Match of the Millennium

Description: Because she won't let me hang out with her, she always picks on me, and she's always stuffing her face with cakes and it goes right to her big fat thunder thighs. And Karin is there, and Karin won't even help me get back at Natsu, even though she has lots of money. At least Brett was there, I can blackmail him into helping me ruin stupid Natsu's life later. Also I think this was a mall where Bryan killed a bunch of a people? I don't know I was just there for bakery goods and innocence there are a lot of malls in Southtown.

[NATSU]
"Nat-chan! Don't normally see ya in here by y'self! C'mon in!"

The door of the Sweet Eats bakery jangles as a pneumatic piston pulls it shut, and long-legged Natsu Ayuhara steps inside. She's dressed in a white shirt and her Gorin skirt -- not that she's doing school work right now, it's just really hot out. The volleyballer holds up her hand in an amiable wave to the welcoming storekeeper, before shyly folding it behind her back as she takes a look at the display cases.

It's true; Natsu and her two closest friends, Hinata and Sakura, have a long-standing reputation as "regulars" among Southtown bakeries. They don't follow a set rotation, but it's practically guaranteed that the trio will descend upon -one- of the Southtown bakeries at this hour of day. And this place in particular is known for its crunchy sugar glazed cakes.

"So where's the rest of yer crew at?" The baker is clean-shaven, wearing a white apron over his pristine white coat. Sounds of food preparation can be heard echoing from the kitchen.

Natsu laughs hesitantly, answering, "Ah, you know they are -- always getting pulled into one club or another, haha. Not sure they're going to be able to make it today..."

Ayuhara indicates a medium-sized heart-shaped cake with an extended finger. "I've had my eye on this one for a few days now... can I try a slice?"

The baker smiles faintly, though it's with a look of apology: "Ah, just... just a slice? I'll have to check with the missus about that, but..." His hesitation suggests that the answer is probably not going to work in Natsu's favor.

[MOMO]
The jangling is heard again.

The is almost the faintest sound of squeaking as the approach. It was swift. Almost sinister. The faintest wind. The faintest steps. It was almost as if an assassin was closing in on Natsu. A malicious spirit. A spectre of dark creeping upon her shadow. The presence comes too fast, too soon, coming to a rest well below Natsu's side. And then the vocie comes, too sweet, too high.

"Oh! Hello! Natty-Tan!~"

The tiny girl with vaguely blue hair, big eyes, and little blush marks on her cheeks looks up at the towering Natsu with a big, big smile. The girl was Momo. She was dressed in her tennis outfit, a tennis skirt with long, striped socks and tennis shoes, the whole ensemble being pink and white. She coyly twists at her skirt as she looks up at her fellow Gorin student. "I wouldn't ever think of finding you in here! And all by yourself! It's almost like a secret, isn't it?~" She turns away, to focus on the heart shape cake, peering too close. "And that's what you want to eat? That's just so much! Well, not so much for you I guess, Natty-tan~" The girl pats her tummy a moment. And then Momo gasps, looking up with those big eyes even bigger.

"Unless your getting the whole thing to share with your friends, right?"

[KARIN]
Meanwhile, on the sidewalk outside, Karin Kanzuki is on a leisurely stroll with her cell phone to her ear. Behind her, her butler Ishizaki huffs and pants under the burden of the many bags and packages that he's toting on behalf of his young mistress, the fruits of a morning's shopping trip.

"...Thank you, Shibazaki. And you'll submit my revised budget plan to my father as soon as possible? Yes, I understand, but it seems that the price of shoes -"

The blonde stops and pauses to sniff the air as she passes by the Sweet Eats bakery, reaching a hand up to tap a finger against her cheek. "Excuse me, Shibazaki. Something has come up. Thank you for your assistance." The phone is tucked away as Karin turns to peer through the window. "Hmm... this one actually smells quite pleasant, for a common shop. And I have worked up something of an appetite after all this hard work... Ishizaki!"

The sweating butler turns a questioning look toward the teen.

"Could you get the door for me?~" <3

The door of the bakery jingles as it swings open and Karin steps through, blonde curls bouncing behind her. Ignoring the commoners who may be waiting in line, she breezes up to the counter and sweeps her gaze over the available selection, one finger tapping against her lips. "Mmm..."

There's about three seconds of silence from the teenager before her index finger stabs at the air in rapid series of indications. "I would like this one, that one, and that one, and - oh!" Her eyes fall on the heart-shaped cake, and she points definitively toward it. "This one, definitely."

She turns a look over her shoulder at her butler as the heavy-set man struggles to fit through the door with all of the bags in tow. "Ishizaki, do you need assistance carrying anything? I may be able to offer some assistance..." she asks with a faint hint of concern in her voice, before turning a look up at Natsu. "...How about you? Would you mind helping my manservant with carrying a few things? I'm willing to tip, obviously."

[NATSU]
Natsu frowns, nodding slowly to herself. She understands -- a heart-shaped cake would just not sell well if it were cut in two. But when she had originally planned to partake of it, it was with the usual crew of three. First world problems!

"Ah, it's... it's fine." Her fingertip lingers on the display glass, pointed at the cake, while she looks at some of the other offerings. "... Ah, hm." Upon hearing the jangling of the door, Natsu doesn't look back instantly, just offers helpfully: "Oh, don't wait on me, I'll just be a moment..."

And then, it's =her=. Natsu tenses up at the cloying, rapid-fire speech as she draws her shoulders upward. But it's too late: her intentions were already communicated to the irritating tennis player.

"Momo... Karuizawa, is it? I-is that how you address an upperclassman?" manages Ayuhara, as she draws away from the display case to get a better look at the shortstack. "It's no secret, I come here all the time. And yes, I was... =considering= getting it for--"

The door jangles -again-. And in walks a young woman with blonde ringlets as if she owns the place. She -would- have said something, but a quick glance to her feet confirms that she effectively -did- just step out of line. Natsu's teeth grind at the realization.

But then there's Momo.

To Karin, Natsu must seem even taller than before. For the moment, she keeps her irritation in check, forging a faint smile to conceal it. "... Ma'am, I'm not sure if you noticed, but there was a line here." Momo may be annoying, but she's still Gorin -- and family, in a weird sense. "I would be happy to help, after our purchases are settled."

[BRETT]
With classes out for the day, and practice still a couple hours away, one Brett Neuer, exchange student...had some free time. Free time he didn't know quite what to do with, because, well, he tended to try really had to keep himself busy in general. But with the track AND the pool all reserved up for their respective teams' classes, and being on break day for weights, the American in a Strange Land felt...sort of aimless.

Maybe that explains how he got to the Mall here in general. Not like he hasn't been here before, but it wasn't exactly an intended destination either. "Huh?...jeez, have I been wandering around that much?" he asks, blinking a little, taking in his sights to reorient himself. Thankfully, he's been around long enough to get a lay of the city to get himself back to the dorms if need be. Just...something else takes his attention away: a rather large, stout man, trying to push himself through a door, with more bags than is safe. And Brett Neuer, being a tall stack of Minnesota Nice nearly 95% of the time off the rink, does what he tends to do best:

"...sir? Do you need any help with the door? Or you bags, sir?" he asks, the poor beleaguered butler, not quite understanding what's happening on the other side of Ishizaki's rotundness.

[MOMO]
"Oh Natsu-sempai, I hope you aren't thinking of call me Momo-kouhai!"

Momo giggles aloud, covering her mouth. Stamping her feet like a duck, she circles around Natsu as the rich bitch saunters in. The tennis star slows down, looking at the girl. She was cutting in line, it looked like. But Momo was... inspecting her. And then, the boy comes in.

Momo glances at the boy.

Momo glances at Karin.

Momo glances at Natsu.

And then an expression spread across her face. One that should be very, very obvious to Natsu.

Momo was -scheming-

"Oh thank you so much mister~" Momo squeaks as she picks out a box of donuts, and hands them to Brett. Bowing sweetly, she scurries through the bakery, moving right by Karin. "You must be very popular to get people ready to wait on you hand and foot, like you are a princess!" Momo taps her foot coyly, averting her eyes. "May I make a humble suggestion though?~" She coos, as she tugs at Karin's skirt hem, and points at the heart shaped cake that she and Natsu were eyeing.

"Have you see this tasty cake yet?"

[KARIN]
"Oh, no, it's fii-rrrghh," Ishizaki starts to protest, to both Brett and Karin, as he nearly manages to fit through the door - only to have some of the bags catch on the door itself. "Well, maybe a little bit," Ishizaki admits as he sets the bags in one hand down and reaches up to wipe the sweat from his brow with the back of his arm. "You may want to be careful what you get yourself into, though," the butler asides to Brett, using one arm to hide his words from the Kanzuki heiress.

One of Karin's eyebrows shoots up as Natsu chastises her decision to bypass the line. "Line?" She looks around at the assembled customers, then looks back at Natsu. "Oh, right. I assumed that you were just standing around because you liked the smell in here. Were you actually going to pay for something?"

She turns her head toward Momo, then toward the cake indicated. "Of course! It looks perfect. And it's even got that cute heart shape. It's so... quaint, yet charming. I could have my chef bake one just like it but better, but I'm here on a matter of charity." She turns her head and looks for the baker, apparently forgetting about the issue of line dodging. "Excuse me! I'd like to make my purchases now, thank you!" As she says so, she pats her hips, then turns around. "Oh, Ishizaki! My purse, if you don't mind!"

The butler's eyes turn toward the black bag on his shoulder that has somehow ended up on the wrong side of all of the other ones from the end of his arm and seems to almost sink toward the floor. His eyes turn pleadingly toward Brett. "Say, young man - would you mind helping me get this purse to her? The black one."

[NATSU]
Natsu is used to having Sakura and Hinata around to address the yappy, mile-a-minute talkers like Momo and the sassy, condescending types like Karin. She misses having backup. As it is right now, she is hearing lots of words which could easily be taken the wrong way, if she were angry.

As it is, though, all the conflicting conversations are making it even harder for the volleybrawler to decide exactly what she wants from the display case. Which smells -so good-, that, yes, she could be getting angry soon if her hunger is not sated.

"I... do you -want- me to tall you Momo-kouhai?" She could think of better names for the bratty tennis player, but none of those would be good to utter in public like this.

Is she going to -pay- for something? Natsu regards Karin with a raised eyebrow. "... I'm not going to steal it, if that's what you're suggesting."

The Gorin athlete glances back at Ishizaki, at the mention of Karin's purse, and squints. With the close quarters of the bakery it's hard to make out shapes, but she can definitely recognize voices. "Neuer-san, is that you?"

In complete indifference to Natsu's plight, the baker has no hesitation with ringing people up. Momo's purchases are paid for, and Karin's purchases are paid for, all while the indecisive Ayuhara's is trying to make up her mind. And just as soon as Karin concludes paying, she's juuuust about to point at the heart-shaped cake...
Just in time for the baker to withdraw it from the display case, for presentation to Miss Kanzuki.

Natsu's face slowly begins to turn a shade of red.
A moment passes. And she then points to a dainty trio of frosted cakes. "I'd like those three cupcakes, please. With strawberries."

[BRETT]
The disbelieving expression on Brett's face as Ishizaki struggles to get through the door still says it all, a small grimace on the hockey star's face. Thankfully, the butler's pride doesn't keep him too much, allowing the young Mr. Neuer a chance to pick up a couple bags and tug them aside to let the larger man through. "Eh? What do you..."

Suddenly, he has a box of doughnuts in his hands. "Eh?" He has no idea who passed them to him, as Momo is already on the other side, pestering Karin. "I...are these yours, sir?" he asks, a small blink before reaching up to help the purse off his shoulder...wait...purse. Oh. So that's what's up. At least, aprt of it.

That's when he finally realizes how busy things are here. "I...wow..." he stammers, coughing a little, before finally spotting a familiar face. "Ah...Na--ah, Ayuhara-san," he calls out, cutting himself off before he committed a faux pas. "I was just helping...um..." he stalls, realizing he has no idea the butler's name, nor the fact that he's a butler...nor the fact that he's holding Karin's purse out in the butler's stead.

He's made a few wrong turns in his life somewhere. THis apparently is one of them.

[MOMO]
Oh, no, Momo wasn't planning on THESE things being rung up for her.

Everything Momo was picking out was for Karin. The more that she picked out, the less Karin would keep track of. The less Karin could keep track of... well, Momo was figuring out a way to be leaving this place with a lot of free sweets. She could just imagine what she could do with them. She could eat some of them for herself, just a few bites, before throwing them away. She has to keep her figure. Or maybe she could give them to Natsu's friends, and then have them be so proud of her. Or even better; she could give them to Shoma as a gift! While Shoma gives her a hug, while Natsu watches from a distance, crying sad, stoic tears to herself.

Momo almost squeals at the thought as she places another box of donuts in Brett's hands.

"Well help me first!" She demands of the hockey star, as she looks back towards the taller person as she is denied her cake. "Oh, too slow Natty-tan~" Momo giggles playfully. "You should be more decisive! The early bird catches the worm... but the second mouse gets the cheese~" Momo looks at what Natsu was pointing at... and reacts swiftly. Dashing towards Karin's side, she tugs at her skirt again, pointing her own finger at the cupcakes as a greedy child would. "Oh we should get those cupcakes as well! Aren't they the cutest? Can't you just imagine how much charity you would be giving if you got those cupcakes as well?"

"Hurry, before Natty-Tan steals them from you!"

Momo glances at Natsu, smiling sweetly.

[KARIN]
Ishizaki appears grateful as Brett's assistance allows him to finally squeeze through the doorway into the bakery, where he shuffles off to one side to find a spot to sit for a moment's respite. He extends a finger to indicate the blonde at the counter with a meaningful look toward the hockey player.

"Of course you aren't. I'm fully aware that being a commoner doesn't make you a criminal," Karin says to Natsu with a dismissive air, folding her arms and not making direct eye contact as she gestures. "But with the way you were just standing there looking, I assumed that you couldn't afford to buy whatever you were interested in."

She seems to notice Momo's hand on her skirt for the first time, and a frown tugs at the corners of the wealthy teenager's lips. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd prefer that you didn't touch my clothing. Haven't your parents taught you better?"

She looks up at Natsu, then back at Momo, then up at Natsu again. Suddenly, Karin looks slightly embarrassed. "Oh, is she yours? I'm sorry. These things are hard to tell sometimes. Here, why don't you let me pay for those cupcakes for you and your daughter? Ishizaki! I need my credit card!~" <3

[BRETT]
The gesture leads Brett over toward Karin, still holding her purse for her as Ishizaki's proxy, at least until he's directed toward the counter. "HUh? Er...me?" he asks, realizing he's supposed to help pay...he guesses? WIth...there's something wrong with this, he knows it. He gives Ishizaki a silent questioning look before he dare does anything with said purse. He's naive, but he's not dumb enough to just open a woman's purse on his own, especially a woman he doesn't actually know, favors be damned.

"Help with w..." It's about this time that he finally realizes who it is flitting around all over. "Ah...Karuizawa-san," he says with a...polite tone of trepidation. The Tennis star has already gotten her reputation at school after all. And then, just as he's about to try and find just WHAT credit card Karin was supposed to use....

THe bomb drops. He winces visibly. He knows a fuse was just lit...granted, he mistook Momo and Natsu as bickering sisters upon first seeing the Tennis star, but...he's not admitting that out loud, for obvious survival reasons.

[NATSU]
Natsu looks back at Brett, and feels somewhat comforted by the notion that he's not changed a bit: so shy and tentative that it's a wonder he's an American at all.

Unfortunately, Brett is the only element of this recipe that isn't clogging up Natsu's arteries at the moment. She's paying attention to all that's going on -- Momo berating her for not being more decisive, Momo insinuating that she's a -thief- without a shred of concern, and Karin...
Karin...

"Miss, it's okay. Nat-chan has a tab here..." That would be the baker, slicing up the strawberries for the cupcake that Natsu had requested.

Karin...

Natsu turns around with narrowed eyes. Her face is beet red. Her hands are clenched at her sides. And six feet of Amazonesque volleyball player is staring down at Karin, practically ignorant of everything else in the tiny bakery by this point. "How... old do you think I -am- anyway!?"

The baker winces. "Nat-chan, I have this all boxed up for you, just..."

The volleybrawler interrupts the baker, and answers her own question. Loudly. "/She's not my daughter!/ She's just some stupid classmate of mine who doesn't know when to shut up!/"

Try to do someone a favor...

[MOMO]
Momo stares right at Natsu as she falls into the trap.

She didn't set the trap. That was, ultimately, Karin, the wild card in this entire mess. Momo actually can't help but flash a sinister grin at Natsu for a brief moment, as her anger flares up. That grin suddenly melts away as... the girl's eye begin to water. Momo starts to tremble, her entire body shuddering. A loud sniffle comes, and then, heavy breathing. And finally, Momo just can't stop it anymore, as she cries out.

"Uuuuuuwaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

That was the loud sobbing from Momo as she falls to her knees, legs spread out behind her, as she grabs Karin's leg. And there, Momo starts bawling real tears. "Uuuuuuuuwaaaaaaa! Uuuuuuuwaaaaaaa! You don't... you don't love me! You won't even... after daddy left... Uuuuwaaaaaaaaa!" Snot drips from her nose, as the tears just come more and more. "I just wanted.... sweets... and cupcakes... and don't have the money, and you won't even recognize me... and I... and I..." Blubbering and sputtering, Momo finally just swallows hard, gulping loudly as she looks up at Karin with big puppy-dog eyes.

"Uguu~"

[KARIN]
Karin reaches out to swipe her purse from Brett's hands, apparently at least willing to put in the effort of fetching her own credit card from the bag - which is petite and chic enough that one might question why the girl doesn't just carry it for herself. "Thank you~" The girl easily locates the slip of plastic and sets it down on the countertop, then starts fishing a yen note from the purse. "Now, as for your tip..."

The Kanzuki heiress comes to a slow stop in her rifling as she becomes aware of the mewling Momo that has wrapped itself around her leg.

"...?"

Karin's eyes flit downward as her expression blanks for a moment. Slowly, her eyes begin to widen, and her lip quivers. It almost looks as if the blonde might be on the verge of tears herself - perhaps touched by the sight of the plaintive teenager? She sucks in a deep breath.

"ISHIZAKIII!"

The butler claps his hands over his ears, bags clattering to the ground as his name is screamed.

"Ishizaki! This /thing/ is /touching/ my /leg/ and I don't know where it's /been!/" So mortified by this fact is the young Kanzuki that she scarcely even registers the volleyball player who's matching her in volume if not tone. "/How/ do I /make/ it /go away/?!"

Karin's eyes look pleadingly toward Natsu's, but only finding fury there, they turn back to Brett and Ishizaki, then down at Momo. Finally, she decides to deal with the problem the best way she knows how: by paying someone beneath her station to do it.

Grabbing a handful of cash from her purse, she thrusts out her arm, swivelling it between Brett and the volleyballer in a panic. Several notes fall out of her grasp in the process, raining down toward the tennis player stuck to her leg. "Somebody /get/ /it/ /off!/"

[BRETT]
...that's at least one less thing in Brett's hands. Which is good, considering he sees the poor Baker's plight as things start to get a little spicy. "I'll take that, s-sir," he says rather quickly, stacking it atop the box Momo had handed him earlier before something happens to both.

Which is a good thing considering Momo decides to pour kerosene over the entire thing. Another visible flinch happens as the Gorin student slowly turns toward his much shorter classmate. "Karuizawa...." he groans, trying to balance said boxes in one hand before trying to place a hand on Momo's shoulder. "Please don't do this..please don't..." His eyes flit toward Natsu...mostly to make sure she's not going to blow her top.

The last thing he expected was to get a handful of yen notes pushed into his chest, barely able to pull his hand up to keep them from falling. "...I...Um..." He was just about to say that he really didn't need to be paid for it, considering that as a fellow Gorin student, it was kind of their burden already to keep a fellow classmate from embarrassing them.

But he thinks better of it, knowing the sooner this is resolved, the better. Finagling all he's suddenly carrying so he places the bags he took from Ishizaki back next to the butler, he tries to tug Momo away, nodding, bowing, and apologizing profusely as he tries.

...is he REALLY American?

[NATSU]
The volleybrawler arches an eyebrow back at Momo. The athlete has seen more than her fair share of kids acting up, and Momo is really no exception here. The fake crying. The overplayed acting.

... Actually, the acting is just about note-for-note perfect, but Natsu isn't really fooled by it. Especially since she's.... well, not Momo's mother. She'd probably remember that.

"RRRRGH," elocutes the Gorin volleyball captain, as she reaches back for her box of cupcakes on the counter.
Her hands pat the empty counter. And she turns around to find that Brett has -absconded- with the cupcakes.
Natsu narrows her eyes back at the ice hockey player, and even starts to say something....

When /Karin's/ screaming joins the cacophony, forcing the already-angry Gorin athlete to cover her ears with her hands.

3... 2... yeah, she's not calming down, not even with yen notes shoved in her face.

"/EVERYBODY. SHUT UP./" Natsu's roar is more than loud enough to cut through the noise. The baker's wife -- even way back in the kitchen -- stops doing her bakery stuff.

Ayuhara tosses a look of feral intensity back to the baker -- the baker, for his part, just nods his head -- their unspoken communication seeming to be 'don't worry about it, just -go-'

Irritated, Natsu takes her box from the top of Brett's pile. And without another word, she stomps for the door.

It's rather miraculous that, from the way the bakery is shuddering with each step, that she's not leaving craters behind.

[MOMO]
Well, she wasn't quite taking the bait.

As Karin shrieks, Momo shrieks. It is a unison of screaming. She wasn't letting go. "UWAAA! UWAA!" She sobs, real tears pouring out. And finally, as Brett lays his hands on the little girl, she screams. "HELP! HELP! I AM BEING MOLO-LESTED! HELP ME! HEEEEEEELP-"

And Natsu loses it.

Momo instantly falls silent. Staring straight at the girl, she hangs there, legs and arms wrapped around Karin's leg for a moment. After a second, she releases, falling on the floor. She looks up at Karin, and then, over after Natsu. As she storms out, she looks over at Brett, standing back up, and brushing herself up. And there, she -pouts- at Brett, lower lip protruding.

"Look what you did!"

[KARIN]
Natsu's outburst - particularly the point where she yells for everyone to shut up - is enough to give even Karin pause, and the Kanzuki peels her attention away from the thing clinging to her leg to watch the towering volleyballer depart from the bakery, her lips pursing in confusion. Several notes are still drifting their way to the floor around her even as Natsu walks away.

Her eyes shift to Momo as the girl finally detaches herself from her leg, then back to Natsu. She still has that stunned look on her face for another second before life seeps back into her features, her cheeks flushing lightly. Relieved that the girl is no longer clinging to her, yet still clearly shaken by the experience, she offers Momo a nervous smile. "Shouldn't you be leaving with your mother, then, dear?"

She looks back at Brett, tapping her lips as she briefly scans the acquisitions with which the hapless hockey player has been laden. "Ah!"

Grabbing a doughnut from the pile of goodies with the assistance of its paper wrapping, she pushes it toward Momo's hands. "Here you go. Tell your mother that it's from me, if she asks. Ishizaki!"

The butler stands quickly to attention, snatching up as many bundles as he can as Karin turns back to regard both the butler and Brett (who has become her de facto other butler). "Yes, Miss Kanzuki?"

"I'm ready to leave now. Come along, you two. There are more shops in need of economic stimulation," Karin says as she wipes her hands clean. Her attention turns toward Brett more specifically, and a thoughtful expression crosses her face, almost as if she is recognizing that there is another human being in the room for the first time. "Say, you - you're from one of the other high schools, aren't you?" She taps her chin as the gears in her head churn, her memory databanks accessing her father's words. "Which school do you go to?"

[BRETT]
Oh geez...that's...welp. This was kind of expected, but Brett still can't help but squirm as Natsu screams, and then literally stomps out, with her box in tow. "That...could have gone better..." he groans, a sense of dread still hovering over him.

He turns back to Momo...and tries to push her toward the door as well. Not hard, mind, he's still a pushover that way, but about as insistently as he's wont to do to the instigating tennis star. "NOt now, Karuisawa-san, please...don't make things worse..." he says lamentingly.

He then stops when karin grabs a doughnut from the box he was carrying, and then points out to him. "Me?...er...I'm Gorin, ma'am," he says, turning just enough to show the emblem on his uniform polo shirt.

[NATSU]
Natsu will... probably regret this at some point. She'll have to dole out apologies to the baker, to Brett. And probably not to Momo, definitely not to Karin.

But for right now, she's marching out of the bakery with as much dignity as she can muster. She nods quietly to Ishizaki, bowing her head in apology for squeezing past him on her way out.

She'll just enjoy those cupcakes at home.

[MOMO]
Momo is very easy to drag out.

Not that she was cooperating. Crossing her arms and pouting, she is pushed towards the door, heels dug in. "How am I making things worse? You ruined everything!" As Karin asks her about her 'mommy', she just sticks her tongue out. "Mueah!" She groans. Sure, she has donuts. But she didn't have cupcakes. She didn't have NATSU'S cupcakes. She didn't want the sweets all for her own. She wanted Natsu's sweets. As she pushed out of the door, she gives one last harumph. And then... a grin. "Brett, I have an idea."

"And you're gonna help me with it, get it?"

[KARIN]
"Mmm." Karin's finger lingers on her lips as inspiration gleams in her eyes. "Gorin, you say? I see. That's the school for underprivileged athletes, isn't it?" She casts a glance toward Momo as she's pushed along by Brett. "Well, I suppose that you're busy baby-sitting at the moment, aren't you? I'll be coming by your school soon, then. For your assistance, it will be the first stop on my benevolence tour!"

She slips her credit card and what money hasn't been distributed to the other teenagers or to the floor back into her purse, then turns toward her butler, who is once again straining to hold all of the belongings. "I suppose that you'll be needing my help to carry things, then, Ishizaki?"

"Oh, no, Miss Karin. I'll take... care... of..." Ishizaki replies, panting heavily.

"No, Ishizaki, I insist. I'm meant to be showing charity, after all. Here." Karin takes a small snack cake from the pile and holds it in one hand while she clasps her purse shut in the other, carrying it at her side. "There we go. Now, could you get the door please, Ishizaki?~" <3

[BRETT]
Brett frowns a little at Momo. "...Karuisawa-san....no." It's about as forceful of a 'putting the foot down' moment as Brett can muster with his personality without getting outright physical. He's not about to entertain Momo's antics past this (at least not intentionally, anyway). It's only when Karin's...interesting assessment of the school comes up that he puts on the brakes.

"...underprivleged?" the exchange student says rather disbelievingly, a terrible feeling about what's going to come out next.

Thankfully, it's not...that much worse, but he still can't help feel his stomach turning in worry over that promise. "I'll...look forward to it," he says with politeness practiced enough to avoid sounding forced before trying to push Momo back through the door.

[MOMO]
It is only when Momo is out of the door, when she stops being pushed.

Momo turns around, and looks Brett square in the eye. One eye squinted. The other wide. Momo stares dead on in the eye, before giving Brett the once over in disgust. She nods firmly. "Nobody says no to me, Brett, and doesn't regret it." She threatens, before giggling and pointing a finger to the dimple on her cheek.

"And you will regret it~"

"Uguu~"

And with that, Momo grabs up her box of donuts, and skips away merrily.

[BRETT]
Brett blinks as Momo's demeanor does such a quick turn around, somehow without any change in her actual personality. It's disconcerting...but it's mostly just confusing, leaving him to stare at Momo as she takes the box of doughnuts away and skips away.

He stares for a few more seconds...before rubbing his face with his hand. "Why do girls have to be so confusing..." At least THAT seems to be universal on both sides of the Pacific. Looking at his watch, he realizes he still has SOME time to kill, despite that feeling like forever....maybe going back to his dorm and just not getting involved in anything else until practice is a good idea...

[MOMO]
Momo stops in front of a mall security guard, and sniffles hard, wiping his eye as she begins the waterworks.

"Mwister Police Officer?" She begins, choking back tears, as she points a single finger in Brett's direction.

"I would like to fwile a weport"

Log created on 13:52:34 07/27/2016 by Momo, and last modified on 11:49:08 07/28/2016.