- RP Date
- YE 45.5
- RP Location
- Downtown District, Eastern Kyoto, Yamatai
OOC Warning: Okimi goes to an emotionally dark place. Perhaps don't read if such is likely to be upsetting to you.
Downtown District, Eastern Kyoto, Yamatai
YE 45.5
After the emotional events that took place within the Imperial Palace, Santô Hei Fujikawa Okimi had needed to get away from everything for a while and had elected to leave the Empress' Estate on foot. Fortunately, thanks to her previous three months of leave spent living in Kyoto with Luna Soban, the young caretaker was somewhat familiar with the basic geography of the massive city and was confident in her ability to find her way.
Which was something she was sorely in need of, albeit in a more metaphorical than geographical sense. As a part of the crew of the YSS Resurgence, Okimi had just been gifted what was quite possibly the single greatest award that could be given to a member of the Star Army of Yamatai. By all accounts, she should be overjoyed and happy, proud of the recognition.
The problem was that she wasn't.
In point of fact, Okimi's feelings on the matter went more to the opposite end of the emotional spectrum. She felt unhappy, adrift, unworthy and most definitely undeserving of the accolades that had so recently been piled upon the crew by an ecstatic Empress. At the time, the thought of gainsaying the leader of Yamatai, let alone the Commander of the Star Army, Taisho Yui, had frozen Okimi in indecision. Now, freed from the presence of such august personages, her thoughts were racing, dragging her emotions downward into a tight spiral of depression and self-loathing.
For some time now, Okimi had been feeling increasingly lost as a person. She had experienced a small breakdown on the YSS Resurgence when she had been restricted to the medical center to allow her body to recover from its minutes-long exposure to hard vacuum. While Yuri, Poppy and Yoshiro had managed to nip that episode in the bud, it hadn't been the last such flare-up of dark emotions that Okimi had recently experienced.
The caretaker knew her emotions were growing out of control, she was more than familiar with the signs of psychological stress as part of her job was recognising said signs and ways to alleviate such. Okimi was also honest enough to recognise that she had a problem. If she needed any proof of that, almost bursting into tears when Erika had flicked her head on the journey to the Palace was all the evidence she needed.
After several weeks spent amongst her colleagues and military locations with no improvement in her personal situation, Okimi had decided that maybe she would try a change of scenery. Hence, the walking away from the Palace gates - not towards the military district, but rather the glittering skyscrapers of the downtown district that dominated the skyline of Eastern Kyoto.
Letting her feet move her where they would, the nekovalkyrja wandered aimlessly through the streets until the overwhelming urge to just leave everything behind overwhelmed her. Almost instinctively, she tapped into her inertial control abilities and lifted in to the sky, flying up the side of a skyscraper.
Rising over the edge of the building, the purple-skinned neko touched down gently on the roof, not noticing that the band on her hair had broken, freeing it from the simple ponytail and allowing her white hair to billow out behind her. Okimi trudged her way across the roof, her pulse racing as dark emotion swirled inside her chest, as if ready to burst forth into the world. A quick hop up left her standing on the edge of the roof, looking out over the space above the city.
She found herself becoming hyperfocused in the moment. The caretaker could feel her uniform as it pulled and shifted slightly with each shallow breath she took. A thousand visual distractions were there in front of her eyes, just waiting for her attention to be drawn towards them. The feel of the air across her exposed skin, the air feeling heavier and humid as if in anticipation of the rain clouds she had seen over Central Eusereyan would be visiting Kyoto before too much longer. The sounds of the city reached her ears as the death knells of diurnal activities gave way to the blazing birth of the nocturnal citylife, the evening loosing its grip on the day as the world crossed into the night.
Okimi found a moment of solitary peace amidst that cacophany of sensory input and came to a startling realisation. All she would have to do is take one step, just one small step and gravity would carry her to the ground. That would bring a swift end to all her troubles. Her foot lifted a couple of inches from the ledge she stood upon before freezing in place.
The caretaker was no great intellect. Oh, she wasn't dumb and knew from her design specifications that she had the capacity to be as smart as she needed to be. But she wasn't a scientist or mathematician, trained to follow the clinical path of logical thought as it applied to problem solving. Still, Okimi was smart enough to know that actually taking that final step would be so impressively dumb. Firstly, it wouldn't solve anything. Even if successful, she had a recent enough ST backup and standing instructions to be restored from it in the event of her death. As that backup was taken after her personal crisis of faith had begun, she would in fact still be in the exact same position.
Not to mention all the 'fun' psychological testing, treatments and restrictions that would surely be added on to her existing problems.
With a sigh of defeat, Okimi allowed her foot to lower back to the ledge and felt the moment of clarity slip away as her tumultuous emotions crashed back in. Her eyes lowered to take in the distant portion of the Eusureyan Fortress she could see from her vantage point.
"Alright then, Okimi, just where do you go from here?"
A few moments earlier...
Not too far from the despairing caretaker, another soul faced a different question from the same cause. Yoko Fujiraki looked down and cradled the accolade in one hand. She didn't dare remove it from her uniform, of course. That'd be a level of offense she could barely wrap her head around right now. The question the young Hei faced came from a different place.
Why?
She had fought, yes. Did her duty to try and protect the ship and her crew that she was newly posted to. She barely achieved being little more than a sentry turret though, the Ripper kill being the most notable thing of the evening. While all the others had fought long and hard and felled many of the foe. And yet some of them weren't even at the meeting! The situation had thrown her for a loop, for sure.
Even during the ceremony though, Yoko had already been theorizing as to what the point of it all was. Her suspicions were that the crew were being picked, for reasons only known to the Empress and their ever bold Taisho, for a certain task. One could only guess what that task would be, but it clearly required them to maneuver past the usual red tape of their navy. That could only speak to its possible importance.
For herself, Yoko felt an immense pressure from that expectation. She had only been in the navy for less than a year. Sure, she'd seen combat multiple times since, but... It was a lot to think that she had anything in particular to offer beyond her willingness to defend the Resurgence. It had to do with something about the ship itself. Its crew needed to be together, regardless of background. Why only just these few individuals were awarded though... Well, she was a bit stumped on that front.
As she left the palace grounds, trying to not think too hard on her Taisho being a nudist at an awards ceremony, she realised she needed time to sort out the massive new expectations and no doubt lethally important tasks ahead of her.
"That's what you wanted, right Yoko? Some action? You sure found it..."
Pushing aside the thought of a monkey's paw curling a finger closed, she reviews the day so far in her mind as the cool evening air hits her. The short Nekovalkyrja looks up as she takes a deep breath of the Kyoto air. Its at this point she sees a familiar shape floating away up to the skyscrapers. She recalls the poor caretaker that had nearly come to tears when she was reprimanded for expressing her worries. Still left a bit of a bad taste in her mouth, but where was she going now?
The slump in her comrade's shoulders tipped off something in the back of her mind. A note of concern hummed in her throat as she quietly followed. Not that she was trying to be stealthy, but also didn't bring any attention to herself. When the purple skinned woman landed on the roof, she paused a short way off the edge of it, still floating mid-air. Just as she is about to speak up to inquire after the most welcoming person she'd met on the ship thus far, she sees her approach the edge.
Yoko was not equipped to handle whatever thoughts might have been racing through Okimi's head, but she immediately felt compelled to move. Not wanting to assume still though, she floats a short way down and to the side. If the woman did take that step forward, she was ready to intercept. A part of her knew that would probably forever earn the girl's ire, but she couldn't just stand by.
As a light breeze flows by, blowing aside Yoko's skirt and giving even her a light shiver, she saw her step back. Its only now that she caught the woman's expression. An icy dagger stabbed through the tanned neko's heart in empathy. If there was a time to appear, she felt it was now. She floated up and leveled at the edge of the roof, entering the girl's periphrial view.
"I'm hoping it's somewhere warmer than the rooftops." Yoko responded to the question that Okimi muttered aloud. She was reminded of the walk up to the ceremony where she had held the caretakers hand in an attempt to comfort her. The woman hoped that small memory would make her presence more welcome at least. It was sadly a bit obvious she had been positioned nearby just in case the caretaker made a poor decision.
Though now was the time to reach out. Whatever stresses Yoko had, she felt it paled in comparison to what Okimi was going through. In an attempt to appear open to the caretaker, she spreads her arms and turns her palms forward, as if to receive a hug. She held no illusions that she could understand the girl's pain, but a bit of compassion was what she had to offer, and offer it she would.
Okimi's focus had been turned inward so completely that she had had no notion of the presence of her crewmate until the shorter soldier spoke up. The caretaker's emotions swirled into a harsh spike of irritation at the presence of the other neko. Yet, before the scowl could even form, her tumultuous emotions shifted out from underneath her indignation as a flare of panic rose through her at the thought of someone witnessing another moment of weakness.
The purple-skinned neko's imminent panic attack was cut off as her emotions ran away once more at the sight of Yoko's open arms. For all the tea in Kyoto, Okimi couldn't have even named what her emotions were anymore, so quickly were they changing as they roiled and boiled within her chest. In the end, not knowing what to do or say, she just gave in to her instincts.
With a great despairing cry, Okimi threw herself at Yoko and wrapped her arms around the shorter neko. Holding on to her crewmate like a lifeline, the caretaker's body shook from her great sobs as her tears formed and fell down her face.
Although an embrace was what was offered to the poor caretaker, Yoko was still caught a little off guard by the intensity. She wastes no time in bringing her arms in and holding Okimi close. Little pats to her back as the woman sobbed. "Ah... Go ahead and let it out, dear. You're not alone." Yoko did her best to be as warm and comforting as possible.
As she runs a hand through the purple neko's hair, Yoko continues, "You've had a hell of a day, haven't you? I won't pretend I understand all your feelings, but I understand anguish. You're not alone, Okimi." It was only mildly awkward, being much shorter than the caretaker herself, but she didn't think it mattered to her at this moment.
As she gives Okimi a nuzzle with her cheek, Yoko looks out over the roof behind them. They surely had surveillance up there and might have seen the attempt. "Maybe we should take this somewhere quieter and warmer, when you've got enough of your feelings out of you." She is sure that the scene was likely reported, and didn't want anyone else showing up and adding to the possible stress.
Yoko's words flowed past Okimi, lost for the moment as the caretaker purged emotional stresses that had been building since shortly after she joined the Resurgence. Admittedly her time spent with Luna following the Hanami Festival had helped deal with a lot of that earlier stress, but the recent battles and trauma had swiftly reversed what progress she had made.
Fortunately, Okimi was nekovalkyrja and just making the earlier choice to overcome her depression had already started her bio-engineered brain down the path of doing just that. So after what felt like an age of pouring her heart out, but was in reality only a matter of minutes, Okimi felt her emotions calm and recede. Pulling back from Yoko, she lifted a hand to her face and, with a small sniffle, wiped away the last of her tears. No longer lost in her own misery, her brain re-ran her crewmate's words.
"Yeah, I don't need to be up here any more. Bar?" she offered a small smile to her companion. "Thanks, Yoko."
"A bar? After all that? Now now. Let's not make it worse with some local poisons. We'll have time for that when we're feeling better. Lots of places to have a spot of tea though. Let's try something a bit more relaxing." Yoko gives Okimi one last squeeze before letting go of her. She was already looking up local places and found one that wasn't very busy right now. To be honest, some warm cushions and hot tea sounded heavenly to Yoko. Even she couldn't run on adrenaline at all times.
Downtown District, Kyoto, Yamatai
Warm and Sweet, Kyoto Tower Hotel
The two of them found their way to Warm and Sweet, the cafe in the shopping centre of the Kyoto Tower Hotel. The business wasn't too intense at this hour, and the two Nekovalkyrja found a small table off to the side to chat. The lights were a little dimmed so as to not blind the night owl patrons, and the decor had many calming colors. Cozy is how Yoko would describe it. For herself, she actually orders a bit of coffee. Not that her body needed the caffeine, but she liked the taste, weirdo that she was.
"There. Not as drafty, eh? Thanks for coming with me. Twas worried about you ever since that little altercation leading up to the big meeting. Figured you could use a friend, a hug, or both. Someone's gotta take care of the Caretakers, right?" Yoko's lips upturn in a cheeky smile. The tanned neko takes a quick sip of her steaming hot coffee, sighing in contentment.
Okimi hadn't fought against her crewmate as Yoko pulled her along. While everything she had heard on the subject told her that drowning in alcohol was the only response when dealing with emotional overload, the caretaker acknowledged that her practical experience on the subject was somewhat more limited. So she accepted that her darker-skinned companion knew what she was doing.
By the time they arrived at the Warm and Sweet, Okimi was feeling a lot lighter on her feet and hadn't been able to restrain her curiosity as they passed through the Kyoto Tower Hotel. Maybe she'd stay a night or two during the leave Captain Aoba had earlier mentioned. When asked, Okimi ordered an Oolong Tea.
Settled opposite Yoko, Okimi let out a gentle snort at her wordplay but did nothing to stop the amused smile that formed in response. The caretaker held her teacup in front of her face, breathing in the aroma given off by the steaming hot amber yellow brew within. After a couple of seconds, she lowered the cup to rest on the table. From experience, the tea needed a couple more minutes to rest and cool before the optimum drinking time.
"Yes, this is much better. Thanks for being there, Yoko." She offered her companion a soft smile. "I wanted to be alone, but now, I am very glad I wasn't."
"Hey, You'd be there for me, right? And look, I get it. I don't feel like I've earned this dang medal either. But I still stand by my assertion that its to get us around some red tape for what they want us to do. Protocol exists for a reason and all, but with the new war looming, I'm thinking our Empress would rather we move quickly over methodically." Yoko took another sip of coffee.
"But you know what? If you feel like you wanna do more, this is your chance. You've got doors opened now that you probably didn't before. From all I hear you're a wonderful Caretaker, but you don't seem satisfied with just that. Am I wrong?" Yoko leaned back into her chair. She was a little blunt about what was on their minds, but she also knew it had to be addressed, lest they have a repeat of Okimi's dilemma.
"But for all that, I just want to reiterate. You're never truly alone. You have an entire ship of people that's there for you, just as you're there for them. One of the perks of the navy, really. So please never feel you have to face your troubles by yourself." Yoko reached over and patted one of Okimi's hand to emphasize her point.
The caretaker offered a grateful smile, happy that she hadn't felt the need to burst into tears at the offered comfort. Perhaps all she had needed was a good cry. Giving herself time to ponder a response, Okimi lifted her cup and took a small sip before sighing with appreciation. Just right! she thought to herself. She allowed the complex flavours to carry her imagination for a moment before returning her focus to the conversation.
"Oh, I love being a caretaker. There are few other occupations within the Star Army that allow you to interact with everyone and support them as necessary." She offered a wry smile and took another sip of her tea. "The problem is that it largely feels like I can't do enough to support the ship and crew whenever a fight breaks out. Literally, there is so little I can do that they have me working damage control where my job is try and keep things from getting worse until someone qualified can come and take over." She sighed again.
"Its not that its an unimportant role but I'm essentially just relegated to acting like a repair drone - I stand around waiting with a repair kit. Meanwhile the medics are saving lives, the technicians keep the ship running, the soldiers fight the enemy and the bridge crew direct and watch over everything." She snorted before pausing to take another sip of her Oolong tea.
"It has become clear to me that I am not doing enough. I just don't know what to do about it, although after earlier, I now know how I won't be dealing with it." She sighed, wondering now just what had been going through her head that had driven her to that rooftop. Or maybe it really had just been a series of small moments coming together in a gestalt event of near-disasterous import.
"Well, you could always cross train. Like if you look at my designation, I'm technically infantry. Supposed to be on ground or ship. But I have my PA license and in certain situations I'm allowed and even expected to hop in to fight. Just because its part of what I do doesn't mean its the base requirement. Likewise, you could train and get certifications so you have an extra task to do in the event of getting boarded like that." Yoko takes another drink to wet her throat after her spiel.
"I don't know what you specifically want to do. I don't imagine going full infantry as a certification is what you want, but there's a lot of options, and even more that you can do now that we've gotten this accolade. I highly recommend you go see whats available. I mean, we're on Yamatai right now. You got the SATA folks right here if you need ideas." Yoko sipped again and looked down at her empty cup and signalled for another.
"Might go myself, honestly. But for yourself... Just know I'll be here for you. You've been the sweetest person to welcome me to the new ship, and I feel like we can be good friends. Just remember that, yeah?" Yoko's smile grows warmer as she offers her companionship.
Okimi nodded eagerly. "Oh, you betcha. You can never have enough friends!" She tilted her head as she considered the other neko's advice and could find no fault with it. "I think you've got a point about talking with someone at the Training Administration. If anyone could help me come up with a new direction, it'd be them." She took another sip of the amber liquid in her tea cup, noting that it was almost too cool now to properly enjoy.
"Really, thanks for this Yoko." Her happy smile reached all the way to her eyes. "And if you ever need a friendly ear, shoulder or hand, you be sure to let me know, okay?" After all, it was the least Okimi could do for a new friend.
"Well, how about we go together and inquire tomorrow? I'll hold your hand if ya like." Yoko gives a light smirk. She was honestly happy to have helped Okimi find some options. To her, one of the concerns she had being new to the ship was blending in. Much as she tried to be positive, being new was always anxiety producing. That she could so quickly make a connection pleased her immensely.
Their trip down to the cafe was definitely a success. All her earlier anxiety felt like it melted away in here. Of course, the company helped too, but at least she wouldn't have to explore Kyoto alone.
Finishing the last of her Oolong, Okimi put her cup down and tilted her head. "That sounds like a plan to me! It's a date!" The caretaker gave Yoko a big wink and chuckled. "In the meantime, I really don't feel like heading back to my barracks." She lightly bit her lower lip and tapped a finger against her chin. "Hmm, you feel like testing out a hotel bed?"
Authored by: iaincarter (Okimi) and Dragonnova (Yoko)
Downtown District, Eastern Kyoto, Yamatai
YE 45.5
After the emotional events that took place within the Imperial Palace, Santô Hei Fujikawa Okimi had needed to get away from everything for a while and had elected to leave the Empress' Estate on foot. Fortunately, thanks to her previous three months of leave spent living in Kyoto with Luna Soban, the young caretaker was somewhat familiar with the basic geography of the massive city and was confident in her ability to find her way.
Which was something she was sorely in need of, albeit in a more metaphorical than geographical sense. As a part of the crew of the YSS Resurgence, Okimi had just been gifted what was quite possibly the single greatest award that could be given to a member of the Star Army of Yamatai. By all accounts, she should be overjoyed and happy, proud of the recognition.
The problem was that she wasn't.
In point of fact, Okimi's feelings on the matter went more to the opposite end of the emotional spectrum. She felt unhappy, adrift, unworthy and most definitely undeserving of the accolades that had so recently been piled upon the crew by an ecstatic Empress. At the time, the thought of gainsaying the leader of Yamatai, let alone the Commander of the Star Army, Taisho Yui, had frozen Okimi in indecision. Now, freed from the presence of such august personages, her thoughts were racing, dragging her emotions downward into a tight spiral of depression and self-loathing.
For some time now, Okimi had been feeling increasingly lost as a person. She had experienced a small breakdown on the YSS Resurgence when she had been restricted to the medical center to allow her body to recover from its minutes-long exposure to hard vacuum. While Yuri, Poppy and Yoshiro had managed to nip that episode in the bud, it hadn't been the last such flare-up of dark emotions that Okimi had recently experienced.
The caretaker knew her emotions were growing out of control, she was more than familiar with the signs of psychological stress as part of her job was recognising said signs and ways to alleviate such. Okimi was also honest enough to recognise that she had a problem. If she needed any proof of that, almost bursting into tears when Erika had flicked her head on the journey to the Palace was all the evidence she needed.
After several weeks spent amongst her colleagues and military locations with no improvement in her personal situation, Okimi had decided that maybe she would try a change of scenery. Hence, the walking away from the Palace gates - not towards the military district, but rather the glittering skyscrapers of the downtown district that dominated the skyline of Eastern Kyoto.
Letting her feet move her where they would, the nekovalkyrja wandered aimlessly through the streets until the overwhelming urge to just leave everything behind overwhelmed her. Almost instinctively, she tapped into her inertial control abilities and lifted in to the sky, flying up the side of a skyscraper.
Rising over the edge of the building, the purple-skinned neko touched down gently on the roof, not noticing that the band on her hair had broken, freeing it from the simple ponytail and allowing her white hair to billow out behind her. Okimi trudged her way across the roof, her pulse racing as dark emotion swirled inside her chest, as if ready to burst forth into the world. A quick hop up left her standing on the edge of the roof, looking out over the space above the city.
She found herself becoming hyperfocused in the moment. The caretaker could feel her uniform as it pulled and shifted slightly with each shallow breath she took. A thousand visual distractions were there in front of her eyes, just waiting for her attention to be drawn towards them. The feel of the air across her exposed skin, the air feeling heavier and humid as if in anticipation of the rain clouds she had seen over Central Eusereyan would be visiting Kyoto before too much longer. The sounds of the city reached her ears as the death knells of diurnal activities gave way to the blazing birth of the nocturnal citylife, the evening loosing its grip on the day as the world crossed into the night.
Okimi found a moment of solitary peace amidst that cacophany of sensory input and came to a startling realisation. All she would have to do is take one step, just one small step and gravity would carry her to the ground. That would bring a swift end to all her troubles. Her foot lifted a couple of inches from the ledge she stood upon before freezing in place.
The caretaker was no great intellect. Oh, she wasn't dumb and knew from her design specifications that she had the capacity to be as smart as she needed to be. But she wasn't a scientist or mathematician, trained to follow the clinical path of logical thought as it applied to problem solving. Still, Okimi was smart enough to know that actually taking that final step would be so impressively dumb. Firstly, it wouldn't solve anything. Even if successful, she had a recent enough ST backup and standing instructions to be restored from it in the event of her death. As that backup was taken after her personal crisis of faith had begun, she would in fact still be in the exact same position.
Not to mention all the 'fun' psychological testing, treatments and restrictions that would surely be added on to her existing problems.
With a sigh of defeat, Okimi allowed her foot to lower back to the ledge and felt the moment of clarity slip away as her tumultuous emotions crashed back in. Her eyes lowered to take in the distant portion of the Eusureyan Fortress she could see from her vantage point.
"Alright then, Okimi, just where do you go from here?"
A few moments earlier...
Not too far from the despairing caretaker, another soul faced a different question from the same cause. Yoko Fujiraki looked down and cradled the accolade in one hand. She didn't dare remove it from her uniform, of course. That'd be a level of offense she could barely wrap her head around right now. The question the young Hei faced came from a different place.
Why?
She had fought, yes. Did her duty to try and protect the ship and her crew that she was newly posted to. She barely achieved being little more than a sentry turret though, the Ripper kill being the most notable thing of the evening. While all the others had fought long and hard and felled many of the foe. And yet some of them weren't even at the meeting! The situation had thrown her for a loop, for sure.
Even during the ceremony though, Yoko had already been theorizing as to what the point of it all was. Her suspicions were that the crew were being picked, for reasons only known to the Empress and their ever bold Taisho, for a certain task. One could only guess what that task would be, but it clearly required them to maneuver past the usual red tape of their navy. That could only speak to its possible importance.
For herself, Yoko felt an immense pressure from that expectation. She had only been in the navy for less than a year. Sure, she'd seen combat multiple times since, but... It was a lot to think that she had anything in particular to offer beyond her willingness to defend the Resurgence. It had to do with something about the ship itself. Its crew needed to be together, regardless of background. Why only just these few individuals were awarded though... Well, she was a bit stumped on that front.
As she left the palace grounds, trying to not think too hard on her Taisho being a nudist at an awards ceremony, she realised she needed time to sort out the massive new expectations and no doubt lethally important tasks ahead of her.
"That's what you wanted, right Yoko? Some action? You sure found it..."
Pushing aside the thought of a monkey's paw curling a finger closed, she reviews the day so far in her mind as the cool evening air hits her. The short Nekovalkyrja looks up as she takes a deep breath of the Kyoto air. Its at this point she sees a familiar shape floating away up to the skyscrapers. She recalls the poor caretaker that had nearly come to tears when she was reprimanded for expressing her worries. Still left a bit of a bad taste in her mouth, but where was she going now?
The slump in her comrade's shoulders tipped off something in the back of her mind. A note of concern hummed in her throat as she quietly followed. Not that she was trying to be stealthy, but also didn't bring any attention to herself. When the purple skinned woman landed on the roof, she paused a short way off the edge of it, still floating mid-air. Just as she is about to speak up to inquire after the most welcoming person she'd met on the ship thus far, she sees her approach the edge.
Yoko was not equipped to handle whatever thoughts might have been racing through Okimi's head, but she immediately felt compelled to move. Not wanting to assume still though, she floats a short way down and to the side. If the woman did take that step forward, she was ready to intercept. A part of her knew that would probably forever earn the girl's ire, but she couldn't just stand by.
As a light breeze flows by, blowing aside Yoko's skirt and giving even her a light shiver, she saw her step back. Its only now that she caught the woman's expression. An icy dagger stabbed through the tanned neko's heart in empathy. If there was a time to appear, she felt it was now. She floated up and leveled at the edge of the roof, entering the girl's periphrial view.
"I'm hoping it's somewhere warmer than the rooftops." Yoko responded to the question that Okimi muttered aloud. She was reminded of the walk up to the ceremony where she had held the caretakers hand in an attempt to comfort her. The woman hoped that small memory would make her presence more welcome at least. It was sadly a bit obvious she had been positioned nearby just in case the caretaker made a poor decision.
Though now was the time to reach out. Whatever stresses Yoko had, she felt it paled in comparison to what Okimi was going through. In an attempt to appear open to the caretaker, she spreads her arms and turns her palms forward, as if to receive a hug. She held no illusions that she could understand the girl's pain, but a bit of compassion was what she had to offer, and offer it she would.
Okimi's focus had been turned inward so completely that she had had no notion of the presence of her crewmate until the shorter soldier spoke up. The caretaker's emotions swirled into a harsh spike of irritation at the presence of the other neko. Yet, before the scowl could even form, her tumultuous emotions shifted out from underneath her indignation as a flare of panic rose through her at the thought of someone witnessing another moment of weakness.
The purple-skinned neko's imminent panic attack was cut off as her emotions ran away once more at the sight of Yoko's open arms. For all the tea in Kyoto, Okimi couldn't have even named what her emotions were anymore, so quickly were they changing as they roiled and boiled within her chest. In the end, not knowing what to do or say, she just gave in to her instincts.
With a great despairing cry, Okimi threw herself at Yoko and wrapped her arms around the shorter neko. Holding on to her crewmate like a lifeline, the caretaker's body shook from her great sobs as her tears formed and fell down her face.
Although an embrace was what was offered to the poor caretaker, Yoko was still caught a little off guard by the intensity. She wastes no time in bringing her arms in and holding Okimi close. Little pats to her back as the woman sobbed. "Ah... Go ahead and let it out, dear. You're not alone." Yoko did her best to be as warm and comforting as possible.
As she runs a hand through the purple neko's hair, Yoko continues, "You've had a hell of a day, haven't you? I won't pretend I understand all your feelings, but I understand anguish. You're not alone, Okimi." It was only mildly awkward, being much shorter than the caretaker herself, but she didn't think it mattered to her at this moment.
As she gives Okimi a nuzzle with her cheek, Yoko looks out over the roof behind them. They surely had surveillance up there and might have seen the attempt. "Maybe we should take this somewhere quieter and warmer, when you've got enough of your feelings out of you." She is sure that the scene was likely reported, and didn't want anyone else showing up and adding to the possible stress.
Yoko's words flowed past Okimi, lost for the moment as the caretaker purged emotional stresses that had been building since shortly after she joined the Resurgence. Admittedly her time spent with Luna following the Hanami Festival had helped deal with a lot of that earlier stress, but the recent battles and trauma had swiftly reversed what progress she had made.
Fortunately, Okimi was nekovalkyrja and just making the earlier choice to overcome her depression had already started her bio-engineered brain down the path of doing just that. So after what felt like an age of pouring her heart out, but was in reality only a matter of minutes, Okimi felt her emotions calm and recede. Pulling back from Yoko, she lifted a hand to her face and, with a small sniffle, wiped away the last of her tears. No longer lost in her own misery, her brain re-ran her crewmate's words.
"Yeah, I don't need to be up here any more. Bar?" she offered a small smile to her companion. "Thanks, Yoko."
"A bar? After all that? Now now. Let's not make it worse with some local poisons. We'll have time for that when we're feeling better. Lots of places to have a spot of tea though. Let's try something a bit more relaxing." Yoko gives Okimi one last squeeze before letting go of her. She was already looking up local places and found one that wasn't very busy right now. To be honest, some warm cushions and hot tea sounded heavenly to Yoko. Even she couldn't run on adrenaline at all times.
Downtown District, Kyoto, Yamatai
Warm and Sweet, Kyoto Tower Hotel
The two of them found their way to Warm and Sweet, the cafe in the shopping centre of the Kyoto Tower Hotel. The business wasn't too intense at this hour, and the two Nekovalkyrja found a small table off to the side to chat. The lights were a little dimmed so as to not blind the night owl patrons, and the decor had many calming colors. Cozy is how Yoko would describe it. For herself, she actually orders a bit of coffee. Not that her body needed the caffeine, but she liked the taste, weirdo that she was.
"There. Not as drafty, eh? Thanks for coming with me. Twas worried about you ever since that little altercation leading up to the big meeting. Figured you could use a friend, a hug, or both. Someone's gotta take care of the Caretakers, right?" Yoko's lips upturn in a cheeky smile. The tanned neko takes a quick sip of her steaming hot coffee, sighing in contentment.
Okimi hadn't fought against her crewmate as Yoko pulled her along. While everything she had heard on the subject told her that drowning in alcohol was the only response when dealing with emotional overload, the caretaker acknowledged that her practical experience on the subject was somewhat more limited. So she accepted that her darker-skinned companion knew what she was doing.
By the time they arrived at the Warm and Sweet, Okimi was feeling a lot lighter on her feet and hadn't been able to restrain her curiosity as they passed through the Kyoto Tower Hotel. Maybe she'd stay a night or two during the leave Captain Aoba had earlier mentioned. When asked, Okimi ordered an Oolong Tea.
Settled opposite Yoko, Okimi let out a gentle snort at her wordplay but did nothing to stop the amused smile that formed in response. The caretaker held her teacup in front of her face, breathing in the aroma given off by the steaming hot amber yellow brew within. After a couple of seconds, she lowered the cup to rest on the table. From experience, the tea needed a couple more minutes to rest and cool before the optimum drinking time.
"Yes, this is much better. Thanks for being there, Yoko." She offered her companion a soft smile. "I wanted to be alone, but now, I am very glad I wasn't."
"Hey, You'd be there for me, right? And look, I get it. I don't feel like I've earned this dang medal either. But I still stand by my assertion that its to get us around some red tape for what they want us to do. Protocol exists for a reason and all, but with the new war looming, I'm thinking our Empress would rather we move quickly over methodically." Yoko took another sip of coffee.
"But you know what? If you feel like you wanna do more, this is your chance. You've got doors opened now that you probably didn't before. From all I hear you're a wonderful Caretaker, but you don't seem satisfied with just that. Am I wrong?" Yoko leaned back into her chair. She was a little blunt about what was on their minds, but she also knew it had to be addressed, lest they have a repeat of Okimi's dilemma.
"But for all that, I just want to reiterate. You're never truly alone. You have an entire ship of people that's there for you, just as you're there for them. One of the perks of the navy, really. So please never feel you have to face your troubles by yourself." Yoko reached over and patted one of Okimi's hand to emphasize her point.
The caretaker offered a grateful smile, happy that she hadn't felt the need to burst into tears at the offered comfort. Perhaps all she had needed was a good cry. Giving herself time to ponder a response, Okimi lifted her cup and took a small sip before sighing with appreciation. Just right! she thought to herself. She allowed the complex flavours to carry her imagination for a moment before returning her focus to the conversation.
"Oh, I love being a caretaker. There are few other occupations within the Star Army that allow you to interact with everyone and support them as necessary." She offered a wry smile and took another sip of her tea. "The problem is that it largely feels like I can't do enough to support the ship and crew whenever a fight breaks out. Literally, there is so little I can do that they have me working damage control where my job is try and keep things from getting worse until someone qualified can come and take over." She sighed again.
"Its not that its an unimportant role but I'm essentially just relegated to acting like a repair drone - I stand around waiting with a repair kit. Meanwhile the medics are saving lives, the technicians keep the ship running, the soldiers fight the enemy and the bridge crew direct and watch over everything." She snorted before pausing to take another sip of her Oolong tea.
"It has become clear to me that I am not doing enough. I just don't know what to do about it, although after earlier, I now know how I won't be dealing with it." She sighed, wondering now just what had been going through her head that had driven her to that rooftop. Or maybe it really had just been a series of small moments coming together in a gestalt event of near-disasterous import.
"Well, you could always cross train. Like if you look at my designation, I'm technically infantry. Supposed to be on ground or ship. But I have my PA license and in certain situations I'm allowed and even expected to hop in to fight. Just because its part of what I do doesn't mean its the base requirement. Likewise, you could train and get certifications so you have an extra task to do in the event of getting boarded like that." Yoko takes another drink to wet her throat after her spiel.
"I don't know what you specifically want to do. I don't imagine going full infantry as a certification is what you want, but there's a lot of options, and even more that you can do now that we've gotten this accolade. I highly recommend you go see whats available. I mean, we're on Yamatai right now. You got the SATA folks right here if you need ideas." Yoko sipped again and looked down at her empty cup and signalled for another.
"Might go myself, honestly. But for yourself... Just know I'll be here for you. You've been the sweetest person to welcome me to the new ship, and I feel like we can be good friends. Just remember that, yeah?" Yoko's smile grows warmer as she offers her companionship.
Okimi nodded eagerly. "Oh, you betcha. You can never have enough friends!" She tilted her head as she considered the other neko's advice and could find no fault with it. "I think you've got a point about talking with someone at the Training Administration. If anyone could help me come up with a new direction, it'd be them." She took another sip of the amber liquid in her tea cup, noting that it was almost too cool now to properly enjoy.
"Really, thanks for this Yoko." Her happy smile reached all the way to her eyes. "And if you ever need a friendly ear, shoulder or hand, you be sure to let me know, okay?" After all, it was the least Okimi could do for a new friend.
"Well, how about we go together and inquire tomorrow? I'll hold your hand if ya like." Yoko gives a light smirk. She was honestly happy to have helped Okimi find some options. To her, one of the concerns she had being new to the ship was blending in. Much as she tried to be positive, being new was always anxiety producing. That she could so quickly make a connection pleased her immensely.
Their trip down to the cafe was definitely a success. All her earlier anxiety felt like it melted away in here. Of course, the company helped too, but at least she wouldn't have to explore Kyoto alone.
Finishing the last of her Oolong, Okimi put her cup down and tilted her head. "That sounds like a plan to me! It's a date!" The caretaker gave Yoko a big wink and chuckled. "In the meantime, I really don't feel like heading back to my barracks." She lightly bit her lower lip and tapped a finger against her chin. "Hmm, you feel like testing out a hotel bed?"
Authored by: iaincarter (Okimi) and Dragonnova (Yoko)
