Stitching has always helped to keep Kyoko's stress down. When she was younger, Shotaro's mother would quiz her on test questions as the two sewed or embroidered clothing. Something about the simple motion of the needle kept Kyoko focused and calm. As much as it upset her to know that it had been part of her training to become a good wife and Okami-san, she is still quite grateful to have the extra coping mechanism. After the past few days, she certainly needs it.
Waiting to hear back from the producers about her audition for Momiji has been torture. If she was being honest, her past few roles have spoiled her. Newbie actresses don't get specifically requested to do roles, much less three times in a row! At the very least, Kyoko knew that the first portion of her audition was strong. Goodness knows how the producers felt about the second part, though. Curse her lovesick brain. If only she hadn't let Morizumi-san's revelation about that ring get to her head. She could have blown Morizumi-san right out of the water.
But no, that stupid ring had to occupy all of her thoughts. Even now, it's taking all her will power to keep her eyes trained on her sewing project. That ring was yet another reminder of her lowly status as Tsuruga-san's kohai. That position alone should be enough to satisfy the requirements of a White Day gift, but Kyoko was greedy for something more. Even a charm like what Momose-san received would be fine for Kyoko. She couldn't imagine asking for more than that. As horrible as it may feel to admit it, something like Morizumi's ring should be reserved for the girl he loved.
With a sigh, Kyoko pulls the needle and thread through the doll in her hands, tightening the seam on its back. After a few more stitches, its back is pulled completely shut, firmly keeping the doll's stuffing inside. She turns the doll over and stares at its smiling face. Her frown softens as she admires her work. Its green, hand-embroidered eyes are some of her best work yet. It was a nice change from the usual brown eyes she did for Tsuruga-san's dolls. While his eyes were certainly lovely in their own right, with such a deep and inviting-
No. She refuses to go down that path right now. She's making a Corn doll this time. After meeting the girl who Tsuruga-san is most likely in love with, it didn't seem like the healthiest decision to make another Tsuruga doll- no matter how often they had been a comfort to her in the past. She needed to get advice from someone else. Unfortunately, Moko-san was out of the question. Kyoko had tried making a doll of Moko-san once before. But once she found out, Moko-san made her promise to- as she put it- "never make a creepy doll of me again."
Corn seemed like the next best option. Although he had borrowed Tsuruga-san's appearance the last time they met, he was one of the few other people she felt safe in confiding to, even in doll form. At the very least, it meant that she didn't have to draw up a new pattern for the doll or its face. As Kyoko looked over her finished product, it managed to set itself apart from the Tsuruga dolls enough to keep her from thinking of him. This was Corn, her returned fairy prince and oldest friend. Tsuruga-san was the last thing on her mind with Corn around. Well, that is until she thought of everything that had surrounded that wonderful afternoon she spent with Corn.
Kyoko let out a deep sigh as she dropped the Corn doll beside her, before flopping onto her back. "This is hopeless," she groaned to no one in particular.
The Love-Me locker room was empty, aside from her. She had received an assignment for later in the evening and decided that it was easier to simply wait at LME, rather than go home. Besides, Taisho and Okami-san will probably appreciate having some time to themselves. Kyoko picked up her phone and flipped it open. Still no new messages and she had another hour before her assignment began. Perhaps Yashiro-san is busy with his other charge and that's why he hadn't sent her any updates about the audition. He could even be waiting to surprise her with the news in person. Or delaying the inevitable rejection notice. That thought made Kyoko's stomach turn.
She rolled over so she was face to face with the doll. "How am I supposed to deal with this kind of anticipation, Corn?"
"Well, it's all about dealing with the wait, correct? You could play pretend like we did as children to pass the time," Corn replied in the best impression that Kyoko could muster.
Kyoko pulled herself up so she was sitting and picked the doll up from beside her. She sat it down in front of her. "I mean, I'm already doing that with you right now, Corn. To be honest, it isn't helping much." Her eyes drifted back towards her phone for a moment.
Kyoko held the doll's hand up to its face in contemplation. "Hm. Maybe Kyoko-chan could talk about it? I might be able to help more if I knew what was bothering you."
"It's this audition. Koga-san and Morizumi-san managed to throw me off my game, embarrassingly so. I didn't think that I could be such a frivolous girl, letting such treacherous emotions overtake me like that," Kyoko explained to the doll. "I just want to know if it was bad enough for me to not get the part.
Corn's hands were moved together, as if lost in thought. "Poor Kyoko-chan. I wish my magic let me see into the future." After a moment of silence, the doll spoke again. "Is your audition all that's bothering Kyoko-chan? You can tell Corn anything."
With a frown she replied, "I suppose you're right." Kyoko paused and glanced around the room for a moment. "But you have to promise that you won't tell anyone about this, Corn. Not even in the fairy kingdom."
The doll nodded solemnly. "You have my word."
"I suppose that I should begin by telling you that I've done the most foolish thing, Corn," Kyoko began. "I've fallen in love."
Both of the Corn doll's hands rose up to its face in a gasp. "Really Kyoko-chan?" It asked with excitement.
Kyoko's face quickly became grim. "Yes, but it isn't as happy as you may think, Corn. He's in love with another girl. I just met her recently at an audition."
"Oh Kyoko-chan," the doll went silent as Kyoko's face grew red with frustration.
"And it gets worse! The audition was for the part of a woman who is in a similar situation. I was hoping that I could channel what I was feeling into her, but knowing it's Morizumi-san that Tsuruga-san is in love with was just too much. I couldn't focus and I broke some of the biggest acting rules in the book because of it. Corn, I feel like a failure!" Kyoko wailed, bringing her head into her hands.
Corn remained silent. The was no way she could do any sort of impression in this state of depression, which made her feel even worse. "I knew he was in love with another girl, Corn. That was bad enough. But I could have never expected to meet her so soon, especially not in such an important audition for my future career. Sure, I got through it and did decently well, and I really tried to give it my all. That might not have been good enough, though," she continued to ramble, barely conscious of how loud she was getting. It was late enough that no one would be in this part of the building anyways. Beyond that, people tend to avoid the area when they hear one of her 'odd outbursts.'
"Ah! All I want to do is shake these feelings off, but I know I can't. Not fully at least. Not with Morizumi-san and her White Day gift in my head now. Or Momose-san's, for that matter. Even if he'll never feel the same, I thought we were at least close enough to being- well- friends!" Kyoko let out a bitter laugh and picked up the doll. "Close enough to being friends that I could at least receive that sort of courtesy. Maybe that would have made this all feel a little better, you know? Maybe I could have even kept my cool at the audition!" Kyoko exclaimed.
She stared at the Corn doll in silence for a moment, her furrowed brows and tight grip relaxing. Carefully, she set the doll down again and straightened out its clothes. Pulling back, Kyoko looked at the doll again for a moment.
With another sigh, Kyoko continued, her voice cracking as she spoke, "It's just a silly gift and it might have ruined my shot at an amazing role. I don't get it, Corn. Why does love always end up hurting me?"
There did happen to be two people walking through the back halls of LME at that point in the evening. Ren Tsuruga and his now shared manager, Yukihito Yashiro, were on their way to a nearby meeting room when they had heard the distinct shout of Kyoko Mogami echo down the hall. Ren glanced over to his manager with concern.
Yashiro turned towards Ren, looking to be just as worried about her. "I'll grab your jacket. You go see what's wrong with Kyoko-chan," he told Ren with a quick nod down the hall.
Ren smiled and returned the nod. "Thank you," Ren replied being he rushed down the hall. That would certainly give Yashiro something to mock him about later. But for now, Ren didn't really care. He turned the corner of the hall and continued towards the locker room. Soon enough, he could hear Kyoko's voice clearly.
"-it might have ruined my shot at an amazing role. I don't get it, Corn. Why does love always end up hurting me?"
And with that simple question, Ren was stopped dead in his tracks, just feet away from the locker room doors.
AN: Hello! So this was just a silly idea that I wanted to write down. I figured that I might as well share it. This will probably just be a oneshot. Thanks for reading!