Hello all! This idea has been nagging at me relentlessly so I'm finally writing it. I'm going to try to get this one out quickly because two other stories are now battling for attention in my head. Italics are thoughts. I hope you all enjoy it!
*For Nyuu and ChokoStyle because you wanted to know*
I own Skip Beat. I bought all rights to it the day I froze hell over and held an ice sculpture competition there.
As You Wish
It was a warm evening in early July, and all throughout Tokyo people were celebrating by hanging colorful strips of paper with their wishes written on them onto bamboo trees. Whether it was in their homes or at a street festival, tourists and locals alike were celebrating Tanabata and happily paying homage to the legendary star-crossed lovers Orihime the Weaver and Hikoboshi the Cow herder. None so much as the extremely wealthy and flamboyant president of LME Talent Agency, Lory Takarada. In an 18th century European style mansion hidden in the mountains, 200 of the eccentric man's closest friends and favored employees were gathered to celebrate what was unarguably one of his most beloved holidays.
Numerous celebrities and rich, influential people pulled into the long driveway of the gorgeous home but instead of entering the mansion they were directed to a path to the right of the entrance. The path was only illuminated by tall poles that lined each side of it. They would have blended into the night had it not been for the strands of small marble sized lights that wrapped around them and gave the illusion that the glowing orbs were floating in midair. The ground beneath their feet was made of a layer of plexiglass and beneath it was water flowing over a black surface covered in tiny dots that shined in the moonlight. The entire effect was one of walking through space surrounded by stars and no gravity to pull you back down.
All of the guests were enchanted by the mystical atmosphere but none so much as one girl who was standing in the middle of the path with her mouth hanging open, her eyes wide and watery, murmuring to herself about moonlight fairies and a ball at the Imperial Star Palace. She seemed rooted to her spot in the center of the walkway and had begun to cause somewhat of a traffic jam as other guests hesitantly and fearfully skirted around her to get past without coming too close. The tall man next to her bowed his head apologetically to the people going past and smiled charmingly before finally deciding to bend down until he was eye level with the girl and try to get her attention.
"Mogami-san?" Tsuruga Ren called gently not knowing which magical land he was trying to pull her back from. She jumped slightly and blinked her eyes repeatedly as if just waking up and trying to shake off the last remnants of a dream.
"Yes, Tsuruga-san?" Ren swallowed down the exasperated sigh that bubbled up inside of him glad that she had at least closed her mouth before she started to drool.
"I realize the path is beautiful but we should really make our way to the party."
"Of course Tsuruga-san! Eto…where are Moko-san and Yashiro-san?"
"They went ahead."
"When?"
"About seven minutes ago."
The girl in front of him blushed cutely and Ren couldn't help but be pulled in as he stared at her face fighting the desire to caress it. The pale pink of her cheeks matched perfectly with her pink kimono that was covered with white and red cherry blossoms. Her obi was red as was the bottom of her kimono and it was also covered in a cherry blossom design. Her light brown hair was parted down the middle with two French braids starting on each side of the part and circling around her head like a crown. The braids met in the back of her head where a pink rose with red edges was entwined in her hair with pink, white, and red spiral ribbons hanging down her back.
She had taken his breath away as soon as he pulled up to the Daruma-ya to pick her up and now standing under the stars with the glow of the moon illuminating her she looked to him like some ethereal cherry blossom princess. He longed to tell her this but they had already been in the same place on the path for almost ten minutes now and he didn't want to risk her slipping off to another fairy-tale land. Instead he settled for just bowing slightly and extending his arm in front of her as if he was a prince ushering her into a grand ballroom.
"After you my lady." He said in his most princely voice.
She giggled shyly and curtseyed before replying in a tone truly befitting a princess, "Thank you kind sir."
He smiled at her waiting for her to lead the way down the path when she unexpectedly hooked her arm through his. He masked his shock enough to straighten up and walk down the path beside her. His mind was blank and all of his senses zoomed in on where her arm was entwined with his when suddenly he was shaken out of his stupor by another giggle from Kyoko.
"Is something amusing Mogami-san?"
"I was just thinking that walking with you like this really makes me feel like you are my prince escorting me to a ball amongst the stars. That must seem silly to someone like you."
Someone like me? What does that mean? Don't you know that I would be your prince, your knight, hell even your servant if you asked me to? How can you not know just how tightly you have me wrapped around your finger?
Instead of voicing the thoughts that were going through his head Ren just smiled down at her and said, "It doesn't seem silly at all Mogami-san."
When they finally reached the opening of the path even Ren was impressed by the scenery, although not so much as Kyoko who had such bright sparkles in her eyes that she would blind anyone who made eye contact. The mansion's huge back lawn was covered with tall bamboo trees making it look as if the guests were gathered in a clearing in the middle of a forest. Near the back of the house was a fountain with a giant statue of Hikoboshi and Orihime looking down to where the fountain flowed into a manmade river that cut through the middle of the yard. The river was 5ft. across and had a stone bridge decorated with black and white magpie birds connecting the two sides of the clearing. People were crossing back and forth over the bridge admiring the atmosphere and looking for an empty space where they could write their wishes on the strips of multi-colored paper that were sitting around the edges of the fountain and hang them on the bamboo.
It wasn't long before Ren and Kyoko spotted their companions. At the far end of the clearing Yashiro was talking to Lory who was dressed as some sort of strange boatman with a white turban around his head and a white toga that was only draped around his waist, leaving his torso completely exposed. The only thing that made it obvious that he was a boatman was the fact that he was standing in an ivory row boat holding an oar as if it was a mighty trident.
Kyoko spotted Kanae on the opposite side of the river talking to a man with blue eyes and blue silver-blue hair that Kyoko recognized as world renowned fashion designer George. Just as she was about to call out to her friend Kanae sensed her presence and shot her a death glare that made the words catch in her throat.
"They look busy now Mogami-san why don't we entertain ourselves for awhile?" Ren suggested secretly happy that he was left alone with Kyoko.
"Okay, can we hang our wishes now?" Kyoko asked, once again full of excitement.
"Of course. Lead the way."
Ren followed her to the fountain where she picked up a bright pink strip of paper (that seemed to be her color theme of the day) and handed him a yellow strip. After they finished writing Kyoko led the way to a bamboo branch that didn't have any other wishes hanging from it and securely tied hers to it. Ren tied his to the same branch only a little higher up making it too high for Kyoko to read.
"What did you wish for Tsuruga-san?" She asked curiously. He looked down with a teasing smile on his face.
"It's a secret."
"That's not fair you can see mine!"
"Yes, and I think yours is a very good wish but mine is still a secret."
Kyoko glared at him for a full minute and he just smiled back. Realizing that she had lost the argument she walked back to the bridge and stood in the middle of it looking at the night sky. Ren came and stood next to her pointing to two stars that were near each other.
"Orihime and Hikoboshi are getting closer. Hopefully the weather stays clear so the boatman can ferry her over the river to see him."
When Kyoko didn't respond Ren turned to look at her. She was no longer staring at the sky but was instead leaning over the railing of the bridge looking sadly down at the reflection of Orihime in the river.
"Is something wrong Mogami-san?"
"No, it's just that I used to love this story and now I only find it sad."
"Why, because they can only see each other once a year?"
"No, because she wastes years of her life lonely until that one day comes."
"I don't think it should be called a waste. She may get sad at times but seeing the one she loves, even if it is just for a day, makes the past year of waiting worth it and it makes the next year of waiting more bearable. When you love someone you don't mind waiting for them."
His tone had grown considerably softer and he was staring at her tenderly, willing her to look up at him and see that he was no longer talking about mythical characters, but she was still looking at the water deep in her own thoughts. Suddenly, her voice came out quiet and sad with an undeniable hint of resentment.
"I used to wait. I would wait days for a phone call, months for a visit, years to hear him say that he noticed. I would wait patiently and happily telling myself that when the waiting was over it would all be worth it. But I was wrong."
The edge in her voice was steadily growing and Ren could see the hatred in her eyes that was always there when she thought about him. The one whose name Ren didn't even want to think to himself. He stood silently trying to control his anger so that it wouldn't be heard in his voice when he spoke. Kyoko continued in her bitter tone, "I was waiting to be shown that love was worthwhile, that it was worth waiting for. But it wasn't."
"Mogami-san, true love-"
"True love doesn't exist! If I could have another wish I would wish for the chance to show her that she's waiting for nothing!"
Suddenly Kyoko gasped. The empty stone eyes of the statue of Orihime that she had been staring at in the reflection of the water were now very alive, and staring angrily straight at her. Ren looked over at Kyoko's body that was stiff as if she was frozen in fear. She couldn't open her mouth to respond to him as he called her name repeatedly and his increasingly panic stricken voice was the last thing she heard before she fell into darkness.
Author's Corner: I have returned with a new story that hopefully you will like. It's completely different from my other story and I really want to know what you think about it so please review. I want to keep this at a T rating but my mind tends to stray to the mature content so I make no promises. And yes the fashion designer George is the George from Paradise Kiss. I can't help it I love him. Anyway until chap. 2, Laters!