| Back when the drama club had just started, Tachibana dragged me around all the time. |
| Almost every day, we watched a series of free plays at the small theaters in Veludo Way and observed street acts. As we continued doing that, my knowledge and skills of theater started increasing. |
| To be honest, I found it troublesome and was unwilling to go with him at first. But theater is something that becomes deeper and more interesting the more you watch it. I became increasingly absorbed in it as time passed. |
| I didn't have any intention to tell my parents about my theater club activities. But Tachibana talked me into telling them and in the end, I got my parents' permission after I promised that I'd only do club activities after school on weekdays until high school graduation. |
| I never expected them to give me permission, but it seemed like they were telling me to use theater to help me develop my artistic skills. |
| Even though the theater club had started doing real activities, our adviser barely did anything and one of our members was and one of our members was a bad student who did not partake in the club activities. |
| Tachibana would invite him to join our activities from time to time, but he never came. |
| It was practically impossible to do any decent club activities with merely two members. |
| We missed the chance to recruit freshmen in our first year, and as a result of that, nobody joined the club. The two of us continued doing club activities alone. |
| We managed to gain more members by recruiting helpers within the school and took part in NCFUSS[1], but we were utterly beaten. During this time, even that guy was depressed. |
| Despite what happened, we continued doing small-scale activities. In the spring of our third year, we gave our all and managed to recruit several freshmen. |
| One day, like he always did, he suddenly brought me to a luxurious traditional Japanese house. While I was at a loss wondering just whose house this was, Tachibana repeatedly hit the intercom without hesitation. |
| "Hey, quit it!" |
| I tried to stop him in a hurry, but it was too late. A boy who was about the same age as us came out from inside. |
| "Who are you?" |
| "I'm Yukio Tachibana, a third year student at Nanakusa High. I came here to meet Hakkaku Ikaruga-san." |
| "Hakkaku Ikaruga…!?" |
| I was surprised when I learned who the owner of this premises was. |
| He was a very famous playwright who was known to everyone in the industry. His screenplays had always been receiving rave reviews; he was eagerly sought after by many theater troupes. |
| "Do you have an appointment?" |
| "Nope!" |
| "Father is currently working. Please go home." |
| "Ah, hold on--." |
| I stopped Tachibana who persistently clung on to the door. |
| "Cut it out. It's so inconsiderate of us to suddenly come here without an appointment. He's the most popular playwright in the country, you know!" |
| "Goodness, I never would have thought you'd bring me here… Let's go home." |
| "HAKKAKU-SAAAAAN!!!" |
| Tachibana then did something outrageous. From outside the property, he started yelling Hakkaku Ikaruga's name so loudly. I was stunned by his absurdity, and at that moment, the window on the second floor opened. |
| "What do you want, you shitty brats!?" |
| An evil-looking man, with a grumpy face and deep dark circles under his eyes, looked at us from above. It was Hakkaku Ikaruga. |
| One would have apologized and gone home after hearing such things, but Tachibana was an idiot whose lack of common sense knows no bounds. |
| "Please write a script for us!" |
| I don't know what kind of nerves he had to be able to comfortably declare such a thing during our first meeting. He had passed the point of being shameless. Even words couldn't describe his absurdity. |
| Instead of giving him a reply, Hakkaku Ikaruga simply closed the window without saying anything. Later, the boy who previously greeted us came back and shooed us away. |
| "Please go home!" |
| It was obvious. Even I would have done the same if a bunch of annoying high schoolers did something like that in my house. |
| I dragged Tachibana away from that home. |
| "Just what in the world are you planning to do?" |
| "I just watched a play that Hakkaku-san wrote. That person's script was so awesome. It had precise composition, and each of the dialogues were vital. I want to produce a play with that person's script!" |
| "But that doesn't mean you can just barge in uninvited. First, you need to look up his contact info and drop him a few lines… Then again, it's not like he will be willing to write a script for high schoolers." |
| "I'll keep going there until he agrees to write us a script." |
| "Did you even listen to what I said!?" |
| In the end, he didn't listen to me at all. |
| Since then, no matter how many times he was blatantly rejected, Tachibana continued going to Hakkaku Ikaruga's home every day after school. And for some reason, he always took me with him. |
| Deep down, I wanted him to give me a break. But even if I did tell him that, he'd never listen and drag me along persistently as usual. In the end, I gave up and came along. |
| One day, just like any other day, Tachibana and I went to Hakkaku Ikaruga's house. Though I knew we'd get turned away again by one of the servants there, I still went along with him until he was satisfied. However, instead of a servant, we were greeted by Hakkaku Ikaruga at the front door. |
| Beckoning us, Hakkaku Ikaruga let us step into his house. I didn't know the reason for his change of heart. Perhaps, he was feeling good since his deadline had ended, or he felt like keeping us company. |
| Feeling terribly sorry, I bowed my head when they served us tea. |
| "We deeply apologize for being so rude." |
| "Go home once you're done drinking the tea. Don't come here again." |
| "No. I don't want any other scripts. It has to be yours. The moment I learned about your work, I cannot accept other people's works at all." |
| "Hey, Tachibana--." |
| "*sighs*... I'll listen to what you've gotta say for now. Why do you want me to write a script for you?" |
| "I want you to write a script for a play we're gonna perform at the cultural festival." |
| "Pfft… HAHAHAHA! Cultural festival, you say!? You want this great me to write a script for your cultural festival? Come again when you have put more enthusiasm into NCFUSS at least!" |
| "...But we're in our third year right now." |
| The theater national convention, which is a part of the NCFUSS, is held from summer each year and divided into three parts: district convention, prefectural convention and regional convention. However, even if we get a spot in the national convention, the event would be held in summer the following year. |
| In other words, us third years couldn’t participate in the main event. |
| “Reni is only allowed to do theater until high school graduation. I’ve promised to make him bloom on the stage in his own way, and dragged him to set up a theater club with me. That’s why I'm determined to produce a play that will satisfy him at the cultural festival... And in order to do that, your script is necessary.” |
| I didn’t know Tachibana would think that way. I’ve always thought of him as someone who didn’t care what inconvenience he put on others and lacked responsibility. |
| “...I’ll write a page for you,” so Hakkaku Ikaruga said as he laughed quietly. |
| “For real!?” |
| “I’ll write a page and that’s all. Handle the rest yourself.” |
| “Yes! Thank you so much! Please come and watch our play on D-Day!” |
| Him having a skin as thick as a helmet did not surprise me anymore, but still, I was genuinely impressed by the fact that he could make someone like Hakkaku Ikaruga give way. |
| That time limit called “high school graduation” was fast approaching. Therefore… I had to do my very best and poured all my effort into our play at the cultural festival. |
| |
| Reni | We absolutely can’t lose this time. If we do, GOD-za’s reputation will completely be ruined. |
| Especially, in terms of the script’s quality, we can’t afford to lose to them. Do a thorough research on our opponent’s scriptwriter. |
| Kusumi | … |
| Reni | Are you listening? |
| Kusumi | Y-Yes! |
| Please leave the scripts’ matters to me! I will certainly provide you with one whose qualities would not put GOD-za to shame! |
| Reni | … |
| Your sons… the older one is an actor at MANKAI Company, right? What about the younger one? |
| Kusumi | I apologize for the inconvenience Misumi has caused you. My younger son is still a student--. |
| Reni | Is he also doing theater? |
| Kusumi | N-No. He doesn’t have any talent for that. |
| Reni | ...I see. |
