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

[ricebird]

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!]]

Comments

[kawkaw]

[While he isn't at all familiar with their arrangement, even he's a bit surprised and somewhat offended by Della's choice of words. Shooting her A Look, he then hurries after Kotori.]

Hey, hold on a moment - !

[noimpulsecontrol]

[She's always had a gift for putting her foot in her mouth; for unintentionally insulting people; for just saying the wrong thing. It never feels any less awful when she does it, though. There's a moment where her heart seizes as Kotori walks away. She's done it again, gone and ruined everything, just like she did a few months ago with Bridge, just like she did ten years ago with her family...]

Kotori-!!

[She doesn't even hear Crane, or notice that dirty look. She's honestly forgotten he's there. She's just chasing after Kotori, a hand reaching out to grab for the girl's elbow, if she can.]

[ricebird]

[She doesn't move that quickly, trying not to cause too much of a scene or lose any of her more of her cool. Her speed picks up just a little bit when she hears the voices, so it's easy for Della to catch her elbow... but Kotori yanks it away, turning as she does to face Della directly. Her eyes would be steely if it weren't for the tears welling at the corners, and even though Kotori manages to keep her volume down, her voice is very, VERY stern.]

I said I'm going for a walk, Della-san. Do you have any consideration for me as a person? You keep touching me and elbowing me and calling me "kiddo" like you think I'm a four year old niece instead of an unrelated teenager, you just declared you were going to train me the second I mentioned I don't know how to fight, you broke into my home this morning, you called me helpless to my face, and now you can't even acknowledge my request for some time to myself. You don't respect me at all!

[And if Crane thought Della was the only one that hurt her feelings, he'll be in for a surprise as her gaze snaps to him.]

And you're nearly as bad, Jien-san! You just waltzed onto my lawn without either of us inviting you? Just so you could upstage and criticize Della-san in front of her own student? Deciding for someone you just met what she wants and needs when she's standing right there? You honestly think that's how a good teacher or even a good colleague of Della-san's should act?

[Now her voice grows just a touch more heated, and choked as more of her tears enter it.]

Well, guess what? I'm NOT a little kid, neither of you are my parents, I'm not some prize in a custody battle or game of tug of war, and not that either of you care, but I NEVER said that I wanted to learn how to fight! I don't like getting hurt, and I hate the idea of hurting others even more! The only reasons I didn't say no were that it would have been extremely ungrateful of me, and that you're right! I know too well that I AM useless without knowing how to fight, and I'm an idiot for starting to think maybe I have other things to contribute after being here a whole year!

[kawkaw]

[Really, he was mostly expecting it. But even as he remains silent while letting her say her piece, he's a bit helpless in the face of her tears.

Once she finishes, he releases a deep sigh and bows, hands at his side.]

...I...I'm sorry. [It's not enough, and he knows it, but while there's more he wants to say, it takes him a moment to think of how to begin.] I...realize that it might be too late, but...if...you'll let me start again...

[He bows once more, this time with one hand folded over his fist as he'd done before.]

My name is Jien Huang. I study and teach Kung Fu back in my home in China, and have only arrived to this world pretty recently, so there's still a lot I'm getting used to.

[Rising to his full height, he pushes his rice hat up a bit to better meet Kotori's gaze.]

I hadn't meant to barge in the way I did. I was actually just trying to familiarize myself with the town when I noticed the obstacle course, and I suppose part of me was hoping to train with others, as I do back home. [Some might call that being homesick, but he was just being practical. Really.] I didn't realize it was in front of someone's home.

When I found out that Della had never taught anyone to fight before, though, I was worried that her [How to put this delicately?] inexperience could cause both of you to get hurt.

[Especially since that obstacle course was rather unstable, but given that Kotori was upset enough, he thought it best not to mention it.]

I also apologize for assuming you had wanted to learn to fight. I'd only thought so because it looked like you were already training, and that you'd already made that decision. If I'd known that you hadn't, I never would have said what I said.

Because you're right. No one should learn to fight if they don't want to. Learning to fight isn't for everyone, and even with my background, there are plenty of ways someone can help without fighting.

[He hesitates a moment, then clears his throat as he glances briefly at Della before looking back to Kotori.]

If I may, though...there's also a difference between learning to fight, and learning to protect yourself. And while I don't want to assume things again, that might be a bit more of what Della was trying to go for?

[noimpulsecontrol]

[His eloquence and humility are appreciated, especially when he takes a moment to - almost defend her intentions? But though she respects his apology to Kotori, it stings. She's not the sort who can really weave her words and her feelings together so well, not most of the time.

She nods, looking unhappily down at the ground.]

Yeah... Kotori, I am sorry, but I understand why you're upset. I- I think I'm going to go, now.

[ricebird]

[Oh... that burst of fire had already run its course, but hearing Jien speak so humbly, and then seeing Della do downcast... it feels like someone dropped a cannonball into her stomach. She's ALMOST about to apologize herself, but then Della tries to excuse herself, and that feels like an extra kick to the gut.]

Della-san, you don't...

[But she stops herself from saying more. She already lost her temper and lashed out at the two of them; the last thing she needs is to be a hypocrite about letting Della walk away if she needs to.]

[kawkaw]

[He hesitates another moment; on the one hand, it really isn't his place to get involved, especially since his arrival is what caused most of the problems in the first place.

On the other, it was because it was partially his fault that he feels compelled to do something. Especially since he often intervened between fights with the others back home because he didn't like arguments.

So, giving Kotori a motion to wait there a moment, he goes to follow Della - these strange human legs make it quick to catch up to her, but his normal legs would've made it even more so.]

I hope you can forgive me for intruding since this isn't my business...but in my experience, it's better to take care of these kinds of things than to leave them unresolved like this.

[noimpulsecontrol]

[There's no desire to yell at Jien, which is odd for Della. But she just doesn't have the fire in her after seeing Kotori react that way. After hearing what Kotori said... Jien does get a rather stern look, though.]

Look, I appreciate that you want to fix this, but...

[But it's like Kotori said, she should respect the girl's wishes.]

...I'm gonna go.