Tasuku Takato/MANKAI Memory

Childhood Memory: TASUKU

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2Part 3

Tasuku	We’re back.
Tsumugi	We’re home.
Izumi	Welcome back.
Kazunari	Good to see you guys~… err, huh?
	You two are suited up!
	Y'all look on fleek~! What’s the occasion?
Tsumugi	A classmate of ours had their wedding today.
Kazunari	Gotcha~!
Izumi	It was today, huh?
	Did the ceremony go well?
Tsumugi	Yes. It’s been a long time since we’ve met, but I felt at ease seeing their smiling face that I used to see all the time once again.
Tasuku	Yeah, I thought it was a great wedding.
	The location was also peaceful.
Kazunari	Sounds dope~. I’d love to go to a friend’s wedding like that someday~.
Tsumugi	You have a lot of friends, Kazu-kun, so I bet you’ll get to attend lots of them.
Kazunari	You think!? Aw man, should I start practicing my speech already!?
Tasuku	Why would you…
Izumi	But Kazunari-kun has made a welcome board before, so he might be sought after for things like that?
Kazunari	Oh, true! I had a blast doing that too!
Tsumugi	Ah! Speaking of welcome boards, the board at the venue today was really cute.
	Um, I have a picture… here it is.
Izumi	Wow, it’s adorable!
	It’s made out of toy blocks, huh?
Kazunari	Ehh! It’s colourful, 3D, and totes adorbs!
Tsumugi	Isn’t it? I thought it was cute, so I took countless photos.
Izumi	Countless.
Kazunari	You mean…
Tasuku	The photo he’s showing you right now is one I took and sent him.
	Tsumugi said that no matter how many times he took them, he couldn't get a good shot because of the blur. So I took one in his stead.
Kazunari	Ahaha, sounds about right!
Tsumugi	Ahahaha…
	I tried my best, but it just wouldn’t come out right no matter what I did.
Izumi	Even so, it really is cute.
	I’ve taken a liking to it too.
Tsumugi	Actually, it’s not just me. This welcome board really caught Tasuku’s attention too.
Kazunari	For reals?
Tsumugi	Tasuku used to like blocks like those in the past.
Tasuku	Well, that’s true.
	I was interested in what kind of combinations I could make.
Kazunari	So Tax played with blocks when he was little~.
Izumi	HA. Speaking of the past!
	Your turn for the birthday bromide is coming up, Tasuku-san.
Tasuku	Yeah, I got your LIME.
	I saw it before the ceremony started, so I thought I’d reply afterwards.
Izumi	Ahh, sorry that it was before the ceremony.
Tasuku	It’s fine, I don’t mind. For the bromide photoshoot, we have to prepare a memorable item from before we joined the Troupe, right?
Izumi	Yeah, you got it.
Tasuku	No problem.

Tasuku	I’ll reply… like so.
Tsumugi	Are you going to go home to search for your memorable item too, Tasuku?
Tasuku	Yeah. But I’ve got a pretty good idea of what I’ll use.
Tsumugi	Oh, really? I thought you would need more time to think it over.
Tasuku	Well, it just came to mind earlier.
	Back when we were discussing the welcome board.
Tsumugi	The welcome board made of blocks?
Tasuku	Yeah.
	Remember? There was something we used to play with.
	Those robots that were the type you build with blocks like that…
Tsumugi	…! Ahh, those?
	*flashback starts*
Tasuku	This part goes like this…
	This block goes over here…
Tsumugi	Umm, does the blue block… go here?
	Huh, it doesn’t fit….
	Okay then…!
	Ahh!
	*clatters*
	Aww… it broke again….
Tasuku	Give it here. I’ll make it.
	This part combines like this.
Tsumugi	Awesome…! You’re a pro, Ta-chan!
	Is it almost done?
Tasuku	There’s just a little bit more.
	…Finished!
Tsumugi	Wow, so cool!
Tasuku	Isn’t it?
	Alright, let’s play with these robots together, Tsumu.
Tsumugi	Ehh.
	Well~, I’m not gonna say no to that.
Tasuku	My robot’s stronger!
	SPECIAL POWER PUNCH!
Tsumugi	My robot’s not gonna lose!
	Whoosh! SPEED JET!
Tasuku	Mine can shoot a beam out.
	Take this, RED BEAM!
Tsumugi	Woah! Now you’ve done it!
	Alriiight, STRAIGHT KICK!
Tasuku	Okay, next, let’s set it up so we're rivals, but we work together to defeat the terrible monster.
Tsumugi	Sure!
Tasuku	You're my rival. But there's no way we're gonna beat an enemy that powerful unless we work together.
	Will you join forces with me?
Tsumugi	Yeah.
	We'll work together to take him down!
Tasuku	Let’s go! HAH!
Tsumugi	HIYAH!
	What should we play today, Ta-chan?
Tasuku	Let’s play with these robots again.
Tsumugi	Okay, sounds good. What kind of story should we spin?
Tasuku	Let’s see… let’s have our final battle as rivals.
Tsumugi	Wah, that sounds cool!
Tasuku	Let’s do this.
	Today, we’ll settle which one of us is stronger.
Tsumugi	Just what I wanted.
	Come at me!
Tasuku	TAHHH! SUPER JUMP KICK!
Tsumugi	CONTINUOUS ROTATING PUNCH!
Tasuku	Hah! There!
	SPARK POWEFUL TACKLE!
Tsumugi	YAHH! Eat this!
	Here I come! HYPER ULTRA—…!
	*thump*
	AHH!?
	*clatters*
Tasuku	WAHH!
Tsumugi	The robots…
Tasuku	They crashed into each other and broke apart…
	Tch! TSUMU!!
Tsumugi	S-sorry, Ta-chan…!
	*flashback ends*
	Ahaha. That happened, huh?
	What happened to those robots in the end again?
Tasuku	Well, my brother fixed them for me.
	He used blocks that were the same shape as the ones that flew away and went missing.
Tsumugi	Ahh, right.
	You used to say, “this a one-of-a-kind, original color!” Didn’t you?
	But when I think about it, we were already acting all the way from back then.
Tasuku	Yeah. We had no idea what “acting” even was yet…
	But it might’ve been inevitable that the two of us would become actors like this.

Guy	Did everyone get a glass?
Azuma	Alright, let’s toast.
Tsumugi	Happy birthday, Tasuku!
	Cheers!
Hisoka	Cheers.
Homare	Happiest of births, Tasuku-kun!
Izumi	Happy birthday, Tasuku-san.
Tasuku	Yeah, thanks.
Izumi	I think this every time, but the fact everyone drinks together to celebrate the birthdays in Winter troupe gives off a different feeling from the other troupes.
Tsumugi	That may be so.
	But there are lots of kids who have become adults now too.
Hisoka	Time flies.
Azuma	As everyone changes, it’s fun for me to keep doing this same things like this.
Guy	Right. The promise of celebrating on a certain day makes the year more interesting.
Homare	Indeed.
	Though… we just feel like drinking as well.
Tasuku	Don’t get carried away and drink too much.
	We have an after party after this.
Homare	Why, of course.
Azuma	Come to think of it, Tasuku shot his birthday bromide with some robots, right?
Homare	They must have been memorable items of his with Tsumugi-kun.
Tasuku	…Well, yeah. They reminded me that we actually loved acting all the way from back then.
Guy	Hm… that must have been so for Takato.
Hisoka	He was a theatre junkie since birth?
Homare	Oho! Yes, if it’s Tasuku-kun, then even his baby cries had acting potential!
Tasuku	No they didn’t.
Azuma	You two imagined and acted out lots of different things while playing with those toy robots, right?
Tsumugi	Yeah.
CHOICE 1: What kind of acting, for example? [+] Izumi What kind of acting, for example? Tasuku Like battling as fellow rival robots… or joining forces to fight, and so on. Tsumugi There were also times we went to rescue our friends or travelled to find new parts to use for our strong, special moves. Homare You acted out many different situations, hm? Hisoka They’re all about robots too. Izumi (Both of them must have been really absorbed playing with the robots in their hands.)
CHOICE 2: I hope you’ll try that again another time! [+] Izumi I hope you’ll try that again another time! Tasuku Err, there’s no way I’d do that. Tsumugi If you think of it like a puppet show etude, then wouldn’t it be possible? Azuma Exactly. You can use them as props. Tasuku I mean, you might have a point. Tsumugi Tasuku himself can become a robot or something! Azuma Sounds great. Guy I would also love to see Takato acting as the role of a robot. Tasuku Um… I don’t know about that… Izumi (But I'm sure Tasuku-san would get into his role and play the robot properly once he gets started.)
	Anyways, these robots have been maintained in fairly pristine condition, huh?
Tasuku	I was surprised about that too. There are scratches from when I played with them, but the blocks are intact and they were stored neatly.
Azuma	You have a wonderful family with a great brother and great parents.
Tasuku	…Yeah, that’s true.
	I was reminded once again how much they cared for me.
Tsumugi	It also made you feel like seeing Fuyuki-kun again, didn’t it?
Homare	If so, then why don’t we hold our after party at Tasuku-kun’s family home?
Tasuku	Ha?
Tsumugi	I’m sure Fuyuki-kun would welcome us.
Tasuku	I can’t deny that, but let’s not…
Izumi	Fufu. Let’s do that at another opportunity then.
Hisoka	That’s something more to look forward to.
Guy	Yes, indeed.
Homare	Next time we visit, I shall compose a poem about Tasuku-kun’s robots. I will ask your brother to listen to it as well.
Tasuku	You don’t need to.
Azuma	I’ll find another drink that Fuyuki-kun will enjoy.
Izumi	(Though he says that, Tasuku-san looks really happy too.)
	(I’m glad Tasuku-san is blessed with such great acting friends.)

Anna