20/9/2055
3:50 AM

Sean

Making my way to the rear of the compound, I’m careful not to make any unnecessary noise.

Exiting the rear doors, he is just where I sensed he would be, probably thinking about the night’s events and… well…

“You came, I see.”

“Yeah.”

Walking up to Shou and standing next to him, we both stare up into the sky, blanketed above us by the energy canopy currently covering the entire compound. Hard to believe we’re in the sky—you literally can’t tell with how calm and still everything is.

“So… you—”

“Yep.” I cut him off. Probably better he doesn’t verbalize that. “You’re the only person here who’d be able to tell, as you know.”

“Does… anyone else know?”

“No. I have my reasons, but I’ll need to tell everyone eventually. That will be a ‘fun’ conversation… As things are now though, probably not a great idea, especially considering what comes next.”

“Of course…” Shou sighs deeply. “I have been gone far too long. I can imagine my sister will be very upset with me.”

“What did you do…?”

“...”

“That bad, huh?”

“Yes…”

“Uh, good luck. She has quite the temper…”

Shou raises an eyebrow, as if to inquire what I mean.

“You’ve met her?”

“Yeah.” Not much point in lying. “Haven’t seen her in a little under ten years though. You, uh, want a hand finding her? She’s probably where you suspect she is, but it might help to double check where she is now.”

“If… you do not mind.”

“No worries, just… keep this to yourself. Thanks for not saying anything thus far, by the way.”

“Given the signals you were giving me…”

“Yeah, I bet from the outside it looked like I was pissed because of Adam… which isn’t exactly untrue, him being my best friend and all.”

“I—”

Stopping him, I raise my hand close to his face.

“I’m mostly joking. I’m really in no place to judge you anyway…  trust me. Now, let’s see.”

I close my eyes and concentrate. My Sensory Gaze races for her Powered Field. I’m… pretty familiar with it. Not something he needs to know right now though.

There she is. Exactly where we thought.

“She’s there.”

“I see. Thank you.”

Now that we’re alone… I’d best get his opinion.

“I have to ask, now that you’re here and I can confirm my suspicions with a bit more certainty…”

“Isamu?”

So it’s not just me who noticed…

“Yeah… what do you think?”

“He is… ‘familiar.’”

I thought as much.