2475/Life Giving Lemon Fizzes

Life Giving Lemon Fizzes
Date of Scene:	16 April 2025
Location:	Cafeteria Plaza
Synopsis:	Masato is having a bad day, and the vending machine isn't making it any better. Thankfully a pro at dealing with this particular monster shows up in the form of Chiyo. They chat, and wrestle the machine into submission. Lemon Fizzy drink obtained!
Cast of Characters:	Nephrite, Chiyo Sakai

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Nephrite has posed:
There was something to be said for the crisp effervescence of a can of chilled Fujiya Lemon Squash before school. It was a necessary start to Masato's day. It was a must, it was routine. Just as some people needed their morning coffee, he needed this.

It had been a morning full of small annoyances, most of which he blamed on Izou, fairly or unfairly. Either ego or pride insisted he take his car that morning, and this cost him more time. When they had started to become late, the other simply teleported the rest of the way and left him stranded in his car.

Masato wasn't one to carry change much, and he also hated breaking notes down. Some machines had card swipes, which he much preferred, but this one-- the one with HIS drink-- was playing games.

For the third time, he swiped his card through to a confused beeping, growing irritable.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai didn't have the luxury of a car, though she did have a morning routine of her own. One which had her up before dawn to meet with her friends for 'practice', followed by breakfast at his manor house, and then back to school. Her roommate was already off on her way to her classes while Chiyo's led her in this direction in time to see the issue beginning to brew.

It was difficult not to recognize the tall, broad shouldered teen with curly hair. Even if she hadn't officially 'met' him per say. For just a second she hesitates only to raise her voice to be heard as she approaches behind him.

"The Wifi doesn't reach this side of the building," she explains simply as she reaches past him to slide some coins into the machine. She at least carried cash, and given his grumbling it seemed he was about to do worse to the machine if she didn't intervene.

"They really ought to put up a sign about that to warn people." It's all said rather calmly before she looks up toward him with a smile. "You're one of Mamoru-sans guys, right?"

Nephrite has posed:
The shuttering of coins stalled him, and he pulled the card back to watch the hand inserting them. He recognised her voice, turning to look down. No wi-fi? Cheap bastards--

"Oh. Sakai. I didn't see you down there," Brown brows rose, and he stood aside some as if she were just getting something for herself, "It's Masato, if you like... I almost never carry change. These things seem to eat it, half the time."

And shoot it out like pellets whn they come to life and attack people, but thankfully they'd be spared that much here.

"You were at the Sleep-in, weren't you?"

The machine seemed to be struggling with the coinage, too. A smaller coin fell into the tray, needing reinsertion.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai lets out a quiet yet unsurprised sigh when the coin rattles to the bottom slot. Without thinking she crouches down to fish it out so that she can try again, this time by lining it up to flick it into the slot with a fingertip so that it would spin past the device that tended to dismiss any coins that weren't pristine. Clearly this was not her first encounter with this devil machine.

"Masato-san, then. Yes, I'm Chiyo Sakai. I was there--But I don't think I managed to do the dreaming part as well as everyone else." Standing again she flashes what seems to be an apologetic look his way at that. She really hadn't been that much help after all, even though she had tried.

"I think it's a bit harder for me because my partner talks in my head all the time, and it's not fond of what it considers 'lies'. Dreams were apparently on the list," she adds, head shaking slightly.

It's then that she gestures to the machine with palm open. "Go ahead, get what you want. That should appease it for awhile."

Nephrite has posed:
He seemed to observe her practiced flick with rapt attention, as if she knows secrets that he does not. Sapphire eyes squint some, and he glances at her, surprised that she's offering. "Are you sure?"

He wonders if the wi-fi is slower, and will charge him later, or if it will ping out entirely. He doesn't know.

"I'll pay you back. What's your favourite drink?"

He takes a finger to the buttons, trying to input the code for his can. The '2' is a little less receptive, and he has to press it again-- and harder-- he smacks at the button with the heel of his hand and curses at it, and it registers at last.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai mmhmms with a quick nod that sends her curls bobbing from the motion. "It's not a problem. I really doubt your card will work over here at all." A gesture is made to the side of the building. "There's a reason there's no line for this machine. It's kind of terrible." Yet she knew it's secrets. Then again a machine with no line was sometimes alluring in and of itself.

"Oh I just usually go for Jasmine tea, or Hojicha." Both were kind of 'old people' drinks and not exactly cool, but they were tasty and refreshing.

She watches as the attempt to press the button occurs giving a displeased squint at the machine. "It'll probably get stuck. Just give it a good smack on the side at around the height of the third row. That usually fixes it." Was there a slight *dent* in the area she mentioned? It might be a trick of the light.

"Ah... I'm Usagi-chan's cousin by the way so I'll probably be seeing you around a bit."

Nephrite has posed:
"Right. Of course, especially given I'm I'm Mamoru's... Knight." That sounded ridiculous to say, somehow, when he just wanted to say brother or best friend, yet did not feel as though he had right to. He preened his blazer some, tugging it straighter.

Jasmine tea. Very soon, and perhaps with very little warning, Chiyo would find an entire palette of bottled jasmine tea delivered to her.

He followed the instructions given, rounding the machine to strategically brutalise it. The dent, as Masato smacked at it, deepened considerably. The mechanism inside started to react strangely.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai glances over at the adjusting of the blazer just breifly staring at the motion. Her eyes quickly avert, back to the machine to focus on it and nothing else. Distractions wouldn't do her any good even if she was pretty much eye level with his chest given his height. "I still can't believe Usagi-chan is a Princess, but I've seen it with my own eyes."

There's a pause there. A thoughtful, quiet one, as she murmers, "Felt the power of it, too." Whatever that may mean.

It's a moment soon lost when his hand smacks the machine a bit TOO hard even by her standards. "I'm kind of glad the school grounds are protected. If any machine were going to turn into a youma, it'd be this one. And I've already fought a few of those." She never DID find out who was turning them into youma. Hmph.

"I'm not one of her senshi, but I can fight too and I will anytime I'm needed. I just can't help Mamoru-san heal like I used to so-" A slight gesture. "Try not to break your hand on this thing."

Nephrite has posed:
He leaned to peer at the rapid confusion of the machine, before furrowing his brows at her. "I'll break this machine before it breaks me." Masato offered this much, ominously, "But yes... I can imagine that was probably a shock for you. The Princess thing--"

He grabbed the side of the machine now and shook it, rattling it some until something whirred inside and a can started to be pushed forwards.

"Still, there's something of a resemblance. You're very Princess-like, yourself--"

It was a lovely thing to say, if undercut by the clattering of a can falling inside the machine to get caught half way down. He kicked at it, to little avail.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai watches the can spin to the front of the line, fall and... get stuck. It wasn't even in the way she thought it would get stuck. This was a new, and original way, that she'd yet to see happen at this particular machine.

"It was yes, but not quite as much as finding out we were cousins in the first place-" Ah but that was clearly a story for another time as she's quickly distracted by a remark about HER being princess-like.

"Me?!" That caught her off guard quite a bit causing the tip of her nose and cheeks a shade of pink.

"I might join you in breaking this thing though."

She had one last move to try. Rolling her sleeve up she crouches down to slide her arm inside the machine and twist trying to reach the drink with fingertips stretched out. Her face is squished against the glass of the machine in the process.

Nephrite has posed:
"Can't say I have any cousins that I'd know of..." Though, Hiddenite very briefly surfaces in his mind with a questionmark, and Masato immediately dismisses the the thought.

He was aware of her pinkening face, though attributed it mostly to the frustrating machine. "Princess Vending Machine. That has a ring to it," he teased, and laughed benignly. "Should I tilt it? You look majestic."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai can at least laugh a little at the entire situation. Once upon a time she would have just been purely embarassed. Dying and being brought back to life really put a lot of things into perspective though. This was hardly the most embarassing thing she'd had happen to her.

"Just a little bit. I think I've got it."

"You ought to see me swing a hammer! I'd probably be 'Princess Mochi' or something like that." She almost was once, in a way, before she'd lost her prior powers. She couldn't recall if she'd ever run across him when she had them though. Then again... She knew their history of having worked with Obsidian, and their subsequent 'rescuing' though she's polite enough not to bring that up.

"My Ojiisan runs a wagashi shop in Pikarigaoaka ward. 'Nounamu Sweets'. I still help him there. Making the mochi is always a workout."

Another little stretch and her fingers hit the bottom of the drink managing to knock it loose with a thunk. Slowly, gingerly, she withdraws her arm so that she doesn't end up hurting herself. After all of that she produces the drink to offer up with triumph. "Your drink, sir!"

Nephrite has posed:
"Princess Mochi, then," Masato chuckled, hefting the machine some with the weight of his shoulder. Despite the mundanity of the situation, he found her determination endearing. It was impressive, it its own little way-- her stubborn battle with the machine.

It felty familiar, too, though he struggled to remember how. Like so many other things, it was dream-like and a bit hazy. Just a strange lilting of deja-vu, as if he'd been impressed by her before.

When she managed, at last, to pry the can free, he smiled broadly.

"Spoils of victory--" A bright expression that lit his face with a far better mood than she'd found him in. The machine thunks back down with a satisfying weight, and he reaches to take it. "Thank you."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
The little extra added tilt to the machine made it so much easier to get the drink, too. Otherwise she might have been in there a bit longer. "You're welcome, Masato-san!"

A quick rubbing of her arm comes immediately after, mostly to roll down her sleeve again. It wasn't a long sleeve but enough to cover her biceps at least. They were toned and for a school girl that wasn't always seen in a good light. No doubt why she wore a slightly bigger than necessary shirt to hide that fact.

"It was good to meet you outside of, ah, 'work'. I hope the rest of your day is better than this, too!" If this was the start it really could go either way.

For just a moment she hesitates as she debates whether she ought to remark on when they first met or not. It was such a breif meeting, and seemed like a lifetime ago. For now she brushes the thought aside. "I ought to get to class before I'm late. Your card ought to work at the other machines in the lunch room if you need to use it later."

Nephrite has posed:
The crack and hiss of the jostled can immediately produced a bubbling of fizz, spilling some over his fingers as Masato held it away from himself some until it settled. Even this, it seemed, was not enough to put a damper on things.

Sapphire eyes flashed her way with something close to a sparkle in them. "You're a life-saver," he nodded, "If you need any help kicking a dent in one of these things anywhere else in the city, let me know. I'll be there. Maybe I'll win you a drink, next time."