interstellar5555 | ☆A little little fun

Entry tags:

☆A little little fun

Who: Those who signed up to perform, and anyone else
What: The Double S Charity Concert is go!
When: January 24th throughout the day
Where: Archer Park
Warnings: None planned

☆A Little Little Fun

On the morning of the 24th, the sun rises over Vista City and, more importantly, Archer Park- a series of rooftop parks connected to each other by bridges and overflowing greenery of all sorts. It's a popular on most days to start with. Today, however, is the day of the Double S Charity Concert. Thus, it's more packed than usual.

One of the park "islands" is home to a concert stage, and that is where the concert is taking place. All throughout the next couple of days, various musicians will perform songs they've written about or dedicated to another in the industry. With the entertainment value of the idea and the fame of the musicians, of course the place is packed.

The stage is where every musician will end up at throughout the day, performing for the masses, but behind it is also a rest area for them to either bide their time or just hang out. It's supposed to be restricted to just those musicians participating, but frankly... security is lax just enough that bandmates and the such could duck on in to see their friends. No fans, however, sorry. It's not the most impressive of places, with seating areas and a salad bar and all the pizza that could possibly be ordered, but hopefully it's good enough. This is also where one can find event organizer Jenny around, in case they need to bring anything up.

Of course, no one is required to stay back there while waiting their turn, or after they've done their performance. Attempts to raise money go beyond just the concert. Double S has all sorts of stalls set up, whether to explain to people the various causes they can specifically pledge support to, or to sell merchandise. Can't forget the food stalls. There is, of course, a stall showing adoptable animals. There always is.

Finally, there's one last thing Double S has set up for any willing celebrities. It's a meet-and-greet area for the fans, where they have the chance to meet their favorite musicians. Giving out autographs, taking pictures with fans... There's even a karaoke set up for everyone to use. Musicians can sing solo, or with others from their label, or even with a lucky fan. ~~AKA feel free to get NPC MP here.~~ Hopefully, it'll get some good publicity for those interested in that kind of thing.

Tickets have been made astonishingly cheap in the hopes that more people will show, with anything else being made up by merchandise sales or donations.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ ...."you," indeed. Haruka had hoped chauffeuring would help her with recon. She hadn't expected to run into Rei this quickly. Or for Rei to recognize her face.

The rest of the reaction is immaterial - all that matters for the present is to act as if Rei is a total stranger to her. They aren't in a position to make their move yet. This could be an opportunity, and yet, taking it's not worth the risk.

So instead of acknowledging that recognition, she blinks, and acts as if she wants to start forward but knows her place too well for that. ] I'm sorry - Miss, are you all right?

[ Haruka's cover is not going to be blown. Not until it truly can't be helped. ]

Edited 2016-02-02 14:27 (UTC)

[There were a lot of things that Rei Hino probably should have done. Run away, go find the Doctor, pick up her fallen bag and continue on were all viable options. But not the ones Rei took. She just stood there, mouth halfway open, staring at the chauffer like she had a second head. It'd been months. Months and months of those visions, dreams of palaces of marble and cities of crystal, monsters that gave her nightmares and women that seemed somehow too perfect for the world...one of whom gave her even worse nightmares. No.

She knew this was the woman from her memory. She knew it, beyond any shadow of a doubt. That voice, talking about a mission and space...and Bill had somehow commented on it too. Something about this woman. This was her Edward. Her mysterious gang of rough men, her gaggle of strange women inside a police box. Only this time it wasn't in her head.

That conversation with the man...Reborn. Was that the same? Were people from those visions real? Were they not just delirium induced fantasies?

Slowly, processing everything taking an obvious toll on her, Rei set herself, braced for impact...]

Are you real?

Do you need to sit down?

[ Haruka reaches for Rei's arm. She knows trying to touch the other girl is a gamble - as is not acknowledging that she has a hunch, at least, about what Rei is asking. But she has to trust Rei to figure this out herself, this early on. She can't say too much, lest Rei confide in someone who can't be trusted.

All she can do is try to take Rei gently by the arm and, if successful, lead her to the limousine, so Rei can sit in the doorway if necessary (to also prove Haruka has no intentions of, say, putting her all the way in the limo and then driving off). All she can do is to prove by the weight of her fingertips against Rei's skin that she is real, that this is happening, and that she's concerned about Rei. That she's here for Rei. ] I can't apologize enough...

[The touch is definitely a gamble, as it's incredibly unwelcome. Rei's entire body goes rigid, her fingers balling into tense fists. It takes all her willpower not to slam on the breaks and drive one into the stranger's stomach. Instead, she reaches out and grips the tall woman's arm. Hard. Supernaturally so. Her divine strength in human form. It's as much a warning that funny business won't be tolerated as it is a way to show the touch wasn't wanted...but she'll allow it.

She does sit, though. Quite convinced that this woman is completely real, Rei looks up into her eyes and with a tremor, asks the big question.]

Who the hell are you...?

[ Haruka doesn't so much as flinch from that grip - it's surprising at first, but all right, she'll roll with this. It seems there's more going on with Rei's particular situation than they'd been briefed on (that, or Haruka was so focused on one part of said briefing she missed others). Does this mean they'll have to accelerate their schedule...?

That's a pain. They're reliant on someone else to get them off-planet. But Haruka will resent the inconvenience later. Now, she just sits next to Rei, looking for all the world to anyone walking past like a concerned employee taking care of a client who'd had a dizzy spell. A tiny smile touches her lips for a moment, then vanishes. ] Isn't that something you have to figure out yourself?

[ Hah. Doubletalk. Who is Haruka, yes: if Rei's memory is starting to return, she should know the answer to that. But also - who is Rei? ]

[Rei’s lip twists into an upset scowl, her stomach churning as she thinks about it. This is definitely the woman from her visions, she’s seen this person twice now, heard her voice twice now. But she has no idea who or what she is. Just that she’s seen her, and if she’s real, then that must mean the palace, the city, that terrifying girl and those horrific monsters are real too? Or are they different? It doesn’t add up, and confuses her further. Growling under her breath she holds her head in her hands, a headache starting to steadily build.]

I…don’t even know. I’ve seen you in visions, dreams…weird things, and I probably sound half insane, but it’s like I’ve known you for years. [Fingers bunching up, she digs thumbs into her temples and starts to rub, trying to get rid of the familiar pressure of a migraine before it starts.] But I have no idea who you are. I’ve never seen you before, as far as I know.

[Swallowing, she tries to keep herself calm, keep from crying. She’s done enough of that lately, she thinks, with fear for her life, fear for her family, her boyfriend. Worry about those visions, and these newfound abilities she and everyone seemed to have. It was a nightmare come true…]

You know me, don’t you?

[ Haruka shifts in place. She can't deny that anymore, but this is neither the time nor the place she would have chosen for this conversation...

The timing can't be helped. A quick look around, and then she's nodding to the seat in her limousine. ] Get in.

[ They'll worry about billing later - they'll worry about a destination once she's on the road. Haruka wants somewhere that isn't bugged and where she doesn't have to worry about cameras. She wants to see whether Rei will trust her.

Also, she thinks better while behind the wheel. It seems contradictory, but Haruka Tenoh has never particularly cared about appearances. ]

[Rei freezes a little at the words, hands dropping to her knees as she stares at the woman. Get in? Just...get in? Like that? Her eyes look around furtively, uncertain and very...not Rei.]

W-Where...are we going?

[Because that doesn't sound like a great plan, nobody knows where...wait...that's not true. The Doctor does, and so does Luce. And this is just one person. She can deal with one person...easily.

So she does turn and sit, directly behind the driver's seat.]

Tell me that much at least.

[ Haruka chuckles. ] So suspicious, miss.

[ She moves to get the door but doesn't close it yet - this is still Rei's choice. While Haruka still has the leeway to let Rei work through this at her own pace, she's not going to deny the other girl her autonomy. Abduction will only happen if her hands have been fully tied.

Besides, she's not completely averse to giving the girl a hint. ] I've always liked aquariums.

[ Presumably there is one in this city. Full of...space fish. Yes. And Haruka knows where it is, because this is the sort of information Haruka tends to remember. ]

Can you really blame me?

[The answer is immediate, reflexive, almost like like it's a standardized reaction, and it surprises her. It surprises her quite a bit. The aquarium though? What an odd choice for a clandestine meeting. ]

Fine...though. I'll go. If you bring me back here. I don't want to leave my car overnight. Doctor and the others will worry.

[And presumably they will be coming back. She's not going to lie, she's nervous. But curiosity is overriding fear right now.]

As you wish. [ Haruka closes the door as smoothly as you please, the consummate professional chauffeur. There's a "Doctor" in Rei's life. She'll have to remember that. (And the fact that Rei has a car.)

When she slides into her own seat up in the driver's area, she also slides open the shade that allows passengers to speak to the driver without using the intercom. ] Have you told anyone else?

[ About the weird things you're seeing. Haruka figures that part goes without saying, so eh, she won't say it. ]

[That at least sets her a little more at ease, though she's still tense, a pressure building in her stomach. Letting out a breath, she answers evenly, voice more collected than a moment ago.]

Yes. Of course I have. My band, my boyfriend, and a small number of people that I trust. And you.

[Setting you apart, for now, of course. She doesn't know a thing about you. Just that you were in one of those visions.]

Leave it at that. [ She checks first the rearview mirror, then the road in front of her, as she pulls out - the former more to look at Rei. Being on a Mission, she skims right past the mention of a "boyfriend", but files that alongside everything else she's learning about Rei's circumstances. Hopefully having made a life for herself here won't impede her from leaving when the time comes. ] And don't tell management anything. No matter what you remember. Or who you meet.

[ That isn't ominous at all. ]

[The phrasing of that. All of it. It's less like a suggestion, and more like an order. And Rei's not sure she cares for that. She snorts, a sarcastic drawl entering her tone.]

I'm not stupid. I watched one manager disembowel someone while the other watched.

[however it does mean this woman, whoever she is, knows something else.]

What do you mean remember, though? That's a very, very specific way to phrase that.

[ ....Sorry, Rei, Haruka is still processing "disembowel." And here she'd thought the managers were being more subtle than that. This is what Haruka gets for taking anything for granted, ever. Clearly she must always distrust everything until confirming it personally.

This new data finally buffers, however, and yields a nervous snort of laughter. ] You'll figure that out yourself, in time.

[ Disembowel. Wow.

....maybe she really should start giving Usagi a ride every morning. ]

[Rei's had some time and distance from the event. It took her a great deal of will to overcome the sight, but she'd managed it. The managers were something else, something terrifying, but there was a lot going on.]

Are these visions and dreams memories?

[Her voice becomes more insistent. She's thought that for a while, but some sort of confirmation would be nice. and if you were with the managers, you'd not admit they were. It's a double question, and you can blame Reborn.]

Edited 2016-02-07 03:24 (UTC)

What do you think?

[ You wouldn't care so much about the answer if you didn't already know it. Haruka makes a turn, heading deeper into the city, en route to the aquarium - though at this rate she'll probably just be heading in to see the fish for the ~~halibut~~ hell of it.

But the severity with which she treats Rei's question answers it, after a fashion. ]

I think yes, but I'm asking because I'd like to hear someone tell me I'm not insane for dreaming about a castle on the moon.

[She wants to believe. But she wants to hear someone outside her band say it too.]

[ Good answer. Not enough for Haruka to actually reply with a straight answer herself ~~(nothing about Haruka is straight)~~, but enough for her to smile into her rearview mirror. She's still Rei. That will make their Princess happy.

The limo stops at a traffic light and Haruka flexes her fingers on the wheel. ] I don't visit much, personally.

[ She and Michiru weren't granted full memories of their past lives, so who knows? Maybe she's wrong. But all she remembers is just a lot of Space. The moon castle was always for someone else. ]

I doubt anyone does. It's on the moon.

[Confirmation enough though. Rei lets out a happy little sigh and leans back in her seat now. It was real, and she wasn't going crazy. That was something.]

Now, who are you? I didn't get your name, in the vision. Just, you talked about a mission.

[ Right, that. That's definitely something important. More important than her name, but... ] While I'm here, it's "Alex Himmel."

[ The light changes, but traffic isn't so bad that she can't turn back and wink through that cubbyhole. Do you remember this person being obnoxious, Rei? ] You get the other name when you can tell me a piece of it yourself.

[A name lets her identify you. She doesn't remember much about Haruka, at all. The speech about the mission, a beautiful car, a sword, and an attitude. But it also called to mind something else. Bill.]

Do you have a connection to Uranus, Alex?

[ ...of all the problems Haruka had anticipated upon landing here, "Rei being ready to leave before the escape spaceship is" was not one of them. She doesn't doubletake the way she did at news of the managers' treachery, but she does give that little half-snort, half-laugh again. Right. Haruka's in the dark in her own way, too.]

You know a lot.

[ Driving driving. ] Can you describe what you've seen?

[She smiles at the thought. She's not ready to leave just yet, but she's definitely realized some things are off.]

I saw you. You were talking, I couldn't make the words out clearly, really. You had a nice car, and a sword. And then again. Bill and I were...[She snorts.] watching a movie, a bad sci-fi one. Solstice Bear Conquers the Uranians. And he said something about it being weird that there weren't any people there. And I had another vision, of you. Different clothing, but I knew it was you...but I'm not sure I should have known.

[She'd seen the transformation, the illusion was broken for her.]

It was odd. But...I had other visions. Memories, I guess. A woman named Pluto, and a girl named Saturn, and someone...with a normal name. Michiru?

[ If you're watching what you can see of her face closely, Rei, you may notice a slight twitch of "Alex's" lips at the word "Michiru", like it almost yields an involuntary smile but she's too focused on everything else you've said to indulge. ] Just them?

[ No Minako, then. None of the other Soldiers from the Inner Soldier System.

And no...

....this is a problem. ]

shiny human is already present, so

thankfully gold is not.

what are you talking about, he loves helping, he'd be such an asset

yes, he'd bring the managers down immediately.

literally. he'd trip them.

he'd trip them by tripping over himself

exactly. it is the opposite of a foolproof plan - a plan that only a fool can execute

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