Kumon Hyodo/Banquet of Blooming

Starring "Kumon"

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

Kumon	Tch!
	*hits*
	AW YEAH! HOME RUN!
Yuki	Heh.
Tenma	Way to go, Kumon.
Kumon	Hehe! High fiiive!
	*high fives*
	Going to a batting cage with everyone is just the best!
	Thanks for coming along, you two!
Tenma	Well, we have our screening party for “First Crush Baseball” coming up. We also came here back during the original show, so it’s a perfect chance to reminisce.
Yuki	I mean, that’s true.
Kumon	Yep, for sure!
	But are you sure you don’t wanna bat, Yuki?
Yuki	I’m the manager, so there’s no need for me to.
Kumon	Aww, but we came all the way here.
Yuki	But I guess there’s something else I can do while watching.
	For every pitch you hit, name one topic that would be good to discuss during our First Crush Baseball screening party.
	I’ll reminisce and think about them with you too.
Kumon	Ah, that might be nice! Sounds fun!
	Alright, I’ll do my best…!
Tenma	Wait, the ones batting are ultimately the ones coming up with the topics, aren’t we? You’ll do something too, right, Yuki?
Yuki	I’m arranging the conversation for the lead and co-lead who have the most fond memories.
Tenma	*Sigh*, what the heck? Aren’t you just conveniently dodging?
Yuki	‘Kay, I put the coins in so hit ‘em out of the park.
Tenma	O-oi!
Kumon	Woah, hold on, hold on!
	Hm, hm~ ♪
Izumi	Did something nice happen, Kumon-kun?
Kumon	Hehe, I’m just super psyched for our screening party today!
	At first, I was so nervous I wasn’t sure what to do~—.
	But I started looking forward to it since I went to a batting cage with Tenma-san and Yuki and we came up with some conversation topics! I was counting down the days~.
Izumi	(I wonder if those two backed Kumon-kun up so he wouldn’t feel nervous.)
	Oh yeah. You’ll also be taking a polaroid as a present for the audience at the end of the day. I’ll be counting on you.
Kumon	Ah, right! For the project that Sakyo-san mentioned!
	I’ll try my best!
Tenma	It’s almost showtime, Kumon.
Kumon	Gotcha!
Yuki	What’s with the glove? It’ll get in the way if you bring it.
Kumon	I need it since it’s my other partner!
Yuki	Alright then.
Izumi	Get out there, you three! Have fun!
Kumon	We played so much baseball together during this show, didn’t we!
Tenma	There was one person who didn’t join in at all though.
Yuki	There were others who didn’t participate apart from me.
	Besides, I made sure to cheer as a manager.
Tenma	Kumon played baseball originally, so his pitches were fast.
Kumon	Really?
	Hehe, I feel shy if you compliment me~.
	Ah! I know. All of us should hold a baseball tournament next time!
Yuki	And who do you mean by “all of us”?
Kumon	Everyone here! Including the audience!
Tenma	Dude, that’s impossible…
Kumon	Eh~. It’s possible if we rent a baseball stadium or something, isn’t it?
Yuki	That’s even more unreasonable.
Kumon	Tsk~.
	Ah, speaking of baseball stadiums, I remembered something!
	There’s something I wanted to ask the audience members!
Audience member A	What is it?
Audience member B	Ask us anything~!
Kumon	I’m a Tiger’s fan, you know! I wanna ask how many Tiger’s fans are in the audience right now!
	I’m gonna take a survey!
	Raise your hand if you’re a Tiger’s fan on the count of three!
	And three!
Audience member A	Me!
Audience member B	Hereee.
Kumon	Ohh~! Thanks, everyone!
	It was sorta less than I thought though…
	Are there more fans of different teams around here~?
Yuki	They might not have a favourite team to begin with.
Kumon	Ah, I see!
Tenma	Thanks for answering Kumon’s hopeless question.

Izumi	We successfully wrapped up the talk show.
	Great job.
Yuki	I never thought he would actually ask how many Tiger’s fans there were.
Izumi	Eh?
Kumon	That was the first topic I came up with when the three of us went to the batting cage!
Izumi	Ahaha, I see.
Tenma	Didn’t you let it go since you said it had nothing to do with First Crush Baseball?
Kumon	We rarely get this kinda chance, so I wanted to ask it after all.
Izumi	Alright, shall we take the polaroid now?
Kumon	Sure! Go ahead!
Izumi	Thanks. I got a great shot.
Kumon	Thanks!
Tenma	Yeah. It came out great, didn’t it?
Izumi	Yep, what a huge smile!
Yuki	It’s not bad.
Kumon	Hehe. Thanks, guys!
	*dream starts*
???	—chan… Izumi-chan!?
Izumi	Mmm…
	(Huh, Kumon-kun?
	He’s wearing the Sakura High uniform…)
	(I’ve been having a lot of dreams of everyone’s lead roles these days…
	So that means this isn’t Kumon-kun, but Akiyama, right?)
Akiyama	Are you okay?
Izumi	Ah, yes! I’m fine!
Akiyama	That’s a relief…
	You were sleeping on the bench, so I wondered if something was wrong.
Izumi	It looks like I dozed off for a second.
	Thanks for worrying about me.
Akiyama	Not at all. Washimiya-san nagged our ears off telling us to take care of the only great 2 managers we have.
Izumi	2 managers?
Akiyama	Um, yes.
	…Did I say something weird?
Izumi	…Oh, no! That’s not—.
	!?
	(EH!?
	I just realized I’m wearing a Sakura High school uniform too!?)
	(In other words, I’m one of the managers for the Sakura High baseball club right now…?)
Akiyama	You’ve been acting kind of strange, Izumi-chan…
	You’re really not feeling well, are you?
Izumi	Sorry, that’s not it.
	Akiya—.
	(Ah, but Kumon-kun calls me by my name, so we might be classmates.)
	(It might be better to call him Souta-kun…)
Akiyama	You know what, I’m worried, so let’s go to the infirmary!
Izumi	(I guess it would be better to follow him quietly here.)
	Sure, I’ll go.
Akiyama	…
Izumi	? What’s wrong?
Akiyama	…I-if you don’t mind, why don’t you take my arm?
	If you’re having trouble walking!
Izumi	!
	Fufu. Okay, thank you.
	*dream ends*
Izumi	…!
	(I fell asleep while working.)
	(…It kind of felt like I was enjoying my youth.)
	*door opens*
Kumon	Ah, Director!
Izumi	Woah, Kumon-kun.
Kumon	? What’s the matter?
CHOICE 1: I remembered First Crush Baseball [+] Izumi I was just remembering First Crush Baseball. Kumon Oh, really! Izumi Yeah. The screening party and the talk show were a huge hit, huh? Kumon I had tons of fun too! A lot of memories and thoughts surfaced, not just at the batting centre when we came up with conversation topics, but while we were chatting during the talk show too. Like about our rehearsals, role study, and street acts… and now, I’m thinking about how I can act this part out, or how I’d like to add an adlib here and there. Hehe, theatre is just so deep and interesting! I’d love to try acting even more roles from here on out! I want you to teach me everything you know, Director! I’ll be counting on you! Izumi Of course. I’m happy to work with you too. I’m looking forward to your acting, Kumon-kun. Kumon Great! I’m all fired up~!
CHOICE 2: I had a dream where Akiyama appeared [+] Izumi Actually, I was sleeping just now… And I had a dream where Akiyama from First Crush Baseball appeared. Kumon Wait, for real!? What was the Akiyama in your dream like? Izumi He was kind and really easy to talk to, just like you, Kumon-kun. Kumon I see~. Hehe…! That’s so nice~. I wanna have a dream where Director appears too~. Tonight, I’ll go to sleep while thinking about you so I can dream of you. Izumi (For some reason, I feel a bit shy when he says that…)
Kumon	Oh yeah. By the way, do you know where Tenma-san is?
Izumi	If you need Tenma-kun, he said he was going to be out today.
Kumon	Ah~, really? I was thinking of asking him to play catch with me for the first time in a while…
Izumi	…If you’re alright with me, then I can be your partner?
Kumon	Eh, really!?
	Hooray! Please do!
	Alright, then… I’ll lend my favourite Tiger’s colour glove specially to you!
	Here!
Izumi	Thanks.
Kumon	Hehe! Okay, let’s head to the courtyard!
	C’mon, Director. Hurry, hurry~!
Izumi	Wah! I got it, so give me a second…!

Anna