Ensemble in the park (OPEN)

[Kaguya Jojo]

Jojo would smile at the afternoon as it filled the sky thoroughly. She would only giggle lightly and then smile more so now as she would walk through the courtyard heading out from the mall and towards the courtyard direction. She wanted to get out from the crowds of those fawning people, people that she absolutely found terribly disgusting in terms of their liking of a class that she could not understand how they thought such a group was superior in any way aside from their superficial selves. She could not understand it, nor would she attempt to in any fashion as she absolutely thought of it as something uninteresting. Jojo would keep it in mind while she would pop her neck and then find herself sitting on a bench, enjoying the cool breeze while she would be listening to the air around her.

Clothed in her purple and cyan kimono, she would put her instrument down and opening it, she would pull the bow out as well and would begin playing it. The cello’s significant sound was drowning out that terrifying noise made by everyone heading out to the other shops. Jojo would keep up the musical performance she made, the chilling music she made was much like that form a horror film, the style being eerie and deep and dark all in one. The form of which she played was a pluck strum style with the bow using the edge of it to pluck a string before strumming other strings with the bow. Allowing suspense to grow as needed with such a theatrical growing song.

She loved it, Jojo’s musical expertise showing with the form of the music while as the wind blew she had her green feather braided hair blowing with it. All the while, she accidentally cut her finger on one of the strings, but not thinking anything of it, she continued to play, loving the excitement of the music she made as she went up the lyrical scale and downwards again. The song slow enough for music while fast enough to create one’s own lyrics, all of it a set up for something as she would only smile and continue to play to her heart’s content. She loved this and she would keep it up, her musical expertise showering her with the warming cool winds of the growing night.

[Sato, Kasumi]

Every now and then you could get the itch to do something, especially when you didn't do it regularly anymore.  Four years before Sasumi had been in regular practice as a guitarist in a rock band.  Her usually dedication to the art of music meant that she'd gotten pretty proficient with the instrument and still she could remember all the chords.  Having been involved with Afternoon Delight for the following four years or so she hadn't been able to dedicate as much time to it as she might have liked.  An electric guitar really didn't have as much place in an idol group as it did in a rock band at a junior high school.  Now that she'd graduated from high school she had a bit more free time, most of which was being dedicated to her new duties as the appointed leader of her idol group.  Still her electric guitar called to her sometimes.  It had been pretty intense lately and she'd been listening to a lot more rock music as a result, practicing the fingerings along with the music.  To her it was clear that she needed to get out and play it somewhere, to get this desire to jam out of her system so she could focus on being the best idol she could be.

She'd ventured out to find a place to do just that, taking her lightning-strike-decorated instrument and a portable, battery powered amplifier with her.  Of course the guitar was in its case and thus the lightning wasn't visible to viewers.  Today she had opted for something simple and comfortable, wearing a pair of jeans with fuzzy boots, a green sweater and a really sparkly headband that looked like it was made out of rhinestone peacock feathers.  Somehow she'd avoided attracting a lot of attention so far, which would make being able to jam on her guitar a lot easier.  Then she heard the sounds of another stringed instrument carried on the air, lovely deep sounds that had to come from a more orchestral instrument than what she carried.  Like a moth to a flame she was drawn to the source of the music, surprised to find a girl in a purple and cyan kimono performing it.  A girl who looked readily familiar - Jojo, a member of Afternoon Delight!  Smiling, she came up with an idea and took a seat on a bench nearby, took her guitar and set up the amp.  Maybe she could join in with her fellow member even though their instruments were pretty different.  Best to ask first, though.

"Jojo-san.. do you mind if I join you?" she asked politely, but loud enough that her voice would carry over the music.  This was the first time she'd actually brought out her electric guitar, despite mentioning it a few times at work.

[Deleted]

notes her outfit is basically the Meiko's Noël Rouge from Project Diva.

It wasn't everyday when she would come out with an instrument. Though, back in the day it would especially when visiting any family she had around the neighborhood. It was a free day for the members of sheeP due to the upcoming holidays. Of course, the weather was chilly out, thus the brunette wore something warm; a red and white fluffy winter coat with a plaid shirt underneath, a light brown skirt that fell about below her knees, navy blue tights, brown boots, and a pure white berret to top it off. Slung on Akane's shoulder was a deep brown guitar case, with instrument inside. Since today was a free day, she figured that she might as well enjoy it; she'd find somewhere to practice her acoustic guitar. It had been awhile since the woman had played it, the last time was when she auditioned for sheeP.

Akane hadn't received much attention from the civilians she pasted by, mostly due to sheeP still being new, though there were still stares here and there. Sooner or later, she had reached somewhere desolate (or so it had seemed) -- a park. The brunette shifted her shoulder so the case strap would go more towards the end of her shoulder. Though while she strided towards the seemingly empty park, a sorrowful sound resounded. "Hm?" Akane blinked once, so there were people here. Even if it wasn't so empty as she originally thought, the young woman continued to walk towards the source. The music was one of a string instrument for sure, and the tone a bit melancholic and eerie. Despite that however, it was lovely nevertheless.

Eventually, the brunette reached where the music was emitted from -- a young girl sat on a park bench playing the cello while another stood with her with cases, probably containing an I instrument as well. Both looked familiar, but the brunette couldn't put her finger on it. With her usual smile displayed, Akane strolled over to the two young girls. "Hello," she simply greeted the two. The brunette looked over the two, "May I play along with you? I have my own guitar with me." She looked over the two girls; how talented they were and so young! It was really cute~.

[Kaguya Jojo]

Jojo played the deepening sound so very well, the sound of ancients in the moonlight just glistening from the storms of the newfound tide. It was impressive, astronomical, and deeply passionate like a kiss between the spirits of water and the moon. The music was deep and dark but the light of the matter held true and steady nonetheless as the music Jojo insisted on playing crept out of her soul and through the strings of the cello as if she were in a live performance. The coolness of the air around her kept her body chilled enough to not sweat yet the activity of just playing the cello was enough to keep her warm inside the kimono. She was however interrupted by a voice that was all too familiar to her, the very voice that she had heard on many occasions and not just this one alone. Jojo could only do so much though and with such a voice, she absolutely could only endure and enjoy it that much more. Her eyes lifting up as she smiled before another voice showed up. However, no matter the night, she did not expect people to show up to the park with their own instruments.

One from her own group, and then another girl as well. Jojo could tell that they were not carrying classical instruments with their cases when she actually did open her eyes. With a courteous smile, she stopped playing the wind settling enough for her to move some strands of her green hair back behind an ear as she looked up with a smile. Jojo bowed her head to them both before continuing, “Kasumi-chan, you know I have been trying to get you to play with me for a while no so certainly I don’t mind at all.” The second girl though, Jojo did not know who this individual was but Jojo did not mind, “You are also welcome to join in. I’m certain there are plenty of seats in this sitting area for the three of us. I take it you both are contemporary musicians, so it should promote quite the playful atmosphere to include the cello to your mix.” Jojo smiled, her guessing on the instruments they carried based purely on the cases themselves as she has seen guitar cases many times and knew the shape of the case normally showed the style of instrument in most regards.

[Sato, Kasumi]

For the moment it took to think about it Sasumi couldn't recall if Jojo really had been trying to get her to play together.  She had been so busy with so many things at once that she needed that time to look into her memory.  There had been times where they'd spoken about their mutual musical talents that went beyond singing.  When she'd jokingly threatened to bring her guitar into an official Afternoon Delight performance to make things even more exciting, that (she thought) had been when the idea first came up.  At any rate she happily finished hooking her guitar up to its amp and switched the device on.  Since they were in a park she didn't want to overly disturb any other people who happened to walk through; she set the volume down to an audible but not overpowering level.  Playing alongside her fellow idol would be a lot better than trying alone for sure.  What was more, another girl showed up with her own guitar and asked to join in.

"I'd say it's about time that we finally got around to playing together, Jojo-chan.  Even if we don't match very well I'm sure it's going to sound really.. unique," Sasumi first replied to her groupmate, then turned to the short haired newcomer and smiled cheerfully, "Another guitarist?  You're very welcome to join us, of course!  You're so lucky that you don't need to carry an amp around when you want to play your instrument and be heard.  So set up wherever you want, I guess.. and we should decide what we should play.  Unless we just want to start and play by the feel of the music?"

She could swear the other guitarist looked a little familiar, but she didn't want to mention anything yet.  Part of how exciting this all was involved both her and Jojo's ability to sit in a park and play their instruments without being recognized as famous idols.  Sasumi loved their fans, knew they wouldn't be where they were without them, but sometimes you needed to be anonymous.  Since the short haired girl hadn't said anything about recognizing them, so it could remain kind of a fun little secret that way.  Three of them there to play instruments in concert with each other.. it really made her feel content.  A deeply warm feeling rushed over her as she picked up her black guitar with hand-painted lightning flashes decorating it.  Time to play in the company of friendly people who both also loved music.  Or at least she assumed this was the case.

"I haven't really played seriously for a long time, so this is pretty exciting.. I know mostly rock music, though.  If you want to play something different I'll follow along with you the best I can," she added helpfully, anxiously awaiting the chance to strum her guitar's chords again.

[Deleted]

Akane gave a nod towards the two females, "Thank you. My name is Akane, by the way." She took a seat next to the green-haired girl with the cello, and noted her acknowledge towards the other one. Judging by the honorific, she guessed they were familiar with each other. Katsumi... Sounded familiar. The brunette gave a small laugh, seeing Katsumi's energy. She found it quite cute, it was like a child's in a way, like a little sister. She observed the girl's cases. "Hehe, I guess I am lucky then to only carry this." Her guitar was an interesting one, with painted lightening and hearing that she only knew rock music... It didn't match up with her innocent appearance, but it was never good to judge one by their appearance, was it? The other girl, Jojo, gave off an aristocratic vine to the brunette and had a maturity surrounding her. The cello, such an elegant instrument, suited her grace well. She seemed to balance out her companion's energy with reserved calm. What a duo!

"I'm good with whatever tune we do, I haven't played my guitar in a while, not since I started my job," the brunette stated as she unzipped the zipper on the guitar case and gently pulled out the instrument. It was a classical acoustic guitar; nothing special added nor painted on. It was of a light color, the original beige that many common guitars had. Along with pulling out her pick, she placed the guitar on her lap in the correct position. She gave a small hum with a light strum, playing around before going into anything serious. "Though I think your proposal is a nice idea. I think I might be a little rusty, sorry about that." Her smile turned into a sheepish one as she mentioned it with an awkward giggle.

Just how long had it been since she joined sheeP? It was definitely more than simply a month, yet it was almost a new year. Oh, how time flew; maybe next year would be when they had their fame up to the ranks like Afternoon Delight did. Until then, the brunette knew she had to work harder than she did this year; much, much harder. She just had to for everybody at sheeP!

After playing around with the strings, Akane finally stopped and nodded over at the two. "Alright, I'm ready. I'll start whenever you guys are ready as well." Looking at their instruments once more, the young woman wondered what their ensemble would sound like. One acoustic guitar, one electric guitar, and one cello; an odd combination.

[Kaguya Jojo]

Jojo waited for them both to be set up, neither had a particular tone they requested though the metallic designed lightning guitar was going to be trouble if her friend could not follow sound at all. However Jojo was steady, thrilled to be joined by other musicians as she smiled and would nod to them both as she would pleasantly smile and with a calming breath, her outflow of air almost resembling that of steam when it left her lips before coming back and appearing as such again. She put the instrument in an appropriate hold, her bow along the edge of the first string as she would smile and looked at them both and nodded, “Well then, how about we do something simple. We start with the chromatic scale to get in tune with one another and then once our tuning is set we can delve into a slowly growing tempo of our heart’s music.”

It was the best idea Jojo could come up with since the three instruments were almost guaranteed to be out of tune from one another and even if they all played the same song, Jojo knew it would only sound of noise and nothing decent from it. So therefore, her suggestion followed as she plucked the scale rather than using the bow to string the scale. The pluck sound having a more vibrant sound to it in the first place as she moved the sounds up with the plucking followed by the fingering scales needed along the neck of the cello. Her eyes closed as she paid attention to their instruments as she tuned hers and pointed out flat and sharp sounds from the other two as well, seeing as how one was rusty and the other did not traditionally play the electric guitar on the softer setting like it was now.

Jojo was happy to assist, it was very polite as she did so as well. Her instrumental sound echoing along the tree line in grace as she smiled and thoroughly once the chromatic scale sounded appropriate she began to tap her foot for a melody before finally utilizing the bow for a low entrance, her musical feel was that of Bach while contemporary as the American singers today. Granted she hated some of the pop music made from there but the musical melodies were nice enough and hopefully contemporary and familiar enough for the two to join in with her. The melody was similar to that of esteemed pop artist from America in the late nineties as her musical base hopefully would be met with the acoustic and electric sounds of the two guitars as this song seemed to be the most worthy of the meeting and coping of three stringed instruments.

[Sato, Kasumi]

So this new girl Akane was in a similar situation regarding her own guitar.  Both of them had jobs that demanded so much of them that they really didn't have time to sit down and practice.  That made Sasumi feel better about how rusty she was liable to be despite her best occasional efforts to refresh her memory.  It made her pretty curious as to what Akane's job was that it kept her from her more traditional guitar.  Any job could be that way if it were full time or required you to travel a great enough distance (or at least make a lot of transfers), so there weren't any hints based on that little information.  Pressed to make a guess Sasumi would have speculated that Akane was a little older than herself, so it was completely possible that she was working full time.  Though they'd just met Akane seemed to be a nice person, humble about whatever ability she had the guitar and willing to go with the flow as well.  Although this lack of an opinion on what they should try to play ensured that there was nothing to really move things forward.

Thankfully her groupmate had a suggestion that could satisfy both the indifference and the odd assortment of instruments arrayed between them.  Just starting with a simple chromatic scale would help them tune while simultaneously getting used to the sound of cello, acoustic guitar and electric guitar unified.  Sasumi was hopeful its uniqueness would be a positive one but there was a chance it might not sound all that good.  As she started plucking away at the strings of her own instrument, she cringed at how out of tune it sounded.  Combined with how she felt as if she should've thought of just playing a scale or something, being the leader she was supposed to be and all, and her cheeks were red in embarrassment.  Quietly she adjusted her guitar's tuning to the point that it sounded acceptably decent, following the tipoffs from Jojo.  Thankfully she had a virtuoso musician to give a second opinion on her  tuning, which was really pretty helpful.  Best to have an expert if you needed help getting such disparate instruments to  work in concert.  Once the scale was done and the actual song started, Sasumi closed her eyes and started playing some chords that sounded right with the tune that came to mind.  Surprisingly she managed to do okay considering how out of practice she'd thought she was.

"I think I've got something going here," she thought aloud, looking over to Akane to see how her fellow guitarist was doing.  This music was a little different from the rock that her school and community bands had played, but she could manage.  And really, it was getting fun too.  Good company, playing music together and actually playing her guitar.  All in all a good start.

[Deleted]

Giving a nod towards the two, instantly her fingers began to move on their own among the strings of her guitar. Of course, the echoes of sound her guitar emitted stuck to Jojo's idea of using a scale to find a tune. However, her focus was broken by the electric guitarist's sound, making her pluck the wrong strings as well. Her chestnut-colored orbs glanced over at the blushing, raven-haired girl in curiosity; it seemed like she wasn't the only one who was rusty with her instrument. The girl's red cheeks made the sheeP member smile brightly, as well as made her feel a sudden urge to hug her. Oh... How cute Kasumi was~!

It wasn't unusual for the brunette to randomly and mentally fawn over those younger than her, and it wasn't anything romantic. But rather, Akane always had a liking towards being the "big sister" as well as everything cute. The whole problem with it was having to contain it; she had to be the mature sister, and mature people did not randomly break down over cute things. The only thing Akane could do was smile and bite her lip about the entire ordeal. Also, another good thing would to distract her self from doing anything strange. Yeah, that's it a distraction.

Quickly, the brunette went back to giving her attention to her guitar and away from the other two. Hm... Her earlier tune sounded a little off -- tuning here and there would work for now -- after doing so, the young woman looked back over Kasumi and Jojo and nodded at Kasumi's remark while her fingers played with her strings once more. Sound bathed the air surrounding the trio, and though at first it sounded rather shaky, soon enough the instruments began to mold a song together in harmony. "Hm~," she let out, unknowningly, a hum to the tune.

This was nice, surely something that the sheeP member needed. Although she was still new to the whole idol business, there were days where she remembered the old days; ones before sheeP where she always went out with her guitar once a week because of her free time. This ensemble reminded her of those simplistic days, and relaxed her greatly as well. Though, Akane still had small suspicions about these two girls; they looked and sounded rather familiar as she thought about it more. Jojo seemed to be especially talented for her age, and with that refined air she held it would be no major surprise if she was secretly came from a rich family. Kasumi's energy reminded Akane of one an idol would have while performing, such positivity would be uplifting during something like a concert.

[Kaguya Jojo]

Jojo kept playing, her mind and body playing as one, the musical performance in its own right was astounding and astronomically amazing in the nature of the situation. She was pleased with herself, pleased that she was able to aid her friend along with the musical talents and ambitions the two held while initially still aiding and allowing for her to abide to some natural order and keep the two of them from ripping each other’s music against her own and hers against theirs. The talent she saw in the girl though, the one with the acoustic guitar left her to think more of her though. The linkage of humming a tune while singing both at once, it left much to be desired, as it seemed that for Jojo she had the talent to do the same but it would never be right, she had to do one or the other, never at the same time.

Whereas with this girl, it was symbiotic in its own way, Jojo knew this and felt that such a thing as this was truly remarkable for any singer. It left Jojo happy to know another could do such peculiar things. She herself had habits but if she sang, her vocal chords’ vibes would leave her coughing blood, a tuberculosis styled symptoms without the fatality of it. It was curiously so in the habit of what could or could not be but initially she kept her playing steady and mindful. The musical trails she left behind were asking for an awakening in the matters. Her smile raised with a wisp of emotion. The calm collective formation of her playing matched her collected and calm atmosphere as she of course took the bass side of the song the three of them formulated out of nothing but thin air.

The music itself was unique, her smile steady and her mindset awakened as she crept up and continued to delicately enjoy the balance of enjoying one’s company. Their instruments were apart yet similar. The high octaves taken by the electric guitar, the alto and tenor octaves accompanied that of the acoustic guitar, and the bass octave eaten away by Jojo’s own instrument the cello. It was delightful, and in the manner of speaking, she enjoyed the song they formed. Her mind was memorizing it though, memorizing every strum of chord and length of sound just to make it more exciting if she ever wished to actually make the song become a public attraction. It was curiously enough a delicate instrumentation while most, if not all, of her playing styles were classical. She will have to start taking lessons just to get a current instrument into her mix while initially so, she would enjoy the nature of their company.

All the while, she was curious of the other person’s capabilities. Jojo threw in a bit of music from her last concert, a small chord found appropriate for the feel they played and anyone who knew her playing would immediately notice this song however, she did well to keep it just as an integration chord. A chord that she knew without a doubt her partner from the band would notice and even follow through with in her own electric guitar, but the new girl she did not know, if she was able to pick up and follow through with the intricate pattern, it meant that she was no regular girl. It meant she was idol worthy and if she were not already an idol, Jojo would want her to join. It was just that simple when it came to Jojo and her feelings.

[OOC: sorry it took so long, I had matters to take care of in RL.]