Three months later.

The initial planning team had finally finished compiling the final list of possible filming locations. Right now they were in the process of choosing which one to check out first. 

The meeting was heated, each person having his own views and preferences based on his interpretation of the book.

The director and his men wanted to go to a historical city first. A place like Kyoto or Nara, where they could see Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and castles. Meanwhile, the producer and his followers considered small remote villages on the coast were better suited. 

In the meantime, Asakura and the rest of the team thought they should check out the mountains first. Since there were a lot of scenes in the book that happened in forests or on mountain paths they felt it was the best choice.

After a few days of disagreements and discussions it was finally settled. 

The large team would split in two. Each group was to choose a location they wanted to check out, based on the criteria they thought was most suitable. 

During the trip, each group would take pictures, make recordings and note down everything important about the place they saw. In this way, they could cover twice as many locations in the same timeframe. And since, in the end, they would eventually need more than just one filming location, it would be more advantageous if things were done like this.

No need to mention that this clever solution was Asakura's idea. 

At first, the others hemmed and hawed but, in the end, they could only agree. Director Asakura was, after all, a rather powerful figure among them. Also, being the main investor for the movie ultimately gave him the final say.

Hence, Asakura and his team would follow their plan and choose a few spots of interest in the mountain area. From small rural villages to onsen and inns, they wanted to check out as many as they possibly could.

As promised, Keita would also join them once their final destination has been decided.

That day, Asakura personally came to Suzumori publishing to make sure he received a positive answer from the Chief Editor regarding this important matter. 

Unfortunately for him, he also met Rintarou and Keita there.  

They were all having a meeting in Kota's office and, when Asakura entered, he was taken aback by the scene in front of him. 

Upon seeing Keita's startled expression, his own face flushed slightly. He stuttered for a moment, not knowing what to say first. 

As luck would have it, his biggest rival helped him out of this slump by jumping to his feet and speaking first.

"Asakura-san, I'm glad you're here. There is something I've always been meaning to say to you, but never got a chance to."

After saying this, Rintarou took a few steps forward and positioned himself right in front of Asakura.

Just when everybody held their breaths, wondering what would happen next, Rintarou bowed at ninety degrees and spoke loudly.

"Asakura-san, thank you for making this movie adaptation possible!"

"There is nothing to thank me for. I think the book deserves it. That's all." Asakura replied, looking away uncomfortably.

"Still, without you, it would have been something difficult to achieve. This is why I am thanking you." Rintarou insisted. He raised his head and stared Asakura in the eye.

"Rintarou..." Keita whispered softly, his face showing conflicting emotions. 

On one hand, he was impressed with Rintarou’s display or fair play, while on the other hand, he also felt both nervous and guilty towards Asakura.

"Alright, alright! Enough with this!" Asakura exclaimed suddenly, raising a hand and turning his head swiftly in order to hide his embarrassment.

Truly, he had once again lost to Kurosawa Rintarou. He had to admit defeat in the face of this person's straightforwardness. 

Asakura knew that, had it been him in Rintarou's place, he would never show this type of honest and unaffected behavior towards his previous love rival. At that moment, he couldn't help but wonder whether Rintarou was indeed so pure of heart or simply stupid.

"I'll say this one last time. There is no need to thank me. I am doing this because I want to. Consider it my own selfishness." Asakura stated firmly, this time glancing at Keita. He forced himself to calm down and managed to show a reluctant smile.  

At his words, Keita slowly nodded his head and returned an approving smile. His emotions were settled and there was no need for him to hesitate any longer. He also understood Asakura's personality enough to know that things like thanks or appreciative words would only make the other man feel uncomfortable. That was especially true if they came from either him or Rintarou.

Thus, they all settled down in their seats and the meeting began.

After listening to Asakura explain the situation, they all agreed that splitting up in groups was a faster and more efficient way to deal with the filming locations. Keita once again gave his assent to go with the crew, and see for himself the places they will ultimately use for filming.

All in all, the meeting went rather well. When Asakura got ready to leave the publishing company he felt quite satisfied with the result. 

Right before he managed to leave the office, though, Kota stopped him at the door.

“Join me for a smoke?”

“You don’t smoke.”

“No, but you do.” Kota grinned and headed straight for the top floor terrace.

The unexpected request caused Asakura to pause. Alarm bells ran off inside his head and his eyes moved to search the other man’s face with suspicion. 

Nevertheless, Kota didn’t show any response, not even after being stared at like that for a full minute. The man was merely blinking his pretty eyes at Asakura, appearing rather innocent. 

Watching Kota’s restrained expression, Asakura felt a foreboding feeling rising along his spine.

Outside, the weather was still nice. A gentle wind was blowing, scattering a handful of fluffy white clouds across the pale blue sky. 

After they stepped onto the terrace, Kota leaned against the handrail and remained silent.

Asakura lit a cigarette and turned to face his unusually silent friend.

“So, what did you want to talk about?”