Ako at the Beach
A curious cat with a mi-ke coat peeks its head out of Yui's bag to look at the sandy beach. The red ribbon tied into a bow around its neck has the name Ako embroidered onto it. Her mismatched eyes scan her surroundings, taking in the sand and waves. She takes a few steps out of her improvised bed and realizes that beneath her paws, a large patch of cloth separates her from the sand. A glance up reveals an umbrella casting shade.
After spending a little longer getting acquainted she decided to climb some nearby rocks to get a better view of the area and is met with many unfamiliar faces. There are far more people around than her secluded spot led her to believe, all seemingly engaged in some kind of celebration. She's about to wander off to meet some of them when a familiar voice catches her attention and her head snaps to her caretaker.
"Scram you brats!"
The white-haired girl scowls at a group of kids as they run away. Getting wet at the beach was hardly a surprise, but that didn't mean she enjoyed being the victim of some prank. Water drips from the large bow over her chest as it droops slightly.
She skulks back over to where she'd left her things, an ice cream cone in hand. Ako retreats back inside the bag and waits until Yui is close enough before pouncing on her. The feline uses the hanging bits of swimsuit to agilely scale the girl and attempts to steal a few licks of the fatty treat but Yui quickly maneuvers it away from her as she uses a thread to retrieve a tube of cat food.
"C'mon, you'd rather have this, right?"
Ako's attention shifts as soon as the packet is opened, drawn to the scent of tuna. She eagerly licks at the puree and settles into Yui's lap. The two remain like that for a while as they enjoy their respective treats.
"Meow~!"
Once finished, the cat vocalizes her desire while hopping off of Yui and trying to push her up.
"You wanna go somewhere?"
Ako walks forward and looks back expectantly. Yui stands with some uncertainty. It was a bit of a waste to bother coming to the beach only to more or less do what she would've done if she stayed home.
Yui lets herself be led around by Ako, a simple connection between the cat's collar and her midsection ensuring that they wouldn't be separated as they weave through groups of beachgoers. She was more than confident that Ako would return to her but it was hard to not be a bit anxious about something happening with so many people in one place. It was why she'd gone out of her way to set up in an emptier part of the beach even if she knew her companion was likely to want to explore. That and she didn't want the sound of machinery disturbing her nap.
Ako proudly struts through the unfamiliar territory as if it was her personal playground until she spots some semi-familiar faces closer to the water and begins pulling Yui over along with her. She'd seen some of them with Yui or had been shown them by her but was yet to meet them.
She suddenly stops in her tracks and hisses, eyes locked onto a trio of strange snakes. While they're distracted she bats at one with a claw before scurrying back to Yui's side.
"What the hell?"
Orochi and the other judges look behind them to see Yui petting Ako to comfort her.
"They're afraid of your tails."
Christopher is the first one to make the connection. Orochi crosses her arms while tucking her head-tails behind her a bit.
"It's fine. She'll get used to 'em."
Yui takes the cat into her arms where she still eyes the Hydra suspiciously. Though, the cat's attention shifts to Inigo and his strange green pet as they approach.
"Wow! She's almost as cute as you!"
The delinquent glares and opens her mouth to retort but is interrupted by Ako attempting to escape her grasp and pounce at Gigan. She mutters something and takes out another tube of cat food.
"...She's a tactile learner or whatever. Nothin's gonna change that, so might as well get to know her on your terms."
She offers to let them pet Ako while she's settled down. Inigo and Christopher do so without any hiccups, earning purrs of approval from the feline. However, Orochi hesitates to extend her clawed hand.
"C'mon, she's never gonna like you if you won't even pet her."
"Not exactly made for handling soft stuff. I'm not gonna accidentally poison your cat."
Not taking no for an answer, Yui shifts Ako so that she's cradled in one arm and grabs Orochi's hand.
"Well, I ain't gonna let my cat not get along with my friend."
She quickly wraps the Hydra's hand up in ribbon and guides it to Ako's back as she shows her how to properly pet the cat.
"See? Not so hard."
"Yeah, whatever."
A large splash caused by one of the divers soaks the four of them. Yui turns away to shield Ako with a frown. As far as cats went she had fewer issues with water than most, but she enjoyed being suddenly drenched about as much as her keeper did.
"Tch. I'll let you off easy this time, but next time you're holding her even if I gotta turn you into a mummy."
"Pfft. We'll see."
Yui runs off before the next dive and shakes out some of the moisture in her hair as she set Ako down again. The rest of their beach exploration is less eventful. Aside from making sure to ruin a particular brat's sandcastle, Ako is content to just play with shells and particularly shiny rock. One of those shells happened to be inhabited and she almost gets into a fight with a crab before Yui pulls her away.
As they get closer to the bar, the smell of barley and wheat draws Ako in. Wanting to get off her feet and give them both some water, Yui doesn't stop her. Once they're in the shade, she begins rummaging through her bag for a bottle and a bowl to pour some into.
While she does, Ako continues to follow the smell until she comes across a blonde woman in a sundress. The scent of smoke causes her to voice some displeasure but doesn't keep her from jumping into the unsuspecting woman's lap as she tries to get a taste of her beer.
"Get your own!"
Akagi weakly fends off the cat, wondering why she'd agreed to come at all. Before things can escape, Ako's suddenly pulled away and into Yui's arms.
"Sorry. She, uh, doesn't mean nothin' by it."
She places the filled bowl on the counter with Ako. For a while, she's content to just watch her companion drink while she sips directly from the bottle. Though, something bothered her about the small incident that had just occurred and she can't help but glance at the blonde. She didn't know too many people and something about her was familiar.
Akagi catches her staring and grunts, annoyed.
"You need something, kid?"
Yui scratches her head as she tries to come up with the right words.
"Look, uh, do I know you? Not like 'know you' but you're pretty popular, right?"
Akagi usually frown deepens, but she also can't help but fixate on the word she used: popular. Popular wasn't how anyone would have described her for a while. More 'infamous' these days if not completely forgotten.
"What if you do, huh?"
The delinquent's perception of Heroes was a bit skewed, to say the least. She'd never bothered keeping up with most of them, especially once she'd started being a villain. They seemed like a bunch of strong jerks who had it made, and if she was being honest, she might've just been a bit of a contrarian.
However, she did like Popsy. When she was younger it was hard not to. She just wasn't bitter enough to not be drawn in. Once she was older, she couldn't help but find all the scandals and controversies cool. She wasn't much for idols or fangirling, but she enjoyed watching some of the clown hero's classic fights from time to time.
"You're, uh, kickass 'n stuff is all."
"Yeah, well things aren't — wait what?"
It takes a while for Akagi to process that the girl's response is different from what she expected. She gives Yui a confused stare.
"Er, you are Popsy, right?"
Any assumption that she'd been confused is swept away. At least as far as a case of mistaken identity went. Clearly, something must have gone wrong in her head.
"So, you're a fan?"
"I guess? Not like in a weird way or whatever."
Akagi isn't quite sure how to react, and Yui starts to get a bit nervous under her scrutiny. She didn't have any expectations of meeting, and all she could really hope for was that Akagi didn't recognize her as a villain. Before either could manage to come up with something to say, Ako starts to pull Yui along again.
"Uh, cool meetin' you!"
Yui takes the excuse to leave before she manages to put her foot in her mouth. Akagi considers calling out but sighs and cracks open another beer instead. It wasn't weird, but there wasn't much to be done about it. Still, it felt a bit good to be recognized.
She takes out her journal and scrawls something down:
Met a fan at the beach.