Author's Note : Bwahahaha (cue Don Kanonji) I think I'm gonna have tons of fun doing this fic. Cheers for !Fluff bunnies. Much thanks for the reviews AND let the new chapter ROLL ON! I'm helping myself to a more than generous slice of strawberry cheese cake as I type this. It's so damn good that I hate myself. Be ready for a bit of Japanese history, y'all! :D It took me some time to get it sorted out, so...please prepare those toothpicks and have them at your disposal as you move through these parts.
P.S. I've just watched the BLOOD movie and it left me a very, very disappointed sketch in the dark of the cinema. Which means that I might hasten the release (cheers, will ya?) of the vampire story I have in mind. It's slash (lo and behold!) of course, but I have a niggling little feeling it's gonna turn out weird. Weird as in not your usual gothic/dark bloody/Twilighty/Anne Ricey themes when it comes to this genre. I already have the entire outline planned but the details need working on still. Don't hold your breath.
Disclaimer : All BLEACH characters and brands mentioned in this story absolutely belong to me, not. If they did I would die laughing. Which then means I can no longer write.
Chapter 2 – The Novel, The Audition and The Meeting
For the whole of the following three days, Kurosaki Ichigo obediently stayed at home and was all locked up in his room, reciting his paltry total of ten lines over and over in his head in preparation for the oncoming audition. It was no easy feat; the lines were long and demanding, the context was entirely beyond his grasp, the language was old and according to him, overly sappy for a manly samurai to spout. He didn't even have a clue as to who this Murakami Yoshihito guy was, other than being a man who fell in love with his supposed enemy and went on to do sexy times with him, as that turd of a Renji had incisively briefed him on earlier.
Thus, being the diligently conscientious young man he really is, Ichigo decided to switch on his golden Sony Vaio on that very night and visit Wikipedia for a concise summary of the entire story and of course, the character he was going to audition for. Although somewhere deep inside of him lay an innate desire to avoid getting such a role – it demanded intimate physical action with another man, which was a 'Hell no!' for the pious little teenagers' sweetheart he is, it would overall be beneficial for his career if he could pull this off.
To be honest, he was beginning to tire of the never ending attention lavished upon him for acting as a more angsty version of himself in the tween-ish 'The Vampire' movies for four consecutive years. He would be turning twenty-three in four months' time, and finding ruggedly handsome youngsters who reek of a potential James Dean in them in Japan is easy as eating sushi, so yes, the time to change was nigh.
"Hmm...Autumn Chrysalis...oh, here it is," Ichigo muttered to himself as he clicked on the links one by one. "Let's see...wow, these people at Wiki sure have mastered the art of summarizing and detailing at the same time..."
Autumn Chrysalis is a novel written in 2002-2004 by the famed Japanese author Unohana Retsu (Spring Cocoon, 1992 and Summer Crickets, 1997). The novel has been adapted into a movie screenplay (Autumn Chrysalis, 2009 - link unavailable) by the talented director Shinji Hirako (Nocturne, 2004 and Dawn of the Century, 2007), and is loosely based on the closing period of the Meiji Restoration era. The main story centers upon the forbidden romance between two men who stood on opposing ends of the Boshin War, 1868-1869. It was a civil war which involved the forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate, which included the Shinsengumi and those seeking to return power to the imperial court (mainly samurai clans in Satsuma and Choshu). Around 120,000 men were immobilized during the conflict and among which an estimated 3,500 were killed.
Murakami Yoshihito and Takamatsu Soujiro are the main protagonists in this tragic novel and shared an unbreakable bond that withstood their loyalties to the groups they each belonged to. Both men came to declare their love for each other, only to be separated by their duties the day after. They met again after the Battle of Koshu-Katsunuma and were more than delighted to see each other unscathed from the fighting. Emotions ran high at the unexpected encounter and resulted in another amorous night spent in each other's arms, where both men sought solace from the bleak reality they were thrown headfirst into and shared heartfelt thoughts on what was to become of them.
They left the next morning to fulfill their respective responsibilities and did not see each other again until several months later. The depleted Shinsengumi troops joined up with the former-Bakufu troops and the Yugekitai to make up an army that rebelled against the newly formed Meiji government. A final stand between the rebel army, better known as the military of Ezo Republic and the Imperial troops occurred around the fortress of Goryokaku, Hakodate. When Murakami witnessed Takamatsu being outnumbered and slain by his comrades, he led them into thinking that there was help required on the other side, thus freeing up time for him to drag the latter's corpse to the river. There, he carefully laid Takamatsu beside him as he stepped into the rapids, unsheathed his katana, only to have the blade slice sharply against his own throat. The novel drew to a close with a pair of bodies floating down the river, its waters tainted red with the blood of two estranged lovers.
"Oh ho, who would have thought. I think I'm starting to like this," Ichigo smirked a little at the screen before scrolling down the page in search of more bite-sized information regarding Murakami Yoshihito.
Murakami Yoshihito – An idealistic young man born into a samurai clan in the Satsuma province, who believed that Bushido (the way of the samurai) was not his only fate. Wild and unrestrained, he left home at the age of seventeen in carve out his own destiny but made a promise to return if they should need him one day. Having relinquished his right to a proper education when he chose to leave, he decided to seek a personal set of knowledge without relying on anyone else – which he found by working at a bookstore in Edo.
"Rebellious, eh?" Ichigo commented to himself before reading on.
It was there where he met Takamatsu Soujiro, a man who would go on to become the love of his life. Both didn't know each other's real identities then, but through a common love of acquiring knowledge via books and shared values, they went on to become good friends. That line was however, crossed one hazy autumn night when an innocent drinking session got out of hand. Both men were in denial of the incident and resumed their platonic relationship thereafter. Takamatsu soon found out that Murakami was in fact, a samurai and the clan he belonged to had joined up with those in the Satsuma, Choshu, Tosa and Hiroshima provinces to secure control of the imperial court and influence the young Emperor Meiji.
Murakami acknowledged the undisputed truth brought forth by Takamatsu and revealed that he had received an urgent letter from his clan after the naval Battle of Awa had ended in favor of the Shogunate. On the night before Murakami was to leave for his hometown, he admitted his own romantic feelings for the other man and they consummated their newly found relationship. When he saw Takamatsu being killed in what was to be the final battle of the Boshin War, he decided to join him in the afterlife and slit his throat. To him, not committing seppuku (a samurai's honorable suicide - by gutting oneself) to seek a voluntary death was his final rebellion towards Bushido.
"Takamatsu Soujiro...Murakami's lover...oh, here. So this is the character that Renji's idol is going to play," he took a light sip of water whilst tapping deftly on the mouse to open the link.
Takamatsu Soujiro – A young nobleman born in the Takamatsu domain, who under familial obligations, joined the Shinsengumi, a special police force of the late shogunate period. The group had permission to counteract revolutionaries who support the Emperor against the Tokugawa shogunate. Despite being so, Takamatsu privately held no interest in the stifling politics that were already wrecking Japan from within. His peaceful nature was what drew Murakami to him and him, to the other's free-spirited demeanor. The many hidden ambiguities between them culminated in a drunken night of unbridled passion, one that both strove to run away from in the aftermath.
He soon discovered that Murakami's clan-imposed stance opposed that of his and divulged his true identity – that of an elite swordsman (Shinsengumi) under the ruler-ship of Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the new Shogun. Murakami was undeterred by the inherent actuality on their mandatory stand in light of the political divide, and spurred by the vulnerability of two lives caught between an unwanted war, he went on to proclaim his love for Takamatsu, to which the latter reciprocated. Although Takamatsu made it through for the larger part of the war and the day where he and Murakami would reunite under a peaceful sky loomed increasingly near, it was not to be as he came to a bloody end at the hands of the Imperial army, during the battle at Goryokaku.
Ichigo never knew Japanese history to be so modifiable; it looked all the more epic when laden as a backdrop for a historical, albeit fictitious tragedy than the drab excuse named 'school text', which he had to deal with when he was a high-schooler. Reading up on the actual novel had made him more interested in the project than he initially was; it was unarguably better than Renji's pathetic X-rated slipshod synopsis.
He then yawned as he closed the windows one by one. Facing the highly radiative screen never failed to make his eyes dry and he decided it was time to dive into his cozy sheets. As the orange-haired man slept, he dreamed a strange dream. It was one where he and a man with teal colored tear tracks marked symmetrically on his face, raised their pearly wine cups in the air then emptied the contents over each other. They proceeded to swim in the puddles of wine that formed on the floor.
xxx
"Hi, I'm here to audition for Au-," Ichigo removed his shades as he inquired at the reception counter.
"OH MY GOD. ARE YOU KUROSAKI ICHIGO??? I'M LIKE, A BIG FAN OF YOURS!!! OH MY GOD. YOU'RE AUDITIONING FOR THE WHAT???? THIS IS, LIKE, TOTALLY, OH MY GOD!!!" The young lady at the counter had long forsaken any decent sense of composure. "COULD I LIKE, HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH OR SOMETHING? OH MY GO-"
"I'm kinda in a hurry here so, would you mind...Oh alright," he took a ballpoint pen and paper from the gushing lady, scribbled a barely legible signature on it and returned them to her. "Where's the casting room?"
"HOW ABOUT A PHOTO? OH MY GOD. I'M SO GONNA POST THIS ON TWITTER AND MYSPACE AND FACEBOOK AND MY BLOG!!! THE PRESIDENT OF THE STRAWBERRY FANCLUB IS GONNA BE SOOO JEALOUS!" The clueless one waved her hands about cartoonishly.
Ichigo's right eye twitched at two things – both the receptionist's failure to comprehend his question and the name of his very passionate fan club. Stalkers' club, as he would more than often bemoan grudgingly to Renji. "Excuse me, I'm really in a hurry here. Could you just direct me to the room?" He took a deep breath to calm his aggravated nerves, and smiled a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
The receptionist was taken aback at the brash annoyance that seeped into his words and gaped like a goldfish, before putting on an air of utmost professionalism. "Right, Autumn Chrysalis' casting venue. It's at the Mayfair, level 3. The first room on the left when you step out of the elevator."
Ichigo repeated after her to ascertain the venue and thanked her adequately. Before he could turn away, the receptionist had already pulled out a camera from thin air and snapped a close-up of him. She then hyperventilated as she zoomed in on the digital image with hysterical zest.
xxx
The orange-haired man cast a series of wary glances at the people around him. He sure hadn't expected such a spectacular turnout – he was registered as #58 and there were more in line after him. It was an open-styled audition, one whereby each person had to act out his given part in front of not just the panel alone, but everyone else too. It was no doubt the most nerve wrecking of them all. He even spotted a few familiar faces, such as the guy who acted in NHK's recent taiga drama – Atsuhime, and some others whose names temporarily escaped him.
He already had his interpretation of the character down pat, and seeing the likes of others would tend to skew his perception. The last thing you would want during an audition is to be accused of plagiarizing another party's creative construction of the same character. Knowing he probably had the entire day ahead of him, Ichigo plugged into his iPod and re-read Autumn Chrysalis for the second time in three days.
xxx
"Number 58 – Kurosaki Ichigo. You're up next," a short man with a mousy face and a comparably mousy hairdo announced using a loudhailer.
Ichigo had been waiting patiently for almost seven hours and was close to finishing the thick novel when his name was called. It was his turn to prepare for the measly three minutes of a solo showcase and as he stood up, he felt all eyes settle upon him. Quite contrary to the stares he frequently received on the streets or when walking down the red carpet during gala premieres, the ones he was getting now were those of contempt and condescension. It was as though he had no right to be in the same room as them, seeing the stark differences in their statuses.
He, a mere idol with a critically panned but nonetheless popular movie trilogy to his name. They, hardworking actors who started at the bottom and gradually made their way up, rung after rung, gaining favorable expertise and bigger roles along the way. To them, Ichigo should scram back to where he belonged to – the fickle, maniacal world of screaming youngsters, their lack of appreciation for real talent and elevating good lookers who are dime a dozen into the heavens.
But Ichigo was Ichigo, and there was no way he would ever back down without a fight within and beyond his means. He held his head high as he navigated through the room to the small stage, badly wanting to show how wrong these narrow-minded people were.
Ichigo pondered about the existence of the 'Casting Couch' as he walked towards the stage. Sadly, it was nothing but a myth, one that was too often used in scandalously juicy gossips involving lecherous directors/producers and nubile starlets. He had never seen one in his career of four years and had asked about it too, apparently no one had seen it as well. He would love to see the much heralded couch for himself come one day.
xxx
Before the stage was a panel of judges and out of the four, Ichigo could only recognize two, of whom were the author, Unohana Retsu and the director, Shinji Hirako. He knew the former as her photograph was encased in the back cover of the novel, and the latter because he was that famous. Sitting between them were a stern-looking, petite lady with her short onyx hair styled in a pixie cut, and a man with an ostentatious clip adorning the front of his long black hair. Their tags on the table respectively read 'Soi Fon – Casting Director' and 'Kuchiki Byakuya – Executive Producer'. Both eyed Ichigo dispassionately as he bowed before them respectfully.
"Hello, Mister Hotshot!" The blonde director grinned zealously at Ichigo, revealing his upper row of teeth. "Having a little career change already, eh?"
"Hi all, I'm looking forward to be a part of this project an-"
"Enough of this bull already. Just show us what you've got," Soi Fon frowned pettishly as she cut Ichigo off. She took no nonsense from anyone, not even the most established of actors. Or the most popular of them.
"Oh come on, Soi Fon! Easy on the boy! He bites, you know?" Shinji Hirako laughed quietly to himself, his straight bob flopping around in tandem. Then, he leaned in conspiratorially towards Ichigo and whispered at a volume loud enough for the panel to hear. "I'm a closet fan of yours. All the best, vampy boy!"
With an exaggerated wink strewn in Ichigo's direction, it signaled the beginning of an enactment that depicted three days of intensive memory work and research, together with his personal take on the portrayal of a certain Murakami Yoshihito.
xxx
It was now eight at night and the drearily long audition had finally dragged to a fitful end. They had seen more than eighty candidates vying for the same role and only a handful of them looked to have what it took to inject life into a written person.
"What do you think, Unohana-sensei?" Kuchiki Byakuya asked politely although he already had a shortlist of actors done mentally.
"I quite like Takahashi, he has fair experience in period epics and I do think he would do good as Murakami. And there's Ushiro, that's his name I believe? Him having a background in kendo would be useful. Yamato's reading was very impressive too," Unohana Retsu observed. "But there's this one. I thought he stood out completely from the rest and the feelings he evoked in me were special."
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Unohana-sensei?" Shinji Hirako bared a set of bleached teeth at her.
"I have to admit, that teenybopper surprised me. I mean, that vampire trilogy sucked shit!" Soi Fon chimed in crudely.
"Alright then. I believe we've all come to an appropriate conclusion?" Byakuya looked at the three faces authoritatively. All three nodded in unison and spent the rest of the night selecting a small list of actors for the next and final round.
xxx
"Welcome back, you undead vampy boy~" The famous director hummed leisurely as he waved at the orange head.
Ichigo's vein popped at the director's constant reference to his role in the movies that propelled him to instant mega stardom, and he was no longer a frickin' boy. "Thanks for your consideration. It's a great hono-" he began like a well-oiled media machine.
"Shut up, boy. Recite these lines as if you were Murakami. You have ten minutes to prepare and it starts now," Soi Fon irritably tossed a piece of paper at Ichigo.
"Whoa, PMS?" Shinji pretended that the paper was headed for his head and dodged, only to earn himself a withering glare courtesy of the hard as nails casting director.
"I'm ready," Ichigo looked up from the paper after eight minutes. "Shall we?"
"Hey boy, I gave you ten minutes and you said you're done in eight? Don't get too cocky with me," Soi Fon narrowed her eyes threateningly at Ichigo, who deemed himself brave enough to not quiver in his seat.
"It's more than enough," Ichigo replied simply, receiving a withheld snigger from Shinji and a look of benevolence from the author herself.
"Please," Byakuya raised his eyes to Ichigo's level and motioned for him to commence his second audition.
Ichigo took a step forward and with all the emotions and dexterity he could muster, he put on a display that stretched his limits as an actor who was classically untrained. It was a raw performance yes, and not as polished as those before and after him. But it was definitely one he thought he could be proud of even if he wasn't picked at the end of the day.
What he hadn't known was that the panel shared his sentiments, too.
xxx
"Whatthehelldoyouwantwithme?" Ichigo slurred sleepily as he picked up the phone.
"HEY DUMB BELL! GUESS WHAT?!" The over-excited voice of an enthusiastic redhead boomed through the earpiece. "YOU GOT IT. YOU GOT IT YOU GOT IT YOU GOT THE PART!!!!!!!"
"Hmm...it...got...GOT? GOT IT?! THE PART????????" All wants of sleep slipped off his mind like water passing through a sieve as said recipient of the unwanted morning call bolted upright in his bed.
"YES!!!!!!! YOU TOTALLY NAILED IT! TOTALLY! ALL FOUR OF THEM CHOSE YOU! ALL FOUR! THIS IS BETTER THAN WINNING JAPAN IDOL OR WHATEVER THEY'RE SHOWING ON TV NOW! Oh wait, you're already an idol. Anyway," Renji cleared his throat after an incessant bout of shouting. "The production schedule is running tight and you're the last member to be cast, so be prepared."
"Shut it, Renji. I'm up for anything in the world right now. Absolutely anything," Ichigo replied in exulted confidence, his brown eyes mirroring his ebullient spirit.
xxx
"How convenient of you to be late for the first meeting!" Renji checked his brown-strapped watch impatiently before hollering at Ichigo after the latter had stormed into the private room, huffing and puffing like the fabled big bad wolf.
"T..tra..ffic..bad....huff...hufff...." Ichigo panted himself silly as he bent forward to take in larger gulps of oxygen, and placed both hands on his knees for support.
"My ass. You probably woke up late and spent an hour kicking Daddy into a pulp, you massive ingrate! They're all in that room, big-shots and all. All the best, pal. If you die, I hope I still get my commission," the redhead snickered evilly and proceeded to shove Ichigo into the room with a massive bout of force that came from the morning's insatiably filling breakfast.
"OY—Uh, hi. Morning. So folks, how's it going?" Ichigo could only manage a weak laugh and waved a feeble hand as a form of greeting. A meeting was in the midst when he had barged in like a nobody, therefore nobody bothered to respond. He soon found himself scanning about the room for an empty seat, or even an empty corner so he could disappear into the inconspicuousness of it. There was one, which was beside a man dressed entirely in black and sporting a white cap pulled low over his face. That man's head remained tilted all the while, hence Ichigo couldn't discern who he was, but that wasn't really important.
Stealthily, he made his way towards that area and promptly plunked himself down onto the huge, cushy seat in great relief. He then noticed the man beside him was silently flipping through a magazine hidden below the opaque marble table, not even bothering to give two hoots about the meeting that was taking place.
'Wow, this guy's got some nerve. Heh, a meeting of old fogeys yakking about movie financing is hardly our business. And I'm hungry...oops!' Ichigo nearly wanted to die of humiliation as a roaring clap of thunder escaped his belly and into the ears of everyone in the room.
"Aha, that's Kurosaki Ichigo for you! Everyone's favourite teen idol, eh?" A man with impeccably wispy silver hair smiled at the offender, who in turn could only nod meekly in acknowledgment while trying to psyche himself into thinking he had just eaten a cow.
"Have you met your co-star yet, Ichigo? Ha~coincidence of all grand coincidences, you are sitting right next to him!" The still smiling man said his words as though he was singing a folksy ditty, his eyes never once cracking open. "Ulquiorra Schiffer!"
The man in a white cap began to shift uncomfortably in his seat when his name was mentioned, immersed in guilty thought that he had been caught reading a magazine when he was actually supposed to pay attention.
"Yo, Ichigo here. Nice to meet you and I hope we'll have a great time working together!" The ever media friendly man whose name sounded like a fruit, beamed like a beacon across raging seas and extended a hand towards his new co-star. Intimate scenes are always a chore, and having rapport with each other would aid in the successful completion of such heinous tasks.
He who is named Ulquiorra Schiffer, straightened himself and coolly ignored the hand that was proffered to him. "We shall see about that."
X
Footnote :
The historical events stated above (for the imaginary novel that is Autumn Chrysalis) are nothing but the complete truth. All thanks to Wikipedia and its tireless group of anonymous contributors. This strenuous bit (it really is quite a chunk) of research (my eyes went blurry at one stage) I had to do in order to layer the fake story (a serious plot within a silly plot...brain dies) and the equally fake Wikipedia segments (LOL) is the main reason for the lateness in update. Forgive me! If you don't its fine. I shall go bite a strawberry from the delicious cake I'm having.
And in case anyone's wondering, I thought 'Schiffer' sounded and appeared way nicer than 'Cifer', so there. Plus its 'Schifa' in katakana, hai? Don't expect any ;) to come so soon. This ain't a lust/love at first sight/touch etc kinda fic. LOLOLOL. My apologies if you felt shortchanged in any way. Bwahahaha. And don't expect the rating to move up either (snigger). Alrighty, that's all for future spoilers. I Am XXX, out!