1117/The Price of Fame

The Price of Fame
Date of Scene:	27 February 2016
Location:	Pikarigaoka - Clover Tower
Synopsis:	Sometimes being famous is hard work..Especially when you have to hide from your fans!
Cast of Characters:	Utau Hoshina, Sora Hisakata

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Utau Hoshina has posed:
    Utau is up on clover tower, surrounded by her camera crew and manager, and of course her bodyguards; Looks like they're doing a live TV production to promote her upcoming concert. Undoubtedly, on a Saturday afternoon, there are many fans watching from behind the lines, although trying to get close to Utau is usually pretty difficult. Finally, after putting in a lot of long hard hours since 6 am this morning, Utau finally was allowed a short break.

    Sneaking through the back door, she donned a pretty flimsy disguise; A big floppy hat and sunglasses hide most of her face and hair and a long coat hides her white frilly Lolita dress as she steps onto the tower balcony, enjoying some peace and quiet. There are numerous promotional posters hanging from the walls, and some rabid fans have managed to slip in, searching for the girl.

    She watches with a smirk as they flutter past her, unaware of her true identity.

Sora Hisakata has posed:
If it hadn't been for a 'friend' pestering her to, Sora wouldn't have come here. Not because she's not a fan (she is!) but because she doesn't really like the whole 'go treat your idols as monkeys in a zoo' aspect. So when said 'friend' backed out at the last moment, Sora found herself in an uncomfortable situation and alone.

So when she found an opportunity to get some fresh air, she slipped onto balcony and opened up a pack of pocky, leaning against the wall near Utau without really looking at her idol, just taking a bite out of her pocky and holding the pack out to the girk next to her, "Want some?"

Utau Hoshina has posed:
    Utau sighs softly as she stares up at the warm, blue sky. It's a nice day to just relax and enjoy the coming spring weather. Unfortunately, being a teen pop idol means Utau has little time to do just that. Glancing over her shoulder, she spies the rabid fans rushing past her, squealing her name. With a smirk, Utau pulls the hat further over her eyes.

    She's quite surprised when the girl next to her offers her some pocky. Well at least she didn't recognize her. "For me? Why, thank you." She offers the girl a tight smile as she grabs some of the offered pocky.

    "So. Are you another one of 'her' fans? Seems even out here, so far up, she cant hide. I guess they missed her, afterall, she was out of town for nearly a year."

Sora Hisakata has posed:
Sora pulls back her box of pocky as soon as Utau takes some, closes it and puts it away. "I guess so." She says offhandedly, her tone saying clearly 'but not like crazy much so, please.' Still, she's apparently enough of a fan to recognize Utau's voice, "You've been gone a while, yeah." At least she doesn't squeel, sound too loud, or say Utau's name. The other fans might not realize.

"Honestly I don't like this whole 'go look at your idol' side of it. I like your music, doesn't mean I have to treat you like my personal goddess." She snaps a bite off her pocky, still not looking at her idol at all. "I came to humour a friend, she ditched me at the last minute."

Utau Hoshina has posed:
    Utau arches a brow as she sees right through her disguise. So, she must have a good ear. Utau's attempt at a fake voice isn't as convincing as she had hoped. She smirks. "Hm. You're pretty good, to recognize me. Most people only recognize my voice when I sing.."

    She's actually quite impressed that the girl is not a crazy rabid fan. "Yes, I suppose some people just desperately need something to believe in. Some people need that certain something to keep them happy, inspired. But maybe those are the types that are so desperate, because they don't believe enough in themselves. It's nice to meet a fan who's not so rabid. What is your name?"

Sora Hisakata has posed:
"Sora Hisakata. Star player of the Seishou Middle School volleyball team." There are girls who would contest Sora's claim, and they may very well be right. Sora seems confident in her boast of an introduction, however. "I guess some people just don't believe in themselves, yeah. Sucks for them."

She finishes the first stick of pocky and starts on the second. "So you like being an idol? I know I couldn't, I like my privacy." She's still not looking at Utau, and keeping her voice low, to keep the rabid fans from noticing. She wants to avoid them as much as Utau does, really.

Utau Hoshina has posed:
    "Star volleball player?" She smirks, "Then I suppose you can understand the spotlight, to some degree." More importantly, she may be a potential future target for Utau's never ending search for the Embryo. She keeps this in mind for later. No point in causing a scene in between acts.

    "People who dont believe in themselves are people who give up too easily. Yeah, I like being an idol. I like being recognized and respected for my accomplishments. This is the result of hard work, and even if it can be a bit..Lonely, sometimes, I could never regret a chance at the spotlight. What about you? Do you dream of becoming a professional volleyball player? With your talents, I imagine it's hard to avoid the spotlight for long."

    The eggs at her waist stir a little, as if they were alive. Utau pauses a moment to brush the eggs, making sure they dont fall or come loose.

Sora Hisakata has posed:
"I can, and I'm not a fan of it honestly." Sora snaps another bite of pocky and finally bothers looking at Utau, noticing the idol brush her eggs. Now that's curious, "Which is why I don't want to go pro, like... I like the game and all but I don't like the cameras that would come with it."

Trying to decide on how to tackle this, eventually Sora just settles on the brutally straightforward, "So what's the deal with those eggs?" She is staring right at them, seeing them stir.

Utau Hoshina has posed:
    "Of course not. Some people, just cant take the heat." She smiles coolly as she says that, and it's hard to tell if she's being honest, or just being a jerk about it. "I guess it's something that takes getting used to, but it's not for everyone. Even so.." She sighs, "Sometimes it can get just a little..Lonely."

    And it seems the girl - Sora, has spotted the eggs. Ah, so she can see them? Then she probably has a lot of potential. However, Utau's not about to give away her biggest secret. "These eggs? Oh..They're just the latest..Fashion accessory." Except that they seem to move on their own, and that's definitely not just the wind, given their weight.

    Just then, a sudden wind blows, knocking off her hat. With a gasp of surprise, Utau's hat goes flying several meters away, just as a group of fans round the corner!

Sora Hisakata has posed:
"I could take the heat, I just don't want to." Sora corrects, a little harshly perhaps, she seems to have taken it as an insult regardless of whether or not Utau intended it as one. "It'd make some things I like doing harder without any real gain."

Sora glances away from the eggs right when the wind knocks off Utau's hat, and reacts without even thinking, reflexively catching it and offering it to Utai. She eyes the gaggle of fans, though doesn't really make it an effort to try to push the hat back on Utau's head.

Utau Hoshina has posed:
    "Oh? Is that so?" She responds a bit haughtily, although she chuckles a bit too, as if to shrug it off like it's no big deal. "Well, for sure, it makes it harder for you to live a 'normal' life, when everyone wants to know every little thing about you, all the time."

    She gasps then, as her hat is knocked off by the wind, revealing the long blonde pigtails she had carefully tucked underneath the hat. Sora manages to catch it, however the fans spy her first and they start squealing, turning on the two girls like the rabid mob that they are.

    "Oh..Great.." She frowns as she grabs the hat from Sora, too caught up in the moment to bother to apologize - or maybe she's just used to being served that way. "Come on, we have to get out of here.." The tower balcony is arranged in a circle, with the building in the center. She points towards the opposite side of the balcony walkway and begins to run that way. "There's a secret back door we can take."

Sora Hisakata has posed:
Sora doesn't wait to get out of there along with Utau, after all, she did mention she wasn't a fan of too much attention, and even being in the crossfire of it doesn't sound like her idea of fun. So, she runs alongside Utau, keeping pace easily. The girl is in good shape, lending credit to her boasts.

When they get towards the opposite side, Sora positions herself in between those fans and the idol, making herself look a little wide and staring at them firmly. Like a bouncer or bodyguard, except for the middle school girl part. Just long enough for Utau to open the door, at least.

Utau Hoshina has posed:
    Utau doesn't bother to look back, but slips in the back door, which leads to a large staircase that winds round and round, leading to some of the upper floors. She's panting lightly, but it wasn't much of a run. "Phew, hope we lost them.." Just to make sure, she uses her special key to lock the door so they cant follow.

    "What a pain..Sometimes having fans is nice, but sometimes I like my privacy! Let's go.." Hopefully Sora wont harass her later, but for now she seems alright. "It seems my next performance will be starting pretty soon. Feel free to stick around."

    It's at that moment that one of her eggs stirs on its own again, the purple egg with the edgy black goth lace decorations on the front. A moment later, a little fairy pops out, although she looks more like a devil with her red dress, short indigo hair, fanged grin, and black bat wings and forked tail. "Hehehehe...That was fun!" She grins impishly at Sora.

Sora Hisakata has posed:
"Nice fashion accessory, where do you get pocket devils?" Sora asks, the sarcasm not remotely hidden. She looks over Eru with some kind of analytical eye, like she's trying to figure Eru out somehow. "Anyway, yeah, that's why I don't want to become famous, I want to be able to avoid that stuff without having to worry about disguises."

Sora leans against the wall and gets out her box of pocky again, taking one and holding the box out towards Utau and Eru, just to be polite and sharing and all that. She's also not remotely worn out from that sprint.

Utau Hoshina has posed:
    Utau archers a brow at Sora. So not only can she see the egg, but she can see the Shugo Chara too! She smirks. "I'm impressed. Not many people can see Shugo Chara, but try to keep it a secret, okay?" She nods towards the devilish fairy who grins impishly, grabbing a fistful of Pocky and hungrily munching away on them.

    "This is Iru, she's one of my guardian charas. Everyone has guardian spirits that guide and inspire them. For some people, their dreams and willpower are strong enough that their eggs actually hatch into fairies, and they can actually see them. Iru and Eru are my guardian spirits, they guide and help me with my music.."

    It seems that her other egg, the soft pink one with white angelic lace does not stir much however. Whoever is in it, is probably asleep.

Sora Hisakata has posed:
"So is Eru like some kind of miniature angel, then? The whole 'angel to inspire you to be a better person, devil to inspire you to have fun' kind of gig?" Sora is reminded of that deal from stories and stuff, she does not however go into detail on why she can see them, "And yeah, I know I'm impressive, it's why I'm not as impressionable as those other girls."

Utau Hoshina has posed:
    Utau chuckles, "Yeah, something like that. But..I guess she's too...Shy, to come out right now, so I wont get to introduce her to you today." Actually, Eru is still mad at Utau for trying to steal the X-eggs back from Kukai. But Utau's not about to say that. Iru gives a wicked cackle as she flits around Eru's egg. "Yeah, Eru's a big baby! That's why she's hiding!" she starts kicking and punching the air, apparently eager for some excitement.

    "What about you, Sora-san? You are able to see my guardian charas, do you have any of your own?" Or..Is there another reason for her ability to see them? There are so many Mahou in this city, it's hard to keep track of them all.

Sora Hisakata has posed:
"I don't have anything like that, I guess I just have good eyes." Sora mixes a half-truth with a deflection that comes very naturally to her. She doesn't sound like she's doing any kind of intentional deception, but she kinda is. "People who want you to be better often are." She agrees with Iru, "They tend to forget that if you don't look out for number one, you're not going to be able to help others even if you want to."

Utau Hoshina has posed:
    It seems that Sora has some secrets of her own, and Utau's just dying to know what they are. Well, whatever, she'll have to pay her a visit as Lunatic Charm sometime and see for herself. "I see.." She starts to climb the winding staircase, pausing only briefly to wait for Sora to follow. "Words of wisdom that I live by as well. Seems we think alike in some ways." Another cool smile.

    "I'm afraid my next screen session is starting soon so I will need to hurry, but feel free to stick around and I can get you a front row seat..I'll even give you an autograph as long as you dont turn into one of those crazy rabid fans!" To be honest, she is happy for the company, afterall, she doesnt have a whole lot of people her age to hang out with.

Sora Hisakata has posed:
"Sure." Sora follows along, in a good enough mood. If she realizes Utau is planning to visit and find out what's up, then she doesn't let it know. To be fair, she probably doesn't. "I'm sure my friend will be glad to know she missed out on talking to you and getting your autograph." That's sarcasm there, with a hint of vindictive glee. Seems the two aren't that close.

Utau Hoshina has posed:
    Utau arches a brow at Sora's sarcastic comment, wondering if they're actually frienemies. "I..See. Well, at any rate..." She pulls out an autograph card with a flashy picture of herself on the front, writes a quick blurb on the back and signs it, then hands it to Sora. She then completes a second autograph card for her friend. "I'm sure she'll be sorry she missed this!"

    As they reach the top of the stairs, her pager beeps again and Utau sighs. "I guess that's my cue. Like I said, feel free to sit and watch!" and with that, she swings open the doors and is immediately swept up in photographers, directors, her bodyguards and of course her manager.

    "Utau-chan! Where have you been? we're on camera in a few minutes!" ah, such is the life of a pop idol..