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[chidori]

Kaname Chidori, age 16, has been living on her own ever since her father and younger sister moved back to New York sixteen months ago. Part of her figured she'd live alone in her apartment until she got married or something. Never in her wildest dreams did she ever imagine that she'd be forced to live on a military base.

Say goodbye to sleepovers with Kyoko. This whole moving business was something that she didn't even want to begin to explain to her best friend. She didn't bother to even try and explain it to her father. Instead, she just told him that there were problems with packages being stolen at her apartment complex and provided him with a PO Box to send letters to instead.

It was probably better if he and her young sister, Ayame didn't know what was going on, anyway. If they knew she was in sort of danger, they'd only worry. Her dad would probably move back to the US, and moving to this base was bad enough. She was still trying to come to terms with all of this, herself.

Goodbye, perfectly normal high school life.

Kaname shifts the box in her hands. Most of her things she had shipped off; they should already be in her room. But this box is filled with things that are special to her. Old family photographs -- especially ones of her mom. A few photo albums. Her childhood blanket. The Bonta-kun plush toy she's had ever since she was a baby. The box isn't exactly heavy, perse, but it's certainly large and unwieldy. That's part of the reason why she's having such a rough time carrying it.

Still, she's been walking around this base for ten minutes now, and she's still completely lost. And unfortunately for Kaname, her usual shadow, Sousuke Sagara, wasn't around. Thankfully, though, there's a figure up ahead.

"Hey!" Kaname calls out, as she quickens her pace. "Do you know where the dorms are?"

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[chidori]

Maybe it's that long awkward pause. Or Kagura's careful wording. But somewhere along the way, Kaname realizes what a class-A brat she's being.

She does have every right to be upset. She knows it, even if no one else agrees with her. But that doesn't give her the right to take her anger and frustrations out on somebody else.

Even if that somebody else was completely unable to understand what she was feeling.

Kaname lets out a long sigh, then briefly presses a hand against the side of her head.

"Look," she says, lifting her box again. "I know that you mean well and everything, but..."

Kaname looks down at the top of the box. The lid is pried up a little, just enough for her to see half the face of the plush Bonta-kun inside.

"...forget it."

She steps inside her room. Her other boxes, delivered by DHL earlier in the day, are already there. The place is pretty dingy; the decor outdated. It's nothing like the apartment Kaname called home.

So this was where she was going to live from now on.

"I'm sorry."

And with that, Kaname steps past the threshold and into her new room.

[keep_your_dignity]

[Kagura doesn't interrupt nor stop the teenager from getting into her room. Instead, as Kaname goes in, assuming she will want to be alone now, she turns to leave]

I WILL SEE YOU AROUND.

[And with that, she leaves.]