2025-08-10: Meat Bonus
- Log: 2025-08-10 Meat Bonus
- Cast: Umie Akabane, Shizuka Kuroki, Ren Amamiya, Masao Inaba
- Where: Central Street, Shibuya, Tokyo
- OOC Date: August 10, 2025
- IC Date: June 23, 2012
- Summary: There's a special going on at the beef bowl restaurant, Ore no Beko, and accordingly they need extra part-timers. Umie, Shizuka, Ren and Masao all decide to take advantage and get that sweet, sweet meat bonus.
MONAD: A party led by Umie Akabane has begun the event Ore no Beko - The Part-Timer Rises.
(|================ Monad - Ore no Beko - The Part-Timer Rises ================|)
-==== Round 1: Help Your Work Senpai - Challenge Level 1 ======================-
| Approach Options: Academics or Proficiency |
| Conditions: Clumsy - Proficiency Down L1 and Stupor - Academics Down L1 |
-==== Challenge ===============================================================-
The Ore no Beko on Central Street in Shibuya is offering a special promotion. A
week of 'All You Can Eat' Beef Bowls for the low low price of 3000 yen.
Naturally they've decided their normal skeleton staffing of one untrained part
timer is perhaps not the best course.
So they've hired /several/ untrained part timers! This is a great plan.
The manager is relieved to see you all. "Thank you for coming, this promotion
has been a great success so far, but it's been kind of a hassle too. I need you
all to get out on the floor right away while I handle our next shipment, do you
have any questions?"
In the few seconds you have to ask questions, you learn that the meals are ready
made, and don't require any particular skill at cooking. Which is a good thing!
A very good thing.
The manager ushers you out before you can ask anything else, and you find out
immediately why you were told to come in through the back, because the place is
packed. Standing room only, literally, as there's a line going out the door.
And one other harried employee who looks at you like the only life raft in the
storm. "Oh! Oh! My prayers were answered-! Ahaha-! I guess that makes me your
work senpai."
Beat.
"It's my first day too."
Oh, This is fine.
"Someone get on that station and field that line! We're almost out of product,
there's a shipment to unload out back that I haven't had time to get to. Can
anyone get on that?"
One, or more of you are going to have to help out your harried work senpai which
entails figuring out how to field customers with thirty whole seconds of
training in food service, while the rest of you figure out how to get a truck
full of pre-packaged meat unloaded, fast.
(|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Umie needs information. Umie also needs money.
There is a way of killing two birds with one stone, and it is working. Shibuya is the haunting ground of Kaneshiro and his ilk, but there's little chance of her happening to pick or overhear any information. Who talks about secret plans at the Ore no Beko?! Screw a logical plan; random stabs in the dark are better than twiddling your thumbs, and, again: _she got them bills_.
Because that's where she is. Where they are: because Ren is here too, whether Umie just had him come along on a whim or because he, too, needs work. Masao, Umie knows, but not in a way where she can justify inviting him (stupid shroud hijinks screw over her social links yet again!). However, art means bills, right? And Shizuka... Umie swears she's seen her once ot twice.
And now... 'Oh! Oh! My prayers were answered-! Ahaha-! I guess that makes me your work senpai~'
O you Doppelganger. you genki senpai. Why do you ape the pain of my inexperience which torments me upon this spot, right now, during this evening dinner rush hour?
She looks at Ren, in particular, her expression flat. While his thoughts are, as always, unknown, as are Masao's and Shizuka's, Umie is projecting hers onto him, naturally, as they've worked at the Triple Seven before.
She instead bows, donning a half-grin. "Then... we're all in the same boat, aren't w--"
"So someone get on that station and field that line! We're almost out of product, and there's a shipment to unload out back!"
"I'll take the station." Umie's already making motions towards the station. She's fielded customers before.
"Oh, actually, could you unload?"
Umie dons her best grin. "..... Right." oh god this is going to be terrible
MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with Can you do this? toward Help Your Work Senpai! Specialty!
<Pose Tracker> Shizuka Kuroki has posed.
Shizuka was taking any job she could after dropping her savings preparing for SEES' big rescue operation a while back, even if it meant hoofing a train over to Tokyo for the day. However, the state of this establishment's workforce gave her pause over whether this would even end up being worth the train ticket.
She looks into her new senpai's tired face and tries to give a welcoming smile. "Pleased to 'meat' you, Senpai! Ehehe..."
Customers or product... Shizuka didn't particularly relish either, but... "Hmm, these packages are about the same size as the boxes of paint Dad likes..." Drawing on her experiences accompanying her father on supply runs, she might be able to stack and move these as eficiently as possible!
MONAD: Shizuka Kuroki has acted with Inspired Tactics toward Help Your Work Senpai! Diligence and Focus!
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
For a guy who just recently moved to Tokyo and is shunned by 99% of the student body at his school, Ren sure is good at keeping himself busy. Today, that's included a certain other business, and now that that's over, he's swung over to Ore no Beko after seeing the flyer they have asking for extra part-timers for this week's all-you-can-eat special. There's no training required, and they're offering a pay bonus!
Supposedly. Ren is still naive to the ways in which a low-level business mistreats its low-level employees. But he could use the money, and Ore no Beko is right there, so after he parts ways with his friends, he heads to the beef bowl restaurant, Morgana in his shoulder bag.
To say it's chaos outside is sweet understatement. Ren stares at the line going out into the street.
"Hey now, are you sure you wanna subject yourself to that?" Morgana murmurs, popping out of his bag to lean on his shoulder. "You've gotta be tired after we spent all that time finding a route..."
"I really could use the money, and it says no training required," Ren replies.
Morgana makes a face as only a not-a-cat can. "I'll wait for you outside, then."
And so Morgana heads off into the streets of Shibuya while Ren circles around the back of the restaurant and heads inside to enquire about the position. He is soon put in a uniform and placed with several other newbies in a similar situation--including a familiar work-face.
"Oh hey, Akabane-san. Fancy seeing you here," he comments, smiling at her. "I guess you needed the money too, huh?" He gives an amiable nod to Masao and Shizuka too; he doesn't really know either of them, but he at least recognizes Masao from that one booth at the Sumaru Hyakumanzeki Festival. Small world.
Now they actually are on equal footing at a part-time job! And both of them have a new 'work senpai'! Of... of sorts. Ren peers at them as they say this is also their first day and yet immediately starts bossing the rest of them around. Slowly, his squint travels over to Umie.
"Were you separated at birth?" he asks, seemingly in all seriousness. (He's kidding. But he sure is good at making it sound like he's serious.)
Umie volunteers to take the station and is told to unload. "I'll help you unload, Akabane-san," Ren says, seeing the strain in her grin.
"No, you take the station, and the girls will do the unpacking," the work senpai says.
"Uh," Ren says. "Okay?"
He's done customer service before. It's probably fine? If this person gets off on bossing people around, though, tonight's going to be worse than he thought... Just think of that sweet bonus, he tells himself. I so need the cash, and I might just get free dinner, too.
Granted, he's not very hopeful about that last part at this point, but he goes to man the register all the same.
MONAD: Ren Amamiya has acted with Proficiency toward Help Your Work Senpai! Base!
<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
In Mark's case...
a) Looking up part-time job pamphlets, seeing a fresh one...
b) Seeing a specific date with very, very good pay...
c) The need for more art supplies for college-related, personally-related, and art-related purposes... (there is no mistakes here, it's all the same thing)
One can imagine the look on his face as the situation is laid bare. It's not only that bad, whatever period of time passed between the work advertisement being printed until now was created with the understanding it would absolutely be that bad.
The ready-made meals part is the silver lining. It is the thinnest, most tarnished silver lining.
"...We're really in for it," he says with a bowed head and a hand at the side of it.
He blinks a few times as the younger Shizuka speaks out loud about 'boxes of paint,' "oh, your dad's an artist, huh..." That actually puts a good framework on this. "Yeah, okay, we got this, Senpai," yeah he'll let them have that even if it's by a few hours. Clapping his hands together once, he goes to help assist Shizuka and Umie with this.
The things he does to find part-time work to not have his folks hovering over his shoulder at the family's dry cleaners, sometimes!
MONAD: Masao Inaba has acted with Proficiency toward Help Your Work Senpai! Base!
(|============================= Monad - Results ==============================|) -==== Help Your Work Senpai - Round 1 =========================================- Masao Inaba Proficiency Failure Proficiency Base Fatigue: 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ren Amamiya Proficiency Success Proficiency Base Fatigue: 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Umie Akabane Proficiency Success Can you do this? Specialty Fatigue: 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shizuka Kuroki Proficiency Success Inspired Tactics Diligence and Focus Fatigue: 0 -============================= Party Conditions: ==============================- Starting Conditions: Clumsy-2 and Stupor-2 Final Conditions: Clumsy-1 and Stupor-1 -======================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 1/6 |= | =====================================================- (|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Not on this pay," Umie quips back to Ren, sounding equally as serious. (And yet not.)
She looks over her shoulder as their work senpai destroys the natural order of things, throwing Shizuka and Umie on the unpacking, and Ren and-- "Nonono, you go up there with Akabane-kun, uh, wait, Amamiya-kun. Right. Ha ha ha, A names!"
The look Umie shoots at her 'work senpai' behind her back is priceless. _She's mixing up last names already_.
Nonono, you put the magic user at the back, _not in front_. (What classes even are everyone else? Artist, artist.... glasses? ... These are not classes.)
[OOC] Umie Akabane says, "bluray: 'Not on this wage'"
MONAD: Umie Akabane has drawn a new Challenge!
(|================ Monad - Ore no Beko - The Part-Timer Rises ================|)
-==== Round 2: Meat Memory - Challenge Level 2 ================================-
| Approach Options: Proficiency or Charm |
| Conditions: Bothersome - Charm Down L1, Clumsy - Proficiency Down L1, Clumsy |
| - Proficiency Down L1, and Stupor - Academics Down L1 |
-==== Challenge ===============================================================-
"One all you can eat!"
"I'll take a Hui Gui Rou to go."
"Barbecue Bowl - and put an egg on top!"
Rapid fire the orders come, and you have to remember them all, and get right on
top of it. Can you keep up with the orders and modifications on your own? Or do
you need to ask customers to repeat their orders and smooth over the mistakes.
Maybe sometimes indicating when a modification is impossible?
"All you can eat. Keep those bowls coming."
"One curry extra spicy."
They're still coming.
(|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
It's okay, though; by the time Work Senpai looks back, Umie's face is back to a polite smile.
So far, so good: Ren and Masao are able to keep up with the rush of customers! Unfortunately, once the station is caught up on, Work Senpai thinks better of it. "Oh! Kuroki-kun, go help the girls out back, will you? (Naturally, she means Masao. No, she doesn't had an excuse this time; the translators are unable to make this make any sense.) Poor Masao is sent back to help with unloading, allowing it to get done, at the expense of Ren.
With the unloading done, Umie looks to Shizuka with a grateful nod. (Thankfully, her thumbsleeves insulated her fingers.) "... So you paint, huh..." She can't get anything else out, because when Umie sees Masao back with them, she puts two and two together.
Oh no.
-------
"Ahhhh, so many customerssss," says the work senpai. She's naturally getting orders mixed up.
Umie's expression does not deviate from a smile. "... That was... with the egg on top, Senpai-san."
_Why isn't this person getting these orders right, why is she making so many mistakes????_ Kaneshiro is far from Umie's mind as she keeps repeating the orders after Work Senpai blotches them.
stop making umie want to take over and do things, please
[OOC] Umie Akabane says, "bluray: doesn't have"
MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with String Theory toward Meat Memory! Focus and Find!
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren smiles at Umie's counter-quip. It doesn't quite make sense, but it's kind of a ludicrous situation they've found themselves in anyway.
He takes the name mix-up in stride. Work Senpai is already kind of terrible, but some things just aren't worth correcting when there is a huge crowd of customers demanding so much meat.
"One all-you-can-eat--one hui gui rou--one barbecue bowl with an egg on top--" Ren repeats after each client, because he doesn't have the time to write it down and saying it aloud is his only hope of remembering all these orders.
Especially since it is probably not possible to add a raw egg to the bowls at this particular beef bowl place. Ren and the customer will find that out together as he attempts to assemble these bowls at speed as soon as he accepts the payment. He's already feeling harried. Fun!
But he just came off an intense exploration of a certain otherworldly space, so even if he can't quite manage a smile for every single customer, at least he's both fast and precise in assembling those orders. This is good, considering Masao was sent away to help Umie and Shizuka and now he's alone at the front.
Pardon: he's alone with Work Senpai, who is doing significantly worse at remembering people's orders. At least Umie's emerged to try to help her get her side of things in order. (Ironically, Ren has exactly the information Umie seeks... but it's not like he'd give it to her even if he knew she wanted it.)
MONAD: Ren Amamiya has acted with Thief Talk toward Meat Memory! Diligence and Smarts!
<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
At the end of that particular episode, Masao there emits the all-too-familiar Grown-Up Exertion Sigh. It's already going to be one of those nights and it just began.
In fact, it seems like he might be stuck in Unpacking Hell - though it may be Unpaking Purgatory considering what's going on up front with Work Senpai struggling to do her part in getting everything going right.
He's still hearing the orders from back there, though, and he makes a brief headcount about how many are back here vs. how many are up there...
"...Makin' a guy hold the line by himself like that, that ain't right, hey," he taps the stack, "back in a sec." With that, he takes some of the packages in hand, and...
"Heads up! Amimya-kun!" Because in order to get some of the packaged stuff where it needs to go, he has to make some deft, dare one say dance-like - maneuvers, making sure it gets from point A to point B relative to those assembling the bowls.
Like it's not his first time dancing like this!
He'll be movin' and groovin' back and forth to even the odds against the overwhelming hordes of hungry!
MONAD: Masao Inaba has acted with Dance Moves toward Meat Memory! Friendliness and Diligence!
<Pose Tracker> Shizuka Kuroki has posed.
Shizuka wipes her brow as she catches her breath from the unpacking job. She looks over to Umie and chuckles. "I do a little bit of everything. My dad's a professional artist, so it just passed on to me, I suppose!"
The time for socializing has passed, though, as the rush of orders comes in. "Ah... Hui gui rou, barbecue bowl, egg on top..." She immediately gets to work, putting herself into the zone and thinking about nothing but the process of putting the ingredients together. "Bowl, rice, barbecue, egg..." Muttering each step to herself, her movements are quick and precise, as if there was any doubt about her hand being one of an artist.
MONAD: Shizuka Kuroki has acted with Proficiency toward Meat Memory! Base! (|============================= Monad - Results ==============================|) -==== Meat Memory - Round 2 ===================================================- Masao Inaba Proficiency Failure Dance Moves Friendliness and Diligence Fatigue: 2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ren Amamiya Proficiency Success Thief Talk Diligence and Smarts Fatigue: 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Umie Akabane Charm Success String Theory Focus and Find Fatigue: 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shizuka Kuroki Proficiency Success Proficiency Base Fatigue: 0 -============================= Party Conditions: ==============================- Starting Conditions: Bothersome-2, Clumsy-1, Clumsy-2, and Stupor-1 Final Conditions: Bothersome-1 and Clumsy-1 -======================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 2/6 |== | =====================================================- -==== Loot So Far: ============================================================- Items: 1, Money: 1, Gear: 0 (|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
It doesn't make sense. Nothing in this world makes sense anymore, Ren. Didn't you know? This world is distorted. One more god reje-- (ahem)
Masao debuts some sweet moves, keeping the customer base entertained, which, while they're still hungry, helps with the tension. Unfortunately, it's getting hot in the kitchen (not because of his dancing, but for real); he may need to slow down some or risk overheating.
Umie takes a particular interest in one customer, a finely dressed man in a suit and tinted glasses (inside, no less), chatting away on his phone as he waits at the counter, stopping traffic briefly. "Yeah. Hirasaka Ward. Yeah, it's fine. It's prime real estate, you know! Don't worry, it's getting hashed out. Think of the condos!"
Umie doesn't tell him to get off his phone as she has his order in hand, taking it from Shizuka and listening intently, hoping he'd drop some more loose words.
Alas, he notices he's holding up the line. "Eh, thanks babe!" He takes his order and leaves, and Umie has to go back to her original mask: correcting that damn Work Senpai's orders.
MONAD: Umie Akabane has drawn a new Challenge!
(|================ Monad - Ore no Beko - The Part-Timer Rises ================|)
-==== Round 3: Terms and Conditions Apply - Challenge Level 2 =================-
| Approach Options: Understanding or Charm |
| Conditions: Bothersome - Charm Down L1, Bothersome - Charm Down L1, Clumsy - |
| Proficiency Down L1, and Soft - Understanding Up L1 |
-==== Challenge ===============================================================-
"It's not fair. I came here for your all you can eat offer on my lunch break,
and I got stuck in line the whole time!"
A simple complaint suddenly goes all the way down the line. Multiple customers
pipe up in sudden agreement.
"Me too!"
"I was supposed to be back five minutes ago!"
"I'm going to miss my train."
Emboldened, the man asks.
"Where is our compensation? Surely we can take several bowls to go? It's
supposed to be all you can eat!"
Now you weren't trained on this, but you can see a sign which says 'No take out,
Dine In Only' on the posted All You Can Eat offer.
This isn't just one customer's complaint now, but a half dozen, maybe more. How
will you all handle this?
(|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Shizuka Kuroki has posed.
Oooh boy, and here come the complaints. Put on a smile, Shizuka! She pops out of the kitchen, clearing her throat as she prepares to bring out The Customer Service Speech.
"We thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through this increased order volume. I regret to say that the All You Can Eat special is dine in only, as noted on our signage. However, we do understand the inconvenience caused by the wait and want to make things right. For that, we'll be willing to give you a to-go bowl at a discount to make up for the trouble." She gives a deep bow, hoping that the customers will be sated by the offer."
MONAD: Shizuka Kuroki has acted with Understanding toward Terms and Conditions Apply! Base!
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
This world is distorted. You can see the signs everywhere: a work senpai who has yet again gotten Masao and Ren's names mixed up, a bottleneck from the guy talking real estate, Umie falling off her routine to listen to real estate guy(?) talk, a sizzling kitchen, an arena that does not respect the careful touch of an artist, a guy who has the information Umie needs but is (wisely) not saying anything about it, and will not even if he did know what Umie was looking for!
"So sorry." Umie haatttesss itttttt. The devil named perfectionism has revived and is sitting on her shoulder (not literally, and also, Nyar's not here because this is the food service industry, he doesn't need to do anything), picking up on each and every mistake made.
"So sorry." Bow.
"So sorry." Bow.
"Have a coupon." (Wait, do they have coupons here?) She sends a single look helplessly towards the others.
Where is Work Senpai? It is a mystery. Thankfully, Shizuka is here.
MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with String Theory toward Terms and Conditions Apply! Focus and Find!
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Ah, thanks!" Ren calls back to Masao, head rising as Mark dances his way into the assembly line to help out. Shizuka soon follows suit, and it seems like she's got a good head on her shoulders, at least when it comes to this kind of thing. Pretty soon, Ren is feeling less harried. That's good for all of them, because the less any of them feel overwhelmed, the better they'll be at their jobs!
Except for Mark, whose hot moves are getting a little too hot. Seriously, it is extremely hot back here with the beef heating up and having to move so quickly, it's kind of suffocating. In another context, Ren would appreciate your crazy moves much more.
There's one client on the phone who talks about the 'prime real estate' in Hirasaka Ward. Despite all the clients and that this one isn't even one he's servicing himself, Ren gives him a lingering look before moving on to the next customer's order. Everything he's heard about Hirasaka Ward has not indicated that at all.
But... delays crop up. Customers are starting to complain. Some of them are starting to demand... Compensation.
Talk about selfish. Did you seriously think you could do an all-you-can-eat during your lunch break? Ren thinks; he keeps that off his face. Shizuka offers something much more reasonable, and he joins in with her and Umie on the bowing. "That is, of course, if you're willing to continue to wait," he adds on, putting on a polite smile. "If you need to return to work or catch your train, then we regret the loss of your patronage but understand and appreciate that your time is too valuable to squander."
...Seems like he did pick up a few things from his dad. But that's neither here nor there.
MONAD: Ren Amamiya has acted with Diplomacy toward Terms and Conditions Apply! Empathy and Patra!
<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
Wow that kitchen is hot. (It sure is, when there's so many orders needing processed and presented... and then adjusted and corrected and aaaaaaaargh.)
If only there was more time in between orders - there is no such thing as 'in-between' and in fact the concept of 'time' may have also disappeared off the radar - as Masao struggles from behind the counter as Umie and Shizuka take point in addressing some irate customers. There is only one thing left to do, in the face of those irate.
With an intense look on his face like an artist knowing, exactly, what the next brush stroke is going to be, making sure to reposition the sign where it is much more easily observed - knowing where one's eyes are meant to be directed and guided is an artistic skill, after all.
"Seriously," Masao exhales, "they're miracle workers here." Were he not already on the back foot a few times over, there'd be a lot more fire in his voice.
This is the worst possible first day on the job in the field he could ever imagine...
[OOC] Masao Inaba says, "*bluray - 'as Umie and Shuzika take point' to 'as everyone else takes point'"
MONAD: Masao Inaba has acted with Art Studies toward Terms and Conditions Apply! Smarts and Empathy! (|============================= Monad - Results ==============================|) -==== Terms and Conditions Apply - Round 3 ====================================- Masao Inaba Understanding Success Art Studies Smarts and Empathy Fatigue: 2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ren Amamiya Understanding Success Diplomacy Empathy and Patra Fatigue: 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Umie Akabane Charm Success String Theory Focus and Find Fatigue: 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shizuka Kuroki Understanding Success Understanding Base Fatigue: 0 -============================= Party Conditions: ==============================- Starting Conditions: Bothersome-1, Bothersome-2, Clumsy-1, and Soft-2 Final Conditions: Soft-1 -======================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 3/6 |=== | =====================================================- -==== Loot So Far: ============================================================- Items: 1, Money: 2, Gear: 1 (|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
MONAD: Umie Akabane has drawn a new Challenge!
(|================ Monad - Ore no Beko - The Part-Timer Rises ================|)
-==== Round 4: That Was In the Job Description? - Challenge Level 2 ===========-
| Approach Options: Charm or Guts |
| Conditions: Annoying - Charm Down L2, Scary - Guts Down L1, and Soft - |
| Understanding Up L1 |
-==== Challenge ===============================================================-
Despite it being a special promotion, the line clears around mid-afternoon. Ore
no Beko still has customers, but not many. It's about this time that the manager
comes out.
And rounds several part-timers up.
"There's not nearly enough customers here. Go outside and drum up some
business."
I guess you're just a Tout now? The people of Shibuya are jaded, and aren't
typically willing to give people the time of day. You can either try to charm
them inside, or of course - you can be a little more 'assertive'.
Your manager is watching.
(|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Umie's eyes widen slightly as Shizuka, and then Ren join in, picking up her slack. She regains her composure "Please visit us again," she attempts to add, as Masao repositions the sign. An artist knows how to frame a scene, after all!
The mess of angry customers has disappeared, but there's no sign of work senpai, and now, the manager is here.
That means... _Umie is the work senpai now_. (Masao is standing right there, Umie.)
A quick look to Ren. She considers.
(BGM: https://youtu.be/6jFaoLrLzd4?si=oKkmQAjvC2aoi5l1)
"I'll handle it," Umie says, taking a brief second to grab something from her purse. "Kuroki-san, come with me."
------
"Welcome to the Ore no Beko~" Umie says, pitching her voice upwards, just a little. The cheap fake glasses she wore at Ebisu Beach have come out again, just without her baseball cap and sporty attire.
Is it inspiration? Umie will not admit to it. She's never seen Ren do *this*.
It's guts, okay. Shibuya is scary. (People seeing her do this act is very, very scary.)
The manager inside looks at Masao and Ren, if they haven't already joined up. "Go up there and help them! They're getting onlookers, but none of the customers are coming in!!"
<Pose Tracker> Shizuka Kuroki has posed.
After handling the rush of complaints, Shizuka turns over to Umie and Ren. "Thanks for backing me up. I thought I was gonna get ripped to shreds out there!" There's precious little time to breathe before they get shoved outside to bring even MORE people into the place. Shouldn't there being less people be a good thing, Manager?!
She puts her hands on her hips as she assesses the people walking by. What's the best way to get people in... She looks over to Umie and... wh-what the? Guess we're doing this... Lucky Flash, you're the funny comic strip gal, make 'em laugh!
"That's right! Come on in to Ore no Beko, our beef's so good it'll BOWL you over! You'll be sure to MEAT your next favorite meal here! All You Can Eat special, just don't ask all you MAY eat!"
MONAD: Shizuka Kuroki has acted with Make 'Em Laugh toward That Was In the Job Description?! Amrita! MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with Bird's Eye View toward That Was In the Job Description?! Automap!
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren catches the re-framing work Masao does on the sign and shoots him a subtle thumbs-up. It's definitely much easier to see there, and with someone actively moving it, that draws the eyes of the cranky customers so they can see it for themselves and understand their demands are a losing prospect. Soon enough, they shuffle out. Ren breathes a sigh of relief.
"Nice work," he tells the others, back to his more typical laconic nature. He shakes his head at Shizuka in particular. "We're all in this together."
'We' meaning 'the part-timers,' anyway, since the boss is coming by and telling them they need more customers now that the rush has thinned out. Ren frowns. Fortunately, Umie has an idea, and takes Shizuka outside...
"Her pun game is pretty good," he comments to Masao, watching Umie and Shizuka perform. This probably is what prompts the manager to yell at him. Ren looks at him and thinks about arguing the point, but he wants that bonus pay. He glances at Masao, then heads out to support the girls.
How? By physically gesturing towards them and to the store, encouraging them to change their motion Beko-wards. Does it work? Maybe, maybe not, but Umie and Shizuka already have the charm nailed, and Ren is absolutely not going to manhandle people when he has a criminal record for assault. Gesturing from afar is the extent of what he'll do, no matter how hard the manager stares at him.
MONAD: Ren Amamiya has acted with Guts toward That Was In the Job Description?! Base! <Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
"Yeah... yeah it is," Masao works up a little laugh about the pun game, and yes, that is when the manager yells at them. "Not enough customers, huh," he's looking over his shoulder. He's thinking about Work-senpai on her own there. Sure, the crowd is tamer but she's clearly not been at her best today. He's got his eyes towards the counter for a bit before heading out four seconds behind Ren (at most).
He rubs his hands together, and...
"THE OTHER PLACES DON'T HAVE BEEF BOWLS!" A soulful, even spiteful, call-out that - unbeknownst to the gathered - was well-honed in a time of great crisis, to the faces of no small number of demons - two seconds away from directing choice words to the manager about the situation.
"THAT'S THE BEEF WE GOT!!"
MONAD: Masao Inaba has acted with Smack Talk toward That Was In the Job Description?! Bravery and Focus!
(|============================= Monad - Results ==============================|) -==== That Was In the Job Description? - Round 4 ==============================- Masao Inaba Guts Success Smack Talk Bravery and Focus Fatigue: 2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ren Amamiya Guts Success Guts Base Fatigue: 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Umie Akabane Guts Success Bird's Eye View Automap Fatigue: 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shizuka Kuroki Charm Success Make 'Em Laugh Amrita Fatigue: 0 -============================= Party Conditions: ==============================- Starting Conditions: Annoying-2, Scary-2, and Soft-1 Final Conditions: Annoying-1 and Scary-1 -======================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 4/6 |==== | =====================================================- -==== Loot So Far: ============================================================- Items: 1, Money: 2, Gear: 1 (|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
MONAD: Umie Akabane has drawn a new Challenge!
(|================ Monad - Ore no Beko - The Part-Timer Rises ================|)
-==== Round 5: A Whole Baseball Team!? - Challenge Level 2 ====================-
| Approach Options: Guts or Proficiency |
| Conditions: Annoying - Charm Down L2, Boss - Add 1 Fatigue on failure., Box |
| - Add 1 Item/Money/Gear., Heartening - Guts Up L1, Ineptitude - Proficiency |
| Down L2, and Scary - Guts Down L1 |
-==== Challenge ===============================================================-
"Let's go team! We play hard, we fuel up after!"
An entire baseball team of hungry middle schoolers all usher in along with their
manager and coach, still in uniform, the dust caked on them from a well fought
game. The sudden rush near the end of your shift takes you entirely by surprise.
The orders for barbecue, beef, and curry bowls start coming in rapid fire.
Before the employees have even finished prepping the first round, the orders for
a second are already coming down.
You're running on fumes, you'll have to dig deep into your reserves to have the
guts to keep going! Can you rally back, with the spirit a baseball team expects?
Or perhaps you can all go on autopilot, and churn out those bowls.
(|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Shizuka Kuroki has posed.
Shizuka steps back into the kitchen (easier to not see the amount of people that way), takes a deep breath, and pulls out a line of bowls. "Alright, we're almost set! It's just a single team, take it one thing at a time!"
She pulls up the energy reserves usually saved for all nighters and starts to get to work, assembling each bowl that comes her way with the same care as the one that came before it. Each order is a work of art, and as her dad often said, taking shortcuts on art leads to trash art. Shutting out everything but the orders coming in, her vision tunnels towards the preparation process.
Or was she just about to faint?
MONAD: Shizuka Kuroki has acted with Inspired Tactics toward A Whole Baseball Team!?! Diligence and Focus!
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
They've all made this team-up work. Shizuka with her hard working nature and eye for the craft of a good joke, Ren, keeping it together under pressure and keeping an eye out for the team (like he has had some experience with it or something), and Masao, keeping the heart of the party pumping with humor and soulful pun shouting. And Umie is work senpai, so she's happy right now.
Thankfully for Ren, his gesture game is all that's needed, since the crowd that started to gather around Umie and Shizuka is one that has a unique fascination with attractive people, comedy, and loud, soulful yelling about beef:
_Middle Schoolers_.
As in an entire baseball team, full of pep, vigor, ideas about what it means to grow up, identity, dirt, sweat, and just a little bit of child-like bluntness that hasn't quite left them. They're orderly enough, but the excitement of a well-won game. The team is quickly ushered back in by the manager, and set to work.
Umie attempts to take orders, seemingly enjoying herself with the spirit of the middle schoolers, though quickly she finds herself going to the kitchen to help prepare the food, following after Shizuka.
A system is quickly made in her head: fingers run on auto-pilot, moving through the ingredients with as much efficiency as she can muster. "Keep your focus, Kuroki-san. Our shift's almost over. Spread out your effort or you're going to burn yourself out." The goal is in sight, and Umie is locked in.
(That goal is the number hands on the clock, of course.)
MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with Can you do this? toward A Whole Baseball Team!?! Specialty! [OOC] Umie Akabane says, "bluray: started to gather around Umie, Masao, and Shizuka" [OOC] Umie Akabane says, "bluray: They're orderly enough, but the excitement of a well-won game means the orders are coming in fast."
<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
A freshly won middle school baseball game at this hour... Masao is impressed, maybe a little intimidated, but also aware he does not have the luxury to stand around like a deer in headlights.
He's not far behind Umie nor Shizuka. The manager best not be complaining about not getting enough people here to order food by now, because that is a monkey's paw with a curling finger or two, and one of those curled fingers might be going up the metaphorical nose at that!!
Orders are coming in, and a casual look at the stock presently in reach at the kitchen is... yeah it was gonna unfold like that, wasn't it.
"Alright, incomin'!" Masao calls as he moves swiftly, dance-like against the dare one say - yes - crazy pace of demands for food and availability of items from unpacked stock to in reach of those cooking! (It might even be him!)
Busting moves like he didn't get overwhelmed during the initial unpacking of the shipments or the intense heat of a kitchen that never really seems to get a chance to be 'not in use.'
MONAD: Masao Inaba has acted with Dance Moves toward A Whole Baseball Team!?! Friendliness and Diligence!
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Masao's pun game is pretty good too, in all honesty.
Good news: they land more customers!
Bad news: it is a literal baseball team of middle school-aged children, escorted by a single pair of adults.
"Oh boy," Ren murmurs, and mentally steels himself. It's just as Shizuka and Umie say: they've got to keep focused. He gives them both a sharp nod, dark eyes intense behind his glasses. Time has passed, and they're nearing the end of their shift. After this...
They're free.
But until then, they've got so many more bowls of beef and other delicious meatstuffs to serve up. Ren's starting to get tired--no, he's been tired at this point--but he'll get by on sheer guts and determination, handing out orders and taking them back in rapid order, like the crack of a pistol gunning down punks trying to get in his grill.
(His beef bowl grill, that is. Fortunately, Masao's moves have him covering that... crazy good.)
MONAD: Ren Amamiya has acted with Warning Shot toward A Whole Baseball Team!?! Specialty!
(|============================= Monad - Results ==============================|)
-==== A Whole Baseball Team!? - Round 5 =======================================-
Masao Inaba Proficiency Success
Dance Moves Friendliness and Diligence Fatigue: 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ren Amamiya Guts Success
Warning Shot Specialty Fatigue: 0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Umie Akabane Proficiency Success
Can you do this? Specialty Fatigue: 0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shizuka Kuroki Proficiency Success
Inspired Tactics Diligence and Focus Fatigue: 0
-============================= Party Conditions: ==============================-
Starting Conditions: Annoying-1, Boss-0, Box-0, Heartening-2, Ineptitude-2,
and Scary-1
Final Conditions: Heartening-1 and Ineptitude-1
-======================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====-
-==== Reach: 6/6 |=====| =====================================================-
-==== Loot So Far: ============================================================-
Items: 2, Money: 3, Gear: 1
(|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
(|================ Monad - Ore no Beko - The Part-Timer Rises ================|)
-==== Round 6: Movie Madness - Challenge Level 1 ==============================-
| Approach Options: None |
| Conditions: Revelation - The best result. |
-==== Challenge ===============================================================-
The manager meets with you all at the end of shift. "Fantastic work for your
first day. You'll go far in this industry. If we were hiring you all full time,
I'd definitely promote some of you to shift supervisor."
He clears his throat, indicating 'We're not.'
"Still. You deserve to be compensated appropriately for a job well done."
Everybody gets 8000 yen! That's way more than you expected.
"And here, take these."
You score some movie tickets! To an upcoming anime film festival.
"We had some left over from a recent collaboration with Shogugeki no Gyuuniku."
Final Loot: 2 Items, 3 boxes of Money, and 1 Pieces of Gear!
(|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Masao busts a move in spite of his lagging endurance, Shizuka persists with the determination of an artist in search of her vision, Ren uses his criminal knowhow to keep them punks from getting up in his beef bowl grill.
Umie answers Ren's intense look with one of her own, as she nods back. (This is why she likes working with him. ...Though really, she likes working with all of them, now.)
But she especially likes it when the clock shows they are finally free.
Ren will likely like it when that bonus becomes a reality (as will Shizuka and Masao ,to be fair, it is money).
"An anime film festival..." Umie squints at the ticket, then sticks her hand over towards Ren in offering. "Here you go, Amamiya-kun." He didn't seem to notice or care about Umie's disguise stunt earlier (_they were in the middle of a dinner rush, Umie_), but why not ensure he doesn't?
Ah, it's the well-dressed real estate agent(?), chatting with a few others. Random things, mostly, but it reminds Umie that her first objective was not met. Maybe Myunghon has had more luck; at this rate, all Umie's going to have is herself. But, if she was able to see that afterimage of Kaneshiro back in the Cardboard Dragon...
"I'd say this was fun," Umie says, settling back from that charged demeanor to something more baseline, (as opposed to baseball), "but work is work, and the night's still young." She pauses, looking at Masao, then noting Shizuka and Ren. "Well, for those of us without a curfew, I guess..." She checks her phone. "Kuriko-san, you're hailing from Port Island, right?" A wayward way of saying 'SEES', in mixed company. "You know Yamagishi-san, by chance?" Maybe a real Navigator would work at figuring out... or no. "I was... wondering if she was doing okay." Not completely a lie, but not exactly what she wanted to say, nonetheless.
<Pose Tracker> Shizuka Kuroki has posed.
Shizuka crumples her apron, dabbing it on her sweaty brow as she pockets her pay and ticket. Film festival, that'd be real fun!
"You definitely got that right, Akabane-san." She then blinks in response to the question about Fuuka. She got the feeling that she knew about... nah, couldn't be. "Yeah, I'm from Gekkoukan. Fuu-chan's been doing alright. Still recovering a bit, but she's on the upswing. You heard about all that, huh? Suppose a student goes missing that long, it kinda makes the news." She brushes it off with a chuckle.
She then turns over to Ren and Masao and gives a half bow. "Good workin' with ya Inaba-san, Re-kun. If you're ever around Port Island, let me know!"
<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
Masao's all relief when the day at last ends, and the baseball team leaves satisfied and happy both for their victory and a good beef bowl (or two). The pay... it's great, but wow, this isn't something he'd survive doing for a living on the path to becoming the great artist he promised a certain high school classmate he'd become!
"Oof... huh. Missing student?" Masao looks up. When Shizuka clarifies that she's okay, he looks relieved. "...Woo. Glad she's doing okay, then."
"Port Island... ah, I live over in Sumaru City, the Hirasaka Ward part of it," he explains. Bit of a laugh. "Y'know what, far as I care, that night's aged enough for me, gonna head on back... yeah, you all really handled that like champs."
He blinks, the once, looking at Umie for a moment as if there may be a flash of recognition...!
...Oh, to Ren. Whew, cover not blown(?).
"Oh hey, that's right, you visited my family's stall at the festival, yeah? Well, good to see you again. Careful on the way back home, y'hear? Been hearing about scary stuff in this part of Shibuya lately..."
(...He's a bit behind the curve on the major goings-on regarding *why* the scary stuff is happening, and now it's about to be promptly addressed.)
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
By the time their shifts are over, Ren's long day has caught up with him. He is tired and swaying on his feet, barely keeping his eyes open. At least the bonus was every bit as hefty as was promised. He can't complain about a pay that big. He's willing to let Umie have the tickets, too, but she pushes them into his hand.
He looks down. He looks up. ...Well, it might be a good chance to hang out with one of his friends? "Thanks. Gotta," he covers a yawn, "figure out who to go with..."
He doesn't react outwardly when Umie asks Shizuka about Fuuka. He knows Fuuka's fine, thanks to Minako. Knowing what he does about Umie, though, that gives further weight to the idea that her rescue wasn't as simple as Minako made it sound... but he doesn't have the brainpower to think too deeply about that right now.
"Yeah, I have to get home too." He checks his wristwatch and grimaces. "Gotta get going if I want to catch the train... Thank god tomorrow's Sunday." He's about to shuffle off when Masao recognizes him--! From the festival. Ren nods amiably and bleary-eyed to him, Shizuka, and Umie. "You too."
When he gets home with Morgana in tow, he will not need convincing to go straight to bed.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Augh, get home before you start making me--" And now, Umie yawns. "...yawn," she continues, a little bit of warmth bleeding through in her tone as she regards Ren. "Get some sleep. I don't care if it's Sunday tomorrow."
Of course, the Umie standing in front of them is not the one Masao saw, but it is the one Shizuka may have seen.... though probably not, in a battle that size. If Shizuka had said any differently, Umie would have had to have taken her at her word, and doubt her own memory of that night.
"Yeah..." Umie says, letting out a sigh as she slips her hands into the pockets of her windbreaker. "I'm glad. I might need to look her up later." .... Maybe not, though. All of this business is getting woefully vague; she's not even sure what Myunghon has in mind about these 'palaces'.
Umie's eyes widen slightly at the mention of Hirasaka, as well as when Masao looks at her a moment... before looking to Ren.
He'd want to know, right? What use is a cover if she can't let someone know something might happen?
"Inaba-san," she murmurs, looking over her shoulder to see if Ren's in earshot (she'll wave him goodnight if he is). "You may want to stop by the Cardboard Dragon. Ask Myunghon about... things, about Hirasaka Ward." Shizuka is there, but with a Persona, she's at least somewhat okay to be around.
"..... Oh, right. Uh. Sorry." Umie holds a few fingers to her head and concentrates, letting her resonance peek through. Masao might recognize it, now, at the very least. "..... Sorry. Compulsive habit. You did pretty good back then, back in Kasugayama." (Umie doesn't realize he was there for the Joker Fight, but Masao may or may not catch what she means.)
<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
'Inaba-san.'
Masao looks back, with that suggestion about stopping by the Cardboard Dragon. "Huh?"
And then, the resonance. He blinks a few times. Hey, that's--
He goes quiet for a few seconds. "Yeah, all right," he bobs his head, "I catch the drift..." That was harrowing. The visit, and then what happened down there where he very nearly got axe murdered by a young woman in goth regalia. Man.
This homecoming just keeps the hits coming, sometimes.
"Right... I'm callin' it a night," he says, as he takes his leave of the whole thing for the evening.