Settling Our Differences [Naomi]

She would shake her container, hoping the stuff was cool enough to drink. She took a sip, seeming to have no reaction to Hyde’s protests. When he was done ranting, she would place her drink down again, “When in the world did I ever ask you to blindly lay down your life? You assume too much when people are speaking to you.” Surprisingly, she was the calm one right now, “Let me repeat, I will not make you rush to your death like a fool. I was merely asking if you would be willing to risk your life if and when the time comes, because it will come. However, based on your reaction, you haven’t reached that point yet.” She sighed quietly as she traced the rim of her cup, “I will have to go back and see what I can find out. You best pray that nothing else has gone wrong, or the next time I ask won’t just be a matter of if you’re ready. What’s happening there will not be resolved easily. My only goal is to fix it.” She took another sip and waited for his response.

No no… it’s not that’s… it’s something else…” Hyde took a deep breath and stated eating his banana cream cake. After three bites, he started to maintain his smile once more. He was starting to feel a little better; he didn’t like to be one of those serious types that sucked the fun out of everything. However, he tends to not listen clearly when he gets like that, it could lead to some complications. “ Ok, well…. What I was going to say Naomi…. Is that I am ready. This new power that I have, being the wildcard isn’t for show. I took this power because I wanted enough strength to protect you guys, you, Alphonse, Shun, Sharaku all of my friends and anyone that couldn’t protect themselves from the shadows. To make such a decision for myself, I would have to be ready. “

Hyde would then look at Naomi in the eye. “ You could be sure that I’ll try my best not to let you down anymore. I have changed Naomi and I guess now is as good as a time as any to show you that. We can fix this, together.“


Strength

Spoiler:

She shifted her weight in her seat once again, “I take it that’s a yes then.” So he was willing to risk his life if it came to that. That was all she needed to hear before she moved onto the next phase of her plan. She would stand up just as she finished her drink and left the money for it on the table, “Just so you know, this isn’t your second chance. It’s the way to earn your second chance. Wait for me to get back to you and don’t blow it. If you rush into a situation without having all the information again, I won’t even consider giving you another.” The clock was ticking and she needed to figure out what to do with Hyde and the other San Malarus. She had an idea, but… All the actors needed to play their part. Hyde was no exception, and his part was probably one of the largest. Still, she wouldn’t say anything until she was fully ready. If she did, he may go running in like a mad man, “And you better learn one other thing. You can’t keep sitting on that high horse of wanting to protect us. It’s fine to say you want to protect those that can’t fight for themselves, but don’t treat all of us like we can’t manage on our own. After all, you know firsthand that I’m no pushover. Alphonse and Sharaku are nothing short of formidable in their own right. Stop saying what you’re doing is to protect us and that what you did was for us. It makes it sound like you think we can’t handle ourselves without you there to hold our hands.” She would walk away on that note. She gave Hyde his time and told him how to earn a second chance. If he wanted it, he’d have to work for it. She wouldn’t just hand it over to him.

{EXIT}

Your misunderstanding that, it’s not like I said you guys can’t protect yourselves. There’s no shame in getting even stronger than we are so we don’t hold anyone back. No one’s short of getting downed, I wanted to be good enough to pick up the slack. I didn’t take the power with the thought that I could do everything on my own…“ Afterwards, Hyde started to leave too after Naomi paid for herself. He wasn’t too sure how the talk turned out, but he was somewhat hopeful. “I guess the only think I can do right now is wait. “ After paying, Hyde proceeded to leave.

Thread End