The stage — a magical place where anyone's dreams could take form. No matter how grand, how impossible they seemed, just about anyone could be a star.
Anyone, Miyamasuzaka Girls' Academy's introductory pamphlet had read. It sounded like nothing more than a pretty lie to lure new students in, yet the more she trained, the more Kohane found herself believing in it.
Dance, sing, battle for brilliance — the mantra of a Stage Girl, embedded into their very being; their hearts beat for the stage, for its very center, Position Zero.
They were the very words that led her to this theatre.
"Then, let us commence the final day of auditions..." From the wings, a deep voice boomed; The Giraffe stared down at the two onstage with a neutral expression, observing their mannerisms with great interest. "...For this Revue of Awakening."
A shaky exhale broke through the cold silence of the empty theater. Then, a timid voice.
"I love the stage, more than anything. It's given me a voice, the courage to sing..."
With a shaking grip on her sword, Kohane stepped forward into the spotlight, meeting your gaze up-close. You, class 2-A's representative. You, who seemed built for the stage, destined to play the lead role, cut from the same cloth as the stars that adorned the night sky.
You, who she so desperately wished to surpass, whose light had dulled out of nowhere. Just what had happened to you? 2-A's reliable class rep, her star?
...The stage, a place that left one broken, suffocated by the bitter taste of failure.
"Yet... I can't continue to stand on stage. Not without you!" Sword unsheathed, Kohane held it upright, close to her chest. "Class 2-A, Kohane Azusawa! I'll make you understand my true emotions…!"