"Absolutely not!"
Adachi refused outright. "You want to kill me, don't you?!"
"Ms. Adachi, how can you say that? I'm not a demon." Nanaya smiled strangely, like some shady uncle trying to coax a little girl into going to see goldfish. "It's just jumping from one rooftop to another. I've made plenty of safety preparations. You won't be in any danger."
"Do you even believe that yourself?!" Adachi Satomi was nearly in tears as she stared at the steel wires swaying in the wind. "Why didn't you just use jump cuts?!"
"That won't give me the effect I want."
Nanaya dragged his hands through his hair in frustration. He had tried everything, yet she still wouldn't budge.
The scene they were shooting was Ryogi Shiki's grand entrance before her final battle with Kirie Fujou. In Nanaya's vision, the moment Shiki threw off her raincoat mid-air, revealed her Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, and drew her dagger, would be the most iconic highlight of the entire Kara no Kyoukai movie.
To maximize impact, Nanaya had designed the scene so Shiki wearing a raincoat would leap from one building to the rooftop of the Fujou Building.
Having Shiki fling the raincoat away mid-jump and draw her dagger would create a far more stunning visual than the original, at least in Nanaya's mind.
So there was no way he was giving up on filming this scene. To create realism, he even set up a steel wire rig between the two rooftops, hoping Adachi would actually traverse the gap.
But this demand went way beyond Adachi Satomi's psychological limits. No matter how much Nanaya tried to persuade her, she refused.
The entire setup was ready. All that remained was rolling the camera.
Nanaya was extremely anxious. Setting up this stunt had been difficult, and every second wasted was money burning.
"Ms. Adachi, you have to do this!" Nanaya was close to losing his patience. Anger simmered beneath his voice.
Adachi still resisted. "Can't I use a substitute?!"
"Do you think our poor film crew can afford professional stunt doubles?!"
Nanaya's confident retort left Adachi speechless.
"Ms. Adachi, you're an actress. Please show some professionalism." Nanaya softened his tone pushing too hard would only make the lead actress dig in harder.
Adachi looked at the edge of the rooftop again… then shook her head firmly.
"No! I'm afraid of heights!"
"You—!"
For a moment, Nanaya genuinely wanted to slap her, but he slowly lowered his raised hand.
Nanaya knew deep down that his request was excessive. Even stunt actors might refuse a shot like this, let alone a regular actress like Adachi. Not everyone was Tom Cruise. But in pursuit of the perfect visual, Nanaya stubbornly insisted.
Nanaya looked around. The whole crew was anxiously watching them.
With a sigh, he checked the time. "Alright. Let's take ten minutes."
He picked up his phone and called Shounan on the opposite rooftop. "Shounan, take a break too. We won't be shooting for a while."
Shounan wasn't surprised. "I knew it~ I already told Nanaya-san there's no way Adachi-san would agree~ Nanaya-san is so heartless~"
Nanaya hung up immediately, too annoyed to argue. He slumped into a chair, sulking. Even if they forced Adachi onto the wire, with her fear, the footage would be unusable.
If she got so scared she wet herself mid-air, Nanaya was sure he'd be arrested on the spot.
But giving up hurt. He had drawn nearly twenty storyboards to show off these dramatic Shiki shots. He'd also spent nearly a million yen preparing the stunt.
Watching that much money go down the drain would kill him inside.
"Big brother, do you really need this shot that badly?" Ilya approached carefully, worried.
"Yes… but it looks like I have to give up." Nanaya sighed.
Ilya thought for a moment, then suddenly clapped her hands right next to Nanaya's ear.
Snap!
Nanaya nearly jumped out of his seat. "What was that for?!"
Ilya excitedly grabbed his arm. "Hey, hey! Big brother, Ilya has a solution!"
"Really?!" Nanaya's face lit up instantly. He grabbed Ilya's shoulders. "Tell me!"
"Tada~!" Ilya pointed behind her. "Sera can be the stunt double!"
"…Really?"
Nanaya eyed the maid skeptically. He knew she was skilled but that didn't automatically make her stuntwoman material.
Sera nodded calmly. "There should be no problem. I have received special training to become a proper maid for the young lady."
"What kind of training?"
Nanaya asked cautiously.
"For example if the young lady and I are kidnapped, how to neutralize all the kidnappers and escape. My best record is taking down an entire warship. The best record in our class belongs to a certain butler, who took down a whole fleet."
"So being a maid or butler is such a dangerous profession…" Nanaya wiped cold sweat from his forehead. He suddenly felt grateful Sera had never snapped and killed him.
"So, Sera, you can handle the jump?" Nanaya handed her the storyboard. He had finally found hope no way he was letting it slip away.
"Hmm… I'll try it." Sera practiced a few movements, then nodded.
"Great! Sera, hurry and change!" Nanaya shouted. "Katsura! Start the makeup!"
---
Half an hour later, Sera dressed in a blue kimono and wearing a black wigstepped forward, guided by Katsura Mako.
After comparing her to Adachi, Nanaya nodded. "The body shape is a bit different, but it's fine."
Sera pointed at her red eyes. "Is it okay not to wear colored contacts? Ryogi Shiki has black eyes."
"It's fine. Her Mystic Eyes will be done through VFX anyway. Your shots will mostly be side or back angles. Your face won't appear clearly."
"I see…"
Nanaya felt like she looked slightly disappointed, but he didn't dwell on it.
"Alright! Help me secure Sera to the rig!"
Katsura snickered."Kiryu-chan, what you just said sounded awfully suspicious."
Nanaya ignored her and focused on checking Sera's harness.
After working together for so long, the Kara no Kyoukai crew had great teamwork. Sera was secured to the steel cable quickly.
As she put on the yellow raincoat, Nanaya gave his final warning: "Listen carefully, Sera. Your safety is the top priority. If anything happens mid-air, forget the camera just protect yourself. Understood? No recklessness."
Nanaya might be obsessive about visuals, but he wasn't suicidal. He would never let someone die for a shot. The stunt was dangerous, but still controlled.
Sera was completely confident. "Don't worry. There won't be any issues. Just focus on filming."
Nanaya nodded and ran back to the camera. He grabbed the megaphone.
"All units, to your positions! Action!"
At his command, the steel cable jerked into motion and Sera launched herself toward the opposite rooftop