Breakfast At Fukui (Open)

Kyoko entered the cafeteria and headed for the breakfast line. Her school uniform rested comfortably over her body, her long blue hair tied back in a ponytail that swayed as she walked. She had already gone for her run, cleaned-up, and was ready for the day, starting with the most important meal one was to eat in a twenty-four hour period. Or so they said. Kyoko supposed it was because it helped get you started energy wise, but given people needed to eat to survive, she imagined all meals were just as important. Either way, breakfast was important and extremely enjoyable after a good night's rest and a morning jog. Kyoko was quite hungry at this point and needed to get her energy back up for the day.

After breakfast, classes would be starting up and she'd have to go back to struggling with ideas. Her work was adequate, but nothing really stood out about it. Especially at this school, where so many talented artists were attending. Kyoko was starting to feel like maybe she didn't belong. It wasn't like she had chose this school, her father had. Though she certainly liked the idea, she wasn't getting as inspired as she hoped she would once she was on her own. Her mind felt too weighed down and she had trouble letting go of her burdens, even for only a small while so she could paint. Perhaps if she could achieve this she could create a better painting. Just one. Just one painting she could be proud before she left this school and she would be able to head on to the next chapter of her life without too much regret. At least then she could say she accomplished something.

Moving along the line, Kyoko picked up a bowl of white rice, some miso soup, a bit of grilled salmon, some pickles, and a small salad. Very traditional, as was always the way things were done in her family. With an itadakimasu and a bow to the server, Kyoko took her tray and headed for an open space at the tables. Once in place, she pulled the chopsticks apart and began her meal.

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Words - 364 | Tag - Anyone | Notes - Come one, come all!

Kyoko Kitamura 150 Words NOTES: NOTES

I don't care ✘ what you think as long as it's about me Riko prefered food cooked herself over food cooked in the cafeteria. Not that cafeteria food was bad, mind you. But you know, smaller batches, better ingredients, and little more complex recipes than the Fukui cafeteria workers had the the time to put together en masse on a daily basis. "Why hello there!" No, she had no idea who Kyoko was. In fact, this was the first time she'd really seen the bluenette. But hey, Riko had to sit with someone, and she didn't really have a lot of friends. Mostly because a lot of people thought she was weird. Including her, but that didn't stop her from liking herself. Riko sat across from Kyoko, "Minami, Riko." she introduced herself. She had some decorum. Sometimes. "I hope you don't mind me sitting here."

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Kyoko was just digging in when a voice sounded nearby. She looked up to find a pretty red-haired girl standing next to the table. Kyoko quickly swallowed the fish and rice in her mouth as the girl introduced herself. She asked if Kyoko minded if she sat there with her, though the girl already had anyway. It didn't bother Kyoko though. She gave the girl a friendly smile.

"Not at all, Minami-san. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Kitamura Kyoko." Kyoko replied. She hadn't met too many people at the school yet, being so caught up with her painting, so having someone to talk to would be a refreshing change of pace. And Riko seemed friendly enough. She could probably do with taking her mind off work and relaxing a bit before classes started for the day. Back to the grind.

"What did you get for breakfast, Minami-san?" she asked. Breakfast was an important meal, after all. Or so they said. She was still debating that one. Either way, it was certainly important to eat something energizing in the morning, especially when you were going to be attending something as draining as classes. Kyoko was curious as to how Riko went about starting her day. It could tell a lot about a person, though Kyoko supposed hers said she was rather boring.

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Words - 228 | Tag - Riko Minami | Notes - Welcome!

Kyoko Kitamura Kitamura 166 NOTES: NOTES

I don't care ✘ what you think as long as it's about me "Fried pork, miso soup, and rice." Riko told her. Riko had a strong tolerance for rich foods. She was lucky in that she didn't gain weight easily, and by God if she didn't exploit that for all it was worth. If she did pick up a bit of weight, she'd just exercise it off, she supposed. She looked over to the other girl's dish, quickly spying that that her choice of breakfast wasn't entirely dissimilar. "So, Kitamura-san, what do you study?" If she was going to bother trying to meet new people, might as well make small talk, yeah? "I'm a culinary student, myself. First year." You know, she wondered if it was sort of awkward for the cooks here that they served food at a place where chefs were trained. Might make them feel a little inadiquate at times. Or would they even care? Hrmmm...

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Riko's breakfast was not too dissimilar from Kyoko's, though the pork was a bit heavier than Kyoko would like in the morning. Her lighter salmon suited her just fine. Riko then asked a question, followed by providing her own answer to said question, likely in case Kyoko returned it. Which she would have, though it did save time skipping the conversational formalities. Not something Kyoko was actually used to, herself. With her family, there was an intended structure to just about everything, even conversations. Though not outright taught, one picked it up easily enough while growing up there. One politely asked a question, then waited for the response the return question. If the other person didn't equally take an interest, it was considered rude. Riko went the opposite way and provided answers upfront to questions she probably knew were going to come anyway. It was different, but Kyoko found it amusing.

"First year, Painting class." Kyoko said, providing her own answer, "So, you are a chef? That is amazing! I have only learned some basics for home meals, but have never been particularly good at it. The fact that you are attending this school for cooking must mean your food is magnificent." Kyoko said. Her own cooking skills were something of an embarrassment. She had never received more than an 'adequate' from her family in regards to her cooking skills. She tried, but just could never figure out what she was missing. If Riko was accepted here for her cooking skills, then she was likely on her way to owning her own restaurant in the future. To Kyoko, that was incredible. Her own future was considerably less exciting.

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Words - 278 | Tag - Riko Minami | Notes - N/A

TAG 218 NOTES: NOTES

I don't care ✘ what you think as long as it's about me "Quite frankly, I could say the same thing about painting." Riko told her, "Anything I can create is ephemeral. Paintings can last considerably longer. I've never heard of a cake from hundreds of years ago still being around today." She grinned slightly, "And I most certainly would not want to eat such a cake. But I credit my mother for getting me started." Granted, her mother was a housewife, but it did mean she was around a lot to show her a ropes. Ironically, if her mother had taken a more professional route, something she wagered she could have done from the quality at times, there was no guarentee she could have been around to do it. "But I should hope so. I actually put more of a visual appeal to my cooking than a lot of my classmates. So, Kyoko-San, do you have a specialty?" Granted, there was any number of ways that Kyoko could take that. Anything from something as basic as portraits or landscapes, to something more specific, like a certain style or subject. Honestly, her 'specialty' could be broad or narrow, Riko wasn't exactly any sort of authority on art, outside maybe her own.

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Kyoko chuckled over the cake joke. Riko was correct, paintings did last considerably longer. There were other benefits to food though.

"Painting might last longer, but fewer people seek out their pleasures while food is widely loved. Especially good food. And it's nicer to see people enjoying it things in the now. It's not likely I will still be around in a hundred years to see if people have started to enjoy my work." Kyoko reasoned. She didn't think her work would still be looked at in a century, but even if it was she wouldn't know by that point. While being remembered by many as a great artist would be nice, there were benefits to receiving the praise in the moment. Praise wasn't something Kyoko expected anytime soon. And given she wouldn't be allowed to continue with her art after school it was even more unlikely anything would come of it.

Riko then asked Kyoko about her painting. Kyoko blushed at the use of her given name over her surname. It was such a personal way to address her. No one had before, save for her family. She certainly wasn't used to it, particularly from someone she had met not but a couple of minutes ago. It made her feel a little flustered. It was likely just a mistake though, so she attempted to just push on with the question.

"Um, a specialty? Uh... I don't really have one yet, I haven't found my niche. I've done some portraits, but do landscapes a fair bit. I also do some more abstract works for practice or when I'm not sure what to paint. I'll just let my brush guide me... it doesn't always work out so well." she admitted, with a slight giggle at the thought of some of the silly things she'd put to canvas in the past. Even she didn't understand what they were suppose to be sometimes.

"Do you have a specialty as a chef?" Kyoko asked, returning the question. She wondered if Riko was a baker specifically, based on how she had used a cake as an earlier example.

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Words - 353 | Tag - Riko Minami | Notes - N/A

TAG WORD COUNT NOTES: NOTES

I don't care ✘ what you think as long as it's about me RIko giggled a bit, "Ah true. I suppose some arts are to be enjoyed intensely in the now." Every art had its strength and weaknesses. Come to think of it, her whole goal was to make a memorable meal. Maybe her art would by necessity be devoured by the one to recieve it, but if she's done her job, her patron will remember it. In a sense, memorability would make her art last a lot longer than it might otherwise. The manner slip she had was a bit odd for her, noticing the blush, "My applogies. I'd spoken to a westerner who prefered use of her first name." Just when you wedged yourself out of your own customs for a moment, she'd had a slip of the tongue on her own. "Oh, well. I'm still developing my field specialty. This is my first year, after all, but I tend towards the visual aspect. I want to create something the person eating it will remember, and enjoy the whole experience." Every meal was designed to taste good, but appearence was, relative to that, an afterthought. Sure, taste was king, but she played appearence as a trump card for her cooking.

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"Oh, it's okay!" Kyoko said, though a still a bit flustered, "I guess if you get used to one way of doing things it can slip out elsewhere too. I'm just not used to people referring to me like that. It was surprising..." she attempted to explain with an awkward smile. She was still blushing. Thankfully, Riko spoke of her cooking aspirations and pulled the conversation elsewhere, allowing Kyoko to push past her embarrassment and relax again. So she wanted to put more focus on the presentation of the food.

"That's a neat idea. I know in more upper class restaurants they put some focus on the presentation, but it's mostly just enough to make it look appealing before eating it. Most people don't even notice the appearance unless it looks bad, but to make that as much of an enjoyment as actually eating it sounds like a lot of fun." she said with a smile. To turn food into a work of art all on it's own was certainly interesting. Kyoko wouldn't mind seeing the things Riko came up with down the road. It had a lot of potential.

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Words - 190 | Tag - Riko Minami | Notes - N/A