196/Yukata ready! The Fireworks Festival

Yukata ready! The Fireworks Festival
Date of Scene:	02 August 2023
Location:	Yumegahama Ward
Synopsis:	A group of friends, both old and new, spend the evening having fun together, among colourful yukata, tasty food, various games and splendid fireworks.
Cast of Characters:	Coco Kiumi, Cho Konishi, Zephyr Windstar, Mio Morita, Amanda Faust, Rashmi Terios, Miho Aiuchi, Chiyo Sakai, Ren Morimoto

---

Coco Kiumi has posed:
It's a pleasurably warm summer night, and the clamor for fireworks hasn't even been scratched by the traditional Sumida River Fireworks. In fact, people only seemed to want more, so exceptional measures were adopted, and now absentees and those aching for a second time alike can enjoy the joyful atmosphere.

The stands are all setup once more, their inviting lights calling to anyone that wants to take part in the traditional festival games or consume delicious food or beverages. The fireworks have been set up to go off 1 hour from now, so people have plenty of time to distract themselves with any sort of activity.

Coco is waiting for the rest of her friends alongside Cho, the two of them having come together from their dorm room. "I can't wait for it to start. This is gonna be my first festival since coming here", Coco says, moving about in the crowd of people to try and peek at her friends' figures.

"Zephyr is gonna be here too", she tells her roommate, but actually intended to remind herself. She didn't expect another student to overhear them and ask to join, but she was very happy to accept the brunette's participation.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi nodded, smiling nervously to Coco. She had her new yukata on and everything! But it felt... weird. Cute. Adorable. But weird. She also had Wuwu with her. He looked, currently, like a stuffed animal. Resting in her arms. His eyes little buttons.

He'd promised not to misbehave. Cho hadn't believed him. He guaranteed not to misbehave. Still didn't believe him. He acknowledged that this was important to Cho, her first real 'festival', and promised to not ruin it for her or steal. That he would, this time, actually behave for her. She... believed him. And thanked him for his consideration.

Now, she just looked happy, but nervous. "Do... do I look... okay in this? I mean, it's not... I tied it right and everything, right? I don't look silly or anything?" she asked, nervously shifting her weight from side to side.

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    Zephyr isn't sure how she got here... she was just delivering a soda shipment to the academy cafeteria, to restock the drink machines when she heard someone talking about fireworks.

    Earlier:

    "So, there's a fireworks show happening over there tonight, You're going with me right?"

    "Yeah, of course!"

    A couple of voices unfamiliar, earning the tall foreigner's attention. Her next words were what apparently sealed her fate. "Fireworks?"

    Now: And that's how I met your mo--- wait wrong script. That's how I ended up here... "This thing doesn't even /suit/ me." she bemoans softly, wearing a fairly plain yukata that makes her stand out even more than usual with just how /tall/ she is compared to everyone else.

Mio Morita has posed:
Its been a busy few days for Mio. She had spent all of yesterday out feeding the homeless. The perks of it being Summer vacation being she can actually do stuff like that during the week. She managed to give away all of the sandwiches she had made. Sadly there were still people needing food and she couldn't feed everyone. It always hurt to give the bad news that she was out.

The good news was today was the fireworks festival! Mio had been waiting for it all day. Now though, Now was the time! She had gotten dressed in her white with orange and purple flowers yukata and even tied her back bow properly. All was as it should be. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she transfered some yen into it so she could buy some stuff at the festival. Then it was out the door to meet with her friends and maybe make some new ones!

Now at the festival, people all over are wearing kimonos and yukatas. There are so many different designs some are rather plain and unassuming. Others are flat out gorgeous! She quickly makes her way to a food stand and buys some dango.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    A week ago, Amy didn't really understand what the big deal about shopping for yukatas was, and then she found out how amazing it feels to wear pretty clothes when you're a cute girl! But of course, shopping is only part of the experience, the whole reason they're getting these yukatas is to wear them to the festival!


    Amy accompanies Mio from their dorm room, wearing a yukata with a blue-and-white star pattern and white sneakers with red accents. She brushed out her hair -- at least now she knows how long that takes, having this much -- and has a purple hairclip on one side of her head, for ornamentation off to the side of her bangs. She has her little blue bag with white streaks in it that goes with the yukata!

    Walking alone to meet with Hannah was kind of scary, but with Mio at her side this time (and surrounded by other festival-goers instead of sticking out like a sore thumb), she feels comfortable, maybe even a little... proud? Of her appearance, knowing how good she looks.

    She waves to Coco and Cho when she sees them, "Hi, girls!" smiling wide.

    At Cho's question, she looks the pinkette over and shrugs. "I... don't, I dunno how to tell if it's tied right, but it looks fine to me! Why would you look silly?"

    Also, someone else is here! "Hi again, Soda Girl!" Another smile and wave!

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Among the milling crowds, the top of a redhead can be seen inching through a sea of black hair, with many apologies and excuse-mes. Finally the crowds part enough for Rashmi to fully emerge into visibility, looking left and right for her group.

Her yukata, mostly red with some green paneling bordered by gold stems and colorful water-plants, is further accented by the amount of work put into her hair; rather than hanging to her ankles in a loose plait, Rashmi has taken the time to braid it properly, with her sunburst charm swinging from the tie at its tail.

Her eyes brighten as she spots Amy, Coco and Cho, and hurriedly she weaves through the attendees to end up at their side, grinning widely. "You all look *so great!*" she gushes, "I *knew* you'd picked good ones!"

Which is when she notices the slightly awkward tallness next to the pair, glances questioningly toward her friends, then back again with a bright grin. "Hi! Good to meet you... Soda-chan? I'm Rashmi, grade 10."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco smiles at her friend, grabbing her hand in reassurance, careful not to make Wuwu accidentally fall. "You look more than okay, Cho, you look great. You put on everything right, and frankly", she adds, gesturing to the many kimonos and yukatas around them, many of their wearers not as distinctive as one would assume from a festival, "you stand out in a very positive way among all these people."

Amy comes out of nowhere, almost as if she had spontaneously appeared right there and then to reply to Cho's question. "Hello, Amy!", Coco waves. "You look great yourself. Did it take long to get here?"

Zephyr is easy to spot among the crowd, thanks to the height advantage she has over many people. "Hello, Zephyr, I'm glad you could come!", Coco yells, waving energetically at her. She uses her free hand to grab the brunette's own. "How do you do? I hope my directions were good enough!"

Next is Rashmi appearing, she too compliment their appearance. "They look amazing, right?", Coco affirms, a enthusiastic glow in her eyes. "It's all thanks to your tips. You are a good tutor, Rashmi."

With almost all of them now here, only Mio is missing to the list. Coco looks around a bit before spotting her next to the dango stand. "Oh, Mio is there", she says indicating her location to the rest of the group, though they probably saw her on their own. "Why don't we make food our first stop?" She proposes, before yelling Mio's name and waving at her.

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    Zephyr sighs a bit. "There goes my mysterious air..." she grumbles, as Coco goes yelling her name for all to hear. "Why did I even tell her my name anyway?"

    The older girl makes her way over, giving a nod to Amy, and a little finger-wiggling wave to Rashmi at their greetings. As she does, her bracelet jingles faintly with the motion before it's lost beneath the sleeve of her yukata again. It's a plain affair, orange and yellow in a half-and-half pattern. She kinda, stands aside from the group, looking around but not physically adding herself into their company, at least not by her own volition.

Mio Morita has posed:
Mio gets her dango just in time to hear her name being called out. Mio turns around to see Coco waving to her. She quickly falls back and joins the group. "Hey girls!" She smiles happily and waves. "How is everyone. Sorry for not waiting. I was just really hungry." She giggles and takes a bite of her dango.

"You all look amazing!" She smiles and starts walking around her friends. "Your yukatas look great!" She then smiles to Zephyr, "Oh hey Soda girl! Good to see you here. Are you selling sodas here or are you here to enjoy the fireworks?" She asks as she takes a bite of her dango.

Amanda Faust has posed:
> You all look *so great!*
> You look great yourself.
> They look amazing, right?
    Amy blushes brightly, hunching a little and looking away awkwardly, not even sure what to say.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi would at least give Zephyr a smile. "Hey. I'm uhhh... Cho Konishi," she offered. The arrival of Amy, at least, made her grin get even wider. Yay, she looked fine! It was good to--

Rashmi's compliment, however, made her eyes get wide and her cheeks turn positively scarlet... and her hold on Wuwu get very tight. "T-thank you," she managed to squeak out, her grin only growing. "Y-y-y-you look great too. Y-you all do," and then throw Coco's compliment into the mix? Yeah, between all of that praise, well, whatever she said next was so squeaky and high pitched it was pretty much impossible to make out.

She gave a nod to Mio, going to need a few moments before she could do things like talk or stop sizzling in the cheeks. Inching just a little behind Coco. "A-all... nice... a-a-and stuff..." she kind of sputtered out.

Wuwu, to his credit, looked like a totally normal monkey stuffed animal.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Aha. Zephyr-san!" Rashmi says, bobbing her head in greeting. "I hope you enjoy the fireworks!"

Coco's compliment on her teaching skills earns a snort of laughter. "Well thanks, but tying the belt is really just the last step. You all wear those *so well!*" As Mio approaches, the redhead waves in greeting, and grins. "That's fine Mio-san, you can show us what looked good while you were scouting, right? Because food sounds like a *really* good idea."

As Rashmi natters on in pleasantries and greetings, Tenraikaze receives a subtle, quiet ping of acknowledgment from a Device ID of Nicomachea; the Device equivalent of a nodded greeting in a crowded hallway.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco gets in line for some dango, getting some for her shortcircuited roommate too while she was at it. "Hmm, this is really good", she exclaims after a bite, handing Cho her own portion. "Don't worry Mio, and your yukata looks very good too!", she tells her friend after Mio finishes examining the group's yukatas.

Coco looks nervously at Zephyr as everyone starts calling her Soda-girl and Mio mentions her selling soda. 'I hope they don't expect us to go for soda sometime', she thinks, fearing being the odd one out if they stumble on Zephyr selling soda.

"So, what's the plan right now, do we go for food? Or do we play some games?" Coco asks, eyeing some of the animal masks being sold. "Those masks look very pretty, I think it would be nice to get one each."

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    Well, might as well be polite... Tenraikaze even nudges her silently to go be social you asocial potato.

    Zephyr bows to Coco, and Cho, and the others. "I should introduce myself properly... since that little secret is out now." she begins, with enough social grace to /not/ glare at Coco. "My name is Zephyr Windstar. Windstar is my family name, so Zephyr is my first name." she explains, straightening up and looking uncomfortable.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi just kind of smiled at everyone. There were a lot of them, but they seemed nice. Best of all, though, she had her safety line in Coco! It helped make sure she didn't get too overwhelmed.

It helped that she was also being bribed. Bribery solved so many problems. She took the dango happily, biting into one piece...

Then subtly letting Wuwu take the second on it when she could.

"Getting masks and playing some games sounds like fun. I'd love to get a lil fox mask," she said, grinning up at her roommate. She headed towards the line. "Which one would you like, Coco-san?" she asked, finally taking some action. And hey, her cheeks were slightly less red now!

Mio Morita has posed:
Mio smiles, "Thank you so much Coco. I keep thinking my back bow has come undone." She winces and finishes her dango off. Then her hands go behind her back and she fiddles with her back bow. "Do I got it right?" There is nothing wrong with her back bow. It looks fine really. She's just conscientious about it.

"Oh nice to meet you Zephyr-san!" She smiles and bows politely. "I'm Mio Morita! You ran into me during one of my bake sales." She giggles a little bit." She turns her attention to Amy and she smiles at her, "how are you holding up? Need my help with anything?" She offers, wanting to make sure her first trip out in proper girls clothes is as good as it can be.

"Oh that is a good idea. I wanna get some taiyaki!" She giggles happily. "Sorry I've not eaten much today so I am really hungry today.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Personally I think whatever they're doing in the kara-age stand smells like a dream," Rashmi says, rising on her tiptoes and craning to look over the crowds toward the fried-chicken stall. Then she drops to her feet, looks from Zephyr to the two bashful cinnamon-rolls of their group, and can't resist a quiet chuckle. "Well it's *very* good to meet you, Windstar-san," she says, as the Friendship Trap closes its jaws. "I hope you have just as much fun as we probably will-- oh yeah Mio-san you did it *perfect,* don't even worry. So, yeah... food then masks and games? Sounds like a plan!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy, despite being briefly complimented into silence, is grinning wide. Cho complimenting the others back makes her follow up, nodding, "Y-yeah! You all look great!" It comes out a little bit high and strained. She wishes Hannah were here to hug.

> You all wear those *so well!*
    Blushing continues. That gets a squeak out of her.

> So what do we do?
    Amy barely manages to get out, very quietly, "I, um, I don't know, a-anything's fine..." Coco wants masks? Why would they want to cover up when they're so pretty? Then again, it would help her hide how embarassed she is, so... maybe that's a good idea. "Fox and maybe... cat? Do they have cat ones?"

    She holds out a hand. "Nice to meet you, Zephyr! That's not hard to pronounce... oh, okay, yeah I can see how Japanese would have trouble with it..."

    Mio asks how she's holding up and she just nods. "I-I I don't know... Is there anything I would need help with? Umm, is it weird if I ask for a hug?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco turns around Mio, checking her back bow carefully. She touches it delicately with one hand, not wanting to accidentally undo Mio's work. "It looks fine to me, nothing to worry about", she answers, going back to her original position.

Coco nods enthusiastically at the general plan proposed by Mio and Rashmi. "Ooh, taiyaki are those fish snacks with bean paste, right? I would love to try some. And then some kaarage. Though, maybe salty food first is better." she corrects herself.

"I do think they have cat masks, looking from here. There are also those long-nosed one, I don't remember what they are called though", she tries to recall its name with a bit of annoyance. "Anyway, I am going for the fox mask too". In an instant she is gone as fast as a whirlpool, acquiring the masks for everyone who had expressed a preference. "Here you go", she says, handing a cat mask to Amy a fox mask to Cho, and lastly keeping a fox mask for herself. "You wear them at the side of the head, right?" Coco looks at Rashmi, seeking confirmation for what she has heard.

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    Zephyr straightens and folds her arms over her chest. "Food sounds good..." she muses idly, following the group at a distance. As they move away from the mask seller, she steps up and purchases one for herself, a stylized fox mask. "Hmm... it's not a <Hunter> but it's close." the word Hunter sounds, weird. Like traditional japanese but, horribly pronounced. She takes it, ties the ribbon and adjusts its position on the upper left side of her head, then resumes following Coco and party without further comment.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi snickered as Coco took off. Well, she was certainly enjoying herself. And, well... Cho was as well. It was kind of nice having a rich roommate to experience all these things with. Okay, yes, that was probably a bit selfish of her... but hey. When you lived with a mermaid princess there were some perks, you know?

"Sometimes on the side if casual. But you often wear them over the face like normal masks," she said in a teasing tone. "If you put on makeup, though, you'd likely wear it on the side to not mess up the makeup."

She smiled over to Amy and was tempted to give the asked-for hug. She was quite precious. "Oh, Coco-chan! Let's go try one of the goldfish games, okay? I'm sure you'd be great at that," she said with a grin to her friend.

Mio Morita has posed:
Mio grabs herself a mask. A rather cute cat mask that just seems to go with her out fit. She puts the mask on and smiles happily. "I think this works."

She then turns her attention to Coco. "Oh yes! They are fish shaped and filled with all sorts of fun stuff. Red Bean Paste is the most common. I like when they are filled with chocolate. Oh and thanks for checking my back bow. Usually I would get my dad to tie it but I wasn't around him today so I did it myself."

She smiles at the thought of playing some games. Then Cho mentions the goldfish game. "Oh that would be fun! I wanna try it too!" She beams happily.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"You can, if you want! But basically Cho-san's got it." Rashmi confirms, securing a cone of kara-age for herself... then three more; one for Mio, one for Amy, and one for Zephyr since they don't yet have food in their hands. Just, apparently, because! While the asocial half of the group seems to be having difficulty social-ing among so many people, for Rashmi it seems more like... overcompensating for all the friends she hasn't had in a long while.

And in a burst of whimsy, she selects a grinning, mustachioed tengu mask, and ties it directly over her face, spreading her hands for the rest to laugh at as they like.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy looks at the mask, taking the cat mask and looking it over. "Oh, I don't know how to-- I mean, I'm not wearing makeup... Goldfish games? Does it *really* involve trying to catch fish with tissue paper like in anime?"

    "They make *chocolate* taiyaki? Okay, that sounds really good..." She's handed a skewer of fried chicken, taking a bite appreciatively, then holding it in her teeth as she puts the mask on the side of her head. Then she bursts out laughing at Rashmi's tengu mask... and oh no the chicken skewer fell from her mouth while her hands were occupied!

Zephyr Windstar has posed:
    Zephyr watches Amy fumble her snack... there's a faint 'pop' and suddenly Zephyr is holding the skewer back up for Amy. "You... should be more careful."

    >That was a risky move, Chief.< chides Tenraikaze through telepathic communication. >>Yeah, well... My body started moving on its own.<<

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy barely has time to realize she's dropped the chicken -- oh no, wasted food, and wasting her friends' kindness ;_; when Zephyr is there holding it. Did she just... flash step, out in the open? Amy realizes her mouth is hanging open and closes it. "Thanks! Y-yeah, I'll be more careful..." She takes the skewer back. "Thanks."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco thanks Cho for the tip, putting her fox mask at the side of her head, before heading to the taiyaki stand, buying two cones of it, one for herself and one for Cho. She starts taking a few bites of the delicious food.

"Oh, you know, I think I will have my ways of being a top player in that game", she grins mischievously at her friend when she suggests the first game to play.

Rashmi makes her smile, however, with her impression accompanied by the long-nose mask. "That's really funny, Rashmi", Coco comments. The incident makes a bit of Amy's taiyaki fall, but Zephyr is there to save it with lightning speed.

However, the girl announces she got a call with a sudden obligation, so Coco waves at her as she goes away, a bit saddened they couldn't get to know each other more.

"The chocolate taiyaki is nice too, I think I will try them both" she replies to Amy, while still busy eating through her taiyaki cone.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
And Amy laughs hard enough to drop her food; Rashmi's gambit is successful. Pushing the tengu mask up -- and briefly fumbling with her glasses -- she grins at Amy's momentary burst of unguarded mirth, pausing only when Zephyr saves the chicken by instinct. Giving the taller girl a momentary side-eye, she chooses to say nothing about it, instead waving after Zephyr as life calls her away. "It was good to meet you, Zephyr-san!" she says. "Hope to see you again soon!"

Turning back to her friends, the redhead smiles. "So... is there anything else anyone wants to get, before the games?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Games? I've... seen these things in anime, but what games do they actually have here besides the fish thing?" Amy wonders, and starts eating more of her karaage so she can't drop it again.

Miho Aiuchi has posed:
    There's laughter as two girls wearing pink yukatas are wandering in the direction of the taiyaki stand -- one relatively tall (but nowhere near Zephyr's height), somewhat androgynous and with short hair, and very nervous underneath her laughter; the other a head shorter with her hair in a ponytail, grinning up at the older one, physically pulling her along by her hand. "That's, I mean, th-th-that's a silly comparison and you know it, sis!" says the taller one, whose voice is scratchy and even more androgynous.

    "Yeah, yeah." The younger one laughs ...

    ... and then immediately bumps into Rashmi. "Ackpth HEY!"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"No, I think I am good", Coco replies to Rashmi. "How about we try goldfish scooping like Cho has suggested?" she proposes, smiling at her friend behind her. 'I am going to free mines into the sea at the earlier convenience, though', she thinks, of course, not explaining her friends her ulterior motive.

She is about to hear out the others' suggestions, when a girl bumps into Rashmi. "Are you all right, Rashmi?", she asks with perhaps undue worry as soon as the she notices what just happened.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"That sounds like a lot of fun!" Rashmi says to Coco, nodding, then grinning at Ami. "Well there's all sorts of games for the younger kids! Like the balloon fishing, the string lotter--GACK!"

Barrelled into by a stranger in pink, the redhead takes a moment to make sure of her balance, then turns to the newcomer, flushing. "Um... Hi, sorry, are you okay?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    They're starting with goldfish? "I don't know if I should adopt a pet right now..." She blinks at Coco. That's one option... "Wait... Are they saltwater goldfish?" She tilts her head in thought.

Miho Aiuchi has posed:
    The shorter girl is glaring daggers up at Rashmi. "Why don't you watch where you're --"

    The taller girl, her face briefly one of panic, puts a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Kurumi!" she says warningly. "Uh. She's -- we're -- she's fine," she stutters. "Sorry, this is. Uh. My. We. It's." She looks sort of like she's stalled.

    The shorter girl sighs irritably. "Okay, yeah," she says, visibly trying to get her temper under control. "Um. Hi, I'm Kurumi Aiuchi, and this is my big sister Miho."

    Miho grins nervously! "Aha. Um ... ...... ......... hi."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco is about to reserve some strong words for the shorter girl that bumped into Rashmi, but her companion intervenes to keep her in check. She looks at Rashmi unsure, before replying to the duo. "I'm Coco. Nice to meet you", she says, mostly looking at Miho.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...Standing?" Rashmi finishes, deeply puzzles by the sudden aggro, before the apologies begin. "Oh. Um... Well I mean nobody got hurt, so it's okay I guess? I'm Rashmi Terios, good to meet you?"

Glancing aside at Coco, the redhead can only shrug at the development. "Fish game first, yeah?"

Mio Morita has posed:
Mio has been following along in the background. She is just so happy to be hanging out with friends and making new ones. She doesn't have a lot to say. She just hides behind her kitty mask.

At the mention of the fish game she smiles behind her mask. "Mmmm Fish! I wanna see if I can win one. I think it would be nice to have a pet fish for our dorm." She doesn't know Coco's stance on the fish. But a pet fish does sound cool.

Miho Aiuchi has posed:
    Miho is just looking very nervous about the whole situation! She keeps her hand on Kurumi's shoulder. "Uh. Sorry," she mumbles, even though it was Kurumi who was the cause of the commotion. "Um. Nice to ... nice to meet you too ... Coco-san and, um, Terios-san. Uh. Kurumi ... l-let's just grab the taiyaki."

    "Okay. Okay." Kurumi frowns between Coco and Rashmi. "Sorry, I ..." She may or may not be trying to hide her embarrassment with annoyance; it's hard to tell because she's just not good at it if so. "... sorry."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"No worries, I guess all is ok", Coco replies, since Rashmi seems to be ok. "I hope you enjoy the festival", she tells the two girls.

"Oh, right, the fishes", Coco exclaims as she Rashmi reminds her of what they were going to do before the incident. "Miho, would you like to come with us after the taiyaki?" she asks, giving the nervous girl a hopefully reassuring smile. "You and your sister can play goldfish scooping with us."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
The invitation is met with a questioning eyebrow raise by Rashmi, but the redhead seems inclined to roll with it. After all, perhaps Kurumi isn't as much of a brat as first impressions hinted, and her mom would approve of Coco's idea. "Sounds like fun," she says with a gentle smile. "I do hope the others get back soon, I don't want them to miss out!"

Miho Aiuchi has posed:
    Miho is startled by the offer! Or possibly by having her given name used like that. "Oh! Um. I ... d .. I don't ... want to, like, intrude, kind of thing ..."

    "She means yes," Kurumi interjects.

    Miho laughs nervously. "Okay, um. Sure. Uh, c'mon, Kurumi ..."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
The commotion from the small collision draws the attention of another attending the festival. Chiyo hadn't come WITH anyone--She had wanted to ask but things came up, and by the time she remembered it was a bit late. Still, she wanted to see the fireworks and all the food stalls which were always a great way to get into the festive spirit, as well as enjoy some different treats than she usually had.

When you work in a sweets shop sometimes you want a change of pace.

Still she'd run into Ren at one of the games (baseball pitch, go figure!) and so they'd started to wander around together. At least until the kerfluffle brought some familiar voices to Chiyo's ears and she suggests they go toward the Taiyaki cart.

Dressed up in a rather fancy yukata and sandals (not those fancy elevated ones, thanks!) she starts to head for the familiar voices that had rung out. A little look of surprise crosses her face as she spots Rashmi, Amy, Coco and others she recognized, if not outright knew.

"Hello everyone! I didn't realize anyone else from school was coming to the festival."

Ren Morimoto has posed:
    It'd been Ren's goal to try all the food at the festival. He'd come with all of his savings, and he was ready to eat! But then he'd seen the baseball throwing game and gosh darn it, he had to play. Maybe that's where he got the stuffed cat plush that he has tucked casually under one arm. A prize, because if anyone would win at that game, wouldn't it be Ren?

    Actually though, it turns out that he and Cho had similar ideas. So in a total coincidence, his spirit guide was also currently masquerading as a cute stuffed animal, and Umeboshi was having the time of his life, oohing and aahing quietly enough to not be heard under the general noise of the crowds and games.

    Then he'd run into Chiyo, and that had been another fun coincidence. Once they'd decided to hang out, Ume had to be quiet, but that was okay. This was much better than being a charm hanging off of Ren's phone, usually stuck in his gym bag or his pocket. Out here, Umeboshi can see all of the lights and hear all of the sounds!

    "Oh!" he says, both surprised and excited judging by the tone of his voice. His whole face lights up as he sees familiar faces. "Hey! Look, we have a whole RA crowd out tonight!"

    His yukata is fairly plain, brown with faint stripes, but he was wearing a bright orange belt just to rep the Radiant Heart Academy colors.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi froze when suddenly there was conflict. Oh. Oh dear. That wasn't... wasn't good at all. Fortunately, though, she doesn't have to interfere. Instead, she gets to focus on the fishies! She lightly took Coco's hand and started tugging her towards the fish. "So, have you ever.... actually, no, I guess you wouldn't have. But trust me, it's fun! And hey, then we can play ring toss, I've always wanted to play those, they usually have really cute stuffies you can get. Oh, and maybe the shooter games! Don't, uhhhh, shoot the person running the stand though. N-not that I ever would. But... you could... and you'd likely get in trouble. So ummm. Don't," she said with a wide grin.

Funny, for someone who hadn't 'been' to one of these festivals, she sure seemed to know a bunch. Then again, Coco at least knew her secret, so it likely wasn't that big a surprise.

What was a bit of a surprise was that Wuwu's cheeks seemed oddly... full... and a nearby stand was missing a taiyaki. Fortunately, the host didn't seem to notice.

Mio Morita has posed:
Mio is content to just look around She turns the cat mask to the side of her face so she can more easily see. She walks over to a squirt gun game. She smirks and sits down. Setting down the yen to play she hands it over and takes aim.

The game rings and Mio and a few others start firing the mini water cannons. Mio's eyes are on the target and she gets it lined up in a hurry. Water goes flying at the target and a little car starts moving toward a finish line. Her little car pulls out ahead and starts moving as fast as it can. Once she has the target aligned its in the bag for her. Another car comes up fast on her tail but... with the sound of a ringing bell the water cannon race ends.

The person at the counter smiles and gives her a little squishy plushie. "WOO! I won!" She happily holds up the squishy plushie. What is the plushie of? Well its a 'THING'!!! It looks kind of like a dog with antlers and a tanuki's tail. "Sorry I didn't think I was going to win. This is kinda cute!" She laughs.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Chiyo-san!" Rashmi exclaims upon seeing the newest arrivals to join their merry band, favoring the purple-haired student and the boy with him with a cheerful, welcoming wave. Pushing her tengu mask up onto her forehead -- and in the process, giving herself the skinniest possible pompadour -- she grins. "Of *course* we'd come to the festival, what's even the point of not showing up! Fireworks, games, street-food, getting to wear yukatas..."

The festival atmosphere is indeed planting its hooks into the bookworm, as it tends to do.

Miho Aiuchi has posed:
    Kurumi does a double-take when she sees the missing Wuwu-snagged taiyaki, but she doesn't remark. She just blinks, and writes it off as having misunderstood what she'd seen a moment ago.

    She and Miho have a quiet conversation on the way back, taiyaki in hand, to where the group is gathering. And expanding, it looks like. Kurumi clears her throat, and bows to Rashmi in an appeasing way. "Um, I'm sorry for yelling at you, Terios-san," she says awkwardly, but earnestly. "I shouldn't have let ... stuff ... get to me."

    Miho smiles faintly, still looking nervous. She's just generally a nervous person, it seems!

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco gives the sisters a bright smile as they accept the invitation to join them with goldfish scooping. "That's awesome, we are going to have lots of fun", she says. "You aren't going to intrude, Miho, I assure you", Coco adds, still smiling towards Miho specifically.

In the general commotion, she almost misses the voices calling out to them, but if she didn't notice that, she surely notices the two figures rapidly approaching her. "Hey there, Chiyo! Nice to see you here, how is it going?" Coco waves at the other girl. "I see you have a friend with you. Hi, I'm Coco", she says turning to Ren and extending her hand for Ren to shake. "We were about to go play some goldfish scooping. How do you two feel about it?" Coco adds, extending the invitation she just gave to Miho and Kurumi.

Cho is rather eager to play the game herself, as she starts tugging Coco towards the stand. "No, I never played, but I have an unfair advantage over all of you since I can communicate with the fishes", she whispers mischievously at her friend.

"I won't though", she adds with a little laugh. "I'm here to enjoy myself fair and square. So, I also wouldn't shoot anybody or anything like that. Thanks for the warnings", she adds, squeezing Cho's hand too. "Ring tossing sounds fun! Can't wait to win enough plushies to have a gift for everyone."

Coco looks around for Mio, and notices she is over at the squirt gun booth. "Hey, Miooo!", she yells and waves at the other girl, "That's a nice plushie you won. We are about to go scoop some goldfish, are you coming with us?"

"I'm glad everything got patched up", she tells Rashmi and the Aiuchi sisters. "Now it's time for the goldfish scooping we agreed on", she declares with energy. Hoping that Mio has agreed to go with them, Coco starts moving towards the goldfish stand.

Mio Morita has posed:
Mio smiles happily and puts her plushie in her bag. She happily walks over to Coco and everyone else. "Wow this group is getting pretty big!" She smiles and waves to the new arrivals. "Nice to meet you all. I'm Mio. I don't think we've met before." She comments before turning her attention to the fish game. "I hope I win a goldfish. I think a pet goldfish would be awesome to have in the dorm. We can get it a nice big aquarium with lots of plants and stuff.

She smiles and starts walking toward the fish game. "What do you think Coco? A nice fish friend would be awesome wouldn't it?" She grins happily.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai smiles easily at Rashmi's greeting, and when she mentions her friend she can only nod with a half-turn toward the plushie carrying Ren. A gesture is given toward him with the little folding fan she had tucked away in a sleeve--Bonito, really, because he too wanted to explore the festival without being his usual Boa-phone charm self. OR his usual cat self. It was a busy festival. "Yes, this is Ren-kun, we're in the same grade. He's been trying to get me to join baseball club with him but I'm a bit busy for it," she points out with a laugh. "I ran into him a bit ago."

Coco's greeting as well gets a friendly little flip of the fan waving-like in her direction. "Hello! Oh, you're all going to the goldfish one? I always feel bad for the little fish," she has to admit. "I'd be scared if a bunch of people were trying to scoop me up."

Ren Morimoto has posed:
    Some of the faces here are more familiar to Ren than others, but he doesn't seem to mind strangers. In fact his voice is rather chipper as he says, "Nice to meetcha," to Coco, shaking her hand with his own calloused one. The motion makes the calico cat plushie squished between his elbow and side go "Eek!" a little bit. Must have one of those squeakers inside it, like dog toys do.

    He waves to Rashmi too, adding, "I love your mask!" before he's nodding along. "I'm here for the food! Have you all eaten anything especially tasty yet?"

    He glances sidelong at Chiyo, and then he makes a thoughtful sound, head tilting to the side. "I think Chiyo-chan and I have some catching up to do when it comes to sampling the tasty treats here. I'll join after I get us something to snack on, okay?" Though he just waves at Chiyo and doesn't wait for a response, wandering to the nearby taiyaki stand... and then the karaage stand... and ooh is that kakigori?

    He's going to be positively loaded down with snacks by the time he makes it back!

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi blinked a few times when her friend mentioned talking to the fish. She considered it for a moment and then... leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I won't tell anyone if you don't," she said.

Yes, it was naughty. But, come on. It was a festival games. They were mostly cheats, anyway. So what if the fishes WANTED to be free? Besides, she was a mermaid. They'd likely do better under her care than they would anyone else's.

"I uhhhh... I wouldn't expect to win too many plushies, though. A lot of them are like... scams? If that makes sense? So like... they're designed for you to lose. Or they're really low quality... but... that's half the fun. Don't think about what you'll win. Remember how much fun you'll have being with all your friends, playing silly games like this. While wearing pretty dresses." Oh, the MOST important part.

She glanced towards all the new people, nervously smiling. Oh... it was getting crowded. "I'm uhhhh, Cho Konishi, a pleasure to meet all of you."

She had to give it to Coco, she was handling all of this wayyyyy better than she could. Then again... she supposed that was just... the elegance of royalty. Siiiigh. To imagine. She knew an ACTUAL princess. And was friends with her.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Good to meet you, Ren-san!" Rashmi says, bowing in greeting. "Yeah go have fun, looks like the taiyaki are just flying off the stalls!"

As Kurumi approaches to apologize, the redhead smiles gently. "I understand," she says, returning the bow. "Thank you *very much* for apologizing, though, I really do appreciate the thoughtfulness. Now let's just have fun, okay?" Straightening, she looks over Kurumi's head at Miho, flashing another smile as if to say 'If that was you, thanks!'

But the group's attention turns to the games, and Rashmi grins at Mio's victory. "Oh wow that's adorable, Mio! Good job!"

Miho Aiuchi has posed:
    Miho faintly smiles back to Rashmi, and shrugs. She doesn't want to take away Kurumi's moment.

    Kurumi nods back to Rashmi. "Yeah," she says softly, clearly not sure of what else to say.

    Miho chuckles mirthlessly at Mio's comment. "It is pretty big, isn't it," she says. "Uhhh ..." She glances sideways at Coco. "I mean ... you'll, you'll definitely take care of a goldfish if you win, right, Kurumi-imouto?"

    "Right, of course!" says Kurumi.

    Miho does her best not to think or wonder anything whatsoever about seeing Cho whispering in Coco's ear (the Aiuchi sisters are entirely oblivious to the sociopolitical implications of princesses and surrounding matters), and giggles nervously at what she says aloud. "Yes. All the yukatas ... they are pretty," she says awkwardly. "A-and, I mean ... it ... it is nice to, to meet you all!"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
'Well, she sounds like a caring owner, at least', thinks Coco, as Mio communicates her intentions to her. 'Though, in a way she already has a fish friend', she snickers lightly between herself. "Yes, it sure would be. And it's nice that you are taking the fish's wellbeing so seriously, Mio. That big acquarium you just described sounds awesome. I think I will bring you something nice for it too."

"True, that is a rather scary experience, but I don't know how much better it is being in cooped up in that shop owner's care, so if you care about them like you seem to do, I think it will be fine, Chiyo", Coco expresses her opinion on the matter. "But you don't have to take part, if you don't want to. We are probably going to move onto other games soon, and there are the fireworks still", she adds, trying to make Chiyo feel welcome regardless.

"That sounds like a plan, Ren!" Coco nods as the boy starts talking about wanting to go get some food with Chiyo first. "We have had some already, so don't worry about us." The little 'Eek' goes lost in the general cacophony of the crowd, which is a good thing from a certain point of view, because otherwise Coco would have catched on pretty quickly after what happened with Mio's "plushie". She waves him off as the boy starts quickly expanding his food reserve.

"I guess you caught me", she whispers back with a smile, guessing from Cho's serious expression that she caught onto her secondary goal. "I do actually want to free the ones I 'catch' today. I don't really like this lottery of them potentially ending up with a bad owner." Going back to a more cheerful mood, she adds with a more normal voice volume. "Oh, is that how it is? I'm surprised that people just accept that even if it's something known. I will follow your suggestions, though. Like you say, being here having fun with you is already a prize", she cheerfully adds, adding another squeeze to Cho's hand.

"If you don't want to take care of the fish, you don't have to participate", Coco says, not really certain of what Miho's exhortation to her sister meant for their care level. "Yes, the yukata are really pretty, and so is yours. Did it take long to choose? You picked it well."

Mio Morita has posed:
Mio grins. "I like fish and I wouldn't want one to be hurt. I mean I enjoy eating sushi and other fish but pet fish? Those are different. I might give it extra food so it gets big. That would be really cool. Having a big gold fish in a nice aquarium. We can make sure it has a happy home.

She happily walks up to the gold fish game. She immediately starts playing. She gives the person some yen and then she starts throwing ping pong balls into the mass of water filled jars. She doesn't get any in though. "Awww! I'm going to try again!" She pays the person again and starts chucking ping pong balls, trying her best to get one into a jar.

Ren Morimoto has posed:
    Ren is still in the general vicinity, but he's steadily making his way through all of the food stalls, sampling their delectable delights one by one. He'd meant to just grab a quick snack and be right back, but instead he has undertaken a true food journey that started with the taiyaki and has now developed into things like shaved ice, grilled corn on the cob, and sweet potato sticks.

    At this rate he isn't going to make it back to the group in time for the goldfish game, but he looks happy even as he scarfs. Every once in a while he looks over in the direction of the girls and waves, saying something that is lost in the crowd but is probably "I'll be there soon!" or something to that effect, before another vendor hawking their tasty treats catches his attention and he is pulled forever onwards.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
With Kurumi's apology given and accepted, Rashmi is all smiles. "I like your yukatas too," she says brightly, nodding Miho and Kurumi toward the games. "So who else wants a plushie?"

With that, she urges the pair toward the water-gun race... But doing vastly less well than Miho, finding a bit of difficulty aiming the water-jet properly. Still, there's a smile on her face as she steps back.

Miho Aiuchi has posed:
    Miho laughs nervously. "I'm just ... a worrywart, kind of thing." (She has a bit of a knack for understatement.) "A-also Kurumi-imouto genuinely is better than me about. About pets. And stuff." She's at least somewhat laughing her own nervousness off ...

    She blushes faintly at the compliments to her yukata. "Oh! Um. We ... Kurumi just wanted ... matching, and ..."

    Kurumi nods. "I just wanted to do something girly, so I just picked out the same kind of thing for both of us," she says cheerfully. She nods to Rashmi. "Anyway, I'd rather have a plushie! They're more soft than fish," she adds wryly.

    The two line up next to Rashmi. Miho is ... actually pretty good at this, though it takes her a couple of tries. Kurumi manages after a couple more tries. Kurumi cheers for both of them.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco likewise imitates Mio, approaching the booth that was about goldfish scooping and given the person the due yen, receiving the paper scooper in exchange. She looks at the numerous fishes swimming in the basin. 'Hello, I am the mermaid princess of the South Pacific Pacific Oceans', she tells the fishes. The fishes all turn in her direction and a cacofony of voices starts exploding in her head. 'Just one of you, please', she grimaces.

'What are you here for? The sea is far from here.' Coco looks at them with surprise as she realises she got river fishes in front of her. 'I just wanted to ask you to stay still, because I am going to win you all and free you.'

The fishes immediately agree to the plan and a few minutes later she is being chased away by the seller, a mere 10 fishes secured. 'Sorry I couldn't help the rest of you', she tells them. 'Eh, you did what you could', is the general sentiment. With that, Coco quickly makes a trip to a nearby river to free them.

After that, Coco decides to follow Rashmi's suggestion of going for plushies. "That's a good idea, Rashmi", she says, quickly following the other girl. However she quickly changes her mind once she notices the stand she picked and how hard it is to manage the water-jet. 'The last thing I need is dousing my pendant in water', she shudders, trying not to think of the disastrous consequences. "I'm going to try another game, Rashmi", she warns her, before rushing away.

So she opts for going for a ring-tossing game, but the first try left her stumped. 'No matter, I can go on', she thinks, with the same results. 'I can do another.'

15 tries later, she is finally carrying a plushie of a penguin in her hands, as well as one of an otter. 'Eh, I may have splurged more than I intended, but I got a gift for Cho and the other one looks exactly like Hippo, I wonder what will happen when I show it to him', she chuckles, holding the plushies in her arms as she leaves the ring stand. "I see you won a plushie too, Miho, that's really nice", she congratulates the brown-haired girl with a smile.

Mio Morita has posed:
"I got one!" Mio cheers as she sinks a ping pong ball into a water filled jar. She is promptly given a bag with a very white gold fish with an orange spot on its back. She giggles happily and carefully holds the bag its in, not wanting to shake it and stress the fish. "What should we name it?" She asks Coco.

That's about the point she realizes how many fish Coco has 'won' from the other fish game. "Wow. You are good at that game." She blushes. "What are you going to do with all of those fish?" She asks curiously. "They look nice and pretty calm too. Mine looks a little freaked out."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...Wow," Rashmi says, eyes wide as Coco wins hard enough at the fish game to be chased off; doesn't that only happen in video-games?

But then Mio wins a fish, and Rashmi cheers, clapping. "Good *job,* Mio! Um... how about Kinshiro? Because he's white and gold?"

Festivals are always a great time, and this one even better than most; Rashmi got to go with *friends,* and that's a novel enough experience it's likely to be treasured for a very long time.

Miho Aiuchi has posed:
    Kurumi looks over her shoulder towards the fish game. "What ... the heck ... just happened over there," she says flatly.

    Miho follows her gaze as she sees Coco retreating. "Uhhh ... possibly ... e-exactly what it looks like." It seems the two of them suspect shenanigans of some sort. Still, they also have something less shenaniganous to respond to. "'Kinshiro' sounds like a good name, yeah!"

    Miho smiles nervously over at Rashmi. Seems like she's in more-or-less the same boat!

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Oh, yes, I have had a lot of chances to get the hang of it", Coco lies to Mio nervously. "Frankly, I only took as many as I could because I wanted to free them. I don't really like the idea of them either being stuck there or captive with an uncaring owner", she explains herself.

"True, yours is pretty nervous, but it will calm down once it realises how caring you are. And I agree with the others, Kinshiro is a good name for your fish", Coco says to Mio.

'Calm down', Coco communicates to the fish. 'Mio is a good person, you will live well with her. And I will pass by every once in a while to check on you', she promises. With that, the fish quickly gets at ease. "See? It's already looking more tranquil", she smiles at Mio.

At that moment, a loud noise is heard. "Oh, the fireworks have started!", Coco reacts excitedly. With everyone at her side, Coco happily watches the colourful explosions, glad to have spent the festival with her friends.

"So pretty..." she says, the lasting opinion she had of that event, with colourful yukata, fireworks, food and games with her friends.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Rashmi returns Miho's smile with a quick, easy grin. But as the fireworks start, Rashmi quietly moves up to Coco's shoulder. "I had a really great time," she says to the girl. "Thank you *so much* for inviting me, it really means a lot."

And she simply stares up at the fireworks, feeling that Coco has really said all that needs to be said about the bursts of color and sound transforming the sky.

It's like magic, really, in all the best ways.

Mio Morita has posed:
"Kinshiro is a really nice name. What do you think Kinshiro?" SHe asks as she lifts the bag. "I am going to need to get him a nice sized aquarium. Probably around 30 or 40 gallons. We will set it up in the dorm room and we are going to make sure he is happy." She smiles bright.

Then the loud crack of the fireworks goes off. She looks up and watches as the sky rockets ignite the dark of the evening with beautiful explosions of light. "Oooh! Those are so pretty." She smiles and looks around to her friends. "Thank you all for having me along." She comments as the light from the fireworks twinkles in her eyes.

Miho Aiuchi has posed:
    Miho looks up at the sound, and Coco's exclamation. "Ah! Fireworks! Let's, uh, let's find a good spot to ..." Her voice trails off, and she shrugs, standing near Rashmi and Coco. "Yeah, um ... I'm ... enjoying this ... and stuff." She adjusts her glasses, then shifts her position with the plush she won.

    Kurumi just smiles up at her, before looking back up to watch the fireworks.

    On other days, there might be battles between good and evil, or against Witches. But here and now, with the fireworks, it's a night of relative peace.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi narrowed her eyes at the fish owner. Hmph. Rude. See? All scams. The moment someone wins too much, they chase them off. She glanced at the fishes, then down at Wuwu... Wuwu, just grinned and Cho whispered softly. "Don't you dare--" she whispered to the stuffy.

"I wasn't going to," Wuwu whispered back, barely moving.

"--Until the fire works are going off and nobody is looking."

Wuwu, the stuffy... just seemed to be grinning.

Of course, soon after that, lots of food and the games, the fireworks were displayed... and Wuwu kind of... disappeared for a bit.

Odd how he'd just turn up later, soaking wet, with no comment on WHAT actually happened. Nope. None at all.

Cho, meanwhile, enjoyed the fireworks. Reaching out to take her roommate's hand and give it a little squeeze, she whispered again.

"Best mermaid princess I've ever been roommates with," she whispered, grinning to her. Granted, the bribery helped. Cho was more than happy to have a princess lavish her with gifts and all.

But as pretty as the fireworks were... she cared a lot more for what she got to experience. Her first visit to a festival as herself. As, a yukata. All in all?

Best. Festival. Ever.