Act 3/Episode 17

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Act 3
Episode 17: Portrait 3 / Furuichi Sakyo

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Sakyo —I've averted my eyes from my dream for a long, long time now. My mother raised me on her own. We were so poor that I couldn't do anything that cost money, like club activities, or going out to play. Every day, walking straight home from school, I would pass by the brand-new MANKAI dorm. My mother was always out working late, so I would return to an empty home. That's why I was so intrigued by the happy voices coming from the dorm. I would peek in through the entrance and see the troupe members practicing and doing vocal lessons here and there. Before I knew it, I’d started secretly looking forward to watching their brilliance. On my way home from school, for just a few moments before the sun set. I thought it was enough to just watch them from afar. But one day, out of the blue, a little girl noticed me there and started talking to me. "Onii-chan, don't you want to join us?" I had never seen her before. Everyone in the dorm was an adult, older than me. A little girl like her had never entered the dorms. "Hey, come on in." "No, I’m not..." "But you want to come in, right? Hey, Father~!” "Oi, stop!" The man who showed up was the one who always instructed the other troupe members. I learned a little later that he was the head, Tachibana Yukio. "This onii-chan wants to join us." "No, I’ve been saying—" "...Want to take a look inside?" "....Eh?" "Come on, onii-chan!" "O-oi." She took my hand, and for the first time, I stepped into the place that I’d watched from afar for so long. At first, I wasn't particularly interested in acting, but the atmosphere at the MANKAI Company made me feel comfortable. Everyone was kind; they taught me how to act or lectured me about theatre, even when I didn't ask for it. Eventually, I was stopping by and practicing at MANKAI Company every day—and I came to love acting more and more. And before I knew it, I was dreaming about standing on MANKAI Company's stage one day. I only spent one week with this girl, who was Yukio-san's daughter. She was just visiting Tokyo. I took care of her for that week; so when she had to leave, she cried and cried. I still can't forget the warmth of her hand that grabbed me and didn’t let me go. Once I entered middle school and high school, I started working jobs as an underling of a yakuza. I stopped dropping by to practice, because it somehow felt wrong—but I still secretly attended every single performance. I became a yakuza to earn money quickly, so I could help out my family. Even so, I could no longer allow myself to step foot into the company. I understood that, but I thought that perhaps, one day, I could meet them again—that girl and Yukio-san—so I kept pointlessly dropping by the theatre. Because of that, I witnessed the troupe become more and more desolate. I couldn't stand the thought of this place disappearing. If people no longer came to this theatre, I felt like that would be the end of my connection with Yukio-san and the little girl, so—. That's why I decided to lend money to the troupe. I was no longer a child. My mother didn’t have to take care of me or pay for everything; I now had a huge sum of money at my disposal. And if that wasn't enough, I decided I would bring this company back to life with my own hands if I had to. Truth be told—I always, always wanted to act. I wanted to stand on MANKAI Company's stage. But this is the only way I can get involved now. I couldn't support this company in its darkest time. I couldn't give back to Yukio-san. That’s the biggest "regret" of my life—. Izumi ..... Sakyo —Who is it? Izumi ...Guess you caught me. I won't get in the way, so please continue. Sakyo I'm finishing up. It's just individual practice, after all. Izumi Can’t you at least show me, your director? Sakyo It's not done yet. Deal with it. Izumi Eh~. Sakyo Don't "eh~" me. Izumi I'm looking forward to seeing your portrait, Sakyo-san! Sakyo (The day I met that young girl again, all grown up in front of MANKAI Theatre—you’ll never know how surprised I was.) Izumi Why are you smiling? Sakyo It's nothing. Izumi It's naughty to smile at your own memories! Sakyo Who are you calling naughty. ...Geez. You haven’t changed—you always have to get a word in.
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