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Ukyou Kuonji presents
a Here Is Greenwood fanfic

EXTENDED PLAY

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Koko wa Greenwood is the creation of Yukie Nasu, and all characters 
and situations therein are the property of her and Hakusensha Inc., 
Victor Entertainment, and the Pierrot Project.  No infringement 
is intended.
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**track seven**

What can I say?  I *did* offer to do *anything* after that whole 
furo incident... and it's a lot less than some guys might have asked. 
My first hunch was right about Suka-chan... I *could* trust him... 
completely.

The problem is, he thinks he can trust *me* completely.

He wants me to be his princess.  What am I going to do?

I take a deep breath.  I have to stay in character here... now more 
than ever, for both our sakes.  I will the colors to rise to my 
cheeks, and I turn away from his gaze.  I can still feel his hands 
clasping mine.  "Thank you for asking me, Suka-chan.  I'm pretty 
busy with the drama class production, you know, but I will try... 
ugh!"

Anything else I could say is squeezed out of me by Suka-chan's 
gratitude.  He gathers me up in a bear hug that's surprisingly 
strong, given his frame.  I can hardly breathe, but at least it's 
mercifully short.  "Thank you, Shun-chan!  Now I can tell the guys 
I'll do it!"  And he runs out of the room.

I drop onto my bed, stunned.  And a little bit queasy, myself.  Now 
I *have* to do it... Suka-chan's participation hinges on it.  Maybe 
later I'll ask Tochizawa for a script.  I hope it's a small part.

My own contemplations are disturbed by loud voices from the  
sempais' room.  "THIS is what I've gotta wear?  No way!"

"Put in on, Hasukawa, or we'll do it for you."  Mitsuru-sempai 
sounds more weary than threatening.  He's probably already made 
his own futile protests to Shinobu-sempai.

"I'm not getting in this school festival reject!  And what's the 
idea of... a skirt?"

Tochizawa's voice chimes in. "This is FOR the school festival, 
what did you expect?  Armani?  And it's not a skirt, it's a one-
piece tunic.  It's the whole medieval bit.  Come on, you promised."

There's more defiance from Suka-chan, until Shinobu-sempai decides 
that there's been enough.  "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this..." 
I can hear scuffling feet, and all sorts of knocking about, 
accompanied by Suka-chan's protests.

"HEY!  Not right HERE!?"

"You could have changed - oof! - in your room voluntarily, 
Hasukawa..."

"Yeah, didja - argh - HAVE to insist on doing this the hard way?"

"Damn, I didn't think you were this heavy, Suka..."

Clunk.  "Ow!  Watch it, guys!"  In spite of myself, I find myself 
shaking my head and giggling.

"No-no-no!  Don't rip the tunic!"

"Okay."  And the scuffling stops.  "Well, let's see what we've got 
here."

There's a hush next door for a moment.  Then, it falls to 
Shinobu-sempai to deliver the final assessment.  "Not bad... 
so, are we ready to start shooting, Tochizawa?"

Tochizawa makes a noise of affirmation.  "Everyone we need for 
the opening scene should be arriving about..."

I hear the door as it bangs open, and a voice even more feminine 
than mine bursts out: "Kazuya-kun!  Te kawaii!"

"...now," Tochizawa finishes unecessarily.

"S-Su-Sumire-chan?"  At Suka-chan�s stammered greeting, I sit bolt 
upright on my bed.  SHE�S here?

"Dr. Hasukawa,"  Tochizawa greets Suka-chan's brother, "so good of 
you and your wife to help us out with the school festival production."

The doctor responds graciously.  "Not at all; always a pleasure to 
help out my old dorm mates.  And, as would so happen, my little 
brother, too..."

Suka-chan's response is considerably less gracious, and sounds 
like it's coming from between clenched teeth.  "I thought I told 
you not to..."

Sumire-chan evidently steps in, resolving the standoff between the 
two brothers.  "Kazuya-kun," she gushes, "it's so wonderful you 
got a part in this!  You look so cute!  You *are* going to do your 
best, aren't you?"

I can practically hear him melt.  Then: "All right, guys... what are 
we waiting for?  We've got a film to shoot!"  and then, as an aside, 
as everyone clatters out of the sempais' room.  "Sumire-chan... you 
have *got* to meet my new roommate..."

Uh-oh... I duck into the closet and close the door, squishing myself 
against the hangers.  But the crowd barges past the room, and 
Suka-chan apparantly is too swept up in it all to bother poking 
his head in for the moment.  I sigh in relief as I slip out.

***

For the next few days, I'm working on the drama class production 
almost full-time.  Oyama-sensei praises my dedication, but he's got 
no clue of what I'm trying to avoid.  Well, I guess the good news 
about this whole situation is what it's doing to my grades, then.

Turns out I'm not the only one who's busier than a one-legged man 
in a butt-kicking contest.  I walk into the bath late one afternoon 
to find Mitsuru-sempai slumped back so far that he's in danger of 
slipping underwater.  I scrub myself down, and slip into the tub 
to join him.

"You look like hell, sempai."

"Yeah, well, I think I've just been through it.  Shinobu and I have 
been posing all day for that manga artist.  Tochizawa worked out 
a deal with her that she would lend us the costumes we needed for 
the film if we'd pose for her in them.  Research, she said she was 
doing..."

That's right... I'd seen the poster on the sempai's door, advertising 
Devilwood.  She must have drawn it for them.  "Was it that hard?"

"Let me put it to you this way... ever try standing still, not 
moving, for fifty minutes at a stretch?  It was like that all day! 
Not only that," and he sits up with a loud sloshing sound, ticking 
responsibilties off on his fingers, "it puts us a day behind schedule 
for the filming..."

"I thought Tochizawa figured that into his schedule."

"Yeah, but it means we have to do that many more scenes per day 
to get the thing finished in time for the festival.  Then there's my 
studies; I've fallen a day behind on them.  And then, I still have 
band practice and my athletic activities to deal with yet, too."

I chuckle sympathetically.  "Boy, you sure spread yourself thin, 
sempai."

He slides back into the bath, looking at me with only half-open 
eyes.  "Sometimes I envy you, Shun.  All you've got is your drama."

Another mild chuckle.  "'Everything in moderation,' that's my motto. 
Of course, how much moderation can there be when I'm doing it 24/7?"

"Doing what?"

"Acting."

"Oh, that."  Now it's *his* turn to chuckle.  "Hey, nobody said you 
had to bet on yourself to go this long.  You could have taken the 
easy way out last Wednesday... at least you'd have been able to 
enjoy the party we would've thrown for Hasukawa."

It's enough to make me want to splash him.  "So, you admit to 
setting me up last week... glad I skipped out on *that* tutoring 
session."

***

Refreshed and heading back to our respective room, Mitsuru-sempai 
and I are still chatting away, until... Suka-chan steps into the hall.

...and sees that both of us have just come from the bath.

...and puts two and two and two together and gets six.  

Or am I using the right vowel here?

***

Suka-chan is pacing the room, furious at me.  �TELL ME that nothing 
happened in the bath between you and Ikeda-sempai.�

It occurs to me that I could get Suka-chan off my back if I suggested 
that something HAD happened... but I�d still have to live with that 
- and him - for the next three years.  Not an appealing prospect.  
�Nothing happened in the bath between me and Mitsuru-sempai.�

He wheels on me.  �You�re *lying*!�  Well, so much for that.  I sit 
and think for a moment, ignoring Suka-chan�s rantings.  Then I stand 
up quickly, and lay a hand on his shoulder.

�Suka-chan... I�m trying to pass as a boy, remember?  If I were 
always taking baths by myself, some folks would get suspicious. 
So every now and again, I�ll take a bath with one of the sempais, 
just to throw the others off.  And you remember when you and Takeshi 
barged in on me... I was wearing a towel.  It�s not like I�m giving 
anyone a free show.  And as for the sempais, come on... they could 
have any girls around here they wanted.  It�s not like I�m the 
prettiest or the smartest they could have.  Besides, I�m more a 
little sister than a sex object... you could understand bathing with 
a little sister, couldn�t you?�

�I don�t have a little sister...�

I sigh.  �You know what I mean, Suka-chan.�

He seems almost mollified, but there�s one last question to field.  
He fixes me with a worried stare, and asks, tentatively, �Shun-chan? 
How do you... feel... about Mitsuru-sempai...?�

Best to play ignorant for the moment.  �What do you mean, Suka-chan?�

�I mean,� and he�s starting to color a little, �if he asked if you and he 
could... ever... you know... would you...?�

I realize what he�s implying, and fight my gorge down to where it 
could be confused with mild indignation.  �No!  What kind of... 
girl... do you take me for?  Mitsuru-sempai�s really nice, and 
handsome, too, but I couldn�t possibly...�

Suka-chan exhales heavily in relief.

***

It turns out the role of Princess Chelsea is so small I don�t even 
have to worry about lines.  All it consists of is wearing that white 
dress from drama class (how convenient!) and walking majestically 
down the red-carpeted stairs to meet my groom, the faithful squire 
Tino - Suka-chan.  This, I can handle...

If it weren�t for the wedding photo.  Suka-chan and I *had* posed 
in the traditional manner, eyes front, gazing at the camera with 
rapturous eyes, and Tochizawa had taken our picture.  But at soon 
as the flash had died down, Suka-chan swept me up in his arms and 
given me a passionate embrace before I knew what was happening. 
Most of the guys watching just gasped, a few were yelling 
encouragement to Suka-chan.

"All right, Hasukawa!  You go, boy!"

"Woo hoo!  Go for it, tiger!�

And while this was going on, Tochizawa took another picture.  

And *that�s* the one they�re using.  

I stare at the photo album, aghast.  Oh, Suka-chan looks dashing 
and romantic enough, in that white military uniform, holding that 
girl in his arms at a forty-five degree angle.

But she - or rather *I* - looks more than surprised.  There�s no 
small amount of fear in those wide-open eyes.  She�s in this one 
waaaay over her head.

Sumire�s voice breaks into my thoughts, concluding her narration 
for the film.  "And so they lived happily ever after..."

Happily ever after... my ass.

{fin septimus}