The Tangerine Grows on Discordant Vines

[Aura]

Listening to Tsuioka's speech, Hirono found something to cling to despite her skepticism. The shit he was saying, there was truth to it. And the thing was, it didn't take a genius, or some pillar of humanity and kindness to see the things that he was explaining. Tsuioka was just a class bully, and he could see that shit clear as day. Wasn't afraid to call it out too, even though he knew they were being watched. That was the kind of thing that she could respect.

Hirono was pretty sure that no one in class would say that the Kiriyamas were great guys, maybe not even themselves. They were a bunch of punks that were the class troublemakers, but a lot of people would probably say the same thing about Hirono, and she'd have trouble disagreeing with them. They weren't heroes, but it didn't take a hero to know that the program was seriously fucked up.

It sounded like a long shot, probably the longest shot that Hirono could imagine. However, it was also the best thing that she had heard in the last couple of days. If she could actually get that collar off and find a way off the island, then she'd be free. She could get out and not have to worry about the Republic anymore. Yeah, it wouldn't be easy, but Hirono was tough. She'd find some way to survive.

Hirono approached Motobuchi and offered him a hand. He said that his leg was pretty fucked, but she was pretty sure that he'd be able to recover from it.

"Come on. Sounds like we've got a hell of a lot of work to do."

With Motobuchi in tow, Hirono followed Tsuioka and did her best to catch up. She finally had a direction, a plan. And best of all, it was one that gave the finger to dumbass Sakamochi and the whole-ass Republic.

(Hirono Shimizu continued elsewhere...)