Scene 15

* Volume
* Magazine

**Scene 15. Chiyoko's Mask** is the fifteenth chapter of *Act-Age* manga series.

## Summary

Chiyoko Momoshiro reviews all the takes that have been filmed for Death Island so far and notes that the actors for Stars Agency were written into the story based on their usual images whereas the actors from the auditions played the roles that existed in the original work. She saw, however, that Kei Yonagi was distancing the film from the shape it was meant to take. Elsewhere, Kei speaks with the rest of the actors who got in through auditions as they eagerly ask about the secrets of her acting. She responds that she performs while picturing how she looks from the perspective of the camera and feeling instead of thinking though she isn't quite able to put her thoughts into words.

Masaki Minamoto and Takemitsu Karasuyama look on and note how she has become quite popular among the other actors, with Takemitsu saying that for better or for worse, she stood out. Akane Yushima joins the two and nervously talks about how her final day of filming will be the next day and that she will be alongside Chiyoko, saying she would do her best. The next day, a large crowd is gathered on the beach for Chiyoko and Akane's take and Chiyoko apologizes to her for all the commotion, recognizing it would be difficult to act in front of so many people but Akane smiles and says she will be fine as she looks to Kei and promises to herself to do as she does. The filming begins and Akane's performance impresses Masaki and Rika Machida, however, Chiyoko manages to maintain the limelight even while standing silent with all eyes transfixed on her.

Yukiji Tezuka calls cut and Kei notes that Chiyoko made a last-minute adjustment to her performance to avoid getting into a shouting match with Akane, which would have shattered her image. Chiyoko quietly apologizes to Akane and says that she could not have everyone delivering performances like Kei's as she was the one who was supposed to be the protagonist. Later at the beach, Akane tells Masaki that it is a huge weight off her shoulders as she went up in flames and lost to Chiyoko completely, with Masaki attempting to comfort her but she finds it distasteful and says she realizes why most of the audition actors were put into scenes with Chiyoko, saying that the Angel stole every scene she was in. Continuing, she says that Kei will have an even rougher time than anyone else due to the role she will have to play.

In his room, Yukiji reviews the footage for that day's shooting and says to himself that Chiyoko's mask is unbreakable. Kei interrupts and asks what he means by mask, with Yukiji telling her she should knock before entering. She apologizes and says she might not be able to pull off the final scene, which would involve her character sacrificing herself to protect Chiyoko's character. Saying that she does not like Chiyoko and so, would be unable to portray herself performing such a selfless act for her sake. Yukiji sees that this is likely due to Chiyoko's performance with Akane and then points out how much it is costing them to film the movie, 600 million yen (around $5 million at the time). Kei is taken aback at this and falls to her knees wondering how many years worth of food that would be for her family as Yukiji continues and says that the burdens of the film's success had thus far been carried by Chiyoko alone. Saying she was an angel and that if Chiyoko was an angel then Kei was a bulldozer, encouraging her to do her best as he was tired of seeing Chiyoko's mask. Yukiji tells Kei to break Chiyoko's mask and that had been the reason why he had cast her.

## Chapter Notes

* Akane's filming is completed.
* Yukiji tells Kei he had cast her to break Chiyoko's mask.

## Characters in This Chapter

* Chiyoko Momoshiro
* Kei Yonagi
* Kanna Kinashi
* Masaki Minamoto
* Takemitsu Karasuyama
* Akane Yushima
* Rika Machida
* Akira Hoshi
* Yukiji Tezuka