♪ ❝ seems like it crept up out of nowhere ❞

[masqueraid]

Who the P-Thieves & OPEN
When A Stop on the World Tour! April 23rd, 20XX
Where Arito, somewhere in-between "studious atmosphere" and "wild party"... (a book café?)
What It's a Special Day for your local Queen!
Warnings/Notes Please feel free to post your own top-levels! Food(?), beverages and... books? Are here for everyone to enjoy during the get-together! Just... don't touch the books unless your hands are clean. (We don't want to cause a scene. Yet.)

When you walk into the quaint looking café, maybe the scene that greets you wasn't exactly what you were expecting. Not the soft music overhead or the smell of old and new books that line the shelves... that's all pretty standard seeming. It's the makeshift banner that looks as though it was put together in a manner of minutes reading, “ℋAPPY ℬIRTHDAY ℳAKOTO—” that looks rather out of place.

There are a few tables lined with some food and drink, water, juice, tea and coffee— just the basics really. Only a little further down are some baked goods that could easily be mistaken for delicious cupcakes. Unfortunately, on such short notice and even shorter funds... the only thing Ren could come up with were some Kupo-Nut Cakes... if you're willing to try one though, you may just find yourself with a Guts +1 boost.

Well, at least the coffee seems decent.

Comments

ren amamiya | ota (one closed prompt)

[masqueraid]

COFFEE N' COFFEE.

( not wanting to be more of a bother to the proprieters than they already might have been, ren had insisted on getting the beverages together by himself... especially the coffee. although he didn't have the proper equipment to be able to brew the way he would have liked, he made due, picking out the beans that reminded him the most of home before he'd gotten to work.

if you're partaking in a cup of it, or even just considering... that might be why he's taking an interest in you with his brows hoisted just a little above the rims of his glasses. )

GUTS +1

( well... if no one else was going to do it, you can count on one of your local protags to make a bad decision. maybe it was to show everyone else that they just weren't poison, maybe it was curiosity. or maybe... he was just hungry?

either way, you may spot ren off to the side actually... daring to eat one of those cupcakes that may or may not be for non-moogle consumption. the jury was still out. )

DID SHE SEE IT COMINNNN'? ( closed to Makoto & Futaba )

( ren typed away on his slate, trying to decide what sounded best to get queen on the move. it had to be simple, vague enough to question, but curious enough to get her on the move as soon as possible, now that all the preperations were done. )

               Makoto—
                   There's some here in Arito that I think you should see.
                   Meet me at [location] as soon as you can.
                                           — Amamiya

Heheh... ( even he had to admit he was a little excited, glancing at his co-conspirator from across the table, and adjusting his glasses. with any luck, makoto wouldn't suspect a thing. really, this would be the first time they had an opportunity to celebrate her birthday together even if... the timeline was a little messy.

regardless, it was april 23rd in vaikuntha, so by golly they would make the most of it. he motioned in silence for futaba to get down as he did the same, crouching just out of sight... she definitely, never, saw it— happening this way. )

No she did not

[studdedcouncilprez]

[Makoto looked down at her iMog with concerned curiosity. The last time that she had this much communication was during their time as the Phantom Thieves. Was this a sign that the gang was getting back together? Was there any news of who their next target was going to be?]

[Worry kneaded into her eyebrows as she paced her way to the location. The more she thought about the situation, the more concerned she got. The more concerned she got the faster her legs started to move. By the time she got to the cafe she was going full trot. With eager anxiousness, she opened the door.]

Ren-kun, I got your message. Did you finally figure out what--

[Her eyes widen at the banner. Coffee? Cupcakes? Was this... was this... a surprise birthday party? Her fingers raised vainly to cover a mouth that could not be obscured. Her cheeks reddened and small beads of water started to form on the corners of her eyes.]

...oh...

[Mission success?]

[promiselisting]

[ She's gotta admit, she's pretty excited herself. Taking Ren's cue and crouching down - taking a bit more care to hide herself, since she's uh, a lot more noticeable, Futaba then takes out her iMog Slate. Within a minute, she's sent out her own message (the audio was prerecorded while they'd been getting ready).

There is some waiting, a few minutes that are full of a tense anticipation that is nonetheless fun. And definitely much better than the last period she'd been left waiting for something to happen.

But then the door opens, and Makoto sees what they have prepared. And everybody knows what they're supposed to do now, right? She jumps up, beaming ]

Surprise!

[ Meanwhile Neo - who actually seemed to have gotten pretty into this whole surprise party thing, swoops down from the rafters, throwing confetti. Which may actually just be shredded napkins. ]

[masqueraid]

( ren's spring to action and subsequent— ) Surprise! ( comes in perfect conjunction with his counterpart and honestly, they did even have to practice. he's grinning widely as the makeshift confetti settles into the frizzy strands of his hair.

he looked on fondly at her reaction, approaching with something in his hands— just a small, plain box that he handed towards makoto. his head nodded towards her just slightly— he wanted her to take it.
inside, it's nothing special... a keychain in the shape of a cactus? it's actually a cactuar but its reminiscent of a mini catcus she may or may not have received as a gift one time...
his hands find his pockets again, and he assumes his usual relaxed pose. )

We thought— even if the situation is strange, that's no reason not to celebrate, right?

[studdedcouncilprez]

A. The Busiest Birthday Girl

[Makoto was never one to settle down when there was work to do. The fact that it was her birthday only made her more anxious. During the course of her surprise party, one may find Makoto doing small things to tidy up. It starts with small things -- throwing away a little trash here. Tidying up the plates there. But left to her own devices she would be straightening up the banner before long.]


B. Feeling a Little Fruity and Nutty

[The coffee was divine, but the same couldn't really be said about the Kupo-Nut muffins. Wanting to make the party more open to different foods Makoto covertly gave the last of her gil to Kopuchi to buy "fruits, nuts... anything that doesn't really need prepared." In the end Kopuchi was able to bring a small gross of tangerines, dates and pistachios.]

[Makoto was grateful, but that required some more prepped. Thankfully she remembered her newly acquired ninja asterisk. When people weren't looking she would be seen chopping up the fresh fruit into small slices and placing it on anything nearby that wouldn't mind having fruit on it.]

[She's doing a pretty good job of it too, bringing in her past cooking knowledge with swift dagger swipes. Feel up to a little exhibition?]


C. What Comes Up

[No matter what happens, in the end even a busy body is going to get reigned in and enjoy her birthday party kicking and screaming. In truth she was grateful, and anybody coming by to give her well-wishes would be greeted with a warm but quiet...]

Thank you.

B

[witchwithoutacause]

[ Amanda's arrived just in time to watch Makoto absolutely going to town on that fruit, standing kind of awkwardly there watching her talents. ]

...cool.

[studdedcouncilprez]

[Makoto's aim comes down with one loud CHOP as she hears Amanda's comment. In a characteristically controlled panic she scanned the area. She felt relieved when she saw the tufts of red hair. Oh thank goodness: she wasn't Futaba or Ren.]

[Makoto smiled sheepishly as she went back to chopping the fig in swift, precise cuts.]

I used to do cooking at home for me and sis. The asterisk isn't helping me be a better cook, but its great for slicing and dicing.

[witchwithoutacause]

[ Good thing she didn't chop her fingers off!

Amanda's pretty sure she has the birthday girl pegged, and nodded back. ]

Ninja Chef sounds like a pretty cool reality crossover show.

[ Like. Ninja Warrior plus Iron Chef? Sick. ]

Happy birthday.

C

[chefbayardee]

If I knew your birthday was coming up, we could've made a cake!

[ Hunk looks a little disappointed, because baking is his favorite. But then his eyes go a bit wide with realization, and he reaches into a pocket, pulling out an open envelope with "Makoto-SAN" written on it in pen. ]

And I got you a present, too. It's not much, but I hope you like it.

[ And in that envelope, aside from a basic birthday card, was a simple note with basic pen-scribbled borders surrounding:

GIFT CARD VALID FOR ONE:
Home-cooked meal.
Like, a meal from your home.
Or as close as we can get.

And Hunk simply stared at her, wondering if she'd even open it. Cooking was great, but trying to cook something from Earth would be wonderful, so this wasn't completely altruistic. Though he'd never admit that. ]

[studdedcouncilprez]

[Makoto smiled and accepted the card. She's frankly not used to this much attention and it probably shows. Still, she's not about to deny well-wishers and friends to celebrate her birthday either.]

I didn't think that it was worth discussing. With everything else going on, celebrating my birthday seemed like a non-event.

[She's touched by the card, and a soft smile comes to her face.]

How thoughtful! Thank you. I'll have to give this matter some thought.

But have you ever cooked Japanese food before, Hunk-san?

[chefbayardee]

[ He looks shocked, almost offended at the accusation, but he's still smiling. ]

Of course I have, Makoto-san! [ The fact that he remembers the honorific shifts his temperament straight into mirthful whimsy. ] I mean, I'm no expert, especially since I've spent so long eating space food.

[ He shrugs, and with it goes any hesitation. ] But it's a belated birthday present, so it's gotta be great. [ And he gives a confident thumbs-up. ]

OTA

[promiselisting]

[ And Futaba's here too.

Seriously though, while she's absolutely there for anybody who approaches, she isn't going to go out and mingle as much as the other two. It's not her day, after all, and she's still an introvert by nature.

That being said, there's a marked difference in her, even for those who have met her before - she's probably a lot more relaxed, a lot more pleased than she's been up until now. She finally feels like she's in her element. Cozy cafe, with coffee that Ren brewed, surrounded by people she knows and cares about, still riding the high of a successful plot.

Yeah. Today is a good day. ]

Re: OTA

[conniemaheswaran]

"Hey." Connie, after a moment's hesitation, sits down with Futaba. Paradoxically enough, Connie found that although she was a major introvert, she was fairly sociable, even enjoying talking to people. Still, sometimes she needs quiet to recharge her batteries, and hanging out with a fellow awkward geek couldn't hurt.

Then again, Futaba might not feel the same way. "Oops. Um, mind if I sit here? I don't want to intrude."

[promiselisting]

"Eh, you're fine," Futaba waves a hand dismissively. It's not a big deal, certainly not right now. After a moment, she picks up and takes a sip of her coffee, pretty clearly in a good mood. "Glad you were able to make it."

[conniemaheswaran]

"Me too! I'm, um, glad it's this lowkey," Connie says. Seriously. The higher the density of teenagers, the more certain the possibility of Connie embarrassing herself was. She was quite glad that there weren't a lot of people around. "This is actually the first normal birthday party I've been to in... years."

[righthandstand]

[After Okuyasu inevitably stuffs a Kupo Nut cupcake into his mouth and has a near-death experience, he stumbles into a quiet corner of the room guzzling glasses of water, soda, juice, anything to rid the taste from his tongue.

Tears are threatening to fall as he collapses onto the nearby empty table with a cup of coffee, realizing too late that it's too hot to chug. His life is terrible.]

[promiselisting]

[ And that uh. That happens to be the table she's sitting at. And that's uh... quite the state to be arriving in. She stares over at him, startled and... mildly concerned? ]

Uh... you okay there?

OTA

[conniemaheswaran]

Connie shifts from foot to foot outside the entrance to the bustling coffee shop, a small box wrapped in white paper clutched in her hands. She'd debated on whether or not to actually come to the party--she barely knew Makoto, after all--but she did seem nice enough, and Connie did want to become more acquainted with the older girl. Hopefully she wouldn't make a complete fool of herself.

Taking a deep breath, Connie walks into the cafe, putting on a smile. "Hi, everybody!" she chirps. "I hope I'm not intruding."

[studdedcouncilprez]

The party seemed to have been a low-key affair, which was fine for Makoto. So much so that when another girl's voice popped up it made her notice immediately.

"Oh, hello. Mahesuwaran-san, right? Did Futaba invite you as well?"

[conniemaheswaran]

"Um, yeah!" Connie nods. It was all teenagers. Well, Connie was also a teenager, but only by technicality. This was fine. She could do this. She totally didn't seem like a little kid trying to get at the big peoples' table. Nope. Not at all.

Doing her best to disguise her rising anxiety, Connie twiddles with the hastily-wrapped box (it looks like it's covered in a variety of scrapped blueprints for magitek devices), then hands it to Makoto. "This was kind of a... side project, I guess, and I got it done just when I got the notification, and so I, uh, figured you might appreciate it."

OTA

[righthandstand]

[Okuyasu heard there was food.

And some people his age, that's also a draw. That chick from the Monk Guild - she was cool and pretty tough - he might as well stop by and yell happy birthday when he has the spare time.

Which he does right as he slams the door open.]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAKOTO!

[He doesn't have a present, he's broke hell so whatever, but he heads right to the back for those totally-not-suspicious cupcakes.]

Re: OTA

[conniemaheswaran]

Loud, sharp noise? Check. Element of surprise? Check. Already on edge in a social situation with people far older than her (relatively, anyways)? Check. "Gah!" It was all a perfect combination to make a nervous Connie snacking on a plate of fruit start and trip over her own feet directly into Okuyasu.

Welp. There goes her nonexistent air of style and grace.

[righthandstand]

Okuyasu may not go out of his way to help people in need, but he does have a sense of basic common courtesy. A kid trips, and he reaches out to grab her shoulder and stop her from hitting the ground.

"Woah, there." It would be a tragedy if her food spilled onto the floor.

[studdedcouncilprez]

[Oh it was that one guy from the monk's guild. Okuyasu Ni--jimira?]

[Still, the well-wishes was welcome.]

Thank you very much, Nijimira-san.

Did Ren-kun or Futaba-chan invite you?

[righthandstand]

[There's the one person he recognizes so far! Okuyasu waves and takes a detour to greet her properly.]

I saw the invite on Mognet and thought I should stop by! We're gonna be trainin' at the same place, anyway.

[He lowers his hand.]

And...the name's Nijimura, by the way. [That is definitely a strange name that was made up by the writer for the story.]