Juza Hyodo/MANKAI Playback

Birth of the Most Feared Man in O High

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

	*Door opens*
	*Crackers*
Juza	...!
Taichi	Juza-san, happy birthday~!
Azami	Happy birthday.
Izumi	We’ll celebrate lots and lots this year too!
Juza	...Thanks.
Taichi	Look, look, Juza-san! We all put up decorations together again~.
	And the cake is hand-made by Omi-kun, of course! It looks huge and delicious~!
Omi	Haha, there’s more whipped cream if you want.
Azami	Hey, Taichi-san, aren’t you a little too hyped? It’s not your birthday.
Taichi	Hehe, I just really want Juza-san to be happy!
Izumi	We all worked hard because we wanted to celebrate your birthday, Juza-kun.
Sakyo	We prepared it all for you. Eat as much as you want.
Juza	...Thank you.
Banri	Well, your birthday only comes once a year, so? I guess I can celebrate—.
Juza	...It’s good.
Banri	Oi, listen to me! And don’t eat my portion!
Juza	It’s your fault for dragging your feet.
Banri	You just eat too fast. Why are you eating the cake before the actual meal?
Juza	What I eat first is none of your business.
Sakyo	You two.... You’ve grown older, so why don’t you act like adults—.
Izumi	N-now now, Sakyo-san! It’s his birthday, so let’s keep the lectures to a minimum.
Omi	I made lots of food, so let’s enjoy the meal together. Juza, there’s seconds for everything, so eat as much as you want.
Juza	Yeah.
Azami	...Oh, right, Kumon was also making a ruckus in the morning, saying he was going to celebrate your birthday.
Juza	Kumon sent me a LIME the moment the date changed, and came to our room this morning with a party cracker.
Banri	He was so loud first thing in the morning....
Azami	He sure is consistent.
Izumi	Kumon-kun should’ve joined us.
Banri	I thought he would show up for sure.
Juza	He said he didn’t want to get in the way of the Autumn Troupe gathering, so he was going to hold back. I’ll spend some time with him later, though.
Taichi	Beautiful brotherly love~!
Omi	...When you’re eating cake and talking about your brother like this, it makes me forget that you were known as the most feared man in O High.
Izumi	True. Actually, since when did people start calling you that?
Taichi	Ah, yeah, that’s been bothering me too!
Juza	...I don’t really remember exactly when, but—.
	*Bump*
Classmate	...!
Juza	My bad.
Classmate	I-I-I’m sorry! I’ll never bump into you again, so please forgive me!
	*Footsteps*
Juza	....
Upperclassman A	You’re in the way. Stop taking up so much space in the hallway.
Juza	....
Upperclassman A	Aah? What’s with those eyes? Giving me that dirty look—you’ve got guts.
	Come here for a sec, first year. I’ll teach you how to show some respect!
	*Hit*
Juza	Guh....
Upperclassman B	Hah! You’ve got some tough luck, catching this guy’s attention!
	*Hit*
Juza	Gh....
Upperclassman B	What’s with that look? Why don’t you fight back if you’re so mad?
Upperclassman C	There’s no way you stand a chance against the top guy here, though!
Juza	...Top guy? I don’t know who you are, but can I leave now?
Upperclassman A	——.
	You think you can get away with that kind of attitude, first year...!? Looks like you’re really asking for it!
Juza	—!

Juza	—Haah!
	*Hit*
Upperclassman A	Guh...! Dammit, no way, a first year beat....
	*Fall*
Upperclassman B	N-no way... Our leader lost to a first year....
Juza	...Don’t get involved with me again.
Upperclassman C	Eep...! L-let’s go!
Upperclassman B	Dammit, we’ll get back at you...!
Juza	Tch....
Juza	...After that, rumors spread, and more guys came to pick fights with me, so I just fought back.
Izumi	Did you become known as the most feared man in O High because you won every time...?
Juza	Yeah.
Taichi	Amazing, Juza-san, you beat O High’s leader too....
Banri	More like, that guy is the root of all this. If he never bothered you, those rumors never would’ve spread.
Azami	You’ve been through a lot.
Sakyo	But now you’re part of the troupe and you’re standing on stage—you never know how life will go.
Juza	....
	(True. Back then, I couldn’t even think of becoming an actor....)
Female Student A	—The votes are in; we will be hosting a restaurant for the school festival.
Juza	(Just one vote for a play... I’m the only one, huh.)
Female Student B	Eh~, I wanted to do a haunted house.
Male Student A	Well, at least it’s better than a play. That’s a huge no.
Female Student B	Ahaha, true.
Male Student B	Who the heck voted for a play anyway? Get a hint.
Students	Ahahaha...!
Juza	....
	(Even if we did put on a play, I’d end up being part of the stage crew, just like back then.)
	(There’s no way I’d get to be an actor....)
Juza	(That happened too, huh....)
	*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*
Taichi	Uh, A~chan, your phone’s been buzzing nonstop.
Azami	...Kumon just sent me a ton of LIME messages.
Izumi	Kumon-kun? Why?
Kumon How’s the Autumn Troupe party going? Are you having fun?
Does nii-chan look like he’s having fun?
Make sure you send me a happy-looking picture of nii-chan later!
...Um.
Only if you’re really really rea~lly okay with it
Please let me join you guys....
Izumi	He’s really earnest...!
Banri	Didn’t he say he was gonna hold back.
Taichi	C-can we call Kyu-chan over? I’m starting to feel really bad for him...!
Omi	I think that’s fine. We still have a lot of food.
Sakyo	Yeah, we’ve celebrated enough as Autumn Troupe.
Azami	At this rate my LIME notifs will never stop, so let’s call him over.
Juza	...Is that okay, Director?
CHOICE 1: Of course! [+] Izumi Of course! It’ll be livelier and more fun if Kumon-kun joins us, after all. Juza Yeah. Thank you.
CHOICE 2: Won’t we get in the way of the brotherly gathering? [+] Izumi You said you’d spend time with just Kumon-kun later—is this okay? Juza Yeah. I bet Kumon would have more fun hanging out with lots of people, and I can make time for him anytime. Izumi Sounds good. Please invite him, then.
Azami	Then I’ll tell him he can come.
	*Beep*
Kumon	Thanks for inviting me, everyone! Nii-chan, are you enjoying the party!?
Juza	Yeah.
Izumi	Kumon-kun, that was fast!?
Sakyo	So you were waiting in front of the door.
Banri	You really wanted to join, huh....
Omi	Haha. You really love Juza, don’t you, Kumon.
Azami	Isn’t this too much....
Taichi	It’s a happy day, so let’s not get too nitpicky! And now that Kyu-chan is here, let’s celebrate one more time!
Troupe members	—Happy birthday!!
Juza	...Thanks.
	(Back then, nobody would even get close to me unless it was for a fight. But now, my surroundings are so lively....)
	(And I get to stand on stage with my teammates, just as I always wanted to. ...The past me would never believe me even if I told him.)

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