| Izumi | (I still can't believe it… Dad is safe. Our conversation yesterday feels like a dream.) |
| (I do want to look for the right timing and at least tell everyone in the troupe that Dad is alive and well, given that they're all worried…) |
| Tenma | There's no way we can do that! |
| Sakuya | Ahaha. It's difficult, right? Then, the next one is--. |
| Izumi | ? |
| (I heard some voices from the practice room…) |
| |
| Sakuya | "We're done for! If the meteorite crashes, this whole area will blow off!" |
| "You can do something about it with your power, can't you? Save us!" |
| Tenma | "Right, with my superpower--." |
| "On second thought, this won't work out! There's nothing we can do with a power that can only draw cardboard boxes!" |
| "It's only useful for separating trash…!" |
| Sakuya | Pfft, ahaha! I can't believe you chose that as your trivial superpower… |
| Tenma | *pants* *pants*... |
| Sakuya | --Oh, look at the time. |
| Tenma | Let's stop here for today. |
| Izumi | Are you two practicing together? That's rare. |
| Tenma | My body has already gotten used to performing comedy with Summer Troupe's members. I figured I can learn about the tempo difference if I practice with Sakuya. |
| Sakuya | It's special training for his upcoming drama shoot! |
| Izumi | I see. You seem to be pumped up. |
| (It's true that the Summer Troupe members are always in sync even when ad libbing and changing the lines daily. Performing a slightly varied pattern may be helpful.) |
| Sakuya | I also got an offer to perform with a troupe that's good at comedy. This is perfect timing. |
| Tenma | If I recall, it's a pretty big and popular troupe. |
| Izumi | This is your chance, Sakuya-kun. |
| Sakuya | Yes. Both my name and my affiliated troupe will be credited, so I'll do my best to promote the troupe! |
| I'm thinking of focusing on basic training while asking for some advice from Tasuku-san and Tsumugi-san. |
| Izumi | (Sakuya-kun has also been steadily gaining experience as an actor outside the troupe. He truly has become reliable.) |
| By the way, what kind of practice are you guys doing? |
| Sakuya | Both of us are improvising a theme and acting accordingly. |
| Tenma | In my upcoming drama, there's a series of jokes in which my character, a rookie detective, is being put on the spot and teased by the veteran detective. |
| Izumi | (I see. That explains why they're doing that kind of practice…) |
| Tenma | The director, who is famous for his comedy works, said he wanted to do an improvisation on that scene. |
| A pre-planned version has apparently been prepared, but I asked the director to let me do an improvisation too. |
| Sakuya | I'm sure you'll be fine, Tenma-kun. You're already used to throwing in ad libs, after all. |
| Tenma | Yeah--oh hey, Sakuya, isn't it almost time for your shift? |
| Sakuya | Ah!! I need to hurry--! |
| Izumi | Sorry, I ended up keeping you back. |
| Tenma | Shall I have Igawa take you there by car? |
| Sakuya | No, it's fine. The Veludo Way daycare is close by. |
| Izumi | You're also working at a daycare? |
| Sakuya | I was told about the place by an audience member. Parents whose jobs are related to theater usually leave their children there. |
| Izumi | Oh, okay. Good luck on your job! |
| Tenma | Thanks for helping me out. |
| Sakuya | I'm off! |
| |
| Hiro | Good morning. |
| Igawa | G-Good morning, Hyuga-san! |
| Tenma | Good morning. I'm Tenma Sumeragi. I look forward to working with you today. |
| Igawa | I'm his manager, Igawa. |
| Hiro | Yep, I look forward to it too. |
| Tenma-kun, you're the current Summer Troupe leader at MANKAI Company, right? |
| Tenma | (So Hiro-san knows about this too, huh.) |
| I am. |
| Hiro | Haha, I won't lose to you during the comedy scene shooting. |
| Oh, right--almost forgot. |
| Tenma | ? |
| Hiro | You previously appeared as a guest rider on the rider series, right? |
| Tenma | U-Umm, yeah. |
| Hiro | I was kinda surprised, you see. That series has a lot of unknown young actors. |
| Igawa | He was actually recommended by the producer whom he had worked with before! |
| Hiro | --I see. |
| Igawa | If I remember correctly, Hyuga-san appeared on the old series, right? |
| Tenma | Is that so? |
| Hiro | Yea. I had always dreamed of appearing on hero shows since childhood. But unlike Tenma-kun, I got in through an audition. |
| Hey, did you bring the signature board[1] with you? |
| Manager | Yes. |
| Hiro | The truth is, my son became your fan after watching the episode you were in. Can you sign this for me? |
| Tenma | My pleasure. |
| --and done. Here we go. |
| Hiro | Thanks. |
| ...Let me tell you this, I want to be the coolest papa in the world for my beloved son. |
| I don't plan on losing to you at all, both as the former Summer Troupe leader and as a senior rider. |
| Sorry, but I'm gonna go all out to deliver a performance that will overshadow you. |
| Tenma | --. |
| |
| Hiro | "I've already told you a million times. When I say stake-out, I mean that. Mackerel sushi." |
| Tenma | "Mackerel sushi!? Seriously!?" |
| Hiro | "Hurry up and bring it to me." |
| Tenma | "U-Understood! I mean, where can I buy it?" |
| Hiro | "Just make it, just make it." |
| Tenma | "Sprinkle the mackerel with salt, and then--Hey, there's no need to do this now, is there!?" |
| Director | Cut! It's good, but I think your movement is too big. |
| Tenma | My apologies--Can we retake this scene? |
| Hiro | "I've already told you a million times. When I say stakeout, I mean that. Chicken rice." |
| Tenma | "Chi-Chicken rice!? Isn't that more difficult than omelette rice!?" |
| |
| Director | Cut! |
| Hmm, it's actually funny, but I feel like you prioritized what you wanted to do so the characterization was off. |
| Listen, I know excessively breaking characters is acceptable on the stage, but if you do it in the opening of a two-hour drama, you're going to ruin the character. |
| Tenma | I apologize… |
| Director | Shall we take a little break? |
| Tenma | … |
 |
| Hiro | ...What do you really think when you watch your own acting? |
| Tenma | ...It's getting nowhere. I'm sorry for causing you trouble. |
| Hiro | Here I was looking forward to having a comic dialogue with a member of my former home. |
| Tenma | --. |
| |
| Director | Alright, let's go with the pre-planned script this time. |
| Tenma | Huh? |
| Staff | We're going with that, then--. |
| Tenma | I'm begging you! Please let me do it one more time! |
| Hiro | We don't have all the time in the world for the shoot. You're a professional, aren't you? Move on. |
| Tenma | --. |
| Director | You still have another chance. |
| Tenma | ...Yes. |
| |
| ...I apologize for today. |
| Director | Good work today. |
| Tenma | Thank you for your hard work. |
| Hiro | I'm leaving. |
| Tenma | I'm sorry for troubling you today. |
| Hiro | It's fine, we still have more scenes to shoot. Move on and make up for it next time. |
| By the way, we're gonna shoot action scenes, huh… Isn't it better to have a stunt double replace you? |
| Tenma | No, since I have lots of experience with action--. |
| Hiro | The action scene this time is pretty hard, so it's better to look at the amount of experience you have as an actor and figure out what they demand from you. Then, you gotta work on that. |
| If you try to make yourself better than needed, you're gonna pay the price for it. |
| Tenma | … |
| But still… I want to continue challenging myself. I want to aim a little bit higher than now… |
| That is my belief as an actor. |
| Hiro | ...That's very admirable of you, but you need to work composedly as a professional. This drama is not just yours. |
| Tenma | --. |
