Charity Tsukasa Ebisu/Bond Story

*"Charity" isn't only about giving and being charitable. Seeking the light of the lost Moon, she runs to the wilderness in search of "A" who saved her. This time she will save them. From "Performance Festival" Play - Act 4.*

*(Part 1 and Part 2 of Arcana Arcadia Stage Girl bond stories are viewable in the Gallery under Arcana Arcadia - Intermission.)*

* Part 1
* Part 2
* Bond Level 15 Talk
* Bond Level 30 Talk

This Role Is Mine Part 1

 **Misora:**Shizuha-senpai! And Tsukasa-senpai and Lalafin-senpai!

 **Shizuha:**We have to do something about this.

 **Shizuha:**We have to find...our lost Dorothy.

 **Aruru:**......

 **Aruru:**Everyone...

 **Tsukasa:**I learned in the play that day that you can't stand on the stage by being kind.

 **Tsukasa:**Seal my memories with everyone inside my heart. The curtain rises to my own story!

 **Tsukasa:**Frontier School of Arts Tsukasa Ebisu—Alone on this path, to Frontier!

 **Tsukasa:**(I have to show them my "role" on this stage—)

 **Tsukasa:**(Right, Tendo-san?)

Several days after the second script reading...

 **Maya:**\*sigh\*

 **Maya:**Each layer of the batter is carefully baked... Beautiful cross-section, but not uniform...

 **Maya:**The irregular thickness changes the texture in your mouth and brings out a multilayered flavor.

 **Maya:**I didn't think there would still be baumkuchen I've never tasted in this world...

 **Maya:**Delicious... Remarkably so.

 **Tsukasa:**......

 **Tsukasa:**So this is how Tendo-san is normally.

 **Maya:**This baumkuchen has driven me crazy.

 **Tsukasa:**It's made by a lady who went all the way to the German town of Salzwedel to learn how to make it.

 **Maya:**Salzwedel...the place where baumkuchen was invented.

 **Maya:**Thank you for telling me about this wonderful place. You sure do know a lot of nice shops.

 **Tsukasa:**Don't worry about it. I wanted to thank you.

 **Tsukasa:**It's from "Charity".

 **Maya:**You shouldn't have.

 **Tsukasa:**Then I guess you don't want it anymore?

 **Maya:**That I didn't say.

 **Tsukasa:**Heh heh!

 **Tsukasa:**I was only able to play the "Charity" Arcana because you were there.

 **Tsukasa:**It was just before the script team got started on the first draft—the big meeting with the entire cast and staff where they explained this year's Performance Festival to us.

 **Tsukasa:**The theme being the Major Arcana of tarot cards—the characters are based off of the Arcana, weaving a story that surpasses time, creating a magnificent epic...

 **Tsukasa:**Using the 22 Arcana from Marseilles and Waite versions of tarot cards and 3 from the "Visconti-Sforza" version, "Faith", "Hope", and "Charity", making a total of 25 cards.

 **Tsukasa:**When they finished their explanation, the meeting dissolved. And on our way back—

 **Maya:**You chased after us. After the script team—Amemiya-san all the way to Seisho Music Academy.

 **Maya:**You said you wanted the three of you to play the 3 Arcana from the Visconti-Sforza tarot deck...

 **Tsukasa:**When I was in junior high, I'd often read the fortune-telling section of fashion magazines...

 **Tsukasa:**I've looked up tarot reading before but had never heard of the Visconti-Sforza deck.

 **Tsukasa:**But when they explained those Arcana to us—

 **Tsukasa:**It felt like I was struck by lightning. I just knew they had to be ours.

 **Tsukasa:**There's not much information or clues on these ancient Arcana. They are difficult roles we have to build from scratch.

 **Tsukasa:**That's why...

 **Tsukasa:**We're a school with no history or traditions...But we've got the recklessness needed to carve a path in this new wilderness. That's why these roles—

 **Tsukasa:**Yes, I felt it in my bones.

 **Tsukasa:**No...Only we can play these roles!

 **Tsukasa:**And then you—you spoke up.

 **Tsukasa:**You said Frontier who rushes through the wilderness would be able to pioneer this—that the roles may have a horizon.

 **Maya:**...Yes, I did say that.

 **Maya:**...Because I've experienced it before—that electrifying feeling when you meet the role.

 **Maya:**And then when we got the first draft of the Performance Festival script—you girls were cast for "Charity", "Faith", and "Hope".

 **Tsukasa:**It's all thanks to you, Tendo-san. Your words and persuasiveness put Amemiya-san and the script team into action.

 **Tsukasa:**Even though talking directly to the staff is against the rules and you could've been scolded...

 **Maya:**No, they were moved by your passion.

 **Tsukasa:**If you say so.

 **Maya:**You can show me your appreciation...on the stage.

 **Tsukasa:**You're right. We will prove through our roles as "Faith", "Hope", and "Charity" that the casting was not a mistake.

 **Maya:**That's the spirit. So...how are your preparations going for "Charity"?

 **Tsukasa:**...It's difficult. I still haven't gotten a grasp on it yet.

 **Tsukasa:**..."'Charity"—to be merciful and compassionate towards others. To help and support the weak who suffer. Works of charity...

 **Tsukasa:**I've done benefit performances for the nursery school before and have also participated in charity concerts, but I feel like I still don't have the full meaning of "charity" down...

 **Maya:**And your role as "Charity"?

 **Tsukasa:**Hm... My role as "Charity" in the Performance Festival is like a symbol of a mother with a strong spirit.

 **Tsukasa:**She gives up on herself after losing all she loves to a big war, but she regains her spirit with the light of the Moon and regains her past self that's filled with love and tears.

 **Tsukasa:**She then devotes herself to the world by looking after war orphans and survivors. She leads them down the path of goodness and saves as many as she can to make up for the loved ones she's lost...

 **Tsukasa:**The script team took feedback from the first script reading when they wrote the second draft of the script, right?

 **Maya:**Yes. Just like how Amemiya-san had previously written the role of "Groom Edward" for me...

 **Maya:**But this time, they're trying to go a step further than that for the Performance Festival. You could say it's a joint effort between the writers and the performers.

 **Tsukasa:**So you could say that "Charity"...should come from within me.

 **Maya:**Not really clicking...?

 **Tsukasa:**Maybe...

 **Tsukasa:**"I'll be by your side forever."

 **Tsukasa:**"I will show you the way—down a good path."

 **Tsukasa:**All of my lines just sound kinda...fake. All lip service with no weight to it...

 **Tsukasa:**I'm sure they saw through me. They could tell I still don't have the "Charity" Arcana in me.

 **Maya:**I see...hence the superficial lines.

 **Tsukasa:**I think they're testing me.

 **Maya:**Right... But when it comes to creating something—creating a role—it's common to get lost, experience setbacks, and take detours. On top of that, tarot cards is something that's been featured in countless creations in the past.

 **Maya:**Both the writers and the performers will have their own biases depending on the pieces of work that have influenced them individually.

 **Maya:**When it comes to preparing for any role, you need to go back and forth... With a role like "Charity" that has no guide, it's definitely not going to be smooth sailing.

 **Maya:**Let's see... Take this baumkuchen for example.

 **Tsukasa:**...Huh?

 **Maya:**If this baumkuchen were to be an Arcana, it has layers upon layers of information from all the past works...

 **Maya:**But your "Charity" has none of that. Meaning you're the empty hollow in the center!

 **Maya:**The one to bake the very first layer of this "Charity" baumkuchen...is you.

 **Tsukasa:**Tendo-san...

 **Tsukasa:**You sure do love baumkuchen.

 **Maya:**You flatter me—I'm honored.

 **Tsukasa:**The first layer of the baumkuchen, huh... This sounds trickier than I'd thought.

 **Tsukasa:**I really am being tested...the Stage Girl inside me is.

 **Maya:**But at the same time, it's proof of their trust in you. The script team believes you'll be able to pull off this role.

 **Tsukasa:**Tendo-san...

 **Maya:**I, too, share the same belief.

 **Tsukasa:**Huh?

 **Maya:**In "Arise All You Sons", you didn't agree with performing in front of sick children nor the role you were given.

 **Maya:**The children were the ones having the most difficult time and did their best despite of their suffering. So you felt it'd be irresponsible of you to tell them to "try harder"...

 **Maya:**Your ability to empathize and the sense of unity with your role during the performance—those are exceptional skills of yours.

 **Tsukasa:**I'm not so sure...

 **Maya:**I am sure. Because Kiryuin-sensei...she saw through us.

 **Maya:**"You two must think you're so good, right?"... That's what she told me because when it came to acting, all I knew how to use was my technique.

 **Tsukasa:**I was surprised by that.

 **Maya:**Line of sight, power in the eyes, way to break eye contact... My expressive skills are a product of the experience I've gained.

 **Maya:**But...they're all just technical skills. At the time, when I was practicing for the role I was given—"Sachi Honjo" wasn't my role.

 **Maya:**However...you strongly empathized with "Sachi Honjo". Kiryuin-sensei saw that and added lines.

 **Maya:**"I'm able to stand here today because of my friends who worked hard with me and supported me."

 **Maya:**"Neither you, nor I, are alone!" ...Those lines.

 **Maya:**At the time, "Sachi Honjo" belonged to you. You were the one who was the closest to her "spirit".

 **Tsukasa:**That's just... It's thanks to Yachiyo-san and everyone.

 **Maya:**You're too humble. As long as you feel the role belongs to you—as long as you have that, your preparations for "Charity" will go just fine.

 **Tsukasa:**......

 **Tsukasa:**Neither you, nor I, are alone... That's not something I can say anymore.

 **Maya:**Ebisu-san?

 **Tsukasa:**You see, I...No, the five of us in Frontier...

 **Tsukasa:**We probably won't be able to make it to the next script reading.

 **Maya:**......!

 **Tsukasa:**There's a problem we must get past first.

 **Tsukasa:**If we don't, we can't move forward. There are rough seas we must surpass—

 **Maya:**...You mean Aruru Otsuki-san.

 **Tsukasa:**......!

This Role Is Mine Part 2

 **Tsukasa:**...Yes. So you knew.

 **Maya:**Things seemed a little off at the script reading the other day.

 **Tsukasa:**......

 **Tsukasa:**The Performance Festival...

 **Maya:**Hm?

 **Tsukasa:**The stage we're trying to stand on is the ultimate stage in student drama performance, right?

 **Tsukasa:**My family is strict and I had never watched a stage play before... The me from a few years ago would never have imagined being able to stand on a stage like that.

 **Tsukasa:**But that stage is like a battlefield... If you want to survive...you can't be holding hands with everyone else. Every one of us must release a brilliance strong enough to take the role of the lead.

 **Tsukasa:**...I have to become strong—as an individual Stage Girl who has set out on her own journey, away from her supportive family.

 **Maya:**......

 **Tsukasa:**Aruru was the one who made us into Stage Girls...That's why we have to be able to stand on our own stages with our own strength, without relying on her.

 **Tsukasa:**But I didn't think it would end up hurting her like this...

 **Tsukasa:**I thought it was the best course of action...but it was carried out in the worst way and ended up hurting her.

 **Tsukasa:**...I have to fix this.

 **Tsukasa:**I have to bring Aruru back to the stage. She was the one who made us into Stage Girls, so this time it's our turn to bring her back to the stage.

 **Tsukasa:**But what can I do? What is the best way to go about it...

 **Maya:**That uncertainty of yours might have been caused by your "Charity".

 **Tsukasa:**...! Is that...so...

 **Maya:**How about we give it a try? The "Hoshiyuki Method".

 **Tsukasa:**"Hoshiyuki"...? It sounds like the name of a musical play troupe. And what method...?

 **Maya:**It'll be quite a rough and drastic remedy, but...it could help you out with your role. A Stage Girl's hesitation can only be resolved on stage.

 **Tsukasa:**Drastic remedy...on stage...?

 **Maya:**Would you like to try?

 **Tsukasa:**...Yes.

 **Tsukasa:**...I decided I will find my own stage. I decided that we're disbanding the "Wild Pirates".

 **Tsukasa:**I will move forward. I will find my own role on my own stage!

 **Maya:**Very well...

 **Maya:****("World")**
"Good! That's the spirit—!"

 **Maya:****("World")**
"Humans saving one another in this 'world' is but a ludicrous notion."

 **Maya:****("World")**
"You will do well to realize that, 'Charity'!"

 **Tsukasa:**What...!? "World"!? "Charity"!?

 **Tsukasa:**Wait...don't tell me...! This is the "Hoshiyuki Method"!?

 **Tsukasa:**You're doing this now!? We're still inside the shop!

 **Maya:****("World")**
"Only God can save mankind... Hmph, that High Priestess does have a point."

 **Maya:****("World")**
"Man cannot save another man, 'Charity'. For humans are creatures that will come to an end."

 **Tsukasa:**...!

 **Maya:****("World")**
"Even if you think you understand the other and know them. Even if you think you've saved them and had intended to save them."

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"T-That's not true! I—!"

 **Maya:****("World")**
"Man can save no one. Man can only heal himself. Those who are weak and cannot save themselves will only be eliminated."

 **Maya:****("World")**
"...Charity, affection, giving—do you know what they bring?"

 **Maya:****("World")**
"Dependence and corruption...and then despair."

 **Maya:****("World")**
"Your charity...all it does is spread despair to those who are to die. You are far too naive, distorted, and self-satisfied."

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"...Self-satisfied!? You're wrong!"

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"Y-You... Just what do you know!?"

 **Maya:****("World")**
"I know..."

 **Maya:****("World")**
"The world is mine! Because I am the world!"

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"...!"

 **Maya:****("World")**
"Oh 'Charity'... What you need is a sword."

 **Maya:****("World")**
"Put an end to those who are weak with this sword. It is the nature of this world—survival of the fittest."

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"...!"

 **Maya:****("World")**
"That is the good this world needs... It is what 'charity' is."

 **Tsukasa:**Ngh...

 **Tsukasa:**(These sharp words are being hurled at me one after another in this etude... And...I have nothing...to say back in return...)

 **Tsukasa:**(Why...!? Why can't I say anything back...?)

 **Tsukasa:**(...Because it doesn't...exist within me...? Because I don't have my 'Charity'...)

 **Tsukasa:**(Because the center of the baumkuchen...is empty...?)

***\*chatter\****

 **Maya:**......

 **Tsukasa:**(No...that's not it, that's wrong!)

 **Tsukasa:**(This isn't what my "Charity" should be! My intuition from that day... How I felt when I wanted to play "Charity" is real!)

 **Tsukasa:**(I will find...the worth behind "Charity"! I will grasp the meaning behind playing this role!)

 **Tsukasa:**(That's right... I said it that day. To this person right in front of me! To Maya Tendo!)

 **Tsukasa:**("It's not about whether we can or can not. I believe in us. I believe that we can do it." I said that!)

 **Tsukasa:**(Yes...I believe in myself. The one who Aruru made into a Stage Girl!)

 **Tsukasa:**(My role isn't empty! I won't let her invalidate me!)

 **Tsukasa:**"'Charity'... This role—is mine!)

 **Tsukasa:**\*inhale\*

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"Y-Yes, it's true... Humans may be pitiful creatures that will come to an end."

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"You're right, World'. After all, we are arrogant, greedy, and selfish. Affection and charity is simply the peak of our self-satisfaction!"

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"But...affection and charity itself isn't the end goal."

 **Maya:****("World")**
"What?"

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"I continue to practice charity for something even greater in the future."

 **Maya:****("World")**
"Something greater?"

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"Yes. What exists beyond my 'Charity'—"

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"—Independence. Yes, independence!"

 **Maya:****("World")**
"Independence...!?"

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"Yes! Without depending on anyone—without relying on anyone!"

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"They may be weak now and cannot stand by themselves... But one day, they'll be able to stand up on our own two feet and walk down their own path!"

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"I will help them become independent, so they can stand up against termination and the unknown—I will help all humans!"

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"But I won't allow for dependence. We do not have the luxury of time. And corruption is simply out of the question!"

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"I will wrangle them with affection and strike them with love. I will make them stand with arrogance, greed, and selfishness!"

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"I will make them into souls that will never forget, even in the roughest seas and the most deserted wilderness! So they can push through the world, carry through, and walk down a new horizon!"

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"And then the independent humans who have stood up—will make their own independent nations! And we will change you—we will redraw the world map!"

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"Independence! You, be independent!!"

 **Maya:****("World")**
"W-What?! All humans into their own independent nations!?"

 **Maya:****("World")**
"Then what will happen... If there are no more weak humans who cannot stand on their own, you will no longer have anyone to give to!"

 **Maya:****("World")**
"You—What will you do as 'Charity'!? What will be your reason for existing!?"

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"That is when I will disappear together with you, 'World'."

 **Maya:****("World")**
"...!?"

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"When all humans are independent is when my duty is finished. You will be redrawn with their independent nations. And I will willingly give up my flesh and blood for that."

 **Maya:****("World")**
"You are willing to be erased...in order to give... This is 'Charity' you say!? I have never...heard of such 'Charity'!"

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"Your world is surprisingly small. In which case, we simply need to add to it! I shall be the foundation! That is my 'Charity'!"

 **Tsukasa:****("Charity")**
"This is—this is my role!"

 **Maya:****("World")**
"Pfft...Very well!!"

 **Maya:**Phew... Looks like you found it.

 **Tsukasa:**\*huff\*... \*huff\*... Huh?

 **Maya:**Only you can play this role... Your own "Charity".

 **Tsukasa:**...!

 **Maya:**Everyone, she has found her own "Charity"... Please give her a warm round of applause—!

***......***

 **Maya:**...Oh?

**Clerk:**Umm, excuse me...

 **Maya:**Yes?

**Clerk:**You are bothering the other customers, so...

 **Maya:**......

 **Maya:**...Why were we kicked out?

 **Tsukasa:**...It's no surprise when you jump into an improv in the middle of a shop.

 **Maya:**That's strange... I heard they got thunderous applause in the mall though...

 **Tsukasa:**What? ...Hey, about that "Hoshiyuki Method"...

 **Maya:**I heard a lot of people in the mall were watching when Yukishiro-san and Hoshimi-san started a random etude while holding cups of hot chocolate.

 **Tsukasa:**What?

 **Maya:**They also had quite the realistic etude... The people said they could actually see the "Emperor" and "High Priestess".

 **Tsukasa:**Don't tell me... You called it the "Hoshiyuki Method" because of Hoshimi-san and Yukishiro-san's etude!?

 **Maya:**Correct. I named it.

 **Tsukasa:**\*sigh\* ...Oh! That's why Hoshimi-san's "High Priestess" did a 180 in the second script reading...!

 **Maya:**Exactly. You seemed like you were having trouble with your role, that's why I also wanted to give it a try.

 **Tsukasa:**You were just curious yourself! Aw man, that was my first time going to that shop. I'm so embarrassed! We're never going back!

 **Maya:**That's a shame... They had such delicious baumkuchen.

 **Tsukasa:**But... I suppose it's all right. I was able to find it.

 **Tsukasa:**The center of the baumkuchen... My "Charity".

 **Maya:**Heh heh...

 **Maya:**"Independence! You, be independent"...

 **Maya:**That was a brilliant strike that went right through "World".

 **Tsukasa:**I was surprised myself. I never thought I'd say something like that.

 **Maya:**That was probably the "Charity" within you shouting. You don't give while looking down on others—neither do you draw close and guide them down the right path with affection.

 **Maya:**You clash, strike, and selfishly make them stand. A brand new "Charity" that only you can give.

 **Maya:**I want to see it...and then I want to keep on performing—with your "Charity".

 **Tsukasa:**Tendo-san...

 **Tsukasa:**Me too. I also wish to keep on performing with your "World".

 **Tsukasa:**Oh...that's right.

 **Maya:**...?

 **Tsukasa:**I want to see. The "Moon"... I want to see Aruru's "Moon" Arcana...

 **Tsukasa:**I'm sure that role is one that only Aruru can pull off. That's why I want to see and perform together with her.

 **Tsukasa:**...On the stage.

 **Maya:**Heh heh... Looks like the "Hoshiyuki Method" worked. Having a huge fight in the middle of that wonderful shop... You're also a wonderful Stage Girl...or should I say, stage-crazy.

 **Tsukasa:**What!? You're the one who forced me into it!

 **Tsukasa:**...But...I can't help but feel happy about being called a stage-crazy. I'm so pleased.

 **Tsukasa:**Stage-crazy to me...is the best title.

 **Maya:**Is that so? Then as a way to bestow that honor, let's go have some tea. Also as a thank you for the baumkuchen. To the battlefield, down to the wilderness—to your friends.

 **Tsukasa:**Tendo-san... Thank you. I'd love that!

 **Tsukasa:**(I'll show you...Tendo-san. This role belongs to me.)

 **Tsukasa:**(I will throw all of myself at Aruru—!)

 **Tsukasa:**I don't think I'd have been able to figure out my role as "Charity" by myself. I'm so grateful for Tendo-san.

 **Tsukasa:**When I hear "charity", I think of something that's given to the poor and performed by the rich... Until I played the role that is.

 **Tsukasa:**But drawing close to those who cannot stand and supporting them until they can... My role started to feel alive once I gained that image of "Charity".

 **Tsukasa:**Affection and charity is just another means for self-satisfaction...in which case, I'll bring an intensity that can save even love! That is the "Charity" I've come to.