The actual drama plot was very simple—or rather, somewhat clichéd.
After all, this was just a student-led performance lasting no more than half an hour. Even if the original plot was deep, the essence had to be extracted and the script condensed. Otherwise, it couldn't be performed multiple times a day, and the audience would easily get bored.
The story's protagonist was an active, clever, and lively village girl. One day, she heard the tale of the Death God Adler. Out of curiosity, she boldly crossed the forbidden zone, went to the forest's edge to search for his dwelling, and happened to see the true face of the Death God after he removed his deer-head mask.
The enraged Death God immediately grabbed his scythe to behead the girl, but she cleverly talked her way out of it. In the end, the Death God didn't take her life but instead began a journey with her to find a place of death.
As time passed, the human and the Death God witnessed many things on their journey. There was tension when facing enemies, and warmth when saving others. They walked through countryside and cities, once cursing each other's flaws in the shadows, and once sharing their pasts by the campfire.
As their feelings deepened, the human and the Death God also experienced that life meant happiness and sorrow walking hand in hand.
The reason the Death God didn't take the girl's life back then was because he knew she had at most seven days left to live. With the intent to observe her, he didn't act immediately. But in the end, even knowing she would lose her life tomorrow, the smile on the girl's face never faded. She still insisted on bringing him to the most beautiful place and passed away peacefully there.
Adler, who had fallen in love with the girl and didn't want to take her life, chose to leave alone on the eighth day, heading to the end of the world unreachable by humans, facing the punishment from the other Death Gods by himself—altering a human's fate was the greatest taboo of all taboos. His fate was only one: to face true death as a Death God, soul and body destroyed.
Thus, in the ever-blooming flower field, Adler closed his eyes peacefully, ready to let his former comrades behead him and take responsibility for his negligence.
But at that moment, he heard the voice of the girl who shouldn't be here.
To save Adler, the girl tried to crash into the executing Death God, but she was easily slashed and gravely wounded. The enraged Adler fought without thinking. After a fierce battle, he finally eliminated the entire execution team of Death Gods, but he also paid a heavy price, nearly exhausting his energy.
In the story's end, the dying Death God and the girl leaned together in the world's most beautiful flower field. After confessing their feelings and vowing to live together in the next life, they closed their eyes peacefully and happily. Flower petals buried their bodies, and the curtain fell.
—This script was known to the entire class. Especially after several rehearsals, Yuu was of course very familiar with the plot, even knowing what lines they would say next.
And now, as an audience member, he was officially enjoying his classmates' performance from below the stage. Though he knew the upcoming plot developments, his viewing experience surprisingly didn't diminish much. He could feel his mood rising and falling with the drama, sighing in admiration repeatedly.
(I didn't expect Ebina Hina, that fujoshi, to write such delicate emotional scenes... Is true love really easier to emerge between the same sex?)
(Tch tch, Totsuka looks so pretty with that wig. Though not as beautiful as Sora or Yukino, with this makeup, let alone the audience below, I bet at least four or five people in our class will have impure thoughts about Totsuka starting today... And most of them are guys.)
(Oh, the lead actor flubbed a line, but his spontaneous reaction was pretty good; the audience didn't notice... Totsuka's stage presence is solid too. My extra training after school wasn't in vain—he has one-tenth of my skill!)
(The tree in the back is moving, totally unprofessional, and it looks like they're secretly chatting while facing away from the audience... If I were the director, I'd add a scene to behead them.)
Though the things he noticed weren't about the plot itself, overall, Yuu was still deeply immersed.
However, he didn't forget that Yumiko wanted to prank him, and he kept waiting for her sudden attack.
But he waited and waited; unknowingly, the plot had reached the end.
In the flower field, the Death God Adler had given up, and the girl played by Totsuka stood at the stage's edge, ready to jump at any moment in a standard suicide...
"Weird, why hasn't anything happened yet?"
Yuu frowned slightly. He crossed his arms over his chest and shook his leg.
He was starting to get impatient waiting here, but the plot continued steadily, with absolutely no signs of a surprise.
Could the other side act after the curtain closed?
Considering this was an official performance, it was understandable to be cautious. Yuu held back, watching Totsuka finally run out and shoulder-check the lead executing Death God, but the opponent easily dodged.
"A human dares to interfere with the Death Gods' punishment? Overestimating yourself!"
Following the chuunibyou cold shout, the scythe swung mercilessly, slowly aiming at the village-girl version of Totsuka who had fallen to the ground.
But before that—
Adler, who was supposed to widen his eyes and let the tragedy happen in confusion, suddenly rose from the ground, bravely pushing aside the pleading village girl Totsuka, puffing out his bandaged flat chest, letting the scythe swing down.
"Uwaa—" Accompanied by an exaggerated scream, the male lead in disguise swayed and fell powerlessly, even coughing up blood twice realistically.
"Adler!" Totsuka hurriedly caught his body, carefully keeping distance, "Why would you do this for me who's about to die..."
The deer-head mask tilted sideways; Adler struggled to lift his head, smiled, and said the line full of affection: "I am your Death God. Your life belongs only to me; no one else can take it."
"Adler..."
"Boring." A black robe covered his entire body. The Death God who looked ready to raise a torch and start a holy war at any moment sneered, raising his scythe again, pointing it at the two on the ground, "This time, I'll behead you both at once!"
"N-no, don't touch him..." Adler weakly raised his hand, as if attempting a futile resistance.
But in the next moment, he suddenly twisted his wrist ninety degrees, pointing straight at Yuu in the first row of seats below the stage, as if he had found his target, and shouted loudly:
"Who, who can save Totsuka... This cute and innocent village girl!"
"I'm just a Death God about to die. Where is the hero who can protect her~~~"
Though the lead actor's eyes were still staring at the ceiling, Yuu knew those lines were directed at him.
"...Great acting." The corner of his mouth twitched slightly; he couldn't help muttering softly.
The other audience members, after a brief shock, realized this wasn't a performance accident but a deliberate surprise by the actors.
They didn't feel dissatisfied with this sudden script deviation; on the contrary, they grew quite excited, like a stagnant pond starting to ripple.
"Is this an improv? Or was it in the script?"
"My friend watched the previous show and didn't mention this scene... This isn't like those mall hero stages where an audience member has to go up and defeat the villain."
"I actually think it's pretty interesting. Honestly, the script is a bit clichéd; I knew the next plot halfway through, didn't expect a surprise like this..."
"Why, do you want to go up and save the village girl too?"
"Too?"
"Yeah, honestly, I'm interested. What year is the lead actor in? So cute, I want to get to know him..."
"No, even if the voice can't be distinguished, just looking at the Adam's apple, you know it's a guy cross-dressing, right?"
"Isn't that even better?!"
"...Eh, you're right."
"Idiot, I told you it's a surprise! Don't you see the Death God already pointing at someone, waiting for him to go up? Tch tch, look at his dumb expression; he probably just realized he's being pranked, right? So pitiful..."
Yuu touched his face, then suddenly turned and asked Sora:
"Do I look shocked and surprised?"
"No, though a bit dumb." Sora reached out her warm small hand, patting both his cheeks. Her pale eyes were very bright in the darkness, somewhat like a cat's.
"So, are you going up on stage?"
"They've invited me; I can't just ignore it, can I?"
As he spoke, the narrator also chimed in perfectly on cue. The gist was to ask someone to quickly come up and continue the play; otherwise, the pleading village girl would die under the scythe.
Totsuka on stage also looked toward him, smiling bitterly with a hint of guilt, but still maintaining his position supporting Adler.
His large, clear, watery eyes blinked twice. That gaze seemed to hope Yuu would quickly come up to resolve the current deadlock.
Though he could ignore this chaos, Yuu couldn't ignore his friend's request—especially since he had told Yuigahama he would fully cooperate with their performance, so he certainly wouldn't go back on his word.
It was just the fact that a staff member who had worked hard was forced to act on stage that made him a bit annoyed.
"I'll be right back."
Sighing lightly, Yuu stood up under many gazes. He ruffled Yuigahama's hair, then walked toward the stage.
As he crossed the red line, the executing Death God swinging his scythe slower than a sloth suddenly became energetic. He stepped back warily, the scythe tip pointing straight at him, and shouted with strong reasoning:
"Who are you! This is Death God business; any outsider daring to approach, beware your life!"
Yuu looked at his acting with a strange expression.
His tone jumped straight from the Victorian era to an Edo drama...
He looked left and right; no one was secretly throwing a weapon from backstage—instead, they were all watching happily from behind.
He shrugged helplessly, only able to go up empty-handed.
"Just a passing Kamen Rider."
Hearing this overly casual answer, the executing Death God was stunned for a moment and unconsciously asked: "Then where's your belt?"
"Hey, even Death Gods watch Kamen Rider..."
"Hahahaha—"
Laughter erupted from below the stage. It seemed quite a few students knew about Kamen Rider; they were a bit amused by the jab.
Yuu was too lazy to sneer. He walked to Totsuka's side, pulled him away from Adler, patted his long skirt, then asked concernedly.
"Are you okay? Good thing I came just in time; it was really critical."
"Uh, i-it's fine... Thank you, stranger."
With the added attentive and gentle gaze, Totsuka, who currently looked more like a girl than a teenage boy, seemed a bit shy. His cheeks flushed under the spotlight, looking quite charming.
Unfortunately, Yuu, who had seen beautiful girls' shy expressions often, felt no desire to change orientation. He just nodded, pretending to be relieved.
"Good."
"Hey!" The ignored Adler nearly fell to the ground. He got up and frowned dissatisfied, "I'm the injured one, you know? Why don't you care about me?"
Yuu rolled his eyes: "I came to save the village girl, not the Death God."
Then he waved his hand in disgust, standing in front of the executing Death God in his place.
"Enough, let me handle this. Hurry and arrange your own funeral... They say you're about to die; don't struggle to live into the next season."
"You! How dare you threaten to behead me!"
Adler gritted his teeth angrily. He gripped his scythe tightly, eyes glaring at him. He looked very eager to defect on the spot and attack him alongside the other Death Gods.
Indeed, not all girls in this school respected and adored him for his looks and skills.
This extroverted Adler was one example. Though the two didn't interact much usually, their attitude was like normal close classmates. They could chat normally and tease each other like this, without distinguishing because he was a national kendo champion or the top student.
"Talk after you can beat me. Lowly drama club captain, not worth one of my fingers."
"Fine, I defect." The lead actor said without hesitation. The next second, he fully recovered and stood on the opposite Death God team, glaring sharply at Yuu and sneering.
The enemies suddenly changed from three to four, while behind him was only a slender, weak village girl.
The laughter below the stage grew louder, as if watching a comedy show.
Totsuka seemed a bit embarrassed by the laughter. He hid behind him, secretly tugging his shirt hem twice, and whispered: "Yuu, how do we end this? Just follow the original script..."
"Don't worry, I understand acting better than you guys." After saying that confidently, Yuu didn't look back and said loudly to the funeral team in front:
"I don't know what's happening here. I only know—what I must stop now isn't the Death Gods, but the executioners who take lives as they please!"
The clear and authoritative voice was like a curtain. As it swept the entire room, the laughter was truly stepped underfoot, allowing no insult whatsoever.
"..."
The audience below was stunned in place. Then they unconsciously shifted all attention to him, as if captivated by his serious expression instantly entering character, and gradually fell silent together.
The actors facing him directly felt the far stronger aura now. They all stood with mouths open, only snapping out of it after he cleared his throat lightly to remind them.
"L-lowly human, do you want to stop the Death God execution team from punishing the sinner?!"
The leading black-robed Death God shouted with less convincing tone, delivering the low-tier character dialogue. His underlings behind also joined in shouting.
Among them was even Adler, the original lead... They were truly a group of low-tier characters.
Yuu held back the urge to sneer. Just as he was about to continue with grand-sounding lines, someone from backstage threw a plastic sword toward him. The sword spun and rolled to his feet.
He turned; the double golden drill hair had just disappeared behind the backdrop.
(She's telling me to end it quickly... She's pretty smart. When she knew she couldn't prank me, she immediately adjusted the plan.)
The corner of his mouth twitched in amusement. Yuu pulled back his gaze. His toe suddenly kicked; the plastic sword flew up in a stunning arc, and he steadily caught it with his right hand in mid-air.
*👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻!*
Though the prop was simple, this graceful and cool move naturally drew applause from the audience.
"I don't care if you're executioners or vigilantes, Death Gods or a suspicious group... There's only one choice: advance or retreat."
Amid the applause, Yuu slowly raised his sword tip. His smile gradually faded from his lips. His eyes sharply stared at the four.
"And I will do my best to protect everyone standing behind me."
Death God team: "..."
Though it was just a plastic sword, whether it was just a feeling, they really saw a cold glint from the blade. An inexplicable unease suddenly rose in their hearts, as if they would truly be hurt if slashed.
Like pigs in a pen waiting to be slaughtered, no one dared speak first, afraid that once they opened their mouths, the plastic sword would split them in two.
The silence lasted several seconds. Suddenly, Adler voluntarily left the Death God team and ran behind Yuu as if nothing happened.
Then he firmly clutched his chest and fell to the ground.
"Thank you, foreign swordsman... Please protect this beautiful and kind-hearted village girl... Puh eh."
After saying that in a dying voice, he turned his head and started pretending to be dead, not daring to meet the accusing gazes from the other three Death Gods.
This cunning creature!
As expected of the drama club captain; his defection skill was also captain-level!
(How about this, I want to defect too...) xN
Seeing their hesitant expressions, Yuu maintained his serious and dignified face, speaking in a voice only audible on stage: "What are you afraid of? I won't really hit you. It's just acting; how will you end it if you keep hesitating like this?"
"R-really?" The leading Death God raised his scythe hesitantly, "Then, we're coming?"
"Of course it's real. I'm not interested in hitting my own classmates..." Yuu paused, then suddenly asked again, "By the way, what if I accidentally break the props?"
Like a little rabbit, the leading Death God blinked innocently: "Uh, there are spares made. If it's just a few, it's still..."
"Good."
Yuu tilted his head slightly so the audience below couldn't see his expression.
He smiled brightly at them.
"This is the improv you planned, right? Then attack with all your might, show 100% of your acting and spirit... Otherwise, I can't guarantee I won't hurt you, you know~"
The sword tip lowered. As he spoke, he already assumed a starting stance.
As if sensing the threat of death, the Death God team couldn't help screaming in pain.
"S-so scary!"
Though he said this while smiling, everyone who heard felt the coldness and cruelty in his voice, as if the Death God was truly extending a scythe from behind, hooking their necks.
No one dared doubt if he was joking or scaring them—only in the spontaneously arising fear, they raised their scythes high. Their faces hidden behind black robes were full of tragic expressions, and they rushed toward him shouting.
"Arrogant! Taste death!"
"Uraa!"
"May God bless!"
Yuu almost couldn't maintain his expression: "You're real Death Gods..."
Then, facing the three attacking without coordination, he suddenly stepped forward. His arm swung powerfully, as if even the air would tear, a sharp air friction sound briefly heard.
Three one-handed sword strikes—「Sharp Claws」!
*SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!*
Three cracking sounds. Amid the sword paths no one could see, he casually walked through the three's encirclement. Four objects flew high simultaneously.
His heel stopped. Three scythe heads and one broken sword blade then fell to the ground, scattered at the stage's edge.
"Death Gods are only this much. Before harassing good women, better return to hell and train your mind and body properly."
Turning slowly, he glanced at the three black-robed figures standing frozen, staring blankly at their weapons, and casually dropped the broken sword hilt.
Then, looking at Adler and Totsuka also stunned on stage, Yuu smiled.
"Death God, girl. I can feel you have deep feelings until death."
"But precisely because of that, you must live well—not to find a place to die, but to find a home where memories can be stored, to be recalled anytime..."
"Well, personally, I prefer an ending like this."
The soft and pleasant voice sounded very clear on stage.
However, no one answered, and no one continued his dialogue.
Time in the entire class seemed to stop flowing. Only he alone in this quiet world turned and left the stage with a free attitude.
"After all, death isn't what kills love; forgetting is."
At his signal, the curtain slowly lowered, and the stage was shrouded in darkness.
This performance ended here.
Only no one remembered what the last line said by the young man who performed improv like magic was.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Unknowingly, her hands were already holding a pile of snacks.
On the way to Class 2-F, Asuna really couldn't resist the aromas from the stalls. She originally just wanted to buy snacks to try, but everything looked so delicious. After picking and choosing, she unknowingly bought them all.
"Hmm, I'll finish them. I won't gain weight as long as I increase physical activity lately..." She secretly comforted herself, then bit into a big hot dog, showing a satisfied expression, "Hmm~ Delicious! By the way, it's been so long since I went to a festival or places like this."
When her friends invited her to fireworks festivals or shrine celebrations, she was always studying hard at cram school or home. She basically had few memories of such things, let alone a beautiful youth.
So, when she had the rare chance to eat a lot and have fun at the Cultural Festival, Asuna certainly couldn't hold back. She was even thinking of making up for everything she hadn't eaten in the past while her mom wasn't around!
However, only after finishing two or three snacks did she arrive at Class 2-F on the second floor of the school building. She hurriedly tidied her things, wiped the corner of her mouth, and licked the sauce on her lips. After making sure her appearance wasn't too embarrassing, she took a deep breath and put on a polite and friendly smile.
Then, she stepped forward and greeted the double golden drill-haired girl who had just exited the classroom door.
"Excuse me, may I ask..."
"Hah?" The other's attention seemed a bit scattered. She didn't look directly at her, just answering reflexively, "Did you come to watch the play? Sorry, this morning's last show is over. Next one is in the afternoon. The schedule is here."
"Eh?"
Blinking in confusion, before Asuna could react, the double golden drill-haired girl had slipped a flyer into her hand, then with sleepwalking-like steps, took the signboard outside the door and turned back into the class.
*KRAK—*
Seeing the classroom door closed in front of her, Asuna couldn't help slightly opening her mouth, her face full of confusion.
"The play's over? But that's not what I wanted to ask..."