Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Smoke Mirrors]

After school, and after sorting out the AV equipment for pickup, Mori and Veep split off from the rest of the club.


"Right, so. Let's get some things in order and then head to the mall. I've got a part-time job at a bookstore owned by a local family.
Mori did some homework in the Science Room for +15 EVA
He and Veep went to the Mall. Mori worked while Veep looked around to see if there was anything they could buy to help with the play.

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Shiro
As Shiro arrives at the batting cages, she might, in fact, run into Mildred, also at the batting cages.
Shiro gains 1 point of DEF.
Shiro gains 1 point of MAG.
Shiro gains +10 Crit towards the next map.

Mori
As Mori arrives at the mall, he finds a good part of the mall barred off by what looks like a filming crew. One man in a cap, a hat and an official-looking ID walks up to Mori and Veep.
"Please, be careful, sir. We're filming a commercial in here. I could show you another way around or-"

"Is there a problem here?"
A young lady walks up to the group, in a red sweater and black vest. The cap-wearing man's eyes widen.
"Miss Mishima. It seems you're late. We need to get you filming, and quick. Was there an issue?"

"Not at all, Ishikawa. I was just finishing something at school, that was all."

She looks over at Mori and Veep.
"....you must be Sawatari, president of the Theatre Club at Hermelin. Is there something I can help you with?"
Mori gains +15 EVA towards the next map.
Mori earns 100 yen.

Spoiler: Activity Point Counter (click to show/hide)

Aika: 5/5
Akihiko: 5/5
Masaru: 5/5
Mildred: 2/5
Misa: 5/5
Mori: 3/5
Saya: 5/5
Shiro: 2/5
Shoji: 5/5
Yui: 5/5

Bonuses Accrued:
Mildred: +1 RES/DEF, +15 EVA
Shiro: +1 DEF/MAG, +10 Crit
Mori: +15 EVA

Earnings:
Mori: 100 yen

Items:

Queues:
Batting Cages: 4/5
Gym: 3/5
Mall: 4/5
Library: 4/5
July: 5/5
Science Rooms: 3/5
Mishima Tower: 5/5

[Smoke Mirrors]

"Mishima." There was that name again. That name which made him feel like there was a fire blazing just underneath his skin. Hearing the name was enough to piss him off, but being here, in the presence of one who bore it, it was all he could do to hold back the blazing tirade of hatred he felt boiling in his throat. He bit back the desire to say "You and your family could leave and never return". He tried to force his face into a genial smile, but he couldn't. This level of rage exceeded his ability to mask his thoughts, but he was at least able to mitigate it to merely a look of annoyance.


"No." Mori replied, "We merely had some business to attend to here today, which seems to have been unfortunately delayed as the mall is currently...' he thought about a more polite way to say "infected by the presence of you and your ilk" before settling on "in use."

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Mishima's eyebrow lifts momentarily. Mori, for a moment, might feel that Mishima sees through him. His hatred of her can't be that obvious, can it? Or that he might know her from somewhere? No, that can't be right. He wouldn't willingly associate with a Mishima.

The moment passes. She keeps her small smile on.
"I can take you through to where you need to go. It's not much space, anyway. I assume you need to get somewhere on the other side? It's the least I can do for a fellow actor."

[Smoke Mirrors]

The mere thought of spending more time than he needed to in the presence of a Mishima was nauseating, not to mention the possibility that if he did, he may not be able to mask his disdain. Fortunately, while his ability to mask his mood was failing, his ability to absorb and process what was going on around him was not.


”There’s no reason you need to worry yourself with that. You have a commercial you need to shoot, from what I’ve heard, one that needs to be underway shortly. I wouldn’t want to delay you further, I imagine you have a very busy schedule after all. Besides, this gentleman has already offered to help us through.

[IamanElfCollaborator]

"Don't worry about it, Sawatari. It'll only be a few moments, and I'd be happy to help out a fellow student. Besides, it'll let us discuss our upcoming collaboration, right?"

[Smoke Mirrors]

…right. The inter school collaboration play. He supposed he’d suppressed the memory of learning about it. This had stopped being a matter of his personal grudges, and had instead become a matter of the success of the theatre club. He was no longer, Mori Sawatari, the individual, but rather, Mori Sawatari, president of the theatre club. Spending time with Mishima was something he would have to do, as much as it might physically pain him.


”Very well, I suppose of this is club business I can’t refuse. We were actually planning to look and see if there was anything we might use for the show we might buy, though we haven’t decided which play we’ll be suggesting yet. Speaking of which, if you didn’t already know, this is Veep, my Vice President.”

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Kanade turns to Veep. She nods.
"Your reputation precedes you. If only my own vice president was as reliable. Follow me. Ishikawa, I'm sorry to be a burden, but please tell the crew I'll only be five minutes."
"Y-yes, Miss Mishima. I'll tell the crew to get ready."

The capped man leaves and lets Kanade and the pair through, as she takes them through a small back way, bypassing the area where the commercial is to be filmed. The crew seems to be flitting about, getting things in place, with a few posters of Kanade's other work around. Some posters of the youth drama Tomorrow With You are plastered around, portraying Kanade in the lead role; someone like Mori would likely be vaguely aware of it, as it was reasonably popular a year or so ago.

The drama was about a young woman meeting a young man and falling in love with him at first sight and going on a date with him only for him to die in a tragic mugging; the rest of the series had the protagonist, played by Kanade, travel back in time to a year prior, trying to save the young man she'd fallen for before it was too late. The series was critically and commercially successful, with Kanade being nominated for a prestigious acting award, though she lost out to another famed young actress with similar looks who had returned from a hiatus, reportedly due to her boyfriend. Nonetheless, it was enough to launch Kanade's career.

For Kanade's part, she doesn't seem to have noticed anything wrong with Mori yet.

"I'd like to hear your suggestions in person. I've heard you're not a bad actor and you're quite passionate. It makes sense, I hear it runs in the family. My mother loved watching your father perform as a young woman. I've heard she's been hoping to get in contact for a revival of his group at the new theatre downtown at some point. Not that you heard that from me, of course; it's something to be left between our parents, no?"

[Smoke Mirrors]

She knew about his family. Mishima knew about his family. A look of shock took over Mori's face, one he couldn't hide. His mind responded to the new information with a flurry of attempts to justify or mitigate it. Of course she'd know, his father worked for hers. Or perhaps this was good news, his father could go back to acting, just like he'd always wanted to. But that would mean he would owe it to the Mishimas. A flurry of thoughts and arguments against them, opinions and counters, fought back and forth inside his head. This was too much to deal with right now. Kaijins, the joint play, and now-


"Ow!" Mori yelped. Veep had punched him in the arm. "What was that-".

Veep looked at him with an unmistakable look on his face, as if trying to burn an idea into Mori's mind with only his eyes.

Focus.


"Rin. Kyo. To. Sha." Mori muttered under his breath. It was obvious from how casually she'd mentioned it that Mishima had no idea that his family was a secret, and making a big deal of it would only cause it to become a bigger matter than it currently was, and that wouldn't do. He would just write off his shock as surprise at the news and return to the matter at hand.


"That's certainly an interesting proposal, but yes, of course, one best left between our parents. I'll deny knowing anything of it if asked. As for the matter at hand, the plays we were looking into were Romeo and Juliet, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Crucible, and And Then There Were None. Did your club have any suggestions yet, or are you still deciding?"

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Mishima doesn't seem to have noticed any of the turmoil going through Mori's head.
"I was thinking something a little more....traditional, personally. An adaptation of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, perhaps? Or Urashima Taro? Something to celebrate the traditions of Kaname-cho."

[Chevaleresse]

Shiro paused at the entrance to the cages. She'd come here to unwind in a way that was less likely to give her a headache (as much as there were other idiots that needed a good drubbing, she didn't want to deal with another lecture) but the sight of a classmate was enough to give her pause.
. . . Maybe she won't recognize me. Most people don't seem to.
With a vague nod of acknowledgement, she sat a helmet on her head, took up a bat, and stepped into position, hoping nobody would bother her.

[Smoke Mirrors]

"Perhaps a modified version of Kanjincho or The Tale of Genji then? Something taking from Aoi no Ue, or Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami? Though that one may be too long."

[SeriousConcentrate]

"Yo."

Mildred returned his nod. Jin was a lot like her; they both used their power to keep the real bastards in check, but they each had their own reasons and she didn't pretend to know his. As for her, strength and respect was her path to freedom, to be beyond the expectations people heaped upon her for her reputation, her way of speaking, her distinctly non-Japanese looks. Tradition had its' place but she wasn't going to change who she was for anyone. She probably got that from her mother's side of the family.

"Yo yourself. Taking a break to play with the kids?"

. . . Maybe she won't recognize me. Most people don't seem to.
With a vague nod of acknowledgement, she sat a helmet on her head, took up a bat, and stepped into position, hoping nobody would bother her.

Having gotten done with Jin, Mildred was about to step into a cage herself when she saw Shiro nod to her. She nodded back and approached, keeping a slight distance and leaning a shoulder on the side of the cage to watch the other girl's batting form.

"So, you have fighting experience too, you said. Aren't you some kind of heiress?"

She didn't mean anything by that, it was just what she'd heard.

[Chevaleresse]

Damnit. It had been a faint hope, but a hope nonetheless.
"You could say that." She readied herself for the pitch; when the ball came, she savagely slashed at it as if she were severing the neck of a hated foe. Her form made it clear that baseball wasn't exactly her passion, but she'd clearly been here before.
"Self-defense classes and. . . other experience. I can handle myself." Her voice sounded even more strained than usual, managing to blend a refined dialect with a rather rougher sort - and the two didn't exist harmoniously.

[SeriousConcentrate]

"Other experience, huh. Just seems kind of weird we never ran into each other before today; I've spent a lot of time brawling."

Mildred watched for a few more seconds.

"I'd suggest bending your knees a little and spreading your feet. You can generate a lot more power in your swing with your hips and shoulders that way."