Scene #1823:

Owner	Pose
Taro Yamada	The closer it grows to the weekend, the more Taro wondes what could be so dire that Chiyo would have to call all her friends in to tell them the news all at once. Was she sick? His mother and his aunt had had a big talk with him and his cousins all at once when his mother was diagnosed with cancer. It couldn't be that she was - pregnant, was she? That Phillip guy couldn't be moving that fast, right?? Or maybe she got tetanus in the horrible catacombs of the filthy city of Paris, and they'd have to amputate her leg?? It was no good wondering. He'd find out soon, and it'd probably be way less bad than he was afraid of. All of those things would need her to go to the hospital and she'd probably have let him know if she had a hospital level emergency - but that went right back to what else would be that bad? Ugh. Forget that. He'd sold a lot of his test cookies and merangues while experimenting and then had flopped in exhaustion for several days after the wild meeting with Usagi and Mamoru, so he was flush with cash and ready to start cooking again. So here he was, at the supermarket. The nice one, no less. Weighing a bag of milk chocolate chips in one hand, and a bag of mint chocolate chips in the other. His basket already has oats, instant milk tea, strawberry popping boba, and a small bag of brown sugar. "If I was a girl and I was sad, would I want something really basic and comforting? Or would I want to try something a little fancy because it was just for me....?" It'd be easy for someone else, but Chiyo-chan had sophisticated tastes! He'd found an experimental recipe for her, but what should he do for his old reliable??
Makoto Kino	"Hm?" Just a little over from where Taro is deliberating, Makoto looks up from placing a bag of almond flour next to the package of confectioner's sugar that's already in her own shopping basket. A moment later, she realizes the question wasn't directed to her and her face colors slightly. Oh, well, if she's already embarrassed herself... "I think it probably depends on the girl and what she likes," she offers, with a self-conscious little smile. "But if you're making something for her, I'm sure your feelings will come through it either way." A beat, and she makes a rueful face. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to eavesdrop or anything, just..." Here she trails off, feeling more and more awkward the longer she goes on talking.
Taro Yamada	Someone replies. Taro half turns - it's a girl almost as tall as he is, dark eyes with brilliant highlights, and looking just about as awkward about talking in the grocery store as he's about to. "It's fine. It's probably better to talk it out with someone, anyway," he says, and hesitantly puts the normal chocolate chips back. "She likes just about every kind of flavor, I think, but I think she got some bad news, so I really wanted to knock the cookies out of the park this time. So I'm doing one weird flavor and one pretty standard one to cover all the bases."
Makoto Kino	Makoto nods, a good bit of the awkwardness clearing from her expression as Taro explains. "That sounds like a good idea," she says encouragingly. "Especially with cookies, you can make a couple of different kinds without too much trouble, and your friend can go for whatever makes her the happiest, right?" She glances into his basket with some interest, eyes skimming over the collected groceries before she looks back up again. "Although now I'm curious... if you don't mind me asking, what 'weird flavor' were you thinking of?"
Taro Yamada	"Exactly! Having a variety means that if one flops, there's others that work better." He's got half a tin of lemon cake in the freezer he'll defrost, so with the other two he'll have three potential flavors... And he sheds more awkwardness as Mako asks about the recipe. "I found a recipe that alters oatmeal cookies to taste like milk tea, and my friend likes strawberry boba, so I was going to try making a milk tea and boba cookie!"
Makoto Kino	Makoto's eyes brighten with enthusiasm at the explanation. "Oh, that's a really cool idea! Especially since you know she likes strawberry boba." Something seems to occur to her after a second, and she looks into his basket again. "...will popping boba hold up to mixing and baking, though? I feel like they'd burst way before the cookies are ready to eat. If you used strawberry tapioca pearl boba, they'd keep their shape better..." Catching herself, she flushes again and ducks her head. "I mean, of course it depends on what you're going for, too. I'm sure you don't need me butting into your plans or anything."
Taro Yamada	Taro goes hhmmm and looks down at the boba. "No, you make a good point. The website said the cookies need to be eaten within 24 hours, before the boba dry out and deflate, so it'd be good to prioritize sturdiness. I haven't worked with tapioca in this form before." Boba took several hours and even more boiling water to prep properly, according to the internet, so he'd never had a chance to cook them until now. He straightens his shoulders a little, deciding to go for a bold tactic - "Do you bake a lot? I got access to a good kitchen a couple months ago so I've been practicing all the basics until now."
Makoto Kino	"I could be overthinking it," Makoto admits, with renewed cheer. "I hadn't even thought of trying to make cookies with boba in them before you mentioned it just now. But, yeah," she bobs her head in answer to his question. "I do a fair amount of baking. Mostly just using the kitchens the school dorms have, but they work well enough for anything that's not ''too'' finicky..." She hesitates for a moment, making a face. "Sorry, I didn't even introduce myself. Makoto Kino - I go to Radiant Heart Academy."
Taro Yamada	"Oh! I go to Radiant Heart Acadamy too! I'm Taro Yamada," and he bows his head politely. "I just started tenth year there this April." It's been - its' been going. Somehow, school has been like, the second least of his worries with everything going on. "I cook a lot in the dorm kitchens too. The boba's definitely going to be delicate, which is why I wanted to make chocolate chip cookies too."
Makoto Kino	"We're in the same grade, then." Makoto returns the courtesy of the bow with one of her own. "It's nice to meet you, Yamada-kun." She shifts her grip absently on her shopping basket. "You can never go wrong with chocolate chip, it's true. I'm really interested in how the boba tea cookies will turn out, though. Have you thought about joining the cooking club? It's great for testing out recipes if you're not quite sure how they'll work."
Taro Yamada	H. Hold on. "There's a cooking club??" Where!! When! How! He's been so busy with his living dolls, his job and being on the sidelines of a deadly witch battle he didn't look at clubs??? Well. Perhaps it is time to look at it. "Do you live on campus? I could go by your place before or after I deliver them..."
Makoto Kino	"Yeah!" Makoto nods enthusiastically, somehow managing to stifle a bit of a laugh at his apparent surprise. "I'm in the club myself. If you have time, you should join - or at least, if you want to, you could sit in on a club meeting. If you like to cook, I think you'd enjoy it. "Anyway, yes, I live in the dorms," Mako confirms. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I'd love to see how the cookies turn out. Although..." She pauses briefly, looking momentarily pensive. "Depending on when, I might not be there. A friend of mine wants a bunch of us to get together soon. That's actually why I'm here - I thought I could make something to bring with me for everyone. People always appreciate snacks."
Taro Yamada	"I'd like that! It's been a really weird couple months so I haven't even thought about clubs..." Quitting his job was going to give him time to...meet...people? Chiyo would be proud of him - wait. "Are you going to see Chiyo this weekend? That's who I'm cooking for," he asks.
Makoto Kino	Makoto startles a little at the question, and this time she does laugh. "Actually, yeah, that's her. Quite a coincidence, huh? I guess it's a good thing we ran into each other today..." Her pleasant expression slips a little, shadowed by a hint of something like worry. "I guess you knew already that she's had a rough time recently, huh? I don't know what she wants to talk about, but it's really kind of you to make something for her."
Taro Yamada	"It is. I guess it makes sense we all know each other? We're all people who bake when we get stressed," Taro says with a wry smile. "...I helped her grandpa with the store when she went on that, uh, extracurricular trip a couple weeks ago." He doesn't know if Mako is in the know or not, but, that should be a safe way to phrase things? "She seemed pretty stressed when she got back. I don't know what's going on either, and I'm bad at talking, but I can do food. Sometimes you just want to eat without having to cook..."
Makoto Kino	"I was on the same trip," Makoto says. Her gaze has drifted down to her grocery basket, and her demeanor grows somber. "It was... pretty exhausting. I'm not surprised that Chiyo-chan has been stressed. I'm glad to know her grandpa had someone helping out while she was on the trip, at least." She straightens herself up a bit, summoning forth a smile. "Food always helps. Everyone needs to eat, after all." Not for nothing is 'feed someone' one of Makoto's two problem resolution strategies. "I know she'll appreciate your cookies. Though I guess since you'll have the snacks covered, I probably shouldn't bring something ''too''." This last, she says with a wry little hint of a laugh in her voice.
Taro Yamada	"I heard. I don't know all the details, but it sounds like it was a really rough time. I..." (And how many times has he done something as the Slasher and the memory of it was washed away after a few days?) He bows to her; it's a little lopsided with his basket, but he manages not to tip over. "Thank you. It's hard doing work that no one else will remember." And he manages his own smile, then. "Well, if her cousin Usagi is coming, it can't hurt to double up. I think Usagi gets almost as hungry as I am, and that's saying something!" The beanpole that he is, almost six feet tall and stretched thin like taffy. "And if there's extra, we can send some home with people."
Makoto Kino	An instant of surprise stills Makoto, just for half a heartbeat, at his thanks; she seems caught, not quite sure how to reply. Until he mentions Usagi, and delighted recognition brightens her face and washes the rest away like an early morning's mist under the sunlight. "You're not wrong about that... and Usagi-chan most likely will be there, so there's probably no such thing as too much." She lifts her basket, showing the few items within. "She and I have been working on figuring out how to make a sweet she and her boyfriend had a long time ago. We've worked it out pretty well, so I was thinking I'd make a batch for everyone."
Taro Yamada	"Exactly! Usagi-san's a growing girl, she needs nutrients. I've never been at a school where so many people are as tall as me, she's going to need a lot to catch up." Obviously she must become tall. It will be useful for things such as fending off horrible children and kissing her boyfriend. It turns out people need to eat to grow? Which explains why his growth spurt after they stopped rationing food in 1955 was so drastic... Hmm. "We could bake together next time. TWo pairs of hands mean the cleaning's a lot easier."
Makoto Kino	There's a flicker of self-consciousness at the talk of tall people, though it's quickly replaced by a lopsided smile. "I, ah... don't think Usagi-chan is likely to get all that much taller, no matter how much she eats. She burns a ton of energy, though, so it's fine." The line of logic from point A to point B may not be entirely clear on that one. "I'd definitely be glad to team up, if you'd like! Two people really can make the work go a lot faster... although, I know not everyone can share a kitchen easily."
Taro Yamada	"Really? I thought people got taller if they ate more..." Surely that was how it worked, wasn't it? Food in, growth out? Especially as a teenager... " "A couple years ago, I worked part time cooking. And I used to help my aunt make dinner before I moved out. It won't startle you if I yell knife when I'm handling a knife while passing you, will it? You're supposed to do that in food service so no one runs into you and the knife."
Makoto Kino	Here, Makoto hesitates, thinking it over uncertainly. "Well... that's true to a point, I think. But it's not like people keep getting taller their whole lives. Everybody has a point where they just stop getting taller, depending on the person. Or something like that?" Science, not Mako's strongest suit, clearly. Smiling, she shakes her head. "That's fine," she assures. "It might be a little startling depending on how loudly you yell, but I'll get used to it. Better to be safe than have an accident happen because one of us was careless."
Taro Yamada	"Back in the fifties, when people didn't have a lot of food, everyone in Japan was really short. But now, everyone's gotten a lot taller!" and Taro jumps on his toes to emphasize it. "Because we got industrialized!" (Maybe that's a little telling of how old he is, of watching people around him growing taller and taller, growing and changing while he was frozen in time. But it's a good thing, he thinks. He was happy growing up, but his auntie was always stressed trying to keep him and his cousins fed. Better these days.) "So it's probably the food helping. I dunno anything else that's happen in the last seventy years to help that much." Which is why he has to keep cooking, and keep eating. He's always hungry. Maybe, someday, he'll grow up enough that it'll stop aching. "Uh, which I know is- maybe weird to talk about but like. It's cool how much things have changed?" Generation after generation. And he nods. "exactly. It's a safety thing. It's important to only use knives on things you want to cut, which sounds really obvious until someone sticks one in the toaster to get a piece of bread out. Which you should not do."
Makoto Kino	If this line of reasoning was unexpected, Makoto doesn't seem put off by it. Rather, she tips her head to the side thoughtfully, considering. "It is pretty cool," she agrees. "Public nutrition has gotten a lot better since then. I'm sure you're right that it's connected. After all, it's important to eat well, right?" And then there's a comically exaggerated shudder at the comment about sticking a knife in a toaster. "Yeah, don't worry, there is no chance of me trying that. I am ''not'' immune to being electrocuted." Non sequitur?
Taro Yamada	"Exactly!" He shudders in commiseration. "Yeah, getting shocked is a mistake you only wanna make once. Electricity is no joke!" This is another one of those times where it's unfortunately good he comes back from the dead. Don't mess around with electronics, kids! It's way easier to do something stupid than you think! He finally puts the mint chocolate chips in his basket and then turns to her. "So - I think i know what I want to do for my cookies, finally." A strong flavor (mintchoco!) for a strong heart! "Can I help you with yours?"