Fandom Persona 5 :Wings of Rebellion

[Rusty of Shackleford]

Persona 5:
Wings of Rebellion

Shibuya Train Station, 3:00 P.M., Tokyo, Japan
April 3rd, 203X

Akira Kurusu


Akira had lived in Tokyo for over twenty years now. He'd gone from the LeBlanc to Shibuya more times than he could count, he's been to more places in the city than natives, in his opinion. But he still couldn't shake how...lonely it felt. You could really care into a crowd, and no one would even notice you exist. Akira was an expert at this, as anyone who'd known him for long could attest to. He didn't just blend into a crowd. He vanished like a ghost, never to be seen again. This helped back in the day, but now, it unnerved him, like everyone had just forgotten and moved on from the Phantom Thieves. Makoto noticed her husband moping leaning towards him as she asked, "You alright, Akira? You look down today." Akira shrugged scratching the back of his head as he replied. "I'm fine. Just worried about the new kid. Hope he doesn't get into trouble like a certain cafe owner." Makoto smirked, shaking her head as she said, "Oh, and who would that be? He sounds dashing?" The man smirked, leaning back on the bench they were on as he said in a snarky tone, "Oh yeah. Very dashing. He has black hair and sometimes wears glasses. Wonder who he is, though."

Their little moment was interrupted, however, by the sounds of the train pulling into the station, the two standing up so they could catch Daisuke as he got off. Makoto spotted him first, yelling his name and waving him over, which wasn't hard seeing as how tall she was. Almost as tall as Akira, to be exact. She stood in a straight, dignified posture, her clothes meticulously ironed, and her gaze focused and precise. She extended her hand to her new ward, saying in a firm, yet kind voice, "You must be Daisuke. I'm Makoto Nijima, and this is my husband Akira. We decided that it would be best that we meet you here, seeing as you're new to Tokyo." Akira gave the kid a pat on the shoulder, smiling as he said, "Nice to meet ya. Let's go. My son should be at the cafe by now." Akira then pulled out his phone, texting Takeshi and telling him to open up the LeBlanc when he got there.


Takeshi Kurusu



Shujin had let out a few minutes prior, Takeshi exiting the main building with the merry band of misfits he called friends. Seeing as they all shared widely different yet somehow similar interests, they'd formed a clique of outcasts and weirdos, something Takeshi took great pride in. He yawned loudly as he walked down the main steps, sighing as he said, "Jeez, that assembly took forever. You'd think everyone would get the whole 'bullying is bad' thing by now..." He was about to speak again when he got a text from his dad, telling him to open up the LeBlanc. Takeshi responded immediately, looking up at his friends as he said, "Hey, I gotta go open up the cafe. You guys wanna come with? Coffee's on me! Just... don't tell my dad, yeah? I don't want him thinking I give out free stuff to you guys."

MainEventMan
Arcanist
Gravitational Force
quadraxis201
Gunnhildr​

 

[Gravitational Force]

Ezra ran down his mental checklist once more just in case.
Phone. Check.
Wallet. Check.
Keys. Check.
Phone charger. Check.
Backup phone charger. Check
Two portable batteries for phone. Check.
Assorted other pocket stuff. Check.
Snacks for if he got hungry. Check.

Google Calendar updated. Check.
Some would question Ezra's ability to situate so many items on his person and know where each one was, but those people were bad at organizing themselves. At least in Ezra's opinion. Even if everything didn't have its place at the very least you could know where your stuff was at any given time. Otherwise what was the point of having more than two pockets?

None of this changed the fact that Ezra had somehow managed to get separated from the rest of the group on the way out of the school but was waiting for them on the front steps when they got out. If there was one thing Ezra was good at, it was finding things. In this case he'd discovered a shortcut.

"Did you know there's an exit on the first floor directly below the stairs to the second floor? It cuts 5 minutes off leaving from the classroom. As for the assembly I think the issue's more with the audience than the message. Bullies don't do it because they don't think it's wrong, it's because they think they can get away with it and get a kick out of hurting others."

Ezra pulled a bag of chips from somewhere on his person and began munching on them as he continues.

"if you want to do the right thing you need to consciously make the choice to do so. And that takes more effort and empathy than any bully will have. If the school wanted to send an anti-bullying message they should make it clear WHY bullying is wrong, how you SHOULD treat others, and show that there will be consequences for those who choose to continue to bully people."

Looking at the questioning gazes of his friends, Ezra blushes slightly.
"...I've been reading my mother's books on political theory."

He quickly regains his composure.
"Anyway, did anyone else see a new Phoenix Ranger Featherman series is coming out? Anyone else want to watch the premiere with me?"

 

[Gunnhildr]

As the sun had moved to the west of Japan; as the other students had proceeded to do their next task after Shujin academy's retirement for the day, Kiyoharu and some of her upperclassmen passed through the school's front doors. Of course, some were still on the school ground, mainly teachers and the members of Student Council.

The red-haired girl wasn't really expecting for an in-school shortcut, truly. However, because of her being beside the black-haired upperclassman, it went heard by her.

Kiyoharu raised her brows at Takeshi's sigh and whine before chuckling at it. Before she could reply, however, Ezra had given a counter. Kiyoharu let out a simple hum, knowing that it's not in her area of expertise and decided to stay silent.

When Takeshi had offered a free coffee, however, Kiyoharu lightened up (though not verily visible).

"That would be kind of you, Takeshi-senpai!" She grinned as she nodded to kept it a secret from the head family of Kurusu.

"Phoenix wha.."Kiyoharu trailed for a moment, before quickly finishing her statement, "O-oh, isn't that the series you've been.. following?"

 

[Arcanist]

Kaida Fujisato​

Thank God that was over. Kaida never had an appreciation for standing still, as noted by her parents with her constant bobbing about around the house, and the jabs she threw at thin air when she couldn't sit peacefully. She had gotten more than enough glares at her constant light bouncing on her heels from the teachers, and her staring blankly at the eye-burning spotted tie of her English teacher, which hadn't helped her cause any further. So, as soon as she exited Shujin's front doors, she had been rolling her shoulders, stretching her arms out, glad to be free of the bonds that held her in that damned stuffy assembly.

Crossing her one arm across her elbow, and swapping her arms over a couple of times, she couldn't help but devote half of her concentration to Ezra's critique of the school's handling of the 'bullying is wrong, and really, you shouldn't do it' presentation, whilst the other half focused on his devouring of chips he somehow had hidden on his person. Kaida detested the fact he could hold a varying amount of snacks, mainly because she found herself hankering for foods that wasn't in the diet regiment she attempted to stick to. Grabbing such a sinful temptation from his very hands was one of many cards on the table, but she opted for a response to both Takeshi and Ezra's comments.

"I clearly haven't gotten the memo. I get too much of a kick out of calling you Mister America, and pushing Takeshi's buttons," Kaida teased, before she finally ceased her stertching and shoved her hands into her jacket pockets. Of course, naming herself a bully was a tad strong. She teased and maybe poked too much fun at her peers, but she never meant it maliciously. Seeing anyone trod all over another person, or threaten them, was something she couldn't stand by and watch. She knew all too well what a bully was - and it wasn't just hormonal teenagers earning those titles.

Kaida eventually stopped in her tracks, eyebrows raising at the offering of free coffee. If one looked closely enough, they could see the troubled thoughtfulness working in her eyes. Usually, she'd be getting a string of texts from her step-dad throughout the day about training or other such plans that Kaida had little choice but to go along with. Today, she simply got a 'Missed you heading out this morning. Take the day off. Have a good one' and had remained silent ever since. Not that the girl would complain; she'd take any grace like that where Benjiro was concerned.

Almost as soon as the troubled cloud in her eyes appeared, it dispersed, and she let a smile tug at her lips before she responded, "Heh, I'll bite at the chance of a free coffee." If there was one thing Kaida had learned, it was to take something when it was offered to her, at least in the way of free coffee. Perhaps LeBlanc's famous curry too...though, she felt her shoulders slump when she remembered her regiment. Perhaps on her next cheat day she could steal some of that curry...it was then that her stomach growled, and she blinked, before she sighed and mumbled,

"Why is it always the curry?"

Mentions: Rusty of Shackleford , Gravitational Force

 

[quadraxis201]

Akari Kishiri​

Akari made his way over to the front steps, where he noticed that Ezra, the American that had moved to Nippon on account of his parents' necessity to find work, had beat the group to Shujin's exterior despite being completely unnoticed, and this left the shy young man rather confused... at least, until Ezra provided an explanation. "I mean... that is kind of useful, but... do take care not to injure yourself, alright? There could be exposed, jagged infrastructure in that 'shortcut', and-" Before he could finish that sentence, Akari nervously shifted the lowered hood of his unzipped sweatshirt so that it hid his neck.

What Ezra said next actually made Akari calm down a bit, for he agreed with what he was saying whereas Ezra suspected everyone else was giving him a look. "No, I think that makes perfect sense, Ezra-kun. Everyone deserves the right to... well, a safe educational environment. As I see it, that's more than likely a reason why some students resent school as much as they do-- bullying is still rampant, and if our peers cannot learn because they do not feel comfortable inserting themselves into a hostile environment day after day... it's just wrong. The staff should be doing a much better job of explaining it. It would be much less work for them if they could get the point across sufficiently, too. Then, they wouldn't have to keep scheduling these asinine, useless--!" Akari then proceeded to look down and rub the small stuffed toy resting in one of his pants pockets on its head. "S-sorry. I didn't mean to get so worked up."

All it took was Ezra mentioning Phoenix Ranger Featherman to make Akari even happier, if only by a sliver. "Oh, right! I nearly forgot about that. I don't know if I'd be willing to visit you in your home just to watch television, but... perhaps we could set something up? As in, call each other so we can hear our reactions? That's sort of like watching it in the same room, right?"

Takeshi had made an offer to the group to come with him in order to open his father's cafe, and Akari gave a soft nod in response. "I... don't drink coffee, so... that would be no problem. You could honestly just bring me some water." He shifted his glasses with a soft chuckle and grin, both of which faded quickly. "I do enjoy the atmosphere of local cafes. They're nice... and quiet... and make for a good place to read a book, or study... so long as they're not overly populated, of course. That said, I will come along, Kurusu-kun. Let me... just... do this." Akari pulled out his phone and left his mother a text to notify her that he would be coming home late. "There. I don't want Mom worrying. She works hard, you know? Raising a son who's 'on the spectrum' can be tricky, but... balancing that and working long hours at a popular diner like Chrome Star is even more so. The food is excellent, though."

Mentions:
Gravitational Force
Rusty of Shackleford

 

[MainEventMan]

Daisuke Kaminari
The train ride from Inaba was just as lonely as he was expecting. Dozens of people packed into one car, so much so that there was barely enough room for him to each for a handrail without bumping into someone next to him. Daisuke never liked being surrounded by hundreds of people he didn't know. Although, this time it was a blessing in disguise. Given the reputation that had been forced upon him back home, it was a good thing that he didn't have everyone's eyes on him for once. He wished he didn't have to leave...but the court left his parents with no choice. It was either this or jail. In this moment, Daisuke had never felt more alone...

He was snapped out of his trance when the train began to screech to a stop, the loudspeaker crackling to life. "Yongen-Jaiya. This is Yongen-Jaiya." The voice over the intercom droned as the doors swiftly opened, people beginning to pile out onto the station platform, Daisuke following after them in order to avoid getting trampled. He was dressed rather plainly, khaki pants, black socks with brown leather moccasins, a grey v-neck t-shirt underneath his dark blue denim jacket, his backpack slung lazily over his shoulders. His thoughts would soon turn to his future guardians for the year....what would they be like? Did they have any children of their own? Were they old and cranky? Probably. Who else would agree to take in a potential problem child? He then heard a female voice call his name over the sea of people. He turned his head...and saw a young woman, dressed professionally with brown hair, a man who he assumed to be her husband following close behind.'Huh...serendipity.' Daisuke thought to himself. These people didn't look old or cranky at all.

Daisuke gave them a small bow after they introduced themselves, remembering his manners so as not to confirm any non-law abiding suspicions they may have about him. "Thank you, Nijima-san. Kurusu-san." He said, giving them a small smile. "Wait...cafe?" He asked, slightly confused by his wording.

Rusty of Shackleford



​

 

[Rusty of Shackleford]

Akira Kurusu
Akira stopped at Daisuke's question, saying, "Ah, right. I inherited a cafe in Yongen-Jaya from my little misadventure. It's where I have the guest room for you kids. It's in the attic, though I have recently installed an AC unit, so you won't die of a heat stroke. You'll just freeze to death." He chuckled at his terrible joke, his face straightening out as the three walked to their next station. Akira didn't even have to look for directions: he'd walked this route so many times he could do it in his sleep. Makoto seemed to check her phone every few seconds, as if she was expecting something. She looked exhausted, which she was. Being a police officer was already tiring, but recently, there'd been a series of strange, unexplainable murders. Not because of who they were or where they were found, but the fact that so far, the coroner had been unable to tell what killed them. It wasn't like the mental shutdowns years ago. This was... something else.



Takeshi Kurusu
Takeshi nodded at Ezra's comment on the state of Shujin, saying, "Yeah, Shujin's always been filled with assholes. I mean, most of my extended family were tortured in that damned place. Mom, Uncle Ryuji, Aunt Ann... don't even get me started on my Dad..." He sighed, smiling a bit and nodding at Kiyo before the smile turned into a sly smirk at Kaida's response, the teen saying, "Heh, yeah. I'm pretty sure you get off on teasing us. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. Though I don't think it was really directed at us. We're not total assholes. I don't think so, anyways... With Akari's agreement, it was set. "Alright, guys. Get ready for the LeBlanc's world famous curry! But again, don't tell my dad. This one's on the house."

When they got there, Takeshi went right to work. He flipped the sign outside to open, threw on an apron, and went about tending to his friends. Coffee for everyone but Akari, who wanted water, and the curry of the week for all of them. This week's curry was primarily spicy, but still pretty mild. Takeshi didn't add any fruit, so he cut back on the spices. The pleasant aroma of freshly made curry choked the cafe, Takeshi serving some of the other customers in the mean time. Mainly the regulars from this time of day. And among them were none other than the owners, and a new kid...

Akira Kurusu
Akira entered the Cafe, Makoto taking a call and staying outside. The man smiled as he saw the gang, sayings "Oh, hey guys! Didn't expect us. Thanks for opening up shop, Takeshi." Takeshi nodding, scrubbing a glass as he said, "Anytime. Figured I'd knock out two birds with one stone." He noticed Daisuke behind Akira, saying, "Oh, you must be the new kid. I'm Takeshi. Nice to meet ya!" The teen extended his hand for Daisuke, shaking it before pointing to the others and saying, "The weirdos over there are my friends. The blue haired one's Kaida, the red haired one's Kiyo, blondie's Akari, and the American guy with the bag of chips is Ezra. You're...Josuke? Yosuke? Something like that." Makoto entered the restaurant as he said this, correcting him with, "It's Daisuke. This is my son. He'll show you around the city while you're here." The woman sighed, looking at her watch as she said, "I have to go. Something happened down at the station. I'll see you all at dinner." Takeshi and Akira waved goodbye, the latter saying to Daisuke, "Alright, time to show you your platinum suite. It's gotten some improvements, but not much."

The attic room had improved over the years. The bed was much better, there was a flat screen TV, even if it was small. And of course, there was an AC unit, and a space heater tucked away in the corner. Most of the old clutter was gone, so there was much more space for storing belongings and the like. "Alright," Akira said. "This is it. Make yourself comfortable, get everything squared away, and we can eat. Takeshi should be done with the curry soon." Just as he said this, a cat with black fur and blue eyes crawled from under the bed, Akira sighing as he said, "Mona! What the hell were you doing under there? Go on! Go downstairs. Takeshi'll feed ya." The cat meowed in a slightly annoyed tone, slowly going downstairs as it stared at Daisuke, almost as if it had intelligence. Akira shook his head and chuckled, saying, "That's Morgana. I've had him ever since I moved here. Old bastard thinks he owns the place. Anyways, I'mma head downstairs. Tell me if ya need anything!" Akira almost walked away, but he stopped, placing his hand on the kid's shoulder as he said in the most genuine, heartfelt voice he'd ever spoken in, "Look, I don't really know why you're here, and frankly, I don't care. I was in your place too, so if anything's giving you trouble, you can talk to me, alright?" He gave Daisuke a quick pat on the shoulder, and left his ward alone for a while.

MainEventMan
quadraxis201
Arcanist
Gunnhildr
Gravitational Force
​

 

[Gravitational Force]

Ezra Steinman:​

Ezra rolled his eyes at Kaida's teasing, then refocused his gaze on her with an indecent grin.
"Trust me, nobody thinks you're bullying me. They're actually under the impression we're dating in fact. My parents want me to bring you by so they can size you up in person."

Ezra waits for Kaida's face to show her reaction before breaking into laughter.
"HAHAHAHa...just kidding! Oh you're right, teasing IS fun. I should do this more often. Chip?" He holds out his chip bag.

Hearing Akari express concern over possible dangers with his shortcut but then retreat at the attention Ezra sighed and moved to give Akari space. He knew what it was like to be shy, luckily he'd managed to work through that to become an extrovert. Still the isolation had dented his social skills but he'd found laying on enough charm and humor helped smooth that over. Or just being empathetic.

Then seeing Akari's outburst on bullying Ezra spotted a possible issue.
"Is someone at school bullying you, Akari? If they are you just let us know, we've got your back. Anybody messing with one of my friends won't be able to run far enough!"
Striking Phoenix Ranger Blue Swan's pre-battle pose from Phoenix Ranger Featherman R, Ezra hoped it'd help Akari feel comfortable enough to talk.
Returning to his normal posture (tastefully slouched) Ezra put his hand out to Akari.
"People like us need to stick together."

As the group arrived at the cafe and filed in, Ezra took his customary spot nearest Takeshi, listening to him talk about the past. Ezra remembered the conversations they'd had and what he'd heard from his mother (she was addicted to coffee and he still wasn't sure if she'd been entirely joking when she'd mentioned kidnapping Akira and forcing him to make her coffee so she didn't have to keep coming to the cafe.) when she felt like chatting or he eavesdropped. A whole lot of weird shit had gone down when Mr. Kurusu had been a kid and he'd been directly involved in it. Apparently it'd involved saving Christmas alongside Santa or something. His mother had gotten involved thanks to her work with prisoners at the time. Apparently a lot of criminals had turned themselves in and confessed, resulting in massive arrests and sentencing.

Takeshi set to work cooking and soon the smell of curry filled the place, setting Ezra's stomach turning over. He couldn't even handle mild heat when it came to curry, but hopefully he could get through this by just waving off the offer. Same with the coffee. A few years back he wouldn't have been able to handle being in the building, but he'd worked past it through determination. Besides, he still had snacks on him. Ezra fished a pack of pocky out of his accoutrements Maybe this time his luck would hold and he could eat it without-
"AGH!" Ezra managed to dislodge the shards of pocky from his mouth, then forlornly shoved the rest of the pack away. Every time he bit into pocky it shattered and the pieces would poke the inside of his mouth. Honestly he didn't know why he expected it to not at this point.

Hearing his name (a skill he'd sharpened to nearly supernatural levels over his life), Ezra looked up to see the new guy. Not much to describe him with, but he was there.
Shifting his voice so his nearly-lost New York accent came back with a vengeance Ezra did his best tourist impression in English.
"(Hello!)"
He'd fill in the new guy in on the truth if he managed to make a good impression. Otherwise he'd let him fail on his own merits.

Then he heard Mz. Kurusu talking about something having gone down at the police station. Well, that'd be something to look into later. Staying on top of the news had never been a bad thing for him.
And then the new kid was gone along with Mr. Kurusu.
Ezra turned back to Takeshi.
"So what's the story with" Ezra waved his hand around to indicate what had just happened. "this?"

 

[Arcanist]

Kaida Fujisato​

"I'm glad you seem to think so," Kaida smirked at Takeshi's comment. "Builds character. Or, so I like to think."

Kaida had been half-listening to Ezra's response in between her thoughts of curry, so when she only clicked onto the mentions of dating and meeting her parents, she halted on her heels, much half the cars did in Shibuya when some idiot wandered out in front of it. Her expression was that of a disgusted horror and heavy confusion, and she fell headfirst into Ezra's bait.

"W-what?! Who the hell thought that?! In that case I've got a few noses to crack, and you better call your parents and tell them that's not--"

The girl ceased her explosion at Ezra's eruption of laughter, and she felt her face go red - though, tried to mask that with the stern expression she usually wore. "Oh...haha…" Kaida mocked. Little twerp. At least he had the guts to throw a tease back. Still, now she was getting all hot and bothered over a simple tease. She'd get him back, when he didn't expect it.

Kaida could feel her stomach about to sing yet another song as Ezra's chip bag weaseled its way towards her. "Oh, so you think offering up a chip is gonna make this all better? And a couple of weeks before weigh-in?" Though, as soon as the words left her mouth, she felt her heart sink again, clearly having second thoughts on the offering. No! No temptations…not when she knew she wouldn't resist the curry. "Thanks, but I'll pass. I'm gonna have to run off all that curry and coffee I know I won't be able to resist."

From then, she fell silent, almost tempted to throw another tease at Ezra and his…Feather Person pose? Though, Kaida relented, seeing as it was to ease Akari comfortably into the conversation. He was quiet enough as is, and she didn't exactly want to disrupt Ezra's act of goodwill.

Her thoughts turned back to the mention of LeBlanc's famous curry instead.


Kaida sat comfortably at one of LeBlanc's rustic stools, with leaning against the counter with her back so that she wouldn't constantly prod at Takeshi with questions of when that curry would make it into her mouth. During the agonising waiting period, and purposefully breathing through her mouth to not smell so much of the aromas, she admired the quaintness of LeBlanc. Sure, it had been updated with the rolling in of technology galore, but it still kept a traditional, rustic feel to the place. Not a lot of places were like that anymore. Kaida guessed that was why the café saw so many patrons.

Her attention turned to the TV in the corner, watching as some woman mindlessly prattled to an over-the-top TV show host. Kaida grunted, lifting her cup as she remarked to Kiyo beside her.

"Why the hell do airheads like that get attention? It's not as if either of them - or anyone else - gives a shit about what they're talking about." Kaida took a sip of her coffee, soon sighing. Maybe they needed someone to take up time before the next scheduled programme…daytime TV was renowned for being a crock of shit.

Before she could complain any longer about daytime TV, Kaida managed to hear the faint ringing of the café's bell above the door. Kaida peered over, finding none other than Takeshi's father walk through the door. She managed a smile towards him - one of few she reserved each day. Though, she noticed another figure behind him, one that would have fit into their age group. Takeshi had already taken care of introductions, though, she couldn't help but butt in, "Weirdos, huh? That's one word for us…" Kaida grumbled, before she lifted her hand and lazily waved, before she grabbed her coffee again and took another sip. She had noticed Nijima-san arrived too, though quickly departed due to something going on down at the police station. She hadn't drunk her coffee fast enough to at least greet her.

Kaida creased her brow in thought. Didn't Takeshi mention something along the lines of…?

"Oh, yeah…" Kaida murmured, glancing over her shoulder at Takeshi, and making sure to keep her voice down with the customers around and especially as Kurusu-san and the blow-in disappeared upstairs. "Didn't you say your dad adopted juvies?" For once, Kaida wasn't trying to be funny, and 'adopted' being a stand-in for a word that would have properly suited. It was odd. He didn't look like a juvie kid, though, then again, what the hell was a juvie kid meant to look like?

Mentions:

Gunnhildr
MainEventMan
Rusty of Shackleford
Gravitational Force
quadraxis201

 

[MainEventMan]

Daisuke Kaminari
Daisuke followed in after Akira and Makoto, looking out into the cafe as they entered. Despite some obvious age, it looked like a well put together, decently maintained cafe. One thing he was definitely surprised to see would be the large amount of people his own age sitting at the counter. Akira's son Takeshi stepped forward and introduced himself first. Not wanting to be rude, Daisuke shook his hand, a small smile on his face. "Pleased to meet you." He said, his voice faltering a bit from the awkwardness of the situation. "All of you." He said, looking around at the other four teens as Takeshi introduced them. He eyed Erza up and down after he spoke to him in English...not one to be outdone, he decided to retaliate. "(Pleased to meet you. Apology, English...not my first language.)" He said, his natural accent heavily pronounced as he attempted to speak in Erza's native tongue.

Kaida caught his eye next, his gaze meeting hers. He had to admit, he was a bit intimidated by her in particular. Whether it was her natural aura or the tough as nails way she carried herself, he could tell right away that of all his foster brother's friends, this was one who's bad side he definitely did not want to get on. "Well...you guys don't seem weird to me." He said with a warm smile. He had a feeling he'd be getting to know all of them a lot more...

He didn't have an opportunity to say goodbye to Makoto before she was already out the door. The next thing he knew he was being lead up to the attic of the cafe, where he would be staying. After dragging his things up the stairs, he managed to get a good look at his lodgings. It was...better than he was expecting. The bed was nice...and there was a surprising amount of space, for an attic anyway. He certainly wasn't expecting a TV... "Thank you, Kurusu-san." Before he could say anything further, that was when he caught the gaze of something underneath his bed...he took a small step back as a large black cat emerged. He wasn't allergic or anything, he just had bad experiences with creatures of the feline variety before. They just didn't like him for some reason. This cat however seemed...different. Almost otherworldly...the two seemed engaged in a staring contest for a good five seconds, the cat's piercing blue eyes seeming to look into his very soul...then Akira shooed him away, causing Daisuke to snap back to reality. "Heh...it's alright. My folks have a cat at home." He said, pushing one of his sleeves up to reveal some scratches. "It doesn't like me very much..." He was about to sit down on the bed, when Akira put a hand to his shoulder, saying that it didn't matter why he was here, and that he had been in his situation before. He'd been getting false sympathy left and right from his friends and teachers back home...but when Akira said it...it felt genuine. He couldn't tell what it was...but he had no reason to doubt him. "...Thank you." He said as his guardian turned and walked back downstairs. Daisuke let out a small sigh, sitting down on the bed for now. He would join them all downstairs for dinner in a moment...but for now he needed to rest and think...

Rusty of Shackleford
Arcanist
Gravitational Force
​

 

[quadraxis201]

Akari Kishiri
​

When Ezra had brought up suspicions of someone bullying Akari, he shook his head. "No, nobody's doing anything of the sort. It's just... I have a particularly strong opinion about it, that's all. But, thank you for the concern." Ezra struck his Blue Swan pose, and this made Akari chuckle softly. "Yeah, I appreciate it." As a response of sorts, Akari briefly struck Phoenix Ranger White Horned Owl's pose before placing his hand in Ezra's and moving along with Takeshi and the others. The prospect of having curry had Akari intrigued. He did like curry, but only if it had the right flavor and texture-- this was a particular trait about him. Considering how long LeBlanc had stood, they had to be doing something right. Not to mention, eating at LeBlanc did mean there would be one less meal his mother had to cook for him, at least for tonight.

Akari rode the train to Yongen-Jaiya with the group, and upon disembarking at the station followed the others without saying a word. The storefront came into view, and Akari was indeed impressed. While he did have definite issues with his father, one thing he did pass onto his son was a fondness for the old-fashioned, vintage, and classic. In the modern age he lived in, LeBlanc was evidently a time-tested relic of a cafe, and one maintained with love and care. Akari crossed the threshold of the cafe and seated himself near Ezra, watching as his friend Takeshi went to work diligently maintaining the cafe in his father's absence. His attention was briefly turned to the glass of water that was placed in front of him, followed by the rich aroma of fresh-made curry. "Alright, thanks." Akari's gaze was then fixated towards a rather gorgeous painting near the entrance. "Where did you get that painting? It's... museum-worthy, if I can be honest, Kurusu-kun." Akari took a sip of his water, only to nearly spill some when Ezra suddenly shouted in pain upon injuring himself with his chocolate-coated biscuit sticks.

Then, the door's bell rang as three more people entered LeBlanc, Takeshi's mother and father, as well as a young man Akari had never seen before, whom Takeshi's mother had introduced as "Daisuke" when Takeshi had trouble remembering his name. Turning himself on the stool to face the trio's direction, Akari wringed his hands before giving an "Oh, uhm... hi", followed with a sheepish wave and grin, his eyes notably not meeting Daisuke's. "It's... nice to meet you." Akari then spun back around to the counter, continuing his wait for the curry. He had much to learn about Daisuke, but based on what he saw before Daisuke was brought upstairs, he seemed to be the amiable sort. Still, he couldn't help but mentally agree about him being called a "weirdo". He knew Takeshi was only teasing, but still, Akari's social anxiety had a tendency to make such a claim hard to refute.

Akari could have sworn he heard a cat from somewhere upstairs, and this brought him a small amount of joy. Maybe, he thought, Takeshi's father would allow him to pet them... provided they could warm up to the young man, first. After all, Akari knew that like himself, cats needed their personal space and time to analyze people before devoting their time to them. Akari chose to wait for his meal, and perhaps for Daisuke to return downstairs once he was shown his lodgings. Until then, he would lend his gaze to the TV show that Kaida was commenting about. "I mean... you have a point, Kaida. As entertaining as some might find this show... is this really what people would rather watch?"

Mentions:
Gravitational Force
Rusty of Shackleford
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Arcanist

 

[Gunnhildr]

Kiyoharu stayed silent along the way, only nodding and giggling here and there. She wasn't exactly like her mother, Kasumi Shimizu, a world-wide known gymnast. Aunt Haru had always told a story about her when she was the same age as Kiyoharu--cheerful, active and had always shone like a sun. She had always jumped around, "Just like a rabbit" Aunt Haru would say accompanied with a giggle.

Maybe she was raised in a wonderful environment longer than I am.

Quickly, Kiyoharu shook her head. Letting out a wistful sigh with eyes closed, she picked up the speed of her upperclassmen. She shouldn't really let it be known. Who knew what she would do if they began to ask her about it. Nevermind bombed her about it.

It's a secret only me and them could keep.

*THONK* *THONK*

The ear-piercing sound awoke her from her daze as she stopped herself from walking. Around her were cars with noisy sounds being activated by their drivers. Kiyoharu had noticed that, instead of taking a sharp left just like her upperclassmen, she instead walked straight. Few distances away from her, was a man who seemed to be the cause of this interruption. Well, along with her.

Kiyoharu quickly turned around and made her way to her seniors. Quickly catching up, she heaved a grateful sigh that no one seemed to had noticed her short absence due to lack of question regarding it.

When they had finally arrived to the infamous cafe Le Blanc, Kiyoharu felt her face lighten up once more. As her seniors began to sat on their wanted seats, with the exception of the sole child of the cafe owner, Kiyoharu walked to Takeshi.

"Takeshi-senpai, could I get an upsize for my.." before she could finished her plead, the bell rang once more along with the opening of the front door. Revealed by it were three figures, which she noticed were two males and one female. Kiyoharu gave Mr. Kurusu and Mrs. Kurusu a bow before looking at the oldest Kurusu's new companion.

Wait.. since when is Morgana a human?

Kiyoharu's gaze was fixed on the male who seemed to be around them. Black hair slicked back and blue eyes, she noticed. In addition, she also noticed that his hair seemed to sparkle? Wait, did he use a gel? Yeah, that must be why.

As if her eyes were under a spell, her red irises followed the figures movements until they went upstairs. Kiyoharu quickly averted her gaze, finding it kind of disrespectful to stare at someone (minus Mr. Kurusu) she had yet to know. She looked back at Takeshi before continuing her offer in whisper, "So, yeah, would it be alright for my curry to have an upgrade? In return, I will wash all the plates. What do you think, Takeshi-senpai?"

When the head family of the Kurusus had arrived downstairs, Kiyoharu would be sitting on a stool while playing with her smartphone, eager to wait her 'upsized' plate of curry.

Mentions:
Everyone

 

[MainEventMan]

Daisuke Kaminari
Daisuke sat on his new bed for what felt like hours, just staring off into space. He knew he had just arrived, but that didn’t make adjusting to his new situation any easier...he could faintly hear the sounds of conversation coming from the cafe beneath his feet...he shrugged, figuring the best thing to do would be to try to get to know his foster brother and his little gang of misfits.

After a moment, he stood up, walking back down the stairs. Once back on the bottom floor, he eyed everyone, a friendly, albeit awkward smile on his face. “I...heard something about curry?” He asked, noticing the food that had been laid out for everyone.

Rusty of Shackleford
Gravitational Force
Arcanist
Gunnhildr
quadraxis201 ​

 

[Luna_Silverwing]

Nari sighed, another new school. Fantastic! just what she needed for her last year of high school but whatever, there wasn't anything she could do about it yet. One more year and she would be off to college, maybe abroad. She smiled at the thought.

"What're you doin up?" the voice waz graveled behind her and the words obviously slurred. For once Nari didn't hear her come in from 'work'. As early as she was it must not have been a good night. "I'm leaving for school Mei. It's a Wednesday. " Nari said pulling a brush through her hair quickly. She wanted out of here fast.

"Wedn - esday ." she repeated slowly as if that was the important answer to all her questions. Nari left the room as her mother collapsed onto the futon they shared on the floor. Slipping into uniform shoes she reached for the door but not before it opened revealing a strong jawed man with deep set eyes the shade of charcoal.

"Good morning Ms. Shimizu. My, that new uniform fits you real well." His smile was coy and the silk in his voice churred her stomach. "Thank you. I'm sorry but I am already late for the train." she lied hoping to slide past her mmother's 'manager'.
"Why of course, her said standing aside giving her only enough room to press between him and the doorframe to get through. "You have a good first day!" He called out as she raced down the walkway before he went inside to collect his 'payment' for tonight's work one way or another.

By the time Nari got to the station she had already shaken off this morning. Reaching Shujin she was striding fast to the teacher's lounge. Getting her schedule wasn't a problem although she was scolded for missing the introductive meeting with the principle the day before and told to do so after classes today. Nari followed the teacher to her new classroom, introduced herself to a room of confused seniors, 'why is she so young?/why is her hair blue?' and took her seat, doing her best to acknowledge no one.

As the last class ended Nari blinked looking up from her book. Stretching her stiff hand she shoved her things into her pack. She stopped by the office only to be told to come in early tomorrow, that there was no time to see her today. Nari looked at her watch, she had time to kill before heading home. As she waited at the station trying to decide where to go a magazine cover caught here eye.

One the bench sat a man reading an old magazine. "Best coffee in Tokyo, Shibuya's own!" she couldn't read the rest of the headline but coffee sounded wonderful and how many places possibly sold coffee in Shibuya anyway?

Taking the short line run to Shibuya Nari got off in a little back ally neighborhood. She heard kids playing and saw laundry out to dry. It seemed wholesome to her and made her smile. She wandered a while taking in the area when an awning of a shop grabbed her attention. "Cafe Leblance" Cafe Black. Coffee. She chuckled at the ironic name and sauntered inside finding a seat at an empty booth, though it seemed crowded for such a small place, and pulled out her books to study.

As she did she noticed something, were those all Shujin uniforms? Maybe this wasn't such a grand idea.

 

[Rusty of Shackleford]

Takeshi Kurusu

Takeshi shrugged at Kaida's comments on the TV, simply saying, "I just kind of block it out. It becomes white noise after a while. To me, anyway. Want me to change it? I'm sure that there's something good on." "Maybe even some Feathermen..." Takeshi would never admit it, but he adored anything Feathermen related, the results of having Futaba as one od his main babysitters, usually when Haru or Sojiro were too busy. It was...interesting. Makoto would often show up to pick her son up, only to see him doing poses and wearing DIY cosplay. Thinking about that made him smile. He'd have to introduce Daisuke to his dad's old gang, seeing as most of them were still in Tokyo. Hell, Ryuji was the gym teacher at Shujin.

Takeshi snapped out of his little trip down memory lane at Kaida and Ezra's question's about Daisuke, the teen nodding as he answered, "Oh, yeah. Kind of. He looks after high schoolers and makes sure they stay out of trouble in exchange for them not going to juuvie. My mom arranged most of it, I think. Not sure why the new guy's here, though. Dad didn't really say..." He then turned his attention to Sayuri, the crown jewel of the LeBlanc. "Ah, yeah. 'Sayuri's' it's name. You know that famous painter, Yusuke Kitagawa? Draws all those weird surrealist paintings? Well, my dad was friend with him in high school. The painting's supposed to be an interpretation of what the woman's looking at in the original Sayuri painting. Looks pretty damn good, too, gotta say. I think Yusuke was actually the original painting's student, before the whole plagiarism thing came out."

Takeshi sighed, finishing the curry as he began playing everything. When Kiyo asked for an upside, Takeshi shrugged, saying, "Uh, sure! Why not?" He and Kiyo had known each other for years. They were never friends until high school, but they're parents were friends. Takeshi had always liked Kiyo. She was nice, polite, and honestly pretty cute. Being the cool guy he was, however, Takeshi would never say any of this aloud. He gave everyone their orders, making sure to upside Kiyo's while his dad was upstairs. Takeshi nodded and smiled at the baseball prodigy, asking, "Okay, that everyone? We're probably gonna get some other customers soon..." Just as he said this, someone else entered the Cafe, Takeshi quickly smiling as he said, "Welcome to the LeBlanc! What'll you have? Today's coffee is a strong, dark blend with a bit of a chocolatey taste, and the curry is spicy, but mild.". His words sounded like he'd said them a thousand times, which he had. He'd begun helping his dad at the LeBlanc a year or two ago, and he'd already gotten the hang of it. He'd never seen this person before, so she must be some kind of tourist. They got a lot of those around here, excited to try the best curry in all of Japan, as well as the preferred cafe of the Detective Prince and Risette, among other celebrities. It was then that Daisuke came back down alongside Akira, Takeshi answering. "Yep! Just got finished. Want some?"

Akira Kurusu

Akira sighed as the walked down the stairs, his aging muscles aching a bit. He was getting old, almost as old as Sojiro was when the whole Shido debaucle went down. Damn, time had flown by. Once Takeshi was born, things just kind of...fizzled out. Akira didn't really have the time to hang out with the gang anymore, and vice versa. Ryuji and Ann had kids first, and they were in college now. Futaba had a few boyfriend's over the years, but nothing serious, Yusuke was married to his work, etc. Everyone was busy. Even if Akira was happy where he was, he couldn't deny that he missed the good old days. He felt like a King the day he sent Yaldabaoth straight to a oblivion, and he missed the feeling of giving shitty adults what they deserved. But now he was the adult, and judging by the smell in the kitchen, things were about to get shitty after people are the curry.

The man smiled at the gang, looking at the TV. They were discussing their opinions on the recent string of mysterious killings, though most of it was fearmongering. Akira couldn't help but feel like something was...off. He did spend an entire year fighting demons alongside a talking cat that turned into a bus, after all. Speaking of that, Morgana strutted into the room like he owned the place, taking a look at everyone, then turning to Akira. The cat meowed at it's owner, Akira saying in response, "Go on, socialize. You don't get out too much anymore." Mona almost seemed to groan, slowly walking over to everyone, and seeing how they reacted. Again, it seemed like Mona was intelligent, but it was probably just nothing. After all, how could a cat talk?

Arcanist
MainEventMan
Gunnhildr
quadraxis201
Gravitational Force
Luna_Silverwing​

 

[MainEventMan]

Daisuke Kaminari
Daisuke’s mood brightened a bit from the warm reception he received from Takeshi, walking over and sitting down at the bar with the rest of them. The curry really did smell good, and if the low growl coming from his stomach wasn’t any indication, the trip over to Shibuya left him quite famished. “Yes, please.” He said with a small smile, nodding slightly.

He looked over at the rest of Takeshi’s friends, not exactly sure how to initiate a conversation. His attention was caught by the cat he saw up in his room earlier...What was his name...Morgana? He had a feeling this cat wasn’t going to like him one bit if he was that territorial, but he may as well try and make a good first impression. “Uh...hey...Mona, right?” He said, remembering the nickname Mister Kurusu has given him. “I hope we can get along.” He said, reaching over to give the cat a light pet on the head, fully expecting to get scratched.

Rusty of Shackleford​

 

[Arcanist]

Kaida Fujisato​

"Tch, some people take that crap so seriously too," Kaida responded to Akari's own confusion over the matter of the grating pitched voices on the TV segment, "if that's the case, people need to get a goddamn hobby." Her harshness on the matter didn't disguise her distain for 'airheads' and crappy daytime TV. She wished she could share Takeshi's ability to block it out when he had mentioned it; but somehow it managed to reach above the small buzz of the café. Kaida sighed, and nodded. "Yeah, if you could, thanks. Shit's gonna put me off my food otherwise..." She haunched over with both arms folded on the counter, resting her head on them. At least the food would do wonders for her mood.

Kaida hadn't commented on the situation with Takeshi's dad and the whole 'delinquent' situation, rather, just responding with a, "huh," and a nod indicating she understood. When he mentioned he didn't know what this guy had done, Kaida began to wonder herself what landed him here in Yongen-Jaya of all places. Arson? Assault? Blackmail? She felt a twang of guilt settle in her chest for trying to assume and guess the guy's situation, but it helped to take her mind away from the god-awful show, the aromas around her, and the general shitstorm she'd fallen into.

For some time, she remained silent, watching Takeshi finally plate up the curry...and heaped a bigger portion onto another, watching as the plate made its way towards Kiyoharu. As much as Kaida would have protested to the younger girl getting a heap of curry, the boxer was already pushing her luck with what she could stuff her face with. Plus, she sensed something fishy between the two. Maybe Takeshi had a soft spot for the girl; after all, even she felt her hard exterior crumble a little when it came to her. Regardless, once her own plate made its way towards her, she had sat up attentively, rubbing her hands together with a gleeful menace as she stared down at the food. Anyone who knew Kaida for long enough knew that she was an absolute glutton and would practically devour anything placed in front of her.

And that she began to do, already digging in before the last plate could get out.

With that, Kaida had blocked out most of the sounds and sights of her surroundings, focusing on that oh-so-heavenly curry. Such sounds and sights included Takeshi greeting another customer - that she probably wouldn't have had much concern for in the first instance anyway - and Daisuke and Kurusu-san making an appearance down in the café again. It was only when she had broke off for some coffee that she noticed the two of them were standing there, and she realised they had probably witnessed her pigging out...along with the rest of the group, and possibly a few horrified, unassociated patrons. Kaida swivelled around on her stool, deciding to take it easy before she inevitably fell into the curry vortex once again.

It was as she turned that she too, finally noticed the latest patron that had walked in. Kaida's eyes were attracted to the familiar Shujin uniform she had donned, though, there was hardly anything familiar about the face. She doubted she was in her year, since she looked as if she was around Kiyoharu's age. Even at that, she didn't recognise her from any other time she'd sulked about the school. Probably a transfer then.

Kaida eventually peeled her eyes away to witness a cat strutting into the room, with Daisuke apparently trying his luck with him. "Huh...didn't know LeBlanc hosted cats either..."

Spoiler: Mentions

Rusty of Shackleford MainEventMan quadraxis201 Gravitational Force Gunnhildr Luna_Silverwing

 

[Gravitational Force]

Ezra Steinman:​

Well, this was new Ezra thought to himself as he took in what was going on.
A new lodger at Cafe LeBlanc (worth finding out more about), a student he hadn't seen before who had just walked in (she seemed strangebut he couldn't put his finger on how), and Kaida devouring curry (which he surreptitiously recorded for future use).

Even if Ezra wasn't able to handle curry himself, he did have an excellent sense of smell and so could see why others would enjoy it. He remembered his mother's reaction after first tasting it, which had ended up with her attempting to replicate the recipe with varying levels of success. From there his mind wandered to related topics, like how often Kaida had showed up to his home wanting to be fed. He'd told his mother she could get food elsewhere, hoping she wasn't getting the wrong impression. She'd responded that no part of their family's heritage would let them leave someone hungry. Or put ketchup and mayonnaise on sweet potatoes. Apparently the latter was a rule established by his grandfather on his mother's side who'd been a notable eccentric. And a US Senator.

Hmm, what had he been thinking about? He'd gone off on a tangent there. Let's see, he'd recorded Kaida's gluttony, noticed a new girl who was a student at their school, seen the new lodger...ooh, Morgana had arrived. Ezra had noticed the signs of a cat being present in the shop when he'd first walked in years ago (a few stray cat hairs, discrete claw marks, his mother's eyes getting red and her sniffling because of her cat allergy (although she'd thought it had been the curry spices until he'd told her later on)), and eventually asked Akira about it. Ezra had to be careful after petting Morgana to change his clothes after coming home so his mother wouldn't have an allergic reaction. Still it was worth it for how much the cat seemed to enjoy it.

Ezra knew cats could be smart, but Morgana definitely had intelligence. One time the cat had managed to follow Ezra home and they'd had to call Akira to pick him up. Apparently the cat had smelled the fish Ezra had bought for dinner that night and his mother had been amused enough to actually feed Morgana some of it. Ezra had to move Morgana away when he'd tried to get his mother to pet him, though. Apparently the cat especially loved female attention.

And Ezra had gone off on a tangent again. Okay the point was Morgana was there and Ezra had an idea. "That's Morgana. Since you're done with your curry how about you play with him, Kaida?" He wasn't sure how he'd manage to get this to be fun for him but he was sure something interesting would happen. Kaida was always fun to hang out with.

 

[quadraxis201]

Akari Kishiri
​

Akari shrugged at Kaida's remark. "Yep. As important as it is to point out that people are, you know, dying, it gets to something of a point where I wonder if their rear ends ever get jealous of what comes out of their mouths." He said with the straightest possible face he could make. Then, he turned to Takeshi when he asked if he could change the channel. "Please do change the channel, Kurusu-kun. Might make it easier to enjoy our food with something a little more pleasant as background noise." Akari wished he could have a talent like Takeshi's, to filter out noise as readily as he could, but it proved to be difficult when his senses were as... well... sensitive... as they were. Takeshi had also provided an explanation about the painting Akari had noticed, and to that he placed his hand on his chin. "Yusuke Kitagawa, you say? I can definitely say I've heard of him. I can appreciate surreal art. It's just... I enjoy seeing pictorial interpretations of abstract concepts like love and uncertainty... and hate." Akari mumbled the last two words almost incomprehensibly and lowered his head to the side while burying his face in his sweatshirt, as if the mere action of speaking them felt like venom in his throat. Before he could let that get to him too much, however, he picked himself back up. "But, thank you for the explanation! It must be nice to have such a storied piece on public display."

And, talking about senses, Takeshi plated everyone's curry and handed it out. He had said the curry was mildly spicy, just the way Akari liked it. He could eat spicier foods if he wanted to, but food was food, and besides, LeBlanc's curry was famous, or so Akari had heard. Now, he could try some for himself, without having to pay a single yen, no less. Daisuke had also returned to the ground floor, and upon asking about the curry, Akari simply turned his head to look at him and pointed to his plate. "Uhm... yeah. It was just... put out." As friendly as Daisuke seemed, one thing Akari could not ignore was the mention of the word "juvie" in relation to him. Daisuke was... a criminal? As Akari had only just met him, that put trace amounts of fear in his mind. In his eyes, that friendliness could be genuine, but it could also just be cover for something dark and fiendish.

Then again, if someone like Takeshi's father was willing to let him sleep in the upstairs of a cafe as frequented by common people as it was, perhaps Akari's suspicion was unjustified.

Akari snapped his attention back to the hot curry and placed a spoonful in his mouth, examining the flavors and textures like a critic would examine a painting. It seemed... really delicious, and it went down nice and easily, with no offense to his palate. "Well... I can see why people come here as often as they do. This knocks my mom's cooking out of the park."

Someone else had entered LeBlanc, another female student with blue hair, who seated herself at a booth and got to studying without saying a single word to anyone. Out of a respectful desire to let her work, Akari remained silent and waited for her to speak, if she ever would.

Takeshi's father had rejoined the group as well, and was accompanied by the small footfalls of what was indeed a cat, and a rather cute-looking one too. Akari ate more of his curry, then gently extended his hand out towards Morgana, making a loose fist with one finger out, like what was written in an online forum Akari had visited a few times. 'Don't seem too imposing.' A cat expert on the forum claimed. 'Allow the cat to come to you, and let them investigate.'

"Hello..." Akari gingerly whispered to Morgana, hoping the older male cat would accept him.

Mentions:
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[Luna_Silverwing]

Nari nodded to the boy behind the counter "Just coffee please?" she kept her voice soft and even. In a wave it felt as though all eyes were on her even...the cat? Her gaze met the large blue eyes, was the cat staring at her? She smiled softly at the small creature before removing her blaizer and opening her books.

The group here seemed interesting, a soft spoken glutton that seemed about her own age, a louder glutton with bright hair, one boy who seemed easily distracted, the owners son possibly, the owner, the owner's juvenile ward? That was interesting, and one boy proven smartass. Definitely an odd bunch so far.

Blinking a few time Nari realized she'd read the same line over again. Forcing herself to focus she turned her attention from the gaggle of teens. For a moment she envied the one's ability to tune out distraction. She herself was always on high alert and so everything around her made a clear input.

 

[Arcanist]

Kaida Fujisato​

"Morgana? Didn't think the name would suit a boy.." Kaida mumbled, brows raised. It was a name she had only heard once before, and that was in some English Legend they decided to cover in one of their classes. She surprised even herself at even remembering that; it was that class with the dull teacher that drolled on and on...she could already feel herself yawning at the thought of that class.

Kaida managed to bring herself back to the present, however, when Ezra suggested that maybe she should spend some playing with Morgana. She couldn't help but regard him with a suspicious gaze for a moment, wondering what had made him want to suggest that in the first place. "Why me? Anyone else can play with it, after all," Knowing her tremendous luck, that feline would probably sink its teeth into her leg the moment she got near it. Ezra was probably gunning for another overreaction from her, seeing as he took great pride and joy out of it. Though, it was pretty give and take, seeing as she took some glee out of poking fun at Ezra each day.

Kaida sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Alright, guess it wouldn't hurt to say hi. Though, only if he wants to. You know what cats are like..." She mumbled. Well, there was that, and she noticed Akari was testing the waters with the little guy too. Better to let the two of them get to know each other first than to disturb their initial introduction. Plus, who could avoid the hypnotic allure of a cat? Especially one with that much confidence. There'd be plenty of people gravitating towards Morgana before she could think of shifting her ass off the stool.

Spoiler: Mentions

Rusty of Shackleford
quadraxis201
Gravitational Force

 

[Gunnhildr]

When the plate of upsized curry for her was served before her red irises, Kiyoharu put her phone down and examined the steaming red-ish orange curry. The vegetables were cut nicely along with meat.

They look like they have been polished.

Kiyoharu sent her word of gratitude while looking up, noticing the smile that was given to her as a reply. She clasped her hands and was about to pray, a basic etiquette before eating, before she felt something like a small breeze beside her.

Wait... Breeze?

Looking up to the side of her, she found her blue-haired senior eating her curry desirously. The mentioned senior looked up and around her before going back to devouring her meal. Not far away, she noticed that Ezra was, what she assumed, filmed the antique of her female senior. Again, the way Kaida was devouring it was just...amazing.

Is this the true effect of Le Blanc's homemade curry...?!

While it was true that the curry of the café was welcomed by almost all Japanese citizens positively, she didn't know that it could brought such effect. Kiyoharu decided to peek around out of curiosity and noticed that the others were devouring their plates calmly. The red-haired girl clasped her hands once again before muttering a small phrase. A small portion she scooped using the silver spoon and brought it to her mouth, before letting her body relax and succumbed to the deliciousness of the curry.

Wahh.. This truly is good no matter how many times you've eaten it.

She then remembered when she had eaten the curry made by Takeshi's father. It's just as good as this one.

The Kurusus really are talented cooks, huh? Guess it is in their bloodline.

Kiyoharu scooped up some more, trying her best not to gulped it in single go. But it's proven to be hard because of the appetizing flavor it held. Kiyoharu darted her gaze to the male teen standing behind the counter, seemingly to looked at the other customer in the room.

Takeshi-senpai would be a good husband in the future. Yes, he will.

Someone just need to find the perfect bride for him. Or maybe groom? Japanese teenagers these days are like that aren't they?

Kiyoharu shrugged silently before continuing back to her own business, devouring the greatness before her. One would might not noticed, but she was squealing inside. She finished the last portion and set her spoon on the plate. Again, she clapped her hands and uttered a small phrase of gratitude for the food.

She had just then noticed the some-sort-of commotion in the room. Kiyoharu looked at where the sound was and found Akari with a familiar cat. Its soft-looking black fur and bright blue eyes, along with the genius-vibe were the things that made the feline stood out.

Mentions:
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[Xcelgamer]

Yuurei had rolled her eyes during the entire assembly, to her it was entirely lip service, something they had to say not because they believed in it. As she traveled on the train her stomach grumbled in hunger to her which caused her to sigh in response, it wasn't what she wanted to happen but it happened, she then stepped off the train into Yongen-Jaya, it had a very nice, quiet cafe around that Yuu loved simply because it was very, very rarely fully, even if it did sometimes have famous patron. She stepped in with the bell ringing and saw that there was quite a few other students here eating and drinking coffee, Yuu ignored them, sat down in a booth and pulled out a study book "Hi, I would like to have some mild curry please." She said in almost a whisper "Thank you" She said before turning back to her books and started studying. She recognized two or three of the faces, only because they were in the same class before Yuu quietly sighed and returned to her studies as she waited for here curry to be made and the smell of everyone else's curry just made her stomach rumble even more than it did on the train however she ignored her stomach and continued to focus on her studies.

 

[Rusty of Shackleford]

Takeshi Kurusu

Takeshi plated some more curry, placing it on the counter for Daisuke as he then went to making the coffee for the other customers. "Jeez," he thought. "Looks like all the customers decided to come in now..." And then someone else came in. He recognized this one. It was...he couldn't recall her name. He wasn't too familiar with her, but he'd definitely seen her at Shujin. He nodded at her order, finishing the coffee as he said, "Alright, that'll be...1500 yen for the coffee, Miss." He smiled as he handed the cup to Nari, then turning to the other girl as he said, "Curry'll be up right away! Just gotta plate it." He finally changed the channel, he himself getting a bit tired of the damn show. He flipped through several channels, before stopping on a re-run of one of the older Feathermen series. A small smile crept across his face, Takeshi saying, "There ya go. Enjoy. Damn, this looks like one of the older series from the nineties. They even have the original Sentai actors." That's when he realized what a dork he sounded like, Takeshi assuming his normal, cool posture as he stuttered, "Uh-n-not that I actually watch this. My uh...Aunt likes this stuff. She's probably watching it right now..." His train of thought was interrupted by Kaida's absolute destruction of the LeBlanc's famous curry. Takeshi had flashbacks to wars he'd never fought in. Untold terror at destruction flashed before his eyes as the life's work of his father, and his father's before him, was mutilated beyond recognition. But there was work to be done. Takeshi buried his trauma deep inside, serving the last customer her curry, and putting the cash into the small register. With all of that done, he went to making his curry, as well as his dad's. He struck up a conversation with Daisuke, asking, "So, where are ya from? Know anybody in Tokyo other than my dad?" He finally finished making curry, the teenager sighing deeply as he sat down and began eating his curry, half paying attention to Daisuke and the others, and half paying attention to the TV. He hadn't seen the older Feathermen episodes in years. They had a serious charm and heart to them, something that had been missing in the franchise up until the 2010s, when the series had a surge in interest, and had several very successful movies and TV series. It was a hidden passion of Takeshi, one he wished he didn't have to hide. He was an aspiring detective prince, and having everyone know that he's a closet otaku would really mess with his image. And seeingnas how Shujin had a rumor Mill so fierce that they were practically the Pittsburgh of making rumors, he didn't need that. Not now.

Soon, everyone was served, and Mona began to make his rounds. The cat took a while to look Daisuke over. He noticed the teenager's almost sheepish demeanor, so Morgana decided to rub himself against the new kid, purring a bit before he wandered off. The cat didn't take to kindly to Kaida's remark, hissing at her as Akira said with a mouthful of curry, "Eyy! Mona! No hisshing! I thought I told you to shtop doing that!" Mona reluctantly abided by Akira's command, angrily storming off to find more accommodating guests. Mona stared at the American student, noting how much he reminded him of his beloved Lady Ann. Alas, her heart belonged to another man, that rascal Ryuji. Oh, what Morgana would do to win Lady Ann's heart! Morgana liked Ezra, more for that time the cat got free fish than anything else. Plus, Mrs. Steinman gave him all the attention a feline could want. Once again, the cat glared at Kaida, meowing angrily as Akira once again said, "Morgana! Language! Jeez, you have a dirty mouth." Takeshi didn't even question his father talking to Morgana. If was just something Akira had always done. Takeshi figured it was just a running joke or something. Morgana's attention then turned to Kiyo. The cat had recognized that familiar red hair the first time the girl had come to the LeBlanc, and instantly knew she was Kasumi's daughter. This is when Morgana heard Akari. The cat gladly approached the student, placing his paw onto Akari's finger as he purred happily. He then proceeded to rub himself against Akari's hand, relishing in the attention he was receiving. Once again, he felt like a God, being fed grapes upon a chair. During this whole exchange, an app had installed itself onto Daisuke's phone. He may not have noticed it, but it was there all the same. The icon was that of a black, distorted eyeball on a red background, almost seeking to pulse unnaturally. Overall, it looked mega creepy.


???
In downtown Tokyo, inside one of the largest skyscrapers in the entire skyline, lay an intricately designed office, with a desk as black as night sitting in the middle. A man sat there, shadow bathing his face in an eerie darkness. He stared at his computer, smiling as he said in a deep, almost sultry voice, "Well, well, well...it seems the fun is about to begin..." He stood up, staring out of his window, a smile still on his face as he muttered, "And so it begin. Let the strongest prevail..."

MainEventMan
Arcanist
quadraxis201
Gravitational Force
Gunnhildr
Xcelgamer
Luna_Silverwing​

 

[Arcanist]

Kaida Fujisato​

Just as Kaida had predicted - or, well, half predicted - the feline had a natural aversion to her. Though, Kaida found it odd how Morgana only started hissing at her after she made a comment about his name - plus, when she had responded to Ezra’s comment about playing with him. It was creepy how smart that cat could be- though, Kaida just put it down to her mind jumping in insane conclusions. There was no way a cat could be that intelligent, never mind understand what she came out with. She refused to give the cat the fight it was looking for, instead, sticking her hands in her pockets and watching it saunter around the rest of the group.

Cats like that were primarily the reason why Kaida had more of an affection for dogs; especially her neighbour’s Shiba Inu. That dog and its waggly tail were enough to bring Kaida’s cold demeanour crashing down; though, she’d never openly admit that. Plus, it didn’t hiss at her.

Her attention was brought back to the present moment when she heard Takeshi’s dad conversing with Morgana...as if he was capable of both cursing and understanding him. She found it bizarre, but Kaida just concluded it was his jokey manner. Even she wasn’t immune to the amusement of it and chuckled slightly. “Heh, guess me and that cat have more in common than I thought,” she joked, watching as the cat responded rather positively to Akari’s soft-spoken ways. He always seemed good with animals, and it seemed like that skill was finally shining through. At least he broke through Morgana’s icy exterior. Though, funny enough, he never expressed his annoyance at any other one of the group...

Kaida spent her time after absent-mindedly shifting her gaze between several patrons in the café. She noticed yet another student sauntered into LeBlanc - unsurprising, given how popular the place had gotten over the last decade or more - and felt like she recognised her. Probably passed her in the hallway - or else, she was one of a few that turned the other way once Kaida stepped foot outside the classroom. She didn't focus on first choice, but anything was better than the mindless babbling of daytime TV hosts. She eventually reached for her phone in her pocket, noticing a text had come through in the time she was indulging in curry and suffering hatred from cats. Unsurprisingly, it was from her old man when she opened it.

Gonna be late home. Got business tonight.

Leave the door key under the plant pot as usual.

Kaida’s nose bristled as she read the text. She didn’t even give her dad the satisfaction of texting him back as the screen turned black. “Asshat,” she grumbled under her breath, unable to help herself, before she shoved her phone back into her pocket. For someone who wanted to keep both Kaida quiet and his ‘business’ private, he wouldn’t stop going on about it - both in texts and in person. At least her mother wasn’t around to find out about it. Her job involved travelling to several different branches around Japan and even abroad, so it meant she wasn’t at home so often.

That made Benjiro’s life easier, and Kaida’s significantly more difficult. She wanted no involvement in it, but she was caught up in it just knowing what was going on. She didn't have much choice other than to keep her head down and to keep a tight lip.

No way can anyone find out about it. It’d fuck everything up.

Last thing she wanted was her life - and anyone involved in it - spiralling into chaos. It had a habit of doing that.

Spoiler: Mentions

Rusty of Shackleford
quadraxis201
Gravitational Force
Xcelgamer