Ken Sakoda/The Newcomer Host of April 1st

Welcome to Club MANKAI!

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2Part 3

Sakoda	Ahh… damn it…
	(Losing in a fight… I'm so lame… I'm all tattered, I'm seriously just like trash….)
	(…that's bad… my consciousness is…)
???	--Oi.
Sakoda	…?
	The god of death…? No, this sparkling dazzle, and this voice that echoes in my chest… an angel?
???	Have you lost your mind… what about me made you think of an angel.
	…you, you've got nowhere to go?
Sakoda	…yeah…
???	…then, wanna come to my place?
Sakoda	(He's inviting a stranger like me…? No, but this radiance…)
	(It might be that fate thing…!! Yeah, I'm sure that's what it is!)
	…!! (shakes shakes!)
???	Fu, that's some excitement you're nodding your head with. You, you're just like a dog.
Sakoda	Huh~~… it's sparkling… this place is…?
???	Club "MANKAI"…I was the No.1 of this club until recently.
Sakoda	N-Number one…?
Sakyo	I'm Furuichi Sakyo. I've been the No.1 in this host club for many years but just recently I've retired, and became the manager here.
Sakoda	Host club!?
Sakyo	…there, it fits you, and this suit too. It used to be mine, but it's still usable right. I'll give it to you.
Sakoda	T-Thank you. But I, I don't have the right to take such a nice suit…
Sakyo	I did say I would give it to you, but it's not gonna be free. If you're a man, at least try to earn the suit fee on your own.
Sakoda	Eh?
Sakyo	…you, will aim to be the No.1 of this club.
Sakoda	Eh… Eeeeh--!?
	(and that's how, my life as a host has suddenly started)
	(I do want to work hard, in order to repay the debt for Aniki who picked me up but…)
	I don't understand what kinda work a host does…
Sakyo	Relax. I won't give you a table so fast.
	There're a few people here who wait for an opportunity to take the No.1 spot ever since I retired. Watch how they work, and learn about being a host.
Sakoda	Y-Yes!
Sakyo	Steal their techniques as much as you can. Just for today, I'll explain for you their ways of serving customers.
Sakoda	Yes! I'll be in your care!
Sakyo	First is that table.
Tsuzuru	Um… Um, today, thank you for coming to our… club.
Sakuya	Ehehe, meeting with all of you, makes me so happy!
Customer	The two of you are so cute! Nice to meet you!
Sakyo	Sakuma and Minagi. Both of them are still fresh, and Minagi is especially still awkward.
	But there're customers who like newbie hosts, more than hosts who excel at handling women.
Sakoda	S-So that's how it is.
Sakyo	Minagi was originally a kitchen worker see. But he said he wanted to earn more for his family, so I scouted him.
	He goes and says arrogant stuff, like how he wants his little brothers to eat delicious food…
	Fu, his spirit just pierces through your eyes and heart…
	Sakuma naturally charms people with his born brightness and freshness. For him the way he is… "that way he is", is perfect.
	If I were to spell it for you, it's a perfectly coated model. You get it right.
Sakoda	Coated model… eh?
Sakuya	You've been to work today too? You did well! You're always doing your best, it's amazing!
Tsuzuru	You dislike pepper? Then, I'll teach you a way to cook it deliciously. Ah, I've got many brothers, so I'm pretty good at this kind of things.
	Eh, is that okay if I ask for another bottle? Thank you very much! …ahaha, I'm so happy, somehow, my heart is thumping.
Customer	Huh~ so healing… your smiles… they're just like sunlight…
Sakyo	Let's keep on going. Next one is the table next to them.
Itaru	I've been waiting for you. I missed you.
	Did you miss me too? If that's the case, that would make me happy… how about it?
	…are you blushing? How cute.
Customer	Kyaa…!
Sakyo	Chigasaki is the No.1 fisherman in MANKAI. He's making a good use of his good looking face here as much as possible.
	Look, his casual upturned eyes, smile, his suggestive language… he's ready to fish some customers.
	That guy uses all the money he earns on his gaming hobby… he would do whatever it takes…
	On the other hand the guy next to him is the complete opposite.
Masumi	Ha? …do whatever you want. If you want to order another glass, just go ahead and do that.
	I'm just doing it because it's work. I don't really care about you. You still got something to say?
Customer	Aah, he's cool today too…! This coldness is too much to bear…!
Sakyo	Usui doesn't flatter even slightly the customers with his salty interactions. But it's well received by customers with masochistic tendencies.
Sakoda	T-There sure are all kinda customers…
Citron	This, I know it! Candy for the cat meow!
Customer	Ahaha, geez, Citron~! It’s coin for the cat!
Citron	Oh!? That's it! Japanese is very difficult~.
Customer	So cute~~! It's so healing~~!
Sakyo	That's also a strategy. He uses the character of a foreigner with poor Japanese, but in secretly he's fluent you see.
	Today he even muttered something like "A performance that would make your heart throb in laughter like a refreshing gust of wind while at the same time still being an airhead"
Sakoda	Eeeeh!?
Chikage	That's great. I wondered if I could meet you today.
Customer	Y-Yes!
Chikage	Let's take it slowly over there. …your secrets, tell them only to me alright?
Sakoda	A-And that person? What technique is he using?
Sakyo	…
Sakoda	U-Um…?
Sakyo	…I can't tell you the details but… he needs quite the special surveillance. Anyway make sure not to get too close to him.
Sakoda	…!?
	(G-Gulp… seems like it's better if I follow Aniki Sakyo's warning…)

Yuki	Ahahaha! Is that for real~?
Sakoda	Eh? …over there, they're having fun with only customers?
Sakyo	No, there's a host over there. Rurikawa in the middle is one.
Sakoda	Such a cutie is!?
Yuki	Ah, your bottle is empty isn't it. Let's refill it. Guys, you can still drink more right?
Customer	You bet we can~! Ah, let's order fruits too.
Yuki	Eh, is that alright? Yay, I wanted to eat some! Then~, should I feed them to you?
Customer	Kyaa!
Sakyo	The enjoyable atmosphere like a girls night out makes the customers over stay. That’s some fine strategy.
Muku	Thank you very much for visiting our club today, my princess. Please, come here.
	Your dress is wonderful today too. It suits you very well, fufu, I fell for you all over again…
Customer	T-Thank you…!
Muku	If I could just ride the pumpkin coach, and go to the ball with you, what a wonderful night it would be…
Customer	I-I will ride it!! The pumpkin coach, I will ride it…!!
Sakyo	This is the prince host who earnestly treats the customers like princesses, Sakisaka. He treats as princesses both young customers and old customers equally, so he's popular.
Sakoda	I-I see…! That's very helpful!
Kazunari	Yay!! Then, let's start~!! After me! Champagne champagne on top of our game!
	Cheers for our meetings tonight! I love y'all princesses! Here! Here! Champagne!
Sakoda	Aaah!! That's a crazy champagne tower!? Insane!
Sakyo	The one who did the champagne call is Miyoshi. He deals with his customers straightforwardly with maxed tension. …fu, it's really the royal road for hosts. Looking at him feels good.
Kazunari	That felt gooood!! Guys--! Let's make things even hoootter!
Sakyo	By the way everyone can do that champagne call. Make sure you remember it too.
Sakoda	Eh!? Which means, you did it too Aniki…?
Sakyo	Obviously.
Sakoda	(I-I so wanna see it~~!)
	Hm…? There're lots of customers here too… the one in the middle is…
Customer	Tenma-samaa!
	Kya~, Tenma-sama, you're cool today too!
Tenma	Hmph, stuuupid. Me being cool is clear as day right? You get to drink next to the great me, you better be grateful.
Sakoda	Ugwah!? So bright!? T-This is… the aura emitting from that guy!?
Sakyo	That aura flowing from him is the cream of the crop. A big gun with a reputation of arrogantly dealing with customers, Sumeragi.
	But, his true quintessence is from here on…
Tenma	Huh!? Y-You saw me that time? I-I wasn't really lost!
	T-The people carrying my luggage got separated from me so I had no choice but to look for them is all…!
Customer	Geez! Tenma-sama~~! That part of you is so cute~~!!
Sakyo	This gap is something natural to him… it's a weapon no one can copy.
Sakoda	So there're also moves you can never ever steal right.
Sakyo	Right. For example other than Sumeragi there's also…
Misumi	Well then, it's praying time~. For everyone, I present this miraculous Triangle.
Sakoda	W-What the heck are they doing over there? Somehow, it doesn't really feel host-like…
Misumi	Triangle, will save everything. If you believe in the Triangle, you will be saved…
Customer	Misumi-sama…! The Triangle, is splendid!!
	Aah, what a beautiful triangle… I will forever believe in the Triangle…!
Sakyo	…his customer service is something you can't steal either. I don't need to explain it to you.
Sakoda	Y-Yes…
Kumon	Nii-chaaan! Nii-chan I love youuu!! Today too you're the coolest in the whole wooorld!!
Sakoda	!?
Juza	…this cake… 's good. You want some too Kumon.
Kumon	Is that okay!? Nii-chan… you're so kind…!! The kindest and manliest in the world… Nii-chan you're the best…!
Sakyo	These guys are brothers and they're working as hosts. The little brother Kumon has an extreme brother complex and he won't do anything except helping his older brother Juza.
Juza	This chocolate here, is good too…
Kumon	Huh, Nii-chan eating sweets is so refined too… even when he has chocolate around his mouth, he's too cool it's crazy…
Customer	Friendly brothers… huh, it's so healing…
Sakoda	(So there's this kinda method too… but, if that's the case then me too, I wanted to be assigned to the same table as Sakyo Aniki…)
Banri	Look at you, not even serving customers, what do you think you're doing? You daikon host.
Juza	Aaah? Whaddya want.
Sakyo	…their famous quarrel performance has started.
Customer	Kyaa~! Juza-kun and Banri-kun's performance has started!
Banri	Don't just sit there and eat without even talking, can't ya even say one interesting thing?
Juza	It's way better than talking nonstop about stupid things like you do, you straight hair bastard.
Customer	This is baddd, the way they grab each other by the chest it too sexy…!
	Hah, my heart won't stop throbbing because of how intense it is…!
Sakyo	It comes to show you that there're customers who get happy when watching two men competing. Their serious glares are one of the points that makes them popular.
Banri	…keh!
Customer	Ah, Banri-kun!
Banri	Ohh, you came to see me? More like, don't you look tired?
	I bet you overdid it at work again right. Geez, you have to stop playing tough…
Customer	When I thought I would get to meet Banri-kun, I ended up working hard ♪
Banri	…yeah. I'm seriously thankful.
Sakyo	He looks all smug, but being able to be tenderly considerate is his talent.
	Even if they first come for his looks, there're many customers who can't leave because of this causal part of his.
Sakoda	I see… "tenderly, considerate", gotta write it down…
	Let's see, the next table is…
Customer	Hey mama! Hear me out!
	Mom~, ehehe. Today, I want to eat quiche~.
	Goo goo~! Tell me "there there"~
Sakoda	(Eh… mom?)
	…wait, he's super huge though!? What the heck about him is motherly!?
Sakyo	This is Fushimi, the one called Mom-type host because of the motherhood overflowing from him.
Omi	There there, don’t sulk alright. I'll pat your head.
	You said quiche right, got it. Let's order some. I baked a lot before the club opened.
	Hm? What's wrong? Were you lonely? Come here.
Customers	Mamaaa~~!!
Sakyo	He's famous for making you go back to a child in front of him.
Sakoda	G-Going back to being a child doesn't even start to… but, he's popular… amazing.
	"Overflowing motherhood" …gotta write this one down too.

Customer	Should we order one more champagne bottle, I wonder.
	Then count me in too. You can order chicken and cake too you know?
Sakoda	Ooh! There're many extravagant customers near that table right!?
Sakyo	Those two came from a rival club "Club God".
	Takato who by acting as the "No.1 Host" can deliver a refined customer service and--.
	Nanao who can't hide his desire to be popular, whose selling point is his honesty.
Sakoda	Can't hide, his desire to be popular…?
Sakyo	Honesty too, is sometimes an important factor for a host.
Tasuku	Is there any way I can see your cute face by my side for a bit longer? If possible, I want to be the only one who your pretty eyes see…
	Tonight, I want to see you even if it's in my dream. I want to know more about you, and I want you to know me.
	When it comes to you, I end up acting selfish. …because you're so charming it's too much.
Customer	Hah… Tasuku-kun… so wonderful…
Taichi	Eh!? I became cooler than before!? Yaaay!! This is bad, I'm so happy!!
	I'll continue aiming to be the most popular!! Next time, I'll make sure you say I might be your type~!
Sakoda	(Being a host… is so deep!)
	(Eh… that person, when you look at him briefly, he looks normal or like, he feels plain but…)
Tsumugi	In such a place, beautiful flowers are blooming huh. Grow to be big… grow to be beautiful…
	Fufu, a flower with such a beautiful smile… that smile of yours, would you show it to me more?
Customer	Kyaa… Tsumugi-kun…!
Sakyo	That gesture of giving the customers water with a watering pot, this is the special move of Tsukioka the garden-type host.
	He might look this way but he has been a host for a long time. He takes care of the younger hosts too but he's hiding something behind that smile.
Homare	It's sparkling, fluttering, dancing, my heart, hmm~ our memory, a drunk strawberry.
	Aah, today you're like an ukulele… the spring is a dawn, Milano, Bono, chirp chirp…
Customer	Homare-sama…! Honestly I don't know whether you're complimenting me or what, but I'm happy…!
Hisoka	…zzz…zzz…
Customer	Hisoka-kun's sleeping face, is like an angel's…! As a tribute for this beautiful sleeping face I'll order one more bottle!
Hisoka	Hm… thanks… here, another bottle… zzz…
Sakyo	Many customers get carried away by Arisugawa's poems, but Mikage earns quite a lot just by sleeping.
Sakoda	Earning just by sleeping!?
Azuma	The voices of others are very lively here. How about we talk in a quieter place.
	It's alright, I'll cure you so it feels good. …let's go to somewhere we can be alone, okay?
Sakoda	Eh, e-err, isn't it still business hour? That person left with the customer…
Sakyo	Yukishiro is a co-sleeping host. It's the usual. He makes a lot of money after business hours, so he has many heavy customers.
Sakoda	!?!? There're so many different kinds of hosts, somehow, I got confused…!?
Sakyo	And also… two more are supposed to start working here like you.
	A host who is like my younger brother who is plenty knowledgeable about makeup, and the first android host in the world.
Sakoda	Eeek, I, don't get it anymore!!! They're all too strong a rival…!
Izumi	Good morning.
Sakoda	Eh… a woman…?
Sakyo	Oi, why did you come here. If Usui finds you here things are going to get dirty.
Izumi	B-Because Sakyo-san you said you scouted a new host and I got curious…
Sakoda	Ah, I-I, I'm Sakoda!
Izumi	Ah, sorry for being late. I'm Izumi, the daughter of the current owner.
Sakyo	She's going to become the next owner.
	The one who drew out the individuality of all the hosts here, is her.
Sakoda	I-Is that so!?
Sakyo	The fact I was able to become No.1 host, is because she made me bloom into a new genre called Scolding Host.
Sakoda	Scolding host… amazing…!
Izumi	Sakoda-san, what kind of host do you want to become?
Sakyo	Today, you saw many ways to handle being a host right. How are you going to fight? In this battlefield called, a host club…
Sakoda	…!!
	I… I… I can't use all kinda techniques like my senpai but…
	But! I want to repay the debt to Sakyo Aniki who took me in!
	Lady, I'm begging you! Make me bloom in this host club…!!!
Izumi	Sakoda-san…!
	Leave it to me. I'll definitely make Sakoda-san become MANKAI, fully bloomed…!
Sakyo	--Remember, today we're going to our regular customers, and afterward…
Sakoda	…
Sakyo	Oi, what are you spacing out for.
Sakoda	Huh! Y-Yes! I apologize!!
Sakyo	Geez… what's wrong, are you concerned about something.
Sakoda	No, about that… I can't remember the details, but this morning, I feel like I had some absurd dream…
Sakyo	A dream? How ridiculous…
Sakoda	But, I really felt like it was some crazy dream!
Sakyo	More importantly, you're supposed to wear a suit for some errands for the group right.
Sakoda	Ah, Yes! You're right!
Sakyo	You, do you even have a proper suit?
	If you're fine with my old clothes, I don’t wear them anymore, I thought about giving them to you.
Sakoda	!?
	C-C-C-Can it possibly be, a leopard pattern jersey with a corsage…!?
Sakyo	Hah? A leopard pattern?
	…there's no way in hell, are you an idiot.
Sakoda	T-Thought so! Ahahaha…!

Hoshiko