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Azul stepped forward, and with one smooth motion, he pulled out his sword and stopped the tip right in front of Riddle’s throat. As he did, Riddle also brought his sword up, pressing its blade against his lower jaw. The cold metal sent a shiver through his body, and he felt the pace of his heartbeat quicken.
Riddle smirked. “I knew you would come and find me.”
“Naturally,” said Azul. “All of my heart and mind has been occupied with finding you, and I have searched endlessly for the past few days.”
“How lovely. Is there something you want for a reward, then?”
“May I have the honor of taking your life?” Azul leaned a little closer, eyes fixed on Riddle’s, who stared back unflinching.
He laughed drily. “Unfortunately, that is the one thing I cannot grant you. But do you not think this is a lovely night for a duel?”
“A duel, you say?”
He hadn’t even finished speaking when they both pulled back and swung their swords at one another, and there was a loud clang as their swords met. Riddle evaded the strike and lunged at Azul.
“Roi des Roses,” Azul remarked playfully, “it looks like you’re still quite agile after all these years.” He fended off an attack to his left, hitting Riddle’s blade with such strength, his opponent’s sword almost slipped from his hands.
“And I see you haven’t lost your strength, Roi d’Effort.” Riddle stepped back, stabling his stance. “Your former brilliance, however, seemed to have dulled a bit.”
“Whatever do you mean?” Azul striked towards Riddle’s right shoulder, which he blocked off with ease.
“Even after all those hints I deliberately laid out, you only managed to find me as the third day is coming to an end.” Riddle chuckled bitterly. “Three days. I’ve been waiting for three days.”
“Did you look forward so much to being defeated?” Azul tipped his head, a teasing smile on his face.
“Quite the opposite. I was looking forward to the day when I could finally conquer you.”
“Alright, stop, acting disasters.” Vil clapped his hands twice, and the light above the stage dimmed. He stood below the stage, staring at Azul and Riddle with an unsatisfied frown.
“You two,” he said, “are acting less like lifelong enemies and more like you’re flirting with each other.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Riddle pouted. “I followed everything that was written on the script.”
“Acting is more than memorizing the lines,” said Vil. “You weren’t even trying to get into character, were you?”
Azul was breathing fast, still trying to catch his breath from the mock duel. Yes, that must be why his heart was beating so fast right now, no other reason at all. He sheathed the sword with shaking hands and hoped he didn’t look too taken aback by what Vil said. Flirting, he said… was it that obvious?
“Have we ever considered the reason being that Rook-san was the one who wrote the script?” he questioned, tone defensive.
“The script is perfectly fine,” said Vil, “Rook and I went through the entire thing last night. The problem is that you two aren’t portraying the characters well.”
“Then, why do we have to be the ones to play the two main roles?” Riddle said. Azul wondered if he was imagining it, but he sounded a little flustered.
“Headmaster Crowley said that two Housewardens must play the main role, to ‘attract people to come and watch and increase the school’s publicity’, according to him. And as for the other housewardens, Idia could barely talk to people properly. Leona would not take it seriously unless there’s something in it for him, which there isn’t. And Kalim… it would require some effort to teach him how to act, to say the least.”
“What about you?” Azul asked.
“Me?” Vil smiled devilishly. “Oh, I'd just steal the spotlight from whoever is my acting partner.”
The corner of Riddle’s mouth was twitching, and Azul guessed he was also irritated by Vil’s words. Though, neither of them could argue against what he had said.
“Azul,” he said, voice dripping with annoyance, “perhaps we should go through this section from the start again?”
“I couldn’t agree less, Riddle-san. The first time was just a warm-up.”
In reality, Azul really, really didn’t want to say those lines again. “All of my heart and mind has been occupied with finding you”? No matter how he thought about it, that line was something akin to a confession, and he wondered if such dramatism is normal in the world of theatres. Though he supposed it would sound quite natural if Rook was the one saying it…
In any case, he must pull it off flawlessly this time around, to make Vil eat his w- ahem, retract his statement. Also, he was definitely not flirting. He wouldn’t have dared to flirt, not at the risk of other people finding out about his feelings.
“Looks like you two are fired up now,” said Vil, flipping the pages of the script. “Well, you have some potential, I suppose. Just remember your character’s motivation when saying the lines.
“Again from the top,” said Vil, clapping his hands twice again. The spotlights above the stage turned on, casting down brightly onto the polished wooden floor. “And remember, no romantic undertones this time.”
No romantic undertones, Azul repeated to himself.