Chapter Text
03/29 Sunday, A Week Before the New Term
Neji Kokuto: not the nicest person, not the easiest to get along with, no one is able to hold his attention for more than a moment, and notorious for not taking anything seriously. He's considered something of an eccentric, a mad scientist, per say. Never satisfied, changing things until the last second, pushes people to the edge of their sanity, and absolutely relentless. He is the least expected person to be class leader of Univeil Drama School's Quartz class. And yet:
“Neji.”
The lilac-headed 17yr old boy freezes in place, startled, before he pushes back his chair from his computer desk and whirls around to look at Quartz's head instructor. “Good morning, Rokuro-shi!”
“It’s after noon,” Quartz’s teacher, Enishi Rokuro, drones. “You should get something to eat before the cafeteria closes. You know off season the facilities are limited.”
“Would you be so kind to join me for something to eat, then, good sir?”
He expels a soft grunt of annoyance but reluctantly agrees. “Sure. We have a lot to talk about.”
“Do we?”
“The new students.”
“Oho?” Neji actually stands up and goes to grab his class jacket from its hook. Unceremoniously, the folder containing a small stack of paper is placed in his hands.
Fifteen new gems to polish.
Last year when this stack of paper was handed to him by Amber’s head instructor Tagane Kazuya, on top was the list of the entire 77th class, their scores and rank, the individual assessments arranged accordingly. This time they were arranged alphabetically, the list of the 78th class tucked at the bottom. It was as if Enishi couldn’t care less about things like rank and score.
“Anyone stick out to you?” He asks Enishi.
“Takashina and Mutsumi have their eye on Orimaki Suzu and Tachibana Kisa.”
“I've never heard that Tachibana Tsuki-senpai has a younger brother.”
“He doesn’t.”
Well, Tachibana is a common surname, after all.
Once they reach the Quartz dorm, Enishi veers off towards the pick-counter while Neji finds a relatively secluded table next to the window for two. Each student’s assessment sheet had relatively little to say about them, and Neji isn’t sure if that was because Enishi couldn’t be bothered or if he was strategically giving him little information.
Orimaki Suzu: height, 182cm. Weight, 66kg. Barely scored enough points on the exam to quality for entry, ‘stature ideal for a Jack, has a voice that can be trained, previous history with team oriented sports and historical plays. Has a bright countenance, friendly. Able to persevere despite being unsure of himself.’
Yonaga Soshiro: height, 175cm. Weight, 60kg. He really should have been cut, based on score, dead last for the 78th and honestly several points below the threshold. ‘Studious, attentive, and has an advanced understanding of the script and historical theater. Candidate for future class leader or scriptwriting.’ It appeared to Neji that this kid didn’t have the advantage of being able to train for the performance aspects of the exam… A second look at his detailed score sheet reveals the reason he was admitted: perfect scores on every written portion and an impressive essay.
At least Univeil is looking for balance amongst its students instead of taking only ones who dance and sing well as a matter of course. People can train dancing and singing to some extent, but comprehension of the content can only be taught so much without personal interest.
Otori Kyoji: height 181cm, weight 64kg. Top score in Quartz's class, top five of the entire 78th class. ‘Has previous stage experience, performed almost perfectly however is a bit stiff. Actively intimidates other students and presents himself arrogantly, has lofty ideals of theater.’ Interesting that he was placed in Quartz instead of Amber, where that sort of rigidity and arrogance would be welcome, or Onyx where his dance performance would be polished. Still, a good choice for Quartz. People like that make sure the tide of opinions never go unchallenged.
Neji continues looking through each assessment sheet carefully, thinking about the impact of each new student on the class until he arrives at the last page.
This one had been left blank.
Tachibana Kisa: 165cm tall, 49kg. Scored 7th in the 78th class with a relatively flat spread. His head shot reveals a plump-cheeked, honey-eyed, cherry blossom haired bishonen.
There’s no way this kid isn’t related to Tsuki-senpai.
Enishi places the tray of food between them. “What do you think?”
“I can’t gather any real information from these things, I’ll have to meet them in person.” Neji places the stack to the side, Tachibana’s blank assessment on top and taps it with a finger. “I’m curious, what’s with this?”
“I don’t want you to form an opinion of her prematurely.”
Neji laughs at the deliberate use of pronoun. “You don’t know that I will cast him as a Jeanne already, do you?”
“You asked if Tachibana Tsuki has a younger brother. He doesn’t; he has a younger sister.”
“Are you telling me that this Tachibana is a girl?”
“That’s right.”
Sitting back in his seat, Neji takes a deep breath in, and exhales in an incredulous huff as his brows raise.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“You’re class leader, she’ll need you to look out for her.”
Closing his eyes against the deluge of emotions that threaten to drown him, Neji plucks the most reasonable one out of the storm to focus on. Did her parents know about this, or her brother for that matter? Didn’t anyone realize there is real danger in bringing her here, one lone girl among a couple hundred of hormonal guys? Isn’t anyone worried about what the hell is going on with her home situation that they would let her risk so much to come here?
What is going on that Chuza would risk his career to smuggle a girl into this school?
“This seems extremely irresponsible, especially for Tsuki-senpai’s sister. Isn’t there a similar institution for her to go to?”
“That’s beside the point.”
“What do you mean, ‘beside the point’?”
“It’s not your decision to make.”
“Clearly.”
Enishi sighs. “You’re already the protective type, Neji, I trust she’ll be fine with you.”
“Literally no one will agree with you, including me.”
That seems to earn a laugh for some reason.
“I will be the worst possible person for her to associate with. Favoritism by me is only going to bring a bigger spotlight on her.”
“She needs to shine as bright as her brother to stay here.”
Neji closes his eyes to weather his mind reeling with that bit of additional information. She was going to need to be comparable to Tachibana Tsuki, the Treasure of Univeil if she was going to remain in school, all while disguising herself as a boy. Isn’t that unreasonable? Not even Chui is as good as Tsuki-senpai. Those in Amber regard Chui as a God, but Tsuki-senpai was the reincarnation of Himehiko himself.
“… this just seems cruel. Why in the world is Chuza so desperate?”
Enishi looks at him with a different kind of weight, something that was at the tip of his tongue but he isn’t able to say. There is more here than meets the eye, that much is clear, something going on behind the scenes that they are being involved in without their knowledge. And now this girl is being dragged into this mess, too.
A very, very special girl.
Fumi and Kai are going to lose their minds, Neji thinks.
And then there is him, being tasked with keeping her safe. The one person who was the least likely to do so, and the least trustworthy person in this school when standing next to a girl.
“Don’t you think Fumi would be a better choice?”
“Takashina will just dote on her.”
“Well, she’s the image of her brother, of course he’ll love her the instant he sees her.”
“Which is exactly my point.”
“Sure, but he’d make sure to teach her what she needs to know out of obligation to Tsuki-senpai.”
“Takashina already carries a heavy enough burden in Quartz, do you want to really give him even more responsibility?”
“Do you think I don’t?”
“That obligation could very easily go the other way and put an amount of pressure on Takashina that would break him.”
Neji sighs. That’s right. If something happened to Tsuki-senpai’s younger sister under Fumi’s watch… it would be worst than last year, to say the least.
“What about Kai?”
“You can keep trying to pawn her off on someone else but it’s not going to happen.”
With a childish huff, Neji picks up the assessment sheet again, looking over her itemized scores due to lack of information. He can’t complain that she didn’t earn her way in, being one of the top scoring students of the 78th class.
“I’m not going to treat her differently than anyone else.”
“There will be occasions where she needs extra guidance or accommodations but I imagine it won’t be that often.”
“I don’t know a thing about girls, Rokuro-shi.”
“You say that while writing scripts that feature the stories of women in particular.”
“Books and real life are very different.”
“Just having an upperclassman she can rely on will be comforting for her, and being class leader, it makes sense that it’d be you. It will seem more natural in Univeil’s culture to have her seeking out her senpai than a teacher.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
“I think you’re going to like her,” Enishi chuckles, and Neji has to hide his mortification. “She’s a real gem.”
“You’ve met her?”
“I saw her audition. Pure, natural talent and a radiant love of theater.”
Neji took off his glasses to pass a hand through his bangs before going over the extremely sparse information on that sheet for a third time.
“Is this the only adult we have to contact in an emergency? Her father living eight hours away?”
“As far as I know.”
“So she has no one else to come for her if something bad happens.”
Enishi doesn’t say anything, peaking Neji’s anxiety.
“Rokuro-shi, where is her brother?”
“No one knows.”
He has to look away to gather himself for several minutes, before reigns on his mind snapped.
“Yonaga Soshiro is a childhood friend of hers," Enishi eventually continues, "and is another hand-picked by Tsuki. He will know Tachibana is a girl… he might be what gets her caught, so be careful.”
Neji sits back in his chair and covers his face with his hands, the coolness of his palms and the sensory deprivation only slightly helping him to calm down.
“So I should tell him I know and keep a close eye on him.”
“That’s right.”
“Who else knows about this?”
“Chuza, me, you, Yonaga. The less people that know, the better.”
“The consequence of anyone else knowing is that she gets expelled?”
“Right.”
Neji breathes out his soul and is sure he’ll never get it back.
04/05 Sunday, Introductions
It had been a week since Enishi told Neji about his additional responsibilities, letting them settle in and his feelings mostly calm down.
Everything made sense, really. If they wanted to bring balance back to the school with Chui here, they would need someone with the same sort of unfathomable talent as Tsuki-senpai. Neji Kokuto, the kind of person who would do anything to create the best performance possible, wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to polish a second talent like Tsuki-senpai either, even if the body possessing that talent is female. Right?
It didn’t have anything to do with the guilt he felt for being the one to unleash Chui’s talent over Univeil like a great never-ending storm.
Then there was the possibility of Neji being given this task because Enishi had grasped his issues with girls and was trying to help him out. When it comes time to graduate and join Tamasakaza, he is sure he will be cast as a Hime, and he will be required to act at a much higher quality than he played Takihime. That fundamentally required him to get over his issues with women but until now he wasn’t in the environment to do that. Granted, that was by design.
Still, it bothers him. The exploitative nature of her admittance, his opportunistic use of their forced relationship, and the fact that his own feelings of safety were entirely predicated on her position of vulnerability... it all bothers him.
I’m overthinking things again. I haven’t even met her yet.
None of this means anything if she isn't as phenomenal as her brother - a genuinely herculean task. Him going around in circles in his mind will be moot if she ends up in the ensemble and leaves by fall. As much as he likes to try to predict the future, this situation proves, once again, that he is no fortune teller.
Well, what he’d decided is that he’d treat her like everyone else. He wouldn’t hold being a girl against her. Or, at least, he’d do his best not to. He wouldn’t treat her better because of her brother, she’d have to earn roles like everyone else. He wouldn’t be the reason she’d get caught. If he kept to his values, everything would develop as it should.
...In theory.
That is the resolve that let Neji stand before the class with his usual demeanor as their new Quartz students file in after the bell.
Chuza’s grayed hair and ornate kimono is more visible than the girl he’s escorted to class a good twenty minutes late. Neji heard him gently say outside the door, “Do your best, I am sure you’ll be fine,” before knocking on the door and opening it to let her inside.
“Sorry I kept him so long, Enishi-kun.”
Enishi answers from the corner of the room Neji had nearly forgotten the man even occupied. “It’s no problem, we haven’t been here long.”
Politely, she bows to Chuza. “Thank you very much, Principal Chuza.”
Chuza just chuckles, waves a hand and turns to let the door close as he leaves. Tachibana Kisa turns back to the class at the same time, startles at the sight of everyone looking at her, and quickly bows to apologize for being late. “Excuse me, everyone! Sorry I’m late and was so rude coming in!”
Honey-gold eyes scan the room first, then lift and meet his own. A question forms in her eyes, her lips create a circle as she starts to ask, her whole body rising on her toes with the intention to speak - and then she stops herself, pulls in all of that curiosity as if she realizes she’s going to be rude and settles back on her heels to wait for instructions.
“Should I thank Chuza for getting you here safely? What happened, did you get lost?” he teases immediately, watching her wide eyes turn to confusion. “Did you already get caught doing something you shouldn’t? Theft? Burglary? Fraud? Arson? Extortion? Conspiracy? Bribery? Larceny? Robbery?”
“Kuro, would you really be thanking Chuza for bringing him here?”
He doesn’t take his eyes off of her as he answers Fumi, wanting to watch every expression change her face. She’s listening so attentively.
“Wouldn’t having someone in Quartz brave enough to commit fraud to get in be an interesting kind of person?”
Her brows rise, a flash of worry crossing her eyes, but she realizes quickly her expression may mean something and almost instantly brings herself back to neutral.
“Yeah,” Fumi seems amused himself, a wide smile breaking out on his lips. “But what if they get caught?”
Neji lifts a thoughtful hand to his chin and tilts his head, then answers with all seriousness, “Depends on the person, I guess.”
Then she stifles a laugh with the slight pursing of her lips, making him unable to hold back a smile.
She’s adorable!
Neji had imagined the first time he would set eyes on Tachibana Kisa dozens of times but had never thought his first reaction would be to smile.
“We should get back to class,” Kai interjects, finally reeling in Neji’s playtime.
“Ah, yes, why don’t you take a seat, Tachibana-kun,” he finally gives her permission to sit down, two hands popping up out of the corner of his eye to wave her over to a seat. Yonaga and Orimaki.
And then she smiles.
His heart flutters as her cheeks flush, round and soft like mochi. Glittering golden eyes full of warmth, shining with happiness, crinkling the edges of her eyes, dimpling her cheeks.
Her expressiveness is perfect for the stage, emotions pure and beautiful. It is clear what she is feeling by watching her face, the way she moves her body, watching her expressions change is utterly charming.
Fumi elbows him in the ribs, laughing at him. “I expect something interesting to happen soon.”
Neji swept his eyes over the fifteen new students, such a large variety of people to round out their class to forty. Everyone looks differently, sits differently, smiles, frowns, breathes differently. A grin breaks out on his face, and he can’t help but laugh when Shirota-kun groans in exasperation upon seeing it.
Suddenly, he claps, loud and final. “Now that everyone is here, let me explain how things work at Univeil Drama School. I am third-year student Neji Kokuto, Quartz’s class leader, playwright, director, actor, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera!”
*~*~*~*~*~*
When Tachibana Kisa arrives at his office a couple hours later, since she missed introductions earlier, Neji thought it is a good opportunity for him to speak to her privately.
Of course, he doesn't think about the impending anxiety that will inevitably spike when he invites her in and locks the door behind him.
“To make sure no one comes in.”
Apprehension passes over her face quickly. Right, this might have been a bad idea for both of them. Running through his mind the precariousness of her situation calms him, knowing for all intents and purposes, she should be afraid of him, though it also makes him feel like an awful person.
Still, it isn't safe to talk about her situation without the lock on the door. If someone walked in, that's it. She's out.
“Tachibana Kisa…" He picks up his notebook from his desk and leans against it, turning to the notes he had already penned about her and her situation, his thoughts on it, the questions he had. Then he looks back up at her, and realizes she might know what’s coming. "Enishi told me a bit about your situation. That you’re Tachibana Tsuki-senpai’s younger sister.”
She looks surprised. It seems she wasn’t informed that he was told. Her mouth opens to say something but he cuts her off.
“Don’t worry about it. As your senior and class leader, I’ll be supporting you the best that I can so that you can avoid getting caught!" He gives her a salute and a silly, large, toothy grin. "If you need anything, you can come to me. By the end of the year, I’m sure you’ll adapt where you won’t need help next year.”
“That joke about fraud was rather pointed,” she laughs. “Enishi-sensei must’ve told you because you’re class leader, then, that makes sense. I’ll be in your care, Neji-senpai, thank you very much!
A polite child, it seems, as she completes her thanks with a more formal bow.
“Does anyone else know?”
“As far as I have been told, just me, Yonaga-kun, Chuza, and Enishi.”
“I think I need to tell Principal Chuza, then, since I will be… expelled if someone else finds out.”
“I’ll tell him myself,” he waves dismissively. It would have been best if Enishi had told Chuza in advance of telling him, but it could seem like an excuse if she tells Chuza herself now. To avoid any issues, he'd have to tell Chuza that Enishi told him personally.
“Thank you very much, Neji-senpai.”
“When I was looking over your entrance profile, I noticed you travelled a long way to get here.”
“Yes, about eight hours.”
“Do you have someone nearby that you can give me as an emergency contact?”
Her eyes widen, surprised. A split second she is about to answer, brows raising, mouth opening, but it closes again and she looks away thoughtfully. Did she think of someone but isn't sure she should give him their information without asking them first? Neji’s brow raise, waiting for her to give him her answer.
“Well, I don’t know an adult that lives around here, but I have a friend who goes to the all girl’s school in Ayahama I could give you the information of… I should ask her if it is alright if I do that first.”
“You mean, another sixteen year old girl?”
“Um… yes.”
Neji pinches the bridge of his nose.
“I’m sorry,” she apologizes with a knowing tone. Perhaps she realizes how difficult the situation is.
“No, no,” his head shakes. “It's just, I’m worried about you. Well, and to be honest, I don't want to get in trouble for not doing a thorough job as class leader. A friend is better than nothing, though, I just need someone to call in case, well, it’s not like it’s unusual for people to get injured here. I need someone to be able to speak for you if you have to go to the hospital or something.”
“That’s happened to you before?”
“Mhm, a couple of times. Mostly minor things but we’ve had a few bigger accidents, too. I’ve learned to keep everyone’s emergency contact in my phone.”
“That’s a lot of responsibility for a senior, it seems like something Enishi-sensei should be doing.”
"Hah!" he can’t help but laugh, suddenly sputtering like a sneeze, at her extremely serious critique of Enishi as she purses her lips in annoyance. If that man could see her disapproval, perhaps he’d actually do more of his job!
“Ah, did I say something wrong?”
“No!" he dabs the corner of his eye with the back of his hand, "it was exactly right! I just didn't expect that from you.”
She’s very cute, that’s for sure.
His mind turns back to the topic at hand, or rather, an obvious suggestion she hasn't offered. He has a feeling he shouldn't ask her, actually, that this might be information that he doesn't even want to know. Except, he has to ask, knowing who she is. She might be the only one who has the answer.
As casually as he can muster, “What about Tsuki-senpai?”
He didn’t expect her eyes to widen as her expression becomes lost. Her eyes swim as if she searching for an answer, and his stomach sinks. Carefully, she folds that expression, those feelings, up smaller and smaller until it is neatly packed away. He watches her carefully place that little package on a shelf out of sight.
In that moment as he gazes into the void of her soul, Neji feels his breath catch in his chest.
“I, um,” her eyes waver again, “I’m sure he’s fine,” reassurance, for him and herself, “but… I don’t think… he’d be available.”
A mirror. For just a moment, he’s looking at himself. As she smiles and reassures him, shoves down her grief to comfort him, she is standing on the same fragile sheet of ice that he has been standing on since he was ten, careful not to fall through into the freezing water beneath. The dullness of honey-gold eyes that he has already associated with their glimmer. The emptiness of a smile so full of light just a moment ago.
There in the dark forms a connection between them.
“Why is that?” he presses despite knowing it will hurt them both.
But gods is she beautiful as her lips tremble for just a split second.
“I haven’t talked to him in a long time.”
He is the one who turns away, cutting off eye contact with a gentle smile, knowing he can’t take it anymore either.
“I suppose your friend in Ayahama will have to do, then,” he swivels back, hearing her sigh of relief behind him as he turns to make notes on the assessment paper where it had been left blank. This has to go back to Enishi. “I can’t think of anything else right now, but I hope you don’t mind me pestering you often while things get set up properly."
“Of course not! I appreciate everything you’re doing for me.”
He pauses, gathers himself for a moment under the guise of checking documents. Then turns back to her with his usual grin, pen in hand like a magic wand that he waves as if casting a spell, or maybe dispelling one.
“Well, it’s time for me to do my job! Let me get a good look at you.”
Tachibana-kun stands up straight as Neji looks at her features closely. A little intimidated, a little intrigued, a lot of determination seems to be what's keeping her standing there in that spot. Is she as used to wiping aside those moments of grief as he is? Does she smile instead of cry, too? Long eyelashes like wings flutter, lit at the tips by the white-blue light of the computer screen, and yet her eyes are still golden.
“I’ll be able to cast you as both Jack and Jeanne, it seems. You’re going to be really popular with the girls. A princely or idol type.”
“Really?!”
“Absolutely!”
“Aren’t I a bit short?”
“Hm? Oh, no, you see, the stage needs variety. If you’re in the back of the theater, it’s hard to distinguish characters when they all look the same. I play both Jack and Jeannes, too. Besides, the cute ones are just as popular as the handsome guys. You should hear the girls in the audience squeal for Shirota-kun when he appears on stage.”
Her eyes had brightened up again, glistening at him as she hung on his every word. Neji holds in a sigh of relief and returns to his memo book to begin writing notes about Tachibana-kun’s possible characters based on first impressions. When he picks his head back up, Tachibana-kun is watching him intently, staring at the book in his hands.
“Oh! I try to write down anything that sparks my interest immediately. To write plays!”
“Whoa!” her eyes sparkle. Enishi's words 'pure, natural talent and a radiant love of theater' echo in his mind. “Are you writing something now?”
“I am, I am, for the newcomer’s performance! Do you want to see?!”
She stands up straight and shakes her head. “I’ll wait until you’re finished! It’s more fun to be surprised.”
Everything settles when they laugh together.
She doesn’t stay much longer.
Neji curls up into his chair and stares blankly at the words he’d written in his memobook, but can’t see past his thoughts. His heart hurts to the point of being overwhelmed. Interesting, to be hurt for someone he’d just met, let alone a girl. To feel so connected to someone after a few moments of talking that the lack of their presence made him feel lonely. Perhaps she'll be able to connect to people onstage in the same way, drawing them in with the purity of her expressions, touching their hearts with real emotion born of personal experience. But doing so on stage is still much different than in a one-on-one conversation. What would matter is her ability to match well with acting partners; it's clear they have a shared experience, but that may mean if the other person doesn't she won't be able to establish a similar connection.
Hmm...
Even working through this in terms of the stage isn't able to distract Neji from the things that hurt.
"Fumi is going to be heartbroken," he tells the blank document on his computer screen.
No, maybe Neji shouldn't be surprised that he hurts for them both.
“It seems she doesn’t know what has happened to Tsuki-senpai…" he attempts to reason with himself, "...maybe he really is fine.”
But the void of her soul said she knew, and he knows what that meant too.
He presses the heels of his hands to his eyes, scrubs his face with his palms, cleans his glasses, makes a cup of coffee, and reopens the Sleepless King's document on his computer.
There is a script to finish.