Scene 9

* Volume
* Magazine

**Scene 9. Audition (Part 3)** is the ninth chapter of *Act-Age* manga series.

## Summary

Kei Yonagi asks why they all assume that they are stranded on a deserted island when they haven't even checked if there are other people on the island. Her co-stars admit to themselves that what she says is true and they can't ignore it now. Akane Yushima is frustrated that Kei would so thoughtlessly disrupt their acting flow, powerless at the hands of Kei's performance. The director Yukiji Tezuka is impressed at Kei's bold choice to put not only herself but her co-stars in danger of disqualification as well, all to play out the scene as someone who is genuinely stranded on a deserted island. The other staff acknowledges this loophole in the scenario they provided and are amused. Masaki Minamoto takes charge and clarifies the scene to state that their plane had been above an area that was known entirely for having deserted islands and that assuming so was not a stretch of the imagination. Akane jumps in and backs up Masaki, quietly hoping Kei catches on and cooperates with the direction they were hoping to take the scene.

Kei doesn't play along and says she believes that the others had made the story up beforehand, at which point the onlooking staff believed she was only being malicious and asked the director to stop the audition. Yukiji however, refuses to note that Kei looked genuinely confused and her acting held more persuasive power than her co-stars and to allow them to carry on. Masaki is dumbfounded at Kei's stubbornness as she carries on to ask why everyone is quiet now. Yukiji believes that due to Kei's acting power it has now become the story of a frightened girl who suspects her companions are out to get her. Akane loses her cool and bursts out at Kei, saying that none of what she has said has made any sense and asks her what she is up to, leaving some of the staff surprised at her intensity. Masaki thinks on his feet again and lays a hand on Akane's shoulder to try and bring her back to earth as he agrees with her statement and reaffirms it. Yukiji sees that the other potentials are starting to emerge all thanks to Kei's performance.

Kei runs off to the forest, frightened at the unnaturalness of her co-stars but runs straight into the set. Her nose starts bleeding and she turns around to bark at her co-stars to keep their distance, as Takemitsu Karasuyama sees that they are being portrayed as the bad guys in this situation and begins to play along. He snickers and says it was all their doing and that they killed everyone, with Kei as the only one left. Kei is enraged and rips off a branch prop from the set to attack Takemitsu, who beckons her to hit him with all her might albeit with sweat dripping down his face. She is interrupted, however, by Akane who pins her to the ground in another bout of sheer frustration as she breaks character and asks why Kei is unable to play along with them despite everyone trying their hardest. She yells at her to quit acting if she is unable to understand others' feelings.

Sometime after the audition ends, a dejected Kei asks Takemitsu and Masaki where Akane is and Masaki tells her she went home as the judging results would come out later. He tells Kei that she quit school and moved to Tokyo to become an actress while working part-time and this audition was her hope for a big break. Takemitsu tries to reassure her by saying that as far as the audition was concerned they had performed what they'd been tasked to do. She responds by saying that she found it difficult to do from the start and she had failed to act like a different person, apologizing to her co-stars. Masaki asks if she is really sorry, noting that she had said earlier that her body moved by itself, and Kei responds through tears by saying she can't keep going like this. Takemitsu admits to himself that their performances had been utterly swallowed up by Kei's persuasive acting power and believes there is a lot in store for her, wanting to know just what kind of actress she will turn into as he reassures her by saying that during it all he thought to himself that he would love to act with her again sometime. Back at the audition hall staff people ask Yukiji whether he is serious about considering accepting Kei for a part in the movie.

## Characters in This Chapter

* Kei Yonagi
* Takemitsu Karasuyama
* Masaki Minamoto
* Akane Yushima
* Yukiji Tezuka
* Rika Machida