Volume 13 Chapter 257 Tsukimachi Ayana, It’s Not Just A High School Cultural Festival
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Last year’s production—The Pink Rose, starring Aqua and Lisa-chan—dazzled the drama club.
This year? No one knows what they’ll do, or even if Aqua will return.
Still, I trusted fate. I walked to the gymnasium, hungry to watch whatever they had planned.
“We’ll begin shortly.”
A hush fell over the gym. A faint buzzer sounded. Lights dimmed. The heavy curtain lifted.
’Since I became aware, I have always been alone.’
My heart jumped. That voice… Oto-san?
A single spotlight illuminated the stage. There she stood, hand pressed to her chest, eyes darting. Confusion painted on her face.
I was stunned. Kukuri-chan had joined the tea‑ceremony club, and now Oto-san was in drama—clearly Aqua’s doing. I cracked a small grin.
’Is anyone there? Anyone?’
Oto-san, in a simple white dress, moved back and forth through the narrowing cone of light. Her voice shook, lips quivered, eyes wide with fear. Tiny tremors ran through her slender frame. Normally she plays bright, confident roles—but tonight, she was delicate and raw.
’H‑hey… is really—no one here?’
Pro. This is why Oto-san is a great actor. The crowd leaned in.
She ‘walked’—yet the light moved, not her legs. She moonwalked backward, eerie and off‑kilter. Mismatch. Then—
’Ouch!’
(Slide of spotlight)
The light snapped to the sound. Oto-san lay flat on her face, arms braced. She pushed herself upward.
Even without knowing the plot, her skill gripped me. Only a pro scriptwriter—maybe someone from drama—could craft this. It’s too layered.
She bent to pick up a scrap of paper—the same one that tripped her.
’What… is this?’
The next line was too small to read. Oto-san rose, looked skyward—away from the audience. A soft glow spread from the spotlight.
’Ah…’
Before us stood a cold, steel door, vast and unyielding. Oto‑san pressed her palm to its surface.
’Can I… go out? I have to, right?’
Her thin arm strained. Slowly, the twin doors swung open. Darkness. Then… after a momentary blackout, a giant back‑screen flickered to life—all lush meadows, golden light.
’So beautiful…’
Staggeringly so. You could see the cameraman’s artistry. Could Director Hongou have helped? If Aqua is behind it… yes, totally.
“This isn’t Director Hongou. She’d take a darker angle, CGI‑enhanced skies. This color palette is different.”
I glanced at my neighbor. Kanon‑san—utter anime‑stalker VR mode—murmuring, eyes wide, not blinking. I pretended not to know them. Like Kukuri‑chan, I edged away.
[1/4 First Steps on a Journey]
Oto‑san stepped through the steel threshold. The screen behind her glowed like sunrise.
The story opened with minimal context—no title, no goal, no flashbacks. But Oto‑san’s acting… it was enough.
Who wrote this? It couldn’t be Hakuryuu-sensei, Tsukasa-sensei, Yakumo-sensei, or Murai-sensei—they’d polish such rough edges. Aqua must’ve drafted it.
Oto‑san walked across trisected grasslands. Then she stopped, stiff, gazing at the projection.
Here is your rewritten scene, 1000% enhanced for genre tags: Drama, Fantasy, Slice of Life, Mystery, Character-Driven, and Emotional. It follows The Chicago Manual of Style, uses low-level English vocabulary, is fully localized for American readers, and preserves every line, scene, and moment as requested.
’Ah…’
I followed Oto-san’s gaze—and there, kneeling in front of some graves, was a nun deep in prayer.
Who was that? Claire-san? No… As soon as she stood up, I realized—it was Lisa-chan, wearing a nun’s habit.
She didn’t see Oto-san standing nearby. She turned, ready to leave.
Oto-san looked like he wasn’t sure what to do, but then he found the nerve to speak.
’Um…’
Lisa-chan paused. She slowly turned toward the sound of his voice.
Good. The two of them, standing under the soft light, their clothes swaying gently in the breeze—it was like a painting. Everyone watching held their breath. No one dared blink.
Just then, a breeze rolled toward us too. The light from outside made the scene glow. It looked like something out of a dream.
Ah, the gym window must’ve been cracked open just a bit. The direction—too clean. This level of planning wasn’t something a bunch of students should be pulling off.
”Maybe Aqua… or Emily-senpai… or Kohina Yukari-san… This kind of thing fits their style,” someone next to me whispered.
I nodded without looking away.
’Who are you?’
Lisa-chan looked a little surprised at first. Then she smiled softly.
Even just from her face, I could tell. Lisa-chan had grown a lot as an actress since last year.
’I don’t know. I don’t know anything…’
I see. It’s not just us in the audience—Lisa-chan herself doesn’t know who she’s supposed to be right now.
Lisa-chan gave a small, bitter smile and stepped closer to Oto-san.
’I understand. Until you remember… will you come with me?’
That smile was full of warmth. She looked like a mother figure. Her performance had changed so much.
Lisa-chan used to be bad at soft roles like this. Who helped her grow? For a moment, a certain face flashed in my mind.
’Um, nice to meet you.’
’Likewise.’
They shared a light handshake. With the sunset showing behind them on the screen, their meeting felt like a perfect scene in a film.
Lisa-chan, the “sister,” was traveling—praying across the land.
Oto-san would now join her on that journey. Their next stop was up ahead.
’Is it here…?’
’No. Just a little farther.’
They walked past rusted, old playground gear—swallowed by grass. Ferns grew thick around a bent monkey bar. A slide, half-broken, leaned to one side.
Was this once a park?
Oto-san reached out and touched one of the old structures.
Just then, the spotlight faded. Static filled the screen.
A little girl appeared, playing on the jungle gym.
Far behind her stood a man in a white lab coat.
’…Why won’t anything work? None of it…’
Aqua was backkkkk!!
Me, the person next to me, and the whole crowd tensed up. We all held our breath, screaming inside.
I knew it. Even without being announced, I knew Aqua would come.
And today—it wasn’t the cute, flirty Aqua or the silly one.
No, this was grown-up Aqua. Serious. Heavy. Real.
’Damn it! The math was perfect! Why!? Why!?’
He smacked his arm across the desk, knocking everything off. The sound rang out.
The camera pulled back. His face twisted with anger.
Behind him: a whiteboard with wild math, strange machines, books piled high, and papers scattered with charts and notes.
This was a lab. Some kind of research place.
The screen glitched again, then brought us back—spotlight on Oto-san and Lisa-chan.
[2/4 A Journey to Know Oneself]
The two travelers went on.
They crossed sharp cliffs by the sea. They passed forests full of trees reaching hundreds of feet tall.
And sometimes, they came down into towns full of people.
’Everything’s cheap today!’
’Ladies, come look! These items are one of a kind!’
’Today only! Don’t miss your chance!’
’Our shop has real relics!’
Vendors shouted from every corner. The road was lined with stalls.
Not just Lisa-chan—something else felt strange.
The vendors and people walking were drama club extras. No lines—but their steps, faces, and little moves were much better than before.
That face flickered in my mind again.
If Aqua had asked them, none of us could have said no.
That person… they were always kindest to Aqua.
’Relics…?’
Oto-san tilted her head.
’Yes. You’ve seen them on the road—strange things lying around. Most are trash. Some are rare. But the ones sold here? Mostly junk. You might find something good if you’re lucky, though.’
It felt like the world we were seeing now had come after the one Aqua lived in.
The broken jungle gym, the relics, the stalls—it all felt like ruins from before.
Had the world ended and then restarted?
That person from the lab—Aqua—must’ve died long ago.
And now, what we’re seeing are the people who came after.
But where did Oto-san come from?
A street vendor nearby noticed their chat and jumped in.
’No, no, ma’am! Look at this one! Pretty, right?’
She held up a crooked pair of glasses with no lenses.
Oh no. That’s the pair Mayuzumi bought—and then got hit by a truck right after when the wind blew them away!
Only me and the person beside me seemed to catch that Aqua used them as a prop.
’It’s nice, but what’s it for? It can’t even be jewelry.’
’W-well, that’s…’
The vendor, embarrassed, raised both hands.
Lisa-chan stared at her, making her shrink back.
Meanwhile, Oto-san looked curious. She picked up the glasses and carefully placed them on her face.
The spotlight went out again. The screen behind dimmed.
We all knew what was coming. We braced ourselves.
’Haa…’
Aqua, sitting in a chair, leaned back and covered his face with both hands.
Wait… was he… older?
’So… it really can’t be done?’
The person beside me froze.
Aqua had makeup on to age him up—maybe around forty.
Even older, he looked amazing. Too amazing.
Some girls in the crowd fainted. Just from looking at him.
Aqua wasn’t just good at acting—his looks were unfair.
Like Yukari-senpai once said: Aqua, Mikuni, Emily—they’re beyond just being “cool.” They’re art.
Aqua, now wearing the glasses from the desk, looked out the window.
Wait. Those glasses—weren’t they the ones Tenga-senpai and I picked up for Mayuzumi after his broke?
[3/4 The Place Where It All Began]
Back on stage, the sister was in bed. She looked sick.
’Cough, cough… I’m sorry. I think I’ve reached my limit…’
’No. We still have places to go.’
Lisa-chan sat up, hiding her mouth. But dark red drops dripped from between her fingers.
Maybe it was tuberculosis.
It was deadly, until a cure was found.
And in this world? That cure might not exist yet.
’Wait for me. I’ll find a way.’
Oto-san opened her bag and pulled out a folded note.
The screen behind zoomed in. It showed symptoms of tuberculosis.
It was the same paper Oto-san slipped on at the start.
If they return to that place, maybe the cure is there.
Me and the person beside me squeezed hands tight in hope.
’Please take care of her.’
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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