This Mayonnaise Better Be Good [OPEN]

[infinitemayonnaise]

Who| Kousuke Nitou and anyone who should come across him.
What| Nitou acquires mayonnaise and tries to go camping. Such is his life.
Where| The first grocery store Nitou's been able to find, as well as the first park he's been able to find.
When| Sometime just after Nitou's arrival.
Warnings/Notes| This is probably not going to go over well with the Peacekeepers.


[The First Random Grocery Store Nitou Found]
As though it weren't bad enough that Nitou had been taken from home and stripped of his powers and told he was going to fight in some crazy deathmatch-thing, he'd then been put in the District 5 apartments...which weren't too bad as far as apartments went, but the kitchens were sorely lacking. There was no mayonnaise. Nitou might have been even angrier with his hosts had they not so thoughtfully provided him with a credit card, and he wasted no time in making a few purchases. The first was a red wagon. The second was enough mayonnaise to fill that red wagon. The people in the store couldn't help but stare at him as he cheerfully filled the wagon with bottle after bottle, and even here in the Capitol, he attracted more than a few stares as he strode down the street pulling said wagon.

[The First Random Park Nitou Found]
Once Nitou had the mayonnaise in his possession, he decided that he didn't want to go back to the apartments. Why should he? He had mayonnaise and a credit card. And at the sight of the park he was walking his mayonnaise by, his hobo adventurer instincts kicked in.

Not long after that, Nitou could be found pitching a tent in the middle of the park underneath a few trees. He hadn't bothered to consider that this sort of thing just might be looked down upon by the people of the Capitol to a disastrous degree. He was quite used to being run off as a vagrant, and the idea that this could be really dangerous had completely failed to cross his mind. He also had a small barbecue pit and package of weiners nearby; he was clearly planning on having a proper hobo cookout once he had everything set up.

Comments

A little red wagon full of mayo, you say?

[wizardplease]

Haruto had trained until he was sore, and had forced himself to watch arena recaps until he couldn't bear it any longer. And when he'd gone to the roof of the training center for a little peace, it seemed that far too many others were up there in search of it. Though he doubted he could find much quiet out in the Capitol streets, he could walk and clear his thoughts and maybe even find a donut shop that knew how to make a proper donut.

But that was not to be. For he had instead found an entirely too familiar face walking cheerfully down the street, a wagon of mayonnaise bottles behind him. He stopped short, stared, and tried to convince himself that this wasn't real. Nitou didn't need to be here. Nitou didn't need to be a part of this. (Nitou didn't need to be here driving him to distraction...) It's only after a few moments of gaping and gawking that he manages a strangled shout of "Mayonnaise?!"

The most normal little red wagon full of mayo in the world!

[infinitemayonnaise]

The sound of that familiar strangled shout catches Nitou's attention quite well. He whips around and does a fairly theatrical double-take in Haruto's direction. "Haruto?!" Wait, no, his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, that really is Haruto. "Haruto!" And there he comes, rushing over with the wagon still dragging along behind him. "What are you doing here?" Could Haruto have come to rescue him? "Because it's not like I need rescuing or anything--I've got everything under control!" Yep, little red wagon full of mayo, full control of the situation.

[wizardplease]

This is not the happiest of reunions for a variety of reasons, and Haruto cringes slightly backwards at first. "What am I doing here? What about you?!" It's asked with an incredulous wave of his hand and glance down at that wagon of mayo. "Didn't they have any mayo in your apartments?" Then, a pause, and his volume lowers a notch. "You're in a District, right? For the arena, right?" He had to be, but.... Nitou had a way of blowing carelessly in and doing as he pleased. He was prepared to be somehow proven wrong.

[infinitemayonnaise]

"They only had one jar! One! A jar! Not even a squeeze bottle!" Clearly, the mayonnaise supply of the District 5 apartments just wasn't prepared to deal with a mayonnaise connoisseur of Nitou's caliber. And he's giving Haruto a nod with no regard to volume and lowering of voice. "Yeah, they were going on and on about some place called District 5? And some arena, yeah."

[wizardplease]

"Right, of course, a jar wouldn't..." Haruto doesn't get to finish the sarcastic statement, but he hadn't expected to be able to. It was half muttering it under his breath, besides. He shakes his head, slaps a hand down on Nitou's shoulder, and pulls him in closer, volume still low. "You've seen the recaps on TV? Seen the people that came back from the arena? We need to stop this." Please, please let Nitou have his priorities properly aligned, for once.

[infinitemayonnaise]

"I hadn't really talked to anyone who came back, but...they're still alive! That was just a recap like some fake TV thing, right?" Nitou is not quite sure why Haruto is so very serious about this, because he hasn't quite grasped how horrible things are yet. "All those TV people are treating it like it's fake, the way they react!" But he gives Haruto a grin. "But they're kidnappers and thieves, and we can so stop this."

[wizardplease]

"It's not..." Haruto briefly doubts himself. Could this all be fake? Staged? Is that how they managed to air such appalling things on television and have everyone be absolutely enthralled by them? He grimaces and looks away, plainly getting frustrated. But just as quickly as Nitou has him doubting, he has him forgetting all about it and forging ahead in the conversation. "Kidnappers, thieves, and worse. We need to find out more! And we need to get our things back."

[infinitemayonnaise]

"At least they gave me a credit card!" Nitou sort of jiggles the handle to the wagon. "I'm all stocked up again!" He glances back at the mayo. "For a couple days, anyway." Yes, a wagonful for a couple of days sounds about right. "So, what now, we find where they're keeping our stuff and rush in there to get it? Should be a lot of opportunity there!"

[wizardplease]

"Right. That's very important." Maybe Nitou wouldn't catch the faint sarcasm in Haruto's voice. He shakes his head and starts to walk along, confident that his fellow wizard will follow. He even shoves his hands in his pockets and keeps his voice low and tries to be casual, even though there's a part of him that knows it's going to be futile.

"Maybe. Shh. We're probably being watched! I don't know exactly what's going on, but the police are on high alert for some reason."

[infinitemayonnaise]

"Don't worry about it!" Nitou tries to throw an arm around Haruto's shoulders. "What could possibly be more normal than a couple of guys out walking with a wagon full of mayonnaise?"

[wizardplease]

Haruto yelps in protest as Nitou drags him in, and winds up stumbling alongside him like that for the next bit. "There are lots of things that are more normal than that! Hey!" Try as he might, he's not having any real success in pulling away and preserving his dignity.

Maybe the Peacekeepers will just think that they're both so ridiculous that they can't possibly be a threat. Yeah.

[infinitemayonnaise]

Perhaps that's been Nitou's devious plan the entire time Haruto's known him. To be so ridiculous, no one possibly sees him as a threat.

But no, that's just Nitou, and he just laughs. "But mayonnaise is great! What could be wrong with that? Where's your sense of adventure?" Come on, Haruto, you have had adventures before. Nitou knows this. He was there.

He suddenly stops walking and looks around. "Where are we going, anyway?"

[wizardplease]

"Mayo and adventure are two different things!" As he protests, Haruto lightly jabs an elbow into Nitou's side. He's had plenty of adventures, and most of them have not involved wagons full of mayonnaise, thank you.

"Um." He stops short when Nitou does, however. "...wait, I thought you were leading the way."

[infinitemayonnaise]

"But they make each other better!" Nitou protests. "Besides, I'm hungry!"

And as for that next statement..."Well, I was looking for a park to pitch my tent!" He grins. "But I thought maybe you knew somewhere fun, since you'd been here longer. Or you'd know where we could find the biggest opportunity!"

[wizardplease]

The park. "Nitou." Words fail Haruto for a moment, but that's just how things go when talking to this guy. "Nitou, they gave you an apartment. You don't need to sleep in a tent." And now that the mandatory pointing out of things both obvious and un-fun has happened... teasing. "Besides, I haven't seen a park big enough to hold both you and all that mayonnaise."

[infinitemayonnaise]

"I can't sleep in that apartment!" Nitou complains. "The bed's too soft, and I just feel so confined with a roof over my head!" He spreads his arms wide. "The great outdoors is where it's at, man! It's where you can find the most adventure!" Why, yes, carrying on in response to Haruto's teasing as though nothing's wrong sure beats worrying about more serious things. He grins. "And don't worry, I'm going to hide some of this all through the suites, not just in my room."

[wizardplease]

"There's a roof, you know. With a garden. You could put your tent there." Which may or may not be more of an affront to the people running this place, but it would at least keep him marginally closer and easier to keep an eye on. "Haven't you done rooftop camping before?" He laughs, which slides into a playful groan. "You're going to make yourself extra popular with your roommates, you know."

[infinitemayonnaise]

"Well, yeah, of course I've done rooftop camping before!" Nitou grins. "But there are more people down here, and it's a new place! Too much to see down here, you know?" And he gives a laugh of his own. "Aw, I'm sure they'll love me. What's not to love?" Sure, he's just walked into it there, but he doesn't care.

[wizardplease]

"There is a lot to see...." And maybe Nitou was entitled to see it with his own eyes. He wouldn't believe some of the stranger stuff if he told him, anyway.

"Oh?" Haruto laughs, hands slipping into his pockets as he strolls along beside the other rider. "You're a loud hobo that has a mayo addiction. Not many people go for that."

[infinitemayonnaise]

"Oh, come on!" Nitou runs a hand through his hair and throws his arms out wide. "Who wouldn't want a piece of this?"

Somewhere, crickets start chirping as if in response to the question. A sudden breeze blows a pseudo tumbleweed of some Capitolite's lost weave across the street in front of them. Et tu, nature?

[wizardplease]

Well. That was awkward.

"Uh... was that a wig?" But though he'd been teasing moments before, they were friends. Sort of. Kind of. Now wasn't the time to rub it in. Changing the subject seemed appropriate.

[infinitemayonnaise]

"Man, who'd lose a wig out here?" Nitou starts laughing. "Wonder if there's a wig-stealing Phantom running around out here. Driving bald people to despair--I bet I'd beat it first."

[wizardplease]

"There are a lot of people wearing wigs. They tested the odds... and I guess they lost." He shrugs and shoves his hands into his pockets, stifling laughter at Nitou's suggestion. He is far too cool to laugh at something like that. "Oh? Would you? Really?"

No, Haruto, you are only encouraging him to be your rival...

[infinitemayonnaise]

"You better believe I would!" Nitou mimes punching a thing. "I'd let it know who was boss, and then I'd eat it right up!" Yes, they are so rivals. The most...rivaliest of rivals. "So much faster than you, too!"

Think we're getting to a good spot to fade out?

[wizardplease]

"You only think you're faster than me." Haruto lets a bit of that laughter out, giving Nitou a sidelong look. "It's a good thing I'm here. I don't know if you could handle it solo...." He jokes. He kids. Mostly. He'd rather not have to leave Nitou to his own devices, all teasing about his capacity to handle himself aside. Maybe it's good that they've both landed here.

"So. You eaten yet?"