This is an actual summary of the play, which means there are spoilers! Don’t read if you don’t want to be spoiled. It is not everything because, like, my memory is not that flawless but it is basic plot outline and key lines and stuff like that :D I know a few people had asked for it sooooo. Yes.

Gonzo: Endo Yuya, Usui Masahiro

Shion: Yanagishita Tomo, Jinnai Sho

Toru: Araki Hirofumi, Hashimoto Taito

Ruben: Seto Koji, Akutsu Shintaro

The story starts off with the boys at the age of 29. Shion is on the cliff waiting for the others to arrive. Gonzo is the first to get there and there is much banter and happiness from Shion, but Gonzo is clearly not excited to be there. We learn that Shion is married and happy and Gonzo is considering going to America. Basically for reasons. Gonzo also says he came because he thought that Shion had some information about “that guy” but, it turns out, Shion just made a surprise for them. Shion asks Gonzo to stay at some point but Gonzo says he is leaving before he has to see his parents. Shion says “yeah, you can chose your friends but you can’t choose your parents.” to which Gonzo replies that ‘sometimes you can’t even choose your friends’.

Toru shows up somewhere along here and we continue with the chatting and catching up. Eventually Shion heads over to the elementary school to set up his surprise. Gonzo and Toru talk for a few minutes and Toru asks Gonzo if he “seriously still belives Ruben is alive?” Gonzo doesn’t respond, just pats him on the shoulder and heads toward the school.

Scene cuts to them being 9 years old and racing on the cliff edges. Gonzo wins and is first to get there. Shion has more trouble and Toru constantly teases him for being fat. They banter, as 9 year olds do, and Ruben slowly follows them and sits down on the edge of the cliff, outside of their circle.  

Gonzo explains they are going to make a bet for 500 WHOLE YEN OH MY GOD because they are going to make up words and then who’s ever word gets put in the dictionary first will get the money. The boys make up words, and tell Ruben he can join in too. Ruben is horribly awkward. This is important only because they talk about the words later on and no one can ever remember who made up which one. But so they are talking to Ruben and a few things get pointed out: one is that Ruben never smiles. They try to make him laugh but can’t. Ruben tells them it’s his birthday. They all freak out and give him presents (30 yen, a trading card, that sort of thing). They also discuss how Ruben has no tv in his house (SHOCK) and how he writes his own stories and won an award for one of them. There is so more talking and etc (Ruben lives with his father, he doesn’t know where his mother is, etc) but then Gonzo makes Ruben tell them the story he wrote. 

The story is told by Ruben, who has the longest monologues, good grief. Really short version! There is a king who is super rich and everything he owns is made of gold but, despite all of the gold, he is very lonely. One day he sees a young girl dancing and collecting flowers who is not wearing even one piece of gold, which startles him. He asks a Priest who she is and why she is so sad. The Priest explains that her father is a crazy butcher and the girl’s mother loved to dance and sing. The father killed the mother, cut her into pieces, aaaaand turned her into sausage. (side note. what the fuck) So, since then, the girl has not laughed once. The king is like AIIGHT IMMA MARRY HER and he does. So they are happily married but then, for her birthday, he can’t decide what to get her. He eventually gets her a gold bracelet. Because it fits her so well he gets her gold everything after that (shoes, dress, crown, etc) until she is covered in gold. The girl tells the king she thinks she has changed and he is just like YES YOU BELONG HERE NOW! MORE GOLD! after this the girl goes to sing by the lake, like she use to.

BUT! She is now weighed down in gold so she sinks and the harder she tries to escape the more she sinks. Eventually she drowns and the King is upset and puts the country into a mourning period and throws out all the gold into the sea. He then, to make a memory of his wife, asks his magician to create a ceiling (sorry, i forget— coffin or ceiling or something) filled with flowers. So first the townspeople are like OH MY GOD IT’S SO PRETTY but then the girl’s father (crazy butcher) manages to convince them that the King killed his daughter and so they start throwing rocks to break the sky. Eventually they do and all these flowers start falling down. Everyone has never seen anything so pretty so they start dancing and singing. The butcher repents for his crimes etc etc. But eventually all the flower petals fall to the ground and the peasants sink off stage. The story ends with Ruben saying that one seed also falls to the ground, unnoticed by anyone, and who knows if it will grow roots. Flashback to reality with the boys listening to the story and being amazed by it. They ask Ruben if the seed grew roots and he tells them he doesn’t know. 

Gonzo sends Shion and Toru (who is much less happy about Gonzo staying alone with Ruben) home and hangs out alone with Ruben. We learn that Ruben’s dad is a ventriloquist and that he has a dummy named Hugo. Ruben hates Hugo because his dad loves Hugo more than him. Ruben also says that for his birthday his father is going to give him a special show with Hugo, and that his father said that Ruben should be happy because before many people paid money to see Hugo perform but Ruben is not happy at all. Gonzo tells Ruben to go steal Hugo and that they will go to the place in the elementary school where ghosts come out and hang about. Ruben seems unsure but Gonzo convinces him. They head over the cliffs.

We cut to a scene of Shion having a nightmare of being chased by the wizard and crazy butcher from Ruben’s story.

Next scene involves the boys being 19. Gonzo and Toru come running over the cliff, drinking beers and generally being ridiculous. Toru has a job now and Gonzo is attending college. They lost Shion, as they were being chased by another group of guys, and briefly hope that he is okay before they laugh at his misfortune. Gonzo mentioned that he slept with Shion’s girlfriend last year. Toru says that he slept with her much more recently and Gonzo gets offended, saying that Shion and her are engaged now. It’s not okay anymore. Toru ignores this and says that the girl is too good for Shion anyway. 

They start to talk about the band and Toru says that Gonzo needs to tell Ruben he can’t be part of it anymore. Gonzo seems unwilling to do this but Toru mentions how they like different music and that, actually, he never really liked Ruben so whatever. Toru then starts to convince Gonzo that the band is really just about them and that they are the most important. He tells Gonzo once they sign a contract they can just find other members. Gonzo finally agrees and Toru kisses him to make a secret agreement between them. Toru is really manipulative, since he was a child, and wants to be closer to Gonzo than anyone else.  There is more talk of heading to work tomorrow and all of that and then Shion shows up.

Shion is upset that they left him and they banter about this for awhile. Shion says that he met Ruben in the road and fired him from the band. Just like point blank, don’t come to rehearsals anymore and all this stuff. Gonzo is appalled. Toru asks what Ruben said. Shion says that Ruben was just pretty normal and said that he kinda figured that anyway and was going to join another band. They talk about Ruben some and it is mentioned that Ruben has recently gone a bit beserk. There is a discussion about how Ruben got really into the police records, saying that getting into them was the only way to be remembered by anyone in this town. I forget the exact order of things here but Gonzo didn’t know any of this (much to his dismay) and Ruben actually got in trouble with the police, on purpose, but it didn’t make the news. Ruben was discussing setting fire to the elementary school as well. Hearing this Gonzo bolts for the cliff face to run, assumably to find Ruben. Shion and Toru don’t believe that Ruben would seriously do something like that and are talking to each other but then we hear this bang and the back of the stage glows with red light. Toru, who is on top of the cliff, starts going “seriously?! seriously?!” and he runs off, followed closely by Shion who is screaming “it’s burning!”

Almost immediately after they leave a guitar case gets thrown onto the cliff, followed by Ruben who is smoking or drinking (depending on the stage). He takes off his jacket, wanders around, gives the finger to the town behind him, turns and smiles at the audience, and then fucking swan dives into nothingness. 

End act one.

it’s pretty traumatic.

Open act two.

Gonzo is sitting on the edge of the cliff face, in a suit, staring out into the sea (audience) despondantly. Shion climbs over the edge, also in a suit, carrying a bag from the conbini. He sneaks up on Gonzo and pretends to push him, but really presses him back onto the cliff. Gonzo flips out. Like seriously flips out at him and Shion apologizes for awhile. Shion then offers him sushi, which Gonzo refuses, and then Shion says 

“it was a nice funeral, wasn’t it?”

Gonzo responds that you can’t have a funeral for someone who isn’t dead. Shion says that everyone thinks Ruben is dead. There is some talk where Shion says that he thinks Ruben is dead and Gonzo refuses to admit it, saying that Ruben is going to jump out and be like GOT YOU.  Toru eventually turns up and they talk about what a nice funeral it was again. Toru says he got asked what music Ruben liked by the funeral director and such and he picked Clapton because he didn’t know what else to say, even though Ruben might not have even liked Clapton. Gonzo is pissed that no one asked him about Ruben, because he believes that he knew Ruben best of all. The point out that Ruben use to cut himself/his body, but Gonzo says that Ruben was just imitating a punk band and there was nothing behind it. There is more talk and then Toru says that everybody wants their band to do a set, seeing as how Ruben was part of it. 

Gonzo says absolutely not and that the band is dissolved and he quits. He leaves after this and the other two boys talk briefly before Shion goes to get his instruments leaving Toru alone on the stage. 

We now flashback to 9 year old Ruben and Gonzo. Ruben has stolen Hugo and he and Gonzo are breaking into the elementary school to see the ghosts. Gonzo pretends to not be scared but makes Ruben and Hugo go in first. There is brief talk about how there are no ghosts (said by Gonzo), but then Ruben says there are and freaks Gonzo out. He uses this periodically through the scene to freak Gonzo out.  Ruben explains that his Dad doesn’t let them have a tv because once Hugo and his dad were famous and were going to be on a tv show but Hugo broke during the live broadcast. 

Ruben explains how to use Hugo to Gonzo and Gonzo makes him say all sort of bad words. Then they are talking about ghosts again and Ruben says:

“If I die will you wait for me to come back as a ghost? You don’t have to be afraid, I will be a good ghost but…therefore…let’s be friends.”

Totally not creepy.

But he can’t quite say friends so he has to ask Gonzo again and Gonzo is like OKAY and then launches into this whole story that Ruben needs to tell everyone if Gonzo dies first with ghosts and shooting and him trying to protect people and then he eventually dies. It’s pretty 9 year old story level so w/e.

Then Gonzo picks up Hugo again and makes him start talking to Ruben. Eventually Hugo starts berating Ruben for breaking into the school and telling him that he’s a good for nothing and not going to amount for anything because he’s a bad kid. Gonzo clearly doesn’t realize that what he is saying as Hugo is affecting Ruben but then Ruben starts flipping out. He tears the dummy to shreds and is screaming and, basically, having a manic break. It’s really disturbing. Gonzo tries to calm him down and they run away because Ruben’s screams have attracted people, but Ruben doesn’t stop screaming. 

Now we flip back to them being 29. Shion is arranging chairs for best viewing of the thing he has made (which is covered by a cloth) and eventually he tells the other boys to come in. Gonzo is not happy (he hasn’t been to the school since “the incident” which is assumably it getting SET ON FIRE OKAY) and Toru complains that it’s chilly.

Shion goes to turn on the heat and Toru tells Gonzo that Shion is trying as hard as he can so to just go with the flow. We also learn that Toru is still sleeping with Shion’s wife (you. bastard.). Shion comes back in and we learn they are all here to honor Ruben’s memory. 

This starts with speeches. Toru explains that his job is working for a company that makes cell phone novels and that, after Ruben killed himself, there was a guitar case with letters to all of them and all of Ruben’s stories. Toru thought that the stories were really good and so snuck a few of them into the cell phone novels to see if there was interest. Of course there was, and the boys have been getting money for it, and now there has been contact about publishing some of the novels. 

Shion says that he got married, has a good house, a good job and that, unfortunately, his father passed away two years ago. My memory of what happens when here gets a little bit hazy but there is some talking and some discussion and then it is decided that, before Shion’s surprise, they will read one of Ruben’s stories.  Gonzo requests the magnet one. Toru starts reading and we fade into Ruben, who restarts the story. 

The magnet story goes, briefly, like this. Aiight, people have control of objects but they decide, one day, that objects are too full of themselves to they are going to stop using things. Of course then all the people die because you need things. At first the objects are really happy and dancing and running about because, in a world ruled by objects, everything works perfectly. Each thing has a specific use and a specific role to play in the world. Eventually the objects tire of this and then they slowly start to become like humans. They fall in love, get married, have tv shows, have kids, etc etc. The only unhappy objects are magnets. At the start, they were happy and with the other objects but now they can’t mix or mingle because things stick to them and no one wants them around. They leave the village and walk for ages and ages until they get to this town on the sea. They decide to create a village where they can live happily together. Unfortunately they are magnets so they can’t get near each other without repelling each other. They can’t touch or kiss or hold each other. Their village falls into panic. The Old Magnet (basically an elder) shows up and reminds them that they bonded things and humans together but it is their destiny to live apart and be alone.

One by one the magnets runs off sadly except for a boy magnet who is in love with a girl magnet. The boy and girl magnet try to get close to each other but they can’t. Eventually the girl runs off and the boy climbs to the top of the cliff, exchanging places with Ruben who comes down to the front of the stage. The magnet realizes that the only way for him to be close to the girl he loves is to break himself. The harder he tries to get close to her the harder he is repelled but, if he is broken, he can’t push people away or stick them to him anymore. To stop being lonely he has to lose his power as a magnet. Ruben’s voice is unbalanced at this point and he takes off his jacket and shirt and we see the cuts mentioned earlier. They mimic each other and swan dive off opposite ends of the stage.

I cry.

We flip back to the present where the three 29 year olds are talking. They get in this HUGE fight. Toru and Gonzo are screaming at each other. Gonzo is insistent that there is no way that Ruben could have written those stories when he was 9 and that something is wrong with all of this. He also refuses to admit Ruben is dead, saying Ruben probably just ran away from his abusive father because he couldn’t take it anymore. Toru keeps telling Gonzo that there is no way Ruben could have gotten those stories from anywhere else (no tv, his father only came out of his room to hit Ruben) and that Gonzo needs to wake up and face reality and accept that he was always jealous of Ruben and that Ruben killed himself.

Shion announces that his wife is pregnant, but she doesn’t want the baby. Shion is really excited and really happy (they have money, stable jobs, a home, they love each other) but she won’t stop crying. He said he was told that sometimes this happens, because of hormone unbalance, and he should leave her alone for now.

Gonzo tells Toru to tell Shion, assumably that the baby is probably Toru’s which is why Shion’s wife is upset. 

Toru lies to Shion and says Gonzo is talking about the stories that Ruben wrote again. The fight breaks out again and Gonzo threatens to leave but Shion drags him back saying that he hasn’t told his news yet.

His news is that “his word” (from the bet when they were 9) has finally gotten into the dictionary. It’s not his word, it’s Toru’s but no one remembers. Gonzo freaks out and is like “I don’t give a shit. You want your 500 yen. Fucking congrats.” and throws the coin at him.

Shion stares at it for a little while and then tells Gonzo that he’s a horrible person. He says he’s going to go home and to forget his surprise, but now Gonzo is freaking out and says they need to see Shion’s suprise and how Shion is stupid and it’s probably just some dumb machine that Shion called “the ruben” or something and everyone was supposed to be all touched.

He goes and turns it on, despite Shion’s protests, and at first nothing happens.

Then it starts to rain flower petals. Just like in Ruben’s story that he told them the first time they all met. It rains flower petals. The staging here is really cool so it is literally pouring flower petals on the boys. Gonzo falls to his knees. Ruben appears at the top of the cliff and recites the last bit of his story about how eventually all the flower petals stop and there is nothing left to fall, just the pretty things on the ground. The seed, unnoticed by anyone, falls to the ground but nobody, not even the seed, knows if it will be able to sprout roots. the lights fade to darkness.

end of the play.