Chapter 6: The 15-Year Truth
After the day's filming concluded, Gotanda returned to his home, exhausted.
The walk from the set to his front door was only a few steps, yet to Gotanda, it felt as though he had crossed an entire century. The work of a director might seem glamorous, but in reality, it was incredibly tedious. Confirming scripts, communicating with actors, designing shots, coordinating scenes... every single detail required his personal touch. Not to mention the frequent emergencies on set—even if a light was just slightly out of position, he had to intervene personally.
Being a director, to put it bluntly, was being a massive pressure vessel. One had to handle problems constantly—from tiny props and lighting to major issues like investment and promotion; almost every step carried the success or failure of the entire production. Even after such a grueling schedule, Gotanda still had to appear on set the next morning, pretending to be full of energy to boost the crew's morale.
Fortunately, the lead actors didn't require much hand-holding, which saved him a lot of trouble.
The child actors were all skilled. As a famous star, Kana Arima's talent went without saying. Akane Kurokawa came from a theater background and had a very solid foundation. While Aqua was a bit weaker on the basics, his mind was sharp; he could accurately grasp the director's intent without much coaching, making him the easiest to communicate with.
The adult leads were also reliable—at least none of them acted like divas. This wasn't his first time working with Ai, so they had a good rapport. As for Teppei Nishikawa and Koromo Shiranui, though their acting was average, they followed directions well; with enough takes, he could always get the shot he needed.
It wouldn't be long now before they could wrap production.
Gotanda went to his bedroom and pulled out the sample footage his editor had handed over today. The director was responsible for the overall style and emotional rhythm, providing the rough editing logic and framework, while the editor refined every frame according to those requirements. He quickly reviewed the samples and jotted down several points that needed adjustment. Once satisfied, he tucked the notes away, ready to discuss them with the editor on set tomorrow.
With his work finished, Gotanda prepared to shut down and rest, but he felt like he was forgetting something.
The movie was in post-production, so this job would be over soon, but before that... was there something else?
It felt like he had overlooked something...
Gotanda rummaged through his video files and searched through a storage box to see if there were any misplaced drives. After a while, he finally found the files he was looking for.
It was the documentary of B-Komachi that Ai had commissioned him to film. In the box were also two other DVDs that Ai had specifically entrusted to him for safekeeping, saying they were to be given to Aqua and Ruby when they turned fifteen.
*The B-Komachi documentary, huh...* Gotanda Taishi rubbed his bird-nest hair and lit a cigarette.
With so much work piled up, he had actually forgotten about this.
The commission for the documentary had actually happened during his first collaboration with Ai. At the time, Ai had praised his script and then asked him to film a documentary for B-Komachi. Unable to resist her persistent pleading, Gotanda had eventually taken the job.
The documentary had reached near-completion through intermittent filming, and the missing footage of the Dome performance had been added. A release date had even been set, but unexpectedly, B-Komachi disbanded before it could premiere.
He had been so busy lately that the matter had slipped his mind.
Gotanda slapped his forehead and reorganized the equipment box, taking out the two DVDs and placing them somewhere prominent.
Speaking of which, since B-Komachi had disbanded, did the documentary even need to be released?
Gotanda wasn't sure, so he sent a message to Ai on Line to ask about it.
Despite the late hour, Ai replied quickly.
"Eh? The B-Komachi documentary... oh no, I forgot too!"
Gotanda could almost see Ai's panicked expression through the screen.
"Wait a second, let me call the President and ask." A few minutes later, Gotanda received another message from her.
"The President said I'm an idiot and that the release plans were cancelled ages ago. Since B-Komachi has disbanded, he said—at this point, there's no need to drag it out for profit. We should just let Nino and the others live their lives."
"The cancellation fees for the theaters have already been paid, but the director hasn't been compensated yet, so..."
The screen flickered, followed by another message.
"I plan to buy the documentary myself! Can we meet tomorrow? Also, are those DVDs I left with you still there? I want to get them back together >︿<"
The next day, Gotanda arrived at the designated cafe and spotted a girl wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses at a window seat.
As soon as Gotanda sat down, the girl across from him lowered her voice and asked:
"Do you have what I asked for?"
Gotanda narrowed his eyes. "I'm not sure you've brought what *I* asked for."
"Hmph, what's that supposed to mean? Don't look down on me."
As Ai spoke, she pulled out her bank card.
"I still have some savings. How could I not afford a documentary?"
Gotanda shrugged. "Wasn't I just following your lead? What's with the attitude? Been watching movies lately?"
"Mhm, Hikaru recommended a few films to me." Ai nodded. "I'm sorry for making you work for nothing, Director. I don't plan on letting the B-Komachi documentary be released either. The President is right; the group is gone. Releasing it now would only cause trouble for Nino and Takamine."
"That's a minor issue." Gotanda spoke while looking at the menu. "Not every work has to be released. I have plenty of private collections. Back when I first started, no one would take my practice pieces, so I had to keep them for my own enjoyment. For me, as long as the work itself is meaningful, that's enough."
"Thanks to you, I managed to film quite a lot of interesting things..."
"However, business is business." Gotanda coughed. "We're old acquaintances, so I'm not going to rip you off, but at least pay the breach of contract fees, right? Strawberry Productions was the production company for the documentary; I'll send the bill for the filming expenses later. I hold all the copyrights, so if you want to buy it, I've drafted a contract at market price. Here, see if there are any problems."
Gotanda pulled a document from his backpack.
"Ugh..." Ai raised her hand, her fingers unconsciously twirling a few strands of hair, a troubled expression crossing her face. "Director, you know I'm not good at this stuff. Maybe... should I show the contract to the President?"
"Then why did you ask me to come here?" Gotanda felt bewildered.
"The important part is the DVDs! I want to take the DVDs back." Ai puffed out her chest.
"Is that something really important?" Gotanda was even more confused. He hadn't even opened the DVDs, so he had no idea what was on them.
When Ai had entrusted them to him, she only told him to keep them safe and give them to Aqua later.
"Didn't you ask me to keep them for you? What, changed your mind? I told you before, you should just keep that kind of thing yourself. If you hadn't insisted and said 'I'll definitely lose them,' I wouldn't have taken them."
"Fine, since you want them back, here." Gotanda took the two DVDs out of his bag and handed them to Ai casually.
Ai took them solemnly, stowing them away like precious treasures.
"The Director didn't peek, right?" she asked suspiciously.
"Who do you think I am!" Gotanda snorted. "You emphasized so much not to open them; why would I do that?"
"Though, I really am curious. Being so mysterious and insisting on waiting until the kids are fifteen to give them over... there's a secret in there, isn't there? Well, if you don't want to say, forget it."
Ai pursed her lips. "Actually, it's about how Hikaru used to be."
"I was afraid he'd do something stupid, so I left those videos. I hope Aqua can help him in the future."
"They aren't really needed anymore, are they?"
Ai thought of the person Hikaru Hoshino had become, and a smile unconsciously spread across her face.
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