1481/Foodies Unite

Foodies Unite
Date of Scene:	02 May 2024
Location:	Nounamu Sweets
Synopsis:	Fresh from a fight, Marinette ducks into Nounamu Sweets to get some recharging snacks for Tikki. She reintroduces herself to Chiyo who starts to suspect there's a hungry hamster in her purse.
Cast of Characters:	Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Chiyo Sakai

---

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
"Time to de-evilize!"

There's a sound, almost like shouting, outside the building. Weird, but when anyone looks outside, there's nothing. Just a few ladybugs in the air, and everything's okay. Surprisingly okay, actually. Like...a perfect day.

Huh. The weather was going bad, too. Now it's nice. Well, that's Japan for ya.

The door opens, and a young lady walks in, talking to her ..purse? "I'll get some food, just ...it'll be okay." She blinks a few times at the change in lighting, then smiles around at the room. She seems a little flushed, as if she's just come in from a jog or some similar exercise, and raises a hand in a wave. "I..hey! I know this place. I was told about it by...what was her name?" Oh, it HAS been a while. She remembers though. Purple hair, purple eyes? What was her name?

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
That was the issue sometimes with being a magical girl but also working. You couldn't always work out how to get OUT of the shop to go help things. At the very least she'd been keeping an eye on things a bit, best as she could, while running back and forth to help replenish the stock of mochi for Ojiisan to work with.

Her hair is swept back up into the usual buns, but she has a hairband over it all to ensure proper food safety. A white shirt is worn, black slacks, and over it all a pretty pink apron adorned with the store logo as well as a spattering of colorful 'candy sprinkles' in a design.

There's an old man by the displays at the front currently working on making some of the old flower design candy who looks up and merely nods to Marinette as she enters. It's Chiyo that pops up front dusting her hands off on her apron with a smile. "Hello! Welcome to Nounamu Sweets. Let me know if you have any questions or would like some recommendations." The girl did look familiar but... She pauses regarding Marinette. "Ah, sorry, do you go to Radiant Heart? You look really familiar."

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
Bing! That's the face she remembers, and Marinette's eyes light up as she sees the young lady. She pauses, looking at the nice older man and giving him a beaming smile that crinkles her eyes and tilts her head. Manners are important after all! Then she turns to Chiyo.

And pauses, as the young purplette asks her a question not on the standard menu. Blink, blinkity-blink. "Oh! Yes, hi! I'm still Marinette, every day!" She pauses, wondering where that came from, and it shows on her confused expression. Then she shrugs, used to it kinda, and moves on. "We've met, with um. With Rashmi! It was a while ago."

She puts her left hand on the back of her head, looking around the shoppe. "Wow, if I'd known it was so nice I'd have shown up sooner. I...have entirely forgotten your name, and that's my fault and I'm so sorry!"

Yikes.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"It's okay!" Chiyo assures with a quick raising of her hands as she smiles toward the other girl. "To be fair I'd forgotten yours, too. I'm Chiyo, and this is my Ojiisan," she introduces with a gesture over toward her grandfather.

The old man looks over again but only turns away with a small grump of, "Busy. Pick what you want," as he settles into his work again.

It doesn't seem to phase Chiyo any as she leans over to offer to Marinette with a quiet voice, "Ojiisan isn't really good with people. But he's really nice, I swear!"

Standing again she can only look a bit sheepish over the situation. "So ah, sorry. We have a lot of traditional wagashi--That's the sweets Ojiisan is making--as well as more popular modern items. We also try to change what we have with the seasons. Right now it's still spring so there's Sakura of course, Yuzu, and Strawberries, and Matcha."

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
"Hmm. I need something small, I can take to-go," she says. Tilting her head, she pauses as if listening, then adds, "I think strawberries? Was that what you wanted?" That last sentence is hissed, rather than spoken. The girl's eyes dash downward, then back up and she gives Chiyo a far too huge smile, clearly innocent or covering up something. One of those two things is happening.

She lifts her right hand a little, elbow still in close to her body, and gives Ojiisan a small wave. She looks like she's entirely uncertain what she's doing, how to do it, or if she's doing it right. But she turns back to Chiyo immediately and says, "Don't worry. I go to a public school, there's way worse than a little grumpiness there."

Well, yes. But as the narrator tries to get the camera to move back to Chiyo, Marinette gets distracted (that was easy) by a display of pink chips on the countertop. "Are those...sakura blossoms? As candy?"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"Small and strawberry," Chiyo repeats already trying to think over what they have that would suffice. The gesture of talking to the purse is glanced at breifly but she doesn't remark on it. It wouldn't be the first time she'd seen something odd. Probably not the last. But she doesn't *see* anything right now so she keeps her mouth shut. It was so much easier that way.

At the question of sakura blossoms as candy she brightens up with a grin. "*Yes* it is. Sakura is very popular here in the Spring." Turning to the counter she pulls out some of the items to show. "There's Sakura blossom jelly, which is a bit tart and sweet, because the flowers are usually preserved by pickling them first. A bit of an aquired taste I find for foreigners," she explains. Though she moves instead to some candy-encased blossoms. "These are sweeter. A floral, tart center but sweet throughout," she explains. They look like little gems with flowers inside the hardened candy.

"If you want strawberries though, the daifuku is of course amazing. We have regular strawberry, or cream and straberry, or matcha and strawberry." The little bun-sized daifuku are shown the size of a silver dollar at most.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
Marinette is literally drooling. She seems to realize this after a moment, listening to Chiyo speak, and she instantly is SO NOT. But there was that moment, and it really says all that needs to be said.

"Ah. Yes, I'd like some of each of those please," she says, managing to keep her cool even though she was just having a moment. Which never happened. Tiki, you might not get quite as many of the treats as you'd expected. But at Marinette's age, it's very hard to overcome some temptations.

The 'phone' in Marinette's purse vibrates then, though. Which gets her attention. "Oh. Oh! Yes. Sorry. Um. Can I..get ...one sample while we ...pay for them?" Is she asking, or telling? "I have someone -back home- who I need to ..."

She sighs, then hangs her head. "Can I please not have to explain this one time? I've had a long day."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai reaches for a box to put all the sweets in when she asks for one of each. Though at the request of a sample she pauses. "Of course!" One of the strawberry daifuku is placed on a little paper wrapper. And a second peice is picked up to do the same with. They're offered over the counter simply.

Then her attention turns back to filling the small box with some more candy. Some of the Sakura treats as well as one each of the strawberry Daifuku. It's all deftly done and wrapped up with a ribbon a moment later with a motion so quick it was easy to see she'd done this numerous times before.

"There's a discount for Radiant Heart students as well. Most of our business comes from there."

She could just offer the box over the counter. Instead she walks around from it, and holds the box out to Marinette in both hands giving a reassuring smile. Her voice remains very, very quiet. "I won't ask. It's not the first time I've run into someone that had a passenger along they needed to take care of. Just be safe, okay?"

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
The samples are sitting on the counter as Chiyo moves to wrap the purchase. "At least two of each, please," Marinette clarifies. She has her hands behind her back, smiling innocently, when Chiyo sees her. Then when the girl is seen again, coming around the counter, the blue-haired girl is closing her purse with a click and the candies are gone.

Perfectly normal behaviour! So why does the ...you know, never mind. It's ALL FINE. As police go past outside, looking slightly befuzzled, and Marinette seems much more relaxed now.

Then she hears what Chiyo's saying, and her face goes slightly white. She pauses, then says, a bit too loudly, "Oh, yes! Ha ha ha! So much more...better." Then, lower, "I can't believe they let me out in public."

Her eyes come up, meeting Chiyo's, and she says so that Ojiisan can not hear, "My...pet. Is. Um. Hungry?" She's clearly not good at this. But it's as close to an admission as some new magical girls are able to give, so Chiyo's willingness to play along is probably the best call.

Also a lesson: if you don't want to get found out, get smarter, honey.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"Oh yes," Chiyo agrees with a chuckle, "Your hamster is very cute." She hadn't seen Tiki of course and she's not about to suggest she did either. Instead she plays along trying to suggest the smallest pet she can think of that would fit into a purse that way. A hamster makes sense, and many in Japan kept them as pets.

"You know they're very popular pets in Japan given so many have small apartments. A lot of toy shops even have miniature furniture I've heard of pet owners using to decorate their cages."

It's only now that she really looks outside watching the police go by with a hint of concern. "Huh. Wonder what happened... Anyway." The thought is shaken off to focus on Marinette again. "If you'd like something to drink with your snack, we have free tea. Always hot except in Summer. There's green tea and yuzu tea which is citrusy," she explains while gesturing over to a small counter by the cafe tables where there was a 'pour your own' tea station complete with little cups.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
Tiki as a hamster. Hm. Marinette's imagination goes nuts for a moment, her brain making all kinds of images. Tiki with little puffy cheeks holding nuts..no wait that's a squirrel. Tiki in a little sweater, running around and drinking from a pool...Tiki with a little hat, posing for a camera.

She's considering Tiki laying on a beach getting tanned and enjoying a nice cool drink when she's guided to the tea station and looks up, blinking confusedly. She has a small cup of tea, and is holding it in her hands, sitting there.

This seems to be her way. "Um. How did I get here?" She was entirely spaced out, for a moment there. Seemed like the safest place for her at the moment. Also, tea!

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai had just begun to turn away only to pause with a little blink when it seems Marinette had come to. For a minute there she seemed well and properly spaced out. "You looked like you needed a drink. Have a seat for awhile," she adds though it's clearly she already was.

"I picked out the Yuzu tea because it would be refreshing. It's also good to keep from getting sick." There were little candied bits of yuzu peel in the tea itself swirling around the golden liquid. "Are you sure you're okay, Marinette?"

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
Am I okay? "I think so," Marinette says. But her eyes are drifting about, as she sniffs the tea. I'm a normal girl. This is normal. Normal girl, normal life.

But outside, people have started running the other way, and the sky's changing colour again. She pauses, then frowns. She looks at the tea, then at Chiyo, and her face changes.

Nothing bad, it just becomes stronger. Firmer, more resolute. And she places the tea cup down, gently. This seems to be almost a different person entirely.

Then she smiles, her eyes crinkling up again. "Hey, can I use your bathroom? I need to ..check on my hamster!"

Outside, a newspaper plasters itself to the window, winds picking up. Weird weather today.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai worriedly glances outside as things start to darken. The weather hadn't reported anything... But hadn't something JUST happened? Concern is written over her face as she looks away from Marinette toward her Ojiisan instead. He, too, was glancing out the window looking at the way the wind was whipping things around.

"Right, yes. It's over there," she remarks with a gesture toward the door meant for such as she moves to the door out. "I'm... I'm going to get the sign in before it blows away, Ojiisan!" A simple honest thing but that also meant she might be going out there herself. Just maybe.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
And if Chiyo were to meet up with someone else, someone swinging their way toward the danger, instead of away from it, that might almost be someone with a faint resemblance to the girl who didn't finish her tea.

The tea sits there, untouched. Unfortunately Marinette doesn't come back for it, though the treats did go with her. If there was a sound from the vicinity of the bathroom, sounding much like, "Tiki, SPOTS ON!", well. After all, they're normal girls.

Close to normal. Normal-adjacent.

Normal...with a secret.