RP: YSS Miharu Mission 5, Aftermath

@Asher and Kyou

Kana spun in place at the sound of a voice behind her. It was a smooth motion that ended with her arms crossed behind her back.

Orbs of violet met Kyou's for a brief moment before the Neko nurse tilted her head with a smile.

"Oh? Not at all," she said. "I was just about to evaluate Mr. Westwood's condition, Gunshin-Hei."

From her point near where Asher was sitting, the nurse positioned herself to block Kyou's line of sight. Her smile soon faded, and she shook her head slowly with a mask of concern on her face.

"I keep running into all of you, regardless of your injuries," she said. "Each of you are rather stubborn when it comes to staying in bed, despite our advice."

Her finger wagged at Kyou, as if to emphasize the point.

@Nyton:

"I'm not sure what answer I was looking for, Taii," Nimura said wearily. "I suppose I'm merely flexing my sense of right and wrong... and the plight of the survivors strikes me as wrong. I cannot help but feel the Taisa - and we by extension - may pay the price for it one day. So much power, more power than even Motoyoshi Tio possessed, cannot fall on the Taisa's shoulders without consequence."

@Hoshi's bridge:

Hinoto peeked in through the bridge's doorway to peer at the two others inside just as they were about to leave. As far as Yuzuki and Miyoko knew, whatever grief Hinoto had felt over the deaths of her sisters had been internalized and Hinoto had tried functioning - perhaps tried too hard - as the 'older' sister.

"Do you two think we need anyone to stay on watch on the bridge? I was thinking it might be a good idea for one of us to go visit the wounded," the snow-haired neko asked before her brow furrowed and she added: "Oh, Yuzuki. Kai's come here to see you too."

Miyoko nodded at Yuzuki, looking a little relieved to see the sprite agreeing with her plan. Before she could respond to her, Hinoto entered.

Hinoto said:

"Do you two think we need anyone to stay on watch on the bridge? I was thinking it might be a good idea for one of us to go visit the wounded."

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Miyoko glanced curiously at the white-haired sprite for a moment, trying to get a feel for how she was holding up in Mara's absence... but her expression didn't give much away. "I was planning to pay some visits in a bit," Miyoko agreed. "But if you'd like to head there first, I can watch the bridge. I have to do something to keep the engineers from making me feel lazy," she added jokingly, without much heart to it.

"Kai's here, hu?"

Yuzuki buried a hand in her hair, rubbing her scalp idly while a storm of thought brewed behind narrowed, tired blueness.

Seeing the man wasn't going to improve her mood. It would probably ruin it. She had already been close to tears once this morning - and once was enough. After everything, Yuzuki didn't want to cry anymore. Gradually, she resigned herself to it, though. There was no avoiding it, anymore.

At least she could get something in her stomach beforehand.

"Well, whatever. If he finds me, he finds me," Yuzuki settled on, lamely, dropping her hand to her uniform's top panel and adjusting it a bit selfconsciously. The old uniforms were really tight. "Anyway, if there's someone you want to visit, I don't think we need a bridge watch. It's not like we're going anywhere in a hurry. I'm going to eat, before trying to do anything else, though. You're welcome to join us, Hinoto."

Hinoto answered with a faint smile and gave them a small wave of her hand. "I'll pass. There are a few people I want to go and visit."

As far as Miyoko could tell, Hinoto was putting a good job of giving a brave front. She was fine with being the reference person for others. But she still wasn't used to be the only avatar around, and the need to fill in the vacuum left by both Miharu and Mara. Few sprites, at this point, were likely to be open to accepting her as their surrogate mother/aunt/sister.

In a way, perhaps Hinoto was helpless to do anything, despite having been entrusted with everything Miharu and Mara had stood for.

"I'll be back in a bit," Hinoto said in parting, and left for the rear hatch.

Rin's eyes, having affixed themselves to the ceiling once again, slowly drifted down to look at the neko who had approached her. In her mind, she knew that she should show respect and acknowledge the officer, but her eyes reflected something different. They were more of a dull 'why does it matter.' The sprite let out a quiet sigh.

"I'm, ah... not interrupting anything, am I?"

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Asher looked aside from his upside-down gaze on Kana, to an upside-down gaze on Kyou. He hadn't seen or spoken to her directly since she had gotten a mishhu barb reamed into her chest. Which counted for almost as long as he had been quiet. He gave a grin, and hung his arm over the back of the couch to wave at her, before he was presented with a fairly delightful sight. Suddenly Kyou had disappeared, and Kana's rear was receiving his wave. It wasn't bad, the Neko had a respectable trunk, and it deserved a little recognition.

"Of course," Miyoko said as she watched Hinoto leave the bridge. Another one who was probably hiding more pain than she acknowledged. Mara... Miyoko winced a little at the memory. Perhaps she wasn't entirely innocent of burying her sadness, either. Still, it gave her an idea: Since there didn't seem to be much else she was capable of doing at the moment, she could check up on people and make sure everybody was recovering emotionally. She might not have been a trained psychologist, but offering a friendly shoulder couldn't hurt.

Miyoko set off toward the kitchenette at a leisurely pace, and rather quickly realized one flaw in her plan, which was that she wasn't exactly a great conversationalist. Particularly on the topic of emotions.

Oh well. She could approach things slowly for now. "Anyway, the offer with my bed stands. I grabbed one of the rooms to the aft of the Hoshi," she informed Yuzuki as she walked down the hall toward the kitchenette. "It's not really mine, and I won't need it for a while, so you're welcome to it."

@Kai:

Suzume was uncomfortable with the idea. Not just because she had work to do, and not just because she was showing someone around as if they never had been on the ship, but something about a Yamataian man specifically asking for a Nekovalkyrja was just awkward. And Kai's face was just a lot of emotions packed into one blond-framed container with piercing eyes.

He was a superior, though. How was she supposed to say no?

"Please, this way, Heisho," Suzume said, moving just to his left to take him that way — and watched as Hinoto passed with a smile and a nod. She was on her way somewhere. And how.

Suzume couldn't make out what was going on with the ship's avatar, but she had a (sort of) order to follow. She guided Kai to the bridge, the door opening to show them both to Miyoko, who was about to exit the bridge — and Yuzuki.

@Tom:

Yukari just smiled and took some steps into the room. She kept her eyes on him, but they roved across his frame under the blanket. It was not sexual, but ... sizing him up. As if to make sure he was as OK as his hair and skin suggested.

"Weary," she said, standing by his bed. "We are in high demand, so it is expected. But you look untouched by it! My brave war engineer." Her smile touch a rueful touch.

Kyou shrugged, not entirely sure why it mattered in the long run. Unless things went so severely wrong it was unreal, there was not much out there that could get to them at the moment, so she figured she had time. And anyway, "I figure that if my chest starts hurting, I can always hover instead of walking. And I got bored much too quickly just sitting around. I'm no officer, to enjoy having nothing to do but think for hours." She paused, not sure if she was seeing Asher wave at the other neko's ass or not, then decided that it was entirely possible (and likely), since it was Asher. "I just thought I'd go look around the ship for a little bit, and talk to some of my crew mates if I found them. Like Asher over there."

@Asher and Kyou

"But of course," answered Kana. "Communication can have very therapeutic effects."

She slowly walked towards Kyou, stretching a moment by locking her hands above her head as she moved. Asher was made fully aware of the rather revealing nature of her skirt's back.

When she reached the visitor, she bowed politely, not too deep but enough to show quite a lot of respect to Kyou.

"I will be outside if you need me."

The door closed behind her.

@Yukari

Tom's smile faded somewhat, but he held a brave face.

"I needed a bath," he said. "I wanted to visit you, but the nurse said to stay here."

He extended his arm out to her. Yukari could see his lips tremble just a little.

"I'm... happy you came."

'How am I even going to start a conversation?' Nao wondered, her feet carrying her through the halls of the ship. 'Do I just say "Hi, what's up?" or...is that too informal?' She mentally berated herself for not thinking of just how she'd go about doing this sooner and sighed audibly. 'Now what am I going to do?!' Her shoulders slumped as she continued walking, but something caused her to rise again quite soon.

'What's that?' The light green hair on her ears prickled as they flicked about, listening intently. Play, laughter. The stray strand of hair that was always on her head seemed to almost perk up as her heart started to beat faster and faster. 'No, no! Why am I getting nervous?!' Nao wanted to turn around, walk away. Maybe wrench open an access panel and crawl in to hide. Wait, that was viable! It was already open; all she had to do was dive righ -

Nyton said:

"Hiiiiiiii!" greeted the shorter neko.

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"O-oh! Akiko-chan and..." Nao stopped dead in her tracks right then and there, her eyes widening in horror. She was in despair, and so cried out.

"Nooo! I forgot someone's name!"

The single bed was not comfortably big enough for the two of them, but Yukari did not mind. She took his hand into hers, and sat on the edge of the bed. She held the hand close to her, squeezing it.

"I could not wait any longer," she whispered. "I am sorry I took so long."

Tom was not content to be held by the hand. Not after what they had been through.

With all the strength he could muster, he leaned in and gave Yukari the hardest hug he could manage. The squeeze, affected by his bodily weakness, was little more than gentle, but the way Tom's breath came out in quivering little puffs, his chest shaking the air out of him, it was all he could give.

Yukari held her breath until Tom pulled her in, then exhaled slowly. She hurt, too. But her arms still went around his body, and she still held him close as she put her nose and mouth at the crook of his neck and kissed him there.

All things heavy and vital and life-changing plummeted to the floor as she flooded her senses with his scent. She did not let go.

"Yuki-san," she whispered.

Asher watched as Kana move as she stretched, before his eyes widened noticeably at her bending over. Apparently the design of the old days had a considerable effect on him. As she walked off, the Malifarian's eyes followed her as she went. When the door closed behind her, he looked back at Kyou, and gave his "A+" judgement face, nodding in approval. Once again, he waved, this time successfully at the fellow Santo-Hei, before patting the empty side of the back rest on the couch. He grinned, and then sat back forward, his arms laying over the back. It seemed he was returning to his time of thoughtful stargazing.

@Nimura

Nyton let out a breath and held his hands together in his lap. "Of course it feels wrong. This condition they are in is what we both paid dearly to escape from. I try not to bristle every time I see them especially when I think about how our survival was bought at the cost of their freedom. Regardless of whether or not we knew they would survive with us we inadvertently sinned against thousands."

The man closed his eyes as a pained expression filled his face. Hints of shame crossed it until he smiled a little. "The worst bit is that despite how wrong it feels I am still glad that we survived. I would not trade our survival for their condition, Nimura. Yes it is tremendously selfish but in all honesty I want to live. I want all of us to live and I am in serious conflict turning over how to right something that can not be reversed. We may well have condemned these people to a worse death that they are not even aware of. A living death."

Nyton shook his head and breathed evenly again. After a few breaths he composed himself and looked at Nimura directly. "My apologies. I am still getting used to being a little more 'open' with my thoughts much as you are working on your sense of morality." he admitted.

With that said Nyton adopted his thinking pose. "You do bring up a significant issue. This fleet is entirely loyal to Kotori-dono. It is a power that no one else in the Empire currently possesses. Even the core group of supporters which the madame Taisho or the Kessaku may have is in no way the size of this fleet. Even given however many fleets they may command, this is different because not everyone in a fleet is guaranteed to show this much devotion."

The man dropped his thinking posture and put a hand on the edge of Nimura's bed as he leaned closer. "I admire your insight and ability to analyze so I will share this concern, especially because you bring up the possible consequences we could be facing." he said before dropping his voice to a hush just above a whisper.

"Regardless of who this fleet is loyal to and putting aside that Kotori-dono was adopted into the royal family, would the Empress allow such a force to be blindly loyal to anyone other than herself? Could Taisho Yui even allow a fleet like this to possibly exist? If it is one thing I have noticed it is that control of the military, no matter how loosely or soft gloved it may be delegated, is always ensured to be kept under the control of Taisho Yui. I fear we may have only postponed our own deaths and condemned this fleet to elimination."

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@Nao

Shizuka smiled warmly at Nao who grew flustered over not knowing her name. "It is fine, Nao-san for we have not even formally introduced ourselves." she said before bowing slightly. "Hajimemashte. I am Shimabumi Shizuka and this is my sister Shimabumi Akiko." she said before raising her head to look at Nao again. "It would seem you already picked up Akiko-chan's name but that probably only proves that you have very good ears."

Akiko then bowed quickly and smiled at Nao. "Hajimemashte Nao-chaaaan!"

Shizuka then walked over to Nao. "Are you in need of anything Nao-san? Akiko-chan and I just finished cleaning some debris from the Armor bay. If you like we could make you something to eat." the taller neko offered.

@Nyton:

Thoughtfully, Nimura answered: "Not all truth is good to tell. Devotion to the Taisa or devotion to the Taisho is still devotion to the Ketsurui ruling clan. It was less drastic a change than devotion to Melisson."

"If we take a step back, casting principle aside, the change was negligible," she again asserted. "Would I be the Taisa, and hold the desire to return home with a minimum of controversy, I would choose a loophole solution such as ordering them to serve the Star Army of Yamatai to the best of their capacity for her, but not outwardly. From there, their high regard for her may be justified by her being the Princess that saved them."

Nimura sighed and painstakingly shifted to lie on her side to look at Nyton without turning her head. "Besides, if Melisson operates as subtly as she claims, having great loyalty toward a ruling figure does not prevent the pursuit of one's own life along with many other side ambitions such as career advancement."

"Their overarching goals have been changed to something entirely selfless, yes, but other than that they might still capable of operating as individuals - as her thrall, you yourself weren't singlemindedly her servitor: you still could want things for yourself." She reached out with her newly regenerated hand to give an awkward pat over Nyton's closest hand, the one resting on her bed, in an effort to comfort him. "Maybe it's the newness of it all which is jarring. Perhaps in time things will balance out."

"Ah," Yuzuki said, assuming a pace that matched Miyoko's, but letting her lead. "Well, I guess if you can spare it."

The Hoshi didn't have many rooms, and Yuzuki hadn't even thought of taking one of them initially. She had simply assumed that the officers, once they recovered, would want to stay onboard. Yuzuki hadn't even considered them in the meantime. It was just one of those facts that had slipped through her fingers over the last two days.

As they were leaving, Yuzuki spied Suzume coming down the passageway towards them. "Hey Suzume!" Yuzuki called. Smiling was easier now that she'd been shaken out of her moody thoughts and promised food, and now Yuzuki found the energy for it. "What's up? Have you ate yet?"

When Kai rounded the corner after the technical sprite, Yuzuki blanched somewhat.

"Ah," she said, for the second time.

@Yukari

With shuddering breaths, Tom ran his hands along his lover's back. He wanted to make sure it was real, that it was all over and they had both made it. After all they had been through, he longed desperately for this moment.

He received Yukari's kisses with a silent prayer of thanks. It was real.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear.

He whispered it again and again, "I love you," fresh tears spilling down his cheeks.

"I t-tried so hard," he said. "I was so afraid I'd lose you..."

@Rin

"Hm..."

The lithe, pink-skinned neko observed Rin, her small, blue-gray eyes flicking along her form, analyzing her condition. Her long, cherry blond hair was neatly tied into a single ponytail.

She stopped short of staring at Rin, but it was apparent she was sizing up the sprite.

"Of the surviving members of your crew, you were the most seriously injured," she said. "You are lucky that your friends took such lengths to bring you here. It is obvious you are of some importance to them."