「コンビニスタッフ」

いらっしゃいませー！ よろしければご覧ください cgle の 「 汰郎菊池 」 生きてる　｜　死んだ

[cupidsgame-blog]

chapter 2 – tragedy // t.kikuchi

It had all happened so quickly, but it felt like a slow burn for its entirety.  Tarou had always assumed the best, and even with the announcement of impending tragedy, he still refused to give into the despair creeping up slowly towards him, well, towards all of them, really.

That was perhaps what left the boy who was so filled with certainty, so filled with hope and certainty of their success was rendered mute.  Minako and Katsuro’s faces were burned into his brain and he knew he could never erase them.  He had let them all down, he had made a fool of himself.  No one would be able to trust his platitudes from this day forth.

He couldn’t even participate in the trial itself.  Vote to … find the killer?  None of them could be killers.  No one would participate in this brutality willingly.  … how wrong he was.

Tarou looked so very dejected.  Post execution he, without making any sort of contact with anyone, picked himself up and started towards the elevator.  Eyes vacant, pace slow.

If anyone tried to check in on him, he would smile, say things would be alright but… they were hollow words without an ounce of substance to them.

He needed to do something different.  Anything to relieve him of this heavy burden upon his heart.

[cupidsgame-blog]

[Ai] Fizz; [CLOSED for Tarou]

[superduperconbini-blog]

It was a bit embarrassing, his sudden boldness before the entire class.  It felt right to some degree, at least in the moment.  That said, he was quick to be on the look out for something.  Some sort of hint or clue or the like.  He didn’t want to burden any of his classmates by asking for their assistance.

He didn’t think they were in quite the right mindset at the present anyway.  Grief, anger, confusion… They were being plagued by all three right now, sans Taira-san who seemed rather ambivalent.  He needed to have a word with her later…

At the moment he was at an impasse.

“Better make a checklist… giving every spot a quick peak, once a day.  Alone makes me vulnerable for attack though…”

That’s when he heard her voice again.  She had excellent timing.

He bowed his head, perhaps a deeper than he would normally.

“Your highness… Thank you!”  He said, taking the drink into his hands.

He resisted the urge to crack it right open upon habit.

``If I may ask, how are you holding up?”

Maybe he was thirsty, thirsty for some splash of positivity akin to a life preserver in a despair-filled ocean.

[ai-amaprincess-blog]

Ai couldn’t help but chuckle a bit, even if it was mostly out of embarrassment.

"Please, Tarou-kun, there’s no need for bowing or ‘Your Highness'es. 'Ai’ is just fine.”

Sure, Bland still called her 'Serene Highness’ but she’d long since given up trying to make him stop.

She smiled up at Tarou gently. How noble of him, to be concerned for others during such strife.

“I am quite alright, thank you. Actually, I’m rather used to situations like this, so I feel perfectly fine.” Her smile faded slightly, concern in her eyes. “And yourself? You were quite bold during the announcement, and I do hope that courage has not left you.”

[superduperconbini-blog]

As dorky as it might have been, permission to call her by her first name alone made Tarou feel like some sort of VIP.  He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, prepared to call her as such

``Got it... Ai!”

He cursed himself internally.  So weak was he to the power of puns that he already started to craft them in his mind.  Mainly a play on her own name since it also meant love.

Some of the most important things in the world are, money, for better or worse, food, and... Ai.

Just thinking about it alone made him want to chuck himself off a boat or something!  Embarrassing didn’t even cut it!  At least he didn’t say it out loud.

``Tarou’s fine for me, too.”

You would never know his ‘mental anguish’ by his composed response, however.

``It hasn’t!  I haven’t lost my resolve just yet,” he joked. ``I think the odds are stacked against us, and there’s not much that we can change.  But we can change our attitudes, so... yeah.  I’m trying to stay positive.”

He had a sip of the soda and returned a big smile over in Ai’s direction.  Tarou didn’t want anyone to be worried about him.  He didn’t want to burden anyone like that.

[cupidsgame-blog]

chapter 1 – put on your thinking cap... // t.kikuchi (attn: t.taira)

[superduperconbini-blog]

How embarrassing was that… after whatever had gotten into him in front of the other fifteen players earlier left, he was back feeling a bit strange. He would have to thank the princess at some point in the near-distant future.  Thinking about her words managed to dissuade the bad feelings but.

“AH!  I’m so DUMB!”

He threw his hands on his head and threw his head back!

“My mouth is writing checks my butt can’t cash,” he said, tapping his foot against the ground and crossing his arms across his chest.

He had found himself by the entrance of the castle, scanning the entrance for anything.  Some sort of hint of… anything. Anything was better than nothing, after all.  He had approached the entrance gate itself, giving it a STRONG push and finding that it, unsurprisingly didn’t move.  He caught himself starring up, finding the wall impossibly high.

“I suppose the answers to get out of here aren’t just going to fall into my lap…”  He said quietly before strolling over to the center of the courtyard and having a seat.

He leaned back, pressing his hands into the outer rim, again, his focus on the sky.  Nothing would fall from the sky despite him looking up so desperately for clues.  Even if his lines ended up being hopeful platitudes, he wanted more that nothing else to figure something out.

``I know I’m not alone in this but… argh… c’mon Tarou, think think…”

[shslalpacasso-blog]

Somehow she had managed to avoid the store clerk’s sight as she finally decided that it was time to reveal herself!

“Isn’t that more of an opinion than anything else,” Tokiko hummed the familiar words into the air before peeking from behind the statue with an innocent grin. 

At first her plan was to scare Tarou but after overhearing his distress, her heart was too much at loss to meddle with his hard work. Lucky for him, she already got enough amusement by witnessing how their roles had switched compared to last time they met. 

It was more fun to see him unbalanced once in a while, knowing how perfect he can get behind the register.

“So what are you thinking about, Kick-san? Are you alright?”

Tokiko stepped out from hiding, a pair of eyes blinking at him curiously. 

[superduperconbini-blog]

For a second he thought, gee... why does the voice in my head sound like Taira-san.  Then when he turned around to actually see where the voice was coming from, he spotted her in the flesh.  How long had she been there?  How much did she hear?  He was up on his feet in no time, brushing off the tops off his pants.

``A-Ah!  Taira-san!”

He was trying to do his best to regain composure, be the symbol of hope that he had proudly proclaimed not too long ago.

``I’m but... hmm... this new announcement is pretty scary, if it’s serious.  Maybe next week one of them will be like, ‘we wanted to see how you react’ or something like that.  But...”

He grabbed his chin and squinted a little bit, looking nowhere in particular.

``It’s hard not to think that they’re not taking this seriously... Remote location, no access to the outside world, trapped, for all intents and purposes.  I think... we should all prepare for the worst, and hope for the best.”

[cupidsgame-blog]

[Ai] Fizz; [CLOSED for Tarou]

Ai was trying to live as normally as she could in the days that followed the announcement.

It was remarkably easy, once she’d done the important things.

She’d seen to some of her friends, was assured the others were being taken care of, she’d exchanged promises to protect her friends…

Things would be all right, somehow. Her father would get them out, and if not them, then the outside world as a whole would. Someone would stop this. No one would die.

She stood in front of a vending machine, calmly pressing the button for a diet soda. The bottle tumbled out, the noise sudden and loud. Ai hummed quietly as she got the drink, stood up… …and then her eyes landed on another person, nearby.

She recognized him. Yes, he was–

“We’re all still in control here. There has to be a way around this….I’ll… I’ll do something to fix this!”

Yes…yes, he was the brave man who’d so boldly agreed with her.

With a tiny smile, Ai pressed the button again, this time for a regular soda.

A moment later, she walked over to Tarou Kikuchi and held out the soda with a smile.

“Hello,” she said simply. “I thought perhaps you may be thirsty.”

[superduperconbini-blog]

It was a bit embarrassing, his sudden boldness before the entire class.  It felt right to some degree, at least in the moment.  That said, he was quick to be on the look out for something.  Some sort of hint or clue or the like.  He didn’t want to burden any of his classmates by asking for their assistance.

He didn’t think they were in quite the right mindset at the present anyway.  Grief, anger, confusion... They were being plagued by all three right now, sans Taira-san who seemed rather ambivalent.  He needed to have a word with her later...

At the moment he was at an impasse.

``Better make a checklist... giving every spot a quick peak, once a day.  Alone makes me vulnerable for attack though...”

That’s when he heard her voice again.  She had excellent timing.

He bowed his head, perhaps a deeper than he would normally.

``Your highness... Thank you!”  He said, taking the drink into his hands.

He resisted the urge to crack it right open upon habit.

``If I may ask, how are you holding up?”

Maybe he was thirsty, thirsty for some splash of positivity akin to a life preserver in a despair-filled ocean.

[shslphysician-blog]

prologue – mystery inc. // t.kikuchi feat. j.oshiro

Mapping the castle had been a daunting task up until this point, but armed with a pen and a notepad, it wasn't to difficult. In what was almost chicken scratch was Tarou's valuable notes, clues to remind him about what were in each area. Of course, there were places that he didn't have access ...

[cupidsgame-blog]

chapter 1 – put on your thinking cap... // t.kikuchi (attn: t.taira)

[superduperconbini-blog]

How embarrassing was that… after whatever had gotten into him in front of the other fifteen players earlier left, he was back feeling a bit strange. He would have to thank the princess at some point in the near-distant future.  Thinking about her words managed to dissuade the bad feelings but.

“AH!  I’m so DUMB!”

He threw his hands on his head and threw his head back!

``My mouth is writing checks my butt can’t cash,” he said, tapping his foot against the ground and crossing his arms across his chest.

He had found himself by the entrance of the castle, scanning the entrance for anything.  Some sort of hint of… anything. Anything was better than nothing, after all.  He had approached the entrance gate itself, giving it a STRONG push and finding that it, unsurprisingly didn’t move.  He caught himself starring up, finding the wall impossibly high.

``I suppose the answers to get out of here aren’t just going to fall into my lap…”  He said quietly before strolling over to the center of the courtyard and having a seat.

He leaned back, pressing his hands into the outer rim, again, his focus on the sky.  Nothing would fall from the sky despite him looking up so desperately for clues.  Even if his lines ended up being hopeful platitudes, he wanted more that nothing else to figure something out.

``I know I’m not alone in this but… argh… c’mon Tarou, think think…”

[superduperconbini-blog]

Visit Original Link

[cupidsgame-blog]

chapter 1 – against all odds // t.kikuchi (re: a.chouka)

Tarou felt his heart sink into the pits of his stomach.  As much as he wanted to laugh at it off, say that there was no way it could happen… The look in the Cupid’s eyes, their remote location in who knows where, a huge castle filled with nooks and crannies, the exit being completely barred, no cellular devices…  He shook his head at his own stupidity.  What an awful idea this was.  His face said it all, sullen, dark in color.  He was no different than the rest of his panicked classmates.

An odd cocktail of anger, sadness, borderline delirium…  He reached for his head, giving it a squeeze.  This couldn’t be happening… this was the kind of thing that happened in those terribly scary horror films.  As much as his mind wanted to deny it, there was no use… This was the unfortunate reality he faced… there was no escape… he knew how these things ended.  Someone’s will would be broken and…

“Do not worry.”

The voice was clear as a bell, and bright like a light he hadn’t seen in days…

``Chouka-sama…” He said in a weak voice, his attention going right to her.

Of course he would use honorifics when referring to the Super high-school level Princess… Her words were powerful, much more than the flimsy words of others ensuring a quick end, more powerful than the disbelief of others.  Was this the power that a princess could garner?  Her kingdom was fortunate to have such a beacon of hope.

He looked at his hands once again and remembered: he was living, right now.

``Me too!” Tarou called out, in a voice a couple of decibels louder than he intended. 

He tip-toed around a few people to stand by the princesses side, fulled by her words.

``We’re all still in control here.  There has to be a way around this.  We’ll never know if we don’t at least try!” A pause. ``As soon as we give in to this then we’re doomed… I’m not going to play along with this!  So…”

Ah… he was losing steam…

``So even if you can’t believe in anyone else, believe in me.  I won’t, I won’t participate in this!  I’ll… I’ll do something to fix this!”

His eyes glowed with a certain intensity.  He looked down at Ai, and then back at anyone who would look back at him.  He wanted to reach people the way she reached him.  He wanted to assure everything would be okay.  He refused to let his circumstances destroy him.  When the going got tough, the tough fought back, right?

[cupidsgame-blog]

Let's play dress-up~! | Katsurou | Prologue | RE: Event Reaction, ATTN: Tarou

[superduperconbini-blog]

The game had… begun, now hadn’t it?  Post breakfast – which was delicious, but not as good as a fresh onigiri off the delivery truck – he was pretty psyched to see what was in store.   Seeing Dai and Suki again though… he was reminded of their purpose, Dai’s words echoing in his mind.  His eyes wondered to some of the people he met, Tokiko, Jiro, etc.

Half of him wanted to have a partner whom he had spoken to, yet another, more adventurous half wanted to meet someone completely new.  The more people he met, the less awkward things would be during these things, right?  Half of him got his wish in the form of Katsurou Kon, the Super high-school level fan maker.

It was off to the love huts.

Huh…  That sounded very silly in his head.  He was excited to explore them considering how that area was one he had yet to give a thorough examination to.  He opened the door to an eager Katsurou, his pleasantness brought a smile upon his face.

“Hey.  Likewise, Kon-san,” he replied warmly.

His eyes went right to the myriad of costumes.

“Woah!” He said in surprise as he made his way over to them. ``I don’t think there’s any order to all these…”

He pulled out a power rangers-esque number and placed it against his body.

``There sure are a lot of options, huh?”  He returned it and sort of… grabbed at whatever, pulling out a maid outfit.  He, for laughs, placed it up against himself. ``Would you like your hooouse cleaned?”  He mused in a voice a few pitches higher than his natural speaking voice.

He found his impression a little bit funny himself and couldn’t hold back some laughter.  The thought of himself in a maid outfit was a bit unsettling though.  He hoped Katsurou could come up with a better idea.

[eyepatch-alchemist]

My, what a friendly partner he got! Then again, everyone here had been nice so far, so why should it be any different now? It was silly of him to even think about it!

As Tarou notes on the order of the clothes, Katsurou resumed in digging through them again, sharp, amber eyes shooting here and there. There really wasn’t much of a system going on here…

“I think this might be part of the fun, too! I mean, if everything would be organized into themes already, we wouldn’t probably spend as much time together. So maybe they did it deliberately, so we could dig through them and get more immersed into this event!”

Well, that‘s certainly one way to look at their current circumstances. Another one would be that they were simply too lazy to organize everything or another explanation entirely… who knew, really?

The fan maker catches a glance of Tarou fishing out a power ranger like outfit, then a maid one. He couldn’t help but snicker.

“Oh my, how lovely~! I wouldn’t be opposed to such a charming offer!”

It didn’t seem like as if it would faze him much if they would seriously go for the maid theme. He knew that he could look good in basically everything that was thrown his way!

“Hm, what else do we have here? Animal-based kigurumis, costumes that you’d gladly wear for halloween, christmas outfits… My, we could even dress up like waaaay back in the 50s! They really have a lot here~!”

How was one supposed to decide which theme to go for if there were so many splendid ones?

[superduperconbini-blog]

// moved to skype.

[superduperconbini-blog]

// sleep tarou.  get this boy a café au lait !!

[chuck-snowbug]

コンヴィニものと帳尻あわせの野菜ジュースをめぐる四景・その３ - Convenience Store Foods & Vegetable Juice, Part 3 - August 2016

Previous Post(Part 2):

https://chuck-snowbug.tumblr.com/post/149717216106

[cupidsgame-blog]

Let's play dress-up~! | Katsurou | Prologue | RE: Event Reaction, ATTN: Tarou

Leave it to Dai and Suki to make this trip even more exciting than it already was!

Admittedly, Katsurou wouldn’t have thought it would begin this early the next morning, but who was he to complain? The early bird gets the worm! Not to mention that he did look forward to such events from the very beginning…

Eventually, everyone was assigned a partner - and Katsurou was glad that he got someone whom he didn’t exchange words with yet. Of course, he would have been happy with everyone here, but it’s thanks to events such as these that you could get to know other people you might usually not approach right off the bat.

As the fan maker found his way inside the 8th cabin, his eyes lit up at the variation of clothes found inside. Hearing how today’s theme was a dress-up made him even more excited! Matching with someone else? Ohhhh, this is bound to be fun!

The dark-haired student turned around when the door opened - and there was his partner; Tarou Kikuchi, SHSL Convenience Store Clerk! My, look at those beautiful eyes! Nevermind that A+ ponytail he rocked!

Katsurou flashed him a bright smile as he waved at him with his fan, eager to get to know this fellow student.

“Hello there, Kikuchi-kun! I’m glad we finally get to talk~ It’s really nice to meet you!”

The fan maker gave him a little wink, before gesturing towards all the clothes contained inside the cabin.

“Do you have any suggestions for our match-up, dear? The possibilities are endless, so we can experiment aaaaall we want~!”

[superduperconbini-blog]

The game had... begun, now hadn’t it?  Post breakfast – which was delicious, but not as good as a fresh onigiri off the delivery truck – he was pretty psyched to see what was in store.   Seeing Dai and Suki again though... he was reminded of their purpose, Dai’s words echoing in his mind.  His eyes wondered to some of the people he met, Tokiko, Jiro, etc.

Half of him wanted to have a partner whom he had spoken to, yet another, more adventurous half wanted to meet someone completely new.  The more people he met, the less awkward things would be during these things, right?  Half of him got his wish in the form of Katsurou Kon, the Super high-school level fan maker.

It was off to the love huts.

Huh. . .  That sounded very silly in his head.  He was excited to explore them considering how that area was one he had yet to give a thorough examination to.  He opened the door to an eager Katsurou, his pleasantness brought a smile upon his face.

``Hey.  Likewise, Kon-san,” he replied warmly.

His eyes went right to the myriad of costumes.

``Woah!” He said in surprise as he made his way over to them. ``I don’t think there’s any order to all these...”

He pulled out a power rangers-esque number and placed it against his body.

``There sure are a lot of options, huh?”  He returned it and sort of... grabbed at whatever, pulling out a maid outfit.  He, for laughs, placed it up against himself. ``Would you like your hooouse cleaned?”  He mused in a voice a few pitches higher than his natural speaking voice.

He found his impression a little bit funny himself and couldn’t hold back some laughter.  The thought of himself in a maid outfit was a bit unsettling though.  He hoped Katsurou could come up with a better idea.

[cupidsgame-blog]

Prologue // Closed Starter // Akki // Tarou // Snack Break

[shslcharmmaker-blog]

Akki, was… honestly very confused. He never really thought that much about snacks. Akki’s thoughts on them stopped at ‘this is tasty’, so hearing someone describe them in such a… posh way was a little odd. Not in a bad way, but it caught Akki off guard. He shyly accepted the chips that Tarou got him, nodding softly with a grateful smile. When the other spoke again, the smaller male sighed a little in relief. Those words were actually something he could wrap his head around and reply to! 

“Y-yes, yes, e-exactly! I d-don’t… use vv…vending machines o-often, ss..so the lack of thh..the need for coins w-was thh-throwing me off, haha… Th-thank you.” 

[superduperconbini-blog]

“Ah!  I get what you’re saying!  You must be the type to load up your IC card and use that as your currency, right?”

He, of course, referring to popular IC card system countrywide that made paying for trains, buses, and most general transactions as easy as touch of the card.  After loading it up, it was one beep away from making the necessity of scrounging for coins practically meaningless.

“Hm…”

He had a closer look at Akki’s choice gear and wondered just if he carried a wallet or not.  No doubt it’d be bulging out of his rear if he did so and Akki appeared to be generally fashionable so.

``Aren’t you… chilly at all?”

He asked rather frankly for Tarou.  He waved his hands around to sort of dismiss the comment.

``A-Ah.  I’m sorry!  That was kind of forward!  I just uh.  I’unno.  If I was wearing something like that, I think I’d get a little chilly, that’s all.”

This coming from the guy with a hoodie, a sweater, and a button-up all, of course.  That said, he hoped Akki would take his commentary with a grain of salt.

[shslcharmmaker-blog]

“Y-yeah, you got me.”

Akki chuckled softly. Well, this conversation seemed to be turning out to be quite normal. Akki felt a bit more at ease now as he opened his can of pringles, but didn’t have them yet, as Tarou asked him a question. 

“N-no no, it’s o-okay. I sssuppose I’m j-just used t..to the cold, it d-doesn’t bb…bother me as m-much.”

He said calmly then eyed the other’s clothes. Akki couldn’t help but giggle softly when he noted all the layers on Tarou.

“B-but looking at yy-you m-makes mme want t..to have a ss..sweater on. Y-you look vv..very cozy.”

He said honestly.

“Wh..when I was y..younger, I a-always wwwanted t-o have o..one of those sss-sweaters th..that were t-too large for me. S-so much sso that mmm-my hands w-would get lost i-in thh-the sleeves aa-and th…the turtleneck w-would c..cover hh-half my face. A s-silly thh..thing to want, b…but I th-thought I c-culd j-just hide in it a-and be ss-safe, l-like a turtle.”

[superduperconbini-blog]

Akki had a point... He looked down at his ensemble and noticed that he was indeed wearing three different layers!  A hoodie/blazer type set up, a sweater beneath that, and a dress shirt beneath that!  No doubt underneath all that was a tank of some kind.  At least if anyone needed a shirt, he could provide many and still remain decent.

Akki’s story was touching.  He was curious to hear more.

``Did you ever happen to get that turtleneck?”

[cupidsgame-blog]

``Um... pardon me, but... to whom this may be concerned. I made a purchase from the vending machine simply by pressing a button. I can't help but feel like I'm almost robbing it! Is there any sort of way I could pay for the transaction? I feel bad about it." – K. Tarou.

“Oh, don’t worry about it~ I thought it’d be unfair to make you guys pay money just because the meals are at fixed times, so… it’s completely free!”

“They would be out and accessible but the machine just helps keep them fresher and out of harm’s way. So relax and have fun~”

[cupidsgame-blog]

Prologue // Closed Starter // Akki // Tarou // Snack Break

[shslcharmmaker-blog]

Akki got startled when a voice suddenly spoke from behind him. His face reddened a little, as if he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar or something. But this was fine, right? This was allowed.  He calmed his startled heart and turned to look at the other, just in time to hear his question. Oh, it was Tarou. He hadn’t seen the guy much in the chat and this was the first time they met face to face. He seemed quite pleasant and helpful, though. Useful traits, considering the other’s talent.  Akki gave him a soft smile then looked back at the vending machine.

“U-umm… ch-chips. I l-like ch..chips…”

He answered, a bit quietly. Or maybe the TV was just too loud?

“P-pringles T-texas b….barbeque s-ssauce!”

He said the flavour far more eagerly.

[superduperconbini-blog]

Chips.  Versatile, accessible by all, and… crunchy!  One’s preference in desserts did tend to say a lot about their personality.  There were those curve balls where big, thuggish looking characters would buy something delicate and light like a pudding cub and insist that it was for their girlfriend, but Tarou always knew the truth.

“Ah!  Pringles!  They’re always coming out with inventive flavors, huh?  The beef consumé flavor has been pretty in the season if I recall correctly.  Something about it’s umami in comparison to the general saltiness of the classic, regular variety…”

He was sounding like some sort of snack expert or something… Such was hardly the case!  He just… well, he knew a lot about snacks!  He pressed the appropriate button on some chips that weren’t so specific in variety, but likely close in flavor profile.  They hit the tray at the bottom lightly and he took them out, holding it out for Akki to take.

“Man… it almost feels like I’m stealing.  Sort of want to toss some change somewhere, you know what I mean?”

The way he was speaking was as if he was already very familiar with Akki despite having just met.

[shslcharmmaker-blog]

Akki, was… honestly very confused. He never really thought that much about snacks. Akki’s thoughts on them stopped at ‘this is tasty’, so hearing someone describe them in such a… posh way was a little odd. Not in a bad way, but it caught Akki off guard. He shyly accepted the chips that Tarou got him, nodding softly with a grateful smile. When the other spoke again, the smaller male sighed a little in relief. Those words were actually something he could wrap his head around and reply to! 

“Y-yes, yes, e-exactly! I d-don’t… use vv…vending machines o-often, ss..so the lack of thh..the need for coins w-was thh-throwing me off, haha… Th-thank you.” 

[superduperconbini-blog]

``Ah!  I get what you’re saying!  You must be the type to load up your IC card and use that as your currency, right?”

He, of course, referring to popular IC card system countrywide that made paying for trains, buses, and most general transactions as easy as touch of the card.  After loading it up, it was one beep away from making the necessity of scrounging for coins practically meaningless.

``Hm...”

He had a closer look at Akki’s choice gear and wondered just if he carried a wallet or not.  No doubt it’d be bulging out of his rear if he did so and Akki appeared to be generally fashionable so.

``Aren’t you... chilly at all?”

He asked rather frankly for Tarou.  He waved his hands around to sort of dismiss the comment.

``A-Ah.  I’m sorry!  That was kind of forward!  I just uh.  I’unno.  If I was wearing something like that, I think I’d get a little chilly, that’s all.”

This coming from the guy with a hoodie, a sweater, and a button-up all, of course.  That said, he hoped Akki would take his commentary with a grain of salt.

[superduperconbini-blog]

prologue – "sweeter" // d.fiyero feat. k.tarou

Fiyero Deamorte: Dai, was like, the worst person in the history of ever.. That was like, fact now. All this dictatators or whatever, they don't, like, count any more, Dai was the worst. Ugh. Storming out of the elevator, he pushed past the area, taking deep, steady breaths. Whatever. . .

// tarou’s first encounter with fiyero.

[cupidsgame-blog]

Prologue // Closed Starter // Akki // Tarou // Snack Break

Akki was in the livingroom, having a TV turned on. He was watching a movie quite eagerly. It was some action one it seemed, with lots of special effects and fancy angles and such. Movies were great! Such a large TV too! The small male was sitting a bit too close to it, but no one was around to tell him so.  As the action seemed to quiet down, Akki felt the sudden urge of the munchies. 

“…”

Deciding to spoil himself, Akki got up and went to the snack vending machine nearby. Despite it not needing money or anything, Akki seemed too clueless to figure out how it worked as he just kept looking around, trying to find instructions or something. Was he meant to just… open it or?… 

[superduperconbini-blog]

“I mean… it’s a pretty nice selection,” Tarou idly commented, having seen the purple-haired guy by the vending machine in the living room.

Mapping the castle in his mind had been going swimmingly so far, honestly.  He had a knack for memorizing layouts pretty quickly given how often he hopped about different stores.  As a kid, he never got lost in the mall as he, at the very least, always remembered where the information desk was!

I digress.

“What sort of snacks do you prefer, Akagi-san?”

He offered a smile, fingers hovering between the choices.  Chocolate, chips, etc.  He knew a single press would get him his desired choice as previous test made sure.  Honey butter potato chips!  An ingenious invention combining the worlds of savory and sweet, an all time favorite for sure.

Tarou had a feeling what Akki would respond with, but he didn’t want to seem presumptuous.  He wondered just what Akki Akagi, the Super High-school level Charm Maker, would end up choosing.

[shslcharmmaker-blog]

Akki got startled when a voice suddenly spoke from behind him. His face reddened a little, as if he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar or something. But this was fine, right? This was allowed.  He calmed his startled heart and turned to look at the other, just in time to hear his question. Oh, it was Tarou. He hadn’t seen the guy much in the chat and this was the first time they met face to face. He seemed quite pleasant and helpful, though. Useful traits, considering the other’s talent.  Akki gave him a soft smile then looked back at the vending machine.

“U-umm… ch-chips. I l-like ch..chips…”

He answered, a bit quietly. Or maybe the TV was just too loud?

“P-pringles T-texas b….barbeque s-ssauce!”

He said the flavour far more eagerly.

[superduperconbini-blog]

Chips.  Versatile, accessible by all, and... crunchy!  One’s preference in desserts did tend to say a lot about their personality.  There were those curve balls where big, thuggish looking characters would buy something delicate and light like a pudding cub and insist that it was for their girlfriend, but Tarou always knew the truth.

``Ah!  Pringles!  They’re always coming out with inventive flavors, huh?  The beef consumé flavor has been pretty in the season if I recall correctly.  Something about it’s umami in comparison to the general saltiness of the classic, regular variety...”

He was sounding like some sort of snack expert or something... Such was hardly the case!  He just... well, he knew a lot about snacks!  He pressed the appropriate button on some chips that weren’t so specific in variety, but likely close in flavor profile.  They hit the tray at the bottom lightly and he took them out, holding it out for Akki to take.

``Man... it almost feels like I’m stealing.  Sort of want to toss some change somewhere, you know what I mean?”

The way he was speaking was as if he was already very familiar with Akki despite having just met.