Azuma Yukishiro/MANKAI Encore

Encore: Kuto Reo

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2Part 3

Hisoka	It’s cold…
Tasuku	If you’ve got any complaints, then tell them to the person who said he wanted to see the ocean.
Azuma	Oh, it’s my fault?
	You were unexpectedly excited too though, Tasuku.
Tasuku	I don’t remember that.
Izumi	I never thought we’d end up going to the ocean first thing after arriving here.
Tsumugi	But we went along with Azuma-san’s suggestion, right?
	*flashback starts*
Izumi	We’ll go up to here for today.
	Good job, everyone.
Tsumugi	Good work.
Azuma	Hey, where should we go sightseeing during our next local performance?
Tasuku	You’ve even prepared a guidebook already…?
Azuma	Fufu, I know we’re not going there to play around.
Homare	Since we are going all the way to the countryside, it would be nice to enjoy some sightseeing as well, right?
Hisoka	It's necessary to take breaks too.
Guy	I heard that the land is spacious in the north.
	It would be better to make a firm decision on our destination.
Tsumugi	That’s true.
Homare	I would love to visit a church!
Tsumugi	A church, huh… that sounds nice.
	I’d like to go to a lavender field.
Guy	It seems there is a clock tower too.
Tasuku	Geez…
Izumi	Do you have somewhere you want to go, Azuma-san?
Azuma	Me? Hmmm, let’s see…
	How about the ocean?
Tasuku	I thought you’d say that.
Guy	The ocean?
Azuma	Yes. During the original run of this play, we all went on a drive together to the sea.
Hisoka	…It was freezing.
Homare	However, I believe our friendship has deepened and our performances have improved.
Tsumugi	A lot of things happened but it’s a great memory, right?
	Let’s go to the ocean.
Azuma	Fufu, thank you.
	*flashback ends*
Tsumugi	It’s a relief we bought and brought warm drinks with us.
Izumi	That’s true.
	But we might catch colds if we stay out too long.
Azuma	Before, we bought coffees from the convenience store nearby and drank them together while gazing at the sea, right?
	This is no different from what we did back then.
Tasuku	There’s not much to do at the ocean during winter, you know?
Homare	The only thing that has changed from that time is now Guy-san is here.
Hisoka	It became lively.
Guy	I don’t really think “became lively” is the right word…
Azuma	That’s not true.
	The atmosphere has changed too since Guy came.
Homare	That reminds me, we appeared once on a Christmas-time television program, did we not?
Tasuku	Oh yeah, it was the “We’ll Make Your Dreams Come True Special”, right?
Homare	Umu. We went to visit a young baseball boy who said he wanted to meet Tenma-kun.
Azuma	It looked like Tenma was jealous when he heard about our performance's location this time.
Hisoka	…I’m cold.
Homare	Oh, what might you have there, Hisoka-kun?
Hisoka	A heat pack I bought when we went to the convenience store.
Izumi	You bought it without us noticing, huh?
Tsumugi	Ahaha…
	But the wind has become quite cold.
Azuma	Right, it'd be trouble if we really do catch colds, so let's finish up around here.

Azuma	It’s been a while since we’ve worn these costumes, hm?
Tasuku	That’s true. And with Guy-san joining this time around too, they'll be able to see a different scene than last time.
Tsumugi	I think Guy-san would also suit a vampire costume, but a manager is great too.
Guy	I think this appearance is fresh for me as well.
Hisoka	If Guy was an apartment manager, then you wouldn’t be able to misbehave.
Homare	It seems you’d be caught in an instant.
Izumi	I can’t deny that…
Guy	Is that so?
Azuma	You used to be a prince’s attendant and you’re skilled at protecting things, right?
Tsumugi	I think so too.
Izumi	Ah, it’s just about showtime.
Azuma	…Tasuku.
Tasuku	What is it?
Azuma	I’m happy I can meet Kota for the first time in a while as Reo.
Tasuku	…
	I feel the same way. Of course Kota does too.
Azuma	Everyone, I’m counting on you all this time as well.
Tsumugi	Yes.
	Same here, please take care of me.
Homare	Why, of course!
Hisoka	…I’ll be in your care.
Guy	I’m counting on you too.
Izumi	Break a leg, everyone!
Izumi	(On his way home, Kota, a salaryman, picks up a man who has collapsed—)
Kota	“Oiii, are you drunk? You’ll catch a cold sleeping out here like this.”
Reo	“…Ugh.”
Kota	“Good grief, I guess I have no choice.”
	“I’ll take you to my place since it’s right next door, but go home as soon as you wake up, ok?”
Izumi	(Kota has started having nightmares since he started living with Reo.
	His neighbour Izumi and colleague Nonomiya are worried about him.)
Nonomiya	“Oi, Seo. You said you picked up a man who collapsed? That’s way too suspicious.
	That kind of story’s only found in dramas or manga aimed at women around their 30s nowadays.”
Kota	“He’s a good guy. It looked like he was in trouble so I couldn’t just leave him alone.”
Nonomiya	“*Sigh*. You’ll get hurt one day if you keep saying things like that, you know?”
Apartment manager	“Good morning, Seo-san.”
Kota	“Good morning.
	Thank you for your work as always.”
Apartment manager	“Not at all. I’m just doing my job.
	It’s gotten cold recently, so please take care of yourself.”
Kota	“I will.”
Izumi	(Guy-san only has a few stage lines, but his presence is spot on.)
Izumi	“Good morning, Seo-san. Nice weather today, huh?”
Kota	“Good morning.”
Izumi	“Speaking of which, Seo-san, have you been taking weekdays off recently?"
Kota	“Eh?”
Izumi	“Oh, it’s just sometimes I hear noises coming from next door during the day on weekdays so…
	I was wondering what I should do if it was a burglar.”
Kota	”Ahh, I have a friend staying over for a bit.”
Izumi	“Is that so?”
Izumi	(Now it’s the scene where the good neighbour Izumi shows his true nature—)
	*stabs*
Reo	“—Don't tell me you're…”
Izumi	“I didn’t realize one was this close.”
Kota	“What are you—”
Izumi	“You filthy clan of the night.
	I shall eliminate thou in accordance to the rules of my blood oath.”
Kota	“What are you saying—!?”
Reo	“—Run, Kota.”
Kota	“Don’t be stupid! There’s no way I could leave you when you’re injured this badly!”
Izumi	“So it can still move, huh?”
Kota	“STOP!!”
Izumi	“—tch.”
Izumi	(Tsumugi-san acts as a friendly neighbour in the first half, which makes his transformation all the more striking in the second half… This kind of acting is as expected of him.)
Franz	“Will you entrust that guy to me?”
Kota	“You were the one with Reo—”
Franz	“We’re the same kind.”
Kota	“Can Reo really be saved?”
Franz	“Probably.”
Kota	“…I understand. I’ll leave Reo to you.”
Franz	“So obedient. Good boy.”
Kota	“However, make sure he comes back and explains everything.”
Franz	“I understand. I’ll tell him.”
Izumi	(Reo, who just barely recovered, tells Kota that he’s a vampire—)
Kota	“Are you going to live all alone, moving from place to place like this forever?”
Reo	“That is our fate.”
Kota	“…Then take me with you.”
Reo	“What are you—”
Kota	“I’m telling you I’ll become your companion.
	I’ll even become a vampire or anything else.”
Reo	“…Thank you, Kota. With just those words, I—”
Kota	“Reo…?”
Kota	“—”
Reo	“Goodnight… Sweet dreams.”
Kota	“…——Re… o.”
Izumi	(Reo’s gentle expression that wells up with loneliness as he says goodbye…)
	(It’s a different approach from their first performance, which Azuma-san can pull off since he’s gained experience.)
Izumi	(The next morning, Kota is woken up by Nonomiya who is worried about him.)
Nonomiya	“What’s wrong?”
Kota	“Reo…”
Nonomiya	“Huh, speaking of which, did that freeloader finally leave?”
Kota	“…Yeah, he left me behind.”
Nonomiya	“Hah? What are you saying?”
Kota	“—”
Izumi	(The curtain falls inside the room where no traces of Reo remain—)
Winter troupe	Thank you very much!

Azuma	We got to our closing night in the blink of a eye.
	It kind of feels like we ran right through it, huh?
Tasuku	That’s true.
Azuma	Thanks for coming here with me today.
Tasuku	I didn’t think you’d purposely want to visit a church since you play a vampire.
Azuma	Thinking about our roles is just like you, Tasuku.
Tasuku	That’s just normal though.
Azuma	I wanted to come here when I heard there was a famous church in the area.
	Our performances have come to an end too, so I thought it was the perfect chance.
Tasuku	In other words, you wanted to go sightseeing, right?
Azuma	Fufu, you could put it that way too.
	Even so, this is really pretty place, right?
	Why don’t we take a look inside too?
Tasuku	Do what you want.
Azuma	Thanks.
Tasuku	Well, we’ve seen everything.
Azuma	Yeah. Oh right, I'd like to take a walk in the nearby park next, if that’s ok?
Tasuku	That’s fine, but…
	Are you actually just deciding everything after this on a whim?
Azuma	Even with Tasuku, I got caught after all, huh?
Tasuku	What do you mean “after all”…
Azuma	Fufu, don’t make that face.
	Let’s get going.
Tasuku	*Sigh*…
	There’s quite a lot of people.
Azuma	Yeah. It’s nice everyone looks like they’re enjoying themselves.
	It looks like there’s a museum and mini amusement park too.
	How about we have a little look around?
Tasuku	Sure.
Azuma	Anyways, it’s a little warm today, huh?
Tasuku	I mean, it's sunny.
Azuma	…
	Truthfully, there was something I was thinking about during our shows.
Tasuku	…Something you were thinking about?
Azuma	I thought Reo might've wanted to walk under the sun together with Kota in an ordinary place.
Tasuku	…
	Is that why you said you wanted the two of us to go out today?
Azuma	That’s right.
Tasuku	Weren’t you thinking about your role too then?
	Speak for yourself.
Azuma	Fufu, that’s true. I kept thinking of asking you to go out with me after our current rerun performances ended.
	Because that’s how precious Reo is to me.
	Tasuku, you said before that Winter troupe has changed, right?
Tasuku	I guess said something like that.
Azuma	I feel like things changed again after Guy joined us.
	But that’s not a bad thing.
	I’m sure there may be changes again in the future…
	But as long as I’m with everyone from Winter troupe, I think I’ll be able to enjoy them.
Tasuku	…That’s right.
	I don’t think it’s bad. If I’m with those guys.
Azuma	—.
	Fufu, Tasuku, you’re cute when you’re honest too.
Tasuku	…Hah?
Azuma	I wish I recorded that just now.
	I want to let everyone else hear it too.
Tasuku	Can you please stop teasing me already?

Anna