Juza Hyodo/Clumsy Rainy Blue

The False Accusation in the Passing Rain

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2Part 3

Juza	(It’s been raining a lot lately...)
	(I’d be drenched by now if Director hadn’t caught me back there...)
Izumi	Ah, wait a second, Juza-kun. Take this if you’re headed out.
Juza	...An umbrella? But it’s not raining.
Izumi	There’s been a lot of unexpected heavy rain lately. The weather report also said it might rain.
	This is my umbrella, but... it’s blue, so I don’t think it’d be weird for a man to use it.
Juza	...But if I borrow it, wouldn’t that cause you some trouble, Director?
Izumi	I don’t plan on heading out, so don’t worry about it.
Juza	...Okay.
Juza	(I don’t check the weather report that often... She always helps me out. I feel bad.)
	(...But man, this umbrella really doesn’t suit me.)
	(It doesn’t look like a woman’s umbrella, but it’s pretty small...)
	(...I don’t have anything else, so I shouldn’t complain about something I borrowed. —Huh?)
Elderly woman	—Phew.
Juza	(What’s that lady doing... She’s looking around—.)
	(Wait, is she gonna head home in this rain without an umbrella?)
	—Wait!
Elderly woman	Eep!? Wh-what is it....?
Juza	Ah.... Sorry.
	Please... use this umbrella.
Elderly woman	Eh? But what about you?
Juza	...I’ve got my jacket. I won’t get wet if I use this.
	...Well then.
Juza	(I wonder if that lady... Was bothered by suddenly getting an umbrella from a scary-looking guy like me.)
	(...Well, even if I scared her, it’s better than her getting drenched in this rain...)
Juza	(I got soaked... Guess I’ll head to the baths.)
Izumi	Ah, Juza-kun! Welcome home.
Juza	...!
Izumi	—Huh, you’re soaking wet!? Wait a moment!
Izumi	Here’s a towel. You’ll catch cold like that.
Juza	Y-yeah....
Izumi	You took the umbrella with you this morning, right? What happened?
Juza	...My bad. I borrowed it from you, but... I left it on the train.
	I’ll make up for it.
Izumi	You don’t have to worry about it at all. I make the same mistake all the time.
Juza	But—.
Izumi	It’s fine, really. Now I’m looking forward to choosing my next umbrella!
	I originally bought it at a goods shop in the shopping district, but there were lots of other stylish colors, too.
Juza	...If you say so, then.
Izumi	Be careful not to catch cold.
Juza	(...I lied on the spur of the moment.)

Juza	(...So this is the store where Director bought her umbrella.)
	(There really are all sorts of umbrellas... Which one’s good?)
	(I don’t know what kinds of colors women like... no, I don’t know what kind of color Director likes.)
Male student A	Man, I didn’t expect it to rain so suddenly.
Male student B	It’s sooo annoying~.
Male student C	Yeah~.
Juza	(Taking shelter from the rain, huh...)
Male student A	Hey, I just had a great idea... Yo, Yuuta.
Timid-looking boy	Wh-what...?
Male student A	Go snag some umbrellas for all of us.
Male student B	Oh, smart idea~.
Timid-looking boy	Eh!? N-no, I can’t....
Male student B	I want this one~.
Male student C	Then I’m taking this one~.
Male student A	And I’ll have this one. —Hold on to them, Yuuta. Here.
Juza	(Tch, this is making me sick. Guess I’ll stop them before they steal anything.)
Timid-looking boy	I don’t have enough money to buy all these...
Male student B	You just gotta run away fast!
Male student A	C’mon, here we go! Be a man!
Timid-looking boy	B-but....
Store owner	What’s with all this noise.
Male student C	Shit, he’s here!
Male student A	Run!
Timid-looking boy	Eh! W-wait for me....!
Store owner	...Hm? Hey, you, what are you planning to do with those umbrellas?
Timid-looking boy	Um... this is... uh...
Store owner	Are you trying to steal them!?
Timid-looking boy	N-no, that’s not...
Store owner	You can’t use that many umbrellas on your own. You must’ve planned on stealing and selling them.
	I’m going to call the police, so wait here.
Timid-looking boy	W-wait....
Juza	Hey, please wait a sec.
Store owner	Wh-what’s with you....
Juza	He didn’t do anything wrong. Some other guys put him up to it.
Store owner	They put him up to it... ? So where are these guys?
Juza	That’s—.
Store owner	I see, so you’re the one who told him to steal.
Juza	The hell?
Store owner	I’ll have you talk to the police as well—.
Izumi	...Huh, Juza-kun?
	What’s wrong? What are you doing here?
Juza	Director...
Store owner	Do you know him? I suspect these boys were shoplifting.
Izumi	Sh-shoplifting!? Wait, please tell me what’s going on!
Izumi	So you’re saying that... Juza-kun ordered this boy to steal the umbrellas?
Store owner	Yeah. He must’ve threatened this boy with his terrifying face. The poor kid.
Timid-looking boy	Ah...
Juza	(...Well, it’s better than this kid getting accused...)
Izumi	Um... Sorry, I hadn’t introduced myself yet.
Store owner	Hm? What’s this, all of a sudden? “MANKAI Company, Troupe Member 0, General Director”...?
Izumi	Juza-kun, you too. Show him your Troupe ID.
Juza	....? Yeah.

Izumi	We’re members of the same troupe. He’s an actor, and I’m the general director.
	I know him very well. There’s no way Juza-kun, of all people, would shoplift!
Juza	...Director.
Store owner	That’s not an excuse—.
Elderly woman	Oh my, what’s going on?
Store owner	Ah, mother. It’s just a little something.
Elderly woman	Hm? You’re....
Juza	Ah....?
Elderly woman	My my, I thought so! Wait just a moment.
Elderly woman	—Here you go, I’ll return this. Thank you for lending me your umbrella that day.
Store owner	Mother, do you know this shoplifter?
Elderly woman	...Shoplifter? What’s going on?
Store owner	Well—.
Store owner	—and that’s what happened.
Elderly woman	This child lent me his umbrella in the pouring rain. There’s no way he’d try to steal an umbrella.
Store owner	Well then, who...
Timid-looking boy	Um... I’m sorry! My classmates ordered me to steal, and—.
Izumi	I’m glad everything was cleared up, Juza-kun.
Juza	Yeah.
Timid-looking boy	Um... oniisan! Thank you for believing me.
Juza	No need to thank me. More importantly, stop hanging out with guys like that.
Timid-looking boy	Yes. I want to find friends I can trust, just like oniisan and oneesan...
Juza	...Good luck. See you.
Izumi	—So you didn’t lose your umbrella on the train, after all.
Juza	...Sorry for lying to you.
CHOICE 1: I don’t mind. [+] Izumi I don’t mind. It’s more rare for you to be so straightforward anyway, Juza-kun. Juza ...Yeah. But I didn’t think things would turn out like this.
CHOICE 2: You didn't need to lie. [+] Izumi You didn’t need to lie. It wasn’t something to hide, you know? Juza I couldn’t say I’d lent something I borrowed without asking...
Izumi	Well, this time it might’ve been for the better.
	I think you really saved that boy back there, Juza-kun.
Juza	Yeah. Being accused of something you didn’t do is tough... That kind of thing happened to me once, so I know.
	Back then... my little brother Kumon was the only one who didn’t suspect me. Just like you did today, Director.
	One person—just one person is enough. If they believe in you, that alone is enough to save you. I wanted that kid to understand that.
Izumi	Fufu. I’m sure that if another troupe member was around, they would’ve done the same thing and believed in you, Juza-kun.
Juza	Yeah. I know that nobody in the troupe would do that sorta thing.
Izumi	(Juza-kun.... I didn’t know he felt this way about the troupe.)
	But the troupe member ID really worked as an ID! We need to tell Kazunari-kun!
Juza	...Yeah, you’re right.

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