Muku Sakisaka/Minimum Bridal

William's Puppet Show

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2Part 3

Izumi	Ingredients for dinner, detergent… Yep, with this, we’ve bought everything.
	So how about we head home and have a snack?
Muku	Yeah!
	…Ahh.
Izumi	Muku-kun, what’s wrong?
Muku	Um, could this flyer be—.
Izumi	I’m home.
Muku	I’m home.
Tenma	Ahh, welcome back.
Kumon	Good job with the shopping, you two!
Izumi	Everyone from Summer troupe’s here, huh?
Yuki	We all gathered here before we knew it.
Muku	Oh right! Misumi-san, do you remember when you put a puppet show on with Sankaku-kun and Sankaku-chan at the Veludo City Children’s Group meeting?
Misumi	I remember~!
Kazunari	That’s when you made the Sankaku-kun bridal versions, right!
Tenma	Come to think of it, you did do something like that.
Muku	Actually, I happened to see this puppet show invitation flyer at the shopping district.
Kazunari	Ohh! They’re recruiting again!
Muku	So this time, I’m thinking I also want to try doing one with William…
Yuki	William is Muku’s treasured teddy bear, right?
Kumon	That’s great! Go for it, Muku!
Misumi	Yea, yea! I’m sure it’ll turn into a cute puppet show~!
Kazunari	If you ask Tsuzurun for a script again, he’ll deffs write an adorbs story for you!
Yuki	Is there also a theme like last time?
Izumi	The theme this time is “June Bride”.
Tenma	In that case, you can’t put a show on with William alone, right?
Muku	…Haa!
	R-Right. Just like Sankaku-kun has Sankaku-chan, William doesn’t have a partner of his own, huh?
Kazunari	Plus William is surprisingly big, right?
	It might be pretty hard to hold him with one hand like a puppet?
Muku	That’s true…
	I guess I can’t put a show on with William after all…
Kazunari	Never say never, ‘kay?
	Let’s think of a way to make it possible together!
Kumon	Umm… Ah! In that case, why don’t you go find a little William!? Like Mini William!
Misumi	Mini William~?
Kumon	Yeah! I’ve seen a stuffed animal that looked exactly like William at the shopping mall before.
Muku	Really?
Tenma	In that case, how about you go and search for his partner teddy bear at the same time too?
Kazunari	Yep, yep! That works!
Misumi	Then the puppet show will be possible, right~!
Yuki	And if by any chance you aren’t able to find anything, I’ll make them for you this time.
Muku	Wahh, thank you!
	Alright, tomorrow, I’ll go to look for them right away.
Kumon	I’ll go with you!
	Hey, Director, won’t you come too?
Izumi	Hmm well, I don’t have plans tomorrow so I’ll search for them together with you two.
Muku	Thank you very much!
	I’m looking forward to tomorrow!

Kumon	Hmm, I think the place I saw the stuffed animal that was just like William was probably around here~…
Muku	Ah! Could it be that one over there?
Izumi	Wah! It really does look just like William!
Kumon	Right! It’s like William, but made small!
Muku	Wahh, it’s so cute.
	I’m fine with this little guy.
Kumon	I’m glad we found it~.
	Now for his partner, right?
Izumi	(Ah, an adorable girl teddy bear is also placed beside him.)
	I think this one here might be good for the girl to be William’s partner.
Muku	I think so too! They really match each other, right?
Kumon	With this, the stuffed animals are perfect!
	That reminds me, what will you do about the puppet show’s casting?
Muku	Umm… I think I want to try acting William’s role.
	And then, I hope Director will play the girl, and Kyu-chan will do the narration.
Izumi	Ehh, me?
Kumon	Of course, I’ll do it, I’ll do it! Leave it to me!
Izumi	I really, really do want to help you, but my acting is so awful…
Muku	That’s not true. It was really cute when you played Sankaku-chan in the puppet show with Misumi-san that time.
	I’ll also work hard so I can take the lead, so won’t you perform with me…?
Izumi	(Umm, I’m a bit nervous, but Muku-kun said so to me, so…)
	I got it. I’ll do my best to play William’s partner.
Muku	Wahh, thank you very much!
	I’m glad!
Kumon	Just like William, are you gonna come up with a name for the girl too?
Muku	I was also thinking I wanted to give her a name. So now if I look at her face, the name that comes to mind is…
	How does "Marie" sound?
Izumi	Yeah, I think it’s nice. It’s a very cute name.
Muku	Thank you very much!
	Fufu, nice to meet you, Mini William, Marie.
Kumon	A play with Mini William and Marie, huh~.
	Hehe, I’m lookin’ forward to it.
	The theme is “June Bride”, right? Then wouldn’t it be nice for William and them to wear a tuxedo and dress or something?
Muku	Ah, I was thinking I would try making those myself.
	I plan to ask Yuki-kun and get him to teach me how to make them.
Kumon	Muku’s making them by hand!? Amazin’!
Izumi	Mini William and them will definitely be happy.
	Let me know if there’s anything at all I can help with too, ok?
Muku	Yes! Thank you very much.
	So for that reason, I was able to pick up Mini William and his partner Marie, but I have a favour to ask Yuki-kun…
Yuki	You want to make clothes, right?
Muku	Y-Yes!
	I’m hoping I can handmake them myself for the bears.
Yuki	I got it. I’ll teach you something that it seems even Muku can make.
Muku	Thank you, Yuki-kun!
Yuki	And then this time, side stitch over here.
Muku	Got it. Like this… Ouch!
Yuki	Hold on, are you ok?
Muku	I pricked my finger with the needle…
Yuki	Uwah, you’re bleeding.
Muku	This much isn't a problem.
Yuki	…William’s tuxedo will get stained with blood, you know?
Muku	Ehhh! T-that’s…
Yuki	We just ran out of bandages in our room.
	There should be some in the lounge.
	I’ll find some, so you go wash your hand.
Muku	Thank you. Let’s go.
Yuki	Hmmm…
Izumi	Huh? Are you two looking for something?
Yuki	Perfect timing. Where are the bandages again?
Izumi	Ahh, they’re here.
	Did you get hurt somewhere?
Yuki	Muku stabbed himself while sewing.
Izumi	Eh! Are you ok!?
Muku	It’s not a big deal, so I’m perfectly fine.
Izumi	No, no, needles are painful…
	Ah, you pricked yourself here, right?
	Here, I’ll apply the bandage and… There you go.
Muku	Thank you very much, Director-san!
Izumi	Could it be, you were making the clothes for Mini William and them?
Muku	That’s right.
Izumi	I see, good luck.
	I can’t wait to see them.
Muku	Yes, I'll work hard to meet your expectations!

Izumi	(Today is finally the real deal for the Children Group meeting’s puppet show.)
Muku	Director-san, look here.
	Here’s how Mini William and Marie look in their tuxedo and dress.
Izumi	Wahh, how cute! They weren’t wearing them during our practises, right?
	They’re wonderful.
Muku	Ehehe, thank you very much.
Kumon	Alriiight, let’s do our best to have everyone enjoy the show—!
Muku	Yeah!
	*applause*
Kumon	“Long, long ago, in a land far, far away, there lived a kind-hearted bear prince named William.”
Child A	Wahh, it’s a bear! He’s cute~.
Child B	He’s the prince of the bear kingdom, right~.
Kumon	“William was beloved by all, and many girls wished to become William’s bride…”
	“However, William politely declined any talks about marriage, saying that if he was going to spend the rest of his life with someone, then it must with a person he loves from the bottom of his heart.”
	“That was another point that made him so popular.”
Child A	So cool! He’s faithful~!
Kumon	“Then one day—”
Izumi	“Ahh, what should I do? I’m so troubled… Where in the world did it go?”
Muku	“Miss, what’s the matter? Are you searching for something?”
Izumi	“Actually, I accidentally dropped my precious earring.”
Muku	“How terrible. I'll search for it with you."
Kumon	“William, who simply couldn't leave a person in need, helped that girl in her search.”
Muku	“Ahh, an earring. I found it!”
Izumi	“Really!”
	“Ahh, there is no mistaking it. This is my earring.”
	“Thank you very, very much…!”
Kumon	“The girl was overjoyed and thanked him while smiling from ear to ear.”
Muku	“…!”
Kumon	“It was a very, very sweet smile, and even after they parted ways, William couldn’t forget that girl’s smiling face.”
	“After some time had passed, the King and Queen told William they intended to hold a formal marriage meeting for him.”
	“His partner would be the neighbouring kingdom’s princess.”
Muku	“A formal marriage meeting…. But no matter what I do, I can’t get the smiling face of that girl from before out of my mind.
	I want to be with her. Marrying someone else would be…”
Child A	W-what’s gonna happen?
Child B	*Badump, badump*…
Kumon	“Then on the appointed day he met his marriage partner—.”
Izumi	“Good afternoon, my name is Marie.”
Muku	“Y-you are…!”
Izumi	“Prince William, thank you very much for lending me your hand that time.”
Muku	“I’ve always thought that I wanted to meet you again!”
Kumon	“Miraculously, that princess was the girl from before!”
Muku	“From now on as well, please allow me to stay by your side.”
Izumi	“I feel the same way, I'll be in your care, Prince William.”
Kumon	“So, the two were joined and married.
	And then they lived happily ever after.”
	*applause*
Child A	That was a lovely story—!
Child B	I wonder if that’s what you call destiny~.
Kumon	Yaaay! It’s a huge success!
Izumi	Yeah, I’m glad it went smoothly!
Muku	Thank you very much, it’s all thanks to you two!
Izumi	Good job, you two.
Kumon	Good job to you too, Director!
Muku	It’s a relief it looks like everyone enjoyed it.
Kumon	Hey, hey, can we stop by somewhere and eat something on our way home—.
	Ah! It’s that candy shop!
	That place sells the sweets nii-chan likes!
	Sorry, you two, wait here for a sec!
	I’m gonna go buy a souvenir for nii-chan!
Muku	Sure, go ahead.
Izumi	Fufu, that’s Kumon for you, huh?
Muku	Well, Ju-chan’s eating the sweets from that shop all the time.
	Um, Director-san.
	Once again, thank you very much for accompanying me today.
Izumi	Same here, thank you for inviting me.
CHOICE 1: It was fun. [+] Izumi The puppet show was fun, right? Muku Yes! It was really fun! Thanks to Yuki-kun for teaching me, I was able to make costumes for Mini William and them… And I really learned a lot from the puppet show rehearsals too. Also, I was very happy Director-san and I could play the prince and princess…
CHOICE 2: You were dependable taking the lead. [+] Izumi Muku-kun, you were dependable taking the lead. I’m terrible at acting and I was worried whether I’d drag you down, but thanks to Muku-kun, it was really easy to perform. Muku Really? I’m glad. Director-san’s Marie was also very cute and lovely. Izumi Thank you. Muku-kun’s Prince William was really cool too. Muku Ehehe… I’m glad.
	I will also work hard so I can become a kind and wonderful man, just like Prince William.
	Director-san.
	—From now on as well, please allow me to stay by your side.
Izumi	!
Muku	As an actor, of course.
Izumi	Yeah.
	I feel the same way, I’ll be in your care, Muku-kun.
Muku	Yes!
Izumi	(As expected of Muku-kun. A prince’s lines suit him perfectly.)
	(He also captured everyone today with his acting during the puppet show.
	I look forward to watching Muku-kun's growth from now on as well.)

Anna