Ruby and Kana finished their little routine after about two minutes. Ruby looked fine, but Kana was sweating quite a bit—nothing major, though. Still, for a performer, her stamina was lacking
Ruby walked over to me with a big smile. "What did you think?"
'I don't want to cause any drama, but I can't, in good faith, lie to her.' I couldn't do it. I'm just too good of a person. She hadn't done anything to me, and I treat people how they treat me. That said, it wasn't hard to imagine what could happen if I was too honest.
Ruby's smile started to falter, and a little anxiousness crept into her expression.
"It was alright..." I paused, lowering my voice to a whisper. "It's really just her." I pointed toward Kana discreetly, which felt a bit shady, but again, I wasn't trying to start any drama.
"W-What do you mean?" she whispered back, thankfully catching on to the need for discretion.
"She's not being herself, or maybe she's just not putting in genuine effort?" I hoped my point got across, but I wasn't entirely sure how to explain my gut feeling. Then, something else struck me. "Also, she seems to have low stamina—she's already sweating."
"Ah, that's because she doesn't usually do outdoor scenes. It's usually green screen or indoor stuff!"
Hearing Ruby's words, I couldn't confirm or deny it. This world had proven to be different in certain areas compared to everyone's respective canon, but it still didn't sound that believable. Ruby knew Kana better than I did, though, so I decided to take her at her word.
"But what about me? What do you think I need to work on?"
"Frankly, I think you need better eyes."
Some might be confused by what I meant, so let me explain. Obviously, I didn't mean "eyes" in the literal sense. I was talking about awareness—of her partners, the area, herself, and the camera. From what little I understood about things like this, these four aspects were what made a person stand out!
Ruby clearly didn't understand what I meant, as evidenced by her tilting her head and staring at me with confused eyes, completely lost in her trying to understand. So, I explained it to her carefully, and she eventually ended up pouting a bit.
"I would love to have that, but I'm still lacking experience!" she admitted.
I shrugged. "Well, now that you know, you can start working on it."
Ruby leaned in closer, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Alright, sensei, how about you teach me, then? You clearly seem to know everything!" She stuck her tongue out at me, her pout melting into a teasing grin.
"N-N-No! Uh, I'll leave that to the pros!" I stammered, scurrying off behind Frill, which caused Ruby to laugh.
"Hehehe~"
"H-HEY! Don't laugh that hard!" I exclaimed, embarrassed as Ruby hugged her stomach and fell to her knees, laughing so hard that tears started streaming down her cheeks.
"Pfft~ Fine! You ready for take two, Kana?" Ruby said, still giggling as she walked over to her partner. Ruby explained a few things to Kana, who, to my surprise, seemed to take it well.
'Maybe Ruby worded it a little differently? Or maybe she was just planning to handle it herself?' I wondered.
The two got back in position and shot the video again. This time, it was much smoother, but the difference in energy between them was still noticeable.
'Does Kana even want to be here?' I couldn't help but wonder. I noticed her eyes occasionally drifting toward the other male in the group. There was something in her gaze that felt familiar.
"Ah!" It struck me like lightning. Kana gave Aqua the same look that Sawako gives me—that loving look. However, her feelings didn't seem as developed. Maybe she'd just realized them, or perhaps she wasn't even aware of them yet.
"What are you doing?" Frill's cold voice snapped me back to reality.
I turned to glance at her. "Just thinking about something in the future."
"Instead of doing that, want to help me with this?" she asked, handing me another camera. It wasn't as fancy as the one she was using, but it still looked pretty expensive.
I gave her a questioning look.
"Just help me get some other angles," Frill said, gesturing toward the girls with a tilt of her head. She crouched slightly, adjusting her own camera as she glanced at mine. "The main part is keeping the camera steady and lining up good shots."
I remembered the trend, there was a back-and-forth motion as the background changed on beat. I got into position, and Frill gave me a thumbs-up. I pressed the record button and knelt to match Frill's height. A strange feeling grew within me, it wasn't boring, but it definitely wasn't what I'd planned for the day. I just wanted to watch!
'Hm?' Something caught my eye mid-recording.
With every turn Ruby's smile grew wider. With every movement, her energy seemed to brighten even more.
'Hahaha~, I hope Kendo becomes a passion where I can be as happy as she is.' Ruby truly inspired me to pursue my passions. That smile alone was enough to light a spark within me, mainly because I wanted to find something that could bring me the same level of joy. Sure, I had others who brought me immense happiness, but everyone needs a hobby!
Time passed, and the third shoot was done. It was definitely the best one yet!
"How was that?!" Ruby's smug energy radiated off her so strongly that I felt the urge to humble her playfully. However, Aqua's gaze was becoming unbearably annoying, so I just smiled while pulling out my phone.
"Check your phone," I whispered.
She hurriedly obeyed and saw my text!
[Me: That was great! You definitely have a talent for this! 😤]
She looked up, giggling, and raised her hand for a crisp high-five.
Smack~!
"Hehe~"
"Haha~"
Second by second, I felt closer to her. Her energy just kind of matched mine perfectly, creating a rhythm that felt natural and easy to fall into.