Taichi Nanao/MANKAI Memory

Childhood Memory: TAICHI

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2Part 3

	*skates by*
Taichi	Hm, hm~.
	It sure feels great skateboarding when the weather’s nice~.
	Ah, spotted Omi-kun!
	Oiii, Omi-kuuun!
Omi	Ahh, Taichi?
Taichi	Good work today!
Omi	You skateboarded to school today, huh?
Taichi	Yep, since I had class from second period!
	The streets are free at that time.
	I've been going to the skate park with Sakkun and Hisoka-san a lot lately, so I've been feeling like skating more and more~.
Omi	Oh, I see.
	So that’s why you went to school on your skateboard, huh?
Taichi	Exactly!
	Actually, the three of us plan to go to the park again this weekend.
	I’m super stoked!
Omi	Have fun, and take care not to hurt yourselves.
Taichi	Thanks!
Omi	That reminds me, Taichi. Have you chosen the accessory you’ll use for your birthday bromide?
	I think it’d be a good idea to start thinking it over.
Taichi	Oh, snap. There was that too!
	Err, I’m supposed to prepare a memorable item from before I joined the troupe, right? What should I choose…
Omi	Let’s see… it seems lots of troupe members up until now went home to search for something.
Taichi	Oh, yeah. They did!
	I guess I’ll try dropping home too.
Omi	In Taichi's case, it looks like you’ve been skateboarding for a long time, so you might be able to find an item you used back then.
Taichi	Right! Ahh… but the stuff might’ve gotten beaten up and thrown away.
	Anyways, I can't say for sure until I head back home and look.
Omi	Haha. Well, that’s true.
	Whatever it is, I can’t wait to see what you’ll prepare.
Taichi	Urgh, I have way too many memorable items, it’s gonna be so hard to choose~!
	Anyhow, I guess I’ll look for the skateboard I rode in the past that I talked about with Omi-kun.
	Ohh, I bought this thing when I went to the beach!
	That sure takes me back. Ah, this was back from junior high…
Mirai	Onii-chan, welcome back!
Taichi	Mii-chan, Maa-kun!
	I’m home!
Masato	Welcome home, nii-chan!
	Hey, let’s play!
Taichi	I’d love to play… but I have something I gotta do today. Can you guys wait a bit until I’m done?
Mirai	Something you have to do? What is it?
Taichi	I’m on the look-out! I have a birthday bromide photoshoot coming up at the Theatre, so I’m searching for something to use for that.
Mirai	Eh, a bromide!
	Mii-chan wants A-chan’s!
Masato	I want Yuki-chan’s too…!
Taichi	I got it. I’ll ask Director-sensei about it next time!
	But… umm, I’m kinda shocked you two didn’t say you wanted mine…!
Mirai	Give yours to us too, of course!
Masato	I can’t wait to see nii-chan’s cool picture!
Taichi	Y-you two~!!
Mirai	Anyways, you’re looking for something?
	We’ll help out!
Taichi	Are you sure?
Masato	If we find it fast, then we can play with you lots, right?
Mirai	I wanna hurry up and play with onii-chan!
	So, what should we look for?
Taichi	Um, you see. I’m searching for the skateboard I rode in the past!
Masata	Your skateboard, huh? Got it!
Masato	Hm… it might be in the back of the closet?
Mirai	Ah, maybe!
Masato	I found it, nii-chan!
Taichi	Oh, that’s it, that’s it! Thanks!
Masato	This was also sitting in the same spot though. Did you use this too, nii-chan?
Taichi	Ah! That’s…

Taichi	Mom, I want roller shoes too!
	Tons of kids at school have them!
Taichi’s mom	Those are boys and girls who are older than you, aren’t they?
	It’s still too early for you, Taichi…
Taichi	But…
Taichi’s mom	It would be dangerous if you accidentally ran into the road or bumped into someone when you go out with them on… understand?
Taichi	Okaaay…
Taichi’s cousin	Yo, Taichi.
Taichi	Ah, onii-chan!
	What’s up?
Taichi’s cousin	I heard.
	You weren’t allowed to buy roller shoes?
Taichi	Uh huh… mom said it’s because they’re dangerous.
Taichi’s cousin	Don’t look so down.
	Look, I’m gonna give these to you.
	They’re roller skates.
Taichi	Woah…! What? They’re sick!
Taichi’s cousin	They’re a little different from roller shoes and they’re my hand-me-downs, so sorry about that.
Taichi	That’s totally okay with me!
	Ah… but even though you’re giving them to me, mom might say they’re dangerous again.
Taichi's cousin	No worries about that. I promised you wouldn’t use them outside the park, so I got permission from your mom.
Taichi	REALLY!?
Taichi’s cousin	Yep.
Taichi	Wowie, thanks, onii-chan!
	I’m gonna play with these roller skates all the time!
	Um, roller skating sure is hard.
	(The best I can do is just stand and not fall down.
	Just when will I be able to glide smoothly…)
Older student A	You got this, Nanao~.
Older student B	You can stand already. Next is just gliding!
Taichi	I-I’m trying my best, but… UWAH!
	*falls*
Older student A	Oi, you okay!?
Taichi	Ow, ow… I think I’m fine…
	(I’m not getting any better even though I’m practicing everyday.
	*Sigh*… maybe this isn’t for me.)
	!?
	(Was that… a skateboard just now?
	Awesome! Skateboards are super cool…!)
	*flashback ends*
	(…In the end, it didn’t go as well as I expected, so I gave up roller skating completely.)
	(But onii-chan smiled and let it slide.)
	(Thinking back on it now, I feel like I didn't try hard enough.)
Masato	Nii-chan!
	Oiii!
Taichi	Eh?
Mirai	Are you okay?
	You suddenly dazed off…
Taichi	My bad, my bad. I’m fine!
	…I was just thinking maybe I’ll use these roller skates as my accessory for the bromide.
Masato	You’re not choosing the skateboard?
Taichi	Yeah.
	I think this’ll work this time.

Taichi	Today’s a great day to skate too, huh~!
Hisoka	I’m glad the weather’s nice.
Sakuya	By the way, Taichi-kun. Those are…
Taichi	Hehe, they’re roller skates!
Hisoka	Why roller skates?
Taichi	I just felt like using them all of a sudden, so I bought some!
	I want you two to watch me skate around.
Hisoka	Sure.
Sakuya	Good luck, Taichi-kun!
Taichi	Thanks, guys!
	‘Kay then, I’mma head out~.
	Ohh, I’m off to a pretty good start!
	…Err, WAHH!
	*falls*
Sakuya	T-Taichi-kun!
	Are you okay!?
Taichi	Ow, ow… I fell right away…
	But I’m good to go!
Hisoka	You said you wanted us to watch, so I thought you were good at roller skating.
Taichi	Yeah, no, I’m not good at it…
	You can’t just suddenly become good at something, huh?
	No matter what you do, you gotta train properly!
	(…I see. I had that experience of giving up on roller skating because I couldn’t get the hang of it back then—)
	(So that might be why I could practice skateboarding so hard, naturally, until I was able to do it.)
Izumi	Happy birthday, Taichi-kun!
Troupe members	Happy birthday.
Taichi	Thanks so much, everyone~!
Banri	Hey, why’s the birthday boy all scratched up?
Taichi	Oh, that’s… I was roller skating at the park before this and fell pretty spectacularly~.
Izumi	Ehh, really?
	Are you okay!?
Taichi	It’s not a huge biggie, so no worries!
Omi	Speaking of roller skates, I was surprised you chose those as your accessory for the birthday bromide.
Azami	True. It seems like you’d roller skate too, but Taichi-san’s a skateboarder.
Taichi	I can’t deny that, but…
	I wasn’t allowed to buy roller shoes, so an older cousin of mine gave those to me instead.
Sakyo	Oh, I see.
	You have a special attachment to them, huh?
Taichi	I say that, but I totally forgot about them until I went searching back home!
Juza	You’re pro at skateboardin’, so I bet you were good at roller skatin’ too.
Taichi	Actually, I was a total flop. I said earlier that I fell down at the park, but that wasn't because it's been a while—.
	The truth is, I've never been able to roller skate well.
Banri	Heh, that’s surprisin’ to hear.
Izumi	I imagined you’d be able to do it well since it’s you, Taichi-kun.
Taichi	I tried my best and practiced hard at first.
	But it didn’t go so well, and I ended up giving up.
	So that’s why roller skating is a bitter memory for me—.
	But looking back, that might be one of the reasons why I decided to do the things that I can’t do until I’m able to get the hang of them.
	I think the disappointment and regret I felt back then is connected to my current attitude towards acting.
CHOICE 1: You did your best. [+] Izumi You did your best, Taichi-kun. Taichi You think so? Izumi I think it's amazing that you're not just leaving that bitter memory as your negative past, but that you’re using it as motivation. Taichi I gotta take advantage of these experiences and connect them to what’s up next. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to face my teammates who forgave me and acknowledged me!
CHOICE 2: You’re a hard worker. [+] Izumi I see. That’s why you’re a hard worker, Taichi-kun. Taichi Me? But everyone’s working hard! Banri Maybe so, but it’s hard to keep giving it your absolute all like you always do, Taichi. Azami In Taichi-san’s case, he doesn’t just put all his effort into acting, but also playing. Juza Thanks to you, we have lots of fun too. Omi They’re right. You’ve saved us a lot, so we're grateful to you, Taichi. Sakyo The fact you're always working frantically and passionately on everything that you take on is your strong point. Taichi You guys~…!
Azami	Well, you should be careful not to overdo it though, Taichi-san.
Taichi	I-I'll be careful to control myself…!
	More importantly, have you guys played with roller skates before?
Azami	Not me. I’ve seen it before, but there aren’t many kids my age who do it.
Juza	I haven’t either. People around me might’ve been doing it, but I wasn't really interested.
Omi	I don’t think I’ve done it before.
Sakyo	Same here.
Taichi	Okay, okay, I see~!
	So everyone’s pretty much a beginner, huh!
Banri	I've done it before though, by the way.
Taichi	Uh, as expected of Ban-chan…
Banri	You do you look so disappointed?
Taichi	If no one has experience, then I was thinking we could all go together and I could teach everyone…!
Izumi	Don’t worry, Taichi-kun! It looks like everyone’s a beginner besides Banri-kun, so you can teach the other guys.
	And if it’s alright with you, can I also get you to teach me?
Taichi	D-Director-sensei…!
Juza	I wanna try it too, after hearin’ your story, Taichi.
Azami	I mean, I guess I can try it once.
Omi	You roller skate at the skate park, right?
	I think it’ll be fun if we all bring bentos and go together.
Sakyo	Don't get carried away and get injured.
Banri	The guy who says that is always the first to wipe out.
Sakyo	…Who’re you talkin’ about?
Taichi	E-everyone…! I’ll do my very best so I can teach all of you how to roller skate!
	But I still have tons of training to do, so wait for me until I've mastered it~!

Anna