2105/The Sakuras have Naru for Dinner

The Sakuras have Naru for Dinner
Date of Scene:	07 November 2016
Location:	Sakura Territory
Synopsis:	They eat Sushi.
Cast of Characters:	Kyouko Sakura, Naru Osaka, Momo Sakura

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Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    It was really just an off-the-cuff comment- Kyouko and Naru were so often together up at the ECFH, it just seemed natural. Kyouko had said, "Hey Naru-chan, you should come over and have dinner with us at my place sometime." She hadn't really thought about it, about the actual consequences of such an invitation- at least until Naru accepted.

    Now she was worrying her lower lip as she looked about the place, her hands on her hips. "Are you sure everything is clean enough?" She asks Momo, even this is totally the opposite of the normal scheme of things- usually she's the messy one and Momo is the one who cleans everything.

Naru Osaka has posed:
The hazards of such an invitation.. Naru actually accepting.

Which is how Naru comes to be knocking at a door further down the building than where she usually ends up. She's got a tupperware container in one hand, and her usual satchel over her shoulder and it's a good bet that the apartment could be in nearly any state and she probably wouldn't mind.

Momo Sakura has posed:
Momo is excited! Naru's coming over for dinner! Yay!

And of course, she's taken extra care to clean and scrub even more so than usual.

However, Kyouko's question has her stroking her chin in thought. "Well, I could probably get the grout in the kitchen more white. But other than that, if we keep the door to your room closed, we should be fine."

Before she can worry too much, there's a knock on the door. Dog gets up from his dog bed and barks, tail wagging. Momo rushes for it, the canine not too far behind.

"I'll get it, I'll get it!"

Even if they had't known Naru was coming, Dog's happy tail wag would at least give a clue.

She opens the door, bouncing in place. "Hi, hi, hi, hi! Come in! Gasp! You get to use our guest slippers! Yay!"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko rolls her eyes slightly at Momo. "That's not what I meant, I just don't want Naru-chan to think we're like.." She trails off, not sure exactly what she was going to say, or that Momo would understand even if she found the right words.

    The awkwardness is luckily avoided by Naru's knock on the door. Momo and Dog dash off, and Kyouko sighs, following at a more sedate pace. Why does she feel so nervous? Probably just because she's proud of everything she's managed to achieve, but looking around, it's still so.. plain. Which is fine for her, absolutely, but she knows Naru is used to the rather ridiculously decadent ECFH.

    What if Naru thinks Kyouko and Momo are.. like, trashy? Kyouko wouldn't want that!

Naru Osaka has posed:
The brilliant smile that comes as Dog and Momo provide a welcoming party seems to imply that Kyouko is worried for naught. Naru grins as Momo bounces. "Yay!" She giggles softly and steps in to divest herself of her shoes and, indeed, use the guest slippers.

"I brought dessert, or possibly more dessert. My insomnia is everyone's sugary benefit." She offers the container in Kyouko's direction. "Tarts, so they don't bounce terribly well." Naru notes with a grin and then looks back to Momo. "I've something for you too."

Momo Sakura has posed:
If Momo thought about it, she'd understand Kyouko's worries. It's something she has herself, but usually at night, and usually when Kyouko's gone. She's just afraid someday someone will realize she's been pretending at being something she's not.

All she says before she dashes away is, "I don't think she'll care."

But for now, there's a Naru!

And of course, Momo has to stand aside to let in their guest.

Her eyes grow large and glittery. "Tarts! Yummy!" But then she gasps! "For me? What is it! Whatisitwhatisitwhatisit!"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko grins slightly at Naru as she enters the apartment, most of her worries vanishing. She really does like Naru's company, and her actually being here is somewhat different from knowing she's coming and having to prepare for it. "Yum. Um.. well, I hope you ain't expectin' any kind of amazing feast. You're probably spoiled by the food upstairs, but uh.. neither of us are really good cooks."

    She accepts the container of tarts, then side-eyes. "I um.. may have gotten take-out from the sushi place next to the conbenie on my way home from work." She looks back. "It's real good though! Honest!"

    She grins slightly as Momo starts to go nuclear at the idea of some kind of present. "Don't spoil her, Naru-chan, or I'll have to get out the sedatives.."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Oh /yum/." Naru declares at the notion of take out sushi and then grins to Kyouko. "I expected delightful company, and Dog in my lap at some point. What we're having for supper is just gravy, really. Take out sushi sounds delicous, really."

Divested of the tarts, Naru can dig into her bag for what she's brought for Momo. Papers of some sort and she offers them over. Loose leaf pages with sharpie drawings on them, Naru's style for those who recognize it, of the right sort of fantasy elements for someone who really does live in a magical world. "I seemed to remember you liked to colour, so the /other/ product of my insomnia became colouring pages. There's enough room for you to add to them too if you want."

Momo Sakura has posed:
Her eyes widen. "You got sushi from there?! Why didn't you tell me!" She wails as her mouth waters. "I wouldn't have eaten it all!"

And there, she unknowingly answers her own question.

Her bouncing stops as she takes the stack of papers, but this doesn't keep her from vibrating with glee! "Naru-chan pictures to color? Oh, I'll make them so pretty, thank you!"

Then she's dashing to her room, leaving it open as she rummages for a new folder to put them in. It's not hard to find. After all, her room tends to smell like clean and air freshener for a reason. It's also a bit chilly in there, with something purposefully blocking the vent and the window open. A bit of fresh air that can only be found far up in Tokyo wafts from the doorway.

For his part, Dog's decided one of his favorite Not Family humans has ignored him long enough. He bumps his nose aganst Naru's free hand with an impatient whine.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko laughs slightly at Naru's reaction to her confession about the food. "Well, good, cuz I have a feelin' that, delightful company aside, if you tried to eat anything either of us cooked we wouldn't stay friends for very long."

    She watches Naru gives the home-made coloring book pages to Momo, and grins slightly. "Aw, that's nice of you, Naru." Then she's turning to walk back down the hall into the living room. Unlike upstairs, the layout of this apartment is such that you have to walk down a hallway, past the bedroom doors, to get to the living/kitchen area, which is in the back of the floor plan.

    "Make yourself comfortable." She goes over to the kitchen and fishes out the bag with the sushi in it. It's only an hour or so old, but she had to hide it so Momo wouldn't eat everything before Naru even got there. She starts ferrying it over to the low table in the living area- it's a kneeling-only affair, Japanese-style rather than the more Western accoutrements upstairs.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"When you get them done, I want to see them!" Naru calls after Momo with a little laugh. She scritches behind Dog's ears as she moves down the hallway, hopefully with Dog coming along with the scritches.

"I really like this apartment layout." Naru comments as she emerges into the living room and looks around. She doesn't seem distraught over the comfortable lived in furniture, quite content to kneel at the table. She's on the floor as often as she's not upstairs too.

"Can I help with anything?" Naru offers, no matter that she's settled and it looks as if the other two have things well in hand.

Momo Sakura has posed:
Dotg does indeed follow the scritches. And until food is served, he's happy to just sit next to her, panting to his doggy's heart content. When food is on the table, he usually curls up behind one of the humans. Because after all, Dog does not beg. He merely asks with his eyes if he thinks he can get away with it.

There's a happy little squeal in answer to Naru. When she comes out of her room, she's carrying the new folder, 'Naru's Pictures to Color' written in large sharpee letters, an assortment of crayons and colored pencils, and also some school work. Well, technically it's not school work. Beforeh e'd gotten swamped in his studies, Mamoru had written out a lesson plan for her. She's nearly done with all the math, and has slowly been working on the rest.

That pile, she sets on the small end table on her side of the couch. Then she joins Naru, wiggling happily.

"I was waiting on Kyou-nee to get out of work, and the old lady who ran the sushi place was having a slow day, and she's really nice. And her sushi is so yummy! I like the ones with just the dead fish on it, but the others are good, too! And I think she said her son is a fisherman, so sometimes he brings her the good stuff. Not sure what she means by that. And she also has this grumpy old cat that likes to scratch people, but he doesn't scratch me as much as he used to!"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    "Thanks.. well, we didn't pick it because of the layout. But I like it too.. it's worked really well for us." Kyouko says to Naru, with a small smile, as she sets the food out on the table and takes one of the other cushions to kneel on.

    There's a variety of sushi, both sashimi and rolls. It all seems pretty good quality, definitely the product of a local place rather than some big chain or more commercial restaurant. Kyouko opens the trays and sets out chopsticks and sauce and such as well before sitting back.

    "Dig in!" Then she adds, listening to Momo's story, "Cats often don't like Puella. I think they can sense that our souls aren't where they're supposed to be."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I'm not sure I've ever had sushi from there, so I'm looking forward to it." Naru grins as she listens to Momo's explination of her day and she does indeed dig in, taking some pieces and then passing a tray over to Momo.

"That's an interesting theory about cats." Naru muses as she quirks her head thoughtfully. "Cats are odd beasts at the best of times." She grins. "It wasn't /so/ much of a shock to learn that Luna could talk, although I admit.. now I look at /every/ cat with the potential of talking back."

Momo Sakura has posed:
"Oh." Her shoulders droop a bit, sad that kitties won't like her much. "Because of the whole Egypt thing? Think it's true? It was in one of the history things Mamo-nii had me read."

Then she perks up. "But Dog likes us at least! And he's better than cats! (Don't tell Luna!)" She's never met the talking feline or her white counterpart. Now she's a touch afraid to do so!

And, because they have a guest and she knows herself, she waits for Naru to get her sushi. And then it will be a battle to the death between the Sakura sisters!

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko smiles over at Momo, as she takes a piece of the Sushi and pops it into her mouth. Kyouko's nature is such that the actual taste of food matters less to her than whether or not it's food.. but that doesn't stop her from enjoying deliciousness when she gets a chance. And this sushi is pretty good.

    "Well, to the best of my knowledge, Luna likes me just fine, so I think she'd like you too, Momo." She reassures her sister. "I think the moon-cats're smart enough to know we're just people like everybody else, but run of the mill cats ain't that intelligent, y'know?"

    She reaches over and pats Dog. "Not like Dog here, right Dog? Good boy."

    She laughs at Naru, shaking her head. "I admit, it'd take a lot for anything like that to surprise me at this point."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Egypt was a good time for felines." Naru comments as she settles in to eat and then grins. "Mamo has you reading history things?" The question is curious, with a brief glance at the papers that came out with the colouring.

"I'm terribly fond of my mirror buddy." Naru reaches over to give Dog a scritch before going back to eating and chatting. "Luna's got a good head upon her furry shoulders. She'll like you just fine, Momo."

Naru smirks a touch at Kyouko's words and she nods. "I'm not sure I really surprised much.. well.. ever. Just what it was changed a bit. I've always been fairly zen about things."

Momo Sakura has posed:
Momo takes many sushies! ALL THE SUSHIES! And of course leaves plenty for Kyouko.

She nods, happily. "Yup! Before he got real busy studying, Mamo-nii made me up a bunch of stuff to do, and places online to get more if I finish. I'm almost done with the math stuff he got me! History's usually boring, though, because it's the same stupid thing over and over again. Just different places and people. But when it's not, like with kitties in Egypt, that's whne it's good! Like, did you know that one of the reasons the black plague got so bad was because they killed cats? And the cats couldn't eat the rats, so the rats carried the plague even more. Poor kitties..."

Dog lets out a soft woof at his name and praise and gives Kyouko's hand a small lick at the pet. And then he's wiggling and panting at Naru before he settles down, tail thumping on the ground. Yes, these are Good Humans.

Momo taps her chin and hums. "Maybe the mean cat doesn't bite me much anymore because he knows I'm not bad, he's still just a little scared. So I won't get mad at him if he keeps biting me."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko may have gotten just a few extra sushis of the type that she knows Momo likes best. And she may studiously be avoiding taking those, although of course Naru, being the Guest, is welcome to take any of the varieties she likes.

    Kyouko is showing remarkable restraint, actually- maybe she's feeling the pressure to be a good hostess. Well, it certainly won't kill her, considering the amount of free high-quality food she gets upstairs on a regular basis. And she's probably aware of that, which is why it isn't such a struggle for her to hold back for the moment and let Momo and Naru have first pick before she really digs in. How much she has grown!

    To Naru, she says, "I've noticed, believe me." With just a hint of wryness, though its affectionate. "I think I've become more able to handle.. stuff. But I'm not sure I could ever approach your level of calm. Which is probably good, they don't pay me to be calm."

    To Momo she adds, "Maybe you should bring him a treat, or something. Although animals are animals, so who knows if that'll work." She asides, "No offense, Dog."

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru is blissfully ignorant on which are favourites, so she really does just sample around the options. Slowly, oh so slowly, Naru's appetite is starting to return to not on Kyouko and Usagi scales. Slowly. Still she's clearly enjoying the options available.

"I'm by no means as smart, or as far ahead in school, as Mamo, but if you run out of the interesting stuff and he's still insane with exam studying, I can probably add a few more options. At least until I get stupid with exams. There's some history stuff that's /really cool/. Like the cats and the plague, that's part of the cool bits of history. I might need your help with geography though." Naru nods sagely.

"Well." Naru considers as she holds her chopsticks casually a moment, and looks over to Kyouko. "I love Usagi to bits, but calm isn't her strong suit and never has been. Soo.. one of us needed to keep a lid on the freak outs, at least for a while. Granted, I never expected that not freaking out about book reports and lunch options would translate into zen about vampires and curses, but apparently it works the same muscles."

Momo Sakura has posed:
Momo enjoys the taste of things because she's finally allowed to. She's finally able to have favorite foods she can choose, able to be a touch picky on occasion, and able to pick out the hated corn when it's not left out and Kyouko's available to take it. (If not, she'd gulp it down. Because it's still food.) And this is, of course, Kyouko's fault.

Now she'shumming again. "I dunno, Kyou-nee. Looking back, you handled me jus popping up out of nowhere a lot better than you probably woulda."

Of course, while her sister's initial reaction had stung, and many tears had been shed, she didn't and doesn't really hold any of it against her. (Momo knows she would have handled it a lot worse if roles had been reversed!)

Dog thumps his tail even more. It's okay he's just an animal. He knows he's smarter than most of them.

"Like kitty treats, or bits of fishies?"

"Oh oh! I'm not the bets at Geography, but we could probably learn together!"

Yay! A study buddy!

And then she's blinking. "I hear she has lots of energy. Mamo-nii must love her lots. I know he gets overwhelmed if I'm around too long."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko smirks just a little bit towards Naru. "Maybe that's the reason we get along- I definitely have more in common with Usagi. It's possible we give off some of the same vibes." She shrugs a bit. "Although I don't think you've ever actually seen me blow my top.. which is probably for the best. It only tends to happen when things have gotten real out of control." Although, at least if you listen to Kunzite, that's when Kyouko does her best work.

    She smiles at Momo. "I still coulda handled it better. But.. well, at least we worked it out somewhat quickly.."

    She laughs at the mention of Mamoru getting overwhelmed by Momo. "Mamoru is very.. sensitive. It's really why he manages to get along with everyone as well as he does, but being more open to other people also means having less defenses. I think you just.. tire him out." She ruffles Momo's hair as she chews on another sushi. "Good thing stamina is one of my high stats."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I'd think either kitty treats or bits of fishes would bribe a kitty just fine." Naru decides and then she laughs and nods. "We can learn together. I don't much like my teacher, so I'd far rather learn with you."

"Usagi has lots of energy, except when she doens't and she's asleep." Naru smiles, her expression fond of her long term bestie. "Mamoru really does love her lots, and yes. He gets overwhelmed pretty easily. Kyouko has that right, certainly."

Naru waggles her chopsticks at Kyouko. "I haven't, and I'm alright with that, generally. I /can/ blow my top, I think it currently usually involves Wraiths, so it's really not exactly common."

Momo Sakura has posed:
She thinks her sister can be scary when her top is blown. However, since it's never directed at her, it's the sort of scary than makes her fear for the girl. Other than that, she just knows she's protected.

Wiggle, wiggle. Happy little wiggles.

And she plots and plans on how to bribe a kitty to like her enough not to bite every time!

"Having good teachers can make learning better! But if you don't, having a study buddy helps!"

She dabs a bit of wasabi onto her next sushi. It's not her last, so she's not as fearful.

After taking a moment to breath fire and clear her throat and recover from a heat induced death, she nods along. "Oh, I'm not mad at him! I've always had lots of energy! And I make sure to be very quiet when I go see Aniki."

Father hadn't...liked that. Her energetic nature had been more noticeable to her parents when Kyouko wasn't around, and even then, her mother did her best to find outlets. Like crochet. That was fun! Still, for some reason, she'd always felt less like she'd explode with energy if her sister was around. Poor Mama had often times gone to bed exhausted when left alone with Momo!

She sighs dreamily. "If I could find someone who loved me half as much...!" Then she waves her hand. "Okay, I know Kyou-nee loves me that much, but it's different. Still very important, but different!"

She flops back on the ground and sighs. "I don't know if I have a top to blow."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko looks at Naru and quirks a brow, smirking again. "I know, I was there during the noodle incident, remember? Well, the one involving Wraiths, anyway. That's when I knew I liked you. Anybody who tries to beat up a monster with their backpack instead of running away definitely gets points in my book."

    She eyes Momo as the girl pines her lack of a love-life. "You'll have plenty of time to find someone who loves you that much when you're older." She says, somewhat primly. "And don't get any fancy ideas from those sappy romance movies you like to watch." Actually, Kyouko likes to watch those too, but she would never admit it. So she pins the blame on Momo whenever one gets left on the TV.

    "I've been workin' very hard to make sure you don't need to blow your top, kid." She adds, "But you're a Sakura. Trust me, it's within your ability."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"That was Wraith fight number 2, I'm up to three at this point. Although I was far calmer in the last than the first two." Naru laughs softly at the mention of beating on a Wraith with her book bag, shaking her head a little.

"Everyone has a top to blow.. it's just how quickly and what prompts it." Naru nods to Kyouko's words to Momo. "It's not always a good thing."

Naru laughs as she relaxes, setting her chopsticks down for the moment. "The sappy romance movies aren't very good at the details, I'm learning. Either that or my boyfriend isn't following the sappy romance movie script, which seems just as likely, and alright by me."

Momo Sakura has posed:
Stars in her eyes! Momo's heard of Naru's fabled backpack to wraith fighting skills!

Momo giggles. She figures she's more or less Kyouko's Sappy Romance Beard, even if she'll never voice this suspicion! "But Kyou-nee, they give me high expectations! If someone meets even half of them, they must be worth looking into!"

And then, to aleviate any worry her sister may have, she waves a hand again. "Besides, I gots years yet. Most boys still have cooties, I dunno if I like girls, and I gots five brothers upstairs that whoever it is has to live up to. And survive. And then survive you."

And, of course, whoever it is has to measure up to Aniki. Perhaps not with Kunzite's stoicism, but there has to be a feel.

She perks up suddenly. "Oh and hopefully I make Kyou-nee's top less blowable!"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    "You got that backwards, Momo-chan." Kyouko says, drily. "I get first crack at 'em. If there's anything left, then the guys can have a go."

    She chuckles and shakes her head towards Naru. "I'm afraid I ain't much help when it comes to telling you how boys are s'pposed to act. The only boy I can claim to have any insight into is Kunzite, and I hardly think he counts as a typical example of the breed."

    She gets up then, stretching. Seeing most of the sushi has been accounted for, she turns and heads back into the kitchen. "How about we break out those tarts now, huh?"