1152/Let There Be Chocolate

Let There Be Chocolate
Date of Scene:	21 February 2024
Location:	Radiant Heart Academy
Synopsis:	A short while before Valentine's Day, Usagi Tsukino utterly fails at making Valentine's Chocolates. Good thing the good people of the Radiant Heart dorms can't ;eave a girl when she's down, right? Your classic making Valentine's Chocolates moment!
Cast of Characters:	Usagi Tsukino, Katsumi Cora, Amanda Faust, Chiyo Sakai, Ren Morimoto, Iona Hikawa, Norie Okana, Itsuki Inubouzaki, Togo

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Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's almost Valentine's Day and Usagi Tsukino has a huge problem. Like, possibly the worst problem anyone in the entire world has ever had on this campus on this specific day.

This specific hour, maybe, considering she was still at Radiant Heart and this was still Tokyo.

But never mind all that! The point is, Usagi Tsukino has a problem. A huge problem. And because of that, she's making it a problem for everyone else. Well, everyone else who wants to use the kitchen in this dorm building, anyway.

That's right! Usagi Tsukino is in the kitchen. She is cooking. She is making food. Not for herself!!! She's making Valentine's Chocolates.

The scent of burning chocolate hangs in the air. Her first attempt at melting candy had gone terribly.

"I told you you had to use a double boiler, Usagi-chan!" Luna scolds, sitting on the counter by the microwave, mostly out of view. If anyone hears her, they'll chock it up to another student, probably. If anyone sees her... eh, how likely is it that someone's going to walk in and see her? She didn't even set off the smoke alarm when she burnt the chocolate!

Katsumi Cora has posed:
The smell of burnt chocolate is a powerful thing. While making his way down the hall, Katsumi's cane is tacking along the floor, Kobo, his guide dog, just in front of him. When the bitter burn smell hits his nose, it crinkles and he makes a face. "It seems that someone is having a culinary emergency!" he starts to say.

At first, he totally thought it was an attack. But it's not. He can hear scolding voices and other voices, but it's probably a good thing he can't see anything?

Arriving in the kitchen, the small, visually impared boy pauses, and steps out of the way in case someone needs to get by him. "Is everything okay in here? You're making chocolate without a double boiler?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Is... someone burning chocolate?

    Amy investigates the kitchen, to find Usagi... making a mess of things, but she knows what Usagi is *trying* to do, and there are almost stars in her eyes as she realizes the opportunity presented. "C-can I help? I don't know how-- I've never made chocolate before, but..." She looks curiously at Katsumi. "What's a double boiler? Like, the pot you put *inside* the boiling water pot to melt the chocolate in? ...Do we have one of those?" She slumps a bit at the thought that the chocolate-making might be over before it began. "People... people always seem to have the tools to make Valentine's day chocolate in manga..."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
When Usagi had asked a question via text about chocolate, Chiyo at first hadn't thought anything of it. At least not at first... But then she glanced at the calendar, paused, and abruptly excuses herself from the shop after grabbing a few necessities and making a dash for the dorms hopefully before disaster strikes.

As she skids into the dorms, arm flung wide to catch herself on the doorjamb so she doesn't literally SLIDE further down the hall, her other arm is clutching a plastic bag filled to bursting. "You throw that out right now, Usagi-chan!" She blurts out in exasperation having already smelled how burnt it is. "It's ruined. We'll start again," she assures with a sigh as she finally starts to calm down, and let herself catch her breath.

Ren Morimoto has posed:
    Ren doesn't live in the dorms, but several of the members of the baseball club do, and he's here... well, to deliver chocolates. Not as a romantic thing! Just as a... friend thing. He's maybe been influenced from his trip to America, where apparently Valentine's Day can be a friendly event rather than something between people dating.

    Admittedly he hasn't quite figured out that Galentine's Day is for the gals, but that's okay! It's not like anyone is going to turn down chocolate, right?

    Hands now free of his deliveries, Ren's about to leave when the scorched chocolate smell leads him to one of the dormitory kitchens. "It's sort of like that. You put some water in a pot and bring it to a boil with another pot atop it, so the heat from the water melts your chocolate," he explains, whilst holding a half-unwrapped chocolate bar (so maybe he skimmed a bit of chocolate off the top of his gifts... who's going to know?). He blinks once when Chiyo comes skidding in, and looks around to see if there's some kind of emergency.

    He, of course, doesn't realize the implications!

Iona Hikawa has posed:
It just so happens that Iona is heading there too. After all, Valentine's day isn't just for couples' chocolates, but it's also to show appreciation to your friends and family. And this time around, she has a lot of friends to show appreciation to, what with Hime, Cho, Aki, and Mio now all being new additions to her group (even if a group that was newly created just then).

But that's all the more reasons to do this, and the purple-haired girl is happily humming to herself as she reaches the kitchen, though the burnt smell is quick to make her understand her program for the day isn't going to be as smooth as she thought it would be. "What's going on here? Anyone need help with cooking?", she asks, popping into the kitchen at the group of people already gathered here.

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana sticks her head out of her dorm and sniffs. What is that smell. It smells like burnt chocolate. She vanishes back into her room, and then returns a moment later, closing the door, with a donut in her mouth as she noms at it and says.

"Who's burning things and trying to turn on fire suppression." se asks as she eyes what's going on.

"I swear. If I have to do fire drill, but for real, on Valentine's Day, I'm gonna be angry." she says as she shoves the rest of the donut into her mouth.

"Also. I have an answer to that Amy. It's because life isn't a manga, you see." she says as she sighs.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's almost like the scent of burning draws attention! Usagi looks up as two people come in - one, a boy she doesn't recognize (impressive!) with a dog (cute!) and the other, Amy-chan, her usual excited self. "I am... attempting to make chocolate without a double boiler?"

Luna is, slinking down by the microwave, striving to remain hidden. It's a black microwave! She could manage it! Surely, no one will notice the black cat loafing on the counter, in spite of the golden moon on her forehead and the red eyes.

Before Usagi can even hope to explain more, the kitchen is crowding with even more people, all of them here to witness her failure! Her problem! Her -

And then Chiyo-chan bursts in, and Usagi jumps back, throwing her hands in the air.

"Wah! I stopped! I definitely stopped! I didn't know what I was doing and I figured I could just melt the chocolate! I didn't think it would burn! Please, I will definitely, definitely be grateful if you can help me, itoko! And everyone else who smelled the burning chocolate that I definitely wasn't going to eat, I swear!"

Someone comes out, grumpy, despite having a donut, and Usagi honestly thinks that that is unfair.

"The fire alarm didn't even go off! And it's technically not Valentine's Day yet.

Katsumi Cora has posed:
Just as Katsumi was about to offer his help, there's others arriving on the scene and he realizes he absolutely made the right call by staying out of the way. They start to file in, and Kobo moves in front of Katsumi to 'protect' him.

Though when Chiyo and then Ren arrive, the little shiba /barks/ at them, causing the teen boy to stiffen. "Sorry!" he offers quickly in apology.

"I... I was going to bake cookies later to dip in chocolate to sell tomorrow." he explains. "So that's why..." he was on his way here. He hears Ren's voice, and ohs. "Hi, Morimoto-senpai." And for the rest, he lifts his hand, though he's still focused on some center point in the center of the voices. "I'm Cora Katsumi, Grade 9. In the cooking club. But I mainly bake."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai draws in a deep breath (regretfully that was a bad idea) only to exhale slowly. The bag is raised up in hand as if that was perhaps sign enough that she'd come prepared for whatever might pop up in this particular culinary emergency. "It's okay, I've got you. I brought plenty more chocolate to work with."

The shiba barking at her gets a look, and a quick grin with a soft 'Aww' at the cute dog but... Well. She steps in carefully since it IS getting a bit crowded.

The unfamiliar boy earns a small nod as she steps over toward Usagi nudging the bag toward her so she can have her hands free to pick up the pot from the stove before it gets worse. "I'm Chiyo Sakai, grade 10. I work at my Ojiisan's wagashi shop," she explains simply as to how she knows how to cook.

Poor Usagi gets a smile. "It happens. It's easy to burn chocolate if you're not careful. There is a way to melt it in the microwave, SLOWLY, if you don't have a double boiler." A pause comes as she recalls the question texted was about a double boiler. "Which you can make by using a bowl and a pot with some water if you don't have a true double-boiler."

Dutifully taking the burnt chocolate to the sink to begin rinsing it out she looks over her shoulder with a grin. "It looks like there's lots of us here who know how to cook, then. Maybe we can all help each other?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Norie suggests to Amy that life is not a manga. "You say that, but..." And then there are other people here and at least some of them know what they're doing! Usagi indeed did not know to use a double boiler. Amy nods slightly, and turns to Chiyo-chan. "I, too. I've never gotten to do this, s-so..." She looks away, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly, "...If you could teach me... that'd be nice..."

    She also takes in Katsumi, and the dog. Ah. She's used to dealing with Hannah, though, so she doesn't comment. "It's good to have the cooking club here to help, right? Uh... have you made Valentine's Day chocolate before? I guess it's no different than making regular chocolate."

    Chiyo reminds her of the option of a makeshift double-boiler, so she starts raiding the kicthen cabinets for a suitable-looking pot and bowl to use.

Ren Morimoto has posed:
    The sudden influx of people only causes Ren to side-step a little, out of the way. Pressed up to a wall nearly, in fact. He breaks off a corner of a dark chocolate piece, the red raspberry filling spilling out, and pops it into his mouth. He looks down at the dog barking at him and blinks once, before his focus shifts to the dog's companion. "Ah, hello! Please just call me Ren," he says.

    And while it seems there are people in the assembled crowd who are capable of making chocolate, Ren doesn't volunteer himself. Something about too many cooks in the kitchen, perhaps?

    "I'm more of a savory cook, really. I'm no good at sweets." The chocolate he's toting is, in fact, a foil-wrapped import from the United States. He definitely didn't home-make any chocolates for the baseball club.

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana has finished her calming donut, and feels better. She sighs miserably still and says. "Look, don't you...yeah you melt chocolate in a double boiler and then you shove it into molds don't you? It's not like we're making the chocolate from scratch to begin with." she sighs.

She then eyes Amy and follows her around, trying to ignore the barking. She likes animals but...

Can't pet them anymore.

"Amy-chan? Question. A girl asked me out. I told them y.....es." she says. "But it's just to the Korma, s...should I wear something low key or...or like....?"

Itsuki Inubouzaki has posed:
    Itsuki Inubouzaki has come here because she wants to improve her cooking, so she can help out her big sister! Right now her culinary skills leave... Much to be desired. Also the Hero Club was asked to bring some extra baking supplies to the dorm kitchen, so the tiny blonde girl is behind Togo, wheeling her into the area. "O-ohayoo, minna-san...!" Itsuki calls out. "Is, um... Is this where... Eeto..." Finally she just says, "...Chocolate?"

Togo has posed:
    Togo has a couple bags hanging from the handles of her wheelchair, and another package on her lap. She told Itsuki she could handle getting here by herself, but the tiny girl was insistent that she wanted to help. So, Togo has let her. And she only secretly helped a little bit! "Good day, everyone. We have the extra baking supplies that were requested. I hope the day finds you well?" she asks in her ever-formal and polite manner. So fance. Very refine. Much polit. Wow.

Iona Hikawa has posed:
"Iona Hikawa, Grade 8", she introduces herself as Katsumi is doing the same, then focuses her attention onto Usagi. "You know, if you aren't sure on what you should do, there is no shame in contacting your friends instead of risking doing something dangerous", Iona says, offering the suggestion to Usagi with a smile. "I can actually lend you a hand if you want."

And Chiyo is already helpfully tutoring Usagi on the subject matter, and even suggests they all work together. "Sure, that sounds perfect to me, what do you want me to take care of?"

"Welcome in", Iona offers a gentle smile to Itsuki. "Yes, we are about to make chocolate here. Are you here for the same reason? She", Iona nods towards Chiyo, "was about to suggest we all work together."

"Good morning", the purple-haired girl greets Togo back. "Everything is alright, it's not a big incident", she starts reassuring her on the burning smell.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Usagi Tsukino, Grade 9 as well! I'm in Class 9C, and I'm a hopeless disaster in the kitchen," she says it with no shame and no hesitation, either. "I want to make chocolates for my boyfriend! And I figured, it can't be that hard, right? Everyone always manages to figure something out!"

She would have figured something out.

Luna coughs skeptically and Usagi shoots her a glare.

And then there are even more people there, and she's thrilled. "I think everyone making chocolates together would be great. Chiyo-chan! Togo-chan! Thank you for bringing supplies for everyone!"

Yes, this is all going to work out perfectly.

"I want to make some pretty heart-shaped ones for Mamochan, so I bought some molds, but that's about as far as I got before I burnt the first batch."

Katsumi Cora has posed:
"Oh! This means I am no longer a member of the I don't know Usagi club!" Katsumi announces in amusement. "It is a pleasure to meet you!" There's a warmth in his tone, but it's mainly to help lighten the situation.

There seems to be more than enough people though, so part of him is considering making an exit. Though when he tries to move, Kobo keeps him in place, trying to make him stay and communicate some more. "Oh. I learned to cook from my mom. She hosts 'Homely Hearth'. It's... on back in the States."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Clack, clink. Amy searches drawers. Norie says she has a date! "Congratulations!" She also has a question. "I got no idea! I wore a yukata to my first date..." She stops and thinks though, immediately contradicts her claim that she doesn't know by looking over the vampire and suggesting, "I guess you kinda wanna like, look a little bit nice without going too formal, right? Honestly, what you're wearing now is probably fine. But if you want to mix it up, maybe a different jacket or a black skirt?"

    Amy taps her chin. "Or are you trying to match her taste? I don't know her, though..."

    Realizing there are so many people here she hasn't met, she introduces herself as well, "Amanda Faust, Amy for short, also Grade 9. I-I'm from America."

    She sets out a pot and bowl by the stove. "Does this work?"

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana listens intently to Amy and then purses her lips. "Yes maybe nice but not...formal. Her name is... Anna Domenico." she says. "She's from Italy, and an artist." she says. She shifts a bit a little. "She's very. Pink." she says with wide eyes.

Then she coughs. "Norie Okana. Grade 7. No..no clubs." she says softly as she shifts a little.

"Um, your dog is cute. What's it's name?" she asks Katsumi.

"Um. Can I make. Chocolates too? I have. Molds. Maybe." she says. "In my room. From...from last year."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai considers all the 'cooks' here thoughtfully as she finishes rinsing the mess out of the pan. The scent of slightly acrid burnt chocolate still lingered a bit but it was far, far better now that it had all been rinsed down the sink with hot water and suds to wash it away. The old pot is left to dry when Amy gets a new one out along with the bowl. "That's good. Okay well first of all... Show me the molds you got, Itoko?" She asks of Usagi with a grin. "Yeah most everyone knows Usagi-chan. She's very personable." Nothing is said about her cooking skills though. Continuing on she adds, "Some molds need to be oiled first but newer ones don't usually."

Tasks for them all to do? She looks around curiously, thoughtfully. "If Katsumi-kun is going to be baking we should make some room for him too. I'm just melting chocolate. Usagi-chan, there's some edible glitter in my bag with the chocolate. Why don't you take that, dip a brush into the glitter and then paint the insides of your mold? You won't need much, and it won't look like much, but it'll stick to the chocolate once we pour it in and make it super pretty." Also it'd hide any irregularities. Shh.

"Of course you can make chocolate! If you have molds bring them out and let's see them."

Ren Morimoto has posed:
    For now, Ren is content to watch in the background, at least until his purloined chocolate supply runs out. It's kind of fun, watching other people in the kitchen making chocolate while also eating chocolate.

    He smiles, to himself. Sounds like cookies are also on the menu. Well, there's no shame in him hanging out and maybe getting to sample things as they are finished!

Iona Hikawa has posed:
"Is knowing Usagi-san such a big deal?" Iona inquires at Katsumi. Why would that be? She hasn't heard anything from students so far about her, despite one assuming that wouldn't be the case if it were actually that important. Then she looks back at Usagi and her cat hanging by the stove.

"If you want to start learning how to cook, I suggest you keep your pet away from the stove. Not only it is not hygienic, but you also run the serious risk of them getting hurt", she points out to the blonde girl.

"Congratulations, Okana-san", Iona gives her regards when she mentions having a date. Though, since nobody has given her a particular task to do, she is just off the melt her how chocolate.

Katsumi Cora has posed:
"Apparently. I was told by a couple of people that you are not a real student of the school until you meet her." Katsumi comments, turning his attention to Norie's comment. "His name's Kobo! He's a good dog. Not a good guide sometimes. But a good dog!" He chuckles, and then shakes his head.

"I can wait on the cookies. I don't want to be in the way. It takes a lot of set up and I need a lot of space." he admits as he reaches up to tap his glasses. "I can't see, so... I need the extra accomodations. But I can do it later!" he promises, having no issues with spending time with other people.

Itsuki Inubouzaki has posed:
    "I'm Itsuki Inubouzaki... I'm part of the Hero Club, and, um, I'll be in Grade 7 in April... I-It's a pleasure to meef yun!" she tries to say, but bites her tongue in her nervousness and messed up her introduction. She stands there behind Togo, face red. >_<ing.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Ehehe, I just know a lot of people - so does Naru-chan, my roommate! Between the two of us, we probably know most of the school." It's an impressive accomplishment, because Radiant Heart is the size of a college campus, much larger than the average elementary, middle, or high school.

"It's nice to have everyone's help! And if you accidentally nudge a patch of black and it moves, that's just my cat, Luna, don't worry about her, she doesn't bite unless you bite her first."

Luna meows to support this.

"I'll get to glittering, right now! I'll do all the glittering for the molds with no problem!"

And that's what she'll be setting out to do for the next while.

Togo has posed:
    Togo turns to look back at Itsuki and just says, "Itsuki-chan..." A sweatdrop of vicarious embarrassment. Then she turns to start unloading the supplies onto any unused counter space. "I would like to try making some chocolate Botamochi. Would anyone like to be my taste testers?" she asks with a smile. She has yet to get the memo about some of the people in this room being magical girls, but she'll find out sooner or later. Today? Today is about an expression of love for those they care about. And chocolate.

    "Mimori Togo, grade 8." she says. Towards those she may not know personally yet, she also offers, "A pleasure to meet you. Thank you for having us!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Ah yes, with the benefit of adult experience, Amy can make use of: a bachelor's cooking skill!!! Boiling water is well within her culinary knowledge! Humu humu! She fills the pot partway and sets it on the stove, turns the 'burner' (it's actually an inductive stove! Fancy!) on, and sets the bowl floating in it.

    "Glitter? Won't it get everywhere?" Amy asks a bit warily, concerned about what people will think if they see her walking around with glitter on her oh right she's a teenage girl that's completely normal actually.

    The subject of Usagi and her cat is brought up. "Usagi is very nice!" Amy chimes in. And Luna apparently won't bite, but... "Yeah but what if she touches the pot? Or gets fur in the chocolate... here, down you go..." She tries to scoop Luna off the counter and deposit her on the floor.

    Katsumi mentions he needs a lot of space. She looks towards him curiously. "I never considered it, but... so what do you need, for cooking? My girlfriend can't see either, so... if she ever wanted to learn to cook, it wouldn't hurt to know where to start."

    Although, she's not sure how the Belkan Princess feels about cooking. Is that a thing poor people do and that is done for rich people, or is it something she'd insist on doing with only the fanciest ingredients? It's never come up.

    Note to self, she should absolutely show Hannah that she knows how to cook swordfish, sometime.

    Togo offers botomachi. "What's that?" Amy asks. Implicitly, it can be eaten, so there's no need to ask the stereotypical manga question about an unknown word.

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana nods. "Okay one moment...." she says as she takes off and returns, moments later with some candy molds. There's some hearts, some hearts with a cupids arrow over it and one that says 'Happy Valentine's Day' in a fancy bigger heart.

She places the molds out to be used and then steps back.

When congratulated on the date she blushes a little. "Eh?" she says over to Iona before her eyes looks over to Itsuki as she bites her tongue. "A..are you okay?" she asks. neutral tone.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai looks up a little surprised when Katsumi mentions not being able to see. Somehow she didn't quite realize the implications of him wearing sunglasses and having a dog. "Oh. I guess baking makes sense then, you can work with your hands that way." Had to be better than some other things.

With the improvised double-boiler warming up thanks to Amy, she pours in some chocolate discs and picks up a spoon waiting to begin stirring until she sees the first hint of melting at the edges.

"Botamochi?" Chiyo tips her head looking toward Togo curiously. "That needs the rice to soak for an hour before cooking it. Do you already have it prepared?" When Amy asks what it is, she fills in with a simple, "It's wagashi with glutenous rice. You make a ball out of it then usually take azuki paste and mold it around that. Sometimes you'll coat them with black sesame seeds or toasted soybean powder. I'm not sure how to incorporate chocolate with that."

A bit absent mindedly (she was keeping a sharp hawk eye on the chocolate) she offers, "Nice to meet everyone. And the glitter won't get many places... hopefully." The molds from Norie earn a nod of approval. "Those are really cute!"

Katsumi Cora has posed:
"Usually? About twice the size of another baker. It's easiest to do baking while blind, because I need to feel my ingredients as I use them. I can use a talking themometer for some things, but..." Katsumi considers. "If your girlfriend wants to learn to use the kitchen, I'd suggest baking first. She'll need to learn what different ingredients feel like though, unless you want to be a sweetheart and set it all up for her? Which would totally be an awesome date idea. Learn to make bread together."

A sage nod at that, his attention on the others as they chatter and soaking up the atmosphere. He feels almost normal.

Itsuki Inubouzaki has posed:
    When her well-being is inquired after, Itsuki raises her head and gives a very embarrassed laugh. "Eh-heh-heh. Ith daijoubu. I juth bif my thounge." Then she moves to start helping Togo unload. She intends to learn by wathing today. Making some toxic goop that needs to be censored to avoid people's eyes melting out from looking directly at it won't exactly make her any friends, she's sure.
    Then she hears about Kitty, and looks down at the Meow. "Kawaii!" she exclaims in surprise, clutching her hands to her chest while still holding onto one of the over-laden bags of baking supplies.

Togo has posed:
    Togo smiles serenely and says, "Yes, I prepared the ingredients in advance. I thought I might put a layer of chocolate over the sweet azuki paste, and then stick little chocolates on the outside of the ball once it has been rolled. Yuna-chan already likes my Botamochi, but I want to make something even more special for her." She does, indeed, have the soaked glutinous rice and the other ingredients! She knows what she's doing, clearly. The taste testers are going to be in for a treat.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy listens and nods. "Could fish work? I don't know how to bake, and we can eat the results right after... Well, unless we're broiling salmon, I've got this recipe that..." she shakes her head. "Learning to bake bread together might be a cool date though, thank you for the idea.

    Since the topic is somewhat adjacent, she asks, "...Are you expecting chocolate from anyone, tomorrow? ...You can have some giri choko, if you want."

    And Togo describes her treat. "I'd be happy to taste-test it if you want!"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai aahs softly as Togo agrees she has things set up. "Oh good. I'm starting to realize that Usagi-chan likes to try and speed things up for cooking and..." She just gestures a bit at the chocolate as case in point. The spoon goes back in to gently scrape down the sides as the chocolate becomes a glistening, melted liquid in the pot.

"Oh, clean out some room in the refrigerator please? Once we fill the chocolate molds it will help to put them in there to solidify quicker."

"And I did bring a few boxes of premade chocolate if anyone wants to either snack or just... not bother," she reasons with a chuckle.

Looking a bit dubious she remarks, "Fish seems like a not-so-good date idea unless you're making dinner for her?"