by Sato Tsutomu
"......It wasn't Onii-sama's fault."
Miyuki's whisper was tender as she took his hands from the table and gently wrapped them in her own.
[August 14th (2)]
Although they had finished choosing clothes, there was still time to spare before lunch. As she was finally able to come out alone with Tatsuya, Miyuki didn't want to just go home and let the occasion go to waste.
Fortunately, Tatsuya wasn't exactly the indoors type either. In addition, Tatsuya had come out today with family service (sister service) in mind. Without any particular words between the two, they decided to hang out like this until evening.
The building they were currently in specialized in fashion for young women. They didn't carry just clothes but also shoes, hats, accessories, various knick-knacks, swimsuits and yukatas according to season; this building had such goods for the entirety of it's 14 floors. Even the food stalls were snacks and sweet shops catering to young women. It was a rather formidable atmosphere for men, but another thing altogether for women and couples. Even if his companion was his sister, no one would suspect a thing.
In fact, without listening in to the conversation between them it would be nigh impossible to perceive that they were siblings. Or rather, if one didn't pick up on Miyuki's utterance of 'Onii-sama', even if they were close by they wouldn't be able to tell.
With her arm happily entwined around Tatsuya's, Miyuki's nestled appearance no matter how you looked at it gave the perfect impression of a girl in love. Those with some bias may think they were an 'unbalanced couple'. That line of thought was probably restricted only to the male populace, after which they would be accused by their accompanying lady as 'ogling another woman' and appropriately chastised. Well, it was a kind of expected harmony.
As previously mentioned, this building was pretty much a women only store. It held nothing of interest in particular-- the majority of those with girlfriends or those they wanted to make girlfriends seemed only to be here to make their partner happy-- for men. A man with thoughts like that, putting their own enjoyment aside, could probably spend a considerable amount of time in here, but Tatsuya was not that type to say the least.
However as Tatsuya accompanied Miyuki in her window shopping, he displayed no sign of unwillingness whatsoever. As Miyuki's eyes animatedly brightened or filled with frustration, Tatsuya's own eyes twinkled warmly. Whether inborn or acquired, imprinted by others or nurtured by himself, the fact was as long as Miyuki was there it wouldn't matter if they were in the city or in the mountains; he would be the same.
It was the one thing he truly wanted. As long as she was beside him, whatever the conditions didn't matter; this was something anyone who knew his circumstances could understand full well. Both Miyuki and Tatsuya depended heavily upon one another, but perhaps more on Tatsuya's side than the other.
Still if you actually asked them, they'd probably just reply 'it's none of your business (not your concern)' in unison. A punishment more painful than being kicked by a horse may also be forthcoming.
That-- the harsh handling-- wouldn't really be due to the blunt question in particular.
It would also apply to the rude intrusion.
Having an early lunch at a pasta house, the siblings glared coldly at the young man at the table next to them.
Tatsuya and Miyuki had entered that shop by coincidence, or rather on a whim. When eating out, the two of them would rarely choose a place with such an unobstructed layout as this. They'd mainly go for places with private rooms, or at least booths with partitions between tables. If they didn't, they'd garner far too much unwelcome attention, most of it naturally on the part of Miyuki.
Due to the occasion today, they probably decided that most of the customers would be women, and the men would most likely be accompanied by women anyway, well, it ended up being quite the piece of wishful thinking.
The moment Miyuki entered the shop, followed by Tatsuya, the bustle inside was frozen in an instant. Even the clerk-- unusually for such a casual establishment as this, a waiter not a waitress-- was paralyzed breathless. Even Tatsuya had not expected such a hypersensitive reaction. He had thought that a place which dealt with fashion on such a regular basis should have at least some resistance to Miyuki's beauty, but actually, precisely because this was a place which dealt with fashion there were probably few opportunities to see a true beauty of Miyuki's caliber.
The waiter regained his senses just as Tatsuya was on the verge of turning right around and walking back out. He probably sensed Tatsuya's dismay and intent to leave, clearing his mind in the process. Whether professionalism as a waiter or a lack of subtlety, he certainly did at least succeed in keeping two customers.
Even if they were picky, in all likelihood they would meet a similar response in any other establishment. So, Tatsuya quietly followed the waiter as he escorted them to an empty table. For her part, Miyuki would normally shy away from such attention but bore it. As long as Tatsuya was there, such things were trivial matters.
The two seat table did not have fixed sofas (at least apparently), but rather wooden chairs. After requesting the waiter fetch some chairs for them, Tatsuya turned to Miyuki. As he pulled out the chair for her to sit, she looked back at him coyly and gave a curtsy. Seating himself in the chair opposite, Tatsuya glanced at the waiter. In haste, he brought over and offered them menus. Receiving them in relaxed manner, Tatsuya dismissed him.
His conduct was so full of dignity belying his age that the waiter didn't feel any discomfort from the brusque treatment. The gazes of the customers who had been staring at Miyuki were for a fraction of a second diverted to Tatsuya. Most of them were female, but in their minds the sense of discomfort was replaced by a sort of consent. Although they had earlier been silently belittling Miyuki in their minds, thinking things such as 'what an unbalanced pair' and 'her taste in men is terrible', all this changed to 'the perfect couple' as they fully accepted their defeat.
With the rivalry discarded, the jealous looks changed to praise. However the couples, especially within the men, felt an anxious plight similar to jealous suspicion. Few of the 'boyfriends' were able to understand the look in their 'girlfriends' faces, but subconsciously an instinctive part of them understood that what had stolen their current girlfriend, or future girlfriend's eyes was not just her haunting beauty, but the deep love between her and the boy sitting opposite her.
A new player came upon the stage immediately after Tatsuya had finished placing orders for the two of them.
She was a superb beauty.
Her age was around 20. She was in the flower of her youth, her regal color and luster like an overpowering bouquet of roses.
Whatever the time or place, hers was a beauty which would not fail to catch attention.
She herself understood that perfectly well, and one who was fully showing off.
Her pompous carriage however did not elicit disagreeable reactions from those watching. In all likelihood she had polished her image, as well as her consciousness of being seen. She carried it as if it were her career.
Behind her, as if chamberlain to her empress, a probably considerably older young man tagged along. She was possibly an entertainer-- that being an actress. In the year 2095 realistic 3DCGs had pretty much completely replaced the role of 'idols', but the role of 'actress' was still the realm of living women.
She had an aura which would be fearless even if introduced as a lead actress.
It could only be guessed at why she would come into such a casual restaurant. Maybe it was just on a whim, or she was looking over a location. The one thing that could be said for certain was if she set foot in this place filled with 'ordinary' people, she would have certainly drawn the eyes of everyone instore.
She herself had fully expected that. It didn't stem from any vanity or self-esteem. It was simply based on experience repeated dozens of times that it was almost a rule. As if second nature to her already, she directed her charm and prepared to be stared at.
Howe
ver, her expectations this time were off the mark. As per the golden rule 'no rule is without exceptions', her string of experiences, was met with an exception.
The clerk who greeted her showed a sense of surprise and admiration, but it was a far calmer reaction than she would have thought.
For a mere waiter to appear before her and keep his cool, in her experience took considerable courage. However in the 80% full shop, a small murmur buzzed in the vicinity of the two as intrigued eyes and heads turned towards them with surprise as men and women alike recognized her beauty, then as if losing interest immediately turned back to watch something inside the store.
Appearances aside, she was an actress. For the five years since her debut, she had built up a strong position as an entertainer. If one is insensitive, they cannot survive in that industry. CG technology improves by the year, and glamour was no longer the absolute advantage it once was. It was not just her beauty, but her extraordinarily acute sensitivity and forceful acting beyond her years which had gained her stardom.
However normal sensitivity, never mind acute sensitivity would have sufficed to reach the same conclusion. She realized that there was something in this shop which was attracting more attention.
To her this was not something interesting. Rather, you could say it was unpleasant. She couldn't help dreading to think just what kind of person was here who would attract more attention than herself.
However, her pride as a star could not allow to let this incident wherein the public simply looked (or rather 'flicked a glance') at the two of them go. As she was guided by the wait staff, she simply tried to avoid looking in the direction where all the other customers were staring.
However, whether by chance or design, the table the two of them were led to was immediately diagonally across to the table which was drawing everyone's eye. Seating herself, she made herself steal a glance with forced casualness. A young couple was sitting there. The boy who was facing her, while not bad looking, didn't seem like the type which would magnetically attract the ladies. That being the case, the focus of attention of everyone had to be the girl whose back was to her.
--Though even as she thought, she put on a brave face. The fact she did so meant the girl was definitely not normal. In truth, she had known that the moment she caught a glimpse of her profile slightly. Perhaps she was forced to understand even from behind. The fact that this girl was extraordinary.
It was a sensation she had never felt before. In words, it would be something akin to desperate jealousy. She didn't exactly think of herself as someone chosen by the gods. The position she proudly had now, without meditating over the providence of her being born with good looks, was attained through living towards a more polished appearance, studying beautification and greedily learning all she could about acting.
But this girl was different. Whether she was loved by God or had made a deal with the Devil, it was evident she was special. She was in a dimension unreachable by mere effort.
She felt that was unreasonable. For her to enrapture the attention of all without any effort, made her who had desperately strove all her life feel like a fool. A deep desire to prove again that stardom was not dependent on born appearances swelled within her.
She beckoned to the young man sitting opposite her, who leaned over, and whispered in his ear.
While facing that beckoning beauty, the man's thoughts were on another woman.
Or rather, another young lady.
Diagonally behind him, was seated a girl whose beauty the likes of which he had never seen. It fully occupied his mind.
To him, the beautiful woman was just a commodity, an accessory. He was the third generation president of a top talent agency, was in control of many popular actresses and countless more budding (unhatched) ones. It was to him something only natural, without a hint of guilt. This woman before him was a star now, but back when she was just a pretty face it was all because of his taking care of her from an early age that she had risen to her position, he thought. He also did feel that such congratulatory thoughts were pretty just really considering all the effort he had gone through, and he thought that it was not just him but also her who agreed and was appropriately grateful.
He had brought her along to this folksy establishment because he wanted to show her off and see the envy in everyone's faces. An accessory is meaningless unless shown off. He was aware that it was a rather perverse interest, but he decided that being a professional performing artist was a perverse occupation from the beginning. To him who did not know the hardships of the age of war, the entertainment winter his predecessors had gone through, the chair of the president of production was just a means to quickly and easily satisfy his ephemeral vanity.
This woman who he had brought with him today was the accessory that most attracted his interest for now. She wasn't one of the top earners for the office, but she was the best looking among them. Now that she had joined the ranks of the top actresses after a fashion, he could no longer parade her around as much as when she was more anonymous but that simply increased the sense of superiority he felt. From the perspective of most people the woman was the dominant one and the man just an adjunction, but that was probably too much for the bullheaded man himself to realize.
To him, the woman was like a large diamond polished and cut by a craftsman. He purchased the roughs, then in the hands of a craftsman they were worked upon. That was the work of production, with the resulting gem being called an actress. To be sure she had earnestly worked hard to polish herself, as an example even if a craftsman processed his gems well without a fine band of gold around it wasn't on the level it could be sold.
At the first glance he immediately knew that the girl over there was not something money could buy. If the woman in front of him was a large diamond worth several tens of million yen, then the girl was as the priceless 'Great Star of Africa'[5]; such was the difference between them. By happy circumstance judging from his attitude the one she was with was just a boy, and he felt the eager urge to add her to his collection as soon as possible. But he was accompanied by an actress from the office today. In any other case, he would have realized how bad the appearance of wanting to turn her into a money making machine would hurt his case, and recalculated accordingly.
Which was why having the actress along and being able to say the woman before him wanted to scout the girl for a new movie was a godsend. He pretended to deliberate a while, then stood up as if going along with the will of the selfish actress.
The previously cute gaze (in the dull childish way of thinking) suddenly turned hostile. Tatsuya felt the change. He had so far ignored it because they did not seem likely to cause Miyuki harm, but it had turned rather troublesome. As he thought so, the source of the problem across from him (for Miyuki it was to the back diagonally) stood up from his table and walked over to them.
Both Tatsuya and Miyuki directed an unpleasant look at the young man standing next to their table. Glances were one thing, but it was no wonder they were uncomfortable with being stared at from point blank range by a stranger.
"Sorry to disturb you."
He had a rather blunt way of speaking. He seemed to be hedging his words to some extent, but still came across as far too familiar.
Tatsuya lost his intent to respond amiably to this man.
Miyuki's eyes were pregnant with a frosty light, and naturally turned away from him.
Despite this apparently rejecting attitude, the young man took out his cardcase and held out a business card to Miyuki with a fake smile.
"This is who I am."
Instead of a built-in chip, it was an old fashioned card made from paper. There was no micro-pattern or anything printed, just a character based truly classic cheap card. Miyuki reluctantly took it, then with a glance passed it on with strain to Tatsuya.
The surname and the name of his company were written with the same characters, and before his name the title President was attached. Behind the company name was the word 'productions
'. Probably to do with professional entertainment Tatsuya thought.
"You, got any interest in movies?"
Miyuki's eyes avoided him.
"I have a role that'd be just right for you!"
Miyuki's curt attitude should have spoken volumes, but the man would not be discouraged.
"Hey, won't you tell me your name?"
At that the young president brought his face so close that Miyuki cowered down. He completely ignored the clear air of rejection she was giving off. Such thick nerve and mental toughness was fitting for a salesman like him, and that unrelenting determination really was rather impressive.
Of course, what would be remembered would be the far more overpowering discomfort, but still.
Finally, Miyuki turned her gaze on the man she had been avoiding up to now.
That didn't mean her attitude had swayed one bit.
Within her eyes was a frozen light. Her hard look seemed to accuse the man for his lack of courtesy.
Shown that face, the young man momentarily faltered but almost immediately righted himself, well almost. With an even falser smile than before, he actually reached out his hand to Miyuki.
That was probably due to his obstinacy as a man in professional performing arts. To him, a production president who considered beautiful women and girls as commodities, to seem to have lost a mental battle with an amateur was probably a blow to his pride.
In any case it was short-sighted behavior. As a young man who had inherited status, he seemed to have gained the bad habit of being unable to control his feelings when it came to people in weaker positions than him.
Was he going for her hand, or her face?
It didn't really matter, as there was no way Tatsuya would ever allow such outrageous behavior.
The young man's arm, as it reached for Miyuki, was suddenly firmly in the grasp of Tatsuya's hand before he knew it.
"Wha--!"
The man's selfish protest changed to a scream in the middle, before stopping short. The pain he was experiencing was so intense it didn't even allow him to let out a sound.