The next day after school I was on the fourth floor of the arts and science block: No-Man's Land. I headed to the empty classroom the drama club used for rehearsal with Ozu and Otoi-san in tow. Sumire had gone on ahead to discuss what would be happening with them, while Iroha was on standby in a different classroom.
"So our mission is to make sure this talentless drama club gets results at the upcomin' Fair, huh? Man, Aki, you sure know how to keep things fun."
"And he springs it on you outta nowhere," Ozu added. "That's part of what makes it so fun, though."
"The future of the Alliance hinges on this, so I need all hands on deck."
"You already gave me my castella, so I'm happy to do whatever ya want." Otoi-san held her school bag over her sagging shoulder, and the small bag holding the castella cake swung along in the other. "Plus, it does sound kinda interestin'. I'm not gonna let 'em suck, so be prepared, yeah?" She moved the Sucky in her mouth so that its tip pointed at me challengingly.
I nodded in response. "I know. I don't want you going easy on them." With that, I led them into the room at the end of the hallway.
"There he is! The world's most inhumane director!" a girl growled. The next moment, she was swinging a blunt object towards my head. I launched myself forward, ready to punch this girl in the face. Yet at the last moment, I realized I knew her, and instead of throwing a punch, I poked her on the forehead.
Image Here
"Eeep!"
The girl—Kageishi Midori—let out a high-pitched scream and bent backwards before falling spectacularly onto her butt.
I picked up the weapon that'd slipped from her hand and let out an exasperated sigh. "A foam hammer, huh? This one of your props?" "What do you think you're doing?! Be a good evil-doer and get
vanquished!"
"Hey, that was justified self-defense. One moment I'm opening a door, the
next I'm being brutally attacked."
"I didn't expect you to react so quickly! Are you in a martial arts club or
something?"
"I do a little self-study in stuff like Aikido so I can protect myself from
lunatics. I don't think my reaction time was that impressive. It's probably average compared to other learners."
"I think your idea of average is a little skewed."
The two biggest dangers in life are unforeseen accidents, and unlucky incidents. If you've ever played the Game of Life, you'll understand; sometimes, bad stuff randomly happens, just because fate decided to spin some multicolored wheel. It all results in wasted time at best and major disadvantages at worst. I don't know about you, but that kind of thing pisses me off majorly.
You know what's the worst way to waste your time? Getting caught up in an accident. That's why, whenever I go out, I tell myself that every car is out to run me down, and that every pedestrian is on the verge of pulling out a knife and game-ending me. That's why I decided to learn basic self-defense —just in case one of these scenarios might actually happen.
When I said basic, though, I meant basic. Any actual martial artist could probably beat me in ten seconds flat.
"I also think that attacking me like that was extreme to say the least. Not that I was expecting you to take news of my arrival sitting down."
"O-Of course we wouldn't! I mean, Su—Kageishi-sensei just sprang on us how you'd be taking over everything."
I shifted my gaze away from Midori on the floor and looked up towards the window, where Sumire was leaning against the wall. She had her arms folded, and had a completely composed expression. Our eyes met, and she gave me a nod cooler than any secret agent.
At the same time, I felt my phone vibrate. I opened up LIME.
Murasaki Shikibu-sensei: I couldn't persuade her completely! GLHF!
I responded with a fluent flick of my fingers.
"Thanks for nothing."
Maybe that was a little harsh. Looking more closely, it was only Midori who seemed to object to the Alliance taking over the drama club. The other members look perfectly fine with it; she was the only one with a frown on her face.
"There has to be something going on behind the scenes! Kageishi-sensei always said she wanted to let us develop our independence, so why has she called you in?"
"You're making this sound like it's some kind of conspiracy."
"It's worse than that! I bet you...you forced yourself onto Kageishi-sensei, and now you're forcing yourself onto the drama club, you pig!"
"Does this nose look like a snout to you?"
"You're one of those big-shot Hollywood directors, right? A household name?! There's no way you're innocent! I know about this kind of stuff! It's just like in those manga where there's a failing businessman but then he turns things around by sleeping with a woman!"
"Okay, but this is real life."
I thought she was supposed to be the smart sister, but apparently that was just book smarts. Didn't look like she could tell fact from fantasy. Well, that seemed to run in the family, at least.
"Listen, I didn't do anything to your advisor. What would I want with a small-time drama club like yours anyway? Doesn't hurt to use common sense once in a while, you know."
"Common sense? Wait, does that mean you're going to make us all your s- s-sex slaves?!"
"Why, do you want me to?"
"N-N-No! I-I-I'm not a pervert!"
"You jump to conclusions like it's hopscotch. Kageishi-sensei just figured
you guys could use some help for the upcoming Fair. Are you saying you don't trust her judgment?"
"B-But...you know...we've been working really hard all this time. All by ourselves too." Midori looked at the floor forlornly as she thought about her next words. "We can't just hand everything over to someone who just showed
up out of the blue."
From her point of view, it probably felt like they were being invaded.
Even if she knew they needed outsider input to figure out their weaknesses, there was probably an emotional part of her that was trying to reject us.
It wasn't too different from what happened with the Alliance recently, which was why I understood how she felt. Mashiro entered our safe little haven, and inadvertently threatened to break us apart. Once we overcame her arrival, I was able to remember my principles, and even discovered new ways in which we could grow stronger. Even if they didn't like me, if the drama club allowed me to take over, who knew what endless possibilities were waiting for them on the other side?
It was time for me to do a little acting of my own. If I wanted Kageishi Midori on my side, I'd have to get down right to her core.
"I get it. I only watched a tiny fraction of your practice, but even I could tell how much effort you guys have been putting in."
"What?" Midori's eyes widened at my gentle tone of voice.
I had been so harsh on her moments before, but now I was being kind, understanding, and empathetic. The difference probably made me seem even nicer than I was actually being. I guess you could technically call it emotional manipulation, but it was all for the greater good. Remember, my goal is always efficiency, not virtue.
"But it's exactly because I know how hard you guys work that I want to help."
"Ooboshi-kun..."
"I've seen your potential firsthand. I really think you could go a long way."
It would have to be a very, very long way if they wanted any chance of winning any competition. Hopefully she just took my words at face value and mistook them for praise.
"Look, you guys practice all by yourselves up here in this wasteland with no input from your advisor at all, and you give up your lunchtimes to do it. I don't know if I've ever seen such a hardworking group of people."
Midori looked at the floor, her cheeks flushed red.
"But," I continued, "working hard won't get you what you want if you head in the wrong direction. It's like math, really. Imagine your hard work's a times-ten multiplier. Except it's negative ten. No matter what positive value
you multiply, it'll always end up a negative result."
I wasn't even making stuff up at this point. They really did work hard. All
I had to do was set them on the right track.
"You guys have the power to be the greatest drama club at the Fair. All
you need to do is focus your efforts in the right areas!" With each word, my tone became more and more passionate and decisive.
I made my whole speech while keeping an eye on Midori's breathing to make sure she couldn't interrupt. She was still staring at me in shock when I said my final sentence.
"If this club doesn't get results at the Fair, it will be disbanded. And right now, that's the direction you're heading in."
"But... But we..." Unable to come up with a counterargument, Midori averted her gaze again.
I knew she wouldn't be able to argue with me. She was the leader of the club. She should know more than anyone that they weren't in the business of winning prizes.
"I can help you avoid that fate. If you want to survive, let me help you. If you want to crash and burn, turn me away. The choice is yours."
Still sitting on the floor, Midori stretched her hand out towards me. For a moment, she let it hover in the air, before turning to her fellow club members for support.
"Midori-san..." They were looking at her with anxiety in their eyes.
Those voices rousing her, Midori looked up at me with fire in her gaze. "I understand what you're saying, but I still can't just hand everything over to you without a second thought."
"I get that, which is why I'm not suggesting we take over absolutely everything. We're not here to take the leading role. We're here to support you so that you can aim even higher."
"Support us?"
"Like I said, you've got diligence, but you're using it wrong. We've come to correct that."
"But..."
Midori still seemed plagued with indecision. It was time to play my final hand. I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but I was out of options at this point.
"If you refuse me because you think I'm some pig who's sullying your
sister, well, you're wrong about that."
"A-And you think I'm going to believe you just because you said so?! I
already know men are liars driven by lust!"
"That's why I brought evidence. Right, Ozu?" I asked him over my
shoulder.
Ozu grinned. We'd prepared for this, and he knew exactly what I was
talking about.
"That's right. Aki only has one special someone, and that special someone
is me!"
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"W-Wait, you mean—Hold on, what the heck was that roar? It sounded
like a dinosaur or something!"
"O-Oh, my! It looks like a student has decided to streak incredibly loudly
in the courtyard! I shall be scolding them later," Sumire replied, opening the window and leaning out of it very deliberately.
Thank you, anonymous streaker. You saved the entire drama club and her sister from witnessing Sumire's full-blown yaoi fangirl mode. To this very day, the perpetrator has not been identified.
"O-O-Ooboshi-kun! D-Do you mean to say... Um..."
"I'm Kohinata Ozuma, Aki's one and only. Nice to meet you, Kageishi- san."
"Kohinata-kun and Ooboshi-kun...a-are you two...in that kind of relationship?!" Midori babbled, her face bright red and her lips trembling as she spoke.
Technically, we weren't lying. Ozu was my "one and only"...friend. We just decided not to specify that part. She was the one spicing things up with that rotten imagination of hers.
"Do you believe me now?"
"Oh, um, er, well..." Midori pressed her hands to her burning cheeks. "O- Okay, I believe you! I-I mean you can love whoever you want! It's not my place to judge, right?!"
She really was Sumire's sister. Even if she didn't realize it, it was clear that the idea of me being in a relationship with Ozu had sent her heart rate sky-rocketing by the way she was clutching at her chest right now.
Like I said before, this was a last resort to get Midori to accept the drama club's new regime. I just hoped there wouldn't be any weird rumors flying
around after this. That being said, having her believe I was hooking up with Sumire was about a hundred times more humiliating and infuriating.
"And you see now that I'm not doing anything sketchy with Kageishi- sensei, right?"
"Yes..."
I let out an internal sigh of relief. "Okay, then. Now, if you don't want us helping out the club, you're free to refuse us. Just listen to what I have to say first."
Midori closed her eyes thoughtfully and for a while, she remained silent. Once we decided to help the drama club, Sumire filled us in on some of the smaller details. The club was tiny, and was barely allocated a budget, or even a place to practice. Midori was the sole reason it was still running. It wasn't just about her netting them an empty classroom, but her leadership skills which kept up morale in the club. If there was one thing she was serious about, it was the drama club.
It was no wonder then, that she was so opposed to us when we showed up out of nowhere. It must have been frustrating, to put it mildly.
"Very well. I shall hear you out." Despite those frustrations, Midori nodded. "Is anyone opposed?"
"If you're okay with it, Midori-san, then we are too! We don't want to disband either!"
"Thank you." Midori turned back to me and glared. "Just bear in mind that I'm ready to refuse you at any time!"
"Sure, I have no problem with that."
Midori took my outstretched hand and got to her feet. Negotiations were complete. Once we told her our plan, it would be up to her, as the club leader, to accept it. If she did that, then none of her members could complain. I just hoped that she would.
"I knew you could do it, Aki. No one can win 'em over like you!" "Thanks. Would've been easier if she was just a touch less stubborn."
"I get you. Guess we have some explaining to do if this somehow makes it
to poor Iroha, huh?"
"What?" Midori's question went unanswered, and she quickly moved on
to the next. "Are those two students behind you a part of this too?"
"Yup. They'll help me help you."
I briefly introduced the other two: Ozu, our programmer; and Otoi-san,
our sound engineer.
"Are they close to Sumi—I mean, Kageishi-sensei too?"
"I guess you could say that. Ozu talks to her a lot, at least."
Well, technically he didn't speak to "Kageishi-sensei" so much as
"Murasaki Shikibu-sensei." Again, technically it wasn't a lie.
Midori's eyes narrowed suspiciously, as though she wasn't sure whether
to believe us or not. Strictly speaking, Ozu mainly spoke to Sumire to back me up when I was nagging her for her drawings.
Sumire, meanwhile, was studying us with a flicker of doubt on her otherwise composed face. Her sister's accusations of my relationship with her were probably going right over her head, probably because nothing like that had ever happened between us.
Wait...wasn't there that time she asked me to take my underwear off for her? Ah, maybe there was suspicion to be cast. On her though, not me.
"Are you sure you're not hiding anything?" Midori pressed.
"Nothing at all." Before she could think too hard about it, I launched into my explanation. "Let me outline how exactly we want to help the club. These are the problems you guys are facing right now..."
The club members cleared the space in front of the blackboard so that I could write on it. Broadly speaking, there were four main issues plaguing the club. The actors' "skills," the script, the stage direction, and the sound direction. All of these would need to be tackled if the club wanted to stand a chance of achieving anything at the upcoming Fair.
"Leaving aside the acting for now, I'd like to present my plan for dealing with the other three categories."
My plan went like this:
Improve the script -> Use Makigai Namako-sensei's rejected scenarios. Improve the stage -> Make use of one of Ozu's programs, which would
enhance the props and backdrop we had. We would also have Murasaki Shikibu-sensei creating the backdrops for us.
Improve the sound -> Have Otoi-san supervise the sound direction.
This was the plan in its simplest form. For the script, we would throw out the "science"-fiction trash and replace it with the scenarios Makigai Namako-sensei gave us for Koyagi, rewritten as a screenplay. Sumire and Ozu would work on the stage direction and backdrop while Otoi-san would be in charge of sound. Since we couldn't have Sumire's secret identity come
out, I would just say that we had a remote artist, Murasaki Shikibu-sensei, helping with the backdrops for us from afar.
We'd be aiming for a prize in the upcoming summer Fair First, we had to get the performance up to an average level. Then we could work on turning it into something the judges would actually like.
"Wow. You're giving this presentation like it's some kind of business meeting."
"Yeah! I mean, he's not a big-shot Hollywood director for nothing, right?"
The club members seemed impressed with my plan. Well, all except one of them...
"I understand the need for a change in stage and sound direction, but why should we have to use a brand new script?!" Midori launched herself to her feet, slamming the desk in front of her. "You really think your new screenplay can outshine what we have already?"
"See for yourself. I have it here with me, so feel free to skim it and let me know your thoughts." I pulled out the printed copies of Makigai Namako- sensei's scenario and handed them around the room.
Sickly-sweet and luridly fluffy as they were, they were still penned by a pro. Plus, they were a million times better than...whatever I witnessed at the club the other day. Midori flipped through the pages with a grim look on her face, but soon her entire body was trembling. Eventually, she made it to the end...and the tears were rolling down her cheeks.
"Wh-Who knew there was l-love as pure as this!" The other club members were sobbing as earnestly as Midori. They began to discuss the script among themselves. "I'd love to use this script! I can't think of anything better for the club!"
Hook, line, and sinker.
"Whoa..."
I knew this was better than what they had before (heck, anything would
be better than what they had before), but I wasn't expecting this kind of reaction. Was this the kinda stuff that modern high school girls were into? Couldn't they see how horribly over-the-top it was? Ozu and Otoi-san barely raised an eyebrow when they finished reading it, so it can't just have been me.
Sumire looked seriously concerned about her younger sister's tastes right now, but as long as they were happy to use this as the new script, that was all
that mattered.
"Yes, this scenario is really quite something. I would love to use it."
Midori looked behind her. "But..."
"We're in charge of the stage direction," one of the girls explained.
"Changing the script all of a sudden is kind of a big ask for us..."
Most of the props the club already had were suitable only for science-
fiction scripts. Changing the genre now meant making a whole bunch of new props.
"If the props are small, that's fine, but honestly, we don't have the time or the budget to make anything huge, and that's before starting on the backdrops..."
I'm sure I don't need to tell you I was already prepared for that.
"Ozu will take care of all of that. We already discussed this before, right, Ozu?"
"As long as you guys are okay with projections and A.R. for your backdrops, we should be good. It'll only take me three days to put it all together, just gotta forget about sleep."
"So we're fine for backdrops. We can sort out the bigger props later. Could we leave the smaller stuff to you for the time being?"
"Of course! We'll make the best props you've ever seen!"
That was the stage direction sorted. As for sound...
"You guys got any videos of the stuff you've done before?" Otoi-san
asked.
"We have archives from last year."
"Great, lemme see 'em."
Looks like Otoi-san was taking care of it by herself.
"Now, as for the acting..."
"You can't 'fix' acting by flipping a switch or writing a program," Midori
said. "Unless you have something big up your sleeve."
"Don't underestimate me."
I opened up LIME to find that Iroha had already sent me a message to let
me know she was ready.
Perfect timing.
"I want every actor here to come take a lesson with a special advisor in a
different classroom."
"A special advisor, you say? Well, they had better be good if they want us
to learn anything."
"Don't worry, I'm sure she can teach you a thing or two. You'll
understand when you meet her."
There was no way they'd be dissatisfied. She was the best actor I'd ever
seen, after all.
***
We moved to the next-door classroom. There was a blackout curtain hung up around the whole room.
"I didn't even notice this being set up here," Midori breathed, as surprised as the other two actors next to her.
I arranged with Sumire in advance so that the school would give permission for the drama club to have this room today. I set up the blackout curtain during lunch, trying to be discreet about it. According to Sumire, the paperwork for booking a room was a pain, but apparently she "threatened" them a little and it was magically processed much quicker. It was the first time her "Venomous Queen" persona actually worked in my favor.
"I see you've made it." A voice spoke to us from within the darkness.
There, in the middle of the room, stood a mysterious person donning a newsboy hat and sunglasses like they were straight out of Hollywood.
Okay, I'll cut the dramatics. You and I both know it was Iroha.
"Here she is. Your special advisor."
"Huh? Who exactly is she?"
"Unfortunately, she needs to keep her identity a secret. I can guarantee you
that she's a stellar actor, though."
"Just call me 'Sarge.'"
Iroha's mother strictly forbade her from having anything to do with the
performing arts, so Iroha had to disguise herself to keep these sorts of activities well hidden.
"She looks rather...suspicious. Are you sure about this?" Midori said.
"You're Midori-san, right? Shouldn't you be more worried about how well I can act instead of who I am?"
"I suppose so. Well then, why don't you give us a taste?" There was a spark of challenge in Midori's voice as the two stared each other down.
I felt no need to intervene at all. Iroha was totally up to the task.
And so, Iroha began her special workshop. I'd left the contents of the workshop entirely up to her.
"First, I want you to read through the scripts you've been given today and decide who's going to take each role. Then, I want you guys to act out the opening scene for me."
The three actors began to follow her instructions. There weren't too many characters in this script. Most of it was the main hero and heroine.
"You should be the hero, Midori-san!"
"Me? Are you sure?"
"Of course! Neither of us are nearly as good as you!"
"Yup!"
Once Midori was cast as the main hero, the other two girls wasted no
time in divvying up the remaining roles. The heroine would be played by Yamada, a girl who was as plain as her name suggested.
"Great! Now let me see the opening scene!" Iroha said excitedly.
The actors got into position. I opened up my copy of the script so I could follow along. The opening scene consisted of the main hero literally bumping into the heroine at school. It was as unoriginal as white bread, and was contrived simply to have a reason for the two to talk to each other.
After that, though, the heroine took courage from the encounter and finally started to open up to the world again, so I guess that kind of made up for it.
"Three, two, one, action!"
Here we go.
Midori walked on "stage" from one end of the classroom.
"Man. I. am. gonna. be. late. I. gotta. hurry."
"Cut!" Iroha yelled the second Midori finished her first line. "What the
heck was that?! You're supposed to be a guy who's late for class! How come you're running like a robot and reading each line like you're Microsoft Sam? Are you even taking this seriously?"
"I take everything seriously!" Midori objected. "And I was running like a human being!"
"Really? I've never seen anyone run like that, especially when they're in a hurry."
Me neither, for what it's worth. Midori's movements suggested she was wandering around Oz looking for a heart instead of trying to make it to
homeroom in time. For a second, I thought she might be playing some robot from one of the science-fiction scripts they had by accident.
"Anyway. Just keep going for now," Iroha said reluctantly. The hero ran around a corner and bumped into our heroine. "Eek!" Yamada-san squealed.
"Oof," Midori beeped.
Iroha's eyebrows were twitching in frustration, but for the time being she let them continue.
"Reaouka?"
"Y-Yeah... I'm fine..."
"MagdIsrryharuryyty—"
"Cut!"
Apparently, Iroha couldn't take it anymore.
"Hey! Why do you keep stopping us?" Midori demanded.
"It should be obvious! Yamada-san, you're fine. Midori-san, you're
supposed to be speaking Japanese!"
"You said I was being too robotic, so I decided to focus on my
enunciation!"
"That's 'focusing on enunciation'? You spat out those lines so fast they
broke the freakin' sound barrier!"
The girls glared at each other. The other two club members were
grimacing.
"Look, I'm doing everything properly. I don't understand what you're
complaining about."
"Nnngh! All right. I'll play the hero for a bit so you can see how it's done.
Just watch carefully, okay?"
Iroha took up her position and the scene began again. She started running
lightly towards the center of the room.
"Man, I'm gonna be late! I gotta hurry!"
It was the simplest scene imaginable, but Iroha looked so genuinely
worried about being late that it was making me nervous. If I closed my eyes, I wouldn't be able to tell her voice from any of the boys in my class. She even ran like a boy. The entire scene finished without a hitch.
"Well?" Iroha asked, patting down her disheveled hair.
"W-Wow..." Midori was trembling. "It was so perfect, even though it was such a short scene! The way you spoke, your tone, your breathing, your
movements... It was like you were your character! I understand now why you were criticizing my acting so much."
"Glad to hear it. Try not to get too impatient when you're reading your lines. Really think about who your character is in the moment. Why don't you give it another go?"
"Okay!"
Midori's earlier hostility was nowhere to be seen. This was the true power of Iroha's acting ability. Taking her position once again, Midori started the scene over. Things were looking up.
"Man. I. Am. Gonna. Be. Late. I. Gotta. Hurry." "Gaaaaaaah!"
Never mind.
This is gonna be a looong day...
The workshop took up the rest of the day. Meanwhile, we were also working on everything else.
"You can't just blare the music at max volume outta nowhere. Gotta fade it in, y'know, as the scene develops. Also gotta make sure you bring it in at the right time, yeah?"
"O-Okay! Thank you!"
"I get you're not used to doin' things like this yet, but I'm not about t'settle for crappy sound direction."
"I understand!"
"What about this part here, Otoi-san?"
Otoi-san's guidance was harsh, but it seemed to be working. It didn't look
like I would need to intervene here either. Meanwhile, the stage direction team was busy making props. They were doing fine too; Makigai Namako- sensei's script didn't have anything that was too difficult to make. Ozu had already gone home to get started on solving the problem of the bigger props.
"What. Should. We. Do?"
"It's 'What should we do?'! Aaargh!"
The acting side was making progress too. At a snail's pace, sure, but it
was progress.
"Let's leave it here for today."
The bell rang. Time for clubs to wrap up and go home. "Still got a lotta work to do..." Otoi-san muttered.
Iroha, meanwhile, looked like a heaving mess. Her hair stuck out everywhere, and her breathing was heavy. The club members looked cheerful, though, encouraged by the progress they'd made.
"What did you think?" I asked Midori as things wrapped up.
She nodded at me. "Your special advisor is an amazing actor, and her teaching methods are very easy to follow. I think everyone else is happy too."
"Glad to hear it."
"I don't like to admit this, but I realized just how much we were lacking as a club after what you taught us today." Midori paused. "So, please...I would be very grateful if you could stay and help us win a prize at the Fair."
She bowed, and the club members behind her follow suit.
"I'd be glad to."
And that was how the 05th Floor Alliance (and friends) got involved in
giving lessons to the drama club.
***
One week passed, and then another. The drama club practiced together after school every single day, and we joined them. Midori still seemed to be having trouble, though, despite her fantastic teacher.
"Please. Don't. Lie. To. Yourself. About. How. You. Feel." "Gaaaaaaaah! I'm not lying! This is terrible!"
I heard a lot of "gaaah"s and "goooorgh"s from Iroha these days. It would
still be some time before Midori was up to scratch. However, the other groups were making fine progress.
"How's this, Otoi-san?"
"'Sokay."
"Really?!"
"Don't get ahead of yerself, yeah? It's a li'l better than before, but you
ain't ready for the big leagues just yet." "Right!"
Thanks to Otoi-san, the sound direction was going swimmingly. "I've gotten pretty good at using Ozu-san's staging program!" Almost all of the smaller props were finished, and Ozu's quasi A.R.
program (which he called "Backdrop Creator") was complete. With a setup of several transparent monitors, it could create backgrounds that looked
incredibly realistic. It had been so long since I'd seen the full extent of what Ozu could do that I was utterly amazed. There was no need to worry about stage direction anymore.
To be honest, there wasn't much I could do about anything at this point. Iroha, Otoi-san, and Ozu were the experts, and I was already done delegating tasks to them. I left the scheduling and stuff to Midori, which made things easier for everyone. I tried lecturing her on efficient use of time several times, but she was surprisingly good at time management.
She also took care of procuring the needed stage equipment. Somehow, she even managed to get a hold of just the right props that Makigai Namako- sensei's script called for. It made sense now how she had been able to keep the drama club going by herself for so long.
All that was left for me to do was to keep out of the way and just observe.
"Midori-san, are you trying to put on the perfect performance right from the start?"
"Yes, I am. Is that an issue?"
"It sure is. Before trying to get everything perfect, you need to familiarize yourself with each line, one by one. I think you're getting too tense by trying to get it right every single time."
Midori was by far our biggest problem, but Iroha was tackling it very nicely indeed. It wasn't just Midori either: she was directing all the actors fantastically. Looking at her now, I couldn't even see a shadow of her usual pesky self. She looked more like a teacher, and a good one at that. I couldn't help but wish she'd be like this more often.
"Hm?"
My gaze wandered into a corner of the room, where I spotted one of the club members gasping for breath. It was the girl who played the heroine. I racked my memory for her name.
"Are you all right, uh, Yamanaka-san?"
"Oh, Ooboshi-san. Um, my name is Yamada."
"O-Oh, right. Sorry."
Oh yeah. Yamada. Yamada-san.
Anyway.
"You look kinda pale. Maybe you should take a break."
"I'm fine. I can keep going."
"Don't push yourself. If you practice when you're so out of it, you won't
gain anything."
Yamada-san shook her head. "Thanks for worrying about me, but I
promise I'm fine. I'm just a little tired, that's all."
I paused, unsure of how to respond.
"You know, I never missed a session before you guys showed up, and this
is the first time I've felt like we're getting somewhere. So I want to keep going."
Her work ethic was admirable.
"All right. Just make sure you stop if it gets too much, okay?"
"Will do!"
And with that, our heroine Yamada-san returned to practice. Even if she
said she was fine, it was a little worrying. I didn't want to force her to sit the rest of the session out in case it leeched her motivation. At the same time, I knew that motivation was a hell of a drug. When you got too into something, it was easy to ignore the bad things, and sometimes things could end up horribly wrong.
I decided to mention what happened with Yamada-san to Midori later. Whatever happened, it'd be fine. I did have a few back-up plans up my sleeve, after all.
Just then, I felt a pair of eyes staring at me. I looked up at the classroom door and noticed a figure peering through the crack. It had silvery-blonde hair and...well, there's no point finishing that description, because as you've probably already guessed, it was Mashiro.
Not again...
I sighed, got up, and headed into the corridor.
"This is starting to become a daily thing. You don't have to wait for me, y'know? You can just go home."
"I'm not waiting for you." Mashiro instantly looked away, but there was a gentle note to her tone.
It had been a while since I rejected her, and she promised to make me fall in love with her. After that, she treated me pretty coldly, just like before. Recently, though, it was like she broke through her embarrassment and now she approached me to talk as much as possible. It wasn't just that, though...
"Here. I made you a tuna sandwich."
"O-Oh. Thanks."
"Y-You've been working too hard on this thing and not taking care of
yourself. B-Be more careful, okay?" "R-Right..."
Mashiro was totally acting like she was my girlfriend.
"Listen, you don't wanna be too obvious about this kinda thing, or people are gonna get the wrong idea. We're not really dating, you know."
"Um, did you forget or something?" Mashiro blinked up at me. A small, smug smile appeared on her lips. "We are dating. At school that is."
Oh, right. My deal with Tsukinomori-san. In exchange for a place at Honeyplace Works for my team, I had to pretend to be Mashiro's boyfriend and keep the riff-raff away from her, right up until graduation.
It was kind of funny how I started off being the one to try and play the part, but right now the tables were turned.
Mashiro was using the deal to her advantage!
"A-And I wasn't joking either. I am gonna make you fall in love with me. Even if I have to use our fake relationship to do it."
Even when people were on the offensive, their personalities didn't change. Mashiro's voice trailed off as she spoke, and her cheeks glowed red.
"I-I can't deal with it anymore! Dieinafirebye!"
"Uh. Bye."
Mashiro ran away with her gaze planted firmly on the floor. What a way
to see someone off.
She could only hold her nerve around me like that for about three minutes
maximum. It was like a time-limited buff. I wanted to tell her as much, but I'd probably end up crushing the confidence she worked so hard to build up.
I watched Mashiro start to weave her way through the piles of chairs and tables, when suddenly she stopped, turned around, and scampered back towards me.
She stood on tip-toes and whispered in my ear, "I can't wait to see the play."
"R-Right."
Then she forced her head down again, turned, and scurried away. I watched her fight through the debris again, a mysterious uneasiness rising in my stomach. I was never good at figuring out my emotions. How did I feel about Mashiro?
I was in a fix. I thought I put an end to everything when I rejected her, but I guess human emotions are more complex than that. The best thing for now, I
reasoned, was not to think too hard about it. I had to deal with the drama club first and foremost. My only goal should be to protect the Alliance and lead it towards the future.
***
"I can't wait to see what Tsukinomori-san comes up with next. How long till you fall for her, huh?"
"Glad you're having fun..."