Juza Hyodo/My Steps Have Become Light Too

Unchanging Flavour

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2Part 3

Tenma	You in, Juza-san?
	*door opens*
Juza	Tenma.
	What’s up?
Tenma	I have a little something I want to give you.
	Wanna eat this daifuku?
Juza	…!
	What’s up with that?
Tenma	It’s a gift from a staff member from my drama.
	I got it at the site of my shoot.
	I have a lot so I’m planning to distribute them to everyone. But I figured I’d start from Juza-san first.
Juza	From me…?
Tenma	Yeah. You love daifukus, don't you, Juza-san?
	Plus, you’re always taking care of me at uni too.
Juza	I see.
	Thanks.
	Like I thought, the cafeteria sure is packed during lunchtime…
Taichi	Juza-saaan!
	There’s a free spot here!
Juza	You saved me, Taichi.
	Tsuzuru-san and Tenma are here too, huh?
Tsuzuru	Good job today, Juza.
	It’s hard to find a seat in the cafeteria at this hour, huh?
Tenma	Juza-san’s huge, so it was easy to spot you from here though.
Juza	That reminds me, Tenma.
	The daifuku yesterday was real tasty. I enjoyed it.
Tsuzuru	Ahh, the ones you gave out last night?
	Yeah, it tasted great.
Taichi	It was super soft, right!
Tenma	Really?
	I’m glad if everyone liked them.
Juza	It’s not just that I liked it.
	I could even eat, like, 10 more of ‘em.
Tenma	That’s just like you, Juza-san…
	By the way, I can show you the shop where those daifukus are being sold.
Juza	What?
Tsuzuru	You know the shop?
Tenma	Yeah. As we were talking, I asked the staff member who gave me the daifukus which store they were from.
Taichi	Ohh, as expected of Ten-chan!
Juza	In that case, can I ask you to guide me?
Tenma	Of course. When’s good?
	If it’s now, then today works for me.
Juza	Then today on our way home.
Taichi	Hold on a second!
	Will Ten-chan be able to guide you…?
Juza	?
Tenma	I said I could, so I would, didn’t I?
Tsuzuru	Um, no, I understand Taichi’s worries.
	I can only imagine you getting lost.
Juza	Lost…
Tenma	Hey…!
	I got the map on my smartphone too, so I’m sure I’ll be fine today!
Tsuzuru	Even if you say so…
Taichi	There are times when you get lost even though you have a map, Ten-chan.
Tenma	You guys…!
Taichi	We’ll follow along with you too!
	Right, Tsuzuru-kun?
Tsuzuru	Yeah, right.
	I also wanna eat that daifuku again.
Tenma	Seriously…
	Alright, can we meet up at the main gate after class is over?
Juza	Yeah.
	Lookin’ forward to it.

Juza	Could that be the store?
Tenma	Yeah, it’s that one over there.
TaichI	Uwahh, that’s a hella long line!
Tsuzuru	So it was such a popular shop, huh?
Tenma	Everyone at the site was saying how delicious it was.
Taichi	Guess we just have to wait and see.
	Alright, to the end of the line…
Store clerk	We’re very sorry, dear customers.
	There are only enough daifukus for those currently in line.
Tsuzuru	Eh, they’re sold out!?
Store clerk	Yes, we finished up just a moment ago…
Tenma	We were a little late, huh?
Juza	…
Taichi	Cheer up, Juza-kun!
	We can come a little earlier next time!
Tsuzuru	That’s right.
	And now we know where the shop is located too.
Juza	Yeah, you’re right.
Tenma	Erm, sorry about this, Juza-san.
	It looks like I dashed your hopes.
Juza	Nah, it’s not your fault, Tenma.
	You helped me out just by tellin’ me about the shop.
	Tsuzuru-san and Taichi, sorry for makin’ you guys come along.
	I’ll try comin’ here again to buy some another time.
	Hah…
Izumi	Juza-kun.
	What’s up with the sigh?
Juza	Ah, no, it’s not a big deal, but…
	The daifuku I got from Tenma yesterday was tasty, so we went out to buy the same ones. But they were all sold out, so we couldn’t get any.
Izumi	I see. That’s a shame, huh…
	I understand your disappointment too.
Juza	You do?
Izumi	Yeah. I also felt depressed when a limited edition curry got sold out right in front of my eyes the other day…
Juza	Director too, huh?
	Same here—we missed buying them by a hair.
	Maybe it's ‘cause I thought I'd be able to eat a daifuku again right away, but it was a huge shock…
Izumi	I feel you. Plus, in that sort of situation, your brain and mouth are already in sweets mode, right?
	But don’t worry about it, Juza-kun!
Juza	…What do you mean?
Izumi	I’ll give these to you.
Juza	These are…!
Izumi	Yep, Kamekichi manjus!
Juza	Is it alright for me to have this many…?
Izumi	Of course.
	Sorry, I know they can’t possibly be as delicious as those daifukus, and the expiration date is just around the corner…
	But if these Kamekichi manjus are ok with you, then won’t you eat some?
Juza	Yeah, I’ll have ‘em.
	Thanks, Director.
Izumi	You’re welcome.
	Ah, there’s still more, so just let me know if there aren’t enough.
Juza	I can have more if I run out…?
	I appreciate it.

Juza	I’ll definitely get my hands on them today…
	(I thought they might sell out again, so I came before the shop opened…)
	(At this hour, the line-up hasn’t gotten that long.
	In this case, I think I’ll be able to buy ‘em.)
Shop clerk	If you've decided, please go ahead.
Juza	I’d like 4 daifukus.
	(I gotta buy some for Tenma, Tsuzru-san and Taichi too.
	They came with me last time after all.)
Shop clerk	Thank you very much.
	Would you like anything else?
Juza	Let’s see…
	(Since I’m here, I guess I’ll also buy some gifts for Kumon and Muku.)
	Alright, I’ll get a black sesame rice cracker and a chocolate daifuku too.
Shop clerk	Then that will be 4 daifukus, one chocolate daifuku, and a black sesame rice cracker, right?
Juza	Yeah.
	…Wait, hold on a sec.
	Can I add one more as well?
Shop clerk	No problem, sir.
Juza	I’m back.
Kumon	Ah, welcome home, nii-chan!
Muku	Welcome back, Ju-chan.
	Did you go out somewhere?
Juza	I went to a traditional Japanese sweets shop that Tenma told me about.
Izumi	Could that be the shop with the daifukus that you mentioned before?
Juza	Yeah.
	I was actually able to buy them today.
Izumi	That’s great!
Juza	I bought gifts back for Kumon and Muku too.
	Here.
Muku	Wahh, a chocolate daifuku…!
	Thank you, Ju-chan!
Kumon	I got a black sesame rice cracker!
	Thanks, nii-chan!
Juza	And also, this is for you, Director.
Izumi	Eh, for me too?
Juza	Yeah.
	Eat this if you’d like.
Izumi	A strawberry daifuku!
	It looks really tasty…!
Juza	It’s thanks for the Kamekichi manjus the other day.
Izumi	Fufu. Those were just about to expire though.
	But thank you.
CHOICE 1: Why a strawberry daifuku? [+] Izumi Why did you choose a strawberry daifuku for me? Juza Ahh, it was written that it’s popular with girls. Also… For some reason, you give off a strawberry daifuku-like feeling. Izumi Ahaha, really? That’s the first time I’ve been told that. Juza But would you have liked curry flavour better…? Izumi That’s not true! This strawberry daifuku looks delicious, and it makes me the happiest that you thought of me and everyone else when you bought it. Juza I see. In that case, I’m glad.
CHOICE 2: The way it looks is cute too. [+] Izumi The way the strawberry daifuku looks is cute too, huh? Muku Yes, it’s so cute, like the daifuku is eating the strawberry in one big mouthful! Kumon Ahaha, it does look like that! Juza Pff, that’s true. Izumi It’s kind of a shame to eat it, huh… Muku Hah! S-sorry! I made a strange analogy… Juza I’m sure the daifuku’s happier being enjoyed and eaten. Kumon Yeah, yeah, that’s right! Let’s all eat up together! Izumi Fufu, right. Should I brew some tea later? Juza Sure.
Kumon	By the way, you mentioned it was “thanks for the Kamekichi manjus”?
Juza	When I was depressed I wasn’t able to buy the daifukus the other day, Director gave me a whole bunch of Kamekichi manjus.
Muku	So something like that happened.
Juza	But… I've already eaten all of them, so it's too late now, but was it really ok for me to have that many?
Izumi	Ahh, there’s no problem at all.
	Because about those—.
	*flashback starts*
Manager	Heave-ho, heave-ho…
Izumi	What’s with that box, Manager?
Manager	These are the Kamekichi manjus that are approaching their expiration date!
	They were found by Furuichi-san in the warehouse.
	"It’s inexcusable to dispose of them—you guys put them in your stomachs before they expire!" …was his order.
Izumi	Ehh…? Even if he says “everyone’s stomachs”, the only one who would eat them is Juza-kun…
	*flashback ends*
	—So for that reason, we planned to give them to Juza-kun from the start.
Kumon	I see!
Muku	Ju-chan likes the Kamekichi manjus, right!
Izumi	Yep. That’s why we were saved by having Juza-kun eat them.
Juza	…That reminds me, I got loads of Kamekichi manjus from Kamekichi and the Manager before in the past.
Izumi	Ahh, during the Kamekichi fiasco, right! They piled a table full of them as thanks to Juza-kun. That sure brings back memories.
Juza	Yeah, it does.
	The flavour hasn’t changed at all from back then.
	Let me know if something like that happens again.
	I’m grateful I can eat those Kamekichi manjus too.
Izumi	Fufu, I got it.
	When that happens, we’ll depend on Juza-kun again.

Anna