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

Four Seasons Beach

[pint_sized_carnivore]

[Chie was training at the beach earlier, running on the sand and swimming. She uses the beach to train because she could just relax afterwards, which is what she's doing now. Sitting by herself on a beach chair, Chie is enjoying a melon soda on a tall glass while listening to some music on her headphones]

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.]

[therealrisette]

[Suddenly, a tiny Rise in a disturbingly frilly little pink one-piece swimsuit dashes past her!

Or, she would have dashed past, if she hadn't noticed Chie and come to an abrupt stop. Of all the people she knew, this is one she hadn't expected...]

Chie-chan?!

[With a sheepish little smile, she gives a bit of a nervous laugh. At least Chie already knew about her loss...]

Great day for a beach trip, huh?

Music Room

[bravelittlegirl]

[Ib doesn't play any instruments, but she thought it might be interesting to come down here and look around, when nobody's watching. She's crouching to pluck idly at the strings of an out-of-tune acoustic guitar, one of several still sitting in the rack. Her back is turned to the door whenever bitty!Rise arrives.]

[therealrisette]

[Rise's surprised to see a familiar girl plucking away at the guitar when she wanders into the music room.]

Ib-chan?

[Ib may or may not recognize her... she's a lot smaller than when they last met, her voice is much higher and lighter, and she looks maybe five years old on a good day. Possibly even younger right now, given the cutesy yellow-orange jumper she's wearing. She doesn't even have her hair in her trademark twintails, opting instead to wear it down in a futile attempt to look a bit older.]

[pint_sized_carnivore]

Rise-chan, hey!

Yup! It's a great day to exercise. I'm just relaxing right now. Want to join me? I got some melon soda, it's the same one that I always get at Junes!

[bravelittlegirl]

[Yeeeeah Ib looks over her shoulder when she hears her name, but doesn't recognize the girl there at all. She's never known somebody to get younger suddenly, so the possibility doesn't even enter her mind, besides which the twintails were a pretty distinguishing feature. But she does still like meeting kids closer to her own age, so she regards Rise with polite curiosity.]

Yes? That's me.

[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, she doesn't even recognize her... well, that kinda makes sense. She hasn't known Ib for very long, or anything.

She's not sure what she should do, though. Should she introduce herself again?

Her uncertainty coloring her actions a bit, she tentatively steps forward. (And realizes even Ib is noticeably bigger than her now... that's strange!)]

I didn't know you played guitar!

[Yep, Rise settled on just being friendly and ignoring the hint that Ib has no idea who she is. Mostly buying time to figure out how she's supposed to act...]

[bravelittlegirl]

[Meanwhile, Ib is just confused. She's quite sure she's never met this little girl before, yet the girl's acting like they're already friends. And she can't be older than a kindergartener... Ib gets to her feet, looking down at her.]

I don't actually. Um, I don't think I've met you yet. What's your name?

[therealrisette]

[Rise's not sure what to think of the emphasis Chie put on calling her "Rise-chan". Maybe she just imagined it? That's what people always call her anyway...]

Uh, sure!

[Smiling, she runs over towards Chie's beach chair. Exercise - at least Chie's kind - isn't really her thing, but relaxing on the beach with a friend sounds fun! Even if she's less than half Chie's size right now...

She even wishes up her own melon soda! ... Which the castle gives to her in a sippy cup with a cartoon fox on it. She does not look pleased.]

[pint_sized_carnivore]

[Chie noticed Rise's expression when she got the sippy cup. She couldn't help but crack a smile]

What's the matter? It's a cute cup.

[therealrisette]

Oh... I guess not, huh?

[She looks a bit sheepish, but smiles nervously as she introduces herself.]

My name's Rise! Nice to meet you!

[She'll just leave it at that for now. With any luck, Ib would think she's just a different Rise... or at least not poke fun at her for being so tiny.]

[therealrisette]

[Rise is scowling at you, Chie. Scowling. And it does not look adorable or silly at all!]

Stupid castle keeps doing that. I'm not a little kid or anything!

[But her pouting and whining certainly fit the bill...]

[therealrisette]

Oh. Yeah...

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

What was that you were playing?

1/2

[bravelittlegirl]

[Unfortunately, Ib is pretty sharp! Fortunately, she would not make fun of you for being little, good grief. :p]

Rise...? From Conan's party?

2/2

[bravelittlegirl]

[But yeah, the hair color, the cheerful bearing - having her name is enough to connect the two of them in her mind. It's like when 5 got turned all big and also human.]

... You got a lot smaller.

[therealrisette]

[Oh, she did figure it out. Well, at least she's being nice about it...]

Yeah...

[She blushes a bit. Even Ib looks more than a head taller than her right now!]

But I've been smaller. I was even a fairy once!

[She manages a smile again. When she thinks of it that way, it's not so bad being little. At least she's still a normal human size!]

[pint_sized_carnivore]

[Chie grins. She's just so adorable! And she looks so much like the child she misses right now, Shiori. It's weird that Shiori was just calling Rise "mama" last week then she turned into this...]

Want to trade? You get the tall glass, and I'll drink with that.

[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]

[princelyspirit]

[And here's Utena, killing time by going from room to room in the castle. Before she can get far, though, she sees a young girl that she hasn't noticed before. Now, the castle isn't always dangerous, but it's still pretty scary being dragged away from home, no matter how old you are. So, Utena walks over, just to make sure everything's alright]

Hey there! [smiles at the kid] Are you looking for something?

[therealrisette]

Oh~! Hey...

[The other girl startled her for a second! But she recovers quickly, smiling and looking up...

... and up and up. It's still kind of awkward being this small - she's barely up to the girl's thigh! But she seems friendly, and like she's trying to be helpful! She probably thinks she's new, or something...]

Oh, no, not really! I was just kinda bored staying in my room...

[princelyspirit]

Yeah, I know how that is. But, luckily for us, Paradisa's far from boring. It's just a bit...temperamental, sometimes.

[Scratches her head, trying to think of where to take this. The kid seems like she's doing alright, but it doesn't feel right just leaving her by herself. Suddenly, idea!]

Hey! I'm feeling kind of antsy myself, and I've been meaning to check out that beach room for a while now. Would you like to come with me? I figure that having some company would be less boring than going alone.

[therealrisette]

[Yep, she sure knows what this girl means about the castle... "temperamental" is probably one of the lighter ways to put it. There might be a slight grimace visible for like, a nanosecond. Before the mention of the beach perks Rise back up.]

Oh yeah! I was thinking of going there, too!

[She'd even worn her swimsuit under her jumper, just in case! And it would be nice to have some company! Rise smiles and gives an excited nod.]

Sure! I'd love to!

You know where it is, right?

[For all she knows, this girl is brand new to the castle, so it doesn't hurt to check! ... But she does seem to be used to things around here, so maybe not?]