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The Endalsian winds were nothing short of aggressive, and Rui was unusually delighted over the fact. Alchemy was never stopped by terrible weather, it created more of a challenge, instead. Yes, the carefully curated and mixed ingredients would flail around, or even spill onto damp grass, and yes, it would happen in the worst possible moment in time, but that could narrowly be prevented if effort was given into it.
Rui would only do the most logical thing to work around it, really. Create his own little robot arms that would hold his potion bottles for him, withstanding the heavy winds. Where was the use in waiting for the sour weather to pass, anyways? A problem that could be solved by the likes of father time was more of a problem than one would think.
I wonder how many people will show up today…
An indoor theater was being used, above all. Within the Yagu Dawnbridge Pavillion, entertainment was a legal obligation under the Otori family’s ownership. There was always something going on in the Dawnbridge stage, from shows by traveling nomads to hopeful bards. All of the performers were aware of the rather high saturation of visitors, more specifically, knights from other neighboring towns visiting for short breaks from combat. Tiring lives needed entertaining shows, which were offered at a splendor.
Considering it’s still a five minute walk from the hotel to the theater.
Regardless of the shared ownership and name of the theater, it still stood as an individual building. With a storm, though, would the five minute walk to the discounted auditorium be worth it? Especially for an opening show from performers who, to say the least, were not known to perform yet.
Well, this show was not for everyone, anyways. He may have spent days and days straight, taking time off his work for it, but Rui only had one intended audience member he was anticipating. If they didn’t show, then he’d have to wait another hopefully distasteful day in terms of the weather.
Backstage was where nobody had notified Rui to start, so he was encouraging, no, forcing his actors to keep practicing again. While it was not a complex runthrough, Rui constantly had to make adjustments. There were distant footsteps that the alchemist began to hear at this point, meaning that attendees were certainly going to watch.
“Rui! Let the actors rest!”
A rain-drenched Emu peered from the heavy satin curtains, of a velvety red. Odd color choice for the material, but there was no point in arguing. Besides, the contrast between the deep muddy brown wood tiles on the interior of the stage’s structure and the curtains on top of a rubbery stage Rui designed, the mood of the area was incredible in its’ design.
Backstage was where the pink-haired girl seemed exasperated, after all, she was busy running various errands for the show. Being the head receptionist was not a help at the moment— Emu was going back and forth from the hotel to the auditorium, from the pavilion to the stage. Wearing a bright pink raincoat was not enough for the girl, neither was tightly carrying a white umbrella that was repeatedly going inside out.
“Why don’t you just stay here from now on? There’s other employees at the hotel too, no… and you need to change.”
Rui kept a warm smile, as Emu nodded while she unbuttoned the little white heart-shaped clasps from their attentively-sewn hooks. Then, the girl waved, scurrying off with the sudden awareness that the water was going to damage the edge of the stage she stood on.
Falling into deep thought, the alchemist was wondering if the play would be as perfect as he crafted it to be. Tsukasa seemed fine, although his duties as a captain would surely hinder his already seemingly poor performance as one. A boisterous prince was what he played, well-fitted for his equally boisterous personality. The standard fairy tale prince was stuck in a trap after thinking he outsmarted the villains by going through his planned escape route when visiting his coveted princess to bring her a gift, so now, the princess, Emu, would have to save her using her abilities to talk to animals and charms of the standard fairy tale heroine.
While it was not anything special, most of the actors were Rui’s handmade robots. It was a lot of effort, having so many side characters who were controlled by the same hand. In the end, the alchemist worked all of it out. A lot of his creatures used oils that were mixed with Drops of Life, giving them a more realistic movement— but just enough of the drops were added to ensure that Rui would still be able to control the little robots.
Most of the robots, if they weren’t controlled, would simply mimic the behaviors of the critters they were based on, given their oil blends also had a light extract of fur or feather mixed with the drops of life. The fur or feather would be pulverized after finding some around the forest– which is what Rui preferred to use. He was used to this sort of process, this experimental form of a creature.
What Rui did was thorough, he was running through the robots’ doings and followings so much that he was refilling some of the robots’ tanks with their special oil blends. He made an excessive amount, unsure of how long the fuel would even last if not used at an instant.
“You know, Rui, we could just do this another day. It’s rainy! What if nobody shows up?”
Backstage was where Tsukasa was busy striking poses in his costume, which was still in a fairly pristine condition as he needlessly yelled at Rui. Or would saying yelled
to
Rui fit better, considering the captain’s permanent outdoor voice? Pulling his sky blue gloves further down his hands, Tsukasa seemed excited, but admittedly a little exasperated after all of the practicing he did. The alchemist was surprised at Tsukasa’s insistence to keep going over the play, even if it benefitted Rui as well.
“First of all, you can hear plenty of adventurers outside. They’ve been through a lot, a rainy day won’t stop them from a play where their captain humiliates himself.”
“Hey!”
Rui immediately chuckled, hiding his face from showing the creases of his smile as Tsukasa yelled back a response immediately, crossing his arms and raising his voice even more. His costume was a blue collared shirt with a white vest, gold chains crossing over one button of the vest to the other, with golden buttons holding on to them as well as being sewn onto the white folded sleeves from the navy shirt. The shirt itself was tucked into a pair of black tuxedo pants, gold chains on the pockets— the packers were the same recurring blue, with little golden stars sewn on the collars, sleeves, and pockets of Tsukasa’s ensemble.
Of course, a prince could not be a prince without a crown and a sword, his crown was small and a dinky silver color, really out of copper, with little jewels that were painted with a mixture of blueberry fruit juice and fabric dye of a light purple.
The budget was not high, but Rui still adored the costumes that were at hand. There were felt roses in Tsukasa’s vest pocket, as well as one tucked into his hair of a baby pink. It made sense with Emu’s costume— a flowing, layered white dress with lace ends on the hems of the dress, with those very roses sewn under the bodice, as well as the sleeves with a green lace on the top over the dresses’ sleeve, and the collar of the bodice. These costumes were breathable enough, regardless of the amount of fabric used. Rui would never fail to be impressed by the sheer quality of what was worn.
He wondered what they would think.
“Rui, I’m ready,” Backstage was where Emu was wearing the dress Rui was only just thinking of, “But I wanna go through it all one more time!”
While a little panicked, Emu still managed to look as spotless as a princess was meant to look like. Hair grown out, Otori was undoubtedly dedicated to her role, as her pink braids were still put in place since the warm afternoon when her stylist finished up, pearls still pinned without so much as tilting. It was all impressive, and Rui was relieved.
At least, until he saw how knotty Emu’s hair had become. Without tying her hair, it was bound to happen. Leaving all of it flowing out of the hood of her rain jacket, Emu created a gateway for knots, as well as an odd mixture of wet and dry hair. The alchemist immediately began to comb Emu’s hair, with an old hairbrush in his pocket that was made for much, much shorter hair.
“Waah! It hurts!” Emu whined, rightfully so. Rui was focused on making her look perfect, though, so he kept on combing through.
“Sorry, Emu.”
Rui began to comb more gently, easing his grip on her hair and imagining the shade of Emu’s locks being a little lighter. What a strange enchantment, being in delusion. The sounds of people chattering and laughing became louder, signaling a larger crowd than anticipated. The power of the Otori family and the Black Iron Corps was admittedly shocking, but by no means a bad thing.
“We start soon— as in, around ten minutes, by the way!”
Backstage was where another head popped through the curtains, this time, of an impatient Akito Shinonome. He was one of the adventurers who had no intention of staying, yet he chose to help out with production and set design, and apparently to remind them when to start. Rui never checked the time, but Emu’s hair seemed fine enough.
“Darn it! We can’t practice all of it again! Let me just think of my lines…” Emu huffed, “Tsukasa! My lovely prince~! Can we practice together?”
The girl ran up to the prince, involuntarily straightening up his coat in the process. Before sighing, the captain took a multitude of deep breaths that Rui could not think to be helping even a little bit before they both rehearsed the scenes they were together in. The speed at which they were talking was on the brink of diabolical, but there was no use in protesting. Akito began to pull the large paintings of the scenes into the order in which they would be displayed. The large, intricate canvases were truly impressive, with details in the slightest background piece being clear and carefully placed.
Akito rubbed both of his elbows, as if cold, while looking down on the crooked floorboard underneath him. Decorated on his face was something between a frown and a glower, cheeks a powdery red as he averted his eyes away from the director. Eventually his gaze trailed over the sets he had so carefully curated, from years of experience in the past as a blooming artist.
“Thanks, Akito. You’re marvelous. I’m sure that the prince and his knight will be beyond impressed.”
Backstage was where Rui hugged the shorter boy, who softened in expression and grip before returning the act. This play operated as a way for Rui to grow close to a multitude of the people he had met in his journey, which included the rigid and talented adventurer who was embracing him.
“They’ll love it too. Tell me what they both think, okay?”
Akito returned the favor of reassurance as well to Rui before nodding and letting go, heading out with a sword in hand. Duty would always call.
The alchemist couldn’t hold back a smile, before heading by the curtains’ ropes to raise them. Time went by so quickly, so he had to constantly catch up with it. If only Rui could make adjustments to the flow of time, as well. He’d be able to change so much, do so much more than he could.
Backstage was where Tsukasa and Emu were still practicing, adding their choreography to their lines. Backstage was where all of the robots were resting, unaware of the time that was passing. Backstage was where some children from the orphanage who volunteered to help held on to some of the controllers for some of the specific creatures, discussing the cues that would indicate their partaking in the play with excitement and anxiety. Backstage was where the props were placed, to be moved discretely when the show would begin. Backstage was where the noise from an eager crowd could be heard, slowly decreasing in volume. Backstage was where all of the progress was to be paid off, as silence drizzled over the entire Dawnbridge stage.
Yet Rui chose not to stay backstage.
Rui pulled the curtains upwards, revealing a prince who appeared to be like a star with the glowing light embracing his golden hair that faded to an auburn, parted down the middle like it always was when actual duties were being respected. The heavy light was shining right onto the stage, highlighting the impressionistic painting of a dull gray castle’s entrance with azure flags that brought out the color in Tsukasa’s costume.
There was just one other star that the spotlight wasn’t reaching.
Rui discreetly moved to the side of the stage, next to where the side curtains were. His head just barely appeared from the stairs that led to the stage, with his brown goggles still on his face from last-minute tinkering. Still, he wore the same dark vest with its’ diamond pattern over his white button-up shirt, the one he wore when he first found himself in the Labyrinth City rather than the Citadel City. His pants were the same shade as the vest, with a keychain of a black ribbon that stood out on the front right waist band.
In the crowd, there was someone wearing that very same black ribbon, even if he couldn’t see it. All he needed to see was the person themselves, already in awe of the performance.
Mizuki Akiyama.
With their light pink hair, their eyelashes with a dash of rose, and some sort of lip gloss that was scented like peaches, and a flawless beige top with ruffled sleeves and collar, along with lace tracing down the top of the very same darkened, rusty black. Black was the shade of the skirt the shirt was tucked in as well, sewn with the flowery shade of pink thread that their eyelashes always had. Their hands were still covered in tiny scars from using needles, still moisturized as they covered their mouth to hide the laughter that filled the entire theater.
Brushing their long hair to the side, Mizuki still giggled as the creases of their eyes were closer to each other, coral eyes glittering underneath the heavy light on the set as they leaned closer to the stage from their chair, despite already sitting in the middle of the very front row.
“With so many of you critters, I’ll be sure to save my prince~!”
Emu began to sing, allowing Rui to instinctively mess with the controller as per usual. As the robotic birds flew in, with the squirrels, foxes, and rabbits, various creating sounds as the crowd of children backstage mimicked the voices of the animals, Mizuki’s breath was stolen right out of their body, as their eyes were widened, lips slightly apart, hands gripping onto the ashy armrests. They were starstruck, remaining in the same position as their chest began to rise and fall again. Eventually, their wondrous expression shifted into a grin, clasping their hands with a clap that was oddly loud, however unheard of through the birds that continued to sing with the princess.
Mizuki’s irises appeared to be in conflict as they continuously moved throughout the set, all the while short fits of laughter and gasps clipped short would shift on their face. All Rui could do was watch. Backstage, the people he had worked with for days straight were working hard to avoid as many errors on their show as they could, and backstage, Tsukasa was waiting on his cue, like everyone else who was idly focused on the show. The audience was focused on their show, too, on Emu, who was proving herself an amazing actress like how Tsukasa did around half an hour before. Beside the stage, Rui was focused on Mizuki, from their eyes, to their nose, shining in the center, to their cheeks, which would grow more and more pink, to their lips, as they kept on laughing, to their neck, stretched just a bit to demonstrate the sheer focus they had on the play.
Only looking away to allow the birds to flutter about and such, Rui’s eyes were so tender, so soft as he watched Mizuki’s awe.
How did Mizuki manage to steal my own show from me?
Admiring their own costumes, or admiring the costumes that were brought in a few weeks ago to begin to work with, or admiring the costumes that were in front of them. Little did all of them know, the one who created all of these beautiful pieces was in front of them, behind them, or in the same auditorium as them, considering the pieces ‘scraps that were not going to flatter anyone.’
It’s all so beautiful. They’re so beautiful.
Admittedly, Rui felt a bit bad about stealing Mizuki’s creations for his own use, but he had to prove a point somehow. Everything they did never failed to amaze Rui, even what Mizuki had considered to be of poor quality. Tsukasa and Emu looked dazzling as they stood side by side, the prince grateful for his saving. The two discussed what they were to do now that the princess found the prince, and how to narrowly avoid the supposed villains. Mizuki had a hand twirling one of the strands of their light pink hair, eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed, as if they were helping with the planning, too.
Seeing Mizuki love Rui’s play so much, he wondered if a feeling like the one he felt would ever come back.
The climax of the show finally approached, where the princess and prince would dance together with the animals surrounding them, but a surprise was coming where the prince would ask to duel the princess due to being doubtful of her ability to save him. Rui spent a great amount of time instructing the kids that were studying chemistry under him on the sequence of the battle, and Emu even learned how to swordfight as an actual skill to elevate the already dramatic scene.
Mizuki was riveted.
Their eyes danced with the couple, before Tsukasa began to question Emu, the animals appearing confused in their own ways. Confused, too, was Mizuki, as they clenched the likes of their flowy black skirt, eyes darting in two directions, one from the prince to the princess, the other vice versa. Their back no longer even brushed the red seat, considering they were deeply intent to figure out what the deciding factor of the princess would be.
A clink of Emu’s sword, hidden by her flaccid cream-coloured dress against Tsukasa’s trusted steel one, caused Mizuki to leave their jaw hanging as tears began to glisten and eventually spill down their eyes, bringing down an untraceable amount of black mascara with the salty waterworks. They were dueling for an extended period of time, swords clashing as the robotic foxes began to bite onto Tsukasa’s clothes, squirrels pulling on the tie with the birds holding up Emu’s dress as she moved around. Mizuki had a stern expression, they already wiped their tears away as they bit their lips, a habit they did not carry at any given time in their life.
“You… weren’t wrong… you’re my savior.”
Tsukasa’s softened expression as he lay on the floor, holding a bouquet of paper foxes, rabbits, squirrels, and birds, with the robotic versions backstage, with a stressed Emu on top of him with her sword to the side, notably took place in a backdrop of a green forest, covered in herbal flowers that only he, Mizuki, and Akito could recognize. Rui easily recalled the directions he gave Akito when Akito asked what the locations would be, with this area being the space where Rui met Mizuki for the first time. Mizuki did not have any singing animals around them, but what they did do was save him from a life of endless confusion. Even if his thoughts were dramatic, it was his feelings.
Mizuki turned just once and met Rui’s eyes. They were shocked, with a free flow of laughter following, echoing throughout the entire theater. Rui’s lips creased into another gentle smile, tears falling from his yellow eyes, too. Rushing up the stairs, Rui was aware that he would have to bow as the director of the show. He was glad that his last glimpse of Mizuki was one of joy, their voice that hid in their chuckle was a sweet sound to his ears.
Rui pulled on the rope to allow for the velvet curtains to fall. Backstage was where everyone was preparing to bow as well, waiting for Emu and Tsukasa to come back due to the roar of applause that had just begun after their embrace. Lines were being assembled in a rush, robots being shut off, silence leaving the backstage.
The prince and princess immediately began to discuss their seemingly endless mistakes during the play as they approached from the corner of the now fallen curtains, both were frustrated but fell into big grins as they hugged each other as Tsukasa and Emu, two friends who mutually wanted to dazzle the world and create smiles on everyone’s faces.
Alright, my turn.
Rui gracefully walked around the curtains to the front of the stage, raising one hand to his chest before bowing beneath the glowing, golden lights. Immediately another loud round of applause and cheer blasted through the auditorium, which Rui welcomed in an instant.
Mizuki had gotten up by now, hands on the end of the front of the stage as they had a massive grin, eyes squinted to the point where their lashes were at full display. Adventurers and commanders, or even a prince and his knight may have been in the crowd, but Rui seemed to be lost in all of his thoughts. Kneeling down before Mizuki, he was beaming.
“This is my gift for you, Mizuki.”
Only the two of them could hear his words, warm and sweet, but many diverted their eyes as the director’s hands cupped both of Mizuki’s cheeks, then closing the gap between each other’s lips.
At the front of the stage was where Rui felt the stickiness of Mizuki’s peach lip gloss, the feeling of small cuts and the tenderness of Mizuki’s lips, soft and plump. Mizuki’s hands went around Rui’s neck somewhere in the process, before they both let go. Rui gave one last bow before rushing backstage, Mizuki gasping for breath despite how chaste it all was.
Wait, which one’s the gift?