A Mirage // Set #1

Chapter 5

Kiko Suzuki

"Hey, Koko?" Willow asked, sitting next to her before the theater started. Kiko looked up from her booklet.

"Hey," Kiko said. It's been almost two months since she, Willow, Elena, Eleanor, Victoria, Brooklyn, James, Levi, and Nora became friends. "What's up?"

"The sky!" Elena exclaimed, hugging Kiko, who giggled. Elena, James, and Levi were siblings. Elena was the youngest out of the three of them.

"No, dummy," Brooklyn said, affectionately. "She's asking Willow what she needs."

"Oh!" Willow, Kiko, Brooklyn, and Nora laughed. She had been practicing lines with Nora. Dabi was practicing with James and Levi since they were the Stabbington brothers. Yue would be taking over as Mother Gothel, which still sent shivers down Kiko's spine at the thought.

"What were you asking me?" Kiko asked, turning back to her grey-silver-haired friend once Brooklyn, Nora, and Elena walked off to practice more lines.

"I'm worried about you," Willow said, bringing her knees to her chest.

"What do you mean?" Willow looked over at Kiko, a small smile on her face.

"You're so sweet."

"What?"

"I'm just worried that Yue will hurt you somehow."

"Oh." Willow nodded as Kiko flipped her booklet closed. "I get what you mean."

"Does Dabi know that-"

"Know what?" Dabi asked, sitting down on Kiko's other side.

"Nothing." Dabi nodded slowly and Kiko hit him with her booklet. Mostly for the fun of it. It made Willow break her serious expression and laugh.

"What was that for?"

"No reason," Kiko replied, smiling. Dabi rolled his eyes at her.

"I hate you."

"Love you too!" Kiko hugged him and Dabi sighed exasperatedly then hugged her back.

"Maybe you shouldn't say that," Willow said as Kiko let go of Dabi. She pointed over at Yue, who was glaring at Kiko.

"Yeah," Kiko mumbled. "Maybe you're right."

🍛 🍜 🍛

"Okay, everyone," Ms. Stoll said, clapping her hands together. "Today we are going to do dress rehearsal. We're going to run through every scene from top to bottom. Characters, props, costumes, lighting, and effects are going to be used." Once everyone had nodded or given some sort of acknowledgment, they began.

"Koko!" Brooklyn said. "I found your costume."

"Oh, thanks," Kiko said. Brooklyn passed her the purple, pink, and white dress, and Kiko went to change into it. Surprisingly, the dress was actually comfortable. She stepped out and spun around. "How does it look?"

"You look amazing!" Elena exclaimed, hugging her.

"Thanks. I'm nervous...it's different now that everyone is wearing their costumes and we're doing it like we're going to perform."

"Yo, Koko!" James called.

"What?"

"This costume is so comfortable! How did you do it?" Kiko just laughed and then shrugged. "I'm going to wear this everyday."

"You'd get dress coded," Eleanor called. Eleanor was playing the queen, aka Rapunzel's mom. Elena was a woman in the village, also playing one of the girls who braid Rapunzel's hair. Willow, Victoria, and Brooklyn were the other three girls. Nora was another woman from the village.

"That is also true," Dabi said, stepping out of the dressing room. His jaw dropped when he saw Kiko.

"What?" Kiko asked. "Does it look bad?"

"No, I've just...never seen you wear a dress."

"I've worn dresses before!"

"Fine, I've never seen you wear a dress that long before." Kiko shrugged and spun around again. She was barefoot because Rapunzel wore no shoes. That also meant that her feet would get dirty. "Ready for this?"

"No, but let's do it."

"We'll be with you the whole time," Levi assured.

"I know." Kiko smiled. She had the best friends.

"Come on, come on!" Victoria exclaimed, tugging on Kiko's arm. "Let's go!" Their small group of friends smiled and went to go do the dress rehearsal. It went by without any problems. No one messed up at all. And when it was all over, Kiko let out a sigh of relief before basically melting onto the ground.

"Get up," Dabi said, leaning over her. "You're going to get your costume dirty." Kiko took his outstretched hand and let him pull her to her feet.

"Thanks," Kiko said. "Do you think that Yue's mad because I have to kiss you during the performance?" Dabi shrugged.

"Probably not. I told her it was because we have to follow the script." Hearing that made Kiko's heart hurt. Of course, it was just because of the performance.

"Right."