Hey, guys!
Are you ready for the Prince part? Akashi will shine upon the stage!
Honestly, I didn't expect this chapter to be this long! But, I imagine you won't mind it, don't you?
Good reading and have fun~!
As the light returned, a boy, dressed like an old man, rested himself on a stump place near a bush supporting his body with the walking stick he placed before him.
Several seconds after, from the left side of the stage, the Prince made his appearance and strode on the stage. His bearing impressed the public. As his confident steps stomped on the floor, his solemn and humble profile were all it took to enrapture the public eyes and gained their sympathy. He was definetely a Prince.
"A-A-Akashi-kun...! The Prince!? So that's why he kept secret about the role distribution! He was too shy to reveal it!" Momoi gasped loudly, putting both the hands over her mouth. The image was so surrealistic that she began to giggle.
"Shy? Akashi?" scoffed Aomine, tossing his head back.
"But the outfit suit him perfectly well. He's quite handsome dressed like this. Don't you think?"
"Why are you asking us?" asked Midorima as he felt unconcerned by the subject. "Dressed as a prince or not, Akashi is just Akashi."
"The festival is full of surprise. Compared to all of us, Aka-chin is the luckiest to be dressed like a prince." Murasakibara chewed very slowly his last pocky stick, staring enviously at the blazing prince.
"What, you're jealous of his costume?" The tanned boy jerked his head to the side while cleaning his ear with his little finger. "You want to be a prince...?"
"Yep. As a prince, I could demand all the snacks I want." affirmed Murasakibara with a big smile. "Why Aka-chin always has the good role?...It's unfair. I end up with a big squirrel costume. Momo-chin was dressed like a guy and Mido-chin and Mine-chin were two creepy girls...hm..."
"Murasakibara, can you stop thinking with your stomach? You're talking nonsense. If you want to eat, use your own money!"
The giant boy's smile was brought down in an instant. All because, his green haired teammate spoiled his fun.
"...Momo-chin, do you think the sword Aka-chin has around his waist is real?"
Momoi perked her head up and knitted her brows in a quizzical manner. "I think it's just for show. That would be dangerous if it were a real one and the school wouldn't allow it. Why do you ask? "
"Too bad. Maybe he could have a good use of it later... If he knew the name of some troublemakers."
"You're not saying that you're going to report to Akashi-kun."
"It depends on my goodwill. Yes, that's it."
"Ah?! Your goodwill?!" Midorima and Aomine cried aloud as they couldn't cope with the situation they were in. They were actually threatened by the purple head, that was a first.
"You're being too loud! Deal with it later! We can't cause a commotion when Akashi-kun is on the stage!" The pink-haired girl hushed them, placing her fingers over the mouth.
Aomine emitted a grunt as he sank into the chair with his arms folded. Then she shifted her attention to Murasakibara and Midorima who looked the other way. Finally having the silence, she exhaled heavily and rubbed her temples. Sometimes she felt like dealing with three elementary schoolers.
The Prince stopped in his tracks, right in the middle stage, and looked up to the background scenery. "At last, here is the entrance of those legendary cursed woods."
"Oh-oh-oh! What a rare sight! It has been more than a hundred years since I last saw someone ventured himself on those forgotten lands." The Old Man raised his head to the latter.
"You live pretty long. May I ask who you are?"
"I am but an old man who lives quietly at the entrance of these woods." revealed the Old Man rubbing his white long bear. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, young man? Are your purpose lies beyond those woods?"
"They are." At his short answer, the Old man staggered to his feet and began to snigger behind his beard.
"Hehehe. How brave! Oooor should I say IMPRUDENT! Those woods are cursed! Cursed, you hear?" Near Akashi, he jerked his head forwards toward the latter wriggling his bushy brows. "A few curious has ventured into the forest and never came back. THEY NEVER CAME BACK! THEY GOT LOST! THOSE BUNCH OF LOSERS! AHAHAHAHA!" Screamed the Old Man across the stage as he was face-on the public, tossing his head back and raising his hands in the air. But a short blank ensued causing him to be a bit worried. Keeping his stance, he peeked at Akashi who seemed sneak up by his last improvised lines. His pair of red eyes were slightly widened in surprise."...W-Was that too much, Akashi?"
"No, you did fine, I guess." Said Akashi, wondering in what kind of play he was actually featuring. He had the slight impression of playing in a comical show and the cause lay in those improvised parts. It was a fact that improvisation gave a particular feel to a play, but solely if it was well-played, which wasn't the case. The bad acting caused damage to the play's credibility that dropped significantly at the Princess' appearance. The quality of her acting ‒ though it was difficult for him to acknowledge this as acting, was very poor. Why didn't she do as she has been told during the rehearsal?
Akashi sighed under his breath, feeling the urge to do something. He couldn't let the bad acting ruined any further the play. He had to think of a quick solution to raise the quality of the play.
"I'm perfectly aware of this. But, your warning won't dissuade me. Regardless of the danger, I shall fulfill my purpose. This land has been slumbering far too long. I shall put an end to it. And nothing shall stand in my way."
In a confident manner, the Prince turned his back on the Old Man, ready to enter the forest. "Your bravery is worth-praising but the Witch, who has gained control over this land, would have none of it, young man. In your quest, your path will be fraught of dangers. And your overconfidence will certainly lead you to your demise. Beware of the Witch. She is powerful."
"So be it." After the Old Man's warning, the Prince disappeared into the forest as the light stage slowly extinguished. The Old Man left the stage.
[In spite of the danger, the brave Prince set a foot into the dark forest. Inside it, the light barely passed throught the thick foliage of trees and inhuman sounds echoed in the distance. But where others had failed, the Prince's pure heart didn't falter and fought against the darkness.]
Under the dim light, Akashi walked across the stage when three Fairies emerged from the carboard tree props. At their appearance, he grabbed the black hilt of his sword eyeing suspiciously the sky blue creatures.
[ Near the end of the forest, three kin creatures welcomed him.]
"We've been waiting for your coming!" Perfectly aligned, the three Fairies bowed, courteously lifting up their skirt.
"Who are you?"
"We, fairies, has been watching over this land for a long time now and are the one who pas on the tale of the Sleeping Princess in hope of your arrival, Prince."explained the middle fairy.
"Only someone with a pure heart could reach this far. The forest curse prevents anyone from reaching the castle." added the fairy on the left.
"I have never heard of it. But I'm wondering what gracious creature like you are doing in this cursed forest." said the Prince tightening his grip on his sword and looked at the three Fairies. "You may actually be a Witch's trap."
"We would never ally ourselves with such vile creature, my lord!" The fairy on the right riled up in protest, gripping tightly both tips of her magic stick. When a faint cracking sound caused Akashi and the other two fairies to widen their eyes. Her lack of control broke the stick in two. Luckily, that blunder seemed to have passed unnoticed to the public eyes, only those on stage were aware of it. The girl immediately hid the crack with her hand and laughed it off in a awkward manner.
One of the fairies took a step forward. "T-That is the truth... Believe in us, Akas–Ah! My lord. We need your help to break the curse that the Witch has casted upon this land long ago. You are the chosen one who will awake the Princess."
"Y-Yeah...er, yes! O-Only you can do it. No matter how powerful the Witch's magic is, it cannot triumph over a pure and generous heart." The three sky blue fairies bowed once again in front of the brave Prince and exclaimed all together. "Please save this land."
"That is my purpose from the very begining." affirmed the Prince in a casual tone. "I shall awake this country. But, dear fairies, I refuse to be claimed as a savior. My presence in this land is only due to boredom. The tale you have passed on in my country has always intrigued me. So I wanted to see everything with my own eyes."
The Prince turned his face to the background scenery.
"Uwa. The prince sounds so like...Akashi-kun."
"Don't say the obvious! The Prince is played by him. What do you expect?"
"I don't know...His lovely side, maybe. Akashi-kun is always so strict! Look!" Momoi tightened her lips and narrowed slightly her eyes trying to imitate in her way Akashi's gaze. "He sometimes looks like this! That's kinda scary!"
"Momo-chin, it's like you ate something bad." At the remark, she pouted her lips, persuaded her imitation was good.
"Whatever...But I wonder how he will deal with the kissing scene? It could be interesting!"
The three boys all blanked at the mention of the kiss. Their wild look were stuck on stage where the Prince was blessed by the Fairies' magic.
"May you forgive us for our humble help. Blessing is the only thing we can do for you. We cannot go with you, the Witch's magic refrains us from approaching the castle." said the fairy on the middle inclining slightly her head forwards.
"Do not forget, my lord. Pierced the Witch in the heart to defeat her. Or she might flee." reminded him the fairy on the right.
"However, with your kind and brave heart, I'm sure you shall be victorious." encouraged him with a warm smile. "We shall pray for your victory."
The Prince nodded. "Thank you. I shall not forget your precious help, dear fairies." Then he swung round to face again the castle in the distance and stepped forwards. "Farewell."
[And thus the blessed Prince parted ways with the Fairies.]
The fairies quickly returned to the backstage while Akashi stood behind the curtain on the left side of the stage. At the opposite of him, he caught sight of Ritsu getting ready for the next scene which was the Witch and the Prince's confrontation.
His gaze resting on her, Honda seemed to gave her some last minute instructions, swinging back and forth the Witch's wand near the ash blond girl who was nodding to every words to make her stop. By the vigorous movements, it was certainly related to the action scene that would go smoothly given the time Ritsu and him had spent to perfect it during rehearsals. From all the scenes he had rehearsed, this one was the easiest he had to do. She was a quick study compared to the conceited Princess. Now that he thought of her, an idea popped in his mind. The time had come for the play to mark people's mind. His plan could only work during this scene.
[...The Prince reached the castle where no sound could be heard.]
Akashi emerged from the curtain and rambled on the stage, following the narration's lead.
"So this is the castle. What silence... Death seems to rule over the place."
"My, how many years has it been since someone has trod upon this castle?" The black Witch stomped her way on the stage staring down at the Prince.
"Your memory seems to fail you. In my humble opinion, you have lived too long, dear Witch."
"Oh, you break my heart. Such words shouldn't cross the lips of a young man like yourself. The reason I've been living so long is because those around me die so quickly...Ahahahaaaaa..." From up close, her face was truly weird to look upon when she was forcing herself to snigger. Ritsu wasn't the least convinced by her laugh making it sound more awkward than evil, just like during her introduction scene.
Akashi never heard such bad laugh that it was at same time ironically laughable. Knowing her, it wasn't certainly out of bad faith but due to stress. She said her lines as she was supposed to, with good intonation and a clear voice. He had nothing to complain about at the sole exception of that laugh. That was the sole reproach he could do about her acting, and he hoped she would keep that strong mind for his pending plan.
"Shall I help you to see them again?"
"...How interesting! Your bravery is truly admiring." A few meters apart, they faced each other. "To think that the one who claims my death is a complete idiot! How far your foolishness go?"
"Then my foolishness shall be your demise." The Prince took hold of the hilt of his sword.
"Ahaha. Hilarous! Do you really think a stupid man can defeat me? With a mere sword?" Making a fool of the Prince, she swung her wand to demonstrate her power as a three thunderclaps roared on the stage. "You cannot win against me! HahahaHAhaHAhaaa!"
Akashi gave a sidelong look to them. The confrontation time drew near. The public was already aware of it as their excitement began to fill the gymnasium with noises.
"We shall see, dear Witch."
[Undeterred by the dangers, the Prince challenged the Witch to a death battle.]
All the conditions were set to add relief to this simple school play.
Akashi exhaled deeply slowly drawing his sword out of its sheath. On this suspenseful movement, he sent a gaze to Ritsu.
"Asaka. Why don't we spice up the play? The quality of the play leaves a lot to be desired. "
He brandished his sword in direction of the perplexe Witch. "On guard."
Ritsu slightly gaped in surprise. "What do you mea―Aah?!"
Akashi shot toward her without any warning and struck a sudden blow that she barely managed to block with her wand. Her hands tremored under the pressure of his sword as Akashi pressed heavy handedly the blade against the baton. While trying to resist the blow, she bore a wild look on her face, having the slightest clue about what was happening.
"A-A-Akashi-kun...!" Without letting her breath, he charged again. Ritsu clenched her teeth at his incoming sight, clutching the magic wand that spared her to get sliced by him right from the beginning. "What are you―Wooh!"
She blocked his swift hit, then in a fraction of a second he followed up with a serie of strikes. Ritsu barely kept up his pace as his strikes were essentially directed at her weak spots, each more fierce than the last. Akashi's edge pounded on Ritsu's wand that still resisted despite the brute force. At the last impact he let the sword briefly slide along the long wand before he raised it up causing the girl to lift her arms as his sword broke away from her solid guard. This left almost her upper body wide open which was exactly what he aimed for. Just after the trick, he immediatly attacked from the her left side by dealing an horizontal slash. He was confident on this one, yet the girl succeeded in avoiding it as she pulled her stomach in and recoiled by reflex.
A little smile crept into his lips. But it wasn't over. Right after the previous strike, Akashi adjusted his stance then he took advantage of the moment she staggered to attack with a quick charge. He rushed and thrusted his sword toward her head. Ritsu froze momentarily when she saw the sharp tip of the blade going crazily straight at her face. Her head ducked in the nick of time, giving a sidelong glance at the thin edge of the sword who almost ran through her head.
"T-That's very dangerous...! Y-Y-Y-You deliberately aimed for the head!?" She shot back in a low voice as the blade grazed her ear and removed the black hood off her head. "H-H-Have you gone mad, Akashi-kun?!"
By the great agitation in the gymnasium, his plan worked just as planned. He got everyone attention.
He backed away and regained his initial stance. The thrill caused his lips to stretch into a smile. His choice was the right one, a thrilling duel scene was what this play needed to raise its quality. Ritsu made a perfect accomplice to keep the public in suspense. He knew from the start that Ritsu would meet his expectation, only her in the class could sustain his last-minute improvisation.
Akashi waited a few seconds for the girl to recollect herself. She needed it. Her arms were still slightly shaking certainly due to the after effect of the several consecutive blows while she glared at him without stirring an eyelash, trying to figure out what had gotten into him. Everyone would have been in same the shocking state if they were assaulted out of nowhere. However, he thought Ritsu would have been able to keep a hold of herself quicker than anybody else, which turned out to be a slight miscalculation from his part. By the look of things, confusion got the better of her. Yet it was only a «slight» miscalculation. Even if she didn't seem to be aware of it, her reaction time was quite excellent as expected. Her instinct was fairly keen and her strengh was relatively good to not easily fail at the first hit. The delay between his next strikes and her blocks was extremely short. Sometimes she barely made it, as she was one second late, he would have dealt to her a painful blow. In any case, hadn't she be able to protect herself from the start, she would had been on the floor by now.
Ready to battle again, he adjusted his stance making Ritsu flinched to his great surprise. Both of them looked into each other's eyes. At that moment, Akashi was taken aback by the girl blank face. He didn't read any shred of excitement nor amusement from her expression. Not even a faint smile of joy. Ritsu was too shocked to even enjoy the moment. And that fact slightly turned him off. He disliked the idea of being the only one to be thrilled. Because there was actually no fun in playing with someone who didn't share the same feeling. And if she wasn't enjoying, it meant he had messed up.
It was his mistake so he held the responsability to fix it. Akashi relaxed his body and let out a sigh. For the time being, he decided to slow down the pace. No need to urge things, Ritsu would be able to calm down this way.
"My bad. I got a bit carried away." He said, conscious he had had maybe gone a little overboard against her.
"You-You...What?! S-Something is definetely wrong with you!"
Upon hearing the public agitation, he tightened his grip around the hilt in preparation of his next attack. He couldn't wait any longer, the play had to go on.
"Asaka, pull yourself together. Your face is way too tensed for the play." Ritsu frowned at his last comment.
"...L-Look at yourself before talking...! I had almost seen death...!" In spite of her confused state, she still responded quickly. This spontaneity brought a genuine smile upon his lips.
"That's how the Witch ends, Asaka. So, shall we continue?"
The clashing sounds of the Prince's sword and the Witch's wand kept the whole public in suspense and also the backstage. Behind the curtain, Honda's gaze were stuck on the stage where the duel scene was actually being played.
"What are they doing?! They don't even follow the choregraphy they rehearsed!" Himeno's silouhette popped behind her and leaned on Honda's right shoulder to peep at her prince. "Why don't we stop them?"
"How can I stop such a vibrant scene! Look at the public! They are all absorbed in their play!" enthused Honda with sparkling eyes. It was like the battle she imagined when writting the script had come into life. "Aaah! I thank God for chosing Akashi as the Prince and Asaka as the Witch!"
"That's true. Their duel is kind of amazing to watch. It is nothing like the rehearsals...surprinsingly. I never thought Akashi-kun would go for an improvisation." topped Yoshiwara who had joined the backstage team in the middle of the play. The glasses girl stood beside the two girls and watched Ritsu wobbled after avoiding a swift thrust of the Prince. "But still, he isn't going easy on Asaka-san, is he? She can't do anything."
"Man, that guy got no compassion. Poor Asaka." The Old Man huffed, rubbing the back of his head. "She manages well against him though. At her place, I would have already been sent to the nurse office!"
"I think all of us would have." added Yoshiwara chuckling at his jest. "Even so, it's rather strange to see those two quiet characters fighting each other. They're like different characters, it's kind of refreshing. For instance, I never would have thought Asaka could be this good. In class, she looks so ordinary."
The Old Man agreed in a nod shifting his attention to the stage. "Yep, she's shining on the stage. She's a nice girl but I like her that way. She looks more natural."
"I think so too." Yoshiwara reajusted her glasses and couldn't help but chuckled before the Prince and the Witch's duel. "Those two are truly shining on the stage. Honestly, at this rate, they're going to end up as the stars of the play."
"Both of them do understand what «epic» means! Yaaaah~ Thanks to them, the play will be a big success!" chirped Honda wriggling oddly. "I want to hug them!"
"What?! That can't be! Asaka is only a minor role compared to him and me! It has to be ME beside Akashi-kyun...kun." scowled Himeno as she pursed her lips.
"Himeno." She turned her head at her name and the Old Man flicked her forehead. "Don't open your mouth. You're going to be disliked by your «Akashi-kyun».
Before she could say another word, Yoshiwara covered the bloody-minded princess's mouth in exasperation.
Ritsu slid to the side in order to avoid vertical slash, then with an agile twist of the wrist he shifted the blade straight at her and flung forwards, stretching his sword-wielding arm to strike her which she ducked it rather easily compared to his first assault.
They broke away and she casted a curious glance at Akashi. When she thought back of his previous assault, she couldn't anticipate any of his attacks, overwhelmed by his pressure. His reaction time was completely insane, she just had less than a second to defend herself from his ferocious attacks. But as of now...
"A...Akashi-kun, did you slow down your pace?..." The boy bored his eyes into hers.
"You noticed. Good, you finally came back to your senses."
His movements seemed to be slightly delayed. Akashi waited exactly two seconds after every strikes. It was derisory put like that, yet those two second intervals set a new pace that she could keep up after getting used to it. Without knowing it, the confusion she felt earlier gradually dissipated as the «slow» pace helped her to recollect herself a bit. She still didn't grasp the whole situation, but she was sure Akashi wouldn't try to slice her on a whim. At least she hoped so. Resting her pair of eyes on him, she wondered what his friend was currently thinking.
At her inner question, the blazing prince's form sprung to her right side. Both their weapons clashed together in a lound sound. Face to face, she cluched tightly on the wand to withstand his strengh. Although he delayed his movements, she could not say the same thing about his strengh. His aggressive strikes were hard to block, so when she had the occasion she preferred to avoid his swift slashes instead of dealing with them. Her arms got slightly numb by the consecutive attacks.
"How do you feel?" Akashi asked as he faced her while exerting pressure on the wand.
"You think now is the right time to iddle chat...!" retorted Ritsu, having a painful time to keep her balance against his power. "I'm on the verge of being cut and this battle is too one-sided! I can't do anything...!"
Akashi couldn't help but crack a smile and Ritsu sighed heavily at that sight, unsure on how to interprete this gentle reaction. "Then it is about time you attack. This duel will lose its interest if you stay only on the defensive, Asaka."
Ritsu flicked at the public whose comments burst forth, bustling the gymnasium that was silent a while ago. Enthused by the play, she could hear some kids and students cheering up for the Prince by urging him to slay her down while others wanted more of the show. Their response wouldn't have been so zealous without the natural charisma and the dexterous swordplay of the Prince. They were really into their battle. But to her humble opinion, she could hardly call that a «battle». She couldn't even put up a proper fight against Akashi. It was like facing a fencing expert at full power. She stood a piddling chance to land a blow on him but as she locked her gray-blue eyes onto his gaze, she couldn't let him down. Close to his face, his excitement was reflected upon his clear red orbs. Akashi was genuinely enjoying himself on this very stage. Amused by the thought, her strained face finally let appear smile causing the boy to slacken his pressure and heard him uttering : "This expression suits you better."
The Prince broke loose from the Witch and backed away from a good meters of her, waiting in a fencing position.
"You are awfully quiet, dear Witch. Did my sword manage to confound the mighty creature you are?"
Ritsu exhaled deeply and clenched firmly on the wand. It was her last appearance in the play, so it was certainly the time to make things flashy to the public eyes, and particulary to his — Akashi's. She would prove herself to be worthy of him.
"I admit your swordplay has impressed me. I shall praise your effort."She straightened her back and held her head high. "However, this won't be enough to bring me down."
"If not, you wouldn't live up to your reputation, dear Witch. Shall we have a fair fight?"
"I shall grant you that honor, foolish man. I shall show you my true power. "
The public immediately ceased all talks as they watched the Prince and the Witch's silouhettes bolting toward each other to the center of the stage. The sword and the wand clashed together in a brief sound, showing the brutality of their respective hits.
Ritsu didn't leave Akashi exerted his strengh. If she let him set his pace, it was over for her. As she pushed back his sword up above them right after their weapons crossed together, she used the moment he was unguarded by lifting briskly the bottom end of the wand to hit him on the side. But despite her quickness, Akashi stepped back just in time, put down his sword below his waist and instantly riposted by using the short delay after her previous attack. Dealing an ascending slash, Ritsu couldn't completely duck his incoming blade. She felt the hard edge, slicing her shoulder up to her head when a faint sound clinked to their ears at the contact of her hair. The sword took with it the hairpin fixed on her hair.
Akashi and Ritsu broke away from each other. A large strand of hair softly grazed the cheek of her bare face as the tip of the blade partially undid the side braid that was wrapped around her low bun. During this brief break, Ritsu realised stupidly that if it had a be a real sword, she would have lost her left arm, a part of her ear and get a new hairstyle. Akashi had taken again his initial pace, she could forget the two secondes intervals. But it worked perfectly fine with her. That guy was almost cute when he was in that transcendent state.
"Lucky for me, it's not a real sword or else I would have say goodbye to my hair."
"Indeed, it would have been a shame to have such beautiful hair being cut."
She laughed lightly before she charged in direction of Akashi, hammering him with a heavy blow that he guarded. Yet she hit him so vigourously that his friend staggered and stunned a bit. In her momentum, the girl attacked him without rest, not caring where she hit. The aim was to make him unable to strike back and land a single blow when he least expected it. And it was about time. Ritsu tricked him by delibarately feinting an ascending attack when she was actually preparing her next blow by holding her wand above her and stroke him violently as he was sliding to avoid the tricky hit. Akashi gasped at the sight of the blistering wand coming down, but his instinct kicked in and in a quick motion he placed the sword before him grasping tighlty the hilt and the end of the blade. A fraction of a second later, the violent shock made his whole body tremored. Face to face, Ritsu was pleased by her feat. She caught him off-guard and the astounded expression on his face was priceless.
"Thanks for the compliment. I don't intend to cut them though." She declared stretching a large grin as she got the upper-hand on him for once. "What do you think?"
"...Mid-long hair suits you, but maybe letting them grow a bit longer would actually be nice on you. Girls with long hair are pretty." He answered with a strained smile, gathering his strengh to resist her pressure.
"I'll remember it for the Friendship quizz contest then."
"I'm counting on you."
Suddenly Akashi pulled his sword away and stepped aside causing her to lose her balance. Ritsu ducked down as his blade ripped through the air just above her. At this moment she leaped on him thrusting her staff straight at him. Akashi deviated the blow as the wand rasped against the blade. Instead of moving away, she shoved the bottom end of the wand against him, rendering unable to guard as the opposite tip slipped over the sword and keep pressing it against his chest when she turned over the position of her wand by placing horizontally. She pushed him back in order to make him unsteady, and after a twirl of her baton, she seized firmly the bottom edge and swung it upwards. Because of her swift motion, Akashi only had the time to move slightly his head in the right to duck her blow. But she managed to remove the feathered tricorn off his head that flew off the stage. Ritsu immediately retreated, using the instant to catch her breath.
"Now we're even."
Akashi shot a thrilled smile as he came forth.
"What are those two idiots doing? They have been fighting for more than seven minutes now." Midorima broke the silence among the colorful bunch while keeping his full attention to the duel.
"It's been seven minutes already? I didn't even realise it." noticed Aomine as he was engrossed into the fighting scene. "Are you complaining, Midorima?"
"No. I must say that compared to the other scenes that one is the best so far. Akashi and Asaka are acting fairly well. Their fight is very realistic to the point I'm wondering if..."
"...They aren't actually fighting for real, right?" Momoi finished his sentence which made her chuckle.
Midorima nodded quietly to her hunch."You're having the same feeling, Momoi?"
"Hm, yeah. Those two are pretty intense for a simple festival play." The pink haired girl scrutinized her friend on stage whom hairstyle was completely messed up by the fight and didn't seem to care about it as her full attention was drawn by him whose blade kept whistling by the quickness of its wielder. "Their movements are too quick and smooth for being acted."
"Yep, they're moving on instinct." added Aomine grinning. "That's why it looks so natural and fun to watch."
"Aka-chin and Asa-chin look like their having fun too." observed Murasakibara fidgeting on his chair as he had eaten up all his snacks at the beginning of the confrontation. "They are smiling."
"That's true...His eyes has this warm glow. Akashi-kun smiling so enthusiastically is rare, but it's good to see that he has so much fun." A big smile grew on Momoi's rosy lips.
Murasakibara felt the same and glimpsed at the ash blond girl who spinned after a close evade and countered with her staff . "Asa-chin is doing well against him."
"Indeed. Her good reactions and her fast faculty to adapt are allowing her to respond quickly enough to Akashi's attacks. The wild pace of their fight is only due to that fact." explained calmly Midorima as he pushed his glasses up his nose bridge.
"Yeah, I noticed it when we played basketball together weeks ago." Aomine said and laughed up when he recalled the instant.
"Asa-chin knows how to play basketball?"
"Er, she knows the basics. But her moves are rather clumsy and predictable." He answered casually tilting vaguely his head.
"A novice in short." Midorima threw him a sidelong glance.
"Yep, she really doesn't know how to play it. She never scored a basket against me. That was fun to play with her though. She get used to my pace quicker than other novices. I should ask her to play with me some other time."
"Let me know when! I'm really curious about it!" chirped Momoi as she watched the Prince and the the Witch separating themselves. "Tehehe...It's nice to have Asaka-chan opening herself up."
Ritsu panted, out of breath, just from a few minutes of fighting. She peeked at Akashi who also seemed strained by the mad battle. When one attacked, the other either guarded or riposted in a split second and that went on with neither of the two giving in. So inevitably, this took a toll on her. She never focused her mind so intensely and for such a long period of time. seven minutes or maybe more seemed short, but it was a real feat for her to last in that transe condition.
No matter how long she tried to catch her breath, it was useless. Her whole body felt heavy, the wand in her hands seemed to weigh more than usual; at her limit, she couldn't possibly continue like that.
Yet, she braced herself at the sight of Akashi bursting forth. Synchronizing with his movement, she halted desperately his tracks by dealing the first attack as a caution that the blazing prince deviated easily by a sword counter. Passing through, Ritsu recoiled from him but Akashi took her by surprise and made a quick lunge to the ribs. Ritsu stooped and winced in pain when she felt the tip of his blade stabbed deeply her flesh. That was a clean hit.
Akashi returned to a fencing stance and took a glimpse at the public. The gymnasium was dead silent.
"...This duel has lasted long enough... Asaka, let's end this. "
"...T-That's fine by me. W-We can't...go on eternally...Aaah..."
Despite the pain, Ritsu raised up leaning on the wand, and prepared herself for the decisive battle. She had to keep fighting till the end, that was how every fight should end – Without regret.
They both looked onto each other's eyes and began their last dance.
Akashi ran up to her like the wind and darted his sword back and forth, making his blade whistling by the fierceness of his strikes. Against that, Ritsu guarded herself the best she could and waited for the perfect moment to evade which came earlier than expected. As he was thrusting the sword to her, the edge passed just before her eyes while she leaped to his side, about to jolt him with a blow; but the instant she lifted her arms, the stabbing pain on the ribs destabilized her and weakened the grip she had on the staff. Akashi lowered himself to delay the moment of impact and guarded himself.
However, Ritsu could hardly put any pressure on him, the exhaustion and the pain made her lose concentration. Akashi certainly noticed it as he sprung, shoving fiercely his sword forwards to free himself. She staggered back leaving herself momentarily unguarded as the wand remained only on her right hand. At the thought of guarding herself, a clear cut disarmed her from the staff that crashed on the wooden stage; and in a one motion, Akashi took a step back to reajust his stance by placing the sword alonside his eyes, then he bolted toward her who was left bare-handed against the killing blade that flew at her. It was over yet her arms fought back one last time feeling the cold blade grazing the palms of her hands that closed up in a vain attempt of stopping it.
He dealt her the coup de grace.
Ritsu was taken aback by the death blow, grabbing desesperately the blade that pierced her under the left arm near the heart. Her wide-opened eyes fixed in shock Akashi, his last two movements were incredibly quick. Scarcely had she had the time to notice that he had disarmed her, he was already lunging at her.
And she wasn't the only one to be amazed by this, this action alone rendered the entire public speecheless, helding their breath at the scene climax. Their flabbergasted gaze kept watching the frozen image of the Prince and the Witch's silouhettes united together as the sharp blade pierced her heart.
It was really the end.
Akashi looked up to her with a solemn expression. "Your lines, Asaka."
His words made five seconds to reach the brain. Then she suddenly broke apart him.
"C-C-Cur-Curse...you...! I-I-I...curse you...!" She stammered as she faked a stab in the heart. "H-H-How dare...you...Y-You...d-d-damn man...! I can't...die like THIS..."
And the Witch collapsed on the floor. The Prince lowered his sword and looked at the lifeless body as the light stage dimmed and the curtains slowly closed at the scene end.
[After a long and tiring battle, the Witch was slayed by the valiant Prince.]
Behind the curtains, Ritsu sighed in relief, but she was so tired that when she tried to stand up, her legs felt numb and she remained awkwardly on the floor. The effet of the rush of adrenaline that pushed her to the limit began to fade and left her helpless.
"You put up a good fight." Akashi reached out his hand that she gladly accepted.
"Aaaah...You really put your heart in everything you do, aren't you? I can barely stand by your fault..." Ritsu replied in a chuckle as she got on her two feet with his help.
Then they headed for the backstage where an overenthusiastic fury welcomed them. Honda was hugging both of them together or rather crushing them in her embrace while their other classmates gathered up around them.
"My Prince, my Witch! You were P-E-R-F-E-C-T! Aaaaah, I can't stop hugging you!" Despite her small body, Honda had unbelievably strong arms. All the three were glued together making it hard to breath. Akashi's body was pressed against her, they were sticked so close to one another that sometimes she could feel his soft hair brushed her right cheek causing to fluster because of the proximity. "My heart beated so fast during the whole scene. But the moment the Prince pierced the Witch's heart...I could almost cry! "
"Okay, okay... If you want to praise them, do it when you're not trying to kill them." said the Old Man as he pulled the small braid girl by the collar. "Look, Asaka is on the verge of collapsing for real. You're okay?"
Free from Honda's arms, Ritsu breathed in and out deeply. "Sort of. I-I just need some time to recollect myself...I think I'll go sit for a while..."
"Here, drink this, you two. After that intense battle, it'll do you good." Yoshiwara held two bottles of fresh water out the both of them who gladly took it. "Honestly, look at you, you're completely soaked in sweat. You went completely mad on the stage."
"Aha...it can't be helped. A fight without sweat wouldn't be a real one..." Ritsu laughed it off as she wiped herself with a towel that a classmate brought to them, and then undid her bun totally dishevelled.
"Ooooooh, Asaka, my lovely Witch! Only you can dance with the Prince in that way!" exclaimed Honda as she looked at her with sparkling eyes.
"...You're exagerrating. If Akashi-kun hadn't spare me some time to let me catch my breath, I would have been on the floor during the very first minutes of the duel."
"What, he did that? You mean all the times you seperate before attacking? Asked the Old Man incredulous.
Too tired to explain, Ritsu nod with a vague tilt of the head. She was referring to his pace but likely only her could be aware of it. She met Akashi's eyes and smiled at him. Well, this would be a little secret between the Prince and the Witch.
"Okay, we'll talk later! It's time for the final scene!" Yoshiwara clapped her hands. "We'll end this play on a high note, guys!"
Everyone cheered enthusiastically. Himeno skipped on the dark stage and lay on the bed flower while everyone stared at her with apprehension.
"Your princess is waiting for you, Akashi-kun." jested lightly Ritsu, staring at the fresh Princess who waved madly at the backstage team to let they know, impatient to start the last scene. When her was dripped in sweat and drained by the unique moment.
Akashi threw a nonchalant glance at her.
"Don't look like that, Akashi! After a crazy fight, the sweet lips of a girl is the best reward!" chirped the Old Man as he elbowed the Prince. "Isn't that right, Asaka?"
Ritsu perked her head up, having the two boys staring at her. "Eh...? Eer...maybe. I'm not exactly the right person you should ask. As a girl...my opinion is slightly...ah, different though..."
"You sound really tired. Whatever! Akashi, spare a thought for all of us, we who can't taste the sweet lips of a girl." All the guys nodded seriously. "You're really lucky! Even if it's with Himeno."
"...Is that so?" The Prince gave a last glance at the Witch who sent him off with a vague sign of the hand.
Ritsu rested her gaze on him while he turned his back on her, ready to shine one last time under the spotlight. As he stepped on the stage without her, she came to realise this was truly the end of their «dance». All the emotions that merged with that single instant, all the sensations that made her whole body vibrate with passion, and all his attention that brought the best of her, filled her whole being. Both her simple mind and heart could not control the sudden flow of emotions that she had locked away to focus only the fight. It was too much, it overwhelmed her litteraly. Ritsu suddenly cracked up all alone under the bewildered gaze of her classmates. It was the only way for her to ease that fast-beating heart from all this strange overflowing emotions.
Because she only realised now that it was the very first time her heart had skipped that way.
That was intense!
Aha...that chapter was a real challenge for me. All those action scene (there are not much though) was really difficult to imagine and to write. I'm sorry if it's a bit messy, description is really not my forte.
Even so, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did when I wrote Akashi's scene even though he didn't act like a prince charming!
But I'm kind of sad because the next chapter will be the conclusion of the very loooooong~ Festival Arc.
Thank you very much for reading my story and for all your kind reviews! It means a lot to me! Really!
Feel free to leave some review!
See you soon!
By the way, if you're interested, here the two songs that help me to write the Play chapters: Ballad of the Goddess (zelda games) and The opera – Maria and Draco, distant worlds (FF games)