[Text/Action] 002

[wishingalone]

[A: Text, to everyone]

I hope that everyone is recovering from the recent ordeal. It was worrisome, to say the very least. Nonetheless, it seems that some benefit may have been derived from it, at least.

Has anyone successfully done one of these new evolutions?

[B: Text, private to Kyouko]

[Yeah... here's why she did text. She doesn't trust herself to not get emotional talking to Kyouko about this.]

I saw it in my memories. Inside of that cave that the others went inside of. Not the real thing.

[C: Action, later, at Junes!]

[Mami promised that she would stop by Junes. She wants to go see it, besides; she could stand to buy a few things, especially a few things from home. But her friend boyfriend it's complicated really there's not a good word for him special cute buddy Yosuke works here. And that is more than enough reason to get her here.]

[You might find her browsing the aisles, looking over the various goods. Especially some of the clothing. Winter is coming, after all, and she means to be ready for it. But she's also looking for Yosuke, peering about all parts of the store.]

[And later, she's sitting down at a table in the cafe portion, sipping tea. Because of course she is!]

Comments

[punchesyu]

Yeah. [He says a little more softly, not without a smile though. He knows she's been through worse, but won't bring that up now.]

You shoulda seen what it did to Junes. It took almost two weeks of cleanup and restocking to get it back to normal! I thought it was gunna take my arm off!

[wishingalone]

[Ah, yes. That could be a problem. The Luggage was... destructive, wasn't it?]

How did you get rid of it, finally?

[punchesyu]

About that...

[He rubs his hand on the back of his head nervously.]

I sorta got the hell outta dodge before I knew what happened, there wasn't anything I could do! It was taking shots at my hand! [He whines, a little embarrassed that he was less courageous than Mami.]

[wishingalone]

It was quite fierce. And feisty. I don't blame you in the slightest.

[She pats Yosuke on the hand, gently, and shakes her head. There, there. It's okay. She's the coolest. Diancie's in her heaven and all's right with the world.]

It all ended well enough, right? The damage seems repaired. I certainly didn't walk in and think, "This place was recently destroyed by ravenous luggage."

[punchesyu]

[The pat on his hand doesn't make him feel any better, sighing.]

Yeah, but telling people you ran away from a box is totally embarrassing... [He glances over at the time.] Crap, my break is almost over! But, I can show you around while I'm on the clock. I would be helping a paying customer, right?

[He winks. He's got this.]

[wishingalone]

Once they see the box, they'll understand. [Mami nods, then she stands up. She looks around for a moment, then back at him.] Of course! I wanted to get a few things. Such as a new book to read, perhaps.

[punchesyu]

A book? Just follow me!

[He stands up from his seat, turning in the direction of the book section of the store, trotting along happily to be spending time working with Mami instead of doing something like lifting boxes in the back or stocking.

He leads her there, stepping to the side to allow her to go into the first aisle, bowing while holding his hands out to the side like a proper chauffeur.]

Here we are, the book section as requested, miss. [He says in a gentlemanly voice.]

[wishingalone]

Why, thank you! [She stops as she reaches a shelf, and begins to peruse the titles. Should she take up too much of his time while he's on the clock? Probably not. Ordinarily, she would refrain from it. But, lately... she wants to.]

I've always enjoyed reading. It's something to pass the time. And I haven't read many of the books from Union.

[It's a nice thing to do when she you spend a lot of evenings alone, too. She doesn't say that, though.]

Maybe... hm. [She's pausing over some of the romance novels, curiously.]

[punchesyu]

I didn't know you were into that cheesy stuff. [He follows her down the aisle and glances at the titles she's hovering over.]

Uhhhh, I mean, I didn't know you liked romance novels!

[wishingalone]

Sometimes I enjoy them. They're not my preferred book, but...

[She tucks the one she had been considering back into place. Probably not a romance novel today.]

...They can be nice. And cheesy.

[punchesyu]

[He calms down a little bit. He hopes he hadn't discouraged her, but she doesn't seem mad at him so he'll take that as a plus.]

Well, what about this one? [He reaches up to the spine of a book he's spotted that looks cool by the art on the spine, but didn't really look at the title. Taking it off the shelf, it reads "Riding with a Cop", along with a cover picture of just a guy's abs. He pulls a face and immediately puts it back.]

Uh, never mind. That doesn't look like the cheesy type.

[wishingalone]

I-I see that Junes has some interesting ideas about their romance novels...!

[She's flushed red. Mami coughs, quickly, and sidesteps to the other side of the aisle. Because she's blushing up a storm. At least he didn't seriously suggest the book!]

Per...haps the adventure stories. I like a good travel journal sometimes!

[punchesyu]

Don't look at me! I'm not the one in charge of inventory here! [Someone else does that, and he's not sure how that book even got in the store.]

Yeah! Adventure! Good idea! [He frantically goes over to that section of the aisle, flustered himself now over the book he'd pulled out on accident.]

What about this?! [He pulls out a more normal, generic kind of adventure novel that looks safe, and hands it to her.]

[wishingalone]

I-I see! [Mami coughs, before she takes the novel and flips through it. It takes her a couple of seconds to form an opinion; she checks the back and reads a couple of pages, out of curiosity.]

Hmm. It does look interesting...

[punchesyu]

Way more interesting than whatever that creepy book was! [He just doesn't want to look at some other dude's abs on the cover of a book in a romantic way whatsoever.]

Y-You should get that one!

[wishingalone]

I think I will! It seems interesting.

[She smiles and tucks the book underneath her arm, her head tilting to the side.] You were quite helpful, mister salesman.

[punchesyu]

[He grins back. Victory. He bows, making a big show of it.]

At your service, madam! We like to make every customer feel appreciated here at Junes!

[He drops the act though, folding his arms.]

You need anything else, Mami? I won't lie to you, I'm trying to avoid going back and stacking the new shipment in for as long as possible. [Even though he'll stay until it's done.]

OH MY GOD this got lost in my inbox I'm so sorry

[wishingalone]

[She winks at his little display. It's cute. Not that she'll say so aloud. But... it's cute. Mami nods, before she looks around, with a smile.]

[Then she glances at him. There is one thing, but she can't very well ask his help. She meant to get him something; after all, he bought those barrettes. Which she still wears. She'll have to think about that.]

Hmm. Well...

[She taps a finger against her chin.] I could use some treats. For my Pokemon.

I SENTENCE YOU TO WATCHING P4 DANCE VIDS ALL DAY FOR THIS TRAVESTY

[punchesyu]

The poke puffs are right this way!

[He gestures out, to lead her to the section where they have some treats for pokemon. The section isn't very big, but there's a few choices for Mami.]

We're still working on expanding some things. ...This section is one of them. I admit, it's not quite as big as the Junes back at home...but it does the job. [And he's happy it's small, for now, since it's less of a pain.]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[wishingalone]

[Mami screams and points her gun at Yosuke while sobbing brokenly.]

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KEEP THESE THINGS HAPPY WITH THIS SMALL SELECTION!?

[Lil' Miss Teamkill is at it again!]

no here's the real tag

[wishingalone]

Ah, poke puffs. I know them.

[She'll eagerly await the arrival of the new treats. But some poke puffs will help. She pulls a bag of some off, then she turns to look at Yosuke.]

I imagine there must be a lot of work in shipping things from the homeland.

YOU ALMOST KILLED HIM

[punchesyu]

It can be a real pain in the ass...

[His voice trails off as he thinks about it.]

Thankfully, we can keep in touch with our deliveries. But I gotta admit...I do miss the place sometimes. [He hasn't been back to Citadel since he arrived in Union.]

HE'LL WALK IT OFF

[wishingalone]

Mm. So do I.

[She glances to the side. She isn't sure, exactly, what she misses though. The sounds and the sights, maybe; the little familiar things. But the people... she didn't have very many people there to miss.]

I should go back and see it again, sometime.

WOWOW YOU DON'T JUST WALK SOMETHING LIKE THAT OFF

[punchesyu]

[He feels a pang of relief at her words. Why wouldn't they miss it- it was home, wasn't it? He asks himself that, but he too doesn't have much of a connection back there save for his mother and the main store.]

I'll go with you. We'll make a trip out of it!

[That sounded fun, but any time spent with Mami was worth it to him.]

it...could happen...?

[wishingalone]

[Mami's hesitation about Citadel fades. It doesn't quite vanish. But going back with him sounds... nice. She likes that idea. She glances sideways at him, smiles, then she nods her head.]

Let's. We could go next week, perhaps? Ah--

[She grins.]

--We can fly, this time, and much more safely than the last trip.