Kantō Region — Gunma Prefecture — Mount Akina.
Yes, that Mount Akina, the one that's famous.
But Seiya wasn't here for racing today.
There was no AE86, no tofu shop — after all, this wasn't Initial D, this was the world of Oshi no Ko.
As it turned out, the "genius child actress" Arima Kana's methods were as wild as ever.
A few days ago, after Seiya told Kana that he had made up his mind and wanted to try becoming an entertainer, Kana had used her best weapon — whining and begging her mother.
Thanks to that, her mother contacted a director and, about ten days later, managed to secure Seiya a minor background role.
Since Seiya said he didn't need any payment and just wanted to gain experience, and because of Kana's influence in the industry, the director reluctantly agreed.
However, as Seiya was still a child, he had to be accompanied by a guardian on set.
Originally, Yuko was supposed to fill that role, but she was too busy rushing to finish her art deadlines.
So she asked Kana's mother to accompany Seiya instead.
"Seiya, I already asked the director for you," Kana said, standing before him in a white dress and beret, hands on her hips. "You don't have many scenes.
All you have to do is hold the bamboo sword, look determined, and swing it a few times in front of you.
You'd better act seriously! I worked really hard to get you this role. If you mess this up and make me look bad, I won't let you act again!"
The small, red-haired girl lectured him like a senior actor, her tone brimming with pride.
"Alright, everyone get ready! We're moving on to the next scene!"
The director's voice rang out, and the film crew quickly sprang into action.
Seiya was soon dressed in a kendo uniform, with a bamboo sword shoved into his hands.
"Hey, didn't I say to prepare a small prop sword — a hollow one? This kid's only about five years old! How's he supposed to swing something almost as tall as he is?"
The movie they were shooting was a small romantic drama titled "From This Moment, I'll Protect You."
The story was a typical one: the heroine, unwilling to accept her family's arranged marriage, runs away from home and meets her destined partner.
Kana played the younger version of the heroine, who gets lost in the mountains and is attacked by wolves — only to be rescued by a boy living in the forest with his grandfather.
Since Kana played the childhood version of the main heroine, she had quite a lot of screen time in this film.
Seiya's role, however, was just that of the kendo boy — a character who appeared only in this one scene.
It was a low-budget movie. The boy (Seiya's role) would fight the wolf, fall off a cliff, and disappear from the story — only to reappear years later as a handsome young man.
According to the script, all Seiya had to do was hold the bamboo sword, show a bit of emotion, charge bravely at the wolf, swing a few times — and that would be it.
For a rookie background actor, it wasn't a difficult task.
Given Seiya's looks and presence, the director had agreed to let him appear for that reason alone.
"Hm, a bamboo sword? For a first role, that actually suits me quite well," Seiya murmured.
While the director was still scolding the props team for their oversight — even considering cutting Seiya's sword-swinging scene entirely in post — he suddenly noticed that Seiya had already gripped the solid bamboo sword with both hands.
The way Seiya held it looked surprisingly natural. The director froze for a moment.
"Seiya-kun, can you actually lift that sword?" he asked curiously.
"No problem. I've taken kendo lessons before — though I'm still a beginner," Seiya replied calmly.
Hearing that, the director's eyes lit up even more. "Really? Then can you swing it properly?"
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh—!"
Instead of answering, Seiya simply began swinging the bamboo sword skillfully through the air.
"Amazing! Honestly, I only gave you this role because of Arima's request, but now it seems no one could've fit this part better!"
Watching Seiya's precise movements, the director couldn't hide his satisfaction and praised him openly.
It was unreasonable to demand serious acting from children — prodigies like Arima Kana were rare exceptions.
But Seiya's natural kendo stance perfectly embodied the role. Acting aside, that alone was more than enough.
After all the preparations were complete, the actors took their positions.
Soon, another actor entered the set — the "wolf" of the scene.
Since this was a low-budget film, they couldn't afford CGI realistic enough to render a lifelike wolf.
It wasn't impossible with modern technology, just… way beyond their budget.
So instead, the crew brought out a trained police dog, made up to look like a wolf.
"Kana-chan, Seiya-kun, don't be scared," the director said reassuringly. "This dog is well-trained. It just looks like a wolf because of makeup.
Our staff will cue the dog to jump toward you. Seiya-kun, all you have to do is swing your sword and 'drive it away.' Got it?"
Even with that explanation, Kana still trembled when she saw the "wolf" approaching.
That was only natural — they were just five or six years old, and the police dog, even on all fours, was nearly as tall as them.
For children, something that size suddenly lunging at them would be terrifying.
Most kids would burst into tears on the spot.
"Seiya-kun, don't be scared," the director reminded him again. "Just think of it as a big dog jumping at you."
In the scene, Kana's character was supposed to be frightened — that part was fine.
But Seiya's character had to look brave and fearless. For a real child, that was no easy feat.
Originally, the director had planned to shoot around Seiya's expressions — maybe use close-ups of the "wolf" or just film Seiya's back.
But after seeing his kendo form earlier, the director had changed his mind.
It would be a waste not to show his face on camera.
(End of Chapter)
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