Not so Ordinary World

[Kwokinator]

He ponders on the choices for a few second, before deciding on beef teriyaki, and repeats it to the serving girl.

"Surprising amount of choices you guys have here," he comments to her. "It's like a full restaurant or something."

[Liddo-kun]

"Well, don't get in the habit of expecting a bounty like this everyday," she tells you with a chuckle.  "We have a decent supply of chicken since we raise our own, but we only have two cows so we use them for milk only."

"We were lucky that Ruru-chan, here," she says, playfully fussing with Urui's hair, "was able to find a supermarket that got dragged in a few days ago."

Urui grumbles and smoothes back down her hair.

[Kwokinator]

"A supermarket got dragged in?" he echoes.

He has assumed that this world is an exact mirror of the world he is from, and only people are swallowed up and dragged in, with inanimate objects and buildings staying the same.  But it seems that his theory may be incorrect...

[Liddo-kun]

Urui nods.  "The world we're in is a copy of the world at a set time, Maki," she says.  "There's always changes going on in the real world, right?  So sometimes those changes, as well as people, get pulled into this world."

[Kwokinator]

Maki nods in understanding.

"So," he idly drums the table with his fingertips. "You've asked me why I'm here, why are YOU here, Hime-chan?"

[Liddo-kun]

"Why am I here?" Urui repeats quizzically with a blink.  "I'm eating dinner, I think..." she says, not really sure what you're asking.

[Kwokinator]

"I don't mean that," Maki grumbles.  Maybe it's divine punishment, he's getting the same kind of answer he gave Urui in the worship room. "I mean here," he points a finger up and traces a few circles in the air. "To this temple.  Why're you at this temple?  I'm curious."

[Liddo-kun]

"Oh, that," Urui says chuckling at the miss.  "That's easy enough to answer, actually.  It's because I've been promised - body and soul - to Shia-chan," she tells you, which is followed by an explosion of soup and a fit of coughing from said girl who is sitting just a few seats away, apparently caught listening in on the conversation by Urui.

[Kwokinator]

Maki looks over to the source of the coughing, apparently not realizing Shia is nearby until now.

"Body and soul, huh?" he turns to look at the girl in question, hiding a smirk. "I'm not sure what I should think here.  On one hand, two cute girls together is definitely a pleasant sight, but on the other hand... competition."

[Liddo-kun]

Still trying to hack loose the soup particles lodged in her throat, you think Shia said something about "lies" and "not true", but then again it could have easily been "flies not blue" as far as your ears could tell.

Having recovered herself, the red faced girl reached across the table to grip the collar of the grinning ninja girl.  "W-Why do you have to always say it like that?!" she hissed embarassedly.

"With a reaction like that, do you have to ask?" Urui winked, patting Shia's hands affectionately.

Shia could only lower her head to the table and whimper ineffectually.  She seemed to be trying to will herself to sink through the floor of the dining hall, to the great amusement of everyone around the table who had been in earshot of the whole exchange.

[Kwokinator]

"I...see..." Maki nods, faking dejection in his voice as he makes the initial motions to get up. "I understand.  Since you two seem to be... so far along, maybe I should just give up, and let Shia take my seat so you can get on with... other things."

[Liddo-kun]

Shia quickly rises from her hunched over position over the table to fling a wet rag at you that hits you with a wet 'smack'.  "Don't you start," she warns animatedly.

This is a distinct change, you notice, from the depressed state she was wallowing in earlier.  Could it have been all by intention on Urui's part?  Hard to tell, you find.

"Isn't the girl supposed to daintily drop her handkerchief for the young man to pick up and retrieve?  I don't recall there being any flinging..." Urui says aloud, rousing another round of chuckles from the gathered.

The teasing is mercifully interrupted, for the time being, as the girl from earlier arrives with a tray ladened with food - beef teriyaki, along with a lot of everything.

[Kwokinator]

Maki takes the wet rag away from his face, and wipes any wetness off with his shirt.

"Good thing you don't have any metal plates or something lying around," he says. "Or you could've really messed up my face."

He turns to look at Urui, a contemplating look in his eyes.  

Maybe she did all this teasing on purpose to cheer Shia up... from the way it looks, she definitely knows her well enough to try and do that.  

And indeed, it's hard to wallow in depression when around Urui and her contagious carefree attitude.  But could she be hiding something...?

"Wow, that IS a lot of everything..." he comments as he stares at all the food brought to the table.

[Liddo-kun]

Shia simply gives you an earful of muttered grumblings.

"Woo!  I've so been waiting for this," Urui exclaims, rubbing her hands together in anticipation.  Picking up a beef teriyaki bowl of her own she put her chopsticks to good use as rice and meat dissapeared quickly to sate her waiting gullet.

After taking the edge off her hunger, she turns to you.  "The key to developing and maintaing a strong spirit is to eat well, rest well, and exercise even harder," she tells you, before snaring a helpless carrot and popping it in her mouth.

[Kwokinator]

Maki sweatdrops at the feeding frenzy.  It's like watching a fierce predator pouncing mercilessly on display on a nature channel on television somewhere...

"Yes, but I'm not sure THAT," he points to whatever is left of the food after the ninja raid. "Would be 'eating well'."