Citron/MANKAI Encore

Saionji Enis

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2Part 3

Sakuya	Umm, our seats should be...
Chikage	Somewhere over here, right?
Citron	I’m next to Masumi this time, how exciting! Masumi, over here~!
Masumi	Sit next to me, Director.
Citron	Oh, ouch that hurt~
Izumi	No no, we already have assigned seats, right?
Masumi	There is no need to act so coy....
Tsuzuru	Umm you know that’s my seat! Act like an adult and go sit next to Citron.
Itaru	I had a feeling this would happen, even with assigned seats.
Citron	Masumi, can you hear me? Open wide for some candy!
Masumi	No.
Citron	Oh, Masumi! Look, you can see the mouth of a volcano through the clouds!
Masumi	Ughh...
Citron	Masumi, what would you like to drink?
Masumi	I’ll think about it later.
Tsuzuru	Hey Citron, don’t annoy Masumi.
Citron	But he is my co-lead for this play, I want us to talk a lot.
Sakuya	Oh that’s right, you and Masumi play first and second violin in our Harugaoka Quartet play.
Citron	That’s right! I am sooo eggcited to perform this show again~ Looking forward to playing the violin again, right Masumi?
Masumi	Whatever.
Itaru	You’re not worried that you’ll bomb the performance with your lack of practice?
Citron	No way, I’m not like you, Itaru!
Itaru	Ouch, I took an arrow to the knee....
Izumi	Ahaha..... Anyway, have you guys thought of any places you’d like to visit during our free time?
Sakuya	I looked up some places, but there were so many different options that I really couldn’t decide....
Citron	Yea yea! I.. wanna make a violin!
Tsuzuru	Yea no, what was with that wild suggestion!?
Itaru	Yea that sounds a bit much.
Izumi	There is no way we could do that between our regional tour performances. I am sorry, but maybe you could think of something else we could do.
Citron	That’s too bad~ Guess I’ll just have to let it go this time.
Citron	Excuse me, madam, I would like to know any good sightseeing spots in the area~
Front Desk Lady	Hmm somewhere nearby.... How about here?
	It is one of my favourites, it has a great atmosphere.
Citron	Sounds great! I really wanna go! Thank you.
Izumi	(... hmm? It’s Citron.)
	(Looks like he was just speaking with the person at the front desk. Wow, he really is the type of person who can befriend anyone no matter where he is.)
Citron	Oh, Director! I found a place I wanna go! The nice lady at the front desk told me about this place she really likes.
Izumi	Oh, I see. So the place you want to go is--
Masumi	Found you, Director. Are you going to the baths?
Izumi	Hey Masumi. Oh, I was planning to go to the onsen now.
Masumi	Yea, let me join you.
Izumi	What the hell!? Yea, no way!
Citron	Well they have separate baths for men and women here. You two wouldn’t be able to go together anyway.
	Anyway, great timing, Masumi. Your business has been updated!
Izumi	The words you are saying... I feel like they do not mean what you think they mean....
Masumi	I’m busy right now.
Citron	But there is a place I wanna go with you, Masumi!
Masumi	Huh? But there is no place I wanna go with you. However if it was with the Director I would--
Citron	Noo, nooo, we’re gonna go together! I won’t take no for an answer this time!
Masumi	Then let me and director--
Izumi	But it’s been a while since you guys have performed Harugaoka Quartet, so I think it’s a good idea for the two of you to spend time together.
	Perhaps you two can do something in relation to the performance.
Masumi	Alright. If that is what you want, Director.
Citron	Obeying the director’s words, as always. So then, it’s decided~! I can’t wait!

Citron	Masumi, over here!
Masumi	You brought me to a.... Violin museum?
Citron	Yes. I think they’re gonna be having a mini-concert today! This is the perfect spot for us to play as Enis and Yota.
	I heard other people got to play too, so we will certainly be able to play something!
Masumi	Not me. My acting and violin playing are always perfect.
Citron	.... But what if you could improve your playing after watching the concert? Don’t you think the director would like that?
Masumi	---!
	You have a point there. I’ll play along.
Citron	Nice nice~ .... Oh, it’s almost time!
Performer	Thank you, thank you for that big round of applause. -- So then, let’s move on to our next exciting segment.
	Would anyone in the audience like to come up and try playing the violin? Beginners are welcome too.
Citron	This is our chance...!
	Yes! I wanna try!
Performer	Oh, great, the very happy boy over there! Come on up!
Citron	You too, Masumi, let’s go together!
Masumi	No thanks.
Citron	The two of us~!
Masumi	Hey, let go of my hand--!
Performer	Welcome! Do you two have any experience playing the violin?
Citron	A little pit.
Masumi	A little bit.
Citron	Yes, that!
Performer	Alright, so could you play a little with this violin?
Citron	~ ♪
Performer	That’s-- That is definitely not the sound of someone who has only just played a little bit. Alright then, how about you?
Masumi	~♪
Performer	Wow you’re also good.... So it seems like we got two pros on stage with us today.
	We were thinking about teaching our two volunteers just one or two notes and having them follow along with us, but--- Well is there anything you two wanna play?
Citron	Yes we wanna play! Masumi, this is our chance for Harugaoka Duet!
Masumi	.... Huh, okay.
Citron	~♪
Masumi	~♪
Audience A	Wow, it sounds so good even though they just got on stage.
Audience B	What a warm sound, it takes my breath away~
Citron	We did good, Masumi! Looks like we:ll be in tip-top shape for our performance.
Masumi	.... I want the director to hear my playing.
Citron	Aren’t you glad you came with me?
Masumi	....Yea.
Citron	Sorry for dragging you along today, Masumi. It’s been a while since I could play as Enis, so this idea just kinda popped up into my mind last minute.
Masumi	....
Citron	I remember when we first performed this play, it was my first time as the lead. I really didn’t have much down time, especially with Tangerine visiting back then.
	So that’s why I wanted us to do this and bond so we could really get into our roles as Enis and Yota. But above all, I wanted to spend some time with you, Masumi.
Masumi	....
	You know it really sucked being dragged off suddenly to some art museum without the director.
Citron	Oh....
Masumi	.... But you don’t have to apologise.
	I want to show the director a better performance than my last so... I guess this is what I had to do.
Citron	Masumi...!
	How mature of you, Masumi!
Masumi	Shut it.
Citron	Thank you so much!
Masumi	Don’t hug-- stop it.
Citron	Let’s do our best in the performance~!

Sakuya	Oh wow, Citron and Masumi got to show off their violin skills last-minute at a mini-concert. I wish I could have seen it too.
Citron	I think we really charmed the audience!
Chikage	I should have gone to that museum too.
Itaru	Nah, whilst those two were off performing, the four of us here were busy with our own things, right?
	And I had suggested we go there too.
Tsuzuru	Wait, so that wasn’t some place you wanted to take us as part of your anime pilgrimage?
Sakuya	But I had a lot of fun going on Itaru’s anime pilgramage!
Izumi	(Seems like everyone enjoyed themselves during that time.)
Masumi	Director.
	I have prepared a performance just for you, so listen to me play.
Izumi	Y-Yea I will. You will be performing for the audience too, right?
Citron	Together the six of us will move the audience! Is everyone ready?
Chikage	Yes.
Tsuzuru	Yep!
Citron	Spring troupe, let’s go!
Spring Troupe	Yea!
Izumi	(The stage is set for the Private Harugaoka Academy...)
	(The head teacher, Machida, asks the violin prodigy, Enis, to compete in the school-wide music competition.)
Enis	“... I understand, I will.”
Machida	“Huh, seriously?”
Enis	“You are the one who asked me, why are you surprised?”
Machida	“No, I didn’t really expect you to say yes, you’re doing me a big favour. You will be playing alongside the 3rd year Hino Katsumi so please talk to him.”
Izumi	(What an exciting performance. I can really feel Citron’s stage presence in the way he confidently expresses his character.)
	(From the first day Enis meets the rest of the quartet, he learns just how much he lacks within himself through his poor communication, behavior, and language .)
Enis	“What song?”
Katsumi	“Haydn: String Quartets Op. 74”
Enis	“ Oh, ‘Rider’ is it? That’s the one with the flashy 1st violin part. Well, if the 1st violinist isn’t flashy enough, the other parts will need to be flashier. What a reckless choice.”
	“If we are going to do something like that, I think we should do Mozart’s ‘Spring’.”
Yota	“Huh...?”
Katsumi	“No, but what about what we practiced---“
Enis	“We can run through it now. We have the sheet music.”
Yu	“... Huh!? U-Uhh, you want me to play too!?”
Enis	“Hurry up.”
Yu	“G-Got it!”
Yota	“.....”
Izumi	(The other three were left bewilderded by Enis’ arrogant and overly confident attitude.....)
	(As the practice continued, the three were quickly left in the dust as Enis continued to practice as if he was performing in his own solo concert......)
Enis	“---“
Yota	“-- Enis. Please slow down a bit. We can’t follow you.”
Enis	“If you can’t keep up with me maybe you are the ones who should work harder.”
Yota	“.....”
Katsumi	“We’ll burn out before we get to that level..”
Enis	“The cello is a bit off in bar 43.”
Yu	“U-Uh, sorry...!”
Izumi	(Yota’s confidence began to falter from that day. Unable to follow along with Enis, he stopped coming to practice.)
Enis	“.....”
Yota	“Enis.....”
Enis	“Why aren’t you coming to practice?”
Yota	“You don’t need a guy like me.”
Enis	“But a quartet cannot be complete without all four parts.”
Yota	“---“
	“..... Alright. I will play. It’s better for you if I come. However before I do that, please apologise to Yu for what you said to him earlier.
Izumi	(To Yota’s surprise, Enis followed through with his side of the deal. From that point onward, the relationship between the two of them took a complete 180.)
	(After their reconciliation, Enis began to slowly open up. The quartet’s sound also became more unified.)
Enis	“....”
Katsumi	“Wow, the emperor is smiling.”
Enis	“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Katsumi	“Just what I said,”
Yota	“This is the first time I’ve seen you smile.”
Yu	“Yea, that’s right..!”
Izumi	(There was still something that Enis had wanted to tell his classmates. Something that he hadn’t been able to tell them due to their absence.)
	(It was because of this reason that Enis tells Yota after rehearsal that he would withdraw from quartet.)
Enis	“I never really had any interest in chamber music.”
Yota	“-- Huh?”
Enis	“Good luck in the competition.”
Yota	“-- As expected, you planned this all by yourself! So you’re saying that this whole time we were the only ones enjoying our music!?”
Enis	“.....”
Izumi	(Enis looked at Yota with a mixture of sadness, pain, and frustration in his gaze. He turned his back to the other without a word.)
	(Citron is really getting deeper and deeper into his role.)
Tojo	"You are a perfectionist with a strong work ethic. However, your playing is worse than usual. You should just give up the competition all together.”
Enis	“... My sound alone is not enough.”
Tojo	“Hm?”
Enis	“No matter how hard I play, I will never be able to replicate the music I hear in my head because what I imagine is beyond what I can do myself. I can not reproduce the music I envision in my mind. It’s not enough.”
Tojo	“..... Well if that’s what you think, you should give up practicing until you find what you are looking for. You are dismissed for today.”
Enis	“--“
Izumi	(Tojo can read Enis’ feelings like a book. Chikage really plays that role perfectly. Perhaps Enis will be able to convey his true emotions to Tojo.)
Enis	“My sound alone is not enough.”
Yota	“What?”
Enis	“I can play all I want, but in the end, there is no way I could create the perfect sound. Ever since I left the quartet I have--“
Izumi	(Enis opened up to Yota, telling him all the things he had been going through as if he was a lost child.)
	(Enis asks a favour of Yota. Similarly, as their friendship has grown, Citron has been more comfortable asking Masumi for help.)
Yota	“..... We are still missing a person in the quartet. We are not complete without all four parts.”
Enis	“--“
Yota	“Please come back. I have spoken with the others and we decided in order to take care of ourselves, we should sit out unless we can find another player.”
Izumi	(On the other end as well, it seems that Masumi’s attitude towards Citron has gotten gentler as the two have grown closer.)
Yota	“Our sound alone is also not enough.”
Enis	“..... I understand.”
Izumi	(Yota invites Enis to join the quartet once again. The four of them participate in the school-wide competition, playing vigorously--)
Yota	“....”
Enis	“....”
Izumi	(A sound as warm as spring.... The way Masumi and Citron play makes it sound as if they are speaking to each other.)
	(Despite the two of them having just picked up their violins again, their sound feels more synchronised than ever. It must be from the time the two spent at that museum.)
Spring Troupe	Thank you so much!
Citron	Thank you for your beautiful sound, Masumi.
Masumi	Don’t mention it. It was just for the director.
	-- However, I think today’s performance was the best I have ever had.
Citron	I think so too. What an amazing quartet we had!

ranka