Open for Business 2: Baking Boogaloo

[dekillerqueen]

Who: Open to all (but especially Nanami)!
Where: A nice little bakery in the Virgo district, thankfully undamaged despite all the recent happenings.
Summary: Shelly has been productive.
Warnings: None for now, aside from ordinary, vague Shelly-grade creepiness.

Shelly wouldn't call it a plus, exactly, but the fact that his apartment was wrecked does mean that he spends a lot more time in the bakery these days. As a result, his humble bakery is currently full of fresh, delicious goodies... at incredibly appealing prices! What a business man.

Just don't go into the back room.

He would be very displeased if you went into the back room.

Comments

[spiritofjustice]

[Bobby still hasn't so much as considered extending an invitation to Shelly. He would, however, help with rebuilding if asked. He's been helping out around the city a lot ever since the mysterious-quake-that-wasn't-quite-so-mysterious, after all.

He doesn't exactly shy away from the bakery either. In fact, he still stops by at least once a week to grab a donut or whatever else catches his fancy. A pastry once a while never hurt anybody.

Which is exactly why he's strolling into the shop again today. He's wearing his usual toothy grin and flicks his hand at Shelly in a salute.]

Good morning, Mr. Baker!

[dekillerqueen]

Good morning, Mr. Detective. [How nice that they have this mutual form of treatment.]

How have your efforts around the city been going?

[spiritofjustice]

[Of course it's nice. Why, it's just common sense. What other sort of treatment would a simple baker and a detective give each other, really?]

Good! Very good! We're making a lot of progress with the restoration of town hall.

[He pauses in front of one of the display cases to peer down at a particularly scrumptious-looking cake. In fact, most of his attention seems to be going into that. Bobby gets distracted far too easily for his own good.]

[dekillerqueen]

[Nothing else would make sense!

The humble baker adjusts his monocle, following Bobby's gaze to the delicious cake.]

And I suppose you are here for refreshments now?

[spiritofjustice]

[Bobby tears his own gaze away from the cake again, still grinning brightly.]

Of course! No better bakery in town than this one!

[dekillerqueen]

I'm afraid flattery will not get you a discount, Mr. Detective.

[spiritofjustice]

Whah- Whoever said anything about a discount? What sort of man do you take me for?

[dekillerqueen]

It was a joke. [Believe it or not, he is capable of those.]

Now... how many slices?

[spiritofjustice]

[Capable or not, Bobby's the kind of guy to take remarks like that a little too seriously. Alas. Best not to joke around him, especially when it comes to things related to justice.

He pouts for a moment longer, then straightens up again.]

Just one is fine for me! I have to watch my physique, you know.

[dekillerqueen]

Ah, naturally. A police detective must be in top shape at all times, I imagine. [Much like an assassin.

Shelly proceeds to get a slice with utmost care, as usual.]

[press_start]

Food is important, food never fails to surprise Nanami with how tasty food is, and it says something about how much of a shut-in she is. Welp. Never too late to expand your horizons and visit new places, experience new things, right? Wait, she's just strolling down a street in Virgo and turning into a bakery. This is probably an over-exaggeration. No one can be that much of a shut-in.

(If you ask her about bakery experience she'll pause for a long while and respond, vaguely, "Well..... ......not much...")

It's probably the smell. Boy does this place smell really nice, like warmth and butter and dough, it's overall very pleasant and something you could probably fall asleep inhaling. Nanami makes a slow round around the display, weighing her options carefully against the spare coins heavy in her pocket. Hmm. Hmmmmm, what to get, what to get, everything looks nice, maybe this? Or maybe that... well they both look.... hmm....

After a while her consideration drags into something akin to a game loading screen, and she stationary position in front of one of the bread displays drags into something that may become concerning to the casual observer.

..... ..... .. ...... zz....zzz..yes, about the.... bre...a...d.....

[dekillerqueen]

Concerning, indeed. Shelly would rather not have anyone suddenly pass away in his humble establishment. Not without him having a hand in it, and certainly not in plain sight, at any rate.

He leaves the counter and cautiously approaches the girl, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Young miss? Are you feeling quite alright?"

[press_start]

"-hm?" Her eyes open. Ah, yes, she was choosing bread, and she lifts a hand a bit to continue picking things out before the pressure on her shoulder registers. Nanami pauses with a noise that could be interpreted as vaguely confused.

"Oh.... ...yes, ah, did you need something?"

Nanami should really figure something out regarding this thing where people are suddenly asking her if she's alright. Going out and mingling with civil society meant that your randomly falling asleep became less of a taken-for-granted quirk you had and more of a concerning thing.

[dekillerqueen]

Having gotten her attention, Shelly removes his hand from her shoulder. He really isn't one for unnecessary body contact.

"I believe I am the one who should be asking that, young miss." He smiles. Or does he? It's kind of hard to decipher his facial expression at any given moment. "I am the humble owner of this bakery, John Doe. I don't believe I have seen you around here before."

[press_start]

Nanami turns to look as the touch disappears. It's a mild-looking mustached man and his expression isn't easy to read, though he seems at the very least in a pleasant mood.

John Doe? Isn't that a term from murder-mystery games, the titles involving law enforcement used that... it's probably an actual term used in places too. John Doe. It's a little weird talking to someone with a video game name, it doesn't quite sound real.

At any rate, he's given his name, general courtesy seems to dictate that she give hers too. "Ah, my name is Nanami Chiaki. I did arrive in this city only quite recently.... ...."

"Do you bake these yourself or do you have them baked for you?"

[dekillerqueen]

If the baker were privy to her thoughts, he would assure her that John Doe is absolutely a real name that a person in the real world can have. Especially in a world populated by people with names like Luke Atmey or Cammy Meele.

It is also a fact that it's the name given to unidentified corpses in English-speaking countries, yes, but how could that be relevant at all? Never mind the fact that the bakery is called Death by Chocolate.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Chiaki." He gives her a polite little bow. "Everything you see here is made by me, yes. Currently, I am the only one working here."

[press_start]

He bows, and she bows slightly back with a vague sort of smile. Courtesies should be returned, right? Never mind that she just recalled the particular fact about the name 'John Doe' and corpses, picked up from cutscenes where cops and private-eyes in trenchcoats watched steam rise from cups of coffee- sitting outside a dozen cafes on a dozen separate midnights.

This is clearly not a cafe on the lower end of middling standards. Besides, video game references tend to throw people off a lot.

"Oh.... I see, that's quite impressive." Besides besides! Who knows if this whole place is just one big game. Nanami makes a mental note to remember and keep tabs on this kindly man in case the plot tries to kill him.

Nanami adds, almost as an afterthought, "This is... a lot of bread. They smell really nice."

[dekillerqueen]

Again, if the baker were privy to her thoughts...

Well, in this case, perhaps he would just be confused. Why would any of this be a game? Then again, he knows very little of electronic games. They were not part of his childhood, and he has more important things to do.

"Thank you. Will you be wanting any? Or... are you, perhaps, interested in the sweeter delicacies I have here as well?"

He's still keeping an eye on her, too. How very odd to just fall asleep out of nowhere like she did.

[press_start]

"Mm, yes, I'm looking for bread..." Sweeter delicacies would be nice to pursue at a later point in time, but she had a goal right now and that was to properly feed herself. Sweets and chocolates and things were probably not the best source of energy.

Nanami nods with her affirmative response, her head tilting slightly as she lifts it again. Hmm. How hungry was she? How long was it to dinner? Mmm, the bread was smelling really good.

"I was just thinking over what to get. Ah, do you have any recommendations?"

[stringent]

[ franziska, for all her investigating, still never knew the identity of the man who shot her. so she strolls into shelly's bakery none the wiser. everything looks good. it's fresh and smells nice. she's almost impressed.

almost being the keyword. she's just taking a really long time looking at everything, and it's not indecision!! it most certainly isn't!! ]

franziska no

[dekillerqueen]

[... Ah.

Well... At least... it's not Miles Edgeworth, and he's certainly not wearing his insignia all over his clothes.]

May I... help you?

too bad

[stringent]

I wish to buy all of these.

[ she asked, pointing to a tray of six cream buns that were glistening with jam. there was no doubt that shelly was good at what he did.

was it just her or did his voice sound familiar? ]

[dekillerqueen]

[He most certainly is, yes.

Familiar? This voice? But it's such an ordinary voice! Surely, any kindly old man could sound like this.]

All six? [Well, he isn't one to go against his customers' wishes, so he begins carefully packing the buns.] Of course, it is none of my business, but... I do hope you don't intend to eat them all at once.

[stringent]

No, of course not. I intend to keep them as a treat for myself and perhaps give half to my assistant if he performs his tasks well.

{ aka she needs things to eat for afternoon tea time, and if bobby doesn't mess up her tea, then he gets a tiny crumb. isn't she kind. ]

[dekillerqueen]

Your assistant? [A poor detective, most likely. But the one with the trenchcoat isn't here, is he? Could she mean...?]

Ah, may I ask what it is that you do, miss?