Coffee Break

*Sparks walks toward the cafeteria from the Infirmary, a little on edge with his last minute meeting with Nikola.*

"Phew. That was close. I though for sure I'd have to bribe him with kitten magnets again to get us out of there." spoke Sparks as he looked at Kimiko.

Kimiko let out a sigh, but looked up at Sparks a little confused when he mentioned kitten magnets.
"You bribe him...with kitten magnets?" She asked, blinking.

"Well, magnets are the only thing I have on me that he'd want. He's obsessed with kittens." explains Sparks as they entered the cafe and walked to order from Jerry, "I'll have the usual."

"And what'll you have miss? Miss? Sparks, have you settled down?" asked Jerry in a confused, but still overexcited manner.

"What? No! I-" responded Sparks, a little disoriented by Jerry, but it was too late.

*Jerry had come back with a pie, as well as the coffee.*

"Don't worry kids, its on the house." said Jerry as he forced the coffee and pie into Sparks hands, and then whispered to Kimiko, "You better watch this one though, I heard rumors that he's doing stuff with some lady named Ayane in that wing of his."

Kimiko's cheeks flushed bright red. "N-No, you've got it wrong! I just got here--" But he didn't stop to listen. He merely came back with a pie and coffee, still a bit overly excited.

Her cheeks burned an even brighter shed of red when the cook had whispered to her. Ayane?! No way! Did he not know anything about that branch?

She tried to object, but a hoarse "squeak" only came out of her throat, making her duck her head in embaressment.

*Sparks gritted his teeth as he looked like he was about to have aspasm.*

But instead, he sighed, "Could you get a coffee for her instead?"

"Oh sure, honey." replied Jerry lightheartedly, and soon returned with another cup of his special brew, "Sugar and cream are on the condiment table like normal, not that you two need anything sweeter."

*Sparks was red with embrassment and anger as he started walking away from Jerry and toward a table on the far end of the cafeteria. He'd been used to Jerry's.......'happy' personality, to say the least, but this was a bit much.*

"He tends to be......well...you saw." said Sparks to Kimiko as he handed her one of the cups of coffee, "Best not to get involved in fighting when you can avoid it."

Kimiko face had turned red at Jerry's comment, and she ducked her head shyly. She was already getting teased! But she did know that the man probably didn't mean it. ...Or did he? She really couldn't tell.

When Sparks spoke and offered her a cup of coffee, she only took it between her hands and nodded, looking back at the cook. She took a sip, but quickly pulled away and had a pained expression on. "It's hot!" She blew on it, then took another sip. "This...is really, really good!" she commented, letting a smile grow on her face.

Sparks looked at her reaction and calmed down a bit, smiling, "And thats why we avoid fights with him. He's the best cook this side of the world."

*He then took some sugar and cream and added it to his coffee, making it light.*

Then he spoke quietly, "Last time I ticked him off, he refused to make me anything for a month....it was agony."

Kimiko listened, adding a little cream to her coffee and taking another sip. She might have another cup after this...it was just so good!

With a satisfied smile, she replied, "I can understand why."

"Well, on the bright side we got a pie out of the deal. How about you go get us some whipped cream, sweety?" grinned Sparks as he started becoming his usual sarcastic self.

Kimiko blushed a little, but DID reconize the sarcasm in his voice. She grinned back at him.

"Sure thing, darling." she replied in the same tone. She couldn't help but giggle a little, and even added a quick wink.

"I'll go set us up somewhere we can be alone, so why don't you ask Jerry for some, sweety." replied Sparks as he picked up his coffee, the pie, a couple of forks, and some napkins as he placed them on a tray.

*He then started walking away from Kimiko and headed toward a table in the corner.*

Kimiko smiled back, but on the inside she almost choked on the air. Sparks sure was some INTERESTING character.

She took a deep breath and walked back up to Jerry. "Um...excuse me?" Jerry turned and smiled widely at her, "Hey, hun! What'cha need?"

"Do you have any whipcream?"

"Ah~ For the pie? Sure thing!" he went back into the kitchen and returned shortly. "Here you go! But now, now - don't get to carried away, hun!" His grin grew wider, and Kimiko cheeks burned red.

She took the whipcream, let out a small sigh, and began to walk back to where Sparks had gone.

*When she got back, Sparks was already dividing the pie up and putting a piece for him on some paper plates he found Jerry had also given them.*

"So, you got it?" asked Sparks grinning, seeing the can, "Good. Now we can call this a pie. Have a seat and dig in."

Kimiko set the can down on the table, smiled back, and sat down. The pie looked delicious already, even without the whipcream. Jerry's cooking was probably going to be her favorite. FOR LIFE.

She picked up a fork, but hesitantly stuck it into the piece she'd been given. Popping it into her mouth, she had a small taste. Her eyes lit up and her smile came back. It was DELICIOUS!

"It looks like Jerry has a new fan." said Sparks as he took another bite, "We're no where near him, though."

*Sparks points to Allen Walker who has just begun to take his order.*

"That kid alone has his own food budget. Heh." said Sparks before taking a sip of his coffee.

Kimiko turned to look at the white-haired boy, and blinked. She watched him and her eyes grew a little wider. He alone was ordering WAY more than a normal person! It was insane! His pile of food still grew, and all he did was smile at Jerry, ordering away.

"Wh-Who is that? An exorcist?" she asked.

*Nods*

"We have him come in for tests occasionally," explained Sparks, "Innocence, the weapons the Exorcists use, are divided into Parasitic and Equipment types. The Parasitic ones actually live off of their host, meaning their power is gained by their host. So that kid over there is really eating for two."

Kimiko stared at the boy in awe, listening to Sparks and taking another bite of her pie. It was incredible. That explained his in-human appetite.

Taking a sip of her coffee, she asked, "So, they use the Innocence to fight against the Earl?"

*Sparks nods, then devours another piece of his pie.*

"Each weapon is as unique as the bonds they share with their owners." Sparks started saying, "Our main job in our wing is to determine what the biological cause of the reactiveness of Innocence to people. We have plenty of extra pieces of it lying around, but they don't seem to react with people often.*

Kimiko continued to listen, nodding thoughtfully. They had an important role. Then again, EVERYONE did. She knew there would be some hard work ahead, but she swore to herself that she would do her very best.
She ate another piece of the pie and after swallowing it, said, "Well, I guess I'll just have to work hard from here on out."

"We're also working on a cure for the Akuma virus, but so far we haven't had much luck." spoke Sparks as he attempted to eat anther piece of the pie, "You'd be willing to help us test our antidotes, right? We need live specimens to test afterall."

"M-Me...? I'd be willing to help when I have the time between treating exorcists." She wasn't quite sure if he meant helping with the antidote, or being a live specimen. She forced the second thought out of her head - that was insane!

She took another sip of her coffee, but pushed her plate with a small amount of pie left away. It was wonderfully delicious, but she couldn't eat another bite.

"I'm only joking," laughed Sparks as he saw Kimko push her pie piece away, "We've lost too many nurses to do that. Could I have that piece if your not going to finish it?"

Kimiko nodded, pushing the plate towards him. She took the time to look around the cafeteria, holding her coffee between her hands. A tall man with a long white streak of hair had entered, followed by an older woman with wavy hair. She noticed their black and red clothing - so they were exorcists, too?

"So...who are they?" she asked, pointing to the two who had come. She actually felt quite curious about everyone and wanted to meet everyone.

Sparks looked up from the piece of pie for a second and saw the two, "Those two are some Exorcists too. I don't recall their names, though. Jacob would know them. Anyway, all I remember is that his Innocence is a Parasitic type located in his teeth, and her's is an Equipment type thats inside that disk on her. He's basically an Akuma vampire, while she's got some control over time."

*Sparks then put some whipped cream onto the last bit of pie before taking another sip of coffee.*