Chapter Text
It was just another boring day in his office. Or it was supposed to be until he ran into Youran, who had come to visit for another segment in her show. He enjoyed these moments, her bringing in the brightness in his otherwise monochrome world.
And it wasn't just her being the only color in a sea of grey, but it was in everything that she stood for. Her joy, enthusiasm, passion, and even melancholy all serve to paint a radiant portrait that chased away the bleakness that surrounded him. And sometimes, if he stared hard enough, if he was feeling particularly poetic (or delusional, his logical mind often corrected), he could almost swear that her hues were slowly spreading to their surroundings.
But after these moments, when she leaves his periphery and rejoins a world that did not include him, everything shifts back into focus. Black Swan. Evolvers. The next step of human evolution. And he continues on his research and plots out the next steps in order to achieve his goals.
Some days, he wondered if he'd go mad with the constant switching between cold, calculating Ares and warm, comforting Lucien. He’d contemplate the idea of discarding Lucien, allowing Ares full reign to pull the Queen into his orbit, caging her to his whims. Then she'd turn to him with a smile, a laugh, or a pout, and all these thoughts dissipate into the air, leaving behind a sinking realisation that he was already in far too deep, that he should extract himself before he gets sucked into her orbit.
Humans are irrational creatures. He thought as he heard himself agreeing to appear in another segment after his explanation of the time space theory, feeling his lips tilt up into a soft smile when her entire face glowed upon hearing his acceptance.
A soft knock on the door broke the sweet atmosphere around the pair, as Lucien gave the visitor permission to enter. The twisting of metal and squeak of the door hinges gave way to the sound of measured footsteps as two figures came into view.
It was his coworker, Professor Zorn. He also had someone with him. A young lady with jagged shoulder length hair, wearing a lab coat similar to his, except hers opened to show a rather non-professional outfit. A sleeveless zipped shirt and a slitted skirt showing dark shorts underneath paired with almost knee length boots made her seem more an athlete playing dress up than the doctor that her coat seemed to imply.
“Professor Lucien, I wanted to introduce you to Doctor Haruno. She's here with us temporarily as a consulting doctor and a medical expert. Doctor Haruno, this is Professor Lucien. He's one of the leading researchers in the University. He’s quite well versed in multiple fields so he'll be able to help you with your research.”
“It's nice to meet you, Professor Lucien. Please, just call me Sakura.” The woman stepped forward and placed a hand out for him to shake. Assertive. Confident too, if her stance was any indication. Interesting.
“It's a pleasure, Miss Sakura.” He reached out to grasp the offered hand and gave a firm shake, making sure his expression was open, but distant. Willing to help, but also aloof enough that she would go to other staff before even thinking of asking him any questions.
The way her smile went a bit strained showed that she caught his deliberate shirking of using her actual title. The flash of indignation in her eyes was muted but still visible. Passionate then, also easy to anger. Especially as he could still see it even with his disability.
She immediately pulled her hand away from his and stepped back, allowing Professor Zorn to continue the conversation. However, it seems that his colleague wasn’t going to be with them long, if the continuous pings from his phone was any indication.
“Apologies, Doctor Haruno, Professor Lucien. I'm afraid I have to go. Something urgent just came up. Doctor Haruno, I'll continue our tour of the campus tomorrow.”
“It's not a problem, Professor Zorn. Thank you for showing me around. I'm sure I'll be able to find my way back to the lab. Please say hello to Sharon for me.” She gave a cheerful wave as the Professor left the room, in a hurry to get to his wife.
Hmm….A people person, also intuitive. Or maybe connected, if she knew the Professor's wife.
She seemed about to turn back to him when she noticed Youran sitting at the chair, looking at her inquisitively, eyes darting to her hair and eyes. The way Youran was biting her lips, Lucien could tell that she was barely exploding from the questions bubbling inside her.
“Hello, I'm sorry. I didn't know Professor Lucien had a guest. Do you also work here?” She gave a slight bow to the brown-haired girl.
“Oh!” Youran stood up and returned the bow, having to juggle her pen and notebook as they almost fell from hands at the speed of her movements. “My name is Youran. I'm not a staff member here. I'm the TV Producer of Miracle Finder. Professor Lucien often consults to provide facts for our shows.”
Sakura used two hands to receive the business card that was provided and took a cursory look at it before carefully putting it in her pocket.
“Miracle Finder. I saw that show. You had a segment on Space Folding.” Unbeknownst to the two of them, Lucien tensed and focused on the newcomer, suspicious at the mention of that specific show. Miracle Finder had a lot of other supernatural productions that Space Folding was not all that unique, unless someone was looking deep into Evolvers.
“Yes!” Youran clapped her hands in excitement. “Professor Lucien helped a lot with the information on that one!”
Sakura scrutinised the young woman in front of her. This person. When she got excited, the aura around her pulsed with power. Almost as if the world tried to conform itself to her emotions.
“Doctor Sakura?” Youran looked flustered at the sudden attention. It was almost similar to Lucien's observing eyes, making her second guess herself again.
The pink haired woman quickly reverted back to her usual demeanor, reassuring the producer that she was just lost in thought due to her research topic.
“To be honest, I'm really interested to find out more about it. It may tie into some of the sections of my own research. I hope I'll be able to glean some knowledge from you as well, Professor.” Sakura's face moved from Youran to Lucien as she moved to address him, a professional smile playing about her lips.
“Of course. I'd be glad to help wherever needed.” Was Lucien's typical response.
“Ah! Doctor Sakura.” Both of them turned to face Youran at the hesitant call. “I'm sorry for being forward, but about your research, if you manage to get information about space folding, would you be willing to appear as a guest on my show?”
“I mean, only if you want to! I just….I thought having a researched take on it would be helpful in making the segment be more fact-based than just speculation and verbal testimonies…. Ah! I don't mean that Professor Lucien's information is not fact-based but… Umm…”
Youran tried her best at the pitch, stumbling as she almost put her foot in her mouth at the insinuation against Lucien’s theories.
The other two just gave humor-filled smiles as the producer struggled to make her offer and not offend the other person in the room. Until Sakura decided to put the girl out of her misery.
“Sure. If my schedule is clear, I'd be happy to provide my expertise on Miracle Finder. Here's my card. You can contact me through the number there.”
Sakura gave a light grin at the younger female. She was so cute! That entire scene just reminded her so much of Hinata that she couldn't help but be charmed.
But she was curious though. She channeled some healing chakra on the calling card that she offered, wondering if it would have any effect when Youran took it.
When Youran touched the card, she immediately felt a soothing feel envelope her body, draining away the stress from the previous week's sleepless nights. It simultaneously felt like she'd slept for an entire week and went for a full body massage all in one.
What Sakura observed was that the chakra transferred from the card to her body before being absorbed and disappearing. Interesting. Most everything in this world just expelled her chakra or, at most, took hold of it until it dissipated on its own. It was the first time she saw anything absorb it.
Lucien, however, was rooted on the spot, shock filling his entire body. That card. Before Youran touched it, he could see the white of the card along with the black lettering of the doctor's name. It shone like a spotlight in the grey backdrop. How was it possible? And it was only for a brief instant. The moment it passed on to Youran, color drained out of it and seeped into her body, turning her even brighter, almost glowing, to his sensitive eyes. And then it was gone, as if it never happened at all.
Who was this new person? Was she an evolver as well?
Three silent beats passed in the room as each person individually digested the outwardly simple scene before reality came back and Sakura excused herself from the room. Youran and Lucien then continued their previous conversation, but the girl did notice that the professor was a bit distracted after that meeting, wondering if he was still captured by the lingering presence of their unintended visitor.