Acting is a art, art of the perfect lying. And she knew it better than anyone else.
Chapter 6.
Learning acting or getting seduce?
Reze didn't confront her.
She never did things that directly. Instead, she walked past Nana as if nothing had happened.
"Don't stay too late," she said calmly, picking up the file she'd "forgotten. "You'll need your energy."
Nana looked up, smiling politely. "Of course, Reze thanks."
Their eyes met, Polite, Sharp, Measured, The
Two blades testing edge against edge.
Then Reze left.
———
Rehearsals began three days later.
And it went worse than anyone expected, "From the top," Nana called again, Senkai he stood at the center stage.
Dozens of eyes on him.
Stage lights glaring down like interrogation lamps.
His throat felt dry, "I was never meant to—His voice cracked.
A few whispers echoed in the auditorium, Heat rushed to his face, He tried again, This time the line came out flat. Mechanical, Empty.like back than.
Nana tapped her pen. "Projection, Senkai. And breathe."
He nodded stiffly, But the more he tried, the more aware he became of every shifting seat, every stare, every silent judgment hanging in the air.
By the time Nana finally called break let's take a break than try again she said.
The relief felt like a oxygen to me.
———
He stepped off stage quickly, jaw tight.
"Hey," Senna said gently, "it's just nerves. You'll get used to it."
"Yeah thanks," he replied, not meeting her eyes.
From the aisle, Reze watched him.
Not the performance. But Him.
The way his shoulders stiffened under attention.
The way his hands clenched when the room got too quiet, When the crowd focused, he shrank.
Interesting.
She approached him during break, holding two bottles of water, "You're terrible," she said plainly, handing one over.
He gave her a deadpan look. "Thanks."
"You're not bad at emotion I acted with you once so I know," she continued. "You're bad at being watched."
He didn't deny it.
Silence confirmed enough.
She leaned against the wall beside him. "You lock up the moment the spotlight hits."
He exhaled slowly. "I don't like crowds." and
"Crowds don't like you either," she replied coolly.
"They can smell fear."
That annoyed him. "Then replace me."
She tilted her head. "Running already?"
He clicked his tongue.
Reze straightened. "Fine. than I'll teach you."
He blinked. "What?"
"Acting, Control, the Presence." She looked at him sideways. But "If you want."
"do it, I mean, I do want it, if you please senpai," he answered too quickly.
That made her smile.
Hooked.
"Meet me tonight," she said. "Eight."
"Where?"
She didn't answer directly.
"You'll see."...
———
Her intentions weren't that simple.
It wasn't just about helping him.
If he improved—If he commanded the stage—
Nana's carefully planned narrative would shift.
The spotlight would bend.
And Reze she had always known how to bend the light.
———
After the rehearsal.
All though I messed up fully in acting,
Reze said we can meet up, More often...
Hm... What did she meant by that.
It would be okay to call her in the future right?
"Huh.
That's Senna, Hey are you going home? He asked. She was eating ice cream.
Before she said anything?
Don't get me wrong I wasn't following you or anything. We just ran into each other by coincidence!
"Sure she said. Erm... I'm sorry about before she said. I guess I was a little bit sensitive earlier. I'm sor, sorry.
?? He looked at her, and thought, it seems like she is trying to draw a line between us, it's alright we all were drunk anyway he said.
Well okay than I be leaving for the home than.
Ah, yes sure... Get home safely.
He looked at her from behind disappearing into the crowd.
So much ice cream for the desert he said. But why do I keep seeing her alone all the time, even though I am the one who is introvert. She keeps a distance from everybody in the club too doesn't she?
Hanabi pop out of nowhere, and say's Senna you are talking about?
You scared the shit out of me! He jumped, Eh? Did I really surprised you?
Where are you going? senpai, me I'm just going on a great adventure to buy the chocolate milk...
Wait, hey did you forget my name?
I know it—it's #hanamota haneda, fucking who the hell is that? She said. My name is not haneda, it is Hanabi you fool! Ha–na–bi the fireworks, that's me she sigh... "Nobody cares for me she sobs...
Than she looked at him, are you interested in Senna?
"No well... I just thought it would be nice to be friends with her, since we are the same age?
About that... Maybe it would be better for you not to get close with Senna for the time being...
Heck is it okay for you speak like that about your Junior's? "No I didn't mean it like that!
I am disappointed miss fireworks, "no hold on i don't know if should I tell you... Well it should be alright, I think. "In that case don't tell me... He said.
Nana senpai, is the one who brought you into the club so I don't think it matters? Well, Senna is upset with the Reze senpai how do I say this...
I think something happened between them, but I don't know what.
Hey don't you think you are making up stuff bit too much? You are not drunk in the morning aren't you.
Ah.. It's true!! Darn it Looking at your silly face It makes me want to punch you in the face..!, ah.. I don't care anymore it's your problem if you've believe it or not I'm leaving...
Be careful on you way. See ya later Hanabi senpai—
Just call me by my first name she said, "We are not that apart in age, while leaving.
That's right. She paused for moment and turned around, and said i heard Mami had a bad opinion of you, but Reze senpai forced her to let you in? I was a bit surprised to hear that.
It that why Mami senpai hates me?
I don't think it's like that she said. Anyway bye.. She waved her hand while leaving.
Hm... I wonder why is Senna Mad at the Reze though?
———
8:07 PM.
Senkai stood outside a building at the downtown, neon lights flickering above the streets.
He looked up at the sign.
A bar. He gone inside, Music thumped faintly through the walls.
His eyebrows furrowed for a second.
She can't be serious.
As if summoned by doubt, Reze stepped out from inside, "Not in her usual composed campus attire.
Tonight she wore black slip dress. Simple. Sharp. Hair down.
"You're late," she said.
"It's a bar. "
"Yes."she said.
"I thought you said acting lessons."
"I did." she replied.
She grabbed his wrist lightly and pulled him toward the street before he could protest.
Don't worry.... She said walking in front of him, than turning around and walking backwards.
She say's, I teach you. I'll teach you everything you don't know of, the Things you don't know how to do. I'll teach you everything.
She took him out, led him the way through the alley way she grabbed his wrist lightly, as they were walking, he questioned where are we going? Trust me I told you didn't I that I will teach you things you didn't know of.
Than leave my wrist at least, it feels weird to get pulled around. "She turned around, she left his wrist, guess you are right it's feels like I am guiding you into something I shouldn't. Instead she gone and locked her arms with his. this is better I guess, let's go.
He's ears red, as her body pushed against him, he thought, hey this is more uncomfortable. But somewhere it felt nice, walking like this her arm locked with his, it felt like a couples walking side by side.
A moment where it felt like a noisy Tokyo disappeared, it was just her and me.
———
Until I reached the real noise, the sound of a damn music was so loud I felt like my ear drums wouldn't survive. I had my hands on my ears
She was giveing back nods, enjoying the music. Moving in the rhythm of the music, eyes closed,
She laughed when she saw him covering his ears, leaning close so her lips brushed his cheek. "You'll get used to it," she said, her voice somehow clear despite the chaos.
She tugged him forward again—not by the wrist this time, but by the confidence in her step—and soon the bass wasn't just noise, it was a pulse, thudding through his chest. Lights spilled across the room in waves of color, faces blurred into motion, and Tokyo returned as something alive and electric.
She pulled him onto the edge of the crowd, placed his hands on her waist as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Feel it," she said, resting her forehead against his. He hesitated, stiff at first, but she moved slowly, guiding him, her body syncing with his until his awkwardness melted into laughter. He forgot to think. He forgot to worry. All he knew was the warmth of her, the way her fingers tightened in his sleeve whenever the beat dropped.
At one point, sheleaned back into him, trusting, her head resting briefly against his shoulder. The closeness sent a quiet thrill through him, and almost without realizing it, his arms settled more firmly around her.
She smiled at that, eyes still closed, moving with the music as if the world had narrowed to the space between them. Every beat drew them closer, every breath shared, until the noise softened into something distant and harmless.
She turned in his arms then, slow and unhurried, her hands sliding up to his chest. "You're doing fine," she said, lips close enough that he could feel the words more than hear them. He laughed softly, shaking his head, but he didn't pull away. Instead, he followed her rhythm, their movements no longer guided but mutual, natural.
When the song ended, they stayed like that for a moment longer than necessary, reluctant to break the spell. Around them people's cheered them on them, as the "DJ, changed the music as they both woke up to world around them. but for him, it felt like the night had paused just for them. And in that pause, he realized this wasn't just his first time in a club—
it was the first time he felt completely, effortlessly present with someone else.
"See she said. You are in a crowd being watched, in attention, she put her hands at his shoulders again, she continued, because of a beauty like me.
When you can confidently stand here beside me, i'll believe you can confidently, act in front of the audience too. Than her voice low, Just lay back sometimes...
Let you emotions do the job. Just remember a similar scene of your life in your mind. same as the script, same as the Movie.
"So narcissistic, he said. just like someone I know. She raised an eye brow, someone you know? Just a guy from childhood He said.
A total opposite, If I was the one to disappear into the background, he was the one who the spotlight followed, and him I believe he was the perfect actor. He had shown me how people can be controlive, manipulative, the worst of thier side.
Just what kind of a friend he is? She asked While walking throughwards the drink counter.
Hm... Someone harsh, too Direct, but not entirely bad He said. walking besides her.
He leaned against the counter opposite looking at the crowd, He is cold, but somewhere warm, he doesn't sugarcoat word's, doesn't try to blend in, but one thing is same between us I believe is that we don't bend to the world. We create and live in our own.
She ordered her drink a vodka, than looked at him tilting her face from the side, Hm.. I believe the best actor is a liar. A liar? He said glanceing at her. That's something new?
The liar is the perfect actor, he who doesn't show his emotions. Can simantasionusly act for a life. The bartender put's the drink on the counter she picked it up, while taking a sip, she enjoyed the burning sensation of the drink than, Her voice low, he who is a fool, is the one perfect actor.
Than she leaned beside him, they'll looked at the people's dancing, enjoying, partying. Ever heard the saying, he who is the fool live happily, but the one who knows too much is never happy. Her Voice gentle, But is sad.
———
There it is again the monochromatic gray her, he thought, The perfect liar I' wonder who she'll meant by, But i knew she was just talking about herself.
Hmm... That's true. We know too much so we constantly worry about the future he said, opinions of people around us, and things we have done in the past.
"So tell me Reze does your past haunts you? She give a smail smile, why do you think it haunts?
Too me my past is like a unfinished romantic Movie. The first movie I directed, and i'm still is directing...
She swirled the last of her vodka, watching the ice melt as if it held the answer.
"The first movie I ever directed," she repeated softly, "and I didn't know how to end it."
The bass from the dance floor pulsed through the counter, vibrating faintly against their elbows. Neon light slid across her face in streaks of blue and red—two different versions of her one fighting for dominance, and control. The confident senior. The girl who spoke like as if she owned the world.
And the other one, that felt gray, lonely, more honest not the perfect actress, nor a perfect liar. But emotional, ten times more imitate. Just the girl, who is the part of her own life's Movie.
"And what about the male lead?" Senkai asked quietly. "Did he not follow the script?" A faint smile curved her lips. "He improvised."
"That bad?" he said., "That dangerous."
She didn't look at him when she said it. "He lemon kanawa, was the kind of actor who never broke the character. Even when the scene was over." Her fingers tapped the glass once. "You know those people who smile perfectly, say's the right things, stand in the right light? Everyone thinks they're honest because they look honest."
Her eyes flicked to him. "But they're just better at lying."
Senkai swallowed. Something about the way she said it felt personal. Not theoretical. "Not dramatic. "So what happened?" he asked.
She turned to face him fully now, stepping a little closer—not flirtatious this time, but deliberate.
"I learned." she said.
"Learned what?" he asked?
"That if I didn't want to be controlled in someone else's story, I had to write my own." than her voice, slow and low but very sweet, that's why I learned how to be like this,
How to lie perfectly, a pause for moment than she takes a sip of vodka than continues, I've prefer control over being controlled, I made confidence my mask, playfullness my weapon and now people think I'm reliable. When in reality, I'm just tired...
Tired of acting, tired of the stage, tired of people now I just prefer to Direct from behind the stage as the director.
"And are you happy?" he asked before he could stop himself. For a moment, her expression faltered. Just slightly.
"Happiness," she said, almost amused. "Is for people who don't see the whole script." He frowned. "You keep saying that. Like knowing thing is a curse."
"It is," she replied calmly. "When you see people clearly—their fears, their weaknesses, their intentions—you stop believing in pretty lies. You stop believing in romance. In innocence."
Her gaze softened unexpectedly. "But sometimes," she added, "you meet someone who doesn't know how to lie yet."
His chest tightened. "You mean me?" he said.
She didn't answer directly.
Instead, she reached up and adjusted his collar, fingers brushing lightly against his neck. It wasn't seductive now. It was… instructive.
"On stage," she said, voice low but steady, "you overthink. You worry about how you look. How you sound. What they think."
Her hand dropped back to her side."But just now," she continued, nodding toward the dance floor, "you weren't thinking. You weren't performing. You were feeling it."
He remembered. The warmth. The rhythm. Her weight leaning back into him without hesitation.
"That," she said softly, "is the presence." He looked at her more carefully now. "You brought me here to embarrass me did you. "I brought you here," she corrected, "to overwhelm you."
He blinked.
"When you stand under stage lights, your body panics because you are not used to gazes you mind it thinks you're being judged." She point her finger gestured to the club around them.
"But here? Everyone is being watched. Everybody is loud. No one cares about each other."
She stepped closer again, but this time there was a firmness in her posture. "If you can stand in chaos," she said, "you can stand anywhere in the world."
The song ended. Applause rose. Another beat dropped.
He studied her face—the composure, the intelligence, the strange sadness behind it.
"You're not just teaching me acting," he said slowly are you? "No." she said.
Then what are you teaching me?" he asked.
"She hesitated. Maybe "How to survive," she answered. The words hung between them.
He didn't joke this time. Didn't deflect it. " And what do you get out of it?" he asked. Her lips curved again—but it wasn't playful.
"A better co-star I guess."
He exhaled lightly. "So this is still about Nana that two faced red kitsune."
A flash in her eyes. How did you get to know about Nana?
Did you really think I can't caught, that much Nana she bring me into this club with some intentions I always knew that. "She got me in through the special exams after all. At last people's do nothing without the reason, But I didn't care for it before whatever she was planning cuz he looked at her for a second, than rememberd his intentions, how he had chased after her for the revenge of that note back than, forget it he said.
Seems like you knew it too, but I heard from hanabi, you still let me join the club despite knowing that, approved of me why?"
Everything is about the stage," she replied.
For a second, he felt it—the edge beneath her calm. The rivalry. The strategy. The quiet war between her and Nana that no one else fully saw.
Why you women's are always like this? Aren't you friends just what did she hold against you? A revenge she said.
What did you've done? I mean if it isn't that bad you should apologize, and try to makeup. I don't have much friends so I'll believe you should cherish them.
I'll hooked the man, she used to like. huh.. Than it isn't negotiateable i see he said.
"And if I mess up again?" he asked.
She stepped back, creating just enough distance to look at him properly. "Then we try again what else," she said simply. "No manipulation? No dramatic lesson?"
She tilted her head. "I'm not the villain in your story, Senkai." but He wasn't sure about that.
Music swelled again, louder this time. The crowd pressed closer around them. Neon lights fractured across the room like broken glass.
She held out her hand let's have another dance.
"One more song."
He looked at it, Then at her. For the first time tonight, he noticed something subtle—she wasn't just confident.
She was watching him. Carefully. Like usually he does. As if she was testing whether I would step forward on my own.
Slowly, i'll took her hand.
This time, she didn't pull him.
They walked back into the crowd side by side.
And somewhere between the noise and the lights, between dance, performance and truth—
The line between the acting and reality began to blur. And a new name has came out, Lemon kannawa for him to be aware of if he really is planning to get her.
——————————————————————————