My USM One Shot Thread with Summer Update

[Hoitash]

Part V:

Dave reappeared as Will resumed his seat, and once again everyone set down to eat, though much slower than they had at dinner. Conversation was also much more muted, mostly consisting of Misha and Will trying to weasel the recipe out of Dave, who refused to say anything except to tell off the dogs for once again peering in on the group.

By the time they had finished dessert and cleared the table, the sun had fully set, the stars shining high above while fireflies blinked along the grass. Misha, used to the ambient light of the city after several years in New York, gazed up a the starry sky in awe.

“Just like at Yamaku~…” she mumbled.

Will glanced up, “Yeah, that is one of the nice things about being out here –ambient light can suck a duck.”

Henry nodded, “Worse than the smoke from the mines. Oh, Dave, is it time to blow shit up yet?”

Dave, lighting an already clipped cigar he pulled from his pocket, grinned and nodded, “Hells yes it is! I got enough explosives to flatten an African village!”

Will raised an eyebrow at him, “Oh do you?”

Dave snorted and shoved the cigar between his teeth, “Dude, I got bottle rockets, cluster rockets, homemade rockets, fountains, mortars up the ass, spinners, sharp knives, and big sticks!”

Will smirked and sipped his beer, “Ah, but do you have a phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range?”

Dave rolled his eyes, “Dork.”

“Hey you made the first reference.”

“Yeah but I live here. I’ll go grab the booze and the explosives. Henry, could you light the mosquito repelling stuff? I can see them buzzin’ around with the fireflies.”

Henry nodded, “It’ll cost you a cigar.”

“I’ll grab a bucket and some water,” Will added.

“I’ll go pet the dogs,” Misha declared.

“I’ll… check the chairs, I guess,” Lynda concluded.

Everyone left the table to prepare for the night ahead. Misha didn’t have to go far to pet the dogs, as they had kept close to the deck and quickly swarmed her. Taking a step back, she calmed down when Jenny, still in her last position next to the steps, growled the pack into obedience.

Lynda watched the scene from the fire pit, the chairs set up in a row in front of the area prepared ahead for the fireworks. Henry wove around the blinking fireflies to light the candles, lanterns, and coils. Will hefted a mostly full bucket of water next to one of the polls holding a lantern, then took a seat in one of the chairs.

“So Misha,” he called, “You excited for the show?”

Misha, still petting the dogs, nodded, “Uh-huh~! Can’t wait. Hey, I already pet you!”

Henry appeared from the house first, lit cigar in his mouth and holding a milk crate perched on a pack of bottled water. The milk crate held several small mason jars filled with a clear liquid that smelled oddly of turpentine. Dave followed close behind, his back loaded with large rockets tied together, and several large canvas bags held in each hand. When he descended the deck’s stairs he helped scatter the dogs, freeing Misha to follow him and Henry.

Lynda sighed as she watched Dave set the fireworks down a safe distance from the detonation zone and any of the mosquito repelling equipment.

“You better not set your hair on fire again,” she grumbled.

Dave shrugged, clearly willing to except the risk, “Alright folks, this,” he pointed from one pole to the last one in the line, “is the fire zone. It is called that because if you enter it when not setting off fireworks, you will get set on fire. Speaking of which, I bought plenty of sparklers and matches, so go nuts.”

“Ooh!” Misha bounded over to Will, “sparkler duel me! I’ll avenge the chicken’s honor!”

Will grinned, “You’re on. Dave, bring on the sparklers! Henry, moonshine!”

“Yes my liege,” Henry handed everyone except Lynda one of the mason jars, “hopefully this stuff if smoother this time.”

Lynda snorted, “Knowing Jim Bob it’s probably worse.”

“So who wants to drink first?” Dave asked as he took his jar.

Misha raised her hand, “I’ll do it!”

Dave raised his jar in salute, “Have at it.”

Misha carefully opened the jar, bringing it close to her nose and taking a long sniff.

“Ugh,” she grunted, “It smells like Lynda’s paint stripper.”

“No that’s what it tastes like,” Will corrected her.

Misha swallowed, staring the drink down. After a few silent moments except for the bellows of distant frogs, she raised the jar and took a long pull, only stopping to breath and cough.

“It does taste like paint stripper!” she groaned, “Also why am I cross-eyed?”

“Blink a few times,” Dave said, “anyway, I’m gonna set up the first salvo, everyone settle in and enjoy the night.”

While Misha recovered from the moonshine, Will grabbed a box of sparklers and a matchbox. After pulling out two of the sparklers, he walked over to Misha, holding out one for her to take.

“Let’s do this,” he said.

Misha, after shaking her head like a wet dog to clear her vision, grabbed the sparkler with her free hand, “Light me.”

Will grinned as he placed the sparkler between his teeth so he could light a match, “I’ll warn you now: I’ve been trained in your Jedi arts by Count Dooku.”

Misha grinned and readied her sparkler, “Really~? I trained the man who killed him.”

Will blinked, “You read the book?”

Misha nodded.

Dave sighed and muttered under his breath, “I forgot what a bunch of nerds you guys were.”

Lynda, after making sure the two didn’t set each other on fire, grabbed a box of sparklers for herself, Henry doing the same. While Misha and Will dueled to the emptiness of the box, Henry and Lynda settled for swirling their sparklers around to make various patterns, entering an unspoken contest as Lynda formed various Cyrillic letters and Henry every Kanji he could remember.

Will and Misha’s duel ended a few moments before Dave finished setting up the first round of fireworks. Before the two could start another match, he shouted to get their attention.

“Attention nerds!” he barked from the fire zone, “The first show of the night is ready! Prepare yourselves!”

The four quickly took their seats to watch the show, the fire zone now loaded with variously sized rockets, mortar launchers, and fountains. At the sight of the fountains Lynda raised her hand.

“You didn’t get any screamers did you?”

“Nope!” Dave replied, “Thanks for the heads-up about her inner-ear. The rockets might be a bit loud, though.”

“I’ll be fine!” Misha, declared, downing the rest of her moonshine.

Lynda sighed, “Oh dear.”

“She’ll be fine,” Will said, “Probably.”

Lynda sighed again.

“Everyone ready?” Dave asked.

“Light ‘em up!” Henry called.

Dave grinned and readied a match, “Fire in the hole, bitches!”

[Hoitash]

Part VI:

Dave lit the match and proceeded to light the array of fuses, doing so in a pattern that made Will and Misha dizzy. When he finished he took a step back and covered both ears. Misha did the same.

The bottle rockets went first, their brief bursts of color and noise heralding a swift salvo of many more. When the combination of bottle and cluster rockets just started to fizzle, the large, homemade rocks flew, their colors so bright and vibrant Misha had to blink to clear her vision. Once the rockets died the mortars opened fire, their colors a fresh wave of brilliance under the night sky. Then the fountains hissed to life, accompanying the mortar salvos if occasionally blazing brighter.

Eventually the display ended. Dave, stepping through the haze of smoke, grinned at the others as they started applauding.

“Thank you, thank you. Misha, wanna go next? I can give you a hand if you like.”

Misha grinned and hopped up, “Yay~! Do you have more fountains?”

Dave grinned. By the time Misha had bounded over he had pulled out three massive fountains, each nearly the size of her leg.

“Wow~!” Misha exclaimed, “Where did you find these?”

Dave shrugged, “I know a guy.”

Misha carefully lined the fountains so that they would hopefully chain when she lit the first one. Lighting a match, she carefully lit the middle fountain, which managed to start the other two. Stepping back a pace, she stumbled a bit when Dave dragged her farther away, just in time to avoid the first fountain’s sparks.

“You okay?” Lynda asked.

“I’m fine!” Misha declared, “Thanks Dave!”

“Like I said, safety first.”

When the three fountains fizzled out Misha resumed her seat, emptying a bottled water.

“Holy shit,” Lynda muttered, “You got any more of those?”

Dave leaned over the bags, “I have… five more of those and another dozen of the big rockets. You wanna go next?”

“Sure,” Lynda eased herself up and entered the fire zone.

Lynda paired several smaller fountains with a rocket salvo, lighting the fountains first and waiting until they died before unleashing the rockets. The quick launch concluded, Lynda grabbed a bottled water and eased into Misha’s lap.

Misha raised an eyebrow as Lynda wrapped her arms around the brunette’s neck, “Hi.”

Lynda grinned and rubbed her nose against Misha’s, “Hi. Having fun?”

Misha nodded, “Yep! Although I can’t tell if it’s the smoke or the alcohol making my vision blurry.”

“Probably both,” Lynda replied, “honestly I’, just glad you’re still awake.”

Misha grinned, slipping into Japanese as she said, “I had a lot~ of coffee with dessert.”

Dave observed the two while Will approached for his turn, “Lynda looks happy.”

Will glanced at the two, “They both do. Now show me the mortars.”

Will forewent fountains for a plethora of bottle rockets, cluster rockets, and mortars, firing off a swarming mess of color that made up for lack of coordination with sheer brilliance.

Henry chose a different tact, firing off brief bursts of cluster rockets accompanied by fountains and bottle rockets. After Henry finished Dave looked through the remaining fireworks.

Both men took their time selecting their fireworks, setting them, and in used quite a fe win the process as well. As the night wore on Misha’s resolve wavered, and she found herself only kept awake by the comforting warmth of Lynda and the noisy bursts of rockets.

“How’s the stock looking?” Will asked.

“Looks like it’s time for the Grand Finale,” he replied, “this might take me a moment to set up.”

While Dave prepared the final salvo, Lynda cuddled closer to Misha, who’s eyes started drooping until Lynda gave her a gentle squeeze.

“Almost done,” Lynda told her, “and then we can find a nice corner of the floor to sleep, okay?”

Misha smiled, replying in Japanese, “Sounds nice~.”

“I have sleeping bags for you guys,” Dave said while he fiddled with some fuses.

“Thanks,” Henry said, “we’ll get outta your hair as soon as we can tomorrow.”

Will sighed, “Gonna be a long drive back.”

Henry nodded, “Yeah,” glancing at Lynda and Misha, he added, “You two okay?”

Lynda nodded, “Yup. I think the moonshine hit Misha’s language center.”

Misha giggled, “Did not! I’m just tired.”

Lynda smiled, “Thanks for sticking it out.”

“I’m having fun,” she declared, “Thanks for helping to make this happen. Thank you Dave for having us over and having fireworks!”

“No problem!” Dave called back. Twisting two fuses together he grinned and spat the remains of his cigar into the water bucket, “Alright, you guys ready? It’s been a fun night, but it’s time to bring it home.”

“Light it up!” Will called.

“Yeah!” Misha cheered.

Dave grinned and readied his matches.

[Hoitash]

Part VII (Last one):

The Grand Finale did its job, unleashing a dazzling display of color and smoke that seemed to fill the sky and ground. For a moment it almost looked to outshine the stars and fireflies. After a long series of brilliant flashes, bursts, sprays, and pops, the Finale ended.

Misha, eyes wide at the display, gave a contented sigh, closed her eyes, and found herself leaning against Lynda.

Lynda smiled and squeezed her hand, “We need to get to the house before you can sleep, okay? Can you make it a little longer?”

“Think so.”

“Okay. I’m gonna ease you back so I can get up, okay?”

Hefting themselves up, Henry and Will started extinguishing coils, lanterns, and candles, while Dave did a quick check to make sure nothing smoldered. Lynda, meanwhile, eased Misha off her shoulder so she could get up.

“Need a hand?” Dave asked.

“I got it,” Lynda responded, “Think the moonshine hit her hard.”

“Looks like,” Dave said, “like I said they’re sleeping bags in the living room, or if you want I can set up the couch for you two.”

Lynda smiled at him, “Thanks. We’ll be in soon.”

“I’ll wait.”

Will and Henry walked over to the three, Will yawning along the way.

“We’re turning in,” Henry said, “Happy Fourth, and thanks for everything.”

Dave waved away the thanks, “Glad to do it. G’night.”

Will waved a hand in reply and started wandering toward the house, Henry close behind.

Dave watched as Lynda tried to prod Misha out of the chair. Eyes barely open, Misha slowly rose to her feet. Lynda stayed close in case she wobbled or toppled over or back into the chair, but she stayed upright.

“Want some help walking?” Lynda asked.

Misha shook her head, “’m fine.”

One slow step at a time, Misha made her way to the house. Lynda kept close in case she stumbled, but it seemed the alcohol just made her sleepy rather than unsteady. Having never seen her get really drunk, Lynda wasn’t sure how the alcohol would after her. As it was, she just took forever to walk, less actually walking and more shuffling.

“Wow,” Dave observed, “it’s like watching a Wal-Mart greeter go to the restroom.”

Lynda nodded in agreement, “I don’t think she’s ever been drunk before tonight. She handles it better than I do, considering.”

Dave smirked, “True. Hey, Misha, you okay?”

Misha mumbled something.

“We’re almost there,” Lynda assured her.

Dave politely refrained from mentioning they had only gone a few feet.

“You want me to carry her?” he asked, “Lord knows I did it for you plenty of times.”

“I… think we’re okay,” Lynda replied, “could you please go ahead to set up the couch?”

“Sure,” he replied, “I’ll be right back.”

It took a while, but eventually Misha made it to the deck’s stairs. When she nearly tripped trying to step onto the first step, Dave, having returned as promised, grabbed her undr both arms and heaved her onto the deck.

“Hehehe,” she giggled, “I flew!”

Dave grinned and let go of her, “Yes you did. G’night you two.”

With that, Dave returned to house. Lynda, meanwhile, eased under Misha’s shoulder to help her the last few steps.

“Almost there,” Lynda declared, “Just gotta get inside and to the couch.”

“’Kay,” Misha mumbled, “thanks for tonight again.”

“You’re welcome again.”

“One step closer to being an American, right?”

“Suppose that’s one way to look at it.”

Misha, eyes closed, gently kissed Lynda cheek.

“Love you.”

Lynda smiled and returned the kiss, “I know.”

Misha smirked as Lynda used her free hand to open the door. One step at a time, they made their way inside, together.

+++

And there we go. I did the thing.

That was… long. Not sure what to make of that, but here it is. Enjoy.

[Toothless]

Yuri and moonshine, great way to spend a 4th of July.

[Mirage_GSM]

“I have a spatula!” Will warned them, “and a chicken familiar!”

Beware! It's Captain Spatula!

“It does taste like paint stripper!” she groaned, “Also why am I cross-eyed?”

Misha should be cuatious. Becoming blind is a hindrance for a sign language interpreter...

“Nope!” Dave replied, “Thanks for the heads-up about her inner-ear.

Does Misha have inner ear problems in your story? Don't remember anything about that...

Anyway thanks for continuing your unending quest for ever more fanfiction

[Hoitash]

“It does taste like paint stripper!” she groaned, “Also why am I cross-eyed?”

Misha should be cuatious. Becoming blind is a hindrance for a sign language interpreter...

Indeed. That's what the stuff I drink tastes like, though it's usually made in a stovetop pressure cooker.

The previous statement entirely hypothetical, of course.

“Nope!” Dave replied, “Thanks for the heads-up about her inner-ear.

Does Misha have inner ear problems in your story? Don't remember anything about that...

Yeah, a doctor diagnosed it waaaaaaay back in USM proper. It's pretty minor, so she just needs to do basic hearing safety stuff.

Anyway thanks for continuing your unending quest for ever more fanfiction

I thank you for continuing to read . Just wait until Halloween -what I have planned may very well break reality as we know it.

It will probably also get me beaned in the head with a sock full of Squats by Silentcook, but I deserve it and it would be cool to actually see a Squat model.

[QuietlySomething]

Does Misha have inner ear problems in your story? Don't remember anything about that...

Yeah, a doctor diagnosed it waaaaaaay back in USM proper. It's pretty minor, so she just needs to do basic hearing safety stuff.

Well that would explain Misha's weird aversion to stairs...

[Hoitash]

Does Misha have inner ear problems in your story? Don't remember anything about that...

Yeah, a doctor diagnosed it waaaaaaay back in USM proper. It's pretty minor, so she just needs to do basic hearing safety stuff.

Well that would explain Misha's weird aversion to stairs...

she mentioned in the VN they make her dizzy, but quite a few people have suggested she just said that to avoid doing work.

I choose to take the high road regarding her, because I like the character (clearly.)

[Mirage_GSM]

Well that would explain Misha's weird aversion to stairs...

Yes, about that, it's really suspicious that Misha only complains about stairs at a single point in the story when she conveniently get's out of doing work because of it. She happily climbs the stairs to their classroom (which is on the third floor) several times every morning and is found on the roof multiple times...

[QuietlySomething]

Well that would explain Misha's weird aversion to stairs...

Yes, about that, it's really suspicious that Misha only complains about stairs at a single point in the story when she conveniently get's out of doing work because of it. She happily climbs the stairs to their classroom (which is on the third floor) several times every morning and is found on the roof multiple times...

I seem to remember Misha making a comment about stairs making her dizzy during a pretty serious scene near the end of Shizune's route but I could be remembering it wrong.

[Mirage_GSM]

No, that scene is in Act one when Shizune and Misha tell him to go to the art room to fetch stuff - shortly before he first meets Rin.

[Toothless]

She tell it also in the shizune path, Parfait. She confirm it at least when Hisao ask her.

[Mirage_GSM]

Yes, after dragging her all the way from the front gate to their homeroom - which again is on the third floor - without her showing any signs of trouble.

[Hoitash]

Yes, after dragging her all the way from the front gate to their homeroom - which again is on the third floor - without her showing any signs of trouble.

She could be using the elevator.

[Toothless]

Not sure what is more likely. Misha remembering a lie she made up to avoid work months ago. Or her having issue with stairs for some unknown reason.