From what Ellie knows, William isn't the kind of person who would sit here at this hour. Not in here, at this time of the day. He would rather go to the library and wait until the majority of the people would be gone before going home on a calm night without seeing a single soul on the street. That's how she views him.
“I know that, but I had a busy day for a lot of reasons. I have a trainer right now, with quite a hectic schedule. It's for the whole day for the next 7 more days and 2 days already happened. I am aching with pain already...” William complains, but not too much to appear weak in front of Ellie.
“Trainer? Wait, 7 days... Did you... Ah, it's Academy! I forgot about that. Congratulations on getting at least accepted for the Trials.” Ellie exclaims and gives him a tight hug on his left arm. Smiling so brightly, as if it would be contagious, she appears as easygoing as ever. Becoming the teacher for the young walkers or not has no effect on her whatsoever. She will soon reach 18 years of age, so this kind of work is perfect for her.
Undergoing her tight hug, William could only helplessly accept it, since it isn't rubbing him the wrong way. In fact... well... he begins to understand the appeal of such hugs. Especially since he is so exhausted and tired.
“Have nothing to say to that?” Ellie asks after a minute of silence.
William sights, and instead of fighting back, he leans on her shoulder.
Seeing him do so, surprises Ellie all that much since she doesn't know what he is going through at the moment.
Embracing each other like this isn't that back and both of them feel different while doing so in their own rights. She likes it, while the worry for the future can be shared, even if they don't know about each other's worries all that much.
Sooner or later, they will share them with each other if there will be a need for that, or if their willingness will be mutual.
20 minutes pass by, and they still haven't moved an inch. In fact, they are almost falling asleep in such a position, but something changes. A sudden expression of some bystander surprises Ellie, causing her to jump from the bench. Causing a small fright to William, she forgets about that too, since the person before the bench, who passes by, is her boss.
“G-good night, mister Ray. I apologize for making a scene. You surprised me since you were looking and everything...” Ellie mumbles away, in a try to appeal to the questionable face of her new boss. It is someone like miss Kaufman, but shorter, and more serious. It is an authoritative look that appears with a dead stare and an unquestionable demeanor of understanding.
“I wasn't sure it is you, so it's fine. It's the end of the day, so why are you sitting there with...” Ray asks while glancing at the pair who he has known very recently. To his surprise, of course.
It is the very same Ray who took part in the Examination. He is also a part of the Institution of the Emblem, and one in charge of the temporal personnel for young Walker's teachings. It was the idea of Heidi Kaufman, but something changed and other high-Rank Walkers are also getting involved. After all, the Assembly already recognized this to be very important for the future. While it may be questionable why it didn't happen sooner, it is never late to change things up.
Ray recognizes both of these people. Ellie is one of the 3 teachers he has to lead for a couple of months, and William, who he... knows from two accidents.
“This is my very dear boyfriend, named William. I met him here by accident, so don't mind me, mister Ray.” Ellie explains herself, appearing flustered, and somewhat embarrassed. William recognizes this man from a single awkward situation where he was viewed by a dozen high-rank Walkers, but that is it. Sitting, he too looked at him, while showing some interest in his Emblem.
“I can see you both, and I don't really mind. Get some rest, both of you. It's already a deep night, so let there be a good night I suppose.” Ray says at last while putting his hands onto his long black coat, which went hand to hand with black suit-like attire. He leaves before glancing at flustered Ellie and William, who watch him in interest.
Turning around, Ellie calms down instantly. Who knew she would meet up with her boss in a situation like this? Hell... Who would even sit like this literally before the entrance to the Institution of the Emblem?
“I am sorry for this... I am still getting to know the people of the institution, and he is my boss... in charge of everything. Me included.”
“Oh, I can see why you are worried about it. It's fine, Ellie. There aren't bad people there, I hope.” William comments since he knows who that man is. Mi-Yung explained to him before, but only briefly.
“There aren't, but there could always be a bad apple in a big pile of them. Did you know him from somewhere? I know he is a high-ranking Walker.”
“He is someone from the Assembly, and I met him in the Examination,” William answers, not hiding him, knowing Rey.
“So you know. Anyway, I guess it's getting late, so how about going our ways, so we will have some rest for the next day? Sir Ray spoke the truth, and you need this rest much better than me. It's important.” Ellie offers him a piece of an idea, walks to William, and pats his shoulder.
Nodding in return, William could only feel his own tired body, so it goes without saying that some rest is due. They both leave the institution's ground and go side by side until they have to separate, as their homes aren't that close. Reaching the 47th building complex in 10 more minutes, Allan walks inside, unlike yesterday.
At this point, he feels a little better, but waking up yesterday wasn't that great and he hopes it will be different tomorrow. Let's imagine it like this, being in the bunker, trying your hardest, and suddenly waking up in a completely different place. Although it was even one, which he recognized, it still shocked him a little. Waking up amidst the flowing Vectors and were feelings. Mi-Yung and Luke were in front of him, and he felt quite bad and tired.
Walking to the kitchen, William finds no one there, which surprises him. He expected at least Mi-Yung, but there isn't any hint of anyone's arrival apart from something on the table. There is only a note left there, which reads.
I will be going out for some bothersome tasks for 3 days. Luke also has some missions to deal with, so take care of our apartment. Good luck with Roman, and don't feel terrible about any results you see at the beginning. Time will heal everything and talents don't matter if you work hard at your understanding and the System. You must take things right in these amount of days. There are also lunch boxes for the next couple of days, so eat, rest and do your best.
Mi-Yung.
“How considering of her. It's almost like having a real family, I suppose... Oh... who am I kidding? At this point, it almost seems like she adopted me, but I am just kidding myself if I think that. That's right... Let's appreciate her help. That's the least bothersome thing I can do.” William sights upon finishing learning this letter, immediately reaching out for the fridge.
There, 5 lunchboxes are present on top of each other, with some other bowls of side dishes or whatnot. Each is for him, ready to eat after a couple of minutes of reheating. Saliva quickly escapes his mouth as he withdrew the top one and uncovered it without hesitation.
Inside is a ton of rice porridge, but also additional things. It is quite a large container made of some wood or bamboo, but William doesn't question the box. He is much interested in the content of this box. Pieces of cut steaks, fried chicken, and side veggies include quite considerable nutrients that will be delicious for sure. William will eat it all, without a speck of doubt, if some of the veggies aren't tasty or not. No... he doesn't even care if it would be disgusting or not. He will eat the same, as his stomach couldn't wait for anything else any longer.
Turning around, he walks to another counter, where he notices a new addition to the kitchen appliances. A microwave.
This is a new addition to this luxurious apartment. A thing of the past, which is once again, developing and remade with today's technologies. William doesn't exactly know how it works, but at this point, he doesn't ask or is too curious about this.
All he needs to know is how to place the plate inside, the correct formulas for time, and power, and a cold meal is no longer cold. That is the basic premise of this, and William likes it a lot.
Watching the mesmerizing and quite handy machine, William scowls at the only downside. That is, the waiting time of a couple of minutes in order to reheat the food.
“I would kill for this kind of machine in the orphanage, but back then, we had a continuous flow of warm food, because they were done for so many people. With this, it would be good, but I have no idea how much power it even costs. It's some wave or some magical stuff, I bet. No idea what it even means.” William guesses out loud, as he stands in front of the microwave, glancing inside and awaiting the meal.
With the timer running away, the timer runs down quite fast, making the food ready much faster if one would do it on the stove.
A full box worth of meal is all he needs, and William could only shed a tear at the steaming hot rice, and hot, but not that firm steak.
“It seems a bit strange, but meat is meat. I won't be polite about how it looks or feels. It's food, and I am hungry. Let's dig in.” William cheers and absolutely butchers this plate in the next following minutes.
Not a speck of rice is left out. Both out of the respect for the farmer, and Mi-Yung as well. That's how he always did so since this isn't the food he prepared, but many other people must have been involved in this. Sighing and patting his stomach, William is glad for this meal, while his strength increases tenfold.
“When I think about it, didn't Mi-Yung told me something about the deal with mister Hough? She said some deal with him, and a visit of some interest. A visit to the institution by his interest. Right. I remember, or is it something else since she left? I wonder if she forgot, or not.” William wonders out loud, remembering the recent conversation that Mi-Yung gave him. He only did so for a while, but not more than necessary.
Unlike his expectation, he doesn't think much of anything, other than his training, and close future. This invitation of interest from Hough isn't something he needs to worry about since it's not his problem. He already has a lot of worries on his hands, so whatever it is, it isn't important to him. The Awakening is already something behind him, similar to the majority of bothersome and unpleasant memories of the past. Whatever the deal with that interest is, he couldn't care less for the reasons.
Placing his right hand towards the sky, facing the wide window aside from the kitchen, he looks at his Emblem in the motion of the moonlight.
“You've been well to me. I am a full-fledged Walker now, so the future may not be that great to me any longer. I will still try, for the sake of myself... and whatever the choice of living... even was.” William mutters, and before giving his mood any second blow, he rather retreats to his bedroom to sleep it off.
Getting some rest is better than worrying about the uncertain past, which is long gone. He has a different life, yet the memories of the past are digging into his current life. That won't change, but the future may and the possible responsibilities he has as a Walker are important. That matter to the current him.
So, William doesn't worry about that. He rather falls asleep almost right away, the moment he gets to his bed after a quick shower. This shows how tired he is.
Another day will show him another time of the training. No change would come, since the general view of Roman's training regime is simple. The basics first, before doing anything crazy later. Today was a good day, and William learned a lot.
Though it is Roman's saying, and it is making sense to him regarding William's progress and everything. Although, nothing was as simple as it seemed at first.
He came here in hopes of getting everything done and finished quick and easy. 10 days for sumptuous rewards that could take a year to make at the regular Outside is the reason. That is fantastic, but the change in his attitude happened too. William seems like a kid that can go quite high, and Roman felt nostalgic today after forgetting about caring for young Walkers for a long time.
Unlike his expectation, William doesn't seem to be caring about his seemingly, unordinary results. He doesn't know any better, regarding his knowledge base, but that isn't that surprising, so he made some changes to his approach tonight.
Digging some further, Roman found out William is an orphan from Outside, which shocked him. In this way, Mi-Yung involvement is much more questionable to him from the very beginning. With the amount of time left, he will learn a bit more about William, and he may as well reveal some secrets to him if everything ends up well.
Alas, he also learned his full name, which... is expected or shocking? Roman definitely frowned upon founding it out, but nothing else was there apart from his last name. No further information about the past, family, or something else. William is an orphan, like any other. A Walker who grew up outside without the support of the family, but those are important. Anyone born with the Emblem on their body is important.
They are the future, whether they like it, or others dislike it.
For now, regular training is the most that Roman has to go through. Though, this training isn't something normal too. It all involves the methods of controlling the Annihilation Element. That, in itself, is a piece of excellency, and a rarity that is hard to find in a couple of hundred Walkers. Roman is aware of that, and researching William is something he is doing for the sake of better understanding.