1483/Prelude to the Music Wars

Prelude to the Music Wars
Date of Scene:	03 May 2024
Location:	Penguin Park - Animal Kingdom
Synopsis:	Wako and Sugata, out to see the animals, encounter Mizudori hustling for her latest show. Mizudori has a fan! And also a prospective rival. But they're going to go see her show either way, so Bass-chan is really the winner here.
Cast of Characters:	Wako Agemaki, Mizudori Teion, Sugata Shindo

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Wako Agemaki has posed:
Penguin Park's Animal Kingdom may only be a small zoo, but considering that Southern Cross Island boasts no zoo at all, it's still an exciting novelty for Wako. Which is why she has dragged Sugata out to see it - another on the list of a million and one things they were never going to get to do, and now can.

"I didn't even know this was here until just recently," she's saying with a smile, paused in the middle of the plaza where the walking paths connect to study a directory of attractions posted there. "We'll have to bring Takuto-kun later, but I thought we could at least look around. Hm, but which way first...?" The prospect of taking the bus around is fully disregarded.

Mizudori Teion has posed:
    They say for a true artist, there are no days off. Or at least somebody probably says that, and Mizudori certainly seems to believe it. This would be a depressing prospect for some but the dark-haired girl, like so many artists, seems to enjoy her work to the point where doing anything else with her time doesn't even occur to her.

    Her 'work' on this particular occasion seems to consist of standing in front of the penguin exhibit. She is wearing a black-and-white hoodie with a design that looks suspiciously penguin-like though isn't cutsey enough to actually have a beak on the hood, though one could easily imagine it. And she is handing out flyers... again.

    "Hey, you like penguins?" She asks a small child, who seems unsure of how to respond. "Then tell your mom to buy you tickets to come see me play with Penguin Party at the Untidy Squid next week!" She tucks a flyer into the kid's backpack before turning to the next group. "Hey you penguin fanatics, if you think these penguins are great, wait until you get a load of me and Penguin Party on stage!"

    And on to the next group, and the next, pausing only occasionally to sip from a soda bottle with some kind of suspiciously neon-green liquid in it and count how many flyers she has remaining in her stack.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
Sugata had thought about taking Wako and Takuto out to the zoo. Of course, then a girl had been trapped in a mirror, and he'd promptly forgotten about it for a while, but the fact that he's here now, at the zoo, with Wako? As far as he's concerned, this is proof that he really can continue to slack off on the romance angle and it will be just fine.

"Really? I noticed it a few weeks ago, but I was hardly going to come out here alone."

Not that there would be no point without them, but, there would be little point.

"Well, there are penguins and elephants that way, and the primate house that way. Which do you want to see first?"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"And you weren't even going to say anything, were you?" Wako makes a show of heaving a deep sigh, though the effect is rather spoiled by the amusement sparkling in her eyes. Sugata is gonna Sugata, even in Tokyo, it seems. "Good thing you have me and Takuto-kun to make you get out and enjoy yourself occasionally."

As far as she's concerned, this gives her full license to catch his arm and tug him along. "Let's go see the penguins!"

At least, that was the idea, but heading in the direction of the penguin house puts them on a direct course to come upon Mizudori where she's out handing out flyers. She's hard to miss, and Wako stops short, eyes widening a little. "Hey. Aren't you... from the mall...?" A beat. "What's an untidy squid?"

Mizudori Teion has posed:
    Mizudori had been taking a short break from the flyer-ing, pausing to swig from her bottle and leaf through her flyers. She only has a few left, meaning that her business here is almost at it's end, but hopefully she'll get at least a couple more people showing up to the gig next week.

    When she's addressed directly, she looks up, almost startled, her LED-green eyes a little wide. People don't often talk to her, usually she is the one shouldering her way into other people's attention to demand they give her some. "Honey, you're gonna have to be more specific. You know how many malls are around here? I've been to most of 'em."

    Her eyes fall upon Sugata next, and she quirks an eyebrow. "Hey there, handsome. You like penguins?"

Sugata Shindo has posed:
"I thought about it," which is confirmation that Wako has otherwise indeed read him correctly and he was absolutely not going to do anything else. Probably. As his arm is captured and he's dragged around, he smiles a little. What kind of face would Wako make if he did one of those boyfriend things, and bought her a stuffed penguin?

"Sure; I saw something about a penguin feeding when we came in. Maybe we'll catch it?"

The zoo seemed to offer a number of options for watching the animal feedings, so it wasn't going to be a big deal if they missed one.

And then they cross paths with a girl around their flyers, and he pauses, because he actually does recognize her. From Viewtube.

"You're Bass-chan, right?" He's going to ignore the flirting. He's endured worse - she hasn't even tried to kiss through glass. "And you're doing a show?"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Handsome? Well - yes he is, but still! Wako is, very suddenly, all kinds of fluffed up with indignation, which is a pretty rare sight coming from a girl who's usually pretty easygoing. "It was you!" she exclaims, in a tone a bit less pleasant than Sugata's. "You summoned a youma in the middle of the mall as a publicity stunt! Don't tell me you've done that too many times for it to narrow things down."

This is about when she catches herself and does a double-take at Sugata. "Wait, how do you know her...?" She has, in fact, mostly forgotten that she sent him a copy of the track from the USB single she bought.

Mizudori Teion has posed:
    "What's a youma?" Mizudori says sweetly to Wako. "All I know is you clearly remember me, so whatever I did or did not do in a public place of business, it obviously worked. Which shouldn't shock anyone, since all of my ideas are awesome." She flips her black-and-green hair back over her shoulder. It isn't long enough to be truly impressive but the intent is clear.

    When Sugata asks if she is in fact the one and only Bass-chan, she brightens visibly. Not in a way that implies she is happy the handsome boy is paying attention to her, but rather in the way that implies she is happy to have been recognized. Celebrities get recognized. This means she's famous.

    "Why, yes I am." She says, a silver-ringed hand raising to press against her chest. "And, yes I am. I take it you're a huge fan?" Because she wouldn't have any other kind.

    "I'm playing keyboard for Penguin Party next week at the Squid. Which," She shoots Wako a glance, "is a club. You know, like a nightclub, where bands play? In Mitakihara." She turns her attention back to Sugata. "Anyway it's not solely my own music but those guys are reasonably talented. Playing with various groups helps me get more stage time."

Sugata Shindo has posed:
"So you summoned a youma for a publicity stunt. Was the plan to defeat the youma, at least?" Sugata asks dryly, pondering, briefly, a world where people made more sense, before glancing down at Wako. "You sent me a copy of her single back in October. It was good, so I checked out her Viewtube channel. It wasn't really your taste, so I didn't think you'd care to hear about it."

That, and he was reasonably sure Wako is a lot more upset about the youma summoning for publicity than he is, though he can admit it's not the most well thought out or impressive stunt he's ever heard of. Maybe the Glittering Crux broke his scale for absurd behavior.

Looking back at Mizudori and her obvious satisfaction, he shrugs."I'm more like a medium fan, but if you've got any other copies of your singles, I'll take them. And the flyer."

A club in Mitakihara. He's definitely never been to a club, and honestly the whole idea isn't all that appealing... except for the fact that he really does like Bass-chan's music, and it might be fun to drag Wako and Takuto...

And then he pauses, considering Bass-chan again. "A club we can get into without a fake ID?" Just to confirm.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"Oh my god." Wako's voice is slightly muffled now, on account of she's covering her face with both hands. "The betrayal." Never mind that she was the one who sent him the single in the first place, with some idea that it might be more his taste than hers - not for nothing have they known each other all their lives.

Betrayal.

He's asking about the club. Wako takes in a deep breath and drops her hands from her face to plant them on her hips instead, and regards Mizudori with narrowed eyes. "Just to be clear," she announces as though anyone had asked, "I'm only going to go so I can drop Zero Time and get the audience out of the way if you call up another youma."

Mizudori Teion has posed:
    "Of course I was going to defeat it!" Mizudori exclaims. "Everybody loves a hero, right? But you can hardly just rely on chance to have a monster attack your record signing so you can heroically defeat it. All I did was stack the deck a little to make sure that my signing would be unforgettable." She sings the last word. She has perfect pitch.

    When Sugata asks if she has copies of her other singles, she starts pulling things out of her pockets. "Do you like the USB sticks? I have CDs too. And minidiscs. And a cassette, and I used to have vinyl but they kept breaking in my pockets so.."

    She pauses when he asks about the fake IDs. "The Untidy Squid is all-ages before 10pm. It'd be too much of a pain in the ass to perform there if I had to use a fake ID to get in every time. Too much chance for screwups and then I'd lose my venue."

    She glances at Wako, green eyes narrowed slightly at the girl's posture, as if wondering why the blonde should be so antagonistic. Of course, she is still harping on that youma thing and that was ages ago so maybe she's just the type who can't let minor things go easily. "I'm not going to wreck the club." She says, primly. "I like it. They let me play there all the time."

    She gives a sly smile. "But at least you admit you'll go. Woo! Two more in the bag!"

Sugata Shindo has posed:
"Now Wako-chan, you know I'll always be your number one fan," Sugata says, in the same tone that he'd used to confirm Mizudori had absolutely summoned a youma for publicity. The worst part is, he's utterly sincere. He's just incapable of being anything less than a troll at least fifty percent of the time. Contractual obligations. (No, you may not read the contract.) "But occasionally I like to explore a second favorite."

Which is high praise but also kind of dickish to admit, honestly. He might have felt bad, but Mizudori was the sort of person who thinks summoning a youma to defeat for popularity is a good idea, so.

"You realize most people don't remember the monsters? They probably wouldn't remember you saving them, otherwise they'd have remembered Wako-chan and Takuto-kun handling it in the first place." He's making an assumption that Takuto was there, mostly because if Takuto wasn't there, he's going to make fun of him, at least a little.

"A USB if I can get one with multiple songs loaded. Otherwise, I'll take the CD option; it's easier to store multiple of those."

He is in fact fully planning on buying her music, now that he's got the chance, which hopefully won't be further betrayal.

"We've never been to a club," he says with a shrug, utterly unashamed, "Asking seemed the better part of valor in this case. It's good to know; is this the only show you've got scheduled, and do you post anywhere about the others?"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
This is a thing that's happening. Wako's indignation is only slightly mollified by Sugata's assurances that she's his favorite, but she subsides nonetheless into a sort of grudging acceptance. "Yeah," she answers Mizudori in an arch tone, "anyway it was just too bad for you that I evacuated everyone, huh? No audience." She's so not sorry.

She'll wait with what she considers heroic patience while Sugata and Mizudori work out whatever transaction they're working out with regards to him buying more of her music. "It's true we haven't been to a club yet, but..." She lets the 'but' trail off, incomplete. She's already conceded to going, after all. The rest of the grumbling is mostly for show.

Mizudori Teion has posed:
    Most people don't remember the monsters," Mizudori tells Sugata. "But some do. Clearly. Plus, even if they don't remember the monsters, they might remember that I saved them from something and think of me all heroically. It was definitely a great idea."

    She shoots Wako a glance when the girl mentions how she evacuated everyone. "Even if some people did their best to make sure it didn't amount to anything." Still, she doesn't seem to be holding a grudge- or rather, she seems the type to just not dwell on the past when there's something more interesting right in front of her.

    "They're supposed to be singles, so all these ones just have one song." She shrugs and hands over one of the CDs. "So here you go. On the house, since you're an actual fan. And you're coming to my show. Buy a t-shirt there or something." She smiles brightly. "Info about all my upcoming shows can be found in the 'Community' tab of my ViewTube channel! Be sure to like, subscribe, and leave a comment!"

    "Don't be so glum, blondie, it'll be a blast! I guarantee it." Mizudori grins to Wako, not realizing perhaps this could be construed as a threat even though she honestly has no intent to blow up the club. "Alright, I gotta go. The life of a star is a busy one! But I'll see you there, yeah?" She smiles, winks at Sugata, and then turns to head off down the paved path.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
Well, he can't dispute that - clearly Wako had remembered, and the fact that she remembers is getting Bass-chan another concert attendee, so...

A shrug, point to her.

As for the mention of the channel, he nods - "Got it; I'll keep an eye on that." He's not going to confirm that he's already subscribed to the channel, instead taking the CD and slipping it into the bag he'd brought with a nod of thanks. Depending on the designs of the t-shirts, he'll probably buy half a dozen and then never wear them - he knows his habits, he likes to have multiples of things he likes. "Like and comment, sure. You should consider collecting your singles onto an album; you could charge more, and I'd have fewer things to carry around."

Peak rich boy behavior, asking an artist to consider changing their practice to make a sale, but let's not focus on that.

"Her name is Wako; you should remember it for when her singles are beating you out in sales," Sugata says casually, fully and intentionally stoking the spirit of competition. Something, something, the artist produces best when the flame of passion is lit, or something. It's only when she's gone that he murmurs to Wako, "She should focus on the music. Romance appeal isn't her strong suit."

Wako Agemaki has posed:
It's that last sidelong comment - now that Mizudori is off out of earshot - that finally gets Wako to unbend enough to laugh a little, equal parts pleased and chagrined at how casually he's just put her forward as a musical rival. "We're really going to go to her show, huh? She kind of ticks me off," 'kind of' "but I guess it'd be a good experience at least once..."

Irritation fully put aside for now, she shakes her head and gestures ahead of them. "Come on, maybe we can still catch the penguin feeding?" She'll make him get her something at concessions before they leave.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
"I wasn't joking about being a fan," he admits, "And if she does summon a youma I'd rather not have to trash her gig site to get rid of it."

This is as close as he'll come to saying 'please come with me to see the show'! Besides, Wako is laughing, so it can't be that bad. "You can scope out the competition. She's more established, but she's not an idol, so if you're going to study someone, why not her?"

Also, this is very beneficial to him, as a fan of them both. Don't worry about that.

"If not, they let you feed the giraffes if you buy the snacks yourself, so we'll try that."

Obviously he'll be paying for that, and for the concessions.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"Gosh, how inconvenient," Wako complains, but she's smiling good-naturedly now and the words have no actual heat to them. "Since you like her music, though, I should at least pay attention to what she's doing."

And then she's perking up visibly. "Oooh, giraffes. That sounds like fun!" He is thus forgiven for being a fan of someone she finds personally aggravating. At least for now.