Group RP Iris-shi High School Talent (Idol) Club! (IC)

("HEE HO BIRDS" May as well include other in-store food names)

@WavePearl @ChocoChicken

Maya's guess was not very far as the staff inside the Hee Ho Mart were busy removing the Hee Ho Birds from the oven as well as preparing fried nugget variants of the same brand. Once they were removed from the oven, they were packed into little cartons which were then placed on display at the till, along with other hot snacks like fries, karaage, and more. On the floor, noodle dishes of different flavours lined the shelves - including Hee Ho Mart's shio-flavoured "Defroster" and shoyu-flavoured "Hellsender" brands - which were also possible have them freshly made hot at the till. At the refrigerated section was a vast display of onigiri and sandwiches and - near the end - flan and yogurt and various desserts for the sweet tooth. But "Frost's Jelly" appeared to be sold out though.

"Oh hey! Glad you made it!" Robyn greeted Alex. "Don't worry, Alexa-chan. We'll have time to sleep on the train. We have a long day of ahead of us, so let's make this worthwhile." Unable to resist the urge, Robyn walked aside to jot down the banter between Alex and Tamal in her support log. It seemed like they went way back, and had fun doing it too. "Anyway, we definitely don't want to miss the train."

@SAF

"You're not late at all. In fact, we have a little time before the train departs. If there's anything you need, better bring it soon," Robyn replied to Kai. She was more amused by the amount belongings that everyone had. Then again, Robyn and Robin were no different with their guitars and outfits, and neither was Cordelia.

Cordelia smiled. "If you don't mind, I'll go to the train first. I have to put down this equipment somehow."

"I'll come with you," Robin added, as he headed to the gate which would lead to the platform, but not before using his train pass.

(When you're ready, head to the train gate)

 

(Went to a convention over the weekend and saw two groups covering idols... Namely the original Love Live and Vivid Bad)

@ChocoChicken

As for Robyn, she went into the Hee Ho Mart (but not before telling Alex to wait for her with the equipment) to grab a couple bottles of milk tea and bear meat onigiri. She smiled to herself as she thought that Robin was likely craving the smooth and sweet drink and that only she and Robin were probably the only ones craving bear meat. They didn't mind salmon either, but bear was an occasional treat for them (even if Lissa claimed it smelled like stinky boots, Robyn figured it tasted fine). Nevertheless, they might go for Hee Ho Birds on the return trip, or the Hee Ho Mart's instant ramen series. Then she met up with Alex outside to walk to the train gate together, and reviewing lines as they walked to the platform.

@WavePearl @SAF

7/27 Saturday: Morning; Iris-shi Station, Shiro Line

The members of the Ylisstol High School Talent/Idol Club then met up with Robin, Cordelia, and the Hansen siblings at the train platform where the train was due to arrive in minutes. The digital signboard hanging above the platform showed the several train lines that were scheduled to arrive and it was important for any passenger to know to not board the wrong train. Still, at least there were announcements from the PA and the attendants to inform people for that reason.

When the train arrived, the club members boarded the train together. Like before, they needed to find enough seats where they could sit together, but this time was made more difficult by the fact that they had a lot of equipment with them. So after finding the right seats, they either had to leave them on the floor or hold onto them while seated (depending on size). Then the train made its journey towards Byakuya-shi amid the aroma of Hee Ho Birds wafting in the cabin.

“Um… Alexa-chan. You okay? You look like you could use more sleep,” Robyn remarked. If everyone needed makeup, Alex looked like she needed it the most.

“Pretty sure she needs it,” Cordelia said.

(Will arrive at Byakuya-shi right after this)

 

Robyn made a face. "Oh... Okay. Just make sure you don't pass out, alright?" She could tell Alexa was taking this performance very seriously, but was there something else she wasn't telling her? On the other hand, Tamal seemed more or less casual with what was going on.

To pass the time, Robyn and Robin decided to spend half of it reading another chapter of the manga adaptation of Culinary Rivals, and the other half was spent on reviewing chord charts or choreography. To think the upcoming performance was the club's biggest yet (although in a sense, it wasn't as big as Marth Stadium), with the amount of coverage there would be. And there was the presence of Azura on top of all this!

(Haven't considered if Robyn or Robin owned a Mintendo 3DS)

7/27 Saturday: Morning; Byakuya-shi Station

Later on that morning, the Shiro Line arrived at Byakuya-shi as scheduled. With only a limited window of minutes available, the club members grabbed their belongings and made sure to leave nothing behind as they left the platform. They walked to the station concourse after passing through the train gates. Lo and behold, Kamui and Meru were there waiting for them.

"You made it! Great! We've got a big day ahead of us, so let's not stick around for too long!" Kamui said. "Did you all eat already? I could definitely get us food from Sokai Sushi for lunch if you like..."

Robyn stared back in disbelief. Did this girl have no idea what a budget was? "You don't have to. I mean, something from Hee Ho Mart could work just as well. And would be less conspicuous."

 

@SAF @WavePearl @ChocoChicken

Robyn and Cordelia have wide smiles to Meru’s greeting as they followed her and Kamui out of the station. With Kamui’s suggestion for sushi seemingly shot down or ignored, the club continued to lug their equipment out to the station entrance. From Maya’s guitar case to Nora’s viola, there was a lot to carry around.

So outside the station, Kamui had called for the school to send a driver to pick up the equipment. But the rest of the journey would have to be on foot.

“We’ll make sure that everything will be placed on stage when we arrive tk you can all tune,” Kamui said. “Right! Shall we get going? I can go grab us lunch on the way. Let’s see… how about we get A5 beef?”

(Feel free to have Meru interject Kamui’s thoughts )

 

Robyn paled when Kamui suggested getting the highest grade of beef possible as if it were just a small matter to her. Honestly, did this girl's tastes have no limits?! It seriously led Robyn to wonder what kind of budget Kamui ran on, if she had any concept of a budget at all. Not even Chrom or Lissa, who were royals, would be this ambitious to casually suggest this kind of beef like this. The thought of eating premium beef was extremely tempting, but Robyn couldn't bring herself to accept it. From the sound of it, Kamui was about to buy a whole steak - or many steaks - for everyone!

Thankfully, Meru's opinion seemed to have made Kamui catching herself make an uncalled-for show of expensive goods and services, particularly so when her name was called several times as if begging her to stop doing something rash. "Um... You can't afford it? I could buy it for all of us! But... I suppose getting food from a family restaurant it is. There's a place I can get us food from."

Robyn breathed a sigh of relief. However, she kept her expectations low as she wondered what 'family restaurant' meant to Kamui. For better or worse, Robyn expected Sokai Sushi levels of quality. Would it be too much to ask if she did the shopping instead?

7/27 Saturday: Lunchtime; Shirasagi High School, Courtyard

So as it happened, the final decision was to grab takeout bento boxes for lunch from the family restaurant which Kamui recommended. Robyn had to carefully examine the menu just to make sure that Kamui wasn't going to lavishly spend on food that the club did not want to eat, however tempting the offer was. At the very least it was healthier than getting stuff from the konbini (let alone the bear meat onigiri from the Hee Ho Mart earlier; even though the gratin rice with curry and chicken was just as tempting). For Robyn and Robin, they opted for a salmon belly shioyaki bento, complete with pickled ginger and a croquette.

Thankfully, the family restaurant was as modest as Kamui promised.

Then the club found themselves having lunch at the courtyard as they marvelled in the view of the school courtyard where the stage looked completely set for the performance later today. The space of the courtyard had been transformed into a standing audience ground, where there was plenty of space to gather before the stage and extended all the way across the courtyard.

For Cordelia, it was her first time being here which meant she needed time to get accustomed to setting up her equipment and doing soundchecks. So that was what she did, going straight to set up.

"I guess she's not hungry," Robin muttered, eating his bento as he watched Cordelia.

"To be fair, we need to set up our guitars soon," Robyn added, eating her bento too.

 

@WavePearl @SAF @ChocoChicken

7/27 Saturday: Afternoon; Shirasagi High School, Courtyard

After Robyn and Robin had their fill of salmon belly shioyaki bento, they felt energised enough to start setting up their equipment as well. Honestly, having freshly made bento was a far cry from konbini bento. There was just something special about it that raised their wellbeing. Their guitars needed to be plugged in to the mixer, so they went and did just that. There was still time before the school festival started, but it was only a matter of hours before it started.

The stage was set with enormous monitors hoisted above with spotlights positioned high above. Speaker towers were also erected in various areas of the stage so that sound could reach anywhere from the stage to the edges of the courtyard.

Eventually, the members of the Ylisstol High School Talent Idol Club were busy setting up their equipment. Maya's electric guitar was plugged in. Cordelia's DJ equipment was set up (and she really did look like a pro DJ). The keyboard - courtesy of the Shirasagi High School music room - was also ready. Then there needed to be enough space on the stage so that the singers and dancers could have enough room to move. Finally, there was the need to check the microphones so that the proper vocal input could be tuned with the mixer.

7/27 Saturday: Evening; Shirasagi High School, Courtyard

And by the time the sun had set, allowing Hoshido Castle to bask in its fading rays, students began pouring into the courtyard. Many had brought cyalume penlights with them - something that neither Robyn nor Robin had anticipated. Wait, these were the same penlights that fans would bring to Uta-loid concerts! This really really felt meta to them.

Robin was waiting at backstage with a bottle of fruit milk. He could feel his throat was dry and wondered how this night would play out. Robyn was still changing into her stage outfit at the same time. He hoped that she didn't forget anything, let alone the stage outfit itself.

 

(Very close. Right after this)

@WavePearl @ChocoChicken

Robin, still a little nervous, drank the last of his fruit milk. He hoped that the sugar wouldn't be stuck in his throat. Turning to Maya, he said, "It's up to you. Robyn and I have already tuned our guitars for what we need."

Soon enough, Robyn had also walked out of the makeshift dressing room with her mix of clothes from different brands. Headphones from Cyber Glamour, a Meloetta belt from Pixel Dreams, and a modification of Ylisstol High's sailor uniform. Robin had to admit, Robyn really looked good when she was dressed like this. Not to mention she had put on makeup too to complete the look!

"Are we ready?" Robyn asked.

"We have no choice," Robin replied, smiling.

A hopeful and upbeat BGM began to play on the speakers and filled the courtyard to set the mood. As soon as it started playing, the students of Shirasagi High School began to cheer loudly and waved their penlights in the air against the night sky and the dark crowd. The iconic sticks were glowing in different colours, with students waving them to the beat and cheering for the show to start. The energy was starting to build!

"Hello! How is everyone doing?" a serene voice rang throughout the courtyard as a girl walked across the stage under the stage lights, to cheers from the crowd. "Welcome, everyone, to Shirasagi High School's end-of-term music festival! It's so good to see all of you again!"

It was Azura.

"I sure hope everyone has worked hard this term, so let's end this term with a bang with our music!" Azura continued, pointing out to the crowd as if to invite them in celebrating. "And we've got a good one for you all tonight. We have a very special guest joining us - the Ylisstol High School Talent-slash-Idol Club! Yes, these friends of ours have come from Iris-shi to show off for you! So you won't be disappointed. That's a promise!"

The music continued to play among the responding cheers from the audience as they kept waving their penlights to the beat.

In the back, Robin disposed his drink and Robyn took a deep breath. She could see the monitors above the stage were actually projecting the stage on camera. There was a full camera crew airing views of the stage as well as on individual performers. This looked real legitimate! That also left Robyn to wonder what would become of the club's reputation when this was over. Maybe, maybe, this could get them into the Summer Scramble after!