Keion!

Episode 9: Play!


The first day of the cultural festival has finally arrived! The school was abuzz with activity both from its students and from its visitors. The day's temperature wasn't bad either; it was a good day. The Light Music Club's concert wasn't until the next day, but today was the play that class 1-1 worked and practiced hard for.

The play was written by the self-proclaimed director herself, Matsuoka Hikari, and co-directed by Houraisan Inori.


Hikari peeked out from behind the curtains. "Ohh. It's a full house."

Sara sighed to steady herself. Aira, who was against her role, seemed calmer than Sara, and laid a hand on the latter's shoulder. Aira grinned, and Sara smiled thankfully.

Aira: "Alright! Let's make this play a success!"

With Aira's insistence, everyone formed a circle with their hands on top of each other. The announcer was introducing the class and their play on the other side of the curtain.

Inori: "We all worked very hard for today, so let's give it our best and have no regrets!"

Everyone gave a nod.

Inori: "Everyone ready?"

Hikari, Aira: "Let's do this!"


13:45 to 15:00 in the auditorium!

"Red Spider Lilies"


Cecil, Tei, and Nono entered the auditorium, having been given a break from their respective class project. Cecil was glad to have finally gotten off the maid costume, but Tei made sure to remind her that she'd be putting it on again later.

Cecil looked around, concerned.

Cecil: "It's full already."

Nono: "Do you think we can find seats?"

Tei went forward. "Come on, there are some here!"

When they got to the seats, a girl with slightly wavy light brown shoulder-length hair sat down next to Tei. When Tei saw her, she gasped excitedly.

The girl looked at her curiously with a smile. "Yes?"

Tei: "You're a producer for 201 Pro! Tachibana Himeko-san!"

Himeko blinked, surprised. "I-I just barely started on the job," she said, embarrassed, but otherwise somewhat happy someone somehow recognized her.


Narrator: Suminoya Akari

Gardener: Kazumiya Sara

Prince: Michiru Aira

Shinigami: Houraisan Inori

Yama: Tohno Kagura

Red Spider Lilies

Narrator: "Once upon a time, in a long lost kingdom from far away, there was a beautiful garden owned by a family. It was an immense garden of two hundred yojanas, filled with beautiful cherry blossoms. It was spring, and all of them were in full bloom, a glorious view of petals flying with the wind."

(flowers bloom into the scene)

Narrator: "Each flower in the huge garden was in bloom, and a flower-viewing under the moon would have been fabulous, and the family that owned the garden was holding it, less than a few weeks away."

(Gardener enters)

Narrator: "There was a young gardener who tended the huge garden alone, and worked hard at it. She was a lonely miserable girl of the greatest beauty who was forced to tend to the flowers by the adopted family who hates her."

Gardener: "Good morning, my lovely flowers
"Another day starts with me acquiescing to my family's wishes
"Of tending this immense yet beautiful garden
"I have done it all my life
"And I adore every flower with all my heart
"But I am only human

(Gardener falls to her knees to sit among the red spider lilies)

Gardener: "My beloved red spider lilies
"This garden is filled with every flower known to the living
"But I will always care for you the most
"Your alluring crimson petals
"A scarlet serenity that blesses me
"With a feeling of sanctuary

"It may not be of my family's wants
"But I deserve rest"

(Gardener lies down among the spider lilies to sleep)


When the music started and Sara closed her eyes and started singing, Cecil couldn't help it. Her eyes widened, and she gripped the sides of her seat hard. Even Tei seemed lost into the performance.

The entire audience was silent as they listened and watched.


(Prince enters slowly from corner)

Prince: "Whose tender voice is that?
"So loving, so kind and warm
"Yet so lonely, so forlorn"

(Gardener wakes up)

Gardener: "I am no longer alone
"Whose wonderful voice is that?
"It cannot be that of my family's
"For that voice is far too gentle"

Prince: "Whose beautiful voice was it that I heard?
"A lady, deep in a gentle slumber among the spider lilies
"Is she this garden's caretaker?"

Gardener: "Whose noble voice was it that I heard?"
"Who is it that wanders in my garden?"

Prince: "My lady, dear gardener
"Are you defying your family by choosing to rest?"

Gardener: (kneels) "My prince, your Highness
"I apologize; I merely thought that I deserved the respite
"I have tended this immense garden all my life
"And I love it with all my heart
"But I am only human"

Prince: "Please, gardener, rise
"I am not one of my brothers, who would choose to see you punished accordingly
"I merely want to make friends with you
"Was it not your voice, so warm and loving
"That I heard while I wandered the garden?"

Gardener: "I was singing, yes
"But I did not hear what your Highness heard
"Was it not your Highness' voice, so gentle and noble
"That woke me from my sleep?"


Hikari peeked from the backstage at the two performers singing and acting with each other. She had a wide smile on her face, and the stunned silence of the audience wasn't exactly making her smile feel like getting smaller.

Hikari: "It's going really well."

Inori, in her shinigami costume, shared Hikari's feelings, but as usual, her feelings were hidden beneath her mysterious smile.


However Cecil looked at it, this wasn't a school play. The music, the decorations, the performances, even the writing and the story itself; Hikari and Inori overdid it, and now they had successfully transported a full-scale opera production into a small school auditorium.

Cecil sighed. Hikari probably had a lot of fun. This was almost like a fulfillment of her dream, after all.

Sara seemed to love what she was doing, too. At this point, it was hardly surprising that she could act really well, and sing in such a lovely way along with it.

Even Aira, who was pretty against doing the prince role, seemed sucked into it; she was doing great.

With so much effort put into this, Cecil was getting worried for their concert tomorrow.

Maybe she was overthinking it. Briefly, Cecil wondered if their senior Azusa felt the same way once.


Excerpt from the story in its original format:

Ever since that day the prince had always come to the site of red spider lilies, and the young gardener found herself going there every day to wait for him. Their friendship eventually grew, and it soon went past that to a forbidden love between a pure-blooded prince who was the son of the king and a mere servant who was the gardener of a high family.

If it was ever discovered, the young gardener knew that she would be executed no matter how much the prince may protest against it.

The young gardener was tending to the red spider lilies when someone unnatural appeared. She saw a white-haired girl clad in white and had dark blue eyes. She carried a large black scythe with her and the stare she gave the gardener was deathly cold, though her voice was warm and gentle.

"You will die soon," she said.

When the time of the day came again for her and the prince to meet among the red spider lilies, she found herself waiting longer than usual. Unlike the common state of the sky at the time when she and the prince meet among the red spider lilies, which was when the sun was just getting ready to go to its slumber, this time the stars were appearing as tiny spots of light on the slowly darkening sky. The moon was just on the other side of the low-setting sun and the clouds were painted crimson. The sun was gone when he finally came.


Prince: "I apologize, love. Did you waiting long?"

(Gardener hugs Prince)

Gardener: "I can't wait long enough if it's for you. Why do you speak with such grief? What is wrong?"

(Prince sighs and is silent for a moment)

Prince: "My father has had me engaged with the daughter of your family."


Excerpt from the story in its original format:

The young gardener was struck silent. They both sat down among the red spider lilies, viewing the beautiful stars scattered all over the night sky. They stayed quiet as the winds whispered by and the family was wondering where their gardener was. The sounds of the night sung softly around them. The young gardener decided to break the silence.


Gardener: "Then, let us run away."

Prince: "Run away?"

Gardener: "To a place where our families would not be able to do anything
"To a place where we are freer than the birds in the sky"

Prince: "Our families will chase us
"They will chain you to place of unending night
"To a place where the daylight cannot shine on our love"

Gardener: "Where shall we go, then?
"To a place that we may not see each other?
"It is not a place that I can in live in"

Prince: "If our families find our love
"You will surely perish
"You will surely go to a place of darkness
"To a place where you will not find any happiness"

Gardener: "Your Highness, my love
"A place, a world, in that I may not see you
"It is a place where I once resided in
"Before I heard your gentle and noble voice

"A place, a world, in that I may not see you
"It is a place that I never want to reside again
"It is death
"It is darkness"


Hikari: (Wait, she's crying!)

Cecil: (She's definitely crying!)

Tei: (Those aren't even fake tears!)

Inori was smiling her trademark smile, but she was thinking along the same lines.


(Prince falls silent then slowly draws near Gardener to hug her once more from her back)

Prince: "Love, my love
"I apologize, my love

"No more talk of darkness
"Forget these wide-eyed fears
"I'm here, nothing can harm you
"My words will warm and calm you

"Let me be your freedom,
"Let daylight dry your tears
"I'm here, with you, beside you
"To guard you and to guide you"

Gardener: "Say you'll love me every waking moment
"Turn my head with talk of summertime
"Say you need me with you now and always
"Promise me that all you say is true
"That's all I ask of you"

Prince: "Let me be your shelter
"Let me be your light
"You're safe, no one will find you
"Your fears are far behind you"

Gardener: "All I want is freedom
"A world with no more night
"And you, always beside me
"To hold me and to hide me"

Prince: "Then say you'll share with me
"One love, one lifetime
"Let me lead you from your solitude
"Say you need me with you here beside you
"Anywhere you go let me go too
"My love, that's all I ask of you"

Gardener: "Say you'll share with me
"One love, one lifetime
"Say the word and I will follow you"

Gardener and Prince: "Share each day with me
"Each night, each morning"

Gardener: "Say you love me"

Prince: "You know I do"

Gardener and Prince: "Love me
"That's all I ask of you"

(Gardener and Prince hug each other tightly)


That's what Hikari's script said. Imagine everyone's faces when Sara kissed Aira's lips.

Not even Inori could keep her trademark smile on.

Part of the audience kyaa'd.

Aira didn't seem interested in breaking her role and going out of character, but there was a very visible blush on her face.


Gardener and Prince: "Anywhere you go let me go too
"Love me
"That's all I ask of you"


Excerpt from the story in its original format:

And so the prince agreed and they arranged it to be on the night of the coming flower-viewing.

Unknown to them, one of the prince's brothers, who was jealous of the prince and hated him, had happened to wander by and overheard. He told the young gardener's and his family about their plans to run away at the night of the flower-viewing, and they set up to ambush them, capture the young gardener and have her executed, the prince punished.

But the prince's brother wasn't the only one who saw them. Sitting on one of the many cherry blossoms surrounding the glade filled with red spider lilies was the white-clad herald of death, who wondered if the young gardener would be able to defy death as she did the family.

When the night of the flower-viewing came, the moon was full and the stars were bright. The family's mansion was bright with lights and the immense garden's cherry blossoms were glowing in delight. The family's mansion received many visitors, each one of them nobles and in fancy attires and masks. The young gardener got hold of such an attire and a mask from the daughter of the family who loved her, contrary to the rest of the family. The daughter also had someone else she loved and didn't like the engagement, so she had decided to help her.

The young gardener felt largely out of place when she entered the crowd of nobles, even though she was wearing a beautiful white furisode kimono decorated with scarlet patterns of red spider lilies covering it that more than matched up to the other nobles. The mask covering her face was crimson with white patterns of red spider lilies. She met up with the prince and staying in the festival for a while, slowly made their way out to the immense garden, to the glade of red spider lilies.

Once they neared it the prince bid her to slow down as he drew his sword. The young gardener then realized what was happening as she drew her own weapon. They came out to the glade slowly and cautiously and as was expected, assassins sent by both their families leapt out of their covers and attacked.


After recovering from the shock of the kiss, Cecil found that she could enjoy the action scene that followed.

The choreographed fight was half swordfight and half dance. It was very impressive; it definitely didn't belong in an opera production, much less a school play. It was closer to that of a creative kung fu movie's, Cecil thought.


Excerpt from the story in its original format:

The young gardener and the prince fought with a beauty that was unexpected by the assassins, dancing with each other, swords weaving and blurring. They clasped their hands as though they were dancing and timed each move to dodge, to attack, to help each other. The assassins lost many but there was still many of them. More of the assassins came, and no matter how beautiful and skillful the young gardener and the prince fought, they were having a bad time. The assassins succeeded in fatally wounding the young gardener before they killed the last of them.

The prince carried the young gardener back into the forest of cherry blossoms across from where they entered the glade and set her down, her head laid on a tree. He tried to stop the wound from bleeding and used the herbs from the garden to try and cure it. When he was done, the young gardener was asleep, and exhausted as he was, he drifted into his own sleep, the young gardener in his arms.

When he woke up it was midnight, and he found that the beautiful young gardener had died in his arms. She was smiling in sad joy of dying in her lover's arms. But the prince was not as happy as she was. He wanted to be with her, feel her joy with her. He took up his sword and stabbed himself in his chest.

The night was awfully quiet.


Excerpt from the story in its original format:

The white-clad girl stood in front of the young gardener and the prince, looking at them with an expressionless look on her face.

"They both died, after all."

A tear rolled down her cheek.


Excerpt from the story in its original format:

The young gardener and the prince found themselves in a foggy place. They realized that they were on a gondola, and a small figure was smoothly rowing them across the river. The mist lightened and revealed the white-clad girl who was looking ahead, and the thousands of red spider lilies on the edges of the river.

"What must have your life been like?" the white-clad girl suddenly asked, directed at whom unknown. "The breadth of this river is determined by the virtue you had in life and by your relationships with others."

"Where are we going?" the prince asked.

"This is the river Styx, and across is the yama. You're going to receive judgment at her hands."

The winds were silent and cold and the red spider lilies swayed to them.


Excerpt from the story in its original format:

"Illya Adele

"Gardener of the Kiiroibara family.

"When you were born to your parents they were happy. Even though you were the cause of your mother's death, your father cared for you with all that he can. He taught you everything you know about the garden and how to tend to it and the various flowers that inhabited it. He taught you how to fight with a sword skillfully. But one day he disappears and your hate for everything starts to develop. The family in which your parents had served under decided to adopt you, and you accused them of having murdered your father. They gave you the whole garden to tend to alone. Your hate for them grew, and the only thing that assuaged your hate was the flowers that you cared for like your very own children.

"You defied the family that adopted you by slacking in your duties and having a forbidden affair with the prince of the kingdom, who was engaged with the daughter of the family that had adopted you, despite being a mere servant. You told the prince that you and he should run away from everything, live away from everything. A selfish decision of yours that led to not only your death, but also his.

"But the world hadn't treated you human. No human would have tended to such a garden by themselves, yet you did it, since it was your parents' greatest belonging. Each flower and tree, each blade of grass and flying petal, you cared for deeply. Even though you hated everything else, when you met the prince of the kingdom among the red spider lilies, that hate slowly dissipated as you discovered love."

The yama neared the young gardener, who gasped softly in surprise as the light came back to her eyes with a slight pain on her head where the yama had hit her with the tag of Judgment.

"To ascend to heaven, to rest in the ground, to be born anew—

"You qualify for none."


Excerpt from the story in its original format:

"Tekis Kariya

"Prince of Kannazuki.

"You were the first son of your parents, who were king and queen, and so was the one who was first in line to the throne, being the eldest. They, wanting to make you the greatest king there was, trained you in everything that was needed for being a king. Politics, swordsmanship, chivalry, knighthood, economics, war, and you were good at attending to their wishes, excelling in everything. But despite everything, since you learned so much at such an early age, you matured mentally quite quicker than normal, and didn't want to be king. Thus you became rebellious and oft skipped your classes to wander around the kingdom, most notably the garden of the Kiiroibara family.

"There you met the girl you came to love among the red spider lilies. She provided you the comfort and relief from your life as the eldest son of the king and you found yourself constantly heading back to the glade of red spider lilies for her. Yet you have defied your parents' wishes for you to be a king, and defied it you did completely when you agreed to the young gardener's reckless decision to run away. Your agreement not only resulted to her death, but also yours.

"Your cowardly way of escaping reality. In her death, you decided to throw away everything and kill yourself. Suicide is one of the deadliest sins.

"But when you took your sword into your chest, it was not a despairing act. Not an act of hopelessness that you'll never meet her again. Rather, it was an act of hope that you'd meet her again. Your love is honest and true."

The yama hit the prince on his head, who grunted softly in surprise as the light came back to his eyes.

"To ascend to heaven, to rest in the ground, to be born anew—

"I would've had you ascend to heaven, but we both know that you'll find no happiness there."


Excerpt from the story in its original format:

"Return once more to the realm of the living. Live happily and with joy. Smile and dance under the silver curtains of moonlight and among the red spider lilies. The poltergeists shall play for you a ballad of high spirits, and the wind shall hug your wings.

"Live happily ever after."


Excerpt from the story in its original format:

When the prince awoke he heard the larks singing a morning tune to themselves, and spears of light pierced through the petals of the cherry blossoms providing them shade. He found the young gardener whom he loved lying on his lap, fast asleep. Smiling serenely, he stroked her long black hair until she woke up.

The young gardener rose and put her back to the cherry blossom behind on their backs and looked at him, smiling joyfully.


Hikari: "Ah. They kissed again."

Inori couldn't keep her smile on. Rather, there was a blush on her face. "Well, it's the ending. It would be a bit unfitting if they kissed in the middle of the play but didn't do anything as significant in the ending, so I sort of… suggested it."

Hikari stared at the class rep, who was behaving unusually.


Cecil couldn't stop blushing the first time the kiss happened, and she wasn't successful the second time around, either. Neither was Nono, Cecil noticed. Hell, not even Tei.

The curtains fell, and the whole audience gave applause.


Excerpt from the story in its original format:

And they lived happily ever after.


Hikari handed Sara and Aira water bottles. "Great job out there!" she said.

Aira took the bottle thankfully. "Thanks! It wasn't easy at all."

Hikari looked at Sara. "Perhaps too great a job."

Sara smiled apologetically. "I got too into the part," she reasoned, blushing.

Hikari looked at them both.

Sara and Aira looked away innocently.

Inori: "Come on, the play was a success. Great job, everyone!"

All of class 1-1 cheered.


Cecil was practicing by herself when Sara, Aira, and Hikari entered the clubroom.

"We're back!" Aira exclaimed as she went in. "Man, I'm beat."

Cecil: "Welcome back. You were both amazing in that play, and Hikari-chan did a great job directing it."

Sara: "Thank you!"

Hikari: "Thanks!"

Sara: "Hm? Where's Tei?"

Tei entered the room. "I'm right here!"

Cecil: "Where were you?"

Tei: "I was talking to Himeko-san! Then I was caught by Nono and made to help with closing the café down."

Aira: "Alright! Tomorrow's our concert, so we're staying here overnight to practice!"

Ms. Yamanaka entered the room. "I brought sleeping bags for everyone!"

Tei: "Nono gave us snacks too! Come have them with us, Sawa-chan!"

Sara: "I hope Yuka'll be fine."


Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom of the Opera.

Oh god Sara you yurikko

If you were wondering why it's a musical play, it's because I was watching Phantom of the Opera. This was a lot of fun to write; although, I really didn't expect I'd turn it into a musical play so I was almost lost there. I didn't originally plan on inserting "All I Ask of You" into the play, but then I realized just how much the song fit into the story. Regarding the story, I hope it was to everyone's liking! Maybe one day I'll actually write it fully and properly. I might have strayed too far from the K-ON feel this chapter, but I think it's worth it, since it was fun to write. I even managed to somehow fit in one of the background characters. (Just a foreshadowing tip, she's not just a random background character that's text filler.) Anyway, I hope you had fun reading this chapter! Next chapter is the concert! Look forward to it!

PS: Just in case you missed it from last chapter, character profiles can be found in my profile.