#𝐕; 𝐍𝐈𝐑𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐈 / 𝐃𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐄 *ೃ༄ an end and a rebirth.

[brawlqueen]

"every day you drive me further towards insanity." - @pleiadeshalo

to: super pervert detective dad date.

" and whose fault is that?! you literally trained me at eleven years old to defend myself and i couldn't stand kids getting hurt! what, was i supposed to look away as that jerk literally was hurting kids that were too hurt or scared to stand up?! also, isn't that my line, old man?! last i checked, you picked the adoption papers so it's a little late to say that ! "

" you know this is why you're still single. you have no tact , date. " granted even after all these years, there is an inkling of insecurity when they exchange barbs. like, does he mean it? was it out of pity, the adoption? shit like that. it pisses her off even more, but mizuki is silent for a brief second, eyes sharply narrowing as if to form a shield.

" . . . so why did you train me then ? "

[brawlqueen]

" i actually forgot about that bully in grade school . . the one that was picking on the other kids. i mean, i did break all his teeth buuut . . . "

" . . . i kinda hope he er, got some dentures or something for that . i didn't think it would hit that hard . then again, he was a jerk, and you should never pick on people weak, innocent, people period....y'know? but ... "

" sure hope he got'em replaced, i guess . . . . ? "

[brawlqueen]

" look , trunks. i get it. you have your own mission, blah blah. but you know what's a hell of a lot louder than your mission right now? " lightly, uncertain of his capacity to take her touch, mizuki opts for a gentle poke to his belly.

" your stomach. it's literally been going off all day." as deadpan as she begins, there is sincerity there. blunt and to the point, never one to beat around the bush would sum up the rookie detective fairly well.

she has time and the pysncer is certainly not involving him in the things that take up time. like the hb case. so for now she jerks a thumb; and begins walking; but y'know, not without lightly dragging his wrist. doing something lightly with her abilities seems to get harder and harder the more she grew up. well, she kinda always felt like she was far too ancient for her years.

" so two options for now. there's a good diner that has killer omelette rice. unfortunately for me, the chef, who also unfortunately is a good friend of mine, tends to give me discounts. ." not like i need them with two companies . . . plus, it's funny threatening ota about it. he's my friend but he's still as creepy about iris as ever. i think it's earned if y'ask me. now if only he'd cut his damn hair....

she idly fingers the loops in her braids; which, to no surprise pop right back up much akin to bunny ears. how ironic. "orrrr we do a fusion resturaunt that has all kinds of unique stuff, and is just as good. oh, but they're competing so i can't say either or. it's pretty damn weird why they're competing but. "

a shrug. " so . dunno much about how you even got here or if i should even believe you, but we can talk about that stuff over lunch. for now though . . . you.....should probably.....hide your sword?

i tapped it earlier. real thing right? see, the thing is, people around here will think you're a cosplayer. just bein' honest. you can't just carry that around or people might think it is as real as it actually is. so we gotta fix that first.

now matsushita diner or brahman? which will it be? " she isn't taking no for an answer, the guy looked damn starving. she'd even pay for it. she had no small surplus of money, enough to drown a city with her bloody inheritances from her biological father, but that crown of thorns was for another time . . .

@hopefromadoomedtimeline / as plotted .

[brawlqueen]

"Can you bring that to me? I will pay you double~"

" it is literally right there. " the rookie police officer quirks a brow into her hairline; expression half baffled and half annoyed in one sitting. with her straight-laced, no nonsense tone, it's easy to find that mizuki's response isn't the most courteous or dutiful in terms of catering to the people she had promised to protect - but this was ridiculous, was she just toying with her? geez! eccentric sure fit this woman; eyes as crimson as the way tama fit in ryuki's left eye socket.

" look , i'll do it but , it's just pop. it's right there in the vending machine, ma'am. " the other woman's tone slightly frayed; hiding the strained annoyance and rather failing. if she was twelve or younger, mizuki wouldn't have even remotely given her a chance to be near her, let alone speak to her; the distrust rampant even more if possible in her youth.

" look , the whole 'i'll pay you for a can of pop' thing is . . . not necessary. but if you're going to ask the police or the authorities for anything, can you, er, take it more seriously? " bluntly and flatly does she move away from her; braids lightly turning with the motion as she heads to the vending machine. idly popping a coin in and waiting for the metallic clink, brain sparking with a way she could pay her back.

" i can't accept payment from a civilian, and er, i don't need money. i'm doing fine, thanks. but how about this ? next time, if you actually really need something, come to me then instead of joking around. "

[brawlqueen]

[ ....... ]

[ yeah, that's.....my reaction to this. ]

sharing a private conversation with her partner, mizuki glances up with a mismatched gaze and a slight grimace of concern and equal measures the bluntness that could turn to a blade if she so chose. hakuno rarely falls under that umbrella though. she knows plenty of eccentric friends, and while hakuno is one of her dearest, she's following the trend of all her friends are a little off.

[ mizuki i feel your assessment is contradictory to your own nature. ]

[ oh hush! i'm perfectly normal. ]

[ mm-hmm. ]

" uhhh....hakuno ? we really need to work on some of your phrasing. and uh, i mean that with the ...best intentions. really. " says the girl so brutally honest. " sometimes what you say and how i know you feel doesn't...match up i guess. i know you'd never want to hurt someone, you're too nice sometimes. it kinda worries me, to be honest. "

"but i get what you mean. you wouldn't be you, if you didn't phrase things a little wei---different. " the detective and pysncer sighs as she lightly pats her back, despite being so very small in stature.

"just....be more careful okay? not that i think you're gonna wander into a yakuza den, but you're pretty clumsy." despite how blunt she sounds, there is a softness and fondness undeniable on the backburner of her cadence; mizuki offering a small smile.

" so what prompted that anyway? i mean if you don't wanna share, but i haven't seen you in a while 'cause of work so . " could it kill boss to give me one day off? geez!

[ you're already finding loopholes to get a two hour break as is. ]

[ aiba, i'm taking the bugs in boss' office out, i've decided. ]

[ don't you dare mizuki. ]

❛   yes,  killed.   ❜      from the look on mizuki’s face  …  hm.  had she said something wrong ?  while hakuno understood that the subject of death and killing were unpleasant,  she was talking about herself here—  oh !      ❛   please don’t misunderstand,  i would never want to kill anyone.  that is just …  a method of self - motivation ?   ❜      such was the way she typically operated on,  but mayhaps it is not for everyone.  in hindsight, this was now very obvious !

❛   a strong feeling of i have to do this,  i suppose that is the best way to describe it …   ❜

[brawlqueen]

she's focusing intently, one of many adorabbit mugs in her hand. a vibration from her phone changes all that however, the shock of it in whatever she was focusing on broken as the cup all but dissolves into pieces of fine, albeit, very, very crushed, ceramic in her palm.

" seriously?! and i was trying so hard this time! shit! "

[brawlqueen]

"Gently, gently. This is the most critical moment of frying an egg." Utters, trying to assist the other. "I do love a beautiful egg."

mizuki tended to take things in stride. after the complete lack of normalcy that had followed her since the beginning of her life, she couldn't say that she minded something incredibly .... normal. here in the kitchen; gloves off and uniform sleeves rolled back, memories flooding of all the times she had made the best soft eggs to a loser of a 'roommate'. she wouldn't admit it, but . . .

--- they were memories etched in fondness as much as exasperation. something she missed and felt the phantom wound of where it had begun to hurt. it almost cost her all of the detective's focus if not for orihime's gentle voice encouraging her; her approach and touches to certain cooking techniques as gentle as her voice.

" thanks. it's .... kinda been a while since i cooked, y'know? haven't had time with everything. " between her responsibilities and lack of free time, especially with this serial killing case, she couldn't say she minded at all the effusive, bubbly natured girl seeming right at home in the small kitchen of the date residence.

it filled in so much that should be there.

" i never really have done much of fried eggs, but, well, guess you got me convinced. by the sounds of it, you cook a lot, orihime . i never really have time, so this is.....kinda nice, y'know? " she isn't twelve anymore. her supernatural strength only grows with age. she was nervous the minute it fell into her palms to be placed into the cooking utensil, thinking it would shatter immediately in terrifyingly strong grip.

but it didn't. focus and a teacher on a new way to do eggs, so laughably simple as it was, made mizuki smile a bit as her heterochromatic gaze flits to hers as if for approval.

" okay, i think that was a pretty good flip! what's next? i usually just did soft boiled eggs in the morning . my ... " adoptive father. " roommate is a loser in that he never appreciated them! liked them all gross and hard and chewy. maybe he'll like fried eggs. " her eyes are bright with expectation for the next step, never imagining that the girl relaxing wantonly in the yoyagi park pool would be in her home.

" oh uh...orihime? if you cook a lot, do you..." a beat.

"would you want to do this again sometime? let's make a deal. if i make you an amazing fried egg then we make this a habit? how 'bout that? " it was awfully hard to decline a sunny smile from her, after all.

[brawlqueen]

@paraleech / in regards to cupcakes as apology gifts.

she's come home; after a rather strange situation. all things considered she really hadn't expected her of all things to react to something like that. in some ways, for how..... different, she was, supernatural almost, in a way much like mizuki's battle prowess but so very, very different . . . she was still a child. a kid.

the eighteen year old knew the risks of everything, knew that she was dealing with someone very much different than herself, but there was an odd sense of kinship. it wasn't like mizuki was exactly normal . her life had been a twist of weird, tragic, hopeful and shocking all at once.

so it's with a peek of her mismatched eyes that she quirks a brow finding that fyuga, is nowhere to be found. well, not to the naked eye anyway.

she must be hiding . . . aiba said there was a signature sooo ...can't fool me!

" fyuga ? i know you're in here. " she wouldn't elaborate why. that...would just be a headache, honestly. holding her plate of cupcakes; bright pink and strawberry flavored icing, she likes to think, though she was hardly as good at iris at baking or cooking, that they came out pretty good. not to pat herself on the back or anything! well. . . maybe to pat herself on the back.

" it's okay to come out y'know. the soda is gone. i got you something else instead ! do you like cupcakes ? me and iris were making some at miss sagan's house ! so... you can forgive me right? "

" i had no idea you were scared of soda so . . . i'll be careful in the future, okay ? c'mon out ! i'm not leaving until you try one of these. don't you want to eat them together? " brushing a hand out of her fringe, the fledgling detective glances around, knowing full well thanks to aiba's functions, that she was indeed, still in the house.

" there aren't any cans, i promise. no fizzy noises either! it's just us. " she had no idea where date was; and quite frankly the process of explaining fyuga's ever growing mannerisms was....confusing. to her, to anyone. how she ended up at their home, even stranger. maybe boss just didn't know what to do with her. pretty weird considering she always had a plan . .

her smile is assuring as she plops down on the floor and holds the plate of baked goods; stretching strong arms as her braids dangle to the floor.

" or maybe fyuga isn't here? wowwwwww. . . . i got all these cupcakes all. to. myself. it would be really bad if i ate all of them without her . . . "

[brawlqueen]

she's dreaming. no, that's too crude a word. she's in a living hell. again. the fighter; the one girl army, reduced to an injured rabbit half sightless and trembling in pain. this time it was physical, burning and searing. it brings back unpleasant memories that overlap like waves upon the shore, images of a woman with her hair color but in a bob . . of a cloud of fire, of her hands reaching frantically for the idiot who asked ryuki to shoot.

( and the selfish part of her that would rather die in that cathedral than be left behind again. )

mizuki's thrashing stops for a moment; most of her face covered in gauze and bandage; traces of rust color signifying a need for changing of the bandages to the gaping socket red and raw underneath. it must have been....a family trait. in her dream date was under the rubble.

in her dream, she was at the crossroads of light between her biological parents and the man who chose her. she knows that date only wanted to protect everyone - but hearing those words hurt as much as the injuries she felt even in her sleep.

" ngh.... n-ngh....ah....g-genny let go...! l-l..." a tear slides from the only eye she has left; mizuki's sounds akin to a dying prey animal. the more she thrashes; the more likely she is to cause red to stain the gauze. her fingers tremble grasping forward; expecting to find rock and rubble - expecting for that idiot to be nowhere.

instead her dull right eye opens; clearly struggling to retain any light, almost as sightless as the one blown clean out. the fiery light of a survivor and fighter is blurred into a terrified child. she can't see ! she can't see! date! date are you --- are you ?!?!

are you leaving me?

she's in her bed. she's ripped some of the blankets from curled nails, the touch on her cheek and the feeling of cloth in her fingers causing her to flinch. her dull right eye is still adjusting to losing its partner, to seeing at all, really. almost sightlessly does it take blurred imagery to focus on the face she had been adjusting to the past three months.

just...just three months...

" d-date! d....d.. " this isn't the bratty, spirited, angry child with so much love waiting to be given to someone that it turns to steel armor instead against a cruel hand. this....this is the trembling girl crying out for the man who had been a better father to her than daddy ever was, who if lost, she would never recover.

"d-date?! w-where are you?! " it's trembling. "date!!! it's you isn't it?! please! " tears leak from one side of her face; her reddened fingers injured from her nightly episodes clutching the shirt she thinks she's touching.

" date are....are..." a whimpering sob escapes like a rattled out, dying thing from her throat, meek and small and defeated.

" ...... are you there? "

>> brawlqueen

@brawlqueen​ - mizuki and date

SEARCHING. He’d never say this out loud, he’d never say any of it out loud, but sitting by Mizuki’s bedside watching her toss and turn while she sleeps has to be one of the most painful things he’s ever done. Poor girl lost her eye in that mess of a case, and all he could do was get her taken care of and keep her safe in the meantime. She’s all bandaged up and adjusting at home now, but…

Date tries so hard… he tries so hard to be good to her. Good for her. He never feels like he’s doing well, but he’s trying to trust himself a little more. He wishes he were better at that too.

His hand ghosts over her cheek. “Oh, sweetheart,” he mumbles to himself. “Just breathe.”

[brawlqueen]

the other line / texting memes! (accepting). / @causalitylinked

To: Akira Kijima From: Mizuki Date

[ NILE MESSAGE ] we tied this time! ha! next time i'm winning. [ NILE MESSAGE ] hey, remember how in grade school we just kept counting how many times we tied? [ NILE MESSAGE ] now we're doing it with bikes. aiba says i shouldn't do 'property damage' in our usual spars so this was fun. [ NILE MESSAGE ] seriously, with this job i can't go that fast. [ NILE MESSAGE ] but you found some hidden spot. i don't think even i've scoped it out before . . . [ NILE MESSAGE ] come to think of it i guess i don't know a few areas you know about. i've shown you around some of the places i frequent . . i wouldn't be surprised if you knew golden yokocho. [ NILE MESSAGE ] no, not lemniscate. i can feel you grimacing at the mention, haha. don't gimme that look, your face is gonna get stuck. [ NILE MESSAGE ] well, i did join in. and it was fun as hell! [ NILE MESSAGE ] i'm going to relive that look on your face again with bikes this time, too! nope, never letting it go btw. [ NILE MESSAGE ] i think you're the first person i've met who can keep up with me, so when i kicked your ass in grade school i didn't think we'd still be in contact like this. [ NILE MESSAGE ] oh c'mon, we had plenty of different outcomes and competitions after that, and plenty of ties. [ NILE MESSAGE ] look, i'm not good with words but -- i feel like i can actually let off some steam, y'know? i don't want to break iris' arm in arm wrestling. . . even if she IS pretty fast. [ NILE MESSAGE ] so..thanks. it was fun. [ NILE MESSAGE ] with my job, i think my boss would kill me if she knew, and going home wouldn't be much better. i am still a police officer. and date gets er, well what can i say? it's date. [ NILE MESSAGE ] but it got my mind off some things! hope you got the same rush! [ NILE MESSAGE ] keep staying on your toes akira! and thanks! [ NILE MESSAGE ] i wonder after all that adrenaline if we'll be able to sleep....i'm gonna charge aiba so, signing off! let's do this again!

[brawlqueen]

∗ o1﹕ a  text  sent  late  at  night . for timmy

the other line / texting memes! (accepting) / @ofpersistence

[NILE MESSAGE] timmy, right? yeah, i gave you my business card. [NILE MESSAGE] well, technically i have three of those. [NILE MESSAGE] er, nevermind, listen. [NILE MESSAGE] just checking, but something...felt off. [NILE MESSAGE] not you. well, i guess i kinda freaked you out. [NILE MESSAGE] robot making is serious business huh? cool. [NILE MESSAGE] anyway, my bad. so my partner, she... [NILE MESSAGE] she kinda told me she sensed something. [NILE MESSAGE] in your area, that is. you know anything about that? [NILE MESSAGE] nah, you won't meet her, she's shy. not. [NILE MESSAGE] anyway, mind if i check anyway? [NILE MESSAGE] i don't think it's anything . . . [NILE MESSAGE] but i'd like a check over just in case. [NILE MESSAGE] oh, and you can just call me mizuki. [NILE MESSAGE] i'm not gonna interrogate you don't worry. [NILE MESSAGE] i just want to make sure you're safe. [NILE MESSAGE] i really did mean your robot was coming along. [NILE MESSAGE] anyway, whatever it is, i'll take care of it. [NILE MESSAGE] thanks for letting me have your number! [NILE MESSAGE] let's both get some sleep, okay? [NILE MESSAGE] text me if anything comes up.

[brawlqueen]

∗ 3o﹕ a  random  text . >:3c

the other line / texting memes! (accepting). ft. @nulltune

[ NILE MESSAGE ] ugh my head is spinning from this case. [ NILE MESSAGE ] i can't tell you details but, you wanna come over? [ NILE MESSAGE ] i'm thinking of heading over to ota's or genny's. [ NILE MESSAGE ] it's a 'eat a lot of carbs' day. [ NILE MESSAGE ] oh also i got more adorabbit merch! [ NILE MESSAGE] you know how we both love rabbits? [ NILE MESSAGE ] and how this one is on my bike? (x) [ NILE MESSAGE ] so do you want fusion food or standard japanese? [ NILE MESSAGE ] my treat, too if you're in. want me to pick you up? [ NILE MESSAGE ] i haven't had a lot of time to hang with friends. [ NILE MESSAGE ] boss is a pretty tough superior. but i can do this!

[brawlqueen]

words that only fueled the fire. when you were essentially unbeatable from all your experience, though at ( what cost to normalcy? ), the concept of someone thinking she would fail only fueled her ego. something she had to build up herself, piece by fragile, broken piece from a broken life. the smirk on her face; white teeth and mismatched eyes gleaming as it spread was akin to a lioness prepared to scoop up her cub or in the same breath bury her teeth into an antelope.

( mizuki --- ! just because you landed last time does not mean - )

( oh c'mon. i told you with the bike speeding, this won't even hurt me. )

( mizuki! reconsider! this is blatant foolishness! just because you can doesn't mean y --- and she's not listening -- miiiizukiiiii! )

if she'd learned anything about her god-like supernatural strength, it was that mizuki would get right back up. even a speeding bike or an accident would likely accelerate her 'supposed' healing, if what....what horadori institute reports had spoken of her from kizzy's information. whatever had been done to her, seemed to only advance with age. she wouldn't out of pride admit she....likely wouldn't have done this six years ago. or been able to.

she could think about the person meant to be a mother who had surrendered her to them later. she didn't need to. she didn't need to think about any of it right? this was easy compared to the stadium.

" sure. just don't yell at me when you land flat on your ass, okay?" cockiness dripped into the small woman's words as she flexed her gloved hands with an audible crack and swung her arms forward and back. she stretched both her legs and practiced a few squats as if taking her sweet, sweet time.

aiba's screams were promptly ignored; likely not enjoying another dire trip to the stratosphere and clouds like before, when it was necessary. she knew her host had a penchantness for recklessness just like her other host, her original host no less absurdly irrational and when mizuki got that sharp grin on her face, nothing bode well.

the earth beneath her seemed to blur with the air in a hissing snarl, clouds of whatever had created a sizable crater beneath as a blur of yellow, black, and blue catapulted into the air leaving said sizeable crater behind where her feet had dug with as much might as she felt necessary. this was practice compared to that damn rocket! the rush made mizuki yell in a wild sort of delight. she was actually jealous that this girl could fly, she should do this more often!

the strange woman would see her then. a pretty face grinning at being airborne and long, rapunzel like cyan braids swinging and swaying all around her as a hand reached out. mizuki date smiles; all teeth and an earful of telepathic shouts in her head of scolding. and then she grips her arm. hard, forgetting herself. the adrenaline of the challenge was all she could think of.

" hiya. time to come down to earth, monkey girl. "

The girl down below couldn't have been any older than Tohma herself, striking intrigue from the alien girl in the sky overhead. She definitely had a lot of questions she'd liked to ask, like if her hair was naturally that bright of a blue, and what was up with her eyes, but that meant going down, and she was being a little too hard-headed to want to give in just yet.

❝ There is no way you cou- .. ❞ Wait a second. Did that girl say one jump? Tohma was pretty high up, and considering the confidence the blue-haired one had in saying that, there was no way it was just some kind of bluff. Tohma regards her with extreme skepticism, arms folding a little tighter over her chest. Now she can't exactly tell whether she's still being stubborn or if she's just genuinely curious, but either way, she felt like finding out.

❝ Try me. ❞

[brawlqueen]

How adorable are you?

" ha ! even if it's a fact, a bet's a bet to prove the truth! someone owes me two hours to sleep in today, a place to let loose, and in exchange, i'll keep the secret bug in boss' office to ourselves. and maybe, i'll even ignore that you groaned when i got the results! "

[ but that species is rare in this season! that's hardly a fair bargain! ] [ then you better start sucking up, huh? i'm waiting ! ]

[brawlqueen]

"...Happy birthday. I'd seen this and thought you might like it." Without even turning to look at Mizuki, Akira would hand her a bunny shaped purse he had seen while shopping for stationary pens. Honestly, considering her last one was pretty much falling apart after years of use, he figured it was about high time she got a new one.

MIZUKI’S BIRTHDAY / 2023.

now this was a face she wasn't expecting. the psyncer's first sparring partner; the boy she tied with and even beat once at grade school . . now a teenager, pointedly doing his signature grumpy face even if she can't see it. the teenager can feel it and she almost stifles an amused snicker. that's so like akira, honestly.

if anyone says she has too much 'attitude' she's going to point at her friend and rival sparring partner as having more in her defense; a blurred line of consistency throughout the years they've known each other. her words are as blunt as ever; traces of amusement in the detective's voice.

" wow. well this is a surprise. i didn't even think you knew my birthday. sorry, haha. i just really got thrown a bit, y'know? book by its cover blah blah. lemme open it. " a smirk coats her mouth as she takes the offering with a small grin; despite her snark; ( it's always on the house ) , mizuki is glad akira remembered. still, getting a few jabs and teases at him just wouldn't do if she didn't, right ? now why he won't look at her well . . she knew his boundaries and he knew hers.

it's weird though; usually he met her mismatched gaze head on. just as much as he challenged and dared to go again and again against her supernatural strength. they had vastly different experiences, but the same coating of pain lay underneath. to say they 'flocked together' was an understatement, even if it was highly unlikely either of the two long time friends would admit it. much less admit they were friends . . .

" holy shit. " expletives that don't really fit a police officer escape her mouth in two words; the teenager shaking the bag once as if unable to believe her eyes. mizuki glances at it; how utterly adorable it is and how her brain thinks how much survival gear and necessities just as much. plus, it had her signature animal: the rabbit.

" . . . so you --- wait a minute -- " she isn't gasping in shock more like gaping as the brawler shakes it again, lightly, mizuki, lightly, to make sure it's remotely real. did this mean he'd noticed that she'd had a mind, albeit subconsciously, to get a new bag? she had made an off-comment of replacing her old one for various supplies and things she needed; although a swiss army knife was....not an option anymore now, was it? the fact remained. akira noticed. mizuki was far from an idiot, her intelligence advanced far beyond her classmates at an early age; and perception wasn't lost on her, with or without aiba.

" akira....er, listen... "

her brows actually furrow in concern.

" uh, are you sick ? like, this is my birthday. and....you -- " ( actually noticed i needed something and got it for me. so i can only assume you're literally sick or hell, even dying. ) those thoughts go unspoken; knowing that he's just as capable as releasing a barrage of arrows in the shape of barbs at her right back. like ping pong ball back and forth. she blinks once, twice, owlishly, before staring at the bulk of it within her deceptively small hands. calloused from battles won and lost, from training at an early age and scuffles against bullies. hands that told stories - not all of them happy ones.

" ..... it looks pretty damn cute! didn't think you knew how to get stuff like this, so i really underestimated you. plus it'll be useful. " a smile tugs at her mouth faintly; not too wide but not too small; it's genuine; as mizuki takes a few steps to hold it up so he can see the satisfaction - and gratitude in her eyes.

" possibly sick and not himself or noooottt, i'll take it! didn't think i guess, you did this kinda thing. it's weird, sure, but it's....i really like it. so, thanks, akira. " she almost tacks on with a borderline affectionate, get well soon punk, before deciding against it; her cheeky grin and satisfied eyes gleaming telling all she needs to say.

" i'll put it to good use. you can count on that. " thanks again, you grumpy dork.

[brawlqueen]

Trunks is here and he's got a present for his sparring buddy. As it turns out, he'd got a medium sized bag for the birthday girl, one that the young teen hands over to her soon enough with a small smile. Within the bag she would find an adorabbit shirt for her, albeit a few sizes too big.

"...I heard it was your birthday, I hope you have a good one."

MIZUKI'S BIRTHDAY / 2023.

" yo, trunks! how's my favorite resident awkward cosplayer? what's up! " while the words seem like barbs of acerbic wit, which...they kind of are, but with mizuki the words somehow translate to warmth; a laughter in her voice as as she jogs over . normally people with her tiny height would have trouble crossing the gap between them. for the newly minted nineteen year old; capable of dodging bullets with ease -- ( well, let's not talk about that ) - she all too easily reaches her destination to her friend.

mizuki could only count people who actually could remotely keep up with her on...two fingers? not even SAT really stood a chance; though bullets still could graze her like anyone else. she'd learned that fairly well at the stadium, and, well, before. so far it's just two guys, the grumpy and equally awkward akira, and the gentle albeit shy trunks. thorny barbs at the first masking affection, and a more cheery approach for the latter; who, with a situation unheard of, it oddly unphases mizuki. someone who has seen it all, the wild, the crazy, and even undiscovered parts of herself can't really say she'd doubt much of anything at this point.

upon taking the parcel from him with deceptively tiny fingers; a single finger capable of crushing bone, she all too happily holds the parcel, resisting the urge to rock on the back of her heels. as president of lemniscate and owner of sunfish pocket, it wouldn't look too mature to be as giddy as she felt that someone remembered. and trunks would surely give her a good gift, right?

"man! you're really getting used to it here! i can't say i'm complaining with how fun it's been! lemme see, lemme see . . . " her mismatched eyes are positively glowing; betraying her inner happiness. the child in her is long since dead, brief fragments remain, but in this moment mizuki is only a nineteen year old girl carefully rummaging through the bag. with her abilities, she.....really doubted it would be a good idea to apply too much force in her excitement.

" whoa! " comes her proclamation; staring in wonder at the two sizes too big shirt and merchandise of her favorite franchise plastered on it. it was so cute! plus it'd make a great shirt to sleep in!

" did you do some research or did my bike give it away?" she almost mentions the gift her adoptive father gave her ages ago, but such hidden love and affection and annoyance, for him, is kept sealed lest the feelings be used against her. she...it's still hard to give word to how she truly feels, but she knows how she feels if he wasn't around.

face lit in a beam that could rival the sun, she all too happily holds it up to match where the collar would sit; all smiles and white teeth and uncanny eyes glimmering. she's happy. she's actually happy. she's afraid to voice that too, after all, life doesn't seem to favor her and if mizuki opens up too much it will disappear. it's a habit of thought she's still struggling to break.

" no pun intended or anything? but i totally had my eye on this. well, both eyes when the battery charges. i had aiba search the internet for me. but i didn't think anyone would actually get it! damn, trunks, that's gotta earn you five brownie points!" a rather generous offer, if she said so herself!

briefly leaning in, not too long and not too quickly, she offers her friend a side hug. she knows how strong trunks is, and she knows how strong she is. a hug at full might is devastating for most anyone. still, she squeezes as high as she can reach and pulls back as quickly as it comes.

" thanks a lot trunks! for remembering my birthday and also knowing stuff i like! i'm gonna use it for pajamas! seriously dude, this is awesome! i'm amazed you knew! it looks like tokyo isn't too hard for you to navigate after all if you got this." or maybe iris told him? or date? she can pick a handful of names but her mouth almost hurts from smiling.

"anyway, thanks, man! " / @hopefromadoomedtimeline