Soulfasting Concert for Charity

[my_father_is_a_tycoon]

Who: Lenna Charlotte Tycoon, the Kagamine twins, and open invite for all
What: A Soulfast-themed charity concert and dance
When: Sunday night
Where: The Tycoon family estate
Summary: Lenna is hosting a charity event to benefit Union's poor and homeless population, along with refugees from war-torn communities outside Union's walls and people who are moving into the city but need some help while they get on their feet.  The entire city is invited, and donations are not required but are strongly encouraged in the form of Lenna smiling and making big moe eyes at everyone as they enter until they do.

[It's the beginning of the Soulfasting holiday, and despite the complications with Cresselia and Darkrai, Lenna has miraculously managed to pull together the final preparations for her charity event at the last minute.  The party itself is being held at the Tycoon mansion in the noble quarter, and the doors have been opened for any and all who wish to come and make merry.

The spacious foyer of the house has been set up with numerous tables with food and drink for the various attendees, plenty of room for dancing and mingling, and of course a large stage at the front of the room set up for Rin and Len Kagamine - Lenna's roommates and the headline performing act of the night.  There are donation boxes situated around the room, and Lenna will also be accepting larger donations personally so that she can secure them elsewhere in the house.

And because of the time of year, there is also a table set up with plenty of Pokemon-themed masks for people to wear, with a fancy sign hand written in calligraphy: 'Courtesy of the Tatsumi Gallery.'  Lenna herself is wearing a short red party dress with matching heels, greeting everyone as they enter and more or less just buzzing about making sure everyone is having a good time.]

Comments

ota.

[hige_san]

[Standing in a corner at some distance away from everything was Harima, dressed in the nicest yukata he could find on extremely limited budget. His hair was unbound for once as a concession to the one friend who had asked him to come along, but the dark sunglasses that were ever-present on his person remained-- as did the familiar frown, although it was one that was intended to hide his discomfort that evening.

This, clearly, was the very last place he had ever intended on being.

...which was nothing if not more reason for somebody to go pester the poor guy.]

[inthenameofthemoon]

[ That's okay, Harima. This was the last place Usagi had expected herself to be, but she's here regardless. She might be wearing this ensemble and her hair is totally done up in a different way, but it's her.

And she's just roaming closer to the edge of the event and taking in the scenery in her own way, and for her own special reasons. ]

[hige_san]

[Harima couldn't help but track her movements as soon as his gaze lighted upon the golden-haired fairy in blue. Usagi would be pretty if she wore a burlap bag but...like this? She was stunning.

They were both on the edge of the crowd, both confused about what to do next when faced with the mingling of the upper class. This was his chance to talk to her-- and, this time, he couldn't make a fool of himself.]

--What did you do to your hair?

[--Dammit, why did his big mouth have to go say something like that?!]

[inthenameofthemoon]

[ Usagi's completely oblivious to Harima's presence. In fact, if he hadn't of said anything, she would have probably just moved on by him to get another view of the whole venue. But he does, and Usagi's hand automatically goes up to her strange feeling hair before glancing over at where the question came from. ]

Eh?

[ Although, there's something familiar that tickles the back of her mind, that voice. Maybe. She's not sure where she's heard it before. ]

.... are you talking to me?

[hige_san]

Uh, no-- [dammit Harima-- he quickly corrects himself--] yeah.

[He took a deep breath...and tried to take his foot out of his mouth.]

Aren't you that girl from school? Tsukino?

[inthenameofthemoon]

[ OH! He knew her from school! That makes sense why he'd know what her hair originally looked like... it was a rather unique style. ]

Oh, yeah! That's me. Usagi Tsukino.

[ Usagi plays with her hair for a few moments before laughing sheepishly. ]

Well, my hair got kind of messed up when I was stuck in the dream world so a friend of mind changed my hairstyle for today so it wouldn't look so bad. It feels weird, but I think she did a good job!

[hige_san]

[Something happened to her hair?.

If Harima seemed like he was going to take on a wild Pangoro on his own for an instant, eyes blazing with rage over how anyone could mess with her hair behind his dark sunglasses.....well, it wasn't something that anyone was intended to see.

He recovered quickly, coughing into his hand as he tried to steer back on track.]

How bad did it get messed up? It's pretty long!

[Long and angelic and beautiful.]

[inthenameofthemoon]

Not too badly.. but, it's because it was long that it got burnt... and cut a little bit.

[ Seriously, Darkrai. Swinging swords, spikes and jet flames? Not cool for a girl's entire look. How was she supposed to attract the prince guy of her dreams if she looked like she had just gone through the ringer? ]

That's okay. I just have to take a bit more care with it so it doesn't get anymore messed up.

[hige_san]

[Burnt? And cut?? Usagi wasn't the kind of girl who went looking for risks like that, as far as he had seen, which meant--]

--You were caught up in that crazy mess last week, weren't you?

[Like a lot of people. He was glad he was with Yakumo, but this?

Sheesh. That Guy really was a Jerk.]

[inthenameofthemoon]

Yeah, I was. I've never had to deal with anything like that my whole life!

[ Usagi's shoulders slump a little when he hits it right on the nail, but, she picks herself back up and smiles sheepishly. ]

You know, here I am complaining about my hair and I don't even know your name!

[ Look, Harima. Usagi's unintentionally giving you a reason to introduce yourself. DON'T SCREW THIS UP. ]

[hige_san]

Kenji Harima.

[He said it quickly, voice sounding gruff in his own nervousness. He quickly glanced away, hoping that the combined forces of his shades, hair, and the strange lighting of the party hid the embarrassed flush on his cheeks.]

--This kinda thing. It's not near as bad as all that stupid crap from before.

[inthenameofthemoon]

It's nice to meet you then!

[ Kenji Harima. Hum. Well, after a moment of thought, she slowly moves so she's in front of him and holds her hand out with a smile. ]

Ah-- you sound like you don't really parties like this! [ Because really, this was more a party for the nobles under the good intentions of helping the misfortunate.

... although considering where they were in lieu of the party, she should have realized that a little sooner. Oh well. ] Are you here with someone?

[hige_san]

Places like this are okay. But, I'd probably be at the Habitat right now if it weren't for Yakumo--

[He cut himself off, realizing what he was saying. What if Usagi got the wrong idea? What if Yakumo saw the two of them here like this and got the wrong idea?

The risks were too high. He wanted to be with Usagi-- there was no place he'd rather be-- but Yakumo was the one good thing he had in his life!

He couldn't risk it!]

--It's not what you're thinking. Yakumo's a friend of mine, she volunteers in the Habitat!

[The explanation was suspiciously quick, even by his standards.

He was going to kick himself later for this.]

[unbalancedlove]

[... In all honesty Kotori is feeling incredibly out of place. While getting to wear an usual dress is not bad by itself the high class air filling the party can be quite overwhelming if you aren't used to this kind of situations and, sadly, she is not. She finds herself wandering away from the dancing floor soon enough, idly making her way somewhere away from the crowd.]

...?

[And once she sees somebody else that seems to prefer solitude her feet take her here surprisingly fast. Misery loves company as they say.]

Good evening.

[hige_san]

[Misery does love company, and Harima would rather have the company of the Swablu Girl than most of the other people at this soiree. He perked up when he heard her vice, and shifted aside just enough for her to join him at the wall if she wanted.]

Hey, Kotori. Funny to see you at this place.

[unbalancedlove]

Hehe, I thought you wouldn't recognize me like this.

[To be honest it was hard to tell that he was Harima either but their last encounter had been quite memorable. It was worth a try, wasn't it? even if it wasn't him it would be somebody that was having as much fun here as she was.

Kotori takes the silent invitation and joins him by the wall.]

It's a lucky coincidence.

[hige_san]

Why wouldn't I? You're still Kotori.

[And that incident at the Lake, for as disturbing and frustrating as it was, had definitely imprinted itself on his memory. Try as he might, he knew he wasn't going to forget it anytime soon.

A part of him didn't want to, either.

Harima hmphed at her comment about coincidences.]

Not really. I'm just here because Yakumo invited me.

[unbalancedlove]

I am, I am, but you only saw me at my fluffiest so I thought it would be a harder connection to make.

[Kotori lets out a feminine giggle at her own fluffy comment. Yes, her mood is much better now that she can talk with somebody.]

Ah, Yakumo is here too? I didn't think she liked this kind of events.

[hige_san]

You still sound like yourself...

[Come on, Kotori. Harima knew that he was dumb, but he wasn't dumb enough to not recognize the fluffy bird pokemon shifter.

...He was quite fond of the aesthetic of the fluff. It reminded him of clouds or bubbles, something that would be interesting to ink out on a blank page for the fun of it.]

She's quiet, but her family put her up to this, I think.

...It's a lot different than I imagined it'd be.

[unbalancedlove]

[She nods in agreement.]

I do but a lot of people talk to me in the habitat and never make the connection, it's strange.

[Probably because shiny Swablu which talks is more impressive than a young girl walking around with a Deerling. Nonetheless it's a bit confusing for her, she is the same person after all.]

That sounds troublesome... maybe we should invite her over here?

[She glances around in search of Yakumo without success. She is a bit worried about her friend's struggles now.]

What kind of image did you have, Harima?

[hige_san]

[Harima made a 'tch' sound, as if in annoyance or derision. How could anyone not recognize Kotori as Kotori? Seriously, and people called him dumb...]

I dunno. I thought it'd be more hoity toity than this. [He glanced down at the girl.] If you wanna invite her over, go ahead, but she looks like she's having fun dancing with that blond guy in the suit.

[He wasn't sure how he felt about that...but, if Yakumo was smiling and having a good time? Then it was all right.]

[unbalancedlove]

[A-Are we presencing Yakumo's romantic life blossoming, Harima-san?! Since she missed completely the 'couple' dancing before once she focuses and notices it's really her friend she turns quite red and lets out a short gasp of surprise.

Kotori reaches for the man's sleeve and pulls from it softly yet insistently]

Is he Yakumo's b-boyfriend?

[... Wait, does Yakumo have a boyfriend? they never really talk about love.]

[hige_san]

[Kotori's impulsive comment hit a chord in Harima that he didn't even realize was there until the question came up-- what if he really was Yakumo's boyfriend?]

Hell if I know! [Harima all but growled, more defensive than he really ought to be.] She never said anything about having a boyfriend before.

[That couldn't be right, could it? He and Yakumo usually talked about pokemon, not about their romantic lives.

...why did it bother him so much?]

[unbalancedlove]

[Harima's passionate (?) reply startles her a little and awards him with a very curious gaze now fixed on him. Her cheeks heat up as her imagination runs wild once again.]

... Harima, do you... for Yakumo?...

[Her eyes practically sparkle at the possibility of a love triangle.]

[hige_san]

What-- No!!

[He felt his face burning under her wide-eyed gaze.]

We're friends, okay? I'm allowed to be curious!

[They really were friends, right? She was someone nice to talk to, someone who didn't judge him by his looks or his manner of talking.

She liked pokemon, and he liked pokemon. Wasn't that enough to be friends?]