2026-04-25: Being Blue
- Log: Being Blue
- Cast: Lisa Silverman, Minako Arisato
- Where: Paulownia Mall
- OOC Date: April 25, 2026
- IC Date: October 30, 2012
- Summary: Lisa impulsively comes to Iwatodai to get away from things--and when her initial plans fall through, she finds that Minako's willing to go with the flow, and they hang out for the afternoon instead.
(|============================== Paulownia Mall ==============================|)
-======================================= Iwatodai City/Tatsumi Port Island ====-
A great glass dome surrounds Paulownia Mall, its name displayed in great letters
on its rim. Within this circular structure, made beautiful with water features,
the mall bustles. A central fountain pours out, eternally, surrounded by benches
for weary shoppers; two more pools stand by the entrance, decorated by
well-trimmed hedges behind them. The brown patterning on the floor emphasises
the circular nature of this place, all carved to equal segments; pillars
surrounding the sides provide structure and guidance, separating each store from
the other.
And the shops one can find here are many. Game Parade is a popular arcade,
particularly amongst nearby Gekkoukan students, and its crane game has foiled
many a hopeful date. Kenneth Arnold offers music albums, while Mandragora
Karaoke Bar, up a flight of stairs nearby, offers live music experiences for
those who prefer active participation. Club Escapade is another great option for
music-lovers, alongside those seeking Fortune-Telling services or looking for
shady informants -- but it's only open at night, and technically, it's only for
people who are over 18. Practically speaking, teenagers sometimes sneak in,
anyway... but curious teens ought to be careful, because a few shops over, one
can find the Tatsumi East Police Station. Chagall Cafe, at least, is both open
during the day and open to all ages! Aohige Pharmacy offers pharmaceuticals to
cure any ailment, while Be Blue V offers an eclectic variety of items and
treatments to improve one's health and wellbeing. Finally, Mayoido Antiques
offers unique weapons and armour for those who bring in supernatural
materials... and the proprietor seems to know more than she really ought to
about that world.
<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
Paulownia Mall is actually pretty nice! More to the point, fewer people recognize Lisa here. So instead of hanging around after school in Sumaru, Lisa made the trek via train out here. Still in her Sevens uniform, Lisa's a blonde girl with a red ribbon on her uniform--a second year! And she happens to looking down into one of the pools at the moment, in much better spirits than Yukari found her some time ago.
She has a shopping bag on her arm from Kenneth Arnold, and a cellphone in her hand.
"Right! OK, that's cool. Another time."
"Right, right. See you around, Yukari-chan."
That's an easily-overheard conversation, despite Lisa's attempts to be discreet, if you happen to be near the fountain. Either way... Lisa Silverman is suddenly FREE!
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
Minako Arisato doesn't immediately recognize Lisa. She isn't that into idol music -- though, the blonde hair and blue eyes do draw her glance at first. She had been walking by, bookbag thrown over her shoulder, and she pauses. She just happens to overhear Lisa talking.
She didn't mean to, but she had been walking by. Her crimson eyes blink -- and her head tilts for a second.
She doesn't hesitate. Minako just leaps into asking the question that comes to her mind: "Hey, do you know Takeba-chan?"
There is, abruptly, a redhead standing in front of Lisa and smiling. She has a Gekkoukan uniform on -- and she has her bag swinging in her hand, as she looks at her.
<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
Perhaps it's fate! ...Maybe not.
Eithr way, Lisa closes her phone and then turns to Minako in surprise. But she's quick enough on the uptake to smile. "Yukari Takeba?" she confirms. "Hai! She's a friend--she helped me out when I got lost here, once," she explains. "Since I'm definitely not from the area," she says, gesturing at her Sumaru-school uniform.
"So I guess you do too?" she confirms. That's something in common--but her eyes track to Minako's hair next. "Oh, wow, those pins look great!"
Lisa passes check: not be startled by redhead!
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"Oh, yeah, did she?" Minako asks, with a smile. She grins, and then she nods her head. She glances at the uniform -- and there's a look of recognition on her face. After all, prior to coming to Gekkoukan, she went to Seven Sisters. "I do."
Then, she laughs cheerfully. "Thanks," she says. "I always liked that style. And... you know, keeping my hair up unless it's a special occasion~"
She winks, then. "I'm a friend of Takeba-chan's," she says. She extends a hand to her. "Minako Arisato! Were you going to meet up with her?"
<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
"Mm-hm!"
She spots that recognition, but can't figure why; Lisa knows there's any number of reasons for someone to recognize the Sevens uniform. Minako's cheer gets to Lisa, too. Her hairstyle isn't super dissimilar, but it doesn't have all the same pinwork. "You Yisi! I guess that the mall isn't that special when you live here."
Lisa reaches out to take that hand. "Lisa Silverman!" she answers. "I was, but like a doof I didn't call ahead, so she's not free right now. That means I'm just doing whatever, now!"
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"Not really, but I still like it," Minako says, with a lopsided smile. "I grew up here, but I moved away when I was little. So... I just came back a few months ago," she adds. "It's not quite new to me but--um--y'know. It's still pretty new."
She winks. Even if it takes her a second to translate the Chinese in her head. "Hey, it's okay. That happens," she says. "I'm free, if you want to hang out?"
A pause.
"Even if you're not lost. Then you've made friends with two Gekkoukan students, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
"Oh, yeah?" Lisa nods thoughtfully. "I guess that would be weird--since it would've changed in like, years, right?" Many years, even! If Minako is her age.
Lisa seems pretty at ease by now, though she hasn't noticed that Minako isn't confused by her Cantonese yet. Give her a minute.
"Hoisamuro! That sounds great!"
Yes, she just--puts Cantonese in her sentences. Don't worry about it.
"I like the sound of two friends. So, it's nice to meet you!"
"I grew up in Sumaru, myself," Lisa explains, which may or may not be a surprise. "So what do you do for fun around here? I mean, in particular. Obviously the mall can be fun..."
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"Mm-hm," Minako answers. "Yeah. I'm still getting used to what things are like now that I've moved back."
She tilts her head -- and then she cracks a smile at the surprise Cantonese. Granted, with a name like Lisa Silverman, she isn't entirely sure if she is Western, Chinese, or Japanese. She also isn't prone to speculating.
She smiles a bit more -- and notes that. "Sumaru, huh? I lived there until about a year ago. Not for long, I was with my uncle..." She trails off, then she looks at Lisa. She cracks a smile. "For fun? Well..."
She sways back and forth. "The mall's pretty fun. The cafe and the club don't open til later. But the stores are fun to browse. And there's the little restaurants down by Iwatodai Station, too."
She tilts her head. "Anything you like to do, Silverman-san?"
<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
"Right!"
Lisa smiles back; she smiles pretty easily these days, especially when Minako's being so cheerful. "Oh, yeah?" she asks, and then sees her trail off. ...She has a feeling that's not a great set of memories, so she's not going to pry. Instead...
"The club's gotta be fun, but I haven't been," she admits. "Uh, not that I'm... allowed, ha ha ha..." Because she's underage? Probably that reason.
"I checked out the music shop earlier," she says with a little heft of her bag, "But not the others yet."
Hmm. "Well, I like dancing," she says. "Watching movies, especially martial arts movies. And food! Food's great."
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
It isn't a great set of memories -- and it isn't one that Minako wants to get into, exactly. She cracks a smile again when Lisa says that she isn't allowed. "Oh, yeah, definitely haven't been either. Nope. Not even once."
Minako's Courage stat is quite high and she has befriended a certain monk who frequents it.
She looks at the bag, then back at Lisa. "Sure. Want to check the others out?" she asks. Then, a pause, before she adds: "So you're into martial arts?"
<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
"Haha, right!"
Lisa is glad to see a kindred spirit in Minako on the trouble front. She doesn't have a friendship with the monk, though.
"Sure!" Lisa answers, "Lead the way! You know them better than I do." A beat, "Mm-hm!"
"I'm pretty good at kung fu," Lisa says, and it could even be a boast except for the confidence with which she says it. "I used to teach myself, but I got a real sifu recently, so that's a lot more work--but a lot better, too."
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"Sure," Minako says, with a smile -- and a wink. She starts towards Be Blue V. The exterior decor matches the name; the storefront and the sign are in shades of blue, which certainly draw the eye. She glances over her shoulder, back at Lisa.
She blinks, before she nods. "I've never done much kung-fu," she says. "Or any karate, really. But I like martial arts movies. You got a..."
She hesitates a second.
"...teacher?" she asks, her head tilted to the side.
<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
Another wink! Lisa slyly watches Minako for another moment when she starts forward--and then starts on after her. She looks over the blue shop (ba da bee da...)
"It's great exercise," Lisa says. "Keeps you in shape, helps you control your body--keeps your weight right, too."
"Yeah! Specifically, a kung fu instructor. Before that I just learned from the movies, but now I've got like... structure!"
"My manager set me up with him," she explains. "Me and Sheba..."
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
Minako walks forward -- and she gets a sense, for a moment, that Lisa is looking her. Her crimson eyes blink; she looks over her shoulder, peering back at Lisa for a second. Then, she smiles back at her.
"That sounds fun," she says. "I do volleyball, which helps." And SEES -- which helps even more -- but she isn't about to point that out.
Then, she blinks, before she nods her head. "That's awesome," she says. "Your manager, huh? And... Sheba? A friend of yours?"
She reaches the door and opens it up. The inside is also quite blue.
<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
Lisa is still smiling when Minako looks back at her, and her gaze tracks over to Minako's face. She doesn't say anything about that part.
"Oh, volleyball's cool," Lisa agrees. "Sevens has a pretty good team, but I never got into it. Tennis, too, I think." She doesn't know a thing about SEES! ...Right?
"Oh--yeah," she says, chagrined, "Manager! Sbeba and me and Mee-ho--they're both like, my best friends--are in an idol group... When we're not doing school stuff, we do that."
"But it's nice not to be recognized out here," she says. "Sometimes it's a lot."
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
When she catches Lisa smiling, Minako smiles back -- even if she isn't quite sure what that look means.
Minako doubts she knows anything about SEES. And it briefly gives her a pang of sadness -- at the memory of her relationship with Ren, at how many of her friends cannot know about her life. Her eyes blink, once, but her smile never fades as she looks back at Lisa. She always smiles so easily.
"Yeah," she says. Unfortunately, our team's had a tough time lately. But... hopefully, we'll get things worked out."
Then, her eyes light up -- and she cracks a grin. "Idol, huh? That's really cool. But... yeah, I can imagine." She tilts her head. "Don't worry! Your secret is safe with me~"
She pauses as she enters, then motions at the stands and shelves. "They sell accessories here. Some cool designer stuff. It's a bit eclectic, but..." She smiles. "They're pretty cool, huh?"
<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
Lisa doesn't clarify for the moment; she was just looking. But Minako's easy smile is infectious, even if Lisa has no way of knowing what's beneath it.
A tough time... "I hope so, too! A team is more fun than going it alone anyway, right?"
Minako grins--and with eyes lit up! "Mm-hm!" She waits--tense--but then, "...Thanks," she says. "I appreciate it! I mean, I'd love if it you came to see us sometime~! ...But when I'm out and around, it's nice to just get to do whatever."
Then, the stands and shelves. "Ooh, pretty," Lisa says, picking up something in silver from a stand, touching it and feeling the cool metal.
"Yeah! I like this place. I could go for some new earrings..."
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"Yeah," Minako says, with a smile. "It's always better to be with a group than alone."
She smiles a little more -- and then she nods. "Yeah. I'll come check a concert out, sometime," she says. "That would be a lot of fun."
She turns with Lisa, then, and glances at the stand. She sees the silver jewelry that Lisa picks up -- and she gives it an appraising look. "That's a cool one," she says. "It's got a great design -- almost looks like it'd make you speedier!"
What? Accessories could do that.
<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
Always better... Lisa finds that that sticks out for her. She doesn't say anything about that for the moment; instead, she nods back to Minako. "Great! We're the Muses," she says. "Look us up!"
But the silver jewelry could... make her faster? "Hm!"
"Well, I don't want to be fast just now," she says, "I'm having fun!" So she goes for the one next to it. It has a ferocious sort of design to it, a pair of earrings with nice, jagged lines. "How about this one?"
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"The Muses, huh? I'll have to do that!" Minako says, with a wink.
She grins at the remark, and then she nods -- her eyes fall onto the next set of earrings. The jagged lines are striking, and she looks thoughtful. "Those are really pretty! But fierce, too!" she says. "Which... I think those look good. Those seem like they'd suit you."
She cracks a smile. "What do you think about it? Think that's what you're going for, or... you want something else?"
<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
"Hoisamuro!"
The earrings are fierce, it seems. Lisa looks them over--and looks back to Minako. "I think I like 'fierce'," the idol says. "I'm in!"
She picks them up. "Think you'll get anything?" she wonders.
"I think these over here might work for you..." Just a guess, though; she doesn't know Minako well yet; she moves her attention over to a particular necklace.
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"Perfect!" Minako says.
But, will she get anything? She seems to consider the question for a moment. She walks over after Lisa -- peering at the necklace in question. She reaches out, picking it up carefully. "This is pretty cool..."
It has a silver chain, with a subtle winged design for the pendant. She holds it up, next to her head. "What do you think? Think it fits me?"
<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
Lisa beams.
Then, she looks to Minako as she holds onto it; silver is nice, of course. For some mysterious reason, Lisa likes silver. But not only is it cool...
"I think wings really work for you," Lisa says. "You've got that kind of look to you--like you might fly somewhere if you felt like it."
"...Or maybe I just kind of assume you're free-spirited because you hung out with me on a whim, eheh..."
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"You think so?" Minako asks, happily. She glances sideways at the winged necklace -- and then she nods. "I'll have to get it. I wouldn't mind flying."
She laughs a little -- and then a little more, when Lisa points out she hung out with her on a whim. "Well..." She trails off for a second. "...I suppose I am! You seemed nice, and... sometimes, I just go with what seems like it's the right thing to do in the moment."
A beat.
"Sometimes, I should probably think stuff through," she admits. "But hanging out with you? I think my instincts steered me right."
<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
"Hoi Oi Dik!" Lovely, she says more or less. Because it suits. Lisa's happy expression sticks around for a while longer--and she laughs with Minako.
"Just going with it, huh...?" LIsa imagines that for a moment. It's nice to imagine.
"Maybe," she says, "But I think you're fun as-is. ...I kinda wish I could just go with the flow more, you know? Everything I've got is amazing opportunities and all, but I have to think about what I do a lot."
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
For a moment, Minako's smile is confused -- she doesn't know that phrase in Cantonese. Though, the Cantonese use is pretty cool, she thinks.
"You think I'm fun?" she asks. "Thanks... but yeah, I get that. I don't have... I mean, I have some things like that. But... not quite something like being an idol. And I guess when sometimes, stuff's just... out of my control."
For a moment, her smile is distant.
"...so when I can just go with the flow, it's easier to roll with the punches," she admits.
<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
"I do!" Lisa says. "Oh, uh--that means like, 'cute', or 'lovely'. You rolled with me using Cantonese so I forgot for a sec you might not know it..." A lot of people get confused--or are too polite to say anything and also confused.
But she has things like that...? "Mm. Sometimes it's like that..." Out of control.
"Well," Lisa says, "I'm happy for you to roll with me! ...C'mon, let's get these checked out."
It gets her thinking....
Well, she doesn't know what's behind that smile yet.
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
For a moment, Minako considers pointing out that the vast majority of people in Japan don't know Cantonese. But, she is going with the flow -- and that means she just smiles, cheerfully, at her. "It's cool! I thought it was... uh... a foreign language." Then, she laughs a little lamely.
"I'm glad you think it's cute," she says. Then, there is a nod -- but she is happy to brush past the topic of things out of their control.
Like the events of ten years ago.
Like SEES needing to be a secret.
Like how little people can know about her life.
"Sure," she says. She keeps smiling that same smile. "Lead the way!"