280/Rainy day in the cafeteria

Rainy day in the cafeteria
Date of Scene:	22 August 2023
Location:	Cafeteria Plaza
Synopsis:	Koji, Coco, Greta and Naru chat about food and music and technology and art and secret selves in the cafeteria.
Cast of Characters:	Naru Osaka, Koji Silvia, Coco Kiumi, Greta Legend

---

Naru Osaka has posed:
It's a rainy day in Tokyo, and not a day that's well suited to sitting outside and enjoying the summer sunshine. The sunshine is liquid today. Even though ti's summer break, there are still students who are living on campus and they need to eat, so the cafeteria plaza continues to be a busy place. Perhaps with not quite the same selection as during the school term, and not QUITE as many students, but certainly no one is about to starve.

Naru has found herself a table rather in the midst of it all, tucked in with her sketchbook in her lap, a fresh cup of coffee on the table and a bowl of fruit salad that she's very slowly picking at when she remembers to.

Koji Silvia has posed:
From the entrance to the cafeteria's grand space, another person can be seen. A slightly familiar one for Naru, as he was recently an ad-hoc cook for her!

Koji has a grey plastic crate in his hands that has 'RHA Computer & Electronics Club' in his hands, and is showing a touch of dampness from the warm summer rain.

Currently, he's looking around the mostly empty space for a place to sit, by the way his eyes pan the room, and though he spots Naru, he doesn't immediately walk over. Instead, the young man trundles his way up to the table next to hers and sets the box down on top of it, politely avoiding the obvious *THUNK* that could occur in most cases.

"Don't mind me." He says as he unlocks the top and sets it to the side, and reaches in to put on a pair of latex gloves and a static band. Then takes out a toolkit and a couple other items that are set to one side before bringing out a dingy but vintage Playstation!

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Instead of taking lunch outside at a café, Coco is staying in school too. After all, going around Tokyo with the rain could be bad news for her even if she was careful with an umbrella.

She is still wearing winter clothes and trousers for her uniform to hide the burns she got from the fight with the train witch. She heads towards the display of foods, not really enthused with the limited selection.

'Those pita slices and hummus look good', she thinks, putting her selection on a plate.

Briefly stopping to take a cup of hot lemon tea as her chosen drink, she goes back towards the tables. Spotting Naru at a table, she waves at the girl with a smile.

"Hello, Naru. How are you?" she picks up a conversation. "Is it ok if I sit here?"

She is briefly preceded by Koji, so she waves at him too, asking the boy how he is doing. She is a bit curious about why he opted to sit with Naru if she is going to spend the time playing, but she doesn't want to appear judgemental, so she decides to keep her curiosity to herself.

Greta Legend has posed:
Meanwhile, slightly meandering through the cafeteria, leaning over now and again to observe (a) the meals being eaten by the various other students who have opted to be on the school grounds during while school was out of session, and (b) butting herself into the cafeteria proper to just take notes on what was being served out.

This is what Greta Legend does in her spare time when on school grounds because, of all the activities she had opted to sign up for at Radiant Heart Academy, she picked the Cooking Club, and by golly was she surprisingly enthusiastic in her information gathering, sometimes asking questions of the various other students, taking notes and moving on, pushing her glasses up her notes for a glint as she opted not to explain anytrhing abouy it when asked.

The ringlet haired blonde soon meanders in the vicinity of Naru, Coco and Koji, who are all strangers to her, even though she has previously met two of them without knowing it.

"Hmmm, hot lemon tea... Coffee... Simple beverages... Hmm, hmm... And..." Eyes at the playstation Koji is working on, "Hmm, nothing to work with there..."

And then she begins to walk by.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Hey Koji." Naru greets the young man with a smile as she looks up from her sketchbook. "Whatcha working on?" She peers over at the table next to hers curiously, watching all of the bits emerge from the plastic crate. "Is that a Playstation? Cool!"

"Hi Coco." Naru turns her head as another person comes to settle near by. "Pull up a chair." She considers the blonde girl all bundled up in winter gear. "Aren't you warm?"

And then Greta strolls by, passing judgement on what they're eating. Or just pure curiosity. Naru offers the curious one a smile. "Hi." Her sketchbook is largely ignored in her lap as she sends greetings around.

Koji Silvia has posed:
The last things to come out of the box are a spray bottle, a smaller bottle marked isopropyl alcohol, and a box of cotton swabs, "Yeah. I got it in a junk bin in an Akihabara gaming shop for a steal. I figured I could check it over and if it's salvageable. If not, we can keep the parts to fix another one in the club."

Using a little wedge thing, he starts to pry up the feets and then undoes the screws, slowly opening the outer case as he talks.

Looking up, he gives a nod of the head in greeting to Coco, followed by a polite, "Hello." to her, since they have never met formally or in civilian, and then Greta is given a glance before he settles back to his work.

He's a mere table away, but shrugs at the offer to let Greta sit with them. He's a bit busy fishing a spring out from the dusty guts of the old video game console.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Thanks", Coco says, setting down her beverage and food at the table. She pulls up a chair and sits down, beginning to stuff her pita with the hummus.

"N-no, I'm not really hot", she lies with a stammer, caught by surprise due to having already been questioned the first second here. "Were you sketching?" she tries to change topic, nodding towards the sketchbook Naru has with hers.

"Your name is Koji, right?" she asks the boy busy trafficking with the Playstation, checking to make sure her memory didn't betray her. "Do you have a passion for repairs?" she asks him, thinking it made sense he would take advantage of the cafeteria instead of going somewhere since it was mostly empty, in case he wanted to start eating later.

When Greta passes by, Coco stops working on her food and gives the girl a wave. "Hi, Greta, nice to see you again. Why don't you sit with us once you have taken your food?" she proposes, sneaking a glance towards Naru and Koji to check if they aren't bothered by that.

Greta Legend has posed:
The european girl perks up a little, and shakes her head absently, "Hmm..? Oh, sorry, I'm just taking notes for cooking club, surveying the sorts of foods students prefer, and trying to find new twists for food fusions and---"

It's right at that point that Greta's brain catches up with her, and she looks up from her note taking to look Coco in the eyes, blinking in confusion, "Wait... Have we met already?" Her eyes darting towards Naru and Koji, but no immediate recognition.

Admittedly she was getting a little hungry, so when the stomach rumblies happen, she mumbles, "I guess I can grab something to eat... Just... Sure, I'll be right back..." Before turning and heading to grab some a tray of food...

Koji Silvia has posed:
"I like seeing how things work, to be honest." Koji says in reply to Coco, "And a lot of these old machines are just clogged with dust, or it's a loose wire, or something else small that's wrong. Something fixable. Stuff like this doesn't deserve to just be thrown out."

Into the box he goes and takes out a small microfibre towel that he lays out, and the screws are put into a little set of bowls in the toolbox. He has it open now, letting people see the CD reader, the circuit boards... all of the functional little guts that are hidden behind the plastic elegance. Picking up the lid, he sprays both sides, and then starts to wipe it down with a cloth, "And yes... it's Koji. I think we saw each other at Gullwing when everyone was celebrating the end of finals. Nice to meet you, Coco-chan."

When Greta comes back with her food, he does speak up, even as he continues to clean the dust and grime from the Playstation's outsides, turning it back to pristine grey, "I like the Tandoori ramen from Korma Chameleon. The chef uses good quality noodles, and some korean gojujang to help spice the broth up and keep it a curry-style color but not thicken the broth too much."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I hope you can get it working." Naru comments to Koji and then laughs. "And then I hope we can find any games for it at all." Because Playstation is one thing, but old games? Just as hard.

"I was." Naru smiles to Coco at the question. "Trying to get some ideas down, and fleshed out before I either take them to the embroidery machine, or paint them. Haven't wholly decided which yet. I just got some new paints, so the temptation of painting might win out."

Naru waves a little to Greta and then offers helpfully before the other girl heads off to get food. "You don't know me, yet. Dont' worry about trying to remember me."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"That sounds interesting. So you are basically at the forefront of your club's food development team. It seems really important", She tells Greta. "I have mostly eaten seafood, with a few imports of others kinds, so I am mostly used to the taste of the former. I also also fruit cups with cream."

Coco is at an impasse when Greta starts asking if they met. "We might have? I'm pretty sure you heard me sing once or twice" she answers with a nervous laugh, knowing that's not going to be enough to break the veil. 'What do I do now? I can't just tell her who I am in front of Naru and Koji', she thinks, trying to come up with a solution.

The subject of electronics give her a way too obvious answer. "Hey, Greta, do you mind exchanging numbers? You give me yours and I will send you a random message so you automatically have mine." She looks up at the European, hoping she is going to accept despite how odd it looks.

"Oh, right, I thought I had seen you somewhere. What do you do with the things you fix: do you use them yourself or do you fix them?" she asks Koji.

When Naru brings up embroidery, Coco says "A new transfer student here designs clothes. I think she would be interested in chatting with you about that. She is called Marinette. By the way, do you have a place to show your works? It would be really interesting."

Greta Legend has posed:
Greta can't help but squint a bit more at Coco, trying to put a face to the voice, and for a second nothing quite clicks... "Number exchange... Yeah, sure..." Even as she grabbed herself a chicken Katsudon meal, and tunes out the nagging feeling for the moment to take a bite, before going back to her phone and jotting down Koji's preffered food type. "Tandoori Ramen... Gojujang... Mkay..."

Singing... Singing... Who was singing...

Her thoughts roam back to the one singer she's met in the last several days, Yellow Pearl Voice, and tries to layer Coco's face over it...

"Nooo..." She mumbles, less to anyone else as the thought crosses her mind, before glancing back to Coco, and then away again.. Can't be.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"No.. not currently." Naru shakes her head at Coco's question about showing her work. "Currently it mostly lives in a cubby in the art room. At some point I'll figure out how and where to display it." She does look intersted in a fashion designer student. "Ooh, that's good to know. Marinette." she repeats, to help fix the name in her head. "If you see her before I have a chance to meet with her, please to let her know I'd be delighted to get to know another textile person around the place."

Koji Silvia has posed:
Putting aside his hobbywork for a moment, Koji looks up at Greta as she puts these things down on her notes, and then seems to consider her words. Eventually, he then sighs and says, "If you're new to Japan, there's a few things you should know. It might help if you're trying to figure out food culture here."

Looking to Naru, he smiles a bit,"A lot of us grew up with our parents stocking long-term things like rice and other dry goods in the house, but would buy fresh from the store on the way home from work most nights. We also use a lot of more portable food prep than they do in the US and Europe. It's why eating out is such a thing. Especially with meat. Meat you always eat with friends, and never alone."

He then goes back to taking a voltage tester to the board of the PS1, "Anyways... thought that might help with what you're doing."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
When Greta agrees to exchange numbers, Coco trepidatiously takes out her own phone and records the blonde girl's number. She starts to write the message that is intended to break the veil, a very simple "I am Yellow Pearl Voice", and forwards it to the european. 'And that's done', she thinks, hoping the other girl won't give something away when she reads the message.

"I will tell Marinette if I see her", she promises. "Similarly, can I ask you to tell me when you find a place to exhibit your works, please?" she asks Naru, really interested in what she does."

Greta Legend has posed:
Greta nods quietly as she jots down that bit of cultural information. "That actually helps a fair bit, thank you..." She considers her thoughts a moment before straightening up a bit, "I never did properly introduce myself, I think... Old habit..." She considers a moment, before taking a breath and saying, "I'm Greta Legend. Greta is just fine. Please don't call me 'Legend-san', I hear that enough around my father.."

She hears the beep on her phone and takes a moment to glance at the text message. It's a quick read, but a long stare, as she opens her mouth, closes it, then glances back up at Coco, squinting a bit, before looking back and closing the message.

"But yes, I'm in the cooking club. I had to pick something, and father wasn't going to accept 'Go Home' as an option... Also I just like cooking." She freely admits, before diving back into her own meal.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Thank you." Naru smiles to Coco. "Perhaps the Art Club will do a exhibit in the spring or something. I'll have to suggest it. Could be fun." She can't help but giggle a bit. "See if Hana might be willing to be social at all."

Naru nods in agreement with Koji's food assessment to Greta. "Even in a household that doens't eat meat at all, we shop for fresh things on the regular, and stock up on the basics." She adds after a moment with another smile. "Hi Greta. I'm Naru Osaka. Usagi's roommate if that helps."

Koji Silvia has posed:
There is a small 'Aha!" from Koji as his tester finds something and then he nods, "Okay... it's corroded wire between the power and the board."

With that, he begins to reassemble the device, a little cleaner than it was before, and begins putting everything away, "I'll just put a sticky note on that so I can fix it later."

Smiling at the girls, he chuckles just a little, "And I'm Koji Silvia, 10th Year. Nice to meet you Greta."

He's very methodical in how he puts everything back in place inside the box, "If you really want to try Japanese home cooking at it's best... get a bento box. And ask your friends here at school... or people in the Cooking Club... what they had in it. You'll start learning a lot about what people eat."

Done, he stands up and picks up his crate, "I'm going to go put this back, and then I -think- the taiyaki guy is going to be set up outside school. He said he was making blackberry jam and egg custard today."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"That sounds nice, I don't think I will be able to join you though", Coco says, looking at the rain outside. She is not going to risk that even with an umbrella. Besides, Greta might want to talk to her in private, so it's good to keep that possibility open. She goes back to focusing on her lunch, unattended up to this point, eating the pita with hummus that have been waiting for her.

Greta Legend has posed:
Greta keeps taking notes, since Japanese food culture is so very different from that of European. Being a German-English girl, she's had a bit of an interesting spread. The suggestion to ask her friends at school derives an awkward laught, "Ah, yes... My friends..." Before mentally brushing it off. "I'm sure my club mates will have a good deal to share..."


She does nod in the meantime to Koji, "Ah, yeah, nice to meet you too Koji-san, and Naru-san too. And Coco-san... If I'm getting reacquanted." Nodding to them both politetly. Never hurts.

Her eyes dart back to Coco for a moment more. Nooo... Yes? No... Noooooo... Maybe..? She will have to talk to Coco later about it. "Ah... Unrelated question... Anyone know any good music? I don't know too many Japanese songs really, there's a lot that sounds... The same..."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Generally if you dont want to make friends around here, you pretty much have to hide in your room and never emerge." Naru points out gently on Greta's awkward laugh about having friends. She can't help but laugh at the comment about Japanese music. "Everytime I watch Eurovision, I think that about European music, so sounding the same is probably more a 'pop music' thing than just Japanese."

"I think you might be on your own for taiyaki today, Koji." Naru smiles easily as she tucks her sketchbook away. "I've got a little more studying to finish up, so that I can give some books back to a friend hopefully later today. Do you know if Darien is around later, Koji? Or even if he's not, I might be dropping them at your dorm room, for Darien to give to Jason, just a heads up."

Koji Silvia has posed:
Koji turns to hide the confused expression from the others as he starts walking out, not having touched anything in the cafeteria, "Afternoons and evenings are bad for Darien-san... he's usually off at his internship by then. If we're not there, just drop them in front of the door."

Balancing the boxes, he raises up one hand to wave, "See you again, Coco-kun, Miss Greta."

And then for a rare moment, he switches to English, and at least Greta can hear a faint Latino accent to his speech, "Japan is pretty gruff with newcomers, so you need to give it time. Eventually, it warms up to you."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco turns up briefly from her own food when Greta mentions japanese songs. "Well, in that regard I have my own, which you have already listened to, but I don't know much else aside from them" she says after washing down her food with lemon tea. "Though you were a bit busy when you heard them, so I don't know how much you could pay attention." She waves at Koji as he goes away, then turning back to her own food.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru never did finish her fruit, although her coffee went away just fine. She slings her satchel across her body, picking up her dishes to put away. "Take care, both of you."

And with that, Naru puts her dishes into the appropriate locations to be cleaned and heads out of the cafeteria.

Greta Legend has posed:
Greta nods to Naru, not really responding to her half as much, but giving her a wave as she goes. Waiting juuuust until she's out of earshot, eyes darting back around to make sure nobody is listening. Koji being gone helps too...

And once they're alone, Greta returns her focus, and like a switch has been flipped, she plants a palm on her face, and starts swearing, "Bloody hell, -really-?" She pinches the bridge of her nose. "How did I not figure you were from around the school when you showed up to help banish that robot maid bint the other day...?"

It's around this point that her brooch shines a bit. < Ally verified. Excellent work, Little Red. >

"You stay out of this, Dreiseelen.."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Bye, Naru, see you around", Coco tells the artist as she goes away. She figures that with everybody gone, Greta is going to address her message.

The mermaid doesn't expect the level of force Greta puts into her exclamations however. She looks at her with an eyebrow raised before shrugging. "That happened to me a lot too. There is something around here that prevents you from recognising other magical people unless they reveal themselves to you", she adds what little she knows to the conversation.

"In regards to Hannah, me being a student had nothing to do with it. I was warned by my pearl, though it typically only does that with my friends, and I haven't interacted with Hannah enough for that." She looks at her shell locket where the pearl is hidden.

"Of course, there is no saying I am being prevented from recognising her as an ally by the same force that stopped you. Thank you for your help that day, by the way."

Greta Legend has posed:
Greta hmphs and turns her head away. "I was just doing the right thing. I probably would not have have tried if I didn't have this on me." She reaches to the brooch and sets down her intelligent device. "I don't know what Dreiseelen is, but I receieved it when I was little, when my..." She stops herself and clears her throat, "The point is, I've had it forever, and it only woke up recently... So I'm kind of new to this whole Magical Girl-ing thing..."

She pauses a moment, before a thought occurs to her, "Wait, are you telling me that if I didn't have to admit to anything when this thing blurted my name out, and you wouldn't have known who I was today?"

She then growls and pounds a fist onto the brooch, "Stupid! Magic Bullocks!"

This does nothing to damage the device, but it does respond, < Allies would have improved your survival rate, Little Red. Taking the initiative was neccessary. >

"Sod off!"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco doesn't bring up the obvious pause in Greta's speech, not wanting to step into something that doesn't compete her. "I have already met mages like you. Maybe you could talk with some of them about receiving help with Dreiseelen", she suggests. "They do a lot of things with them: area scans, communication with allies, interfacing with machines, but these all things you already know", she specifies, kind of self-conscious about stating the basic.

"Anyway, they could help you learn more about your own power source. Mine isn't really useful for that", she says, touching her shell locket. "Even if you wanted to learn my songs, they would do nothing for you, since they aren't the usual kinds of spells, but a medium for my pearl's power." She looks outside, where it is still raining. "Aqua Regina also tied the pearls to us, and in the events we go missing, the pearls produce their next user. There isn't a way to let you use that power", Coco muses randomly.

She nods when Greta talks about whether Coco would have recognised her. "Had that not happened, you would have been a completely new person today."

Greta Legend has posed:
"There's more mages like me?" It was hard to pick them apart, but come to think of it there was that one girl who shot the beams... Dreiseelen had been in communications with them during the fight against Maryanna, so perhaps Greta could get one of them to help her out.

The European girl finally puts some effort into finishing her katsudon and then puts her brooch back on. "Well, that's good to know..." She proceeds to stand up. "Well, I guess what's done is done... I've got to get back to my club thing..."

She considers a moment, "I guess as a team we worked well enough together at least."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"I think so too", Coco says about her teamworking. "I am gonna stay here for now. I don't want to get wet", she says nodding to the rain outside. "See you around, Greta", Coco sees her off with a smile.