115/Second Lunch

Second Lunch
Date of Scene:	18 July 2023
Location:	Radiant Heart Academy
Synopsis:	Four girls have lunch on the roof! ... People talk too much.
Cast of Characters:	Mio Morita, Amanda Faust, Stern Starks, Coco Kiumi

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Mio Morita has posed:
Mio had first lunch yes, but not second lunch. Seriously, She had finished her lunch and wanted to go to her dorm for a few minutes. She had wanted to talk with Pin a little bit but sadly that wasn't happening. She was stopped by a teacher who didn't think she ate! The teacher looked at her and demanded to know what she had for lunch. Turns out an onigiri and a brownie isn't enough for a growing young lady. So she demanded she get something more substantial to eat. Mio wanted to fight over it but there was no budging this teacher. So Mio went and picked up a bento box from the cafeteria. From there she went up to the roof.

Yes. The rooftop would be perfect! Hardly anyone would be up there and Pin was with her. She could talk to Pin up there. Plus the air on the roof would totally be fresher than the air in the cafeteria. So up she went.

The sun is starting to list slowly toward the west. The air is warm but not overly so. Its actually a gorgeous day. "So Pin what do I have to do to get those Precards." She asks to the stuffed panda looking fairy.

"You have to fight creatures of darkness and win!" The small fairy responds but remains in Mio's pack, not certain they are alone yet.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    A late lunch. Amy has a packed sandwich (and the materials for it, a partial loaf of sliced bread, some deli turkey or chicken, and swiss cheese and mayo, have been moved to Mio's minifridge from Mallory's old apartment. Why let it go to waste?) and is heading to the cafeteria to eat when she catches sight of her roommate leaving by another door. This leads her to the stairwell, where she hears a door above her closing...

    After going up and down the stairs a couple of times (holy cow, she's not winded just from this! Youth is amazing...) she opens the door, to see Mio.

    "Oh wow, people really *do* come up here for lunch just like in anime and manga." Amanda steps out onto the roof and pauses. "Ooh, there *is* a nicer breeze up here... how long is it before they turn on the aircon in the school buildings...?"

Stern Starks has posed:
The roof? Empty? It's way less likely than you'd think. Especially when it's nice out. Mio's got her spot, but she's not alone. Out of conversational earshot, Stern is hunkered down in one of the long shadows thrown by the sun. She doesn't seem to be eating, though.

Sure, there's a bento sitting next to her in the shade, but it doesn't even look like she's opened it. No, instead the girl's fingers are flying across her laptop keys, the reflection of what looks like command line glinting from her glasses.

She does, eventually, reach over with one hand, the other -still typing-, to crack the box and pull an onigiri out. That's something, at least. Weirdly, even in the shadows, the blue orb pendant around her neck glints a couple times. Weird.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco had taken two prawn sandwiches from the cafeteria. She doesn't quite know what the sauce that was mixed in is, but that still looked yummy, so she is quite confident. Now where to eat them... Despite many students having already had lunch, the cafeteria is quite packed, so that's out of the question. 'You never know how many are all enrolled her until you see it yourself.'

Thinking about it for a second, maybe the rooftop would be a good choice? The scenery is probably nice up there. So she picks up the pace and starts walking up the stairs. She kind of missed just swimming up in a straight line when she needed to reach higher locations. 'Are all these zigzags really necessary? It's such a waste of time."

Despite her observations, soon enough, the door to the rooftop is in front of her, and she is free to reach outside and look for a nice spot. 'Huh, I wasn't the only one to have this idea', Coco thinks, noting two girls here, one of whom is already eating her lunch.

She approaches the railing before resting with her back against it. "That wasn't as nice a view as I hoped", she murmurs, having sneaked a few glances around while approaching her chosen spot. Soon enough, she unpacks her sandwiches and starts making her way through the first of them.

Mio Morita has posed:
So much for being able to talk with Pin. At least she got an answer to the main question she had. Mio quickly quiets down and jostles her bag, letting Pin know that there are people up here. Even if its only one person in the shade. That number quickly changes though. Where there once was one there is now two and two have become four and the time is coming. Or not.

Mio quietly finds a place to sit down with her bento box and opens it. "Mmmm This smells good." Her stomach doesn't really growl, after all she did eat something. She grabs her chopsticks and proceeds to start eating. She gives a wave to Stern and then to Coco. She actually addresses Amy however. "Oh hey. Adventuring up to the rooftop today?" She asks her.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Uhh, is this really an adventure?" Amy replies, walking over to the railing to check out the view Coco's deriding. "Mmm. Well, we are on a school campus, it's not like it's built on a hill overlooking the town or something... Maybe that's why it's not more popular."

    She starts to turn to Mio, "Do you come up here often?" but, something else catches her eye: A student working on a *laptop*? It seems like all the kids just use their phones these days... plus maybe the shade will be cooler. Amy walks over curiously... and her eyebrows raise a bit. Is that a command line interface? She can't really tell more detail just from reflections on glasses, though, and circles around curiously. "You don't see a lot of kids who actually know how to use a commandline these days. Thei-- Our generation grew up with computers, but most of us barely know how they work. ...Working on anything in particular?"

Stern Starks has posed:
Whatever Stern is working on is obviously code of some kind. There's lots of it. Many lines. She looks up at Amy, and goes to answer until she realizes she's still chewing on that rice ball. Her cheeks flush ever so slightly out of embarrassment, and she swallows, taking a breath. Her Japanese is quite good, but there's the hint of an accent that obviously isn't from here.

"A game," she says quietly. "About the .... stuff that goes on around here."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
She is... being waved at? Coco doesn't recognise the girl doing the waving, she doesn't think she has even seen her in passing. She waves back with a smile, before moving her way over there. She has taken that greeting as an invitation and she is not one to decline them. "Hello, it seems we have all had the same idea. I'm Coco. Do you come here often?" She also waves to the tiny girl that Mio is talking to. Looking at her had a sort of weird effect, like the word cute was being shouted at you, or maybe you would find the girl's photo in the dictionary in place of the definition. 'That's so odd...'

She is however distracted by Stern's reply. Maybe this is actually the time to get a few questions answered, in particular why Cure Tide expected Coco to be able to contact her despite having never met before. "Oh, hi", she begins. 'Was she always there?' "Do you know about the weird things happening around here too? Would you happen to know what a Cure Line is, please? None of the rumors I have heard went in depth about it."

Mio Morita has posed:
"Of course its an adventure if you've not come up here before." Mio comments before she turns her attention to Coco for a moment or so, "Nice to meet you Coco, I'm Mio Morita. I come up here every so often. Its a quiet place to get away from the crowd. Just so many people down in the cafeteria." She turns her attention to Amy, "Yeah I come up here every so..." She trails off. She's completely lost Amy to the girl who is busy making a game as it seems. "That is really cool. What kind of crazy things do you mean? I am still adjusting to some of the crazy around here. I am just curious you know?"

Then Coco comments about a 'Cure Line'. That gets her attention. She turns and looks at her curiously. "I have no idea. Sounds like its linked to some of that weird stuff."

"ACHOO!" A sneeze erupts from Mio's bag. "Ummm Achoo! Sorry. I just get allergies sometimes..." Mio trails off trying to cover for Pin.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "I guess life is full of little adventures... good point!" Amy smiles at Mio before DISTRACTED BY GAME-MAKING! Sorry, Mio, it was always her dream!

    Amy's eyes widen a bit and she leans forward with interest. "A game?! I always wanted to make a game when I was-- I mean, I always wanted to... Stuff?" She cocks her head to one side. What stuff?" She blinks at Coco. "Cure Line?"

    Mio sneezes. "Oh, that sucks. Do you need a kleenex?" She reaches for a pocket that isn't there, and rolls her eyes. She'll retrieve one from her backpack if Mio asks, though.

    (Not mentioned in the other scene: Also on Amy's desk was a box of tissues. 'I used to have allergies when I was younger... they're not as bad now, but I got in the habit of always keeping some around...' It's true! Just, it was when she was like 10 or 15 years younger...)

Stern Starks has posed:
Stern peers over the screen of her laptop at Coco and tilts her head slightly. "I don't know what a Cure Line is. Sorry." She shrugs. It sounds neat. Interesting. ... Fodder.

Her gaze swaps to Amy. "It's a ... gacha game. I've got some pictures of the, you know, girls with the powers, and they look cool. So I'm cobbling this together. Mostly for fun."

The rest is because it will literally print money.

"I mean, I've even seen some of the stuff going on. I was at the beach, and there was a plant monster before I bla--blacked out."

She was going to say blasted. Even if she was fighting Fate that day.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco awaits an answer from Stern, but to her surprise it's Mio who gives her an answer, if you can call it that. "Hmmm, why did you intervene if you know nothing? Are you trying to hide something?" The sneeze coming right after isn't helping Mio's situation any. 'Is she the same kind of magical heroine as Cure Tide? Or maybe Cure Tide herself? But wouldn't that mean she saw through me?' "What was that sneeze about? It clearly came from your bag", Coco asks with surprise.

"Yes, it must enable some sort of communication, I think? What I have heard wasn't really all that clear, which is why I was hoping Stern could cast some light on it. But thanks for addressing." She is shocked to hear Stern was one of the victims of these incidents. 'Maybe an extra pair of hands would have helped. If only I had been there...' She looks at him with a bit of remorse. If the Mermaid Princesses can't even protect the land right next to the sea, what can they protect? "I am sorry you had to go through that", she says with a bit of remorse in her voice, not realising she is letting that remorse out.

Mio Morita has posed:
Oh no. Oh No. OH NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!! Did it suddenly jump another 20 degrees. Mio is certainly sweating now. Heck she is sweating like Nixon at the mention of tape. She takes a deep breath and responds, "Because I am trying to learn about the Pretty Cures. They are kinda fascinating you know? I just commented because I thought maybe I heard something about your cure line before but I didn't."

"As for the sneeze. That actually came from something that I recently got. I've been trying to keep her a secret. She was a gift from my," She hesitates a moment, "Dad." She opens her bag and pulls out a plushie that looks like a panda with pink spots. She also has a pin in her hair. As if on cue, the panda-like plushie sneezes without moving. "See? Pandas are known to sneeze and stuff. I just didn't want anyone to know about Pin here because, its odd for a girl my age to be walking around with a stuffed animal." She hopes beyond hope that her half truths would add up to something that she can at least hide behind.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    A... gacha game, really? (Thinks the one who quoted Genshin Impact line a couple of days ago) Amy slumps a bit. "I guess they don't exactly have licenses, but shouldn't they get a cut...?" She's not actually thinking about herself! But a wannabe game designer has considered the hazards of fangames! "Wait, you have pictures?" This could be a chance to learn who else is out there!

    And then Stern says something so surprising that Amanda blurts out a response to without thinking: "You can REMEMBER it?!"

    And then almost immediately she claps her hands over her mouth.

    NICE GOING, DUMBASS. 'OH, I'M AN ADULT' YOU THOUGHT, 'I'M SMARTER THAN ALL THOSE KIDS' YOU THOUGHT, YOU DIDN'T EVEN MAKE IT 72 HOURS.

    Any concern about 'wait did the other girl say that sneeze came from Mio-san's bag?' is for the moment pushed out of her mind as she tries to figure out how to explain knowing about this stuff.

Stern Starks has posed:
Stern makes a bit of a face at her own slip, but it's gone in an instant. Especially as she starts to think. What does she have to hide, here? She has no teammates, she has no family here. No one that any of those weird bad guys can hurt. She -literally- has no reason to maintain a secret identity. Nothing at all. Instead, she just smiles slightly. "Okay, fine. I didn't black out. I didn't see much of the plant."

"I was helping fight that blonde girl. The sad one."

Her pendant glints in the light again. Well, it's not so mysterious anymore. And, honestly, if any of these girls are with the Bad Guys. Well. Lucifron is right here. She's not lacking in ways to defend herself if necessary.

Panda? What panda.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco looks intently at the panda, being no stranger to magical heroines employing animals as companion, that being the case for her too. And with Mio looking like she is about to jump out of her own skin... Coco brings a hand to the panda and starts tickling the animal on the stomach's side, waiting for any unusual sound from the creature's sound."

She turns her gaze towards Stern as she admits she was one of the defenders and not one of the victims."Oh, that's such a relief. I'm glad you were ok", all traces of remorse disappeared from her face. She pays no mind to Amy's comment, more focused on the panda and Stern's revelation.

Mio Morita has posed:
The poor fairy is tickled mercilessly. She tries her hardest but... Its in vain because after a few moments of onslaught tickling, the panda-like plushie lets out a laugh from it all. "OH NO! I'm so sorry Mio-Chan."The poor fairy flies up and hides behind Mio.

Mio closes her eyes. Welp. The cats out the bag. She's screwed. Blue is going to either chastise her or strip her of being a precure entirely. Mio quietly speaks. "I haven't been in this for more than like two weeks and I already am outed." She opens her now teary eyes. "I am a Pretty Cure. My name is Cure Daybreak. I'm asking you to keep quiet about this. Or don't. Chances are I'm not going to be a Cure much longer now anyway. She leaves her bento box and just starts walking towards the door to go back down to the cafeteria.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Stern admits a truth. Amy blinks. "You... you're a... wait, you were fighting a blonde girl? There are magical girls fighting other magical girls?"

    And then she hears a laugh, and turns around.

    The panda is moving. And flying. And talking. It's apologizing to Mio. And seeing her so sad is too much...

    Amy runs up and hugs her. "I didn't even make it four days! And I'm supposed to be older and smarter! You're okay, I guess all this magical girl stuff is harder than it looks!" She looks up at Mio's eyes. "Why would you not be a 'Cure' much longer?? Have you done a bad job?"

Stern Starks has posed:
Stern, honestly, feels better. Though, the concentration of Mahou on this roof is almost troubling. Like, is -everyone- at this school one? She's going to have to keep that in mind. She saves her work and closes the laptop, frowning in thought.

"What's a Pretty Cure? I have a Device. His name is Lucifron, and he's ... kinda weird."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco feels pretty bad about Mio's declaration. 'I didn't know it was going to lead to that...' "I promise I won't tell it to anyone. She shouts behind her, hoping Mio heard her before she left the floor.

And Amy revealed she is a magical heroine too. 'Well, all four of us are. Wouldn't you know the coincidence?' As she takes a better look at Amy, she gets a sudden hunch. "Wait, aren't you the girl that blew a hole in the hotel's floor after the other girl scanned the area?"

Mio Morita has posed:
Mio stops and sighs, "I'm not supposed to tell anyone that I am a Pretty Cure. I don't know how Blue-sama is going to react to me accidentally being revealed." She frowns. "He might say I was a mistake." She sighs. "Done in by my Fairy." She looks at Pin and shakes her head.

"I said I was sorry, Mio-chan. Something made me sneeze. I'm really sorry." Pin states as she tries to prove that it wasn't intentional.

"Pretty Cure are Legendary Warriors who fight against darkness, misfortune, and all of those negative things. Like the guy I fought when I first became a Pretty Cure, he was spreading misfortune to everyone." She frowns at the thought. "Anyway I'm going to talk to Blue and see if he will let me keep on being a Pretty Cure. I will need to go to our dorm and get his attention."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Well it worked didn't it?!" Amy replies indignantly. And blinks at Coco. "Wait, then you're..."

    Wait... all four of them?!

    <...Is everyone at this school a magical girl?> Amy wonders Intently. Which is to say, with the intent to telepathically contact Kyubey.

    <I don't know about everyone, but the level of magical activity in the city would be much higher if they were! And we've seen students among the victims and bystanders before.> Oh right, Osaka-san was involved in that coffee monster thing just the other day.

    But, right now, Mio has to be the priority! Amanda knows how kind she is... and how important being a Cure must be to her. "Wait, misfortune?" Amy shakes her head. "No, that's not important right now. I'm coming with you. To, to stand by you and help argue your case. And if he's gonna take away your powers," she clenches a fist, "he's gonna have to go through ME first."

    She forces a smile. "And hey, this is magical girl stuff... maybe having a friend willing to stand up for you will be its own kind of proof of your mettle?" She lets go of the hug but tries to take Mio's hand and walk with her. She glances back at the others, "Uh, my LINE ID is <Key Item obtained: Ashley's ID!>! Stay in touch, I guess we're gonna have a lot to talk about!"

Stern Starks has posed:
Stern stares at Mio. It's a calculating look, and her expression is incredibly hard to read, but the way her glasses glint is ... almost menacing. "I understand keeping a secret for the benefit of loved ones and friends, but a blanket rule? Foolishness." Girl, you're thirteen. Settle down. But she doesn't. "Whatever you've signed up to do, you're a person, not a soldier. You have those powers to help people, not slavishly follow this ...'Blue's' orders."

Device Mages. They're all something else. Then again, her Device -is- named Lucifron. Maybe bucking rules is something that made them sync.

"I won't crowd your righteous party, but...let me know how it goes, okay? If this Blue won't listen to reason, maybe..." She smiles. It's ... It's not a heroic smile at all. "Some implied violence might help."

What the hell is wrong with this girl?

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco smiles at Amy sheepishly. "Uhhh, I guess I let it out, but yes, I'm Yellow Pearl Voice, this city's emerging idol". Noting Amy spacing out, Coco asks "are you talking to your animal buddy again?"

Coco recognises Amy is right and turns to Mio. "I'm really sorry this happened, Mio, it's all my fault for pressing too far. Like I said, I am going to keep this a secret. But I don't want you to lose your Cure status because of me. Can I come with you to Blue? I can try to explain you had nothing to do with it", Coco brings her hand to her sub-hyoid region as she makes her plea.

Mio Morita has posed:
Mio nods, "Sure. I don't mind. A pretty Cure's strength comes from their friends. Thats what Blue-sama told me." She blushes a little bit. Reaching into her pocket, she checks to see if her Prechan Mirror is still there. It is, of course.

She looks over to Stern and smiles. "Blue-sama is sort of a god of the Earth. He might be a lot stronger than he looks is all I am saying." She blushes a little bit. "He also is kinda hot..." She lets that trail off as her face turns bright red. "Anyway, I will make sure you know, Stern-san was it?" She looks at Coco and smiles to her, "Thank you. Now that I'm thinking about it he didn't give me a rule that said I couldn't reveal that I am a precure. He only gave one real rule and I don't really agree with it. But anyway. Lets go talk to Blue-sama.

Amanda Faust has posed:
> Talking to your animal buddy again?
    Amy briefly nods. "Uh, yeah. He says it's very unlikely that everyone at school is magical girls." she admits, feling vaguely a little embarassed about having asked such a question.

> A Cure's strength comes from their friends! That's what Blue-sama told me.
    "How very Magical Girl... Hopefully he'll be understanding, then!"

    Amy's a bit focused on Mio right now, but Stern's manner will stick out to her a bit later. .oO( Good grief, she sounds like me when I'm more confident. Is she older than she seems, too? )

    She nods at 'let's go talk' and walks along with Mio, but does ask: "Oh? What was the rule, then?"

Stern Starks has posed:
The others are leaving on a mission, but Stern stays. She opens her laptop again and falls back into lines and lines of code.

Moments later, she'll have forgotten that anyone was here in the first place. ... Nerd.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"A god of the Earth? You have a god too? That's quite surprising, I haven't heard anything from our goddess. Thanks for letting me come with you." As she and Amy walk alongside Mio, she tells the red magical girl.

"That doesn't surprise me: Cure Tide, Cure Wukong, Cherry Spear, Blauer Greif's owner, the three of you... I have met many of us in the recent days."

Mio Morita has posed:
Mio moves toward the door. Reaching out she takes hold of the door handle and just stops. The question looms for a long moment before Mio responds to Amy. "Don't fall in love. Thats the one rule." She states and opens the door before exiting through it.

Amanda Faust has posed:
> Don't fall in love.
    "What?! That's messed up!" Amy is a romantic at heart! She really believes in true love! "What kind of a magical girl rule is that?!"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"That's not so surprising. Aqua Regina gave us that same rule. She doesn't want us to get emotionally vulnerable." 'Because that would lead us to reveal our identities as mermaids', she adds in her mind.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Avoid emotional vulnerability? Harden your heart?" Amy echoes, skeptically. "...Huh, I guess real magical girl stuff is different from on TV, huh..."