Chapter Text
“And we’d like Hyodo-san for the actual photoshoot, if that would be possible?”
Juza blinked, sitting up straight half a second before Banri could jam his elbow into him and mock him for spacing out.
What?
He hadn’t been paying attention to the conversation for a while. The director just asked everyone who was around to come to the lounge for a client meeting, and while Juza was interested at first, it quickly became clear this particular job didn’t concern him. As soon as he saw the photos of the dresses they would be wearing, it was obvious the client was looking for a different kind of actor. Some of the guys from the Winter troupe, probably. Which was okay. Not everyone can do everything. There’s a bunch of guys in Mankai for a reason. Variety ‘n’ stuff.
But, uh … his name was called just now, wasn’t it?
“Great choice!” Izumi nodded, looking at him. “Juza-kun, you’re free that week, aren’t you?”
“I, uh … yea, ‘m free,” Juza mumbled awkwardly, his gaze once again slipping to the photographs on the table. They were such beautiful, elegant, intricate dresses. It didn’t feel right. “But I … uh … I don’t think I’d fit …” he struggled to get the point across, gesturing between the photos and his chest.
“Oh that is absolutely no problem,“ the client cheerfully assured him, her smile almost stretching ear to ear. “We’ll have the dresses tailor made for all of you.”
“But I’ve never had the role of a woman,” he blurted out, caught off guard by the enthusiasm.
“... I see … well, of course, if that is not something you’d be comfortable with, we-”
“I would!” Juza awkwardly cut in, overwhelmed by a sudden fear of adrenaline at the thought of letting an opportunity like this slip away from him. “I mean … I just ain’t gonna be good … probably.”
“Stop waffling,” Banri rolled his eyes, sitting next to him. “It’s just a photoshoot, if you suck they’ll correct you until they get the shot they want. It’s not like you gotta pull it off at the festival like Yuki and Azuma-san.”
“Shut up,” Juza mumbled under his breath. “I can do it if you want,” he then attempted his best smile towards the client.
“Lovely! Incredible!” She clapped her hands together before reaching out to the director. “Izumi, thank you so much! You really had the perfect picks, totally saved us here!”
“Haha … glad we could help,” Izumi accepted the handshake. “You can send over the contracts next week, we’ll get them signed and I’ll send you their emails and numbers. Sounds good?”
“Perfect!”
Didn’t feel perfect to Juza though. It felt like a mess, actually. It wasn’t a proper role but still … he’d never been in a dress like that before. And he didn’t understand why they’d want him to do it, of all other people they could choose.
No one ever suggested putting him in a dress before. Even if Juza said he’d want to try. And he did want to try! It looked nice ‘n’ all … but he never got to do it, and neither did Tasuku-san or Omi-san, so it was probably just not happening. He wasn’t the right shape. Also wouldn’t know how to act right anyway. So he figured it wasn’t gonna happen, and … well, he didn’t think about it, what else?
No point in thinking about stuff that ain’t gonna happen.
Or stuff that makes you feel kinda sad because it ain’t gonna happen.
But now it did happen, and he didn’t know what to think. He should ask Azami for makeup advice and Azuma-san would probably know the right ways to move and he needs to ask Yuki for advice on how not to ruin the dress and … and … he has to try really hard to not mess this up.
But how on earth could someone like him not mess this up …
Even if he’d end up falling on his face, he wanted to do so at least somewhat gracefully - and so he dedicated himself to preparing for this job as much as he possibly could. He told Tasuku he was gonna take a break from working out for a bit, even though he still joined him for a run sometimes. He went shopping with Azami for lots of different creams that Azami was also kind enough to label for him, so that Juza could slowly learn that the pink tube goes on his face in the morning and the blue one is for the evening and the green one with the stuff that looks like glitter is for rubbing all over himself in the shower, and now that he’s finally seen the light he must never ever use Sakyo’s cheap bulk bought shampoo ever again.
He wasn’t really sure about that last one, because he’d be wearing a wig anyway, and the bottle Azami put in his shopping basket had a lot more going on than the simple stuff Sakyo brought home from the store in big boxes of twelve, but … Azami seemed absolutely 100% serious about it, so Juza listened to him. And it’s not like he’d complain about this new shampoo that smelled like strawberry … or that other thing he was supposed to put on after the shampoo, which also smelled like strawberry.
It was pretty nice, actually. Maybe he’d keep buying these even after he’s done with this gig.
He also asked both Homare and Azuma for advice on how to move in a dress, using a really simple outfit that Yuki grabbed from the costume storage and altered just enough to fit Juza’s shoulders. With equal enthusiasm, Homare essentially opened his own evening dance class in the practice room to help Juza find the “spirit of the garment and the essence of self,” whatever that was. And Azuma … well, Azuma only smiled and asked how high Juza’s pain tolerance was.
He didn’t understand what that had to do with playing a woman, or being invited to a spa date with Azuma, but he learned soon enough. The onsen bath was nice. The massage felt great. Whatever they did with his eyebrows and legs afterwards though … not so much. But the results were alright. And Azuma said his legs would stay smooth for the photoshoot next week, so … he was decently prepared, right? Really did all he could have possibly done.
All that was left was not ripping the dress apart.