Rehearsal (An Ichika Nakano x Reader story)

Act 8

The water is great... But the situation is most unpleasant. Thank god this won't get leaked to the press. That would be quite the news. I wonder how Dad would react. Would he be angry? Sad? Disappointed? Huh... Maybe Proud? You chuckled at the thought. You remembered some stories you read about him when he was still a young punk. You always wondered what happened and how he became the man he is today. From a Sid Vicious to the Rockefeller of entertainment. Guess I could act similarly but it won't get me out of this. You soaked your body more for 10 minutes and decided to get out. It only hit you when you got out. You never brought up your bag. You had your damp towel with you and the sweat pants. You had to make do with them. The towel helped a little but your skin was still moist. Guess I have to go out like this. It seems like I just can't stop creating these situations. You looked into the mirror. Maybe I even enjoy it. Just a little. You took a deep breath and opened the door.

Walking out the door you immediately felt the five pairs of eyes glued on you. The Quints all had very different expressions. Itsuki brought the textbook closer to her face to hide behind it. You saw Yotsuba stare at you in amazement. Miku only had the tiniest hint of pink on her cheeks but still looked relatively angry. Nino like a bad program froze completely. You saw a small droplet of blood fall from her nose. The first quint Ichika looked most conflicted. She was a mixture of her four sisters but her face was different. It was red as crimson. Yotsuba's comment did not help the situation.

"WOAAAAAAAAAAAA! He's also an athlete, you did not mention that before! That body is very defined!" Yotsuba cried out. The shades of red in the room turned darker just a little.

"Yes, I think we can see that. No need to point out the obvious." Itsuki said from behind her book. Yotsuba did not stop.

"It must have been a lot of work! What's your plan? Tell me! Tell me!" You wanted to answer, but this situation was not the best.

"He's also an exhibitionist. Ichika do something about him." Miku gave an order still angry.

"I- uhh... aaaaa... Hee-hee--" Ichika tried to blatter out some kind of an answer but before she could say something intelligible Nino cut her off.

"Ichika. Don't." It was a reflex answer, she was somewhere far away in her mind.

"It seems like your sister broke. I'm terribly sorry that wasn't my intention. I just forgot my bag here when I fled the scene." You took out your gym t-shirt and the top part of a tracksuit. You didn't take a bath just to catch a cold immediately after coming out.

"I'm terribly sorry for this charade we had. Let's start this from the beginning, shall we?" Like a baron you raised your right arm in front of you.
"I am [Y/N] [L/N] currently a model and an actor. It's my pleasure." You bowed like in a theatre. "I'm here because him Ichika's..." You thought just a second before answering. This was an important moment.
"...Co-worker and currently her partner." You looked at Ichika, she was deep in thought. She had an interesting expression, one which you've been trying to crack for a long time. It felt like the piece of the puzzle was missing, the middle part of the donut. But what was it? You wondered. The now rebooted Nino brought you back into reality.

"Welcome to the Nakano Residence [Y/N]! You already met Ichika, the vexed one with the headphones is Miku, the athletic ribbon girl is Yotsuba, the studying girl with stars in her hair is Itsuki. Don't mention food near her." She tried to whisper that last part.

"HEY! I HEARD THAT! Don't make me look like some glutton!" She was now angrier than Miku. Nino paid no attention to her obviously, she had more pressing matters to attend to.

"And I am Nino, yours truly! The only one with a real sense of fashion. Just so you know I already knew your work well before this advert with Ichika was even planned. I started following your Instagram way back, before you came to Japan. " She surely loves to talk a lot, but at least she seems to know her trivia. She somehow managed to top my introduction in terms of theatrical value.