Disclaimer: Skip Beat! 2003-2009 (c) Nakamura Yoshiki
Credit: to Miss Chocobo, for the awesome beta reading
Chapter 1
By the time you read this letter, I'd already be in the train leaving Tokyo.
I wanted to say that this is how it's supposed to end. We had kept our secret identities from each other for so long, and actually tried to help each other by doing so.
And it worked. It would probably continue to work, if you didn't cast that magic on it. Remember that time when you kissed it before returning it to me, and ever since then I began to feel the wall I've built around me being torn apart, binding my heart to you, making me believe that I could fall in love and be loved by someone again.
I greatly thank you, my love, for turning my life—even for just awhile- into an almost fairy tale. Please forgive me for not being able to return everything you've done and given to me all these years.
I wish you great happiness in the future.
K
*
"Before you leave for Kyoto, I have a request for you."
"President, you know I can never refuse your wish, however ridiculous or homicidal it is."
Takarada Lory sighed at his best selling actor and nodded sagely. He had trained this one well, of course. "When you arrived there, made sure to buy some Okaki for me."
The actor facefaulted. "You can buy them here."
"It's different!" The president instantly interrupted. "There was that delicate hint of Kyoto's sweetness in every cracker, the mochi, the scent rising as you ripped the packaging, and you couldn't understand that it was filled with love of their makers--"
"All right, all right!"
"Atta boy. And one other thing." The older man crossed his legs on top of the luxurious leather sofa he specifically ordered from Italy and shot his company's most precious asset from head to toe. "Make nice when you arrive there."
The actor ran a hand through his hair and gave the president his most brilliant smile. "…I'm always nice."
"Don't go making headlines that didn't relate to the filming," Lory added, "I'll be visiting the site from time to time."
"Aren't you ever so curious," the younger man replied with a grin that could turn even the coldest, unfeeling woman's heart flutter, "about the making of this drama?"
The last two words settled between them like an irony, and Lory dusted the sleeve of his Russian Tsar's costume before answering. "Whichever drama you're talking about should be quite interesting. After all, it's a tale of love, infidelity, jealousy and lust."
"I wonder if it'll be as epic as you wish," the other man replied with a bitter curve of his lips, rising to his feet. "I'll do all you requested, of course, if you'll tell me the name of the actress that will play the role of Princess Fujitsubo."
"Ahh, Hikaru Genji's first love shouldn't be so significant to your role, isn't it? You've never find difficulties portraying the character without meeting your acting partner."
"I find it easier to delve into the character when I've known them, President."
"You'll know," A playful wink graced Lory's façade, "when you get there."
A grimace flashed through the actor's face for a split second, but Lory's smile didn't falter. "Your wish is my command, President Takarada," he bowed to the President for the last time, giving him a cynic smile. "This Tsuruga Kuon will heed to your orders."
*
In the passenger's seat, she woke up with a start as the Tokaido Shinkansen heading to Kyoto slowly decelerated.
The station was nowhere within sight, but it would be in a few seconds before her arrival. In the seats around her, the filming crews yawned and stretched their limbs before leaving their seats.
They have arrived a day earlier than planned, due to the President's request to research the filming site. 'Our biggest project hinges on the location, and Kyoto's beautiful this time of the year, etc, etc' He had gone on a rant about Kyoto's wonderful sight, about the Autumn Festival, an entertainer's job to spread love and peace in the air and she mentally wondered if he would arrive at their filming location in another ridiculous and totally fancy parade. Scrap that. She made a mental note not to be surprised by any parade he's gonna bring, be it effortless or extravagant.
It wasn't her first time to find herself following the higher up's whim, but nevertheless, this gesture alone had saved her otherwise restricted roles for the last few years. A child might refuse a candy, but she -SHE- could never refuse acting. With a suppressed grunt, she took a seat at the bus they'd be riding to the inn, putting her handbag on the seat next to her so no oblivious, overfriendly crew member could take up the empty seat and bother her rest with useless chitchat. Outside the bus' window, autumn had turned the city of Kyoto in to a natural landscape to behold, painting the edges of town with numerous shades of maple leaves. If only the impending dreadful feeling of unnecessary courtesies and hollow greetings would just go away, this trip would be perfect.
As usual, she had her script memorized down pat and even conducted field research into the national archive—after all they'd be filming Japan's oldest literary work, The Tale of Genji. The TV series would be LME's biggest project yet and her newcomer-actress days of doing odd end jobs was long gone, but still she felt half flattered and half disgusted when offered the role of Lady Rokujou without an initial audition. What good it would be to just snatch a major role that's offered to you? In the past she had taken on smaller roles by relying solely on her agency's power, it's high time to rely on her acting prowess to show the noobs what's she's capable of after all these years. So she'd shown up at the audition, the younger up and coming actresses staring at awe and disgust at her, and then she had shown them what it meant to be on the pinnacle of Japan's entertainment industry. Two hundred and thirty one contestants from all over the country, all auditioning for the sole part and they had all left with their head bowed low and a new found reverence for her. And that proud, wide, paternal smile President Takarada had given her at the end of the audition? Never had one so flattering in her entire acting career.
Her day dreaming was interrupted by the bus' slow halting and the looming view of their inn.
The ryokan they'll be staying in during the filming was a large, quiet hot spring resort, tucked away in the foothills of Mount Higashiyama. Inside her chest, her heart was making loud, thumping noises that she knew wasn't fear—just looming curiosity that tasted oddly like dread.
There's a sliding sound from the inn's large door, and a woman dressed in an elaborate orange kimono slipped out, bowing at them humbly and gave an angelic smile that could silence a crying child. "Welcome to the Fuwa inn, dear guests."
It figures. Any okami or landlady of a large Japanese inn has the obligation to welcome her important guests, especially if they're renting the whole place and giving it a free promotion at the same time.
"I am really happy to see guests from Tokyo come here. When people arrive at Fuwa I want them to feel as if they are stepping into their second home; the last thing anyone wants to do is start filling in forms whilst grappling with their luggage." From behind the landlady, numerous maids dressed in gray plain kimonos walked out with trays of warm green tea and small plates of snacks. "That's why it is important to me to welcome guests with some of my special tea and a smile while they take a load off and spend some time just relaxing. I think that simply trying to communicate in a respectful way is the key to providing our guests with lasting memories for everyone, including my husband and I."
For a friction of second, her eyes met with the landlady's, and if the landlady recognized her, neither of them showed it.
After the visitors finished their tea and snack, the landlady gave them a quick tour of the inn's inside.
Ducking through the narrow wooden corridors, she found herself being led through a maze that might have required some time to get out of without the aid of the guide. To the left and right of the beautifully polished wooden floor lie streams of white pebbles which add and nice counterpoint to the dim, lantern lit walkways. The place was tastefully decorated and gave off a relaxing atmosphere that seemed to buoy most visitors.
As they passed through one of the tatami rooms, one of the filming crew behind her whispered, mentioning the landlady's beauty and exceptional elegance, and wondered quietly why she seemed oddly familiar.
"Dinner is at 7, dear guests," the okami said with a business smile, and bowed again, followed by the chiming of her hairpin. "The open air bath is our pride and joy, and we have separate baths for men and women. At Fuwa, hospitality is based on the old saying from the tea ceremony, ichigo ichie: treasure every encounter with another person, because it may never happen again. Please enjoy your stay here."
The dinner was delicious, and she found herself prodding towards the ladies' open air bath afterwards. Even though it was late at night, the bath wasn't empty; the landlady was dipping in the large pool, almost hidden by the fumes. Her bare feet felt cold as she stepped on the bathroom's floor, a gush of autumn wind raising goose bumps on her forearms.
"Taking a break after a hard day's work?" she asked to other woman in the bath tub.
Slowly, the landlady turned at her, and she noticed the landlady's morning make up was gone, and this time the landlady's lips curled into a friendly grin. "This is an old habit of mine. I find dipping in the open air bath with a jug of sake to be quite relaxing, dear guest. Would you like to try?"
Shaking her head at the offer, she proceeded to clean herself before getting into the large hot water pool. Purposely, she sat next to the landlady and her tray of sake jug and two small cups. Ah. So she's expecting company after all.
"I'll take in your offer after all, okami-san," she reached for the empty cup, and offered it to her companion for a fill up. When it has filled to the brim with the liquor, she raised it over the hot water, and watched as the landlady's face gradually turned into a shade of scarlet from the hot water. "What should we toast for?"
Her companion ducked her face, seemingly deep in thought for a moment, and raised her cup with a small smile. "To a successful filming."
"And a long awaited reunion," she added.
Together, they tipped the cups's content into their lips and drank.
The landlady leisurely raised one hand and pushed dark, wet bangs out of her eye to wink at her. "Aren't you tired after your long journey, Moko-san?"
Kanae inwardly winced. That nickname had been out of use for years, and hearing it again after so many years had brought fond and exasperating memories alike. Staring into her old friend's face from across the pool, Kanae finally noticed the gradual change in the landlady's facade that has shifted Mogami Kyoko, her old friend, from an actress to the current okami of Fuwa Inn that greeted her this morning without any hints of acknowledgement. "I could say the same thing to you, Fuwa Kyoko-san."