| Sakyo | (Ugh... I had too much to drink.) |
| Bundle of sheets | Zzz.... |
| Sakyo | (Yukishiro is... still asleep.) |
| (I’ll leave before he notices.) |
| |
| Azuma | Good morning. |
| Sakyo | ...Why were you waiting for me. |
| Azuma | Fufu, I wonder why? |
| Sakyo | I thought there was someone in bed. |
| Azuma | That’s Citron and Guy. |
| Sakyo | So they didn’t go back to their room last night... |
| Azuma | I said I’d tag along, remember? |
| Sakyo | ...Fine. |
| |
| Sakyo | My mother told me all about my father last night. |
| Azuma | Your parents met here? |
| Sakyo | No, my father was working elsewhere, and he met my mom when she was a part-time at his workplace. |
| She made lots of mistakes, so he backed her up all the time, and before he knew it, he was taking care of her whole life. |
| She’d tell him she was fine, but he wouldn’t stop yapping—eat healthy, save money, et cetera, et cetera. |
| Azuma | Sounds like a certain someone I know. So he was a worrywart. |
| Sakyo | Must be why he got along with my mother, who was pretty careless. |
| Well, if I bring you along as a friend, it might put him at ease. |
| Azuma | ...Fufu. |
| Sakyo | What? |
| Azuma | You know, that’s what Tasuku said—he forcefully tagged along when I returned home for the first time in a long while. |
| Sakyo | ...Huh. That’s a bit surprising. |
| Azuma | I was a little surprised too. I didn’t think Tasuku was that kind of person, after all. |
| ...Tasuku found this hairpin then. |
| The whole house had been swept clean, so I was sure I wouldn’t find a single trace of our family life there, but... |
| There was a letter and a present that my brother had left for me. |
| ...I’m glad I didn’t go alone. |
| That’s why I was a bit pushy in tagging along. Sorry. |
| Sakyo | No.... |
| Azuma | So long as I have this hairpin, I can feel my brother’s presence—I can feel our connection, even if I can’t meet him. |
| I think Seimei and Kou’s relationship is similar to that. They might not be honest about their affection, and they live in different worlds, but.... |
| Kou feels attached to Seimei; he wants to stay by his side and protect him. |
| That’s how I play Kou. |
| Even if I can’t put it into words, even if it’s not visible—I hope I can communicate this feeling to the audience. |
| Well... Tying anything and everything to theater makes me as much of a nerd as Tasuku, huh? |
| Sakyo | No... Your acting has reached Seimei. |
| Azuma | I see... I’m glad. |
| ...Sakyo-kun, I hope you manage to feel it too. A connection with your father. |
| Sakyo | .... |
| Azuma | Is that a picture of a paper fortune? |
| Sakyo | My mother sent it to me yesterday. She said my father kept it in his wallet like a treasure before he passed away. |
| ...I thought I didn’t have a single memory of him, but now I remember. |
| The origin of my name. My father told me himself. |
| |
| After moving to Kyoto, every day was boring. |
| |
| I wasn’t old enough to go out and play on my own, so whenever mother was out working, I had to spend my time in my father’s hospital room. |
| |
| My father had no close relatives he could rely on, so the only person who dropped by was the nurse. I spent the whole day playing alone, atop the seat by the window, from morning to night. |
| |
| I didn’t really understand anything, but I could faintly tell that my father was growing weaker. |
| |
| When he was awake, he would speak to me, but those hours grew shorter and shorter. |
| |
| At times, I became afraid that he would never wake up again. |
| |
| But father still let me draw paper fortunes once a day. |
| |
| The fortunes were always different; they were mundane, but that was the one form of communication that became routine for us. |
| |
| That was the only thing I looked forward to during those dull days. |
| |
| That day, too—upon waking up, my father beckoned for me, so I crawled up onto the bed. |
| |
| I thought he was going to let me draw my daily paper fortune, but instead he showed me a tiny, folded-up paper fortune. |
| |
| He opened the yellowing paper. I couldn’t read kanji yet, so he told me: it says “daikichi.” |
| |
| “You know, soon, Father might not be able to meet you anymore, Sakyo.” |
| “...I know.” |
| “I see....” |
| |
| My father laughed sadly, and his eyes dropped to the paper fortune in his hands. |
| |
| “So this—I drew this paper fortune when you were in Mother’s stomach, Sakyo.” |
| |
| “We had a really hard time deciding on your name, Sakyo. I just couldn’t choose. |
| Mother grew impatient, and demanded, ‘He’s going to be born soon, so hurry up and decide.’ |
| I really didn’t know what to do, so I visited a shrine that has ties to your name, Sakyo.” |
| |
| “And then I pulled a daikichi—the best luck. It told me, your wishes will come true; your sicknesses healed. You will achieve your goals like a dragon dashing through the heavens, and achieve happiness. |
| Wishing that you would live such a life, I chose your name, Sakyo.” |
| |
| “.....” |
| “Sakyo, do you like your name?” |
| “Yeah.” |
| |
| “I see. I’m glad. If you can love your own name, Sakyo, I’m sure you’ll be happy, even if Father’s not by your side.” |
| |
| “You’ll make lots of friends who say they like your name, Sakyo.” |
| |
| My father laughed. |
| |
| At the time, I couldn’t really understand what he was saying, but I do remember being happy that he seemed more energetic than usual. |
| |
| And then, a few days later, my father died as if falling asleep. |
| |
| Sakyo | .... |
| Azuma | I like your name, Sakyo-kun. |
| Sakyo | What’s this all of a sudden? |
| Azuma | I just remembered what you told me about your father. |
| You have at least one friend who likes Sakyo-kun’s name, right here. |
| Why don’t you ask everyone else, too? I’m sure they all feel the same. |
| Sakyo | I can’t ask them something so embarrassing. |
| Azuma | Sakyo-kun’s father, nice to meet you. Thanks to the name you gave him, Sakyo-kun is loved by the troupe. |
| Sakyo | Sigh.... |
| .... |
| (...Father. I am currently standing on the stage I dreamed of all these years. I’m walking along the path of theater with all my might, day after day. I am happy.) |
| (...Thank you.) |
| ...Let’s head back. |
| Azuma | Yeah. |
| By the way, a paper fortune that became the source of your name—that sounds lovely. Why don’t we draw fortunes at the shrine on our way back? |
| Sakyo | Why would you go out of your way to spend money just to let your spirits get swayed by the results? You’d be better off buying a charm, or even leaving a monetary offering. |
| Azuma | Fufu, that sounds like the kind of thing you’d say, Sakyo-kun. |
| But even a paper charm that reaches you from pure luck—if you think of it as words that were gifted to you from an unknown somebody, that, too, is a kind of bond. |
| Because without it, Sakyo-kun might have been Ukyo-kun. |
| Sakyo | ...You’re right. |
| (A bond that is invisible to the eye; human compassion... How strange.) |
| (Paper fortunes, huh...) |
