207/Rice and Curry

Rice and Curry
Date of Scene:	06 August 2023
Location:	Korma Chameleon
Synopsis:	A meet up of magical mahou at Korma Chameleon. After a little poking around, Ikiko, Wako, and Chiyo all realize/reveal they're magical girls. New friends and allies found and information exchanged for the future!
Cast of Characters:	Chiyo Sakai, Wako Agemaki, Ikiko Hisakata

---

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
The events in Juuban yesterday had been a first for Chiyo: It was one of the first times she'd faced something enough to have been really, honestly injured. While hers were far less than the other magical girls that had been there fighting so emphatically, she swore she still felt some lingering aches even after she transformed back.

There was no evidence of injury, though, so she'd racked it up to just being in her had as some phantom ghost memory of the event. That, and a warning to herself to be more diligent in the future.

For now the lure of feasting on some comfort food was pulling her to Korma Chameleon. Dressed casually in a pair of denim capris, sandals, and a soft yellow cotton collared blouse with demi-sleeves, and a fitted waist, she pushes through the doors to inhale the indulgent scents that the Korma had to offer. Honestly, as cute as the outfit was, it might be easy to mistake her out on a date. It was just the desire to wear something cute today to make up for all the rough housing of yesterday that had tempted her into such attire.

Her path is made past the takeout area toward the seats looking them over for any familiar faces before she starts to move to claim a table for herself. If others came along? Well, that's how she'd met most of her friends so far, by inviting them to join her.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
The moment Wako steps into the building, her face lights up.

At first she just stands there, barely a step past the doorway, drawing in a deep breath to take in all the delicious aromas that fill the air. That breath comes back out in a happy sigh. "Oh, I can already tell I'm going to love it here..."

Belatedly, she seems to realize she's blocking the doorway. As she moves farther into the room, she looks around, and in the process her gaze falls on Chiyo. Recognition nags at her, though it takes a little longer to place just where she's seen the other girl before. When it does, it's enough to have her heading over to the table.

"Excuse me," she offers, friendly and just slightly apologetic. "You're Chiyo-chan... right? We met before at that thing on campus with the plants, with Usagi-chan and the others - my name's Wako."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Today had been one of Ikiko's days for wandering far afield to visit some of her canine friends, and even with mass transit there's still a fair amount of walking involved. This, of course, means that she's worked up a bit of an appetite...

    ...and what better place to deal with that than the Korma Chameleon?

The timing of Ikiko's arrival winds up being soon after Wako had stepped away from the doorway, so Ikiko steps in and then over to the side in a relatively practiced move. While looking one way to start scanning for familiar faces, her ears catch the mention of a couple of names in a different direction: some familiar, one not so much.

Ah, there's Chiyo! Currently talking with... ah, right, Wako; Ikiko did remember her introducing herself to Usagi at the succulent incident. Stepping forward to bring herself within easy line of sight while still staying far enough back to avoid disturbing the conversation in progress, Ikiko waves to Chiyo to make sure she catches her friend's attention.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai settles herself into the comfortable chair wihle her mind had begun to wander to thoughts of what to get. Typically she got the samoas, Koji's usual contribution to suggestions of what to eat, but today she wanted something a bit ... more. Curry and rice seemed as if it would be perfect to make up for all the energy she had expended last night. With fingers reaching out for the menu her attention is easily stolen away by Wako's greeting.

There's a certain nag of familarity to her as well, but thankfully Wako explains the connection. Her eyes brighten along with her smile. "Oh, yes! I remember. I'm so sorry for nodding off that day," she starts to apologize when there's another friendly face she sees just behind Wako.

With a grin she lifts her hand to wave at Ikiko gesturing her over. "It's good to see you again, Wako-chan. And Ikiko-chan, too," she adds softly before looking between the two. A gesture as made at the other seats. "I was just about to get someting to eat. Would you both like to join me? It's more fun with friends around."

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"Oh, you don't need to apologize!" Wako's protest is punctuated by a quick shake of her head. "I've actually kind of been wanting to make sure you were okay, after you passed out like that... that day got kind of weird." Her smile turns very rueful. "Anyway, I'm glad to see you looking well, and to get a chance to meet you properly."

She glances back over her shoulder when Chiyo waves to Ikiko, and offers a little wave of her own before Chiyo draws her attention forward again. "I'd love to join you two, if you don't mind! It's definitely more fun to sit with friendly people."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"'Weird' is an understatement," Ikiko nods with a slight grimace as she takes an offered seat. "Especially with all of the pots broken. I tried to keep the succulents together with the largest shards of their pots when cleaning up, but I'm not sure anyone came back to claim them."

Her face brightens up with a smile. "I was able to salvage your succulent though, Chiyo-chan! As well as Usagi-chan's and mine! They're currently recovering in my dorm room," she beams, glad she was finally able to let Chiyo know about it.

"Anyway, I'm Ikiko Hisakata, grade 5; nice to meet you, Wako-chan!" Ikiko grins to Wako, making a welcoming gesture to one of the seats. "Meeting friendly people is pretty fun, too!"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"Of course, please join us," Chiyo urges to Wako with a little eagerness of her own. Usually she was the one pulled into these 'meeting new people' situations, not the one orchestrating it, however inadvertantly it may have been. That was a big step up for her being the 'quiet kid in the corner' all the time.

Wako's concern is met with a reassuring smile, both hands lifting lightly from the table to help allay any further fears. "Of course! I'm fine, thank you. I think I may have just been a bit overheated from the weather. I've been taking care to drink more water and am doing just fine." A reasonable explanation... though... really, Chiyo *didn't* know what had happened that day. Some part of her surmises that it might have been youma related, but Bonito had been off at the time trying to hunt down/harass another feline mascot so he wasn't there to properly warn her.

When Ikiko begins to talk of salvaging the succulents her eyes light up. "You did? That's great! I didn't think too much of it, but we did work hard on those. I'm glad they're okay. Can I stop by sometime to pick it up? I'm sure Ojiisan wouldn't mind having another plant around to take care of."

A glance is cast between the two. "Oh, right. I guess we should think of what to eat, too. I'm going to get some rice and the red curry, I think."

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako needs no further encouragement to slide into one of the seats at the table. She takes particular interest in what Ikiko has to say, listening with bright eyes. "I'm feeling like I was lucky to meet you both here today," she comments. "It's great that you were able to save some of the plants after all! It was such a shame that all the pots we painted got broken."

Thinking back, she definitely remembers one of the magical girls taking particular care to try to save some of the plants, after the fight was over. And she's quite sure she would have noticed if anyone had come back afterwards to do so.

Taking a bit of a gamble, Wako grins back to Ikiko. "It's great to meet you, too, Tsukiko-chan."

Then she looks back toward Chiyo, pouncing eagerly on the subject of food. "Have you eaten here before? It's my first time finding this place, but it sure smells amazing. I'll have to try the korma, but I'm not sure what else I should get."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko's eyes go wide at Wako's greeting, and she briefly glances towards Chiyo with a 'how am I supposed to explain this?!?' expression on her face. This was obviously a magical girl who had seen her at the succulent incident, but Tsukiko hadn't mentioned her name there, so how would Wako know...?

    Because she'd heard it before.

And given the only time she had introduced herself as Tsukiko to someone she didn't already know as a friend, and who was there for that, and who was also present at the succulent incident that she didn't already know...

Ikiko glances up at the ceiling with an expression of disbelief. "The two-headed bear youma," she whispers, putting the pieces together. So, Wako is Ginga Otome; this isn't quite as bad of a shock as when Usagi asked, but it's still rather dazing.

Fortunately, her stomach (quietly) snaps her out of her mild shock. "Samosas are pretty good, especially if you like gyoza," Ikiko explains to Wako. "I'll be having a few of those, and red curry with rice does sound pretty tasty!"

Turning more towards Chiyo, Ikiko adds, "Sure, you can stop by! I had been planning on waiting until they were ready to be re-potted so the three of us could decorate replacement pots for them, but I'm sure they'd appreciate your visit!"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai blinks a single time as Wako calls Ikiko by ... a different name? Tsukiko? A little confused she just asks quietly, "Oh, have you two met already?" Her gaze searches between the pair while Ikiko herself seems to find some revelation in whispering toward the ceiling. Two headed what now?

Lightly clearing her throat she puts on another smile with a nod offered toward Wako. "I have, many times. It's wonderful here. If you're not sure--" she begins only for Ikiko to mention the very item she was about to. Her hand lifts to gesture to the younger girl with another more emphatic nod of agreement. "Yes, the samosas are wonderful."

Then, hedging a bet of her own, she innocently inquires, "What's a youma?"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako nods quiet confirmation at Ikiko's whispered conclusion. "At the construction site," she confirms softly. "Thanks for your help that time, too."

Her head tilts when Chiyo asks if they've met before, and a bit of a chagrined look passes over her face. "We've run into each other a couple of times," she says, "but this is the first chance we've really had to talk." She brightens back up significantly at the discussion of food orders--"I love gyoza. Sounds like I should definitely order some samosas too."

'What's a youma?' At that innocent question, Wako abruptly goes still and glances guiltily back toward Ikiko. Has she said too much? Still... it hardly makes sense to go on keeping secrets now that the proverbial barn door has been opened. "I still don't know a lot about them myself," she admits honestly. "Except that they're dangerous. If you haven't run into any before, though, that's good."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko beams a smile in response to Wako's thanks, then sheepishly nods in agreement about having met before. Still somewhat surprised, but not too ba--

    'What's a youma?'

...spoke, er, thought too soon.

Ikiko's glance towards Wako is one of 'I can't believe this either, but the jig is indeed up', and her wide-eyed stare towards Chiyo is with the flat eyebrows of 'are you kidding me?'. Well, turnabout is fair play...

"Perhaps you should ask Bonito about them?" Ikiko asks sweetly, homing in on a hunch of her own. "I mean, you're probably no more fluent in Feline than he is."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai fixes her gaze avidly on Wako who begins to explain and really she has that stare down pat from years of practice. Sometimes the best way to learn about things was to just stare expectantly and let others talk. They often did. Her pointed questions lately hadn't usually ended with such good results.

Then Ikiko catches her in her own trap! There's a singular moment where Chiyo's gaze flits over to the younger girl looking as innocent as she had a moment before. That was her. Quiet Chiyo, didn't seem to bother anyone usually, just stuck to herself.

A brilliant, broad smile breaks out over her along with a quick bark of laughter that was definitely not her usual quiet sort. A quick clap of her hand covers her mouth as she darts a look around to other tables here murmering a quick, "Sorry! So sorry," of embarassment until they go back to their own meals.

Then the menu she had been toying with is placed down to smile back at Ikiko giving the smallest of shrugs. "I don't think what I'm supposed to be looking out for are called 'youma', but," she adds with a tip of her head toward Wako as well, "I have fought a few. I was meaning to ask you about that anyway, Ikiko. You had an entire conversation with that cat," she points out giving a perhaps guilty smile.

"... Sorry, I guess I shouldn't tease like that."

Wako Agemaki has posed:
There's a brief interval where Wako's just looking back and forth from Chiyo to Ikiko, tennis match style. Ikiko's animated expressions vs Chiyo's expertly practiced innocence.

In the end, the only thing that seems to make sense is to laugh. "It's okay," she assures Chiyo. "I'm still getting used to how things work around the city, really. Where I came from, most of the people who were involved in this kind of thing already knew who I was - but then, we didn't have to deal with youma or monsters like that, either. It's all a lot different." A beat; she lifts her eyebrows, not quite able to resist a bit of teasing in kind. "So... who's Bonito?"

In the next moment she's double-taking at Ikiko. "--wait, you can talk to cats? That's so cool!"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"Eh, nothing wrong with following a hunch, as long as you don't mind hunches being followed the other way in return," Ikiko shrugs with a smile. "The talk with Luna was... more informative than expected, eventually." In more ways than one, and in more than one burst!

A rueful grin to Wako. "Talk to them, sure, but not exactly fluently," the younger girl admits sheepishly. "I'm okay with the vocab, but I get the syntax completely mangled, and that includes listening as well. As you might expect, I'm much more fluent in Canine."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"Oh, Bonito?" Chiyo pauses to reach down for her purse to withdraw something... but she pauses. While it was good to meet other magical girls it may not be wise to give away the hidden form of her spirit guide. That could prove to backfire in the future, if someone were listening in that might use it against them. Her hand nudges the purse back into her lap without finishing the movement.

"Bonito is my spirit companion. He can shapeshift," she admits with a small smile offered toward Ikiko as if this might explain everything. "But he's rather fond of cats. Once he found out about those kittens you've been feeding, he's been visiting and helping to defend them from any trouble." There's a pause before she adds, "He also likes being a cat because people like to feed him a lot." He WAS a bit pudgey.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"Even if you say you don't speak Cat well," Wako tells Ikiko with a smile, "that's still really impressive. I feel like cats must know a lot of interesting things, if you could just convince them to tell you."

Chiyo's explanation draws a little laugh out of her. "I can't blame him for that," she says, eyes sparkling with delight. "If I could turn into a cat so that people would give me snacks, I'd do it all the time."

Her expression turns thoughtful, like something's just occurred to her. "Canine... does that include foxes too? Or do they have their own language, do you know?" she asks Ikiko.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko nods understandingly to Chiyo; the fact that Bonito is a shapeshifting spirit does explain his lack of fluency in Feline... and looking like a cute animal in order to get snacks is also quite understandable!

Wako's question prompts a thoughtful expression in return. "I haven't had a chance to talk to a fox yet to know," Ikiko admits. "But given what I recall of that one time--" with the two-headed bear youma, and the critters who hid behind the ofuda-thrower "--I suspect you'd like me to try talking with your vulpine friend?"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai glances between then two while her curiosity slowly builds. They had seen each other in mahou form so knew more about one another than she did. So far as she knew, she'd seen neither before, nor had they seen her. Just like with Madoka and that other woman that had figured out she could see Kyubey.

Then there was the situation she'd yet to properly resolve with Usagi... But at least she knew they were all friends. Right?

Smiling softly she adds, "Seems as if you two have reason to work together then. Do you want to get the food to go?" She offers in an attempt to help things along if they needed it.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako hesitates, but then shakes her head. "Mm, not exactly. More just wondering if you could. He's not a spirit guide or anything... I think he's just a fox." There's a flicker of uncertainty to that statement that suggests she's not entirely sure about that. "Probably."

Turning a bright smile to Chiyo, she adds, "I'd rather take the chance to talk to both of you more, while we're all here. Besides, food never tastes as good if I have to get it to go! And what if we want dessert? Do they have good desserts here, too?"

The girl is serious about her food, it's clear.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
There's a raised eyebrow at Wako's uncertainty, but Ikiko doesn't push the point. Besides, if they hang out often enough, opportunities to talk to the maybe-fox will undoubtedly happen naturally.

Although that does give her an idea...

"Eating with friends in a restaurant is better than eating alone," she agrees. "That said, how about if we exchange phone numbers so we have a way to keep in touch, instead of relying on coincidence to meet?"

There's a grin at Wako's comment about desserts. "I've had galub jamun; they're like small donut balls in a sweet sauce," Ikiko notes. "Really tasty! Still learning my way around most of the menu, though, so I can't give a broader selection of suggestions yet."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai settles back into her seat a bit relaxed after that respone from both of them. "All right, then," she agrees with a quick and easy smile. She could have understood if they needed or wanted to go discuss other things. Then the most important thing ever is mentioned! DESSERT!

"Oh, I haven't tried the dessert here at all myself." A quick glance is cast to the menu only to ask Ikiko, "Is it kind of like dango, then? I may have to try that. I usually just eat most of the sweets from Ojiisan's shop since it's right there--but I should broaden my horizons." A solemn nod comes as she decides this is important to do!

"Why don't we order some dessert and split it so we can all try?"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"That's a good idea." Wako's already getting out her cell phone as she nods to Ikiko. "If either of you runs into something dangerous and you think you need some backup, you can call me. I'm still not the most experienced at fighting, but I'm very good at defense."

She swipes through to her address book, preparing to add new contacts - but Chiyo's addressing an even more important topic. "And that," she says solemnly, "is a great idea, Chiyo-chan. I'm in for sure. You mentioned last time, your ojisan has a sweets shop, right? I really want to go there sometime. The last time I meant to visit, there was a vacuum cleaner youma and I got distracted."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"A split dessert sampler sounds great!" Ikiko agrees cheerfully, also pulling out her cell phone to add new contacts. "I'm pretty good at swift hit-and-run strikes and splitting the attention of enemies, but I wouldn't exactly call myself trained in fighting."

There's a nod when Wako mentions the sweets shop. "Very tasty goodies," Ikiko nods solemnly. "Definitely worth visiting when life doesn't get distracting."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai brings out her own phone as well. The little Bao charm that dangles off it bounces slightly as if it had a mind of it's own while she opens up the flip phone to add them in. Hers was... a bit old. Basic. If it had smart phone capabilities it had to be pretty basic for the most part.

"Oh, right! Yes, Nounamu Sweets. I'd love it if you stop by sometime," she agrees with a broad grin. "You too, Ikiko-chan. You visited once before but I don't think you really got to enjoy yourself properly."

Looking up again she ponders how to explain her own powers. "I'm... I'm really strong, mostly," she murmers only to add, "And I have some small fire powers, in a way. But I've never been trained, no. As far as I know I'm the only one of my particular 'type', too."

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako recites her number for Ikiko and Chiyo to put into their phones, before nodding eagerly to Chiyo. "Nounamu Sweets, that was it. You mentioned it the last time. I'll definitely come by; I want to get something to send to my grandmother. And," she adds laughingly, "something for myself, too."

Once more, she looks back and forth between the other two, pursing her lips briefly as though musing over something. "Do either of you go to Inai-sensei's self-defense classes? She has them Wednesday afternoons, even during the break. I don't know any kendo or anything, but I want to at least be able to take care of myself when things get risky. There's some pretty scary people around Tokyo."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"I'm pretty sure I'm likewise the only one of my 'type' as well," Ikiko muses with a nod to Chiyo. "At least, I haven't seen anyone with a similar 'look', and the particular nature of my powers is... unlikely to be echoed." Non-feral lycanthropes are very rare, even to those who actually know about non-fictional lycanthropes!

She earperks at the mention of self-defense classes. "That... might be really useful," Ikiko comments. "Especially if I can learn to cover some of my weaknesses, or even improve on them." Fast on her feet, skilled with a kick, but not particularly effective with a punch. And as the volleyball net akanbe showed, sometimes there's only so much you can do with emergency biting, no matter how sharp your fanglies are.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Once the numbers are given out, Chiyo gives hers as well. Another few names to the very short list of contacts but... that actually gives her a little bit of a happy, warm fuzzy feeling. Friends. Not just friends, but possibly allies, too. Hearing that Ikiko was also likely the only one with her powerset made it feel a bit less lonely. Now she only had to talk to a few more people to clear things up and maybe she might be better at what she'd been trying to do alone from now on.

The mention of the class has her look rather surprised. "There's a self-defense class?" That had clearly entirely missed her notice. Then again she had mostly been into reading manga and trying to make friends this year, as well as dealing with being a magical girl now, and working at her grandfather's shop. It was a busy life! "I... think that might be good to look into. I do all right, I think, but last night the fight I was in..." She can only shake her head. "Seeing what the others were doing, it was hard not to feel as if I have so much more to learn still."

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako's cheerful smile has vanished, replaced by a much more serious face. "Inai-sensei is technically the guidance counselor, but from what she's said, she's really here to help people like us. You should definitely talk to her if you feel like you want to learn more."

She relaxes a bit once she finishes saving the new contacts into her phone. "As for me... I'm not the only one, although right now there's only one other in Tokyo that I know of. Up until just recently, though, I couldn't fight at all. Now that I have the power to, I can't just let myself be someone who's protected. So I need to get stronger, you know?"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko nods sagely to Chiyo and Wako. "Sometimes it's a matter of doing what you can with what you have, and adapting to what others bring," she agrees. "I may not have true protective powers, but I can at least distract a threat away from others until somebody can more directly defend them, for example." Like, say, taunting a plantman youma so it doesn't attack schoolmates, buying time for Zero Time and an ice wall to be set up.

"Using your power to protect others is good," she continues. "And, sometimes... showing that it can protect others is good in its own right."

That last is said with a contemplative expression, but after a moment Ikiko shakes her head and looks a bit more like her usual chipper self. "So! Think we're ready to order?" she grins at the other two.