Author's Note: I haven't had time to really write anything but I decided that I'd just make time. Updates will be irregular, if there will be any at all... I might not continue this story, anyway.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Prologue: Once Upon a Time...
Fluttering dark lashes kissed rosy cheeks as the growing darkness enveloped a childish face. The slow, calmed breathing of the child bespoke of a rapidly approaching slumber, but her golden eyes remained only slightly fogged as she fought a futile battle against her natural desire to close them. Her exhales were periodically punctuated with a few fervent blinks, earning a few chuckles from her companion who was perched beside her.
"Please, please finish it!" she said as enthusiastically as she could, even when she felt the pleasantly warm sensation of sleep washing over her little body. "Corn!"
"Alright, Kyoko-chan... But this is the last story for today. I have to sneak you back to your home and that takes extra time," the older boy said as he ruffled her pigtailed black hair. Clearing his throat a bit, his voice rang out in a clear and vibrant manner:
"...And they lived happily ever after."
Kyoko smiled brightly, loving how her friend's youthful but wise soprano reverebrated through the silence of their secret hideout. The magic that lay dormant in the stream and among the stones never seemed more obvious to her than when her fairy prince told her stories that sang to her imagination and girlish passions. But she thoughtfully mused to herself that Corn himself possessed his own brand of beautiful magic.
"It's time to go back now, Kyoko-chan. You should probably get on before you fall asleep here," Corn offered, stooping so she could climb onto his T-shirt clad back.
She found a comfortable position around his back so easily, most likely because of all the practice she had with being carried by this boy. His potent renditions of the stories in her book of fairytales along with her own fatigue from performing chores at the ryokan had always led her to feeling sleepy despite her strongest resistance to missing time with Corn by falling asleep. However, his warm skin and soothing voice soon became a balm for the loneliness she felt at the Fuwa home, causing her to cherish even the moments that she lay near the edge of consciousness in Corn's presence.
The trek back to the inn was relatively smooth, as Kyoko drank in the scents of summer and heard the chirping of crickets. The sun was just beginning to set and she could also taste the evening approaching on her tongue, relishing the refreshing flavor as if it were water trickling down her throat on a hot day. Corn's steady steps and his reassuring heartbeat rocked her back into semi-consciousness, giving her a well-deserved break from all the hustle and bustle that had derived from the strangely dramatic influx of guests staying at the ryokan.
When they arrived at the edge of the Fuwa's property, where a stone wall had somehow cracked enough for a little child to scurry through, Corn set his companion down gently and caressed her pale skin with a quiet farewell. Kyoko reciprocated with a brief embrace and a charming smile before hurrying inside, hastening her retreat into the main house as she spied her rambunctious playmate Shotaro about to spot her questionable presence in the back gardens that were reserved for guests only.
By the time she had rushed back to her place near the okami, Kyoko realized that the sun had set completely and that Corn should have returned to his enchanted forest dwelling already.
But the most important thing wasn't that.
Night had arrived and so had her mother.
-oOo-
Chapter 1: How It Begins
Her eyes snapped open and her body forcefully removed itself from its comfortable position under the mountain of blankets she had piled on herself four hours earlier. With a determined stream of vicious golden light lasering itself into her vision, Kyoko could no longer pretend that she lived her past life. The nostalgic sensation of embracing her fairy prince, the lovely serenades of the cicadas, or even the fatigue of cutting daikon radishes all night melted away as the now grown-up little girl prepared herself for yet another day of hard work.
But all the tiredness and aching washed further away as she heard some grumbling and the click of a door opening behind her.
"Good morning, Sho-chan!" she smiled fondly at her equally grown-up Prince Charming. "What would you like for breakfast?"
Some more muttering followed his entrance as a tall, blond boy attempted to stretch all the remaining slumber out of himself. The sun caught on a single silvery stud embedded on his ear, and Kyoko felt herself blush when she beheld his handsome features high lighted by the brightness.
The boy didn't answer at first, but he chose to speak when a particularly daring ray of light caused him to wince as it pierced his eye. "Kyoko, you should've bought blinds or something... How can you even sleep out here without getting stabbed by sunlight?"
He gestured at the empty white living room where Kyoko spent her nights while he either worked somewhere else in the city or slept in the only bedroom of the apartment they shared.
But he shook his head, not even waiting properly for her answer. "I don't need breakfast. I've got a meeting with some producers in an hour but Shoko told me to be there at least half an hour early. Something about punctuality being respectable..."
"But –" Kyoko was about to make a firm argument about her roommate's health and the importance of three-square meals a day but he had already padded off to the shower, deserting her in the living room with a mess of blankets and futon.
Sighing but still maintaining her high spirits, Kyoko mechanically folded up her futon and quilts and stored them in a closet nearby. Although her Sho-chan had insisted on looking cool and not eating breakfast, she knew very well that he expected at least some toast sitting out for him by the time he stepped out of the shower. Without a breakfast or some other snack in the mornings, Shotaro became grouchy and rather uncontrollable – something that Kyoko did not want to wish on anyone, especially Shoko-san, Sho's kind manager. But the fact that he still wanted to maintain pride in front of her, the one whom he'd always spilled his secrets and weaknesses to, tinged her heart with warmth as she went into the kitchen to fry some eggs.
As she predicted, Sho-chan had come out of his room dressed in casual but strikingly stylish black clothes with a pair of sunglasses propped on his bleached head, sniffing around the kitchen.
"Here you go!" she cheerfully handed him a small omelet sandwich.
He gave it a look of apprehension, possibly thinking of how long it'd take to eat it and another two, but he accepted it nevertheless. Reading his mind, Kyoko handed him a bag of several wrapped omelet sandwiches for the rest of the morning.
He didn't thank her for her thoughtfulness, but she thought she noticed a glimmer of affection on his face before he put his sunglasses on and gave an offhand wave. When she heard the front door shut loudly, Kyoko rose up from her place in the kitchen and went to take her own own shower, contemplating at her schedule for the day.
-oOo-
"Thank you for your purchase and please come again, sir!"
Kyoko wiped her forehead of its accumulated sweat as she surveyed the packed fast food restaurant exhaustingly. Her shift had ended fifteen minutes ago, but the overly-stressed manager refused to let her go until the girl who followed her shift showed up. But it was already ten o'clock, she thought miserably while still maintaining an impersonal but kind smile on her pale face, and Sho-chan would be home in another twenty minutes with no dinner or warm welcome.
It was strange,she continued her musings, that so many people would be here this late into the night. She wondered if there was some sort of festival or special event in the city –
"I'd like a small size fries and an orange juice, Miss."
She snapped out of her thoughts and smiled professionally at the customer as she mentally calculated the price.
"Seven hundred twenty-three yen, sir," she said as the cash register machine popped up the number. "Would you like anything else?"
Her customer said no and she heard the familar rustling of clothes to reach for a wallet.
When she looked up to accept the money, she was surprised to note long white fingers and a graceful wrist as well as a well-dressed masculine figure attached to the beautiful appendages. It took a split second to observe his handsomeness, but Kyoko expected that she was desensitized to good looking men because of her constant exposure to Sho-chan's brilliance. She handed the man his order and took his payment without any other signs of hesitance, earning the surprised expression of the bespectacled man near her customer.
"Thank you for your purchase and please come again!"
She was granted a smile that may have caused her to blush a bit, but she maintained her professionalism and returned it with a sparkling smile of her own.
"TSURUGA REN! HERE!" a loud squeal was heard around Kyoko's spot behind the counter. Fortunately, her line of customers ended with the gentle looking man she'd just dealt with.
Kyoko whirled around to see her fellow employee – the very tardy one that was supposed to pick up Kyoko's shift – almost frothing with excitement. She couldn't help but feel annoyance prickle up her spine as she eyed the girl. This was the girl who'd made it too late to make Sho-chan's favorite hotpot stew, she furiously thought.
"Sorry I was late, Mogami-san! I heard that Tsuruga Ren was going to film an action scene around here and so I was following the camera-men but then I lost track of time!" the girl spouted excitedly, only taking a deep breath to spout more. "And by the time I realized the time, I heard that Tsuruga Ren and his entire crew was eating here so I hoped that I could take his order, but then you did! YOU'RE SO LUCKY!"
Kyoko fought the urge to frown, but somehow came up with enough patience to smile reassuringly. "It's no problem, Itokura-san... But who is this Tsuruga Ren?"
The fan-girl gaped at her as if Kyoko were some strange alien from a far off planet not even in this galaxy.
"YOU DON'T KNOW WHO TSURUGA REN IS?"
The shrill shriek echoed through out the restaurant, slicing mercilessly over the formerly noisy din of happy diners. Everyone present, even the manager, suddenly froze. Kyoko was distinctly uncomfortable with the strange sensation of being stared at, shrinking slowly under the counter and hoping to disappear.
She was rescued by a charming laugh, a crisp but genuinely amused sound from the very man she had served just ten minutes before. His friend, the man in glasses, began laughing too in earnest.
"It's alright that you don't know who I am, Miss. A bit of anonymity is nice, too," he said to her gently as he stood up from his seat in the corner of the restaurant and walked towards her. "But now that you know who I am, I think it's a bit unfair that I don't know yours."
With his elegant hand stretched out with intention to shake hands – a strangely Western gesture – Tsuruga Ren patiently waited for the tomato-red girl to accept it.
She did, after some reluctance, and muttered a quick, "Mogami Kyoko" as her introduction.
With her head bowed, Kyoko could not see the momentary lapse in the man's expression as he heard a name that he thought about often but never spoke aloud. But when she raised her head once more, his face was a mask of placidity and evenness.
"It's quite lovely to meet you, Mogami-san, but I'm afraid that I must go now. Thank you for the meal."
A final glittery smile was flashed her way, earning envious looks from a positively rabid Itokura-san, and Tsuruga Ren exited gracefully with his spectacled friend in tow.
The crewmembers that served as Tsuruga's entourage were all puzzled but quite used to their lead actor's gentleman-like qualities and kind disposition, so they all quieted down to their normal conversations as Ren departed. Kyoko, on the other hand, felt a bit faint and even a bit horrified at what had just occurred.
Quickly, she ran to the changing rooms after she handed her apron to Itokura and tried to cool her pink face on the smooth, metallic surfaces of her locker.
-oOo-
It was eleven o'clock when she stepped into her dark and empty apartment, an hour or so later than she'd wanted to be home originally. She was devastated when she realized the time and so had ran back with all her remaining energy, but was further emotionally demolished when she saw her apartment's lack of lights in the distance. No one was there today, a commonality, but she'd wanted to talk to Sho about her day and ask about his. She couldn't help but feel a bit sober when she reabsorbed the feeling of being alone in the spacious and impersonal rooms.
She set her bundle of convenience-store bento boxes on the empty coffee table, preparing for bed when she heard the clanging of keys at her front door. She scurried to the door with her shirt on backwards in her haste to open the door for her darling Sho, who narrowly managed to dodge her as he finally managed to open the door only to be met with a cannon ball Kyoko.
"Sho-chan! Have you had dinner yet? What did your producers have to say about your newest song? They loved it, right?"
He ignored her and approached the refridgerator, face contorting when he noticed the lack of alcoholic beverage within. Settling for the lone bottle of melon ramune on the side, he popped it with practiced ease as he slid into the leather sofa that he'd insisted on buying when he and Kyoko had initially moved to Tokyo.
"I ate some dinner. They praised me," he spoke blandly, obviously uninterested in anything that she had to say .
Kyoko grinned at him, pleased that his day had gone fairly well. She knew how hard Sho had worked on the new song and how anxious he was for the piece to be accepted by the bigwigs at Akatoki. With all his current whims satisfied, she too could allow contentedness to settle through her tired body.
She opened a bento box and snapped apart a pair of disposable chopsticks, quickly picking out things she knew Sho wouldn't like; sweet tamagoyaki, peppers, and leeks were all filtered out and placed in her own box. Offering the box to her beloved Prince, Kyoko almost blushed when she noticed their proximity. His hand grazed hers as he took the bento, but he showed no notice of the physical contact.
He'd gone through a good three-fourths of the lunchbox before looking like he suddenly remembered something.
"Ah, Kyoko. You're still my fanclub president, right?" Sho inquired as he stuffed an octopus hotdog piece in his mouth happily.
She nodded eagerly, recalling the first day she received the shiny pink and black card and badge that labelled her as Head of the Fuwa Sho fanclub. Kyoko had almost cried when the items were gifted to her, but only because she realized that Sho trusted her to lead his other fans well. As a result, she was given the power to govern over fan activities and it gave her the right to be with Sho (at least in others' eyes, she hoped).
"Well," he said, pulling out a cream envelope from his back pocket swiftly. "There's a celebrity fanclub convention of sorts. All the top celebs have fanclubs and since you're the Prez of mine, you have to go."
She grasped it gleefully. Finally, she could really do something for her Sho-chan!
"...But you can't go as you are now!"
Kyoko snapped back from her joyous daze. "What?"
"You're so plain-looking and it makes me look bad that you're the President of my fanclub. Don't you have some normal clothes? And change your hairstyle or something!" he finished his bento and banged it on the coffee table to punctuate his demand. Picking up the remote control, Sho turned on the television and began his nightly surfing of the channels.
Kyoko couldn't help but wince as she recalled her empty wardrobe, which was only ten percent filled with nothing but baggy T-shirts, jeans, and if she was lucky, a knee-length cotton skirt. Disappointment saturated her as she realized that she couldn't really fulfill Sho's first real request.
"Sho-chan..."
Sho continued his viewing of the latest episode of some variety show, ignoring her as she spoke.
"Sho-chan, I don't have anything... and I don't have the means to get a new outfit," she said embarassedly, blushing when he finally took notice of her plight.
He scoffed, but grudgingly pat her head in slight comfort. He knew he couldn't stand it if she started tearing up at something as trivial as this.
"Come by the agency sometime before the convention and I'll see if Shoko can lend you something of hers or the company's. So no more whining."
The golden tone of her eyes sparkled so purely that Sho was mesmerized for a moment before she threw herself at him, laughing and hugging her idol with adoration decorating every aspect of her disposition.
"Oh yeah, Sho-chan! Do you know someone called Tsuruga Ren?"
-oOo-