Oshi no Ko X Tensura

Chapter 11 - Opportunity

The girl responded. 

"I'm Rimuru. Hello."

'Is she nervous to see me?' Or so Melt thought.

Melt had mistakenly thought at this moment that Rimuru was shy around him because of her meek response. He truly did see Rimuru as an attractive girl who was even prettier than the models he had met so far.

But their time was cut short. The rehearsal was about to start.

Melt made sure to look good in front of Rimuru who was watching the rehearsal. Little did he know, she didn't even care about him and merely criticized his acting. After their rehearsal, he approached Rimuru who was talking to Kana and Aqua.

"Yo, how was my performance?"

Kana looked at him and was the first to reply. "You could do with more oomph to it."

"What do you mean, Kana?"

"Nevermind."

Melt was confused at Kana's response and seemed annoyed at her words. Kana merely dropped the topic before it got out of hand. 

"Hey, do you want to hear what I think?" 

Rimuru looked at Melt and gave off a friendly aura, unlike Melt's previous assumption of her being a shy girl. This naturally came off as a surprise for Melt, but he was intrigued by her. He responded, "Sure. Let's hear it."

Rimuru grinned, "Your acting is bad. It can't even compare to other children, be it the past the present, or the future."

He was irritated by her criticism. "Hmph. Bold words for someone who's never acted before. How can you even say that when you haven't even tried acting for yourself?"

Rimuru laughed.

"While it might be true I have less 'professional' acting experience than you. As a person who's idolized the brightest stars myself—" Rimuru stood up and stood face to face with Melt, "—your skills as an actor are bad."

Melt began to feel frustrated at her words.

Rimuru looked Melt directly in the eye. "You're a handsome guy, so you should get your acting together!" 

Melt had a look of surprise after getting complimented on his looks by a beautiful girl like Rimuru. His irritation and anger suddenly transformed into a desire to do acting a bit more seriously. 

Although, he wanted to receive something more than a compliment.

"If my acting is decent enough, will you grant me one thing, Rimuru?" He looked at Rimuru and grabbed her hand. As he was about to raise it to give it a kiss, suddenly—

"What are you doing—" 

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Before Kana could call out Melt, Aqua suddenly raised his voice towards Melt and had an angry expression. His facial expression showed that he was more than likely about to throw hands. Rimuru looked at Aqua and whispered to herself Oops. 

Melt was caught off-guard by Aqua's sudden pressure. 

"Get your hands off of my sister, bastard." 

Aqua grabbed Melt's hands and squeezed them hard enough that Melt pulled back his arm to free himself of Aqua's grip reflexively. Before things could escalate further, Kana begrudgingly stood between the boys and stopped them from getting into any further conflict. 

But this was what Rimuru had hoped for. A mental drive and motivation to do something, which in turn increases one's performative capabilities.

"You two should focus on letting out your emotions during your act. The way you're feeling right now Melt-kun is very crucial."

In fact, Rimuru hoped he would carry it to the filming. Aqua was acting alongside him, so seeing his face might keep the emotion strong since Aqua and Melt don't see eye to eye right now. With the two fired up and motivated, Kana could only watch as things unfolded.

"I'm gonna do this right, what about you?" asked Aqua.

"You don't need to ask, I'll do my best as well," replied Melt.

Is it a rivalry? Or is it mere words that hold no weight? Only the future could tell.

***

Melt's performance was heartfelt, and Kana could see it. Rimuru's efforts to at least have Melt have some kind of drive to act had an effect. Even though Kana expected something to happen since it was Rimuru, she was still surprised to see her pulling it off.

As expected, she's still quite something else.

"Leave me alone! I don't like you following me!"

Normally, she would've expected Melt to just say the words without much acting. But now, Melt was properly trying to act out his part. It wasn't to say he was now acting at a level close to Kana, but it was different from before.

"It's so like you to think that! Are you stupid?" 

Melt's expression changed with the flow of the scene.

"But—"

Melt shouted from the top of his lungs. "I WON'T LEAVE YOU ALONE!"

Yes! That's more like it! That's the way to go! Kana was pleased to see Melt acting his heart out. She didn't quite understand how Rimuru managed to make Melt change his mind so much. She didn't care at this point. Now it was Aqua's turn to act.

"....." Aqua's footsteps were enhanced by the puddle which added a more eerie vibe. He was playing the stalker, so he needed all the creepiness he could get. "This girl isn't the kind of person you think she is."

Aqua looked at Melt, then at Kana. "She's simply not compatible with a shallow playboy like you. She's the same sort of person as me."

"Lies! Who are you? What do you know?!" Melt genuinely meant those words.

Aqua moved closer to Melt. 

He leaned in on his right ear and said, "The fact that you think you can hit on my sister is ridiculous. Ugly bastard."

Melts emotions soared high in the sky. "The hell did you say?!" He grabbed Aqua's collar and his expression displayed his genuine emotions of anger. Even though his acting was decent earlier, this exact moment could be considered Melt's highest peak.

Aqua smiled eerily, "Are you deaf!? I said that this girl isn't worth protecting!"

"This girl is a precious friend to me! Say what you want, but you're not getting through to me!"  

Kana had a thought. This is good. It's just like in the manga!

Aqua brushed off Melt's arms. Melt backed away and stood in front of Kana. "Nothing you can do will make a difference!"

Aqua waited for this moment. He had already planned to make this a success. But, with his sister's unnecessary meddling, the stage was easier to set. Appear frightening, and disgusting, Aqua did everything he could to complete the stage.

He held a prop knife and licked it, making a creepy face as he did so. He screamed and shouted like a madman as he approached Kana with the Knife. Melt also complied with his role. Aqua went in front of Melt's punch and was launched towards the floor. 

Aqua laughed creepily as he rose back up. "There's not a single person who needs you. Know your place in this world. Get your head outta the clouds." Aqua was darkness, he had enveloped the whole set in his acting. "You have no future! Your life is but pitch-black darkness!"

But, in darkness, there is always the light shining through it.

Kana's tears flow through her porcelain skin. "Even so, there is light yet." Her incredibly beautiful expression with her flowing tears caught everyone's attention. Everything seemed incredibly beautiful at this moment.

Aqua and Rimuru smiled, Congratulations, Kana.

***

Sorry for the late chapter. I lost the motivation to write. I have no excuses. 

Adios!