𝓯𝓪𝓲𝓻𝔂𝓽𝓪𝓵𝓮 | 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘬𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔴𝔢𝔩𝔳𝔢

Koushi realized that (Y/n) became someone very different when she was in her element, standing off stage and directing her actors and props to recreate a vision she saw so clearly in her head. Sure, she was still the same girl he'd come to know so well, but she was so much more serious and intense. The love and passion she had for what she was doing so obvious to anyone who bothered to take one look at her, that he found himself admiring the surety and strength behind each instruction she gave out to her production team. 

That was a difficult task as it was since he was currently stowed behind some props backstage from where he could only really see a quarter of the stage if he strained hard enough, but he ignored the ache in his neck as he tried to catch a glimpse of her. Absently, her gaze wandered over to where she'd hidden him prior to the beginning of the rehearsal, and (Y/n) shot him a subtle smile that quickly disappeared when someone onstage fumbled with their lines. 

"Is this how you intend to deliver during the actual show?" she asked, her voice calm but quite obviously challenging. 

Koushi briefly entertained the thought of Tsukishima as one of the actors but quickly shoved it aside, shuddering to think that (Y/n) would probably just murder the blond for his sass and blatant disregard for instructions he didn't care for. Besides, Tsukishima wouldn't put his full effort into the play when he rarely did for volleyball, and it would most definitely piss (Y/n) off when she was hell bent on getting nothing but the best from her cast. 

That was also why she had taken no excuses and had insisted that everyone be present for rehearsal despite it being a particularly nice Sunday morning. She had gone to great lengths to make it happen and she would not let her efforts go to waste, as she had told him. (Y/n) had even requested that he come along and watch so she could have an outsider's opinion as well to avoid any and all bias. 

It hit him just how much this one play meant to her, and he was kind of thrown off by how such different things held importance to different people. He didn't exactly know why she cared so much about the school's annual production, but he did know that this play was to (Y/n) like volleyball was to him and he could respect that. 

He had to wait for quite a while before practice ended for the theatre kids, in the middle of which (Y/n) had taken pity and relocated him to the very back where he could at least sit comfortably. Then it took even longer for everyone to pack and clean up, only after all of which (Y/n) trudged to his spot behind a bunch of tall backdrops, plopping down onto the ground beside him and emptying the remaining contents of her water bottle. 

"So," she turned to him with raised eyebrows, "what did you think?" 

Koushi smiled apologetically. "I mean, I didn't really know what exactly to look for," he admitted, putting aside his textbook and highlighter, crossing his legs, "but I thought it was really good. The actors are pretty fluid with their lines and they seem to have decent stage presence and chemistry."