3811/Seriously, Food Poisoning!

Seriously, Food Poisoning!
Date of Scene:	15 February 2016
Location:	Kawakami City
Synopsis:	Kazuko gets free food from HK-47, suspecting absolutely nothing from a freaky talking heart guy! Also, food poisoning and mucus mash.
Cast of Characters:	754, 942

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Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
     After a long day of buying up all sorts of chocolates for Valentine's Day obligation gifts and sending them out, Kazuko's still exploring Kawakami City for good snacks on sale! Sadly, her efforts haven't been all that fruitful. She's just been running into overpriced stand after overpriced stand, the marketing for Valentine's Day really only being good for jacking up prices without giving her much to really work with.

     Still, she's not one to give up that easily, especially when there's still unexplored stands to eat from! She scurries about, letting her nose guide her towards something that might end up making today's ventures worth the effort.

HK-47 (754) has posed:
     Cities like this were regarded as the standing pinnacle of this reality's society. Between the purportedly-optimum teaching facilities and it's extensive history, few things besides 'nerve center of commerce and culture' could describe how the locals apparently perceived Kawakami City, Japan.

     Something that HK-47 normally felt was overrated among meatbags... yet he could not deny they were somehow especially hardy here.

     As of today, many of the droid's attempts to try and integrate into the society were warded off or fell through due to the risk of premature exposure - an annoying result of an extensive company in this reality known as the 'Kuki Corporation', which seemed to have deep-rooted influence in not just this city but much of this reality... and they were advanced enough to be developing droids. So non-native droids like HK were strictly monitored, if not prohibited.

     Meaning that HK's only recourse was to not infiltrate as a droid.

     "Fresh ramen! Quality ingredients - just off the boats!"

     But must he really have been subjugated to such a demeaning form?

     At the moment, his imposing form was hidden under a thick, sickeningly-fluffy suit that resembled a cartoonish rendition of a heart-shape with large 'cute' eyes, next to a temporary stall from which to cook dishes from. At the moment, he had served a dozen humans and been forced to endure compliments 'to the chef' - but he had to withhold the best of the stock for his primary target...

     ...

     And, if she happens to pass him by at that moment, he barely withholds the charge of glee in his behavioral core as he begins what he came here for.

     "My word - aren't you the Eastern Diva?!" he speaks, mimicking the voice of some sappy mascot he had heard on the telecommunication devices. "Kazuko Kawakami?! I'll be darned - a living legend right here!"

     Time to bait the hook.

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
     Shrimp balls, takoyaki... Okay, maybe not /everything/ is overpriced tonight. Kazuko's certainly got some options to work with, at least, and the sound of someone calling out to her does help her narrow down her options. Spotting the talking heart costume, the martial artist's curiosity gets the better of her as she approaches HK's stall.

     "Hi! Ooh, what do you have here?" She puffs up a bit at that bit of ego-stroking, the gesture doing its job at keeping her from dismissing the freaky-looking heart as just... Well, a freaky-looking heart.

     The bait's been taken! "Hmhmhm... Do you have any prices for this stuff? I already spent a lot today, so I gotta be thrifty tonight!" She's very honest about it, at least.

HK-47 (754) has posed:
     "Well, one specialty we have is Abura Soba - ramen noodles with a poached egg in slices of chaise pork and bamboo shoots and scallion whites, finished off lobster oil and a blackberry sauce. Ah, the last one's a bit of an experiment though since it's supposed to be soy sauce - not sure if it'll catch on, but I'm hoping!"

     Concicently, this would be the only dish he'd ever use... since it wasn't exactly Earth-grown blackberries he'd made the sauce from.

     But he believed she might take it any way - she seemed incredibly naive. What was the meatbag term for it - 'carefree'? Also, she was apparently very easily enticed - that would make things easier going forward.

     Ever since the establishment of the ceasefire by way of Momoyo Kawakami's tournament-style control scheme in conjunction with her apparent ties to Union Admiral Nagato, HK-47 had been researching into the meatbag as best he could for information. Especially after the data gathered by Ensign Takane had been redacted by Xiao Li Yu - but so far, he'd had no luck...

     Then the report came that the younger Kawakami unit was part of an attack on Balmorra in a different Sith Empire from his own, and the evidence that there was hidden Union sympathies seemed to only get stronger.

     Of course... that was only the justification for the droid's actions if he would have to explain the matter - this act had other beneficial actions. And if this interaction was any indication, it would be simple to do.

     Or at least as simple as it was for the droid to feign shock when Kazuko asked about prices. "You're one of the top four fighters in Japan! Why would I ever charge you?! In fact... if you really like it and I actually get your seal of approval, you can eat here free for the rest of your life!! Of course that's only if you like any of it!"

     He was sure to leave an 'out' so that she didn't get suspicions that he was simply fishing for an endorsement - monastic types like these seemed to reply well to 'honesty and fairness.'

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
     Although Kazuko's mouth is already watering at the food that's being described to her, her wallet is already weeping. "Whoa... That sounds really good! But lobster oil? That sounds... Really pricey." Perfect for couples with a lot of money to blow, but for Kazuko? Probably not the sort of thing she'd ever have a chance to eat.

     It's probably not much of a surprise that the martial artist is ready to leave up until the moment that HK makes his offer that she actually stops. It sounds almost too good to be true, even! But all those high quality ingredients... Kazuko approaches the stand to peer at what the giant talking heart man has for sale, her eyes potentially being bigger than her stomach.

     "Really? You're... Sure about that? 'cause I can eat a whole lot, you know!" She grins proudly at that, resting both of her hands on the table while weighing her options. It takes her all of three seconds to decide, though, before nodding firmly at HK.

     "Okay! I'll try your food, mister. Bring it on!"

HK-47 (754) has posed:
     If HK had to put a sentence to the current situation... the only way to describe it was 'all too easy.'

     She was easily enticed by the list of ingredients - many of them being more typical of luxury or of group meals.

     If he were capable of it, the droid would have smiled and laughed when Kazuko claims to having a sizable appetite - he honestly couldn't have been more pleased to hear that.

     It made things even easier.

     Turning to the stand, HK promptly pulls out a large ramen bowl and begins placing the ingredients in - proving rather dexterous in spite of the costume he is forced to wear. In a few moments, he has the Abura Soba prepared, adding in the final ingredient - the berry sauce.

     He could never forget that... considering it was the key element, made from fresh Darkkoninn berries; a plant from world of Gorsh in Wild Space that meatbags purportedly found to have a 'luscious' appearance in spite of it's very toxic nature.

     Combined with all the other ingredients in the dish, the droid doubted she'd find anything suspicious about the taste - and that was even if she found the taste abnormal to start with. HK could not be certain, lacking taste buds of his own. In fact, he was actually hoping that the poison wouldn't kick in immediately so that, if her stomach capacity was as sizable as she claimed, she could ingest a second bowl prepped with a follow-up dose of the poison before she realized anything was wrong with her.

     Well... one thing at a time, he figured, serving the dish up to her with as cheery an "I hope you enjoy it!" as he could give.

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
     Kazuko waits with bated breath as the droid in the suit puts together that lavish meal, setting her own bag of snacks aside. She needs to leave room to make sure she can enjoy what's coming, after all, and she can always munch on those back in the temple another day if it's really as filling as claimed. She doesn't have all that much to do besides wait, though, and the waiting only becomes harder as she smells the food being prepared.

     Perhaps in another route, HK might even be able to make some real money with this.

     Once that food does some, Kazuko takes a few moments to let the aroma come to her. The pork, the bamboo, the scallion, the lobster oil... All of it just blends together perfectly, and she lets out a contented sigh at the scent. The berry, of course, doesn't draw any suspicion from the girl since... Well, how could it? Even though it's one she hasn't smelled before, it quite literally is something she's never smelled before.

     "Ooh... This looks and smells really good! Now it's time... For the moment of truth!" Getting a well balanced spoonful of ramen and pork, she samples it! And then she samples some more. And then she drops all pretenses and just starts devouring that food. She's not inhaling it like some sort of barbarian, of course, but...

     She might need a second bowl sooner rather than later.

HK-47 (754) has posed:
     And so HK came across one of the fringe benefits of a wider Multiverse - not everyone was as liable to recognize a poison if it never came from their own reality.

     During her match with Lu-Mey, the Kawakami meatbag had shown not only a high degree of skill and agility, but also very keen combat instincts - like a hound, she seemed capable of not only doggedly pursuing her targets and persisting to the end but she seemed to have a propensity to know when the best moments to dodge and evade were.

     Granted it was nowhere near what her sibling unit supposedly was capable of, but it made frontal combat inadvisable. And in a ring system where non-lethal means were monitored and battlefield suppression tactics like ambushes were banned, she was an adversary HK suspected he would need an entire team of droids to effectively subdue.

     Thankfully, it seemed that the Kawakami units' knowledge of battle did not extend to the aspects beyond traditional, honorable practice. Something that would cost them in the long run.

     How did it go again - 'all is fair in love and war?'

     As Kazuko begins eating in earnest, HK quickly begins preparing a sedan bowl, more then pleased that she was willing to take more of the toxin-laced food. In fact, by the time she actually finished the first bowl, the second would already be complete, the droid giving his false-cheer response of "I'm hoping this means you like it!"

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
     Kazuko's looking quite satisfied by the time she finishes that first bowl, looking... Oddly fine despite having devoured all of that ramen and meat. Even though she's normally a stickler for balancing out what she eats, it's not every day she gets to eat stuff that's /this/ good. And for free, no less! When HK speaks up, however, she actually pauses to ponder for a moment.

     "Mm.. I did! The meat, the ramen, the flavors... They were all really good, and a lot of fit together! The oil helped cut through some of it, too, but..." She strokes her chin lightly and samples some of the broth while fanning the second bowl with her hand.

     "The berry sauce... It was okay, but it tasted a little funny. It wasn't bad! But..." She sniffs the bowl, then hits a fist against her palm. "I got it! Maybe you could try making a fruit tart or something with it." And with that suggestion given, she gets right back to eating.

HK-47 (754) has posed:
     ...

     Was this what meatbags called 'serendipity in action?' Either way, the idea of refining the Darkoninn berries into a fruit tart wasn't actually that bad of a suggestion. Especially since some targets enjoyed procuring forbidden treats after or between meals when they were normally not allowed.

     Something to have one of the HK-51's follow up on, then.

     The droid is in fact mildly surprised by Kazuko's state - not that she had ingested so much as opposed to the fact that she had done so rather comfortably. Her breakdown of the flavors, while alien to the droid as he lacked the sensory organs needed to comprehend it, told him that if nothing else her own sense of taste was very well developed, able to pause at the berry sauce even though she'd never tasted it before - in fact when she paused to sample it alone, he had felt a slight feedback loop in his processor that simulated concern.

     Had he used a local or more identifiable poison, or had she even been more familiar with the one he used, she'd likely have picked up on it. Was this trait universal to Kawakami units, or just this one?

     For the time being though, it seemed that this particular target was as good as dead - the berries might take some time to affect her, but with the sheer volume of it she was consuming the droid doubted she'd go more then an hour or so before she was terminated. Maybe even less then that.

     ... then again, if her constitution was as potent as a Jedi, she might go a bit longer then that. It was hard to say - though the key element was that she not realize she was facing imminent death until it was too late to matter.

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
     By the time Kazuko's finished with her second bowl, she's actually looking... About as fine as she was before. Just how much intestinal fortitude does this girl have, anyway? If the poison's taking any effect on her, she's certainly not showing it with how satisfied she appears to be with that free meal. "Aah... That really hit the spot, mister. I haven't eaten that much in a while~"

     'A while' being about a day. It's important to rest up and recover after a hard-fought match!

     "I think the rest of those flavors really worked together. Mm.. And the berry sauce wasn't so weird with the second bowl. Just had to get used to it, I guess!" She laughs lightly and rests her head on the table, starting to doze off. Only for a moment, however, before she jumps out of her seat suddenly.

     "Oh! Before I forget..." Kazuko takes a deep breath before turning around towards the couples, singles, and other configurations of numbers of people before pointing at the droid in the heart suit. "This guy's selling really good ramen! You should try it before it's gone!"

     And then she turns back to HK with a broad grin, not realizing just what sort of fate she might have just doomed him to. "How's that?" She hasn't forgotten about that offer, it seems!

HK-47 (754) has posed:
     It seemed the meatbag had not been lying about her stomach capacity - really, how such a small-looking fleshbag was able to store such a large volume of mass was beyond his ability to process. If he hadn't seen it himself, he would never have suspected it.

     When she first starts to lean over, the droid wonders if the toxin is beginning to take effect already - if it was and she ended up falling unconscious, he would need to move quickly to remove her from visible sight.

     ...

     ...and then she gave him the very endorsement he'd asked about, belatedly realizing this was what meatbags would describe as the perfect time to say 'be careful what you wish for.'

     Or a least this is what the droid believes with all his processing power as groups of people now begin converging on him in curiosity, knowing that he will have to comply so as to not attract suspicion.

     ...

     Well... if nothing else, the conversation did help HK with another matter - his vocal-index log. And with her commentaries, he might just have had enough samples of her voice to be able to reproduce it and mimic Kazuko himself... provided he performed the necessary analysis to isolate all the vocal inflections.

     Of course, he would first have to suffer through the /hours/ of sorting through these new customers... demanding he continue assembling organic concoctions for them to consume. Possibly even subjecting him to the horrific sight of them mashing their mucus-membranes together in the practice known as 'kissing', performing unneeded probes for physical maintenance on their bodies at locations where they were not even damaged and-

     Maker above, let nobody /ever/ say that he did not suffer for his profession.

     It takes a little bit longer for the droid to compose himself enough to deliver his response, but when he does he manages to keep any strain out of the false voice - "Wow - Thanks! I don't think I'd have ever gotten this many customers on my own! I don't even think I have enough to feed everyone - I'll probably be sold out before the day's done! Thank you very much - and don't forget to come again!"

     He did mean that in a way - if by some improbability that she survived the poison, he would very much like for her to stop by again so that he could know to give her something far stronger. At the same time though, he was hoping the poison did it's job.

     /Someone/ needed to suffer for what he was about to endure, after all.

Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
     Still looking quite pleased with herself, Kazuko beams the droid a wide grin while picking up her leftover snacks. Even if the food might be overpriced for others, she has no problem with stimulating the local economy if it means getting free food for herself later. "Hehe... Really? I haven't seen you around before, but I'll keep my eyes open. I'll be sure to come by another time, mister!"

     And with that, she backs out of the growing crowd of customers seeking out HK's culinary skills. The Eastern Deva's work is never done, and it's time for her to seek out another place to stir up the hunger for more food! But first things first...

     It's time to find a bathroom. Or maybe her bed back home. If the droid's paying attention to her as she leaves, he might even notice Kazuko's footsteps getting a little more unsteady and her stance a little more hunched. "Mm... Might've eaten a little too much. Oh well!" She still sounds pleased, at least, and none the wiser as to the potential source of wherever this pain is coming from.

HK-47 (754) has posed:
     HK is at the very least sure to keep an eye on the Kawakami meatbag as she departs, giving as 'jovial' a wave in farewell as he can - which is a feat in and of itself given that he only feels such emotional stimuli when eviscerating targets.

     Of course, a hint of genuine satisfaction does present itself as he notices her initially-immaculate posture begin to degrade. The signs that the poison is beginning to run it's course.

     If it were possible, he'd have tried to call for an HK-51 to come in and observe her, but that sadly might have tipped off the locals or the Union that the droid was in the city if his less-competent successor units entered and bungled it somehow.

     That and he could hardly activate his comms and signal anyone right now while swamped with customers.

     ...

     Still, he could try to use it to his advantage. The sooner he sold out, the sooner he could disassemble the stall, leave the area, tear his way out of that /horrific/ covering and burn all the evidence - leaving no traces when Kazuko Kawakami would fall ill and then, hopefully, suffer an abrupt and inexplicable death.

     However, her constitution might complicate things - normally those berries killed the average meatbag in an hour or two... but if her fortitude equaled a Jedi, she may very well suffer for anywhere between several hours to even a full day before the toxin finally ran it's course and exterminated her.

     Though at the very least, as the droid began what would be a several hour process of humiliating himself in servicing a throng of other meatbags with Valentine's Day service, HK-47 was able to take some degree of satisfaction in debilitating at worst, and exterminating at best, one of the 'Four Devas'. And she was even given the meatbag custom of having a 'last meal'.

     That alone should have been considered an honor - he usually just skipped straight to blasting.