RP: YSS Miharu Mission 3 Prelude: Rise; you better shine

[mizunoyoroko]

Re: Mission 3

"If that is what love does, then how can Suzuka-Shosa and Freeman-Juni function the way they do?"

Yoroko hadn't thought about that before, she had been aware of the relationship between the pair, but her emotions concerning Asher had come so...suddenly. It wasn't that she didn't like him before, his playful and joking attitude when they first met had been endearing to her, cute in a way. After their brief time in Malifur, Yoroko couldn't help but feel something stronger to the Yamataian than a simple attraction.

The former neko tried to command her body to move again, she still needed to change clothes since there were samurai here, but wasn't having much success when suddenly her world flipped over. It occured to Yoroko that she was being carried over Masako's shoulders and in the direction of her room. "Sumimasen, Kurohoshi-Juni" Yoroko apologized telepathically to her superior as she was dragged back to her room.

 

[MoonMan]

Re: Mission 3

Sanjuro raised a hand to give his reply, but was cut off by the announcement ringing over their heads before he could give his reasons for asking such a question to the Cadet. The medical officer was hesitant for a moment, then bowed humbly as he remembered he was speaking to a superior officer. Sanjuro wasn't a military-minded individual...it had taken an amount of time to get used to the fact that he could not speak out of line, as if in a civilian setting. Never the less, he caught on quite well. He always did, after all, have a knack for following protocol to the letter.

"Very well ma'am," Sanjuro said in his usual, flat, unimaginative tone. "I will express my concerns after our meal. I would like to emphasize its urgency, of course, but there's no reason I couldn't wait a few minutes."

After the Ketsurui had left, Sanjuro gave a quick look over everything once more, pocketed his datapad and followed suit to the wardroom.

 

[Abwehran Commander]

Re: Mission 3

"Suzuka-Shosa, Mizuno-Hei and I will be late to dinner," the short Warrant Officer sent to the XO telepathically. "There's a bit of a morale problem...so it will take some time," she finished her message before changing the target of her telepathy to the enlisted woman on her shoulder. "Hush now, wait until we get to your room," she chided lightly as they rounded the bend and reached the door.

Moments later, both Yoroko and Masako were in the quarters with the door closed. With a sigh, the short neko set the fighter pilot upon her feet before straightening up and crossing her arms under her breasts. "Now, why in Chiharu's name are you crying so much?"

 

[mizunoyoroko]

Re: Mission 3

Yoroko's internal stopwatch was dangerously close to dinner time, but she was now back in her qaurters. "Sumimasen, Kurohoshi-Juni." Yoroko tried to wipe the tears out of her eyes as she spoke, but they were replaced almost as quickly. Yoroko unconciously switched languages and started speaking very rapidly, "Westwood-Hei....then the Samurai...then I couldn't move." Yoroko felt overwhelmed by the small series of events that had led up to this moment. The Yamataian left off the part about Masako having to carry her all the way to her room, though it weighed on her no less than any of the others.

The teary eyed Yamataian looked down into the eyes of her CO, "Why are there even Samurai here??" Mentioning the word again reminded the Yamataian that she still needed to get changed. Yoroko walked quickly over to the dresser and began pulling out the different parts of the uniform, and started to change as fast as she could.

 

[Abwehran Commander]

Re: Mission 3

Masako watched the young woman change as she sighed quietly. "It's quite simple, Mizuno-Hei," the Warrant Officer began softly. "We have two Princesses from the Ketsurui Imperial Family on board. Our Taisa, Ketsurui Kotori, normally doesn't have a samurai. But since our mission is going to be extremely dangerous, the Taisa's birth mother, whom is the senior samurai on board, has joined the crew. Because she trains other samurai, she has brought her two apprentices as well." Masako explained calmly.

"Then there is our Chief Medical Officer, Ketsurui Sora-Shoi Kohosei. She has also been without a samurai until now. I have yet to meet her yet," Masako replied, having not heard of the strange gender of the Doctor's Samurai bodyguard. "In fact, I have not met any of them yet. I only overheard the part of the Taisa's birth mother," she explained before scratching the tip of her ear.

"I can understand that this is extremely....overwhelming," the Warrant Officer explained. "But there is no reason to let fear overwhelm you Santô Hei, for there are things a lot worse than falling in love or dealing with samurai. In fact, there's nothing really frightening about dealing with samurai as long as one is polite and doesn't threaten their charge. Falling in love...I don't know. As I've said before, I've never been in love before. I've never even thought about it before...."

 

[mizunoyoroko]

Re: Mission 3

As Yoroko finished putting her uniform on, she spoke to Masako. "I forgot." The Hei said, further berating herself for not keeping better track of who and what people were. Once in the uniform the Hei redid her hair putting it back up in a ponytail before making sure that everything was in place. Calm down. Breathe in, breathe out. Yoroko repeated the mantra silently a few times before finally relaxing slightly, You can handle this, like Kurohoshi-Juni said as long as your polite you'll be ok. One step at a time.

When Yoroko turned around to face Masako she had regained her composure slightly. "We should get going." Yoroko suggested politely as she started toward the door, and Masako. Before Yoroko reached the door however, she suddenly bent down and hugged the shorter officer. "Arigatou Kurohoshi-Juni." Yoroko said telepathically to the woman before releasing her.

 

[5tar]

Re: Mission 3

Strangely enough at that very moment, a Samurai was a few steps from Yoroko's room door. Sumaru paused as he heard the ship wide announcement, first deciding that he would take this time during dinner to get acquainted with the quarters he was assigned to, rather, look it over to see how he could make the situation with Sora more comfortable for the young Ketsurui. He already knew he was proving to be somewhat of a bother to her, so the youthful Samurai decided that he would, to the best of his ability, coax her into the acceptance of his presence as her protector.

But with that came back the perplexing matter of trying to be the protector he had strive so hard to become, showing such professionalism was hard when the one you were protecting also was the one -- you loved so unconditionally.

The slender male neko stayed there with an arm crossed into the other baggy sleeve of his aka-no-hakama. One arm was lifted so his hand rested gently under his chin, a lightly pensive expression drifted over his features as he took some time to consider just how he'd go about finding some sort of balance in this situation.

Of course, Sora's concerns came first, so he'd address them once he had the chance. That would have to come after diner, Sumaru was interested in meeting the rest of the crew and would rather such a candid conversation be in a private setting.

She flicked some loose strands of her hair off her shoulder with a flick of her right hand before she inwardly sighed and decided to reply to Sumaru. "I can meet up with you at dinner, since I'm going to head there now. I'm feeling... okay, as well as could be expected but I'll survive. Life... goes on, I guess is what I can learn from this whole mess among other things. "

Sumaru's expression changed from pensive to thoughtful for a moment as he received Sora's message. He let out a small sigh, 'if that is your true feelings Sora then you are a much stronger person then you let on...' His thoughts were left for now, as he wasn't sure how to gauge her at that moment, if she was truly alright or simply hiding behind her own words of encouragement. A sudden flash of memories flooded Sumaru's head; images and segments of conversations, minutes from so long ago when he received the orders to transfer away from her and leave her side, for what he thought at that time -- would be forever. In that moment he felt a small pang on his heart, understanding her pain -- in a different way.

After a small pause, he responded to her. "Alright, I'll see you there."

 

[krisslanza]

Re: Mission 3

It felt good to be off this "vacation" thing. Yuril had never really gotten the idea behind it or exactly what you were supposed to "do". Though it did really give her time to practice out some recipes and doodle some so maybe that was the idea? Perhaps something to think about another time.

Still the neko always preferred being on duty, it was just more natural and normal to her. The armor simulators were far better then lounging about or cooking (if only slightly); after all it was the purpose she had been made for - to be a soldier. To fight. And die if need be.

Although Tsukade was a little nervous to be frank, after all her partner during the simulations had been none other then her CO for the division. Thankfully she hadn't been yelled at or done anything stupid, she kind of hoped she made a good impression. She reminded herself she would have to get to know her fellows more... After all she'd probably be with them for quite a long time. And everything was more fun with more friends.

The silver-haired neko had, after the simulators, slipped off to her room to kick back and relax a bit. Doodle a little really... At least until she consulted her mental clock and compared it to the time she was supposed to be in the wardrobe eating. Quickly straightening out her uniform the neko made quick steps to get to the wardrobe before she could end up being late.

 

[Rabbit Eclair]

Re: Mission 3

"Silly on the ship ... but once we are off, you will blend right into summer." Yukari smiled, before returning to the oven. The heavy smell of bread seemed to push breathable air out of the way. "It sounds like a very nice dress. I wish I owned one such as that.

"But there are too many options, are there not? Neko were not made to be fashionable outside of their uniforms. We are ill-equipped to even speak about it. It does not seem right, to have created a lifeform, but give it no chance to look pretty."

"If that were the largest misstep of the empire, we'd all be better off..." Despite her good mood, Miyoko wasn't blind to her earlier feelings. "As I understand it, though, dresses are more commonly worn for parties than casually, anyway. Perhaps the next time the crew finds cause to celebrate, I'll consider buying one." Miyoko kept her tone decidedly neutral--she had enough experience to know that Yukari would eagerly seize the chance to throw a party if she didn't tread cautiously.

 

[Kim]

Re: Mission 3

Sora walked to the wardroom, trying to keep her thoughts organized and composed. She wondered who she was more mad at: Serizawa for abandoning her or herself for letting herself get so foolishly attached to the first man to share her bed. Maybe this is why most nekos avoid monogamy or men in general.

She sighed inwardly as she found her pace much faster than she had expected and much nearer to the wardroom than she had thought initially. She restructured her thoughts back to her work. What is so urgent about the staffing of our department? I wonder what Ashitaka-Hei found so pressing about it... but at least we have been able to keep our relationship professional, thank Mother for that. I need to do myself a favor and keep it that way.

She glanced back over her shoulder, unsure if Sanjuro was still following behind her or even if Sumaru had somehow ended up behind her. Time to her thoughts and being able to be alone was something that she was going to have a hard time getting once they went underway and started working shifts.

 

[Doshii Jun]

Re: Mission 3

"If that were the largest misstep of the empire, we'd all be better off..." Despite her good mood, Miyoko wasn't blind to her earlier feelings. "As I understand it, though, dresses are more commonly worn for parties than casually, anyway. Perhaps the next time the crew finds cause to celebrate, I'll consider buying one." Miyoko kept her tone decidedly neutral--she had enough experience to know that Yukari would eagerly seize the chance to throw a party if she didn't tread cautiously.

There was no seizing this time. Yukari made a small noise of agreement, not even lifting her head. Her mind was elsewhere.

The bread was done well enough for all to eat. A tiny bit on the doughy side, but the pasta was light, the sauce thick but without meat, and the chicken bits in the salad were small and spread out. With help from Miyoko, the food, atop various blue-grey trays and within similarly colored bowls, was placed on the main eating table. Settings with grey cloth napkins and blue plastic cups of water soon followed, clicking with ice inside them. The chairs were set for everyone already.

Seating was done in the standard fashion for the Miharu, with officers interspersed among warrants and the enlisted.

    Kotori
Sanjuro  Kimura
Kai      Yuril
Sora     Miyoko
Sumaru   Kôsuka
_Tom_    Aoiko
Nyton    Kei
Mara     Yukari
Yuri     Hinoto
Ichigo   Nimura
Asher    Yoroko
Sanri    Masako

Everyone waited until the whole crew was seated. "All of the crew is now assembled," Yukari sent to Kotori. She then stood.

"We have new souls around our table now. They include O-Samurai Ketsurui Kôsuka — " with each name, she nodded to the person it was stuck to — "and her two charges, Kei and Yuri; O-Samurai Hasegawa Sumaru; our new sprite, Sanri; and Shoi Murasaki Aoiko. Welcome to our home from home, crewmembers." She bowed slightly.

"Please begin eating. The Taisa will be here shortly to give our briefing." Yukari sat back down, smoothing her skirt and looking at the empty chair where Tom was meant to sit. He was not there.

 

[Abwehran Commander]

Re: Mission 3

Masako waited patiently for the young woman to finish making herself more presentable and smiled as the fighter pilot seemed to relax a bit. Thank Chiharu, she thought as she uncrossed her arms and ran her hand through her raven-colored locks. I don't know what I would have done if she had a nervous breakdown in front of me, she thought as Yoroko's voice broke her out of her thoughts.

"Yes, I believe....so!" the last point came out more as a squeak as she was suddenly embraced by the taller woman. "Ah..." she began as she seemed to gain a stunned countenance upon her face.

"Y...you're welcome," she replied on the same telepathic signal before she cleared her throat to remove her embarrassment. Embraces weren't....usual for the young warrant officer. True, they were nice, but the young neko didn't get them often enough to feel truly comfortable about them. "Let's be off then," she replied calmly.

*********************

It would be a few moments before they were seated at the table with their crewmates. The young Warrant Officer found her self near the end of the table with Yoroko on her right side. Coincidental? Masako questioned herself mentally as she looked across the table to note the newest of the sprites, Sanri, right in front of her.

"We have new souls around our table now. They include O-Samurai Ketsurui Kôsuka and her two charges, Kei and Yuri; O-Samurai Hasegawa Sumaru; our new sprite, Sanri; and Shoi Murasaki Aoiko. Welcome to our home from home, crewmembers." She bowed slightly. Please begin eating. The Taisa will be here shortly to give our briefing."

Masako had been looking towards the XO throughout the entire introduction, glancing for a few seconds at each individual without staring. Though she did have to make a double-take at Sumaru, after all...a male samurai was out of the ordinary. But her reaction was probably one of the more mild ones when it came to Sumaru, a person whom was trusted to become a Samurai had her respect after all (no matter the gender).

The scent of her meal was enough to distract her from her observations as she pulled the napkin and placed it upon her lap gently. Sitting there with her thighs pressed together and her legs angled so that her knees were near the left edge of the seat and the toes of her boots by the right chair leg, Masako twirled her fork in her pasta to take a sampling bite of the item. Her expression seemed to take one of lazy delight as she kept her fork in her mouth, almost seeing stars in her eyes before breaking the spell forcefully.

Looking across the table, she smiled at the newest addition to their crew with a cute and friendly smile. "So how have you liked the Miharu so far," she asked Sanri.

 

[krisslanza]

Re: Mission 3

Yuril had managed to arrive not only on time, but without drawing any attention to herself either. She picked up some of the chatter going on about the room but due to arriving so late really only the end of the conversations so they didn't really make any sense to her. The silver-haired neko happily took her assigned seat at the table eyeing the various foods on the table like a young child in a candy shop - so much good smelling food...

But of course she couldn't just sit down and begin devouring food left and right. Not only would it look rather embarrassing, she'd probably get in trouble too. After all this was a military not some large social gathering of friends. So Yuril waited patiently for eating to commence as she listened intently to Yukari.

When the samuari were mentioned the neko did her best to just ever so casually glance in their directions to see them; and had to nearly stare and gawk at the male one at the table. She was able to keep herself in check though but was unable to send just a few more glances his way.

'A male samurai? A male neko? I've... Thats... Wow. I didn't even know male neko existed!

Yuril peered at her food intently, trying to push the thought away; but her own curiosity kept making her glance in the male samurai's direction, whom wasn't seated far from her at all, as she ate. In hindsight she probably wasn't making a very good first impression.

 

[mizunoyoroko]

Re: Mission 3

Yoroko noticed Asher at the table as she sat down. I can do this, I just have to sit here....and not make a big deal about it. Yoroko thought as Yukari spoke. Yoroko purposefully didn't look at the Samurai, though she did take note of the new sprite that had joined the crew. If I don't see them, I won't draw attention to myself. she thought after Yukari had signalled for them to start eating.

Yoroko hadn't ever really eaten spaghetti before, she'd helped cook it a few times. When she bit into the combination of the noodles and sauce she was pleasently surprised. While a maid she didn't think too highly of the concept of spaghetti, it didn't look particularly delicious and the noodles were too thin. Though having tasted it now, Yoroko's opinion toward the food changed greatly.

After a few bites, Yoroko lifted up her face and found herself staring at Asher. I can do this, right? the woman wondered as she stared at the Hei.

 

[Kim]

Re: Mission 3

Sora sat quietly and listened to the introductions. She watched the face of the older samurai with a sense of quiet respect for Kosuka but at the same time, incredibly anxious to had samurai everywhere. She idly wondered if her grandmother had no faith in their abilities as a crew to send so many samurai, even those in training, to look after them.

She looked away from Kosuka and searched the faces of the crew sitting at the table for Serizawa's face to only be reminded that he was gone. She stared down at her plate of chicken salad, it smelled wonderful and even as she ate several mouthfuls, she wasn't feeling particularly enthused about eating.

 

[5tar]

Re: Mission 3

Sumaru nodded a pleasant bow to those who turned to face him as he was introduced, though he displayed a deeper -- more respectful one -- to the samurai across from him. He particularly made sure to return Yuril's astonished glance with a bow and a small reassuring smile, gesturing that he was indeed what he was. But instead of paying attention to any of the after glances from any part of the crew, the youthful Samurai decided to take a few drinks of the water set out at his spot.

Only tasting the food in smell, he waited to enjoy the meal until after when he may eat alone. Though it was an odd custom he had taken on from his samurai training, Sumaru had become used to it and he was fine with simply reheating his dish once everyone was finished.

As it didn't seem many people close to him seemed all to interest in conversation the platinum haired male sat quietly, in his head he sighed deeply. He hated to see Sora the way she was, but at that very moment there was nothing, in his mind, that he could do. Instead of dwelling too much on it, he decided to try and initiate a conversation with Kôsuka. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you Kôsuka-Senpai." He said respectfully, addressing her as a senior colleague and someone admirable.

 

[Doshii Jun]

Re: Mission 3

"Kôsuka, Sumaru-dono," the samurai said. "Kôsuka is fine. How have you been?" The samurai had questions, but she was patient. She would work up to them.

 

[Aria]

Re: Mission 3

"If we are ever in a fight, you and I," Takuma said, adopting a face of logic and thinking. Over strategizing nothing was a positive and negative trait of his. "I'll steer you clear away from your quarters. As long as you don't find a sword, I have a chance," he concluded. Chances are it was not very accurate, but that could only be proved by experience.

"I'm a little surprised Kiyoshi managed to hit you square in the face though," he said throwing in a small laugh at the end.

"Anyway, what the numbers really are," he answered with an exaggerated sigh. "Is the amount of stress that part of the ship received when simulating everything running. The first set of numbers is when the ship was still. The second set's the result of running systems on full power, or at least as much as the ship should be running normally. As you can see, they only got to around 16 and 17. If they went passed 25, then it would need checking out. From what it looks like, the ship is running fine."

***

Crew's becoming pretty lively with all these new members, he thought as the newest additions to the ship were introduced and he was seated at the table. He tried not to openly stare each of them down, but he gave them a glance to attempt putting a name with a face. The male neko caused him to randomly blink out of reflex for a second, then he caught himself. Any wall can be broken, he thought, finishing his look around.

He picked up his fork and flicked it a foot in the air so it flipped once and caught it again before plunging it into his spaghetti and twirling the fork around till it was wrapped around. Chances are he didn't even notice that he spun the fork; it was a nervous habit he always had, with all objects that size. The thought of attempting to strike up a conversation bounced across his mind, but he pushed it aside, for one not wanting to a have a voice match with the samurai and also since the briefing would start soon. At least, that was his excuse.

 

[MoonMan]

Re: Mission 3

Sanjuro seated himself near the front of the table when they were called, his image (and by extent, his uniform) still the pristine example of his own finicky habits. He silently took note of each of the newly appointed crew members, giving each of them his own personal blend of contemplative sizing-up in the few short seconds he spared glances at them.

Another sprite, Sanri...Sanjuro had begun to rely on the sprites for most of the less important things he required, which wasn't often at all; Sanjuro preferred to do things himself, after all. Still, another sprite meant more access to their services, and it was hard to argue such a benefit.

The samurai were a more complex matter. Sanjuro, never much a dedicated fan of his own nations military structure or customs, had always thought Ketsurui samurai to hold the same archetypes he himself learned from what news articles or findings he would occasionally come across; dedicated, unyielding, efficient and dependable. In combat situations, perhaps. Their presence would appear to mean more protection...but this also implicated that they would actually have a need for such protection. This thought formed a small lump in Sanjuro's throat, which he calmly and rather quickly cleared with a short drink from his cup of water.

The plate of food in front of him, like the many meals served to him on the Miharu before then, continued to present him with problems. He wasn't ever sure if he should base how the meal would be on the previous, or expect something new or excitingly robust...and he always found himself choosing the latter, always eager (in his own way, mind) to be proven wrong. With a short, practiced hand, he gathered an amount of the pasta onto his utensil, lifted it to his mouth and sampled the cooking. The pasta was absolutely, positively, unmistakably...

...unremarkable. As the cooking had always been, every previous meal. One would think Sanjuro would be used to such things and not disappointed by such a thing so many times...but it would take a special person to perceive just what kinds of gears turned this medical officer's noggin. Never the less, here Sanjuro sat, a bland taste washing over his tongue and a downtrodden hope in his oft-disappointed heart.

Despite his problem with the meal, Sanjuro calmly finished his single bite before producing a small container from the pocket of his suit. Lately, Sanjuro had been bringing several of these containers with him for every meal, and almost always wound up having to bring them out on occasions when the meal was not up to his standards. The container itself was small, cylindrical and made of clear glass, revealing a muddy red powder inside. Sanjuro wasted no time in opening the cap from his container and sprinkling a modest amount of the substance onto his pasta, as well as his salad, taking special care to place the amounts as evenly as possible across the plate.

Not even something so innocent as food was safe from the serious mannerisms of Sanjuro Ashitaka.

 

[Nyton]

Re: Mission 3

Nyton arrived at the table and sat down without a word besides several nods of greeting. He was still in his armored kimono since there had been no time to change between arrival and conferring with Kotori. He took quick notice of the other new members of the crew and immediately began his subliminal observations to understand them. There were also observations to be made in regards to how the original crew would react to the new arrivals as well.

His expression was still serious as the discussion he and Kotori had was in regards to how they would approach Bowhordia and what sort of support they may have available to them. The addition of the three Samurai, make that four, would not be enough to wage an assault on a heavily guarded planet with only one ship.

Nyton shook off the discussion for now as he began to take note of all around him. The new Samurai Sumaru evoked certain rather Nepleslian remarks regarding his effeminate appearance but they were stifled so that he could get to know him without any silly prejudices. What mattered more was how well he could fight.

The other neko, Aoiko struck him as rather ordinary but he knew not to underestimate her offhand. Again she would need further observation. Nyton allowed his surrounding vision to continue this while he began to eat.