As Nami, Fujita and Rina entered the auditorium, the first thing that caught their eyes was Seita floating.
Yes, it was true indeed.
There was no wiring or no rope whatsoever to support Seita in the air.
"Wow."
Fujita was in awe with the display of magic. Seita steadied himself in a posture to make it seem like he is standing on nothing.
He was wearing the costume that Harue prepared for him. Throughout, the whole performance, Seita would be wearing 3 different kinds of costume.
One was a ragged cloth, from the time he would play as a poor commoner. One was a typical outfit for a soldier.
Finally, the last one was a well-armoured knight type attire. It would be shiny and a bit colourful in certain areas.
Right now, Seita was wearing the ordinary soldier outfit.
Harue was working on the third one so that all of his outfits were completed.
"All good?" Kagome raised her voice so that Seita would hear clearly.
"Yes! I adapted to it."
Paro observed that everything was in place for the stunt. She confirmed it with everyone for one last time.
"Kagome-san, are you ready?"
"Yes."
She looked up and shouted at Seita.
"Seita-kun! We are going to start!"
"I am good to go anytime!"
Last but not least, Paro looked back at the far end where the seats were. Ike was operating behind a spotlight located at the rear overhead of the auditorium.
From the audiences' point of view, it was a good idea to peer the light a bit horizontally when Seita is in the air. It is common knowledge.
Paro did not shout but instead, put her thumbs up to indicate if everything was okay.
Ike responded the exact same way, giving Paro the go-ahead sign. She turned to Yuna who was standing near multiple light switches.
"Yuna-chan, turn off the lights."
She nodded and did as she was asked. She flicked all of the switches, shrouding the whole auditorium into darkness. Except for that one spotlight on which Ike was operating.
He aimed the beam of light to Seita and dispersed the darkness surrounding him.
Everyone was quiet as they spectated the upcoming small act. The lighting crew, non-acting members like Harue and Hishimi, the first years and the rest concentrated on Seita.
The role of the protagonist is expected to be done with the aid of great acting skills. And Seita was perfect for that.
Paro yelled so that everyone could hear her instruction.
"Action!"
Seita immediately wore a grieving expression which naturally befits this quiet and sombre atmosphere.
"...Why...?"
His voice was trembling with pain. That first single word he uttered shocked the first-year members.
They were forced to believe that Seita was indeed acting but they were pulled in by his anguished voice.
'Was Seita-senpai that good?' Nami only noticed him with above-average acting. So now, she was taken aback at the moment.
Fujita, Rina and the others were also astonished by the authenticity. They continued watching their senior perform.
Paro wanted Seita to perform a particular scene she was envisioning. Maybe because of the level of emotion that the protagonist had to experience, this was a crucial moment for the story she wrote.
This scene that Seita was performing goes like this:
The protagonist, named Aros, has just lost his sister, named Ariella. The cause of death was murder. She was kidnapped by a kingdom's army.
Aros, was desperate to find her and after many searches, he found her amongst the culprits. He fought endlessly trying to reach her and successfully got closer with the help of his magic power.
However, she was being held a hostage by one last soldier. He did not handle the situation well since his sister was the one captive. In the end, because of his indecisiveness, he got her sister killed.
He was broken. In a fit of rage, he killed the murderer responsible for her death. But still, it would not bring his sister, Ariella back.
He held Ariella in his arms with disbelief, feeling like he lost a part of him.
Aros did not know what to do. A second after, he thoughtlessly flew up as high as he could with his magic.
His body did it on a whim. He arrived at an altitude, then let the wind brush off his pity soul. He was stationary, not budging for a while.
Aros contemplated on his powerlessness and rambled on until his weakness turned into the drive for revenge against the kingdom who caused it.
That particular reflection of Aros' helplessness was what Seita was portraying. This was a turning point, that's why Paro wanted to perfect this part of the act.
"...Why?....W...hy.....?"
As Seita brought both his hands to his face, tears seeped through his fingers. He gritted his and roared uncontrollably.
"WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!?!?!!?!!??!"
It touched the members deeply. They were silent, not ruining Seita's performance.
There was a pause. Seita was not in a rush to deliver his line. He felt that the character Aros wanted to have some time to even think. After all, he just went through a traumatic experience.
Paro noticed this and smiled at his junior's comprehension of the protagonist.
*Sniffs*
"....What was even the point... of having this power...?"
He removed his hand from his face and looked at both his palms with a weak gaze.
"Ariella.....these hands that could not save you..."
His tone became more self-loathing.
"...I want to cut them off..."
There was another slight pause which was very meaningful. Because this was the moment, it changed all for Aros.
"But..."
He was no longer the man who has a single thought of doubt or hesitation.
"I have other uses for these incompetent hands of mine."
His motive was dead set. His eyes that shed tears will now witness his own hands massacre the enemies.
"Just you wait Ariella. I will come to you when I decimate all of these animals and the King who gave such a ruthless order!"
He clenched into a fist as he declared his revenge. From now on, he would solely live for revenge.
Slowly, the light enshrouding Seita dissipated and blended in with the obscurity.
"......"
There was just silence in the auditorium and no one had the thought of speaking or clapping.
"And cut!"
Paro's voice disrupted the gloomy mood and Yuna helped by switching on all the lights, illuminating the whole auditorium.
It snapped back the first-year members who were in a trance.
As they looked up at their senior, Seita, the ferocious eyes that desired bloodshed were gone. It was never there in the first place, it was fabricated.
He reverted back to the normal Seita they know.
"Paro-senpai! How was it?"
"It was almost perfect to what I visualised."
She instructed Kagome to put Seita down since she saw what needs to be done. Kagome slowly descended Seita until his two feet touched the ground.
Paro also made a thumbs up to Ike. He understood and started to pack his pieces of equipment and leave from there.
"Is there something that needs improving, Paro-senpai?"
"Yes, there is one. It is when you declared that you were going to take revenge. I need your expression to be more fierce."
"More fierce?"
"Yes. Aros just lost a part of him so the immense hatred he felt must be displayed properly."
Seita comprehended as he listened carefully to her advice.
"Grit your teeth more, or squint your eyes a bit to match that anger. Do whatever you can to make him more bloodthirsty, but do not do it too much. It will ruin this part."
Paro realized what she blurted out. She was worried that she was pushing Seita beyond the limit.
"...N-No pressure."
".....Hahaha..No worries Paro-senpai. I may not be a violent guy but I will get it done."
This small adjustment was properly put forward and Seita would definitely carry it out.
Everyone saw how fascinating Seita's performance was. Nami was in awe by the level of skill showcased and Fujita was still excited about that magic from Kagome.
But one person was feeling pressured. It was Konishi Rina.
She was playing the role of 'Ariella'. Seeing how brilliant her senior performed, the fact that Rina has to act as the catalyst of that scene, she felt distressed.
'What should I do?' Rina was confused and scared.
Aros lost Ariella. For Aros to feel so much despair, Ariella needs to be someone who was dear to him. Ariella needs to be someone who was 'worthy' of being with him.
'If I make a mistake...then Seita-senpai's act would be pointless.'
Rina felt that if she doesn't play Ariella's role to the level of expectation, then this would be disastrous for the club.
'I-I need to work hard."
She stabilized her thoughts into one straight line. She was less disturbed compared to moments ago.
However, there were still thorns in her mind, occasionally nagging her. Question, doubts, bad consequences, all these negativity kept springing up.
Suppressing them was all she could do.
"Rina-san, are you okay?"
Seita noticed Rina was agitated by something. Rina tried to shrug it off.
"N-No, it is nothing...."
"...Is that so?"
Although Seita did not detect anything else out of the ordinary, he still was wary of Rina.
On the other though, Fujita was carefully approaching Kagome. Part of it was because he had a scene with her but also, he was interested in her power.
"A-Ano, Kagome-senpai...."
"Yes? What is it, Serizawa-san?"
"I was just intrigued by your...power. Umm, I have a strange request for you, if you do not mind."
"...?"
Kagome tilted her head in confusion from Fujita's weird behaviour. He continued.
"Can you.....use your power on me. Just for a little."
That was really strange. She raised her thin eyebrows as he stared at her junior. She replied.
"That's it?"
"...Huh? Ah yes!"
"..."
'He is just like a puppy.' That thought flashed in her mind which made her giggle for a bit.
"You don't have to do it if you do not want to, Senpai."
"No. It is okay." She thinly smiled, " I can use it for a bit."
Right after, Fujita was slowly being lifted off the ground. It was as if a big invisible hand was grabbing him and raising him.
"Wow!"
He was not lifted as high as Seita, but still, he was enjoying the telekinesis being used on him.
"It is cool!"
A puppy delighted when playing with his master. The exact scenario kept flickering in Kagome's mind.
After some time, he came down and expressed his gratitude for floating.
"Thank you, Senpai!"
"It is no big deal."
Fujita kept rambling on how cool her power was. Kagome was not paying attention to him much yet she still listened to how fascinated he was.
That aside, all was normal and went to practice as usual.
The selection around the southern part of Japan for acts performed by Drama Clubs was going to be in just 4 days. There is very few time till the competition however, they are prepared.
The Drama Club members of Fujiidera High School are all ready for this year's Drama competition.
In the southern part of Japan, more than 200 high schools would be battling out for the win.
Overall there are 4 parts in Japan where schools would be competing in this large tournament. The northern, eastern, western and southern region.
Since Fujiidera High School is located in Osaka, it barely is in the southern region. So this school would be competing amongst the southern region.
Schools from each region would battle it out to be victorious in this tough tournament. For a school to be a finalist in a regional competition, it has to be first selected from the 200 high schools competing.
Only 32 would come out and continue their battle to the finals.
From then on, it would thin on to be 16, then 8, then 4 and then the 1. Trimming it down, with multiple performances, the high schools need to come up with ideas to proceed.
Story, acting, creativity, everything needs to be unique to attract attention and grab that first.
But for now, the first thing they need to do is to mount the first stepping stone.
That is to be selected out of more or less 200 contestants.