drear | god, he called for rain

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god, he called for rain

[ the shatterdome is too loud, smells of seawater and sweat, and half the time k-science won't even let him stay in the lab, one of the few quiet places in the entire base. but it's home, in some ways, because heine has lived here for more than half of his life.

and that reason is also the reason why he's doing the introductions for the new pilot arriving today. she's not new new, but new to this shatterdome. heine has read her file.

now he's in his fatigues, arms crossed as he waits on the tarmac for her to arrive. there's a lot to go through before her jaeger even arrives. ]

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[ with somewhat of a clatter, heine sits down opposite her with a fork caught between his teeth. ]

Provocation? I don't know. Being an idiot, I guess.

[ he mumbles most of that, barely taking the utensil out of his mouth before talking and resting his chin on his hand. he's the worst at being a good dinner partner. ]

I guess so. There's some real weirdos around here.

[ heine avoids most of them, himself. ]

There's another guy with a last name like yours.

[ it be exactly like hers, actually. ]

[It doesn't sound like that will be a problem, so Naoto doesn't bother to comment, instead sampling some of the dishes she picked out. It seemed like the cooking was better here in some of them than she was used to. She ate those a bit quicker, surprised at her hunger. The food on the way here had been peanuts at best.

She paused when Rammsteiner mentioned Magato, her utensil stilling. In some ways, he had more sense than her, to leave their shatterdome to strike out on his own. In others, however, he was completely insane.]

Do you know him?

[She couldn't say they were close or that they had parted on the best of terms, but he was still a relation. Naoto had wondered how he was, and if he was doing well here.]

Not really.

[ he knows the name, and some of the rumors, but he doesn't pay too much attention to those. ]

Do you?

[ wait. heine stops picking at his food. ] Are you two related?

[There is the almost instinctive urge to deny knowing or even being related to Magato, but really there's no point. As soon as he found her, and he would because it was an annoying talent of his, there'd be no doubt that they knew each other. Her expression ran the gambit somewhere between resigned, pained, and annoyed.]

Yes.

[Unfortunately was the loud implication of that one syllable. Hopefully he had learned some restraint or, considering that was highly impossible, she wouldn't be judged too harshly due to his actions.]

But I haven't seen him in years.

[At least she'd already carved her way out of his shadow, and the only threat he was to her was the toll his presence took on her sanity.]

You'll probably see a lot of him around.

[ heine doesn't like him much, but then again, he doesn't like anyone much. and he hasn't even interacted with magato much yet. ]

What's wrong with him?

[Of that she has no doubt, and her disgruntled expression says clearly what she thinks about meeting him again. She has the distinct feeling it's going to take place sooner rather than later.

And while she might not be very fond or close with him, it feels a bit rude to talk ill of Magato.

She puts her utensil down, stacking up her plates and bowls neatly.]

He is very... [How can she describe it?] forceful and unpredictable. He also has many annoying habits.

[Still, she might be biased, so she forces her shoulders to relax.]

If there's nothing else I should know, I can find my way back to my room to unpack.

[ heine listens, head resting on one hand. this magato sounds like kind of an asshole, but he... really doesn't have much room to talk. regardless, he finishes up the limited amount of food he got for himself and cleans up as well. ]

Nothing I can think of.

[ he gets up, giving her a short nod in lieu of any actual words. big as the shatterdome is, they'll be frequenting the same places—the training room, canteen, and jaegar hangar. ]

[Naoto inclined her head gratefully, not making a move just yet to get up.]

I appreciate that you showed me around.

[It had taken her longer to find Rammsteiner again than she would have liked, considering it had become apparent rather quickly that he was the pilot to beat around here. Even Mihai hadn't argued that he deserved his reputation, and Naoto was truthfully a bit angry to learn of this. Why had Rammsteiner not said anything? Maybe he had already written her off as one of those people who was just going to boast then die an unremarkable death. Perhaps he hadn't wanted to waste his time with someone as undistinguished as her and had sent her out on a goose chase.

It hadn't helped her mood in the least that Magato had pounced on her fairly quickly, and that his idea of a family reunion was to recreate their last fight, right down to the knives. To add insult to injury, when they had been caught, Magato had taken the blame for the whole ordeal. Now she was indebted to him, and that thought did little to quell her temper.]

Rammsteiner.

[It was fortuitous that she would find him in the training hall. Her bare feet padded against the mats, her expression grim and tension radiating from her squared shoulders, her fists clenched.]

Fight me.

[ he might be fed up with his job, dislike getting into his rig, and a great deal of what he has to do, but he'll be damned if he doesn't at least do it well.

so the training hall is his usual haunt, other than his room. heine is wearing a tank top and sweatpants, already starting to perspire from his routine. he wipes the side of his face half-heartedly and straightens up when she approaches. ]

What?

[ this is rather abrupt. ]

Your fight with other Fuyumine not enough?

[Bringing up Magato makes her bristle, a frown marring her face. She's not even going to grace that with an answer.]

You're the best here.

[As if that explains everything.]

Why didn't you say anything?

[ a sore spot, then. he heard the gossip about her fight with magato—someone pulled a knife, and then both of them had blades, and he's slightly sorry he wasn't there to see it—and he doesn't really want to have one with her. heine shrugs vaguely. his automatic response is, ] I don't know.

[ more accurately, he doesn't like to talk about himself, let alone say something that might be beneficial to his reputation. ]

You seemed pretty set on beating the best pilot—whoever it was.

[The answer is unsatisfactory, and she's already heading over to the weapons rack, picking out two wooden staffs. Using those at least wouldn't get them in any trouble.]

That hasn't changed.

[She held out one of them to him, her face brooking no room for an argument.]

Or do you not waste time on people who make those boasts?

[Because she was ready to prove here and now that her words weren't empty.]

Whether or not it's a waste of time depends on them.

[ that's the only kind of challenge heine will give. he hesitates for a second longer, but takes the staff fuyumine is holding out to him. ]

Fine.

[ he backs up a few steps, moving to the center of the mats. he adjusts his stance and waits. if this is really what she wants, he'll take her up on it. maybe it'll discourage her from getting any deeper into this. ]

[Truly, Naoto is fine with shouldering the responsibility of her words, in proving that she has the skills and the drive to take her to the top.

Her expression doesn't waver when Rammsteiner takes the staff, though she nods a curt gesture in approval, eying him critically as he settled into his stance.

She waits a heartbeat, and then she's darting forward, quick and sure. If Rammsteiner's the best, there's no reason for her to hold back.]

[ she's faster than he expects, but for all his tendency to be a huge asshole, heine will take a challenge if he gets one, and he never underestimates someone's skill.

at her first attack, he blocks, going on the defensive at first to to get a feel for her strength and technique. heine moves fast but has more strength than his build suggests, though he doesn't advance just yet. ]

[Naoto hadn't expected to win, not really in her state, but it hadn't kept her from trying. It seemed that Heine's reputation of being the best wasn't one that was just for show. Despite his skinny frame and seemingly sluggish movements before, he was agile and surprisingly strong.

But he wasn't out of her league. She could catch up to him, one day. Just not today.

Her temper quelled and her breathing coming out in harsh pants, she stood down, expression clear and bordering on impressed.]

Not bad.

[ once she stands down, he does too, though with a few moments of lag time. he's breathing harder than he thought he would be—she's good. could be better, still, but he isn't the type to mention that. ]

I'm glad I have your approval.

[ he swipes the side of his face and lowers the staff. ]

Feeling better?

[Naoto had been heading back to return the staff to it's proper place when she heard the question, and she glanced back at him strangely. Had she been so obvious? And more to the point, she had thought Heine would neither have cared nor picked up on it. Naoto might have to have a serious word with whoever was writing the files on this base.

She didn't answer until the weapon was put away, debating on not saying anything at all, but she supposed she did owe him that at least considering she'd spent a considerable amount of time attacking him.]

Yes. [Then, awkwardly, the words a bit hesitant.] Thank you.

[She turned to face him fully, crossing her arms over her chest.]

Next time I'll be able to defeat you.

[ he doesn't expect the thanks, but he'll take it. heine nods, a bit awkwardly, and stands a few feet behind her. he has to put his weapon away too, but there's always that moment when two people try to do the same thing at the same time and he'd rather avoid that. ]

We'll see.

[ that said, it's not even as if he has much confidence in his own abilities. ]

Fuyumine. [ he remembers her name, at least, even though his pronunciation is probably abysmal. ] I'll see you around.

[Once she realizes she's standing in his way, she moves, heading back to the exit.

The nagging reminder that Rammsteiner has been rather accommodating to her, considering she had just taken out most of her anger on him. She turned back to him, considering.]

Were you going to go to the infirmary?

[Even after light sparring sessions she tended to go, mostly to make sure she hadn't done anything to her body she shouldn't have or to catch anything early. More than once she'd sparred with her sister and ended up with cracked ribs or swelling that she had been told to keep an eye on.]

No.

[ he answers the question like it's an utterly foreign concept to him. it kind of is, honestly. his family has left him with a somewhat unnecessary fear of doctors and the like. ]

You know where it is, right?

I do.

[That reaction is rather odd, though if she remembered correctly he had an aversion to the infirmary.

She tilted her head to the side, curious.]

Is there something about it I should be aware of?

[She had been there for her check in as well as after her fight with Magato and there hadn't been anything remiss.]

Not really.

[ he just doesn't want to go there, and indicates this by wiping his face again and starting to move towards the showers. being in medical areas, surrounded by the smells of disinfectant and clean gauze, reminds he too much of the hospital and... that woman. he'd rather not deal with it. ]

There's nothing wrong with it.

[Those words aren't exactly resounding, but Naoto supposed that he had been rather forthcoming beforehand so there was no reason to doubt him now.

She gave Rammsteiner a thoughtful look before shrugging slightly, turning back towards the exit.]

If you'll excuse me.

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god, he called for rain

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WELP missing an entire word in that last tag, sorry

no worries. o/ i've probably had a lot of typos too D:

TYPO PARTY

the best kind of parties to be honest

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sparring scene. let me know if i need to edit o/

WE ARE ALL GOOD :|b

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