I live my life in Tokyo

Sakakibara Kaede stretched out his hand. Higuchi Madoka frowned when he saw this, and helplessly took out a blue gummy bear and placed it in his palm.

"Hmm... I think the storyline when I debuted was pretty good."

Sakakibara Kaede recalled the handsome figure sitting on the motorcycle when he first appeared, and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. The words and smile facing the camera were the finishing touch. Even he in front of the TV got goose bumps, as if the person on TV had traveled through time and space and was talking to him face to face.

The first episode of Kamen Rider Kuuga quickly captured Kaede Sakakibara's heart with its smooth and fast plot. It was his greatest luck to be able to play the protagonist Yusuke Godai.

He extended his hand to Sakurajima Mai again, "Sakurajima-san, give me some pistachios."

The latter pouted, as if Sakakibara Kaede was an unforgivable sinner, and reluctantly squeezed four pistachios into Sakakibara Kaede's hand.

In fact, these snacks were all bought by Sakakibara Kaede, so asking them to order them now... is understandable.

The black eyes and the purple eyes looked at each other, and both saw a hint of smile in each other's eyes. Higuchi Madoka was startled and quickly lowered her head. After a moment, she turned her gaze back to the TV. What was going on with the tacit understanding that she could vaguely feel just now?

Setagaya-ku, Tokyo.

Koichiro Yuki was sitting in the living room, watching TV with his parents who had a rare bit of free time. He had taken the initiative to ask to watch TV Asahi today, and his request was naturally approved, but of course he also raised some questions.

Yuki Shozo and Yuki Kyoko rarely watch TV on weekdays. Perhaps it can be said that they don't have many channels to get in touch with entertainment news. They are all very busy and workaholics. But at Yuki Koichiro's request, the two still cleared out their evening time and sat in front of the TV.

"Kouichiro, is there any must-watch program today? Or do you have some questions about your graduation thesis at school and need to watch TV Asahi to clarify?" At the signal from Kyoko Yuki, Shozo Yuki coughed and asked.

"Today is the first day that Kamen Rider directed by Sakakibara-senpai will be released."

Asuna Yuuki, who was lying alone on the sofa, answered. Even when watching TV, she still held the electronic pen in her hand, writing and drawing on the tablet to study.

"It's Sakakibara-kun."

Yuuki Shozo hummed. He had a very good impression of Sakakibara Kaede. After the last family dinner, his evaluation of Sakakibara Kaede rose to a new height. He was not only a helper beside Koichiro, but also a friend who could always remind him. The two of them made progress together, which made him quite satisfied.

"Kamen Rider..." Kyoko Yuuki pondered, "I heard my students discuss this topic, and the cafeteria on Friday was full of news about this TV series."

Kamen Rider has a wide audience. Although we cannot say that everyone has watched Kamen Rider, we can confirm that the age range of Kamen Rider's audience is at all levels, including students, office workers, young people, and elders.

"Asuna, your Line avatar..."

Koichiro Yuki opened Line and originally wanted to tell Kaede Sakakibara that her family was watching a TV series, but he unexpectedly saw Yuki Asuna's new avatar at a glance.

Her original profile picture was a cartoon rabbit, which looked very tempting.

The current profile picture... has directly become an artistic photo of the World Shining Band. Sakakibara Kaede stands in the center holding a guitar and shows a warm smile to the camera.

“When I was little, I thought people who smiled in difficult times were cool.”

The person in the photo overlaps with the young man who introduced himself on TV.

"Because I like Shine World, I listen to the new album every day." Yuuki Asuna admitted a little embarrassedly.

The science guy was angry.

Although he listens to it every day.

Chapter 19 Back Scrub

"What do you think of the first episode, Senior?"

"Sakakibara-san, your performance was just average. The Toei production team did a great job filming it."

"Hey, you're being insincere now."

"I'm not afraid that you'll get carried away after hearing the compliments. People need to be humble."

After watching the first episode of Kuuga, Kaede Sakakibara, who had enjoyed dinner with Mai Sakurajima and Madoka Higuchi, sat on the sofa in the room and rubbed his thighs. For other people, the day might be over after dinner, but for Kaede Sakakibara, it was different. He made an appointment with the male actors in the crew to go take a hot spring bath tonight.

At this time, he was chatting on the phone with Koichiro Yuki, whom he hadn't seen for many days.

"Well, to be honest, your acting is really great. My parents like the current direction of the plot, especially the role you play. They appreciate it very much."

Yuuki Koichiro pondered for a moment, and finally said unwillingly, "Asuna also likes it very much, and said she is looking forward to the second episode."

"Haha."

"Kora! Don't be so proud, be humble!"

"I know, I know."

Sakakibara Kaede waved his hand and changed to a more relaxed posture, "Senior Kaisei, let's talk about Sword Art Online."

"Ah."

Yuuki Koichiro on the other end made a nagging sound, as if he was wearing glasses. After flipping through the files for a while, he began to talk, "Sakakibara-san's last test game was very helpful. At this stage, the basic modeling has been completed, and the next step is to refine it. Optimization is also within our key work scope. We don't want users to be unable to open the game due to computer problems on the first day of the server opening."

"Of course, I also know the importance of the server, but it is not so important for the current progress of the work." Yuki Koichiro paused and continued, "We plan to start the closed beta test in early October. The closed beta test users will be about 50,000. The closed beta test will last for three months and is expected to be officially launched in January or February next year."

"There are no shortage of game testers. Thanks to Sakakibara-san's unscrupulous play style, I have benefited a lot."

Sakakibara frowned slightly, "This... there are hundreds of ways to play a game. I can choose to play cards every day in an open world game, or I can choose to go to the bar every day and not do the main story. What can you do to me?"

"Sakakibara-san is probably talking about an open-world AAA game, but Sword Art Online is an MMORPG, so there will always be a group of people who want to become stronger."

"You can get more powerful equipment, you can get a better-looking cape, you can open a silver crawl in the property you bought, everyone has their own way of playing, but Sakakibara-san, you can't deny that players who play MMORPGs are very competitive."

"Well, the desire to be stronger than others should be the belief of all MMORPG players."

Sakakibara Kaede looked out the window, the stars were twinkling, he seemed to see another game world through the starry sky. If he really entered the game, what would he do?

Judging from his personality, it is unlikely that he will become the center of attention. He will probably just stay alone in dungeons and kill monsters every day.

"Well, I know you're too busy to play games, but your Kamen Rider filming should be almost done by January or February next year, so let's play together then."

"OK."

The two continued to chat about work matters and handover issues for a while, then hung up the phone. Sakakibara Kaede looked at the time, picked up his clothes, opened the door, and walked downstairs.

He believed that Koichiro Yuki, who was in Tokyo, must be working hard at this time. Although he could not use the computer to personally participate in his development plan, he could still give him advice.

"What about the actresses?"

As soon as he went downstairs, several burly actors asked, and Sakakibara Kaede found that the professor who died in the first episode was among them.

The professor he played died in the first episode, and he has no more scenes to play in the rest of the series. He plans to enjoy the scenery of Nagano this weekend, as he has to return to Tokyo next week to continue participating in other scenes.

The lounge was noisy and the atmosphere on the crew was like home. Although the indispensable upper-lower class and senior-senior relationships in Japanese society existed here, there was no sense of distance and the habit of not causing trouble for others that existed in society.

The actors in the crew practiced their scenes together, and they needed a bond to get into the role with each other.

The bond between men is cultivated through drinking and bragging.

Kaede Sakakibara greeted Nobuto Katsuyama. He looked a little tired and it seemed that he had not slept well.

Upon asking, I found out that the scene on the helicopter was not easy to shoot. They re-shot it for two days before they finally got it done. During that time, he was choked by Spider-Man dozens of times. Now he has PTSD when he sees Spider-Man.

"It's okay. I'll just go to bed early tonight. We still have a lot of scenes to play against each other next week." Katsuyama Nobuto smiled, as if he had thought of something, and said, "By the way, Mr. Ishida and Mr. Arakawa think that our relationship is not close enough, and we may not achieve the effect they want when we play against each other, so they made a suggestion to me."

Sakakibara poured herself a glass of iced tea. "What is it?"

"Today, we rubbed each other's backs in the bathhouse before entering the hot spring."

"Rubbing the back can increase intimacy? What kind of weird game setting is this?" Sakakibara Kaede raised his eyebrows and questioned. Life is not a galgame. What kind of game is it that touching the body can increase favorability?

Please tell me the name, I'm very interested.

He thought so, but he said it as a matter of course. After all, Sakakibara Kaede was completely confused by the two elders' requests.

“Perhaps Mr. Ishida and Mr. Arakawa believe that communication between men should be conducted in a relatively relaxed environment.”

Hearing what Katsuyama Nobuto said, Sakakibara Kaede immediately recalled the past when she couldn't sleep in the dormitory at night and her roommates would lie on the bed and talk about youth.

Talk about school, classes, girls you like, and annoying teachers.

When we are drowsy, we talk about everything.

"Well, you look like you are sure. Please give me some advice later. My skills are neither good nor bad. I have only rubbed my father and brother's backs."

"I don't have any experience in back scrubbing..."

Sakakibara Kaede opened his mouth and said, he knew how to wash clothes with a washboard, but he could never use Senior Katsuyama Nobuto's back as a washboard and rub it hard, right?

"After this drink, we will be brothers from different fathers and different mothers."

An uncle actor was drunk and singing folk songs with a strong accent. He was supported by his companions to walk upstairs. If he continued to take a hot spring bath in this drunken state, something bad would happen.

The male group waited for a while, and after a few of them came back, the female actors on the other side also walked down the stairs.

There is a big age gap between the female actors and the male actors. Many of the male actors here play the roles of police captains or police bosses in the drama. To reach this position, in addition to merits, one needs certain qualifications, so the age naturally goes up.

Of course, there are also female actors who play police officers, but most of them play female police officers who do clerical work.

To be honest, all the policemen who died in the first episode were men.

I'm so angry. How can this society ever be better? Why do weirdos only kill male police officers? Male fists are so hard.

Sakurajima Mai and Higuchi Madoka were led by several older sisters, talking and laughing softly. The poor little girl Chizuru Ichinose standing next to them didn't dare to speak at first, but with the help of her senior Mai Sakurajima, she gradually integrated into the atmosphere of the crew. She was curious about everything and was like a fledgling little animal. Unlike those little animals that were so excited that they ran wild and ran into walls, she was too cautious.

Seeing this, Sakakibara Kaede did not go up to talk. He saw that some older female actors were always ready to gossip, so he put away the idea. As a young man, he would not lose any weight by being teased. The difficult thing was whether Chizuru Ichinose could still muster up the courage to integrate into the crew after being teased.

He wasn't prepared to help any further.

"Let's go."

"Ah."

He smiled at Katsuyama Nobuto, picked up his bathing basket, and the male actors walked out of the B&B, laughing and cursing at each other, heading towards the hot spring not far away.

Sakakibara knew that Chizuru Ichinose wanted to catch up with him and the other actors. This was her own decision, her awareness and goal. The other party did not need his help, and did not need him to personally work for Chizuru Ichinose. What he could do, or what the girl hoped for, was for Sakakibara to stand by and quietly watch her growth.

It’s not easy to lead the younger generation either.

The boy sighed. In the past, when he was working in the company, he also encountered younger generations who needed support. However, the company culture was relatively utilitarian. His attitude in handling affairs did not have the so-called feelings between seniors and juniors. He just handled the affairs in an impartial manner.

He must have done a good job when filming the reality show, right?

Sakakibara Kaede pondered.

"Have you read Sakakibara-san's manuscript for next week?"

"...Well, I watched it carefully before." Sakakibara changed his words halfway through his thought. He didn't actually watch it carefully, he just skimmed through it. He didn't want to leave a bad impression in front of his senior because of his habit. "I think the difficulty of filming is the part in the church. How did they start the fire? I'm very curious."

Geshan Xinren immediately knew what he was talking about and hummed, "I also think that there shouldn't be a real flame. It might just be a post-production effect."

Having said that, Katsuyama Nobuto still knows that excessive use of post-production special effects is not popular. He doesn't know whether Sakakibara Kaede has paid attention to the subsequent reviews of the first episode. After watching it, he saw many netizens criticizing the helicopter special effects in the last scene. Although he knows that what they said is correct, the actors fighting in the helicopter and the changing scenery outside the window do make people feel a little inconsistent, but he still feels a little uncomfortable in his heart.

"Mr. Sakakibara, what do you think of the special effects used by Toei?" Nobuto Katsuyama did not keep this question to himself, but threw it to his partner. He cared a lot about the other person's opinion.

Facing the men's bath, Sakakibara waved to Mai Sakurajima and the others who nodded to him, then stepped into the cloakroom and began to take off his shirt. "There's nothing wrong with using special effects, right? Are you talking about the helicopter fight scene at the end?"

After the latter hummed, the boy shrugged and said, "Even if Toei can find a pilot to fly a helicopter, it is unlikely that a helicopter can fly in a downtown area under traffic control, let alone at such a low altitude."

"Spider-Man is a stuntman, so he might be familiar with aerial fighting scenes, but Geshan-san is not. If there really is such a scene, the first thing to consider is the safety of the actors."

Nobuto Geshan hummed and put the netizens' comments behind him.

In order to present a perfect picture, they are willing to sacrifice their lives. Perhaps only a handful of actors in the entertainment industry can do this.

Sakakibara Kaede put on a bath towel and handed a bottle of shower gel to Katsurayama Nobuto. Jackie Chan may be the only representative actor like him. In order to shoot perfect and realistic pictures, getting injured has become commonplace.

"Thank you."

Katsurayama Nobuto took the shower gel, sat behind Sakakibara Kaede, and rinsed his back with warm water. He was slightly surprised and said, "Sakakibara-san has been exercising for a long time."

"When I first became an actor, my body was still a little weak, and some shots could not be presented perfectly, so I went to the dojo near my home to practice kendo." It was the first time for Sakakibara Kaede to have her back rubbed. Feeling the touch of the towel and the strangeness of her back, she coughed lightly, "Our agency has fitness facilities. When I have nothing to do, I will go for a run or some exercise on the equipment."

"With your body shape and the amount of exercise you do, you look a bit like a stuntman."

Nobuto Katsurayama laughed and said that most actors do exercise, but it is just to maintain their figure. They have strict diet and exercise plans for this. Few actors build up a muscular body because the latter requires a greater amount of exercise.

The two of them didn't say anything after that. Only the laughter of those burly old men echoed in their ears. This is the bathhouse culture.

After rinsing, Sakakibara Kaede felt as if a layer of skin had been peeled off on his back, and he couldn't help but grimace for a moment. This gave him a bit of the sour feeling of rubbing the old pits in the Northeast bathhouse.

Sitting behind Geshan Xinren, he felt a little embarrassed to rub a man's back for the first time. According to the novel, this should be considered as physical intimacy, which was a bit embarrassing.

But seeing the two old men next door arguing with each other from behind, everything suddenly made sense.

"Mr. Sakakibara's technique is good, and it's very powerful." Katsuyama Nobuto panted and gave positive feedback.

Sakakibara Kaede was stunned. Great, great, there is now one more skill, back rubbing, in the skill column that adds two thousand.

After washing off the shower gel and dead skin on their bodies, the two squeezed into the hot spring, sat on the shore, looked at the rising mist, and raised their heads, which was the inky starry sky.

"Please give me your guidance tomorrow, Sakakibara-san."

Nobuto Geshan extended his hand.