''I guess it's different when you've grown up with it.'' She nodded softly. ''Some people would probably freak out if their quirk was making chains too.'' She looked at the palm of her hand. ''But to me that's just my normal.'' She looked back up at Iphi, shocked at the revelation that her early school life had been easy. Not because she doubted it, she had just never really sat down and thought about it. ''No way, I was once of those who had to study a lot.'' She chuckled, ''I'd have been so jealous of you if we were in the same class.''

She didn't know what to say as Iphi stuck her tongue out, other than laugh and do it back at her. ''You think so?'' She folded her hands on the desk. ''Maybe I am. All common sense goes out the window when it involves him. Like I can't think straight at all.'' It was a good thing it didn't interfere with her work too much, or it might prove troublesome since they shared workspaces. ''I hope he has, but I don't blame him if he hasn't. He doesn't owe me that.'' She shrugged casually. ''You too, huh? I'd love that, I was just thinking there's this great place on the corner.'' She grimaced when Iphi mentioned her boy troubles and blushed, insisting as they headed out of the agency and onto the streets of Tokyo. ''I don't have boy troubles!''

Iphigenia Pavlina

[attr="class","likedo"]

''Isn't she scary?''

''They say Recall never sleeps, that it's part of her quirk.''

''Is she even human? How did she figure that out all on her own?''

Being Iphigenia's best friend she often felt like no one really knew her bestie. The Iphi she knew was night and day different from the one that circulated in rumors. It had started back in their student days and while it had gotten better, journalists or other nosey people occasionally asked her what it was like to be business partners with someone like Iphi. Maybe it was because they were so different, but Sadako always felt that it was in these differences where their friendship really shone. They also had a lot more in common than she had first thought. At a glance, if they hadn't been roommates back then, Sadako might have thought Iphi was hard to approach, but she was glad she wasn't. She was glad that they were zooming down snowy hills, upholding their silly traditions and being competitive over nothing.

''No way!'' She chuckled, adjusting her position slightly so she didn't lose her balance. ''That means you're winning already, I never stood a chance.'' She teased, loving that Iphi had taken those words to heart and that they were getting to the bottom at the same time.

''Right?'' She pulled up her goggles and let out a relieved sigh. ''I thought it was going to be me for sure.'' She smiled at Iphi before nodding her head. ''Intermediate and cocoa? Sounds perfect, I feel fired up after conquering the beginner hill!''

Words Sadako probably wouldn't have spoken, had she said them from the top of the intermediate battlefield they now stood on. There were still plenty of people here, although less than on the beginner one. Everyone seemed to go down it so effortlessly and wait a minute... Was that a child?! Some people really were born natural talents. ''See you at the bottom!'' She smiled at Iphi before pushing ahead, taking the plunge first this time.

Iphigenia Pavlina

[attr="class","likedo"]

''Oooh I see! Like the Japanese Alps. They took you when you were pretty young then.'' Sadako stretched her arms as she hopped off the lift, it all felt so familiar she couldn't help but feel incredibly nostalgic. Did any other place in Japan make her feel this way? ''Right? Do you think they upgraded it since last time?'' Did lifts ever get upgraded to go faster? It didn't sound like a huge priority, but Iphi really did have her convinced they had ascended to the top faster than usual.

With one glance she put her snow goggles down over her eyes taking in the sight of the hellish beginner hill. Could she conquer it like she had done so easily in the past? ''Huh? Iphi! Wait for me!'' She chuckled, standing upright and leaning forward to chase after her friend. She always got blindsided by her like that, but loved every moment where Iphi was cutting loose and not thinking about work or secretly doing work. Sadako was off to a rough start, having her arms outstretched to try and better balance herself, but her muscle memory kicked in and soon she had gotten the hang of it, weaving around people while maintaining a safe distance.

As she kept on Iphi's trail she looked at a tree they were about to zoom by. She remembered falling here the first time her and Iphi came to the mountain and feeling so embarrassed that she had slipped and fallen in front of her friend. That was back when little mistakes still made her embarrassed around Iphi. ''Don't think you're going to win so easily!'' She called after her, grinning. Iphi was absolutely going to beat her at this rate, but she still wanted to keep up the guise of competition to keep things exciting until the end.

Iphigenia Pavlina

Sadako laughed and took the little nudge, she deserved that. ''I know right?? The students keep saying I'm old and maybe that mentality is rubbing off on me.'' They always said it as a joke, but were they wrong? In a business so dangerous how many truly made it to retirement? She didn't want to dwell on it. Theirs was a new profession anyways, not like they had been around for long enough to even have heroes that old. She let out a silent gasp at Iphi's words and put her hands together as she smiled. ''You saw right through me! I'm no risk taker, can we start on the easy course? Once I'm warmed up we can conquer the pro slopes.''

Not only was she getting to hang out with her best friend, but she was teaching her some interesting facts about her home in the process. ''Oh really? I can't imagine winters without layers and layers of snow.'' She took a sip from her thermos and looked over at Iphi as she started bundling up. ''Not as much. I still get cold, but I guess my tolerance is a little different. Us Gotohs are naturally cold, even if my quirk doesn't reflect it as dramatically as Rin's does. I practically grew up around chronically cold people so at a certain point I started building a tolerance. Don't get me wrong, I still prefer staying warm.'' She took a moment to enjoy the view as they climbed further and further up. ''Did you ever go skiing before coming to Japan? Did you have the mountains for it back home?''

Iphigenia Pavlina

Chugen indeed, as expected of her genius best friend nothing slipped past her brilliant mind!

''H-Huh? Wait no way! You got something for me too?'' That she considered her the heart of the agency was enough to make her own heart melt. Still, her question remained. Left or right? It was a dirty trick question considering both options she had provided for Iphi were wrong, meaning the game was rigged against her from the start. Sorry Iphi, no hard feelings, but if she wanted to bamboozle her she had to pull out all the stops and-

Eh?

Did she just say behind her back? Had her trick already been exposed? Her face turned red as she laughed back. ''Didn't get away with it, huh? I expected nothing less of you!'' She grinned, showing her hands to reveal both were empty, but then using her chains to roll the gift out from under her blazer and into her hand. ''Sure!'' She sat down and put her gift on the desk as well. ''What a surprise, I wonder what you got me? ~'' She took the present Iphi slid towards her and looked down at it for a beat, before looking back at her best friend. ''Is it okay if I open it here?'' She really had no idea what to expect of Iphi. She had known her for years and what she learned about her was to expect the unexpected. When she first met her she had the same impressions as a lot of people might. That she's a genius, but also a little distant and someone who doesn't care too deeply about others. That simply wasn't the case, in fact it couldn't be further from the truth. Minus the genius part of course! She was undoubtedly really smart, but her heart was just as big as her brain.

''Here's yours, you've earned it.'' She giggled, sliding her gift for Iphi across the desk.

Iphigenia Pavlina