The exact fears upon which his self doubts lay, had also been given voice. ..." And that's exactly why I'm so conflicted about it..." He admitted quietly. If before he was subdued due to intently listening and ruminating, now his quiet voice was the voice of a boy encased in self doubts. "Am I being too impatient?" His insensitive question would come- If starting a year early was impatient, then what would Elise's path have been called?

However, her next suggestion blindsided him. "Eh? Stamina?" He was quite surprised. His core strength had always been weak due to his quirk- And despite its downsides lessening, it had still proven difficult to improve in that respect. The damage had already been done, and despite being under control, his quirk remained as voracious as ever. For each step forward, he took a step backwards as well. It was already a miracle that he had been able to recover to what could be considered a normal level as far as stamina went- To go beyond that? But... She had a point. If his body were to be healthier than this, would there really be any problem as far as workload went?

"I see, I had not considered approaching it from that angle before. As you know, and Kirk as well... My quirk is not exactly conductive to such things. But if I were to give up without a fight this early... I shouldn't even bother with college courses, isn't that right?" He seemed to have gained an understanding of what she was saying. And finally, that new job she had mentioned earlier, came up again. "Public safety commission? No, I can't say I have." He admitted frankly. Such things were above his level in the first place. But he couldn't help but be curious- What this job Elise had applied for was.

Her response brought a smile to his face- It seemed that despite her new role in life, Elise had hardly changed from the person he knew. "Mmhmm! And I'm happy to tell you that Support's been going as well as ever... Though Saito-kun still worries me. We're coming up on our third year and he still hasn't decided on his goals... Nor found it in his heart to study..." Haruto bemoaned- It was clear that his classmate's struggles in his studies were concerning to him, even after stepping down as the class Vice President. But even in this, his optimism shone through- Rather than that Saito was having difficulty, it was more accurate to say that he was actively avoiding either thing. "But I've been helping Orlov-sensei as the teacher's assistant for the first year class, and while there's been a few hitches... Most of them are super enthusiastic, and I can't wait to see how they grow!"

Even those hitches had been mostly rectified... Kouta's lack of direction seemed to have been cleared up, at least. Though he was still concerned by how often Jin was asleep in class... Anyways! "And of course, we second years have hardly been falling behind them!" Once the hero class graduated, there would be plenty of people who had their backs! He guaranteed it! And he himself was only one of those people. Was Elise as well? But then, she never had transferred back into the support course, so perhaps her new job was more in line with heroics? He could only admit to having lost track of his one-time good friend... A fact which hit him like a punch to the gut. What other friends had he just been so busy that he forgot to keep up with?

But he could scroll through his contacts later, right now the one in front of him was Elise! And if he was already feeling a bit glum from his neglect of his social circle, then her words only made him more morose. Imagining the hardships she had gone through... It was true that her talent was significantly higher than his own, and that he had put in no less effort than her... But conversely, did that not mean that she had put in as much effort as he himself had? He would never dismiss her efforts under the regard of talent... But hearing it stated outright, really drove home the hardships she had gone through. But even her, as talented as she was... Had the same insecurities. The same worries when seeing others grasping things more easily than herself. What's the phrase... There's always a bigger fish?

But in the end, what mattered wasn't talent. It was the determination to push forward with the talent you had... And, when it came down to it... Did he have that determination? His reason to want to become a doctor... Even he admitted that it sounded like a children's story. He didn't have the memories Elise had, the love she had, the need she had. All he had was a dream, and a stubborn desire to reach it. Did he have a wish, with that level of conviction? He sought to aid the image of quirks in the world, but... Such a vague dream, could it truly support him in his darkest times?

"I see. When it comes to that, I... I don't know. Becoming a doctor has been my dream since childhood, but... It's not the kind of thing that has a strong reason behind it. Just a childish wish to make the world a better place." He derided himself. "But." His wavering voice regained its strength. It seemed he had come to an answer from inside of his doubts. "Even if, there's no reason. Even if, I don't have anything to fall back on. It's still my dream." Elise could always gain strength from her desire to help her lover. Haruto didn't have that kind of history. Perhaps because his own love was a fellow Support student, and he had never seen her hurt the way Elise had seen Tetsuko. But even so! "That much is my determination." He just didn't know if it would be enough. But! If he gave up now! That would just be admitting that his determination was too weak! His wavering mind stabilized.

Not impatience, but urgency. The knowledge that things were coming soon... Perhaps because the school had already announced that it would be aiding some students in attaining an early graduation? But, with his newfound force of will... "I understand. No, rather, I wouldn't have it any other way." When it came to hard work, Haruto was no stranger- He was the one who would overwork himself rather than have a moment's rest. His current frenzy of obligations was more than enough proof of that, if the frantic manner in which he had been studying medicine was not enough.

He was, of course, aware of how draining surgery could be. It had simply never occured to him how much his own physique would hold him back when it came to that... His eyes widened in realization. "Haha, I'll see what I can work out with him." Unfortunately, both of them underestimated how debilitating Haruto's quirk was towards his physical frame- Even with Kirk's help, he would never reach the level of stamina he needed. "Physical stamina and mental stamina, is it... I'll remember that!" His cheerful attitude was far removed from how he had looked when they met. It seemed his epiphany had helped more than his determination. But for some things, willpower and desire were not enough, and some creativity would be required...

But enough of that! His curiosity was finally sated! "Oh, coordination? Interesting! I'll definitely mention them to my students in the Support class... I know a few of them expressed interest in the communications aspect of support. Heh, and Chise may well be interested. I understand she's been training her investigative talents." The soft voice he spoke in served to show the affection he held. And medical assistance as well... It certainly seemed like a group to be proud of!

But, as she finished... Haruto could only whimper out a, "Sorry..." Her words struck the part of him that was already feeling discontent with his own lack of communication. As busy as he had been... No, there was no excuse. It wasn't fair to Elise to try to justify his own radio silence on the matter. As for her silent leaving... Indeed, he had been quite surprised. The lack of communication had begun long before her leaving, and he had only found out... Eh, how had he found out, again? Tetsuko had mentioned it on the school chat, he thought... Maybe? He... Really had been too focused on himself, he started to realize.

But what the boy forgot- Or perhaps, ignored due to a desire to blame himself over others- Was that communication is a two way street!