You really are an idiot, aren't you? That's the worst reasoning I've ever heard.
[ As if someone like Nui wouldn't be able to track Ryuko down wherever she happened to be, as if destroying her own home would actually protect Athena or anyone else from being hurt if Nui felt hurting them would get what she wants. ]
I guess it's not like you're not used to sleeping under a bridge somewhere.
[ She really tries to sound disinterested, unphased, unworried, but she's Satsuki's sister, and they've helped each other a couple times now, it's impossible to be impartial like she had been before as a student council member. ]
What else could I have done?! Harime was at my doorstep and I don't need to tell ya what would happen if Athena were to answer it. That bitch will use everyone in that building against me.
And gee, thanks. [ ...She's not wrong, though. Ryuko was a vagabond for a few months before arriving at Honnoji. ]
[ There's no answer from Nonon for that. She has no ideas that are any better than going together to fight and kill Nui so they have nothing to fear again here. But who knows if they could? And it seems like Ryuko already made her decision. The real issue here? Ryuko did all this without talking to Nonon. ]
[ Staying with Nonon would put her in danger, too, although Ryuko is aware that the girl is considerably stronger than Athena. Nonon may never beat Nui, but she can still hold up against her and knows exactly what monster they're dealing with here.
[ Nonon definitely understands Nui strengths, she fought her to the death before, when they had tried to kill Ragyo. And she's scared, but not enough to run away from a fight with Nui if they have to. ]
...Then what did you call me for? [ There's some amount of strange hesitation in her own voice here... It's not like she's never been confessed to before you know!! ]
[ Now who's saying "we" so openly? In any case, Ryuko rudely hangs up since Nonon wasn't listening to a word she's saying anyway.
She does, however, find herself in front of her door by the end of the day. Honestly she contemplates turning around a couple of times, but it is still the cold season, and... Nonon hasn't been that terrible to be with, AS MUCH AS SHE WON'T ADMIT IT.
Wearing her winter jacket and a guitar case full of small belongings, Ryuko sighs and lightly toe kicks on Nonon's door a few times instead of knocking with her hands. ]
[ Nonon wants to calls dibs on Nui, she made a mockery of Satsuki's Elite Four, and it's up to Nonon to try to right that wrong. Ragyo is Satsuki's target, and if she wants to share her with Ryuko that's Satsuki's choice. But Nui is her's.
That, and Ryuko and Nonon are a team now, whether either wants to admit it or not.
That knocking has Nonon at the door in a few moments, opening it after checking who's there. She just sighs, standing in her own casual wear, a long zip up hoodie that makes it look like she's not wearing anything beneath it, just bare legs. ]
That knock was too boorish to be Nui, I knew it had to be you.
[ And she steps out of the way, inviting her in without saying the words. Nonon doesn't look annoyed or anything though. ]
[ Ryuko can't help but give her a teasing, albeit worn-out smile as she strides past her host. It has been a long day. ]
Hm? Who said anything about her?
[ For all of Nonon's barking, it's apparent that Nui Harime can still make her nervous. Not that Ryuko blames her for it. What she CAN blame her for is that choice of outfit?? Not that she hasn't seen Nonon wear less clothes, but there isn't anything immediate to distract them for the time being. ]
[ If Ryuko didn't come in and tease her, then she'd really know something was wrong. ]
Hmph. Well, I'd say make yourself at home but I've seen how you treat that.
[ And teasing her right back. And if Ryuko ever actually got along with girls her age other than Mako, she'd know that wearing clothes like Nonon has on (and yes she's wearing red running shorts beneath the sweatshirt) is completely normal for girls. And it's not like Nonon's ever shied away from exposing her legs in public in her uniform. She works with the tools she has. ]
Did you eat? [ Nonon closes the door and makes sure it's locked. Inside the apartment is the expected overabundance of candy, stuffed animals, and musical instruments, and pretty pastel colors of curtains and things. It's like a real girl's room. ]
This room is gross. [ No... it turns out she just says it out loud. ]
[ She drops her guitar case on a bunch of stuffed animals as she tries to navigate through this funhouse of an apartment. ] ...Don't tell me we're havin' candy burgers for dinner or something.
[ At least it's clean, there's no dust or trash anywhere to be found, and it smells nice, like lavender and vanilla. And she's not a hoarder, there's just lots of stuffed animals all over neatly arranged except for a small pile next to the couch Nonon obviously just threw there to make room for Ryuko. ]
I'm going to ignore that, seeing how a normal polite guest would never say something like that.
[ She leads her to the kitchen though, where Nonon just bought takeout. It was easier, since like hell has she ever cooked a single day in her life. ]
There's salad, soup, and sandwiches. [ Leave it to Nonon to prefer something more Western when it comes to eating out than Japanese food. ] Eating nothing but candy would make me fat. ...And I'm obviously in shape. [ Go ahead and look, Ryuko/ ]
[ If Nonon wants Ryuko to go ahead and look, then her outfit was clearly a deliberate choice. However, there's a bigger issue here; there's just not enough meat in these choices, wtf gurl. ]
Well, since you're clearly such a fit chick, how 'bout I have both sandwiches and you can have all the salad and soup ya want?
[ ...She's half-serious. Only half. Look, it's an improvement from her mood before she came over. ]
[ Honestly... some amount of thought went into what to wear, expecting that Ryuko would be coming over. Though not to entice the other girl or anything stupid like that, just to look like she wasn't freaking out about Nui, and that maybe she was maybe more well put together than Ryuko thought.
If it had other positive aspects then that was okay too. But Ryuko;s suggestion makes her narrow her eyes, before just shaking her head. She didn't didn't feel like fighting over something so stupid. ]
I'm glad you noticed. You should be careful eating all those croquettes, unless you want those sacks of meat the underachiever carries around on her chest everywhere.
[ It's mostly a joke. She's not jealous or anything. But she pushes the sandwiches in Ryuko's direction anyway. ]
[ That was unexpectedly kind of her. In all honesty, Ryuko could do with more carbs with all the energy she exerts, not to mention feeding blood to her alien clothes on a weekly basis.
But she's not heartless, and the mention of Mako only softens Ryuko further. Sharing food is what the Mankanshoku's taught her, and no matter what you're eating, if it's good or bad, it always tastes best when it's eaten together.
Ryuko gently slides the sandwich back to Nonon, avoiding eye contact for a moment. ]
...Senketsu won't shut up about my BMI again.
[ Which is not true. Senketsu is dormant and unresponsive, because even her clothes need sleep. ] And I don't need you yappin' about it, too, so...
[ Nonon doesn't quite have the same feelings when it comes to food. She's been to the Kiryuin estate for dinner before, but they ate a 10 course meal served by her house staff. She's been out to eat with friends before to expensive restaurants. The only real family style, homely meal she can think of was with the Mankanshoku's and everyone else on the ship.
For some reason, having her push the sandwich back just makes her think she's teasing Nonon. ]
I'm not some kind of little dog!!
[ She yaps, taking the sandwich with a glare at the other girl who can't even look her in the eye. Ryuko always pissed Nonon off with this sort of attitude. But she doesn't think about it so much anymore, she just assumes Ryuko's manners are terrible because of her upbringing.
So she opens her salad and starts on that, looking back up at Ryuko. ]
I spoke to her over the network. She's really got an unhealthy fixation on you.
[ Ah, so it was over the network. That makes sense, considering Nonon is still in one piece. ]
And what's a healthy fixation? You and "Satsuki-sama"?
[ Ryuko chomps on her sandwich as she poses her question, which may seem rude and thoughtless at first, but her almost blank facial expression conveys that she's just deflecting the topic of Nui and herself.
Ryuko knows why Nui acts the way she does towards her. It's in her heartbeat, the one stitched in Life Fibers just like Nui's. ]
[ SHE COULD TOTALLY HOLD HER OWN AGAINST NUI NOW! She thinks. ]
Th-That's different! She's my best friend! You wouldn't understand the bond we share!
[ Nonon angrily tears into her salad, shoving the crispy lettuce into her mouth, grumbling about how ungrateful Ryuko is. It successfully changes the subject though. After she chews and swallows a few time, she lifts her fork to point at Ryuko. ]
[ Ain't nothing unhealthy about girls kissing girls. ]
So that girl following you everywhere like a lost puppy, the only girl who could actually calm you down after going berserk? If you're going to call what Satsuki-chan and I have unhealthy, then I think you need to look at your own life.
[ Considering Ryuko only brought Satsuki up because she didn't want to talk about Nui, or specifically the Life Fibers within Ryuko, she doesn't really see the point in arguing about Mako. None of these relationships are the same as Nui's crazy obsession, they both know this. ]
Whatever, I don't need you to analyze my life.
[ Ryuko leaves the kitchen with her half-eaten sandwich in hand and moves to the couch in the living room. ]
[ Nonon was fighting, for sure, and being rude about it too, but hadn't realized she was pissing off the other girl. It just makes her annoyed that Ryuko gets up completely and leaves her to eat alone.
For a little while... Nonon just sits at her kitchen table, second guessing herself in even telling Ryuko she could come here. It' stupid, but she still wants to fix this. And so after a few long silent minutes... Nonon plops down onto the couch next to Ryuko with her own sandwich in her hand. ]
The less people who know that the better. I'm sure not even she would think to look for you here.
[ Nonon feels her arm touching Ryuko, but ignores it, it was her fault for taking up so much of the couch, in Nonon's opinion anyway. She goes to take a bite out of her sandwich and stops in mid bite when she hears that little thanks from the other girl. ]
...You don't have to thank me. We're on the same side now, so this much is normal, right? Just don't complain about the stuffed animals, they were here first and get priority.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
voice;
[ As if someone like Nui wouldn't be able to track Ryuko down wherever she happened to be, as if destroying her own home would actually protect Athena or anyone else from being hurt if Nui felt hurting them would get what she wants. ]
I guess it's not like you're not used to sleeping under a bridge somewhere.
[ She really tries to sound disinterested, unphased, unworried, but she's Satsuki's sister, and they've helped each other a couple times now, it's impossible to be impartial like she had been before as a student council member. ]
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And gee, thanks. [ ...She's not wrong, though. Ryuko was a vagabond for a few months before arriving at Honnoji. ]
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Just come here then, idiot.
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Still, Ryuko is hesitant to answer... ]
That ain't why I called you, Jakuzure.
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[ Nonon definitely understands Nui strengths, she fought her to the death before, when they had tried to kill Ragyo. And she's scared, but not enough to run away from a fight with Nui if they have to. ]
...Then what did you call me for? [ There's some amount of strange hesitation in her own voice here... It's not like she's never been confessed to before you know!! ]
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[ ...She does need a roof, though. She hasn't exactly said no yet. ]
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[ Nonon is barely even listening to Ryuko's complaints, because they sound stupid. ]
We have to decide what we are going to do about her anyways.
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She does, however, find herself in front of her door by the end of the day. Honestly she contemplates turning around a couple of times, but it is still the cold season, and... Nonon hasn't been that terrible to be with, AS MUCH AS SHE WON'T ADMIT IT.
Wearing her winter jacket and a guitar case full of small belongings, Ryuko sighs and lightly toe kicks on Nonon's door a few times instead of knocking with her hands. ]
Come out, it's only me.
action;
That, and Ryuko and Nonon are a team now, whether either wants to admit it or not.
That knocking has Nonon at the door in a few moments, opening it after checking who's there. She just sighs, standing in her own casual wear, a long zip up hoodie that makes it look like she's not wearing anything beneath it, just bare legs. ]
That knock was too boorish to be Nui, I knew it had to be you.
[ And she steps out of the way, inviting her in without saying the words. Nonon doesn't look annoyed or anything though. ]
action;
Hm? Who said anything about her?
[ For all of Nonon's barking, it's apparent that Nui Harime can still make her nervous. Not that Ryuko blames her for it. What she CAN blame her for is that choice of outfit?? Not that she hasn't seen Nonon wear less clothes, but there isn't anything immediate to distract them for the time being. ]
action;
Hmph. Well, I'd say make yourself at home but I've seen how you treat that.
[ And teasing her right back. And if Ryuko ever actually got along with girls her age other than Mako, she'd know that wearing clothes like Nonon has on (and yes she's wearing red running shorts beneath the sweatshirt) is completely normal for girls. And it's not like Nonon's ever shied away from exposing her legs in public in her uniform. She works with the tools she has. ]
Did you eat? [ Nonon closes the door and makes sure it's locked. Inside the apartment is the expected overabundance of candy, stuffed animals, and musical instruments, and pretty pastel colors of curtains and things. It's like a real girl's room. ]
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This room is gross. [ No... it turns out she just says it out loud. ]
[ She drops her guitar case on a bunch of stuffed animals as she tries to navigate through this funhouse of an apartment. ] ...Don't tell me we're havin' candy burgers for dinner or something.
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I'm going to ignore that, seeing how a normal polite guest would never say something like that.
[ She leads her to the kitchen though, where Nonon just bought takeout. It was easier, since like hell has she ever cooked a single day in her life. ]
There's salad, soup, and sandwiches. [ Leave it to Nonon to prefer something more Western when it comes to eating out than Japanese food. ] Eating nothing but candy would make me fat. ...And I'm obviously in shape. [ Go ahead and look, Ryuko/ ]
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Well, since you're clearly such a fit chick, how 'bout I have both sandwiches and you can have all the salad and soup ya want?
[ ...She's half-serious. Only half. Look, it's an improvement from her mood before she came over. ]
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If it had other positive aspects then that was okay too. But Ryuko;s suggestion makes her narrow her eyes, before just shaking her head. She didn't didn't feel like fighting over something so stupid. ]
I'm glad you noticed. You should be careful eating all those croquettes, unless you want those sacks of meat the underachiever carries around on her chest everywhere.
[ It's mostly a joke. She's not jealous or anything. But she pushes the sandwiches in Ryuko's direction anyway. ]
action;
But she's not heartless, and the mention of Mako only softens Ryuko further. Sharing food is what the Mankanshoku's taught her, and no matter what you're eating, if it's good or bad, it always tastes best when it's eaten together.
Ryuko gently slides the sandwich back to Nonon, avoiding eye contact for a moment. ]
...Senketsu won't shut up about my BMI again.
[ Which is not true. Senketsu is dormant and unresponsive, because even her clothes need sleep. ] And I don't need you yappin' about it, too, so...
[ s-so eat it, idiot, don't make her feel bad. ]
action;
For some reason, having her push the sandwich back just makes her think she's teasing Nonon. ]
I'm not some kind of little dog!!
[ She yaps, taking the sandwich with a glare at the other girl who can't even look her in the eye. Ryuko always pissed Nonon off with this sort of attitude. But she doesn't think about it so much anymore, she just assumes Ryuko's manners are terrible because of her upbringing.
So she opens her salad and starts on that, looking back up at Ryuko. ]
I spoke to her over the network. She's really got an unhealthy fixation on you.
action;
And what's a healthy fixation? You and "Satsuki-sama"?
[ Ryuko chomps on her sandwich as she poses her question, which may seem rude and thoughtless at first, but her almost blank facial expression conveys that she's just deflecting the topic of Nui and herself.
Ryuko knows why Nui acts the way she does towards her. It's in her heartbeat, the one stitched in Life Fibers just like Nui's. ]
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Th-That's different! She's my best friend! You wouldn't understand the bond we share!
[ Nonon angrily tears into her salad, shoving the crispy lettuce into her mouth, grumbling about how ungrateful Ryuko is. It successfully changes the subject though. After she chews and swallows a few time, she lifts her fork to point at Ryuko. ]
...What about you and the underachiever?
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Ain't nothing unhealthy about it.
[ Although Mako does lock lips with her, too. In a future canon point. Oops. ]
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So that girl following you everywhere like a lost puppy, the only girl who could actually calm you down after going berserk? If you're going to call what Satsuki-chan and I have unhealthy, then I think you need to look at your own life.
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Whatever, I don't need you to analyze my life.
[ Ryuko leaves the kitchen with her half-eaten sandwich in hand and moves to the couch in the living room. ]
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[ Nonon was fighting, for sure, and being rude about it too, but hadn't realized she was pissing off the other girl. It just makes her annoyed that Ryuko gets up completely and leaves her to eat alone.
For a little while... Nonon just sits at her kitchen table, second guessing herself in even telling Ryuko she could come here. It' stupid, but she still wants to fix this. And so after a few long silent minutes... Nonon plops down onto the couch next to Ryuko with her own sandwich in her hand. ]
So I'm guessing your roommate is okay?
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She doesn't know I'm here, though. Told her I'm on some school camp.
[ she's kind of surprised how easily Athena believed her. where would a camping trip in cerealia be? ]
.......Thanks.
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[ Nonon feels her arm touching Ryuko, but ignores it, it was her fault for taking up so much of the couch, in Nonon's opinion anyway. She goes to take a bite out of her sandwich and stops in mid bite when she hears that little thanks from the other girl. ]
...You don't have to thank me. We're on the same side now, so this much is normal, right? Just don't complain about the stuffed animals, they were here first and get priority.
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