Persona-SotVD: Fresh Lunch

[Kioku]

"Ne, Tsubaki!" Asami slips between and around the crowds in the hallway trying to catch up the moment she spots someone that she knows. "Hey, I noticed you haven't been bringing lunches, and got up early this morning to make something. Want to join me? Maybe we'll find some of the others too, if you like." Asami holds up no less than five boxes. "I... ahh... may have overdone it a bit. Callum didn't use quite as many of the ingredients as I expected between buying them and now, and..." She leans in to whisper conspiratorially, "Leftover sushi just isn't the same as fresh, you know?"

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki pivots around when she hears her name called. She giggles softly at Asami's mention of her constant lack of a lunch. "Someone's been paying attention to my habits, it seems." Tsubaki gives off her usual big, friendly smile. "Alright, I'll join you for lunch. I'd offer to return the favor later, but it's better for your health if I don't."

[Kioku]

Asami grins with a slight laugh behind it. "Well, you know how I notice things. It's very distracting, you realize, but Tam insists. Although oddly, I haven't seen *anyone* else so far today..." She somehow makes herself look perplexed, happy, and worried at the same time, but the grin is still dominant. "I'm still pretty new to the area, so where should we go to sit?"

[Mokou-tan]

"Let's see... There's a bench underneath a couple of trees near where I met Miyuki. Then again, the delinquents like to hang out in the space between buildings near there. I don't want to have to throw them again, they're heavy." Tsubaki scratches her head as she thinks. "Well, I suppose I could be normal for once, there's a picnic table that's never used." Tsubaki grabs Asami's hand so they don't get separated in the crowds on the way there and leads the way.

[A Rainy Knight]

As Asami and Tsubaki go along their way, they probably notice Miyuki skulking about in the near distance, hunched over a half-eaten piece of bread as she paces back and forth. She's muttering to herself, at least between mouthfuls of bread.

"C-can't go back that way... n-not without Tsubaki. Mmm..." Gulp. "That bench is taken... and, it's t-too awkward to sit on the other half of that one. G-get a room, lovebirds..."

In her own little funk, she doesn't notice the two of her friends approaching.

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki lets go of Asami's hand and holds her finger up to her mouth upon noticing Miyuki. She sneaks up behind Miyuki and hugs her. "Found you!" She turns her head towards Asami. "Hey, hey! Can I take her with? Please? I promise to take good care of her!" The joking tone in her voice was evident in the latter half of her sentence.

[Kioku]

Boring. Violent. Boring. Boring. Disgusting. Decent. Boring. Acceptable. Miyuki. Violent. Wait, what?
Asami's eyes flick through the crowds and almost pass someone she was rather hoping to find - Tsubaki and Miyuki had, after all, been the first to welcome her, and the latter seemed uncomfortable without the former around - unacceptable! She smiles and is just about to start pulling Tsubaki in that direction when her companion notices as well, and is a bit quicker to move and more vocal about it. "I'd have it no other way."


That is to say, Asami finds it unacceptable to allow situations that make Miyuki uncomfortable, and as far as she's observed, "public place without Tsubaki around" is one such unacceptable situation. Added clarification because I realized it could have been taken as her thinking that it's unacceptable that one needs the other around, rather than the intended meaning.

[A Rainy Knight]

"Bwaaaah!"

Miyuki jolts with a start, and then turns her head.

"H-hehe. Hey, Tsubaki. Asami. I was just looking for somewhere to eat, where I won't get b-beaten up or anything. I guess you're looking, too...?" Her eyes flicker over to the stack of boxed lunches Asami has with her. "S-say, can I... do you mind if I take one of those? I was just thinking it'd be nice to have something besides this b-bread."

[Kioku]

Asami blinks and scowls at the mention of bullying. "Okay, this is now officially a kidnapping." She grabs Miyuki's free hand with hers and winks her visible eye. "You can have as much as you like. Tsubaki says she knows a table that's never used, so we were on the way there."

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki walks beside and slightly ahead of the two. "I told you before, Miyuki, you're always able to ask me to eat with you..." Tsubaki smacks her own forehead. "Aiya! I just remembered, I never gave you a way to contact me. I'll give you my number when we sit down." She stops at a table out in the corner of the school grounds under a large tree, with nobody even remotely near it for some reason. "This is it. It's nice and quiet here, so I napped here once or twice."

[A Rainy Knight]

Miyuki follows along, hand-in-hand with Asami as she listens to Tsubaki.

"Y-your number? That'd be great... I've barely got anything in my c-contacts right now."

She settles down on one side of the table once they arrive and seems pretty content, at least for a school day.

"It's nice. Shady and quiet. S-so... what'd you make, Asami?"

[Kioku]

"Wow, it really is nice over here. Why would anyone avoid... well, all the better for us I suppose." Asami puts the boxes on the table and opens one to reveal several sliced sushi rolls. "Sorry it's not more of a complete kind of meal, I wanted to try making a bunch of different kinds and it just..." she spreads her hands slowly in an exploding motion. "One of these boxes has nigiri, and I think there was some leftover eel and some ginger next to a container of soy sauce in one too, but it's mostly just rolls. I don't even remember for sure what they all were, I was having too much fun trying new things for the first 2 hours of this morning. I'm certain there were chopsticks in here somewhere... aha, next to the spider rolls!" She blushes and shuts up as she notices that she's been rambling a bit. "Eep! Sorry, just... umm... go ahead and... yeah."

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki sits opposite Miyuki and turns to Asami after she finishes explaining all the things she brought. "Ara! That is a lot of things. So, you enjoy cooking? That's a nice thing to enjoy, really useful too. I'm actually terrible at making food, that's why I eat at restaurants and stalls a lot." She looks over at the large tree before grabbing a pair of chopsticks and popping a piece of a roll into her mouth. "Oh, now I remember why nobody likes to be around here. It's supposedly haunted."

[A Rainy Knight]

"Y-you don't need to apologize," Miyuki says to Asami. "I've lived off cup noodles before... this is great. Thanks, Asami.

She grabs a pair of chopsticks and helps herself to another one of the sushi rolls with an undeniably eager look in her eyes. She takes her time and savors the first bite, but as she starts to take her second one, she sputters and coughs.

"H-haunted?! What, did someone d-die here or something?"

[Kioku]

Still blushing, Asami sits down and starts eating too. When the mention of a haunting occurs, her violet eyes light up in interest and glee, but she makes no other visible reaction.

[Mokou-tan]

Without missing a beat Tsubaki keeps eating, speaking between bites. "Yeah, I remember now. I used to be president of the Naginatajutsu club not long ago and I was napping out here instead of filling out paperwork, so the vice president came looking for me. I feel kinda bad for slacking so much in my duties, but I never asked for that job. She told me the story on the way back. Basically, a girl got rejected by a guy she liked and she couldn't cope, so she came back here with a knife and stabbed herself in the throat. Messy way to go about it if you ask me." She smiles at Miyuki. "You don't have to worry about any ghosts so long as I'm around. Nothing has happened to me when I've napped here, after all."

[A Rainy Knight]

Miyuki wipes her mouth, and carries on eating again.

"Hmmph. G-ghosts and hauntings aren't r-real, are they...? But it does feel nice being with you two. And, besides..."

She glances around conspiratorially, as she takes the next bite of her meal.

"W-well, I know I'm k-kind of jittery and nervous all the time, but I am on the extermination squad. I don't know about g-ghosts, but Shadows, I can deal with..."

She gives her argument a bit more thought, and sighs.

"N-not on my own, though... I guess I really do need other people's help."

[Kioku]

"I don't know about ghosts or hauntings myself either. Many years ago I might have said it was a silly idea, but now I'm really not so sure. I mean, have you *seen* us?" She starts giggling and it goes for several seconds before she regains her composure. "You know, it's okay to need help sometimes, right? You've got your team in there, and..." Asami glances between the two others, letting her soft smile come back. "You've got us out here. I mean, you've probably got your team out here too, it's not like mmmrfph-!" she cuts herself off with a hand over her mouth and duck her head to take another bite before she starts rambling again.

[Mokou-tan]

"It's not strange at all, I suppose. If it was going to hurt us though, it would have done so to me by now. Tsubaki grabs her phone and sets it in front of Miyuki. It was a model designed to stand up to rugged use that was black in color. The strange thing about it was the hand-painted tiger on the back and the similar charm dangling from it. "If you can't do something by yourself, there is no shame in calling for aid. Put your number in there, so I have it on my contacts." She turns to Asami while writing her own number down on some paper she pulled from her bag, setting it between the two while still eating using her left hand. "You're next. If you two ever need help or want me around or something, just give me a call."

You Get: Tsubaki's contact information.
Tsubaki is actually ambidextrous and uses it to her full advantage. Which is usually doing other stuff while eating.

[A Rainy Knight]

Miyuki carefully taps out her number into Tsubaki's phone, then peeks at the piece of paper and enters Tsubaki's number into her own phone, drawn from her skirt pocket.

"Cool... m-maybe I'll text you sometime, too. Talking on the phone is a little difficult... it's easier to just type, sometimes."

She tucks away her phone, and then turns to Asami.

"S-so, while we're here... what's your n-number, Asami? J-just out of curiosity."

[Kioku]

"...Here." Asami slowly takes out an ancient-looking flip phone and enters Tsubaki's number, then passes it to Miyuki so she can read from it and enter her own while Asami enters her number in Tsubaki's. The phone's background picture is of two identical girls that look about age 9, hand in hand outside in the fall, and the contact list (if checked) only has two other numbers, labeled "Home" and "Hisashi". "Hey, even if it were haunted, there's no way that we're the only ones who either didn't know about it or didn't mind. If it's still always deserted over here, mere superstition just doesn't seem like enough reason on its own."

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki hadn't asked for their phones due to being unsure of the level of privacy people expect from their phones. She herself had nothing to hide in her contacts or at all when it came to her phone. There were 4 in total, Kuroki Chika, Kuroki Rentaro, Mother and Father. Oddly though, the one listed as the emergency contact wasn't her mother or father, but "Kuroki Chika." She smiles once her phone finally returns to her. "I'm honestly not sure if there is another reason. Well, maybe it's because I nap here. I'm... I'm not exactly the most liked person here. People are kinda scared of me. I'm used to it, though. I'm violent and enjoy fighting, which causes problems. Like after my first week here when I ended up pummeling one of the judo guys." She pauses for a moment before adding "he started it..."

[A Rainy Knight]

Miyuki chuckles, with a bit of a smirk.

"Well, I'm not quite p-popular either, so we're a perfect match. And sometimes your f-fighting solves problems, you know..."

She looks down and twiddles her fingers, before stopping in realization and glancing over at Asami.

"Um... y-you see, for instance... Tsubaki and I first met when I was getting b-bullied by these three guys. She picked one of them up and tossed him like a r-rag doll." The corners of her mouth tweak up in a little smile. "S-she was really cool."

[Kioku]

"I'm... I'm not exactly the most liked person here."
Asami gives Tsubaki a confused, uncomprehending stare, broken only when Miyuki mentions her unpopularity and her gaze jumps back to the more recent speaker. She sits silent for a long moment, before declaring in an uncharacteristically blunt way, "People are stupid. You're two of the nicest people I know! What's this 'unliked' nonsense? It's those idiots' loss not giving you a chance." Her tone is very final and matter-of-fact, which doesn't fit her usual demeanor so much to the point of hilarity. Maybe if she were standing or looking at the cause of her ire it would make more of an impact, but coming from her presently it looks more like a waif-thin girl trying to call out a world that she can do nothing about.
It's another very long moment before she says anything else, and her anger at the injustice burned out fast with her comments before. "...Hey... Let me help if something like that happens again, okay? I know I'm not strong at all, and you" she gestures to Tsubaki "could handle them on your own, but I have a little training and I really want to help."

[Mokou-tan]

Despite her best attempts not to, Tsubaki giggles at Asami's little outburst. "Yeah, I suppose I'm nice. I protected Miyuki even though I could have ignored it as it wasn't my problem, after all. I just can't stand for that kinda thing though, so I fight." Tsubaki sighs softly at Asami's request, with a slight smile on her face. "Miyuki left out an important part of that story. After I threw the guy, I picked her up and ran. Sure, I might be able to take them on, but they might also injure me. Or I might lose control and injure someone I shouldn't by accident. If you want to help, I have no right to tell you no, but I'd feel terrible if you got hurt."

[A Rainy Knight]

Miyuki stretches her arms over her head, and then crosses them as she leans over onto the table.

"Th-thanks for the offer, Asami," she says, and then sighs. "T-Tsubaki has a point, though... dealing with people is c-complicated sometimes. You c-can't win. Times like that, I wish I was b-back home..."

She rests her head on her arms.

"I shouldn't think like that, though... not after I've come all the way here. I can't be my old self again..."

[Kioku]

"Right. Losing control and hurting someone is... umm.... bad." Asami still looks as longing to aid as before, but now a bit nervous and regretful as well.


"I shouldn't think like that, though... not after I've come all the way here. I can't be my old self again..."

Asami bites her lip and hesitantly scoots her way around to Miyuki's side of the table to wrap her arms around the other girl in a brief sitting hug. "I'm... I'm sorry if it's painful to think about or anything, I didn't mean to... I mean I have no idea what things were like for you before, but if you ever want to talk about it..."

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki gets up, steps behind the pair and hugs them both. "Hey, now. Don't get discouraged, either of you. I'm here, and as long as I still breath, I'll protect both of you. Don't worry, Miyuki, you've already done the hard part, now you've got people to help you. Though I might not be as good at it as Asami will, I too can lend an ear." She wears her common friendly smile as she speaks, trying to help pick up their spirits.

[A Rainy Knight]

In the center of the impromptu group hug, Miyuki smirks and glances at Asami.

"Heh. It's not like I have some t-terrible dark secret. I just couldn't d-deal with school and people and everything, so I stayed at home and never left. ...For a c-couple of years."

She blushes, and sighs.

"Then Mom and Dad got f-fed up with me and sent me here. So now, I'm, uh... being less of a loser hikikomori with each day. S-something like that."

[Kioku]

"Oh. I thought... Well..." Asami looks flustered by having misread the situation for a moment, having thought that 'I can't be my old self again' expressed a desire to go back to what was lost, rather than to avoid it. "You're out here now, right? That's not shut-in behavior at all, not that there's anything wrong with wanting to be..." she pauses and gulps in discomfort. "...Alone. But I'm glad they sent you here, regardless of the circumstances that led to it."

Asami looks ponderous and distant while she takes a few more pieces of food, before finally asking, "Tsubaki, what if I... I mean someone did lose control and hurt someone? How do you make sure not to while still protecting those you care about?"

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki flicks Miyuki's head playfully. "You're not a loser, and I'll correct anyone who calls you one." Asami's questions hit Tsubaki like a ton of bricks as it caused her to start remembering the times she'd gone berserk. "I..." She takes a small step back and falls into a sitting position. After a moment, her face returns to a neutral composure, not wanting to show a sign of weakness. "Hold in your heart what you want to protect and devote yourself to that. It's too late to fix what's already been done, but you can stop it in the future."

[A Rainy Knight]

"Ow!" Miyuki blinks, and then giggles under her breath. "Th-thanks, Tsubaki..."

She glances back and forth between her friends, and picks up on the sober mood.

"D-don't tell me it's you two with the terrible dark secrets... I'm not going to have to give you therapy, am I?"

She sounds serious, but there's a smirk plainly on her face.

"For what it's worth, I'm h-here for both of you. Uh, if you ever w-want the advice of a twitchy shut-in. O-of course, if it has to do with g-gaming or writing or something, then..."

[Kioku]

Asami's distant look stays, but wavers between worried, afraid and sad, then finally a sad smile after Tsubaki finishes talking. "Thank you for explaining... I don't think that holding who I want to protect in my heart would be safe though, since ashes don't blend with the body and I don't know either of your blood types. Wait... you probably didn't mean that so literally." She glances sidelong at Miyuki, still wearing the same terrible lost smile. "I don't think therapists are supposed to care so much about their clients or get too invested. Please don't be a therapist? You're much too valuable as a friend."

Come back to the present moment now, Beloved. I'll guide you, there will be none of those thoughts today.

Asami turns around from the table to stare, head tilted, at Tsubaki, and reaches out both hands to help her up. A glint flashes in her eye as unheard words soothe her bottled up emotions, her focus finally starting to come back. "I think I understand. We can't go back the way we came... but it never has to happen again." She glances downward as her senses continue re-attuning, her expression becoming a grimace as she realizes just what happened and how she's acted. "Sorry. That was all far, far too serious and... impactful for light conversation over a meal. I'd rather hoped you wouldn't have to encounter me like that for a long time, please forget about it for now?" She plays with her gloves and bites her lip. I desperately want to focus on how they feel instead, but the damage might be done...

Sorry this took so long, it was a difficult post to put together while maintaining both the tone of Asami's distant/crazy side and the type of understanding it shows and acts on. I had no idea how hard and different it would be portraying/RPing "Lost-Asami" after getting into the character of "Normal-Asami." The characters create themselves, and it was a much more radical mindset change than I ever expected. So right now I'm just going "wow."

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki gives her best smile to Miyuki, not wanting to worry her too much. "You don't have to worry about me. I'm a hero from a manga, remember? That means I'm incredibly strong. Though I might need your advice on something else later." She accepts Asami's hands and pulls herself up. When she lets go, she quickly pulls her into a tight hug. "That just means you have to live twice as hard as a normal person, to make up for them." Tsubaki's voice was but a wavering whisper. Her face on the side of Asami's head so Miyuki couldn't see the tears she fought back. She needed to be a hero. A hero can't be caught crying, they have to cheer those who cry up and save them from their grief.

[A Rainy Knight]

Miyuki shrugs at Asami's request, with an awkward laugh.

"I d-didn't mean it literally, either, you know. And s-sure, I'll forget anything you want."

When Tsubaki mentions the possibility of getting advice, she wordlessly nods with an eyebrow raised. She soon settles back into a relaxed pose, with her arms sprawled out on the table. She figures she doesn't have much to add to a conversation this heavy, so she lays down her head and glances up at the sky.

"S-so pretty and blue today..."

[Kioku]

Asami gives a tiny eep at the sudden hug, but closes her eyes with a deep breath and a shaky nod. "I know..." she gives the barest whisper. "...I know... and I do." She blinks in utmost surprise at the wording and quickness with which Miyuki agrees to 'forget', and does her best to look her in the eye and force the sadness out of her smile. "It's okay, you don't have to... but thank you." She stretches out an arm and starts petting her hair absently while talking. "Hey... you'll always be wanted and welcome, okay? So long as we're around. I promise." She nods again, other arm still wrapped around Tsubaki, thinking of what she just said. "I promise..."

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki fully regains her composure and realizes what she just did. She stops hugging Asami and takes a step back. "S-sorry about that. I-I didn't mean to..." As she spoke, she uncharacteristically avoided eye contact and her face was blushing a deep red hue. I-it just kinda happened and..." She shuffled a bit. "S-sorry..."

[Kioku]

Asami doesn't let go *quite* that easy, and keeps a hand on Tsubaki's arm as she pulls away. "Don't be sorry. All heroes need support, even if it's just to show how awesome they are by comparison."

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki giggles with a smile on her face. "It's not that I'm awesome, I've just got things I need to be a hero to do. I hope you'll both support me. You more immediately, Asami. After all, we're in the same group right now, and while my strength is great, I can't take as many hits as some of the boys. Don't worry too much though, I should have just enough in me to protect you both."

[A Rainy Knight]

Miyuki smiles, though she's still far too content where she is to raise her head off the table.

"M-much appreciated, Tsubaki. I'll... do what I can."

[Kioku]

Asami squeezes Tsubaki's arm before letting it drop, all negativity fled from her face now. "Of course! I'll be fully there for you." She glances around and finally *notices* what her other hand is doing, but just shrugs and lets it continue due to how comfortable Miyuki looks. "Maybe we should get a round table out here if we can. It'd be nicer than being stuck on opposite sides or in a line."

You just *know* I wanted to make a knights/Arthurian joke there, if Asami knew about the guys' personae.

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki cracks her knuckles, inspects the table for a moment and sighs. "I'd break it into the right shape, but the legs aren't in the right spots for that to work. I suppose we should move a new one out. I hurt my hands less that way, too." Tsubaki jumps up and snatches a leaf from the tree. "This one seem like it will do." She presses it up to her lips and blows, emitting a soft note from it. After a couple more notes, she starts to play a soft song using only the leaf.

[A Rainy Knight]

Miyuki chuckles under her breath.

"P-pretty cool, Tsubaki. H-how'd you learn to do that?" she asks, before glancing up at Asami. "You, uh... you l-like my hair, Asami...?"

[Kioku]

Asami giggles at the table-break talk, then falls silent and admires the music, the question she'd ask about it already spoken. She glances toward Miyuki at the question and starts to pull her hand away. "At first I didn't notice, then you didn't seem to mind, so..." She bites her lip and shrugs. "I do these things naturally when I'm comfortable around people. I guess you could say I'm someone who expresses affection mostly through contact." Wait, that didn't come out how I wanted it to... "Err... I mean... I'm a 'touchy' person? No wait, that's not it either..."

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki sets the leaf down on the table, smiling with pride. "It's called a leaf flute. I tried learning instruments when I was younger, but I just didn't have the aptitude, so my mother taught me how to play a leaf. It's kinda convenient for someone like me. If I'm rough with it and break it, I can pick a new one. If someone is having trouble sleeping, a lullaby isn't far away. And I can easily play it while laying in a tree or under it." Seeing Asami flounder a bit with words, Tsubaki tries her best to help out, with an oddly motherly smile. "A hug, a kiss on the cheek, a pat on the head. Things like that are friendly gestures you use with those you're comfortable around. Sometimes, those things can say quite a bit more than words and work on a much more basic level of understanding. I understand it."

[Kioku]

"Yes. That. What she said." Asami finishes removing her hand and rests it on the table instead, looking a little flustered. She flashes a smile of appreciation at Tsubaki for helping her explain and looks over the leaf. "I was never any good at music except for singing. Or at least, I never tried any instruments... but I'd like to learn to do that, some time if you..." She gestures with one shoulder and turns herself back toward the table, having only had a few pieces to eat so far.

[A Rainy Knight]

"D-don't worry, Asami... I don't d-dislike it."

With her head still laid on the table, Miyuki listens to Tsubaki's music.

"It's pretty..."

By the time Tsubaki finishes, Miyuki is slumped forward over the table, motionless aside from the rise and fall of her breath. Asleep.

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki smiles and sets her leaf on the table when she finishes her song. "I'll give you a few lessons sometime." She looks over at Miyuki and giggles when she notices the girl sleeping. "That's adorable. She looks so peaceful, though I wonder about that posture. Probably won't feel good when she wakes up. Do you think it'd be okay if I let her take a half-day?"

[Kioku]

Asami gazes upon the sleeping form with a similar giggle. "I think she'd be fine like that with a pillow, or laying under the tree instead." She looks around to see who else is in view at the moment and gives a devious smile. "I'm no stranger to avoiding classes and making the connections to get notes from them later. Haven't done in a while, but if she's really that tired, I'll stay with her and can make sure she doesn't miss anything. You either, if you'll stay too? We should see how she feels first, of course... but I really don't want to wake her!"

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki stifles a laugh. "I already know the material for this year, actually. I memorized the workbooks so I wouldn't have to study past the first month. I wanted to increase the amount of time I could train. Don't tell anyone, okay? I purposefully make my grades average to avoid unwanted attention." She smiles at the thought of getting Miyuki a pillow and gently lifts her like she would her sleeping sister. The tiny warrior sits down under the tree and lays Miyuki down with her head on Tsubaki's lap as a pillow. "If she gets mad, it was my idea, okay? I'm a very bad influence. After all, I take naps like this all the time" She gives Asami a bright smile as she speaks.

[A Rainy Knight]

Miyuki doesn't wake up even when Tsubaki lifts her up, and she sleeps quietly with her head rested on the little hero's lap.

[Kioku]

"That... is a really good idea. I usually just do each month's reading in advance, some time the previous month. I mean, the homework itself goes really fast, but still, that's rather inspired." Asami moves all the sushi boxes onto the bench and sits down next to Tsubaki with one in hand. She gently brushes a hair away from the sleeper's face and leans back against the tree with a very content and happy look. "I really hope we do this more. I'd forgotten what it was like to be together with people I care about."

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki giggles a little. "I just believe in living life to it's fullest. I understand that I'll probably need the knowledge for later in life. I can't just punch through life, ya know? So, I'll learn what I need so I can smash my way through the present until that stops working." She swipes a piece of sushi from the box and pops it into her mouth, sighing contentedly as she chews before responding to Asami's hopes. "I'd like that a lot. I think it'd be good for our sleeping princess here too. A couple good friends make the world a lot more fun, ya know?"

[Kioku]

Asami nods and giggles, having completely expected the swipe. "A couple good friends make life a lot more worth living. I'm... I'm not just here for Akemi anymore." She leans her head on Tsubaki's shoulder and continues. "Those people that get attacked by shadows... they really need us, don't they? So I guess I have both people to live for and a goal to keep moving forward." She doesn't sound sad or resigned or distant at all this time, just happy and content. She giggles again, still wearing her smile. "I really should shut my eyes, or I'll want to play with Miyuki's hair again."

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki gives a big smile. "Of course they need us. Without us, the world might end. It's a lot to take in and deal with, but I believe we'll be able to prevent anything that bad." Tsubaki leans her head on Asami's and lets out a slight yawn. "If you want to close your eyes, we can all just nap here. Nobody should bother us. After all, I bite. Though with friends I might only nibble."

[Kioku]

"That might be nice... I should bring together the leftovers and put the lids back on first so that birds won't come after them. Good thing the weather is still cool." Asami munches on something from the box she has with her and tries to hook her foot around the bench leg that the rest are on to pull it over without getting up. Like that, she reaches out a long arm and stretches until she manages to get a finger on one of the boxes. "Oh... the lids are still on the table... well, there isn't all that much left." She cheerfully puts the boxes that aren't empty already on her legs and goes back to resting with her friends, eating something every once in a while. With the one lid that she did manage to bring over, she makes sure to fill and set aside a box in case Miyuki is hungry upon waking.

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki chuckles at Asami's actions. Being so small, she herself actually wouldn't be able to reach any of the stuff Asami was getting, so she didn't offer to help. "You know, you'll make a good wife one day...." Her voice trailed off as she relaxed into Asami and drifted into slumber.

[Kioku]

While in the middle of moving a hand once again to Miyuki's head so that the trio would all be in contact, Asami goes wide eyed and blinks several times at Tsubaki's last drifting-of statement. A very tiny confused sound squeaks out of her and she bites her lip and blushes. Confronted with an idea that she, unlike most girls, had never given much time to before, a thousand thoughts run through her head that keep her wide awake while reclining for quite a while. After 40 minutes or so though, she finally is relaxed enough to nod off as well.

[A Rainy Knight]

Some time later, Miyuki wakes up and sleepily rubs at her eyes.

"Ahh... what happened...?"

She looks around, slowly processes the situation, and then jolts a little when she realizes that her warm pillows are actually Tsubaki's thighs.

"W-wah! Tsubaki, I'm s-sorry..."

She soon realizes that the other girls are both asleep, and sighs with relief.

[Mokou-tan]

Tsubaki wakes up a little after Miyuki with a small, contented yawn. "Oh, you got up first. Sorry about moving you, I figured you'd be more comfortable this way." She pats Asami gently, trying to wake her while not being rude. "It's late, Asami, if you don't get up, I'll have to carry you back. Not that I'd mind."

[Kioku]

Part of Asami sharply wakes when her hand is moved by Miyuki's head, but the rest slowly blinks awake to the sound of voices. "Hmm? Are we all getting up now?" She stretches her back and sits up the rest of the way from her leaning position, not quite catching Tsubaki's quieter words amidst all of the other incoming sensations. "Wow, I didn't think I'd ever fall asleep in a public place like that." Asami nabs her bag and starts checking it, then gathers up the empty boxes to wash later and contemplates the full one with a shrug. "Ahh... it's later than I thought too. Is it time to go home?"