linkingup | post palace takeout! [week 5]

post palace takeout! [week 5]

( at some point a bedraggled lot in yukatas manage to make their way to the dorm, shower and patch themselves up. and then mafuyu makes a very earnest request that they all go out for dinner, and, well, apparently many struggle to refuse her.

this is how they find themselves in something akin to a denny's or an ihop at like, midnight.

as one does. )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Kirumi didn't get anything. In fact, she's not sitting down. She's standing by nearby, as usual -- like she's intending to serve them instead of letting the restaurant do it. Things never change when it's about her, do they?

Anyone coming closer gets a smile]

I hope you enjoy yourself. It was a long, difficult endeavor. Overcoming it deserves praise.

[Congratulations fro Kirumi Tojo, well done]

Kirumi... uh... Thanks, but. I mean, could you, you know, sit down and join us? You were part of this, too.

[ Look, he appreciates the steak, but also? She's allowed to be a normal person? Have a meal with... friends? Are they friends? ]

Should I? I might be asked for assistance at any point.

[Apparently that she could wait for such things while sitting down doesn't cross her mind. She does consider people here friends, really! But at the same time it's so, so hard for her to not be the Ultimate Maid]

Yeah? Of course?! C'mon... Sit down, order something. We want you to hang out with us.

I...alright. I will.

[Hesitating, she sits down. Kirumi even takes the menu]

There is no harm in doing this, I suppose. I have not truly relaxed in a long time.

[big shock am i right]

...wow, really, who would have guessed that?

[ Eliiii Walsh, that's who! At least she's taken the hint. Take a break! Chill you! ]

Everything's really good so far, but the crêpes stuff Mafuyu got sounded super good, too, so, I dunno, those kind of seem like your style of food.

[ aka fancy and professional. ]

Wouldn't it be better to have something that is not my style? It is said being daring is a good thing.

[She's starting to be curious what would be suggested to her now that she suggested going for something that doesn't fit her]

[ Something that wouldn't be her style...? Is she truly prepared for his suggestion? Eli turns in his seat to look at her very seriously. ]

Alright, if you want to be daring? I dare you to get the triple-layer pancake steakburger. Three layers of steak, cheese, tomato, lettuce, mayo, sandwiched between pancakes and covered in maple syrup.

It seems you do not hold back, Eli.

[That's...well, far wilder of a suggestion than she expected! But she's considering it]

No point in holding back, right?

That is true. That is why I'll accept your suggestion. Allow me to face the challenge you have laid before me.

[So of course, before long, she has a triple-layer pancake steakburker there! It looks pretty big! Kirumi frowns at it, staring with a hard-to-read expression, and gives a verdict:]

Covering it in maple syrup is a bad decision. Unacceptable.

[Apparently that's the criticism that popped into her head first and foremost!]

It'd probably be better without the lettuce and tomato...

[ Eli can only watch on, fascinated that Kirumi would go through with the meal that even he, a walking stomach, didn't even want to order. ]

(no subject)

kandata - 2024-09-16 16:36 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

fullmoonmutt - 2024-09-19 00:50 (UTC) - Expand

[Twinning with Eli, unsurprisingly, but more forcefully;]

C'mon, sit down already! You ain't on the clock so you aughta relax!

You all are rather insistent about this.

[Geez. Why are you all like this? But fine, she sits down but be sure she'll plan to stand up the first opportunity she believes she can get away with it, hah]

If yer in work mode 24/7 yer gonna go crazy, that's why. Plus you gotta be tired after all of that.

...it is true I am exhausted.

[And forcing herself not to show it -- but yeah, at the end of the day she's just a human, and she's so achey, and she's pretty sure she'll have a scar from the way a blade hit her really badly]

Perhaps I will...as long as it does not turn into a habit.

[That she’s even considering this is a sign she's softening around you all, really!]

I mean, none of us are payin' you so really there's no need fer you to be in work mode at all.

I mean, you don't see me working, do ya?

...perhaps at this point it's just habit more than anything else...

[Such is what happens when you're a workaholic]

They got a word for that I think...
[He doesn't remember it though. Alas.]

If you wanna come drink with me sometime I bet that'd help you unwind!

[ They don't, but by Idrila Argenti is going to try to make headway. ]

Miss Kirumi...

You deserve praise as well.

Though, unfortunately, I can only enjoy myself once you're sitting down and eating too?

[ He's making a plea. Come sit down and eat food! ]

...surely your enjoyment does not rely on that?

[Why are you all like this. She gets why, she really does! But also why do you all have to be so friendly]

[ Because. Because is why, Kirumi.

At the words, though, the pleading look does not disperse. ]

What is the point if one cannot share enjoyment with their friends?

Surely there are better friends to enjoy with than the help.

[Although she says that firmly, it doesn’t feel like she's trying to keep her distance. It's just she saying the bare minimum objections, instead of trying to stand her ground]

[ Argenti's expression turns completely shocked at hearing her refer to herself as simply 'the help'. Then, it becomes solemn for a moment. ]

...You are not only "the help", Miss Kirumi.

[ He recognizes that she may only be saying this as a front, though even if she were not, he wishes that everyone's efforts be recognized, and they be all celebrated equally. ]

Do you not remember, when we all soldiered through as one, in order to help each other in our mutual endeavors to rescue our dear fellow companion Izou from the wretched prison that had been constructed around his very being, his very soul? Do you not recall as we strategized as one in order to tackle each difficulty as it rose to meet us?! The dedication that I witnessed from the very beginning signified indeed not only a commitment to one's duty, but an earnest and burning bright desire to do all that you can to lend a hand. It speaks to a soul that I wish not to toss aside, to not disregard.

To that end, I say that there are no "better" friends than the ones before me, like yourself, to enjoy the company and reap the rewards of our efforts together. I ask you to please join me. It is not truly a celebration of all concerned until we all joined hands with one another...and partake properly in what it has to offer.

...you never speak a word you do not mean.

[Kirumi listened to all of it. And truthfully, she's touched! No wonder she wasn't able to keep her distance as she had intended. Kirumi is bonding with people, much to her surprise]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only