Itaru Chigasaki/Festival of Blooming

Roommate Mission! Itaru as Chikage

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

Itaru	(The same cola as usual… and I’ll have nachos tonight…
	Wait, no, maybe I’ll get chips. Can’t go wrong with that.)
	(Ooh, they have pizza flavour.
	I could only buy that online~. Lucky.)
	(Hm? Is this a new flavour…)
	“Just one chip and you’ll be in a new world! For those who seek a thrill ♪
	HOT, hell-grade chips”…
	(Only someone like senpai would be happy purchasing that.)
	(Hold on, I have to act like senpai though.
	Should I just buy it for my role study…?)
	(…Well, it’s not like eating those are gonna be any help.)
	(The difficulty of playing senpai is way too hard to begin with.)
	*Sigh*… I wanna tap out.
	(I’ll put the super spicy chips back for now…)
	Crap, I died.
Banri	Wait, again? You missed way too many spawns.
Itaru	I’m gonna be called Taruchi the flubster from tomorrow on. End me now.
Banri	Pfft, sucks to suck.
	You’re seriously off your game.
Itaru	…Hey now, I have to act as senpai.
	You know, for the roommate mission.
Banri	Ahh… I see.
	I feel for you, man.
Itaru	How would you play him if you were a brilliant director’s assistant?
Banri	Well, that’d be hard for sure.
	At first, I thought I didn’t get him…
	I mean, I guess there’s still lots I don’t understand about him, even now.
Itaru	We’re closer than we were before, and I’d say we’ve built a relatively good relationship.
	But there’s still so many things I don’t know. And I still can’t get a grasp on what’s important…
	Director-san said our roommates are the ones we’re the most familiar with. But from my point of view, senpai’s both someone who’s too close yet too distant to act as.
Banri	Well, you guys share the same company, troupe, and room.
	I can’t imagine that sorta feeling or distance…
	Director-chan said that our roommates are the most acquainted with how we naturally are, right?
	What about a side of Chikage-san that only you’ve seen?
Itaru	There’s no way that exists…
	(…Hold on a second, only I know about senpai beating up those soldiers in Zafra.)
	(But I could only hear him, and even if I could’ve watched, it’d obviously be impossible for me to re-enact.)
	(…I’ll just forget about that for now.)
	There’s nothing. I’m sure. Probably.
Banri	What’re you even saying?
	But Chikage-san can actually stand living in the same room as you, huh?
Itaru	What do you mean?
Banri	I’m just sayin’. I get the impression Chikage-san likes to be clean and keep everythin’ nice and tidy.
	He eats neatly when we go out to eat together. And when he returns the items while we’re shopping, he puts them back exactly where they were before.
Itaru	No, no, that senpai you see…
	—.
	*door opens*
Citron	Oh, I want to flay games too!
Itaru	Here, take the controller.
Citron	Oh, are you going somewhere, Itaru?
Itaru	…I’m going out to buy a little something. To redeem myself.
Banri	See ya~.

Chikage	I didn’t see that one coming. If anything, I thought you were going to wear my suit.
Itaru	Honestly, I thought of that. But it kinda felt like I was running away, so I decided against it.
	Re-evaluate yourself as objectively as you can and thank me.
Chikage	Hm… I shall certainly see.
Itaru	Alright, I’m starting.
	“I’m home. I got souvenirs. Have some, all of you.”
	“English homework? Sure, I’ll check it in the morning.”
Chikage	(I suppose he’s starting off with me when I arrive home?)
Itaru	“All of them are so cute.”
	“I’m home. …Chigasaki left his clothes all over the place again.
	They’re in the way.”
Chikage	(And this is me when I return to our room?)
	(Well, I guess do I usually use my feet to move things out of the way like that.)
Itaru	“This? This is tonight’s late-night snack.”
	“Green curry, Szechuan-style mapo tofu bowl, nakji bokkeum, jambalaya…”
	“Tastes great. This could use a little more spice though.
	For this one… it has more kick to it than I thought. Maybe I’ll note this one down.”
Chikage	(I might record my impressions of the things I eat that way too.)
Itaru	“It doesn’t matter how much you frown at me, rest assured, I’m not going to give you any, Chigasaki.”
	…And scene. That’s been Chigasaki Itaru playing Utsuki Chikage.
	Thank you very much.
	*claps*
Chikage	I’ll say, that wasn’t bad.
Itaru	Well, thanks.
Chikage	However, do I spout things like calling everyone cute, or talk about my impressions after I take each bite?
Itaru	That was a dramatization.
	You might not realize it yourself, but even if you don’t say it out loud, it shows on your face.
Chikage	…Does it really now?
Itaru	You don’t look very convinced.
	Guess you need more than that. Allow me to elaborate for you.
	First of all, you’re soft with the other members, especially the younger ones. But you’re strict and harsh to Hisoka and I.
	And on that note, your face at the office is totally different too.
	Your attitude changes depending on the other person.
Chikage	I don’t want to be told that by you who has an unshakable outer image.
Itaru	Yep. That’s the only similarity we have, you and I.
	I can be my natural self more in this room than anywhere else.
	That’s why I acted like you while you’re in our room, which I thought might be closer to your true self too.
Chikage	…I see.
Itaru	You look like you’re all neat and tidy, but you’re unexpectedly crude. You eat a lot, your eating habits are awful, and also…
	Your thoughts surprisingly show on your face.
	You didn’t realize that about yourself, did you?
Chikage	…Well, you might be right.
Itaru	So thank me and re-evaluate yourself.
Chikage	Alright. As thanks, I’ll treat you to Szechuan food tonight.
Itaru	As much as I appreciate the offer, I’ll have to pass.
	Anyways, I have to take the polaroid picture.
Chikage	Running away, I see?
Itaru	If we don’t submit one to Director-san, then our mission won’t be cleared.
	I’ll leave it to you.
Chikage	My, my…
Itaru	How about this sort of pose?
Chikage	Looks good to me. I’m taking it.
	*click*
Itaru	Oh look, it’s basically you.
Chikage	It feels off though.
Itaru	It’s not close enough?
Chikage	That’s not what I meant.
	I feels way too unnerving seeing you in front of me with my clothes on.
Itaru	Well, I can’t argue with that.
	Ah, right, I forgot to use those.
Chikage	Those?
Itaru	New, super spicy chips I saw at the supermarket.
	I bought them thinking I’d use them for my role study. ‘Cept I gave up after literally 1 chip.
	Wanna try?
Chikage	Of course.
	…They taste great like usual.
Itaru	Says the guy with inhuman taste buds.
Chikage	Don’t talk about me like I’m some kind of monster.
Itaru	You can have those for a late-night snack if you want.
Chikage	Sure. I would be happy to take them off your hands.
Itaru	By the way… was I right about what I said?
Chikage	My thoughts on the snack?
Itaru	No, not that…
	That you’re the closest to your true self when you’re in our room.
	On a scale of 100, how many points would you give me?
Chikage	…Maybe around 76?
Itaru	Press X to doubt.

Anna