"Amazing! This suit matches you perfectly!" Director Akikawa said, eyes glittering with excitement. She pulled out another fan and flapped it open, revealing the bolded 'Beautiful!' written across the fan in ink. "I worried when you mentioned that your previous outfit had been damaged, but I am glad to see that our tailors were able to reknit it!"
Obey Your Master smiled slightly, feeling a warm fondness in her chest as she looked down at her gloved hands. "It feels like I remember." She whispered, rather happy that the tailors here were somehow able to bring back her old G1 outfit from complete disrepair. "Thank you, Director."
Director Akikawa glared. "Annoyance! Call me Trainer, Obey-san!"
Obey smiled. "Noted, Director Akikawa."
The director pouted, and Obey chuckled softly. She still had a tough time believing that her Trainer was older than she was, but she supposed she didn't mind. Director Akikawa's excitement was a nice contrast to her previous trainer's experienced tranquility.
She turned her eye to the standing mirror on the other side of the Director's room, and her eyes softened.
She looked completely unlike how she was months ago. Or-, rather, she'd finally returned to how she usually looked. The fake stars she used to force into her eyes were gone. Her hair was smoothed down, draping over her back. Her old G1 outfit was back; a clean butler's suit. The only thing that remained the same was the small American flag tied to her right arm—the only constant that'd remained with her all this time.
And she felt-, good. She felt good. That constricting feeling she had whenever she tried to force herself into that sunny mask was no longer there. Not to say that things were perfect; that clawing emptiness in her chest was still there, and at times she wanted nothing more than to claw her own eyes out.
But things were getting better. Slowly but surely.
"Perfect! You're more than ready for the [Takarazuka Kinen]!" She said cheerfully, just as the cat lounging on her hat let out a soft 'nyaa'. "We shall make your return to the world a dazzling one!"
"There's still a few weeks left before that, Director." Obey sighed softly. "And please tell me we aren't doing that interview you told me about."
Director Akikawa blinked. "You do not want to?"
…ah, damn it.
"I'm not opposed to it." Obey eventually said, feeling slightly embarrassed as she rubbed her neck. "It's just-, this is the first time everyone'll be seein' me in these clothes. Feels like I'm goin' in naked."
The director hummed, before she smiled kindly. "Then we shall not do so." Obey blinked at the sudden shift, and Director Akikawa just grinned as she pulled out another fan. "Promise! I am your Trainer; it is my duty to ensure my Trainees are able to run as they wish! If you believe my plans would be too much, then we shouldn't do them."
That was another thing–
Everyone here was too kind. Maybe it was just the different environment, maybe the Japanese were just freaks or something—regardless, everyone here was just too nice. There was no sniping before a race, no mean comments or subtle sabotage to try and get the win. Here, she could freely ask for help, and she'd receive them.
And at times, it made her feel weak. Made her feel like she'd basically ran away because she couldn't match her home's groove.
Her Trainer made sure to remind her otherwise whenever she started spiralling a little too much.
She took a small breath. "Thank you, Director."
Director Akikawa beamed. "Happiness! There is no need to thank me! Your comfort is my duty!"
She chuckled. It was a little ironic, really. She was the one dressed like a butler, but Director Akikawa was the one trying to make sure that her needs were being met. It was a little overwhelming really, in the best way.
Suddenly, the door opened, and in came Hayakawa Tazuna, still dressed in that impeccable green suit she was well-known for. "Ah, good afternoon Director, Obey-san."
Obey nodded back. "Good afternoon, Hayakawa-san."
Tazuna smiled softly, before she walked over and placed the stack of papers she'd been carrying onto the Director's desk. Her Trainer's eyes went blank as she saw the towering mass of papers she'd soon need to deal with, before she wilted with despair. "So much…" She whispered mournfully, followed by an uncaring 'nyaa' from the cat on her hat.
Tazuna hummed, entirely unsympathetic to her boss' plight. "After all, it was you who promised to finish them today, no?" She said, and turned a deaf ear to Director Akikawa's defeated whimper.
Obey chuckled warily. "That looks like a lot…"
Tazuna hummed. "It is the build-up of the past week." She said simply, and Obey immediately understood. So the only thing she could do was send a silent prayer to her Trainer and hope that she finished all her work in time, lest she once more face the wrath of the Green Devil.
She genuinely hoped her Trainer did, because once Tazuna got angry, there would be hell to pay.
And she wished she was joking around. She really did.
But Tazuna was her most prominent running partner, and she never failed to outspeed her despite wearing her green suit.
The fact that no one ever bothered to question that fact made her wonder at times.
"That aside," Tazuna smiled as she saw the outfit she was wearing. "Your previous G1 outfit fits you quite well, Obey-san." She tilted her head slightly. "I assume your other G1 outfit is to be shelved for the time being."
Obey nodded slowly. "For now, yes." She glanced out the window for a moment, lost in thought. "Don't know if I'll ever go back to it, but I'm keeping it safe just in case."
Tazuna smiled. "That's good. After all, there's no telling what can happen in the future." She giggled. "Who knows, perhaps a great threat would arise in the future, and the Joker would have to rise once again."
Obey smiled slightly. "Yeah, maybe."
She doubted such a scenario would ever appear, but no one knew what the future would hold. Maybe one day she would genuinely go back and wear that mask she'd grown to detest. Maybe some day she could look at it and feel a twisted sort of amusement, instead of that crushing despair whenever she tried to become someone who wasn't real.
Regardless, she wouldn't throw that outfit away. Her Trainer had convinced her not to—told her that the Joker was another facet of herself, even if she'd grown to hate herself for ever creating it. It took a while to get through her feelings, but she eventually felt the same way.
The Joker, the Butler, the Assassin—all these personas were facets of herself, whether she liked it or not.
All she could do was keep moving forward.
…
Her introspection was cut short when she suddenly heard her Trainer crying out in despair, and she turned to see Director Akikawa sitting behind her desk, her eyes completely sunken and hollow as she mechanically went from one paper to the next. At that moment, she looked nothing like the Director she was supposed to be—not that she often looked the part anyway.
Tazuna sighed as she saw her boss' despair. "This is why you should stop procrastinating, Akikawa-san."
"You're so mean, Tazuna…" The Director muttered, her cheeks smooshed into the desk.
And seeing this now-familiar routine play out once more, Obey Your Master just smiled fondly.