Charles Patricius

Miko had no reason to do anything but believe Seiya's words; they were obviously made truer every time her mouth opened to speak. Even if he didn't have that sharp intuition, he'd be able to say the same about a singing voice. Such was especially the case for one who heard live Dreameater performances so much of late. It didn't matter either way. Whenever they parted ways, Seiya figured he'd never meet the brunette again. Little did he know, half an hour of dango and (in his case) kukicha tea, they'd be heading toward a dressing room currently dedicated to Dreameater himself. The timing of said approach couldn't have been better, as the musician was prepared to part with Ai and Kaguya under the assumption that Miko wasn't coming at all.

Meanwhile, Hiroshi took the time to clean up the ramen station while Rita handled the night's paperwork. He had a decent bit of broth remaining, so he decided to fill a couple of bowls with ramen, pouring the remains into a container for later. "If you would, subtract the cost of this broth from my pay. I'll be making bowls for everyone else later, and preparing a fresh pot of broth for tomorrow's business. I wouldn't dare serve something like this more than twelve hours after it was made," he stated. As for what he heard directly from the boss, Hiroshi shook his head. He didn't believe much had been done to promote such business ─ nothing Rita couldn't have done herself. "You deserve more credit than that. Anyone with half a brain and a bit of time could have managed this much. If you kept up operations by yourself without any help, you would still attract much more business than this by virtue of demeanor and visual appeal alone. Humans are very visual creatures, so someone such as yourself needn't even say a word to gain a loyal following."

After thirty minutes and a few more stops, 'Special Snacks' still hadn't been found. Miko had however, eaten one whole skewer of dango and was working on a second while she sipped from a large boba tea. "Sucks that we still haven't found Special Snacks yet, but... it's still been pretty fun~" she claimed. "And you were definitely right about this Matcha Milk Tea combo... though, I still think it's a little strange that you like that tea~" she said pointing to his cup with a chuckle. "But I suppose it's time to use a lifeline," she claimed knowing her two slightly older friends might be more equipped to help them find what they were looking for. Soon enough she'd be raising her hand to knock on the door of Dreameater's dressing room. Which she'd do and wait for confirmation. Just the same, inside the other two girls were oddly wondering where exactly their friend had wondered off to, with Kaguya taking note of an under tone she couldn't quite place just yet. Just the same Miko would be casually sipping from her straw and enjoying the bubbles of matcha while waiting for her help to open the door.

At the same time, HIroshi and Rita were discussing the end of the day cleanup. It appeared he planned to take some ramen and the remaining broth home with him. This was all fine, but he intended to pay for it out of his paycheck and this wasn't at all what someone like Rita would have allowed. "Well, yes, there are some common sense things applied to prepared food, but Hiroshi-san, food waste is considered in cost. Anytime there are leftovers like that you can just take that with you. I am actually quite happy it wouldn't just be thrown out," she offered kindly. This would have been the case, even if he wasn't the one to make all the food, but she definitely wouldn't be infringing on his craft or cutting those kinds of corners, it was a bad business practice that she simply wouldn't allow herself. Beyond that point, when she thanked him for his helpful presence to her business, he had deflective observations to make. Rita looked up from her paper work and her eyes widened. His words were obviously not meant to flatter, he was simply speaking on what he'd noticed, but the words themselves were still rather uplifting she honestly didn't know what to say, "Ano, has anyone ever told you, your observations sound like compliments? Because that all souned like a compliment even though I definitely understand it's just observations... still thank you," she offered happily.

Just when Dreameater figured a meeting and photoshoot was approaching its end, there was a knock upon his dressing room door. There were many people who may have been knocking, but in this case... he and the others within wouldn't even have to wait for an answer; Seiya had another idea in mind. Moments after Miko knocked, the young male reached out to simply open the door. He walked right in, skewer in one hand and half a cup of tea in the other. On his skewer, there was but a single dango remaining ─ one he seemed actually capable of nibbling to completion over time. Seeing the boy enter even before Miko did, Dreameater couldn't stop himself from sighing. In fact, it was worse seeing both of them next to each other in this situation. "I'd be willing to take bets on which of you found and guided the other. Honestly, you should both have leashes and bells," he griped while pinching the bridge of his nose gently. "So who was it this time?"

Hiroshi was content to lose a portion of his pay in exchange for wasted products, but it seemed humans didn't think so similarly. In his society, a waste in one's craft was an atrocity. All things were to be done perfectly ─ even estimations. To find excess at the end of one's work day was to find one who overcommitted for fear of failing otherwise. "Strange. I would have anticipated more distaste for the idea. As you like," he complied somewhat reluctantly. There were many things he did not yet understand about human society in this world, but he was retaining a great deal thus far. What he couldn't retain, however, was the lack of understanding for his general mannerisms. Hiroshi was not one to give compliments unnecessarily; everything from his mouth was mere observation. "I have heard that before, yes. However, I find it strange that it would be noteworthy. Senseless flattery would serve no purpose, but those who have traits worth discussing should indeed be acknowledged. I believe that is the most effective way to understand one's worth as viewed by others. Regardless... here." Hiroshi silenced himself briefly to produce two completed ramen bowls, one for Rita and one for himself. Now that the day was done, those who worked and managed had ample time to serve themselves. "This product will be traced back to you by a great number of people. You should have a say in its quality for yourself if that is to be the case."

Miko thought she would have been given the time it took the boy she knew to be within to answer the door to prepared, but what she didn't count on was Seiya simply opening the door. Well, she supposed it was implied that he knew Dreameater at least in passing but it was still rather shocking for him to simply walk into the other man's dressing room. His first show of emotion was a bit of annoyance. His statement was one which made Miko pout as yet another person claimed she needed a leash. "People keep saying that, but you don't have to make me sound so irresponsible." she chided. The knock at the door garnered the attention of the young women within with Kaguya and Ai looking at Miko with a raised brow. But there was first the answer to the question, presented by Dreameater... "Well, I found him. I heard him while we were on our way here... and it distracted me a bit so I went to see. Sei-chan was there and seemed a bit lost so I offered to help," Miko mentioned as if it was perfectly normal. She noted the pinching of the bridge of his nose and pouted a little harder, not even finishing her second dango on the stick, initially. The name Sei-chan said everything to Kaguya that she needed to know, the boy was rather cute, in the way that she and her friends though Miko was cute. She supposed her friend did harbor a lot of helpful feelings towards children, she'd seen that much in her mind in the pervious days. "He said his mom told him to go to Special Snacks and I had no idea what that was, but it sounded delicious so we went looking together. We ended up getting dango and tea and eventually I ended up over by clothes and stuff for the t-shirts I was buying for our friend group but I never came across special snacks so I figured I'd ask you guys to figure out where it was," she said about their little 30 minute outing. The three young women were stunned into silence initially with even Shutara who knew the lad Seiya being a bit surprised but this apparent outing of theirs.

Meanwhile, Hiroshi was being treated to human logic and the acceptance of imperfection which humans thought of as standard. Those money hungry corporate types did seem to want cost-effectiveness to be the paramount but Rita wasn't that type of person. If she thought it would help, she'd let that sort of thing go every time. As she'd already made way more money off cheap ingredients than she normally would. "No distaste. Take it..." she said firmly. As for anything else, it would seem that Hiroshi didn't believe in purposeless flattery. "That is a very different way to think about things. I am starting to believe you were actually a hermit..." Rita said finding it odd, but when he said here, she noted a bowl of ramen prepared and being offered to her. It was pointed out that she'd not tasted the food and that as it would be associated with her she should have final say on it. She looked at him with her brows knitted then back at the bowl. "This is the second time today someone has offered me food... I haven't had much of an appetite for the last few days, but..." she gave a pause looking over the bowl and then back at Hiroshi. If he was going to eat too, she supposed it would be fine. "I should eat I suppose and also test it out. The pink haired girl seemed to think it was amazing..." she mused thoughtfully. "Arigatou gouzaimasu..." she offered picking up a pair of chopsticks. "Itadakimasu!" she mused as she sampled broth a moment before picking up noodles and toppings to begin eating. Even that momentary sip of broth made her eyes widen. The soup itself was actually exceptional.

Upon being confronted by Dreameater alongside his current escort, Seiya seemed entirely unbothered. This wasn't that common as an occurrence for him, but he could see how he and Miko were in the same boat. "That would feel weird," he said blandly while chewing a small bite of that last dango. For the entire thirty minutes he'd been in Miko's company, he'd been eating in the tiniest bites, and thus extended a comfortable eating experience the entire time. Once he completely finished chewing and swallowing that bite, he'd take a sip of tea, as if to fully clear his mouth before another bite. Meanwhile, Miko told the story of their meeting. Both of them had been distracted and lost their way. He couldn't even be surprised. What was surprising, however, was the miscommunication by Seiya. The boy's mother had undoubtedly not said anything about 'special snacks', but... he could only laugh knowing Miko took Seiya at his word. "Hahaha!♫ He said Special Snacks, and you thought that was real? Special... Effects. Kagami-san works in Special Effects! She's the one making sure I don't die out there. That won't do much good if I die of laughter after it's all over, though."

Speaking of dying, Hiroshi recalled a time period where elves would be at the receiving end of social homicide for what Rita was now suggesting. Well... when in Rome, one must become as the Romans, as the saying of an old dynasty went. "I have spent a very large portion of my life in recluse, yes. It has been..." Hiroshi paused, having no way to properly convert his age to this world. He certainly couldn't say centuries based on the constitution of humans here, but... what was being middle-aged? "Many years. Yes, that sounds right," he concluded. With that, one bowl was accepted by Rita. Hiroshi himself leaned against the store's main counter, keeping hold of his own bowl. "Itadakimasu. Though your lack of appetite is confusing, you seem to need nourishment of some sort. It's not so much filling, but... nutrition? My calculations say this dish should act as a fine catalyst for getting you on the right track. Human bodies are fragile; you should take care of it even when the mind says otherwise."

Miko also seemed to understand her likeness to the boy she'd been hanging out with. It wasn't beyond her comprehension that he had quite a few odd habits, not the least of which seemed to be centered around his eating, but that didn't mean much if anything to her. This was especially true after she came to fully understand the magical implications of personality based oddities on Gaia. "It would be," Miko confirmed as a person who'd been tethered to another. Still it wasn't the worst thing that could happen. But now that Miko had explained herself and Seiya's appearance, it would appear that the first response was... laughter. Dreameater was laughing and Miko found herself staring at him with awe in her features. The light behind her eyes seeming to flicker for quite a few seconds as a blush crept up onto her face. But that wasn't all, 'Special Snacks' was supposed to be 'Special Effects' well after hearing that it all sort of made sense. But she'd taken the boy at her side at his word, because it made sense, "Sou ka, I suppose special effects does make more sense, but... special snacks didn't sound impractical at the time," she said softly, still that little cheek chewing pout returned. "Happy to make you laugh..." Miko murmured feeling slightly more abashed than she normally managed to feel. "Hm, Mi-chan going to look for special snacks sounds right to me~" Kaguya finally said after managing to recover just enough to only have one of those wicked little smirks on her face. Well, she did know of Miko's snacking preferences, all in all the minor misunderstanding was far from the worst thing that could happen. "At least I was right to assume you could help," she said sheepishly sipping on that boba tea she'd ordered.

The belief that Hiroshi had been living his life as a hermit was something confirmed by the man himself. He claimed it'd been many years he'd spent in seclusion. "Many years, huh? I guess that clears that part up..." Rita said thoughtfully. She looked at Hiroshi carefully and figured him to be about the same age as her elder sister and brother-in-law. A forty-something who was still young enough at heart to not care about so many of the established rules of socializing. Actually that would make quite a bit of sense. A nice man who'd already gotten comfortable withimself enough to know what he was, but have hard opinions about things, was typical of a person in the 'proper' adult age range. Speaking of they were having a meal which she tasted for the first time. It was quite delicious already and she was being given some pretty sound advice about her own nutrition. Such advice came from a voice of reason and resonated with her quite a bit, "Hai hai, I know I should it's just a bit difficult sometimes. Not so difficult when the food is great though... this really is delicious!~" she offered as she continued to go through the motions of eating, finding it easier to consume the more she ate. Perhaps all that seclusion led this man to being some sort of new age nutritionist. She could see that, if so his talents were definitely being wasted making fast food for people in a convenience store.

Dreameater had a rather difficult time getting over his fit of laughter. Things were bound to get worse once he saw the pouty expression Miko donned. "Ahahahaha! No... no, you can't make special snacks a thing. They're not a thing, except... well... I guess there is that one guy," he said. This wasn't the best time to be exhausting his breath; he was still recovering from the show. Actually, he realized the tea had yet to arrive. By the time he reached said realization, Seiya was holding out his own cup. "It's kukicha!" the boy stated. The musician reached out to take the cup. "Arigatou, Sei-kun," he said before taking a couple of sips, clearing his throat and passing the cup back. "Anyway... I wouldn't really call it help, per se. Sei-kun's mom will always be able to find him; it's nothing to worry about. As long as he doesn't go finding trouble, it's alright," he assured. "Though... it's been about half an hour. Jokes on you two; the four of us are about to go on a special world tour right now~" he joked.

While jokes were being thrown around at the stadium, serious topics were being casually addressed at Nara Rita's convenience store. All the while, ramen was tested and, seemingly, enjoyed. Hiroshi knew precisely what Rita needed to set her back on track, but he also knew humans of Gaia wouldn't understand his meaning. Nutrition was the best translation for his meaning. She didn't have need of a massive mana influx; she needed something that would correct the flow of her circuits. The ramen bowl would at least accomplish something to that effect, if only due to its healthy mix of ingredients and mana types. "It's good that you like it. This recipe will be attributed to you, so it should have your approval above all others. If any changes are to be made, yours is the opinion of importance," he stated.

More laughter graced Miko's ears today. It seemed she wasn't allowed to make 'special snacks' a thing. "I can definitely make it a thing. You have no idea..." she said huffily. It seemed that her good deeds wouldn't go unpunished as she was teased almost mercilessly by a man she'd come to check on. Well at least he was having a good time even if it was at her expense. Well, until that breath stress became something that hit her ears, but Seiya was ahead of her, offering his tea to the lad whose vocal cords needed lubrication. "Kukicha? That's a refined palate for a face that young~" Kaguya commented absently. Her understanding of the situation was growing by the moment. "I said the same thing..." Miko mentioned. Still she was eyeing Dreameater, he recovered nicely and she took a deep breath as well. Whatever the case, it appeared Seiya's mom was always able to find him and it wasn't a big deal. "Sou ka, well... I couldn't find what we were looking for and since he was here for the pre-show I figured you would know... and you did. He didn't seem very stressed about it, but I couldn't leave him alone..." she said with a shrug, it simply wasn't in her own nature. Still the jokes continued and these four were about to go on a world tour. "Oh? Is that right? Well, don't let me get in your way, I don't know what a special world tour is, but it sounds pretty important. Well, I guess I chose a bad time to come see you after all~" Miko mentioned which only made a chuckle escape the others as well. It was likely code for something but now knowing where they were headed Miko had every intention of making sure Seiya ended up where he needed to be.

Meanwhile a more serious conversation was happening while two more adult people in the back of the convenience store. Rita was also enjoying her first full meal in the last... two or three days. As she consumed more words were spoken by Hiroshi an she could only shake her head as she finished a bit. "Iia, I wouldn't change anything about this. It's really great. It's really unusual I don't usually have that much of an appetite to start with, but I definitely feel like I could eat all of this without any problems," she mentioned as she continued working her way through the bowl. "Still, this is quite the varied list of skills, great cook, good managerial skills, willing to work late night... any random place would hire you without question and to be honest, your skills could even be called wasted working in such a small place with such a limited scope of things," Rita mentioned. If this man was a true recluse she wouldn't keep him from expanding his potential horizons he should know that there were many options for those with a great number of skills. And his weren't even just limited to work options, in the modern world a man who could cook like this could likely have any woman he wanted. Add to that his tall lean build and direct manner of speech and she imagined he could go anywhere and do anyone or anything.

"No way. If anyone's going to make it a thing, it's not going to be you. You'd call something a snack and top someone's last meal," he countered. He was sure that in Miko's case, anything food-related couldn't be special enough due to an excess of variety. Regarding the lost Seiya, there were no real issues at hand. In fact, his mother was expected to appear at any random moment before the crew's full wrap-up. He still couldn't have been in better hands if he went searching for them, though. Ah, but speaking of Seiya, he seemed a bit huffy after hearing Kaguya mention the maturity of his tea choice. He wasn't actually much younger than the girl he'd been in the company of for half an hour. Alas, he wouldn't have much chance to mention that. "Of course it's a bad time! We just got a brand new band together, didn't we? It's going to be the biggest tour the world has ever seen; no party crashers invited~" Dreameater said while pulling down his bottom eyelid.

Rita had no changes in mind for the ramen recipe. Neither broth nor toppings came up as a topic of potential alteration, both to Hiroshi's satisfaction and dissatisfaction. He had no issues offering the recipe in its entire form with all necessary details, but it seemed there was no extra personality to add by its owner. Well, such things did happen at times... though the elves of his era would have banished the woman. "I'll take it as a compliment. I assumed you would enjoy it, though not this much. Interesting..." he mused between bites of his own. A slew of observations came from Rita. All were accurate, but one major inconsistency remained in her understanding. She thought his skills were wasted on this little shop. Whether as Hiroshi or as Ailen, the male could not agree with that. "If a task isn't done by someone exceptional, it will never be done to its upper limits. In that case, production quality will never improve. Knowledge and skills are acquired to be used. If I am in a position to do something, and have the ability to do it, it should be done excellently. No skill used well could be called a waste. Wouldn't you agree?"

"The quantity of the food I eat and its quality aren't on trial here. I'm a growing girl and the specialness of a snack isn't negated by its size. Keep talking and I am going to eat your share too!" Miko said almost defiantly. All the while, Kaguya was listening and realized that Miko and Dreameater were quite familiar with each other. This playful banter of theirs came off more like an old married couple than two friends. "Eh, she talks to him like she talks to us, right?" Kaguya asked of Ai in hushed tones. "Yeah, it's a bit weird because you'd think knowing him would have definitely come up in conversation before now..." Ai murmured back to her. Shutara seemed the least bothered by all of conversations going on, and she was simply rather happy to see these two together again. Meanwhile, Miko was staring at Dreameater as if he'd grown another head. "I introduce you to my friends and that's your response? I've not seen you in ce... months and that is what you have to say, okay. I'll keep the new ones to myself then... since I'm just a party crasher~" she said, having a minor speech hiccup which was oddly common in her currently given her life. "Also I can hear you." she said to the pair in the corner who just shrugged. But her eyes remained on the young man in front of her as the light in her eyes flickered several times over. She took another step forward but eventually someone else would be watching, a dark haired woman with glasses in a labcoat was standing in the open door. There were plenty of new faces around some of which she'd seen directly and some she'd not, but the situation unfolding in front of her wasn't one she felt the need to interrupt after all, she'd already seen her son here and he was obviously in good hands, if the foods present in his hands were anything to go by.

Just the same while the antics of old friends grew and shifted over the course of a conversation, Rtia found herself enjoying the food prepared for her without the need to change it. "It's definitely a compliment. You're underestimating what a good meal is like, if you thought I'd do anything but absolutely enjoy this..." she said absently. "The only thing that I would even think about adding is a cold beer and that is just because it will feel more nostalgic that way~" she mentioned absently. A warm belly full of comforting food she'd not cooked herself was something she'd not experienced since she was in college. But that was a story for a different time, as such she'd find herself listening to Hiroshi speak of the lack of waste of his position in this place. "That attitude is quite surprising. I can't discredit anything you're saying... but you shouldn't sell yourself short either. Someone like you could definitely do just about anything you wanted, based on the skills you've shown here alone and make way more money than you will working for someone like me..." she pointed out. But if Hiroshi was truly happy in his new job, she wouldn't discourage him. The truth was, he'd been quite the breath of fresh air since he'd appeared...