Inside the soundproof rehearsal room of the LALALAI Theater Troupe.
After the intense preparation phase and actor auditions, the rehearsals for the new play The Forbidden Game of Youth had entered the final stretch before the official performance.
The troupe's general manager, Toshirou Kindaichi , stood in the corner of the room with his arms crossed, his eyes slightly narrowed as he intently observed from an audience's perspective.
The scene playing out on stage was the final act of the play—Volodya , using his "companion" Lyalya as leverage, delivered an ultimatum to the teacher, Yelena.
If Yelena refused to hand over the key, she would be forced to witness one of her students commit a brutal act of violence against another.
"Filthy scum!—I refuse to believe…"
The moment she delivered her line, Hoshino Ai, who was being forcefully pinned to the folding chair, realized she had flubbed her delivery—she had missed repeating "scum" for added emphasis.
But no one seemed to notice, or perhaps they simply didn't care. All eyes were drawn to Kitagawa Ryo, whose overwhelming stage presence seemed to eclipse every other actor, including Hoshino Ai, as if they had been banished to another dimension.
"S'il vous plaît, Madame."
Kitagawa Ryo uttered the French phrase with effortless grace. If one only listened to his voice, they might imagine an elegant young man offering a rose to a girl he had just met on the street.
But reality was far from it.
" Lyalya, now you understand what I want from you, don't you? Take off your clothes."
"Since Yelena Sergeyevna refuses to help, you'll have to be the sacrifice. Slaughtering a lamb, so to speak—for the sake of society's salvation."
His voice was soft, almost a whisper, as if murmuring to a lover. Kitagawa Ryo gently, slowly reached out and placed a hand on Hoshino Ai's shoulder.
"...Mm, come on, hurry up. Otherwise... Go on, your coat, your stockings, and... Hm?"
He could feel the girl beneath him trembling slightly. But just as he was about to continue his lines, Toshirou Kindaichi abruptly interrupted the rehearsal.
"Oumi, you lost focus."
The one called out was Oumi, the actress playing the role of Yelena. A seasoned performer, she shouldn't have made such a basic mistake as zoning out.
"Sorry, I got a little too absorbed in Kitagawa's acting."
Oumi shook her head. Though the scene's focus was on Volodya 's intimidation and the implied violence toward Lyalya, Yelena's psychological breakdown was also a pivotal moment—her expression had to shift accordingly.
But she had been so captivated by Kitagawa Ryo's performance that she nearly forgot she was still an actor on stage, failing to react in time.
"Let's take a short break. We're making good progress."
Toshirou Kindaichi didn't scold her further. After checking the time on his phone, he announced an intermission.
"Haaah…"
Hoshino Ai exhaled in relief and quickly stood up from the chair. Being pinned down in such an awkward position had been uncomfortable.
After a morning of rehearsals, she was drenched in sweat. She walked a few steps and plopped down beside Kitagawa Ryo, casually peeling off the white stockings she had been wearing.
"Why… does the old Soviet school uniform look so much like a maid outfit? And why the white stockings?"
Having had a pair of stockings torn by Kitagawa Ryo in every rehearsal, Hoshino Ai voiced her existential question.
"No idea. But they look cute on you, don't they?"
Kitagawa Ryo took a sip from his water bottle before turning to answer.
"I won't deny that."
Hoshino Ai fiddled with the red scarf around her neck. The Forbidden Game of Youth was a Soviet-era play, and the four students' costumes were naturally based on old Soviet school uniforms.
"Maybe that's why a play from the 1980s still feels so modern."
Kitagawa Ryo glanced at the discarded stockings beside Hoshino Ai. In the script, Volodya deliberately broke Yelena's resolve by stripping Lyalya layer by layer—starting with those stockings.
After days of rehearsals, Kitagawa Ryo felt like he had acquired a strange new skill:
Tearing stockings barehanded in seconds.
It sounded… suspiciously inappropriate.
But the original play wasn't that explicit. After a few symbolic tears in the stockings and unbuttoning Lyalya's coat, Yelena would already surrender and hand over the key.
"But your presence is just too overpowering."
Hoshino Ai tapped her lips thoughtfully.
"It feels less like acting and more like… something's really about to happen."
The scene still lingered in her mind. Kitagawa Ryo's performance had completely dominated the stage, overwhelming not just the audience but even the other actors.
In that moment, she had been swept up in his performance, reduced to a mere accessory.
Even Toshirou Kindaichi had only pointed out Oumi's slip—no one paid attention to Lyalya, pinned beneath Volodya .
Maybe, like the torn white stockings, she was just meant to be a beautiful vase, shattered at the right moment.
Perhaps even her lines were unnecessary. In this climactic scene, Lyalya's script direction was just one simple note:
The sound of ragged breathing.
Maybe…
"That's not it."
Kitagawa Ryo stood up and handed her the script.
Though the spotlight in this intense scene would always be on Volodya and Yelena, Lyalya still had two short lines.
First, a desperate plea to her "boyfriend" Pasha, who stood by and did nothing—"Pasha… Pasha…"
And when his cowardice persisted—
This girl, who had once proudly declared she would claw her way into high society despite her poor, single-parent upbringing, instinctively called out to the one person who wasn't even there:
"Mom—"
"Right here."
Kitagawa Ryo spoke softly.
"After Pasha fails her, Lyalya falls into complete self-destruction and doubt."
"But in this moment, she realizes the one person who truly loves her—and whom she truly loves—still exists in this world."
"And it's this cry for her mother that snaps Vikka out of his complicity, making him try to stop Volodya . It's what finally breaks Yelena and makes her hand over the key."
He patiently explained the scene to Hoshino Ai before smiling encouragingly.
"I know you can do it, Ai."
Hoshino Ai took a deep breath and nodded.
After the break, they resumed rehearsing the same scene.
"Pasha… Pasha…"
"Your Pasha is spineless! A worm, a coward!"
Kitagawa Ryo smirked mockingly, brushing aside the girl's bangs to stare into her dimming eyes.
This was the moment.
Time seemed to freeze. The air between them grew thick, clinging to Hoshino Ai's lips.
Hoshino Ai was good at lying.
But she couldn't sincerely utter that affectionate word with the right emotion.
This was beyond method acting.
Helplessness, hope, pleading—
She had used all these tones before when calling out that word, but none had ever been met with warmth.
She was certain she had never truly loved her mother, and her mother had never truly loved her.
"Even the worst actors have their own pains and sorrows. Use them. Channel them into the role."
Toshirou Kindaichi 's words echoed in her mind.
Use past emotions to embody the present character.
A shortcut, in a way.
She still didn't fully understand what love meant.
But if she had to name the person who came closest—someone who both loved her and whom she loved in return—
Memories surfaced effortlessly.
[Ryo.]
Hoshino Ai's eyes regained their light. While Lyalya's character had reached an emotional turning point, for Hoshino Ai, it meant imprinting the boy before her into her vision completely.
Then, like a whisper to herself—
"Mom—"
The play progressed smoothly—Vikka rushed forward, only to be beaten down by Volodya ; Yelena, exhausted, handed over the key.
Only Toshirou Kindaichi noticed.
He glanced at Hoshino Ai, suddenly remembering what Kadoma Katsuya had said over drinks a few days prior:
"In some ways, Hoshino feels even more like a child than Kitagawa."
Maybe it was true.
That hadn't been acting.
It was more like—
A truth spoken between fantasy and reality, disguised as performance.
On the day of The Forbidden Game of Youth's premiere, in the reserved seating at the back of the theater, Toshirou Kindaichi looked down at the child before him with a warm smile.
"Ruby-chan, long time no see."
"Hello, Kindaichi-san."
Kitagawa Ruby greeted him politely.
When she had first moved in with Kitagawa Ryo, Toshirou Kindaichi had gone out of his way to help the siblings settle in. Ruby hadn't forgotten his kindness.
As the two chatted, Ichigo Saitou and his wife, Miyako Saitou , noticed them from a distance.
Thanks to their agency's star, Hoshino Ai, being one of the play's leads, they had also secured reserved seats.
"That girl… She's Kitagawa's little sister, right? I recognize her from First Errand."
Ichigo Saitou glanced at Kitagawa Ruby and turned to his wife.
"Mm. But they're not blood-related, so while Ryo has black hair, Ruby is blonde. If you didn't know, you'd never guess they were siblings."
"She's even cuter in person than on TV."
Miyako Saitou nodded. As a devoted fan of Kitagawa Ryo, she couldn't help but feel fond of Ruby by extension.
"When the play starts, don't just focus on Kitagawa. We're here for Ai this time."
The agency president reminded his wife pointedly. The recent internal issues within B-Komachi had been a headache, and though he'd swiftly identified and fired the mole, it had still disrupted the group's momentum.
But if Hoshino Ai could gain attention through this play, those problems would fade into the background.
That was why Ichigo Saitou had come—he wasn't a theater enthusiast.
"That said… Does Ruby even understand the play? She's so young."
Noticing his wife still eyeing Kitagawa Ruby with interest, Ichigo Saitou shrugged.
"She's just here to see her brother. She doesn't need to understand the plot—just clap when he's on stage."
With that, he lost interest and turned his attention back to the stage.
"By the way, will Ruby even follow the play?"
Toshirou Kindaichi asked the same question.
"A little?"
Kitagawa Ruby tried to act her age. It wasn't entirely a lie—in her past life, she'd only finished elementary school. If not for her determination to support Kitagawa Ryo by studying theater, she wouldn't even know Shakespeare's four great tragedies.
"I see…"
Toshirou Kindaichi nodded before suddenly frowning at something in the audience. He quickly excused himself.
"Excuse me, ma'am."
"Hm? What is it?"
A middle-aged woman, visibly six or seven months pregnant, looked up in confusion.
"I'm the troupe manager. Given your condition, I'm not sure this play is suitable for you."
Toshirou Kindaichi eyed her belly nervously, mentally cursing the ticketing staff for letting her in.
If something happened to her during the performance, it would reflect poorly on the entire troupe.
"Loud noises aren't good for the baby's development."
He scrambled for reasons to persuade her to leave.
Kitagawa Ruby curiously followed, watching the exchange.
"What do you know?"
The woman's expression darkened before shifting into something disturbingly tender as she caressed her belly.
"This is part of a carefully planned prenatal education program."
"I know today's lead actor is Kitagawa Ryo… Ahh, if my child could become a national star like him—wouldn't that fulfill Mommy's dream?"
Her face twisted into a rapturous smile, lost in delusion.
Ignoring Toshirou Kindaichi , she pressed a promotional flyer against her stomach and whispered:
"Today, Mommy's taking you to see Kitagawa Ryo's performance. Learn from him. Become even greater than him."
Her grin widened, sickly sweet, as she uttered the name she had already chosen:
"Promise Mommy, okay?"
"Kana."