Chikage Utsuki/Brace Yourself and Despise

Popular Among the Kids

Backstage Stories

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Chikage	To think we’d play Shinsengumi.
Banri	Yep, believe it.
Citron	I’ll take the spotlight! Time to save the princess!
Tsuzuru	You’re playing the villain though!
Staff	… and this is how it’ll flow.
Izumi	Makes sense, got it. Alright, thank you for your time!
Staff	Thank you as well, sorry for the suddenness though… Good luck!
Chikage	Excuse me. Before the start of the show, did you have a particular “greeting” in mind?
Staff	Ah, before the show, it’d be good for the Shinsengumi to walk around and interact with the audience.
Chikage	Got it. Something akin to a street act then.
Sakuya	That’s so cool! I can’t wait…!
Itaru	Okita’s sick and can’t move so I’ll just stay here…
Tsuzuru	Don’t just slack off.
Masumi	I’ll communicate with Director.
Azami	He said to interact with the customers.
Izumi	Masumi-kun, can you act smoothly in front of the customers as Saito?
Masumi	… Yeah. I’ll make sure you’re stunned by my performance.
Taichi	The way Director-sensei handled Masumi, amazing…!
Sakyo	If any of you slack, I won’t forgive you.
Tsuzuru	… Anyway, Chikage-san’s playing Yamanami Keisuke.
Chikage	Yep. I was thinking of doing a little rolebuilding, so I researched about Yamanami Keisuke—
	Seems like Yamanami had a good natured and kind personality.
Staff	Ehh. Back then, he was also loved by the children around him.
Tsuzuru	Hee, that’s surprising.
Staff	Because of that, Yamanami-san will also need to be loved by the children here.
	During the greeting, children will always crowd around you.
Chikage	Thank you for letting me know. I’ll keep this in mind.
Itaru	Senpai and kindness, they almost don’t mix lol.
Chikage	… That so, what a shame. I always thought I was rather kind to you.
	After all, I followed those guidelines you set before I moved in, did I not…
Itaru	Scary, just dig my grave why don’t you.
	Oi oi Senpai, the kids’ll get scared from that evil laugh of yours~.
Izumi	Ahaha…
	(Though, I hope Chikage-san will be fine surrounded by kids…)

Izumi	(It’s been a while since the greetings started, I wonder how everyone’s doing…)
Customer A	Waa, a Shinsengumi guy~!
Tsuzuru	“Shinsengumi’s second division leader, Nagakura Shinpachi!”
Masumi	“And Shinsengumi’s third division leader, Saito Hajime… is here!”
Customer B	Kyaa! So cool~!
Izumi	(Yup, looks good and they leave a lasting impression too…)
Kid A	Waa! Awesome!
Kid B	Nee, again again~!
Izumi	(Whoa, the other side’s busy too. They’re all children…!)
Kid C	Sir, can you do something else?
Chikage	I can.
Izumi	(… huh, Chikage-san!?)
Chikage	Alright… how about something like this.
Kid A	A coin?
Chikage	Look closely now.
	Okay. Which hand is it in?
Kid B	Left!
Kid C	It’s in the left! I see it!
Chikage	… That’s too bad.
Kid B	What!? It’s not there!
Kid C	Sir, you’re lying!
Chikage	Ahaha, the coin’s still in play. The where, though—is you over there.
Kid A	M-me?
Chikage	Yep. Check your pocket.
Kid A	Ah… It’s the coin!
Kid B	Waa! That was so cool!
Kid C	Nene, how’d you do it!?
Chikage	It’s a secret.
Kid B	Ehh~! Do it again! Again again~!
Izumi	(I was a little worried before, but I’m glad he’s doing okay.)
Izumi	Good work on the greetings, everyone! It was before the show, but everyone seemed to have a good time!
Sakuya	Yes! It was a blast!
Tsuzuru	Usually, I rarely interact with customers directly, so this was a nice change of pace.
Sakyo	It was good practice before the show.
Juza	Yeah. The show’ll be successful too.
Izumi	… Ah, Chikage-san! Good work.
Chikage	Thanks. Director-san also worked hard running around.
Izumi	Chikage-san did really well. You were pretty popular with the kids…!
Chikage	Yeah, it was a simple magic trick and I’m glad they enjoyed it.
Izumi	… Um, I was worried Chikage-san wouldn’t be okay around kids.
Chikage	Hm? Have I ever said I wasn’t good with them before?
Izumi	Ah… I guess you’re right.
Chikage	Well, you see…
Izumi	?
Chikage	There’s older kids at the dorms, after all. These ones were just cuter.
Izumi	Ahaha, is that so.
Chikage	Well, I have to start prepping for the show now. I’ll speak with you afterwards, Director-san.
Izumi	Okay! Let’s make this performance a success!

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