Tsumugi Tsukioka/Recommended Camping Coffee

Midsummer Night Penalty Game

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2Part 3

Izumi	(I got to get up pretty early today, talk about lucky~)
	(Maybe I should try making a slightly fancier breakfast this morning.)
Tsumugi	……
Izumi	(Tsumugi-san…?)
	(That bread and coffee must be what he’s having for breakfast, but… He seems to have fallen asleep…)
	(It’s actually rare to see Tsumugi-san be up this early, too.)
	(...I can’t decide if it’s okay to wake him up or not.)
	[alarm rings]
Tsumugi	…!?
	Ah– It’s just the alarm… That scared me..… Uhm… Huh, I can’t turn it off…… Woah, why’s it on the camera app!?
Izumi	The stop button is over here.
	[alarm stops]
Tsumugi	It stopped…
	Thank you for helping me with that.
Izumi	No problem.
Tsumugi	I usually would be able to stop it immediately, I was just so surprised—
Izumi	You’re up pretty early today though.
Tsumugi	Ahaha, it’s because there’s a planned trip today.
Izumi	Oh you did mention it before!
	You have a friend from your drama club days that had just moved to the countryside, so you’ll be going to visit them, right?
Tsumugi	That’s right. It’s a bungalow with a garden that he bought for a cheap price. Seems like we could even have nagashi somen in the garden too.
Izumi	Ohhh, that sounds so nice.
	That being said, having only bread and coffee for your breakfast might not fill you up, so let me cook you something, alright?
CHOICE 1: Maybe some sunny-side-up eggs? [+] Izumi Maybe some sunny-side-up eggs? Tsumugi Is that alright? I’d love some, then. Izumi Oh right, we also got some wieners we could cook too. Tsumugi It would cook really well on an iron plate. Should I lend a hand with anything? Izumi Can I leave the fruit peeling to you then? Tsumugi Of course.
CHOICE 2: Is there anything you want to eat? [+] Izumi Is there anything in particular that you want to eat? Tsumugi Let’s see… How about some sunny-side-up’s? Izumi Of course. You really love eggs, don’t you? Tsumugi I do. Let me make some salad then. Izumi Oh, thanks! I’m pretty sure we got some lettuce and tomato in the fridge… I woke up pretty early today, so I figured I should whip up something fancier than usual this time. Tsumugi Then I should consider myself lucky that we came here at around the same time. Izumi Fufu, I should say the same.
Tasuku	Tsumugi, we should get going soon.
Tsumugi	Huh, already?!
Tasuku	What do you mean 'already'... You’re the one who said you were going to eat some breakfast real quick, so I waited for 15 minutes like you asked.
	It’s already been 20 minutes.
Tsumugi	Sorry… I kinda dozed off, so I didn’t realize…
	I’ll take up your offer for sunny-side-up eggs next time, Director.
Izumi	Sure thing.
Tsumugi	Please excuse me. We’ll be heading off now.
Tasuku	We’ll probably be back in the evening.
Izumi	Have a safe trip, you two!
Tasuku	…This should be the place.
Tsumugi	It feels so tranquil here.
Batchmate A	Tsumugi, Tasuku! Welcome you two~
Batchmate B	It’s been a while!
Batchmate C	I see the two of you are inseparable as always~
Tsumugi	You all seem to be in good spirits as always, too.
Tasuku	Is that the bamboo rack for the nagashi somen you mentioned?
Batchmate A	Pretty authentic, don’t you think?
Tsumugi	It looks just as real as the one we have in the dorms.
	I wanna do nagashi somen with everyone again this year.
Tasuku	That’d be nice.
Batchmate B	The preparation is all done here.
Tsumugi	I’m pretty excited for this.
Tsumugi	Huh? I’ll get the next one—
	Wah?!
	[splosh]
Batchmate A	…You’ve been missing each one of them since the start, Tsumugi. You doing good?
Tsumugi	I feel like the flow is going a bit too fast…
Tasuku	Now that you mention it, it does sorta seem like it.
Tsumugi	…But Tasuku, you’ve been able to catch a lot this whole time.
Tasuku	I guess.
Batchmate B	Hahaha, you two really haven’t changed one bit.
Batchmate C	Hey, I think it’s about time we start doing that...
Tsumugi	‘That’...?

Tsumugi	We’re home.
Izumi	Welcome back.
Tasuku	We got some leftover watermelon from earlier.
Kumon	Woooah! That’s one big watermelon!
Muku	It’s bigger than even your head, Kyu-chan!
Tsumugi	(exhales)
Azuma	You seem pretty tired Tsumugi, what happened?
Tsumugi	Actually…
	[flasback]
Batchmate C	Now is when it starts getting really fun!
Tasuku	What are those?
Batchmate C	These clear capsules have little paper notes in them. They’ll flow down the pipe, and you’ll have to catch one just as you would with somen noodles.
	There are certain ingredients written down on the notes, and the rule is that you’ll have to pour that ingredient down the pipe next.
	However, mixed in with these, there’s one capsule that’s got a penalty game written down instead, so best be careful.
Tsumugi	A penalty game?
Batchmate B	But before that, we gotta make sure Tsumugi can catch one.
Batchmate C	Alright, I’m putting them in—
Batchmate A	Here it comes, Tsumugi.
Tsumugi	Wah, woah…. I… got it!
	[splosh]
	(I actually managed to catch one…)
Batchmate C	Now everyone has to get one, alright?
Tasuku	Got it.
	[splosh]
Batchmate C	…Okay, everyone has caught one, yeah? On my count, let’s all open our capsules.
	One, two—
	[flasback end]
Azuma	In other words…
Tsumugi	Mh-hmm…. I pulled the one with the penalty game right away…
Izumi	What sort of penalty did you have to do?
Tsumugi	…Cross-dressing.
Izumi	Eh!?
Yuki	Asking Tsumugi to cross-dress is a high request, strangely enough.
Azami	Hm, I do kinda get that though.
Tsumugi	Ah, but, through much asking I managed to talk my way out of it.
	Though… In exchange, I had to buy even more alcohol for the group.
	The convenience stores in the countryside are very few and far in between that I started to feel faint before I could get to one, but I managed thru when I asked Tasuku to pick me up midway.
Homare	That would certainly explain your exhaustion.
Yuki	…But y’know, that kind of nagashi somen does sound fun.
Azuma	Oh? It’s rare for Yuki to take interest in something like this.
Kumon	Doesn’t it sound fun though?! I’m sure it’s going to be extra exciting if we do it with everyone!
Muku	We do have a bamboo pipe for nagashi somen that we could use.
Kumon	Say, why don’t we do it next week!?
Izumi	That’d be nice but… Tsumugi-san and Tasuku-san had just done it themselves, so…
Tasuku	I don’t mind doing it again.
Tsumugi	Me too. In fact, I want to take a revenge shot at it, too.
Kumon	Then it’s decided—!
Tasuku	From here on, I’ll be pouring the capsules down just like how I poured the somen noodles just now.
	There is paper within each capsule. Written in each paper could be a prize, a food product, or a penalty game.
	If you managed to catch one, you have to open it. Got it?
Kumon	This is so fun~!
Taichi	I’m so excited now!
Tsumugi	…..
Itaru	So I heard you’re taking a revenge shot on this, huh, Tsumugi?
Banri	That’s the look of a guy who’s ready to go full speed in collecting all the flags here.
Tsumugi	Ahaha, I started tensing up without thinking.
Kumon	Yahoo—! It says I get frozen mango!
Citron	Ohh, I got salmon. It’d be nice if I got sweet shrimp instead~
Guy	I got sushi rice. If I match it with Citronia’s, we could make sushi out of them.
Tenma	How will you make nagashi somen out of that!?
Chikage	Well, we should have fun with it while we can, right? That’s the point of this.
Tsumugi	…You’re right with that.
Itaru	Oh, here come the capsules.
Tsumugi	Okay…
	[splosh]
	…I got one!
	Okay, let’s see what it says—

Tsumugi	……
Banri	He’s totally frozen…
Izumi	Don’t tell me…
Tsumugi	…
Banri	Wh– Hey, Tsumugi-san. You can’t just slide the paper into your pocket and pretend it’s nothing.
Tsumugi	No, well, I mean…
Chikage	Let’s see what’s written here… “Run an errand while cross-dressing in a yukata.”
Banri	For real…
Itaru	Dang…
Tasuku	So much for your revenge shot.
Itaru	Who would think of such a penalty game…
Yuki	…That would be us.
Azami	Sorry, Tsumugi-san.
Yuki	I did think it’d be interesting if I put it in and that Tsumugi would be the one to get it, but…
Azami	Didn’t expect we’d get it for real.
Yuki	Just so you know, we have a yukata well and prepared already. Although, you can still say no if you don’t want to…
Tsumugi	I’ll do it.
Yuki	You will?
Tsumugi	If I got it twice, I must be really fated to do it… It’ll be embarrassing, but it’s not like I’m against it.
Yuki	…Alright. If you’ve got that much resolve, then we gotta make sure you become an exceptional beauty. Right, Azami?
Azami	Definitely. If we’re gonna do it, we’re doing it for real.
Tsumugi	Ah, b-but it’d be too much if we do it in broad daylight, so let’s do it at night…!
Izumi	(They should be finished with preparing Tsumugi-san right around now, right?)
Tsumugi	…….
Izumi	Uwaah, you look gorgeous!
Tsumugi	Th-thank you… Ah, but, it is a little weird, isn’t it?
Izumi	Not at all!
Banri	Heh, you look good.
Juza	It suits you.
Tsumugi	Thanks, you two…
	(Still, even after being told that, I can’t help but feel otherwise… A-Anyway, the sooner I go out, the sooner I can finish this penalty game.)
	Well then, I’ll be going!
	[door closes]
Izumi	Off he goes…
Yuki	…Actually, since he’s walking out as a woman and all, wouldn’t it be good if there was someone else to accompany him?
Izumi	You have a point…! Then I’ll go after him!
	[door closes]
Yuki	—That’s not exactly the point.
Tasuku	…For crying out loud.
Izumi	Tsumugi-san!
Tsumugi	Director?
Izumi	I was a little worried, so I thought I’d come along with you.
Tsumugi	…You didn’t have to.
	Though I did feel tense while walking all by myself with this look on, so I do appreciate it.
Izumi	Fufu, you sure have been through alot today.
	Oh right, for tomorrow’s breakfast, I think I’ll make you some of those sunny-side-up eggs that I didn’t get to cook for you earlier.
Tsumugi	Uwah, I’ll look forward to it.
Izumi	Ah, we should probably buy some eggs from the convenience store then. I think I used up a lot for the french toasts this morning and—
Man A	Hey ladies, where are you going at this time of night?
Man B	You should come have a drink with us.
Izumi	(T-Talk about a cliché moment here…!)
Tsumugi	Stay back, Director. Let me handle—
Man A	You’re a little broad, but you’ve got a cute face on you, sweetie.
Tsumugi	…Huh?
Izumi	(They’re going after Tsumugi-san….!?)
Tsumugi	I-in any case, we don’t want any trouble. Please move aside.
	Director, let’s go.
Man B	You’re even cuter when you’re angry.
Man A	You don’t need to say such things, just come with us.
Tsumugi	Look, I’m not actually a woman—
Tasuku	Oi, what are you doing.
Tsumugi	…Tasuku!?
Tasuku	You guys are minors, aren’t you? I’ll call the police.
Man A	Tch!
Man B	Forget it. Let’s go.
	[running]
Tasuku	You guys alright? It’s a good thing I followed to check up on you.
Izumi	Thank you, Tasuku-san.
Tsumugi	… I’m sorry, Director. I was worthless there.
Izumi	You weren’t at all! I thought you were pretty cool just now, Tsumugi-san.
Tsumugi	Thank you.
	But man, I’ve really had enough of cross-dressing and nagashi somen for now.

Dita