RP Hanami Festival of YE 38

[Wes]

(OOC: Crossover RP Time! - This thread is open to all Star Army plots visiting Yamatai and also to random Yamatai or friendly faction players who want to join.)

Kyoto, Yamatai
Spring YE 38

It was a warm, slightly humid spring night in downtown Kyoto. Across the northern continents of Yamatai, the sakura (cherry blossom trees) were in full bloom and people had taken to the streets and parks to celebrate life with picnics and barbecues under the romantic glow their illuminated pink petals. The sakura were symbolic of a fresh start for the year, new life, and the transience of things. In other words, they were a symbol for enjoying things while they last.

Yamataian Minkans, Nekovalkyrja, and some dozen other species were all represented in the crowded parks that lined the waterfront, set against the glimmering lights of the huge megacity. A large number of starships were in port for the event, and among the people, some of the Star Army members were still wearing their uniforms, recognizable often by their pointy catlike ears and dark blue sailor caps. But mostly it was people in civilian clothes, including a lot of silk kimonos. The air smelled of cherry blossoms, wine, teriyaki, and funnel cakes, and it was full of soft chatter and music.

 

[HotelKilo]

Kyoto, Yamatai

Strolling idly by the water, Mehitabel is one of the few still in their blue-gray uniform with white panels and a lack of insignia beyond the hinomaru. Blue cap squared up on her head, hands holding a rolled paper cone, she stopped here and there to stare admiringly at the fluffy pink blossoms dotting the limbs over her head. One of no doubt several be-winged revelers, the junior enlisted woman has the plain slender figure common now among the former underclass of the Celestial Empire. Wavy black hair brushes the shoulders of her duty uniform, flashing blue in the street lighting from time to time. White wings with dipped-black tips give her a wider profile then someone her size would normally require, though that barely increased the space she took up.

The allure of the festivities had almost enticed her to unpack her travel bag to retrieve one of her deeply stored sets of civilian clothes. On the balance, however, she had concluded that her enjoyment wouldn't suffer from not doing so. Indeed, the pleasant weather, the blooming trees, and the delicious scent of Yamataian favorite dishes had only made her feel more at home on what was for all intents a strange world.

Her proudest accomplishment thus far had been sniffing out the funnel cake seller! It was worth the KS for the excessively sugary fried dough Mehitabel had decided; it gave her hands something to do and indulged the sudden craving for sweets she'd developed after arriving on the waterfront. Moving on from her spot, eyes sweping side to side between bites of her snack, trying to take as many sights in as possible. Definitely better then another evening in the transit quarters all by her lonesome.

 

[Wes]

Kyoto

Hanako emerged from the back of a taxi car and into the throngs of people at the festival, followed by Victory, the Eucharis' supply specialist, who was still in uniform and armed, because she was basically serving as Hanako's bodyguard. As an Admiral, Hanako didn't really get the privilege of being able to travel alone outside of Star Army bases. The Shosho, however, was wearing a brand new pink kimono embroidered with sakura patterns and gold lace. The two Nekovalkyrja made their way through the crowd to a grassy corner near the waterfront, where YSS Eucharis cooks Pineapple and Lime were working over a large grill making various meats.

"Captain," Lime waved as she spotted Hanako.

Hanako smiled softly and respectfully nodded in return before taking her seat on a huge blanklet under an old cherry tree.

As Victory followed along, she was carrying a lance with the a flag with five stars on it, that was labeled YSS EUCHARIS in red letters, that was visible to Mehitabel.

Just then, the buzz of Mehitabel's communicator let her know her orders had come in. Finally she would know what base or ship she was being assigned to.

Spoiler: Hanako's Kimono

 

[HotelKilo]

Kyoto

The sudden appearance of a ship's name on a banner of the crowd nearby was enough to make the Elysian rating straighten up and take notice! Especially with the attendant style of a lady that could only have been a highly placed Star Army officer, using her admittedly limited judgement to determine that even on Yamatai lesser ranking figures probably weren't accompanied by an armed guard or dressed quite so well. It was still hard to tell though, she reflected, the riot of colors were still alien to her way of thinking.... The name Eucharis came to her in a flash of memory, the cascade of honors and campaigns she'd scrolled through months ago when submitting requests for transfer. That then, she noted with a short nod to herself, made the lady in question Admiral Ketsurui Hanako.

Feeling a bit star struck to be so close an admiral, Mehitabel felt a conflicting pang of regret that she wouldn't have the honor to serve on a vessel that famous, not when her transfer orders had languished for this long. No doubt her future post would bring excitement, she assured herself, the last bit of funnel cake lifted to her lips while banishing thoughts of career and fame to 'later' when her communicator vibrated at her hip. She stiffened involuntarily and quickly stuffed the last bite in her mouth, tossing the paper holder away in a handy receptacle before a steady hand reached down to bring up the AR overlay. The only message she could be getting this late...

Not even realizing she'd been holding her breath, Mehitabel took a short breath as she opened up the message with the Star Army Personnel header in her eddy under a blooming tree, crowd on all sides as she involuntarily hunched in to read.

 

[ArsenicJohn]

Kyoto

A blue-skinned Nekovalkyrja with purple hair stared open-mouthed at the festival's beautiful lights, bustling crowds, and stunning sakuras. For the first time in her short life, she was off duty in Kyoto. It took all she had to keep from running around staring at everything. She noticed some men staring at her in her red silk kimono. She blushed and her tail started swaying from side to side. Then she saw the Eucharis flag, and her. Ketsurui Hanako.

Freyja's legs began to feel weak. Hanako in the flesh! She forgot about everything. She had to go speak to her! But Hanako surely wouldn't talk to a low ranking Infantry girl like her.. would she? After debating for a few minutes she ran over, giddy as a schoolgirl. She stopped about ten away, too scared to make a move. This is crazy! You've been in a battle with those disgusting NMX monsters and never hesitated! She thought to herself.

Finally she ran over to the famed Captain and awkwardly blurted out. "O-ohayou gozaimasu Shosho Hanako! I-I.. I admire you, and.. you're amazing!" Her blue cheeks darkened in a blush. "F-forgive me, ma'am, I am a big fan. If I'm bothering you, I will leave immediately I just.. I had to tell you how amazing I think you are!"

 

[Dumont]

Kyoto

"You might want to take a breath there." a telepathic voice drifted into Freyja's mind, as one of Freyja's squadmates sidled up to stand just behind her through the crowd. "You have just said good morning at night time and sort of begged to be sent away."

It was probable that the burly red nekovalkyrja would have afforded more than a shallow bow of her head in greeting to Hanako, had she only a clue who this was. But it was likely that any sort of military history lessons beyond anything practical had slipped her mind, and there was practically zero use for the infantry to know the names or faces of the upper echelons of their own army: They were usually labelled for convenience.

Shiho had been at the festival ground for a while now, after having spent much of her morning seeking affordable clothing so she wouldn't have to wear the uniform she so maligned uniform during her first shore leave. Dressed in a stormy gray haori, over an airy white linen tunic with barbos collar, and loose khaki capris cargo pants: Shiho was possibly under dressed. Her afternoon spent attempting to goad friendly strangers into sharing their food and drink had been sidetracked when she'd seen one of her own crew run up to some strange woman, and give a nervous admission of admiration.

"Steady your nerves, and introduce yourself properly." she telepathically offered her blue comrade helpfully, "Then start up a normal conversation; when the moment is there you can ask her out."

...And thus was Shiho determined to be a good wingwoman.

 

[SmokeEmpress]

Kyoto

Katayanagi Merna, SSS Liason to YSS Sakishima, had heard from her family that there was an ongoing festival! Though they had all wanted to come with her, their busy schedules prevented them from doing so. She, however, had already finished up with her assignments from the SSS as well as all the tests that her parents had wanted to run on her in consideration of her eyes. Now she was fitted with a special sonar that would ping in her ear alone if she were to be a specific distance from an object. However, it was unidirectional, meaning that it only worked with what was in front of her. Her staff, as usual, was in hand as she walked along, taking in the sounds and smells. There was a sash over her eyes for the time being, but it matched her sundress perfectly so it wouldn't have been too noticeable unless one were to look directly at her.

Perhaps she would meet some of her friends from her ship...an make new ones as well!

 

[Wes]

Picnic Area

Under the big Sakura tree, Hanako looked up in surprise to find the excited blue-skinned Nekovalkyrja standing on the blanket with her. "Oh!" she chirped. "Thank you," she told Freyja. "It is very kind of you to say so." She also spotted Shiho and gave Shiho a nod in return. "If you like," Hanako told Freyja, "We are having a barbecue here. Feel free to stay as long as you like and to get some food."

Victory finished planting the Shosho's rank flag guidon in the ground and rubbed her chin at Freyja.

Meanwhile, Mehitabel was able to see the message had orders to serve under Shosho Ketsurui Hanako of the YSS Eucharis, which had apparently been without a clerk for some time. It said the ship was in Central Uesureya, but she could see Eucharis members here at the celebration, including the ship's CO.

 

[Samanthia]

Kyoto : Picnic Area

Errowyn moved through the crowd, wearing jeans, running shoes, t-shirt and her Leather Bomber Jacket with her ship patches she served on. On the back was a full frontal of a snarling Saber-Tooth Siberian tiger with 'Hellcat' curved above it and curved below it was 21st 'Fighting Diamonds' Squadron of the USS Heitan. Even though the Carrier had been retired from service or going through a major refits and upgrades.

She had aimlessly strolled through the riverside park with the soft petals and blossoms of the Cherry trees gently floating on the breeze as if it was snowing. She smiled softly taking in the other enjoying successes she had fought for against the Mith. She wandered amongst the people enjoying the time festivities of the Cherry Blossom festivals.

Some of the older folks that survived the 2nd Mith wars came up to her and thanked her for her services. She felt good at receiving such thanks. "It was my privilege to serve our great star empire." She replied softly.

She would give them a soft smile. Some would ask her if she knew of kin that served and came up missing. She floundered a bit and gave her sympathies. "I'm sorry I didn't have the pleasure to serve with them. I'm sure they acquitted themselves with great honor to the empire, their fellow shipmates and themselves." If she knew of the person and served with them, "It was an honor to serve with them as they were honorable and dedicated in their service so that I could do my assigned job against the enemies of the Empire. Their services will be sorely missed by this humble pilot." She could see the closure and pride she brought them by their posture. It felt good to be the bearer of decent news and sad that their kin couldn't be there even though she did her best.

She moved on once she was done, not lingering to be a reminder of those that came up missing to the families that were here to enjoy the renewing of life and to enjoy the Festivities.

Up ahead she saw the standard of the Eucharis. Another ship that acquitted itself with honors during the war. Even though she wasn't part of the current crew, but the Captain, who was a Shosho now had been in the think of the action, like the YSS Heitian. She smiled and walked up as boldy as if she belonged to the ship. She looked over the crew and spotted the highly decorated Shosho.

Errowyn waited till the Shosho had a moment. In that brief time she sent out an inquiry of Hanako's status before she approached. Stopping at the respectful distance from Shosho Ketsurui, she gave a regal military bow to her. "Shosho Ketsurui, May I join your group for the festivities. I'm Yomeoibito, Errowyn, Joto-Hie, Hellcat."

 

[HotelKilo]

Kyoto - Staring at the Picnic Area

By the way she'd stood when bringing the message up, Mehitabel was left staring into space through the text at the growing crowd of civilians and uniformed personnel that seemed to have surrounded the Shosho. No... Her Captain. No longer was she merely playing spectator on the outer fringes of that worthy's entourage, her heart felt a little squeeze, some of those were her new crewmates and that was the banner of her ship. It took a minute to sink in; at this stage it had seemed inevitable that instead of space service she would merely be poached for another office job.

In a vacuum devoid of others' actions, or most notably the message she still stared at before it vanished with an embarrassed wave of her hand, there was no way the class conscious girl would have just run into the middle of an Admiral's party. That being said she was now part of the crew, whether they knew it or not, and the Shosho hadn't exactly blighted either Nekovalkyrja where they stood! Mehitabel decided that there was nothing to loose from introducing herself now, in a more relaxed setting even, rather than waiting to be formally introduced. Balling her hands up, wings up, she tried not to skip too much on her way over.

Bounding up just behind Freyja, the pale Elysian wasn't quite smiling but it was close! "Ah! Admiral! Ma'am?" she waited until an appropriate pause before bowing, wings almost fully open and head bent slightly forward, looking up at Hanako with a fervent hope she's not making a total fool of herself, "Santo-Hei Calidius, ship's clerk."

 

[ArsenicJohn]

Shiho's voice in her head caused Freyja to reevaluate her own actions. Her demeanor completely changed, mostly because Shiho was watching. The fact that someone she knew saw her acting like this was embarrassing.She bowed with a horrified look on her face. "Forgive me, Shosho Ketsurui, I forgot my manners. I am Santo-Hei Freyja Yuuki, from the YSS Orochi in the Eighth Standard Fleet defense squadron. Thank you for the invitation, and for being kind and not chasing me away. This is my first time at the Festival.. I am not even a year old yet, so I couldn't come last year." Baka, that's obvious!

The other voices nearby startled her. She turned and bowed to them as well. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Joto-Hei Yomeoibito and Callidius-hei."

She replied to Shiho telepathically. "I am begging you, please don't tell anyone about this. Also.. you have the wrong idea, I don't want to go on a date with Shosho Hanako! I mean, I wouldn't turn her down.." Freyja blushed at the images entering her mind. "I want to be like her, that's all."

 

[Nashoba]

A pair of Poku Saeruo Degonjo ground gliders approached the festival area. The lead care had flags attached marking it as a government vehicle. It came to stop in one of the designated parking areas. A moment later a Tula with gray fur with brown skin emerged. His fur had white tiger-like stripes. Tesgi was wearing a sleeveless forest green tunic with pink petals from a the Yamataian tree. His umatli was a light brown to signify the ground that the trees grew in. He turned back to the vehicle and extended a hand. His wife Teta came out with their daughter in her arms. Teta's fur was beige with black spots. She wore a matching ensemble. She looked around at the festivities. "Are you sure it is safe?" she said softly to Tesgi.

"It will be fine, there has been no indication that those responsible for the events at years start are going to cause problems. Besides I have been wanting to take you and Tetes to one of Yamatai's festivals. This one seems appropriate for we Tula's to appreciate it."

He looked at the vehicle that had followed them, and two black furred Qaktoro emerged. They were part of his security team. He quickly signed to them his instructions. "Follow unobtrusively. Try to relax and fit in."

Tesgi went to the storage compartment and pulled out carriage for his daughter. It was a ground glider stroller, but he had a feeling it would much later that Tetes would want to ride in it. He folded the unit and slung it over his shoulder. After securing the vehicle he came back to Teta and took her hand. "Want me to carry her?" he offered.

"No, you can carry her later. Right now I am enjoying holding her while we are out in the fresh air." his mate replied.

As they started walking their tails reached for each others and entwined. They strolled along the footpaths taking note of the various plants and the festivities taking place. This was the first time in many months that the Clan Ambassador and his family were able to venture out with no agenda.

After a little while Teta put her daughter down to let her walk. Tetes made a beeline down one of the walkways that lead towards the water. The toddler Tula stopped and stared at the water with wide bright eyes. "Kyanorgo? Pialoa." she said to Tesgi when she turned back to him. He smiled, "Qo" he replied in Takavonai, then spoke in Yamataian with a smile, "Yes, that is a river. it is called the Ketsurui River, after their ruling clan." Tesgi and his wife had decided before their daughter was born to raise her bilingually.

They stopped at one of the vendors and purchased a flavored shaved ice for Tetes and a fruit drink for themselves to share.

 

[Wes]

Kyoto - Picnic Area

"Calidius-Hei," Hanako nodded. "I am very pleased to meet you! It is going to be so nice to have a real clerk on the ship again," the aquamarine-haired Shosho grinned. "We will have a lot to do once we get back on mission, but for now it is time to enjoy ourselves. This is a good chance to meet other people, both from our crew or in general. Will this be your first assignment on a small starship?"

As the festival continued, a troop of taiko drum players came down the nearby road on a rolling parade float. Meanwhile, the first meats were starting to come off the grill, and was brought to a table for anyone who wanted to take some. There was grilled lobster tail, marinated garlic lime chicken sprinkled with cilantro, steak, and tilapia so far. There were also pink soba noodles, potato salad, grilled artichokes and asparagus, grilled apricots, and red bean paste cakes on the serving tables, along with disposable paper plates and flatware. A nearby table had drinks like tea, fruit juices, sodas, wines, and beer.

 

[SmokeEmpress]

Merna continued to walk along, taking in the smells and sounds of the ongoing festival. She had yet to run into anyone that she knew so far, but soon enough the smells of meat being cooked came to her. Not knowing who was where, she walked along, her stomach growling. "I had hoped to find someone I know..." The blind girl continued to walk, but now that she was near the crowds around the picnic tables, it was a bit harder for her to maneuver around. Needless to say, she stumbled into the path of the parade and had no idea on what was going on!

 

[Gunsight1]

Ise Momoka had been wandering about aimlessly for some time since she had left the Sakishima. She had not been in the mood to find anything in particular to do or the desire to hang out with anyone. She missed Goto and had not taken his sudden reassignment well.

The little neko floated into town and finally to where the festival was. The less than 8 inch tall Momoka, still in her grey operations uniform, looked about as she heard the sounds of the festival. She had been lost in her own thought and not paid much attention to where she had been going.

"Whats this?" she muttered and crossed her arms over her chest as she floated forward, gliding towards the mass if people and bright colors and noise. Maybe a big crowd and a lot of noise was what she needed more than being alone? Maybe there would be a place to get drinks?

Momoka shrugged and floated on into the mass of the festival to see what there was to see.

 

[BloodyScarlet]

Taharial chasen smiled as she walked to the Hanami Festival, she had told her partner to meet her here while she went and got her mother. She was wearing the black dress that she bought with her partner as she picked up her mother and they chatted while they headed to the festival talking about what has happened while they were apart, Taharial admits to who she was seeing and her mother seemed shocked at first but then accepted it when she saw how happy Taharial was about the partnership.

Taharial and her mother made it to the festival and since it was both of their first time here they were just staring at all the stuff happily, Taharial told her mother that they should wait for her partner before going in as they can be a family while going around. The last bit was a slip of the tongue but her mother smiled and said that it was a lovely idea.

 

[SensualCoder]

Kyoto, Yamatai

The park was a riot of color and commotion to the new Santo Hei soldier. Astridr Shigefumi stood awkwardly beside a couple of her fellow troopers fresh from boot camp graduation, a blonde-haired Neko named Aki and a male Minkan named Daisuke, both of whom were all smiles and filled with energy in their crisp, brand new Star Army uniforms. Astridr kept tugging at her color and cuffs, part of her desperately wishing that she could have stayed at the barracks until she received her orders, but her friends had insisted they go see the festival and have a good time out before they left Yamatai.

The pink-haired neko had to admit that it was a beautiful day, and the festival was full of wonderful sights and smells; she made special note of where the picnic area that the grilled fish and asparagus was for later. Her companions were caught up in seeing all the festival's offerings for the moment, and Astridr couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth and something like pride well up in her chest, a smile turning the corners of her mouth where a frown had been before. Maybe Aki and Daisuke were right, how bad could one night of letting loose and having some fun hurt when they would be shipping off soon?

Astridr felt Aki slap her on the shoulder and laugh as her friend saw the smile on her face. "See, you're having a good time now!"

"I know, I know. You're right again, as usual," Astridr replied, making an effort to frown but finding herself smiling again.

Aki, with a face that was so smug that Astridr just wanted to slap her, nodded, "You betcha! Now what do you guys say, huh? Let's go stir up some fun! Plenty of people love to see a body in uniform," she winked at Daisuke, who just blushed and looked at the ground. Astridr shook her head and turned away, hiding her smile. She pointed to the picnic area, "Let's grab some food first, I'm starved," she said and set off to the picnic area, pulling Aki and Daisuke along behind her.

 

[HotelKilo]

She folded her wings out of the way. Mehitabel bobbed her head politely again, "The pleasure is all mine, Shosho."

"I imagine, if you've lacked a clerk for a while there may be something of a... Back log to be cleared up," she said calmly, talk of work helped soothe the jag of nerves brought on by the boldness of actually approaching Hanako. Although it did occur to her now that her position would involve quite a lot of approaching high ranking officers. Best to get used to it now, she decided, offering a small smile in return, "I've never seen a festival that was quite so, festive! There seem to be quite a few interesting people in the crowd."

"And, well, this is my first posting on any kind of starship," she admitted with a hint of regret, "I've spent my whole career at the Elysian Naval Arsenal. I didn't want that to be what I was remembered for. So I requested a transfer to the Eucharis, though I must admit it didn't seem very realistic at the time."

 

[Blizzard]

After a little more sight-seeing, Jax finally pulled the airbike up to the park in which the festivities were being held. Since arriving at the hotel, he'd changed into a simple pair of jeans, charcoal sneakers, and a white tee with some sort of Nepleslian band's logo on the front. If it weren't for his rather odd ears and tail, one might have thought he was a college-aged tourist straight from his aforementioned homeland. He was Joto-Hei Jackson Howard, acting head of the Engineering department aboard the YSS Eucharis.

For those who knew him, it was clear that something had changed about him. He appeared more relaxed, less tense, as if a great itch had finally been scratched. If one saw the gorgeous, lilac neko accompanying him, it would become clear as to exactly what itch it had been. Upon closer inspection, his blonde hair was just a little bit more messy, as if fingers had run through it voraciously. A single, plum-hued strand was entangled within the mass, unseen by the naked eye. Thankfully, his shirt adequately covered the claw-marks on his upper back.

There was a joyful gleam in his eyes as he strode towards the Eucharis banner, full of masculine pride, and his grin answered many questions that were best left unasked simply because the answers were too obvious.

Yes, we did. A lot.
Yes, she is, in fact, my superior officer.
No, I don't regret it one bit.

Within moments, he crossed through the mass of people to grab himself a cold beer and a piece of meat. He took a moment to quietly soak in the awe-inspiring scenery. Then, he made his way to Hanako and bowed.

"Great party, Shosho! Thanks for the invitation!" he greeted warmly over the sounds of chatter and music.

 

[Primitive Polygon]

Kyoto - Waterfront

Finding a place to park their dinky silver rental car was chaos with all the festivities going on, but Tsuguka tolerated the alone time with thoughts of Taharial, and what exactly she could say to the girl's family. Or, what she was supposed say to a girl's family, rather. It was difficult to find a point of comparison. The closest thing the crimson Nekovalkyrja had was her sisters back at the academy, and they had been ten times more uptight and formal than the crew of the Eucharis...

Finally finding a place and backing it in, Tsuguka found herself just reviewing the hotel key card, and pondered exactly where she was supposed to place it within this skimpy black dress her winged lover had bought so hastily. Totally impractical. Not efficient at all. And this tights made her feel either like some kind of night worker, or one of those gratuitous depictions of 'sexy spy vixens' she had seen in action movies.

Oh well. The hotel clerk did look at her like she was an agent of SAINT, rather than the alternative. A gut reaction made her give Candon Suites' imagined chuckle a defensive sneer, despite the fact he wasn't even in the right dimension at the moment.

Another shrug. The card was tucked into her obi-esk sash along with her credit card.

Took time to find Taharial. Seeing so many people in a singular place, neither in formation nor killing each other, was a little strange.

There! Those fluffy deep red wings... And some other woman, looking very similar, but seemingly older.

"Chasan-Sama. Okasan. Very gracious to make your acquaintance." Tsuguka decided to just treat this like meeting a superior officer, making heavily accented but clear-cut vowels in slightly ill-practiced trade language. She avoided the urge to salute, however, and replaced it with a very deep bow instead, twin braids jangling around in front of her blank carmine face. "I hope your travel to Yamatai was not unpleasant. How are you finding the festival?"