fandomhighdorms | Fourth Floor Common Room; Friday Evening.

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Fourth Floor Common Room; Friday Evening.

It was definately time for more tea. Not only was it soothing to her still sore muscles, but Sakurazaki found it to also be generally good for her soul. For a day filled with loud music, she had deemed that it had been almost unsettlingly quiet. Part of her was grateful for this; she did need the quiet. But another part of her was getting rather depressed over it all. She hadn't seen Ranma since Tuesday, Jude since Monday. Considering the events of the weeks, this was ultimately a good thing. Very good. But that didn't stop her from being depressed about it.

Sighing once her tea was prepared, she plops down onto the couch. No book or other distraction today. Just her, staring into a cup of tea, sipping idly, numbly. Emotionally, anyway. Her arms still cried out in pain when she moved them.

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Even after spending some time in the third floor common room below earlier, Alphonse still had that wierd urge to wander off and do something. So here he was on the fourth floor to poke his head in. "Hey, Sakurazaki," he greeted once he noticed her. "Something wrong? You look kinda down."

"Hello, Alphonse." Sakurazaki sighs, shoulders hunching around her cup of tea. She keeps her eyes down on the steam, not even bothering to lift them. "Wrong" didn't seem to even cover it right now.

But, of course, she denies it. "No, no, everything's okay," she says in a voice that says that everything not. "Just tired, I guess. Been training too much, you know?"

"Finally got your sword?" he asked, taking a seat on a chair across the sofa. If her tone of voice wasn't lying, then that was hardly the problem, however.

Momentary sunshine breaks through the clouds in her eyes. "Uh-huh! I came back from Karate and she was waiting for me." Sakurazaki laughs. "I don't think I've ever run down so many flights of stairs so quickly in my life! The practise area by the gun range really is working well. Still need to think of something better to block my full wind attacks, but it's something we can work on. So I've been practising as much as I could Wednesday and Thursday." It definately sounds a little obsessive to any ears besides her own. "But I've been off for so long that it's really come back to hurt me today." Her shoulders shift as if she needs to remind herself of the soreness. "So. Sore."

"Eeh, it's normally not a good idea to work yourself so hard when you've been out of commission for a while," Alphonse added in, even if he was aware that she probably knew this already. He figured it was the soreness that put her in a bummed out mood-- or so he hoped, anyway. After thinking it over he added, "If you can find the right materials to withstand your attacks, I could see about easily creating a wall for you."

Sakurazaki's head tilts for just a moment, not certain at first what he means, and then it clicks. "Oh! You mean, with your alchemy stuff?" Her eyes are a little wider; why didn't she think of that? ...But it had been a while since he mentioned it, and she still wasn't sure she understood it.

"Yup! A wall's easy," Alphonse said with a broad smile. "I just need the materials for it and I could whip it up in no time at all."

This was...this was amazing.

"That's amazing, Alphonse!" Sakurazaki beams; there would be a slight jump, but she was mindful of both her tea and her pain. "What sort of materials would you need?"

"Anything works, really," he said. "Do you know what would work best? Like thick wood or something different?"

"Stone," she says without hesitation, a determined force in her voice. "Would that work? How much would you need? I was going to start dragging boulders down for a few of my excersizes, but if you alchemy can help create a sort of continual supply, it'll save my arms and back a lot of work. Umm, if that's how it works. I have to admit, I still don't think I entirely understand it."

Alphonse nodded. "It does, yes. I'd need, well... a lot, if you want a large wall. We'd still have to get it down to the gun range though, since I can't create stone, just manipulate it."

She nods with a smile. "Like I said, I was planning on relocating some boulders, so that's definately not a problem."

Sakurazaki's shoulders rise slightly again with another grin. "This would be so amazing of you, Alphonse! Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome," Alphonse replied happily. "It's not a problem at all! I told you I'd help you if you needed it."

Beaming and releasing a small sigh of happiness, Sakurazaki sips at her tea, recalling the earlier conversation she'd had with Peter earlier about friendship and realizing that, no matter what sort of drama continued to spark between her and Ranma, she still had some pretty good other friends. She made a silent vow to try to never be a bad friend to them as she had with Ranma.

But, still...Confronting that issue brought back some of her forlornness from earlier. There's another sigh, this one back to being sad, eyes stuck on the tea again.

"Alphonse?" she asks quietly, biting her lip slightly, still feeling hesitant although she knew from previous experience that she could confide in him better than anyone else. "Can I...can I ask you for some advise on something?"

"Hm?" The smile quickly dropped from his face when Alphonse noticed the reluctant tone in her voice. "Sure, you may."

The forlorn demenour from earlier returns, this time in the company of a tight throat. Sakurazaki tries to force it down, afraid she won't be able to talk unless it disappears. This? was not easy. At all. But she knew she needed to at least get it out. She'd explode if she didn't.

And this was the only chance she had, too. Alphonse was the only other person she'd mentioned the boyfriend thing to. Sure, Jude had probably mentioned it to others; he didn't have the sort of bashful reservation about it that she did. But probably not to anyone she could talk to.

"Remember..." she starts out awkwardly, huddling again around her tea. "Remember how I mentioned the boyfriend thing to you the other day?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, of course," he said. "You're not still feeling awkward about it, are you?"

Sakurazaki grunts. That had to be the biggest understatement ever.

"Of course I'm still awkward about it," she says, "but now...now it's even worse. On top of all my awkwardness, there's....there's this...other factor." She's turning the mug around in her hands. She draws in a deep breath, not quite sure how to say it.

But she tries. She had to. "What should you do....what should someone do if...well, that is...I mean, I'm really happy, but...what if...what do you do if your...if your best friend doesn't...doesn't want you to have this guy as your boyfriend?"

Alphonse's eyebrows rose; he'd never been in a relationship himself, so it was hard for him to come up with an immidiate answer. Or one he was confident would suffice at all. Even after ranging through a series of expressions, his mind was still drawing a blank. "I-- I'm not sure," he admitted meekly. "Unless, he was a bad person or something? But I don't think that's the case either, is it?"

She shakes her head lightly. "That's not the case at all. He's absolutely amazing, he really is. And he makes me really happy, but...this...friend. I feel as though I've disrespected him something terrible, and, after that, I really owe it to him to understand and meet his wishes. It's my duty, really. But...but..." Sakurazaki draws in a deep breath, eyes starting to well up. She clings to the mug. "I don't want to. And it's so selfish of me! So incredibly selfish!"

"No, don't feel that way," Alphonse insisted softly, absentmindedly moving from the chair to beside Sakurazaki on the couch. "If a relationship is going well, then of course no one would want to end that, and it goes for any kind of relationship. I wouldn't end it if it means only hurting yourself more. I mean, I don't know why your friend here wants you to, but..." He bit his lip, hoping he wasn't saying anything wrong. "I think sometimes, friends may disagree with you on things, but in the end you've gotta do what's right for yourself. I'd do anything for my friends too, but if I don't believe it's the right choice, sometimes I need to stand on my ground too, right? It might not be the easiest thing to do, and may cause even bigger disagreements, but, well... I say just do what you think will benefit you more."

Sakurazaki's eyes drift away. "But what benefits me doesn't matter. That's never mattered. My life is about serving others, and not serving myself."

Alphonse visibly frowned at that. "Sakurazaki! That's not true at all! You need to care about yourself just as much as you do with others!"

She still keeps her eyes off to the side, toward the ground, drawing her legs in closer to her. A tear actually falls down her cheek, and she idly wipes it away and sniffs. She didn't know what to say; no one's ever really said that to her before.

"But what if," she starts after a while, slowly, unsurely, "what if caring about yourself conflicts with caring for other people? Shouldn't the other person come first?"

Alphonse shook his head. "I don't mean be too full of yourself where it starts clouding your judgement. I guess it all really depends on what you think is the right choice. But don't think that you need to make everyone around you happy, because in the end that's just going to hurt you more. It probably does sound selfish with me telling you to put yourself first, but knowing when to and when not to is important."

"But I...I've never been in a situation where it was important to put myself first," Sakurazaki's voice is still quiet, but she finally turns her eyes back toward him. "So how am I supposed to know when it is and when it isn't?"

"There's a first time for everything," Alphonse said with a small smile. "I can't make that decision for you. What I may think is the right choice might not be what you're thinking at all. So you tell me: in this situation, what do you want? Not your friend in question, but you?"

"I...I want..." Sakurazaki pauses a moment to consider it. What did she want? "I want things to go back to how they were before Tuesday night, but that's impossible. I want to stay wtih Jude, but I want Ranma to be happy, too, but I can't do both. In this situation, what I want cannot happen. So the only thing I can do is what satisfies the needs of the others, which is slightly more possible."

She wasn't very good at this game.

"Ranma?" Alphonse got slightly wide-eyed, suddenly feeling very guilty. What he said was much, much easier without knowing who the other party was. "I-- I mean," he shook the thought off-- right now he needed to help Sakurazaki, not make it worse. "He's not happy with your relationship?" he asked, realizing that wasn't the right thing to say until afterwards.

Colour floods to Sakurazaki's face in mere seconds, a hand slapping over her mouth. Her eyes widen. She did say who she was talking about, didn't she? She had gotten so caught up with thinking that she hadn't even noticed.

Thinking too much again. Getting her into trouble again. Just like Ranma told her. She can't help scowling slightly, but it quickly turns into a miserable sigh.

"No, he isn't..." She's already spilled enough details; she doesn't imagine it would be helpful in any way, shape or form to go into exactly why he isn'.

"I wouldn't of thought he'd think that way," Alphonse sighed more audibly than he planned. Of course, he didn't know a lot of things about Ranma, when he thought about it-- Alphonse had only talked to him a few times at the most. "Have you told him about how you felt in all this?"

"Well, no." Eyes are back to the now cold tea. "I usually have a lot of difficulty talking about things like this to anyone. Especially him. Can't usually talk to him about anything without everything turning into a huge shouting match." And physical blows in a few cases, but she decides it's best not to mention that.

Alphonse gave her a puzzled look. Normally, he'd think that talking it out would be the best resolution for most situations; it always worked for him, anyway. He really wasn't sure what other routes she could take and was starting to feel bad about it. "Then maybe, well..." Alphonse trailed off, trying to think harder. "I... can't really say. Other than to let things cool down between you two a little before bringing it up, but... that's easier said than done."

She draws in a deep breath. "So you see my predicament, then. Thankfully, I haven't run into either of them since...since things happened, but I can't avoid them forever. And, besides....I miss them. I miss them both a lot. But I have no idea what to do when I'm suddenly unable to avoid them." Another deep sigh; she cradles her mug between her knees so she can bury her face in her hands.

"I guess I wasn't much help, was I?" Alphonse rubbed his forehead with his hand. "Sorry," he added. "... But I do mean what I said, Sakurazaki." He leaned over closer, putting a hand on her shoulder. "If you want to continue being with Jude, then do so. If Ranma doesn't like it, then..." Well, he wasn't sure how to end that, but he hoped Sakurazaki did.

Sakurazaki flinches at the touch, mostly out of natural habit, but also a little from surprise. But, after the moment passes, she relaxes again. "No, you have been helpful, Alphonse. Talking about things that are bothering me is a luxury I've never had...but it's extremely soothing. I may not have a solution just yet, but I feel better. Thank you."

Then she blushes, shrinking back again slightly. "But why are you still calling me Sakurazaki? We're well beyond that formality. Please, call me Setsuna..."

"Oh," Alphonse recoiled his hand, leaning back in the couch. "That's good, I'm glad I could help you in that way, then."

He looked back up at her, slightly embarassed. "Well, um... all right then, Setsuna."

"Much better," she smiles softly. "Thank you, again, Alphonse. I really am very lucky to have you as a friend."

Alphonse smiled. "I'm just happy to help you out." He fell silent, unsure of what else to add to the conversation. "Don't fret too much over it, alright? Things will work out for you soon enough."

Sakurazaki nods, giving a small sound of affirmation. Her smile is, despite the sadness still behind it, decently bright. "I'm sure it will..."

"But I should probably get some sleep. After all that training I've been doing, a good night's sleep will be nice."

"Oh." She just remembers as she stands. "Plus, I've got detention tomorrow. I almost forgot."

Alphonse nodded, and then made an awkward but sympathedic smile. "That's probably a good idea. Detention tends to be a little... eventful, and I speak from experince. Sorry you had to win that lottery thing."

"E...eventful?"

Sakurazaki looks down at him with a frown. She was expecting to spend the time just sitting there fuming over wasted training time. That comment? Made her a little afraid.

"It sorta depends on who's running the session that day, but," Alphonse cut himself off. "... Nah, I won't make you worry. You'll get out if it fine, but it definitely lives up to the standards of Fandom Quirkiness."

Sakurazaki sucks in a deep breath, as though steeling herself. "A day without obstacles to overcome is a day wasted," she tells herself, smiling a little doubtfully at Alphonse before cutting across to the kitchenette to take care of her mug.

She offers him another smile as she stands at the door. "Have a good night, Alphonse. And thank you. Again and a million times over."

Alphonse stood up as well, making his way out the common room behind Sakurazaki. "Don't mention it," he replied. "You have a good rest, too."

~~There's a certain someone she owes tea to. And after this long... the interest makes it more than just tea...~~

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Fourth Floor Common Room; Friday Evening.

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