WHEREFORE ART THOU RYUUNOSUKE?

a story written by

DELICIOUS GEARS

"Romeo... Oh Romeo... Wherefore art thou, Romeo?"

Ryuunosuke knelt beside the bed that Shinobu was kneeling on, in the place of a balcony for Juliet to look out from. It was slightly uncomfortable, but she needed to keep low, as she was supposed to be Romeo at that moment. So Ryuunosuke watched Shinobu quietly, peeking her head over the endboard as she continued her soliloquy.

"To deny thy father, and refuse thy name," Shinobu continued. "Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet." She was silent for a moment, gazing out into space. Then she glanced at Ryuunosuke. "Hath thou forgotten thy lines again, Romeo?"

"You're really good at this," Ryuunosuke replied, still staring up at Shinobu in awe.

Shinobu groaned, and flopped back in the bed. "You're supposed to say 'shall I hear more, or should I speak at this?' It's in the book!" She stretched out her legs from under her, trying to work some feeling back into her legs.

"Why should I?" Ryuunosuke asked. "If I said anything, you would've noticed that I'm there! I'm supposed to be spying on you, remember?"

Shinobu turned around to face Ryuunosuke. "I'm not supposed to notice you yet! Not until the script says so! You're supposed to be speaking to yourself, until the script says you can." When Ryuunosuke opened her mouth to protest, she pressed her fingers against Ryuunosuke's mouth. "Don't argue. This is supposed to be classic literature we're doing right here."

Ryuunosuke moved her mouth away from Shinobu's fingers. "I didn't think that you would have an interest in classic literature..." She grabbed the script from the bed, and started flicking through it, to find the spot Shinobu had left off.

Of course, both girls knew that the whole reason that they were rehearsing wasn't because of the appreciation of classic literature. In actual fact, it was because Class 2-4 had been called upon by Tomobiki High's Drama Club for their production of Romeo and Juliet. This was mostly because their rivals in Tomobiki High's Amateur Dramatics Society had already taken all of the more seasoned actors for their production of Tristan and Isolde.

But the Drama Club managed to get the one thing that they believed could turn their production's fortunes around. That one thing was, of course, Shutarou Mendou. He was snapped up to play Romeo, of course, with most of the other members of the Drama Club filling in for the rest of the roles.

All of the roles, that is, with the exception of Juliet. With the days quickly counting down until opening night, the Drama Club was forced to resort to deciding the role via lottery. And Shinobu was the girl who drew the lucky ball.

The only problem was, however, Shinobu didn't know Romeo and Juliet. She knew Japanese poetry and literature of course. She could tell her Mishima from her Murasaki from her Miyazawa from her Murakami. But Tomobiki's curriculum when it came to foreign literature was decidedly lacking.

As a result, Shinobu had been spending the past week trying to memorise the entire play, line by line. It led to some embarrassing incidents where Shinobu accidentally responded to somebody as Juliet rather than as Shinobu. But by the time that Ryuunosuke sat with Shinobu in her room to rehearse the balcony scene, she didn't even need the script. She just left it on the bed, so Ryuunosuke could help memorise her lines.

Ryuunosuke, on the other hand, had no real role in the play, and that was just how she liked it. And this was despite her father's constant despairing that she would make a better Romeo than Mendou would. But then, of course, her father was partly the reason why she didn't want anything to do with the whole palaver in the first place. But when Shinobu pleaded with her to help her rehearse the balcony scene, suddenly Ryuunosuke couldn't find any of her usual objections.

Shinobu knelt on the bed again, assuming the mask of the pining Juliet, while her temporary Romeo returned to her position below, gazing up at her. "Okay, let's do this again. From the top." And once again, she began to speak. "Romeo... Oh Romeo... Wherefore art thou, Romeo?"

"Right here, babe!"

Shinobu nearly topped off the end of the bed, only saved by Ryuunosuke quickly leaning up and catching her before she could lose her balance. Both girls glared at Ataru, who cackled as he pushed his way past the bedroom door. In his hands dangled bags of food from the local 7-Eleven, mostly onigiri and breads, with bottles of lemon soda and barley tea. And following behind him as ever, was his ever faithful Lum.

"You are not funny," Shinobu said angrily, as she righted herself again. "Not funny in the slightest."

"Hey, I'm here to give you my support, alright?" Ataru sat down against Shinobu's bookcase. "What kind of ex-boyfriend would I be if I didn't give my ex-girlfriend some motivation?" He pulled out the bottled drinks from his bag, before spreading the other contents across the floor in front of him.

"How did you even get in here, anyway?" Ryuunosuke asked, still hanging on to Shinobu. "I thought Shinobu's mom and dad said you weren't welcome here anymore..."

Lum just raised her hand. "That's not exactly true, Ryuunosuke. Darling isn't welcome here by himself." She picked up a bag of habanero potato snacks. "If I'm here to keep an eye on him, and if Shinobu's willing to let him in here, well..." She looked up at Ryuunosuke again. "Have you been rehearsing for long, then?"

"Just the balcony scene," Ryuunosuke said quietly. "Shinobu's been telling me that it's supposed to be such an important scene that she has to get down just right." She looked up at Shinobu. "I guess that's why I'm stuck here playing Romeo for her."

"Well, even though you don't have a head for theatre," Shinobu said, "I think you make a good Romeo." She slid off the bed, and poured herself a mug of barley tea. "At least you have a way of getting into the role. It's not like anyone else in our class could."

"Maybe it's because the most eligible men in our school are Darling, Mendou and Ryuunosuke-kun," Lum said idly. "The Drama Club did say it was really hard filling in most of the male parts. Most boys here couldn't act, and those that could..."

Ryuunosuke scowled at Lum darkly. "I ain't a man! So I don't get why everyone thinks I'm eligible!" She reached out and grabbed a curry bread from in front of Ataru, and tore the plastic wrapping with her teeth.

"I think what Lum is getting at," Ataru said quickly, hands up in a gesture of placation, "is that between you and Mendou, you would probably take the role of Romeo in a walk." He looked over at Shinobu for a moment, a grin cracking his face. "Hell, I'd probably think that you and Romeo were made for each other."

Shinobu blushed deeply, and quickly flicked through her script. "Well, my Romeo, shall we continue? Act 1, Scene 5, Page 5." And then she paused, her face growing redder. She handed the script over to Ryuunosuke, her thumb over the marked page.

Ryuunosuke blinked in surprise. She looked down at the page that Shinobu held open. "Ain't this the scene where..." She swallowed hard, glancing sideways at Ataru and Lum. "Wait, seriously? In front of them?" Within seconds, she was growing as red as Shinobu.

Shinobu groaned, her blush deepening. "Look, let's just get on with it, okay." She ignored Ataru's incredibly salacious expression, and turned her back to Ryuunosuke. "You start first, Romeo." A couple of deep cleansing breaths later, Shinobu was gone, and Juliet was in her place.

A hand reached out and grabbed Juliet's wrist gently, just enough that she could probably break free if she tried. But behind her, a voice called to her. "If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this..." She turned around to see Romeo, gentle and reverent, standing close to her.

Romeo clasped Juliet's hand in hers by the fingers, raising them up. "My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss." But Romeo doesn't kiss her fingers, not yet.

Juliet easily pulled her fingers away from Romeo's grip. "Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much. Which mannerly devotion shows in this." She pressed her hand against Romeo's, palm to palm. "For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."

"That is a pretty lame way to kiss," Ataru said, while munching on some potato chips. "What kind of pleasure is there in just playing pattycake?"

Juliet glared at Ataru from around Romeo, her face starting to go red again. She cleared her throat, urging Romeo's reply.

Romeo just heaved a sigh before she asked, "Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?" She gazed into Juliet's eyes as she brought forth her question.

Juliet quickly averted her eyes, unable to meet Romeo's gaze. "Ay, pilgrim," she said, her voice going high and squeaky for just a moment. She grit her teeth and tried to resolve herself before continuing. "Lips that they must use in prayer."

"O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do," Romeo replied, subtly grinning at Juliet. "They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair."

Juliet raised her eyes up to meet Romeo's gaze once again, her dark eyes wide with anticipation. "Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake." She stepped forward as she spoke, closer to Romeo.

Romeo's smile only got bigger. "Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take."

Romeo pulled Juliet closer, arm around her waist, holding her in so she could press her lips lightly to Juliet's lips. Their kiss was light, but longer than what would be called chaste. But for Romeo and Juliet, it was a kiss that was worthy for a saint.

Romeo was smiling when Juliet pulled back from her. "Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged."

Juliet blushed deeply, reaching up to cup Romeo's cheek gently. "Then have my lips the sin that they have took." She gazed into Romeo's eyes again for a second, before letting them shut again.

"Sin from thy lips?" Romeo asked, a hint of amusement in her voice. O trespass sweetly urged. Give me my sin again?" And then she leaned in once again to take the sin from Juliet's lips.

Ataru and Lum gaped at Ryuunosuke and Shinobu, now kissing each other more deeply in the middle of Shinobu's bedroom. They both exchanged glances for a moment, before Ataru quickly went over to the bedroom door and closed it behind him.

After a long moment, Ryuunosuke pulled her lips from Shinobu's. "Juliet… My Juliet…" There was a dreamy look in her eyes, as she gazed down at Shinobu.

Shinobu gave Ryuunosuke a funny look, but leaned in to gently peck at her lips. "What is it, my Romeo…?"

Ryuunosuke blinked, as reality faded in. "Uh, that's not what I meant," she stuttered out. "I mean…" But any attempts at explanation was suddenly stopped by a pair of fingers pressed against her lips.

"It's okay," Shinobu said. "We've got a couple more weeks to rehearse, you know."

Ryuunosuke stared at Shinobu, dead silent. Then she smiled, letting her eyes close.

"Good enough for me."

the end

NOTES:

I don't really have much explanation for this, other than I wanted more RyuuShino and I didn't have any money for commissions. And mostly because I think I need to do something about the state of UY fanfic, but that's a completely different issue. I think this is just me thinking of the most cliche teenage romantic situation, and just running with it with Ryuunosuke and Shinobu, because they deserve a cheesy Romeo and Juliet rehearsal story.

And that's why I wrote this.