‘Senpai?’

You shake your head, reminding yourself that you’re not your grandfather. Not by any stretch.

‘There should be a laundry compartment in the bathroom,’ you point out helpfully, dropping back into the couch and reaching for the remote. ‘Should be; or I can get a drone to—’

‘Oh, that’s all right; I’m going to be putting these back on—’

You do a double-take.

‘What?’

You’re almost outrage that your tone practically drops to that of a venomous hiss. You don’t miss her wide eyes … and sudden apprehensiveness at your words. Nor do you, as someone who had never heard of putting a selection of dirty, sweat-dripped and thoroughly polluted clothes on again by choice. The Scion in you is incredulous.

‘I … I’m just going to be wearing them again,’ she explains herself, holding the clothes close to her towel-clad chest, taking a step back, clearly intimidated by your sudden … outburst.

‘Don’t you have … any other clothes?’

‘N-No?’

You’re in disbelief. Complete and utter … disbelief.

‘You mean you … you literally only had the clothes on your back coming out here?’

She stammers, smiling guiltily and looking away. ‘I … I have other things to wear, but … nothing … appropriate for … um …’

Yes, you’re definitely in disbelief. You rub your temples, counting backwards from ten.

>‘Fine.’ (Allow her to change back into her clothes)
>‘Wait right there.’ (See what can be done)
>'Inappropriate how?' (Curious)
>Write-In

>>3630524
>‘Wait right there.’ (See what can be done)

>>3630524
>>‘Wait right there.’ (See what can be done)

Call up laundry and a fashion parade. Probably get the concierge to order some additional items of uniforms too.

>>3630524
>'Inappropriate how?' (Curious)

>>3630524
>>‘Wait right there.’ (See what can be done)

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You rub your temples, raising your hand to prevent any further explanation from bouncing off your skull as you attempt to digest why she was so … unprepared. It was one thing to plead poverty, but she didn’t really expect to be carrying the one top and bottom set for weeks, did she? It was just … unheard of. You’d been scarce before, especially with your trips to the Jetdom farms, but this was bordering on irresponsibility. Did she plan to sleep in that crumpled pile, too?

‘Don’t say another word,’ you let out warningly, pinching the bridge of your nose before sauntering over to the auxiliary console at the end of the couch and turning it on. Harsh your warning may have been—perhaps a little too harsh, by her fearful look—but there was no way that you were about to let anyone beside you allow themselves to be less presentable after meeting you compared to before.

Again, only Ryosuke had earned that privilege.

Him and Gerard’s younger siblings, but the latter had the excuse of being children.

Thinking about it a little more, Ryosuke had the excuse of being Ryosuke.

‘Wait right there,’ you practically command, raising a finger and adopting a less harsh—but no less authoritative—a tone as you face the confused—and apprehensive—towel-clad blonde woman.

‘Yes, Lord Mishima?’

Audio-only.

‘Yes, I would like you to …’

You trail off, thinking on it. You weren’t doing this for your waistline.

‘Rosaria, how many changes of clothes do you have?’

She stutters, her crumpled jumble of clothes spilling from her arms.

‘I, uh …’

‘Do you have anything to sleep in?’

‘I have a—’

She needed bedclothes.

‘Do you have anything to walk out in at night?’

‘Night?’

She needed evening wear. Casual and formal, by the sound of things.

‘What about for a casual stroll in the afternoon? Do you have anything like a blouse? Jeans? A hat?’

‘Ah, no, I never found a practical need for a—’

Hat. Jeans. Blouse.

You have enough to go by.

‘I’d like you to send up the in-house catalogue,’ you declare, speaking into the console. ‘Bring everything that you think a young lady can’t live or do without on Rhysode in the context of clothing.’

‘M-My Lord?’

‘You heard me the first time, didn’t you?’ you throw back, irritated. You weren’t used to people second-guessing you when your needs were so … urgent.

‘Y-Yes, but, you see, ah … our in-house catalogue, our shops, aren’t … they aren’t wholly owned by us. We, uh … they’re more of an external attachment rather than subsidies.’

‘Your point?’

‘I, um … our agreement only includes your stay and the amenities we afford. The … catalogue would be an external expense. It would have to be out of your own … pocket, so to speak.’

>>3630632
>'You imply that I don't have money to spend.' (Use Pocket Money: 75,000 Crowns [CURRENT: 100,000]
>'I thank you for your informing me on the matter. Perhaps ... a couple of dresses and a few blouses. From the top line, of course.' (Use Pocket Money: 50,000 Crowns [CURRENT: 100,000])
>'Then just send me something that looks nice to walk around in.' (Use Pocket Money: 15,000 Crowns [CURRENT: 100,000])
>'I have been insulted, been made to wait thrice and have had my motivations questioned. Do you wish to add to that list?' (Intimidate [Speech Resolution] DC: 2, Current Speech: 4]
>Write-In

>>3630639
>'I have been insulted, been made to wait thrice and have had my motivations questioned. Do you wish to add to that list?' (Intimidate [Speech Resolution] DC: 2, Current Speech: 4]

>>3630639
>>'I have been insulted, been made to wait thrice and have had my motivations questioned. Do you wish to add to that list?' (Intimidate [Speech Resolution] DC: 2, Current Speech: 4]

>>3630639
>'I have been insulted, been made to wait thrice and have had my motivations questioned. Do you wish to add to that list?' (Intimidate [Speech Resolution] DC: 2, Current Speech: 4]

>>3630658
This because wars have started for far less, like a pig for example

>>3630639
>>'I have been insulted, been made to wait thrice and have had my motivations questioned. Do you wish to add to that list?' (Intimidate [Speech Resolution] DC: 2, Current Speech: 4
Fun times

File: Dice.jpg (11 KB, 364x273)

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Rolled 1, 1, 5, 5, 4 = 16 (5d6)

DC Modifier: +2
PC Modifier: +4
Rules: Averages

REPLY TO THIS POST.

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>3630671

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>3630671

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>3630671

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>3630671

In the last five years, you’d learned not to evoke your status for matters of … minor inconvenience. Ryosuke and Maldante had taught you how to adapt and strive towards your goals of your own volition and by your own hands, while Sansa and Emilio’s scrutinizing gazes made sure that you kept yourself from taking the easy way out. Returning to a world where your name meant more than all else in your arsenal, however … was a sobering reminder of how the realities of different societies functioned. That aggression or passivity meant nothing without the assurance through power and influence.

That was what the Mishima name was there for.

You’re not proud of it.

Not as you would have been, stepping onto Rhysode’s earth five years ago.

‘I have been insulted, been made to wait thrice and have had my motivations questioned and second-guess at every turn in the hour since my arrival,’ you inform him, bringing as much displeasure to the fore as you could manage; it isn’t particularly hard, of course … you’d done it at least a thousand times before. ‘Now, if you had a sense for business, you will honour yourself by covering this expense out of the hotel’s own considerations … or would you like to inform the owner that you believed that the reputation of this establishment is worth less than the minor fee of a hundred thousand crowns worth of clothes that you have implied that I am not able to afford or am too frugal to purchase of my own volition?’

‘I … I am not implying anything of the sort, my Lord. I’m merely informing you off the hotel’s policies in regards to the agreement we made—’

‘An agreement that has, thus far, been fulfilled by derision and poor overall performance. I’m sure this will go well in the press, especially regarding your concierge’s and jockey’s … courtesy.’

You hear a hitch of a breath at the other end.

It’s not a stretch to say that you enjoyed it.

‘I … I … of course, we will … yes, I’ll speak to the owner.’

‘Oh, I wouldn’t want to trouble you,’ you continue coolly, staring at your fingernails, despite him being a non-presence in the room. ‘Why don’t you patch me through to him, instead? I’m sure he’ll be overjoyed to hear how your crew has lived up to the brand.’

There’s a small dying sound at the end of the line.

‘My commendations to your serving lady, however. She was most courteous and helpful …’

‘W-We’ll send some people up right away, my Lord!’

‘Thank you very much.’

You kill the line, smiling as you turn to face Rosaria again. That had felt … oddly satisfying.

She bites her lip, looking away.

>Write-In

>>3630737
>Just consider this payment for all the crappy treatment we have received since we got here.

>>3630737
>>Write-In
>"The GALL of these people. If this is how they treat Scions, I shudder at how they would treat you."

>>3630829
this one

>>3630829
+1

Mech here. If I'm not banned for something I didn't do/never did, I'll be running again later.

Testing to see if I am banned.

File: Tax Haven Bot.png (78 KB, 680x290)

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Just checking: are any of you online or are most of you out actually living life? Haha.

>>3633736
I'm alive. Should've dropped an update to leave it over the night OP.

>>3633736
We be sleeping my good dude.

is there an archive for this quest?

>>3636375
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?searchall=ashes+of+rhysode

Here you go friend.

QM lost his notebook with campaigns notes and tables and hence thats why theres a reboot.

>>3633736
Bro, July 4th weekend.

‘Geez, what a pain,’ you let out, running a hand through your hair as you bite through a hiss. ‘Some invitation. If this is how they treat Scions, I shudder to think how they treat other people, right?’

She doesn’t respond.

‘Rosaria?’

Still nothing. You make another attempt.

‘Rosaria?’

‘You didn’t have to do that,’ she replies, sighing as she grabs the top fold of her towel, picking up the fallen jumble of clothes with a free hand. Her brows furrow as she appears to consider a follow-up to her statement, mouth opening in a hesitant motion … before closing as she looks away and rummages into her sack.

Had she disapproved of your actions?

‘Didn’t have to do what?’ you question, wondering what she’d found … unsatisfactory about the recent development. Had it been your outburst in regards to her state of dress and lack of options? Harsh and impulsive as your reaction may have been, you didn’t think that you were wrong in the least! One change of clothes for an extended length of time under unsterilized, naturally-atmospheric conditions? It was insanity to even allow. Beggars may have not be choosers, but this was just—

‘Senpai, can I ask you something?’

You lift your head to find Rosaria’s troubled visage seated on the couch, clutching her bag like a security blanket with her clothes on top, still in her towel. Seeing her like this, you couldn’t help but wish that the hotel would hurry up with those clothes. It must have been uncomfortable to be clad in a damp piece of wool like that for longer than she—

‘Senpai?’

Your mind had wandered again.

‘Oh? Ah … fire away.’

She bites her lip again, hesitant.

‘Am I just … not your type?’

You stiffen.

What?

‘What?’

‘I admit that I might be a little bit naive, but,’ she hesitates, the wiggle of her toes and the whitening of her knuckles showcasing her attempt at garnering as much confidence as she could possibly manage to push on, ‘usually if a man treats a woman like this, she’s usually … I mean, he’s, ah … it’s a transaction, isn’t it?’

You blink, unsure. You’d never heard of such a practice. As far as you cared and knew, you were just holding out a hand to pull up someone that was in need of it. You hadn’t … considered it at all. A transaction? Was that a new code-word for kindness extended out of one’s own volition?

‘I’m not sure I get what you’re trying to … imply, Rosaria,’ you state, confused. ‘As far as types go, I guess I like … pretty girls, I suppose?’

‘Huh?!’

Rosaria makes a noise akin to a dying sow, staring at you with what you can surmise to be a mix of shock and despair. You don’t know why. You weren’t particular in your tastes … as you’re sure other man were just as—

Oh.

The inadvertent implication of your words dawns of you.

Good going, Scion of Mishima.

>Write-In

>>3637135
>>Write-In
"Ok, whao, hold ye horses! That was the absolute wrong way that came out, you're a lovely girl and all, its just I already have someone I love and I know the scion stereotype but I'm not just gonna pick up someone, ply them with gifts to try to sleep with them. It's just not m-, actually; why is it about me in the first place? You! What is up with you? A Transaction?? If someones trying to do that sort of 'transaction', stay the hell away from them, they're absolutely no good."

>>3637135
>Write-In
N-Not that you aren't my type! In fact I find you very attractive but im trying to be a good senpai and a gentleman so its really not like that at all!
[Spaghetti intensifies]

>>3637149
Supporting

>>3637149
Can I add
>'I'm so used to girls showing up in my room in various states of undress that I've kind of become immune to it. Kind of hard to be interested in a girl when they only see you as a lifetime meal ticket.'

>>3637161
>'I'm so used to girls showing up in my room in various states of undress that I've kind of become immune to it.
You could, but this has never been a frequent occurrence.
>>3637149
"Love" is a stretch. You're still pretty naive (and well aware of it) but you do like Fisher very much among other things. Your relationship with the others is a bit of a "Schrodinger's Box" affair, though.

>>3637149
>>3637151
>>3637161

Might I suggest that we combine these into an edited combination prop? Considering >>3637168 if Mech allows?

>"Ok, whao, hold ye horses! That was the absolute wrong way that came out, you're a lovely girl and all, its just I already have someone I like and I know the scion stereotype but I'm not just gonna pick up someone, ply them with gifts to try to sleep with them. It's just not m-, actually; why is it about me in the first place? You! What is up with you? A Transaction?? If someones trying to do that sort of 'transaction', stay the hell away from them, they're absolutely no good. Kind of hard to be interested in a girl when they only see you as a lifetime meal ticket. N-Not that you aren't my type! In fact I find you very attractive but Im trying to be a good senpai and a gentleman so its really not like that at all!" [Spaghetti intensifies]

>>3637184
Combined spaghetti would be ok with me

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‘Okay, all right, that was … that wasn’t the right way to put it,’ you follow-up hastily, hoping to keep any and all collateral damage to a minimum, throwing an apologetic look her way as you make sure that your words framed your intentions as accurately as possible. ‘You’re, uh … you’re a lovely, friendly’—she seems to crack at the word, but you press on anyway—‘young woman, but I’m … I’m not the type that works his intent bedding a woman by showering her with gifts and expecting her to put out in gratitude, if that’s what you take me for! I think I’ve pushed it enough that I’m doing this out of my own … well, my own reasons, but they’re certainly not about getting you to lower your womb for me!’

Rosaria clutches her bag, eyes wide and mouth opening and closing to in what you understand to be an attempt to work a bare sentence together. Seemingly satisfied with whatever she’d gathered, she looks up at you with a gaze that mixed distress, confusion and determination. One that you yourself are curious enough to hear.

Had you not made your intent clear enough the last four times she’d asked this question?

Is it the same question, though?

‘I just … the way you’re acting is like … it’s like it’s right out of one of those shows and … more than that, even I know how courtship works!’

‘I’m not courting you,’ you return adamantly. ‘This isn’t a transaction or a … I’m not expecting you to put out for me. If you’re uncomfortable with the arrangement, I can end our association here and—’

At her look of guilt, you stop yourself.

Perhaps you could hold a male-exclusive extra-curricular class for the Aegis Academy. If there were more men like you exiting the turnstiles navigating the opposite gender by the seat of their pants, you shudder to think at how they managed without the resources of systems and administrations at their back.

‘I didn’t mean to imply anything of … anything … in that mould,’ you reiterate, referring to your guilt-slinging and to clear any misunderstandings she must have had in regards to your intent. ‘I think I haven’t emphasized it enough that I’m just doing this because I think you could use a hand finding your feet’—she smiles slightly—‘and … well, it’s kinda hard to not be, um … a little picky when it comes to women when you’re in my position. Especially with everything they don’t advertise about being a Scion.’

Rosaria lets out a defeated chuckle.

‘So I’m not—’

You decide to nip that right in the bud.

‘You’re very pretty,’ you reassure her, placing both hands on her shoulders and looking her right in the eye … before immediately lifting your palms and taking a step back, cheeks turning red as you avert your eyes, intent on not perpetuating the misunderstanding any more than it already had. ‘It’s not that you aren’t my type, but … I think for now, I’d like to start with being a good Senpai … and a good friend and comrade.’

Rosaria, to your relief (and confusion), giggles as she turns away.

‘You’re so corny, Senpai.’

You glare at her. ‘Oi.’

‘I’m glad, though,’ she goes on. ‘It’s not at all like—’

She cuts herself off.

>‘Sorry that the reality’s so much more mundane than the fantasy.’
>‘The hotel should be sending people up soon.’
>Write-In

>>3637242
>‘Sorry that the reality’s so much more mundane than the fantasy.

>>3637242
>Most of the stories are most true... I am the weirdo. [Talk about the truth of your other Scions]

>>3637242
>>Write-In
"...Some are. Sigh.... Some are." facepalm at memories of some of other families.

>>3637248
Supporting

>>3637248
This

‘Not at all like … what?’ you inquire, just as a niggling feeling at the back of you head leads you towards the obvious conclusion. ‘Like other Scions?’

To your surprise, however, Rosaria shakes her head.

‘No, like …’ she trails off, looking conflicted, ‘like it is where I come from … on a Colony Fleet.’

You frown, wondering what you had done to draw such … comparisons. There isn’t much you could discern from that, being rather ignorant of Colony Fleet politics. Other than the fact that they were headed by Administrators and that their dealings with the Imperium (and on occasion, the Republic) being on a pure you-want-I-have basis both ways, you could only surmise that Fleet Administrators acted like heads of states of sorts … or, failing that, as a sort of senatorial body that governed the goings-on of each Fleet. From what you heard from your grandfather, the only consistency was that there was no consistent system of governance that the Fleets operated on; each having their own protocols and the like. A chaotic sort of uniformity, but one that, for the most part, had worked for millennia.

‘Not sure if I like the comparison,’ you jibe, before catching Rosaria’s distressed look and raising a reassuring hand to stop any and all unnecessary apologies from spilling like liquid from a fuel line. ‘I choose to still take it as a compliment, however.’

Your words, light-hearted as they are, however, fail to alleviate the situation.

It’s something you refuse to allow to fester.

‘I know I said not to think much of it,’ you start, deepening you frown as you stare at the suddenly-crestfallen Rosaria. ‘But I didn’t think that I’d have to warn you against being sad over people doing nice things for you.’

You say so with as much humour as you can muster.

It doesn’t seem to help.

‘If I’ve offended you, then—’

‘N-No, you haven’t!’ she cries out, grabbing your hands as she fixed her eyes with yours, a determined and apologetic quality to the blue sheen of her irises. ‘I just … I’m sorry, you went out of your way to be so kind to me and …’

Rosaria casts her gaze downward.

This time, you’d do it right.

‘Take your time.’

She nods. The both of you find a sit side-by-side on the couch. You lean back against the large, soft cushions and Rosaria … is upright, staring at the wall, more than likely trying to piece together something coherent and fitting for your ears. You can’t help but wonder just what it was that troubled her so much.

‘I’m … I’m not just from any Colony Fleet, nor am I just … another Colony Fleet Inhabitant,’ she reveals. ‘I’m … a designated inhabitant of Fleet Golgotha. A … I suppose that the correct terminology would be … a piece of furniture.’

You tilt your head, confused.

You didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. Golgotha? Furniture? Designated Inhabitant?

>>3637485
>‘You’re using terms assuming that I understand them as they are.’ (Clueless)
>‘I see.’ (Play along)
>‘Look, I … whoever or whatever you were before, you came here with a clean slate in mind.’
>‘Furniture …’ (Recall [Knowledge Resolution] DC: 3, Current Knowledge: 4)
>Write-In

>>3637485
>‘Furniture …’ (Recall [Knowledge Resolution] DC: 3, Current Knowledge: 4)

>>3637492
>>‘Furniture …’ (Recall [Knowledge Resolution] DC: 3, Current Knowledge: 4)

>>3637492
>‘Furniture …’ (Recall [Knowledge Resolution] DC: 3, Current Knowledge: 4)

>>3637492
>>‘Furniture …’ (Recall [Knowledge Resolution] DC: 3, Current Knowledge: 4)

File: gh-battledice2 (1).jpg (397 KB, 1632x1224)

397 KB JPG

Rolled 6, 5, 5, 3, 2 = 21 (5d6)

DC Modifier: 3
PC Modifier: 5
Rules: Averages

REPLY TO THIS POST

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>3638070

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>3638070

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>3638070

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>3638070

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>3638070

Furniture.

That … rang a bell, in the depths of your minds.

It takes some effort, but you’re able to recall the skeleton of a lecture during the times your mother was present, or rather, pre-empting one of your tutoring sessions for more practical insight into the on-goings of the universe. Being the daughter of an ambassador-cum-governor, she had much to tell about her dealings with the visitors to her home world … which included Colony Fleet Inhabitants. It’s hard to piece every detail together, but you think you get the gist of it.

‘Furniture … that’s the accessory caste to the … unique to one of four Colony Fleets,’ you recite, practically reading off an invisible notebook … and visibly impressing Rosaria. ‘Golgotha, Guantanamo, Elmina … and Piresti are the only ones known to practice it.’

‘You know about it?’

‘Vaguely,’ you admit, trying to piece together what you did know. ‘I know that the Furniture Caste isn’t a Caste by itself, but a designation for those outside the hierarchy prior to integration into the general populace of the Colony Fleet. One perspective dictates that its origin dates back to the early days of the Empire during the time of the Second Exiles, but a lot of people say that it was just another way of recruiting POWs in the aftermath of the Sundering of the One Crown. Now, though, it’s mostly used as something of a … social and cultural waiting room for people looking to join the Fleets.’

That’s half the truth.

‘Then there’s the other definition: a labour class shackled to servitude by contemporary norms, dictated by the Fleet.’

You don’t dare look at her.

‘Do I … have to ask which one you’re referring to by that term?’

She lets out a breath. ‘Golgotha … it never looked to integration after the Second Exile. We were members of the Colony by name and descent, but … to the Colony Fleet, we were never one of them. On Golgotha, you couldn’t … do anything, really. Nothing that didn’t have the approval of the Administrators and their enforcers, their officers. When I was a child, I thought that they were like that with everyone, until …’

Rosaria pauses, her mouth thinning into a line as her gaze, briefly, becomes distant.

‘Until I grew up, I guess.’

You choose not to pry.

‘There were two laws on Golgotha: that if you were Furniture, you took what you could get … because the ones that weren’t would. I was … naive. I thought that that was just how things were. There were straws that you drew in life and I … I just got unlucky there. It’s what we all told ourselves. The Administrators and the Enforcers would occasionally come down, pick up a pretty girl or a man to lift up and we … cheered.’

You shift uncomfortably, now realizing just where the comparisons were drawn.

‘It was always that small hope,’ she comments sardonically. ‘That you were prettier than the other girls, more useful than the other boys … enough to make your life that little bit better. It was a trap to accept that there was only one way up and one way down … but I couldn’t escape it, either. I think a lot of us thought that way, but we didn’t have anywhere else to go or anything else to hope for. So we kept the ships running, we put the smiles on the faces of our Inspectors and Officers … until I just didn’t want to anymore.’

You let out an appreciative whistle, despite the subject matter.

‘It’s nice to know that something that’s not an apology can come out of that mouth once in a while.’

‘I’m sorry,’ she apologizes, rendering your praise dead in the water. ‘I didn’t mean to—’

‘No, don’t,’ you cut her off, before she initiated yet another ramble of hurried apologies. ‘Please, go on.’

‘I just … I thought that … I apologize, Senpai,’ she goes on, causing you to almost roll your eyes in irritation, ‘it’s just that … you being this nice to me, I just—’

‘It’s traumatizing?’ You offer.

There were worse ways to be admitted to psych evaluation, in your opinion.

‘No, it’s just that … no one’s ever been … this good to me before without wanting something back, so I … I guess I’m just overwhelmed that you haven’t, um … you know …’

‘You’re still on that?’ you comment tiredly, slouching into the cushions.

Rosaria’s smile is as apologetic as ever.

‘Can you … blame me?’

You’re not sure whether she’s being obliviously bold or just back-handedly manipulative.

>‘They should be up here any moment now.’ (Absently wonder about the catalogue)
>‘Yes.’ (Blunt, Irritated)
>‘I suppose not, but it’s been barely several hours since we met. Even my grandfather doesn’t work that fast.’ (Joke)
>‘Was it really that bad? It feels like the Imperium would have stepped in.’ (Refocus)
>Write-In

>>3641074
>>‘I suppose not, but it’s been barely several hours since we met. Even my grandfather doesn’t work that fast.’ (Joke)

>>3641074
>>Write-In
"No. No I guess I can't. How did you get out? I can't see that they would have allowed you many options to leave on your own violation." Give her more headpats.

>>3641078
This

>>3641078
I too am curious

>>3641078
Yes, that is good.

‘No, I … suppose I can’t,’ you admit, rubbing the back of your neck as you attempted to digest Rosaria’s circumstances. There were still a few details that you weren’t quite sure whether to take for face value or to file away for further consideration, of course, but right now, there was one thing at the forefront of your thoughts. ‘So … how did you escape?’

She tilts her head.

‘Escape?’

‘Yeah, how did you get out of there. From the way you described things, I … don’t see them being particularly happy at having anyone run out from under their heels with any working body parts. How’d you … you know? High-tail it out of there?’

‘The Administrators don’t have to resort to keeping people on the ships by force; their Enforcers keep the peace, for what value of order they believe to be sufficient, the Inspectors make sure the ships are functioning … and everything else is by the design of perception and assumption.’

‘Perception and … assumption?’

‘You saw how they … looked at me down there,’ she elaborates, staring at the tattoo on her hand. ‘How they refused me at the Academy … do you really think that they’d treat me any different anywhere else?’

It is the rule. Not the exception.

‘We’re free to leave and return as we please, but … why would anyone leave the bad when the outcome is only worse stepping out of it? At least on those ships, even at its bleakest … there was someone there that didn’t treat you like … like you didn’t belong. What’s the purpose of changing the surroundings if the only thing that changes is the location and nothing else? That’s what many of us think; a lucky few make it out and find a place in the Imperium, on Independent Outposts … but for the ones that want something better for themselves, taking that chance is … it’s pointless. There was a saying in the lower levels: it may smell like excrement in here, but they throw shit at you out there.’

She laughs humourlessly; you don’t join her.

‘You left, though,’ you comfort her, placing a hand on her shoulder. It’s a clumsy attempt, but other than patting Sansa on the back after a thirty-nine hour studying marathon, your experience in the matter was limited. ‘You took that chance.’

‘I was … fortunate,’ she sighs, hanging her head. ‘If that ship hadn’t decided to dock in … if my uncle had been on shift instead of his stand-in … if I wasn’t so frustrated, I wouldn’t have—’

‘A ship docked in?’ you inquire, curious.

‘It was … Instructor Fisk’s craft’s tertiary navigation computer was malfunctioning in the Gokusen System and his grand-daughter—’

>‘Whoa, whoa, Fisk has a GRAND-DAUGHTER?!’ (Comment)
>‘Probably from one of his modifications, but go on.’ (Comment)
>Let Rosaria continue uninterrupted
>Write-In

>>3641229
>‘Probably from one of his modifications, but go on.’ (Comment)

>>3641229
>>‘Whoa, whoa, Fisk has a GRAND-DAUGHTER?!’ (Comment)
>oh god his insanity has spread

>>3641229
>>‘Whoa, whoa, Fisk has a GRAND-DAUGHTER?!’ (Comment)

>>3641229
>‘Whoa, whoa, Fisk has a GRAND-DAUGHTER?!’ (Comment)

You cut right in, holding up your hands in a demand for a temporary stop to the exposition. Gently lowering your palms, you fix the confused Rosaria with a look of incredulity, the neurons in your brain firing off wildly at a tidbit of information that she’d attempted to skim over.

‘Hang on, wait, cease right now,’ you hiss, staring intently into her eyes. ‘Fisk … has a grand-daughter?’

Your mind wanders to thoughts of a six year-old girl with Fisk’s hair, cackling as she stood on an operating table with a cadaver, ready to begin her latest madcap scheme. You can feel the colour draining from your cheeks as you contemplate the horrors waiting the generations to follow. More than that, however, was wondering just who had seen Wilson Fisk as an eligible … mate in the eyes of Imperium, under the stars? Forget the mystery of the Unknown Brother; you want to know what a woman could possibly see in Wilson Fisk to declare him eligible in any capacity.

‘Y-Yes?’

Slumping back into your chair, you try to contemplate the injustice of a reality where Fisk could bag himself a woman and allow propagation to continue a generation beyond … and where you had to roll your eyes as girls trailed a married man (Gerard) while you stood next to him like an accessory.

It just wasn’t fair.

‘Senpai?’

>‘Rosaria, I think I kind of get it now …’
>‘N-Never mind, go on …’
>Write-In

>>3641264
>‘N-Never mind, go on …’

>>3641264
>‘Rosaria, I think I kind of get it now …’

“What did i work out for? And learning not to be a jerk? I shouls have just thrown myself about like my birthright.”

>>3641264
>>3641273
kek, this.

some moaning in a fetal position.

>>3641264
>>‘N-Never mind, go on …’

>>3641273
+1

>>3641273
This

>>3641268
>‘N-Never mind, go on …’

>>3641273
Kek. Sure.

>>3641264
>‘N-Never mind, go on …’

>>3641264
>>‘N-Never mind, go on …’

File: NTnDWHB.jpg (285 KB, 1125x1571)

285 KB JPG

>>3641290
>>3641355
>>3641486
>>3642215

Hmmm.

>>3642244
Huh?

>>3641264
>‘N-Never mind, go on …’

Testing to see if I'm banned

You bury your face in your hands, groaning your frustrations away. As inappropriate as it is, you can’t help but feel as though you’d … missed a memo somewhere. It was one thing for you to have to navigate the opposite sex as though it was a tightrope over a flaming labyrinth; it was another to even comprehend that Wilson Fisk had successfully done so with a mere half-century head-start. It takes every fibre of your being to not give in and accept the front desk’s previous offer … but you also realize that no matter how many wombs you filled up with your seed, you’d have to live with the fact that Wilson Fisk had found someone to love and gained a family from it.

That is, if he hadn’t made some ethical breaches on artificially-accelerated mitosis.

Even so, that still needed a woman to tolerate his genetic stock.

You feel like weeping in a curled ball would be the most appropriate course of action.

‘Senpai?’ Rosaria calls out again, her voice laced with concern.

You throw her as reassuring a smile as you can manage: a dismal effort that only had her more concerned. ‘Never mind me, I just … go on, please.’

She hesitates … but moves to comply, anyway. ‘His navigation system was malfunctioning after a blind jump—’

‘A blind jump,’ you reiterate dryly … unsurprised. Wilson Fisk, of course, would be the man to make a blind jump with his grand-daughter in tow. You could imagine Fisk being bored with testing the stress factors of a craft or mecha and deciding to do something of that ilk.

‘Yes, a … blind jump. He got lost in the orbit of one of the system’s gas giants; it was lucky that his FTL comms weren’t damaged … with the ship’s systems being centralized and all.’

‘Centralized?

You didn’t like where this was going. At all.

‘His ship ran on an assisted Virtual Intelligence with a direct connection to—’

‘Seriously, Fisk …’

To your surprise, Rosaria giggles, too.

‘That’s what I said when the Fleet picked him up,’ she continues, nodding. ‘In any case, because of the … relative recency of the parts that made the navigation system and the centralized nature of the interface, the Fleet Mechanics wouldn’t help him without … considerable assurances from his end.’

You’d heard this before.

Rosaria droops her shoulders, ashamed.

‘You protested the price-gouging?’

Rosaria’s cheeks grow red. ‘No, I … Fisk thought that the system was impractical to re-calibrate and the Fleet Mechanics wanted to replace the components with ones that would hold it together.’

‘So … what did you do then?’

Rosaria rubs the back of her head. ‘Well, I … I shouldn’t have even been there, but … I couldn’t just … watch such … binary considerations as the end-all solution …’

‘So you just … fixed his ship?’

‘No, there was nothing wrong with his ship,’ Rosaria answers, huffing … indignantly. It was as if a switch had been turned on. ‘I just thought that due to the centralized system and the VI, the components were stressed to run in-sync on a limited memory capacity … which is, of course, a bottleneck in engineering terms. Matilda told me that her grandfather was testing a multi-task, multi-responsibility VI and interface combination to allow human faculties … which is archaic technology at best and a side-grade at worst. Putting all those together crunches the system to over-compensate and under-perform. So, instead of people taking apart his ship and putting some practical systems in, I rerouted the VI to perform specific responsibilities and allowed the ready-made algorithms to take over for FTL travel while keeping the fold protocol independent! BAM!’

You don’t even realize that she was off the couch, one foot on the table. Fist pumped and eyes blazing, she looked like a triumphant conqueror.

And you feel like you’d learned something new in all that.

+1 TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE

‘Wow,’ you let out, impressed. ‘No wonder he recommended you.’

Rosaria, remembering herself, takes her foot off the table, clutching her breasts as the motions caused her towel to almost drop to the floor in her enthusiasm.

She resumes her demure disposition, cheeks flaming. ‘T-Thank you …’

>‘Looks and brains.’ (Flirt)
>‘Who’s Matilda?’
>‘Wait, so … Fisk gave you a ride off? Just like that?’
>‘Right, so …’ (Move on)
>Write-In

>>3643708
>>>‘Wait, so … Fisk gave you a ride off? Just like that?’

>>3643710
>‘Looks and brains.’ (Flirt)

>>3643710
>‘Wait, so … Fisk gave you a ride off? Just like that?’
Lol we just told her we're not here to just bang her randomly nor are we so insecure to start procreating as soon as we hear about someone else we don't like getting some.

>>3643719
True, but if Fisk got laid before anyone in existence, that kinda makes everyone who had sex for the first time in a universe where Fisk already got some a loser. Haha.

>>3643710
>‘Looks and brains.’ (Flirt)

“I should snap you up right now... (For Mishima Heavy Industries...)”

I live for shenanigans.

>>3643740
THIS, A GOOD SCION DOESNT LET TALENT SLIP THROUGH HIS FINGERS

>>3643740
Yes.

This.

>>3643740
Also this

>>3643740
+1

>>3643710
>>3643740
This

You look at her fondly, nodding in approval and understanding. ‘Looks and brains,’ you commend, intertwining your fingers and leaning forward, elbows on your lap. ‘You should be working for me. I’m sure that I can find some way to circumvent your current lack of an Imperial identity …’

Her brows shoot up, half-disappearing behind her golden locks as she struggles to give an appropriate response to your praise. ‘E-Eh? But, um … well … t-thank you.’

‘I mean it,’ you emphasize. ‘If you’re able to help Fisk out, you’d do wonders for some of our more industrial sub-sectors. I’m sure I can find somewhere to slot you in … if you’re interested. Have you actually thought about a career after your apprenticeship with the Fisk is done … or have you decided on a career in the Aegis? Ship Engineering seems your style …’

‘A-Actually, no … I … I was thinking about, ah … well, if possible, I … no, I haven’t had a chance to decide where I’d like to take my apprenticeship, but … learning from Fisk, I was thinking of … well, I think I’m inclined to say that I’d like to be part of … I’d like to be allowed to innovate, I suppose, if that’s what you’re asking. I’m not particular about where I’m … assigned. It’s not like I’d have a choice, right?’

‘You don’t care where you end up?’

‘N-No, of course I do, but … well, I’m used to taking what I can get. I’m just happy that I was able to meet someone like you on the way, Senpai. I don’t … I wouldn’t dare to ask for more.’

Rosaria beams up at you.

Maybe your grandfather had the right idea.

Maybe.

>Write-In

>>3643743
>>3643751
>>3643753
>>3643810
>>3643830
God damn it stop being jerks you guys. I have a hard time thinking up a response as is.

>>3643831
>>Write-In
"On the contrary, this deal does nothing but benefit me. The suite? Mine from the beginning, it cost me nothing personally to have helped you and if it secured me someone who caught the eye of Fisk... well then that would be a bargain compared to what we pay to headhunt top talent.

Still, like I said, I didn't help you for anything in particular. Just keep it in mind, keep your options open. If you find something you really want to do, go for it; otherwise you can always contact me once you graduate and we'll see what we can do."

>>3643839
Sounds good to me

>>3643831
>>3643839
This but

Though i suggest trying out different things to get a sense of your strengths and weaknesses, and once you figure it out, we can go form there/

>>3643839
This

>>3643839
This reads like you're trying to flirt with her in a roundabout way. Can I get a verification?

File: lewd but yes.png (54 KB, 315x320)

54 KB PNG

>>3643889
Wouldnt really count it as a roundabout float. More scion high class justification of how and why hes helping.

Though if she sees as flirting, why not.

File: Hey I Just Met You And Th(...).jpg (125 KB, 850x1499)

125 KB JPG

‘Actually,’ you laugh, smiling right at her, ‘this costs me little to nothing. Even if it did, though, it’d probably be chump change compared to the prospect of actually securing someone who’s able to fix a faulty navigation system with a VI-assist before Fisk even considered it an option. It’d get us over quite a few humps.’

‘I … I’m flattered that you’d think so,’ she returns, looking down. ‘I must, however, emphasize that … I think that rather than in honouring my debt to you, it would be dishonourable of me to renege on my agreement with Mr Fisk at this time.’

‘Well, I wouldn’t want to do that, of course,’ you declare. ‘Still wish that he’d have bothered to remember protocol and keep tabs on you, though.’

‘Is he always like that?’

‘He’s the type of person that’ll leave the PSYCOM testing units on the lecture floor once it yields results … or doesn’t,’ you sigh. ‘Now that I think about it, he doesn’t really … dwell on things. His syllabus is the only one in Rhysode’s Academy that has a curve that loops in on itself. Who knows what can hold that man’s attention?’

A family, if Rosaria’s explanation held any water. You still find that harder to wrap around than the mechanics involved in making a fold … or why big ships operated on smaller risk pools making them. Physics was a strange bedfellow; of that you had no doubt. You could fall and scrape your knee but at the same time build ships that could traverse through the darkness of space in the measure of days.

‘I’d consider that a blessing, actually,’ Rosaria giggles, confusing you. How could she feel … blessed knowing that her supposed benefactor hadn’t so much as made her existence legal in the eyes of the Imperium?

‘A blessing, huh?’ you repeat, slightly amused. It was a funny way to word things; perhaps her upbringing had—

‘Well, if … he was here, then … I wouldn’t have tried to ask anyone for help … and if I didn’t ask anyone for help, then … I wouldn’t have met you.’

You can feel your ears growing red as Rosaria scratches her cheek, casting a glance aside, blue irises averting themselves from your own gaze. Your throat is dry, your hands are clammy … and you realize that, once again—for the second time today—you’re in a room with a rather attractive woman that you’d grown a little too fond of in an unreasonable timeline. Paranoia strokes the deepest recesses of your mind, reminding you that not a day had passed since you’d encountered her, lost in that corridor …

‘Y-Yeah, I guess,’ you concede, feeling the blood rush to your cheeks.

The part where she was unreasonably attractive and … bountiful didn’t help matters whatsoever.

>Write-In

>>3643934
>>Write-In
>*slaps knee*
>"Well don't get ahead of your self yet Rosaria, we've only just met after all. Don't rule out the elaborate bedding attempt yet"

Lol remember when Ashes of Rhysode had Mech battles? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
Not that I'm complaining.This is fun too.

>>3643934
>"I wonder where your clothes would be." (Nervous laugh)

>>3643934
>>3644116
this

>>3643934
>>"I wonder where your clothes would be." (Nervous laugh)

I'll back >>3644116

I look away for one night and you horny fucks are devolving this into yet another harem quest

>>3644307
And?

>>3644116
This
>>3644307
True but unlike other quests, Mech will make us work for it and have us to keep it up cause relationships are a roller coaster

>>3644116
Sure? This?

‘I wonder where your clothes would—’

The doorbell couldn’t have pinged quickly enough.

With a flick of a switch and the whooshing of an opened door, you’re swarmed with at least five attendants and two supervisors, all of whom were female. If they knew that Rosaria was from a Colony Fleet, it meant little to them. Pointy noses and elongated arms were the flavour of the day, and your overwhelmed kouhai was in the middle of a storm of dresses, blouses, jeans, tunics, vests and (much to your surprise) hats. Despite her occasional pleading gazes, you’d been around your mother long enough to know that any and all retail people weren’t to be interrupted when in the middle of a pitch or sale at any level, lest you break any—and this is what you’d heard—mojo that they were running on. Rosaria found herself changing clothes in regular, brief intervals. Where one attendant had a blouse, another would be in hand with a skirt and garters. Even if you wanted to play the pervert, the obscuring shuffling of bodies and the din of cackling, howling retail women didn’t allow you the peace of it. You settled just sitting aside and treating yourself to the coffee machine on the side, occasionally sipping as you took the opportunity to rest your britches as Rosaria went from blouse to skirt to evening dress, bombarded with compliments and derisive, disapproving words in tandem.

High-end retailers to the core.

You count about two hours and about a dozen and a half new additions to Rosaria’s wardrobe by the time they’re done, your kouhai now standing beside you with her hair tied in her previous braid, but thankfully clad in a more … presentable combo of a long dress, over-shirt and mini-jacket, clutching a hat that was too elegant to wear indoors. As … rude as it sounded, now she actually looked the part of a Scion’s pleasant companion. For a bunch of retailers that had to be strong-armed through the hotel’s management, they’d done well.

‘I trust everything is to your liking, Lord Mishima?’ one of the supervisors, a woman with her hair done in a bun with ornate nail and wrist decorations.

You give Rosaria a once over, prompting her to hide slightly behind her large hat.

‘That depends,’ you drawl playfully, smirking at the blonde woman next to you. ‘I believe that privilege is hers to … adjudge?’

Rosaria wastes no time, dropping into a hurried bow, which was—by her reaction—to the older woman’s surprise.

‘Thank you very much,’ Rosaria thanks her, causing the older woman’s eyes to open a little wider. ‘The clothes, they’re … thank you.’

‘You are most welcome, Mistress of the Mishima,’ she returns pleasantly.

>‘She’s not … my Mistress.’ (Correct her)
>‘For your service. I suppose this would suffice?’ (Generously Tip 35,000 Crowns Balance: 100,000)
>‘Thank you. That will be all.’ (Moderately Tip 21,000 Crowns Balance: 100,000)
>‘Very well, then.’ (Frugally Tip 14,000 Crowns Balance: 100,000)
>‘Dismissed.’
>Write-In

>>3646348
>>‘Thank you. That will be all.’ (Moderately Tip 21,000 Crowns Balance: 100,000)

>>3646348
>‘Thank you. That will be all.’ (Moderately Tip 21,000 Crowns Balance: 100,000)

>>3646348
>‘Thank you. That will be all.’ (Moderately Tip 21,000 Crowns Balance: 100,000)

“Excellent work. It will be reflected in my review.”

>>3646348
>>‘Thank you. That will be all.’ (Moderately Tip 21,000 Crowns Balance: 100,000)

>>3646348
>‘Thank you. That will be all.’ (Moderately Tip 21,000 Crowns Balance: 100,000)

>>3646348
>‘Thank you. That will be all.’ (Moderately Tip 21,000 Crowns Balance: 100,000)

>>3646348
>>‘Thank you. That will be all.’ (Moderately Tip 21,000 Crowns Balance: 100,000)

DEDUCTED: 21,000 Crowns
BALANCE: 79,000 Crowns

‘Thank you. That will be all.’

The supervisor dips into a bow of her own, wishing you the best before walking away with the proverbial heavier set of pockets. As the door hisses shut and the locking mechanism falls into place, you turn to face Rosaria, whose fingers and thumb rubbed against the rim of her displaced hat, as if reassuring herself that your generosity wasn’t but a passing dream. She shuffles slightly in her new shoes, the light shake of her toes showing her lack of experience with the elevation. You give an appreciative nod, prompting her cheeks to develop a slight tinge.

‘You gave her quite a bit.’

‘Oh? The tip? It’s quite standard, really,’ you brush off. Standard by your standards, perhaps ... and maybe even unnecessary, given that your purse had now decreased to five digits with the purchase, but seeing those bags of clothing that made up Rosaria’s new wardrobe, you couldn’t help but feel ... satisfied. You couldn’t bear the thought of having her house this room with one change of clothes, even on your request.

She looks away, embarrassed. ‘On my Fleet ... that’d be enough for three standard months of supplies on a restock ... it’s hard to believe that things would actually be ...’

‘Is there something wrong?’

‘No, I ... I guess that I just feel a little overwhelmed,’ she breathes out, pressing her hat to her chest. ‘I suppose that even if you wanted to at this point, I’m not in a position to turn it down.’

You furrow your brows. ‘A position to what?’

‘Breed me.’

You can’t help but roll your eyes, pressing your palm to the top of her head in an affectionate gesture. ‘That’d help my position more than it’d help yours, my Kouhai. I think I’ve made that clear enough.’

She giggles as you tussle her hair ... right as the comm rings, prompting you to walk over. Audio-only, again. Probably something to do with your recent shopping spree.

‘Lord Mishima!’

It was the front desk again.

‘Yes?’

‘I am ... terribly sorry to bother you, my Lord, but, ah ... there’s um ... some trouble we’d like you to—Madam I am on the comm with him right now and if you interrupt me one more time I will – yes, I am aware, but please—’

He appears to be juggling two conversations at once.

‘My time is very valuable, so unless this really needs my attention ...’

‘Y-Yes, forgive me, my Lord, but there is a medical student of the Aegis here, claiming to know you ... a Miss ... Sansa?’

Sansa? What would she be doing here? Shouldn’t she be busy preparing for tonight?

‘She says she’s your friend and, ah, has some, um, choice words describing her ... connection to you.’

>>3649237
>‘Ask her if she’s wearing her panties this time.’ (Cruel)
>‘If that’s really Sansa, ask her how her first term exams of fourth year went.’ (Extremely Cruel)
>‘Send her up.’
>‘Turn her away.’ (What it says)
>Write-In

>>3649237
>‘Send her up.’

>>3649251
>‘Send her up.’

>>3649251
>>‘Ask her if she’s wearing her panties this time.’ (Cruel)
This one will get us punched, the other one will get our shit kicked in

>>3649251
>>‘Send her up.’
>And now kouhai you're going to meet my friend who gave me a healthy dose of reality check when I first got here.

>>3649251
>>‘Ask her if she’s wearing her panties this time.’ (Cruel)

>>3649251
>‘If that’s really Sansa, ask her how her first term exams of fourth year went.’ (Extremely Cruel)
>:)

>>3649326
This

>>3649251
>>‘Send her up
i can back this too >>3649326

>>3649237
>>3649326
This

>>3649326
Supporting

>>3649326
This.

File: Sad Friend.jpg (160 KB, 850x1201)

160 KB JPG

‘Send her up.’

Your curiosity had gotten the better of you. Sansa, for the most part, had kept to herself the last eighteen standard months. After that unfortunate debacle in her fourth year, she’d been in a state of overdrive (and overwork) in an attempt to keep up with her syllabus. Compared to the standard five year stay of the average Aegis prospect, Sansa had her sights on a career in medicine. Coming from a Border World in a the Lysot System with a mere Inhabited Designation rather than a name, she learned not to take her opportunities for granted. Not like you or Emilio … and she’d be damned before she’d allow you down that path. It’d been that way since day one. Her experiences on a Border World put some perspective into what you had in comparison with those that lived in a constant state of administrative flux, unsure of what dictator was going to do what where … and to have to wait for the intervention of the Aegis to at least get things quiet again. Sansa had been one of the first to put her foot down in the face of your immaturity, and her outright lack of fear in the first week of knowing your formerly overweight arse set the tone for your … friendship. You wouldn’t have abandoned your gluttony if it weren’t for her, for one.

Then again, without you (and the rest, you suppose) she’d probably be in lack of a tether in keeping her sanity. She could deny it as much as she wanted, but without you and the boys doing something stupid once in a while, she would have probably purged all known human emotion or sent to be put down somewhere. While not a bookworm in the mould of Maldante, she was certainly the most studious of your little clique.

‘Senpai?’

‘Oh, sorry, just … one of my friends has made an unexpected appearance. Probably to discuss …’

You trail off, frowning. What could Sansa have wanted from you? She’d never be caught dead mooching of you. Not with her pride.

You’d know. You’d tried, by the Emperor’s name. An elbow to the face in your first year had settled that (or fanned the flames; you’re still uncertain, and too scared to explore further).

The doorbell pings, revealing … Sansa Wilmots, pony-tail done up, short skirt crumpled and a shirt with a missing button, bags under her eyes as she glared at two members of the security detail who returned her displeasure at the arrangement with sneers of their own. She probably hadn’t made their workload any easier, by what the front desk had said.

You nod at the both of them, prompting them to throw up respectful bows. A dismissive wave from your hand follows, to which they take their leave … and Sansa—

‘S-Sansa?’

The door hisses shut behind her as she buries her forehead into your shoulder … sniffling.

‘If I bear your children, can you promise me that I'l never have to memorize another medical protocol in my life?’

>>3653716
>Roll your eyes
>'Ah ...' (Speechless)
>'A little stir-crazy today, are we?' (Dry)
>'You look terrible.' (Concerned)
>Kick her out of the room
>Write-In

>>3653716
> "...Okay, what? Explain, please." (Concerned and a bit Baffled.)

>>3653725

I'll support >>3653729.

>>3653725
>>'You look terrible.' (Concerned)

>>3653729
Sounds good to me

>>3653729
this, because we are frend

>>3653716
>>3653725
This and give her a hug/headpats.

You gently grab her forearms, furrowing your brows as you peel her away from you. To your further surprise, it’s an attempt that she opposes with a slight struggle, but due to either your considerable advantage in mass or her lack of strength or stamina, you’re able to house her half a foot away from you, trying to make sense of your current … predicament.

It wasn’t the first time she’d been this … hysterical, after all. It was the first time since that first week of orientation that she’d –

No, no, you were past that now.

‘Hey—hang on a minute,’ you call for calm (and a return to sanity), glancing up and down her wobbly form, concern dictating your tone as you try to make sense out of … whatever this was—is. ‘You’re not making any sen—’

‘I’ve had it,’ Sansa grumbles, practically headbutting you in the chest as she lets out an exasperated groan, placing her hands on your shoulders … and squeezing so hard that she almost gets a wince out of you. You grit your teeth to compensate for the unexpected surge of pain, practically hanging from her upper arms; being a surgeon-in-training had done wonders for her finger strength. ‘I have another test in two weeks, a supplementary visit, two interviews, an appeal for a recommendation that’s pending, three write-ups I should have finished eight days ago, a committee plea that’s lost somewhere in the trash, two angry officials, one missing superintendent and a bunch of inconsiderate buffoons that are going to be having graduation sex on rooftops even after I said no fourteen-thousand times. I have had it.’

‘Well, you were the one that wanted to become committee head for the graduates,’ you mention pointedly, remembering how you, Ryosuke and Gerard had tried to talk her out of it (and how Maldante had, to your surprise, tried to wrestle that right out of her hands). Being a medical student under the Aegis was a huge responsibility in itself; Sansa’s workload was probably heavier than Fisher’s on every other day. ‘We warned you …’

‘Shut up,’ she grumbles, lightly thumping your chest with a balled fist. ‘I need a way out and as far as I care, bearing mistress of a Scion and being the mother of his bastard is probably as easy as it gets. Here.’

Sansa’s left hand grabs your right wrist, guiding your palm to her considerably … toned buttocks.

You are very thankful that she hadn’t forgotten to wear panties this time.

‘Sansa, you’re in a state of delirium and under a lot of stress and—’

‘I have never been more sane in my life,’ she quips, her voice teetering on hysterical as she … keeps your hand there. ‘You know I’d make a good mother.’

Something just dies in the pit of your stomach.

Your hand, traitor to your cause, squeezes one toned cheek.

Perhaps …

No.

Maybe?

No.

>>3653852
>‘Come on, let’s get you some tonic and rest.’ (Considerate)
>‘I’m kind of, uh …’ (Confused)
>‘Did you ask Emilio?’ (Dry)
>Kick her out
>Write-In

>>3653853
>‘Come on, let’s get you some tonic and rest.’ (Considerate)

Call up room service and a masseurs.

>>3653853
>‘Come on, let’s get you some tonic and rest.’ (Considerate)

>>3653856
this, and yes get her a massage

if she wants a happy ending after that well,,,,thats a write-in

>>3653853
>>‘Come on, let’s get you some tonic and rest.’ (Considerate)

‘Come on,’ you sigh, lifting your hand from her ass and patting the back of her head. ‘Let’s get you some tonic and shut-eye.’

You grab her rucksack from her hand, tossing it aside as you lead her (further) wilted form to the bed, depositing her upon the mattress and undressing her of her shoes despite protests and pulling the sheets over her rather … pungent odour. She must have been pulling several all-nighters in succession, leading up to today. The hotel is all too glad to be of service to you again, bringing the requested tonic and kettle of salted water for her to digest. It’s harder to keep her from leaping out and jumping your bones in her bout of instability than it is to get her to down the capsules, which she does. A burp and a drunken whine for you not to leave later … Sansa Wilmots is off to the land of dreams, clutching the side of your top like a security blanket.

This wasn’t how you planned to introduce the sanest voice of your gang to Rosaria.

‘Is she … always like this?’ Rosaria inquires, bending over and surveying the prone, hiccuping form of one sedated Sansa. You can’t help but laugh.

‘Like this? No. She’s just … she’s been … she just has a lot on her mind. Her breakdowns don’t usually involve her propositioning me, though.’

Well, except that one time, but you were past that.

Rosaria scratches the side of her cheek, her face a little pink.

‘U-Usually?’

‘She’s a medical student on a scholarship,’ you answer, smirking. ‘I’d like to see you stay as sane as she has with Ryosuke and I around while managing that.’

‘Eh? You’ve both been been nothing but kind to me, Senpai.’

She must have been acting innocent on purpose.

Now it’s your turn to feel a little hot in the face.

‘Well, anyway … she’s always had a tendency to get in over her head without due cause, more times than not,’ you sigh, gently stroking a stray bang away from her brow. ‘She’ll never admit it, though … she’s always been the prideful sort. I mean, not like that she can’t admit being wrong … but, well, she’s always tried to, uh … keep things to herself. At least until they come spilling out. I’m not sure if we make it worse or better for her on the whole, but … I like to think that as crazy as we drive her, we keep her from going … overboard. Obviously, her being like this right now contradicts every sentence that I’ve uttered in the last two minutes …’

As you chuckle, Rosaria shares in your amusement by giggling briefly, before catching herself … and nodding.

‘You’re a good person, Senpai.’

You liked to think that.

‘Even if you're a little hard to understand sometimes.'

You cock an eyebrow.

>Write-In

>>3653964
>Write-In
“Oh-ho~? And what is that supposed to mean, hmmm?”

In that teasing sorta way and not nasty. Body language and tone should make clear we’re joking or shes gonna panic.

>>3653997
This but without that "Oh-ho~?", also leave out the flirting. We ain't capable of that, make our guy ask it out of confusion.

>>3653997
this

>>3653997
id suppose

>>3653997
this is fine

You chuckle, wagging your eyebrows as you throw a smirk in the direction of your junior. So she did have a tongue on her, even if it did take some coaxing to … pull out into use.

‘And what’s that supposed to mean?’ you inquire playfully, craning your neck to meet Rosaria’s innocuous gaze.

‘Ah, nothing,’ she rushes in, flailing her hands in a show of slight distress, ‘except that, well, you’re kind of hard to figure out, really.’

‘One generally does not expect to be privy to every single detail within a few hours of knowing someone,’ you quip, chuckling again.

‘You assume a lot by allowing my company, though, Senpai,’ she mentions pointedly, wearing a reluctant smile. ‘I could have been lying about everything I am.’

You think about it for a moment.

‘Oh, are you?’

Rosaria makes a face that translates somewhere between frustration and resignment. ‘Senpai …’

‘You’re assuming that I haven’t been conditioned at this point to at least gauge intention well enough to allow myself to be at ease with your company,’ you let out, further amused at her attempt at … well, attempt was giving it too much credit; playing the game just didn’t seem to be something Rosaria seemed to be suited for, despite her efforts. ‘That, and I’m aware enough of my … status to know that any ill-intentions that you would have on me, if any would be … detrimental to any end-goal that you’d have in mind.’

‘No, that’s … that’s taking it a little too far, I think,’ Rosaria imparts nervously … before steadying herself, frowning. ‘What do you mean by … detrimental, Senpai?’

‘Oh, that you’d actually cause more problems targeting the Scions than you would getting surgical strikes on our enterprises. I wouldn’t say that we’re … irreplaceable, but considering how history’s operated, taking out the family running a Trade House has always been a bad idea. The scope’s just too large to settle by cutting the head off … and the corporate heads have had contingencies in place for the last hundreds of years, so …’

‘That’s a very lackadaisical approach to things, isn’t it, Senpai?’

You think about it … for all of a second.

‘Not really,’ you shrug, rubbing the back of your neck. ‘Fiction and life don’t really compensate for each other, after all. There’s just too much to work with if there’s an objective to be achieved. If things were so simple that getting the heads of Trade Houses to roll would somehow be an automatic improvement, the War of the Golden Steps would have gone down very differently.’

Rosaria drops into an apologetic bow. ‘Forgive me, I didn’t—’

‘No need for that,’ you cut her off, rubbing the back of your head. ‘It’s … it was a valid inquiry.’

‘But still—’

‘I know where you get most of your information from,’ you cut in again, offering her a reassuring smile. ‘I’m biased, but believe me when I say you’re better off committing corporate subterfuge from the ground up over doing something like … assassinating a Head or the Scions. It’s not like those serials where you kill the hedonistic paedophile of a Scion and suddenly everything on the system becomes resolved … not at all.’

Rosaria, at the very least, has the courtesy to turn pink at the implication.

‘So now you know why I trust you … for the most part.’

‘E-Eh?’

You laugh. ‘Maybe we can talk a little more when you learn not to … gulp tea.’

Rosaria apologizes profusely, covering her face in embarrassment.

>Write-In

>>3654532
>Now that we are settled in would you like to explore the shops with me?

>>3654543
oughta work

>>3654544
same

>>3654532
Call in some more room service and get the deranged girl a message and some tea to calm herself.

>>3654555
He means a massage.

>>3654532
>>3654543
This.

‘Well, now that we’re settled in … I think we can finally take that antiquing tour I had mind,’ you state, getting to your feet and feeling grip Sansa’s fingers around your jacket slip as you arrive at your full height. ‘Shall we?’

Rosaria tilts her head, confused. ‘What’s … antiquing?’

You laugh slightly. Perhaps that terminology was a little … advanced.

‘Browsing,’ you correct yourself, dusting the imaginary dust off your person. ‘I meant browsing. As limited as the selection here is, I do think that there are quite a few stores with … spots of interest, even for someone as travelled as you, my kouhai.’

‘I’ve never really … browsed shops in naturalized atmosphere and gravity before.’

‘I know,’ you clarify, wearing a small, apologetic smile of your own. ‘That was a joke.’

‘Oh, sorry, I—’

‘It’s all right.’ You pre=empt her apology with a raised hand, straightening your top and moving to make the waist band more … comfortable. You’d considered clothes shopping a few days prior, but the action would’ve been redundant as you would have found yourself in a pair of officers’ overalls or a pilot suit before the end of the week; you’d managed to subsist on a limited wardrobe for your cadet years, anyway. It wasn’t like you were that fifteen year-old that screamed loud enough for a black hole to curdle just because there was a bare thread upon your pantaloons.

‘Is it … really all right to leave your friend here? All alone?’

Rosaria indicates the slumbering medical student, who had conquered the bed that you had assumed would be yours and yours alone not twenty-four hours prior.

She’d probably be fine. You doubt that she’d wake up before night-time, anyway; not in her state.

‘Well, she’s—’

‘Yes, would you really leave this defenceless woman here? All alone?’

You wear a tight smile as you wheel around, locking onto Sansa’s mischievous, golden gaze.

>‘Yes.’
>‘Tell that to my ear-drums in first year.’
>‘Wanna come with?’
>Write-In

>>3654716
absolutely

>>3654716
>Write-In
“If you werent feeling better, yes. Do you still wanna bear my children?”

File: No.jpg (36 KB, 600x327)

36 KB JPG

>>3654727
Oh God, no; I said I wanted to be challenged. Not be veered off-course into a fucking cliff.

>>3654716
>>‘Tell that to my ear-drums in first year.’

Rolled 3 (1d3)

>>3654726
>>3654727
>>3654773
Three way tie. Let's see where this goes.

>>3654716
>>3654727
This

>>3654716
>>3654727
Yes this.

Time to tease her madcapness.

You cross your arms, wondering just how long she’d pretended to be asleep.

‘Tell that to my ear-drums in first-year,’ you throw right back, succeeding in your effort to remain … unsurprised by her sudden injection into the conversation.

‘You’re acting like that was my fault,’ Sansa retorts, taking a slow deliberate drawl with her words as her golden eyes glinted with heightened mischief. ‘If I remember correctly, you were the practice dummy and the session was about how to roll around the impact of an oncoming blow and out to minimize damage instead of stubbornly trying to tank it like you were made of stone.’

You remember that incident very differently.

‘Besides, you expected me to go easy on you after what you said the day before?’

Or not.

‘You already elbowed me in the face,’ you point out. ‘What did I ever do to deserve a two-fold beat-down?’

Sansa smirks as she pushes herself up, propping herself on her elbow. ‘Are you arguing that you didn’t have it coming?’

‘No,’ you admit, rubbing the back of your neck and looking away as the rest of your antics during your first year on Rhysode flashed before your eyes, many of them more unpleasant with the passage of time and the gift of hindsight. ‘Well, yeah, but that’s beside the point.’

As her previous state of mind returns to the forefront of your thoughts, however, you immediately adopt a look of concern, sitting yourself at the foot of her bed.

‘You feeling better?’

She wears a confident smile in response.

One that immediately fades with a sigh and a downturned gaze as she sits up, giving the sheets a slight tug with her motion.

‘A little,’ she admits, rubbing her temples. ‘I’m sorry. I just … I’m just been so—’

‘If I held your little episodes against you anymore than you my tantrums, we wouldn’t be friends in the first place,’ you cut her right off, unwilling to hear another apology. ‘I will say that I told you so, though.’

You point a finger in her direction for emphasis.

To your further surprise, she nods … in agreement.

‘I know,’ she admits quietly with a sigh. ‘I just thought that things would be easier this year with the stricter protocols the city council made.’

You stare at her.

‘All right, it was my mistake,’ she concedes, grumbling as she crossed her arms over her chest and blowing a bang out of her face. ‘I bit off more than I could chew and my peace of mind suffered for it. Satisfied?’

‘Very,’ you admit, chuckling before adopting an apologetic smile to indicate that you meant no malice by it. You then turn to Rosaria, gesturing her forward. ‘Right, before I forget my manners: Rosaria, this is Sansa, a woman who has the terrible luck of being a bearer of my friendship. Sansa, this is Rosaria. She’s … new here.’

‘A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Senpai.’

Sansa doesn’t say a word, staring wide-eyed at Rosaria. Rosaria, to her credit, doesn’t press your suddenly-catatonic friend for a response (although she does throw you a brief, worried glance). Had Sansa noticed the tattoo on her hand? You hadn’t known Sansa to be prejudiced … not that you could blame her, either. As an Imperial citizen, she had all the right to be distrustful of a Colony Fleet Inhabitant, what with their reputation. Your mind races quickly for a method to quell any and all oncoming tension, to calm Sansa and reassure Rosaria that—

‘You mean y-you … you actually got a girl?’

If life was like those … animes, you would be falling face-first by now.

>‘That’s the first thing that comes to mind for you?!’ (Anime Protagonist)
>‘No. I’d also appreciate it if you’d stop bringing that up.’ (Indignant)
>‘You know what? I honestly regret every second of our friendship right now.’ (Dry)
>‘The proper response would be “My name is Sansa Wilmots. I am the ungrateful friend of your Lord”.’ (Grumble)
>‘Y-Yes.’ (Lie)
>Write-In

>>3654893
>You could say I have 5... maybe 6.

>>3654893
>>‘No. I’d also appreciate it if you’d stop bringing that up.’ (Indignant)

>>3654893
>>‘That’s the first thing that comes to mind for you?!’ (Anime Protagonist)

>>3654893
>>‘That’s the first thing that comes to mind for you?!’ (Anime Protagonist)

>>3654893
>‘No. I’d also appreciate it if you’d stop bringing that up.’ (Indignant)

>>3654893
>>‘That’s the first thing that comes to mind for you?!’ (Anime Protagonist)
>but yes I do but it’s not her she’s a friend.

File: Tease.jpg (160 KB, 850x1204)

160 KB JPG

‘That’s the first thing that comes to mind for you?!’

‘C-Can you blame me?’ she practically shrieks, wide-eyed, her head swinging left and right like a metronome as she digested an untruth that you’re … actually all too indignant to correct. ‘You’re a Scion that doesn’t spend his free time breaking down the doors to the homes of Governor’s wives and bedding them in front of their husbands or shopping the districts for … you know!’

You point an accusatory finger in her direction.

‘You’ve been around me for five years; don’t tell me that you actually came to the conclusion that I … well, you know very well just why I don’t do that sort of thing!’

‘It’s not like you made any effort to dispel any of that doubt,’ Sansa retorts, adopting what you guess to be a more … incredulous tone, her surprise replaced by puzzlement. ‘Besides, whenever you and Emilio sneaked off on one of your political discussions, I kinda wondered myself.’

You really feel like jumping out of the window right now. You doubt that it wasn’t reinforced, however.

‘Then why didn’t you wonder about Emilio?’

‘Emilio actually has an excuse,’ Sansa retorts, making no sense at all.

You spare the window another glance. How low did she think of you that the presence of a woman and the sexuality of a man refusing to bed his own wife gave her more traction in her opinion of you than … you?

‘Senpai,’ Rosaria cuts in, catching both your attentions. ‘I don’t mean to interrupt, but … for his benefit, I believe further clarification on the matter is needed. I … am not his lover. Or rather, I … don’t think I am. Senpai’s merely assisted in my acclimatization to this world as I am … unused to the natural gravity and atmospheric conditions. He has not been … aggressive towards me in that sense. In … any’—you could have sworn that you’d caught a wry smile and a disappointed, downcast gaze there somewhere—‘capacity.’

Sansa blinks, her mouth opening and closing … before glaring right at you.

What had you done now?

‘You know, you’re doing nothing to help your situation.’

You almost rip the roots of your hairs from the top of your head. What a comical sight you must have been, hopping from one leg to the other, your hands grasping clumps of your crowning glory.

‘Make up your mind, woman!’ you hiss, glaring daggers at Sansa. ‘Do you expect me to be a gentleman or do you want me to go around ploughing every hole that isn’t plugged?’

‘What are you talking about? You’re a total gentleman.’

‘See, that’s what I—’

Ah.

Oh.

‘Isn’t he?’

‘Very much so, Senpai.’

W-What was going on?

>Write-In

>>3655011
lets just move on, allright?
(exasperated)

>>3655011
Oh no.. Mech why do you do this to us? Since were pretty clueless I vote we say

>"Contrary to belief, Scions can't read minds. How about you two say what's on your mind."

>>3655026
+1

>>3655026
>Supporting

>>3655026
same, because we are all dense anime protags

>>3655011
>>3655026
Goddamn, supporting this

Fisher, Rosaria and Sansa are great.

Fisher sisters are okay.

If this post goes through, I'm running

You click your tongue, feeling exasperated and … oddly helpless.

‘You know, I can’t exactly read minds,’ you emphasize, rolling your eyes before settling them on Sansa (You were still conscious of Rosaria; putting them on her would probably reduce her to tears). ‘If there’s something that you wish to communicate to me, I’d rather for it to be in an arrangement of sentences rather than vague hints, thank you very much.’

Sansa giggles behind a fist. ‘Come on, live a little.’

‘It’s hard to when you insist on treating me like an accessory.’

Sansa opens her mouth before sighing and closing it again. ‘You just know how to take the fun out of things don’t you?’ she comments dryly, shifting her legs slightly under the sheets, ‘and you wonder why you’re still a virgin.’

‘I’ve never wondered about it and you know it,’ you counter pointedly. ‘Besides, I’m a Scion. Worse comes to worse, I can just kick down a Governor’s door and take his wife while he watches.’

‘No, you won’t,’ Sansa returns in a bored tone, stretching her arms above her head.

You chuckle.

‘Yeah, I won’t,’ you agree, crossing your arms over your chest and deciding to get straight to the point; you were wasting precious daylight right now. ‘So … is there a specific reason that you marched up here or am I just suppose to accept and file away that you were intent on getting me to knock you up in a fit of stress-induced hysteria?’

Sansa groans into her palms, making a light whimpering sound before dragging her hands down from her face. You don’t find the sight very satisfying, despite the recent back-and-forth. Knowing just what Sansa had to go through every night to keep her grades up (and now with the addition of a bunch of mischievous children in the bodies of young adults), you find yourself more worried over her state of being. The last thing you wanted was to witness her drop dead from exhaustion.

‘You all right?’

‘I’m fine,’ she answers, briefly glancing at Rosaria for one reason or another, before shifting her attention back to you. ‘And honestly, you act like this is the first time I’ve propositioned you.’

You wince. ‘I try to keep memories of that incident as far away from my thoughts as I possibly can. Thank you for ruining my streak, by the way.’

Sansa looks down, smiling wryly … and guiltily. ‘Is it because I didn’t shave or wash that time?’

Your cheeks turn hot. You glance up at the ceiling and scratch your jawline, wondering just how honest you could be elaborating your perspective on the … incident.

‘Look, just … is there a reason you actually crossed town on the assumption that I’d be here at all?’

Sansa bites her bottom lip, looking troubled. She throws Rosaria, who had been silent throughout the whole exchange, one more look.

‘I … no. Just … I guess I just needed a spot to crash and decided to try my luck.’

She pats the mattress for emphasis.

>>3656657
>‘Uh-huh.’ (Refuse to follow the trail)
>‘If you say so.’ (Leave it be)
>‘Well, the room’s yours for use. I’m heading out.’ (Don’t bother at all/Dismiss it)
>Write-In

>>3656657
>>‘Well, the room’s yours for use. I’m heading out.’ (Don’t bother at all/Dismiss it)

>>3656675
>‘Uh-huh.’ (Refuse to follow the trail)

>>3656675
>>‘Uh-huh.’ (Refuse to follow the trail)

>>3656675
>>‘Uh-huh.’ (Refuse to follow the trail)

>>3656657
>>‘Uh-huh.’ (Refuse to follow the trail

+1 AWARENESS

‘Uh-huh.’

You don’t fall for it.

The sigh that escapes Sansa’s lips indicates that even she believes it had been a poor attempt at diversion. Not at all up to the standard that you’d … expected of her. Sansa had been equal parts witty and—for lack of better word—fussy, but the woman that you saw before you right now felt a lot more … uncertain and vulnerable compared to the usual fare. She wasn’t Fisher; not by any stretch. Where Fisher’s tongue wagged with an almost enviable frequency while backed up with worn wisdom, Sansa’s quips were more channels of displeasure made bearable for the one at the end of them (for whatever value of bearable she had in mind). This tendency, funnily enough, made her mood all the easier to read, as her deviations were less jumbled compared to the former; it made the abnormalities in her state of mind more visible than she probably liked to think of herself.

That, of course and the fact that being five years around her gave you no excuse to not at least take a hint when it was so obvious.

‘I wasn’t planning on having an audience for this,’ Sansa starts, pushing off with a hesitant drawl, ‘but, well, I didn’t know when else to ask it anyway, so now’s as good a time as ever.’

She wears a defeated smile, sitting upright once more.

‘If I agreed to be one of your Mistresses, would you … turn me down?’

Rosaria gasps.

>‘I would. This isn’t a world that I’d just let you walk into … for your own good.’ (Cautionary)
>‘I … well, yeah. I don’t like you that way.’ (Blunt)
>‘I am going to pretend this conversation never happened and that we’re two totally platonic friends of the opposite gender. Yup.’ (Denial is just a river in … Egypt?)
>‘Funny you should say that. I actually envisioned you as my wife.’ (Please, no)
>Write-In

>>3656845
>No, but I would want you to be as aware of everything as you could be before you make that decision.

>>3656874
this because yes

>>3656874
Sounds good to me

>>3656845
>>‘I am going to pretend this conversation never happened and that we’re two totally platonic friends of the opposite gender. Yup.’ (Denial is just a river in … Egypt?)

>>3656845
>>3656874
This.

Also mention it’s not all sunshine and rainbows.

>>3656874
Isn't this essentially my first option?

>>3656953
No... because that option is saying that we would turn her down.

>>3656953
No option 1 says we will turn her down cause the world of a scorn is dangerous.

The write in is we would but we will essentially tell her/warn her that being a mistress is a scorns world is not a great place she thinks.

The difference is whether we will turn her down or not.

One says we will, cause reasons.

The other says we won’t but we will need to tell her the reasons why it’s bad and have her get a informed decision.

>>3656874
Supporting
>>3656963
What this anon said.

>>3656874
>>3656963
I'm sure there are a few benefits she wouldn't know. It may not be all bad news that we give her.

>>3656874
+1

>>3656845
>>‘I … well, yeah. I don’t like you that way.’ (Blunt)

Testing

‘Of course not,’ you reply neutrally … and thoughtfully. It was actually quite refreshing for her to show such curiosity in the initiation of a Mistress into the messy world of Trade House dealings. ‘However, like I said before … it’d have to be an informed decision on your part. I’m not sure how other Houses operate in regards to their offspring and lovers, but it’d be irresponsible for me to just let you in without making you aware of all the baggage that that comes with being connected with a Trade House in such an intimate capacity.

‘I mean … no offence meant, but politicians generally prep their kids up for the off-chance one of them gets picked out and some of them still get overwhelmed with the sheer scale of the machinations. At the very least, if it were to be one of my presumptive lovers, I’d at least take the time to make sure the integration doesn’t end up with them being thrown into a madhouse. It’s happened before … and it’s why I’m being very careful picking girls up. I’m not my grandfather, after all. I can’t just leave things to my dad to mop up like he does … and he’d relinquish me on the spot if I even thought about it like that.’

‘I see.’

You give your best sagely nod. It felt nice clarifying your stance on the matter after years of being teased about it.

That’s when something … twangs.

It’s not a niggling irritation brought to the fore, nor is it a realization that dawns like the system star upon the horizon. You had missed something. Something vital and highly visible.

‘Why do you ask?’

Sansa smiles.

‘Oh, I’ve actually been wondering that if your father ever decides to pay a visit, perhaps I’d be able to take a place by his side as a Mistress,’ she says, giggling in a pitch much higher compared to her usual one. ‘Or, you know, just in case one of the other Houses decides to set up a foothold here proper, it’d be nice to know what my prospects are.’

You laugh. Your father? Taking a Mistress? Never mind a lover, you actually wondered if there was a functioning drive in his body to find pleasure in anything that didn’t involve spreadsheets, reports and acquisition documents. If Sansa wanted to be a Scion’s lover, your father was probably the most impossible of candidates. Perhaps Mirraca was more her speed. They were born hedonists.

Then again, she was a little old for their tastes.

‘Well, I’m glad I could lay it all out for you. Although, it boggles the mind why it took this much from you to ask me about this. You could have asked me any time.’

Sansa’s smile doesn’t leave her lips. In fact, it … widens.

Yet, it never touches her eyes.

File: Tsundere.jpg (119 KB, 616x1032)

119 KB JPG

‘Boggles the mind, huh?’

Sansa slips out of bed, rubbing her neck.

You snort. ‘You could have asked me or Emilio any time. Don’t see why it was so urgent.’

‘Yeah, neither do I …’

She stretches her arms over her head, her finger joints cracking as she closes the distance between the two of you with dainty tip-toes, placing both hands on your shoulders. It’s a puzzling motion, but you suppose that she had felt so silly asking such an—

‘HOW OBVIOUS DO YOU WANT ME TO BE, YOU JERK?!’

As the pain and the fact that the floor and the ceiling had switched in the aftermath of your vertigo … you can’t help but feel that you really, really should have handled this better.

+1 COMBAT

>Write-In

>>3657683
“Ow. That was uncalled for. I’m sorry Sansa but I never thought your propositioning me was serious. I thought it was stress talking.

>>3657683
>This is about Rosaria? The madcapness of being a suspected Mistress is likely better than being Furniture.

>>3657694
oughta work

>>3657694
Dude This isn’t about Rosaria. Sansa was being serious about her proposition.

>>3657692
this

because yeah no-pan

>>3657716
Reread the last post:

>At the very least, if it were to be one of my presumptive lovers, I’d at least take the time to make sure the integration doesn’t end up with them being thrown into a madhouse. It’s happened before … and it’s why I’m being very careful picking girls up. I’m not my grandfather, after all. I can’t just leave things to my dad to mop up like he does … and he’d relinquish me on the spot if I even thought about it like that.’

This is the important info.

Sanza has been sharing glaces with Rosaria since she got here. Sanza seeems to have dropped everything and rushed over here when news that Lord Mishima had checked into a hotel with a girl. A girl he picked up this very morning.

>>3657750
As the GM, I can say that while neither are you are WHOLLY accurate, the other guy is definitely more on the mark than you are.

The shops are a welcome distraction from your current … troubles (If they could even be called that). You’re more thankful for Rosaria’s presence, though. She and Sansa hit it off the moment you stepped out of the hotel and hit the shops. The latter initiates chatter with the former continuously, feeding her with tidbits regarding the city that you hadn’t quite found the time to impart to your kouhai. Rather than a Colony Fleet Inhabitant experiencing her first taste of life under planetary atmospheric conditions, she looked as though she actually … belonged here. In fact, they looked like a pair of university students frolicking through the artificially-cobbled streets of Rhysode rather than—

‘You all right?’

You cock an eyebrow in Sansa’s direction, appreciating the irony.

‘Am I … all right?’

Sansa’s cheeks turn pink. ‘I said I was sorry,’ she practically mumbles. ‘Besides, it’s not as if you haven’t been dealt worse. I remember second year and mandatory conditioning. One little bump isn’t—’

‘Sansa, you’ve spent the better part of the five years we’ve known each other building boundaries in regards to our friendship.’

‘Yeah, like that matters,’ Sansa snorts. ‘It’s not like I haven’t caught you staring a few times.’

‘That’s entrapment,’ you grumble, rubbing the back of your neck. ‘How do you expect me to take the fact that you’re … suddenly doing a one-eighty and considering taking me up on an offer I made under … less-than-savoury presumptions?’

First year was not a good year.

Not at all.

‘Well, you would be adding value …’

She rubs her bare, toned stomach, sticking a tongue out.

>‘You didn’t answer my question.’ (Serious, Searching)
>‘Stick with Rosaria. I … need to go think.’ (Frustrated)
>‘And what if I don’t want to?’ (Blunt, Reject)
>Write-In

>>3657815
>‘You didn’t answer my question.’ (Serious, Searching)

>>3657815
>‘And what if I don’t want to?’ (Blunt, Reject)

>>3657815
>>‘You didn’t answer my question.’ (Serious, Searching)

>>3657815
>‘You didn’t answer my question.’ (Serious, Searching)

>>3657815
>>‘You didn’t answer my question.’ (Serious, Searching)

>>3657815
>‘You didn’t answer my question.’ (Serious, Searching)

>>3657815
>>‘And what if I don’t want to?’ (Blunt, Reject)

As enticing as Sansa could be (and she could be; her pointing out that she’d caught you staring a few times was an underestimation due to her rather liberal inclination towards certain clothing articles), you don’t find yourself distracted whatsoever. Young man you may be, but Scion you are … and even if you aren’t your father, you are your father’s son. You didn’t share your grandfather’s lackadaisical approach. The intention and consequence of those that wished to share your bed counted for more than a tussle between the sheets.

For your sake and for Sansa’s, you couldn’t allow yourself to be—for lack of better word—reckless.

Especially because it was Sansa.

‘You didn’t answer my question.’

‘You’ve known me for five years and you think that I have something outside of your estimates of character?’

‘It’s because I’ve known you for five years that I’m trying to find anything outside my estimates of your character,’ you counter. As she scowls, you can’t help but wonder if the universe had a strange sense of humour, switching your roles in such a manner upon a theatre so unfamiliar. ‘You’re not the type to suddenly decide that she wants to bear someone’s kid and have a Trade House name paraded on a whim.’

‘What if I am?’

‘You’re not.’

+1 AWARENESS

She tenses slightly, likely not expecting your adamant approach to her sudden change of heart. A large part of you wishes to welcome Sansa to the fold before the day was done. After all, she was smart, ambitious, independent, grounded and most of all … she was your friend. In a galaxy where the most optimistic relationship you dared to hope for was a mutual understanding of shared responsibilities, it was a plea answered.

‘Plus, you’re practically a doctor already,’ you go on, tip-toeing around the proverbial stump. ‘Even if you were the type, you wouldn’t be going around asking me to put a baby in you if you … well, knowing that your career prospectus was entering endgame right around the corner. You’re barely managing sorting yourself out and keeping an eye out for the rest of us as is. A baby and a Trade House hovering over your shoulder are among a few things I don’t think a career girl like you is keen on juggling every day of the rest of your professional life …’

Sansa grimaces, flipping her pony-tail and glancing at one of the distant buildings.

‘Career girl, huh?’

‘Huh?’

‘You know,’ she starts again. ‘When I came down here all I had on my mind was to get my qualifications, keep my grades up and hopefully get a placement on a damn Battlegroup and live out the rest of my days listening to pilots complaining about their latest boo-boos. I had it all planned out. I even knew which Paradise World I was gonna set up on when I retired: Armstrong Cuda.’

‘That barely qualifies as a—’

‘I,’ she growls, prompting you to quickly shut up, ‘am not finished. I didn’t even care about that snooty, depressed sod of a Reinweld’—eavesdroppers in the streets gasp, shuffling off before their ears were sullied by more blasphemy—‘and his stupid soliloquys; that idiot of idiots and his crazy plans until I realized that the only way for me to keep myself on track was to keep all of your in line.

‘I was content not caring about what monstrosity Gerard cooked up in the wee hours in the morning to satisfy that country hick stomach of his or even Lucion’s fetishistic obsession with leather-bound tomes that cost more than my own house or you and your equally-stupid fantasies about getting into a Mech and saving the world by the tip of your beam sword, you know that? I was happy with my notes, my books and I couldn’t care any less about you weirdos’—you take offence to that—‘dragging me away from my studies, obligations, responsibilities and every night after mandatory and supplementary first year the only thing I wanted was for all of you to go away!’

She sniffles, gritting her teeth and wearing a look of betrayal

‘And now, you’re … you’re all leaving me …’

>Write-In

>>3660544
>And we will miss you, too. I know that the only one of our little clique I can reasonably expect to run into again is Emilio, but that doesn't mean I want to forget Lucien, Gerard, Ryosuke or you.

>>3660565
Supporting

>>3660544
>>Write-In
Reach over her shoulder and pull her in for that sideway hug."My grandfather used to tell me something 'A lifetime is one of hellos and goodbyes (of flames, hoes and mistresses but she doesnt need to know the rest of the quote)' Yes we are all about to go our seperate ways but that doesn't mean we wont ever see each other again. The universe is a rather small place these days... We'll run into each other again, or we'll make time to find one another. Just because we're staring wide eyed at what comes next doesn't mean we don't cherish the bonds we forged here, you can't tell me you didn't at least enjoy some of that mad crap we put you up to."

>>3660544
>>3660577
This

>>3660584
same

>>3660577
This.

>>3660577
This.

>>3660544
>>3660577
this

Testing

You feel like there’s some golden nugget that you could throw in. A quiet eternity passes as the emotion upon her visage turns into one of frustration and … regret. You suppose that the outburst wasn’t at all what she’d intended to put out there, but judging by the following silence … it was everything she wished for you (and probably the others) to know. Out of the corner of your eye, you spy Rosaria staring at a row (rather impressively) painted bollard. That she wasn’t paying attention and in turn an unintentional member of the audience (currently numbered at zero) is a load off your mind.

‘If this were a serial, this would be … probably the part where I say something about a lifetime of hellos and goodbyes or something,’ you mumble, letting out a humourless chuckle, ‘but, well … it’s not like we intend on forgetting about you the moment we get out assignments and what-not. I don’t think that you need to bear my kid to have some sort of reminder of the good times’—you observe that that gets a smile out of her—‘we’ve had. Besides, it’s not like the galaxy’s so big these days that we won’t be able to drop a line at least once in a while …’

‘You’re being irritatingly logical about this.’

‘Sansa, you were tabling being the Mistress of a Scion’—you jab a thumb aggressively at yourself—‘as a solution.’

She frowns. ‘No, I wasn’t.’

You roll your eyes. ‘Sure you weren’t.’

Sansa scowls, placing her hands on her hips. ‘I didn’t proposition you in an attempt to keep everyone rooted to Rhysode,’ she huffs, ‘I asked you because … well, we get along, don’t we? I mean, outside of Emilio and Gerard, I think you’re the one man that I’ve actually put enough trust in to … you know, not … well, I won’t say something cliché like you look at me as a woman and all that, because I know exactly what I’m selling’—she, rather haughtily, flips her ponytail as if for emphasis—‘but I guess … I don’t know if there’s another chance that someone like you or … well, someone better’s going to come along.

‘I’m not … conscious or anything, but growing up, I’ve learned to take what I can get and … well, I can be presumptuous, but I know that we’ve gotten along just fine. Not that I’m trying to force you or anything, but I’m … at least for myself, I feel like I have to take this chance and I’d rather … be your Mistress and be happy with our friendship being as far as the both of us are willing to take it over … regretting on the what-ifs when I’m staring out into the vacuum on a ship somewhere along the Frontier.’

You feel a tingling sensation along your fingers, finding Sansa’s wrapped around them.

When did she manage that?

‘Besides,’ she goes on, wearing a half-grin. ‘You need at least a few girls to your name to drown out the tabloids …’

>>3662321
>‘I’d never use you like that.’ (Earnest)
>‘Unfortunately.’ (This sounds pretty gay, to be honest, but eh)
>‘I, um … I have to, uh … tell you something first …’ (Reveal what you and Fisher almost ended up doing)
>‘Well, you took your shot …’ (Reject)
>Write-In

>>3662321
>‘I’d never use you like that.’ (Earnest)

>>3662334
>I’d never use you like that.’ (Earnest)
I mean, who does she think we are? A Scion?

>>3662334
>>‘I, um … I have to, uh … tell you something first …’ (Reveal what you and Fisher almost ended up doing)

>>3662334
>‘I, um … I have to, uh … tell you something first …’ (Reveal what you and Fisher almost ended up doing)
Just because there's a decent chance that she'll be stopping by later.