Hikari no Matsuri - Nightstar Arena: Auditorium
The sheer scale of this grand room is magnificent, with tiered seating
that provides an unobstructed view of the stage from every angle. The stage
itself is broad and takes up a large section of the room on its own, wide
and deep enough to allow for even the most elaborate and expansive of
performances. The ceiling reaches high, and an intricate system of light
fixtures and overhead stage equipment are clearly visible, ready to provide
whatever special effects are needed at any time.



A fairly-large crowd has arrived this evening, but there are still plenty of
open seats available. Plenty of open space on either side of the stage also
allow people to stand freely if they so desire. The stage is somewhat larger in
scope than the one at the Event Center, a lot of digital tech is prevalent
around the stage for the performances to come.

Toward the back of the stage, near the drawn curtain, the Fukawa family have
gathered to discuss some last-minute details before Kaede's performance.
Persephone is also with them, but seems to give the impression that she is more
a tag-along than a part of what they are actually involved in. Mollianne appears
to be absent for reasons unknown.

Sunflash has found a location square in the middle of the center right. Not
upfront again, at the very least.

This time around, Aludra brought her own seating to the venue. Although less
required to purchase additional seating, this still presents some awkward
arrangements and discernibly frustrated glares from other casual patrons. But
the Giganto woman has her recliner, and a keg of hot chocolate. She's cozy, even
if this may pose a fire hazard as she blocks one of the exit aisles.

Abaril approaches the venue almost hesitantly, unsure of being around so many
people. Although he had recently fed, the temptation could become too strong in
crowds. He lingers toward the back near the exit as a precautionary move in
case the impulses to feed become too strong to overcome.

Eventually everybody who is planning to attend has arrived and taken their
seats, and the lights begin to gradually dim. The group on-stage takes that as
their cue, and with one last hug between Hikari and Kaede, everyone except the
latter hustle their way behind the curtain, which swiftly begins to close and
leave Kaede on the stage by herself.

Kaede seems to consider the microphone in her hand for a moment, smirking to
herself, before quietly advancing toward the front of the stage. The lights
continue to dim to a considerable degree, until a series of several overhead
lights flick on over the stage, illuminating it splendidly.

Kaede glances around at the audience, smiling brightly. "Good evening, everyone!
I'm Kaede Fukawa and I'll be your voice for tonight." She bows graciously and
formally, the ribbon on the bow of her kimono waving serenely about her backside
as she does. "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!"

As if on cue, a black digital display device unfolds itself from a platform over
the stage, and a digital red-lettered display lights up, broadcasting the
following: "Please take care of me!"

A large portion of the audience applauds in approval, excited for the show yet
to come.

Kaze climbs on up to sit (well, hover) near Aludra's head. He smiles at various
people in the crowd until the weird message hits and he examines it, curiously.

The letters disperse on the marquee and are replaced with a new set, which
reads: "Now playing: White Heat"

At some point a Coeurl -- a large monstrous feline -- seems to have slunk into
the room and is sitting serenely towards the back of the room in an almost
statuesque pose, tail swaying from side to side.

The music begins, a cautious-sounding beat accented by a lead-in synth keyboard
and guitar, which jams out a pretty good intro. Kaede continues to look out over
the audience as the music plays on, and as it begins to dwindle and the need for
lyrics approaches, she holds the microphone loosely in one hand, casually
beginning a lesiurely pace across to one end of the stage.

"Sore wa yoiyame no kanata kara~..." Kaede's voice is suddenly soft and lilting,
strangely taking on a completely different tone than what she had just expressed
in her introduction minutes before. She smiles faintly, her eyes unfocused on
anything specific as she sings.

"Dare ni demo otozureru hikari~..." Kaede pauses at the left edge of the stage,
gazing out over that span of the audience. "Hakanaku yuraide, dakedo atarimae no
youni... tsunagatte iru kizuna"

The large overhead marquee displays the following in bright red digital letters:
"Behold the light that comes from beyond the dark of night and shines on
everyone; It flickers fleetingly, but our bond remains like a natural
connection."

A large mooglish figure hovers near a giganto lady in the back. Kaze seems to be
enjoying the show.

Sunflash lets a foot tap along, understanding none of the words but enjoying the
instrumentals.

Kaede reaches outward with her free hand, delicately flexing her fingers in
emphasis to her words. "Te.. wo.. nobashi sagashiteta honto no tsuyosa, sugu
soube de kizu kasete kureta kara~..." Kaede lowers her head after the last
syllable, as the music quietly begins to fade out as well.

The large overhead marquee displays the following in bright red digital letters:
"Reaching out, I searched for true strength, and as my wounds showed thrugh, you
were right by my side."

The overlight lighting suddenly switches up, and all the lights go out except
one, that shines like a spotlight directly over Kaede. In that same moment, the
music suddenly rushes back in full force, a somber guitar ensemble that seems to
carry with it a sense of both hesitance and determination in its melody.

For her part, Kaede's head abruptly snaps up to meet the incoming music and new
lighting, her expression now focused and somewhat chagrined, and her tone has
changed yet again to reflect this. "Owaranai kanashimi furisosogu sekai no naka
de..." She places a hand over her heart, closing her eyes.

"Watashi ni dekiru seiippai no koto" Kaede opens her eyes and whirls suddenly,
turning to face the front of the audience, and advances across the stage toward
them with purpose. "Ookina yane ni narenakute mo anata ni kazasu~..."

Kaede closes her eyes again, and with a flamboyant gesture, the microphone in
her hand abruptly vanishes and a headset suddenly is fastened over her head; in
her hand, instead, is a bright pink parasol, which she swiftly opens and drapes
over her shoulder with a flourish, striking a pose with a fierce grin. "Hitotsu
no kasa ni nara, nareru yo~..."

The large overhead marquee displays the following in bright red digital letters:
"In this world where never-ending sadness falls, this is all I can do for you;
Even though I can't be a big roof, I can at least be an umbrella held over you."

RED... The primal color on the marquee was so close to that of... The singer so
close yet so far from Abaril yet he could still pick up the scent... Hunger was
rising again. He knew he should have avoided this place...

Sunflash is, for his part, enjoying the display. Been ages since he'd been at
the Festival, and boy is it clear last night wasn't a fluke.

Expectedly, the crowd loses their mind and goes into full-bodied appreciation
mode, cheering and applauding as though their lives depended on it; many of them
get up out of their seats to do so.

Kaze cheers maniacally as Kaede shows them who's boss.

Emouse lights some quickly fading old glow sticks and holds it.

Coeurl cheers maniacally as Kaede shows them who's boss.
Abaril cheers maniacally as Kaede shows them who's boss.


Emouse cheers maniacally as Kaede shows them who's boss.

Aludra cheers maniacally as Kaede shows them who's boss.

The song starts to fade out yet again, but then comes back with a gentle, soft
keyboard interlude, helped along by a low-key guitar rhythm in the background.
Suddenly, Hikari comes running out from behind the curtain and dashes across the
stage; as she comes upon her mom and prepares to leap, Kaede swivels in place
and holds out her arms, catching her daughter in a flying embrace while still
managing to hold onto the parasol in the process.

Both of them laugh and spin around a couple of times as the music flows around
them, with Kaede eventually setting Hikari back down on her feet. They can be
seen talking to each other despite the crowd applause and the music drowning out
their words, and Hikari takes the parasol from Kaede, holding it over her own
shoulder with a grin.

The interlude begins to drift toward its end, and Kaede adjusts the mini-mic on
her headset, still smiling at Hikari as she begins to sing once more.
"Tsutaetai~... uta itai~..." Hikari briefly waves at the audience, then at her
mother, before taking the parasol and sprinting back toward the curtain,
disappearing beyond it.

Kaede turns back toward the front of the audience, gesturing loosely with both
hands. "Kono senritsu ni noseru yo~..."

The large overhead marquee displays the following in bright red digital letters:
"In this song I need to convey, I want to embed this melody..."

As Kaede begins to sing again, the audience calms down considerably, most of
them returning to their seats and bringing the noise level down to manageable
levels.

Coeurl's eyes have shut and the creature's tail is now laying mostly still, only
the tail-tip twitching intermittently. Seems as if it's enjoying the show, as
well.

The second stanza begins, and the music falls back into place as Kaede leisurely
paces off again, this time toward the right end of the stage, folding her hands
behind her back nonchalantly. The single light from overhead seems to follow her
along the stage. "Konnani mune ga kurushii no ni~... Shizen ni hohoemi ga waite
kuru~..."

She pauses at the edge of the right end of the stage, looking out over the
audience in much the same way as prior. "Hakanaku furuete, dakedo atarimae no
youni~..." Kaede brings her arms around, clasing them together and offering the
audience a bright smile. "Sasaete kureru kizuna"

The large overhead marquee displays the following in bright red digital letters:
"Even though my heart aches, I cannot help but smile; fleeting pain causes me to
shiver, but, as always, this bond will support us."

Sunflash continues to just tap and listen.

Kaze bops to the music, sporadically restraining himself from idly casting
something.

The light shining over Kaede suddenly shuts off, plunging everything into
darkness! The only indication of Kaede's location is a small blue LED visible
off the side of the headset she's wearing, and this light is seen moving back
toward the middle of the stage as she continues to sing in the darkness.

"Mayoi nagara sagashiteta kokoro no toriba, furimukeba sugu soko ni, atta no ni
ne~..?" The music builds into a high crescendo toward the end of these lyrics,
but then just as quickly fades away, leaving a brief silence in the dark as
Kaede's final syllable lingers vocally for a few seconds.

The large overhead marquee displays the following in bright red digital letters:
"I lost my way, searching for the door to my heart; when I turned around, had it
always been right there..?"

Several loud whistles pierce through the darkness from a select few audience
members, along with more than a bit of audience murmuring at the sudden
nightfall.

Suddenly, two sparkling, pulsing spheres of light illuminate the stage where
Kaede is standing, which happen to be levitating slightly over both her upheld
palms as she raises them slightly aloft. "Droplets" of light can be seen
trickling off of these spheres, not unlike rainwater dripping off a solid
surface, bringing tiny motes of light as they drop to the stage floor and then
promptly disappear.

As soon as these lights show up, Kaede's expression is visible again, a hard
glare over the audience as the music comes back, once more, in full force,
echoing a determined melody to match her expression. "Owaranai kanashimi
tsutsumi komu, yoru no naka de~... watashi ni dekiru seiipai no koto"

Kaede raises her hands above her head, and the trickling light orbs ascend into
the air, converging together into one large light source that casts a large area
over the stage, and slowly morphs into a vaguely-start-shaped design, still
dripping tiny bits of light over Kaede's frame.

Kaede thrusts her hands back toward the ground, still glaring as she continues
singing, the intensity in her voice matching the insistency of the music.
"Ookina taiyou ni narenakutemo anata no michi, terasu~... Hitotsu no hoshi ni
nara, nareru yo~...!"

The large overhead marquee displays the following in bright red digital letters:
"Though sadness is endless in this developing night, this is all I can do for
you; Even if I can't become a big sun, I'll be the one star to illuminate your
path."

The music reaches what feels to be a final crescendo as it then fades away, but
leaves a lingering, subtle, repetitive guitar line hanging in the background
that doesn't fade out. In doing so, the light above Kaede swiftly fades and
blinks out, leaving her (and everything else) once more in darkness. It doesn't
last long, however, as a dim blue light shines upon her from a light fixture
overhead, casting a pale glow.

Kaede's expression has changed in that transition, now appearing wistful and
hopeful, and she turns to walk toward the back of the stage, turning her back on
the audience as she begins to sing in a smaller voice. "Itsumo itsumademo
motteru yo, totemo chiisai na watashi dakeredo..." She stops after a few paces,
glancing from one side to another. There is a rustling over the curtain near
where she's standing.

"Donnani ame ga hageshiku futte ite mo" Suddenly Hikari bursts out from behind
the curtain and leaps into her mother's arms, and the two embrace tightly;
Hikari is still holding the parasol from earlier, and proceeds to hold it over
both of them as Kaede concludes, glancing back at the audience over her shoulder
while still holding her daughter.

"Aozora ga, ue ni aru youni~..." The song ends immediately following, on a
final note that lingers for several seconds before fading away.

The large overhead marquee displays the following in bright red digital letters:
"Forever and ever, you'll always be on my mind; although I am very small, no
matter how hard it rains, I know there will always be a blue sky above."

Sunflash nods his head in miss-able approval of everything, and proceeds to
assist the local group with the clapping and restrained cheers.


Amidst the erupting cheers and applause from the crowd, a good majority of the
lights come back on, and both Kaede and Hikari offer low and gracious curtseys
to the audience in the wake of their performance, but swiftly take their leave
backstage before anything lingers on for too much longer.