| Izumi | Summer Troupe’s performance has ended, so next is Autumn troupe... I’m looking forward to seeing the kind of person who joins! |
| Chikage | Our scriptwriter Tsuzuru never gets a break—it must be hard. |
| Tsuzuru | You’re right.... |
| But I have more freedom now that there are six members in the main cast, so writing is fun. It’s not like it’s a chore. |
| Kumon | Autumn Troupe’s next play is also gonna be cool, right!? |
| Tsuzuru | We haven’t decided on anything, but it’s probably going to be action-themed too. Same as usual. |
| Itaru | It’ll probably be dangerous, too. Same as usual. |
| Chikage | You mean visually? |
| Itaru | Yup yup. It’s obviously impossible to do a fairy-tale motif with those faces. |
| Izumi | Our new member will have to fit in with those members visually. He also can’t be intimidated by them.... |
| Chikage | So like a bear? |
| Itaru | Why does that make sense. |
| Tsuzuru | That’s not even human...! |
| Izumi | We might have some trouble finding a new member for Autumn Troupe.... |
| Azami | Ah, about that.... |
| Izumi | ? |
| Sakoda | A~za~mi~!! |
| Izumi | !? |
| Azami | Ken-san? |
| Sakoda | We’re in trouble! The chairman finally lost his patience! He says he’s gonna take his men along and make you come back! |
| Azami | ——. |
| Sakoda | He asked me where you were, so I lied and told him you were at Shifuto’s place, but I didn’t think it would blow up like this—. |
| You need to go back or do something now, or else! |
| Izumi | (The chairman himself? And he’s bringing members of the yakuza with him...!?) |
| Itaru | So this is what they call a raid. I didn’t think they were real. |
| Chikage | I probably see something similar happen fairly often. |
| Itaru | Seriously? Your private life is too much of a mystery as usual. |
| Kumon | Both of you, now’s not the time to be all relaxed! What are you gonna do, Azami!? |
| Azami | Well, if it’s Shifuto, he’ll probably find a way out somehow. |
| Izumi | Shifuto? |
| Azami | My childhood friend. He knows what’s going on, and he’s a sharp guy. |
| Tsuzuru | But if the entire Ginsenkai is out looking for you, they’ll probably find you in no time. |
| Sakyo | ...What’s this fuss about? |
| Sakoda | A-aniki! We’re in trouble! The chairman is finally trying to bring Azami back—. |
| Sakyo | ...Well, he waited long enough, didn’t he? |
| Bon. Even if you manage to hide for now, it’s just a matter of time. You should give up and go home. |
| Azami | ...I refuse. |
| Sakyo | You think you can just cause other people trouble? |
| The members of the group don’t have that much free time on their hands. You’re not a kid, so don’t cause them trouble. |
| Azami | Shut up. You’ve got nothing to do with this. |
| Sakyo | Aah? Who do you think you are? You’re here as a freeloader. We can kick you out right now. |
| Izumi | S-Sakyo-san, please calm down. We’re responsible for taking him in; should I get in touch? |
| Sakyo | There’s no need for you to go so far, Director-san. This is a problem he needs to solve on his own. |
| Got it? Hurry up and go home—. |
| Azami | Well, I’m gonna join Autumn Troupe. |
| Sakyo | What? |
| Izumi | Eh? |
| Kumon | Seriously!? You’re gonna join Autumn Troupe, Azami!? Yay~!! |
| Sakyo | Don’t mess with me. You’re not even serious. Stop using the troupe as a convenient hiding place. |
| Azami | Who are you to decide that I’m not serious. |
| Sakyo | You just want to leave your house. |
| Azami | Shut up! I won’t listen to you! |
| Sakoda | O-oi, Azami.... |
| Sakyo | I refuse to let you join the troupe. |
| Azami | ——. |
| *Hit* |
| Sakyo | ...gh. |
| Izumi | !! |
| Sakyo | Who the hell do you think you’re hitting? You better be prepared. |
| Azami | Shut up! I’ll beat you in seconds! |
| Sakyo | ——. |
| Azami | There! |
| Sakyo | —ha! |
| Izumi | H-hey, both of you—! |
| Azami | Hah! |
| Sakyo | —tch. |
| Chikage | They’ve both got pretty nice moves. |
| Itaru | This is like an action game. Where’s the controller? |
| Kumon | Again, why are both of you so relaxed!? |
| Sakoda | Aniki really is a good fighter.... |
| Izumi | Not you too, Sakoda-san! Please stop them! They’re both going to get injured—. |
| Sakoda | No worries. They know when to stop, so it’s no big deal. This is a daily occurrence with the Izumida family. |
| Izumi | Eeh!? |
| Azami | Die! |
| Sakyo | I’m done with you, you shitty brat! |
| Izumi | (This is a daily occurrence....) |
| Chikage | Well, if you need me to stop them I can do that, but I can’t guarantee they’ll come out alive. |
| Izumi | I kind of need you to guarantee that much...! |
| Omi | Now, now, both of you, calm down. How long are you going to keep fighting? |
| Kumon | Omi-san, it’s dangerous to get between them—! |
| Azami | —gh. |
| Omi | There, there, now. Sakyo-san, you too. Please calm down. |
| Sakyo | —tch. |
| Azami | .... |
| Tsuzuru | Fushimi-san is amazing. Walking in like that.... |
| Chikage | Guess he’s the bear. |
| Itaru | No wonder that made so much sense. |
| Sakyo | ...What’s the point of becoming an actor. That’s not your dream. |
| Azami | —You have no right to decide that for me. You won’t even support me. |
| You’re the only one who gets to do what he wants.... |
| Sakyo | ...——. |
| Izumi | (Does Azami-kun have a different dream...? If Sakyo-san is right, it might be better to stop him from joining the troupe, but....) |
| (Why is he denying him outright when he says he wants to join?) |
| Kumon | I have a good idea! |
| Izumi | ? |
| Kumon | Hey, if Azami wants to join, why don’t you give him a test like you did for me? |
| If Azami qualifies, then it means he’s serious! Right!? |
| Sakyo | I already know that he’s not—. |
| Yuzo | Hey there. |
| Izumi | Huh? Yuzo-san, what’s wrong? |
| Yuzo | I was passing by, so I thought I might check in to kill some time. |
| Azami | .... |
| Sakyo | .... |
| Yuzo | What’s going on? Are you fighting? |
| Izumi | Ah, well, about Autumn Troupe’s new member.... |
| |
| Yuzo | Huh. Sounds good. Let him audition. |
| Sakyo | What? |
| Izumi | I agree with you. |
| Sakyo | Not you too—. |
| Izumi | Regardless of his reason for joining the troupe, it’s unfair if we’re only denying Azami-kun a chance. |
| Autumn Troupe has a member who joined solely out of rivalry, after all. |
| Sakyo | ...Settsu, huh. |
| Izumi | Someone else joined because he wanted three meals and a room. |
| Itaru | ...Me, huh. |
| Chikage | If we’re talking about reasons for joining the troupe, I can’t criticize anyone. |
| Izumi | (For revenge... because he was homeless... when you list it out like that, they’re all pretty awful....) |
| In any case, regardless of how they came into touch with theater, I don’t want to flat-out deny anyone a chance to join the troupe. |
| Sakyo | ——. |
| Izumi | As the general director, I’m approving Azami-kun’s audition to join the troupe. |
| Sakyo | ...tch. |
| Kumon | Yay~! If Azami joins the troupe, our make-up’s gonna get so much better! |
| Tsuzuru | Azami will fit right in with Autumn Troupe, too. |
| Sakyo | It’s impossible for him. |
| Izumi | That all depends on Azami-kun’s will. |
| Azami | I’ll definitely get in. |
| Sakyo | ...Hmph. What will his test be? |
| Yuzo | Why don’t we go with the “portrait” that everyone else in Autumn Troupe did? |
| Azami | “Portrait”? |
| Izumi | A one-man act using your past as a theme. Everyone in the Autumn Troupe did one during their debut performance. |
| Azami | ...Shithead Sakyo too? |
| Izumi | Of course. |
| Azami | ...I’ll do it. I’ll do it better than he did. |
| Yuzo | Then your theme is “a memory from boyhood.” It’ll be ten minutes long total. |
| Sakyo | You’re too kind, giving him a theme. |
| Yuzo | Why do you think I chose this theme? |
| Izumi | ? |
| Yuzo | In one week, I’m going to make the new members of a troupe I’m taking care of perform their portraits as an opening act. It’s the same theme. |
| Omi | Déjà vu.... |
| Izumi | Could it be.... |
| Yuzo | Join them. |
| Kumon | A real stage!? In one week!? |
| Tsuzuru | Someone new standing on stage in just a week—isn’t that a bit too hard? |
| Yuzo | If you push him that hard, you’ll know for real if he’s serious or not. |
| We’re gonna have them vote like before, so you can make first place the requirement for joining the troupe. |
| Kumon | First place!? |
| Tsuzuru | A demon.... |
| Omi | As expected of Yuzo-san.... |
| Azami | .... |
| Yuzo | You’re gonna be greater than Sakyo-boy, right? Then you need to at least come in first. |
| Azami | ...I’ll do it. |
| Izumi | Sakyo-san, these conditions will satisfy you, right? |
| Sakyo | Yeah. It’s impossible for him anyway. |
| Izumi | (He’s right. These are really strict conditions....) |
| Azami-kun, can you join practice starting today? We need to start teaching you the basics of acting. |
| Azami | ...Got it. |
| Izumi | (I’m concerned about his home situation, too, but for now, we’ll just have to do what we can.) |
