Act 2

Leading the Leader

The following day the Autumn Troupe gathered in the rehearsal room to decide on the troupe leader who would also play a lead role in the debut show. Sakyo was the most obvious choice - he was the oldest and the most experienced in the troupe. That was what director Izumi thought in the first place, but Sakyo refused to become the leader, reasoning that the troupe needed someone younger than him and with a potential to grow together with the whole troupe. Having agreed with this, director Izumi asked the other members of the Autumn Troupe.

Juza, Banri, Omi, and Taichi fell silent for a few moments, thinking over the suggestion. Juza lowered his eyes, clenching a fist in an internal struggle with himself. He wanted to be the troupe leader and felt he could be a good leader, but how could he offer himself knowing that his acting was behind the rest?.. But still, come to think of it, he had no experience in acting at all. Didn't that mean that he had a chance to become better at it if he tried hard?.. And didn't director Izumi tell him that she knew plenty of exercises for hammy actors? Yes, she did! He wasn't as good as the others, true, but he was determined to give his all to become a good actor and leader of the Autumn Troupe!..

So Juza thought to himself while Banri watched him with a mocking smile – Juza's inner struggle was clearly written on his face. Having made up his mind, Juza looked up at director Izumi to ask her to let him be the troupe leader when Banri raised his hand ahead of him. Juza was surprised and confused. He didn't expect Settsu, who wasn't interested in theatre, to offer himself as their leader, but when director Izumi asked if anyone else wanted to step up, he remained silent - he knew his acting was no match for Settsu's, at least not yet...

No one objected to Settsu's candidacy except for Sakyo, who doubted that this punk really understood the responsibilities the leader carried. In fact, Sakyo was disappointed, because deep down he thought that Juza was the only one who was best suited to take the lead of the Autumn Troupe.

Unlike Sakyo, Banri was super-confident that he would be a better leader than anyone else: how could it be otherwise if he was always number one at anything?

Juza was standing in silence with his eyes down - he had no arguments to make. Settsu was smart, handsome, and talented. It was hard to admit, but he might indeed be the best leader, probably better than him, and there was probably no other choice but to endure this stoically…

Everyone seemed to be okay with Banri, and director Izumi announced him the leader of the Autumn Troupe. Upon hearing this, Banri stuck out his chest and looked at Juza triumphantly – it was his first victory over this daikon.

The following week was uneventful. Every morning, Juza went to school, and Banri often skipped morning classes – he hated to wake up early and didn't want to compromise his beauty sleep. In the evenings, the Autumn Troupe practiced with acting etudes.

Meanwhile, director Izumi had been thinking about the script for the new play. Banri was supposed to be the lead, but that wouldn't be enough for a bright debut. Although Banri's acting was good, he needed someone to back him up and at the same time ignite his passion, and this someone had to be none other than Juza. Thinking of this, director Izumi asked Mankai Company's actor and scriptwriter Tsuzuru Minagi to give Juza an equally important role with Banri.

After a week, a puffing and panting Tsuzuru burst into the dining room and fell down senseless to the surprise of the Autumn Troupe. The script was ready – it fell to the floor next to Tsuzuru, who was happily smiling in a deep, peaceful sleep. After Tsuzuru was carried to his bed, the Autumn Troupe sat down to read the script together with director Izumi.

The name on the first page read "How Wonderfully Picaresque". It was a buddy story about gangsters, and the main characters were two gangsters who didn't stand each other at first but eventually became very close to each other. These gangsters were to be played by Juza and Banri.

Everyone liked the script straight away – the story was exciting and packed full of action scenes. The only concern was that the play could fall apart if the relationship between Banri and Juza didn't improve. No sooner had Sakyo said this than Banri took the opportunity to pick on Juza, demanding to make his partner someone other than him. Immediately riled up, Juza roughly pushed away Banri's hand that was mockingly pointing at him. He started to get used to Settsu's monkeying around, but what he'd just said was too much!

The situation was heating up again. Omi and Taichi hastened to break up Juza and Banri's fight when Sakyo decided it was time for drastic measures. As Juza and Banri snarled at each other, Sakyo slapped on handcuffs on their wrists, chaining them to each other. Astounded, Juza and Banri stared at their shackled hands before Sakyo left with the key to the handcuffs, suggesting them to figure out why he'd handcuffed them.

It was really mean of Sakyo, but who would dare go against him? Banri and Juza despairingly flopped down on the sofa next to each other. Their predicament was annoying and weird at the same time - now that they were chained together, their hands and bodies touched unintentionally. They had to eat, drink and go to the toilet together. The last bit was the most embarrassing: despite them turning away from each other, they ended up touching each other's thighs. To cap it all, they had to sleep handcuffed with their arms stretched out over the headboard.

In the morning, Banri and Juza woke up in a bad mood despite the weekend: none of them got enough sleep because of the handcuffs. Sakyo had already gone about his business until the evening, and there was nothing to do but wait for him to come back. Juza was more tired than annoyed – Settsu was turning in bed and mumbling in his sleep all night long, and now he continued to annoy him with loud ranting about how annoyed he was with him. Settsu's peevish, high-pitched tone of voice was getting on Juza's nerves, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Sometime later, Juza and Banri walked out into the street in the hope of finding Sakyo when director Izumi saw them standing at the dorm entrance and looking away from each other. Clearly, the boys didn't get along yet, and it was concerning. Absorbed in these thoughts, director Izumi slowly headed to the high street without noticing someone riding a motorbike behind her. The biker shoved her aside and snatched her handbag before quickly riding away. Falling to the ground, director Izumi cried out in pain and surprise when Juza and Banri heard her scream and came running to her rescue.

Luckily, director Izumi wasn't injured except for a few scratches on her knees, and Juza took off running after the thief - he had to return director Izumi's bag! Too bad that Settsu was slowing him down, but there was no way around tugging him along because of the handcuffs. Running behind Juza, Banri realised that he could barely keep pace with Hyodo, although he considered himself the best runner in his school.

The thief quickly turned around the corner when Juza and Banri nearly bumped into two kids playing in the street. Luckily, Juza managed to stop Banri in his tracks, tugging at his handcuffed arm. As a result, they both stumbled and fell down on the road, and when they got up, the thief was already quite far away. Unsure what to do next, Banri thought it was probably time to give up, but Hyodo seemed to think otherwise – he continued the chase and ran up to the concrete fence around one of the private houses. Shortcut! - Banri realised Juza's idea, watching him easily climb up the fence, something he wouldn't be able to do even with both of his hands free. It struck him how much more agile, strong, and determined Hyodo was compared to him, but there was no time to think about it. All he could do at the moment was rely on Hyodo and follow his lead, but he didn't mind it at all.

Meanwhile, Juza pulled Banri up on the fence, and the boys ran along the narrow edge, Banri after Juza, before hopping onto the nearest accessible roof. They jumped from roof to roof, moving in the direction of the sound of the thief's motorbike. Soon they saw him riding along a small street and jumped down right on top of him, causing him to fall off his motorbike and roll over the road. The boys walked up to the thief, who got up from the ground and punched Juza in the face, rightly deeming him the main threat. The punch didn't have much effect, because Juza was a tough nut to crack. Quite the contrary, now he had every right to self-defense, which he very much wanted to exercise – it was a great opportunity to vent his pent-up anger. Banri felt exactly the same – he was itching to kick the crap out of this thief. The boys nodded to each other and threw a synchronous punch with their handcuffed fists, sending the thief flying backwards a few meters away.

When Banri and Juza returned to the dorm, they felt pleased and proud of themselves. And how could it be otherwise if they caught the thief and got back director Izumi's handbag?

The Autumn Troupe gathered in the dining room to hear Banri and Juza's exciting story, and for the first time, the two didn't fight and talked to each other peacefully. Noticing this, Sakyo thought it was probably time to uncuff them, although he would prefer Banri and Juza to stay like this – on a short leash with each other.

The boys finally had their hands uncuffed, but barely had the rest of the Autumn Troupe and director Izumi cheered for them when Banri poked Juza in the chest, demanding that he not get within five meters of him. Juza was no better himself, immediately engaging in a spat that looked like a lovers' quarrel – Banri and Juza were sending each other to sleep on the sofa outside their room. Sakyo's patience finally ran out, and he flipped out, making a move to get the two punks handcuffed again. That was enough for Banri and Juza to cool off their hot heads. They hastened to hide behind Omi's back and begged to give them a break, but Sakyo was unrelenting. There was only one way left to avoid punishment from this scary man – run away and fast!