Kazunari Miyoshi/Sparkling☆Starmine

Youth’s Best Shot!

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2Part 3

Izumi	Kazunari-kun, do you have a second?
Kazunari	Wassup, Izumi-chan?
Izumi	I’ll make sure to send the data later just to be safe… but before that I thought I’d give you this.
Kazunari	Is this the magazine’s questionnaire?
Izumi	That’s right. Make sure to answer it by the date written here.
Kazunari	Ok!
	(I guess I should go over the contents for now. Um, what is it what is it~?)
	“Tell us about your favorite best shot from your youth.” ….?
	[Later]
Kazunari	Sumi’s handmade onigiri is a super duper pretty triangle!
Misumi	Eheheh, I know right~.
Kumon	That’s Sumi-san for you!
Muku	Fufu, making onigiri’s with everyone is really fun.
Tenma	I guess that’s true but…
Yuki	What? It’s written all over your face that you want to say something.
Tenma	Nah, I was just thinking that it’s rare that everyone is off work at the same time, so why are we making onigiri?
Yuki	It’s because we’re the only ones in the dorm today.
Kazunari	Everyone in AKIVE left early this morning for their CM photoshoot~.
Tenma	But we’re the ones who are tired from getting off work late yesterday… so why don’t we just get something delivered…
Misumi	But I wanna eat the onigiri that we all made togeth—er!
Kumon	And I wanna make a hugeeee onigiri!
Tenma	Seriously, you guys… Well, I guess spending our day off like this every once in a while isn’t the worst thing in the world.
	[Later]
Muku	Alright, and with this, we’re done!
Misumi	There’re so many triangles on the table~!
Yuki	Looking at it again, I think we made too many.
Tenma	All the rice in the rice cooker has been made into onigiri.
Kumon	With everyone’s power combined, we’ll definitely be able to finish it all!
Kazunari	Def, and they taste really yummy too!
	Right! Since the opportunity has risen, mind if I take a commemorative pic?
Tenma	Yeah, I don’t mind.
Yuki	I swear, Kazunari really likes taking pictures.
Kazunari	It’s kinda just like a part of my life~. Alright, with everyone holding an onigiri…
	Say cheese!
	(Yeah, this picture turned out great! With this…)
	[Later]
Kumon	This onigiri is he—lllla yummy!
Misumi	They turned out to be such great triangles because of all the love everyone put into making them~.
Muku	Ah, my onigiri has salmon in it. What about yours, Yuki-kun?
Yuki	Tuna mayo.
Tenma	Mine has bonito flakes and konbu in it, so I hit the jackpot.
Yuki	I mean, you’re only saying you “hit the jackpot” because you really like bonito flakes and konbu.
Kazunari	But it makes you really happy when your favorite filling is inside! What could be in mine~?
	…But, before that. I need to ask y’all something.
Misumi	Something to ask us?
Kazunari	Actually, I got the question, “Tell us about your favorite best shot from your youth,” in the magazine questionnaire.
	So if y’all don’t mind, could I use the picture we took earlier as “my youth’s best shot” and send it to the magazine people?
Yuki	Sure but…. with a theme like that, wouldn’t it be better to choose something with more of a special vibe?
Tenma	While it’s true that the picture we took earlier wasn’t half bad, I feel like its impact falls flat when it comes to “a youthful best shot.”

Yuki	Don’t you have any other youth-like pictures that stand out to you?
Kazunari	I have a bunch! But the pic I took with all of you screams “youth’s best shot!”
	That’s exactly why it’s so hard to choose~.
Kumon	6NATZ’s concept is “youth” after all!
Kazunari	Anyways, there’s still time until the deadline so I’ll think about it some more.
Muku	If there’s anything I can do to help you, please feel free to ask.
Kazunari	Yeah, thankies~!
	Alright, now that I’ve collected myself, let’s see which filling is in my onigiri… it’s a hybrid of salmon, tuna mayo, bonito flakes, and konbu!
Misumi	Kazu, you got the ultimate jackpot!
Kazunari	Yippee! By eating this, I feel like I’ll be able to do my very best at the shoot tomorrow~!
Muku	Speaking of which, you said that you were going on a short outing during your shoot tomorrow, Kazu-kun.
Misumi	An outing, where’re you going~?
Kazunari	To schoolsies.
Tenma	School?
Kazunari	It’s a part of a documentary-style variety show project, I’m scheduled to join a high school class and experience being a student for a day.
	The concept of the variety show is to reclaim just one day of your lost student life.
Kumon	So that means you’re gonna be a high schooler for a day, Kazu-san!
Yuki	Are you going to wear a uniform too?
Kazunari	OFC! I’m probs gonna wear a uniform, dye my hair black, and wear glasses like a high schooler.
Tenma	Seems like you’re going to become a proper high schooler more than I imagined.
Muku	It sounds like it’ll be a valuable experience.
Misumi	I hope you have a fun school experience~!
Kazunari	Yeah!
	[Later]
Kazunari	(It’s been a hot minute since I’ve been to school~. Stuff like the vibe of this hallway feels kinda nostalgic.)
Staff	Kazunari-kun, we’re looking forward to working with you today.
Kazunari	I’m looking forward to working with you!
Staff	We’d like for you to greet the classmates that you will be spending the day with today, but…
	Try not to be too conscious of the camera while we’re filming, and just act naturally.
Kazunari	Got it!
Staff	Alright then, get the cameras rolling!
	[Later]
Kazunari	I’m 6NATZ’s Kazunari! Looking forward to being your classmate today~!
Student A	Wah, it’s really Kazunari!
Student B	Isn’t he giving off a completely different vibe than usual?
Student C	But the black hair and glasses totally suit him!
Kazunari	For reals? That’s a relief~!
	(Judging from their reactions, it seems like they’re accepting me pretty well.)
Teacher	Hey everyone, settle down! Alright, Kazunari-kun, would you like to sit in that available seat back there?
Kazunari	Ok!
	[Later]
Student A	No one told me that there was going to be an English quiz first thing in the morning~.
Student B	It would’ve been better if I had reviewed the material once I got home yesterday.
Kazunari	Y’all weren’t expecting that quiz from earlier either?
Student B	Ah, Kazunari. Yeah, it was completely out of the blue…
Kazunari	I see~. I wasn’t mentally prepared at all either, it was like my heart was trying to pound out of my chest.
Student A	Huh? But, you got a pretty good score didn’t you Kazunari?
Student B	You’re right, could it be that you’re really good at English?
Kazunari	I wouldn’t say I’m particularly good at it, but I don’t exactly hate it either.
Student A	I’m so bad at it, and totally messed up that quiz earlier. Could you show me how to answer this question?
Student B	Could you…teach me too?
Kazunari	I totes can! Feel free to ask away, I’ll try my best to answer.
Students	Yay—!
Kazunari	(I feel like I’m getting super stoked over such a trivial matter, this high schooler-like tension is so cutesy~)
	Hm?
Male Student	.....
Kazunari	(That male student… It’s hard to tell from afar, but it seems like he’s looking this way.)
	(Does he want to talk to me or something?)

Male Student	.....
Kazunari	GJ~!
Male Student	Wah, Kazunari-kun? W-What’s up?
Kazunari	Sorry for scaring ya!
	Y’see, I haven’t talked to you yetsies. So, I thought it’d be nice if we talked for a bit!
Male Student	You’re pretty amazing, Kazunari-kun…
Kazunari	Eh?
Male Student	I just recently transferred here. But, I haven’t been able to make a single friend yet.
	So, after seeing how quickly you befriended everyone, I ended up staring at you out of jealousy.
Kazunari	(I see. Then, I wasn’t imagining things when I felt like someone’s eyes were on me earlier.)
Male Student	I know asking something like this so suddenly may be troubling but, how are you able to make friends?
Kazunari	I think it’s better not to rush things. And more importantly, you should want to take care of yourself first.
Male Student	Take care of oneself?
Kazunari	Yeah. Like giving your all and having fun when it comes to your hobbies and stuff you like!
	People are naturally drawn to those who look like they’re having fun, aren’t they?
Male Student	That’s true…..I haven’t really been in the mood to take any pictures lately, despite it being my hobby and all.
Kazunari	So, your hobby is taking pictures? BTW, I really like snapping pics as well~.
	Y’know, I was actually thinking that I’d go around various places of campus and take some commemorative pics with all of our classmates later.
	If you’d like, wanna tag along? I’d be super stoked if you were to give me some tips on how to take those pics!
Male Student	.....Fufu, alright.
Kazunari	(Ah, he finally smiled.)
	Now that it’s been decided, let’s just try taking one before our break ends~!
	[Later]
Kazunari	I’m home~.
Muku	Ah, welcome home Kazu-kun. How was your school experience?
Kazunari	It was super fun! And I feel like I was able to take the bestest pic for my “youth’s best shot!”
	[Later]
Kazunari	Ah, welcome home Izumi-chan!
Izumi	I’m home.
	Huh? Are you guys watching the variety show that Kazunari-kun appeared in?
Misumi	We are~. It looks like Kazu had a lot of fun being a high school student!
Tenma	You’re just in time for the climax scene.
TV	“Kazunari-kun, are you really leaving already?”
	“Sniffle, I had so much fun today…thank you.”
	“Hey now everyone, don’t cry! Let’s gather around and put on our smiley faces so we can take the pic!”
Muku	Everyone looks so reluctant to part ways…It really seems like they all had a lot of fun spending the day with Kazu-kun.
Kumon	The guy who was having a hard time making friends looks so happy now!
Kazunari	After getting together and taking that pic with all of our classmates, it seems like he naturally opened up to everyone~.
Yuki	Heh, that's a relief.
Izumi	It seems like the group photo in the magazine that went on sale today of Kazunari-kun’s “Favorite Best Shot from my Youth” is also of this moment.
Kazunari	Yeah. I couldn’t decide until the last minute on whether to use the onigiri pic or not.....
Izumi	An onigiri picture?
Kazunari	That pic is also super duper great, so I’ll make sure to show you later Izumi-chan!
Izumi	Fufu, thanks.

RedBungyMK