2014-11-17 - Classy Cooking Conundrum
| Title: Classy Cooking Conundrum | |
|---|---|
| Summary: Ohtori's cooking class has a special guest lecturer, and members of the Sister Schools are invited! Unfortunately, Fred Burgermeister qualifies as a distinctly unmotivational speaker. When children's dreams shatter into X-Charas, can things be put right? | |
| Who: Fred Burgermeister, Ikuto Tsukiyomi, Amu Hinamori, Nadeshiko Fujisaki, Inori Yamabuki, Makoto Kino, Gordon | |
| Where: Ohtori Classrooms | |
| OOC - IC Date: 12 April 2014 - 11/17/2014 | |
<Pose Tracker> Fred Burgermeister [None] has posed.
The tension is palpable. While culinary school isn't a particular focus of Ohtori, the academy has spared no expense on having the finest facilities for even the slightest of interests. The cooking classroom illustrates this neatly - numerous stations each sport full stove/oven/sink/counter setups, with plenty of room for every student. It's a graduated setup, with multiple tiers toward the back of the room so all can see the front of the classroom - where a larger setup allows the instructor to demonstrate proper technique.
Today, the classroom is considerably more full than usual. The lure of a special guest lecturer has brought out not only those Ohtori students interested in a career in cuisine, but equally keen youths from the other Sister Schools. It's ten minutes past the appointed start time, and the entire classroom is in a furor - who is this mystery chef? Is he going to show up at all? What secrets might be-
The double doors at the front of the classroom fly open with a loud bang, and the lecturer is revealed. An American, reasonably tall, quite broad, sporting a grand bushy moustache upon his face. He's in fine regalia - a crisp black apron, with accompanying black chef's hat, and a billowing cape - still fluttering from the force of his dynamic entry. Dark eyes survey the classroom, gaze flitting from student to student, taking in the sheer enthusiasm on display.
"Greetings, students of the kitchen. Your wait has come to an end - stand and heed my words, as I - Fred Burgermeister - regale you with the future of culinary careers!" He flings one arm wide as he strides forth, taking up a position in front of the head kitchen station.
<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
While Inori certainly wasn't someone that intended to go into a culinary program, she had a wide variety of interests, including sewing, dancing, and cooking. Her family had a lot of affection for spicy food in particular. Don't ask. And thus she had made every effort to attend today, hoping to pick up some additional recipes and expertise in the kitchen for her hobby.
Sitting at one of the cooking stations in her teal middle school uniform, she had been arranging her bookbag, when the guest lecturer bursts within the door. She straightens and stands up immediately, with a startled look that fades as she realizes it was the guest lecturer, and that he was foreign. Perhaps he just didn't know how to conduct himself politely in a Japanese classroom? Inori gradually relaxes, her gaze settling upon his cape. This part of him she didn't find at all strange.
After all, Midori Sugiura taught at Ohtori.
"He has a pretty good grasp of Japanese for a Westerner. Is he really an American?" She murmurs softly to the row of students behind her.
<Pose Tracker> Amu Hinamori [Ohtori Academy (6)] has posed.
Truth be told, Amu wasn't completely enthused about coming to this guest lecture. Sure, she didn't mind cooking, but she didn't want it to be her career or anything. Probably. Maybe? Look, she has issues with what she wants to be when she's older. Besides, she was better at baking than anything else.
This is why she looks somewhat bored, elbow on the table and hand propping up her head. She blinks when the surprise guest lecturer makes his dynamic entrance... then quirks an eyebrow. "The apron I get, but why the cape?"
"Shuuuuuush-desu!" Seated on the desk in front of her is Suu, the green-garbed Chara, diligently taking notes. Even though there hasn't been anything to take notes on yet. "Don't you know who that is? He's famous-desu!" Of course, Suu is invisible and silent to most.
"R...right. You know I'm only here because you begged me, Suu." Amu lets out another breath, but she sits up straight at least. She has to be polite for the speaker! "I guess the cape is kinda cool," she mumbles softly.
<Pose Tracker> Ikuto Tsukiyomi [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
There is one student attending the lecture who doesn't seem to care much about cooking, but it's all right, he's not... Well, he's not /in/ the classroom, per se.
Perched in one of the trees just outside one of the windows in the back is a tall, dark blue-haired boy in the black Juuban High male uniform. Some uniforms have changed for the new school term at the Sister Schools, but this particular one hasn't. ...Mainly because Ikuto likes it and all attempts to make him wear the updated ones have so far failed.
What a rebel!
Right now he's sitting on a branch, leaning back on the precarious thing as casually as if he were in a La-Z-Boy, and watching Fred's arrival with a bored expression. He's at an angle where most students won't see him at all, but if one gets bored enough to look out the window from just the right position, well...
<Pose Tracker> Gordon [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.
There is one guest here that does not, at a glance, belong: in the back, a grey and white-furred rabbit sits on a chair, looking at the stage with a scowl in his cute brown eyes. He, too, wears a chef's coat, though his is white. Gordon is here and watching, but he is quiet.
For now.
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
For Makoto, who absolutely does hope to make a career out of cooking, the news of this lecture was an unexpected and very welcome windfall. She can't begin to hide her bright-eyed enthusiasm, and hasn't bothered to try - as the minutes ticked by past the scheduled start time with no sign of the celebrated guest lecturer, she's gotten a bit fidgety.
But that falls quickly away when the chef makes his dramatic entrance, in favor of relief and, let's face it, no little surprise. She's not sure what she was expecting from a famous American chef, but she's pretty sure it didn't involve a cape.
When she catches Inori's murmured question, Mako can't quiet hold back a quiet laugh. "I don't know," she murmurs back, keeping her voice low. "He's definitely loud enough..."
<Pose Tracker> Nadeshiko Fujisaki [Ohtori Academy (6)] has posed.
Nadeshiko Fujisaki has been weirdly withdrawn since the new term started, but here she is: Sitting at the station nearest Amu and dressed in a lovely little violet apron, because cooking - mostly baking - is like the only thing she does with her time that isn't formal Japanese dance, Guardian work, or threatening monsters with a naginata.
Next to her, floating in plain sight and yet quite unseen by all but a precious few, floats Temari, her own Guardian Character. Temari is in a kimono and hovering extra high because she does not want any part of this getting dirty business, no sir. Nadeshiko doesn't look as terminally bored as Amu, although she is eyeing the clock with some concern. Teachers aren't normally very late...
Oh, there he is. She tips her head, inclined to a precisely inquisitive angle. "The costume's interesting," she observes, mostly in Amu's direction. Of course the actress notices the costume. Of...of course.
She does stand as bidden, though, because she's a polite young lady. Temari flutters down from above to muse, "He didn't mention cooking."
Nadeshiko glances in Amu's direction, tittering a little at Suu's excitement, and then to Temari, chides, "Let's trust in Suu."
<Pose Tracker> Fred Burgermeister [None] has posed.
There's a pause after the lecturer's self-introduction. Silence reigns for a long moment, as if the chef is waiting for applause. He seems to recover quickly enough - striding around the kitchen station, examining the pots and cutting boards on display. He even takes a moment to glance at a pocketwatch, before finally nodding.
"I look around this room, and I see...hope. You, who dream of the future of cuisine - what will change? What will stay the same? What is today's world, and what might yet come? I have worked for years, running [restaurant] after [restaurant], seeing what the diners of the world desire. And now..." Although he slips into English for a few key words, his enunciation is decent enough - and supported by sheer volume. Striding back and forth, he finally slams both hands down on the countertop.
"I tell you - the day of the chef is done! Modern technology has ensured that all the arts of cooking are [passè] - that all the skill you seek to attain will go unappreciated!" From beneath the counter, he produces a plate - a delicious-looking Chicken Cordon Bleu, placing it along with the tools required to make it - a tenderizing hammer, a bowl of breadcrumbs, gleaming chef's knives. "Once, preparing this dish would require dedication, tools, knowledge, skill. But now..."
He snaps his fingers. There's a glint from the window to his left -
-and a small truck smashes through the wall, scattering debris everywhere. It came through rear-first, and from the truck bed a deep fryer skids to a halt mere inches from the unflinching chef. The scent of boiling oil billows through the hall, the black chef's garb taking on a greasy sheen. From a billowing sleeve, he draws a frost-lined plastic bag.
Over the din of settling debris, the American increases his volume anew. "Now - machines handle the preparation! The art of the 'cook' - in the world's restaurants, in the world's kitchens - is reduced to this!" The bag, he upends into the fryer - frozen 'chicken cordon bleu' portions tumbling into bubbling oil. "Youths, stand and understand - your efforts are for naught. No one desires chefs in the looming era - I tell you, abandon those foolish dreams!"
Reactions are mixed. Surprise among many. Indignation among some. And among those students in the front rows - the most eager to find out how to become chefs in their own right - despair. Depair that this expert in the field has shattered their dreams, left them with nothing...
Shadows billow. Blackened eggs begin to appear. And Fred Burgermeister watches this, and simply nods, arms folded. Much, much more quietly, he murmurs. "Just as they said would happen..."
<Pose Tracker> Ikuto Tsukiyomi [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
Despair takes form, particularly amidst three elementary-aged students from whom the black eggs have emerged, each aspiring to become a chocolatier, a patissier or a croissant...ier. They look up, glassy-eyed...
The three eggs hatch into something Amu and Nadeshiko are well familiar with by now, though the others not so much: A trio of grinning little jet-black humanoids in SD proportions, with a red X on each of their foreheads! And as befitting the situation, each is wearing a chef's hat... but that's not all.
One of them (codenamed "Larry") is holding a rolling pin! The other (codenamed "Curly") is holding an ice cream scooper! The last (codenamed "Moe") is holding a cookie tray!
"IMPOSSIBLE!" the three proudly chant together, each holding their respective totem up.
It's an X-Chara triple threat, and they scatter into the kitchen, causing total mayhem. The regular students might not quite understand why the ovens are lighting up, the faucets exploding and the kitchen knives flying around in a decidingly unsafe manner, but to the magically attuned, the cause is all too clear!
Outside, Ikuto's eyes widen.
COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi transforms into Youma Form Fast Dessert Youma! COMBAT: Fred Burgermeister transforms into Dark Fry King! COMBAT: Fred Burgermeister has fully healed himself. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi has fully healed himself. He is now ready to take on 3 opponents!
<Pose Tracker> Amu Hinamori [Ohtori Academy (6)] has posed.
Some of these are things Amu already knew... though she's never specifically made chicken cordon bleu. Suu, meanwhile, is taking copious notes of every little detail.
But then the visiting speaker says that the era of the chef is done, and all color drains from her, including her dress. "V...very big shock-desu!" Monochrome-Suu just sort of stares in some sort of deflated horror. "Ah.. Suu, I'm sure he doesn't mean it that way. Wait. Nadeshiko, do you hear that?"
And that's when a truck comes smashing through the wall. "What the--" Amu is not an expert chef. She's... passable at baking. She can make a few other dishes. But she's pretty sure this isn't how it's done. "Th...this isn't cooking at all!" Turning toward her friend, the pink-haired girl cups a hand over her mouth to whisper, "Nadeshiko, was this one of the high school student council's ideas? They always do weird stuff like this." No, she isn't panicked yet, just really... weirded out.
But then she can feel the building despair, even before the eggs come out. "Suu... snap out of it!" By the time she turns to look at her Chara, though, Suu is already recovered floating in the air. In fact, she's floating right over toward Fred and waving a finger accusingly at him! "You can't do that sort of thing-desu! There's no love in it! If it isn't made with love, then I don't want to eat it-desu!" She plucks at her dress and pulls a curtsy, then tilts her head slightly. "Here, let me show you how it's done!"
"Suu, I don't think this is the time for--" "From a girl who can't cook to a girl who makes things filled with love-desu! Chips! Syrup! Whip!" The X-shaped hairpin atop Amu's head suddenly changes shape to a clover, and Amu reaches for a nearby bowl and a whisk. She dips the whisk in and... an enormous surge of creme sauce flies out, right toward the dark chef! "...Suu! He's not food either!"
COMBAT: Amu Hinamori transforms into Chara Change Suu! COMBAT: Amu Hinamori has used Chips! Syrup! Whip! on Fred Burgermeister. COMBAT: Amu Hinamori has finished attacking. COMBAT: Fred Burgermeister narrowly dodges Amu Hinamori's Chips! Syrup! Whip!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Exhausted and Stagger applied to Fred Burgermeister!
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Kino [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
"What the HELL--?!" Makoto yelps, diving for cover behind the nearest cooking station when the truck smashes in through the wall and all hell starts breaking loose in the kitchen. Why does it always turn out like this?!
"Damn it," she swears through gritted teeth, "this guy again--" Abruptly coming to a decision, Makoto raises her arm to shielf her face from the eruption of a nearby sink, and lurches from out of the cooking station's shelter to bolt out of the room.
Moments later--
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" a clear and very aggravated voice calls from the midst of the smoke near the classroom doorway, and out from the haze into the midst of the kerfuffle strides the tall Sailor Senshi in green and pink. Squaring her shoulders, she faces Burgermeister defiantly. "There will always be a place for chefs who put their hearts into making delicious food! Sailor Jupiter, the Senshi of Courage and Eclairs, will never forgive you for trying to crush the dreams of aspiring chefs!"
With this declaration, Sailor Jupiter spreads her hands palms-outward before her, calling up a wind that scatters rose petals from her fingertips. The swirl of moving air picks up speed and strength quickly, becoming a miniature storm of petals and fragrance that seeks to engulf the three little monster chefs currently terrorizing the kitchen classroom.
COMBAT: Makoto Kino transforms into Sailor Jupiter!
Nadeshiko Fujisaki has connected.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has used Flower Hurricane on Ikuto Tsukiyomi. COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has finished attacking. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi perfectly dodges Sailor Jupiter's Flower Hurricane, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Ikuto Tsukiyomi's Fade ability activates! Ikuto Tsukiyomi's Flash ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Gordon [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.
There is a shuffling from the back, as the rabbit there hops from the chair to the top of a seat, letting him look down at Fred Burgermeister -- and the three elementary-aged students that shoot out into the kitchen, the kitchen coming to unexpected life -- before he jabs a paw in the Dark Fry King's direction. "I've heard enough!"
The rabbit glowers. "You don't know the first thing about being a chef -- or what customers want. Fresh ingredients, delicious food, and excellent service! It's what's calling to people!"
Then he looks down at Suu, and stares for a moment. Then Gordon shrugs his rabbit-y shoulders. "She's got the right of it, Fry King! Show him how to do things!"
COMBAT: Gordon has used Ma Cuisine on Amu Hinamori. COMBAT: Gordon has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Inori Yamabuki [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
Inori nods at Makoto's statement as she turns around, "He is a lit..." And faces the exceptionally tall girl, "...tle." Not recognizing her as someone who attends Ohtori, as she's sure she'd remember someone that tall, there's this awkward silence for just a moment where she's contemplating it before she smiles at her politely, "Hello. My name is Inori Yamabuki. I don't think we've met. What's your name? Are you a new transfer for this semester?"
While trying to look Makoto's way out of the corner of her vision, she catches sight of the boy on the tree. While his behavior for a boy is shameless, there's something catlike enough about him that she doesn't appear to mind the behavioral lapse. She murmurs a question to Makoto, "Do you know who that is over there? He seems so..." There's a palpable pause, as she considers her word choice, falling on the first word that comes to mind, "...snuggly." For some reason she doesn't sound embarrassed about that word choice at all, even if she ought to be.
She then turns to listen to the lecture, just in time for a truck to smash through the wall, for which she yelps and takes cover beneath her cooking station, hands over her head. She doesn't even dare to peek for a while, but eventually she puts her hands on the edge of the station and hoists herself back up, daring to ask a question around her. "I-Is this what lectures are like in America?"
His final words do finally sink in, and her lips crease into a frown. "But I like home cooking as a hobby... I don't think..." That's the moment that the despair coalesces in the three X-Chara eggs, something which she'd never seen before. The three floating creatures causing havoc in the kitchen though are obviously not an intentional part of the lecture, unlike the truck. It's sometimes difficult to distinguish these things at Ohtori.
Given that she's surrounded by classmates who she very much doesn't want to learn her identity, she bends down to waist height to avoid the sudden hail of cutlery, "I'm going to go alert maintenance!" It seemed like the proper normal person thing to do with the kitchen exploding. She then makes a mad dash, bent over with her hands over her head through the back door of the classroom. Once there, she ducks into the nearest restroom and places a clover shaped key to the top of her 'cell phone' "Pretty Cure... Beat up!"
Not long after, Cure Pine is bursting back into the classroom, the door banging just as loudly as when Fred burst in. She points towards the Dark Fry King. "A good chef once told me that everyone has problems with self-confidence. They don't need you ruining their faith in their dreams!" Noting the three X-Chara continuing to cause havoc, she leaps towards Curly, with his brandished ice cream scoop, "Put that down right now, that's not meant to hurt people!" She aims a precise jab his way, attempting to strike the hand wielding it.
COMBAT: Inori Yamabuki transforms into Cure Pine! COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Needlepoint Jab on Ikuto Tsukiyomi. COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi fails to brace Cure Pine's Needlepoint Jab, taking 18 Fatigue damage! Cripple applied to Ikuto Tsukiyomi!
<Pose Tracker> Nadeshiko Fujisaki [Ohtori Academy (6)] has posed.
Nadeshiko listens attentively as the guest begins...and then her face falls. That was not what she expected him to be building up to. "I...don't know," she admits. Which is...odd. Doesn't she always know stuff like this?
Her brow darkens, as X Eggs appear and Suu takes the stage. "Temari," she says, sternly. Her fairy friend nods, grim.
There is a high *POP*, and then Nadeshiko has a naginata in hand, and one foot on a fractured countertop, brandishing her spear with menace. "Amu!" she barks. "I'll keep these under control!"
And she plunges in, spear weaving to try and manage the floating eggs positions, wailing wordlessly.
COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki transforms into Chara Change!
<Pose Tracker> Fred Burgermeister [None] has posed.
The appearance of the X-Charas - embodying the ruination of at least three culinary hopes and dreams - brings a new glint to Fred Burgermeister's eye. How interesting - tangible proof that his words have had an effect. He casts a gaze around the rest of the room, in order to judge how many students are still denying the facts he's made clear -
And then a small blue fairy appears to start admonishing him. One hand comes up to tug at his moustache as Suu starts ranting - and he winds up having to use the fryer for cover against the surging cream sauce. The dairy dessert, landing in bubbling oil, results in a sickly-sweet stench. "Hmph. Not quite the style of the Blue Ribbon..."
He refrains from speaking further until all the challengers have burst into the room to say their piece. Standing tall once more, he sweeps his arm - and cape - wide. "You speak of love and passion, and their place in cooking - but tell me. When you go out to dine, how much attention do you truly, honestly pay to such frivolity? Food that you could not, or would not, prepare yourselves. That is why people patronize [restaurants]. All that passion...will not gain you what you sought!"
In spite of the oil's contamination, Fred lifts out the basket, upending golden-brown chicken portions onto a platter. He catches Gordon's eye briefly, then takes in the unfolding battle. "'Good enough'. That is what people will accept - why put forth the effort to master the recipe, when preparing from frozen has sufficient flavor?"
It is to Suu and Amu that he turns at last - adding an item from beneath the counter to the platter of golden-fried chicken, and tossing it to land on the counter nearest the pair. "You wish to eat food made with love? One of those came from a family restaurant, made with care. The rest were assembled by a machine, and fried without care. Please, do show us all that you can tell the difference."
COMBAT: Fred Burgermeister has used You Are What You Eat on Amu Hinamori. COMBAT: Fred Burgermeister has finished attacking. COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki has used Unmaidenly Conduct on Ikuto Tsukiyomi. COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki has finished attacking. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi fails to dodge Nadeshiko Fujisaki's Unmaidenly Conduct, taking 13 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! COMBAT: Amu Hinamori accepts Gordon's Ma Cuisine, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Amu Hinamori is Cheered! COMBAT: Amu Hinamori fails to dodge Fred Burgermeister's You Are What You Eat, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Amu Hinamori is Quipped! Amu Hinamori is Taunted!
Nadeshiko Fujisaki has reconnected.
<Pose Tracker> Ikuto Tsukiyomi [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
Ikuto has very sharp senses, so he notices when Inori notices him, though he misses what he'd just been called. Snuggly?
Poll question for our audience: Is Ikuto snuggly? See the results chart, right after these messages!
"Chefs are NOT needed~" one of the little flying gremlins, the one with the rolling pin, parrots from the Fry King, sounded gleeful despite how nihilistic the phrase is. Sailor Jupiter appears on the scene to defend the integrity of eclairs, but one thing she'll quickly notice is that the little X-Chara are /nimble/. Before the wind blows them away, they've already scattered to the corners of the classroom, and resumed causing chaos.
Curly is disarmed by Cure Pine's precision kick, and the itty-bitty ice cream scoop goes flying. The fixed grin on the creature's face turns upside down for the briefest moment, and it starts throwing an adorable, incoherent tantrum! ...One down, two do go? That might be a little TOO easy...
Of course it was, as Moe, with the tray of steaming-hot cookies, is coming in for the assist. It flies over Cure Pine and tips its tray, letting a barrage of delicious but highly dangerous cookies fall all over her, while Curly goes looking for his scoop amidst the confusion. Both of them are, however, intercepted by Nadeshiko before they can get away with all this mayhem, and have to do a lot of helpless flailing to avoid that naginata of hers!
Meanwhile, Larry's rolling pin has grown to an enormous size, and the X-Chara dances on top of it as it rolls down between the stations, threatening to flatten any dough-- or any /person/ --in its way! And as it does so, Larry chimes in on Suu and Fred's argument with a very deep insight: "Cooking with love... is DUMB~!"
COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi has used Chocolate Murder Cookies on Cure Pine. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi has used Rolling Pin Panic on Sailor Jupiter. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi has used Rolling Pin Panic on Nadeshiko Fujisaki. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi has finished attacking. COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly dodges Ikuto Tsukiyomi's Chocolate Murder Cookies, taking 2 Fatigue damage! Bind Break! All of Ikuto Tsukiyomi's debuffs are cleared!
Nadeshiko Fujisaki has partially disconnected.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter fails to dodge Ikuto Tsukiyomi's Rolling Pin Panic, taking 18 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki perfectly dodges Ikuto Tsukiyomi's Rolling Pin Panic, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! Nadeshiko Fujisaki's Flash ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Amu Hinamori [Ohtori Academy (6)] has posed.
There's a voice speaking up from behind her. Amu glances back over her shouldr and blinks several times. "A rabbit? W..well... yes, though I don't usually make anything for customers. Just for friends. But... same thing applies!" Amu points dramatically toward Fred, something she can only do because the FLAMES OF CULINARY JUSTICE burn in her thanks to Suu's Chara Change. "I can always tell when my mother cooks food for us from scratch! And not just because I see her cooking it, either. It just tastes better, you know."
Suu puts her hands on her hips. "A challenge-desu! I accept your terms!" "Suu, he didn't give any terms!" "There are no terms in cooking-desu!" "...Suu, that doesn't make any sense." "There is no sense in cooking-desu!" "You lost me." Amu turns to look at Gordon in confusion and shakes her head. "I think I'm even more confused now."
Suu is taking this -very- seriously, though. "Let's see-desu." She floats from one to the next, sniffing lightly at each dish. After a moment, she floats back up in front of Fred's face and puts her hands on her hips. "Fu, fu, fu. I have the answer-desu. And the answer is...." The little green fairy points dramatically. "I have no idea-desu!"
Cue a thud as Amu literally hits the ground in a facefault. "SUU!" "I don't eat a lot of fried food-desu," says the Chara innocently.
COMBAT: Amu Hinamori has used It Made Sense To Suu on Fred Burgermeister. COMBAT: Amu Hinamori has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Gordon [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.
"Good enough? People may settle for good enough -- but cooking isn't about settling. It's about what you want!" Gordon answers Fred, with a scowl. He watches Suu fall over -- and then grimaces. But, there are other magical girls here, and more people need some encouragement. The rabbit does a hop, landing on the armrest of a chair, this time, and turns to look at Nadeshiko wielding her naginata.
"Work hard!" he yells to her. "They're making a mess of that kitchen -- and a good kitchen is clean, with everything where it should be!"
COMBAT: Gordon has used Ma Cuisine on Nadeshiko Fujisaki. COMBAT: Gordon has finished attacking. COMBAT: Fred Burgermeister narrowly braces Amu Hinamori's It Made Sense To Suu, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Fred Burgermeister is Quipped! Fred Burgermeister's Block ability activates! Fred Burgermeister's Parry ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
During the eyecatch before commercial break, chibi-'Buki teases chibi-Ikuto with catnip. Perhaps to persuade the audience that Ikuto is in fact, snuggly.
Back to the action though, Cure Pine ducks under Curly as he starts his tantrum. "Chefs like /you/ aren't needed!" She retorts. Only to skip backwards, as Moe tries to dump a tray of steaming hot cookies on her. Though she narrowly avoids it getting in her hair, her leg is still splattered by hot dough, which brings a yelp out of her lips. "Ow! You need to be more careful with those!"
That's about the same moment that she notes the Queen's Chair of the Guardians in the room. That causes her to freeze, with the nervous realization that she might recognize that she /goes to this school/. Trying not to get too nervous at the idea she might be discovered, she idly asks the question, "Fujisaki-san wasn't it? How good are you at cleaning up a kitchen?" She springs towards Moe, corkscrewing her body into a spinning backfist to attempt to strike him out of the air. "As I don't think they're going to clean up their own mess! What are these anyhow? I've never seen anything like them!"
COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Pineapple Punch on Ikuto Tsukiyomi. COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi narrowly dodges Cure Pine's Pineapple Punch, taking 12 Fatigue damage! Ikuto Tsukiyomi's Fade ability activates! Ikuto Tsukiyomi's Flash ability activates! COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki accepts Gordon's Ma Cuisine, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Nadeshiko Fujisaki is Cheered!
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
A few minutes ago, before things went crazy--
Makoto smiles back at Inori, a bit wryly, one hand coming up to rub at the back of her neck. "I'm Makoto Kino," she answers; "ninth grade at Juuban this year. Nice to meet you. I heard the lecture was open to everyone, so..."
An excuse to skip to some other subject is welcome, and Makoto glances curiously toward the window when Inori asks about Ikuto. "I don't think so," the tall girl begins, "but--"
That's as far as she gets before the truck smashes in through the wall and, as previously established, all hell breaks loose.
Now--
The gigantic rolling pin comes at Sailor Jupiter, and though she does her best to get out of the way, it's to no avail. The rolling blunt instrument catches her off balance and bowls right over her, leaving Jupiter on the floor looking incredibly aggrieved. "--seriously?"
She's not down for long, though; in another moment the tall Sailor Senshi is shoving herself back up onto her feet, chin lifted in determination. "All right, that's it--" No more kid gloves: instead, Jupiter throws out both hands toward Larry, sending threads of electricity cracking towards the X-Chara.
"Just because there are people who'll settle for mediocre doesn't mean that nobody appreciates quality!" Sailor Jupiter declares, with a sharp glare towards Fred. "Taking pride in doing the best work that you can is the mark of a true chef!"
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has used Jupiter Thunderbolt on Ikuto Tsukiyomi. COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has finished attacking. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi narrowly braces Sailor Jupiter's Jupiter Thunderbolt, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Ikuto Tsukiyomi is Quipped!
<Pose Tracker> Nadeshiko Fujisaki [Ohtori Academy (6)] has posed.
Did Nadeshiko figure out Cure Pine's terrible secret!? Will she hunt Bukki down and make her do one hundred million Precure Pushups!?
She does not immediately issue the order, anyway, busily flailing her spear and shrilling angrily at the little mischievous imps. "Stay put, you!" she barks. "I'm just gonna bean you a little!!"
She whirls away from their counterattack, a rolling pin smashing the ground at her feet. She comes down neatly on her feet, not even winded.
And then, a bunny. ...she's prepared to rank the truck smashing through a wall as a weirder occurrence from today. "'course it is!" she barks back, but her shark grin is bigger than ever.
Cure Pine addresse her before she goes back on the attack, and Nadeshiko gives her a sidelong look, considering. "I can't fix all this smashed stuff...." she says, gritting her teeth. "But I'm pretty good at tidying up, after we put this 'fake expert' back in his place! AMU! Teach this two-bit phony what real cooking's like!"
She's about to storm in, when Cure Pine asks her question. She stops, glaring at the impish X-Charas.
"Those things...they're those childrens' broken dreams. It's more than just realizing something's hard, or giving up. It's like losing your will to have that dream at all! So we have to be careful! If we destroy one..." She grits her teeth, flinching. "Their dreams will be destroyed, too!"
And she charges; eating up the ground before lunging into Moe, whipping her naginata in sweeping arcs. "So GET! BACK! IN! YOUR! EGG! You NAUGHTY THING!"
Temari is up in the corner, making punching motions. "BEAN 'IM IN THE SCHNOZZ!!"
COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki has used Naginata Flurry on Ikuto Tsukiyomi. COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Fred Burgermeister [None] has posed.
The little fairy accepts the American's challenge - and Fred Burgermeister folds his arms, awaiting the final judgment. Matching wits with a fairy isn't entirely unexpected - after all, one of his greatest nemeses in this area is a culinary-inclined rabbit. So as Amu defends her sentiment, he simply quirks an eyebrow, and waits.
...perhaps he overestimated this opponent. Fred is very quiet for a moment before finally letting out a sharp laugh. "I believe that, young one, proves my point entirely." Dismissively, he turns to regard the rest of the situation. The panicking children - those not passed out from the loss of their dreams, anyway - and those few defiant souls.
Jupiter earns his attention for a moment with her own impassioned shout - and the chef actually -snarls- in response. "What purpose pride? What point is there in creating dishes no one will consume?" He sweeps a hand to one side, including Gordon in his admonition - with just a glance to Nadeshiko at the phrase 'two-bit hack'. "The cook's role is to make food, and the purpose is for that food to be consumed. All your passion is meaningless - when all those stomachs can be easily sated!"
The truck - smoking in the rubble - suddenly squeals its tires, tearing its way back out of the building. In its wake, more deep-fryers have been unloaded - all of them bubbling away with an imposing heat. Fred Burgermeister sweeps his arms out, conducting a crescendo of greasy scents and imposing heat - veritable waves of each, bearing down on those who have incurred the most ire.
COMBAT: Fred Burgermeister has used If You Can't Stand The Heat on Sailor Jupiter. COMBAT: Fred Burgermeister has used If You Can't Stand The Heat on Gordon. COMBAT: Fred Burgermeister has used If You Can't Stand The Heat on Nadeshiko Fujisaki. ALERT: You just attacked someone still in their Base Mode. If you didn't mean to, please use +cancel. COMBAT: Fred Burgermeister has finished attacking. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi narrowly counters Nadeshiko Fujisaki's Naginata Flurry, taking 21 Fatigue damage! Ikuto Tsukiyomi is Quipped! COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi's counterattack, Rolling Pin Panic, partially gets through, doing 6 Fatigue damage to Nadeshiko Fujisaki! Critical Counterhit! COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter narrowly braces Fred Burgermeister's If You Can't Stand The Heat, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Fred Burgermeister is Psyched! Sailor Jupiter's Block ability activates! Sailor Jupiter's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Amu Hinamori covers Gordon for Fred Burgermeister's attack, If You Can't Stand The Heat, taking it upon themselves instead! COMBAT: Amu Hinamori perfectly counters Fred Burgermeister's If You Can't Stand The Heat, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Counter! COMBAT: Amu Hinamori's counterattack, Flood of Buttercream, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Fred Burgermeister!
<Pose Tracker> Ikuto Tsukiyomi [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
Unfortunately for those interested in Ikuto's snuggliness quotient, pre-eyecatch chibi-Ikuto totally flips out from the catnip, rolls around and knocks over the camera, causing the eyecatch to be replaced by a technical difficulties screen. Oops.
Meanwhile, the real Ikuto is listening in to things that are none of his business. 'If we destroy one... Their dreams will be destroyed, too!' He looks away from the window, his expression darkening slightly.
Moe spins out of the way of Cure Pine's dangerous fist at the very last second, and despite the presence of that grin on its face, there are several drops of sweat beading from it. That was a close one!
Larry's rolling pin shrinks back closer to a normal size, but it's still comparatively oversized compared to the X-Chara itself, allowing it to shield itself against the brunt of Sailor Jupiter's lightning. Once it retracts the rolling pin, however, Larry looks at the sailor senshi with wide eyes, apparently confused by her words...
...and angered even further!! "Impossible! Useless!" it squeaks out, "Nobody likes my cookiiiing~" Nadeshiko angrily interrupts its tantrum, and it counters by attempting to bap her with its still-oversized rolling pin, but the naginata-wielder is the winner of that particular duel. Larry doesn't get back in its egg, but does go flying!
Curly, meanwhile, has found its ice cream scoop amidst all the other, chaotically scattered scoops. Looking at them all, however, gives it an idea... A light bulb flashes over its head.
A moment later, all of the ice cream scoops move at once! From somewhere or another, they pull an apparently endless amount of delicious ice cream, which they discharge in the direction of our heroes-- and the rest of the classroom, making everything /all sticky/!
COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi has used Sucrose! Glucose! Fructose! on Cure Pine. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi has used Sucrose! Glucose! Fructose! on Amu Hinamori. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi has used Impossible... Useless... on Ikuto Tsukiyomi. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi has finished attacking. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi accepts Ikuto Tsukiyomi's Impossible... Useless..., taking 0 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Cure Pine fails to brace Ikuto Tsukiyomi's Sucrose! Glucose! Fructose!, taking 24 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Tangle applied to Cure Pine! COMBAT: Amu Hinamori narrowly counters Ikuto Tsukiyomi's Sucrose! Glucose! Fructose!, taking 14 Fatigue damage! Tangle applied to Amu Hinamori! COMBAT: Amu Hinamori's counterattack, Flood of Buttercream, interrupts, doing 0 Fatigue damage to Ikuto Tsukiyomi!
<Pose Tracker> Amu Hinamori [Ohtori Academy (6)] has posed.
After a moment of smiling vacantly, Suu tilts her head. "What point was that-desu?" "Suu, he's just trying to psyche you out! You know..." Amu pulls herself back to her feet. "I'm not all that good at cooking. Most of what I do well is because of Suu. But even I know that food tastes better when the person cooking it is thinking of you! Though... I admit I'm not a big fan of deep fried stuff, so I probably can't tell the difference, either... But isn't it a great feeling to know that something you made with your own two hands has made someone happy?"
The truck's boilers begin to bubble over, and Amu glances back over her shoulder. "You leave that rabbit alone! He's right too, you know!" Amu grabs for a bowl and holds it up in an attempt to block the flood of burning oil... and Suu raises her hand. "Chips! Syrup! Whip!" What was once an empty bowl now spews out several dozen gallons of buttercream frosting, enough to mix with the oil and make a huge mess on the floor, instead of on any person or rabbit fairy. "...Suuuuuu! Look at this mess!" She's even got some lumps of weird frosting-covered ice cream on her uniform and hair from the X-chara's assault!
"Clean up later-desu!" The little green fairy spins around and glares at Fred. Glares! "He's making me angry! He can't just go around doing stuff like that! It isn't his place to crush the dreams of anyone who wants to make good food-desu!" "Suu, that's what I was saying..." "Amu-chan! Let's do the thing-desu!" "R...really? You've never--" "THE THING-DESU!"
Amu swallows hard and nods. She brings her hands to her chest, forming thumbs and forefingers into a diamond shape. "My own heart... un--" flick go her fingers. "Lock~" Flick again. A green glow surrounds Amu, along with a shower of clover-shaped sparkles, as Suu disappears into her egg and sinks into Amu's chest. Her hair pulls up into pigtails, held with large hairpins and a ruffled headpiece. An apron falls over a dress with a bulb-shaped skirt, complete with frills and ruffles all around. "Chara-Transform... Amulet Clover!"
Amulet Clover blinks and looks down at herself. "Oh, I like this apron! I--wait, later. Mister Burgermeister, I can't let you get away with what you've done here today! Children look forward to good food when they come home from school, and hard-working adults do too! You can't look down on the ones who want to work hard!" She holds her hand out, and a wand that looks suspiciously like a whisk pops into her hand. "Sweet Applique!" With a flick of her wrist, she waves the whisk-wand toward Fred and his truck... and adorable little paper flowers and glitter begin to sprout all over it, and perhaps all over Fred as well!
COMBAT: Amu Hinamori transforms into Amulet Clover! COMBAT: Amu Hinamori has used Sweet Applique on Fred Burgermeister. COMBAT: Amu Hinamori has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Gordon [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.
Gordon lets out a yell at the wave of heat, thick with the stench of fried. The rabbit's eyes widen; for all of his skill and some of his magical power, he is no combatant. The Blue Ribbon Society is about service, not about vanquishing the forces of darkness. That is, in the end, an aspect of the power of good cuisine and good service. The burning oil is intercepted, though; Amu's quick motion saves him from being slathered in the stuff. "Good job!" he calls to her. "Thank you!"
Then he does a hop to another armrest, and turns to look at Sailor Jupiter. Her cry reaches his ears and his heart. "Bloody right!" the rabbit calls back to her. "You tell him what's what, Sailor Jupiter!"
COMBAT: Gordon has used Ma Cuisine on Sailor Jupiter. COMBAT: Gordon has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
Cure Pine gives Nadeshiko a startled look as she's given crucial plot exposition. Children's broken dreams, that's just... "Too cruel." She says aloud. "That's too cruel. I'll be careful." Cure Pine is perhaps less eager to go on the offensive, instead falling back a few paces as she goes over some ideas for how she could stop them without destroying them.
That's when she's struck by a barrage of ice cream scoops. At first, she tries to knock them away with a flurry of parries, however, in parrying them, several stick, slowing her down to the point where more and more hit her head on. Peppering her repeatedly, she can do little more than cross her ice cream laden arms in front of her face, as she keeps taking step after step backwards to try to get away, until she bumps into a cooking station, and sticks. Muscles as she tries to break free from the sticky binds, she utters, "I think it's even in my hair!" Spoiler alert: It is!
However, hearing the little Chara speak upon how noone likes his cooking, Cure Pine begins to speak on her own. "You know. Even one of the best chefs I know has a dud pile, of creations he doesn't think anyone will like. They're all delicious though! Even if you feel this way now, you've just got to..."
She continues straining against the ice cream binds, and all of a sudden breaks free, using the momentum of pulling away to leap in the air, knee outstretched to try to smash it into the X-Chara, "...believe in yourself, and everything will turn out okay! You have it in you to become a great chef like him one day!"
COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Dogged Conviction on Ikuto Tsukiyomi. COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking. COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter accepts Gordon's Ma Cuisine, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Jupiter is Cheered! COMBAT: Fred Burgermeister fails to brace Amu Hinamori's Sweet Applique, taking 0 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi perfectly dodges Cure Pine's Dogged Conviction, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Critical Dodge! Ikuto Tsukiyomi's Fade ability activates! Ikuto Tsukiyomi's Flash ability activates! COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki fails to dodge Fred Burgermeister's If You Can't Stand The Heat, taking 18 Fatigue damage!
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
Sailor Jupiter squints against the oppressive heat of the oil from the fryers, raising her arm to shield her face, but she doesn't flinch back from the heat. She only glances back briefly in Gordon's direction when he calls out to her, and nods firmly in response, standing that much straighter for the encouragement when she turns her head to face the Fry Cook Of Doom once more.
"You want to know the purpose of my pride?" she fires back, hands closing into fists of determination. "If I'm going to cook for someone, I want to give them something great! It doesn't matter if they'd be happy with less or not. It doesn't even matter if I try and mess it up! If I half-ass it knowing I could do better--" Sparks hiss from between her fingers, little arcs of lightning crackling over her clenched fists, and even as she's talking Jupiter has already started to move, launching herself towards Burgermeister-- "--there's no way I'll be satisfied!"
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has used Lightning Fist on Fred Burgermeister. COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has finished attacking. COMBAT: Fred Burgermeister narrowly dodges Sailor Jupiter's Lightning Fist, taking 20 Fatigue damage! Sailor Jupiter is Psyched!
<Pose Tracker> Nadeshiko Fujisaki [Ohtori Academy (6)] has posed.
"They can take a few thumps," Nadeshiko warns Pine. "But if we can't find someone who can heal their hearts...magic works better than words! I can't do anything like that!" She spins her naginata up into aggressive posture, adding, "Isn't my style, you know?"
Unfortunately, what is her style is getting assailed by the awful smell of boiling fryers. "Ugh! Could you quit that?!" she barks in Fred's direction, but chokes and coughs on the fumes, feeling her skin scorch. Temari's power prevents it from burning, but she hisses just the same.
She staggers away, trying to leap out of the directly downwind path (however much use that is if there's magical winds involved...) and taking up a spot on a desk. Her eyes find Larry. "Is that what this is about?" she wonders, quietly.
So she lunges at that fairy, lashing out; her naginata isn't aimed to cut so much as to sweep in his direction, harrassing his flight. "Even if you're having trouble, the most important part is to keep trying! If you want it to be loved..."
She hesitates; her feet stop her for a second, her breath catching.
But only a second. Whatever passed through her head, her eyes sweep up to the X-Chara and blaze. "Those feelings will reach them! But not through a fryer like his!"
COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki has used Needle Thrust on Ikuto Tsukiyomi. COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki has finished attacking. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi narrowly braces Nadeshiko Fujisaki's Needle Thrust, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Nadeshiko Fujisaki is Psyched!
<Pose Tracker> Fred Burgermeister [None] has posed.
The rabbit...has escaped becoming a roast once more, it seems. No matter - the tantuming X-Charas make it clear to Fred whose victory this is. Or, at least, what victory will result in the long run. Amu's comment about happiness earns a long stare...but, once again, Suu serves as a distraction.
When the light clears, and Amulet Clover enters the battle, Fred finally speaks again. "Salt, sugar, fat - these are all the flavors they will-" His usual spiel, however, is cut short. A storm of origami and glitter serves as ample diversion for a moment - the apron is considerably more colorful and amusing than it was a moment before, and the chef needs a moment to look at it.
And then, the American has to -move-, lest a thunder-powered fist turn him into the next entree. The floor cracks and craters as he leaps back from the assault, Jupiter having his full attention for the moment. "Self-indulgent - all that effort goes to waste! Are you feeding your patrons, or your own ego?!"
The sentiment is being echoed from the entire room - Fred wheels from one speaker to the next, taking in the declarations of determination and purpose, and his face reddens in fury. "All that effort - all those dreams of culinary joy will turn to ashes and despair. Abandon them now - after all!" He sweeps one arm, indicating the X-Charas. "Dreams so young, shown their ruin, are this ruinous - how much worse could they become, if you allow them to continue to hold hope?!" With a sweep of one hand, fried buttercream surges forth - hardening in the air, a fluffy fried /mess/ bound for the Senshi of punching and eclairs.
COMBAT: Fred Burgermeister has used Hot Off The Grill! on Sailor Jupiter. COMBAT: Fred Burgermeister has finished attacking. COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter narrowly braces Fred Burgermeister's Hot Off The Grill!, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Sailor Jupiter's Block ability activates! Sailor Jupiter's Parry ability activates! Cripple and Trap applied to Sailor Jupiter!
<Pose Tracker> Ikuto Tsukiyomi [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
Ikuto's eyes narrow as he continues watching the scene, and Amu turns into Amulet Clover. "So, she's mastered Character Transformation with all three of them." He already knew she was one to keep an eye on, but that's yet another reason to.
The X-Chara flying around don't seem to mind much that the new magical girl on the block who just appeared may well be their worst nightmare. Larry is preoccupied by Cure Pine's words more than her flying knee attack, which it pirouettes over before turning around and sticking its tongue out at the Pretty Cure.
But the verbal assault isn't over yet, and Larry grits its teeth as now Nadeshiko too has joined in on the lecturing. It darts and weaves away from the blade, and even deflects it a few times with its rolling pin, but it looks like it's soon going to be cornered...
Larry, Curly and Moe all wind up corralled together, but they're not going down without a fight!
"Useless, useless impossible!" Moe calls out, setting its cookie tray in front of him. It hangs in mid-air witch a flash of light and a 'tching!' sound. Moe's arms form the V of victory!
"Impossible hopeless, impossible!" Curly follows, spinning its ice cream scoop around and placing it beneath the tray with another flash and 'tching!', turning it into... a tray with a handle. Curly assumes the crane stance!
"Useless, useless, useless!!" Larry, the leader, finishes, placing the rolling pin at the center of the contraption, making it the oversized 'barrel' of a very strange cannon. Larry holds its arms in an L shape, like Ultraman!
"USELESS ROLLING MERINGUE SPECIAL!"
The makeshift weapon formed from their team-up then fires a large, colorful, sweet-smelling beam that, all right, if we're being perfectly honest, only tangentially has anything to do with meringue.
COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi has used Lemon Meringue Death Ray on Amu Hinamori. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi has used Lemon Meringue Death Ray on Nadeshiko Fujisaki. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi has used Lemon Meringue Death Ray on Cure Pine. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi has finished attacking. COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Ikuto Tsukiyomi's Lemon Meringue Death Ray, taking 11 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine's Block ability activates! Cure Pine's Parry ability activates! COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki fails to dodge Ikuto Tsukiyomi's Lemon Meringue Death Ray, taking 41 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Cripple applied to Nadeshiko Fujisaki!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
When the X-Chara sticks her tongue out at his misfortune, Cure Pine... well, she lands upon one of the cooking stations, her feet sticking to them. Nadeshiko's advice is taken in stride. "Magic that can heal their hearts?" She feels a surge of confidence at a certain thought, though can she heal them on her own? She's not quite ready to find out yet.
She does have issues however, when the three of them create an oversized confectionery death ray. The sweet smelling beam strikes her head on, and despite an attempt to partially deflect it with a palm strike, it still knocks her off the cooking station, as she strikes hard against the one behind it, and sticks to it. "I can't believe the sort of mess they're making."
When she rises, she's forced to unstick herself from the station, an activity that seems to annoy her just as much as it pains her. Leaping again, she spins into a powerful roundhouse kick, attempting to knock their formation apart. "Nothing is impossible! Your dreams are still young! You can't let the dreamers give up on them! They have to believe in themselves!"
COMBAT: Cure Pine has used Pretty Cure Roundhouse Kick on Ikuto Tsukiyomi. COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking. COMBAT: Amu Hinamori narrowly braces Ikuto Tsukiyomi's Lemon Meringue Death Ray, taking 17 Fatigue damage! Cripple applied to Amu Hinamori! COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi narrowly braces Cure Pine's Pretty Cure Roundhouse Kick, taking 15 Fatigue damage!
<Pose Tracker> Gordon [Infinity Institute (S)] has posed.
"Don't let them get to you!" Gordon yells towards Amu and Nadeshiko, this time. "The kitchen is--"
He hops -- and this time misses his jump. The rabbit drops down between the seats with a thunk. He may be a bit.
<Pose Tracker> Amu Hinamori [Ohtori Academy (6)] has posed.
"Of course it's a little self-indulgent!" Even as her flowers have no effect besides making Fred oh-so-pretty, Amulet Clover still stands firm, jaw set. "Not everyone is that selfless. I want people to enjoy what I make, but I like seeing them enjoy it, too! There's nothing wrong with being happy about making others happy!"
Amulet Clover shakes the whisk a few times, and it becomes a small pepper shaker. "It's not just salt and grease! You need other seasonings to make things delicious, too!" Shake, shake, goes the pepper, sprinkling out toward Fred. "And you leave her alone!" Amulet Clover may share green coloration with Sailor Jupiter, but she's significantly shorter... still, she feels somewhat responsible, given that Suu called Fred out in the first place. "And--"
Amulet Clover turns just in time to get pasted by a beam of something that smells delicious, but sends her tumbling. "Would you stop that! I only have one pepper shaker, you know! A..and besides, that... that didn't smell half bad. You know, you should keep working on that recipe instead of just giving up!" A little pep talk to the X-charas can't hurt, right?
COMBAT: Amu Hinamori has used Clover Pepper on Fred Burgermeister. COMBAT: Amu Hinamori has finished attacking. COMBAT: Fred Burgermeister narrowly counters Amu Hinamori's Clover Pepper, taking 5 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit! Fred Burgermeister is Quipped! Stagger and Tangle applied to Fred Burgermeister! COMBAT: Fred Burgermeister's counterattack, No Spice, No Flavor, Only Grease, partially gets through, doing 8 Fatigue damage to Amu Hinamori! Stagger applied to Amu Hinamori!
<Pose Tracker> Nadeshiko Fujisaki [Ohtori Academy (6)] has posed.
Nadeshiko's busy explaining things to her companions, and therefore - well.
"Uh-oh," Nadeshiko has a chance to breathe, before the not especially meringue-like death ray sends her flying backward, exploded back to the far end of the room and slamming into thew all! It cracks from the impact, and she slowly slides to the floor, wheezing and glaring. "That's not...very nice," she croaks, slamming her spear into the ground to rise staggering to her feet. She glances at Pine. She seemed excited by the possibility of that magic, but...right now, Nadeshiko is struggling to stand. She notes Gordon take a dive. "Stay down!" she barks at him. "We'll handle this!" Probably!
She looks over at Amu, and...
"Amulet Clover," she mutters, impressed. "So that's...Character Transformation with Suu?"
She takes another deep breath, and lets herself smile. "Well then! I can't let myself lie down on the job! C'MERE, YOU!"
And she charges in; suddenly barreling downrange toward the three of X-Charas. They've done her the courtesy of bunching up like that, so the least she can do is swing wildly to try and corral them. "Cure Pine! Sailor Jupiter! Can you do something about these!? Otherwise, we need to confine them, so Amu-chan can heal them with Open Heart!"
COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki has used Naginata Flourish on Ikuto Tsukiyomi. COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki has finished attacking. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi fails to brace Nadeshiko Fujisaki's Naginata Flourish, taking 8 Fatigue damage!
<Pose Tracker> Sailor Jupiter [Juuban Public School (9)] has posed.
The barrage of fried buttercream splatters all over Sailor Jupiter; a swipe of her hand through the air keeps the hot, crusty mess out of her eyes, but she's still left a sticky, gummed-up mess. The look on her face, beneath bangs now full of goo, is a whole world of unimpressed.
"If it makes someone happy, then no amount of effort is wasted!" She tries to flick bits of fried sugar crust off of her glove, but the gluey buttercream isn't easily dislodged and Jupiter soon gives up in favor of glaring at Fred. "Just because you don't understand what it means to take a little pride in your work, that doesn't give you or anyone else the right to crush anyone's dreams before they've even had the chance to get started!"
This little speech ends with a wordless noise of frustration as Jupiter swipes at the sticky mess of her hair. It gets her bangs out of her eyes, at least, although it leaves them sticking upwards and outwards in a really unfortunate spike that's surely going to be fun to try to wash out later. "I'm done arguing with you! Protecting those kids' dreams is more important--"
With that decision made, Jupiter turns to set her sights on the X-Charas. She may not have the kind of magic that heals people's hearts, but she can at least help Nadeshiko and Cure Pine wrangle the little monsters so that they can be healed. "Got it!" she calls back in answer to Nadeshiko, and as Larry, Moe, and Curly begin to scatter in the face of Cure Pine's kick and Nadeshiko's naginata, Jupiter barrels in as well with a body-check meant to bowl all three X-Charas over into a heap.
COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has used Jupiter Smash! on Ikuto Tsukiyomi. COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter has finished attacking. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi fails to brace Sailor Jupiter's Jupiter Smash!, taking 28 Fatigue damage! Critical Hit!
<Pose Tracker> Fred Burgermeister [None] has posed.
Pepper. Actual spice. Anathema to the bulk of the cooking that is Fred's norm - and what there is is usually summed up as 'hot sauce'. His reaction is immediate - responding with a spray of grease, fatty flavors to offset the spicy ones. The thump of the rabbit missing its leap draws a small smile, but those still speaking in favour of these culinary dreams...
Fred's face darkens in fury. "Fools! All of you, fools! You insist and insist on spurring on these foolish dreams - small children can understand that their pursuits are meaningless!" He looks at Amulet Clover, who seems to be encouraging one X-Chara's recipe - at Cure Pine, encouraging belief in dreams - at Nadeshiko, enthusiastically keeping up the fight - at Jupiter, dismissing his experience...
"...[so be it.]" He mutters in English - then calls out once more in Japanese, voice ringing with enough bitter fury that one can almost taste it. "If you insist - then try to salvage those dreams. They are young - they would have had time to find another path. But if you insist - try to save them. Let them discover what the customers of the world are like for themselves. See if they would thank you!"
Once more, a platter flies over to Amulet Clover - half a dozen chicken cutlets neatly arranged, sizzling with heat. "Pick the dish made with care from that selection, if you can - or admit that they are better off giving up." He turns away from the combatants, towards the hole in the wall-
And the truck smashes through the wall in a second spot, spinning to scatter cooking equipment across the teaching stage. It takes but a moment for the chef to leap aboard - and then the vehicle tears off, leaving greasy tire tracks in its wake.
COMBAT: Fred Burgermeister has used Sizzling Serving Shuffle on Amu Hinamori. COMBAT: Fred Burgermeister has finished attacking. COMBAT: Amu Hinamori narrowly braces Fred Burgermeister's Sizzling Serving Shuffle, taking 3 Fatigue damage! Amu Hinamori is Quipped!
<Pose Tracker> Ikuto Tsukiyomi [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
The members of the X-Chara trio only have time to grab their respective tools of the trade before they're sent scattering again!
For the first time, one of Cure Pine's attacks actually connects with one of the nimble little sprites. Her words alone might not be enough to turn it back to normal, but the X-Chara obviously find them distracting.
The other two attempt to scatter away, but this is absolutely not their lucky day, as they find an enraged Nadeshiko /and/ a very cross Makoto standing in their way. Attempts are made to deflect their attacks, but their tiny trays and rolling pins are absolutely not the tools for the job.
Simultaneously, the three of them bowl into the same general area, stars flying around their heads. They are, for once, sitting still. It's now or never...!
The X-trio is obviously on its last legs, and the Useless Meringue Cannon can only be be fired once per episode, but the three dark fairies are still not out, and fight like cornered animals! Cookies, pie dough, parfait, all of their greatest hits, all fly every which way haphazardly! For creatures all about giving up, they sure are stubborn.
COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi has used Parfait Punishment on Sailor Jupiter. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi has used A Dream of Dough on Cure Pine. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi has used Tiramisu of Terror on Nadeshiko Fujisaki. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi has finished attacking. COMBAT: Nadeshiko Fujisaki fails to dodge Ikuto Tsukiyomi's Tiramisu of Terror, taking 9 Fatigue damage! Ikuto Tsukiyomi is Psyched! Blind and Trap applied to Nadeshiko Fujisaki! COMBAT: Sailor Jupiter perfectly dodges Ikuto Tsukiyomi's Parfait Punishment, taking 0 Fatigue damage! Critical Dodge! COMBAT: Cure Pine narrowly braces Ikuto Tsukiyomi's A Dream of Dough, taking 10 Fatigue damage! Cure Pine's Block ability activates! Cure Pine's Parry ability activates!
<Pose Tracker> Cure Pine [Ohtori Academy (9)] has posed.
'Can she do something about these?' Unlike the Guardians, Cure Pine didn't know much about X-Chara. She was just going on what Nadeshiko was telling her, and she'd assured her that Amu could deal with them. However, maybe there was something she could do better than just herding. Maybe she could set them up for Amu's efforts. "I think I can manage something!" The belligerent American chef guest lecturer was departing, and she couldn't say she was sad to see him go. They had their hands full enough as is without dealing with him too!
As she advances on the X-Chara's position and tries to corner them, they fight as tenaciously as cornered animals. And Cure Pine knew better than most how ferociously cornered animals can fight. The dough barrage they send down upon her halts her advance, as she strikes them out of the air with a flurry of chops and kicks. Yet she gains no ground. By the time they're done, covered in sweet smelling meringue, ice cream, and dough, she looks like some sort of misshapen pie, or cake. And she's very tired. There is still something she can do though, all she has to do...
"Fujisaki-san, I'm going to try to give Amu-san an opening!"
...is believe.
Clapping her hands above her head, she slowly brings her arms down to her side as she speaks, "Nasty things, nasty things, fly away!" She forms a diamond with her fingers, power gathering between them. "Pretty Cure..." As she invokes the words, she spreads out her fingers, golden light shimmering towards the trio of X-Chara, "...Healing Prayer!"
COMBAT: FINISHER! Cure Pine has used Pretty Cure Healing Prayer on Ikuto Tsukiyomi. COMBAT: Cure Pine has finished attacking.
<Pose Tracker> Amu Hinamori [Ohtori Academy (6)] has posed.
"Wha--" As more food goes flying at her, Amulet Clover raises her arms to block it. Despite the fact that they're fresh out of the fryer, it doesn't really hurt, but she's left bits grease spattered on her outfit. "Hey, don't leave! I'm not through with you yet!" She plants her hands on her hips and... sighs. "He's wrong," she whispers softly.
Looking up Amulet Clover lifts her arms and her voice, "He's wrong!" She steps forward toward the three X-charas and lifts a hand, poiting toward them. "If doesn't matter if you cook to make yourself happy or to make someone else happy! All that matters is that you enjoy it! You don't even need to be good at it... if you put your feelings into it, the person you made it for will appreciate it!" Amu should know; she's a big sister. She'd eat anything her baby sister makes for her... though she's extremely grateful that Ami hasn't tried yet. Maybe she can get papa to eat that first attempt. He probably would, and he'd be overjoyed no matter what it was like.
"Thanks, Cure.... Pine, right? I appreciate the help, everyone..." Closing her eyes, Amulet Clover clasps her hands together around the whisk wand. "Whether it's something sweet or something savory, we all love to eat things made just for us. What's important is that you think of the person you're making it for, and it will be okay. The soul of cooking is to enjoy making it for others." She opens her eyes and smiles at the trio of X-charas, raising the whisk wand high. With a flourish of her wrist, she begins to twirl, and a streamer of something golden and gooey begins to trail from it. "Remake.... Honey!"
She swishes it out toward the Charas, and an enormous glob of honey washes out over them... and spreads to cover the entire room and everyone in it as well. The mess on the floor and walls vanishes, the dropped kitchen implements find themselves back in their place, and the broken holes in the wall sparkle and mysteriously patch themselves up, good as new. As to the Charas, well...
COMBAT: FINISHER! Amu Hinamori has used Remake Honey Purify on Ikuto Tsukiyomi. COMBAT: Amu Hinamori has finished attacking. COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi fails to brace Cure Pine's Finisher, Pretty Cure Healing Prayer, taking 118 Fatigue damage! COMBAT: Ikuto Tsukiyomi narrowly braces Amu Hinamori's Finisher, Remake Honey Purify, taking 35 Fatigue damage! Ikuto Tsukiyomi is unable to keep fighting!
<Pose Tracker> Nadeshiko Fujisaki [Ohtori Academy (6)] has posed.
Nadeshiko keeps her aggression up. She ends up battling against flung treats; aggressing inward to a wave of pie dough, slashing through a cake, and then -
A tiramisu nails her in the face and sends her bowling end-over-end, landing flat on her back. She raises her fist. "I'ma swat you, buster!!" she squawks, aggressive, and hops up to her feet. But...but they're lined up.
So rather than attack, she slams her naginata down, issuing a clear, resounding CLACK. "Good work, Sailor Jupiter, Cure Pine!" she calls, and then: "Amu-chan! They're lined up!"
She is expecting Open Heart.
She /receives/ Remake Honey.
"Uh," Nadeshiko says, a little concerned as the honey creeps up and washes across her. But instead of discovering Suu's secret honey homicide technique, Nadeshiko finds her outfit's rips and tears fixed; her minor burns from that blast earlier healed, some dust and scuffs fixed, and the room rapidly fixing itself up around her. She stares in awe. "So this is...the power of the Humpty Lock?" she croaks out, eyes scanning quickly around for the X-Charas. Did that--!?
<Pose Tracker> Ikuto Tsukiyomi [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
The three corralled Chara catch the full brunt of Cure Pine's blast. Normally, purifying a single X-Chara requires a lot of concentrated purifying power, which is usually supplied by the Joker's Chair, or an entire team of magical girls. This time, however, the three X-Chara are held up in place by the Healing Prayer, and much to their surprise, black eggshells are starting to form around them. They begin to push them apart as best as they can...
...until the Remake Honey splashes over them. The eggs slam shut, and the black of despair is scrubbed away, to be replaced with radiant, pristine white and gold. Each egg floats to their owner, with two words softly ringing out through the minds of everyone here.
"Thank you..."
The kitchen, throughout the battle, had been turned into an absolute mess, with equipment and walls broken and cracked here and there, and thick layers of grease, ice cream, spices and confectionary treats dripping from nearly every single surface... But the wave of Remake Honey has wiped everything clean, and fixed it all as if it were new. Up to, and including dreams.
"Hey, where'd that guest speaker go?" "Eh, he was a jerk anyway." "Now that he's gone, though, do you think they'll let us cook something? I want to make cookies!" The three students that were leaning against the wall, glassy-eyed, just a second ago, are now chatting animatedly.
"Nyaah! Nice! Looks like we don't have to do cleanup this time!" Yoru, Ikuto's own Shugo Chara, stretches his paws in relief. Then, he notices his partner's pensive expression. "Hey. What's up?"
Ikuto remains silent for a bit, then, softly: "I wonder what else can be repaired."
And the boy who could arguably be described as 'cuddly' steps off the tree branch, gracefully lands onto his feet, and walks away.
<Pose Tracker> Nadeshiko Fujisaki [Ohtori Academy (6)] has posed.
Nadeshiko watches the Heart Eggs return to their owners, as the room's wounds knit closed. She rises upright herself, and with another *POP* her hair ornament returns to normal, and the magic is gone. Nadeshiko's never concerned herself overmuch with who sees the truth, once the enemy is gone.
More politely, now, with Temari swinging down lower to hover by her side, she turns to Cure Pine and Sailor Jupiter, bowing sharply. "On behalf of the Ohtori Guardians...thank you both for your assistance," she says, as if it were no more unusual than helping with a school function. Maybe for her it is?
But as she turns to watch Amu's charas rush down toward their owner, her smile turns melancholy, drawing in a slow, deep breath. "Not long now," she murmurs, to nobody.
And down below, in the shadow of Ikuto's tall tree, a man in a rumpled business suit and a crooked tie, and shockingly wild hair exploding around his head and down his neck, lets his lips curl up in a sinister grin. A low chuckle escapes his throat.
He turns and saunters away, ambling loosely toward the gate.
