The Legend of the Forgotten Myth
By Hikari Toda
Chapter 3: Meeting the Odds
Naoko had long finished her work when Raiha decided that it was time for him to get home. He was still sitting in front of the mirrored cabinet with the same cute smile on his face. It was already 8:24 PM, as said by the nearby clock. It was nearly one and a half hour since the shooting had been done.
"Ah…I must get home at once…Dad will go berserk.", he muttered to himself as he stood up and walked toward the door. He took the navy blue bag that hung on a hook on the door and was about to turn of the light when he noticed that a scroll was sitting nearby his staff. It looked old…really old.
Stooping down to pick it up, he said to himself, "Naoko must have forgotten to put this away…I guess that I'll just have to go and give it to Lauren myself." (Lauren was the person overseeing the props department.) He then shrugged and walked out of his dressing room with the scroll in his right hand and the staff in the left.
n.n
Raiha was walking down a fluorescent lamp-lighted hall when he suddenly halted and turned around. Seeing nobody, he stepped a few more paces forward before stopping again and posing just as he had done to Richard. Still seeing a deserted hallway, he shrugged and made his way cautiously toward his destination.
As soon as Raiha had turned his back from that which he thought was following him, a pair of dull light blue eyes appeared from the shadows of a corner that our hero had just passed. It then flickered and vanished.
"Lauren? Lauren!"
Raiha was already at the desk when he called for the leader of the props department. This place was near the exit of the studio. It was more like a counter at a hotel really, for it was only an open window on the wall. The only difference was that it featured stuff that an ordinary counter didn't have; it had large paper fans projecting from a corner, a few loincloths in another, and a lot more stuff I need not to describe. It was the first place that actors stop by before shooting.
She must be out. I guess that I'd have to give this to her tomorrow…I just hope she wouldn't mind., Raiha finally thought after 10 minutes of waiting. He promptly stuffed the scroll in his bag and went out of the building,
n-n
Raiha was walking toward the large house near the building he had just exited when he felt that creepy feeling that someone was following him again. He stood still for a bit and turned around for the longest period of time. Little did he know that a pair of hands was reaching for his neck…
"BOO YAH!", cried a victorious orange-haired man from behind Raiha. Raiha, as was reflex, quickly turned, threw his bag to a corner, and posed once again a la Chichiri without a staff.
"RICHARD! Never do that again to me please!" Raiha then retreated and patted his friend on the back when he recovered from the shock.
"Hehe…that was just in payment for what you had done a while back in the halls…what took you so long anyway?"
Raiha took his bag and brushed off the accumulated dust. He then shrugged his shoulders as he walked onward to his house. "I was busy with…stuff."
Richard's eyebrow quickly raised and he ran to keep up with his friend once again. Upon reaching Raiha, he placed both hands in his pockets and asked, "What kind of stuff?"
Raiha paid him no heed and continued walking.
The orange-haired cast member scratched his head upon seeing Raiha's unmoving figure. He continued to walk and to look at his friend with ambiguity until…PAK.
"That's what you get for not looking at where you are going." Raiha snickered and entered the door next to the wall where Richard had bumped in to.
n.n
"Kim! Come here please…"
Raiha was sitting on a sofa chair in the middle of a large room that featured Narra-made furniture: the bed, the chairs, the sofa, the knick-knacks…in fact, almost everything in this room was made from the prestigious tree. Author sings 'Noypi'. There was even a small fountain to be found in this area. Raiha seemed to be distinctly interested in maps, for there was one on each wall of his bedroom. From Tcpot Jitsd to Aruet Lqyv, yup, he had it.
"KIM!"
A young, beautiful yet exasperated-looking woman holding a dishcloth in her hand entered Raiha's room. "You called, Raiha-sama?"
Raiha smiled and beckoned Kim to come to him. "Kim, my dear…how many times have I asked you to call me Raiha and not Raiha-sama? But yes, yes…I did call…I need something from you…"
Kim came to him slowly, but surely. After a few more steps, she sighed and shook her head. "Not again! We've done this already last night!"
Raiha pouted. He looked very much like a puppy. "Please! I really…really need to…"
Kim seemed to relent for a bit, but she finally smiled and replied, "Oh…okay. Anything for you, Raiha-sama…"
(Author goes 0.0)
Raiha reached for her hand and…and…
"RAIHA! WE'RE GOING TO EAT NOW!"
Raiha suddenly dropped Kim's hand and scratched his head. "I think I'll be calling you again later on, Kim…my father quite doesn't approve of this…act…"
Kim raised an eyebrow and withdrew from the room after saying, "Yes, Raiha-sama."
n-n
"Good evening, Father."
"Good evening, Son. Now have a seat and let's eat."
Raiha looked toward his handsome father, Arima Akimoto, and gloomily smiled. He looked distinctly liked Raiha, only that he had dark blue hair that was always trimmed and properly cut. There were seemingly no wrinkles on his seemingly youthful face, but whenever he frowned, they appeared, making him seem truly older than his son. He always wore suits for formality's sake, and Raiha never saw him otherwise.
"You seem to be enjoying this…new series, Raiha…"
Raiha glanced at his food before answering. The main course was pork steak. "Indeed, I am enjoying it, Father…and I do believe that you know why…"
Mr. Akimoto sighed. "As much as I don't want you to ruin your reputation with your female fans, I do believe that—"
Raiha immediately got up from his chair. "Is that all you care about, Father? My reputation? Or, more simply put…YOUR reputation!"
"Raiha…"
"Admit it, Father…the only reason you allowed me to be one of the cast of the Fushigi Yuugi series is that it will bring more money to the company, not only through the studio you let us use, but also through the salary I will get, not to mention the other financial benefits involved!"
Arima Akimoto glared at his son. "No, Raiha…please, don't get me wrong…"
"Father, enough's enough. I've always been your puppet. You always tried one way or another to get me to do your bidding. So what if I love someone more than money? So what if my fame dies? So what if I don't get the salary you want me to get? I'm happy enough with the present circumstances concerning me, and I do hope that you'll be too!"
Raiha then stormed out of the dining hall, leaving his food untouched.
PS: HAHAHA! It's been such a loooooooooong time since I last touched this thing! Haha! Anyway…I'd like to say thank you to bant; you kinda inspired me to continue uploading! Thanks a lot:D