138/Sweetest Saturday

Sweetest Saturday
Date of Scene:	23 July 2023
Location:	Nounamu Sweets
Synopsis:	Nounamu Sweets is open for business! Ikiko and Mie end up there sharing some treats. The odd Mie learns that skewer sticks are not for eating. Ikiko shares her snacks. Chiyo shows off some florist skills.
Cast of Characters:	Chiyo Sakai, Mie Kitamura, Ikiko Hisakata, Minako Aino

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Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Nounamu Sweets was one of those older shops that had been around for so many years that it didn't originally have a name, just a sign out front declaring what it sold. The Sakai's owned and ran it, and had updated it with the times so that it fit modern appetites as well as still having many of the traditional wagashi sweets it was so well known for. The kids had dubbed it 'Nounamu Sweets' due to the lack of an actual name and that too had been embraced and welcomed. Now instead of just the banner flying out front there was also a chalkboard standee with colorful calligraphy declaring 'Nounamu Sweets' was open with decorative faux sweets attached to it to give an idea of what could be found within.

There was an outer counter with a case on display for pre-packaged candies. Gifts, and quick pick up items. Inside it was small but there were some cafe tables for those who may wish to sit while enjoying their treats instead of just rushing off. The old man behind the counter was easy to see working from where he stood though there was usually someone running the counter proper so as to not interrupt his skilled efforts of molding, forming, shaping, and decorating the delacies put out.

Chiyo is currently in her work outfit bussing one of the tables to prep it for other visitors.

Mie Kitamura has posed:
    You know who likes sweets? Dragons like sweets! It's hard, however, to get said sweets when one //is// a dragon, unless one wants to deal with magical girls popping out of every corner. Which is why, much to Mie's chagrin, she has to do this the old fashioned way. She even has to //buy// it! With money! The gall!

    One of the problems about being a Bad End Kingdom commander is that they don't get paid very much. Well, okay. They don't get paid at all. She's gotten a stipend from Obsidian for her cover as Mie Kitamura, foreign exchange student from... somewhere, she can't remember, so she has a little spending cash, but not much at all. Maybe she should get a job. *shudder*

    She's standing in front of the sweet shop counting changing to find out exactly what kind of sweets she can afford. The number is depressingly low, she realizes with a sigh, and a hang of her head. "But I want sweeeeets," she wines to nobody in particular.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
A busy week deserves a little treat, right? And with all that had been going on recently, some sweets to relax with sounded like a good idea to Ikiko. She had already visited one of the packs of stray dogs today, then stopped by her dorm for lunch and to tend to the succulents, and now she was spending her afternoon in Pikarigaoaka, enjoying the relative calmness of the ward.

Following a remembered conversation, she makes her way over to Nounamu Sweets, both to pick up a treat for herself and to visit Chiyo. After all, if you're going to be buying something, your friend's family shop is one of the best places to do so, right?

Ikiko arrives just in time to hear the green-haired girl. Giving the older girl an apologetic smile, Ikiko steps into the shop, glancing around a bit before spotting her friend. "Hi, Chiyo-chan!" she waves.

Minako Aino has posed:
Not just Dragons, princesses too! After sports, swimming and a with her memory of the soda girl and her samples, Minako was headed to the promise of sweets.

Headed towards the doorway, she was dressed casually as she moved onwards towards the promise of the sweets.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
The old man behind the counter lifts his head to peer at the girls coming in silently. The one that lingers outside counting her change is the one that draws his attention most for the moment. He leans over the counter and raps on the glass to get her attention with a gesture to the sign. "Discount for Radiant Heart students. Come inside and see." His voice was gruff, old, and it seemed as if he wasn't big on speaking often. The kindness was there though.

When Ikiko enters, Chiyo looks up from depositing some dirty plates into a bin beside the counter for washing later. Her smile lights up in recognition. "Ikiko-chan, welcome! What brings you by today?"

Her gaze skips past to the taller princess that walks in as well to flash her a similarily welcoming smile. "Welcome to Nounamu Sweets! We have tea, soda and water if you'd like, and the strawberry daifuku and dango are half-price today." The fresh fruit ones never lasted long so had to be sold quickly. Best to get them all sold while they were still good!

Mie Kitamura has posed:
    Mie can't help but look hopeful when the old man mentions a discount. She hurries in, and starts browsing the wares. At first in excitement which slowly bleeds away to despair when she sees the prices.

    Eventually she comes up to the counter and clears her throat and straightens herself to a more commanding posture. "I would like a strawberry daifuku..." There's a bit of a crack in her posture but she quickly corrects it. "Yes. Just one. For I will judge your entire shop with this one morsel, so you must make it your best."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"I was in the mood for some sweets, so I thought I'd stop by and try some!" Ikiko beams at Chiyo. "Especially since it's your family's store!"

Glancing behind her to see who Chiyo was welcoming to the store, Ikiko blinked for a moment in recollection, then smiles. "Hi, Aino-san!" the younger girl waves to the long-haired blonde, remembering her from that one day at the Korma Chameleon and her collision with Koji... although it looks like Minako is busy with a sudden phonecall.

The green-haired girl's declaration draws a quizzical look from Ikiko, who thinks for a moment. "Chiyo-chan, I think I'll have tea, plus... two strawberry daifukus and three strawberry dangos," she smiles contemplatively, a hint of a plan unfolding in her mind.

Stepping towards Mie, Ikiko clears her throat slightly to get the tall girl's attention, then in her most innocent voice asks, "Onee-san, would you like to eat your daifuku with me? I've heard that food is tastier when you eat with friendly people."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai grins broadly as she clutches her serving tray to her chest which was, thankfully, empty. Having a friend drop by was always a great experience--and a newer one for her as well. She was smiling far more often lately and the old man working diligently behind the counter steals a few glances her way noticing that.

"I'm glad you stopped by then, Ikiko-chan. I feel like I haven't really gotten to spend much time with you lately." The friendly conversation steals away toward the green haired girl in RHA unfirom as well with a quick nod. "Of course! Coming right up!"

She dips behind the counter to begin loading a plate with the treats that Ikiko had requested. They're arranged neatly. A daifuku on a plate, and the three dangos on another so they all line up decoratively. It's done with the skilled precision of someone who has been doing this quite awhile.

With everything set she steps around the counter again to bring it all to one of the freshly cleaned tables. "There you go Ikiko-chan." She shares a knowing smile with her kohai before looking back toward Mie as well. "And here's yours," she adds setting the plate with a single strawberry daifuku down. Let me get the tea, it's complimentary." Tea usually was most places after all.

Mie Kitamura has posed:
    Mie looks somewhat surprised at Ikiko's boldness but after a blink she recovers her composure. "Does it?" she asks. She taps a finger on her chin as she contemplates this. "I don't see how this could be possible but, but I am willing to entertain this prospect."

    She sits down at the same table as Ikiko, back straight and stiff. She nods imperiously at Chiyo as she's served. After all, humans serving dragons is the natural order of things. "Ah, yes. Free tea. I will partake in this."

    When Ikiko's plates are handed out, Lamya glances at her measly single strawberry daifuku compared to five sweets that the other girl got, and there's a flash of jealousy that's quickly hidden. "So." she states.

    "I suppose this mean that in order for you to truly enjoy you sweets I should be 'friendly.'" Mie states as if the concept is foreign to her. She thinks for a moment, absentmindedly tugging at her bangs before venturing an introduction. "I am Mie Kitamura."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko nods thanks to Chiyo with a slightly apologetic smile -- it's hard to spend quality time with a friend when you're improvisationally planning on helping a social stray.

"Ikiko Hisakata, grade 5 at RHA! Nice to meet you, Kitamura-san!" Ikiko beams to the green-haired girl. The brief hint of jealousy on Mie's face is observed, but not reacted to.

Instead, Ikiko picks up one of her daifukus and pops it into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. Her eyes slowly widen and the corners of her mouth slide up into a smile as the taste cascades through her mouth. "This is good!" she grins after swallowing it down. "Might even be one of the best ones I've ever had."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai waits until Ikiko tries the daifuku to come up with that reaction. Seeming pleased she gives a nod along with a happy look at the pleasure her friend found in the treat. "I'm so glad you like it! We always try to use the very freshest and ripest strawberries." All the more reason they had to move quickly. If any came that were smaller though, they went to good use as well in other dishes.

Since introductions are being made she dips her head toward Mie as well. "I'm Chiyo Sakai, grade ten at Radiant Heart. This is my ojiisan's shop," she explains with a glance over her shoulder to the old man working still. "I'll get the tea--Pardon me."

It was already brewed in a standing thermos pot so filling up a some cups comes quickly. One for Ikiko as she had ordered it, and the other for Mie. It was just the standard green tea you could find most places but having a drink to go with sweets was always helpful. She lingers a moment longer behind the counter before returning to the table to place the cups down. The first goes to Mie since she was the older of the two there, then to Ikiko.

Then, perhaps unexpectedly, another small plate is set down bearing strawberry skewers that glistened as if they were encased in glass. "Here, have these as well. They don't tend to last overnight because the strawberries are ripe and have to be eaten quickly. It's better they be enjoyed than risk going to waste from not selling them."

Mie Kitamura has posed:
    Mie blinks suddenly remembering something. "Oh! Yes. Grade 8 at Radiant Heart Academy. There," she says with a definitive nod. "We are now being friendly."

    With that out of the way she turns her attention to the daifuku sitting on her plate. She picks it up and examines it critically, turning it this way and that before just kind of //devouring// it. "Houmph! nomf! nomf! nomf!" There really isn't any other way to describe it. There's a lot of gnashing of sharp teeth involved and a bestiality to it that's almost inhuman.

    As soon as it came it's over and Mie sits there primly licking her fingers. "Yes." she says. "I suppose that was //quite// good."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko nods sagely to Chiyo's comment about the fleeting swiftness of ripe strawberries. "Like a cherry blossom of the berries," she agrees, picking up one of her dangos and slowly chewing on it.

Mie's near-inhaling of the daifuku is noted with a slight tilt of Ikiko's head, but she figures the green-haired girl just has a larger appetite than RHA's usual meal rotation. Or that she forgot lunch.

Taking one of the strawberry skewers, Ikiko nudges the rest of the plate slightly toward Mie, as if it had been accidentally jostled in the process of picking up the strawberry skewer. "Are you in any clubs, Kitamura-san?" she asks, taking a small bite of the glazed strawberry.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"You should have some too Mie-chan," Chiyo suggests of the sugar-glass strawberries which she offers with a grin. "Complimentary." The girl seemed to fully enjoy the treats and if she was worried about money, well, she could certainly help her out a bit. Better they don't go to waste.

"Exactly, Ikiko-chan. We'll be out of strawberry season soon so should enjoy them while we can. It's one of the best things of Summer, I think." As the talk turns to clubs she nods looking back to Mie for an answer. "I'm in flower arrangement club and manga club myself."

Mie Kitamura has posed:
?Mie's eyes track the movement of the skewers towards her before lifting up to squint at Ikiko. She sees what the younger girl is doing and she's slightly suspicious of it. Still. Sweets are sweets. She picks one up off the plate and pops it in her mouth, skewer and all, and crunches down on it. "There's this weird wooden aftertaste," she observes. "It really doesn't do anything for the flavor of the strawberry." She looks at Chiyo and informs her, "Next time I think you better not put a stick in it."

?Ikiko's question catches her attention. "Yes. I am in RPG club. Right now we are on a quest to find the Sacred Diamond which can be used to forge the Sword of Power which can take down the evil Demon Lord Diablo."

    "Flower arrangement club?" Mie asks curiously. "Do you arrange them alphabetically or by color?"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko slides the rest of the glazed strawberry into her mouth, then looks from the now-empty toothpick to Mie and back again. "Well, that's one way to get some extra fiber, I guess," she mumbles to herself, placing the toothpick down on her plate.

Picking up her last daifuku, Ikiko stifles a giggle at Mie's... unconvential take on flower arrangement by biting into the daifuku firmly, then sliding the rest of it into her mouth once her urge to laugh had subsided. "I'm in Animal Care club," she finally says after downing the daifuku. "Sounds like you're having fun in RPG club!"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai is left staring openly for a long moment at the total destruction of the skewer. It was wooden so not exactly INedible, but... It wasn't... Her face reddens a little at mention of the wood. Quickly realizing she WAS staring she glances away clearing her throat. "Ah, I apologize. The sticks usually keep people's fingers from getting sticky from the candy. You don't have to eat that part... It's okay to take them off of it when you eat." Clearly this was a foreigner of some sort. Clearly. There was no other explanation, right? Yes, that must be it.

The mention of flower arrangements however earn a smile. "Oh, no. It's about arranging the flowers into a display to best enjoy the natural beauty. It was an art practiced by samurai years ago and is a very good way to calm yourself. Like meditation." She hesitates a moment only to glance over to the man behind the counter. "Ojiisan, can I go get the Ikebana upstairs to show them?"

He looks up glancing around the shop quickly. It was mostly empty so he just waves her off. "Go on go on. Just don't drop it."

With a grin she looks back to the two. "I'll be right back!" She spins around to head for the back of the shop disapearing for a bit.

Mie Kitamura has posed:
    "I am!" Mie says, her eyes lighting up and her stiff, imperial posture softening a little bit. "I play Daisuke, Samurai Warrior, on his never ending mission to get eaten by a dragon!"

    She blinks up at Chiyo when she explains that the sticks aren't meant for eating. "I knew that!" she snaps. "I was... testing you!" Yeah, that's the ticket.

    She looks confused, though at Chiyo's explanation of flower arrangement. "Is the best way to enjoy the natural beauty of flowers not to enjoy them in nature where they grow? I think you have a very odd definition of 'natural'."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"I think it's about positioning them so the beauty of the various flowers complement each other, instead of them being 'just' a chaotic lovely mess," Ikiko muses as she picks up one of her remaining dangos and nibbles on it. "Sort of like how a dog is natural and usually cute, but brushing its fur can make it even cuter."

There's a slightly puzzled blink at the description of Daisuke's mission, but Ikiko chalks it up to implied character recklessness: someone who knows their fate should they fail, but strides forth everyday to see how long they can defy that doom. "How many dragons has Daisuke faced so far, Kitamura-san?" she inquires.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
In spite of the talk going on Chiyo was determined to show them precisely what she meant. It only takes a few minutes, and then she reappears carrying a vase on a standing base which she moves around the counter very. Carefully. It's clear it's heavy but she seems to have no issue with holding it up. Even so she keeps both hands beneath it to ensure nothing topples over from being off balance.

She pauses at the nearby table that was empty to set it down so they can examine it without it getting in the way of any of the plates on their own table. "Here. This is a way for nature to be enjoyed indoors. The way the parts are arranged are supposed to draw your eye from one element to the next so it can all be enjoyed, in part or in whole."

Her hands dust off on her apron as she finally looks back to the pair a bit red-faced. This wasn't a hobby she spoke about very often. "I know it's not as popular anymore, but it's a traditional art that's dying. Just like making wagashi," she explains. "It's a way of keeping history alive... Or at least the better parts of it."

Mie Kitamura has posed:
    Mie wrinkles her nose at the mention of dogs. "Dogs," she scoffs. "They're loud, nosy, and have no concept of personal space." A pause. "AND they smell." Mie nods. There. That should cover all the basics. "The fact that they can't maintain their own natural beauty only solidifies their status of an inferior species."

    Smoothly she moves onto the next topic. "Sadly, we have just started the campaign, so we have not reached any dragons yet." Her eyes lift so she can stare off into the distance, "One day..."

    Her attention is snapped back to the present when Chiyo comes down with the flower arrangement. She turns and leans closer to the display to examine it better when it's set down on the table. "It's smaller than I thought it would be," she observes. She stares for a few moments more before leaning back and declaring, "Yes. This is an acceptable display of nature. I find the aesthetic most enjoyable."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko tilts her head to the side with a bit of a shrug. Some people just aren't dog people, just like how some people aren't cat people (and that's not even getting into the curmudgeons that aren't particularly people people, either).

Fortunately for the effort to remain polite to the dog-disliking Mie, Chiyo's return with the ikebana gave her something else to focus on. "Oh, pretty~!" Ikiko gasped. "That is very nice!" And apparently Chiyo is very strong, but now is not the time to comment about it, especially given Chiyo's embarassment.

Finishing her nibbled dango, Ikiko looks at the last dango on her plate. In truth, she could easily eat it; plenty of space for sweets, after all! But her slowed eating hadn't just been to savor these treats, after all...

"I think my eyes were wider than my stomach," she stated with a rueful tone of voice. "But this dango shouldn't go to waste, either..."

Ikiko taps her chin for a moment, then seems to get an idea. "Would you like my last dango, Kitamura-san?" she asks.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai clasps her hands together in front of her while she stands tall, and siles proudly at the compliments of the arrangement. "Thank you. Ojiisan and I made this one together. He's the one that started teaching me how to do them to begin with."

When the two appear to be wrapping up with their snacks she steps forward to withdraw the empty plates tidying up quick out of habit. "Ah, thank you for letting me show you. I hope you've both hand a good time while here. It was great to see you again, Ikiko-chan. A pleasure to meet you, Kitamura-san."