This chapter went through so much revision oh my goodness. This is like, the sixth or seventh version of this thing. Also I'm sorry this isn't very long gdjkfgfd. My words left me at the end so the ending seems kinda rushed. /rolls away
Kagerou Project belongs to Jin.
Mary had come from a line of actresses – Azami, Shion, and now, her. Of course, it wasn't her mother's intentions to get her into the acting business. In fact, her mother had actually wanted her to stay away from it, as she wanted Mary to live a "normal life". But since Azami and Shion had signed up for this show in particular, and since they needed another medusa descendant, Shion reluctantly agreed to let Mary act in this show.
Now, this was Mary's first time at acting, and being in the spotlight as well. This troubled her a bit, and she often wondered if she was cut out for this.
But if she could name one thing she was grateful for the experience thus far, it was meeting the whole group called the "Mekakushi Dan". Her most favorable meeting was with Seto, and since their first meeting, they spent time off screen to hang around when they could. Seto was a fun, lively person to be with, and that was what Mary needed from her quiet life.
Seto was a guy who loved nature, and for a while Mary didn't think of it as that extreme. But on that particular day, Seto announced that they were going outside the set, and that staying inside without the open air for a long period of time made him uneasy. Of course Mary agreed, but as the larger boy dragged her out the door, she couldn't help but question him.
"Um, Seto, is this allowed…?"
"Of course!" Seto replied, gripping her hand tighter to reassure the girl.
While Mary's character had worn a huge wig, Mary had much lighter and shorter hair. Of course, hers was a light blonde and was still very much curly, but it only reached to her back. It billowed in the wind as Seto opened the door towards the outside world, and her eyes widened in a mixture of shock and amazement.
It wasn't much in terms of "nature". They were standing in a parking lot behind the studio, cars and props scattered about. But the sky…
It was a bright blue with white clouds dotted about, floating aimlessly as they always do. The breeze brushed past them as Mary stood in awe, the hues of blue and white mixing so well together she could hardly believe it was real. It felt like something out of a painting, something from someone's imagination – but it was clearly in reality, clearly in its vivid glory, and she was experiencing it with her own eyes. The sky was a truly wonderful sight today, and she sighed out of contempt.
"Pretty, isn't it?" Seto smiled, looking down at Mary as she looked up back at him.
"Do we always miss the sky being like this since we're in the studio all the time?" She asked, to which Seto only hesitated. He knew that Mary had been kept in her own house by her mother to shield her from any lingering paparazzi or the like, and going outside wasn't a daily thing for her. Seeing the pause in his face, Mary pouted. "S – so…we're missing it, then?"
"Tell you what." Seto knelt down to Mary's height, holding her hands for reassurance. "From now on, we'll go outside and see the sky, okay? Is that alright with you?"
Mary's mouth broke into a smile, her gleeful expression enough for Seto to be satisfied for what he had suggested. She nodded, and the anticipation of tomorrow remained in her bouncing steps as they turned back into the studio.
"Hibiya, what are you up to?"
"Uwah!"
Momo watched the smaller boy jump with surprise, the blood draining from his face as his eyes widened, and she didn't hold back her small laughter. It was such a simple thing to be amused with, but she couldn't help it. The boy turned red with shame as he looked back into the cat's cage, playing with the lock as he did.
"What are you doing here, old lady?" Ah, so the formalities hadn't changed. He grew accustomed to calling the idol that even off screen, and as such, the girl grew offended.
"Eh?! I'm not that old! I'm only sixteen!" Momo puffed out her cheeks as the younger boy snickered. "What are you doing, messing with that cat? Didn't it run away from you after recording your scenes?"
The boy's face darkened at the statement, his expression giving off obvious defeat. Hiyori was convinced that the cat did not like him, and that was why it would not go near him. So if he was able to tame the cat... that would mean that Hiyori would be impressed, and she would change her mind and think he wasn't all that bad!
Or something like that.
"I'm…taming it," Hibiya said with the lack of a better word. Before Momo could say anything, he unlatched the cage, making sure that the caretaker wasn't around to see what he was doing. Then he picked up the black cat with his hands, gritting his teeth as the cat hissed under his hands. It squirmed under his fingers, and he tried keeping it still. If he was able to talk to it...
"Hibiya, I don't think the cat likes it," Momo said, crossing her arms in discontent. "Put it back!"
"No, no, it's starting to like me, promise – !" And just after that, the cat jumped out of his grasp, running at the speed of light through the set. Hibiya reacted quickly, jumping up from his position and running towards it. "E – eh! Come back here!"
"I told you!" Momo huffed, bursting into a sprint before stopping a few seconds after. She wasn't that good at running, was she? Just like always. Even if she had to run around a lot for her scenes, she had the need to drink a whole water bottle after the recording. She stopped to catch her breath, letting out a meager encouragement for Hibiya. "Catch it…!"
Thanks a lot, old lady! Hibiya chased after the creature through the props, almost bumping into crew members along the way. He let out a quick apology before he continued his chase, the cat going out of his sight a few times due to how small the cat was. Really, that was a workout in itself! Hibiya didn't exercise, but this certainly gave him what seemed like a year's supply of it. The cat dipped in and out of his sight just a couple of more times, and the chase continued for what seemed like hours.
But Hibiya wasn't going to let him get away easily. If anything, catching the cat would be a good enough story.
However, he lost sight of it once more, and when he looked up from his search, he found the cat purring in Hiyori's arms. Hiyori scowled once she spotted the boy, and she scratched cat's head as if she was rubbing it into his face that the cat still didn't like him.
"H – how'd you find him?!" Hibiya said out if disbelief, leading Hiyori to let out a small smirk. She wasn't going to help him out so easily, was she?
"He just came to me," Hiyori said without faltering, looking down at the cat as if Hibiya was just a sight for sore eyes. "How'd he get out of his cage?"
"Ah, about that…"
When Hibiya had spilled the story, Hiyori immediately ran away to tell the caretaker of his actions. Letting out a disappointed face, he locked his eyes at the creature, cursing him silently in his head.
Screw you, cat.
