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<br/>​</div>Shiro had watched when Nekro stormed off into the woods, only to be dragged back by the two professors. He smirked slightly, not at Nekro's expense, but at the bad luck the fellow seemed to have with getting away. It seemed like there was always someone or something that would drag him back to their team. If Shiro didn't know any better, he might say Nekro and the team's fates were intertwined. A moment of concern crossed his features.<i>'Hrmm... further research is required.' </i>Karma offered her words of advice to Nekro as they started on their way to the library, telling him that he couldn't just run from all his problems. Shiro gave a slight nod at that and added, "Agreed. Running is a temporary solution. Seems like the best revenge you could hope for is to prove him wrong by sticking around." He just left it at that. Nekro was the sort that he'd either take the advice with a grunt or dismiss it all in favor of finding his own way. To a degree, Shiro expected the wolf to chose the later, if only because bowing to any advice, even that with the best of intentions, would be a surrender of sorts. Shiro found it to be an admirable trait, albeit somewhat detrimental in a combat situation...<br/><br/>When the group had gathered in the library, Shiro stood off to the side and quietly listened as Karma put her proverbial foot down and made her thoughts and feelings known. Shiro couldn't entirely agree with everything she had said. He, for example, was only aiming to become a hunter out of necessity. Hunters had access to resources, and since he and Atlas had unofficially parted on less than amicable terms, he needed to conduct his studies through alternative means. Joining the academy in the first place was the fastest path to his goals, and while the results had been... mixed... he doubted he could achieve his end game without Vale's assistance. In any case, the ulterior motive was at least somewhat aligned with that of the hunters. Grimm caused death everywhere they went, and if he could stop them, and/or save lives with his skills then so much the better. He still found the notion of having to like his team mates a bit of a luxury, as he had always kept everyone, even back at Atlas, at arms length. Perhaps, once, it had been out of the need for secrecy. No one could know of his projects, and forming bonds with any class mates was a liability. Over time though, this changed, especially after the incident. Now he kept himself from others for a myriad of reasons, and secrecy was the<i>least </i>of them. Some of it was a detachment from humanity, or a difficulty to relate to the mundane when his goals were the singular driving force in his universe. Mostly, it was the notion that what he had experienced, what he planned to do... they all just<i>wouldn't understand.</i>Would any of them look at him the same way if they knew where he had been, what he had done, would he planned to do?? If his work...no...<i>when </i>his work was completed, would it even matter? He glanced to each member of the team, The regal Robin, the ambitious Karmyne, the hot-blooded Nekro, and the measured Akena. He smirked slightly to himself as an old theory came to mind. One which had to do with the immutability of fate. One which begged the question they had all asked, but never tried to answer: Why was theirs a team of<i>five</i>?<br/><br/><i>Would they ever realize one among them didn't belong?<br/>
</i><br/>When Akena got up and gave her evaluation of the team, Shiro listened and agreed that, yes, they really had performed well in spite of everything that had gone wrong. Maybe they were hopelessly dysfunctional, but they were at least<i>functionally </i>dysfunctional. He frowned slightly at the internal errors<i>that </i>thought brought to mind. Still, she had a point. Nekro was an invaluable asset in the forest, Karma had performed admirably, and even Robin, though having taken a risk, aided in efforts and may have in fact captured an essential sample that with study could save countless lives. K's judgement call, though he had been apprehensive at the time, was a tough call no matter what, and to that end Shiro was thankful she had been the one with the guts to make it. It was as this though was crossing his mind that she mentioned him taking a leadership role next time. He quirked a brow at this, and seemed to want to object, catching himself at the last second as he realized the only way to respect her perspective as a leader was, paradoxically, to assume the role as asked. He frowned slightly, a distant part of him recalling the first day they had all met and the slight disappointment he had experienced at being passed up for the leadership position. My how things had changed! He'd have to figure out some way around it now. The only predictable aspect to any of them was just how unpredictable they all were. Just imagining trying to lead them caused a faint migraine. It wouldn't have been so bad if not for the fact that K was too sharp for him to waste excuses on her.<br/><br/><i>Damnit</i>...<br/><br/>Shiro only passively acknowledged K's request for a short interview with each of them. 'Optional' naturally, but Shiro knew refusal was an admission in and of itself. An interview could create issues, particularly if she ever bothered to access his files, which had peculiarities which were difficult for even him to explain. With any luck, it would just be your average 'getting to know you' waste of time. They'd exchange niceties and he'd put on his fake smile, then they'd sip tea and discuss his academics for a few minutes before it all became apparent there was 'nothing to see here' and she'd move on to interview someone more interesting like Karmyne. Case closed.<br/><br/>Again though... K was no fool..<br/><br/>When the discussion rounded on writing up the report, Shiro nodded with Robin's idea for their half of the draft. "I already have an outline in mind with sevral observations and hypotheses about the Grimm and their connection to the toxic cloud. I'd want run it by Robin of course as a matter of scientific review." Robin might have certain close minded viewpoints, but he was otherwise educated and of a particularly keen mind. His insights into the Grimm and the cloud, even without the sample he had obtained, would prove as valuable as they were objective. Input from Karma was also important, but it wasn't going to be from a scientist's perspective, her's would be more of a fighter's viewpoint. No less important, but very different. He was about to ask the others if they planned to compose their drafts in a similar way when Robin got his text. Shiro didn't know the nature of the text, or who it was from, but whatever it was about it was important enough to interrupt Robin mid-sentence. He quirked a brow at that. Perhaps it was family related. Robin's family name seemed to be the kindling for some of the more controversial debates, for what little Shiro knew anyway. It was easy enough to draw certain conclusions of why he might end up at Vale rather than Atlas, though even one prone to conjecture such as Shiro felt like that might be too much of an assumption. The fellow got texts. No news here. Next topic...<br/><br/>"So... did we ever answer why women seem to like guys with tails?"