bunny love [k. bakugo x oc]

37. Rehearsal

Tenya was the unnamed mentor mage who looked after Natsuka and Zenga. He was strict and disciplinary—a perfect role for their class rep.

Denki was the marquess and Momo the marchioness. Neither had names nor extremely defining traits, but the marquess seemed a bit reckless while the marchioness was worrisome.

The group spent a few minutes discussing their characters before getting to the script itself. Some wanted an opportunity to understand the mind of their character to better act as them in their first reading session. Kuri had little need to get acquainted with Hinako, considering she wrote the majority of her lines, but she was happy for the opportunity to explain her writing to her friends.

Mina eventually told them there would be more time for questions after they read the script together. Besides, they would learn more about the characters by reading.

The play opened with lines of narration, where Mina introduced the world and the key individuals living in it. She set up the scene wherein mages would come and turn Yutori into a bird. There was some dialogue between several characters before the big magic moment, but soon enough, it was Katsuki's first line.

Katsuki, as Anri, called for his brother with an unexpectedly desperate tone. Kuri sat bolt upright upon hearing his line delivery. Katsuki spoke without a drop of insincerity, even if his embarrassment sometimes caused him to hesitate. Kuri was always amazed by the effort Katsuki put into all he did—whether school, hero work, or this. He refused to half-ass things, unlike Kuri. Even for this silly class play, he tried his best. Kuri loved him for that.

She was happy their friendship was intact again. Their interactions were easygoing and fun—much like before all the crazy stuff happened. Kuri was sure that this time their happiness wouldn't end in an admission of unrequited love. Why was she so positive, you ask? Because he loved her as she loved him—that much was obvious in his letter to her. I mean, "I am irrevocably attached to you, and it may be selfish of me to ask you to wait, but you've made it clear you feel the same way" is a hell of a line to drop and still assume Kuri wouldn't put two and two together. Anyway, they were great friends who'd faced many obstacles together and now flirted regularly. Speaking of which, Kuri was going all out in the flirting department. She didn't know what had possessed her to suddenly be so direct. Katsuki didn't seem to mind her advances, though, occasionally saying something complimentary in return. Which was fine. Friends flirt, I guess. But Kuri couldn't help thinking...

Wouldn't it be better to just date instead?

Scene two began, in which the mages would run into Kaede in the hall and whimsically turn her into a frog for Hinako to find a few moments later. Against her better judgment, Kuri's thoughts distracted her.

Despite her yearning to be perhaps more than Katsuki's friend, Kuri didn't want to ask him about it. In his birthday card to her, Katsuki had requested that she wait for him to say something (definitely his feelings), and Kuri was fine with that. They could date once he confirmed that he shared her feelings. She just wondered how long she'd have to wait until he told her...

"Kuri, it's your line."

"Ack—sorry!" Kuri jolted from her daze and scanned the page. Her character, Hinako, and Tsu's character, Kaede, engaged in a dialogue that culminated in them leaving the estate in search of a cure for Kaede's predicament. After the siblings leave the estate, they coincidentally meet the marquess' sons in the forest, and the story takes off.

Scene three would be Kuri's first onstage interaction with Katsuki. Some of her favorite dialogue was between Hinako and Anri in this scene, as the two bickered like little kids. Kuri couldn't believe those would be their lines now. Funnily enough, it was like reliving the days when Katsuki genuinely disliked her. Well, not exactly. In this case, Hinako didn't like Anri either, but Kuri was the same from the start; she hadn't stopped teasing Katsuki—whether through awkward flirting or playful meanness. It was fun to be flirty friends, but it just wasn't satisfying. She wanted it to be acceptable to hug him whenever. Maybe kiss him again? Okay, that was a bridge too far to cross. Kuri's heart wouldn't recover from such excitement.