379/New acquaintances between acting, singing and takoyaki

New acquaintances between acting, singing and takoyaki
Date of Scene:	07 September 2023
Location:	Tako Cafe
Synopsis:	Dianora and Coco meet each other when going out to eat takoyaki for lunch, and the two of them get acquainted as they discuss their respective passions.
Cast of Characters:	Coco Kiumi, Double Trouble

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Coco Kiumi has posed:
It's lunch break, and students have split between those preferring to eat at the school canteen, and those preferring to eat outside, with further splits between all the various restaurants and food places.

Coco has been in the mood for some takoyaki this time, so she has headed towards the yellow truck that she had seen parked on other days in Pikarigaoka Ward.

The walk to get there is pleasant, with a pleasantly warm weather that isn't as aggressive as summer, but hasn't switched over to autumn either, and it's perfect to stimulate an appetite.

The mermaid has taken her place at the bottom of the queue that has formed there, the inviting smell having attracted many people to the Cafè. 'If I hadn't been hungry before coming here, I would have been now with how mouthwatering it is', she thinks.

Double Trouble has posed:
Dianora Lagorio needed to make friends at this school. Ideally friends who were magical girls, because that was the whole point. She couldn't exploit her friendships if she didn't have any. Hero Club seemed to be the perfect place to find them. Of course, she didn't want to be _in_ Hero Club, so she did some investigating to figure that out. One of the students stood out, in particular, because Dianora recalled hearing about her singing from one of the other students in Drama Club, and so she was sure she'd have things to talk about. So, when Dianora spotted the blonde leaving campus, Dianora followed after, doing her best to remain unnoticed.

She steps into the cafe moments later, finding herself just after Coco in the queue. "Oh! Hello there!" She says, smiling and lifting up a hand to wave. Should she get Coco's attention, she goes on to say, "You go to Radiant Heart Academy! Me too. I'm Dianora. Dianora Lagorio!"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco turns around as she hears someone calling out right behind her, the first instict being to think that she was being addressed, the Radiant Heart uniform making no mystery of her enrollment. "Oh, yes, I am in fact a student there", she confirms, staring at the top of black hair.

"Hi, I am Coco, just Coco, nice to meet you", she adds with an embarassed smile, turning her gaze a bit further down until she looks at Dianora properly. "Here for Takoyaki too? The smell is really good. I hope the taste lives up to it."

She debates positioning herself to the side of Dianora, since she doesn't mind holding a conversation with the tiny girl and it would make the queue a bit smoother, but in the end she decides against it, preferring a face-to-face conversation.

"How was your summer vacation?" she offers as a conversation subject.

Double Trouble has posed:
The timing of everything was very convenient. Double Trouble found their way to Obsidian Tower and into their life as Dianora just as summer vacation was ending. So her showing up at the beginning of term was perfectly normal. Of course, for many of the students, they simply left and then returned. Of course that would be a topic of discussion.

"My summer was very busy. I got my letter for Radiant Heart, for one. I'd never heard of it before, growing up in Italy," Dianora explains. She certainly looks Italian, but her Japanese is very good. They really must know how to teach it to anybody at Radiant Heart. "There's been so much food I haven't tried before. My onee-chan is going to take me out for curry sometime soon! I'm looking forward to that."

She looks past Coco toward the front of the queue and takes in a deep breath through her nostrils, closing her eyes. "It does smell delicious," she admits quietly.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Oh, you are brand new here then", Coco comments. "It's a bit of an annoyance you had to lose your Summer like that, but Tokyo is very nice, and the same can be said for people at school. Everyone has been very kind when it was I that transfered in", she gives Dianora a reassurance.

She eyes the miniature student. 'Hopefully, she already got some of that help, with how scrawny she looks', she thinks, giving Dianora a second look-over.

"Is Italy nice? I have heard that its cultural background is pretty much the only good thing about it", she comments, relaying what she has heard from a fairly disgruntled source.

"It's nice that you are here with your family", the mermaid comments, clapping hand together in joy once that Dianora comments about her onee-chan. "Where is she now?" she asks, a bit surprised that Dianora is here to try out food by herself.

Double Trouble has posed:
"Oh yes. I agree. Everybody I've met has been so nice," Dianora aggrees, looking at Coco for a moment and then glances down toward the floor, unsure what to say.

But then Coco asks a question! A question that Dianora _should_ have plenty to say about, but which Double Trouble does not have enough knowledge to really speak to. "It's nice, sure, but I'm really excited about being _here_ now," she says, looking back up at Coco with her big green eyes. "I'm going to be a star some day," she says, sounding adorable in her quiet confidence. She surely says that to herself in the mirror every morning. "Hopefully sooner than later."

Her eyes slip away again, looking off toward the head of the queue. When are they going to get to the delicious food? "What about you? How was your summer?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"That's awesome", Coco nods with enthusiastic fare, glad she seemed to have integrated quite well.

"Oh, you are going to be a star?" Coco looks with surprise Dianora's ambitious declaration. "You are quite headstrong, aren't you?" the mermaid says with a small laugh. "I like that! And that attitude will probably help you get ahead." How charming of her to declare her goal with such resolution, is how Coco is affected by her declaration. "What is your talent? Maybe acting? Or singing?" she asks, mostly interested about the latter option.

"If you are looking to be a singer, we can train together: I am in the music club as a singer myself." Not that Coco actually needs the training, perks of your voice literally being magic, but no harm in helping out a prospective Idol if that's the path Dianora intends to take.

The queue moves ahead some and Coco follows along, turning back to Dianora once people have stopped moving. "My summer was fun! I have made lots of friends since I came here, and we even got to take part in a festival."

The mermaid pauses a bit, before figuring she should add a warning for the diminutive girl. "We have had several incidents between explosions, earthquakes and more, so you should keep an eye out for that, alright?" she says, a tinge of worry colouring her voice.

Double Trouble has posed:
Seeming once again to find the resolve to make eye contact with Coco, Dianora strikes a pose with her hands on her hips and says, again with that adorable boldness that still manages to sound meek, "I am a _thespian_!" She certainly is being dramatic right now! "I'm in the drama club." She pauses, and brings a finger up to her lip in thought, eyes drifting to one side. "Though, maybe I should join the music club, too! I play piano, and I haven't had a chance to since I got here."

Dianora looks back up at Coco and beams. She says, "I'm so glad I met you, then, Coco-senpai! Keep me safe, and maybe some time I can accompany you while you sing."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"That's great", Coco exclaims at the dramatic statement Dianora gives out, the mix of boldness and meekness resulting very endearing. "You are an adorable little rascal", she is prompted to say by how playful Dianora is acting.

"It would be nice having you in the music club, and maybe we could actually cooperate, you at the piano and me with my voice. Do you like the idea?" Coco looks at her with a smile.

She gets a bit nervous once Dianora mentions Coco keeping Dianora safe, the mermaid's thoughts jumping into a very precise direction with a very bad poker face.

She can help her, but not in the way she imagines, and Coco is worrying about being unable to ditch her when trying to transform. You wouldn't even need to be an expert reader of body language to notice it. "S-sure, I can protect you if we are together at those moments", she replies with a slightly strained smile.

Double Trouble has posed:
There it is. That bad poker face and stuttered assurance. Dianora is sure she's found herself a bona fide magical girl. They can't help but smile, and so they do, they beam up at Coco. Their pupils couldn't possibly _actually_ be shaped like hearts, could they?

"I would _love_ that, Coco-senpai" She makes little fists and pulls them in close and shakes them, like she's a bomb about to explode, and then she does, leaping forward to wrap her arms around Coco's waist and give her a hug. "I'm _so_ glad I met you. I feel safer already."

She's definitely dramatic, this one.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco doesn't expect Dianora to literally jump out at her with boundless energy and takes a second to register what just happened. "I am glad you trust me that much", she replies, a soft smile taking place on her face, the mermaid's arms moving to reach Dianora's shoulders and reciprocate the hug. "You don't have to worry, I am sure things will go well."

"Were things just as dangerous back in Italy?", Coco inquires, wondering how is it that Dianora had to pick up such a need to have someone to guard her. Meanwhile the queue sort of moves along around the two of them, people giving the two girls a puzzled gaze.

Double Trouble has posed:
Dianora Lagorio disengages just as soon as she registers that the queue is moving around them. Yes, her primary objective here is to make friends with a magical girl, and that is clearly going well. But a secondary, and just as important, objective is to get lunch. They only have so much time to do it. And if the queue moves past them, well, when will they?

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she says, stepping back and then nodding toward the person who stepped around and is now in front of them. "We should probably get our lunch." Her eyes look down at the floor.

But Coco asked her a question. "It wasn't _too_ dangerous, no. Not like you're talking about. That seems like a here thing. If anything, it was too _provincial_." With that emphasis she looks back up, all her embarrassment gone, green eyes wide. "Part of why I was so excited about getting into Radiant Heart is that Tokyo has so much more _opportunity_ for an aspiring actress like me."

But then the queue moves, and so does she, nudging Coco forward if needed.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
With a few blinks Coco looks around, the bashful reaction that Dianora caused having made her forget they were here to get launched. How much time do they even have left, she wonders with apprehension, rushing alongside Dianora to the counter, the takoyaki not really being about to jump into their hands itself after all.

Coco quickly takes portions both for her and Dianora once it's their turn, avoiding the server's gaze a bit as she pays for the food. Not that that the server really cares, but Coco does, and so she can't help but project her own embarassment onto other people.

"I am glad it was nothing that bad", she says, handing Dianora the takoyaki. "Consider it a welcome gift to Tokyo", she smiles towards her.

Double Trouble has posed:
"Thank you, Coco-senpai!" Dianora says, her big eyes pools of green full of adoration. She holds the takoyaki in her hands like a precious treasure. This excursion worked out in the best possible way. Not only did she make a new friend, and not only did she get lunch, but her new friend got her the lunch. So she's just coming out entirely ahead here. She gets a small allowance from Obsidian, but it's not enough to eat out all the time.

She reaches into a pocket on her pink dress and pulls out a pink cellphone and looks at the time. "Oh! We had better be getting back," she says. "Good thing we can eat these on the walk back, right?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"You are welcome", Coco says between bites of takoyaki. She has wasted no time in getting to her food, the wait having only made her hunger more famished.

She nods at Dianora's assertion. "Yep, that's quite convenient", she agrees. "It has been nice meeting you, by the way", she smiles at her new acquaintance. "Thanks for making my lunch more lively."