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FIC: Press Conference, Part 2 of 3
Title: Press Conference, Part 2
Rating: PG
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka, Iwaki/Katou
Characters: Iwaki, Katou, Miyasaka, Kikuchi, Onozuka, Yoshizumi, Asano, Mochimune
Word count: ~6,050
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), Forgiveness, Firsts, First Date (Part 1 and Part 2), Going Steady (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6), Audition (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), and Cookout (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). The series also includes two side-stories that are outside of the main timeline: Valentine's Day Surprise and Strictly Business.
Summary: The press conference continues.
Part 1
***
Back at the press conference, a reporter was asking Kikuchi, "So if you and Onozuka-san aren't a couple, is there anyone else that you're seeing right now?"
"Oh, I'm like Onozuka-kun," Kikuchi laughed dismissively. "I'm too busy with my career to have time for romance right now." He smiled seductively as he glanced over at Onozuka and added, "Sadly, the closest thing to a relationship that I have right now is the one in the movie with Onozuka-kun."
"What about just sex, then?" the reporter who'd questioned Onozuka asked impertinently, and Kikuchi laughed again.
"I'm not exactly a newcomer," he replied. "But I've been gone from Japan for a long time, so in a way, I'm building my career up again from scratch. Business has to come before pleasure for me right now."
"And if this movie turns out to be a hit?" the reporter asked.
Kikuchi smiled wolfishly at her and replied, "Then perhaps I can spare some time for pleasure, and you can ask me that question again."
"Fair enough," the reporter laughed.
"Kikuchi-san, you're playing an interesting role," another reporter said. "You have a male love interest, but your character isn't actually gay. He starts off being happily married to a woman, Suzuki-san's character."
"Was there a question in there somewhere?" Kikuchi asked dryly, and the other reporters snickered.
The reporter gave his colleagues a brief glare before continuing pointedly, "My question is, do you think that the audience will be able to accept you in the role of a happily married man, knowing that you are gay in real life?"
"I guess that depends on how good an actor I am," Kikuchi replied with another wolfish smile, one with more of a vicious edge, and the reporter took an involuntary step backwards. "However, I should point out that I've played a yakuza, a samurai, a police detective, a medical examiner, and even an alien from outer space, and I've never actually been any of those things. Yet still, somehow the audience managed to accept me in those roles. It can't be that much harder to play a man in love with a woman, especially one as lovely and charming as Asami-chan."
He reached over to take her hand and lift it to his lips in a courtly gesture, and Asami giggled, "You're such a charmer, Kikuchi-san, that I might fall in love with you for real if I didn't know you were gay! In fact, Onozuka-kun isn't the only one who was a big fan of yours--I was madly in love with you when I was in high school! I had a poster of you on my wall, and I totally wanted to marry you, along with just about every other girl in my school! We were so crushed when we found out you were gay and that our dream would never come true."
She sighed dramatically, and Kikuchi laughed. "What about you, Onozuka-kun?" he teased with a wicked gleam in his eyes. "Did you have a poster of me on your wall?"
Onozuka was caught off-guard for just a moment, spluttering and turning bright red before he managed to compose himself and say lightly, "Next you'll be wanting to know if I had secret dreams of marrying you, too!"
The crowd of reporters laughed, and Asami giggled, "Well, at least I'm finally achieving my dream of marrying you, Kikuchi-san, even if it's only in the movie!" She turned to the reporters and said, "You know, as I recall, there were rumors of Kikuchi-san being involved with every one of his female co-stars up until the scandal broke. So doesn't that prove what a good actor he is, that no one even suspected he was gay, that he played his roles so well that people thought he might be in love with his co-stars for real? So I have no worries at all that the audience might not find him believable in the role of my husband."
The reporters subsided with thoughtful looks on their faces, and Onozuka gave her a startled, impressed look as he realized that she was something more than the bubbly starlet that she projected as her public image.
Kikuchi grinned and said, "Asami-chan, I would ask you to marry me for real if I weren't gay."
Asami grinned back at him and said pertly, "Kikuchi-san, if you weren't gay, I might actually say 'yes.' But since you are, I'll wish for your happiness and hope that you'll settle down with a nice young man someday." She smiled mischievously at Onozuka and added, "Like Onozuka-kun, maybe."
"Now the two of you are ganging up on me," Onozuka complained good-naturedly.
The reporters finally seemed to decide that they'd gotten all the mileage they were going to get out of the gay issue, because one of them asked, "Yoshizumi-san, isn't it true that you and Asano-san also auditioned for the role of Eisuke? Are you disappointed to be relegated to a supporting role rather than the lead?"
"What matters most to me is making the best movie possible," Yoshizumi replied cheerfully. "Although I was aiming for the co-lead role, it soon became apparent that Onozuka-kun was the best person to play Eisuke. Even if I had won the lead, I would not be happy if I knew that the movie was not as good as it could be. I am honored just to be working with this very talented cast and director, and I will do my best to support Onozuka-kun and help make this movie the best that it can be."
"Yoshizumi-san and Asano-kun both gave excellent readings," Kitamura said, "and I'm sure that they would both have performed well in the role. However, it would be a slightly different Eisuke than Onozuka-kun's version, and Mizutani-sensei and I both felt that he best captured the character as she envisioned it. However, I still wanted to work with these two talented actors, so I was pleased that they agreed to accept the roles of Jun and Akio."
"Yoshizumi-san, isn't it awkward for you and Asano-san to be working together, considering that he replaced you in 'Winter Cicadas'?" another reporter asked.
"Not at all," Yoshizumi replied, his composure unshaken. "Of course I was very disappointed that I was unable to finish the role of Aizawa, but it was hardly Asano-kun's fault that I was injured. I'm grateful that such a capable actor was able to take over the role, and he really did a wonderful job. It's an odd coincidence that we both happened to be cast in this movie, but I look forward to working with him."
"You're a very noble person, Yoshizumi-san," Onozuka said.
"No, not really," Yoshizumi laughed. "It's just that as I said, I believe that the finished product, the movie itself, is what's most important, not the individual actors."
"Can anyone really be that noble?" one of the reporters muttered cynically, but as he seemed to be talking to himself rather than addressing the actors, they ignored him.
"What about you, Asano-san?" a reporter asked. "How do you feel about working with Yoshizumi-san?"
"I've watched him in many TV dramas, and I was eager to work with such a talented actor," Asano replied sweetly. "Of course, I felt a little awkward knowing that I had replaced Yoshizumi-san in 'Winter Cicadas,' so I was very relieved to hear that there are no hard feelings regarding that."
"Of course not," Yoshizumi said pleasantly, and the two actors smiled and shook hands as several flashbulbs went off as photographers snapped pictures of the two "rivals" making peace.
"Asano-san, there was that scandal in the past about your sleepover at Iwaki-san's house," one of the reporters called out to him.
"That's old news," Asano said, borrowing a phrase from Kikuchi. "As I've stated before, nothing happened between us, but it was my fault for not considering how it might look to outsiders. I'm very ashamed that I caused so much trouble for Iwaki-san, although he was kind enough to forgive me."
"Was there any tension between you and Katou-san on the set of 'Winter Cicadas'?" another reporter asked.
"Not at all," Asano replied. "Katou-san had absolute faith in Iwaki-san and never believed any of the rumors, so there was no reason for us to be enemies. In fact, he was kind enough to offer me guidance and support when I stepped into the difficult position of taking over Yoshizumi-san's role in the middle of filming."
Asano managed to smile sweetly for the cameras, even as he was thinking sourly, How did I end up having to publicly defend that bastard?
With all the various scandalous topics exhausted, the reporters reluctantly moved on to questions regarding the movie rather than the actor's romantic entanglements.
"Mizutani-sensei, this is the first screenplay that you've written, as opposed to adaptations of your books done by other writers. How did that come about?"
"Kitamura-kantoku approached me about adapting one of my books into a film," Mizutani replied.
"I'm a big fan of her work," the director interjected with a grin.
"And I'm a fan of his as well," Mizutani said, smiling back at him. "I went to see 'Future Wars' because I've always been a big fan of Kikuchi-san's--I guess that makes three of us, Asami-chan, Onozuka-san!"
"Did you want to marry him, too?" Asami giggled.
"Oh no," Mizutani laughed, blushing slightly. "I never dreamed that I would have the chance to even meet a star of his caliber! I was content to admire him from afar."
"And yet, here you are standing on stage with him," Asami pointed out, grinning widely.
"Yes, I was so pleased when he accepted the role of Toki in 'Yakuza Love Story,' and I'm even more thrilled that's he starring in this movie," Mizutani said. "But to answer the original question, I told Kitamura-kantoku that instead of adapting one of my books, I would like to write an original script myself. I told him about the idea I had for 'Love Reborn,' and he was very excited about the story, so I went ahead with it. I really have to thank him, because he gave me a lot of help and advice with the script. It's very different writing a screenplay instead of a novel, and I was unfamiliar with the process of writing camera angles and stage directions."
"I only helped with the technical details," Kitamura modestly demurred. "The true heart of the story was there from the beginning."
The woman who had questioned Onozuka so persistently said to Mizutani, "This movie deals with the theme of organ donation. Are you trying to send a message to the audience, or was it merely a plot device to bring Kikuchi-san's and Onozuka-san's characters together?"
"Well, it's a cause that's very dear to my heart," Mizutani replied. "But the primary purpose of a movie is to entertain, so I didn't want to come across as too preachy. I wrote a story that I hope will entertain the audience with its romance and suspense, but at the same time, perhaps make them think about it a little after the movie is over."
"Why is it so dear to your heart?" the reporter asked. "Was someone close to you saved by a transplant, or did you lose someone who could have been saved by one?"
"I attended university in the United States, where organ donation is much more common than it is here," Mizutani explained. "Although there still aren't enough donors there to save all the people who are waiting for transplants. My college roommate, who is still a close friend of mine, had a father who was very ill, and his life was saved by a heart transplant, donated by the family of a young man who had died in a car accident. Thanks to that family's generosity, my friend's father was saved, and that was when I first realized how important organ donation is."
"The idea of cutting apart one's body after death seems a little, well, gruesome," one reporter said, shuddering slightly.
"Each person must of course follow their own conscience and religious beliefs," Mizutani said solemnly. "But I've spoken to families who have donated the organs of loved ones, and they all said that it gives them comfort to know that a part of their loved ones will live on by giving life to someone else."
"Does that mean that you've signed a donor card yourself, Sensei?" the first reporter asked.
"Indeed I have," Mizutani confirmed. "However, if you do sign a donor card, it's important to also discuss your wishes with your family, as family consent is required for organ removal, even with a signed donor card."
"They have a similar system in America," Kikuchi said. He reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet and take out his California driver's license. "In California, you're given a sticker that you place on your license, to indicate that you're willing to be an organ donor," Kikuchi said, holding up the license so that the reporters could see it. "Family consent is also required, though, as it is here in Japan. And I've signed my Japanese donor card as well, of course."
"You don't find the idea disturbing?" asked the reporter who had thought it was "gruesome" to cut up a body after death.
"No," Kikuchi replied casually. "I won't need my organs after I'm dead, so why shouldn't I give them to someone who can use them?"
A few of the reporters laughed nervously, and one asked, "And your family is all right with that?"
"My mother got a little teary-eyed at the thought of me dying, but they both said that it was a good idea and that they were proud of me," Kikuchi said. Then he laughed and added, "They seemed a little surprised that I would do something so unselfish, so perhaps that doesn't speak too well of me." The reporters laughed, and Kikuchi grinned and winked at the cameras, saying, "Just kidding, Mom and Dad."
"Do any of the rest of you have donor cards?" a reporter asked.
"I got one after Sensei and I began working on the script," Kitamura replied.
"Me too," Asami said. "To be honest, I was a little squeamish about the idea, but after Sensei told me the story about her friend's father, I was so moved that I thought, 'Well, how can I not do it?' After all, as Kikuchi-san said, you don't really need your organs after you're dead."
"I think most people shy away from the idea because they don't like to imagine their own deaths," Onozuka said. "I don't either, but, well...if it happens, it happens, and at least this way, something good will come out of the tragedy. I wasn't really aware of the issue until I read the script, but afterwards I felt moved to go out and get a donor card."
***
"There he goes, acting the role of the noble prince again," Katou said, rolling his eyes.
"I bet he only got a card to make himself look good in the press," Miyasaka chimed in cynically.
"How do you know that he wasn't genuinely moved?" Iwaki objected, frowning disapprovingly at them. "I certainly was! I feel ashamed now that I've never gotten a donor card, but I'll definitely go out and get one as soon as possible!"
"Nooo!" Katou wailed, throwing his arms around his lover. "I can't give away pieces of my precious Iwaki-san to anyone!"
"Stop acting like a fool!" Iwaki snapped, bopping Katou none-too-gently on the head with his fist. "And a selfish fool at that! Why let my organs go to waste when I no longer need them, when they could save a life and spare a family the grief of losing their loved one? Think of how you would feel if I were the one who was sick and in need of a transplant."
"I don't want to think about that!" Katou cried vehemently. Then he laid his head on Iwaki's shoulder and whispered in a trembling voice, "I know that I'm being foolish and selfish. It's just that I can't bear to imagine losing you, Iwaki-san."
Iwaki kissed the top of Katou's head and said in a much gentler voice, "The card is just in case of an emergency, Katou--I plan to live with you for a long time, until we're both old and gray."
"You had better not leave me, Iwaki-san," Katou said fiercely.
"And don't you leave me, Katou," Iwaki whispered. "I can't imagine a life without you, either."
Katou sniffled and raised his head, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "Okay then, let's both go get cards together. They say that when you plan for an emergency then it won't happen, so we'll think of it as insurance."
Miyasaka sighed, staring wistfully at them, feeling very much the odd man out. Maybe he should have stayed at home and watched the press conference alone. "I guess I'll go get a donor card, too," he said. He supposed it was for a good cause, and he wasn't really squeamish about the idea--he wouldn't be around to feel his body being cut up, after all. But he resented the fact that Onozuka always managed to make him look bad in comparison. How come no one but himself and Katou could see through Onozuka's princely act to the cynical bastard that he really was? Even Iwaki, who had been exposed to the true Onozuka, still managed to be deceived by him on occasion.
"I think that's very good of you, Miyasaka-kun," Iwaki said, smiling at him warmly, melting away Miyasaka's resentment as he smiled sheepishly back at Iwaki, and Katou scowled at him jealously.
***
"Did you ask the cast to sign up for donor cards, Sensei?" a reporter asked.
"Oh no," Mizutani replied. "Obviously it's something that I feel very strongly about, but the choice has to be up to the individual. It makes me very happy that Kitamura-kantoku, Asami-chan, and Onozuka-san went out and got cards because of my story, but it wouldn't be right for me to use my influence as the screenwriter to force the cast to do something they're not comfortable with."
"No one tried to pressure me to get a donor card," Asano said with a smile. "In fact, the subject never came up, and I didn't know that it was something Mizutani-sensei felt strongly about until now. But having heard about her personal experiences, and what the others here have said, I do feel that it's something I would like to do now."
Damn that Onozuka, Asano thought sourly. He always manages to be one step ahead of me, first at the audition and now here. I should've gotten a donor card ahead of time, too, but it didn't occur to me--although it's so obvious in hindsight! Now it looks like I'm just jumping on the bandwagon by promising to get a card, but I'll look even worse if I'm the only one who doesn't get one.
He felt slightly consoled when Yoshizumi said cheerfully, "I don't have a card, either. I'm a little embarrassed to say that it never occurred to me before. But I agree with Asano-kun that it's something we should do, so let's sign up together, shall we?"
"Of course, Yoshizumi-san," Asano said sweetly. "I think that's a great idea!"
"Well, I hope that I haven't put any pressure on the cast," Mizutani said with a smile. "But it makes me very happy that you were all willing to sign up for donor cards, and that we were able to bring some awareness of the issue to the public."
***
Takumi, Fumiko, and even Shiori, despite her complaints, had become so engrossed in watching the press conference that none of them noticed when Master Kouhei returned home from the shop.
"What's going on?" he asked, and all three of them jumped and turned to look at him guiltily.
"We were just watching TV, Father," Shiori said, hastily reaching for the remote, but at that moment, the camera happened to zoom in for a close-up of Yuu's face as he responded to a reporter's question.
Kouhei's face reddened with anger, and he shouted, "Turn that trash off!"
"I was just about to, Father," Shiori said, switching the television off.
Fumiko dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief and murmured, "I'll go put dinner on the table."
For six years, the family had been carrying on the charade of pretending that Yuu didn't exist, except for moments like these when the facade cracked, when Yuu unexpectedly showed up on television or in the newspaper, or when his annual New Year's postcard arrived with cheerful but impersonal greetings, as if he were writing to a distant relative instead of his immediate family.
Personally, Takumi thought that the charade had gone on long enough. Many of the Master's regular clients and colleagues in Kanazawa already knew that Onozuka Yuu was the former heir to the Nakata family, but protected that secret out of respect for the Master. But it was inevitable that as Yuu became more famous, his real identity would be leaked to the press, whether by accident or intent.
But despite his resolve, Takumi found himself quailing at the expression of thunderous anger on the Master's face, and he felt another pang of sympathy for Yuu. In that moment, he could understand why Yuu would want to sneak away in the middle of the night to avoid facing his father.
But although the Master was a stern man and a strict taskmaster, he wasn't cruel, Takumi reminded himself. So he gathered up his courage and said, "Master, please...I know that you're angry at Yuu-san for the way he ran away from home, and I don't blame you. But he's worked hard and achieved success in his chosen profession, all on his own. I think you can be proud of him for that. Can't you please forgive Yuu-san and ask him to come home, sir?"
"If he wants to come home, he's the one who should ask forgiveness!" Kouhei snapped.
"But Master--" Takumi pleaded, and Kouhei's face softened, just the slightest bit.
"You're a good boy, Takumi-kun," Kouhei said gruffly, patting Takumi on the shoulder. "I wish that Yuu could have learned from your example. But he abandoned his duty to his family and I can't forgive that. He's never even shown any remorse for his thoughtlessness!"
"If he did, then could you forgive him?" Takumi persisted, although he knew that it would be a cold day in hell before Yuu would ever come home and bow down his head asking forgiveness from his father. That was the one thing that the two Nakata men had in common--their implacable stubbornness.
"If he shows that he's willing to give up this acting nonsense and take up his proper duty, perhaps," Kouhei replied, although his tone of voice implied that he found the idea just as unlikely as Takumi did.
"Master," Takumi said gently, "Yuu-san is never going to become a confectioner. His heart was never in it. The one thing that he truly loves is acting. He should have been honest with you about that--"
"Yes, he should have!" Kouhei shouted. "He never gave any hint that he wasn't willing to take over the business! He made me look like a fool when he ran off to Tokyo!"
Actually, there had been plenty of hints over the years that had been obvious to Takumi, even as a new apprentice, but he supposed that now wasn't the time to point that out. Instead he said, "I think that he was afraid to disappoint you, Master."
"It's a little late for that, isn't it?" Kouhei snorted.
"I mean, I think that he was afraid to face your disappointment," Takumi gently clarified.
"How did I manage to raise such a cowardly son?" Kouhei grumbled. "Well, at least I have you, Takumi-kun." He patted Takumi on the shoulder again and said, "You and Shiori will make a fine pair of successors."
"Er...yes," Takumi said halfheartedly, anticipating another battle a few years down the road if Shiori decided she didn't want to go through with the marriage. He wasn't quite sure which outcome to hope for: he didn't want to cause another family rift, but he didn't want Shiori to be trapped in a marriage of convenience, either. For himself, it didn't really matter so much--there was no girl that he was serious about, as his work didn't leave much time for a social life. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that he hadn't met anyone that he wanted to make the time for. Taking over the business would be a dream come true, of course, and he was fond of Shiori, even though he thought of her more like a sister than a fiancée. He thought that with time, he could get used to the idea of marrying her, but he wanted her to be happy--truly happy, and not just reasonably content in an amicable but passionless marriage, always wondering about what might have been. He wanted her to become a teacher, if that was what she wanted. He wondered if he could get the Master to let him run the business in trust for Shiori or Yuu's future children--but that would only pawn the problem off on the next generation. After all, what if those hypothetical children didn't want to run the business, either?
However, that problem that could wait for another day. "Master, about Yuu-san..." Takumi tried again.
"I do not want to hear that name mentioned in this house again," Kouhei said firmly. "Is that clear, Takumi-kun?"
"But Master--" Takumi protested.
"Never again!" Kouhei said emphatically, then turned on his heel without waiting for a reply. "Come, it's late; let's go eat dinner."
Takumi sighed and admitted defeat, at least for the moment, and went to join the family for dinner.
***
"Good job, everyone!" said the producer Hasegawa after the press conference was over, looking pleased and relaxed for once. "All of you handled some difficult questions very skillfully and tactfully."
"I was very impressed with the way that Suzuki-san defended Kikuchi-san to that reporter," Onozuka said with a smile.
"Oh, please call me 'Asami,' Onozuka-kun," the actress told him. "Everyone else does."
Onozuka bowed gracefully and said smoothly, "Then thank you, Asami-chan, for coming to the defense of my childhood hero."
"You really are a prince, Onozuka-kun!" Asami giggled delightedly.
"He's right--you were really splendid," Kikuchi said with a grin, draping an arm across Asami's shoulders for a moment. "Maybe I should hire you as my bodyguard!"
"Hey, maybe that should be the theme of my next movie!" Kitamura joked. "I'll cast Asami in the lead as a female bodyguard protecting a male movie star!"
"Sounds like fun!" Asami giggled.
"You know, that's not a bad idea," the second producer, Sato, mused thoughtfully.
"Why don't we all go out for a drink to celebrate?" Hasegawa suggested. "I'll buy the first round."
"Sure, if you're buying," Kikuchi laughed. "Who am I to turn down a free drink?"
The others agreed, and Hasegawa said, "Then let's meet at Ueda's," referring to a pub near the movie studio, where the staff often went drinking after work.
"Would you like a ride, Onozuka-kun?" Kikuchi asked with a predatory grin.
"Ooh, Kikuchi-san, are you already putting the moves on Onozuka-kun?" Asami teased.
"It's purely professional," Kikuchi protested. "I thought that we could discuss the script along the way."
"That's very kind of you, Kikuchi-san," Onozuka said, blushing as he smiled nervously.
However, perhaps his innocent virgin act had been a little too good (or Kikuchi's smile had been a little too predatory), because Yoshizumi smiled and asked, "Would you like me to come along as a chaperone, Onozuka-kun?"
Yoshizumi was Katou's friend, so Onozuka had been predisposed to think well of him, but his opinion of Yoshizumi immediately dropped several points. "Thank you, Yoshizumi-san, but I'm sure that's not necessary," Onozuka said sweetly, even as he was thinking, Mind your own business, you son of a bitch. "I'm sure that Kikuchi-san will be a perfect gentleman," he continued aloud.
"I'm sure that's so," Onozuka's manager Fujimoto said skeptically. "However, since we all know how the press likes to exaggerate and create scandals out of innocent misunderstandings, perhaps it would be best if I drove you, or if Yoshizumi-san accompanied you and Kikuchi-san."
"Well, I guess you'll be playing chaperone, after all," Onozuka said to Yoshizumi, fighting to sound nonchalant and keep the edge out of his voice. He smiled sweetly and added, "You can tell me stories about working with Katou and Iwaki-san on the set of 'Winter Cicadas.'"
"Oh, I have quite a few," Yoshizumi replied, smiling just as sweetly back at Onozuka. "They're such a lovey-dovey couple that it's almost nauseating!"
"Aren't they, though?" Onozuka laughed, as the two of them continued to smile at each other and radiate an aura of innocence that was almost palpably glowing. Kikuchi looked like he was trying not to burst into laughter, while Fujimoto was regarding the two of them even more dubiously than he had Kikuchi. Onozuka turned the radiance of his smile up another notch while he tried to figure out if Yoshizumi was purposely trying to thwart him or not--if so, he would be a dangerous enemy, since he was smart enough to guess that Onozuka and Kikuchi were a couple, or were at least potentially interested in each other.
Onozuka suddenly recalled the saying, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." Maybe it was a good idea for him to stay close to Yoshizumi, after all. But damn, he would have liked to have spent a little time alone with Kikuchi, even if it was only for the short duration of the drive to the pub. They could at least have stolen a few kisses and maybe indulged in a bit of discreet groping. Onozuka was beginning to understand what Kikuchi had meant when he'd said it would be harder for them to meet after the casting for the movie was publicized.
"I'll ride with Kikuchi-san, then, since Yoshizumi-san has volunteered to protect me," Onozuka told his manager cheerfully. "You can head home if you want; I'll catch a cab home from the pub."
"All right," Fujimoto said reluctantly. "But please remember that from now on, you'll be very much in the public eye, so behave accordingly."
"Yes, Fujimoto-san," Onozuka said meekly.
"Your manager is very strict," Yoshizumi observed as Fujimoto left the TV station.
"He's just looking out for my best interests," Onozuka replied earnestly. "I'm very grateful for his guidance."
"You remember to behave yourself as well," Kikuchi's manager Kojima told her client sternly.
"Haven't I been a good boy since that...ah...difficulty with Katou-kun's film?" Kikuchi defended himself.
"Just remember that it's rare to get a second chance in this business, let alone a third," Kojima said, unmoved by his protestations. "And this time it isn't only your reputation on the line, but that of your co-star as well."
"It's so kind of you to be concerned about me, Kojima-san," Onozuka said, giving her his trademark princely smile.
"I'm not really concerned about you, Onozuka-kun," Kojima replied bluntly. "That's Fujimoto's job. But your fans will turn against Kikuchi-san if he happens to ruin the image of their beloved Golden Prince."
"Ouch!" Onozuka laughed, wincing and clutching his hand to his chest as if someone had just shot him.
"So there's at least one woman who's not moved by the Prince's charm, eh?" Kikuchi chuckled. "Don't worry, Kojima-san. I promise that I will be the perfect gentleman around Onozuka-kun--and my other handsome co-stars." He winked at Yoshizumi and Asano.
"I'll hold you to that promise," Kojima warned him. When she left, Kikuchi heaved an exaggerated sigh of relief.
"She's scarier than any manager I've ever had, either here or in the States!" Kikuchi laughed.
"Do you think that she and Fujimoto-san could be related?" Onozuka wondered.
"Twins separated at birth, perhaps," Kikuchi joked. "Well, shall we get going?"
The two producers left together, and Kitamura said he would drive Asami and Mizutani since the three of them had arrived at the conference together, anyway. That left Asano standing on his own, looking a little uncertain, and Kikuchi asked, "Would you like to ride with us, Asano-kun?"
"Thank you, Kikuchi-san," Asano said gratefully.
"No problem," Kikuchi replied with a grin. "The three of you can share stories about Iwaki and Katou, and maybe I can pick up a little gossip. Besides, I can hardly complain about having three handsome young men to ride with me!"
"Don't forget, you promised Kojima-san that you would behave," Onozuka reminded him teasingly.
"You're no fun, Onozuka-kun," Kikuchi complained. "Ah well, I can at least look even if I can't touch, right?" He grinned lasciviously and winked at the three younger men.
"You're incorrigible, Kikuchi-san," Yoshizumi laughed, winking back at him. Then he turned to Asano and Onozuka and said, "We met briefly before, at the auditions and before the conference, but I just wanted to say that it's good to meet both of you."
"Likewise," Onozuka said, shaking hands with both men. "I know that Katou and Iwaki-san both think highly of you, Yoshizumi-san. And Asano-kun, Katou has told me so much about you."
He smiled innocently at Asano, and Asano smiled innocently back at him and replied, "That's good to hear, Onozuka-kun."
Asano placed a slight but significant emphasis on the "kun," and Onozuka gritted his teeth together behind his pleasant smile. They were about the same age, but as Onozuka had been in the business much longer, it would have been polite for Asano to address him as "san." Onozuka wasn't really a stickler for formality, but he was irked by the other actor's subtle but deliberate attempt to needle him.
Asano paused for a moment, then added casually, "Katou-san and Iwaki-san have never mentioned anything about you to me, though."
Onozuka could swear that Asano was smirking at him somehow, even though his innocent expression hadn't changed in the slightest. "Well, maybe that's for the best," Onozuka laughed. "But Iwaki-san talks a lot about you, Asano-kun, and how you did such an excellent job in your supporting role in 'Winter Cicadas.' He says that you have a promising future as an actor."
Take that, you bastard, Onozuka thought with satisfaction as it was Asano's smile that became strained this time. Don't forget that I'm the co-lead in this film, while you're relegated to the supporting role.
However, Asano recovered quickly and gave him an even more syrupy-sweet smile as he said, "Oh, you're much too kind, Onozuka-kun."
"Oh, not at all, Asano-kun," Onozuka insisted in his most gracious and princely manner.
"Isn't it nice that the three of us are becoming such good friends?" Yoshizumi asked cheerfully.
Kikuchi stared at the other three actors, who were beaming at each other with identical innocent smiles on their faces, and he doubled over with laughter.
"Oh my," Asano whispered in a concerned voice to Yoshizumi. "Do you think he's all right?"
"Perhaps he's been working too hard," Yoshizumi whispered back.
"Er...Kikuchi-san, are you feeling all right?" Onozuka asked diffidently, with a look of wide-eyed concern on his face.
"Ah, the three of you are even more amusing than Iwaki and Katou!" Kikuchi gasped, then began laughing even harder.
Part 3
***
Afterword: As I mentioned in this comment thread for "Going Steady, Part 2," Mizutani-sensei's fictional movie was inspired by several real movies: "Return to Me," where David Duchovny falls in love with a woman who, unbeknownst to him, received his late wife's heart in a transplant; an old movie called "Sandcastles," that I only vaguely remember seeing as a kid, where a young woman falls in love with a man (Jan Michael Vincent) who turns out to be a ghost; and of course "Ghost" starring Patrick Swayze.
The plot was also partially inspired by news articles and J-dramas highlighting the scarcity of organ donors in Japan. As this article explains, this is partly due to cultural differences: "One difference is in the Japanese beliefs about the nature of the self. For a traditional Japanese person, the self or soul is diffused throughout the body. In the western, post-Cartesian view, the self is associated only with the brain. It is the brain that makes a person who he is in United States' culture, and therefore when the brain is dead, the individual is dead."
As I was writing the story, I also recalled a NUMB3RS episode regarding black-market organ trafficking, where Charlie went out to get an organ donor sticker for his driver's license, and proudly displayed it at the end of the show. So that inspired the bit where Kikuchi displays his US driver's license.
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BTW I love alll the cultural notes at the end of each chapter - so useful for providing context for the unfamiliar culture/settings.
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I'm impressed that you made it through so much of the series in just a few days. It's really nice to get comments on older stories, and I'm glad you're enjoying the series so much.
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I'm in the middle of coding the
I've also been reccing this all over the place to my friends with yaoi interests, but don't know the story.
I need to get back to the original manga again, just to re-acquaint myself with some of these folks. I love them all and am really enjoying seeing them all playing together. I quite liked that about the original manga, particular in the "filming" scenes during FnS and the cast all sitting around and hanging out together. These stories evoke that same "feeling".