Author's Note: A once a month update is getting too freaking long for me so I took this upon myself to write my own version of the incidents that would work after Chapter 261. I haven't been in the fanfic game for so long and I know my writing isn't the best, but bear with me.
Disclaimer: I do not own the storyline, the characters nor the idea of this story. It belongs wholly to Yoshiki Nakamura. The only this is that from this moment forth, the storyline I write is merely what I wish would happen in the manga itself.
Chapter 1: Distractions
Taking out the three sets of bentos she had prepared, Kyoko began to dive into the depths of her thoughts. As much as she didn't want to distract herself from Ren's attention, she couldn't help but think about the incidents that she had gone through the past few weeks.
Everything bothered her. The little parts of finally being able to talk face to face with her mother after years of abandonment. The small part where she was quite surprised that Sho was worried about her wellbeing.
Those small things are the ones balancing out the evil in her mind. Mostly, the incident with Morizumi Kimiko. The little witch that seems to have caught Ren's heart, much to her dismay. She had no right to tell Ren about the kind of person the woman he is in love with is like at the same time, as a working colleague and hopefully as a friend, she hoped he would be able to listen to her without hating her for it.
'This looks wonderful, Kyoko-chan,' Yashiro beamed as he saw the food Kyoko had brought.
Soft tuna-mayo onigiri, a few lightly battered vegetable tempuras, sliced sweet tamagoyaki and slices of chicken thighs marinated in teriyaki sauce. Kyoko was brought back to reality at the remark and saw that she had sprawled out her bentos without realising.
Ren, noticing the sudden realization, took a pair of chopsticks and raised a bento box closer to him. From the side of his eye, he watched to see her reaction but she was still staring off and quite out of it. Normally, she would make sure he's putting the food she brings into his mouth.
He turned his glance back to Yashiro who merely shrugged his shoulders, not knowing what to do. Something was troubling her mind, and although Ren didn't know what it was, Yashiro struggled to find a topic to ensure that whatever bothered Kyoko would not be revealed to Ren.
'So the scriptwriters will meet with you and ask you about your dialects. They want to make sure you're familiar with the words you will use. Kuresaki-san said he wants to work quick and run through the scenes smoothly as the reauditions had already taken so much of the filming time. Are you okay with that?' Yashiro asked.
Kyoko kept poking her tamagoyaki and words travelled into her ear but her mind didn't process what Yashiro was saying. It was bad enough that she hates Kimiko, but worse to know the man she likes has fallen for that terrible person.
Was it her jealousy that wants to hurt him? To make sure Ren never goes near that girl ever again. But what if the opposite happened? What if Ren refused to believe her and says that she's just making things up? That the Kimiko he knows would never do such a thing.
I would be hated by him, Kyoko thought and that was the last thing she wanted out of him. After not seeing him for so long, the last thing she would ever want is for him to cut all ties with her.
'Mogami-san?'
Ren's voice brought her back again, and now she had seen that her poking had mushed her tamagoyaki into scrambled pieces. She frowned and sighed. 'Sorry. I'm sorry,' She suddenly blurted out.
'You were fine in the car, what happened?' Ren asked.
You happened. She thought quietly. She wasn't meant to see him today. She had no time to prepare herself to meet up with this man whom she both sees as an idol and a friend. The man who managed to pick her up during all her downs and the man who has seen her so vulnerable to a point that she wishes she could have died instead.
'I-,' she began. 'The food,' she pointed. 'I realised I should have packed more meat for you. Oh God, I'm so dumb. I should've known better.' She knocked on her head lightly to try and show she's a ditz but neither of the men she was sitting with bought it.
Her glance to Yashiro somewhat alerted him and confirmed his suspicions that the incident the day before was the one bothering her. Yashiro merely shook his head and whispered it wasn't the right time. Kyoko agreed. Although she believes it wasn't the right time due to Ren's feelings, Yashiro was worried it might effect Ren's work in the evening.
As convincing of a poker face Ren can put on, he fails miserably when it's related to Kyoko. He puts his heart on his sleeves, and Kyoko clearly couldn't see it. 'Or refuses to see it,' Yashiro mumbled to himself.
He had always questioned why these two just wouldn't reveal their feelings for each other. He knows they understand each other to a deeper level and that both had had emotional talks with each other but somehow they just won't say what Yashiro knows. Initially, Yashiro thought it was an "age" thing with Kyoko. Ren wouldn't date her for being underaged but seeing the way he acts around her, Yashiro knows he would lose it when he finds another man hitting on her. He almost broke the phone when he found out she was talking to Fuwa Sho.
'The meat is fine. Your tamago is very easy to chew,' Ren smiled and ate his food. He wasn't all too hungry but Kyoko's reactions is worrying him and if eating her bento would ease whatever is on her mind, he would finish it.
'Tsuruga-san, when you called last night, and about the part I received, do you know anything else about it?' Kyoko asked and alarmed Yashiro who coughed slightly.
Crap, she's being direct again! Yashiro thought.
'Momiji, right? The samurai girl who serves her master loyally,' Ren nodded his head. 'I've read the story before. It would be a good exposure for you to learn about all the martial art choreography. You can't be too spontaneous, you see? Your jumps and movements must be in sync with the other actors.'
'You're right. I'm worried I might trip and just ruin the whole scene. I know I act rash and like to do things on my own but this does not seem like the right place,' Kyoko admitted and shrugged.
'For Natsu and Mio, you're a natural. You've had people betray you in your life. Toy you. You know the kinds of emotions you should reveal to the camera, but not this one,' Ren said.
'This is the first role that you will have to learn to show love,' Yashiro added, earning a sharp glance from Ren. '-for your master.' Yashiro coughed again and drank his bottle of water.
There was no easy way to bring up Kimiko's name in this situation so Kyoko gave up and returned Yashiro a smile. 'Well, if he's as charming as Tsuruga-san, I don't see how that would be difficult.'
This statement startled the two men and they somewhat found it surprising Kyoko would ever blurt out anything like that. 'The part for Shizuma, who was it that got it?' Ren asked.
'Hiromune Koga,' Yashiro recalled.
'He doesn't like you that much,' Kyoko remembered.
'Not many male actors like Ren,' Yashiro agreed.
Putting the bento down, Ren sighed and his shoulders slumped. 'Maybe it was a bad idea to carpool together today. We may have caught you in a bad mood.'
Kyoko's ears shot up. 'No- ohmygod. No. It's-It's my fault. Really. Please don't say that. I should have been more excited for my first day. I don't know what got to me.'
'Yashiro-san, maybe since you can now drive, you can handle Mogami-san's schedules. I can drive myself to the filming studios,' Ren announced. 'Splitting the workload would be best.'
Fearing she has intruded their regular schedule and format, Kyoko began to feel even more ashamed and upset. 'I-Yashiro-san, I can go to the filming site myself. Tsuruga-san is much busier than I am and you probably would have to endure a lot of things with him. My schedule is simple,' Kyoko smiled. 'In and out of the site. That's it. One stop to work in the morning, and another stop out in the evening. Nothing to worry about. Ahaha…' Her emotionless laugh could only make Yashiro smile weakly.
'I made a promise to be your manager. Both of you. I signed up for this responsibility and I take it upon myself to work with it. So no, I will juggle the schedules and improve myself. You're both in my care as I am in yours,' Yashiro bowed his head lightly.
Ren could only smile as Kyoko immediately returned the bow politely.
'A change in moods or emotions is only human, Kyoko-chan,' Yashiro said and placed his perfectly rolled tamagoyaki into Kyoko's bento box. 'We managers are here to help you. No matter what the deal of the matter is, we're here to help you move through your days. So cheer up.'
After dropping off Tsuruga for his afternoon interview with a fashion company, Yashiro drove down to the outskirts of Tokyo for Kyoko's schedule.
'He…doesn't know about yesterday, right?' Kyoko asked, now sitting in the passenger seat next to Yashiro.
'It wasn't something I can just tell him out of the blue,' Yashiro admitted. 'Also Kyoko-chan, I'm not sure if you know this, but your moods affects those you are with.'
'Eh?'
'Ren was very worried about your sudden change at lunch earlier. You wanted to talk about work, but with the relation it has to…the incident yesterday, if you revealed more than you should, Ren would find it very hard to concentrate on his work today.' Yashiro said.
Kyoko knew. Tsuruga Ren is a good man. He takes care of everyone well. Close friends and even acquaintances. He's such a good man that she couldn't fathom how he ended up falling for a two-faced woman. The thought angers her and makes her blood boil.
'Can you please tell him I'm sorry? I just had too many things happen to me and somehow it all got jumbled up in me today. I'll work hard to not do it again,' Kyoko said.
'Don't make promises like that,' Yashiro shook his head. 'As I said, it's only natural for you to react the way you did. To be honest, any normal human girl would be traumatised from a near-death experience like that but you bulldozed through it. I knew you're different but it still should somehow effect you in some way.'
Oh. No, that's not- Kyoko quietly thought to herself. The near death experience wasn't what caused her mood to change. 'Yashiro-san,' She called out. 'About Morizumi-san and Tsu-.'
'Oh, we're here,' Yashiro saw the guards that opened the barrier to allow his car to go through. It was a private land owned by a Japanese architect and his home and estate is designed perfectly for the setting of the film. 'Kyoko-chan, I won't be here the whole day. If you need anything, give me a call on my cell or if I do not answer, you can call this number for their taxi service. Don't worry, it will be paid by the company as they should reimburse you on your transport expenses.'
Kyoko grabbed the name card Yashiro handed to her. 'Where do I meet you if you don't answer your phone?'
'If you are done before 5PM, I should be in Studio M down by Hashibaya's. Any time after that, we should meet at the company.' Yashiro wrote down in his notes regarding the information he gave her just in case he would need to update her for any reason.
For her first day, Yashiro made sure to escort Kyoko to the meeting room where she met the rest of the cast again. She was introduced to the writers and the cameramen as well as all the other film crew. She hadn't been in such a big action-based production before so the nature-setting is new to her.
Being very comfortable in the well-lit studio for filming, the fresh air was doing miracles to lighten her mood. 'Mogami-san,' Hiromune Koga approached Kyoko and held his hand out. 'Congratulations on the cast. You did wonderful.'
'Thank you,' Kyoko's signature smile made the crew happy to see such a bubbly face. 'I will work hard to meet your expectations,' she bowed a full bow and the crew cheered.
She'll do fine here, Yashiro thought. Who knows, maybe one day she'll stand face to face with Ren. Equally matched. Equally capable of working together.
OK. That's the end of the first chapter. I really didn't know what to write. I knew I wanted to write more about Kyoko's conflicted feelings. At the same time I wonder if I should add Sho into the storyline or just leave it to the two main lovebirds. Ugh. Yoshiki Nakamura-sensei, PLEASE UPDATE MORE QUICKLY. I HAVE WAITED OVER TEN YEARS FOR A CONCLUSION TO THIS SERIES.
