Itaru Chigasaki/SSR Family

Role Study 【Eight】

Backstage Stories

Part 1

	*knock, knock*
Sakuya	Please excuse us!
Citron	We came, Itaru!
Masumi	Why’d you ask all of Spring troupe to gather in room 103 after rehearsal?
Itaru	You guys still don’t know about VR.
Tsuzuru	Huh, what was that?
Itaru	You guys still don’t know…
Tsuzuru	Like I said, what’s with that attitude!
Masumi	I’m leaving.
Itaru	Wait—hold on, hold on.
Chikage	You should hurry up and tell us what you want.
Itaru	Today, I have something I definitely want all the Spring troupe members to experience.
	Look, this is it.
Sakuya	These are…
Citron	OH! They’re VR goggles!
Tsuzuru	There’s exactly enough for all of us.
Itaru	Won't you guys leave real life behind and join me on “this side”?
Masumi	Your excitement's so cringe…
Chikage	Agreed.
Sakuya	You can play 3D games with these, right?
Itaru	Nah, it’s not just games. VR is…
	See, the larger part the story in the upcoming play will be made up of interactions in a VR space.
	So that’s why I wanted everyone to actually experience the latest in VR communication.
Sakuya	Oh, I see…!
Citron	Good idea! That sounds super fun!
Chikage	I’m not as enthused. But I guess it can’t be helped if it’s for role study.
Masumi	Guess I’ve got no choice…
Itaru	So that being said, before we put the VR goggles on and dive into the VR realm…
	How about each of us choose an avatar to start off?
	Download this app.
Chikage	You can set one from an app?
Tsuzuru	An avatar… ooh, there’s a whole bunch of them.
Sakuya	There’s some that aren’t humans…!
Citron	This is so hype~!
	I’d love to transform into so many different things!
	Ohh! This avatar is hella cool!
	A mythical creature!? I’ve chosen this one!
Masumi	…I’m fine with this one.
Chikage	Well, I guess I'll pick something safe, too.
Itaru	What are you guys talking about?
	At times like this, you gotta enjoy a totally different look from usual.
Masumi	You’re such a pain…
Sakuya	Ah! It’s a Cheshire cat avatar!
	I’m going to choose this one!
Tsuzuru	Oh yeah. You played the Cheshire cat in our Alice play.
	What should I do? Hmm… should I choose one around here?
	Like this… okay, I think I’m set.
Citron	I want us to show each other our avatars before we gather in the VR lobby!
Sakuya	Good idea. We won’t recognize each other otherwise, right?
Masumi	Can we show each other our app setting screens?
Chikage	I see. So these are everyone’s avatars.
Tsuzuru	Woah, that was a surprise. How do I put it—Citron’s avatar looks god-like…
Sakuya	It’s so cool!
Citron	Thanks! Sakuya and Tsuzuru’s avatars are also really cute!
Chikage	Masumi’s avatar is simple and doesn’t have that many accessories, huh?
Masumi	Yours is the same way, isn't it?
Sakuya	But it’s wearing headphones, so it has Masumi’s vibe!
Chikage	By the way, Chigasaki isn't done yet?
Citron	What are you doing, Itaru?
Itaru	Hold on a sec. I’m still customizing it.
Tsuzuru	Ha? Don't you have an avatar that you usually use!?
Itaru	I mean, I do. But I wanna tweak it and balance it out so we can all be a party together.
Masumi	We’re leaving you.
Itaru	WAIT!! Don’t leave me behind!!
Citron	Itaru’s commitment is black wiring.
Sakuya	Black wiring?
Chikage	Do you mean “backfiring”?
Citron	That’s it!
Tsuzuru	*Sigh*, good grief…

Anna