<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/a/ac/Taro03.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Taro Ikeda (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=257738.msg12730054#msg12730054)<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Cafeteria<br/><strong>Time:</strong>Flashback - a few days before school starts, breakfast time<br/><strong>With:</strong>Shizuma + Open<br/><hr/>Taro looked down at the fingers brushing over his shoulder and smiled. That wasn't exactly what could be called proper decorum, but he didn't mind, and he had been guilty too of touching Shizuma in a way that could be taken as intimate or just a friendly gesture. Perhaps it was unusual among Japanese people, but to him it just signified a closeness from which real friendship could spring.<br/><br/>"Yes, lets give them a little to talk. Why not. If they think ill of me because I spend time with an abnormal I might as well own that role." He cut another slice from his apple and held it close to Shizuma's mouth, only to draw that slice back again before she could bite. Offering it to her to take in a more conventional way he added: "So I guess I understand what you mean abut your powers. But I don't think we have any sensors and stuff here that we could use – if I agree to your little experiment. This is a school, after all, not some research facility."<br/><br/>After another sip of tea he went on, glancing at the camera. "And yes, some parents might not be thrilled by the idea of integrated schools, but these things are in the school's jurisdiction. Parents may protest, but there is not much they can really do. And the school has to follow the lead of the education ministry." Taro leaned back in his chair and looked Shizuma in the eyes. "My parents both work for the government – in the Ministry of Trade – and they think the mood in government is really changing. Not swiftly, not completely, but slow and steady. You are right, the world has changed, but it's not done changing yet."