Chapter 202: Rebuild B-Komachi? (2-in-1, 8200 characters!) (Patreon)

"Ah, good work up there, Senior Ōtsuka."

The black-haired girl in the audience stood and bowed respectfully to the agency senior who had just come down from the stage.

Her name was Kirishima Sunako. Much like Ruby Hoshino, she was a young actress the agency had brought along to broaden her horizons and gain some experience.

But unlike Ruby, she wasn't here only to learn. She had a Like a Dragon audition of her own to get through, for one of the major female supporting roles.

It was just that the Fujiwara Kazuma audition was in the morning session and hers was in the afternoon. So she'd come early to watch and get used to the atmosphere of the audition hall.

Head bowed, she waited respectfully for her senior to sit, and only then did Kirishima Sunako breathe out and take her own seat again.

It couldn't be helped. She was a newcomer at the agency, low in the pecking order, and some basic respect was expected.

But… none of that mattered!

Her eyes lifted to the audition stage.

Number 9, Senior Ōtsuka, had already left it. Number 10 was next, and after that it should be…

"Minami Yuji of [Ichigo Pro], right?"

Her eyes were full of curiosity as she murmured the words softly.

That's right. Seniors, agencies, auditions, none of it mattered.

What mattered most was that Minami Yuji was also trying out for Fujiwara Kazuma.

She was extremely curious about this actor!

But it wasn't the curiosity of a fan toward a favorite actor. It was curiosity about Minami Yuji's acting, and about the man himself.

As for why she was so interested in Minami Yuji, the reason was simple enough…

"Senior Sakurajima…"

Her fingers gently pinched the cherry blossom sachet in her hand as she whispered.

Sakurajima Mai had given her this sachet three months ago, at an audition. It had also been Kirishima Sunako's very first audition.

Not everyone could be like Minami Yuji or Sakurajima Mai, ignoring every gaze and every bit of pressure. Most actors facing their first audition got so nervous they couldn't show their true ability.

Kirishima Sunako had been one of that majority.

She watched actor after actor walk into the audition room and come out again, some happy, some dejected.

Worry. Fear. Unease.

Those feelings began to well up in her chest, too.

She was standing there lost, doubting herself, when a voice rose beside her.

"Ah… you there."

It was a very gentle voice, soft and serene. Just hearing it, you could picture the mild personality of whoever was speaking.

And in an instant, that voice drew the restless Kirishima Sunako's gaze toward it.

Then she froze.

Standing before her, in casual clothes with a rabbit hairpin in her hair, was a black-haired girl.

Her features were delicate and refined, her face so small a boy could probably cover it with one hand. Her thick, glossy black hair was as deep and lovely as the night sky.

And if her hair was the night sky, then her fair face was the bright moon hidden beneath it, and the nape of her neck, glimpsed now and then through gaps in the hair, was a scattering of stars.

Her lustrous violet eyes, brimming with warmth, only shifted slightly.

And yet Kirishima Sunako felt, almost unbelievably, that her earlier restlessness and unease had vanished all at once.

Perhaps she'd noticed how nervous Sunako was. The far-too-beautiful girl in front of her spoke again.

"You're a newcomer here for this audition, right? You look a little pale."

"Ah… y-yes… yesh—!"

Halfway through, she clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes brimming with tears. She'd bitten her tongue!

Maybe her reaction was just too adorable. The black-haired girl in front of her laughed.

She had a lovely laugh. One fair hand tucked her black hair back behind her ear, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly, with an elegant gentleness in a smile that never showed her teeth.

"You don't need to be so nervous. Oh, right, take this."

She rummaged through the black shoulder bag at her side and finally placed something in Sunako's hand.

"This is…?"

Kirishima Sunako lowered her head and looked at her palm.

It was a sachet with a cherry blossom pattern.

"It's a charm I just bought outside. They say it calms the mind and soothes the nerves, but I bought a few too many."

As she spoke, she smiled playfully at her. "I hope it carries away your nerves."

She paused there, glanced at the time, and waved at Sunako. "I should be getting to my own audition soon."

"Um…"

Sunako watched the black-haired girl turn to leave, then looked at the cherry blossom sachet lying quietly in her palm.

Her mouth opened, and from somewhere she found the courage to jump straight to her feet.

"E-excuse me! Might I ask your name, Senior?"

The retreating footsteps stopped. The black-haired girl turned her head.

"Sakurajima."

"Huh?"

Kirishima Sunako was stunned for a moment.

"Sakurajima, Sakurajima! 'Sakura' like the cherry tree, 'jima' like island. I'm Sakurajima Mai."

Once the introduction was done, she smiled and waved at Sunako.

"Good luck with your audition, too."

That was her first meeting with Sakurajima Mai.

Maybe it was Sakurajima Mai's sudden appearance that soothed her. Or maybe the charm really worked.

Either way, as a newcomer, Kirishima Sunako actually won a major female supporting role in a TV drama.

Once she had it, the first thing she did was track down Sakurajima Mai, by then the female lead, and thank her.

That was how the two of them came to be acquainted.

And if you asked what Kirishima Sunako felt toward Sakurajima Mai, it was without a doubt admiration and longing.

She truly admired her!

She had watched Sakurajima Mai act in person. She'd never imagined that a girl only a year older than her could possess acting skills of that caliber.

The moment Mai appeared on camera, her serene, gentle performance effortlessly drew every eye to her.

So after only two months of working together, Kirishima Sunako had become Sakurajima Mai's genuine, devoted fangirl.

But something else puzzled her.

Girls their age were usually very interested in the latest trends, male idols, and romance. Yet whenever those topics came up, Sakurajima Mai would just smile faintly and steer the conversation elsewhere.

As if she didn't care about any of it.

That left Sunako a little baffled. After all, they were all young girls in the thick of adolescence. Wasn't it only natural to like handsome guys, romance and trends?

And that wasn't the only odd thing.

As the female lead, Sakurajima Mai was naturally excellent in character, too. On the film crew she was very kind to every male staff member, but that was as far as it went.

She paid no special attention to anyone and held no special regard for any one person.

Her kindness toward men was the evenhanded sort, and it plainly carried a certain distance.

Then that day arrived, and Sunako understood the reason behind all of it.

It had started as an ordinary day. After shooting wrapped, Kirishima Sunako was standing by the roadside waiting for the agency's car to pick her up.

To her surprise, her beloved Senior Sakurajima was standing by the road too, as if waiting for something.

Curious, Sunako went over and asked why.

After all, Sakurajima Mai was nothing like a nobody from a small agency like her. She was a genuinely renowned actress of the new generation, always chauffeured in a private car. She had no need to come out early and wait for a ride like Sunako.

But after hearing Mai's explanation, Sunako felt like she was about to explode.

Because this was what Mai said:

"I don't have a car picking me up today~"

"Huh?"

No car to pick her up?

Was this some kind of joke?

Sunako couldn't wrap her head around it, and she was furious on Mai's behalf.

Because this was Sakurajima Mai!

An actress who would count as the flagship talent at any other agency!

What on earth did that agency of hers mean by this? Were they looking down on her?!

Not sending a car for an actress like that.

But that still wasn't the part Sunako understood least.

What she truly couldn't understand was Mai's reaction.

Mai's slender brows eased apart and the corners of her mouth curled upward. Far from looking even slightly annoyed, she seemed almost… excited?

Kirishima Sunako froze.

She honestly couldn't work out why Sakurajima Mai would wear an expression like that. By all logic, shouldn't Mai be as angry as she was? Why did she look almost… giddy?

She really did look giddy. The toes of her high boots were tapping away, a clear sign of cheerfulness.

Sunako didn't get it.

She was about to ask, but in the very next moment she heard Sakurajima Mai wave at a motorcycle approaching from far off and call out:

"Yuji~"

Kirishima Sunako's mouth fell open.

Because she could barely imagine it. A voice that bright and gleeful, like a girl in the first flush of love, had come from the very Sakurajima Mai she so admired.

In all the time they'd worked together, a whole month by now, she had never once heard that voice from her.

The black motorcycle had clearly spotted Mai on the roadside. It sped up and pulled over right beside her.

But the moment the rider took off his helmet, Sunako went stiff.

Because the person before her was none other than Minami Yuji, the man who held the title of number one among the new-generation actors!

"Ichigo-san's tied up with other work and couldn't spare anyone, so I came to pick you up instead, Mai."

As he spoke, he fiddled with the buckle of his own helmet and held out the light pink helmet in his other hand to Mai.

That was awfully presumptuous of him.

When it came down to it, Senior Sakurajima cared a great deal about her image!

Even if you were the strongest male actor of the younger generation, squeezing onto one motorcycle with Senior Sakurajima would mean physical contact, wouldn't it?

Senior Sakurajima was always so careful about her distance from men. How could she possibly allow that kind of closeness with you?

Sunako frowned and was about to say a few words on Sakurajima Mai's behalf.

But what happened next left her dumbstruck.

"Mm!" Barely hesitating at all, Sakurajima Mai took the helmet.

The motion was light and quick. There wasn't a trace of her usual distance from men.

Wait… what?

What was going on here?

Eyes wide, Sunako could hardly believe what was unfolding in front of her.

She instinctively turned to look at Mai.

It was only a shift of her gaze. Yet every bit of confusion she'd carried all this time seemed to be answered at once.

She finally understood why Sakurajima Mai had never shown interest in trends, male idols or romance, and why Mai kept a gentle but careful distance from most men.

Ah… so that was it…

Looking at the expression on Sakurajima Mai's face.

It was the smile of the moon meeting the sun, one that seemed to make even the breeze drunk.

Sunako, who'd meant to speak up for her, fell silent.

She finally understood the reason behind everything.

It turned out Sakurajima Mai already had someone who earned full marks in her heart.

And with someone like that there, her heart had no room left for anyone else.

That was also Kirishima Sunako's first meeting with Minami Yuji.

No. Thinking back, it probably didn't even count as a meeting.

After all, Minami Yuji had only greeted her before taking Sakurajima Mai away.

But it was exactly that moment that made her curious about Minami Yuji.

What kind of person was he, to make her beloved Sakurajima Mai wear an expression like that?

And most importantly…

Did Minami Yuji have the ability, or rather the acting skill, to be worthy of her beloved Sakurajima Mai?

Some might say that, given Minami Yuji's current popularity, fame and fortune, the real question should be whether Sakurajima Mai was worthy of Minami Yuji.

But fans are inherently irrational. All the more so a fan like Kirishima Sunako, who had admired Sakurajima Mai for so long.

Others might say that if she wanted to see Minami Yuji's acting, couldn't Sunako just rent a few DVDs of his films and dramas and watch them at home? There was no need to go to such trouble.

To that, Kirishima Sunako would say plainly: that's far too naive!

Films? Drama discs?

How could those possibly match the directness of acting seen live at an audition?

After all, in a drama or film, even if one take isn't perfect, the director can ask for a second, a third… There's plenty of room for error.

Add in editing, background music, filters and so on, and what reaches the audience is naturally the most perfect angle and the most perfect scene.

Under those conditions, an actor's performance in a drama or film is naturally more than a notch above their usual level.

But an in-person audition is different.

A mistake is a mistake.

Every person, every scene, gets exactly one chance. There's no do-over.

So in Sunako's view, no actor at an in-person audition could possibly match the acting they showed in a film or drama.

That's right. No matter who stepped onto that stage, nobody could outdo what they'd done in their own films or dramas.

But…

"How is this possible?"

Her eyes rose in disbelief as Kirishima Sunako looked at the scene on the audition stage.

Yes… an actor can't deliver better acting than what they showed in their own films or dramas.

That was common knowledge in the industry, and perfectly ordinary common knowledge at that.

No matter the actor.

Without cameras, without editors, without background music, nobody could truly recreate the feel of a drama or film.

So what was being displayed right in front of her now?

"Why…?! Why does it have to be you!"

The voice trembled.

Even the hand gripping the pistol seemed to shake slightly.

Minami Yuji had gone up a moment ago.

And the scene he was performing now was the most classic one in the Like a Dragon script.

Fujiwara Kazuma, having discovered the truth that he'd actually been set up by his adoptive father, eyes brimming with hot tears, pointing a gun at the man's head and shouting his furious demand.

This scene was a required piece in the Fujiwara Kazuma audition, and the biggest twist in the whole film.

Adult actors had already performed it before him.

And they'd done really well, capturing Fujiwara Kazuma's bitter, unresigned feelings almost perfectly.

But…

That level of acting…

"It's not even in the same league as the acting I'm seeing now…"

Goosebumps rose over Kirishima Sunako's entire body.

Because there on the audition stage.

Minami Yuji's hand held the pistol firmly, aimed straight ahead.

He hadn't done what the others had, going straight to "eyes brimming with tears" and putting his crying skills on display as he demanded answers.

His lips parted, then closed.

He was simply standing there quietly.

Yet it gave the sense that he was straining.

Yes.

Straining to grip the pistol.

Straining to choke back a sob.

Even the veins in his throat bulged from the surge of emotion!

His eyes looked left first.

His head dropped, then lifted again, struggling to face forward.

It was the instinctive motion of a person who refuses to face what's happening in front of him.

Yes… Fujiwara Kazuma refused to accept everything unfolding before him.

To avenge his adoptive father.

He had killed his enemies with his own hands.

He had suffered the betrayal of countless brothers and friends.

He was covered in wounds.

And even so, limping, battered, when he finally reached the man behind it all and thought he could at last take his revenge,

he discovered that the man standing before him was his adoptive father, whom he'd long believed dead!

How could that not fill him with rage?!

"Why… why does it have to be you!!!"

The voice that had been calm moments earlier surged into a furious shout!

The sudden break in tone made every actor present flinch. Nobody dared breathe.

As if the flames on that stage would leap onto them the moment they made a sound!

Yes. Flames.

The final scene of Like a Dragon is born in rain and fire.

Black lines of rain pattered down.

The curtain of rain was so dense it seemed the heavens had been ripped open.

But it couldn't douse the fire rising in Fujiwara Kazuma's heart.

Nor could it douse the warehouse behind Fujiwara Kazuma, soaked in gasoline and roaring in flames, piled high with banned drugs.

The orange firelight lit his drenched face.

It lit the blood seeping steadily from the wound on his arm.

Fujiwara Kazuma's mouth opened, a thread of blood oozing from the corner.

And in the face of his demand,

the "adoptive father" before him (a staff member reading the lines) showed no intention of explaining.

He only spoke calmly: "Shoot. I taught you how."

The wrist gripping the pistol trembled violently at those words.

His mouth opened weakly.

Then his eyes closed.

But when he opened them again,

tears had already softened them.

Yet those tears were nothing like the previous actors'.

They didn't roll down his cheeks.

Nor did they flood his face the way the others' had.

The eyes he opened held only a thin sheen of tears.

But that thin sheen of tears moved hearts far more than the sobbing, emotion-baring crying scenes of every actor before him.

That surging emotion hit like a storm roaring beneath the waves!

Fujiwara Kazuma was a yakuza who lived by a code, and above all a man of flesh and blood.

He could beat a scumbag who borrowed money and never paid it back, then gambled on, half to death.

He could just as readily storm out of his own gang in fury because his adoptive father wanted to sell banned drugs on their turf.

He'd done nothing wrong, and he would never shed tears over wrongdoing.

Because in his eyes, that was the height of weakness.

The tears caught the firelight and never fell.

At this moment, nobody was talking about whether Minami Yuji was pre-cast anymore.

They could only stare in utter astonishment at the stage, where Fujiwara Kazuma limped forward, one hand clutching his arm, the other raising the pistol level at the target.

That pained, struggling figure made him look like a wounded wolf.

And in that pained, struggling state,

Fujiwara Kazuma pulled the trigger.

But… what on earth was happening?

This was clearly not the pier or warehouse of the Saijō-kai from the film.

There was clearly no gun smoke and no blood.

So why?

They clearly felt it.

The thick, gunsmoke-like smell the bullet brought as it left the barrel, and the coppery stench of blood that seemed to slam right into their nostrils!

Kirishima Sunako couldn't speak anymore.

She just stared blankly, head tilted up.

Because she truly couldn't understand.

How could a person's acting be this good?!

Even Senior Ōtsuka beside her, who'd been so disdainful a moment ago, had half risen from his seat in shock.

And Sunako understood, too.

She understood why Senior Sakurajima, who was usually so cold toward men, had shown that girlish side when she saw Minami Yuji.

Because, never mind anything else, his outstanding acting alone was enough to make Sakurajima Mai waver…

Everyone present had their eyes captured.

And what captured them was, without a doubt, the black-haired young man on stage, shining like a star.

But they weren't the only ones captivated.

Up on the stage, feeling Minami Yuji's acting right in front of him, Nakashima Tetsuya also couldn't snap out of it for a long while.

He'd been looking forward to Minami Yuji's audition from the start.

And he'd believed Minami Yuji's words, that the young man would bring him a surprise.

But who could have guessed it would be this much of a surprise?!

Superb!

Simply superb!

Nakashima Tetsuya could say so without any reservation.

If the previous actors' performances were answer sheets scoring between 80 and 90,

then what Minami Yuji had just shown him was unquestionably a perfect 100!

And what mattered most was that Minami Yuji's 100 was a 100 because the answer sheet only went up to 100!

That was the real gap!

To put it somewhat inappropriately,

even if a later actor handed in a perfect answer sheet too,

Nakashima Tetsuya figured he'd still end up choosing Minami Yuji.

Because the impression Minami Yuji had left on him was simply too strong.

That lone-wolf gaze, refusing to retreat even covered in wounds, instantly fleshed out his whole image of Fujiwara Kazuma in a heartbeat!

He even found himself softly applauding.

Down below, many of the actors, rivals though they were, heard his applause and instinctively raised their hands to clap too.

But the instant they started clapping, they snapped out of it. Wait a second. Isn't this guy my competition? Why am I applauding him?

They were dazed, not quite sure what their own applause meant.

No…

Maybe it wasn't that they didn't understand, but that they didn't want to understand…

They shook their heads and looked up at Minami Yuji on stage again.

Sighing inwardly…

Maybe… they just didn't want to admit that after struggling in the industry for so many years as adult actors,

they would someday find themselves cheering for someone else out of sheer instinct because their skills fell short…

And in that very gap,

down in the audience,

there was one more person whose gaze had been drawn to Minami Yuji.

A person who had, one might say, nothing at all to do with this audition…

Her pink eyes were full of light.

The hands she'd clasped in prayer had come completely undone.

She made no other movement.

She just gazed in a daze at Minami Yuji on the audition stage.

This clearly wasn't an idol concert or some other stage.

So why?

Yuji-nii… is like a star…

He's just like back then…

"Mom…"

Her lips parted and she murmured softly.

Yes.

The radiance Minami Yuji radiated.

It was exactly the same as her birth mother, Ai Hoshino's!

No… maybe even brighter than her mother's!

Because…

Ruby Hoshino instinctively turned her head and looked around.

The speculation and chatter that had been going around a moment ago had all vanished.

The actors present simply stared up at the center of the audition stage, where Minami Yuji stood, not blinking!

She finally understood why Minami Yuji didn't care about these people's malicious guesses.

She also understood why Saitou Kyoko, Aqua Hoshino and the rest wore the exact same expression as Minami Yuji, utterly unbothered by it all.

Probably because over the years, this had happened so often.

So often that they'd all grown used to it.

But in the end, Minami Yuji always used his superb, dazzling acting to crush every slander, defamation and rumor.

And yet…

"Yuji-nii… aren't you a little too dazzling?"

She pressed her cherry-pink lips together.

Thanks to Minami Yuji's influence, Aqua Hoshino hadn't restricted her from learning about the industry the way he had in the original storyline.

Because of that, Ruby Hoshino was far more composed than in the original work. She figured that with her looks, becoming a top idol would be no problem at all, so she'd never been in a hurry, thinking she'd find the right idol candidates first and then form B-Komachi… That seemed the safer choice.

But today…

Her thinking had changed completely.

Minami Yuji's light on that stage was simply too dazzling.

So dazzling that she was itching to move, a flicker of longing rising in her.

It made even Ruby Hoshino think: if she could stand on a stage too…

could she also win countless people's attention, like Minami Yuji and her mother?

I really want to be an idol!

I really want to be an idol, like Mom!

I really want to stand on that stage, like Yuji-nii and Aqua!

The thoughts were wildly jumbled, yet they took over her mind with incredible speed.

Her pink eyes lifted.

And within them, white stars seemed to light up.

…

"Good work, Yuji-nii."

"Mm… it went all right, I guess."

Smiling as he came out from backstage, Minami Yuji nodded to Aqua Hoshino. "You should be up soon, right, Aqua?"

"About now, yeah."

Under Minami Yuji's gaze, a faint smile surfaced on Aqua Hoshino's usually cold lips. "I still can't compare to you, Yuji-nii, but gaining the experience is worth it."

Yes, he could tell his acting didn't come anywhere close to touching Minami Yuji's. But gaining experience at a big event like this was still a good thing.

Minami Yuji had come out from backstage, and a batch of actors had already come down from the stage.

It really was time for Aqua to go prepare backstage.

Aqua Hoshino didn't hesitate. With a smile, he waved to Minami Yuji and turned toward the backstage area.

Minami Yuji watched him go.

Then he sat down and let out a long, comfortable breath.

He had to admit, this audition was truly outstanding.

The actors present were frighteningly good.

Still, he'd shown his own strength too.

If he did end up losing the role, Yuji figured the only reason would be age. Fujiwara Kazuma was 25 in the original story, while Minami Yuji was 16 this year, so his face would probably look too young for the part.

But more than whether he'd lose out over age,

Minami Yuji was curious about something else.

And that was…

What was going on with Ruby Hoshino?

Minami Yuji looked oddly at Ruby Hoshino beside him.

Normally at a time like this, wasn't she the noisiest one?

Why was she so quiet today?

Minami Yuji found it hard to make sense of.

But right then,

Ruby Hoshino suddenly lifted her head.

And said something even harder to make sense of.

What she said was:

"Yuji-nii, I want to rebuild B-Komachi. Is that okay?"

"Cough, cough, cough, cough—?"

Faced with Ruby Hoshino blurting that out so suddenly, Minami Yuji erupted into a coughing fit.

He stared at his silly adoptive sister in some disbelief.

"Rebuild B-Komachi?"

Rebuilding B-Komachi… that was fine, honestly. It was something they were going to do anyway.

But the problem was… did she have the right people lined up? And she wanted to rebuild it now?