Park Cafe
1

Tsukasa

Listen

You needed someone to talk to...?
2

Tsukasa

Listen

Wait...
What does people-watching have to do with wanting to talk with someone?
3

Reki

Listen

Oh, umm...
It's actually a very long story...
4

Tsukasa

Listen

I don't care! I'm willing to listen!
5

Reki

Listen

Then, I'll try to give you the short version.
6

Reki

Listen

Like I said just now, I started people-watching back when I was in elementary school...
7

Reki

Listen

Back then, I was a little lonely...

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8

Tsukasa

Listen

Lonely?
9

Reki

Listen

Yes. My parents didn't get along well...
They also both worked, and I found myself at home alone most of the time.
10

Reki

Listen

As you can probably tell, I'm pretty introverted, which led to me having no friends...
11

Reki

Listen

I almost never talked to anyone.
So...
12

Reki

Listen

In order to remedy my loneliness, I started making up people for me to talk to.
13

Tsukasa

Listen

Making up...people...?
14

Reki

Listen

Yes.
I first thought it'd be good to talk to characters from stories, so I started with books...
15

Reki

Listen

From Sindbad to Alice, I talked to so many people...and even to some characters who weren't people.
16

Reki

Listen

They were all just a part of my imagination...
17

Reki

Listen

But I had fun talking to them...
A lot of fun.
18

Reki

Listen

Before I knew it, I began thinking about the people passing me by on the street...
19

Reki

Listen

Then, I started writing in my notebook about people's lives and how they might be interesting.
20

Reki

Listen

And so, that's why...
I need this in order to talk to other people.
21

Tsukasa

Listen

(I never would've guessed...)
22

Tsukasa

Listen

(Bakuno's desire to talk to someone led to him spending years and years coming up with stories about the lives of countless others—regardless of whether or not they were true.)
23

Tsukasa

Listen

(That sort of imagination is what allows him to make his characters feel so real...)
24

Tsukasa

Listen

(However, does that mean...)
25

Tsukasa

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(There is no quick solution to this problem of mine?)
26

Tsukasa

Listen

(If I came up with a story for my character the way Bakuno has for his, then I might be able to gain a better understanding.)
27

Tsukasa

Listen

(However, Bakuno's imagination is the product of the difficulties he's faced since his childhood.)
28

Tsukasa

Listen

(With my imagination, I may not be able to come up with much of a backstory for Nakayama...)
29

Reki

Listen

Oh, I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to talk for so long...!
30

Tsukasa

Listen

No, um...! That's not what I was thinking!
It's just... I see how this notebook allows you to play such convincing characters.
31

Tsukasa

Listen

This is why you're able to put on such incredible performances. This is how you make all the characters you play shine.
32

Reki

Listen

I make them shine...?
33

Reki

Listen

Thank you. I really appreciate it.
34

Tsukasa

Listen

Huh?
35

Reki

Listen

Oh, so...
36

Reki

Listen

I've...always identified with supporting characters...
37

Reki

Listen

Any play or show with more than one character must have supporting roles. Even so, the audience will focus their attention on the protagonist and other main characters instead of them...
38

Reki

Listen

There's nothing anyone can do about that, but I always see myself in them whenever I think about them...
39

Reki

Listen

No one pays attention to them...
Like my childhood self.
40

Tsukasa

Listen

Bakuno...
41

Reki

Listen

They make me want to shine a light on them through my acting.
42

Reki

Listen

My desire to have others see that supporting characters are also people with their own rich lives had led to me only playing them.
43

Tsukasa

Listen

...!
And that's why for this play, you're playing...
44

Reki

Listen

Exactly.
45

Reki

Listen

But I've been receiving more and more offers to play leading characters, including for movies and such...
46

Tsukasa

Listen

Wait, you've been asked to play the lead in movies?! That's incredible...!
47

Reki

Listen

Yes.
But, as happy as I am about receiving such offers...
48

Reki

Listen

I can't take my mind off “them”.
49

Reki

Listen

Which is why I've been turning down those offers.
50

Tsukasa

Listen

I see...
51

Tsukasa

Listen

(As an actor, I can't help but envy him, and I wish I could see him in a lead role on the big screen... But there's nothing that can be done if those are his wishes...)
52

Reki

Listen

We're getting a little sidetracked.
Anyway, I hope what I said helped...
53

Tsukasa

Listen

Oh, yes!
Very much.
54

Tsukasa

Listen

Thank you very much, Bakuno.
Tsukasa's Room

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55

Tsukasa

Listen

(I've tried thinking about this a thousand different ways.)
56

Tsukasa

Listen

(If I'm going to get even a step closer to Bakuno's level... I just don't have the imagination.)
57

Tsukasa

Listen

(I may be an actor, but I've never really imagined someone else's life before.)
58

Tsukasa

Listen

(Or rather...)

Sound Effect: Play

59

Tsukasa

Listen

I only thought about making those around me smile.
60

Tsukasa

Listen

That was my original motivation, and nothing can change that.
61

Tsukasa

Listen

But I should have trained myself to be more imaginative to have any hope of becoming a star.
62

Tsukasa

Listen

However, what's important is where I go from here. I'll start reading more books, people-watching and improving my imagination to become more like Bakuno in due time.
63

Tsukasa

Listen

(However... I still don't have a solution to my current problem.)
64

Tsukasa

Listen

(If I can figure out a “story” for my character the way Bakuno has for his, then I might be able to gain a somewhat better understanding.)
65

Tsukasa

Listen

(That being said, with my poor imagination, I won't be able to get very far with Nakayama... At least, that's how I feel at the moment.)
66

Tsukasa

Listen

Now now, I can't just give up before even trying.
67

Tsukasa

Listen

Oh, I know. At times like this, I should...
Wonderland SEKAI

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68

Tsukasa

Listen

No matter what time I visit, this place is still beautiful.
69

Tsukasa

Listen

So beautiful that I'm already starting to feel much better!
70

Tsukasa

Listen

Still, it is pretty late.
I don't see Miku and the others anywhere. They may be aslee—

Sound Effect: Play

71

Tsukasa

Listen

Hm? What's that?
It sounds like a car...

Sound Effect: Play

72

???

Listen

Tsukasa! You came at a good time!
73

Tsukasa

Listen

That voice... Wahhh!!!!!!

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74

Tsukasa

Listen

M-MEIKO, what in the world is that thing?!

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75

MEIKO

Listen

This? It's a three-wheel truck, silly.
I'm sure you're aware that there were many of these zooming around during the Showa period.
76

Tsukasa

Listen

No, that's not what I'm asking...!
77

Bunny Plushie

Listen

Tsukasa!
Good evening!
78

Tsukasa

Listen

Oh, you're also here!
I couldn't see you in her shadow.
79

Bunny Plushie

Listen

This three-wheel truck's so much fun!
You should join us, Tsukasa!
80

Tsukasa

Listen

I'll pass...
But where did this thing even come from?
81

MEIKO

Listen

The play you're preparing for takes place during the Showa period, yes?
82

MEIKO

Listen

We decided to also do a show that takes place during that time in the hopes that we'd get a better understanding of what things were like back then.
83

MEIKO

Listen

So, we took some spare parts that were lying around to build what we needed!
84

Tsukasa

Listen

Y-You built this...?! How...?!
85

Tsukasa

Listen

To be fair, this SEKAI has a flying train in it, so I guess it's not out of the realm of possibility.
86

Tsukasa

Listen

But in any case, I'm glad you're all enjoying yourselves. Seeing that me feel better.
87

MEIKO

Listen

Hm? Wait, Tsukasa.
Does that mean you weren't feeling well?
88

Tsukasa

Listen

I wasn't unwell or anything...
But I've been having trouble dealing with this and that.
89

Bunny Plushie

Listen

Tsukasa...
90

Bunny Plushie

Listen

Then, we should do a show together!
91

Tsukasa

Listen

H-Huh?!
Why now all of a sudden?!
92

Bunny Plushie

Listen

Because you look a little down...
93

Bunny Plushie

Listen

Remember how you came up with those shows for us? They were called “Bunny's Big Adventures”.
94

Tsukasa

Listen

Bunny's...
Ah, yes. I do remember.

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95

MEIKO

Listen

“Bunny's Big Adventures”?
96

Bunny Plushie

Listen

Yeah!
97

Bunny Plushie

Listen

He came up with a load of stories with me as the star! I was so happy!
98

MEIKO

Listen

Really?! You were the star?!
Can you tell me more about those stories?
99

Tsukasa

Listen

Heh heh heh!
They were tales full of action and excitement!
100

Tsukasa

Listen

Our heroes sail across the sea, weigh anchor at an island inhabited by monsters, find treasure—
101

Tsukasa

Listen

Treasure...
102

MEIKO

Listen

Is something wrong, Tsukasa?
103

Tsukasa

Listen

Yes...
104

Tsukasa

Listen

(I came up with those stories on the spot with our friend here as the protagonist.)
105

Tsukasa

Listen

(They pale in comparison to Bakuno's stories in both quality and quantity...)
106

Tsukasa

Listen

(But I came up with it in a manner similar to how he people-watches.)
107

Tsukasa

Listen

(And I was able to do that because... Because I was thinking about the bunny's life... About the bunny as the star of the story...)
108

Tsukasa

Listen

That's it!
I just have to think about him as if he's the star!
109

MEIKO

Listen

Huh?
110

Tsukasa

Listen

I was so focused on making my character fit the plot and the time period.
111

Tsukasa

Listen

But that alone wasn't enough to get him to feel like a real human being.
112

Tsukasa

Listen

I've been seeing Nakayama as an insignificant character, like a simple plot device or part of the scenery.
113

Tsukasa

Listen

But I see my folly now.
Side characters are people in their own right with lives of their own. Nakayama is the star of his own story.
114

Tsukasa

Listen

That changes everything, even when he says, “Morning.” That word is but a small excerpt from the tale of Nakayama.
115

Tsukasa

Listen

Which means I just need to come up with a story where he's the star!
116

Tsukasa

Listen

Instead of just a supporting character with only three lines, I should be thinking of him as the protagonist of a separate tale...
117

Tsukasa

Listen

Then, I may be able to flesh him out in fine detail the way Bakuno does...! I'm going to get started on this right away!!

Sound Effect: Play

118

MEIKO

Listen

Umm... I'm not entirely sure what's going on...
119

Bunny Plushie

Listen

Did I help?