651/Melonpan olive branches.

Melonpan olive branches.
Date of Scene:	26 October 2023
Location:	Mitakihara Ward
Synopsis:	A conversation on the street between Kyouko, Wako, Takuto, Chiyo with a Kyouka cameo. Kyouko is bad at friends and classes and tact. No one is surprised.
Cast of Characters:	Kyouko Sakura, Takuto Tsunashi, Chiyo Sakai, Wako Agemaki, Kyouka Inai

---

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
It's just after school, for those who that sort of timing matters to, and there's a healthy bit of traffic on the main streets. People doing their shopping, and errands or picking up an after school or work coffee or snack. One would think that most teens would still be in their school uniforms, hurrying to clubs or cram school or some other productive use of their afternoon.

Not so much for Kyouko Sakura. She's in jeans and a hoodie, her red hair tied up into a pony tail as she leans against a building, loitering in an alleyway. If one took the picture definition of 'delinquent teenager', they would find the current image of her. She's got a bag of some sort of salty snack in hand, chewing as she watches the people go by. It almost looks like she's waiting for someone. Or watching for someone, or something. Still, for the moment, she's just eating snacks and loitering.

Takuto Tsunashi has posed:
"Unfair," says a tall redheaded boy in a surgical mask (and a red windbreaker that says STAR DRIVER on the back in white and yellow) to the blonde girl next to him, as he sulkily hands over a bag of bakery sweets. They're just passing, but he looks annoyingly familiar-- and then he stops in his tracks and looks big-eyed pleading. "Save one for me though? It's your fault I'm sick."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai shifts her bag on her shoulder for a better grip as she strides along the sidewalk. Whatever was in her pack today was a bit heavier than it usually was, and so she was keeping a solid grip on the strap over her shoulder so that she didn't risk dropping it. The weight itself didn't seem to bother the purple haired girl at all--It's simply that the bag is filled to near bursting with SOMETHING lumpy and apparently solidly heavy.

Her path was clear, her stride purposefull---Until a tall redhead steps out to further block the sidewalk to offer baked goods to a blonde. Her steps slow a bit while she blinks in surprise at the jacket that seemed just a bit familiar. Where had she seen that? Out of habit she blurts out a quiet remark of, "I hear Nounamu Sweets has a discount for students if you want any more snacks."

Always pimp the business. It's habit.

Realizing she'd spoke up behind the pair, perhaps rudely, she adds, "Nice jacket," with a sheepish grin. Stepping to the side she intends to walk past the pair now but her gaze catches sight of that potential delinquent loitering just inside the alley beside them. Oops.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako's no longer masking, so the guilty look on her face as she accepts the bag from Takuto is fully unobscured. Her voice still has a faintly scratchy quality to it, the lingering sign of a recent cold that's only just run its course. "Of course I'll save one for you. I'm sorry you had to miss kendo practice."

She's already opening the bag, in the act of rummaging out a melonpan when Chiyo's voice has her looking up with friendly recognition. "Chiyo-chan, hi! It's been a while. Takuto-kun, have you met Chiyo-chan before?"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"What are you looking at?" Kyouko juts her chin out in defiance as Chiyo glances her way. Because heaven forbid someone about her age do so much as look at her. It does draw her attention past Chiyo and onto the other pair.

Her eyes narrow at little, recognizing Takuto at least from the single fite night that she attended. She glances to Wako briefly and then back to Takuto and the melonpan that Wako has drawn out of the bag. That's a good looking melonpan right there.

Takuto Tsunashi has posed:
"Saying 'what are you looking at'," points out Takuto mildly, as he pats Wako on the head for her guilt and looks at Kyouko, "is a great way to get people to look at you." Then he half turns and sees Chiyo, then turns the rest of the way -- with his back to Kyouko wtf -- and brightens. "More sweets? Is it close?"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai pauses at the rather sharp question that Kyouko sends her way. Immediately her mind snaps back to issue 3 of the manga in her pack. Rule 53 of Being Cool in Highschool: Disarm an aggressive opponent with an off-the-wall remar!

"Your fly is down," she responds to Kyouko matter-of-fact, even if she may be wearing a skirt.

Shifting her attention back toward Wako she smiles warmly at the friendly greeting. "I didn't recognize you from behind Wako-chan. How are you feeling?" As for Takuto's interest she nods easily in affirmative. "Just the next block down. It's my Ojiisans' place," she explains with a little chuckle.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"Mm?" Wako's intelligent and intelligible response to Kyouko's edged comment is mostly because she's already managed to inhale half the melonpan. She has to settle for a questioning look while she chews and swallows.

"I'm okay," she answers Chiyo, once her mouth is no longer full. "Now, anyway. I had a cold but it jumped to Takuto-kun." Another guilty look. Then she nudges Takuto with an elbow. "We should definitely visit Nounamu. I want to get something to send to Grandma now that it's fall."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"So!?" Kyouko protests, although if that's to Takuto or to Chiyo's quip it's hard to say.

She does, however, very 'casually' reach down to check if the fly is, indeed, down on her jeans.

"Hey! No it's not!" Kyouko protests right back again. Because agressive she can manage, but clever retorts are not always her strong suit.

She does, however, listen in on a source of sweets. Sure, she'll likely steal them, but good sweets are almost as interesting as the melonpan. "Where'd you get that." Kyouko does ask, pointing at Wako's pastry.

Takuto Tsunashi has posed:
Takuto, when nudged, sways slightly. He nods! and his eyes are smiling at Wako above the mask, and then he flashes Chiyo a thumbs-up. "By the way, I'm Takuto Tsunashi, I don't think we've met but I could be wrong! I should get something for my granddad at your place too." A beat, and he nudges Wako back. "There are two more in there, I only want the one."

A rude but normal question is something Takuto can cheerfully deal with. "The third stand north from the front gates of Radiant Heart Academy," he says, gesturing back in the direction of the school. "The one next to the taiyaki specialist. I think they have an agreement?"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
It's about this time that Chiyo recalls the end of that scene was a fight. Oops? Maybe she should have just answered normally or ignored the girl. Either way it doesn't seem as if it matters much, so she just blinks a single time with a simple quiet, "Oh, my mistake. Sorry."

Her head inclines to Takuto's introduction to offer in turn, "I'm Chiyo Sakai grade ten, pleased to meet you." It was so much second nature to offer her grade up. Talk of sweets, and melonpan though, draw her attention to the place that Takuto points out curiously as well. She'd have to try it sometime for reference. Bread wasn't really their shops thing but it never hurt to know where to find good food!

"You're welcome to come there with me. I was just on my way. We got some maple syrup in and are trying to make some new sweets like they do in Canada with it, if you'd care to try." Then perhaps as an olive branch she looks toward Kyouko to offer, "You're welcome to join us."

Wako Agemaki has posed:
In the time it takes Kyouko to ask, Wako is polishing off the rest of the melonpan, which means she's once again caught mid-nom looking just a little foolish. Omf?

Takuto has already supplied the answer by the time she's dusting the crumbs off her fingers against the side of her skirt. She glances at Kyouko, then at the bag in her hand, then Kyouko again. "Would you like one?" The other she's already promised to save for Takuto, but she can make a sacrifice of the remaining melonpan in the name of a peace offering... especially if they're going to Nounamu Sweets today.

Chiyo's information has her perking up with visible interest. "Ooh, maple. That sounds tasty!"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    It's at about this time that the sound of an engine may draw attention to the road- well, not the sound of the engine itself because, being a road, it is full of vehicles with engines driving by all the time. Rather, what may draw attention is the fact that the sound of the engine draws near, then slows and stops.

    This is because it is the engine of Kyouka Inai's motorcycle, and she has just pulled over to the side of the road, into one of the empty parking spaces there, upon spotting the gathering of students on the sidewalk. Her bike is a red-and-white Yamaha, it's pretty nice. Still astride the bike and leaning on one leg, she reaches up to pull off her helmet, which is also red and white, before frowning at the gathered kids, the bike still running but parked. "Hey! Nobody's causing any trouble here, are they?" She asks, narrowing her grey eyes, and for some reason mostly looking at Kyouko in the mouth of the alleyway. "Shouldn't you kids be at clubs or something?"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"Pfft." Kyouko blows out an impatient breath at Chiyo's olive branch of an offer. "I don't do friends." She informs the trio of them, as if that's the most /obvious/ thing in the world. "Besides. I'm watching something to see if it gets good, or if it just stays stupid." What, exactly, she's watching and where is not wholly clear.

By later tonight, however, she'll be fighting a witch not far from here. She's willing to be patient.

Although, in spite of not doing friends, she is willing to take intel on tasty melonpan and nods either acknowledgement or thanks at Takuto. And then Wako offers her own olive branch, but this one is edible.

"I mean, don't want to waste it." Which is generally loosely translated out of Kyouko as 'thank you, I'd love one.' At least based on the fact that she shoves herself off the wall that she's been lounging on to step forward and accept the melonpan from Wako.

The motorcyle catches Kyouko's attention and she watches it pull up. It isn't until Inai-sensei takes her helmet off that Kyouko's expresson goes from interest to rolling her eyes. "Clubs are dumb."
Melonpan, however, are tasty! Nomf!

Takuto Tsunashi has posed:
Takuto just points at his surgical mask when Kyouka shows up and asks them why they're not at clubs. That's an awfully cheery sick. Then he jostles Wako slightly and says to her, "I need to finish my history project, take me with you next time you go to Nonamu?" To Chiyo and vaguely to Kyouko, he's apologetic. "Enjoy yourselves! Don't bribe the teacher! No offense sensei!" And then he schleps off down the sidewalk back in the direction of school. Wako will probably start getting complainy texts soon.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai is more than a bit surprised by Kyouko's response. Usually offerings of candy worked rather well for her, she wasn't expecting the friends remark. It's taken in stride with a small shrug and though she's curious about what Kyouko is watching she doesn't pry. She DOES glance around thoughtfully in case there's something weird she missed. A fight about to occur? Dark energy? Stray cats being cute? Sadly no stray cats are in sight.

Inai-sensei's arrival and accusation is actually a bit of a surprise to her though. "Ah... no? I don't think so," she reasons looking over to Wako and Takuto as he heads off. "Feel better!" she offers before pausing again uncertain. At least Kyouko had accepted the melonpan offering. Maybe she was more of a sweet bread girl and not a candy girl.

The overly stuffed bag on her shoulder had slid a bit so she tugs it up again ignoring the weight. "I'm only in manga club and flower arrangement club. Neither meet today. I was on my way to my Ojiisan's shop," she explains to the teacher.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako rolls the top of the bakery bag closed once Kyouko has claimed a melonpan, handing the last remaining one off to Takuto with a sympathetic, "Ganbatte, Takuto-kun!" before he makes his exit.

The arrival of the motorcycle distracts her from much pondering over what Kyouko meant she was watching. "Drama club doesn't meet today," she tells Inai-sensei primly. "And Takuto-kun can't go to kendo practice while he's sick. He'd make the other club members look bad."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "No, you're dumb." Kyouka, teacher of the year, responds to Kyouko acerbically, "But maybe you wouldn't be if you actually came to classes once in a while. I thought we agreed you were going to come to Self-Defense, at least? Did these two," A gesture at Wako and the rapidly-retreating Takuto, "Beat you up so badly you're afraid to come again?"

    To the other two, she looks at least a little contrite. "Fair, I guess." She says, without seeming to find need for elaboration. She leans back, still sitting on the motorcycle with her helmet under her arm, and for once without her sunglasses (since you can't really wear them underneath a helmet).

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
Kyouko watches Takuto leave and then her attention returns back to the trio still here. She munches on the melonpan, the bready pastry is not long for this world.

"Do you have rocks in there or something?" Kyouko asks of Chiyo at the shifting of the heavy bag. It really doens't look comfortable to be hauling it around.

There's a derisive snort from Kyouko at the comment about dumb. "I was /busy/." Because clearly whatever she was doing was far more important than going to classes and attending fight club. She rolls her eyes anew at the notion of having gotten beat up so badly. "It was an alright fight." She grudgingly acknowledges. "Tokyo just got too full of puella." She grumbles. "Still is."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
That remark earns a little stiffening from Chiyo as she stands there rigidly locked in place. The muscles of her jaw work not to chew anything but as if she were attempting to keep herself from speaking as mention of Puella is brought up. THAT earns a sharper look around. Not for stray cats this time but for what Kyouko might have meant about 'keeping an eye on things.'

"Um." A pause, and she speaks in that quiet voice of hers, "We're in the middle of the street should you be talking about..." A hand lifts to gesture a little. "The uh. That. Kyubey thing's business?" Her eyes skirt over to a middle aged woman out shoping who walks by. "I mean it was a good manga," she hastens to add hoping to at least cover up SOMETHING.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"What's a puella?" Wako wonders, clearly not quite as up on these details as Chiyo is. Chiyo's more guarded reaction has her head tilting, understanding flashing over her expression. "...oh. That kind of thing, then. Never mind, you're right. Plus, you're probably wanting to put that bag down by now, aren't you, Chiyo-chan? It *does* look heavy..."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "Tokyo's been too full of all sorts of mahous for the past two years, and nothing you can do that's not attending classes is going to fix the problem." Kyouka tells Kyouko, with a frown. "And if you've got time to stand in an alleyway and steal melonpan then you have time to come to self-defense class. Hell, I'll buy you a melonpan if you do come, just to make it worth your while."

    To Chiyo, she holds up a hand placatingly. "Hey, don't worry about it. Thanks to the Veil, nobody's going to pick up what we're saying, or remember it correctly even if they do. There's no need to censor yourself in front of random passersby.. at least about general stuff like that." You probably don't want to go shouting your secret ID, because you never know what other mahous might be around to hear it, but just mentioning Puella should be totally fine.

    "That's a Puella." She then tells Wako, pointing at Kyouko. "It's just an industry term. Actually it's latin for 'maiden', interestingly enough."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"They won't remember." Kyouko comments to Chiyo with a crumb filled gesture even as Kyouka confirms it. "They're just ordinaries, they won't notice. Or they'll think we're dumb kids or something."

They'd be right, but that's besides the point.

"Hi." Kyouko waves as she's pointed to as an example of a puella and then she blinks at Kyouka. "Seriously? I mean.. sure we're magical girls, but just calling us girls? Feels like the little fuzzy rat bastard is even more sexist."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai ohs softly at the explanation from the pair. "What... IS the Veil, anyway? I thought it just hid our identities?" Usually she didn't talk about such things openly but she had been told that Inai-sensei was in-the-know. She knew Wako was having seen her transform once, and clearly this Kyouko girl was too. The question is simple enough if a bit of a 'newb' question.

When Wako points out about her bag she swings it around in front of her hold it it up easily in one hand with a little shrug. "It's heavy but I'm stronger than I look. I get a good workout at Ojiisan's shop."

Wako Agemaki has posed:
How much this explanation really clarified is hard to tell, but Wako nods in acceptance, with an interested look as Kyouka translates the Latin. 'Another form of magical nonsense' came through clear enough, in any case.

To Chiyo she offers a rueful smile. "I think it's one of those 'it's complicated' things," she offers, sounding a little apologetic about it. "A lot of the time at my old school it felt like everything was a pretty open secret... but then, the island is different from other places. In more ways than I knew, it seems like."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "He's totally sexist." Kyouka confirms to Kyouko. "The worst part is that he doesn't even have the guts to say 'girl', he has to dress it up in some fancy dead language to make it sound all magic-ey."

    To Chiyo, she explains, "The Veil is like a... force, or a property of magic. I dunno. It does protect identities, but it also means mundanes, people without magic, won't notice or acknowledge magic. It's the reason photos of youma or magical girls always turn out blurry, and why when a monster attacks the mall it gets reported as a 'gas leak explosion'. You could walk right up to a random person and say "Hi, I'm a magical girl" and then transform right in front of them, and unless they were also magical they would rationalize it as cosplay with good special effects or something." She shrugs. "I don't pretend to know how it works or why it exists, but there it is."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai ohs softly again as it's all taken in. Her hand lifts to rub at her chin, and the bag is swung back over her shoulder. "I see. That does explain a lot. Bonito isn't the greatest at explaining things to me, he's usually just wanting to eat things." There's an odd little jingly noise as if from an angry Christmas bell from her jacket pocket, and she pats a hand over it lightly.

With a smile toward the trio she remarks, "Ah, I should get going, Ojiisan is waiting for me to help out at the shop. Feel free to drop by sometime!" There's a pause, and she regards Inai a moment. "I should also probably stop by your 'self defense' class at some point, Inai-sensei. Usagi-chan recommended it."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"Fuzzy little jerk." Kyouko declares with a special level of vehemence reserved only for Kyubey.

"Eating is good." Kyouko shrugs at Chiyo. "I can relate." Not just to eating things, but not always explaining things, both are things that Kyouko can relate to. "Either people know me, or they don't. And anyone I've fought knows me, cause I kicked their butt." She states with confidence. Perhaps not entirely accurate, but confidence nonetheless.

"Who's Usagi." Because clearly someone who does not need or want friends is curious about other students. She might be a threat, or something.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"See you later, Chiyo-chan! At the self-defense class, if I don't see you at Nounamu!" Wako waves a farewell as Chiyo heads off, then tucks both hands into the pockets of her hoodie as she turns back to fully face Kyouko.

As sources of information are dwindling, it seems up to her to answer the question of Usagi. "Usagi Tsukino," she offers by way of explanation. "She's a grade below me, and a friend of mine and Chiyo-chan as well. She's friends with a lot of people, really." An affectionate smile warms her face. "If you don't know her yet, you probably will before long. She's usually at the self-defense classes too."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"Hunh." Kyouko accepts that bit of information about friendly other students. "Sounds like a popular kid." And somehow that tone makes it sound like 'popular' is a bad thing. Perhaps it is for someone who actively said she neither needs or wants friends.

She does dig out the last of her bag of salty snack, to go back to finishing it. "So like.. all of you go to the same dumb school?"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    "The same dumb school you also go to, technically." Kyouka reminds Kyouko, before she lifts her helmet out from under her arm. "Anyway, I gotta go.. places to be, y'know." She doesn't actually, but nobody here needs to know that. "Agemaki-san, always pleasant to see you. Sakura-san... do me a favor and try showing up to class again at least once in a while? Otherwise I'll get yelled at for wasting money on taiyaki bribes with no result." To Chiyo, she adds, "Always welcome! The more the merrier, and if you haven't been formally invited yet, consider this one now."

    She replaces the helmet on her head, fires the bike back up, and with one last glance at the students, pulls back out into traffic and vanishes along the road.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wakos' pleasant expression doesn't flag at Kyouko's implied shade towards a good friend, or towards their school. Or at least, if there's a reaction, it's too subtle for anyone currently present to catch. She opens her mouth to answer, but Kyouka beats her to it, so she merely shrugs instead. "There you have it. See you, Inai-sensei!" Her hand comes out of her pocket to wave again as the motocycle rumbles away.

Then it's just her and Kyouko, girl-next-door vs delinquent. "You know," she says conversationally, "You could always come for a rematch sometime."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"Sure. Whatever." Kyouko offers to Kyouka's very reasonable commentary that she does, indeed, go to that school as well. She even owns a uniform! Somwhere in her backpack. It's perhaps not the tidiest of uniforms.

Kyouko shifts on her feet a little, her glance drifting over across the street a moment before back to Wako. "I might come back for a rematch. We didn't really finish the last one off conclusively. Besides, it was two on one."

Kyouko bends to pick up her backpack. "I gotta go as well." She pauses a moment and then grudgingly remembers what politeness might have been. "Thanks for the melonpan."

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"Sure," Wako says agreeably - though what she's agreeing with is left for Kyouko to decipher for herself. She offers a polite little nod. "And you're welcome. See you around!" With that, she starts off down the walk the same direction Chiyo left, not waiting for Kyouko to leave first.