(Plot) The Audition

The Founders hall was full to capacity, the only thing stopping one from being unable to move in the packed place was the Pace Keepers making sure there were open lines for people to move through, and to make sure people knew where the exits were in the case of those who where overwhelmed by the amount of people and needed to take a step outside, there was even several large screens set up outside facing the surrounding area's for people to watch the event from outside the building, so that as many people as possible could witness the event that was about to unfold. Carts for food and souvenirs, and knickknacks from other Districts were on sale, only allowed as they were labeled as a Audition traded good, allowing them to be taken to districts they normally would be allowed in.

Even outside Pacekeepers wandered the place ensuring no problem occurred during the event, and to let people know when the show was starting. There were also a few higher ranked members of Tempo higher then the pacekeepers at least, walking around and stationed in several places, to find any people who's turn it was to audition when their time came, as not everyone would be in the building itself, thankfully there was many ways to ply for time, smaller non-audition shows, brief performances by the district heads or their lieutenants, things of that nature so the show was always rolling once it started, And people always had time to get to the changing rooms to prepare for their turn, it wouldn't be fair otherwise.

At the moment on the grand stage, and showing on the screens was one of the opening acts, a tradition of the Festivals, the Waddle-dee All time players, a group of Waddle-dee simply playing music of any Genre to set a good mood for everyone while things were finalized, this time around they were playing a rather nice rendition of a song many would had heard a Waddle-doo humming to Waddle-dee's it was caring for, and sometimes a few Musically inclined waddle-dee's would also tap out or play this music.

This time around it seemed to be a Orchestral Version of the song, meaning there was a truly massive amount of Waddle-dee's on the stage preforming, some larger instruments needing two or three of the little creatures to play it, there were also different Waddle-dee variants playing as well so it wasn't just your run of the mill waddle-dee playing, there was even a Giant Waddle-dee in the back Providing the drums and every waddle-dee seemed to be having fun and they played perfectly, it was clearly a song they seemed to know instinctually.


During this time, people were encouraged to meet each other, talk, and simply enjoy their time as the main show got ready to roll, this was always to ensure that anyone new would have the time to take in as much of the Audition as possible before the main show, though many veterans would know that since the Waddle-dee all time players were on stage it meant that the introduction of the District heads, and thus the leaders of Tempo, would be right after, followed by any announcements, and finally the auditions would start proper.

It was finally time. The moment she had waited for had finally came, her goal was within her grasp and all she needed to do was just wait a little bit longer for her turn to reach out and snag it for herself. Still, even though she knew that she had to wait for it, the teenager could barely keep herself from yelling out in eagerness and anxiety. The girl shifting her weight from foot to foot every other second, her eye jumping to person to person, television to television, every single thing that could be looked at in this place, she had probably already looked at about fifty or a hundred times by now. Nothing could ruin the good mood she was in!
                                                                                               
Well, okay maybe not nothing. As lovely as the song was, it was a tad vexing to see that amount of waddle dee's in one place. Now she wasn't a fan of spirits overall, but those round little balls of false cuteness ticked her off. Mostly because of the fact that those little buggers were everywere, even in the damn orphanage. That creepy old bastard who seemed to adore and worship those things like some sort of god did not help her want to warm up to them either. Speaking of him, he was still in the back of her mind, denying her true peace of mind and not allowing her to really enjoy the moment. Seriously, how did he know about that name? There was less then ten people who knew that name and nobody called her that anymore! She swore once she saw that old crow again she wouls give him what's for! Or maybe a whack with something nice and sturdy, like a metal pipe or a nice thick metal frying pan? She wasn't quite sure yet, but she was sure that it was going to be very painful!

Still, even with those factors in play Cherry would not be sour. The girl fidgetting with her hands as she stood in the middle of the large crowd, waiting for the Audition to begin and for the chance to show off her stuff to open up for her!

Tommy was walking around and taking notice of the performance of the Waddle Dees. He was rather fond of them, they were innocent creatures that were basically doing the best that they could in their performance and he was giving it some good coverage. Tommy was here to work, it was still up in the air if he was going to do anything more than that. Besides, there were a lot of notable people to talk to and it would do the animus some good if he was able to get a few comments and interviews here and there.

"Hm, I think I recognize that girl...."

Tommy walked on over to a rather familiar face who was in the crowd, giving her a small tap on the shoulder.

"Hey, don't get cold feet now Cherry. It would do some good if you ended up being one of the listed break-out stars tonight. "

“Nowhere to hide on these cameras, Shou-chan.  Want a sip of sake before you rip some shit up?” Ichika Kurosawa offered gingerly, slowly swirling her gourd decanter in circles before Shouhei Kagawa’s face.

“...Don’t remind me.  And offer me a drink after, dammit, Sensei.  Ya tryin’ to sabotage me?” Shouhei quipped back in response; he knew Ichika was surprisingly attempting to calm his nerves.  Not like his audition being displayed publicly for the entire District to see was enough- Ichika saw his hands dart back and forth between his pockets, constantly juggling a hand warmer to ready himself for his performance.  

“After kicking your sorry ass for two whole years to lead to this moment?  No student of mine is going to fail their audition,” said Ichika matter-of-factly, with utmost confidence.  After taking a swig of the decanter herself she clapped Shouhei on the back sharply.  In a rare sight, the corner of her lips tugged slightly upwards to smile. “So hurry up and finish this fucker so we can get the party started.”

“Damn right.” Adjusting the shamisen case strapped to his back, Shouhei held up a triumphant fist for Ichika, and made his way towards the other auditioners.  On his way there his amber eyes caught an all too familiar and welcoming sight- Mariko Masuda, his childhood friend- already mingling with their fellow inductees, as she was surrounded by a good number of them.

Their gaze crossed the distance of the hall and met.  Mariko and Shouhei immediately exchanged warm smiles at one another.  Motioning with his hand and flapping his lips, Shouhei imitated one of the people talking to Mariko and cheekily grinned.  In response she briefly narrowed her azure eyes at him in quiet scorn, puffed out her cheeks, then respectfully began to laugh and pay attention to the person telling her a joke.

She’d remind herself to hit him later- once this was all over.

With that brief exchange complete, Shouhei recognized a couple of people immediately.  The very same people who had boarded the train with him into the District.  A casual hand rose up to wave at Cherry and Tommy as he approached, the smirk of interacting with Mariko still lingering on his facade.

“...Yo- small world, innit.  The two’a ya auditionin’ too?”

As the Waddle-dee's continued to play their music, the group that had met up didn't notice a wandering Food Booth, with a Waddle-doo on the counter top waving flags to apparently direct it, and a large group of Waddle-dee's pushing the stall around in absolute silence. As the group of friends talked the Waddle-doo spotted a group of people talking, their group and he started to wave the flags to have the Waddle-dee moving the Stand and it was gaining speed and the Waddle-doo started to wave the flags frantically to have the Waddle-dee's slow down but apparently the little creatures had mistaken it for speed up and soon the Stall was going full speed at the group and the Waddled-doo was clinging to the Counter top waving the stop flag frantically.

Eventually the stall came rapidly up behind Cherry and then suddenly stopped, the Waddle-dee apparently seeing the stop flag in time and this sent the Waddle-doo sailing over Sherry to land with an odd squeaky toy sound in the center of the group of friends, and it just lay there face down, it's foot twitching a bit, and then after a few seconds it hopped to it's feet as a Waddle-dee ran up and placed a bandage on the forehead of the Waddle-doo, it then ran over to join the Waddle-dee's setting up the Stall.

"Greeting potential Customers!" the Waddle-doo said with a cheerful tone "Welcome to the Waddle-deepot Festival food stall I am the proprietor Blinky, and these are my Waddle-dee workers" he said waving to the Waddle-dee's who all waved back and then they raised the little flag on the stall that showed the name was in fact 'Waddle-deepot Festival food stall'

The Waddle-doo then looked up at the group "So what can I get ya?" it asked happily, "Anything but a Waddle-dee we don't sell Waddle-dee's, we serve food here" he said with a pout making it sound like people asked for them before.

Hearing a voice she recalled from earlier today, she turned around and soon her face lit up like a blanket of stars at midnight as she set her sight on Tommy. Clasping her hands together she grinned. "Monsieur Tommy! It is great to see you here!" She cheered before she shook her head. "Oh, no, no, no! I mean, I won't lie, I am a little nervous. But I don't plan on backing down now. I didn't come all this way just to run away!" Cherry declared with a confident nod and a hand on her hip. She just could not go back to the orphanage after running away from this, she would simply die from the shame! Gosh, the looks she would get, and Lucas, oh poor Lucas. What kinda role model, nah, what kinda, allbeit fake, big sister would she be if she ran away right before she could even try to reach her dream? No! She was no coward. "You better get ready to write about me alot, because I promise you this, I am gonna be the best Pacekeeper since J.A.S.O.N!" A bold statement, but if you were going to shot, might as well shot for the stars huh? As she was boasting however, she failed to notice another man she met from the train walking towards her, her dead right eye not picking up any movement. Thankfully both of her ears worked just fine and upon hearing his voice she would snap over to face him.

With a single hop she calles out. "Oh dear, I cannot believe this! It is you! What are the odds!? This HAS to be fate! That or I earned myself a couple of stalkers already~" She jokingly suggested before she choose to actually answer the man's question. "And you know it! Im gonna get myself out there and sing my heart out!" In front of other people, for the first time ever......... And as fast as it went, her nerves came flying back in. Thankfully the universe seemed to be having fun in a ping pong match with her mood as the ball, as one of those little round fiends came flying over her head and slamming on the floor. Causing Cherry to go blank and just stare at the creature before she turned around to look over at the doo.

"Umm. Nothing." She gave a dry reply. Not very happy at all that these little things got in the way of her wonderful chat with these new people.

It was good that she was comfortable, Tommy believed that it would be a good show regardless. Everyone had their own ambitions of surpassing a certain point with their craft and reaching the top, Cherry was one of the many that said the exact same thing. Only time would tell if she would be able to make good on that ambition. "I'd be happy if you made some work for me to do. Id' rather that than go to such an event and nothing out of the ordinary breaks the mold today." Soon after, Shouhei ended upcoming as well. It was somewhat expected since the last time Tommy met with these people, they all showed interest in being a part of the performance. When it came to Cherry, she whole-heartedly agreed that she was going to be a part of the performance.

As for Tommy...

"Not in the way that you think. My battle isn't with you guys...." Tommy if a small point to the other press that was in the area as he saw the food card rolling down and stopping by cherry first.

"A Waddle dee cart?"

He did notice that Cherry had a strange reaction to the Waddle Dees, but Tommy already had a rather good experience with them and was fond of the creatures.

"This is the most that I ever heard the waddle dees or waddle doo's talk." Tommy was interested in Blinky, but he didn't want to take up his time.

"Yeah, I'll take a hot dog and some coffee. Don't worry about cream or sugar, make it completely black. But the hotdog, put everything on it, radish , ketchup, mustard.... that. "

Shouhei raised a furtive eyebrow at Tommy’s response; there was no need to see this audition as a competition and his words implied something else.  Before Shouhei could contemplate and think about the deeper meaning behind that, Cherry’s bravado and ego were boldly spoken.  He already felt uncomfortable with a minor even pretending to joke with him flirtatiously.

“...Keep blowin’ smoke up your own ass if that makes ya feel any more confident Cherry.” Shouhei adjusted the collar of his shirt and rolled his amber eyes.  “Anyways, best’a luck to the both’a you-”

That was when a particular Waddle-Dee squeaked in with a landing in the midst of the trio, and a food cart thundered in to usher their goods to the masses.  Before Shouhei could offer a hand to the fellow it was given a bandage and rushed off to the stall.  Cherry declined and Tommy seemed to take advantage of the service; although Shouhei had anxiety within him urging to gorge the tension away, he knew it would be foolish to upset his stomach before his performance.

“...Yo, li’l dude, I’ll have a-”

“Warm water with lemon and honey, please~” For the second time Shouhei was interrupted- this time by Mariko- as she bumped up against him abruptly, finishing his order.  After all this was the beverage she preferred in anticipation to a show which rubbed off on him.  Still not forgetting Shouhei’s earlier mocking sleight, her hand sneaked a wrenching pinch to his sides when no one was looking.

“EEEEE-YEEeeaaaah, make it a double,” winced Shouhei in the midst of his order.  With a clearing of his throat and rubbing of his side he stammered out, “H-hey, Hoshiko-san, honor to see ya here.”

“Please!  Call me Sena, or Secchan even~” Mariko, or rather Sena, kept up her stage name and presence despite being around her childhood best friend.  Her azure eyes glimmered upon recognition of the company Shouhei kept.  The first being a well-known magazine owner, who interviewed and published an article about her once.  The second being someone she owed a promise to.  “I didn’t forget your friend, Cherry.  Once this ends and things smooth over, we’ll get to it.  Can I treat you to something~?”

“Na na na na na,” interjected Shouhei, ignoring his surprise at Sena and Cherry being acquainted, instead focusing on being more generous than his best friend.  “Lemme treat ya both.  Even you, Tommy.”

There was an art to smiling in a way that humans would believe, Helvetica had learned. Stay nice and relaxed - slouch your shoulders a little. Incline your head ever so slightly, and only show your top row of 'teeth.' Make sure that were eyes weren't too wide. All nuances and minutiae of human behavior that Helvetica had had plenty of time to master.

She hailed the captain of her team with a grin, rapping her elbow against his before segueing into a fist bump - a greeting they'd performed many times in the past. "'Vetica! Don't burn the whole place down now, yeah?" He laughed heartily, clapping a hand on her shoulder.

"That was one time, Ignis!" The android giggled, looking around at the concert hall. Despite her apprehension she couldn't help but be impressed - it would be hard not to, in this grand chamber nestled in what was largely considered the center of civilization. "I knew the auditions were big, but not this big," Helvetica mused, eliciting a laugh from the bulky man standing before her. It often surprised new recruits that Ignis was her junior and not the other way around - perks of not physically aging, she supposed, though maybe she wouldn't mind giving off a first impression that wasn't that of a gangly looking 20 year old. "You want anything to eat?"

Ignis's eyes crinkled around the edges as he reclined in his seat, drumming his calloused palms against the sides of his seat and pressing a crumpled bill into her fingers. "Thanks, mate. You know I won't mind anything, as long as it's edible." The camaraderie between the two ran deep, despite their differences; one a hot-shot rescuer and the other a strong leader who looked out for his team. He spoke of retiring soon -- rescue work was not a job without strain -- and if he did Helvetica would miss him sorely, especially since leadership would fall to her after him.

With a mute nod and faint smile she wove around the dozens of eager audience members, all of whom seemed to contribute to the almost electric, tangible excitement in the air. Already it seemed a sizable line had gathered before the concession stand - she clasped her hands in front of her and silently waiting for the trio in front of her, all of whom seemed distinctly familiar in one way or another, to finish ordering.

The Waddle-doo nodded as the orders were made "Ah okay I can get those ready right away!" he said as he ran back to the cart and climbed up the side of the cart till he was on the top of it and he started to get things ready for the order, Some Waddle-dee's where taking out folding furniture and a little fold out chair "We also have Seats and a table for you to eat on if you wish" he said to the group as he and a few Waddle-dee worked on the food, clearly the Cart was designed with their height in mind as several little shelves and the like could fold out for them to prepare several things at once, it was actually very efficient, and after a few moments the Waddle-dee placed the Hotdog with all the fixings, and the black coffee on the fold out table.

Not to long after that the Two cups of warm water with lemon and honey, the cups were reusable and had little Decorations of Waddle-dee playing happily in a field, with a Waddle-doo looking over them. The coffee cup had the same decoration on it, and the Waddle-dee's saluted once the food was delivered and Blinky also gave a little wave "Grubs ready come get your order, that will be a dollar and twenty five for the water with honey and lemon, and the coffee and hotdog is three dollars and fifty cents, the cups are yours to keep and reuse all you like, they come with a discount if you reuse your old cup" he said happily as he looked from Cherry then noticed the other customer waiting behind the group "YAY new customer! come on up and place an order" they said cheerfully.

~~~~~

meanwhile on the screen the Waddle-dee all time players had finished up their set and an announcer came up on stage and started going through the itinerary. There was going to be the usual introduction of the District heads with their own announcements of their major news, then an induction of a new Member of Tempo, News of the currently on going restructuring of the Country District into the Emo District would then be discussed, and then the Auditions would start after that.

"Please don't forget that everyone's safety is important, so please no pushing and no fighting, Pacekeepers are present if you need any help, and some emergency response teams from the different districts have care centers set up if any issues arrive" the announcer informed everyone to make sure they knew everything was safe and monitored "And don't forget we have several stalls for games and food, and as always bottled water is available for free from any stall so stay hydrated everyone."

The replies of the two men were.......... Odd. Tommy's first statement was a little understandable, it would be good for his magazine to cover something new and a girl her age being a pacekeeper would probably be something special, but what was all that about a 'battle?' To her knowledge they wouldn't be fighting each other here. And then of course there was Shouhei, who was just down right rude! She wasn't blowing smoke up anybodies ass! She was actually just about to comment on it, before that little devil flew by and broke her train of thought. And if that wasn't enough, yet another person entered into the slowly growing group of people she had met bfore early in the day. Shock filling her system as the star's voice rang out. Giving a surprised wave she called out. "Mademoi-" Cutting herself off, she mentally cussed at herself for jumping to that again and corrected herself. "I mean, um. Sena! I didn't expect to see you here!" She greeted with a grin. She was just joking before, but now it really did seem odd that so many people she has met before were all gathering together here. Sure, this was a big event and all that jazz, but still, all of them somehow finding each other? She did not believe in fate, but situations like this made her take pause.

With another wave, although this one was more dismissive, Cherry would reply to Sena with a grin. "Ah don't sweat it! There's no rush." If that crowd from the mall was anything to go off of, she was probably very busy at times. At the offer of treating her to something, she would shake her head. "Thank you, both of you, for the offer. But really I am fine." She said, patting her stomach with her hand. "I caught a bite to eat a little while ago." A small part of her wondered if she was going to see Rex here too, it would be nice for sure, he seemed like a nice man, if a bit dry. "Huh?" Upon hearing what the waddle doo said, she turned around and laughed a little when she saw the green haired woman from before.

"Oh man I CANNOT believe this!" She wheezed out, waving at her. "Heya! It's me Cherry! Nice to see you here!" She said, her waving turning into more of a gesture to walk over to the group. The girl's focus only slightly on the what was going on the screen now, even if she did find some of it to be interesting.

"Sena, so you did come. It seems that you know Shouhei well, which tells a great story about like-minded people being around each other. It's always a reflection of value when it comes to the people you choose to surround yourself with, not just talent. That comes with being a performer. But don't pay any attention to my ramblings." He appreciated her kindness, but he didn't want her to mistake him. In fact, he was rather surprised that Shouhei was ready to do such a thing when Tommy thought he was leaving.

"My policy is that any sort of gift from a person should be 100 dollars or less for the entire year in the total. So I'll take you up on that, thank you. "

Looking back and noticing that someone was waiting, Tommy casually trailed off to the side of the cart to at least show the image of the line is a lot shorter. The tables were convenient, with Tommy seated and eating a piece of his hot dog. "I believe that the presence of peacekeepers is somewhat exaggerated. The only thing that, in my opinion, can be of concern is the fact that people can easily be dehydrated in concerts, it's fainting from the participants that I worry about. But if Blinky works equally well... I'm a bit less concerned. "

From the corner of his eye, he's noticed Cherry's new interaction.

"It seems to me that the artists' world is relatively small, a friend to you?"

“Like-minded?” Both Shouhei and Sena said together, then looked at each other ponderously.  Giggling, Sena said to Tommy, “I’m not sure we’re all that much alike, but I’ll take your words as a compliment, I guess~?”

“...Kinda a weird policy ya got there Tommy, considerin’ how rich ya prob’ly are.”  Snickered Shouhei, until he froze in place.  The sudden appearance of Cherry’s acquaintance caused a chill to run down his spine.  It was the same person he ran into at the train station, the very same one that managed to gaze upon his racy sets of underwear.  Immediately he turned around to hide his face and pretended to be upset by the prices at the food stall, barking in the midst of his pay, “Three bucks for a coffee!?  Ain’t this some highway robbery shi-”

Sena noted Shouhei’s sudden shift in demeanor at the arrival of someone new.  Was everyone here already familiar with one another?  Either way she’d dig into Shouhei about it sooner or later, his relationship with this newcomer.  Skipping gingerly to the table Tommy was at, she took a seat across from him.  She then waved along with Cherry towards the approaching person, a beaming smile on her facade.

“Since we’re all here for the same reason, why don’t we hang out until the main festivities start~?”

"Maybe that's the case," Helvetica assayed with a good-natured, albeit sheepish shrug as the attention of the small knot of people standing in front of her suddenly turned to the android. "I wouldn't know - I'm afraid I'm not much of an artist."

The corners of her mouth twitched upwards when the Waddle-dee offered to take her order; oddly enough, the round creature seemed far more articulate than it's silent brethren (she didn't even know how it was talking, but it seemed friendly enough). "A hot dog would be nice, thank you very much," She mused, eyeing the food with a mixture of dubiousness and curiosity - she may have not been able to actually consume human food, but Helvetica could sure as hell eat it with her eyes. It wasn't the first time she'd wondered what taste as a sense felt like, though some things could hardly be helped.

"And it's a pleasant surprise to see you here, Cherry!" Helvetica chirped in the face of the younger girl's obvious enthusiasm as she spared a quiet nod in Shouhei's direction to acknowledge him. "It'd be nice to get acquainted with the rest of you."

The Waddle-doo looked at Shouhei as he flipped out over the price of a hotdog "Sir please calm down the three dollars and fifty cents was for the price of a hotdog AND a large Coffee with a cup that will give you discounts if you use it again here" it said with a little pout as it pointed at him "And no shouting you'll scare the Waddle-dee's" then the Small creature turned to look at Helvetica and waved as she made her order "Got it one hotdog for the new customer, that will be a dollar seventy five ma'am" the Waddle-doo gave a little salute as the Waddle-dee's worked on getting the order made.

Up on the screen the presenter finished going through the safety procedures and emergency numbers if needed and then they started the introductions "First up is the District leader of the Classical District! Dr. Octavia Clef!" the lights dimmed and the Diminutive form of the District leader walked out onto the stage giving a simple nod to the crowd.


"Greetings everyone, Most of you know me, and the Announcer has introduced me for those that don't know me. I will cut tot he chase, The District is doing quite well, Projects are progressing on Schedule, the Pacekeepers of the District have done their best work Bolstered by the Peacekeeping  Model of Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons that have been increased in their deployment, and progress is being made on the weapons technology to try to arm the general populace against the Treat constantly outside the city, My hope is to have the Anti-shadow Suppression weapons Equipped with such weapons by the end of the year if progress continues as smoothly as lately, for the time being they will continue to aid in evacuation and delaying actions against any incursions if any happen" he smiled and took a few steps to the rear of the stage.

"Thank you District leader! Lets give her all a hand!~~ I personally can't wait till everyone in the city is able to fight back against the dangers of the Shadows and Demons. I am rooting for your work Doctor! Next up is the leader of the Rap Disctrict: Dee Jay "DJ" Staccato!"

as they called out a man with blue hair walked out on stage and made a bit of a show of himself, giving a pose and smirking to the crowd before speaking


"Hey all What's up? yeah yeah my names Dee Jay.. so just call me that, no sirs or boss man or whatever... Anyway District is doing fine, people are happy though some new up in comers are chomping at the bit to prove themselves, borrowing a term from by fellow District leader Wyatte Sharpe. good guy good guy.. There are still some rebuilding efforts underway in the District though, as you all know the district was one of the more heavily damaged, but it was reclaimed and it has some good power being provided to the city as a whole but more can be done and IS being done to get everything rebuilt and worked on, don't worry guys DJ's got your back out there!" he called out at the end giving a thumbs up before taking a few steps out of the spot light to let the next District leader come up