Juza Hyodo/Blessings of Blooming

Pair Performance: Juza with Banri

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

Banri	…So, whatcha pick?.
Juza	…It’s “Cinderella.”
Banri	Huh?
Juza	It’s “Cinderella.”
Banri	…
Juza	…Let’s just read what’s written down for now.
Banri	Yeah…
Juza	“A letter invitation from the castle of the land, telling people that they have opened their doors for a ball. Commoner Cinderella thinks that the letter was delivered by mistake.”
Juza	“However, the invitation has a message written on it from the Prince—"
Juza	The only two characters are Cinderella and the Prince.
Banri	Looks like it.
Banri	So, what’re the lines?
Juza	They’re, “Come meet me, ok,”and “It can’t be helped.”
Banri	Ugh…
Banri	So outta all those options, you went and chose this theme.
Juza	Shut it. You’re the one who told me to choose.
Banri	Quit goin’ around blamin’ others.
Juza	Hah?
Banri	Hah?
Izumi	Ok ok, stop fighting. I’m looking forward to your guys’ Cinderella, ok.
Juza	…k.
Banri	Sigh…Well, guess I’ll give it a try.
	[Later]
Juza	(Cinderella, huh…)
Juza	(What do I do…? I guess I can’t choose to wear girls clothin’, can I…?)
Juza	(…Times like these call for sugar.)
Juza	(…Shit, I’m almost out.)
Juza	(Speakin’ of which, I thought about goin’ shopping but didn’t go.)
Juza	(…I should go.)
Banri	Goin’ somewhere?
Juza	Huh? None of your business.
Banri	…O—k.
Juza	(That’s strange, he backed down immediately. What’s up with him…)
Juza	(Anyways, gotta reset this fuzzy feelin’ quickly.)
	[Later]
Juza	(I’ll buy this, and this…and also this.)
Juza	(…Is this, the last one?)
???	Ah.
Juza	! …Sorry, for bumpin’ your hand.
Aoshi	No, I should be the one…Oh?
Juza	…It’s Aoshi.
Aoshi	Juza-san? How unexpected.
Juza	…Yeah.
Aoshi	Ah, these Yoyo Choco sticks…This is the last one, it seems.
Juza	…Yeah.
Aoshi	You can have it, Juza-san.
Juza	Nah that’s—
Aoshi	It seems like you really want to eat it.
Juza	…
Aoshi	Juza-san?
Juza	…Aoshi, I have a suggestion.
Aoshi	Eh?
	[Later]
Juza	This.
Aoshi	What is it.
Juza	Looks like you wanna eat the Yoyo Choco sticks.
Juza	Since there was only one left, we can split it right here.
Aoshi	You could have just said so.
Aoshi	…Thank you for the food.
Aoshi	Nom…They’re definitely delicious.
Juza	Yeah….nom nom.
Juza	So you also shop there often, Aoshi.
Aoshi	No, just sometimes. I was actually thinking about doing some extra practice in the practice room…
Juza	And I ended up interruptin’ you.
Aoshi	Ah. No, that’s not true. In the end, I just wasn’t able to go to the practice room.
Juza	?
Aoshi	On my way to the practice room, I got a call from Kabuto-san and ended up having a bad feeling about going.
Aoshi	And what did Kabuto-san say? “I’m using the practice room, so don’t come. That’s it.”…is what he said.
Aoshi	He didn’t even listen to a single thing I said, and hung up.
Juza	That…sounds rough.
Aoshi	So as revenge, well not exactly but, I ended up passing by the small time candy store and decided to get something.
Juza	So that’s what it was.
Aoshi	…Speaking of which, you’re doing that as well it seems. The special performance I think it was called.
Juza	You knew.
Aoshi	That is, because you may be our opponents for the Fleur Award. I’m rather good at gathering information.
Aoshi	Are you doing alright with your practice for this special performance?
Juza	…Honestly, I’m kinda lost.
Aoshi	Is double casting that much different than what you’re used to?
Aoshi	Your partner is Banri-san, correct? With the amount of time you have been acting, it’s quite strange that you would feel confused.
Juza	Nah, I don’t have a problem with the double castin’. The problem is…that we have to act out Cinderella.
Aoshi	Huh?
Juza	Ah, no… we’re doin’ pair performances as part of our practice.
Aoshi	Aah, so that’s what it was…
Juza	Speakin’ of which, you’ve played the role of a girl before, Aoshi. How’d you act it out?
Aoshi	How did I…It was extremely rough.
Aoshi	Besides, there’s already an original story for Cinderella, you just have to attain Cinderella’s mindset, and act accordingly.
Aoshi	That’s something you’re good at, Juza-san.
Juza	...
Juza	(What kinda mindset is a Cinderella mindset…?)
Aoshi	Why is your role a female role in the first place? I think it would be better for you to play the role of the Prince or something, Juza-san.
Juza	Nah, I’m doin’ the Prince’s role, and Cinderella’s. We have to alternate.
Aoshi	Then I think it would be a good idea for you to ask Banri-san as well.
Juza	That’s…you’re right but…
Juza	He’s been tellin’ me since the beginning that a female role doesn’t suit me.
Aoshi	You just straight up accept it.
Juza	…It’s frustratin’ but, I don’t think his judgement is wrong.
Juza	Lately he’s been workin’ as an assistant director, so I’m sure his advice is accurate.
Juza	He’s watchin’ our performance from a different perspective than Director is.
Juza	…And I trust that side of him.
Aoshi	Sigh…I see.
Aoshi	Then, you should just do as you said. If playing a female role doesn’t suit you, then don’t play a female role.
Juza	…Don’t play a female role?
Aoshi	Yes. If you don’t suit the role, you should make the role suit you.
Aoshi	After all, it’s only practice. Even if you have a script, you don’t have the presence of other people, so you should do what you want.
Juza	...!
Aoshi	However, you should only do it within the limits of not bothering other people. Please don’t go creating people who are easily manipulated.
Juza	I see… thanks, Aoshi.
Juza	Do you want the snacks I bought earlier as thanks?
Aoshi	…Well, if you’re offering, I’ll take them.

Banri	…Hey, I’ve got somethin’ to ask you.
Juza	That’s a coincidence, me too.
Banri	Could it be ‘bout the pair performance?
Juza	Yeah. I thought it’d be a good idea to have a briefin’ session.
Banri	…That’s a pretty strange opinion comin’ from you.
	[Later]
Juza	...
Izumi	(They have to interchange their roles, so I wonder if they’ve changed anything about their performance.)
Juza	…I’m startin’.
Izumi	It looks like everything went well.
Juza	Yeah. It’s ‘cuz I had a briefin’ session with Settsu this time around…So I think I can show you somethin’ worthwhile.
Izumi	I’m looking forward to it!
Izumi	Are you good to go as well, Banri-kun?
Banri	No problems here.
Izumi	Then, please start.
	[On Stage]
Cinderella (Juza)	“An invitation to a ball from the castle of this land…?”
Cinderella	“I don’t understand why they would send an invitation like this to a single, shabby commoner like me.”
Cinderella	“They probably made a mistake while deliverin’.”
Cinderella	“…But, no matter how much I look at it, the invitation is addressed to me.”
Cinderella	“It could be a prank…but if there’s a chance of it being real, that’d be pretty troublesome.”
Cinderella	“I should confirm one more time.”
Cinderella	“…? There’s somethin’ written here.”
Cinderella	“‘I’ll be waitin’ for you at the castle.’ …That sounds really unsettlin’.”
Cinderella	“Could this be the Prince’s handwritin’? Rather than an invitation to a ball, it seems like he’s askin’ me to duel with him.”
Cinderella	“Hmph…I don’t really get it but, I’ll try goin’.”
	[Later]
Prince (Banri)	“You finally came, Cinderella.”
Cinderella	“I came ‘cuz some shitty Prince told me to.”
Cinderella	“Why did you write me an invitation?”
Prince	“I’ve decided. I wanna meet a strong opponent.”
Prince	“This castle’s boring. No one here has a backbone. Both the royal family and the nobles, they have pretty impressive titles but are weak on the inside.”
Prince	“So to kill some time, I wrote invitations to some commoners. I thought there might be at least one strong person among them.”
Cinderella	“You’re a pretty violent Prince, huh. Is that how you’re gonna run this country?”
Prince	“Might makes right.”
Prince	“Anyways, what I’m doin’ isn’t all that bad. If you win, I’ll give you anythin’ you want.”
Cinderella	“Hoh, so those glass slippers displayed over there are up for grabs too.”
Prince	“Huh? …Ah, those glass slippers. Yeah, of course.”
Prince	“You done yappin’? I’m itchin’ to start this fight.”
Cinderella	“Hmph…bring it.”
	[Fighting]
Prince	“Gu, u…”
Cinderella	“Looks like I won.”
Prince	“Shit…I wasn’t expecting this…”
Cinderella	“As promised, gimme one of those glass slippers.”
Prince	“Wait, I haven’t lost ye—"
Cinderella	“If you can’t stand up, then that means you’ve lost…You’re a pretty interestin’ Prince.”
Cinderella	“…We can always have a rematch.”
Cinderella	“But, next time you’ve gotta bring the other glass slipper with you, Ouji-sama.
Prince	"Tsk… can’t be helped I guess…”
Prince	“Definitely…when I see you again…next time I’ll…!”
	[Off Stage]
Izumi	I didn’t know that Cinderella could be this manly…!
Cinderella	I was havin’ a lot of trouble at the beginning ‘cuz I was really influenced by the original story.
Juza	But, once I figured out that I could interpret it how I wanted as long as the plot and dialogue were similar, our discussions went by pretty smoothly.
Banri	I think I kinda overdid it with the changes, though. Well, it’s impossible to expect this guy to be able to play a convincing Cinderella.
Izumi	You didn’t have to say that…
Juza	…Well, with where I stand right now, it was pretty difficult.
Banri	...Hmph.
Izumi	(Being able to listen to each other’s advice really makes it seem like they’ve grown…)
Banri	Anyways, let’s hurry up and take the picture.
Juza	…Shut it, I know.
Izumi	Alright I’m taking it, 1, 2…3.
	[Takes Picture]
Izumi	That was really cool. The vibe was exactly the same as your Cinderella from earlier.
Banri	Hey, quit tryna steal my spotlight.
Juza	Huh? I ain’t stealing nothin’. This is what I gotta do since I was the one who was playin’ Cinderella.
Prince	Should I beat you up again?
Juza	Hah?
Banri	Hah?
Izumi	(And I’d thought they’d grown… However they develop their skills, this is the one thing that won’t ever change.)

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