Session Start: Thu Apr 08 22:03:37 2004 ...and eventually, they wound up back at the agency. Everyone had school tomorrow, so things wound down pretty quickly. Kenji and Taki took off to catch an express train. Kyouko was regretting missing a swim practice, and decided to get over to TM for an evening workout. Minami had a poker game that she had to get to, while Leena was going to be in trouble with her parents if she stayed away any longer... so it wasn't long before only Sakura and Maya remained. [Friday, December 5, 2003 - 2030 local time] [Blossom Detective Agency] [mini start] * Maya is sitting, somewhat sprawled out, apparently concerned with nothing more than staring at the ceiling, as she's been doing for a minute or two. Finally, she sighs and licks her lips. "... so." ...and the queen took her daughter out on the balcony, and showed her the land below, and told her, "Behold - all that your eyes touch shall be yours." *snerk* Probably at about 9 PM Monday evening. * Sakura reaches down and ruffles Maya's hair. Don't worry, Maya. You'll do fine. * Maya smiles slightly. "I think I can do it, it's just... wow. It's all I've been able to think about. I guess you've set such a pretty high bar to reach for, so..." I don't want to fail... I can't afford to, not with this. If you can get through the next year without losing any of them... that will be more than sufficient. * Sakura pours the bottom inch of the bottle of vodka into a tumbler and sips. Honestly? I was slowing down - getting too conservative. * Maya takes that in, nodding slowly. "Yeah, that's a good goal... hm?" She seems a tiny bit surprised by Sakura's admission. "Maybe, but we're still people, even if we're not the most... er, wanted people." You really, legitimately cared about us, and I'm sure we all thank you for it. I hope you never change, Sakura. Maybe I care too much. * Sakura slugs back the rest of the vodka, then sits down across from Maya. Look, Maya, I'm not going to tell you how to do your job. I don't expect you to, but any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated... I know I'll need it. In the field, my best advice boils down to this: be cutthroat. That's the only reason I've survived. Anything more than that is a bonus. As for the rest of it... * Maya nods at that. "I... think I've gotten over my worries about this after Pie. It still hurts to think of having to fight and kill people, but... if it's us or them, I choose us." Don't try to con Princess Squeegee. She's not stingy, but her budget isn't unlimited and she has the seniority to really stick it to you. * Maya then cranes forward, just a bit. She seems tired, perhaps more so mentally than physically. The expensing forms are in the computers. The secretary will handle it for you - she knows the drill. No intentions to waste the Queen's money, so I won't worry about that. Anything else? About the secretary... * Maya continues to nod in understanding. "Even Queens have to file tax returns?" A tiny smile creeps along her lips, just for a moment. ... hm? ...by now I'm sure you've figured out I've lied to you once or twice about her. And... I can't take her with me. So I'm going to leave her here. But I'm still not going to tell you about her. * Sakura giggles. Gods, that sounds silly. *turns serious* But it's for her own good. Whatever you do, don't make her tell you her name, okay? Alright. * Maya seem mildly confused at to why Sakura's asking this. Just a bit. ...and speaking of secrets, Darkmoon has one too. If she has something she wants to remain unknown, I can respect that. Should I... pass the word along to the others? * Maya leans forward a lot more at that. "Eh?" * Sakura bites her lip. Erm, how major of a secret is this? You seem hesitant. I had a talk with him earlier. I don't know if he is going to confide in you or not, but I promised him a while ago not to tell you. ...it's not anything too bad. Really. But... give him a little slack, okay? * Maya doesn't react for a moment or two. "Alright. I understand, I guess." I hope he tells you. He should tell you. And I think he will in time. But he's had a lot of problems with the Princesses, and really has issues trusting authority. Ah, well. Now I've really messed up your sense of the team. Not... really. I think. Be firm with Taki. Smack Leena around if you have to. Shake Kenji up good when he needs it. Minami is a good sort. Kyouko scares me a little, but has her head in the right place. * Maya offers Sakura a smile. "Look, all we can do is our best, right? And you really don't have to tell me about Leena... I worry that she's going to do something like go maverick or something. She really hates the Queen, a lot." * Maya quickly loses the smile. "Or am I missing something?" I... I don't know where that comes from. I didn't really get that sense from her when we started out, but the last few weeks she's become really rebellious. And the bad thing is she's got the biggest gun... er, hammer around here. If I have to put my foot down, I will... it just burns me up that she's letting that get in the way of her job. We should finish the Ningyo and all these assassins first, *then* air our issues. ... and yeah, there's that. * Maya sighs and slumps a bit. "I wish she's remember that it's bigger than her... this job..." Just... the one thing I worry about with you is that you're not as strongly assertive a personality as some of the others. Don't be afraid to be in charge. That's the most important thing I can tell you. Is there anything you want to know? Eh-heh... I guess that just comes with being me. I'll try to step up... and Sakura? Hmmm? * Maya looks at Sakura dead-on. "I don't intend on it happening, but... how did you cope with losing teammates?" Not... very well. * Maya laughs softly, nervously. "I bet I'd be far worse..." The first couple of times it happened, really, I just got mad. I mean, really mad. It didn't feel like it was different than losing one to, say, a Ningyo. You resolve to blast their ass better the next time, then you go do it. ...then with the next few, I realized that it wasn't the same - that no team we had in the field had loss rates like this one, and I wondered why I hadn't gotten my ticket punched yet. Survivor's guilt? Yah... More classical PTSD, really. So... I got scared. And I froze in the field the next time we went out, and that cost me another partner. * Maya winces. "Oh... I'm sorry..." After that, I just got numb. And that worked - the loss rates went down, the mission success rates went up. ...there were signs I was getting out of that mode even before you showed up. But we'll never know for sure now, will we? No, we won't. So... I just hope I hit the ground running. I don't want to let anyone down... god, I'm so scared. * Maya curls up a little, hugging her knees. I would say that it'll happen sooner or later, and the better you accept that fact beforehand, the better you'll deal with it. But this team has never operated with so large or so powerful a group before. I never had more than two partners. I never *ever* had someone like Mallet or Darkmoon, or even a real specialist like Taki. So... I don't know. Anything's possible. * Maya nods once, then once again. "Yeah... and Sakura? Thank you for believing in me." * Sakura moues. "Well, fight the good fight, okay?" Nononono. * Maya smiles warmly. "Win the good fight." There's a plan. [end mini]