haunted theatre au psl

[showbaka]

Truly, this challenge could have only been trusted with a future star such as myself! No wonder I got dragged into this. Even this theatre and the ghosts residing in it recognize my talent!

[Is how Tsukasa chooses to make himself feel better about his predicament. Not that he hasn't done his fair share of panicking and would continue to do so, but panicking wouldn't solve this. Yes, this is but a stepping stone in his career!

One he isn't too thrilled about and never could have predicted, but a still a stepping stone. The only thing that would get him out of this mess would be his skills as an actor. But there is the whole issue of getting visitors to stick around long enough to act. The place is creepy. Signs of abandonment are showing as its popularity declined over the years with no one wanting or able to take care of it. Even Tsukasa has to admit it looks different from how he remembers. To make matters worse, his attempts to draw in visitors have been doing the opposite. He can reach people with his voice, he can interact with the props and theatre, but no one has managed to see him. All of his rehearsals end up backfiring with visitors panicking about the theatre being haunted and leaving as fast as possible.

His shoulders fall as he watches a group of people do just that. They whisper to eachother about how the ghosts here are a lot louder than they imagined and...kind of annoying for a ghost? No one sees Tsukasa stagger back at the insult as if injured.]

I'm not a ghost!

[Even if he is transparent, and can't get hurt, he's definitely not a ghost! But his shouting does the opposite and the visitors leave the theatre empty again other than of Tsukasa and the actual ghosts.

The stage lights turn on, flooding the auditorium and stage in a dazzling light. In that moment, Tsukasa can almost see the same sparkle it had when he and Saki visited. There's laughter as some of the residents of the theatre emerge to perform one of their favorite shows. Scrambling off the stage, Tsukasa meanders and starts tidying up where he can--dusting the shelves, rearranging items, bringing belongings to the lost and found that no one ever visits. He still tries to avoid the ghosts when possible. They're the reason he's in this mess.]

A welcoming and neat appearance will attract more of an audience!

[And no one in their right mind would visit a haunted theatre at this hour!]

Comments

[depressured]

[ "No one in their right mind"... is probably correct, but there are a few factors leading up to what happens next and they are as follows:

1.) Mizuki, who loved ghost stories and tales of superstition, mostly for the effect it had on people like Ena and An, had brought it up, something about a haunted theatre that dragged in hapless souls to perform for them and didn't release them until a satisfying performance was achieved. Which, obviously, hadn't happened yet.

2.) Some kind of discussion had gone down with one of Mizuki's seniors--Tenma Tsukasa, she thinks, who she remembers vaguely from the Kyoto school trip. Whatever the case, he hadn't come to school since. This isn't really anything Mafuyu thinks is that Important, except that if the rumors are true, she can check to mollify Mizuki. She'd helped out a ghost once before, after all.

3.) Haunted theatres made for excellent inspiration for composing and lyrics, and maybe what she learns would be useful for Kanade.

All of this is what leads to Mafuyu stepping into the theatre, after pushing past the heavy doors.

She doesn't say a word, of course. She's here to learn the situation first, and that doesn't require announcing herself. ]