“Touma-kun, you’re back! But… Why are you alone? Where is Sato-kun?”
“I couldn’t find him.”
Touma’s voice sounded very tired. It seemed he had been out in the forest looking around for Sato for quite some time. His clothes were dusty and in disarray, and his face looked ashen.
At that moment, he was wearing his character’s clothes; a very flashy set of purple robes, with black and golden patterns on the sleeves. A black waistband cinched his waist securely, while a white jade ornament decorated his neatly tied hair.
Touma, dressed as his character Arita Isei, was the very image of handsome elegance, painted with a tint of evilness.
Asakura turned his head to look and seeing him like this, his vision almost darkened in anger and jealousy. It wasn’t difficult for him to figure out what must have happened.
Based on the little information he heard from the young actors, it appeared Sato had gone missing at some point in time, and Touma went to look for him. As Touma now returned alone, it was quite clear that Sato was still lost somewhere in the forest.
The very thought of Sato being in danger caused Asakura to almost lose his reason. He felt his blood running cold and his entire body trembled with a mixture of panic and fury. He gritted his teeth, ‘Tsk’-ing angrily to himself.
Before anyone else could pose another question, Asakura moved swiftly and grabbed Touma by the collar of his costume.
This sudden development shocked everyone present, rendering them all speechless.
“Where is he?” Asakura questioned, his usual smooth voice transforming into a low, dangerous growl.
“I… I don’t… know.”
Touma choked and gasped for air. He was completely taken aback by what was happening. Asakura had shown up out of nowhere and was almost strangling him, all the while wearing a scary expression as if he could snap and kill someone any moment now. Anybody would have been shocked silly by such a scene.
“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!” Asakura bellowed, tightening his grip around Touma’s neckline.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Asakura felt his composure slipping away bit by bit. If he didn’t see Sato soon, he was afraid of what he might do to the guy he was currently holding. Snapping Touma’s neck did seem like a rather tempting idea at that moment.
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“I didn’t do anything to him.” Touma said, his voice slightly hoarse.
“Tsk. Useless piece of…” Asakura began to curse and was just about to launch himself in the other man’s direction when someone called out to him.
“Asakura-san, how come you’re here as well?”
Director Mayama was advancing towards the group with large strides, while producer Fukuoka was following after him panting and huffing.
“A-Asakura-san? Why… are you… here?” the producer asked between gasps as soon as he reached him.
Shooting Touma one last glance filled with revulsion, Asakura whirled around and addressed the two newcomers.
“Mayama-san, Fukuoka-san, do any of you know what happened here? How come Sato-kun is nowhere to be found?”
His grave manner of speaking contained a dangerous undertone and the two men’s bodies shook slightly in unison. They gaped at him and involuntarily gulped.
The first to speak was the Producer.
“The crew was out filming in a meadow. After finishing a few scenes, they all returned to the camp for a break. All except for Imamura-kun. We don’t know where he went. Probably walked away on his own and got lost…” Fukuoka’s voice faltered slowly and while looking at Asakura, his face gradually lost some of its color.
As he was hearing this recount, Asakura’s expression darkened further and his typical businesslike appearance altered terribly.
At that moment, he looked nothing like the Asakura Ryuu they all knew. His eyes had a dangerous glint and his body was taut with killing intent. A wave of cold air gathered around him, as though he was just about to summon snow to fall from the sky.
This heavy atmosphere attracted Director’s Mayama’s attention. Previously, he had been suspecting something was rather odd with Asakura. Even if he was the main financier of the movie, he was much too involved in the planning compared to what a businessman should be. Especially after the audition took place.
But later, after seeing Asakura interact with Sato several times, the director had begun to suspect they were much friendlier than two complete strangers should be.
If he were honest to himself, Director Mayama didn’t really care what his actors did in their private lives as long as it didn’t affect the image of his movie. Moreover, he was sure that this great man called Asakura would know better than to cause a scene in broad daylight because of an actor.
After several moments, Director Mayama’s voice broke the stifling silence that had descended upon the group. His tone was just calm as always, seeming as if Asakura’s mood did nothing to affect him. Thus was an artist’s spirit: unbound and unafraid.
Even so, Director Mayama cautiously avoided Asakura’s piercing gaze as he turned towards Touma.
“Touma-kun, in the message they told me that Sato-kun is missing but I don’t quite understand. What exactly happened?”
“After we finished shooting that last scene everybody went to take a break. Sato remained behind. We…” Touma hesitated, clenching his fists inside the large sleeves. “We talked for a while, but afterwards I left to join the others. Sato didn’t follow.”
“How long has he been missing for?” the Director continued to question calmly.
“Ever since we took the break. I haven’t seen him since then. When I went back just now there was no trace of Sato anywhere. I tried calling and walked around the area we had been filming in but I couldn’t find him. I… I don’t know where he is or if he’s hurt…” Touma’s voice slowly trailed off and he remained silent.
Then, a second later he was once again yanked by the collar and brought face to face with Asakura’s ferocious gaze.
“If anything happens to him and you’re at fault, I’ll be sure to deal with you nicely. So, you’d better start praying that I find him. Otherwise, after I am done with you, no one will be able to find our body even if they search the entire Tokyo bay.” Asakura threw at him savagely, startling not just Touma, but everyone else present.
All their faces expressed one unanimous thought: Yakuza Boss identified!
Not realizing the kind of image he had just created for himself, Asakura shoved Touma away from him as if he was a disgusting rag. He turned around and stomped away angrily.
Each step Asakura took landed heavily on the ground. Loud crunching noises trailed after him as his shoes stepped onto the forest floor. And each one of these sounds pounded at his heart like a hammer, pummeling his soul into tiny pieces of despair.
‘He might be in danger. Sato might be lying somewhere, hurt and in pain, waiting for someone to come. What if I can’t find him? What if I am too late and… No! No, I won’t think about that! Right now, I have to search for him. I have to find him!’
Asakura shook his head vigorously, trying to chase away the depressing thoughts that threatened to overwhelm him.
Pulling out his phone, he tried calling Sato’s number. But then he remembered what the young actor had said about Sato not taking his phone with him.
It took Asakura a moment to fight back the urge to hurl his own phone at a nearby tree. Damaging the object could be counterproductive in this situation. What if he needed to call for help after finding Sato?
“Tsk! Dammit all to hell!” Asakura spit out, feeling his nerves becoming exceedingly aggravated.
As he continued to advance through the trees, he kept glancing around, calling Sato’s name from time to time in hopes he might receive a reply.
Unfortunately, all that returned to his ears were the sounds of startled birds taking off from the top of the trees.
After almost half an hour of ambling around, Asakura ended up in front of a peculiar place.
A tall rock formation stood on one side, while beyond it laid a rather steep slope.
When he got closer to look down, his eyes instantly widened.
There, at the base of the precipice, he could see something. A white piece of cloth was sprawled on the ground, creating a heavy contrast with the dark soil on which it was plastered.
The sight of it caused Asakura’s vision to blur. He felt all the air leaving his lungs, along with a pang of agony.
“No… it can’t be. It can’t be him, right? Sato…” He groaned heavily, leaning over the slope, trying desperately to see further down.
A/N: This is it for today’s update. Is it really Sato down there? 
See you all tomorrow in order to find out
What a spot to leave it at! whines
I hope Touma really didn’t do anything but just “staying back to….” is enough to know he had a part is Sato walking away >_>
Thanks for the chapter <3
Hmm sorry for the cliffhanger 😁🤭
Of course he did. Otherwise why would our Sato just up and go like that 😣
<333
Asakura reaction was kinda upsetting, yes he’s worried but he went overboard.
This is like giving tauma the upper hand if he decides to sue asakura for assault and threats. He practically has lots of witnesses.
Now a producer and some actors are now thinking Sato didn’t get the role cause of his acting but through connection.
He should have stayed away and considered Sato career or listened to his friend advise.
Thanks for the update.
I’m still mad at asakura
So as I had guessed before, that Touma must have pestered Sato! Hope he is alright…
Thank you for the chapter (๑°꒵°๑)･*♡
Mn, that’s precisely what must have happened
<333