Muku Sakisaka/MANKAI Playback

The Consequences of Being a Natural Air-Head

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

Summer Troupe	Happy birthday!!
Muku	Whoa…! Thank you!
Kazunari	Yeaay! Let’s have a total blast at Mukkun’s birthday party~!
Misumi	Muku, happy birthday! Here’s a sparkling triangle for you~! Let’s go play with the cats again someday~.
Kumon	I’m so happy to be able to be in the same troupe and Muku and perform together! I have so much fun! Let’s keep working together, ‘kay!
Tenma	Your acting is poised now, you have improved. I’ll keep you company when you want to do independent training or perform a street act.
Kazunari	Chatting with you is so much fun, Mukkun! It relaxes me. You’re the best roommate I could ever ask! Thanks for everything, man!
Yuki	Since you’ve grown taller lately, why don’t you try wearing clothes that you usually don’t wear? Lemme pick some that will look good on you.
Izumi	Happy birthday, Muku-kun. Thank you for always being considerate and helping us out.
	Just like what Tenma-kun said, your acting has improved so much. Let’s keep doing our best together.
Muku	Director-san… Guys…
	Oh no, I’m so happy I feel like crying. Thank you very much!
	To think that you even prepare this much of gifts…
	…Huh? Don’t tell me the bunny character in this box is…
Kazunari	Oh, you noticed? It’s the mascot character from your favorite shoujo manga!
Yuki	Kazunari showed me the character, and I made that.
Muku	Whoa, it’s so cute! That’s Yuki-kun for you…! I’m so happy, you see, I really like this story!
Misumi	What kind of story is it~?
Muku	It’s a romance/adventure story set in a fantasy world. The story is really touching!
	There’s a part where the hero and heroine get separated, but from that point onwards, the flow becomes really better–.
	This mascot character played a major part in helping them reunite. It was so tear-jerking and beautiful…!
Kazunari	Yep, I totally get you…! Even Furuche-san said the story in that volume was good!
Yuki	That money-grubbing yakuza read it too? Oh wow.
Tenma	He’s a member of the shoujo manga appreciation club, after all.
CHOICE 1: "You’re good at explaining, Muku-kun." [+] Izumi You’re good at explaining, Muku-kun. Kumon Right! I got super curious of the manga after listening to Muku’s talk! Kazunari It makes you want to read it, right!? Muku’s really good at explaining the characters and synopsis! Misumi I’m having fun seeing Muku talk so happily like that~. I wanna read the manga together~. Tenma Now that I think about it, you often explain the highlights and synopsis of our play whenever we distribute flyers. Yuki Though there are also times when you get too passionate you can’t stop talking. Izumi Ahaha. I think that is also one of Muku-kun’s good sides. I think I’m gonna read that manga too. I’m also curious. Muku Do read it! It makes me so happy that you gain interest in it! Let me lend you all the volumes!
CHOICE 2: "Shoujo manga appreciation club seemed to be so much fun." [+] Izumi The shoujo manga appreciation club seemed to be so much fun. Muku Yes! It’s really fun! Tenma Do you do things like holding a tea party and lending shoujo mangas? Kumon I was super shocked when I knew Sakyo-san is one of the members! Yuki Even though he looks like that, that money-grubbing yakuza reads everything regardless of the genre. Misumi The three of you discussed manga in the balcony the other day, right~? Kazunari Since both Mukkun and Furuche-san read a lot of mangas, they’re so knowledgeable about it! From classics to new works, they know everything! Muku Kazu-kun usually tells me right away whenever there’s any info about release date or adaptation. Thank you for everything. Talking about your favorite works with someone is so fun, indeed. It makes you love the story more and more.
Muku	Come to think of it, back when I was still in the track-and-field club, there were some members who also loved this manga. We used to talk about it.
Misumi	Oh, right~! You used to be in the track-and-field club, right, Muku~.
Kazunari	I wanna know about the Mukkun in track and field club! How were you like!?
Muku	I was pretty much the same back then!
Kumon	It must be really fun to have Muku as your senior in the club~!
Izumi	Members of the track and field club came to watch our show before, and you said your team was a good team, right?
Muku	Yup! Since all of us were close, we often talked about a lot of things.
	We helped each other practice and gave advice about forms and the likes.
Muku	If you change the way you run like this, I think you won’t be much affected by the wind.
Junior	Like this?
Muku	Yep, that’s right!
Junior	Thank you, Sakisaka-senpai! It was so easy to understand.
	Okay… I’m going to run once again. Can you watch me?
Muku	Sure. Good luck!
Junior	…Umm, senpai! If you’re not troubled by it…!
	If I manage to surpass my own record… Can we go home together??
Muku	Together?
	Sure, okay.
Junior	Huh… S-Seriously!? I’ll do my best!
Muku	(Hm? I wonder what happened.)
	(Ah! Do, Don’t tell me she’s going to stay and practice until late if she doesn’t surpass her own record…!?)
	(It’s a good thing that she has enthusiasm in practice, but as her senior, I have to watch over her so that she won’t push herself too hard!)
Junior	My time… I, I did it! It’s my personal best!
Muku	Whoa, congrats!
Junior	Thank you, Sakisaka-senpai!
Muku	Well then, shall we go home together once practice is over?
Junior	Ye…Yes!

.

Muku	After I taught her how to run faster, she broke her personal record and she was happy about it.
Kazunari	Hang on, hold up, OMG Mukkun!? That’s not the case!
Muku	Huh?
Yuki	Doubt that junior even thought about staying late to practice.
Muku	I-Is that so…?
Kumon	So, so…! Did you go home with that girl in the end!?
Muku	Yup. We talked about shoujo mangas and club activities on our way home.
	Oh, but come to think of it…
Misumi	Hm? What happened~?
Muku	There’s something that got me a little bit curious…
Tenma	Curious?
Kazunari	Oh, oh, what is it~?
Muku	(The tournament is fast approaching… Everyone is in good shape, so I hope we can get good timing.)
Junior	…Sa-Sakisaka-senpai!
Muku	Huh? What’s the matter?
Junior	Once the tournament is over… there’s something I want to tell you.
Muku	Something you want to tell me?
	Is it something that you’re worried about…? In that case, don’t hesitate and tell me before the tournament.
Junior	It’s, It’s not! It’s pointless if it’s not after the tournament…!
	I… I’ll be taking my leave, then!
Kumon	Don’t, Don’t tell me that is..!
Izumi	Did she manage to tell you what it is?
Muku	No, I got injured right after that… I couldn’t enter the tournament.
	Without listening to what she wanted to say, I left the club…
	I wonder what did she want to talk about…?
Kazunari	Mukkun, that is…
Izumi	Ye, yeah.
Muku	She said it wasn’t something she was worried about…
	Oh! Could it be something about this manga? The release date for this manga was near the tournament day.
	Even if she wanted to talk about it, it’d be hard to do it before the competition. We’d end up practicing until late if we did.
Misumi	Muku is so kind~!
Yuki	Nah, that’s totally not it.
Kazunari	Mukkun, why do you think she’d be willing to wait until the end of the tournament just to talk about that…!
Tenma	I feel bad for that junior…
Muku	Huh? Huh?
Kumon	Did, Did anything happen after that?
Muku	I barely met her at school… I once bumped into her at the supermarket, though.
	But for some reason she left in a hurry when I tried to call her…
Izumi	Huh? I wonder why.
Kazunari	BTW, were you alone at the time?
Muku	No, I was with Director-san.
Izumi	Huh? Me?
Kumon	Oh my… I’m sure she thought Director was Muku’s girlfriend…
Tenma	Having misunderstood that, she couldn’t say anything…
Kazunari	Ssst!
Muku	???
	Oh! But the next time I met her, she said she’s gotten so into track and field. It looks like she won the regional tournament too
	I hope the things that I taught her were helpful…
Kazunari	It’s totes hopeful, I’m sure!
Misumi	Yep, yep!
Yuki	…So instead of giving up on love, she poured all of it into track and field.

Nids