Tasuku | .... |
Azuma | ...Welcome. Feel free to enter. |
Tasuku | ...Thank you for having me. |
Azuma | .... |
| There’s nothing here. |
Tasuku | You’re right. |
Azuma | So this is what the house looked like.... |
Tasuku | Eh? |
Azuma | It’s truly been a long time since I last came here. I was so scared that I couldn’t even come close to this place all these years. |
| I left the clean-up entirely to other people, so this is my first time seeing the house so empty. |
| The layout matches the house of my memories, but this doesn’t feel like home at all.... |
| I was so scared, but I guess this is it.... |
Tasuku | .... |
Azuma | What are you doing? |
Tasuku | I thought I should at least have a look around. |
Azuma | There’s nothing to see. |
Tasuku | We might find traces of your life with your family here, Azuma-san. |
Azuma | ——. |
| They cleaned everything up, so I don’t think you’ll find anything. |
Tasuku | I came all the way here, so I won’t go back until I find something. |
Azuma | ...Sigh. You’re stubborn in strange ways, Tasuku. |
| |
Tasuku | ...And this room is? |
Azuma | It’s probably the children’s room. I shared it with my older brother. |
Tasuku | Huh, you’re the same as me. Did you mark off lines on the pillar every time you grew to see who was taller? |
Azuma | We didn’t really do that sort of thing. |
Tasuku | You might remember something if you find a mark you left from playing around. |
Azuma | I don’t think we really played rough. |
Tasuku | My brother and I got yelled at all the time for stripping the wallpaper when we played around. |
Azuma | You were mischievous. |
| Wallpaper.... Ah, now that I think about it, I think we had a map around here. |
| I loved looking at the map and researching all sorts of countries. My brother and I talked about traveling the world together when we grew up. |
Tasuku | .... |
Azuma | Ah, we played inside this closet all the time, too. I’d hide in the shadows of the clothes during hide-and-seek.... |
| I guess it’d be impossible to hide in here any longer. |
Tasuku | ? There’s something behind the shelf here.... |
| This—. |
Azuma | A paper bag...? |
Tasuku | It was taped to the back of the shelf, so nobody noticed it when they were cleaning. |
| Try opening it. |
|
Azuma | .... |
| A hair comb and a message card.... |
Azuma’s older brother | “Happy birthday. It might be a strange gift for a little brother, but your hair is beautiful, so.” |
Azuma | —Hajime-nii-san. |
Tasuku | Was it your birthday? |
Azuma | ...Now I remember. My birthday was exactly one week after the accident. |
Tasuku | He must’ve hidden it here because you shared a room and he didn’t want you to find out. |
Azuma | I had trouble tying my own hair when I was little. So even though it felt like a waste, I tried to cut it. That’s when he told me, “I’ll tie it for you”.... |
Tasuku | He’s a good older brother. |
Azuma | ...hh. |
Tasuku | ...At least here, you should let yourself cry your heart out. |
Azuma | Uu... nii-san.... Uu.... |
Tasuku | .... |
| |
Izumi | Tasuku-san and Azuma-san are late. Did they get the time wrong? |
Tsumugi | Actually, Tasuku hasn’t come back since yesterday. |
Izumi | Eh!? |
Guy | Likewise. Yukishiro is not here. |
Izumi | Eeh!? Both of them!? |
Tsumugi | Tasuku said he would follow Azuma-san yesterday, so they should be together, but.... |
Homare | At any rate, we should call them. |
Hisoka | ...They’re on a taxi and they’ll be here soon. |
Izumi | Eh? You already got in touch? |
Hisoka | ...Yup. |
Homare | That’s surprisingly swift action coming from you. |
Hisoka | ...I’m not like you, Alice. |
Izumi | Thank goodness... At least they’ll make it in time for the show. |
Tsumugi | Ah, there they are! |
Tasuku | Sorry we’re late. |
Izumi | Azuma-san...? |
Tasuku | He’s sleeping. |
Tsumugi | Is he okay? Maybe he’s unwell.... |
Tasuku | No, he’s just sleeping. |
Izumi | Let’s take him to his room. |
Tasuku | Yeah. |
| |
Izumi | What in the world happened? |
Tasuku | I’ll explain later, but it might be difficult for Azuma-san to stand on stage right now. |
Izumi | Oh no.... |
Homare | What are we going to do? We don’t have time till the matinee. |
Tsumugi | Should we have an ensemble cast member stand in? |
Hisoka | ...There’s no time to memorize all the lines. |
Tasuku | Usui from Spring Troupe might be able to handle it. |
Izumi | You’re right, Masumi-kun might.... |
Homare | But he left for sightseeing first thing in the morning, so depending on where he is, he might not make it back in time. |
Izumi | Let’s get in touch and see what we can do—. |
Guy | I’ve memorized all the lines. |
Izumi | Eh? |
Guy | My memory compiles every word that I have heard. |
Homare | Androids are certainly useful! |
Izumi | Th-then, could you try reciting his lines...? |
Guy | “You there. Only related persons are allowed in here.” |
| “Do you have business with her?” |
| “I’m her attending physician.” |
Izumi | !! |
| (He’s incredibly monotonous, but he has the lines down...!) |
Tasuku | He memorized them perfectly. |
Izumi | By the way, Guy-san, do you have any acting experience? |
Guy | Affenpinscher[1]? I’m sorry, but I have no mechanism that allows me to transform into a dog. |
Izumi | Um, I mean acting experience. |
Guy | I have none. |
Izumi | ...I thought so. |
Tasuku | This might be safer than having an ensemble cast member memorize the lines. |
Tsumugi | I’ll cover for his acting. |
Izumi | You’re right.... |
| (We have no time to waffle around....) |
| Guy-san, please help us out! |