The Saint and the Sinner Sally McCathy sits in a cold interrogation room under a hot light that makes her tired eyes slim. The man talking to her was Sheriff Keller, a man she's known since she was 4. She shot in the booth next to him when she was first learning how to control her quirk.
She sat motionless as the clean-shaven sheriff said in his own blunt tone what the worst she was looking at might be.
"Second Degree Murder."
Sally sat stunned and asked God in a silent voice that was choked with pleas and curses why she was being punished for defending someone's property.
Her answer came before her trial: a deal for rehabilitation to prove her quirk could be controlled and used for good.
The deal required her to learn a language she didn't want to, move to a place that wouldn't welcome her, and work against students with one hundred
times better circumstances.
The objective was simply to graduate. Once she had her certificate and her license, her name was clear.
A part of her thanked God for his mercy, and another part told her to disappear into the night and never look back.
Sally shakes herself awake as the amber light of Kyoto's midday sun shines through the classroom window. Even her daydreams have been nightmares lately, where in the past they were her dreaming about heroic exploits or Noah.
At least it meant she'd be sleeping less in class.
She watched Christopher link up with Yui as Noah looked toward her, his wings flapping gently as he waited for her so they could walk out of school together.
"I-I'll need time to get ready, so... you don't have to walk me home."
"Noah understands. Noah's dad has a car he can use to pick you up when you're ready." he says with a familiarly easygoing smile that Sally returned as she stuffed her uniform hat in her bag and let her long brown locks down.
"Noah... uhm..." she starts, trying to ask something bravely but failing to muster the courage halfway through as Noah slipped his shoes on.
He tilted his head toward her. "Are you feeling okay? Noah knows Inigo can be rude at times... but-"
"N-No, it's not about him! "It's..." she tries to spit out. "{This is so much fucking easier when they do it on TV...}" she mutters to herself.
"Noah's listening; take your time." he says calmly as Sally's face reddens.
"I... I wanted to ask what your favorite color is." she says as she recovers her Japanese vocabulary. It wasn't her real question: if she had half the courage that dumbass scumbag Inigo had, she would have invited him to dinner after service, just the two of them.
Noah thinks for a moment. "Noah likes White the best." he says with an honest smile as Sally slips her loafers on.
The two wave goodbye as Sally double-checks that she has his number programmed into her phone as she walks to her apartment at a rushed pace, glad none of her classmates were able to see her moving with a whimsical joy in her step. It's not a date, but it kind of is since she gets to sit next to Noah in church without things being awkward! She'd never met his parents, but she was assuming they had to be as nice as their offspring, right?
She rode the elevator up to her room and broke open her closet, finding a white dress that flared out into a pink gradient with a dot pattern on the hem that rose like bubbles out of a warm bath. She paired it with an owl feather necklace and a pair of old white flats with cute, rounded tips.
She put her hair up out of habit as she did a small bit of makeup. She was taught that you only ever did makeup for truly special occasions. Easter, birthdays, Christmas, and the 4th of July. It was too expensive to use it every day for her mom, at least. She wasn't as skilled as her mom either, but she wasn't going to be looking like a clown for the holy trinity at least.
A small clutch purse held the stuff she absolutely needed as she found a cream-colored cardigan to put over the outfit and smiled at herself in the mirror. Today was the day in her mind.
Sally sat in the backseat of Mr. Abram's sedan, her legs tilting a bit as the Japanese woman, whom Sally could only guess was Mrs. Abrams, sat well dressed but peeved in the front passenger seat. Noah was wearing a cyan sweater vest over a short button-up shirt and a pair of khaki pants as Mrs. Abrams looked toward Sally in the mirror.
"{So, Sally. How are you finding Japan?}" The woman asks, trying her best in English. Sally takes a moment to puzzle through the accent before responding.
"{It's fine, not quite paradise... but better than living in New York or California.}"
"{You must get that a lot, Sally.}" Mr. Abrams says as he stops for a red light.
"{Y-Yeah, I'm used to it, so don't worry about it... I'm just glad you were okay with me coming with you.}"
"{Noah... thinks it's rude not to offer you a ride given how long of a walk it is to church. It's at least a kilometer from your apartment...}" the boy says as his wings flutter a bit on instinct.
"{A kilometer isn't a lot in flats. Used to bike 2 or 3 miles to get to friends houses back in Montana.}" She says nonchalantly, seeming to impress Noah's parents a bit.
"{Montana's in the western USA, right?}" Mrs. Abrams asks her husband, who nods. "{It's past the Midwest; remember Chicago? It's about 3 states over from there.}"
"{I remember doing some cases down there when I was still practicing law in the USA. It's amazing to see how well organized the communities down there are.}" Mr. Abrams says as Kawaramachi Church comes into view and the man starts looking for parking.
"{We'd be nothing without the militias. Corporations and big government have a way of snapping up good land when you don't keep your rifle by your side... so to speak, in a theoretical sense.}"
Mr. Abrams gives Sally a disconcerting look as he backs into a spot, and the group heads inside, taking a seat near the front pews. The husband and wife sit together, as do Sally and Noah, in hand-holding and shoulder-resting range.
Sally made sure to offer praise for the chance to make a good impression as her daydreams returned to the nice, juvenile ones.
The old Japanese man who was the priest at Kawaramachi speaks slowly, which is something that Sally was thankful for. Her Japanese had gotten better, but she was not able to understand the TV in full sentences unless she sat down and listened to it. He was preaching about the indiscriminate love of Jesus toward all who sought him in earnest.
Sally had been knocked out of her bright mood by reminding herself who exactly she was and why she was here. She was nothing more than a sinner who wore the vestments of something pure and righteous in the hopes it would rub off on her and that the mental fortitude of a woman of Christ would be something she gained through osmosis.
Of course, it didn't quite work that way; she could still feel barrels form in her arm whenever she got angry and would still load them with live, metal-tipped rounds that could dismember most people faster than you could misfire. The problem was at least getting better with how much time Shiketsu was putting into her training; otherwise, she would have already been shoved out the door to the US embassy so she could face up to the full consequences of her sins.
As Sally loses track of what the priest is saying, she stares at the holes at the base of her hands, which are dark and empty given her good mood. She used to see her quirk as a divine instrument of justice given to her so she could help people defend themselves against things they couldn't fight on their own. After the shooting, she started to see her quirk as some kind of demon inside her. She heard the voice in the back of her head that told her to use it for herself, that this fallen world deserved to burn for punishing her for doing the right things.
The American girl closes her eyes and exhales. 'Today was a good day.' she reminded herself as the sun set outside the window and she kneeled for prayer. She thanked God for his mercy on her like every Sunday, but there was more feeling to it than usual as she offered her praises. When the offertory bins come around, she notices Mr. Abrams and Noah giving individually with multiple thousand yen notes. They must make lots of money since she's been rationing the coins she gets as change from the supermarket, being able to only give 500 yen to church.
She looks over to Noah as the congregation stands for the last hymn of the day, taking his hand as they both stand up. Both blush a bit as they quickly refrain from the activity, but the brief touch does not escape the bored Mrs. Abram's eyes as her red lips curl with a small grin.
"...May the Lord, our God, be with you outside these walls. That he may bless your steps so others may walk in the light behind you."
"Amen." The congregation repeats.
Sally mouths the Japanese words herself as she dedicates herself to translation; the task is effortless for Noah and his father as they gather their coats and bags. As they walk to the car, Sally speaks. "Mr. Abrams, would you mind if Noah walked me home?"
Noah's father looks toward his son, who nods in agreement. "Just be careful. Noah, I can come pick you up after you see Sally to her door."
"You're both smart enough to keep up with Shiketu's curriculum, so as long as you stay together, it's fine." Mrs. Abrams says in her native tongue to her more blunt husband, a grinning son, and an overjoyed foreign girl that is clearly crushing hard on her baby boy.
The woman pushes her husband along as Sally and Noah walk home against a backdrop of fading daylight.
The two walk in silence for a bit before Noah breaks the silence. "Noah wonders why you wanted Noah to walk you home." he asks in a good natured tone.
"I just... wanted to confess my feelings." the taller girl says, trying to speak in proper, ladylike Japanese.
"{Noah doesn't want you to force yourself to talk like you don't want to.}"
"{...Am I that easy to read?}"
Noah nods shyly as Sally clears her throat. "{I... want to stop beating around the bush. I... really like you.}"
"{As... in a romantic way? Noah is flattered, but... why?}"
"{You're... all the things I want to be: patient, you're kind, you're... in control of yourself. I know I can only change myself so much, but... I feel like I have more control when I'm with you.}"
The two look away from themselves awkwardly as they cross a bridge over a lazy river. The children below are heading home with freshly picked flowers at the urging of their mothers. Noah's angelic wings sway in the wind while his white hair reflects the fleeting sunlight. "{I... know you could do better than me, but... can we just try it for a bit? I promise I won't be bitchy like the Korean girls.}" Sally asks as she brushes her hair behind her ears.
Noah returns the gun nun's gaze with a gentle smile. "{Noah thinks you're overestimating his charm... besides... I've never had a girlfriend before. Noah doesn't really know what to do.}"
"{We could go out for dinner a few times, maybe go to an amusement park or something?}" Sally says, her mind filled with half-remembered Hallmark movies that her mom would watch for the cheesy dialouge around Christmas.
"{That...}" Noah starts.
"{Noah thinks that sounds great.}" he says as he holds Sally's hand. The girl's face goes bright red as the two smile in tandem.
"{W-What exactly does your dad do?}" Sally asks to try to shift the conversation into a more casual tone.
On the way back, the couple have a candid conversation about their parents and home life. Sally's dad is a priest turned sheriff's deputy, and her mom sells the product of her uniquely dangerous quirk: the ability to turn body fat into ammunition. Noah talks about his dad's old job as a hero, his switch to being a lawyer, and his mother being a nurse from Japan.
The 3 kilometers go by like a flash as the streetlamps light the sidewalks. "T-Thanks for walking me home, Noah." Sally says, trying to mimic the graceful tone of his mother.
"Noah enjoyed it and looks forward to getting to know you better, Sally." he says to the earnestly smiling girl as she waves goodbye to him and swipes her ID card to get into the apartment building she called home. Noah calls his dad to come pick him up nearby, not wanting to walk 3 more kilometers so late at night.
{Bonus Scene}
Fredrick and Molly McCathy sit in rocking chairs on the porch of their house, sipping some home-made lemonade. The thin woman sighs. "So Sally got a boyfriend."
Fredrick just about spit-takes. "Please tell me you're joking, Molly."
"Nope, she texted me about if it's okay for her to be the one that asks him out on dates."
"We should go over and visit sooner; make sure she's not with some scumbag who's looking to scam her." the defensive father says, envisioning the worst possible kind of bad boy that Sally might have had a passing attraction to.
"Nah, she said she went to church with him. Said his Hero Name was Archangel. Described him as a saint, and you know she's never been a fan of the boys who tried to ask her out while she was here."
"Don't remind me... We're lucky she tends to miss her shots when she gets flustered."
"Yeah..." the short-haired woman says as she remembers some of her daughter's long list of school dances she's ruined by firing off a round in the middle of the dance floor. "Maybe we should go plan a flight over..."
"Economy class?"
"Economy class."
The two take another drink of lemonade as they take a moment to relax and pray that Sally wouldn't scare this one away with gunfire.