#kibaru

[capriicant]

Kibaru isn't very polite

[myonbl]

2022年12月3日（土）

柳家三三が久しぶりに京都で独演会、早めのランチを＜KIBARU四条新町店＞ですませ、会場の＜ヒューリックホール京都＞へと向かう。場内は200人くらいだがもちろん満席、たっぷり3席を楽しんだ。新京極へと移動し、＜Kirin-City 新京極店＞でビール2杯、仕上げに＜林万昌堂＞で甘栗を土産に買って帰路についた。いやぁ、美味しく楽しい1日に大満足、体重増なんて気にしない（泣）。

6時起床。

卵とじうどん＋ヨーグルト＋豆乳。

日誌書く。

ツレアイは買物に、私は＜シモジマ五条店＞でMQJニュース発送用の封筒トラベルシールを購入する。

彼女は、新潟から来た友人と待ち合わせて芦屋のIさん宅へ。息子をAIDSで、夫を病気で亡くされて一人暮らし。近況を伺い、今後のサポートについて相談したようだ。

明日の発送作業に向けて、封筒に住所スタンプを押す。

さて柳家三三の独演会へ、当初はツレアイと行く予定だったが、彼女に別件がはいったために妙齢女子にお付き合いいただいた。

ランチはバスに乗るたびに気になっていたタンメンの店、醤油ベースに辛子味噌で味変。野菜たっぷりは嬉しいが、やはりタンメンは塩味の方がしっくりくる。

歩いてヒューリックホール京都まで移動、かつての立誠小学校跡地、もとの校舎は趣があったが、新しいホテルでガッカリ。

三三は三席、「牛ほめ」「二番煎じ」仲入り「明烏」。端正な語り口で聴きやすく、その上客を引き込む技術に長けている。

新京極まで戻って、サラダをつまみにビール2杯。

林万昌堂で土産に甘栗を買って阪急乗車、私は桂で下車、＜御膳＞で揚げ物買って帰宅する。

ツレアイが先に帰宅していたので、一緒に夕飯準備、息子たちにはスパークリングワイン、私たちは燗酒＋スペインワイン。

録画番組視聴。刑事コロンボ

(63)「4時02分の銃声」

何度見ても新しい！ミステリードラマの金字塔。ウィリアム・シャトナーは「ルーサン警部の犯罪」以来の出演。声は『スター・トレック』カーク船長でおなじみ矢島正明。 

 ラジオ番組の辛口コメンテーター、チェイスは、娘のビクトリアを溺愛していた。彼女の友人でチェイスの助手のジェリーはビクトリアを小説家として独り立ちさせようとするが、チェイスはそれを力づくで阻止する。ジェリーのせいで娘が自分のもとを離れてしまうことを恐れたチェイスは、ジェリーの殺害を計画。ジェリーが自宅で電話中に射殺されたという状況を作り上げる。

片付け、入浴、体重は700g増、自業自得也。

今夜も柳家小ゑんを聴きながら就寝、「ぐるんぐるん」。

無理なく3つのリング完成、水分は測らず。

[inuzukaakibaa]

Rogue SSV Normandy

It was worth it. The video was worth every single credit he was going to spend to free Haru from her debts. Kiba could absolutely not believe his luck. He could kiss the woman in front of him. Her mask would get in the way and he was certain she would shoot him, at least, but the sentiment was there. 

“You are officially my favorite Quarian--no--my favorite sentient being in the universe. I could kiss you, I could marry--”

“Hate to break up this scandalizing proposal and everything, but we have a job to do, Commander,” Garrus cut in smoothly and Kiba let out a dramatic sigh. 

“I am so grateful I have you on my crew now Haru, do you see how they treat me? They never let me have any fun, they don’t enjoy my entrancing good looks or my hilarious jokes or my charming personality--”

“I’ll shoot you, I swear I will.” 

“Who said I enjoy any of those things?” 

Kiba glared at Wrex  and Haru both but nodded his assent to actually get the mission at hand started. They didn’t get very far. Chora’s Den was utterly crowded, and though Kiba was sure not everyone in here was an upstanding citizens, he wasn’t about to fire off into a crowd of people. 

“We could come back during business hours,” he offers but he is reluctant. This is a prime opportunity to get this nasty business out of the way and move onto more important matters. Like finding Saren. Like figuring out what that thing was on Eden Prime. 

Thankfully, Haru had a perfectly well-executed plan. She had been right in telling him she was valuable. Garrus was good at planning and tactics but he had no sense of spontaneity and Wrex was more of a battering ram than a soldier. Haru though...she was crafty. Intelligent. Downright scrappy. She balanced them out nicely. 

 “Handsome, eh? I knew you appreciated my charms!” 

Kiba immediately dove into action, his team a cohesive unit behind him. He spared no thoughts or bullets for Fist’s henchmen but interrogated Fist fully before pulling the trigger on him as well. As a soldier, he was perfectly used to killing. He wasn’t even a stranger to assassination, but he really didn’t have the stomach for it. 

He would be drinking about this later. 

“One obstacle down, and we got some useful information out of it. Haru, I’ll meet you bright and early tomorrow morning at the docking station and we can,” he paused and glanced to his squad mates. Kiba really didn’t want them knowing that she was essentially a labor slave to debt. He wasn’t sure why but he had a nagging feeling that they would maybe respect her less and he couldn’t have that. Besides, it was her information to tell. He clears his throat, “we can take care of the other thing I owe you.” 

--------------------

True to his word, Kiba was right on time the next morning--alone. “The boys are on standby if we encounter any...trouble, but I don’t think their presence will be necessary.” 

It didn’t go over exactly as he had hoped--the party in question was happy to be paid but Haru was incredibly valuable and they kept trying to wriggle their way out of their contract. Kiba wasn’t having it. 

“If you don’t honor the deal you signed I will have every lawyer at my considerable disposable breathing down your neck within the hour, if I’m feeling generous. If not, I’ll just shoot you and the contract will be void anyway. Or you can just cooperate. Up to you, really.”

It went better after that. 

“You’re a free woman, Haru. How does it feel? The Normandy is your home now, if you still want to join us. I hope you haven’t changed your mind.” 

[inuzukaakibaa]

Rogue SSV Normandy

This was bullshit. 

Eden prime emptied of life and replaced with fucking robot-zombies. Dumbass Alenko had to go try and caress foreign technology and then it got Kiba instead when he tried to intervene and now he was having hallucinations of mass-murder. Great. Excellent, really. 

Now he was doomed to run around the Citadel, it was going on a month now, until he was able to prove that the Council’s favorite child had snuck out and needed to be grounded. It would probably also help the rapidly spreading rumors that he had lost his mind and needed to be diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. And, the cherry on top, he would be instated as the first human spectre.  

Honestly, Kiba didn’t exactly want to be a spectre. The idea of less red-tape certainly appealed to him, as did the shiny new armor and incredibly powerful weapons. They had interesting missions, at least from what he’d heard, and being the first human spectre was an honor. Still, there was no human on the Council and they are who he has to answer to; the thought makes him uncomfortable. 

He is perfectly fine with non-humans but nobody can ever accuse Kiba of being stupid and he knows they are not all okay with him. Frankly, this whole thing seems like a chess game between his superiors in the Alliance and the Council and he was not entirely thrilled at being a pawn. 

Kiba guessed that none of it mattered at the moment--the Council still didn’t believe him about Saren and until he could prove that he was a slimy traitor he wouldn’t be inducted anyway. Kiba was pissed that he had to get in the middle of what he felt were decidedly Turian affairs. He didn’t know why Saren had killed Nihlus in cold blood or what exactly he was up to and because he was technically still Alliance military this was so far out of his jurisdiction this investigation felt almost illegal. 

The Alliance had told him to jump, though, so he had shut his fucking mouth and jumped. 

Now he was being trailed by a Krogan (were they all that big?) and a Turian-gone-rogue from the police department (were they all that stuck-up?) and they were stuck with more leads and more questions and very few answers. That is, until he’s approached in a bar by a young Quarian and really, did they all wear suits like that? 

“Can I help you...?” “Haru. I certainly hope so, I know I can help you.”  Oh great. Did he look desperate enough to be attracting prostitutes now? He was about to turn her down, or maybe ask what she was offering--he never could tell what was going to come out of his mouth after a few drinks--when he noticed the pistol strapped to her hip. This just got a lot more interesting. 

“Alright, Haru, you have my attention. How can you help me?” 

It was extremely hard to read Quarian emotions because of their masks but he was fairly talented at reading body language, and he was sure that she seemed surprised. He knew Quarians weren’t exactly taken seriously, they didn’t have a council seat either. 

“I’ve been watching you, Commander Inuzuka, I know you’re after Saren and I know someone who’s trying to get in your way. He is, coincidentally, also trying to get in my way. I was going to trade the information you want to the Shadow Broker in exchange for safety but if you can offer me the same deal or something better, I see no reason why I can’t give it to you instead.”

It took everything Kiba had not to let his excitement show. If he acted desperate for the information she will be able to get a lot more out of this deal than him. Especially considering he didn’t know what the information was. 

“How good is this information?” “You want to be a spectre? You want to convince the Council that Saren has gone rouge? This will do it.” 

“Are you sure you’re not the Shadow Broker?” She certainly knew an awful lot, but he was just teasing. He was honestly rather impressed with her, she was nothing like the few other Quarians he had met. 

“Not yet, maybe someday,” she teased back and Kiba shot her a grin. 

“Alright, let’s play. What are your demands?”

“You’ll pay off my remaining gambling debts, leaving me free to leave this hell hole, and you kill Fist--this is honestly just doing yourself a favor, giving that he works for Saren. Then, when the Council orders you to go after Saren I want to join you. You clearly aren’t averse to working with non-humans, and I’m valuable.”

Kiba sized her up for a minute before nodding and thrusting out his hand to her. “You’ve got a deal, princess. Suit up, we have a job to do.”

At her slow blink, that he swore she managed to make sarcastic he sighed, “It’s a--figure of speech, I’m aware you’re already in a suit. Just be prepared. I’ll go get the others and meet you back here in an hour.” 

Thank God for women, they always show up at just the right time. 

[inuzukaakibaa]

DOSSIER: ARCHANGEL

Surprise, she says. It’s her alright. It smells like her, looks like her, and there are just things you can’t fake about a person. The look of recognition in her eyes. The stress in the lines of her body hidden by her rigid soldier’s posture. He would know if she was fake, if this isn’t real. He has a lot of questions about how that’s possible but he knows it’s her. 

Or maybe he would follow this human into hell even if he was sure she was a hallucination.

He pulls himself up and walks confidently up to her, grabbing her hand in his much larger one and briefly pressing his forehead to hers in a display of affection rare for him, but he can’t help himself. 

“Surprise, indeed. And, uh, yeah. Archangel. The residents of Omega’s doing. It’s--a long story. One I promise to tell you when we’re not being shot at by every pissed off merc on the planet. I’m sure you have a story or two for me too. I--”

Kiba’s visor started beeping and he swore, cocking his gun. “They’re breaching from the lower level. Commander I need you and...your team...to go shut and lock the doors back. Maybe kill a couple hundred people while you’re at it. You are so talented, after all.” 

Maybe he would survive this...him and Nara had gotten out of worse together. He had a renewed sense of energy after talking to her and he was determined to live through this encounter to hear how she had survived being spaced. His best friend here to save his ass once again. Unbelievable. Remarkable. A miracle. 

He’s starting to think maybe she was the angel. 

[inuzukaakibaa]

DOSSIER: ARCHANGEL

Every nerve in his body was screaming for rest. Kiba sank down against the wall for a three count of deep breaths before popping back up and firing off several shots into the mercs rushing in, determined to end his life. The situation was looking bleak; he had been living off stims and ration bars for days and he had managed to piss off every angry sonofabitch on Omega. 

When Kiba looked through his scope he almost laughed out loud. When had he been shot? Was he having a fever dream? Because there’s no way he’s seeing what he thinks he’s seeing. Shiny N7 armor on the familiar form of his old commander taking down his enemies left and right. Oh he was most certainly hallucinating. 

Kiba takes a deep breath and clips the armor of his imaginary commander but, to his surprise, the figure remained and was heading steadily towards him. 

This couldn’t be fucking real. 

He went to her funeral, mourned with the rest of her crew, and drank himself into a stupor damn near every night for a month over her loss. He had fought in honor of her and as he accepted his fate, had dedicated his death to her. 

And yet there she (seemingly) was outside his door just now. 

“Archangel?”

The coast was clear for now so he turned to look at the woman removing her helmet. He thought he was going to kill himself with as long as he held his breath before shakily replying. 

“Yeah,” Kiba pulled his own helmet off and stared his dead commander in the face, “but it’s still Kiba to you, Nara.”

[inuzukaakibaa]

Jesus Christ this girl is absolutely psychotic. "What the hell are you even talking about? When did I say anything about you sleeping with him--or anyone?"

"I said boyfriend it seemed obvious enough he has the hots for you. You can be disgusted because you hate him or whatever but I actually think--did you hit your head? Didn't know assuming you were in a monogamous relationship with someone was calling you a--what did you say? 'Walking fuck machine'? Just when I thought you were sane." 

Kiba hefts Haru higher up on his shoulder when she starts squirming before she causes herself to actually fall and injure herself further. 

He ignores her rancid attitude throughout the clinic visit, his spirits not easily dampened after a successful mission. He wouldn't have to deal with her after too long anyway. 

He'd be back on his own base waiting for departure information--hopefully he'd get some alone time with Ino. Maybe he could finally get her those rare flower seeds she'd been talking about. 

Then he's being yanked up by his collar by an absolutely pissed Shikamaru and at first Kiba is amused--he thinks it's pretty adorable how worried he is about his cousin's well-being. 

Then Shikamaru is screaming at him, calling him stupid and a bad leader, all of the things Shikamaru knows he's insecure about--he fucking knows--and Kiba has to stare at the wall behind Shikamaru to keep from attacking him. 

Kiba replies that Haru is right on instinct, shock still permeating though him, but when Shikamaru starts apologizing saying he listen to the dumbass ginger recruit of all people and then decided to attack him with hardly any information Kiba gets furious all over again. 

"Get your hands off me."

"Kiba--"

"Now or I remove them for you."

Shikamaru lets go of him and Kiba practically shoves him out of the way. 

"I hope all you fucking psychotic Nara's burn in hell. You're welcome for saving the brat's life by the way--next time I'll live her in a corner to get a bullet through the brain." 

Kiba storms out and removes himself as far as possible from any members of that god-forsaken family. 

[inuzukaakibaa]

Kiba takes a deep breath and then another. "I'm not going to punish you, you did what you had to do to save your comrade and neither one of you got killed in the process." 

He releases a frustrated sigh before he continues. "You just have to understand that I have to at least get onto you, alright? Even the best of calls that go against your CO get called out, right? Because you can't let soldiers get into that habit of going rogue all the time. Right call or not you get a slap on the wrist at least." 

Kiba doesn't stop moving when Nara's teammate runs up and starts trailing them like a love-sick puppy. What, was she fucking him too? Well, that's one way to get your teammates to like you, he guessed. 

He pays little heed to the conversation besides the fact that the ginger is annoying and persistent. Now really isn't the time for a chat or for banter or is he too stupid to figure that out?

Kiba snorts when he brags about taking out the Oto soldiers, he's extremely doubtful which would have been apparent if either on of them could see his face. 

"You're even mean when you flirt, huh? That's interesting I guess some people like that. Didn't know dead bodies riled your boyfriend up though. Pretty gross."

Kiba hefts her up into his hands and deposits her gently (enough) onto the bed when they reach the clinic. 

"We've got a bullet wound over here and strained biotics, if you're all too busy them somebody toss me a med-kit and a rag and I'll do it myself."

Kiba is relieved to see Sakura, best medic of his grade, walking towards them. "That won't be necessary, Kiba. Let the professionals handle it before you damage the poor girl for life."

"Aw, come on Sakura, you know there's only one way I like to ruin girls for life and it's completely harmless." 

"You're a pig. A cute pig--but a pig." 

"And here I thought I was a dog. What a disappointment to be downgraded once again."

Kiba settles himself into a chair next to Haru's bed and starts casually flipping through her file quickly snatched from where Sakura had set it down. 

"You sure do get burn-outs a lot. Ever think about upgrading?"