Darkest Before Dawn - 118

Chapter 118

“I have a feeling I’m never gonna get used to this,” Kazuki commented, clicking the post button. Just like that, his account had one more piece in it, one that had been thoroughly checked and triple checked by the Management Team. Granted, some posts needed more scrutiny than others, such was the case then and there, but in general he wouldn’t be posting anything in there without it being checked and analyzed at least once.

“Can’t believe you’re setting up a fan meet and greet,” Neito said, shaking his head at him. If he were honest, Kazuki couldn’t believe it either, but there was some merit to the idea, as he’d been told by Hina and the Management students. He also had personal experience with that kind of thing. Off the top of his head, he could remember three times when someone had approached him to say they were… well, maybe not fans, per se, but definitely people that appreciated what he did or could do.

So, he thought it’d be a good way to get some publicity.

They kind of needed to get more reach if they wanted their first business venture to get anywhere. His name was at an all time high too, considering I-Island. That didn’t mean much in Japan, admittedly, but it meant something. Hina actually thought he should try and keep that ball rolling, because if he left them alone, people would forget anything good and never let go of the bad.

UA itself had kind of given him the ok too, in the hopes that the small event would get the reporters to go there and maybe ease a little on their hounding of the school. Because with the extra security measures in place, nobody wanted the leeches around the gates waiting to catch students off guard. It was a bit of an issue and it’d be better if they could get rid of them.

“Tell me about it,” he mumbled, looking at his phone as if it’d shoot an attack at him at any moment.

Kazuki would admit to being a little more nervous than usual about the thing. Organizing such a public event – if it could be called that – had a chance of backfiring terribly. Which was why he’d tried to pick a spot that wasn’t too close to congregated areas, but also not too far. Far enough to the public eye to be “out of sight”, but close enough not to be an “easy target”. He’d also picked a place close to a Quirk allowed area, a gym with a field people could use to train their Quirks, or just use them comfortably.

After all, most of the time someone approached him, they asked him to make a Grimm of some kind. He was kind of expecting at least one child to ask for one. Would that permeate the Monster Daddy image? It would, but what was the alternative? Telling a child no and making them sad? He was trying to prove he wasn’t a monster, so… yeah.

He’d fight that battle some other time, he guessed.

“So, are you guys sure about coming with me?” he added, glancing around at the other members of the club. At least, those that had expressed a desire to go to the meeting when it happened. It’d be a while, mercifully, but still.

“I should go, just to have eyes on things,” Komako answered with a nod, eyes locked on the notepad in their hands.

“Can’t hurt, right? Besides, I need to learn how to deal with people,” Chikuchi mumbled, looking and feeling very uncomfortable. She’d taken to asking him for little lessons on PR, which was kind of hilarious. He was doing his best though, occasionally texting Hina for advice he could give her.

The woman had enthusiastically said she’d even have the girl over so that she could help her pick clothes- costume options, she’d actually said costume options. Kazuki knew better though, but he abstained from warning Chikuchi. It’d be funny to see things from outside for once.

“Can’t let you have all the spotlight, Boss. Come on,” Neito said, but Kazuki could tell he was mostly joking. “Are you really planning to put up a show for the adoring fans though? Maybe Chikuchi and I can come up with something to use her Quirk for too,” the blonde added and Kazuki considered that.

“Like a water fountain show? That could work,” Komako mumbled, quickly writing something down while the aforementioned girl perked up.

“Work on that then,” Kazuki replied with a grin. At least it wouldn’t be just him, which was great. On the one hand, he did feel guilty about the fact that being associated with him was already taking its toll on Chikuchi and Neito’s reputation. On the other though, he couldn’t lie and say he wasn’t happy that they did so anyway. Knowing that they were aware of what was happening and was going to happen and they still stuck around was…

It was great.

“We’ll have time, since this won’t happen until after your training camp,” Chikuchi commented, but Kazuki narrowed his eyes, noticing an odd twitch in her feelings, like she-

“Father,” Penny said, appearing by his side and hovering at eye level. “Mother wants to discuss field commands for me.”

“Oh, sure,” he replied, shifting gears as best he could. “I actually wanted to talk to her about that too,” he added, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly and placing his phone back in his pocket. Better to put the whole meeting out of his mind for the moment, or he’d be too nervous to do much else. “Mei,” he greeted as he walked up to the tinkerer. “Need more ideas for commands? You know I’ll have to remember all that, right?”

“I believe in you, Boss!” the Support student replied with a beaming smile that he could only return, if more subdued.

“Before that though, I thought he could come up with alternative ways to make the commands. I might not always be able to just shout them at Penny,” he commented, stepping beside her chair and leaning back on her workbench. “I was thinking maybe gestures or shadow shapes?” he commented and his smile widened a little at the beaming smile that got him.

Evidently, Mei was locking in, going full mad tinkerer on him once again.

He wasn’t complaining though, considering how fun she could be if one got past the insanity.

[}-o-{]

“Kazuki!” Hina greeted him as soon as he got off the train.

Not unexpected, really, but he was happy to see her having come to pick him up. It wasn’t the first time she did since he started having to travel for work, but it still managed to be a pleasant surprise of a sort. Even more so when she moved towards him and wrapped him in her arms around him.

“Hey there,” he replied, feeling himself stiff as he slowly hugged her back. Happy as it made him to receive affection so openly, there was a huge difference between that and being good at doing so gracefully. He was still half sure he was somehow doing something wrong whenever he hugged someone or did anything even remotely in that vein. “Missed me?”

“Yes.”

The blunt answer immediately made him blink. He’d meant the question as something casual, almost joking. He expected a response much the same, like some kind of “you wish” or something like that. Instead, he was left taken aback as Hina pulled back and beamed at him.

“You look better, I thought you’d still be sulking,” she added, and he’d have been a lot more offended if he weren’t picking absolutely nothing from the woman besides some vague sadness that was probably on his behalf. So, he could take her apparently happy expression at seeing him at face value.

“It still sucks,” he replied, his expression falling a bit before he forced a wry smile to make an appearance. “But I’m trying not to focus on that. How’s everything around here?”

“Same old, same old,” Hina told him, and she seemed to have gotten up on the right side of the bed or something. She was way too cheery. Kazuki had to admit though, that it was a little contagious. Maybe that was her intention though, to cheer him up through her own bright attitude. “Ready for some more scene shooting?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” he answered, rubbing the back of his neck before starting to drag his suitcase behind him. It was better to get a move on, or he might be late. He still had to drop his stuff at Hina’s agency and then he wanted to practice a little before going to the set. “I think it’ll be a good day, provided Teruya doesn’t stab me.”

“That’d be bad,” his mentor replied, nodding with exaggerated seriousness and thoughtfulness. Kazuki felt his lips twitch upwards for a moment. “You’re gonna talk to Nora’s child, right?”

“Yeah, wish me luck,” he answered, already feeling tired just thinking about it. Nothing against Camie, but she was way too much of an extrovert for his tastes. His friend group was half-filled with socially awkward people just like him, after all. Who was even half good at socializing in it? Toru? Mina? Those were the only ones he could think of off the top of his head, which was a little sad.

It also meant that he wasn’t used to dealing with all that social energy himself. There were usually some other people around to help play buffer. Nobody on set seemed intent on helping him deal with Camie though. And that was without him actively trying to engage with her. ‘Although, I probably should try anyway. She’s the most friendly person there,’ he thought with a grimace.

It’d be terrible if he somehow pushed her away. It wasn’t like he was trying to do anything of the sort, but she was a bit much for him. That meant that he usually just participated in the conversations like he was in battery save mode, which was a very accurate view of it. Just that it was his social battery that he was being careful with.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Hina reassured and he wished he could believe her so easily. “Also, I see your Management Team is doing good work. Your new profile looks better.”

‘Does it?’ he wondered. It wasn’t like it had changed much. Sure, he’d swapped profile pictures and a few other things for some better ones they’d taken for that, but it didn’t feel like a huge difference. There was a difference, of course, but Kazuki didn’t feel like it was a big deal, at least not in his case.

Only so much they could do to make his ugly mug look better, he supposed.

“And I saw that last post. You went for it, huh?” she added and he hummed with a nod. “Good luck with that, but I’d be ready for one or two people causing trouble. There’s always those, believe me,” she warned then and he almost chuckled. He was already expecting that to happen, but her words made him even more sure that it’d happen.

‘Joy,’ he mock celebrated in his mind. Was it too much to ask for people to leave him alone? He knew they hated his guts and he even understood. He knew better than most how shitty those people had to be feeling. But what’d be the point of going out of their way to feel bad and make others feel bad?

He was trying, for fuck’s sake.

“How fun,” he mumbled, getting a somewhat comforting shoulder push from Hina.

“It’ll be fine,” she reassured him. “On a different note, I’ve been getting and making some calls with some of the people we met in I-Island. Someone’s popular and I’m not talking about me.”

“Nothing came our way yet,” he said with a shrug. “Maybe it is you,” he added.

“As if. I’m gorgeous, but they don’t wanna talk about that,” Hina said exaggeratedly once more. “I guess they’d rather be sure they are doing things right rather than contacting a student or a school club. Maybe with time, eh?”

“Maybe,” he replied, taking a moment to breathe in deeply and be happy that he was with good company. Visiting Hina was always nice. He was away from school, she was fairly laid back when they weren’t actively working on something and… Well, she demanded a lot less from his limited social battery. “Thanks for coming to get me, by the way.”

“Least I could do for my favorite lil’ hero,” she replied and he returned her smile gladly.

Now, if his mind could shut up for once…

[}-o-{]

“I… I can’t, man. I have to try,” Teruya said and Kazuki pulled a little improvisation by running his fingers through his hair. He knew it wasn’t part of the script and he didn’t think it was necessary or that it improved things. However, he had to mask his reaction to that dialogue a little. It was…

It left a little to be desired, and not just because the word stumbling wasn’t in the script either.

The sigh that followed was part of the script, yes, but he didn’t really have to fake it.

“Ok,” he said, nodding and schooling his expression with some mild emotional channeling to put on his best serious, determined expression. “Ok,” he repeated, glancing to the side. There was nothing there, of course, but they’d cut to a different scene that Camie and Shizuka would play afterwards.

Then he faked coming up with an idea, letting go of the emotions to feel a little better. It wasn’t as effective as his method to act on negative emotions, but it was better than nothing. After that, he grinned and turned towards Teruya.

“Actually, I think I have an idea,” he said, and he felt his insides twist into knots when the boy by his side broke. The emotions got the better of him and his acting mask crumbled.

“Cut,” came the very annoyed voice of the director. “Teruya, take five minutes, would you?”

“What? No, I can-”

“We’ve tried this ten times and this was the best attempt. This isn’t working,” the man interrupted, not harshly but certainly firm. Kazuki felt incredibly awkward standing there, especially because he knew that Teruya’s problem was… well, him. “Take a bit to focus yourself and we can try again. We’ll shoot the girl’s scene in a bit and then we’ll try this again.”

“But-” Teruya started, clearly getting worked up. Kazuki wasn’t feeling great already, but the glance the boy sent his way didn’t really help. Fortunately, he didn’t finish whatever he was going to say, instead stomping off. Although, Kazuki didn’t know if he preferred that. After all, he got a front row of what the repressed emotions were feeling like.

So, when he was far enough, he deflated and sighed.

“You’re doing well,” the director told him and he looked up. Teruya had managed to almost make him forget they weren’t there alone, with how on edge he made Kazuki feel. Which was kind of funny, in a way, considering he was just a civilian. “A little improvised in that last one, but well all the same. Not like I don’t get it,” the man added with a smile, but there were plenty of emotions hidden behind that.

Kazuki held some measure of hope that it wasn’t all directed at him.

“Take a moment yourself, alright?”

“Thanks,” he replied with a nod, moving off to the side, picking up a bottle of water and taking a seat.

“You carried that last scene,” probably the last voice he’d have expected commented, making his eyes widen as he turned to look at Shizuka. “At least, until Teruya decided to be even more of an idiot. It happens.”

“Thanks,” he replied, taking a gulp of his water. “What happens though?”

“Teruya,” she added, as if it were obvious. “He gets like that sometimes,” the girl continued, looking the picture of calmness. Kazuki kind of envied her that. One could call her a lot of things, but Shizuka was probably the best actress he’d seen on set. Everyone got nervous at one point or another, as far as he could tell, but not Shizuka. At most, she got annoyed when she failed, but she never seemed to fear that failure. “He’s insecure and he has good reason to be.”

“You wanna wait for him to come back and stab him while you’re at it,” he commented wryly, because yeah, he didn’t much like the guy or appreciate his company those days, but damn. Shizuka was pulling negative amount of punches when it came to criticizing his fellow actor, apparently.

“He should know better by now,” the girl continued, scoffing. “We started around the same time, actually, so I’d know. We’ve been in a lot of productions together,” she explained with a shrug. “He was always a little… lackluster.”

He was starting to feel bad for Teruya, actually.

“This was his chance, I guess. Or that’s what he thought. Instead, he’s getting shown up by a rookie, no offense.”

“None taken,” he said. It wasn’t like what she said wasn’t true. And besides, he was too busy being happy that he wasn’t Teruya then and there. Because God damn. Maybe she was just being mean though. He wasn’t that good, was he?

“So, don’t feel too bad. Do your job well and things will go well for you. Even if Teruya sinks the movie, if we can be the highlights, then we’ll win,” Shizuka finished with and he blinked at her. That was a ruthless look into things, but… Kazuki found himself respecting that.

Still, it made him look at the girl like he was seeing her for the first time. She was pretty enough, yes, but he was kind of desensitized, considering UA was filled with good looking girls. His look hadn’t gone unnoticed, apparently, if the raised eyebrow and the sort of dismissive fingers ran through her long black hair were anything to go by.

“Something the matter, Endo?” she asked, and he felt her annoyance growing the smallest bit. He didn’t answer right away though, simply taking a deep breath in and settling back on his chair. Then he considered what she’d said and put that next to everything he’d seen of the girl since he met her.

“No,” he said simply. “I just realized how serious you are about this,” he added, taking a deep breath in and then letting it out in an amused huff. “You’re also good.”

“Thanks for noticing,” she said, and there was no hiding the pride in her expression. Although, Kazuki had a feeling she wasn’t trying very hard.

“I think you’ll go far,” he added with a slight smile. “So, I’m glad you’re here. Maybe you’ll carry this movie into the success I need,” he commented idly, meaning every word.

“Hey, guys!” Camie exclaimed, popping up behind him all of a sudden and beaming at him from over his shoulder. “What are you talking about?”

“Kazuki was just acknowledging the truth.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“We should practice our lines, Camie.”

“But what did that mean?!”

As the girls got lost in their own conversation, Kazuki noted to himself that Shizuka had called him by his name. So, with a smile, he relaxed and took a sip from his bottle once more. Maybe the crew would be good, Teruya aside.

[}-o-{]

[Shizuka Mino]

Kazuki Endo was… much better than she’d expected.

She’d auditioned for the movie thinking it’d be decently good. Camie was there and she was good. Teruya was there and he was… decent. He wasn’t a disaster, at least. Him having her counterpart’s protagonist role was a bit concerning though, she’d admit.

However, it all pointed towards the movie being recommended to her because it’d be a success.

Then she’d learned that Kazuki Endo, the Black Rampage himself, would be one of the biggest secondary roles in the production. Now, that had been a bit of a wrench in her plans, admittedly. She’d started to wonder if her uncle had set her up to try and push the boy’s star further up. That would have been annoying, but she owed her uncle plenty, so she’d try anyway if it was the case.

And then it turned out that he was… good, actually.

He wasn’t great, but considering he’d never acted before? She had high hopes. His acting during emotional moments was particularly good and those were the ones that sold movies. People usually remembered one or two scenes of a production, after all, so they only needed to nail that many scenes and the movie would do well so long as they didn’t ruin the rest.

“So, Teruya seems a bit boomed,” Camie commented and Kazuki hummed. Shizuka, for her part, regarded the two of them. “You think you could cheer him up like you did those kids, Monster Daddy? What’s better than a fluffy puppy?”

Shizuka wondered if Kazuki would ever realize that the reason Camie used that nickname any chance she found was because it was hilarious to see him wince, grimace or just let his eyes show how dead inside he was when he remembered it was a thing. Such a strong reaction to such a silly thing. She almost wondered how he’d react to whatever memes were made from the movie, or how he’d react to the fangirls. Because he’d sure get some of those. Even shit actors got fangirls, after all, and he was not only not shit, but he was also good looking, in his own way.

“I’d rather not get in trouble for Quirk usage, if I can help it,” Kazuki replied dryly. “By the way, the director is coming,” he added and both Camie and Shizuka perked up. It wasn’t until a few seconds later that the door opened and the man came in. She turned back to look at the boy, who was giving her a somewhat smug look.

He’d be a lot more her type if he could manage to be actually confident like that more often, she’d admit, instead of it just being a mask he put on occasionally. Maybe he’d get there, she supposed, but she likely wasn’t going to be around for that. That was a bit of a shame, but oh well.

Besides, Shizuka wasn’t sure how much she wanted to associate with him, especially if her uncle had his eyes on him. She loved the man to death, he’d helped her a lot, but her family was well aware that his business was… not something they wanted to involve themselves too much in. The man himself had warned them several times, which certainly helped drive the point home.

“Good luck,” Kazuki said when they were called.

“Thanks~”

“I don’t need luck,” she replied flatly, and she didn’t really appreciate the amused look the boy sent her way. Maybe she’d been too friendly too quickly? Just because she thought he was decent enough to warrant some reassurance, if only so that he wouldn’t let Teruya’s tantrum get to him, didn’t mean he could become obnoxious. Uncle or not, she’d give him a piece of her mind if he did.

Fortunately though, that was about the end of it. The rest of the shooting session went relatively well. Or really well, if one excluded Teruya’s struggles. At least Kazuki and him had managed to finish their scenes, even if Shizuka thought there was some room for improvement.

Maybe the director would try again some other day, if the timeframe allowed that.

“Take care,” Kazuki told her when they stepped out, a car already waiting for him and she could see Uwabami inside when the door of the backseat opened. Maybe if she was a little more nice he’d put in a good word for her? Because her family was well connected and all, but there was no such thing as too many contacts. Especially in their line of work.

Any such musing was interrupted though, when her phone rang. Then she felt herself tense when she saw the ID on the screen. Why’d he call her directly? ‘Don’t overthink it, Shizuka,’ she told herself almost immediately as the device rang a second time. As much as he could set her on edge, her uncle was good to them.

She just didn’t always have the easiest time remembering that when he had such a scary presence when he wanted to… and even when he didn’t.

“Uncle Koku, I didn’t expect a call from you,” she greeted as she picked up the call. It was a good thing she was such a good actress. “Did you need anything?”

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How’s it going?

PR, PR everywhere!

Good thing several people have told me that they actually enjoy the PR aspect of this fic. That’s a huge relief, considering how big a part of the fic it has become. And for those that aren’t fans of that… I’m sorry?

It is what it is, guys. I have no control over anything.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.

Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: What’s the last movie you’ve watched? I saw Brick like two weeks ago or something like that. I don’t watch a lot of movies these days.

See you.