Garasu no Kamen Synopses

Tankoubon 45

Maya and Masumi at Tsukikage's place

Masumi explains that he came to see how Tsukikage sensei was doing, and she reassures him that the doctors check her conditions every day. Maya decides that she cannot talk about Akoya's love in presence of Hayami so she claims she also came to visit the sensei. Tsukikage wants to know who gave Maya her home address, and Maya tells her about her meeting with an old man on a wheel chair. Masumi and Tsukikage are startled, but since Maya adds that the man is a kind and nice person who loves chocolate parfait, they both think it can't be Eisuke!
The three have tea.

Tsukikage talks about Shiori. When Masumi gets married, he will have more important things to think about than Kurenai Tennyo. The Sensei is grateful to Masumi's soon-to-be wife. Masumi laughs: Tsukikage thinks he would be able to use Shiori for business purposes. He confirms his deep interest in Kurenai Tennyo.

Maya, startled at the word 'wife', realizes how stupid and naive she has been when she thought that Masumi could be her soul mate. He is not more than a fan.
She stands up, very pale and upset. Masumi offers to help but Maya rejects him, asking him to keep out and not to be nice with her.
Tsukikage sensei asks Maya why she came visit her. Maya answers that she was trying to understand the uncomplete soul of Akoya. Masumi is shocked: this is the same reason why he came.
Maya wanted to know about the other part of her own soul, but she claims that she understood that she will never find her own. Then she turns to Masumi, she congratulates on his own soul mate (Shiori) and shouts at him that she will never leave Kurenai Tennyo to someone like him. Finally she runs away.

Tsukikage asks Masumi the real reason why he came visit her. He smiles and confesses that he came for the same reason as Maya. Tsukikage bursts into laughters: she doesn't believe he is serious.

Stubborn Ayumi doesn't give up.

Ayumi is at the hospital with a bandage covering her eyes; she can't accept her situation. She tries to move but falls down. The maid helps her to get back to her bed but she keeps thinking about the rehearsals.
The doctors orders her to rest while waiting for all the test results.
Ayumi can't find peace. She doesn't want her mother to know about her situation, and she thinks about Maya. She takes off the badages and she realizes that she can see even if not very well.

The 2 Hayamis

Hayami house. Masumi Hayami and his father Eisuke are having breakfast.
Eisuke asks Masumi about his visit to Tsukikage sensei.
The young Hayami thinks about what Maya told him, but he prefers to tell his fahter that nothing worth notice happened. Then he remarks that his father is interested in Tsukikage's conditions, but his father claims that he is only interested in the rights for Kurenai Tennyo. It would be a problem if the rights were given to Maya, wouldn't it?
Masumi replies that he knows that Maya hates him like Tsukikage hates Eisuke.
Then in his mind he compares his destiny with his father's, and finally understands how much the old man must have suffered for not being loved back.
Masumi is about to leave the room, but before going away he asks his father if he likes giant parfaits. Eisuke almost chokes, and angrily denies.
Masumi believes what Eisuke said, and Eisuke is very relieved that his son didn't find out the truth.

Absent-minded Maya

Rei and Maya are having breakfast at their place. Maya is completely absent, her eyes are red from the lack of sleep, she doesn't feel like eating. Rei tells her off. Maya gets the train to go to the acting studio, but almost misses the station.

Kuronuma tries to make the actor understand the characters

At the Kid's studio, Maya recites Akoya's lines. She is explaining that the gods are everywhere, that the world is made of couples of opposites: death/birth, heaven/earth, man/woman, etc. Kuronuma interrupts her, claiming that she is not convincing. Surely, she is thinking of how difficult the lines are. Maya confesses that she didn't understand those words' meaning.
Then, Sakurakoji is told off as well. He feels inferior to the other actor Akame, who unlike him has experience with period drama, and this worry prevents him to concentrate on acting.
Kuronuma insists that all the actors have to understand and live the characters' feelings rather than try to play the part of those characters who lived 650 years ago.

Kuronuma together with Maya, Sakurakoji, and another actor go out.
First, they go to a restaurant. Maya repeats the same lines she tried before, and Kuronuma seems more satisfied with the result.

Then the other two actors are asked to play their part on a flyover.
Isshin confesses to Kusunoki that he is in love with Akoya even if he knows that she is not a girl like the other ones.
Kusunoki replies that their love will bring the death of one of them.
Isshim claims that he loves Akoya's soul and their love will not end with death.
At this point Sakurakoji gets startled and Kuronuma interrupts them.
The director praises the three actors since their performance has been better than before.

Sakurakoji keeps thinking of the last line he has recited.

Then the group moves to the Shinjuku Prefecture Palace. They go to the 45th floor, from where they have a great view of Tokyo and in the background Mt. Fuji. Kuromuma tells Maya that austronauts claim that Earth seen from above looks like a living being and they feel love for it. Maybe when men are in Space they have a god's point of view. Kuronuma thinks that maybe Akoya sees nature like austronauts see Earth from the Space. Then Maya rehearses while looking at Tokyo from the 45th floor of the building.

Another setting. The group rehearse in a square, in front of a modern sculpture/fountain titled "water temple" and finally in front of a circular sculpture, with some building-like shapes sticking out from the the inner side. In the background, inside the circle, you can see the water temple. In Kuronuma's opinion, this represents past and present united, space and time, eternity. Maya is really impressed and recites Akoya's words once more, with trembling voice.

Sakurakoji play's Isshin's part. He talks about the statues of Buddha, that are just images of Buddha, not Buddha in person. So, they have no value. But he builds them to cheer up the dead, his works are expression of his soul. Sakurakoji asks Kuromuna if he knows what Buddha, life and eath represent for Isshin, but the director doesn't know what to say. Kuronuma tells Maya and Sakurakoji that "Kurenai Tennyo" is also a love story between a goddess and a buddha, and the actors will never be able to perform the final scene until they really understand the gods and buddha.

Hamil is worried about Ayumi's conditions

Ondine studio. Ayumi's maid is observing the rehearsals. She is worried, remembering that the doctor suggested that Ayumi didn't leave the hospital before having some more tests done. But the young lady didn't want to listen.

Ayumi is walking out of the washing room. Her sight is blurry but she got some medicines and she doesn't plan to give up acting.
In the corridor, she passes by Hamil, who is about to greet her, but she doesn't recognize him and goes on without noticing him.
Hamil is surprised and worried.

Ayumi is rehearsing. A lot of actors wearing sleigh bells surround her. She has to bless them by putting some red colour with her finger onto their forehead. She panicks since her sight is letting her down, but then realizes that she can detect their presence by their breath.

Sakurakoji and the soul of the sculptor

Sakurakoji is in his place. He's practicing sculpting, thinking of Kuronuma's words. He notices his grandma praying in front of the shrine dedicated to the dead. There are some offers for them in front of the shrine. Sakurakoji understands that those offers are for the souls of the dead. He understands that for Isshin, the sould lives after death and so the feeling of love for that soul.
Later he visits a temple and sees old statues. He's impressed at the idea that the statues outlived the artist who made them. In this way, for Buddhism the soul lives forever, and so Isshin's love for Akoya.

Masumi's crisis

Masumi is in the same place where Maya rehearsed, in front of the modern sculpture. He keeps asking himself what he is doing, and can't find an answer.
Why am I here? I've heard you started rehearsing here... What are you doing? What are you thinking? Why even now I cannot help thinking of you?
Then he remembers the words Maya told him when they last met at Tsukikage's place. Maya believes that he found his soul mate.
Do you really think so? the two halves of the soul that meet again. The Crimson Goddess' love... This doesn't exist. The truth... Then why can't I leave this place? Why?

Hidden behind a tree, Shiori is stalking Masumi. Then she overhears two people walking by, so she is informed that that place is where Maya rehearsed Kurenai Tennyo. The woman understands that Masumi, in spite of his busy schedule, went there just for Maya, and promises herself that she will get Maya out of Masumi's heart.

Utako decides to direct Ayumi

Ayumi aksed the doctor to wait for Kurenai Tennyo the play to have the operation.

The actress tries to rehearse in the Ondine Studio. She is counting her steps, but she cannot move withoug seeing.

Ayumi decides to go to her grandfather's house in Akone. She wants to concentrate on Kurenai Tennyo only. Her maid finds a note from her, so soon together with Ayumi's mother Utako, they follow her in Akone.

Utako finds Ayumi sat in a room; the light is switched off so the woman asks her daughter to switch it on. Ayumi does so but she reacts as if the light really annoyed her. Utako then gives her a postcard, claiming it's from her father. Ayumi pretends she can read it, but at some point her mother orders her to stop acting: the postcard is not even from her father!

Utako understands how serious Ayumi's conditions are; she orders there to have the operation but Ayumi doesn't give in. Then Utako takes Ayumi in a theatre, switches all the lights on and askes her daughter to perform on stage. The light is too strong for the acress, it hurts her eyes. Utako scolds her. Does she want to let Maya Kitajima win? Ayumi tries to perform but her movements are clumsy and she hits everything on her way. Utako cries and asks her to stop. Ayumi is surprised that her mother is crying for her, but she is determined not to give up.

Utako meets director Onodera. She asks for the plan of the theratre, the position of lights, etc. She lets him know that she is going to direct Ayumi during the rehearsals from that moment on.

The rehearsals start. Utako is contantly shouting at Ayumi and telling her off when she makes mistakes, throwing objects at her. At lunch time, Ayumi asks Utako if she can pass the kinfe for butter to her, but Utako gives her the knife for fruit, with a sharp blade, and from the wrong site (Utako is keeping it by the handle). Ayumi realises that when she touches it, but the mother tells her that performing Kurenai Tennyo is as dangerous for her as grabbing that knife. Ayumi then grabs the knife and holds it tight; her hand starts bleeding.

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Attention!

Original story by Suzue Miuchi. Synopses by Francesca.
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