"So many people during Golden Week."
"It's only been a month, but seeing the streets of Tokyo again still feels like forever."
Kitagawa Ryo lifted the brim of his sunhat slightly. With one hand dragging a massive suitcase, he stood in the middle of a large intersection, waiting for the traffic light as he sighed.
"I strongly suspect you just escaped to get away from the mess in our class," Sakura Airi said, adjusting her sunglasses. With her oversized sunhat covering nearly her entire face, she was wrapped up tightly. Compared to Kitagawa Ryo, her popularity here was much higher. If a fan recognized her, the group would likely be swarmed.
"At the very least, by the time we left, Class D was already in complete chaos."
Ichinose Honami, who was also dragging a suitcase, shook her head. Just yesterday, their homeroom teacher Mashima Tomonari publicly explained the school's basic rules and confirmed that Class D's point balance was currently zero. The announcement had thrown the entire class into turmoil. Even though the most disruptive students, Yamauchi and Ike, had been confined to their dorms as punishment, unease, doubt, and panic spread like wildfire.
Fortunately, thanks to Ichinose Honami's early guess about personal points during the start of term, many cautious students had been more conservative with their spending. As a result, most could still maintain a basic standard of living for the next month.
But despite that, Mashima's explanation of the rules for the midterm and final exams plunged Class D back into despair.
For both exams, any student who failed a subject (scoring below half of the class average) would be expelled.
Leaving aside the fact that many students in Class D already had poor grades, the two suspended students, Yamauchi and Ike, alone were enough to worry the entire class.
It wasn't that the class particularly cared about them—but based on their entrance scores and their performance on the end-of-April quizzes, everyone knew they would absolutely fail the midterms. And now they were suspended.
Whether Yamauchi and Ike would be expelled wasn't the issue. The real problem was that their expulsions would lead to a loss of class points.
That was why Class D saw no hope. The good students felt their efforts were pointless, and the weaker ones took it as an excuse to give up. The suspended duo became the perfect scapegoats.
"We're out having fun—earning glory for the school. Why worry about all that?"
Kitagawa Ryo casually patted Ichinose Honami on the shoulder. But upon spotting the middle-aged man nearby—the Drama Club's supervisor and accompanying teacher—he quickly corrected himself.
"What Kitagawa-kun means is, since we're off-campus for the competition, we should be focusing all our attention on this."
"Otherwise, it would be difficult for the school to approve another off-campus trip for the Drama Club."
The middle-aged man with a stern expression was named Shiba Katsunori. A newly hired teacher at Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, he was set to take on a new batch of first-years next year. For now, with little to do, the school had assigned him to supervise the group.
"Got it, got it," Kitagawa Ryo replied nonchalantly. He still couldn't discern which side this man was on, and their communication remained vague.
Shiba Katsunori stared at Kitagawa Ryo with dead fish eyes for a few seconds before finally looking away.
"Green light. Let's go."
Although they had been permitted to leave campus, Kitagawa and the others had their communication devices confiscated. Under Shiba Katsunori's supervision, Ryo used the teacher's phone to contact the competition organizers, who warmly received them and escorted them to a luxury hotel where participating troupes were already gathered.
By the time they arrived at the hotel, it was dinner time. In the banquet hall on the first floor, crystal chandeliers sparkled with mesmerizing light. The bright and lavish venue buzzed with activity as troupe leaders and directors mingled with drinks in hand. The lead actors, all dressed in formal attire, flitted about like butterflies, exchanging pleasantries and smiling behind cupped hands as they traded business cards.
Izaki Taishi was an elderly man with a thick beard and weathered eyes. Despite his age, his back was ramrod straight. Surrounded by brilliant actors, he still exuded a formidable presence.
As the most renowned troupe leader in the industry and the man who personally created the legend that was Kitagawa Ryo, Izaki Taishi seemed somewhat distracted despite the flattery he received from fellow actors. He forced himself to respond politely to their toasts and greetings, all the while casting glances toward the banquet hall entrance.
"Izaki-san..."
"Make way, everyone."
His lips barely visible beneath his thick white beard, Izaki spoke in a deep, powerful voice.
Upon seeing a familiar figure, the old man set down his wine glass and quickly walked toward the entrance under the gaze of the crowd.
"You've grown taller."
"Well, it has been two years."
Kitagawa Ryo pressed his lips together. If he had to choose one true elder in his life, it would be the man standing before him.
Perhaps it was fate, but the troupe leader's surname happened to be the same as that of the butler he had known from the simulator.
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"...I feel like I got emotional for nothing."
Kitagawa Ryo sighed as he moved back and forth preparing hot water and brewing tea for the old man. Meanwhile, the man was sitting comfortably on Ryo's hotel bed, chatting warmly with Karuizawa Kei and the other two girls, completely ignoring Ryo.
To be fair, everyone in the current Drama Club had a connection with Izaki Taishi.
Karuizawa Kei had been with the troupe two years longer than Ryo. Sakura Airi's family also had ties with Izaki and she had trained with the troupe for a while. Ichinose Honami had served as support staff for the troupe for quite some time, thanks to Ryo's recommendation.
And so, here they were now.
"Tea's ready! Please enjoy."
Ryo respectfully handed the tea to Izaki Taishi. He owed much of his independence from the Kitagawa family to the old man's support. Without him, Ryo wouldn't have reached such heights in just two years.
But in those two years, Ryo's rapid rise had also effectively broken up the original troupe. Many veterans were thrust onto grand stages because of this genius, only to be harshly scrutinized under countless magnifying glasses. The pressure crushed many of them. That was one reason Ryo chose to leave the troupe.
In a way, he and Sakura Airi were quite similar—both chose to retire at the peak of their careers. Yet Izaki Taishi never blamed him. Instead, he had willingly let Ryo go, freeing him from the stage.
Izaki accepted the tea casually and took a gentle sip. When he smiled, all traces of his intimidating demeanor vanished. His thick beard quivered as he resembled a jolly Santa Claus.
"So Kei is now in the same school as Ryo? Oh, that's great."
"Doesn't matter if you're not in the same class. Back in middle school, you used to take three trains just to visit that kid's school, remember?"
"And look, you even brought this old man a gift! I always knew Honami was a thoughtful girl with skillful hands. Didn't she hand-stitch one of Ryo's costumes before?"
"Yes, yes... it was beautiful. That's the spirit I like to see! Airi, you lacked that drive back then—but now you've found it, and that's good. And if you're tired, take a break. Nothing wrong with that. If that rascal Ryo can rest, why can't you?"
Watching the troupe leader make the three girls laugh so heartily, Ryo could only twitch his mouth helplessly.
Since the Drama Club had reported in advance that they would be collaborating with Izaki's troupe, Shiba Katsunori couldn't interfere with their interactions. He simply stood silently outside the room, arms crossed.
The Drama Club didn't have enough members to perform alone. With reasonable justification and internal mediation from Horikita Suzune, even Shiba Katsunori couldn't object—at least, not without solid evidence of rule violations.
As long as no one mentioned anything specific about Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, he had no grounds to intervene.
And this was just a reunion, after all.
"Of course I brought Hotaru."
Izaki made a call, and soon a little white cat came thumping down the hallway into the room.
The cat, seemingly never having grown, meowed as it rubbed against Ryo's leg. Ryo reached out and stroked Hotaru's gently rising and falling back. The cat never arched its back in front of Ryo, lying flat and covering his hand with its soft fur.
After a long-awaited petting session, Ryo subconsciously reached for the teacup on the table—only to get his hand smacked by Karuizawa Kei.
The crisp smack was followed by her sharp, commanding voice:
"Wash your hands."
Ryo had no idea how Kei, who had been chatting seriously with Izaki, noticed what he was doing. Still, he obediently responded and, holding Hotaru in his arms, walked out of the room with a quiet protest:
"Hotaru's clean."
"Still gotta wash. Right, Grandpa Izaki?"
"Yep. Gotta keep a close eye on him, or bad habits will stick and become hard to fix."
Izaki nodded firmly and shouted toward the door:
"Hey, Ryo! Having someone look after you isn't a bad thing. You'll understand one day."
"Is that why you've been single all your life, Izaki-san?"
Making a goofy face, Ryo fled the room without turning back, heading toward the restroom under Shiba Katsunori's watchful gaze.
Izaki's mouth tightened into a line, but soon he burst out laughing.
"That rascal."
He turned back to the three girls and said sincerely:
"If Ryo ever struggles with anything, I hope you can be understanding, as someone who cares about him."
"He's always the one helping us, though," Ichinose Honami replied quickly, startled by the old man's tone. The other two girls also nodded hurriedly.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean he doesn't need help himself."
Izaki's voice lowered, turning rough like sandpaper.
"You all met Ryo when you were around twelve, right?"
"Has he ever told you anything about his past? About his childhood?"
Karuizawa Kei pressed her lips together and instinctively turned to check the other two. Ichinose Honami and Sakura Airi mirrored her exactly. Their gazes met in mid-air, then dropped, sinking into an awkward silence.
Izaki stroked his beard. He had understood enough just from their reaction.
"I see."
He softly repeated each of their names, then closed his eyes and said again:
"I see."
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Kitagawa Ryo thoroughly washed his hands while Hotaru sat in front of the mirror, grooming her fluffed-up fur with her tongue and paws.
After the hand dryer had blown the remaining droplets off his skin, Ryo picked up Hotaru and returned to his room.
The atmosphere inside was still warm and cheerful, but there was a subtle shift compared to before he had left.
With a thoughtful look, Kitagawa Ryo sat down beside Izaki and spoke up:
"We're probably going on the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow we'll need to do a full rehearsal."
"You don't need to teach me that, you little brat who quit the troupe two years ago."
Izaki chuckled and ruffled Ryo's hair. Hotaru had climbed onto Ryo's shoulder. She had initially planned to reconnect with the other familiar part-time caretakers in the room, but seeing that Karuizawa Kei and the others weren't in the mood, she gave up. Ryo's now broader shoulders offered a better perch than before, so she lazily stretched out and began licking her paw.
"Wash your hands!"
Ryo playfully patted Hotaru's paw pad and, seeing her startled reaction, added with exaggerated seriousness:
"Having someone to keep you in line isn't a bad thing. You'll understand one day."
Hotaru stared at Ryo, utterly disillusioned, her expression saying: "What the hell are you on about?"
But thanks to those two light-hearted lines, the three girls, who had looked rather down just moments ago, finally managed a faint smile. It was then they noticed a pattern: every time the mood needed lightening, it was always Ryo who stepped in.
It was a detail they had never really paid attention to before.
Izaki hadn't said much earlier, but it was enough for the girls to start piecing things together.
A framework that didn't match the current Ryo.
And if just a few words could create such a battered image, what kind of painful, fragmented truths would emerge if they filled in the gaps—one day, one month, one year at a time?
A faint, woodsy scent of incense lingered in the room, brushing past Kitagawa Ryo's nose and gently tapping at his heart. He wordlessly refilled Izaki's empty teacup with hot water and then quietly picked up his own cup.
"Here, Hotaru's call."
Izaki's phone rang, breaking the silence. He glanced at the screen and passed it to Ryo.
"Since it's your phone, Izaki-san, I won't feel bad about the international fees."
Ryo swiped to answer.
The call between the siblings lasted about five minutes. It seemed Hotaru had a medical check-up scheduled. Reluctantly, Ryo ended the call.
"Hotaru was happy today. She told me to say hi to all of you."
"Rehearsals start tomorrow. If we don't win anything this time, we might not get another chance to go out like this. So let's do our best!"
Ryo's eyes showed not a trace of doubt. That alone was enough to put everyone at ease again.
His smile was just like always.
Tempered a thousand times over.
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