Chapter Text
Asahina Mafuyu was never interested in plays or musicals.
Then again, she wasn’t exactly sure what she was interested in.
But when her strange underclassmen invited her to a play, Mafuyu didn’t refuse the offer. Why? The chance to make a better impression, curiosity… Mafuyu wasn’t sure. But something about that stage compelled her.
Seat B8. That was the ticket Ootori-san gave her. A crowd of people surrounded the venue, a little homely stage in Phoenix Wonderland. Mafuyu saw lots of children. Little kids, and their parents—was it weird for a lone teenager to be here? The noise almost drowned out her thoughts, kids excited and parents telling them to quiet down, clinking and clanging of what seems like props behind the curtain.
Mafuyu found her seat and dodged through a group of children to get to it, sitting down on the plastic chair carefully. She waited patiently for the show to start, silently watching the small kids excitedly waiting in their seats, parents patting their head and smiling at them fondly.
These kids were being so loud, so irritating. Mafuyu could tell some of the parents were exhausted, their kids pulling them along and around still full of energy. Rowdy, loud, disgusting. Not fitting of good children at all. Her mother would scoff at it. Good thing Mafuyu wasn’t like that as a kid.
Mafuyu looked around a bit more, searching for that familiar head of pink hair, only for the search to come up empty. Two children filled the seats surrounding her, almost vibrating in excitement. Where was Ootori-san? Wasn’t she the one that invited Mafuyu in the first place?
Mafuyu’s confusion only grew as the minutes went on, checking her phone for any message from Ootori-san, only to find none.
The clanging of props backstage stopped, and after a couple more minutes, lights on the front of the stage flashed. Quiet enveloped the audience, people finding their seats last-minute, whispers from the kids dissipating after a moment.
The curtain slowly opened, revealing the stage set to look like a steampunk train station. It was quite intricate and impressive. There sat a blonde boy on one of the train seats, reading a newspaper. A girl came walking on stage, taking a seat next to the blonde boy and—wait, is that Ootori-san?
Sure enough, with vibrant pink hair and a bright expression, there was Ootori-san, acting to be that blonde boy’s sister. It all clicked in Mafuyu’s brain.
“Sis! You’re late! The train’s going to leave soon, I was worried you wouldn’t make it!” the blonde boy said, putting a hand on Ootori-san’s shoulder. Ootori-san gave him a disgruntled expression.
“yeah, yeah. Sorry, brother.” Ootori-san said nonchalantly, looking grumpy. An incredibly harsh contrast to her usual bright and cheery energy. She was a surprisingly good actor, despite her terrible attempts at not seeming scared of Mafuyu at school.
The blonde boy sighed. “its fine. Just don’t sleep in next time!”
As the play went on, Mafuyu got a grasp of the plot. It was about a boy and his sister moving to a new town, only to find it was filled with supernatural beings. Definitely different, something Mafuyu hasn’t seen before. Then again, this is the first play she’s seen. The blonde boy was the star of the show, showing up in most every scene, his presence giving off the aura of a professional actor. It was easy to see his love and care for the craft. But something was weird about him—although Mafuyu couldn’t exactly place it. He was familiar.
After the play, Mafuyu got a message from Ootori-san to go to the side of the stage. Mafuyu did so, standing still next to the backstage door quietly. After a few minutes the door bursted open and Ootori-san flew out of it, a bright look on her face, followed by the blonde boy, each now out of their stage costumes. Ootori-san and the blonde were bickering about something, her face still bright and smiley, contrasted to his tired look. A purple haired boy and green haired girl followed after them, much calmer.
Mafuyu stood still quietly, all four of the actors talking and laughing quietly.
“Emu, where’s this ‘scary’ upperclassmen you were talking about?” the green haired girl said quietly. Ootori-san swung her head around violently till her bright eyes met Mafuyu’s.
“Here she is! Asahina-senpai!” Ootori-san said with a bright smile, pulling Mafuyu closer to the group. Mafuyu smiled, and Ootori-san let out a small “Eep!” letting go of her arm swiftly.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Asahina Mafuyu,” She introduced herself with a practiced smile, bowing to the three other troupe members. “Ootori-san has told me a lot about you.”
A boisterous laugh came from the blonde boy, loud and confident. He seemed to instantly gain back a lot of energy. “Nice to meet you! I am Tsukasa, meaning to govern! Tenma, the great Pegasus soarin—”
“—Tsukasa. That’s enough.” The green haired girl stopped Tenma-san’s loud introduction, interrupting his yelling. Mafuyu mentally thanked her. “Kusanagi Nene,” the green haired girl said. “Nice to meet you, Asahina-san.”
“And I’m Kamishiro Rui. Fufu, nice to meet you,” the purple haired boy said, extending a hand for Mafuyu to shake. She did so, his catlike smile growing in the process.
A strange group, but Mafuyu guessed that’s what you get with a theater troupe. Ootori-san was practically vibrating in excitement, while Kusanagi-san looked at her with fond eyes.
“Asahina-senpai! Would you like to get dinner with us? It would be super wonderhoy!” There was the catchphrase. Mafuyu was wondering when the made-up word would make an appearance.
“I wouldn’t want to intrude,” Mafuyu said politely, smiling again. Ootori-san jumped slightly.
“Hahaha!” Tenma-san laughed, and loudly pronounced: “Its no trouble, Asahina-san! We’d love to get to know you!”
Kamishiro nodded, as well as Kusanagi-san, and Ootori-san as well.
Mafuyu decided it wouldn’t hurt. “Alright then, if you insist,” She gave a polite smile.
Kamishiro led the way, The five of them walking together to a nearby diner just outside of the park. Ootori-san and Kusanagi-san walked side by side, Kamishiro in front, and Mafuyu and Tenma-san in the back. Tenma-san walked confidently, adding to the conversation the three were having ahead. Mafuyu followed quietly, unsure of what to say, since she had no knowledge of plays or any kind of stage production.
Tenma-san was… a strange character, striking poses and talking loudly, a bright smile on his face. He was like the sun itself—shining brightly, not a moment of darkness. He was a star, just like he called himself. The sheer amount of determination and confidence radiating off of the boy was a bit overwhelming for Mafuyu.
They entered the diner and got seated, everyone ordering their drinks and food. Ootori-san told everyone stories, Kusanagi-san butting in every once in a while to correct the exaggerations. Kamishiro chuckling and adding to the exaggerations, completely undoing Kusanagi-san’s work, and finally Tenma-san, laughing loudly and practically yelling his parts of the story.
“So, Asahina-san, what do you like to do?” Tenma-san asked, looking across the table at Mafuyu.
“I study in most of my free time,” Mafuyu responded with a shallow smile, Ootori-san’s face going a bit pale.
“Ah, but that isn’t really free time then, is it…” Kamishiro tapped his chin, “Do you do anything other than studying?”
“I have an aquarium.”
“Ooh! What kind of fishies?” Ootori-san had stars in her eyes.
“I don’t have any fish.”
Silence, for a moment.
“So it’s just a water-filled tank?” Tenma-san tilted his head. Mafuyu nodded.
Tenma-san had a confused look on his face. Another awkward silence.
Kamishiro luckily changed the subject. “So, Asahina-san, what did you think of our show?”
“Ah, it was well done,” Mafuyu responded with a smile, Ootori-san’s face going pale, “There seems to be a lot of care put into it.”
“Hahaha! Of course, the greatest of shows is normal for our troupe! Only fitting of a star!” Tenma-san seems to have recovered from his confusion, the loud laughter returning. He put a hand on his chest, posing confidently.
“Fufu, I made most of the props myself,” Kamishiro said proudly, catlike smile returning, “for the train, I put together recycled metal and…”
--
Mafuyu walked home silently, Tenma-san walking next to her. Turns out their homes were near each other, so here they were, walking silently side by side. Tenma-san was weirdly quiet, his normally loud and shining presence almost completely gone, an eerie contrast.
Soon, they came up on Mafuyu’s house, and she waved goodbye, taking out her keys to open the door. He waved back with a smile, continuing to walk by.
Mafuyu opened the door, and stepped inside her home.
~-<3-~