Chapter 8

Oh, you got everything cleaned up already, Li’l Miss? Gotcha. Sorry for havin’ you do that while I was tearin’ down the props.

The play was a huge success, tho. I didn’t think the kids would like it so much.

Did you enjoy yourself at all? Ah, good, I’m glad. Danna and them looked pretty happy too, bein’ surrounded by all those kids.

Nn? Oh, yeah, I guess so. If it was gonna end up such a big deal, I shoulda taken your advice and talked it out with everyone.

I just didn’t wanna say anything ‘cause it wasn’t gonna do anything for us in the long run, and ‘cause Akatsuki and Ra*bits appeal to two very different audiences…

But you were right on the money there. They didn’t care about any of that.

Bein’ with a group I’m close with helped me relax, and was a big help that they were willing to lend me a hand.

Haha, definitely. Maybe that relaxed atmosphere was what made those kids like it so much.

The teachers were happy with it too. I’m glad everything turned out all right in the end.

Nice to see they liked it so much, but then they went and asked me to come back next month—Got me a li’l nervous.

Huh? Hey now, gimme a break. This whole thing was way outta my comfort zone, yanno? I didn’t mean to make it sound like I was giving up halfway, though.

But I was pretty worried those kids’d be all disillusioned if they saw me as Momotaro. Well, looks like they’re happy with it, so I can’t complain.

You don’t want me sayin’ stuff like that? Haha, am I gettin’ scolded here?

Nah. I wasn’t tryna make fun of ya. I was just thinkin’ it reminds me of when I piss my sister off for whatever reason.

Hold up. Where’d everyone else go?

Ah, guess it’s nap time for the kids? And they’re over there helpin’ out.

Hn? You wanna go help the teachers? Then lemme come with—You’ve been doin’ way too much for me all day.

Mm, you think Danna and them’re havin’ more trouble…? Well, you’re prolly right there. They got a big crowd over there.

Sure, I’ll go give them a hand instead. They’re in the next class over right?

Yo, Mr. Monkey-danna. Need a hand?

Don’t call me by my stage name. But no, there’s nothing in particular we need help with. The kids are finally asleep, so keep your voice down if you can.

You’ve already put them to bed, huh? Guess I was a second too late.

But you know, you really are incorrigible. Couldn’t you have done a little better with the casting?

Huh? Tetsu was the dog, Kanzaki was the oni, and you were the monkey. Seemed pretty good to me.

I’d understand if I were just the monkey, but why did you have me play the pheasant on top of that?

Nothin’ we could do about it—We didn’t have enough hands. It’s not like you were playin’ two roles either, ya just held the little pheasant doll in your hands and made it talk.

And I gotta say, you got pretty good at the whole ventriloquism thing, Danna. Considering all the kids were beggin’ ya to do it again afterwards.

Gh… I don’t know if it’s because I’m always watching those oddballs’ performances, but it’s aggravating that I’ve wasted my time learning anything about ventriloquism.

Well, Tetsu and Kanzaki certainly couldn’t do that. They were just movin’ their mouths like ya normally would.

Uh? Speakin’ of which, where’d those guys go off to?

They were horseplaying around with the kids in order to wear them down and ended up falling asleep, themselves.

Zzz… Zzz…

……

Huh, they really did. They’re even wedged in between the kids.

Here I’d been gettin’ all lonesome ‘cause I thought they were growin’ up, but lookin’ at ‘em now, they’re still just a coupla brats.

Don’t judge them so harshly. They said they were so worried about you that they didn’t get any sleep last night. This is all probably because they’ve finally let themselves relax.

That so? Guess I messed up pretty bad then.

Absolutely. Keep reflecting on that. Well, it is partially my fault for not seeing through it all…

However—Even if I did believe you, how was I supposed to know you were practicing your lines for some play at a kindergarten?

I know, I know.

Hey, Hasumi-danna. What were you plannin’ on doin’ if I really had been gearin’ up to fight someone?

Huh? What’s with that all of a sudden? I mean, you weren’t even doing that anyway.

I’m talkin’ hypotheticals here. Well, not like I’m plannin’ on that any time soon, but ya never know what the future holds, yanno?

So let’s say I did get in a fight. Whatcha think you’d do then?

…I see. Then I’d give you a good beating—If it came down to it, I’d stop you by force… Even if it cost me my life.

…… Hasumi-danna…? You… you really think you’d win a head-on fight against me?

That’s why I said it’d cost me my life.

Hahahaha! What, you plannin’ to lose? You should come at me like you’re gonna win. Step up your game a little.

Shut up. It’s just a hypothetical situation, anyway—It doesn’t matter whether I win or lose. And besides, I refuse to believe you’d ever do such a thing.

Haha. Hey, Hasumi-danna. I’m a pretty lucky guy, aren’t I? I’m surrounded by all sortsa people who care about me.

Wish I could show the old me all this. He’d be surprised, I’m sure of it.