Runaway Royalty
Disclaimer: I do not own SkipBeat or any of its characters.
The history of the Ryukyu Kingdom is true, but the plot of the movie is entirely fictional.
Chapter Four – Shuri Castle
Kotonami Kanae felt at peace for the first time in days as the airplane descended in Okinawa. Her friend was awake and recovering. Her stalker was dead; Kanae couldn't feel sorrow for the would-be star after she had witnessed his attempt to kill Kyoko. Today Kyoko was safely under the triple care of Kuu, Julie, and Kuon Hizuri; which left Kanae free to pursue filming.
A short bus ride down an empty early-morning highway led them to Shuri Castle. The castle, actually a re-built, though accurate, replica, would be the site of filming for the next two days. Time was of the essence; Shuri Castle was one of the most popular tourist stops in Okinawa, with a constant stream of visitors. All that the curate would allow was for a late opening and early closing of the castle on the slowest day of the week. Many of the inside shots would actually take place after the castle closed for the night. But the outside shots had to be started and completed within a total window of four hours, morning and evening.
The filming crews had flown in the night before. The castle staff were veterans; many, many meters of film had been shot using the castle. They were able to suggest the best lighting, the best angles, and the best places to conceal pick-up microphones. By the time Kanae, Hiou, and the others arrived everything was in readiness.
Author's Note: The following scenes, and the scenes throughout this story, will be presented in the manner that the viewer would see them, not in the actual order in which they were filmed. You may also notice that I've occasionally included a character's thoughts; these were included in the script and it was the actor's responsibility to use his/her acting to help the audience understand.
Andy stood beside Kanae and Hanshiro as they watched Hiou filming his scenes. Andy would not be departing for two more days, so he was brought along to watch the filming and to continue his training. As interesting as the filming was, he was getting as much enjoyment out of watching Eguchi Hanshiro's failed attempts to attract Kanae's attention. She was truly an expert at deflecting would-be suitors. Good-on-ya, lady. You can do better than that bloke.
"Ready on the set! Scene 1: Take 1: Action!"
[Motobu Hiroji walks through the courtyard, barely acknowledging the bows of the servitors who step aside from their tasks to allow him to pass. His man-servant, Nagai Kenzo, follows as quickly as he can.
Scene switches to the inside of the main throne room. Sho Boku, the king of Ryukyu, is seated on his throne. Standing in front of him are several older Japanese men. They are bowing and turning to leave as Hiroji walks in. As they pass each other, the Japanese officials eye the teen disdainfully, while he looks at them with open disgust.
Hiroji's man-servant drops off near the entrance of the throne room. Hiroji is focused on his uncle, so he doesn't see the look of understanding that passes between the two Japanese officials and his man-servant. Hiroji steps up to the line in front of the throne and bows respectfully to Sho Boku.
"Rise, Hiroji. How was your schooling this morning?"
Hiroji's eyes narrowed slightly, "It was good, uncle," he replied cautiously.
"Oh, I'd heard that you were falling behind in your work." The king's eyebrows rose, challenging his nephew to dispute the information.
"I can catch up easily, your majesty. I will spend a portion of this evening on the work." Hiroji answered, hoping to avoid a lecture.
"Ambassador Shimata seems to think that you would benefit from some time spent training in his country."
Hiroji's eyes flickered anger and disgust, but he kept himself under control, "I can't see any benefit in that, uncle. The best teachers and the best schools are located in our country."
"That may be true, but one must be there in order to learn. Nevertheless, the ambassador seemed quite persistent in his request."
"My lord, I think that it is a mistake to give much place in your decision-making processes for requests from the Japanese." Hiroji paused in alarm as her realized that he might have overstepped his bounds. Hiroji was liked by his uncle, but that didn't imply permission to question the king's decisions. It also didn't give him permission to question his uncle's weak stance toward the Japanese officials who seemed to pervade every corner of the royal government like cockroaches. "I'm sorry, uncle. I've said too much."
Sho Boku regarded his teenaged nephew for an uncomfortably long period before he finally spoke. "You will understand someday Hiroji, that even a king can be caught in the winds of change. No man is entirely immune to progress."
Hiroji didn't understand. His eyes clearly showed that. The king sighed inwardly, "I will leave the question open for now. I expect to hear about your wonderful advances in education by this time next week. For now I believe that you have a Bijitsu lesson?"
Hiroji bowed to his uncle and rose to leave. As he began to descend the outside staircase he passed yet another Japanese delegation. "They're worse than termites!" He spoke to his man-servant, but he spoke loud enough that one of the two men, Furusawa Hitoshi, looked back angrily.]
"Cut! Great job everyone. We need to move quickly to the sword training scene. Move it, people, we're burning seconds."
Hiou, Andy, and Kanae walked together quickly to the smaller inner-courtyard. Kanae regarded her younger co-star, "I'm impressed; you've really improved, Hiou-san. I could understand your feelings of frustration and anger very clearly in that scene."
Hiou practically stumbled on his now overgrown feet. "Uh…Umm…," embarrassed, he adopted his usual cross attitude, "Of course. You just haven't seen me act in a year. I've become quite good, you know."
Kanae hid a smile. She knew herself well enough that she recognized the same tendency to act cross and irritable for what is was. "Well then, Uesugi-san, I won't insult you anymore by offering compliments."
"No! I mean… I didn't mean…," Hiou was red-faced with the idea that he had somehow offended the woman of his dreams.
Then Andy laughed and Kanae couldn't hold it back anymore. She smiled, "Gotcha. Learn to take a compliment; I meant it. You are becoming a true thespian."
"We're waiting, people!" Director Shinai called out.
Uesugi Ryotaru had been recruited to act out the scene as the Royal Trainer. With make-up and traditional garb he looked like a completely different person. His true character did leak out for a moment when he waggled his fake eyebrows at Kanae and Andy in passing. While they were stifling laughter, Director Shinai called out, "Quiet on the set. Scene 8, take one, roll 'em."
[Motobu Hiroji bowed to a tough, powerful-looking older man. Both man and teen were armed with Chinese-style swords strapped to their sides.
Shirotori Hito, the Royal Trainer, regarded the youth for a moment before speaking, "You seem out-of-sorts this morning, my young prince. Perhaps a good, hard workout would be in order?"
Hiroji looked alarmed for a moment, and then his eyes showed the joy of the challenge, "Hai, Shirotori-san. I'll try to take it easy on you."
The trainer laughed deeply and with menace, "Ah, the arrogance of youth. Then I shall not take it easy on you."
Without any clear signal swords flew out of scabbards and clanged together. The stocky man and the skinny youth seemed to be trying to kill each other as they thrust, parried, and drove at each other's defenses. True swordsmanship is an art, and like any art there is a beauty to it. Even those who abhor violence can sometimes see the beauty and pseudo-choreography of two well-matched swordsman at work.
Andy Hammond watched his new friend in astonishment, seeing a new side of the younger boy that he hadn't guessed. Several Japanese films starring one or more of the Uesugi's had made it to Australia, so he had an inkling of their skills. But seeing them fight live was something entirely different.
Kanae watched the battle in consternation. In less than three months her character would be expected to stand toe-to-toe against the prince in a challenge battle. How can I possibly get that good in three months? But she remembered Kyoko's rapid progress for her movie and she bit back her fear. I will be ready for you, Hiou.
Hiou, for his part, was having the time of his life. He was being allowed to demonstrate his skill in front of the woman who he wanted to impress the most. Ryotaru was enjoying himself because felt his son's power for once. He was being pushed hard by the teen who seldom rose to his full potential. Maybe I need to have Kotonami-san come to all of his sparring matches.
Both man and boy were grinning fiercely as they whirled and slashed and thrust and danced through an amazingly intricate series of moves. As Kanae watched, she remembered the nickname for Hiou she had only recently learned: "Taz"; now she understood.
Director Shinai was so captivated by the battle that he allowed it to run past the allotted time-space. He didn't even notice the curator of Shuri Castle standing next to him. It was the elder Uesugi who brought the battle to a close, still in the character of the royal instructor.
The two combatants bowed. "Very good, my prince. Are you feeling better now?"
Hitoshi nodded, "Yes… somewhat."
"Would you care to talk about it?"
Hiroji hesitated, but he held his instructor in the highest possible regard, so he decided to speak, "It's the Japanese infestation. They are everywhere, and they seem to be able to tell my uncle what to do."
Shirotori Hito regarded the youth speculatively, "Do you enjoy being a prince of the royal family?"
"Of course I do."
"But do you understand that this privilege comes with incredible responsibility?"
"What do you mean?"
"Every decision that Sho Boku makes affects the people of Ryukyu in some way; whether the decision is good or bad. He is a good and wise leader and he understands this. What would you like for him to do about the 'Japanese infestation,' as you call it?"
"I would like to see him drive them out of our country."
"And do you think that this is possible? Consider, for a moment: the Emperor has many tens-of-thousands of troops at his command. Your uncle has thousands. If he follows your idea, who do you think will win?"
Hiroji considered this carefully. "But isn't there something we can do?"
"I know that it rankles your young soul, but I'm afraid that the answer is no. If the king keeps things as they are, he can still exercise his influence for his people's benefit. If he tries to cast off the yoke of Japanese control, he will simply be swept away."
Hiroji was clearly not ready to listen, however. He promptly excused himself and walked out of the small court. His instructor watched him go and shook his head sadly.]
"Cut! Excellent work, gentlemen."
"Amazing!" the curator exclaimed, "Umm, would it be possible for them to do the same performance later today, for the public?"
The Uesugi's agreed, and most of the cast was dismissed until the evening, when the bulk of the inside filming would take place.
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Notes: Sho Boku was the last ruler of Ryukyu. Sho is the shortened title for Shogun. I haven't been able to discover if Boku was his first name or if it had some specific meaning and was used as a title.
The words "Japanese infestation" are Hiroji's, not mine. I believe that that is how the prince would feel about foreigners taking over his country.
If you ever have the chance to visit Okinawa, make sure that you take a trip to Shuri Castle. I have visited many European castles, but this castle has an entirely different feel. Even though the current castle is a restoration project, you can still feel the antiquity of the place and imagine the day-to-day life of the royals.
In response to Cactus2008: The movie is being filmed with the characters speaking in their language. In other words, both Japanese and Australian-style English are used. This requires subtitles, but that isn't that uncommon in a mixed-culture film. The producers intend to present the movie in both countries, with the necessary subtitles depending upon the primary language of the viewers.