hear no evil, speak no evil (Apprenticeship, Chikako)

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Waiting around wasn't so bad in Jessie's eyes. After all, she was a good 20 minutes early for their appointment so even if she was still standing around for longer it wasn't going to be a big deal. Luckily for her, she was approached by who she assumed was her apprentice Chikako. She was wearing an outfit that made her look like she was going to run a marathon which made Jessie laugh a bit. It wasn't a ridiculous idea given that most of the interns joining these programs didn't really have a clue what they actually meeting would be and yet something that Jessie not only was entertained by but appreciated just as much.[break][break]If she hadn't previously known that Chikako was deaf it was pretty apparent given the sound of her voice which Jessie had heard many times before. She figured given how anxious this girl looked it would be best to start with JSL and not freak her out by forming a mental link right away. So she waved and signed 'Hi Chikako! It's a pleasure to meet you I am in fact Umeboshi, but you can just call me Jessie' she had assumed given Chikako's condition that she would know JSL and if she didn't the next line would solidify that this wouldn't be their only method of communication 'I can actually communicate mentally with you as well in a one-way connection because of my quirk. I can show you if you're comfortable with it or we can keep signing to each other' there were a lot of people who were freaked out by someone speaking directly into their mind and Jessie didn't want to take the chance with her new apprentice.[break][break]

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Chikako Safaia // sign language & mental speech

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Taking the time to look Chikako up and down Jessie couldn't help but feel a bit sad. Clearly, the young girl was uncomfortable in her own skin and gave off the air that just by being here she was a 'burden'. Jessie had gotten an education in Psychology so she had dealt with people of this variety plenty of times and with Chikako having an impairment like her she wanted to make sure she would be as comfortable as possible for the next year. Taking a moment to reassure the girl with a smile she decided to link with her. Her eyes turned a glossy blue color and from Jessie's perspective in a way that only she could see a white chain made its way towards Chikako and attached it to it. This held no weight and Chikako wouldn't even be able to feel it which was good given her seeming aversion to being the center of attention.[break][break]"Hello!" Jessie spoke low and deliberately to be the least jarring she possibly could be "I hope this works for you? I understand it might be a little freaky seeing as you've probably never heard someone clearly, but this is my preferred way to communicate!" with a slight tilt of her head she added "Oh! But I can just as easily work with JSL if that's better for you?" she hoped in her heart that Chikako would feel a little better given that she was someone who while successful had to face some of the same obstacles this young girl had to do growing up.[break][break] Addressing the girl's question about what they were doing today she pointed to a tree that was attached to a bench "We're gonna go sit over there! I figured the first step of this apprenticeship would be to get to know each other yeah? Plus I like being outdoors if I can help it. What do you say?" hopefully the attempt to make herself more accessible would end up paying off. She wasn't exactly the most experienced with interns but she was trying her hardest to make herself be someone they could rely on.

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Chikako Safaia // SIGN LANGUAGE & MENTAL SPEECH

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Without even having to use her quirk Jessie could see that Chikako held a lot of overwhelming feelings bottled up. She had studied about those who when put into stressful situations tended to turtle up in a way and Chikako looked like she fit that type almost too perfectly. It was heartbreaking to see her like that, but Jessie was just glad that she was given the chance to work with this girl consistently as she felt that maybe they could work through this together. She was ultimately caught off guard when she mentioned that her brain...broke and that she wasn't deaf by nature.[break][break]"Not defective just different" She reached out and gave Chikako a reassuring pat on the shoulder "It doesn't matter if you were born that way or it happened to you later in life. Since we'll be working together I hope to bring out your strengths so you'll never call yourself defective again." she placed her bag down and picked through it revealing she had a little packed lunch "Here, I wasn't sure what you liked so I put a little everything in there" she placed it between the two of them to not put any pressure on Chikako in case she didn't want to eat.[break][break]"I guess what I want to know is what your dreams are? Why you're attending U.A and what you want to do when you become a Pro Hero" it was a simple question that Jessie assumed given how Chikako carried herself would have a much more complicated answer but it was a start.

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Chikako Safaia // SIGN LANGUAGE & MENTAL SPEECH

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"Hmm...you see I'm not so sure about that" placing a palm on her chin she contemplated Chikako's offhand comment about a job being 'just a job'. Being the way she was Jessie took little offense to must things and was pretty level headed when it came to the differences or potential misunderstandings of others. Even if it was intentional she usually brushed it off as she knew firsthand that most people who were intentionally rude didn't do so because they actually felt that way deep down mostly from frustration or insecurity. "I'm not as experienced as you'd think in this whole hero business, but I've seen enough to get that almost everyone has a different reason for becoming one. Even if it's simple as just wanting recognition" she herself didn't necessarily become a hero out of a calling or inspiration but for a more personal goal. Regardless of that she still believed that she did like this lifestyle and helping more than she originally anticipated.[break][break]"So I know it's a little unorthodox and that I'm supposed to be teaching you some sort of hero lesson in combat or philosophy but...honestly I'd rather just spend the day doing something relaxing" not as much for her sake but more for Chikako given how her teachers had described her as an anxious individual "Unless you had something better in mind? After all, this is your apprenticeship! We can do whatever you wanna do~" she wasn't sure if Chikako would be that eager to spar or train her quirk, but if they were going to spend a lot of time together she at least wanted to get the girl comfortable enough to look her in the eyes.[break][break]

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Chikako Safaia // SIGN LANGUAGE & MENTAL SPEECH

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It wasn't much of a shock that Chikako was as uneasy as she had been all day. In Jessie's experience studying and...well being one high school was such a weird time. Throw a bunch of other superpowered high school kids and you were bound to have a few that would have doubt and anxiety over there place in the hero world. Chikako wasn't even the first intern she had who held a lot of self-doubts but since she was used to this by now. "I'm not against deciding but...why don't we see what we can do today together?" [break][break]She reached into her bag to pull out a small electronic device that she had been given when she registered to become a Pro Hero. She flicked a button as the power turned on which brought up a small list of things currently going in japan. She would narrow the search down to her current location. "Looks like...we could go respond to a general disturbance?" it wasn't all that official, but perhaps having something to do that involved less thinking. After all, in cases like this, the police would still investigate but at times civilians would ask for a hero to come along too for extra security or just general safety.[break][break]

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Chikako Safaia // SIGN LANGUAGE & MENTAL SPEECH