All right, sorry for the long wait, but here is the second chapter :) Enjoy.


Chapter 2

How did she get caught up in this mess, Kyoko thought to herself as she sat still for the makeup artist to create Mio's scar.

A month back, she met up with director Ogata and discussed the filming of Tsukigomori sequel, Tsukiakari: Anata ga Shitteiru. Somehow, Ogata convinced her to take part in the role since he knew she couldn't resist the fairy-tale life Mio would be getting in the story. Kyoko immediately agreed to participate in the drama, not knowing fully of what happens in the story.

A week later, she received the script and got really into the story at the beginning, but one portion of the plot made her frown. And frown even more as she read on. She was to do what with who in the story, Kyoko screamed in her head as she could not believe what she was reading and had gotten herself into.

So here she was today, sitting on chair with a mirror in front of her as she watched the makeup artist does her work.

"All right, you're all set, Kyoko," Julie said.

Kyoko sighed and walked out of the dressing trailer, defeated, to the outdoor where the shooting took place.

'Oh, well, you reap what you sew.'

Already there were director Ogata, Ren Tsuruga, with Mr. Yashiro standing beside him, and Itsumi Momose. And off to the side was a tall young man who Kyoko met a few days ago as the mixed-blood singer slash actor Ryoji. There was something familiar about him, but she could not put her finger on it.

As for Ryoji, he immediately recognized Kyoko when they were first introduced on the set. He could not believe that the 'idiot' who spilled his own coffee on him at the airport was the same rising actress Kyoko of Japan. He smiled sweetly at her, secretly glad that she did not recognize him. This will definitely make his little payback a whole lot easier.

"Okay, everybody, please get into places. The setting and cameras are ready," director Ogata said. And so, the story began.


They say you don't miss what you had until it is already gone. But in this case, it was never there to begin with. They were just empty shells of people who fancied the luxurious life and hungered for the good, or so they thought, image that came out of their names whenever people spoke of them. They were never her parents or her sister. They were a living nightmare. She didn't care much for them as neither did they for her. She knew she could not find that comfort and treasure to call her own in this family. They did not exist, and they never would for the rest of her life. These people would never exist again in her life. But, they will remain, for the rest of her life, in her bearing soul and name because they were her family, after all.

Three gravestones stood before her. She stood before them. Her family. Father, mother, sister. Can she really look at them and call them her family? They were never there much for her. She practically raised herself in that mansion, aside from the servants there to help her when needed. Her father was head of the family. Not much of a father figure to her; just a stranger whose facial features and DNA she inherited. Her mother was not much of a mother either; just a female stranger she also inherited features and DNA from. Her mother liked to compare her to her older sister for most of her life. Speaking of her sister, Mio looked in that gravestone's direction.

Misao Hongo, beloved daughter and sister, it read. How laughable it was reading the caption of her sister's headstone. She sure was a beloved sister, all right. She was a beloved sister who had enough hatred to push her younger sister down a steep cliff, leaving Mio with a scar on the left side of her face as a result.

Mio unconsciously traced along the line of her scar with her delicate fingers. It pained so much in the beginning, but after a while, she got used to it. The physical pain may have resided, but the mental pain will never stop. She hated her sister for doing that to her, which was why she never got surgery to remove the scar because she wanted her sister to look at the incident she caused, while Mio enjoyed the twisted disgust on her sister's face. It made her feel better that, although Misao never retributed for what she did by apologizing or confessing to the truth, the scar was a reminder to her sister of the terrible act she did.

Mio faintly heard footsteps coming behind her. She did not need to turn around to guess who they were.

Mizuki, along with Katsuki, looked at Mio's backside. Mizuki learned the truth of what happened to her parents, and like any person whose parents were taken away from them at a young age, she was mad. But after a while, she gathered the strength to move past the events that occurred already with the help of Katsuki. It was not after her uncle, Mio's father, died that Katsuki clued her in what he planned to do to the Hongo family. Mizuki understood his feelings all too way because the moment she learned of how her parents died, she wanted revenge. But Katsuki told her what's done is done. There is no need to avenge for something or someone that will never return again.

Staring at her cousin's back, getting wet in the rain, Mizuki felt sympathy for the young girl. She knew the feeling of losing one's parents. Mio was a Hongo; she was the daughter of the man responsible for Mizuki's parents' deaths. Mizuki wanted to hate her because she felt like the whole family fooled her, but she knew Mio was different from her family members. Mio displayed the image of a rich man's daughter, but she did not care for that image that the rest of her family paraded around.

Mizuki sensed Mio was just as down-to-Earth as anyone was with a warm heart. At this moment, while looking at Mio's backside, Mizuki wanted to help her break out of that darkness and move on to have a better, happier life.

Mizuki took a step forward, letting go of Katsuki's big and warm hand, into the rain. She stopped a few feet away from Mio. She hesitated before gently placing her hand on Mio's shoulder.

"You should get out of the rain before you catch a cold, Mio," Mizuki suggested.

Mio neither shrugged off the hand nor responded to the advice. Mizuki, a bit worried, softly shook Mio's shoulder with her hand and called her name again.

Mio turned around, and Mizuki was not sure whether she saw a teardrop or a raindrop that slid down her cheek. Mizuki wanted to give Mio a hug, but decided against it since she was sure Mio would not welcome the gesture.

"Let's go home, Mio," Mizuki said. No response from Mio.

Mio walked slowly away from the graves and the two people who suffered the most from her family's greed. She hated that they were there for each other, while she was the one alone in the world. Yet, she was happy for them (they didn't need to know that) because finally never again will her family hurt them.

Katsuki and Mizuki watched Mio walked away and out of their life, never knowing when they will see her again.

5 years later…

He had stayed all night. A few hours before the graduation ceremony, Mr. Kumai sat at his office desk, finishing some work before he can go home and rest. He was dreading this day ever since it was first announced by the Hongo family lawyer. But he made sure to make the best of it because he swore that before he dies, he dies rich and leave his inheritance for his son.

A knock came at the door. Not looking up from his work, he told the person to come in. The door opened, and several figures entered. A young man stood in the middle of two big-muscled bodyguards. The young man did not lose in height to the other two, but he was not as big-muscled as they were; he was in perfect physique for his height and age.

One of the bodyguards walked over to Mr. Kumai's desk and stood in front of the work-concentrating man. The guy pulled out something from his trench coat's inner pocket. Mr. Kumai felt something eerie near his forehead, so he looked up.

"Mr. Shirogami," Mr. Kumai greeted the young man nervously, realizing that a gun was held to his head. "What can I do for you?"

"The boss's here for the payment. So pay up, Kumai," the man with the gun said.

"I know that my payment should be paid today, but unfortunately, Mr. Shirogami, I don't have the money right now. I know you're probably thinking why I wouldn't have it when I am the person in charge of this company, but you see, there have been some issues, so I can't get the money to you now," Mr. Kumai explained.

"Mr. Kumai, may I remind you that I have given you an extra week to get all the cash you needed, but in the end, you have nothing. You should understand that I am not a man of patience. I don't like to wait, and when I don't get what I want at the time I want it, there is hell to pay." The young man named Mr. Shirogami grabbed the gun from the bodyguard and shot the man in charge of the Hongo business, Mr. Kumai.

Mr. Kumai's head went flying back into his armchair. His eyes remained open, while blood trickled down his head.

"All of you check the room." With Mr. Shirogami's order, his men opened and searched through drawers and shelves. One guy checked behind a painting and saw a safe.

"Boss, I've found a safe," the guy said.

Everyone surrounded the area, leaving the dead Mr. Kumai in his chair. One of the men took out a stethoscope from his bag and placed the instrument against the safe. He turned the lock, and within seconds, it unlocked. He opened the safe, and everyone thought it was so easy, but to their surprise, another barrier confronted them. A technical decoding lock was installed within the easy outside lock.

All the men suggested at least one word that might work. But none worked.

Koji Shirogami looked around the room for some clues as what the password could be. He went over to the desk Mr. Kumai sat at, ignoring the dead man. He opened all the drawers, and he found nothing until he noticed something inside one of drawers. He pushed work papers out of the way, and he realized it was small compartment. He opened it up and inside was a piece of folded paper. He unfolded it.

Mio Hongo.

He walked back to the safe. Koji saw that the codes were all numbers. No letters. If he did his calculations correctly, the code should be 13-09-15-08-15-14-07-15, each number representing the letter of the name. He punched in the numbers, and the password was granted. The door opened, and inside was an account book, along with other important documents.

"All right, let's go," Koji said. Everyone left the room except for the dead body of Mr. Kumai sitting in his chair.

Hours later at the Hongo residence…

A maid opened the door to her young mistress.

"Welcome home, Miss," the maid said. "And congratulations on your graduation."

"Thank you, Ms. Hashiro," Mio said as she passed by the elderly maid.

"I have prepared some of your favorites, so if you would like to eat them now, I can send someone to bring them up for you," Ms. Hashiro asked.

"That is not necessary. I can just eat them in the dining room," Mio said.

"Yes, Miss. By the way, you have a guest, – or I should say guests – two are waiting in the parlor, while the other one is in the study room," Ms. Hashiro said and went to prepare the food for her young mistress.

Mio steered her direction to the parlor, opening the door to two familiar figures, sitting with their backs to her. Mio clearly knew who they were.

The two figures heard the doors opened, so they stood up and turned around. Katsuki and Mizuki were shocked to see how much Mio changed. She transformed from a young rich lady to a mature successful woman.

"It's great to see you again, Mio," Mizuki said, accompanied by a nod of acknowledgment from Katsuki.

"Mizuki. Mr. Tachibana." Mio said, "Hope you have not been waiting too long. I'll ask Ms. Hashiro to bring some more tea, if you like."

"No, we didn't wait long, and the tea is unnecessary," Mizuki spoke for her and Katsuki. "We'll make this short. Mio, Mr. Tachibana and I are getting married. We hope you can come to the wedding."

Mizuki held out the wedding invitation to Mio, who looked at it as if it was the strangest envelope she had ever seen in the world.

Mio looked from the envelope to the couple and back to the envelope again. In her head, Mio was not surprised that these two would be getting married; she just didn't expect it to be so soon, if you count 5 years to be so soon. Although Mizuki was the same age as her and just graduated also, Mio couldn't help but feel a small amount of happiness for the couple.

"Congratulations," Mio said and took the invitation from Mizuki's hands.

"It would be well appreciated if you attend, Mio," Mizuki said.

"I will think about it," Mio answered.

"We'll take our leave then," Mizuki said. She and Katsuki left the room, leaving Mio with her thoughts.

Mio looked down at the wedding invitation. She was not sure she wanted to attend, but going to a wedding for once in her life wouldn't be so bad, would it, she thought. Sighing, she remembered the other guest in the study room. She had the envelope still in hand as she walked out of the parlor.

She opened the door to the study room and saw a man's back facing her. What does he want now, she thought to herself.

The man heard the door opened and turned around. He gave the young woman a smile. "Miss Hongo, pleasure to see you again," lawyer Hijaku greeted.

"Mr. Hijaku," Mio said. "Is there something important you needed to discuss with me?"

"As a matter of fact, that is why I am here," he said.

"Have a seat, please," Mio pointed to the chair near the desk.

"I'll get straight to the point. Miss Hongo, you know you are the sole surviving heiress of the Hongo business—" a nod, "—and in the documents I have shown you a few days after your parents and sister passed away, it said that by the time you graduated from your university, Mr. Hongo, your father, wanted you to take over the business. I hope you remember this, Miss Hongo."

"Yes, I do," Mio said indifferently. She knew this day was going to come, but she was not sure what to think of the situation. Her father was a man of little words, but with a big ambition for power. It looked strange in Mio's eyes that he would trustingly hand over his business to his youngest daughter, who knew of his secret crimes. She lived her whole life as a rich man's daughter, but she was never interested in the business her father led, but she knew she could not do anything about it.

"I am glad you do. As you know, over the past five years, Mr. Kumai, the vice-president of the Hongo company, had been in charge of the place. It was intended for him to still be in charge for a little while, so you can get used to the job, but this morning a little past six, he was found dead in his office. The police investigated and found an opened safe, so they suspect something important has been taken by whoever shot Mr. Kumai," the lawyer said.

Mio glanced up sideways at lawyer Hijaku calmly. She had a feeling Mr. Kumai was going to end up like this, so it was no surprise to her. She knew of the dark dealing Mr. Kumai had with the yakuza. She never witnessed his association with them, but there were hints that pointed out he was involved. It was also hinted he was in a big dealing with the most powerful of all yakuza gangs.

"My condolences for him and his family," Mio finally said unemotionally. "Is that all you wanted to say to me?"

"No, there's more. Since Mr. Kumai is dead, the company is going to need you to take over anyway because—"

"—it is stated in the documents," Mio finished the sentence for the lawyer. "I will be there first thing in the morning to sort things out. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Yes, actually."

"Then, we are finished with this conversation, Mr. Hijaku. I am sure you don't need my help finding your way to the door," Mio said and left the room without a single glance back at the lawyer.

She hasn't change at all, even with that scar removed, Mr. Hijaku thought secretly.

Mio opened the door to her room and threw the graduation cap and gown on her bed. She went over to the mirror and stared at her reflection. She gently traced the outline of the scar that used to be on her left temple. Mio had the scar removed a few months after her parents and sister's death. She wanted to make a fresh start, and the first thing to go was her past, which included the scar.


"Annnnd cut!" Director Ogata shouted. The cameras and lights were off, and the actors dispersed from their setting. "Good job, everyone."

Kyoko hurriedly dashed to her dressing room to change, so she could make it on time for her next schedule.

Ryoji saw Kyoko rushing to her changing room and wondered what the rush was all about. He slowly walked to his own room and changed. It was not bad for the first time, he thought, referring to the scenes he watched the star-rising Kyoko played out. He was amazed she got into character automatically. It's going to be fun when they have to interact with each other, Ryoji smiled secretly.

Ren waited patiently outside Kyoko's room. The door opened, and Kyoko, dressed in her casual clothes, walked out.

"Mr. Tsuruga," Kyoko said. "What are you doing, standing here? Don't you have another place to be at?"

"He certainly does, but he wanted to wait and see if you needed a ride, Kyoko," Mr. Yashiro spoke up for Ren, eyeing the young man's reaction.

"That is a generous offer, but my work place is on the other end of town. I don't want Mr. Tsuruga to be late since our time schedule starts about the same time, correct?"

"True, but," Mr. Yashiro began saying, but Ryoji interrupted him.

"I'm also heading to the other end of town, so why don't I give you a lift," Ryoji suggested.

Ren glared at Ryoji, while Kyoko hesitated.

"That's very nice of you, Ryoji-san, but I don't think it's necessary," Kyoko said.

"What? Scared that I might do something? Don't worry, I don't go for girls like you, so you have nothing to worry about," Ryoji said and began walking away.

Ren stared calmly at the back of Ryoji, while Mr. Yashiro and Kyoko stood gasping at the shock of young singer slash actor's words. Kyoko recomposed herself to shake off Ryoji's words. Who cares if I am not his type of girls, Kyoko thought, I am still trying to get back that one important feeling.

Well if he doesn't go for girls like her, then there is nothing to fear, Kyoko thought as she took a step forward. Mr. Yashiro's inner fangirl screamed; he could not believe what he was seeing. He glanced at Ren, who was perfectly expressionless, and Lord knew there was no use to in getting Ren to talk Kyoko out of accepting Ryoji's ride.

"Kyoko," Mr. Yashiro said.

"Nothing to worry about, Mr. Yashiro. You heard what he said, so don't worry. Besides he's a colleague," Kyoko said and bowed farewell to Ren and his manager.

Ryoji turned around just in time to see Kyoko moved one of her feet forward, and smirked charmingly her. He continued to walk on, smiling secretly at the footsteps of boots behind him. Soon, a petite figure with chestnut brown hair trailed beside him.

"Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome," Ryoji said, thinking how easy this was going to be.


I am sure some people must have recognize the last name of Shirogami from Yoshiki Nakamura's (creator of Skip Beat!) other well-known manga, Tokyo Crazy Paradise. I needed a good and yakuza-sounding like surname, so I went for Shirogami, so it's a bit unoriginal on my part. I think for the time being, I will focus mainly on the drama that the characters are filming, which as you readers already know is called Tsukiakari: Anata ga Shitteiru.

Hope it was an enjoyable chapter, especially the drama storyline. I think in Tsukigomori, Katsuki was the main character, so I thought I give Mio her spotlight and be the main "main" character in this story :)

The third chapter won't be posted for maybe about the same amount of time it took for this chapter to be posted after the first chapter. I hope readers will be patient and wait. Thank you for reading.