2024-01-05: Two Dork Pileup
- Log: 2024-01-05: Two Dork Pileup
- Cast: Mikoto Utsugi, Akane Shinjo
- Where: GGG Orbit Base
- OOC - IC Date: 4 October, 0097
- Summary: While refamiliarizing herself with Orbit Base, Mikoto encounters a member of staff she doesn't recognize- only to find out it's Akane Shinjo. Bygones are allowed to be bygones, and Akane invites Mikoto to graduation.
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Utsugi has posed.
It's been a long time since Mikoto had been on Orbit Base, but it's been good to be home. Seeing old friends and familiarizing herself with the changes has taken up much of her time- but she's had downtime now for the first time in years.
Right now, she's standing at an observation window, looking at the Earth below. It's the first chance she's had to really look since she was purified. A gentle smile sits upon her face. Even if the world is in a new type of chaos...
"The Earth really is beautiful." She says, to no-one in particular. She's just glad to be able to appreciate it again.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Mikoto's not the only one on Orbit Base. Well, obviously that's true; 3G is a large operation and there's a lot that needs to happen to keep it running. However, importantly, there's a certain Intelligence member who's also here. She's actually at a bit of a loose end right now, though; 3G has stuff it's monitoring, and it's more Blue's responsibility than Green's, but...
... Akane finally passes Mikoto when neither of them are busy or otherwise occupied with someone for the first time. She looks to Mikoto, and it's with a little guilt in her expression. Should she even say anything, though...?
... she decides to lead with the positives and see where things go. It can't hurt. "... I'm glad you're back," she says, with an awkward smile on her face.
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Utsugi has posed.
Mikoto is caught slightly by surprise when someone comes by, caught up as she is in the view. She turns to the... vaguely familiar voice, smiling. "Thank you!" Her own guilt about what she did under Triple Zero hasn't faded away, but that's no reason not to accept that with good grace.
Still, Mikoto looks at the person across from her, a slightly confused look on her face. "Um, I'm sorry but... are you from 3G Blue?" She asks, clearly trying to place who she's talking to.
"I just don't think we've been introduced."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
That's one hell of an icebreaker -- and for Akane, 'I just don't think we've been introduced' almost instantly has her losing it. She starts with an "Mmhm!" and opens her mouth to continue -- and then starts giggling.
And keeps giggling.
It's almost a relief? "No, this is definitely the first -- snnrrthh -- okay. Okay. Okay! Okay." She breathes a brief sigh of relief, then says, "Okay, let's -- try that again. I think it's kinda the first time we've met and kinda not. The first time that matters, anyway." She breathes in and out, with a, "Hoooooo. Oh, wow, okay."
Then she finally tries again. "Akane Shinjo. I'm with 3G Intelligence."
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Utsugi has posed.
That was *really* not the reaction Mikoto expected.
"d-Did I say something funny?" She asks, the confusion only mounting as Akane *continues* to giggle. She blinks a few more times. The first time it matters? What could that possibly mean?
"It's nice to meet you, Shinjo-san. I'm Mikoto Utsugi, Operat-"
A beat.
"Ehhhhh!?" Mikoto's hand goes to her mouth, clearly shocked. "W-wait, Shinjo-san from Tsutsujidai? But you... your hair, and- y-you're-"
The initial surprise passed, Mikoto's mouth hangs open, perfectly ready to catch her foot. "I, uh. You really changed so quickly..."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
This is gloomy Mikoto? She's so...
... dorky.
Akane brings a hand up to her face, giggling a bit. "Ehehe... this is my natural color. Well, mostly, anyway -- I did have to even out with an old dye job? And some of that was kinda fried..." ... It's been a year since then, she realizes -- she could probably do fine if she stopped coloring it...
"Anyway, yeah," she says, rubbing at the back of her head. "I had... a lot going on then. I think kinda more than I was letting on, even. It's fine. I, uh..." Laughing nervously, she says, "I figure the best thing we can do is just, like, mulligan on the whole..." She pauses, then shakes her head.
"... actually, you know what?" A pause. "Utsugi-san, would you like to come to my graduation?"
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Utsugi has posed.
"Oh, really?" Mikoto seems a little surprised by even that much. "I guess I didn't even think of that..." It's not like she was in the headspace at the time- or that people with naturally pink hair were unusual to her.
It's Mikoto's turn to look guilty. Certainly she wasn't herself, but she was prepared to use Akane to stop the opposition to Triple Zero. "So you just want to start from scratch?" She asks, in that pause, just before Akane makes a second offer. A second offer that gets a more serious shocked look from Mikoto.
"A lot of them won't accept their own worlds... do you wanna come to graduation? It's like a year and a half off, but still. Might be a good time, given how many of them are connected to you guys.
Shinjo-san... I can't. This world won't exist by the time of your graduation. Nothing in this universe will.
%She seems to take a few moments as she remembers that moment.
And then, slowly, the smile returns to Mikoto's face. Looks like she was wrong after all. "...I'd love to, Shinjo-san, if that's what you want."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane seems relieved as Mikoto agrees. "... Great," Akane says, and it feels -- okay, for a moment. It doen't instantly cut through all the awkwardness of the moment; even if the circumstances were radically out-of-scope, that was them, too. ... But it doesn't have to define them, and that's nice in its own way.
"This is probably when you'll see me around the most for a little while," Akane says, with a slightly awkward smile. "If this weekend goes okay, I'll be heading to university soon. I don't think that'll mean being away all the time, but it'll definitely mean these kinds of duties take a backseat for a few years."
That's right -- it's January, so it's U-FITS time...
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Utsugi has posed.
It's kind of nice to have these sorts of little concerns these days. She's a long way past graduation herself, now. But it'll be nice, to be there to cheer someone on. "Maybe I can see Tsutsujidai properly afterwards."
Mikoto nods. "Well, it's good to have school be the priority, isn't it? U-FITS can be tough, unless it's changed since I went to school." She pauses for a moment. "Still, once you're into university, it's not as hard to change direction. Take it from someone who had to hard pivot their degree."
She looks back out the observation window briefly, before looking back. "I'll probably be living on Orbit Base for the moment. At least as long as Guy's still acting chief." A pause. "Though... we'll probably move into a shared quarters finally..."
There's a slightly dreamy expression creeping onto Mikoto's face there. "I mean, BioNet are gone, the Sol Masters are gone, and we saved Galeon... There's nothing really stopping us anymore." The dreamy expression is joined by a blush. What could she be thinking about.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"It's a nice city... I think I was kinda in the way of the whole thing," Akane admits, with a rub at the back of her head. There's still a lot to unpack there, really -- but she can manage that on her own time.
"I think I know what I want to study, but... it's a pretty wide field, and I could take it in a lot of directions," Akane answers. "I could just go straight into full time work with you guys, but... I kinda want to know that I'm not, like, locked into any one thing."
The topic drifts a little -- and Akane spots Mikoto's sudden shift in mood immediately. A hint of mischief creeps into her smile. "Oh, wow. I knew you two missed each other, but, just, wow. ... Still, like -- there's a lot more to BioNet than just Dr. Thanatos. Don't get too excited about moving on to the nothing to do but make out stage."
A beat passes, before she adds, "... but, uh, trust me, the nothing to do but make out stage is kinda fun in small doses." Now she's blushing.
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Utsugi has posed.
In the way, hm...? There's probably a whole story there that Mikoto is not sure it's right to pick into right now. "Well, I'm looking forward to it." It hasn't occurred to Mikoto that Akane might not be graduating in Tsutsujidai.
"I think it's good to take the time. Jumping straight into work after high school isn't for everyone. Besides, there's enough of us now that we can cut each other some slack, right?" A pause. "Besides, the kohai shouldn't be doing all the senpais work for them!"
Mikoto doesn't deny it. "Ehe... Well. We've been apart a long time... And before everything I got Gai's Mom's approval, too! So there's a lot of lost time to make up for..."
Akane pulls her out of it for a momenyt, though. "Oh, right! I suppose it wouldn't be that easy..." Unfortunately, what Akane adds just sends her right back to it, blushing a little brighter herself, her hands going to her cheeks. "...Yeah... Well... maybe it will be a big dose for us."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane figures she can tell the whole story later, when Mikoto's had a little more time to get situated. Right now, it's best if they get used to each other as they are now before going over anything too heavy.
"Yeah, exactly. Plus, like... I want to pick up some skills I can use for 3G, too," Akane explains. She doesn't really have the mental bandwidth to go into detail; there's a lot of stuff to handle between studying and 3G work. "And -- ah... right now I'm not sure we have much of a choice... Intelligence is kinda short-staffed right now. Even bringing over some switch hitters from Research isn't really doing it..."
... but in the end, the most fun thing to talk about is the relationships. "If anyone deserves it, it's you guys. Guy's missed you a ton. ... He's been really interesting to get to know, so, you know." With mischief in her eyes, she teases, "No pressure."
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Utsugi has posed.
Mikoto nods, her rabbit ear like hairstyle bobbing back and forth. "I understand. Hopefully Entouji-kun and Volfogg will be able to help with the load..." Intelligence operations have never been her skillset- despite being dragged into the occasional field op.
Or being kidnapped by insane french mummy cyborgs. That's happened too.
"...I know he has." Mikoto says, a little quietly. "I think we both knew how bad it was for each other." Despite the moroseness of the topic, Mikoto smiles warmly. "He's always been like that, ever since high school. I guess I have been too." Mikoto's not the sort to pass up on a chance to be like this, it seems.
"Wait, no pressure on what?" Mikoto asks, that confused face returning. Still, she rallies after a second, realizing something of a like minded individual. "So, Shinjo-san, you know all about me and Guy, right?" Or at least, enough. "So it's only fair I get to hear about you and your special someone, isn't it?"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"Yeah. Even with 3G Green back, there's still some areas that are kinda short on staff..." Akane says, with a nod. It still feels sort of strange to think about Kamuy's absence... she didn't really like him, but that doesn't mean she doesn't feel the hole.
"Ehehehe... I'm saying you don't have to be interesting," Akane teases, before -- oh no. This time it's her getting caught.
... and her turn to turn extremely pink. "W-well. Rikka and I were always kind of..." She gestures. "... I kinda let the idea that it'd be unfair get in the way of it? And I mean -- if things hadn't gone the way they did, it kind of would have been unfair, but I turned it into a whole thing in my head. We've really had to fight to make it work -- it's been a lot." She pauses, before adding, "... I think she's better at telling her story than I am. But she's amazing and I'm... really, really happy things worked out."
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Utsugi has posed.
Mikoto had heard 3G Blue had losses, and intelligence personnel good enough for 3G are hard to train. "...I hope that things will at least slow down enough for you to take a breather." She says, rather than dwelling.
Mikoto makes another confused noise. The very audio interpretation of ???. "Okay...?"
Fortunately, Mikoto gets the most important thing: Romance Goss, straight from the source. She listens attentively, a certain sparkle appearing in her eyes at hearing the story. "It sounds like you had a tough time too... But I'm glad that you two can be together now." It's utterly earnest, and honest. "And I look forward to meeting her so I can hear her version of the story too!" It turns out Mikoto isn't devoid of mischief of her own. "Maybe we should all sit down together and swap stories. I bet there's bits of our story you've missed- and I'd like to see how you look when Rikka tells her side."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Mikoto says that she'd like to see how Akane looks when Rikka tells her side of the story of how they met.
Akane looks up with wide eyes, a deepening blush, and --
o` kuzurete shimaisou~ o`