[001 - Video]

[nowyouseeit]

Who: Kuroba Kaito and YOU!
Broadcast: Video - Fleetwide
Action: The S.S. Blameless
When: Today! (Oct. 21)

[VIDEO]

Oooooi! Anyone out there?

[the video feed flickers on to show a scruffy looking teenager casually strolling down the scorched hallway of the S.S. Blameless. he's covered in confetti, bits of colorful paper nestled in his hair and flaking off his shoulders, and he looks pretty unfazed, all things considered! in fact, he's got his communicator in one hand and an open, half-empty pudding cup in the other. someone has decided to help himself to the celebratory treats, because why the fuck would he not?]

Nice ship ya got here, yeah? Reminds me of something straight out of a cheesy sci-fi flick, heh. Could use a li'l bit of work. . . [he tilts the communicator so the video feed pans to the black marks on the walls] I'm not sure I wanna meet whatever or whomever did that, but hey! At least your lives seem-- uh. Interesting.

[the feed pans back to Kaito, whose demeanor is still totally casual and not at all concerned about his potential safety in the future]

Anyway, I haven't got a clue who I'm talking to here, but who doesn't like to meet new strangers in space who may or may not be human? [his grin widens, cheeky and a bit sly, but he really does enjoy meeting new people] Whoever happens to get this, give me a shout, all right? Name's Kaito-- Kuroba Kaito, but just Kaito's fine.

[he's not really one for formalities, after all. after a brief pause, the teen raises both eyebrows, and his words suddenly thicken with forced niceties. starkly different than his genuinely cheery introduction earlier]

And if any of you watching this just so happen to know a redheaded woman who goes by the name "Iota," please let her know that Kuroba Kaito would like to have a little. . . uh. Chat with her.

[another pause, and for a moment it looks like he's about to cut off the feed, when something suddenly hits him]

By the way--

[the feed pans lower to show a ton of pudding cups tucked underneath Kaito's arm. a ton of pudding cups. possibly all of the pudding cups that came with his new arrival, tbh]

I'm keeping the pudding. Finder's keepers!

[and the feed ends]

[ACTION]

[anyone on the S.S. Blameless can find Kaito wandering about the above mentioned hallway! he sure is scrutinizing those burn marks, brows furrowed, expression curious. wtf even happened here. . .]

Comments

[bluediligence]

[ His pride? What pride? ]

No, because it's not true. [ She is perfectly capable, thank you very much!! (Nevermind how frequently she still doubts herself, despite everything.) ]

[ That said, she tilts her head, watching him pick up the pace with one quizzical eyebrow steadily rising. ]

Are you in a hurry to get somewhere?

[nowyouseeit]

[. . . she's right. it isn't true. he won't even try to argue with her, even in the name of teasing]

[instead, he scoffs and rounds a corner]

I'm trying to find you, dummy. Where are you? Hiding in the cargo area or something?

[bluediligence]

[ This time, her other eyebrow gets in on the action, too. They both shoot up almost to her hairline. ]

Aww, Kaito … [ It's almost cute – no, it's sweet, both the fact that he didn't argue and that he's practically running to find her. ] Uhm, no. [ It's tempting to make a stupid "your princess is in another castle" joke, but somehow she finds it within herself to refrain. ] I'm on another ship! You didn't notice? [ She shifts the communicator, showing off the hallway she's in the middle of trotting down. ]

I'm on the S.S. Wonderduck. Where are you? I can shuttle over.

[nowyouseeit]

[annnd he slows down, from a trot to a complete stop, and huffs. of course she's on a different space ship. OF COURSE. just their luck]

How was I supposed to know? I just got here. I don't have a clue how many different space ships there are hovering in the vast chasms of space.

[he tilts his own communicator to show her the burnt walls]

. . . I'm on the S.S. Charred Hallway?

[HE DOESN'T HAVE A NAME YET, GIVE HIM A MOMENT]

[bluediligence]

Because my face isn't the only thing in the video? [ She tuts at him. ] And you call yourself observant.

[ But when she pans the camera back around to herself, there's something distinctly fond underneath the teasing. She's missed him, even though they've only only been away from each other for a week. ]

As for the rest, it’s not as though we're just drifting aimlessly thousand of miles apart. [ THANK GOD. ] We're part of a fleet, tied to a flagship called the Marsiva. Nightingale-san sent me a document explaining the basics — do you wanna see?

[ She's already fiddling with the comm. ]

One of your crewmates shold be able to tell you what it's called, or maybe one of the others will be able to recognise it ... I wonder what the heck is up with those scorch marks, geez.

[nowyouseeit]

[maybe he was too distracted by your cute face to notice anything else, Aoko!1 not that he's saying that out loud-- it'd just invite more teasing]

Well, at least that means it won't be days before we can finally see each other in person. [thank god]

Send me the document. I'll read it while I looking for signs of intelligent life. Here's to hoping I don't run into whatever burned the walls while I look, yeah?

[he sure doesn't sound worried about that prospect, geez]

[bluediligence]

[ Spoiler alert: she'd been about to tease him with that very same line when self-consciousness caught her tongue. ]

Maybe you'll get extra lucky and it's just a weird design feature! [ We live in hope, which springs eternal. Whatever it turns out to be, Aoko is confident that Kaito can take care of himself. ]

[ The document finally arrives ]

And if nothing else, we could meet up on the planet we're hanging around instead.

[nowyouseeit]

[oh nooooo Aokoooo]

[the communicator shifts a bit as Kaito pulls up the document, and his eyes dart back and forth as he reads. it'll take a moment or two to make it through the whole thing, so she talks as he does so]

The planet, huh. . . that might be easier, considering I don't know where I am. [herp]

What's the planet like? [he assumes she's visited it already] And how are we s'posed to get there?

[bluediligence]

All of the ships have short range shuttles we can fly around with. You should know how to do it already. [ Her nose wrinkles at that, making it abundantly clear just how happy she is about the augments everyone has been given. ]

[ They might not have been so bad if they weren't literally implanted into the skin on the backs of everyone's neck. ]

[ Eugh. ]

The planet itself is – it's all forest, from what Aoko's been able to see. It's kinda weird. [ That's putting it lightly. ] We could go to one of the way-stations instead if you want. They're not great, but …

1/2

[nowyouseeit]

[BRB HE JUST GOT TO THE "IMPLANTS" AND "HEART GAME" PART OF THIS GUIDE]

[nowyouseeit]

[but the impressively displeased expression only lasts for a moment before he gets a hold of himself]

You've been here. . . what, a week? I'm gonna defer to you on this one.

Tell me where to go, and I'll meet you there as soon as possible.

[bluediligence]

[ Aoko has a feeling she knows exactly which part he's reading over. She puffs out her cheeks, blowing a sigh. ]

Let's go for the planet this time. [ She sends another file, this time with a location. ] Right there, okay?

[nowyouseeit]

Got it.

[a grin, but it also only lasts a moment before it fades. he's got a lot on his mind right now]

Don't get lost on your way there, all right?

[lightly teasing, before he returns to seriousness]

And. . . be careful.

[bluediligence]

Geez, who are you talking to? Kaito's the one who got so lost he took a whole week to find his way here.

[ She teases him right back, albeit a little half-heartedly – she wants to be there in person, doubly especially now that he's had a chance to catch up on their situation. ]

You too. [ She flashes a small smile at him. ] See you soon, okay?

[ He's got a couple of seconds to bid his own farewell before she cuts the video feed. ]

-- > action

[nowyouseeit]

[holds up one hand for her to see on the video feed, his pinkie finger extended]

Soon. It's a promise.

[and he shuts off his feed right when she does]

[. . . IT TAKES HIM LIKE. AN HOUR, to make his way down to the emerald green planet. mostly because he had to find the short range ships of the Blameless first. . . and then there were a few mishaps in actually launching the ship. sure, he knew how to pilot it, but that didn't mean he was good at it!1 give him a couple more tries before he becomes an expert pilot, yeah?]

[regardless, an hour later, he'll be trotting up to the location Aoko sent to him via communicator (wherever that is), gaze darting back and forth as he looks for her]

[bluediligence]

[ Aoko doesn't arrive that much before him – she's still shaky with the shuttles, because unlike some people she doesn't have the genius ability to bullshit her way through everything and anything thrown at her. ]

[ She whiles away the minutes with her nose buried in a sketchbook, idly doodling schematics for simple robotic cats. What can she say? It's a purrfectly, absclawlutely furgitimate way of both killing time and figuring out how to properly use her augment. But before too long, she hears it – somebody's coming, and it's him, it's Kaito, it's Kaito – ]

[ She stuffs the sketchbook and mechanical pencil back into her purse, and wastes absolutely no time before launching herself at him in a tight bearhug. ]

1/2

[nowyouseeit]

[his expression lights up brilliantly the moment he sees her, grin wide and eyes twinkling]

Oooi, Aoko! He--

[nowyouseeit]

-- ack!

[and then he is interrupted by the LAUNCHING BEAR HUG, and he barely has time to brace himself and spread his arms wide to catch her. even then, the force of the impact sends him stumbling back a few steps as he clings to her for dear life]

G-good to see you too. . .!

[bluediligence]

[ She all but mashes her face down into the crook of his neck, curling not just her arms around him, but her legs, too. ]

[ Like a koala. ]

Kaito! [ Ugh, ugh. Ugh!! ] Geez, it's only been a week – I missed you …

[ She's so used to him always being within reach, whether in person or by cellphone. Going from that to being completely cut off had been ... it was a lot harder than she'd expected it to be. ]

[nowyouseeit]

[. . . aaaaaah. . .]

[his cheeks flush bright red as he wraps his arms around her back tightly and buries his nose against her shoulder. he inhales deeply-- her scent is very distinctly Aoko, and it's comforting.]

Ahooooko. A week's not that long.

[his words are muffled. and although he teases her slightly, he knows from experience that even if it had only been a week. . . suddenly waking up without your most important people around you is jarring and terrifying. he doesn't blame her one bit for he reaction]

[bluediligence]

[ She laughs, desperately relieved and thoroughly embarrassed by it. ]

Look, don't – don't let it go to your head, I just missed having my favorite punch bag, that's all.

[ She nuzzles into him, shoulders losing some of the tension that's been sitting heavily on her ever since she'd woken up. ]

[nowyouseeit]

What? Is that seriously all I'm good for? I'm hurt.

[he tries his best to sound indignant, but. knowing that she's joking takes some of the fire out of his words. he lets out a small huff and adjusts his grip on her, so he's less likely to. . . you know. drop her]

[not that she'd probably fall if he did, considering how tightly she's hanging onto him right now]

[bluediligence]

Yup.

[ Nope. Nope. Nope. It's the furthest thing from true, but heck, they both know that. ]

But I bet you haven't missed me at all. [ She pulls back a little, sitting steady and secure in his arms; he'd never let her fall. (Except maybe he would, because he's a jerk. ] What's the last thing you remember?

[nowyouseeit]

[. . . ONLY IF IT WAS FUNNY. and if she wouldn't get seriously hurt]

Ah, actually. . .

[and the playful demeanor turns into thoughtfulness]

S'kinda weird that you're saying you've been here a week, when I remember seeing you just five minutes before waking up here. The last thing I remember is heading back to Tiamat from the Cat dorm.

[bluediligence]

[ Their relationship is so loving and gentle. ]

I said something similar Nightingale-san when I first got here. [ She quirks a smile, this one more thoughtful. ] What day was it, exactly? It could be that we left at the same time, and you just got held up somewhere along the way.