A/N: Writing is very therapeutic. I often write these little stories, not because I don't want to work on my other fics, but because it helps me get over something.
Also, this is a Ren/Kyoko story. I'm sorry it showed up as Kyoko/Kanae! I don't know what happened...
Hiding
"No. Stop!" She froze in place, turning in surprise at the irritated man's tone. Turning around, she placed the cup of water on the table and placed her hands in front of her, tilting her head, trying to hide her pain and humiliation. "What are you doing?" He asked quietly, the anger right under the surface. She spoke hesitantly.
"Um…I'm acting as Liza…a Japanese girl who grew up in America and…"
"Did you even bother reading the character description?" He snapped.
"Of course! I…"
"I don't want to hear it!" She flinched. "Get off my set." She paled a little.
"I…what do…"
"I said, get off my set!" He roared, pointing to the exit. She could feel the pity radiating off the other actors and actresses in waves, and it only made the tears build faster.
"Of course." She whispered, bowing briefly, then scurrying off the stage and into her dressing room. Swallowing hard and biting her lip, she tired not to think of the numerous NG's she had received that day, the picky director impossible to please. He had been difficult to work with from the start, rarely offering any other direction than to tell the actors to come back when they could act. The fact that she was the third actress to be fired offered no consolation as she threw her things into her purse. Fresh humiliation washed over her when she realized that she would have to walk out the front door in front of all the other actors.
'Mio? No.' She sighed at the thought. 'I can't act haughty and rude…Natsu won't do either.' She nearly groaned. 'I'm left with Kuon.' She realized irritably. 'I'll bet Kuon's never been fired in his life!' She swallowed hard and pictured her Father's kind eyes and open arms, the thought only making her eyes sting more. 'I guess I'm just going to have to be me.'
Steeling herself, she stepped out of her dressing room, shutting the door softly behind her. She felt the eyes of the other actors and actresses boring holes into her, but the director ignored her pointedly. Biting her lip as soon as she faced the door, she threw it open and stepped out into the streets of Tokyo.
When she checked her watch, she nearly groaned aloud again. Ren had offered to pick her up after work today, but that was at five, and it was only three. The thought of telling her sempai who had never been fired (well…apart from when he was younger but he was so amazing now he couldn't possibly remember) made the pain worse. 'But if I don't tell him…he'll come to pick me up…and it would be rude to make him come here and have him wait…and what if he tried to talk to the director!' She forced her hand to reach into her pocket and dial his number….then hung up quickly. 'I can't! He'll ask what happened! And I can't talk about it without crying right now…I'm embarrassed enough as it is.' An idea struck her as she walked along the sidewalk toward the Darumaya and she pulled her phone out again, dialing Yashiro-san.
Yashiro-san picked up on the third ring. "Hello?"
"Yashiro-san! Hi. It's Kyoko." She heard him start to speak, but talking and crying were hard to do at the same time, so she didn't chance him finding out, hurrying on to say what she wanted. "Um, please tell Tsuruaga-san that I don't need a ride home today. Thank you."
"Kyoko-chan!" She paused for him to speak, swallowing hard and keeping her face hidden from the masses passing her on the street. "He's right here if you…" He must have heard her sniff because he stopped. "Kyoko-chan? What's the matter? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine!" She cried, wincing at the unnaturally high pitched tone of her voice. "Everything's fine. I've got to go. Have a nice day, Yashiro-san." She hung up quickly, his protests dying as soon as she hit the little red button, and quickly switched off the phone.
She was finished with work for the day, and the thought of facing anyone she knew at the moment was too much. Placing her switched off phone in her pocket, she made her way to the park, the closest place she could think of to the forest, the only place she could comfortably cry alone.
It was a sunny day, beautiful despite her private pain, and she felt the burden lighten a little as she stepped into the forest, the sparse trees shielding her from the world as she went deeper and deeper. Forcing her brain to think only about the path she was walking on, she concentrated on walking as quietly as possible toward the soft sound of gurgling water. Her new tennis shoes were quickly getting filthy, as were the nice jeans she had purchased a week ago, but she didn't think about it, training her mind on the sounds of water. 'Not yet.' She told herself firmly. 'I have to make sure I'm alone first.'
There was no clearing when she finally reached the water. It was surrounded by large trees on both sides, an oasis in the middle of the city where she could hear nothing but nature and the occasional distant car horn. Leaning against a large tree, she slid down, the rough bark scratching her back on the way down and littering her blouse with debris, dropped her purse beside her, and finally allowed herself to feel the full pain of the director's words. Finally well enough hidden, she cried, knowing that she was inconveniencing no one out here. Forcing herself to relive the whole thing, she played it over and over again in her mind as the humiliation and anguish washed over her again and again. Desperate to figure out what she had done wrong, she didn't notice the sun slowly begin to sink in the sky.
Kyoko jerked awake to the realization that it was slowly getting dark. 'I must have fallen asleep.' Unfortunately, there was no moment of 'where am I?' The humiliation, though fading slowly, was still there. 'I hope no one was trying to reach me…' The Darumaya couple would assume she was staying out all night if she didn't call…but someone else might worry. Digging her phone out of her pocket with almost morbid curiosity, she turned it on and was only mildly startled when it informed her that she had several missed calls and voicemails. Sighing a little, she called her voicemail.
"3:05, Mogami-san? This is Tsuruga Ren. Can you call me?"
"3:30, Mogami-san, this is Tsuruga Ren. Please give me a call soon. I need to speak to you."
"4:23: Mogami-san? I need to talk to you. Call me."
"5:45, Mo! Kyoko! Why aren't you answering your phone! Where are you? Call me!"
"5:49, Kyoko-chan, this is Takarada. I heard what happened. Call me."
"6:30, Mogami-san! It's Ren. The President told me what happened. Please turn on your phone!"
"6:31, Kyoko-chan, this is Okami. A young man just came by looking for you. Are you okay? Please give us a call."
"7:00, For God's sake, Kyoko! Turn on your phone!" She flinched at her sempai's worried voice.
"8:35, Kyoko Mogami, if you don't call me right now, we are no longer best friends!"
"9:00, Kyoko, please! I'm really worried. Turn on your phone!" She sighed as the last of the messages from her sempai played and checked her phone. It was 9:02, the darkness surrounding her like a blanket, and she was barely able to see the stream in front of her. About to dial, she heard a crash as something broke through the bushes, then felt a hand wrap around her arm. Squeaking loudly, she tried to jerk away.
"Kyoko!" Her heart leapt into her throat at his familiar voice as she sighed in relief.
"Tsuruga-san? What are…" She was interrupted by his strong arms holding her to him, her face against his chest. His heart was pounding loudly, and she was sure she would be able to hear it when he pulled away.
"Don't you ever do anything like that again!" he snapped, grabbing her by the shoulders. She dropped her head, hoping that it was dark enough to hide the tears falling from her eyes once again. Unfortunately, there was nothing to cover her soft sniff and she felt his gentle hand cup her cheek, then wipe away the tears. Without a word, he held her again, sighing deeply. "I'm sorry." He mumbled, rocking her back and forth like a little child.
'No! Don't be nice. I can't stop crying when you're nice…' She started to pull away, hands on his chest, but only continued to hold her, rubbing her back.
"It's okay." He whispered. "Go ahead and cry. I'm not leaving." Those gentle words murmured into her hair were all it took, and she sobbed against him, hands finding their way behind his back where they clasped.
"I do…hic…don't k…kn…know wha…what I d…hic…d…did!" She sobbed as he scooped her up, sitting down against the tree and rocking her, the soothing motion calming her a little.
"Shh. You don't have to figure it out now." He told her gently.
"I…hic…I was jus….just acting a…and…hic…"
"Shhh. I know." She finally gave up trying to explain and cried for a few minutes, her face against his neck, until she was able to breath normally again, with just the occasional involuntary sniff. "Better?" He asked finally, his thumb rubbing circles on her back. Unable to bring herself to be embarrassed about sitting on her sempai's lap in the middle of the woods, she only nodded. Unable to put the effort into keeping the locks in place, she felt them fall off of her heart with exhausted creaks as they opened and fell away as he stood, keeping her in his arms as he started back toward the road.
'Crap.' She thought halfheartedly, listening as he explained the tracking device in her phone and how worried everyone was. 'I'm in love with him.'
