Chapter Text
It was a rather pleasant afternoon in the Phoenix Wonderland amusement park. The scorching hot sun was slowly setting in the sky, hiding behind the midst of fluffy white clouds surrounding it. The sky itself was a beautiful display of orange and pink hues, washing away its usual light blue color to prepare for the darkness of the night to come. The family full of nature above looked down upon the park happily. Children were running ahead of their families, eager to indulge in the various rides and games the area had to offer. Groups of cheerful people screamed as roller coasters hit big drops, couples enjoyed the romantic view from the comfort of the Ferris wheel cartridges, while the scent of carnival foods filled the air. Within the crowds of content individuals walking around the grounds, there was one group in particular that seemed to be planning for a significant event in their lives. It was an old stage that had been oddly distant from the rest of the park that it belonged to, in contrast to the closely bonded teenagers that sat atop of it. Four script packets lay in front of them as they lose themselves in reading through them. Out of the quadrant, the loud, confident, and charismatic Tsukasa Tenma speaks to his troupe.
"Well, that's it for our script reading! I would be lying if I said my tears weren't genuine during the climax." While the leader's sentence had started off joyfully, that atmosphere slowly fades away, replaced with a more reminiscing one. His bright smile followed the change in suit, softening like a pillow. He takes a moment to study each of his comrades, like he didn't want to forget a single detail on each face. When his gaze reaches Emu, he notices a few tears escaping her eyes, streaming down her cheeks and falling into her lap. She quickly wipes them away with her signature smile.
"I'm sorry guys, it's so exciting that we all get to finally go off and pursue the dreams we worked so hard for, but..." She bursts into even more tears as she continues to speak. These droplets are not fueled by sadness, though. They come from a more personal spot in her heart, one that holds the memories of her friends and just how much they've done for her to get her to where she is in the present.
"I know we still have a lot of time together, this story we've put together is just making me emotional." She says with a heartwarming laugh, with the three others joining her. Tsukasa can no longer hold back tears as he, too, begins with the waterworks.
"Thank goodness I'm not the only one!" He yells predictably loudly as he wipes away the tears filling his amber-colored eyes. As the first two members cry together while laughing, the third, Nene Kusanagi, sighs and shakes her head.
"You guys, save the weeping for when we actually have to say goodbye..." She comments non-strictly, a delicate smile forming on the corners of her mouth. Despite her statement, the songstress feels the exact same way. The tale that they all composed together represented themselves, as well as them having to officially part from each other to chase their dreams. It was a difficult thing to do, but it was inevitable. It was then that the final member, Rui Kamishiro, speaks up.
"Nene's right, we need to enjoy our final moments together before we go our separate ways." He chuckles while flicking a single tear droplet away from his left eye. Tsukasa looks over to Rui with a bright smile, standing up and putting his hands on his hips pridefully.
"Rui is right, we have to enjoy these remaining months and live our lives to the fullest!" He exclaims before excusing himself backstage to cry more. The pair of childhood friends decide to tease him.
"If you're going to attempt to give us advice, then at least follow through with it yourself." Nene says to Tsukasa, mildly unamused. Rui grins like a cat at her statement, deciding to add on.
"Our precious troupe leader doesn't need to hide his unmanly tears from us!" He calls out teasingly and at an uncharacteristically high volume. He only really raised his voice at people when he was teasing them, which was most commonly done with Nene and Tsukasa. Tsukasa retaliates from backstage.
"My tears have stopped! I am simply back here to... grab a drink! Yes! It's important that a star such as myself stays hydrated, hahaha!" He boasts, trying to mask his emotions that he previously showcased minutes ago in front of them. Even though he called himself a star, he sometimes wasn't the brightest of them all. Back on the center stage, Rui calls Robo-Nene to his side. He quietly gives her a command, out of Tsukasa's earshot.
"As you wish." The robot responds, travelling back to Tsukasa's location. Emu tilts her head in confusion, as well as interest.
"What did you say to her?" She asks, her curiosity piqued. Rui grins slyly, and on cue, a click sound is heard backstage. Tsukasa shouts shortly after the noise is made.
"GAAAAH! W-wait, what are you doing?! Robo-Nene!" He runs after the robot, who emerges from the shadows and to Rui's side. Her robotic eyes glow up, casting an image of their heads. Everyone looks up in surprise, besides Rui, who was getting a kick out of Tsukasa's embarrassment. On the ceiling of the stage, a picture of Tsukasa crying appears. Everyone laughs, but not in a mocking way. As Tsukasa's gaze meets the projection, he rushes over to the mechanical Nene and covers her big eyes.
"Rui, you traitor!" He yells in utter embarrassment. Emu stands up sneakily, a mischievous grin on her face. As Tsukasa is distracted by scolding Rui, she comes up behind him and tackles him with a hug.
"Tsuuuuuuuukaaaaaaasaaaaa!!!" She says in a sing-songy voice as her arms wrap around his waist. He stumbles forward in response, but manages to stay on his feet. The air exited his lungs briefly as the energetic girl behind him hugged him, but he regained composure when his shock settled down.
"Emu, what have I told you about--!" He stops himself as he remembers a prior interaction with her. He was originally going to say that he told her to stop tackling him like that, but when he realized that he was getting supposedly better at dodging her, he gave her the privilege of trying to tackle him whenever she wanted. He let out an exasperated sigh, his shoulders slumping.
"I guess I should've been more guarded..." Emu giggles as her hold on him gets even tighter. She rests her head on his back, as if he was some life-sized teddy bear.
"I got you this time! You looked like you needed a hug anyways." She tells her friend, her words filled with nothing but positivity and glee. Tsukasa's faux annoyance dies out at her statement, a smile betraying him by appearing on his lips. Rui and Nene watch in amusement, both thinking about how much they're going to miss moments like these They don't dwell on these thoughts though, as they know they will still be able to spend time with each other, just not as frequently. Rui turns his attention away from the pair briefly, giving it up to the beautiful view of Phoenix Wonderland, as well as the gorgeous sunset taking place above. The director looks back at his friends, an idea striking in his mind.
"How would you guys feel about moving tomorrow's practice to Sunday? We could make Sunday an all day commitment and have a free day tomorrow." Rui asks his troupe mates. Nene raises an eyebrow, thinking to herself "What could he possibly be planning now...?" Rui, noticing the pessimism in Nene's gaze, wastes no time in going to tease her.
"What's with the doubt, Nene? Not all of my ideas are terrible, and it wounds me when you act so cold..." He says in a dramatic yet teasing tone, to which Nene looks up at him with a straight face. His humor doesn't amuse her, or at least, that's how she makes it appear.
"Just get to your point." She says, clearly tired of his antics. He decides to let her win, elaborating on his 'idea' further.
"Everyone worked well today, and we got more accomplished than I had intentionally thought. I want to spend as much time with you all as I physically can, so I was thinking about taking a day to do just that." Rui explains to the three. Emu, who had let go of Tsukasa moments ago, was left intrigued by this idea. Her face lit up like a child on Christmas day, and she replied almost immediately.
"Oh my gosh, can we really?! We could meet up first thing in the morning, and have breakfast, lunch, and dinner together! Ooo, and we could go to the mall and shop, go to PXL, and then the arcade, and then we could go watch a show! We can go to my house to hang out, and then--!"
"I don't think I'd be able to keep up with all of that, but... I do like the idea Rui suggested. The arcade also sounds like a pretty good idea." Nene interrupts, not wanting Emu to get that carried away. Tsukasa places a hand on his hip.
"Of course the only activity that got your attention was the arcade. Regardless, I'm on board as well. While we can't do a million activities in a day, we could narrow it down to a couple." Tsukasa adds, his interest also being piqued by Rui's suggestion. Rui smiles and nods.
"Then it's settled. I enjoyed some of Emu's suggestions though. As long as we spend a few hours at different places, I don't see why we can't indulge in a lot. How about we each pick one place to go to tomorrow, and then spend a couple hours at each one?" Rui pitches to the others, to which they all agree. Emu in particular is very excited, already anticipating tomorrow with a beaming smile on her face. Tsukasa glances at his phone to read the time, and he realizes that the time seemed to slip through his fingers. He puts the device back into his pocket before turning to his friends.
"Time flew by quicker than expected, so I'm going to get going. I promised Saki that I'd make her favorite dinner tonight, and I wouldn't want to leave my dear sister hungry!" He smiles, showcasing just how much he loved and cared for his younger sister. Emu, Nene, and Rui nod, all deciding that it was time to head home for the day. They all grabbed their schoolbags and each went their separate ways, just like the different paths each teen would soon walk on when Wonderlands x Showtime disbands. The four continue to add to the distance between them and the Wonderstage, until they all inch closer to the various exits of the park. They pass by smiling people and familiar faces, a gentle reminder of how they impacted Phoenix Wonderland, and all of the smiles they gifted to people through the craft of theater. Rui and Nene made small talk as the two headed to their neighboring houses, but after leaving the loud theme park and arriving at a more quiet part of the city, Nene speaks up.
"Hey, Rui?" She looks up at him, wanting his attention. Her want is fulfilled, as he looks down at her and waits for her to talk again. She looks to the side with a sigh as she opens her mouth, letting the words flow out.
"Do you think the four of us will drift apart when we go to pursue our dreams?" She asks him, her expression shifting to a more serious one. It becomes transparent to Rui that this is a question Nene has dwelled on before. He too looks away, but instead of looking in the direction she does, he looks ahead.
"I would like to say no, but... we don't exactly know what the future holds for us. While I can't say it as a fact, it is a belief of mine that we will all continue to stay in touch. After all, it is because of each other that we were even able to take such big steps toward our goals. I can see us being quite busy when all of us have graduated, but I don't see that getting in the way of our bond... do you think differently?" Upon hearing what Rui said, Nene stops in her tracks. Rui stops as well, turning around to look at her. He looks down at her with worry, but she shakes her head.
"Sorry, that just caught me a little off guard." She tells him, starting to walk alongside him again. Rui closes his eyes, breathing in the fresh air around him as the moon slowly begins to creep up into the sky, the sun almost completely sunken. Despite her not answering his question, he decides not to push it. Instead, he decides to provide her with more words that will hopefully make her feel better.
"While I wouldn't rule out the possibility of such an outcome, I don't think we have anything to worry about in that aspect. Our circumstances will be different, sure, but that won't change our friendship. Besides, Tsukasa and Emu especially would never let us drift apart." He smiles at that last part, trying to lighten the mood. Nene chuckles softly, a small smile coming into vision on her face.
"I wouldn't be too surprised if Emu showed up to our houses uninvited... and, well, Tsukasa..." She trails off, before both of them share a laugh. They are then met with the sight of their homes, and Nene stops in front of her house.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow. Thank you, Rui." She smiles up at him and waves before turning around and entering her home. He smiles as he watches her leave, before approaching his own living quarters as well. He sits down at his desk and begins planning out what he could do to make their final show an unforgettable one. Meanwhile with Emu, she had just arrived at her house. Her older sister, Hinata, was there to greet her.
"Welcome home, Emu! How was your day?" She smiles as she walks over to give Emu a gentle hug. Emu gladly accepts the hug, staying in the embrace for a few moments before pulling back to converse with Hinata more.
"It was good, me and my friends got a lot done at practice today!" She states with pride. Hinata softly chuckles, glad that her sister had a good and productive day.
"That's great, I can't wait to see what the four of you came up with." Her gaze softens, and she looks at Emu with a tinge of worry.
"Are you sure all of this isn't making you...upset? It's okay to be sad over having to end this chapter of your life, but I just want you to enjoy the rest of your time with your troupe instead of thinking negatively the entire time." Emu's facial expression also softens up, and she nods admittedly.
"I am pretty upset about it, that's true, but I'm not going to let that feeling ruin my fun. We still have a few months left until Tsukasa and Rui graduate and the troupe disbands, and I'm going to make the most of it!" Hinata smiles at Emu's optimism and determination, patting her head gently.
"That's the spirit. Just remember that I'm always here for you if you want to talk, okay?"
"Thank you, sis!" She gives her older sister a smile, which is returned.
Sometime later, Emu's brothers arrive home, and the family, including Emu's father, eat dinner together at the dining table. Emu goes on and on about her and her troupe's final show happily, but Shousuke, Keisuke, and Hinata look at her with underlying concern. They know she's excited for the future, however, she is definitely dreading their final moments together as Wonderlands x Showtime more than she is letting on. As the family continues with their dinner conversations, Emu begins talking about Tsukasa in particular. Hinata smiles.
"You admire your troupe leader a lot, don't you?" Shousuke chuckles and nods at Hinata's rhetorical question.
"He's very, well, loud and obnoxious, but I've had enough interactions with him to know that he's a good kid. I'm sure he'll do amazing things in his future." Keisuke nods in agreement.
"I agree, I can see why you look up to him so much." Emu's father then looks over to Emu, his voice deep as he speaks.
"Am I correct in assuming that is the blonde haired boy that you performed the night show with?" He asks curiously. Emu nods happily.
"Yep, that's him!"
"He reminds me a lot of your grandfather, or at least, he did when I saw him." He states. Emu's siblings all nod in agreement.
"I actually thought the same thing when I drove you four around for New Years. He's very... unique, but in his own way." Shousuke and Keisuke nod once again. Emu smiles when her family says that about Tsukasa. Her grandpa was someone who made her incredibly happy, and he inspired her to always chase after her dreams. Tsukasa did the same for her, not to mention how he helped Emu save her grandpa's precious Wonderstage. While Emu was lost in thought thinking about Tsukasa, she didn't realize just how long she had been.
"Emu. Emu.. Emu?" Hinata tries to get her younger sisters attention. Emu's eyes widen as she shakes her head quickly, looking over at Hinata with a tinge of embarrassment.
"Oops, guess I got caught up thinking again!" Shousuke shakes his head and lets out a sigh.
"Of course you did. Now can you answer my question?" Shousuke asks. Emu giggles softly.
"Sorry, older brother! Can you repeat it for me?"
The family continue their dinner conversations, but for some reason... Tsukasa won't leave Emu's thoughts.