Shiro & Kyle, Sunday evening

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Shiro and Kyle escape from the the brownstone for dinner and talk about the mission. And then the call comes.


"Chirashizushi, onegai shimasu." The cashier smiled politely at Shiro and accepted his cash, and waved him to the bar. He and Kyle had come down here for a real meal, devoid of sugar and saturated fats. Also to get away from the anxiety that was quickly filling the brownstone. It was just a small, fast food place, not a real restaurant, but it was run by Japanese people, which was Shiro's sole criterion. He sat, accepted a steaming cup of tea, and waited for Kyle to join him.

Kyle placed his own order - much more awkwardly than Shiro, but with almost as much confidence that he knew what he wanted. Even if he mangled some of the words - both English and Japanese, it wasn't the first time either had eaten here. And the six-foot-four blonde guy in the Sushi Place was hard to miss - and hard not to recognize. "Dude, I swear, I might eat the wasabi just to get my nose clear. Too much smog. Too many people." He said, once he'd sat down.

Shiro sipped his tea, then put down his cup and reached for a pod of edamame. "I have to admit that the apartments are much less filthy than I had imagined. It could be worse."

"Why'd you think they'd be filthy?" Kyle asked, drinking from his own cup of tea. "And if you tell anybody I like green tea, I will never live it down. Bad enough whatshername, Nori thinks I'm a wuss for cooking."

"Tea is acceptable." The bowl next to the edamame was steadily filling up with empty pods. "They have a Frenchwoman, British people, and Americans living in a small space." As if that explained Shiro's prediction.

Kyle shook his head. "I don't think Nori'd mock me. But like, Laurie. Or Julio. Or somebody. And I don't need anymore making fun. Hard enough to avoid Laurie and her mad on for making me dress like an idiot." He rolled his eyes. "I mean, I know she's trying to keep her mind off things, but dude, does it have to be directed at my hair? MY HAIR."

"Kyle, that is what is going to get you mocked," Shiro explained, a grin hidden behind his teacup. "And is your hair not a noble sacrifice for all of the frightened people?"

"No." Kyle said, pulling a very fake 'sulking' face. "I need my hair. It's the source of all my awesome." He grinned. "Wait, no, that's Doc Samson. I get us mixed up sometimes. Except I don't." There was a pause as their food arrived, and Kyle spent a minute adjusting his disposable chopsticks so that he could use them without flinging fish around the restaurant.

Shiro thanked the server and deftly broke the wooden chopsticks, shaved off the splinters, and picked up a piece of salmon. "Itadakimasu," he said instinctively before eating the fish. "So. What do you think of all this?" he asked, partly to make conversation, but also because he really was curious about how the trainees were reacting to the world's greatest super villain in possession of a weapon of mass destruction.

For the amount of time it took to eat a piece of tuna, Kyle considered saying that he was just fine and sure everyone would be okay. Except Shiro would probably know it was bullshit. "I dunno. Trying not to freak too hard, I guess."

"It is . . . insane, is the only word I can think of." Shiro chewed thoughtfully on a piece of eel. "I cannot think of a more disastrous scenario. Unless he took control of a nation's nuclear arsenal, I suppose." Not much of a comforting thought, that.

"Dude, if you say stuff like that, it's gonna happen. I'm sure somebody made a joke about Buckethead's personal asteroid or something and now look what happened. " Kyle said. "Hell, that might've been me. Fuck, if this is all my fault, I'm gonna feel really guilty."

"I don't think karma works quite like that." But maybe sacrificing Kyle to the gods would be beneficial. The amusing thought was worth a brief chuckle. "I hate that I cannot join them. But I would be barely more useful than Wolverine."

"I'm trying not to think about it." Kyle said, a touch sullenly. "I would be useful. All of us trainees would be, and I think we all asked about nine billion times." He'd asked all of once out loud, seen the look on Cyclops' face, and decided to keep his asking to thought-based. If Nate or Dr. Jean or The Professor had heard it, they hadn't said anything to him. "I know Marius did. I hate feeling useless.." He bit a piece of eel in half and swallowed.

"I can only imagine what they will encounter. Not only the Brotherhood, but a number of dangerous criminals just waiting for targets to focus their rage upon." Shiro's tea was starting to steam more. "I am designed for such confrontation, but flinging fire in an oxygen-rich environment in the middle of a vacuum . . ." No matter how many times Shiro rationalized and explained it to himself, he still felt impotent and rejected.

"No shit." Kyle agreed. And he was all ready to say something reassuring, or as reassuring as he could be when the cell phone in his back pocket buzzed, making him jump. He pulled it out - noticing Shiro reaching for his at the same time and the expression of camaraderie and annoyance at being left behind changed to worry. Flipping it open, he read the text message, and then turned his phone to face Shiro. "Dude. I think they need us. You get the same one?"

"Fuck." Meaning yes. "I guess we are not so useless anymore. Let's go."