Survey

"Excuse me madam, may I trouble you to take part in my survey?"

Mildly surprised, Miyuki spun round to face the source of the unknown voice, her long strawberry hair becoming lively from the afternoon breeze. The voice belonged to a female marketing researcher in her late thirties; she was smartly dressed in a navy suit, with a matching tie and a white shirt. Her hairstyle was rather formal looking as well; it was black and tied into a singular ponytail. In spite of the abruptness of the situation, Miyuki quickly composed herself and replied to the businesswoman in a respectable and warm manner.

"Mm, certainly, what kind of product are you surveying?"

The lady readied her pen and clipboard before continuing. She explained to Miyuki that she was conducting a research on health bars, which according to her knowledge, was one of the more popular and nutritious snacks to eat on the go. This piqued Miyuki's interest, because she would often choose a healthier product in place of a sugary item, worried the latter might produce cavities due to her sensitive teeth.

"First of all, how old are you?" the lady asked.

"Seventeen," Miyuki replied.

The businesswoman nodded and ticked off one of the boxes provided. "Okay, how often do you consume health bars, like for instance, do you eat one a day, twice or a few times a week, every so often, or never at all?"

"How often?" Miyuki asked herself, "Well, I do try to eat one bar every day, but there are some occasions where I tend to forget, since I am usually doing something else to occupy the time with, so I would say approximately five bars a week."

"Hmm… okay…" the woman said, ticking off another box in the process, "would you ever consider eating a health bar instead of a meal as an alternative?"

Miyuki popped a finger between her pursed lips, her wide eyes looking up as she contemplated her answer. "I think I would be leaning towards the answer no. Although health bars are a requisite of keeping ones stamina integral, I do not feel they are a substitute for a proper meal. Breakfast, lunch and dinner all contain an essential requirement of nutrient, ingredients and fats that a single health bar simply does not provide."

"A very informative answer," mused the survey asker. She followed through with her next question. "Do you have any food allergies, such as soya, nuts, dairy produce or any type of fruit?"

"Let's see…" Miyuki pondered for a short while, "…I have a particular affliction with nut-related items, since sampling these products can sometimes cause pressure and pain around my lower teeth, but other than that, I do not have any food allergies that I am aware of."

"Right, okay," the lady pressed on, "next, does the appearance of the packaging affect your choice in buying health bars?"

"No, not really," Miyuki replied, moving her forefinger to her right cheek, "I only find the packaging essential when I check to see what ingredients are listed on there, before deciding on purchasing the product itself."

The woman ticked off another box, and had nearly reached the end of her survey.

"Okay, and my last question is: what is your preferred flavour?"

Again, Miyuki's forefinger moved along her face, this time landing on the left side of her chin. Although the question did appear simple, there were in fact lots of flavours that she remembered being rather appetising.

"Well, I do happen to fancy a lot of fruity flavoured ones, particularly strawberry, raspberry… blueberry… um… let's see… red apple, cherry, papaya… oh, and I also quite enjoy pomegranate… although that flavour always seems to be sold out, no matter which shop or supermarket I attend to," she stated, making an eyesmile when she finished talking.

The businesswoman nervously looked the list of possibilities shown on the end of her survey; most of Miyuki's answers were not even present, so she just circled over 'strawberry', 'cherry' and 'other'.

"Thank you for your time!" she told Miyuki, bowing in gratitude.

"Oh no, please, the pleasure is all mine!" Miyuki replied, returning the bow with one of her own.

Whilst the businesswoman attempted to interact with more of the city folk, Miyuki walked over to her group of friends, who were all waiting patiently nearby the clothes store. With adrenaline overflowing her veins, Konata zipped right in front of the bespectacled girl, quickly grabbed her hands, and fused them together with her own.

"Superb! That was really superb Miyuki-san!" the petit one praised, sparkling stars shown within her eyes. "I've never seen anyone take part in a survey before, much less answer all of the questions with such passion and honesty!"

"E-Eh?!" stammered a blushing Miyuki. She was about to make a reply, but Tsukasa was already continuing with the conversation.

"I agree; I wish I had half of Yuki-chan's confidence," the younger sister said, her expression one of admiration, "every time I see those kind of people, I just try to avoid eye contact and pretend they're not looking at me."

Kagami folded her arms and nodded once in agreement. "Mm, and when they do approach you, you have to politely state that you're busy before walking away. However, you cannot help but feel bad about yourself every time you say something like that – I mean, they're only doing their job after all."

"But furthermore…" Konata began saying.

The three girls turned their attention towards their smaller friend.

"…don't you guys agree that Miyuki-san came off sounding much more professional than the businesswoman?"

The sisters flinched from Konata's words, whereas Miyuki recoiled in sheer surprise.

"Woah, that's a blunt yet accurate statement you made just there!" Kagami stated, "I hope that lady didn't hear any of that…"

Konata spun round to face Miyuki again, seizing her hands like she did before.

"Miyuki-san, I think you should become a survey asker!"

A slightly confused Miyuki looked at her friend's gushing appearance. "R-Really?"

"Mm, mm!" Konata nodded twice, "If you become a survey asker, then every guy in the city would want to answer your questions!"

"Okay, you can leave her alone now," Kagami sighed, abruptly separating the two girls, whilst her younger sister made an awkward eyesmile, "I had a feeling this conversation was inevitably heading into something dangerous."