Chapter 3:

3 : Showtime

(new 2020 revised edition)

The restaurant chime tinkled and an obsequious waiter was soon leading him to the private room, and Hijiri Karato wondered if he still had a choice. He could just as easily decide to sit down in front of the young woman, and tell her that Mr. Purple Rose was not coming. Better, he could even unveil the truth and tell her the real life story of her secret admirer, Masumi Hayami. Of course, that would be a betrayal even death wouldn't repair. He wasn't about to repay the Hayami for saving his life by revealing his master's most intimate secret.

Then again, telling Maya that Mr. Purple Rose wasn't coming wouldn't be much better. It would crush the poor girl.

It was going to be difficult, knowing that every step and every word would be so many treasonous acts against the person he valued the most in this world. He had to remember that, as long as he played his part, Maya would remain happy. The only question that remained was: To be happy, did Maya really need to be romantically involved with Mr. Purple Rose? She wanted his presence, that much was undeniable. But did she really crave his love? In the moments he met her and - for lack of better words - spied on her, Hijiri never had an inkling that her affliction toward her secret admirer was anything more than a benefactor/protégée relationship. She just saw him as the supportive family she never had, no doubt. He could become that. He could protect her, for his master's sake. He heaved a relieved and hopeful breath. He had found an acceptable way to complete his mission without becoming a traitor to Hayami Masumi. He would be there for her, he would even let her lean on him, but as a big brother, as a close friend; not as a lover.

He sat down in front of her with his newfound hope drawing a smile on his face, and sealing his fate, he introduced himself as Mr. Purple Rose

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Her heart sunk deep in her chest when she recognized Hijiri Karato. He isn't coming was ringing in her mind. She was already on the verge of tears when she heard him say "I am Mr. Purple Rose."

How could this be? How could Hijiri Karato, the man that introduced himself as Mr. Purple Rose middleman over a year ago, really be her first and most devoted fan?

This meant that he came to support her as she was auditioning for The Two Princesses, pretending to be a journalist. He held her tight in his arm in the lake house in Nagano…the thought made her blush. Before that, he even paid for her high school tuition. Outside Tsukikage Sensei, this man - Hijiri Karato - was the first and only person to ever believe in her unconditionally.

After a minute of stunned silence, she felt her heart rising back to its place, and with it a warm bubble came rushing out to the surface, taking the form of screams of laughter that made the waiter jump and glare at her with obvious disapproval.

"What a relief!"

"I beg your pardon?" Hijiri was feeling himself panicking.

But Maya felt so elated her body seemed to weigh less than a feather, and every breath was leaping her into the air. In fact, she was expecting the tableware to start floating in the room any second now. Out of sheer impulse, she grabbed Hijiri's hand, and searched in his eyes for any sign that would tell her he was feeling just as euphoric as she was. But Hijiri was frozen in his seat, genuinely worried and incapable of speaking, waiting for her cue.

"You see, for a moment I thought that...well I thought that you had come to tell me that Mr. Purple Rose wasn't coming after all. But….here you are! You!"

Her hand was pinning him to the table and her eyes had this shine that he saw so many times when bringing news of Mr. Purple Rose. How could he have forgotten the power they held? He had sensed it in so many occasions, when recording her for the audition, or on her graduation day, but this was the first time that her passion was entirely directed toward him, the first time that this light in her eyes was shining for him alone.

Then, after a minute had gone by, Maya realized where her hand was laying, and retracted it quickly, a deep blush painting her ears and cheek. Hijiri cleared his throat and looked away.

Awkward.

"I must ask, though." Maya continued sheepishly "I'm sorry, but I have so many questions. Why now? After all this time, why meeting me now?"

Here they were. Showtime. He of course, knew his lines.

"I was afraid that telling you who I was would break the bond between us. I feared your reaction."

He closed his eyes for a second there. Starting his soliloquy without his self-hatred showing on his expression was more difficult than he thought it would be. You won't cross the line, you won't cross the line. Composing himself, he opened his eyes to find two wide brown pearls, bewildered. "Why would you think that? Fear...my reaction?"

For a second, Hijiri fought a laugh. Her face showed such confusion, it was as if she was wondering to herself 'Am I scary?' while trying to find another explanation for his remark at the same time. He might as well impart further details.

"I'm well aware of your enmity with Daito in general, and more specifically with the Vice President, Hayami Masumi." Was it just an impression or did Maya shiver to the mention of his name? "I didn't know how you would feel about the fact that I'm working for him."

"Oh."

That was the best she could do. For a moment, the tingling sensation on her hand had distracted her from finding a better answer.

"Are you alright?"

The question startled her. "No, no I'm alright. It's just, I never thought that this would be the reason for remaining anonymous. I thought you were a Yakuza boss or something!" She smiled.

Well, technically, his family wasn't too far from reaching Yakuza status, back in the days...but that wasn't the issue. There was something about the way she had reacted to him mentioning his master...He would have to look into that later.

"So, Hijiri-san…"

"Actually" he interrupted her with an apologetic smile "My name isn't Hijiri Karato. It's Kirino Takumi. Again, I'm sorry. My fear led me to make stupid decisions and after a while...I didn't know how to go backward. You see how the longer I waited, the more difficult revealing myself became. The last thing I wanted was to have you despising me for being a liar and a fraud."

He was also grateful for the new name Hayami-sama had given him. Hijiri Karato was a Shadow and last member of a renegade family. Takumi Kirino was a clean faced salaryman that Maya could -hopefully - trust and rely on.

To this answer, Maya shook her head with a bright smile and said "You don't have to apologize….Kirino-san! How could I ever despise you, after all you've done for me!" She seemed so happy, so easily convinced. Was the rest of the diner going to be that simple?

For a while, they both stared into each other's gaze, him smiling in apology, her with acceptance. Then she started asking questions. Hayami-sama had warned him this would happen. He would ask how far she wanted to know and she would reply...

"Absolutely everything!"

He chuckled. Hayami-sama knew his girl.

Course after course, Hijiri spent the entire diner telling Maya the life story of Kirino Takumi, the man of the hour. His parents had died in a car accident when he was fourteen, after which he was raised by his grandmother until her death six years later, leaving him a small fortune that paid for his college years at the University of Tokyo. He travelled abroad: China, Australia, Scotland, France, Boston, and had a funny anecdote for each destination. As a teenager, he wanted to become an actor, but gave up after a few years as he didn't feel talented enough. He did however gain sufficient experience in the theater world to earn a job at Daito, where he now works as a translator and interpreter. As such, he often worked side by side with Masumi Hayami when international matters are involved, and gradually gained his trust to judge the quality of plays and movies. On some occasions, he would be sent by Hayami Masumi to go see a play as a Daito representative which led him to that fateful night when he went to see the premiere of Little Women, and saw her on stage for the first time.

Telling the story wasn't easy, and Maya was always asking for more details, eager to understand him, to know him. At first, Hayami-sama's instructions were enough, but he eventually had to give more substance to the character he was playing. He reminded himself he would have to write everything down, for future reference. The first few details he created made him worry, but after a while, he became less and less anxious. It became clear that he could talk for hours, days, weeks, without ever raising so much as the shadow of a doubt in her mind. Maya trusted him fully.

The very thought was sickening.

*