2026-05-24: Keep This Up
- Cutscene: Keep This Up
- Cast: Lisa Silverman, Mami Shibata, Miho Ogishima, Ginji Sasaki
- Where: Yumezaki Ward, Sumaru City
- OOC Date: May 24, 2026
- IC Date: Wed, Nov 14, 2012
- Summary: The Muses finish up another practice. Mami stays behind afterwards again, and Lisa and Miho chat a little while they're unwinding.
The practice room hums with dancing energy, their manager sitting at a table watching the three reherase in a properly acoustic room. There' s a lot of off-white; it doesn't have to be pretty, exactly, just practical. And Ginji smiles at the Muses. "Good work," he says. "That'll be enough for today." A beat,"Shibata-kun," Ginji Sasaki calls out. "I'd like you to stay. I have some notes for you that might help in the future. But there's no need to keep all of you for that."
"Ooh," Miho Ogishima--Meeho--chimes in. She's the shortest of the Muses, with violet-brown hair and a sly smile on her face. "More private lessons? Our Sheba's working really hard!"
Mami Shibata, known as Sheba to Lisa and Meeho, laughs softly at her friend's comment. "I'm doing my best. I want us all to succeed." Her voice is lower, calmer; she's the 'mature' one of the three of them and the tallest, a girl with short blue-black hair. And she smiles at her manager, Ginji. "I'll be glad to. ...You two don't mind going on without me, do you?"
'Two' refers to Miho and to Lisa Silverman, blonde and blue-eyed with her longer hair done up. "Hai," she answers, in a word that happens to fit both Japanese and Cantonese, as is her way. "It's cool. I'm looking forward to seeing what you're cooking up!"
"Yeah!" Miho answers brightly. "Oh, Sasaki-san, did you get to look over my lyrics...?"
"Yes," Ginji answers. He's the oldest here at over 30 to their 17 or so. He's their manager, with striking features and black hair. He used to be in a band himself; his experience has served them well so far. "They're good, Ogishima-kun; I'll be considering what more we can do tonight. But first, you two should go and relax. We'll be practicing again tomorrow, after all."
"Right!" Lisa says, and stands up with Miho. "See you, Sheba, Sasaki-san! Oh, don't forget we've got practice with sifu tomorrow, too!" she says.
Mami smiles. "I'm looking forward to it!" she says warmly.
"Touche!" Lisa thanks her bandmates and manager, and starts off.
"Aaaah, I'm so thirsty!" Miho says then, chattering amiably with Lisa as they walk out of the studio room. ...The door closes behind them.
Lisa says, "They might have some of that tea still..." But they walk to the dressing room just down the way. "But ugh, I need a shower. All that dancing! It's great, but--"
"But it's not so glamorous in workout clothes, right?" Miho answers brightly.
"Right," Lisa replies. She leans on the makeup counter, crossing her arms. "But Sheba's working pretty hard, huh? That's the third time lately she's stayed after with Sasaki-san..."
"Mm-hm!" Miho leans on the wall instead, striking a cute pose by happenstance and habit more than effort. "It feels like we're really moving forward, right?" she asks. "we have that album we're working on, and Sheba's getting special lessons, and Sasaki-san's even going for my lyrics..."
Lisa smiles. She doesn't have to say the last part; that Lisa herself remains kind of the frontwoman--it's good that the others are getting their own spotlight. "Yeah! But was it just me, or does she look a little tense, too?"
"I dunno..." Miho taps her cheek thoughtfully. "Maybe," she says. "But she's got a lot to do. We should surprise her! Maybe a spa day out?"
"Hoisamuro! That's a great idea! We can do it this weekend!" Lisa gets to thinking it out immediately. "Maybe Etheria again... They're really good."
"Perfect!" Miho pushes off the wall cheerfully. "And we've got the extra time, since Ooshiro-sensei's still closed down for now... Ooh, for us, how about Peace Diner? I'm hungryyy!"
"You're always hungry," Lisa teases Miho back. "But OK! Works for me!" She pauses. "I hope sensei's feeling better soon..."
-=-=-
Back in the practice studio, Ginji stands up from his chair. "Shibata-chan," he says, more informally than with the three of them together. "You know, if you keep this up, your career's looking very bright..."
"Right," Mami replies, her face obscured by dim light. "It's good for all of us, right?"
Ginji nods. "That's just right." He looks down, leaning into Mami's space. "Youth is a time of beauty. You're making the most of yours."
"...I'm really doing my best," Mami answers. While she's smiling, she also looks away, her expression tilting downward.
"I can tell." Ginji smiles.