Some Like it Hot [Saya]

The day had started off as so many others. Saya was forced to consciousness by her sister.... sisters? How does one explain that getting our dear protagonist up and about in the morning required the aid of two people who just happened to technically be the same person, one a living embodiment of the personality created to protect herself from pain, and the other a puppet personified to--you get the point I won't say it again. Ai cooked a hearty breakfast for the pair, which Saya had completely ignored as usual. She wasn't hungry upon first waking up, and even if she were, poached eggs and avocado toast wasn't what she was hungry for. Ai knew this. She'd planned for it. She knew that she would need to give the option for several months before actually convincing her little sister to try it. Because of this, she'd taken the time to make a massive second portion she could send down the elevator for their hard working tai user to enjoy.

It was after she was showered, dressed, and had taken a bit of time to relax and sew up a few new outfits that the grumbling in the tiny terror's stomach finally started. Hopeful, Ai offered the breakfast once more, but her attempt was met as it always was. They were going to go get Mappo tofu before training, because of course they were.

"Please don't forget. Something green on your plate. Not garnish, and you can't throw it away. You need a little variation in your diet if you want to keep getting stronger Aya. " Her comment was met with a wave of her hand even when emphasized by the puppet twin lovingly reffered to as PupAIt. And there they would part. Saya left Ai to clean up from "breakfast", Tidy the house, and do whatever it was she did in the day. It was time for Saya to get to work. With daiko having learned wood style, There was so much she now needed to do that her heartbeat pulsed more rapidly at the simply consideration of what came next.

It would be fate that exactly when Kiku went to knock, Saya opened the door. Her eyes closed for a moment as a hand rapped heavily against her forhead, and before you ask, yes there was a hollow ring of return. It wasn't because her head was empty. Everyone who has met the tiny terror knows of her brilliance. no. The hollow ringing that followed Kiku's knock came from the rapping of PupAIt's own fist against the wall as she began to laugh hard and long. She'd noticed the girl moments before Saya had, Just before the knocking debacle, and if things continued as described the scene would be too good to allow her to stiffle her own laughter.

"i.. Oh. Uh. Hey kiku... You know you can just like. Walk in right? It's not like its locked. " She crinkled her nose as she dealt with the stunned sensation of the knock. Finally her head shook and her muscles released from their surprised state.

(TWC 516)

She would blink for several moments before finally finding the will to respond. It didn't really hurt that much. Kiku's strength wasn't exactly colossal, but it was a special kind of confusing feeling your face being used as a door knocker. Just the process of figuring out what had just happened was enough to stun the small girl for several moments.

"I. Uh. I. Yea. I'm okay... What exactly just happened." Ai was having a ball. Of course she would need to check on her little sister to make sure nothing was hurt or broken, but for the time being, THe scene was far too good for her not to enjoy. She'd found the ground in her fit of ecessive laughter, and was currently rolling across the ground.

There is an interesting difference between the pair when they first met Kiku and today. Months ago Ai would have immediately jumped to make sure that Saya wasn't hurt. Had it not been something she knew well enough to have no doubt she didn't mean harm, she probably would have immediately jumped to her sisters defense to take care of the problem to ensure it didn't happen again, but as much as she still felt an intense need to protect Saya, She knew at this point there wasn't much she could do. Were Kiku actually intending to do harm it would be only Saya's conviction and care towards the girl that would save her, and were she being honest, Her little sister didn't need help from anyone. She'd gotten so much more powerful than the team could ever imagine in this short time.

It would take time, but finally Ai would push herself up off of the ground, brushing the dirt from her clothes and check the small girl over. It was odd that in her mind Saya was this tiny creature compared to herself, standing at the same height, weighing a bit less because of her wooden body, and having a build that was literally the same in every way. The only difference between the pair that was noticable was the stark contrast in hair color--assuming one or both weren't wearing wigs.

"It. Uh. It's okay. I think i'm good. That was pretty strange though. Never thought that was a sensation i'd feel before. " Almost immediately her intention toward confirming her safety was put on hold. Did she just say food. Kiku knew how much Saya loved food--one particular food. One must be specific in describing things.

"......DID YOU GET US MAPPO TOFU?! I was just about to head to the shop and get some. yes please. I can already taste the delicious spicy sauce and the crispy tofu edges with the soft chewy center....."

"And the mixed vegitables added in because you need variation in your diet. Little sister look at your friend. That is not exactly tofu in her hand." Her dreams were raised and dashed almost immediately. She'd never seen mappo tofu on a stick, and it was always a deep brown color like that in her hand, but where was the sauce?!

(TWC 1031)

Saya put on her bravest expression in the face of this horible outcome. well. Saya, with full nose crinkle activated, tried pathetically to put on what she thought was her bravest expression in the face of this horible outcome. This was her friend--no. Her best friend, and she trusted Kiku with her life, so she was in a bit of a bind. THe look on Ai's face was priceless however. She leaned foward, fists clenched in excitement beside her face as the questionable stick of something Saya argued heavily whether could be called food was moved towards her little sister's face. Then she noticed the mushroom. It wasn't exactly something with a high vitamin content or too terribly much extra nutritional addition that she didn't get otherwise, but it wasn't Tofu and spice. This was the best day ever.

"I'd... uh. I'd love to. You know Kiku.... I was totally thinking to myself, I said Saya, You should totally try uh. Meat sticks with... stuff also on them, and I just couldn't find the right time, but here you are with not mappo tofu, which is totally overrated anyway, saving me from my plight." It smelled horrible. It wasn't even fire truck red. Do they have firetrucks in ninja times?! It would be pretty silly to carry a truck full of water when there are just ninja who can pour water from their mouths, but there has to be something in the same vein right? I'm getting side tracked. Our dear protagonist leaned foward, taking the stick from her friend, and took the tiniest little bite of the end of the hot skewer, swallowing it immediately.

"Yum. It's so good oh my gosh!" Were this a game similar to dungeons and dragons, this is the point when you'd hear the rolling of dice on a table, followed by a determination on whether or not the lie was believable. As there is no skill check for bluffing in the real ninja world, it would be far too evident that she was not a fan as the scrunched look on her face continued through the entire endeavor.

"Aya. Do not just take a corner and swallow it immediately. Remember our manners.... If you'd just listened to me months ago and tested out other foods we wouldn't be in this position. Take a solid bite or no Mappo for dinner." That did it. Saya almost had to give her sister a look of confusion as she put her foot down. She'd never done that before had she? Could she actually follow through with it? THe nodding of the freyja puppet said yes she absolutely could. Damn it.

She took a long strip of the succulent meat from the skewer, tugging it off the bamboo stick and chewing it thoroughly. THe shift from nose crinkle to wide eye was instant. She would never admit it, but the food offered was absolutely delicious. And then she noticed the mushroom. She wouldn't ahve to try that too would she?

(TWC 1534)

".....NOT NOW ARNOLD!!!!" While the tension built, a metaphorical creshendo building up to the moment when Saya tries a mushroom for the first time, there was also a very litteral creshendo of music near the back of the house. It was the percussionist for the band that she hired to walk around with her and play music when needed. In truth he didn't actually intend to literally put sound to the metaphor in Kiku's head, but he was testing the tension of his drum head, and so he beat his snare drum dramatically at the exact moment that everything was going on.

"Sorry. They got new equipment I think so he was testing and tuning stuff up. Pretty wierd that he would be doing that right now though right? " Plot convenience is a term that often describes a situation that seems implausable, but somehow seems to happen anyway. In this situation it would reffer specifically to arnold and his snare drum, but it is a term that is both heard in narration and seen in the story of our dear protagonist quite often.

"....Do.. Do i have to? LIke. What if It just accidentally fell off and then I ate the next part instead?" She regretted the quesiton the moment it was asked. You see, there was not another layer of meat underneath the mushroom which sat like a land mind threatening to turn her stomach and confirm her plan to only eat mappo tofu would continue indefinitely. Instead, There was a very large red... Something? maybe it was a tomato? It could also be a pepper. It was heavily charred, letting off a sweet fragrance that was missed as Saya focused on other things, but looking down, she noticed it immediately and regretted her suggestion. Could she just eat the mushroom instead now?

The more she looked at it, the more she recognized similarities between this and her favorite food. While the meat was a bit darker than her beloved tofu, they both had that dark charred look that could possibly allow her mind to mistake the two. It would need to be completely dark, but it could happen. Likewise, the pepper(yes, it is indeed a pepper) Reminded her quite a bit of the delicious thick sauce her favorite meal came saturated in. She wondered to herself if it would be spicy like the sauce. It wouldn't be. To any who had base knowlege of various foods and even a slight interest in variation in meal options it would be quite obvious that this was either a sweet or bell pepper. Still, it was enough to get up her hopes. She just needed to get rid of that stupid mushroom first.

IN one bite she pulled both the pepper strip and the mushroom into her mouth, chewing quickly and.... Wow.

"....The mushroom kinda tastes like the meat, or like... meaty? Is it a meat mushroom?! is that a thing?" THe pepper was much less exciting. It was in fact quite sweet.

(TWC 2036)

Just as Kiku began to wonder who the heck Saya was talking about, A hidden hatch located behind a very strangely placed book shelf in the center of the wall to Saya's left opened up. Behind the book shelf was a small room, barelly big enough to fit four or five people, and currently within was a young man wearing a ruffled white shirt and black slacks. With a snare drum in hand he would head out of the hidden compartment, closing the bookshelf, and heading out the door, grumbling about needing his practice up to the point when he passed Kiku. He'd give her a bright nod, saying 'G'nite' As he passed, heading to wherever Sayas personal band went when she had no need for them. 

She was seriously considering eating the strange grey item until Kiku began to speak. It was clear that her encouragement was meant to comfort the small girl. Of course she trusted Kiku. She was her best friend, but something about the suggestion that She would never give her something she hated made her question. WOULD she give her something she didn't like? What if she was sick and needed medicine that tasted totally like butts? Isn't this exactly what her friend would say to coax her into taking the gross medicine? It almost definitely would be, but at the same time, it probably wouldn't come to that. Were it a serious problem she had little doubt that between Ai and Freyja she would either be coerced into drinking the foul elixer or physically held down whie it was poured down her throat. She hated that part, but it was the rubbing her throat to get her to swallow part that made her never want to get sick again. It was so demeaning!

And then she tasted it, and it wasn't so bad. It was good in act. So good that she reacted as said before, prompting a correction from her friend. 

"It tastes like meat. Kinda looks like meat. See. Tofu kinda tastes like meat but it doesn't look like it, so clearly its not meat, but this... If it looks like meat and it tastes like meat it's gotta be right? Isn't that how it works. I think its the translative property or something?" It was the transitive property. If A equals c and b equals c then a equals B or something to that effect. I, like our dear protagonist am not too great with the maths. 

"So uh. What brought you to my door today? I'm glad to see you of course, just yanno. I figured you were busy with your family buisiness or something cuz I hadn't heard from you. THinking about it I haven't really heard from anyone but Dana mostly in the past few months. Hung out with Daiko for a little, but its been alot of me Prepping Ai for the tournament. OH!!!!" She would pause, excitement bubbling from her form at the memory she was about to share. She was so excited in fact, that she ate the rest of the skewer in one bite, stabbing herself just a little bit in the roof of her mouth as she took the food down quickly, all memory of there being yucky peppers gone from her mind. 

"Did you see?! Ai won her first round fight!" 

(TWC 2595)