 |
| Taichi | Oh my god, this rules! Yo, look at that lioness! AHH! Look, she’s got babies with her! |
| Juza | Seems like they’re newborns. |
| Taichi | So cute~! Hey, where should we go next? |
| Juza | I think the ones over here are sloths. |
| Taichi | Oh, they are! |
| …They’re not moving at all. |
| Juza | I’m pretty sure you could switch them out with stuffed animals and no one would notice. |
| But there’s something calming about them. |
| Taichi | Ahaha, you’re totally right. |
| All the kids are running around like schools of fish, they’re enjoying the zoo to the fullest! Thank you so much for inviting me! |
| It’s a shame the tickets were only for weekdays, I bet Kumon would’ve loved to come. |
| Juza | You’re right. |
| Taichi | Did you guys go to the zoo a lot when you were kids? |
| Juza | Yeah, tons. |
| …That actually reminds me. A long time ago, Kumon and I wanted to come to the zoo to see the birth of a baby panda. But Kumon woke up with a fever that day. |
| We joked that he was so excited he got a fever. |
| Taichi | Ahaha, wow! That sounds like such a typical kid thing! |
| Juza | He said that we could go without him, but in the end we all ended up staying home to take care of him. |
| It wasn’t all that memorable, but when I think back on it, that might’a been the first time I’d ever seen Kumon with a fever. I remember being really scared. |
| Taichi | So you guys never got to see the baby panda? |
| Juza | No, we were waiting for a second chance… |
| I never really got over that fear surrounding Kumon. That fear of him getting sick. Whenever he got a fever, my fears would come back like a roundhouse kick to the face. |
| Taichi | It’s really scary when someone so young gets sick like that, isn’t it? |
| Juza | Yeah. |
| (I’ve never wished for much in life. The only thing I want is for Kumon to smile and laugh from the heart. As my brother, he loves me endlessly and unconditionally. |
| No matter what life throws at me when my back is against the wall, I’ll never lose. For Kumon, and for my family. They’re everything to me.) |
| …It’s been a while since I’ve taken Kumon to the zoo. Maybe it’s time. You can come again too. |
| Taichi | Sounds like a blast! |
| Speaking of Kumon, he seemed kinda worried about how you’d do in the next play. |
| Juza | Oh... |
| Taichi | Did you decide what you want from the script? |
| Juza | I haven’t really sat down and thought about it, but I think for this play I wanna take a crack at playing someone who’s the complete opposite of me. |
| Taichi | You were really dazzling in “Fallen Blood,” if you ask me. Maybe you can try a character that’s like the opposite of Blood? That could give you some good experience. |
| Juza | Oh, well, I don’t just wanna try something new for the sake of it being new… It’s kind of complicated. |
| Taichi | What do you mean? |
| Juza | The other day, I told Omi that I wasn’t feelin’ good about myself, so he gave me some advice. He suggested I try and play a role that’s like me but the opposite. Like an alternate universe Juza, my narrative foil. |
| Taichi | I see… Wow, so you wanna play someone ballsy? Sounds tough… |
| But I think this’ll help you stand tall again! You’ve got my full 100% support! I hope your performance goes down in history! |
| Juza | Thanks. |
| Well. It’s not that simple, I can’t even begin imagining what my foil would be like. |
| The only thing I can say with certainty is that my foil wouldn’t work in theatre, and he wouldn’t be an actor… Other than that, I’ve got no clue. |
| Taichi | Let’s see, maybe it’d help if you thought about what you value most in life besides theatre. What do you really, really care about? |
| Take that away, and you get your foil! |
| Juza | Something I care about besides theatre... |
| Taichi | Hmm… Maybe Kumon? |
| So if we take Kumon away… Like, let’s say Kumon didn’t exist, you’d be completely different, right? |
| Juza | But I’ve played characters that don’t have brothers. |
| Taichi | Dang, true. |
| Hmm, well maybe not a character that doesn’t have a brother. Maybe a character who has an awful relationship with his brother? |
| Juza | I see… But it’s not like I’ve never fought with Kumon… |
| Taichi | I don’t mean just arguing, I mean like some serious issues that can’t be resolved in a single lifetime. Real bad blood. |
| Juza | (But… Kumon is the reason I’m alive.) |
| Taichi | Yeah, you’re picturing it, right?! I know the answer’s right around the corner! |
| Juza | A-Ah, yeah, I got it. |
| Alright. I think I know what my foil would be. He would be a man who doesn’t have a good relationship with his brother, nor does he have his brother’s support. |
 |
| Kumon | Achoo! |
| Azami | You getting sick? |
| Kumon | Nah, maybe someone’s talking about me? |
| Azami | Is that superstition still around? |
| Kumon | Hehe, if only we didn’t have school today, I could’ve joined Nii-chan at the zoo. |
| I should just ditch now! But maybe Nii-chan will get mad... |
| Azami | We’re 3rd year high schoolers. There’s no way we can just ditch school for the zoo. |
| Speaking of Juza, he came after me asking about makeup for the upcoming play. |
| Kumon | Yeah, Nii-chan’s trying to learn backstage jobs! Please do your best for him! |
| Azami | I don’t mind teaching him a thing or two about makeup, but I’m more worried about how he’s gonna deal with his stage fright. |
| Kumon | You have a point… |
| I don’t really know what’s going on in Nii-chan’s head, but I do know that he tends to hide things, even from me. |
| Since we’re in different troupes, we can’t stand on stage together, but I wanna cheer him on. |
| Azami | Mm, you guys really are close. |
| But I’m still curious what spurred his sudden interest in backstage jobs. |
| Kumon | Y-yeah… I was thinking maybe he had something in mind that he wanted to try out by experimenting. |
| Azami | Y’think? |
| Kumon | That’s what Kazu and Yuki said… |
| They told me that Juza came to help them, but when they offered him the chance to try things for himself, he turned them down. |
| I guess he didn’t spark any of his own ideas, he said he was satisfied just being their assistant… |
| Azami | For real? That’s pretty interesting. I was thinking I’d ask him to do some eyeliner when he comes to help with makeup, something small like that. |
| Kumon | Ohh, that sounds fun! |
| In the end, I think Nii-chan just assumes he’s useless without a secondary skill outside of acting. |
| Don’t get me wrong, though! I think this is a great chance for him to learn something new, and he has my respect for it. |
| I know what to do! I’ll make something beautiful for Nii-chan. |
| Azami | Hmm, what are you gonna make for him? |
| Kumon | Uhh… Umm.. |
| Well, he hasn’t said so directly but I think... |
