Tsumugi Tsukioka/Appetizing Bouquet

Interior of Summer

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

Tsumugi	Alright, I guess that’ll do.
	(I started cleaning to help the Manager, but it does feels nice having things neat and tidy after all.)
	…
Manager	Are you finished, Tsukioka-san~?
Tsumugi	Manager.
	I just happened to finish just now.
Manager	You know, you really saved my skin by lending a hand.
	Thanks so much!
Tsumugi	Oh, no, if it’s simply cleaning, then I’ll help out any time.
Manager	Anyways, it’s hot today, isn’t it?
	Let’s take a break and drink some barley tea. I’ll prepare it!
Tsumugi	Thank you very much.
Manager	Then, to the lounge—.
Tsumugi	…Um, Manager!
Manager	Yes, what’s the matter~?
Tsumugi	I thought this while I was cleaning just now… but doesn’t it look a little lonely around here?
Manager	You mean..?
Tsumugi	It's fine to keep things simple by not placing too many things out. But it's been getting hotter recently—.
	So I thought it would also be nice for this place to have some cool interior designs to give it a summery feel.
Manager	A summer-like interior, huh~.
	Do you have any items that would work?
Tsumugi	I mean, I haven’t come up with anything concrete yet…
Manager	I see. I’ll do my part to search too, in that case.
	I bet there’ll be something or other if I go to the storage room!
	And if you’ve got anything nice, you can place it out, Tsukioka-san.
Tsumugi	Right!
	I’ll search a bit as well.
	The flowerbed care tools… I wonder if this many is enough?
	Excuse me, I’d like these.
Store clerk	Thank you very much.
Tsumugi	…Hm?
	(A small potted plant that has colourful sand instead of soil? It’s the first time I’ve seen this…!)
	This is really beautiful!
Store clerk	That’s called sand art.
	I’m the one who made that pot.
Tsumugi	Eh, by yourself?
	That’s amazing.
Store clerk	Not at all. It’s relatively simple if you use a special kit.
	Actually, this is just a quick sample of a kit I made.
Tsumugi	Heh, a sand art kit…
Store clerk	If it’s piqued your interest, then please give it a try as well, dear customer!
	We have good number of kits that just arrived.
Tsumugi	(This might be perfect for our summer interior design, right?)
	Alright, I’ll take one of these as well.
Store clerk	Thank you very much!

Tsumugi	Alright, I wonder if I’ll be able to make it well.
	(I see, you can add original plants in addition to the decorations that come with the kit.)
	First off, I’ll read the instructions—.
Izumi	I’m back.
	Ah, Tsumugi-san.
Tsumugi	Welcome home, Director!
Izumi	(Tsumugi-san looks like he’s in a good mood.
	I wonder if something nice happened?)
	Hm? “Homemade Kit”?
	Are you going to make something, Tsumugi-san?
Tsumugi	Yes, I’m thinking of attempting this thing called sand art right now!
Izumi	Sand art?
Tsumugi	You place decorations or insert small plants on top of colourful sand that’s been layered… see, just like this picture here.
Izumi	Wow, you can make something this pretty yourself?
Tsumugi	Yes. This is the kit for that!
Izumi	Heh, that sounds interesting…
Tsumugi	Do you want to make one with me, Director?
	I thought one would be lonely, so I bought two.
Izumi	Is that ok? You’re the one who bought them wanting to make them…
Tsumugi	Not at all, I’m sure it will be more fun making them together.
	So let’s do it together!
Izumi	If you insist.
	Alright, I’ll take this challenge on with you then!
Tsumugi	Little by little while turning the glass…
	Ahh, the colours got mixed.
Izumi	It’s fine, just act like you mixed the colours on purpose!
Tsumugi	Y-yeah, right!
	I’ll do that.
Izumi	Huh, the colours don’t match as well as I thought.
	Maybe it would’ve been better to add another colour?
Tsumugi	I think it’s nice that it has originality to it this way.
Izumi	T-thank you very much.
Tsumugi	…Hmm, the layers aren’t coming out as pretty as I imagined.
	I guess it's better to pack it down more firmly before adding more on top.
Izumi	You’re right. The previous layers fall apart if you just shake it a little…!
Tsumugi	It’s surprisingly difficult even when we use a kit…
Izumi	Phew, it’s done…!
Tsumugi	They’re finally finished, huh?
Izumi	Yeah!
Tsumugi	It was hard to get the hang of it at first, but it became quite fun once we got used to it, right?
CHOICE 1: I want to do more [+] Izumi I feel like I want to do more now! Tsumugi We made them this time with a summer interior in mind, but it might be nice to change them up according to the seasons. Depend on the decorations and sand colours, you could probably make them with the feel of each season. Izumi That sounds great! And you can choose seasonal flowers to place on top. Tsumugi Ah, that’s a great idea. I know, let’s add a few flowers from the garden into these later as well. Izumi Wow, that’d be wonderful! I bet they’ll become even cuter!
CHOICE 2: They’re not like the sample [+] Izumi How do I put it? They’re a little different from the sample photo… Tsumugi Umm, I can’t deny that. The one the staff made was just like the sample… But I think the one you made is lovely. I like it even if it’s different from the example. Izumi Thanks so much for saying that!
	*Sigh*, I wish I could do better now on the bottom part, which is what I did first~.
	*door opens*
Chikage	I’m home. …Oh my?
	The two of you are holding some interesting looking things.
Izumi	Welcome back, Chikage-san.
	These are sand art!
Tsumugi	I thought they might work for the summer interior of the dorm. So we used kits to make them.
Chikage	Heh, so they’re originals by you two.
	No wonder…
Izumi	W-what do you mean?
Chikage	Ah, no. I think they’re creative designs.
	No one else could have made them but you two.
Tsumugi	Creative…
Chikage	The layers of sand are blended together, and the thickness of the layers stabilize as they go up from the bottom…
	Well, they’re designs I don’t usually see around.
	So I thought, “this is the originality of the two of you”.
Izumi	E-exactly!
	Right, Tsumugi-san!
Tsumugi	Eh? Y-yeah.
Chikage	They’re for the interior of the dorm, right?
	I’m looking forward to seeing them displayed.
Izumi	Umm… If Chikage-san praised us, then does that mean we were able to hide the parts we messed up on?
Tsumugi	Ahaha… I feel like we were probably being told we’re clumsy in a roundabout way.

Anna