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Stepping out from one of the other shops, Kanna was mostly looking around herself, not terribly amused or interested in what was on hand here, she had gotten a new swimsuit at least, one she was still wearing. Taking note of Charlotte, the girl seemed to have lost a lot of the wind in her sails from recent events. Bowing lightly towards her, Kanna speaks up. "Ah, Charlotte, are you shopping as well?"
Taking note of Kanna, Charlotte's face appeared to brighten slightly as she took note of the bow.
"Looking around mainly," Charlotte stated simply, her gaze analyzing the woman from head to toe. "New swimsuit? If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to pick up boys Kanna."
It seemed the girl had wasted little time in readying for the beach. Kanna was, after all, one of the least harmed and seemingly least affected by current events. Charlotte wasn't sure if the girl just had that cool of a head or if she was simply strong enough to beat back whatever came at her. Either way, it made the foreign girl slightly jealous that she appeared so unphased.
"Hmm? No, Ayame and Octavia brought me along with them, well more like Ayame. Either way I might as well wear it." Looking at the other, she wasn't all that close to Makoto and she had other things to deal with at the time, plus she was no stranger to death. She was a priestess afterall and had assisted in more than a few Funerals alongside her father.. There was also the issue with her own battle, some of which she had purposely kept silent on.
Nor had she heard too much on the battles of the others, many of them seemed to come out worse for the wear, while some like Ayame were as cheerful as could be..
"So, what are your plans?"
"Ah… Makes sense," Ayame seemed to be somewhat of a trickster like Charlotte, after all, and Octavia certainly didn't seem to be a prude. "Well, it suits you. You'll have people tripping over themselves in no time."
With a soft chuckle, Charlotte tilted her head slightly. She didn't really have any specific plans after all. She didn't really feel like celebrating, but she couldn't let that show. She wanted to relax in all honesty, though she didn't feel as though she could do that either.
"None particularly, just killing time I suppose," Charlotte admitted. Were the situation more light, she'd probably take Kanna around and try to help her get some numbers. Likely it would be easier than with Amaris—Well, maybe. "What about you? Were you going for a swim?"
"Hmm.. What was that expression, to drown a mockingbird? No, that doesn't sound right.." Seemingly stumped she shrugs. "I hope no one trips, I'm not out to harm any of them yet after all." Thinking on her question however, the miko shrugs. "I was headed towards the hero retreat, to see what training grounds it had and what sort of rooms to stay in. I'm not sure where Octavia went, Ichirou went to the beach I think and Ayame vanished to other stores." Offering up all the details she had, it seemed the Priestess was just wandering around.
Charlotte deadpanned at the miko as she both failed to quote an old book as well as completely misunderstand her figure of speech in a way she thought only possible by Amaris. Though thinking on the rest of it, it gave her some manner of idea on what to do next.
"Hmm… that sounds reasonable… Oh, have you eaten yet?" Charlotte inquired, beginning to feel hungry. She hadn't really connected with Kanna as of yet, though everyone appeared to have scattered and while she didn't really want to be alone, neither did she feel quite like herself to go searching for attention.
"Huh? No, not yet, why are you hungry? We could ask the AI.." Sighing a bit she knew the girl was likely wanting some company at the least, then again there wasn't much she knew of that day. "I think some other shops are open as well, was there something you had in mind?"
"A little… Ah, right they have an AI…" Charlotte hummed in mild interest. "Was there always such a thing here? Mm… Not particularly. I'm sure they have ice cream but that's not much of a meal…"
Laughing slightly at that, Charlotte glanced around at the various shops from afar. "By the way, Kanna. It's to kill a mockingbird… and it was a figure of speech. I was saying you look nice and the boys around here will think so too." Hopefully, this wouldn't turn into her prank date with Amaris.
"Hmm, I still fail to see where the matters to me, you were the one looking for a charm after all, or ah, do you wish to use me to reel someone in and you take their friend or some other sort of underhanded trick?" She says with a thin smile. "What sort of foods do you like, you never complain about the cooking me and the others do, but there must be something you want that we don't normally have, isn't there?"
Pouting, Charlotte still couldn't tell how much of a bumpkin Kanna was. In some cases she seemed as dense as Masaru or Amaris, yet other moments gave the impression she was more aware than she seemed.
"I don't need to use tricks to get a guy…" Huffing lightly, Charlotte had forgotten entirely about the charm. "And you never even gave me a charm…"
Either way, onto the subject of food, Charlotte tended to like sweeter or tangier things. There wasn't much she specifically disliked, save for extreme levels of spice. "Well, to play to stereotypes, I like French cuisine. The only way I'd really get to eat some is home cooking but… that hasn't happened in a while."
"Huh.. I don't know french cooking, also you never came back to ask for it, I could make one today if you like.. Let's see.. Uh.. Neptunia?"
"Yes?" Causing the Miko to turn around suddenly while aiming a punch, she stops short as a small hologram appears in the street, voice emitting from a small street side speaker. "How may I be of assistance?"
"Uh...I'm happy I live in the sticks as some call it.. Ah, yes, yes, where could one get French Cuisine here?"
"Our Chefs are able to make this of a seafood theme in the main dining facilities, currently two members of your class are in the main Aquarium enjoying a meal and chose lodging in the Underwater Hotel. In addition to most of the other lodgings I can set up delivery of items in question. Otherwise there are Crepe vendors and I think a cafe shop and two other lesser vendors.. That is to say they sell things more like snacks or bread rather than full course meals. Would you like guidance to any of these, or have additional questions?"
Peering around the miko, Charlotte looked at the hologram with curiosity. Kanna spoke of being glad she was born in the sticks, but even still the hologram thing was advanced outside of say, UA and places of its level.
"No, that's fine. Thank you, Neptunia." It was a wonder how this AI worked, though she could understand Kanna not liking the idea of it having full ability to pop up at the drop of a hat. "Well, Kanna. Did you want to go to a cafe? Or perhaps go meet with some of the others at the aquarium?"
"You were the one wanting to eat you know." Kanna says quickly, tilting her head a bit in response. "I planned to head for the training yards, but I guess I could keep you company for a bit, unless you have nothing in mind we could flip a coin..or ah a third option.. Machi..er Neptunia..can you deliver components?"
"Maybe, though that would raise the ire of our chefs. Why may I ask?"
"Ah, I was thinking of cooking, myself.. Well Charlotte what do you want to do or go?"
"Well… Yeah but you weren't that hungry you said…" Charlotte replied, not wanting to flat out say she didn't want to be left to her own devices.
It seemed Kanna would keep her company for the moment, and though it left her feeling a bit burdensome, that was tolerable for the moment. Chuckling a bit, Kanna appeared wanting to cook for everyone even here.
"You shouldn't cook for us all the time, Kanna. Are you practicing for when you're a mother or something?" Admittedly, Charlotte wasn't that good of a cook. She wasn't bad, either, often having to do so on her own, but it was nothing fancy and it gave her the knowledge of how much of a pain it could be sometimes. "Then let's go to the cafe… I can make do with that."
"Hmm, well I do hope to be a mother someday, but not this soon. And I'm not Hungry, but I'm not blind either.." Leaving it at that, Kanna just shrugs, glancing at the AI. "Where do, Oh Blue one?"
"It's Neptunia if you don't mind. Follow the lights and they'll guide you there."
"Hmm, helpful, are you some sort of Kami?" The AI seems to stifle a laugh at that. "If I started proclaiming to be a god the plug would be pulled,but it's not too far from the truth in regards to the park. Do enjoy your stay." Bowing slightly, the AI flickers from existence as a glowing blue light flashes from ahead.
"Huh.. Well to the Cafe it is."
"Hm? What do you mean by that?" Charlotte inquired with a raised brow as she began to follow the lit path, though she knew very likely what she meant.
"Fine." Kanna sighs a bit looking at the ice cream haired one next to her. "I've seen this sort of behavior often enough. You're in pain, aren't you?"
Frowning slightly, the smaller girl sighs as they proceed on the path.
"Well, I guess that answers the question of you feigning ignorance…" Charlotte replied bordering on a murmur. Pausing a moment, she didn't directly address the question for a bit, but perhaps more strangely, she did at all. "How are you so calm about it? You and Ayame, and Octavia. It seems like even Izou is in a better mood than I am at times."
"Because I must. If I were to shake or to break, things would quickly fall apart.. To put it another way, I used to break my bones often growing up and there are aspects of my mother that just lurk below the surface.. I also am a Priestess, I had to help Papa in the villages, with funerals, hearing confessions, then there is the fact that the whole family is more or less like this. I left home to help out and to get stronger. It doesn't mean this all doesn't bother me. There is just no point in dwelling on it. Like how you mentioned Ayame, her mother constantly drug her across Japan on her work, I think she just knows how to be happy no matter where she goes. Izou, well he got a new arm out of it I guess.. Octavia I can't speak for however."
Huffing lightly at that, what Kanna said was understandable, however it unfortunately wasn't the light shone on the subject that she hoped it would be.
"That makes sense… I know it does, but…" Sighing again, it didn't much change her feelings. She could try ignoring it, but would that make it go away as time went on? Did she just have to push through it? "That sounds like something Masaru would say. He gets beat up and that just makes him work harder… I know it doesn't make sense to worry… but that doesn't stop me from doing it."
"It is only natural to worry, we all do I think. But what could will doing that alone do you Charlotte? Worry, fear, cry if you must, but don't stop walking forward or at least try and work against that which troubles you. Will it just stop and go away if you just do nothing?"
Pondering on that, Charlotte knew the miko was right, but it still didn't sit well with her. Surely, that was the best solution; take steps so that she could deal with the threat when it rose again. However, why then was she still so uneasy?
Looking down slightly, she thought on the events once again. They were only attacked by one person, and said person was the same age as the two of them. All he did for most of the fight was wait and react, along with his creepy speech about amusement. On top of that, he could pick out bluffs and plans from her just as quick as she thought them up. Sure, he could've done his research, but some of his callouts still required a keen eye. Finally, he shot them in the legs as the heroes arrived so that they would have to be tended to, as well as calling her out for being a dead-weight.
He was like her, perceptive when it came to people and thoughts, but just as he had jaded her, he also repeated that she was interesting. Dead-weight. He had already won, why hint to that? To be a dick? Unless it was to show that they knew more than just the students' school life. They knew of her family, and he could've crippled the both of them like Izou and Lucien, but he didn't. All the creepiness and vague threats—Was he giving a warning or trying to motivate? Or both?
'But maybe if you amuse me…' His words rang in her mind.
He wasn't like the villains that attacked the others. Did he really just want her to entertain him? Either to fully break or to move on and become more "interesting"? By entertaining him, he had let them go. Maybe that was the way forward, to become more "entertaining" by improving.
"...Ugh… Why are villains so creepy…" Suddenly the girl let out a soft, slightly annoyed groan. "I guess you're right. I'll just have to improve somehow… I don't know how quite yet… but I'll have to figure that out I suppose… How do you train, Kanna?"
Patting the girl on the back, the Miko deemed a hug might be just a bit too sudden. Rubbing her a little and smiling she did understand the girl a little at least. "You can talk to me you know. About some stuff at least. Think of me as a big Sister. I might not have all the answers, but I'll act like I do! Hahaha!"
"Hmm..how do I train huh? Well I do setups, push ups, runs, meditations, tree punching, rock presses, heavy physical labor, lots of things really, I try and always train to keep my mind focused.."
Smiling a bit, Charlotte appreciated the girl's talk. It helped focus her mind a bit, just in time so she might can enjoy this little vacation. However, her expression drooped into a deadpan as Kanna listed off her workout routine.
"...That doesn't help at all." Charlotte was hoping for some ideas but—Then again, perhaps it was better to get that idea from a hero that shared a more similar style. She couldn't just punch people. Or could she? Could telekinesis do that? She had never tried.
Humming to herself, it was a thought for later.
"Whatever… Let's go to the Cafe!"
Following along, Kanna would decide to spend some time with Charlotte in this Cafe, ordering herself a crepe and some hot chocolate as the two would carry on with small talk till parting ways.
