Mutual Acquaintance (Fue)

Another day of school, another day of Kyoko feeling like a talentless waste of space here at Fukui. She had never struggled so much at school before, but trying to find inspiration for paintings was hard. She could handle the assigned projects fine, but anything she had to come up with herself just fell flat. Everyone else here just seemed so much more talented. Kyoko sighed. Well, at least student council was going better, even after her disastrous first impression. And that was where she was headed off to next.

Arriving at her dorm first however, Kyoko just needed to drop off and pick up some thing before heading to the student council room. Everything was quiet, so she guessed Moriko either hadn't returned or was out as usual. The girl didn't seem to spend a whole lot of time here, but that was fine. She probably had a life out there in the world which wasn't something Kyoko could say. What kind of a life could she have anyway? All Kyoko could see was her future in four years. Any kind of life she might try to build here would be completely cut off after graduation. So what would be the point. Sighing again, Kyoko dropped off her bag and then hunted down the files she needed to bring back with her. Once gathered up she was about to head back out the door when there was a knock. Who could that be?

Kyoko opened the door to find a girl with short hair. Without greeting the girl ran in with a small thanks and headed for Moriko's room. Kyoko watched her with a bemused expression. Then the girl basically barged in. Was Moriko even home?

"Eh? Excuse me..." Kyoko said, but it fell on deaf ears. The girl hadn't fully closed the door in her haste and Kyoko headed over. She was about to enter the room when she heard some of the conversation. Moriko was sick? Well, that would explain a few things. The girl seemed to be a friend of hers. Kyoko closed the door the rest of the way and headed out of the dorm room. It was none of her business and she could leave the nursing to Moriko's friend hopefully.

(OOC: These events take place during the start of Unwell)

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A few hours later, the door opened once more as Kyoko returned from her student council duties. She closed behind her and let out sigh. Well, that was another day completed. She wondered if this was what it felt like to normal people when they came home after a long day of work. That wasn't something Kyoko expected to truly experience in her life, but she imagined this had to be similar. Not that the dorm room was anything like a real home, was it? A small room with a tiny attached kitchenette. A low table in the middle and some seating. It was all neat and tidy, as Kyoko made sure to keep it in pristine order in case of guests. Not a ton of decoration. Kyoko thought about hanging up some paintings, but it made her feel self conscious to do so. Then again, Kyoko came from a rich family and had always lived in large homes. Were homes normal people lived in this size? She had no idea.

Kyoko walked into the room and put her stuff down on the table. That was when she noticed the short haired girl from before snoozing on one of the chairs. Perhaps Moriko was resting right now. Despite somewhat rude first impressions, this girl was obviously a very loyal friend to Moriko. Kyoko was happy her roommate had that. Someone caring and looking after her while she was sick. Must be nice. Kyoko headed into the kitchen switching her thoughts toward what she was going to have for dinner that evening.

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Words - 638 | Tag - Fue Shi-Su | Notes - Hope that works!

Taking care of somebody else was a lot of work. Not physically exactly, even if Fue did feel like she had run a whole marathon. But the fussing, the attention, it had tired her out. Even when Moriko was sleeping, Fue had been trying to stay vigilant for if she woke up and needed anything. But the call of nature could not be resisted forever and the chair in Moriko’s room wasn’t the most comfortable piece of furniture. So, after making sure Moriko was sleeping properly, Fue stepped out to take care of business and eat something herself.

Once the soup was eaten, the dish cleaned, Fue sat down in the main room for a moment, just a moment. Her phone was placed screen up just in case she got a sudden message from Moriko or somebody else. She had to be able to see it, or maybe hearing it would be fine. It would buzz, that meant she didn’t have to watch it specifically. Fue decided she might rest her eyes for a moment, just a moment. One moment turned to two, then three, and then she was out like a light.

The sound of rustling dishes, one that had been so very familiar to Fue for such a long time, pierced through her mind and she bolted awake. Her brain went full short circuit as she scrabbled for her phone and nearly dropped it as she woke it up and looked at the blank screen. The phone came on a lot faster than her brain did and she spent several seconds mentally processing what was going on.

The phone showed no messages. But she’d heard a sound. She was waiting for a sound. That should have been her phone. Why wasn’t her phone making sounds now? “Oh.” She looked around and saw Kyoko moving in the kitchen area. She stood up quickly and brushed herself off and clearing her throat. “Sorry to have intruded.” She said and bowed low. She had intruded, good reason or not, and now she was in the living area shared by Moriko with Kyoko. Fue was imposing on Kyoko even if Moriko would probably have said it was ok.

Her face was a little red, it was embarrassing to be caught in such a state by somebody you didn’t know. Fue had never actually introduced them and, from what Fue had heard Moriko say about her roommate, they didn’t particularly talk much. “I’m, um, my name is Shirunai-Sudakov Fue. Thank you for allowing me in earlier this afternoon.” It was important to be polite when meeting somebody for the first time, it cost nothing and it was a good idea when you had already been impolite before, even if Fue hadn’t meant to be.

“When a classmate told me that Moriko had been sent back early for being too sick, I got really worried, you know.” It was like her duty to do what she could for her girlfriend, after all. “So I rushed on over with whatever supplies I could find. I’m sorry I didn’t consider you in my actions.” She bowed again. Hopefully Kyoko would accept her apology. And maybe Fue could make it up to her somehow, helping with the cooking or something. The opportunity was there, depending on what she was going to put together.

At the sound of a voice, Kyoko turned around to find their guest had awaken and was now bowing to her. Kyoko smiled a bit and returned the bow with one of her own.

"It is quite alright." she replied. Hmm, another foreign name, though that was to be expected given the accent. Kyoko always had trouble with them. At least Shirunoe (Shi-ru-no) was easy, "And I am Kitamura Kyoko. It is a pleasure to meet you, Shirunoe-san." Kyoko replied. Fue then explained her earlier actions and apologized. As she had figured, Fue had just been rushing because she was worried about Moriko. Kyoko smiled at her.

"It is quite alright. You were just worried about your sick friend." Kyoko said, "You two must be close if you've gone through so much trouble. Have you known each other a long time?" she asked. Kyoko was envisioning childhood friends who always had each others backs. She was a little sad she didn't have that herself. She had some childhood friends, sure, but she had never been particularly close to them and she wasn't at all close with any of them now. They certainly wouldn't come running to her bedside to care for her when she was sick. More likely they would ask who you were talking about and then not really care she was sick.

"Oh, would you like some tea?" Kyoko asked suddenly, remembering her hostess manners.

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Words - 240 | Tag - Fue Shi-Su | Notes - N/A

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Kitamura-San.” Fue said politely. This roommate was so proper, it was crazy how unlike Moriko she was. Fue was secretly glad that opposites didn’t attract in this case. Though there was some jealousy that she didn’t get a chance to share a dorm with Moriko, but maybe that would be too much, too soon. They hadn’t been together that long and this was way too fast. But the idea still had some attraction.

“Yes, I don’t have much experience dealing with sick people so I may have overreacted.” Fue walked over to the kitchen area. “Yes, thank you. I’d love some tea.” The day had been kind of stressful after all and maybe a nice, freshly made cup of tea could wash away the fatigue and have her ready to go again. “But no,” Fue continued, shifting back to the previous question, “we only met this year so not a very long time.” Fue paused for an instant as she wondered how much she should say. But then, Kitamura was bound to find out sooner or later, so better to just deal with that now.

“We are close though, we started dating just a short time ago.” Fue smiled at the very notion of it, like a comforting warmth in her chest. “So it’s not really trouble at all, more like, my duty to help her out when there’s a problem. She’d do the same for me.” Although, Fue also had to wonder if Moriko’s attempts at nursing wouldn’t be a whole lot different and perhaps a bit more messy. Seeing that might almost be worth getting sick for.

With the agreement of tea, Kyoko set about putting it together for the two of them to share. She started heating some water and pulled a couple of teacups and a teapot from the cupboard. Then she grabbed a container of matcha powder as she listened to Fue talk about her friendship with Moriko. So they hadn't known each other very long? Interesting that Fue seemed to care for Moriko so much when they seemingly barely knew each other. But soon enough she had that blank filled as Fue stated they had started 'dating' a little while ago. Kyoko froze when she heard that. Dating? Like, what couples do? Romantic ones? Romantic activities were happening between two girls? Girls?

"I-I see." Kyoko replied simply and she went back to what she was doing with a bit of a blush. She had certainly heard of such things before but this was the first time she was actually speaking to someone... of that... lifestyle choice. At least, as far as she knew she hadn't before. She supposed anyone could be but you wouldn't know until they told you so. Like Moriko. Kyoko hadn't expected that. It was something she'd be leaving out of any descriptions of her roommate to her family though. If her father found out her roommate was like that, he'd flip. Pulling Kyoko from the school might be the least of the problems he'd cause over it.

"Well, it is good she has you looking out for her." Kyoko said. She paused again, wondering what more to say. If she was honest, she was kinda... curious about their relationship now. But how did she ask about it without seeming rude? This subject matter was a bit foreign to her, "Um... Do you, uh... Do you want something to eat too?" Kyoko asked. That had not been where she had wanted to go with that. But she did still need dinner and figured Fue had skipped a meal looking after Moriko. And it could buy her some time to think about how to ask about them.

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Words - 347 | Tag - Fue Shi-Su | Notes - N/A

Fue leaned against the counter and watched as Kyoko began to bustle around. In her opinion, you could tell a lot about a person from how they behaved in their own kitchen. Kyoko kept a proper tea pot and cups rather close at hand. Well, tea was a rather important thing in this country so perhaps it didn't mean that much. If Fue had been asked to make tea, she'd probably just have gone straight from kettle to cup and the tea directly in those. Tea pots were purely for decorating the scene for a photograph.

That said, it seemed like there was something on the girl's mind, perhaps she was distracted by something. Though Fue couldn't imagine what that might be. "It's more like we look out for each other. Moriko is good at so many things that I'm not and having her with me is, well, it's more than I could ever ask for." Fue sighed dreamily. Likee the picnic, it could never have happened without Moriko's support but it was one of Fue's happiest memories now.

"Oh, thank you very much but you really shouldn't trouble yourself for me." Fue replied to the offer of food and gave an apologetic smile. "I ate earlier, though I may have used your dishes to do so, I apologize but I washed them carefully. I wasn't sure if you and Moriko shared a set or had your own so I used what I could find." It had been only a bit of soup since Moriko had decided to eat the porridge instead but it was good enough and she had already had pictures of it prepared. Whatever Kyoko might offer, it would mean that she'd have to deal with photographing it and all the issues that Fue had associated with eating.

No, it was much better to just go without than to have to explain all of that to a new acquaintance, even if it was somebody she might be seeing a lot more of in the future. Well, if it came up then, she would explain it then. Right now, Fue just wanted to make a good first impression for her girlfriend's roommate.

Fue corrected Kyoko, stating that they looked after each other. Kyoko had meant more while Moriko was sick, but it was good they had each other's backs. That's what a relationship was suppose to be, if Kyoko understood the concept right. She wouldn't know herself, she'd never been in a relationship like that before. Then Fue politely refused the offer of food. She'd stated she'd eaten something earlier and apologized for using the dishes, though it was perfectly fine.

"It would be no trouble at all and you are a guest here so I would be perfectly happy to prepare something for you if you are hungry. If you have eaten, that is fine. You are welcome to use the dishes as well, of course." Kyoko replied, "Well, I need to make something for myself. If you change your mind, then just let me know and I will make you some too." she added as an open offer. The water finished boiling and Kyoko turned back to the tea preparation. She poured the water in the teapot and added some powder, then mixed it. Everything was done with a well practiced and careful movements. The green liquid was then poured with an attentive grace that prevented any splashing or mess. Serving tea was a simple task, but it seemed Kyoko took everything very seriously and left no room for any error, even in this very informal setting. She poured one cup and passed it gently to Fue, then poured one for herself.

"Erm... so you and Moriko started dating very recently, you said? How did you meet?" Kyoko ventured.

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Words - 269 | Tag - Fue Shi-Su | Notes - N/A

"Thank you for your offering, but for now I will be satisfied with tea." Fue fought to suppress a yawn, it wouldn't be polite even if it might be understandable. She picked up her phone, maybe getting some snack wouldn't be so bad. She'd probably take a picture of the tea just to be safe anyway. Fue balanced her phone on one corner as she thought. She turned her head to watch as Kyoko finished preparing the tea. Kyoko was obviously well practiced in the art of serving tea, moreso than just pouring out a cup for yourself would be. It kind of fit her regal way of speaking and carrying herself. Fue accepted the tea with a small bow. "Thank you again." She leaned in and inhaled slowly. The smell of the green tea filled her breath and went a long way to revitalize her.

She was still tired of course, but there was nothing like a good tea to keep the energy steady during a long day or night. Fue set the cup down and began adjusting her phone camera. "Oh, well it isn't anything special like out of a movie or anything. I had been exercising and was taking a break to take a few photos." She held up her phone and wiggled it around for emphasis. "Moriko was new to the school and a bit lost, and she stumbled across me and we got to talking. Then, you know, everything just sort of clicked. We became friends and then I realized that I felt something more than friendship. She felt the same which was a real relief, let me tell you."

Fue licked her lips and snapped several pictures of the tea. She'd gotten the lighting and everything dialed in earlier when she'd eaten the soup. Then she set her phone down and picked up the tea cup. Fue took a sip and her eyes brightened "This is quite nice. What brand is it? This might be a really good dusting for a cupcake or ice cream." And the bright green would be a good contrast for a photo too.

"As you wish." Kyoko said with a nod and a smile. She wasn't going to force any food on the girl if she didn't want it, "I hope you don't mind if I eat though." she added. She was pretty hungry after a long day of working hard. She wanted a little something for dinner, though it wouldn't be polite to just go ahead and do so in front of a guest. For the moment she sipped at her tea and watched as Fue started taking pictures of it. It was a bit odd to Kyoko, and a little embarrassing to have someone photographing her work, but she supposed people her age did that a lot these days. Kyoko guessed it didn't matter much to her to take pictures of tea since she could just make more if she wanted to see it. And usually she preferred drinking it to looking at it, she'd probably just get thirsty for some tea looking at pictures of it.

Fue told the story of how she and Moriko met and started dating. It was a simple tale where Kyoko was expecting one of more drama and hardship. Was it really so simple to enter a homosexual relationship? Did they not consider what everyone thought? And what about their parents? Were they fine with this too? This was a pretty upscale school, were they okay with this? They might fear their image and kick them out for it. There were so many terrible possibilities that bubbled to Kyoko's imagination, yet Fue talked about it all so casually. How could she be so calm about something that risked altering every aspect of her life and making the people around her suddenly despise her? And Moriko too - she was such a shy girl, how did she bare it?

"Hmm?" Kyoko responded, as Fue spoke again and pulled the girl from her thoughts, "Oh, it is Grace & Green's ceremonial matcha. It is quite nice, isn't it?" she said and took another sip. After another moment though, Kyoko spoke again, not able to keep her curiosity off the subject.

"I apologize if this seems inappropriate, since we just met and all, but... are you and Moriko not worried about how people will react to your relationship? You just... mentioned it so casually without any idea how I might have reacted. I have no issue with it, just to be clear, but you do not seem worried in the slightest how I might have reacted." Kyoko said. She figured she might as well be as blunt about it as Fue had been. And she was very curious to get an answer.

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Words - 443 | Tag - Fue Shi-Su | Notes - N/A

“I don’t mind, please, this is your home and I’m the intruder here.” She sipped the tea slowly. Kyoko was obviously far too polite, it wasn’t a character flaw really, but Fue was starting to feel like she was really intruding. Maybe it would be better if, once she finished the tea, she slipped into Fue’s room and just spent the night there. “I’ll have to remember the brand. It could help when I’m working with food.” She sipped the tea again entirely unaware of the spinning gears inside Kyoko’s mind.

“Eh?” Was that an inappropriate question, Fue thought to herself. But, of course, Kyoko was polite, wasn’t she? They weren’t exactly friends and this was probably a bit like prying. Fue certainly had never considered going too deep into her roommate’s situations. “No, not really.” Fue said without much thought, but then a few conflicting memories popped in. “Well, I’m not, Moriko is, maybe just a bit.” Not from anyone at this school, but she had spoken in the past about how she worried if her grandmother would accept this.

“I was a lot more worried before I confessed, if I’m being honest.” Fue stared down into the cup. “Like, confessing your feelings is hard enough if you don’t know how the other person will react. You’re opening your heart and stuff. And with it being another girl, well, it seems even less likely that they’’d return your feelings. But after a lot of talking with my parents and some really hard thinking, I decided that it was better to just, you know, put it out there instead of trying to hide my feelings and not knowing.”

Fue smiled at the memory of the confession and the time they spent afterwards, it had been a miserable rain storm and they’d gotten all stuck in a shed for ages, but none of that seemed so bad in the afterglow of being accepted. As for not considering how Kyoko might have reacted, well, that honestly hadn’t even come up in her thoughts. “Well, I guess I just didn’t think about it, why would you react badly? And besides, I like saying it. Moriko is my girlfriend.” Her cheeks took on a slightly red color. It just sounded like a magic spell.

“I have heard that some people are against being gay, but I don’t really understand it, and I guess I just haven’t had to deal with it.” She shrugged. Back home, she just hadn’t really seen it, but that was most likely due to her mother's and growing up surrounded by the company they kept which was, well, significantly more diverse in sexualities than other places where she might have grown. Though with her parents, it was always guaranteed the Fue was going to have some representation of non-straight life.

Kyoko followed Fue's words with rapt attention. Maybe a little too rapt. It seemed her comfort was mostly based around how she grew up. As far as Kyoko knew, most people frowned on it. But with Fue, it didn't even register that someone might think badly of her as a result of her relationship. She was fine just talking about it openly. It was strange, really. Fue just seemed so... free. Kyoko couldn't help feeling a little jealous. It was a very enviable perspective that Kyoko would never be able to share. She had no choices.

"Well, I am glad you are happy and comfortable enough with it to talk about it so openly." Kyoko responded with a soft smile. The bluntness had surprised her, but it simply came from a place being lucky to have not had to deal with the rules of others. Kyoko did not have such a luxury. It was something she could not emulate and could never have. All she had were her familial duties and responsibilities. Her purpose in life decided for her, her destiny laid out. She would be held by the hand and guided through her time here until she passed away. It was a sad, cold existence that barely felt like living. That was her future.

"Again, apologies for speaking out of place. You caught me off guard and my curiosity got the better of me." she said with a small bow. She set her tea down on the counter and pulled the rice cooker forward. Then pulled out a skillet for frying and went into the fridge and pulled out some pork cuts.

"Remember, if you change your mind, just let me know!" Kyoko offered again, throwing the girl a smile over her shoulder as she started prepping her dinner.

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Words - 300 | Tag - Fue Shi-Su | Notes - N/A

“It’s quite alright.” Fue replied. It kind of made sense that people would have questions about the relationship, Fue certainly had a lot of questions before she felt ready to confess and she hadn’t known anyone with dating experience her own age. Especially not at this school. As far as she could tell, most everyone here was straight, it had been so lucky that Moriko had been receptive to her feelings. Fue smiled to herself again.

“You’re lucky you get to share a dorm with her. She’s so friendly and funny and cute, even the way she eats.” It was like watching an industrial vacuum suck up everything in sight. You could tell that Moriko really enjoyed food, and that was so nice, and so rewarding whenever Fue was able to find or make something for her girlfriend. As the smell of cooking pork filled the air, Fue’s nose twitched. It smelled kind of nice.

“Fue moved her chair over to get a better view of the other girl in the kitchen. She’d watched a lot of people cook for her classes and she enjoyed it a little. Watching Kyoko wasn’t all that much different, though Fue didn’t have a camera trying to snag good shots of her working, so that made it a little less stressful. “Forgive my directness but why did you want to know? Were you planning to ask somebody out?” Fue sipped at her tea. As surprised as Kyoko was to hear about Fae and Moriko being together, she probably was straight. Though where she might find a boy while going to this school was a mystery. Maybe it was a friend from her youth.