A/N: This here is my story for the Hikaru Challenge! I'll try to update this quickly, but we all can't be leavesfallingup. In any case, please enjoy this first chapter and leave a comment if you like!
Takarada Lory glared at his T.V., considering the three options before him.
1. Introduce yourself
2. Ignore him
3. Let your friend introduce you
As far as he was concerned, each choice had its own merits. "Introducing yourself" would show that Akari had courage enough to hold her own ground against the most popular guy in school, which would catch any guy's attention. But ignoring him might arouse his curiosity and lure him into trying to find out why Akari ignored him, thereby luring him into finding out more about Akari herself. Then again, letting Akari's friend make the introductions would give the friend the chance to vouch for Akari and sing her praises. All of them seemed like good choices, but which choice would Shinichi like best? Knowing that heartless boy, he would probably dislike all three.
The president of L.M.E. began to sweat. This was a life or death matter. With this first encounter, Akari could start a wonderful friendship with Shinichi, which could turn into a beautiful romance…or she could lose any chance she had with him at all. Lory mindlessly scrolled through the options over and over again, hesitant to actually pick one lest it be the wrong choice. He sighed, knowing he'd have to pick one soon. He couldn't leave his PlayStation running for three days again just to give himself time to choose. So, his heart heavy with an impending sense of doom, he finally stopped his repetitive scrolling on "Introduce yourself" and pressed the confirmation button.
And a few seconds later, a horrible, heartbroken scream echoed throughout the president's office as Shinichi smirked meanly and walked off screen.
"Noooooo! Get back here, you heartless boy!" the President cried out. Lory then flopped on his back, letting the controller roll out of his hand. After allowing his master to pout for a few minutes, Sebastian silently appeared beside Lory with a folder.
"Here is the report you requested, Takarada-shachou," the butler said quietly while holding the folder out to the melancholic man. Lory immediately sat up and gleefully rubbed his hands together, a devious smile on his face.
"Thank you very much, Sebastian," Lory told the manservant and took the folder out of his hand. He opened the folder and quickly flipped through the photos inside, his devious smile growing wider and wider at each photo. After looking at the last photo for a few moments, he laughed loudly, shut the folder, and handed it back to Sebastian.
"Well, that confirms my suspicions," Lory mused out loud as he leaned back on his arm. Stroking his chin, the love-crazed president began to scheme on how he could use this new information.
A few minutes later, Lory turned to the other man and said, "Sebastian, call Mogami-kun and Ishibashi Hikaru here. Show Hikaru-kun in right away, but have Mogami-kun stay outside until I ask for her."
"As you wish, Takarada-shachou," Sebastian responded, turning to leave and perform the given tasks.
Takarada Lory then returned to his game and started over. While waiting for his game to load, he chuckled a little and said to no one in particular, "This should be the most fun I've had since giving Ren his 'good luck charm'."
Mogami Kyoko was sitting in the little waiting room in front of Takarada-san's office, waiting to be called in. She had received Takarada-san's voice message requesting a meeting just after she left Box-R's set. Of course, she had immediately pedaled over to L.M.E. for the meeting…and had arrived just in time to see one of her Ishibashi-onii-sans, Hikaru-san, walk into Takarada-san's office. This had left Kyoko very confused because, as far as she was aware, Takarada-san rarely called employees into his office. Honestly, the LoveMe section and Tsuruga-san were rather exceptional as they were called in quite often. But for Hikaru-san to be called in was rather…odd.
As Kyoko sat there, contemplating such an odd situation, Sebastian emerged from the president's office. "You may come in now, Mogami-san," he told her.
Kyoko quickly stood up and walked through the door. Sebastian quietly closed the door behind her and moved towards a corner where he would be out of sight.
"Ah, Mogami-kun! Come in and take a seat," Lory told his favorite LoveMe member.
"Hai, Takarada-san," Kyoko answered. She walked to the pair of couches that sat in front of the president's mahogany desk. Hikaru-san was sitting on the couch to the left, looking down at his knees and apparently thinking very hard about something. While curious about what exactly Hikaru-san was thinking about, Kyoko did not ask him what was plaguing his mind and simply sat down beside him. He looked up at her, blushed, and quickly returned to staring at his knees. Indeed, something…odd…was afoot here.
"Well, Mogami-kun, I have a new assignment for you. But first I need you to answer a question for me. What is your opinion on love now that you've been in the LoveMe section for a while?"
Kyoko pursed her lips in thought and didn't answer for several minutes. "I feel," she slowly began," that there are many different kinds of love. I love Moko-san as my best friend, I love Maria-chan as my little sister, and I love Otou-san as my father. I also respect and, to some extent, love many of the people I have worked since I began my career here at L.M.E."
She paused there for a few moments, as if to organize her thoughts. "I suppose that the best way to explain how I feel about love is that it is dangerous, especially romantic love."
Lory frowned as she said that, but Kyoko continued with her answer and his disapproval went unnoticed.
"But although love leaves your heart open to be hurt…the relationship you receive in exchange for that vulnerability is well worth it," Kyoko finally finished.
"Hmmm…interesting answer Mogami-kun. What about romantic love specifically?" Lory asked, the smile having returned to his face.
She flinched a little at this question. "I feel the same way about romantic love as I do about love in general. I am simply not…interested…in pursuing a romantic relationship at the moment."
Lory nodded his head, as if he had expected such an answer. He looked at Kyoko and Hikaru, who was still staring at his knees, before continuing the conversation. "Mogami-kun, you have made great strides since you entered the LoveMe section in reclaiming your lost emotion. I can honestly say that you are just a step, a hop, and a skip away from having it."
Kyoko's eyes shone at such high praise from the man who had taken her under his wing and given her the opportunity to act. "But," Lory continued, "that is still a step, a hop, and a skip away. And I have come with an assignment that might help shorten that distance just a little."
"Hikaru-kun, lift up your head," Lory commanded. "You are a part of this conversation as well."
Hikaru quickly complied, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. And Kyoko's face slipped into a look of utter confusion at that.
"Ano…Takarada-san…what does Hikaru-san have to do with it?" Kyoko questioned.
"He will be helping you with your next assignment," Lory promptly answered. "Mogami-kun, I want you to act as Hikaru's girlfriend."
Kyoko's jaw had literally dropped to the floor. "But…but…Takarada-san! How am I supposed to do that? I don't know how to act out such a role! And even if I did, I'm sure Hikaru-san would disapprove of the publicity he would receive from such a…"
"Stop right there, Mogami-kun," Lory told her sternly. Kyoko's mouth immediately shut and she waited for what the president of her company had to say.
"First of all," he began, "I wouldn't have volunteered Hikaru-kun for this assignment without seeking his approval. In fact, he said he would be quite happy to help just before you entered the room, right Hikaru-san?"
"Hai, Takarada-shachou," Hikaru answered, a flabbergasted look still plastered all over his face.
"Second of all, you will not be acting as his girlfriend in public per se," Lory continued. "This assignment is similar to your assignment as Setsu and you will receive a disguise from Jelly each time you go out."
Kyoko began to absolutely glow at this information. She would get to see Jelly-san and be able to partake in her magic again!
"Now that I've addressed your first two concerns, Mogami-kun, I imagine you still have a few more. Ask away, but only one question at a time please," Lory said, chuckling just a little.
She bit her lip in thought. The president was right; she did have a few more questions, but which one to start with…?
"Is it alright for Hikaru-san to take part in this assignment?" Kyoko asked and quickly realized how her question could be interpreted.
She immediately turned to Hikaru and said, "I didn't mean that to be respectful, Hikaru-san! I just meant that you are musician and I was wondering if you would have trouble in an acting exercise!"
Hikaru laughed, his normal personality returning a little bit after seeing Kyoko in such an agitated state at her perceived insult to her sempai. "Don't worry about it, Kyouko-chan. I understand what you meant."
"But in any case, I believe Hikaru-kun will have no problem acting out this role, Mogami-kun," Lory said in answer to her question. And, like her usual oblivious self, Kyoko took no note of what that statement actually meant.
"Ano…then how often are we to meet for this assignment?" Kyoko asked.
"As often as you can, Mogami-kun. I won't put a time limit on this assignment, but every so often I will be giving you tests or calling you in to my office to discuss how the assignment is going. It will be to your benefit to meet as often as you can," Lory told her.
"Alright, then," Kyoko said. A few moments passed in silence as she thought of her next question. "And we are supposed to act out a dating couple?"
"Yes, Mogami-kun, but I am putting one restriction on your character."
Kyoko nodded in acceptance, but quietly waited for Lory to explain his restriction.
"You are not allowed to create a character separate from yourself. I want you to experience this as yourself, so that you can recreate or at least act out the feeling of love when you need to in your acting. Actually, that is why I am giving you this assignment. So that when you need this experience for a drama or movie, you will have it," Lory told her.
Kyoko slowly digested his words and then posed her next question. "Takarada-san, if I'm not allowed to create a character for this, what exactly am I supposed to do in this assignment?"
Lory grinned. "Good question, Mogami-kun. Hikaru-kun will take the lead on this and you shall simply follow along. This exercise is mostly for you to enjoy and learn from, unlike your last assignment."
As she mulled over all of this, Kyoko asked her final question. "So when do we start, Takarada-san?"
At this question, Lory absolutely beamed. He stood up, motioned for his two employees to follow him, and walked over to the door.
"Mogami-kun," Lory said as he opened the door, "you will be starting right now!" He shoved both of them out the door and they fell in a heap several feet outside the door.
Lory poked his head outside the door and told them, "Jelly is waiting for you in the LoveMe room! Have fun you two!" Even though it seemed impossible, Lory grinned even wider and then shut the door.
Still lying on the floor, Hikaru and Kyoko looked at each other, both utterly stunned. Hikaru shook his head at the president's antics, but then stood up and offered his hand to Kyoko.
"Well, then…shall we Kyouko-chan?" Hikaru asked.
Kyoko looked at the proffered hand, the shock still plain on her face. Then, she too shook her head at their president's antics and giggled a little. She gently placed her hand in Hikaru's and he helped her up.
"I suppose we shall, Hikaru-san," Kyoko said, still giggling.
Hikaru, lightly blushing, offered his arm to her. Kyoko hesitantly took it, a slightly nervous look in her eye. Although they were both a little uncomfortable with the arrangement, albeit for different reasons, neither pulled away as they walked to the LoveMe room.