The Fake Us

When he arrived at the recording studio, Hanazawa Sakura was already there.

"Hey, kiddo. You're here."

"Good morning."

Shuya smiled and sat down beside her.

After a little while, they officially began recording.

The story had reached its tenth episode.

A few days after Yuzuki Sasaki disappeared, Uesugi Yuichi finally realized something was wrong.

He tried calling her, but couldn't get through because her parents had confiscated her phone.

None of her classmates from art class went to the same school as her, so without her phone, nobody knew how she was doing.

Uesugi Yuichi began to feel uneasy, afraid she might never come back.

Her helping him look after Hikari-chan was certainly one important reason, but what Uesugi Yuichi valued even more was Yuzuki Sasaki's talent for painting.

He thought Yuzuki had a real gift and didn't want her to give up painting.

A few more days passed.

Uesugi Yuichi became increasingly distracted.

He often bought the wrong things, would lose focus in the middle of conversations, and sometimes walked into lampposts.

In the end, he even used the wrong colors in his paintings.

At the end of Part A, he finally realized how special Yuzuki Sasaki was to him.

It wasn't romantic. He thought of her as a very important student.

Uesugi Yuichi made up his mind. After confirming the name of the high school she had written on her enrollment form, he set off to find her.

"Wait for me, Sasaki. I won't give up!"

Inoue Hikoo declared resolutely, in time with the storyboard.

The scene shifted to Part B.

The high school Yuzuki attended.

Yuzuki Sasaki hadn't been sleeping well these past few days. She looked so haggard that dark circles had formed under her eyes.

Exhausted, she did her best to respond to her friends' concern.

Yuzuki hadn't expected her parents to go this far.

"Ugh."

The sigh Hanazawa Sakura let out seemed to infuse the character with sorrow.

The story moved on to after school.

With her schoolbag on her back, Yuzuki Sasaki walked dejectedly out of the school gate. She noticed countless girls staring curiously toward the entrance, gasping and playfully jostling one another.

Yuzuki Sasaki looked over. A handsome, well-dressed man stood outside the gate, looking rather nervous.

It was Uesugi Yuichi.

Yuzuki Sasaki knew Teacher Uesugi was a handsome middle-aged man, but she hadn't expected him to look so good clean-shaven and dressed formally. He looked much younger, too.

"Sasaki!"

Just as Yuzuki looked over, Uesugi Yuichi happened to glance her way. Their eyes met in perfect unison.

Nervous under the gaze of all the girls around him, he hurriedly waved, relief washing over him.

"Teacher Uesugi?"

Yuzuki ran over in delight.

"Um, Sasaki, well..."

Uesugi Yuichi grew nervous under the eyes of the people around them.

"Wait, Teacher Uesugi, it's not safe here. Come with me somewhere else!"

Yuzuki Sasaki suddenly remembered something and hurriedly tugged at Uesugi Yuichi, trying to lead him away.

But Uesugi Yuichi didn't budge. He asked, puzzled, "What?"

And just like that, he missed his chance.

"Yuzuki!"

A woman who looked somewhat like her came over, grabbed Yuzuki's hand, and pulled her away from Uesugi Yuichi.

"Mom?!"

Yuzuki's startled cry made Uesugi Yuichi realize who the woman was.

Incidentally, Yuzuki's mother was played by one of the bit-part actresses.

Under the middle-aged woman's piercing gaze, Uesugi Yuichi faltered, unable to speak.

He stammered, "H-hello? I'm Sasaki's—"

Yuzuki's mother cut him off and glared at him.

"I'm not doing well, and I don't want to know who you are! Please stop pestering my daughter! Otherwise, I'll call the police!"

"Mom! D-don't do this!"

Yuzuki Sasaki was so frantic she was nearly in tears.

And the crowd around them had gathered with such practiced speed that she suspected she'd become famous by tomorrow.

"Let's go!"

Yuzuki's mother didn't want her daughter to be gawked at either, so she hurriedly led her away.

As Yuzuki was dragged off, she kept looking back, trying to speak to Uesugi Yuichi, but her mother stopped her each time.

"Sasaki! Wait!"

Uesugi Yuichi tried to chase after them, but someone put a hand on his shoulder.

He turned around and froze.

A young patrol officer riding by on a bicycle smiled at him, flashing a row of gleaming white teeth.

Uesugi Yuichi cried out in despair, "No, I didn't do anything!"

"Now, now, we can talk about it at the station... By the way, sir, do you like pork cutlets?"

"Nooo!"

The police officer dragged Uesugi Yuichi away, leaving only his miserable cries behind.

At six that evening, after getting a stern lecture, Uesugi Yuichi was finally released.

"What a disaster... Though the pork cutlet was pretty good."

Uesugi Yuichi sighed as he walked along, casually wiping the grease from his lips.

Back home, he paced around anxiously. He didn't want to give up, but he had no idea where Yuzuki Sasaki lived.

Unable to come up with anything, he could only watch Hikari-chan idly play with a paintbrush using his supernatural powers.

"Wait... Superpowers?"

Uesugi Yuichi lunged at Hikari-chan, his eyes lighting up. "Hikari-chan! Do you know where Sasaki lives? Can you take me there?"

Hikari-chan looked at him.

"Da!"

He nodded emphatically!

"Great! Let's go! We're going to bring Sasaki back!"

Uesugi Yuichi picked Hikari-chan up and set him astride his shoulders, then set off with a swagger.

End of Part B.

"OK, thanks for all your hard work."

Inoue Hikoo addressed everyone.

"Dad, this episode was great too."

Shuya said to him.

It was hard to make everyday-life stories feel fresh.

But this episode was really good. He could imagine how, once all the scenes were drawn and set to music, they would create a perfect atmosphere—romantic and melancholy.

Yuzuki's disappearance, Uesugi Yuichi's inner struggle and realization, the joy of finding Yuzuki turning to disappointment when he was rejected, and then finally picking himself back up and setting out again.

Shuya was looking forward to the next episode more and more.

"And your acting has improved, too," Hanazawa Sakura said with a smile.

"Haha, thanks. It's all thanks to my wonderful wife's teaching."

Inoue Hikoo grinned smugly, but he soon left.

Making an anime was a busy job.

Hanazawa Sakura had another studio to get to afterward, so she had to leave too.

When she saw Shuya leaving the company with her, she asked casually, "Are you heading home afterward, Shu-chan?"

Shuya shook his head. "No. I made plans with someone a few days ago to go to an amusement park today."

"With the Quintuplets?"

"Mai-chan."

Hanazawa Sakura froze, her expression turning complicated.

Section 33: The Fake Us

Shuya didn't notice Hanazawa Sakura's expression.

He simply said, "Well, bye. Go take care of your work. I'm going to catch a train."

Saori had to take Hanazawa Sakura to the next recording studio, so she couldn't give Shuya a ride. He decided to take the train himself.

In the Japan Administrative District, elementary school students went to school on their own, so it was no big deal for someone Shuya's age to ride the train alone.

Besides, Shuya's body had been developing unusually fast since he started working out. He'd always been bigger than other kids his age, and now he looked like a seven- or eight-year-old, so riding by himself was even less of a problem.

Hanazawa Sakura watched her son's retreating figure with concern.

She wasn't worried that Shuya would get lost. She was worried he'd get attacked with a kitchen knife someday.

You never knew what people might do once jealousy took hold...

Hanazawa Sakura had always been worried about Shuya's love life.

He said he was devoted to Rena, but he'd already maxed out the Quintuplets' affection for him. Now Mai-chan was asking him to hang out, and lately he'd often been talking about Senior Sister Seisen, too.

It was only natural for Hanazawa Sakura to worry.

Shuya had no idea what his mother thought of him behind his back.

He put on the mask he carried with him and entered the station. The afternoon train wasn't crowded; there were even seats available.

Mai-chan had invited him out this time.

She said she was supposed to have a lesson that afternoon, but her teacher had gotten sick, so she had some free time.

Her mother had told her to practice by herself, but Mai-chan had immediately turned around and asked Shuya to go out with her. At first, Shuya hadn't been too keen, but then he remembered that Mai-chan only had him as a friend. She'd also told him she'd never been to an amusement park.

Shuya's heart softened, and he agreed.

He felt sorry for the little girl, too. She had to take lessons so intensively at such a young age. Unlike Shuya, she didn't have an adult's mind to help her endure it.