Shinrabansho: Myriad Souls

Kurosawa-sensei capped her marker and turned to face the class, resting her hip lightly against her desk as she looked over us. Her eyes lingered briefly on the clock.

“All right,” she said, exhaling through her nose. “We’re going to do things a little differently as I’ve mentioned earlier this morning, starting from now.”

A few students straightened immediately. Others glanced at one another, alert but not surprised.

“This period was originally scheduled for history, of course,” she continued, “but with the festival approaching, the faculty has approved releasing one full lesson today for rehearsal and preparation.” She raised a finger before anyone could react. “This does not mean it’s free time.”

A few quiet laughs slipped out anyway.

“You’ll still be responsible for the material,” Kurosawa-sensei added. “I’ll post the assignment online, and we’ll go over it together tomorrow. Today, everyone will report directly to the gymnasium. Anyone that doesn’t show up will remain here and work quietly.”

Chairs scraped against the floor as people shifted, gathering our things without fuss. The routine was established now, feeling like we’d done this enough times that announcements were hardly needed.

As we stood, Kurosawa-sensei’s gaze flicked briefly toward Megumi.

“Hanawa,” she said. “Keep them on task. If anything comes up, let me know.”

Megumi nodded, already gathering her notebook. “Yes, sensei.”

We filed out together, the hallway filling with the sound of our footsteps and low conversation. We weren’t exactly excited, just focused.

The gymnasium still smelled faintly of saw dust, wood polish, and the fabric cleaner Hinata had been using to keep the costumes clean for Saturday’s performance after rehearsals. The stage area had been partially assembled at one end, wooden flats leaning against one another while painted backdrops rested on rolling racks nearby.

Megumi clapped her hands once, sharp enough to cut through the noise.

“Okay. Before anyone runs off,” she said, already flipping open her notebook, “we have some problems… and it’s just a few days before the cultural festival.”

That got everyone’s attention.

Hinata lifted her hand immediately. “I do too. A big one.”

Megumi sighed. “Okay, you go first, Hinata-chan.”

Hinata stepped forward, holding up the sleeve of one of her costumes. A seam near the shoulder was visibly torn, the fabric pulled apart in a jarring way.

How did that happen? My eyes widened.

My question was immediately answered. “This happened when someone tripped during practicing the transition yesterday,” she said, her voice rising fractionally. “I can fix rips like this, but everyone please be more careful with your costumes if you wear them while rehearsing. We can’t afford any accidents before Friday’s performance, so ideally, just don’t wear yours until that day, okay?” A blush crept in as she finished, clearly unused to raising her voice.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t even feel it rip, Mori-san,” the student who’d it’d been made for said, looking mortified.

“That’s the problem,” Hinata replied. “Try to be more aware of where you’re standing.”

Megumi nodded. “Good point, Hinata-chan! Can you patch it up right away?”

“Yes,” Hinata said. “But I’ll need help holding the fabric steady.”

“Does anyone want to volunteer?” Megumi asked, already jotting it down.

“I will.” Daichi nodded seriously. He was part of the stage crew preparing the sets and would be one of the ones setting them up on stage with Aoi-chan.

“Good!” Megumi smiled. “Any other issues to report, everyone?”

Another of the stage crew raised a hand. “Yeah… it’s kind of a minor one, but the left flat isn’t sitting flush on the floor. It wobbles when someone touches it or passes behind it. It could be a hazard, although I think it’s mostly stable.”

Megumi pinched the bridge of her nose. “That’s… not ideal.”

“I can fix that one,” Aoi-chan said calmly, already stepping toward the flats. “It needs another brace, and the base needs to be carefully leveled. I was going to handle that anyway.”

Megumi looked up. “Alright, Aoi-chan. We’re counting on you.”

Aoi nodded. “Yeah, no problem. It won’t take long.”

“Okay. Do that first,” Megumi said, grinning, ever positive, even under pressure. “If the set isn’t stable, there could be accidents… not to mention our performance would flop. Everything needs to be handled carefully everyone! Please double and triple check everything.” She clapped her hands together.

Aoi-chan headed off without another word, rolling up the sleeves of her blazer as she went. I watched her for a second before forcing myself to focus back on Megumi.

“All right,” Megumi continued. “Everyone else, we’ll run through the transitions again. Not the full scenes—just entrances and exits. That’s the problem I was about to mention. It kind of pales compared with the set and costume issues, but I’m worried the timing has been slipping, so let’s work hard.”

There were a few groans, but no one argued with her.

We broke off into smaller groups, the gym filling with overlapping motion and sound. Lines were delivered back and forth. Someone practiced a turn too sharply and was promptly corrected by Megumi. Hinata knelt on the floor, already threading a needle with Daichi holding the garment for her. Her expression was fierce with concentration as she stitched meticulously.

I found myself with nothing to do for the moment, so I leaned against the wall, watching everyone, feeling like I should have volunteered to help Megumi, but Daichi was doing a good job of it anyway. I noticed something interesting about them.

Daichi blushed faintly at just being close to Hinata.

Hmmmm… I smiled softly, amused.

Aoi-chan was busy fixing the wobbly set. I thought about helping her however I could. My eyes slipped from Aoi to Megumi, who was deep in coordinator mode and then Hinata. She was surrounded by girls that just wanted to slack and watch her sewing. I leaned back, letting my shoulders relax against the wall as I watched the movement around me, smiling.

Everyone’s amazing when we’re working together on something big like this. It’s a huge rush! I caught myself slacking off like I was criticizing the girls who were watching Hinata. Well anyway, just move and see if Aoi needs some help.

That was when Riko walked over to me.

She stopped a few steps away as I took a step away from the wall, close enough that I could feel her presence before she spoke, “Sumire.”

I turned, surprised. “Riko-chan?”

She looked weirdly serious, and the lack of the -chan honorific alarmed me.

She didn’t answer right away. Her jaw was tight. She exhaled sharply and stepped closer. Before I could react, her hand hit the wall beside my head with a sharp slap. I winced.

The sound echoed louder in my ears than it should have, cutting through the ambient noise just enough to turn a few heads our way before they looked away again, pretending not to notice Riko leaning towards me.

“What did I do?” I blinked in shock.

Riko’s face flushed, her eyes blazing.

“Why are you pretending that everything’s fine?” she demanded quietly.

My back was pressed against the wall again, the concrete cool through my blazer and blouse. I looked into her eyes, surprised by her intensity.

“What do you mean? The play’s going really well, some accidents aside…” I said.

Her breath hitched and she talked over me, “I’m not talking about the play, baka.”

What?! Baka? I was stunned at her tone.

“She crushed you cruelly for three whole weeks. I watched it happen. She completely abandoned you and treated you like trash. Why are you pretending that that didn’t happen, Sumire?”

I gasped, rushing to respond, “W-We made up… It’s fine.”

“I’m glad you’re fine.” Riko took a deep breath. “What about me and Yuna-chan? I was here for you the whole time. I gave you so much space to heal it hurt, because I knew it was still raw… you never let go of it the whole three weeks. Damn it, it hurt so much to watch you suffer. And now you’re just back together?” She gritted her teeth. “Looks, I’m happy for you, but why this?”

I blinked. “Th… there are things that you don’t…”

She leaned in further, close enough that I could see the faint tremor in her hand against the wall. Riko moved like she’d already committed, closing the distance and tilting her face slightly up toward mine.

I reacted on instinct, and she leaned forward, whispering now, “What’s wrong with me? I care too… Every time I see you, each day, my heart races… And it’s been like that for a long time.”

My face turned bright red. The significance of what she’d done crashed in on me.

She did an actual wall slap on me, and she’s even actually confessing right in front of everyone! Oh no…

DOKI-DOKI

I gazed into her eyes and licked my lips nervously as she leaned in.

I can’t let you! I’m sorry, Riko-chan!

I shifted just enough that her lips brushed across my cheek instead of pressing against mine, then wrapped my arms around her shoulders from behind and pulled her into a hug on impulse.

A part of me wanted to accept Riko’s confession, but I just couldn’t. I was Aoi’s wife, and I was happy with that.

“You’re worried about me… I understand. Thank you. Trust me, Aoi-chan is better now… but there are things that you don’t know. She’ll never hurt me again. She never wanted to hurt me to start with. She thought she was doing the right thing for us. I hope you understand… I’m sorry…” I whispered in her ear. Even though she’d just put the moves on me, her worry for me reached me and had my heart pounding.

My hug was firm, warm, and held her long enough for her to calm down.

Riko froze, and her hands hovered against the wall uselessly for a second before falling to her sides.

“…That’s not what I wanted to achieve… but if you’re happy,” she muttered, her face burning red.

I rested my chin lightly on her shoulder, leaning my head against hers. “I know.”

She stiffened, then slumped slightly, letting out a breath she’d clearly been holding. 

“…It’s fine,” she added, her voice muffled. “This is… fine.” She said that as though a house was burning down around her.

I tightened my hug once before letting go.

When I stepped back, she wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“You’re awful,” she said, covering her face with one hand. “I’m starting to resent your martial arts training.” She pouted.

“Yeah. You’ll have to come at me with more killing intent next time,” I replied, a tiny teasing smile on my lips.

She peeked at me through her fingers, then dropped her hand, squaring her shoulders again.

“I’m not giving up on you, Sumire,” she said. “Just so you know.”

“I thought so,” I said, clasping my arms behind me.

Her lips twitched despite herself.

Behind us, Megumi’s voice cut across the gym. “All right! Reset positions! We’re trying that entrance again!”

Riko stepped back, her cheeks still pink. “Don’t say anything about what just happened to you know who,” she said quickly.

“She might have heard something… but I won’t,” I promised, nodding towards Aoi who was still studiously working on that set.

Riko nodded, chewing her lip as she peeked at Aoi.

Aoi-chan would probably be jealous enough to do something if she had… but I wasn’t sure what she’d actually do.

Riko hesitated, gazing at me, then nodded once and rejoined the others.

I didn’t catch myself leaning back against the wall for a moment, letting my breathing even out.

It was very hard to relax.

DOKI-DOKI

Riko was very beautiful, and I genuinely liked her and that made it very hard to reject her, although it wasn’t complete. I bit my lip.

Aoi herself had urged me to look to people who wanted to love me when she was gone. That was not something that I wanted to think too hard about.

Across the gym, Aoi-chan straightened from the set that she was mending, wiping her hands on a cloth. She glanced around, her eyes finding me immediately.

Our gazes met.

She tilted her head slightly, noticing my state.

I shook my head and laughed under my breath, rushing over to her.

Enough worrying for now…

She nodded, seeing that I was on my way to her. When I reached her, she asked me to hold the set still for her as she worked on a part that kept wobbling while she was doing the work alone.

The tension in the gym hadn’t eased because a few issues had been resolved and a few were still being fixed. If anything, it had sharpened.

Some time later, we returned to homeroom for our normal classes.

Later on, when the final chime faded, the room shifted almost immediately. Chairs scraped back and bags were unhooked. Someone opened a window wider. The air in the room changed right away.

I stayed where I was by Pon-chan’s cage, gazing outside at the school grounds where students were moving large wood planks and sheets with tools around. The festival booths were finally under construction outside.

Pon-chan stirred at the sound of everyone moving around in the room, poking his nose through the bars of his travel cage and letting out a soft churr. I smiled and reached down, tapping the latch gently with my finger.

“Just a minute,” I murmured to him.

While everyone else grabbed brooms and cloths from the supply closet, I pulled the small cleaning kit from my bag. I’d packed it out of habit at first, back when staying late meant waiting alone. Now it was because I wanted to give Pon-chan some extra care and attention.

I lifted Pon-chan carefully and set him on my desk. He immediately climbed my sleeve instead, sniffing at my collar like he always did, his whiskers twitching.

“Hey,” I giggled softly, steadying him. “Be careful not to fall.”

He didn’t listen. He never seemed to.

I wiped down his cage slowly, replacing the bedding and refilling his water. Pon-chan climbed down and circled my wrist, then tucking himself against my forearm, warm and greedy for attention. His little body vibrated faintly as he chattered, clearly uncaring that he was interrupting my cleaning.

I laughed and used my other hand to finish the job.

Around me, the classroom filled with quiet motion. Desks were wiped. Trash bags rustled. Someone complained half-heartedly about being exhausted over having to juggle the play and their school work.

When I finished, I gently lifted him, still clinging to my arm and held him close for a moment, stroking his fur. He nuzzled into my hand and went still, content that he was getting the attention that he really wanted.

“Behave,” I whispered, gently setting him back inside and pulling him off my wrist. I quickly closed the latch. “I’m sorry, I don’t have as much time to give you right now, Pon-chan.” I leaned forward, giggling. “I have a wife now. Please don’t blame me.”

I smiled wryly as I straightened as the last of the desks were aligned. The room looked orderly again.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and stepped out from homeroom into the hallway outside.

I ran down the couple of stairwells leading to the ground floor, reached the shoe lockers and quickly swapped my indoors slippers for my outdoor shoes and then ran outside to the gymnasium. The sound of rehearsals was already echoing faintly from the building. Voices overlapped. Someone called out a cue. Laughter cut through the tension and then vanished again.

Inside the gym, everything felt busy and slightly chaotic. Students crossed paths with scripts in hand. Megumi stood near the stage area, deep in discussion. Hinata was bent over a costume rack, her hands moving quickly as she worked. Aoi-chan was already near the set pieces, her sleeves rolled up, focused.

I lingered only long enough to take everything in, since my scenes weren’t being rehearsed today. I practiced my lines alone off to the side, although I had them downpat at this point.

Everyone was working hard.

When rehearsals ended for the day, I slipped away to the locker rooms with Aoi-chan.

The air changed the moment we stepped inside, the space warmer and a little louder. The sharp scent of deodorant and soap mixed with the lingering smell of laundry detergent dominating the air. Voices overlapped, laughter bouncing off the tiled walls as lockers opened and closed.

“Kyaa—Shinohara-chan and Kurobane-san!” Kana spotted us instantly. “The infamous couple.” She smirked. “Are your class’s play rehearsals going well?” she asked as she hooked an arm around mine before I could react. “We were wondering when you’d show up.”

Aoi-chan paused, eyeing her arm around mine with open suspicion. Then she shrugged and walked along with us anyway, calm but watchful.

“I wasn’t that busy today and Aoi-chan ran out of sets to work on for now. My parts weren’t being rehearsed today. Aoi-chan helped inventory the sets and other stuff too. Even though I have my lines memorized, I still practiced on my own,” I said, already smiling.

Mika giggled from a nearby bench. “So responsible.”

Reina glanced over, her arms crossed. “Knowing that she’s into other girls makes things a little awkward in the locker room.”

“I know… But don’t worry. I only have eyes for my Aoi-chan,” I protested.

Ayano tilted her head, smiling softly. “Your cute yuri relationship aside, you seem different lately, Shinohara-chan… physically.”

Before I could answer, Sae stepped past me, lightly pressing her chest against my upper arm as she slipped through. She didn’t say anything. She never did.

Aoi’s eyebrow twitched and her lips tightened.

That wasn’t intentional, right?

A second later, Sae was already changing her clothes, like she hadn’t done anything, making it seem almost like it was an accident.

Heat crept into my face. She didn’t look at me.

Is she interested in me too?

Kana’s gaze flicked to Aoi-chan. “So you’re still training together? Everything’s back to the way it was?”

Aoi-chan nodded. “Yeah. What happened was my fault.”

“What was that about anyway?” Kana asked. “Shinohara-chan was so shut down over it, we thought she’d gone back to her old awkwardness, and we reflexively left her alone with her depression. That was bad of us.”

“I thought it was best for us, but I was wrong,” Aoi said clearly.

“I see… all that pain was necessary?” Kana pressed.

“It made her stronger. You noticed that, right?” Aoi said, looking somewhat miserable about excusing herself.

“That’s scary,” Mika said immediately, then laughed. “It’s true though… We watched her each day. Even though she was so crushed, her movements got more graceful each week. I started wondering if she’s training to be an idol.”

“Hey,” I said. “I’m not interested in doing that anymore. It’s about being stronger.”

Reina smirked. “Yeah… she looks sturdier every week too. I think she’s getting more defined abs and toned legs.”

Aoi-chan’s mouth twitched. She didn’t deny it.

Kana leaned closer to me again. “So,” she said, lowering her voice, “Tell me… do you guys enjoy watching us change?”

My face heated instantly. “No!”

Mika leaned in too. “She really never really looked before at us, did she?”

“Nope,” Kana said. “She only relaxed after Shirasuna. That’s around when she changed so much on the inside and stopped being such a shy flower.”

Reina raised an eyebrow. “Funny timing about that. That trip was pretty romantic, wasn’t it? I think they shared a room.”

Aoi and I flushed, looking away from each other.

Someone snorted.

Ayano clasped her hands lightly. “There have been rumors flying around ever since,” she said carefully. “Particularly about you two sharing a futon.”

I swallowed, unable to lie. “She just… snuck in overnight and surprised me…”

My heart fluttered at the memory, heat rushing to my face.

Everyone fell silent for a moment, then a ripple of giggles spread through the room, soft at first before growing harder to contain.

Aoi-chan turned her head toward me. “You make it sound worse than it was,” she said calmly. “You were already asleep when I crawled in, remember? It’s not like we did anything then…”

“Then!” Kana gasped dramatically after raising her voice briefly. “So you admit it! What about now?” She smirked.

Aoi-chan shrugged. “I never denied anything. What we do isn’t anyone else’s business.”

“Gutsy move! How does it work between two girls?” Kana pressed, her eyes shining as she raised her hands and thrust a finger between her tightly pressed thumb and index finger.

I nearly collapsed on the spot.

“…Um… um…” I admitted, my voice softer. “I’m not an expert or anything… so you shouldn’t ask me…”

“Is Kurobane-san the expert between you?” Mika said immediately, giggling.

It was more like she was asking who was the top and who was the bottom.

“Come on, everyone,” Aoi-chan said, her ears turning pink, a little more sharply than before. Then she paused, cleared her throat, and added, “This is getting a little out of hand.”

A huge understatement… I blushed, covering my face.

Everyone stared at her expectantly.

Kana’s mouth opened… and closed… and opened again. “Did you smell her… everywhere yet?”

Aoi-chan looked even more embarrassed now, but she didn’t back down. “You’ve never thought about smelling someone you’re crushing on?” Her face was practically emitting steam.

Kana shot her a look. “I have to know! What spots did you lick each other?”

Kyaaaaaaa… that sure escalated! I staggered and backpedaled.

“Yeah, this is going too far, Kana-chan,” Mika said, nodding, and pulled her away. “Your yuri fixation is cute.”

She pouted. “Cute? I’m not fixated on it or anything!”

“…Does it feel as good as it would be with a boyfriend?” Reina asked, flushing.

Mika scowled at her, blushing. “Stop making things worse…”

Everyone laughed.

I pressed my hands to my warm cheeks, acutely aware that Aoi-chan was standing right there, entirely unapologetic, while my soul attempted to leave my body.

Aoi-chan leaned slightly closer to me and murmured, just loud enough to be heard, “You know, back at Shirasuna, you smelled really nice.” She licked her lips behind her hand.

I gasped, blushing intensely, and collapsed.

“Please stop that,” I whispered, twitching on the ground.

Mika giggled helplessly. Ayano covered her mouth, blushing. Even Sae paused, looking over once before resuming what she was doing, a faint curve to her lips.

The moment stretched, then loosened, laughter bubbling back into the room as people went back to changing, except now with glances that lingered on us a second longer than before.

Sae’s voice cut in flatly. “You’re so red, Shinohara-chan!”

“Leave me alone…” I said weakly.

Ayano stepped closer and gently tugged at the strap of my sports bra. “Don’t worry about all the teasing. We all like you,” she said quietly.

I nearly collapsed again. Like… in what way? Is everyone secretly yuri?!

She giggled.

Aoi-chan watched the exchange without comment, then reached for her own locker. She changed efficiently, unbothered. If anything, her calm made me relax a little.

The teasing faded into movement as we finished changing. Towels were folded and bags were shoved aside as the noise calmed.

As I tied my shoes, Kana grinned at me. “You’ve got more of your martial-arts training to get to next, right?”

I nodded.

Reina looked between me and Aoi-chan, then smirked at me. “Good luck keeping up with Kurobane-san.”

Aoi-chan answered before I could. “She will. She’s a natural.”

I smiled, feeling a little relieved hearing that. “I’ll do my best.”