Sakyo Furuichi/MANKAI Playback

Back then, I was...

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

	*Crackers*
Troupe members	Sakyo-san, happy birthday!!
Sakyo	I’m past the age for this kind of exaggerated celebration over aging....
Omi	Now, now.
Azami	Ha, it worked out just as planned.
Sakyo	Ah? What plan?
Azami	I was sure you’d hate it.
Banri	Azami was the one who suggested we throw an all-out “birthday party,” after all.
Sakyo	Dammit... Bon, you’ll pay for this.
	Instead of wasting your time preparing this sort of thing, you should be working towards our next performance, and et cetera, et cetera....
Izumi	(He’s complaining, but I think Sakyo-san looks happy.)
Sakoda	Aniki, don’t forget about the day after tomorrow!
Juza	The day after tomorrow?
Sakoda	We’re gonna celebrate aniki’s birthday at Ginsenkai, too!
	And just like last year, the chairman ordered aniki to take the whole week off!
Sakyo	Sigh....
Banri	What an upstanding yakuza.
Taichi	As expected of the chairman!
Izumi	Will you be visiting home?
Sakyo	...My mother pestered me, so I’ll be headed back next weekend.
Izumi	I see.
	Fufu, when you have lots of family, you must get busy with all that celebration.
Sakyo	...Well, yeah.
Sakoda	Aniki, are you drinking? It’s your birthday, so please, drink up!
Sakyo	Shut up. I’m drinking.
Izumi	(Sakyo-san is tipsy.)
Taichi	Birthday.... Hey, what were you like when you were younger, Sakyo-nii?
Omi	Oh, yeah, I’m curious too. What kind of youth were you, Sakyo-san?
Banri	You said you didn’t really have great attendance, right.
Sakyo	Why do you remember something so unimportant....
Taichi	We all showed each other our “portraits,” but... Sakyo-nii, you don’t really talk about the past.
Sakyo	That’s the sort of thing you just don’t talk about.
Juza	...I feel like you told me some stuff before. You said you were a rough high schooler.
Sakyo	Oi, Hyodo....
Taichi	Eh~, no fair! I wanna hear too! Sakyo-nii!
Sakoda	Me too! I wanna learn more about aniki too! Aniki! Please!
Azami	Hey, sounds like the perfect story to laugh at.
Banri	You can say you were drunk as an excuse later; isn’t it perfect timing?
Sakyo	Geez....
	...Well, I was rough back in high school.
	High school.
	On top of frustrating circumstances, I carried an inexplicable irritation towards myself; that was why I took on every fight that came my way.
	I had a sharp eyes, and people underestimated me because I was skinny and pale, so a lot of bigger guys picked fights with me.
	But I was fearless and stubbornly competitive; I never gave up first, and ultimately always crushed my opponent.
	When people heard rumors that I’d never lost a local fight, more guys came to pick fights with me. As I beat those guys, one after the other, my name spread even further.
	That’s how I met the person who brought me into my current world of work.
	“...Yo, I hear you’ve got a pretty good arm. Wanna use it to make some money?”

Taichi	Kinda sounds like Juza-san, who became the strongest in O High before he knew it!
Sakyo	You’d want none of it. All my opponents took me lightly because of my looks, so I tried to dress as tough as possible.
Juza	Sakyo-san dressing tough....
Azami	Bet you wore one of those biker gang coats embroidered with some pathetic phonetic equivalent kanji patchwork.
Sakyo	Like hell I’d wear that. I’m not Fushimi.
Omi	No, Sakyo-san, I wasn’t that stereotypical either....
Sakoda	High school aniki, who never lost a local fight... sigh... so cool....!!
Izumi	Sakoda-san, your eyes are absolutely shining....
Banri	But if you were so strong, why didn’t you make a team like Omi did?
Sakyo	...I never even considered it.
	I didn’t think anyone would follow me and take orders from me, anyway.
Izumi	But you have some guys who will take orders from you right here!
Azami	...Tch....
Juza	Yeah.
Sakoda	Exactly!!! I’ll follow you anywhere, aniki!!
Taichi	That’s right!!
Banri	Well, I do listen to you in moderation.
Sakyo	...You’re right. This place is full of curious guys.
Sakyo	I drank a little too much.... Geez, they wouldn’t stop pouring me more....
Izumi	Sakyo-san.
Sakyo	Director-san. What is it?
Izumi	I brought water. Would you like some?
Sakyo	...Yeah, thanks.
	Sigh, thanks to all that alcohol, I ended up telling stories about my past that I didn’t want to tell.
Izumi	You’d never even told Sakoda-san, right? I was a little surprised.
Sakyo	Well, my rough years are essentially what you’d call a shameful past. I didn’t even really tell Sakoda when he pestered me to.
Izumi	But Juza-kun said you told him a little before.
Sakyo	...During the Ninkyoden performance. I told him on the spur of the moment.
	He was also a lone wolf who could only live clumsily—maybe I saw myself in him.
	But he was completely different from me. He’ll earnestly listen to people in order to grow; he’s endlessly eager to improve.
	He has a way bigger heart than I did back then.
	Plus, he’s met guys who he can trust.
Izumi	Sakyo-san, you met them in the end too.
Sakyo	...You’re right. It’s just a difference of ten and some years—that’s not too early or too late.
	I’m really fortunate, too. People have celebrated my birthday so many times that I’m almost tired.
CHOICE 1: How was the birthday party? [+] Izumi How was the birthday party that Azami-kun planned? Sakyo Geez, bon.... But, well, the food and sake were delicious, and I’m grateful that you guys did all that for me. Director-san, you must’ve spent time and effort on that too. ...Thank you. I guess once in a while... it’s not so bad. Izumi Fufu, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
CHOICE 2: I was happy to hear about your past. [+] Izumi Sakyo-san, you called it shameful, but... I was happy to hear about your past. Sakyo Why? There was nothing interesting about it. Izumi I don’t mean to sound like Sakoda-san, but. I feel like I know more about you now, Sakyo-san. Sakyo-san, you’re here today because of your past. I’m sure you can make use of any sort of past in your acting. Sakyo ...! Haha.... Geez, I don’t stand a chance against you, Director-san.
Izumi	Also, um... You said you were almost tired of people celebrating your birthday, but....
	Do you really not want any more birthday celebrations...?
Sakyo	...The illuminations.
Izumi	Eh, you remembered!?
Sakyo	I thought you had long forgotten.
Izumi	I made a reservation last year! We promised to see the illuminations together again.
	I even wrote it in my schedule so I wouldn’t forget!
Sakyo	...Ha, when you get all worked up like a kid, it reminds me of when you were little....
Izumi	? Did you say something?
Sakyo	Nope.
Izumi	Are there any movies you want to see this year?
Sakyo	Yeah, I can think of one.
Izumi	Then let’s follow the same birthday celebration course this year!
Sakyo	Yeah, let’s. ...I’m looking forward to it.

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