savethecitydesu | (no subject)

Entry tags:

aya,
kaori

(no subject)

Who: Aya+Kaori.
Where: Kendo club
What: Come in and hit things~
When: After Classes

"HARA!"

"MEN!"

Smack! Smack!

"That's it for now, guys! Ten minute break!"

Aya breathed and bowed to her kata partner and vice versa. She held it for as long as expected and then quickly disappeared to the side to grab her water bottle. It was hot enough in the armor during most days but with summer coming and the school's buildings as they were, it was amazing they all hadn't lost ten pounds in sweat by the end of each practice.

She sucked in a deep breath of air once the helmet was off. Her short hair was a mess, sweat was dripping down, and her face was red but she looked pretty content, even before she got her hands on the water bottle.

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Kaori sighed with relief and smiled. Maybe this would work out, after all. She felt a little more relaxed by the idea, at least.

"It is, actually. You know a lot more about this stuff than I do."

Her eyes shifted to the shinai and her smile turned sympathetic.

"This school is really cheap, huh?"

"Yeah, it is," Aya replied, sighing. She broke the wood apart and started shaving surface with a small edge. "If this were as funded as an official club or some other schools, we'd probably have equipment that isn't on their last legs. At most, shinais can usually last a year with casual use but I think these are from my first year.

"We might have to bake sale it or auction or something."

"What about a charity concert?"

The words were out of Kaori's mouth before she could take them back. But it made sense, right? It hadn't been that long ago since she'd gotten the boot and like it or not, she still had fans. Giving up Glimmer wasn't the same as giving up music all together and it wasn't like she hadn't been writing her own material for years. She wouldn't know for certain if it was any good until she performed it or showed it to someone, at least.

"I mean, me. If I held one. I don't know if there are any other musicians in the club but..."

She let that sentence hang.

"A charity concert? I don't think we've ever tried something like that before. I don't even really know how many of us can actually do music - I can't at least," Aya admitted, grunting slightly as she worked at a particularly stubburn bump. Once it was gone, she continued, "Kamiya might go for it but I think she'd only really go for it if everyone has a part in it since we're a team. Everyone really gets a hand in everything as much as we can."

Edited 2013-04-29 03:09 (UTC)

Could she find a way to set up a concert that involved the whole team? Kaori didn't know. At least, it was an option if everything else fell through. Ticket sales would help bring in money for certain.

"Maybe I should ask the principal," she thought out loud. "This school is a dump and don't all the clubs have the same problem?"

"We all do," Aya replied. "It's pretty much a battleground whenever club budget meetings come up. If it's not space it's money and if it's not money it's supplies and it's worse off for the least popular clubs. I'm not even sure where the literature club is right now after the last shuffle."

Aya finished applying the last of the oil and the wooden staves made a soft 'clack' as Aya put them back together. Smiling though, she said, "It's worth a try though. She's always saying we should find ways to take initiative and improve ourselves without handouts. Something a bit bigger than just a bake sale might help open things up."

"Maybe. I mean, things can't get much worse, right? I guess it can't hurt. A school-wide talent show might help everyone. I'll think it over and ask."

Kaori smiled slightly though, her eyes twinkle in a way they hadn't in months. She wasn't giving up but she'd be lying to herself if she didn't admit that she missed performing on stage.

A moment passed.

"This school has a literature club?"

Edited 2013-04-29 07:56 (UTC)

"The worst that can happen is she'll say no." Aya nodded. "You can always pass it onto school council too. They're supposed to be pretty open...as long as you don't ask the treasurer."

She tried concealing it but some of the distaste was there regardless. She straightened when the topic changed though, "Ah, yes, we do. They're not a very popular club, though. There's not many members and they almost always get the short stick when it comes to budgets and space."

"I guess there aren't many avid readers around," Kaori said, sounding a little disappointed.

Maybe they'd be a good choice if she still wanted to join a culture club after this.

"Oh, I think I met someone from the student council my first day. Some guy with glasses? Terada-san or something."

"Maybe? The media clubs seem more successful so that might be it," Aya replied. "I only checked in on them occasionally for club business but they don't seem to do a good job advertising themselves.

"Terada? Oh, you mean Terumi-kun." Aya nodded. "He's the vice president. He's pretty nice and he always does what he can, even if its a small gesture. If there's anyone on student council you should approach with a request he's the easiest."

Edited 2013-04-29 08:24 (UTC)

"Terumi-kun..."

Kaori repeated it to herself twice more. Hopefully, this time it would stick long enough for her to bring up her idea to him. Calling someone by the wrong name wasn't the best way to get them to do a favor for you.

"Thanks! Sounds like he'd be the best place to start."

"Right. I can't think of any reason he'll just turn you down." She pushed the handle and the guard back on with some difficulty but the parts eventually slid back on.

That done, she stood and took a swing. She smiled, it'd last a bit longer. Aya continued, "And if he says no for some reason we can just ask someone else. I don't think everyone would just shoot down the chance to get out there and earn more."

Kaori brightened.

"You're right. It'd be something, at least. If it works out, we'd need a committee to start organizing the event."

How did one do that? Kaori's manager had always handled all of scheduling, booking, and other set up stuff.

"Well, if you get the okay you need at least two people." Swing. "Just submit the form with your plans, who you'll be working with, who you got the okay from, and an outline and once you're approved you're set. The more organized you look, the easier it should be.

"Have you ever done anything like that before?"

"Not really," Kaori admitted sheepishly. "I'm just a performer. My manager always took care of that kind of thing." For a moment, she looked almost worried. "I'm better at ideas than organization.

"But I'll learn," she said with confidence, determination shining in her eyes.

It wasn't as if she was completely stupid, after all, and really how hard could it be?

For the briefest instant, Aya felt an odd twinge of envy looking at Kaori. That sort of confidence and determination was pretty nice to have...

"Then I'm sure you will," Aya said with an encouraging nod. "It always starts with the desire to learn. And you can always make sure you have someone with experience organizing to support you so you don't have to take it all on yourself."

Kaori nodded, toying with her hair a little.

"I don't suppose you're any good at organizing, are you? Or know anyone who is? If it's a bother, I'll understand. I can ask someone else."

She ran through the rather short list of people she'd actually spoken to at this school so far.

Ito-kun's president of the cooking club... Maybe he'll have some ideas?

"Me?" Aya looked down for a second before looking back. "Yes, I have a bit of experience organizing." Beat. "I used to run a club last year so I got a lot of practice. If you really need someone who can help you I could give you a hand with that stuff. I don't have that much on my plate this year aside from school and kendo so it might be good to give me something else to do."

She missed that, oddly.

Kaori breathed a sigh of relief then began speaking again in a rush.

"I'd appreciate all the help I can get. It'd really help a lot of people-"

Abruptly she cut herself off, turned a little red and stared down at the gym floor, clearly flustered.

Aya nodded and smiled. "Yes, it probably would. Every little bit helps and it might even be fun - we just need to get the plan rolling first."

She walked over to her shinai bag and slipped hers in with her practice bokken. "Do you have anyone else in mind to help out?"

Edited 2013-05-08 06:08 (UTC)

"Ito-kun from the Cooking Club, maybe. I haven't met many people since I moved here."

Well, aside from the baristo, the frisbee guy, the homeless kid, the student council person's name that she'd already forgotten agan, and that cute boy from the disciplinary committee.

"I guess I could put a note on the bulletin board about it?"

"There's that." Aya nodded. "You can also try approaching other clubs or put a post up on journalspace. It can't hurt to show you have some wider interest before asking for permission."

Kaori nodded. What Shirokawa-san said made perfect sense. The idea of blurring the line between real life and cyberspace made her inwardly cringe a little. What if unwanted fans found her blog and word spread? But, if she wanted this to work out, she'd need to use her real name so people could contact her.

I guess I could just make another account for that.

"That sounds like a good idea," she said though she looked almost pensive for a moment. "Doing both couldn't hurt, I guess."

Edited 2013-05-10 02:15 (UTC)

"Yeah, exactly," Aya replied. She slung her shinai bag and her backpack over her shoulders.

"Keep me posted?"

"Yeah! I will. I'll let you know something soon. See you later, Shirokawa-san."

She gave her classmate a friendly little half-wave then headed for the gym doors.

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