Muku Sakisaka/Kind-hearted Archer

Bento That Cheers You Up

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

Muku	It’s finally going to be our hands-on horseback archery experience on my next day off, huh?
	I sure am looking forward to it.
	I’m sure Tasuku-san and Citron-sama will definitely ace it.
	Since I finally have the chance, I want to look cool doing the horseback archery too…!
	Alright, I’ll read these books I borrowed when I went to the library and study up.
	Heh, so they’ve been doing horseback archery since the Heian period.
	The traditional costumes look wonderful too.
	Wah, the sample photo looks so cool…!
	I hope I’ll be able to do it like that too.
	“Surprisingly, the most common setback in horseback archery is the action of reloading the next arrow to the bowstring right away”, huh… I see.
	You have to do it quickly, right after you shoot the arrow.
	I-it does sound hard…
	Alright, let’s do a little image training.
	First, I’ll start from the horse riding practice—.
	I got used to the horse, and I also practiced my bow on the ground.
	Now for the real thing…!
	Clip clop, clip clop… go!
	Ahh~, it’s no good. I missed…
	Ok, I’ll regroup and try it one more time.
	Clip clop, clip clop… there!
	Ahh~, it really is no good after all.
	W-what should I do?
	I can’t imagine myself pulling it off at all…!
	If my image training’s going like this, then there’s absolutely no way I’ll be able to do it for real.
	My head’s fluffier than a dandelion’s fluff—.
	So whatever the teacher teaches me is going to float and fly away, and I’m sure I’ll cause trouble for everyone—ahhhhh…!
Omi	Oi, Muku, what’s wrong?
	Are you alright?
Muku	Omi-san.
	What should I do…!
Omi	You’re really upset.
	Just what in the world happened?
Muku	I’m going to a hands-on horseback archery experience on my next day off, but no matter how many times I do image training, all I can imagine is failing.
	If I can't do it, then Citron-sama, Tasuku-san, and Director-san who are going together with me will be so embarrassed…!
Omi	Um, yeah, that’s not going to happen.
	Besides, everyone at the experience will be beginners, so you don’t have to worry so much, right?
Muku	B-but…
Omi	You have good reflexes, Muku. So if you stay calm, you’ll definitely do well.
Muku	Are you sure…
Omi	Absolutely.
	I’ll be supporting you too, so take the plunge and go for it.
Muku	…That’s true.
	It’s a great chance, so I’ll do my very best.
	Thank you very much, Omi-san!
Omi	I’m looking forward to hearing your results.
Tasuku	Alright, wanna start heading out?
Citron	I can’t wait for the hands-on horseback archery experience!
Omi	Hold on a second, everyone.
Tasuku	Hm? Did we forget something?
Omi	I made bentos.
	Please take them if you’d like.
Izumi	Ehh, you went out of your way to make them for us?
	Thanks, that helps!
Omi	This much is nothing.
	Keep calm and do your best, Muku.
Muku	Omi-san…! Thank you very much.
	I'll be off!

Muku	*Sigh*…
	I couldn’t use the bow well at all…
Citron	Don’t be so depressed, Muku~.
Tasuku	He’s right. They said we’re doing bow practice this afternoon too, so you should be able to get it down then.
Muku	But if I miss this much during our practice on the ground, then I’m definitely going to fail during the real thing when we ride the horses…
Citron	If you just work a little harder this afternoon, I’m sure you'll be fine, Muku!
Izumi	I agree.
Muku	That would be great, but…
CHOICE 1: You just need to have fun. [+] Izumi We’re already here, so it’s fine if you’re not a pro at it. You should just have fun with it. Muku I see! That’s true—it’s important to have fun first, huh? Izumi Besides, you’re better at sports than I am, so I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it in no time. Muku Thank you very much, Director-san!
CHOICE 2: Just think of it as horseback riding. [+] Izumi You’re good at riding, Muku-kun, so it’s fine if you just think of it as horseback riding. Muku Think of it as horseback riding…? Izumi Yeah. If you’re scared, then the horse you’re riding might get scared too… Muku …Yeah, you have a point! If I’m not confident, then the horse will get anxious too. Alright! I’ll work together with the horse and try my best!
Izumi	For now, shall we eat the bentos Omi-kun made for us and prepare for the afternoon?
Citron	Yeah!
	You can’t fight on an empty stomach~!
Tasuku	Alright, let’s open them.
Muku	Wahh, amazing…!
Izumi	The wieners are shaped like horses!
Citron	Ohh! This is the fabled Galaxy Saito!
Tasuku	Who?
Izumi	Ummm, “character bento”, right?
Muku	The horsey wieners Omi-san made are so adorable!
Izumi	I’m sure Omi-kun took the trouble to make horse bentos for us because of our horseback archery today.
Tasuku	That’s really thoughtful of Fushimi.
Muku	Omi-san…
	That’s right, Omi-san said he was supporting me too.
	I can’t make excuses here.
	Let’s calm down and try my very best…!
Citron	Alright, let’s dig in!
	If you eat Omi’s bento, then I’m sure you’ll be just fine~!
Muku	Right.
	I kind of feel like I’ll be able to do it now, too!
Izumi	(It looks like Muku-kun has totally cheered up.
	That’s a relief…)
Troupe members	We’re back!
Omi	Oh, you guys are home huh?
Izumi	We’re home, Omi-kun.
Omi	Welcome back.
	How was the hands-on horseback archery experience?
Muku	I couldn’t hit the targets very well during our morning practice—.
	But I worked hard from the afternoon, and I was able to hit the mark during the real thing!
Omi	I see, good for you.
Tasuku	Sakisaka managed to have a no-miss run during the real thing.
Muku	I took my time, but I’m happy it went well!
Citron	Of course you’d be perfect, Muku!
Izumi	Yeah, you were really cool!
Muku	Ehehe…
	That was thanks to Omi-san as well.
Omi	Me?
Muku	I saw the horsey wieners Omi-san made at lunchtime, and they reminded me that all I had to do was stay calm and do my best!
Omi	Haha. I’m glad if it helped you, Muku.
	I was worth making the character bentos.
Muku	Of course!
	Thank you so much.
	Also, I enjoyed the tasty bento!

Anna