#storgeveros

          The time until the trip to Japan had been, for the most part, uneventful. Unless one counted Nora’s antics, though as far as Nea was concerned, that was perfectly normal. Her attempt at back-flipping down the stairs, which ended exactly as anyone would expect, was par for the course; she was trying to have fun, and Nea certainly found it funny (at least, once she was sure her friend wasn’t hurt). That was the day before her flight. She’d reached the airport an hour early, not wanting to miss her flight, and brought only what she considered essentials with her. Several sets of clothing, a toothbrush & tube of toothpaste, hairbrush, a few extra hairpins and her dolphin plush, primarily.

          On board the plane, Nea opted to try for a nap. It was a long flight, and sleeping through it was sure to be easier; unfortunately, that wasn't to be. She heard odd, creepy sounds from the back, where the bathrooms were, and it scared her enough to keep her awake for most of the flight. She spent most of it trying and failing to hide in her seat.

          She did manage to sleep through the tail end of the flight, finally arriving in Tokyo. Upon arrival, Nea found she couldn't get out of the airport fast enough - there was so much to see, so much to do! She'd come alone this time, but she'd been working on her Japanese, so she hoped she wouldn't encounter too much trouble. She knew basic terms and phrases, greetings and farewells - she hoped that'd be enough for the time she planned to spend there. Upon exiting the airport, her first goal was simple: explore! She'd been to Tokyo before with her friend, Haru, and she knew well that Tokyo was hard to navigate. So she wanted to roam around, see what happened, what she could find! Opportunity surrounded her, and she didn't want to waste it.

          As it was a bit chilly due to the wind, she'd donned her hoodie from what little luggage she brought, which remained in her backpack. A bright pink hoodie with the hood down, and a blue fleece shirt, adding to fleece sweatpants - she was making sure she stayed warm. She'd also pulled on her headphones, listening to The Ramones as she roamed, eventually wandering into a market. She still wasn't entirely paying attention to her surroundings. She'd not noticed the Aihara just yet, more focused on a shop she'd found selling charms; blissfully unaware of the similar appearance she shared with another pinkette - even being similar in height. It seemed a case of mistaken identity would be inevitable.

yuzu : :o

Bright eyes blinked momentarily in surprise before they narrowed, tinted with mild annoyance as she rolls them. She loved Yuzu, but she could be such a worry wart, especially when it came to her side gig. Matsuri lowers the two treats that she had purchased moments ago, releasing a long sigh, puffing her cheeks out slightly to further display her displeasure at this lecture.

“--- Relax, Yuzu-nee. It’s some extra money I had left over.” Not that she completely gave up her job - it paid way too well to let it go, and she her tastes could be expensive. ( Arcades weren’t free, y’know. ) But the less Yuzu knew the less of a lecture she’d receive.

🔮 - “Ah! So that’s what the fortune I read today was predicting...I see now!” She brightly declared, despite the fact that many of the capsule toys she’d been carrying in her bag had rolled into the nearby sewer grate. The shock and disappointment she’d worn on her face after the stranger had accidentally knocked into her had quickly been replaced by a sense of pride, remembering  the phrase she’d deciphered through a newer method she was experimenting with.

“’What you already had will be lost by misfortune alone - most, but not all.’ I used to think it was nonsense, but I see what it is now! There’s one left!” She picked up the sole remaining capsule toy, holding a pink cat inside of it’s plastic shell. 

     How unfortunate it was for this patisserie to be out of baumkuchen today. Although Maya’s expression didn’t appear to shift much, Claudine could sense the disappointment radiating from her. Ridiculous. Baumkuchen couldn’t be the only pastry Maya enjoyed! And this wasn’t some half-baked cafe that served pastries with only a passing resemblance to the real dessert here; she’d never bring Maya to a place like that.

     So she pointed to several potentially appealing desserts in the display case. “The choux à la crème here are quite good, you know.” Such was her own order, or would be once they made it to the register. Choux à la crème and milk tea. “As are the canelè and mille-feuille. But, if you must have baumkuchen, there’s still that German bakery we pass on the way back to the dorm.”

๑ - “Ah, Aihara!”   She was a touch out of breath when she finally made her way towards her classmate, something that had been harder for her to catch when she lost it - ever since leaving that cursed town. She quickly gave a small bow of apology toward her, taking in one big,  shuddering breath.

🍀 His immediate response was to freeze - not quite knowing what to do to in response to something like this. His clothes were completely soaked through, cotton absorbing the dirty water the passing car had splashed his way when he had bent down to pick up a pen that had fallen out of his backpack.

“oh...come on....”