Runadaemon pseudo-beta read this for me. She made me correct my own mistakes! Can you believe the nerve of her? LOL. I hate it when she's right.
Baseball cap positioned neatly over his face, lightly crouching over to disguise his height, the incognito actor and his manager walked among the throng of festival goers. Koto music echoed over the buzz of the crowd, enhanced with the scents and sights of the festival stands.
"You should eat something. You haven't even had lunch yet Ren." The manager interjected over the chatter of the crowd, trying to catch the attention of his charge. "How about some grilled corn? That should be light enough."
"I'm not hungry." The actor said shortly, strolling forward.
"You still have to eat something Ren." Yashiro replied back sternly. "If you don't, I'll tell Kyoko that you're not taking care of yourself." ("As usual" Yukihiro added in his mind, though not angrily. Telling Kyoko that Ren was slacking off in the treatment of his own body served well into getting them some time together.)
Tsuruga paused in mid-step at the thought, catching Yashiro by surprise.
"I know I should eat, but I can't eat. I don't think… I don't think my stomach could handle it."
"What do you mean? You're not sick, are you?" Yashiro said with a dose of despair. He took a few steps ahead and looked up at the actor's face in concern. If Ren was genuinely ill, he would have to contact Lory and find someone to replace Ren at the last minute.
Ren was not the type of actor to complain about poor health; if it was illness vs. acting, acting always won. It would have to be something serious for Ren to admit he wasn't feeling well. Something like stomach cancer, or a killer bee sting. He would have to call Lory. Kyoko would have to act on stage, in love with a complete stranger.
Reaching for a glove in his pocket so that he could pick up his phone safely, Tsuruga continued.
"I…" Ren paused, swallowing hard. It was definitely something new to his manager, to see the actor so nervous. "…I don't like acting on stage."
Yashiro's jaw dropped. His eyes went as wide as plates. He stood there, dumbstruck.
The number one actor of Japan, admitting he had stage fright? His movies and images were seen by millions of people, all over Asia, and here Tsuruga Ren was getting butterflies over a few hundred audience members, at most?
Puffed cheeks jutted out from underneath his glasses. Yashiro clenched his mouth with both hands. His shoulders begun to shake, and his eyes filled with tears, as he held back his torrent of laughter at the absurd situation.
Ren began walking again, not bothered by his manager's apparent hysteria. As good of a manager Yashiro was, only actors could really know the difference between acting for the camera and acting for the audience. He would think the whole situation absurd too if he were in his supervisor's shoes.
"Acting on stage is different Yashiro." Ren spoke rationally, not reacting to his manager's laughter. "There are no cuts. No NGs. Any error is apparent to everyone, immediately; with no ability to take it back. You have to fight for your audience's attention every moment or you've lost the whole show."
The thought lightly sobered up Yashiro, enough so that he stuttered a bit in response. He moved in closer to Ren, in order to make sure he wasn't heard. "Bu-but..you're Tsuruga Ren! The one shot king! The co-star killer! You've done many things in one take before. This can't be much different."
"This is different." Ren stated firmly. "The president gave me this role to test me again. He wants me to either pass his next test, or fail in public."
"What do you mean?" Yashiro whimpered.
"You said this story is about the love between a princess and a cow shepherd. It took me five days to get Katsuki's expression of caring right without an NG. Now I need to convince an entire audience, in one public take, that I'm a character madly in love from a story I've never heard of, with an actress I've never met."
The way he described the dilemma deflated Yashiro's amused cheeks like a pin puncturing a balloon. Yashiro was sure Ren was in love with Kyoko, but hadn't his charge been dense showing it in the past? What if he thought love was cornering her to the edge of the stage, and making Kyoko apologetically bow in her typical frenzy? Or what if he came on strong, and instead of swooning, Kyoko ran off the stage screaming? No audience member would accept that, and the press would hop all over it. The relationship would take three steps back, rather than a baby step forward.
"Yashiro-san! Ren-san! There you are!" Age defying make up artist Jerry Woods, swooped in on the two handsome men, discussing their fate near the side of the stage. Climbing down the steps, the tiny woman grabbed the large arm of Ren, and started listing the preparation schedule.
"We don't have much time. First, make up. I have the play's transcript you can read over. Then Honey will show you the stage floor and the props you can use if you want to."
Jerry expertly swiveled him up the stairs without another word, leaving the manager to reflect by himself at the dome's edge.
Dusk fell in earnest and the sky darkened. The audience area slowly filled with excited festival goers. The vibrant lanterns and outdoor lights became the main form of light. Couples held hands as they sat in the grass, small children perched on their parents' shoulders, and people crowded in to get a better view of the platform, where the story would take place.
Unlike his charge, Yashiro's stomach did require food every once and a while. He hadn't attended a festival since he started working at LME, and the atmosphere reminded him of when he visited summer festivals with his friends.
Walking around the festival alone, he had a few fried octopus sticks, following it with a fresh choco-banana. Being out without Ren felt strange, but it really wasn't all that bad to be without his charge every once and a while. He had seen some high school girls looking at him appreciatively. Women never really paid attention to him when he was with Ren, which was expected. He couldn't be a good manager if he got jealous, but it was nice to get some attention on his own. His reply smile had sent the girls running and giggling, which picked up his mood.
Returning to the stage, throwing the banana stick in the trash, he had almost taken a step onto the backstage steps before he spotted two familiar faces in the crowd. In show business you need to have a good memory, especially for faces. The firm looking landlord, and his pleasantly, slightly plump wife stood near the front of the stage, waiting with the rest for the beginning of the show. Their presence surprised him, although he wasn't sure why. He went over to wish them hello.
"Hello Yashiro-san, pleasure to see you here." The okami said perkily. Her husband simply twitched his head down, in almost an invisible greeting. "Are you working, or are you here to see Kyoko as well?"
"Both actually," Yashiro smiled, and pushed his glasses up into place. "Ren is performing alongside Kyoko tonight."
"That's lovely!" The landlord's wife exclaimed. She clapped her hands, slightly muffled by her yukata's long pink sleeves. Maybe it was his imagination, but Yashiro was pretty sure the landlord's lips flicked downward. "They surely make a wonderful couple, don't you think?"
"I have to agree. I am excited to see them work together again." Yashiro agreed, happy to hear that there was another person who believed that the two actors would make an excellent couple.
"Too old." The third voice interjected, disapproval evident in just two syllables. Apparently he had not just imagined the tashio's lips moving.
His wife laughed, and patted her husband's arm. "Don't listen to him Yashiro-san. The two of us are actually nine years apart. He is simply protective of Kyoko."
"Ren is only four years older than Kyoko. I promise I would not let him near Kyoko if I felt that he wouldn't be anything but a gentleman to her." Yashiro smiled sociably, and nodded to them both. Of course he was lying a bit. He had seen Ren bully Kyoko early in their relationship, but that was more than a year ago. Now Ren was too gentlemanly with Kyoko in Yashiro's opinion. "She is very important to LME, to our employees, and to me as well. She is a very charming girl."
The chef's eyes narrowed a bit, and he looked down at the manager coolly. "You are both too old."
"Honey!" His wife cried.
The rest of the conversation dropped out, as the surrounding lights began to dim.
