『A3! ❀ 』20 Minute Mankai

Taichi ❀ Drama NEW!

Sincerely
Starring, Taichi Nanao

★彡

My Dearest Taichi,
I hope this letter finds you well.

"My name's Yoshida. Yoshida Chiaki."

The transfer student kept her head bowed during her introduction to the class, lips pressed into a line, eyes downcast. Taichi hadn't thought much of it at the time, even when the teacher sat her next to him.

He remembered what it was like to be a newbie, an unknown. The bottom of the hierarchy until proven otherwise. So he gave her his warmest smile and showed her around, making goofy jokes and pointing out the worst spots to skip class (one time, he had tried, unsuccessfully, to hide in the vending machine) until she was laughing back.

"You're an actor?" she asked him, sipping her strawberry milk and staring at his profile.

"I want to be." He put a hand on his chin. "Have you ever felt small, Chiaki? Like maybe you'll never catch up to the others?" He looked into her eyes, his own brimming with conviction. "I want to overcome that feeling. Then, I will realize my full potential."

"Your full potential, huh?"

You might not remember me, but you are someone I could never forget.

Though they had spent the entire afternoon together, the next morning, Chiaki didn't return. There was chatter around school about her whereabouts, the occasional rumor, but when the teacher addressed it, she merely cited "personal reasons" and left it at that. Within the month, the memory of Yoshida Chiaki disappeared like wind-scattered blossoms.

You told me your dreams shone brighter than the sun, that there were people you wanted to impress. I've never felt that way, myself. I couldn't help but envy your conviction, and couldn't suppress my curiosity about what inspired you.

"Taichi, mail." Omi handed him the letter, sealed with a panda sticker and written on strawberry stationery.

"Whoa, is this from a girl?!" Taichi's eyebrows shot up, and he could barely contain his excitement as he carefully unfolded it, skimming to the bottom to look for a signature. His shoulders sagged. "There's no name."

"Seems you have a secret admirer, Taichi." Tenma smirked.

"Way to go, man," Banri slapped him on the back.

When I asked, one of our classmates told me you were a part of the Mankai Company. I wanted to see the world through your eyes, and I decided the best way was to experience one of your plays for myself. But the leaves had yet to change, so in the heat of summer, I made a plan. - - -【❀】

"I wonder which audience member she was?" Taichi sat on the edge of the stage, his gaze falling from the rows of vacant seats to the single purple pansy and the handwritten note that had been left for him by the stage door. "We met lots of people after the show, maybe she was one of them."

"No. If you met her, you'd know!" Muku slammed his fist on the stage in an unusually bold gesture to emphasize his disagreement. "Something like that is fate, Taichi-san. You'd be able to sense it if she was nearby."

"I think you're confusing love for ESP, Muku." Banri swung his legs and wrinkled his brow. "Either way, it seems like this fan is really affecting you. I've never seen you so fired up."

"She is." Taichi gazed fondly at the cute, familiar stationery. "I don't really know how to explain it, but hearing from her every month, having her cheer me on... It's helped me so much. I don't know her name, but I feel like she understands my dreams, and believes they can come true."