[flashback begins]
[sfx: crickets, footsteps]
Chisei: Hm... the place oughta be somewhere around here? "Raimentei"... his family runs a Chinese restaurant or something? ... ah! There it is!
[sfx: Chisei approaching]
Chisei: Ah? The shutters are down. ... "Sorry, we're closed"? Well, whatever. There's still lights on upstairs.
[sfx: Chisei knocking on the shutters]
Chisei: Hey!! Shura!! You there!? Come out!!
[sfx: Chisei knocking on the shutters continues]
Chisei: I came because I heard you were here! I wanna talk to you about something! C'mon, say something!
[sfx: crickets]
Chisei: Hm? ... so he's pretending he's not home?
[sfx: approaching footsteps]
Neighbor: Hey, young man, do you have business of some sort at Shingu-san's place?
[sfx: footsteps]
Chisei: "Shingu"? I came to see a guy, goes by the name of Shura.
Neighbor: "Shura"? There's nobody here by that name.
Chisei: Ah, well, it's kind of like... an alias he uses. The guy I'm talking about is probably the son of the guy who owns this place.
Neighbor: You mean Haruomi-chan?
Chisei: Haruomi-chan? ... ah, yeah! I've got something I wanna talk about with Haruomi-chan.
Chisei: [to himself] So his name's Shingu Haruomi?
Neighbor: I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think you came all this way just to bark up the wrong tree.
Chisei: Huh?
Neighbor: Ever since his father died, he's been holed up in there. Even we barely see hide or hair of him these days.
Chisei: Ah...
Neighbor: The shop's been closed up for a long time, too. But I guess it's hard to really blame him, after what happened. You ain't the first person to come looking for him, but they all ended up turning back without seeing him.
Chisei: Is that so? Well, I think I've got this under control.
[sfx: Chisei banging on the shutters resumes]
Chisei: Oi!! Haruomi-chan!! I know you're in there! Get out here!!
Neighbor: Hey, young man--!
[sfx: Knocking interrupted by--]
Haruomi: [opening a window] Knock it off! You're disturbing the neighbors!
Chisei: Took you long enough!
Haruomi: You've got the wrong man. There's nobody named Shura here. Get lost.
Chisei: I'd know that voice anywhere! You're Shura.
Haruomi: ...
Chisei: I listened to your music. It's fucking amazing, dude. It gave me an electric shock. So, I'm here to team up wi--
Haruomi: Get lost. I'm not Shura anymore. I quit music. So give up.
[sfx: window slam]
Chisei: Hm.
Neighbor: Well, that's a shame, young man.
Chisei: Huh? How do you figure?
Neighbor: Well, I mean...?
Chisei: This game is just getting started.

[flashback ends]

Chisei: Man, you really gave me a hard time hunting you down. All I had to go on was the name "Shura". You up and vanished from the music scene, and called it quits for good. And just when I finally found a thread to pull at through a connection I had, then I had to deal with your nasty attitude.
Haruomi: ...
Chisei: But, well! [chuckles] I always get what I want in the end. That's just the kinda guy I am~.
Haruomi: You certainly don't know when to quit.
Chisei: But that's just how much I had my heart set on you. It was a long battle, for sure. But finally you cracked and let me into the store.
Haruomi: ... it took ten days.

[flashback begins]

[sfx: crickets]
Chisei: [taking a drag of a cigarette] So today's another bust, huh.
[sfx: store shutters opening]
Haruomi: Oi.
Chisei: Huh?
Haruomi: Day after day you keep sitting outside the store from morning until night. What kind of harassment are you trying to pull here?
Chisei: Hey man, I'm just minding my own business and smoking a cigarette. Take a look, I'm not even leaving my cigarette butts around.
Haruomi: [annoyed tongue click]
Chisei: Oh, yeah. It's kind of a pain in the ass to keep coming all the way out here, so I think starting tomorrow I'll get a tent and just set up camp right here. How about that?
Haruomi: ...
Chisei: Just so you know. I'm not leaving until you hear me out.
Haruomi: ... ... [sigh] Get in here.
Chisei: Hah! Sweet~.

[sfx: running water, faucet being turned off, glass being set down]
Haruomi: So? What do you want to talk about?
Chisei: Tap water...?
Haruomi: If you got a problem with it then don't drink it.
Chisei: Well, at least you're being a little hospitable. [drinking the water, setting the glass down] So, I heard this store's been closed up for a while, but...
Haruomi: You got a problem with that?
Chisei: But despite that... there's not a speck of dust anywhere in this place. You the one cleaning it up?
Haruomi: ... get to the point.
Chisei: [sighs] Well, let me introduce myself, at least. Name's Kuzuryu Chisei. I used to be the star basketball player in the pro leagues. But now... [laughs] I'm a rapper.
Haruomi: And?
Chisei: You already know, don't you? Shura, I want you to make music, together with me.
Haruomi: And I already told you. There's no one named Shura here.
Chisei: Is he really gone, though?
Haruomi: ...
Chisei: Shura, I fell in love with your music. From the very first moment I heard it, I was hooked. It's the only thing that's ever made my life feel real.
Haruomi: How selfish.
Chisei: Sure is! But that's what falling in love with anything is like, isn't it?
Haruomi: ...
Chisei: I'll stand beside you. I know I've got the strength to do it. I won't let you regret it.
Haruomi: ... you need to leave.
Chisei: Huh?
Haruomi: You're all the same. And I keep telling all of you that I've quit. I'm done with music. That's final.
Chisei: Why?
Haruomi: [snorts]
Chisei: No, really. Why?
Haruomi: ...
Chisei: I don't give a shit what everyone else said. I'm the one who gets it. That beat is the beating of your heart. If it stops, then you die. That's what that sound is.
Haruomi: ...
Chisei: And that's the sound that I fell in love with. I've never felt this way about anything or anyone else before.
Haruomi: ... don't make it weird.
Chisei: I mean it. Shura, I can't imagine doing this with anyone but you. If I can't do it, then I'd rather be dead.
Haruomi: --!! [slamming hands on the table] Don't just talk about dying so fucking flippantly!!
Chisei: --!
Haruomi: [breathing heavily] ...
Chisei: ... sorry, my bad. But seriously, why'd you quit? Because right now, you look like a wreck. Like an empty shell that's moving around without a heartbeat.
Haruomi: ...! [opening his mouth to speak]
[sfx: door sliding open]
Man: Huh? I thought it was weird that you were open, but, am I interrupting something...?
Haruomi: You're not. We're finished here.
[sfx: footsteps, door closing]
Chisei: Who're you?
Man: Ah, me? [reaching into his pocket] Here you go, my company's card. If you're ever in trouble and need some help, by all means, feel free to contact us.
Chisei: ... so you're a loan shark, then.
Man: By no means. We're a perfectly above-board loan company. Right?
Haruomi: [sighs] ... here. This month's payment. Feel free to count it.
Man: Yes, thanks very much. [paper and money rustling] But honestly, I don't get why you don't just sell this old store. There's no point in leaving it sitting empty like this.
Haruomi: I have no intention to sell the store.
Man: Wasn't that what the old man was planning to do, though? You don't get much insurance payout from a suicide. If you used the proceeds from selling the store, you'd be able to clear out his debt and save yourself and everyone else a lot of trouble. And yet, for some reason, you insist on protecting this little run-down shop, hovering around it like you're watching over a grave. Well! Alright, that's this month's payment accounted for. ... [sigh] But I suppose if the old man was stupid enough to get tricked into shouldering his buddy's debt, I guess the stupid apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
Chisei: [standing up] Oi. [stepping closer] You'd best apologize for that. Right now.
Man: Hah?
Haruomi: You've done what you came to do. Now leave.
Man: ... well then! See you next month.
[sfx: footsteps, door opening and closing]
Haruomi: [sighs] Sorry to make you see all that.
Chisei: Nah, it's no problem. [sitting back down, sigh] ... so, what was that about your old man...?
Haruomi: It's exactly what you just heard.
Chisei: When'd he die?
Haruomi: Two years ago.
Chisei: Two years ago...? Then...
Haruomi: I may as well have killed my father. So I quit music.
Chisei: Ah? What's that supposed to mean?
Haruomi: ... [sigh] My mother and father started this shop together. But my mother passed away from illness before I was old enough to remember anything about her. I don't even remember what her face looked like.
Chisei: ...
Haruomi: So it was always just the two of us living together. But it wasn't as though the two of us were ever particularly close. He was the kind of person who was a devoted master of his craft, instead of being an affectionate person. But I'm hardly one to talk.
Chisei: Heh. Fathers and sons can be a lot alike no matter where you go, huh?
Haruomi: I didn't even know about the debt until the end of his life. I thought the reason that the store was struggling to stay open was that my father was just bad at running it. There were times that we argued about it. But no matter what I said to him, he never told me the truth.
Chisei: He probably didn't want to worry his son, huh?
Haruomi: Mm. But it was around that time that I discovered hiphop, and I immediately devoted myself to it. I became obsessed. There was always music playing inside my head, and nothing else mattered anymore. I just wanted to get better. I wanted to go to clubs and get my hands on better gear. All of my time was spent on music and part-time jobs; I'd come home in the middle of the night. And the entire time, my father never said a bad word about it to me. And so it just kept going on like that. We barely spoke to each other; there were days we didn't even see one another. And I thought there was nothing wrong with that. Nothing would ever change. My father would keep standing at the back of this restaurant, and I'd always be able to come back. ... that's what I thought, anyway. ... but then one night, I had the last real conversation I ever had with my father.

[flashback-within-a-flashback fades in over the sound of running water]

[sfx: dishes clattering, door opening and closing, footsteps]
Haruomi: Hey, why are you still up doing dishes? It's the middle of the night.
Haruomi's Father: Ah. Had some customers stay late today.
[sfx: faucet squeaking, Haruomi's father making sounds of exertion]
Haruomi: Don't push yourself too hard. Just let me do it. You're gonna hurt your back.
Haruomi's Father: Hmph. Not like it hasn't happened already. It's just part of the job. Hup. [moving a large pan]
Haruomi: ...
Haruomi's Father: ... so were you doing music again today?
Haruomi: Yup.
[sfx: footsteps, faucet squeaking on]
Haruomi's Father: So, just to put it on the record. You don't have to take over running this store.
Haruomi: ...?
Haruomi's Father: My plan is that... [setting aside a dish] This shop ends with me. You can follow whatever path it is you want to follow.
Haruomi: ... who'd want to take over this dead-end money pit of a store, anyway.
Haruomi's Father: ... that's right. [moving dishes] So, do you like music?
Haruomi: Is there a problem with that?
Haruomi's Father: No. I think it's a good thing.
[sfx: faucet squeaking off]
Haruomi's Father: Haruomi. Don't turn out like me.
Haruomi: ... what?
Haruomi's Father: You're different from me. You've got a strong will. The determination to see things through. I'm pretty useless when it comes to music, but I'm sure you've got a lot of talent. Your mother was a wonderful singer.
Haruomi: ... where's this coming from?
Haruomi's Father: Put your whole heart into what you love. Believe in yourself. And... be happy. ... that's all I wanted to say. [stepping away, before he stumbles] ...--!
Haruomi: [stepping in to support his father] --! Are you okay? Just let me do the r-- ... ... have you... lost weight...?
Haruomi's Father: Hmph. You're just imagining things. It's just because you're the one who's gotten bigger, that's all. Heh! Before I knew what was going on you've gone and become an adult. So let's focus on the more important things. You're probably hungry, right?
Haruomi: ... uh, yeah.
Haruomi's Father: Then I can make you up some fried rice.

[flashback-within-a-flashback ends]

Haruomi: And that was the last of it. My father died without another word. He didn't even leave behind a suicide note.
Chisei: That's...
Haruomi: I found out later that my father had been suffering from rapidly-worsening terminal cancer. Even if he hadn't killed himself, he would have only had about six months to live.
Chisei: Then why did he...?
Haruomi: If I had known my father was sick, I would have gotten him treatment, even if there had been no hope of recovery. Treatment costs money, and hospitalization costs even more. If that had happened, between taking care of the store and taking care of him, I wouldn't have had time for music. It's because he knew that that he committed suicide. ... [deep breath] My father died without leaving a note. He probably thought that if he made it look like he died on his own terms after getting into all that debt, then I would be able to abandon the shop and my father without a second thought.
Chisei: ...
Haruomi: ... he really was stupid. He hid everything from me and tried to do it all on his own... and then he said "do what you love"? "Be happy"? How the fuck am I supposed to do that!? ... There was something that was more important to me than music. And I only realized that once I lost it. And that's why I'm done doing music.
Chisei: ... I see. ... Okay. I get it.
Haruomi: ... if you get it, then go home.
Chisei: I really, truly get it now. [standing up] I get that you're a real fucking loser, aren't you?
Haruomi: Wh--?
Chisei: [gesturing around] Take a look around you. Do you really think this is your atonement? Cleaning a shop that never opens, and shutting yourself away inside it every day?
Haruomi: ...
Chisei:　In the end, you're just wallowing in self-pity and feeling sorry for yourself. Your old man wasn't the idiot. You are.
Haruomi: --!!
Chisei: Be honest: do you really think your old man would be happy to see you holed up in here? If that's how you're going to act, then what the fuck did he die for?! He told you to believe in yourself and be happy, didn't he!?
Haruomi: --! [grabbing Chisei and getting very in his face, breathing heavily] You don't fucking understand what you're talking about!!
Chisei: Of fucking course I don't!! But I know this for sure: you're running away. You're a goddamn coward.
Haruomi: You bastard--!
Chisei: Go on and hit me, if you think that'd make you feel any better.
Haruomi: --! [taking shuddering breaths, backing down]
Chisei: So you say you quit music? So then... [thumping Haruomi on the chest] What's that sound ringing in your chest right now?
Haruomi: --!
Chisei: That's Shura's sound. The sound you live for. The sound that electrified me. It's pounding this hard. And you're really going to let it die like this? Here?
Haruomi: ...! [shuddering breaths]
Chisei: There's no way in hell I'm gonna let that happen.
Haruomi: I don't need your permission.
Chisei: Yeah, you don't. But this is me being selfish. If I let you slip away here, I'll never be happy. I'd probably regret it for the rest of my life.
Haruomi: ... what are y--
Chisei: I'm talking about a once-in-a-generation gamble. And I'm telling you now, I'm gonna stake my life on it. So, come with me!
Haruomi: Hah?
Chisei: Just follow me.
[sfx: Chisei grabbing Haruomi and dragging him along]
Haruomi: --!! Oi! Where are you taking me!?
Chisei: You'll get it when we get there.
[sfx: Door sliding open and shut, crickets]

[timestamp: 22:30]