Tsuzuru Minagi/Nervous LIVE!

A PRANK SET IN THE DRESSING ROOM

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

Citron	Spring troupe, come here for a bit.
Itaru	Huh? Why all the whispering?
Sakuya	Is there something wrong?
Citron	Shh! Sakuya, lower your voice.
Masumi	Tsuzuru isn’t here now, though.
Citron	Don’t water. This is a secret from him.
Itaru	Guess you mean worry. But why?
Citron	We are next on stage, but Tsuzuru worries a lot. It’s not good for him to be like this!
Chikage	Indeed. I talked to him earlier, and he was feeling quite nervous.
Citron	I’m sure he won’t perform well like that.
	Let’s help Tsuzuru loosen up!
Masumi	Even so, we don’t have much time. We can’t do much.
Citron	I have a good idea.
Sakuya	A good idea?
Citron	Yeah! Let’s set Tsuzuru a prank!
Sakuya	Now I get it! He might loosen up with it!
Itaru	True, Tsuzuru would perfectly fall for it.
Citron	It will be fun no matter what prank we set.
Itaru	So, Citron. All this prank setting is for your own enjoyment, am I wrong?
Citron	I can’t say…
Chikage	Even for a very low-key prank, Tsuzuru would give us a good reaction.
Itaru	Perhaps making his knees bend as a low-key one?
Masumi	That’s just mischief.
Sakuya	Hmm… how about… hide in the shadows and then surprise him?
Citron	If we do that, Tsuzuru’s life will end!
Itaru	He has a weak heart, lol.
Citron	It needs a bigger twitch~
Chikage	You might mean a twist.
Itaru	A twist you say, but you know~ we don’t have the time to prepare such a joke.
Masumi	What if we give him something weird?
Chikage	Something weird… like what?
Citron	I have a good thing for that!
Sakuya	A good thing?
Citron	Yes.
	This!
Chikage	A Zahran mask?
Masumi	He will notice Citron is behind this in an instant.
Sakuya	It might leave some kind of impact…
	How about dancing while wearing the mask?
Itaru	Surreal.
Chikage	Azami would get angry if the makeup smudges because of it.
Sakuya	Ah, you’re right…
Citron	Hm~ What a problem~…
	*a sound*
	Oh! What if we secretly change this water?
Troupe members	…!?

Sakuya	We did it perfectly in the rehearsals! Let’s keep it in mind and do our best on stage!
Tsuzuru	…Sure.
Citron	Tsuzuru, are you still worried?
Tsuzuru	Well, yeah.
Citron	In times like these, it’s good to write the kanji of “person” on your palm and sprinkle salt and pepper. Then, eat it!
Masumi	What a dish.
Sakuya	But there isn’t any salt and pepper in the dressing room…
Tsuzuru	Don’t take it as a real thing!
Itaru	Tsuzuru, you’ve experienced many things and overcame your worries in the past. It will be alright.
Tsuzuru	Itaru-san…
Chikage	So Chigasaki can say such things as well, huh?
Itaru	That line appeared in the game I was playing yesterday. It was a really touching scene…
Tsuzuru	That’s plagiarism!
Citron	Tsuzuru, it’s almost our time on stage!
Tsuzuru	Y-yes… it seems so.
Itaru	Don’t you feel thirsty, Tsuzuru?
Tsuzuru	Yeah, my throat feels dry thanks to the nerves.
Citron	Here. Delicious water for you.
Tsuzuru	Thanks.
	Glug…
Troupe members	…
Tsuzuru	!?
	Cough…! So salty! What is this!?
Citron	Ta-dah ♪ Our prank was a success!
Chikage	Ahaha. You drank it all.
Tsuzuru	Well, I was thirsty…
	But geez~~ what did you add to it!?
Citron	Pickled vegetable broth.
Tsuzuru	A low-key one, you!
Citron	A low-key prank just like Tsuzuru!
Tsuzuru	What’s with that?
Chikage	Don’t worry, there’s normal water as well.
Tsuzuru	All of you planned it?
Sakuya	We heard from Citron that you were nervous, so we thought of a way to help you.
	That’s how we started talking about setting a prank…
Tsuzuru	Still, why pickled vegetable broth… Who would bring this kind of thing?
Citron	I brought it from the dorms. I thought there wasn’t going to be any here.
Tsuzuru	For what did you think you’d need it…
Citron	Tsuzuru, are you feeling better?
Tsuzuru	Yes, I’m good now.
	I was surprised by the sudden prank you blew on me. But I returned to normal because of it.
Citron	No crumble at all!
Chikage	Tell us if you start feeling nervous again.
Sakuya	Then, let’s have fun on stage!
Tsuzuru	Okay, let’s get excited!

Moonlight