534/One Big Cliche

One Big Cliche
Date of Scene:	01 October 2023
Location:	Cafeteria Plaza
Synopsis:	Natsu is probably not cut-out for movie trailer voiceovers. Kano is not cut-out for getting along with authority figures. Kyouka is probably not cut-out for getting respect.
Cast of Characters:	Natsu Oukanno, Kano Watanabe, Kyouka Inai

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Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    In a world where lunchtime was king!

    'There's no In a world.'

    What do you mean?

    'It's not that kind of scene.'

    Oh? Okay? Ahem. In a land--

    'No in a land either.'

    'In a time--'

    'No.'

    In a land before time--

    'It's about lunch, Natsu.'

    When everything you know is wrong--

    'That's wrong.'

    When your life is no longer your own--!

    'What does that even mean?'

    In an outpost--

    'No!'

    On the edge of space--!

    'There's no space!

    A girl--

    'No.'

    Two girls--!

    'No.'

    Now--

    'N--'

    More than ever...

    'Stop it.'

    A renegade cop--!

    'God, I hate you.'

    A robot renegade cop--!

    'You're fired, Natsu.'

    You're fired!

    'No, you're actually fired.'

    I'm... Fired...!

    'Get out of the drama club, Natsu.'

    No. I like it in here!

    "--And so I was kicked out of drama club." Natsu explains to his friend while he sits at one of the long cafeteria tables, eating lunch. The redhead stuffs some frenchfries into his mouth angrily to accentuate this terrible event.

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    The white-haired boy next to Natsu is leaning one elbow on the table while he moves his rice onto his salad, to combine them. It's efficient and delicious! He listens intently to the recap of the terror of the drama club, complete with voice-acting, and then responds, "I get it, I get it. I know exactly how your feel." He has never been in drama club or kicked out of any club. But he was kicked out of his school! That's basically the same thing!
    "Can I have the rest of your fries?" he asks while already reaching across towards Natsu's plate to vulture the remains of his friend's lunch.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Coming down from the staff seating area, it's Kyouka Inai, the Guidance Counselor. Whether she'd be known by sight varies depending on who is doing the seeing, of course, but it's rather hard to miss that shock of bright red hair, not the mention the fact that she's wearing her narrow, rectangular-lensed sunglasses indoors (though with the huge windows and such, it is quite bright in the cafeteria so its not as weird as it might be elsewhere). She is further dressed in her normal 'at work' attire of a button-down white woman's dress shirt and black slacks.

    She must have just finished eating, and is now heading across the floor past the tables where students are doing likewise. She's heading generally towards the exit back out onto the grounds, no doubt to return to her office and afternoon appointments, but it looks like she might be angling to head to the school store, located near said exit. Maybe she needs some new pencils or something. A random student calls out a greeting to her, and she grins and waves back to them as she passes near the table where Natsu and Kano are sitting.

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    A shock of red hair you say? Just as it is difficult to miss Counselor Inai, the bright red hair of Natsu Oukanno, and the snow-white hair of Kano Watanabe also stand out among the mix of main black and brown hair, though there's the occasional bluenettes, green-haired, pinkette, and otherwise chromatic assemblage of uncommon hair colors that seems to be assembled here at RHA.

    "I know right?" Natsu says with his mouthfull, before slapping at the bak of Kano's hand in defense of his fries. He swallows and yells, "What the hell! Eat your... Rice salad, and leave my lunch alone! Gluttonous goon..."

    After he has had a moment to cool down from his not-quite anger at the attempted pillaging of his plate, Natsu lowers his voice, one hand going into the pocket of his pants. "Hey... So, I had something crazy happen to me, and I haven't been able to tell anyone about it..." His fingers trace the alien patterns on the surface of a carved black marble the size of a gumball, feeling the chill of it flowing up his fingers. Power -- real power -- literally at his fingertips, and all he has to do is say a single word to access it. It's been driving him insane not being able to tell anyone about it. The journal was a nice stop-gap measure, but if he doesn't share the secret with somebody then he feels like it's going to tear its way out of him like a living thing. Like... Like... Alien! Yeah, this is just like Alien!

    "So, after school--" he starts, then he notices Kyouka, and sits up straight, waving a hand back and forth in the air while yelling to her. "YO, INAI! COME HAVE LUNCH WITH US OVER HERE!"

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    Kano withdraws his hand when it is slapped, giving a wounded look to Natsu, and placing the few fries he managed to snag on his rice-salad combo. "I'm going to, but I wanted to add something with some crunch on top." It's a good thing Natsu is his friend. He has brawled with people for far less than a 'don't steal my lunch, bro' slap on the wrist. Though he has, allegedly, chilled out a bit. At least since coming to Radiant Heart. Maybe it was all the counseling about not beating crowds of boys black and blue when they irritate him somehow. Which may also be how he and Kyouka have seen each other, at least in passing.
    Rich parents paying for their precious students to go to a prestigious school do not take kindly to their offspring being sent home on crutches, generally speaking, so Kano had to make changes to his behavior, and quickly. That's why he joined the Kendo Club swiftly after starting here, to put his skill at and impulse towards violence to constructive use. It has also taught him more self-control, or at least allowed him to channel his anger like a Sith Apprentice. Of course, his sparring partners have learned that it hurts to spare with him, so now he's having trouble finding anyone to train with him...
    But he is determined to stay here with his best friend. That, more than anything else, is what's encouraging him to shape up. Being alone again would be worse than having to conform slightly.
    The white-haired boy has leaned in close to hear Natsu's words, the redhead sounding serious and also cautious... A sign of potential trouble, and thus something Kano wants to be in on. But then the jackass Natsu is suddeny shouting and waving his hand, and Kano is reeling back with his hands over his ears, gritting his teeth in annoyance. "Bro!" is all he can say in response, before scanning blue eyes around the room before settling on the counselor. Why the hell would she come sit with them? What is this? What is Natsu trying to do? Is this an attempt to get back into the drama club or something??

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka is making her way towards the store, but she's near enough to the table where the two naerdowells are eating to have her attention caught by the shout- especially at that volume. Turning her head, she quirks a brow overtop of her sunglasses as her gaze lands upon the other redhead who is currently waving at her, and his white-haired friend.

    For a moment she looks as though she is torn between responding to the call or just turning around and keeping on walking. After a moment though, she alters her trajectory to approach the table. She doesn't look like she's about to sit down and eat though, her hand in her pocket as she halts beside it.

    "That's Inai-sensei to you." She says, though with a hint of an amused smile, as if she's mildly offended but finds the audacity humorous. "And why would I do that? I've just finished lunch. While they're pretty generous with breaks, I doubt the school would appreciate me taking two lunchbreaks in a row- I do have appointments this afternoon."

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    Natsu gets his hand out of his pocket in order to shush Kano with it. "Shhh, shhh. Don't mess this up for me." He then turns back as he sees the Counselor approaching. Oh, good! She's actually approaching! "Well, if you want, you can have the rest of my fries." he suggests as his bribe, sliding the plate towards the other side of the table, where a girl is already sitting, looking very nonplussed at the round-about suggestion/expectation that she vacate her seat.

    Now to figure out a reasonable excuse for calling Kyouka over. "I heard a rumor that you teach a self-defense class sometimes, right? Well, Kano and I are having trouble finding people to fight, and I was thinking we could come to the next one." Rubbing under his nose, he smugly says, "Not to brag, but we're kind of a big deal around here. It'd look great to the casuals if they saw that what they're missing out on by not sparring with us, and we could, you know, get stronger in the process. You know!"

    He waits expectantly for the Ooos and Aaaahs to start at his brilliant plan and generous offer.

    "...Also, I think there's a ghost haunting one of the classrooms, and the Occultism Club is in danger of being disbanded due to lack of members, so I'm supposed to ask if you'll be our Faculty Advisor to help keep us open." He is not going to worry about the drama club. The Occultism Club is so much better, or would be if there were more members, but they recently lost one, and now how are they supposed to investigate the ghost?? The Student Council want activity reports, but an activity report of, 'We think we saw a ghost.' isn't cutting it!

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    Kano just leans even more on his elbow and props his head on his hand as he looks annoyedly (and distrustfully) at the approaching Authority Figure. That's all Kyouka Inai is to him presently, and he generally distrusts Authority Figures. Also, he's doubly-annoyed that Natsu will offer his fries to some teacher but not to his best friend. Cool blue eyes and snowy white hair make him look icy and cold, but he's actually rather fiery.
    Breathing exercises. Remember the breathing exercises.
    He mutters the incantation to cast EKSU-PLOOOO-SHUN under his breath. This is his calming breathing exercise.
    Look how calm he is.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka might be an authority figure but she's still... well, herself. Which means she gives Kano this look like, 'why don't you just try it kid', when she senses him bristling. Hope those breathing exercises actually work!

    Most of her attention is for Natsu, though. Even if she's not buying what he's selling, she has to appreciate the confidence and the audacity. She glances down at the offered fries.. then actually takes one. Because free food is free food, and she's not about to let that go. As she chews it, she considers the student before her.

    "Self-defense class is in the sports pavilion at 3:30pm on Wednesdays." She says, jerking her thumb towards said pavilion, across the courtyard from the cafeteria. "Its open to all students, but you gotta sign up for it. It counts as a PE class. I'd warn against coming just to show off, though... a lot of those kids are tougher than they seem. But I'm not about to turn away any students, no matter their reasons. And I'm always a fan of people wanting to get stonger."

    "As for the other thing.." A shrug. "Sucks about your club but I'm a bit too busy to do something like that. Sorry."

Natsu Oukanno has posed:
    Natsu is looking pleased with how things are going, nodding along understandingly about not showing off -- he'd mostly be going for Kano, since his friend isn't getting any sparring partners -- and tough opponents is definitely what the angrier of the two would look forward to it. The news about the Occultism Club not getting an Advisor is bad news though. "Ah... Well... I guess that makes sense." She does have all those appointments this afternoon.

    The hand that was previously shushing Kano goes back into his pants pocket idly, to toy with the bauble there again. It's habit at this point (not that he has realized it). Could he use his powers to mind control someone? He could probably get a teacher to agree with a little bit of persuasion. He needs to check on that.

    Just touching the Oculus Obscura, feeling that coldness entering his bones, is enough to soothe him and excite him. He can't wait to transform again. His disappointed look has been replaced with a happy smile and vacant eyes as he stares at Kyouka, having forgotten she is still there.

Kano Watanabe has posed:
    'Don't show off'. Yeah, sure. Because what other people think of him is just so high on his list of things he cares about. His narrows his eyes at Kyouka and raises his chin a bit defiantly as she gives him that 'try it' look. He's ready to go if she is, but he isn't going to make the first move. Fighting a teacher is something he is not going to get blamed for. "Do you participate in the training, Kyouka?" he asks, rudely using her first name. He does it with everyone. He's a rude kid in general. Like... Sasuke Uchiha, the most likeable character in Naruto.
    That little shithead.
    He also notices that Natsu is acting even more weird than usual. Ever since they'd met again here at RHA, Natsu had seemingly opened up and come out of a shell that Kano wasn't around to see his friend go into in the first place. But even he has noticed that his brother-from-a-different-mother has become even more spacey.
    Kano doesn't know if Natsu is crushing on the counselor or what, but even if he doesn't care about what others think, he isn't going to let his friend get bullied further. Not by adults, or kids, or anyone else.
    So he kicks Natsu sharply under the table, right in the shin.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    When Natsu starts fondling his bauble in his pocket and gets that faraway look on his face, Kyouka's gaze focuses and sharpens on him. She can smell the dark energy- she had before, of course, but it was more of a general sense that there was some nearby. When he touches the thing, and absorbs something from it, it becomes more apparent to her that he is the source- or something in his possession, anyway. That fits with his general attitude, come to think of it.

    Before she can do anything other than make note of it though, Kano rudely uses her first name, and her attention is diverted. She scowls at him, looking mildly annoyed although not as offended as some might by such a transgression. "Didn't you hear what I said to your friend? That's Inai-sensei to you.. at least give me a -san." Sounding almost exasperated. Maybe it's hard to get respect from high-schoolers when you're really not that much older than they are.