1288/Samosas and Flirting

Samosas and Flirting
Date of Scene:	15 March 2024
Location:	Korma Chameleon
Synopsis:	Ami, Usagi and Zoisite meet at Korma for some food. Usagi is REALLY REALLY hoping they aren't flirting!
Cast of Characters:	Ami Mizuno, Zoisite, Usagi Tsukino

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Ami Mizuno has posed:
After the prior night Ami felt a *little* guilty about calling out Usagi in front of everyone about Sunbreaker knowing her identity. She'd merely done so because she was worried about her friend. There could have been many better ways for her to have handled that though. A bit of an apology is in order and what better way than to do that with delicious food? Maybe Setsuna's proclivity for making sure everyone was well-fed was rubbing off on her just a bit.

A group text message is sent out inviting everyone to Korma, her treat. Granted she knew not *everyone* would be available but... It was worth a shot. Besides, she rarely knew Usagi to turn down food unless there was a very good reason. It was the best way to apologize to her other than with a good well meaning hug.

Rather than crowd the Korma while waiting, Ami stands outside on the sidewalk in front of the shop for others to meet up. Given school is out she's opted to wear a little blue dress, leggings, ankle boots and a cute jacket that was relatively new.

Zoisite has posed:
    As a new addition to the group text, Zoisite finds himself taken aback by the invite. Not that he's offended, just... surprised to be included. And pleased, of course. Everyone should share in the joy of his company! Of course rather than just confirm directly he only responds with the eyes emoji, but he starts getting dressed for going out.

    Which for Zoi is of course a production. His hair is always good but deciding what is appropriate for a casual meal meetup with new friends (and-or associates who may become friends) takes time. You can't rush perfection, after all.

    When he arrives it's in a slouchy sweater with the collar of a shirt sticking out from its low-cut neck, and skinny jeans that are tucked into boots that lace up to mid-calf.

    Even with a pair of sunglasses on, the pinched way he's peering about for a glimpse of blue hair is obvious, and when he sees Ami from down the street he smiles, but only continues his sedate pace to meet up with her.

    "Ah, I love your boots," he says once he's in respectable talking distance, looking down at Ami's feet, and he even sounds like he's legitimately complimenting her! "Very cute."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
All things considered, Usagi had had a pretty good day. No, she wasn't sleeping well, and yes, she was mildly concerned about whatever Sunbreaker had planned lately, but in general she had been having a pretty good time, all things considered. Zoisite had even complimented her!

Sure, she still didn't think he was good enough for Ami-chan, and yes, she was still rooting for Tadase-kun, but maybe she'd misjudged him. Mamoru did like him, after all.

But then again, Mamoru liked Riventon...

Never mind all that! The point is, when Ami-chan invites everyone to Korma, Usagi is more than happy to come with. When she spots Ami waiting on the sidewalk she cheerfully attacks her with a hug!

"Ami-chan! Thanks for inviting me!"

She's dressed casually - the pink jacket vanquished for the time being, replaced by a short white cotton jacket with three gold buttons on the side and a hood; underneat was a sleeveless, v-cut pink shirt, with a black skirt and brown boots to complete the ensemble.

Of course, once she's released Ami, she's face to face with Zoisite, who she gives a cursory glance and a friendly smile. "Hi Zoisite! Or did you want Izou-kun or Saitou-chan? I wonder if Mamochan or any of the others will make it? I saw them on the group text, but they didn't respond."

An explosion of extroverted energy has surely entered the scene.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno looks up from her phone with a bright smile when she hears Zoisite's familiar voice. Never would she have believed in the past she would become happy to hear his voice, but... It had become strangely comforting in some small way, especialy when they had both discussed their past and clarified a few things with each other. It made it far easier for her to relax around him these days knowing what she knew now.

"Zoi! You look so cute," she offers back with a glance up and down his attire. Only to linger on one boot with a soft 'oh' as she notices. "Your lace came undone, though," she points out with a little forward sweep of her hand to gesture to which boot she meant.

Before she can say more she's side-hug-attacked by Usagi with a little laugh as she returns the hug to her friend. "Hello Usagi-chan, thank you for coming. It might just be us," she has to agree with a nod. "I hadn't heard back from anyone else yet. Though it's not uncommon for late responses so I'm sure it's okay. You've been here before, right, Usagi? What do you recommend?" She starts while turning to gesture toward the Korma for Usagi to go first.

Zoisite has posed:
    A genuine smile is aimed Ami's way at the returned compliment, and with a flick of his wrist Zoisite tosses a strand of hair over his shoulder before pushing up his sunglasses onto the top of his head. But then he's looking down, at his own boot. "Oh."

    He drops down towards the ground, into a kneel, so that he can start retying his boot. "Zoisite's fine, I suppose we can wave it away as a nickname should it ever come up," he says, then he remembers his manners (or did he deliberately forget them for a second there?) to add, "And hello to you too, Usagi."

    Boot tied, he's about to get up when he remembers something. The stone from Kyouka, burning a hole in his pocket. So he reaches in to fetch it, and still kneeling, turns to look upwards. "Ami-chan," he says, as he holds the box out to her. It's black velvet, daintily sized, and Zoisite's expression is serious.

    Though the corners of his mouth are twitching as he resists the urge to laugh, knowing how ridiculous he must look, down on one knee.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's a good thing that Usagi isn't one for manners herself, at least, not when it comes to greeting people. Zoisite will do then!

"Pretty much everything is good that I've tried! If you want vegetarian and not too spicy, the mild chana masala is good, and if you want something spicy, I really like the chana saag. If you want something with meat, the chicken vindaloo and goat vindaloo are both really good! Spicy though. Butter chicken is great if you're a coward!"

There's no shame in her use of the word coward - as a certified coward in most things, Usagi would be pretty hypocritical to shame anyone. She leads the way into the restaurant, saying, "We can order and then grab a table, or if you want to look over the menu more, we can grab a table and a server will come to us."

Usagi is ignoring any flirting she sees. Flirtatious Behavior Unnoticed. Tadase-kun, act quickly!

"Also, Zoisite, thanks for complimenting my jacket yesterday! You left so quick I didn't get to say anything, but I have one in purple and one in blue, if you ever want to borrow one-"

She turns to see what the hold up is and pauses at the sight of Zoisite on the ground, with a box in his hand.

"Zoisite, you're going to get gum on your pants if you stay down there, or bird poop," she says obliviously. It's like her eyes fully refuse to take in the sight before them. "Come on!"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno starts to turn to follow after Usagi, but Zoisite has to pause to tie his boot again. She's torn between being polite and waiting or heading inside. Naturally she lingers long enough that by the time Zoi remembers the little box in his pocket she's still there looking just a bit surprised. "Oh?"

A box? What was IN the box? She's curious, and reaches for it to accept it while flipping it open. Nevermind he's still down on one knee from tying his boot and she's holding a velvet box. It must look *terribly wrong* to some passwerbys. As soon as the box is open though she realizes what it actually is and her eyes light up with a laugh. He *had* mentioned he got her a stone. She just wasn't expecting it to be in such a nice case.

Laughing she responds, "Oh Zoi, it's lovely! It's just my color!" Usagi see what he got me," she calls out grinning brightly over toward her friend who is focused on food.

Her free hand stretches down to offer Zoisite a hand back to his feet obviously.

Zoisite has posed:
    "Chana saag sounds wonderful right about now -- ah, you're welcome," Zoisite says, the first part aimed at Usagi, and the second at Ami. There's definitely no way he'd say "You're welcome" to Usagi about a compliment he can't even remember because there's no telling what he said, and besides--

    Oh. The jacket.

    A flash of dread crosses his face as Zoi imagines himself wearing shoulder pads, and then his nose wrinkles, but he doesn't correct Usagi. Instead he takes Ami's hand delicately but mostly pushes himself up onto his feet, pausing only once to dust off his pants (and, indeed, check for gum). He steps in to the restaurant and pauses to inhale the lovely smells of the place.

    With a bit more pep in his step, because even Zoisite is motivated by thoughts of warm, comforting food, he clears the immediate path from the entrance so he's not blocking the door, and reaches up to adjust his sunglasses from where they'd started to fall.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Eh? He got you something? It's not for White Day, is it, because if so, shouldn't that be somewhere more - no wait, never mind, this is perfect!" She turns back around to see - oh, it's the box! And inside the box is a glittery stone. "Oh, cute! Mamochan really likes rocks; I guess all his boys like them too, huh?"

That's right, his boys. Unfortunate but true! Remember Ami! There's a claim on them!

"Are you going to put it in your windowsill, or use it as a little paperweight?"

The scent of food is strong and relaxing. Lovely, even, and Usagi is determined that this will be an excellent time. "I'm going to go for chicken vindaloo; Zoi for chana saag, so - what about you, Ami-chan?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno seems quite delighted by the stone which was such a pretty shade of blue. Her finger runs over it a time, considering just what she *would* do with it. "I'm not sure yet. I'll find somewhere nice for it," she decides while clicking the box shut so that it can keep the stone nicely protected for hte time being.

As for food? That's easy enough. The ever practical, sandwich-loving Ami already knows precisely what to get! "Samosas," she declares without a second thought. "Maybe with a few different dipping sauces, though." Oh she's being *adventurous* today.

Zoisite has posed:
    Zoisite's mouth curves at mention of Mamoru and their shared preference for geology. "It's true," he confirms. "Anhydrite, like what you have there, was discovered in a salt mine. You have to go deep to find its true self, as exposure to water transforms into to gypsum."

    For a second or two he looks over Ami, then tips his head to her. "It felt appropriate, in a way. Plus, it is very pretty."

    Once they're seated, he folds one leg over the other and doesn't even consult the menu, his decision already made. What he does, actually, is level a narrow-eyed look at Ami and Usagi, before he asks, "How are you feeling about your upcoming tests? I know Ami-chan has been helping with studying across the board."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
No flirting is happening~! No flirting is happening~!

Once everyone has orderd, Usagi claims the seat next to Ami, leaning back against the seat and is glad to hear an actually reasonable question. "I'm pretty positive thanks to Ami-chan, I'll be able to get a C on the math final, and scrape the class with a D! And all the rest should be good too, so I'll definitely stay out of cram school next year!"

Whooo!

Has there ever been a student so casually excited about a D?

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno was totally not ever flirting! Honestly. Though it likely looked that way with all the teasing that had been going back and forth between her and Zoisite. She at least seems blissfully unaware of her friends' concerns on this particular matter for the time being.

The explanation of the stone does earn another smile as she risks taking another peek at the pleasant blue stone inside it's case. "That's fascinating! And very pretty as well. It really is nice, thank you."

When Usagi sits beside her and starts to regail Zoisite with her current grades, she just gets a bit of a tense, nervous look. "A D?" Pause. It's Usagi. Be supportive. "Is very good, Usagi! You're getting better!" Sadly that IS better.

"I'm glad I'm able to help where I can. Though I should probably--" she pauses a moment if only because she breaks into a wide yawn and lifts her hand to cover her mouth lightly. "Ah, sorry. I should probably start focusing on more important things as soon as finals are over."

Zoisite has posed:
    "Ami is a diligent teacher," Zoisite agrees, because he knows it to be true from his own experience. Not that he goes into detail about that. But he does eye Usagi for a second, so many things on the tip of his tongue...

    Only for Ami to be supportive. And Zoisite, who heaves a quiet sigh at the unfairness of it all, chooses to bite back his negative comments. He graces the group with a tight little smile and only says, "I'm sure a D is very good for you," echoing Ami's words... more or less. He adds, "Congratulations."

    He tucks a piece of hair behind his ear and folds his hands primly in his lap, over one knee, while his eyes scan the restaurant with a discerning eye. Even without Mamoru here, some of his knightly habits still hold strong, and being aware of his surroundings is one of them apparently. So he keeps a lookout, over top of Usagi and Ami's heads.