311/Bubble And Squeak

Bubble And Squeak
Date of Scene:	27 August 2023
Location:	Club Building
Synopsis:	Where an unsupervised Miya is heading to fix a thing, but she gets distracted from her fixing a thing by being given a different thing to fix: Coco's Bubble Maker! This story features: ACTION! People don't stand still! They move! They talk! ADVENTURE! Explore new places! Like Coco's dorm room! FRIENDSHIP! Witness the moment when Coco first met Miya! OTTERS! You know you love adorable animals. Don't lie. CLIFFHANGERS! Will Coco survive her life-threatening predicament?! MATTRESSES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CLIFF! Yes, she will. MYSTERY! What are those mysterious noises from the bathroom?! STARRING: Coco, Kaori Jira, Miya Sakamoto, and introducing The Elusive Tuna!
Cast of Characters:	Miya Sakamoto, Kaori Jira, Coco Kiumi

---

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
Hustle, bustle, activity! A minute, but not downright tiny, brunette in a ponytail zips past, wearing her school uniform. She disappears into a dorm room; suspicious noises emerge from there: banging, squeaking... was that... a short burst of drilling? Cannot be... can it?

Long story short, she emerges a few minutes later decked in yellow/orange overalls; She's carrying a toolbox, and has a long, thin pipe slung over her shoulder. It's as if mild-mannered Clark Kent entered a phone booth and shortly after the mysterious superhero Bicycle Repairman emerged. Carrying a bike. And a phone receiver. And a toolbox.

Superheroing is confusing these days.

Managing to support the end of the pipe not resting on her shoulder by wrapping her elbow around it, she manages to exchange text messages by thumb-typing one-handed on her smartphone at an impressive rate.

"...Ok, ok," she mumbles to herself. "...so, next stop, shop club, to pick up some parts..."

Kaori Jira has posed:
To be fair, it was probably best that enforcing a uniform wasn't really a thing at this hour...because Kaori wasn't really the sort to be following those rules right now. Her hair was untied, hanging around down all the way to just above her rear. The leggings she wore underneath her skirt were slightly torn and her entire vibe seemed...well almost delinquent. The frown on her face didn't exactly make her look that much friendlier too, but then these recent days of discovery hadn't exactly been pleasent for Kaori as she'd had quite a lot to adjust to.

Heck, it was only that kindly seller who'd tried to make her smile by offering her icecream that had stopped her from resorting to breaking things. But the icecream was eaten and the grumping was back.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Despite school still being over, the music club still organises meet-ups every now and then. The president doesn't want anyone to get rusty, they say. Among them Coco, a yellow-haired girl that that day was wearing a yellow sleeveless dress, doesn't really have that problem. What can you do about it, the perks of your voice literally being magic.

Practice is just about over so the music club students are moving out of the room. Coco is rather satisfied of her club practice, and they even let her sing the usual Legend of Mermaid to end the session. She always likes to sing about home, the nostalgia taking over her at those times.

There aren't many people around here: this is the club building after all, and many students are back home, so the diminuitive brunette carrying a toolbox and a pipe is plenty noticeable, be it for the pipe or for her impressive typing skills. When Coco passes by her, she waves at the fellow student with a smile and a "Hi".

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
Miya looks up from her smartphone. "Oh? Uh?", she utters in confusion, as she looks around for the source of the greeting. "Oh! Hi!", she finally smiles, once the source has been identified in Coco.

Time to initiate friendship protocols!

"...Hi! Have we met already? Sorry, I'm new around here, and there are so many new people, and new faces, and new names... that...that it's hard to keep track, pretty much. Yes," Miya explains.

She glances at the people orderly leaving the room, possibly at some still packing away instruments. "Music club?", she asks, possibly more to strike up conversation than for gathering actual information -- it's pretty obvious that this was music club by now. "Please take my compliments to whoever was singing earlier. That was so impressive I had to stop and listen." Letting out a nervous laugh, she continues, "And that's quite something! See, I'm fixing the plumbing in my dorm room...", she says, and after slipping her smartphone into one of the overall's enormous pockets, she waves the pipe she was carrying. "Pipe's damaged. Gotta replace it with a new one. Maintenance won't be able to show up until tomorrow, but I managed to get permission to fix it myself." Her gaze lost in the medium-to-long distance, she continues, "And then I have some bulky trash in the shop club workshop to dispose of. Breaking it down into small pieces is going to take some time..."

Well, people who feel like they wanted to break something, there's your chance!

Kaori Jira has posed:
Her steps bring herself nearby, perhaps having been drawn in close enough by the song unconciously even as it came to an ending. Still, crossing her arms under her bust as she moved through, the dark-haired girl seems to come to a pause in the doorway as she catches the talk of the singing. Still, she comes to a pause and just seems to be staring.

"They have students doing the repair work here?" she speaks up, a lift of her brow given.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
The girl doesn't mind being distracted from her phone, quite the contrary, she is very friendly, which gives Coco extra reassurance when she goes to answer, still keeping up that friendly smile of hers. "No, we haven't met before. I can totally get how it can be, but at the same it must be lots of new experiences", Coco observes. When Miya mentions the song, she starts beaming, glad the song made a positive impression on Miya.

"That was me! The song is something we sing at home, it's called Legend of Mermaid. I'm Coco, by the way, nice to meet you." She listens intently when Miya starts listing the work she is carrying out.

"I'm not sure how fair it is a student has to take care of that, but you must be very talented if they have you do it. Perhaps, I could..." she stops pensively. Miya is clearly quite busy, it wouldn't do bother her at this time. They have literally just met, imagine a stranger asking you that. "Do you mind if I ask you for help one of these days? I won't waste your time with it, I can pay you for any help you might want to give me."

She looks at Kaori as she speaks up. The question isn't addressed at her, so she simply says a quick "Hi", the unique getup she is wearing stalling her attention at first, but then giving out her name as if nothing happened. "I am Coco, nice to meet you."

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"I mean, we're already doing the cleaning and tidying up, and plenty of upkeep tasks already, and those of us in Shop Club have the required know-how to handle common issues", Miya replies to Kaori.

A sigh, however, betrays a crack in her previous description. "They did let me fix it, eventually! It wasn't -easy-," she continues to Coco. "Not a smooth ride by any means: it took lots of pleading and begging, and pretty pleasing, and pretty pleasing with sugar on top, and me sending them multiple videos of me successfully performing similar, and even more complex, maintenance tasks before they were willing to let me do it myself. It took... quite some negotiation." Patting her pocket, she continues, with a grin "Good thing I keep a number of those videos on my phone just in case!"

And then bursts into laughter. "I mean, i'm just replacing a pipe," she says, waving the item. "It does not take exceptional skills to do that. Ok, the hard part was accessing and removing it without damaging the surrounding parts. Bathroom looks really nice, but when you have to service it, getting things out is a bit tricky. And unscrewing it too, it took some clever-"

Realizing she's launched into talking shop, she stops, and scratches the back of the head. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry... long story short, I just didn't want to wait for them to fix it. I knew I could do it much faster myself. And... well, I do love tinkering."

She crosses her hands in her lap, and bows, to both Coco and Kaori. "Miya Sakamoto, recently invited to Radiant Heart Academy, soon to start school as a third year student. Pleased to make your acquaintance!"

"And don't worry about help, as said, I love to help people... if I can."

Interestingly, Kaori's attire hasn't caused the slightest reaction in Miya. She's been acting the whole time as if it was the most normal thing in the universe.

Kaori Jira has posed:
Help? Kaori looked curious, but the staring from Coco just earned a little quirk of her lips in a smirk of amusement. Maybe that was the point of her attire, to get a reaction...or maybe she just didn't look that much like everyone else. Regardless, the raven-haired girl considers for a moment with introductions, as if deciding if she -would- make introductions.

But doing nothing wasn't going to make her -less- grumpy and bored, so she might as well talk to the other two. "Kaori Jira."

No more titles, no mention of year, that much seemed to be all she was offering.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"It... was you?", Miya replies in amazement. "That-" Some silence. "-are you a professional singer or something? Or is someone in your family?", she asks, apparently taking that 'at home' quite literally. "Well, if you had any idea of what your voice sounds like to the untrained, you would not call -me- talented!", she laughs. "I don't think I've ever heard that song..." she then adds, without explicitly asking any question, but her final hesitation kind of leaves a suspiciously convenient cue for her interlocutor to elaborate.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco nods and smiles the whole time Miya is talking about her activities, carried along by the clear passion in the brunette's voice. "You are quite dedicated. Not many people would have put so much effort in something the school administration ought to thank you for", she expresses her admiration with a smile.

"It was really nice to listen to all of that, you are a good talker", she reassures Miya once Pipe Repairgirl starts apologising, placing her hand onto the hand with the toolbox as a sign of easement, a bit forward given they just met. "I kind of figured your love of tinkering", she adds with a small laugh, "and that's great: how long have you been doing this?"

"I mean, I don't want to impose on you, but thanks!" she says once Miya affirms she likes helping people. "If you don't mind, the handle of the bubble maker I use for my bath got stuck. Would you be willing to have a look at it?" she asks, before bringing forward more information. "My dorm room has pets, though, so I don't know if that's a problem for you."

Coco starts stalling nervously once Miya starts inquiring about her song. "Thank you", she says with an awkward smile. "It's something from my country", the mermaid princess adds, hoping this isn't going to incite more questions. "It's quite special to me, I grow really nostalgic of home these days..."

Kaori Jira has posed:
A bubble maker for a bath? That -does- sound suitably luxurious, but sadly the princess wasn't exactly getting the luxuries one might expect of her station. Maybe that was why Kaori was giving off such a hostile air so often. A blink comes however, the dark-haired girl tilting her head to the side. "You are not from this place either?" she questions lightly.

Okay, so the odds that Coco was from as 'far' away as she was was quite small but...well, she was trying to occupy time.

"And they permit pets here?"

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"The Administration is probably afraid they'll get in legal trouble if I mess something up," Miya chuckles. "I don't blame them. Responsibility is a big deal in such matters."

It takes a Miya a few moments after her hand is held before actually easing; in fact, at first, the contact might actually have increased her nervousness; but ease she eventually does.

"Oh, I... since as far as I remember, really," she replies to the question about how long she's been doing this. "My father is a construction worker. My mother works in the construction business too. And a lot of friends back where I come from are into construction, so..."

"...I mean, I come from a bit of a... not as urbanized area." Her eyes glaze over, no doubt stunned at the sheer size of Tokyo. Way to impress someone from a smaller city. "...but for you..." she adds; her accent is definitely native, if a bit rural. "Being from another country must be... uh. I mean, I myself am super excited at being here, but then again, this is still... my country, technically. For you it must be... different."

Miya scratches her head in confusion at the request. "...I might have to take a look at this bubble maker, first. I'm not sure I've ever worked with such a thing, but who knows, maybe it can be an easy fix." In fact, judging by her face, it wouldn't be surprising if she never even -heard- of a 'bubble maker' before.

"Maybe they allow pets if you plead, and beg, and pretty please, and pretty please with sugar on top, and send them videos of you taking care of similar pets, or wilder animals?" Miya offers, sounding halfway between serious and joking. "I have no pets myself but- wait, wait, hold on. Pets?"

Miya leans over. "I'd -love- to see some pets! What are they? Puppies? Cats? Bunnies? Goldfishes? Bugs?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"So it's a family talent", Coco observes once Miya mentions her parents. "No wonder you are so skilled if you grew up learning the basics from a young age."

"Yes, it gets pretty hard sometimes", the mermaid replies reminiscing about her underwater kingdom. "My home is vastly different, and I have had to say goodbye to my best friend", she replies, a bit too distracted by her memories to pay attention to what she is saying. Will she ever get over her habit of saying things as they come? Probably not.

"I am definitely still a bit unused to things, but I have mostly gotten the hang of it. Sadly, my home is too far away to visit during summer break." she says in reply to both Miya and Kaori.

"Thank you, then we can go to my dorm room to check the bubble maker if you don't mind. You can come along too, Kaori. There are no problems with pets, so my roommate and I both keep ours there."

She starts walking to the destination alongside the two of them. "I have otters, while my roommate has monkeys", Coco elaborates before opening the door.

Kaori Jira has posed:
"It's...noisier here, that much is certain." Kaori muses, making to uncross her arms and settling her hands to her hips lightly before raising an eyebrow. She'd go along, but plenty of animals seemed to be...unnerved by her, outright cowed at times if they could catch her scent or at least confused.

A titan in human form was probably a little strange, but the comment about monkeys? That makes her -laugh- aloud, as if she'd found this funnier than she should. "Monkeys? How fitting..."

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"I am sorry you had to say goodbye to your best friend," Miya replies, lowering her gaze. "You must miss them a lot."

"I... I theoretically -could- go home for summer," Miya remarks. "But we all agreed that it's best if I have an early start and take some time to acquaint myself with the school. Massive lifestyle changes. Might take some time to get acquainted."

Of course, she doesn't realize that, while she's talking of mundane adjustment and adaptations, her interlocutors had to undergo lifestyle changes no civilian affected by the Veil would fathom.

"I'd love to come to your room, yes! I've never seen otters or monkeys! Well, if we don't count the zoo. But these!", Miya exclaims. "And maybe... you know, we can exchange tips about... being new to the place and all. Newcomers to Radiant Heart Academy of the world, unite!", she exclaims, jokingly.

"It is noisier indeed," Miya confirms. World-class megalopolis vs. not-as-big-city? Definitely noisier!

Finally, at Kaori's outburst about monkeys, Miya simply tilts her head, and... looks puzzled. "Fitting?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
That sounds wise", Coco nods when Miya talks about her summer plans. "You don't have lessons taking up your time now, so it's the perfect occasion to learn about Tokyo at your own pace."

Once inside the room, Coco starts telepathically talking to her otters. 'Laguna, Orla, we have visitors. Do you want to come and entertain then." The two otters think a 'We are coming' in reply, quickly scurrying over, being a bit unnerved by Kaori's presence as she presumed, while Coco tells their names out loud for Miya and Kaori's benefit.

"You can pet them, they are really well-educated", Coco says while disappearing to recover her bubble maker. A minute and a half later (a strategic time to leave Miya some time with the otters, since she seemed enthused about that), Coco reemerges from the bathroom with the bubble maker, showing it to Miya.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
No, Miya did not squee at the sight of the otters. YOU squeed at the sight of the otters.

(Miya totally squeed at the sight of the otters)

The invitation to pet them is met with the traditional minimum wait time not to show the overeagerness that is completely real, but not considered appropriate. Once the socially mandated concealment of true intentions is taken care of, Miya proceeds with petting, scritching, and all such. "I have heard that otters have a favorite rock, which they always carry with themselves, and sometimes even pass from generation to generation." Miya begins. "I like creatures that take good care of the tools of their trade."

When Coco returns from the bathroom, she turns to look at it. "Hmmm." Then to the otters. "Hmmm." Then to the bubble maker. "Hmmm."

Reaching to her belt, she removes a swiss army knife hanging from a carabiner. "Ok, let's see what's wrong with our patient..." and begins removing some screws from the bubble maker.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
At Miya's alternating gaze between the otters and the bubble maker, a smile escape on Coco's face. "You know, your fondness for otters is really evident, I don't mind you taking some more time with them if you want."

She holds one up from the ground, giving her a few pets. "This one is Cora, she is the one who interacts with me the most." Coco gets closer to Miya, putting Cora in petting range for the repairgirl.

Coco beams as Miya mentions facts about otters. "That's right, they are really conscientious, and smart too. They are some of the few animals able to use tools. The rocks you mentioned are used to open up clams for example."

When Miya starts examining the Bubble Maker, Coco peers at the girl hard at work. "What do you think? Are you familiar with it?" It's a good thing they share screw types between land and sea, but she still figures that something could be unusual about it to her. That wouldn't do at all, for the repairs, yes, but also because it would be a waste of Miya's time.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"I would recommend keeping our little friends away from the work area," Miya suggests as the screws are removed with a speed only marginally inferior to an electric screwdriver. "I am going to disassemble this into small parts, and we do not want anyone to interfere with them while I work. Access allowed only for authorized people and all that." She turns to the otters, and makes a pouty face. "Sorry, little guys. Safety regulations."

Soon, assuming the otters have been properly kept at bay, the surface Miya is working on (a table? The floor?), is covered in various parts. Likely a lid, or the bottom of the item; A small number of parts as of yet, but who knows how many are yet to come?

"Hmmm. Hmmm," miya comments as she observes the device and pokes at various points of its innartd. "I think I get the overall principle, but could use a little soapy water to see if it works as expected. Do we have a small tub that can be brought here, or should we head for the bathroom?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco nods, letting Cora go free, the otter scuttering away from Miya's work zone. Coco keeps watching, admiring the speed and finesse with which she works. The group of otters, meanwhile has taken residence at the furthest corner, taking the warning of staying away, relayed by Coco, perhaps a little too zealously.

Coco looks at the disassembled bubble maker, and asks: "Is there a problem?" That's not really something that comes from around here, so she worries things wouldn't work quite the same.

When Miya gives her explanation, Coco nods. "I can bring you a basin." That said, she goes back inside the bathroom, and soon after emerged with a large basin filled with soapy water.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"It's interesting. I've never seen things done quite this way. It works, but it is kind of... unorthodox. But not bad! Actually, I'd say it's quite clever. Whoever designed this was intimately familiar with hydraulics." She raises the main part of the body, to somehow observe it from underneath in a different light. "It's a joy to reverse engineer. It- oh, that must be what this is for!", she says, as she pokes at a little lever, causing some structure inside to move.

When whe water arrives, she hmms again, re-assembles some of the parts that were removed, and gently places the item in the vessel. She manually wiggles some parts here and there, until, after two or three attempts, a few abortive bubbles materialize just to disappear immediately after. "a-HA!", she exclaims. "There's our our inch! Now to take the rest of the mile..." and with determination, she begins to poke at more and more sprockets and cogs, removing and re-adding as needed, eliciting results that range from more bubbles to utter jamming. "Fascinating. Where'd you get this?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Well, yes, actually, thanks for noticing. I had sought out only the best for my household items", she puffs with satisfaction at the praise of the contraption. She hadn't really sought anyone, since they were naturally there, but she is going to raise questions she can't provide answers to like the matter of her status. "I really like that design too, it was my absolute favourite among all those that were proposed. I really like how it had turned out."

Oh, yeah, where'd she get that? That's a good question, and she would have to improvise an equally good answer. "Oh, hum, you know, it was just a group of artisans that were vising our city? I had to try their service out", she replies a bit flustered, her emotions when lying as clear as day to anyone paying attention. "It was a good thing I did, too, you know? Wouldn't want to miss out on that", she adds, trying to make it a bit more credible.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"Oh, artisans! That explains the quality and the unconventional design!" Miya does not interrupt her prodding untill, well, she stops her prodding altogether. "Wow, travelling artisans. You don't see many anymore these days, around her ein Japan. They still have them where you come from?"

"There's the culprit!" She removes one cog, gives it half a turn, then re-inserts it. "In exceptional circumstances, these two rascals can misalign, and in case a simultaneous jerking motion takes place, if you are -very- unlucky, you might actually-"

The device is placed into the water once again, a little lever is wiggled a bit, and some small bubbles emerge. Wiggle wiggle, tiny bubbles. "-Bingo!"

Miya grabs and re-assembles the rest of the scattered bits with such a speed someone might suspect she's currently grown a few extra hands, and when she's done, instead of operating the no longer accessible internals, Miya acts on the main control as originally meant. Bubbles of the correct size are produced at the expected rate. "Ta-daaaa!"

Circling back to the original subject, as the bubble maker drips into the tub it's extracted from, while being extended to Coco, Miya comments, "...if your family invested that much into the quality of your household items, your home must have been beautiful..."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco shifts her gaze around as she hesitates to answer, before ending it onto the otters, as if they suddenly became the most interesting matter in the room. These rapid fire series of lies are becoming too much for her. The animals in question just watch her curiously, questioning why they are being looked at so intently. "Y-yes, that's right", Coco simply adds, a bit of hesitation making its way into her speech.

She beams with joy once Miya has finished repairing the bubble maker, however, exclaiming with excitement "That's awesome, you are awesome!", looking at the perfectly rotating mechanism. "That's great, thanks a lot for all the help, Miya!" She watches cheerily as Miya puts the whole thing together and the bubble maker works just as well as it did before breaking.

"Yes, it was great!" Coco just has the time to say before Miya extends the dripping bubble maker towards her, a few droplets arching through the air... She watches with apprehension as the droplets complete their trip right onto her shell locket, panic replacing the apprehension as the shell locket starts shining. Coco makes a rush for the bathroom and locks the door behind herself, just in time for the her transformation to become undone and her clothes and form to be replaced by her mermaid self, falling to the ground with a thud.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
Miya's attention is captivated by the shining jewel, at least for the little time she gets to look at it. But then, the gem is yanked away from her sight, causing her to gasp in surprise, stare in confusion, and gasp once again, this time in shock, at the not so reassuring thud coming from the bathroom.

"Oh my goodness! Coco! Are you okay?!", calls out Miya, who, still holding onto the bubble maker, instinctively rushes for the door to assist her new friend, who soundded like she'd fallen down.

That was not a good sound!

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco groans as she holds her head where it crashed with the floor. She turns around to face the ceiling, the slapping sound of her fins echoing throughout the bathroom. "Yes, I am alright", she tells Miya with an annoyed voice, resenting the droplets that had the gall to fall onto her shell locket.

She sighs before looking at the yellow mass resting on the floor, knowing the tail would stick around for a few minutes. "Don't worry, I will be there with you soon, just give me a few minutes." For now she drags herself into a more comfortable position, using her arms to hoist herself onto the edge of her bathtub, her fins smacking the floor again.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
Miya stands in shocked silence outside the door, hand balled up, knuckles pointing towards the bathroom, frozen a second before knocking.

"...Was that...", Miya starts. "...was that the distinctive sound of a large fish tail slapping against 10x10 ceramic tiles?", she asks. "Because it sounded a lot like the distinctive sound of a large fish tail slapping against 10x10 ceramic tiles. Like... a human-sized fish tail," Miya asks. The annoyance in Coco's voice is not lost on Miya. At first she rakes her brain for what could have happened, but then, then it hits her. Of course. OF COURSE!

"Coco... are you secretly..." she begins, and inhales, not daring utter what follow. It's too absurd. Nobody would believe it. And yet, there are a few special individuals capable of making this leap in reasoning.

Conspirationally, realizing she might be revealing Coco's biggest secret, she almost whispers through the door, "...hiding a large tuna in your bathtub?! That is -amazing-! First the otters, then -this-!" Once again, she can barely contain her excitement. "Don't worry!", she whispers, lowering her voice even more. "Your secret is safe with me!"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
'A large tuna in her bathroom? What is she going on about?' thinks Coco as she waits for her being able to turn back, wondering why Miya doesn't think about the fact there was no tuna smell the whole time she was here. 'Eh, at least I remembered to lock the door.' It would be bad news if Miya saw her without having reached the conclusion herself after all.

A few minutes later Coco is unlocking the door to the bathroom and opening it to the waiting Miya. "Sorry for my sudden run, I am here now. And thank you, I guess?" Coco is too dazed by the sudden event to think of a proper lie for her urge to disappear, and there is enough space for Miya to enter the bathroom and look for the "tuna" if she wants.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
As soon as Coco is done, Miya does peek in. And does a double take. Smack in the middle of the bathroom, there is... an overwhelming lack of tuna.

"What... where...", says Miya, who, after setting down the bubble maker, begins to look all around the place. Under the sink. Into the toilet. Behind the curtains. She even attempts to open and close the faucets, the regular way and backwards, pushing, pulling, twisting the bathtub plug chain, looking for secret passages to be activated.

She finally scratches her head. "...I'm not wrong. I -do- recognize a large fish tail slapping against a set of 10x10, and -these-", she exclaims, pointing at the floor, "are the right 10x10. So..." Narrowing her eyes, she squints left and right. "Where -is- the tuna? Hmm!"

And pulling up her swiss army knife, fully closed, she places one ear on various surfaces (floor, walls, bathtub, etc.) and begins tapping on the tiles with her tool, to find something that looks empty.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Uhm, maybe you were so worried about my fall that you accidentally mixed up one sound for another?" Coco sweats nervously. "It happens to everyone sometimes", she adds as Miya is tapping onto the tiles. "There are no secret passages here. I doubt the school would ever build up something like that in its premises." That, at least, sounds reasonable, so she doubts Miya is going to contest her on that.

'Besides, I just have to wait for her search to be over, and Miya will realise the impossibility of it herself, with no actual intervention on my part', she thinks as she watches the brunette look around the bathroom.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"You are right," Miya begrudgingly concedes. "No secret passages. Bummer. -Still-", she says, not convinced, tapping her lips. And then sighs.

"...Oh. Sorry I... sorry I got carried away there," she apoligizes, shaking her head. "I hope everything is fine and- wait, you -did- fall down?" She looks at from head to toe and toe to head. "Are you feeling better now? Nothing broken?" Short hesitation. "Should we take you to the school nurse?" Another hesitation, this time even longer, as she looks down and away and fidgets with her fingers in embarrassment, "also... no tuna?"

She was really excited about the tuna.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Yes, in the rush, I lost my balance and hit my head against the floor, but I am fine, no need to worry about me, ok?" Coco smiles, hoping this is enough to get Miya at ease.

"Yep, there was no tuna here, nor two separate sounds of fish tails slapping the floor. I am sorry if you wanted to see one, I am sure you could find one in the sea if you go for a swim. Maybe you will get lucky."

She looks towards the bubble maker Miya put aside. She was glad it was repaired now, but this thing almost cost her life, so she has mixed feelings right now. "Thank you for fixing it, that was really helpful. Do you want to go eat something? It's my treat."

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"Oh, sure!", exclaims Miya! "I'd love to go eat at... you know. The place. The place you eat at."

Nudge nudge, wink wink.

"...ok, I give up. I am not entierely sure where one goes for lunch around here. I've been eating at the canteen, mostly. I love the canteen, by the way. But I don't think that's what you mean." She squints. "Let me guess. Seafood place? I don't know why, but you strike me as the seafood type."

And then, Miya bursts into laughter. "Or maybe I'm still thinking of the tuna..."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Hmm, well I suppose we could go to the cafeteria, but frankly, I wouldn't want to treat you to school food, you know? I actually have nothing about the food here, but there are much better places we can eat at. And you deserve it frankly."

When Miya picks up sea food, Coco's smile freezes. 'Is that just a joke, or is she hiding her suspictions behind a joke?' Instead of driving herself in circles thinking about it, she stops that thought early and instead replies to Miya. "Well, you got it right, I do eat lots of sea food, but this is not about me, so just tell me what you like and I will bring you to a good place."

Then, Miya goes back to talking about the tuna. 'For the love of Aqua Regina, why is she going back to that!?', Coco thinks. "Miya, I assure you there was nothing even remotely tuna-shaped in my bathroom, you saw it yourself. And I don't think I could have hidden it in my nonexistent pockets", she replies a bit strongly. "Sorry about that", she sighs. "Can we talk about lunch?"

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"Sorry, sorry," mumbles Miya. "I... just... I don't know. I'll try to get that out of my head. It just... got stuck there."

She bows apologetically, multiple times. "It is perhaps a good idea to go somewhere without seafood and forget this story completely. Yes, yes, good plan" She looks down at herself, then looks up at Coco. "Maybe I should change into something more appropriate for going to lunch. And outside the school." She gestures in a general direction, "I'll go to my room, change, and then we can leave together. That works?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco smiles. "I doubt people would complain if you turn up in your work clothes, but if you want to dress up, that's good by me. I bet you will look amazing", she gives out as an encouragement, and to counterbalance her burst of annoyance. "I will wait you at the school's front door then, is that ok?"

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"Sure! See you there then!", Miya confirms with a wave.

'Oh no!', she thinks, of course. 'Am I overdressing for the occasion? Does she... -suspect- that I have only little clue of how people in Tokyo dress to go out to eat!? Argh! I hope she doesn't suspect!', she worries to herself, as she heads to her room...