I've decided to bite the bullet and actually try writing this one out. Like I thought, Haruka's a challenge. I can't seem to get her 'voice' to 'sound' right.
Or so I think. *looks at clock* Mouuu ... I have no life.
*shakes head ruefully*
*punt*
Luckily, I'd managed to get some semblance of composure back by the time I'd been led to one of the restaurant's private rooms.
Not overly large, furnished in what passed for a traditional manner in Jipang, that country's oriental, and specifically Japanese, influence was immediately obvious. Tatami on the floor, a table you were supposed to sit in seiza at, rice paper walls. Or it seemed like rice paper at first sight. It was as sound proof as a normal wall would be, though. An important thing to take into account.
The Madam President and her bodyguard weren't here yet, since I'd arrived a bit early; a habit the cultivation of which turned out to be beneficial in the long run.
It gave me time to do certain things in preparation. For example, to attach the white noise generator underneath the table. Better safe than sorry.
Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight.
Alright, so maybe I'd been spending a little too much time buried in the Art of War lately.
The sound of the room's door sliding open made me look up from where I'd been contemplating the table's surface ...
"What the ... Yukino! What is _he_ doing here?"
In some ways, a gaggle of conventional bodyguard meat shields would have been less conspicuous.
Subtlety, thy name is Armitage. Not. Apparently, her boss hadn't mentioned just who they'd be meeting with.
"It's called waiting. You should try it sometime," I said dryly, before standing and extending a hand toward the blonde's contracted mistress. "Yukino-san, I'm glad you could come."
She took it. We shook. We sat. Haruka glared.
"Likewise, Katz-kun. Things took longer than expected. Gomen for the delay."
We both knew the apology was more pro-forma than anything else. Aries was her responsibility, and she wasn't one to dodge that sort of commitment, consciously or not.
"Mm. No worries," I responded. "Considering it involved both Argos and de Florence, it actually went pretty quickly."
I caught sight of Haruka's eyebrow, which was twitching wildly. That usually happened when I commented on something I wasn't really supposed to know about. An improvement over the first few times I'd met with Aries' President and her Otome, when she'd come close to hauling me up by the lapels of the suit jacket and demanding an explanation.
While I wasn't up to my onetime six feet and two inches, I'd managed to convince the body to grow from the lanky fourteen it had started off with, into a rough semblance of a lanky twenty-something - most of that during my stint of dealing with the Foundations. It refused to go anywhere over just between five eleven and six foot equal, though, and remained lanky. I imagine that if I hadn't been used to it, I'd have felt like a skeleton.
I still had a good few inches on Haruka, but the Otome was built like a damn brick outhouse, so that sort of lift wouldn't have been hard for her to do even without Materializing her Robe.
Yukino remained pretty much unsurprised, since this was the reason we'd set up that contract in the first place. It was my business to know about these things, as much as it was hers to deal with the information.
"Speaking of which ..." I said as I laid the non-descript message tube I'd retrieved from my jacket's inner pocket on the table and slid it across towards them. "The large scale situation remains roughly unchanged, but there have been some signs of general unease."
"That's very vague," Yukino commented, unsealing the tube and giving the papers within a cursory glance. Those were not the full report, though. Rather, highlights of the more interesting, at least in the analysts' opinion, sections. The whole thing was actually sitting inside a ROM chip secreted within the seemingly broken 'seal', which Yukino had just slipped into one of her pockets. She picked out a particular page. "Remulus and Romus?"
"They're reinforcing the borders again," I nodded.
"Bah. They do _that_ half a dozen times a year, at least. Even dozen last year," snorted Haruka, as she read over the page Yukino had handed her. "Damnit, I hate indicisive bastards like that. Either they should deal with their problems, or get it over with already."
"They're having problems that are bad enough to cost each, on average, a platoon's worth of their border patrol every month," was my retort. "Not in one go, from what we've found. Fairly evenly spread out over time. Neither wants to believe the other is telling the truth, not that there's been any official denial of the events."
"For there to be an official denial, they would first have to admit that there was a problem of any sort. No notice of such was ever brought to our attention," Yukino stated.
"They're there," I said. "It's not hard to find. Just bother enought to check the local obituaries. It's being ignored. After all, they were mostly grunts."
"WHY I OUGHTA ...!" three guesses who that was.
"Haruka-chan! It's not really Aries business, so we don't have a right to meddle under international law."
The first few times I'd seen them like that, I'd been more than a little nonplussed, but over time I could see that this was pretty much the only way you could curb the blonde's hair-trigger burst of overwhelming ... well, I'd call it enthusiasm, in about the same way that a shark catching the scent of a blood trail can be called enthusiastic.
A few exchanges later the Otome was back to her usual state of slow boil ...
No matter how often I'd seen her do this, I still shook my head at Yukino's patience.
We both decided to take a break and order some food, though this was mostly instigated by Haruka's loudly complaining stomach. Before it was both it and Haruka who were loudly complaining.
The meal was pleasant, and I found, much to my chagrin, that the blonde and I actually had something in common. We were both inordinately fond of yakitori and teriyaki skewers.
'Huh', to that.
We made small talk ... or rather, either Yukino or I would start on a topic, and it would soon be taken over by Haruka, leaving us to nod and 'Hmm' in the appropriate places.
Alright, I'll admit to not disliking the blonde as much as I'd maybe given the impression of earlier. She and I were by no means on friendly ground, but it was just so amusing to watch her rant and ramble. In a 'I can't believe I'm hearing this' sort of way, but still.
By the time we were done with the food, I was feeling ... a little more alive than I had in the past few months.
Sadly, it was time to drop a bomb, metaphorically speaking. Yukino, at least, noticed my shift in mood ...
"It was Argos who helped the Aswad enter Windbloom before the coronation."
I made a mental note never to say something like that again until I was sure Miss Armitage wasn't drinking something there and then, as I reached for a couple of napkins and started wiping the fruit juice from my face.
---
I love your description of Yukino, by the way, Nate.
*laughs* And, oh, whatever did Natsuki read about in those notes? *gets serious* Shit. There was likely something about her mom in there, wasn't there? Oh, this will so not be pretty.
I'm rather looking forward to writing Katz's first meeting with Nagi, though that's still a while off. He's going to quote Elliot at the runt, confusing him thoroughly.
-Griever
When tact is required, use brute force. When force is required, use greater force.
When the greatest force is required, use your head. Surprise is everything. - The Book of Cataclysm
Or so I think. *looks at clock* Mouuu ... I have no life.
*shakes head ruefully*
*punt*
Luckily, I'd managed to get some semblance of composure back by the time I'd been led to one of the restaurant's private rooms.
Not overly large, furnished in what passed for a traditional manner in Jipang, that country's oriental, and specifically Japanese, influence was immediately obvious. Tatami on the floor, a table you were supposed to sit in seiza at, rice paper walls. Or it seemed like rice paper at first sight. It was as sound proof as a normal wall would be, though. An important thing to take into account.
The Madam President and her bodyguard weren't here yet, since I'd arrived a bit early; a habit the cultivation of which turned out to be beneficial in the long run.
It gave me time to do certain things in preparation. For example, to attach the white noise generator underneath the table. Better safe than sorry.
Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight.
Alright, so maybe I'd been spending a little too much time buried in the Art of War lately.
The sound of the room's door sliding open made me look up from where I'd been contemplating the table's surface ...
"What the ... Yukino! What is _he_ doing here?"
In some ways, a gaggle of conventional bodyguard meat shields would have been less conspicuous.
Subtlety, thy name is Armitage. Not. Apparently, her boss hadn't mentioned just who they'd be meeting with.
"It's called waiting. You should try it sometime," I said dryly, before standing and extending a hand toward the blonde's contracted mistress. "Yukino-san, I'm glad you could come."
She took it. We shook. We sat. Haruka glared.
"Likewise, Katz-kun. Things took longer than expected. Gomen for the delay."
We both knew the apology was more pro-forma than anything else. Aries was her responsibility, and she wasn't one to dodge that sort of commitment, consciously or not.
"Mm. No worries," I responded. "Considering it involved both Argos and de Florence, it actually went pretty quickly."
I caught sight of Haruka's eyebrow, which was twitching wildly. That usually happened when I commented on something I wasn't really supposed to know about. An improvement over the first few times I'd met with Aries' President and her Otome, when she'd come close to hauling me up by the lapels of the suit jacket and demanding an explanation.
While I wasn't up to my onetime six feet and two inches, I'd managed to convince the body to grow from the lanky fourteen it had started off with, into a rough semblance of a lanky twenty-something - most of that during my stint of dealing with the Foundations. It refused to go anywhere over just between five eleven and six foot equal, though, and remained lanky. I imagine that if I hadn't been used to it, I'd have felt like a skeleton.
I still had a good few inches on Haruka, but the Otome was built like a damn brick outhouse, so that sort of lift wouldn't have been hard for her to do even without Materializing her Robe.
Yukino remained pretty much unsurprised, since this was the reason we'd set up that contract in the first place. It was my business to know about these things, as much as it was hers to deal with the information.
"Speaking of which ..." I said as I laid the non-descript message tube I'd retrieved from my jacket's inner pocket on the table and slid it across towards them. "The large scale situation remains roughly unchanged, but there have been some signs of general unease."
"That's very vague," Yukino commented, unsealing the tube and giving the papers within a cursory glance. Those were not the full report, though. Rather, highlights of the more interesting, at least in the analysts' opinion, sections. The whole thing was actually sitting inside a ROM chip secreted within the seemingly broken 'seal', which Yukino had just slipped into one of her pockets. She picked out a particular page. "Remulus and Romus?"
"They're reinforcing the borders again," I nodded.
"Bah. They do _that_ half a dozen times a year, at least. Even dozen last year," snorted Haruka, as she read over the page Yukino had handed her. "Damnit, I hate indicisive bastards like that. Either they should deal with their problems, or get it over with already."
"They're having problems that are bad enough to cost each, on average, a platoon's worth of their border patrol every month," was my retort. "Not in one go, from what we've found. Fairly evenly spread out over time. Neither wants to believe the other is telling the truth, not that there's been any official denial of the events."
"For there to be an official denial, they would first have to admit that there was a problem of any sort. No notice of such was ever brought to our attention," Yukino stated.
"They're there," I said. "It's not hard to find. Just bother enought to check the local obituaries. It's being ignored. After all, they were mostly grunts."
"WHY I OUGHTA ...!" three guesses who that was.
"Haruka-chan! It's not really Aries business, so we don't have a right to meddle under international law."
The first few times I'd seen them like that, I'd been more than a little nonplussed, but over time I could see that this was pretty much the only way you could curb the blonde's hair-trigger burst of overwhelming ... well, I'd call it enthusiasm, in about the same way that a shark catching the scent of a blood trail can be called enthusiastic.
A few exchanges later the Otome was back to her usual state of slow boil ...
No matter how often I'd seen her do this, I still shook my head at Yukino's patience.
We both decided to take a break and order some food, though this was mostly instigated by Haruka's loudly complaining stomach. Before it was both it and Haruka who were loudly complaining.
The meal was pleasant, and I found, much to my chagrin, that the blonde and I actually had something in common. We were both inordinately fond of yakitori and teriyaki skewers.
'Huh', to that.
We made small talk ... or rather, either Yukino or I would start on a topic, and it would soon be taken over by Haruka, leaving us to nod and 'Hmm' in the appropriate places.
Alright, I'll admit to not disliking the blonde as much as I'd maybe given the impression of earlier. She and I were by no means on friendly ground, but it was just so amusing to watch her rant and ramble. In a 'I can't believe I'm hearing this' sort of way, but still.
By the time we were done with the food, I was feeling ... a little more alive than I had in the past few months.
Sadly, it was time to drop a bomb, metaphorically speaking. Yukino, at least, noticed my shift in mood ...
"It was Argos who helped the Aswad enter Windbloom before the coronation."
I made a mental note never to say something like that again until I was sure Miss Armitage wasn't drinking something there and then, as I reached for a couple of napkins and started wiping the fruit juice from my face.
---
I love your description of Yukino, by the way, Nate.
*laughs* And, oh, whatever did Natsuki read about in those notes? *gets serious* Shit. There was likely something about her mom in there, wasn't there? Oh, this will so not be pretty.
I'm rather looking forward to writing Katz's first meeting with Nagi, though that's still a while off. He's going to quote Elliot at the runt, confusing him thoroughly.
-Griever
When tact is required, use brute force. When force is required, use greater force.
When the greatest force is required, use your head. Surprise is everything. - The Book of Cataclysm