1063/Post-Fight Yakiniku

Post-Fight Yakiniku
Date of Scene:	30 January 2024
Location:	Mitakihara Ward
Synopsis:	After fighting together against an evil vending machine, Rashmi and Adora go for all-you-can-eat grilled meats, some heavy conversation, and Rashmi delivers a gift. Adora resists learning a valuable lesson about self-care, but is that really a new concept?
Cast of Characters:	Rashmi Terios, Adora Rainbowfist
Tinyplot:	How the Adora Crumbles

---

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Oe of the benefits of the Veil that Rashmi can appreciate, is that most people find *any and all ways* possible to ignore magic when it's right in front of their face.

Because when you've just helped fight off a ten-foot-tall vending machine ( "INSERT YEN, ACQUIRE DEEEEEEEATH!" ) and you're nursing a bruised eye from an oversized can of Pocari Swat to the face, you just want to regain some calories without having to engage in shenaniganry.

Which was why, when the youma flaked away, Rashmi tiredly asked She-Ra if she felt like grabbing some barbecue, before splitting for home.

Because she knew a place in walking distance, that would sell all-you-can-eat grilled meats at midnight.

That is in fact a thing in Tokyo.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"That sounds so good," the blonde groans softly, and nods. She moves to follow the other girl, nursing a busted lip from the fight, herself. She's obviously had way worse. Rashmi has seen her scars, and even witnessed her getting some of them. She holds a cold can of soda from the defeated vending machine against her lip as she walks with her.

"How's The Boy?," she asks after a few moments of aching silence, glancing sideways at her.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Pretty good," Rashmi answers, lifting cracked glasses and dabbing at the corner of her eye. "I mean *we're* great, always, but it's him and the rest of the world that's usually the concern. You might have noticed that my special-agent goober has misplaced, like, *all* his chill."

Chuckling, Rashmi shakes her head, and gestures to a lit sign not far away. "...Thinking about it, we may only get one chance to eat here; they charge women a little less, 'cos women *eat* less... Unless you're us," she says with a laugh. "But don't worry, I got us this time just in case we don't get banned."

With that, she opens the door for the astoundingly-tall She-Ra with a grin. "After you?"

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"He had some to misplace?," she teases lightly. "I'm glad to hear it, though. Really. You two are good together." She both sounds like she means it, and sad at the same time. The teen is dressed in battered jeans with torn knees and Converse, along with a Padre's hoody and a Nirvana shirt. She couldn't try harder to give off those gay vibes, really.

"Ha. Fools." Adora grins at the other girl, before wincing a bit as she presses the can back into place, and she slips inside once the door is held for her. "You sure? Thanks! I really need to find a part-time job."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Rashmi pays up front, and guides Adora to a table with a small personal-size grill set in the middle. "I think we are too," she says, patting Adora's shoulder. "But don't worry, Adora-chan. Maybe things aren't the same as they were where you come from, but... That doesn't mean it *can't* happen in similar ways. Just... kinda feels like there's no speed-running this one, y'know?"

A short conversation with the waiter, the word 'omakase' is thrown around -- the magic that stuffed Japanese into Adora's head translates it as 'I leave the details up to you' but it feels a lot like there's way more to it than that -- And after a few minutes they're handed two small plates of uncooked beef thinly sliced, half of a split-lengthwise green onion, and restaurant-standard green tea.

And as Rashmi turns on the grill and wipes it down like someone who's done this before, perhaps now it becomes apparently that she's *still in henshin.* All ruffled skirts, armor-shouldered vest, and even Nicomachea sitting next to her like a student's math textbook. And nobody is actually paying attention.

"Instructions say to wait thirty seconds and flip, and leave the onion on until it starts to smoke. Anyway... Part of the reason I asked you here was I had something I was given to give to you, but like... I promised I wouldn't say from who."

But Adora's a lot smarter than she's been talked down about, clearly. She has to know, right?

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
The tall blonde settles into the booth opposite Rashmi, and she beams when she sees the grill. "So cool!" She blinks as her shoulder is patted, and then she slowly nods as she listens. "I...I know. I had a long conversation with Sunbreaker and she put a few things about the way I speak to Catra into perspective. I've kind of been...speaking down to her. Condescending. About how I know her better then she knows herself. It's...not how I meant to come off."

She sets the can down and rubs at her eyes, sighing. And then there is food! She perks up immediatly, and she lets Rashmi take the lead. "Okay! Okay, that all makes sense.

And then there's the part about the 'something', and she blinks.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
'I had a long conversation with Sunbreaker...'

Those words alone have Rashmi opening her mouth, about to hurriedly deny whatever nonsense that woman put into Adora's head, but she pauses. "...I... wow, that... I mean maybe it was *phrased* a little jerk-like, but... huh. Gonna have to remember she can give good advice. ...When the stars align right, I guess. Anyway!"

Meat is placed on the grill, and soon the lovely smoky smell of charring meat that permeates the shop, becomes a little more *immediate.* It's sliced so thinly that it barely takes any time at all to cook, and the moment the last of the strips are gone, a waiter places another, completely different kind of meat, this time with a couple of dipping sauces to go with, and a strip of carrot. "Oooh. Pork belly," Rashmi says... then pauses for a moment. "Here, let's experiment for a bit, see what you like best." She shakes some pepper out over one of Adora's slices. "There, try plain, and the pepper."

"So some places do 'omakase' style dining; basically you let the chef choose everything for you, based on what he sees you liking and not liking, so you can try a little bit of everything and really *know* what you like. Usually you wouldn't see that in a place like this, but... It's late, mostly empty, the staff's probably bored at least a little, so... Why not let the chef have some fun too?"

The dipping sauces turn out to be very different from each other; one a vinegar-mustard thing, and the other a thick, smoky-sweet barbecue, and Rashmi leaves off the matter of the gift in favor of appreciating the food, at least for the moment.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"I mean, she followed that up with a whole lot of 'she'll never love you' and 'you should just join us. You'd join us if you really cared about her', so the good advice only went so far. Anyways, she jumped me, but only so I'd summon my alicorn for her. Turns out she's his number one fan." Adora actually smirks a bit at that.

She helps assemble the dipping sauces and get everything in order while the other girl cooks the meat. She snags the first slice and tries it, making a pleased sound before trying the other one, and making an even more pleased sound. "Oh, it's SO good..." She focuses mostly on the vinegar-mustard sauce. She wraps some of the meat in one of the lettuce wraps and wolfs it down, making more surprised, happy sounds.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...Okay *that* sounds more like her," Rashmi sighs. "...Wait you have an alicorn? ...*Did I miss you getting an alicorn?!*"

Look Rashmi may not be the fan of alicorns that Sunbreaker is, but... she *is* a fantasy nerd. "I... Okay when we're *not* in the middle of a public place I need to meet him, but... *Anyway* back on topic. So yeah. *She's* been coming around the Korma every so often lately, after the dinner rush. Just... y'know so she can have some food she likes, but not when it's too loud for her, and she can just breathe I guess. We talk. I think I get what you see in her, too," she says with a small smile. Because, hey, even under these messed-up circumstances, it's nice when a friend sees the value in a loved one.

The first break in the parade of meat comes, with carrot strips, broccoli, more dipping sauces, and of course a bowl of rice. But after that...

"...Kidney, huh? Well *that's* definitely adventurous-- oh wow is that wasabi in the mustard?"

Leaning back, Rashmi shoots a look to the kitchen, more amused than challenging.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"Oh! You haven't met him? Yeah. Swiftwind. He got here from Etheria a bit ago. After the dance we went to, though. Back home he was full-size all the time, but here he's tiny unless I'm She-Ra. horn, big wings...lots of...personality." She coughs.

It takes her a moment to realize that Rashmi is talking about Catra, and the girl sits up a bit. For a moment she forgets to eat, but she gets back to it quickly, holding onto every word as she does so. "I...didn't know she was doing that," she whispers, her eyes wide. When she's told Rashmi can see it, though, she smiles widely, and the girl can see a spark of that love in her eyes.

"Kidney? Ooooh. Very good for you." The blonde seems to have no issue with it! "And I like spicy! Makes me feel aliiiiiive."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"She'd probably get mad if she knew I told you," Rashmi admits, "but... I mean I can at least try to make sure she's not miserable *all* the time, y'know?"

Kidney *with* eye-wateringly spicy mustard is still better than without, and while she doesn't sing its praises like Adora does, she *does* tuck it away quite handily. And now comes the first big divergence of the evening's order; For Rashmi, a small bugolgi bowl with a little cup of sauce, and strips of skirt-steak to cook before eating.

For Adora, onions shaved paper-thin to put on the grill over strips of rib meat.

"But aside from her... How're *you* doing, Adora-chan? Haven't really seen you much, since that big meeting in the Shed."

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"I don't want her to be miserable at all," she girl says softly. She picks up some meat and noms it as she chats with the other girl, watching her from across the table.

She ooohs and aaaahs as the bulgogi comes out, and she makes work of it as well. "Mn. Not too much. Training Mio every week like I've been, pretty much since I got here. Working with my clubs. The odd monster fight here and there. But...not a lot, really."

She adjusts her ponytail and sighs softly. "Trying to keep my heart above water.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"We do what we can," Rashmi says gently. "Maybe it's not gonna be easy, but... You've got friends that can help, y'know? Friends that'd be happy to be her friend too, when she's ready. Maybe that'll take time, but like... No sense in not starting now."

She picks a bit more thoughtfully at her bugolgi, slicing the egg in half and mixing the yolk into *everything.* "That goes for you too y'know, Adora-chan. If we can find a way home for you too, you know we will. But until then? Nothing wrong with making friends here. More people that can help the better, right?"

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"I don't think there's a way home for us. And even if there was...we have two different homes to go back to. I don't want to feel homesick as well as heartsick. I need to pick one or the other or I'm not going to be able to do this."

She watches the yolk mixing curiously, and she tries it. "Mn. I don't like this as much as the spicy mustard." So Adora goes back to that. After a bit she pulls her hair out of her ponytail and lets it fall down her shoulders.

"So, you have something to give me?," she asks softly.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
With the first couple words, Rashmi shifts Nicomachea to make it harder to see from the counter, and nods, waiting for the waiter to leave their next offering, and go. With a single telepathic command and a tap on the book's central gem, coming away with a small package, clumsily-wrapped in plain brown paper. "Yeah," she says, voice gentle. "And I think you'll like it, too."

Passing the package over, she returns to her meal, keeping an eye on her friend in case emergency emotional-support becomes necessary.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
She sets her chopsticks down and reaches out for the package. "This is from...?" A crack can be heard in her voice before she clears her throat and forces herself to act casual. Well, as casual as Adora can ever act. She tucks some blonde behind her ear and stares at the wrapped package for several moments before she carefully unwraps it. She makes sure not to tear the paper in any way, carefully slixing any tape with a knife at the table.

"What is it?," she asks nobody in particular, as she finishes unwrapping it.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
It's just a little stuffed horse, the kind you can get at any four dozen little stores in this part of Tokyo alone.

"I promised I wouldn't say who it's from," Rashmi repeats, smiling just a bit. "But it was just after Christmas when I was given it, I just never got to run into you before now."

She doesn't say any more, because really this moment is between Adora and Someone Who Is Not Here, so... more meat on the grill, and signal for tea, and let Adora lead what conversation comes if she wants.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
She holds the little stuffed horse in her hand gently, like it might break. She cradles it like it were spun from glass. She doesn't say anything for a long time, only looking down at it. After awhile she lifts it and gives it a little kiss on the head, before tucking it into her bag.

"Thanks, Rashmi. I...appreciate it. I really do."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"You know you can talk to me anytime," Rashmi says. "About anything. Friends look out for each other, y'know?"

Portioning out the next round, she tilts her head. "You're one of the strongest people I know, Adora-chan... But even strong people gotta put down the weight now and again."

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
She nods to that, and finally pushes her plate aside. She focuses on sipping her drink instead.

"I don't feel like it's fair if I complain. People have it way worse then I do. More tragic lives. Worse circumstances. I'm a freaking magical princess with a flying alicorn who's saved the galaxy. Well, a galaxy. What right do I have to be broken? Or weighed down? I was the favorite of the Horde, and then the Chosen One. I worked hard at both, but still. After all that, why would it be okay for me to say it's too much? That my heart hurts so much I have trouble lifting my sword? Or that I am so angry that I don't want to hold back on some of these villains? I do hold back, though. Because it's what we do. And I don't break down because I need to be better then that."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Adora-chan," Rashmi says, setting aside her bowl and looking very, very intently at the blonde. "I'm gonna tell you what Mami said to me, once... 'Just because other people have suffered, does not make your suffering *less.* Your hurt is yours alone to bear, and there is no shame in seeking help if it is more than you can bear.'"

After a moment, she leans back a bit, turning her teacup in her hands. "The way you talk about it, you've been fighting for a long, long time. To me? That just means you *badly need* a rest, and maybe some people to protect *you* for a change. You deserve it too, y'know."

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"I -can't-," she says, her voice strained. "I can't put down the Sword. I can't stop putting myself between the Bad Things Out There and people. I know there are a lot of girls with power here, but...they can't help Her. They don't..."

She sovers her face, her battered lip bleeding a bit before she reaches for a napkin to dab at it with her other hand.

"I...I get that you're trying to help me. I...I do. But...this isn't something I stop, or even slow down on. If something happened to Chrono...if he got changed or corrupted or...would you take it slow? Would you let being tired or broken hearted slow you down? And on top of that there's the fact that I can't have this power and NOT use it to protect people. It would make me a terrible person and...I'm not going to be what they wanted me to be. What they raised me to be. What She still is...trying to be."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"That's not what I mean," Rashmi says. "Chrono *did* get corrupted, a little. And you're right, I was *right there* when it got handled, because I had to make sure. But I don't mean you should slow down, Adora-chan, or anything like that. Just... People care about you. Both of you. And even if we can't help her like you can, we can *have your back* so that *helping* her doesn't break *you.* And help her how we can, in the meantime."

She falls silent for a bit, looking down at her hands. "Chrono was *furious* at first, about how weird magic is around here. All this power, to stand against all the horrible things running around... And it comes to *teenagers.* He's literally been training for this his whole life, so in his weird way he had a point. But you and Catra-san, you didn't *have* that choice, like he did. So I think... maybe there's something both of you *need* that pulled you here. Like... someplace that doesn't need a Chosen One, or a Force Captain. Someplace where it's not all riding on you."

Reaching out, she hands Adora her napkin. "But even so... I *am* glad you're here, Adora-chan. You're a good friend to have."

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"I know it's not what you meant," she says softly, taking the napkin. "And...you're a good friend too, Rashmi-chan. Thanks." She touches the bag the paper and horse are in, and she lays her forehead in her hand, her elbow on the table to support her.

"I'm just projecting. I'm tired. And I hurt. Not physically. Well, a little physically. But...I'm just so freaking tired. I can't keep crying myself to sleep. It's pathetic, and it just makes me angrier. Every day, a little bit more. At chance. Fate. Myself. Everyone manipulating Her and pushing Her."

The napkin goes from her lip to her eyes, using the clean part to wipe away tears that threatened to pour. She stops herself before she cries. All of this seems to just have widened a crack in the dam. She's never looked so ashen. Or...un-Adoralike, before.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Watching Adora pull herself together, Rashmi takes mental notes, observations for Nicomachea to remember for her. Outwardly, she purses her lips in thought. "Hey... Are you still hungry? Cos there's kind of a traditional dessert for places like this to finish off the meal, and if you want, I can ask for it? Also... Have you ever visited the school nurse, out of curiosity?"

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"Mmmn. Yeah, we're friends, if you are talking about Meiou? Why?" She brushes her fingers back through her hair and considers the dessert for a moment before she nods. "Sure. Sure, dessert sounds good. I rtuined this, sorry." Suddenly her smile is back, and she straightens her shoulders. It's fake, but somebody who doesn't know her would absolutely believe it.

It raises the question of how often that chipper demeanor is fake?

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"You didn't ruin anything, Adora-chan," Rashmi says gently. "Not everything *has* to be a smile and a thumbs-up. But okay." Dessert is signaled for, and the waiter brings out two more plates.

Two graham crackers each, a big marshmallow, and a thin slab of chocolate.

"Welcome to the most fun mess you'll ever make while eating."

And yes, she stabs the marshmallow onto a chopstick, and holds it over the fire.

"...I asked because she's not just a nurse. She's one of us, and she's been around for... a long, long time. Maybe she'll tell you about some of it, if you ask, maybe not... But she's a really, really good friend, and an *excellent* listener, if you need it."

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"She was helping try and get Catra back to me," she replies. "I had a crush on her briefly," she admits with a chuckle. But there's that underlying brokenness under even that. She considers the dessert curiously, before following suit and holding it over the grill.

"Mn. I can already tell this is gonna be -delicious-."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"You're supposed to turn it so it only gets brown," Rashmi says, demonstrating. "But me..." She holds hers steady, and in no time at all half of the confection is black and saggy, before she pulls it away, layering the chocolate on the cracker, smearing her half-melted pillow over that, and smushing the last cracker on top.

"Also, I *believe it.* You must not have met her family yet, she lives with a couple other women who are just *criminally* pretty. Like, if I didn't have Chrono I'd be crushing like crazy kind of pretty."

"But... yeah. It's okay to hold yourself together, but... Make sure you have someone you can trust to be weak around, okay? If not me, then maybe Setsuchan. Or someone else, just... Someone who can be strong *for* you for a little, is all."

And then she bites into the s'more, and all attempt at being wise and helpful and genuine vanish in the face of trying to chew on gooey chocolatey crackery mess with any kind of dignity.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
She doesn't burn her marshmallow, but she makes it nice and brown. She watches and sandwiches it, before she takes her own bite. She lets out a very pleased sound before she grins and nods.

"It's great. Thank you." She takes her time eating it, before Adora licks the melted chocolate off of her fingers. She wipes her fingers on the napkin, then.

"It's getting pretty late," she says, as a way to not talk about seeking help from somebody. "I've been falling behind in my classes and...I should go. But...thanks. Really."

She begins to rise, picking yup her bag.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"You've got my number, right?" Rashmi asks, slipping out of her seat. "Seriously. Text me if there's *anything* I can do to help. And take care of you too, okay?"

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"I do, yeah. And I will," she lies. Well, in regards to her mental health, at least. She'll call her for help in battle in a heartbeat. She steps in to give the other girl a quick hug.

"Goodnight, Rashmi-chan."

With that she's gone, as if she couldn't get out of the restaurant sooner.