2022-04-07: Festival Night Viewing

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<Pose Tracker> Yoko Nakashima has posed.


        It's coming up on the tail end of Sakura Season, and the petals are more on the ground than on the trees, but there's still a beauty in what's left, illuminated by the lanterns across the parks.

        So at about 9PM, after a few hours of paperwork, debrief, and mechanics complaining about the repairs to Sevenger- again- and slow charging Windom to only roll out the artifical Neronga horns as needed (the director is making budget complaints), Yoko leans back in her chair, looking at a laptop. A message comes up, her eyes widen. Wait, really? It's that late?

        "Captain, permission to go on inactive standby?" She looks across to Haruki's desk, where hopefully, Haruki is. Once Hebikura gives an okay, she speaks up. "Haruki, we're heading out!"

        Not long after, walking through the cherry blossoms and the night vendors, still in her STORAGE fatigues. She's looking around, a smile on her face- Sakura Season is always a good memory for her. She may not have a Yukata here, but it's fine. Good food, good friends, and the sakura petals everywhere. It's a sight.

        ELSEWHERE

        Several other members of NERV organizations have received reminders about Yozakura, conveniently lining up with free time. But from who? And how did they know?

        As far as the sender is concerned it's just a trick he picked up somewhere. 

<Pose Tracker> Sanary Rondel has posed.

It doesn't take much coaxing for Sanary to take advantage of an opportunity to live it up. By the time she's halfway through reading the message conveniently left somewhere near her gear drop-off, she's already plotting out how to take advantage of the festivities to save some money on tonight's dinner.

Namely, the fact that she doesn't have to worry about tonight's dinner. Probably. Any savings she would have are quickly eliminated when she realizes she needs to actually have something appropriate to wear for the occasion, though, and she ends up settling for a flowery yukata-patterned hoodie that doesn't really stand up to close inspection if anyone's paying attention to who actually has a yukata.

Seeing several others without yukatas of their own offers her some small relief, at least. Members of her construction team get fist bumps and elbow smacks in passing, and her path eventually takes her towards where Yoko's hanging around. Grinning broadly, Sanary raises her hand in a casual wave. "Oh! Hey there, -"

Crap. She forgot her name. There's a distinctly awkward pause as Sanary's tone makes it obvious she was about to say some kind of name, and the abrupt shift following it makes it even more obvious she's drawing a blank. "Had anything good to drink yet? Saw some promising stuff around, but I'm tryin' not to get too messed up this early into the night."

<Pose Tracker> Hayato Jin has posed.

Hayato Jin doesn't usually go out on this holiday. But he has free time, a reminder, and a need to socialize, being surprisingly extroverted.

That is why a man in a pink kimono (not a yukata), incredibly fashionable, is somehow sneaking up on Sanary. If Yoko doesn't call him out, Sanary will never notice him. He stands behind her, silently, for several moments, and then...

"Sanary Rondel." It turns out he was trying to remember her name.

He is, in fact, her boss at NISAR. Hayato Jin, NISAR Captain. "I'd recommend sake, but no booze. Try the ramune." And then to Yoko, he does not nod or wave. His eyes bore a stare through her, until he realizes he does not know her name. "Hayato Jin, NISAR. I haven't seen the cherry blossoms since I was a child - they're quite lovely."

He never stops staring.

<Pose Tracker> Tetsuya Tsurugi has posed.

Cherry blossom season is one thing that will be taken from Japan over its cold, dead body. Even in Area 11, there are hanami gatherings! But this is not important, ultimately. This particular party is not being held in Area 11, after all.

Two people in particular are relatively early to this party. They've, in fact, already smoothed a blanket over the blossom-coated grass and have set out a few baskets full of food and drink-- more than could be reasonably consumed by just two people.

...Or three people, for that matter.

"Another year, another hanafubuki," Tetsuya Tsurugi, pilot of Great Mazinger and Hero of the Sky muses, lifting a sakazuki to gently catch a falling blossom atop the tranquil surface of his drink. He's wearing a deep, indigo yukata, the very picture of traditional fare.

"It's not just another year though, is it?" Asks the-- very pregnant-- woman sitting at his side. Jun Hono is wearing a much more modern robe, pale yellow with an ornate floral pattern. The two share a meaningful smile as Tetsuya gently folds a hand overtop of hers. For a moment, they are together in quiet bliss...

...And then other people start showing up, because this IS a Thing after all. "It's too bad Koji and Sayaka couldn't join us," Tetsuya sighs, "It's like they try to come up with excuses not to see each other sometimes."

"Oh you know those two," Jun answers, rolling her eyes, "They'll figure it out sooner or later. But they might need a little help, don't you think?"

<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.

Guy Shishioh was down on Earth again; for the most part, he's been swinging between Orbit Base and the small satellite facility 3G still has under the Space Development Corporation's Bay Tower. They have to rent it, these days, but it's still useful for studying the MANY AND HONESTLY CONCERNINGLY VARIED weird phenomena on Earth. Like that dimension hole hovering over the city. Or the many, many kaiju stomping around all the time. Or the huge laser men who fight them!

Those aren't problems today, though. Guy Shishioh is the boss (acting) (of only himself) and that means he makes his own schedule! So when his calendar goes ping! and reminds him that Sakura season is coming to a close, and indeed of a small gathering to attend, he decides he could use the stretch.

And thus, Guy appears; perhaps it says a bit about the state of his social life that he's mostly wearing the 3G jumpsuit, even including the single glove and the high turtleneck collar with the green Gutsy Galaxy Guard logo, but replacing the sweeping jacket of his status of Acting Chief with a gold-yellow half-vest.

He saunters up with his usual confident walk, face breaking out in a smile as he sees familiar faces. "Tetsuya!" he says, probably singlehandedly shattering the quiet. "And Jun! There you are!" He'll go annoy Hayato later, he decides, he looks busy. With...being intense. 

<Pose Tracker> Shota Hebikura has posed.

"Permission granted. Have a good ni~ght!" Hebikura waves, from his in-office workstation, fingertwiddling with his left hand while he maneuvers a trackball mouse with his right. A narrow brown ring stamps a folded piece of paper on his desk, which has been there since this morning. The coffee that came with it had been drunk and cup discarded. And yet, it seemed that the good Captain had some admin tasks to complete before letting out himself.

ON THE STREETS

Shota Hebikura, wearing a black and red kimono jacket over his STORAGE uniform and shoes, undiscretely tails Tetsuya Tsurugi. His tailing is further complicated by stopping to actually buy the street food he turns into every time he enters into a stall to 'duck' the attention. He resorts to tailing Guy Shishioh when he loses Tetsuya. He resorts to tailing Hayato Jin, but Hayato Jin actually looks behind himself at regular intervals and so Hebikura had to buy two of the same noodle bowl.

Now, finally, Hebikura creeps up on Yoko, as she peruses the festival. "Nakashima-kun, have you seen Tetsuya?" Hebikura asks bluntly, smiling. "I was following him." It is his best 'I was told to spy on him' smile, but that's all his smiles. "But he ducked through too many stalls, so I lost him."

Then, craning his head, he points past Yoko, to the knot of NERV personell gathering in a Dudes Singularity. "There they are. Thanks, Lieutenant." Hebi steps past at a trot.
Sanary Rondel has connected. 

<Pose Tracker> Haruki Natsukawa has posed.

        Time off is always great, even if it's technically probably being filed under idle work time. Since it's such a big occasion too, sort of, he should probably find something nice to wear. Then again, what does he have? Yukatas are more for summer, not spring, and it's not like he even knows where his is in his apartment anyway... He should really get around to cleaning his dresser...

         Well, his STORAGE uniform will have to do for now, as it normally does, as it's probably more comfortable to wear than a yukata or kimono anyway (or most of his formal wear to be honest). Yoko easily ropes Haruki into joining her, getting an enthusiastic "KAY" from him in response as he quickly cleans up his desk area before heading out.

         LATER:

         The sin of not looking at least somewhat festive began to weigh heavily on Haruki at some point or another, as while he's still dressed in his work attire, he's picked up a cherry blossom themed jacket, which is haphazardly thrown over his jumpsuit. He's also currently tasked with setting up sitting towels and more underneath the sakura trees. It's a task he's pretty much done with at this point, but he's at the moment just going over everything one more time to make sure things aren't out of place. 

<Pose Tracker> Tetsuya Tsurugi has posed.

Guy is many things, but being a quiet, tranquil soul while he's busy trying to keep his chin up above the rising tide of dread associated with his entire extended family attempting to drown the world in orange crush is not one of them. Though he's certainly not an unwelcome face, either. "Guy. Glad you could make it," Tetsuya smiles, fishing out another sakazuki, "Come, join me for a few drinks! Are the kids with you today? Mamoru and Kaidou are both old enough now, aren't they? Ah, they grow up too fast...!"

"I don't think they'd like to drink with a couple of old men on a day like this," Jun jokes, and Tetsuya quietly harrumphs into his drink. "Guy, it's so wonderful to see you again," she continues, confident that Tetsuya will probably get over it, "I'm sure GGG has been keeping you busy. Have you settled in well? Now that we're all working under the same umbrella, it should be easier to stay in touch than it was."

Of course, she doesn't mention... the situation at all. But Jun was always the more sensitive of the two when it came to that sort of thing.

"Looks like Hayato's here too," Tetsuya murmurs. The situation with Ryouma is still... somewhat difficult. Though admittedly, Kouji was closer with Getter Team than he was. "Oh, Guy, are you going to be spending more time around Tokyo, or do they still have you running back and forth from Orbit Base? Have you had a chance to meet the kiddos on my end?"

SOMEONE HAS BEEN STALKING HIM. Tetsuya... has acted as though he hadn't noticed, but...

This is Tetsuya Tsurugi. Chances are very good that he and Jun did notice, and simply said absolutely nothing. The two of them are... somewhat 'dangerous,' after all. Still, they're not moving now. Hebikura has a straight shot to do... whatever it is Hebikura wants to do...!

<Pose Tracker> Sanary Rondel has posed.

A voice comes out from behind Sanary suddenly, and it takes all of her self-control not to flip out and punch the source or, more realistically, yelp and make herself look like a wuss. She does flinch a bit, though, more out of the surprise rather than an ingrained 'oh shit it's my boss' or even a 'oh shit it's a war hero' reaction.

"Ah! Evenin', Captain. Or... Hell, Jin's fine while we're not on the clock, right?" She's pretty chummy even without drinking, at least, and it certainly helps that she's had enough time to get used to his presence compared to most others. "Sake, huh? Does sound a lot more traditional than the usual stuff. Ramune, though..." There's a longer pause there, a brief look aside, and then she forces an awkward-sounding laugh that's definitely hiding something. "Come on, it's not like there's any kids around here."

She's totally deflecting something there. Luckily, there's an opportunity to introduce herself properly (and also get some names. "Sanary Rondel, construction lead with NISAR, NERV, whatever needs proppin' up before or after the fireworks shows." She laughs, and then she freezes momentarily when she sees MORE HEROES.

To her credit, she's trying really hard not to stare at Tetsuya, Jun, and Guy. It's pretty obvious that she is even with the eyepatch, though, and she's able to draw her attention back to the more immediate conversation at hand when Hebikura identifies Yoko('s last name) for her. "Thanks!"

Sanary doesn't elaborate on why she's thanking him.

<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.

Guy bursts into a grin at the invitation from Tetsuya. "Don't mind if I do!" he all but cheers.

"Can't have the whole Mobile Unit on leave at once," he says of the not-actually-that-much-junior-anymore pilots, with a helpless shrug. He accepts the offered sakazuki with a dextrous hand. "They're on standby at Orbit Base with NichiRyu and GetsuRyu just in case Bionet gets cheeky."

And of course, he favors Jun with his warm smile and a tip of his cup to motion she has his attention. "Alouette tells me the correct response is that you've gotten even lovelier, Jun," he says with a laugh. "It's good to see you! I couldn't believe my ears when I heard the news, congratulations! I've been doing..." He tips his head. He can be honest with these people, enough to signal that it's not exactly sunshine and roses right now. "It's been tough. But 3G Blue has been very supportive. And, with everything under the same roof, I guess I won't have the excuse that you and Tetsuya have disappeared into Guyana for a year anymore."

Directing his attention to Tetsuya - and halfway, in that way warriors have, attending to Hayato without turning to look - he nods. "Sounds like he's been busy. I'm glad he's got something occupying him." Their situations aren't the same, but...they're close enough that Guy thinks he has an idea, anyway. Though of course, Hayato is also a...rather different, person from Guy.

"Right now I'm floating in-between," he says, changing the subject. "PhantomGao means I'm more mobile than just about anyone else we have. I spoke with that Administrator Kaworu of yours the other day...seems like he's got his head on his shoulders. Haven't really spoken face-to-face with any of the rest, though, not other than that general meeting."

<Pose Tracker> Yoko Nakashima has posed.


        What are the chances of that? So much of the rest of NERV's branch organizations appearing here and now. Yoko- who has been collecting food because it's unfair to have Haruki pay for everything. At least without an arm wrestling match. So it's fair for him to set up the space. But when she's stopped by Sanary, she smiles. "Yoko Nakashima, STORAGE." No need to drag the awkwardness out, people forget names, it's fine. "And you are? Ah! Director Jin!" She sees Hayato coming up- how is she not, seeing one of THE pilots of THE Getter Robo in front of her-, and gives a respectful bow. "It's an honor to meet you in person."

        She doesn't get a chance to answer Sanary's question, because HER Captain is suddenly behind her. "Captain! She stands to attention- inactive standby is STILL on duty. "Tetsuya Tsurugi is here too? She looks where Hebi looks, and sees Tetsuya, Jun and Guy all together. A positive gathering of heroes, but Hebi is already off- "Uh, Captain, Haruki has a space over there, if you want to join us! The others are welcome!"

        She looks to the others. "Open to you as well. You don't get much chance for a late nght Hanami picnic, after all." Yoko buys a bottled smoothie for herself, and a ramune for Haruki. Hebi can sort out his own drink, he has a better paycheck.

        She starts walking, expecting others to follow them. She doesn't expect Haruki to be left out in the cold. She walks over to Haruki, tossing him a bag of mochi. "Heads up! We have guests." 

<Pose Tracker> Hayato Jin has posed.

Hayato Jin, unfortunately for Sanary, is both very perceptive and very blunt. After he nods to Yoko's bow, and accepts 'Jin' from his subordinate with a 'I don't care', he stares Sanary in the eye. "What, exactly, are you being awkward about? You're deflecting."

As everyone is likely to start gathering, Hayato tilts his head to Guy and nods, once. Respect between people with history.

"Ah, I have a drink."

A ramune slides out of Hayato's kimono, as he decides to join Yoko and Haruki. Where was he keeping that?! 

<Pose Tracker> Sanary Rondel has posed.

Whew. Nobody else noticed that forgetting of names besides Sanary herself! Clearly. That's what she tells herself internally as Yoko introduces herself, still grinning when she's introducing herself once more just to try and really nail that first impression again. "Sanary Rondel, construction lead with NISAR and NERV, probably even helped put some STORAGE stuff together from time to time. I mean, we're all one big confusing family out here, yeah?"

She laughs, and then she actually has to hold in a second laugh when Yoko addresses Hayato in such a different way. Of course, considering Sanary's inability to even address Tetsuya and Jun and Guy properly herself...

No such thing as double standards.

"Yeah, sure. I'll get some sake and-" Oh crap. Hayato noticed that! She looks to the side briefly, then sighs and rubs the back of her neck with much of that earlier apprehension. "It's... Ah, just some dumb shit I did as a kid. You know, when kids haven't figured out how stuff works like reading instructions or..."

She mutters. "... Not trying to crack open empty bottles to get the marble out." That might explain some of the older scars on her hand.

<Pose Tracker> Shota Hebikura has posed.

"You're welcome!" Hebikura calls to Sanary, far too late for it to be contextually relevant, and yet, it is exactly the answer to their last prompt. He is a chaos agent. He has a mission.

Yoko musters STORAGE's local forces, and the uniforms of the soldiers line up to cause problems for old men on purpose. It's a surgical strike.

Hebikura reaches into his kimono jacket inner pocket, and gravely draws out -- a dispensation for holiday leave and and officer's expensed dinner. The local defense minister's signature's signature is on it.

"I have a certain way, gentlemen, ladies. Which is to say, this badge--" He thumbs to the back of his tag, looks over his shoulder, notices his jacket, frowns, while dropping his hand to his lapel and half-snap-righting it, peeling it aside to reveal his front patch, with STORAGE emblem and command star. "Is paying for the food tonight. Think of it as a thank-you, from the people of..."

Hebikura makes a face. "Whatever they're calling this place politically these days. Bako had to figure out which minister to lean on. Interior... Undersecretary..." He waves it off with the dispensation like a bad air. "Military ranks are easier. More triangles means it's better." He sulks. 

<Pose Tracker> Tetsuya Tsurugi has posed.

With the sakazuki comes a skillfully poured dishful of smooth sake. "Hah, that's too bad. Probably for the best, though. Those kids have really grown into some impressive heroes in their own right, haven't they?" Tetsuya chuckles and sips slowly from his own dish. "Haven't had too many chances to meet the new dragons though. They're from Germany, I hear? Sisters to the French pair?"

"Oh my, still such a charmer, Shishioh Guy. If only more pilots would take after your good manners," Jun answers with a wry grin, as Tetsuya grumbles just a bit more. They're married, she's allowed to rib him on the regular. But her expression soon softens as she lays a hand meaningfully atop her swollen belly, "Thank you, that's very kind. Sometimes I can hardly believe it either. Ah, but it's not all good. In fact, since you've returned, we've had to go right back to the drawing board with names, haven't we?"

Tetsuya... coughs meaningfully into a fist. The red on his face is only somewhat due to the alcohol. "Yes, well... You know you can always rely on us if you need any help, Guy," he says, perhaps trying to change the subject?? "Not just for Great Mazinger. We've all been through a lot, haven't we?"

And so has Hayato. Perhaps more than most, in fact. The quiet moment passes, and Tetsuya keeps the small talk moving. "Yeah, no kidding. I don't want to think what he might get up to if he ever got bored," Tetsuya says with a shrug. "The NERV kids are... they're good kids, by and large. 'Kids.' Heh. We weren't much older than they are when we got started, nevermind Mamoru and Kaidou." Children and war always seem somehow inexplicably, tragically, drawn to one another. "The Administrator's a decent sort too, but... Enigmatic, I suppose?" But then, 'enigmatic' describes most of NERV's upper echelons.

Tetsuya cranes his head over at a particular Hebikura's sudden declaration, then nods firmly. "Well, you heard him. It's all on the government's dime today, cheers to the bureaucracy." Jun frowns but only a little because free meals are free meals, and neither of these two were brought up to turn their nose up at something like that. "Careful, dear. Your metabolism isn't what it used to be...!"

"...We're not that old, Jun."

(Sometimes (frequently), he acts like it though) 

<Pose Tracker> Hayato Jin has posed.

Someone else is paying for the food. *Excellent*. All within budget.

Sanary explains her history with ramune. "You open it like this." Hayato tells her, and then slowly and smoothly opens the ramune, as if he's been practicing forever. (He has.)

And then he takes a drink, before glancing over the scars. His own hands have them, too, but they're not from ramune. "Scars are a sign of experience, not stupidity. A smooth corpse is less valuable than a scarred person." It'd be good wisdom, if it wasn't spontaneous during a cherry blossoms viewing.

But nonetheless, his social link starting with Sanary, Hayato moves to drink, and once the food is ready, eat. 

<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.

"They really have," Guy says, thoughtfully watching the sky as he cradles his own dish. "Amazing to think that in the space of a few hours for me, those young boys became Kings of Braves." He's smiling, fondly. He glances over. "Ah! They are, yes. Unfortunately I guess they've got a problem...they had to be deployed separately often, due to 3G Blue's manpower limits. Which means they've developed a small professional rivalry." He chuckles. "We know about that kind of thing, of course. But it means they haven't been able to get a SympaRate over about 70." He shakes his head. "So we have no idea when we'll see SeiRyuJin. I guess Research is looking into it."

Guy laughs a bold, "HAH!" at the quip about naming. "Well, I'd be honored, of course," he says, and sips gently at his sake. "...and I appreciate it, Tetsuya. Hopefully...hopefully soon there'll be something to discuss."

That was more or less a hypothetical. A distant hope that next time, he can be there with Mikoto, and--

He burns the thought with the taste of rice wine, then quips, "Hah, speak for yourself! I was 18 even before I became a cyborg. I don't think I was ever that...tangled up." Mikoto might gently point out at this point that you have to be a little bit of a mess to bend yourself into a multidisciplinary supergenius for the sole purpose of getting into the astronaut program as fast as possible. But she isn't here to say it.

"Ahh! Wow, STORAGE is pulling out all the stops, huh?" he says, and tips his cup in acknowledgment and praise. "Thanks much, Captain!"

Come to think of it, he should swing by NERV and STORAGE, later. Get to the know the neighbors, so to speak.

<Pose Tracker> Haruki Natsukawa has posed.

         "Eh?"

         Haruki's caught slightly off guard by the thrown mochi. The bag hits his face with an audible slap, but he's quick to catch it after it slides off comically.

         "Oh. Hello! Glad you all could make it."

         Surprisingly to Haruki, he pretty much recognizes every face here. There's a few of them he hasn't personally met, but when you hear about them enough on TV as a kid, it's sort of like you did.

         "Huh. It's kind of scary how good you are at turning things in your favor, Hebi-san. Are you sure it's not the other way around as to why you have so many triangle?"

         Actually, should he still be calling Hebikura boss even though they're not really on duty? Haruki pauses to think for a moment, before deciding that it's fine.

         He decides to to join up with the rest of the group rather than continue to slave away with setup that's been completed, adjusting his jacket a bit to fit a bit better as he strides up casually.

         "So! Everyone enjoying themselves? I mean, it looks like it, but I thought I'd ask anyway."

<Pose Tracker> Sanary Rondel has posed.

Hayato demonstrates the proper technique for opening a ramune bottle, and Sanary pays eerily close attention to it. "That much is familiar, at least... Uh. But that means you're not supposed to get the marble out at all, huh?"

She still sounds a little disappointed at that, but she manages a chuckle after a while. "Well, don't you worry about that happening again. I did get some experience outta that!" She's taking his lesson to heart, even if she sounds just a little too proud about having devised a strategy entirely for getting the marble out of a ramune bottle without injuring herself. Those words of wisdom have her quieting down for a while, though, as she weighs it all in her mind with a thoughtful murmur.

"I think... Yeah, I get you. The construction experience sure as hell didn't come from just staying inside and drawin' up plans all day." She strokes her chin lightly with another thoughtful noise. "Just gotta... Get out there and keep at it. Whatever it is, anyway. Can't stay smooth-brained forever, right?"

With the drinks and food starting to go around, Sanary's all too eager to... Actually, she's pretty good about pacing herself despite her boisterous(ish) behavior. She looks like she isn't, but it takes a fairly long time for her to get her dish filled back up on average. Part of it might also be because she's not particularly used to drinking from a dish, but a large part of it is simply from being used to being the least-shitfaced one at the end of a night with her construction team. 

<Pose Tracker> Tetsuya Tsurugi has posed.

"Pfah, 'Research is looking into it.'" Tetsuya scoffs with all the crotchetiness of a man six times his age. "The only way they're going to get those two to see eye to eye is by uniting their hearts. It'll happen one way or another, as long as they've got brave hearts and the chance to make it work." In the immortal words of Kotaro Taiga, courage can make 0.01\% into 100\%. "Going from 70\% to 100\% should be child's play for them!"

The conversation traipses back into more somber topics, then. "You'll get them back, Guy," Jun reassures him, offering an expertly packed onigiri. "You and those boys in the sky will make it happen. And of course, we'll do everything we can, too."

Booze makes all the bad thoughts go away. Eventually. Once you apply enough of it. "God, 18. Lucky bastard. When did we get our start?" Tetsuya asks, arching a brow Jun-ward, who cants her head thoughtfully. "I don't think we were counting our ages back then," she says, "Dad took us in early, though...?"

"Ah, well, it doesn't matter. We've had it hard in different ways." Tetsuya huffs. Neither he nor Jun had to have their ENTIRE BODIES replaced with robot parts, after all. Neither of them had to deal with having an artificial face staring them back in the mirror in a desperate bid to help retain some semblance of humanity. They're just a couple of battle beasts that managed to find happiness off the killing fields, is all.

"We're having a great time," Jun answers Haruki with a smile. "It's a small miracle we all had a free day on the very same day, isn't it?" It's almost as though Jun suspects something...! 

<Pose Tracker> Yoko Nakashima has posed.


        "Haruki!" She sounds a little... concerned and frustrated. "Your reflexes are better than that! This is why Sevenger keeps taking so much damage!" She sighs, but still sits near him on the towels, laying out her share and picking up a yakitori skewer, and pulling off a chunk with her teeth.

        Yoko gives a shrug. "I mean, you can just cut off the lid with a pocket knife or something. Or heat it up with a hairdryer." She says, dropping it like a weird factoid.

        She sighs. "I see the Captain is spending the hospitality budget," she sighs. Is he using up funds to justify a bigger budget grab. Or just being nice. Or maybe an outreach to the Photon Power Labs and GGG? God, the things she could do with something that had as much as GaoFar spent on it.

        But this isn't supposed to be about the work. It's supposed to be about taking a break, and the sakura trees. She smiles at Haruki and gives a nod. "Yep. I can't believe I almost missed it. My mom and I went every year, rain or shine, and then I'd go with friends after she passed. I guess we've all been busy, but I'm glad you could make it." She looks out at the trees. "It's fleeting beauty, but thats what makes it all the more important. To protect it so you can see it again next year." There's no melancholy there, just happy memories.

        She looks back at Haruki and Sanary. "What about you two? I'm guessing you're pretty busy with all the rebuilding. Kaiju aren't easy on the city, as much as we try."

        Guy and Tetsuya and Jun are right there. Heroes. "Well, we're not off duty all the way. But Sevenger's getting repaired, and Windom's charging. And Yuka's still back at base monitoring." She pauses. "It's nice to meet you both in person. You've done so much to protect the Earth already, so I hope we can keep it up." They'll have to work harder when Tetsuya's on paternity leave. 

<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.

Guy chuckles. "Right, but remember our research division specializes in Brave Super-AIs, they're already thinking on those lines. I should give Minae a call, actually...I wonder if she could help them." A Brave Therapist might just be the thing...he hasn't spoken with Minae since his return, come to think of it.

He favors Jun with a smile, and accepts the food too. "I know we will. The waiting's hard, but...we'll get there, in the end. I know it."

Guy chuckles and nips into that onigiri instead of rising to Tetsuya's jab, though he does offer a teasing wink.

Swallowing first, then sipping his drink, he says, "That's right, and we'll use our scars to keep fighting!"

Guy has half of an Onigiri in his mouth when Yoko properly greets him. He chews quickly, thumps his chest briefly when his throat protests, and then says, "Nakashima, right? Andddd Natsukawa? From STORAGE! Those anti-Kaiju robots are somethin'! Must be real tough to wrangle a machine like that."

...this might be a sideways jab at Tetsuya and the complicated controls of a Mazinger, because Guy has never had to actually control a robot in his life. Except that one time that he hasn't really talked about.

<Pose Tracker> Tetsuya Tsurugi has posed.

"Hmph, fair enough I suppose. Well, I've got faith regardless. They'll figure something out, I'm sure." Brave Therapy might just be what they need. Come to think of it, all of the old GGG Braves are... probably going to need some of that, sooner or later.

"The pleasure is all ours. Thank you so much for inviting us all to such a lovely hanami. I'm sure you'll all do great," Jun answers Yoko with a confident smile, "You've already shown that a few kaiju won't stop you. I only wish I could be out there with you all too."

But for a very good reason, she can't be. So it's up to STORAGE for now, it seems.

"We won't leave you to take care of everything on your own," Tetsuya promises, though his job at NERV and paternity leave will... probably mean they're going to have to take care of things without Great Mazinger for at least a little while. "But it's reassuring to see that we've got such competent juniors. Please don't hesitate to reach out to the Photon Power Labs if you need assistance." 

<Pose Tracker> Haruki Natsukawa has posed.

         "We're on standby! Besides, I don't think standing vigilant for flying mochi is something most people do."

         Half-heartedly attempts to defend himself. Mostly because Yoko's partially right, he could be better, but at the same time... It's mochi... It's never killed anyone. He hopes.

         "Huh? The SAAs? They're actually not that bad, Shishioh-san. Bako and the rest of the crew make sure they run smoothly, and it only takes a couple months of training to learn all the controls! The worst part is the time limit, but uh... Well, I guess they're pretty big robots, so they're going to eat a lot of power because of that."

         Haruki realizes he's not sure why the SAA units are so power hungry compared to other robots. He assumes, after right now, it's the size. Big things take big power, it's simple science. Then again, science isn't his strong point. Maybe he should ask about it later. Or maybe he shouldn't, it's not like he's going to understand it and he'll probably regret asking Yuka anyway.

         As he thinks about the logistics of robot battery life, Haruki absent mindedly opens the bag of mochi and stuffs a few pieces of it into his mouth 

<Pose Tracker> Yoko Nakashima has posed.


        Yoko nods to Guy. "That's us! And they're not too bad. Not so different from a Wanzer or a Valkyrie. A lot more switches, a slightly more complicated interface. Like Haruki said, the batteries are the real problem." She sighs.

        Yoko blinks at Jun. "Hm?" That's odd... "I didn't send any invites- I just got a reminder of what time it was." Did someone... arrange for this? She sighs. Unless a Kaiju is about to attack- and Yuka would have alerted them by now- it's surely just chance. "Still, I'm glad you're having a good evening."

        She nods to Tetsuya. "Don't worry, Tsurugi-san. We can handle it, you should take the time you need." She's... a little impassioned about that. "You wouldn't want to miss things due to fighting." She knows what can happen there. "Besides, while you and Great are powerful, I'm sure with Z-Sama's help we can carry the load. He's strong and reliable!" For those attuned to such things, you can hear a slight tone of 'big crush' in Yoko's voice.

        So basically no one here will hear it.

        "Oi, Haruki, you should have something with protein along with the sugar, right? The amount you train you need extra." She offers him some takoyaki, placing the box in front of them, and then... grabs a stick of dango for herself. What? She's had chicken.

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