A Singer Takes the Stage! [Minori]

Mae stood there, warm and worn out, wiping the sweat off of her forehead. She had been working with her step-mother and the band setting up a small stage in the middle of the large mall. Today, her mother was gonna have a small street performance, mostly to keep the folks at San Malarus entertained. What Mae didn't kniw, however, was that she was the one to be standing up on stage... Kinaku had planned this in detail since the very moment she landed on Azores. After all, she had missed her daughter so much, she wanted to suprise her a bit. Her band had been the only ones who knew about the plan, except for (of course) Mae herself.

After a lot of toiling and tinkering, the stage finally was up. It wasn't anything spectacular by any means, but it surely wasn't something to scoff at either. "Phew... It's finally done. Nice, don't you think?" Kinaku smiled widely at her daughter. Looking at them from afar, one could easily think they were actually related by blood... But a closer look would most certainly betray the fact that the idol had adopted Mae. Especially considering Kinaku's pink hair was just colored, whereas Mae's pink hair was completely natural. It was an attention grabber all on it's own, really. Pink wasn't exactly a common color, but most people the two met said it looked good on them. "Yeah. So... When will you start?" Mae asked curiously, to which her mother replied with a light poke at Mae's tummy. "It's not my stage, honey. It's all yours." Mae looked at her mother slackjawed. It took her a good 1-2 minutes for her to regain her composure somewhat. "M-me?! R-Really?!" The Lead guitarist who was simply known as "Lou" by their fans, spoke up. "Of course we'll back you up, Princess. Now let's show San Malarus what you got." He placed his hand on Mae's shoulder. The other band-members nodded in unison. "Aww... You guys... You guys are the best, you know that?"

Slight preparations were made, and Mae stepped out on the stage eventually, her heart beating faster than ever before... The crowd wasn't huge, but big enough for Mae, that was for sure... After a slight pause, the music began roaring over the entire mall, with Mae's voice being the most attention-grabbing one. Surely, it was heard over a good portion of the mall... if not all of it.

She sighed but remained completely still as her mother held another dress up against her, the older woman's eyes narrowed as she stared contemplatively. Arm stiff at her side, Minori let her gaze wander when her mother pulled the dress away and replaced it with yet another, wondering idly why this was even a thing right now. Patient though she was, even Minori was starting to get a little restless with the whole process. She would have liked to think that she was quite capable with finding and buying her own clothes.

But no, her mother had insisted that they--as in the two of them and her father--go shopping at the mall today, and seemed rather keen on picking out new clothes for her rather than with her. While they were stuck in here, her father had retreated outside to sit on one of the benches, passing the time with a book that he had prepared beforehand in anticipation of this happening.

It took a good fifteen minutes until they emerged from the store, having narrowed the twenty-something articles of clothing down to a single one that had been purchased and was now dangling in a bag from Minori's arm. Just as they reached her father, the small family of three all glanced up in shock at the music that suddenly seemed to roar to life from out of nowhere. While her mother's face twisted into a grimace and her father lifted both brows in surprise, Minori's expression shifted into one of intrigue. What a neat voice, she mused, cocking her head to the side as she continued to listen, I wonder if they're doing some kind of show here right now?

Turning to look at her parents, she thrust her new purchase out to them. "Sorry, we're done here for today, right? There's something I want to check out, so I'll meet you guys back at home!" As soon as one of them took the bag from her, she was off, following the direction that the music seemed to be coming from. It didn't take long to find the stage, and with a small smile on her face, she slipped into the crowd to watch the show.

As Mae sang, the crowd moved in unison with the beat of the drums, cheering her on. "Wow, she's really talented." and other such things could be heard from the crowd every so often. Mae, of course, couldn't hear it. She only focused on the music and sang like she loved to do so much. She was in her own world, forgetting all of her worries, and let the lyrics flow out like she remembered them. But as we all know, everything good doesn't last forever, and the music toned off slowly. She was then met with a loud applause from the crowd. Just like back at the Theme park a few weeks back. It was a wonderful feeling, and Mae bowed gracefully before leaving the stage to her mother. She shortly joined the crowd, and was met with a wide array of compliments. "Ehehehe... T-Thanks." She would respond to everyone in a timid tone. She would make her way to the back end of the crowd, standing beside a newly arrived girl, who seemed to be around Mae's age... If not a bit younger. Maybe she was another transferral? Or perhaps just a student she just had never met before. The concert would continue on shortly after, with Mae's step-mother taking the stage this time around.

She was among the many who broke out into loud and rapid applause as soon as the girl was done with her song. To say that she was impressed would have been an understatement--Minori herself was never musically inclined (if you didn't include her tinkering on the piano) so to hear someone with such talent was always a treat. That, and there was the fact that the girl who had been performing didn't look that much older than she herself.

As people rushed forward to compliment the singer, Minori lingered behind. She wanted to congratulate her on her impressive job as well, but the prospect of wading through that crowd was an unnerving one. The slight, star-struck feeling that had settled over her had negated some of the confidence that she usually felt as well, bringing forward that natural shyness that she had lived with for most of her years.

Except as luck would have it, the singer herself made her way to the back to stand directly beside her. Turning in surprise, Minori stared for a good few seconds, only vaguely aware that another song was starting. After a moment of pause, she cleared her throat and offered the other girl a friendly smile.

"You were amazing up there."

Mae raised her eyebrows in suprise. Was she talking to her? Of couse she was, silly! "Hehe... You think so?" She answered sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. Amazing was maybe a little much, but she had enjoyed herself up there on stage. Maybe the crowd could see that in her? "My mom is still loads better than I am... I'm still practicing. But thanks for the compliment." She would then stretch out her hand to greet this other pink haired girl. "I'm Mae Iharu. Nice to meet you." Looks like she met new people wherever she went. Which was a good thing, right? You really can't have too many friends.

"I just like to have fun, that's all. My mother organized all this. I was here just to help her set up the stage, but... well, she had a little suprise for me. I actually got to sing on stage. I've done so once in the past... so It's still all new to me." She stopped herself quickly. "Oh geez... Why do I babble on so much when I get nervous? Anyway, what's your name?" A bad habit of hers. When nervous, Mae has a strange habit of talking a bit too much. She's gotten better at controlling this, but still... It's a little bit of an annoyance... Hopefully this girl wouldn't mind...

"You mom?" Minori echoed, cocking her head to the side. Was this girl's mom a singer, then? She began to look towards the stage at the current performance, only for her attention to get drawn back to the girl when she introduced herself and then chattered away about how she had ended up on the stage. Rather than find the explanation irritating, Minori in fact seemed to be quite interested in it, giving a little laugh when she apologized and asked for her name. Smiling, Minori took the offered hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Nice to meet you too! I'm Minori Koizumi." She was genuinely pleased to make a new acquaintance in Mae--there was no such thing as too many friends, and she seemed to be a genuinely pleasant person. That was always a big A+ in Minori's book.

Holding her hands up in front of herself, a small, reassuring smile curved on her lips. "And please, don't apologize! I like to babble too, so there's no need to worry. But um, really! Your singing is fantastic!" She wished that she could sing just as well, but unfortunately she wasn't exactly musically inclined. The most she could do was play the piano and while she had gotten through a good number of exams and recitals through her life, she would hardly call herself a musician.

"She's quite the singer herself." Mae replied, turning her head towards the stage. "She's currently on a tour through Azores. Sure, this is a little stage right now, but for her, this is just a warm-up for her big performance later on tonight." Just like the day Kinaku had landed, she had to have some sort of Warm-up gig before a big concert. That time it was in Penecia, whereas now the concert was going to be held in the Park. Mae looked forward to the event of course... Who wouldn't, if they knew the person on stage like Mae did?

"Minori, eh? You're not from Azores then, I take it?" Mae asked curiously, as the two shook hands. Minori was a japanese name, just like her own... She hadn't gotten many friends from her home country here, so seeing someone from there was a nice breath of fresh air. Not that she was growing tired of seeing Jack Rannells and the others. Quite the contrary, in fact. But it was always nice to see someone from Japan.

"Oh really? We're gonna get along so well!" Mae said with a relieved smile on her lips. "Aww, thanks." Hearing praise like that wasn't something she had gotten used to yet, and she probably never would get used to it quite frankly. But she did enjoy it though. "I just practice a whole lot in my spare time. When I'm not hanging out with friends and stuff. I guess it's a sort of hobby for me. Although I would like to walk the same path as my mother. I love singing, and doing it as my job would be like a dream come true for me." There she went on again, babbling. Luckily, Minori didn't seem to mind it. "So... Do you have any hobbies?"

Minori's eyes widened as she turned to look at the stage. "Oh! So you mean that your mom is..." She eyed the pink-haired figure who was singing and nodded in understanding. Well, that made a little more sense now. And even if it was a "little stage" as Mae said, Minori found it rather impressive nevertheless; she could never perform in front of a crowd, big or small.

"Actually," she smiled, linking her fingers together, "I was born and raised in Azores. My parents are from Japan though, and moved here shortly after they got had my big sister." They had just never bothered to give her a name common to this area, choosing instead to stick with a Japanese one. Minori didn't mind though; in fact, she kind of liked that her parents had chosen to stick to their roots with their naming sense.

The girl grinned as Mae spoke, taking in everything she said with avid attention. "I think it's great to have a dream! It's something that you can work towards, and from the look--or sound, rather--of things, you're doing pretty well." And she seemed pretty sweet to boot, which made her instantly likable in Minori's eyes. Considering the question that was presented to her, she nodded slowly.

"Mmhm. I do play the piano. I also like to make flower arrangements. My mom owns a flower shop," she explained, "So I get a lot of practice in making some by working there."

"Yep, that's her." Mae nodded at the stage, listening to the music for a while. The nice rythmic beat, and her mother's soothing voice sounded great. "I still have a long way to go before I'm as good as her. But one day... I'll catch up." Although, due to what was going on in her life as of late, singing had taken a backseat... And as happy as Mae was to see her adoptive mother again after so long, she couldn't help but feel a bit worried. What if she got dragged into this mess as well? Ayane had already been dragged in to a certain extent, and the last thing she wanted was Kinaku learning of what was really going on here.

"Oh?" Mae raised her eyebrows in suprise. "You're Azorean? Huh." Turns out she wasn't a lone child either. "I wish I had a sibling to look up to." The pinkette said with a sheepish smile. Ayane was almost like a sister to her, since they had bascially been growing up together at the orphanage for the majority of their lives. They had been taking care of eachother ever since they met back then. So was it really that much of a stretch to say that they were a bit closer than just good friends?

"Ah, that explains your name. I see. So, are you here alone...? Or did you go to the mall with your parents?" Mae asked with a wide smile. Considering she was a local, neither option was outlandish... At least not to Mae. "It really is nice... And you think so?" Minori seemed to be quite a nice girl. Actually, she was similiar to Mae in some regards (aside from the hair color), which made her feel happy. The two teens would get along nicely. "So... Minori-Chan. You have any dreams or goals of your own?" Might as well return the question. She had piqued her interest, to say the least.

"Oooh. I would love to hear you play something someday!" Mae smiled happily. She had seen a lot of musical talent as of late. Rin, Calvin, Hikaru, and now Minori. Who would've thought Azores was so musically inclined? "Flower arrangements? That's something I don't hear people taking their time with often. I guess your mom is your inspiration, huh? Just like me, eh?" Well, not exactly the same, but hopefully Minori caught on. "So... Where's this shop then? I might need to buy some flowers someday soon, and it's good to know where I can find some." Who knows when she would need it, but perhaps she could bring some back home to Charles' apartment. They lacked flowers there, so getting a few to pretty up the place was a definete must for the girl. Unless Charles had already thought about it. Which for all tends and purposes he could... Oh... What if he had bought her flowers...?

"Yes--I'm sure you will!" Minori chirped, ever the positive one, "I mean, your voice is already great, so I don't think it'd be long until you really start getting some attention. I mean, the people here definitely seemed to love you already." She smiled and swept her arms out a little to indicate the crowd that had gathered, and then nodded to the questions that followed.

"Yup! Born and raised, and having an older sibling is great during those times that you actually get along," she laughed with a grin. She had absolutely adored her big sister and vice versa, but that wasn't to say that they didn't have their own little spats throughout the years. It became less of an issue as they got older and then was pretty much completely done away with once her sister married and moved away. There wasn't much to fight about now that they no longer even lived in the same city.

Clasping her hands behind her back, she nodded. "Yeah, I actually came shopping with my parents, but split off from them when I heard you singing. And yeah, definitely!" Minori beamed, "You should let me know if you do more little concerts like this in the future so that I can come and support you." She gave a friendly wink, feeling quite at ease with Mae despite having just met her. Her easygoing and friendly personality definitely played a large part in that.

"I'm...actually not entirely sure about my own dreams right now," she admitted after some hesitation, "But I know that I want to go university and study something. Maybe psychology?" It was honestly all a little blurry for her right now, but as it was, she was content with her life right now too. "Our flower shop is actually located on this island! We live right above the shop so it's in a kind of quieter little street, but you should definitely swing by if you need any flowers! I'll make an arrangement for you."

"Ehehe... One day maybe." Mae chuckled gleefully. The crowd seemed to genuinely like her voice, even if the song was in an unfamiliar tongue. "I'm... Just being a little modest, that's all..." Mae was never really one to brag about what she was capable of. That was mostly up to interpretation, like music. One person might enjoy one song, while the other person hates it. And that's just how society works.

"Oh. I actually don't meet a lot of Azoreans from school, suprisingly. Maybe it's just bad luck, or it's just the enormous amount of transfer students the school gets annually." The fact that there was so many different nationalities making up the school roster just made things even better. Sadly, due to the School's condition... Mae hadn't gone there in two months now... As sad as that is. If only the sand could just... go away or something so the students could get on with their lives.

"R-Really?" Mae blushed a bit. "You split off from your parents just to listen to me?" For once, the pinkette was at a loss for words. Not saying it was a bad thing. "Well, I do go to the karaoke bar in Penecia every now and again, just for fun. I don't really have anyone else to go with though. Some company would be nice." That was a pretty good idea on Minori's part. Sure, they weren't concerts per se, but it was still SOMETHING. "If I do have any more concerts, I'll be sure to let you know. Speaking of which... We should exchange contact information. You know, phone numbers and stuff so we can keep in touch." It would be such a shame if the two split without this information. After all, they were getting along really well, and besides... Mae wanted to know more about Minori. Her nice and bubbily personality made for great company. That and how supportive she was. In a sense... she was a lot like Ayane.

"Well, being unsure is okay too. I'm sure you'll find it some day, Minori." Mae smiled warmly at her. "Psychology? That's a tough subject. But with dedication and hard work you can pretty much do anything. So I'm sure it'll be just fine for you." How that would actually end up working out for Minori remained to be seen, but you have to stay positive. "I'll keep that in mind, Minori. Perhaps a certain someone will swing by as well..." Mae smiled. The thought of Charles buying her flowers was truly heartwarming. How he would find this flower shop on his own was anyone's guess, but maybe Mae could give him a subtle hint or two... Yeah, that should do it.

Minori smiled, her positive opinion for Mae solidifying the more she spoke to the other girl. She seemed to be quite genuinely a sweet person--something that a lot of people didn't necessarily associate with those who were or wanted to be in the entertainment business--and the modesty was a plus as well. It certainly beat having to speak to someone who was completely full of themselves; confidence was one thing, but cockiness was another.

"That is surprising," Minori agreed, only for her expression to fall slightly as she continued, "Though it sucks, doesn't it? The state of the school right now, I mean." Frankly, she was still confused as to how that had even occurred in the first place, but it really was ridiculous. Of all things to prevent students from attending classes, the school being practically buried in sand had not even been on Minori's list of possibilities.

"Yeah, and it was totally worth splitting off from them to hear you sing," she replied with a grin, rocking back and forth on her feet, "I can't say that I'm even remotely a good singer, but if you ever need karaoke company you can hit me up if you'd like! And yes, let's definitely exchange our contact info." Minori had her phone out in a flash, unlocked and at the ready to add her new acquaintance into her contacts list. If there was one thing the girl enjoyed, it was meeting new people, so she already considered this day a great success.

"I'll work hard with whatever I end up doing," she promised, only to cock her head to the side and let out a curious noise at Mae's words. "And who's this 'certain someone', Mae?" she asked, lavender eyes focused on her new friend's face. She blinked a couple of times before her lips pulled upwards in a lopsided smile, realization dawning on her face.

"Could it be...someone you're dating?"

"It's pretty nice though. Due to there being so many transferrals, everybody sticks out in some way, that it's pretty much the norm. The students are quite nice overall, I must say." But maybe that was just Mae's personal experience talking. "I'm a bit torn on it. On one end, it's nice to not need to go to school. But at the same time, our studies doesn't advance at all, which is worrisome to say the least. Hopefully the situation is resolved soon." She would sigh deeply. "All this weird stuff keeps happening. What a great year to transfer here, eh?" And then Ayane had the misfortune of getting wound up in all this... Poor girl... Hopefully Minori didn't get involved in this. Nobody deserved getting the heavy weight of the entire archipelago's future thrust upon them. No one...

"Hehe... It does mean a lot hearing you say that, you know?" Mae said sheepishly. "Well, you really don't need to be super good at singing as long as you're having fun, no?" That was the most important part about her hobby. If it wasn't fun, she wouldn't be singing, now would she? "That would be so much fun, Minori! I'll text you next time I go, okay?" Mae shared her phone number and stored her newly aquired friend's number in her contacts. "There. All done~!"

"Ehehe... Nothing escapes you, I see. Yeah, a classmate of mine that I'm dating. Well... He USED to be my classmate. He got suspended temporarily for something he didn't do..." Mae would say with a slight blush on her cheeks. "H-His name is Charles." Her voice toned down a little as she fidgeted slightly.

Frowning, Minori nodded slowly. "Yeah, I mean...do you think they'd end up holding students back a year or something if this goes on for much longer? I wonder how long they'd consider to be too long for the students to be out of class." It wasn't as if she absolutely adored going to school--like most people, homework and projects were more of a necessity to her rather than something she actually enjoyed--but she recognized its importance. The fact that they had been prevented from attending for this long was a little...concerning.

That, and she was frankly getting a little tired of working at the flower shop nearly everyday.

"That's true," she admitted, acknowledging that having fun was the most important thing at karaoke, "And yeah! Feel free to hit me up anytime. Hope you don't mind if I occasionally text you too!" Honestly, it'd probably mostly just be idle chatter, but she could definitely see inviting Mae out for an outing sometime.

Grinning knowingly, Minori lifted her brows. "Charles, huh?" Her voice was playfully teasing, and she gave Mae a grin as she nudged her in the side, "I'll definitely keep that in mind if I ever see him drop in. What's your favourite colour and your favourite flower anyways, for future reference?"

"I... Honestly have no idea. That would make sense..." Mae was honestly not sure how they would compensate for the lost time. Sure, she could study on her own... but without guidance from a teacher... She wasn't sure how well that would work out for her... "A whole year might be a bit much... But if this continues on... they might just have to resort to something like that..."

"I'll hold you to that. Same goes for you. If you wanna hang out or something, just gimme a call or something. I'm almost never busy nowadays, so if you have anything that you wanna do, hook me up." Mae smiled back at her. Things got dull after a while of doing nothing, or trying to stop the end of the world. She needed a break from time to time. And what better way to spend those times than with friends?

"Oh geez... I really do like white and red-ish colors. I suppose those are my favorites... but anything works really. As far as flowers go, I do like roses... It may be a bit cliché, but it's the truth..."