19/Paperwork HOOOOOOO!

Paperwork HOOOOOOO!
Date of Scene:	03 July 2023
Location:	Radiant Heart Academy
Synopsis:	Rashmi and Mie swing by the student council office to turn in their club paperwork. Unfortunately, something ominous awaits them... Paperwork.
Cast of Characters:	Mie Kitamura, Rashmi Terios, Cho Konishi

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Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi lightly yawned as she shuffled the deck of cards, before drawing one. Seven of spades. Okay. Perfect. She then shuffled it back into the deck of cards and shuffle shuffle shuffle. Right. And... "This is the card!" she yelled!

She drew it annnnd... it was the jack of hearts. She sighed. "Hmmm... what am I doing wrong?" she muttered.

Oh well. She shuffled the cards some more, then flipping the cards around annnnd... Still not right. "Gahhhh. How do they make it look so easy?"

"Talent?" Wuwu offered from her bag, making her turn and glare. "Why haven't we left yet?"

"Some kids are dropping off their paperwork and I promised to stay after for them. Now shush."

The monkey shrugged and went back to lounging in her bag. She then sighed and leaned back, balancing a pencil on her nose... She'd give them, ohhhh, twenty more minutes. After that nobody could accuse her of having not waited long enough. She'd do her homework but well... She'd already finished it.

She glanced towards the door, willing it to open... aaaaaaany minute now they'd come into the coucil office! Aaaany minute now! She was sure of it! And when they got here... If they weren't careful, they'd sit on one of the woopie cushions she'd placed on the chair opposite the desk she was sitting behind.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
When you're a newbie magical girl...

Figuring out the balance between home, school, and fighting monsters is a skill that takes practice. When you've only had a handful of weeks of practice doing anything, you're not going to be very good at that. Thus on the day that she's promised to drop off the paperwork for the Debate Club?

She'd swept up, gone to the club room lobby, changed out her shoes, and was halfway across the compound before she remembered the paperwork still in her backpack.

Turn. Sprint. Shoes. Stairs stairs stairs...

And the door to the Student Council room all but bursts open, as the dark-skinned ginger pauses to double over and catch her breath. "Sorry... sorry... I'm here... I have--*gaaaaaaaaaasp* --the papers!"

Mie Kitamura has posed:
    The door nearly slams open, announcing the Mie's commanding entrance. She peers down her nose, looking for the one to hand off the paperwork she was sent off to do and finds Cho setting at the desk.

    She stalks over to the desk and stiffly pulls out the paperwork and firmly sets it on the table nearly shoving Rashmi out of the way. "I have done this paperwork," she announces. "Now you must give me access to the RPG Club." She turns, and mutters to herself, "and then it is /I/ who shall be the heroic knight!"

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi cringes when the door almost slams open, making her almost drop the pencil off her nose and topple backwards, and the first of the late arrivals comes in, the door closing behind her...

Only for a moment later the door to slam open and for her to let out a shriek before toppling backwards. They'd both get a good view of the council girl's feet while she thrashed about for a moment before quickly rolling back to her feet, dusting off her skirt and coughing into her hand. "Right, right," she said firmly. "Please, have a seat," she said, before motioning towards the chair. Ahhhhh. Someone was going to get woopie cushioned, hopefully. If they were, welllll... she'd just smile, but keep her face somewhat straight.

She then picked up the paperwork, noticeably starting with Rashmi's first, glancing through it. First come, first served and... "Mmmm hm... okay... mmmm hm... looks good... Huh. Wow. Yeah, that seems all good..." she mumbled as she read through it.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Waaaaugh!" Rashmi opines as the even-later arrival abruptly displaces her, and she can't help but give the green-haired student a-- well, not a death glare, but definitely a mild-cough-for-a-couple-days glare, hidden behind the adjusting of her glasses, a quick fluffing of her hair, and a straightening of her clothes. When asked to have a seat, Rashmi dutifully pulls the nearest chair out, and drops i--

**FFFFFFFFRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTPTLPTLTPLTPLTPLTP**

...

..... And now her face matches her hair!

Mie Kitamura has posed:
    Lamya glares at Cho, as if insulted that she be ordered to sit, but sit she does only for a loud *PTBHTBPHTPHBPTH* to come out from underneath her. She stiffens and stands back up to find the whoopie cushion.

    "What is this?" she demands holding it out in front of Cho, little whisps of smoke coming from her nostrils. "What kind of infernal contraption is /this/?"

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi managed to keep a straight face through the first one. But the second one... well... that broke it. She snickered a few moments before looking up. "Woopie cushions," she said with a playful grin. "I had to stay late for this, I needed to entertain myself somehow," she said. Ah. Good. They got the childish member of the student council.

She hmmmed before then picking up Mie's paperwork, flicking through it. "Hmmm... and you know, knights are cool and all. But always been a bigger fan of druids. You can turn into all kinds of things then. Like bears, or sharks, or dragons," or, as she didn't say, girls.

She then tossed Rashmi's paperwork into a bin marked 'Tadase' and then Mie's into one marked 'Kukai'. "Okay, girls, we're just about done here. I just need..." She pulled out two pieces of paper from the drawers, then sliding them over. "Since your paperwork is all good, just need you two to sign these wavers with a member of the student council, me in this case, present. Then I'll sign off on them and you'll both be all sorted! Isn't that exciting?" she asked in a wayyyyy too chipper voice. "Want some victory sweets? Since you girls are my last task of the day, I'd say it's well earned."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...Waivers?" Rashmi says slowly, shifting to one side and extracting the whoopee cushion underneath her. Caaaarefully setting it onto the table, cheeks still aflame, she peers at Cho for a moment. "...Sorry Konishi-senpai but... what exactly are we going to say isn't the Student Council's fault before it happens?"

An errant glint causes Rashmi to adjust her spectacles, which allows her to catch out of the corner of her eye... something *concerning.*

I mean, *usually* when someone says a girl's face is smoldering, it's usually not in the literal sense.

"Uh... Knight-san? I uh... you... have like... a little something on your nose...?"

Mie Kitamura has posed:
    Mie gives Cho a sharp as she holds the whoopie cushion between two fingers, like its mere existence is offensive to her. "Well, you can have it back." With that she tosses the deflated cushion back onto the desk and sits down in the now whoopiless seat with a huff.

    "Something on my..." Her eyes all but cross when she sees that she's accidentally smoking. Her eyes go wide, her cheeks pink and her hands immediately clap over her nose and mouth. "It is nothing!" she quickly protests, her voice muffled from her hands.

    "Yes. Druids," she says hastily, trying to change the subject as rapidly as she can. "I can see how shapeshifting would be useful. Especially dragons. After all, dragons are a superior species."

    The mention of sweets causes the girl to perk up. "Sweets? Well. I do like victory, and I do like sweets, so I suppose it would be impolite to refuse your offer." However when the piece of paper is slid her way she picks it up in confusion. "What is a 'waiver?'"

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi blinked a few times before snickering. "Oh, you know. Standard stuff. The right to sacrifice you over a ritualistic camp fire, in the event the school gets possessed by the spirits of prom dates past we can knock you down the stairs and run and if we all get stuck in a pyramid scheme you'll buy out our shares." She then tapped them. "Though, actually they're just the standard school waivers, saying you understand that applying to a club is a commitment and you agree to meet the requirements as explained to you, yada yada," she said dismissively. "It's supposed to teach us hard work and stuff. Frankly, I think it's just teaching us to skip the terms and conditions. You can read them if you want," she said before sitting back in her chair...

Aaaaaaand then the 'pftttttttttttttttt!' filled the air and Cho blinked a few times. What... the... She sat up and picked up a third woopie cushion. "When did... oh that little shit..." she muttered. "Hm?" she asked, finally glancing back. She eyed Mie's face... but then shrugged. Eh. Seemed fine to her. She probably SHOULD pay more attention though... missing smoke like that.

"Yeah, you know what they say," she said before sitting down again. "Be yourself. Unless you can be a dragon. Then be a dragon," she said before chuckling. "Let me know once you've finished reading them, sign them up and we can finish this up."

She rolled the pens towards them. The wavers were fairly standard, just standard form letters of 'We agree to honor our commitments, etc etc'.

Cho frowned, sniffing the air. "Do... you guys smell smoke?" she sniffed the air again, but it wasn't very strong... and practically faded. She sighed and then pulled out another form. "And I'm going to fill out this incident report while you two look those over. Last thing we need is some elecrical fire..." she muttered, befor starting to fill it out.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Okay, Cho finding a whoopee cushion herself is just too much, and a couple beats after the noise has gone, Rashmi utters the kind of nasal *snrrrrkkk* that one does when one is trying desperately not to laugh at someone, and mostly succeeding.

Mie gets another, long look, but if the subject needs to be changed, change it shall. And with a simple lift of the shoulder, Rashmi tries to convey 'I get it, I won't say anything, we'll pretend this never happened if you really want' and bends over the table to sign the paper.

But then, Cho brings it up, and Rashmi looks up at the councillor, glancing aside at Mie. "...Well I mean... maybe the Cooking Club is doing a thing on charcoal grilling today? I didn't smell it *that* strongly..."

Mie Kitamura has posed:
    Mie looks alarmed at first as Cho starts rattling off the most ridiculous set of circumstances that one would be filling out a waiver for. She relaxes, though, when it's clear that that's all a joke. "I see," she says, picking up the paper and scrutinizing it. Almost immediately she puts it back down on the table and signs it. "There. The waiver has been signed. Now, on to victory sweets?"

    "Smoke? What are you talking about?" Mie says being very calm. Very calm indeed. No hint of panic there. "I don't smell any smoke." She glances over at Rashmi and nods in agreement. "Yes. That must be it. The Cooking Club."

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi gave the air another sniff. Ehhhh. She didn't smell it now so... "Eh. Probably right. I'll just leave a note for them to fill out the form if they start smelling smoke," she said before marking down a time on a piece of paper. "If there's a scent every day around this time, well, better safe than sorry," she said.

Oddly diligent about some things it seemed.

She flipped the papers around to her, looked them over, signed, dated, and then tossed them into one last bin marked 'Waivers'. "There. Now, by the power and authority vested in me by... well, being able to fill out the paperwork and showing up for meetings, I hereby proclaim that you are now in your clubs. Congratulations." She then picked up her bag and pulled out a baggie and a paper plate, dumping it out and... Candied peach slices. "Here, help yourself. Victory sweets are the best, you know? Makes you feel good to know you earned your treat. May you both have many victories, both our young new debater and our new honorable knight of the gamer's table," she said before motioning to them with a smile, picking one up to chew on herself.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Candied peaches *definitely* brighten the day of new students! Helping herself to a couple for now, so Mie can have plenty to choose from, Rashmi munches happily. "Thank you very much, senpai," the ginger says, beaming happily at the girl across the table. "I hope our club does well, it seemed a little... sparse? ...When I went in to join. I guess with all the amazing facilities they have here, a club for getting into arguments isn't much of a draw, but... I really do like all the members so far! Do you do anything besides the Council?"

Mie Kitamura has posed:
    Mie's eyes light up when the candied peaches come out. "May you vanquish all your foes and have many victories yourself," she replies, reaching over and taking a couple of the sweets. Popping one in her mouth, she closes her eyes in delight. "Yes. This is a mighty prize for vanquishing the dreaded paperwork."

    "Hmm," Mie says thoughtfully, mulling around the idea of a club for arguing. "I suppose not. After all, not everybody would want to risk going to the infirmary to prove their point."

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi snickered and gave a nod. "Yeah. But hey, being able to debate is pretty useful. Lots of people will talk over you if you give them the chance. Then, before you know it, bam, you're doing a bunch of stuff you never wanted to do, because you were just too scared to say no." She took a small bite of the peach, before shrugging. They weren't... that good. But they were at least sweet. She was still learning. "And yeah, knowing HOW to argue is probably a good life skill to pick up. Loudest doesn't mean rightest. I look forward to seeing what you do. As for me... welllll... Stage magic and gymnastics. Wanna see a card trick?" she asked before pulling out a deck of cards, shuffling it and then fans it out. "Each of you, pick a card, look at it, then slide it back in."

She then glanced towards Mie and snickered a little. "Oh, don't worry. The debate club doesn't usually get physically violent with their arguments. I think that's usually the politics club."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I *have* heard some worrying crashing down the hall," Rashmi muses when the Politics club's name comes up, and oblingingly, she leans over to pick a card, tilting her head. Giving it a good, long look, she slides the Six of Hearts back into the deck.

"And yeah, Debate Club's always been good for that, but also for something else too; half the time in a club debate, you're supposed to argue on the side of something you don't actually agree with. That means you have to put yourself in someone else's shoes, and try to understand how they think. Which is *hard,* and one time I almost threw a chair at someone who wanted me to argue for American-style gun laws."

Mie Kitamura has posed:
    "Of course not," Mie says, agreeing with Cho. Kind of. Not really. "Whoever is the strongest is the rightest." Her tone shifts to thoughtful introspection. "Perhaps I should join the politics club?"

    She shakes her head to clear it of such thoughts when a spread of cards is presented to her. "How is this magic?" she asks, as she takes a card and looks at it. Seven of clubs. She slides the card back into the spread.

    Her expression turns confused as Rashmi explains what goes on in debate club. "I don't see how difficult that would be, unless their shoes are really tiny and you have big feet."

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi snickered and gave a small nod. "Exactly. Learning to see things from both sides can be helpful. Even if, sometimes, one side is just wrong. Understanding why they care about something can help you understand how best to help them see the correct way."

She then blinked at Mie's comment before snickering and nodding. "Yeah, I guess that could also be a way to go about it. Sadly, this is still school and 'might makes right' doesn't work very well outside of fairy tales and old myths."

Once the cards were back in she shuffled it, and then... "Are these your cards?" she asked before tossing them!

Two of spades for rashmi and king of hearts for Mie. Not. Even. Close. "I think I finally got it right this time," she said proudly. Nope. One day she'd get it. Maybe.

"Either way, I'm sure you'll both have a lot of un in your clubs. Making friends, getting to know each other, it's half the reason for these things to begin with. So long as y ou can avoid throwing chairs or lighting each other on fire, you'll do well."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...Sorry," Rashmi says, clearly not happy to have to crush a fellow student's hopes like that as she flips her card around. "I pulled the six of hearts..." Leaning over to hand her card back, she glances aside at Mie again, eyebrows rising.

"No it... yeah. 'Putting yourself in someone else's shoes' is a metaphor for what Konishi-senpai said, trying to understand how someone might think and why they believe what they believe. But, y'know... To me, it's an important skill! I hope I have fun with the club here too!"

Mie Kitamura has posed:
    Mie blinks. "It doesn't? But then how does one know if you've won an argument if the other person is still conscious?" Is she... joking? She doesn't /appear/ to be joking but you never know.

    She looks at the card shown to her and shakes her head. "It's not. How is this magic again? I didn't see any runes or casting of spells."

    She gives Cho a solemn nod. "I will endeavor not to throw chairs or light anybody on fire."

    Her eyes slide to Rashmi as she explains the metaphor. "I see." She folds her arms, and turns her head in disgust. "Tch. Seems pointless."

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi sighed when her trick failed. "Well... I guess... yeah. I'll get it one day." She picked up the cards. "And it's stage magic, silly. Sleight of hand. For you see... One day, I aim to be known as Konishi! The Great and Powerful! The world's greatest stage magician!" she said, boisterous and loud before... "Okay, not really. I just think card tricks and stuff seem fun. I'm absolutely awful at them, but sometimes it's okay to enjoy what you do, even if you suck at it, you know?" she asked with a snicker.

She then cocked an eye at Mie before shrugging. "I don't know. To me, it sounds a lot more fun for me to have been able to outwit my opponent to the point they have to admit I was right, they were wrong, on the basis of being so correct they had no choice but to admit it. After all, anybody can punch out somebody else, all you gotta do is be stronger than them. But getting knowledge through somebody's thick skull? That's a true challenge that only a master can do."

She then blinked before looking at the clock and giving a sigh. "Right, either way, though, it's getting late. Your paperwork is good, take some peaches on the way out and have a wonderful night. As for me? I gotta lock up and leave a final report for whoever comes in tomorrow morning. Oh, right, ummm... Ahem. Remember, the student council wishes to inform you our door is always open, even when it's not, and if you require any help with school thingies, go ahead and swing by and someone will try to help." She mayyyy be ad-libbing a little bit. Juuuuust a little bit.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
At Mie's scoff, Rashmi reacts... oddly, perhaps. She doesn't look angry, or offended, but... curious? As if interested in the reasoning *why* Mie said it seemed pointless, and might perhaps devote some time over her tenure at the Academy to puzzling it out.

Nodding in agreement with Cho, she rises upon hearing the Councillor's remark on the time, bowing to both her and Mie. Then, the metaphorical lightbulb pops on over her head, and she digs about in her bookbag for a moment, producing a pair of flyers. "So in case either of you like curry? My parents have a restaurant in Pikarigaoka, real Indian-style curries with a bit of Japanese influence. Show that to the hostess the first time you go, and you'll get a discount!"

Ever the dutiful daughter, advertising the family business...

Mie Kitamura has posed:
    Mie blinks owlishly as Cho's boisterousness. "I... see." she says, clearly not seeing. "I see. Sometimes there are thing you have to do that you don't enjoy, so I suppose taking time to enjoy things you don't have to do is warranted. Hm."

    "'All you gotta do is be stronger than them,'" she says, barely keeping the mocking tone out of her voice. "As if it were so easy. It takes skill and dedication to be strong." And yet sometimes it's not enough. She shakes her head to clear that thought from it.

    "Curry?" she asks, her train of thought being derailed by the flyers. She takes one and looks at it and she suddenly understand. "Ah! Food! I'll give this a try."

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi chuckled and took the flier. "Sure, I like curry. Can't make it myself yet, but I'll rarely turn down good food. And I definitely approve of discount food." Wuwu did as well.

She got to her feet and stretched, giving a low grunt and then a low yawn. "Yup. Depends on the type of strength, too. In this case... strength involves being able to fill out all of the little prince's paperwork so he can come in tomorrow and be his sparkly self." Damn his sparkles. They were half the reason she was here so late!

She then smiled before motioning and guiding them out the door. "Have fun, enjoy yourselves and come by again if you need any help or more paperwork delivered. Until then, tah tah!" she said before, well, closing the door.

Then grabbing her bag, filling out the last bits and getting ready to head back to her dorm room. Sooooon...