Chapter 11

Truth be told, I’ve never once happened upon anyone who’s claimed that they want to be like me.

In that way, I am still but an amateur.

That’s because there’s no one who can be like you… We couldn’t even dream of if that.

Even I feel like the gap between us the more I know about you.

Really now~? I’d say we’re so close that we could reach out and touch each other. Please keep working at it, Hokuto-kun!

You left quite the impression on me when I first saw you.

I noticed that you were wearing a braid in your hair, just like mine… And I thought I might have found someone who wanted to be like me.

I remember the conversation we had once—I had taken interest in you because of that thought…

I’m sure your mother must have anticipated this and braided your hair because of it.

That is why I knew it would have been your mother’s doing.

She’s polished to perfection, and she understands the true essence of a performer. It’s hard not to be excited that her son would want to imitate me.

Of course, I realized that you had absolutely no interest in me after just a few minutes talking with you…

You think only of yourself, yes?

Is that a bad thing? I can’t afford to think about anyone else right now. And besides, the person who’ll think about me the most is me, isn’t it?

No one else is going to spare a thought for me, for Hidaka Hokuto… So I have to consider everything for myself, and I have to produce for myself.

Yes, that’s the natural, correct way to live. People don’t often consider others.

I don’t take much interest in myself~ But that seems to be quite the rarity.

My thoughts are always on the characters portrayed in great works of art, and of course on the people around me.

The person we know as Hibiki Wataru is simply a point of contact, a means to connect with all of those beautiful things.

Your entire being feels so distorted… Is that what all geniuses are like?

Is that what you think? Every single genius—no, every person—is slightly different from the next.

You cannot simply analyze one specific human being based on generalizations and inflexible interpretation.

And so I find it amusing that you have this tendency to be held captive by such things.

Hmph… I feel like I’m being mocked by a clown.

That’s a fine way to put it! Ahaha, bantering back and forth like this is a lot of fun… ☆

This is a little too philosophical for banter, don’t you think?

Aha, yet another one of those generalizations! You’re quite hung up on this, Hokuto-kun. Is that braid of yours a chain weighing you down?

Try to be more flexible!

In any case, I happen to have tickets to a performance at a theater close to the next stop!

Hokuto-kun, would you care to join me?

It’s a play of great intrigue, very avant-garde… Seeing it might help to change how you see things!

No. We’re supposed to be at school. I can’t skip.

It’s fine every once in a while, isn’t it? Come on, let’s be a little bad together~ ♪

Trying to be a good son and doing everything your parents told you has never exactly paid off, now, did it?

Don’t analyze me like I’m some character in a story.

Apologies, it’s force of habit! But yes, this does present a problem. I hadn’t expected you to refuse me.

I already went through the trouble of carrying you to a different train while you were sleeping—I took great care not to wake you, you know?

So you’re the reason I’m late? I did think it was weird that I missed my stop.

Forgive me! I just love playing tricks like this!

When faced with an unexpected development, humans will without doubt react in a fascinating way!

Anger, surprise, bewilderment… Perhaps they’ll even shout curses at me!

They reveal to me their true faces, unhidden by any mask. And at the very least, they won’t ignore me.

Did your parents not love you as a child?

But fine, whatever. I’ve already prepared for the lessons today, so it won’t be that much of a problem if I’m not there.

And even if I don’t go, it’s unlikely that anyone will notice.

I’ll go with you, Buchou. But it’s just for today. You can’t just keep kidnapping me and taking me to random places.

Kidnapping? What a horrible way to put it… Nevertheless, I’m over the moon! Let’s go enjoy the performance, shall we?

It’s quite a lonely thing to do on your own—both watching a play and performing n one. We should discuss our thoughts over some popcorn!

Theater etiquette is very strict in Japan, but so it has been since ancient times. Or rather, since the time of Shakespeare.

Quit talking like you were actually there.

I’ve done my research. Shakespeare’s works are classics, after all.

And so is the play we’re going to see—Romeo and Juliet ♪

But you know, I still can’t accept that it’s considered a tragedy.

Um? It is a tragedy, though.

If you measure it by the standards of our fleeting lives, then yes. But will they not reunite in the afterlife?

One committed suicide; the other committed murder; and they both were sent to hell.

And yet, they also say within that very story: heaven is here, where you live.¹

Because they repeated such a line time and time again, the ending simply cannot be tragic.

Death is not an end, nor is it despair. Rather, it is the sign that they have finally reunited.

It is their bond, their joy. That is how I interpreted the message of the story.

If that isn’t the case, then… O God, O Shakespeare, for what reason did you leave behind such a story of a boy and girl who suffered so?

Was it to ridicule those pitiable children? To sympathize, to take pleasure in their fate?

It cannot be! Romeo and Juliet is a celebration of two people’s eternal marriage!