5tar
Active Member
ON: YSS Senbu
The next day's sun rose up over Yamatai, which by now was 18 light years away from the Senbu and her crew. They found themselves a day's flight away from the edge of the Ketsurui Nebula, which meant they would be coming up on their target soon. There was plenty of commotion as the ship that never slept was going through its next shift switch.
Masako would be out like a light in her quarters still, sleeping in her nightgown while cuddling an old teddy bear, totally dead to the world outside her door.
Sakaki had been going over her usual day of exercise, training, etc., only with a bit more tension. Ever since the simulation battle she had been having doubts about her ability. With this she had been more aggressive in recent exercise that one could even hear the wind of her kendo practice sword as she swung. On this morning she was already practicing her sword in the rec room, swinging her Katana and not the kendo sword.
Rin slept a bit unsoundly, tossing and turning throughout the night as she still thought about the results of the simulation battle. It was hard to stomach loss, even if it was a virtual one. Still, the soldier managed to get up early as usual and go through the morning routine, trying to focus on what she could do well and move on with things. Even without a specific task in mind with the looming battle far off, the young woman still got dressed in her daily duty uniform and headed out into the deck hallway, deep in thought.
Kuriko rolled out of bed the next morning with her head lightly ringing. She hadn't consumed copious amounts of alcohol, but she had consumed enough to make her wary of drinking for a little while.
Still in Kuriko's quarters was a devilishly handsome sandy blind armor pilot, although a little lackluster of his previous grace as he was passed out on a chair in the corner, his head lulled over the back of the chair and his arms and legs hanging over the edges. He was snoring a tad, but not enough to be a nuisance.
Kuriko looked on the Heisho sitting there with a mixed look of gratitude and pity. Has he been here the whole night? Kuriko wondered as she quietly moved around and gathered her bathing supplies. Just as she was about to open the door, Kuriko quietly put down her tote and went over to her desk where she pulled out a piece of paper and wrote the Heisho a quick thank you note Unsure of what to say, she settled for a simple “Thank you” and her signature at the bottom with a heart to the right, written in a fluid cursive with a little heart at the end. Unfortunately for Jack, Kuriko had the handwriting of a doctor, so the word would probably be barely legible.
As the Hei stepped out of the room, she paused. I think I need to relax, Kuriko thought before resuming her walk, though with a different destination in mind. The Heisho quickly composed a message as she clopped along in her sandals on her way to the elevator.
With that Kuriko got on the lift and set about the difficult but not impossible task of remembering what she did last night.
Sakaki halted herself mid-swing, then sort of nodded to herself and continued. She was already on deck 28 so she had time to get some of her inner anger out of her system by then.
Hiroko, on the other hand, had woken up and just didn't feel like leaving her quarters. Still dressed in a nightgown, she was sitting, reading a tract of some sort when she read the message. "...We have hot baths?" She blinked, putting down the tract. Maybe she should go... Maybe she should go. She needed to do SOMETHING with the unit.
As she slowly walked across the quarters deck, boots clacking, Rin paused by the door of Sakiyurai-hei, hearing the sounds of slumber from the unlocked door. Coming a bit closer, she reached out to push open the portal with a white gloved hand, peering in at the rather adorable sight of the power armor pilot cuddling a teddy bear. "Masako...?" murmured the Yamataian, unsure whether to disturb her further with how late in the morning it was already.
Masako groaned a bit and rolled over to turn her back to Rin for a moment. "Ngh… 5 more minutes sis... it's still early..." she muttered in her sleep. In a moment, though, she'd seem to remember where she was and sat up slowly and yawned, setting the teddy aside. "Huh? Oh, morning Rin." Masako said, rubbing an eye as she did and eeped at seeing the volumetric display of time. "Oh crap, I'm late aren't I?" she pouted a bit and stood up, the non-regulation sleepwear hugging to her curves and the bountiful bust line she possessed.
Rin nodded, feeling a bit strange at being so casual with names suddenly, and returned more to her proper decorum when it was apparent the Neko wasn't sleeping too soundly. "Er, yes it is a bit late Sakiyurai-hei, I thought you would appreciate a wake-up call," replied the Nitô Hei as she moved to back out of the room respectfully. " It also appears.. that we have been summoned by the Heisho, if you take a moment to check your messages," added Rin, having just realized that there was one waiting for her too in that instant.
Masako nodded to her and watched the door slide shut and went about her own routine to get dressed in a duty uniform of a stretch uniform and continued to stretch herself out, an old habit. "Thanks for the wake up call Hoshitomo-hei." she said through the door as she hopped around, trying to get a boot on and crashed into a wall, losing her balance. "Owie..." she sighed and got up slowly once she was fully dressed. She certainly had a flair for showing off her figure even though she didn't totally realize the impact it had on people. The door would open to let her out as she left the room. "Yeah I just read that. Did you want to go down there or do something else?"
Hoshitomo-hei looked to the side a bit, closing her eyes for a moment. "I believe this is a good chance for us to come together. Since yesterday's defeat, we have lost, rather than gained, some of our espirit-de-corps due to misgivings that have arisen." She then directed the blue gaze towards her door. "I will be going, and I encourage you to do likewise."
Meanwhile, during all of the rushing and bustling, Hiroko had changed into her off-duty yukata, and began calmly walking over to deck 28 where the hot baths were... This would at least be relaxing...
Masako blushed a bit. "I'm not entirely comfortable with bathing with others," she said and sighed. "Besides I'm not dressed for that..." the blonde said.
"Oh? It is a venerable Yamataian tradition you know. I am a bit surprised you would be uncomfortable with it..." mused Rin, considering. "The yukata is the standard outfit for going to the hot baths, and you can use your towel if modesty is a pressing concern. The areas are also usually segregated for the sexes," added the soldier to her comrade, "But I won't force you to do so, of course."
"Thanks but... I think I'll pass for now," Masako said and nodded. "I've never been one for tradition, you can't move forward if you keep peeking back at the past," she said philosophically. "Sorry Shifuda-heisho, I don't think I'll be joining you. I'm not comfortable bathing with others," She telepathically responded to Kuriko's message.
Rin lowered her head a moment then met Masako's gaze with hers, her tone becoming more empathic. "As you wish. But remember that without the past to build upon, there would be no future." Having said her piece, she excused herself and made for her own quarters to prepare.
I have so many doubts that have risen, thought Sakaki to herself as she continued her practice as she waited. I call myself a warrior, yet I did not act like one. I am sure the others consider me a kind of coward now; with how I act I put forth something expected and yet had not reached that expectation! The last simulation I did not do anything against the enemy, and if the next engagement does not go well... Sakaki then stopped a moment to rest and contemplated on recent events. A Hot Bath, I never had one before... I wonder if the Shosa will be there too... She began to blush at the thought of it but continued practice with her sword so no one around would notice her short emotional weakness.
The lift was slowly going up the decks when Kuriko got the message from Masako. "Well, I don't want to force you or anything Masako, but if you want to be more comfortable with doing something like this, then you'll have to do it sometime; better now with wingman than later with strangers. Besides, I don't know if any of the male members of the wing will be joining us,"[/i] Kuriko replied as she stood idly waiting for the lift to arrive.
Modesty wasn't a pressing concern for Masako, in fact she enjoyed hot baths like that and was starting to think about it, but yawned, leaning tiredly against the wall next to her door. She was debating if she'd go or not as she watched Rin head off to go back to her quarters to prepare to go herself. It was the curse she'd always bore, keeping herself out of things that might be fun and build up friendships because of her own sense of apathy about it.
As was almost becoming ritual, Hiroko arrived near the lift when Kuriko was waiting for it, too. "Ah, Shifuda-heisho. We keep using the same lift."
Kuriko thought about how she would respond before she did so. "Ano, Ishida-hei. We're off duty, you can call me Kuriko if you'd like." Kuriko looked at Hiroko's garb and started to speak again. "Did you sleep well?" Kuriko asked as she tried to start up an amicable conversation with the Hei.
Hiroko shrugged. "As best I could... I think I have a hangover though... Not used to drinking..." She held her forehead for emphasis at that point.
The doors of the lift swooshed open after the lift came to a halt. "You and me both," Kuriko said sympathetically to Hiroko as she stepped out of the lift. "Hopefully the bath will help that a little," Kuriko suggested.
Hiroko nodded as she moved forwards towards the baths, nodding. "I hope so."
Also in the lift was a young Yamataian male with right-parted pale blondish hair with dark shades on wearing a tan duster over his uniform showing the panel color of a technician under the open light coat. "Hmm? Oh, morning ladies," he said politely to them and stepped back to make room for the Pride Wing members. His rank pin on the collar labeled him a Nitô Hei.
Rin wasted no time in slipping into her white yukata and sandals, fiddling with the black sash. It had been quite awhile since she had worn this specific outfit, spending almost all of her time in more military-oriented styles and practical uniforms. Staring in the mirror a moment, she idly thought back to her parents and her childhood when she had often worn this around the house with her mother. Where did the years go? It almost felt as if Rin had lost time somewhere… or perhaps she had been moving so fast with her career that she let it slip by...
A glance out of the corner of her eye also spied the bouquet still sitting on the table and a part of her wondered if Shin would be there. Well, she would just have to deal with it if so... but a part of her wished to relax without worrying about him trying to sneak a peek or other nonsense! Grabbing a towel to take with her, she then began the trek down to the rec deck, taking a different path than before to tour more of the ship, the little navy-blue prints of her yukata shifting as images of Yuis and Chiharus danced with Anris and Nozomis.
Sakaki considered it time to head to the recreated hot spring and gathered her sword and put it back into place in its sheath. The back haired Neko would then bow to her fellow Wing members as she headed to the baths.
Shizuka and Nicholas had enjoyed a relaxing evening after the events in the simulator area. The drinks they shared did not really have a profound effect on the Shosa, instead she seemed to allow some of the alcohol affect her to the point of losing a small bit of inhibitions, just enough to find herself talking freely without too much concern. They didn't cover anything important, just talked about nothing and everything all in one evening. It was morning now for them too, and Shizuka was still fast asleep wrapped in the blankets while she took up a small corner of her big bed, curled up into a ball like a cat would.
Nicholas was asleep as well, uncharacteristically for the time of morning that it was. The previous evening was the first time he’d been able to drink in a long while, and enjoyed being able to while he could. When Shizuka had invited him back to stay with her after they’d finished, the Geshrin accepted, more out of his inability to navigate himself to his quarters alone than anything else, and lay soundly on the opposite side of the large bed from the Shosa. He woke up not too long after Kuriko’s message was received on his data pad, reading it through hazy eyes and a mild headache. Figuring that the commander would want to know, he rolled himself over to her, becoming aware that he was still wearing his full uniform as he did so. “Shizuka…” he said, gently pushing on her shoulder in an attempt to wake her.
Nichloas' attempts at waking the sleeping Nekovalkyrja starship captain seemed to be rather useless. She was quite a heavy sleeper, and going to bed after such an eventful day didn't help matters much. His shaking only caused a small mummer, but other than that she seemed to be down and out. With the peaceful expression on her cute feline features, it looked like she could sleep through an earthquake.
The Taii scowled at the lack of success in his efforts to wake the Shosa. He hated having to wake her from her obviously comfortable state, but he knew that she would want to know about Kuriko’s message whether she would end up going or not, but he was her XO before any other capacity their relationship carried. “MEGAMI,” he said officiously, looking up to the ceiling as he addressed the AI as he had a habit of doing, “please sound the Shosa’s alarm clock now rather than its regularly appointed time for today.”
"Any and all simulated alarms for Endo-shosa have proved to be useless. In her file it notes that the only way to awake her is to use her analog alarm clock, I however cannot comply with your orders, Taii for I cannot access it because it seems to be not digitalized in any way, MEGAMI responded promptly to Nicholas. The alarm clock in question was in simple design with two gold colored bells atop a round faced clock, sitting on the edge of the Lioness' bedside table. It was the one she had previously thrown across the room and destroyed, yet now it looked like it had never been damaged.
“Thank you, MEGAMI,” Nicholas said flatly, staring at the old clock sitting beside the bed with the same unpleased look still on his face. He reached over Shizuka, doing his best not to fall on her as he grabbed the timepiece and sat back down. The Geshrin’s family may have been traditional and old-fashioned, but even Nicholas had no idea how to work the alarm’s mechanisms. After what was far too long, he managed to set it to a minute from the current time and placed it back on the bedside table.
A few minutes ticked by and then the annoying, loud, and very distinct ringing blasted from the small device. A roaring, displeased groan came from the Lioness as she lifted a hand to search tiredly for the device on the bedside tabletop. Her hand lifted a few times and missed, she seemed to give up as she went limp a moment burying her head under her pillow. But because the ringing didn't stop, she'd eventually sit straight up in a huff and swat the loud device so hard that it slammed against the wall and broke into various parts. The glass, though, seemed to be in once piece; ingeniously she had previously replaced it with the clear metal that they used for the windows in the Star Army. After that display, she plopped back down into her pillow with another annoyed growl.
“Ah, it’s good to see that you’re awake, Shizuka!” Nicholas said jovially, his sudden fear of the Neko’s rage quickly dissipating into amusement. “Kuriko-heisho has invited us to join her and Pride Wing down in the onsen on deck twenty-eight,” he told her, thinking it best to quickly tell her Kuriko’s message in hopes of alleviating any anger she may still have from being woken up.
Shizuka groaned once more and took her pillow and swiftly threw it into Nick's face. It was fast, but not hard enough to do much more then shut him up for another few seconds. Miffed that he found delight in her sleepy demise, however cute she must seem at that moment, didn't really seem to make her any less cranky. "What time is it?" she groggily asked, after taking a few moments for her thoughts to collect and meld into a sentence, or rather a small phrase.
“Quarter past ten,” Nicholas replied simply, throwing the pillow back to Shizuka.
"I guess it'd be a good opportunity to spend some time with them..." Shizuka paused to lazily crawl over and lay her head in his lap. "...But I would have enjoyed a few more hours in bed," she said the last bit as she nuzzled her head into his leg and shifted her small body to get comfortable, only dressed in a dress shirt which she wore normally under her uniform jacket plus a pair of standard issue black panties. She didn’t enjoy sleeping with too much clothing, finding them constricting and too warm when under blankets.
Nicholas was somewhat taken aback by Shizuka’s actions, even though he would have expected to be used to her affection for him by now. Where he grew up, physical contact of any kind wasn’t something that was done lightly or regularly, and it was difficult for him to get over that. “Ah… yes, Shizuka, more sleep would have been nice,” he agreed awkwardly. “Kuriko-heisho needs your support now, though. Without it, her efforts to become a better leader may fail.” He still believed that the Heisho should be able to instinctually perform her duties, of course, but realized that she may need some help to get past the indoctrination of the job that she was created for.
Shizuka nodded a few times, knowing that Nicholas was right. Besides, the Shosa did want to spend more time with the wing. "Alright, I guess I can head down there." Shizuka slowly pushed up and sat up on her bed a moment and stretched her curled hands high up over her head with a long and satisfying yawn. She then bounced to her feet and snagged her crisp standard issue white yukata and slipped it on over her current outfit. "You should head over to the bridge and check if they need you over there, I think it's mostly going to be the girls down there, so I don't think it'd be best if you came along," Shizuka mentioned as she shuffled over to him and kissed his cheek before heading on her way to her office compartment.
“But Kuriko-heisho asked me to come, Shizuka…” Nicholas said as she left the room, his voice trailing off at the end. The Taii didn’t care so much that he wouldn’t be able to interact with Pride Wing, but was disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to enjoy the onsen bath. Soaking in their waters was one of the Geshrin’s favorite things to do, especially because he quite enjoyed doing nothing, something he hadn’t been able to enjoy much lately. Rather than pester the Shosa on the matter further, he stood up and followed her into the office portion of her suite to prepare himself before he made his way to the bridge.
On deck 28, Kuriko lead herself and Hiroko into the baths, where she picked a locker and started putting her things into it. "Do you go to the baths often?" Kuriko asked Hiroko as she checked over everything one last time before heading over to the showers.
Hiroko shrugged, putting her own things into the locker as well. "Ah, no, I don't. I don't go much of anywhere that often. I haven't been in the military routine you know... so I tend to just stay alone and read."
Rin eventually made her way to the lockers where everyone was assumed to meet up, giving a curt bow and a thin smile to her commander. "Shifuda-heisho, sorry I am a bit late. I could not persuade Sakiyurai-hei to join us."
Sakaki silently placed her katana in a locker and stripped down and put her cloths in, nicely folded. She then headed to the shower, while listening to the others’ conversation.
Kuriko paused, re-opened her locker and slid out of her yukata before heading over to the showers as well. "You’re not late. It wasn't mandatory anyway," Kuriko said as she sat down on the small wooden stool, turned on the shower, and began to clean herself, paying special attention to her hair. Kuriko seemed to be taking her time, mainly so that the other members of the wing wouldn't feel rushed themselves.
Sakaki likewise began her shower and silently hoped to wash away her doubts. Maybe if I was a Nekovalkyrja made for war, I would not have these doubts... she continued to contemplate. She had by now removed the string that kept her hair up in a top knot, letting the black hair fall down her back. She hadn't let her hair down in public in a long time, as it was part of her self image she wanted of herself.
Hiroko was also showering at about this time, but her mind was... more conveniently distracted. She was borrowing a little Zen to get herself in a more relaxed mood – so she was imagining an object of impossible shape, trying to explore its curvature and form... and grabbing the occasional lock of hair to make sure it got all clean...
Rin indeed caught the non-rushed atmosphere the Heisho was trying to nurture, and took her own time disrobing by the lockers and entering the showers to wash off first with a quiet nod to Sakaki and Hiroko on the way there. She then let the cool waters rain down on the short blue-green hair she had, and proceeded to wash herself down. It was of particular note how methodical she was in even this mundane of tasks... apparently she applied the “excellence in all we do” stereotype even down to her hygiene.
Eventually Masako would meander her way down to the hot baths herself, deciding it would just be a good chance to relax and make friends for once. She understood that the reason why she never had any in the past was because she didn't put herself out there for people to know. She'd show up there in the navy-blue yukata with the black obi wrapped around her waist with her hair pulled up into a tight bun on the back of the head. "Ohayo!" the blonde greeted everyone in the changing room cheerfully and would find an unused locker and began to simply remove the yukata to head for the shower, keeping her back to everyone and let it slip down around her shoulders.
Kuriko smiled when Masako entered before she started to finish washing herself and then proceeded into the bath room, where once she reached the edge of the bath she slowly lowered herself in, before sliding off to the side so that others could enter the water as well.
“Changed your mind?" floated a digitized message from Rin to Masako as she finished up the mandatory rinse, and walked over to join Kuriko in the bath. As she did so the towel she had brought with her which was wrapped around her thighs was unwound and carefully slipped around her damp hair instead, enhancing the image of Rin as the polite and conservative woman as her modest figure soon became largely submerged into the relaxing waters up to her chest to get used to the temperature.
"Yeah, well I figure that it's a good chance to get over my own shyness and make some friends," Masako telepathically replied to Rin and lost her clothing to go into the shower area, blushing darkly as she "bounced" a bit. She'd find a shower to use close to the others and pulled her hair free, the honey-blonde length falling down around her knees as she did.
Sakaki was finished with her shower, though she stayed in it for a longer period letting it pour on her, after which she turned the water off. She then stood up to head to the bath and stood at the water's edge for a moment. Gathering her thoughts, and not wanting to look like a cat afraid of water, she descended into the bath, found a nice spot to sit in, and closed her eyes to relax for the moment.
Rin slid over a distance and found a good location to wait for the others while she tried to let her stress go. Kuriko could almost see the lines of deep worry the serious Yamataian always seemed to wear slowly fade, like the water was leeching her problems out of her pores and leaving just a simple woman in a bath in its wake. "The water is better than I expected," commented Rin to no one in particular as perhaps an attempt to break the ice between the Pride Wing.
"Un," Kuriko agreed quietly, herself submerged up to her neck. Kuriko sat there for a little bit, enjoying the warmth of the water and just how relaxed it made her feel. Eventually her mind wandered to something she had thought of the night before. I really have been just making up an excuse this whole time, Kuriko thought as she leaned against the edge of the bath. It's time that I completely accept who I need to be, and stop resisting it. Kuriko's eyes were shut as she thought this, but when she finished she inhaled deeply. What will we do now? Kuriko wondered as she waited for Masako to join them in the bath. "What do you think, Ushimo-hei?" Kuriko asked. "It's relaxing no?"
Masako would cleanse herself in the shower so she wouldn't screw with the water in the onsen itself and walked through the doors out into it, wrapped in a towel, but would relinquish it as she stepped into the hot water and blushed a bit, purring softly as she slid down into it. "Mmm it does feel good."
Sakaki turned to her fellow black haired Neko and replied, "It is, I never imagined it would be this nice." She honestly felt all her stress flowing out into the bath, though still felt worried and confessed to her superior officer, "I apologize for my performance during the simulation Shifuda-heisho. I should have followed orders and not with my poor judgment."
Kuriko sighed. Now is as a good of time as any, the Heisho thought before speaking again. "Yesterday was a good experience. For all of us. We found out what we need to work on." Kuriko paused again; she was starting to notice that she had this annoying habit of pausing a lot. "We weren't ready once the sim started for anything to happen. We anticipated we would have time to deploy, I think now we realize that it's simply not the case. The enemies ideas will be the same as our own: reduce the enemy force count as fast as possible to minimize losses. From the start we lacked cohesion and didn't function as a unit but as a group of individuals. I had my own shortcomings though, I had seen this tactic used against us before and didn't even think twice about ordering you all into that ship. Even if it hadn't been rigged to blow, that was a bad idea, as any number of things could have gone wrong. So the fault lies with myself as well." Kuriko fell silent to watch everyone's reactions.
Rin sighed a bit as she turned to face the Heisho. "I agree that we do have to cooperate. In a real battle the squad that functions as a team increases the odds of survival and effectiveness several times over. Our fellow wings demonstrated this very well in the way they assaulted the Vampire vessel with great discipline." Pausing a moment, she closed her eyes. "I mean no insult; this is simply the truth of where we stand. I believe the Shosa has thrown us together for the express purpose of unlocking that potential to surpass our peers... if we can only put aside our ironic 'prides' and egos to become worthy of our title."
Hiroko blinked, realizing she had had a bit of a reverie... "Ano... We seem to have the capacity to work together, but for some reason we don't actually pull together. We seem to get confused easily, and even when there are orders they seem to become mere footnotes. What... What can we do?"
"Well it comes down to the fact we just have to think about how each of our abilities can compliment the others'," The blonde said, her hair splaying and floating on the surface of the water. "That's the real truth of cooperating with each other."
Though it was my second fight in armor, I had high expectations of combat that became false. Maybe I am ready for it now... Sakaki thought to herself. She found herself nodding to what the others were saying but still feeling the shame. Then Sakaki spoke up, if not rather nervous sounding, "Maybe... we need to create a bond?"
Hiroko quirked her eyebrows, speaking very tentatively. "A... bond?"
Kuriko smiled, it was moments like these where the inner psychologist within her squealed with glee. "Un. A bond. Something to tie us together, something more than what we have now," Kuriko said quietly, backing up Sakaki. "Do you have anything in mind?" Kuriko asked curiously.
Sakaki lightly blushed, though she convinced herself that it was the hot water causing it. She was a little embarrassed to be placed on the spot like this, but answered, "Maybe... watch a movie?"
"Bah," Masako said. "There's no bond stronger than family," She stated to Rin and stuck her tongue out at her playfully.
Masako smiled at that and thought about it for a moment a projected a mental image of hugging to them. "I already have a twin sister but it may be best if we think of each other in that way," she said. "If we consider each other sisters... family… we'll automatically begin thinking in ways to work together despite our personality differences," Masako suggested.
Rin remained calm and rational, trying to approach the issue at hand in a proactive manner. In a way she had to learn to swallow her own pride a bit, and focus on the greater team. "My father had told me that the strongest soldiers fight not for themselves, but also for the lives those beside them... facing death together can forge bonds sometimes even greater than a sister."
Sakaki lowered herself into the water in reaction to Masako's comment, as she wished that were to be the truth. If it were, she wouldn't be on the Senbu, though she remained quite about it.
Hoshitomo-hei shifted a bit to glance sidelong at the busty Neko, her voice taking on a slightly less serious undertone. "We are already a family, we just have to become more comfortable with that fact I think..."
Masako giggled a bit and looked over at the two of them. "Yeah... group hug?" she suggested in a somewhat childish tone. "I'm pretty sure we could all use one."
This was a topic Kuriko felt quite comfortable talking about, with the group unaware the entire discussion had drifted into Kuriko's specific field of sociology and interpersonal relationships. "There certainly is something to be said about relationships formed in the face of certain death," Kuriko said solemnly as she mentally recalled war story after war story that she had read about the topic. "A Family is a tight-knit unit, but when you know your actions could cause those next to you to die and theirs cause you to die, you become closer as you realize... as you realize that without the other you would certainly be dead, and that if they die so do you. Sometimes this bond is even closer than family. To trust your whole being with someone else, that's what facing death as a group can cause. That's unity." Kuriko's voice had a soft but solemn tone to it before she realized what she was saying. "Un, group hug," the Neko agreed. "I think we're going to start some intense group building. Maybe even starting with another impossible scenario and a movie after it," the Neko said before joining the hug.
Rin sighed again, but she didn't exactly make any moves not to be involved in a group hug either. For the sake of her team and the mission she certainly wouldn't refuse such a gesture At least they declared their intentions for contact unlike some other people which were not present...
Hiroko was silent for a bit, before eventually shrugging and joining the hug. "...Maybe...."
Masako would start off by scooting over and gently hugging Kuriko and Rin and nuzzled them affectionately before giving Hiroko one as well. "It's nice I think."
Sakaki joined in, though a little embarrassed as her image as a warrior cracked a little.
As Rin was giving the others a respectful embrace, she got a bit startled when the Neko started actually nuzzling her in cat-like style, as the Yamataian awkwardly patted her fellow pilot's head a couple of times at a little bit of a loss at how to return said affection. She was apparently very bad at it.
Masako would purr a bit at Rin's patting and would pass around the nuzzling to everyone, blushing a bit as her sizable breasts smushed against their own, seeming to add to her seeming joy.
Hiroko actually twitched slightly, feeling a bit... well... compressed now.
Kuriko gently hugged everyone present then returned to her spot on the wall, and once the hugging had slowed spoke again. "We do need a bond, something to hold us all together. The battlefield is one such place for a bond; hopefully it will extend to more than just that though. We need to get good at being a team and not a group of individuals. How do we get there?" Kuriko asked, she had some ideas but wanted to hear the rest of the Wing's opinions first.
Hiroko backed off to the wall as well, holding her chin a bit in thought. "Though, what if it's not quite rapport? It seems it's less an ability to want to cooperate, and more... an inability to understand what one another is thinking. Am I at all right?"
"Y-yes... a movie, perhaps," struggled Rin to get her train of thought back on track, looking a bit out of her element with all the sudden bonding going on of a different nature than she envisioned. "We need to find a common ground. A place, an activity, or such. Small traditions can evolve into great things. There's also the matter of defining each of our roles and specialties also, that we do not work against but rather compliment each other so that no effort is wasted."
Hiroko snapped her fingers. "Roles! That's it!... Besides, I'm not much for movies. But we need some fair clue of what it is we're supposed to be doing."
Sakaki returned to her spot before the embarrassment got to her, the last thing that could kill Sakaki now would be if the Shosa arrived. "We... really don't all need one common thing. Just small things grouping each of us..." Sakaki suggested, though meaning from now on having to socialize more.
A few moments after everyone had broken up, the door sided open to the bath area and the Shosa stepped in with a big toothy Lioness grin on her face. "Morning ladies!" Shizuka greeted them all happily as she sauntered herself over to the bath, her tanned supple body was relatively curvy for her tiny stature, with sizeable hips to match her chest it would appear that the small CO had a nice hourglass figure in shape under that uniform. The only thing left on her was a gold necklace with a lion charm in the middle, an iconic symbol of the Shosa's persona.
Masako had given everyone a good boob hug and backed off to her spot near the wall and sank down to conceal her chest a bit, feeling embarrassed at her affectionate display. She liked the other members of the wing and was comfortable enough to do that at least. She looked up at Shizuka and blinked at her and giggled a bit and brushed her wet hair out of her eyes. "Hey Shizuka-shosa!" she said in a friendly tone.
"Shizuka-shosa..." Sakaki silently greeted, wishing she was shorter so to hide in the water better. The picture of her plush toy giving a cute "rawr" came to mind and tried to look away without seeming disrespectful.
Hiroko tilted her head to the side and looked at Shizuka with... a very, well, minimal smile. "'Lo, Shizuka-shosa."
Kuriko looked up and bowed as best she could to the Shosa. If Shizuka could read Kuriko's mind she would read a small amount of surprise, she figured that the Shosa would have been busy, but this was a good thing anyway. "Ohayo gozaimasu, Shizuka-shosa. Come on in, the water's great," the Heisho offered.
For her part, Rin had never quite seen this side of the Lioness before, and did her best not to shrink into the water too much before the mighty bellow so she could give a respectful nod of her toweled head to the commander. "Shizuka-shosa..." gasped the young woman for a moment, before containing her surprise. "Yes, please do join us." Although as she echoed the invitation, the Pride Wing could pick up her true thoughts on the matter as she sent them telepathically, "If we are a family, then this is our mother. For good or ill."
"Without a doubt," Kuriko telepathically responded firmly, one of the few things she was sure of.
With a small hand gesture the Shosa motioned for Kuriko to sit back down and be at ease. "Don't mind if I do..." Shizuka said in a happy inward voice as she settled in somewhere in between the Heisho and Rin. "Ahh... this is perfect!" she exclaimed pleasantly as she slipped into the water and placed the folded towels which were tucked under one arm into the water, the objective was a little clearer as she sat down and was at eye level with most of the group with the boosted seat.
"We were just trying to figure out how to bond more as a group instead of individuals," Masako chimed cheerfully to let the Shosa in on what they were doing. "You missed a group hug, though."
Hiroko... flatly commented. She almost wanted to roll her eyes a little. It was a good gesture but at the same time she had... not gotten much from it. "Hrm. Yes. You did..." Her tone picked up a little more, though. "Bonding, well, is part of it. It's also that we don't seem to respond together... very... coherently."
Well this was interesting. They almost were shooting at each other yesterday, and now Rin had the honor of being one half of the Shizuka sandwich in the hot bath. She was a bit unsure how to proceed, as several things scrolled through her mind as she tried to sit up straight and not blatantly admit she was in said group hug a moment ago, trying to preserve her image in front of the Shosa.
"Hugs?" Shizuka asked out of surprise. The Shosa was defiantly not expecting anything like that. "Well, that's surely a wonderful way of bonding!" she said with a hearty laugh, finding the situation to be amusing in a good way. "I'm glad everyone's getting along then, that's great," Shizuka commented with a pleased smile. "So, I spotted you guys drinking with the Gold Wing afterwards, how did that go?" she inquired, feeling rather interested at how the personnel interacted. She wanted to know how well they’d get along and who better to hear it from then the pilots themselves.
Hiroko tilted her head one way, then the other. "Got drunk, talked to some guy with the call sign phoenix. Chatted about us doing crazy things, he tried to sound impressive. It wasn't. Ergh, then hangovers ensued." The somewhat... uninterested tone suggested that Hiroko hadn't really gotten anything out of talking to Phoenix back the other day, and also was not amused about her hangover.
"I actually didn't drink," Masako said before slipping down and dunking herself before coming back up, smoothing her hand through her hair, some of it still laying on the surface of the water. "I don't like alcohol, but the Gold Wing people were nice enough, though one called me both "crazy" and "relentless," she smirked. "I actually stayed after for a while and meet a few of the engineers which reminds me..." Masako said and turned to Kuriko. "One Nitô Hei Chiyoko wants to take a picture with you and Mizu at some point," she said.
"Yes, it was an experiment," finally admitted Hoshitomo-hei without getting too red in the face, "but we are definitely going to continue to work on improving unit cohesion utilizing a variety of methods both in the field and off of it." It was actually almost funny how she was trying to talk to the commander in a business-like manner, as treating her overly casually even in an onsen still seemed inappropriate.
Kuriko's cheeks turned a little red at the mention of Gold Wing. "I got a little drunk myself unfortunately. I can't seem to hold my liquor either; I think I threw up all over the floor a few times before Jack took me back to my room... I think I fell asleep on the way back." Kuriko was about to continue until it dawned on her just what Masako had said. "What?" Kuriko asked curiously, she didn't know a nitô hei by the name of Chiyoko, and she suspected that Mizu didn't either. "Why?" Kuriko was kind of confused as to why someone would want someone they had never met before’s picture.
"Well she was a young Neko and apparently idolizes you two as the CO and XO of the Pride Wing." Masako smiled. "She's a cute girl though," she said and projected a hologram of what the little Neko engineer looked like, hovering over the center of the onsen.
PAUSE
The next day's sun rose up over Yamatai, which by now was 18 light years away from the Senbu and her crew. They found themselves a day's flight away from the edge of the Ketsurui Nebula, which meant they would be coming up on their target soon. There was plenty of commotion as the ship that never slept was going through its next shift switch.
Masako would be out like a light in her quarters still, sleeping in her nightgown while cuddling an old teddy bear, totally dead to the world outside her door.
Sakaki had been going over her usual day of exercise, training, etc., only with a bit more tension. Ever since the simulation battle she had been having doubts about her ability. With this she had been more aggressive in recent exercise that one could even hear the wind of her kendo practice sword as she swung. On this morning she was already practicing her sword in the rec room, swinging her Katana and not the kendo sword.
Rin slept a bit unsoundly, tossing and turning throughout the night as she still thought about the results of the simulation battle. It was hard to stomach loss, even if it was a virtual one. Still, the soldier managed to get up early as usual and go through the morning routine, trying to focus on what she could do well and move on with things. Even without a specific task in mind with the looming battle far off, the young woman still got dressed in her daily duty uniform and headed out into the deck hallway, deep in thought.
Kuriko rolled out of bed the next morning with her head lightly ringing. She hadn't consumed copious amounts of alcohol, but she had consumed enough to make her wary of drinking for a little while.
Still in Kuriko's quarters was a devilishly handsome sandy blind armor pilot, although a little lackluster of his previous grace as he was passed out on a chair in the corner, his head lulled over the back of the chair and his arms and legs hanging over the edges. He was snoring a tad, but not enough to be a nuisance.
Kuriko looked on the Heisho sitting there with a mixed look of gratitude and pity. Has he been here the whole night? Kuriko wondered as she quietly moved around and gathered her bathing supplies. Just as she was about to open the door, Kuriko quietly put down her tote and went over to her desk where she pulled out a piece of paper and wrote the Heisho a quick thank you note Unsure of what to say, she settled for a simple “Thank you” and her signature at the bottom with a heart to the right, written in a fluid cursive with a little heart at the end. Unfortunately for Jack, Kuriko had the handwriting of a doctor, so the word would probably be barely legible.
As the Hei stepped out of the room, she paused. I think I need to relax, Kuriko thought before resuming her walk, though with a different destination in mind. The Heisho quickly composed a message as she clopped along in her sandals on her way to the elevator.
Message said:
With that Kuriko got on the lift and set about the difficult but not impossible task of remembering what she did last night.
Sakaki halted herself mid-swing, then sort of nodded to herself and continued. She was already on deck 28 so she had time to get some of her inner anger out of her system by then.
Hiroko, on the other hand, had woken up and just didn't feel like leaving her quarters. Still dressed in a nightgown, she was sitting, reading a tract of some sort when she read the message. "...We have hot baths?" She blinked, putting down the tract. Maybe she should go... Maybe she should go. She needed to do SOMETHING with the unit.
As she slowly walked across the quarters deck, boots clacking, Rin paused by the door of Sakiyurai-hei, hearing the sounds of slumber from the unlocked door. Coming a bit closer, she reached out to push open the portal with a white gloved hand, peering in at the rather adorable sight of the power armor pilot cuddling a teddy bear. "Masako...?" murmured the Yamataian, unsure whether to disturb her further with how late in the morning it was already.
Masako groaned a bit and rolled over to turn her back to Rin for a moment. "Ngh… 5 more minutes sis... it's still early..." she muttered in her sleep. In a moment, though, she'd seem to remember where she was and sat up slowly and yawned, setting the teddy aside. "Huh? Oh, morning Rin." Masako said, rubbing an eye as she did and eeped at seeing the volumetric display of time. "Oh crap, I'm late aren't I?" she pouted a bit and stood up, the non-regulation sleepwear hugging to her curves and the bountiful bust line she possessed.
Rin nodded, feeling a bit strange at being so casual with names suddenly, and returned more to her proper decorum when it was apparent the Neko wasn't sleeping too soundly. "Er, yes it is a bit late Sakiyurai-hei, I thought you would appreciate a wake-up call," replied the Nitô Hei as she moved to back out of the room respectfully. " It also appears.. that we have been summoned by the Heisho, if you take a moment to check your messages," added Rin, having just realized that there was one waiting for her too in that instant.
Masako nodded to her and watched the door slide shut and went about her own routine to get dressed in a duty uniform of a stretch uniform and continued to stretch herself out, an old habit. "Thanks for the wake up call Hoshitomo-hei." she said through the door as she hopped around, trying to get a boot on and crashed into a wall, losing her balance. "Owie..." she sighed and got up slowly once she was fully dressed. She certainly had a flair for showing off her figure even though she didn't totally realize the impact it had on people. The door would open to let her out as she left the room. "Yeah I just read that. Did you want to go down there or do something else?"
Hoshitomo-hei looked to the side a bit, closing her eyes for a moment. "I believe this is a good chance for us to come together. Since yesterday's defeat, we have lost, rather than gained, some of our espirit-de-corps due to misgivings that have arisen." She then directed the blue gaze towards her door. "I will be going, and I encourage you to do likewise."
Meanwhile, during all of the rushing and bustling, Hiroko had changed into her off-duty yukata, and began calmly walking over to deck 28 where the hot baths were... This would at least be relaxing...
Masako blushed a bit. "I'm not entirely comfortable with bathing with others," she said and sighed. "Besides I'm not dressed for that..." the blonde said.
"Oh? It is a venerable Yamataian tradition you know. I am a bit surprised you would be uncomfortable with it..." mused Rin, considering. "The yukata is the standard outfit for going to the hot baths, and you can use your towel if modesty is a pressing concern. The areas are also usually segregated for the sexes," added the soldier to her comrade, "But I won't force you to do so, of course."
"Thanks but... I think I'll pass for now," Masako said and nodded. "I've never been one for tradition, you can't move forward if you keep peeking back at the past," she said philosophically. "Sorry Shifuda-heisho, I don't think I'll be joining you. I'm not comfortable bathing with others," She telepathically responded to Kuriko's message.
Rin lowered her head a moment then met Masako's gaze with hers, her tone becoming more empathic. "As you wish. But remember that without the past to build upon, there would be no future." Having said her piece, she excused herself and made for her own quarters to prepare.
I have so many doubts that have risen, thought Sakaki to herself as she continued her practice as she waited. I call myself a warrior, yet I did not act like one. I am sure the others consider me a kind of coward now; with how I act I put forth something expected and yet had not reached that expectation! The last simulation I did not do anything against the enemy, and if the next engagement does not go well... Sakaki then stopped a moment to rest and contemplated on recent events. A Hot Bath, I never had one before... I wonder if the Shosa will be there too... She began to blush at the thought of it but continued practice with her sword so no one around would notice her short emotional weakness.
The lift was slowly going up the decks when Kuriko got the message from Masako. "Well, I don't want to force you or anything Masako, but if you want to be more comfortable with doing something like this, then you'll have to do it sometime; better now with wingman than later with strangers. Besides, I don't know if any of the male members of the wing will be joining us,"[/i] Kuriko replied as she stood idly waiting for the lift to arrive.
Modesty wasn't a pressing concern for Masako, in fact she enjoyed hot baths like that and was starting to think about it, but yawned, leaning tiredly against the wall next to her door. She was debating if she'd go or not as she watched Rin head off to go back to her quarters to prepare to go herself. It was the curse she'd always bore, keeping herself out of things that might be fun and build up friendships because of her own sense of apathy about it.
As was almost becoming ritual, Hiroko arrived near the lift when Kuriko was waiting for it, too. "Ah, Shifuda-heisho. We keep using the same lift."
Kuriko thought about how she would respond before she did so. "Ano, Ishida-hei. We're off duty, you can call me Kuriko if you'd like." Kuriko looked at Hiroko's garb and started to speak again. "Did you sleep well?" Kuriko asked as she tried to start up an amicable conversation with the Hei.
Hiroko shrugged. "As best I could... I think I have a hangover though... Not used to drinking..." She held her forehead for emphasis at that point.
The doors of the lift swooshed open after the lift came to a halt. "You and me both," Kuriko said sympathetically to Hiroko as she stepped out of the lift. "Hopefully the bath will help that a little," Kuriko suggested.
Hiroko nodded as she moved forwards towards the baths, nodding. "I hope so."
Also in the lift was a young Yamataian male with right-parted pale blondish hair with dark shades on wearing a tan duster over his uniform showing the panel color of a technician under the open light coat. "Hmm? Oh, morning ladies," he said politely to them and stepped back to make room for the Pride Wing members. His rank pin on the collar labeled him a Nitô Hei.
Rin wasted no time in slipping into her white yukata and sandals, fiddling with the black sash. It had been quite awhile since she had worn this specific outfit, spending almost all of her time in more military-oriented styles and practical uniforms. Staring in the mirror a moment, she idly thought back to her parents and her childhood when she had often worn this around the house with her mother. Where did the years go? It almost felt as if Rin had lost time somewhere… or perhaps she had been moving so fast with her career that she let it slip by...
A glance out of the corner of her eye also spied the bouquet still sitting on the table and a part of her wondered if Shin would be there. Well, she would just have to deal with it if so... but a part of her wished to relax without worrying about him trying to sneak a peek or other nonsense! Grabbing a towel to take with her, she then began the trek down to the rec deck, taking a different path than before to tour more of the ship, the little navy-blue prints of her yukata shifting as images of Yuis and Chiharus danced with Anris and Nozomis.
Sakaki considered it time to head to the recreated hot spring and gathered her sword and put it back into place in its sheath. The back haired Neko would then bow to her fellow Wing members as she headed to the baths.
Shizuka and Nicholas had enjoyed a relaxing evening after the events in the simulator area. The drinks they shared did not really have a profound effect on the Shosa, instead she seemed to allow some of the alcohol affect her to the point of losing a small bit of inhibitions, just enough to find herself talking freely without too much concern. They didn't cover anything important, just talked about nothing and everything all in one evening. It was morning now for them too, and Shizuka was still fast asleep wrapped in the blankets while she took up a small corner of her big bed, curled up into a ball like a cat would.
Nicholas was asleep as well, uncharacteristically for the time of morning that it was. The previous evening was the first time he’d been able to drink in a long while, and enjoyed being able to while he could. When Shizuka had invited him back to stay with her after they’d finished, the Geshrin accepted, more out of his inability to navigate himself to his quarters alone than anything else, and lay soundly on the opposite side of the large bed from the Shosa. He woke up not too long after Kuriko’s message was received on his data pad, reading it through hazy eyes and a mild headache. Figuring that the commander would want to know, he rolled himself over to her, becoming aware that he was still wearing his full uniform as he did so. “Shizuka…” he said, gently pushing on her shoulder in an attempt to wake her.
Nichloas' attempts at waking the sleeping Nekovalkyrja starship captain seemed to be rather useless. She was quite a heavy sleeper, and going to bed after such an eventful day didn't help matters much. His shaking only caused a small mummer, but other than that she seemed to be down and out. With the peaceful expression on her cute feline features, it looked like she could sleep through an earthquake.
The Taii scowled at the lack of success in his efforts to wake the Shosa. He hated having to wake her from her obviously comfortable state, but he knew that she would want to know about Kuriko’s message whether she would end up going or not, but he was her XO before any other capacity their relationship carried. “MEGAMI,” he said officiously, looking up to the ceiling as he addressed the AI as he had a habit of doing, “please sound the Shosa’s alarm clock now rather than its regularly appointed time for today.”
"Any and all simulated alarms for Endo-shosa have proved to be useless. In her file it notes that the only way to awake her is to use her analog alarm clock, I however cannot comply with your orders, Taii for I cannot access it because it seems to be not digitalized in any way, MEGAMI responded promptly to Nicholas. The alarm clock in question was in simple design with two gold colored bells atop a round faced clock, sitting on the edge of the Lioness' bedside table. It was the one she had previously thrown across the room and destroyed, yet now it looked like it had never been damaged.
“Thank you, MEGAMI,” Nicholas said flatly, staring at the old clock sitting beside the bed with the same unpleased look still on his face. He reached over Shizuka, doing his best not to fall on her as he grabbed the timepiece and sat back down. The Geshrin’s family may have been traditional and old-fashioned, but even Nicholas had no idea how to work the alarm’s mechanisms. After what was far too long, he managed to set it to a minute from the current time and placed it back on the bedside table.
A few minutes ticked by and then the annoying, loud, and very distinct ringing blasted from the small device. A roaring, displeased groan came from the Lioness as she lifted a hand to search tiredly for the device on the bedside tabletop. Her hand lifted a few times and missed, she seemed to give up as she went limp a moment burying her head under her pillow. But because the ringing didn't stop, she'd eventually sit straight up in a huff and swat the loud device so hard that it slammed against the wall and broke into various parts. The glass, though, seemed to be in once piece; ingeniously she had previously replaced it with the clear metal that they used for the windows in the Star Army. After that display, she plopped back down into her pillow with another annoyed growl.
“Ah, it’s good to see that you’re awake, Shizuka!” Nicholas said jovially, his sudden fear of the Neko’s rage quickly dissipating into amusement. “Kuriko-heisho has invited us to join her and Pride Wing down in the onsen on deck twenty-eight,” he told her, thinking it best to quickly tell her Kuriko’s message in hopes of alleviating any anger she may still have from being woken up.
Shizuka groaned once more and took her pillow and swiftly threw it into Nick's face. It was fast, but not hard enough to do much more then shut him up for another few seconds. Miffed that he found delight in her sleepy demise, however cute she must seem at that moment, didn't really seem to make her any less cranky. "What time is it?" she groggily asked, after taking a few moments for her thoughts to collect and meld into a sentence, or rather a small phrase.
“Quarter past ten,” Nicholas replied simply, throwing the pillow back to Shizuka.
"I guess it'd be a good opportunity to spend some time with them..." Shizuka paused to lazily crawl over and lay her head in his lap. "...But I would have enjoyed a few more hours in bed," she said the last bit as she nuzzled her head into his leg and shifted her small body to get comfortable, only dressed in a dress shirt which she wore normally under her uniform jacket plus a pair of standard issue black panties. She didn’t enjoy sleeping with too much clothing, finding them constricting and too warm when under blankets.
Nicholas was somewhat taken aback by Shizuka’s actions, even though he would have expected to be used to her affection for him by now. Where he grew up, physical contact of any kind wasn’t something that was done lightly or regularly, and it was difficult for him to get over that. “Ah… yes, Shizuka, more sleep would have been nice,” he agreed awkwardly. “Kuriko-heisho needs your support now, though. Without it, her efforts to become a better leader may fail.” He still believed that the Heisho should be able to instinctually perform her duties, of course, but realized that she may need some help to get past the indoctrination of the job that she was created for.
Shizuka nodded a few times, knowing that Nicholas was right. Besides, the Shosa did want to spend more time with the wing. "Alright, I guess I can head down there." Shizuka slowly pushed up and sat up on her bed a moment and stretched her curled hands high up over her head with a long and satisfying yawn. She then bounced to her feet and snagged her crisp standard issue white yukata and slipped it on over her current outfit. "You should head over to the bridge and check if they need you over there, I think it's mostly going to be the girls down there, so I don't think it'd be best if you came along," Shizuka mentioned as she shuffled over to him and kissed his cheek before heading on her way to her office compartment.
“But Kuriko-heisho asked me to come, Shizuka…” Nicholas said as she left the room, his voice trailing off at the end. The Taii didn’t care so much that he wouldn’t be able to interact with Pride Wing, but was disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to enjoy the onsen bath. Soaking in their waters was one of the Geshrin’s favorite things to do, especially because he quite enjoyed doing nothing, something he hadn’t been able to enjoy much lately. Rather than pester the Shosa on the matter further, he stood up and followed her into the office portion of her suite to prepare himself before he made his way to the bridge.
On deck 28, Kuriko lead herself and Hiroko into the baths, where she picked a locker and started putting her things into it. "Do you go to the baths often?" Kuriko asked Hiroko as she checked over everything one last time before heading over to the showers.
Hiroko shrugged, putting her own things into the locker as well. "Ah, no, I don't. I don't go much of anywhere that often. I haven't been in the military routine you know... so I tend to just stay alone and read."
Rin eventually made her way to the lockers where everyone was assumed to meet up, giving a curt bow and a thin smile to her commander. "Shifuda-heisho, sorry I am a bit late. I could not persuade Sakiyurai-hei to join us."
Sakaki silently placed her katana in a locker and stripped down and put her cloths in, nicely folded. She then headed to the shower, while listening to the others’ conversation.
Kuriko paused, re-opened her locker and slid out of her yukata before heading over to the showers as well. "You’re not late. It wasn't mandatory anyway," Kuriko said as she sat down on the small wooden stool, turned on the shower, and began to clean herself, paying special attention to her hair. Kuriko seemed to be taking her time, mainly so that the other members of the wing wouldn't feel rushed themselves.
Sakaki likewise began her shower and silently hoped to wash away her doubts. Maybe if I was a Nekovalkyrja made for war, I would not have these doubts... she continued to contemplate. She had by now removed the string that kept her hair up in a top knot, letting the black hair fall down her back. She hadn't let her hair down in public in a long time, as it was part of her self image she wanted of herself.
Hiroko was also showering at about this time, but her mind was... more conveniently distracted. She was borrowing a little Zen to get herself in a more relaxed mood – so she was imagining an object of impossible shape, trying to explore its curvature and form... and grabbing the occasional lock of hair to make sure it got all clean...
Rin indeed caught the non-rushed atmosphere the Heisho was trying to nurture, and took her own time disrobing by the lockers and entering the showers to wash off first with a quiet nod to Sakaki and Hiroko on the way there. She then let the cool waters rain down on the short blue-green hair she had, and proceeded to wash herself down. It was of particular note how methodical she was in even this mundane of tasks... apparently she applied the “excellence in all we do” stereotype even down to her hygiene.
Eventually Masako would meander her way down to the hot baths herself, deciding it would just be a good chance to relax and make friends for once. She understood that the reason why she never had any in the past was because she didn't put herself out there for people to know. She'd show up there in the navy-blue yukata with the black obi wrapped around her waist with her hair pulled up into a tight bun on the back of the head. "Ohayo!" the blonde greeted everyone in the changing room cheerfully and would find an unused locker and began to simply remove the yukata to head for the shower, keeping her back to everyone and let it slip down around her shoulders.
Kuriko smiled when Masako entered before she started to finish washing herself and then proceeded into the bath room, where once she reached the edge of the bath she slowly lowered herself in, before sliding off to the side so that others could enter the water as well.
“Changed your mind?" floated a digitized message from Rin to Masako as she finished up the mandatory rinse, and walked over to join Kuriko in the bath. As she did so the towel she had brought with her which was wrapped around her thighs was unwound and carefully slipped around her damp hair instead, enhancing the image of Rin as the polite and conservative woman as her modest figure soon became largely submerged into the relaxing waters up to her chest to get used to the temperature.
"Yeah, well I figure that it's a good chance to get over my own shyness and make some friends," Masako telepathically replied to Rin and lost her clothing to go into the shower area, blushing darkly as she "bounced" a bit. She'd find a shower to use close to the others and pulled her hair free, the honey-blonde length falling down around her knees as she did.
Sakaki was finished with her shower, though she stayed in it for a longer period letting it pour on her, after which she turned the water off. She then stood up to head to the bath and stood at the water's edge for a moment. Gathering her thoughts, and not wanting to look like a cat afraid of water, she descended into the bath, found a nice spot to sit in, and closed her eyes to relax for the moment.
Rin slid over a distance and found a good location to wait for the others while she tried to let her stress go. Kuriko could almost see the lines of deep worry the serious Yamataian always seemed to wear slowly fade, like the water was leeching her problems out of her pores and leaving just a simple woman in a bath in its wake. "The water is better than I expected," commented Rin to no one in particular as perhaps an attempt to break the ice between the Pride Wing.
"Un," Kuriko agreed quietly, herself submerged up to her neck. Kuriko sat there for a little bit, enjoying the warmth of the water and just how relaxed it made her feel. Eventually her mind wandered to something she had thought of the night before. I really have been just making up an excuse this whole time, Kuriko thought as she leaned against the edge of the bath. It's time that I completely accept who I need to be, and stop resisting it. Kuriko's eyes were shut as she thought this, but when she finished she inhaled deeply. What will we do now? Kuriko wondered as she waited for Masako to join them in the bath. "What do you think, Ushimo-hei?" Kuriko asked. "It's relaxing no?"
Masako would cleanse herself in the shower so she wouldn't screw with the water in the onsen itself and walked through the doors out into it, wrapped in a towel, but would relinquish it as she stepped into the hot water and blushed a bit, purring softly as she slid down into it. "Mmm it does feel good."
Sakaki turned to her fellow black haired Neko and replied, "It is, I never imagined it would be this nice." She honestly felt all her stress flowing out into the bath, though still felt worried and confessed to her superior officer, "I apologize for my performance during the simulation Shifuda-heisho. I should have followed orders and not with my poor judgment."
Kuriko sighed. Now is as a good of time as any, the Heisho thought before speaking again. "Yesterday was a good experience. For all of us. We found out what we need to work on." Kuriko paused again; she was starting to notice that she had this annoying habit of pausing a lot. "We weren't ready once the sim started for anything to happen. We anticipated we would have time to deploy, I think now we realize that it's simply not the case. The enemies ideas will be the same as our own: reduce the enemy force count as fast as possible to minimize losses. From the start we lacked cohesion and didn't function as a unit but as a group of individuals. I had my own shortcomings though, I had seen this tactic used against us before and didn't even think twice about ordering you all into that ship. Even if it hadn't been rigged to blow, that was a bad idea, as any number of things could have gone wrong. So the fault lies with myself as well." Kuriko fell silent to watch everyone's reactions.
Rin sighed a bit as she turned to face the Heisho. "I agree that we do have to cooperate. In a real battle the squad that functions as a team increases the odds of survival and effectiveness several times over. Our fellow wings demonstrated this very well in the way they assaulted the Vampire vessel with great discipline." Pausing a moment, she closed her eyes. "I mean no insult; this is simply the truth of where we stand. I believe the Shosa has thrown us together for the express purpose of unlocking that potential to surpass our peers... if we can only put aside our ironic 'prides' and egos to become worthy of our title."
Hiroko blinked, realizing she had had a bit of a reverie... "Ano... We seem to have the capacity to work together, but for some reason we don't actually pull together. We seem to get confused easily, and even when there are orders they seem to become mere footnotes. What... What can we do?"
"Well it comes down to the fact we just have to think about how each of our abilities can compliment the others'," The blonde said, her hair splaying and floating on the surface of the water. "That's the real truth of cooperating with each other."
Though it was my second fight in armor, I had high expectations of combat that became false. Maybe I am ready for it now... Sakaki thought to herself. She found herself nodding to what the others were saying but still feeling the shame. Then Sakaki spoke up, if not rather nervous sounding, "Maybe... we need to create a bond?"
Hiroko quirked her eyebrows, speaking very tentatively. "A... bond?"
Kuriko smiled, it was moments like these where the inner psychologist within her squealed with glee. "Un. A bond. Something to tie us together, something more than what we have now," Kuriko said quietly, backing up Sakaki. "Do you have anything in mind?" Kuriko asked curiously.
Sakaki lightly blushed, though she convinced herself that it was the hot water causing it. She was a little embarrassed to be placed on the spot like this, but answered, "Maybe... watch a movie?"
"Bah," Masako said. "There's no bond stronger than family," She stated to Rin and stuck her tongue out at her playfully.
Masako smiled at that and thought about it for a moment a projected a mental image of hugging to them. "I already have a twin sister but it may be best if we think of each other in that way," she said. "If we consider each other sisters... family… we'll automatically begin thinking in ways to work together despite our personality differences," Masako suggested.
Rin remained calm and rational, trying to approach the issue at hand in a proactive manner. In a way she had to learn to swallow her own pride a bit, and focus on the greater team. "My father had told me that the strongest soldiers fight not for themselves, but also for the lives those beside them... facing death together can forge bonds sometimes even greater than a sister."
Sakaki lowered herself into the water in reaction to Masako's comment, as she wished that were to be the truth. If it were, she wouldn't be on the Senbu, though she remained quite about it.
Hoshitomo-hei shifted a bit to glance sidelong at the busty Neko, her voice taking on a slightly less serious undertone. "We are already a family, we just have to become more comfortable with that fact I think..."
Masako giggled a bit and looked over at the two of them. "Yeah... group hug?" she suggested in a somewhat childish tone. "I'm pretty sure we could all use one."
This was a topic Kuriko felt quite comfortable talking about, with the group unaware the entire discussion had drifted into Kuriko's specific field of sociology and interpersonal relationships. "There certainly is something to be said about relationships formed in the face of certain death," Kuriko said solemnly as she mentally recalled war story after war story that she had read about the topic. "A Family is a tight-knit unit, but when you know your actions could cause those next to you to die and theirs cause you to die, you become closer as you realize... as you realize that without the other you would certainly be dead, and that if they die so do you. Sometimes this bond is even closer than family. To trust your whole being with someone else, that's what facing death as a group can cause. That's unity." Kuriko's voice had a soft but solemn tone to it before she realized what she was saying. "Un, group hug," the Neko agreed. "I think we're going to start some intense group building. Maybe even starting with another impossible scenario and a movie after it," the Neko said before joining the hug.
Rin sighed again, but she didn't exactly make any moves not to be involved in a group hug either. For the sake of her team and the mission she certainly wouldn't refuse such a gesture At least they declared their intentions for contact unlike some other people which were not present...
Hiroko was silent for a bit, before eventually shrugging and joining the hug. "...Maybe...."
Masako would start off by scooting over and gently hugging Kuriko and Rin and nuzzled them affectionately before giving Hiroko one as well. "It's nice I think."
Sakaki joined in, though a little embarrassed as her image as a warrior cracked a little.
As Rin was giving the others a respectful embrace, she got a bit startled when the Neko started actually nuzzling her in cat-like style, as the Yamataian awkwardly patted her fellow pilot's head a couple of times at a little bit of a loss at how to return said affection. She was apparently very bad at it.
Masako would purr a bit at Rin's patting and would pass around the nuzzling to everyone, blushing a bit as her sizable breasts smushed against their own, seeming to add to her seeming joy.
Hiroko actually twitched slightly, feeling a bit... well... compressed now.
Kuriko gently hugged everyone present then returned to her spot on the wall, and once the hugging had slowed spoke again. "We do need a bond, something to hold us all together. The battlefield is one such place for a bond; hopefully it will extend to more than just that though. We need to get good at being a team and not a group of individuals. How do we get there?" Kuriko asked, she had some ideas but wanted to hear the rest of the Wing's opinions first.
Hiroko backed off to the wall as well, holding her chin a bit in thought. "Though, what if it's not quite rapport? It seems it's less an ability to want to cooperate, and more... an inability to understand what one another is thinking. Am I at all right?"
"Y-yes... a movie, perhaps," struggled Rin to get her train of thought back on track, looking a bit out of her element with all the sudden bonding going on of a different nature than she envisioned. "We need to find a common ground. A place, an activity, or such. Small traditions can evolve into great things. There's also the matter of defining each of our roles and specialties also, that we do not work against but rather compliment each other so that no effort is wasted."
Hiroko snapped her fingers. "Roles! That's it!... Besides, I'm not much for movies. But we need some fair clue of what it is we're supposed to be doing."
Sakaki returned to her spot before the embarrassment got to her, the last thing that could kill Sakaki now would be if the Shosa arrived. "We... really don't all need one common thing. Just small things grouping each of us..." Sakaki suggested, though meaning from now on having to socialize more.
A few moments after everyone had broken up, the door sided open to the bath area and the Shosa stepped in with a big toothy Lioness grin on her face. "Morning ladies!" Shizuka greeted them all happily as she sauntered herself over to the bath, her tanned supple body was relatively curvy for her tiny stature, with sizeable hips to match her chest it would appear that the small CO had a nice hourglass figure in shape under that uniform. The only thing left on her was a gold necklace with a lion charm in the middle, an iconic symbol of the Shosa's persona.
Masako had given everyone a good boob hug and backed off to her spot near the wall and sank down to conceal her chest a bit, feeling embarrassed at her affectionate display. She liked the other members of the wing and was comfortable enough to do that at least. She looked up at Shizuka and blinked at her and giggled a bit and brushed her wet hair out of her eyes. "Hey Shizuka-shosa!" she said in a friendly tone.
"Shizuka-shosa..." Sakaki silently greeted, wishing she was shorter so to hide in the water better. The picture of her plush toy giving a cute "rawr" came to mind and tried to look away without seeming disrespectful.
Hiroko tilted her head to the side and looked at Shizuka with... a very, well, minimal smile. "'Lo, Shizuka-shosa."
Kuriko looked up and bowed as best she could to the Shosa. If Shizuka could read Kuriko's mind she would read a small amount of surprise, she figured that the Shosa would have been busy, but this was a good thing anyway. "Ohayo gozaimasu, Shizuka-shosa. Come on in, the water's great," the Heisho offered.
For her part, Rin had never quite seen this side of the Lioness before, and did her best not to shrink into the water too much before the mighty bellow so she could give a respectful nod of her toweled head to the commander. "Shizuka-shosa..." gasped the young woman for a moment, before containing her surprise. "Yes, please do join us." Although as she echoed the invitation, the Pride Wing could pick up her true thoughts on the matter as she sent them telepathically, "If we are a family, then this is our mother. For good or ill."
"Without a doubt," Kuriko telepathically responded firmly, one of the few things she was sure of.
With a small hand gesture the Shosa motioned for Kuriko to sit back down and be at ease. "Don't mind if I do..." Shizuka said in a happy inward voice as she settled in somewhere in between the Heisho and Rin. "Ahh... this is perfect!" she exclaimed pleasantly as she slipped into the water and placed the folded towels which were tucked under one arm into the water, the objective was a little clearer as she sat down and was at eye level with most of the group with the boosted seat.
"We were just trying to figure out how to bond more as a group instead of individuals," Masako chimed cheerfully to let the Shosa in on what they were doing. "You missed a group hug, though."
Hiroko... flatly commented. She almost wanted to roll her eyes a little. It was a good gesture but at the same time she had... not gotten much from it. "Hrm. Yes. You did..." Her tone picked up a little more, though. "Bonding, well, is part of it. It's also that we don't seem to respond together... very... coherently."
Well this was interesting. They almost were shooting at each other yesterday, and now Rin had the honor of being one half of the Shizuka sandwich in the hot bath. She was a bit unsure how to proceed, as several things scrolled through her mind as she tried to sit up straight and not blatantly admit she was in said group hug a moment ago, trying to preserve her image in front of the Shosa.
"Hugs?" Shizuka asked out of surprise. The Shosa was defiantly not expecting anything like that. "Well, that's surely a wonderful way of bonding!" she said with a hearty laugh, finding the situation to be amusing in a good way. "I'm glad everyone's getting along then, that's great," Shizuka commented with a pleased smile. "So, I spotted you guys drinking with the Gold Wing afterwards, how did that go?" she inquired, feeling rather interested at how the personnel interacted. She wanted to know how well they’d get along and who better to hear it from then the pilots themselves.
Hiroko tilted her head one way, then the other. "Got drunk, talked to some guy with the call sign phoenix. Chatted about us doing crazy things, he tried to sound impressive. It wasn't. Ergh, then hangovers ensued." The somewhat... uninterested tone suggested that Hiroko hadn't really gotten anything out of talking to Phoenix back the other day, and also was not amused about her hangover.
"I actually didn't drink," Masako said before slipping down and dunking herself before coming back up, smoothing her hand through her hair, some of it still laying on the surface of the water. "I don't like alcohol, but the Gold Wing people were nice enough, though one called me both "crazy" and "relentless," she smirked. "I actually stayed after for a while and meet a few of the engineers which reminds me..." Masako said and turned to Kuriko. "One Nitô Hei Chiyoko wants to take a picture with you and Mizu at some point," she said.
"Yes, it was an experiment," finally admitted Hoshitomo-hei without getting too red in the face, "but we are definitely going to continue to work on improving unit cohesion utilizing a variety of methods both in the field and off of it." It was actually almost funny how she was trying to talk to the commander in a business-like manner, as treating her overly casually even in an onsen still seemed inappropriate.
Kuriko's cheeks turned a little red at the mention of Gold Wing. "I got a little drunk myself unfortunately. I can't seem to hold my liquor either; I think I threw up all over the floor a few times before Jack took me back to my room... I think I fell asleep on the way back." Kuriko was about to continue until it dawned on her just what Masako had said. "What?" Kuriko asked curiously, she didn't know a nitô hei by the name of Chiyoko, and she suspected that Mizu didn't either. "Why?" Kuriko was kind of confused as to why someone would want someone they had never met before’s picture.
"Well she was a young Neko and apparently idolizes you two as the CO and XO of the Pride Wing." Masako smiled. "She's a cute girl though," she said and projected a hologram of what the little Neko engineer looked like, hovering over the center of the onsen.
PAUSE
