WHO: Meiya Mitsurugi and Kaname Chidori
WHAT: After their encounter on the TDD-1, the two friends talk about what happened.
WHEN: BACKLOG; shortly after the TDD-1 plot.
MISSION: Smooth out any confusion that may have resulted from their encounter.
WATCH OUT FOR: Teary-eyed girls, the power of friendship triumphing all!

Kaname was not looking forward to the inevitable. The inevitable being an encounter with Meiya Mitsurugi /outside/ of the Tuatha de Danaan. But when Monday arrived Kaname knew that she couldn't avoid the inevitable any longer; there was no way she was going to cut class because she was worried about a conversation that eventually, the two of them would /have/ to have.

Kaname never imagined that her friend would be on board the de Danaan. Likewise, Meiya probably had her own questions about the encounter.

So instead of avoiding it, Kaname made an effort to get to school earlier than usual; if there was time before class, the two of them would talk things out and resolve things for good.

"I'm off," she tells the picture of her mom, and she races out of her apartment.

And when Kaname enters the classroom, a good half hour before class even begins, she's surprised to find a figure there, already waiting.

"Meiya?"


Meiya didn't know what to do. She didn't have time to talk to Kaname, about what happened on the Mithril super sub, about why they were both there...

And why Meiya was wearing a piloting suit practicly made of liquid latex, but that perticular emberassment is the least of her worries.

Meiya didn't know what to do, she wondered about it all night, couldn't sleep, and finally found herself staring at the ceiling when her clock read 6:45. So Meiya got up, and went through her morning routine early, and a little bit detached. Normally she gets driven to school, but she just took the bus today, walking in a half daze untill she found herself at school, and sat in her seat, staring out the window.

Meiya's been in a lot of battles, but this situation scares her more then those. She's afraid she'll lose her best friend. Until she hears her name, and blinks out of her daze to look at the door, a little suprised.

"Kaname...?"


They must have both had the same idea, and Kaname's thankful for it. She's not sure she could have sat through all the classes before lunch without having some sort of conversation about what had happened.

"About what happened the other day," she says from the doorway. "I think we should talk about it."

She makes her way to the desk next to Meiya's, sets her bag down on the desk, then turns in her chair to face the young pilot.

"All right," she says. "You can go first."



The normally calm Meiya seems a little nervous. She isn't sure what to say to Kaname, and has to close her eyes for a moment. "I..."

"I don't really know what to say except..." Meiya opens her eyes "I work for the EFA, I'm a pilot." Kaname probably figured that much out, but it needs to be said. She does occasionaly disappear from calsses, like a certin someone else.


It's not difficult to see how hard it is for her friend, but there's still unsaid questions lingering between them. Kaname forces what she hopes is a reassuring smile, then makes her inquiry. "What were you doing on board the Tuatha de Danaan?" she asks. "Isn't it an Orb ship?"


"It does..." Meiya agrees "Or it did. A few weeks before this happened, a man named Ulube Ishikawa framed some EFA pilots for the murder of a man, I was actually one of them." that could be a shocker.

"During that time I hid with Orb, and talking to the Captain of the ship. We got to know each other a little bit. I was cleared, obviously. Ulube's plans fell apart and I was free to return." that explains one week long absense.

"When those men took over the ship and repared to fire a missile. I knew it was out of character for the Captain, so I went to intercept. We couldn't stop the ship so... I got out and climbed my way in through a break in the hull."

"I just had to find out what was going on, it just didn't seem right."


Worry draws itself across Kaname's face. If all this was going on just before the two of them encountered each other on the TDD-1, then what else could have been happening to Meiya before then? What else could she possibly not know? What other problems did Meiya have to deal with on her own?

It makes what she's about to say even more difficult than she thought it would be. Before she left the Tuatha de Danaan, Tessa had spoken to her. She had told her that no matter what, she couldn't let anyone know what she was, or what she was capable of. It was for her own safety, she was told. And Kaname knew that that was the case.

But it didn't feel right, lying to Meiya after she struggled to tell her everything.

"The Orb Union's had their eye on me for awhile," she says. "I don't really know /why/; I'm just a perfectly normal high school girl. I'm not a newtype, and I don't pilot anything, either."


Meiya looks away for a moment, is she upset, does she know Kaname is lying? "Kaname..." It sounds difficult for her...
Meiya turns back to her friend "I don't... care why Mithril is protecting you."

"I'm just...glad that if you need to be protected for some reason, that they are there."

Kaname swallows hard. She's not one to usually get teary-eyed at sad movies or even reunions, but she feels her eyes suddenly burning at Meiya's words.

"Thanks," she says, smiling lightly. "It means a lot to me."

A beat.

"You know, it worries me that you went through so much without me even having the faintest clue," she says. "If you have any problems, just let me know. I know I'm totally useless when it comes to armored suits and stuff, but if I can help, I want to be there for you."

Meiya smiles back, her own eyes tearing up a little. "It's okay." she lifts her hand and wipes her eyes.

"You do more for me, just by being my friend..."


"Well," Kaname exclaims, wiping away a tear. "I didn't mean to get all sappy on you. Can you believe that I was worrying about this ever since we both met on board the de Danaan? Now that it's over, I can't even understand what I was so worried about to begin with!"


Meiya finishes wiping her eyes "I was too... I was afraid you wouldn't want to be friends anymore, but now that.... I can't understand why I was so afraid anymore." she smiles.


"I guess we were both worried for nothing." Now that that's out of the way, the two can focus on other, more important things. Like--

"Did you finish your Advanced Algebra homework last night? It was a total pain! It wasn't like it was hard or anything, but writing out all the parts is just so time-consuming!" she complains. "I'm just glad I won't have to deal with Mr. Ogata /next year/."

Speaking of--

"You're going to be going to university once we graduate, right?" she asks. "Have you decided which entrance exams you're going to take this winter?"


Meiya nods, "It was kind of hard to focus on it, but I got it done... I don't know if it's right though." she looks at Kaname, and blinks a few times.

Meiya presses a hand to her forehead "...I completly forgot about the entrance exams!" she sounds dismayed.

"That does it, I'm taking some time off work to get everything in order before doing two things at once kills me."


Kaname can't help but feel a little relieved; even though the entrance exams are still nearly a half-year away, she's been worried about them. Not because she didn't think she was going to do well, but because she was worried she was going to be the only one taking the exam for the colleges she was considering: namely, Waseda and Tokyo Universities.

Sure, Sousuke would probably tag along, but what Kaname wanted was a reliable female confidante, attending the same school as she was. And given that many of her friends had no intention of enrolling in university, Meiya's own intention to at least /take/ the exams put Kaname at ease, if only a little.

"You know," she says, "I still haven't figured out what I want to major in. I think my father expects me to follow in his footsteps, but I'm not so sure."


"I'm sure my father would like me to learn business." Meiya muses. "I don't know though. I don't think I'm cut out to run a business, I..." she pauses and thinks.

"I don't want to be a soldier forever."


"Well, you seem competent enough," Kaname says. Even so, Kaname can't help but feel relieved at Meiya's last few words; as much as she wanted a normal life for herself, she also wanted a normal life for her friends. Unfortunately, it seemed as though everything else in the universe seemed to want to prevent that. If it wasn't giant aliens attacking Tokyo, it was colonies hitting New York.

"Why did you become a pilot, anyway? Your family seems to be well off."



Meiya ooohs "Thats.... thats a long story." and some of it is classified, which makes Meiya frown. "Second Impact." she says simply.

"When that meteor struck Earth, me and my mtoher were stuck in northern China, near Siberia. We took shelter with others in a base, back then it was the UN. We were cut off from the rest of the world for a... long, long time."


Kaname's curiosity is piqued; she leans forward towards her friend. "So, what happened next?"


Meiya hmmns "Well, we were their over ten years, believe it or not. It was big enough that it was like a town, just built in an underground bunker." She tries to think of what exactly to say. She can't tell Kaname about the BETA aliens, not only is it classified, but she doesn't want to scare Kaname. "We had enemies, like the Beastmen, and others. So we fought back, made our own combat robots. I started training young, but I wasn't allowed to fight untill just before we made contact with the rest of the world."

"So I came home and joined the EFA... but I wanted a normal life too, I culd have gone to private school with my sister, but I decided to come here."


Meiya's goals are goals that she can sympathize with, even /if/ the two of them came from very different backgrounds. Kaname can't help but feel a little guilty. At least she had the chance for a normal life before Sousuke Sagara stepped into the picture; Meiya never even had the chance.

"So you'll still keep battling, even after you leave high school?"


"Like I said, I don't want to be a soldier forever." she looks up skywards, and gets a little smile.

"I'd honestly like to marry and have children one day."

Well, at least she has goals for a normal life, even if she never had a normal childhood.


"Get married?!" Kaname manages to stammer out; a blush streaks across her cheeks, and she averts her gaze. She hadn't really thought about /that/ before. It had occured to her before, but...

"Do you... have anyone you like, Meiya?"


Meiya can't help but smile a little more at Kaname's reaction, but the questions causes her to think...

Then she sighs "Not...really." she shrugs her shoulders "Theres a guy at work that keeps trying to flirt with me but... I know he just flirts with all the girls."


"You know," Kaname says, "Kyoko's been bothering me to go on this group date she wants to set up. Maybe you should come, too! If our dates turn out to be as bad as the guy Kyoko set me up with /last/ time, the two of us will at least have /each other/ for company!"


"A group...date?" Meiya takes her turn to blush a little "I've never... I've never gone out on a date of any kind before."


"What?!" Kaname's mouth drops. "You haven't been on a date before?!"

As far as Jindai High Students went, Meiya was easily one of the more attractive specimens. Kaname had naturally assumed that Meiya had been popular with the boys at the school she attended before, and as a result, had at least the same level of experience that she did.

Kaname was surprised to discover she was wrong.

"There's no way you want to go on a group date, then!" she says. "When you have blind dates like that you /usually/ end up with some guy who brags about how he knows someone in j-league. We need to find someone who'll appreciate you for you!"


Meiya's experiance with boys can be summed up with: Get flirted at by Tasuku, and get innuendo from Chibodee Crockett. Inneundo just kind of slides off her though, she's used to it. Because yes, she is attractive, and it generates comments.

"W-well, I mean... I'd still kind of... like to go." she stammers a little. "I mean, I have to start somewhere, don't I?"


Kaname can't help but feel a little protective of her friend. She doesn't want any sleazebag boys trying to hook up with her, but at the same time, she agrees that the experience might be good for her. And besides, it might be a lot easier for Meiya to get comfortable while on a date if she's with a crowd.

"I'll let Kyoko know you're interested, then," she says. "I just hope that this whole experience doesn't leave you with a bad impression."


Irm Kazahara leaves a bad impression. Meiya can only go up from there, really.

Meiya nods once "Mmh. Don't worry, I'll be alright." Say what you want about Meiya, at least she's unafraid of challange.