2014-03-24 - You're Bringing a BOOK?

Title: You're Bringing a BOOK?
Summary: It's time for students to start packing for the sister schools' Winter Trip to Hokkaido's ice palace! Mamoru, on his way from his room to (unsurprisingly) the library, passes by Asagao's room, where Eri is helping her pack, and stops to hassle them-- when Ichigo comes by, lost and looking for her friend! Dorkiness abounds!
Who: Mamoru Chiba, Eri Shimanouchi, Asagao Uekawa, Ichigo Momomiya
Where: Ohtori dorms.
OOC - IC Date: Nearing the end of finals!

Asagao's dorm room is WIDE OPEN, mostly because why not at this point. While it's normally very well kept in the sort of Martha Stewart Faux-Simple Elegant sense...

Right now her things strewn all over the place. Trunks are half-open, empty garment bags are floating around in wait for things to fill them, and Asagao is dithering.

"Eri thank you sooo much for coming to help me with this!" Asagao enthuses with an exhausted air, digging through sweaters - "It's just -- usually my parents drag me off for the winter break and this year they've decided to do romantic couples-things together. Which is great! But I don't have the slightest idea of what I even NEED for this sort of trip!"

Anything to take her mind off things! And truth be told she was happy to have found another classmate to spend time with, even if she didn't know Asagao well.

As Asagao talks about her own parents, Eri tries to keep a smile on her expression, taking her mind off her own problems with her parents by getting swept up in her enthusiasm.

"Oh it's no trouble at all, Uekawa-san! You have a lovely dorm room, I just moved into mine." She states as cheerfully as possible, "Wow. This may take a while." She laughs a little awkwardly, "You have a lot of things. Way more than I do! And I, haven't a clue, I haven't ever been to Hokkaido in the winter! Or winter trips at all really.." Which was to be expected, since most Ohtori students were rich, and she was not!

And then there's a guy leaning in the doorway, looking-- sort of affectionately tired and terribly amused all at the same time, arms crossed. "Looks like a bomb hit. Will you really need all that? You'll have to carry it."

Of course it's Mamoru.

Of course he's out of uniform, and therefore looks even more awesome, all GQ casual with a slimline leather jacket folded over his arms. "Shimanouchi-san, Uekawa-san, hello."

Suddenly.

Relieved.

She packed underwear *FIRST.*

"It's a whole week, Chiba-san, and I've never *been* to Hokkaido!" Asagao announces - complete with pointing finger. "I'm not going to take *everything*, I just need to decide what TO take and there are only 3 days left to pack!"

Eri whirls around, pointing a finger at Mamoru, "Hey, hey! Even if the door is open, you should still knock before you come into a girl's room, Chiba-senpai!" This has to be done because Mamoru Chiba can be /terrible/ at times, and unfortunately this time she has taken potential bait. He's still a -senpai though.

Turning back to Asagao, she's totally glad she helped her pack the underwear first. But anyhow, she starts looking through her winter clothing, "How much winter clothing do you have?" Then suddenly looking abstracted, "I'm not sure how it's even going to work for like say skiing, or iceskating.. whether we're going to have to rent the gear, or if it's just provided for.. or if we have to bring our own. So much to plan for, and so little information!"

Ichigo is hopelessly lost in this school. In fact, she wouldn't even have come here if she didnt have something important to deal with. Unfortunately, Ryou was nowhere to be found at the cafe, and so she had resorted to tracking him down at his school.

Still, she feels a bit out of place in the state-of-the-art school, even though she had taken the tour during one of their recent open hourses. At the very least, it was enough to point her in the general direction of the dorms. Now, let's just hope Ryou was in so she could give him Masha to repair, after that awful incident with Mamoru and Anthy.

"Umm..Hello? Ryou-san, where are you?" She had already peeked into a number of dorm rooms and asked several people but so far had come up empty handed. Then, she spies the open dorm room ahead and makes her way towards it, spying a familiar figure up ahead.

"Mamoru-san?"

Just as Ichigo's coming up the hall, in fact, Mamoru's straightening up in the doorway and unfolding his coat, the pock of which he takes an apple from. "I," he tells Eri pointedly, "haven't stepped in." He points down at where his feet are just at the threshold. "But whatever. Enough of the Chiba-senpai; you can both of you just call me--"

And then Ichigo's voice echoes up the hallway, finishing his sentence for him. The corners of his eyes crinkle up and he turns in the door so he can see both the girls in the room and the girl in the hall. "Ichigo-san," he greets her and confirms his identity at the same time, waving with the apple. He glances back in the room. "You'll be able to rent all those things. Just bring something nice, seven days' worth of clothes unless you're lazy, normal packing-for-a-trip things like your toothbrush and a thick book, and your coat." Then he looks down the hall again as Ichigo's approaching; his face goes a little concerned. "You look worried, are you all right?"

"Seven days worth of clothes for sporting events and romantic events," Asagao almost chides. "You don't want to wear the same clothes under your ski suit as you do fireside for hot chocolate! You would be all sweaty and *gross*, just not practical at all!"

To Eri, Asagao just smiles, "Lots! If you need to borrow anything, feel free!" She hears someone outside call for Mamoru, which creates enough of a gap in the worrying over clothes for something Mamory said to sink in.

"You're taking a book." This is not a question, it's calm incredulity.

Placing one hand on her hip, she looks back Mamoru's way, "That's no excuse! You're looking inside! And what would you prefer, then?" And then Ichigo approaches! Eri offers her a smile, and a friendly wave, "Hey there." At a glance, she didn't look like an Ohtori student, so glancing back towards Mamoru, she asks, "Can you introduce me to your friend?"

At Asagao's offer, Eri looks back at her, sizing her up for a while before deciding that she probably will fit into most of her things, and finally says, "Alright. Thank you very much Uekawa-san!" Folding some of the winter clothing which appears nicer and more vital into her bags, Eri then glances over as Asagao and Mamoru talk about the book. And surprisingly comes to Mamoru's defense on this one, "Well there's nothing wrong with that. I imagine after coming back from being skiing or something you'd just want to settle around an open fire. A book date sounds nice and relaxing with a cup of hot cocoa."

Well, she had been a bit bruised after what was supposed to be a relaxing Yoga retreat - before the instructor mysteriously vanished and was replaced by a giant snake..Thing..So much for relaxing before finals! Of course, Ichigo's not about to reveal her adventures as Mew Strawberry to a bunch of strangers. Even Mamoru, she does not know that well!

"Ahh, do I look that bad?" Ichigo looks a bit shocked as she touches her face, trying to feel for bruises. Wait, maybe he's talking about something else! Relax, it's only final exam time!

She smiles, "oh no, I'm fine really, just didn't get much sleep last night.." Phew, this whole super hero thing is exhausting, honestly. And she's still so new to it all! "Hmm, actually I was looking for a...Err..Friend of mine, kind of." She's got a funny look on her face as she says that. Afterall, Ryou wasn't really a 'friend' persay, just a bossy highschool student who had hijacked her life. But enough about that.

"Maybe you know him? His name is Ryou Shirogane, apparently he lives in this dorm, while he's going to this school. But I cant find him anyway.." Oh yeah, she's wearing that funny mechanical fluffball on her school bag. Except he's suddenly, mysteriously the size of a keychain this time around. He doesn't seem to be whirring and buzzing like before though..

She quirks a curious brow towards the two within the dorm. "Oh excuse me! I didn't mean to interrupt-Ooh, going on a field trip?" She cannot help but catch bits of the conversation, alas. And her curiosity is as deadly as a cat's, oddly enough..

Mamo's just starting to look defensive over his 'seven days worth of clothes' decision when Ichigo comes the rest of the way up, and then his attention's split three ways. He clutches his apple, frowning at Asagao and thunking into a lean against the other side of the doorframe, so Ichigo can look in better. And then he points at Asagao with his apple. "I'm taking a *lot* of books," he corrects her, "I read fast. And--"

And Eri's leapt to his defense! He gives her a grateful look, then does as she asks. "Mamoru-san," he says, "is fine. This is Ichigo Momomiya!" And his feathers, so to speak, are already de-ruffling; he buffs the apple on his shirt-sleeve, slinging his jacket over his shoulder, then glances back to Ichigo, grinning lopsidedly.

"You look fine, just worried, and it's probably because you can't find your friend, eh? I've heard his name, but I couldn't point him out in a crowd, unfortunately. I'm not in my dorm room much, so I don't see a lot of my neighbors." Then he gestures broadly at the mess in Asagao's room, and at Asa and Eri. "Uekawa-san's trying to pack for the sister-schools Hokkaido trip. The ice palace--"

Here's where Mamoru starts going into excruciating nerdlinger detail on the specifics of how they make the ice palace and how much ice is used and how long it lasts and how they keep parts of it cold enough and and and, unless someone stops him, please, someone stop him, oh god.

"OH MY GOD," Asagao announces - just loud and nigh-shrill enough to hopefully command everyone's attention at once.

"PLEASE come in from out of the hallway, otherwise a member of the Student Council is likely to show up and I WILL NOT ABIDE IT!"

Someone is still having difficulty with losing her Power of Invisibility to Social Authority Figures.

"Nice to meet you, Momomiya-san," Asagao says politely. "Mamoru-san, Eri-san, a 'Book Date' is quite possibly the *LEAST* romantic thing I have ever heard of! This is a social trip, if you spend the whole time reading you will be missing the entire point!"

Eri bows at Ichigo just slightly, more just tilting her body than anything, before waving, "Hey Momomiya-san! It's very nice to make your acquaintance. I love your hair by the way. And I don't know him, so I don't think he's in Uekawa-san's and my class."

Eri tilts her head at Ichigo slightly (She'd been with Homura recently, so this rubs off on her, blame the PMMM animators), "Oh, do you go to one of the sister schools? I thought most everyone was going on this winter trip!"

Crossing her arms, she nods at Mamoru, "Alright Mamoru-s.." Which is when Asagao /INTERRUPT/ happens, and Eri puts her hands up to her ears, "Oh come on! Not all of the student council is that bad!" She insists, in a half-whine. "I know a couple of the middle school members."

Turning around, she starts to idly pack, until she insists a book date is the least romantic thing she's ever heard, and Eri gives Asagao a look, adjusting her glasses which probably mark her as a member of the nerd culture. "Oh come on! I can think of worse things than curling up in front of a fire with someone you care about, reading together! That sounds pretty romantic to me. And if he's only going to read at the slow moments of the trip, then what's wrong with that? And there's transport time, what happens if you end up sitting beside someone you don't know? And even if you are, sometimes you just run out of things to talk about."

"Ooh, the Hokkaido trip?" Ichigo's eyes widen as Mamoru goes into loads of nerdy detail about the construction of the ice palaces, seeming quite interested by his very detailed explanation..Or maybe it's just the fact that he kinda reminds her of her dear Masaya whom she hasn't seen in a while, that stops her from interruptnig hom.

"Wow, Mamoru-san, that's really neat! It sounds so pretty too, but kind of cold.." She's not a big fan of cold and ice, not particularly. But, it sounds really beautiful and romantic too...Siiiigh. If only she could take Masaya there with her..On a date!

Eeh! Her face reddens for a moment at her romantic fantasy, before she realizes that she's not alone! "Ahh! I mean..." Ahem, "nice to meet you, Asagao-san, Eri-san.." She bows politely to the two of them. "I'm hoping I can make the school trip too. I'm still neck deep in exams and homework, so i'm hoping I can get a head start on studying in time for the field trip! It sounds like it'll be lots of fun!"

Glancing over at Eri, she blinks, "Ooh, you really like my hair!? Thanks! Yeah, I think the school trip would be fun, and I also think curling up by the fire, sharing a book with someone you like sounds really romantic!" She starts blushing again!

"Oh, I come from Juuban school." Yeah that's right, perfectly dull, perfectly ordinary Juuban..

Duly chastized, Mamoru slips in the door and shifts to... leaning against the wall instead! He gives Ichigo basically a n_n face as she appreciates his nerdiness, then settles into the zen of listening to chatter and taking a bite of his apple. He's at least de-fanged in the terrible department, it seems.

Letting Eri and Ichigo explain their theories on his upcoming winter trip behavior and its probable romance value without putting in any corrections, he relaxes little by little. After a certain point, he's probably even thinking about particle physics or curry recipes or something; if any of them actually look at him for a reaction or anything, he's clearly totally preoccupied. Daydreaming, even.

Actually he's thinking about the Phantom Silver Crystal, but.

Deciding on a few sweaters and some nice jeans, suddenly things are expertly folded and tucked away while she listens to Eri rattle off all of the worthwhile reasons for bringing a book.

This is a girl who was in Top Tier amongst 8th Graders in Japanese this year.

"Oh, no, those are all VERY GOOD reasons to have a book to read!" Asagao does not argue that! "I am pro-book! But," she says, fixing her eyes on DAYDREAMING MAMORU, "Somehow... I get the sense that Mamoru-san will have his nose in a book while also navigating the slopes."

Brief tease now out of the way, Asagao returns to the conversation at large; "Well then of course you're coming, Momomiya-san! Just about everyone *is* coming on this trip. Finals should be all done by them, you don't have some horrible teacher who's given you a project to do over the winter break do you? That would be terrible!"

"There's nothing wrong with that. I went to Juuban until three years ago. I'm here on scholarship." There's a smile at Ichigo. "And yes! I love your hair. It's just like Madoka-chan's. So /kawaii/! I love the strawberry color, it's really lovely too!"

At some point while packing, she steals a glance towards handsome senpai figure, because handsome senpai is handsome even when he's a -san, making her blush a little before she looks away. Perhaps she's imagining him daydreaming about the one he loves. Certainly not /her/, but Eri is a hopeless romantic at heart and likes to imagine that everyone is happily involved with someone else even if she can't be.

And then Eri's lack of skiing knowledge is pointed out vividly, "Would that be such a bad thing really? You don't really use the Y equals m x plus b equation anymore after you learn about slopes and graphing. Sometimes you need to look it up." Oblivious sometimes takes the name of Eri.

"Ehh...Are you sure?" Ichigo doesn't know these people well enough to intrude on their personal space, however, she feels even more akward if she just hovers outside. "Alright..Thanks!" She pops in, peering here and there. "Wow, what a cool dorm. So much more interesting than the ones in Juuban.."

She giggles at Asago's poke at Mamoru's stark nerdiness. "I dont know, I can't imagine poring over a calculus book as being romantic..I'd much rather read some deeply involved love story or even a fairytale.." Hey, fairytales are cool, so much cooler than text books. Bleh! Sounds like the kind of thing Masaya might do, probably something more leaning towards environmental conservation though..

"But, I totally hope I can come! There's just this one teacher who is so crazy, and likes to pile tons of homework and pop quizzes on us! But, maybe..." Maybe he'll cut 'em some slack for once!

She smiles at Eri. "Madoka? No, I dont think I've met her before. But yeah, I really like strawberries too! Thanks!" She beams. There's a reason why she took that name as a Mew, afterall. "I cant say I've tried skiing before, but it looks like a lot of fun.." Actually, she was never really athletic, until recently..

The older boy does, at least, stop daydreaming when he hears his name. Like a cat who hears theirs and swivels an ear around but doesn't otherwise move, Mamoru's eyes flicker to Asagao as he chews his apple and looks magnanimous at her.

He is, of course, completely oblivious to Eri's stolen glances and blushings, because she's not hanging on his arm and making him sweatdrop as she does it. There are things to be said in favor of inattentive boys, sometimes.

Sometimes.

Then she says what she says about skiing, and he almost chokes on his apple bite. Quick swallow, eyes wide, and he thumps his chest and grimaces because the swallowing was so quick that it's going down really slowly. "Ugh. No, uh-- you don't-- think about anything but looking where you're going, if you're balancing on slidy things going downhill at great speed," he says, voice a little strained. "I mean, unless you're really good, in which case you're moving and reading the landscape by instinct and rote, in which case you can *think* about anything you want, but a book would get in the way."

Totally serious, and a little hesitant and gentle, that. He just holds his hand over his chest, then, voice quiet until the painful journey of apple bite to stomach eventually ends. "If you have homework over the winter trip, I can help you with it," Mamoru offers Ichigo. "Because that's just not fair. And you're right, fiction is a pretty good way to spend fireside time! But anything you like reading about is good for downtime. I find it pretty relaxing. Calms me down if something I can't fix is frustrating me. But you should definitely try skiing! Or ice skating, which is also a lot of fun.

Okay, Mamoru has redeemed himself - at least a little. Asagao's expression is quite satisfied!

"You should take him up on that, Momomiya-san - he gets some of the best grades in the whole school!" Asagao tosses a bit of hair over her shoulder while she starts fishing for other clothing items. She considers a pair of leggings and then flings them back generally dresser-wards.

Asagao is likely to enjoy cleaning this whole mess up entirely too much, once she's got everything packed.

Eri would never be so presumptuous as to think to hang on a boy's arm without them asking. She's so self-depreciating that she thinks the chances of her attracting anyone is minimal, even if she isn't unattractive, she believes she is.

Holding up a couple of winter scarves, she looks Asagao's way, "What do you think, Uekawa-san? Pack or no?"

She does however shake her head at Mamoru, "Oh, I wouldn't know, I've never been skiing. Swimming is my sport. Don't think I'll be doing much of that on the trip." Glancing sidelong at Ichigo, she smiles warmly, "I'll introduce you to her some day if I can. But seriously!? Juuban teachers would do that to you on trips like that? That's terrible!"

Ichigo smiles sweetly at Mamoru-san. "Oh, really? Thank you, I'd really appreciate it. You're right, it's so not fair to make students write exams when they're supposed to be relaxing and enjoying a school field trip!"

She shrugs a bit at his technicalities though, "I dunno, when I need to keep balanced, it's just something I feel. I dont think about all the calculations and stuff, you know?

She nods at Asagao as well, "Okay! I'll take you up on that offer, Mamoru-san..But I'll have to think of a way to repay you for your generosity!"

She's interrupted by Masha's weird whirring noises as he starts spinning around on the little keychain, and she quickly clamps a hand over him. "Shhh!" Ahh, where is that pesky Ryou, already? This is getting ridiculous. How is she supposed to hunt for Chimera Anima when he's acting up like this?

"Oh, I'm sorry, but Ireally have to get going, I dont have a lot of time to find Ryou-san...But, it was nice meet you all, I hope to see you all at the school field trip!" And she's already running down the hallway..

Mamoru blushes very slightly when Asagao says he gets some of the best grades in the school, and looks at his apple for a second. But then Eri's talking to him, and he looks to her again, giving a wry smile at her swimming observation.

Then he outright grins at Ichigo. "You bet," he says in cheerful confirmation of the offer and her acceptance of it. Then he blinks at the whirring of her keychain, and marks another 'watch her' tick in his mental spreadsheet. But he smiles at the last, eyes bright as he looks down at her. "And don't worry about it, Ichigo-san, I like helping."

And abruptly she's legging it down the hall, and he waves a little uselessly. "Bye!"

Finally, Mamoru looks back at the other two girls, and pushes off the wall. "Shimanouchi-san," he is not being presumptuous even though he allowed the use of his given name, "I'd like to talk with you before the trip, if you have time. If not, I understand!" He sounds and looks cheerful; there's likely nothing to worry about. "Uekawa-san, I'm sorry I put you on the spot. I was a little annoyed, but that's no excuse. I'm going to the library; I'll stop delaying your packing."

And there, unfairly, his eyes are twinkling.

"Fff, delayed," Asagao says dismissively, 'bah, whatever!' smiling. "I'm glad you stopped by, Mamoru-san." Because she is! The 'apology accepted' is totally implied.

Ichigo runs off before she can say goodbye - she just shrugs, then looks over at the scarves Eri is holding up.

"That one and thant one, but not that one. It does't go with anything else I've packed."

Eri waves after Ichigo, "It was very nice meeting you Momomiya-san!" She calls out after her.

Looking over her shoulder at Mamoru, she tries to keep her expression neutral, but some emotion tugs at the corners. It may imply there's nothing to worry about but she had a feeling about what he was going to want to discuss, "You can call me whatever you'd like, Mamoru-san." Really, she tended towards more formal only because she was terrible at reading what people preferred. She states in a muted voice, "And sure. I'll text you soon, before the trip alright?" She just needed a night or so to get over the Homura Inquisition, which she hadn't expected. Which really wasn't even a tenth as bad as she feared. After all, she thought that Homura would just kill her, instead it turned out to be mostly pleasant.

When Asagao points, she folds them away, setting aside the one that /clashes/ because ewww.

"All right, Eri-chan," Mamoru says, then grins like the terrible, terrible person he is, and with a crooked smile and a wave with apple-hand to Asagao, he--

--smug-walks out the door.