+ Into the Façade +
In the world where the boundaries between acting and living fade, life becomes confused… unreal… and almost as if imagination had taken over reality… The façade goes into place and life then becomes a living stage.
Ryoma was rendered speechless, eyes which hardly reflected emotions now had confusion swimming within its golden waters. Fuji sat himself down across Ryoma, inviting himself like an old friend.
Silence then settled on them like a heavy blanket, Ryoma slowly picking, poking his food with his fork as Fuji merely stared at him, striking blue irises now opened with newfound curiosity, as if wanting to draw on the energy from its victim, as if wanting to terrorize it till its very soul quake in fear.
Squirming uncomfortably from the attention, Ryoma finally glanced up in hope to match the gaze that was on him, his own eyes too trying to evenly pry open his opponent but failing miserably. To cover up his blunder, he quickly diverted his attention to Momoshiro, who was sitting a distance away, eyeing him with the most bemused expression. It was then did he realized that most of the people in the cafeteria had paused in what they were doing, be it eating or chatting, to watch the pair- including his father.
Ryoma closed his eyes, feeling an incessant knocking deep in the deep recesses of his mind. And, with absolute finality, he gathered himself, eyes suddenly flashing open with such intensity it caused Fuji himself to look startled.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" Ryoma asked in the most polite tone he could muster, yet underlined with a thin almost hidden layer of frustration, despite how much he had wanted to meet Fuji earlier on.
However, instead of replying, Fuji continued staring at him, lips now twitched up in amusement which had not been there a few seconds ago, as if Ryoma's voice had opened up a whole new meaning to the word "motion". With graceful ease despite how abruptly it was done, he pushed himself up from where he was seated, delicately offering a hand towards Ryoma.
"I think you would just do…" he said softly, eyes once again closing themselves into a smiling façade. Then turning soundlessly, he made his way towards Momoshiro- Nanjiroh had left, unnoticed, somewhere in between the startled silence, whom he talked to for a few moments before walking out of the cafeteria with eyes of the population following his every move closely, unblinkingly. And just before he left, he waved a beckoning palm at Ryoma who, simply wanting to satisfy his own curiosity, followed Fuji, mindful of the questioning gazes directed his way.
Chapter 002- Leaning towards Surprises
By fannychan
The first thing he noticed when they left the swinging doors were that he was being led to the auditorium, strange as it seems. Was he noticed on his short visit there that morning? How did this unspeakably wonderful actor came to know his name? With questions swimming around in his mixed-up brain and no answers to keep it afloat, he felt himself being submerged under a screen of blue. But Fuji gave no hints to any of his answers, only supplying them with a "wait here" as he headed into the auditorium, leaving Ryoma standing foolishly by the entrance.
With nothing to pass his time, he peeked in, watching as Fuji talked to a girl with a short ponytail. However, after a few moments passed, more of the casts started materializing around them out of seemingly nowhere, excitement mounting in the atmosphere. Some of the girls were squealing excitedly, their gazes occasionally darting to the doorway where he stood… or perhaps it was a figment of his imagination. But as the enthusiasm grew, he knew that they were indeed looking at him. His suspicions were only confirmed when their leader, the girl Fuji had initially spoken to, turned around and gestured him to enter.
Cautiously, yet obediently, he entered the grand hall for the first time, soaking in the atmosphere of the many who had performed on that very stage. In here, he felt the desire to act, to perform more strongly then he had ever felt before, be it the atmosphere or the existence of the best actors in the school. He gazed at the high ceiling, studying their intricate patterns carefully, the way the shapes seemed to twist and turn in and out of the long wooden bars which held the ceiling from caving in. But, at such a distance, it was almost impossible to make out what those shapes might be. Slowly returning back to reality, he realized he was already standing before the director, her round spectacles reflecting the glaring spotlights that shone brilliantly on the cast. He watched the girl appraise him silently, like an object, her intelligent liquid brown eyes swiftly darting up and down in a few fluid movements.
Ryoma did not like the feeling of being studied. In fact, he downright hated it. It is the exact feeling of a lab mouse being trapped in a laboratory, surveyed daily for its usual checks, big bespectacled eyes examining it with the utmost intensity.
However, under the same concentrated stare, he felt no animosity towards it, perhaps it was the presence of people, or perhaps it was the fact he could not see her eyes clearly made that a factor as well, but nevertheless, he allowed it to take place, grudgingly but kicked up no fuss over it.
The girl, whom Ryoma assumes is the director, leaned back in her seat, never knowing she had unconsciously leaned forward. Abruptly, she turned towards Fuji who was by her side, and for that moment, Ryoma could only see the back of her short ponytail.
"Oh my GOSH! Fuji-kun! You're a GENIUS! He's absolutely PERFECT!" The director squealed excitedly, causing most of the cast to fall onto the ground at the unexpected sound, Ryoma included. With almost child-like joy, the director turned back to where Ryoma was sitting.
"Oh? Why are you sitting on the floor like that? Come here… come here." She indicated the seat beside her, where Fuji was standing.
Ryoma warily stood up and headed towards the seat in question, pausing only to let Fuji move out of the way.
"I'm Ann Tachibana, the director of this play. Fuji said you had been here this morning, with Momo-chan, so I assume you briefly know the storyline of this play we are working on. Anyway, let's get straight to the point shall we? You see, one of our casts came down with something recently and we are now desperate for someone to take over his role, and to adapt to it in the shortest period of time to get ready for our performance the upcoming week. And it seems you're perfect for it. You have the right build, the right attitude, the right style and most importantly, you have this picture of… let's see… how do we put it… ah yes… innocence surrounding you. And on top of all this, you are somewhat famous in this class."
At Ryoma's incredulous look, Ann continued along without a moment's hesistation.
"You see, Risaki-chan's little brother," she nodded at a tanned female who waved at them to acknowledge the name, "was studying at your old school. I believe his name was… Hijiri… yes, Hijiri-chan." Ryoma nodded unconsciously. The name indeed rang a bell. In fact, Minase Hijiri was a gifted violin player at his old school.
"I see you recognize the name," Ann remarked, intently studying Ryoma's expression. "But to get on with this, Hijiri told us that there was going to be a play which would feature some of the best actors and actresses from the drama club. Actually he told his sister and she told us but all the same." Ann giggled while a few others rolled their eyes. "He knew how much we love new actors and especially good ones, so he invited us along. But unfortunately, he could only managed to get four tickets. Three tickets naturally for his sister and his parents thus leaving one for all of us. In the end, Fuji-kun went out of the majority vote. Oh I hate it how he always gets what he wants!" Ann sighed dramatically before glaring at Fuji who was now, like the other cast, sitting on the red carpet which led to the stage.
Fuji tilted his face towards hers.
"It's not entirely my fault, is it Ann-chan?"
Breathing deeply, Ann glanced up in resignation. "I guess I'll never win. Okay, let's get down to business… Ryoma-kun, I think you have an idea on where this talk is headed to I assume?"
Ryoma nodded, understanding slowly piecing the fractured information floating in his mind. He was believed to be able to handle this role thrust before him, to be able to live up to the expectation set by the whole school. And failure was not an option.
"I think that's all I can say for now Ryoma-kun. So? Will you agree to our proposal?" Ann asked, liquid eyes shining earnestly.
Beautiful gold irises slid sideways to fall on the head of a familiar wave of brown. It could prove to be an interesting learning experience… to be acting in the very same play as the said-to-be famous actor of Erinnerugen…
"Oh ho? What do we have here? I can't have my best class to be lazing around now can I?"
Ann practically jumped to her feet, swiftly padding towards the newcomer. Ryoma twitched irritably out of impulse, adamantly not turning around.
"Echizen-sensei! Just the right timing! We were about to get someone to replace Mizuki-kun. Hane-chan! Bring Ryoma-kun over here!"
"Hai!" A girl with her long wavy hair bound up into a messy ponytail steered a reluctant Ryoma towards the pair before smiling and heading back towards the cast, who were standing up to continue where they had left off.
"Echizen-sensei, let me introduce Ryoma-kun!" Ann brought Ryoma in front of her to stand directly before Nanjiroh.
"Oh I see…" Nanjiroh lips twitched into a warm smile but it was immediately gone at the cold glare his son gave him.
"Good Ann-chan… good… keep up the good work… I just remembered I got something I have to do. Goodbye…" Nanjiroh hesitated, desperately searching the stolid features on his son's face for a sign of acceptance but golden-green eyes stubbornly refused to meet that of his father's. With a look of absolute forlorn yet discreetly hidden under a mask of authority as the principal, Nanjiroh turned and left, closing the auditorium door behind him silently.
Not even one noticed the exchange between father and son…
Ann hurried towards her director's seat.
"Ok Ryoma-kun. We had permission from Echizen-sensei so here's your script," she said, recklessly thrusting the booklet towards Ryoma. You'll be playing Fuji's little brother, Riore which was previously acted by Hajime Mizuki. Perhaps you'll hear of him sometimes. He is the best actor in our school, only second by our very own Fuji-kun. But… oh nevermind…" Ann giggled nervously. "… I hope you can memorize your script as soon as possible."
Ryoma nodded, before glancing at the clock on the far end of the auditorium slowly ticking towards 3:40. He had five minutes to return to class to be just in time for lesson.
As he bade goodbye and walk towards the double doors, Ann was more than reluctant to let him go. It was then she remembered something she forgot to ask something important.
"What's is your full name Ryoma-kun? Fuji mentioned that you are from class 2-A. But he never revealed your full name which is needed for an official write-up to be submitted to Echizen sensei."
Ryoma turned back briefly before heading out of the door, off-handedly answering her question.
"Echizen Ryoma." And with that, the door slipped shut with a soft click, leaving Ann staring blankly at the lacquered wooden exit.
Ryoma entered his classroom just as the bell rang shrilly in his wake. The classroom was almost filled and late students were now hurrying into the classroom, one even bumping into Ryoma in his rush. Brushing off the other's apology coolly, he returned to his seat just as the mathematics teacher walked into class.
Ryoma rolled his eyes, closing them briefly in an act of lethargy before peering through half lidded eyelids. It was nearly impossible to stay awake in a subject as simple as Mathematics- especially so for two consecutive periods. Now, if it were Science, then it would be a different story.
Eyes flitting through the class, his wandering gaze skipped from one person to the other, none able to hold his attention long enough to intrigue him. Finally, his fixed his eyes on the red head beside him who was gazing intently at the clock, as if willing the bell to ring with all the concentration that was focused on it. There was something about Eiji's behaviour that makes Ryoma believe that something good is going to happen. He has no idea how or why but he just feels this vibe. But he too, following Eiji's lead, stared at the clock as well, watching it's second hand tick the minute hand closer and closer to 4:20pm. There was still ten more minutes left to keep himself occupied.
But soon it turned to be too bothersome a task.
Finally breaking off his staring competition with the clock, he turned back to Eiji who still had his gaze fixated on the ticking hands of time.
"Ne, Echizen. Do you know what is after this?"
Ryoma was startled by Eiji's sudden question, clear brown eyes now turning its attention to himself. He shook his head, eyes blinking before averting sideways, unable to hold a gaze long enough before feeling embarrassed at being caught staring. The strange thing was, he had never felt this way- meek and vulnerable.
Eiji seemed to sense his uneasiness, smiled before turning to face the teacher, muttering… "Oh you'll see." Before everything went silent other than the monotonous buzzing of the teacher's voice.
Ryoma was puzzled yet unwilling to show his curiosity to Eiji by taking out his timetable from the brown envelope which was still lying under his desk. So he could only wait patiently, watching the clock slowly continued its gradual way toward 4:30pm which was when the bell would ring… And so he waits…
Eiji was tugging him as they ran up the stairs together, the rest of the class lagging behind, ignorant.
"This is my favourite lesson of the day!" Eiji cried gleefully but neglected to release any other information on what they were about to do.
As they reached the landing of the third floor, he followed Eiji to a room labeled "2-A/2-B".
Gathering his composure, Ryoma halted in front of the door, impatiently listening to the footsteps which echoed from the stairway they came from. His heart was racing, hands clammy and for the first time that day, he was shivering slightly with built-up anticipation. Eiji had mentioned something about act, which was the only thing that filtered through his jumbled thoughts during the mad dash up the stairs. With bated breath, he watched the single brown door which laid before him, its coating gleaming under the beam of light from the ceiling.
One by one, his class which was lagging behind came into sight. It was then did Eiji signaled for him to enter, a look of pure bliss written on his face.
Curious and excited, Ryoma followed behind, not caring of his poise and looks. This was something that only acting can do to me, other then… Ryoma stopped himself. He had promised himself never to be reminded of the event which happened five years ago. His high sprits diminished slightly but nevertheless, heart still pounding uncontrollably, he peered into the room which lay behind the wooden door… And never would he believe what he saw.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ryoma, Fuji or anyone from POT . … /sniff/ No matter how much I wanted to… hehe… but I do have plushies haha… /huggles Ryoma and Fuji plushies/ I forgot to add! Hijiri is from Yami no Matsuei and does not belong to me as well v.v… sighz…
Fanny chan: Hey all. Domo Arigatou to everyone who reviewed. I was so touched by the response. I know you all don't want me to go into some sob story or another so I won't I could not believe the number that responded. Even if it may be a small number to you, it really means a great deal to me.
Chibi fanny: Mou, You're getting too emotional! . . Oh YES! We have something very special for you.
Fanny chan/brightens up/ Yes, I have drawn a very brief and stylized plan for Erinnerugen. And I have a schedule as well as explaining more about Erinnerugen. Hehe. This is actually the main reason I tried so hard to get this chapter done. I have never done this for any of my fics before. Go here: (http/ hehe, I know my drawing is kind of messy. Sorry, but I tried my best -…
Chibi fanny: Please comment on this extra information. We need feedback so that we can see if it was of any use at all. Fanny would be able to write answers to questions you may have about our fic.
Fanny chan: This chapter may seem little sluggish. Sorry if it is. I hope you will not lose interest. Personally, I think the chapters are too short… guess you'll think the same. Oh yes, and if you are interested in seeing the pics of the fuji and ryoma pic. It is at my blog at (http/ It is at one of the earlier entries means the very bottom of the page. Hehe. Now it's reviews thank-yous time !
P/S: I'm SOO very sorry firedraygon97 for the mistake! A thousand apologies. And sorry that the links doesn't show. I guess juz doesn't support links so I have written it in text. Copy and paste into the address bar. Sorry for the trouble! v.v…
Mikaii: hehe, actually I did the info just for you since you had asked about the grade levels. I had planned to do this but I believe if you haven't asked about my story, I wouldn't have done it so quickly hehe! And yup, I agree with you- FUJIRYO 4EvA! Hehehe! ThANKIES so much!
Kasugai gummie: ARIGATOU! … I admit I had been really down and doubtful of my writing skills as I wrote this. You gave me encouragement and I thank you so much. I hope you are here to read this too!
Ikyutakei: Hehe… I know sometimes I would get carried away and write really OOC characters. Even so for this since I'm now in a tight schedule. But I don't want to make excuses for myself so I apologized. I hope I can get Ryoma back in character but I hope you do not blame me if I don't. It's really not my expertise but as I say, I can try. But DOMO ARIGATOU! I appreciated your comment!
Cheeseburger of doom: hehe, funny nick you got there, very cute. Thank you for your encouragement. I'lll try to not let you down. Please guide me along the way! - Thank you!
Risen: ;.;… so far only… v.v. hehe, just joking. I hope this chapter has not let you down. If it did, please tell me on how I should improve. . I'm glad you like the last chapter's ending. I liked it too. This time it's rather abrupt. But I'll try to improve. I've never written such a fic based on this genre. My written fics for another anime are mostly dark and angsty. So I'm trying to branch myself out and see my limit. -
Firedraygon97: I'm glad you like the idea. And I hope you'll continue to like it! - ARIGATOU! THANKS FOR YOUR ENCOURAGMENT!
Nall: Thank you. Please give your comments on this chapter as well. I look forward to hearing your response, even if it were to be constructive criticisms… which I hope not. -
Rinnikka: /tears flowing out like waterfalls/ I'm so very touched. Thank you so much. I hope you enjoyed this chapter too! And I love FujiRyo the very best. I even spent so much money to buy the plushies of the two of them … They're so kawaii together… /sighs/
IchigoCake: Yup, going to progress to there. Somethings showing already in this chapter and thank you for your review! -
Angel72: ;; I never knew they were green. I knew in the manga they were green but I thought his eyes were gold in the anime so I went to checked and found them to be gold-green. So I decided to describe the eyes as gold or gold-green is that okay with you? I hope it is coz' I don't want you to dislike this fic. And I thank you for bringing my attention to this matter - And yes, I have no idea where the idea comes from but Echizen Nanjiroh is indeed the principal of this school I made up! Hehe. ARIGATOU! Thank you so much for your encouragement !
Rings of Saturn: hehe, the matter five years ago will be explained sooner or later so please wait patiently. And on the matter if Fuji really killed someone… hmm… hehe, let it remain ambiguous for now hehe. Thank you for your encouragment. I really appreciate it. Fujiryo forever! Totally agree with you! -
To be Continued…
-Published on: 14-1-04-
-Republished on: 15-1-04-