Tasuku Takato/Astride a Noble Steed

A Man Among Men's Horseback Archery

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2Part 3

Citron	Listen up, everyone!
	I got something good at the neighhourhood association meeting!
Izumi	Something good?
Muku	What is it?
	Citron-sama.
Citron	Everyone, tape a closed book!
Itaru	“Take a close look”, I think.
Citron	Tah daaah!
	4 tickets to a hands-on horseback archery experience!
Izumi	Horseback archery!?
	Horseback archery, as in, riding a horse while shooting a bow and arrow?
Banri	Heh, an experience like that exists too, eh?
Citron	Those who can go, raise your hand!
	It’s next weekend~.
Muku	Um, is it alright if I go?
	I would definitely love to experience it!
Citron	I thought you’d say that, Muku!
	Your participation’s locked in~.
Muku	Thank you very much!
	It’d be great if I could hit the targets with an arrow in a cool way.
Izumi	You’re good at riding horses, right, Muku-kun?
Muku	Ehehe.
	I had so much fun when I went horseback riding last time!
Itaru	I’ll pass.
	I have a hunch I’d just be falling off the horse.
Citron	I thought you’d say that, Itaru!
	Your participation’s locked out~.
Itaru	How about Banri?
	It kinda feels like you’d pull it off with your skills.
Banri	Well, I could prolly do it if I tried, but I have plans next weekend.
Citron	Ohh, too bad!
	I wanted to see Banri’s horseback archery~.
Muku	I wanted to watch Banri-san complete it dashingly too!
Izumi	It can’t be helped if you have plans, but that’s really too bad.
Itaru	Everyone’s disappointed that Banri can’t participate, but no one said a thing when it was me. Lolz.
Citron	How about Director?
Izumi	Eh, me?
	I’m free, but…
Citron	Then Director’s participation is also locked in!
	With that, we have 3 people!
Izumi	Ehh?
	I’m not really confident though…
Tasuku	I’m home.
	What are you guys talking about?
Citron	Ohh! Coming home at this timing is dining introspection!
Itaru	Divine intervention?
Citron	Tasuku!
	Go for horseback archery next weekend!
Tasuku	Horseback archery?
	I don’t get what you’re saying at all…
Banri	Citron got tickets for a hands-on horseback archery experience from the neighbourhood association meeting.
Muku	He has 4 tickets, and Citron-sama, Director-san and I have decided to go, but…
Citron	The remaining platinum ticket has Tasuku's name on it!
Tasuku	Well, I don’t have plans next weekend so I don’t really mind or anything.
	You’re going too, right, Director?
Izumi	It looks like it…
Citron	Then let’s charge out, the 4 of us~!
	I can’t wait!
	The day has finally arrived!
	I’m so eggcited for the hands-on horseback archery experience~!
Muku	I’m looking forward to it as well!
Tasuku	I finished registering with the front desk.
	We were told to go to the building over there to put on our costumes for horseback archery and meet back here.
Izumi	Alright, the ladies’ dressing room looks like it’s over there, so let’s meet up after we’ve finished changing!
Tasuku	Yeah.

Izumi	Wow!
	You three look great in the costumes!
Tasuku	You think so?
	Then that’s good…
	But it looked like the person in charge had a hard time putting my costume on.
Izumi	That’s because Tasuku-san’s tall, huh?
Citron	Ohh, the horseback archery costumes are so cool!
	I’m getting pumped up~!
Muku	It suits you too, Director-san!
Izumi	Thanks.
	I’m not used to wearing traditional Japanese clothing, so I’m a bit nervous.
Muku	Tasuku-san has worn Japanese clothing many times in past performances, and it feels like he wears them proudly and stylishly!
Citron	He looks full of confidence~!
Tasuku	Thank you. However, it’s a hakama this time, so it’s different from the kimonos I wore during Die by the Sword and Hotel Compass.
	It’s a little hard to move in, but I just have to deal with it.
Attendant	Now then, we still be starting shortly, everyone. So please gather over here.
Teacher	First, let’s start by practicing horseback riding. You will get used to the horse you're riding today while doing some horse trekking.
Izumi	I'll place my left foot here and… Hup.
Muku	You’re a very calm and nice animal, huh?
	There, there.
Citron	I wanna hurry up and run!
	This reminds me of my long rides with Pochi back home~!
Tasuku	Citron is used to horseback riding, so his posture also looks fitting.
Muku	Tasuku-san, you look lovely like that too!
	You look just like a real samurai.
Izumi	That’s true.
	He has the costume on too, so it has impact!
Teacher	Everyone in this group has talent for horseback riding. Are all of you familiar with riding?
	Especially him over there. His back is straightened up and he looks just splendid.
Tasuku	Me?
Citron	Amazing, Tasuku!
	You were praised by our teacher!
Muku	Tasuku-san always looks cool and has great posture!
	I wonder if it's because you have strong muscles.
Tasuku	Well, I’ve been standing on stage for a long time now, so it’s just like a habit of mine to hold my chest out high.
Attendant	So then, next, we will practice using the bow on the ground. You will do a little bit in the morning and a little bit in the afternoon, with a lunch break in the middle.
Izumi	Woah, the bow is pretty heavy…!
Tasuku	The size is nice too.
	It’s taller than my height.
Muku	I heard yumis are larger than western bows, and the arrows fly farther.
Citron	It's pretty hard to imagine you're riding a horse while on the ground~!
Tasuku	Oh, I hit it.
Izumi	Ehh, you’ve already got a direct hit!?
Tasuku	Well, I think it was just by chance.
Citron	Even just by chance is amazing!
Muku	Tasuku-san is a natural at this, huh!
	Alright, I have to try my best too.
Citron	I'm not going to lose either~!
Izumi	(Fufu, everyone looks like they’re having fun.
	I have to do my best to hit the targets too!)

Tasuku	It’s finally the real thing, huh?
	I hope I can do it just like I practiced.
Citron	Tasuku’s bow-handling was praised by our teacher too!
Muku	Even though we were practicing on the ground, it was amazing he barely missed any targets!
Izumi	It’s hard to hit targets, but it’s also hard drawing the next arrow right away too, right?
Teacher	So now we’ll move on to mounted archery.
	It’s fine to walk slowly, so please aim for the targets over there.
Tasuku	Walk slowly… like this?
Muku	Wah, he hit one!
Izumi	He shot the next one too!
Citron	They’re all in the center!
Teacher	Participants who can do it that well are hard to come by. I normally don’t let beginners do this, but… would you, in particular, try running?
Tasuku	Is that alright?
Teacher	Yes, I’m sure there’ll be no problem if it’s you.
Tasuku	Alright, then since I’m here, I’ll give it a shot.
Muku	Wahh! Shooting arrows while galloping past on horseback—it’s so cool, just like a real battle!
Citron	Now this is authentic horseback archery!
Izumi	Good luck, Tasuku-san!
Tasuku	Thanks.
Teacher	A hit!
	Well done!
Participant A	Eh, who is that?
	He’s amazing!
Participant B	He’s so good!
Participant C	So cool…!
Tasuku	…Phew.
Izumi	Great job out there, Tasuku-san!
CHOICE 1: You did it perfectly [+] Izumi You did it perfectly, even while running at such a high speed. Tasuku No, I didn’t do as well as I expected. The running pace still could’ve been increased, and I should have been able to reload my arrows even smoother. Izumi EHH!? It looked perfect to me though… Tasuku From my point of view, I can’t say that amount was enough to show the results of my practice. Izumi (Tasuku-san’s pretty stoic…!)
CHOICE 2: It’s as if we’ve slipped back in time [+] Izumi It kind of felt as if we’ve slipped back in time when I watched you shoot the arrows like that, Tasuku-san. Tasuku Then, if I was also doing an etude of a Kamakura samurai at the same time, maybe I could’ve done it even better. I snatch away the Lord’s daughter, Director, and we escape as I shoot my yumi… or something. Izumi That sounds great! Tasuku …Ah, no, Director also looks like this right now, so you’re a tomboy princess who escapes on horseback together with me. Izumi A tomboy princess… Well, if it’s for an etude, I’ll give it my all! Tasuku Haha. How reliable.
Muku	You really looked splendid, Tasuku-san!
Citron	I’m glad we invited Tasuku for this hands-on horseback archery experience!
Tasuku	I’m glad I could experience it too.
	Thanks.
Muku	Today was fun, right!
Tasuku	If it wasn’t for this kind of opportunity, then I don’t think I would’ve done horseback archery. It was a great experience.
Citron	I'll thank the people at the neighborhood association for the tickets!
Izumi	The group photo we took in the archery costumes also came out great. Look.
Muku	It really did!
	I’d like to show everyone at the dorm quickly.
Tasuku	Alright, then shall we head on home—.
Teacher	Hold on, you there!
Tasuku	Yes?
Teacher	Thank goodness, you’re still here.
	Actually, I have a favour for you.
Tasuku	What is it?
Teacher	You… wouldn’t you like to aim for the top of competitive horseback archery!?
Troupe members	EHHH!?
Teacher	If it’s you, then I’m sure you’ll be able to become the best at sports horseback archery in Japan!
	I’d definitely love for you to join our team and tackle it professionally.
Tasuku	Um, I’m working as an actor, so that would be difficult for me.
Teacher	Then just come to the next tournament at least…!
Tasuku	Even if you say that…
Teacher	Ah, that’s right.
	There is an annual event called the “Horseback Archery Festival” coming up.
	If it’s alright, won’t you join us as our guest?
Tasuku	Well, there's no problem if it's just as a guest, but…
Teacher	Thank you!
	Oh boy, I am so looking forward to this.
Izumi	(To be invited out as a guest even though he's an amateur; Tasuku-san is way too amazing...)

Anna