2022-04-11 - All My Best Laid Plans
| Title: All My Best Laid Plans | |
|---|---|
| Summary: Mikoto shares her hopes for winter with Yumi -- and her anxieties, courtesy her Lord Brother's input. They feel down, and then they make plans, anyway. | |
| Who: | |
| Where: Infinity Institute - Dorms | |
| OOC - IC Date: 2022-04-11 - 2016-01-24 | |
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Mikoto is a frequent visitor, in the afternoons. She takes pains not to be late for dinner -- for the obvious reasons, and so Mai won't worry, too -- but earlier in the day, she's free to roam.
She didn't, for a little while after Christmas. She was scared. But she's got her confidence back, now. She isn't powerless. She might even have the power to...
Well, she hasn't told anyone about that.
This is not to say she has nothing to say. "Yumi, Yumi!" Mikoto calls, chipper, at her door. And when she's let in, she bounces out of her shoes, unshouldering the weight on her back to rest it by the doorway. (Thresholds suit Miroku.) "It's snowing outside!" She says, as she shucks her new coat -- a nice, muted navy blue which brings out her eyes, thanks to Yumi's own intervention. Let's not speak of her first choice.
"This winter's really fun, Yumi!" Mikoto insists, and does not speak of past winters, in her evaluation. "Me and Eri set off fireworks for New Years! Fireworks! And there's theatre in Juuban! And Mai made ramen!" That last one is still an important event, no matter how many times it happens. Whether it happened just last night or in the preceding weeks, like some of those other events, is also up for debate.
She is looking a lot more chipper -- and a lot more chipper being out alone, at that -- than she was in late December, though.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Yumi is a frequent visit-ee! A lot of her hobbies are kind of sedentary actually, and she doesn't have to leave Infinity Institute for most things. She does get out, but it's easier to visit her than the other way around, sometimes. Like today! And today, in January, that is extra true because it is COLD. Snowy! Very cold!
"Hi Mikoto!" she says, letting her in and smiling at her once she mentions the snow. "Yeah, it's allon my window too," she comments about the snow, dressed for her part in ordinary clothes.
The winter... "Yeah!" Yumi says. it's really pretty too, isn't it?"
Fireworks... and theatre... and ramen. Yes, ramen. Of course ramen.
"The winter sure seems to be agreeing with you though," she says. "How're you feeling, Mikoto-chan?" She is already going for the snacks. Obviously.
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Mikoto is inarguably much, MUCH more active than Yumi is. To wit: today, she's chased three cats over the rooftops to see what they were up to, climbed five trees not pursuant to getting on a rooftop, and had a terrifying near-miss in the slippery snow as she balance-beamed along a high fence.
You know. An average afternoon.
She can't climb Infinity Tower, though -- she's tried. So maybe she's a little jealous of the snow which can get a foothold by Yumi's window, anyway. (She is, of course, wearing black tights under her obnoxiously yellow skirt and pink shirt with cat decal upon it. Her turtleneck isn't magenta, though; it's a lighter shade of yellow. ... she doesn't wear long magenta sleeves these days.) "Cold out there," she remarks, "but I've got a coat, so I'm okay."
Yeah, the winter agrees with her just fine.
She nods, and shares something of those adventures, too: "I lied down and looked the snow falling on the roof," Mikoto has never understood the distinction between laid and lay, and so she finds a way to be wrong both ways. "A snowflake landed on my nose!" Judging by her tone, this was amazing.
By this point Mikoto's all ready to trail after Yumi, in search of those snacks. "So I'm good!" She summarises how those adventures make her feel, cheerfully. "There's lots of winter things I get to do now... so I'm happy, Yumi!"
(She DID send Yumi a nengajo postcard, for New Years. The message she penned was about how fireworks are like magic spells. This didn't quite fulfill the letter of nengajo, but perhaps it hit the spirit well enough.)
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Oh it's not even a contest. It would be like saying the ocean is wetter than the land. It's true, but it's also not very informative.
Yumi is wearing tights and a sweater even inside, even given that her apartment has heat. She is naturally pretty cold most of the time anyway. So it's fine. As usual, she favors pale colors, greens and yellows for today, with a little pink.
"You do!" Yumi says, and remembers the trip where they got that coat. It's nice. It was a good day.
Yumi does not care even slightly about grammar so she doesn't bother about Mikoto being Double Wrong. Instead she says, "Oh, fun! It's nice to just sit around and watch it, right?" Yumi does that... though from inside, more of the time. Out from her window...
But Yumi has wordlessly promised Snacks and she delivers, having acquired (not baked) a bunch of cookies that she brings down in a jar and offers to Mikoto. "Here you go," she says. "I'm glad you're happy." Yumi's card was a little more traditional, but she gave Mikoto one, too.
"...The colors in winter are really sharp, too. It's a good season for painting."
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
It was a great day. Especially when they got takoyaki afterwards. Who knew Easter Department Store had so many snacks on its dining level?
"Mm!" Mikoto hums cheerful assent, as Yumi asks whether it's nice to watch it. "Like now, look!" She points to one of the snowflakes, fluttering down outside Yumi's window.
She's easily distracted from this distraction, though -- a distraction distraction -- by the promise of Snacks. Yumi never said she had snacks, but she walked to the Snack Zone, and if Mikoto has learned anything from her cat friends, it's the power of observation. Behaviours are predictive!
Her eyes grow a full three sizes as Yumi puts down her jar of cookies. (It's fine if they're store-brought; it's kind of novel being the better cook compared to one of her friends, considering Eri's recent improvements in the field and Mai's obvious mastery.) Mikoto's sound of excitement is wordless, but no less heartfelt, as she reaches in to grab a cookie and subsequently destroy that cookie. GNOMPH gnomph gnomph gnomph...
"It is?" Mikoto asks -- thankfully, not around the cookie, she at least swallowed that first. (After so many years, some of Mai's lessons on manners had to stick.) There might still be some crumbs to the side of her lip, though. That's just a fact of cookie life. "Yumi, want to come out there with me sometime? We can paint!"
(It hasn't escaped Mikoto that Yumi is an indoors sort of person, in this weather; even if she doesn't quite grok the details, she can guess her health has something to do with it. But surely if Mikoto helps, it's fine, right? Like keeping the crowds from jostling her during big events and giving her someone to lean on!)
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Many snack...
"Oh!" Yumi smiles at the window, noting the particular shape of the snowflake. They're always different, despite how many there are. Maybe there's something to that... But that distraction doesn't keep her distracted any longer than it does Mikoto, because there are Snacks. And Yumi is providing them. She takes a couple for herself, but only nibbles. Just a little nibble, not a full nomph. Mikoto can do that.
Crumbs... "Mm-hm!" Yumi confirms about it being a good season for it. And Mikoto makes an offer...
"...Sure," Yumi says, though she has to think about it a few moments, thinking what she'll have to do, how to make it work... and someone with her in case something happens is probably good enough.
"It'd be fun to do that together."
She gestures Mikoto over, and starts for the couch instead. "Though we've got balconies on the higher floors that might be as good. Or maybe just out somewhere.." She considers. "Little hard on the fingers, but worth it, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Mikoto is good at nomphing. She devours a full half-dozen cookies in the time it takes Yumi to think. Hers is the engine, always idling ready; the same force which lets her rebalance so quick on a fence-post leaves her so very, eternally, once again HUNGRY.
She's sated enough to nod, though, with all that chipper brightness which sets her braids to bouncing up and tumbling down. Mikoto, at least, doesn't think long on the details -- all thoughts are for snacks. "Yup!" She agrees, happily, when Yumi decides it would be fun.
It's easy enough to redirect her; Mikoto follows Yumi's gesture, piling onto the couch beside her. She leans against her side, with all the comfortable warmth-giving of someone who's entirely used to the idea. "Gloves, Yumi!" Mikoto points out, lifting up a hand towards the ceiling and wriggling her fingers. She's not wearing gloves, but apparently it's easy enough to imagine.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
HUNGRY. ...But that's just Mikoto! Yumi is used to it, and it makes it easy to make things comfortable for her friend. Just provide snacks! So with that chipper brightness Mikoto nods and tumbles, and Yumi herself smiles back before she moves to the couch. She leans a little on Mikoto too, nibbling still at her first cookie between words, and Mikoto--Yes. "Sometimes gloves make my hands a little clumsy," se admits. "But I think that'll mostly be the answer."
it is very easy to imagine!
She sticks close to Mikoto, and as usual, Yumi is already a little cold, despite the heat in the apartment. "So..."
"Any more special winter plans?"
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
"It's weird for me too," Mikoto agrees. "Like Tokyo socks... lots of times they're not tabi, so it was hard for me to get used to them." It was like she was wearing MITTENS on her FEET. How do people climb like that, she thought? With their toes all hidden in a single sleeve?!
"... but I got used to it!" She answers both her past self and her current advice, cheerfully.
(It's interesting, in passing -- how she ascribes Western fashion to Tokyo, rather than the wider world. Perhaps Tokyo is the wider world, to her.)
Mikoto has always run warmer than Yumi does; blame it on that same idling engine inside her. "I wanna go on trips!" She volunteers, immediately. "And build snow men! And go to ice skating!" Mikoto doesn't really understand what all goes into ice skating, but she heard Aoi talk about how romantic it was, so now she's interested.
But once she's outpoured her immediate enthusiasm, she pauses, head canting to the side as she looks up to the ceiling lights. "But... I'm not sure I wanna make special plans," Mikoto adds, a moment later, a shade quieter.
"Maybe it's better if I just let stuff happen."
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"Oh, yeah? That makes sense." Mikoto would have more 'traditional' clothes where she came from, of course. Yumi on the other hand is used to modern socks... though she likes toe socks. She doesn't climb in them very much, but they're warmer. And fun!
Of course, Tokyo would be the wider world, wouldn't it? Compared to...
"Trips!" Yumi answers, and nods along. She is not so sure about snowmen, but she's definitely sure they can do ice skating, and trips, and.... These are things she can help make happen! Which is a nice feeling--and she wants to go places, too, not be stuck inside all the time. But--that pause...
"Mikoto..."
"...Are you sure about that?" she asks. "When you just 'let things happen', you kind of get stuck with whatever everyone else wants... I'm used to that; it's how I used to live a lot."
"But I think that even if your plans don't work out the way you want them to, it's good to make them."
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
"I guess..." Mikoto starts, and looks down at her hands, rather than finish her sentence. Her fingers lace together, on her lap, only to pull apart; one hand rests over the other, a nervous little twitch of her thumb.
There are pine-tree scratches on the back of her hand. You know. From all those trees. She doesn't much think about things like that.
It's the kind of silence which could just stretch out forever; it's not uncommon for Mikoto to decide not to speak. She does, though, eventually, with a little puff of a sigh to remind her throat how words work. "But if I make plans, my Lord Brother might get involved, Yumi. When I wanted to have a birthday party, and when I wanted to invite Mai out for Christmas Eve, too... so, I'm scared it'll happen again."
Well, Mikoto was never the child meant to plan and plot, anyway.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
It stretches out, but Yumi doesn't mind silence so much. She's willing to let Mikoto take the time she needs for what she is thinking about. She stays, sitting close with her friend, absorbing a little heat but maybe, if she's lucky, absorbing a little of that worry and gloom, too. If she can.
Scratches....
"Mm," she says. "I thought... that might be it," she admits. "That you might be worried about what he would do..."
She reaches for Mikoto's hand, "But if you don't make plans because you're afraid he might get involved, he's already involved. He's controlling what you can do. ..Sure, maybe he'll try to interfere. But that doesn't mean that you don't do things. It just means that we work that much harder to make things OK again."
"You're not alone, OK?"
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Mikoto takes Yumi's hand. Her skin is more vibrant from the sun; still, it's clear she comes from pale stock. She has a strong grip, but she doesn't employ it, here, loose fingers and lax wrist. She doesn't want to hurt her. She doesn't want to...
Well, holding too tightly to something is something Mikoto has some experience with.
He's already involved... is it.
Mikoto looks down at their hands, and it takes a moment, for her to lift those too-gold eyes back to Yumi proper. With an affirmative grunt, she nods: "Yeah." She's not alone.
"... I don't really get it," she says, after a moment more. She speaks hesitantly; on the other hand, she speaks, at all. "I was here for years before I, came to my Lord Brother," tripping over the words, a little, because it's hard for her to say she found him under those circumstances. "Before then, I never heard from him... but it wasn't too long after that I had to fight. And fight more and more... and even now I left, my Lord Brother won't let me move on. Everything keeps coming back to him..."
(She keeps coming back to --)
Her eyes squeeze shut; she shakes her head. Whippity-whip, her braids slap the sides of her face, the one concession to length in her otherwise short hair.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Yumi's hand is pale; not just pale stock, but staying inside a lot, too. She knows full well that Mikoto could hold on a lot harder if she wanted to, to Yumi's delicate, artist's hand. A hand for holding brushes or other hands, not for holding weapons like swords. But she doesn't get to be that peaceful, herself; just like Mikoto, she has a weapon bound to her.
But Mikoto doesn't get it...
"Yeah," Yumi says. "It's weird, huh? Maybe there was some plan or smething that required time to pass before he could..." She considers. Well. No. It's very simple; he didn't reach out to her until he could use her. But Yumi can't say it that way.
"...he wants it that way," she says instead. "To make it all come back to him. It's... really selfish. Not to let you live your own life. You should be able to do what you want to do, Mikoto."
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Mikoto once said that everyone else in her life using her was just borrowing her, loaned out against her final, ultimate purpose.
... Yumi can't say it that way, but that doesn't mean Mikoto doesn't know. She knows she was like that.
She believes she's not, any more.
Still, the sadness of him wanting things this way weighs heavy, in her eyes. Why won't he let her live in peace with everyone..? Why does he want her to...
Mikoto can't hold violence and victory and Yumi's hand at the same time. It's always been her puzzle; her blade monopolises her hands, and so she's never been able to reach out to anyone, in a fight.
She sighs. "I'm worried, Yumi," Mikoto borrows the way the other girl phrased it, back there. "I'm worried something is happening... something's making my Lord Brother move." Mikoto isn't alone -- but he is, she thinks.
And being alone is scary, but it's dangerous, too.
"If he's gotta face it alone... maybe that's why he keeps trying to reach me. But, all we ever learned was how to make it hurt, so..." She flinches, lips all twisting up like one of those broad oaks for a moment, and abandons that sentence. "Being selfish isn't bad, but..." No, that one's no good, either.
She shakes her head, again, a light squeeze of Yumi's fingers. (She's careful, of course. She remembers what happened when she wasn't.) "I wanted to show him there was a way that didn't hurt, but... I wasn't brave enough to send that card." Her gaze drops down, with her chin, glancing aside to the edge of the couch. (Does Tama like to claw the furniture, or is she above such petty pursuits..?) "So I just tossed it away..."
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Yumi knows that Mikoto knows. But sometimes what you say and don't say matters even so. The effort of kindness matters; that's something Yumi believes.
"Mm..." Something is happening. Mikoto worries that it's something forced on him; Yumi... does not. It's that his plans are advancing now, that something is coming to a head and that he wants is on the way. She thinks she understands him better, that way.
"It's OK to be selfish sometimes," Yumi says. "That's important. You gotta take care of yourself, too. But... not all the time. Sometimes it's hurting other people to make yourself happier. It's not simple."
Careful, careful, not to break or sprain Yumi's fragile arm, like that one time.
"...Aw, Mikoto. That's... a nice idea. I wish that it could be like that; that it could be just that he doesn't know a better way. ...But I don't think it is."
Tama is above such things. She is a disciplined cat. It's fine.
"I'm sorry. I know that must've been hard. ...I know you want to keep reaching out to him, giving him chances. And it's good that someone cares to. But... You've gotta do what's best for you, too."
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Mikoto feels a kinship, with her Lord Brother; they both lived through their childhood, horrifically supportive as it was. At the same time, he is an all-powerful being, in her mind. That someone can be perfect and vulnerable all at once is not a concept she questions; is not a concept she was ever equipped to question.
(After all, he showed her his vulnerability, when they found each other again.)
That's why she thinks he's responding to a threat...
... rather than creating one out of whole cloth.
She hums, through her lips, as she considers what Yumi says. Hurting other people to make yourself happier... that doesn't sound any good, Mikoto thinks.
(She wonders, briefly, if she's hurting him to make herself happier -- before she shakes her head sharply to dislodge the thought, face all scrunching up. That's not true! Her friends are kind people, so if that was true, someone would have said something!)
But... even though it's a nice idea, Yumi doesn't think it's like that. Mikoto swallows, at a lump in her throat. Someone would have said something, huh... but all her friends are saying things like this, instead, she thinks.
Mikoto thought her Lord Brother sounded sweet. Not one of the girls she's spoken to from that day have agreed. What does that say about her -- about him?
"It's... hard," Mikoto finds her voice, finally. "I said... it doesn't gotta hurt up here. And I was doing good. 'Cause, I thought... maybe he was worried. But I said I loved him, too... and that's scary, 'cause I'm not supposed to love anyone other than my Lord Brother. Including him in a group... I don't know if my Lord Brother would accept that, since it's always been just us."
Mikoto relates why it was hard, and doesn't realise, in her account, just how ambiguous her transgression is. She thinks it's obvious she's disobeyed family law, but...
... there's more than one way to take 'too', when someone has clearly already expressed their own affection.
(In their sick existence, it might just be clear.)
"I wasn't brave enough to say anything like that to his face..." Not that he was facing them, entirely, there in the shadows. Close enough, according to Mikoto. "But, I thought... I thought I should try. No one else would, right..? 'Cause I'm not alone." Her mind is of the type to view things adversarially; because everyone cares about her, they must not care for her Lord Brother.
And Mikoto has seen what happens to people in Dark Fall, when no one cares about them. Sometimes... even when people do care. It takes real effort, to save someone.
She's scared of him, but she's scared for him, too.
"But... Yumi's right," Mikoto sighs, finally. "Making it so I'm always worried about what he'll do, and why... it's hard for me to live freely when I'm thinking about that. I guess that's the point... my Lord Brother's getting back at me, or something like that. I feel really down when I think about that..."
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Is it so strange, to feel kinship with family? ...is it so strange to feel that family can be all-powerful, too? Yumi knows that dichotomy, though she could not voice it as similar, would not call it at all the same. But maybe that's why she has an easier time with Mikoto's difficulties than some might.
'Too', though. Yumi catches it. "...Love... shouldn't require you to only love one person, I think." She is less certain of this; this is territory she does not know so well. But it is something that is growing, like a bit of ivy, slowly over the doubt and wonder Yumi has.
But he's working faster... Something is going on. Yumi wonders what that might be. She wonders how she can protect her friend.
"..Yeah," Yumi says. "That makes sense. You want to try. I think if I were you, I'd want to try, too."
"...Well," Yumi says, "...I won't give up on the idea that you can reach him, if it's important to you to try, even if I'm pretty mad at him for how he treats you. But I don't want you to give up on living your own life, either.
"So, let's feel down about it... and then make some plans, OK?"
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
<SoundTracker> Florence and the Machine - Heavy In Your Arms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_eOmvM-4zc
Yumi speaks slowly, and slowly Mikoto's free hand raises, two fingers to her cheek. They are calloused by years of iron grips and secrets.
One, one more.
"Not up here," she tells her, gently. "Not in Tokyo."
Not in this modern world, with its socks like mittens and its clumsy gloves. It's a good message, isn't it? That their hearts are so large, here in this metropolis? Here, compared to --
Dichotomies. Adversaries. Each thing one or the other.
And her eyes are so, so gold.
Mikoto blinks; drops her hand to Yumi's shoulder; trusts her intuition. She wants to try... and Yumi will try for her sake, even if not his. "Okay," she says, with a small smile. "Then, let's plan, Yumi."
She takes a breath, and squeezes her hand.
"What about you?" A little safer to ask her, perhaps; or perhaps there's just safety in the familiar. "Said you got stuck... so what's Yumi wanna do?"
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Not up here... But down there. Down there it's like that. And Yumi still thinks it shouldn't be. But it's hard to say should and shouldn't, when it comes to down there. Because Yumi can't just speak it out of existence, any more than she can the ancient traditions of witches. ....But that's not the same thing. Is it?
Gold... Precious gold.
"Yeah," Yumi says when Mikoto smiles, and smiles back. As her hand is squeezed, she thinks--ah. Her...
"Hmmmm yeah. I did say that, didn't I? It used to happen a lot at school especially. But what do I want to do..."
"I want to go to the mountains," she thinks, "With nice springs against the cold and forests I can get lost in and little fairies I can say hi to while I'm there."
"Ahahah.. I guess I'm saying I want to get away..."
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Mikoto keeps saying it's okay for things to be different.
But that means they're different, right?
Between here, and 'somewhere else'...
Miroku's still propped up, there, by the threshold. Mikoto's not looking at it, though; she's looking to Yumi, with wide, wondering eyes. That she wants to know is no beguilement; she cares so much, about those wishes Yumi had to put aside too often. Her heart will break from the sheer volume of her love for her friends, all spilling past the dambreak, all consuming.
(That's why --)
She wants to go to the mountains, and Mikoto understands that very well. Her grin blooms wildflower-bright across her face, cheeks all raised, pushing crinkles to her eyes. "Let's go together!" She declares, cheer returning as soon as it left. "Let's run away, Yumi!"
Is that really something she should say so happily..?
(This probably isn't the first fantasy of flight Mikoto has ever entertained.)
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Yumi is rarely looking at Miroku, but that doesn't mean she's unaware. It's hard not to be... aware. Maybe that has something to do with the Staff, but maybe not. But Yumi, too, is focused on someone right now: on Mikoto, with heartbreaking love and wide wondering eyes and all--hm.
Mikoto grins, and Yumi blinks as Mikoto makes the suggestion. "Oh! Oh, I, uh--"
She thinks about it for a moment. And for a moment, she thinks about it. And smiles. "...Maybe not run off immediately," she allows after a moment with a little laugh. "But it'd be fun to go. Maybe one of these weekends soon. It'd be.. nice."
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Is Miroku unaware..? Well, Mikoto can't feel it, pressing in against her thoughts. So if it's paying attention, it must just be listening. Is that any wonder, though? They share a heart, and Mikoto is the listener, after all.
Wouldn't Miroku be the same?
With all these eyes to witness --
Bright gold looks up to Yumi, and her teeth gleam as her smile widens. "We can go now!" Mikoto presses, cheerfully, head canting to the side; she's teasing her, a little. "Come on, I'm ready! I'll just call Mai..!" To tell her she'll be late for dinner, obviously, on account of the hiking.
Mikoto laughs, thonking back against the couch. Her head lolls against the headrest, with that rakish grin. "Or later, later," she lilts in repeat, giving Yumi a break. "But let's go soon, okay? Don't worry! I'll carry stuff!"
She is, after all, VERY strong... and never misses a chance to show off. Well, she is still a Minagi, after all. Mikoto loves to be adored, too.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Listening... what is it to listen?
What is it to watch?
Mikoto presses, and Yumi blinks a little, on the back foot despite not actually standing at all. "A-already? But I haven't even--I'm not sure wherewe'll--" Call Mai, and that's that. But Mikoto laughs, and that grin of hers makes Yumi laugh, too. "Mikoto!" she says, and then laughs a little more. "Soon is good though. And oh totally, you can carry stuff, that works for me!"
Very strong... and Yumi does appreciate that. And Mikoto. "I'll see if I can't make some bookings..."
"Maybe we can get in some ice skating too..."
<Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Mikoto beams, laughing. Yumi said she didn't want her to give up, so now she's felt down, it's time to make plans. It's really as simple as that.
(Is she really as simple as that..?)
She does feel better now she's thinking about Yumi's wintry hopes and dreams, though. She'll have to tell Eri she managed to tease Yumi..! That's where she learned something as horrible as this, after all.
Mikoto, of course, isn't good at all things; oversight tasks like 'managing to actually book into places' are much more Yumi's strength than hers. She nods, with cheerful affirmative noises, as she muses about their next steps.
And then pauses, mid-nod. Her braids, arrested in their movement, fall a moment later.
"So how's ice skating work, anyway?"
Oh, no.
