<Axel_Wildfire>    "Nrk..." The first sign of Kenoko waking up is that her eyebrow twitches and she lets out a little groan, not the pained kind, more along the lines of 'holy shit I actually don't feel terrible after I wake up' - which is a rare thing, actually. A very rare thing. /I haven't felt this good in the morning since before I joined SEES... why am I so warm?/ She shifts faintly, eyes still shut. /It's not like I'm in anything but underwear, I should be freezing.../
<Axel_Wildfire>    *Now* she opens her eyes. "... oh shit. *HARUKA!*"

<Haruka_Emmerich>    The white-haired woman snaps awake at that, herself clad in merely a black bra and panties. "Don't get the wrong idea, Kenoko...I promised I wouldn't resort to that. I, erm...DID have to undress you myself, though. Rebecca wasn't too keen on doing it herself."

<AdventFalls>    For Rebecca's part, she had managed to stay asleep.

<Axel_Wildfire>    "Urgh..." she lets herself faceplant back into the pillow, ignoring the cramped confines of the bed. When her voice comes, it's muffled. "Why are you in my bed, then?" At least she slept peacefully this time.

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "I needed the sleep, too. Keeping your will from eroding in the face of bizarre and angry extradimensional voices is exhausting, even IF they aren't saying anything worth listening to." Haruka yawns. "Great to hear you're...somewhere. And coherent."
<Haruka_Emmerich>    "I...still must apologize for going to such extremes to make you see reason, Kenoko. That's...kind of why I'm here right now."

<Axel_Wildfire>    Kenoko shifts to turn a somewhat baleful eye on her. "Knowing you, that thought is mildly worrying."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Look, I didn't WANT to have to threaten you with...that...and I wouldn't have if I'd had a second to consider the implications. But now I'm stuck dealing with the consequences of my actions, which apparently include me sticking around for personal observation."
<Haruka_Emmerich>    Haruka sighs. "Luckily, Becca ought to be able to split the burden."

<Axel_Wildfire>    She shudders. "Just... don't do it again."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "I am nothing if not eager to find a more humane way to elicit your cooperation, Ni'Chulainn. In the meantime...will you be able to run a patrol today? Like, once Rebecca awakens?"

<Axel_Wildfire>    Kenoko snorts into her pillow. "Do I have a choice?"

<AdventFalls>    Rebecca yawned, but still appeared to be asleep.

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "If you can bitch, you can pull your weight. Granted, right now we're taking that as a sign of relative sanity, so..." Haruka lets her hands reach upward before plopping back to her side. "...I'll let you two handle freshening up first."

<Axel_Wildfire>    "Rhetorical question. Even if I walked out you'd drag me back, and I can't beat you no matter how far I go." she mutters, moving her hand to grip Haruka's shoulder, squeezing gently. "... thanks, I guess."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Tch...you're welcome..." Even for Haruka, groggy Showaborg gentle was akin to Vicegrip. The afflicted arm managed to stroke Kenoko's thigh for a moment, regardless.

<Axel_Wildfire>    Kenoko blushes and shivers, squeezing her eyes shut. "Stop that."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Mmm...best I leave that to Becca, anyway." A faint grin as Haruka lets herself sink into the sheets once more.

<Axel_Wildfire>    "Screw you." she shifts onto her back, resting her forearm across her eyes. "Haruka?"

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Yes?"

<Axel_Wildfire>    "Why'd you save me?"

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "I didn't. I just gave you the chance to save yourself. Luckily it hasn't expired in all this time."

<AdventFalls>    Rebecca clearly looked like she was waking up

<Axel_Wildfire>    "No, I mean..." Kenoko breathes out slowly. "Even Tomoe didn't want me back. Why'd you?"

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "I couldn't...let what happened to you go unanswered. Not after what I'd gone through."

<Axel_Wildfire>    "... heh." she smiles. "Selfish bitch."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Maybe I am. Or maybe I can't be arsed to give mind control any sort of quarter. Between that, and Faruko being worried sick..."

<AdventFalls>    Rebecca rolled over onto Kenoko.

<Axel_Wildfire>    "Gah -" Kenoko blinks but wraps her arms around Becca, stroking the girl's back gently as she looks over at Haruka. "Well... thank you. Glad to know you two cared, at least."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Us and far more than you'd think." Another wistful sigh. "Yukari definitely didn't tolerate someone getting burnt like she did, though it was mostly up to me due to her being stuck maneuvering her way into breaking the REST of us free during the suspension."

<AdventFalls>    The sleeping girl was practically cooing.

<Axel_Wildfire>    "Yeah, well... sorry, you probably could have used me." Kenoko sighs explosively. "I just... the fact that Tomoe wasn't there."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "A person's worth isn't decided by who's there for them. It's who they're there for." The sheets seemed oddly tight around Haruka's figure. "And right now...you've got someone who wants nothing more in the world than to see you OK. Be there for her, Kenoko."

<Axel_Wildfire>    She seeks out Haruka's hand. "I will be."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    The white-haired woman takes the proffered hand as she leans toward the bed's third occupant. "Hey, Becca. This is the part where you wake up at the sound of your best friend's voice."

<AdventFalls>    "Mmmm....." The back stroking clearly was making Becca too comfortable.

<Axel_Wildfire>    "... Becca. I'll tickle you."

<AdventFalls>    "...Wuzzat?" Becca yawned, and cracked an eye open.

<Axel_Wildfire>    Kenoko snorts faintly. "Good morning, sleepyhead."

<AdventFalls>    "...Morning?" The other eye opened and she blushed. "...D-Did we share.... the bed?"

<Axel_Wildfire>    "At the moment, as far as you care, I *am* the bed." Kenoko points out, seeing as Becca ended up on top of her.

<AdventFalls>    Becca's eyes widened as she forced herself to look at Kenoko's eyes and nothing else. "I-I see."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    Haruka tries to stifle her smirk. Hey, if it came down to it, patrol could wait...

<Axel_Wildfire>    "... I know what you're thinking, Haruka, and the answer is sort of no." Kenoko shuts her eyes, still tracing her fingers down Becca's back. "We have a bet."

<AdventFalls>    "A bet?"

<Axel_Wildfire>    "I meant you and me."

<AdventFalls>    "O-Oh?"

<AdventFalls>    Becca's eyes were clearly starting to linger on.... healthy parts of Kenoko.

<Axel_Wildfire>    "Remember? You have to come back from a mission without a scratch on you." Kenoko reminds her gently.

<AdventFalls>    "R-Right...." She was blushing, eyes still glued on the wrong spot. "....S-Should we go on a mission then?"

<Axel_Wildfire>    "I think that's why Haruka is here, actually." she glances sideways at the Fangire, raising an eyebrow.

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Quite. At least to make sure Kenoko passes muster to take you up on such a wager." The look of mischief on her face persists. "I must say, you're quite creative when it comes to inspiring Rebecca."

<Axel_Wildfire>    "Fuck you. I just don't want Becca to be hurt." Kenoko squeezes Becca against her a little protectively.

<AdventFalls>    Becca blushed. "U-Um... I should probably get dressed...."

<Axel_Wildfire>    "Mm, probably. I wanna hear what Haruka has in mind first though."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "All I'm here for is to get you two up to snuff for a ride 'round the city, and to observe you two in action. What 'action' entails is entirely up to you, barring anything we come across on patrol."

<AdventFalls>    "...Why do we have to be observed?"

<Axel_Wildfire>    "Because I'm a delinquent." Kenoko grins.

<AdventFalls>    Becca sighed. "Never been watched on the job before."

<Axel_Wildfire>    "Don't worry, Haruka's done dumber things than either of us can manage." she nudges Haruka. "Right?"

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Heh...what's your benchmark on that, Ni'Chulainn?"

<Axel_Wildfire>    "You rescued me. That was *dumb*." Kenoko points out drily.

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "No, getting myself romantically involved with a psychopathic time-travelling sports car was dumb." A chuckle. "Compared to that, all the second leases on life I've given you are a drop in the bucket."

<Axel_Wildfire>    Becca can feel Kenoko jerk beneath her. "You WHAT."

<AdventFalls>    "...What?"

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Oscar Mike, Time-Space Police Department. I was coming off a suicidal bender from having Yukari stolen from me by Inoue. He offered me power. Do the math..." A sigh. "...though in the end, he was too selfish and trigger-happy to be of any real use..."

<Axel_Wildfire>    "I... just... you never cease to amaze me, and not in a good way..."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Like I said, knocking you into shape is FAR more rational than THAT."

<AdventFalls>    "...I should get changed now?"

<Axel_Wildfire>    "I guess so, huh." Kenoko tips her head back, seeming unwilling to let Becca go.

<AdventFalls>    "....I kind of have to shower, Kenoko."

<Axel_Wildfire>    "I know, I know."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Don't let me keep you; I already called last."

<Axel_Wildfire>    The problem is possibly slightly more to do with the fact that Kenoko is still hesitant to let go.

<AdventFalls>    "...We're going to have to take a shower together, aren't we."

<Axel_Wildfire>    Kenoko blushes. "Uh, no, I just... like holding you..." she admits quietly.

<AdventFalls>    Rebecca blushed. "Haruka, can we stay like this a bit longer?"

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "...May as well. I'm starting to... *yawn* ...fall back into my happy place myself..."

<Axel_Wildfire>    "Now that's a scary thought." the snipe is something from the Kenoko of old; she slides an arm under Haruka, extending the hug somewhat and snuggling down a little. "Just a little longer, yeah?"

<AdventFalls>    "Yeah." Rebecca was now using Kenoko as a pillow.

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Mmm-hmm..." The lady was feeling quite comfortable now.

<Axel_Wildfire>    "Mm." Kenoko, on the other hand, can't seem to shut up. "This is different from when I was with Tomoe."

<AdventFalls>    "How so?"

<Axel_Wildfire>    "... it's warmer, and it feels nicer."

<AdventFalls>    "Thanks."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    Haruka just exhales softly as the thoughts of warmth begin to rebound through her mind...then out of her mind, to waft through the bedroom...

<Axel_Wildfire>    "... Haruka, stop that..."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Aww, thought I'd set the mood a little..." She does, though, re-internalizing the sensation.

<AdventFalls>    "..." Rebecca was still blushing. "What was that?"

<Axel_Wildfire>    "Haruka being Haruka, and being an idiot." Kenoko snuggles herself a little closer to Haruka. "You don't *have* to do that, Haruka."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Have to? No. Do it anyway because you two look cute like that? ...Apparently also no, but you get the idea."

<Axel_Wildfire>    "Idiot. I mean you don't have to do *that*." she smiles.

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "I never intended to do *that* with you two. I'm kinda your boss - that means I can only go SO far." The white-haired woman tries to press a little closer to Kenoko, regardless.

<Axel_Wildfire>    "Didn't stop any of us back in SEES." Kenoko responds drily, squeezing Haruka against her.

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Well, we were half-assing it back then. ...OK, more like one-fourth-assing it." A hand begins to snake along Kenoko's back in kind.

<Axel_Wildfire>    She shivers again, but this time doesn't ask Haruka to stop. "You're telling me. Both of the gangs that I ran were better organised than that fiasco."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Heck, JUNKER's only really...seven-eighths-assing it? I blame all our bobbing and weaving through the Diet, really."

<Axel_Wildfire>    A low snort. "I just hope I helped out with all that property I signed over."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "I'm not exactly apt to gloat about it, but the Ni'Chulainn fortune DID pull its weight when it came to getting D&P back on the Nikkei. Thanks."

<Axel_Wildfire>    Kenoko smirks. "God knows it's better off in your hands than in mine."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "...can we not talk money, Kenoko? This doesn't feel like the place to talk money." Another exhale.

<Axel_Wildfire>    "Sorry. Just things I worry about." she rubs Becca's back slowly, enjoying the girl's warmth against hers... both of theirs, actually. "I missed being this warm. Sae never really complained about it, but..."

<AdventFalls>    Becca was still blushing. "T-Thank you."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "To be fair, Sae didn't spend most of her life going out of her way to not...you know..."

<Axel_Wildfire>    "... I know." Kenoko draws them both in closer, as if to warm herself up. "She did, however, spend most of her time in the same room as me glued to me, and I think I'm going to do that with you two right now."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "This is acceptable...as much as it can be, given I'm a married woman."

<Axel_Wildfire>    "Mmhm. This is me being selfish." she giggles faintly. "Thank you, you two."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Oh no, thank YOU..." A smirk.

<Axel_Wildfire>    "... for?"

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "...for deciding to live..."

<Axel_Wildfire>    "... would that it was that simple, but I still can't henshin." Kenoko reminds her gently, her body seeming to burn cold for a second.

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "I'd rather have Nigo than what we were left with yesterday."

<Axel_Wildfire>    "*You* would." her voice drops off to a whisper and she draws Haruka and Becca to her almost painfully tightly.

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Now that I know...it's a risk worth taking."

<Axel_Wildfire>    "Maybe for you. I hate... how good it feels." The pause is a shudder that the other two can feel run deeply through her. "Knowing that I... no, he... is doing everything I want way deep down is..."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Have fun with that...Hamuko." A pinch on Kenoko's opposite shoulder.

<Axel_Wildfire>    Kenoko shivers, somewhat different from the creeped-out shudder, and the blush on her cheeks is evident. "What?"

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "You heard me. All the things you want to do and think and feel but can't because crueller men had their way with you...and a scared little shell going through the motions day-to-day. I am having the most WICKED case of deja vu right now."

<Axel_Wildfire>    "... Haruka. You know that when it speaks, it's not telling lies... right?" she asks softly.

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "I can't doubt that. I also can't doubt it's horribly unimaginative." An uneasy chuckle. "Seriously? The best threats it could come up with were shit we already violently averted?"

<Axel_Wildfire>    "That's true, but it still took on all three of you once. What would have happened if Hamuko had been on her own? And it was immune to what you did the first time, too." Kenoko starts shuddering again, her voice rising like she's panicking. "A-And what if next time it's immune to Kaoru's Time Scarab and whatever it was that you blasted me with?"

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "First off, you're LONG overdue to stop calling her Hamuko. Second...no matter what, there's one thing Nigo will never be immune to. You just haven't found it yet."

<AdventFalls>    Rebecca kissed Kenoko full on the lips. "I... I dunno what's going on."

<Axel_Wildfire>    "But - mmf..." She shuts up as Becca kisses her, melting back into the sheets with a quiet blush. "... and that is?"

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Can't tell you. You'll know it when you have it, though..." A sly smile as Haruka takes to nuzzling Kenoko's shoulder.

<Axel_Wildfire>    Her blush intensifies and she covers it with a stammer. "I-Idiot, don't talk like you have all the answers when you don't...!"

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "I have THIS answer. You just have to have the courage to ask the right question."

<Axel_Wildfire>    "I just did ask..." Kenoko mutters, eyeing Haruka dubiously in spite of her heavy blush.

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Trust me. You'll know when you've got it." A satisfied purr from the Fangire.

<Axel_Wildfire>    "... that's not helpful, and why do you sound so pleased with yourself?"

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Because now I've got you thinking. 'What the heck does she want from me?' And the more you toss that around in your head, the closer you'll get to your answer..."

<Axel_Wildfire>    Kenoko growls. "Don't DO that! It's annoying! Just spit it out if you're going to bring it up!"

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "You're already getting warmer~"

<Axel_Wildfire>    "... how is me getting pissed off at you getting closer?"

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "That determination. Use it. Pursue freedom from Nigo instead of just bitching about being stuck with him."

<Axel_Wildfire>    Kenoko stares at her, like she's having a hard time believing Haruka just said that. "That... that... that's way too dangerous."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "...NOW who's the idiot?"

<Axel_Wildfire>    "You are! I can't control it when it comes out! What happens if I take your advice when you guys aren't around and it doesn't work!?"
<Axel_Wildfire>    Kenoko is panicking again, quite plainly this time.

<AdventFalls>    "...Who's Nigo?"

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "Nigo is...psychosomatic mindfuck left over from when Kenoko first got remodeled for Rider-2. When she got Showa'd, the belt was fitted with bad SHOCKER tech that convinced her a contingent of Worms was the real SEES, and vice versa. Not to mention the second-stage kicker..."

<Axel_Wildfire>    Kenoko grimaces and shrinks down in the bed, seemingly happy for Haruka to provide the information.

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "...the proper Nigo personality didn't kick in until after we'd cleaned out the Worm contingent, but when it did it amplified the pain of Kenoko's prior misfortunes to horrifying levels, convincing her that the only way to grasp at her desires was to eliminate the real SEES as violently as possible. Faruko, Sae, and I barely managed to disable the implants via overloading the belt with electricity."

<Axel_Wildfire>    "And there were a lot of prior misfortunes." she mutters.

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "When she finally snapped out of it, though...she couldn't bear to stick around SEES. Half because of all the damage done, half because somewhere in the back of her head...it was all justified. Friends, lovers...all betrayed - for what, I care not, or rather DARE care not. All we know is, she signed the Ni'Chulainn family inheritance over to Development & Pioneer and dropped off the radar for some forty years."

<Axel_Wildfire>    "... and because Tomoe didn't want to save me." Kenoko mumbles. "You did, and we weren't even friends. But she... she wasn't even *there*. All I could think was that she'd finally realised how useless I was and decided that she didn't need me."

<AdventFalls>    Rebecca's response was to kiss Kenoko again.

<Axel_Wildfire>    Her eyes widen in surprise but she doesn't pull away, instead running her free hand slowly up Becca's back.

<AdventFalls>    Rebecca eventually pulled away, short of breath. "...I'm here."

<Haruka_Emmerich>    "So am I, Kenoko. We ALL are."

<Axel_Wildfire>    "I know. I know." Kenoko repeats softly, taking a slow breath before she pushes on. "I'm just... I never want to feel like that again."

<AdventFalls>    Becca just held Kenoko, and didn't let go.

<Haruka_Emmerich>    Likewise Haruka curling her reach-behind hand around the raven-haired woman's hip.

<Axel_Wildfire>    "You two..." Kenoko squeezes Becca against herself and snuggles against Haruka a little further, shutting her eyes. "... thank you." and then she's asleep on Haruka's shoulder - not thepeaceful-sleep-of- the-dead she'd exhibited the night before, but laid flat with a little smile on her face.