2385/White Day Goss with White Day Cooks

White Day Goss with White Day Cooks
Date of Scene:	05 March 2025
Location:	Dorms #2
Synopsis:	Taro and Chiyo talk boy troubles. (Specifically, Phillip troubles.) Taro
Cast of Characters:	Taro Yamada, Chiyo Sakai

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Taro Yamada has posed:
The last month has been grueling for Taro for a - a number of reasons, honestly. With Phillip gone, he's been taking on extra hours at the shop to try and keep up with demand for Valentines Day in Feburary, and for White Day coming up. Shifting into Kuiper Belt makes him feel tired and itchy, so he's kept it to a minimum. The way the dream world he'd been stuck in had turned around and scared him when he was supposed to be the scary one was - was - And the memory of that witch that had taken the girl, the way his eyes had been so focused on the kid he hadn't processed what happened to the handful of meat that had been her father -

Ugh. Being a mahou kind of sucks sometimes. But everyone has a slump, right? And right now, he's needed as a person a lot, so much, baking and making ingredients and preparing! So it's fine!

And so he's out of henshin as he invites Chiyo into his dorm room, toeing off his shoes before heading for the kitchen.

"Dammit, Jack! I told you to cut that out!!"

When Chiyo joins him, she'll find him trying to pluck his magical doll Jack out of a jarful of homemade red jam. Somehow, this doll without a face looks deeply smug as he dodges being yoinked out.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai really could use a break, which is precisely why the suggestion to join Taro in his dorm room for once seemed like a great idea. She wasn't really prepared to find him prying a jam covered sentient doll out of the jar.

A 'pfft' of laughter comes from the doorway as she quickly shuts it behind her so that others don't happen by and see the situation to question it. Amused, she grins at the pair. "Like a little kid," she jokes. "Do you need me to get a napkin? Wet cloth?" She offers even as she slips her shoes off to pad barefoot toward the kitchen joining them both.

It had been a tough time for her as well. Phillip being kidnapped, getting training with her new powers, the holidays. She was glad for Taro's help, and the part-timer, but being down a person unexpectedly did mean for shifting a lot of things around. They'd upped their production on a number of items with the extra help.

Now? Well. It was tougher.

Taro Yamada has posed:
"No, I do not trust him not to get jam all over your clothing," Taro says, and finally pries the wriggling doll from the jam jar. Jack dribbles red onto the counter and sink as Taro fills the shallow tub he uses for washing dishes, adds soap, and then dunks the doll. "I just made this batch, Jack! Can you take a break!"

"No," Jack says, proppingn himself up on the lip of the sink. He doffs his somehow clean top hat to Chiyo.

Taro brandishes the tongs threateningly at Jack before sighing, putting the jar of jam at the edge of the sink. "He can clean himself up. He at least took off his suit before jumping in there so I don't have to clean that."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai clucks her tongue just a little bit at Jack's response but all she can do is shake her head really. "At least it's a compliment on how good the jam is?" She suggests trying to strike some sense of getting along between him and the doll. Though she frankly wasn't certain about that.

Her hands clap together a single time in a 'lets get down to business' sort of manner. "So what did you want to talk about tonight? Seemed like you had something on your mind, Taro."

Taro Yamada has posed:
"It's a compliment, sure, but now I need to make a new batch. That jam was supposed to be for White Day," Taro sighs. He grabs two cans out of the fridge - he has somehow gotten his hands on a pineapple cider?? - and hands her one.

"I guess... Okay. I have two things. I want to check in on you and I want to make sure I'm not losing my touch. If you don't want to talk about you,that's fine, I hate talking about me, but you've had a shit month and I want to see if I can do anything to to make March less shit."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai reaches out to take the cider that's offered over without really considering what it is. She saw pineapple. She wasn't paying attention to it otherwise due to the questions that followed. Her gaze drops down as she fiddles with the lid absently.

"It's... Tough," she has to admit with a breath rushing out on the word 'tough.' "I can't claim I'm fine, but I'm also just. Managing I guess."

"The work at the shop has helped a bit. I mean this happens every year, so at least that's the same as always. It's nice to have something solid that I can count on in a way." She risks a glance back up only to grin with bemusement. "White Day, huh? Did someone give you chocolates?"

Taro Yamada has posed:
It's pinapple and apple cider. It was kind of expensive, but, it was worth it. He knows she likes pineapple. Chiyo's worth it, getting her something nice.

"Yeah. This sucks," Taro agrees. "I haven't heard anything, and it seems like magic stuff is getting even weirder this month, and. It sucks," he repeats, face furrowing.

What else can he say? This is shit. At least there's White Day.

"I just got chocolate from friends," he tells her, "but I figure the best way to fight everything sucking is to throw candy at it. And it's nice being able to GIVE people chocolates, you know? I was still basically homeless this time last year."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai smiles warmly at the mention of throwing candy at it. Boy had she done that more times than she could recall. The drink is finally sipped causing her to blink in surprise at the flavor, and she holds the bottle in front of her to regard it more thoroughly. "Wow this is tasty," she has to admit.

As for the rest? "Yeah, there's... a lot of things going on right now. Honestly I'm surprised Obsidian is still standing at the moment with how much stuff. None of it seems tied together, or working together, and it's just ... Chaos." There really was no other word.

"The thing with Phillip and with my cousin, and the nightmares, and everything." She pauses a moment as she had brought up a certain topic. Her fingers tap lightly against the bottle.

"I... My powers show me the truth sometimes now. When Philip was changed back into Phantom I saw what he really was." It's a difficult to read expression that creeps over her. Troubled, most definitely. "He's not human, Taro."

Taro Yamada has posed:
Taro fistpumps in success. "I saw it when I was buying ingredients and knew I had to get it," he says, some of the stress melting from his face. "If you want, you can have the rest of the box? There's like three cans left." It's always a victory getting a smile on her face!

"Me too. There was almost a political assassination, there was an attack on a school, and it's some creeps who have beef with Usagi? Lik - we know Obisidian's full of dumbasses, obviously, but the fact they're being outplayed by clowns who think they stand a chance against Sailor Moon is is, uh. What's a word that's the opposite of impressive? It's that." Like. Good lord.

And as she discusses what she saw - his face sobers some, and he nods. "When you say he's not human - is he not human like me? Or is he not human as like, he was never in the first place?" (Maybe he should be more surprised. But everything keeps on happening. Of course Phillip is... he doesn't know, a space alien or a mermaid or something.)

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
The offer of the rest of the cider is met with a little nod. She didn't usually accept food from others--that was her thing!--But in this case a little terat wouldn't hurt. Plus it was Taro. He liked gifting food as much as she did. "Yeah that'd be nice, thanks," she agrees simply.

The other topic causes her expression to sober a bit. When he hits on 'never human' she lifts her free hand to point at him. "Yeah. He. Uh." Her nose scrunches a bit.

"He's a... A fairy. A mascot."

Pulling her hands apart she indicates a size. It's not a BIG size, not at all, maybe the size of a plushie or one of the dolls. "I met him once before when he lost his memory. He looks like a little panda."

Taro Yamada has posed:
He. Wha. Huh????

"Like Jack?" Taro asks, pointing at the wooden doll currently washing off in the sink. "Or like Usagi's talking cat?? He's one of those guys?? Like," deep breath, boi, "obviously our helpers are people but I didn't know they were allowed to turn into people?"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Excellent question! Chiyo doesn't even blanche at the reaction though she does swallow hard. "More like the cats I guess. Or..." Her eyes widen as she now realizes what she's about to equate it to. "Or Bonito." He knew Bonito, he was her mascot from being a Culinary Guardian. He still lived with her when he wasn't hanging out at the cat cafe because of his fondness for kittens (and free food.)

"Yeah. This is the first time I told anyone since I got that information and now I'm realizing how bad it sounds. I knew it was bad but." But this was bad. Wasn't it?

Taro Yamada has posed:
"Bonito I would trust to date someone," Taro says. "I don't know if he'd want to date anyone, but I don't think he'd get weird about it?"

Ok. Maybe that sounded bad?? He wants to be comforting but also. What. What???

"Like. Obviously I'm not mad about the not human thing. no one's probabably gonna date me anyway, but if they did, I'd look like an ass if I got mad about general nonhuman dating. But if he's one of the guys who gives people powers? It's...." He makes a face. "Like, Dory's pretty young, but I think that's a fluke? Jack's at least over 150 years old and I wouldn't want him dating anyone your age. Or at all."

A pause, and. "I could work with the panda thing? Like. He'd be great for snuggling. That's not the problem here, you know hat i mean??"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"Yeah the type that... yeah." Chiyo takes another drink of the cider. The sweet fruity flavor was helping to wash away the little lump that she could feel tightening in her throat at the thought. "I don't know whose, but. Yeah."

"I mean if they're magic then I guess they could change form. He didn't even seem aware of it either. If he was made to change form and just... Forgot? He said... Philip said anyway, that Phantom was trapped with Queen Mirage for a long time. Maybe he got stuck in that form while trapped." Or maybe he just forgot. There were too many maybe's and not enough answers.

"Still that kind of explains how they were able to take control of him again so easily, I guess."

She risks a glance over to the sopping wet Jack. "... I'm not sure I'd trust that either."

Taro Yamada has posed:
"...Honestly, I'd feel better if he forgot he was a magic panda? Or if he spent enough time being a person he forgot he was a panda? Though Jack has always been his own entity; I don't think nything could take him over. I would think that being a magical being means it's harder to mess with your head - but maybe it doesn't count if you're already magically connected?" Once again he must say: What.

"I'm not dating anyone because I'm unfuckable, obviously, but also because it'd be weird since I'm nearly eighty. This is like...."

He takes a long gulp of his cider before he continues. "If he still makes you happy when you kick Queen MIrage's ass and we save him, I can deal. I just want to check he's not secretly forty first."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"Over fifty, I think, from what timeline we peiced together from when Mirage was captured first. Though I don't think they aged in the box," Chiyo remarks with a sigh. "You're right though. I mean... He didn't know he wasn't really human."

Her hand scrubs over her face a single time. Then she claps her hand over Taro's shoulder glaring at him. "You are kind, caring, thoughtful, a good cook, and many other things. Even if you are an old man," she adds a bit teasingly. "Looks aside you do have a lot to offer someone so far as dating goes."

"Besides, if Amy can find people to date and she's like, an adult that reincarnated or something so is mentally older-" Or so she claimed. Really she didn't ACT older. "Then there's hope for you too."

Taro Yamada has posed:
"I hope he didn't age in there. Fifty years is a long time, you know? Fifty years ago was - oh god, it was the seventies? That's way too long to be aging, much less aging inside a box," Taro says, grimacing.

And then she tells him that he is, in fact, datable, and he freezes like a deer in headlights. "I mean - well - maybe???" he sputters, flushing. "I'm pretty sure I'm still mentally older! And all you guys are kids! And, like, that hunky man Phillip brought to the disaster is from Obsidian so he wouldn't date someone who was basically still a kid - " HELP

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai blinks rapidly. A bit too rapidly because it takes her mind a full minute to parse just waht he was saying. "Oresky!? You like... Oresky?" Well. She could hardly claim to have better taste given Phantom er, Phillip, er... anyway.

"Huh. At least we know you have a type now, but uhmm yeah I'm not sure there one way or another." A consoling pat is given to Taro's arm.

"I'll loan you some manga."

Taro Yamada has posed:
"I don't even know the man!! It's just! He's!" Taro gestures wildly in the air, attempting to deliniate the shape of Perfect Himbo Chest in the air. "He's very good looking!"

She pats his shoulder. He flops onto the table, defeated. "Thanks. I know my taste is wild but he's so handsome..."