Stellar Evolution/credits to "orphan_account?" on ao3

part 6

"TSUKASA!"

Tsukasa flinches and wakes up. He didn't remember how long he'd slept for, but he heard knocks on his door. And someone had clearly called his name. He stands up from his bed and answers.

To his surprise, it's not his sister. It's Emu, Nene, and Rui. Emu seems to collapse into a hug with Tsukasa, exclaiming things like "We were so worried about you!" with apologies mixed in. Nene smiles unenthusiastically, but in an attempt to be reassuring. Rui is standing next to Nene, glancing at the floor in somewhat of a dismal manner. Tsukasa, unsure of how to respond to their presence, simply stays silent.

"We thought that—um, since you couldn't make it to rehearsal today, we'd bring it to you," Nene comments quietly. Emu releases from Tsukasa and nods.

"Yeah! We'll be practicing right here with you, Tsukasa!" Emu shouts.

"Not so loud, Emu..." Nene says, sighing. "Rui, you brought the scripts, right?"

"Yeah, right here." He answers, holding up a few paper packets in his hand. The disheartened expression still hasn't left their face. Tsukasa makes a mental note to ask him what's troubling him later. But, for the current moment, the rest of the troupe joins Tsukasa in the living room to practice the upcoming show. It'd be happening tomorrow. Tsukasa wasn't sure he'd be able to make it, but he hoped he could. He didn't want to leave them without an actor for the main character at the last minute.

Besides, a real star would never miss a performance for anything, right?

The couch was large enough to fit all 4 of them, so they sat side by side with their scripts in hand. The play was one of Rui's own concepts—he had a notebook which he'd jot down ideas for shows in. When they weren't performing a show written by someone else, they'd look through the notebook and decide as a group what the plot would be like. Of course, as usual, Tsukasa had been cast as the lead role. Rui seemed to give everyone the same kind of role every show—Tsukasa as the lead, Rui as either the narrator or an antagonist, Emu as a deuteragonist, and Nene as a narrator or a deuteragonist. They all had at least one show where they acted as the lead. Well, except for Rui. Emu had suggested it before, but he quickly declined. They were an amazing actor and an even better singer, so—why was he so insecure about performing? It was always a random thought Tsukasa had. He never understood it.

"Please, don't go! If you—go by yourself, you'll surely perish!" Nene exclaims, reading from her script. She seems to perfectly capture the essence of her character. Tsukasa clears his throat and responds, "I'm more qualified than anyone in this kingdom for this—I swear to you, I will return with—"

"It sounds a bit too stiff," Rui mumbles, interrupting. "We should start again."

Tsukasa looks up from his script to Rui, and then refocuses on his lines. They were restarting the scene, he supposed.

"Please, don't go! If you go by yourself, you'll surely perish!" Nene repeats, seemingly with more emotion in her voice this time. Tsukasa takes a moment to think about how to deliver his line. His character is a stoic, passionate, determined, and stubborn knight. How does the knight respond to someone doubting his valiance?

"I'm more qualified than anyone in this kingdom for this!" He says, maybe slightly too loudly. "I swear to you, I'll-"

Rui shakes his head. "Stop. Tsukasa, can I speak with you for a minute?"

Tsukasa nods and stands up, following him into an hallway in the house somewhat away from the living room where Emu and Nene were. Rui crosses his arms and leans against the wall.

"So, what's going on?" He simply asks.

"What?" Tsukasa responds.

"What's—happening?"