Shoko Komi's Ultimate Challenge
by Ulquiorra9000
Communication 34: Komi the director
One day in mid-April, after class let out, Shoko Komi wandered through the school, searching for new ideas for a challenge. By now, she had exhausted most of her own ideas on worthwhile challenges, so she needed some fresh inspiration. Why not visit the north wing and see what her classmates were up to?
Then she stumbled upon the theater club. This should be good!
Shoko timidly stepped into the club room and bowed. Hi. I'm Shoko Komi. May I watch your club activities? Just for fun? She added on her note.
The theater club president, a third-year boy with dark hair and bright eyes behind his glasses, nodded. "Okay, sure. I don't mind having an extra member of the audience. Well, Komi, I think you'll be very impressed by our rendition of The Merchant of Venice. Behold!"
The director/president motioned, and a half dozen of his student actors got into position to make Shakespeare's imagination come to life. Amazing! Shoko marveled at these students' ability to suddenly become their characters, mentally teleporting themselves to a new time and place while wearing someone else's skin. And how they delivered their lines with such passion and eloquence! Shoko felt goosebumps rising on her skin as the actors immersed themselves in the Bard of Avon's story.
"And... scene! Great work, everyone!" the director called out. "Okay, let's take five, then get ready for Act II, Scene IV. I think we need to sharpen the delivery of those characters' lines a bit and really make their emotional state clearer..."
Shoko watched for a while, hands clasped behind her back, totally losing herself in the scenes unfolding before her. She could never become an amateur actress herself (the thought of it terrified her), but what if her friends got onstage and acted out the lives of totally different people, telling a heartfelt story for the enthralled audience to enjoy -
She wrote down a bold request, tapped the club president on the shoulder, and showed it to him.
The club president adjusted his glasses and beamed. "Fantastic idea, Komi! Directing a one-act play is a fine way to explore the world of theater without devoting too much time to the craft. Yes, this project of yours sounds like a fine idea... but who will take part? My clubmates are busy with our Shakespeare project."
I know. I'll ask my friends to help.
"Outstanding. I look forward to seeing which play you choose," the club president said warmly. "Or will you write your play instead? That's pretty common, actually. Though it takes a lot of extra work."
Shoko was about to say "no" on her paper, then paused. What if she did write a one-act play? What should it be about? What kind of characters should be in it? What themes should it explore? So many questions!
She bravely wrote I'll write the best one-act play ever! and showed it to the club president.
"Fantastic idea, Komi!" he said again. "Ah, I've inspired another creative soul to embrace the wonder of theater! Ha! Shows what dad knows!"
With this lovely new challenge lodged firmly in her mind, Shoko made a goodbye bow and scampered off. This was going to be fun! She even stopped by a shop on the way home to get a new notebook and pencils to write her screenplay, then finally made it home.
"You look so excited, Shoko," Shuko Komi said brightly as she shut off the vacuum in the living room. "Did something good happen at school today? Gasp! Did you have a moment with your crush?!"
Shoko gasped and shook her head, feeling herself go red. She took a deep breath and explained, "I'm going to write a play for my friends."
"Oh! What a lovely idea, Shoko," Shuko commented, cupping one cheek in her hand. "I once tried writing a short play in my third year of high school, but it ended up being real-life fanfiction of your father and I making out! That play only needed two characters, let me tell you!"
Shoko gasped again and sprinted upstairs, going even redder. Her mother gave her the wildest ideas...!
Anyway. Shoko closed her bedroom door, exhaled, and cleared her mind before changing into her everyday clothes. Then she sat at her desk, opened the notebook, and started brainstorming any and all ideas that came to her. A drama? Romance? Comedy? Mystery? A combination thereof? And should it take place in high school, the workplace, a historical setting, or a fantasy realm? So many possibilities! Exciting!
Shoko worked until dinnertime, molding and reshaping her ideas until her one-act play started to take form on paper. Yes, she was on to something here... yes, add this character, explore this theme with that character, use this pun for comic relief... end this scene with a bang... begin the next scene with a dire conflict...
Shoko felt like a bard herself by the time her mother called the family for dinner, and she sat in comfortable silence at the dinner table, her mind still whirring. But the hard part still lay ahead of her: actually directing this thing!
*o*o*o*o*
It took the rest of the school week and all weekend, but at last, Shoko Komi had a finished script for her one-act play, and she couldn't wait to audition some classmates to bring this play to life! So, on Monday, she met up with the theater club president in the club room and got some ideas on how to do this. Kind of.
"You must feel the passion radiating from the candidates. Tap into their mystique," he told her, pushing his glasses up his nose. "You won't know your characters until you see them reborn in the perfect actor! They become one, and you, as director, must witness it! That's when the soul takes flight!"
"He's doing it again," one of the club members mentioned to her classmate as they walked past.
"Third time this month," her male classmate added.
Anyway...
Shoko wasn't 100% sure she knew what she was doing, but she had a general idea, and that was enough for her. She approached her friends in between classes, at lunch, and in the gym changing room to find her actors, kind of like the time she recruited some girls to join Nakanaka's magical girls squad.
"Oooooooh! That sounds, like, totally fun," Rumiko said brightly when Shoko made her pitch in the girls' changing room before gym class. "I've always wanted to try acting! And if it's just a one-act play for fun, no pressure! Count me in." She patted a hand to her heart.
That was when Kaede Otori waltzed over. "I wanna audition, too," she said dreamily. "Can I play Juliet? Pleeeeeeease? And who will play Romeo?"
"Huh? Naw, girl, it's a one-act play Komi wrote herself," Rumiko explained.
"In that case, I'll be the evil stepmotheeeeeer," Kaede offered, then she wandered off.
Rumiko scratched her head. "Um... it's not Cinderella, either."
Then Makeru Yadano stomped right over.
"Hang on a minute!" Makeru demanded. "Auditions for a play? That sounds like a contest! I'm entering, and I'll beat you, Komi! I'll get the lead role!" She pointed.
Rumiko rolled her eyes. "Komi's the director!"
"Uh... Oh. Sure. I knew that. See ya!" Makeru turned and skipped off, her pink pigtails flapping around.
About half the locker room volunteered to audition, and Shoko was both touched and slightly alarmed at how many people she'd have to audition. And this was just for the female roles! She needed boys, too, and so...
"Ah! But of course, Shoko Komi. I'll be your leading man!" Naruse Shisuto declared with a dramatic pose. Sparkles danced all around him. "I've always wanted to act as Hamlet."
Shoko frowned and presented her next note. Wait, it's not that. I wrote a one-act play of my own.
Naruse didn't listen. Instead, he struck a pose and began, "To be, or not to be? That is -"
"Not the question, bozo," Shinobino Mono said, sneakily coming up from behind and gently bopping a fist on Naruse's head. "Hey there, Komi. I'll audition for your play, too. There are gonna be ninjas, right?" He struck his own pose while Naruse massaged his head.
Shoko presented a note. Well, no. There's going to be a delinquent punk character, but...
"Yoo-hoo, Komi! What's going on, homegirl? Something spicy?" Najimi Osana cried, skipping right over with a half-eaten corn dog in their mouth. "Spicier than this snack I found in the cafeteria?"
Shoko made her pitch.
"Oh, a manzai performance? I'm all over that!"
No, a one-act play.
"Let's make it a manzai! Come on, I've got my own routine and everything. See?" Najimi turned to face Naruse. "I'm the tsukkomi, the 'straight man' character. I say something, and then you, the boke, say something stupid!"
"Please. My sparkling glamor could never stoop to crass comedy," Naruse said loftily.
Najimi whacked him on the head with a paper harisen fan. "Wrong, dumbass!"
"Cue the laugh track," Shinobino said sarcastically. "Peace out. I gotta practice my shuriken throws." He ran off with his arms held behind his back like usual.
Shoko hung her head. Why didn't anyone realize that she had exercised her creativity to make this lovely, original play for them all? It wasn't Cinderella or Hamlet and certainly not a manzai routine! What about the challenge...?
"I'd like to audition, Komi," Hitohito Tadano said as he entered the scene, raising a hand. He grinned. "I'll do my best."
Shoko gasped with delight and bashfully turned to hide her gleeful expression. Hitohito was so wonderfully normal and down-to-earth. Surely, he would help keep everyone under control during the auditions and rehearsals! Then, a few more boys also offered to audition, including Makoto Katai and even Chushaku Kometani, who usually just narrated stuff but could (probably) speak normally for his audition.
With this phase of the challenge complete, Shoko promised to text everyone the time and place of the audition, then headed home for the day. Whew, now the really hard part was upon her!
*o*o*o*o*
Auditioning took even longer than Shoko expected, and she felt so bad about having to reject most of the students who auditioned for a role! But there were only eight main characters in the one-act play and just a few supporting roles, so Shoko had to turn down some would-be actors. Kaede Otori was totally chill about getting rejected, but Makeru Yadano, who audutioned for the totally wrong role, raised such a ruckus the gym coach had to drag her away. Whew, this was pretty tiring. But now Shoko had her actors, and it was time to rehearse the scenes! Everyone had their own copies of the script, after all, so it was go time.
"Yo, you want a piece of me, punk? Do you?" Najimi said in their best tough-guy voice, crouching on a desk, a black school uniform draped over their shoulders like a cape. "I'll knock ya into next week!"
"Ha! You could try it, but I warn you, my family is rich," Makoto Katai said in-character, slicking back his blond hair. "I've got an aristocrat dad and half-brother in England. And I have a mean kick. All the ladies love me for it."
"Eeeeeek! He's, like, so cool!" Ren Yamai's character, a playful gyaru, said, hopping up and down. "Will senpai notice me? I totes hope he does!"
"Aw, whatever. He thinks he's all that," Shinobino's own character said, a hardcore otaku with a handsome face but terrible social skills. "I bet he can't even name ten popular waifus! Everyone in the school diving club can, at least."
"Guys, chill out," Nene said in-character, wearing her tracksuit the whole time. "Aren't we all friends?" She made a pose like a model, tossing her bangs and everything.
"Well, I have to go home and study, then feed my dog. He's a Great Pyrenees. He's got a big appetite!" Himiko Agari's character, a child genius with twin ponytails, waved goodbye and tried to leave, only for Najimi's delinquent gang leader character to trip her.
"Hand over your lunch money, of I'll rearrange your face!" Najimi's character demanded, pounding their open palm with a fist.
"B... but lunch is already over. I spent it!"
Najimi's face fell. "Oh."
"He's such a buffoon," Rumiko Manbagi's character, a spooky Goth girl with black clothes and electric powers, said with a dramatic sigh. She even wore elbow-length gloves and a brooch to look extra classy.
"Well, delinquents aren't known for their brains. Tee hee!" Najmi stuck out their tongue and knocked on their head, the gesture that Shuko Komi often made. Was that a coincidence?
"It's okay, dude. I'll be your friend," Hitohito's character, an outwardly gloomy boy with glasses, told Shinobino's otaku character. "No one understand me, either. We can be misunderstood together."
"Totally rad, homeboy," Shinobino's character said, offering a high five that Hitohito's character returned. "Let's hit up the arcade!"
On and on it went, until scene 1 was complete. Shoko Komi timidly called "...and scene!" with her megaphone, and everyone broke character.
"Whew! Being a gyaru is such a pain. They're the worst," Ren Yamai said, fanning herself. She rolled her eyes.
"Hey! I'm a real gyaru!" Rumiko cried, waving her fists in the air. "Are you trying to start a fight?"
"Oh! Oh! Girl fight!" Najimi cheered. "I've got 1,000 yen on Rumiko! Gyarusfight dirty, ya know!"
"Hey, no fighting!" Nene demanded, motioning with her hand. Whether in or out of character, she was the perfect person to keep the peace like a big sister. Funnily enough, her one-act play character was actually the younger sister of a much older brother.
"Um... I really do need to go home and study, like my character," Himiko added timidly. She looked odd but charming with her hair in two short ponytails like that.
Everyone had their own business, so they all headed home, and Shoko was the last to go, content that her challenge was already almost complete. This was one of her best challenges yet, she thought!
Then, she got a phone call that evening, and she picked up. It was Hitohito.
Shoko swallowed. "Um... g-good evening, Tadano."
"Good evening," Hitohito's voice said warmly. "I didn't get a chance to tell you at school, but I had a lot of fun practicing your play's first scene. And you know what, I kinda identify with my character a little bit. That makes him fun to play. Except my family doesn't own a bakery and I don't have secret tattoos or piercings, haha!"
Shoko beamed. "Th... thank you, Tadano. I had fun directing the scene. Just four more to go."
"I look forward to it. But in the meantime, um..." Hitohito's voice trailed off.
"Y... yes?"
"Are you all right with a little constructive criticism?"
Shoko gasped. She hadn't thought of that! Duh, there's no way her amateur screenplay could be perfect the first time around. "Go ahead."
"All right. Um... so far, the first scene is just all the characters introducing themselves and showing the audience how they talk. There isn't much plot. Nothing leads to the next scene."
Shoko actually slapped a hand over her face. Of course! She had gotten so excited about writing a screenplay, she had gotten carried away and just toyed around with her characters while giving no thought to the story itself! And she realized that the other four scenes were like that, too. Uh-oh!
"I'll..." Shoko swallowed. "I'll work on it. I promise I'll make it better!" She bowed out of habit.
"I bet you'll make the best play ever," Hitohito said kindly. "I can't wait to see the finished version!"
"Y... yes."
There was a brief pause, and then Shoko heard Hitomi's distant voice over the phone, asking her brother to hurry up and take his bath so she could take hers next. "I gotta go," Hitohito said apologetically. "See you at school!" He hung up.
Shoko held her phone to her heart, grateful to have such a helpful, thoughtful friend to support her. She had almost failed her challenge without realizing it! Making a one-act with no real plot didn't count. Shoko needed to do something with these characters and deliver a story!
She checked the time, then yawned. It was too late to tinker with her screenplay tonight, but tomorrow, she'd revise it at her desk and turn it into something she can be proud of. The show must go on!
*o*o*o*o*
Over the next few days, Shoko poured all her spare time, energy, and most of all, passion into her one-act play's first draft. She chided herself as she reviewed all the circular conversations and lack of character arcs; Globe Theater material, this was not! But Shoko had that Olympian spirit, reshaping and refining her story into something that spoke to her, something that would speak to all of her classmates and friends. The trick was to deliver a story that could stand on its own and also reach every audience member's heart.
Finally, Shoko had version 2.0 in hand, and she assembled her friends to rehearse the better version. It wasn't easy and sure took a while, but Shoko the director kept at it, and she even got the haughty Ren Yamai and the carefree Najimi Osana to focus on their lines to deliver the performance of a lifetime. Well, okay, the performance of a high school career.
At last, after the final rehearsal in the theater club room...
"Mmmm-hmmm! Yes! I see," the theater club president said, nodding to himself, arms folded.
Shoko held up her notebook with trembling hands: Is it any good?
The club president watched the student actors take a bow, then pushed up his glasses. "It's... still rough around the edges," he said slowly. "And some character arcs have iffy pacing. And I'd polish that dialogue a bit more."
Shoko held her breath. Was she about to get blasted by the critics before her show even opened?
Then the club president beamed. "But that's by my very high standards. Komi, as a first-time one-act play director, you've done a marvelous job!"
Shoko breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'll make sure you get an audience for this on opening night," the president added kindly. "I can tell you poured your heart into this, Komi, and I greatly enjoyed seeing your creative originality at work with these rehearsals. You should be proud."
Shoko hid a wide smile behind her mouth as she turned away in embarrassment. Such kind words from someone who knew all about theater! She was so close to finishing her biggest, best challenge yet. And even if the audience reception was lukewarm at best, Shoko was okay with that. She was already satisfied that this as a job well done. Now it's time to finish it.
*o*o*o*o*
On opening night (actually, Saturday afternoon after class)...
"Gosh, senpai, I've known you for two years now, but it feels like I actually don't know you at all. You know?" Nene's character, a pink-haired sportsy girl, said wistfully. She and Makoto Katai's character were about to start an outdoor race for gym class at their school.
"Oh, don't be silly, my little dear. Everyone has their secrets, like a precious treasure," Makoto's haughty, part-British hunk of a character said. He patted Nene's character on the head. "I mean, just last week, I..." He stopped.
Shoko, who watched the play from the back of the theater club room, clutched her face, willing Makoto to remember his next line. He was supposed to talk about his scheming half-brother in London who was trying to blackmail him!
"I... just last week, my dog ate my homework!" Makoto invented. His character chuckled. "See? I'm not perfect. I'm not some pervy space alien, like the school council president says. Just some ordinary guy."
Nene blinked, taken aback by this off-script line. Then she leaned right into it. Smiling, she tossed her hair and said, "Oh please. You won't satisfy me with your dad jokes, pervy space alien! I can run 100 meters in just five seconds and win any basketball game. You can't outplay me in gym class or in here." She poked Makoto's chest.
Shoko sighed with relief and let the scene carry on. She had forgotten yet another vital talent for an actor: the ability to adjust for mistakes and make up something new on the fly! Sure enough, Shoko's actors forgot lines here and there, no doubt too nervous to remember them. But each time, the eight major characters just improvised a new line, or in Najimi's character's case, improvised a physical comedy skit. Najimi's blond delinquent character sure knew how to make creative use of rolled-up newspapers and Slinkies!
On and on it went, and Shoko felt herself getting swept up in the story of her own creation, enthralled by the five scenes unfolding before her and the 40-ish audience members. Shinobino's shy otaku character found the courage within himself to ask out his beautiful crush at his diving club, and then Rumiko's spooky Goth character became a total kuudere and helped Hitohito's character, the baker's son, find true happiness with Ren's cosplay-loving gyaru character against all odds (it was funny to see Hitohito and Ren holding hands and acting like lovers!). Then, Himiko's child genius character helped Rumiko's and Najimi's characters rekindle their childhood friendship, Hitohito's character learned to love and accept himself, Ren Yamai's character won a cosplay contest, and then everyone got together for a group photo after their group date to the amusement park to end the story.
Shoko watched, hands clasped tightly under her chin, her knees knocking, as the eight main actors took a bow at the play's end. How would everyone respond?
A few students clapped, then a few more, and then more, then everyone! The crowd wasn't going wild, but it was more than enough for Shoko Komi! Once again, she hid an embarrassed smile and turned away, feeling a warm surge of relief, gratitude and sheer excitement course through her. She did it! She became the Bard of Itan high school and put on a lovely play for her friends and expressed her interpretation of true love and friendship with the power of theater, and everyone loved it. Challenge super-duper complete!
"Ohmygosh, girl, that was totes awesome! So fun! That play was straight fire!" Later, after the friends met up in the hallway, Rumiko wrapped Shoko in a tight hug. "I can't wait to act in your next play!"
"You've learned much, my apprentice," Shinobino told Shoko. "I'm humbled."
"We should do that play again, but in swimwear. And with snacks!" Najimi offered loudly, raising a hand. Ren bopped them on the head with a fist to shut them up.
Shoko hardly had the words. She simply offered a written message thanking them all for helping her with the best challenge yet, then everyone went their separate ways. Shoko watched them go, wondering if playwrights always had this bittersweet feeling after a performance was over and done.
Well... at least a new day would bring a new challenge for her to occupy herself with!
*o*o*o*o*
A/N: If anyone was wondering, the characters in Komi's play are:
Tadano's character: Izumi Miyamura from Horimiya
Shinobino's character: Kohei Imamura from Grand Blue
Makoto's character: Takumi Usui from Maid-Sama!
Najimi's character: Mikey from Tokyo Revengers
Nene's character: Shikimori from Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie
Ren Yamai's character: Marin Kitagawa from My Dress-Up Darling
Himiko's character: Chiyo Mihama from Azumanga Daioh!
Rumiko's character: Saki Hanajima from Fruits Basket
