maskormenacelogs | (no subject)

WHO: Hiro + Tadashi + Cass, anyone else who wants to stop by
WHERE: Lucky Cat Café, Heropa Edition
WHEN: Halloween evening-ish!!
WHAT: Quickie log for Hamada family hijinks & Halloween cuteness
WARNINGS: NOTHING BUT ADORABLE IN HERE

[ It's Halloween! The café is open this evening and the delicious smells of pumpkin spice everything waft out through the front door whenever someone walks in. Today, however, if you wander in you'll be greeted by at least one of the Hamadas. Probably the smallest one, who's wearing the world's laziest Halloween costume - a pair of black cat ears nearly invisible against his messy mop of hair. (He had a tail at some point, but it's somewhere behind the counter now.)

Hiro's got the basket with normal candy, though Cass has made adorable cookies that will surely find their way into the hands of any visitor before they can escape. ]

Y'know, it's kind of nice to be working on Halloween.

[ Mostly because Hiro has spent all afternoon grazing liberally from the candy bowl. He has the remains of a sucker in his mouth now, the stick bobbing up and down as he talks.

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[Them barista skills, woman, they're hardcore.]

Power. File calls it 'luck manipulation', just being around people I can change their luck--

[Brb leaning slightly away from her.]

You know...good or bad.

[Cass' expression changes, but not to one of rejection. That look? Is one of unmistakeable concern -- not for herself, but for the boy in front of her.] Other people?

[He meets her gaze, dark eyes curiously wondering why she's not backing up, or even showing concern for herself. If not on a regular basis, at least today.

There's something to be said for women who can make food for you... They're tougher than any gang member.]

Like if I'm good luck, someone next to me might...I don't know, find some money.

Bad luck, they might trip on the sidewalk.

Oh! I see, that could be a hazard. Little kids like that get hurt a lot, too. He does sports, right?

... Hm.

[She puts a hand to her chin, tilting her head and peering at him.]

Do you want to try something out?

Ken? Ah...yeah he does soccer, I think.

[Squinting, trying to remember that. It was soccer, right?]

...

[Her request takes him by surprise.]

Try something?

Yeah! Watch.

[It's not a trick she plays often, but it's a simple enough one, and quick to boot. There's nothing on the table between them so all she has to do is raise her hand and slap it against the surface. Not too gently, but not so hard either -- there's a good, solid tap, and she waits.

And a moment later, a little fabric cat appears out of thin air to drop in Kaneda's lap.]

[Kaneda's not exactly sure what he was expecting. In a way, it's the kind of slap the teacher gives when the student (mostly him) was dozing off in class, so when it happens, his back straightens up, almost uttering a 'yes sir!' in response.

His brows raise in confusion, wondering what (if) something was going to happen. He could totally humour it if need be. Yeah, you smack that counter, Cass! Show it who's boss!

But before he can consider that any further, the little fabric cat appears in midair, dropping into his lap.

What.]

A cat?

[Kaneda's utterance is lost on Cass, whose eyes have gone wide at his reaction. She hadn't hit the table very hard, but that was a clear, distinct response that doesn't give her any good feelings, and she's trying to remember anything she could've gone wrong before she remembers who she's talking to.

Kaneda. Tadashi had been really, really excited when he first mentioned him. And it sinks in for her.

But she doesn't bring that up. Not directly. Instead, she picks up the cat that's fallen in the boy's lap with one hand and takes one of his hands with her other, pressing the little chirimen doll into his palm.]

Maneki-neko, [she starts softly, though her voice is still audible over the din of the café,] is where this store gets its name from. They bring in luck -- and apparently, these will too. It's one of my powers. This might be able to keep you safe today and for a few days after, too.

[Kaneda takes a second to look at the little stuffed cat, and then to Cass. And then back to the cat. Did she really have a power that made good luck charms, even if they were temporary? Sometimes this world has some of the most mundane shit...Either you shoot electricity from your fingers or you give warm hugs.

Not that warm hugs is necessarily a bad power...

He can't help but smile--a small one, but visible as he lets the cat trinket roll in his hand, turning it over and over with a finger. Maneki-neko, he repeats, recognizing it instantly now that she said it.

It wasn't just good luck for a bad day. Or a silly little doll that supposedly warded off bad luck. Not to Kaneda. To him, it was a piece of his world.

Japan.]

It's cute.

[You know what's cute to her? That look on his face. He must usually come off as much older to those around him. Tougher, rougher, sturdier. A bit brother. A different kind than Tadashi had been, but a big brother nonetheless. But to her, she sees that hard shell peel away for a moment to reveal the gentleness beneath, the kind that he wouldn't show to any of those little siblings of his because big brothers were always strong.

For him, and for her, little things like the food here, the café, and this trinket, and the exchange of syllables much different from what was considered default in this world, were pieces of home. And she's glad to be able to share them with him.]

Isn't it? I've heard your house has a bunch of cats, too.