Scene #3090: Welcome to Mai's

Owner	Pose
Mai Tokiha	By the time that Xiaomu received Mai's coordinates, the land of Fuka was being covered in lovely drapes of sunset. Fuka High School, with all it's windows and glass, shines like a bright beacon surrounded by darker forests. By now, most of the students were making their way out of the school and into the dorms that were a short walk away on the grounds. Much like the rich school they're near, the dorms look more like a high-price apartment complex more than anything else. Inside one of these dorms, Mai was hard at work in the kitchen, working over bubbling oil as she tossed the last of the breaded chicken into the pot. Some of it was already done, letting out yummy scents on the counter, waiting to be consumed. Mikoto and Takumi were sitting at the table, talking. He'd gotten used to seeing Mikoto hanging around his sister, after all. "Do you think someone from the Multiverse will actually show up?" He says excitedly. Mikoto nods cheerfully. "Yup! They've been here before, too--" That was when she felt Mai's stare on her, and slowly went quiet. Takumi looks between the two with some confusion, but sets himself down to wait.
Xiaomu	Fortunately (for Mai at least, and probably for Takumi and Mikoto too), Xiaomu is not of the opinion that fried tofu is the best possible side dish to go with fried chicken and rice. Now, if Xiaomu were just setting the table for herself and Reiji, she might not let that stop her ... It's also entirely possible that Xiaomu's going to draw some excess attention as she approaches the coordinates of Mai's dorm. She's sporting fox ears and a peculiar hairstyle, she's wearing her usual zippered qipao and vest, and the hand that isn't carrying an insulated bag is instead holding a Buddhist monk staff, the rings attached to its headpiece jingling softly yet merrily each time the staff's butt end strikes the ground. Maybe Mai should have warned Xiaomu to try to blend in ... ?
Mai Tokiha	Indeed, she might've. As Xiaomu makes her way across the campus, she attracts more than a few stares from the students making their way home. More than a few move to the side, whispering and sending Xiaomu strange looks. Buddism isn't new to them, admittedly, but this was definitely outside of their normal routine. "Is she from the Multiverse?" One whispers as they pass. "Probably. I've heard a lot of rumors that Mai Tokiha keeps inviting them to her place for dinner," another responds. "It's super weird, huh? THough I guess we're supposed to be welcoming to new people..." They all eventually pass or are left behind. It might not be that difficult to find Mai's dorm room--the smells of frying chicken permeate the air wonderfully as Xiaomu gets closer. Mai left the door slightly ajar this time, perhaps hoping to avoid the same awkwardness that happened last time she invited people. In the dorm, the last of the chicken is fried, a plateful of them set down on the table to cool. Takumi's filling bowls with rice and setting out placings, as Mikoto tries and successfully snags a bit of chicken to start munching on while she waits.
Xiaomu	Xiaomu's only internal concession to the attention she's drawing is that maybe she should've worn a sailor fuku or something. But it's not a strong enough concession to change her outfit (which wouldn't even require her to go home). So while the whispers draw a few eartwitches, Xiaomu's only outward reaction beyond that is to smile and be friendly to people, whether they're whispering or not. She doesn't even try to proselytize at anyone - partly because she's not even really qualified to try and make converts, partly because Buddhism is already pretty well-established in most versions of Japan and doesn't need her help. Finally, she reaches the right building and makes her way inside. "Pardon my intrusion~!" Xiaomu calls out as she knocks lightly at the door. Sure, she could just push it open since it's already ajar, but that WOULD be somewhat rude. "I hope nobody has any objections to pasta salad? I wasn't sure if you had vegetables covered already ..."
Mai Tokiha	Mikoto perks up as she hears footsteps outside the door, but for once she doesn't go for her sword bag. She's gotten much more used to random people dropiing by the dorm. However, as soon as Xiaomu knocks, Taumi is up and at the door immediately. As soon as he pulls open the door, he bows to her immediately. "Hello! My name is Takumi Tokiha!" He seems like he's about to say more, but Mai calls from inside. "Welcome, Xiaomu! Come on and sit down at the table. Don't be so hasty, Takumi, we have all night." She emerges from the kitchen after tossing her apron aside as she comes up to bow to Xiaomu as well. "I'm Mai. You already met Taumi, and that is Mikoto." The middle school girl looks Xiaomu up and down curiously, eventually nodding with a small, satisfied grunt. "Mai is mine," she declares simply from behind the chicken in her mouth. Mai and Taumi go to sit down at the knee-high table on some cushions--one is provided for Xiaomu, as well. Mai starts to dish out portions of chicken as she talks. "Thanks for coming on such short notice. I hope you don't mind meat?"
Xiaomu	Xiaomu smiles, bowing politely to Takumi. "Such courtesy to an informal guest! Many blessings be upon you, young man ..." She takes a moment to remove her shoes if necessary, then unpacks the pasta salad she brought, taking a moment to situate it on the table. Mikoto's scrutiny and her territorial claim just get a bigger grin from the sage fox. After everything is set, she seats herself at the table, grinning at Mai's question. "Hey, if I had an objection to meat, I would've told you as soon as you said the menu plan was fried chicken, right? Anyway - and belatedly - I'm Xiaomu, sage fox, and agent of Shinra on long-term liaison to the Union and Heaven or Hell. It's good to meet you all, Takumi, Mai, Mikoto!"
Mai Tokiha	Takumi blushed and glanced down hesitantly at such praise, but he's quick to look back up and offer her a thankful nod. He's rather composed after that initial meeting, but after they all have sat down and had their portions set before them, he starts sending occaisional glances her way. After she introduces herself, he asks excitedly, "I'm sorry, but I'd like to ask... What is Shrina?" His eyes shine from curiosity. Mikoto is much less talkative. When more food is before her, she starts to eat with impressive gusto, making yummy noises. She's also sitting rather close to Mai, come to think of it--a lot closer than Takumi is. "Mai says she's going to get me a radio," Mikoto says suddenly. "I want to help. With Union stuff." Mai is mostly silent as they eat, content to let Takumi have his questions first. He'd been so interested, and she didn't want to spoil anything for him. When the radio is mentioned, she sighs and shakes her head. "I don't know why you're so persistent, Mikoto. This is... Not exactly something we're used to." Takumi frowned at the two of them immediately.
Xiaomu	"Shinra - in my home world," Xiaomu adds quickly before continuing, "is a covert govenrment agency in my world, tasked with maintaining a peaceful balance between human society and the supernatural realm. As far as the government officials who set it up were concerned, that basically meant 'protect human society from the depredations of youkai,' but it really goes both ways - after all, the best way to stop, say, an oni from going on a destructive rampage is to make sure that rampage never gets started, and most often that means making sure there isn't a reason for him to go tearing up construction sites or what have you." She goes quiet for a moment, partly to leave the floor open for more questions, partly so she can enjoy some of Mai's delicious cooking. She might have to get the recipe before she leaves, judging by the appreciative noises the sage fox is making.
Mai Tokiha	Xiaomu's explaination has caught the attention of both Mai and Takumi. Whatever irritation the two have had, this was like listening to a radio drama, or watching some kind of crazy anime. "That's so cool!" He says with a huge grin on his face. When he realizes how excited he is, he drops it back a tad with a nervous chuckle. "I'm sorry. I just never imagined things like that existed. I guess they don't here, but in other places. This Multiverse sounds amazing." He glances down, quietly. "I hope one day I can see it." Mai smiles a bit sadly, but she perks up a bit as she wraps an arm around Mikoto's neck, grinning. "And this one wants to get out too. She's been really wanting to see Hasuro, Kuma, and the others ever since they told her who they are." She turns a mock glare down at Mikoto, who grunts and nestles her face into Mai's chest. "That better be the only reason, too." "I want to help with Union stuff," Mikoto grumbles in return to the accusation. "Maybe I could find Aniue out there." She glances over to Xiaomu, frowning. "Is there anyone named Aniue?"
Xiaomu	"Given the way Mikoto here staked her claim on you," Xiaomu grins, "I don't think you have to worry about her running off to sea all by her lonesome ..." She considers Mikoto's question. "Well, I don't know anyone by that name, but - is that a name or a title?" She also knows 'aniue' is a respectful, even formal, way of referring to 'older brother'. "A lot of people do have big brothers, but they might not be the one you're looking for - and most of them probably aren't. The Multiverse is so big ..." She pauses, considering how to put this. "There are as many worlds in the Multiverse as there are people in any given world, is probably a safe way to describe it. That might not convey the scale too well, but we're talking about the kind of 'big' that even immortals don't always grasp properly, let alone mortal humans."
Mai Tokiha	Mai grins as she wrestles with Mikoto a little more, before going back to her food. Mikoto does the same, but scoots a little bit closer to Mai. "You'd think so, but she's run off without me before. Scared half of the school into thinking there was a demon cat, too. I heard the whole kendo team went to the chapel." All that levity stopped when they're made aware of the vast proportions of the Multiverse. Takumi and Mai are openly gaping. This estimate exceeded anything they'd ever known. Takumi eventually shakes his head ruefully and smiles. "The Japanese government told us that we'd Unified with other worlds, but that was it. I guess we have a tendancy to underestimate things." Mikoto doesn't seem anywhere near as daunted. "I'll find Aniue," she says firmly. "My grandfather told me so. So I'm gonna help with Union stuff." Mai sighs and rubs her forehead. "But that was before we Unified. There's no way that someone who's supposed to be here before this, would somehow be out there."
Xiaomu	"They probably didn't want to overwhelm people with the scale of it," Xiaomu suggests to Takumi. "Like I said, we're talking about a vastness which even immortals would have trouble comprehending. It's easier even for me to think about specific worlds than trying to count how many might be out there ..." She pauses, scarfing down some more chicken and rice, then looks at Mai after swallowing. "Utterly delicious, Mai!" she praises the girl's cooking. "I don't suppose there might be seconds ... ?" She hasn't really got much to say to/about Mikoto at the moment ... although she's giving the black-haired girl a slightly closer look. Maybe trying to figure out if Mikoto might actually be a bakeneko, although it looks like the sage fox has her doubts about that.
Mai Tokiha	Takumi blinks and pauses to think about it, before eventually nodding. "That might make sense. To avoid a panic. But... There's been some weird stuff going on at school recently. What if something from another world comes to us? Wouldn't that be bad if we didn't know anything?" At first, Mai remains calm, but when Takumi mentions the stuff at school Mai glances over to Xiaomu and shakes her head very slightly. Evidently, she hasn't told Takumi about what's been happening locally. "I-it's just like the Student Council told us," she says with a slightly nervous chuckle. "Don't worry so much about it and worry more about yourself, Takumi." Mikoto blinks at the exchange between the two, before she finds her gaze caught by Xiaomu's. The way she opens her eyes fully and stares right back is almost like a challenge. She's no cat, though she may be acting like it. Eventually, she breaks away to get back to her food. "There's stuff in the Union for me. I want to play with Haguro, too."
Mai Tokiha	Once Mai's done trying to pretend there wasn't a problem--and Takumi notices, judging from the look on his face--she nods quickly and stands. "The rice is still in the cooker, I'll go get you some." With permision, she took the bowl over to cooker and returned, smiling a tad awkwardly. "Here you go. I always make sure I have extra helpings." Mikoto lifts her bowl with a smile, and Mai grins as she goes to take it and refill Mikoto.
Xiaomu	Of course Xiaomu surrenders her bowl for more rice to be dished into it. While her seconds are being served, though, she turns her attention to Takumi with a friendly and hopefully reassuring smile. "If something happens here at Fuka, Mai can call in Union reinforcements to help protect the student body. You all don't have anything to worry about, believe me." And considering that Xiaomu's telling the truth, the 'hopefully' part of the reassuring smile shouldn't take too much hope.
Mai Tokiha	"So Mai did join the Union..." Takumi muses quietly. "I knew they had put up a recruitment office in Japan somewhere, but I didn't... Will she be okay there? I don't really know what happens there. What does Mikoto want to help with?" He shot a quick glance over to the kitchen, seeing that Mai was coming back. When she does, he falls silent and goes back to eating his food with a certain tightness in his movements. Mikoto smiles gratefully as another plate is set before her, and quickly gets back to eating. Mai sits down with a chuckle as she leans against the table. "So, what do you think of our little part of the Multiverse?"
Xiaomu	"Nice and quiet," Xiaomu answers, "at least so far. Some of your classmates might need to be a little less prejudiced ..." Her ears twitch a bit as she suppresses most of a frown - namely the part that would appear on her face. Good food makes a good distraction from a bad mood, though, and she digs into her seconds. "I hope the pasta salad was a good contribution?" she asks in between bites. The salad was pretty generous with the vegetables, and not too heavy on the dressing either.
Mai Tokiha	Mai chuckles awkwardly, rubbing her forehead. She had been just as bad, at first. "They're probably just a little surprised. It's only been a few weeks since we Unified." She pauses and thinks. "I wonder if the school will end up offering to teach people from the Multiverse. Admittedly, it's really expensive, but they offer scholarships." That said, she finished up her own meal, draining the last of the rice from her bowl. Once she's swallowed, she nods and smiles cheerfully. "Of course it was. Thank you for bringing it. I don't really do side dishes much." Once Mikoto's done eating, the girl appears to be nearly dozing where she's sitting, hanging dangerously over her bowl. When she feels Mai moving, she twitches awake, looking around blearily before she went to the bathroom. Takumi wasn't quite so blatant, but Mai catches the signs. "You should probably go back before you wake up Akira, Takumi. I'll start cleaning up. Do you have somewhere to go, Xiaomu?"
Xiaomu	"Back home to my Tokyo," the sage fox says. "I hope I was able to answer some of your questions about the Multiverse while I was here ..." She gets back to her feet, then bows politely to Mai. "Thanks for the invitation, the food was delicious!" Once good-byes have been exchanged sufficiently, she reclaims her staff and sandals, and heads out. Nice thing about warpgates: they tend to save a LOT of time on commuting.