Midori and the classic spit take. Priceless.
And Shiho 'teaching' Mikoto even some things? Oh, how this can not end well.
*crosses fingers*
I hate having expectations.
Well, no, I hate having them shattered when meeting reality like so much fine china does when impacting a solid surface. Which is why I try not to have them.
The thing is, they invariably follow in the wake of any period that you could describe as ever mildly successful.
And then something comes along, and it's so completely out of left field that you need to seriously reconsider a lot of things you'd taken for granted before.
"Ah, she's not ... entirely wrong?" Ren fidgeted.
I think Juliet made him nervous. She was good at that. And glaring.
"You want to explain that?" I asked. "Use small words."
After recovering from the question the Pearl had asked, I'd gone inside with the firm intent to find out. While I'd made her acquaintance only a few months prior, I could tell she was serious about this.
Of course, Ren's reaction wasn't exactly comforting. He'd been in the garage when I came in, likely expecting to meet me ... and only me, not me shadowed by an irate looking red-head. Especially not a red-head he recognized.
"..." he opened his mouth, tried to say something, floundered ... I think it was the first time I'd seen him at a loss for words. "I think I'll just show you."
The abovementioned red-head followed, though from the change from outright confrontational to somewhat curious I figured it was Juliet-ane-san again.
When Black acquired the building a few months back we figured six floors, plus ground floor, plus basement garage, would be just big enough. Ground floor acting as a reception area and with sorting going on in the back rooms, first floor having quarters for those runners who didn't want the bother of trying to find a place to stay elsewhere in the city, as well as our medical section - not that it was very big. Second was the workshop, third and fourth the analyst spaces, fifth had the so called main offices - the final data compilations and final analysis were done there - including mine, and sixth ... well, that had been mostly empty, save my apartment.
Sue me, I like my privacy.
We didn't have anything that could be described as guest quarters ... Ren led to the fifth floor, and I noticed that at least the damage to my old office had been repaired.
But the room wasn't as barren as I'd expected it to be ...
I blinked.
Alright. The short hair was new. As was the apparent age. And the traditional Jipang throwback clothing. Other than that, the resemblance was uncanny.
Sleeping on a cot in an obviously hastily thrown together living space where my office had once been, and there was something about her that suggested she dearly needed the downtime, was a dead ringer for a younger Shizuru Viola.
I think both myself and Juliet-ane-san spent a moment goggling.
"I reiterate," I turned to Ren. "Explain. Use small words."
Can the world handle two of them?
Let's find out.
-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
And Shiho 'teaching' Mikoto even some things? Oh, how this can not end well.
*crosses fingers*
I hate having expectations.
Well, no, I hate having them shattered when meeting reality like so much fine china does when impacting a solid surface. Which is why I try not to have them.
The thing is, they invariably follow in the wake of any period that you could describe as ever mildly successful.
And then something comes along, and it's so completely out of left field that you need to seriously reconsider a lot of things you'd taken for granted before.
"Ah, she's not ... entirely wrong?" Ren fidgeted.
I think Juliet made him nervous. She was good at that. And glaring.
"You want to explain that?" I asked. "Use small words."
After recovering from the question the Pearl had asked, I'd gone inside with the firm intent to find out. While I'd made her acquaintance only a few months prior, I could tell she was serious about this.
Of course, Ren's reaction wasn't exactly comforting. He'd been in the garage when I came in, likely expecting to meet me ... and only me, not me shadowed by an irate looking red-head. Especially not a red-head he recognized.
"..." he opened his mouth, tried to say something, floundered ... I think it was the first time I'd seen him at a loss for words. "I think I'll just show you."
The abovementioned red-head followed, though from the change from outright confrontational to somewhat curious I figured it was Juliet-ane-san again.
When Black acquired the building a few months back we figured six floors, plus ground floor, plus basement garage, would be just big enough. Ground floor acting as a reception area and with sorting going on in the back rooms, first floor having quarters for those runners who didn't want the bother of trying to find a place to stay elsewhere in the city, as well as our medical section - not that it was very big. Second was the workshop, third and fourth the analyst spaces, fifth had the so called main offices - the final data compilations and final analysis were done there - including mine, and sixth ... well, that had been mostly empty, save my apartment.
Sue me, I like my privacy.
We didn't have anything that could be described as guest quarters ... Ren led to the fifth floor, and I noticed that at least the damage to my old office had been repaired.
But the room wasn't as barren as I'd expected it to be ...
I blinked.
Alright. The short hair was new. As was the apparent age. And the traditional Jipang throwback clothing. Other than that, the resemblance was uncanny.
Sleeping on a cot in an obviously hastily thrown together living space where my office had once been, and there was something about her that suggested she dearly needed the downtime, was a dead ringer for a younger Shizuru Viola.
I think both myself and Juliet-ane-san spent a moment goggling.
"I reiterate," I turned to Ren. "Explain. Use small words."
Can the world handle two of them?
Let's find out.
-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