Chapter Text
-Come over early I have something important-
Amai stares at the message with a furrowed brow. Normally, a simple - Are you coming- is all he gets, nothing with much detail. He doesn’t use words with weight, unless he actually has to care. He saves them for when the situation is actually dire.
He glances around the studio to catch the makeup artist putting all of her brushes into her black apron. He waves her off with a plastered smile, then grabs his brown, worn out leather saddlebag. He pulls out his spiral bound planner, leaning over it with darting eyes. He grabs the very corner of the page, flipping it to the current week. He scans through the red ink, praying hopelessly for any gaps between the events. As he goes through the neat stack of places he has to be, appearances he has to make, and rehearsals he has to attend, the only time he has left is the time he has to sleep. He fires back a message before picking up the script next to him.
-You think I have that much time?-
It pings again right as he looks away.
- I wouldnt be asking if it wasnt urgent-
Amai raises an eyebrow, before catching a glimpse of the director in his peripheral vision. He camouflages his distracted behavior like he was in an old school detective film, by sticking his nose into his script. Right as it pings again, Amai reaches to “silence it”.
-We may have to make some changes to our schedule-
Shit, that is important. But does he have to go to his house for that? Couldn’t they have just done that over the phone? Maybe he didn’t want to run the risk of them being eavesdropped on.
- I’ll come after this rehearsal. I don't have that much time, so make it quick-
He sighs, letting his head rest in his hands for a brief second. He shouldn’t have typed that without thinking twice. He throws everything back into his bag, and reluctantly starts walking onto set. Just how far was this man going to make him stoop?
--
The heels of Amai’s dress shoes echo in the chambers of the stairwell of the smaller apartment building. Few people live in such a dilapidated area of town, riddled with monsters and burglars alike. Zombieman keeps them safe when he’s sober, but most heroes won’t step foot here. They see the vines, leaking pipes, and metal stairs coated in rust, and decide the area isn’t worth saving anymore. But here’s the world renowned Handsome Kamen Amai Mask, in the same building every week, desperately trying to save himself.
As he exits the stairwell, he hears a smooth voice. He picks up the words justice and peace. He hears the same old jingle that he’s heard so many times whenever he was still on the clock. It’s the one that makes his jaw loosen up, and his breathing deepen a bit, considering it’s the one that always signals to the crew to turn off the cameras.
As he starts counting the doors to the apartment, the little jingle disappears, and he starts hearing advertisements.
Right as Zombieman’s door crosses his line of sight, the jingle from the tenant’s apartment switches to the less pleasing jingle, the opening jingle.
“Hello everyone, it is a pleasure to be back with you all for the long awaited second part of Hero TV’s exclusive interview with Amai Mask.”
“Thank you for having me.” He can hear his fake smile over the cheers of his fans.
By the time he’s hearing himself spew some nonsense about the meaning behind his songs, he’s at the door, listening. Eavesdropping, to be exact. Zombieman says nothing, but he hears the sink running, and a quiet clinking noise every now and then. Amai would be pissed if he was invited just for dinner, but he did say it was something important. And that it involved schedule changes. This couldn’t be to soften the blow, could it?
With the biggest knot in his stomach he’s seen in quite some time, he grabs the door knocker.