I Was Falsely Confessed to and Exposed in Front of Everyone, so I Jumped off the Roof - Chapter 16

I was drinking hard at the bar. That woman pissed me off.

“Ruika. Damn it!”

I wanted to cool my anger by drinking something strong. This bar was a private club for celebrities, so even if I got drunk and acted badly, no one would care.

“Sazanka-chan, you look pretty mad tonight!”

Next to me sat Satsukui, a handsome guy from a male idol group. He was my drinking buddy, or more my hookup.

“Did something happen?”

“The new girl’s annoying. The boss likes her, so I can’t mess with her.”

“The world of women is scary!”

“There’s only room for a few people in the spotlight. That’s why it gets like this.”

It wasn’t that I wanted to drag someone down. If I didn’t, I’d never get my turn. Yeah, I wasn’t the bad one here. The system was.

“If she’s that annoying, why not find a guy and leak it to the tabloids?”

“She’s too careful. The boss already warned everyone.”

“Then what about her  former boyfriends?”

When he said that, it hit me.

“Right! Maybe she has dirt from before!”

“Exactly. Look into her past. She’s pretty, right? There’s no way she didn’t have at least one or two boyfriends. You could use them to stir things up or even blackmail her.”

“Should I hire a private investigator?”

“I can set that up. My agency’s got people who are good at digging up pasts. They clean up scandals or use them, depending on the job.”

“That’s evil, but I like it! Do it!”

“Then let’s go talk to him.”

He naturally put his arm around my shoulder as we left the bar. Then we went into a nearby love hotel. That night burned hot. Just thinking that I could finally ruin that woman made me feel so alive.

♢ ♢ ♢

In front of me stood a man wearing nothing but a traditional loincloth. He was super muscular, but his face looked like one of those elegant noblemen from The Tale of Genji illustrations. His hair was long and silky, too.

“Ruika-chan, why are we even here?”

“I don’t know. Manwa-san told us to come, so I came.”

We were both dressed in red shrine maiden outfits, standing deep inside a forest in Ise.

“It is my duty to guide you upon the path of the gods.”

His voice was smooth and beautiful, totally not what I’d expect from a guy built like that.

“So, what are we supposed to do?”

“Let me ask you instead. Do you two truly understand what it means to be idols?”

That question caught me off guard.

“Our job is to sing and dance happily and make everyone smile!”

Sumire answered without hesitation.

“Yes, that is one answer. But do you know what the true beginning of performing arts in Japan was?”

“I dropped out of high school, so I don’t really know stuff like that.”

“Have you heard of Okuni?”

“Nope.”

Who’s that supposed to be? Is it some warlord?

“The roots of entertainment come from rituals dedicated to the gods. Over time, those sacred acts became independent and turned into the performing arts.”

I see.

“Oh, that makes sense. Like how people dance during festivals.”

Sumire seemed to be following along. I had already given up trying to understand.

“Through rituals, people communicate with the gods. The joy that spreads from that contact brings happiness to others. Shrine maidens were once the bridge between humans and the divine.”

It was getting way too mystical for me. But then he mentioned gods, and that caught my attention.

“Are rituals also used to cleanse sins?”

“That is an interesting question. Yes, exactly. Sins are too heavy for people to bear alone. That’s why rituals were created to transfer those sins and release them. That’s the purpose of religion. To wash away impurity. In Japanese terms, that’s what we call cleansing the defilement.”

I felt something spark inside my heart. There was something important I could gain here.

“I understand. Please teach us.”

I bowed deeply, and Sumire followed my lead.

“Good. Then, we will begin the training.”

And so, our training started. We were taken to a place in front of a waterfall.

“Are we going to stand under the waterfall?”

Sumire sounded almost excited. But the man in the loincloth shook his head.

“That kind of thing has no meaning. Watch carefully.”

He stepped into the river. When the water reached his waist, he began to dance. He moved his fan gracefully, and the splashes from his raised foot sparkled in the light. It was strange, just watching him made me feel dazed and enchanted. Then he stopped dancing, bowed to the waterfall, and stepped out of the river.

“This is a sacred dance offered to the gods. You will learn it.”

“If it’s just the choreography, it doesn’t look that hard.”

“You are right. But for now, you won’t even manage the form properly. And you won’t be able to touch the divine either. Long ago, when the goddess Amaterasu hid herself in the cave, the goddess Ame-no-Uzume danced and drew her out. Turning the eyes of the gods toward you is that difficult.”

I didn’t really understand the myth or what it meant. But I felt there was meaning in doing this. So I made up my mind and stepped into the river.

“I forgot to mention. You can wear swimsuits. The shrine robes will just get in the way.”

I slipped and fell into the water. He could’ve said that before. As I sat there in the cold river, I glared down at the little fish swimming around my legs.