#003 The Audition Experience - 2

TL : Cnine

ED/PF :

Part 1

　A new school year, a new class.

　For a brief moment, students might droop their shoulders at being separated from the person they secretly fancy or from their close friends. But before long, they begin deepening their relationships with friends, acquaintances, or people they know through those connections, gradually forming groups.

　There was an unsettled, restless atmosphere in the air.

　Students approached people they were interested in, or deliberately raised their voices in the hope of attracting attention. The old school classroom seemed strangely loud, with every sound echoing unpleasantly around it.

　it was an awkward period of student life.

　Within their small world, they formed groups so that they could bask in the sense of superiority that came from believing themselves better than others in some way, and reassure themselves.

　There were even students who became noisily excited over those who had failed to find a group, taking a strange sense of superiority from it.

　The classroom was a little chilly that spring morning, but now it was almost warm, perhaps heated by the energy of the children themselves.

　Kyoya had managed to secure a seat by the window. As he felt the scent of spring carried in through the slightly open window, he found the breeze pleasant as it gently drew the warmth from his body, and quietly allowed himself to sink into the surrounding commotion.

「――Sen. Kisen.」

「Uhmm? Ah, sorry. What is it?」

「That's what I should say, were you sleeping?」

　The voice calling out to Kyoya, who had been experiencing the distant hubbub as though he were somewhere in another world, belonged to a fellow student in the same class.

　 The girl was Iori Kamisaka, a classmate he had already known from being in the same class the previous year. She had slightly upturned eyes and a sharp gaze.

　Although there was a prickly edge to her voice, she was not actually angry.

　 Even casually calling someone by their surname without an honorific was hardly unusual among middle-school students. There was nothing particularly strange about it.

　Because Kyoya knew her well enough to understand these traits, he replied with a cool expression.

「I was just spacing out for a bit.」

「What’s that supposed to mean? Anyway, this isn’t the time to be talking about that! What are you going to choose for your work experience?」

「Hmm… I wonder what I should choose.」

「What? You haven’t thought about it?」

「I’m undecided.」

　Because they happened to sit next to each other, Iori kept pressing Kyoya with questions, her voice still sounding as though she were annoyed as usual. The attention of the students around them began to gather, wondering what was going on.

　Iori was what you might call a ‘strong-willed girl’.

　Boys tended not to like her, while more timid girls were a little intimidated by her.

　Her straightforward personality, which allowed her to say exactly what she thought without being afraid, worked against her, giving her an atmosphere that made her somewhat difficult to approach.

　Realising that it might look as though Iori was picking on him, Kyoya softened his expression slightly.

　And with that alone, the atmosphere around them relaxed.

　The surrounding gazes drifted away, as though to say, “Oh, they were just having a conversation.”

　Kyoya was able to handle that kind of situation precisely because he had experienced how to create that sort of atmosphere himself through his 〝experience〟. 

　Iori briefly looked puzzled as she noticed those gazes turning away, but she did not seem particularly concerned. Instead, she simply stared intently at Kyouya.

　The intensity in her gaze was almost as though she were holding a blade to him and declaring that she would not let him escape. Somehow, it made her look so desperate that even Kyouya was a little surprised.

「What are you going to choose, Kamisaka-san?」

「There it is! Why do you call me 〝-san〟 when we're the same age? I told you, just call me by my surname without the honorific.」

「It’s more like a habit. Anyway, have you decided what you’re going to choose?」

「I’m the one asking the questions here! Hurry up and answer!」

　It was the sort of way of speaking that would make an ordinary male middle-school student feel as though he were being told off, causing him to bristle, but Kyouya let it slide effortlessly and continued thinking.

　These kinds of work-experience opportunities were hosted by small and medium-sized local businesses.

　For example, there was a local trading company that was practically the textbook definition of a “salaryman” workplace.

　 There were also things such as visits to local factories.

　There were even more unusual options, such as visiting the fire station, but Kyouya had already experienced every one of them.

　Speaking of unusual options―― Something suddenly occurred to Kyoya.

「―― I think I might choose a place where actors work.」

「... Pardon?」

「You know, Nishiyama-sensei mentioned it, right? There’s apparently a day when you can visit while working as an extra. I thought I might give that a try.」

「R-Really?」

「Yeah. I’m a little interested in it.」

　―― If I’m going to experience something anyway, I’d rather it be something I’ve never seen before, something I haven’t 〝experienced〟 yet.

　That was a motivation unique to Kyoya, precisely because he had already 〝experienced〟 the lives of so many different people. 

　Having relived the lives of so many people, seeing and feeling what they had seen and felt, Kyoya could no longer imagine being moved by such ‘ordinary jobs’ at this point.

　So the more unusual it was, the better.

「Kisen, are you gonna audition too?」

「Whoa!? Hang on, Rumi! You’re heavy!」

「Eh? I’m not putting my weight on you, am I? Come on, nudge nudge.」

　The girl who had joined the conversation from the side and wrapped her arms around Iori, putting her weight against her, was Shindou Rumi, a girl who was a little more mature than the other girls.

　 She gave off the impression that, in another few years, she would make quite a fine gal. She was bright and seemed easy to approach, but just like Iori, she was the sort of girl who spoke her mind without hesitation.

　 Apparently, she and Iori had been childhood friends, and the two of them were close.  They were similar in nature, and the fact that neither of them had to worry about being overly considerate towards the other worked in their favour, making them a particularly well-matched pair.

「What kind of audition is it?」

「Hm? You know, if students who just wanna meet actors and actresses get in the way of filming, that’d be a problem, right? So they said they’d do a quick check to see if you can fit in with the atmosphere, and whether you can act naturally enough.」

「E~h, did they say something like that?」

「They did, didn’t they?」

「Ruuuumi! Mooove!」

「Ahaha! Sorry, sorry!」

　It seemed Rumi had also noticed that Iori's voice was beginning to carry genuine anger, as though her patience had finally reached its limit.

　Kyoya was impressed that Rumi seemed to have a knack for recognising the precise moment just before Iori became truly angry. As he was thinking that, Iori raised her head and, as though she had made up her mind, opened her mouth. 

「I’m taking it too!」

「Oh? You were saying you didn't wanna do it, Iori. So you’ve changed your mind?」

「I-I wasn't saying I didn't want to! I’m taking it!」

「Hehe, okay, okay. Then let's do it together after school this Thursday.」

　For some reason, Iori announced that she would take part while looking half-annoyed, and Kyoya nodded despite tilting his head in confusion.

　And so, the day that would alter Kyoya's 〝Destiny〟 arrived.