realmofstories | A Thousand Sugar Stars, Oh Put Them in a Jar (October Catch-All)

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A Thousand Sugar Stars, Oh Put Them in a Jar (October Catch-All)

Characters: Kotori Iida [Sweet Porridge Girl], Della Duck [Icarus], Master Crane [Crane (Tsuru no Ongaeshi)], Disciple [Jekyll and Hyde], and YOU!
Campaign: Break
Format: Starting with brackets, but will match
One Open, Two Closed
Summary: Kotori comes back from a brief trip home, makes lots of tasty food with people, and wakes up at an ungodly early hour to train. (Oh, also, Hyde happens.)

A. I Looked at the World Through Apple Eyes (Closed to Della Duck and Master Crane)

[Wild and unpredictable as restoring The Little Mermaid had been, Kotori is very, VERY glad the ending turned out happy, with not a speck of mermaid-derived seafoam in sight. Coming back to the Index and seeing the city dressed in autumn colors, though… is it already close to a year since the Storyteller first brought them here? Close to a year since she last saw home… She should fix that.

So after telling a few of her closer friends and asking them to watch her place and let any other Aspects who ask know so no one panics ~~ROXAS~~, she asks the Storyteller to send her home, just for a little while. By Index time, she’s only gone a few days; in Japan, it’d only been a few weeks. It was… weird being back in a completely normal world after spending a year here. Going through school, cooking more with Inuzuka-sensei and Tsumugi-chan, her mom working hard again. Shinobu had even been visiting her during lunch break lately, even if it felt a bit awkward not telling her about cooking with the Inuzukas… or this place, for that matter. The remembered it vividly for a few days, but… then started writing it off as a dream. Huh. The whole business is weird, really, like the time differences, and her feelings for…

But she can think about all that later. The Storyteller brought her back in late at night it seems, and she’s already really tired. One good thing about all her schooling being left at home is that she can sleep in as late as she wants tomorrow. …… Which, if her memories of the Index had been a little fresher, she’d remember as having scheduled a certain meeting with a certain duck. This should be interesting.]

B. And Cut Myself a Slice of Sunshine Pie (Open)

[Between this new routine of cooking sessions with the Inuzukas, her pot’s new shapeshifting ability, the pub’s brand new kitchen, and actually having a recipe collection to work with, and creating the massive feast during the ball, Kotori’s not only started getting used to cooking with other people, she’s actually starting to crave it even more than she had been. So whether she asks you herself, or you ask to come over to practice a recipe (especially for a date coming up~), from late morning to a little bit into the evening, Kotori’s available to make just about anything.

Or maybe you smelled good food inside and decided to invite yourself into this strangely cauldron-shaped pub. (Especially if it involves daikon ~~GOBO~~.) Those in this category might be confused to see that the space is clean and well-kept, if rustic, there doesn't seem to be much of a crowd. In fact, the only person here is a teenage girl, in the middle of cleaning the kitchen in the back, sweeping and polishing the floors and counters up front, or sitting down at the bar for a meal for one, depending on what time of day you catch her.

Still, yes, Kotori’s door is open, so come on in, cook, and eat!]

C. I Danced with the Peanut Butterflies (Closed to Disciple)

[Of course, even with how fun these cooking lessons are, a little quite time in between is always nice. (Not to mention kitchens don’t clean themselves…) So after doing some sweeping and mopping for the day, Kotori’s sitting at the bar counter with a nice, simple dinner with a steaming bowl of nyuumen and a cup of hot green tea. Perfect for a cool, peaceful autumn day like this… ……. Okay but maybe a miniature apple charlotte after this would be nice. After seconds, of course.]

D. Till Time Went and Told Me to Say Hello but Wave Goodbye (Wildcard)

[[Got something in find other than the prompts listed here? Feel free to hit me up on Plurk or Discord so we can plot!]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Kotori almost flinches at the hand out of the corner of her eye, but no wait... this doesn't have claws!]

Roxas!

[Her hands clasps TIGHT with his as she rises to stand upright, doing her best to run with him! Now that she's free, her only goal is to get them BOTH as far away from Hyde as possible!]

Edited 2019-10-31 22:22 (UTC)

!!

[Roxas sees Hyde coming barreling towards him, and on instinct he reacts; using a new Essence power he recently discovered.]

[Right before Hyde collides with him, his body suddenly liquefies, turning to sea foam. Instead of meeting any resistance, Hyde will find himself colliding with a Roxas-shaped wall of sea foam, which makes a wet slap as he storms through him. When Hyde runs past, Roxas spends a couple seconds pulling the sea foam back together and reforming into his human form.]

[It was similar to when he vanishes into light to do a dodge back home... only, a little more disorienting. He shakes his head once he's solid again, before turning to Kotori.]

Come on!

[Time to get the heck out of there!]

What?! [Oh. Oh he definitely didn't see that coming at all. He collides with the wall beyond him instead, giving Roxas and Kotori a bit of a head start.]

Damn you....damn you all! [He moves to stand. As he stomps his way toward the door, he grabs one of the tables] I'm going to kill them both, and you can't stop me. [Somehow he manages to get that table through the door, with a leg or two broken off. He then tosses it in presumably the direction the two were running in.]

AAAH!

[OKAY WHAT IS GOING ON, ROXAS MELTING TWO SECONDS DOESN'T HELP THE PANIC!

Oh, okay, he's back, that's good, she can ask about that later, right now they need to RUN! She barely registers Hyde's ranting, but looks back just an time to see a heavy wooden table FLYING their way!]

ROXAS! [The second they clear the door frame, Kotori tugs HARD on Roxas's hand and pulls him out to the side with her, PRAYING that she can pull him out of the way in time!]

[SORRY KOTORI DESPERATE TIMES CALL FOR DESPERATE MEASURES.]

[The two take off running, though Kotori's tug causes him to stumble.]

Woah!

[Fortunately, he's pulled out of the way just in time for a table to go flying out past them. He risks a glance back, but doesn't stop running.]

Keep going! Head for the river!

[He gives chases, but it doesn't last for very long.] Uggh, this damn body is still too weak. [He wasn't kidding when he said he needed food. Though it's strange he's lasted for as long as he has like this. It seems as though Hyde could feel what Disciple was thinking and laughs.]

You're just losing your grip. You know how the story goes. [He flops onto the ground, still laughing to himself as his consciousness fades in and out.] It's only a matter of time now... [He lays in the grass, falling unconscious. He'll catch those brats next time.]

[Kotori can't last much longer herself, only barely holding out until they're out of Hyde's sight before she begins to stumble and bend over, gasping for air and completely exhausted in energy and adrenaline.]

Is-- Is he gone...?

[Roxas could run for the rest of the trek to the river, but once Kotori stumbles he slows, allowing her to stop and catch her breath. He's panting heavily himself, looking up and around.]

I don't know. It looks like it...

[...but last time he thought that, Hyde had ambushed him. He's staying on guard.]

[She sighs heavily through her pants, only now clutching the wrist that Hyde had squeezed to her chest... and only now starting to break down a little.]

Good, I... Thank... thank you, I... I'm so sorry...

[She doesn't know what'd happen if Roxas had shown up... or if Hyde had hurt him too.]

[Hearing the way Kotori sounds makes Roxas turn to her, and at once his angry expression falls to one of worry.]

Kotori..!

[He moves to her side, kneeling beside her.]

Hey, it's okay... we got out of there. We're safe.

[She looks at him with watery eyes as he kneels down. She's covered from head to toe with rice porridge, what uncovered parts of the half of her face that'd been pressed into the floor is an angry red, and the wrist she's favoring is already sporting a cuff of deep purple.

But she's alive... And so is Roxas, and she's just so GLAD for that, even as the could-have-beens are settling in and making her cry more.]

I thought... I thought he... Roxas...

[She could definitely use some medical help, but emotional comfort might be the more immediate need.]

[Oh no... Hearing her crying, seeing her in such a state, it hurts his heart to see. He gasps softly, seeing he red mark of her face and the purple of her wrist. If only he could cast a Curaga spell...]

[Though not wanting to agitate her injuries, he gently pulls her into a hug, not caring if she's covered in porridge or not.]

It's okay, Kotori. It's okay. It's over now. I'm here, and we're okay.

[She freezes for a second in his hold before slowly collapsing into his embrace, arms gingerly coming up but pulling him close, the unmarred side of her face burying against his shoulder.]

Roxas-kun...

[He hugs her close to him, carefully brushing her hair aside and wiping porridge from her face. He holds her carefully while she collapses, keeping her held together as she breaks down in his arms.]

[Softly, he begins to hum to her, then softly sing a song to her. He lets his magic seep into his voice, just enough to help calm and soothe her.]

[If it were any other time, she'd pull back and stare at him for choosing a love song- a MARRIAGE proposal?! But she's so tired and so close that the magic takes effect quickly, and the words barely register by the time he reaches that fourth line. The fear and the pain slowly surrender to the soothing magic and her natural exhaustion and just being DONE, and it's not long before she starts going limp in his arms.]

[There hasn't been much thought into the song choice; he just knew it was a softer song, something he'd heard the bards sing in town, and one he knew was something that seemed to put others in a good mood. He really just wants to help Kotori calm down.]

[And calm down she does, right to sleep. He lets out a small sigh, running a hand through her hair before pulling out his notebook.]

[He'll contact Naomi, to check Kotori over and make sure she isn't injured... and also to contact Shizuo, let him know about the Hyde situation. What a night...]

[He'll get a message back from Naomi shortly, asking where they were and if they could make it to the apothecary. Otherwise, if they were in a specific location, she could come to them.]

[Geez, it's beginning to get worse, isn't it?]

[The apothecary wasn't too far away, so Roxas messages back, saying he will take Kotori to her. He'll be over shortly.]

[With that, it doesn't take too much for him to scoop up Kotori and, holding her close, carry her to Naomi's. It's not too long before she gets a knock on her door.]

[It's long enough for them to get here that she can make out some cots for the two of them.]

Hurry in. Lay her on one bed and settle in yourself.

[Meanwhile, she's going to shoot a look around. No immediate threats... This would be fine then.]

Okay.

[He nods at Naomi when she opens the door, and he carries Kotori inside. His arms are burning from the effort, but he's gritting his teeth and bearing through it; he wants to make sure she gets the help she needs.]

[He puts her down on one of the beds, and it's only then does he wobble in his step. He'd been working on pure adrenaline, so now that he's gotten a moment to rest, he feels pretty wobbly.]

[Naomi steadies him with a hand on his back before he really falls over, taking a moment to guide him over to the second cot.]

Wait here...

[She of course had potions for this, but she needed to look Kotori over as well.]

Thanks...

[He's grateful for her help in guiding him to the other cot. He lets out a sigh as he lets his posture sag, exhaustion finally seeping into his muscles.]

She... I don't know how many injuries she has. I used my voice to help her calm down, and she fell asleep because of it...

[The worry is pretty evident in his voice.]

Ah, so she's not out due to exhaustion...

[She had been wondering. Her posture wasn't really that of someone who passed out.]

She'll be fine, Roxas. I can treat her, but I need to see the extent of her wounds. I don't want to give her anything too strong.

[It's now that Kotori's eyes begin to flutter, and she wakes up with a quiet moan, the pain starting to overpower the magic and exhaustion.]

Nn... wha...?

[Where is she...?]

Ah, speaking of...

[Turning better towards Kotori, Naomi stands over her head.]

Take your time. Slow breaths.

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