ACT II - The First Reveal I

—

Is it time for Act II yet? It feels like the time has finally come. How curious I am to see what kind of events will be shown and added to the deep sea of memories of the everyday Theater of Life? Will it be fun? Will it be tragic?

How much my heart dances at all the possibilities…! You feel the same, don't you, Seira-kun?

—

I yawned as I entered the classroom. Somehow, the sleep I had yesterday didn't feel enough at all. My eyes scanned the classroom for Reo to greet him, but it looked as if his sleep wasn't enough as well, as he was taking a nap on his desk.

I approached my seat. I was ready to feel the judging gaze of my desk neighbor as usual, but instead I found a hand fan on the desk. I hovered over it to see what it had as design. It was half opened so I figured it was some type of snowy landscape. It looked pretty old—antique, even.

Could it be that she had gotten it from 99-san?

But why would she need such a thing as a fan? It's not like it was summer yet…?

At that moment, Rena came back to the classroom. With a shriek, she ran towards our desks and snatched the fan away. One of her friends rushed to our side.

"What's wrong, Rena-chan? I put your books back to under your desk, thank you for letting me borrow—"

"Y-you idiot! Why would you leave it over my desk? Don't you know how much this fan means to me?! What if someone steals it?"

She glared at me sharply. I took a step back from her hostile demeanor.

"I—I wouldn't steal it though? Do I look like a person that would?!"

Her friend gently hugged her, attempting to soothe her anxiety.

"There, there, Rena-chan. I'm sorry, I didn't think leaving it on your desk would make you panic. I didn't want to cause harm to it while I put down the books, so I carefully placed it on the desk. Yeah?"

Rena took a few shallow breaths, holding the fan in her hands tightly. She really seemed shaken, so I wanted to reassure her as well.

"Um, let's sit down, Kogarashi-san. Your fan is safe with you! No one in our class would want to cause harm to it, especially not me! I know how much beloved objects can hold importance for the owner."

However, my words of reassurance had the opposite effect on her. Her eyes widened and she tightly grabbed my shoulders, shaking me back and forth.

"Did you see anything?!"

"H-huh? What do you mean, Kogarashi-san? If it's the design, well, I did take a peek and it seemed to be a pretty snowy landscape but…?"

She closed off the fan properly and placed it under her desk, sitting down. She seemed to cool down in an instant.

"Okay, whatever. Also, I forgive you."

I got happy thinking it was meant towards me for a moment, but seeing Rena hold her friend's hand, and the way she avoided my eyes… Yeah, I wasn't forgiven yet.

For something I didn't even know what I was at fault for. Well, this was a classic between me and Rena, so…

Even though I had made up my mind to ask people questions if I were curious about them, yeah, I think I'd be better off skipping this particular instance. If she ever wanted to explain the fan and its importance, I'd be all ears, but I didn't think it'd be happening any time soon…

—

After lunch, it was time for home economics class. It was the first time we would be heading to the kitchen to make some basic meals, so I didn't know how to feel about it. Not that I was a bad cook, actually I'd consider myself a decent one—it was mostly because I was very picky about what I put in my body. I had learned how to cook my own meals because I had started a special diet for my training and my parents still liked indulging in their meals which contained… Stuff I didn't really want to get near anymore.

Well, in any case, I was planning on handing what I had prepared to Reo, if it was something I didn't favor putting in my system.

I did have very difficult points sometimes…

Suddenly I pictured how it'd be if my future spouse cooked me a meal that I couldn't eat. Would I just be able to reject them?! There was no way a softie like me could say no to their sweet act of love…

Wait—what the hell was I thinking about again?! I had the most random and useless thoughts ever, jeez. I shook my head, dismissing the thought.

Some people had already arrived inside the spacious kitchen classroom, sitting in random corners and either talking with their friends or texting away on their phone. I spotted Reo sitting by the window, looking at the trees outside, as he usually did. I decided to grab an apron and join his side.

I took a random apron, put it on, and suddenly—my whole world changed.

I was still in the kitchen, sure enough. But my whole body, my physical vessel, felt like it had lost its existence in the world. Things looked as if there was a soft white filter over them, making it difficult to grasp details. However, I spotted a person with dark hair.

It was Ria.

What was she doing here? Or was it… Not her? This girl had shorter hair decorated with cute pastel colored hair accessories. She was trying to find something inside her bag, also decorated cutely with many mascot characters.

I had a hard time believing it was her, but her red eyes were just the same as the Ria I knew. She was the only one in class, and she was speaking to herself.

"Crap, I'm so nervous…! Where's my Harmony-chan plushie…?!"

Her voice sounded like it was coming from afar, it was muffled and I started to feel really dizzy. But when I tried to look down, I didn't see my hands, or my body! I didn't exist as a body form anymore, I was merely here in spirit.

Where was I, though, if not the school kitchen? Was that really Ria? It did sound like her voice but… Argh, what the hell was happening to me?!