1202/Extracurricular Chopstick Practice

Extracurricular Chopstick Practice
Date of Scene:	28 February 2024
Location:	Mitakihara Ward
Synopsis:	Kyouka and Kyouko run into Luke while getting some food in Mitakihara.
Cast of Characters:	Kyouka Inai, Kyouko Sakura, Bow

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Kyouka Inai has posed:
    The sun is getting low enough that the orangey rays are filtering through the tall buildings of the Mitakihara skyline as Kyouka walks down the sidewalk with Kyouko in tow. No longer on school business, she is in her 'casual' attire which as always consists of black distressed jeans, a red shirt, and her leather jacket- and sunglasses, of course.

    She's speaking to the younger redhead, the two looking similar enough in coloration and build that its entirely possible a stranger would mistake them for sisters, though the resemblance is purely coincidental. "There's a really good teriyaki place up here that I've been meaning to take you to," She's telling the Puella, walking along with one hand in her pocket, the other pointing ahead. "It'll make a nice change from ramen." She pauses, and adds, "Not that there's anything wrong with ramen. But variety is nice too."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"I can get behind teriyaki." Kyouko replies as she walks alongside Kyouka. Even their names are similar enough for confusion. She's also in jeans, but no jacket.. a very well worn hoodie instead, zipped up against the chill of early spring. Her red hair bobs along in a ponytail, and she's also added sunglasses against the rays of the setting sun.

"Ramen is good cause the broth is all nice and hot and filling. It's got a lot to say for it. Bentos are tasty, but I get hungry again pretty quick." Kyouko shrugs. She gets hungry again pretty quick regardless, but it's a question of scale.

Bow has posed:
Luke is still learning the city. So far, he's only been taken to is the Arcade, and the one ramen place that he found Adora at was closed for their meeting - so he's out again, determined to learn more about this new world that he was deposited into. Still dressed in his uniform, it's obvious that he decided to leave right after class to head out and start today's excursion.

And it is quickly, painfully obvious that Luke is not from around here. He has that look that every tourist seems to get that would make them easy targets for pick-pockets - that glassy-eyed stare as he looks upwards at the heights of the taller buildings and his constant start and stops as he discovers new things.

Which has him currently outside of one of the food stands, watching them as they grill meats and fighting the urge to salivate right then and there. "That smells so good." he murmurs, and shakes his head. There are meals back at the school he can get into - ones he doesn't have to pay for. Which is something else he needs to figure out.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Of all the places for someone not used to the city to explore, Mitakihara is likely among the most foreign. The business/financial/downtown district, it's where the tallest buildings are, the shiniest, sleekest designs, and the most-packed-together constructions. For someone like Kyouka, who has called this city her home for her entire life, it's familiar territory and much more comforting than any wilderness or suburb.

    Approaching the food vendor in question, she finds Luke standing outside of it and staring in at the food like a stray puppy outside a kitchen window. She quirks a brow, recognizing the school uniform if not the person wearing it, and perhaps something of her sense of responsibility as a faculty member kicks in, for all that she's not on the clock and hardly the type to view herself as a charity worker, regardless.

    "Hey kid, you alright? You look lost." She says to Luke, as she walks up with Kyouko on her heels. "They don't charge you to go in and sit down, you know."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
Kyouko inhales deeply and utterly unselfconsciously at the smell coming from the food vendor. "Oh yeah.. that's the stuff." She notes to Kyouka with a fangy little grin.

She looks at Luke with a skeptical glance and considers him up and down. "I think if you gawk any harder, your eyes are gonna fall out." She comments about the newcomer as she shoves her hands in her pockets.

Bow has posed:
Even the castle of Brightmoon isn't as tall as some of the nearby buildings, and it's both overstimulating and exciting the Etherian teenager. The sights, the sounds and smells are all things he's still adapting to, so Luke's lost in a moment of sensory overload and it takes a moment for his mind to register someone's talking to him.

A shake of his head and the teenager feels his dark cheeks warm in embarassment. "Oh! Yes, you're right. They don't." he admits with a laugh. "But they do charge for the food, and I figured I'd eat when I get back to the dorms. Cheaper that way!" A bright smile, he seems to be okay with this idea. Even if grilled meat smells delicious.

But oh, right. "Sorry, I'm here from..." what was that name Setsuna gave him. "...America." That's what it was and he gives a firm nod. Kyouko's comment causes him to laugh. "I mean, that's fair, but look around you. Everything is so... big... and vibrant and just shiny and smells great and interesting and weird. I'd have to travel a lot of places to even get a fraction of this back home!" Completely oblivious that this may make him sound like a small town yokel.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka glances at her companion, and mutters "Down, girl." with a bit of an amused snort. She appreciates caution around strangers but does not feel the need to provoke students when she's not even on the clock.

    "Well, you're not wrong about that." She tells Luke, when he mentions that the food isn't free and eating at the dorms would be cheaper. This is undeniably true. "Though in my experience school food lacks something of the... local flavor."

    "I take it you're not from New York or LA then," she says to Bow with a smirk- like many native Japanese people, she's unfamiliar with just how much of 'America' there is that isn't anywhere near a large city. "Honestly I'm not sure 'smells great' is a phrase I'd use to describe the majority of Tokyo, but as a native I'm certainly happy you find it so appealing."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"What!?" Kyouko protests as she gets muttered at. "I was nice!"

At least what passes for nice with Kyouko.. it's a work in progress.

"I thought everything was bigger in America." Kyouko comments, clearly not having much more clue about America than what she can glean from television and the internet. "Wow.. only /right here/ does it smell great." Kyouko is in firm agreemwnt with Kyouka about the general smell of Tokyo. "Or maybe the mall? Then it's mostly stinky perfume, but that's not.. alleyway smell."

Bow has posed:
New York? LA? Those are new, foreign words for Luke and the lack of recognition flashes in his face for a moment. Noone told him to research this America. They just told him that's where he's from, or supposed to be from. "Oh. No. I'm from Etheria." he explains. "It's a small town!" That much he was told about in the briefing that set up his identity.

His attention swibels back to Kyouko. "Is it?" he asks, genuninely curious if everything really is bigger in America, his arms sprawling into a broad-shouldered shrug of thought. "Mall?" he asks, again, clearly not catching the refernce. "I've been to the arcade. The bright lights and games are interesting, but they banned me from playing skeeball because I was too good at it." he admits, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Anyway... I didn't mean to interrupt!"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "Never heard of it." Kyouka says, with a shrug, when Luke mentions being from 'Etheria'. Which is true. She has spoken to Adora before, but not so in-depth as to reach discussions of hometowns or dimensions or whatever the case may be. "But that's hardly surprising. I probably haven't heard of most of the towns more than an hour away from Tokyo." She says, with a chuckle. Recognizing her own deficiencies while being not in the least ashamed of them.

    "There are definitely pockets that smell great," she agrees with Kyouko. "But by and large there are quite a few more that... do not. Such is city like, I suppose." A carefree shrug. Some things you just have to live with.

    She shakes her head when Luke apologizes for interrupting. "Nah, no worries. We were just gonna grab some grub." She pauses, then says, "If you want to get something, I'll spot you. I'm not in the habit of buying meals for strangers, but judging by your uniform you do go to Radiant Heart, so I feel like I have at least a small amount of responsibility to ensure you don't starve before returning to the dorms."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"They don't have malls in America? Weird." Kyouko comments with a shrug. But based on TV.. everything in America is weird, that's just the least of the weirdness.

"The mall.. where all the stores are inside, rather than being along the street. Usually there's big department stores.. which are bigger than the convenience stores. The convenience stores often have better prices though." She gives a shrug. She might have an easy come easy go attitude to money but she rarely has all that much of it. And when she does? It doesnt last long.

"The arcade's pretty cool, even if skeeball is kinda lame. I like DDR." Kyouko is, clearly, making an effort at that whole 'social' thing.

Bow has posed:
"Spot me? Oh! Yes. Of course. I can pay you back or offer a service in trade, surely." Luke agrees when Kyouka offers to pay for his meal. And then she mentions the uniform and a bright smile erupts across his face. Why? Because he gets to practice using his new fake name that Setsuna made for him. "Yes, I am a student at Radiant Heart. My name's Luke Armbruster and I'm in the Band and Kyudo Club, and Adora Rainbowfist and I attended school together back in Etheria!" His smile brightens. And his hand is offered in friendship.

Nailed it.

And then Kyouko speaks on what a mall is and Luke's eyes brighten. "See, that's what I thought an arcade was, a collection of shops to visit, but it's clearly where games are kept - but a mall is an arcade, okay. Now I know that. Thank you for the clarification!"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "Don't worry about it, kid," Kyouka says when Luke rushes to offer to pay her back in some way. "Just don't order the whole menu, huh? I'm working on a teacher's salary here. Although maybe I can expense it.." She looks thoughtful for a moment before chuckling and shaking her head. "Nah, don't worry about it, really."

    She doesn't seem too terribly put off by Luke's enthusiastic greeting, though she does say, "Oh, I've met Adora. Nice girl. Tall." As if that has any bearing on anything. She takes the boy's hand and gives it a friendly enough shake, adding, "My name is Inai, I'm a Guidance Counselor at Radiant Heart although I also teach PE." Self-defense, specifically although she doesn't go into the specifics just this moment.

    She jerks her thumb over her shoulder at Kyouko. "This here's Kyouko, one of my wayward charges. She's less prone to bite than she appears, but I'd still watch your fingers."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"Ewww. I haven't bitten anyone. People are /gross/, I dont want my mouth on that!" Kyouko, the one who routinely eats from dumpsters, protests.

"Is Adora .. blonde? Looks like she could slug someone /really/ well?" Kyouko asks, thoughtful a moment. "Never met her. Seen her a few times though. Not recently."

"An arcade is a mall? What?" Kyouko now just looks confused. "America is weird."

Bow has posed:
"I will eat lightly, I promise." Luke offers cheerfully, not looking a gift alicorn in the mouth. "And again, thank you." But when the talk turns to Adora, there's a lift of a brow. He's actually taller than Adora, except when. "She can be. And larger than life at that." he admits cryptically. "Back home, we're best friends. But she's in a spot of trouble right now, and I'm trying to help her through it."

"It is nice to meet you, Miss Inai. And you as well Kyouko." the young man offers in the form of return greetings as he lowers his hands.

"I probably taste terrible anyway." he agrees with Kyouko, chuckling softly at her comment and Kyouka's suggestion. "And yes, Adora is very blonde. And she packs quite the punch. And she's been off campus dealing with things. I'm trying to coax her to come back..." But that's as far as he can go with it at the moment.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Luke may be taller than Adora, but that doesn't make her not-tall, especially when compared to a Japanese woman like Kyouka. Who is, it should be noted, very similar in height to Kyouko despite being nearly a decade her senior. "Well, that's what friends do, ain't it?" She comments cheerfully at the notion of helping through a spot of trouble.

    She pushes aside the hanging curtain around the food vendor and finds herself a seat on one of the open stools, giving a familiar greeting to the man running the thing who clearly recognizes her. She gestures for Luke and Kyouko to do likewise, before placing her own order for some teriyaki chicken, rice, and a beer. Because she is not, as previously noted, on the clock.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"I would think most people do." Kyouko comments to Luke as she follows Kyouka into the food stall and settles on a stool.

"I mean.. most of us have sh.. stuff.. we're dealing with." Kyouko gives a shrug. "Like.. it's a thing. Good luck with that. I hope she doens't die, or go homicidal." Because that took a dark turn really fast.

"I'll ahve what she's having." Kyouko points to Kyouka when the man running the place asks what she's having.

Bow has posed:
Nodding as he follows Kyouka, Luke seems cheered a little at being old he's doing the right thing. "I'm just heartened to know she has made so many friends here." he admits. "Usagi, Sayaka, Amy, Rashmi, just... I'm glad she's made many new friends."

"And that's true, Kyouko! But. That's why you have friends and a support system. Like, you have Miss Inai here, and I mean, I don't know you well yet, but if you wanted to talk, I'd listen." A confident grin as he touches his slightly large ears. "Not just good for hearing a pooka at one hundred meters."

But then they are taking orders. "Oh. I'll have... the same?" Because that seems to be the safe bet, is just to follow the orders of the two redheads.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka gives Kyouko a Look, as she tries the same thing she's tried a dozen times before. "Except she doesn't get the beer." She tells the man, who should be smart enough to figure that out anyway but laughs and nods his head in acceptance regardless.

    "Friends are important." Kyouka agrees, "Especially with the sorts of trouble people tend to get into at Radiant Heart." She's not laying out any cards at this point, but she also doesn't see much point in beating around the bush when it comes to people at the school- especially with the list of names Luke just rattled off. And the fact that she's perfectly aware Adora is magical as well.

    She asides to Luke when he offers to be a listening ear for Kyouko, "Just be happy she isn't trying to take half your food on the merits of 'I was here first'."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
There's a bit of Kyouko's own wide eyed look at Luke's casual assumptions about 'friends' and 'support network' and Kyouko's brain might be bluescreening just a little bit. And a random offer to just /listen/. From some strange guy from America. "Uh."

"He's too skinny to steal food from." Kyouko finally manages to come up with and then there's a blatently casual shrug. "Kyouka's pretty alright, but friends. Enh. Whatever."

Bow has posed:
Hands folded in front of him, Luke nods his head firmly. "I've seen some of the trouble, but at the same time, I've seen people work together to overcome it together, as well. I mean, even back home, when Adora and I had troubles... us, with our other friend, Glimmer. We could overcome about anything!" he sounds assured of this fact, and concludes. "Troubles are just the little trials that make the bonds of friendship stronger."

Then Kyouko is calling him skinny, and Luke snickers anew at that. "I work really hard to stay in shape!" he responds. "I mean, exercise is good for clearing your mind and helping you to focus on what's ailing you." A little shrug of his shoulders, and finally asks. "So. What is a guidance counselor?" he asks curiously.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "Maybe," Kyouka says as her food is set down in front of her. She claps her hands together over it in a brief blessing before taking up the chopsticks to eat, "Though maybe some people would prefer their friendships without the trouble to go along with them." She snorts, because she certainly doesn't know any people like that.

    When Kyouko says she's 'pretty alright', she gives the younger girl another glance, and perhaps an elbow in the ribs while transferring teriyaki chicken into her mouth. "It's also good for not dying when the chips are down. So no slacking." This directed towards Kyouko on the subject of excercise, though her tone is teasing. Kyouko is unlikely to slack in that regard.

    She quirks a brow at Luke as he asks what a guidance counselor is. "Somebody who offers guidance. To the students. You know, helps them navigate the twists and turns of life, or whatever." She certainly isn't doing a marvelous job of selling her credentials to hold such a position.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"Do you always sound like a fortune cookie?" Kyouko eyes Luke before picking up her chopsticks. "Like.. 'troubles are the trial that make the bonds of friendship stronger'.. that sounds like it should be painted on something to be insprirational."

"Pfft." Kyouko elbows Kyouka right back. "I only slack about classes. Not about important things like not dying." She points a piece of chicken at Luke. "Staying in shape keeps you from dying. Good plan, weird American kid."

"I think there's a fair bit of 'watever' in it." Kyouko points out.

Bow has posed:
"That's fair." Luke offers to Kyouka as the young man listens to the banter between the pair. To him, it's obvious they are friends, or maybe relatives with the ease they go back and forth, but his attention turns to the food as it's set out. "Staying alive is pretty prefereable, not going to lie." he admits, as he eyes the chicken for a moment. "Oh, so you like help students learn how to best lead their lives. That is pretty awesome!" he admits to Kyouka, before Kyouko brings up the cookies.

"...you have cookies that tell fortunes?" This is asked of Kyouko, his eyes suddenly wide, sparkles forming in them like little stars in a the darkest night. "That. Is. Amazing." he finds himself admitting, but his eyes fall to the way that she is using her chopsticks. Okay, this is new. Radiant Heart has forks. And that's what he used on Etheria, but they're using sticks to eat.

And he observes the pair, before taking up a set and trying to figure them out for himself. "And I do have pretty good plans, if I say so myself!"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "Well, I can at least assert that you aren't a total lunatic." Kyouka tells Luke, when he says that staying alive is preferable. "That is indeed one of the first lessons I strive to impart to my wayward students. Some more wayward than others. I prefer to think of it mostly as teaching them to continue living. 'Best' is pretty subjective, and that's up to them." Another elbow for Kyouko, all the while still consuming her chicken with businesslike efficiency.

    When Kyouko points with chicken at Luke, she gets a harder elbow. "Hey! Rude. Don't point with your chopsticks." Scolding the girl like she has some business telling her how to behave. Well, when she's eating on Kyouka's dime, maybe there's more argument for that than there might be otherwise.

    

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"I didn't point with my chopsticks. I pointed with the chicken." Kyouko replies to Kyouka with the oldest and possibly the most childish excuse in the book. One that most well behaved Japanese children.. small children.. don't even bother with, becaue they are well behaved.

And then Luke is gushing about cookies.. that TELL FORTUNES and Kyouko just looks at him, blinking a moment before she looks back to Kyouka. "I think he might be a puppy."

Bow has posed:
"Well, I don't think they get much more wayward than Adora and I." Luke finds himself admitting as he tries to fold the chopsticks between his fingers in the same way that he's observed the two young women do so. And he thinks he had a grasp of it. "I mean, maybe Catra, since I was told she was around here as well." A thoughtful pause. "Yeah. She might be more wayward."

The chicken is plucked up, so far so good. "I mean, I am pretty loyal to my friends." he comments to Kyouko's comment, just as he tries to lift the chicken, and that's when it goes south.

The sticks creak, squeezing around the slippery piece of chicken and then it snaps. Chopsticks splinter and snap in twain, Luke's fist hitting against the table.

And that piece of chicken he had trapped? It's launched at mach speed right at Kyouko's face!

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "Not to tell you that your troubles are insignificant, since I'm sure that's not true," Kyouka says with a hint of weary dryness in her tone, "But I think you'd be surprised. You don't have to be out of your element to have lost your way. Though I suppose it helps." She'd know a thing or two about that, though she's not about to go telling her life's story to someone she just met over chicken teriyaki.

    She rolls her eyes at Kyouko, and might have replied to her statement about Luke being a puppy if not for the fact that just about then Luke has a chopstick malfunction. She ducks by reflex, though the chicken isn't going to hit her in any case. Hopefully Kyouko can field that one.

    "Those things kind of require a gentle touch," She tells the 'American', handing him another pair from the little mug of them on the counter.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"I am not wayward. I know exactly where I am." Kyouko starts to protest and then .. well.. then there is chicken. Aimed right at her.

The only thing to do is to duck a bit, open her mouth and CHOMP. Omnomnom.

"Thanks." Kyouko replies, her grin a little fangy as she eats a bit of Luke's lunch before digging back into her own. "You can probably get a spoon if you can't manage like..a t all."

Bow has posed:
"I'm so sorry!" Luke is so ready to apologize, when Kyouko snipes the piece of chicken out of the air. "Nice catch!" he says, seriously impresed with the teenager's skills.

"Oh, I mean, I'm more worried about Adora than myself. I'll figure out things." Says the alien that's stranded on Earth after fleeing his own overrun world. Luke picks up another pair of chopsticks so that he can try again.

This time, he seems to be doing a bit better. "Nope. I'm gonna get this right." he decides, determined not to let a set of chopsticks defeat him.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "That's the spirit." Kyouka says to Luke, when he declares that he's going to keep trying until he gets it right. "Both in terms of chopsticks and figuring it out. Like you said though, there's plenty of people around here willing to help. Speaking of which,"

    She pauses to dig in the pockets of her jeans, eventually coming up with an only-slightly-bent business card. She passes it over to him. On the front is her name and phone number, scripted over the Radiant Heart Academy logo. "You can hang onto that. If you're ever in a tight spot, feel free to give me a call. It's kinda my job."

    "Now how about we finish this chicken without throwing any more of it around? I'm not a fan of paying for food that's only going to end up on the floor."