『A3! ❀ 』20 Minute Mankai

Sakyo ❀ Comedy

The Director and the Boss
Starring, Sakyo & Izumi

(・・?)

"What's so hard about your life, huh? I babysit those brats every day and you expect me to have sympathy for you when rehearsal is a complete disaster?" The bitter words spilled out before Sakyo could stop himself, the culmination of a week's worth of passive-aggression.

"You don't know half of what I go through to keep this place afloat, Money-Grubbing Yakuza! You're so blinded by the bottom line, I wish you could feel a modicum of the stress and hard work that comes with being director!" Izumi fired back, anger rolling off her in waves.

And that's how Sakyo ended up supervising the Summer Troupe's latest rehearsal as acting director.

"Sakyo-- I mean, Kantoku-san!" Kazunari piped up. "I need help with my character-work, Yuzo-san said it's too shallow--"

"Shallow, you? Who would have guessed," Yuki muttered. "More importantly, Kantoku-san, I need your approval for the new costumes. Also, we need to set points for the quick-changes, since I'll be offstage for the first and third ones--"

"Kantoku-san, Kantoku-san!" Misumi was practically bouncing off the walls. "I can't practice anymore until I'm powered up with onigiri!"

"Can it, Trianglian, and sit your ass down!" Tenma roared. "Kantoku, get this alien to focus up--"

"U-Um, Kantoku..." Muku murmured helplessly, his voice barely audible over the maelstrom of wild boys. "Do you think we could discuss my character's motivation--?"

"Agh! Shuddup, all of you!" Sakyo bellowed. "One at a time, one at a time!"

~~
"So, you're, uh--"

"The boss." Izumi did her best yakuza impression as her eyes bored into Sakoda's confused expression. "That means today, you're taking orders from me."

"Right! Yes, ma'am!"

"Ah, really? So this little pipsqueak is gonna throw her weight around and tell us what to do?" One of Sakyo's underlings got right up in Izumi's face, 200 pounds of muscle and intimidation.

Emboldened by her new role and her adrenaline, Izumi grabbed the guy's ear and yanked him down to her level. "Exactly, worm. And I don't wanna hear any bitchin'. Shut up and follow me."

Astonished, the guy stood, dumbfounded, as Izumi turned on her heel and whispered to Sakoda. "This isn't so hard. My Sakyo impression's pretty good, right?"

"Spot on, Boss. Now, here are all of the files relating to the finances of our territory." He hefted a huge stack of paperwork and dumped it unceremoniously into Izumi's arms. "Other than the Mankai Theater, the bakery on Seiro street is tanking, Oda from the bar refuses to make his payments, some punks have been making a scene near the arts district--"

【❀】

"Stop," Izumi held up a hand, feeling a headache coming on from the information overload. "Let's handle this one item at a time. This Oda guy, what's his deal?"

~~
"Thank you very much!" The summer troupe boys bowed, and Sakyo's shoulders slumped. He had probably lost a good five years of his life in one afternoon. If I go bald because of these brats, I'm blaming Tachibana Izumi, he griped internally.

Izumi.

Sakyo checked his phone. No calls. She was as stubborn as always. She couldn't really be doing all his yakuza work, right? The thought of the smiling, clumsy director caught in the midst of that group of crass apes with zero sense among them, pushing her around with their grimy hands, filled Sakyo with a potent mix of fury and anxiety.

As if to punctuate his fears, his phone began to ring, and when he picked it up, Sakoda was practically screaming on the other end. "Boss, Boss! Get down to Oda's bar quick! It's the Little Lady, she needs your help!"

"Got it." Sakyo didn't waste any time. "Banri, Juza, Omi, Misumi!" He called, bursting breathlessly into the lounge. All the lively conversation between Mankai's members went quiet at the urgency in his voice. "Come with me."

"What's wrong?" Omi frowned, his ladle freezing in midair.

"You look pale, Old Geezer." Yuki couldn't conceal his concern, even with his usual sharp tongue.

"Izumi is in danger. Come, now."

The lounge exploded into chaos with that piece of information.

"I'm going--"

"Me, too!"

"I... I wanna save Kantoku-san!"

"You can't go, middle-schoolers. A bar is no place for runts like you--"

"You wanna go?!"

"ENOUGH!" Sakyo did his best to intervene, to keep calm everyone down. But the power of the Izumi Protection Squad was too great, and in the end, a horde of sixteen knights-in-shining-armor thundered through the streets (to the terror of every passer-by) on a quest to rescue their damsel.

When they reached the bar in question, barging through the door with every intention of throwing down, the scene in front of them was... unexpected.

The place looked deserted. No customers, no staff. Only piles and piles of paperwork. Everything was quiet, but when he strained his ears, Sakyo could hear a faint whimper from the depths of The Pile.

"Revenue streams... tax returns... math... nooooo..."

"Izumi?" Sakyo called.

"Sakyo!" Abruptly, Izumi leapt up onto her tip-toes, her head barely peeking over the massive stack of documents. Her eyes were filled with tears, and before he knew it, she was throwing herself into his arms and squeezing him tight.

"Izumi, you're not in danger...? But Sakoda said..." Sakyo placed a tentative hand on her back, still trying to comprehend what in the hell was going on. Meanwhile, the rest of the boys filed in, taking turns checking on their beloved director.

"I AM in danger," Izumi sniffed, sticking out her chin an looking into his eyes. "You have to help me, I need your cheap--erm--frugal sensibilities. Otherwise, I'll never sort this out."

"Hah. I see. So, you admit that being the Boss is a challenge?"

"Yes."

"And I'm a genius?" Sakyo raised an eyebrow, smirk plastered on his smug face.

"You're something." Izumi muttered.

Slowly but surely, a real smile crept across Sakyo's lips. "Okay. I'll help." Then, quieter, he added, "I must admit, being a director is no easy feat. You're... doing well."

scene.

written by - UsaChan97
cover by - saraphiel

Usa-Chan's Note: Fun fact, this was originally gonna be a brawl, but it became jokes. Fun times. Also, I love Sakyo and all his moles.

【❀】- - - indicates 20 minutes have been reached
c o n t i n u e !