Jingjing's eyes went up like she was trying to look up at her own horns when the stranger's did, momentarily wondering what could have gotten in her hair. Maybe a twig or a leaf or something? Jingjing tipped her head in confusion, hands coming up to pat at her hair in search of whatever was in it while she tried to parse what the stranger was talking about. A forest? Big ideas? Sleeping was like dying? Turning into a sheep? Right at that last thought it clicked, her Quirk had activated and the 'thing-in-her-hair' was her horns! And counting sheep was probably where the sleep thing came in, and she had said scared-half-to-death before transforming so...

Bringing her hands back down and giving a little nod to herself as she thought she'd decoded the strangers train of thought, Jingjing blinked with a quiet "Eh?" at the offer. One eyebrow going up skeptically, another thing clicked and Jingjing perked up with a more enthusiastic nod and lightly clapping her hands together. "Oh, that'd be nice of you..." She trailed off, not sure what to claim she was looking for. "Ahh... but I've also forgotten what it is, but I'm sure I'll know it when I see it?"

She couldn't think of a better claim to make than that, and in her defense she actually was pretty forgetful! Besides... the person who had caught her sneaking around didn't seem to like they were supposed to be here either. Or was really just odd. Giving a pleasant smile under her face mask, not realizing it couldn't be seen, she added a quick introduction as she turned her attention back to looking around for evidence of wrong doing. "I'm Lion by the way."

Everyone from the Kingdom? Jingjing was so caught up in the excitement of costume-time that she almost immediately forgot about that odd phrasing, giving an enthusiastic nod at the excited reaction. "That's right! And the best part is, you can mix it up whenever you want as much as you want." She glanced at the cat-maid outfit and gave a quick "Ooh that's a great pick!" before blinking at the head shape comment. Cheeks puffing out, arms crossing under her chest with her hands tucked under her arms, she grumbled under her breath: "My head shape is cute, especially when I have my horns..."

But then she was distracted again, blinking and gave a beaming smile as she pulled her hands free to clap them lightly together. "You know what, that look really suits you!" Head tipping far to one side and cat ear headband almost sliding off again, Jingjing gave a quiet "Eh?" at the mention of a form that was cat like. Were they a transformation type too? Or some kind of possession-Quirk and they were talking about their original body? She was super curious now what that original body looked like, immediately picturing a massively fluffy tail and just as fluffy ears and puffy fur like those kinds of cats that looked fat but were actually just 90% hair. Most of those details not being mentioned at all and entirely her own imagination didn't matter to Jingjing and she gave her head a light shake to focus when it turned to actual questions being asked.

"Right! First off," Jingjing held up a finger, other hand dropping down to her hip. "Every customer has a different vibe they appreciate. Some like bubbly, others like relaxed, and some even like it if you're grumpy and rude. You'll get a sense for it the more you work here so I wouldn't worry about it too much if you're not clicking with someone - thats what your coworkers will be there for! As for policies..." She raised a second finger. "... mostly try not to get into any fights in the cafe! Take it outside, call the cops, that sort of thing." And without elaborating why they would be even getting into any fights in a cafe of all places anyways, she raised a third finger and continued. "Its not mandatory to say it, but our motto is 'Variety is the Life of Spice!' and its also the way we try to do business here too!"

With questions answered, and answering anything else that might come up, Jingjing gave the potential new hire a thumbs up and motioned for them to go try their hand at taking a customers order.

The customer gave Yume a strange look, first a bit wide-eyed in surprise and then one eyebrow going up before seeming to dismiss the oddness entirely with a shrug of their shoulders as they took a sip of their coffee before giving a nod towards the back room. "Think she dipped back there a bit ago?"

As it happened, Jingjing came out again a moment later fiddling with a cat-ear headband atop her head to get it to sit right. Blinking at Yasu - no wait, it was Yume - as they rambled about some 'proposition' she gave a quiet "Ehh?" as they dropped to their hands and knees. That was such serious phrasing! Was it a favor they needed? Had they fallen for her? Or what if they had found out she was a vigilante somehow and needed her help? Were they being threatened by those thugs again? She could think of so many options she wasn't sure which answer to prepare when the actual question completely caught her off guard. That was... so mundane, compared to anything else she had expected! Face falling flat as she let out another drawn out "Ehhh...?" and stared down at Yume. "Isn't that a little over the top for asking for a job...?"

But then again, maybe they were super broke? They did eat natto, after all! Maybe that was just because it was cheap and lasted a long time? Giving a little nod as she convinced herself of her conclusion, Jingjing broke out into a reassuring smile as she crouched down and brought one hand out to try and give Yume a reassuring flat-palmed pat on the head. "Is that all? I can do that easy-peasy!" Then pausing, tipping her head to one side, she hastily added: "Oh but, maybe we should do an interview anyways? The girls would probably get mad at me if I just hired you no-questions-asked..."

Being called an idiot didn't bother her, not when it was in that bickering-y tone anyways. If she didn't get tossed she probably would have bickered right back, but she did and then she was attempting to dust herself off as she got to her feet. Her costume wasn't ruined but it was definitely getting more frumpy by the minute! And did these jerks even know how hard it was to get any kind of dust out of white sleeves? Returning the side-eyed look Yasu gave her, Jingjing would have pointed out that making an enemy lose their cool was a pretty common tactic but the thugs had apparently been provoked plenty at this point.

"That's the spirit!" She brought one hand up into the air, other hand up near her mouth like she was cheering Yasu on from the sidelines as he charged in and showed some really slick moves that he didn't normally look capable of. The complete 180 in voice and attitude was a surprise too. With a big poof mid-cheer her mane and horns came out, pushing her collar open as she took a wider stance to get ready to headbutt some thugs.

"I'm not a heroine, actually! Just a girl that works at a cafe!" She declared before throwing her stack of fliers in the face of one of the gang members about to swing at her before ramming them right in the gut.

Glancing between one gang member and another, her bright-and-cheerful act briefly became genuine when one of them complimented their coffee and the short girl gave a self-indulgent little mie-xie-xie giggling snicker at the praise for their coffee. And a little bit at how silly the whole tough guy act was. Honestly, what was wrong with liking coffee or costume cafes? But then her good mood faded when one of the thugs tore up her flier right in front of her, and had the nerve to threaten her on top of that! With... what, exactly, she wasn't sure. Glancing in sincere confusion at Yasu, ignoring the shake of his head, she gave him a scrutinizing once over with a slight squint of her eyes and a scrunch of her nose she failed to see anything wrong that had been done to him at all. Although now that she was looking she noticed something and turned back to the gang member to ask: "Even shorter?"

She wasn't trying to be mean, but maybe this guy had some kind of shrinks-you Quirk? That thought put her a bit on edge, shifting her feet to be ready to move at a moments notice. She couldn't afford to get any shorter than she already was!

Then the whole natto reveal happened, a grossed out face flashing across her face even as she chimed in to defend him with her hands on her hips. "That's right! Just because he likes slimey, rotted beans that smell like a dumpster and talks to himself doesn't mean you should insult him over it! Didn't your parents teach you any manners? Or are you just not 'tough enough' to eat natto?"

Jingjing just gave a hasty "Uh-huh, Crab Fishing!" at Masao's confusion, and thankfully the hero student was on the same page when it came time to shove the villain overboard. Plopping down with a exhausted sigh, feet out to the sides with her hands together in front of her as she peered over the edge to watch the bubbles rising up from where the villain had sank. "Good thing your armor isn't bouyant." Jingjing noted, before giving a nod at Masao's question about her Quirk side effect. She could have explained it fully, but there wasn't really all that much in her book - she forgot who she was temporarily whenever she overused her quirk. For once it had actually come in handy instead of being inconvenient, though, so she couldn't help the amused look on her face.

Sure enough Masao got her Quirk back and promptly excused herself to rescue the villain from potentially drowning, Jingjing puffing out her cheeks in a pout and complaining "Do we have to?" even as she pushed herself to her feet and helped Masao and the villain out of the water again when they resurfaced. Not that she had much strength to offer, but it was the thought that counted, right?

The flames suddenly vanishing from around Jingjing's head had her patting at her cheeks and hair curiously, a big beaming smile breaking out on her face as her horns and fluffy mane returned with a poof. "Yes! Its back!" She brought both arms up and crossed to hug her own mane and give her horns a few affectionate pats, and if Masao hadn't been busy restraining the villain she would have given her a big hug out of sheer gratitude. She did chime in with a quick "Wins a Win, loser!" in response to their victory being called dirty, but she was too busy being absolutely elated and fawning over her returned Quirk. And then too busy being on her very best behavior when it came time to explaining everything to the authorities, making sure to calm down enough to turn her Quirk off before her drawback could hit her. She considered trying to sneak off, but maybe - just maybe! - Masao still figured she was just a normal civilian?

The first thing she said to her in private dashed that, prompting a big "Ehhh?" as she looked up at the taller girl with big wide eyes and immediately started imagining getting hauled off to jail when Masao cut her fantasizing short by promising not to turn her in. This time, at least. "W-well, I appreciate it, Ando-san but..." Should she lie? If so, what kind of lie? Just insisting she was a civilian wouldn't work... And Masao was nice, and cool, and she didn't actually want to lie to her. Instead she brought one hand up to flash a peace sign and gave the hero student the most reassuring smile she could manage. "Don't worry, I'm not destructive at all and I really do work at a costume cafe. Can't blame a girl for defending herself, right?"

That was good enough, right? Not outright confirming or denying anything, but trying to reassure Masao and show some appreciation for the olive branch all the same? She wasn't sure where her newfound and hopefully still was friend stood on things like how to deal with corruption, but maybe one day Jingjing really could just retire and leave heroing to the heroes?

Clearly Jingjing had struck a nerve, but more importantly Masao was fighting back again. "Yeah, get hi-" She started to cheer, only for the sword to bonk off a helmet that suddenly appeared. Then the tables turned very quickly, the henchmen keeping Jingjing just busy enough to prevent her from helping Masao. If she took a pipe to the leg she wouldn't be able to help much, so she had to prioritize blocking and scurrying around more or less helplessly while Masao got beat up. Blocking another pipe, a wave of fogginess prompted her to bring her hand up to her head - at a glance it probably looked like the repeated attacks to the head were starting to hurt, but that wasn't it.

"What does that even-" Jingjing started to reply, the sneak attack catching her entirely by surprise. The flames clung to her head, panicking out of reflex and trying to pat the fire out of her hair. She needed to help Masao, she needed to help everyone else that had fallen victim to this guy. What Jingjing valued most was being useful and for her that was symbolized by her Quirk more than anything other thing. Without it, she wasn't strong or fast or tough or smart. Just Jingjing. Then all of a sudden her horns and mane of white fluff disappeared, Jingjing losing her balance and falling on her butt in a stunned daze with wide eyed fear. Horns and a mane joined the villains stolen powers, sneering at them both.

Until now, Jingjing hadn't seemed terrified. Panicked, worried, and other things - but not sincerely afraid.

"Give it back!" She tried to scramble forward, only to get an armored kick that caught her in the chest and sent her tumbling back again. That hurt, more than she'd been hurt in a long time, the short girl reduced to wheezing coughs as she clutched at her chest. If it wasn't for the kick knocking the breath out of her she would have been repeating 'Ow ow ow' a lot, but she was certainly thinking it right now.