With a brief flash of the stage lights, a loud crack emitted from the stage. Instantly, the stage floor burst into dim, blue and red clouds that drifted quietly outwards towards the audience.
The stage lights spun up and down, casting beams of light first at the ceiling, then slowly crossing each other, and descending down to the stage floor, where a shadowy figure rose up on a platform. A deep voiced narrator introduced the performer to the audience, "You may have seen him in the movies or television, but never like this. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing J.P. Shibayama in his very special, first live performance."
Suddenly, the stage lights cast down upon the figure now standing in the middle of the dark stage and illuminated the figure, revealing a somewhat thin and muscular boy with auburn hair and warm, brown eyes. He was wearing a red bowtie, white vest, and black jacket and pants.
The young adult known as J.P. began to sweat as he looked out to the hundreds of faces sitting in the theatre seats. It was worlds away from shooting movies or commercials, where he had made his name in fame. Not only was it his first time doing a live performance, but it was also his first time doing a magic show, something he had always dreamed about doing since he was a kid.
"Uhm, hi..." J.P. smiled nervously, placing a hand behind his back as he broke out into a heavy sweat, his hundreds of lines memorized in the rehearsals suddenly vanishing in his memory bank, "I guess you all want to know what my first trick is, right?" he asked weakly.
J.P. mentally slapped himself. What about all the jokes and funny lines he had worked on to start the show with a bang to complement the special effects and voice-over announcer?
He decided he'd give the jokes a shot, trying to remember a good line to break the ice...
"So, uh, I could never get a girl when I was younger so... no, wait, sorry... I could never go on a... Actually, I had it right the first time, I could never get a girl to like me when I was younger because..."
J.P. began to shiver as he got silence and a few coughs, "...well, let's say there wasn't any reason..." He forgot the second part of the joke... and he had just fallen flat on his face.
He took a deep breath, wiped his face with a hankerchief, hoped the audience wouldn't see his shaking limbs, and prayed that all the tricks and magic would still work subconciously throughout his performance, regardless of his nervousness.
"Alright," J.P. smiled cheesily, rubbing his hands together, "So, let's start on those tricks, then, right?"
He recieved nothing more but cold silence.
J.P. decided to cut to the chase and perform one of his more flashier tricks, leaving the less impressive, introductory card tricks for later: he'd start off his repetoire with a bang, hopefully erasing the little fumble he made towards the beginning of the act from the audience's memories.
"So... for my first magic trick, I will require two volunteers," J.P. stated, while mysterious, dark clothed stage hands quickly set up his materials, rolling out and assembling a collapsible table behind him for later, placing an oblong box on top of it after they were finished. J.P., of course, couldn't pay attention to any of this as he had to focus his efforts towards the audience and pick some volunteers, "Let's see..." he contemplated, "You there, in the front row," he called, pointing to a brown haired boy in the front row. The stage lights soon revealed he was wearing a brightly colored red jacket over a yellow t-shirt and had a rather suprised and excited look on his face.
"And, uh..." J.P. faltered as he saw who he had randomly picked in the audience before shrugging and continuing, "You, in the far back row," he said, pointing to the farthest back, most dark, shady figure he could still discern from in the dark audience. The lights shone down and uncovered that his second victim looked rather indifferent to the fact that he had been chosen, and continued to glare with his dark eyes towards the stage with his arms crossed. He had dark hair styled in a ponytail, wore a bandana and blue clothing over a yellow t-shirt as well.
J.P.'s eyes slightly widened, his mouth agape when he realized the identities of his two volunteers; Takuya and Kouji! He remembered them somehow... yes, he remembered now. They must have been his friends from before he started his life of fame, "Come on up, Takuya and Kouji," he grinned, calling the two to the stage. Within minutes, the two boys had made their way to the stage. J.P. felt a little more enheartened now that somebody he actually knew was on stage.
"Now, I'm guessing both of you and the rest of the audience would like to know what exactly the first trick I will be performing is, right?" J.P. asked, laughing.
"Uhm, yeah," Takuya blinked, "You know, it might reassure us if you let us know right away whether you're going to cut us open or not, J.P."
The audience waited for Kouji's response for a while, but he just remained standing cool and silent, arms crossed, his eyes still glaring, except this time at the audience.
"Heh," J.P. grinned, "Ladies and gentlemen, for those who may not know, luck would have it that I selected two of my friends from the audience, and if there's one thing I can assure you of, it's that this was not planned or premeditated at all! How about that?"
That won a mild applause from the audience. It must have been a tough crowd that night...
"So, for my first trick, I will make one of you guys disappear!" J.P. cried, whipping out a slim, black wand from his pocket. It wasn't his speciality, and he knew for a fact he could have spent a bit more time practicing it, but he was firing up the audience's attention and enthusiasm, so he wanted to continue as strong as possible, even if it meant taking a risky chance.
First, he pointed the wand at Kouji, who slightly raised an eyebrow in interest, not seeming to care on a whole at all, then J.P. pointed it at Takuya, who held up his hands in defense and squeemed a little under pressure, "Who will it be? The audience will decide!" J.P. cried to his audience, before pointing the wooden wand to Kouji, then Takuya, "Kouji or Takuya? Who will it be?"
Less than a moment later, the audience all unanimously roared:
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