Banri Settsu/Festival of Blooming

Roommate Mission! Banri as Juza

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

Banri	……
	… (heavy sigh)
Tsumugi	Ahaha. How many times have you made such a sigh like that today, Banri-kun?
Banri	‘Cuz like, seriously… There hasn’t been a fate worse than the handcuffs incident… And now this——
Tsumugi	It’s that bad for you?
Banri	You’d know exactly why, don’t you…
	To top it all off, I gotta wear Hyodo’s clothes? While acting like him?
Tsumugi	Well, I already had a feeling you’d hate having to do the assignment, but I think it’s a pretty interesting project.
Banri	Sure you would. The one you’re acting as is Tasuku-san, so I doubt you’d be that opposed to the idea. I mean, being childhood friends n’ all, I’m sure that’ll make things easy for ya.
	Practically cheating, if ya ask me.
Tsumugi	It would seem that way, but I think being too familiar with him makes it even harder for me to act, to be honest.
	On the other hand, as someone who’s regarded Juza-kun as a rival this whole time, you’d be able to see a side of him that no one else would be able to know, don’t you think? It’s something that you’d be able to act out more than anyone else.
Banri	Like, something no one but me would know…?
Tsumugi	That’s right. Isn’t there anything that comes to mind for you?
Banri	………
	… BLEEEECH.
Tsumugi	I take it something did?
Banri	Stuff that I don’t like ‘bout him, yeah.
Tsumugi	How specific.
Banri	What’re ya judgin’ me so fast for!?
Tsumugi	Keep going, keep going.
Banri	… Like knowing he’s got a secret stashing place for his sweets. Or how he grinds his teeth at night.
	And whenever he eats his food——
Tsumugi	Fufu, so you do know him well.
Banri	Ha?
Tsumugi	Nothing.
Kazunari	Settsuar, are you heading home?
Banri	Nah, I’ve got one more thing to go after this.
Kazunari	——Ah! Are you gonna take that workshop again?
Banri	The same one. So, sorry I can’t join ya.
Kazunari	Awh, no biggie! I’ll head back first then~!
Banri	‘Kay~
	…Hm? Now that I think about it, didn’t that guy mention he had a workshop he was gonna attend to as well?
Banri	…….
Juza	……….
Banri	How come you’re here too…
Juza	Kazunari-san showed me the way.
Banri	That’s not what I—— (sigh) Whatever. I’ve got it figured out one way or another.
Juza	Ha??
Masuno	Alright, it’s time. Let’s get started.
Masuno	For today’s workshop, I’m gonna have you grouped in pairs, and the two of you will study how to act out a single role.
	This assignment is to explore how you’d interpret and create the tone for the same role.
	First off, let’s decide on the pairs through this lottery.
Banri	——Geh.
Juza	…Tch.
Banri	Why’s it gotta be you of all people…
Juza	That’s exactly my line.
Masuno	Have you all met up with your partners? Then let’s start.
Banri	For fuck's sake. Fine, since it’s already been decided. Nothing else to do but to do it.
	Oi. First up is the reading. So? How would you interpret this character?
Juza	……
Banri	……
Juza	……
Banri	SAY SOMETHING, DAMMIT!
Juza	… I don’t know how to put it into words.
Banri	(sighs) …
	Then how ‘bout acting out your initial impression first? It’ll be much easier to get what you mean by that.
Juza	… Alright.
Juza	“... I’ve been searching for you all this time. Finally… I’ve finally found you…”
	…How’s that?
Banri	Alright. Well, for me, it’d be like…
	“...I’ve been searching for you!! All this time!! Finally… I’ve finally found you…!!!”
	… Or something like that.
Juza	… Can I do mine one more time?
Banri	Go ahead.
Juza	“... I’ve been searching for you all this time. Finally… I’ve finally found you…!!”
Banri	(Compared to the first try, it seems like he went with this one by melding my interpretation with his.)
	(If I gotta be honest, it’s not that bad. Maybe if he touches up more on the subtleties of it, it might come together somehow.)
	(Actually, this guy observes things super well. It’s surprising…)
	(... Though, the fact that I can tell how he switched that up was because I’ve been observing him just as much, huh?)
	(I wouldn’t have imagined I’d see us turn out like this when we first met. If neither of us had the same fire for acting the way we do now…)
Juza	So?
Banri	… I would go that direction, but with a slightly different method. Something like——
	(...Speaking of, Tsumugi-san mentioned that I’d likely know a side of Hyodo that no one else would.)
	(The side of Hyodo that tackles things seriously is something that even the rest of Autumn Troupe knows about.)
	(But I’m sure, the way we do our back-and-forth, is something even those guys could never grasp either.)
	(This kind of intuition is the kind that only Hyodo and I can actually understand.)
	(I never wanna lose to him in acting. That’s exactly why we watch each other’s acting— why we steal from each other. We recognize each other, and rise against one another.)
	(I know for sure, the one who recognizes this gaze of passion is——)
	*HANDS CLAP*
Banri	…!!
Masuno	Alright, time’s up. Everyone, gather around.
Banri	…….

Juza	Here. My clothes.
Banri	I’ll wrap it up in 5 minutes.
Juza	As if. 3 minutes tops.
Banri	……
Juza	………
Banri	The size… Fits. Weirdly.
Juza	Don’t copy me.
Banri	I’m not trying to build my body to copy yours, idiot!
	Dammit… Why do I gotta wear these shitty clothes? There’s zero fashion sense on them.
Juza	Hah? Quit your complainin’. You’ve already spent 1 minute ‘cuz of it.
Banri	As if I’ll even wanna leave the room in this get-up… Ugh, this is the worst.
Juza	Just get started already.
Banri	Shut up. I was gonna start without your yappin’ anyway…
	……
	“...(snore)... (grit grit)....”
Juza	(Huh? Is this supposed to be me while I sleep….? I don’t grit my teeth like that.)
Banri	“I’m starvin’... Gonna grab some sweets.”
	*PAPER CRUMPLES*
Juza	Hey…!! Bastard, how did you know…!!
	(How the hell did he find out I’ve been stashing away my sweets in that corner of the room…)
Banri	“... (chomp) (chomp)”
Juza	Don’t just start eatin’ them, dammit.
Banri	… Hmph. That about covers it.
Juza	…Oi. Were you even serious ‘bout it.
Banri	All of that was already me acting as you. No exaggerations needed.
Juza	That was no acting. How much of that was supposed to be me ‘nyway?
Banri	That much was more than enough for ya, ain’t it?
Juza	Ah? What’re ya tryin’ to say?
Banri	(This guy sees me the way I see him… That’s what this act was all about.)
	(It’s not about what the acting was showing… It’s all the observations that have led up to this point.)
	(Frankly, I don’t really care what my acting was supposed to show. This project was done so I can realize something—)
	(This fierce gaze— the one that watches Hyodo Juza and his acting as a rival in a way that only I could know.)
	(... Which is exactly why it’s gonna fuckin’ peeve me if I say it to his face. So I’m just gonna never ever say a word of it.)
	(But I won’t act like what I did was wrong either.)
Juza	(sighs) … Whatever. Just get your pic taken so we can be done with this.
Banri	…Hmph.
	*SHUTTER CLICKS*
Juza	…What’s with the pose?
Banri	A perfectly pathetic pose that suits you just right.
Juza	Why you…
Banri	We’re done! Okay?! We’re done! I wanna get out of these stinkin’ clothes too, y’know!!
Juza	Stinkin’?! That’s all ‘cuz you dirtied it yourself! Now I have to throw it straight into the laundry.
Banri	Haa? I didn’t dirty it! Do you fucking see any speck of dirt on it?! There ain't any!
Juza	Bastard. Just puttin’ your hands on them already dirtied them.
Banri	Oh you fuckin— Ya wanna go!?
Juza	You’re on.
Juza and Banri	I’LL NEVER LOSE TO THE LIKES OF YOU!

Dita