710/Hero Club: What's Next

Hero Club: What's Next
Date of Scene:	05 November 2023
Location:	Club Building
Synopsis:	The Hero Club meets to determine their next steps. Requests are already rolling in, and the Hero Club members are prepared to take them all on! Probably!
Cast of Characters:	Fu Inubouzaki, Coco Kiumi, Norie Okana, Hikaru Amanaka, Yuna Yuki, Togo, Itsuki Inubouzaki

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Fu Inubouzaki has posed:
    The Hero Club's club room! It's a thing! Shelves, a table, some chairs, and a desk with a computer (Togo's), and also a chalkboard witht he Hero Club's Five Tenets on it!

    1. Give people a good greeting.
    2. Try not to give up.
    3. Sleep well, eat well.
    4. If you're troubled, talk to someone!
    5. You're likely to succeed if you try!

    Fu Inubouzaki, the Hero Club's Club President, is here with a bunch of photographs of kittens pasted on a white board. 'Kittens need a home!' is scrawled above the pictures.

    After yesterday's puppet show ended in improvisation, it's a bit of a relief to have a chance to catch their breath and figure out the Big Questions In Life...

    Like, what is the Hero Club doing next?

Coco Kiumi has posed:
In a bizarre twist of fate between the Hero Club's show and a certain incident, yesterday was a day completely dedicated to toys. At least now that's over with and everyone can put that day behind them.

In yet another interesting development, the breather Coco needed came from the Hero Club itself, and so she is out here with everyone trying to drive attention towards the needs of homeless kittens.

When people pass by, she tries to drive onto the most positive qualities of each kitten, as well as any particular details that might move the passersby's hearts.

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana peeks into the door into the hero club, before peeking away and she slides into the room and mutters. "Is this... the Hero Club?" she asks quietly as she hems and haws tugging down at her skirt as she huffs a little.

"I uhm. Do you guys take. Requests...?" she asks softly. She kind of seems ashamed as she looks around the place, at the kitten pictures...

"Aww..kitties." she says under her breath.

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
    Hikaru has been waffling on checking out the 'Hero Club' even after her conversation with Sailor Moon. Approaching it in her 'normal' form seems... intimidating in a way that makes her heart ache and she hasn't been sure there will be acceptance there or how much someone there is really in the know. She hesitates, fidgets outside the club room for longer than she really should--but then someone else is poking her head in and it gives Hikaru a chance to follow. To all appearances, a neatly dressed boy wearing the appropriate uniform, she pokes her head in in Norie's wake.

    "This is the Hero Club, right?" she asks in a soft voice.

Yuna Yuki has posed:
    We make the most of our lives through extracurricular activities. Our club president, Fu Inubouzaki, a third-year. She's the dependable one who came up with the story for this play. There's my junior, the president's little sister, Itsuki-chan. A first-year. She loves her sister. There's also my dear friend, Togo-san. She moved next door just last year. Even though we're best friends, she asked me to call her by her last name. And Coco Kiumi, a new member from the South Pacific who has joined Radiant Heart Academy! She is fun, happy, and great singer! She is my senpai as a student but calls me senpai as a Hero Club member. She's really funny like that~! The words in a journal, written November 5th, 2023. Our club volunteers to do anything that helps people out. We're the Radiant Heart Academy Hero Club!

    Yuna Yuki was told that a club needs help with the away match that's coming up when she was leaving class today. So that's one more thing to add to the list. "Sure, I'll be there!" she agrees. The same classmate asks her, "Are you busy again today? Club work?"

    Yuna is navigating around the desks to behind Togo's wheelchair. As she grips the handles and smiles at Togo, she turns back to her classmate and says, "The Hero Club."

    "I can never get used to that weird name." the other girl says.
    "Really?" Yuna asks. "I think it sounds awesome. Ja ne~!"

    Eventually, pushing Togo's chair through the halls of the school, they arrive outside of the Hero Club's room (also labeled Home Economics Classroom, but that's not important), and leans in to see the new faces as they slide open the door and enter. "Konnichiwa~!" she calls out in greeting to the people in the club room, members or otherwise. "Yuna and Togo reporting!"

Togo has posed:
    Togo gets her school bag ready while Yuna does the same, and backs her up when questioned on what club they'll be busy with. She smiles back at Yuna and says, "Yes, the Hero Club~." It's precious to Yuna, so it's precious to Togo as well. Her wheelchair is expertly handled by Yuna, and she has no worry about anything going wrong. Not in her best friend's hands. She spots two people entering the Hero Club's Club Room / Home Economics Room, and looks at them curiously while she and Yuna approach. When the door is slid open and she gets a good look at them, she bows her head in greeting slightly. "Konnichiwa~." she greets, much more quietly than the redhead.

    "Ara ara~... Who are these new faces?" she asks playfully, before gently telling the two quiet-voiced girls, "Yes, this is the Hero Club's room. Welcome."

Itsuki Inubouzaki has posed:
    Itsuki is set up at a card table with tarot cards splayed out in her hands, and some of them already out on the table. Coco and Itsuki have a shared interest in that topic, and Itsuki has a reputation for being surprisingly reliable in her fortune telling. She looks up when people come through the door, smiling brightly. "Welcome to the Hero Club! Yes, we certainly take requests." Then Yuna and Togo arrive behind the guests. "Nice to see you~." she greets. The kittens are absolutely adorable, yes. Sadly, they aren't meant to play with them, just help them find homes.

Fu Inubouzaki has posed:
    Fu leans out from the nook where she is organizing contact information for the current kitten owners, and waves to everyone. "Oh! You made it! Welcome, I'm Fu Inubouzaki, the Club President! We have snacks if you'd like some!" They're just convenience store food, but whatever, they'll provide much needed girl power to get through this hard work of looking at fuzzy balls of fluff!

    "How can we help you?" she asks, as she sees the door jam waiting to happen with so many people crowded half-in and half-out of the hall.

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana looks over to Hikaru. Oh it's. the person from the arcade that ruined her snack one time. Meh. She found someone else to feed on. Oh well. "Oh. It's. uh. you. Again. Hello." she says quietly to Hikaru before looking at the tarot card deck and looking forward a bit. She can't pet cats. So that's not a problem, but they are cute to look at the pictures.

"I uh..." she looks around. Suddenly so many people and she shrinks a litle bit. "It uh... I.. uh... that...is to say. uuuuhhh." she trails off. "I have. uh problems with..."

"Hugs."

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
    "Oh. Hello," Hikaru says to the mean kid who had attempted to get her killed in a video game. Then people are talking to her. So many people. She hesitates, crams herself into the room and shuffles aside to make sure that she's not in the way of anybody. She looks like she might speak up--but then Norie beats her and she lapses back into a quiet watchfulness. The awkward shyness just radiates off this girl.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Welcome in", Coco tells Norie and Hikaru alike, waving at them. "You have come to the right place", Coco also confirms when they ask if this is the Hero club.

When Norie gazes towards the kitten pictures, Coco explains their purpose quickly. "We are trying to find those kittens a home. Would you like to hear about them?"

"Hello, Yuna-senpai, Togo-senpai!" Coco exclaims cheerfully when the two of them come in. "How was your day?"

She also sneaks a peek towards Itsuki playing with Tarots, interested by there being another practitioner here. Sneak is actually a generous term: there is no hiding she is looking at the cards when she isn't busy talking with people.

She has gotten familiar with the ones used up here recently for the Cultural Festival, but if Itsuki discovers her secret one day, she can introduce her to the ones merfolk use, if she is interested at least.

When Norie announces to have problem with hugs, Coco looks at her perplexed. Surely she can't be saying what she thinks, right? "Do you mean people you know aren't particularly inclined to give out hugs?"

Yuna Yuki has posed:
    "It's been productive! The Baseball Club asked me to help them out with their away game! I'm energized and ready, as usual!" she replies to Coco. "How about you?"Yuna tries to clear the doorway at least while she's speaking. It's kind of cluttered and crowded since it doubles as storage space for Home Economics, but Togo's wheelchair will find a path one way or another!

    She notices the girl who goes quiet and moves off to the side when Norie speaks. "That puppet play yesterday was a huge success, huh?" she asks with a smile, before sidling up to Hikaru and saying, "My name is Yuna Yuki! Welcome to the Hero Club. What did you need help with?" This puts her and Togo alongside Itsuki at the table, but there's room, it's fine.

Togo has posed:
    Togo grins as Coco. "I can't complain." She is also focused on these two troubled teens who have come here looking for aid. She is sure Fu will help Norie, and Yuna will help Hikaru, but she decides to just put it out there in general. "This is a safe space. Please, take your time. If you want to get comfortable first, you can, and you don't have to talk about anything that you don't want to. We're just glad to be able to provide a place for people to take a break and be with friends."

    She departs Yuna's guidance in order to slide into place at a desk with a computer screen and a tower alongside it, and get everything booted up and ready for use. She is the tech expert out of the group so far. She makes sure speak softly, gently, and to give as much space as she can to those who may be uncomfortable.

Itsuki Inubouzaki has posed:
    Itsuki puts her own positive spin on things, though she's sure her big sister will protest Yuna's description of events. "We made it through. Everyone was happy." She also looks up at Coco, glad to see another person interested in fortune telling. It was quite the fortunate turn of events that the foreign student chose to join the club! There's so much Itsuki can learn from her! Probably! And also the reverse! Maybe! "Un~! It's just as Togo-senpai says. We're all friendly here."

Fu Inubouzaki has posed:
    Fu absolutely protests Yuna's description of how it went. "What? We barely held it together." She puts her hands on her hips and frowns at Yuna. However, Itsuki's sweet voice and peacemaker personality win the day, and Fu acedes to that version of events after all. She then turns her attention on Norie. "Can you explain a bit more? Are people trying to hug you who you don't want to? Or is it a lack of hugs? Or something else?" She's already imagining some kind of contraption like a special hugging vest that inflates when unwanted hugs are attempted.

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
     Hikaru seems a touch surprised that someon is addressing her directly. She fidgets with the hem of her blazer, then straightens. Shoulders back. The way she's supposed to, right? At least that's what she's been told by her dad her whole life. She looks back at Yuna for a moment, seeming to debate her response.

    "Ah... Someone said I should come by and check the place out..." She trails off, not quite if saying 'Sailor Moon sent me' will even make sense.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"That sounds great!" She sure sounds like she is admirably ready to conquer the game for the team by herself. Coco is almost cheering for her when she replies. "That sounds awesome, I bet they won't see what hit them by the end of it." The mermaid adjusts her hair for a second before replying to Yuna. "My day was great, I had to give a confused tourist some directions, and they stayed long enough to hear a song from me, but now they are back home." She waves her hand at that, as if it didn't matter.

Yuna is also apparently very satisfied with the Puppet Show. "Well, we did manage to get us to a conclusion", she agrees. "Not sure how many people liked our improvisations, but we gave it our all, and that matters too!" Let's just hope it doesn't impact attendees negatively, she keeps to herself. That is going to bother her until she knows whether it was overall liked or not.

Hikaru also mentions someone sending her, so Coco turns towards the dark-haired guest and asks curiously. "Oh, who was it?" Someone recommending the club? That's certainly interesting.

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana blinks as she closes her eyes and opens them. "Pretend.... my hugs. Hurt." she says. "And I'd..like to..hug others but... can't." she says softly as she shifts. "Y..you know what this..this is a bad idea.. I.. uh... Sorry." she says as she turns away from the group and sort of huddles away into a corner. She gently mutters. Hard to explain this to. Mundanes. In a way they understand.

"S..sorry." is all she can say in the end.

Togo has posed:
    "Yuna-chan's improv was great. And Coco-san really rallied the kids to action." Togo adds to the conversation while she looks at Hikaru. "I'm Mimori Togo. Please call me by my surname. May I ask what your name is?" It's unfortunate that one of the girls felt overwhelmed, but she clearly has a lot going on. Just chilling in a corner is O.K. There is no expectation of forced socialization here! Sometimes it's just nice to be around people without directly interacting with them.

    She is still trying to coax a little bit more out of at least one of their guests. It's important that this remain somewhere comfortable and safe.

Fu Inubouzaki has posed:
    Fu quickly chips in with, "Being on the receiving end, I thought I was going to have a heart attack." Hero Punch to the hand is no joke! She also smiles at Norie and just shrugs. It's fine. If she wants to talk, she can. If not... That's okay too.

Yuna Yuki has posed:
    Yuna blinks at Hikaru and smiles brightly at her, before dashing over to give Coco a big hug. "A Hero can't get hung up on things." she retorts to Fu, sticking out her tongue. What a child she is sometimes!

    "Yes, please be welcome! The Hero Club is all about helping people! We're a volunteer organization. If it helps someone, we'll be there!"

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
     Oh. Okay. Help! Cool! Hikaru plops herself into a seat and fidgets for a moment before she stills. Focus. Don't be nervous. What is she supposed to do here? She takes a breath, then continues onward. She has to!

    "Well, I... I don't really have the time to join a club. My parents want me to go to cram school and stuff," she explains. "But I do want to, uh, help people?" Is this getting through to them? She has no clue.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco is unsure what to say about Norie, but she doesn't want to break into her space unless it looks like it's an emergency and this doesn't seem it.

"I would have been there to get you out of your heart attack, Fu-senpai!" Ok, she probably can't actually heal to that level, but still she would have helped!

Coco hugs Yuna back when the other girl does that, before addressing Hikaru. "Yuna-senpai has it right, there is nothing we won't do to help."

"In fact, helping people is great!" Coco smiles to Hikaru. "We do lots of helping around here", she says pointing to the cat billboard. "Currently, we are trying to get these cats adopted, but the Hero Club is always seeking ways to improve, so we are open to any suggestion." She is being the picture of shine and positivity, right?

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
    "Ah, well..." Hikaru scratches her noses, trying to work out how to word things. It's hard! Really hard! She doesn't fidget though. "I mean, I don't really have any suggestions, I just... was interested in seeing the sort of things you do to help?"

Itsuki Inubouzaki has posed:
    Itsuki turns around in her seat so she is facing everyone, and puts her hands on her knees. "You're always so positive." she says to Yuna as she glomp hugs Coco. Smiling, she looks at Hikaru and says, "Well, you are in good company then." She has noticed that Hikaru hasn't given their name yet. Even though there are suggestions of masculinity in appearance, she gets a vibe from their visitor of... More of a tomboy type? Like Yuna! A sporty girl! So, she just kind of... Assumes! Correctly, in this case!
    She isn't going to press on the subject of a name. "The Hero Club volunteers to do things like an upcoming coastal clean-up, or helping other clubs if they're short on people, and we're going to have a gathering for younger kids at the park, and there are the kittens...!"

    Oh, right. "Eeh... Oh! I'm Itsuki Inubouzaki. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Yuna Yuki has posed:
    "Hoooohhh!!" Yuna lets out as she separates from Coco. She has sparkles in her eyes as she says, "That's exactly right! Helping others is the essence of what being a Hero of Justice is all about! Sometimes we've even had to try to save people in emergency situations like..." The memory is foggy, but less foggy than it used to be. "...At the movie theater over the summer, and, um, there was that conference thing at the hospital?" Very vague on the details, but she is far too simple minded to lie or make things up.

    "So, anyway, if you join the Hero Club, it just means we can coordinate with helping people in need! You don't have to show up all the time or do things you don't want to." She grins at Itsuki for the praise. "Thanks, Itsuki-chan~!"

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
    Oh! Names. Names! Hikaru feels horridly embarrassed when she realizes she didn't introduce herself. She dips her head a little, sheepish and embarrassed.

    "Oh! Um! I'm Hikaru Amanaka, it's a pleasure to meet you," she says with a slight smile. "It's my first time really looking into a club," she admits, rubs at the back of her neck. "And I don't know if I really have time to be a member, but maybe if I could just... help out? A little?" She listens attentively while Yuna explains the things they've done and nods each time she lists something. "That's quite a lot. Do you do the emergency stuff more often...?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco turns towards Hikaru to address her. "Welcome to the club, Hikaru, I'm Coco Kiumi, one of the newest members of the Hero Club. I think Yuna-senpai and the others are more fit to answer your question, but I believe it would be more helpful if you were clearer on what you meant by emergency stuff."

It's not like they are firefighters or... Could it be? She keeps her thoughts for herself right now, not wanting to make a rash decision.

Togo has posed:
    "Thankfully, those have been few and far between." Togo says. She wasn't really conscious for the theater incident, and the one at the hospital was... Well, she's glad that the memories are spotty about it. Because all she remembers is that it was terrifying. Something about... Prosthetics... And toilet paper? Best not thought about.

Fu Inubouzaki has posed:
    "Even if we personally couldn't help, we would make sure to evacuate people and contact emergency services." Fu agrees. "We aren't firefighters, so running into a burning building would just make another person for the professionals to save. But if it was a matter of getting people up and out the door, or treating someone injured with firstaid, or helping a lost child, or that kind of thing? We would step in where we're needed, to do whatever we can."

Hikaru Amanaka has posed:
    "Right, right..." Hikaru murmurs. Should she name drop Sailor Moon? What's she doing here? She leans forward a little. "So... are there like, particular heroes you all find inspiring?"

Togo has posed:
    Missing the implied conspiratorial nature of all this, first Togo gets a twinkle shining in her eye as she goes all serious. "Of course I do." Then she goes all soft and fluffy as she put a hand to her cheek, smiles, and says, "Yuna is my hero!"

Yuna Yuki has posed:
    Yuna blushes and rubs the back of her head embarrasedly but happily. "Heheheh... Thanks, Togo-san~!"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Togo's declaration catches Coco by surprise. "Really? Yuna-senpai is your hero?" she says before she could hold herself back. "Oh, uh, I mean, she must have been a lot of help to you if you admire her that much. Maybe you could tell me about that sometimes", she tries to recuperate, not wanting to make it seem like she was trying to dismiss Yuna.

As for Hikaru's question... "Heroes I admire? Well, that would have to be Wukong, she is earnest and dependable, yes." She drops the 'Cure' from the title, of course. "But Mars is also helpful and nice", she adds, not wanting to seem reserved by just adding 1 example. The fact both either are or could be interpreted as figures of legend turns to her advantage.

Fu Inubouzaki has posed:
    Fu smiles wryly, and says, "Well, there's no pressure to join, Amanaka-san. Take your time. And if you only want to stop in now and then, that's fine too. We'll always be glad to have you!" She doesn't question Coco's eclectic taste in heroic figures, but is surprised. She wasn't expecting her to be into mythology for some reason.

    "Heeeeh? Yuna helped get my little sister to safety when there was a gas leak at the movie theater! Of course she's a Hero!" She teases Coco for her surprise.