Starring:
Date: October 11, 2010
Summary:
Fun, relaxation, and icecream for the Tao Shih! …Or for one member at least.
"The One Where Tomoyo Gets A Brain Freeze"
Sweet Blossom Inn - Kusagakure
In the downstairs restaurant-portion of the Sweet Blossom Inn, in Kusagakure, there is an odd trio seated at a table. Tomoyo wanted to sit in a booth, but Amuro can't fit in a booth, and Mune can not easily fit either. Though for different reasons in Mune's case. So there they are. An 8' tall man in a mask sits on the side of the table nearest the stairs. A much smaller, but also much curvier and darker-skinned, figure is seated across from him with her back to a wall (so that no one can sneak up on her). And a young woman that has eyes people are mistakenly claiming are 'Byakugan' and that she is 'from the Byakugan Clan' is seated next to the tallest of the trio. The Land of Grass does not get a lot of Hyuuga so the fact they are using the wrong word/name is lost upon them.
Needless to say, the three stand out quite a bit. Amuro has ordered some icecream for Tomoyo — mint chocolate chip at first, then she can have whatever else she wants either in the same bowl or seperately — and left any other order up to Mune for what she has. Amuro has not ordered anything for himself. Infact…
…Has anyone ever see him eat or drink >anything<?
Either way, Amuro sits in the way-too-small-chair and watches his adopted daughter, to see what she thinks as a carved, buffed, and polished wooden bowl with at least one large scoop of green-tinted icecream and chunks of chocolate throughout, is placed before Tomoyo, along with a spoon. Any toppings, quantity of mint, or other icecream types she desired will have been added. Amuro can afford it.
After the slightly confusing meeting that took place upstairs, since Tomoyo was more or less out of the loop of things, the trio that was left had decided to head downstairs to enjoy some of the local culture. In the form of sweet, delicious frozen dairy treats! However, something was still bothering Tomoyo which impeded her ability to fully embrace the tasty treat that was to be delivered to her shortly. What was it? It was that brief moment where Kanami had given her that peculiar look… an 'evil eye' of sorts and she couldn't figure out what she did to earn such a look. This troubled the girl and showed on her face in the form of a look of consternation, the wheels turning in her head.
Sitting at the table they had to settle for, since her companions were incompatible with a booth seat… Tomoyo's gaze drifting over to her father who was clearly to large to fit in a booth seat, then over to Mune who was to large in another sense to comfortably seat herself in a booth. Her lavender eyes glancing downwards at the reason before turning away as an odd sensation made her feel uneasy… a feeling of inadequecy. Ah well, at least they could all sit together and get along! For now.
The Hyuuga couldnt' say she ever got a chance to chit chat with the dark skinned lady, she seemed rather unapproachable for someone like Tomoyo who could be considered mundane compared to those she was traveling with. And with people pointing fingers at her about her unique eyes, it made her wonder if she shouldn't have disguised herself by simply changing her eye color. A lapse in foresight perhaps. She played it off as just being a coincidence!
When the ice cream is finally delivered, the bown that it was presented it was packed with more than just a single scoop. From the looks of it there was at least three or four in there with a generous amount of chocolate syrup, crushed peanut topping and whipped cream that had sprinkles peppered on top of it. Tomoyo's eyes lit up with glee as the bowl was set before her and the spoon set beside the bowl. Obviously she was excited as a slightly trembling hand picked up the spoon and carefully dipped into the whipped cream and into the ice cream for a nice spoonful that was brought into her mo uth and savored, spoon and all. Her eyes are closed shut as she enjoys the first bite. Was she holding her breath?
Mune is not ordinarily that worried about having her back to strangers, as long as the situation is mild and there is a low level of danger. But given her agitation over the meeting upstairs, and the fact that Amuro thought that there might have been a spy or intruder or someone in the room with them, right after that incident in Fuuma Alley with the mirrors, and Kanami confiding privately that there may be some kind of mirror-based assassin hanging around… Well, she is not her usual self. She does not feel comfortable, she does not feel relaxed, and she wants to know what is going on with Amuro.
Tomoyo may be the key to finding out, so she is trying to make sure she treats the girl properly. Well, 'girl' may not be an accurate description given Tomoyo is about the same age as Mune herself, but her behavior and appearance seem more youthful. More… 'Underdeveloped', if you will. As if she has spent most of her life locked away from the world. She has no idea where Amuro found her initially, but she thinks that whoever was raising her did not teach her much about other people.
Her bright blue eyes focus on Tomoyo when the Hyuuga girl looks at her. Even sitting at a table, rather than a booth, Mune is having some… 'Issues'. Primarily these issues involve unintentionally resting herself on the table in front of her if she does not sit up with her back straight. The lack of shirt under her coat does not aid in keeping this fact unnoticed. Still, she has never been shy about her body and feels no need to make accomodations for the roaming eyes of others, so just keeps on 'resting'.
When the waitress shows up with Tomoyo's broad, wooden bowl full of icecream and tasty decorations, she turns her attention from studying Tomoyo's features to staring at the dessert. "…That's some treat," she offers in a near-mutter. The high collar of her coat does little to make her speech more audible. And yet it does not quite muffle her voice either. Looking down as a tall and carved wooden mug of frosty beer of some kind along with a sterling silver stein full of more of the stuff are both set down in front of her, Mune wonders momentarily where all of Amuro's funds come from. She has SOME idea, but not full knowledge. She grasps the handle of the mug as she catches her own reflection in the stein's polished surface, and then looks across the table at Amuro. "So, any special reason you're treating your daughter to icecream? Birthday, maybe? Just because it's a 'dad' thing to do?" She reaches up and unbuttons the two buttons that hold the high collar closed on her coat, and then spreads the fabric a bit so that she can drink her beverage. Unlike stupid men, she does not guzzle down the beer. Drinking lots of alcohol does not prove anything, nor is it enjoyable per se. Having a GOOD beer and drinking it slowly, savoring the taste, is far more important than the potential side-effect of drunkenness if one over-imbibes and does not eat properly while drinking.
Speaking of which… A plate of food is set down next to her, vying for space on the crowded table, inbetween Tomoyo's icecream and Mune's… Chest. She is just sipping at her beer right now. Honey mead, with some barley and a hint of apple cider. Very good. But if she proceeds, she'll need the sponge cake and so forth to maintain her wits. Not that that has ever been a problem, even when binge-drinking to impress stupid men into buying her lots of drinks, and telling her anything she wishes to know. It takes a LOT of alcohol to make her even the slightest bit tipsy. But she's not trying to get drunk. She's just trying to enjoy a beer.
Amuro watches Tomoyo when her icecream arrives, having previously just been staring across the table, right over Mune's head. Probably. Who can tell with that mask of his? But now he turns his head to watch and see how his daughter likes the tasty dessert. She seems to enjoy this first taste, but given all the many flavors added to what's in that bowl he does not know if she is getting the full experience or not. Ah, well. This will not be the last time that Tomoyo has icecream. She will learn someday that quality is better than quantity in many cases.
At Mune's question, Amuro just 'Hmm?'s at first, either not understanding the question or not paying attention. Then he goes, "Hmm…" thoughtfully. Then, as Mune starts drinking her beer, he turns his head forward and straightens his back, making some lady that has been looking at him gasp as she realizes how tall he is. He had previously been resting his elbows on the table and hunched over. He lightly taps one fist on the table and goes, "Hmm!" Then seemingly focusing on Mune (even without eyes visible), Amuro says, "Mune…" A pause. "The reason that I encouraged Tomoyo-chan to try this icecream…" Longer, dramatic pause. "That reason is…" Even more dramatic pause as Amuro tilts his head down a bit as though focusing.
Finally, his head comes up and he says, "That is a secret." Then he turns away and looks at Tomoyo again. "Do not eat it too fast. You may suffer pain from the cooling of the roof of your mouth, which will send signals to your brain that translate as pain. If you start to feel as though your mouth hurts, you should drink something warmer — even room-temperature — and wait a moment before resuming." Sage advice done, he resumes just watching.
The table is rather silent for a long while. No words being spoken until at least the food hits the table. This more or less pulls Tomoyo out of any conversation for a short while, while she indulges herself on the frozen treat that was given to her by Amuro-papa. Perhaps one day she will learn the benifits of quality over quantity! But right now, it had all of her favorite toppings and she didn't want to regret not putting them on there. The minty flavor of the ice cream still was a vivid flavor, and the richness of the chocolate chip chunks. Despite all the extra goodies in her bowl, she could still taste the original ingredients.
For the most part, Tomoyo tried to avoid looking overly long at Mune due to the issues she was enduring by sitting at the table. Besides, she was just sitting there anyways… It made her wonder what was going through her head. After the first bite was well savored, she pulls the spoon from her mouth and takes in a deep breath. "Ahhh…so good." she says, remembering that Mune commented about her treat. "It sure is. If you'd like, you could have a bite too. There's plenty to go around." she offers with a nod, turning to look at Amuro and not going so far as to offer him any.. She's pretty sure that mask doesn't come off any more. Instead, she just smiles happily at him before resuming her annihilation of the ice cream peoples of WoodenBowlopolis.
When the question as to why they were here and why Amuro was treating Tomoyo to a bowl of ice cream comes up, the Hyuuga pauses her assault on the ice cream to add in her own two cents. "It's because Papa is cool." saying it with a note of seriousness that didn't seem normal. Then she smiles a bit and stuffs another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. Sadly for her, she didn't heed the warning given to her by Amuro as she puts another bite into her mouth a bit to soon and she tenses up, whining as her head starts to hurt. "My brain!" she complains as Amuro and Mune exchange words, or more like the lack of them as the reasoning is secret!
Mune shakes her head at Tomoyo, and says, "No thanks. Icecream does nothing for absorbing or diffusing alcohol. If I eat some it will impact how much I can drink." She indicates the tall mug of beer in her hand, which apparently Tomoyo could not see around the mountain of icecream in front of the Hyuuga's face. Tomoyo's answer to Mune's question about the icecream makes her eyes shift from Amuro to Tomoyo, and then back. "Really…" she mutters. Not really a questioning muttering. More of a non-commital muttering. Then Amuro starts to answer as well, with his series of 'Hmm's. When Amuro sits up straight and pops his fist on the table, the heavy-with-beer and made-of-metal stein perfoms a brief 'hop' from the impact… Apparently Amuro does not know his own strength after all these years! "…Yes?" she replies when he says her name. "The reason you encouraged her…?" she asks leadingly at his second pause. Then at the third, she lets out an interested low-pitched noise as her eyes narrow and her eyebrows comes down slowly. Is he about to reveal something important? Could this be what has been bothering him???
When his head comes up suddenly, the focus that Mune was putting on Amuro having made the edges of her vision turn dark momentarily is dispersed. Her eyes widen and she leans back, her free hand reaching across her torso for the interior of her coat, but not quite going under the fabric. And then he says 'That is a secret.'
There is a loud *thump* and a clattering as Mune falls out of her chair onto the floor. Then, as Amuro is focusing on Tomoyo, and Tomoyo is focusing on her brain freeze, Mune climbs up off the floor, now half-empty beer mug still in hand. She props the mug on the table, and uses her other hand to pull herself up part way, so that her head is over the edge of the table at least. A vein tics in her forehead.
"You don't say…" she grumbles and then gets back into her chair. Her chest and clothing is now covered in beer. "…Ugh. I am going to have to take a shower and have these clothes washed." She seems to be unaware if any males of this village in the vicinity are staring at wet female flesh or the way it reflects the light.
Looking at Tomoyo as she writhes in agony, Mune stares for a bit in a subdued fashion, and then finishes what's left of her mug in one long series of gulps. She normally likes to savor her beer, but right now she'd rather savor a hot shower. And she can't talk to Amuro about The Subject in public, and she can't talk to Tomoyo about Amuro while Amuro is present. So she concocts an ingenius scheme. Plopping her mug back down on the table with a hollow noise, thanks to it being wood and hollow, she says, "Have you picked out a room for Tomoyo-san yet, Amuro-sama? If not, I think we could save some cash by doubling up." Then, just to make sure what she means is perfectly clear, she indicates her dripping chest with one thumb and says, "Tomoyo can sleep with me."
…Okay, it is probably still not clear what she meant.
Amuro seems not to notice as Mune falls out of her chair, instead focusing on Tomoyo. "Drink something warm or room-temperature and wait before continuing." He sighs. Ah, well. A good method of teaching a lesson is to learn that the one who told you what to do was correct without that individual having to take action to do so. When Mune reseats herself and asks her question, Amuro has no chance to answer really. He turns to look at Mune and starts to say he can afford five rooms (or four, since Kanami seems to be staying with Datura), but then she 'clarifies'.
Amuro offers, "Nnnn…" neutrally.
Finally the trio break past that wall of silence that was looming over them. Not so much Tomoyo though, she was busy with her ice cream and wasn't sure what to talk about with either of them at the time… And now the air was abuzz with Amuro and Mune talking, although it's sort of one sided for a while as Amuro takes forever to eventually tell the dark skinned woman that it was just a secret. The tension was thick in the air, thick enough that when it was cut… Mune was thrown from her chair, along with her beer to the floor. This event startles Tomoyo somewhat while she contends with the stabbing pain in her brain from the ice cream. "Oooww…. a-are you alright Mune-san?" asking with genuine concern while holding the sides of her head with her hands, thinking that'd make the pain go away.
As Mune pulls herself up into her chair again and Amuro instructs her to ingest some warm fluids to remedy the pain, taking up the glass of lukewarm water that was set on the table with the ice cream in case such things took ploce and taking a big gulp and holding it in her mouth. The pain started to fade and she was no longer wishing she was dead. Gulping down the water that was in her mouth, she lets out a sigh of relief as she looks over to see Mune soaked with beer… glistening in the light of the room.
Once her ice cream induced headache passes, she tries to polish off the rest of it before someone decides that it's time to head on out. The topic of room assignments comes up while she's eating, and it was true that Tomoyo hadn't figured out where she was staying just yet… but when Mune rather bluntly stated that she wanted to sleep with her… Well, that just registered wrong in the poor girl's head. It was probably due to the current image of Mune that was in her head right now. The talk of showers and beer soaked clothes and sharing a room. Such things never surfaced in her mind until now and she was shocked. So shocked that the ice cream in her mouth inadvertantly is spewed out in a spray of choclate, mint and whipped cream that would just add to the list of things Mune wanted to shower off. "…S-Sorry…" she said with a strange look on her face. ._.
Mune is sprayed with partially-masticated icecream and whipped cream and so forth. She keeps on looking staight ahead at Amuro, but now has a furrowed brow and eyebrows nearly horizontal in displeasure. Her blue eyes look like little stones of annoyance, rather than eyeballs. Finally, she looks down at herself, dripping with both beer and now creamy, white stuff, and just sighs.
"She can sleep where she wants, but I'm going to take a shower now. I just figured I'd offer the bed, since it's a double and I don't need that much room. I'll leave the door unlocked until I'm ready to go to bed myself. If you're not in the room when I lock up, then you'll have to find somewhere else to spend the night."
She then gets up from her chair, and tells the nearest waitress to have someone bring up that stein to her room and she'll finish drinking it there. There are likely a lot of dropped jaws here in the restaurant part of the inn as Mune makes her way up the stairs to her room. The dark-skinned, blonde-haired woman just rolls her eyes towards the ceiling and wonders why she even bothers to try to be 'nice' sometimes. Something bad always happens. It's easier to just be completely horrible.
