Quote:Mm? Yeah, I kinda figured that much out from the uniform and all.
Oh, and, interesting tidbit? Mikoto's actually 14 - same age as Nao. Bit of a contrast, no?
Quote:I fail to see how this is somehow a bad thing. ^_^
OTOH, it is entirely your fault that my brain is now trying to insist that cosplay is one of her hobbies.
...
*collapses laughing at the mental image of Natsuki as Sakura and Shizuru as Tomoyo of CCS fame*
Quote:Saa ... I think we all know how that goes.
...nnrrrrrg. I had a groove going, then my computer decides to plotz about how it loads web pages and now everything's all broken.
*throws up hands* Once again, my dialog writing skills have vanished. Damnit. I don't know about this segment, and I've been working on it for the past several hours.
Alright, so I'd been mistaken. There is something the Queen of Windbloom has going for her.
She's comedy gold. Certainly, she flails around like she was born to do it on stage. Must have been some vivid dream, though I'm not even going to speculate why she was muttering 'call me queen!' and making with the evil chuckle while I ...
... yes, sadly, I managed to somehow get roped into actually carrying the little brat.
And what thanks do I get? She wakes up and calls me a midget with delusions of grandeur.
Shizuru found it all quite funny, I'm sure. Me, less so. Takumi was playing with the cat ... and how something with that much body fat could even move, much less hop around, I have no idea.
As to where we'd ended up?
Well, the city's skyline still stretched above, but the walls limited visibility somewhat. If there were more water, the wide and deep canal would have become more akin to a river - but if the calendar were to be believed the rainy season was still a bit off. Now, out of the wind and out of the way, wooden shacks stretched along the canal walls, with people in clothing that had obviously seen better days sitting here and there in small groups, mothers, children, families ...
... hmm, well, that's one result of the recent rise in taxes. A fair few people out of work, out of money, and as a result out of a home. Sad, but true.
Judging from the Brat's expression, she was seeing this for the first time, and didn't quite know how to take it.
A very Prince and Pauper moment.
"Don't look like that," came from Takumi. His hands were occupied with holding two bowls full of some sort of stew that a matronly looking woman had been cooking in one of the shacks. The fact that this shack was built more like a market stall and the size of the pot on the fire meant that it was supposed to be the communal kitchen, I guess. "Everyone here is a great person."
He was generalizing, and I had a feeling he knew it. That the fact the scabbard threaded through the flaps of the pouch he wore, strapped to his belt at the small of his back, was quite visible and an indication that he wasn't entirely harmless, served to deter those who weren't was left unmentioned.
Still, neither I nor Shizuru cut in, and we let the conversation between the two resolve itself.
Hmm, I'd need to remember to see why the name Nina Wong rang a bell. Mashiro had seemingly used it with a reason of some sort in mind.
Everything else aside though, and I think Shizuru agreed with me, this was pretty good entertainment. Watching the Brat trying to explain who she was when, mysteriously, the posters with her likeness were progressively disappearing from the walls of buildings.
A discreete call to the office, and thank the gods I'd thought to invest in radio equipment small enough, confirmed a growing suspicion that both Windbloom and Jipang had come up with doubles for their respective heads of state, and had me chuckling faintly as I related this to Fujino-san.
Contrary to her words and claims that she just wanted to make her way home the Brat had ... lingered, stopping off at one of the courtyards along the way where several booths with various sorts of refreshments or games being offered had been erected. Sort of like a magpie attracted to anything that's shiny.
Well, at least some people were making money off this whole Royal Birthday thing.
And now I could honestly say I'd shared ice cream with royalty. It was, perhaps, the most peaceful 'conference' of two heads of state that I'd ever born witness to. Not that there'd been many of those.
Frankly, I didn't much care one way or the other, but for the fact that ...
... Mhmmm ... chocolate flavor.
In the words of Masamichi Fujisawa: Don't blame me, I'm just weak.
Next bit should work better, I think. I hope. *sigh* I need sleep.
-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