2025-11-04: Garcon, One Order of Friendship, Please
- Log: Garcon, One Order of Friendship, Please
- Cast: Ruzica Crvena, Wakana Oosaka, Kazusa Motojima
- Where: Fleur de Lis, Kagurazaka, Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo
- OOC Date: November 04, 2025
- IC Date: Sunday, August 05, 2012 (Midday)
- Summary: Kazusa and Wakana decide to stop off at the Fleur de Lis to get lunch, and there they meet Ruzica Crvena, who definitely isn't their classmate Ryuzaki Kurama. And they make a new friend, which definitely won't be complicated later.
<Pose Tracker> Ruzica Crvena has posed.
The Fleur de Lis is one of the newer establishments in Kagurazaka, a chic French community within the Shinjuku Ward. During the day, it's an all-ages bistro, with bright classical lighting, woody reds and browns, with a bustling dining area with hot sandwiches, pommes-frites, and other French classics. There's a piano player at the rear. There's no guarantee that it isn't So-young about to jumpscare you, however.
When Kazusa and Wakana both enter, one of the servers turns to greet them both. "Good afternoon, and welcome to the Fleur de Lis. A table for two?"
The server is... young. Young enough to be Kazusa's contemporary -- wait, no, she knows this person. This is Ryuzaki Kurama, from 2-A, though his hair's currently worn long and into a high ponytail, and he's wearing a pinstripe dress shirt underneath his black apron, and an A-line black skirt and leggings to go with the dress shoes.
The name tag says 'RUZICA' on it.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Kazusa's been in a bit of a mood today, for... whtever reason. The movie earlier had been nice but she hadn't let herself get invested. Running into Kanae and Tomoee had also been awkward, but... not a total waste of a conversation. Wakana had suggested they go get something to eat, and Kazusa had agreed.
Stepping into the bistro and looking around are a pair of teenage girls that might be familiar to Ruzica. There's Kazusa Motojima, of course, standing about about 5'2", with long straight black hair, purple eyes, and a pair of sleek black (designer) shades perched on her nose. She's wearing a pink halter top and black capris, and has a black leather purse (also designer). A member of Shujin's Rhythmic Gymnastic's team and the school's resident Demon Queen.
With her is Wakana Oosaka, with short brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a yellow floral sundress and a teddy bear backpack. She's also on the Rhythmic Gymnastics team and seems to straddle the line between lacky, best friend, and minder. Kazusa's kind of sullen, while Wakana ais smiling as she looks around.
"Oh wow, Kazusa-chan, they've got live music, isn't that nice?" asks Wakana.
"... yeah," admits Kazusa. She hasn't taken off her shades yet despite being indoors.
Ruzica turns to greet them, and Kazusa blinks and stares for a moment, looking her up and down. "... yeah, table for two." Her eyes flick to the nametag and she frowns. "... Ruzica-san."
<Pose Tracker> Ruzica Crvena has posed.
Ruzica is slightly shorter than Kazusa, at only 156cm. She does recognise her, of course -- Kazusa Motojima. Though they share their black hair, Ruzica's eyes are unsettlingly... golden. Cold and golden, wide and seemingly like they're going to pierce into you with her stare.
Of course, Ruzica is Ryuzaki at school -- a quiet, strange boy in 2-A who doesn't stand out much, who is always seen with a black baker boy's cap that... if Kazusa connects it, probably hides the rest of the hair currently out on the ponytail -- the fringes around her gold eyes are certainly fitting. Wakana Oosaka... she's not quite as familiar with her, but they're both members of the Rhythmic Gymnastic team. Gymnastics... just like Eve, in her youth.
"`Please, right this way,`" Ruzica suddenly switches to impeccable French, to get them in the mood of the place, since 'Please, right this way' isn't a question that needs coherence and an answer, unlike 'table for two?'. They're seated at a nice booth, and then it isn't long before Ruzica fetches them water and two menus.
"Please feel free let me know when you've decided on your order," Ruzica answers in that phlegmatic, yet professional manner of hers, then steps away to return minutes later.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Something is off, though Kazusa can't really put her finger on it at the moment. Maybe she just doesn't ahve enough imagination to think that a boy from her class would be here presenting femme. Those gold eyes... that's a bit offputtng, that cold look. But Kazusa doesn't flinch away from it.
Still, she's noting the hair and and the fashion. Very French chic, at least. she approves of that much.
"Thanks," she says, and Kazusa and Wakana follow Ruzica to the table and sit, both looking through the menu. Kazusa's looking through, but her eyes flic over to Ruzica while she's not present. "Hey, don't you think that girl looks familiar?"
Wakana glances over, then shakes her head. "I don't think so... she looks like she's about our age, do you think she goes to Shujin?"
Kazusa's crossed her legs, and shakes her head. "I feel like I'd remember her if she did... but she probably doesn't dress like that at shcool, so maybe."
When Ruzica comes back, Wakana offers her a smile. "I'll have... the croque monsieur, and can you go easy on the sauce, please? And I'll take a lemonade to go with it. Thanks!"
The other girl is less effusive. "I'll have the niçoise salad with tuna, and a mocktail." Wakana's pronunciation is okay, but Kazusa puts extra effort into getting hers correct.
Kazusa hands the menu back to Ruzica. "... have we met before? You seem familiar."
<Pose Tracker> Ruzica Crvena has posed.
The gold eyes, at the very least, don't differ much between Ryuzaki and Ruzica. They both have a habit of staring a bit overmuch, like they're curious about something beneath... but, of course, Ryuzaki mostly dresses in the Shujin boy's uniform. Though he does keep it fastidious, it is ultimately only the school uniform, and cannot stand out in a forest of other similar uniforms.
Ruzica returns, with a a pad and pencil. "`Croque monsieur,` less sauce... lemonade, `very good.` `Niçoise salad` with tuna, mocktail... is the house special okay? We have a variety of mocktails otherwise," Ruzica recommends.
When she takes the menus back, however, Kazusa questions whether or not the two of them have met before. Ruzica's stolid, yet graceful expression doesn't change one bit. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe I remember..." she advises, before scurrying off to go deliver the order to the kitchen staff.
The drinks come back in short order -- they're done up pretty classy, with a garnish for Kazusa's mocktail. Ruzica tends to other tables nearby, seemingly at home here in the bar that is, well, somewhat of a second home by this point. ... amidst the other homes that she has in the other Wild Hunt businesses in Kagurazaka.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
It's definitely something about those gold eyues, but it's just not clicking for Kazusa right now. It can be hard to stand out in a sea of uniforms... which is one of the reasons Kazusa wears silver bracelets with hers, as a personalized touch. (She's also wearing them now. She was wearing them the whole time, they just hadn't been mentioned yet,.)
"The house special will be fine," she says. But she asks, and Ruzica says she doesn't remember. "Mmm... I guess I Was mistaken, then." She doesn't sound entirely convinced, but seems ready to drop the topic for the moment.
Wakana offers a cheerful, "Thank you!" when her drink comes. Kazusa just nods and offers a much less enthusiastic, "Thanks." Both of them pull out their phnes to take pictures of their drinks, though. Those are going up on social media.
Kazusa and Wakana chat quietly between themselves as they wait for the food. Kazusa takes the occasional glance Ruzica's way but otherwise leaves her alone.
<Pose Tracker> Ruzica Crvena has posed.
The food comes pretty soon after -- the Fleur de Lis might be a bit packed on a Sunday, but they're an orderly establishment. Does Eve cook everything herself, or are there other chefs? The way Ruzica swans in with the large plates of sandwich and salad effortlessly is a bit striking, perhaps a bit theatric as is the wont of this place. "`For you, mademoiselles, tuna niçoise, croque monsieur,`" she gracefully speaks as she lays the plates down.
The food is definitely Insta-worthy. "Please let me know if there is anything else I can get you," Ruzica advises, before moving away again to let them dine. Her eyes do cast back on both Kazusa and Wakana for a moment at the counter, though. It isn't particularly strange for Shujin students to come here -- Kagurazaka is a particularly trendy area that's gossiped about a lot, and French pastries are particularly popular amongst the youth.
How interesting... a lot of people now take pictures with their phones. The phone's not a particularly dedicated camera compared to a real one, but even Ruzica has to admit it's more than adequate for most people's use cases -- and as she's always nattered on about, it's not the equipment that matters, it's the willingness and awareness to take pictures.
It seems that Kazusa was mistaken, but Ruzica wouldn't be surprised if she remembered. She doesn't bother to hide her eyes, and that's one of the chief ways in which people identify her in the end.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Wakana and Kazusa pause their convsation when Ruzica arrives with the food. Wakana perks up, "Arigato, Ruzica-san." Kazusa seems in a little bit less dour of a mood and nods. "Merci beaucoup," she says in response.
Kazusa is all about being trendy and fashionable, and Wakana is a little too, so it's definitely not a surprise to see either of them there. Kazusa herself has a high-end smartphone (Motojima-branded, of course), so her camera might be a little nicer than average... not that she's explaining that to Ruzica right now. (Wakana has a slightly older smartphone.)
But neither of them probably match a dedicated camera. It's only 2012, after all.
Pics are taken, and both of them gushing about each others' dishes, and Kazusa at least seems a little more lively after she starts eating. Maybe she was just hangry.
<Pose Tracker> Ruzica Crvena has posed.
Being hangry is of no use to anyone... save certain unusual Demons, perhaps. A delicious meal is had by both, and by this point, most of the customers have streamed out at the tail end of lunchtime, leaving Ruzica a little bit more free as she comes to pick up the empty plates and return them to the kitchen. "I hope that the meal was enjoyable," Ruzica offers to the both of them. There's a little sparkle in her eyes, as if she's decided for herself that she's done a pretty good job in service today...!
o/~ Your Understanding of customer needs increased a little.
Ruzica does catch a glimpse of Kazusa's smartphone at one point. So that's the new Motojima phone? A lot of the critics have been raving about it, but Ruzica's not particularly up on smartphones and their benefits... the thought has them looking at their own gara-kei hand-me-down, not even a smartphone, which she shouldn't be doing while she's on service duty!
The phone is black, with a big, round, fat chicken keychain dangling off off it, not unlike the chicken pin that's on Ryuzaki's hat...
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
"That was really good," says Wakana as Ruzica comes to clear their plates. "I'm definitely going to tell some of my friends about this place."
Kazusa is actually smiling a little, and isn't regarding Ruzica with any suspicion for the moment. "Please give my compliments to the chef," she says. "For both the salad and my mocktail."
"So, Ruzica-san," starts Wakana. "How long have you worked here? Did you learn French for the job or did you speak it before you started?"
<Pose Tracker> Ruzica Crvena has posed.
"Oh, thank you. We do have a website, and please feel free to leave a Moogle review if that pleases," Ruzica snaps up to attention from their phone, perhaps breaking a little bit of that professional curtain, but all the other customers have left. She'll get yelled at by some of the staff later, but right now...
There's a solid nod to Kazusa. "I'll do just that. Chef Jacques does make very nice meals," she says, as if from experience. (It probably isn't Jacques de Pyro cooking in the back there, is it...? Nah. There's a regular-ass human being there, albeit French.) "And my mom..." A pause. "Miss Eveline does make very nice cocktails and mocktails both."
But before they leave, Wakana strikes up a further conversation! How long has she worked here? Did she learn French from the job...?
"Ah..." Ruzica pauses, then more softly says, "Well, it is how I said earlier. This is my mother's pub, Eveline Deschamps, and I moved here from overseas during the winter at the start of this year. I'm just helping out," which is also not a lie, because RENT!! Rent for both the house and the pub, one has to imagine.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
"Sure! I can do that," Wakana says cheerfully. "And I like your keychain!"
Kazusa looks at the keychain with a light frown. "... yeah, I guess it's alrighgt." Why do chickens remind her of something? She dismisses that thought for now.
Neither Kazusa nor Wakana would have any context for what a Pyro Jack is, sadly. At least, not yet. Kazusa does arch a little bit of an eyebrow as Ruzica corrects from 'mom' to 'Miss Eveline.' She doesn't comment on it, though.
... she's pretty formal with her own father, after all, so... maybe she gets it. (It's probably not what she thinks and she'd never say it out loud anyway.)
"Not that I can actually try any of the cocktails yet..."
Overseas... Kazusa is thinking 'France', and that has her interest. "Were you living in France? There's a few fashion designers over there that I follow, though I've never been myself."
"Moving to another country must be pretty tough," follows up Wakana with a sympathetic smile. "But your Japanese seems really good. Have you managed to make a lot of friends here yet?"
<Pose Tracker> Ruzica Crvena has posed.
Ruzica does have the slightest peek of a smile at the keychain compliment, which is a particularly rare sight at how this girl just doesn't seem to understand what emotions are at times. Why are the chickens so familiar, though? Kazusa is only one day away from being ruined by a storm of c... no, let's not say that word, lest we summon a malicious terror from beyond the boundaries.
Chickens are merely chickens here.
"True. But she does try to make the mocktails interesting, rather than just the cocktails without the good part," Ruzica reflects on the nature of mocktails quietly. Kazusa asks if she was living in France. Ruzica nods quietly. "I moved around a bit, but... I had a place put up for me in the Nice outskirts. I was moving around for a while, due to a number of reasons... I admit I'm not very versed on fashion, though."
Though she does clean up rather well, though given her age, someone else probably dresses her -- or this is a uniform for the pub.
Wakana sympathises on moving, and Ruzica nods quietly. "It does feel a bit strange to have settled down..." That Laurent has made a call for the Wild Hunt to gather again means this will probably be their base of operations for a while now. That's strange, in and out of itself...
She also compliments her on her Japanese. "I had a lot of exposure when I was little from extended family..." That's one way to put it, Ruzica. Has she made a lot of friends here yet, though? Ruzica glances aside for a moment, then noncommittally says: "Just a few."
Like Isabeau's once more going to jump out and declare that SHE has more FRIENDS than Ruzica, all of a sudden.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
There may well be a revelationin Kazusa's future, but for now... she's mostly behaving herself. Besides, they won't be back in school for a but, so the odds of Kazusa running into Ryuzaki must surely be fairly low.
But she does listen, with interest, bout the mocktails. "That's good that sue put the extra effort in. And the presentation was really good." She picks up her phone and pulls up the picture, then shows Ruzica. "This is going to look really good online."
Moving around a little... and not versed in fashion. "Oh, I see." Kazusa only manages to hide most of the disappointment from her voice. Wakana, on the other hand, is a little bit more sympathetic. "Oh, that must have been so tough, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you like being able to settle down, though."
"You had extended family in France who tught you Japanese?" asks Kazusa, with a little bit of surprise--or maybe skepticism--in her voice. But for friends...
Just a few. Wakana looks to Kazusa hopefully, and Kazusa looks and then just shrugs a little. Why not? Wakana smiles a little bit more and looks to Ruzica. "Well, since Summer Break just started, wanna hang out? We could show you some of the cool spots, maybe introduce you to more people. What do you think?"
<Pose Tracker> Ruzica Crvena has posed.
Ruzica does look on, with more interest in her eyes than she tries to betray with her lack of expression. That's not a bad shot at all... so this is the power of the newest Motojima phone? How can such a thin device control the amount of exposure in a way comparable to some of her lenses? It doesn't make sense... unless it was 'software'. Perhaps in this digital age, computers can compensate for some of the choices that photographers have to make themselves with older gear.
After all, Ruzica's cameras are pushing on 40 years old or more, at this point in time. She doesn't own a single digital camera...
Kazusa sounds just a little bit surprised, that she has extended family. "They're part of a temple here in Kyoto..." Ruzica does share with the Motojima heiress. "But there are more Japanese people than you'd expect in France, too, I found." Ruzica herself *does* bear a more distinctly Japanese look herself, predominantly. Does that mean her dad is Japanese, from what she's said?
Wakana reaches out (metaphorically) for friendship, however. Want to hang around? She could show her some of the cool spots...
"Ah..." Ruzica does look a little taken aback at first. The shy type. "Maybe... all right."
Her eyes do scan to Kazusa, as if she'll object.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Kazusa... almost certainly d9oesn't really know that much about what's involved in photography. She really is mostly letting the phone do the work for her. It's probably not up to par with a digital camera yet but it's still decent, at least on the phone's screen.
An extended temple family, and more than you'd expect. "Huh. Well, I guess that'd explain it then." That seems to satisfy her.
"Great!" says Wakana cheerfully. "I'm Wakana Osaka."
Kazusa sits up a little straighter, maybe channeling just a smidge of her 'Demon Queen' regalness. "KAzusa Motojima." Introducing herself is probably the best Ruzica will get for inmplicit approval.
"We're both second years at Shujin Academy," Wakana continues. She's wating, next, for Ruzica to introduce hrself. Kazusa is, too.
<Pose Tracker> Ruzica Crvena has posed.
Of course, what Ruzica doesn't say is that the temple is the Kurama temple, which would expose a direct link with Ryuzaki Kurama. Though the truth is a bit more complicated than that...
"Wakana Osaka. Kazusa Motojima..." Ruzica whispers, as if trying to recall and solidify both their names in her mind. The imperious air in which Kazusa carries herself is a familiar one from school. There's a precariousness, perhaps, in where this is going, as they introduce themselves both as second-years from Shujin.
"I'm Ruzica Crvena," Ruzica introduces, breaking down the syllables for Japanese. It sounds more like 'rujitsa' than English z and c sounds. It is also pointedly not a French name, though it sounds European to the uninitiated. And... then no introduction as to where she goes for school.
"It's nice to meet the both of you..." A pause, as they topic-switch. "Is the Motojima... the same Motojima as in... the video game console maker?"
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
A name might give Kazusa a little bit more to go on, it's true. Perhaps it's best to save that particular complciation for another day. There's still plenty of pracariousness to be had, though.
That's a name neither of them are used to saying, and both of them take a moment to sound it out as Ruzica does. (And they need to fix how they pronounced it before.) "IT's nice to meet you, Crvena-san," says Wakana. "Oh! And we should exchange phone numbers." She's already pulling her phone out, which is a slightly older model than Kazusa's.
Kazusa's gaze narrows just a bit as Ruzica answers that quesion, though. "Yes, but my family's company makes other things, you know. And don't get any bright ideas, you got it?"
Wakana leaps in. "Sorry, she just... gets people asking her about stuff like that a lot, that's all."
<Pose Tracker> Ruzica Crvena has posed.
Ruzica doesn't seem to mind imprecise pronounciations -- the way she's saying it is already broken into Japanese-friendly syllables anyway that doesn't try to harness phonemes that just don't exist in this language, or aren't familiar to a common speaker. "Ah... yes, here." Ruzica does offer her phone out, offering the number on screen as the chicken dangles once more. It truly is a rustic phone, perhaps pushing on 6 years at this point. It has the energy of a cheap hand-me-down.
Kazusa does react negatively as Ruzica speaks of the company, though. "Oh..." They pause for a moment, as if they haven't thought of what bright ideas Kazusa might mean. Is this girl that guileless sometimes? Yeah, she kinda is...
"No, I didn't mean anything by it, I was just curious." At this point, she's probably most curious about what technology is involved in phone cameras more than anything. "It's nice to meet the both of you again."
There's a bell as the chef goes, "`Hey, Ruzie, if you're gonna help out, earn your keep, y'know! We got dishes to clean!`"
"`O-oh, yes, my apologies,`" Ruzica calls out, before looking towards the two. "I'm being scolded. I should return to work. Please let me know if you want to order anything else."
And with that, they hurry back to go help out in the kitchen.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
They're both still going to try, at least! But the number is shared, and both Kazusa and Wakana jot it down and then send Ruzica a text so she can have their numbers, too. "There you go!" says Wakana.
Kazusa just huffs a little as Ruzica apologizes. "Fine, I just don't want to talk about the video games." She shrugs. "Yeah, nice to meet you, too."
Ruzica is scolded, and Wakana and Kazusa both share a look. "Just bring the check, please, when you can." Kazusa will pay for both of them, and...
She has her own credit card to do it with, too.