2025-10-13: Are You Happy?
- Log: Are You Happy?
- Cast: Kazusa Motojima, Hazuki Nakao, Wakana Oosaka
- Where: A local Cafe, Shibya Ward, Tokyo
- OOC Date: October 13, 2025
- IC Date: Wednesday, July 25, 2012 (Afternoon)
- Summary: Kazusa and Wakana are studying in a cafe as finals week continues. Hazuki comes in and witnesses Kazusa snap at her friend Wakana and then apologize. Wheen Hazuki's and Kazusa's paths cross at the register, Hazuki has a pointed question for her.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Finals are well underway, and the pressure to perform hasn't let up. and that means the efforts to study are still ongoing. Exam scores are always important, of course, but the closer one gets to their final year of school the more one is forced to think about the future... and some people have additional pressures on top of that.
Such as, say, from parents.
And so Kazusa and Wakana have found themselves in a small, cozy cafe in the in the Shibuya area, having snagged a table in a corner where they hopefully won't be bothered. They have multiple notebooks and textbooks spread out across the table, and two empty mugs.
... They've been at this for a while.
Wakana lets out a sign and plants her forehead into her textbook. "Kazu-chaaaan, I feel like this makes less sense the more I read it."
"Stop whining!" snaps Kazusa, looking up from her notes. "We still have a lot to go over."
Silently, Wakana looks up, saying nothing but wearing a wounded expression before looking down again and sitting back up.
Kazusa sighs and puts her pencil down, her voice softening. "... sorry." She couldn't quite bring herself to look at Wakana. "... let's... take a break. Do... you want another drink? Or a snack?"
<Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
It is FINALS and somehow Hazuki probably didn't screw up math She has decided to TREAT HERSELF, as a result, and has hit a local coffee shop not far from her grandmother's place.
"Baked goods, baked goods~" she hums quietly but audibly to herself, a cheery mood on her face.
As she passes through the door, she's there for Kazusa and Wakana's moment. She doesn't say anything, of course, but she can see Kazusa snap, and she frowns at this. Was the Motojima heir really so mean...?
Then, Kazusa apologizes, and the frown dissipates back into normal gloomy countenance, the cheer still faded.
She walks up to the counter with a lag, looking up at the baked goods menu, though she also wants a sugar death concoction of some form. "Maybe... pastry! Pastry, pastry... Hmmm. That rings better, but..."
She's muttering to herself again! What a weirdo.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Wakana manages a little bit of a smile as Kazusa apologizes, looking up again. "Mmmm... I'll take another matcha latte."
"Fine." Kazusa starts to get up from her seat.
"... and a strawberry shortcake," Wakana adds quickly.
The other girl pauses. "... seriously?" she asked, frowning down at her friend. "That's way too many sweets, Wakana-chan."
Wakana grins. "C'mon, I saw you looking at it earlier. Don't tell me you don't want to try it."
Kazusa scoffs. "You're impossible." She finishes standing up and heading to the counter...
... only to come upon Hazuki muttering to herself as she peruses the menu. She crosses her arms as she waits, eyes boring a hole in the back of Hazuki's head. She actually tries to be patient and not say anything.
For about 3.61 seconds.
"Some of us have more studying to do, you know. Try not to spend all afternoon talking to yourself, weirdo."
<Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
Hazuki is still listening, but she's also looking over pastries. As Kazusa approaches, though, she is staring into the menu...
And then she gets bullied!
"Oh, sorry..." she tells Kazusa instinctively, before considering. The strawberry shortcake sounds nice... but she looks over the pastry tray, and feeling a bit rushed, decides on Decadence.
"A slice of the triple chocolate cake, please." SHE IS TREATING HERSELF IT'S FINE. "Oh, and a caramel frap with extra whipped cream!" That excites her, at least.
As the barista moves to make it, Hazuki turns to Kazusa. Should she say something about what she said to Wakana...?
DIALOGUE OPTIONS:
"..."
"...how are you doing, Motojima-san?"
<GUTS:> "You're not being very nice..."
Hazuki shakes out of her dialogue option reverie, before frowning at Kazusa. She has the Guts to confront her, at least in the moment. "You're not being very nice... are you happy?"
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Hazuki apologizes, and Kazusa is actually nice by not saying anything like 'You'd better b.'
... Well, she says it with her stare to the back of Hazuki's head, which only intensifies.
But Hazuki orders, and Kazusa lets out an impatient snort with a roll of her eyes. She steps up to place her own order. "Two macha lattes, both with skim milk." She pauses a moment, glancing to the pastries on display.
"... and a strawberry shortcake. I'll need an extra plate and fork." Is... is she going to split it? (Yes.)
Order given, she steps back to wait, but unfortunately, this puts her in the vicinity of Hazuki. Hazuki points out she's not being very nice. Kazusa just rolls her eyes and pushes a loose lock of hair behind her shoulder with a flick of her wrist. She doesn't even look at the other girl as she says, "What's it to you?"
That question, though, catches her off guard. "I--" She looks to Hazuki, staring at her as her mental gears grind a bit trying to proess the question. "... wait, what?"
She must not have heard that correctly.
<Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
Kazusa's response to Hazuki gets her eyes narrowing a little, as she says her piece. But it catches Kazusa off-guard...
Perhaps Hazuki should back off, not start a fight. But she's only ever seen Kazusa picking on people, and it frustrates her. It's not herself she's defending here, she never would, but Wakana, and the other students she's seen her pick.
Even if Kazusa apologized to the former, she's going to do it again unless she's given a chance to change.
"I said, are you happy? Are you happy picking on the people around you? Or snapping at your friend? You don't have to do this. But you're choosing to do it anyways, everyday at school. So I thought it must make you happy."
She turns back to the barista, who is trying to their Best to ignore this. As if watching Kazusa's reaction doesn't even matter to her. Her treats are almost ready...
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Kazusa would certainly appreciate it if Hazuki backed off-- She was probably counting on it, especially after how their last interaction went. This... is not what she expected.
When did Hazuki grow a spine??
And then more questions come, and Kazusa bristles, and quietly starts to seeth as she reflextively tries to brush aside all of those concernsquestions. Tries to keep from thinkinga bout them too hard and facing some ugly truths.
"... What do you know, weirdo? Don't act like you know anything about me." She's trying to play it off, but there is something dark and a little bit angry in her eyes that she can't quite hide., She also looks away from Hazuki, just waiting for her order to be ready.
<Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
"...I know that the people who mistreat others are some of the unhappiest," Hazuki says, as the barista hands her order over. "But you're right. I don't know anything about you. Sorry."
Hazuki frowns as she finally glances back, realizing in that moment she's gone too far, but... maybe Kazusa will reflect. She turns back in order to pay, taking out her change. "Thank you," she tells the barista.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Kazusa just snorts and looks away, defensively crossing her arms. All she gets out is a muttered, "... whatever. Not like I'm going to listen to some weirdo." But there's no venom in her voice.
She refuses to look at Hazuki as she waits for her order to come up next.
<Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
Hazuki takes her treats, and turns to Kazusa. Her face is more neutral than gloomy now, as she nods once, the ability to emote kinda drained from the exhaustion of the conversation. She smiles to the barista, though it's definitely forced on.
"Good luck on the exams, Motojima-san."
Then, she's gone, choosing to eat outside.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Kazusa doesn't even respond, waiting until Hazuki leaves so she can step up to the counter. She has to make two trips, first the drinks, then the strawberry shortcake (and her extra fork and plate, and a knife for good measure.) She sets the two plates down and then sits heavily back in her seat, staring at her open notebook.
Wakana sits up, reading the expression on her friend's face with a frown. "Hey, Kazusa... you okay?" She goes for the two plates, splitting the strawberry shortcake and placing the slightly smaller portion in font of Kazusa.
The other girl is silent for a long moment, as if all of the energy was suddenly drained from her. Finally she says, in a small voice, "... no." She looks out the window. "... and I don't want to talk about it."