Azuma Yukishiro/Banquet of Blooming

Starring "Azuma"

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

Izumi	Alright, so about the talk show after the screening party—it’ll go something like this.
Tsumugi	Got it. We’ll figure out a way to reduce the overlapping of topics too.
Azuma	I’m looking forward to the talk show.
Manager	Heave-ho, heave-ho—there.
	Phew~, I managed to carry this over.
Izumi	What’s that box…?
Manager	I just received this at the front door.
	It looks like a delivery for Yukishiro-san.
Azuma	For me?
Tasuku	Let’s bring it to the table first.
	And up…
	Um, it’s not even that heavy.
Manager	If you use Takato-kun as the standard…
Tsumugi	What could be in it?
Izumi	There’s a bunch of bottles inside.
	Are these wine?
Azuma	There is wine… but it looks like the main thing is this here.
Tsumugi	Grape juice, huh?
Azuma	Perfect timing. Shall we take a quick break?
	Let’s all drink some together.
Izumi	Ah, I’ll go get some glasses then.
Azuma	Mhm, it has a nice fragrance.
Tsumugi	The colour is pretty, and it’s sweet and tasty, right?
Izumi	It smells nice…
Azuma	There’s plenty to go around. Should I ask Omi to use it to make some sweets?
Izumi	Wow, good idea.
Tasuku	Heh, it really does taste great.
	It has a deep grape flavour.
Izumi	It really does.
	I’m sure the wine must taste amazing too.
Azuma	Ahh, then why don’t we turn the screening party for “Nocturnality” into an all-night event?
	We can have wine during the talk show too.
Izumi	There’s no way that’s happening!
Azuma	Fufu. Oh well, too bad.
	Thank you for coming today, everyone.
	Did you enjoy the screening?
Audience member A	We had so much fun!
Audience member B	I was so touched…!
Azuma	Fufu, I’m glad to hear that.
	This time, for the first time, the play was set in modern Japan—.
	So Yuki, who was in charge of our costumes, made sure the atmosphere was cool, chic, and mature.
Tsumugi	And since Azami-kun hadn't joined the Company yet back then, Yuki-chan was the one who came up with our hairstyles too.
	Azuma-san’s hairstyle looked very lovely.
Tasuku	Yeah.
	It fit Reo’s vibe well.
Azuma	Fufu… thank you.
	I'm glad I let my hair grow long.
	Oh right. The visual for the play’s flyer had a mood that was different than anything we had done before.
Tsumugi	Come to think of it, Tasuku wore a necktie at first during that photoshoot, didn’t he?
Tasuku	Yeah. But Miyoshi, who was in charge of the visuals, said it didn’t look sexy enough…
Azuma	So then Kazu said, “alriiight, let’s get that necktie off!”.
Tasuku	And that’s how we got that visual in the end.
Azuma	I thought the studio would look too simple with just a couch and regular, bare-faced walls...
	But with Omi’s camera technique and Kazu’s sense of style, it turned out really nice.
Tsumugi	I was also impressed when I saw the finished result.
Tasuku	Yeah. To be honest, I was surprised too.
	There are times when we’re asked to do ridiculous things, but we always get a product that’s finished with a high degree of perfection…
	During our photoshoots, Fushimi, Miyoshi, Rurikawa, and Izumida all get really fired up. So we have no choice but to go along with them.
Azuma	Fufu, you can’t tell who’s the older ones.

Tsumugi	Good job with the screening party and talk show.
Izumi	Good work, everyone! We rarely get the chance to talk about what goes on behind the scenes of a photoshoot, so it was a valuable opportunity.
Azuma	Speaking of which, we’re going to take a polaroid photo for the present project that Sakyo-san mentioned today, right?
Izumi	Yep! I’m not as skilled as Omi-kun, but I’ll do my best to get the shot…!
Azuma	Fufu, please go ahead.
Izumi	Alright, I’ll take a few.
	Here I go.
	Yep, got it.
Azuma	I was enjoying a new colouring book last night, so I accidentally stayed up a bit late… does it look alright?
Izumi	There’s no problem at all…
	There’s no need to retake it—you look pretty in the picture as usual.
Tsumugi	He’s as beautiful as always.
Azuma	You think so? I’m glad. Thank you.
	Ah, speaking of staying up late.
	Everyone’s been talking about how Director keeps dozing off in the middle of her work lately.
Izumi	Eh?
Tasuku	Ahh, I heard that too.
Tsumugi	Same. I suppose you’ve been busy…
	But please don’t overwork yourself, alright?
Azuma	Let me know if there’s anything I can help with.
Izumi	Sorry… thank you very much.
	I’ll be careful.
	The questionnaire from today's talk show... it sounds like the audience enjoyed the behind-the-scenes stories about the play visuals that they don't usually get to hear.
	(Some people commented they’d like us to release some of the unseen visuals. I see, that’s helpful…)
	—Phew, I've sorted out most of the questionnaires, so I guess that's it. I'll hand them over to Winter troupe later.
	…*Yawn*.
	If I take a break, then maybe… zzzzz…
	*dream starts*
	(Huh…? This place is…?)
	(It looks like a residential area, but it’s quiet and dimly lit…
	It feels strange and a bit scary…)
???	…
Izumi	…?
	Someone’s collapsed in front of the apartment building…!?
	Hey, are you alright?
???	Ugh…
Izumi	(Reo…!?)
	(Then, could this be the world from “Nocturnality”…?)
Reo	Ngh…?
Izumi	(Ah, it looks like he woke up…)
	(He really does look otherworldly…
	He’s beautiful and has a really mysterious aura about him…)
Reo	…You are…?
Izumi	S-sorry, I was spacing out.
	Are you alright?
Reo	…I’m so thirsty… I can’t stand it…
Izumi	In that case, I’ll buy some water from that vending machine over there!
	Please wait here for a secon—.
Reo	…Wait…
	There’s something that I crave more than that.
Izumi	Eh?
Reo	…
Izumi	(R-Reo suddenly got closer…)
	!?
	(What do I do—I can’t move my body…!
	Don’t tell me…)
Reo	—Forgive me.
	…
Izumi	(He’s biting my neck—!)
	*dream ends*
	…!
	M-my neck…
	Thank goodness… nothing happened.
	(*Sigh*, so it was a dream…)
	*knock, knock*
Azuma	Director.
Izumi	Ah, Azuma-san.
Azuma	? You’re clutching your neck… is something wrong?
Izumi	Ah, no. It’s nothing.
Azuma	Are you sure?
	Sorry, I interrupted you.
	Are you working?
CHOICE 1: I was organizing the questionnaires… [+] Izumi I was organizing the questionnaires from today’s talk show. Azuma Ahh, is that so? Good work. Izumi It sounded like all the audience members were really satisfied. Azuma Really? That’s great to hear. I had lots of fun too. I honestly didn’t want to give up on the all-night screening party though. Izumi Come on, I told you that’s impossible. Azuma Fufu, then how about the two of us hold our own all-night screening party? We’ll sip wine while sitting next to each other on the sofa… And relax while watching a movie together. Izumi That sounds nice. I’ll keep you company then. Azuma I’m glad. Then I’ll search for a movie I’d like to watch together. I’m looking forward to it. Izumi Sure! I’m looking forward to it too.
CHOICE 2: I took a little nap… [+] Izumi The truth is, I took a little nap… Azuma A nap? Oh my. Even though we told you to be careful not to fall asleep during the day. Izumi S-sorry. Azuma But you were tired enough to take a nap, huh? …Say, Director, will you sleep with me tonight? Izumi Ehh? Azuma I’ll put you at ease, slowly, by your side. I'll pamper you lots and lots. Izumi I-I appreciate the thought, but I’ll have to refuse! Azuma Fufu, are you sure? Well, let me know anytime you’d like to snuggle.
Izumi	Umm, anyways, did you need something from me?
Azuma	Oh, yes. Omi made some sweets with the grape juice.
	I thought we could eat them together, so I came to invite you.
Izumi	Woah, thank you very much.
Azuma	…
Izumi	!?
	(W-why did Azuma-san get close…)
Azuma	? Does your neck hurt?
Izumi	(Ah, I touched it again…!)
	Umm… it’s more like a reflex… so please don’t worry about it.
Azuma	Really?
	But I’m glad your complexion looks alright.
Izumi	(Ah, that’s why he brought his face so close. That surprised me…)
Azuma	Now then, come over quickly.
	…If you don’t…
Izumi	?
Azuma	…I’ll eat you up.
Izumi	!
	Why do you have to say that so sexily!?
	Also, you’re close!
Azuma	Fufu, just because.
	Come on, let’s go.
Izumi	*Sigh*, seriously… this is bad for my heart.

Anna