I live my life in Tokyo

"That's how I feel."

Uehara Yo murmured, and he glanced at Sakakibara Kaede, "I'm going to audition other male leads in a while, do you want to come with me?"

"Forget it, I want to have some snacks and rest in the exhibition area."

Uehara Yo understood Sakakibara Kaede's pursuit of the male lead, so after asking him once, he didn't ask any more questions and just let him go.

After leaving the audition location, the two came to the exhibition area where the meeting was initially held. Most of the tables here were replaced with round tables, and the staff kept bringing snacks and food.

"Hiss... Toei is really generous. These should be packed from the nearby hotels." Uehara Yo swallowed and said in a low voice.

Sakakibara Kaede nodded. Uehara Yo didn't need to tell him that when he was filming Will-O-Wisp in Midsummer, he ate luxurious bento prepared by Toei every day at noon. It was said that the bento was rich in various vitamins and could help actors maintain a healthy body.

Uehara Yao picked up two pieces of snacks and put them in his mouth and chewed them vigorously. After drinking a glass of water, he started coughing due to his rapid movements.

He nodded to Sakakibara Kaede, and walked towards another audition location while holding back his cough.

Obviously, he was not confident about his audition results. At least he thought his performance could not surpass Sakakibara Kaede, both in terms of getting into the role and in action acting - he was convinced and prepared to audition for other roles.

At least Sakakibara Kaede felt good about himself. He took out his mobile phone, logged into the RECT cloud, and checked his current work status.

I don’t know if I will be able to play this game first when it is launched next year.

With such a 100% certain thought again, the boy took a bite of the cake with self-mockery. It was really unrealistic to think about what would happen after he won before everything was settled.

"Sakakibara-senpai~"

Mai Sakurajima brought several actors to sit next to Kaede Sakakibara. They all held trays filled with green things. Even though it was provided by the hotel, they also chose the slimming package.

Red and green are extremely contrasting colors.

The boy slurped the seafood pasta and nodded to the visitors.

He blinked and found that they were all familiar faces.

In addition to the original members of STARS agency, Mai Sakurajima also brought Ichika Nakano over.

When she saw Sakakibara Kaede, Nakano Ichika's face turned red and she greeted him awkwardly.

The girls had their own topics to talk about. As the only male sitting at the table, Kaede Sakakibara really couldn't stand the singing and dancing at the table. It's not that he was not good at dealing with girls, but in front of a group of girls, even an investigator who is proficient in socializing would be defeated.

In order to prevent himself from losing san and rolling a failure, Sakakibara Kaede wiped his mouth and left after eating.

Standing outside the exhibition hall, actors from Sakakibara Kaede chatted in groups outside the exhibition hall and bought themselves a bottle of coffee at the vending machine.

"How did the audition go?"

He turned his head and unexpectedly found the disguised Sano Ken standing next to him. Noticing his gaze, Sano Ken smiled at him.

"Well, today I'm here just to cheer for the juniors." Sano Ken waved to the juniors from Muse in the distance, grinning, then looked away after a moment, "How do you feel, Sakakibara-san? You're auditioning for a Toei special effects drama."

“It’s definitely a little different from other auditions.”

After buying his own coffee, Sakakibara Kaede bought a cup of honey tea and handed it to Ken Sano, who thanked him and took it. He was not surprised that Sakakibara Kaede knew his favorite flavor.

The young man in front of him wrote down everyone's preferences during the conversation, and then put them into action. Ken Sano sighed and said that with such an attitude, he could succeed in anything.

"What was the audition like back then, Sano-san?"

"Ah... that time we borrowed a teaching building for the audition. The weirdos and students were running around in the teaching building, and we entered the school as a guard to protect the dean on the rooftop." Sano Ken smiled, "At the time, I thought that the person who could come up with such an audition script must love light novels."

"Indeed, such a plot is very normal in the second dimension."

Sakakibara agreed, "It's a bit like the popular dungeon quests in novels, where you travel through different parallel worlds to complete quests and pick up girls for rewards. This theme has become popular this summer."

Sano Ken hummed, "I'll go take a look if I have a chance."

He glanced at the boy sitting on a bench drinking coffee, "Are you confident about this time, Sakakibara-san?"

"I'm confident I can pass the first round of auditions." Sakakibara Kaede nodded honestly. He was neither exaggerating nor being modest, but just calmly stated the approximate result.

Sano Ken's eyes lit up. He would rather open the bottle cap and take a sip of tea. "Usually, there will only be about ten actors left for a role in the second round of auditions. After that, the auditions will be based on personal preferences. Well... at that time, the test asked me to run to test my athletic ability."

"Then there will be the interview phase. The production team will throw out a lot of questions, such as why you chose Kamen Rider, what kind of leading role you want to play in this starring position, etc. I suggest you prepare in advance."

Sakakibara Kaede listened carefully to the experience of his "predecessors" and wrote it down in a small notebook.

"Most importantly, why do you want to be a 'hero'?"

Ken Sano emphasized the word "hero". He lowered his cap, looked at the crowded exhibition hall, and said softly, "Kamen Rider is undoubtedly a hero. No matter what kind of hero he is, the elements that make up each Kamen Rider are different. Some are friendship, some are family, and they are completely different... I don't know how much information Toei has revealed to you about the protagonist. If your answers for the second round of auditions lean towards the protagonist they created, then Sakakibara-san should be a sure thing."

"I've learned a lesson." The boy said seriously.

"It's just my personal opinion." Ken Sano shook his head, signaling Sakakibara Kaede not to take his words and experience as an imperial decree. Times have changed, and this era needs new heroes.

"Sheen album, I will buy it."

He stood up, put the unfinished drink in his pocket, and glanced at him, "Come on, Sakakibara-san."

"Thank you, but I don't know when we will have the chance to continue our cooperation next time." The boy stood up to see her off and sighed when he heard the words.

Ken Sano is very open-minded about this matter. He recognizes and appreciates Kaede Sakakibara and regards him as an actor of the same type as himself. There will definitely be many opportunities for cooperation in the future.

However, more often than not, they are competing for the same role during auditions.

Ken Sano thinks this possibility is unlikely, as Sakakibara Kaede does not look like him and the style that suits her is completely different.

Watching his predecessor's figure quickly disappear in the parking lot, Sakakibara Kaede felt a little melancholy. The departure of Ken Sano was like the departure of a hero of an era.

The era in which he was a hero... is over.

He passed the baton down, looking forward to the next person to become a hero.

Kaede Sakakibara grinned, took a breath outside for a while, finished his coffee, and went back inside.

After going there and coming back, there were a lot fewer people in the girls' group. Sakakibara Kaede saw Chizuru Ichinose reading a book silently and greeted her.

"Ah... Sakakibara-senpai!"

The girl noticed Sakakibara Kaede and quickly put the book down, looking at the boy respectfully.

The boy shook his head, indicating that she didn't have to do that, and like countless conversations that had taken place in the past two months, he sat down and asked about the audition with a smile.

Chapter 5: So That's How It Is

It's raining.

When Sakakibara Kaede arrived home, it was raining heavily outside.

It’s strange to say, although it’s not the rainy season, it has been raining particularly hard in the past two days, as if it wanted to wash the world cleaner.

After finishing the audition in the morning, Kaede Sakakibara had nothing to do in the afternoon, so he went straight home. He placed his umbrella outside the entrance to let it drip, and stepped on it to go into the house.

"Meow--"

The cats Chocolate and Vanilla were napping on the sofa. When they saw Kaede Sakakibara coming back, Chocolate pounced on him and rubbed against his chest.

The boy took off his coat. Although his body was not soaked, his socks were all wet. It felt like having his feet stuffed into a cold cloth bag and curled up. It was not pleasant at all.

After confirming the schedule, Sakakibara Kaede couldn't help sneezing after taking off his coat, and hurried into the bathing center on the first floor. He breathed a sigh of relief after turning on the heater. When the hot water poured on his body, he leaned against the wall, not wanting to move at all.

Today's audition took up a lot of his energy. All his input, command and actions were reflected back on him at this moment, making him feel exhausted.

What made him feel most tired was not running, that was only physical fatigue, but what he felt was mental fatigue.

Only he himself knew how much it took to forcibly put himself into the miserable streets of Shibuya, a world full of weirdos, but the result was gratifying, and that was enough.

Kaede Sakakibara lay in the bathtub, feeling the hot water submerging her body, and sighed. Summer vacation had just ended, but it disappeared, replaced by autumn with rustling leaves.

It’s been almost a year since I traveled through time.

He lay sideways, looking at his phone, boredly visiting different people's personal Twitter accounts.

It was a bleak autumn day when I came.

Looking back on the past year, looking at the steps he took step by step, Sakakibara Kaede has no regrets.

There was a notification sound from the phone.

The boy clicked on Line and found that it was Mrs. Higuchi, with whom he rarely chatted after adding her as a friend.

"Mrs. Asakura and I are going out together tonight. Can Madoka and Toru study at your house tonight?"

The boy hesitated for a moment and typed: "No problem, don't worry."

"Hehe, please take care of Yuanxiang."

Even through the screen, Sakakibara Kaede seemed to be able to see Mrs. Higuchi's mysterious smile and laughter.

Since two people are coming, we have to tidy up.

Kaede Sakakibara looked around the garbage pile of her life, stood up and threw the plastic bag of leftover snacks from last night on the table into the garbage bag.

His current life reminds him of the time when he had just traveled through ①０①⑦④⑤⑨④⑨⑧, but his quality of life is much better than then. During that time, he ate ice cream and instant noodles every day, and eating too much would damage his stomach.

The small room could not accommodate his dreams and ambitions.

He suddenly remembered something. Mrs. Higuchi and Mrs. Asakura were not at home today. Didn't that mean he had to cook tonight?

Higuchi Enka and Asakura Toru are guests today. As the head of the Sakakibara family, he must take action.

Kaede Sakakibara quickly walked to the refrigerator and took a breath of cold air. The refrigerator was empty. Apart from the yogurt for drinking after meals, there was no ingredient to cook.

Could it be that the dish tonight is fried yogurt with yogurt? Everyone in Totsuki Academy would say it’s awesome.

Kaede Sakakibara did not have the courage to challenge this devilish menu. He glanced at the incessant rain outside the window, picked up the umbrella that was not yet dry, put on a coat, and went out in the rain.

Today is not a weekend, so there is relatively less resistance in the supermarket. He took out his cell phone and checked the class notes that Doma Ohira sent him while pushing the cart in line.

Carrying a shopping bag, Kaede Sakakibara walked back home with an umbrella. From a distance, he saw a person standing under the eaves of his house.

The boy didn't pay much attention at first, but when he got closer he found that it was Higuchi Madoka, whose upper body was soaking wet in her school uniform.

"Higuchi-san..."

Higuchi Madoka didn't bring an umbrella. Her short orange-purple hair hung down softly. Under her warm decorative school uniform jacket was a white T-shirt with the school emblem printed on it, which was wet from the rain.

Hearing footsteps, she raised her head, her purple eyes unclear in the rain.

"Laugh if you want, I don't have an umbrella."

"How can I laugh? Do you think I am someone who takes pleasure in other people's misfortunes?" Sakakibara Feng replied helplessly. He walked forward and opened the door. "Higuchi-san, please come in and take shelter from the rain first."

"You actually invited a girl who was soaking wet to your house on a rainy day. Today is the first day I met you, Mr. Impure."

Although Higuchi Madoka said this, after glaring at Sakakibara Kaede twice, she still walked into the room very honestly.

"I didn't bring my keys with me before I left the house today, and it was also a last-minute decision for Mom and Aunt Asakura to go out and play."

As if afraid that Sakakibara Kaede would misunderstand, Higuchi Enka clarified.

This can also explain why Higuchi Yuanxiang did not go home, but waited at the door of Sakakibara Kaede's house.

The boy saw her standing indifferently at the entrance taking out her cell phone. Not wanting to step into the living room wet, he sighed, walked to the bathing center on the first floor, and took down a clean white bath towel.

His bathing center is somewhat like a hotel, with everything from bath towels to face towels.

"If you don't mind, Higuchi-san, go take a bath." Sakakibara Kaede handed a bath towel to Higuchi Madoka. "You'll catch a cold if you keep doing this. Higuchi-san, you don't want to affect the next audition, right?"

Higuchi Enka lowered her head and said nothing.

"You can wear my clean clothes."

The boy said, "I'm about the same size as you, you should be able to fit in it."

As he said this, he turned on the air conditioner. The warm air made Higuchi Yuanxiang's face quickly warm up. She hummed and walked into the bathing center with wet footprints.

Sakakibara stuffed the food in the shopping bag into the refrigerator one by one. He turned and went upstairs to take out a few pieces of clothes from the closet that he had rarely worn since he bought them.

Although Higuchi Madoka doesn't mind on the surface, she still minds wearing men's clothes in her heart. This is normal for any girl.

Sakakibara Kaede leaned in to smell it, and when she didn't smell any strange smell, she breathed a sigh of relief and placed the clothes outside the door of the bathing center so that Higuchi Madoka could change into new clothes as soon as she got out of the bath.

Higuchi Madoka listened to the footsteps approaching and then moving away, and the exaggerated laughter coming from the comedian on TV, and took off her wet clothes and put them aside. She moved quickly, and after the hot water washed over her body, Higuchi Madoka couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Feeling her originally cold fingers and toes slowly warming up, Higuchi Madoka curled up her body, allowing the hot water to wash over her body and take away the coldness.

It was too bad that Sakakibara Kaede saw her in such a miserable state. Higuchi Madoka didn’t know what she was thinking and her mind was a little confused.

It was already funny that he didn't bring an umbrella, but what was he doing standing in front of his door? He looked like he was escaping from disaster.

Higuchi Yuanxiang looked around and found that the bathroom was very clean. It seemed that the boy had done a good job of cleaning. A clean place can make people feel comfortable.

The girl had been to Sakakibara Kaede's house many times, but had never taken a bath.