1329/Ice Cream Chaos

Ice Cream Chaos
Date of Scene:	22 March 2024
Location:	Four Clover Mall
Synopsis:	Utau comes to spy on Kukai at work, and manages to harass a poor co-worker who is crushing on him. An Ice Cream Eating Contest occurs! Also, surprising cuteness.
Cast of Characters:	Kukai Soma, Utau Hoshina

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Kukai Soma has posed:
It's a pretty quiet afternoon at the mall, all told. It's not packed with people right now, but it's not completely empty, either. Kukai has had a slow, quiet shift at the small ice cream parlor just off of the food court. It's not a stall, but a place with booths and tables. Currently, only one or two tables are taken, and Kukai and another teen are working behind the counter. The girl with Kukai is cute, and here and there she casts him a nervous, admiring look that he always seems to miss as they talk to pass the time while cleaning or scooping ice cream for customers.

The handsome youth is dressed in his uniform, which involves a long-sleeved, striped shirt and apron, with a little hat that matches the shirt. He flashes a smile to another customer, handing over a sundae as he finishes ringing them up. "Alright, here you go. Enjoy!" He looks back over at the girl and shakes his head. "Oh, no, no. I go to Radiant Heart. It's this private school in-city. Nice place. It's way different then my last school, for sure."

He glances away from her, his gaze sweeping over the quiet shop, and he turns to wash his hands.

Utau Hoshina has posed:
Utau Hoshina is here. You may not recognize her. She's in a big poofy hat, her normally long and free twintails are in braids and she's in disguise in her simple black goth-like dress, replete with little crosses on the lapels.

She's looking from afar at first so she can see all the glances that Kukai misses and she can hear the discussion about school so she sickeningly sweetly gets in line and asks the girl for the most hardest. Biggest. Thing to make on the menu. Specifically, the girl.

"And I'd like it with two spoons please~" she says as she looks over to Kukai and says more directly. "Hii Kukai-kun~"

Kukai Soma has posed:
The boy is busy preparing some cups in the dispenser while the poor girl greets Utau. She nods to her and takes her order. "Oh, sure thing, miss. That...takes a couple minutes to make. I'll get it for you immediatly." She pauses at the mention of two spoons, glancing around to see who she is with. And then comes the 'Kukai-kun', and she blinks. She doesn't even call him by his first time! She didn't even KNOW it! "Oh, Soma-kun. Um...a friend?," she asks, as she's working on the order.

He glances up and over when he's greeted, and his brow furrows under his cute little uniform hat as he considers the pretty goth for a moment. It doesn't take long for him to see through her disguise, though. A fan or normal person wouldn't manage it, but this is Kukai, and this is Utau. "Oh! Y-yeah. Yeah, she's a friend of mine." He swallows and glances at the clock. "I'm about to be off work," he tells Utau, before he glances back at her. "Um...w-what's up?" He's trying to act casual, but he's immediatly flustered, and she can tell. The other girl sees it, too, looking crestfallen and confused.

Kukai, of course, has no clue.

Utau Hoshina has posed:
Eat dirt, pig, eat it, is what Utau Hoshina thinks when the girl becomes crestfallen. Good. She gets the point. Her eyes look from the girl back to Kukai as she smiles. "Good, come sit with me when you're done. We'll talk and eat ice cream together!" she says as she looks to the girl giving her a smirk.

That's when Il peeks out of her purse and looks on the proceedings. El's head follows after and the two look on as Il whispers. "Yessss, good one boss!" says Il. "You shouldn't treat another girl like that!" says El. Utau uses a hand to push them both back into the purse and she ZIPS it shut.

MPhhhghfhg "Hey!" the two go.

Utau Hoshina carefully walks to a CLOSE table, and sits down, specifically so the girl can see. "Bring it out when you're done, I'll be. Over here." she says cooly to the other girl, who doesn't even care what her name is.

Kukai Soma has posed:
The girl goes through the robotoc motions of making the sundae. When it's done she stares at it for a moment before stabbing the second spoon into it. While Kukau is in the back, changing into his normal clothes and clocking out, she brings it over to the table.

"So, you're...Soma-kuna's...girlfriend?," she asks, not looking sirectly at Utau as she asks it. Meanwhile, the boy is excited and also a bit nervous about Utau being here. Sure, he wanted to see her, but she also brings chaos in her wake. He quietly hates himself for craving excitement. He finishes changing into his uniform and cleans his face before staring at himself in the bathroom mirror. "Don't be a dork, Kukai. Be cool. Be chill." He adjusts his hair and pauses as he rewashes his hands, trying to build up the nerve to walk back out and sit across from the goth.

Utau Hoshina has posed:
Utau Hoshina is alone with the girl for a bit, so she places her hands on the table with a light slam. "Not yet. But he's taking me to the prom, and if you think for a second, if you're even on MY level, you're sorely mistaken!" she says with cold purple eyes. She glares at the girl for a few long moments. "So don't get in my way." she says. "Just. Do Not.". She then smiles sweetly again and then says. "Thanks. Buh-bye. Will let you know if I need anything!" she says with a little tiny, just the tiniest of waves to the girl with her fingers.

She'll wait patiently otherwise for Kukai as Il and El continue to struggle in her purse and finally get the zipper free, the two coming out and hovering over her shoulders. Only Kukai or magical folks should be able to see them. Il rubs her hands together. "You really showed em, Chief." she says with a 'heh'. El shakes her head and tuts at Utau. Utau flicks El away a moment.

"Il, go ruin a day." she says in a whisper. Il nods and flies into the air and does a loop right into the Pistacho. Diving into it and swimming around in it like a cold swimming pool as Ice cream gets splashed everywhere somehow. What a mess! Who'll have to clean this up!? Kukai is just about to get off, too. What a shame. Tsk tsk.

Kukai Soma has posed:
The girl nods to that, taking a step back. She's a sweet girl, and has no idea how to deal with someone like Kukai. "Oh. O-kay. I hope you two have a good time..." She nods at the mention of letting her know if she needs anything. She turns and makes her way behind the counter, just as Kukai is making his way out of the back. He's wearing a dark shirt that is partially tucked into a pair of jeans with his Converse. It goes well with his shaggy, auburn hair and physique. He waves to the poor girl behind the counter, entirely unaware of what just happened, and he slides into the chair across from Utau.

"Sorry I took so long," he says with a smile, keeping his nervousness hidden behind bright eyes. He seizes a spoon. "So, just here to do some shopping, or stalking me?," he asks playfully.

Meanwhile, the Worst Shift Of Poor Eia's life begins, with Kukai being none the wiser, as he's facing away from the counter.

Utau Hoshina has posed:
Is she here to do shopping or stalk Kukai? "I actually ran into you by happenstance. I've been shopping for new clothes." Utau Hoshina says bluntly. "The new term beings soon and I want to look fashionable, I can't do that in last years wardrobe." she says dramatically, as if she'd be caught dead being unfashionable. "So new clothes." she says. "I was on my way to the store past the food court when I spotted you~" she says, her sweet tone now a little more genuine then it was with the girl.

She also takes a spoon and digs into the ice cream. She bought it. She payed for it. She's going to eat some of it as she eyes Kukai and then says. "Who do you think can finish it first?" she asks with a determined face. And before a moment-- before Kukai can start, she just starts shoveling Ice Cream into her mouth. El tries to say something about Brain Freeze. "Utau-chan! Do--" El gets flicked away again as she shovels!

She's started a contest, come on Kukai!

Oh behind the counter, Il is causing mischief in the background now. Use your imagination! It's funny!

Kukai Soma has posed:
"Well, I'm sure you'll kill it in whatever outfit you picked out. You always did, even as a kid." He chuckles softly and idly taps his spoon against the side of the ice cream bowl. He glances briefly over his shoulder as the poor girl cries out in dismay when the blender starts running on her own. By the time she reaches the blender to turn it off, she discovers several plastic spoons are somehow in the toaster, and she hastens to remove them. Just before he spots the Chara causing the mayhem, though (He doesn't have a good angle from where he's sitting), the girl challenges him.

"Oh, you are ON!" If there's one thing he loves, it's a challenge. He leans over, their foreheads practically brushing as they get to work. He shovels the ice cream and toppings into his mouth, not bothering to talk as he focuses on the important thing: Beating Utau! This is just like when they were younger, honestly.

Utau Hoshina has posed:
Utau Hoshina is digging through ice cream now hard, fast with her spoon, looking down at it as Kukai gets into it, a good distraction away from the chaos one of her charas is causing. Eventually, Il will get bored and she does. But now everything is a mess. There will be lots of clean up to do as the chara hides under a cup and runs it across the top of counter and pushes it off the edge of the counter. She makes sure the girl can see this. Give her a spook. Is the Parlor haunted!? "Hehehehe." goes Il.

Utau Hoshina finally gets it. The Brain freeze and she closes her eyes and tries to push through it. She sweats even as she competes with Kukai to try to finish it all first. But she has to finally stop and drops the spoon and holds her head into the brain freeze as she nrgs. "Stupid Brainfreeze!" she says as she picks up the spoon and continues though. Slower. But she continues.

"I tried to warn her..." says El with a sigh to no one in particular. "Hey wait, Il, stop that!" says El finally as she flies over at Il to get preachy.

Kukai Soma has posed:
The boy is all about competition. He thrives on pushing himself, and it's something Utau knows about him. He powers through the ice cream with her, oblivious to the chaos the girl behind him is dealing with. He glances up when the brain freeze hits the blonde, and he takes a few more spoonfuls before it hits him, too. He winces and presses his tongue to the top of his mouth, counting to five. It ebbs and he starts right back in at the same speed. Finally, he uses his spoon to scrape up the last bit that Utau is slowly reaching for.

He leans back in his chair, laughing breathlessly and resting a hand on his stomach. "I win." He groans softly at how full he feels, though. Was it worth it? Absolutely. He then spots Il flying over to stop El and he sits up a bit and sighs.

"What are your girls up to?"

Utau Hoshina has posed:
The back of the counter? A complete mess for the other girl. Ice Cream everywhere, blender and cups might be haunted. Spoons in the toaster and lots of other things. This may be incredibly visible now as cups fall and spin and roll into the main area of the shop and it is clearly Il's fault. El starts chastising Il. Il pushes El. The two get into a dustcloud fight ontop of the counter for a bit and Il comes out on top, placing her foot on top of El. "Twerp!" goes Il.

Utau Hoshina smiles that fake smile. This one is not genuine.  "Oh nothing." she lies. Il was clearly up to something because it's all over behind and over the counter now. Il stands proudly Il floats back and says to Utau directly, in front of Kukai. "Day ruined, boss!" she says, throwing tiny thumbs up at her. El floats back and crosses her arms and hrfms and flies away down the corridor of the mall. Utau Hoshina doesn't care right now. El will come back. She always DOES.

That girl deserved every bit of what's going on now. "We had our just dessert!" she says. No the girl had her just desserts.

"Look, this place is so dirty, let's let her clean up!" she says.

Kukai Soma has posed:
He stares at the chaos and starts to rise to his feet. "Aw, man..." He trails off a bit and glances between Kukai and the girl. "Hey. Um. I can't clock back in because of the allowed hours for minors," he calls to the stressed girl behind the counter. "Call Hima, okay? She needed more hours and I don't want you to have to clean that up alone. It's just...uh. The mall's haunted?," he tries. She stares at him with wide eyes. "It's harmless!," he adds hastily. "It just causes chaos, sometimes. You're safe, I promise. Just...call her, okay? I don't want you cleaning this alone..."

Annoyed, he turns to Utau and reaches down to seize her hand. "Let's go," he growls a bit. He moves to somewhat drag the chaos demon of a girl out of the ice cream parlor. He just wants to get her out of there, and he isn't even realizing the hand holding is HAPPENING yet. If he manages to snag her hand in the process, that is.

Utau Hoshina has posed:
Chaos demon is a good description for Utau Hoshina. Well. Also Il. Who is a literal chaos demon. From Utau's own heart. "Finnne." says Utau as Kukai says let's go with a growl after talking to the girl. She touches Kukai's hand and in front of the girl. This suddenly makes her go smug. She. She's holding hands, jerk girl. She does smile genuinely again though as she's dragged out of the ice cream parlor.

She blushes, darkly suddenly now though, as she realizes she is holding hands with Kukai and is suddenly glad she isn't like her new friend who can't touch anyone. Because she definitely wants that contact. It's a sweet, calming feeling on her. El ia already floating back. And El is a literal angel. From Utau's own heart. Despite how she treats El, the reminder of seeing the angel chara finally makes her blush a little in shame.

"Uh. s-sorry." she says as she squeezes Kukai's hand for acceptance.

Kukai Soma has posed:
He feels that squeeze and glances down, stopping the pull when they reach the fountain in the mall center. He blushes as he realizes he took her hand, but he doesn't remove it. If anything, his fingers curl between her own, holding fast, but gently. He glances over at the two Chara's as they move cloer. Daichi is at home, like he usually is when he's working. Especially after his first shift. Ugh.

He turns back, smiling down at her. "It's okay. She'll be okay. Eventually. And, honestly? The girl I suggested she call has a crush on her. I think they'd be a cute couple." He steps around so he's facing her, and Kukai takes her other hand as well, so he's holding both of them and standing in front of her. "Look, okay? You get jealous, it's clear. You did when we were kids, and I didn't know why. But what happened at Karaoke made it really, really clear." His tone darkens for a moment with annoyance at all that, but it fades as he looks down into the eyes of the pretty blonde idol. "...But it's okay. I'm here, and we're going to Prom together. If you have a good time, and all, I'd be down for seeing where it goes after that. And my eyes don't wander. Don't count what happened at Karaoke, because that was -not- a normal attack," he says with a smirk. "So, if girls show interest or even look at me I...I don't see it that way. I only have eyes for the person I'm seeing. So...take a breath, okay?"

Utau Hoshina has posed:
Utau Hoshina can feel fingers curl around her and for a few moments she blushes fiercely. "H..hey no fair." the pretty blonde says. She listens to Kukai talk about how she's jealous and she gasps, placing a hand to her mouth as she looks away. "I'm not...jealous!" she absolutely lies.

"Ugh. F-fine." she says, looking away. "I won't count the karaoke place." she says eyes looking back to Kukai as she continues to blush fiercely. Il and El are indeed hovering over her shoulders, behind her and watching all this place out. "I won't. Ruin anyone else's day. At least. For a bit." she promises. This will be a hard promise to keep.

"Come on, come shopping with me. I need someone to tell me what's good on me~ and I need to pick out some more fashionable clothes for a new friend. I'll tell you about her! She's a vampire and she's a great dancer." she says. "She's really going to kill it under Easter's label. Sanjou loved her and everything." she says.

"Just some technicalities I need to figure out about it." she says. "But that's not important right now. What's important right now is that you tell me everything looks good and cute on me." she says with a big nod as she drags Kukai further away from the ice cream parlor, still holding hands. Unless Kukai breaks the touch.

Kukai Soma has posed:
He can't help but smile at the way she blushes and ends up getting flustered. "Well, -that's- a good look on you," he lightly teases. He nods, though. "Okay, sounds good. You be good, and I'll give you my totally honest opinions on your outfit choices." He glances at the two Chara's, a bit more worried about THEM for a moment, or two. But, either way the boy turns to walk with her.

"I don't really shop for the kinda clothing you do, obviously, so all these stores will be new to me. So, lead the way, Oh Idol Princess."

He glances away as he sees a few guys from school walk by, and it's turn to blush as he sees them whispering about the mysterious girl holding Kukai's hand at the mall. Great, that's something he might have to deal with. But, he'll deal with it later. Not right now. He blinks and turns his attention back to her as they walk.

"Vampire? Like...bloodsucking and pale...vampire? Huh. Well, that's new." He really doesn't now how to absorb that into his brainmeats, but the boy is trying. Meanwhile, the important fact is that he does not break the touch.