bravenewworld | Look Who Missed the Party

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Look Who Missed the Party

The thing about being on the road for a chunk of time like Ryuko's been, it means you miss out on a big chunk of local news. It gets even worse when your Warp Band communications drop out like hers had just the day before. At the time, she'd found it kind of annoying and weird but nothing worth getting bent out of shape about. Wasn't like she had anybody to talk to anyway.

At any rate, it meant that the sight of the damaged city and the bustling activity of workers was a bit of a surprise. But at least it meant that one new arrival to the city was going largely unnoticed as she wandered through town. True, the sight of a teenage girl carrying a large metal guitar case strapped to her back was a pretty uncommon one but there were more important things to worry about, right?

It's not until sometime later that she's come to a stop, leaning up against a wall and checking out of her new Warp Band that she plugs into the signal network, pulling up the video function.

"So, uh, I just got into town." She glances around and tosses something up and down in her free hand. A lemon. She catches it and lifts it to her mouth to take a bite out of it, skin and all, chews and swallows. "Kinda gettin' the feeling I missed something. What's the deal?"

[OOC: Intro post! Feel free to respond to her on video or run across her in person. She'll just be kinda out bumming around town for the time being.]

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[At least she's finally got that coveted breathing room now, and it's enough to lower her temper to a smolder.]

Okay, you asked for it.

[Jamming her hands in her pockets, she shrugs a shoulder and tosses her head.]

Lead the way.

[ And lead she does. The residential towers look like they have seen better days, with distinct indentations of where either rocks, pokemon or other implements collided during the battle with Kyurem. Kyosuke's seemed a bit better for wear, with only a single scaffolding set up on the western side. ]

Hope you don't mind taking the stairs.

[ Leading the teen up to the fourth floor, Excellen produces a key and opens the door. The interior is very sparse, almost Spartan, the only pieces of furniture there for functionality. However, stepping further inside, it seems like the blond has brought in a few pieces to help make it feel a bit more like home and less like a military barracks. ]

Welcome to casa de Nanbu! Go ahead and make yourself comfy!

[Nah, stairs are no problem at least. Ryuko's been traveling for a long time and both her and her shoes are a little worn down from it all but still in one piece to manage a few flights. Besides, even if the building's a little banged up, it's warmer in here than it is outside so she'll take it without any complaint.

There's a small moment of hesitation just before she crosses through the door, glancing down at her feet before stepping across the threshold and inside, looking around.]

Right. Yeah. [She doesn't... actually make any kind of move to sit down or anything, though she does at least lift that case off her back to set down with a thud that seems a little heavier than it should for such a thing. She tosses a glance around. Sparse decorating isn't anything new to her, considering she's somebody whose possessions had never really amounted to any more than what could fit in a bunk anyway. Still, there seems to be a war going on between holding up that tough outer shell and at least kind of being a gracious guest.]

Uh... nice place.

Thank you.

[Kyosuke leads them into the house and dons a surprisingly frilly white apron without a trace of embarrassment as he puts on some tea]

[ Ah yes, the apron. She loved that apron. The blond smiles surprisingly sweetly at Kyosuke--a bit of a rare sight for Ryuko--before sitting down herself. ]

You don't have to be so uptight. Sit down, take a load off! You like tea right? They really like tea here. It's not as good as a strong cup of coffee, but it'll do in a pinch.

[Ryuko blinks a bit, making a face that that frilly apron of Kyosuke's. Not... exactly the kind of thing she'd ever have expected to see the Steel Battalion soldier wearing. Neither is that smile Excellen gives him. It's a different side from the hyperactice, clingy nutcase or the slightly more rarely seen soldier dealing with a punk kid.]

Never tried it. [She picks out a chair, spins it around backward and sits down on it backwards, folding her arms across the back and leaning on it. Her posture still isn't exactly screaming "relaxed" but at least she's off her feet.] Guess it can't be more boring than the rest of this food around here.

It's basically dirty leaf water, but you get used to it.

[ Excellen sits down as well, on a more comfortable-looking chair. She's been working all day, and while the chairs at the dining room table weren't terrible, she wanted something a bit more cushy. ]

You were gonna tell us why you suddenly blew in here. So? Spill the rice.

[Dirty leaf water. She makes a face at the description but she doesn't shoot down the whole "tea" idea. She's committed to at least giving it a shot. Just like she's stuck with the chair she picked now... but she doesn't want cushy or comfortable. She's agitated and she plans to stay that way.

Her arms drape over the back of the chair and her frown twists even deeper than normal, the heel of one foot drumming away on the floor.]

I got somethin'. [She reaches into one of her coat pockets and pulls out a folded up sheet of paper, crumpled from being carried way and from plenty of obvious rereads. She holds it between her fingers for a moment, considering it, before tossing it Excellen's way.] It says it's from my dad.

[ Seeing the note, Excellen expected Ryuko to tuck it back in her coat pocket. Instead, Excellen scrambles to catch it, unfolding the paper before reading it. ]

[Ryuko folds her arms again as Excellen reads the paper, leaning on her chair and casting a grim look to the side, focused on the metal case leaning against the wall. The paper itself is worn and torn in a couple of places around the edges. Handwritten in simple, blocky and functional print.]

"Ryuko.
If this message has found you before I have then that means that I have lost my life before being able to deliver it to you myself. I've made many mistakes in my life and now that I've run out of time to repair them, I have no choice but to leave the rest in your hands.

I'm sure you've faced many hardships in your life and there will be further ones ahead of you, so I've given you something along with this letter to help you on your way. If you'd prefer to live a peaceful life, then leave it and walk away but if you want to know why you were born and what cost me my life then take it and travel to the city called Union. I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for there.

Your father
Isshin Matoi."

[ Excellen reads over the letter once, twice, her expression becoming complicated. She didn't know much about the girl's past--those were things they just never talked about, Ryuko's past or Excellen's--but something about the letter rubbed her the wrong way.

What kind of father leaves their dirty laundry for their kid to clean up? It really rankled her, a lot more than it had any right to.

A third read solidified it for her. She didn't like him. It didn't matter that he was no longer among the living. Respect for the dead was only expected when the dead actually did something worthy of respect. ]

[ After a moment, she folded it back up, handing the paper back to Ryuko before sitting down and leaning back in her seat. She wasn't smiling, her expression locked in the ultimate poker face. ]

Got anything else to go on other than that note?

[The note goes right back into her coat pocket now. Wearing a deep scowl on her own face before she huffs out a breath and goes back to that plastered-on look of dismissive indifference.]

Nah, that's all I got. [She points her thumb back over her shoulder to her case.] Unless you count the piece'a junk sword I got with it.

Piece of junk sword?

[ You realize that she's an Engineer, how did you figure that she wouldn't be interested in this supposed hunk of scrap metal? Excellen leans forward in her seat slightly. Go on. ]

Yeah. This thing.

[She leans back in her chair to grab her case and drag it over. She flicks a latch or two and reaches inside to pull out her sword... and immediately makes it clear that Ryuko's appreciation for Engineering is pretty lacking. She holds it out in front of Excellen, letting her have a look at what might be described by somebody in the business as a work of art. Almost as long from point to hilt as Ryuko is tall, single-edged and deep red all the way through and shaped from a single masterfully forged piece of metal.

If Excellen takes it she'll find it's pretty weighty, apparently meant for somebody with Ryuko's Enhanced strength, beautifully well-balanced and sporting an edge that's both sharp enough to split a hair lengthwise and without a single mark despite spending some time in Ryuko's rather rough care.]

Came with the letter. Almost thought about selling it at first but figured I oughta hold onto it.

[ It's easy to tell why Ryuko might find it a piece of junk, especially on first glance. An untrained eye didn't know what to look for. However, once the younger girl pulls the weapon out, Excellen walks over to examine the handiwork.

It was such an odd blade, but, taking a hold and lifting it--it was much heavier than it looked, but then Excellen wasn't so weak either--she did her best to turn it over. The balance was interesting, and the blade itself, after lightly testing it with a gloved hand, was exceptionally sharp.

She let out a low whistle. ]

Quite the gift from your old man. He must've really liked you. I'd say I'd take it off your hands if you don't want it, but I couldn't take something so nice from someone else, especially when they don't know what they've got.

[She snorts a rather inelegant laugh at that, adding a roll of her eyes]

Yeah, I bet he was my biggest freaking fan.

[The way she says it is clear there's more than a little bitterness still there, even if she is carrying the thing around. She's still not sure if she's out here because she wants to meet the guy... or punch his lights out.

She scowls off to the side for a moment then glances up curiously.]

Why, is it good?

[ He had to have some faith in her, to leave her with such a gift. Or, baring that, he at least wanted to see it stay in the family. Although the letter certainly implied any number of other things. What did he want her doing with a weapon like that here, in Union? ]

It's definitely not my style, but the blade is a work of art. Whoever made it knew what they were doing. The balance is perfect despite how it looks—it could always be improved upon, but I wouldn't be surprised if some Engineer spent their entire life perfecting their art just to make this thing. Something this well-made is pretty rare.

[ Aesthetically, there was no counting for taste. But otherwise, she was thoroughly impressed. She offered the blade back to Ryuko. ]

[Not a single one of those are questions Ryuko has managed to come even close to answering. And all of them are questions that had kept her up nights since she'd first read that letter and first held the weapon. A lot of the time she'd considered just selling off the stupid thing and turning her back on all of it but every time she'd planned to do just that, something in the pit of her stomach had rebelled. That same something that had finally sent her on the road to Union.

If she'd never seen any of this, she might have been able to go on not knowing but now that she has....]

Guess I really have to make sure I track him down now. Gotta thank him for my present.

[She takes the sword back, shoving it back into its case and snapping it shut rather unceremoniously.]

Got a lot to thank him for, if he didn't already go and croak.

Do you have any leads, other than that? Any reason why he would pick Union in particular?

[ Excellen was no detective, but she knew people--and even if she didn't know the right people, she could get to know them, easily. ]

That's it.

[She shrugs her shoulders and gives a sigh.]

This is seriously the only thing I ever heard or saw from the old bastard. [She looks at the guitar case, frowning thoughtfully.] But if this sword's that fancy maybe he hung around here building stuff for awhile.

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Look Who Missed the Party

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whups got my threads mixed up

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