[summer Troupe 5th Play] Shinobi - Chapter 4

[skipabeet]

Kazunari: “Ah~ The princess of Tanuki Castle smells nice~.”
”I wonder what kind of man Waka-sama from Tsuru Castle is. If princess goes all the way to send him a love letter, he must be a handsome guy~.”
Misumi: “Ah~ This fragrance smells nice~…..”
Kazunari: “Whoa!”
Misumi: “Who!?”
Izumi: ….
(Hm? Those two seem different somehow.)
Kazunari: “Ninja…?”
Misumi: “Igamono?*”
Kazunari: “Rather than me, are you a ninja of Koka?”
Izumi: (I feel like their tempo doesn’t match…)
(It’s weird. During our previous play, they made smooth progress even on the first day of read-through.)
Okay. Stop right there.
(Hmmm, I let it through for the time being, but…)
Tenma: Your tempo is bad.
Misumi: …..
Kazunari: …..
Tenma: Kazunari, Misumi, what happen to your usual tension and energy?
Kazunari: Eh? Uhh….
Izumi: (Tenma-kun noticed it too, just I expected. The whole tempo became bad since they all were being dragged by those two.)
Kazunari: Sowwy. I’m not feeling good somehow. I don’t know why.
Misumi: Sorry~.
Izumi: (They don’t seem to understand the cause, maybe it’s difficult to do read-through for the play.)
Since this play has a lot of actions, it may be hard to do read-through while sitting down.
Let’s do a rehearsal early.
Tenma: ….That’s right.
Kazunari: Right~.
Misumi: Okay!
Izumi: All right, since we’ll be starting our rehearsal tomorrow. I’d like to end today’s practice here.
Yuki: Good work.
Muku: Thank you for your hard work.
Kumon: Say, are we not doing anything to get into character this time? We played baseball last time.
Izumi: Ah, rather than doing something on our own, it might be better if we all do something related to ninja together
Kumon: Yes! I want to do it!
Tenma: We already talked in ninja language. That’s enough.
Kumon: That was fun, but useless.
Muku: Hmm… Since the play has a lot of actions, should we build our stamina?
Izumi: That sounds good. If we don’t have any basic stamina, we’ll get exhausted during the play.
Kumon: If that so, something like running might be good after all!?
Yuki: Ugh…
Tenma: If we’re going to do It, should we run in the morning or at night? Both is fine too.
Kazunari: ——Ah, if possible, which one is better?
Yuki: I seconded this.
Tenma: The one who needs to build his stamina the most is Kazunari, you know.
Kazunari: Ugh, I know, but….
Muku: Do you have stuff to do, Kazu-kun?
Kazunari: …..
Actually, I got an invitation to study aboard.
Izumi: Eh?
Kumon: Studying aboard!?
Kazunari: …..Yeah.

Izumi: (The period of the overseas study is three months, but…)
Yuki: “The period may be extended depending on the university’s request,” …..it says.
Muku: It will affect this play….
Kazunari: I’m actually still hesitating, but I need to start working on the free assignment for the interview, or else I won’t make it in time….
I’d like to make progress just in the assignment for now.
Izumi: I see….
Misumi: ……
Tenma: …..I got it. Since it’s about your future, think it over before making a decision.
I had my back pushed too during our previous play. But unlike me, your work is genuine.
Kazunari: Unlike you…!? But thanks.
…..I know you guys have encouraged me to do it, but given this situation, I think it’d be better to replace the main lead.
Izumi: …..
(He has a point. Working on assignment and being the leader of the play at the same time may be too hard for him.)
(Besides, if he does study aboard…)
Tenma: No, you’ll keep being the main lead.
Izumi: Eh?
Tenma: Even though it’s too terrible to look at right now, I still think that Kazunari suits Kiichi the most.
Izumi: But….
Tenma: ——I’ll play Kiichi until then.
Kazunari: ——!
Kumon: Eeh!?
Tenma: We can adjust Hyuga’s lines and hand over the role to the ensemble cast.
Izumi: Dispersing the Hyuuga role to other actors indeed may get us somewhere, but…
Muku: If it’s Tenma-kun, we surely can substitute the roles….
Yuki: He’s good “when it comes” to acting.
Tenma: Don’t emphasise the when it comes part!
Kazunari: But——.
Tenma: As I said, it doesn’t matter which decision you’ll make. Take it easy and think it over.
Kazunari: Tenten….
Kumon: If there’s anything that I can do, I’ll support you too!
Yuki: Well, it can’t be helped. We shall help each other at times like this.
Muku: That’s right, Kazu-kun!
Kazunari: Thanks, guys!
Yuki: But to be honest, it’s quite hard to handle both your assignment and main lead role when they coincide. Being a leader is different from the things that we’re used to.
Kazunari: Yeah…. But I want to try it since there’s still time.
Yuki: Ah, I see. Well, good luck.
Kazunari: Yup.
Izumi: Kazunari-kun’s feelings are the most important here right now, so take your time to think it. We’ll support you for that.
But don’t push yourself too hard.
Kazunari: Got it.
Misumi: …..
Kazunari: I think I also caused a lot of inconvenience to Sumi. I’m really sorry…
Yuki: Well then, in order to reduce Kazunari’s burden, running is canceled.
Tenma: You just don’t want to do that, do you!?
Yuki: It’s tiring.
Tenma: Don’t be selfish!
Kumon: Is there something good that we can do besides running?
Muku: Hmmm…..
Kumon: Let’s come up with something!
Muku: Yes.

Kazunari: ….
…..Hmm.
…..It’s no good. I can’t think of anything.
(What should I draw…. I’ve already said such things to everyone, so I have to make progress in my assignment quickly and make a decision….)
……

Misumi: “Igamono?”
Kazunari: “Rather than me, are you a ninja of Koka?”
Misumi: “That’s right, but I don’t plan to fight. I’m currently on my way to send this love letter.”
Kazunari: “Heh, where are you going?”
Misumi: “Tsuru Castle.”
Kazunari: “What a coincidence! I’m also going to Tsuru Castle.”
Misumi: “Wow lucky~. Can you bring my thing with you, then?”
Kazunari: “No!”
Misumi: “Tch.”
Izumi: …..
(It’s a lot better than the read-through, but I feel like their condition is different than usual after all.)
(Kazunari-kun may be having a hard time from working on the assignment, but I think Misumi-kun is also different than usual.)
Tenma: …..
Izumi: Okay, that’s all for today’s practice.
Kumon: Hey hey!
Izumi: What’s wrong, Kumon-kun?
Kumon: There’s something that I’d like to do after this to get into character!
Izumi: Something that you’d like to do…?

Translation note:
1. Igamono: Generic name of local samurai in Iga province

Chapter 3 | Index | Chapter 5