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FIC: Comeback, Part 1
Title: Comeback, Part 1
Rating: R overall, more for language than anything else
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Miyasaka, a bit of Kikuchi/Onozuka
Word count: ~2,100
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities (Which was written after this story, but chronologically takes place shortly before "Comeback".)
Summary: Kikuchi attempts to re-start his career after being forced to step down from Katou's movie in Book 2.
A note on Japanese terms: "Geinokai" is the word for the entertainment industry in Japanese. I guess we would say "show business" or "showbiz" in English, but it sounded a little awkward, so I stuck with the Japanese term. Names are given in the Japanese order with the family name first and given name second.
***
Kikuchi's big comeback was over before it had really begun, and he had no one to blame but himself. "It's my own damn fault," he sighed. If he had managed to swallow his pride, if he hadn't pulled that stupid stunt with Iwaki...well, no point in crying over spilled milk, as the Americans liked to say.
But he wasn't going to go running off to the States with his tail between his legs this time. As he had told Katou and Iwaki, show business had changed...or maybe he had been a coward. If he had stayed and fought, maybe he could have won acceptance ten years ago.
Besides, although he'd earned a reputation as a good actor in the U.S., the number of parts available for an Asian actor were extremely limited, and they were mainly shallow stereotypes: martial arts expert, ninja, yakuza or Chinese mafia gang member, and for women, geisha or dragon lady. Occasionally, a good part would come up in an historical drama--Kikuchi had played a kamikaze pilot, and also a Chinese emperor. (He was Japanese, of course, but most Westerners couldn't tell the difference.) And now there was the more recent stereotype of the computer geek. It was extremely rare for an Asian actor to be considered for a role that was not specifically written as Asian--for example, the generic white cop or F.B.I. agent.
Kikuchi had won critical acclaim in the U.S., but his roles had been mainly supporting ones; he could probably count on one hand the number of big Hollywood films that had featured an Asian leading man. He had starred in a couple of indie movies put together by fellow Asian-American actors who had gotten tired of waiting for good roles to come their way, and had decided to write their own. They had gotten good reviews, but not much of a box office, since they had played in only a few art-house theaters, and had sold a modest but hardly record-breaking number of dvds.
He was making a decent living, but he was probably never going to be a star in the U.S. He was tired of playing bit parts and supporting roles; he wanted the kind of success he'd had during his peak in Japan. But more than fame and glory, he wanted a good, juicy role that he could sink his teeth into, and chances of getting that were much better here than in the U.S.
At least until he'd offended the current darlings of the geinokai. The movie company had allowed him to save face (and incidentally, avoid a scandal for themselves) by releasing an official statement that they had mutually decided to part ways over "creative differences". However, people in the industry would gossip, and even if the truth didn't leak out, they would know that an actor didn't walk away from a film in progress unless something had gone wrong, and he would probably gain a reputation as a troublemaker, someone undependable.
Essentially, he'd have to start his career over from scratch, but so what--he'd done it before when he'd rebuilt his career in a foreign country, and he could do it again. He wasn't about to let those two upstart porn stars beat him, especially that little punk Katou.
Although Katou was sort of cute, in a puppy-like way. Kikuchi suddenly grinned. The puppy analogy was particularly apt--he laughed again as he recalled the way that Katou had gone all possessive over Iwaki, like a dog pissing to mark its territory.
"Maybe I really should've done Iwaki, after all," he chuckled to himself.
***
As he'd predicted, Kikuchi was unofficially blacklisted by the major movie companies. And he was temporarily besieged by reporters who wanted to know why he'd left the film and if it had something to do with a gay love triangle: had Iwaki objected because he'd gotten a little too close to his co-star? Or was it maybe the other way around? He'd been seen leaving the party with Iwaki, after all.
Kikuchi just smiled sweetly in response and stuck to the "creative differences" story, and when there was no sign of trouble between the two blissful gay lovers, the reporters eventually got bored. Conveniently, a popular singer got arrested for drug possession a couple of weeks after Kikuchi got fired, and the sharks moved on to fresher blood.
Kikuchi idled away his time for about a month, visiting family and old friends, taking a trip to an onsen, and just generally enjoying the pleasure of being back in his homeland: being able to speak Japanese, for one thing. After spending the better of part of a decade in the U.S., he was fluent in English, but of course it didn't come as naturally as thinking and speaking in his native language, and every now and then, he would still have to pause to mentally translate an unfamiliar word or phrase. And Japanese restaurants in the U.S. catered to American tastes, so it wasn't quite the same as eating real Japanese food. That was one thing he hadn't lied about when he'd spirited Iwaki away to that secluded restaurant--he really had missed the food here.
He tried not to worry too much about the lack of job offers, although his manager in the States was urging him to come back and resume his career there. Kikuchi had invested his money wisely, and while he wasn't a millionaire, he could afford to take an extended vacation.
And then he got lucky. A young up-and-coming director named Kitamura asked Kikuchi to co-star in his new movie. It was an indie film with a limited budget, but Kitamura had gained a cult following with his previous films, horror and action flicks with an artsy, intelligent flair. It was the general consensus in the industry that he was destined for greater things.
"You're not worried about my reputation?" Kikuchi asked.
"Are you planning to pick a fight with your new co-star?" Kitamura asked calmly.
"No," Kikuchi replied with a grin. "I'll be a good boy this time."
"Then it's fine," Kitamura said, looking unconcerned. "I'm a fan of yours, and I don't have to suck up to the big studios, so I'm willing to take the risk. Actually, it's all worked out rather well for me--if you hadn't left Katou's film, you wouldn't be available for mine." The director smiled slyly. "And a star of your caliber probably wouldn't be willing to accept a lower salary for a small film like mine if you hadn't been blacklisted, right?"
"I think we'll get along fine, Director," Kikuchi laughed as he held out his hand. Kitamura grinned and shook it firmly.
Kitamura's project was a sci-fi film about a war started between Earth and an alien race over a simple misunderstanding; it was intended to be an allegory about prejudice and tolerance with the alien conflict as a metaphor for racism. Kikuchi's role was that of the alien commander. Personally, he thought it was just an action flick with a message slapped over it to give it a little more grandeur, but the critics ate it up, and more importantly, so did the audiences--"Future Wars" turned out to be a big hit, and it put Kikuchi back in the limelight.
The next project he was offered was a role on a TV drama; in his movie star heyday, he probably would have passed on it, but he couldn't afford to be too picky these days. The drama was about a young gang member who decided to go straight after falling in love with a sheltered, upper-class girl. Her family was naturally opposed to the romance, and the hero's old gang was trying to pull him back into the yakuza. Kikuchi played the gang leader; it was only a supporting role, but it was a substantial and interesting one. He was ruthless and amoral, which was always fun to play, but he was also loyal and generous to the people he cared about--the sort of guy who would commit robbery and murder without blinking an eye, but who would risk his life to save a friend.
The director decided to play off Kikuchi's old scandal and alter the script a bit to make the gang leader gay. Kikuchi had reservations about the changes, and argued against them at first, but in the end, he was pleased with the result. They didn't try to make his character campy or effeminate; he remained rugged and masculine, and they added a scene where he beat up a couple of gang members who thought a fairy would be a pushover.
The director also altered a scene where the gang leader was conducting business in a hostess bar, changing the setting to a host club. It was certainly no hardship for Kikuchi to be waited on by a bevy of beautiful boys, and he and the actor playing the business partner enjoyed playing off the new dynamic of the scene, with the gang leader taking a mischievous pleasure in the business partner's discomfort.
However, the gang leader's relationship with the hero remained the same--a platonic big brother/younger brother sort of love, which was fine with Kikuchi. He didn't want to turn the show into a gay farce, or market his sexuality the way that Iwaki and Katou had.
The young hero was played by an actor named Miyasaka, who had the appropriate punk-kid look and attitude, which seemed to be natural rather than cultivated. He was brash and open and friendly with the rest of the cast and crew, but seemed hesitant and reserved around Kikuchi when they weren't filming. Kikuchi didn't let it bother him; he assumed that the kid was probably nervous about being around a gay man, and was maybe afraid that Kikuchi might hit on him--as if! Kikuchi snorted--half an expression of amusement, and half of disgust. Straight men were so vain--they assumed that every gay guy must want their ass. Why did they think that they were irresistible to all gay men when they weren't irresistible to all women? Of course, to be fair, some of them did think that they were God's gift to women.
Well, Miyasaka didn't have to worry; the kid wasn't really his type. Although he was pretty enough, and Kikuchi probably wouldn't turn him down if he offered himself, but he didn't intend to proposition the kid. He thought about being blunt and reassuring Miyasaka that his ass was safe, but decided it would be more fun to let the kid squirm.
Despite the slight tension between himself and Miyasaka, filming was completed without a hitch, and the show did well, both with the critics and in the ratings. On the last day of filming, the director congratulated Kikuchi and thanked him for all his hard work. Kikuchi did the same, adding, "Thank you for taking a chance on me in spite of the rumors."
"Well, to be honest, I had some reservations at first," the director admitted. "But Iwaki-san assured me that there was no substance to the rumors and that you were a dedicated professional."
"Eh?!" Kikuchi exclaimed, startled. "Iwaki said that?"
"Yes," the director replied with a smile. "You didn't know that I worked with him on 'Inside Report'?"
"I knew that you had worked with him, but I didn't expect him to defend me," a flustered Kikuchi said, trying to regain his composure. "I don't know him very well, after all. I've only met him briefly a couple of times."
"It seems that he admires your work very much," the director said. "I'm glad that I listened to his advice--it was an honor working with you, Kikuchi-san."
"Ah...likewise," Kikuchi replied. They bowed politely to each other, and the director moved on to thank the rest of the cast and crew.
"Iwaki, you son of a bitch," Kikuchi muttered to himself. Where the hell did he get off being so noble and forgiving? Then Kikuchi smiled and shook his head; those two never ceased to amaze him. Maybe it would be fun to work with them someday, after all...although that would be a cold day in hell as far as Katou was concerned. But maybe Iwaki could convince his lover to go along with it...
Kikuchi threw back his head and laughed out loud, then went to join the wrap-up party.
Part 2
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I'm just dropping a note to say that I think this is some awesome writing.I can't wait to go on to the other sections. I could actually see this being played out in the manga itself, you kept everything "true to form". It was very enjoyable to read.
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I highly recommend the manga, which has great characterization and avoids the yaoi stereotype of the masculine seme and effiminate uke. There's more info on my rec post here, but basically it's about two porn stars, Iwaki and Katou, who get a chance to break into mainstream showbiz, and wind up playing lovers in a tv series. Naturally, they fall in love with each other for real. ;) The main character of my story, Kikuchi, is a minor character from Book 2 who causes trouble for Iwaki and Katou.
The first 5 volumes were published in the US, but the publisher went out of business and used copies tend to be pretty expensive. If you can find some at a decent price, I'd recommend buying them. And you can download the scanalations by joining the
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Nice Nana reference btw.
Sorry if I seem dense, but are you talking about the "Nana" manga, about the two girls both named "Nana"? If so, the reference was unintentional, or maybe unconscious, but I've read some of the manga (up to Book 8) and have been enjoying it a lot.
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