Sakuya Sakuma/Banquet of Blooming

Starring "Sakuya"

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

Sakuya	Hello, everyone!
	Thank you for coming to today’s viewing of “Romeo and Julius”! I’m Spring Troupe’s Sakyu… Agh.
Masumi	You’re really fumbling your words even though this is just practice?
Citron	Sakuya, slacks, slacks~.
Masumi	Relax.
Izumi	It’s okay, Sakuya-kun.
	We do after-talks after regular performances too, so just have fun with this one like you usually do.
Sakuya	Okay…!
Manager	Okay, you’re on, everyone! Please do your best!
Citron	Let’s go~!
	Everyone! Thank you for waiting! I’m Spring Troupe’s Citron~.
Masumi	Spring Troupe, Masumi Usui.
Sakuya	Hello, everyone!
	Thank you for coming to today’s viewing of “Romeo and Julius”! I’m Spring Troupe’s Sakuya Sakuma!
	Phew.
Masumi	…Thank god.
Citron	I knew that Sakuya would be resilient in the real performance! Even though he was fumbling his words during practice.
Masumi	You didn’t mess up your own name this time.
Sakuya	Y-You guys! Don’t say that here…!
Audience	Ahahaha, so cute~!
Sakuya	Umm, thank you for watching today. “Romeo and Julius” was the first production of the Newborn Spring Troupe…
Citron	I still think the friar has too few lines. Everyone, I want you to send an email to Tsuzuru to tell him to rewrite the script!
	Tsuzuru’s email address is…
Sakuya	Waaah! Citron-san, don’t do that!
Masumi	That’s personal information, remember?
Audience	Ahahaha!
Sakuya	Is there anything in particular that you remember about the RomiJuli performance, Masumi-kun?
Masumi	…There was this one time when Sakuya was taking a nap in between rehearsals, and he suddenly jumped awake.
Citron	Oh! I remember that!
Sakuya	…Ah! That!
	That was… I was trying not to get too worked up about the performance, but I had a dream that I skipped over some of my lines during a show…
	When I woke up, I frantically reread the script over and over again.
	I’d like to say that kind of episode was unique to just the first performance, but… I still have dreams like that from time to time.
	But now, whenever that happens, Citron-san always joins me in going over the script.
	Despite how it may sound, I think dreams like that are a good reminder to myself.
Citron	That’s our Sakuya! Always looking to the blight side!
Sakuya	Blight? Blight side?
Masumi	He means bright side.
Citron	That! Now, whenever he jumps awake from a dream, we read the script together!
Sakuya	I’m really thankful for that!
	Out of Spring Troupe… Tsuzuru-kun probably has the most similar problem.
Citron	Absolutely! If that happens, he can just read the script with Masumi.
Masumi	Nope. Too much work.
Sakuya	Don’t be like that!
Masumi	…Sigh, I’ll think about it.
Citron	That’s it for the talk show, good job!
Masumi	Good job.
Sakuya	Good work, guys!
Izumi	You all did so well!
	Well then, Sakuya-kun, it’s time to take your polaroid picture.
Sakuya	Okay! That’s the giveaway thing Sakyo-san was talking about!
Masumi	I just want a polaroid of you. I’ll enter the giveaway for it.
Izumi	There is no polaroid of me.
Sakuya	Umm… I’m still in my RomiJuli costume, do you want me to do an in-character look?
Izumi	That could work. Let’s try taking a pic like that. Okay, say cheese.
Citron	Oh! You look very nice! Very law-inspiring!
Masumi	You mean, “awe-inspiring”.
Izumi	Alright, next let’s take a pic of our usual Sakuya-kun.
Sakuya	O-Okay.
Izumi	Your smile seems a little stiff. Just relax and smile a bit more.
Masumi	Haa… You’re so cute being a photographer like that…
Citron	Your smiling is not what matters now, Masumi.
Sakuya	Ahaha.
Izumi	(Good, the conversation between Citron-kun and Masumi-kun seems to have eased the tension.)
	Let’s try again.
Sakuya	Okay!
Citron	Let’s see, let’s see~.
	Oh, very good! That’s the big Sakuya smile we all know and love!
Masumi	Yeah, just the same as usual.
Izumi	Fufu, the usual Sakuya-kun is the best kind of Sakuya-kun.
Sakuya	Thank you!
Izumi	Well then, all that’s left is for you to sign the polaroid and bring it to me later.
Sakuya	Okay!

Izumi	(Today’s stream and talk show was a big success.)
	(Since this was the first performance, there must’ve been a lot of people who haven’t seen the show yet, so I’m glad we planned to stream it too.)
	Huh? I wonder… Could this be the reference material Tsuzuru-kun used to write RomiJuli?
	I was actually looking for different reference material, but…
	(There are all kinds of pictures with descriptions. This is the town where RomiJuli was set.)
	(Such a pretty place…)
	*Dream Start*
	…Where am I?
	(Cobblestone and brick streets… I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere before…)
	(It’s just like the town I saw in the reference material!)
Imperial Guard	Oi, you, what are you doing over there!?
Izumi	Eh, me?
Imperial Guard	You, the mysterious woman. You’re in front of the House Montague. What are you doing here?!
Izumi	Th-This is a misunderstanding! I’m just lost…!
Imperial Guard	Stop making up silly excuses. Come with me!
Izumi	Please just listen to what I’m saying!
???	What’s all the fuss about?
Izumi	(Sakuya-kun!?)
	(Wait, no. That costume… That’s not Sakuya-kun, that’s--.)
Imperial Guard	Sir Romeo! I’m about to arrest this mysterious woman.
	I’m sure you’ve gotten lost, just as you said, but there’s no way you haven’t heard that the House Montague is around this area.
Izumi	Umm, I’m not from this town though…
Romeo	Are you from outside of here?
Izumi	Y-Yeah.
Romeo	…
Romeo	I’ll take care of her.
Imperial Guard	B-But…
Romeo	It doesn’t matter, you can go now. Please return to your job.
Imperial Guard	Y-Yes, sir.
Izumi	Thank you, I’m very grateful.
Romeo	You’re welcome.
Izumi	Umm… But why did you help me?
Romeo	Actually, I have an interest in places outside of here! I wanna see even more of the vast world.
Romeo	--Hey, what kind of place is your hometown? What kind of food is good there? Is it by the sea?
Izumi	(Romeo’s eyes are really sparkling. It’s a little like Sakuya-kun.)
Romeo	Alright! How about you tell me all about it over some tea!
Izumi	Eh, wait a second.
Romeo	C’mon, let’s go! This way!
Izumi	Romeo--.
	*Dream Ends*
	--!
	A dream, huh… I must’ve fallen asleep for a bit.
Sakuya	Ah, Director! There you are.
Izumi	Rome… No, Sakuya-kun. Umm, what’s up?
Sakuya	I came here to bring you the signed polaroid.
Izumi	Thanks, I’ll take that.
CHOICE 1: It really is a good photo. [+] Izumi Your smile is so cheerful and bright, Sakuya-kun, it makes me want to smile too. Sakuya Really? Thank you so much! My heart also gets all warm and fuzzy when I see your smile. I love your smile, Director. Izumi …Thank you, Sakuya-kun. (That’s a little flustering to hear… But it makes me happy.)
CHOICE 2: The Romeo version is also really cool. [+] Izumi Your usual smile is, of course, the best, but the Romeo version that we took is also really cool. You’ve really become more capable of making lots of different facial expressions and doing lots of roles too, haven’t you, Sakuya-kun? Sakuya You think so? Hearing that from you makes me really happy, Director! Of course, Romeo is just one of them, but I really love every role I’ve played. I’ve learned a lot from them all. I really wanna keep doing lots and lots of different plays in the future! Director, I’m looking forward to continuing working with you! Izumi Same goes for you.
Izumi	Mhm. It really is a lovely place.
Sakuya	It really is! Such a pretty town…
	Ah, this park… It looks like somewhere where Romeo and Julius would take a nap under the shade of a tree!
	And this church is perfect for Father Lawrence! And this huge street over here that’s lined with all the shops is--.
Izumi	(Sakuya-kun’s eyes are sparkling. Fufu, just like Romeo’s.)
Sakuya	Something up, Director?
Izumi	Hmm. Just thinking about how Romeo really is perfect for you, Sakuya-kun.

Juju