Let's visit the LinLinBunny Cafe

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[ A news report just happens to catch Ivan's ears when mentions it the opening of a brand new cafe, the likes of which found its start in Japan. Ivan freezes in his tracks upon that magical word. A cafe started in Japan? He has to go there! He remains in the middle of the sidewalk and watches two reporters coo over petting rabbits as they also enjoy drinks and snacks. They look very happy.

Ivan quickly jots down the name of the place, and back at the training room, he does a search for the bunny cafe on his phone. Oh. It looks to be on the Silver Stage, a small distance away from most of the stations. That makes it a little harder to visit. ]

So, either a taxi for on foot... How much would a taxi even cost me...?

Comments

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Same here...

[ He doesn't even really hear what Pao-Lin ordered, but he doesn't really feel like trying to pick something out for himself. Ivan leans forward until he can bury his head on the table before him. The nibbling bunny manages to climb up Ivan and to the table to sit on his head. This rabbit...

"Uh oh... it looks like we have a secret Origami fan. I'm sorry about Mikayla." The worker pats Ivan's shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm sure your hero will be able to hit the mid-ranks someday." She'll then try to discourage the rabbit from sitting on Ivan's head while waiting for Barnaby's order. (Spoiler: the rabbit is already trying to make its way back to Ivan.) ]

[ex_nearsighted397]

[ Enjoying the bunnies? Yes. Enjoying the atmosphere? Not so much. Barnaby doesn't know how to respond at all to begin with, nevermind the fact that he's slowly beginning to get covered in bunnies too. They all seem to want to cuddle up to him, oblivious to the fact that he isn't responding very much at all. Bunny and bunnies, who would have thought? ]

That will be fine for me as well, please.

[ Might as well venture out of his comfort zone. Once the last employee is out of earshot, however, Barnaby turns on the younger Heroes. ]

You have thirty seconds to explain yourselves.

[i_am_not_cute]

[Thirty years might not be enough to justify themselves for this.]

We're sorry, we're really sorry! It's just...we were stranded on the highway and trying to hitchhike, and...

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[ Ivan barely manages to catch the rabbit on his head as he shifts to do a full dogeza. ]

It wasn't working, so I thought that maybe shapeshifting into someone else would work better, and it did, but we got scary fans of yours, and then we ran...!

[ The apology would probably work better if the bunny stopped trying to climb him. ]

Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! It's all my fault!

[ex_nearsighted397]

... Did you try to call someone for assistance? Why was that your first thought?

[ Guys, please. ]

[i_am_not_cute]

We didn't have our phones or our PDAs with us...I think the same NEXT power that stranded us also took those from us. [Damn plot hole NEXT!

But she realizes, belatedly, that maybe instead of hitchhiking, they could have just asked to borrow someone's phone. Oops.]

[sponsorigami]

[ And there was the fact that they feared Natasha would kill them upon finding out. And before the Beginning showed that everyone had a transporter ]

No one would even stop to let us ask to use their phone... And there probably wouldn't have been any signal as far out as we were...

[ They've mentioned the crazy fans and running away... they have yet to mention how they got back to Stern Bild... ]

[ex_nearsighted397]

What NEXT power?

[ Why is Barnaby only ending up with more questions than answers? This is going to take longer than he had anticipated. Forget about thirty seconds. ]

[i_am_not_cute]

[A dejected shrug.]

We don't know. The only way we knew it was a NEXT power was because there was a flash of blue light, and then suddenly we were on the highway. I mean, I guess it was probably teleportation or something, but I don't know why we ended up losing our phones and stuff too...

[sponsorigami]

And whatever the power was, it was strong enough to take us out of Stern Bild completely. I don't even think Robin Baxter could do a switch like that.

[ Not that there is much similarity beyond teleportation...

Also, Ivan is still doing dogeza, now with the bunny on his head. ]

[ex_nearsighted397]

[ It becomes very clear then that Barnaby's priorities have shifted when he hears about the incident even further. ]

I'm simply glad that the two of you are unharmed. It could have been a lot worse. However, next time I would appreciate knowing of the incident. I don't mind you doing whatever is necessary to make it out, but I do still have to deal with the press.

[ He'd rather deal with a small scale gossip issue than not knowing what to say in front of a fan. ]

[i_am_not_cute]

We meant to tell you eventually! ...really.

[She does mean it, although certainly her tone sounds less than convincing.]

[sponsorigami]

[ Is he going to be able to survive this? Is he also going to be able to escape Unfortunate and Incorrect Implications on the other part of that story? ]

It won't happen again! We're really sorry!

[ It bears repeating again, and Ivan puts a hand on top of the bunny on his head. If it's going to be there, it is also doing a dogeza. ]

[ex_nearsighted397]

[ That poor bunny. This poor Bunny. Barnaby is at least going to save the one currently perched precariously on top of Ivan's head before it meets a fate worse than death. ]

Is that so. How long ago was this?

[i_am_not_cute]

Um...a few months ago...

[The timing of it is really hazy in her mind for some reason, although she can remember most of the actual events pretty clearly.]

[sponsorigami]

[ Fate worse than death? Too much Ivan hair in the diet?

Ivan lifts his head up slightly at the rabbit being removed from his head. Does that mean he can get up too? ]

Yeah, at least a few months...

[ex_nearsighted397]

Which means that you never intended to tell me in the first place.

[ Busted. ]

[i_am_not_cute]

[AWKWARD SILENCE.]

[sponsorigami]

[ Ahhhh. This is bad. Ivan puts his head back down so fast, he hits his forehead. ]

I-It's because after we ran from the girls, I had to shapeshift into a bike to get us anywhere, and it started to get dark and scary! And I thought an axe murderer was going to get us! And we almost got arrested, and then we crashed! And then it was really dark, and the buses were stopped, and there were no taxis! And then I was a bike again, and Dragon Kid got mugged, and I got kidnapped, and...!

[ex_nearsighted397]

[ Awkward silence continues... ]

What?

[ What. Because seriously, if anything that sounds like a plot from a B-grade movie. ]

[i_am_not_cute]

[One of the employees returns just then to hand out their orders of iced tea and bunny cakes (which coincidentally may or may not resemble a certain bunny plush owned by a certain Hero). She does a bit of a double-take at the three of them clearly looking less than comfortable with things, but fortunately she doesn't comment as she sashays away to continue with her other duties. Pao-Lin speaks once she's out of earshot:]

I know it sounds crazy, but that's what really happened!

[They couldn't make this stuff up if they tried. Or, well, they probably could, but there'd be more dragons and ninjas involved.]

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[ Ivan's turn for awkward silence. He spoke a lot, and he is going to stay in this position until someone gets him to sit upright again.

He didn't even realize one of the employees had come and gone... Life is hard for the ninja. ]

[ex_nearsighted397]

And you kept it all to yourself?

[ That's the part Barnaby is having trouble with. They thought that it would go away all on its own...? ]

[i_am_not_cute]

Uh...well...we couldn't find a good time to talk to you at first...and then we just...forgot with all the stuff going on with HeroTV...

[Her shoulders slump.]



We're really, really sorry...

["We're sorry, and sorry again!"]

[sponsorigami]

We don't have any excuse for what we did and can't offer enough apologies.

[ Ivan has gone from talking to walls to talking to people to talking to floors. Eventually, he'll remember he ordered food and has bunnies to pet. Eventually. ]