[Kei Hada]

So this wasn't the kind of volunteer work Kei was used to. Usually he'd man an exhibit for a new piece of tech, or join a friend in being extra hands in a fundraiser. Those times he helped Jun lead a class in an orphanage brought him out of his comfort zone a bit, but at least that was manageable. Teaching a few kids how to make dolls? Fine.

Now though, now he was running a dango stall while the sports festival was in full swing. As for how he got here, well- it was a place he felt safe in because it took up the time slots that some of the competitions ran in. Can't enter a challenge if he was too busy serving food. You're not putting him in another fight, world.

He was just glad he didn't need to manage the stall alone.

Kei handed out two more skewers in exchange for cash before turning to his partner. "Thanks for doin' this with me Yaoyao. I dunno how'd I'd be if I had to run this by myself."

𝕐 + 𝕐

[₦ɄØ]

Zipper slams the door open.

"KEI, IT'S AN EMERGENC—" She sees a student that is explicitly not Kei, nor his super hot, goth girlfriend she was hoping to punched by. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh..." The student points to their boxes of stuff in the corner of the room. "He moved out?"

"AND THEY DIDN'T TELL ME?"

[𝕐 + 𝕐]

[attr="class","body"]

this is where the bruises come from
this is where the game gets ugly.

“Psht. You’d be fine - only maybe not selling as good dango.” She sniffs like one of those hoity-toity TV types, but they both know she’s just kidding. “Now scooch, I’ve got a couple more for the grill.” If it’d been anybody else to ask her to tag along, there’s a 50/50 chance she’d just be hanging out at the back of the stall, waiting for her shift to be over so she could track down her baobao - or Jun. But since manning this stall means getting to spend time with Kei anyway… I mean, who’s she to look a gift horse in the mouth?

While a couple dark tendrils of shadow busy themselves turning over the yaki dango already on the grill, others are prepping orders that don’t require baked dango; some are rolling dango on their skewers through matcha powder, some are coating a few skewers in red bean paste, and more. (Never let it be said that having a girlfriend with more than two ‘hands’ didn’t have its perks.)

Grill refilled, she leans back against the counter with narrowed pupils, scanning the crowds for troublemakers… or potential customers.

Kei Hada

by sixsmith.

[googlefont="Roboto"][newclass=.body b]color:#5a43d2[/newclass]

[Kei Hada]

He did know she was kidding, which let him laugh at the act. It wasn't like she was wrong anyway- she had always been the better cook between the two. "Scoochin'!" Kei gave his girlfriend room to do her work as prompted.

He was thankful for her extra hands. While he was capable of the same, the claws at the ends of his own mechanical arms didn't have the finesse to handle thin sticks without ruining them. So Kei left his girlfriend to prepare the treats while he was in charge of the interactions. As he waited for the next customer his brow furrowed.

Why did he feel like he'd forgotten something all of a sudden?

The thought was shaken when a girl with pigtails walked up to the pair, eyes wandering to the menu. Kei smiled. "Hi there, welcome! What can we get ya?"

She hadn't turned to him, wholly focused on the text. "I'll have the uh... kuri- no that might be too nutty... kinako- ah, messy... maybe sasa- actually that takes too much work-"

Oh god. Kei's smile shrunk a bit. "Uh, maybe you should stand to the side if you're not sure-"

"No no, I'll get it! I just have to read what else is there-"

The number of people behind her was growing and they were getting restless. He eyed the line. How long was she going to take?

𝕐 + 𝕐

[𝕐 + 𝕐]

[attr="class","body"]

this is where the bruises come from
this is where the game gets ugly.

Eugh, the indecisive types. The bane of Yaoyao’s existence. At Lili’s urging, she lets it go on for all of one… two… two and a half more minutes before she pushes off and slams a real, flesh ’n blood hand down on the counter in front of the dithering dumbass to get her attention. It’s only because of Lili’s saintly benevolence that she doesn’t tell the pigtailed princess to piss right off in just as many words - instead, she lets Lili handle it herself, a warm smile coming over their face that’s clear at odds with the intimidating glower from just a second ago.

“Excuse me - if you don’t mind, we’d appreciate if you’d return to the queue and use that time to read the menu in its entirety to come to a decision. While we understand that it can be easy to get distracted in such bustling surroundings, there is still a line behind you, and we'd hate to waste anyone's valuable time. There's a lot to do around here, after all.”

Unusually eloquent and firm for Lili? It sure is, but there’s no motivator quite like an irritated shower demoness simmering in your brain with the urge to start shouting. Plus, if Lili’s words alone aren’t enough… there’s always the fact that Yaoyao’s shadow arms — especially the ones holding the knives they’re using to section off the rice-flour dough rolls into dango balls — are floating ominously just overhead.

Kei Hada

by sixsmith.

[googlefont="Roboto"][newclass=.body b]color:#5a43d2[/newclass]

[Kei Hada]

The stranger's words were going in one ear and out the other at this point, her mutterings registering as static in Kei's head. He knew he shouldn't tune her out like this- what if she finally made her choice and he missed it? Then she'd get mad and the people behind her would get mad because he was taking too long with fulfilling her order and-

He jumped when Yaoyao's hand slammed down. It wasn't meant for him - he knew this - but consider his attention captured when she was about to roll this person like dough or however that saying went. What caught him off-guard though was her sudden change in demeanour.

Soft but firm, it was Lili who took the reins in letting the customer know she was holding the line. She turned back as if to confirm that was the case before a look of distraught overtook her face. "O-oh gosh, I'm sorry! I'll be back later then!" Instead of going to the back of the queue however, she left the stall entirely. Maybe she got so embarrassed she didn't want to face them again? Or maybe it was the knives?

It was probably the knives.

Kei turned to "Yaoyao" with a smile, whispering. "Thanks Lili."

𝕐 + 𝕐

[𝕐 + 𝕐]

[attr="class","body"]

this is where the bruises come from
this is where the game gets ugly.

Lili doesn’t respond out loud, but she does nod and send another small smile his way. Then just as quickly and softly as she took over, she fades away again, devoting her concentration back to the task of ensuring dango production goes as smoothly and well as possible. Thankfully, it’s smooth sailing for a while after that. They manage to get through the next five, then ten, then fifteen customers without much issue. And then…

“Are you stupid, dude? I said I didn’t order this.”

Yaoyao goes stiff, and slowly turns her head. Lili’s heart — metaphorically, at the time being — drops straight through her equally metaphorical chest and into the ground. Yaoyao, see, has little patience and a short fuse (for anyone other than Kei Hada or Junsuina Kanjo or, well, Lili herself) on a good day. But even with Lili’s support at the helm, there’s nothing (nothing) that sets that fuse off quite as quickly as anyone talking to Kei like…

Well… like that.

The unfortunate upcoming victim looks about as bro-y as it gets, from head to toe. Backwards baseball cap, sunglasses, muscle tank, cargo shorts, flip flops, the works. It’s not hard for Yaoyao to come up with about 15 different things to tear him to shreds over before she even gets halfway through sizing him up, and from the discomfort radiating through their shared mind space, she can tell even Lili isn’t too torn up about the prospect of letting her.

This is Kei they’re talking about. Lili may not love him the way Yaoyao does, but she loves him all the same. Neither of them take all that kindly to anyone trying to treat him with less than the respect he deserves.

Kei Hada

by sixsmith.

[googlefont="Roboto"][newclass=.body b]color:#5a43d2[/newclass]

[Kei Hada]

Things were busy. It was the good kind of busy though, where they all were just going through the motions of serving food. More than once Kei was drawn to the dango but he had to remain strong. He could eat when they were done with their shift, mind already wandering to the taiyaki station just three stalls over.

But then he got an order wrong.

Wide eyes turned to the disgruntled customer holding the incorrect dish, and Kei stared at it hard. Had he gotten it wrong? He wasn't the best at remembering things - out of sight, out of mind - and honestly it was possible with how eventful the festival was.

So the look on Kei face was apologetic as his focus returned to the man. "I'm sorry. My memory's not that great." Here he went, devolving to his self-deprecating ways. "Tell you what-" He took his phone from his pocket to show the customer. "The one you got's free, and what you actually wanted I'll record! That way we'll all remember what you ordered." It was a genuine offer; one that would mainly help him not make the same mistake again.

Not once had he thought about the implications of what he was doing.

𝕐 + 𝕐

[𝕐 + 𝕐]

[attr="class","body"]

this is where the bruises come from
this is where the game gets ugly.

This is Kei’s shift, Lili reminds her, like a cautionary hand on the shoulder. We’re helping because of him, which - technically - means he’s responsible for whatever we do. So, if we start something, he might get in trouble… And unfortunately, that’s a good point, and a good reason to keep her cool.

Even more unfortunately, sometimes people get a real kick out of digging themselves even deeper into whatever hole they’ve fallen into.

“Tch. Whatever, man. Make sure those ears are clean ’n primed for some top-notch listening this time, ‘kay?” It’s a completely friendly thing to say, (except for the giant, award-worthy whole-head eye-roll that came with it). “Two mitarashi dango, two kinako dango, and two anko. Got it?”

Yaoyao tilts her head. Lili tilts the shadow appendage she’s using to see and help keep an eye on the grill. Both of them stare at the dango the customer is holding: three sticks in each hand; 1 mitarashi in each hand, 1 kinako in each hand, and 1 anko in each hand.

Lili can feel the vein threatening to pop beneath Yaoyao’s bangs. “Are you stu— certain that that’s not what you asked for?”

“Babe, if I’d got what I wanted we wouldn’t still be here.”

Lili, let me at him.

No!! Remember Kei’s responsibilities!!

They’ll never find the body-

There are so many witnesses, Yaoyao, they most certainly will!

Kei Hada

by sixsmith.

[googlefont="Roboto"][newclass=.body b]color:#5a43d2[/newclass]

[Kei Hada]

Kei's smile strained at the comment but he didn't speak on it, nodding instead at his request as he stopped the recording. "Got it!" He was about to tell Yaoyao to make them when they asked the customer about his order, prompting the support major to look at what the guy was holding.

Two mitarashi dango, two kinako dango, and two anko.

Huh.

Kei blinked at the sticks, then at the capped guy himself. He opened his mouth- closed it. Dug in their cart for a flyer and a pen. He circled the man's order before showing the flyer to him. "This is what you ordered yeah? Can you hold the ones you got next to the pictures here?" Kei had always been a visual learner- easier to compare images and read than try to retain information by listening. Maybe the customer was the same.

Or, heck, maybe he mixed up the names. Then the pictures would help even more. It was a win-win really.

𝕐 + 𝕐

[𝕐 + 𝕐]

[attr="class","body"]

this is where the bruises come from
this is where the game gets ugly.

“Are you serious, man? I’m not a kid—“

There’s a loooong silence. Broseph looks from his handfuls to the flyer. Then at the dango in his hands again. Then at the flyer again. Somebody in line clears their throat all pointed-like, the girl right behind Brotis stifles a laugh, and that just about does it for the poor guy’s ego. He puffs up like some bad imitation of one of those inflatable body-builder dolls, color creeping a little up his neck, and scoffs real hard.

“I mean, like, okay, you can’t blame me, dude. You gave ‘em to me all - weird, and that chick probably made ‘em bad or--or somethin’. These look all wrong, nothing like the ones I’m used to, that’s for… … sure…”

The line behind him takes a few shuffling steps back. He looks like he kind of wants to do that to, only he doesn’t know how. And who could blame him?

Yaoyao stands just behind Kei’s shoulder, drawn up to her full height. No more leaning over a grill or a cutting board, no more slouching in boredom. Her head is wreathed in shadows, her face barely visible in the preternatural darkness hanging over her, and her hair floats up and around her; like some kind of demented jellyfish stingers underwater, or a demonic halo, or something equally menacing, and the only thing visible out of the shadows over her face is her eyes: neon, psychedelic, electric purple, pupils drawn into thin, glowing slits. The air is sharp and crisp with the smell of ozone, with the pressure in the air before a storm—

Señor Snapback turns and leaves without another word. By the time Kei turns around - if he turns around - Yaoyao, perfectly normal and human, is boredly eyeing the customer who’d been just behind the pesky prick: a nice, normal girl who’s happy to place her order, take her order, and be on her merry way.

Crisis averted - for now.

Kei Hada

by sixsmith.

[googlefont="Roboto"][newclass=.body b]color:#5a43d2[/newclass]

[Kei Hada]

Ah. There was the realization. Kei laughed a bit. "Ooh, true, they can look different dependin' on where you get it from. It really depends on the cook!" Not once had he assumed the customer was making excuses. He was just glad he could help the guy figure it out. Though the chuckles from the people behind him was an unintended effect- he didn't mean to belittle the guy.

He was about to apologize for them when the man fled and he made a realization. "Hey! You forgot to-" But just like that, he was gone. "Pay... Enjoy the dango!" Ah well, giving free food was the least he could do for the embarrassment- he knew he wouldn't survive getting laughed at for overlooking something so obvious. Kei turned to Yaoyao, wholly unaware of the scare she pulled, and shrugged at the encounter. Hopefully the guy would feel better with a full stomach.

Fortunately though, that meant they were back to regular business. More treats were prepared and served without much issue, and Kei fell into the motions. He was counting the change when a familiar voice rang in his ears. "Kei! Fancy seeing you here!"

He looked up, and lo and behold, it was his fellow support. Blonde hair, a scratch on their ear and clad in their usual hawaiian shirt and pants. Except the weather was actually appropriate for it this time- he still couldn't figure out how he survived the winters in them. "Toru, hey! How are ya?"

"I'm good, I'm good- You should've seen the exhibits here! There was-" And they were off, with Toru explaining the demonstrations and Kei commenting on each aspect as if he'd been there himself. The excitement was evident between the two.

And they may or may not be talking more than necessary, given that Kei was on the clock.

𝕐 + 𝕐

[𝕐 + 𝕐]

[attr="class","body"]

this is where the bruises come from
this is where the game gets ugly.

They’re both used to the way people light up around Kei. They flock to him, they’re drawn to him, and it’s no surprise that the guy who got an embodiment of darkness to fall head over heels for him is a magnet for anyone else with a working brain. It’s not new, essentially. Much of the time, Yaoyao’s completely unthreatened by it; she’ll even get a little smug about it on Kei’s behalf. ‘That’s my baobao. Admire him, adore him, respect him. Ain’t he a wonder?’, and other such proud thoughts.

Of course, they’re valid thoughts, as far as Lili is concerned (in a completely platonic sense, mind you). Kei is wonderful. He’s kind, and intelligent, and as Yaoyao makes sure to reiterate daily, he’s… well, to paraphrase from Yaoyao’s effusive commentary: he’s very nice to look at, all broad and soft and bright. In fact, Lili can count six people that are staring at Kei’s… assets… as we speak.

And she can also tell that… Yaoyao is, more or less, mentally stabbing each and every single one of them.

Case in point: this Toru boy. He seems perfectly nice, in Lili’s opinion, but he is also holding up the line. Furthermore, while Lili is altogether often quite - ah - obtuse, about such things… Yaoyao’s keen eyes can tell very clearly: it’s probably not just a friendly chat that Toru is in the market for.

Still, considering her usual inclinations, Yaoyao exhibits remarkably good behavior — no scary shadow-show (yet), no shark-toothed smile. Just a gentle hip-check for Kei, and one human hand braced on the countertop: “Oi, blondie. Are you gonna order something or not?” Her other flesh and blood hand is on the counter, too - on Kei’s other side, so she’s basically hovering right over him, yet again. Her tone isn’t outright hostile, though… yet, at least. “We still got customers after you, y’know.”

Kei Hada

by sixsmith.

[googlefont="Roboto"][newclass=.body b]color:#5a43d2[/newclass]

[Kei Hada]

Kei was deep in conversation, ignorant of the stares that would've made him uncomfortable had he noticed. Not that he would've known why they were staring- he was oblivious to their interest too, mind more likely to cook up things they could be judging him for, like how loud he was being or how hard he was to understand when he rambled. So it was a good thing he was focused on the topics Toru provided.

Said focus was shaken when he felt himself nudged in the side, letting out a laugh half from giddiness and half from embarrassment- because Yaoyao was right, they still had a job to do. Toru recovered more smoothly from the callout than the indecisive girl from earlier, pressing his hands together as he bowed. "Sorry about that, I came here for a kurogoma."

As the lady of darkness prepared the order, Toru turned his attention back to Kei. "Say- are you free after your shift? There's gonna be a demo on a new line of hover gear that I'm sure you'd love. One of them's a motorbike."

Kei let out a hiss. "Aw, sorry! I already have plans." Said plans were to visit the food stalls with Yaoyao and stuff his face but that seemed weird to admit while he was working in one of said stalls. He smiled and thanked Yaoyao for the dango before offering it to the blonde. "But I can join ya tomorrow! They have to show that off more than once right?"

Toru grinned as he took his treat. "Tomorrow's perfect, it's a date then. And here." He placed the yen in Kei's hand; it was at least double the price of the order. "Keep the change. See you soon Kei." As he turned to leave, the gadgeteer's hand hadn't closed over the money, face blank after the interaction. He- he heard that correctly right? Did he really just-

"Huh?"

𝕐 + 𝕐

[𝕐 + 𝕐]

[attr="class","body"]

this is where the bruises come from
this is where the game gets ugly.

If you ask Yaoyao in about half an hour, she'll say she deserves an award, probably, for the fact that she didn’t respond by immediately vaulting the counter and grabbing Blondie McBitchhat by the collar of his shirt. But to be fair (or to ask Lili), her actual reaction might… have been... a little worse.

Because what she does do is this: pause for all of a second, look whatsisname up and down like she’s just discovered a lost kid in a liquor shop, and then let out a bark of laughter like that little attempt at a smooth pick-up ‘n take-away is just about the most hilarious thing she’s heard all day.

But for all intents and purposes, let the record state that Yaoyao’s laughter isn’t — at least not completely — on purpose. But come on, now. She’s practically hanging off him like a koala to a tree. They’re basically attached at the hip when they’re not in classes or working. She calls him just about every pet name under the sun, and they’re rarely not holding hands. And for the kicker: today they’re even wearing matching couple’s shirts, her in a purple tee that has ‘HE’S MY SWEET POTATO’ across the chest (granted, she did tie it off at her navel because she got hot working the grill, but still) and him in the corresponding yellow ‘I YAM’.

To have missed all of that? All of it? Call her an asshole or a sadist, sure, but it’s definitely comedy gold.

“Jeez, ah, jeez. Holy shit. Wow. So your eyes work well enough to see baobao as a catch, but not well enough to notice the matching shirts? Wow. Oh, wow.” She could lean on the counter, or one of the shadow arms - but she leans on her baobao instead, using his warm shoulder to keep herself steady as her laughter tapers off into snickers. “Whew… wow. If I didn't know better, I’d almost think I needed that.”

Kei Hada

by sixsmith.

[googlefont="Roboto"][newclass=.body b]color:#5a43d2[/newclass]