Ekiben
Author's Note: Enjoy the story and R&R.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to or of the Shinkalion franchise.
Pairing: Established Ginga x Nagara.
Summary:
Nagara ordered the ekiben. He won't be appeased until he gets all of what he ordered.
"This train is bound for Tokyo."
Nagara thanked the ancient shogunates of Japan it was the Z-Gears doing all the departure order announcements. The thought of Ginga milking the airtime in his accented speech (or the reverse – in his unaccented speech) was a forecast not even he could plow through if it ever came true.
Who dictated dating Ginga meant liking him 100% of the time? It was closer to 88.4%, Nagara's original compatibility rating when he final-tested for driver of N700S Nozomi, and that figure could go up or down depending on how much of a broad over a spotlight of a thousand flowers Ginga chose to be in broad daylight.
Not necessarily the effete character Valtom was, wringing his fists and wailing "Ahh, so frustrating!" like he'd grip a handkerchief between his teeth.
Ginga's stage persona boiled down to "Homo, but th' girls want me." Frequently, however, that persona tended to blend with his "real" persona, clouding up which was which, and whether there was a hard line (and believe Nagara, Ginga's stage persona and "real" persona were both personas).
On the bright side, his calling as an idol kept him punctual. Once it reached Ginga at the front of the shinkansen that a passenger in reserved seating was not acting according to code aboard 500 Kodama, Ginga made his way to the center of the train. The trains could run on their own for standard operations due to the ATO, therefore Ginga was able to leave the cockpit to inspect the train as needed. Drivers were installed for safety and to instill confidence in the public.
Cars 1 through 5 and 16 through 17 were non-reserved seats. 7 through 15 were reserved. Usually, the extra money paid to reserve a seat didn't come with any additional perks beyond knowing the seat would be yours and you wouldn't have to stand during the busy rush. But because Nagara was the only passenger in Car 9 this trip, he lived it up like he was in a luxury coach or first class.
"Nagara? Why aren't ya subbin' today like 'vrybody?"
Speaking of usual: Usually, when they weren't bringing the hurt to Giant Monstrous Beings, conducting standard-fare journeys wasn't part of Team Shinkalion's job. Yet today, they'd been drafted.
It wasn't covert knowledge anymore the Ultra Evolution Institute had been dispatching Shinkalion to Giant Monstrous Being hot sites. Getting its pilots out into the public eye was more politics to instill confidence, because under what circumstances would JR riders trust children to pilot huge robots in largely populated metropolitan areas?
"Aniki's compatibility rating is high enough to pilot N700S, and Doctor Yellow doesn't carry civilians, so…"
"Ya asked Shimakaze t' fill in fer ya. Miracool. That doesn't explain wot yer doin' here."
"I paid for the ekiben, Ginga."
"OK, th' station lunchbox. That's it on yer tray. I'll be returnin' t' my control panel."
"I also talked Ryuji-san into keepin' this car empty for me!" Nagara had an unflagging glint in his eye.
Person on tracks. That's the language they used when signalling that specific reason for the trains running behind schedule, and Ginga squeaked he was the person on the tracks now.
"This train will be makin' a brief stop at Shinagawa! Please change here fer th' Yamanote Line, th' Keihin-Tōhoku Line, th' Narita Express, an' take all yer belongings with ya bef –!"
"Where's your Kyoto pride, Ginga? Each region takes supreme pride in its ekiben, and you're letting down your prefecture!"
"I'm not included with th' lunchbox, Nagara!"