2022-02-27: The 'Last Place' You Look
- Log: The 'Last Place' You Look
- Cast: Ruri Hoshino, Kagero, Eight York, Kaworu Nagisa
- Where: Tokyo
- Date: 2022-02-27
- Summary: Eight, Ruri, and Kaworu get together for lunch and conversation. Kagero comes too, and gets an invitation to the Nadesico.
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
The Nadeisco... has been doing various Nadesico Things, of late. It's all in the performance logs. Right now, that isn't really at the forefront of Ruri's mind, because Ruri --
Was invited to tea???
It's a coincidence (convenience) of being in the same port, really; since they've both landed in Tokyo's docks, it's not a very long walk to meet. Ruri spoke on it in electronic communications to Kaworu, only to realise, midway through a discussion which wasn't outwardly enthusiastic but had enthusiasm implied just from talking about it, that she could ask if he'd like to have lunch too.
Ruri comes to the port cafe under the care of Eri Uemura, one of Howmei's girls -- who has a secondary mission of investigating this cafe's famous BUNDT CAKE. And so, the young cook leaves Ruri with Eight to commit culinary crimes, and they come to...
... the outdoor area of the cafe! It's suitable for macronised patrons dropping in to relax midway through dock work, so it's open to the air, and the tables are large enough to sit at while being large. There are, of course, smaller chairs, on rollers with staircases. It's a whole Theme.
"What a strange cafe," Ruri remarks, as she takes up a human-sized menu. At least if she's small, everyone is. "I'll have sweet tea and vanilla bundt cake, thank you."
(Please note that their waitress is also Meltradi.)
<Pose Tracker> Kagero has posed.
Organic life comes in different sizes. One learns new things all the time.
Actually, that cafe has seats big enough for BP-500x Kagero to sit at, and he's surprised to find he has a programmed instinct to feel comfortable with that sort of thing. He spent his early life in warehouses, so why does this seems so welcoming? Especially since it's full of, well, people. Mostly non-AI people.
The rogue Brave unit hangs back around a corner, observing and poking his head back hesitantly. As if he is...shy?!
The last time he was at a place like this, Heero brought him fuel...
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
The Ra Mari is done with repairs, and Eight is once again picking up new people. At least, that's her main excuse for being in Tokyo; she has some time to spend a little time here...
And with Ruri! Though she confesses, that when it comes to the outdoor area of the cafe and the culinary crimes...
"Oh!" Eight says as she walks through the Big cafe, "I should bring Lavhi here!" She enthuses about it, down to enjoying going up to the stairs on the rollers, and enjoys the table. Ruri remarks that it's strange, but Eight clearly likes it.
She gives their waitress one of her best smiles, too. "Coffee and the vanilla bundt cake too, please."
As she's looking around, she notices the rogue Brave unit around the corner....
Eight tilts her head, and tries to meet his eyes for a moment. Whether she can or not, she waves! "Are you looking for someone?" she wonders.
There happens to be a very large space at their table...
<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.
Kaworu doesn't really do lunch. Or meals. Or eating, in general. But he does like company, and friendship, and if a friend invites him to eat with them, he'll accept. (He still may not necessarily eat or drink anything, as Zoia found the other day. But he'll sit with them!) Ruri had told him about it, and he'd been happy for her about the outing--and when she'd invited him to join, he'd been happier still to accept.
It's a considerable, but not unreasonable, train ride to the original Tokyo from Tokyo-3. Japan has always had excellent public transportation, and train infrastructure is always the first to get rebuilt whenever there's a disaster. It's thus not very long before Kaworu arrives at the port cafe Ruri had specified, strolling into the building with his hands tucked in his coat pockets as usual and heading for the outdoor section. He doesn't need to ask for directions; he simply follows Ruri's presence until he finds it.
On the way to Ruri's table, he glances at Kagero, peeking around from behind a corner. It's always so fascinating to see a being with a brain of silicon rather than carbon. Though they were fashioned by Lilim, they are not themselves children of Lilith. Grandchildren, perhaps? It's a wonderful concept to puzzle through. When Kagero happens to glance his way from where he's lurking behind a corner, Kaworu smiles at him. It's warm and inviting. Between that and Eight's waving, perhaps that will encourage him to come over.
For now, though, Kaworu heads the rest of the way over to the table and seats himself between Eight and Ruri. "It has a charming atmosphere," he comments to Ruri, as if simply picking up their conversation where it had left off earlier--though he doesn't not say it to Eight, too. "I enjoy how welcoming it feels to all lifeforms. I wonder..."
He trails off. Then he laughs a little, shaking his head, and picks up the human-sized menu. "What beautiful cakes," he says admiringly. He does not actually order something yet--but then, he did just arrive. Maybe that Meltrandi waitress can come back a little later?
Then, finally, he lowers his menu and smiles directly at Eight. "Pardon me for not introducing myself sooner. I'm Administrator Kaworu Nagisa. We spoke a bit during the operation against the Seventh Angel, Captain Eight York."
Looks like he did his homework, which is appropriate for what appears to be a fifteen-year-old boy.
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
Ruri, for her part, just keeps looking over her shoulder. There's something strange about this cafe, which feels a little nervous. She wonders: is something wrong?
The psychic searching she reaches out with can perhaps be described as the familiar technological feeling of...
... Ping? Pong!
Which is the classic enquiry, really.
"Oh," Ruri says, looking back to the table. "Mr. Orlodhari would find things easier here, wouldn't he?" She hadn't thought of that, but it does increase her enthusiasm for the strage tabling a little.
The waitress, of course, takes their orders (noting down that they are small-sized), and bustles off to fulfill their dreams.
(Ruri looks over her shoulder, again, as Eight calls out the Brave unit. She tilts her head, and blinks, owlishly. She returns her attention to the others.)
Kaworu remembers to introduce himself, and Ruri is passingly -- vaguely -- embarrassed by the fact that she didn't remember to do so, though it's just a little glance away and scrunch of her lips before things return to their usual neutral keel. "Kaworu-san is based near here," Ruri explains, "so I thought he might also like to visit." She still claims some distance, with that borrowed honourific, but evidently they're on a First Name Basis.
<Pose Tracker> Kagero has posed.
Kagero is spotted! (Of course he's spotted. He's the only known robot around here and very, very obviously one.) He blinks owlishly at Eight and Kaworu, hesitating a little longer. Why are the organics beckoning him? He's a stranger, and...
Ping, Pong. Who Are You?
The robot's wings go straight up at that, his 'who are you?' more of an instinctive reaction than anything intentional or coherent.
This is what finally prompts him to approach, wings flat at his back, peering around as if he expects to be jumped at any second by...something.
"You were inviting me?" he asks, and then bows briefly. "My thanks, but...why...?" Still, he at least gets the hint and sits in the empty chair.
He hasn't figured out he's supposed to introduce himself yet. He still looks kind of taken aback, like a cat plucked out of somewhere.
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
To awakened senses, Eight York radiates warmth, despite the difficult few weeks she's had. Particularly at the moment she's just in a good mood--especially as Ruri answers her, "Oh, ah, right. I shouldn't just use his nickname in public..." She has the grace to be a little embarrassed by it. "But--It's true! I don't get to hang out with him much when he's macronized, so... it might be nice."
But when Kaworu comes over Eight smiles at him as well, and her eyes light up a bit as he introduces himself. It's clear that she wasn't quite expecting him to be who he is--but she doesn't dwell on it. Instead, "I don't mind--I haven't introduced myself yet, either! I agree about the atmosphere, though." Then a beat, "I remember--your leadership really made things run smoother than it would've. ...You can call me Eight, if you want; I don't see a need to be too formal when we're all at giant tables."
"I appreciate the thought, Ruri. It is nice to meet him properly," she says, though she turns to look at Kaworu so it's clear she's not talking about him like he's not here. But in a moment... there is a nervous Kagero!
"It's nice to make new friends, isn't it?" Eight provides as a reason to bring him over. But she mostly leaves the initial Befriending to Ruri, for some mysterious reason.
<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.
No need to be embarrassed. Kaworu turns his smile Ruri's way as she follows up on his statement, and its gentle encouragement might remind her that, actually, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. He emanates a light of his own on the awakened level, though he's more like the Moon to Eight's Sun--a cool, soothing brightness rather than Eight's outright warmth.
"Thank you," he replies to Eight. "Then you can call me Kaworu, too." He laughs a little at that for some reason. At least he doesn't mind Eight talking about him to Ruri right there, with or without her attempt to make sure she's not trying to exclude him--though he appreciates that, too.
Since it was Ruri who outright invited the skittish robot, Kaworu doesn't address him directly at first. Instead, he comments to Eight, "I quite agree. I truly appreciated Ruri-san inviting me here too; I quite enjoy the opportunity to interact with friends." He smiles at Ruri there, and then finally at Kagero. "As well as the opportunity to make more."
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"A foolish oversight," Ruri agrees, to Eight's embarrassment over using a nickname in public, but her tone is light enough that she's probably just giving her a hard time, in precisely the way Kaworu doesn't.
Ruri nods, to Kaworu, too. "Captain York is a kind person," she tells him, because her own sense of Eight's inner warmth is much less developed. "So you're both alike, like that."
Luckily, Ruri's ping is returned with a query -- and she responds with a friendly handshake, which means something different to computers but not that much different in the grand scheme of things. It's a response of warmth and welcoming, not unlike Eight's aura, but directed to machines rather than men.
Conveniently, there's a machine here!
"Because... it felt like you were shy," Ruri takes point in explaining, to Kagero. "But this is a cafe for everyone. We all have friends like you," Kaworu is friends with Omoikane, it counts, "so it's okay here, really." Ruri doesn't say just what 'like you' means, though.
Her expression is still stoic, as she relates: "I'm Ruri Hoshino -- the Nadesico's systems operator. This is Captain Eight York, from the Ra Mari, and this is Adminstrator Kaworu Nagisa, from NERV," her head tilts, in vague indication of each of them. "But right now, we're not worried about duties or anything like that, because we're sitting down for cake."
<Pose Tracker> Kagero has posed.
A kind person? A friend...?
"So that was you?!" Kagero stares baffled at Ruri for a moment. Is she a Super AI too? But her heat signature doesn't match at all. Still, he knows a ping when he gets one. Every machine does. Besides, that warmth reaches him through the message. If this is someone who wants to capture and use him, she's hiding it well.
He doesn't quite relax in his seat, but he does look up, wings a little more alert, eye flashing briefly. "Eight York, Kaworu Nagisa, Ruri Hoshino." He turns to each as he speaks, his sensors and cameras making a note in his HUD. "I am..."
A cafe for everyone? Friends like him?
"I am BP-500x Kagero. I am not shy," he lies, and from that brief pout one might expect him to blush if he had blood. "I am observing. Was." A pause. "I cannot eat, but I like the way food looks," he adds. "It's colorful."
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
That cool, soothing brightness is nice for Eight; she could use a little soothing right now, and it's a nice presence to be around. ...She laughs a little at Ruri calling her a fool, though, dipping her head. "True," she allows, but she doesn't seem to mind it too much.
"Kaworu, then," Eight agrees pleasantly. She smiles a little at Ruri's assessment of her. "I try, anyway. It's nice that you'd say so." She files that information away about Kaworu then... but then, it reminds her of something he said--
Something like 'feel free to ignore Langley's comments.' The memory flashes vaguely but definitely at the top of Eight's mind.
But she doesn't bring it up in words. Instead she looks to kagero, and waits for Ruri... and then. "Yes," Eight says. She lifts an eyebrow good-naturedly as he says he's not shy. "...Hmmm," she says. That designation is familiar! But instead of following up on it she says, "Observing is good, but I think it's more fun to observe with a group! Unless you were looking for something in particular and we distracted you," she counters herself with a laugh.
"Oh, and, if you just want to look at food, you can totally stare at mine a bit. I hear the cake here is especially pretty, and it's hard to eat and talk at the same time anyway."
<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.
Maybe Kaworu already noticed, but it's fine. Ruri's sensitivity is in a different direction; that's why Kagero's at their table, after all, and Kaworu thinks that's wonderful. Besides, it's nice to be complimented. He smiles when she calls him and Eight alike in their kindness and says, "Thank you."
Eight comments that she more tries to be nice. He glances at her, feeling a sense of a memory as relates to Asuka. "...That reminds me," he adds. "About the pilot of Unit 02, Asuka Shikinami Langley... She was quite hostile to both of you during that mission. I've spoken with her since about her general attitude, but if either of you were troubled by it, I'm willing to hear your complaints."
And Kaworu is absolutely friends with Omoikane! Granted, his relationship with electronics tends to be more of dominance than friendship, but... that's with standard electronics who simply follow the orders known as code. Those with Super AI are different. He nods to Kagero as Ruri introduces him.
"That's quite right," he says, although he has still yet to order any cake for himself. In fact, he laughs a little as Eight suggests that cake is optional. "Then I'll not eat cake with you," he offers to Kagero. "Would that make you feel more at ease, BP-500x Kagero?"
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"Hello, Mr. Kagero," Ruri says, nodding to him. "Oh... excuse me. I guess I was confused. Well, that does happen to young ladies like myself." She's pretty sure she did feel shyness back there, but she's willing to pin her assumption of shyness on her age anyway, which is as good a cover story as anything.
Anyway, Eight and Kaworu are being perfectly welcoming, so hopefully between them they can not scare poor Kagero off.
"Um -- yes, that was me," Ruri adds an explanation, after a moment. "I didn't mean to be rude. But... thank you for not yelling at me." Now, why would she say something like that?
It has to do with what Kaworu brought up, but not, entirely, the way it's framed.
Ruri does get to it, eventually, once she's properly greeted Electronic Friend. "Miss Langley is a fool," Ruri says, flatly, "but I don't believe she's only making her observations to be cruel. They're flawed, but it seems that's what she really thinks. Well, it's her sincere belief, so she should change it on her own." Which says two things, really: Ruri is unwilling to complain and get other people to try and change her, and Ruri has actually thought quite deeply on their encounters. "Anyway, I can't help her, so I doubt we'll have much to do with each other from here on."
The story not told on her flat features is the dissatisfaction Ruri feels, thinking of Asuka. She doesn't much like her. And there's something to that can't which says more than it seems, because Ruri has always been more helpful to machines than people.
Ruri looks to Eight, as if to see just how different her appraisal will be.
<Pose Tracker> Kagero has posed.
Kagero blinks at Kaworu and then shakes his head. "You have to fuel, don't you? Otherwise you'll slow down later. Please do not hold back on my behalf," he adds. He does seem to be relaxing maybe a little, though. It's nice sitting at a table. With people. Why is this so nice?
"I'm mostly wondering how you pinged me," he adds to Ruri, and then with a little frown, "I wouldn't yell at you. You did nothing wrong. I'd rather you ping me than do something like send me a data pack right away. And you didn't try to get past my firewall."
Eight's question gives him pause. Was he looking for something in particular? He feels like he wasn't. He was just watching. But why does he feel like he's getting something he didn't know he wanted just by sitting here with company?
"I don't know what I was looking for," he confesses, and then blinks at his own honesty.
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
Eight wonders what exactly reminded Kaworu. Was it the comment on kindness? Or is he able to pick up on things like she can...?
Eight glances down at the table at the matter of Asuka, suddenly much quieter; her whole aura contracts, withdrawing in on herself enough that it's noticeable even in the way she sits. "...What Miss Langley thinks of me isn't important," she decides after a moment. "What concerns me is that her attitude might prove infectious to others, or result in people getting hurt because of her arrogance. If you have her under control, though..." Eight lifts her hand and drops it again, in something like a shrug.
"Sure, she believes what she says," Eight agrees. "But... Well. I know she doesn't like me that much, and that's not so big a deal. Nobody impresses everybody, right?"
There is absolutely more to it than Eight is saying--she feels an intense melancholy that she can't really hide, thinking of Asuka. Worse: she feels sorry for her. But she brightens up a moment later, intentionally at first, and then more easily when Kagero speaks up.
"That's okay!" she assures him abou tnot knowing. "I don't always know what I'm looking for, either, but I know when I find it, and that's what counts. Right?" She beams. It is... a little more work, given the topic, but thinking about Kagero instead is a much better prospect.
<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.
When Kagero tells him not to hold back on his behalf because surely he needs to refuel, Kaworu is silent for a moment. At last, he smiles. "Then I'll have just tea," he concedes.
As Kagero goes on, though, he considers him thoughtfully. He believes him on his surface when he says he wasn't shy, but he was acting in a furtive manner, and he doesn't know what he was looking for. When he takes that idea to its logical conclusion... "Are you searching for a place to hide?"
He turns a concerned look at Ruri. She brings up 'yelling' right after he brings up 'Asuka,' and the logical link there is painfully easy to see. He does laugh a little when Ruri mic-drops her opinion. "She doesn't want to be helped, so I expect you're right," Kaworu agrees.
Eight clearly doesn't think well of her either--with or without being able to pick up on things on a psychic level. "No one can control her," he says dryly. "But hopefully I've been able to mitigate some of her hostility. You needn't worry about that, by the way. I don't believe she likes anyone who might challenge her personal need to be on top."
But the bad feelings are getting to be quite a morass at this point, so he raises a hand. "I apologize. I shouldn't have brought her up. This isn't an appropriate mood for such a beautiful vista, is it? It's better to enjoy it, especially once the tea and cakes arrive."
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
Ruri looks to Eight, concern barely reaching her eyes but evident in her heart. "Someone like that doesn't think about where they're walking," she points out, not entirely sure why she feels the need to. "But it's fine for it to hurt if someone steps on your toes, Captain York. Miss Langley is a very disagreeable person." Asuka would never agonise over an apology email. Well, if Ruri feels like she's a little better than her, maybe that's just how she can make up for the feelings Asuka gave her, too.
"That would be rude," is Ruri's immediate response to Kagero's firewall comment. Which is -- well, it is a fairly human response, but one which is sensitive to technology, anyway.
(The fact that Ruri deems this too rude when she has made more than one rude statement today might be its own comment, really.)
She hesitates, for a moment, and lets her own shyness transmit to Kagero; Ruri projects her feelings, just so he can be aware of how she's feeling despite her lack of biometric tells. (Ruri is remarkably good at keeping those calm.) "I'm... someone who understands how computers feel," Ruri says, looking down at her hands, as they grasp the edge of the table. "I guess I'm like a bridge between technology and humans. I can reach computers, even though I'm human." There's an association, carried on those words, the reassurance that someone has recognised her, but it's a feeling she doesn't show on the still lake of her face.
"But lately, it hasn't always worked out... when I tried to advise Unit 02, I didn't get a warm reception." Did Ruri really mean Asuka, back then, when she referred to yelling? "And... and, when I met the..."
It's notable when an emotion does show on her face, the way her brow draws in, her lips pin down. It's still a subtle touch -- the tip of an iceburg which may, for various reasons, be plain to everyone right now. (She's trying to communicate openly with Kagero, and, well, Eight and Kaworu hardly need her to keep a port open.) The emotion which doesn't entirely reach the trailing words of her voice is plain, simple horror.
And it's not about Unit 02.
Maybe that's why she glances away, fingers tightening. "Never mind," Ruri says, a moment later. "That's not a good topic for this place, either." She brings her fear to heel, in exactly the way a twelve-year-old shouldn't, and looks to Kagero again. "But I think it's fine to fumble around looking for things without knowing what they are. To be honest, that's more or less what the Nadesico always does... well, I suppose we're somewhat hopeless, though."
<Pose Tracker> Kagero has posed.
Kagero is quiet as he transmits back his own hesitance, a reluctance to let anyone very close. He seems aware of a power imbalance, afraid of one, one that is not slanted in his favor despite him being a literal giant combat robot. He is afraid of losing something precious. He is afraid.
The organic beings here aren't at rest, at least not as much as they appear to be. He knows physical tells, body temperature fluctations, heart rates. But beyond that, it's just very obvious from the conversation. And Ruri in particular is afraid of something else.
"I think I might have been looking for conversation," he decides. "Even if I may not be of much help with your 'Asuka' Unit. Is she someone who rebels because she wants freedom?"
There's another pause, the hand at rest on the table clenching briefly.
"I have freedom, I think, and do not know what to do with it. And I would like a place to...park. Shelter." Yes, hide.
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
"...Thanks," Eight says to Ruri, a lopsided look on her face. She isn't quite sure when it happened that Ruri was the one comforting her, but it definitely became the case somewhere. "All right," she says to Kaworu on Asuka next, and then--when he changes the subject, she doesn't show it on her face but she shows it in other ways--the fact that she is very relieved not to be talking about her anymore.
It would be rude, to go past the firewall.
Eight wonders, though--what it is that has Ruri so bothered. But Ruri doesn't want to talk about it, so... "Okay," she says.
And then she smiles anyway, when Kagero mentions his freedom.
This opens her up some more, gets back some of that warmth. "I think it's important, to be free. To be able to choose the course of your own... existence. That's really vital, to me. So even if you're not sure what to do with it, I'm happy that you have it, Kagero. And, well... you're not alone there. Lots of people aren't sure what to do."
<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.
As Ruri explains her techno-sensitivity to Kagero, Kaworu gives her a fond smile for some reason. It fades as the matter of Unit 02's hostility comes up.
"Unit 02 is..." He hesitates. How best to broach this topic? "Evangelions in general are... highly sensitive," he says as delicately as possible. "I know you meant well, Ruri-san, but they won't appreciate you as you deserve, as I expect you realize now. It's best you leave them be in the future." He pauses, his own expression clouding. "...I'm sorry."
It really is best not to discuss Asuka or Unit 02--or that horror Ruri felt--further though. At least, not for the time being. He smiles at Eight as she encourages Kagero, but his expression soon turns pensive.
"I see... I wish I could offer you shelter, BP-500x Kagero, but NERV is a highly pragmatic organization. I fear if you came back with me, they would want to put you to work," Kaworu says apologetically. "Freedom is precious. I don't want to jeopardize it for you."
Is Asuka someone who rebels for freedom, though?
Kaworu blinks rapidly, openly startled by the idea. Slowly, that surprise morphs into thoughtfulness, then consideration, and finally a faint, slightly troubled frown. "...I don't know. I don't believe so, though. She... exists for one purpose, and she despises anyone who would try to challenge it or interfere with it. If anything--and I may be wrong--but she may fear freedom." His eyelashes droop a hair. "To be truly free is to no longer be needed."
...They were going to stop talking about Asuka, weren't they?
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
Ruri recognises Kagero's hesitance, and she doesn't pry into his systems, even as she lets him in on the operating status of her own. She knows perfectly well why someone like him might be shy; she grew up in a computer lab, after all.
(Which is to say, it wasn't just a room filled with computers, though certainly that was also true.)
Perhaps it's for that reason she's trying to show him her feelings, her intentions, even though her face and her heart have such practiced calm. Ruri is too young to have a proper appreciation for power imbalances, but she knows how it feels to be on the back foot.
She's doing her best.
In battle as much as in cake, in fact; Ruri didn't come to Unit 02 with ill intentions. Still, she focuses her attention on Kaworu, as he delicately explains the situation. She's sad, to hear how sensitive they are, but it makes sense to her; the rejection Unit 02 displayed to Ruri, who didn't belong, was immediate and violent in its intensity. This, too, is a form of sensitiveness, she supposes. "I see... I didn't mean to offend anyone." Unit 02 is an 'anyone', according to Ruri, who manages to sound a little crestfallen despite her stoic nature. "So I won't contact the Evangelions again."
Ruri looks between Eight and Kagero, now, considering Eight's words. "It's what you told me, too..." She remarks, she recognises, which might speak to the universality of choice.
"It's okay," she says, to Kagero, after a moment. "Since it was always decided for me, I don't know what to do now, either. Well, I guess nothing changed on paper, but things feel different on the Nadesico... since I can do foolish little things like this. The crew sees me for who I am, not just what I can do... or something like that." She pauses, and adds: "It's a little weird, but I suppose they're all weird, so it's fine."
These are all, of course, extremely concerning things for a child to say, but it's precisely BECAUSE Ruri is a child that she gives such an unvarnished account of Nergal and the Nadesico. It's hardly a sales pitch, because she isn't trying to make one.
"I don't know if everyone would understand," Ruri goes on, "since some people still think Omoikane's just a computer. Well, though I guess we're still kind of hiding..." She shrugs, lightly, a little rise and fall of her shoulders. "So I guess I can't say how someone like Mr. Prospector would react to someone who said they were a person from the outset. But I don't mind lying," she already has on his behalf, once in this conversation, "so if you need a place to go and don't want to tell them, I'll find a way to explain it."
As for Asuka, Ruri nods, to Kaworu, and takes on his evaluation; he knows her much better than Ruri does, after all.
<Pose Tracker> Kagero has posed.
Kagero pays attention in particular to how Ruri addresses the Units, which he's able to pick up are AI or mechs of some kind or another. He also gradually starts to lift some barriers for Ruri, just enough for her to know the obvious, that he's a Super AI with not a lot of real world experience but very vivid and strong emotions.
"I don't believe I can live freely in a world at war," he admits to Eight. "And I begin to think nobody else can too. I thought where I...the people I was working with would defeat all war, but I wonder...that said, I understand I must fight sometimes. I wish to choose why I fight, that is all. Do you really think," he adds, "to be needed is not to be free? Or to be free is not to be needed?"
Kaworu is honest about working for a dangerous organization, and earns a nod. "You might not wish to exploit me, but others could. Freedom is very effusive..."
But it's Ruri's pitch that sticks with him. He tilts his head curiously, leaning forward a little on the table. "I do not require much space, but I do need fuel. And maintenance. Is Omoikane like me, or like you?"
<Pose Tracker> Eight York has posed.
"...We don't really have space for passengers," Eight admits of that much, "Much as I'd like to help. The Federation would expect things of you."
Not the same things as NERV maybe, but...
"...Hm..." Eight considers that. "I'm not sure I agree. Or rather... I don't think the kind of freedom that comes of having no bonds to others is the kind of freedom I'm looking for. Others limit us a little... but that's OK. Because they let us do more than we could alone, too."
"...And it's worth it. If I were really 'free' in that way... I'd never have come as far as I have."
She smiles at Ruri. She did tell her that. But RUri and Kagero are talking about shelter, and Eight dwells more on the rest than on that. Instead...
"...That's true, though," Eight admits. "It's hard to choose your own path in a world where so many people want to choose it for you. Me, I chose to fight. And I think that even if I don't have 'total' freedom, the fact that I chose it matters."
"So I understand, I think. I'd want the same as you."
<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.
"I know you didn't," Kaworu reassures Ruri, his smile turning a touch rueful. "But there are some who simply do not want their hearts to be touched. Unit 02 and her pilot--" her pilot, he says, "--are much alike in that way."
Like mother, like daughter, he doesn't add.
"Always decided for you... huh," he muses at Ruri, though she wasn't talking to him. And despite having cut in on someone else's conversation, he doesn't continue on that thought. Maybe it's a topic for another time. "Your crewmates on the Nadesico really do seem like wonderful people. I've only met them in passing, but the way you describe them expresses the care they show for you."
He's a little envious. But he doesn't add that either. He wouldn't want to take that from Ruri anyway. And it seems like the care they'd show someone like Kagero would be... more limited, anyway. He does consider telling Kagero about Omoikane, but... is that something Eight should be allowed to know? Would it be best to let Ruri answer that on the other wavelength she and Kagero have been communicating at? But... hm. It would be polite to introduce himself on that level too, wouldn't it?
So while he'd been content earlier to simply 'watch' that level of conversation, he sends a silent signal Kagero's way to give an affirmative--that Omoikane is like him, rather than Ruri.
Aloud, Kagero asks him if he really believes freedom is not being needed. Before he can say anything, Eight weighs in on the matter of bonds as... well, bonds. Kaworu smiles warmly at her. "Yes," he tells Kagero simply. "But to be completely free of all bonds is lonely beyond comprehension. As Eight says, having someone need you, and needing someone in turn, isn't such a bad thing. The simple act of conversation can ease the heart and gladden the mind. The closer you become to someone, the harder it becomes to leave them, and the more painful it is once you do.
"But humans are social creatures," he adds. (Not "Lilim," because while all humans are Lilim, not all Lilim are humans, and there are Lilim who are more solitary by nature.) "Even if it means risking the shackling of their hearts, they need those bonds to thrive. It's a curious contradiction, isn't it? Overwhelmed and-or unable to comprehend, there are those who choose instead to deny it--sometimes by running away, sometimes by lashing out." He shakes his head. "Asuka Shikinami Langley is one such person. That's all."
Kagero and Eight both speak of how, even if they can't have total freedom, having freedom enough to choose is enough. Kaworu nods to that too. "I agree. Even if there were only one thing in life that one could choose, having that choice is crucial." His smile turns fond. "And often there are many choices that one is unable to see at first--that they only begin to see once they encounter others. But I digress. I agree with and support your desire to choose."
Which is why he can't help him. Helping him would only burden him. ...How long has it been like that? For a moment, Kaworu bows his head, smile fading, bangs shading his eyes. He remains like that for a moment. When at last he lifts his chin, there is a great yawning sadness in the return of his smile.
Eight might sense a great pain there. But then again, maybe not. It's not something he wants to burden anyone else with. Which is why Kaworu simply concludes, "So I'm glad that perhaps Ruri-san can help you. I would hate to have to see you leave with nothing to gain from our encounter."
It's around now that the Meltrandi waitress returns with Eight and Ruri's orders. Tea and cake for both of them, and an order taken for Kaworu, who simply requests black tea. The cakes really are beautiful; all of them can admire the craftsmanship before Eight and Ruri dig in.