The X-Project

The much dreaded visit has come, Nori's parents are in town. The first person they go see? Why, the headmaster, of course.

What do you mean, Scott's not headmaster anymore...?



It had taken the Kikuchis a little longer than they'd expected to find Headmaster Summers' office; Nori-chan had completely failed to give them a tour of the school, which it turned out was much larger than they'd expected, and not at all laid out like schools in Japan. Still, Shinji had managed to get a student to give him directions, and eventually deciphered the somewhat rapid answer to get them here. Now he knocked briefly on the open door before he and his wife stepped inside and bowed deeply. "Headmaster Summers. I am Shinji Kikuchi, Noriko father. This is Kazue, Noriko mother." His voice was soft, and his accent less pronounced than his daughters, but still noticeable.

Scott,who'd been in the middle of tweaking some midterm grades, opened his mouth, then closed it again and offered his best professional smile as he rose. "Welcome to the school," he said, warmly. "I suppose there's no reason for Noriko to have mentioned it, but Professor Xavier has taken over the headmaster's job once more. I could direct you to his office?"

"Ah?" Shinji said, looking startled, and then suddenly somewhat flustered while his wife frowned. "No, Nori did not mention," he admitted after a moment. "Very sorry. When was this change?"

"During the summer," Scott said, maintaining the smile - and suppressing the 'wheee!' that still wanted to slip out. "Because the student body is smaller now, and he had concluded some of his other work-" Noriko very likely hadn't mentioned the Institute, either, given that it really didn't impact day-to-day life for her or any of the other students. "-he felt it was appropriate."

"Oh, I see." The phrase sounded like one of the things Nori would come out with whenever she was particularly confused - learned English responses that covered a lack of understanding. But Dr. Kikuchi quickly went on, "But you are Nori teacher, yes?"

Scott shook his head, but then hesitated. "I don't have her in any classes," he said, "but I have helped from time to time with her powers training. She's doing... well, especially given some of the inherent challenges her mutation causes..."

The two Japanese seemed somewhat uncomfortable with this, and all Shinji said was, "Ah, well, that is good."

"Is Nori all class do well?" Kazue Kikuchi finally spoke up, her English clearly more strained than her husband's, although far better than her daughters had been when she first came to America. But whether this subject change was because she hadn't understood Scott's remark or for some other reason was unclear.

They were still standing in the middle of his office, Scott realized, and gestured them hurriedly to the chairs. "Please, sit down," he urged them. "Noriko's... well, she did considerably better in her summer courses. She had some trouble, of course, last year..." He let the statement hang there, expecting some sort of reaction. This was usually where parents started talking about their particular concerns.

The two of them bowed once again before sitting, but as Scott trailed off Kazue merely cocked her head inquisitively, a gesture everyone at the school had become familiar with from Nori, and raised her eyebrows. "Ah...?" It almost seemed as though she was fishing for information to fill in blanks about her daughter's life, which was odd, since Charles had, of course, been sending them her report cards and other notices.

This was a little strange. "Our international students sometimes do have trouble adjusting to the American school system," Scott said. "Even when they're not struggling with their powers... Noriko's still having problems with concentration."

At this, Shinji nodded knowingly. "Yes. At her old school, were many problems. Nori was could not sleep, so I gave her medicine. Helped very much."

Scott tried very hard not to do a double-take, and almost managed it. Hadn't Charles, or Amelia... all right, Summers. Lack of clarity, yes. Fix it. "Maybe while you're here, you should speak to one of our staff doctors. Discuss... uh, Noriko's sleeping problems."

"She is still having problem? Yes, I will speak with them. It will be good to meet with American colleagues." Scott's hesitancy about the whole topic seemed to go sailing right past Dr. Kikuchi, who turned and spoke quickly to his wife in Japanese, who nodded after a moment. "If you will teach me how to go to doctor's office, I speak with them. My wife will go to Professor Xavier."

"Of course. We can stop by the Professor's office on the way down," Scott said swiftly. Sure, Summers. Pass the buck. "And then I can introduce you to Doctor Voght." He was perversely glad that it was Amelia the man would be talking to. She was guilty of many things, but a lack of clarity rarely made the list - and a little Russian bluntness would not go amiss in this situation, he suspected.

"Thank you very much," Dr. Kikuchi said, smiling and bowing deeply as he and his wife rose.



Unsurprisingly, the visit with Dr. Voght does not go at all well, and Shinji is more than a little rattled when he comes upon Laurie.



Laurie had been busy ticking off supplies on a chart she held when she saw the older man walking toward her. He appeared...she wasn't sure, upset perhaps? It was more in the way he walked the anything shown on his face however, a walk that was slightly faster then normal, shoulders tense and straight.

"Sir?" Laurie called out, wondering if he was a parent, or a visitor. "Can I help you, Sir?"

Shinji Kikuchi startled a bit at being addressed, his mind clearly having been elsewhere. "Ah," he said, glancing around the medlab, shoulders tensed even more until he spotted the girl who was clearly, if not a student, certainly not a doctor. "Ah, hello. I don't needs help," he added, shaking his head briefly.

"If you don't mind me saying, you um, you look a little worried is all, Sir," Laurie noted, not sure she should be pushing the man but if she could help...well, better to ask then let him continue looking so stressed.

He stared at the girl blankly for a moment, whatever he was thinking not at all evident from the look on his face. Finally said, "I had meeting, only. Was..." his sentence trailed off, and then he shook his head. "Just had meeting with doctor. Is nothing."

Laurie didn't believe that for a minute, he had the look of a man struggling with something, and if he'd just been talking to Jean or Amelia."Shitsureishimasu, anata Nori-chan no otou-san desuka?" she asked stiltedly.

While Nori had done a fairly good job of teaching her the basics of Japanese, she hadn't used it in months and now felt awkward with the phrasings.

Dr. Kikuchi blinked, quite startled to hear even somewhat mangled Japanese from a young American girl. "Hai, soudesu. Anata no nihongo jyouzu..."

"Nori wa yoi sensei," Laurie said with a smile, almost exhausting her library of Japanese small talk. "Anata... um, tea? Tea hoshi desu ka, Sir? Gomen, you just look a little unnerved is all."

She hoped that had been understandable, considering she was moving between Japanese and English, but there were some words she just couldn't remember, not when she hadn't practiced in months.

Shinji stared at the girl for a moment, then finally said, "Please, just only in English is fine. I'm fine," he added after a moment.

"Oh, great. Nori's English isn't the best, and I didn't want to make you have to listen to me prattle on if you couldn't understand, is all," Laurie said in a rush, a look of relief evident on her face. "So, um, would you like that cup of tea? I'm told I make a mean cup."

He hesitated for a moment, mind clearly somewhere else, then caught up with himself and bowed to Laurie. "Green tea would be very nice."

"Awesome," Laurie said with a grin, and then blushed slightly. "I mean, that is to say, excellent. If you'll follow me I'll show you to the kitchen and I'll make that tea for you."

She placed the chart she'd been writing on on one of the desks and started to walk away toward the stairs up to the main part of the house, making sure to look back occasionally to be sure Nori's Dad was still with her.

"Have you been in America long?" she asked.

There was a clear air of detached bemusement about Shinji, as though he wasn't entirely sure how he'd ended up making small talk with this young American, but he followed her. "No. Is just come today."

"You must be tired after the flight, did you manage to get a hotel close by?" Laurie asked, reaching the top of the stairs and heading toward the kitchen.

"Eh? No," Shinji said, shaking his head slightly. "We are not staying hotel. Professor is very kind, giving to us room here. Near Nori." At this last his face shuttered, not frowning or visibly upset, but even less open than it had been a few moments before.

"Oh! That's great news, I'm sure Nori will love having you and your wife close by," Laurie said, flashing Nori's father a grin, her expression seemingly undisturbed by his closed demeanor. She strode forward toward the kitchen in silence for a few more moments, stopping at the door to gesture at him to go before her. "After you, Sir."

Shinji seemed perfectly willing to let the trip to the kitchen finish in silence, but he stepped into the kitchen with a bow. "Thank you, very much."