Page 45 of Pandion

The specifics had probably been mentioned in one class or another, but Kagesawa had yawned through most of the theory. It was a miracle he’d ever managed to wrangle passing grades from that mess. He mused he would have had better success now that he had genuine interest in the subject, but alas, he couldn’t change the past.

Satoru regularly sent all sorts of notions, mental states and encouragement through the link like it was as easy as breathing. Kagesawa hadn’t consciously tried sending anything since Satoru was always picking up things on his own, but transferring feelings couldn’t be all that different from projecting dialogue, right?

“Ah, morning. Did you sleep well?” he opened the conversation. Satoru looked up at him and yawned.

“You look chipper today,” Satoru mumbled. Since it was usually him getting up at the crack of dawn, the contrast was almost alarming.

Here you go.Kagesawa gathered up an ample helping of contented cheerfulness and tried passing it along with his words.

Satoru stopped where he stood. It was as if he’d been hit with a sudden, heavy gust of wind that left him blinking dubiously. There was a brief disjointed frown when he realised he was smiling.

“What was that?” He sat down at the kitchen table. The top half of his face was trying to emote confusion while the bottom was still smiling.

“Something to cheer you up. Not good?” Kagesawa inserted the fish into the grill and checked that he’d selected the right temperature for the vegetables he was steaming. He was really rather impressed with himself that he’d remembered to time the rice cooker so that the rice would be done along with the rest of the breakfast.

“A little less would have been enough, but thanks. I feel like my face is cramping.” He didn’t sound too upset.

“Something the matter?” Kagesawa set the timer for the fish and sat at the table.

“I got an invitation for another review.” Satoru sighed and leaned forward on his elbows. “But that’s not what worries me. I got some news from Takazaki this morning while you were out.”

“Oh?”

“The initial response has been promising, and there haven’t been any reports of catastrophic port removals so far. It’s bound to happen sooner or later, but so far so good. The problem is that it’s been causing a worrying polarisation between the empaths who’ve removed their ports and the ones who won’t. Some pushback’s to be expected. I was hoping all of this would start a long-overdue dialogue, possibly even an investigation into the EA’s dealings, but...” Satoru tossed a data chip onto the table. “The sad side-effect of the unrest within our ranks has caused others to voice their discontent for empaths as a whole. They’resaying it’s an honourless profession and that we’re nothing more than glorified secretaries and vehicle handlers.”

“That’s been going on for decades. It’ll die down once the dust settles.” The news was worrying, but Kagesawa had always preferred to steer clear from any political discourse for the sake of his mental health. “So, what’s this then?” He picked up the chip.

“It’s a collection of other damning evidence the activist groups have been collecting to shut down the EA altogether. It’s still unclear whether this will be enough or if the public opinion is so widespread it’ll influence the upcoming elections, but it could do some significant damage.”

“What was Takazaki’s take on it?” Kagesawa tossed the chip back to Satoru, who took it and flipped it around with his fingers.

“He said he’s working on damage control, but who knows what that will do. I wonder if the job market’s going to go to shit after this. It’ll be hard enough to find freelance jobs now that your licence is suspended and we can’t go through the official channels.”

“With fewer employers going to the EA to offer their jobs, it might work in our favour,” Kagesawa said. It would have been naïve to leave it at that. “I guess it doesn’t hurt to think of other options. If it all does indeed go to shit, my savings aren’t going to last us forever.” This statement made Satoru look like he’d swallowed a jar of utter bilgewater.

“You’re doing your share.” Kagesawa wanted to say something more to make him feel better but feared it would sound condescending. He had no qualms about sharing everything he had for all the support Satoru was giving and had already given him, but he could tell that emphasising any of that might hurt Satoru’s pride.

“I guess we’d better get this link up to spec so we can find work as soon as possible. Try to save up just in case.” Satoru stood up to leave the table.

“Breakfast is almost ready.”

“I’ll eat later. I need to do some research for my peace of mind.”

“Satoru?”

“Yes?”

“You’ve been helping me out a lot recently. Are you sure it’s not a nuisance?” Kagesawa was in the middle of doing the dishes and abruptly stopped what he was doing.

“It’s easier to help you start with the dishes than doing them myself.”

“I guess, but I feel bad that you have to wake up so early to get me going every morning.” Kagesawa picked up a coffee cup and resumed his task.

Harumine frowned. That statement didn’t quite add up. Yes, he’d been getting up early most mornings as per usual and yes, he’d helped Kagesawa when he’d needed help. However…

“What do you mean every morning?” For the past three days and a few instances before that, Kagesawa had gotten up on his own, a few minutes before Harumine. Kagesawa put the cup down again.

“You know. That thing you do.”

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