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[Slight backdate. The screen on the communication device was a dark, reddish color. Minato had ended up converting a room near his own into a darkroom. The sixth room on the Third Floor was free, and he went ahead and made use of it. He hoped no one would mind. Besides, the Gallery was also next to it in the fourth room, and if anyone did protest, he could always change another room close by.

Inside said darkroom, Minato wasn't alone. While Minato used film clips to hang up a few photographs to have them dry off, Souji used his bamboo photo tongs to place more photo paper into the chemicals in the development trays he had prepped per Minato's instructions.]

Why scenery?

[Souji looked up at the pictures hung on the line, and at some of the ones that were off to the dry side of the room. Minato smiled a little as he answered.]

... I had a request to take color photographs of outside since the other side of the mirrors is black and white. Is that spoiling them?

[Especially after everything that's happened? Souji shook his head, returning the smile, and continued to monitor the photos and their development.]

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[ The Doctor just watches Minato and Souji moving around before commenting: ]

I didn't know you liked photography, Minato.

[ He sounds pleasantly surprised; this is what he likes, anyway, learning new things about his friends. ]

[It was Minato's turn to get to the communication device first.]

Hi, Sensei. Mn, it was for a school club, but I wanted to continue learning it here.

[Somehow. Well, there's always trial and error to these things.]

Oh, do you know Souji?

[He indicated over to Souji who was nearby.]

[Souji joins Minato and waves, peering at the screen.]

Nice to meet you...sensei? [He glances at Minato for confirmation.]

That makes sense, though. With the time we have between events, why not put that to good use?

[ It's why he spends so much time tinkering with various objects trying to build one unusual device or another. But, look, there's a person he hasn't met yet, so he beams and waves. ]

No, never met him before this. Hello, I'm the Doctor, nice to meet you!

Mn, it's a good way to pass the time.

[Minato nodded over to Souji. He was called the Doctor, but Minato changed it up to call him Sensei instead. And he thought he should qualify the introduction with the following:]

Souji's from my future.

It's nice to meet you, too. [Souji waves, smiling.] It's the future, but only by about two years.

Oh, it definitely is.

[ The Doctor said, nodding his agreement with what Minato had said. ]

I've got a friend here who's from the future too. Martha Jones, maybe you've met her.

[ And it honestly drives him up the wall, knowing there's things she knows that he doesn't yet. ]

[Minato nodded. He met her, one of the first people he did here.]

I didn't know she was from your future.

[He smiled over at Souji. He knew that he knew her as well, and probably better than Minato had.]

[Souji can't help smiling. He likes Martha quite a bit.]

I didn't either. I've gotten to know her a bit since she got here.

[He wouldn't say they really know each other, but they certainly get along.]

It's a bit tricky, really. She's from sometime later on down my timeline, meaning she knows about things that have happened that I haven't lived through yet.

[ And she won't let him forget it, either, although it's not like she's dangling carrots in front of him and pulling them away at the last second. Any dangling she might be doing isn't intentional, but it still bothers him just slightly. ]

In a lot of ways, we're lucky we've got her.

[ So far as he's concerned, with Martha around and heading up the clinic, they're in good hands. ]

So, you two. You're friends, then?

She can tell you about them, right?

[Minato was glad that she was here to open the clinic too, so they really were lucky. He wanted to learn as much as he could from her while he could

Then to answer the Doctor's question, Minato nodded.]

That is, if Souji will have me.

[Souji smiles.]

We became friends here. We haven't met at home. But we will.

Well, yes, she can, but there's some things she won't say. And I suppose it's for the best, if I haven't yet lived through those things yet.

[ But it bothers him only slightly, because some things she's done and said have really amped up his curiosity to what some might think of as almost intolerable levels. Which might be a good time to note that the Doctor's got a lot of curiosity. ]

It's good to have friends, especially around here.

[Sorry for the delay! Hiatus! But I am back now!]

But do you want to know about them, that's the question.

[Minato agreed with the sentiment that it was good to have friends here. It really was.]

Souji was nice enough to tell me about the future, even if he didn't have to.

In our case, it was a happy future. Maybe Martha's not telling you because of something bad that might happen?

[That seems like a Martha-y thing to do to him.]

That could be, I suppose, but that implies I've never had bad things happen to me before. It's a bit unavoidable, for me, at least.

[ It is a Martha-y thing to do to him, but he hardly needs to be protected from his own future. ]

Maybe she doesn't want to spoil you.

[Like with movies. The Doctor should experience it for himself too, and he would, eventually.]

Or for you to worry about it. There's nothing you can do about it here, anyway.

Oh, I suppose, but I've never quite figured out how to turn off my curiosity when it comes to things like this. Mind you, I wouldn't ever want to, which probably explains why I've never gotten that straight.

[ Oh, but he's rambling now. They didn't need to hear all of that, not really. ]

Maybe you can ask her why she won't tell you.

[No harm in doing that either, just asking her straight up.]

[Souji can relate to constantly being in curiosity mode. If he didn't know it would make him ill, he'd probably have tasted some of the developing chemicals by now.]

That would let you know for sure, maybe.

I've asked her, trying different tactics, but she's always said no. Maybe if I tried asking directly, she might say something more.

Worth a shot, anyway. Thank you, both of you, you've been brilliant.

Good luck, Sensei. You never know. Maybe she'll ask you about the past instead.

[Souji nods in agreement.] Nice meeting you.

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