Chikage Utsuki/Banquet of Blooming

Starring Chikage

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

Izumi	Here is the furniture we ordered. As for the other stuff we still need to get..
Kamekichi	HoW ‘BOut thE INTerNET?
Izumi	I was thinking that. You can get a discount with stuff like furniture if you buy it all at once.
Kamekichi	ANd ALsO YOu SHOUld bUY sOMe SUNFlower seeDS! OH, anD some walNUTS!
Izumi	uhh, but we are already buying a bunch of things, won’t Sakyo get mad if we buy too much?
Kamekichi	DOn’T SAy SUcH THiNGs! Let’S EAT THe SUNfloWER SeeDS toGETHer—
Chikage	Criminal apprehended.
Kamekichi	GYAAAA!?
	OYYY, CHIKAGE, WHATCHA DOIN’!? LEMME GO!!
Itaru	Oh, you were here.
Citron	I came here to collect the soap!
Tsuzuru	What kind of crazy collector are you? Give me the rope.
Izumi	What brings all of Spring Troupe here?
Sakuya	Well, we had started to play a coin toss game with Chikage after our meeting earlier today, but for some reason the coin disappeared.
Masumi	So we came to the conclusion he is the culprit, which is why we are here.
Chikage	Cough it up. I have all the evidence.
Kamekichi	I...... I JUST haD A sUDDen URGe!
	i’M SOrRY. i’LL reTURN th CoiN.
Citron	Thank goodness! And that makes hair a dead rat!
Tsuzuru	And that takes care of that.
Chikage	What a pain, such a brat. As a punishment, no snacks for a week.
Kamekichi	WHAT! HOW SAVAGE! EVIL DEVIL!
Izumi	(These two get along surprisingly well..)
	— Oh, that’s right.
	Have we decided who the speakers will be at the screening event?
Sakuya	Yes! We were thinking something like this.
Izumi	I see. .. It seems like each time we have these events I hear something interesting.
Chikage	Well now.. The coin has safely been returned. How about we continue this coin toss game?
Sakuya	Yes! Let’s do it!
Tsuzuru	Alright, Sakuya, let’s go!
Itaru	FIGHTING!
Chikage	Let’s see, which hand is the coin in this time?
Chikage	Hello. I am Chikage Utsuki and I play Oswald in the play, The Wonderful Charlatan of Oz.
Sakuya	And I’m Sakuya Sakuma who plays Rick!
Itaru	I am Itaru Chigasaki, I play the wizard of the west. Thank you everyone for coming today.
Chikage	Today we will be doing a talk show where we answer some questions from the audience.
	Who would like to ask a question?
Audience A	Me!
Audience B	Me, me!
Itaru	Wow, we got tons of volunteers.
Chikage	Well, how about we let Spring Troupe’s leader choose the first person. Go ahead, Sakuya.
Sakuya	Yes! Let’s see.. hmm.. Here, the one in green, go ahead!
Audience A	Hello, I loved the Oz performance! And also congratulations on hosting this screening and talk show.
	This is the first play for Chikage, so I was wondering if there is anything in particular that has changed for Spring Troupe?
Itaru	Oh hmm.. Well the one thing that has definitely changed has got to be.. The average age?
Chikage	Haha, of course. My apologies for the sudden increase.
Itaru	It’s not your fault, not at all. What about you, Sakuya?
Sakuya	Well umm.. Things have gotten a bit more lively, but other than that not much I think.
Itaru	Well, answering seriously.. I think it is less about how Spring Troupe has changed and more about how Chikage has changed, am I right?
	Well you see, before he joined the troupe he was quite rebellious.
Chikage	Who are you calling rebellious?
	.. However, well, maybe I was a little rebellious. Perhaps you could say it was all thanks to Sakuya’s support not just as my second lead, but also as the leader of Spring Troupe that I was able to turn over a new leaf.
Sakuya	Even if it was only a little, I am happy to hear that I was able to give you strength!
	Oh, and on that note, starting from this play we have added a ‘coin toss game’ into our daily routine!
Itaru	Chikage tosses a coin and then we need to guess whether it is in right or left hand.
Sakuya	Yes! However, I never seem to guess right and I’ve set a new record for consecutive defeats..
Chikage	Now that you mention it, we haven’t played yet today. Shall we do it right here?
Itaru	You have a coin in your pocket? Someone came prepared, not surprised.
Sakuya	Wow, I wanna play!
Chikage	Alright, let’s go.
Chikage	— Let’s see, which hand is the coin in this time?

Izumi	Fufu, too bad we didn’t win the coin game.
Sakuya	I really thought it was right hand this time..
Chikage	Actually you always guess right.
Itaru	Whenever I want to say right, the answer is usually left.
Sakuya	I see! I’ll try that next time!
Izumi	Alright then, well before you go change, could you stay to take a quick polaroid photo?
Chikage	Oh so this is the fan gift project that Sakyo had mentioned.
Izumi	So, please stand in the middle of the stage.. ready on, 3, 2, 1!
Itaru	This is quite out of character for my senior.
Chikage	I do not need your commentary.
Izumi	Okay, got it.
Itaru	Lemme see.
Sakuya	Can I see it too?
Izumi	Nice expression!
Chikage	You think?
Sakuya	Wow, so cool!
Itaru	Actually, not bad on the surface I guess.
Chikage	Protecting his pride just as ever.
Izumi	Now that that's done. A little later please sign it and give it back to me.
Chikage	Roger that.
	We should head back soon.
Izumi	Ah, well, umm, I actually ordered some stuff online and accidentally wrote the theatre’s address for the delivery.
	It should come a little later so I’ll head back once it arrives. You three can go back first.
Sakuya	Oh really? Then how about I stay with you?
Izumi	It’s fine, thank you. I did not order that much so it should be coming soon.
	Aren’t you tired after the talk show? You should go back first and rest.
Sakuya	You’re right, I understand. Thank you so much, director.
Itaru	So then, we’ll go on ahead. You should come back soon too, director.
Chikage	I hope you do not have to stay too much longer.
Izumi	Thank you.
	So with that done. I think I will do a little bit of cleaning until the delivery comes.
	..Hm? This is Chikage’s coin.
	(He’s already left. I’ll just give it to him later.)
	Alrighty then, let’s get cleaning!
Izumi	Mmm.. Huh, what’s this..?
	(What a pretty field of flowers.. I can see a castle in the distance and..)
	Uh, could that be the.. Emerald City!?
	Is that the sound of birds I hear? There is something flying over in the distance..
Winged Monkey	KEE! KEE!
Izumi	A WINGED MONKEY!? Oh no what should I do, I better run..
???	Damn, now where the hell did the Rick and the balloon go..!
Izumi	(Oh, that’s.. not Chikage, it’s Oswald!
	His normal calm demeanor has completely changed when he is rushing about and.. how would you say it, it’s kind of valuable to see him like this..)
Oswald	Hey, you better run too! They have no mercy for anyone!
Izumi	— Huh!? ME TOO!?
Winged monkey	KEEKEEE!!!!!!
Izumi	(what to do, I gotta get over there— !)
Oswald	— tch.
Izumi	—!
Oswald	Hm, are you alright?
Izumi	T-Thank you very much..
Oswald	Anyway, I gotta run.
Izumi	H-Hey wait—
Oswald	You wanna excite the flying monkeys again, watch out, quick!
Izumi	Uh-uh, no but..!
	Ahh, ahh.. It’s still chasing us!
Oswald	I see a forest up ahead.
Izumi	For real? There are two entrances!
Oswald	It seems like each entrances leads to a different place; one that continues into the town, and one that leads to the lair of the Wizard of the West.
	Which will it be, right or left?
Izumi	(huh? Where have I heard that phrase before..
	That’s right, it was during the coin game with Chikage! Today the answer was—)
	—LEFT!
Oswald	.. Oh, what a coincidence. I was thinking the same.
	Alright, let’s go.
Izumi	—!
	Was it all just a dream..?
	Hm? There’s something in my pocket..
	Oh, It’s Chikage’s coin that I found earlier.
	(Did I have that dream because I had it in my pocket?)
Chikage	What are you doing?
Izumi	Oh, Chikage! What are you carrying, oh is it..?
Chikage	When I came to retrieve something I left, I noticed that the delivery man left a missed delivery slip at the entrance. So I just went to pick up the stuff myself.
Izumi	Oh, I’m sorry to trouble you. Thank you very much, that was a big help.
	Oh, and this coin is yours, right?
Chikage	You’re right, I did bring that today. Thank you.
CHOICE 1: I dozed off. [+] Izumi Actually I kinda dozed off.. Chikage That’s too bad, so that’s why you didn’t notice when the delivery man came. By the way, you must be pretty exhausted if you dozed off in a place like this? Izumi Yea, I think so. Chikage You have really helped us a lot through your hard work. However, you need to rest too, don’t push yourself too much. Alright? Izumi Alright. Chikage Good girl. .. For our hardworking director, I feel like you deserve a reward. Leave your next break open. I will take you to a good restaurant then. Izumi Wow, really? I look forward to it!
CHOICE 2: Isn’t this the thing you forgot? [+] Izumi Isn’t this the thing you forgot? Chikage Well yes.. But maybe what I forgot was actually a certain someone who had not come back yet. Izumi Huh? Chikage .. Well, perhaps you could say that I had left it here on purpose as an excuse to come and see you again. Izumi ..! Chikage I jest. You can decide whether to believe me or not, I leave it up to you.
Chikage	So anyway, it is already dark outside.
	The dorm is close so it isn’t exactly dangerous, but this stuff is a little bigger than expected.. It would have been nice to know before hand.
Izumi	(Fufu, it seems Chikage has an overprotective side too.)
	I’m sorry to burden you. Well, I do feel safer with you here.
Chikage	Oh my, I didn’t think my job was to be a body guard.
Izumi	I understand. You work as a salary man at a trading company.. And for some reason you are a very skilled actor in stage fighting.
Chikage	Oh.. Ahh, I guess.
Izumi	It’s true.
Chikage	Alright, shall we head back now? I will keep you safe until we get home.
Izumi	Fufu, I am in your care.

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