State of Grace [Delta & Hanako]

Living alone, for all its benefits, could get pretty old after a while. Especially for a social creature like Delta.

The four-armed woman awoke from her slumber into the empty house fairly late into the morning, as was typical for her. The late working hours her occupation required meant she wasn't quite what one would call an early bird. With a mighty stretch of her four limbs, she pushed out what tension was in her body as she rose into the deathly quiet room. The stillness of her mornings was always somewhat unpleasant to her, something occasionally rectified by awakenings in the rooms of others... Or them in hers. Unfortunately, Delta's workload with running the bar now meant she wasn't exactly able to indulge herself as much these days. Not that she had any good company in mind right now.

Nonetheless, today was actually a good day to be waking up alone, for Delta didn't need any awkwardness or timewasting this morning. No, on a rare occasion, Delta actually had plans before nightfall! Living alone meant one had to be rather practical with their time management, something Delta had adapted to over the past few years. Without the possibility of assistance, she had to be a bit inflexible with when she restocked on supplies. Essentials, food and her own personal stash of liquor needed to be refilled regularly, so she could remain self-sufficient. 

Put simply, she intended to do some shopping that morning.

The bar didn't open for while yet, and Retsuko could handle the earlier shifts if Delta was out for a bit longer. With no time to waste, the amber-eyed lass went through her morning to tidy herself up for the day ahead. Fortunately, four-arms made the process of a morning routine much quicker by multitasking. Doing her hair while brushing her teeth, writing out her shopping list while making toast, etc. It was quite the convenient Quirk, all things considered.

Once she was done, Delta donned her attire. A large, custom-tailored long, white sleeveless blouse was put on first. Ordered online from a business specializing in making clothes suited for Quirkers with unique needs. The industry had emerged very quickly with demand. Other than that, she was wearing some simple jeans and flat, along with a cozy shawl for the cooler weather. Her hair remained free as ever, however, even as her attire changed from the usual outfit she wore in the bar. That being said, Delta, of course, took her dark, flat-brimmed hat with her, for style was never abandoned.

Being lucky enough to live in Tokyo itself, Delta only needed a short train connection to lead her to her first location. A quaint market she'd heard of in the past, something a bit new for her. Always good to mix it up every now and then, after all, and Delta was getting quite tired of the meals for one she kept purchasing. Learning to cook better could also have benefits for her bar...

With one of those reusable shopping bags held in each of her lower arms, Delta marched into the markets in the late morning, having woken up not long ago at all, but still feeling ready and focused in her purpose. Of course, she drew looks with that appearance of hers, but it wasn't anything she wasn't already used to. Mutants were being a bit more of a common and accepted sight these days, fortunately.

As Delta wandered into the market, ready to explore her options, she stumbled across a surprisingly familiar face. Any good bartender remembered her clients, and this particular woman had arrived on a particularly peculiar night. The inquisitve creature she was, Delta was approaching the dark-haired woman right away.

"Ah, fancy seeing you here, Miss Hanako!" Delta proclaimed in her usual expressive and bemused tone, waving to Hanako with one of her free hands. "Out for some morning shopping?" From her recollection, Hanako was a blogger of sorts, just the type who'd be buying her own food at this time of the week.

The bartender didn't exactly have many proper 'friends' per se, but her acquaintances numbered plenty. The many patrons who visited her quaint establishment often piqued her interest in one way or another, and Hanako Mizuki was no exception to that rule. That keen amber eye of Delta's had quickly assessed her as a regular working woman, and that was somewhat the case. Hanako didn't have what might be a regular office job, Delta presumed, as she apparently worked in the blogging sphere. An employee of the online realm, one who Delta was quite fascinated by, partially for the service she might provide for The Fourth Corner. Free advertisement was something Delta could never turn down, and Hanako had provided that and then some. A denizen of the internet herself, Delta had seen the article, and was quite pleased with the positive reception.

Now, to run into Hanako again here, posed even more opportunities for the four-armed woman. A useful acquaintance to have, Hanako might be, and one who was interesting enough for Delta to approach in the interest of establishing a stronger connection to the curious younger woman. With a toothy grin, Delta chuckled at Hanako's statement, internally quite glad that the other woman intended to return sometime to the Fourth Corner. "Ah, do come again then, dear~ It's only gotten more exciting since you were last there~" The bartender proclaimed, thinking on the new initiatives that had since been undertaken. From the fixing of their televisions to the new employees Delta had lined up through her recruitment schemes, things were looking very interesting these days.

Delta nodded lightly to Hanako's following questions. "Indeed I am, Miss Hanako~ Perhaps we could remedy each other's lack of company this morning, then?" The bartender hummed lightly, quite tickled by the idea of some morning shopping - and potentially gossip - with a friend her own age. Delta would walk forward, alongside Hanako, if the offer was accepted, posing her first question right away as she glanced over nearby foodstuffs. "Do you live close by too? Or have you just come in for the markets?" If this was a consistent thing, perhaps Delta might have found another source of talk in this town.

Such a pleasant surprise it was, to have this opportunity before her. Delta Ivey was never going to shy away from some way to make her day more interesting, so naturally, she was quite keen on the idea of spending more of it with Hanako. Not that they couldn't meet up some other time in the future, as it seemed the blogger had every intention to return... Once she felt better? Delta raised a curious eyebrow, recalling the moments where Hanako had acted a bit off within the bar. At the time, Delta had figured it either over-politeness or sickness, and it seemed the latter was the case.

"Oh? Under the weather still? I hope you get better soon, dear~" The four-armed woman said gently, a brow still raised at Hanako in curiosity. All things considered, the other woman didn't really look that sick. Nor had she shown many symptoms thus far... Perhaps it was a deeper, more serious situation? Delta hadn't the foggiest idea; medical knowledge was not within her realm of expertise... Nor was dealing with and recognizing women in Hanako's actual position. Not too many of those expecting turned up at a bar, after all.

With the uncertainty of that 'sickness' still looming, Delta was very pleased to hear that Hanako didn't mind tagging along together as they did their morning shopping. "Wonderful~" Delta proclaimed, walking alongside Hanako as they moved through the market. The bartender didn't have much particular in mind, mostly just planning on grabbing what looked good, so decided to see if Hanako had an eye for things as they moved along. During this, Hanako did answer one of Delta's questions.

Which, obviously, only fed into Delta's curiosity. "I see, I see~ A former central city girl, then. It doesn't sound too bad, indeed~" The four-armed woman hummed along, her various limbs picking up and feeling some of the different fruits around, deciding which would be best for cooking and general snacking. Some tomatoes, apples, and citrus seemed to do the trick. The pomegranates didn't look too bad either, but Delta did restrain herself a bit. Money spent frivolously on food was money that could have been spent on fine drinks, after all!

"You said you live together with someone? If you don't mind my asking, who is it you're sharing with?" Delta inquired as she walked alongside Hanako, a hint of slyness in her tone. "Family, friend? Or perhaps... Something a bit closer?" With all the teasing in her voice of a teenage girl, Delta seemed quite keen on what she might derive from Hanako on this topic.

Much like Hanako, Delta had some deal of interest in getting to know and potentially befriend the other women. There was a certain... Impermanence to a lot of Delta's relationships in the recent months, so a more casual and mutually beneficial connection sounded just fine to her. Of course, unlike Hanako, it wasn't as though Delta was interested out of lack of things to do or people to do them with... Rather, Hanako interested her enough to warrant some investigation into the idea of a proper friendship. There was such a curious connection between normal and abnormal with dark-haired woman, that Delta found palatable yet not disconcerting. A Quirkless working woman with an open-mind, the kind who paid no care for a possum appearing at the bar she visited. Intriguing, and nothing piqued Delta's interest in a person quite like intrigue.

Indeed, Delta found no reason not to make a friend of this woman, even discounting the benefits of befriending a blogger. Besides, she could use a proper friend her age to do things with, and who was actually, well... Kind of fun. At the very least, she made the tedium of grocery shopping more fun, giving Delta someone to ask questions to and share information with as she stocked up on fruits and other supplies. 

Of course, Delta expected to be returned questions in kind, but didn't mind at all. Her life was an open book, so long as you didn't stray into the first few chapters, she would share plenty with her acquaintances. First, however, she took the opportunity to try and pry a bit of info out of Hanako, wanting to hear a bit more of the gossip about the woman's life. As soon as that ring was flashed, Delta knew she'd found something juicy, one hand raising to her mouth as she looked with great intrigue at the jewellery.  "Oh! How lovely, dear~ What a lucky guy~" A bit of flattery goes a long way, and Delta was now more curious than ever about Hanako. Soon to be a married woman, hopefully that didn't mean Delta's potential friend was going to be tied down!

The look of sheer, almost innocent joy on Hanako's face told Delta everything she needed to know about how Hanako felt about the engagement. Clearly, it was something that made her happy. Which made more sense, when Delta heard how her fiance had proposed. "Haha, on Valentines Day? A romantic, I see." Delta said with a chuckle, clearly quite fascinated by Hanako's love life. Romance was a genre Delta occasionally found interesting, after all. Even if her own romantic relationships were... Less glamorous. Delta herself could never imagine getting married, but was interested to see Hanako so overjoyed by the idea.

Also ready to move onto the next stall, Delta would find herself naturally the target of the next question. It was only fair that she answer it, after all. While she looked over the bread available, picking up a couple loaves and loading it into one of her bags, Delta nodded and smiled to Hanako's question. "Well, I suppose I'm a city girl. I've been living in Shinjuku since I was 17, after all." Everything before that, didn't count, as far as Delta was concerned. She chuckled lightly to herself, glancing away for a moment as she pushed away any thoughts of life prior. "I'm currently living in an apartment near the bar, by myself, but it's quite cozy~ I couldn't imagine living without the city backdrop, to be honest. The lights and sounds are... Well, they're home." Delta looked over any other baked goods available, for some more delicate options, while glancing back at Hanako with a smile.

"So, dear, tell me about your work~ I'm quite curious on it, and didn't get to hear you speak too much during your visit. What's it like, writing about your experiences?" Delta inquired, quite curious indeed about the occupation of a blogger, and not just because Hanako's blogs could benefit her bar. Though, that was definitely one factor for asking.

WHERE EVERYBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME

Although Delta didn't quite get the whole... Marriage... Thing, it wasn't hard to see the appeal some might draw from it. At least, it wasn't hard to see the joy that Hanako found in it. In having someone by her side, in being by theirs. Being the lucky woman to a lucky guy, it was all quite romantic, and Delta was intrigued that Hanako had such a sweet side to her. Perhaps the bartender would have to meet this mystery man who'd wooed the hard working blogger, just to see what had her so enamored! Indeed, as much as Hanako was trying to withhold information so as to not overwhelm Delta with it, the amber-eyed woman really just found herself wanting to hear more and more about this strikingly intriguing romance.

Delta chuckled lightly to herself as Hanako confirmed he was a romantic, imaging what a guy he must be to propose on Valentines Day, of all days. Could one get any cheesier? Well, it worked, so maybe Delta was judging a bit too quickly. As they talked about their respective living arrangements, another very foreign idea was brought up: Children. Much like marriage, Delta had considered having children as not being something she was particularly interested on doing any time soon... Or, ever, really, but it looked the same couldn't be said for Hanako. "I see, I can see why it might be better for any little ones~" Delta hummed nonchalantly, not sure what else could be added to the subject from her perspective. The kids, the family, it was all rather outside her field of oddities, but she was still nonetheless interested in hearing about it from Hanako. This woman, so often bordering into the world of the abnormal, seemed to still have that air of normalcy to her life, an image of white picket fences, of houses with a husband and kids.

It was difficult for Delta to describe or understand how she felt, hearing about such things proclaimed so happily.

Occupations, however, was something the bartender could easily talk about, particularly when they were as interesting as Hanako's. Blogging wasn't too different from bartending, in some respects. In either occupation, one had to be prepared for the strangest of people to enter their workplace, and they had to know how to interpret that person closely. Only, the outcomes were different, between being served a drink and having a column written about you.

The main difference, however, was that a bartender had to be more... Neutral. Being able to put your opinion like Hanako did was decidedly different, though all those hate mails Hanako talked about did sound rather troublesome. However, at least it came with adventure! "Hehe, I can imagine it can be quite adventurous in this day and age, though it doesn't sound too bad~" Delta hummed, grabbing some melon bread for herself after seeing Hanako grab some. "At least you get stories to tell~ Besides, I think your life sounds plenty fascinating, dear~" The four-armed bartender said with sincerity. Hearing how Hanako felt about her job was interesting, seeing as it was so different from your typical office affair.

Unlike a woman trapped in an office chair, hunched over a computer, Hanako had some degree of freedom to her occupation. Her opinion was free, unchained, and Delta very much respected that about her. A woman who dared outside of the norms in such a way, yet curiously enough, was still very much a... Well, perhaps not a normal woman. Just, one that was unassuming on the surface.

Delta glanced down into her bags, noting what she'd gotten so far. Produce and bread, essentials, now where to go... "Hmm, where next~" Delta hummed, to see where her companion was interested in taking their shopping trip next.

Kids, marriage, the full white picket fence, all things Delta made a conscious effort not to consider most days, so it was fortunate for Hanako that this anti-commitment nature had the bartender somewhat oblivious and uncaring about any potential secrets that lay hidden. As far as Delta was concerned, whatever Hanako enjoyed was her own prerogative, and it was in anyone's nature to follow their desires, to the four-armed carried no further judgment nor investigation into the woman's more personal matters, the secrets that lay hidden. Of course, the romance aspect still fascinated Delta, in more of a gossipy manner than any other. Besides, Hanako was utterly adorable when she spoke about her fiance so giddily.

Less so when her job was the topic at hand, but that was to be expected, few people in this world were truly enthusiastic about their place of employment. Not to say Hanako didn't seem to at least be invested in her work, though it was clearly a source of stress in equal measure to fulfillment. Delta had at least hoped it would be exciting, but apparently, that was not the case, except for with Lady Scandal, who was evidently the woman's boss. Delta had seen her a few times in a certain deep web chatroom, so she knew the woman was a bold one. That sigh, that lamenting of how difficult to please Lady Scandal could be... It sounded as though, like many people, Hanako wasn't the biggest fan of her boss.

Of course, at this point, Delta didn't see the irony in such a thought.

"Hah, I do not envy you, dear. Perks of being self-employed is avoiding those pesky and demanding bosses, Lady Scandal sounds like quite a handful!" Delta proclaimed with a chuckle, thinking back to her own experiences when she'd been under the employment of the bar's former owner. He'd always been a stickler for good form and following the rules, a proper church man even after his departure from the organization. Those memories, fond as they were, carried an undercurrent of freshly reminded pain, so Delta had no problem changing the subject to their next target.

As Hanako thanked Delta for her words on her life, the woman just smiled back. "To have a fiance that can have you looking like a schoolgirl, I'd hope you appreciate that life of yours!" Delta teased the woman. It may not be for her, the "normal" life, the marriage and kids, but it seemed to suit Hanako just fine.

That aside, next up was choosing where to go next. Delta didn't have any preference, but it looked like Hanako had something in mind. "Paint? Doing some renovations, hm? I don't mind, so long as we can keep talking." The four-armed woman uttered, shrugging with all four of her appendages. It didn't seem like a strange place to want to check out, considering Hanako's earlier statements about recently moving in with her fiance. Delta herself didn't have any use for paint at present, but the company more than made up for it.

The irony of their talk about Lady Scandal flew over Delta's head, though one couldn't exactly blame her for not seeing the connection. On one hand, there was Hanako, who as far as Delta was concerned, represented so much of that normal and 'ideal' life that most women of their age led. On the other, this Lady Scandal, who didn't exactly sound like the kind of woman who had time for kids and marriage. However, the identity of the two overlapped, in conflicts Delta was completely unaware of at present. All she knew was Hanako, the somewhat normal yet entirely unique woman who with an open mind, who complained so readily about her 'boss'. "Always working, hm? Sounds like the woman needs to relax a bit more. It lets you age a bit easier~" Delta uttered with a chuckle, oblivious to the irony of her statements.

In a way, it wasn't terribly unfair that Hanako was lying to Delta about this. After all, the four-armed woman hadn't been completely honest when recounting her own history during Hanako's first visit. They each had their own reasons for keeping their secrets, and although the naturally inquisitive Delta would have loved to dig through any obfuscation to sate her curiosity, the woman rarely held any grievances against deception and secrecy herself. She knew they were but on one of the many social tools people wielded.

However, Hanako wouldn't keep all her secrets from Delta, as the four-armed woman would soon find out. After the blogger proposed they go look at paint of all things, the bartender had inquired for what purpose Hanako sought the material. As Delta's amber eye looked over the paints, she got an answer, that would soon have that same eye wide in surprise.

"Oh?"

The pieces clicked very quickly. Hanako wouldn't be painting a baby room unless there was some immediate expectation... Or rather, Hanako was expecting. Delta was, for a moment, taken aback, unsure how to even respond to the sudden and casually dropped news. Hanako had actually managed to fluster Delta, if for a moment. Hanako really was living the ideal life, wasn't she?

Well, the usual concept of 'ideal'.

"Oho, congratulations, dear~" Delta uttered with her usual smooth tone, clapping lightly with two of her free hands, while the others continued looking over the paint. Engaged with kids on the way... Delta could hardly imagine such commitment, but still smiled and congratulated Hanako.

"I didn't realize you were expecting~ When's he or she due?" Delta wasn't quite sure how to handle a topic like this, but she was intrigued nonetheless. All the talk of this committed lifestyle felt foreign and strange to the woman, but it didn't seem to be as such for the relatively more 'normal' Hanako, so Delta was curious to hear the woman's own experiences.

Besides, it wasn't like she could help much with the selection of paint. Delta wasn't exactly sure what would look nice inside of a baby room, outside of the usual blue or pink...