Episode 5 (Pre-Glimmergold): Castle of Dreams

Orchid Suite

A wry smile played over her face as Eri took in the dress, which quickly enough followed by a shiver as the memories replayed in her head. She had wanted to revisit the shop a few times simply due to how much fun they had there, how much enjoyment they had gotten from their time together, but she knew the flip side of that day had been just as serious. The statement from Katsuko about being heard, well that brought a bigger grin as she skipped away for a moment to find her own outfit, the same bright flowery dress she had found on the same day. She figured if Katsuko was going to wear hers, why shouldn't she match?

"Think of it as training for keeping a straight face Katsuko." She offered in explanation, though in truth there was some small part (read large) that wanted to watch Katsuko suffer in the sweet agony that would be the task of keeping a straight face. She laughed a little as she toyed with one of her long bangs as is framed the side of her face and soon enough found her way to Katsuko's side again. She was one of the types to rarely put make up on, and tonight she had opted not to, instead going with her naturally tanned skin tone and normal looks, something she did take a small amount of pride in the fact that she rarely needed to wear anything.

Instead she floated next to Katsuko and watched her with legs crossed and an elbow propped on her knee. "So... Nervous?"

"Thank you." Finishing up with her plating Naoko examined everything that had been laid out making sure all of the dishes looked clean while she listened to her nephew. "I never thought about it that way. It makes perfect sense. I wouldn't want to hear about it all the time either." She thought about it for a moment thinking about the boy and the hard work he must put into making games.


"Well i do not really know how games work but I am very much willing to test out your games if you need someone to. I never knew writing could be turned into a game like situation it sounds very fun and I am sure she misses you too." She gave him a smile as she looked around for something to work on while she waited for Taro to return. She covered the heart shaped sushi again so the suprize would not be ruined for her father.

Yaichiro smiled a bit at the comment regarding him on bended knee. "True, I thought it might be something like that...but at the same time, I always felt like there were things you didn't ask women of station and ambition. Maybe that's the whole matter of respecting rank being drilled into me, or the simple fact I watched Miles chase Hanako only to shoot himself in the foot for his trouble, but it never felt like my place to do any pushing in that regard. Besides...I feel like neither of us were ready until now, if you understand what I mean. She had to deal with the ghosts of her past a bit first, just like I did."

He gave a tiny shrug, unsure how much time was left before dinner. "As far as Tio and Eidan, we'll see what sort of relationship they want, but I'm certainly open to one. I'll have to speak with them about it later."

Cellar

Taro capped the bottle and put it down on one of the larger barrels. "Women of station, are still women. Remember that, cause nothing will get you further with them than to treat them like a lady when that hat comes off their head, or that uniform off their body." They had talked long enough and Taro motioned toward the stairs that led back up towards the main kitchen and said in closing, "Eidan is a good kid, I don't think you or anyone else will ever have to ask what kind of relationship they want with him. He has a pure heart, and is at an age where we can make the most difference." Taro led the way back up the stairs, he walked slow enough to leave Yaichiro a chance to say something else if he needed to.

Main Kitchen

Eidan nodded, "I will send you some after I get to Tsubomi, You're deploying right? I wish I was old enough to join the Star Army. I'd love to make Obaachan proud. Could you imagine? Taisho Motoyoshi Eidan! Defender of Yamatai! Grandson of the famous Ketsurui-Motoyoshi Katsuko!" he exclaimed and smiled as wide as he possibly could. He gave a slightly squinted look in Naoko's direction, then decided to try his luck. He reached for another salmon nigiri and stuffed it into his mouth. It looked like his cheeks were about to burst as he chewed because it was a little big for him to take in one bite.

Orchid Chamber

Katsuko let out a sigh, she fixed her hair and applied her makeup. "Nervous? Always with him. I've spent years trying to convince Yaichiro to make the move and now I'm going to be the one to do it," she replied, and made the last few adjustments. "You go downstairs ahead of me, greet him, and get him comfortable. I will be down shortly," she rose from the chair and kissed Eri on the cheek.

Orchid Chamber

Eri nodded a little, glad to hear some actual Neko emotion from her lover for once. It was relaxing and reassuring to know Katsuko wasn't a machine. Of course she knew she wasn't, it was fun to joke about it in her head, but she smiled all the same and gave Kat a kiss on the head.

"I'll keep him occupied, wonder what we are going to have for dinner..." Eri mused aloud as she tapped her lower lip with a finger and turned to leave the room.

Cellar

"I hope you picked out something that isn't too dry... I like sweet things, you should know that by now Yai-kun." At the top of the steps, with arms crossed and just far enough back where they could only see up to her thighs with her dress, stood Eri. She had a smirk on her face as if she had just caught two intruders, even though they had free reign of the place, same as she did. "Just what have you two been doing down there? Have you been good boys? Not getting into a lot of trouble?" She peppered them with questions, all the while a smirk across her face for the simple enjoyment of it.

Yaichiro had nothing more to say, really, so he simply followed Taro up the stairs. When Eri appeared to greet them, the officer took note of her smirk and that she seemed to be in a good mood. The prospective fiancée simply smiled a bit. "No more trouble than you've probably been up to...less, probably." Little did Yaichiro know how accurate his words were. He was tempted to tell her what was being discussed, but who knew if Taro actually had permission to discuss things with him before Katsuko actually popped the question. He decided to be vague about it.

"I'd ask how you are tonight, but you seem to be doing pretty well. You're positively jovial right now, Eri."

Naoko let out a quiet giggle at his excitement turning she watched him. " I look forward to seeing your games but don't get to far ahead of yourself. Your still young try to live a little and enjoy your freedom before you confine yourself to a life that can take you away from people you care about." Turning back to look over the food again she smiled a bit seeing him grab another piece, there were plenty so a few mission couldn't hurt. Picking one up herself she placed it on her tongue her mind already wondering else where.

She had hoped picking up a hobby or two would help her to not focus on where Otto was or if he was ever going to come back. Normally her work did a good job at keeping her busy but she couldn't help but wonder if he had chosen to stop replying or if it was something much worse. Naoko visibly shook the thoughts from her head he had warned her that he likely wouldn't be able to reply she just hadn't expected it to be a whole year. That reminded her she should take a picture of her hard work and send it to him. Even if he wouldn't be able to reply for a while maybe he could still see her messages.

"Edian hold this plate for a second." She held out the platter with the 3 heart shaped pieces of Nigiri.

(Just a reminder, this all takes place prior to Glimmergold and Katsuko's retirement)

Top of The Cellar Stairs

"Don't worry, I had him pick out the driest thing he could find. I'm sure there will be enough sweetness and wetness to get your fix," Taro said as he squeezed past Eri. "As for what we were doing? I was trying to steal him away from you and Katsuko. I need a hot piece of ass too once in a while," he said in a joust and then chuckled to himself. "I have a kitchen to get back to or we will be having to call up Kikyo Pie to eat tonight. Why don't you two get comfortable in the dining room? Where is Katsuko?" he asked as he looked past Eri and realized that Kaachan was not behind her as he had expected.

Taro figured the two of them probably needed some time too, after all, they were soon to both be Katsuko's spouses.

Main Kitchen

Eidan giggled a bit when Naoko told him to enjoy his freedom, he couldn't help but remember the chase he put Hitomi and his other caretaker on while they were at the Fuji Hotel in Tokyo, he had been a terror during his more rebellious times. "Uh, yeah sure," he said, hopefully, no one knew yet that he had bypassed the parental controls of SYNC along with several other things that had been put into place to keep him tame.

"Oh okay, these ones look like they are the best," he said as he stared at the heart-shaped Nigiri and held onto the platter as she requested. "Do you like being in the Star Army? Are you going to become a Taisa one day? Or are you only there because Obachan and Ojisan say you have to be?" he asked with curiosity.

Orchid Suite

Katsuko sat alone in front of the mirror, then again she was never truly alone when at home. She felt as Akira rubbed her body against her leg and lightly brushed her horn against her. "Of course, you want to get me covered in fur," she said as Akira leaped up into her lap, the Otar made a low gurgling sound as she nuzzled against her. "Oh don't worry I'm not forgetting about you. Wherever I go so will you...and whatever happens, we have each other," she spoke to Akira as if she would understand, the Otar were incredibly smart, and held a telepathic connection to their owners - but even still it was doubtful she understood beyond the emotion.

The Taisho stared into the mirror, there was so much that had changed and she had changed. The feeling of confidence had been restored and she felt like she could hold her head high again.

Light blue eyes positively sparkled in amusement at Taro's comments as she bit her lip. She gave the Motoyoshi a small hip check as he squeezed by, but allowed him past. As he retreated, she turned just enough to call over her shoulder, yet still stared Yaichiro down with all the intent that showed she was serious.

"Kat is still in the room... And she was worried about me making us late. By the way, if you two bump uglies, I want videos! I am terribly interested now in who will be on top and who will be on the bottom..." Eri's eyes passed over Yaichiro with an evil grin spread across her lips as before she let out a little breath. Eventually she let Yaichiro pass though and fell in step beside him, arms behind her back and the smile still on her face.

"What's not to be happy about? We have a night were we can relax, let our hair down... We aren't in front of troops or soldiers, crew, we are just... the Motoyoshi, family." She let out another sigh and for once the impish grin melted away into an actual content smile. Blue eyes turned on the man she was about to be engaged to as well and took in stock of him seemingly once more as she led the way to the dining room and found herself a seat toward where she was sure Katsuko was going to be seated at.

Smiling Naoko took the photo with intentions to send it to Ottos account late that evening. "I can't really say I like or dislike it. Sometimes I cant help but wonder if I didn't have to return for deployment would things have been different. But in those moments I remind myself that Otto would have had to leave anyway. Duty comes first always it's one point we agreed on since day one." Naoko could hear the other returning as she reached out taking the plat back and covering it once again.

"I enjoy my work and at some point I hope to make a difference and better the lives of us and even out allies. I love my job but I don't really intend to become a leader. If I ever retire like Taro it will be in the effort to open my own lab for Yugumo and start some work on my projects. Or maybe I will make my own company and even find a partner company from Neplesia to buy the prototypes for my cybernetic projects." Naoko turned to the stove and looked over the food making sure nothing was burning. "I could research deeper into the biology of other species and maybe even make bio weapons or find cures to the ones used against us. Only time will tell. I am thankful though my work keeps me busy which keeps me from worrying about why I haven't heard anything for so long."

Yaichiro took note of Eri's request and responded with a measure of apparent surprise...though perhaps not in the manner she expected. "I'm surprised you're not already privy to that knowledge or possessing records of previous encounters. It's not like there isn't precedent that answers your questions. If she hasn't handed that data over to you already, I should probably defer to her judgment and honor her privacy..." Yaichiro managed to softly tease back as he passed the woman, eventually heading to a seat at the table as well.

The man tended not to know where best to sit in relation to the 'major' players unless explicitly told. It was one of those subtle problems that too much humility tended to cause. Given the nature of things tonight, however, he sat as near to Eri and Katsuko's positions as possible.

Main Kitchen

"Someone has been paying attention to Obaachan...duty comes first!" Eidan grinned from ear to ear as he listened to Naoko ramble on, "So that Otto guy is your boyfriend! Oooo...juicy, Naoko's got a boyfriend!" He teased her a bit, but quickly became distracted at the mention of cybernetics, "I made a video game character that had a pulse cannon built into his arm. Accidently blew up someone's car when he sneezed. It was a good time," it was obvious that the young man didn't quite get the serious scope of Naoko's conversation, but he was only thirteen.

Taro was back in the kitchen, he added in after a brief clearing of his throat, "Duty does come first, there is no higher duty than the one to the Empire, and to serve in the Star Army is the greatest achievement one can have." He spared no neglect to their clan's values, especially in front of Eidan. "How are things going between you and this Nepleslian soldier anyway? You and I have not had the chance to talk about this yet Naoko," Taro inquired as he checked on the progress of the sushi and the other items he had given Naoko to work on.

He checked his other pots, the rice cooker, and everything else he had on the go while he had stepped out to speak to Yaichiro. "So, which one of you two is going to help to serve them?"

Orchid Chamber

Katsuko finished her little conversation with Akira, she held the Otar up at the end of her bed, "Don't you even think about wrecking my good pillows, or you're going back on that generic food with no treats." She giggled a bit, scrunched her nose at the horned cat, and then set her down on the bed.

The Eihei stopped in front of the mirror, hummed a little to herself as she manipulated gravity to remove some of the Otar hair from her dress. Odd use of a less than mundane ability, but it was second nature to her now. She straightened the skirt of the dress and slipped herself into her heels. It was time to go down to find Eri and Yaichiro, she checked in with Taro over wireless on the progress of dinner and headed out of the suite.

Dining Room

The dining room at Motoyoshi-jo was a formal and beautifully decorated room that often hosted the clan's gatherings in their early days. It held a distinctly unique vibe to it, with white table cloths, decorative swan-shaped folded napkins. The walls had decorative art, mostly oil paintings of Taiie, the lost colony and most of the furniture was irreplaceable. The fine china had the mon of the Motoyoshi clan embellished on their surface. The butlers had spent time measuring the place settings in a true fit for an Imperial fashion, and the candles had been lit drops of dark purple wax pooled in the basins beneath them.

OOC: Leaving it up to Eri and Yaichiro to get in some interaction here until Katsuko enters, as that your characters have not gotten many chances to interact.

Click to expand...

“What’s hers is mine, and what is mine is hers. Same with you, save for maybe a few small things.” Eri smirked a little and leaned back in her seat as she sent a silent request to one of the working butlers to bring her some water if they weren’t busy. She wasn’t pushy, just a silent request as she watched Yaichiro. She took stock of him one more time from across the table. Sparkling blue eyes took in the man about to join their relationship fully and for good. She had to admit at the start of this relationship she had been hesitant of him. She knew full and well his accomplishments, his history, but knew nothing of the man himself. But over time on the Tokyo with him… he had grown on her, she had to admit. It was refreshing to meet a man who could think past the barrel of his gun, both in hand and pants, and see the larger picture ahead of him, of things to work towards.

The Shosho fell to quiet contemplation for a moment or so before she gave a small yawn and an appreciative nod to the butler that brought her some water, placing a glass in front of Yaichiro for the simple sake of being courteous. As they left, Eri picked up her glass and took a sip before she spoke up again.

“I’ve been looking forward to this dinner all day, I am starving.” Granted Eri hadn’t been up for long, but it was true she had been looking forward all day. She still felt a bit of awkwardness when talking to Yaichiro, a bit of strangeness around the man whenever they were left alone and she knew it was just she wasn’t great talking with him yet, but she still knew the appreciation was there for him regardless, and how he made Katsuko feel. She knew that given a little more time she would probably start to care for him more, the same way Kat did, but she still felt awkward as she talked with him alone.

Noako couldn't help but chuckle. Edian had met Otto when she had brought him home the year before last but she had not been completely open with everyone about her intent at the time. She had waited for that till after Ose and Joachim had been born before she had told anyone. Slowly over the past year she had opened up to a few of her family about him mostly just Kaoru, Kazumi, her twin, her mother and briefly Taro. She had not had much contact with Ose and Joachim since they were sent to a secure location. She heard rumor around the house that they may be here tonight but all she could do is wait and see.

Naoko had heard someone approaching but hadn't really payed much attention to who it was till she hears Taro clear his throat. Turnning her head she watched him aproach her hands mindlessly picking up a towel wiping down the workspace as she replied. "There is still no word. its been over a year now and still nothing from or even about him. I still send him updates on what I have been up to like we agreed but haven't heard anything ack since that message before Ose and Joachims birth. I am starting to think I should tell him about them. Of course I know if I tell him about them I can't tell him where they are or anything else but maybe he should at least know. Then again from what he could say giving him another distraction while out there could be the one thing that causes him not to come back so I guess this is the best way to do it." She wanted to believe it was for the best but part of her wondered if telling him would make him return faster. She smiled thinking of the day she would get to introduce him to the twins, thinking to herself for just a moment 'hopefully before I go out on the next mission.'

"I will gladly help you serve the food to them. I kind of want to see if I can make my father smile for once. he always looks so serious and reserved." She couldn't help but laugh a bit more the image of a cheesy smile spread wide across Yaichiros face like some cartoon characters popped into her head and she shared the thought with Nikkusu.

"Same here. I suppose that's how it's supposed to be given what is coming, but I worry about asking too much or sticking my nose in where it isn't warranted. This is good practice for where rank ends and personal relationships begin." Indeed, Yaichiro had already handed Tokyo back to the Motoyoshi and allowed use of his technology. It was one of the reasons he was part of Yugumo Corporation as high as he was. He still maintained Nishitama without outside aid, but that was largely because it was never a focus for the Motoyoshi and was already well-cared for.

"Speaking of personal relationships, how have you two been? Have you seen the video of the girls' party on the Tokyo yet? I'm surprised that they got Himawari to sign off on that..." Yaichiro asked, noting that Eidan wasn't in earshot.

Dining Room

Katsuko stood outside the dining room as she listened to Yaichiro and Eri interact with each other. The Motoyoshi matriarch held herself at bay as she eavesdropped on them. She had an uncomfortable and sinking feeling as she listened to them interact; until this point, she had operated under the premise that everything would be fine, but as she listened it became apparent to her, she had misjudged her steps. There came a point in life where things seemed to unravel, the truth behind situations and interactions, and suddenly it was all so very clear to her. She felt like she was going to break down and reduced to the tears that her eyes held back. "Fuck..." she thought to herself.

All of this had to change. She took a deep breath and collected herself. The news she wanted to share about her intentions with her career would no longer be on the agenda for the evening. She emerged into the dining room after she fixed her skirt. "Good Evening my loves, " she said. She stopped beside Yaichiro's chair and leaned over to kiss his cheek. She made sure he got a good nose full of her plum perfume as she did. She then walked around the table, her hand swept across Eri's shoulders as she took her seat at the head of the table.

"I heard about the party. I must admit, I'm kind of envious I feel like at their age I was entirely career-minded and missed out on some of that," she interjected and gave an unlikely approval to the entire event.

Main Kitchen

"Eidan, why don't you go up to your room?" Taro said and gave a nod towards the young Minkan. Eidan smiled and bowed to both Naoko and Taro and left the kitchen.

Taro said to Naoko as he gathered three plates and set soup bowls down on top of them. He dipped the ladle into the shrimp and miso soup and filled the bowls. "A father deserves to know of his children and has a very important role in their lives," he said. "I know there are a lot of strong opinions in this clan, especially from your Aunt Sui; your mother and I support you, Naoko, the twins, and Otto. I just hope that this saga of yours ends with you and Otto together somewhere where you have a strong support system," he smiled and pointed towards a pile of serving trays. "You can take this soup out to them, we can continue this conversation once they are eating," he directed his niece with what needed to be done to get the three lovers fed.

Naoko nodded her head to the boy before she watched Eidan leave the room. She then turned back to the plates in front of her. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt nipping at her with his words. "I know he deserves to know. It's not like I didn't tell him to hurt him or anything. We both thought there would be more time when we made decided to let fate choose the cards so to speak. I was more worried the twins and I would become a distraction for him. If I don't hear from him in the upcoming month or two I will send it over sync. I was honestly hoping he would be back by now." She reached down picking up the trays he had directed her to. " We always agreed that duty comes first. I didn't want to make him choose between duty to his people and Duty to his family." Her last few words came out and she couldn't help but hope that family included her and the rest of the clan not just Ose and Joachim.

Nikkusu saw that her owner was frowning and walked up to her rubbing against her legs comforting her before stepping out of the way as to not cause her to trip. The otar prepared to follow them into the dining room.

"You need to stop that... The second guessing, the concerns for personal and public affairs. You treat work as work, and home as home. That's where it ends, when we are on duty and when we go off duty. Even then... Well it's the perks of being involved with some of the higher ranking figures in the military. But Yai... We are in this together; You, Kat and I. I'll admit I wasn't exactly expecting this sort of relationship with her... Something so open or welcoming, but I'm warming up to the idea. It is just taking a bit of getting used to is all. As to that party..."

Her words were cut short as her eyes looked up to Katsuko as she walked in and for a moment she forgot about Yaichiro, at least until she saw her give him a peck on the cheek. It was certainly something she had to think through, not something she had been quite ready for, this sort of relationship, but...

She let out a small sigh and smiled as she felt the fingers trail over her shoulder and for a second, before they left her, Eri leaned down to touch her cheek to the back of the soft hand. As Katsuko sat and spoke up though, Eri chuckled and shrugged. "I was never invited to them regardless... I don't think many liked me during my earlier days in the Military. So I went a little more career focused too... but it was also a far different time when we started. It was a interesting party though, and I'm sure Himawari signed off cause she wanted to be involved, against her better protests." Eri admitted with a small laugh again and took another sip of water.

Yaichiro accepted the kiss with a smile, and a "good evening" in response.

"Yeah, the party was interesting. Especially since I had to work next door. Heard some interesting things at least." Yaichiro admitted, having not partaken in the festivities in favor of doing his job. That wasn't exactly normal conduct for the man. "As for the relationship...I guess it's more having trouble seeing where the family duties end and the unwinding as family begins, or not even knowing where I stand in the family. I've always treated the rank of those above me as something to honor, and up until Taro just spoke to me, I felt like an outsider since I didn't experience all of the losses the Fifth Fleet did. I have never had my place defined or even knew I had the rest of the family's approval until I was told so. Sure, I have been given a big chair at Katsuko's side at one meeting, and I have Katsuko's love...but do I make presumptions of social or familial standing and duty based on that and alienate the rest of the family? I'm nervous because I've spent my life knowing where I stand and what is expected of me in a regimented form of life...and that's not fully the case here. It's a mix of family and rank that I'm still coming to terms with separating is all. Being with you and caring for you as family though...that's not a problem. That's one of the things I am sure about."