The X-Project

Alison finds Shiro on the beach, still fuming after speaking with Cable, and plays the good cop to Nate's bad cop. It's all still lost on Shiro, who asserts that he did the right thing.


Shiro had spent the previous night pacing and wandering. After the events that opened the New Year, he found himself with too much energy to stay in one place for more than a few minutes. He was becoming way too much like Alex, he reflected. He was also still in a rather horrid mood after his "talk," if that's what it could be called, with Nathan. But the less said about that, the better. It suited Shiro to just angrily sulk outside the castle, trying to burn out his energy in creative means. Like by blowing up rocks.

The sound was what led Alison to him of course, the occasional flare up typical to his power accompanied by crumbling remnants of stone almost sullenly falling to the ground or reflecting sharply off other surfaces depending on the intensity of heat used to shatter the stone. The odd mutter in Japanese would have been a dead giveaway as to his state of mind, if it hadn't been for the rest of the display making that entirely clear as well. Mind still calm (if not numb) Alison paused a few feet away, waiting for him to notice her instead of calling out, idly counting off how much time that took.

The energy was building up just as rapidly as he was discharging it, which while a good thing if we were involved in a battle and needed the energy, was a bad thing now because he wanted it out. Muttering, he cupped his hands and began to concentrate, hoping a fireball would drain him enough so that he would feel relaxed. Over the sound of the blowing wind and the various birds calling to each other, Shiro heard a branch snap. Quickly turning on his heel to see who was there, he lost focus, and the small ball dissipated. "Da . . . Alison," he greeted, quickly catching himself. Great, he thought, another chewing out.

Alison lifted her foot back up and set it where it had been before she'd quite deliberately broken that branch - it was one thing to wait patiently to be noticed, another to just sit there staring for hours at the destruction of Moira's property. The slip was noticed but generally ignored - the codenames were just that, codenames. That others saw something else in them she didn't hesitate to make use of, but it didn't mean she was a different person when being called by her team name or her name, really.

Picking her way through the rubble she joined, pausing a bit to stare out at the sea - and then moved further, heading for the path leading closer to the water. She paused a few steps ahead of him, turning back to glance over her shoulder calmly, raising an eyebrow just a bit. He could take it as an order or an invitation, as he wished, as far as she was concerned.

She was doing the calm thing, which was always a tad disconcerting. Shiro had expected her too be as angry as she had been last night, because while he didn't like it, anger was at least anticipated and something he could deal with. But if she was going to be composed and civil, then he would have to be as well, and he was not in the mood. Not like he had much of a choice, he reasoned, because if he just ignored her then he would never re-earn her trust. With a shrug, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and followed her. She was probably going to want him to say the first words, but he preferred not to, and would rather see how long he could wait until she spoke first.

He was in for a wait, that was certain - Alison took the path leading out to the sea, taking her time as they walked down towards the beach, the wind blowing energetically around them. It was almost eerily calm after the events of the previous night, despite the island's usual less than perfectly tranquil weather. Everything was in place, a solidity that was almost hard to believe in, Alison thought – the edges of everything around them seemed overbright just a bit, as though daring anything else to try to warp them out of shape again. She kept only enough attention on Shiro to make sure he was following her really, the walk certainly not something that would do either of them harm, even though she was tired from the power exertion and the sleepless night.

Despite the cold, Shiro was dressed in just a pair of jeans and a thin long-sleeved t-shirt. He had been having problems shutting off his powers, but the side effect of that was that it kept him warm, so he didn't have to worry about being dressed appropriately for the weather. The calmness of the area, as compared to last night, was lost on him, as his only thoughts were of what Alison would say to him. Not that he was afraid of her, oh no, he just wanted to be able to get a word in edge-wise this time. But if at all possible, skipping this talk would have been preferable, so he continued to stay silent. It would be a trying game, but for now, at least, he was willing to play it.

If it had been a game, Alison might have stretched it out as long as needed, but as it wasn't she merely took note of the 'I am not talking if it kills me' aura Shiro was radiating, along with the heat. All of them small (or not) details, that spoke volumes as far as she was concerned.

When they finally reached the beach she selected one of the larger rocks there, making sure it was dry before climbing on the flat surface to sit down, back straight as she looked out across the water. Taking a deep breath and very much savoring how nothing changed or warped around them, Alison tried to dispel some of the still lingering tension of the previous night.

"What did you miss last night?" It was almost cheerful really, as questions went. But Alison was curious as to what Shiro's interpretation of the question would be, as well as the answer.

Shiro couldn't have sat down if he tried, as he was way too antsy to be still for long. So he remained standing, a few feet away from Alison, but within her line of sight. His arms were crossed over his chest, but the gesture wasn't quite as defiant as usual. He could feel his body slowly regaining the energy he had let loose earlier, and had to focus to keep it all in. And it was giving him one hell of a headache.

He almost missed Alison's question, since he wasn't expecting her to break the silence quite so soon. Turning his head to look at her, he wore a questioning look on his face. "Pardon?" he asked, not understanding what she was asking. He hadn't neglected anything last night. Well, except for Dayspring's orders . . . was that the response she was looking for?

She didn't turn to look at him though, still apparently staring ahead calmly. But he'd already answered the question, in a way, even though it was as she expected - not a test, just a way to try and show him something. Which meant leading him through the whole process, step by step. The rest would be entirely up to him. "Last night. A lot of things happened. Let's try this, then. What did you see?"

Okay. Shiro had no idea where she was going with this, so he'd have to answer even more carefully than he'd originally thought. "I saw Jamie and Kitty being nauseatingly cute, Clarice bouncing around giddily, you and Mr. al Rashid talking . . . but that was all before Doctor MacTaggart's ex-husband arrived."

"Ah." Alison nodded, breathing now steady and regular, clearing her mind for her own recollection of events. "And after that? What were the thinks you noticed, what still lingers in your mind now?"

Shiro mulled the question over. "Well," he began, speaking slowly so as to not utter something before he thought it over, "I recall the monster breaking free and attacking us. Before we were sent here, I asked Sefton to get my sister to safety. There was the battle, which I am sure you remember as vividly as I do. Trees magically became gigantic snakes, I felt disoriented and sick, and the closer I approached the monster, the worse these effects were." He would have shuddered at the recollection, but he knew the signal that would send Alison, so he stopped himself. "I remember falling back and covering Doctor MacTaggart as she worked to determine a solution, I remember the monster being defeated, and I remember it dying in MacTaggart's arms as she cried." That last part was said with a sympathy that was often lacking from his voice.

"Do you remember the orders being given out?" she asked contemplatively - it wasn't a trick question so much as leading him to list what he'd actually heard, as opposed to everything he hadn't seen, lacked the knowledge to understand. "The orders that weren't given out so much as shared, even when there had to be on the spot adaptation to an rogue element sometimes having to make us change what little plans we could try to set in place?" Making things that much more dangerous, that much more complex and potentially disastrous. She finally turned to look at him, the ghost of a smile on her face, some of the tiredness showing through.

Shiro sighed. "Yes. I remember Dayspring ordering all non-X-Men back after Clarice landed us here. Yes, I remember directly ignoring said orders and joining the battle anyway. And no, I am not going to apologize for what I did." His voice was hard and tough, and just a touch arrogant. "I realized at the time what Proteus was capable of, and I understood why Dayspring wanted all of the inexperienced to back away. However, I knew then, as I know now, that I am capable of holding my own, with or without X-Men training."

"Hold your own?" Alison shrugged a bit, not caring in the least what Shiro thought of his abilities. "You were wearing out on power when I told you to go back to Moira." Statement of fact, nothing more. "You interfered no less then three times in actions taken by a team that was on the field - making you a liability more than an asset." Another statement of fact. "You can hold your own all you want, Shiro - but when you put a team in danger through that, there is a lack in there. You can refuse to see it, or you can perhaps stop thinking you know it all for a moment, and wonder why several people who train for this sort of thing, for this sort of teamwork, asked you to step out of the battle." She paused, and shrugged. "Or not. What's that saying again? Ah yes. 'Mental bearing, not skill, is the sign of a matured samurai. A Samurai therefore should neither be pompous nor arrogant.' Tsukahara Bokuden, if I remember right."

"And what if someone had died if I had not 'interfered'?" Shiro demanded, his voice rising. "What if I had followed orders, and Proteus had had one less opponent to deal with, so he could have focused more on the rest of you? What if that was all the opportunity he required to bloodily kill you? Think what you will, but I did not do this for glory, or for gratitude, or for my own ego. I did it because I was not going to sit back and watch you die, Alison, or Mr. al Rashid, or even Dayspring, sono yarou." He sighed again and looked away, his aura flaring in response to his emotions. "I know that my actions were unexpected and could have endangered you. But the alternative was worse."

"So it wasn't about doing what was needed so much as it was about you being unable to do as was requested of you?" Alison tilted her head to the side, looking at him curiously. He wasn't hearing what was being said. "Your judgment was better." She looked out at sea again – still calm, not really surprised by his words. "Shiro, it never even occurred to you that I could power you if need be. It wasn't about working with us to try and face Proteus, what happened yesterday. And so... you need to think. Long and hard - on what this was really about." She continued, not unkindly. "And who. Because if this was about you doing what you wanted, instead of doing what was needed by all, then this will be a problem which will follow you in life for a long time. Until you stop to think and look at it."

"No, it was the exact opposite. I could have done what was requested of me, but instead I did what needed to be done." Shiro sat down on the beach, leaning against a boulder, his aura still shining brightly. "I will admit that it did not occur to me that you could act as a power source. But I do not think it would have mattered. My power was literally being drained from me. In Limbo, some force diminished my energy, and I do not think it was because I overexerted myself. And that is what it felt like last night." His power was building up again, and it needed to go, so it was time to actually try the fireball. "This was about making sure that people whom I respect, whom I admire, and who are respected and admired by others didn't die."

Alison shook her head, just a bit. Dismissing out of hand something because it did not fit with how you wanted things to have been was unwise - typical of a teenager, but dumb too. Deciding what was best was also typical - and short-sighted, to boot. "There are people, Shiro, who work best alone. And some who prefer to work with others. I think that's where you need to start taking a look at things. Because what you think and what you believe is best isn't always the case. And it's a lesson anyone keeps learning, over and over, their entire life. And once you've decided where you stand on that, then maybe we can talk about what happened last night again." She hoped he didn't learn which path was his the hard way. He didn't deserve that, not one bit. "Take time to think on it more, please? That's all I ask." And since there wasn't really any of that going on now, either thinking or listening, Alison hopped off the rock, the chill wind blowing across the beach going unnoticed. It was better not to waste either their times, if this was how things were. "For now, I think I may take a walk. You're welcome to come, if you want." Walking the perimeter would help her relax.

The fireball appeared, about the size of a golf ball, the flames of Shiro's aura licking it and feeding it to make it grow in size slowly. He had been thinking about it, and while he understood the concerns and objections raised, he knew that they were wrong. Not that he was always right, but he was in this instance. "I know I have much to learn, but there is nothing more to talk about." Now was as good a time as any to end the conversation. He tossed the fireball, which traveled at least twenty yards before falling into the water and fizzling. He felt a bit calmer now, hopefully enough to sleep. "I am going to go back. I will see you later."