Mariko blushes deeply when vara compliments her. She had no misconceptions that she unattractive. It just always meant a lot coming from people that Mariko found supremely beautiful. " well...you are a person of taste." Mariko replied with a coy smile. Mariko quickly escorts them out of the room when vara asks about plugging. " um...no...not exactly.. I just don't want to say..." Mariko trails off before making a circle with one hand and thrusting a finger through it. She then cracks up laughing at the childishness of what she just did. In their brief stint outside,Mariko smiles at vara's little twirl. It was carefree and adorable. Mariko then leads vara deeper into the ship. Now they take a rather utilitarian stairway down a deck. The pair are now below the waterline and water can be heard as the ship pushes through. " now we can play doctor, write each other prescriptions,find sexy nurse outfits...etc." Mariko announces when they reach the infirmary. It's of the same vintage as the ship, but is well maintained. The shelves are stocked and organised. The beds are even made .

Mariko states in a flat tone,that totally isn't a prepared statement:" by boarding the Duke of Winchester you agree to take on all risks. There are enough lifeboats for all passengers. In the event of catastrophic hull failure Duke of Winchester LLC is not responsible for your safety." Mariko starts to leave it at that, but squeezes vara's hand gently. " don't worry,vara. We do have plenty of boats. We just converted half of the nooks to balconies. I don't think we've ever had more than 20 people aboard. " mariko says completely serious. Some people may not appreciate jokes about safety on a ship that was saved from the scrap yards of India. Mariko enjoyed having vara here with her. It was a change from the usual way things had been. Mariko had moved to Italy,vara probably never even saw Mariko's house in Japan. In the infirmary ,mariko hopped up on an exam table and flipped the spotlight on. " opium derivatives bottom shelf. Both commercial and street grade. Amphetamine types in the shelf above that. Left side of cabinet dissociatives,right side hallucinogens. The potted plant by the door is just a succulent. Nothing special about it. Mariko hopped off the table and approached vara. Surrounded by chemicals and talking about scary and sexy nurses. This was definitely right. " those things are so damned scary...but so arousing." Mariko holds vara by the hand and looks slightly up to her." Arent they all disfigured? You're too pretty for that." Mariko says realizing just how scary those nurses would be on the Duke... and how they wouldn't look so out of place. If Mariko wasn't sharing a bed with vara before,she certainly was now.

Mariko rummages through a drawer until she finds one of those old timey mirror things doctors wore on their heads in old cartoons. She places it on her head,arranging her hair to still look decent. She was with vara,who would call her out if her hair looked like crap. Mariko removed and fondled a bottle of ketamine. She was a rather big fan of dissociatives but it probably would kill the conversation they had. Falling into a k hole wasn't exactly a group activity. " well,I'm thinking something a bit...dancy. We have some fun here,then head up the ball room and dance dance dance." Mariko grins and replaces the ketamine with a handful of pills that look like members of weekend. Why these ecstasy pills were shaped like pop singers,Mariko did not know. Mariko adjusted her head mirror and told vara with authority," take one and call me in the morning." With that,she placed one pill on her tongue and pointed. Vara had to come and get it. Mariko shakes her head and shrieks. " gah! That is so freaky looking! Stop. Ill call pyramid head,I have him on speed dial" she threatens. Vara did a good job of looking twitchy and unsettling. Even the idea of sexy nurse vara shrank in Mariko's mind. The silent hill nurses creeped her out.

mariko loved having her face held when kissed and it was all she could do to keep from just melting right there. the duke's floors may not have been sealed anymore. so she didnt want to have a mariko pool leaking through the decks. she had to keep it together. "oh god." she pants out after vara takes the pill. if it wouldnt look silly,mariko would have fanned herself. "ok, serious question,vara." mariko asks,holding out a pill to vara so that she could return the favor."i cant do what we did before.but would you be ok with just...you know..nothing official?" mariko asks with a giggle. while mariko did adore vara and always would. she still wasnt ready to get back into the rigid boundaries relationships involved. their involvements were always flirty,but mariko knew where this could lead. mariko takes hold of both of vara's hand and replies in a totally serious tone," what? like 30 min...oh,you!" she laughs and smacks vara's butt with a tongue depressor. she really had bought vara had never done this before for about 3 seconds. "the ball room is two decks down stairs. we gotta scoot!" she says with glee.

it was a great relief to mariko to hear that a full reconciliation wasnt in the cards. while there was no doubt in mariko's mind that she and vara were forever linked,she wasnt sure if they would ever just go back to the way they were. mariko grins widely in response to vara's answer. "fun is good. like we have had ever had anything but fun." mariko tells vara with a smirk. mariko looks into vara's eyes as she had done hundreds of times before,but gave her a deep kiss to take the pill. with her eyes maintaining contact throughout. of all vara's features,mariko loved her eyes the most. they were mischievous,dirty,dangerous,and very passionate. one could know just what vara was about by looking into her eyes. as she kissed vara,she leaned into her,resting her weight onto vara. mariko had found herself and wasnt the timid person she was before. when the pills is gliding down her gullet,mariko squeezes vara's hand and leads her to the ball room.she nearly runs to get there because she doesnt want the chemical to hit until they are well into the confines of the room. mariko leads her friend through many cramped corridors,the sort that were clearly for long since dismissed staff of the cruise ship. they walked for about ten minutes before a nondescript door opened into a massive room.

unlike the most of the duke,the grand ballroom looked as fresh as the day it was built. mariko takes a little bow and grins up at vara. "id totally ask if i could have this dance,but the sound system is on the other side of the room"

"oh!" mariko exclaimed as she was pulled closer to vara. even though the drug was far off from taking effect,she could feel the heat of vara's body through her clothes. mariko needed the e to cause whatever barrier she had towards vara to fall. she knew this is what she wanted but just couldnt get over the initial speedbump. once things kicked into gear,any inhibitions she had would be gone. in the ballroom,mairko tossed her head back and spun in a slow circle. "isnt it? i have no idea why the ballroom is so well maintained. but god ,is it beautiful." mariko sighs and takes both of vara's hand. "duke.play something dancy." mariko calls out to the air as if she is on the enterprise. within seconds,aphex twin's "come to daddy" starts playing,loudly through the bass heavy speakers. " i guess the duke knows what we've been taking." mariko grins as the song really starts.

mariko near doubles over in laughter. it is absurd the amount of technology the duke has on board. mostly because the hesses were too lazy or high to do it themselves. it was a long running joke that gretchen was bulma and erica was vegeta...but it wasnt far off. there was little the woman could not make possible. while the duke had an automatic navigation system while mariko and vara were an item,it weas vastly more advanced and streamlined now. there was even a fully realized ai being named ingrid around somewhere. she operated as a bus driver and chocolate milk dispenser...gretchen saw clockwork orange one night and thought nipples dispensing milk would be hilarious. " if ve vere dirty capitalists,ve'd all be millionaires " mariko laughs to vara,using her best russian accent. when the music starts really pumping,mariko starts dancing. she runs her hands through her own hair as it starts to fell amazing as the chemical starts running through her system. "not at all." she laughs to vara and shakes her head. " i only listen to this bullshit when taking e." she tells vara while tossing her head in a nin existent wind. mariko usually preferred stuff like skinny puppy or current 93,but really liked aphex twin for using ecstasy

Mariko closed her eyes as she was spun by vara. The skin contact,the sensation of movement..it was amazing. Even more amazing was that it was vara spinning her. She felt as close to vara as she always had. When closed her eyes,the Duke would melt away and it their house in Italy. Mariko pressed herself to vara,wanting as much of their bodies to touch as possible. She didn't feel there was any way they could be close enough. " You implore me to what?" Mariko asks over the music. " we aren't fancy here. You could just ask if there is sometjing you need me to do." She says cheerfully,not hearing vara's exact words .

vara's mouth felt like lava when it touched mariko. it was so hot and she could feel it conforming to her skin. "that feels amazing." mariko says softly. she isnt exactly sure if she actually spoke the words or just thought them. she had to give vara the same feeling. mariko felt that would connect them and they would be ready to really see where this rocket ride was going to take them. she lightly kisses vara's collar bone in a half circle, all the way from right shoulder to left. the slight taste of salt and perfume made it all the more yummy to mariko. she then trailed kisses up to vara's ear before finally settling on her lips. the kiss started off almost innocent,but turned not so innocent quickly. of all vara's physical features,mariko had always found her lips the most attractive. when she breaks away,mariko laughs loudly. this was a happiness that almost hurt.

it felt so much like the memories of vara that mariko had. a very real part of her wanted to just throw herself all in on the vara thing, but she realized the drug may be making that emotion stronger. "vara. you know i will always love you." mariko says holding vara's cheeks with her hands. while the chemicals were making mariko far more open with vara, that was how she truly felt,it was just easier to say now. in the morning,she could claim ignorance and that it was just the pills talking. mariko studies vara's face with a half smile.it was amazing in the detail she could see now. mariko let her head fall back when she felt vara's hands on her back. it was all she could do to keep from laying down so vara could rub her back more. it felt like the most satisfying back scratch she had ever known. she could feel it in her very being. mariko laughs even more when vara does. she clasps her hands together in delight before running her hands across vara's stomach. it felt amazing against the cloth of her dress. " your belly isnt gloopy!" she chides vara.