Misumi Ikaruga/Blessings of Blooming

Two-Man Play: Misumi with Hisoka

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

Misumi	Hisoka, what’s written for our theme?
Hisoka	…”The Hare and the Tortoise.”
Misumi	…What kind of story was “The Hare and the Tortoise” again~? I don’t exactly remember.
Hisoka	I barely know it either… For now though, there’s a summary and some lines written here.
Misumi	Let’s see… The Hare and the Tortoise race, the Hare falls asleep, and the Tortoise wins.
Hisoka	The lines are “Oh no! I overslept!” and “I’ll be going ahead now~”...
Misumi	So it’s a story about Mr. Hare and Mr. Tortoise!
Hisoka	Seems like it.
Misumi	Alrighty then, we gotta get some props so we can completely turn into the Hare and the Tortoise!
	Let’s split the work for each, which one do you want?
Hisoka	I’m fine with either… I’ll choose the Hare then.
Misumi	Got it! I’ll go find props for the Tortoise then!
Misumi	(I wonder what I need for acting out the Tortoise…)
	Hmm, should it be the shell~?
Kumon	Sumi-san, what’s up?
Misumi	You see, we’re doing “The Hare and the Tortoise” for our two-man play…
	So I came up with the idea of using props to make it easier to tell I’m playing as the Tortoise.
Kumon	Tortoise props, huh~
Misumi	Then I figured the best one would be having a shell on my back.
Kumon	That’s true! Ah, I think it’d be cool for you guys to do that, but… finding a shell would be pretty hard.
Misumi	Exactly. I wonder where I can find one.
Kumon	Have you gone to the warehouse? I think there’s a bunch of stuff left over there, so you might find one!
Misumi	Oh, I haven’t! I’ll go take a looksie~
Misumi	(I tried looking for something that could be a shell for the Tortoise at the warehouse, but I couldn’t find anything…)
Hisoka	Zzz…
Misumi	Ah, it’s Hisoka…! He’s sleeping soundly.
	Hisoka, you’ll catch a cold out here.
Hisoka	Ngh… Zzz… Snore…
Misumi	He’s not waking up…
	Alrighty, time for me to carry you to your room! Heave-ho…!
Misumi	Hisoka was sleeping at the courtyard, so I’ve come to deliver him~
Homare	Oh, thank you Misumi.
	Hisoka, here’s a marshmallow. Now, rise from your slumber.
Hisoka	Mm… Nom nom…
Homare	Now go and properly give Misumi your gratitude.
Hisoka	Misumi… thanks.
Misumi	No prob!
Hisoka	…Misumi, this part of your clothes is dirty.
Misumi	Oh? You’re right. I think it’s from looking for a tortoise shell at the warehouse.
Hisoka	A tortoise’s shell… Ah, for the props?
Misumi	Yep! But I couldn’t find one~
Homare	My, it appears there are things that even that warehouse may not have.
Misumi	It might be tough to make or continue searching for a shell right now, what should I do…?
Hisoka	…I think using a plush might be fine.
Misumi	A plush?
Hisoka	Yeah. Looking at Penpen over there gave me the idea just now.
	Though it might be tough to hold a plush while acting…
Misumi	That’s a great idea! If I move the plush well, it might look even more like an actual tortoise!
	Plushie, I’m coming for you!
Misumi	There~! A tortoise plush!
Madoka	…Big brother?
Misumi	Huh, Madoka!? Woah, what a coincidence!
	Are you here to buy something?
Madoka	Yeah. Actually, I came here to buy this…
Misumi	An onigiri!?
Madoka	I heard the onigiri from this shop was good.
	I thought you’d already know about this place, but I figured I’d give it a taste then let you know if it was good…
Misumi	Madoka…!
Madoka	Brother, your stomach’s growling.
Misumi	Ehehe, I guess I got hungry when I saw the onigiri~
Madoka	Would you like to eat together?
Misumi	Can we!? Yay!
Misumi	Munch munch… So good~!
Madoka	It is good.
	By the way, what did you buy?
Misumi	I bought… this, tada!
Madoka	A tortoise plush?
Misumi	We’re gonna be doing “The Hare and the Tortoise” for my two-man play, so I thought we could use some props for it!
Madoka	It’s cute. But, how are you going to use it?
Misumi	Ah, I haven’t thought that far~
	Now that I think about it, I don’t really remember the full details of “The Hare and the Tortoise.”
	Should I go find a picture book or something?
Madoka	…I can tell you about it, if you want.
Misumi	Huh, really!? Lemme hear, lemme hear!
Madoka	…The end.
	That’s pretty much it, I guess. I think it’d be better if you do buy a picture book though…
Misumi	Wowie! Madoka, you’re amazing at telling stories~! Clap clap clap~!
	I understood it easily, so thank you! I’ll go and read a picture book, too.
Madoka	Alright… Though, while I was talking, I thought that if you were the Hare you wouldn’t leave the Tortoise behind.
Misumi	Ehehe, I thought the same while listening, if it were me, I’d wanna get along with the Tortoise.
Madoka	Well, that’s how the original went, I just thought it’d be nice if you were to play it your way… Anyways, good luck.
Misumi	Thanks, Madoka! Why don’t you come and watch?
Madoka	I do want to go and watch, but…
Misumi	I’ll go ask the Director!

Izumi	You guys really prepared for this with those props. Both the bunny ears and the tortoise plush are cute!
Misumi	Right!?
Hisoka	We looked for them on our own.
Misumi	Director-san, thanks for letting Madoka come.
Izumi	No problem. Ah, I figured Madoka might feel lonely on his own, so I asked Masumi to come too.
Misumi	Masumi came too!? I’m so glad~!
Izumi	By the way, you guys didn’t decide on a setting beforehand and will be doing an etude instead. Why is that?
Hisoka	There isn’t really any particular reason…
Misumi	It’s just that both Hisoka and I thought it’d be more fun that way~
Izumi	Fufu, I see.
	I guess that kind of feeling is important as well, so I’m sure the play will turn out wonderfully.
Misumi	Thanks, Director-san!
Izumi	Well then, whenever you guys are ready.
Misumi	Okie! I’ll be counting on you, Mr. Tortoise Hisoka!
Hisoka	You too.
Misumi	“Huff… puff… Tortoise really is that slow. He’s way too far behind."
	“Still… I might’ve said too much back there. To think we’d end up racing after fighting over such a trivial matter…”
	“I’ve got it, I’ll wait here until Tortoise catches up. Should I pretend I’m asleep…?”
	“Zzz… zzz… …Is he here? Not yet… Now?”
Hisoka	“Huff… puff… I finally caught up…”
Misumi	“Ah, he’s here! I have to pretend again.”
	“Zzz… zzz…”
Hisoka	“Hare is sleeping… I’ll take a quick break too then…”
Misumi	“...Huh? Tortoise is going to sleep too?”
Hisoka	“Zzz… snore…”
Izumi	(Hisoka’s hugging the tortoise plush while he’s sleeping… Fufu, how cute.)
Misumi	“Oh no! I overslept! Oh my, this is terrible!”
Hisoka	“Zzz…”
Misumi	“Even after my loud yelling, Tortoise still isn’t waking up...”
	“I’ve got no other choice, I’ll carry him and reach the goal together. Heave-ho…!”
Misumi	“Alright! We’ve made it to the goal!”
Hisoka	“...Ngh, we’re here?”
Misumi	“Ah, you’re awake~”
Hisoka	“‘I’ll be going ahead now~’ …Is how it was supposed to go, but I couldn’t do it.”
Misumi	“Tortoise, sleeping there isn’t good, y’know~”
Hisoka	“...Fufu, even after everything, you’re still that kind Hare I know.”
Misumi	“N-not at all…!”
Hisoka	“The win is yours.”
Misumi	“We reached the goal together, so it’s a tie! …Actually, who cares about winning or losing.”
	“...Can we make up?”
Hisoka	“...I should be the one asking you that.”
Misumi	Madoka, Masumi, thanks for coming to watch!
Madoka	I should thank you for letting me.
Masumi	I only came because the Director asked me to.
Madoka	…It turned out to be a kind story, very much like you, brother.
Misumi	I just remembered what we talked about.
Madoka	Ah, you mean the one where if it’s you, you wouldn’t leave the Tortoise…?
Misumi	I didn’t think Hisoka would be sleeping with me too though~
Hisoka	I figured a little wouldn’t hurt.
Izumi	I really thought you were actually asleep since you didn’t even twitch a single bit after Misumi’s shouting.
Hisoka	I was awake there, of course.
Masumi	Misumi, it’s time for your photo.
Misumi	Ah, you’re right!
Izumi	I’ll take it. Misumi, strike a pose.
Misumi	Okie!
	I’ll just put Mr. Tortoise right here on my shoulder and… Triangle pose~!
Madoka	You have a nice smile, brother.
Misumi	Ehehe, thanks! I also wanna take a pic with everyone!
Izumi	Oh, then I’ll take it as well. Go huddle up, Hisoka, Madoka, Masumi.
Misumi	Alrighty, everyone will do the triangle pose too~!
Madoka	Like this?
Masumi	Fine…
Hisoka	…Triangle.
Misumi	Perfect~!

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