RP: YSS Miharu Mission 3, Aftermath

Nyton gave Kotori a nod as his face softened again. "Is that all there was or is there anything else? Right after the mission it looked as though you were about to ask me something." he asked.

Rin bowed to Masako as the officer left. She then gave a small bow to Kel. "Shitsureishimasu." The sprite needed to go return her toothbrush and other items to her room. So, she left the wardroom, once again on her way.

Once again, she was on her own and back in her thoughts. Should she really bother Tom with those horribly scarring images? A yawn reminded her of her problems yesterday. Okay, she might have to. Being tired, as she was then, would be bad especially amongst heavy, dangerous machinery in engineering.

Rin mentally argued back and forth the point, until she realized she had passed her room. A quick twirl and she headed back a little ways and then into her room to deposit the three items she carried.

Kotori gently shook her head. "It was over things we could discuss in the debriefing with the others. I see no need of rushing this."

The nekovalkyrja turned her eyes to her door, frowning, and then said: "Once I am dressed, I am going to need you to fetch me this Heram Wazu again. I need to determine what to do with him and his demands."

She raised a finger to her lips, eyes narrowed in concentration and then turned to him again saying: "From the roster I've read, there also was a Chusa among those whom were retrieved. I know most we can just leave Personnel Command to deal with, but that one I should meet - if only to touch base and provide explanations where needed."

Nyton withdrew his arm from Kotori's shoulder and stopped to think a moment. "Understood, Kotori-sama. There is still much to sort out after this operation. Professionals do not get a lot of time to ourselves I suppose." he said with a bit of mirth. "But like you said, that can wait until we are all ready."

The man then paused for a second before taking a hard breath. "I know that right now we are still fairly busy and depending on mission demands it will be hard to know when we will have a free moment." Nyton began. "However, if you would not be averse, perhaps in the near future could you spare some time to discuss some personal matters?"

The Taisa nodded. "Of course. Let's just deal with the matters of today while the iron is hot. I'm fairly persuaded that by tomorrow we'll have many of our issues solved. Would that be fine with you?"

Wazu was hesitant to return to the computer terminal. It was most assuredly not safe to do so because of those... images, but he had been through worse. Ultimately he returned to the computer to start reviewing the document, a slight chuckle escaping his lips in the process. He wanted so badly to make fun of the computer system right now but he needed to be on his best behavior as much as possible.

“Right… Megami, Please elaborate on what instructions Mara gave to Sigurd and Sigurd’s likely action should I leave the room.”

~That article was barely followed even when I had to obey it.~ He thought to himself, not that it addressed interaction between other militaries anyways with the exception of shoot to kill.

Nyton immediately smiled, eager to get to work as well as slightly more uplifted than he realized. "Excellent. Then it's a date." he said, giving Kotori a brief kiss on her lips before standing up.

As Nyton straightened himself he turned and faced Kotori. "Can I assist you with any of your preparations before work then, Kotori-sama?" he asked, once again the loyal servant.

"To take good care of you," Miharu's AI replied. "I estimate that Sigurd will act like a professional and prevent you from leaving the room, with as much application of force as necessary. You made it clear you wanted to be treated like a prisoner so until the commanding officer says otherwise, you are to be confined to quarters, but made comfortable."

* * *

Kotori's amber eyes blinked in surprise at Nyton's direct-to-the-lips kiss. A kiss to the cheek had been what she had expected - the Nepleslian's kiss pushed a little on the boundaries of her familiarity with him.

She decided not to make a big deal of it, though. It was obviously a chaste, affectionate gesture more than anything else.

"Ah," it took her a second more to get past her initial surprise to frame a reply. "The baths are likely going to get crowded fairly soon, so, I'll clean up in my quarters instead. Attend to yourself, eat and save me something while I get ready and decide how I'm going to handle my morning schedule, if you please."

Takuma sat down at a table in the wardroom, slowly sipping on a cup of coffee. He decided to remain a listener to the conversations in the room since it appeared most would be leaving shortly anyway.

He flipped open the notebook from his pocket and spun his pencil around his hand in thought. Once he got a good image in his head, he continued the writing from before.

“Would you please open the door for me?” Wazu asked, having decided on his next course of action as he moved back towards the barrier separating him from Sigurd.

Sumaru was alone with his thoughts, trying so hard to transgress his mortal tethers to desire. No matter how much time and stars above past by the samurai, he still couldn't produce his own answer. It looked like he was going to be tormented for some time longer; he needed to distract himself because obviously this wasn't working. His eyes snapped open in frustration; he let out an exasperated sigh and sat there for a second or two. 'Sumaru you've chosen this life,' he tried to tell himself internally, 'thus you have to live it to its fullest. I exist for Sora now; it is not the other way around.' Even though he heard his own words so clearly in his mind, that longing for her adoration still edged at his being. He ignored it some more and got up to his feet.

He glanced around the room; he remembered tending to the flowers on the Asamoya and was curious if this ship's vegetation also needed tending. A simple glance at the equipment for gardening answered his question. "A distraction," he said simply to himself as he started towards the tools. He pulled a long piece of cloth from his garb and tied back his sleeves as to not soil his regalia.

For the next little while he busied himself with the plants, watering and taking care of them. It was peaceful; he didn't have to worry about anything else for the moment. He was reminded of one of his sensei from his training, a Neko who would spend her free time arranging flowers. The simple art form was aesthetically peaceful and captivated the more subtle gentle aspects of Sumaru. So the fierce warrior continued the tradition, humming an old Tatianan tune as he went.

"...and what will you do once you get past that door?" Miharu's MEGAMI replied to Wazu. "I'm afraid the magic word just isn't going to cut it. You are a member of another military whom seeks to traipse around a vessel which was involved in special operations, and which happens to be a prototype vessel too, and managed to make a terrible first impression as well not to mention you're a pretty suspicious historical personage yourself as far as the nation I'm aligned with is concerned."

Wazu made a mental note that his assessment of this ship as a prototype was correct,

“If I am going to fix that first impression I am going to need to observe your crew interactions and for that I need to get past this door at some point. We are both after the same person and trying to hinder your operations would be counter productive toward my own goals. So,”

Wazu took a breath, trying to sound as casual as possible,

“Will you open this door for me and help me fix this mess I got myself into?”

"Nope. Be a good boy and wait your turn," the MEGAMI answered. "You were probably imprisoned for days at that underground facilities, so, I'm sure you can wait at least a few more hours."

A pause, and then the ship added: "My, what a surprise! A computer that can be calculating, yet state obviously redundant facts, be infuriating and silly at the same time. I think I have you trumped here. Now, why don't you go and play some game on the computer terminal to kill time? There's a version of Murasaki no Densetsu XVIII: the new adventures of Murasaki on the network that I hear is pretty well rated as a Samurai-inspired action-adventure game."

~Right, plan B then,~ Wazu thought to himself as he tried opening the door manually.

“You certainly think highly of yourself." Wazu said, the AI was certainly getting under his skin, though he did his best to ignore it. "When were you installed here? YE28? I definitely know a few people that would be able to help you out with your duties. New programs, streamlined data management, that kind of thing. NAM has a few computing tricks I know the Kessaku’s have yet to pick up.”

Wazu tried working at the release of the lock, but it wouldn't budge.

"Oh, sure, I might be very backward in terms of programs... but fortunately, I do have control over locks. Pretty snazzy, right?" The computer quipped with her disembodied voice. "Not only to I have unleashed sentience, but as a quantum computer I can even cobble up programs on my own too."

"For example, I have some very nifty software for environmental control to accommodate alien guests - why there's setting that can offer the same dry and uncomfortably hot climate Valaad has. I bet I could even modify the game I mentioned before into a Wazu-chan no Densetsu variant in an eyeblink too. I'll be sure to change the protagonist's dress into a pink apron and turn the kunai and shuriken into pies... would you prefer apple, strawberry or raltean meat pies?"

Tom nodded to Miyoko with a smile before he disappeared over the last set of steps on the way to the baths.

He saw Yukari curled on a couch, sleeping. He slid over to her, bent down and gave her a light kiss on the lips before he continued on his way to the baths.

“Oh very snazzy,” Wazu replied, examining what he could see of the locking mechanism before as he contemplated his plan C. “I take it you use electronic locks in your doors? Personally I keep switching back between regular mechanical locks and electronically controlled locking mechanisms myself, I can never really settle on which is best to use onboard a starship. I am sure you have developed some opinions on this in the four years you have been onboard this ship?

Oh, and as far as pies go I prefer apple, fried, even though I do not particularly enjoy pies. There is always something about the texture I find displeasing.”

"The system encompasses both types. Usually, I don't lock or unlock them myself. I can though," Miharu replied conversationally.

"As for dislike of pies, that totally works into the game." The AI then enthusiastically added. "I mean, enemies usually throw things at you that you don't like, or that might not be conductive to long life. I figure these pies are very high on cholesterol and stuff."

Nyton bowed deeply. "Very well your highness. I shall attend to breakfast. Has our 'guest' dined yet? Perhaps I should escort him to see that he eats as well."