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[Well you know, three dozen eggs would actually come in handy in this household with how often omelets get made. So go you Ryoji.

Elliot meanwhile has written up a list of the ingredients of the things needed for the Finnish recipes, and even brought a backpack to store stuff in later. ]

Can we all fit on the bike....?

Nice bike.

[ IT LOOKS REALLY GOOD? He's impressed. You know... He has heard of Ryoji's bike, but he has never exactly seen it? It has been an urban myth until this day it sounds like. Akira is giving it a scrutinizing look to gauge whether it's fit for three people. ]

Bus is probably safer, but... [ He trusts Ryoji even if taking the motorcycle is a BAD idea. ] Yeah, we should probably use the bus.

[ He doesn't want them to get arrested. ]

[ He's super happy with it! It's a touring bike for when he leaves Recollé to go travelling around the world, which will never happened ever again because the rest of the world does not exist.

But it's true that the max passenger limit is two people, and that there's limited room for groceries too in the trunk, so... Okay, Ryoji starts digging out his wallet to see how much change he has for the bus. Lots of twenties. Maybe he'll just overpay. ]

Elliot, do you carry singles? Akira?

[ Or did they all get eaten up at the zoo. ]

Didn't you buy a student bus pass...?

[What a stupid question Elliot. Of course he didn't. But being the ~~doormat~~ nice guy he is, he'll pull out his wallet and take out a couple dollar bills to hand to Ryoji. There looks like there's a lot of small bills in his wallet- oh the joys of being a street musician. ]

Here.

[ You know what else gets a lot of small bills? Strippers. But Akira won’t mention that since he knows about Elliot’s street performances... It would also make him feel bad for bullying such a good person. Either way, he takes out his own wallet to show he only packs neat bills and very few of them.

His contribution...! Is one dollar! ]

It feels like we’re giving him an allowance...

[ What a stupid question, of course he didn't buy a student bus pass, on the account for not having been an official student since the first grade and then subsequently being too dead to get one. Ryoji takes the dollars gratefully, folds the bills in half, and sticks them in his pocket instead of his wallet. ]

I never needed cash after the advent of credit cards... But I'll pay for the groceries, and that'll make up for it.

Oh, thank you! T-that'd be really nice!

[He's not going to argue about someone else footing the bill. He's broke af]

Anyway, then we should get going. There should be a bus coming soon...

It's usually good to have cash on you... Even if it's a ten dollar bill, but I don't mind paying for a portion of the groceries.

[ Which Akira tends to not always have, but it's better to tell people what they should do than practice it!! Either way, it seems that a bus stop is not too far from their place and they're right on time for the next ferry.

All of them board and have a nice little ride in the back of the bus to the grocery store. The place of promise is nigh. ]

We're heeeereee.

[ A beeline for the shopping carts! Ryoji goes to rescue one that's been abandoned next to a tree on the side of the parking lot, pulls it out and giving it a little shove so that it rolls on over to Elliot. ]

Driver or rider?

[ To ride the cart, and sit inside as a counterbalance, respectively. The third person can make sure they don't get run over by any cars before they even make it inside the store. ]

[When the cart gets shoved towards Elliot, he gives a blank look at first. The whole conversation about the shopping cart had slipped his mind. He'll stop the carts with his hand, and then it starts to click....oh. Right. They wanted him to do this, for some...reason]

R-rider..? What's...

[He's more asking WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY RIDER than volunteering, but feel free to just take it at face value. ]

[ It’s the opposite for Akira. He has been anticipating this moment the whole ride— ]

Elliot is definitely riding. I can supervise.

[ With a grand gesture and a bright expression, he presents Ryoji as the driver and their great steed... luckily, there aren’t too many cars on this side of the lot, so the sky really is the limit. ]

[ Hella. Ryoji takes his place at the cart, feet up on the bottom platform of the cart so that it rears back just a little, the front wheels lifted off the ground and then set in front of Elliot's feet as Ryoji turns it his way. ]

Go on and climb in. We can switch off when we're inside, and you can go for a solo ride!

H-here!?

[IN THE PARKING LOT?? He looks around, as if trying to see if there's any cars just WAITING to come up and kill him. But no, the parking lot is pretty empty......and he has way too little of spine to tell this hopeful duo no]

...O-Okay.

[He gulps and starts climbing up into the cart, hoping that Ryoji is holding it steady while he does so. This is weird, he hasn't climbed into a cart since he was a little kid. Though sadly, with how small he is, he still fits in perfectly fine like he did when he was a little kid.]

How's this?

[ He wants to say that they're trying to have fun, not kill him, but maybe a near life-death experience in a solo cart ride is what Elliot needs? It will definitely kick off the month! Either way, Akira is pulling out his phone

because he's damn straight RECORDING THIS. ]

Perfect. You're doing great, Elliot.

[ He won't say that the cart is meant for you— ]

Whenever you're ready, Ryoji. Show him what's it like to be the best cart racer in Recolle.

[ Time for a near death experience with Akira's blessing. Ryoji kicks off— slow at first, against the resistance of inertia and gravel of the parking lot, but quickly builds up speed, faster and faster towards the front doors of the grocery store that are supposed to part for them like the seas but maybe this is too fast? maybe they're going too fast for the sensor to ping their existence and signal the door to open and they're going to crash and Elliot would hate him forever and

nah, the doors slide open at the very last fraction of a second, there was never any reason for worry. ]

[Even with Akira's reassurances, Elliot is nervous. He grips the side of the cart like some kind of death grip as they set off. And the first part of the ride wasn't so bad. It's actually a little fun! Elliot enjoys going fast, believe it or not.

But then he sees where they are moving quickly to. That sure are the automatic doors they are fast approaching]

R-Ryoji-?! Ryoji look out-!

[But Elliot's warnings seem to go unheard or ignored. They are still barreling faster and faster towards those doors. So he does the next best thing: screaming. He screams as they get close the doors, and as they pass through the doors. He stops when he realizes they aren't going to crash - but dear god he's shaken up from that near death experience.

Also the entire front of the store might be looking at them now.]

[ Akira actually didn't expect Ryoji to aim towards flying into the grocery store, so he's left in the dust with wide eyes like wow. He thought he was the crazy one? He ponders what he should do as Elliot's scream fills the air, not at all feeling the urgency.

Checking his footage, he follows after them with a light jog only to see that they're under the scrutiny of the cashiers... ]

Ryoji, I thought you were just going to push him around the lot.

[ Looks. At. Him. ]

[ He thought wrong. Ryoji at least manages to slow the cart to a stop before they crash right into the registers, and after making sure that's done, belatedly adds his voice in with Elliot's screaming. ]

-—AAAAAA! [ haha is that the store manager coming over? ] I love this store too!!

[ Just. Pretends they were cheering this entire time. He abandons the two of them and leaves Akira to help Elliot out of the cart as he strides right up to the manager and starts asking about the international foods aisle, whether there are any authentic Finnish ingredients, etc. doesn't even give her the opportunity to get properly angry about the disturbance. ]

[Meanwhile Elliot is back in the cart, his heart still racing from that near death experience. But also staring after Ryoji. What the frick dude. What the frick. He can't even focus on all the people who are clearly staring at him for his screaming because Ryoji is just so YOLO.]

S-Suddenly I'm really relieved we didn't take his bike here.....

Yeah... [ Only because it would mean that they both have to suffer together. They both don't need to suffer, okay? Let him help Elliot out of the cart. ] If you can't stand on your own, you can hold on for a bit.

[ He watches as Ryoji goes to small talk with the manager? It seems to be working as she's trying to answer all of his question as best as she can. She kind of gives them a glance of sheer dread. Someone get this cheerful boy off of her? ]

Hey, Ryoji, did you want to do some kind of soup or stew? Or should we try out stuffing some cabbages?

[ COME BACK. ]

[ Come on, guys, they would have gotten here in record time if they'd taken his bike: yellow lights don't exist, only go and stop. He does listen, though, if explicitly asked to take the bus, or give Elliot the best cart riding experience of his life, or come back and rejoin the group instead of harassing the workers. The manager at least looks relieved enough to let him go, for Akira and Elliot to deal with instead. ]

Depends on what Elliot is comfortable making. I looked up some Finnish things I'd like to try, but a lot of them have ingredients that are difficult to find in grocery stores...

[ He pulls his phone out and flips to an open notepad shopping list, containing things like reindeer and blood and tree bark. ]

[Thanks to Akira's help, Elliot's able to get out of the cart! He's shaken up from the cart ride, but he's not injured, so he'll shake his head politely at Akira as he steps away from the cart to prove he can still walk.] No, I'm fine. Thank you.

[Annnd he comes Ryoji again. Elliot will hold onto his own hands in front of him as he listens and glances at the list that Ryoji is pulling up]

As long as it's not any grilled meat like steak, it should be alright--

D-does that say blood?

... Hm. If we went to specific stores, they might sell congealed pork's blood?

[ Is that enough? He's thinking this blood is probably not that, but... Hm. Stroking his chin, he looks at the list. It's very.

Different from what he's used to! But it also makes him excited to try new things out. ]

It sounds like we have to improvise.

[ This is going to be a disaster. ]

[ They're being ~cultural~ which is the entire point of Finnish movie/food night, and the reason why Ryoji spent much of his life going around the world trying new things. To think he can experience Finland from the comfort of his own home; he's willing to make some adjustments to make it happen. ]

Deer have four legs and so to pigs, so I'm sure that substitute will work. And pigs come with blood in them.

[ We can slaughter our own pigs! House bonding time! ]

[You know Akira's idea sounded reasonable and Elliot was willing to try it. It was a bit gross, but he's cooked enough that he'll be able to get over it. But then Ryoji just had to speak up with that idea.]

N-No way!! I-I'm not draining a pig for blood!

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