View source for 2025-11-17: Inconvenient Convenience Store Chat

*'''Log: Inconvenient Convenience Store Chat'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Ren Amamiya]], [[Kazusa Motojima]]
*'''Where:''' Triple 777, Shibuya Ward, Tokyo
*'''OOC Date:''' November 17, 2025
*'''IC Date:''' Sunday, August 12, 2012 (Midday)
*'''Summary:''' ''Ren is working a shift at the Triple 777, when Kazusa comes in to be a general pain in the ass. It's... about as awkward as you might expect.''

----


 <Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
<poem>
    Triple Seven is one of the more popular convenience stores around this part of the country. Why wouldn't it be? It's got plenty of goods and snacks for sale, including hot food that one can order right at the register. If you've ever been to the similarly-named 7-Eleven, you've been to a 777.
    
    Store workers are identifiable by their... colorful uniforms. Specifically, they wear a button-up shirt in hot and polka-dotted light pink with the collar, cuffs, and a line down the front in BRIGHT spring green. It is literally impossible to mistake.
    
    Thus anyone who walks into Triple Seven today, and who is a student at Shujin Academy (while break isn't in session, at least), will likely recognize one Ren Amamiya manning the register. It's some time past noon, and the midday rush is clearing up; the last one finishes their purchase, and Ren bows to them.
    
    "Have a good day, and please come again," they say pleasantly as the customer goes, their customer service voice and smile on. They look around the store once that person's gone. The shelves will need restocking... They're not the only person working today, but they might need to help their coworker if no one else comes in.

</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
<poem>
This is not a store that's unfamiliar to Kazusa. She lives in the area, after all, and it's not too hard to pass through here on the way to or from somewhere else. Kazusa has, indeed, taken notice of the uniforms, because 1) that's their intended design and 2) she pays attention to clothing.

But Kazusa isn't in anything ultra-fashionable today, it seems. She walks in an plush charcoal hoodie, a pink top, and black jeans, with her hair tied back in a ponytail. She's got headphones on, seeming to block everything out as she drifts through the store to pick up some snack items.

She seems in kind of a sullen mood, but at least she's keeping to herself.

... until she turns towards the cash register and sees Ren. She regards them for a moment, gaze suddenly sharp and critical, then pulls a (rather nice) MP3 player out of her pocket and hits pause on it. Only then does she approach the register.

"Amamiya-san. Hmm. I didn't know you worked here." She places her items on the counter.

</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
<poem>
    Ah. Ren realizes it just as Kazusa turns a corner: there's still a couple of customers in the store. They just weren't in line to check out. They reassert their customer service face, but just as Kazusa's gaze turns sharp and critical, Ren's turns cold and unyielding. She might be friends with Ann, but that doesn't mean Ren has to like her.
    
    "Welcome to Triple Seven. Thank you for shopping with us," they say, taking Kazusa's items and ringing them up one by one. "I do work here, thank you, Motojima-san."
    
    What they think-- 'Of course you didn't know I work here, you've only talked to me to give me shit and have no interest in me is a person' --is kept off their face and voice. Ren is not about to risk their job by picking a fight with a customer.
    
    But that doesn't mean Kazusa won't give them shit anyway...
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
<poem>
Kazusa crosses her arms, watching Ren as her items are rung up. "She is... actually quiet, for a moment. Maybe, she'll be merciful and let this pass as an innocuous transaction and be on her way.

"You know..."

Or maybe not. What she's thinking, though, she actually expresses.

"... I can't figure you out." Kazusa crosses her arms, fingers on one hand idly tapping. "You and Sakamoto hanging out makes sense. But the two of you and ''Niijima-senpai''... that makes me wonder."

The guy with the criminal record and the guy who hit a teacher? Sure. Those two and the 'principal's flunky', though... doesn't add up.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
<poem>
    Ah, blessed quiet. Ren savors it while it lasts. It lasts approximately until they start to bag her items; then she remarks on them. They glance up at her as several possible responses flash through their mind.
    
    &gt; Some things don't need to be figured out.
    &gt; You being friends with someone as kind as Ann feels weird too.
    &gt; (&#42;shrug&#42;)
    
    Ren's pay gets docked if they cause trouble for clients. There's really only one rational choice. They shrug and continue (sand)bagging.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
<poem>
Kazusa, sadly, is not privy to any of Ren's thoughts. (Actually, no, it's ''definitely'' better that way.) Kazusa watches as Ren just... shrugs. Irritation flashes on her face for a moment, but then it relaxes after a moment. "... Oh, that's right. You're working right now, aren't you?"

She actually takes out some money to pay for her items. "And you seem to be pretty chummy with Yoshizawa-san, too..." Kazusa frowns for a moment. On secod thought, she hasn't turned out to be what she was supposed to either, has she?

Is there a link, there...?

She slides the money across the counter. "Let's see... here's a question you can answer. Do you have any sales or specials today?"
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
<poem>
    "Yes," Ren replies, very simply, of the fact that they're working right now. They caught that flash of irritation, and it's almost funny. How much of a conversation did she really think they want to have with her? Fortunately, she hands over her money without issue, and they proceed to make change. They'd already scanned in the items, so that's not an issue.
    
    'Here's a question you can answer,' she says, and that's almost funny too, considering the question that follows is the first one she's asked this conversation. Even her comment on Kasumi wasn't actually a question, just an observation. They have to admit to themself that it doesn't matter, though, because they're not going to explain to her why they're friends with the student council president. She doesn't like them or have good intentions for them, so why would they ever tell her anything about themself?
    
    Work stuff is fine, though. Ren would prefer she take her goods and leave, but she hasn't done anything inappropriate. They can play the part of a diligent salesperson.
    
    "Yes, we have sales on several kinds of snacks and personal goods, which you can find in aisles one and two," they reply, tone still artificially cheerful. "And if you want something hot to eat, we have a special where if you get two hot foods," they gesture to the rolls spinning on the heater to their right, "you can get a coffee for half-off!"
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
<poem>
Maybe it's a very minor credit to Kazusa's character that she doesn't obsessively count the change in front of Ren. (Or maybe the small amount of money doesn't really matter to her.) She takes her change and puts it away.

She really doesn't care about Ren so much. She cares more about keeping her reputation--and her personal orbit, which includes Kasumi due to the Rhythmic Gymnastics team--as clean as possible. But Ren is a bit of an unknown, and that bugs her.

A second-year transfer student, with a record, who seems to hang out with people she wouldn't expect... which apparently also includes Ann.

... Okay so she's ''mostly'' hoping to get fashion info from Ann, but they ''do'' actually share sensibilities when it comes to things like outfit selection.

It's fine.

But they look at the rolls of hot food, eyes critical. They'd spent the entire morning working, they didn't have that much of a breakfast... and if they want to go back and hole up for a while...

"... yeah, fine. I'll take the special. I'll take... that and... that." She names two items from the case and gets her money out again. "How much?"
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
<poem>
    Ren dutifully fetches the items requested, setting them in parchment paper squares, putting them in a bag. "The coffee is self-serve. You can put in as much cream and sugar as you like. The cups are right over there," they inform her, gesturing to the left, further down the station. "Please be sure to pour very carefully and put on a lid, because the coffee is very hot and we don't want you to burn yourself!"
    
    But, with the spiel over... they look at her again consideringly. For as rude as she was to Kasumi that first time they met, she honestly is only barely unpleasant here. She made a couple of honestly fairly reasonable observations, and when they didn't engage, she moved on. Maybe there's a reason Ann made friends with her after all?
    
    So, after naming the price of the items she's purchasing, they remark, "This may be none of my business, Motojima-san... but could you please lay off Yoshizawa? Criticism isn't going to help her break through her slump; she's already her own worst critic. If you're trying to give her a push, it isn't working."
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
<poem>
Kazusa's purple eyes flick over to where the coffee is. She nods once, to show she heard, but doesn't otherwise verbally acknowledge it.

On the other hand, as Ren noted, she didn't exactly introduce her frind at the rained-out festival, either.

Kazusa slides the money over, and then arches an eyebrow as Ren finally speaks up. 'So he's concerned for her,' she thinks, mulling that over. Does that make sense with what else she's observed?

She starts to pick up her bag and her two hot items. "If she's going to get all of the attention from staff... then she needs to produce results."

She takes her change and turns for the coffee stand, then pauses. "... none of the rest of us are going to get a break." That part almost slipped out on its own, an admission she might not have meant to make.

Her gaze flicks back to Ren. "... what's it to you, anyway?"
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
<poem>
    She didn't, but there might be any number of reasons why Kazusa's such a cold, sullen person. If that's all there were to her, then surely she wouldn't have struck up a friendship with Ann. Ren knows her well, and knows she wouldn't put up with someone's nonsense, especially if they're a bully.
    
    They make change again and hand back the mishmash of coins and bills, along of course with her receipts. They say nothing at first when Kazusa essentially repeats what she said back on that day--but give her a long look when she mentions how the rest of them aren't getting any breaks.
    
    "...Getting attention from school staff isn't always a good thing." Especially given that there are members of school staff who want to ditch the honors students who're, say, only getting third place instead of first. "I get being annoyed about it, but that's still no reason to give her a hard time. Try being supportive and working with her instead." They meet her eyes pointedly. "It's what Ann would do."
    
    What's it to them, though? Again, Ren shrugs. This time, though, they add, "She's my friend. Watching out for your friends is what you do."
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
<poem>
On ''that'' particular day she had the rain to blame for being cold and sullen, but... that's not always the case, is it?

Getting attention from staff... Kazusa gives Ren a hard look at that statement. Support and understanding... "That's not the world we live in, Amamiya. But I guess I shouldn't expect someone like you to understand that."

They tense, though, as Ren mentions Ann, before looking away. "... whjatever."

There's a glance as Ren mentions they're looking out for their friend, then they turn away and head for the coffee stand without saying another word.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
<poem>
    It sure isn't the case today!
    
    Kazusa rebuffs Ren. That's not that surprising--they did preface by saying maybe they're sticking their nose in where it doesn't belong, and nobody likes getting unsolicited advice--but the ''way'' she rebuffs them gets a short bark of a laugh out of them.
    
    It isn't funny, though. It's just sad.
    
    So when Kazusa dismisses them and walks off, they leave it at that with a customer service bow and a pleasant, "Please come again~"
</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]