The First Day

Hallway, High School, Early Morning

Keiji stands in front of the teacher’s office. He is waiting for someone to call him in.

Keiji hears the teacher call him in. He turns to go in.

Teacher (Off-panel): “Come in.”

Teacher’s Office, High School, Early Morning

Keiji stands in front of the teacher. The teacher is looking through some papers on her desk. She is barely giving Keiji any attention. She doesn’t really care about him.

Teacher: “Are you here to ask for my help? Because I was already too generous offering once. I won’t be offering again.”

The teacher glances up. She looks annoyed.

Keiji (Off-panel): “Sensei.”

Keiji holds a flyer for the Kabuki performance yesterday. It has a large picture of Jun on it.

Keiji: “How do I become a Kabuki actor?”

Title card: Onnagata. Episode 2.

Kabuki Training Centre, Hallway, Early morning

Keiji is running through the hallway. His hair and clothes are messy, as if he had woken up late and in a panic. The hallway he runs through looks very plain. As he runs, he recalls what the teacher had said yesterday.

Teacher (Narration): “Of all the things you could possibly want to be, why a Kabuki actor? Have you ever even seen a Kabuki play?”

Keiji stops in front of the door to his class.

Teacher (Narration): “It doesn’t matter. Kabuki has traditionally been passed down amongst families. Even nowadays, most of the time you’ll have to become the personal apprentice of another actor.”

Keiji slides open the door.

Teacher (Narration): “But there is one place that will let you train to become a Kabuki actor for free.”

Keiji steps into the classroom.

Teacher (Narration): “The Kabuki Training Centre.”

Keiji rubs his neck and bows half-heartedly. He is sorry for arriving late, but he doesn’t feel too guilty.

Keiji: “Sorry I’m late.”

Kabuki Training Centre, Classroom, Early morning

The classroom doesn’t have any chairs or desks. There’s a whiteboard and some stacks of mats, but otherwise, there’s relatively little furniture. The rest of the class stares back at him. There are maybe six or seven students, all young and around Keiji’s age. They sit on the floor in groups. Among them is Kaoru. There is no teacher.

A close-up of Keiji’s face. He is apprehensive about what he is doing.

Teacher (Narration): “Just so you know, I don’t advise doing Kabuki. It takes a certain temperament, and it’s just not something you’d be good at. Stick to simpler things, Endo-san. Don’t chase wild dreams.”

Keiji smirks. He hasn’t closed the sliding door so it is open behind him.

Keiji: “Seriously? The teacher isn’t even here yet?”

Keiji laughs. There is something standing in the doorway behind him. It is Ōemon.

Keiji: “That’s crazy. I’ve never actually had a teacher who is even later than I am.”

Ōemon walks through. Keiji turns around.

Ōemon yawns, clearly tired and not taking the class very seriously. Keiji has an embarrassed look.

Ōemon lazily introduces himself.

Ōemon: “Sorry for being late, everyone. I’m the teacher for the first-year class. There’s no point giving you my real name because you’ll know my stage name much better: Kotobuki Ōemon II.”

The students mutter and talk amongst themselves. They look excited.

Student 1: “Kotobuki Ōemon? Like, the real Kotobuki Ōemon?”

Student 2: “Seriously?”

Student 3: “No way!”

Keiji doesn’t look impressed. He is still standing and has his hands in his pockets.

Keiji: “Eh? You can’t be that famous if I’ve never heard of you.”

The students are angry at Keiji.

Student 1: “How dare you!”

Student 2: “Are you stupid?”

Ōemon chuckles.

Ōemon: “Take a seat, kid.”

Keiji sits down on the ground as Ōemon continues to talk. He sits a little farther from the rest of the students.

Ōemon: “So I guess I should begin by welcoming you to the training centre. We’re happy to have all of you.”

Ōemon: “I had a speech prepared, but I’ve forgotten it all, so let’s just keep it simple. Kabuki is hard. You need a lot of discipline and effort. So, find whatever it is that motivates you to act and hold tightly to it. The reason can differ from person to person, but as long as it truly drives you to keep doing Kabuki, it’s fine.”

Ōemon looks over at Keiji.

Ōemon: “Endo-kun, right? Why do you want to do Kabuki?”

Keiji looks a little bored. He thinks about it for a moment. He remembers Jun’s smiling face.

Keiji: “I’m in love with another student here.”

The students look back at Keiji with confused/disgusted expressions.

Kaoru (Off-panel): “Are you stupid?”

Keiji looks over. He is angry.

Keiji: “Huh? What did you say?”

Kaoru is sitting on the floor. She has an annoyed look, as if she is above everything.

Kaoru: “I asked if you were stupid, dumbass.”

Ōemon checks a paper with the students’ names.

Ōemon: “Let’s see…Kaoru-san, right?”

Kaoru speaks without even turning back to look at Keiji.

Kaoru: “If you want to do Kabuki, do it for Kabuki’s sake. Doing Kabuki because you’re in love? Are you trying to mock us or something?”

Kaoru turns her nose away.

Kaoru: “If you’re not serious about Kabuki, you should just leave.”

Keiji stands up in anger.

Keiji: “Who do you think you are, asshole?!”

Kaoru stands up in response. Compared to the fuming Keiji, she is much calmer.

Kaoru: “How are you going to be serious about Kabuki if you’re just sucking up to someone else?”

Keiji: “If you knew how I feel about them, you’d know just how serious I am!”

Ōemon steps in the middle of the two of them. He has a very calm look, as if he thinks he has everything under control. He even has a hint of a smile. Is he finding this amusing?

Ōemon: “C’mon, you two, calm down.”

Kaoru smirks.

Kaoru: “I bet you’ve never even seen a Kabuki play.”

Keiji is still angry, but he knows Kaoru is right, even if he stubbornly refuses to admit it.

Keiji: “I bet I’ve seen more than you!”

Kaoru: “Name one play.”

Keiji thinks really hard. Finally, an answer comes to him. He looks ecstatic and confident, as if his answer is going to really impress everyone.

Keiji: “The One Piece Kabuki! (スーパー歌舞伎II ワンピー)”

Kaoru and the rest of the students have the most shocked and confused expressions. They are thinking to themselves, is he serious? Is he actually just a massive idiot?