248/Perfectly normal Coffee

Perfectly normal Coffee
Date of Scene:	16 August 2023
Location:	Gullwing Coffee
Synopsis:	Experiences, nature and power pink fru fru coffee. Hinoiri and Naru have a chat.
Cast of Characters:	Naru Osaka, Hinoiri Kirara

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Naru Osaka has posed:
It's another hot and steamy summer day, although the breeze off the water is keeping it refreshing at least. Enough that there are people out on the patio, and the windows are open to enjoy that breeze. The cafe is doing a brisk business, steady now that it's mid-morning, but neither the mad rush of coffee pre-work, nor the bustle of sandwiches at lunch. It's a good time, therefore, to have a teenager taking over a table with her books. And, of course, a coffee.

Not just a coffee, but a lemon bar as well, with just a bare little nibble off one corner of it, although the coffee is more than half gone already. Naru dutifully opened up a couple of school books, but she's got her sketchbook on top of them, doing some doodles of the view out that window rather than more math problems.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara had been grgled. Grogled. Glrog.

She hadn't slept well. On the up side, she felt she was FINALLY ready to attend school. On the down side, she.... she was finding bikes to be pretty fun. Still had to get a license and all that, but bike riding itself was fun.

But she'd stayed up WAY too late studying magic and trying to convert ANOTHER spell from home into one workable here and had NO success. Stupid dark energy. She needed a like. Physical, drinkable version of it. But until that existed, coffee would have to do.

She walked into the shop, in full spiked leather jacket, gloves, dark black pants. Looking like she was in some kind of biker gang... which she was. Minus the gang part. "Order for Hinoiri?" she asked. Yes. Cell phones were amazing.

Only to get the most froofy, sugar coated, even-Usagi-could-drink-this dessert-drink-masquerading-as-iced-coffee imaginable. It had gosh darn pink glitter.

She paid, took it and then just walked off, collapsing into a seat and sighing, taking a long, refreshing drink...

Only to realize, far too late... that she had sat at a table with someone else.

Buck.

She stared at the other girl, her cheeks getting a little red and her tired mind struggling to come up with a response before, finally, she found the ideal solution.

"Sup?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
To Naru's credit, having a zombie-esque biker drop at her table with a drinkable unicorn gently poofing pink glitter.. not even in the top five of weird this week.

Perhaps the top ten, but certainly not the top five.

Naru glances up from her sketch, considers the spikes and leather and glitter and then looks down to continue what she's drawing. Possibly this is just the pause for processing.

"Good morning." is Naru's quiet, pleasant and calm reply. She nods a little, towards the glitter confection masquerading as coffee. "Is it good?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara shakes her head. "Nope," she said before finally taking another drink. "But my mentor used to say it was healthy. Sugar gives energy for the day and what have you. And nothing wakes you up like being slapped in the face with about ten ounces of sparkle and bubblegum." She took another drink and shuddered. "She wasn't wrong, though. Hinoiri Kirara, nice to meet you. What's yah studying?"

Despite her outfit... she seemed... nice enough. she unzipped the jacket, revealing the... orange, red and black shirt beneath. Well, at least she wasn't only in black.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"It pretty much looks like insta-cavities with a side order of pancreas whimpering." Naru muses as she watches Hinoiri slug back the sugar concoction as if it was medicinal.

Mostly because it generally is.

"Naru Osaka." Naru introduces herself and then adds. "Usagi's roommate, if that helps. I think I've seen you around school? Radiant Heart?" She gestures with her pencil at the books on the table. "I am currently ignoring math homework. I finished the first work sheet and am finding that my own boring coffee is far more interesting than the second one."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times. Cavities? "Yeah, that's generally why I limit my sugar intake. Funny how she never had the problem. Then again, she always did hate going to the dentist." She took another sip.

"And yeah, still... new. But well, schools gotta... school. I guess," she said. Honestly, she felt she may have over--

Then stopped, the drink halfway to her mouth. Usagi... "Oh yeah! Her. Usagi-chan. She's nice, helped me pick out a curriculum of video games to learn before I started attending. She's good people." She'd be useful, Hinoiri suspected she'd, one day, find a way to use that strange rope haired girl to her own benefit. She then held out her hand. "Here. Let me see the second sheet. I'll see if I can help you." Math, at least, was one of the few subjects she had only had to do a little bit of relearning to catch up with in this world. Math was math, in the end.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"We've a lot of new students. By rights, Usagi and I are new too, but only new to the school, not new to Tokyo as well." Naru reaches for her own coffee, taking a sip of the plain brew. No whipped cream, no sparkles, no flavours. Just hot coffee, with a bit of cream.

Naru's smile warms as Usagi is praised for her video game acumen. "Usagi is, indeed, good people. We've been friends since we were four." Which is, when you are fourteen, basically and functionally forever.

Naru sets her coffee down and picks up the worksheet in question. "They aren't hard, per se, I just am being lazy about it and sketching rather than getting them done. They're optional, but I feel obliged."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara nodded. "New to Tokyo myself. And the school. Home was a lot... different," she said. Yeah, that was certainly a word for it. "This place has some cool things in it." For one, she was LOVING the style. Black outfits, spikes, all of that? Awesome. Also, bikes. Those were neat. Okay, so it had two things she liked. But that was still two things which made her statement not a lie.

"Since you were four, huh? Sounds like you two are close." Note to self. Anything she tells this girl will probably get back to Usagi later. Worth trying to destroy their friendship? Possibly. But likely a lot more work than it would be worth for an experiment. Not like either of them mattered any.

"Why?" she asked. "I mean, if you don't get anything out of it, why do them? Unless you like math. Better to spend your time developing the things you care about." ... That was... almost approaching good advice. Almost. Albeit, accidentally.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"There's a lot of students new to Tokyo at the school." Naru seems unconcerned about just how many students came from a home that was very different from life in Japan. Worlds different, even. "If you have questions, feel free to ask. I've lived here my entire life."

"Yes, we are close." Naru confirms with a nod, and she reaches for her fork to take another sliver of lemon bar off the whole. "And now roommates, which is a whole new level." Naru chuckles softly, and anyone who knows both of them can probably picture the line down the middle of their room. Neat on one side, barely controlled chaos on the other.

"Mmm." Naru considers the question. "I am.. I do like math. I appreciate that there's a right answer to get to at the end, objectively. I suppose I can see the point of reinforcing the knowledge with repetition, although possibly I just appreciate doing homework that isn't a struggle. Even if I'm being lazy about it right this second." Naru pauses again, thoughtful. "And not that I have too many subjects that are truly a struggle, not like many folks."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara nodded. "Yeah, I've heard about that. Apparently the school is practically a hotbed for new faces right now. Guess it comes with being an international school, just draws all the special people in," she said, taking another sip of her drink and cringing.

However, that comment on roommates made her cringe. "Ah. Right. We require... roommates here... don't we..." she muttered. That was going to be... annoying. She'd NEVER had a roommate. "Well, at least you two probably get along well."

She also nodded with the other girl. She seemed... nice. She saw why Usagi and her were friends. And it was probably easy for them. After all, neither of them were special, so they could just relax and take things easy. Oh well. She still had to play nice anyway. "Yeah, math is pretty sweet. Just memorize the way the calculations work and then work your way through the problem. None of it even moves or adjusts itself on the fly until you get to the more advanced stuff. Seems a waste of time to just do homework you can already do easily. If you're not challenging yourself and going above, what's the point of doing it at all?" she asked. "Better to focus on excelling than just passing."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Just about everyone has a roommate, yes." Naru nods in agreement. "Although they do let you pick, within reason, so you should be able to find someone that suits you at least." She smiles optimistically. "Or at least that isn't /too/ awful."

Naru laughs softly as she sets her fork down. "I cannot say I've ever had my math move or change on the fly, but I'll look forward to that later? That sounds super awkward." She gestures to her sketchbook. "You assume that I'm not challenging myself in other areas, and looking to go above and beyond. Math is all fine and good, I'm not squeaking by barely passing or anything. I appreciate its straightforwardness so that I can spend more time on subjective things that aren't as clear cut."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara sighed, looking mildly annoyed. Okay, a lot annoyed. A roommate. Ugh. Other people only ever seemed to get in her way. Now she was going to have to deal with some other person invading HER personal space? Maybe she could just have them have a minor accident. How hard was it to concoct a sleeping spell that lasted a few years? Wait, no, they'd probably just replace them, then. Troublesome.

She then glanced back to Naru and gave a small smile. Right. Pretend to be nice. Smiiiiile. She opened her mouth, about to mention exactly what kind of 'math' it was that had things change on the fly... but then paused and realized she had almost said too much. If she actually mentioned those spells... well... she'd, at best, come off as a nut job. "Oh, you know. For like, when you're calculating things. Like... you need to know the orbital velocity of an apple, but you need to be able to adjust the calculation based on the weight and size of the apple each time, you know?" she said, giving a light chuckle. Right. That was totally a save, right?

... Oh gosh she was so bad at this. Maybe she could just like... wipe the girl's memory and pretend this never happened. Quick! Talk about her! "Really? What kind of subjective things?" she asked. Learn about her! Discover her weaknesses! CRUSH HER! Or... like... befriend her and stuff so she could develop tools that may or may not aid her ultimate goals. Either or, really!

Naru Osaka has posed:
Nice does seem to come easily to Naru, and she's totally willing to accept some of those little bobbles in the 'I am a perfectly normal teenager who has lived on Earth their whole life.' facade in easy stride. She quirks her head, thoughtful a moment. "That sounds as if you are a pilot, or aspire to be one."

A little shake of her head, and Naru laughs easily at the question. "I'm an artist. And there's nothing more subjective than art." She grins. "It's all squishy evoking emotions and nuance and not a single thing that stays still or has a consistent answer to be found." She gestures with her pencil. "What I get out of a piece of artwork and what another person might get out of the same artwork can be completely different and both completely valid."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times. A pilot? Crud. Okay, what was that again. Something... Ugh. She knew 'piloting' something. But was a pilot something special in and of itself? Note to self, look that up later. Guh. "Ehhhh... something close to that, you could say." She didn't know how close, though.

"An artist, huh? I've known a few. Never really got into it much, myself. Wasn't really my jam. Don't a lot of the best artists usually find inspiration in like... nature?" she asked before glancing around. "Not a lot of... nature here." She took another sip of her drink and shuddered. "Okay, that's enough of that. I think I'm awake enough to stop torturing myself," she said before putting it down. "They really need to make these things smaller..."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Is that really the smallest size they sell?" Naru eyes the cup. "That seems like a lot of pink frothy coffee for just a taste to get going in the morning." She reaches for her own cup of coffee, lifting it in salute before taking a sip and then getting more thoughtful.

"Some." Naru agrees on the nature topic. "Although not all. Inpsiration can come from nature.. or one's experiences, or interactions. It can come from your imagination, with no reference except for your own mine's eye." She grins brightly and leans in a little. "Besides.. you show yourself as being new to Tokyo in not recognizing the nature that's found in a big city. We may have crammed a bazillion people in here, but there's still nature to be found." She gestures outside the window, to the beach and the ocean. "We're an island, just to start, and that's a whole lot of nature right there, but even down to parks and flower gardens. Humans crave nature, and it's important to us. We tuck it in, or let it flourish in our sacred places for our own piece of mind."

Surely Naru is including Hinoiri in the commets about humans, right? Of course she is. Not doing so would be silly.

Naru laughs gently after a moment. "And now you've hit upon another of my non math challenges.. philosophy. I'm better at art."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara nodded. "Yeah. Probably a bad idea in retrospect. Don't know what possessed me to get it, though it did the job. So seems it's somewhat effective." Honestly... it was the kind of drink Sora would have loved and... maybe she was just feeling a tiny bit homesick. Not for her mentor, though. Just for all the other cool stuff.

She glanced out the window and... frankly... she looked unimpressed. It wasn't that Naru was wrong. No, Naru was entirely correct. It was beautiful, in its own way. There was a LOT of beauty to be found there. Perhaps, one day, she'd even see it.

"Yeah, you'd think if they liked it they'd treat it a little better," Hinoiri muttered. Then sighed. "Sorry. My home was a lot more... rural," she said, glancing away. Well, it was a major city. But fairies tended to be a bit more... close to nature than humans. That and there had always been the royal gardens. "I'm used to a bit... more in some ways. Less in others. But yeah, I guess you're right. Inspiration can come from all kinds of sources. You never know what's going to be the thing to get you back into your groove, huh? And philosophy. Now there's a subject I never much enjoyed. Always seemed to be filled with fai-- people who were more interested in talking about things than actually doing them. Always been more of a hands-on person myself. Nothing teaches faster than experience."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Hey, if you enjoyed it, even if there was too much, then it was worth it." Naru points out with a little shrug. "And you are under no obligation to finish it when you've had enough. So you're still winning."

Naru's chuckle is a little sharp, and her tone a touch rueful. "Oh don't even get me /started/ on how we should treat it a little better. I agree utterly, and cherish what tiny spots I have here. Most places are more rural than Tokyo. We're a giant city even on the scale of giant cities." She gestures vaguely. "Although if you can, or have time or inclination, you might be a little less homesick if you get out of the city now and then. If you time your visits right, its not horribly crowded. You might appreciate the shrines and the peace there. A little less marred by wholly too much humanity."

Naru give a little shrug. "A hazard of being in Debate Club, and Art.. I talk about things more than doing, I suppose. Although I don't feel as if I /don't/ do things. Perhaps I've found that mythical balance?" She hunhs softly. "Likely not, I probably still need to get out more, but look at us both. Having the experience of meeting each other and chatting over coffee. That's something, right?" Her grin is impish, teasing gently.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara shrugged. "Enjoyed may be a strong word in this case," she said, a small mirth filled smile on her face. "And thank the stars for that. I think I might lose a tooth if I had to drink this whole thing. How people can drink one of these all the time I'll never understand."

She cocked an eye at Naru's comments towards humanity. Seemed even humans got annoyed at it. "Was out of the city recently, actually. Wasn't nearly as relaxing as I'd hoped, though. Bunch of kids decided to cause trouble," she muttered in annoyance. Stupid Cure Sunny. She would have WON that fight if it had been one on one. Well. Two on two. Either or! Beating her with numbers was a smart strategy but it was STILL cheating!

"Not everyone has to do things, I suppose. Some people are satisfied to just watch. I've never been able to get that, but hey. If everyone was exactly the same then nothing would ever get done, am I right?" she asked with a light chuckle. "I can't do baking spe-- can't bake to save my life, but even I like a cupcake every now and again. And yeah, experiences like this are definitely worth doing. Meeting me is probably something everyone wishes they could do at least once," she said in a joking tone...

She definitely wasn't joking though. Even if she would say she was.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I have absolutely no idea how people drink them." Naru agrees quickly. "I don't even put sugar in my coffee, generally. That being said, I bet that I could get Usagi to drink a coffee like that. That girl has a sweet tooth like no one else I know." She shakes her head a few times, clearly that trait is not shared between them.

"I mean.. dumb kids causing trouble is a hazard no matter where you are. It's hardly nature's fault that there was kids causing trouble." She smirks a touch. "You should try going back when there aren't kids causing trouble, see if it's more relaxing then. Not sure /when/ that might be, but it's a thought."

"You know that baking is just edible math with a side order of chemistry, right?" Naru gestures at the math homework both of them are mostly ignoring. "I bet you could probably learn to bake pretty easily, if you wanted to." She grins right back. "I know I'm glad to have met you. You seem fun. A feature in my day."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara nodded. "Ah. I... see. So I'm guessing that means curry is a super sweet food then? Delightful..." she mumbled. Well, she'd agreed to go with Usagi and Neji there, buuuut... well... now she was regretting that choice. She wondered if she should just look up what curry was. But eh, there was something to be said about going in blind.

"Yeah. I might. Was on the outskirts of the city for a bit before I got everything settled. That was nicer. Peaceful. Ish. Sometimes loud. But not nearly this loud." She swore sometimes this city was like.... yes, she'd BEEN to a few big cities back home. But her home was... 'big', but more focused on the elite. Less on 'having ALL the people'.

"Oh, yeah, I could bake if I wanted. I just get bored halfway through and it turns out that if you make a cake that tries to eat the teacher, even if you get an A for style they really wish you'd leave it to the professionals."

... That... that had to be a joke, right? She said it with such a straight face, though.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Most curries are spicy, not sweet." Naru explains, as if explaining the nuances of curry is perfectly normal. It mostly is. "Although if you don't like spicy, you can ask for mild. They're a savoury dish, usually a tasty goo wiht meat or tofu or beans that's served with rice, or bread. I think they're delicious and there's a few really good curry places in the city here."

Naru mmms softly. "I'm so used to the general levels of Tokyo loud that when I go out to the countryside, it feels too quiet." She shakes her head a little. "As if something's missing. Apparently I'm a city kid, through and through."

Naru laughs warmly at the mental image of a cake trying to eat the teacher. "I can see how that would not be ideal for your grade, no. Alright, if you got bored halfway through a cake, then perhaps baking isn't your kind of math." She grins brightly, still giggling softly at the mental image. "Teachers really do get fussy about that sort of thing. I usually just bake muffins, again with the not so much of a sweet tooth and they're pretty simple and plain. But tasty."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara nodded, though she looked thoughtful at that. "Yeah. Spicy? Spicy sounds fine. Your friend, Usagi-chan, mentioned she wanted to take me to this place once she'd heard I'd never had curry. So... I agreed," she mumbled. "Her and Nija-chan. Girl with a rainbow on her head." Dear heavens how anyone could do that to themselves... thinks the girl with sun beams for hair.

"Eh. I can get that. When I was younger I used to dislike it being too quiet too. But when I got older, well... amazing how much easier it is to just relax in perfect silence." The castle had been mostly quiet. You might hear the flapping of wings or gossiping servant, but for the most part it was just a light hum that she'd gotten used to... for a time. But... "Granted, aside from celebrations or festivals it could rarely compare to this place," she mumbled, glancing out the window again.

She looked thoughtful for a minute before a small grin formed on her lips. "Speaking of inspiration... that gives me an idea. It was great speaking with you, Osaka-san. I'll probably see you around. Good luck with your math and your muffins," she said before getting to her feet, grabbing her drink... And chucking the remnants in the trash. Gah. She was soon out the door... And when she passed a window, she had a bike helmet with her. Odd... did... she have that the whole time? Eh. Probably nothing.