Chapter 33: Conquering Suzuran… No, Urawa

“Amazing!”

“Incredible…”

The “Inoshikachō” trio also went to see Guilty of Romance.

Although the trio had participated in the entire filming process as gofers, they had never actually seen the final cut of Guilty of Romance, since Ōmori Ryō had handled all the editing himself.

Nakagawa Shuta and Baba Yoshiteru couldn’t stop exclaiming in amazement.
It wasn’t that the two of them had never seen AVs before, it was just that Guilty of Romance was an absolute masterpiece among them.
Never mind that the three lead actresses were Bubble Witch’s most beautiful starlets; while other cheap AVs were still being shot on 8mm film, Guilty of Romance had already been shot on 35mm film.
The visual experience alone was on a completely different level.

Nishida Jun watched, his face flushed and his breathing heavy, but he didn’t say a word, just stared intently at the big screen.
Nakagawa and Baba didn’t find it strange; they just figured the bookworm had never seen an AV before and the shock was too much for him, causing his brain to short-circuit.

When the movie ended, the trio walked out of the theater, still wanting more.
Nishida Jun suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Nakagawa and Baba turned to look at him in confusion.

Standing on the steps, Nishida Jun clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
Finally, in a tone as if making a grand proclamation, he said, “I’ve decided…”

“Decided what?”

“Decided to watch it again?”

“Movie tickets are too expensive.
If you want to watch more AVs, we should just rent a video.”

“Renting a video is cheaper.”

“And you can watch it under the covers at night.”

“…”

Nakagawa and Baba chattered back and forth.

The dramatic momentum Nishida Jun had built up was completely deflated by his two friends.
His tense body went limp, and he retorted, blushing, “I didn’t decide to watch it again!
And I didn’t decide to rent an AV!
And you guys shouldn’t really treat Guilty of Romance as an AV.
It’s, it’s…”

Seeing Nishida Jun’s intense reaction, Nakagawa and Baba stopped joking around.

“Then what did you decide?” Nakagawa asked, puzzled.

Nishida Jun took a breath and finally said, “I’ve decided.
After I graduate high school, I’m going to make movies!”

Nishida Jun had expected his two friends to laugh at him, but the laughter never came.

“Oh, so it’s that,” Baba gave a disinterested smile.
“For something like this, you didn’t need to stand up there and announce it so seriously.”

“Yeah,” Nakagawa said with a pout, looking completely unimpressed.
“Don’t get so fired up over something we already knew.”

“You already knew?
You’ve got to be kidding, right?” Nishida Jun said, dumbfounded.
“I just made this decision!
Just now, while watching the movie, when I saw our names in the credits, that’s when I finally made the decision!”

“How could we not have noticed?” Baba explained, holding out his hands.
“During those days of filming, you were either peeking over the cameraman’s shoulder to watch him shoot, or you were trailing behind Director Ōmori, serving him tea and asking all sorts of questions.
Who couldn’t tell you wanted to learn how to make movies?”

“Yeah, you were the only one still agonizing over this and that,” Nakagawa chimed in.
“I don’t even know what you were agonizing about.
It’s not like you were falling in love… Oh, you’ve probably never been in love.
How pitiful, and you’ve already graduated from high school.”

Nishida Jun, who had just been inexplicably stabbed in the heart, retorted with dissatisfaction, “This is my plan for the future.
Of course I have to think it over carefully!”

“What’s there to think over?” Nakagawa said nonchalantly, his hands behind his head.
“You have to do something, right?
And your grades used to be so good.
You can’t end up like me, making boring wagashi, can you?
Or like Baba, working at a pet shop?”

“That’s right,” Baba added.
“That’s a path for failures like us.
You could have gone to university.
Even if you can’t get into university now, you should do something more promising.
Since you’re interested in making movies, then go make movies.
What’s there to hesitate about!”

“You guys…”
Nishida Jun hadn’t expected Nakagawa and Baba to support him so unhesitatingly.
He was strangely moved, and his eyes started to turn red.

“Don’t make that stupid face,” Nakagawa said with a smile, patting Nishida Jun’s shoulder.
“We’re not kids anymore.
In two months, Baba and I will be ‘kaishain’.”

The images of the two boys who had once cornered him in an alley for homework answers gradually merged with the two graduates before him.
A mix of emotions churned in Nishida Jun’s heart, and he finally broke into a smile.
“What ‘kaishain’?
You’re both just helping out at your family businesses.”

“Helping out at home doesn’t make us ‘kaishain’?
My family’s wagashi shop is a properly registered business,” Nakagawa said, displeased.
“Take that back right now.
If you fail at making movies in the future, my wagashi shop can still take you in as a cleaner or something.”

“Yeah, yeah, there are plenty of directors who go bankrupt making movies,” Baba nodded.
“I can also put in a good word with my uncle and have him save a poop-scooping position for you at the pet shop.”

“You jerks!
I haven’t even started making movies yet, and you’re already cursing me to go bankrupt?”

Although he called them jerks, Nishida Jun wasn’t really angry.
He knew they were just joking.

“So, what’s your first movie going to be about?” Nakagawa asked a key question.

“I…” Nishida Jun scratched his head, embarrassed.
“I actually wrote a script, but I don’t know if I can make it.”

“What kind of script?” Nakagawa asked again.

“It’s a script about you two…” Nishida Jun said haltingly.

“About us?”
Baba’s interest was suddenly piqued.
“What’s it like?
Tell us in detail!
Tell us in detail!”

Nishida Jun had no choice but to say, “Didn’t you two used to say you were gang bosses, undefeated throughout the whole school, and destined to conquer Urawa?
And Nakagawa, I still clearly remember you saying, ‘He can never surpass me, because he doesn’t understand the meaning of a fight’…”

Nishida Jun started by bringing up Nakagawa and Baba’s cringey middle school delusions, making the two of them cringe so hard their toes curled.

“Alright, alright, stop talking!”

“That memory of ‘conquering Urawa’ is your own delusion, you know?”

Baba and Nakagawa joined forces to shut Nishida Jun’s mouth.

“Destroy that script as soon as you get home, you hear me?”

“What were you planning by writing something like that!”

“Or else we’ll come back as vengeful ghosts and never forgive you!”

“Are you trying to destroy Japan?
You terrifying man!”

“…”

“Mmph, mmph, mmph, okay, okay, I get it, I get it.
I’ll destroy it when I get back, I’ll destroy it.”

Faced with his two friends, Nishida Jun had no choice but to make a promise, but the next day, he took the script and went to the Yamagami residence alone…