"Akira-san, we're almost at Tanzaku," the coachman called from up front.
Perfect. Good thing our emergency stop for the cracked wheel didn't set us back too much. If we'd arrived in the middle of the night, finding a decent hotel in Tanzaku would've been a nightmare - we probably wouldn't have found anything at all.
I decided to stretch my legs and finish the last bit of the journey on foot. It was less than a ten-minute walk anyway. Ayumi joined me, trailing a few steps behind. The hired shinobi, seeing me leave the carriage, shifted their formation so I was in the center. Hirose, the team leader, took the lead, five chunin covered the flanks, and Yamato brought up the rear.
With a setup like that, there was no way anyone could ambush me.
"Wow, the city gates are really lit up tonight. Is there some kind of festival going on?" I asked Ayumi, but she just shrugged.
Against the backdrop of sunset, as darkness crept in, the city looked even brighter and more alive from a distance.
****
"No, no, stop!" A silver-haired man, pushing fifty, waved a long pipe in frustration, his voice echoing across the set. [ image ]

With a chorus of weary sighs, the film crew stopped and shuffled back to their marks.
"Satoro-kun, over here." A well-dressed man with sharp cheekbones and a bit of a belly, wearing a goofy smile, walked over to the director, who sat glaring at him.
"Makino-san, did I do something wrong?" Satoro asked, keeping up his smile, though inside he was cursing. They'd been trying to shoot the city entrance scene for over an hour, and the director kept stopping for every little thing.
"Your back wasn't straight enough, on the ninth step you swung your leg too far, which threw off the flow of your walk. And you're too stiff - relax your shoulders, move your hips a bit. Act like you're coming home."
In the eyes of the experienced director Makino-san, who'd already made three films and earned heaps of praise from the daimyo, the first scene introducing the prince of the Yuam Kingdom had to be special and memorable. But every time, something about his actor's performance just didn't sit right.
"Makino-san, you're being too strict. I think he's doing great," a young woman tried to encourage her colleague.
*If only this would end soon, I'm so tired, I just want to sleep,* she thought to herself.
"Hmmm… in half an hour it'll be too dark, even the extra lights won't help much. All right, if it doesn't work this time, we'll just pick the best take," the director finally relented - he didn't want to spend days on such a simple scene either.
"Places, everyone!" the assistant director called, and soon all the actors and extras were back in position.
Satoro and the people playing his guards stepped out of camera view at the city gate.
"Ready! Camera! Action!" Makino-san called.
"Who are those people?" The extras started murmuring, setting the scene for Makino's proud entrance into the city.
"That's the prince!" one of the women shouted.
"Huh? Where? And who's that guy?" someone else asked, loudly and off-script.
The director didn't even notice the minor deviation from the script - all his attention was on Makino, who was slowly coming into frame.
"Very good, the pace is right, posture is perfect, back is straight, stop… wait, who are those people?" The director nearly swallowed his pipe in shock.
Some shinobi, who'd somehow slipped into the middle of the guards, started walking straight ahead, acting like he didn't notice anyone.
"Who are you?" one of the "guards" called out, annoyed, but quickly stepped aside with the others, letting the newcomers into the city.
After that shinobi, five more people entered, sticking to the side of the road.
*Damn it, I told them to make sure no one interrupted the shoot.* The director was about to call for a cut when one figure caught his eye.
Moving slowly and effortlessly, as if nothing in the world could rush him, was a young man. The shinobi surrounding him in a five-meter radius gave him an air of untouchability. His looks and clothes only added to the aura of authority.
Perfect posture, chin slightly raised, a sharp, cold, almost arrogant gaze - as if no one around him was worthy of his attention.
"That's what a prince should look like!" Makino stared, mesmerized, completely forgetting his shoot had just been hijacked. The extras and other actors also forgot everything, watching the newcomers like sheep staring at a new gate.
A beautiful and dangerous-looking woman walking behind the young man caught up to him and whispered something, covering her mouth with her hand. He glanced at her for a moment, then kept walking as if nothing had happened.
Satoro, who'd also been standing there speechless, quickly stepped aside, bowing slightly to let the new arrivals pass. Soon the group disappeared around the corner, and the spell over the crowd began to fade.
"Cut! I mean… stop!" Makino was the first to snap out of it.
"Makino-san, I'll send my assistant to stand guard at the gate right away," his assistant said, hurrying over.
"No need!" Makino waved his pipe and smiled. "Let's pause all filming for now. Find that young man and… do whatever it takes, but I want him to play the prince."
"But… what about me?" Satoro asked, looking lost - he'd clearly heard the director's words.
****
Turns out, I didn't need to worry about finding a hotel - Saiko, the manager who'd been overseeing the branch construction, had already taken care of accommodations for me and my team. The others had to squeeze into two rooms, but Ayumi and I each got our own.
We were all tired and hungry, so we just sent the youngest chunin out for food. After eating and briefly discussing plans for tomorrow, we wrapped up for the night.
Breakfast was a lot livelier than I expected.
Woken by a brisk knock on my door, I quickly splashed some water on my face, threw on an extra layer, and opened up, expecting to see Ayumi with breakfast.
"Good morning, Akira-san," Ayumi and manager Saiko said in unison.
All right, Saiko must have come early to escort us. One of the chunin - Renaro, I think - was probably standing guard outside. But who was this guy?
I raised an eyebrow at the stranger, silently asking my question.
"Hello, my name is Shihinoro. I'm the assistant to the famous director Makino-san. Would you have a moment to spare?" The stocky young man stood out with a small goatee.
"Come in," I said, opening the door wider for everyone.
****
"So, you want to hire me as an actor… hmm, that might be tricky. I'm not planning to stay in Tanzaku long." Saiko, Ayumi, and Renaro sat politely off to the side, sipping tea. The young chunin tried to hide his curiosity, but the women were clearly eavesdropping, sneaking glances our way.
"Ahem, I think we can work something out with Makino-san and move most of your scenes to Tanzaku and the nearby area. The prince's total screen time is under ten minutes," the assistant pressed on.
Well… if that's the case, I don't mind spending a little time on a movie. None of my business in Tanzaku required my constant presence, and I could always use a clone. The real question was - did I want to do this?
"Bring me the script. I'll read it and let you know." If I had to do weird stuff or act out some nonsense as the prince, I was out.
"Oh, I have the script right here," the assistant said, perking up as he pulled a stack of papers bound with thin cords from his shoulder bag.
Taking the thick stack, I started flipping through. Even with my fast reading, it took a while to get through that much material, so my morning plans got pushed back by an hour and a half.
Well, I didn't feel any secondhand embarrassment, but the dialogue and plot could use some work. The story was meant to span several films. I hadn't seen the first one, but from what I read, the plot went like this: Princess Fuun was either exiled or ran away from the Yuam Kingdom to her mother's homeland.
Five years later, some loyal subjects found her and begged her to return and overthrow the prince, who had poisoned the king to seize power. They convinced her, and in the first film, she managed to liberate an important city suffering under the rule of the not-yet-crowned prince, and began gathering an army of peasants and other oppressed people.
At least, that's what I gathered from the script for the second film. Here, it was clear: while her allies gathered an army, she went to the capital to seek help from noble families who also suffered under the prince's rule - her brother. On the way, in the trading city of Shimai, she ran into the prince, who didn't recognize her because she'd changed a lot in five years and was disguised with dyed hair and peasant clothes.
In the capital, she secured the support of several major lords who promised her troops. The prince, seeing the rebel army approaching, didn't sit idle and marched out his own. The final battle - the prince is defeated and killed by the princess herself. The king, weakened by poison, names his daughter ruler of Yuam with his dying breath. The end. Why the king gave her the throne instead of making the prince king is a plot hole, but no one here is likely to care.
While I read, the others kept themselves busy. Ayumi just kept my tea topped up, Saiko left for a bit and promised to return, Renaro went to sleep and handed off guard duty to another chunin, and Shihinoro…
"So, I take it a new external threat is supposed to appear in the third film?" I asked, distracting the assistant, who was engrossed in my book. Yeah, I'd offered it to him while I read the script.
"Sorry, what?" He tore himself away from the book. After I repeated the question, he nodded.
"That's right, but I can't say more. Makino-san told me not to share details. Um… Akira-san, did you really write this book yourself?" he asked, eyes shining.
"Yeah. The script's not bad, but I'd tweak a few things and polish the prince's dialogue." I mused. One simple detail could make this film so much better. "Mind if I?" I asked, taking a pencil from Ayumi.
"Well… I guess if it's in pencil, it's fine, but I'm not sure Makino-san will approve your changes," the assistant said, eyeing the script.
Half an hour later, I finished and handed the script back to the assistant with, "If Makino-san doesn't agree, you don't have to come back."
****
"What? If I don't accept the changes, he'll refuse the role? How arrogant!" Makino fumed, scattering tobacco across his desk.
"Makino-san, maybe… just take a look? I read some of Akira-san's book, and he's a fantastic writer. And he said he only made a few small changes," Shihinoro tried to persuade his boss.
"Pff, fine, I'll look." Makino snatched the script and started flipping through, stopping only at the marked pages - all in the second half.
[The princess's hopes for victory were crumbling. Her brother hadn't landed a single blow, but she could feel the gulf in their skills - it was no accident the prince was considered a genius warrior. Princess Fuun realized her brother was just toying with her, taking twisted pleasure in her helplessness.
To stop the bloodshed, she managed to challenge the prince to a duel, promising to surrender her entire army if she lost. Now, standing in a ring formed by her brother's army, she could only smile sadly, knowing there was no hope left. But then, something unexpected happened. The prince started coughing violently, spraying blood onto the ground.
"Hah, little sister, didn't anyone tell you it's dishonorable to use poison in a duel?" the prince said, smiling for the first time in the whole battle.
Princess Fuun, surprised, looked at her sword and at the tiny, barely visible wound on her brother's arm.
"I… didn't use any poison," she said firmly.
"Maybe not, but the sword you're using is no noble Jin-Yin - otherwise I'd feel a chill at the wound…" The prince closed his eyes for a moment, then suddenly opened them and was instantly beside the princess. His speed was twice what he'd shown before, so fast the princess couldn't even react.
*I'm going to die,* she thought, accepting her fate, but felt no pain - just a light breeze near her hand. Looking down, she saw the lucky charm tied to her hilt slowly falling. At the same time, her sword transformed, revealing its true form. The blade turned black, its aura sinister.
"That sword… the Blade of Nine Curses!" the princess realized, not understanding how it ended up with the noble Fujimoto, who'd given it to her to defeat the prince.
"Yeah, nasty piece of work." With a single motion, the prince knocked the sword from her hand, then, to the princess's shock, sheathed his own blade.
"You… you're not going to kill me?" the princess asked, not believing she'd be taken prisoner for trial.
"Kill you? Why would I end the life of the one I value most?" the prince chuckled, pushing his collar aside and removing a pendant from his neck. "Remember this?"
"That's…" the princess said in disbelief, instantly recognizing the charm.
"Yeah, your gift to me on my eighth birthday. I'm giving it back - a dead man doesn't need it." Gently taking his sister's hand, he placed the charm in her palm.
"What? But… I don't understand." The princess was at a loss - all this time, she'd been sure her brother was a cruel tyrant who hated her.
"The one who's wounded by the Blade of Nine Curses dies within minutes. Didn't you remember what Master Jisu taught you?" Princess Fuun's mouth fell open in shock. The fact that she'd secretly studied swordsmanship with Master Jisu was a secret no one was supposed to know. "Don't be surprised - all your 'secret' teachers were hired by me. You should've seen yourself trying to come up with excuses for your constant absences," her brother laughed.
"But… you exiled me from the kingdom! You threatened to kill my friends if I didn't leave!" the princess shouted, trying to deny the reality in front of her.
"Yes, I wanted to keep you away from the palace intrigues our 'loyal' subjects were spinning. The fact that they managed to poison Father proves I was right. Unfortunately… you came back. Fuun, I just wanted to protect you. Now that I'm gone, the kingdom will rest on your shoulders."
"I don't believe you! You're trying to mess with my head!" the princess cried. She'd heard rumors the prince could control people's minds. She thought that's what was happening now.
"Oh, you must've heard the stories that I can somehow control people like puppets," the prince laughed again.
"Isn't it true? Your soldiers are under some kind of mind control too," she said, pointing at the warriors standing with blank faces.
"Princess Fuun, our prince is a brilliant commander. The foundation of our army is discipline - we were trained to control our emotions in battle," the prince's general said, his eyes dull.
"Yeah, but apparently I didn't teach you well enough," the prince said, glancing at his troops, who were struggling to keep their faces blank.
"They… they're crying," the princess said in surprise, seeing tears streaming down the faces of the toughest warriors.
"My loyal brothers!" the prince shouted at the top of his lungs. "You have served me with courage and loyalty for many years. Sadly, today our paths part. Treacherous nobles used my sister to drag her into their schemes, and though I will die, as long as you live - the shield of Yuam - our kingdom will remain safe. After I'm gone, help my sister rule, protect her as you protected me." At his words, all the soldiers dropped to one knee, bowing their heads.
Turning to his sister, the prince walked over with a smile and hugged her.
"I did everything I could to protect our kingdom from internal strife. Be strong and careful with your 'allies.' You can trust Kinji - he served you on my orders. Goodbye, my foolish little sister." He kissed her forehead gently, then collapsed.
"No, no, this can't be! Brother, I demand an explanation, stop pretending!" Falling to her knees, the princess shook his body.
"Princess Fuun… the prince… is dead," the general said, removing his helmet.]
"Makino-san? Are you all right?" Shihinoro asked, watching the director wipe his eyes.
"All right? I feel fantastic! This is genius! If we do the story like this, everyone will be blown away! Absolutely brilliant! Where is Akira-san right now?" The director's emotions spilled out in a rush.
"Um, he said if you agreed to the changes, I should find him tomorrow morning," Shihinoro replied, impressed by the director's reaction.
"Tomorrow morning? Fine! Go as early as you can… no, I'll go myself!" the director declared.
"All right… if there's nothing else for today, I'll be going." The assistant reached for Akira's closed book on the table.
Makino, seeing his fingers inch toward the book, slapped his hand down on the cover.
"Leave that here for now - I want to read it too." And just like that, he shamelessly took the book Shihinoro had been given.
🔥~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~🔥
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