You're the one that I like...
You don't have to give me an answer right away.
I just wanted to let you know...
...that there's somebody here who's in love with you.
Richie, you're stoppin' again...
Be quiet. I'm going to come back in here with a cool improv riff.
It don't mean a thing if you don't actually play.
Looks like you're havin' a good time, Sen-boy.
Mind if I sit in?
Brother Jun!
Oh, you're early!
Actually, I already mentioned this to Ri-chan's dad,
but I've got some good news...
Would you cats be up for playing jazz in front of an audience?
The bar I worked at here asked us to do a Christmas performance for 'em.
It's a gaijin bar for U.S. troops stationed here, so if we're gonna do this,
we'd better put some spunk into it.
Well? Wanna give it a shot?
Yes!
Yeah!
Good!
We got just one month before Christmas, so that doesn't leave us much time!
What'll we play?!
That reminds me, Sen. Isn't your birthday on Christmas?
Yeah. I'm almost 16!
We'd better do a decent performance.
It's been a while, so for starters, let's try playing together.
Outta sight! This'll be our first session as a quartet since summer vacation!
One, two, a one-two-three!
Come on, Richie, ain't you gonna play?
What's wrong, Kaoru-kun?
Once in a while, this guy just freezes up.
Kaoru-kun's got a classical background, so maybe he's shooting for perfection.
Don't think you need to do anything complicated at first.
All you really have to do is hit the keys.
That's plenty lively for an improvisation.
Remember how it felt when you jumped in and went wild
when we played during summer vacation.
You said it, Brother Jun! Right on!
Go for broke, Bill Evans!
Oh, he looks like 'im!
Never thought I'd meet Bill Evans in a place like this!
Now I think we can expect you to play great!
By the way, what were you doing the other day with Yurika-san?
Hah?
In the back of the art room.
Y-You saw that?
So are you two already, uh... having that kind of relationship?
What do ya mean?
Don't play dumb.
You can't tell me nothing happened when you were dressed like that!
Don't be a dope! She just asked me to model for her painting.
No! Tilt your head more!
Gaze at that twig lovingly!
I didn't get what it was about, but it was over before I knew it.
Oh, is that all?
Huh? Why am I so relieved?
Oh. That must be it...
Come to think of it, she told me to be her model every week from now on.
Huh. Sounds like there's hope for you yet.
What will you do next time...
...if she does something like that to you?
Why, you...! What the hell do you think you're doin'?!
Get back here, Richie!
Hey, who is that Nishimi guy, really?
Maybe the "secret boss"?
I heard your nephew got the top score in the final exam...
That's wonderful. And he's not just a prodigy, he can play the piano, too!
Yes, well, I don't like how he hasn't been getting home 'til late these days...
Oh, you worry too much!
After all, he's the only male heir in the Nishimi family.
I have to make sure he maintains his grades
so he can go to medical school or the like.
Dad... Hurry home, would you?
Even though I'm surrounded by people... I'm always alone here.
Christmas Sale
Furuya Musical Shop
Yamaha Pianos, Electones
That reminds me, Sen. Isn't your birthday on Christmas?
I don't see him buying a new pair for himself...
Maybe I'll get them for him, one jazz musician to another...
K-Kaoru-san?!
Ri-chan...
O-Oh my gosh! It looks like we both had the same idea.
Oh, no, this is...
Sentaro is a lucky guy.
Oh, I know! We'll each buy one stick and give them to him as a pair.
Let's do that, okay?
This is a strange development...
Maybe it's okay if things stay this way?
I wonder what Ri-chan thinks of me...
Are you okay? Do you have a cold?
No. Winter in Kyushu is pretty cold.
I wouldn't be surprised if it started to snow.
Oh, it's not that cold! It rarely snows here in December.
Look!
Kaoru-san, how did you know?!
This is amazing! Like in a movie! It's beautiful!
Oh. It melts right away.
This won't stick.
Look, Kaoru-san!
It's...
M-Merry Christmas...
Cut it out, Kota! You're gonna pay for that!
Ri'ko!
Who are you?!
How dare you make Ri'ko cry?!
It's Richie, from when we had watermelon!
Oh, what are you doin' here?
N-Nothing, especially...
Bro! He just made Ri'ko...
What about Ri'ko?
I-It's a misunderstanding.
He's the last person I wanted to see right now.
Bro, I have to pee...
Alright, how 'bout we all race home?
The winner gets to have the biggest piece of cake!
Ready? Go!
Wait!
Look at 'em go.
You wanna join us for cake too, Richie?
Of course not.
Oh yeah, your family is rich.
Bet you have a fancy cake waitin' for you at home.
Oh, shut up.
Somebody who takes being surrounded with a loving family for granted
will never understand that there are people who live in a house
but have no place in it!
Am I jealous of him?
Because he has the thing I wish for more than anything, but can never have?
Go home!
Your family's waiting for you, aren't they?!
When I'm around you, it only makes me feel more miserable!
Hey! Max Roach!
These are some really nice sticks.
Thank Ri-chan. I just laid out half the money for them.
Oh, so one's from Ri'ko and one's from you, huh?
That's pretty clever.
Wha...?!
Come with me!
What?!
Just do it!
No! Let go of me!
Ow! What are you doing?!
Hurry up!
Ow!
Damn it...
W-What?
Ri-chan...
Why is that kid next to Ri-chan in all the photos?
It's easy to tell when you see me as a little kid, right?
That I got mixed blood...
Richie, I'm one of those that ain't got a place in the house, too.
Ever since I was born...
Hey, America!
Can't you speak English?!
Don't look!
Sentaro! Mother! Aren't Yasuko's things in that box?!
I don't care, she's no daughter of mine!
Seducing an enemy soldier, bearing his child, and in the end,
abandoning her shame here before running away!
I don't remember giving birth to a daughter like that!
What's wrong, Sentaro? Where's Grandma?
So you didn't see anything either, huh, kid?
Sentaro, this is apparently a memento
your mother left behind when she went away.
Sentaro, the rosary isn't a necklace.
Take it off.
You're always wearin' this thing.
Let me borrow it a minute.
Don't touch it!
Hey, that's him. Kawabuchi, the kid who went nuts yesterday...
Sentaro! You won't have any friends left if you keep getting into fights!
I didn't have any to begin with.
My dad lost his job around then and stayed home gettin' drunk every day.
Couldn't even look me in the eye no more.
Eventually, though, he found a job in another prefecture,
said he was gonna live an' work there for a while.
I thought it was my fault...
He's still workin' there now, hasn't come back home in all these years.
It's fun at home, never a dull moment,
but once in a while, I start thinkin'...
...if it's really okay for me to be there.
I said too much...
I'm mortified...
I was so convinced this guy had it all...
Those things I yelled at him...
It's like we're children playing around on an organ...
Sentaro!
Yeah... What is it, Kaoru?
Let's practice some more. Maybe even every day, 'til our gig...
Dummy! That goes without sayin'!
We gotta knock the socks off them Americans!
I get it. This is the guy that Ri-chan loves...
My love feels so petty in comparison...
Since then, we put our all into every day's session.
Time flew and before we knew it, the day had come...
Our first time on stage...
Excuse me...
Foreign soldiers gather to drink here.
It's no place for a young lady like you.
I've come to listen to jazz. I was invited by a friend.
Oh, pardon me. You're a respectable customer.
After you, young lady...
Stop calling me "young lady". It feels like you're mocking me.
Yurika-san...
Ritsuko-chan, long time no see.
Alright, just play like we practiced at first,
but feel free to go crazy with it once you get in the groove.
Let's hang loose and have fun.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Mukae Tsutomu Quartet.
One, two, one-two-three-four...
What's wrong with him?
He's stiff...
Is it because Yurika-san's watching?
Wake up!
Pipe down already!
Hey, stop! Stop it, already!
I can't stand that coon music jazz!
It sounds like a jumble of noise!
At least play something white!
What's he sayin', Richie?
He says he doesn't like black jazz, so we should play white jazz.
Huh? What kinda segregation is that?!
What are you tryin' to say, old man?!
Don't do it, Sen-boy! Suck it in!
You can't get through to a drunk like that. Just ignore him.
Hmph. I can't play like this!
Kaoru-kun...
Can you play that one song?
"But Not for Me".
Oh... I think so.
At this rate, the party's gonna end on a sour note.
But maybe we can at least lighten up the mood.
Just the two of us?
Don't worry. It'll just be like we're playing for fun.
They're writing songs of love, but not for me.
A lucky star's above, but not for me.
With love to lead the way,
I've found more clouds of gray
than any Russian play could guarantee.
Brother Jun is amazing...
I can understand why Sentaro gets so excited every time he comes back to town.
It's only natural to admire him...
Anyway, Brother Jun really surprised me!
You're the hero of the night, Brother Jun!
Oh, Brother Jun, pretending you don't know what I'm talking about!
Damn it! So frustrating!
Thanks to that jerk cuttin' in,
I didn't get to play even half of what we practiced!
But it was a good experience.
The unexpected is really what makes jazz fun, isn't it?
Listen to you, soundin' off like an expert!
Cut it out!
Am I buggin' you?!
Um, young la... I mean...
Yurika.
Yurika, huh?
What shall I call you?
That's right. Sometimes life is like jazz,
and goes in an unexpected direction...