| Izumi | Please consider taking this survey. |
| Citron | Please take the survey. |
| Mizuno | --I would like to have one. |
| Izumi | Thank you so much as always. |
| Mizuno | And also, please give it to Minagi Tsuzuru-san—. |
| Izumi | I will. |
| Mizuno | Well then, excuse me. |
| Izumi | Ah, please wait a moment. There's something I want to give you Mizuno-san. |
| Mizuno | Is this… a letter of invitation? |
| Izumi | Seems like it's an invitation for Meguru-san's birthday party. Tsuzuru-kun said you're absolutely needed for this party. |
| Mizuno | --. |
| I can't accept it. I don't have any right to meet him… |
| Izumi | Even if you can't meet as a fan and scriptwriter, you can meet as childhood friends right? |
| Mizuno | But after all this time… |
| Citron | I have a good idea! |
| Mizuno | ? |
| Citron | Mizuno, you'll become a foreigner helper! |
| |
| Tsuzuru | Happy birthday to you~! |
| Kaoru | Happy birthday to you~! |
| Noboru | Happy birthday dear Meguru~! |
| Subaru | Happy birthday to you~! |
| Yuzuru | Meguru nii-chan, blow the candles! |
| Takeru | Hurry up! |
| Meguru | Fuu. |
| Tooru | Happy birthday. |
| Mitsuru | Congratulations Meguru. |
| Izumi | Congratulations! |
| Meguru | Thank you. |
| Tadoru | So Meguru is already 24 huh~. You've grown up so much~. |
| Tsuzuru's Father | Tadoru you're 26 right. |
| Tsuzuru's Mother | It's not such a big difference. |
| Izumi | (It's such a warm birthday party. It might be this specific mood in Tsuzuru's home) |
| Omi | But wow, looking at it again ten siblings is really a view to behold. I thought we had a big family but here it's more than double… |
| Azami | I'm an only child but my house feels similar. |
| Tasuku | Yeah, you've got lots of people coming and going to your place Izumida. |
| Omi | The Ginsen Group party we were invited to the other day also was quite the experience… |
| Azami | They're all grown up though so it's different from here. |
| Tooru | Ahem, we would like to start the play now. |
| Yuzuru | Now! |
| Mitsuru | We will be starting shortly so, um, please take your seats! |
| Takeru | Meguru nii-chan, you sit in the middle! |
| Meguru | Alright. |
| Tooru | Takeru, turn off the lights. |
| Takeru | Got it! |
| Mitsuru | It's showtime! |
| |
| Masked man | …. |
| "There was a legend told about a small pond just outside the town" |
| "It said that there is a kappa living in the bottomless pond. If a child gets close to it, they would be pulled inside, never to return" |
| Noboru | "Kappa don’t exist! That's so stupid" |
| Subaru | "Taro you liar" |
| Kaoru | "It's there! I'm telling you!" |
| Noboru | "Then prove it" |
| Subaru | "If you take a picture of it, we'll believe you" |
| Kaoru | "Fine!" |
| Masked man | "Accepting the challenge, Taro went to the pond alone" |
| Kaoru | "Damn it, they're making fun of me… I'll find the kappa and make them admit they were wrong! |
| "That's strange… I left a cucumber for it, but it's not coming out" |
| "Tch" |
| Masked man | "Taro gave up and was about to head back, but then—" |
| Tsuzuru | Big bro! |
| Tadoru | Eh? Oh yeah, a sound effect, right. |
| Izumi | (So Tadoru-san is the handyman…) |
| *splash* |
| Kaoru | "Eh, what was that…" |
| Tsuzuru | "Kappaaa! |
| Kaoru | "Woaaahh!" |
| "Woaah… eh?" |
| Tsuzuru | "Eh?" |
| Kaoru | "Who the hell are you!" |
| Tsuzuru | "I'm a kappa" |
| Kaoru | "No kappa just says "kapaaa"!" |
| Tsuzuru | "I mean, kids aren't coming here recently, so I didn't know how to approach you…" |
| |
| Noboru | "H-Help me!" |
| Kaoru | "Why are you helping them. They tried to do terrible things to you right" |
| Tsuzuru | "Kappaa!" |
| Kaoru | "Enough with that already" |
| Tsuzuru | "Because they're your friends Taro! A friend's friend is a friend!" |
| Kaoru | "We're not really friends…" |
| Subaru | "Cough, cough, huh…" |
| Noboru | "I thought I was going to drown…" |
| Tsuzuru | "—" |
| Subaru | "Ah—" |
| Noboru | "H-Hmph! You see, there's no such thing as a kappa!" |
| Subaru | "No, but just now, over there—" |
| Noboru | "There's nothing there" |
| Subaru | "Guess I imagined it" |
| Noboru | "See, kappa don't exist" |
| Subaru | "Then that means Taro saved us?" |
| Kaoru | "No, that was—" |
| Noboru | "For real?" |
| Subaru | "You're amazing Taro" |
| Masked man | "Ever since that day, Taro started playing with his classmates" |
| "But still, Taro secretly goes alone to meet the kappa" |
| "It's fine even if no one believes him. It's their secret" |
| Tsuzuru | Thank you for watching. Come on, your greetings. |
| Kaoru | Thank you so much. |
| Noboru | Thank you so much~! |
| Subaru | Thank you so much~! |
| Masked man | Thank you very much. |
| Tsuzuru's Father | It was very good! |
| Tsuzuru's Mother | It's been a while since I've watched it, it was good! |
| Tasuku | So this is the origin of Minagi huh. |
| Tsuzuru | Haha, that's embarrassing. |
| Izumi | Not at all! It was so interesting! |
| Azami | You were able to come up with that as a grade schoolers, that's more than enough. |
| Omi | Yeah. Your brothers also have a talent for acting. |
| Azami | Leaving that aside, that mask… |
| Tasuku | I'm pretty sure it's Citron's idea. |
| Izumi | Ahaha… so you could tell? He said that if it's hard for Mizuno-kun to meet face to face, he should just use a mask. |
| Omi | I see now. |
| Yuzuru | Say say, what's the mask for~? |
| Mizuno Man | I'm the mysterious helper, Mizuno Man! |
| Takeru | Mizuno Man, so cool! |
| Yuzuru | Mizuno Man, play with us! |
| Takeru | Show us your secret attack! |
| Mizuno Man | A-Attack!? M-Mizuno Flower Shower! |
| Yuzuru | Amazing! |
| Azami | Isn't it even more awkward to meet when he's like that? |
| Izumi | You have a point…! |
| Meguru | Thank you for today. Mizuno… man. |
| Mizuno Man | Y-You're welcome… |
| Meguru | You were sending flowers and letters to my soccer team right. I was happy to receive them. |
| Mizuno Man | N-No, that wasn't me— |
| Meguru | The content of the letters could be written only by someone who visited our place, and you're the only one who could send me such flowers. |
| Mizuno Man | Ugh… |
| Meguru | Thank you for participating in the play again for me. And keep being Tsuzuru's friend. |
| Mizuno Man | Eh!? No, but, I, err--. |
| Tsuzuru | Here, Mizuno. Your cake. |
| Mizuno Man | T-Thank you… |
| Tasuku | How is he going to eat it with this mask? |
| Omi | Ah, looks like you can make an opening only for the mouth. |
| Mizuno Man | It's the same taste… |
| Tsuzuru | I mean it's the same recipe. |
| Thank you for always sending fan letters. When I read your letters, I feel like I can stand tall. |
| I'm also always hanging the dandelions in front of the mirror. |
| Mizuno Man | --. |
| Tsuzuru | I'm happy we were able to fulfill our promise from back then, to act again together. |
| If you like, please come to the birthday parties of the little ones too. |
| Mizuno Man | I… can't do that. |
| In order to keep facing your works truly, I need to maintain a kind of distance from you as your fan. |
| But if it's as childhood friends… you can have this Mizuno Man! |
| Tsuzuru | Haha, you're so stubborn. That's fine. |
| Mizuno Man | --, thank you, so much. |
| Izumi | This stubbornness is what you would expect from Mizuno-san… |
| Omi | Very extreme. |
| Izumi | (But it's almost as if their relationship is like before, that's great) |
| |
| Tsuzuru | This is a crazy amount of baggage. |
| Meguru | Handmade presents from the little brats, and a weird doll from big bro… |
| And also, socks from Kaoru, shoes from the soccer club members, a t-shirt from Director… |
| Tsuzuru | So it's all just presents. |
| Meguru | Tasuku-san taking us by car to the station was a huge help. Thank him for me later. |
| Tsuzuru | Got it. |
| Meguru | …let's see, track no.15 huh. |
| Tsuzuru | Did you tell your wife about wanting to convert positions? |
| Meguru | Yeah. I was worried about her reaction, but she was more fired up about it than I was. |
| Said she likes how I'm chasing my dreams, so she wants to support me. I have such a good wife. |
| Tsuzuru | She's wasted on you. |
| Meguru | Haha, you have a point. |
| Tsuzuru | I bet you'll be getting busy now, but come to our parents' again. Your room is still there you know. |
| Meguru | It's basically a storage room now right. |
| …speaking of which, you haven't used the room in the end. Even though I told you you're free to use it. |
| Tsuzuru | It's gonna be a problem if you come visit and you don't have a room right. |
| Meguru | You left it for me? |
| Tsuzuru | Your dream could've shattered any day after all. |
| Meguru | You're so not honest~. |
| But you know, it always surprises me how much the little brats grow every time I come to visit. |
| Tsuzuru | One year for us feels completely different for them. |
| Meguru | Like Yuzuru, he was such a tiny baby just crawling around, and now he can walk and talk. That's not simple growth, it's evolution. |
| Tsuzuru | Soon we won't be able to call them little brats anymore. |
| Meguru | You're probably right. Somehow when I look at them, I think how nice it would be if I had a son. |
| Mom loves soccer right? Her dream was to have such a big family she could form a soccer team. |
| When the little ones grow older, we should participate in a tournament, all of the Minagi siblings. My kid included. |
| Tsuzuru | You already decided they're gonna be a boy? |
| Meguru | Well, nowadays girls can play soccer too! |
| Tsuzuru | Wait, what about dad? |
| Meguru | He isn't an option. Mom would make a better choice than him. |
| Tsuzuru | Point. |
| I didn't know of this story about mom and soccer though. It's so common it wouldn't even make it as a script. |
| Meguru | I know! Someday, when I become the best player in Japan for real… |
| There will probably be a TV series called "The Tale of Minagi Meguru", and I'll ask you to write the script! |
| And I'll ask Tasuku-san to be the main actor. |
| Tsuzuru | As always you're making some big declarations… |
| Whether we do it or not depends on how much it pays. |
| Meguru | How about 500 yen? |
| Tsuzuru | So low. |
| Announcer | The train departing from track no. 15 will arrive soon. |
| Meguru | See you around. |
| Tsuzuru | Yeah. Do your best out there. |
| Meguru | You too. |
| Tsuzuru | Sure. |
| |
| The train doors closed silently. |
| My brother still stood at the entrance, and our eyes met through the glass window. |
| His expression was decisive, bright. |
| The face of a dreams chaser, the face of my beloved brother. |
| As though cheering each other up, we both laughed. |
| As the train started moving, my brother turned his back and disappeared inside. |
| We are still on the way to our dreams. |
| We cannot afford to stop running here. |
| I stood alone on the platform, and my brother's words echoed in my head. |
| My mother's dream of making a soccer team from our family… |
| Giving birth to ten sons just to do that is something she would do. |
| Someday, my brother will become a father too. |
| When I tried to imagine it, I became excited and happy, but also very miserable… |
| I felt the same way I did when my brother left home, and slowly, I cried. |
| |
| *types* |
| Tsuzuru | --no wait, that's not it. It just feels like my essay. |
| This one is rejected. |
| ….Phew. |
| ("The Tale of Minagi Meguru" huh… I wonder if it will see the daylight someday) |
| (Its future is so uncertain, I can't rely on that) |
| (But I pray that, somehow, in the not so distant future…I'll be able to write the continuation…) |
