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Jeanne d'Arc      The Nakamura household is... well, it's actually quite large for a Japanese home.

     It is well-kept on the outside, with small green patches on the front; there is probably a back yard area, knowing Shizune's own martial arts talents must be practice as well as Jeannes' swordsmanship, not to mention both of them seem to like greenery. Can't exactly blame them for that, though. It is also traditional style-Japanese housing, rather than Westernized.

     Jeanne herself is currently at home. She hasn't really kept track of the date, aside from vaguely being aware that is that vague period that she was told is her birthday, according to her parents, at some point. Instead, she's happily bustling about in the kitchen. She got hungry. This is dangerous for Shizunes' budget. The kitchen window is open so the Servants' soft humming can be heard. Well, she's definitely home. That answers that question!
Hoshi Amakasu     Unbeknownced to Jeanne, Hoshi had discovered some important information about the Servant, and she'd acted accordingly. As the kendo girl makes her way up to the door, she can't help but smile happily at the appearance of a true Japanese-style living space, like she'd used to live in. She's wearing some pretty casual winter stuff, black leggings under a longer skirt, a grey long-sleeve shirt and a nice thick blue winter parka. Hearing Jeanne speeds her up to press the doorbell, carefully adjusting the bow-tied box behind her back while she waited.

    The moment Jeanne opens the door, Hoshi springs forward, grinning broadly and holding out the box. It's actually kind of cold when she presses it into Jeanne's hands. "Happy birthday," she trumpets happily.
Jeanne d'Arc      "Coming!" Jeanne chirps at the doorbell.

     She opens the door to find... Hoshi. Holding a box. Wishing her happy birthday? Jeanne pauses, blinks a few times, leans back to check a calender, then leans forward again, staring down at the gift. Then back at Hoshi, before her confused look blossoms into a full on smile, before she steps back. "Please, come in." She invites properly.

     She waits for Hoshi to get situated, including an offer to take the parka so it can be hung up, before leading the way into the living area. The TV is on, but the table in the living room (kotatsu, more than likely ... Japan does get a touch cold.) On the table are several things - the books Hoshi gave her to keep her learning. A pair of Bibles, in both Japanese and Welsh (thanks, Bedivere), a delicate rosary, and a empty plate of what was probably food shortly ago.

     "I ... thank you, Hoshi. For the gift and the coming over. I don't really..." She trails off, allowing the other to finish the sentence in her head. She does not immediately rip into the present.
Hoshi Amakasu     Hoshi waits with a big grin on her face while Jeanne tries to figure out what was happening here. Surprising her had been a great idea. When invited, she steps through the doorway quickly with a relieved sound. "Ahh, it feels nice to be inside. Thanks, Jeanne." Once her coat is taken, she goes to the table and carefully sets some of the books and Bibles aside--not on the ground--and gets herself comfortable.

    "I'm glad you're still working on those primers," Hosi notes, grinning. "You should come over more often so I can help out." She nods at the thanks and waves off the rest. "Of course I came. I get that you don't really celebrate, but you're important to me. So, I figured... Anyway. I think you'll really like this present."

    Underneath the box and bow is a cake! Or, more specifically, a chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream cake. It's the smaller, personal type, but it's been decorated with delicate yellow and silver flowers made of frosting, along with a strawberry jam letting reading 'Happy Birthday Jeanne'. "It's a little too sweet for me, but I thought maybe you and Ms. Nakamura would like it a lot," Hoshi explains. Her cheeks are flushed light red.
Jeanne d'Arc      Jeanne breaks into the box with good cheer. She stares at the present inside for a bit, before she places what it is. She's seen these before, even if she's never actually had one. She looks down at the box, then over at Hoshi, before she carefully sets it down, wondering a little at the happy birthday message. It's very sweet. It's a lovely gift for Jeanne, who has acquired a bit of a sweet tooth in her time in the multiverse.

     "Ahhh... thank you, Hoshi. Are you sure you don't wish to have a bit of it with me? I know you said it's too sweet, but I do so enjoy sharing with my friends..." Jeanne has a very big heart.

     There's a long pause; "If not, will you accept a hug?"
Hoshi Amakasu     It's with a satisfied look that Hoshi gets to watch Jeanne open up her present and come to terms with what it was, and when Jeanne looks up to thank her she smiles widely. "You're welcome. I guess I could probably have a little bit. I thought you'd want to share it with Ms. Nakamura instead..." Pause, blink. "Where is Ms. Nakamura, anyway? Are you here alone?"

    Jeanne's second offering makes Hoshi sputter for a moment as she rubs the side of her head. "I... Guess that would work too..." She slowly tilts her head. "Uh... A-ainsley ended up reminding me about your birthday..." Why does it feel so weird? Hoshi's cheeks go fuller as she tries to keep herself in check.
Jeanne d'Arc      "Yes, I'm here alone, but I have a routine I follow. Master is out at the dojo, she should be home soon, though, I think. Some type of emergency, maybe? Not that big, though, if she hasn't let me know any real details. Probably just helping out, really." Jeanne then blinks a couple of times.

     "Ainsley... how did my birthday even come up?" Confused Saber is confused.
Hoshi Amakasu     Well, it makes sense. Her parents had left her at home alone before. Hoshi accepts the explaination with a nod as she starts getting up. "Here, let's get plates and silverware. I bought it from that same shop that we went to last time at the mall, so it's probably pretty good." She doesn't add the quiet 'hopefully' wandering in her brain.

    How /did/ Jeanne's birthday come up. "Well, I think she's doing random Earth facts on the moderated band, and she mentioned it. As soon as I heard I had to go for a present." She chuckles a bit as she starts heading towards the kitchen. "I'm really glad, though. I got to come and visit you, and bring you a--..." Pause. Slowly, "Er... Speaking of presents. Did you... get my Christmas gift?" She lifts her left hand to show Jeanne the ring snugly fit on her ring finger.
Jeanne d'Arc      Jeanne is also technically older than Hoshi. (If we're getting into technicalities-- well, lets not get into it.) She moves to her feet at Hoshi's suggestion, nodding. "Yes! We will save part of this fror myself and Master later. Thank you, again, Hoshi." She gets out two plates and the silverware, offering a knife as well to cut the cake to Hoshi, while she finds a sturdier storage container for the cake than the transportable box.

     At the question though, she pauses, and smiles.

     "Oh, yes, of course you would notice. I use my hands too much so... I compromised." She lifts ahand to her neck then draws out a fine chain, on which rests both a lovely golden cross- her gift from Arturia, and of course, the ring. Closert to her heart that way, one might argue.
Hoshi Amakasu      Hoshi, of course, does her best to aid the Servant in whatever way she can, and she grins at the thanks while nodding. She takes a pretty small cut of the cake when they get back to the table and puts a bit of it in her mouth. The sweetness hits her immediately, making Hoshi's face twitch, but she still chews and swallows. "Ah... Yeah, it's not so bad, right?"

    A look of relief immediately comes to Hoshi's face as soon as Jeanne shows her the ring. "I was worried you wouldn't like it," she admits quietly. "The chain and cross look really good too... Though I'm not sure if it's important enough to be on that kind of necklace."
Jeanne d'Arc      Jeanne gets herself a piece, then puts the cake up for later.

     She then joins Hoshi down at the table, giving her head a shake at the statement. "It's important enough to me, and that is all that matters." That very soft statement said, she bites down on her ice cream cake, and hums in delight.
Hoshi Amakasu     It takes Hoshi a few minutes to finish up even the little piece that she took, but she's done in time to be able to watch Jeanne. Important enough for her, huh...? For a few moment, Hoshi stays still and silent as Jeanne gets to eat.

    Then, quite suddenly, Hoshi has brought herself over to Jeanne's side, and she's trying to pull Jeanne into a tight hug against her chest. "Ah... Thank you. You're super important to me, to, that's why I... Thank you, Jeanne. For everything."
Jeanne d'Arc      Jeanne goes 'uwah' in surprise.

     That's at the hug, that is. There's a second 'uwah' noise for the words.

     Finally, however, Jeanne just... returns the hug, holding the other girl as tightly yet politely as possible as it is to possibly get without it getting weird. It may already be too late for that. After a couple of minutes she remarks, softly, her French accent heavy, "I... thank you, Hoshi. You're important to me too, and ... well... the ring is closer to my heart on the chain, I suppose, which is ... dorky, I think someone would put it, but... that is it."
Hoshi Amakasu     Arms wrapped tightly around Jeanne's shoulders, Hoshi clenches her eyes shut for a moment when she realizes what she's doing. That said, she found that she didn't really want to let go, either. That said, when Jeanne's finished talking, Hoshi slowly lets go and smiles shyly to her friend. "It's not dorky, I don't think. I'm grateful." She does, after all, have a locket with her kendo club's picture in it, after all.

    Slowly, Hoshi goes to withdraw back to her side of the table, blushing brightly. "Who, ah... Heh. Who would've thought that this would end up happening, huh? THe Multiverse is so strange."
Jeanne d'Arc Hoshi's blush is matched by Jeannes'.

     "Ah... not me." She admits. "I kind ... you know, expected to ... go through my execution and ... go to Heaven but instead I ended up in the Holy Grail Wars. So... my life has been very unusual. What's some more unusualness in it? Nothing that matters to me. I'm happy here, right now. I have a fight worth fighting for. I have people worth fighting for. I have ... I have a family again."

     Jeanne's blush intensifies and she ducks her head, biting down more on her ice cream cake.
Hoshi Amakasu      Yeah, the Multiverse was so freaking strange. And mysterious, maybe in the same way a deity was supposed to be. Suddenly being thrust into strange circumstances that required meeting the friends that she had to survive. It'd led her to Jeanne and her friends. "Yeah," Hoshi says quietly with a small smile. "Honestly I don't think I could go back to the days before, either. I'd have never met you, first off, or figured out I l--"

    Freeze. Hoshi stops what she was saying with huge eyes. Slip of the tongue, maybe, but-- "F-f-figured out I like, uh... Like the Union! And fighting with everyone and my Persona! It's a lot more action packed. It's cool!" It's clear that she's backpedalling, but she needs to figure out what her stupid brain was trying to say!
Jeanne d'Arc      Jeanne d'Arc is, unfortunately for Hoshi, not a stupid woman.

     Her own violet eyes widen slightly as she catches Hoshi's backpedal. "Well, I like the union too, and interacting with everyone!" She agrees, clearly trying to help Hoshi out here.
Shizune Nakamura     Clunk.

    That's the sound of the door closing.

    Which means it's been open. It's hard to say how long.

    But there's Shizune, stepping out of her shoes and setting aside her handbag, still wearing her dojo uniform. "Ah, sorry I couldn't be here! Sensei needed some help dealing with a few things. Nakamura Shizune," she adds, offering Hoshi a formal bow. "It's good to meet you, and welcome to our home."

    With that she's already on a beeline towards the kitchen. "Honestly, some of our students. They really need to learn to be more honest with their feelings." Is that a glance over her shoulder? Naaah.
Hoshi Amakasu     Desperately scouring her brain for answers, Hoshi is grateful that Jeanne is helping to back her up, while simultaniously /not/ feeling grateful. What was this crazy ride, anyway?! A couple deep breaths slowly starts bringing Hoshi's heart out of the freefalling stall it'd been in for a couple seconds, there--and then she hears the door closing. THe kendo girl whips around immediately to face the newcomer. Her face is set aflame as she bows on her knees, with as much respect as she can muster. "I_it's okay, Ms. Nakamura! I'm glad to meet you, Ms. Nakamura. Ah, there's some chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream cake for you."

    Hoshi doesn't move from the position, but she's not a complete idiot. She catches the hints that the other woman is dropping. She takes a long swallow before speaking. "Ah... W-well, maybe I ought to go back home, Ms. Nakamura, Jeanne. Or to Hikari. One or the other..."
Jeanne d'Arc      Hoshi bows from her knees, but Jeanne bounces to her feet, dropping a bow to Shizune in greeting. That done, she beams at her master, well aware of the slight scold in her voice. "E-ehhh, hello, Master! She brought me ice cream cake for my birthday!" Yes, Jeanne is genuinely happy about that. She pauses, and laces her hands together. "Would you like some?" She things to invite. Yes, good. She's good at this.

     She sends a silent prayer.

     "You only just got here..." She says, in very very slight confusion. "I ... I mean, if you have to go, that's okay, but..." Jeanne, do not make the puppy dog eyes. Do not make the puppy dog eyes. Good. You didn't.
Shizune Nakamura     Still going through cupboards, the martial artist calls over her shoulder, "Ah, no, but thank you for offering, Jeanne. And please, Shizune is fine." Hearing Hoshi, however, this time Shizune does turn around. "No, it's quite alright if you'd like to stay a bit longer. In fact, would you like some tea or something like that?" She's already fixing some for herself, after all.
Hoshi Amakasu     Well... shit. Hoshi had been planning to beat a hasty retreat and figure out what was going on in her brain, but Jeanne's pitiful insistence compiled with Shizune's leaves Hoshi nailed to the floor. One can almost see the tears of helplessness stream down her face as she slowly turns to face the table again. "Y-yeah... I guess I did only come a little bit ago. T-tea? Sure, green if you have it please..."

    Well, if she was going to stay here, she needed a topic. "So... Y-you're Jeanne's Master, Ms. Nakamura, but what exactly is that like? I've... never actually asked." Of course she brought up Jeanne again, but this was a relatively safe level of inquiry.
Jeanne d'Arc      "Do you want the story of how it happened, too? Because it's funny. Jack declared us grail-married."

     Jeanne still fondly remembers her first radio conversation.

     She takes her seat again, going back to her ice cream cake. "Honestly, I'm ... well, on my end, Shizune is why I'm still here. Along with actual food, she's feeding me magical energy so I can fight in the war." Nom cake.
Shizune Nakamura     Grail-married. Now that's a phrase that makes Shizune giggle softly. "Ah, Jack. She's a good person." With water heating, Shizune has a moment to turn and talk, leaning on the counter. "Well, if you mean what it's like to be a Master in general..." She reaches up and turns a small ring on her left hand, and a minor illusion is shut off - revealing a red Command Seal on the back of her hand, in the shape of a stylized yin-yang symbol. "I have a mystical link to Jeanne, across which I'm transferring my lifeforce almost constantly. I've got a very healthy ki, so it's not a burden on me, but I do notice it. I've also occasionally tapped into her dreams, and she mine, but I'm told that's normal for Masters. If you mean her in specific as my Servant?"

    Shizune smiles, then turns to start pouring tea. "She's been very dutiful, helpful and caring. When Akita was under attack, she stood beside me without hesitating. I couldn't have asked for a better Servant, and I've come to consider her a sister."
Hoshi Amakasu     Grail-married, huh? From what she knew of the Grail War, it was a pretty apt title. Still, Hoshi can feel a small downward twitching on her lips. She quickly uses the back of her hand to knock it out. "Well, you can tell me about how, too, if you want." Though she wasn't entirely sure who Jack was. Somebody she hadn't spoken to yet, certainly.

    When the COmmand Seal is revealed, Hoshi comes closer to check it out. "Ohhh... Man, that looks really cool, Ms. Nakamura." She goes silent as Shizune describes the effects of the linking between the two, nodding occaisonally. It sounded similar to the link between her and Rosamond, albiet clearly different.

    For a moment, she can feel her mind drifting, thinking about what would happen if she tried to summon her Persona while having a Servant, but that leads to a guilty glance at Jeanne that quickly snaps away.

    The rest sounds like the Jeanne Hoshi knew, and suddenly she realizes she has a shot. "Yeah, Jeanne is really cool. She helped out in the Mirror Forest even though she didn't know Kohler and I..." There's a big smile on her face when she turns to look at Jeanne.
Jeanne d'Arc      "Sabers... we're considered the most powerful class, so... I think, in respect for that, we require a lot of the energy. I don't want to kill Shizune after all by sapping her energy." Jeanne explains quietly. Her face has steadily been growing redder and redder the entire time though and by the time Hoshi turns to look at her the poor saint has practically gone cherry colored, biting her bottom lip as she splutters out a series of words that may or may not be completely coherent.

     (They're not. She's bad at this.)

     "I, wh- bu-"
Shizune Nakamura     One, two, three cups of green tea are set out once Hoshi has satisfied her curiosity (which Shizune doesn't seem to mind one bit), and before the martial artist sits down, she reaches out and sets a reassuring hand on Jeanne's shoulder - both to cover her concerns and to divert her attention from being so bashful. "I've got a lot of energy spare. Don't hold back if you need to go all out." Then she takes a seat, crossing one leg over the other. "As for the 'how', it's not the most pleasant tale, I admit. Jeanne's previous Master was killed by a rival, and I was there at the request of another Servant from the same team as Jeanne. That's Jack, Servant Assassin." With that bit of context it's probably not hard to guess what 'Jack' is being talked about. "So I took on the role for her."
Hoshi Amakasu     The kendo girl finds herself nodding with Jeanne. It's not surprising, and she knows how exhausted she can be after a fight using Rosamond. As Jeanne's face turns redder, Hoshi finds herself a little more in control. Seeing her sputtering brings a sly grin to her face. She happens to remember another time she'd seen Jeanne get crazy flustered.

    With a cup in front of her, Hoshi takes it up and starts blowing at the steaming liquid. Her eyes go to Shizune as she takes a contemplative sip that scalds her lips and tongue. Was she... okay with this? Why? More than that, she'd implied encouragement! What was her game? "That... is unfortunate, yeah. Thank you for taking care of her, Ms. Nakamura. You took up something good. It's honorable." And, now she knows who Jack is! So that's good there.
Jeanne d'Arc      "My grail war is ... unusual, slightly, because instead of seven servants fighting for the grail war, we've got fourteen, two of each class, split into two factions. Kind of like the Union and the Confederacy is, with the black faction - that being mine, it's why I'm Saber of Black, generally being the 'good' faction, and the Red Faction being 'bad', but I don't think that's a good word for it." Jeanne says primly. At the pat from Shizune she gives her master a smile.

     "Hey..." She protests gently. "I didn't... I wouldn't be here without Shizune, so really, yes, please be thanking her." She says a touch hastily. "Um... It's easy to be a good thing when I'm surrounded by great people." Yeah, that works.
Shizune Nakamura     Shizune takes a sip of her tea, then sets it down, inclining her head slightly. "There's entirely too little good in this world, I think. When opportunities to preserve it come up, I take them without looking back. That's probably the main reason I did student council, looking back. I knew I could, and I knew I could put the position to work for the good of the school."

    She practically glows under Hoshi's thanks and Jeanne's praise, but she doesn't let it fluster her. "It's a group effort, really. All of us working together do great things that none of us could accomplish on our own. I'm just proud to be a part of it, and glad to see the people I care for happy."
Hoshi Amakasu      Fourteen? Holy crap. Fourteen powerful beings like Jeanne? "I'd always wondered why you guys referred to yourself with the title," Hoshi says faintly. "Wait, what about Ms. Germanicus? Isn't she the Red Saber?" She seems to not have a clear understanding of how many different Servants existed within the Multiverse.

    Flashing a grin over to Jeanne, Hoshi says, "You're probably right, but that doesn't make you any less awesome either, y'know." And she's apparently well paired-off with Shizune. The two are happy and in sync. There's a couple errant twiches at her lips.

    Shizune's got the right of it, though. "Groups of friends working out problems together. After I'd moved to Germany, I was pretty sure that was never going to happen again. I'm really glad I've found it with everyone here." Maybe... Maybe it wasn't just a good idea. Hoshi feels twinges of guilt as she takes several sips of her tea. "Speaking of group efforts, uh. We have a healer in Die Reisenden now. She has a Persona for it. I think we're about as prepared as we can be for stuff happening. Which is good, because the Shadows in there... sometimes it seems they get ansty and fighty."
Jeanne d'Arc      "It's... confusing. To be honest, I am not entirely sure of the make up of most of the teams in our Grail War, just ... that we're in and out of the Multiverse." Jeanne shrugs with a sigh. "Due to the multiple worlds thing, there can be multiple Grail Wars, which is why we have like seven Sabers and so on. I'm ... dreadfully honest that we're all not fighting for teh same Grail, to be honest."

     "That's good! I am glad things are going well for you in the Mirrored Forest. I am at your call if you ever need me, know that, de--" Jeanne pauses, and doesn't finish her phrase.
Shizune Nakamura     "A healer?" Shizune's perked up a bit at that. "That's good. We don't have nearly enough of those around. They can really make a difference in a conflict." She takes another sip of her tea, then leans back in her seat a bit, looking between Jeanne and Hoshi briefly. "I wish my students were getting things together so well. We've got a couple who haven't realized they're a couple yet, they're totally hung up on each other. It's kind of adorable, but at the same time they're so worried about each other, and whether they should confess, or a dozen other things like that, they're getting distracted in sparring and getting knocked on their backsides. I can't just tell them to get together, of course, so I'm trying to encourage them to be honest about their feelings, to themselves if nothing else. Any outcome is better than constantly worrying about it and doubting themselves, after all."

    Teasip.
Hoshi Amakasu     Secretly in her head, Hoshi is debating many things. Whether she should leave. The things she'd been saying. Jeanne. Mostly, it was about her. What had the saint been about to say, anyway?... Still, she's actually doing pretty well at keeping herself under control. She could probably keep this up until she left, so all she has to do is avoid saying any more stupid things, and she'd be...

    Ruined. Utterly ruined. As Shizune goes on to explain her 'students' and their actions, Hoshi's eyes slowly go wide, and her mouth drops open. She can't even bear to look at Jeanne now, with the huge blush on her face. Why was she...!? Hoshi tries to speak, but can't as Shizune goes on. Why!? What does she even say right now? "I... I should go to Hikari. I promised to spend some time with the girls. Uh, Jeanne! Feel free to come visit. It's pretty." She's up on her feet, going for her parka. "I'm very grateful for the tea! And the hospitality! And the stories!" Deeeep bow. "Very grateful!"
Jeanne d'Arc      Shizune tells her story. Jeanne doesn't need any lessons to figure out what she's going on about, and Jeanne's gaze drops to the floor just outside of Hoshi's knee. It stays there. It's safer that way, even though her blush can be seen all the way in Njorun. When Hoshi bolts, however, Jeanne doesn't really protest. She figures this probably would happen; after all, she knows how polite Hoshi is, and she doesn't want to push her. She waits precisely five seconds to hear the door close, before she looks at the cushion where Hoshi was sitting.

     "... but I like you. Don't go." She says to the air, her hand coming to play with the other half of the ring resting on her chest on her necklace. "Um... thank you, Shizune. I think Hoshi and I need to have a talk. I also think I need to go ... do some exercises and clear my head."

     Jeanne goes to bail too, but the opposite way of Hoshi.
Shizune Nakamura     There's one last sip of Shizune's tea.

    "I wasn't making it up, by the by. I really did have to deal with that issue today. It was Yamada and Aoki." Both of whom are students Jeanne will have met.

    However, the tea has been finished. "Ah, but I should work on dinner. Both of you be careful, alright? If you need a ride home, the Union will provide you a shuttle, I'm fairly sure," she adds towards Hoshi. "And you're welcome in this apartment any time."