[AQ] Use your Noodle [Kiyoka & Scout]

[☆ SCOUT]

SPOILER: Click to show

Portal To The Meat Dimension
+ Description: A new noodle shop has opened up in Otonoki and they're holding a special promotion to get the word out! They're giving anyone who can finish their Mega Beef Bowl, a free week's worth of noodles for you and a friend! Many have tried, few have succeeded. Will you take the challenge or will you be sucked into the next meat dimension?
+ Give the Mega Beef Bowl challenge a shot: -1 Guardians, +1 Faberge
+ Cheat and have your guardian character help you finish the bowl: -1 Faberge, +1 Roost
+ Pass on the challenge but cheer a friend on: +1 Guardians, -1 Roost
+ Attempt the challenge but throw in the towel: +1 Faberge, -1 Roost
+ Requirements: Minimum Level 1
+ Submitted by Kingmochi

She'd heard about a new noodle shop; of course she had, that was her business--hearing things. Rumors, gossip, all of it were right up her alley, her lifeblood, even. And the idea of something like a noodle shop opening and being rumored to be having some kind of social event to celebrate it--well, how could she pass up the idea?

Careful to get there on a Saturday morning, a little bit after it opened on (as being early wasn't at all fashionable), she poked her head into the tiny establishment, which barely had enough room for a counter and a row of chair, and a bit of wiggle room for the staff to move back and forth before going into the back where the kitchens were. There were a couple of other students there already, either there just to try the place out, or some even seemed to be going for the challenge already--so it was true!

Something about... a Mega Bowl. Upon peering up to the counter of the menu to check out what it was, it seemed like some kind of beef bowl... perhaps she'd try it, but she'd never do something like that alone. Scanning the other patrons, as well as the door for anyone she might find a suitable choice to cling onto--a cute girl to get chummy with, preferably--she waited before initiating the event for herself via taking a seat. Things had to go in a certain way; there were rules for this sort of thing! Or, at least, rules to ensure her own self-benefit, usually in making sure that she would be looking as best she could, both physically and on the social plane.

[Kiyoka]

Today was a big day. A VERY big day indeed-- it was they day Kiyoka had decided that she would finally step into that new noodle joint and take up their challenge. She'd been waiting days since she found out about its opening, wanting to go and check it out for herself but unable to because of the forced responsibility of being her sister's keeper. But not today. Today she would have a taste of freedom, and a taste of beef bowl.

Despite informing her stepmother the night before of her plans, she argued with her that morning while Yue watched, and she just left, slamming the door behind her. She'd been taking Yue to school all week, and picking her up when classes were over, to which she'd still get an earful for about bringing her home late because of her 'selfish' choice of joining the archery team and staying for practice. More often than not she had to pass up on karaoke with her team, unless she decided to take her little sister with her. Which, ha, she'd never let that happen.

She bicycles as fast as she can to the noodle shop, the wind whistling in her ears, anticipating the day she had for herself. Sure, she was most likely in so much trouble, but that was a problem for future Kiyoka. Nearly running into the bike rack she slows to a stop, hastily locking up her bike and running into the restaurant. She's a little out of breath and she takes it all in-- all the wonderful smells make her feel giddy. A determined smile appears on her lips, and her voice is loud and clear:

"MEGA BEEF BOWL, HERE I COME!"

[☆ SCOUT]

It took a few minutes of waiting, but someone finally showed up--and Scout was more than delighted to, indeed, see that it was a cute girl who had made her way in. She looked vaguely familiar; probably another student from Seiyo, she guessed, and she had entered and loudly declared her intentions to all who had open ears around to hear. Scout's eyes positively sparkled at the sight, and she immediately approached with a bounce in her step.

"You're going to try?" she greeted enthusiastically, flashing a bright smile as she stopped in front of the other with her hands behind her back, leaning forward as her long ponytail fell loosely over her shoulder. "Me too! Hey, let's try it together, huh?" She pressed a finger to her lips and winked. "I didn't want to do it all by myself with all these lame guys around, y'know? Besides, it's more fun with friends!"

That was, in that Scout had already deemed herself friends with this girl, who, upon saying this, realized that she hadn't yet known her name--or introduced herself, even, to which she then stood back up straight, more formally. "I'm Scout, by the way! Nice ☆ to ☆ meet ☆ you!"

[Kiyoka]

A look of surprise passes of her features when she's approached by some stranger, but upon closer inspection the girl doesn't seem like a stranger at all and Kiyoka thinks she's seen her around somewhere before. It could only be one place which is school, since her free time after classes is so limited. She doesn't mind at all though, since it isn't some creepy older guy trying to hit her up. That would really put a damper on her day.

"Yeah, you bet I am!" She grins back at the girl, nodding and filled to the brim with confidence. "Oh, so you're up for the challenge, too?" She ponders the girl's request, though she couldn't think of any reason to refuse. Not that she wanted to, because honestly it could be fun. "Alright, I'm down! It'll be good to give each other a nudge if things get tough. Let's show these losers what we're made of." There's a mischievous glint in her eye. "I'm counting on you to keep up."

Maybe 'friends' wasn't exactly a term Kiyoka would use to describe her newfound relationship with girl, but she shrugs it off. The word has been tossed around so much it's almost starting to lose its meaning. If they do make it to friends after this though, Kiyoka hopes she'll stick around. Kinda hard when you have the communicational tact of a runaway train. "Kiyoka. Nice to meet ya, partner." Partners in meat devouring challenges.

[☆ SCOUT]

"Kiyoka-chan, then!" Scout then announced, flashing her a charming smile as she caught her name. Practically pulling her up to the counter, Scout took a seat as she tucked her skirt under her, her posture curving up with a strength of refinery as she placed her fingertips on the countertop. Before even so much as waiting for any of the staff to approach them, she called out to one that was dealing with some money down a few seats from them.

"Two Mega Bowls; one for me, and one for my friend!"

She then turned back to Kiyoka, shrugging a shoulder with a wink, before holding up a few fingers to make the OK sign. "They're on me!" she assured, before folding her fingers over the counter again. "So are you also at Seiyo, Kiyoka-chan? I heard about this from some second-years in the mess hall the other day... I'd been looking for a cute noodle joint to go to, you know?" A pause, and she smiled. "I only transferred here recently, so I'm still learning the town... It's so cute here, though! Really rural, you know? Just has such, like, a 'home' feeling compared to the city where I grew up. Do you live in Otonoki, Kiyoka-chan?"

She didn't think twice about immediately starting on an enormous tangent of questions to the other; she just loved to chat.

[Kiyoka]

This girl is really friendly, and honestly Kiyoka wholeheartedly appreciates that. It's a breath of fresh air from her usual friend group consisting of a clueless gaijin, a rude stone cold first year, and a quiet third year who's current goal is to fight the foreign born Australian kid in their group-- but in a manly way. To strengthen the bonds of manly friendship, though she'll never fully be able to understand what goes on in guys' heads.

"And a water! Two waters." she adds as she plunks down in the seat next to Scout, scooting her chair forward to sit more comfortably. She snaps her head to look at Scout when she claims that the meal will be on her, almost not believing what she heard. "Wait, are you serious? I think I might love you!" she says without thinking. Lately so many people have been bringing her free food and lunch, she wonders if that's a thing for this area. And if there is any way to her heart, it's through food. Well, at least one of the ways but it was definitely on top. "But really, thanks!"

She doesn't mind the questions, nodding. "Yeah I am! It's my second year at this school. I've been dying to come to this joint ever since I first heard word." Which was for a while coming. She figured that Scout wasn't from around here, considering the way she spoke. "I do, but further. On the other side of town. I bike to school." It would be a lot more convenient and a time saver if she could access her damn room, though. "I've seen your face before, in a 3rd year classroom, right? I guess I should be calling you senpai." Considering Kiyoka spends a sizable amount annoying Aomi, she could vaguely place faces. "Transferred, huh? So you're from around Kansai, right? Since your accent."

Tapping her foot against the leg her chair, her stomach grumbles. It all smells so good and she did run out of the house without eating.

[☆ SCOUT]

"You're too sweet!" she chirped at the other's exclamation; her face ran a bit warm, but she shrugged it off with a warm smile, shifting to lean her elbows on the counter as she clasped her hands together, holding them by her chin.

"Ohh! A kouhai then; very cute. Biking to school though... that sounds so nice! Like... I bet it feels really, like, fresh, you know?" she pushed back from the counter a bit, tipping her chin up ever just-so and closing her eyes, seeming to be imagining herself on a bike. "Getting to see all the sights rushing by, feeling the wind, pushing yourself forward under the blue sky..." Pausing in the moment, a few more passed before she resumed her previous position. "Heheh, maybe I'm romanticizing a bit too much; but it sounds suuuuper nice, really."

She seemed to brighten up even more when Kiyoka nailed her accent. "Oh--yes! I'm from Hyougo," she chimed. "It's pretty far away, but I see it as an adventure! I've been staying with my aunt and uncle."

Letting her hands fall, she leaned over the counter to see where their food was; she wasn't the most patient of people, and she was still more than curious about the bowls that they'd ordered.

It took a bit, but they eventually came; the bowl the size of their heads, filled to the tim with broth, meat, noodles, vegetables...

"This is mega. Wow."

[Kiyoka]

She watches Scout in awe, listening to her intently and nodding vigorously. Abruptly she stands up from her chair, filled with passion, eyes locked on the other girl in earnest. "No, that's exactly right!" She grins. "It feels free! Like you can go anywhere...you're the one in control of the direction you wanna take, no one telling you where to go or that you're going the wrong way." She sits back down, but not out of embarrassment of her outburst and rather more out of satisfaction.

And also because their beef bowls had arrived.

Her mouth waters at the sight, packed with meat and noodles and everything she could have asked for and more. And it was BIG. "Whatever happens to me tomorrow, at least know that today was the greatest day of my life." She takes a pair of chopsticks for herself and hands another pair to Scout.

Ripping open the packaging and breaking the chopsticks apart, she glances at Scout. "That's pretty far, though. Hyougo. Just came to Otonoki because you wanted to, Scout-senpai?" She could agree on the adventure part, but that was only a recent development with all the weird egg stuff she'd kinda been thrown into.

[☆ SCOUT]

Scout admired the other's reaction, pleased that it was just as she imagined, and also impressed by her gesture. It was dropped quickly when the food arrived, though, but that was understandable, and she didn't let herself be disappointed--they were about to eat, now, after all.

Taking the chopsticks in her small (pristinely-kept) hands, she held them from the bottom and pulled them apart so that they'd split perfectly down the middle. "Best of luck to us both!" she announced, before leaning over the bowl and digging in with a musical itadaikimasu. She went right at the bowl, starting with some noodles; as she took them up, she paused to let them cool a bit, before taking a whole mouth full.

She needed a moment before she was able to reply--it was impolite to speak with one's mouth full, after all (and not at all impolite to put that many noodles in one's mouth at once, she had decided earlier)--but she offered a halfhearted shrug before putting it to words. "Mm, no, it was my family's decision. I don't mind, though; it's much more... weird and exciting here, than it was at my old school." Weird and exciting--that was the right way to describe it, right? "What about you, Kiyoka-chan? Was Seiyo your first choice?" She then proceeded to take another mouthful of noodles, taking some of the beef up with them this time.

[Kiyoka]

Kiyoka quickly repeats a hasty itadakimasu after Scout, attacking the bowl right away with gusto. She slurps up the hot noodles, unable to wait for them to cool in her excitement. It does burn her tongue, but the pain is quickly forgotten at the flavors dancing on her palette, and she presses her hands to cheeks, gushing to herself about the taste. 

While she was a hearty eater, she wasn't a barbarian and remembered her manners, taking a sip of water after her first bite. She nods to indicate that she's still listening while Scout explains her circumstances. "Oh, well if you don't really mind being here, then it all works out, yeah?" She smiles, lightly drumming her fingers on the counter top. "Mhmm! I wanted to come here. I wanted to be far from home as I could, and my mom supported me on that." Something her stepmother disagreed with. 

"My first year wasn't anything special. It's only this year where...like you said, shit started getting weird and exciting." Nothing like laying an egg to make you freak out.

[☆ SCOUT]

Catching Kiyoka's hands on her cheeks from the corner of her eye, she was delighted to see that her new partner in crime was enjoying the bowl. It was good, too, even if it was hard to taste through how hot it was. But it was going down easy--at least, for now. There was so much; she wasn't sure if she'd be able to handle it, herself.

"Ohhh? Where do you come from originally?" Scout chimed, glancing over to her as she took up another string of noodles, grabbing some of the vegetables with it this time. "So you dorm, then? I bet that's fun, ohhh--living away from home, responsible just for yourself, other students all around..." she seemed to be off getting dreamy again, romanticizing the idea. "I kind of wish I'd gotten to do that! It seems so neat, you know? But I think I'd miss family-cooked food too much, mmmm." Humming at the end, she did suppose this counted in that.

Blinking again, she set her chopsticks down for a moment. "Eh? It's just been this year? What kind of weird stuff have you witnessed that's, like, especially so?" She leaned in a little bit, seeming legitimately curious.

[Kiyoka]

"I've lived in Otonoki most of my life, but when I was small we lived in Yokohama. My mom is there still." Taking another mouthful of noodles and meat, she makes a non-committal noise and waves her hand in a so-so kind of gesture. "Right, dorms! Ummmm...sort of. It's complicated." Her home life and dorm situation isn't something she likes to bring up so early in a conversation. "But that's what dorming is like! Really fun, doing things without anyone else being overbearing." At least it's what Kiyoka assumes. "Maybe one day you can come over and chill, and see what it's all about!" Also assuming she manages to get back into her room.

Her fingers drum on the countertop again. "If anything happened last year, I wouldn't know. It only really blew up in my face recently. Like, flashing signs and car horns in your face! And If I tell you...I might sound kinda crazy, and I know I'm not. But it is pretty weird." She sets her chopsticks down as well, her expression growing serious and looking Scout in the eyes, leaning closer to her as if she were about to divulge a big secret. "Do you want know? Do you really want to know?"

[☆ SCOUT]

"Ohh, Yokohama! I've never been there," she gaped in reply, before using that gape to summon up some more noodles to her mouth, slurping them carefully but still trying to maintain eye contact with Kiyoka. When she offered for Scout to come and see one day, she quickly set down her chopsticks, pressing her fingertips together with glee. "Really?" she chirped. "That would be so fun!"

Shrugging excitedly, she then turned back to her noodles, grabbling at some more beef with her chopsticks and fishing some noodles over the top.

Her interest was rapidly piqued, though, as the other started going into said weird things, and Scout found herself instinctively leaning in, so when Kiyoka leaned in, too, they were practically huddled for a whispering. Her heart was beating a little faster at the other's words, completely without any idea of what she was going to say--unless, it was... about those, but she wasn't sure if that would be the case--but burning with curiosity. "Tell me," she whispered, as if they were secret agents about to exchange intel before going back to their respective missions. It was a little bit exciting, and she was maybe getting a little too into the mood. "Tell me everything you know."

[Kiyoka]

"It's a pretty busy place. Everyone's almost always moving. Otonoki is a lot more peaceful." She pauses at that, then gathers up more noodles and vegetables, slurping them up in thought. "For the most part anyway." Nothing seemed to change very often in this town, except for the current happenings with the eggs and whatnot. "And yeah, really! I mean it."

Kiyoka takes a deep breath and looks around furtively, because what she's about to say is for Scout's ears only. Her voice is hushed. "Listen, at our school, there are tons of students who have hopes and dreams, right? Well, I mean I'd hope so, it would suck if someone didn't, but anyway...almost everyone I met at this school, who I thought I knew what they were all about-- have these eggs. You've seen the ones scattered around campus. Like those, but different! It's a real thing! And then those eggs hatch and then it's a real breathing.... I don't know. Everything you wanted to be come to life?? They're everywhere around school." The whole thing felt surreal at the beginning, but only when she was certain she wasn't going insane. "I don't know how long it's been going on, but I only noticed it the start of this school year."

She laughs then, sure that everything that's coming out of her mouth sounds like a child's fairytale. "Sounds fake, huh? I guess this is where I should say 'Gotcha!' Who'd really believe something like that? Would you? Do you believe anything I just said?"

[☆ SCOUT]

Scout froze as Kiyoka had gone on to whisper in her ear the exact thing that she'd been betting she wouldn't say. She maybe gulped a bit, her throat tight and perhaps now having a little less of an appetite for noodles. So it was all real--that weird guy she met hadn't been throwing around make-believe, and that thing she had actually was a something.

Leaning back again, she stared at Kiyoka with wide eyes and a tight smile, chuckling out a couple of cry laughs. "Yeah--gotcha! Ha," she tried, before turning back to her bowl, pressing a hand to her cheek, trying to figure out how to respond to that. Eventually she looked back to the girl beside her, her smile still tight. "I've got one of those--eggs," she half-laughed, shrugging a shoulder, eyes still wide as she immediately broke gaze. "Now I know what it is!" The other hand moved to press against the other cheek, before they both slid down over her mouth. "Wow."

Folding those hands and quick to place them back on the table, she leaned over the counter and fixed her stare on Kiyoka with expectation. "Do--do you have one? An egg, I mean."