for @penvmbral
There was a worrying trend emerging.
Satoru had now personally supervised the unprecedented admission of a new student two years in a row. These were rushed, last-minute tributaries to their dwindling ranks that ultimately felt less like small victories, and more like jokes made in poor taste. Children treated like punchlines, soft in their lack of years and conveniently waylaid with promises of heroism as they were herded to death's doorstep.
Though- that wasn’t to say he was trying to discredit the students themselves. Conventionally, years at the Metropolitan College were composed of trios. The way Satoru saw it, it was a stupid arrangement that made it unnecessarily difficult to pair students off for assignments.
Whatever. They had four now. If nothing else, it was one way to make light of their situation. That said, Junpei had missed the majority of the first term and his blatant inexperience showed. Unfortunately, the curse to be exorcised would be a little above his pay grade, and Satoru had elected to have him sit this particular engagement out.
Satoru sighed, thumbing through the contents of his pockets and fishing out his wallet, simultaneously rustling up a receipt that he flicked into the trash. They were en-route to a convenience store nearby since he’d estimated that the mission would preoccupy the other three for long enough that the two of them might grab a snack. It was a subtle and clever diversion, one he hoped to leverage in order to fit in some much needed bonding time with his new, very quiet protege.
“Most teenagers your age won’t stop talking. What’s eating you?”
