1407/Lunch Zone

Lunch Zone
Date of Scene:	12 April 2024
Location:	Plot Room 1
Synopsis:	During a stressful day at the Eclipse Zone, Sunbreaker orders lunch... and unfortunately makes the worst possible mistake with young Rashmi. Well. Least violent, worst mistake.
Cast of Characters:	Hinoiri Kirara, Rashmi Terios

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Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker was... to be blunt.... a smidge frazzled. Why?

Because she was, once again, focused entirely on her work and trying to do EVERYTHING all at once, just like normal. The kindabads had been running around the Eclpise Zone alllll morning, looking at every little thing, nearly knocking over a tower after being certain they'd seen a mascot go into it! They hadn't, but for some reason they were on edge.

Chaar had been in a mood and almost attacked a civilian. Wolfrun and Red Oni were useless as usual. Majorina hadn't even SHOWN.

And, to top it all off? New scores had come in anddddd... she had tied. With Ami. AGAIN. Could. The. Girl. Not. Just. Miss. ONE! Question?!

So.... she'd finally decided to splurge. Ordered lunch. For everyone. From the Korma.

And ohhhh, that'd been a biiiiiig one. A massive one. Like 40 items. And all of them had to be DIFFERENT because OF COURSE THEY DID! Red Oni wanted his without onions, but extra spicy, and Wolfrun wanted extra lamb in his but NO red pepper, and the kindabads....

So she was a bit... twitchy... already.... as she continued her studying, the dark energy almost radiating off her.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
It's not often that a delivery order requires a bike trailer to pull it. Bu-u-ut, when a few-dozen-thousand-yen order is called in, a few-dozen-thousand-yen order is made. It's lucky that lunchtime is usually rather slow for the Korma, else the wait time would have been unconscionable. As it is, it *still* took an hour for an order that varied and large to be fulfilled.

And it's just Rashmi's luck that it comes in on a Sunday, when she's volunteering her time to help out the family, so guess who gets to take the order!

Never mind that Rashmi has *been* to the area before, and *knows* what's lurking inside, and would not want anyone else to have to suffer even a low-level energy drain. There was also the fact that the Korma was understaffed in anticipation of a slow lunchtime, which bought her a good deal of forbearance.

So Rashmi's rather out of breath when she wheels up to the edge of the Zone, trying to act like she *doesn't* see the frantic Kindabads for what they are. There's a moment's hesitation, before she takes a deep breath and plunges on in, ringing the bike's little bell on the way. After all, without active magic, the drain shouldn't be *too* bad, right?

Well... Perfect time to find out.

"Korma Chameleon~!" she calls out, as she pedals down the lane, slow enough that the trailer merely rolls a bit when it hits an uneven patch, instead of bouncing. "One order of 'All the curry?'"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker glanced over to the girl dinging and--

KINDABADS RUSHED HER!

"BACK! OFF!" Sunbreaker's voice rang out and the kindabads stopped in mid run, before quickly back away. Sunbreaker rolled her eyes before getting to her feet and walking towards the other girl with a small smile on her lips. "Sorry, it's so hard to get good help these days. That everything?" she asked, glancing towards the trailer. "I guess we did kind of order a lot, huh?"

She pulled out a wallet from her sleeve pocket and--

"Did they get mine extra spicy?" Red Oni asked.

"Yeah, I haven't checked the order yet, I--"

"I don't want onions on mine!"

"I know, I--"

And within moments it was a dull roar as they all started yelling and screaming, trying to make sure their order was done right. Rashmi could *see* the vein on Sunbreaker's forehead as she tried to get them to calm DOWN!

Idly pulling out a card and thrusting it into Rashmi's chest. "I'll check the order while you process, okay?!" she said.

Twitch. Twitch. Veeeeein twitch.

"Did you get mine low spice? I can't--"

"I KNOW!" Sunbreaker YELLED! "NOW SHUT UP AND I'LL DEAL WITH THIS! I swear they're all bucking USELESS but the moment food is involved they just become pure DETRIMENT!" she snapped, huffing angrily.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
One doesn't really need to fake a startled, slightly-scared yelp when a horde of Kindabads rush the bike. It's the kind of thing that happens all on its own.

"...Rough day?" Rashmi says, in an attempt at an icebreaker as she pulls out 'her' work phone, slots the card-reader attachment, and starts the job of processing. "Everything's got numbered stickers, and we double-checked which goes where so it might be simpler just to call out the number and order so people can get it and move on?"

Red Oni gets a bit of a nervous side-eye, Wolfram doubly so. Sometimes upper-echelon Obsidian managers are *intimidating,* after all.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker gave a nod. "Yeah, its been.... a day. It has just been a day. When they tell you that hell is other people? They mean it," she muttered bitterly.

She started going through all of the food, making sure it was correctly made... She had a list, which she was going through, bit by bit. All she had to do now was--

And then she froze. And Rashmi might realize why. Labeled on the cover of that card she'd given?

'Hinoiri Kirara'. She quickly turned and then pulled her wallet out again. "Sorry, wrong card," she said, before pulling out a second card, similiar to the first... Exept it said 'Obsidian Gold Card' on the name. Not her name.

She looked the girl over for a moment... then shrugged. "Eh, no big deal. Sorry, don't want to use my personal card on a business expense, you know?" she said, trying to blow it off. After all, it wasn't like THIS girl was magic, right? So it would be fiiiiine.

Before she could overthink it, however, one of the Easter Employees called out. "Hey, boss lady? Those seed things? They're bubbling."

"They're supposed to do that!" Sunbreaker yelled, rolling her eyes. "I literally TOLD YOU THEY WOULD! I swear, what's wrong with people these days? You ever have people like that?" she asked, cocking an eye at Rashmi. "Who just don't seem to listen?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
It's somewhat fortunate for Hinoiri's short-term funds, that Rashmi saw the name on the card and froze as well, before confirming. It's a moment's quick work to cancel the transaction, exchange cards, and begin again with the new one, her mind whirling a hundred miles an hour as she tries to figure out what to do.

So it's with a bit of a delay, that she looks up, wide-eyed, at Sunbreaker, blinking owlishly. "Hm? Um? Kind of? But that's more like the 'not taking good advice' kind of frustrating rather than the 'not listening to orders' kind, so... it's different?"

What to do what to do what to do what do what do...

While Sunbreaker is trying to herd dark cats, Rashmi prints out the charge receipt... then another length of blank paper, because the note she's about to pass does *not* need to end up in the hands of an evil beancounter.

[ By the way, I still never told anyone about the youma you vaporized by accident. And anyone's welcome at the Korma as long as they don't start trouble there. Pass it on. Fair's fair. ]

This was absolutely a bad idea, but, fair *is* fair.

When the warmer-boxes empty out, Rashmi folds the note in the receipt, and hands them over with a slighty brittle smile... Because all smiles are a little brittle when surrounded by this much dark throw weight, with her life energies being drawn away a trickle at a time. "I gotta get all this back to the shop, thanks for the business, customer-san!"

With luck, she'll be out of the Eclipse Zone before Sunbreaker decides to read the note.

With luck, she'll end the day as not-hospitalized as she began it.

But maybe help luck along by pedaling your butt off, Rashmi.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker gave a small nod. "Yeah, I know how that one is too. I give people amazing advice all the time and I swear they just tune it out." She took the receipt and... pocketed it. It'd be added to the file later when she submitted everything for reimbursement later...

So, for Rashmi's fortune, it wouldn't be seen until this evenining.

And she started distributing the food, which, at least, would take a while. And then... then she finally got to go back to her homework and relax, giving a content sigh as she ate her vegetarian korma.

Delicious. Worth. Every. Drop.

She, at least, was pretty happy as sat there, enjoying her meal and relaxing, unaware she had managed to blow her cover.... again...

Oh well. Consequences were for other people, anyway. What was the WORST that could pooooooossibly happen?