Leiko Hamada- Auditorium

"Mmm?" Leiko looked away from her notes as a familiar male voice called her name, turning her head slightly in surprise as her eyes met a pair of icy blue ones. "Kami-senpai?" She blinked, falling silent as she listened to her senior's scatter-brained words. He apologised for being late before diving straight into praise for her speech, as if to distract her from the primary fault of being late. Before Leiko could get a word in edgeways, he moved straight onto asking where the sign-up sheet was.

"Well..." Leiko took a moment to compose herself before meeting Kami's gaze with a slightly stern one of her own. "Firstly, I am a little disappointed that you were late, Kami-senpai. If this had been a show, you could run the risk of delaying the opening act and letting your fellow cast members down. But...I appreciate your honesty." Surprisingly, her voice became slightly softer despite the scolding she was giving her upperclassman. "You could have just sneaked in here with some of the other stragglers. But instead, you came here and owned up to your mistake. And I can admire that." She gave him a faint smile, before looking ahead and waving the girl with the clipboard over to the judging panel. "Take down Kami-san's name for the auditioning process, please."

As the girl quickly took to probing Kami for his details, Leiko felt herself sink back into her chair. Kami had praised her for her speech, despite only arriving for some of its duration. Did she really sound so confident? She certainly hoped so, or her role as Drama Club President was undeserved. Perhaps...she really could make a change this year...

"President?" Clipboard Girl's voice broke Leiko out of her reverie, evoking a slightly sheepish expression from the drama enthusiast as she took the clipboard from her hands.

"Thank you." Glancing down once over the sheet before her, Leiko rose her hand in the air, signalling for the doors to close, the lights to dim, and the spotlight to beam upon the stage. "The auditions start now! First on our list, Nikki Minoru! Please come onstage!"

---

Auditions had started fairly smoothly. The performers thus far seemed to tackle Leiko's chosen script with gusto; a few were a tad overenthusiastic for Leiko's tastes, but overall, no one had disappointed her yet. In a fairly good mood, Leiko jotted down an additional footnote on the most recent auditionee before reaching the next name in the list. She paused slightly before announcing it, her head cocking to the side as she pondered what performance her very own 'jester' would make of this Shakespeare excerpt. Would he attempt comedy like he did with her at the announcement board? Or would he surprise her once more with a facet of his personality that she hadn't seen yet?

Leiko cleared her throat before announcing in a loud, clear voice. "Noboru Yamamoto".

Noboru-Drama
Noboru stepped up to the stage, ready to perform without a slight hint of fear. He stood up on the stage, and from the crowd came some cheers. He looked down for a moment, starting to emulate his brother, whom he asked for help to learn the lines. He looked back up, seemingly completely different. He took a confident stance, and with a loud and passionate voice, quoted his lines by heart.

"Swift as a shadow, short as any dream,
Brief as the lightning in the collied night,
That, in a spleen, unfolds both heaven and earth;
So quick bright things come to confusion."

He stopped his stance, returning to normal, icked by the fact that he had to act like his brother. Turning around, he folded his arms and looked at the judges, waiting for his final verdict.

Leiko Hamada: Auditorium-Judging Panel

Leiko was silent, unmoving as she listened intently to Noboru's audition, her expression unfathomable whilst the words flowed from his tongue. Remarkably, he had shown no hint of anxiety or hesitation as he soon as he stepped onto the stage, his experience in theatre as plain as day in the way he held his stance. It was like the personality of Noboru Yamamoto melted away into someone else entirely; a dramatic, passionate side of himself taking his place as he took on performing in front of an audience like a duck to water. As soon as he finished reciting his lines, enthusiastic applause and cheers filled the room, cementing Noboru's success whilst the other two judges looked at Leiko expectantly.

Leiko's brow furrowed, scribbling down something in her notebook before looking back up at Noboru calmly. "Well, that was...impressive, Yamamoto-san," she spoke with careful precision, despite the perturbed feelings reflected in her emerald orbs. "You clearly have a stage presence, and your wealth of confidence is a great foundation to build upon. All I ask in future is to consider the context and meaning behind your lines." She looked briefly to the other judges before giving Noboru a firm nod. "Welcome to the Drama Club. We're pleased to have you."

After Noboru was finished, Leiko called for the next performer to step onto the stage. She looked down at the notes she had written next to Noboru's name with a frown. She had praised him overall on his performance, but the recital itself felt...empty. Hollow. It occurred to Leiko briefly that Noboru really didn't care about his performance at all, and that every emotion he had presented was a fabrication of itself. Some people thought that this was what acting entailed, but in Leiko's opinion, good acting came from the relation of human experience.

But it was all said and done for now. Perhaps it was a quality she could help stir within Noboru in the coming year. With that hope in mind, she called out for the next performer to step onstage.

((OOC: Forgoing the post order here, folks. Now it's gonna be first come, first served. Please announce in the OOC if you're planning to step up next, in case we get two auditions in at once and things get messy.))

Rui Shinichi | Drama Club Auditions

Eventually it was his turn to get up on stage. Everyone else's performances were varying, some good, some okay, some bad. As he took to stage, he took a deep breath, and his performance...?

"Swift as a shadow, short as any dream,
Brief as the lightning in the collied night,
That, in a spleen, unfolds both heaven and earth;
So quick bright things come to confusion."

His was... Dramatic. He elected to speak as if he were a count of some kind of castle, or something. It felt that way to him at least, the content of the lines he and everyone else was provided felt that way to him. He knew for sure it was Shakespearean, but he cannot recall which one, likely one he had never seen. With each line his piercing gaze did not falter, and he didn't seem to have trouble with stage fright either... As evident from before the beginning. His line delivery was impressive, with even pacing that changed depending on the words and punctuation, but he didn't move much at all, only an occasional hand gesture. It appears he was able to remember his lines to not need the sheet though.

Leiko Hamada: Auditorium- Judging Panel

Auditions were moving along quite smoothly to Leiko's satisfaction as her hand raced across the pages of her notebook, taking care and detail to pinpoint each auditionee's strengths and weaknesses, along with any defining moments in their recitals. Her hand stopped as the most recent performer left the stage and she came across another familiar name in the list.

Rui Shinichi. She couldn't help but feel intrigued over what his impending performance would be like. For such an inexpressive boy, could he really have any semblance of talent in the performing arts? Leiko found it difficult to imagine in all honesty but regardless, she pushed aside her reservations and called out his name in a crisp, clear tone, watching expectantly as the dark haired male stepped into the spotlight.

As the teen started to speak, Leiko felt a ripple of surprise go through her, his loud, confident voice and pattern of speech hitting every note with perfect accuracy. He appeared to focus on the personality of the character he was assuming rather than the words themselves, which brought a classical feel to his performance, if not an emotional one. The intense look in his eyes (one that he often adopted offstage as well, Leiko mused), only worked in his favour as she felt the female judge beside her swoon a little. Giving her a firm jab in the ribs with her elbow so that she would concentrate Leiko waited for the boy to finish and the collective applause to run its course before voicing her thoughts. "I have to say, that was a very good attempt at the script, Shinichi-san," Leiko began with a note of praise for his performance. "Your line delivery was flawless, and your understanding of iambic pentameter is commendable for a drama amateur. Still..." And this was a big issue, Leiko thought bitterly as she thought of the best way to criticise without sounding overtly cruel, particularly when there was such a large audience. "Your body was so stiff during that performance. You focused on your lines, but not on your body language, or your use of space. You have more room to work with than you realize, Shinichi-san. Let your actions tell the story as much as your words." Finishing up promptly, Leiko shared a glance with her fellow judges before giving him an acknowledging smile. "But we can work on that. Well done, Shinichi-san." Shuffling her notes onto a blank page, Leiko got her pen tip at the ready and announced the next auditionee to enter the stage.

Sato Hashimoto // Warakuma High, Auditorium

Though there had already been some auditions, Sato turned around at the mention of a familiar name. “Noboru Yamamoto,” an unfamiliar voice called out. Noboru? As in, that guy he had met a few days ago? There goes his chances of being completely calm during his audition. The boy he knew quickly made his way to the stage from seemingly out of no where and Sato turned his whole body into a position more comfortable for watching. After all, who knew how long it would be until it was his turn?

Noboru did nothing for a brief while before getting into a bit of a pose, one that Sato couldn’t tell whether it was practiced or not. He recited the lines with confidence and the whole thing went off without a hitch, which was surprising to Sato, as he had assumed the boy to be more sporty than artsy, and the lines Noboru had said were exactly like the ones he memorized, so that was good. The audition was over quicker than he thought and Noboru had went back into a more casual stance as he faced the judge table, arms folded. The small crowd around the stage area busted into cheers and applause once they realized he was finished and as the crowd died down, someone else spoke up, the same voice who called the name. The person critiqued him a bit and waved him off with a “Welcome to the Drama Club”.

A brief intermission passed by before the presumed head judge called out another name, yet again familiar. “Rui Shinichi.” The weirdly inexpressive guy he had talked to the other day? Sato wondered why Rui, of all people, would join Drama. Was he aware of his strange unfaltering facial and bodily expressions? … Did he even enjoy Drama? Sato shook his head. He elected to stop trying to question the boy, since his thoughts started becoming a bit rude, even if Rui couldn’t hear them.

It wasn’t long before Rui took the stage, a spotlight covering him in a bright white light as the lights around them dimmed, just like they had down on everyone else’s. The delayed realization gave Sato an idea for what he could do in his audition, but he mulled over whether or not he should follow through with it. The thought could wait, as Rui had already begun talking in a dramatic voice, and as quickly as Noboru’s went, the audition ended. Applause resounded throughout the auditorium and students’ cheers echoed off the walls. The female voice reviewed his performance before dismissing the boy after a quick congratulation. People started to chatter to each other about the performance they had just watched, and again, a short moment went on until the voice interrupted with the next auditionee. “Sato Hashimoto.”

Sato’s body tensed a bit when he heard his name. He wasn’t ready, mentally or physically. The third-year rose from his seat and strode over to the stage, making his way into the center of it. He stood facing the entirety of the auditorium, and all the faces looking his way made him a bit nervous. Not debilitating, but in a way where it made him uncomfortable. Sure, Sato had been in Drama before and even performed, but they spent way more time practicing than performing on a big stage in front of an even bigger audience, so the experience was still new and intimidating to him. This wasn’t the time to slip up, however, and Sato steeled himself, even if just for a minute or two. All the light dimmed and an overwhelmingly bright light consumed him, causing him to squint his eyes until he adjusted to it.

He took a long and deep breath. The lines were still clear in his head, and he started speaking as if they were going to fly out of his mind right that moment:

"Swift as a shadow, short as any dream
Brief as the lightning in the collied night,”
His voice stabilized into something more fitting for the scene, his body moving itself around to give a bit of humanity into his performance.
“That, in a spleen, unfolds both heaven and earth;”
He held his hand level to his eyes, palm up, for the last part:
“So quick bright things come to confusion."

And with that, Sato let his body relax as the spot light turned off. His mind ended up instantly critiquing his recital; “That beginning was so rough”, “Your voice was so off”, “That hand thing was stupid”, “You were so out of it until half-way through”. The lights slowly came back on, bringing his surroundings to a more normal lighting. Another round of applause— this time actually for him— and when it died down, Sato looked at the judges with anticipation. His tension was palpable.

Leiko Hamada: Auditorium- Judging Panel

Leiko continued to scrawl idly on her notebook as she glanced over at the audition sheet before her. The next name, like so many others, was unfamiliar to her. "Sato Hashimoto", she announced clearly, ceasing her writing for a moment as she rested her pen on the desk, propping her chin on the palms of her hands as her eyes cast forward to the stage.

A lean, fair-skinned male walked towards the centre of the stage, a few murmurs of recognition following him as he looked ahead at the audience with a sense of unease. Leiko could feel the nervous energy radiate from him, her own stomach knotting from the tension as she watched on silently. She hated watching people fall apart from stage fright, and she really hoped she wasn't about to witness it now.

The spotlight illuminated his slight figure, and with a deep breath, the male began to recite his words.

The initial delivery was sketchy at best. The male's voice shook slightly with nerves, but he was quick to recover, Leiko noted as his voice grew in power and confidence the deeper he delved into his role. His body started to relax along with his words, adopting a more natural stance as he recited the wonders of heaven and earth in a distant and somewhat melancholic way. He had chosen to focus on the emotion underlying the words in the script, an approach that a surprising amount of auditionees had not attempted, and Leiko couldn't help but feel impressed with his candour.

Briefly writing something down, Leiko's eyes flickered to the page and back again to see the male raising a hand with his palm facing upwards in some sort of strange gesture as he delivered his final line. Was he trying to shield his eyes from the spotlight? Leiko raised the end of her pen to her lips and tapped her bottom lip as she tried to work out the reason for the hand movement. The best she could conclude was that he was taking the 'bright things' mentioned in his final line literally, as if the spotlight itself was a factor in his performance. Perhaps he was attempting a form of meta-theatre in his delivery? Unsure of his true intention, Leiko dotted a question mark next to 'hand gesture' by Sato's name, whilst allowing the applause to thunder across the room.

Clearing her throat, Leiko's eyes roved her notes once more before levelling with Sato's brown ones. "You had somewhat of a shaky start," she began carefully, approaching her words like she was walking on eggshells whilst speaking to the unfamiliar male. She had never spoken to the student before, so it was difficult to gauge his temperament just from a short audition. "Which is understandable. Standing on that stage on your own with so many people watching can be terrifying. What matters, is that you held it together, and grew into your role the more you progressed." She stopped for a moment so that the male could consider her words before continuing her critique. "Your approach towards the script was excellent. I could sense that you put serious consideration towards the emotions behind the words, and I could honestly feel it resonate with the audience as well. Overall, a really good performance...umm..." Leiko blanched as his name slipped from her mind, quickly casting her eyes down before glancing back up at him again. "Hashimoto-san." With a quick murmur of agreement with the other judges, Leiko glanced at him with a pleased expression. "I look forward to us working together."

Leaving at that, Leiko allowed Sato to let himself leave the stage whilst she reviewed her notes once more. She really wanted to ask him what his intention had been with that sudden hand gesture of his, but she decided against it for now, in case the inquiry took him off guard and flustered him in front of his audience. Instead, she would find an opportunity to speak to him at a later date and ask him then.

Tossing her long hair behind her shoulder, Leiko noted that they were reaching closer to the end of the audition process. Overall, she was very pleased with the diversity in skill that the auditionees had shown thus far, and with that optimism pushing her forward, she announced the name of the next auditionee.

Katsuro Sakuma | Auditionin'

Eventually, it was Katsuro's turn to take the stage. Some of the people before him had gotten some almost ridiculous adulation for their performances. These people must be really excited for their Shakespeare. The guy that had spoken to him out in the corridor had done fairly well for himself too. It briefly occurred to Katsuro that the two of them were going to learn each others names by hearing them said out loud for these auditions. Not that it was really important to note. As Katsuro ascended onto the platform, he wasn't nervous. He wasn't all that foreign to talking in front of crowds or groups of people, and he wasn't here to be the greatest thespian there ever was, he was here to have fun. If he didn't get the part, it was no skin off his nose, but he had decided against making a mockery of the audition. It didn't seem like these people would much appreciate it anyway.

"Swift as a shadow, short as any dream,
Brief as the lightning in the collied night,
That, in a spleen, unfolds both heaven and earth;
So quick bright things come to confusion."

Katsuro recited the lines well enough, but more than anything, he understood the context of what he was saying. This was an excerpt from "A Midsummer Night's Dream", Act 1, Scene 1; a conversation between Lysander and Hermia, two lovers unable to unite due to their circumstances. The lines in question are from Lysander, telling Hermia of the hardships true lovers often face. In particular, these specific lines are him describing how true love is often fleeting, as it is often destroyed by circumstances such as theirs or else. In one way, it could be seen as lamenting their circumstances, but it is also meant to console Hermia by way of convincing her that these trials are merely what many experiencing true love must go through.

Katsuro didn't know how much of this he cared for personally, but that didn't matter. Right now, he was Lysander, and he was speaking with his love Hermia.

Leiko Hamada: Auditorium- Judging Panel

Noting that there was only two candidates left before the end, Leiko's eyes drifted to the last-but-one name on the sign up sheet. "Katsuro Sakuma", she pronounced aloud, her expression changing into a frown as the name rekindled some kind of memory in the back of her mind. Wasn't this the Sakuma person who always joked around during lessons? He had a reputation of being somewhat of a class clown, she believed, so it was strange to see his name appear for something like Drama Club. Unless...he was intent on making a mockery of the script?

Praying that this wasn't to be the case, Leiko's eyes lifted up to the stage as a tall, messy-haired male strode to the centre with an air of confidence. Comedy had its place in the arts, of course, but Leiko's excerpt held no room for such an approach. Watching with bated breath, Leiko prepared herself for the inevitable.

Not for the first time that afternoon however, Leiko found herself surprised by what followed. Unlike the other candidates, Katsuro chose to treat the script not as a monologue, but as part of a dialogue, sharing the space with some other invisible actor as he recited his lines to them with passion and love dripping from every uttered word. It was hard to discern any note of genuinety in his recital, but it was a straightforward performance and interpretation of the text, and an effective one at that. He finished his lines with a dramatic flair, and shortly after, the audience crackled into rumbling applause.

Sinking into deep thought, Leiko turned to her fellow judges and conversed with them a bit before coming to a verdict on his performance. "Sakuma-san," she began, looking up at the fellow junior with her pen rolling in between her fingers. "I have to say...out of all of the auditions so far, this is the first one where I felt like I was watching a 'show' rather than an audition. You clearly established a character from the start, held a natural stage presence throughout, and you persisted with the original context of the script, which was pleasant to watch." Leiko was almost surprised at herself that she was praising someone like Katsuro so highly, but it was truly quite difficult to fault. "All I would suggest in future performances is to engage with your audience a little more. Open up your body movements, allow us to absorb your facial expressions, tell us what it means to be in love as well as Hermia." After a quick look at her notes to ensure there was nothing she had missed in her critique, she waved him off with an approving nod. "A very good audition, Sakuma-san."

And thankfully, not a comical one, Leiko added internally as she leafed through her notes, her eyes finally reaching the end of the list. Ah...she wondered how he would tackle the script? Feeling her senses stir with anticipation, Leiko announced crisply, "And now, for our final audition of the day, please welcome Kaminari Sutoraiki!

Kaminari : Auditorium-

As the boy awaited the girls jurisdiction, he was rather pleasantly surprised that she wasn't as frustrated as he was expecting her to be. He gave her a quick smile as he swiftly headed into the seats, and began relooking over the lines. If he could recall, this was from a well-known play written by the brilliant playwright, William Shakespeare. Kami often found himself reading over the lines multiple times in his bedroom, before falling into a deep slumber. He felt like he could easily relate himself to the speaker of these lines, despite the feeling that he couldn't remember which play this was from or what it was about. He sat down, partially oblivious to the auditionees on the stage.

The auditions were fleeting as the auditionees swiftly flew through the stage with their lines and critiques. As the boy continued reviewing, behavior a tiny smile as he finally understood the meaning of these simple, and yet meaningful lines. As he assured himself with a sigh, he suddenly flinched when hearing his name called. He nervously left his seat and walked towards the stage, reciting the lines in his head with complete understanding. His confidence quickly waned as he stepped onto the stage, with many people staring directly at him.

He almost lost it.

Kami couldn't recall the lines as he nervously stared at the ongoing watchers, awaiting his act. It was a lot easier said than done now that he found himself in such a daunting position. It was merely a couple of seconds that he stood there, but yet it felt almost as if an eternity or two had flowed. As he nervously began mumbling out his lines, he swiftly stopped himself, cleared his throat, and closed his eyes. He felt rather at peace, and much more focused, feeling that the audience didn't see him. He still felt that chill of someone watching him, but quickly brushed the feeling off to reassure himself.

"Swift as a shadow, short as any dream,
Brief as the lightning in the collied night,
That, in a spleen, unfolds both the heaven and earth;
So quick bright things come to confusion."

When conveying the words, he felt an unknown power had struck him and gave him the strength to speak with such a piercing voice. Despite the resonance in his voice, he sound as if he was in utter anguish as his voice filled the area. As he spoke in such a sorrowful voice, he held one arm to his chest, and outstretched one arm to the audience. The hand that was the farthest from him was widened, the palm pointing towards the heavens. He felt as if he wanted to reach upwards, and bring the sky down to the realm below, but he restrained himself from doing so. He didn't want to ruin the moment he was acting out to the audience, as it wouldn't make sense to suddenly rip your arm down with your fists clenched.

As he finished reciting the lines, he opened his eyes, and recalled his arms back to his sides. The two flowed down slowly, as he anticipated what would happen next. The tranquil way he had acts on stage had suddenly dispersed, himself becoming rigid as cobblestone. He quietly contemplated how she would judge him as he anxiously awaited the words to fly from her mouth. He just wished for it all to swiftly end before he completely lost it.

Toma Tanaka - Warakuma High School, Class 3 -1 | After School

The boy turned to face him, and for a moment, Toma was worried that he was being an annoyance. The boy's face certainly implied as much.

But the moment passed quickly, and the look of annoyance quickly disappeared. The boy shook Toma's hand as he introduced himself.

"Ah, feel free to call me Toma," he said, realizing the boy had given his first name.

It was then that Toma noticed the handshake was strangely... intimate? It seemed to linger a little too long... Showing no discomfort in his face, Toma broke it off, deciding to chalk it up to Aiko being a friendly person.

The boy then asked him why he had moved to Warakuma.

"My father's work," he replied simply and without hesitation. "So, anything fun to do after school here?" he asked, looking to change the subject of the conversation to something other than himself.

As he waited for Aiko's answer, he figured he should try finding a club or two to join. He was already a day behind, so the sooner he got on that, the better. His thoughts then drifted to Kotori - it'd be nice for him to at least say hi to her today. The issue was that classes were over, so she would either be going to a club or leaving for home. He'd just have to hope that he'd see her in the hallway or something.

Akira Kirigakure // Warakuma High, Class 3-1

When the bell signaling the end of school, Akira stretched and with a big yawn, began to pack his things when he noticed a something across the classroom. There was 2 guys, one he was familiar with and one he wasn't. Looking at one with a stupid look, he shook his head upon noticing the guys reactions. "He's at it again..." Akio Yamamoto... A guy who can be quite....creepy at times, especially around guys and a bit troublesome. Not sure who is worse, him or his sister Akari. Though, If dealt with individually, they aren't so bad. With a shrug, he glances at Akari before walking past them and out of the classroom.

With his application to rejoin the Archery Club still pending, there wasn't much for him to do for the time being. He briefly considered joining another club, but other than Archery, he wouldn't want too much of his free time taken away. Either way, checking some clubs out probably wouldn't hurt, would help kill time at least. Making his way to the vending machines, he got himself something to drink.

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma High School: Classroom 2-2

Checking one last time to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything, Kotori gave a small nod to herself before taking her school bag into her hands and heading out of the classroom. The occupants thereof had shrunk considerably in number during the short time she'd remained - not that that came unexpectedly. This way, however, Kotori had little trouble in navigating the classroom or the hallway; giving a small nod in passing if anyone happened to say goodbye as she went by. She was somewhat relieved about these circumstances - it could be quite a pain, trying to press one's way through the masses of students all heading out at the same time. Halfway out, however, an odd commotion drew her attention - warranting at least a quick look at what was going on in the auditorium.

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma High School: Auditorium

As it turned out, the noise was indeed coming from the auditorium - which was being used as an impromptu stage for, as Kotori remembered from the flyers, an audition for Drama Club. Standing in the doorframe, she couldn't say she recognised any of the auditionees - though it was difficult not to know the apparent head judge and club president, Hamada Leiko who gave a short critique after every performance. Kotori had to give the auditioning students some credit - standing up on a stage under scrutinous eyes was definitely not something she'd ever willingly participate in. As such, just watching was more than enough for her - and even just a few at that; turning away to head back home after listening to barely half a dozen recitals.

As she walked toward the main entrance, Kotori thought about the lines spoken - vaguely familiar, she wordlessly moved her lips to form them, wondering where she'd heard them before.

Leiko Hamada: Auditorium- Judging Panel

As Kami made his way onto the stage, Leiko took a moment to reflect on the audition process as a whole. There had been some excellent performances to note (Sakuma and Hashi-what'shisname came to mind), some that had taken her by surprise (the deceptively blank Shinichi), and a few that left her a little cold (such as Yamamoto's somewhat detached approach to the script.) However, Leiko couldn't deny that she was overall pleased with the outcome of the auditions, and that despite the surprising turnabout of applicants this year, she felt she had somehow managed to assess the skills of the new recruits quite well. With a sense of pride at her efforts, Leiko sat at the edge of her seat and watched intently as the lights dimmed and the spotlight shone on the stage for what would be the final time that day.

The feelings of accomplishment didn't last.

Dread crawled into Leiko as the senior froze up on stage, total silence reigning over the auditorium as the audience waited with bated breath for the words that never came. Seconds passed, an uncomfortable cough echoing from the far back as Kami stood there, completely motionless.

Leiko couldn't fight the disappointment that rushed through her as she watched the senior flounder before the crowd, pitiful mumbling parting from his lips as he tried to recount the lines without falling apart from nerves.

The scene before her was too much to bear.

Leiko lifted a hand to hush the whispering that was spreading throughout the auditorium, her mouth opening with an intent to put an end to Kami's misery before any more damage could be done. As soon as she was about to utter the words that would end the performance however, she found herself clamping her mouth shut immediately.

It was as if the aura had changed around the timid male, his eyes fluttering shut as he allowed his rigid body to relax before the awaiting audience. It took a moment for Leiko to realize that he was pretending that the people in the auditorium weren't there as he began the recital of his lines anew; bolder, and far more powerful in his execution than before. He commanded the stage with a sense of raw emotion that clung to his words and actions, as if using the performance to convey some sort of conflict within his heart as he gave his all into the audition. By the time he was finished, the audience broke into unanimous applause, his eyes fluttering back open and appearing almost overwhelmed by what had occurred as his gaze drifted to Leiko anxiously.

Leiko took a deep breath, before she started to speak in a stern tone. "That completely lacked any kind of finesse or rhythmic structure, Sutoraiki-san," she began with a slightly hardened edge to her voice, adopting a more formal way of addressing him for the sake of the people listening. "You messed up your lines at the start, and you isolated your audience during the entirety of your performance. However..." The harsh words that ricocheted from her tongue suddenly started to soften. "You also helped to embody the message I wanted to convey in my speech earlier today. Drama can help express ourselves in ways we cannot show to the people around us," she paraphrased with a hint of a smile. "You're not a natural performer, you clearly don't have any experience in the arts, but I could feel that there was something personal in that performance of yours, despite the present flaws." One quick consulting look with her accompanying judges was enough confirmation for her as she met Kami's gaze evenly. "We have some work to do, but we're happy to welcome you to the club, Kami-san."

Another round of applause echoed through the room, and Leiko gave her senior a quick gesture to usher him off the stage as the bell started ringing, signalling the end of after school clubs. "I would like to thank everyone who participated in and watched the performances today. As stated in the flyers circulating around school, Drama Club sessions are on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Once roles have been cast for the school play, you will also be expected to attend Saturday dress rehearsals," Leiko announced with a clear, prim tone that somehow commanded the attention of the large auditorium despite her small size. "I would like to congratulate all the auditionees who have been successful with their auditions today. Now please, leave the auditorium in an orderly fashion and don't leave any mess." Lest the principal finds more reasons to degrade us, Leiko added silently, packing away her notes as she watched the crowds pour out of the exits.

"You know, you were being far too easy on that last one," Masatomo scoffed from somewhere behind Leiko as she finished packing away her things, the bitter taste of disgust forming in Leiko's mouth as she turned to face the arrogant male. "Did you see how awful he was at the start? He's clearly never acted before."

"Well, there's a reason why you weren't on the judging panel," Leiko merely replied with saccharine sweetness, pressing a box firmly into his arms as she fixed him with a fiery glare. "You may either choose to shut your mouth and be helpful, or you can remove yourself from my sight. Either one will be most pleasant."

"Like that regal tone works with me," Masatomo rolled his eyes, even as his actions showed compliance as he tucked the box under his arm. "I'm just saying. I would have been a lot more selective had I been in your shoes. The play this year is gonna be a trainwreck if we have people like that in starring roles."

"Then perhaps it's a good thing that it's not your call to make," Leiko brushed him off with a note of arrogance, purposefully ignoring any further protests as her eyes wandered back to the people leaving the auditorium. Was she fair in her judgements? Did the people she meet have any real potential at all to succeed?

She felt a wry smile tug at her lips at her sudden misgivings. So quick bright things come to confusion indeed.

Rui Shinichi
Warakuma High - After School
10th April Friday, 2015

As the bells for the end of school rang, students went out once more for club activities or home. It was Friday, so many elected to go home today, most clubs were not active today either, so people were least busy from today onward until the next Monday. Rui headed off immediately after classes. The mail he got from Kazuki a few days back said he and everyone else should meet back at the abandoned building to enter the mirror world again, training or something. All things considered, he could just skip it... But there were so many unanswered questions that curiosity forced him forward anyway.

Today at the mall they were having a sale on shoes apparently, some of the girls in the first year building mentioned it before hurrying off. On the way to the mall, a new MrDonald was being built near the main station, it was going to open in roughly a month. Urbanization in this town was starting to take form, other fast food restaurants were going to open up, and near and around the mall, wherever you looked there were construction walls everywhere with signs talking about new establishments.

Rui Shinichi | Abandoned Building

The building seemed as unused as ever, though little known that some lounging furniture and some armaments made their way into this building, courtesy of Kazuki and his team. Visiting here again, and with more time to look around, it became abundantly clear he wasn't lying about doing this for awhile. Everything here seemed to have been used for quite some time, it was just nothing seemed to have been renovated here. The abandoned building seemed to be a former warehouse. The weapon filled table was sifted around a bit and better organized this time around. Whoever handled those obviously came sometime in the last week. Kazuki of course was already there, drinking some coffee from the coffee machine set up in here, another person was there too, a girl, she seemed to be eating some snacks. Once everyone had entered, he motioned everyone to take a seat at the lounge area.

"I see you're all here", he began.

"First of all, meet my friend... Please, introduce yourselves", with that, the girl began to speak. Her voice was soft, but she was well-spoken.

"I am Megami Tachibana, nice to meet you all", she seemed nice. She kept herself dressed well, and she seemed to have uniform from the same school Kazuki was from.

"You are all new Persona users correct?...", everyone nodded in agreement, there was no use lying or making another response here.

"I see... Well, I was the one who suggested this meeting. I'm sorry our other friends couldn't come today... Though today we will be going through exploring the mirror world, I will help with navigation", she said calmly.

"Right, correct. If you're all going to be joining us, you're all going to need to start earning your own place here", Kazuki spoke up.

"Now then, go take a weapon from the table and enter the mirror. Whenever you're all ready... It'll be easier to explain how we do things once we get into the thick of it... Don't worry, it's not all that complicated", he said. With some hushed responses, everyone headed over in front of the mirror and picked up a weapon from the table. Naturally, Rui grabbed the katana, still within it's sheath.

"If you have any questions, now's the time to ask", announced Kazuki, just as everyone had chosen their weapons.

-Kaminari : Warakuma High-

As the students began flowing from the classroom, he nervously pondered on something that had been bothering him ever since his performance a few days ago... And it was mainly the people he had noticed after Leikos criticism. He wondered what they would think of him, especially the one who occupied his thoughts. As he began packing up his items, he picked up his backpack and began traversing throughout the school, a few people whispering compliments about him as he walked. Despite his almost shaky performance, he seemingly managed to pull through in the end, gaining some admiration from the audience who had watched his audition. It wasn't long before he was assaulted by a familiar boy wearing glasses - Makoto.

"Hey, so I heard about your performance the other day Kami. I almost ended up denouncing some people who said you performed on stage due to you having stage-fright... But, you somehow managed to pull through and impress most of the members in the audience due to some of the talk I'm hearing about you in my class..."

The boy mischievous eyed Kami, waiting for an answer to reveal itself from the confines of the timid actors mouth. He just looked at Makoto, smiling a bit before answering the curious boys question. He took a look around some of the students he passed by, before telling him how he managed to pull off such a feat.

"I just pretended no one was there, and thought of my unrequited love for a girl... Thats all there is to it."

Makoto chuckled a hit, and shook his head at Kamis response to him, rather finding it humorous that he had to resort to such lengths to keep himself from falling flat on his face... However, a rather quizzical look had formed on his face at the mention of Kami having a crush on someone. He aimed his eyes directly into Kamis, expecting something from him. His glasses glinted with an air of interest as he began speaking to Kami.

"We-hell, I haven't heard about this before. Your heart aches for a person you love deeply, hmm? Tell me who it is... No, wait! Let me try and guess, tell me if I'm right! Is it Sachiko? Despite the act she has been acting differently, she's pretty cute, still pleasant to hang around with, and has a pretty good body I will admit... Ooh, maybe its Leiko! She is pretty popular because of her standing in the school, plus she is also has a nice lookin' body, and is kind of like a princess you would sweep away! Ooh, maybe it's the new girl, called Chiaki! I heard she's a model, gothic lolita if I can recall, but enough of that - she's a model. Despite the fact that she has piercing red eyes, she is seemingly pleasant to look at... Plus model equals nice body, right? Come on, spit it out"

Kami looked at the boy as if he was insane, and shook his head while chuckling. Makoto was at it again with his perverse fantasies most likely. He didn't even bother seeing past the skin of who they are, and just focused on their rather outward and physical features. He also noted that they were a bit popular, but Kami didn't really care for that either. He turned his head towards Makoto, and sighed as he walked alongside his friend.

"Jeez, knock it off man, you're not in one of your own peculiar fantasies... Besides, I'm not telling you, so buzz off dude... Its kind of personal."

"Alright Kami... I won't get involved in your personal life then... Well, see you later then!"

Kami watched in surprise as the boy went off, most likely preparing himself. He knew once Makoto got a hold of some information, he would make an attempt to delve into a person life to try and find the truth. He was strange like that, but he didn't really care for it. No matter what, Kami liked Makoto as a friend, even without way he acted. As he walked, he made his way to Ayanos classroom, and peaked his head inside to see if Ayano was still lingering around.

Sachiko had to wonder about this set up they had here. Though she supposed it made a little sense, given this was clearly their base of operations, it seemed weird that they had all these amenities around. They had brought furniture in here for them to use and everything. Was it really necessary for them to hang out here, rather than meet somewhere else before going in? Maybe they just liked the idea of hanging out in old, abandoned buildings. After hearing Kazuki mention something about them 'earning their place here', Sachiko couldn't help but find that a little arrogant. They had asked for them to come, not the other way around. They had helped them out and were offering more assistance now, but it just seemed off for him to tell them they had to 'earn' a place in the group. But Sachiko decided not to complain for now, since either way, she was going into the mirror world right now.

When they were prompted to take a weapon from the table, Sachiko had to take a moment to look through the weapons. She had never used a weapon before in her life, so it's not as though she could pick one she was familiar with. She spied a pair of scissors, partially concealed beneath a few other weapons. Who would use scissors to fight? They probably just put that there by accident. Ignoring the scissors, she chanced on something a little more familiar. Her ballet group had performed some Chinese productions, and at least one of them had made use of a type of broadsword. It was just a prop when she had used it in ballet, but at least she could claim some familiarity with it. Any of these weapons would require getting used to, so she might as well pick something that had some small meaning to her. So the Chinese broadsword it was.

It occurred to her that there was one thing that was dwelling on her mind about the mirror world. "Are those tongue monsters the only creatures we'll encounter down there? Or are there bigger, badder creatures in that world?" She had a feeling it would be as she described it, but it couldn't hurt to ask. Hopefully, these two would actually describe some of the things they might encounter down there as part of their answer.

Chiaki was chatting with far less people than the amount that showed up last time. Chiaki had a flashback to the first meeting.

Warakuma High School (Last Wednesday) - Idol Club Room

Standing in front of a crowd of many students, Chiaki put on an unnerved face. She prepped them for what was waiting in store for them.

"Before you join this club... You should be informed of the truth! This will not be a simple club for tomfoolery and slackers."
Stomping her red heel down she caught their attention once more. Just incase they began to wonder off into dream land.
"If you think for a moment you will be staying in this club and giving absolutely no contribution you shall be mistaken! Throw your weaknesses aside. Here, we are all equals until proven otherwise."

Flicking her left drill she smirked.
"If you have the courage, determination and will power. We can become some of the best school idols ever! There will be a final meeting on Friday, if you're still interested return on Friday and we'll begin some practices. Stew on this for a while, think about it... Goodbye."

Warakuma High School - Idol Club Room

She clapped her hands.
"Ahehe~ Well I suppose this shows who's got the guts to be an idol!"

Placing her hand on her hip she began to perform another speech.
"I'm releived that most of you came back. Ahehe, I thought my last speech scared everybody off, I simply just didn't want anybody who wouldn't be giving their all during our time here. If we're going to be idols, we need to be people who others can look up to. People whom work together as a strong team and with a powerful bond. I believe in all of you. And you all should believe in yourselves. We can be the best we can be, together."

Chiaki smiled and fiddled with her hair.

Akari-Idol Club
Akari Sat in silence and patiently waited until the girl with spiral hair stopped lecturing them about everything. It was annoying having to hear this kind of speech. She made sure not to make any recognizable facial movements, in case miss bossy decided to get on her case. Tne little happy message bugged her. It was just empty words, meant to raise morale. Of course, she already knew that only the best would stay. The rest would drop out and leave. Probably quit like small children. Either way, this was an easy club and one Akari planned to take over. However, before anyone else could say anything there was a small body entering the doorway into the room.

Aiko, The twin who finally split away from his other half-Classroom
Before Aiko could get up and group together with Akari, she quickly walked away, presumably headed to go to a clubroom or some such. It didn't matter, he could just ask Toma to go somewhere.

"Hey Toma, wanna go hang out somewhere, there's some good places in the mall i've heard. Or is there some club you're headed to?"

Noboru-Idol Club
School was already over before he knew it, and Noboru got up to do the same old routine he did everyday. Grab his bags, and get ready to exercise. Chiaki apparently had some club to go to, so he was all alone today. He walked out into the hallway, looking up and down it, ready to walk down the stairs. By his feet, was a flyer for some kind of "Idol" Club. It sounded interesting enough. He looked for the club, wandering around the hallway. Finally finding the banner, he slowly opened the door.

"Hey, I found this flyer. This club seems kind of interes..."

Noboru looked up and his words were caught in his throat.

"Oh. Hope I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

Sato Hashimoto // Hashimoto Residence
APRIL 10 2015, FRIDAY
Early Morning

The alarm went off. Sato, sprawled on top of his bed’s covers with his school uniform still on, rolled over to turn it off. The boy miscalculated the distance however and sent himself off the side of his bed. He groaned in pain when he hit the cold ground face-first before forcing himself onto his feet, locating his phone, and turning off the obnoxious ringing coming from it. He stretched his arms out above his head while he considered the events of the past few days:

After he finished his audition, he waited for the verdict on his performance. The girl who was presumably the leader affirmed his crappy start but then went on the praise his understanding and expression of the meanings and emotions behind the words, which helped ease his nerves a lot. The auditions went on after that, with the guy he met by the entrance going after him (apparently named Katsuro), and then the auditions concluded with some underclassmen Sato didn’t know. The people in the school auditorium filed out gradually, Sato amongst the horde, and eventually there was little sign that anybody had been in there.

Once the auditions were over, Sato checked his phone and went over the information of their plans to hang out after school; 5:30 PM at the shopping complex’s food court. He had made it there last, making his peers wait for him, and they went around the complex, shopping. The other two days were boring and nothing particularly special had happened, nor did they have much fun. Though… for some reason, he got home unfortunately late last night and ended up passing out on his bed first thing. Then morning happened.

Sato groggily threw his phone over to where his school stuff was piled and did his morning routine: shower, brush teeth, eat something, make sure he had everything he needed, leave for school. As usual, his mother was already up and about, preparing to head to work as soon as Sato left. She always waited for Sato to leave before she went to work. Not to make sure he actually went, but to simply tell him she loved him every day. Sato always replied with a legitimate thanks and a “Love ya” before he flew out the door. It was just a thing that happened every day.

---

Sato Hashimoto // Warakuma High, Archery Range
APRIL 10 2015, FRIDAY
After School

Thunk. The arrow landed a bit to the right of the center of the target. Not bad. Sato leaned to grab another, but he was thrown out of his focus when he realized that there were none left in the metal quiver. The last shot had been his last, and based on the multiple arrows scattered around the outside half of the target, his best. That’s what you get when you fire from a new distance, Sato supposed. He waited for the few other people on the firing line to finish before he jogged over to the target to collect the seven arrows he had used. The others hadn’t used nearly the haste he had to get their shots, so Sato walked leisurely on the return.

While he hadn’t even been there for very long, Sato put his equipment away after a few rounds of firing. All his shots had been sloppy and his fingers hurt, so he figured that it wasn’t a good day for practice, as all he was getting was frustration. The third-year walked out of the musky range without much enthusiasm, picking his bag off the ground as he went through the door. Rokoru would be busy with some family things after he finished his practice, Mika was off doing some other club thing, he wasn’t close enough with Yuki to hang out with him alone, and Ryouta stopped being an option a while ago, as he didn’t even bother to shop up to practice anymore, and had confided in Sato that he was considering dropping out of Archery. Perhaps it would be good to cut ties with Ryouta, after all. They were hardly compatible and the only reason they had ever become “friends” was just because Sato had a desire for companionship when he first moved to Warakuma, so it wasn’t like their bond was much beyond “Oh hey, we’re in the same club.”

Sato wandered over to the main school building and entered, loitering around the front entrance with a few other students he didn’t know without a purpose. There had to be something to do on a Friday afternoon…