2155/Cat Cafe!

Cat Cafe!
Date of Scene:	09 December 2024
Location:	Cafe BAKE Neko
Synopsis:	It's the grand opening of the Cat Cafe in Mamoru's building, and a group of Mahou are on the scene to christen the day! Usagi, Makoto, Chiyo, Taro, and Mamoru welcome Angela to the ever weirder world of Mahou.
Cast of Characters:	Makoto Kino, Angela Erickson, Usagi Tsukino, Taro Yamada, Chiyo Sakai, Mamoru Chiba

---

Makoto Kino has posed:
The sun sets early in the winter months; it's just edging into Monday evening, but dusk is already settling outside. The brand new cat cafe makes a bright and cozy haven against the chill. Today's limited-edition special treat, as advertised by an artfully-drawn chalk sign at the counter, is persimmon pudding with whipped cream and toffee sauce.

Makoto, tucked into a comfy seat with a ginger cat purring in her lap, is looking a little shell-shocked.

"Are we sure I didn't hit my head too hard in that fall the other day?" she says, with a little bit of a laugh. "I kind of feel like I'm dreaming or something."

She's cleaned up from the kitchen, but there's still a persimmon-orange smudge on her cheek that she doesn't seem to be aware of.

Angela Erickson has posed:
Angela Erickson has never been to a Cate Cafe before, because she's from the United States where these are not usually an accepted thing.

She walks in, dressed in a white t-shirt with a pink heart on the front, and blue jean skirt. It's ghastly fashion, but she does'nt care. Behind her is following a tiny girl with black hair in a tiny bridal gown holding a bouquet.

"Oh my god." says the pink haired girl. "It's so...."

"Ro-ro-romantic!" says the pink haired girl and the tiny bride at once, doing a tiny spin before continuing in.

"Quickly, let's marry all the cats!" insists the tiny bride.

"Is that really a good idea?" asks the pink haired girl in thought.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I'm sure you didn't," Usagi confirms before wagging a finger at Makoto. "Besides, even if you had, Mamochan would have already fixed you up! There's nothing to it but the fact that this is all real, Makochan."

She and Makoto are sitting together in a corner with plenty of other spaces - there's two empty plates that once contained some of the precious limited edition treat, but has been since scraped clean, sitting on the table in front of Usagi. The blond herself is trapped under not one, not two, but three cats who have made themselves comfy - two of them kittens sharing her lap, and one of whom is Luna, comfortably sprawled across her shoulders, surveying her (but mostly Anko's) new kingdom.

"Besides, what's there to be surprised about? You make amazing treats, who wouldn't want to use them as a way to get people through the door?" There's more she might have said, but there's voices coming from the entry way, voices that Luna in particular picks up on quickly, turning her head to look at Angela and Suki with wary concern.

'Marry... um... no thanks...' is what this poor advisor is thinking.

Taro Yamada has posed:
There is a place on earth where there are only good things and that place is probably a cat cafe. Just cats. Only cats. So many cats.

Taro and Chiyo had been taking Bonito on a walk - not on a leash, Bonito was too dignified for that, but at their side as a fellow coworker - when he'd looked up and up and up at the sign. The cats through the window. The limited edition food. Fellow baker! Makoto!!

He is entirely derailed from explaining why an Evangelion could take Godzilla in a fight. "Chiyo Chiyo Chiyo look - !!" no thoughts only cats!!

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai had subtly altered the course of their path leading toward the cat cafe. She'd been here once before when Mamo and Kazuo were moving in, but it was a breif stop to drop off some supplies courtesy of Ojiisan. Finding out the young man was striking out on his own meant making sure he at least had the staples! Plenty of rice, and mandarins for good luck as well.

The talk of Evangelion was nodded to as it was an older series she was only vaguely familiar with. Her anime choices typically went to shoujo. Typically. When Taro notices the cafe, and Makoto within with Usagi she only grins broader. "Ta da! This is the surprise I mentioned. They just opened up," she explains with a little bit of a laugh. The orange and white tabby cat that was 'a heckin chonk' strides away from them to bump his mass into the door until Chiyo steps forward to open the door so he can slip around the corner inside.

In a very deep masculine voice Bonito speaks: "I heard there were kittens!" He's still behind Angela so perhaps she won't realize the voice came from the cat that saunters past her over toward where Luna and the kittens have beset upon Usagi.

Chiyo steps in next, holding the door for Taro and making certain that no cats slip *out* that shouldn't be out. "Mako-chan, Usagi-chan! I brought some emergency snacks," she explains with a knowing look toward her cousin. Limited edition goodies meant limited full belly and she had to take care of that before all things disappeared.

The chara-bearer in front of her causes her to pause as she regards the bride chara. A new face to be sure. At least it wasn't a cat. Again.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto ducks her head a little, her foolish smile growing wider under Usagi's praise. "It's just so weird to think that things I baked are being served in a cafe like this, while I'm still in high school--"

She breaks off at the sound of other voices in the cafe, flushing just a bit. "I feel like the cats might have opinions about getting married," she begins, before turning in her seat to see not just Angela and Suki, but Taro, Chiyo, and Bonito just coming in. "Oh, hi!" she calls out, lifting a hand to wave, before grinning at Chiyo. "How responsible, bringing extra snacks to a cafe," she teases. "Maybe I should be begging you for advice about how to handle shop work around school any everything else."

Angela Erickson has posed:
Suki looks at Angela. "Marrying is always a good idea!"

The errant pink hair, growing into Angela's brain is starting to make her agree. "I guess it can't hurt to marry a few cats..." she says dreamily. "After a snack!" Baked goods. "Baked goods!" the two say as they head towards the counter and return over with croissants of some sort and sitting across a way from Usagi's and co's table. She gives Suki one of the baked goods. "Oh look at those cats." she says.

"Hey did that cat sound like Barry White just now!?" asks. Asks Suki. "Are you sure it was'nt the boy with her?" Angela asks Suki, brows raised. Angela looks over to Taro.

"Hey, do you sound like Barry White!?" Angela just asks Taro. Errant pink hair in the brain has destroyed her filter, clearly.

Taro Yamada has posed:
"This is so cool, Chiyo!" Taro chirps as he follows Chiyo into the shop. His eyes are as big as dinner bowls as he takes in the cats, and the cats, and also the cats. And the dessert, but then there's a cat again - oh shit it's Usagi and Makoto! And some new girls?? "This is the best surprise! Mako-chan, Usagi-chan! The bride-chans?"

Uh. Hmm. "I don't think you're allowed to marry cats? But there's other people you can marry." He coughs, then lowers his voice deeper. "Everyone wants to see kittens today," he says, trying to cover for Bonito.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The loud entrance of Chiyo-chan, Taro-kun, and Bonito (loudly mostly because of Bonito, of course), means that Usagi twists about in her seat, at least, as much as she can without disturbing kittens, and waves eagerly (as much as she can without disturbing Luna).

"Chiyo-chan, Taro-kun, Bonito-kun! Good to see you all! Come and join us, we're just talking about Makochan's amazing limited edition treats!" And yes, she is bragging, as one must, when one is friends with someone amazing. Who could fault her? Who would dare to fault her?

"Ah, more treats, yay! I have been such a good sport - I only ate two of the persimmon puddings!"

In other words, give her treat! Please!

"There are kittens," Luna says quietly, looking down at Bonito with amusement. With a deft leap, she lands on the floor beside him. "Two of them have decided to take a nap on Usagi-chan's lap."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Hey," Makoto protests - red-faced now, and smiling irrepressibly. "I'm gonna hide under the table if you keep that up." A beat. "You were a good sport, though, so I'm glad Chiyo-chan brought more treats."

Taro tries lowering his voice. Makoto... kind of looks at him. Then at Angela and the tiny bride accompanying her. And back at Taro.

With a certain visible air of just giving up, she dips her head to Angela and Suki. "It's nice to meet you both," she says. "I hope you enjoy yourselves... even if we can't have cat weddings."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai grins in amusement. "The easiest thing to remember is know your audience," she suggests to Makoto while offering over the box of treats to Usagi with a chuckle. "In this case... Here you go, Itoko! Persimmon pudding sounds amazing. I'll have to try some myself!" baking wasn't her strong suit. Candies? Mochi? Sure. Baking no.

Bonito doesn't seem to care if he was overheard, though there's a little sneeze-laugh when Taro tries to cover for him. He instead sits on his haunches regarding the tiny pair in Usagi's lap. When Luna jumps down he nods to her in greeting keeping his Barry Manilow-voice as quiet as possible. "They're still young so it makes sense they want to keep warm." And as proudly as he can he adds, "And I'm very good at being warm." Which was true! No one appreciated warmth like kittens! The fire spirit shape-shifted into a talking cat always did enjoy that part.

Angela Erickson has posed:
Angela Erickson face faults. "We can't marry the cats together, Suki." she says to the tiny bride. "Nooo I can X-out right here, right now...!" she cries, going into over dramatics as she places the back of a hand to her forehead.

"I guess we'll need to settle for marrying the geese at the pond later." Suki finally says, defeated.

"Oh, you can see her!" says Angela finally. "I'm Angela Erickson and this is Suki!" Angela says. "Oh so it was the cat." says Angela.

"Can you sing 'Can't get enough of your love'?" asks Angela.

"Angelaaaa." cries Suki. "You're embarrassing me now!" she cries more.

"Let's find a cat to pet..." says Angela as she scoops up a rowdy kitten running past. Feisty! She puts the kitten down. "Too spicy right now." says Angela.

Taro Yamada has posed:
"Ah. Yes," Taro says sheepishly - ah, he'd looked from the wrong angle, thought Angela was talking and not the tiny little bride, and now. Cat's out of the bag? "I can see Suki, yes. You don't need to worry in here right now, but there are some bad guys who walk around out of transformation and will figure out you're magic if you're blatantly talking to your little buddy in public," and he gestures around his shoulder. "So you should think about ways to talk quietly, if you think someone's around you want to keep the magic secret about."

It's something he's been doing for a long time, on instinct, even if those instincts are getting a little loosey goosey now that he knows people as a human and as - not. And it's a lesson that would be good to learn before someone, purely in theory, yoinks the Chara out of the air before they get smacked for getting in someone's face.

"You're bride themed? There's a lot of dating here so that'll probably help," he says thoughutfully.

And then to Makoto - "I'd like a persimmon pudding too, please! And Tell me about the kittens? Are they allowed near the food or do I have to stay away while I'm eating?"

And Usagi - "How are thekittens doing??"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi stuffs a handful of candies into her mouth all at once, busying herself with chewing and chomping as everyone chatters around her. She grins at Makoto once she's swallowed, but mercifully stops complimenting her poor bashful friend.

"Yeah, we can all see her," she tells Angela with a little laugh. "Bonito talking kind of gave us away, I guess. Are you new to this whole thing? I don't think I've seen your little friend around... Oh, I'm Usagi Tsukino, grade 10! We're all students at Radiant Heart together."

Luna, on the other hand, snickers a little. "Yes, being warm is something you do quite well, Bonito. They're enjoying Usagi-chan, but if you want to take them, she won't fight you on it."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Finally, you know who comes in is Mamoru Chiba, not very secretly the Tuxedo Boy What Tuxedos By Moonlight. He comes in with his bookbag and no Anko, and no Ankos have appeared in the cafe this afternoon, either. He also looks tired, like he didn't get enough sleep last night maybe.

He's dressed in a red t-shirt that says HI-STANDARD on it, a black leather jacket, and skinny jeans and expensive shoes; his glasses are fogging up and he takes them off, hanging them on the neck of his shirt.

He doesn't even walk in, he schleps in and drags himself over to the table with all the people at it, and the very first thing he does is bend over and rest his face on Usagi's head and mumble into her hair, "I'm so mad at my brother."

Most of the time he's cool, we promise.

Angela Erickson has posed:
Angela Erickson is at least not letting Suki be overtly rude and getting into people's face. "Usually people just think I speak to myself a lot. I guess it does look weird from an outsider's perspective." she says thoughtfully, errant pink hair possibly retreating from her brain finally.

Suki looks at Luna. Luna talked! What's with the talking animals. "Uh-huh. Suki-chan is my dream!" she says, spnning. And then Suki spins. "Yup! We're gonna get married. +_+." says Suki.

Oh, a grouchy boy. "Hello! Why for so upset?" she asks, the pink haired girl head tilts.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Usagi relents, and Makoto manages to stop flustering quite so much. At least until Chiyo and Taro both ask after the pudding. "Oh, um," she says. "There should be a good bit left yet. I'm just helping out in the kitchen a little bit, around school and things... I don't even know how either of you manages part-time work at Nounamu the way you do."

She turns, still absently scritching the ginger who's puddled in her lap, and grins at Bonito. "But, Bonito-san, I had no idea you had such a soft side~"

Looking up now, she smiles to Angela and Suki. "Makoto Kino, grade 10." Whatever else she might've said gets derailed by Mamoru's appearance, and her brows lift a little in concern. "You look like you were up late."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"No, I don't want to wake them," Bonito actually starts to remark until such time as Mamoru drags himself in. Oozes in. The keen eyed mascot watches his approach until he practically flops on Usagi only to give a shake of his head. "On the other hand. Help me out here, Luna."

Bonito pads over to where Usagi sits to put his front paws on her leg so he can leeean in and gently scoop up a kitten by the scruff to take off of her. One tiny kitten weight removed so that there's no chance of kittens getting squished by the happy couple that clearly need some touchy time right now.

Chiyo chuckles just a bit and moves to the counter to try some of that persimmon pudding that was mentioned. "Yes, we can see her. Most of us here are magical in some nature. ... I used to be," she adds to clarify, and clears her throat. Plate gotten she heads back over. "And will be again soon if everything works out. I'm Chiyo Sakai, grade 11." A worried look is cast to Mamoru, but she flashes a grin instead to Makoto. "It usually involves getting up before dawn. Ojiisan really does most of it himself, I just deal with the people so he can focus."

Around a mouthful of kitten Bonito hmphs quietly. "No one appreciates the warmth of a fire like a sleepy kitten." Of course that might come out garbled a bit.

Taro Yamada has posed:
"It's ok to be weird. Just do it knowing the risks and rewards," Taro says sagely. "I"m Taro Yamada, grade 10. I don't know if they let people marry their little magic buddies but I hope it works out. At least three of us here do catering, and we're all incredibly good at what we do." A pause - "Both in cooking and in magic." Chiyo WILL fight again, and he's seen the erst of them

And then he crouches next to Mamoru and pats his back. "Do you want comfort or do you want us to go kick his ass?"

taro you dont even KNOW rivington

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Mamoru's arrival is met with a kiss to his cheek once she's schlumped over Usagi and a worried frown, her free hand going up to pet his head gently.

"Aw, Mamochan, what stupid thing did he do today?"

She has no doubt about which brother, and no doubt that whatever it was was high on the stupid meter. With her distracted though, it's definitely necessary for Luna and Bonito to steal away the kittens - once they're bundled up around the two cats, she twists in her comfy chair to hug Mamoru and pull him down towards her, offering to share the comfy chair that definitely was not made for two.

"Yes," Luna mews, "It's important to get them out of the way now, before they're squished in the cuddling."

Cats talk! This is a thing many young humans are surprised by...

"I am Luna," she adds, to Suki (and Angela), "I am Usagi-chan and Makoto-chan's advisor. We're not quite ordinary cats."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Ohhhh my brother is a supervillain," Mamoru glances to Angela, and then to Makoto but really the table at large, "and I just got first-hand evidence that he has earned the 'super'. No, Taro-kun, it'd probably take at least twelve of us to kick his ass. Sorry." Then he looks to Angela again and smiles wryly. "Sorry. Mamoru Chiba, also grade 11. Also magic. Nice to meet you two."

After there is headpatting and backpatting and then hugging, Mamoru finds himself pulled down into the comfy chair-- at least they're both narrow?

"He hurled an attack at Equivalence that melted a hole through a bus and the bus stop behind it. And for once it seems like it wasn't actually her fault -- he's got what the both of us think is Beryl's gem. He claimed it came from a sun demon."

Mamoru reaches for whatever on the table looks unclaimed. He's just gonna eat someone else's food isn't he. But this is also while cuddling Usagi, so his hand will probably leave the table disappointed. "Anyway! Do you guys like this place? Is it working for you, Mako-chan?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
Oooouh, says Makoto's face at Mamoru's explanation about what Riventon has been up to. Yeah, that's a problem. She slides a dish of Chiyo's emergency sweets his way, sympathetically.

But since he's putting the subject aside, she doesn't remark on it further. Instead she looks toward Angela and nods, understanding. "There's a lot of stuff we just kind of get used to that probably seems really weird to anyone who doesn't know. I feel the worst for Luna, having to pretend to be a regular cat so much..."

She brightens when Mamoru asks about the cafe. "It's great!" she answers eagerly. "--I mean, so far. I'm worried about how much I'll be able to keep up, around everything else... which is silly, I guess, since it's not like you're relying on me to do the day-to-day baking or anything."

Angela Erickson has posed:
Angela Erickson fixes her glasses by pressing the bridge up along her nose. She relaxes a little more. Suki spins. "Oh we're not getting married to each other. I'm just her dream! But we'll meet someone..."

"Someday..." sighs Angela.

"Sommmedaaaayyyyy!" sings Angela... before there's an unheard record scratch and the singing stops there. "Wait another talking kitty! Hello! Do you guys live here?" she asks.

"What's a Beryl Gem? And who's your brother? What's an Equivalence?" asks Suki.

"Talking cats are amazing cats!" says Angela, to change the subject.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai flashes a grin over at Angela and Suki. "that's funny, it's also Usagi-chan's dream to be married. Mostly to that tall guy currently cuddling with her." Of course she has to tease, just a little bit.

Of course she also warns, "Be careful, Taro, his brother is cute in the way that causes trouble." Chiyo advises knowingly because she's been there before. She leans her chin in her hand while taking a little nibble of the pudding with a fork in the other. And a little happy tippy-tap of feet wiggling beneath the table comes as well because that was SO GOOD. "Mm, Mako-chan this is delicious!"

Bonito for his part goes full loaf. Big chonky loaf on the floor with kittens cuddled up and a rumbling purr that was almost like the crackling of a fire. Almost. Surely it's a pur. "I'm Bonito. I'm a fire spirit, but I can shape shift and it's easier to move around as a cat." A pause, and he mumbles perhaps in guilty admission to Mako's earlier teasing of having a soft side, "And it helps the kittens." Hmph. He doesn't meet Luna's gaze at all either. Maybe a bit guilty because he's certainly teased her in the past too.

"Bonito's my spirit in a way, back when I had such powers," Chiyo explains. "He sticks around because... Actually, I'm not sure. Probably the food," she reasons with a shrug. At the question of how it is she nods emphatically. "This place is so cozy! And of course it'll be super popular with Mako-chan cooking treats now and then." Another grin given, and she assures, "I'll be glad to help out with figuring out how to make it work."

Before she can suggest more though her phone text goes off, and she looks down at it. "Ah, that's *my* guy. I should get going. Is it okay if Bonito stays awhile? I think he's not going to move for awhile." A few more quick bites, and she's heading off.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Oooh, that does sound like crazy supervillain territory," Usagi says sympathetically, shoving a strawberry daifuku towards Mamoru's searching hand and resting her head on his shoulder once they're sharing a seat. "Equivalence is another magic person, like us. She's kind of... chaotic, though? Mamochan's dumber brother is Riventon, and he's a supervillain because he's on the otherside, and also does things like melt busses - apparently."

That is uh, concerning! She has to admit, that is very concerning! Beryl's gem? He's taking tools from her toolkit now?

Still, there's other, more worthwhile things to talk about -

"Oh, bye Chiyo-chan! Have fun with your boyfriend~" she giggles, then looks at Angela, "Getting married is great! Mamochan is my fiancé - we're going to get married, you know, in a few years."

A few is a good average between two and five, right?

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru nods with a sort of punched-Muppet :C face to Mako's expression at the Riventon news. But she took his cue and they're back on brighter topics, and he grins at Makoto's delight. "Good yes good. And yeah don't worry about it! I mean, you could even only do it a day a week, or every other week, just let them know what you figure your acceptable limits are."

He starts stuffing his face full of an emergency Chiyo treat, though, but waves to Usagi's cousin as she heads away and leaves Bonito there. So now his face is full and he's watching Bonichonk with the kittens, smiling while chewing.

He also gives Usagi's summary a thumbs-up, then swallows. "Tell him I said hi," he calls after her, then looks back to Angela after Usagi's explanation. "Also, I'm sorry, I missed your name!"

Taro Yamada has posed:
"Have fun, Chiyo! I'll escort Bonito back when he's done!" Taro says, and he waves her off.

To Angela: "I dunno who Equivilance is, but Beryl was the big final boss from a few months ago, super bad news. Basically every magic person in Tokyo had to team up to stop her from razing the city." And the Earth, but who's counting? "If some of her magic is back, that's trouble."

He winces at the description of the attack. He'd survived Beryl's henchwoman's Thetis due to his ability to survive otherwise fatal attacks, and he thinks he could manage to survive THAT, but he would not like it.

And after a moment, Chiyo's words kick in, and he groans. "Why is every boy who's magic in this town a pretty boy? Aren't there any ugly men in this town??"

Makoto Kino has posed:
"I'm pretty sure there's actually not," Makoto tells Taro, a touch woefully. "Not the magic ones, anyway. It's awful."

Yes, they're suffering so much.