bunny love [k. bakugo x oc]

38. The Play

The backstage was a flurry of activity as Kuri and her classmates rushed back and forth, piecing together last-minute preparations. The pressure to perfect the production took a toll on everyone in class, particularly Kuri. Stress always lurked in her mind since she had to worry about script inaccuracies, flaws in her performance, and any big-picture organization errors that might crop up. To say the life of a writer-actor-director was difficult would be an understatement. But today, she could take a more hands-off approach. Everyone knew their roles and responsibilities, so she could focus completely on becoming Hinako.

The crew had already set the stage for the first scene, and the cast members were putting their finishing touches on their hair and makeup. Kuri didn't have to worry about keeping her hair neat since Hinako was supposed to look a little less put-together. Kuri had styled her hair into two small braids after waking that morning and hadn't touched them since. Her outfit was also a non-issue, for the most part. Her headband did give her occasional trouble, but luckily she only needed it for her first scene. Since she had little else to do, Kuri helped the stage crew by setting aside her cloak for the forest scenes, leaving it on a table in the stage left wing so they wouldn't have to grab it for her later.

While she was by the stage's edge, Kuri slinked beside the curtains and listened to the audience beyond. She could hear indistinct muttering as people seated themselves. Kuri smiled, noting from the volume that there was a large crowd. She hoped they would like the play.

Kuri hurried back to where everyone else was, thinking she could offer a bit more help before the show started, but instead, her classmates had gathered in a circle.

"Oh, Kuri! There you are," Mina said, beckoning Kuri to stand with her. "It's time for a speech!"

"By all of us?" Kuri asked with a raised eyebrow, glancing at Mina, then to Izuku and Ochako standing on her other side.

"Sounds like a lot of talking," Ochako said, catching Kuri's concern.

"And we've only got two minutes left," Izuku said.

"Oh, fine!" Mina exclaimed. "Everybody, come in closer." They all shuffled together and placed hands on each other's shoulders to form a large ring. "We've all worked super hard over the past month, and now it's gonna pay off. Y'all are amazing, and we're gonna demolish the stage tonight. It's showtime, bitches, let's break a leg!"

The class cheered, then quickly separated to find their places. Kuri didn't move at first, wanting to mentally check if she had readied everything she needed before heading to her position. She rolled down the list: hair, maid outfit, cloak, scene two props... And suddenly, Katsuki was standing beside her.

"No dancing away your anxiety this time?" he asked. Kuri's eyes traveled from his feet to his smirking face. That suit looked damn good on him. Kuri needed to thank their costume team more.

"Don't worry, I won't be nervous if you're up there too," Kuri said, grinning. "Plus, we've gotta kill UA with our acting."

Suddenly, Izuku asked everyone to go to their places.

"I guess this is goodbye," Katsuki said, but he didn't move to leave. "I'll see you on stage."

"Yup, let's meet in the forest. It'll be our secret rendezvous."

"Not so secret if our siblings are with us."

"True," Kuri chuckled. "Okay, we should go now. Good luck, Katsuki."

"You too, Bunny."

They waved at each other before parting ways, with Kuri heading to the left wing and Katsuki heading to the right to be at the appropriate spot for their entrances.