Jump 01 | Action | Cafeteria

[notthelostgirl]

[Rose is taking the whole situation in stride. Seriously, there are only so many times one can be trapped in another universe and join up with the local military before even that gets a little routine. Going back to school, though... that's new.

She doesn't bother to visit the dorm and change out of her UNIT uniform, deciding instead to jump right

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[bunnypassingby]

[Mikuru approaches out of curiosity. She's seen the SeeD uniform, but...]

Excuse me, ma'am? What's that uniform?

[notthelostgirl]

Just Rose, please. [nose wrinkling] 'Ma'am' makes me feel old.

It's just what I was wearin' when I fell through; doesn't mean anything here.

[bunnypassingby]

Rose. [Mikuru puts a smile on, but inside she's a little frustrated: English is so hard.]

It means something to you, right?

[notthelostgirl]

Yeah... [Makeshift families. What-ifs.] Silly, useless things, mostly.

I was a copper, a soldier. The names, the clothes change, but the job's the same.

[bunnypassingby]

[Her eyes widen with newfound respect, mostly from "soldier": Without her translation device, Mikuru doesn't really understand "copper" as Rose had intended and is left making a mental note to check secondary meanings of the metal later.] That's not silly or useless at all! You must be so brave... [Mikuru finds it hard enough to be brave enough to protect one person, let alone a country or something.]

[notthelostgirl]

What? No, 's really not like that. [a little self-deprecating laugh] It's the only thing I'm any good at, that's all. Not something heroic or anythin'.

But look at you. You're here. If I'm brave, you must be, too.

[bunnypassingby]

[Mikuru blushes.] I just ended up here by accident... And I thought some of the classes would be helpful to things I was doing at home, so I thought I'd enrol instead of working here.

[notthelostgirl]

When I first started, it was because I fell into it, too.

But, I suppose what it comes down to is this: if the call for help comes, what'll you do?

[bunnypassingby]

[That one's easy to answer for a girl who leapt back in time on a letter's say-so.] I'd help. I'd try my best to help. [She pauses, weighing whether to mention this to someone she just met, then decides to do so.] That's what I was doing before I ended up here.

[notthelostgirl]

[a gentle smile] Well, there you go. You've been braver for longer than you've knew. [She's curious, but leaves it; if the girl wants her to know, she'll say.]

[bunnypassingby]

[Mikuru smiles back, encouraged by this response, before remembering:] I'm so sorry, Rose, I forgot to introduce myself: I'm Mikuru Asahina... Or Miracle Mikuru, sometimes.

[notthelostgirl]

Mikuru Asahina. [She repeats it slowly, committing the correct pronunciation to memory.]

Miracle Mikuru. [That gets a grin.] Sounds like a superhero. Or heroine, in this case.

[bunnypassingby]

[And a grin back! Oh, how lovely it is to tell someone that name and not get laughed at.] I've got one person to protect back home; if I can do that, that's super enough for me.

[She goes on a little self consciously.] That's why I like the classes here: I'm hoping they'll help me protect him. But I like trying to help people out here too, even with just the little things. So if you have any questions about this place, you can ask me if you'd like!

[notthelostgirl]

I know how that's like. [Boy, does she.] It must be hard, being away from him.

A lot of them will, I'm sure. And I will, thank you.

[She sips her tea.] Have you been here long?

[bunnypassingby]

[Mikuru nods - it is indeed hard being away from her charge - before looking to the nearest window as she considers Rose's question.] Um, one quarter and two vacations now. [She looks a little surprised by her own answer.]

[notthelostgirl]

[About three months, then.] And you like it here? With all the school work and stuff.