1223/Mall Crawl Date

Mall Crawl Date
Date of Scene:	02 March 2024
Location:	Four Clover Mall
Synopsis:	Chiyo and Kukai meet for a date! Pizza is eaten, walking the mall is done. It's a nice relaxing date with no youma!
Cast of Characters:	Chiyo Sakai, Kukai Soma

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Chiyo Sakai has posed:
A date. It was honestly Chiyo's very first one so she was understandably nervous as she stands in the Four Clover Mall near the pizza shop that they had agreed to meet by. Her hair is done up in it's usual style, one single bun ontop with the rest left to hang in loose curls around her. As for her attire? She'd opted for a dress. A simple pink one over some white leggings with a sweater to chase off the Spring time chill. A purse is slung over her shoulder that she fiddles with while waiting, pausing to look down at her phone in hand on occasion shooting off a few texts.

A small breath is let out and she murmers, "Usagi is going to grill me for details after this," to herself.

Kukai Soma has posed:
It isn't Kukai's first date, but none of the previous ones lasted past a few dates, or were every anything serious. It just comes with being a social guy like him. But those girls were mostly fans of his sports acument and how popular he was at his previous school. This feels different.

He arrives on time, hands in the pockets of his slacks. He's wearing dark slacks with boots, along with an untucked, stylish shirt and his beanie. The outfit looks good on him. He fits in with the trendy kids quite easily. He flashes her a smile as he makes his way over to her.

"Hey! You look amazing!"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai quickly shoots off a couple of goodbye texts only to tuck her phone into her purse. With a grin she looks up toward Kukai taking in his trendy attire. A grin of her own comes at seeing him as well as the compliment. "Thanks. You look pretty good too. I mean. Not that you don't before just..." Deep breath.

Slightly turning she gestures toward the shop behind her using it as a way to get over her fumbling compliments. "Do you want to eat first or should we walk around for awhile? There's tons of things to check out around here."

Kukai Soma has posed:
He laughs. "Well, not like -you- didn't look good before," he replies. "It's just a cute dress, is all." He nods to her and moves to walk with her to the pizza place. "Let's eat and chat, then walk around. We can walk the food off, then! Sound good?"

Kukai opens the door to the little mall restaurant for her.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
The shop served numerous types of pizza which are readily on display as soon as they enter. Like most shops in Japan, there were food decorations made of plastic, or wax, or whatever they were typically made of. Chiyo steps in and allows her gaze to roam over the various sorts from the square, to the thin crust and the deep dish. Toppings of course were whatever you wanted, but these at least gave a general idea of what bases could be ordered.

Whether or not it was authentic? Hard to tell. Pizza was a food type that wasn't traditionally Japanese. Nor was tomato sauce other than ketchup.

Looking back to Kukai she smiles, "Do you want a booth or a table? I think the booths are a bit comfier myself. Easier to talk in too," she adds with a chuckle as she gestures to the high-backed booths meant to give a little bit of privacy for diners as they feast on the 'foreign' treat. Unless he complains, she informs the waitress they want a booth and heads there.

Kukai Soma has posed:
The boy wouldn't know if it was authentic, anyways. He was born and bred Japanese. To him, this is pizza! He steps up beside her to look at the various options, tapping his chin. "Daichi is chilling in my dorm today, by the way," he says softly to her. "Aaaaand...let's go booth?"

He follows her to the boothy and slides in across from her. "I'm thinking the mayo jago." Japan puts its spin on everything. The most common pizza toppings are seafood or the mayo jago, which is mayo, bacon and potato.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"That sounds pretty good," Chiyo agrees while sliding into the seat opposite him. Her purse is shrugged out of, and she smiles a bit at mention of Daichi not being around. "I mean, I don't *mind* him, but I think it'll be a bit more fun without having to look out for him all the time, too."

Looking down to the menu she considers it thoughtfully a moment or two. "You know, I really haven't had pizza more than a couple of times before. Ojiisan insists on having rice with everything so items with bread are pretty rare. Unless it's Korma," she adds with a laugh mentioning the well-known Korma Chameleon. "He likes the naan that comes with the curry. Plus there's still rice with it."

Kukai Soma has posed:
"Trust me, if we become an actual couple he'll be around -plenty-," Kukai responds with a grin. He listens to her talk as he also gets comfortable, tugging his beanie off and setting it aside. He brushes his fingers back through his shaggy auburn hair to get it in place.

"Right, well...what kind of flavors do -you- like," he asks curiously. "Not Ojiisan."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
That... was an excellent question which causes her to pause and consider it thoughtfully a few moments. Most of her life revolved around her grandfather after all. "I kind of like spicy food. Not super hot, but something with a little zing to it. Savory things."

Giving a lopsided smile she assures, "I do like potatoes of course. I'm good with trying the mayo jago. Bacon is always good too." Pausing a moment, she looks to the side and mumbles, "I like grilled meats too."

Kukai Soma has posed:
"Well, we should hit up a barbecue place, sometime. We can order yummy meats and grill them over the little fires together! If you want." At the mention of getting the same as him but liking spicy food, he reaches out to the condiment rack and pulls out a thing of spice she can sprinkle over.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai does grin when he reaches for the spices. "Red pepper flakes are fine, too," she adds with a chuckle. Though there was likely also chili oil if she felt really adventurous! "I'd like that. Last Fall some of us had a little grill out in the woods by the school. My friend Koji-kun and some others were there. It was so good," she agrees with a sigh.

"Well, other than Bonito trying to steal all the meat." Grinning she adds quietly, "That's my spirit guide. He's a fire spirit that likes to pose as a cat because people feed him."

"Should we get any sides, too? Or... I guess there's not much for sides for pizza," she muses.

Kukai Soma has posed:
"Now, that's a mascot with priorities," Kukai replies with a lopsided grin. "Mn. I figure we eat some pizza, and mabye snack around the mall after if we're feeling up for it? Depends on how long you're cool hanging out with me. No pressure."

The server walks up, and he lets her order, and then he puts in his own order. Once they're alone again he turns back to her.

"I don't have any friend-friends at school yet. Mostly just acquaintances. Hoping to change that, though."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"That sounds good," Chiyo agrees with a quick nod. There's only a momentary pause as her nose wrinkles. "Much as I love my shop, I want to try something sweet *elsewhere* for a change," she admits with a laugh.

When the waitress comes to place the order she does give the simple one she'd decided... With one variation of adding some shrimp to it. It was a last minute change but one that sounded tasty.

"I could introduce you to Ren-kun. He's..." She pauses, considering thoughtfully. "I probably shouldn't out him but he knows about the magic thing too. Same with a bunch of others I know. Mamoru-san and Koji-kun. They're good guys. Just friends," she hastens to add just in case he feared otherwise.

Kukai Soma has posed:
"I'd like to meet them." Her quick correction to them just being friends makes him smile a bit, and he tucks hair behind his ear. "I had some friends back at my last school who were in the know. Well, they specifically were like me." He grins a bit wider. "There was this one guy, right? He'd get all intense and think he was a world conqueror, sometimes. Very good guy, though. We come in all shapes, right?"

"If...you know...you do end up wanting to take this further? I just wanna make it clear I don't care about you having friends that are boys. I'm not some over-jealous monster. Just...as long as some things are...just ours?" He blushes and shrugs a tightly muscled shoulder. Drinks arrive and he thanks the server before taking a large gulp.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai pauses a moment while listening to Kukai. There was something familiar in what he said that tickles at the back of her mind. Another mahou like him who ... "Tadase-kun?" She blurts out blinking in surprise. Maybe it was another would-be-emperor type.

Then her expression softens a bit more at his reassurance. "Okay. I'm okay with that," she agrees. "I don't think I'd be upset if you had friends that are girls, either." Blushing faintly she ducks her head falling quiet as the waitress arrives with drinks.

Her own is taken quickly with hands wrapping around it as she nods again. "Okay. I'd like that. Just... some stuff for us," she agrees. "If we decide to go further."

Kukai Soma has posed:
He blinks and sits up. "Whoa, wait. You know him? He went to the same school I did! I wondered where he ended up..." Kukai trails off and grins wider at that. "Well, one friend here, then, at least!"

Her comment about being okay with him having female friends makes him smile. "Cool. I...tried dating this girl back at my last school who was really, really controlling. We lasted two dates. Well, I've never had one go past three dates, but mainly they've all been girls wanting to attach themselves to me for popularity reasons. At least, back at the last school. Being a nobody so far is...nice..."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai leans back in her seat when he sits up straight like that, only to laugh in amusement at the coincidence. "Yes! I met him a couple of weeks ago at the shop. Kiseki wanted something sweet. I haven't really seen him since, but he does go to Radiant Heart now. Kind of a coincidence there," she admits with a grin.

It's the rest that causes her to grow quiet. A sip is taken of her drink as she leans forward resting her elbows lightly on the tabletop casually. "You'll get a fresh start here then. The only guy I know that's into sports is Ren-kun, and I think he took a break from playing baseball. I think he'd like some friends outside of his old baseball club too so maybe I can introduce you both. I'll pass your info on to Koji-kun, too. He's a smart guy and really loves his ramen and grilling," she explains with a certain fondness. Not too much of course.

Idly she fidgets with her glass before looking back up to him. "Ah... This is my first date, to be honest."

Kukai Soma has posed:
"Well, I'm glad he's around. I need to bump into him asap."

    he food arrives! He sets into his pizza while they talk, washing it down with his drink and making sure not to talk with his mouth full. "Well, I got back into the sports clubs here, too. But I had a rep back there, is all. We have some pretty active sports clubs here. But...you know...small fish, big pond and all that."

Kukai pauses when she says it's her first date. "I didn't mean to make our first date sound unimportant. If ot helps, this is the first time -I've- asked a girl out. It's always been the other way around."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai relaxes again at that. The food being here was definitely helpful as well as it offers a suitable distraction. "I didn't take it that way. Though that does make me feel a bit better, too." She could admit that. It did make her feel a bit more special knowing that little tidbit about him.

A slice of her pizza is picked up, and she sweeps her hair back over her shoulder out of the way as she leans over her plate to bring it up for a quick bite. It's still hot but she doesn't seem to mind it at all, and quickly washes down the bite with a gulp of her drink before risking speaking again.

"You don't have to worry about me trying to be popular either. I usually just hang out at manga club or at work. I've gotten more social since... Well, everything with the fighting situation." Pausing she considers a moment. "Oh have you seen The Shed yet? I should bring you there."

Kukai Soma has posed:
The boy works on his own pizza as they talk. He's enjoying the food, but is clearly in no rush. The conversation is more important to him, after all. He watches her sweep that purple hair back, and he watches a moment, as if transfixed. He catches himse,f though, and sips his drink.

"Shed? Ooooh, right. You mentioned that at the konibi where we met. Yeah, I'd love that, sometime. Sure." He glances down into his drink. "You have beautiful, hair by the way."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai bites down on her lower lip trying and completely failing to repress a smile. A little twitch of her fingers come as the urge to reach up for her hair again comes only to be resisted. Instead she feels her cheeks flush with a mildly embarassed heat. "Thanks..." Just how do you respond to compliments like that? With a little puff of breath she blurts out a response trying to be cool. "I grew it myself."

Oh yeah that was lame.

Kukai Soma has posed:
Lame or not, it brings an appreciative laugh. He nods to that and winks, before taking another sip of his drink. So, anything in the mall you for-sure want to check out while we're here on our date?," Kukai asks her.

Once his plate is empty he sits back a bit, getting comfortable.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai consdiers the question a moment or two while she takes another bite of her slice. She really did have to think if there was anything special she wanted to check out. A slow shake of her head comes apologetically once she wracks her brain to try and think of something. "Not really? What about you?"

"I guess we could always hit up the arcade if we can't think of much to do in the mall. It's not too far away."

Kukai Soma has posed:
"Arcade sounds good! And yeah, I'm just down to walk around and hang out. Get to know eachother and stuff." He smiles at her, not rushing her to finish her own food. "So, of all the stuff at your bakery-place...what's your favorite?"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"It's not really a bakery," is the first correction from Chiyo only to pause as she realizes that might be a bit rude. Was it rude? She just knew better than to call it that. Rather than dwell on it she continues on hoping she hadn't made a faux pax.

"I guess I really like the strawerry daifuku most. Ojiisan used to save the best strawberries to make a few for me and ..." And. The wording falters, and she smiles faintly. "Uh, for us. So we'd eat them during Summer. It was great. You should try it sometime!"

"What sort of desserts do you like?"

Kukai Soma has posed:
"Sorry, I didn't know," he replies to the correction. He doesn't appear chastened, though. He clearly didn't see it as rude. He sips his drink as he catches that brief hesitation in her words. He'll come back to that only after they are closer, though. He doesn't feel it's his place just yet.

"Oooooh ho ho. That's a question. Hm. I -love- dango. Pretty much any kind. I had this matcha cheesecake once that was done in this Spanish style. ...Basque? That was amazing." He taps his chin. "Oh! Pretty much any pudding. I love custard."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai has to consider a moment the word she wasn't entirely familiar with. It doesn't take too long for her to figure out basque cheesecake's other name. "Oh, burnt cheesecake. I think that's the other term for it," she admits with a laugh. "I haven't had that before but it sounds interesting."

"As for dango? That we always have plenty of."

"You said you have siblings, right? What sort of things did you used to do with them?"

Kukai Soma has posed:
"Oh! Burnt cheesecake. Good to know, thanks!" He perks up further when she says they have plenty of dango, and he claps his hands. "Well, then, even if you don't want to be my girlfriend, I'll be a regular just for that," he says with a wink.

"Yeeeeah. A bunch of older brothers. Honestly, they mostly picked on me. There's affection there, but they cover it up pretty well," Kukai grumps a bit. "But we were raised mostly by my grandparents. He was the attendant to a mountain shrine, so we grew up there. It was a thirty minute bike ride down the mountain to get to the town at the bottom. We had to find all kinds of ways to entertain ourselves. I spent as much time as I could avoiding getting teased by them, though."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"Ah... I guess siblings aren't all that great all the time. I'm sure they still cared though. Even if they teased." Chiyo grins a bit. "I don't have any siblings myself, but I just reconnected with some distant relatives and found out I have a cousin. Second cousin, but..." Here she shrugs a little looking happy about it none the less. "It's kind of nice having someone my age to visit with."

Kukai Soma has posed:
"Yeah, I bet!" He chews his lip a bit as the boy watches her. "They aren't terrible people, or anything. And I definatly don't hate them. They just only give me a hard time, really. But...I'm here now, and they're all still in northern Japan. Hey, so...do you mind if I hold your hand while we walk around?"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Out of all the questions that she could have expected, that was not one. Without resonding she instantly reaches for her drink to take a quick gulp of it hoping to hide her expression for a few precious moments. It doesn't really work though; her face has gone beet red.

"I... ah... Guess. If you want." Now SHE was thinking about holding HIS hand though. "Should we head out now? Or eat more? I mean. I'm pretty much done." She'd polished off most of her pizza after all. Or a suitable amount of it anyway.

Kukai Soma has posed:
"I do want to," Kukai replies easily. He nods, then, and rises to his feet. He fishes out his card and pays for both of them, before he makes his way back over to the table. "I handled the bill," he replies with a smile. "So...do a loop of the mall before we figure out what to check out?"

    he boy holds his hand out, fingers open, as if inviting her to put her own in his.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai watches him go to deal with the bill before she can even offer to help pay. He HAD said that he only had so much money when they'd met at the konbini. Feeling a little guilty about it she none the less gets ready to go by grabbing her purse and starting to scoot out of the side of the booth. Just in time to be faced by that hand being offered out.

Slowly grinning in spite of her blush she reaches out to take hold of his hand lightly. "Thanks. I'll get dessert if we feel up to it," she offers only to curl her fingers around his hand with a light squeeze as she stands. "Lead the way then, Kukai-san."

Kukai Soma has posed:
He beams as she takes his hand, and his fingers wrap about her own. His hand is warm, and has the callouses of someone who lives a very active lifestyle. "Deal. If we get dessert, it's on you. I wanted to cover the meal here, though, since I'm the one who invited you out to begin with."

Kukai walks beside her, hand-in-hand, as they depart the eatery and head out into the mall proper.

"So, never been asked out before. Does that mean this is the first time you've held a boy's hand, too?"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai chuckles awkwardly as they walk along. Her free hand lifts to scratch lightly at her cheek at that question. "Kind of. I mean I have, but it was an entirely different situation."

As they walk, she starts to explain. "My cousin--I didn't know she was my cousin at the time, but there was this guy that she did *not* get along with and he was always making fun of her. He'd also do stuff to help her out but he'd still make fun of her. Once they were both at the shop and he insisted on paying for her while she sat to talk with me and I realized that maybe he liked her. So I whispered that I thought he might have a crush on her."

It's here her expression just goes into a 'tired should-have-known-better' look. "Usagi-chan is a bit dramatic. As soon as I said that she yelled out 'Crush!?' and everyone in the shop heard including *that guy* so I tried to cover for her by claiming I'd told her that *I* had a crush. The only person I could think of to claim real quick was his roommate."

Kukai Soma has posed:
He blinks and listens to the story. He's grinning by the end of it, though, and he gives her hand a gentle squeeze. "Sounds like you're a good friend. And, honestly, MOST kids our age are dramatic. I know I have my moments."

He pauses to linger outside of a sports store, peering through the window at a pair of cleats. After a moment he continues on, though.

"I've dated, like I said. We eventually held hands, some of them but...never anything past that. It was a sort of 'testing the waters' thing, I guess. See how they feel to touch." He blushes suddenly. "N-not in a weird way! I mean...like...do they seem comfortable with me being that close and stuff. And...and I feel like you can tell a lot about someone by what it's like to touch them for the first time."

There might as well be steam coming out of his ears by how embarassed he is.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai sweeps her free hand up to tuck her hair behind her ear as he talks again of the others he dated. "Ah, that makes sense. I mean... I guess dating is partially getting to know someone after all."

As they paused in front of the sporting goods store she was about to ask if he wanted to go in before they continue on further. It's her turn to slow her steps near a manga shop regarding the little display of books currently newly released.

"Koji." She murmers only to clarify, "That's his roommate. I told him what I'd said so he wouldn't mistake things, and we decided we'd pretend to date so that we could try to get those two together. We're still friends," she adds with a little nervous, embarassed laugh, "And I think he'll make someone a great boyfriend someday. Just there was nothing actually between us. Once they were together we just decided to be friends. So I guess... I've kind of dated before? In a way."

Kukai Soma has posed:
He hesitated in front of the manga store with her. "Koji. Usagi. Lots of folks I need to meet. If we wanna date, then knowing your friends is an important part of all of that..." Kukai smiles as she tells him the story, the boy clearly finding it endearing.

"I didn't go into the sports store because I don't really want the cleats. Mine are just fine. But do you wanna check out this manga store?"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"Yeah, we're good friends. I'm really glad I met them all even if it was in such an unusual way," Chiyo admits with a fond smile. Her hand squeezes his again without even really thinking about it, but her attention drifts back to the manga. "Ah... Maybe a peek. The last time I tried to visit to check out some manga a youma attacked."

Kukai Soma has posed:
He winces at that and nods, walking in with her. As this isn't really his venue, he lets her take the lead and follows her around the store. "What kinda manga do you like? I went through a shounen phase like most boys, and sports manga is cool, but that's about it."

Here and there his shoulder lightly bumps hers, and it's hard to tell if it's on purpose or not.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"Oh, I like all types. Prince of Highschool is pretty good but that's a classic anymore," Chiyo explains as she steps into the shop beginning to go down the rows looking over the titles. As she does, she does relax, because this is a topic she favored and rarely got to speak of. "Each chapter is different and faces a different issue they have to deal with. It's really insightful in some areas though I used to think the scenarios were unrealistic. Though, these days, maybe not so much."

Her free hand roams over the bindings of the manga, barely touching as she peruses. "Lately there's a lot of isekai themes. Which can be fun. I just don't like how so many are with the main character being abused or bullied in the worlds they end up in. It kind of ticks me off." Before she even realises it she's kind of leaning in against his arm and shoulder as they stand looking over manga.

Kukai Soma has posed:
Oh, he certainly notices her leaning, but he isn't about to complain. He feels a certain level of comfort with her he didn't expect, but he is quite enjoying. "Huh. Well, that all sounds pretty cool," he says. "I can see how something like that could be a cool read. Do you own the first volume or two? Can I borrow them? I'd like to be able to talk with you about something you like."

He gives her hand a squeeze.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai tips her head up to glance up at him with a smile at the suggestion. That would be nice after all. "I have the first three books. After that I just started using what was in the manga club's library. I'll lend them to you. It's pretty popular... Koji actually has the whole collection," she admits with a chuckle.