【夏は来ぬ】有栖川夏葉
卯の花
Narration begins to outline a story of two sisters: the older having left for the city for college while the younger one stays home in the countryside wishing to escape. As it’s explained that the story centers around them meeting again after three and a half years, the scene shifts to the younger sister shouting her grievances to the wind as her older sister, being played by Natsuha for this upcoming film, catches the girl off guard.
The director calls for a break to look over the film footage. Producer and Natsuha meet up under the sweltering early summer heat as they chat about the weather and joke about Producer sweating as much as his water bottle. They then talk about the film’s location as Natsuha says she’s been excited to see the place ever since she got the script. As she says the area is just like what she had imagined, a staff member chimes in to comment that the director was saying something similar about Natsuha, claiming that she was a perfect fit for her role. Natsuha is appreciative of the staff’s praise, but she confides in Producer about not feeling like a solid match for the part. He says that, while the two aren’t completely the same, Natsuha’s image lines up quite well with the character she’s supposed to play and that this job seems like it’ll be good for her. P says he’s excited to see how the finished film ends up…
LEFT CHOICE: …from the audience’s perspective.
Producer says he wants to see the completed movie as soon as possible. It’s still early into the filming and the scenes are shot out of order, so there’s a lingering mystery of how it’ll all turn out when it’s pieced together in the end. The anticipation excites the two and Natusha declares she’ll do her best for the film.
TOP CHOICE: …as your producer.
Producer explains he’s not used to these kinds of productions with his line of work, so the job’s a learning experience for him. Natsuha also hasn’t taken many acting roles quite like this one, so this is a chance to show a new side of herself to her fans, aiming to depict not just herself acting as a character, but rather becoming the individual in the film’s world.
RIGHT CHOICE: …as one of your fans.
Producer says that, even though Natusha won’t have a whole lot of lines, her role as the older sister will have her in a good position during the film. He feels that her fans will certainly be anticipating the final product and Natsuha wants to live up to the hype.
早苗
Natsuha and Producer are roaming around the outdoors during their break time. Producer questions if walking around like this really makes for a good “break” , but Natsuha finds it refreshing so it’s fine. The two are low on refreshments, so they decide to look around for a vending machine amidst their stroll. Natsuha begins to think about how much Cattleya would love running around this place if she were here and wonders if the poor dog is feeling lonely right about now, though P remarks that Natty seems to be the lonely one in this situation. Natsuha laughs before explaining that her and Cattleya have been together since she lived with her parents even after moving to Tokyo by herself. She stops and relates her own life to her role in the film before pepping back up and rallying to hunt down a vending machine.
They find nothing. The outdoors are hot and empty and there’s not a damn thing to be found out there.
When they start to bargain with their situation, hoping to find anything that could possibly sell them a drink, Natsuha spots something like a house far off in the distance. Upon further observation, Producer points out that it looks like a candy shop, immediately sending Natsuha into an excited rush. They barely get through recognizing the place before Natsuha bolts off in the shop’s direction.
Producer closes in on the store and can’t help but laugh at Natsuha, chuckling about how she’s already knee-deep in the ice cream case after hauling ass without hesitation. She gets onto him for it, but can’t help but get excited over how cheap everything is. When Producer lets up and says they can buy some ice cream along with their drinks, Natsuha starts to add even more candies to her haul which makes Producer start laughing at her again.
五月闇
In a private room, Natsuha is practicing her movie lines with Producer (who’s struggling to act as the little sister). The scene has the sisters talking about their futures. The older sister got into an argument with their parents, having decided that she wants to go overseas after college and likely won’t be coming back. When the younger sister’s decision to stay home is expressed, the older sister chastises her, questioning whether that’s what she really wants or not. As the younger sister explains that it makes more sense for her to stay home if the older one is gone, the older sister retorts that such words are merely shifting blame onto others when, in actuality, the younger sister simply lacks the courage to pursue her dreams.
The practice session stops and Producer apologizes for his less-than award winning performance. The rain outside has brought the filming to a halt and doesn’t seem like it’ll be letting up today. The schedule will likely be rearranged to have scenes workable in the rain done first, but this scene is all that Natsuha’s got left.
Natsuha begins to mumble about the intricacies of acting and explains how she’s having to put herself in the shoes of someone rebelling against her parent’s opposition despite Natsuha herself never having experienced such a thing. Natty has seen similar situations in movies and TV dramas before, but not having experienced it herself makes it difficult to embody the moment during her performance. Because of this, she believes that experiencing more things will likely benefit her in the future.
LEFT CHOICE: Probably not just for acting too.
Producer notes that having more experience builds you up in life regardless of your job. Natsuha believes that everything in life has come together to shape who she is now, so she’ll have to experience more to make herself even better.
TOP CHOICE: This job itself has turned into good experience too, huh.
Natsuha realizes that acting things out like this has led her to experiences she wouldn’t have found otherwise and decides it shouldn’t be taken for granted. Producer is happy that she’s managed to take something like that away from her work.
RIGHT CHOICE: Let’s get you even more experience from here on out.
Producer offers to do anything she needs, making Natsuha happy that she’s always being supported.
蛍
During an interview about her part in the movie, Natsuha is being questioned about her approach to acting. The interviewer asks about how well she fit into the role, to which Natsuha responds saying that she wasn’t initially very confident in her acting does to the differences between herself and her role, explaining that while the character is opposed by her parents, Natsuha herself is always being supported by those around her. She says that while the character’s rebellious nature may have fueled her onwards, Natsuha’s supporters are what gives her strength instead. They’re total opposites, but maybe they can line up well enough in this way.
Back at the office, Producer excitedly tells Natsuha about having gotten the serialized interview only to find that Natsuha had already bought a copy at the bookstore. Producer suggests that since the office doesn’t need all of the copies they received, maybe they should send one to Natsuha’s family, though this too is proved pointless as Natsuha explains that her family actually buys around 3 copies of every publication she’s involved in. Even beyond that, they actually get copies of anything containing any of the HCG girls. Natsuha says that if the office is ever missing something, they can just borrow something from her family’s archive. They comment on this being part of the immense support giving Natsuha strength.
LEFT CHOICE: You must appreciate it.
Natsuha agrees and says that all of the support she gets from the people who believe in her is really something special. Most importantly, Producer is at the center of that support.
TOP CHOICE: It must be reassuring.
Natsuha says that, while it may be a bit too much sometimes, the support from her family is certainly heartening. Even beyond that, though, she says that Producer’s support reassures her just as much.
RIGHT CHOICE: You’ll have to keep that in mind.
Producer points out that not everyone is lucky enough to have that kind of support behind them, just like the girl in the film who fights against her parents. Having this kind of support is something really special which is why people like her family are important to Natsuha, especially Producer.
TRUE END - 水鶏
Producer is fumbling around at the office and gets excited when he manages to get something. Natsuha was nearby in the kitchen making Producer some tea and pops in to ask what he’s up to, surprising him into a shock as he tries to skirt around explaining himself. He assuages Natsuha’s suspicions by explaining that he was actually reserving some movie tickets online and was hoping that they could go together if she had an opening in her schedule. Natsuha teases him, reminding him that he should know her schedule better than anyone else, then happily agrees to go with him. Relieved, P starts to move onto the tea that Natty prepared, but she points out a problem with the ticket situation.
Natsuha had actually already gotten two tickets herself, so now they’ve got four after Producer’s dedication to buying some. They laugh about the mistake before Natsuha says they can just use Producer’s tickets first and then see the movie with her tickets afterwards. Producer questions watching the same movie twice, but Natsuha remarks that they’ve already seen it a bunch through pre-screenings and that a good movie like this can be watched as many times as they desire. It’s a fine sentiment, but Producer jokes that fitting any more viewings into her schedule will be harder than getting tickets. Natsuha’s not worried about that though, because her excellent Producer always finds a way to manage her schedule flawlessly.
