Saiyuu no Ryokou: The Continuing Adventures of Yuriko
The Story So Far: Midori and Yuriko have arrived to do an appearance
on an afternoon television talk show. Not everyone wants them there, however.
Volume 2, Issue 13
"Obstacle Course"
"Everybody, please welcome infamous lesbian idol Yuriko, to our show." The
voice was smooth, uninflected and cold.
Yuriko met Osaka Teruo’s openly hostile stare with a friendly, slightly seductive
smile. Greeting the host warmly, she reached out and took the woman’s hand in her
own, kissing it neatly above the middle finger. She took her seat next to Midori and shot
her lover a confident grin. The writer, whose normally light features were more than
usually pale, gave her a thin smile in return. Yuriko could see the tension in
Midori’s jaw build as the host began to speak.
Osaka Teruo’s eyes were small, narrow and black. She reminded Yuriko of a teacher
of hers from elementary school who hated little children and felt that they needed to
suffer as much as possible in order to grow strong. Yuriko felt her own eyes narrow
slightly – she knew how to handle this kind of animosity, even if Midori didn’t.
"So, Yukano-san, you’ve been very openly dating Yuriko-san for some time now
– how has it made you feel to be a lesbian poster child all of a sudden?"
Midori’s mouth opened, but Yuriko leaned forward and interrupted smoothly. Taking
Midori’s hand into her own, she addressed the audience. "I think it has to be a
shock for anyone, Osaka-san, to be judged for his or her life choices, instead of the
quality of his or her work. After all, Midori’s writing has won critical acclaim in
several countries – and she has been the recipient of several awards here in
Japan." Yuriko smiled proudly at the audience; several heads nodded in understanding,
while others scowled at her.
"Ah, yes," Osaka Teruo fixed her eyes on Yuriko’s. "You would know
all about that, wouldn’t you, Yuriko-san? I believe," she cast her eyes down to
a piece of paper in her lap, "you were charged with sexual harassment of a high
school student, weren’t you? I suppose that affected how people judged your
work?"
Yuriko could feel Midori stiffen beside her. She did the only thing she could do to
protect them both – she laughed heartily. It took every ounce of acting ability she
had...inside she was shaking with the need to slap that beady-eyed bitch, but outside, she
was as jolly as she could be. So infectious was her laughter that eventually she heard
Midori join in with a nervous giggle.
"Oh yes, you have no idea!" Yuriko laughed again, including the audience in
the jest. "I’ve been accused of sexual harassment, of verbal assault, even of
maternity – and I’m perfectly sure that I’ve never borne a child..."
she grinned at Midori. "When you’re an idol, people want a piece of you. Some
people are content to have the albums and posters, some want more than that. And some of
those people - well, when they can’t have what they think they want..." Yuriko
shrugged. "I’m sure you know how it is – people wanting a piece of the you
they think you are." This last she addressed directly to the host. The woman seemed
startled by the remark.
"Ah, yes, yes I do." Teruo shuffled the papers on her lap, her face flushed.
Yuriko glanced at Midori. The writer seemed much less peaked and her shoulders were less
stiff. Nonetheless, Yuriko kept hold of her hand.
Osaka Teruo had obviously recovered herself. "So you think its difficult being the
object of affection of millions of young girls who see in you a perfectly legitimate role
model? Don’t you think that you do them a disservice by forcing your lifestyle on
their impressionable minds?"
"I’d like to answer that if I may," Midori said agreeably. The writer
had obviously recovered her sense of humor. "We, Yuriko and I, both believe that a
life lived in silence is a life not lived." she turned away from the host to address
the audience, "We all know that life is confusing – that being young is hard,
especially these days. The old ways of simply doing and never questioning anything is
leaving us with a decrepit education system. Young people are finding that promises made
to them as children simply don’t apply as adults and we, as a country, are losing our
younger generations – losing touch with them, losing the ability to draw from their
energy and creativity." Midori was warming to her subject now and the color in her
cheeks was high. "My writing is about the experience of life, of love and
disappointment and joy. And Yuriko’s music is about exactly the same thing...we both
believe that by offering that kind of honesty in our work and in our lives, if we even
show one or two young people in this country that it *is* possible to live their lives
with honesty and still be successful ...well, then we’ve accomplished something
special indeed!"
The audience applauded loudly at this. Midori smiled at them, catching the eyes of
mothers of the very young people that she spoke of. Yuriko watched her with open pride,
then turned and faced Osaka Teruo. The host’s face was pinched as she stared at her
papers and Yuriko allowed herself a nice, slow evil smile inside her head.
***
"Oh, god." Midori collapsed against the wall in the hallway. "That was
dreadful." Yuriko wrapped the writer up in her arms, sighing as the dark head laid
against her chest.
"No," Yuriko whispered fervently. "It was wonderful. You were
wonderful."
Midori looked up into blue eyes, her own on the verge of tears. "How do you do it,
Yuri? How can you stand to be the target of that kind of narrow-mindedness?"
Yuriko shook her head. "Not here – I want to get out of this place.
Let’s go home and have a bath and I’ll tell you all about it."
Yuriko kept one arm around Midori’s shoulders as they wrapped up their business
with Osaka Teruo’s staff and left the show behind them with relief.
Once back in the car, Yuriko asked, "Should I call Kishi-san and have her pull the
show?" Her hand was already in her pocket ready to make the call.
Midori shook her head. "No." She looked at her hands, which were still
shaking slightly. "No – I think we should insist that they do use it. That
ignorant, cretinous..." She took a deep breath and let it out noisily. "But
Manaka-san will have a few words with our legal department." She grinned at Yuriko
nastily. "Maybe I should sue, like the Americans do, for mental anguish."
Yuriko laughed. "That would be nice, except for two things – one, you
don’t need the money and two, that would be admitting that that horrific woman caused
you any suffering. Personally, I think we ought to write her a note thanking her for the
opportunity to be on her wretched show. It’ll confuse and annoy her."
"Done." Midori agreed. "So...will you tell me how you can stand that
kind of thing? What secret formula do you use to ward off the evil eye?"
Yuriko pondered the question. "You know, that’s a pretty apt description.
But, basically, it’s in my contract."
"Huh?"
"Seriously. When Kishi-san was first creating my image, we were bandying ideas for
a persona around. Miyamoto-san wanted something androgynous – he said that the more
over the top, the more marketable I’d be. So, I suggested that I just be out, and
that we be really honest with the press about my private life. Kishi-san was willing to
try it, with some reservations, and Miyamoto thought it would be a great way to set me
apart from everyone else."
"But weren’t you worried about corporate backing?"
"Well, no, I wasn’t, because I didn’t think I’d be more than
moderately successful at best. Remember where I came from before I was found. I just
assumed I’d work at second-rate modeling jobs and if I was lucky, I’d have some
voice-over work from time to time.
"But Miyamoto is a genius. He found a backer for me, and he and Kishi-san worked
out a credible marketing plan with him for my first album and here we are."
"But what does that have to do with evil interviews?" Midori asked,
fascinated.
"That was my one requirement – that I be able to be "out and
proud," as they say. So Kishi-san, brilliant woman that she was made me attend a
class to learn how to handle rough interviews. It was absolutely awful – it was like
being examined by a prosecuting lawyer for a week. But I learned that the only way my life
could be used against me was if I let it. So I’ve never let it." Yuriko tugged
on the hair in front of her eye, the only hint of the tension she was feeling. "It
never gets any more fun, but I’ve learned to use that kind of prejudice against the
interviewer...this way I never have to be anything other than I am." She sighed and
sank back in the seat, "I’m a lot nicer to people with my outside voice, though.
Inside my head, I’m very, very rude."
Midori laughed.
Continued
Saiyuu no Ryokou, all characters and situation copyright E. Friedman. All rights
reserved.