Yae
"Hey, Peter. What do you think of me?"
Kokona
"What do I think? I care about you as everyone's mother."
Yae
"That's not what I mean..."
Kokona
"Then what do you want to be?"
Yae
"That's...not something a girl should say."
Kokona
"Hmm. Well, that's fine! At times like this, Tinkerbell tells me."
Kokona
"Tink probably wants to be my mama, you know."
Shizuka
"What!? How dense can you be!"
Shizuka
"That's not it at all!"
Children
Ahaha!
Chikage
Fufu.
Little Girl
Wendy likes Peter!
Noa
That's enough. Shizuka, for that line just now, try getting angry more dramatically.
Shizuka
Yes.
Shizuka
"How dense can you be! That's not it at all!"
Noa
OK. We'll go with that. It's time, so after a short break, we'll rehearse Performance B. The children observing should use the restroom during this time.
Noa
Sasuga, Panda, and Kathrina for Performance B, be ready to start right away. Well then, good work everyone.
Everyone
Yes!
Kokona
...Haah~
Kathrina
What's with that big sigh?
Kokona
The elementary school children's eyes were sparkling, so I might have gotten a bit too intense.
Kokona
Kathrina-chan, you have rehearsal after this too, right? You must be nervous.
Child
Tinkerbell from earlier was super cute! Do it again!
Shizuka
Ehh!? That's a bit...
Child
Hey, hey, do you memorise everything you say in plays? Big sister, you're amazing!
Shizuka
W-wait, I'll answer one at a time...!
Kokona
Ahaha, Shizuka-chan is surrounded too. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, which is good.
Kathrina
...Yes. That Chikage girl was also engrossed in your performance.
Kokona
That's good then. How about you all?
Kokona
...Is rehearsal going well?
Kathrina
...Honestly, not at all.
Kathrina
Ah, Shizuka escaped.
Shizuka
...Haah, good work. I was surprised to be suddenly surrounded by children.
Shizuka
What were you talking about?
Kathrina
How Performance B rehearsals are terrible.
Shizuka
Ah. So Sasuga and Panda still aren't in sync.
Shizuka
What about Hiiragi-san and the others? Haven't they said anything?
Kathrina
I asked, but apparently this issue with Sasuga and Panda isn't about problems with the acting, but rather a misunderstanding between the two.
Kathrina
So Hiiragi-san and the others are watching to see what happens, saying it's an issue Sasuga and Panda should face themselves, and that they should be able to sort it out on their own.
Shizuka
Hmm. I'm surprised you haven't gotten angry, Kathrina.
Kathrina
Well honestly, I've thought about walking out of rehearsal more than 100 times.
Shizuka
Why haven't you? I would have expected you to storm out saying "I'm not coming back until this is resolved."
Kathrina
When everyone's not doing well, if I get emotional too, that would be the end. So I'm holding back.
Kokona
Ooh...! Kathrina-chan, that's such a mature response...
Shizuka
Yes. I never thought Kathrina would be capable of such restraint...
Kathrina
Hey! That's rude!
Shizuka
Ahaha, sorry, sorry.
Kathrina
But if watching over them like this means we end up embarrassing ourselves at the open rehearsal...that would be unbearable.
Kathrina
(Panda still hasn't gotten over the audition at all.)
Kathrina
(Even though she told me not to worry about it.)
Panda
Haah, haah...
Panda
(Performance A's rehearsal was well received by the children, and the quality is definitely high. Even that Nanase Chikage looked satisfied.)
Panda
(I've been practicing on my own, but honestly, it's tough to be compared with that.)
Panda
(But I can't give an inferior performance. Get it together, Panda.)
Chisa
Panda, are you alright?
Panda
...Yeah.
Noa
We're starting Performance B rehearsal.
Noa
Are you ready?
Everyone
Yes.
Noa
Then, begin.
Chisa
"Wendy, will you come with me to Neverland? And tell the boys lots and lots of stories you know!"
Panda
"But, I don't want to worry Mama. And also..."
Panda
(Oh no, what comes next?)
Chikage
...?
Chikage
(Why such a pause here...?)
Yae
Panda-san, maybe, your line...
Chisa
"What's wrong, Wendy? Don't look so gloomy. Are you worried about something? You'll forget all about it as soon as you fly!"
Panda
"B-but! I don't know how to fly, and I can't go with you."
Kokona
Sasuga-chan, nice ad lib...!
Chisa
"Then I'll teach you everything about flying and how to ride on the wind's back! And when you can do it-"
Chisa and Panda
"Together-" "That's-!"
Kokona
They spoke over each other...!
Panda
...!
Chikage
...
Panda
(This is bad, this is bad. We're being watched.)
Chisa
...
Chisa
(Panda...)
Chisa
"Did I surprise you with something so sudden? But it's okay, Wendy."
Chisa
"If you learn to fly, in the time you would have spent sleeping in your hard bed, you could be flying around with me, chatting happily with the stars!"
Chisa
"Don't be nervous! Come with me! Here, take my hand!"
Chikage
...
Chikage
What is this...!
Kathrina
In the end, Panda couldn't recover from her poor state, and throughout the rehearsal, we somehow managed with Sasuga's Sense and my help.
Kathrina
The observing children seemed to enjoy it as a slapstick comedy version of "Peter Pan," though.
Kathrina
I also couldn't bear to watch Panda's face growing more and more distressed.
Noa
That concludes today's rehearsal observation. Next is the meet and greet. Could the children please move to the lobby first?
Noa
Yae, Shizuka. Could you guide them to the lobby?
Yae
Of course! Well then, shall we all move together?
Shizuka
Follow Yae-chan when you're ready, okay?
Children
Okay!
Chikage
...
Chikage
Excuse me. You're Hiiragi Noa-san, right?
Noa
Ah, you're from the arts appreciation event.
Noa
...Do you need something?
Chikage
It's not that, I have a question about the rehearsal just now.
Chikage
Will Performance B proceed to the actual performance like that? Honestly, I thought the gap between Performance A and B was too large.
Noa
...
Chikage
Peter Pan played by Sasuga-san with her wide acting range, and Wendy and Tinkerbell played by Panda-san and Kathrina-san who specialise in young girl roles.
Chikage
Sasuga-san told me to look forward to it, but...
Chikage
...I'm disappointed.
Noa
...I see. I'm sorry if we disappointed you.
Noa
But this is still in rehearsal, and by the actual performance, they will have plenty of time to...
Chikage
Even if it's still in rehearsal, I think there's a difference between performing in a way that's easy for younger audiences to understand and giving a low quality performance.
Chikage
Who was that performance for? It barely worked out thanks to Sasuga-san's Sense...
Panda
...!
Chisa
P-Panda, about that...
Panda
...
Chisa
...
Kokona
Chikage-chan. Can I talk to you for a moment?
Chikage
Eh?
Kokona
Hiiragi-san, I'm sorry for interrupting. I'd like to speak with Chikage-chan for a bit.