I do not own Skip Beat! or any related characters. There may also be some minor spoilers for those of you not quite past manga chapter 133.
Mirage
A Skip Beat! Fanfiction
Just as she was in the process of excusing herself, Mogami Kyouko, not for the first time, was asked to dinner by none other than Ishibashi Hikaru, leader of Bridge Rock, and co-star on the variety show of the same name. Politely, and also not for the first time, Kyouko shot him down cold, this time by mentioning the farewell dinner for the cast of Dark Moon. Sighing, Hikaru held up his hands in a gesture of forfeit. Lately, it was habit more than anything that kept him asking the same question after each session. Returning to his conversation with Shinichi and Yusei, the two other members of the band, Hikaru was cut short by the sound of a cell phone ring. For a breathless moment, all four talents searched their pockets frantically.
"Moshi moshi?"
It was Kyouko who won the pleasure of answering her phone. To the open mouthed astonishment of her co-stars, the young woman followed the greeting with, "Well, good evening, Tsuruga-san," at which point her amber eyes lit up with joy.
'Tsuruga! The Ren Tsuruga?' Hikaru mouthed to his two band mates who looked just as astonished as him. Meanwhile, Kyouko continued her phone call. "No it's fine. I'm only a few blocks away. I can walk." Hikaru opened his mouth to protest, but it seems that Tsuruga Ren had beaten him to the punch. "No. it's not that, it's just- No, but- If you're sure it would be okay…the studio where they're shooting 'Box R'…No, there was no shooting today I just had some 'Love Me' work to do…No, I'll wait for you outside. See you then, bye." She clicked her phone off, noticing for the first time the open mouthed stares of Bridge Rock.
Kyouko panicked. "EH!? Did I do something weird?" her expression changed rapidly from one emotion to the next until finally Hikaru stepped in to save her.
"No, it's just that, are you and Tsuruga really close?"
Kyouko stopped dead, frozen by his words. "Nooooooooo!"She moaned. "He is my most respected sempai," followed by a long list of Tsuruga related topics too fast for any of them to really understand. Hikaru took this opportunity to lead the poor girl outside so she wouldn't miss Tsuruga, but also so that he could speak to her alone for a moment. Even still, it took her a few moments to calm down. Finally, when she was rational, he opened his mouth, but she started on about how rude it had been to leave in such a manner. With seemingly endless patience, or because it was too much of a shock, Hikaru again waited for her to calm down.
"Hey, Kyouko-chan, how's your wrist?" he asked the moment the opportunity presented itself.
Instantly, she sobered up. So sudden was the change that Hikaru swore he actually felt it. Her amber eyes met his with an intensity that made his body shudder and his heart race. Her voice even changed, calling to him like a siren song, "It's fine now."
"But-"
Moving so that her face was merely inches from his, Kyouko placed a finger on his mouth, too engrossed in 'Natsu' to notice what exactly she was doing, or the position they were both in. "Don't worry," she whispered in that same sweet, yet dangerously seductive tone. "Everything is taken care of." As both of them stood like that, the frozen man, and the seductive young woman, a sleek, black car rolled up to the curb. Slowly, Tsuruga Ren himself rolled down the dark tinted window.
"Mogami-san?" Hearing him call her name, seemed to break Kyouko from her 'Natsu' spell, and she stepped back, allowing Hikaru room to breathe. At least that's what Hikaru thought.
She instead, turned her mesmerizing stare to the man who had single handedly captured the hearts of Japanese housewives everywhere, making his heart skip a few beats. Leaving Hikaru stunned and speechless, Kyouko slipped to the opposite side of Ren's car. Over the roof of the car, she caught Hikaru's eyes for the last time that night. "Remember, Hikaru-kun, it's our little secret." With those last, mysterious words, she slipped into the passenger's seat next to Ren, while the idol wondered what exactly had just happened between the two as well as what Mogami-san could possibly be hiding from him.
Chapter 1
When One Door Closes…
Kotonami Kanae had a series of problems consisting primarily of: her family, Kyouko, Tsuruga Ren, who had had the audacity to show her upon on Christmas/Kyouko's birthday, the glaring pink of the "Love Me" uniform she was supposed to be wearing, her new drama, and Tsuruga Ren, who most obviously had a crush on Kyouko. Her Kyouko! The nerve of that man! Just because he was a little- well, maybe a lot- popular with Japan's female population, he thinks he can seduce her best friend. He has no right! All he did was place some sort of stone in a rose, come up with a lame story, and Kyouko fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. Running her hands through her hair with frustration, she let out a wordless scream venting her numerous frustrations. Too engrossed to notice her partner slash best friend, Kanae almost jumped out of her skin when Kyouko whispered a listless, "Good morning," as she wafted into the room like a ghost.
With just one glance, Kanae knew something was wrong with Kyouko. First, she didn't have the amount of energy she usually would have after not seeing Kanae for a whole two weeks. Dark circles under her eyes told the story of a sleepless night, while her posture and expression, everything about her screamed depression. With one last glance, Kanae noticed bandages wrapped around Kyouko's right wrist which alerted her to the fact that a lot had happened to her friend while she was gone. Things that Kyouko had failed to tell her, at least, for now. Eventually, Kyouko would come running to her for advice, she always did. Before that thought had even finished processing, Kanae heard Kyouko ask in a small voice, "Ne, Moko-san, what did I do wrong?"
It was akin to throwing gasoline on a fire that phrase. Kanae lost it, "Start from the beginning! How can I tell you if you did anything wrong when I don't know the whole story?" Instantly, she regretted saying anything the moment tears welled up in her partner's eyes.
"Moookooo-san! I'm so sorry!" Kyouko assumed a begging position, pulling at the sleeve of Kanae's "Love Me" jumpsuit, all the while, crying a river of tears.
"Fine. Fine. Just stop it already. Geez!" Kyouko took several deep, gaping breaths, sniffing, and rubbing her eyes to calm down. "Now tell me what's wrong." Kanae practically ordered. Kyouko complied.
"Ts- Tsuruga-san hates me!" she wailed.
Kanae felt a vein pop in her forehead. Damn that man! As if it wasn't enough to show her up, he just had to force his way into Kyouko's thoughts now too. Not only that, but he upset her as well.
Before she could demand any details, Sawara stuck his head in the door, telling both of them to hurry because today was going to be one of their busiest. Then, he disappeared, Kanae glanced at her depressed friend, "Meet me here for lunch later, "she told Kyouko, her voice betrayed not a hint of eagerness, "We'll talk then". Then she slipped silently out the door.
Simply those words made a world of difference for Kyouko, she pulled on her jumpsuit with a renewed sense of vigor, just for a little while, she would shove Tsuruga Ren to the back of her mind, an increasingly difficult task lately. However, she was certain to make sure the coast was completely clear and that she was alone before pulling out the coin purse containing the blue "Corn" stone. For an emergency, like this, she felt it might be okay to hold it in her hands; maybe some of Tsuruga-san's magic would wear off on her. Folding her hands as if she were praying, Kyouko whispered "I'm okay", repeatedly, like a mantra. When it began to work, she carefully placed Corn back into his coin purse, then shoved the purse into her pocket. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out the door into the chaos known as LME.
By the time afternoon finally rolled around, Kyouko had already run all over the building, delivering scripts, costumes, helping lost people, and cleaning as well as any odd job someone found for her to do. To top it all off, everywhere she went, the whispers followed her, people talking in low voices about the rather noticeable pink jumpsuit. So it was with a sigh of relief that she stepped into the "Love Me" room. Moko-san wasn't there yet, and all Kyouko had to drink was a diet soda. She frowned, feeling like a hypocrite. After telling Tsuruga-san over and again that he has to eat properly, she goes and ignores her own advice with an extreme diet.
"But I can't help it!" she whined to her key chain Tsuruga-san doll. "It's for 'Natsu'!" She was sure he would understand, she sighed with relief.
"What's for 'Natsu'?"
Kyouko started at the sound of Moko's voice next to her. The smell of food drifted into her nose making her stomach growl. Without a word, Moko handed her a piece of plain bread. Kyouko took it gratefully. "Where's your food?"
"I'm on a diet."
Kanae choked. "What!" Just how much had happened in only a month? Geez.
"For 'Natsu'," Kyouko continued, answering her earlier question. "'Cause she's like a model, but she doesn't care what she eats, so I have to watch what I each when I'm not 'Natsu'". For an explanation from Kyouko, it was rather down to earth as opposed to all those stories about fairies and evil spirits. Actually, it was a rather deep insight, and Kanae, just for a moment, felt a twinge of jealousy. She decided to let the matter drop, however, and focus instead on Kyouko's new drama that she was in and her two co-stars, how they had become her friends, and finally to how Tsuruga-san had taught her how to walk like a female model. At which Moko interrupted her.
"He what?"
With her sincere innocence, Kyouko asked, "What's wrong?"
"Well…"Moko deliberated, "Tsuruga-san is a man after all."
"I'm aware of that."
Kanae wasn't so sure of that. "Mo, I am not explaining it to you." Kanae's inner battle with Tsuruga continued, but this development gave her a strong ray of hope. Kyouko, while aware that Tsuruga was a man, did not fully understand the implications of that fact or the fact that he had taught her something so ludicrous. Through this thought process, Kyouko watched her friend, confused.
"So," Kanae asked once she was calm enough, "why do you have this idea that Tsuruga-san hates you after all that?"
"I don't know, but last night he was really angry when he picked me up from the studio," Kanae filed away that little tidbit of information to file away later. "I was walking with Hikaru when Tsuruga-san pulled up. Then, when I got in the car…"
Tsuruga-san had his lying, gentlemanly smile plastered to his face. Her antennae had gravitated toward him, lovingly embracing his aura, and instantaneously, the spirit of 'Natsu' that had possessed her while talking to Hikaru, left her as quickly as it had come. "Good evening, Mogami-san," the words were spoken in a genuine, gentlemanly fashion barely concealing its icy undertone. Kyouko shuddered, knowing the horror had only just begun. "Who was your friend?" he asked, seemingly casually, pulling away from the curb.
"H-Hikaru-san," Tsuruga-san's knuckles had gone white when he heard this. As she feared, his anger was growing, so she added quickly, "He's a friend from some 'Love Me' work I do at the studio-"her voice trailed off as he turned his gentlemanly smile on her, completely removing his attention from the road.
"And are you two close?" he asked with thinly masked aggression.
"Not particularly. Why?"
Something about Tsuruga-san's mood warned her that she was treading on thin ice. "Then what was it you two were talking so secretly about?" A pause as Kyouko struggled to search her mind at lightning speed for an answer that he would find acceptable and would not jeopardize his already precarious mood.
"Practicing 'Natsu'," she told him, just a twinge of triumph entering her voice. To her relief, Tsuruga-san's eyes once again turned back to the road, while an uncomfortable silence settled over them. Adrenaline pumped through Kyouko's body at the lie; she felt ashamed, but it hadn't exactly been a lie, had it? 'Natsu' had just sort of slipped out after all and taken over her body.
For now, that answer seemed to calm him down; he released his death grip on the steering wheel at least. Although the bitter taste of a half truth left Kyouko with a bad feeling. For the rest of the car ride, both were silent, Ren lost in thought and Kyouko trying to not give him any reason to be angry.
Upon arriving at the party, Tsuruga-san had been the picture perfect, ideal gentleman that was expected of him greeting everyone with that lying smile, and making sure that Kyouko was never out of his sight for too long. Kyouko had barely held back from screaming at him to just give it a rest, but solid self control, something she had just begun to develop, held her firm. Instead, she had done her utmost to keep out of his way, and not get caught up in his mood swings.
"… then, at the end of the party, just as everyone was saying good-bye and good work to each other," Kyouko took a long sip of her diet soda at this point, needing to refresh her throat, "Tsuruga-san insisted that he drive me home, and I was stuck with him alone, again." At which point, she paused as if lost in thought or contemplating Tsuruga's and her own actions.
Moko cleared her throat loudly to signify that she was still in the room and that she was still listening. The action did seem to snap Kyouko out of her reverie, and she glanced confusedly at her partner. "Yea, but what actually happened at the party? So he was a gentleman, isn't that what his image is? Then what happened in the car that has you so freaked out?" Moko, blurted, impatiently, annoyed that Tsuruga Ren had actually taken so much space in Kyouko's thoughts, and also because it was often so difficult to extract such information such as what was bothering her friend.
A mix of emotions played across Kyouko's face as she considered the questions; a combination of ecstasy that her friend cared so much for her troubles and her own reluctance to share details that were so embarrassing. However, in the end, it was the first that won over, and she began to share, "It wasn't really at the party, but maybe that's where it began. Really," she took a deep breath, as if the next part was exceedingly difficult for her to say aloud. "When Tsuruga-san took me home, he-"
A sharp knock on the 'Love Me' room's door ruined the atmosphere, and Kyouko seemed like she had suddenly snapped back to reality. Kanae glared in the general direction at the door thinking that whatever it was had better be life threatening. Sawara's voice slipped through the cracks of the door, "Mogami-kun, you'll have to cut your lunch break short, some urgent 'Love Me' work has come up!" Kyouko exchanged a confused glance with an even more confused Moko. "Hurry up, please!"
Kyouko reacted to the words before they had even processed through her mind, opening the door only to come face to face with a ruffled looking Sawara to greet her, before she even realized what she was doing. "Hurry, we shouldn't keep him waiting."
'Keep who waiting', Kanae thought skeptically, still annoyed at the interruption and already planning how to extract the details later from Kyouko.
"Eh?" was Kyouko's intelligent response.
"He asked for you by name," Kanae stared at her friend's back as she left the room, amazed. In this business, it was a privilege to be asked for by name, especially if you were a new talent, even if you were a 'Love Me' section member. Once again, she was brutally reminded that Kyouko was indeed a force to be reckoned with.
Meanwhile, Kyouko suspiciously followed Sawara through the maze of hallways that comprised LME studio torn between asking where it was they were going or who it was they were meeting and staying silent caught up in Sawara's mood. Finally, after having safely entering an unoccupied elevator, Kyouko finally managed to work up the courage to ask the burning question. "Who was it that asked for me?"
Sawara answered her briskly, "you're not familiar with him. You'll see when we get there." It was a rather unhelpful reply, and Kyouko decided to remain quiet afterwards.
Finally, they reached their destination after what had felt like a five minute eternity. It was one of those ordinary conference room with a large table around which were place several comfortable looking, plush chairs. Only one of them was occupied at the moment by a boy maybe just slightly older that Kyouko herself. He sat engrossed in a novel, which he closed silently and set gently on the table at the sound of footsteps. His hair fell into his eyes just slightly as her looked up to take in both Sawara and Kyouko. During which time, Sawara graciously introduced the two. "Satoshi-kun, this is Mogami Kyouko." The boy flashed a polite smile in Kyouko's direction as the man continued. "Mogami-kun, this is Izawa Satoshi, your newest project."
"EH!?"
Thank you for taking time to read this fic, if anyone enjoyed it, even a little bit, that'd be great. I'll get the next chapter posted as soon as possible. Also, this is not edited by anyone other than me and my spell check, so any and all grammar mistakes are mine alone. ~Thank you,