<div class="floatleft">(https://i.ibb.co/wYTh5Qf/images.jpg)</div><br/><strong>Character</strong>: Mariko Yashida / Sunfire<br/><strong>Location</strong>: The Xavier Institute, pool<br/><strong>Tagging</strong>: Open | Storm<br/><hr/><hr/><br/>The first sign of life was a mumble of something not quite English from under the sheets. This was followed by some movement. Mariko then popped her head out from under the covers.<br/><br/>She sighed, shielding her eyes from the sunlight that came through the window. She stole a glance at the lovely dress she had worn last night and laid down on a chair before she went to bed last night, pointedly ignoring the alarm clock and iPhone on the night table.<br/><br/><em>What day was it? </em>Mariko thought as her brain slowly chugged into motion.<em>Saturday…no training…yay!</em><br/><br/>Mariko had come home late last night from a New York Philharmonic concert at Lincoln Center. She had been looking forward to it for weeks. And it was fantastic.<br/><br/>No date, of course. She had gone alone. Again.<br/><br/>As a child, Mariko was forced by her parents to take music lessons in violin and piano. At first, she hated them, but later she actually began to secretly enjoy them. She turned out to be quite good, maybe even enough to be a professional musician. But her parents wouldn’t allow that. Nope, marriage and babies were Mariko's future.<br/><br/>Fuck that.<br/><br/>Lucky for her, Xavier gave Mariko gave her an outlet by letting her teach music at the school. And though she liked teaching, Mariko didn’t have someone to really share her love of music.<br/><br/>Mariko pushed these thoughts away. It was time to take a break and go to the pool, not be miserable about your love life. The weather was not expected to be very warm, but the cold didn’t bother her. Not when you’re a human fusion reactor.<br/><br/>First thing on the list…shower. Mariko threw back the sheets and sat up. She stretched and yawned before heading to the women’s showers. A quick 10 minutes later, Mariko was back in her room. Somebody had used up all the hot water, and the unexpected blast of very cold water caused her to squeal in shock before she could react, ruining the experience.<br/><br/>Mariko put her hair up in her near trademark pigtails and walked over to the closet to pick out a swimsuit. She wasn’t into bikinis, one-piece mayo style swimsuits showed off her athletic body better for some reason. Maybe it was her boobs, which were much larger than the average Japanese woman. Picking an aquamarine suit she slipped into it, pulled on a tee-shirt, and slid sunglasses onto her head. Perfect for a Saturday of lying by the pool and recharging. Literally. Mariko absorbed sunlight and used it to fuel her powers. An added benefit, Mariko tanned but did not burn.<br/><br/>Second on the list…coffee and breakfast. Mariko entered the kitchen and shook her head. It looked like a few people had come through already. The donut boxes, in particular, looked like they had been raided by wolves. Still, there was one chocolate frosted left unharmed. She selected it and an apple, placing them on a plate. Donuts weren’t a thing in Japan, but in the two years she had lived at the X-Mansion, she had grown to love them…especially chocolate frosted. Mariko then rummaged through the cabinets for a few minutes before finding a large insulated coffee mug.<br/><br/>Mariko never used the coffee pot. Ick. She had her own method. Mariko filled the mug with water from the sink, dumped in some sugar and powdered coffee, and swirled the mixture. Using her powers, she then warmed the cup up to the perfect temperature…just below boiling. Satisfied, Mariko put the lid on and departed the kitchen, mug in one hand, plate in the other.<br/><br/>Coming out onto the pool deck, Mariko saw a bunch were up already and steered towards them.<br/><br/>“Ohayo, everybody” “ Mariko said cheerily as she slipped through the crowd to one of the open chairs.<br/><br/>Mariko looked at Storm for a brief moment as she sat down, squelching some naughty thoughts. Her teammate was indeed a very beautiful woman, but even after being in the X-Men with her for so long, Mariko was still uncertain how to get past the 'I'm a badass.' It was almost like a shield of some kind, even though Ororo was so sexually open.<br/><br/>“Anything interesting going on?” Mariko asked, as she placed her plate on the table next to her. She leaned back and took a long, gratifying sip from her mug.