Yasashii nihon no joochan yo...

[therealrisette]

Who: Rise Kujikawa and OPEN
What: A possibly familiar little girl, barely old enough for grade school, is wandering around the castle unsupervised. What do?
When: Today!
Where: The castle grounds, lobby, Four Seasons beach, Music Room - any of Rise's favorite places!
Rating: PG-ish?

[Well, it's been a few days now. Rise hoped she'd only be this small for her birthday and the castle would give up on its latest little prank. But after a day or two of going back and forth between sticking close to a convenient friend (new or otherwise) or sulking alone somewhere, it's getting really boring not going out when she wants just because she's not as big as she should be. She's even been a fairy before, and that never stopped her!

... Though, at least she could fly then. Having to run around everywhere makes the castle somehow seem even bigger now, against all logic. And no matter where she goes, everything looks different.

Before she knows it, a quick trip outside of her own room has become a full-blown exploration of the entire castle. From the hallways, to the grounds, to some of her favorite rooms to visit. She's not exactly alone, but not everyone notices such a small child running around.

... Of course, someone probably will sooner or later.]

Comments

Music Room

[luxe_can_kill]

[Mitsuru was just at the music room again to get reacquainted with her piano skills. She's playing something slow and relaxing, something perfect for waiting at the lounge or dining at a five-star restaurant. She seems to be playing something from memory too. There's a picture of her and Mariko on the piano, just right above the keys]

[therealrisette]

[Wandering closer to the music room, Rise is a bit surprised to hear piano music. Usually she's the only one there...

A bit cautiously, she peeks inside. Surprisingly, it's someone she knows...]

Kirijo-san?

[No longer peeking around the corner, Rise steps into full view. Naturally, wearing one of the ridiculously adorable outfits the castle provided for her current size.]

[luxe_can_kill]

...? Pardon? [She leans back and squints her eyes a little to see who the girl is, it's not someone she recognizes. But with the hair color and the honorific... it could be one of the girls from Inaba]

Kujikawa? Is that you?

[therealrisette]

Oh. Yeah...

[She's trying not to think too hard about it, and quickly changes the subject.]

What was that you were playing?

[luxe_can_kill]

[Mitsuru was a bit amused to see a fun size Rise, but she chose not to bring it up anymore. She could imagine how it might be annoying]

It's a tune I remember hearing once. The name of the song eludes me, however the melody was quite memorable.

[Mitsuru starts to play another song, hitting a few keys and building up to a more upbeat tune]

[therealrisette]

[Rise listens intently to the tune. Once she's got the basic gist of it, she even experimentally hums a few notes in harmony.

Then, she notices the picture of Mariko.]

Oh! Was that your...

[She's not sure how to finish the question. She was pretty reluctant to accept Shiori as her daughter, but now that's the only word that seems to fit...

... Well, she probably wouldn't mention having a daughter now. Not when she barely looks older than she was!]

[luxe_can_kill]

[Mitsuru stopped playing the piano for a second to look at the picture Rise was referring to. It was the one she had on the piano...]

Hm. Yes. She was...

[Mitsuru then resumed playing, thinking about Mariko makes her a little sad.]

[therealrisette]

[Peering closer at the picture, she smiles.]

She's cute!

[Rise can definitely empathize with the hint of sadness she hears, though. It takes a little effort at her current size, but she manages to climb up on the piano bench next to Mitsuru.]

Maybe you'll see her again next year?

[luxe_can_kill]

Isn't she? [Mitsuru beamed with pride] If there is anything I look forward to the most, is to see her again...

[therealrisette]

Aww, that's sweet!

I kinda wanna see Shiori-chan again someday, too...

[She absently kicks her legs back and forth a bit under the bench, smiling fondly. Even if Chie wasn't so big a fan of being the "father", it was kinda fun being a family like that...]

[luxe_can_kill]

Mariko made mentioned of Shiori. I never had much of the time to meet your daughter... But she definitely inherited your appearance.

[She knows Chie is one of the parents, but she sees more of Rise in Shiori than Chie]

[therealrisette]

Yeah, I guess...

[No point in denying it now that she's seen herself in the mirror like this. There's definitely some of Chie in there, but as far as looks alone, the balance is definitely more toward her own side.]

But she takes after Chie-chan a lot, too!

... Who do you think Mariko-chan looks more like?

[Actually, now that she thinks about it, she doesn't even know who Mariko's "father" is.]

[luxe_can_kill]

Satonaka is the other parent...? Well, it seems Mariko has a balance of traits from both Larry and I.

[therealrisette]

You didn't know?

[Rise could have sworn Chie would mention it! Maybe they just hadn't talked recently...

... Wait a minute. "Larry"?]

You mean Pixy?!

[Wow, now that she looks again, she can see a bit of him in Mariko! But she's a lot cuter, at least...]

[luxe_can_kill]

It is him indeed...

[Mitsuru blushed, looking away slightly. Her cold expression seems to have vanished for a second there, like it instantly melted away...]

[therealrisette]

[Rise gives her such a sly smirk that should never ever be on a child's face.]

You'd be cute together! [A beat.] You two with Mariko-chan, I mean. [That's not what she means.]

[luxe_can_kill]

[Mitsuru noticed the smirk. Oh no, she ships it too!]

I-- I suppose that is a compliment. Thank you...

[These people have a way to ruffle her feathers]

A-Anyway, do you know how to play the piano?

[Don't let her off the hook that easy, Rise!]

[therealrisette]

[She won't! But she's done for now, if the satisfied grin is anything to go by. And the mention of the piano distracts her.]

Huh? No, not really...

[Her agency hadn't really expected her to do anything but sing, dance and look cute. But she is looking at the keys with interest... the songs Mitsuru played were really pretty...]

[luxe_can_kill]

I see.

Would you wish to try it?

[therealrisette]

[She is kind of curiously interested, and it shows. But she just blushes a bit at the question.]

I uh... I don't think I'd be any good...

[She's usually pretty confident, yes, but this is one thing she knows she has zero training or natural aptitude for...]

[luxe_can_kill]

You shouldn't be too quick to judge yourself if you haven't tried. Come.

[Mitsuru offers to have Rise sit on her lap. She's actually smiling! And it is gorgeous!]

[therealrisette]

[Crap! What's she supposed to say to that? Mitsuru's voice itself carries enough weight to make her want to comply, but she actually makes a good point too, and that smile, and...!

Blushing even brighter, Rise wordlessly obeys, climbing up into Mitsuru's lap. Which actually boosts her up just enough for her tiny hands to reach the keys.]

... What am I supposed to do now?

[luxe_can_kill]

Give me your hands

[Mitsuru gently sets Rise's hands and fingers at the keys, while her hands lay on top of Rise's. Mitsuru slowly manipulated Rise's hands and played a slow, soothing melody]

Try and memorize the keys.

[therealrisette]

[Rise concentrates very closely on the melody. She's not the greatest singer in the world or anything, but she is trained to know notes by ear, so she tries to associate the sounds with the keys Mitsuru is guiding her through.

Eventually, her hands start to move on their own a little bit more...]

Like this?

[luxe_can_kill]

[And Mitsuru's hand slowly lifted as Rise started playing on her own]

Very good. Keep that up.

[While Rise was playing, Mitsuru leaned her body forward a bit to gracefully flip a page on the notebook in front of them, picking a song Rise could play]