Prison School: No More Prison

Kiyoshi's POV:

"A-A school play?A-Acting?"

"Indeed… acting"

Gakuto finally revealed his full plan to us. It was a crazy idea, but that's nothing new from him… the problem was…

"You want us to act in a Three Kingdoms romance play?!" Shingo asked faster than me.

"Yours truly has thought of everything… And the best way to gain extra money is by mixing the two things women love the most: History and romance!"

We all just looked at him in disbelief for what he just said

"Hey, Gakuto, are you sure you're not ill?" Joe asked him

"Maybe being rejected by Mitsuko did him worse than what we thought" Andre worried.

"Yours truly is talking as seriously as one can!" We could see a vein pop from his forehead. "It's the best way to raise the money while helping you gain a bit of love from the students!"

"It doesn't sound like a bad idea… But we shouldn't do a historical play" Shingo looked a bit mad. "There's no way girls will like a Three Kingdoms romance story"

"*cough* I have to side with Shingo on this one. We should do another play in any case"

"W-Wait… Are you all seriously going to act?" I was the first one to call it out. 

I didn't want to act at all. I'm a terrible actor.

"I-If it's for the WTC, you wouldn't do it too, Kiyoshi?"

His words made me tremble…

"...I-...I would, of course"

"Kiyoshi-dono, this is the only way my plan will work" Gakuto looked at me with some light in his eyes. "Even if it's not the original plan, a love story will do"

If I'm being honest… I had a bad feeling about this plan as a whole, something didn't add up to me, but I didn't know what. I'll have to do as always and just trust Gakuto.

"...Okay, count me in, I'll do my best"

"Kiyoshi-dono… Thanks"

"So… What should we perform?"

"Maybe a more known one? A classic even, like Romeo and Juliet"

"Nah, that's too normal, every theater kid plays it at least once"

"*cough* Maybe we can do a yaoi one, like the Cut Sleeve"

"I-I'm not acting as a homosexual! Not in front of my parents nor Anzu!"

"Maybe we could write our own play!"

"We don't have time for that"

"Shingo…"

Joe looked at him with what I could say was rage in his eyes.

"You haven't contributed anything in this entire conversation"

"... Hehe… That's because I have the best idea of them all…"

We all turned our eyes at him, his face was full of confidence, a grin stretching from side to side of his face.

"The best we can do is…Rapunzel"

"..."

"T-Think about it! It has drama, romance and it's a bit of a classic!"

"... It could work"

"Yeah, maybe"

"Indeed…"

It didn't take that long for us to decide to do as Shingo said. It wasn't a hard one to do nor difficult to act. We could work it out!

"Then it's done! Rapunzel will be!"

"But why did you choose that one, Shingo?"

He looked a bit flustered.

"I-It's… Anzu's favorite movie…"

Ah… so that's why.

[...]

As we spent most of the evening working on the other parts of the plan and rewriting Rapunzel, it turned to be night pretty soon. Time flows like water when you're working with these guys…

But we hit our first roadblock: Who will play who?

The story had some important characters: Rapunzel, the prince, Gothel, the peasants (that are Rapunzel's parents), the king, the knight and whoever else we decided to add to the story.

The peasants' roles were perfect for both Shingo and Joe, who surprisingly didn't care about performing as a woman.

For Gothel… we thought of Kate. She would be perfect for the role… literally. I know she's pretty good at handling the focus of being the center of attention, and was pretty good at acting for what I saw. Joe told me she already was a sorcerer, whatever that means, so she shouldn't have any problem being a witch.

The king would be Gakuto. He's almost perfect for the role. The girls will love to see him in such a position as well.

For a similar reason, Andre will be the knight. His body will be menacing enough.

So… we're missing both the prince and Rapunzel. The two main characters.

Wait… that reminds me…

"What about me? What should I do?"

"Hmm? You won't be the prince?" Gakuto asked a bit confused

"W-Why should I be the prince?!"

"Well, first of all you're the only one left without a role. Second of all, you're the one who's better at acting, right?"

"H-Huh? Why do you say so?!"

"*cough* In prison you used to trick the council members by faking stuff, right? It's basically the same as acting"

I… had to admit I developed some kind of acting skills, but I could not call myself an actor.

"... Fine… B-But I'm not very good at dealing with crowds"

"That won't be a problem, Kiyoshi-dono, you'll be good for as long as you follow the script"

"So… Who'll be Rapunzel?"

Shingo asked what we were all thinking. The plan was already difficult enough, and if we needed Kate's help we're already getting on more people than we should. 

Getting someone to be the main character won't be easy. Yes, we could search in the acting club, but girls don't like working with us, even if that means being with Gakuto, I guess.

"Ah! I know!" Andre suddenly said. "Let's ask Hana-san to be Rapunzel!"

"Oh! That's a great idea, Andre-dono"

"Yes! She's also blonde so the role is set for her, right?"

"It will work even better if you Shingo, being her parent in the play, are also blonde, it's the perfect role for her"

"..."

As everyone cheered for getting a good suggestion, I could only sit there in silence.

T-That would mean that, the romantic couple in the play would be between Hana and I?! 

I can't allow that. If I ever want to have a slight chance of getting Chiyo's forgiveness let alone be with her, I can't be seen in a situation like that with Hana of all people.

"I think tha-"

"Kiyoshi! You have Hana's number right? Why don't you ask her now?"

"W-Wait guys, are you sure tha-"

"Kiyoshi-dono, I know how you feel…"

"Y-You do?"

"Yes… But this is the only way to save the summer trip. You fought valiantly in the past against her, but now she's our ally. So please… Even if you still don't feel good, do your job so we can all live our dream"

I can't win this argument. I'll have to do it… If I don't, the reason that united us all from the beginning will be a lost cause… I have to do it… for the Wet T-Shirt Contest! 

Even if it means having to ask Hana and Kate for this, even if it means embarrassing myself in public… Even if it means that Chiyo may hate me even more…

"...I'll do it"

"Kiyoshi-dono!"

As everyone was resting their hands on my back, I started asking myself: How the hell am I gonna make both Kate and Hana accept this… Not only that, but will it be okay to mix our cast with someone from the other council? I mean, we're the only ones who know that they are merged now… So…

"If what's worrying you is Kate and Hana's involvement, I thought of maybe adding more members of the councils, so it may look like a fight between them"

Gakuto read my mind before I could ask about anything. "H-How so?"

"If we make it look like this is a battle between councils in the same play, it won't raise any suspicions"

"I see… You really planned everything didn't you?"

"Indeed, Yours truly has evolved its planning capabilities!"

"Hope you did as well in writing, 'cause this script won't work by just talking *cough*"

And so, we continued writing the play. Or so I wished, because I wanted to notify Hana about our plans. 

Hmm… Should I tell her immediately about the plan?... Fuck it, if she won't participate, we need to know as fast as possible.

'the boys and I have a plan to get a ton of money from the festival. I'll need ur help, can I count you in?'

That will do, now I just have to wait until her respo-

*Mobile Phone notification*

T-That was fast. Damn, I should change this notification sound, I still haven't gotten used to this new device.

She sounds a bit angry… Well, it could just be the fact that we're talking via text… I heard that using emojis makes girls loosen up on conversations…

'(⁠ꏿ⁠﹏⁠ꏿ⁠;⁠)'

That's it…

'Eww, what's that?'

'I thought u girls like emojis and stuff like that'

'You don't know ANYTHING about what girls like'

She ain't wrong at all I guess… 

At least it's kinda funny to talk to someone by phone… And to think it's a girl… I-It's a bit exciting…

Mmm… Yet I feel a bit weird…

…

'Then, what is it?'

'I prefer to tell u about it tomorrow'

'You already woke me up, so tell me now'

S-Shit… I should have waited until tomorrow, but now I feel kinda bad…

'I did? sorry, I didnt mean to' 'I'll be quick with it'

'Sure, just tell me'

Still I don't know how to tell her.

Should I just ask her? I'm not sure, I feel like she'll just hit me if I do so…

"Yo, Kiyoshi, what's the matter?"

"A-Ah Shingo, I'm thinking on how to ask for Hana's help"

"Huh? Why don't you just ask her to do so?"

"I-It's Hana, if I say anything weird she'll either kick me to death or murder me in a single punch"

"Here, let me do it" Shingo grabbed my phone as we spoke. "Oh! It's one of those new phones right? Amazing"

"Yeah, just be careful about what you write"

"Chill dude, just ask her to be Rapunzel and that's it" He started texting

"Would…you…be…a… princess…"

"W-Wait, that sounds bad, let me do it"

"It's okay dude calm dow-"

"P-Please Shingo, I'll handle it"

"Fine fine, here"

And as I grabbed my phone, the auto-corrector decided to make my life a hell for the following seconds. As my finger touched the screen, it autocorrected the phrase and sent it without me wanting to do so…

'Would you be my princess?'

"W-What?!"

"D-Dude, you sent it!"

"S-Shingo, I'll fucking kill you!"

"W-Wat- It was you who sent it!"

S-Shit… I didn't want to mess with Hana anymore, less alone bother her or do stuff for her to call me a pervert or worse… and now this?

'Sorry! I meant a princess*'

'What do you mean?'

'The guys and I are planning to perform Rapunzel on the school, and we thought you'd be perfect for the role' 'What do u say?'

D-Damn I got a bit nervous but this should be okay… She doesn't sound mad at least.

'Give me some time to think about it'

'Sure! Tell me whenever you decide, I'll share more info on it tmrrw'

'Okay'

'Sorry for bothering you at this hours, gn'

'Bye'

That went better than expected… Now it's time to organize the rest of the plan… We'll have to start with… Mayumi.

End of Kiyoshi's POV.

13th of July, Friday

Hana's POV:

As I woke up today, I felt a bit ill. My stomach didn't like the fact I didn't have dinner yesterday, and puking didn't help either.

I got up and drank a bit of a medicinal tea I bought some months ago for this type of situation. It took around half an hour for me to feel better. 

As I prepared to assist my classes, I felt the urge to read my conversation with Kiyoshi from yesterday. 

Apparently he's planning to perform in a theater play of sorts? And he wants me to be a princess… 

I'm not only doubting this would be the best way to make money, but the fact that I'm not an actor makes me believe this plan is going to fail. It's not like I have stage fright or anything, but I'd like to keep it low before I have a chance to… Apologize to Chiyo-chan.

As I finished my 'healing' tea, someone knocked on the door. This early?

"Hana-san? It's me, Meiko"

!!!

I opened the door as I fixed my hair. I'm… A bit nervous. I haven't talked to her in private in a while. 

"Ma'am Prez! Please come in!"

"With pleasure…"

My room was a bit messy. Yesterday I didn't have time to clean due to… yeah.

"Hmm? Are you sick?"

"I-I'm fine… I just needed to drink something before classes"

"I see" Meiko sat down on the edge of my bed. I quickly followed and sat next to her, maintaining distance of course.

A room filled with silence except for some harsh craws from the crows outside school.

At that moment I got a bit nervous. I felt that I was hiding something from her and that I needed to let it out… But in reality, there wasn't anything to say… Even if I wanted to say anything about what happened with Chiyo, it won't solve anything… And if she doesn't know, it will only make it worse…

" Hana-san… Have I ever told you how Mari-san presented you to me?"

"H-Huh? U-Uh… N-No, you haven't"

"Hah… she said you were a 'heureuse petite fleur'... "

Mari has been known to speak french… At the beginning I thought it was kinda cheesy, but her extravagant pronunciation turned into a lovely melody…

"What does that mean?"

"At first I didn't know either," She said with a smile. "But she said it meant 'small little flower'..." Meiko-san turned at me. "I think it suits you"

I felt like crying for a second…

"S-She always liked to be poetic, didn't she…"

"Yes… Mari was as artsy as one could be…"

"... How do you feel now that she…"

"Hmm… I miss her a lot"

"I do too…"

"... I wish I could have talked to her before she left… I had some things to say after the cavalry tournament…"

I looked at her face, it was a melancholic one. She seemed to be lost in thought… I had some stuff I wanted to talk about with her too… And now that everything has happened between Chiyo and I… I wish she was here…

"But… I'm not sad"

"R-Really?"

"Well… At least I'm not crying anymore" She said with a dull smile. "I try to look at the positive side of things. She probably had a lot of stuff going on in her head… I wish I was there to help, but she looks happy with her decision"

"S-So… Now what?"

"We do as she wanted"

"...Right!" 

I felt relieved. Meiko felt different, but her warm smile always helped me feel better. It's true that in the past we didn't talk a lot, but I feel like she's a true friend of mine… I'm not alone.

"Ah… That's right, I came here for a reason, too"

"Eeh? You aren't here to visit me? How rude…"

We both chuckled.

"As glad as I am to see you're doing well, there's something I want to discuss with you"

"Hmm?"

"It's about Chiyo-chan"

A shiver ran through me.

"w-what about her…?"

"She's doing better. Apparently she hasn't been attending classes since Mari's departure… And with the bathroom incident, I've been worried about her"

"I-I see… D-Did you?"

"Yes, I spoke with her," Meiko interrupted me. "I guess I was the first one she talked with in a while, not even her roommate knows what happened…"

"..."

"So I guessed it would be a good idea to pay her a visit"

"A-And how did it go?"

"We didn't talk that much… She looked… terrible, to be honest. She hadn't eaten anything since Tuesday, and it looked like she didn't sleep as well… She just… cries"

Sweat appeared on my forehead. I started feeling like puking again… S-Shit… This was worse than I thought… 

"She needs help, Hana" Prez grabbed my hand as I quivered from her touch. "I need you to take care of her, please"

"W-Why me?!"

"You and her have been socializing a lot recently, right? I even heard you wanted to be more like her on the showers"

"A-Ah…"

"I know you care about her, and as I'll be occupied with the planning of the cultural event, I need your help on this… I want her to be able to be part of this, I want her to feel better. If the chairman comes and sees her like this… I'll feel really guilty"

… So will I, but I don't think I can do this…

"You should ask for the dumbass's help on this"

"h-huh?"

"Kiyoshi seems to be good friend of her, so you should ask him to help you"

… I see…

"... Okay, I will"

"Thanks Hana… And sorry for not checking on you earlier…"

"No, Meiko, thanks for coming by"

[...]

As she left and I prepared for my classes… I felt both relieved and stressed…

If I want to get Chiyo's forgiveness… I have to start from scratch…

I'll start with… Mayumi.

End of Hana's POV.

Kate's POV:

I got up from bed. 

Today I had a really important meeting with the clubs to see what we can sell during the event, as well as get them whatever they need for it.

Before I went to have breakfast, I looked around my bedroom. It feels as empty as the day I burned every single thing that reminded me of her…

Now… I wish I didn't…not because of the same reason I got them… But because I want to remember her vividly…

Or… So I think…

Is this love?

I still can't manage to figure it out…

I feel that if I want to become a grown woman I must understand that…

I thought maybe being with a couple could teach me about it…

Risa-san and Andre seemed like the perfect pair to do so, but sadly Risa doesn't like people to see her softer side when she's with him. 

Hana-san and Kiyoshi-kun, on the other hand, are a weird case. It doesn't seem like they're together, yet I saw many situations and… photos of them together… A-And not to mention what happened in Kiyoshi's room…

T-The point is that… I'll need more than that if I want to understand it… M-Maybe I could give another visit to Hana and Kiyoshi whenever they're together…

I grabbed my stuff and went to the cafeteria. I used to have breakfast at the council's office, but today I felt like it. Apparently I wasn't the only one, as Risa and Mitsuko were there as well. Meiko was also in the cafetería, but due to the rules we set up, we couldn't sit together…

W-Wow… I never thought that I'd like to sit to have breakfast with her, but I want to discuss the festival… T-That's it… 

I wonder where Hana-san and Kiyoshi-kun are… Leaving their president to eat alone…

"Ah! Good morning Kate-san!"

"Hey Kate…"

"Good morning you too!"

I sat next to them and talked a bit about the festival.

"Risa-san, any reports?"

"Well, I've explained the situation to the guard's team. They can handle it"

"Amazing. And you Mitsuko-chan?"

"I-I talked with the crops club, as a last resource, they'll let us sell their stuff"

The garden both the boys and the USC built while they were in prison started growing some nice crops. I heard they were able to use the feces of Mari's crows as guano for them… I guess it all comes full circle…

And speaking of the devil…

Kiyoshi entered the cafetería, he awkwardly nodded at me and went directly to Meiko's table-

?!

H-He didn't share a table with her? Also wheres Hana?

"Kate-san?"

"A-Ah yes, what happened?"

"You look troubled…"

Risa and Mitsuko looked worried at me…

"I-I'm fine, sorry"

It's just that… It bothers me…

"Please excuse me… I need to talk to Meiko-chan"

"W-What?"

"Hey, what happened to the rules?"

"It's important, I'll overlook them just for this once"

"..."

"...Do as you like, then"

I went and sat on the same table as Meiko. I saw everyone's faces turn into surprised ones, even the boys looked a bit troubled at my doing… Everyone except for her… Who didn't raise her head as I came by.

"... Kate…"

"Good morning, Meiko-chan"

"Are you here to mock me?"

"Oh why would I?"

"Maybe because I'm having tea without anything else?"

"That's a bit sad, but nothing to laugh at, right?"

 D-Damn… It's hard to tease her now… Why?

"Well… No, there's nothing wrong about it…"

"Maybe I shall sit next to you, right? So you won't feel alone after everything that happened-"

"Kate-san"

Meiko interrupted me with force.

"H-Huh?"

"Thanks for caring about me" She said with a smile from cheek to cheek. "I'm fine just the way I am"

"I-I see…"

Her smile reminded me of someone else… I've seen this exact same situation…

A-Am I blushing?

I quickly went back to my table. Students around the cafeteria started gossiping, but I can't do anything about that.

"So… What now?" Risa seemed curious about my decisions.

"L-Let's stick to the plans… this will be a really busy week"

To be continued…

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