2408/Company

Company
Date of Scene:	25 January 2017
Location:	Uminari City - Seishou Public School
Synopsis:	Lunch at Seishou: Ayana meets Naru. Ayana is not that good with meeting people. Ikiko helps!
Cast of Characters:	Ayana, Naru Osaka, Ikiko Hisakata

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Ayana has posed:
Lunchtime at Seishou on a chilly day typically involves eating in classrooms, for many students. Not so for Ayana, who would normally prefer to eat lunch with her girlfriend. At least with Ikiko, Ayana doesn't feel constantly persecuted. But today, Ikiko had things to do at lunch, and Ayana was left to herself with an encouraging kiss and a hug.

Well it was supposed to be encouraging, but the kitsune found it anything but. Despite her girlfriend's constant reassurances, Ayana has never found it easy to fit in with the students at the school. Doubly so after her hair reverted to the same black color it had been the previous year, after so many months of defending that she wasn't dying it.

How do you explain such a sudden pallet shift any other way?

So while most of the students are inside, enjoying the shared warmth of bodies in enclosed spaces, Ayana sits alone out in the yard, half-hidden among the bushes, trying to avoid being noticed by anyone who might randomly hunt for her. Of course, more concerted efforts won't have much difficulty finding her. It's hard to truly hide on this campus.

The fox-girl opens her bento box and sighs at its contents. Rice, of course, but also plenty of vegetables: carrots, daikon, and sprouts, scattered in amongst bits of sushi.

"Itadakimasu," she mumbles quietly, then starts digging in with her bare hands, foregoing chopsticks entirely.

Naru Osaka has posed:
There really wasn't much sleep last night, and by 'not much', that really means 'none'. The prospect of sitting still in a warm classroom basically screamed 'this is going to become a nap' and outside for lunch seems refreshing. Or at least should ensure that she doesn't actually fall asleep in her lunch.

Having failed to spot Ayana inside, Naru combines her desire to keep moving with keeping an eye out for the fox-girl. A gentle mumble from the bushes prompts her to pause and crouch down. "Oh! Hey, there you are." She smiles. A tired smile, but a smile, genuinely pleased to find Ayana.

Ayana has posed:
Ayana startles at Naru's call, and looks up at her. Her foxlike ears are laid back flat against her head in concern, visible to Naru as the real things they are.

Ayana grimaces a little, then reaches up to smooth her hair out--reestablishing the illusion that keeps her ears hidden in the process. She looks back to her bento and licks rice off her hand, then asks, "Are you here to tell me why I don't fit in, too?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru shakes her head as she comes a bit closer. "I was pretty sure that I was going to faceplant if I stayed inside, but I wouldnt mind some company such that I dont fall asleep out here and miss the end of lunch. Would that be alright?"

Ayana has posed:
Ayana wraps her arms protectively around her food as Naru comes closer, almost as if afraid the elder girl will try to steal it. "I'm not good company," she responds grumpily. "You don't want to hang out with me."

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru mmms softly as she settles on the ground not far from Ayana and opens up her own lunch in her lap. No stealing! Quite the opposite, it looks like there's enough there to share, really.

"Why not?" Naru asks simply enough, as she settles to her own lunch.

Ayana has posed:
The kitsune looks even less pleased as Naru sits down next to her. She doesn't run away, though; after all, it'd just look even more dumb if she ceded her position. On the other hand, this is an upperclassman, and one she barely knows at all. Maybe she should treat Naru like she would treat a wolf in the wild: back away with the scraps you can get before you get eaten, too.

This hesitation plays across Ayana's expression for a while as she watches Naru open up her bento. She bares her fanged teeth briefly, then looks away and hunches her shoulders.

"No one likes me," Ayana grumbles eventually. "I'm too good at Math to not be cheating, and too stupid at every other subject to not be mocked. If you're here to make me trust you so you can make me feel worse when you eventually humiliate me later, it's not going to work. I won't trust you."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Alright." Naru nods at that declaration of lack of trust. Apparently she is willing to accept that caveat.

"Ikiko likes you." She points out after a few moments of eating. "Doesn't she?"

If there's worry that Ayana is going to lash out physically, or run away, Naru gives no clue. Her expression is calm, relaxed even with a gentle haze of tired over it.

Ayana has posed:
Ayana's face screws up a little in irritation, and she turns to glare at Naru hatefully. "You don't touch her," she says, growling low in her throat.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I've only met her once, and she's lovely. I have no plans to touch her. I am not much for touch, generally. Save with only a few people." Naru comments softly and a little smile. "I've a girlfirend of my own, you need not be jealous."

Ayana has posed:
Ayana doesn't immediately let up her glare, but the growling stops at least. She stares a moment longer, then looks away and makes a noise of frustration. Saying nothing, she begins digging into her bento with bare hands once again.

Naru Osaka has posed:
There's quiet for a while as Naru just sets to her lunch, not forcing Ayana into conversation. She's fairly comfortable with the whole silence thing and after a while she plucks out a wrapped section from her lunch box and slides it over.

"I packed more than I can eat. Kunzite said you were fond of egg onigiri, would you like them? I wouldnt want them to go bad sitting in my locker all afternoon." Naru glances over to Ayana at the mention of both food and Kunzite's name.

Ayana has posed:
Ayana is still licking rice from her fingers when Naru brings up the onigiri--and Kunzite. Her bento is spotlessly clean, at this point, having been licked (with many sidelong glances) so by the foxgirl carefully.

At the mention and offer, though, Ayana's ears once more break through that illusion, perking up and swiveling towards Naru only a fraction of a second before she turns to stare at her.

And stare she does, for several long moments, as if judging her quarry anew.

Eventually, Ayana holds out her hand, palm up, for the onigiri. She doesn't say a word. Not yet.

Naru Osaka has posed:
It is not the first time that Naru has been examined in such a way, and it seems unlikely to be the last. She is calm, and patient under the scrutiny, waiting for judgement to be rendered.

Naru leans over just a little to be able to gently set the wax paper wrapped packet in Ayana's hand. It's homemade, clearly, lacking the factory perfection of store bought ones.

Transfer complete, Naru settles in with an apple, stretching a little as she works out some of the kinks.

Ayana has posed:
Ayana sniffs at the onigiri curiously, then peels away the wax paper and sniffs it again. A moment later, she shoves the entire ball of rice in her mouth. She chews more as a matter of interest, rather than necessity, and soon enough swallows the rice ball down ... mostly still whole.

Licking her lips clean, Ayana then squints a little at Naru once again. She resumes grooming her fingers, but only after asking, "Saito-senpai told you about me?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
Rapidly vanishing food is a normal thing in Naru's world, between Usagi and Kyouko. Naru simply crunches on her apple, not eating the core, but instead setting that in her lunch box.

There's a thoughtful frown from Naru as the names don't entirely overlap. "Saito? That name isn't familiar to me."

Ayana has posed:
"Saito-senpai," Ayana repeats the name quietly, frowning just a little. She tries to think through why Naru would know the more secretive name, but not the public one, and comes up blank. "Kunzite-senpai," she explains helpfully.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru blinks a moment and looks over to Ayana and then she laughs softly. "Really? He's got yet /another/ name? Saito? A new one to me. I know him best as Kunzite." She explains quietly before she resettles with her legs outstretched. She nods after a moment. "But to answer your question. Yes, he mentioned you."

Ayana has posed:
Given a baseline for trust, Ayana seems to calm almost visibly. The taut attentiveness of her ears relaxes, her eyes lose the hard glaring edge, and her posture changes ever-so-slightly towards calm. "Saito-senpai is very special," she explains quietly. "I keep forgetting he wants to have another name, now. Not Kunzite. I don't remember what it was," she mumbles quietly, furrowing her brows in thought.

Then she abandons the thought to look up at Naru again, eyes widening just a little. "Saito-senpai talks about me?" she asks curiously. "W...why?"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
As the de facto leader of the Animal Care club, Ikiko is usually the one who has to talk to the club advisor when that sort of thing is needed; hence why she had to spend part of lunch not eating with Ayana. But the conversation is done -- it was something involving club supplies -- and now it's time to find her girlfriend and eat.

It doesn't take much to locate Ayana, although Ikiko is surprised to see Naru there as well. "Hi, Ayana! Hi, Naru!" she calls as she heads over to join them. She sits down next to the foxgirl and kisses Ayana on the cheek, then opens up her bento; it's the same type of stuff as in Ayana's.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"He is very special." Naru nods with a gentle smile. "I can't aruge there at all. Kazuo." She offers at Ayana's lack of recollection of the current name game.

Naru looks up as Ikiko arrives and her smile is warm and that doesn't dim at the little kiss. If anything, that makes her smile all the more. "Hi Ikiko. How're you today?"

Ayana has posed:
"Ta..ke..ba-senpai," Ayana mumbles the name as Naru jogs her memory. Of course, she's likely to forget it again, given she's immediately interrupted by the most important thing in her world.

Ayana's face visibly lights up at Ikiko's call, and she smiles just a little at the kiss to her cheek. "Iki-chan," she mumbles greeting, then leans over to hug her girlfriend. And if a piece of Ikiko's lunch winds up in Ayana's hand, there's probably not much surprise. "Osaka-senpai has been talking to me." Yeah, that's such a helpful explanation.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"I'm okay, thanks!" Ikiko smiles. "Glad to be done with the club advisor meeting, anyway." There's a mumbled 'itadakimasu' and then she takes a bite or two of her bento.

With the edge of her appetite dealt with, she starts paying a bit more attention to the conversation. "Something about Kazuo?" Ikiko asks toward Ayana, although the question is open to Naru as well. If there's stuff to catch up on, she'll probably catch up as she goes.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I am grateful never to have ended up in an advisor role at any of the clubs." Naru nods to Ikiko with a rueful smile. "I seem to end up busy enough with meetings." She is mostly done her lunch, the remains getting slid over in offer to Ayana should she wish to scavange. It's almost like Naru is used to hearty eaters.

"I was mentioning to Ayana that Kazuo mentioned her to me. Which is a lot of mentions in one sentance." Naru looks faintly sheepish and gently amused.

Ayana has posed:
"Nanno," Ayana says, as she begins greedily digging into Naru's lunch. After all, if it was offered, and Kunzite is okay with this person, she has no reason to mistrust her food. Luckily for Ikiko, Naru is far more forthcoming.

Ayana struggles to recall what she was asking, but luckily the question comes around again. Mouth flecked with rice, she looks up to Naru and tilts her head just faintly. "Why did Saito-senpai talk about me?"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"It's still worth mentioning," Ikiko giggles in response to Naru. She snags an item or two from the offered leftovers for variety, but mostly focuses on her own bento.

This also gives her time to listen in on the ongoing conversation; even if there's nothing for her to add at this particular moment, that doesn't mean that there won't be something else that she can add on to.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"He knew I went to school here, and that Ayana went to school here." Naru comments with an easy smile. "And he knows I like to meet people and be social and he thought a little more social wouldn't necessarily go amiss."

There's no never mention about the fact that Ayana didn't exactly /want/ Naru to sit and have lunch with her.

Ayana has posed:
"... oh," Ayana replies, furrowing her brow in thought. Her ears twitch a little as her mind tries to come up with a solution to some problem she's having with Naru's words. Twitch twitch. Fuzzy twitch.

Eventually, she looks to Naru again and asks, "Did he tell you to keep the other kids from bullying me?"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata contemplates skritching her girlfriend's ears, but decides against it -- Ayana is obviously thinking hard, and while the kitsune might enjoy the distraction, she likewise doesn't want to derail the train of thought.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"No." Naru shakes her head thoughtfully. "He didn't in specific." She leans back on her hands, lounging for the moment. Even if it's cold out, she seems to be enjoying the chilld for once.

"Are you getting bullied?" Naru asks almost absently, thoughtfully.

Ayana has posed:
Ayana squints a little at Naru, then shrugs. "Yeah, I guess," she mumbles. "They think I'm weird," she explains, "or that I cheat on math, or that I'm stupid. They think ..." she trails off, then sighs. "I don't know what they think. They're just mean to me, and Sora-chan made it worse, and Maki-san also made it worse, and I just try to avoid them, now. It's easier that way."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Mmmm." Naru answers thoughtfully, clearly not seeming concerned about being here and chatting with Ayana. Even if 'they' thing she's 'weird'.

"It's been my experience that a lot of people, especially at school, default to mean when they aren't quite certain what to do with negative feelings, no matter if those are justified." Naru's words are thoughtful. "Which doens't make it suck any less. There's something to be said for avoiding the ones who are stupid gits."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Okay, that calls for skritchies. Ikiko reaches an arm around Ayana for a light hug, reaching the hand upward to gently pet the foxgirl's ears.

Ayana has posed:
Ayana starts to repond to Naru, but first she is being pulled into cuddles and scritches and those are very distracting. Ayana's eyes lid almost entirely against her will as she leans into those scritches, and all the tension just fades away.

This is possibly a contributing factor to why she's called weird.

Eventually, Ayana finds her tongue again to mumble, "They're all stupid. Mean and stupid."

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru Osakaaru just smiles as Ayana leans into cuddles and scritches and she chuckles softly. She can relate, if perhaps not quite to the same degree.

"I can't argue with mean, stupid might be more of a debate, but absolutely mean." Naru nods in agreement and then sits back up again. "May I have lunch with you again sometime?" She asks.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata stops skritching for a bit to allow Ayana to regain enough focus to respond. She's very much in favor of having another magical person to have lunch with them, but it's Ayana's opinion that matters here.

Ayana has posed:
Not that Ayana has any clue that Naru's magical. But right now, scritches are happening, so she's--wait, scritches are stopping!? Ayana puts and looks up at Ikiko, big blue eyes begging for more.

Wait. Naru asked a question. That's why scritchies stopped. Ayana frowns and tries to remember the question in the haze of happiness that she's coming down from. "Uh," she mumbles, "I guess. It's not good for your reputation, though."

Naru Osaka has posed:
It's a common thing, to not realize that Naru's magical. There are few enough who actually recognize her in henshin, and referencing her name means nothing to most.

"I'm already odd." Naru smiles with a soft chuckle. "I'm not terribly worried about my reputation in coming to having lunch with you, with or without Ikiko here, for that matter." She leans over to latch her lunch box closed again. "Although if it's just me, there won't be scritches. Sorry."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
With the question answered, Ikiko gladly resumes skritches, quietly giggling at Naru's apology. "Lunch with friends is always a good thing," she notes with a smile.

Ayana has posed:
Ayana sticks out her tongue at Naru's caveat on lunching without Ikiko. "I'd rather lunch with Iki-chan," she notes honestly. "And not just because of scritches."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"That seems fair." Naru chuckles and nods. "I'd rather see my girlfriend at lunch /too/. I dont blame you a bit for preferring lunch with her over lunch with me."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata grins at both, then focuses on her own lunch. She got a late start; better make sure she finishes eating before lunch ends!