Anastasia Kaoruko Hanayagi/Bond Story

*"Anastasia" is the story of Anya, a girl who looks at her lost past without fear. Even after remembering that she was Princess Anastasia, she lived her present without hesitation. From "Anastasia."*

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

Piling Snow

***\*buzz\****

 **Junna:**(Oh, hey...a message from Isurugi-san?)

 **Junna:**("Sorry for messaging all of the sudden. Kaoruko told me to come to the rehearsal room, but I have been asked to help with shopping for Group B."...)

 **Junna:**("You are meeting with Kaoruko today for the "Strengthening Program", right? I'm sorry to ask, but could you tell her I can't go?")

 **Junna:**(I guess she couldn't get a hold of her? I'll just send a "Got it"... It's a bit early, but I'll get moving now.)

 **Junna:**...Though we are going to the rehearsal room really early. Kaoruko must really want to get into character for "Anastasia".

 **Junna:**Ahem... Student Number 25 of the Seisho Music Academy Actor Training Department 99th Class, Junna Hoshimi is ready to be―

***\*crash\*!!***

 **Junna:**What!? That sound just then...

 **Kaoruko:**Ngh...

 **Junna:**Ha-Hanayagi-san!?

 **Junna:**Did your foot catch on something as you fell!? You've made a huge mess of the props...

 **Kaoruko:**Wh-Why...

 **Junna:**Ah, you might have hit your head. Stay where you are! I'll call someone over, so just lie still!

 **Kaoruko:**Why you, Hoshimi-han!?!?

 **Junna:**Huh...

 **Junna:**Why... Are you acting right now!?

 **Kaoruko:**Yeah! I've trashed the room with props, had the speaker play that crashing sound, and fell in the middle of the room... And now Futaba-han rushes in, her face draining of color.

 **Kaoruko:**"What's wrong, Kaoruko!!" "Uh...who are you?" "Oh no, your memory!?"
"Losing you is a loss for this world! I'll take care of all of your needs for the rest of my life!!"

 **Kaoruko:**And I'll continue having her take care and watch over me until I get my memory back... Or at least that was the plan.

 **Junna:**That sounds like an absolutely ridiculous premeditated crime...

 **Kaoruko:**It was perfect until you came!

 **Junna:**So is this the reason why you wanted Isurugi-san to come?

 **Junna:**She wasn't able to come. Try looking at your phone.

 **Kaoruko:**For real!?

 **Kaoruko:**Ugh... Prioritizing shopping over me...

 **Junna:**She has always been a person who can't ignore someone in need, so these things happen sometimes.

 **Junna:**So, about this crime―rather, this etude, is it for diving into your role for "Anastasia" for the joint program?

 **Kaoruko:**Yeah, exactly! I'll be playing the role of Duchess Anastasia, a woman who lost her memory.

 **Kaoruko:**I heard from Mahiru-han the last time you did this role... Did you ask for a etude where you lost your memory?

 **Junna:**Yes, I did. But why―

 **Junna:****(Dima)**
"Why have you stopped in the middle of your acting? If you do those kind of things you'll never become a duchess, Anya!"

 **Kaoruko:**(Dima's lines...!)

 **Kaoruko:****(Anastasia)**
"I was just so nervous. An empty girl with no memories like me, playing someone...someone like Duchess Anastasia!"

 **Junna:****(Dima)**
"You can't afford to be so timid! We are holding a charity performance for the Empress who is searching for Anastasia..."

 **Junna:****(Dima)**
"You need to become Anastasia to the point where even the Empress will mistake you for the real thing!!"

 **Kaoruko:**\*sigh\*... You said it. All I wanted to do was deceive Anya and the Empress and get the bounty for discovering the Duchess.

 **Kaoruko:**The story of Dima, an unsuccessful playwright who had given up on his dreams, and Anya who is an amnesiac but is the real Anastasia.

 **Junna:**This version of "Anastasia" has a lot of original aspects that differ from the play or movie, and so this performance has a lot to offer.

 **Junna:**Let's give it our all for the joint program!

 **Kaoruko:**As always you are exhausting... Well, let's get through the joint program. Please work hard to learn from it!

 **Junna:**You as well!

 **Junna:**Well then, shall we go back to the etude? That is if Kaoruko Hanayagi has lost her memory...

 **Kaoruko:**I'm okay. I really just wanted to see Futaba-han's reaction!

 **Kaoruko:**Anyway, let's get into rehearsal. I already memorized my lines.

 **Junna:**Yeah... Though I do think there is a lot more to gain from that etude...

 **Kaoruko:**Heh heh, the tragedy of a girl who has lost her memories! The role of the unfortunate beauty known as Anastasia is absolutely perfect for me...!

 **Kaoruko:**Look at me now, Hoshimi-han! I'm going to give the committee that casted me such a graceful and captivating performance♪

 **Junna:**Unfortunate...beauty...?

 **Junna:**Yeah... I hope it goes well for you...

And Spring Is Here

 **Kaoruko:****(Anastasia)**
"I-I am not lost...!"

 **Kaoruko:****(Anastasia)**
"I'm Anastasia... I have nowhere else to return to. This is all I have."

 **Kaoruko:**(...Ugh, something isn't right. It's like my heart isn't in it, like I'm just reading the lines...)

 **Kaoruko:**(...No. It's something else. Something is missing.)

 **Kaoruko:**It's the costume! It's because I'm not wearing Anastasia's costume!!

 **Junna:**What are you shouting about...?

 **Kaoruko:**Hoshimi-han!!

 **Kaoruko:**What's the matter... You could have spoken up when you arrived...

 **Junna:**Hehe, I did call out to you. You were just so focused on your rehearsal that you didn't notice.

 **Junna:**...Wasn't that scene the final one with the Empress?

 **Kaoruko:**Yeah. Anya knows she is the actual Anastasia, and is wanting to live with the Empress...

 **Junna:**But the Empress feels that she is conflicted, and tells her to live her life out as Anya by Dima's side.

 **Kaoruko:**It's the highlight of the play!

 **Kaoruko:**So the Assignment this time around is to choose one scene and act it out, right? I wanted to choose a famous scene that would knock it out of the park with the organizers...

 **Junna:**And you haven't been able to fully become Anastasia, right?

 **Kaoruko:**Well...

 **Kaoruko:**It's just missing that final little something! Isn't it always at this point that I should be putting my costume on?

 **Kaoruko:**My costume not being on time is really putting a hamper on my ability to get into the scene...!!

 **Junna:**Oh, I see...

 **Junna:**...Hey, will you really be able to do this scene? There's a scene you could do in the second act where Anya is reminiscing about her past while sorrowfully dancing a waltz.

 **Kaoruko:**What are you saying...!? That I'm not good enough to pull off the final scene?

 **Junna:**What I'm saying is you don't understand the strength that Anastasia had.

 **Kaoruko:**Huh...?

 **Junna:**...That's right. Why do you think Anastasia―rather, Anya was looking at her past?

 **Kaoruko:**That's simple... I'm just nervous is all! I'm just sad to not know who I am...

 **Junna:**That is a part of her. But her sadness goes much deeper than that.

 **Junna:**She's seeking her past so she can live in the future.

 **Kaoruko:**Future...?

 **Junna:**Yes, the future... You didn't comprehend that, did you?

 **Junna:**Because you and I don't look back at our pasts, we don't understand the fear behind looking back.

 **Kaoruko:**Wait, I don't get what you are talking about. What do you mean fear...?

 **Junna:**We may seem like complete opposites, but we have quite a bit in common.

 **Junna:**You...don't think about the past, do you?

 **Kaoruko:**It's more constructive to look towards the future rather than cling to the past.

 **Junna:**Hmm. So because you are trying so hard to live without regrets, you don't consider the past to be so important.

 **Junna:**And that's why you don't get it. The fear of looking back into the past...

***\*rustle rustle\****

 **Junna:**Today, I brought this with me. What do you think of it?

 **Kaoruko:**...! That's a costume case... Is the costume for Anastasia already done!?

 **Junna:**They were saying that it would take time to resize, but it was finished earlier than expected.

 **Junna:**There wasn't enough thread that matched the dress, though there was some in the next town over... Ordering it would have taken time, so guess who went and got it for you.

 **Junna:**Guess who broke their promise to you, got on their motorcycle to grab it for you.

 **Junna:**She wasn't able to come. Try looking at your phone.

 **Kaoruko:**For real!?

 **Kaoruko:**Oh...!

 **Junna:**...It was Hanayagi-san. Forgetting your past and putting people who care about you off to the side are one and the same.

 **Kaoruko:**......!

 **Kaoruko:**(I thought she was just clinging to her forgotten past... That she was just a tragic girl.)

 **Kaoruko:**(But that's not it at all. While it would have been easier for her to live carefree in the present, she faced her past and responsibilities...)

 **Kaoruko:**She embraced her past so that she could live into the future...!

 **Junna:**Exactly. That's why she was looking for her past.

 **Junna:**Looking back is not a sign of weakness... Do you understand now?

 **Kaoruko:**....So I was just a tad off in my understanding of her character.

 **Kaoruko:**Anastasia is a really strong woman... Like us!

 **Junna:**Heh heh, I would say so. Like us!

 **Kaoruko:**\*sigh\* People like us shouldn't be comparing ourselves to Anastasia...

 **Junna:**Hmm... Should you be saying something like that? How about I help you put on your costume?

 **Kaoruko:**Fine! I get it!

 **Kaoruko:**I'll stop being so negative... I think I finally can become the greatest Anastasia.

 **Anastasia:**"Ahaha, why are you being so uptight Dima!? Is it really that odd for me to ruin my dress while chasing after you?"

 **Anastasia:**"If it is...then I'll just have to sell the dress. And with the money, you and I can start up our own troupe."

 **Anastasia:**"Hey, Dima, call my name out... I want to hear it from your voice."

 **Anastasia:**"For me to live as Anya...!!"

 **Kaoruko:**My partner for this assignment is Hoshimi-han... I'll take care of her.

 **Kaoruko:**Losing one's past, huh... I wouldn't think twice if I had no past at all, but... I'll take this change to look back at my past too.

 **Kaoruko:**First of all, I met Futaba-han! She's always only had eyes for me and satisfied my every whim from the beginning.

 **Kaoruko:**And then... Huh, Futaba-han is near...! Let's talk about this another time.