Kumon Hyodo/MANKAI Memory

Childhood Memory: KUMON

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2Part 3

Kumon	Huh? That anime you two are watching…
	Woahh~ that takes me back!
	I watched that lots, too! It’s super cool and hype, right!
Citron	Yes! I’m also into it right now~.
Itaru	They've been showing reruns lately.
	But it’s not that old that you’d say it takes you back, is it?
Kumon	Ehh, but that came out when I was, like, in first or second grade.
Itaru	HUH…!?
	No way… you’re kidding me…
Citron	Ohh, Itaru, you’re older than you think you are…
Itaru	Way to kick me while I’m down…
TV	“The magic stones have started to shine…!”
Citron	HAH! It’s scene of the exciting special move!
Kumon	I totally loved that special move~.
	And that magic stone necklace was cool too!
Itaru	“O light which dwells within the stones of old!”
Itaru & Kumon	“LIGHTNING SOUTHERN CROSS!!”
Citron	Ohh! How dashing!
	I want to do it too!
Kumon	Do it, do it, Citron-san! The pose goes like this…!
Itaru	That move really does catch your eye, huh?
Kumon	Ha~, that was interesting!
Citron	The episode was really fun this time too~!
Kumon	Let’s all watch it together again next week!
Itaru	Sure, I’m down.
Citron	I’m dying to see the continuation. I’m so eggcited!
Itaru	Alright then, I’ll be heading back to my room now…
Kumon	Ahh! That reminds me, I had something I was supposed to do!
Itaru	Hm? Homework?
Kumon	Nope, I have to pick out an accessory to use in the birthday bromide photoshoot, see!
	I gotta think about what I wanna choose.
Citron	The birthday bromide?
Itaru	Ahh, come to think of it, I’m not sure we’ve heard from Sakuya about that yet…
Kumon	Ahaha, you’ll know when it’s your turn, so it’s fine!
	Ummm… what should I choose…
Misumi	Kumon~? Is something bothering you?
Kumon	Um, you see, this time…
Misumi	Ah, no, hold on a sec!
	I’ll guess what Kumon’s searching for… hm, hm, hm.
	It’s the accessory you’ll use for the bromide!
Kumon	Amazin’, Sumi-san! You got it!
Misumi	Ehehe~!
Kumon	I thought baseball goods might work, so I took some out. But it didn’t really feel right.
Misumi	You think of baseball when you think of Kumon, huh~.
	But if you’re not sure, it might be a good idea to look for something back home.
	I found mine when I went back home and searched.
	It’s all thanks to Muku and Kumon telling me to try going back!
Kumon	Ahaha, I see!
	…Yeah, I’ll try heading home and searching too!
Misumi	I hope you find something nice~.

Kumon	I’m home!
Kumon’s mom	Oh my, welcome home.
	Did you need something today?
Kumon	We’re using things we own for a Theatre troupe photoshoot project!
	So I came back home to see whether I had anything nice.
	Ah! Can I eat at home today?
Kumon’s mom	Of course you can. In that case, I think I’ll make braised pork today.
Kumon	Woohoo!
	Hmm, I guess I’ll search this shelf here and over here too~.
	*rifles around*
Kumon’s mom	Do you want something to drink, Kumon?
Kumon	Yeah! Thanks!
Kumon’s mom	You’re turning your whole room upside down again, huh?
	You said you’ll be using a personal item, but what kind of thing are you searching for?
Kumon	Well, you see, I’m going to take pictures for a birthday bromide soon, but I’m supposed to choose one accessory, myself, to use in the photoshoot.
	The theme is a memorable item from before we entered the dorm.
	So I’m wondering what I should choose~.
Kumon’s mom	Oh, I see…
	Ah, in that case, isn’t there that thing?
Kumon	Eh, what, what!?
Kumon’s mom	I’m sure it was over here…
	Right, it’s here.
	You tried your very best to collect them—don’t you remember?
Kumon	…!
	This bottle of marbles and sea glass…!
	Amazin’! This brings back memories!
	*flashback starts*
TV	“O light which dwells within the stones of old!”
Kumon	“Lightning southern cross!”
	So cool! Mommy, I wanna use a necklace like that and unleash a special move too!
Kumon’s mom	In that case, why don’t you collect marbles and sea glass and try making one?
	If you do that, then you can make a necklace of your own like the one the child in the anime has.
Kumon	One of my own…?
	That’d be soooo cool!!
	I’m gonna collect stones that look just like the magic stones!
Kumon’s mom	I think you can find marbles at candy shops and DIY stores. And you might be able to pick up sea glass at the ocean.
	We’re going to the beach with Muku-chan’s family soon, so why don’t you try gathering some then?
Kumon	Yeah! I’ll do that!
	Mommy, look, look!
	I collected marbles and sea glass, and filled up the bottle!
Kumon’s mom	You did, that’s amazing.
	You searched and collected them from a bunch of different places, right?
Kumon	Yep!
	Hah~, they’re so pretty~.
	It’s kinda like each stone has a soul of its own inside…!
	If I have these stones, I feel like I can do a special move even if I don’t make them into a necklace…
	Alriiight, I’ll lift the bottle up like this and…!
	“O light which dwells within the stones of old!”
	“Lightning southern cross!”
Kumon’s mom	Fufu, you looked really cool there, Kumon.
Kumon	You mean it!? Hehehe!
	“O magic stones, answer my call!”
	“LIGHTNING SOUTHERN CROSS!”
	*flashback ends*
	Mommy laughed back then, so I did it over and over again, right?
	I felt super stoked when I thought I made you happy by doing that special move, you know?
Kumon’s mom	I really was happy though.
Kumon	Hehe, that’s great then!
	(I’m really glad if I can make someone smile by doing something. I’m sure mommy was that first person for me.)
	(And that feeling hasn’t changed even now…)
	(Director, nii-chan, and everyone in Summer troupe…)
	(And most importantly, if I can make the audience who came to watch me smile with my acting, I’ll take the stage as many times as I can!)

Kumon	I’m back!
Juza	Ahh, Kumon. Welcome home.
Kumon	Ahh, nii-chan!
Juza	By the way, you went home, right?
	What did you go back to do?
Kumon	I went to get this!
	I think I’ll use it in the birthday bromide photoshoot coming up.
Juza	That… sure brings back memories.
Kumon	Doesn’t it!
Juza	Right, you were collecting those to unleash a special move.
Kumon	So you remember too, nii-chan!
	But it might be a little embarrassing if everyone in Summer troupe finds out when I show it to them later…
Summer troupe	HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Izumi	Happy birthday!
Kumon	Everyone… thanks!
	UuUh, I’m sooo happy…!!
Yuki	You really get emotional and teary-eyed every time, huh?
Tenma	It’s totally a regular thing now.
Kumon	I feel super duper blessed that everyone’s celebrating like this for me!
Kazunari	If we can make Kumopi happy, then we’re totes happy too!
Izumi	Congrats, Kumon-kun!
Muku	Congratulations!
	Let’s have a blast at today’s birthday party!
Misumi	Yeah!
Kazunari	‘Kay, ‘kay, let’s get down to it~…
	Tah daaah! Kumopi’s happy birthday present!
Kumon	Uwahh, thanks!
	Can I open it!?
Kazunari	Go for it, dude!
Kumon	!! These are…!
Tenma	They’re dragon motif goods and a rosario.
Yuki	And this here’s a phoenix item.
Kazunari	We tried to stay away from baseball stuff this time and picked out cool things that we thought Kumopi’d like!
Misumi	There’s also a keychain with a triangle magic circle drawn on it~!
Kumon	Aww man, they’re so sick!!
	I’ll treasure them all!
Izumi	(It looks like Kumon-kun really likes them.
	Everyone in Summer troupe really knows Kumon’s tastes well, huh?)
Muku	I came up with the presents this time when I saw the bottle of marbles and sea glass that Kyu-chan chose for his bromide accessory the other day.
Kumon	!
Misumi	Oh, really~?
Tenma	I mean, Muku was the one who came up with the presents this time, but we didn’t know about that.
Muku	Actually, Kyu-chan collected these marbles and sea glass when he was little in order to unleash a special move he saw in an anime—.
Kumon	AHH! Muku, hold on, hold on!
Misumi	A special move~?
Yuki	Oh, I get it. That’s his chuunibyou origin story, huh?
Kazunari	Ahaha! That’s so like you, Kumopi!
Tenma	Don’t tell me you were trying to hide it even now?
Kumon	Wah~, I was exposed~!
Muku	S-sorry, Kyu-chan…! It’s because I’m an empty party popper that’s finished cracking already…!
Kumon	No, it’s ok! I thought it might be embarrassing for them to find out, but…
	Somehow, I didn’t mind anymore when I saw everyone’s reactions!
CHOICE 1: They’re sparkly and pretty. [+] Izumi The marbles and sea glass are sparkly and pretty. Kumon Aren’t they!? I stared at them a lot when I was little~. There’s marbles and sea glass with pretty rare colours inside, see? And there’s also some that change colours when the light hits them, so it’s super cool! I’ll show you too, next time. Let’s look at them together! Izumi Yeah, thanks. I’m looking forward to it.
CHOICE 2: You collected a whole bunch, huh? [+] Izumi You collected a whole bunch, huh? Kumon Yep! There’s lots of different shapes and colours too. I gathered the sea glass together with Muku at the beach. Muku How nostalgic. I had lots of fun too. Kumon And also, I was really happy when nii-chan and I went to a candy store that was a little farther away and found a huge marble! Kazunari Ahaha, I can just picture Kumopi when he was a kid! Yuki I can totally imagine how bright he was. Izumi Fufu, how charming.
	(Kumon-kun’s smiling face always makes those around him smile automatically.
	I’m sure that must be Kumon-kun’s personality.)
Kumon	Ah, that reminds me, I feel like there was a piece of sea glass that’s close to a triangle shape inside the bottle.
	I’ll give that to Sumi-san next time!
Misumi	Really!? Yay~!
Muku	I remember that too.
	Wasn’t it white?
Kumon	Wowie, Muku remembers well!
	Yep, yep, it was a white-coloured sea glass!
Muku	But Kyu-chan, didn’t you cherish that sea glass since you said the power of light dwells inside…
Tenma	The power of light…
Kumon	ERR, WAHH!
	Muku, you don’t need to keep talking about that!
Summer troupe	Ahahaha.

Anna