Taming a dragon

Asakura quietly watched Sato's expression, before ultimately letting him go. With slow movements, he raised an arm and brushed a hand through his styled hair. A deep sigh escaped through his lips and, a moment later, he continued to speak with a softened tone.

"Alright, alright! If you don't want me to, I won't do anything regarding this matter."

He then hesitated slightly, throwing a sideways glance in Sato's direction.

"But what if you really end up working with him?"

"If that really happens, I will do my best. After all, we are both actors and it's impossible to avoid each other forever. There is nothing for me to be afraid of." Sato replied resolutely.

"Fine! You win." Asakura ultimately admitted defeat.

In the spur of the moment, he raised a hand and placed it on top of Sato's head. His fingers slowly ruffled that light brown hair.

As his unruly palm moved around, he savored the nice feeling that those silky strands left on his fingertips.

At the same time, his mind was in a rather confused state. There was something about this young man that intrigued him.

With just a few words Sato had managed to disarm him, making him give in to his wishes. So far, no one has ever achieved that.

Furthermore, apart from Keita, he had never cared about another person like this.

So, why was he so concerned about this young man? Why did he feel so worried when he saw that pained expression on Sato's face?

More importantly, why did he feel the sudden impulse to hold this person in his arms?

'As I thought before, this person is really dangerous.' Asakura mused again silently.

~~~

A couple of days after the previous events, Sato received a call from Kyota, telling him that Kishi Touma had ultimately received the part of Arita Isei.

Consequently, they were going to be in a protagonist and antagonist relationship.

'This situation is ridiculous to the point of almost being funny. Before, we had to compete against each other for the same role in an audition. And now, we have to compete with each other on the screen as protagonist and antagonist. Fate sure is perverse and wicked!' Sato dejectedly thought to himself.

After hearing this information, he didn't even know what he was supposed to feel about this whole thing.

Should he be surprised? Should he feel excitement or unwillingness? Or was it perhaps resentment?

Had it been anyone else, he would have cursed his bad luck by now. But Sato wasn't the type to think like that. He didn't like to dwell on things that made him depressed for too long.

Yet, his mind was in such a mess that he almost missed Kyota's next words.

"Since they finished casting all the characters, they want to hold the first table reading tomorrow. That means all the actors will be gathering there for a meeting."

"En. I understand." Sato replied automatically.

"Sato, are you going to be alright?"

"Director Kyota, are you perhaps worried that I will ruin my scenes and cause the crew to think badly of HoshiAkari Entertainment?" Sato tried to get away by joking.

"Of course. What else would I be worried about?" Kyota played along and retorted straightforwardly.

He tried to keep away any emotional inflection from his voice, so as to not make it more difficult for Sato.

"Then, I guess I'll have to do my best not to disappoint you."

"You make sure to do that, and if anything happens…" Kyota paused for a second. "Just be sure to tell me or Kyosuke. Don't try to shoulder things all by yourself again. That's an order!"

"En. Thank you, Kyota-san."

After this short phone conversation, Sato felt strangely better. It was as though Kyota's concern had caused his tense nerves to unwind and his heart to feel somewhat lighter.

This was the power of friendship, after all. Knowing you have someone who cares for you, listens and worries about you, makes challenging your worries feel much easier.

Just as Sato was pouring himself a glass of water, a person's face abruptly popped into his mind.

A handsome, yet serious face, adorned with a pair of penetrating dark eyes. Those black eyes stared him down with an intensity similar to that of a magnet, making it difficult for him to look away.

Those eyes and that face belonged to Asakura Ryuu. This new person in his life, whom Sato had a hard time understanding.

Sato had to admit to himself that he felt oddly attracted to the other man.

Ever since they met at the onsen, Asakura had behaved like a gentleman and treated him kindly. But the last time they met at his office, there had been something different in Asakura's eyes. That strange gaze was unlike any of the others he had shown Sato.

Thinking about it now troubled Sato greatly. He wished to know the meaning behind that gaze.

Why did Asakura appear to be so concerned about him? Why did he chase after him and even tried to help, even though it went against his work ethic?

Could it be that Asakura was harboring something more particular than just a simple friendship towards him?

Reaching up to this point, Sato couldn't help but laugh at himself. Indeed, he was being silly and overly self-conscious to contemplate such things.

How could a person of Asakura Ryuu's caliber feel something more than just friendship for someone like him?

Surely, he must have mistaken that person's kindness for something more.

"What are you doing?" a voice rang behind Sato, startling him into almost dropping the glass he was holding.

"K-Kyosuke!" Sato gasped, whirling around and looking at his friend in surprise. "When did you come back? I thought you were working late today."

"The shooting finished earlier. One of the actresses had a cold and they canceled the evening scenes." Kyosuke spoke as he sat down on a chair. "So, what were you doing, shaking your head and mumbling to yourself like a crazy person?"

"Did I really do that?" Sato asked with a sheepish smile.

"Mhm. You were being all weird by yourself. Is something troubling you?"

"Eh? No, nothing at all."

"Stop lying and tell me what it is! And don't try to come up with a stupid reason, because I will sniff it from kilometers away." Kyosuke narrowed his eyes in a threatening manner.

Sato let out a deep sigh, taking a seat as well.

"I just talked to Kyota-san. He said there will be a table reading tomorrow."

"Oh, so soon? Does that mean they managed to fill in all the roles?"

Hearing this, Sato felt a twinge of guilt.

He previously mentioned that the antagonist's role wasn't given to anyone, but had avoided saying anything about Touma's recent nomination. Now, in the face of this direct questioning, it was very difficult to avoid saying the truth. Especially since he was very bad at lying.

"They… They eventually managed to find someone to play the role of Arita Isei. You know… the antagonist."

"Really? Who? Who is it?" Kyosuke inquired with excitement.

"It's… uhm… It's… ishi… T…ma." Sato said through barely parted lips.

His voice eventually faltered until it dropped to a mere whisper.

"Ha? Who? Sato, speak properly otherwise I won't be able to hear you." Kyosuke scolded impatiently.

As if that could help him deliver the information better, Sato breathed out the answer quickly.

"It's… Touma. The role of Arita Isei will be played by Kishi Touma."