The Live Performance [Blaez]

Today was a very special day for Mae. Her mothers big performance in Penecia was going to take place later on that night, and Mae had invited Blaez and Ayane, along with Kogoro... though, she doubted the latter one would actually join, she was still hopeful. After all, her adoptive mother was coming here! To Azores! They hadn't seen eachother in months, so of course, Mae was excited about the prospect of seeing Kinaku again. And she was going to land at the airport in roughly 2 hours! Mae got dressed, and sent a text over to both Blaez and Ayane, suggesting they would all meet up at the airport, welcoming her mother to Azores. The two had tickets to the concert anyway, so they were going to meet up somewhere else later on if they didn't meet up now, but... Mae couldn't help herself, she just had to bring them along. It wasn't everyday you got to meet a pop idol from Japan, now was it?

And here she was again... The Airport. Last time she had been here was when Ayane exchanged over to Zela Academy. That was indeed a while ago... As per usual, Mae was the first one to arrive. She sat down on a bench, in a spot where she was easily seen. (Not that it was difficult seeing her pink hair among the large crowds. Granted, she was short, so at least there's some merit to her decision). After a couple of minutes, Ayane showed up, sipping on a soda from Wild Duck Burger. "Hey, Mae! Sorry it took so long! I had to grab something to eat on the way here." The pigtailed girl took a seat next to Mae, smiling at her apologetically. "Don't worry about it. Blaez hasn't gotten here yet either. I'm not too worried though. The flight lands here in about an hour, so he should be fine." Mae smiled back at her friend. "You seem more excited than usual. What's up?" Mae asked, raising an eyebrow at the giddy Ayane. "W-Well..." The pigtailed girl fidgeted slightly in place, blushing a little. That was everything Mae needed. She now knew what it was all about. "It's about Blaez, huh?" Mae asked with a friendly smile.


She said with a slight pout on her face before taking another sip of her soda... Yep, she was definetly into Blaez. "Just go easy on him alright. Don't be all over him like last time, okay? Be subtle." Mae placed her hand on Ayane's shoulder. "O-Okay... I'll try."

After all that wait the day of the shown finally arrived and Mae sent a text to Blaez saying to meet with her at the airport to receive her mother, honestly Blaez was a bit excited for it, he listened to some of her mother's music, and they were catchy. Before leaving he texted Mae saying that he should arrive there soon, it would take a while though, he would have to take a bus to get there.

He tried to get there as fast as possible, though he got there fifty minutes after he texted Mae, at least he got there in time, it would be frustrating if he got there too late. It was easy to spot Mae, mostly because of her pink hair, and Ayane was there too...that day promised..."Hey, sorry...I'm a bit late"He would approach the two girl without showing much emotion, as always.

"Hey Blaez! Don't worry about it. The flight hasn't arrived yet, so don't sweat it." Mae smiled at her friend widely. "H-Hi Blaez." Ayane stuttered timidly, gazing at Blaez's feet. "She'll be here in roughly ten minutes, so please, have a seat." Mae directed Blaez towards the two empty seats beside her and Ayane. "I'm glad you could make it! So, how've you been?" The pinkette asked curiously.

"I haven't seen you since the day at the radio tower. You just up and left... Is something wrong?" Might as well get this out of the way first. After what happened on Malstu, Mae wanted to give Ayane an explanation... But she needed help. And Blaez was the only one of her friends in the rangers who actually knew Ayane somewhat. "Umm... What are you talking about?" Ayane looked at Mae with a raised eyebrow... "Well, We met up a couple of days ago at the radio-tower. Me and a couple of friends that is..." This would take a while... Hopefully Blaez would catch on. Besides, they could use this to pass the time, if nothing else. There was no need to go into great detail, but in the ten minutes they had at their disposal, the two could at least cover the basics.

Ayane was shying out, that was weird, she seemed like a social butterfly, something must be bothering her"I'm fine, thank you."He would sit down and lean forward a bit before he could finish his sentence"What about you guys?"He would ask the two girls, it's been a while since the last time they talked, maybe something interesting happened in the meantime.

"..."He had to be careful now, honestly he was hoping that nobody would ask, the other rangers usually just ignore when he does what he does on his own, so he wasn't expecting Mae to worry"I will be honest, i didn't agreed with what Jack said, i have other things in mind..."Technically he wasn't lying, but there was more to it he just didn't wanted to share it with any of the rangers.

"Well, I've been doing just fine, Blaez." Mae smiled back at him. "I-I've been okay..." Ayane said nervously, avoiding Blaez's gaze. "Have you really been okay, Ayane? Because... well..." Mae sighed before continuing. "You know what happened on Malstu, right? The whole eruption thing? Well, Ayane used to live out there with her exchangee's parents... But now, their house has burned down to ashes..." Ayane squirmed a little in place as Mae kept on explaining the situation. "And well, now she's spending most of her time at the refugee center... because she has nowhere else to go at the moment..." Dealing with something like a natural disaster was... not something Mae was used to at all... But this event was anything but natural...

"I'm guessing this incident is related to the sand flooding that happened over at Zela Academy a few weeks back... And now, since Ayane's involved in all this somewhat... Would you mind helping me explain a couple of things to her before my mom arrives?" Ayane's expression was confused. "W-What are you two talking about...?"

"..."Unlike Mae, Blaez didn't thought they should tell Ayane about the angels, primordials and personas, it's hard to follow if you don't see with your own eyes, they would just end up confusing Ayane or starling her"...It's the global warming.Blaez himself was surprised that he could say it with a straight face, but only that wouldn't be enough, Mae would have to help him"It screws up with the climate, you know?"Honestly that was too crazy, but he was hoping that it would work, he just wanted to keep Ayane away from all the insanity.

Okay... So he wasn't going to elaborate on that much further... Okay. Eventually, Ayane would find out the truth, one way or another... "Really? Damn you, climate change!" Ayane said jokingly, shaking her fist angrily. "Oh well... Another time perhaps... Oh, speaking of nothing. Look who's here!" Mae pointed at a small group of people huddled around someone. They were carrying cameras and boom-microphones. "Heh. That's her alright." Ayane smiled, looking at the group of people as well. "Let's go welcome her, Blaez." The two girls stood up, and waited for Blaez, before they decided to approach the group of journalists surrounding Mae's step mother...

"Hey! Welcome to Azores!" Mae exclaimed as she pushed her way through the crowd and hugged her mother. "Oh? Mae! I've missed you soo much! How are you doing, sweetheart?" The pinkette smiled back happily. "I'm doing good. I've missed you too. Now... there's someone I'd like you to meet." The two kept on talking, disregarding the camera flashes and microphones being stuck around them constantly. A couple of men in suits pushed the crowd away, allowing Mae and Kinaku to get around without any trouble. They would shortly approach Blaez and Ayane. "Hey, Kinaku-san! It's been a while, hasn't it?"

He was glad that Mae gave up on the idea of telling Ayane the truth, it wouldn't do any good for anyone"It should stabilize in the near future though..."He would shrug, pretending that it was just a guess... The chance of failing was always there, but he was confident that someone would be able to at least stop the primordials, he wasn't so sure about someone making their wish come true, he was going to give his best shot regardless.

First, a crowd of people carrying some equipment passed by, then Ayane and Mae exchange some words, it seems Mae's stepmother finally arrived, he would follow the two for a few moments.

She was surrounded by a lot of journalists, but Mae just went ahead and moved through the crowd to approach her mother. Some bodyguards would spread the crowd so they could approach Kinako.

"Handsome...?"Blaez thought to himself, he wasn't expecting a compliment from her, his face got red just after Kinaku said "handsome"."I-i'm Blaez..."He took a deep breath trying to cool off.

How long that would take was anyone's guess... Regardless, the smoke and ashes pluming from the volcano did prevent anyone from leaving the island by flight. Luckily, Kinaku had made it just in time before it was completely impossible to land here... "I sure hope so... I'm not sure how much more of this Azores can take..." Mae said quietly. She had to do something about it. If not for herself, then for her friends. "Global warming is scary..." Ayane said, folding her arms together.

Was Blaez... blushing? That was a first. And in front of Mae's step-mom of all people too. "Something wrong, Blaez?" Kinaku asked, giggling lightly. "Well, Blaez. This is my Step-mom. Kinaku Iharu." Mae gestured towards the slightly taller pinkette next to her in the brown dress. "So... Is he the boyfriend you've been telling me about?" It was Mae and Ayane's turn to blush this time around. "N-no... It's someone else." Mae stuttered. "Y-yeah..." Ayane inched a bit closer to Blaez. It was most definately noticable. Kinaku had noticed it. Both the Iharu's knew that rushing things like these only lead to disaster. Better let things flow naturally. And this time, Ayane definetely seemed interested. So much so that she was actually following Mae's advice for a change. Why she had never done so in the past, she had no clue... But it was a nice change of pace.

"So... Would you like some help setting things up? We can help! Right guys?" Mae asked, smiling as the group exited the airport. Ayane didn't answer at first. She seemed... Lost in thought. "Guys?" Mae asked again. "Y-Yeah. S-Sure thing..." The pigtailed girl answered absentmindedly. She would look at Blaez shyly.

"It's nothing..."He said shyly, Blaez had yet to learn how to deal with compliments, at the moment he would only get flustered and blush, in his mind that was humiliating, for other people it shouldn't be much more than slightly funny.Mae's boyfriend?It was probably Charles, those two looked really close. Another thing that he noticed was that Ayane had moved closer to him, last time she flirted with him a lot, maybe she was trying a more subtle approach. Either way he didn't mind, as long she didn't tried anything too bold she should be in good terms with him.

Once the group was outside the airport, Mae offered a hand to set up a few things and asked if they would help. Ayane agreed to help and then asked if Blaez was going to help too"Hm?Yeah i will."He'd look back at her and nod, he had nothing better to do anyways.

Blaez would try to approach Mae when Ayane wasn't looking as they made their way to the place of the concert, he had to ask about Ayane's behavior"Hey Mae, is Ayane ok?She is all shy, i assume that's unusual for her."He tilted his head curious about what was going on.

"If you say so..." Kinaku smiled at him warmly. Even though the two weren't related by blood, the two pinkette's smiles were awfully similiar. "I think he's just a bit nervous, that's all." Mae chuckled, as she grabbed hold of one of the bags and dragged it with her. "So... How was the flight, mom?" Kinaku sighed deeply. "Well... Had it not been for the ashes... We would've been here sooner. Much sooner." Yeah... They couldn't just interrupt their plans. "Aside from the delay... Everything else went rather well." She smiled back at her daughter. "So... How are things here? I hope you're not getting into any trouble." A sudden chill went down Mae's spine, as she froze in place for just a second. Blaez would've noticed it surely. After all, he knew the reason behind it. "Ehehe... Yeah... Of...course I have... he he..." She said slowly, looking at Blaez for assistance. If her mother found out what she was doing... oh boy... things would not be pretty...

Mae stopped, and looked at Blaez when he asked his question. "Ayane's not this shy normally... But she's okay." the pinkette smiled at him "I think... She's into you." Ayane was busy chatting with one of the band members, Lou, to pay attention to Mae and Blaez, although she would cast a nervous glance at them every now and again.

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"Well, here we are." Kinaku said as the cab pulled to a halt. This was a good place to hold a concert. Lots of free, open space they could build the stage on, and there was still a ton of room for fans to gather, and listen to the music. "Might as well get started then... This is gonna take a while..." The lead guitarist, Lou, said as he opened as a small crew of both men and women began bringing in bits and pieces of the stage. "Well... It's not gonna take that long. There's a lot of us. I'm sure we'll get this stage finished in no time!"

"Mae is a good girl, you don't have to worry about her."He could try to change the topic to help Mae"...So... how was your trip?"He asked Kinaku with a curious look on his face, honestly he wasn't interested, at all, but maybe it would drift Kinaku's attention from the previous topic.

"...Into me...?"It was probably just a crush, they only met once, not enough for someone to fall in love with a person"Is that true?"He asked Mae, if she was right Blaez would have to be careful with Ayane, if he was too blunt he would break her heart, but if he was too passive she would get delusional and eventually he would break her heart, he would have to wait for the right time to do something about it, it would be awkward if he just walked up to her and started to talk about it.


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"Already?"It was quicker than he expected"This place is huge..."Blaez said to himself as he looked around to get to know the place, he then stopped and asked"So, where do we start?"Blaez asked the group, he had no idea of what to do next, so it would be better if he asked before doing anything stupid.

Mae gave Blaez a thankful smile, discretely of course. That was too close for comfort. If this kept up happening, the stress would most likely shave off years of Mae's lifespan. Something she definetely did not want. "It wasn't that bad, delays aside. Lou had it worse though... He's not that good with heights." The guitarist's face would turn green at the word "heights". "I don't wanna talk about it..." He said in a strained voice, as if to hold back something.

"Yeah. She haven't told me about it, but I've known her for so long I can read her like an open book. I dare say it's a hefty crush she's got on you too... Be kind to her, would you?" Mae asked him with a smile on her face. "Just give her some time to get to know you a bit, at least. She needs more friends here in Azores anyway." Not that she would be staying much longer... A couple of weeks left... The thought of Ayane leaving left Mae a bit empty inside... Although, she knew it was for the best. She was safer back in Japan... Away from all this.

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"I know right? It's really something else, no?" Mae giggled, looking around. "Well, I could use some help setting up the stage floor itself. You're a tough, young man. I'm sure you can handle it." Lou smiled at Blaez, patting him lightly on his shoulder before pointing towards a bunch of thick, iron pipes and plates that would make up the main stage. "I'll pitch in too. You don't mind, right?" Mae smiled as she crouched down and grabbed a toolbox. "Alright. Let's get to work!"

"Uhuh..."He heard some people got sick when traveling by plane, but never met someone who went through it"I never traveled by plane... i heard is not that comfortable so i don't have any curiosity to know how it is."He'd shrug, for him it really didn't mattered if he'd ever travel by plane, though he still wanted to know new places, the world is huge, and it's filled with beautiful and interesting places, it would be a waste to live an entire life without getting to know a few of those places.

"Don't worry, she is nice person, i bet she will make a lot of friends here..."All that talk about crushes gave Blaez an idea, he'd probably get slapped for it, but it would be worth for the laughs"...though, i'm interested in someone else."He'd look into Mae's eyes for a moment then turn his gaze away chuckling"Oh well... never mind that."Blaez was ready for it, despite knowing that he'd get hit, the teen had a grin on his face.


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"Hm?Not at all."That would be a long day, if he knew he was going to do some manual labor he'd have brought extra clothes... he could just take his shirt off if he really had to... for now he would just do as they told him then decide what to do later on, he had to concentrate on his tasks right now.

"It isn't that bad... But longer trips are quite the ordeal. Not to mention those flights that take more than 12 hours. You have to try and sleep in a loud cabin in a seat, sitting up. It's hell." Mae remembered just how long the trip to Azores took. Luckily, the night-portion of the flight wasn't all that long, so there wasn't much sleep loss, but still... "Ugh... Tell me about it." Ayane shivered at the thought of sleeping in an aircraft. Horrid stuff, that's what it was. You'd be better off trying to sleep during a concert or something.

"Hehe, yeah, she is. When she wants to that is. Some people doesn't mix very well with her."  Most notably Traeh's brother. But then again, he'd been in a pretty foul mood to begin with, so it was understandable to a degree. "Ehhh?! Me?" That was... a bit unexpected. And the way he had chuckled after saying it, not to mention the big grin on his face made her suspect he hadn't been serious about it. Mostly just to mess around. But you can never be too careful "You serious?" She'd poke at him with a big smile of her own, teasing him a bit. "If I wasn't already taken, you'd make for an interesting partner." Indeed. Would she go for him if she was still single? Maybe... If she knew him better. Although, Mae probably wouldn't actually end up going through with it anyway. She would never do that to Ayane. Ever.

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"Alright then, Let's do this!" The hours flew by, with Lou being in command, he would shout out directions for everyone else to follow. Mae and the rest of the builders of the main stage finished first. It was tough work, but in the end, it was worth it. Mae wiped some sweat from her forehead, looking at the now finished scene with a glint of satisfaction in her eyes. "Good job." The pinkette smiled at Blaez. Now everything that was missing was the chairs for people to sit on, and the fence, to prevent anyone from climbing up on stage.

The crew building the ticket booth were also finished with their stuff, so they left the area for now, leaving Blaez, Mae, Ayane and the band alone for now. "Well, all that's missing now is the chairs, and the fences. Could you three take care of the chairs?" Lou asked politely to the three teens. "Will do, Lou!" Mae nodded, as she started walking towards the last truck, hopped up into the cargo hold and grabbed two foldable chairs with her back. This was going to take a while. The sun was already beginning it's descent, so they should be moving quickly before the concert was supposed to start.