166/Semi-Ferals

Semi-Ferals
Date of Scene:	27 July 2023
Location:	Cafeteria Plaza
Synopsis:	Koji gets grilled about the grilling! Okay, let's amend, Kazuo has some questions. ... this may involve some plotting. At least it's not RomCom Plots this time?
Cast of Characters:	Kazuo Saitou, Koji Silvia

---

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
In the midst of vacation, there is a hunt going on. ... well, okay, there are several. Quite a few, really. But the particular one that's of most concern in this instant is Kazuo seeking someone he's heard of in passing, but always in the background. Never having had a reason to bring him front and center in attention.

Yes, of course he's looking for Koji, who else would it be.

Fortunately for Kazuo, the cafeteria is much less frequented in the middle of (a) vacation and (b) a heat wave. Cooked food is not at the top of most people to-do list right now. Which means it's considerably easier to zero in on one person.

Even if he's not entirely sure what in the world that one person is listening to. Well, it's English something. If he were paying more attention and had had more sleep, maybe he'd be able to sort it out.

Kazuo approaches the table where Koji is attending to dinner and reading, and pauses at a polite distance. "Please excuse the interruption," he says. "I'm Kazuo Saitou. I'm looking for Silvia-san; would you happen to know where I might be able to find him?"

Koji Silvia has posed:
If he saw Kazuo coming, the ebon-haired young man in glasses alone at the table doesn't show it. But as the words come, he reaches over to his phone and taps the Yuutube video to pause, and then swipes it off.

Closing the book with a thin metal bookmark, Koji slides it to one side and then sits back a moment as he looks up at Kazuo. It's this neutral but appraising expression... not belligerent in the slightest. It is more like a secretary assessing someone coming up to the boss' office door.

"Hello, Saitou-sama. You are in luck.. you have found Koji Silvia."

Motioning to one of the spots at the table, he adds, "Did you want to get something to eat before sitting down? They just swapped the curry pot, and there's a make your own ramen station this evening."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo folds himself down to the seat gestured to, which is a pretty evident 'nope' to that question. But there's an answer given all the same. "Please forgive me for not joining you properly, but I can't stay too long. My mother was at Four Clover, and I promised to stop by and visit her at the hospital tonight. But after Osaka sent me a certain invitation, I did want to stop by and ask you a question."

Kazuo's head tilts to one side; his eyebrows twitch up, and his eyes are suddenly lighter and laughing. "Just what the hell am I getting into, here?"

Koji Silvia has posed:
"I saw the news about Clover Mall, and I'm sorry that your mother was there." Koji says, sitting up a little more, and then leaning forward as if the situation does seem to have his attention, so much so that when you ask the question, it almost causes him to jerk his head.

It takes him a moment to really switch gears on that, and the laughter disarms him as well. He reaches up and rubs the back of his head before saying, "Oh right..."

Taking a breath, he goes on, "You are not really getting into anything. Naru-chan wanted to bring a friend. Yeah, there's some drama in the background, but it shouldn't be anything. My roommate bought some steaks as a thank you for something, and it turned into a THING. So... the compromise was I get a charcoal grillpot and we go out in the woods here on campus and we do a fake campout dinner. Steak, some spring onion, whatever Naru-chan was going to add for herself... drinks in a cooler... That kind of thing."

There's a bit of a apologetic look on his face at tapering off on that phrase.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
At least he's stopping by and visiting. That suggests that his mother isn't the one the news was reporting as still critical. That's a plus, right? Right?

Kazuo glosses over the condolence, acknowledging it with a silently expressive nod without letting it consume the rest of the conversation. Not that Koji can't bring it back to a different kind of apology all on his own. The lighter tone lingers all the same. "Your roommate. He's the one who went full-on white tie and tails for the dance a couple of weeks ago, isn't he? Does he do anything that doesn't turn into a THING? Or, God help us all, was that a compromise between you two to pull him back down from what he was planning?"

Koji Silvia has posed:
Koji actually looks a little amused and surprised at the same time, "I was home for the dance. Do you have pictures?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo gives him a mock-rueful expression in return. "No, I was too busy fleeing the DJ's sense of humor. Best weapon in the entire school, kendo, fencing, and archery teams included."

Koji Silvia has posed:
As an aside, Koji asks, "How was the sound, otherwise? Our club helps set up for events like that... I left some instructions for my kohai on warnings on the equipment. Some of it acts weird. Strange sounds... occasional moans. No one knows why. Someone said 2 years ago something weird happened at a school event and they've been that way since."

Then he stops and waves it off, "Darien-kun is a weird but cool guy. Don't worry about him at all. He's going to be bending over backwards to be cool with everyone. Especially anyone who's new around him. It'll be him, Naru and her roomie, you, me, and another friend of mine if she is willing."

"You're... not allergic to cats are you? There are some semi-ferals who live around campus where we're going to be."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"The sound was fine while I was still there," Kazuo assures Koji. "The only problem with the equipment was what the DJ decided to play on it. But who knows, maybe he was trying to scare off any weirdness." A moment's pause, and he lets the laughter slide aside for a moment to add more seriously, "I'm not allergic to cats, and I'm not worried about semi-ferals. Even if they're cranky about us being there, they'll be smarter about it than most humans, and we'll be out of their way in not too long."

His mood lightens again promptly. "And no, no, I'm not worried about Shields. As far as I can tell, he's trying so hard on the image to cover the stammering and the weak spot for small kittens, feline or human."

Koji Silvia has posed:
"If I could ever get Darien-kun a small black kitten to hold and snuggle, I could take pictures and make a killing here at school. You do not know how many girls are fuming at the fact that he's interested in someone. But none of them know who."

Now... the interesting thing about his tone is that he sounds more PLEASED by all this than he should. Like there's some kind of 'evil' plan in it all that he's relishing in.

Almost literally, he waves a hand in the air to push that topic off, and sighs, "If you and Naru-chan just want to stay for the food and then leave, that's fine, Saitou-san. This whole thing is supposed to... well... release some of the pressure on this whole thing. Trying to be friends, trying to... let some things happen. This is just a chance for all of us to... be. With this school, and everything going on out there these days, like the mall... who knows when we'll get the chance again?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Small black kitten. Check. Koji might or might not have acquired a co-conspirator. "Is that why you're putting him and meat around semi-ferals during kitten season, in the company of overenthusiastic girls?" Kazuo asks, and that little grin matches the 'evil,' all right. "Just setting up the conditions to let something fortuitous happen?"

There's a shake of his head, after. "I'm pretty sure Osaka will stick around. I don't know her well, but it doesn't take much to tell she and her roommate get along." He doesn't speak for himself. Maybe he views himself as an attachment to Naru for the occasion. Maybe he's plotting to go semiferal himself. Join the cat colony and crouch in the darkness, et cetera.

Koji Silvia has posed:
Sadly, Koji shakes his head, "Sadly there's no black kitten in the clowder that's there. There's a little blue-grey one, and one who's pure white and rather fluffy, but Usagi apparently has a cat. She might show up."

He almost sounds hopeful, and the conspiratorial nature of it all makes him lean in a bit, "Now if we REALLY wanted to get him stuck during kitten season, I have a friend in the Animal Care Club who can let me know where we can find the right little fluff to make him hold and see what happens."

You could swear he's a half-second of him about to burst into a diabolic chuckle, but he stifles it down, "You have a twisted sense of humor. I like it. Consider yourself welcome by me, even if you put Darien-kun on edge at first. Sometimes he needs his tail twisted."