[IC] Super Happy Adorabubble Hugglyness~! (Working Title)

[Princess Sakura]

[Pink petals scatter throughout a meadow of cherry blossom trees, bunnies frolicking in the long carpet of grass, the sky a soft hue of blue mixing into peachy pink as the sun slowly sets.]

*lying with her eyes closed serenely beneath the largest tree, wearing a frilly pink and white dress covered in lacy bows and ribbons, the skirt of the feminine garment reaching halfway down the calfs of her slim legs in white heart-print stockings, the dress fabric and puffy petticoat underneath spreading out across the grass in a fan shape around her, relaxing in the glowing light as petals shower over her and land in her flowing hair, the pink tresses adorned with cherry blossoms*

[Serum]

[The sky is a delicious shade of tangerine, a masterpiece of orange hues and tones of pink and red, gradually fading to a dull blue-grey opposite the sun. Large parasols stand watch above a small number of tables fenced in against a small building, a creamy beige in color brilliantly reflecting the sun's setting rays with its west-side wall, and overflowing with the aromatic scent of baked goods. The now-empty tables bask in the light, and a slight breeze catches the napkin on a table that has not yet been cleared, lifting it for a brief flight.]

*catches the napkin just as it floats toward his hand, then looks down at the table in front of him and sighs*
I can't understand why people leave such lousy tips. There's nothing I can do with this little money. But...I guess that's the way people are. And a job is a job...
*wryly twitches the corner of his mouth down into a half-frown, then shrugs around and grabs a washcloth and begins wiping the table down*

[Princess Sakura]

*feeling something soft and fuzzy on her cheek, murmurs sleepily as she gradually opens one of her cherry eyes to see a bunny nuzzling into her* Mmmph~...? o.-
*blinking herself more fully awake, sits up and gazes around dazedly* Ahh~... (It seems my afternoon nap went on for a little longer than I had intended~...!) >///ω///<
*suddenly giving a little gasp, she reaches to her side to unzip a stringed pouch in the shape of an anime-style bunny face hanging from her shoulder draping across her well-concealed chest, and withdraws from it a handheld gaming console, noting the green of the LED light and in response smiling with satisfaction* (Yaaayyy, another potential puzzle piece~! Someday... someday I'll finally complete that one~...!)
♪ ^///ω///^
*springs to her feet, eager to return home, skipping through the blossoming trees with some difficulty in her pink and white kitten heels with multiple overlapping straps similar to those of ballet shoes, but carries on out of the meadow and into the town with a cheerful smile despite the slight pain and ever-looming fear of tripping, determined to continue for the cute factor*

[Serum]

*finishes scrubbing down the last table, wipes nonexistent sweat from his brow, then looks up at the sky, one hand above his eyes to shield them from the sun...not that it did much good, as the sun was so low*
Agh, I'd better get home! I must have spent a long time cleaning up!
*picks up the box of cleaning equipment and rushes inside to the kitchen before hurriedly plopping it down and grabbing his book bag from a nearby chair in one fluid motion*
Man, Ma's gonna kill me if I'm home late again...
*speeds out the front door, bag flopping against his back, only to walk into someone only a strides later. Collapses to the ground in shock and pain, feeling more than a little shame at his blunder*
Owwwwww. Aw jeez, I'm sorry, uh...
*gets up and dusts himself off quickly, before reaching a hand to the victim of his collision in order to help them up as well*

[Princess Sakura]

*timidly outstretches a gloved hand, the fingerless lace coming to rest on his palm as she loosely takes his hand, warily trying not to scratch him with her naturally long, unpainted nails, allowing him to help her shakily to her feet, feeling once again dazed from the abrupt collision as she was skipping in a daydream after being similarly dazed after awakening from her nap, leading her to, in conjunction with being socially inept, start trembling a little, her eyes blinking up at him a little fearfully, blushing with shame* A-ah... I'm sorry...! >///< Are you alright~...?

[Serum]

*helps her to her feet, then reaches a hand behind his head and scratches his neck, grinning abashedly*
Aha, no, no, it was my fault. I was rushing and I didn't see you there. Don't worry about me; I'm fine. But what about you? I plowed into you pretty hard there. I'm so sorry about that, I wasn't paying any attention and...well, are you all right, miss?

[Princess Sakura]

*realizes she still has hold of his free hand and hastily lets go, then waves her other hand dismissively to assure him she is unharmed, the hand that had been holding onto his a moment ago clasped loosely into a fist, close to her chest as if to reassure or calm herself*
Oh, I'm fine, th-thank you for your concern~...! *manages a small, nervous smile, remaining silent for a moment as she wonders what to say before becoming more aware of the situation upon noticing the books that have fallen from his bag* ...! (Ah, he must be on his way home, and I'm holding him back~...!!!) O///O
I-I'm sowwy~!!! *starts picking up the books in a neat little pile before holding them out to him shyly, avoiding eye contact* Um, I'll just be getting out of your way now~...

[Serum]

*fidgets about, uncertain what to do in this situation: he feels that it is impolite to let the stranger he ran into pick up after his mess, but also knows that it would be rude to stop her from doing something nice. Eventually settles on another sheepish grin as she straightens up and returns his books. Reaches out and grabs them, shoving them back into his backpack with at his side.*
Thank you, but you didn't have to do that, really. I'm sorry to have caused you so much trouble, I shouldn't have been so careless. It's all my fault and is there some way I can...
*trails off as he is able to get a good look at her face for the first time, having been too frantic before*
Hang on, don't I know you from somewhere? You look so familiar.

[Princess Sakura]

*panic flashes in her eyes and she instinctively lowers her head further, her thick hair falling in front of her face and her fringe completely concealing her eyes as she tries to avoid the question* Ah, n-no, I'm certain that's impossibubble~...! You must be mistaken~...

[Serum]

*cocks his head and puts one hand on his chin, supporting it with his elbow, which is resting on the arm he has held across his body*
No, no, I'm certain of it. I wouldn't forget a face like yours. I mean, not that you have a bad– it's just different– I mean it's– YOU HAVE A MEMORABLE FACE.
*blushes and stands rigid, arms held at his sides now, beginning to sweat from his forehead. His face, meanwhile, has similarly stiffened, with wide eyes and mouth pursed in a frown, head held back just a little as though to distance himself from his blunder. After holding the position for a moment, he relaxes into a slouch, defeated, and raises one arm, finger pointing up*
School. I think we go to the same school.

[Princess Sakura]

[...]I wouldn't forget a face like yours. I mean, not that you have a bad–[...]

@Serum

*flinches at these words as if they were physical projectiles assailing her, causing her to lower her head a little further, the rest of his words following blurring into background white noise as she heavily contemplates the only thing she has heard that stood out to her* (A b-bad face...? That's what he was trying to say... Is it so bad that he couldn't even bring himself to finish saying it out loud...?) *outside of her thoughts clouded with insecurity, she has subconsciously allowed tears to fill her eyes, which have since lost their usual shimmer and sparkle, and now shine only with the trembling pools of tears threatening to spill over as she bites her lip in a weak effort to control herself*

[Serum]

*remains in his defeated position, awaiting a reaction. When none is forthcoming, he raises his head for a moment and sees her standing there, trembling. Thinking it's out of laughter, he straightens up and begins again.*
Aheh. Sorry about that. I didn't...wait, what? Are...are you crying?! GAH! What happened?! Are you hurt? Oh man, I knew I hit you pretty hard...do you need me to, I dunno, get a bandage or something? I can get you some first aid, we have a kit back at the café. Or, or, uh, do you need me to take you home or something oh god stop talking find out what's wrong first before making promises agh.
*has worked himself into a frenzy, searching her for cuts, bruises, or scrapes...from an appropriate distance, of course*

[Princess Sakura]

*blinks back to reality, his frantic state somewhat distracting her from her own worries, tilts her head slightly, simply observing him curiously for a moment, her eyes now clear and impalpable, conveying no real emotion* Please don't worry - you've caused me no harm~
*reaches into her pouch and takes from it a swirly rainbow lollipop with a pink bow tied around the stick, offering it to him with a smile, the sparkle returning to her eyes* Please be happy, ok~? ♪ ^///ω///^

[Serum]

*snaps back to a standing position and somewhat hesitantly accepts the lolli. Furrows his brow and frowns a little, then speaks*
Honestly, I'm a little confused. I knock you down and you pick up my books. You start to cry, but then you give me a lollipop. Either something strange is going on here, or you're the most forgiving person I've ever met.
I...I've really gotta get going home, but do you think I could get your name in case we see each other in the halls or something?

Oh, er, sorry. My name's Ichiyo Yamamoto. Sorry we had to meet like this. I promise I'll be more careful if I see you again.
*deftly swaps the lolli between hands and reaches his right arm out once more, this time as a salutation*

[Princess Sakura]

*smiles pleasantly all the while he talks, becoming a little hesitant at the request for her name, slowly reaches to briefly shake his hand, a little wary of the amount of physical contact* Um, my name is Sakura~... You can just call me that if you like, I don't really like to bother with the formalities of being addressed by my surname, s-so that isn't important~... Of course I still abide by those customs where others are concerned out of respect, Yamamoto-san~
*takes hold of the sides of her dress and lifts them as she curtsies to him* I am pleased to have made your acquaintance~ Now, um, I believe you mentioned that you needed to return home~?

[Serum]

*nods briefly, then smiles and starts to walk away*
If I didn't know better I'd say you were trying to get rid of me, haha. But you're right, my Ma's gonna be really mad at me already for being so late. Bye, Sakura!

[And with that, he ran off into the quickly fading light. Already the sky above had transitioned from peach and tangerine to a deep, midnight blue. Streetlights began to flicker on, streets suddenly lit one at a time. But by the time all had come on, he was already out of sight.]

[Trinais]

Princess Sakura liked to laze about often, Parry observed. He wasn't one to judge her habits, and as ruler of this land (or heir apparent; he never truly paid attention- Ooooooh! Clothes on sale!!!!!!!) she did a very good job. People had problems here, just like anywhere else, but he often found himself with more time on his hands than he knew what to do with. As Sakura's Guardian Spirit, he was supposed to shadow her almost everywhere she went and keep her safe from things magical and not nice. Unfortunately, the Princess had a tendency to hug him at the most inopportune moments, triggering his transformation into his "disguised" self. And he wasn't a huge fan of that form.

So as the waiter hurries off into the distance, Parry returns from a day at the stores- his arms are completely full of colorful shopping bags, and even the enchanted nappy bag slung over his shoulder, a bottomless pit for his mundane collection of clothes and items, looks fit to burst at the seams.

His clothes are even different from when the Princess saw him only a few hours ago. His fancy button up silk shirt had been replaced by a nice designer tee, and his fashionably ragged jeans have been replaced with whole, un-torn black hip huggers.

Despite being loaded down with the day's catch (also generously provided by the Princess' credit card) he takes the opportunity to sneak up behind the Princess, leans in to her ear over the shoulder, and yells "He's a strange fellow, eh?"

[Princess Sakura]

*having already drifted off into another daydream the moment the waiter had departed, she is very vulnerable to being sneaked up on and, at the sound of Parry's sudden deafening bellow, lets out a high-pitched girlish squeal, jumping with fright* K-kyaaa~!!!
*twirling around to face him, her ever-present blush deepens with embarrassment* Awww, you found me already~! Just when I thought I might be able to break my record of not-needing-to-be-guarded-for-a-little-while~... *puffs her cheeks, pouting huffily, her eyes trailing from his to the multitude of shopping bags he carries, her facial expression changing from irritable to one of wonder* Oooooh, you got lots again~! Did you get me candy~??? ♪ O///ω///O

[Trinais]

"Of course I found you. I'm supposed to watch you," Parry says, playing at acting frustrated by Sakura's suggestion he might lose sight of her.

He reaches casually into the nappy bag and pulls out a large box of Dark chocolate Pocky, dangling it in front of her face like a toy mouse in front of a kitten. "And if you don't need guarding, why should I stick around then? I could hit the mall one more time before closing time! But- candy? Why would I get you any candy? Candy is bad for you, and it's my job to keep you safe. So giving you candy is against the rules!"

[Princess Sakura]

*starts to drool, her wide, wistful eyes following the pocky longingly as he waves it in front of her, so transfixed even by the mere image of pocky on the packaging her tongue automatically starts inching from her lips as she desperately tries to taste the nyummyness of the chocolate-coated treat, trying to convince him to give her sweets with her tongue still out, making most of her words garbled* Nu-uhsies~! Ish dewicious an' nootrishush~! Shewgar ish mai source uv enurgee~! ♪ O///ω///O