Chapter 1: Class Project

"Alright class! Listen up!" professor Misato Ochi said loudly. She looked smugly over her students with a sinister smile across her face. She looked a bit deranged and her class shifted in their seats uncomfortably, wondering what she was going to say.

"I organized a class project. We are going to perform a play" she said gleefully. There was a collective groan from her entire class and some students covered their faces with their hands. She smirked. "We are nearing the Tanabata, and there is going to be a Festival for two weeks straight from now, until July 7th. We have until then to perfect this play" she continued.

"But that's only about 2 weeks!" one of her students complained. The teacher grinned.

"What's the play about?" another student asked.

"It's about the Tanabata myth, of course," professor Ochi answered, "only this is going to be a tragedy" she added darkly. The students looked at each other.

Keigo, Ichigo Kurosaki's friend, leaned in close to him and whispered "Rumor has it her boyfriend broke up with her".

"Keigo Asano! I heard that!" the teacher barked. Keigo immediately fell silent, hanging his head.

"So anyways," she continued, glaring at Keigo who was fiddling with his pencil not looking at her, "I have all the characters picked out already. Chizuru, please do me the favor of passing out these scripts and lists of characters".

The bubbly, scarlet haired girl happily went through the entire class, peering into Orihime Inoue's blouse as she passed her the script. The class fell silent as they studied the papers and their prospective lines; leaving a few students looked relieved.

"I'm going to be the ferry man" Mizuiro Kojima said calmly, looking over the papers that were placed in front of him.

"Oh, great! I'm part of the special effects team!" another student said. The class began to talk animatedly about their role in the play. After a few minutes of looking over the scripts and characters, the class seemed to slowly warm up to the play. Orihime shyly approached Ichigo.

"Kurosaki-kun… what role did you get?" she asked, peering at him with her wide eyes.

"I'm playing the part of some guy named Kengyu" he answered shrugging. Orihime turned bright pink.

"Oh? Is that right? I'm playing the part of the emperor's daughter, Orihime" she said smiling shyly at him.

"And I'm the emperor" Chad said seriously behind them. After the excitement died down, the teacher sat at her desk.

"Like I said, this isn't going to be your happy-ending play. Read over your scripts carefully. I want you to memorize your lines by Friday. And make plans to be able to stay after school and Saturdays and Sundays from now until July 7th" she said happily. Again, the class groaned in unison.

Once school was finished, the class made their way to the theater room talking excitedly about the play.

"Ok, I need the students who are working with the lights to gather to my right. The special effects and props team, gather to the left. Professor Toshigi will be helping you guys with what you need to do. Please follow him" professor Ochi said. The two groups followed Professor Toshigi out of the theater room. Keigo took a deep breath and placed his hand on Ichigo's shoulder.

"It seems that fate is determined to keep me from my friends" he sighed dramatically before following his team. Ichigo shook his head and plopped down on one of the theater seats, clearly uninterested in the events taking place.

"Right, now this play, as you can see, doesn't require many actors. Its impact comes mainly from the special and visual effects. Basically, there are four main characters: The Emperor played by Chad, the princess, Orihime, who will be played by our very own Orihime, Kengyu played by Ichigo, and the ferry man, played by Mizuiro. The overview of the story goes like this," Ochi said, leaning against the edge of the stage and folding the script under her arm, "In the heavens, the Emperor had a daughter whom he loved very much. She was gifted in weaving and the emperor took great pride in the clothes that she made. But Orihime grew unhappier every day because she had no love life. Seeing his daughter so sad, the emperor arranged a marriage with Kengyu". Orihime turned pink at Ochi's last statement. Thinking about being married to Ichigo, even if just for a play, made her stomach feel butterflies and her heart race.

"The couple is so happy that Orihime begins to neglect her work" the teacher continued, "The emperor becomes angry and separates Kengyu and Orihime and allows them to see each other only once a year: On the seventh day of the seventh month. The ferry man carries the princess across the river so they can see each other but sometimes the weather does not permit it. This is what we will be focusing on. This tragedy where Kengyu and Orihime will not be able to see each other" the teacher smirked as she finished her overview. She slammed her script down and mumbled something about men being a pain in the ass.

"Sorry, Kurosaki, but you don't get to kiss the princess this time" Chizuru said happily as she passed by, carrying a large moon-shaped orb in to the next room. She smiled smugly at Ichigo as she closed the door.

"Alright then! Everyone take some time to memorize your first few lines and then we will practice" professor Ochi said, sitting down on one of the theater seats.

Ichigo and his friends were quiet for a few minutes, looking over their lines.

"Uh… professor? It looks like I don't have any lines till further in the story" Mizuiro said looking at his script.

"Oh that's right, Mizuiro, but I still need you here to practice" the professor said, looking over the script herself. "You can come sit next to me" she added and Mizuiro sat next to her, folding his script. It seemed Ochi was bent on making them all work, even if they didn't have to be there.

After a few more minutes, she stood up.

"Ok, Chad, Orihime, take your places on the stage. We are going to practice" she said, and the two students looked at each other. Following Orihime, Chad made his way on to the stage.