"I can't believe he called me sweetheart," murmurs Kyoko for possibly the fifth time in the half hour or so that she has been awake this morning. She frowns as she drops languidly onto the already neatly made bed. Her thoughts circle once again to yet another disturbing topic.
"I can't believe he thinks I should be thankful to that faker prince for motivating me to join the entertainment industry," she mutters.
The young actress frowns as she folds her hands on her stomach. "I guess he is kind of right though that I never had any interest in acting when I was younger. I wouldn't have thought to try it if I hadn't decided to beat him at his own game. Wait. NO! I refuse to acknowledge that Hikaru-san might be right. That jerk deserves no credit. I worked hard to be where I am now. He didn't help me. He didn't."
Kyoko sighs.
"But Hikaru-san was so nice last night and it kind of makes sense. Ugh! Why am I even thinking about this now?"
After a rousing groan, the actress stills her thoughts for a moment but it does not last.
"I wonder why he called me Sweetheart?" she wonders aloud once more.
Before she can cycle back into her tirade against Shotaro, Kyoko's stomach grumbles. The demands of her hungry monster can not be ignored so she decides to check if the Ishibashi-onii-sans are ready to eat breakfast. She stands. Suddenly, the teen feels a heat flash slice through her body as she contemplates seeing the oldest Bridge Rock boy again. Fear grips her heart as she trembles slightly.
"What if he doesn't like me anymore now that he had time to think about my history with Sho? What if he makes fun of me?"
A horrified expression contorts her face. "What if he doesn't want me to be part of Kimagure Rock anymore? I love Bo."
The actress throws herself against the trunk housing the chicken costume. She embraces the prop container in desperation.
"NOOOOO, BOOOO! You can't leave me," she cries before falling to the ground and rolling back and forth in the tight space.
Images of the variety show producer happily tossing her from TBM assault Kyoko. With her imagination in complete over-drive, the actress envisions sitting on the ground in front of the station desperately clutching Bo's head against her chest. Sawara-san stands in front of her and shakes his head before silently leaving her collapsed on the ground.
"How could I have allowed such a loveless and useless girl into my company?" laments her imaginary President Takarada dressed like Phileas Fogg as he floats down the imaginary street in an extravagant hot air balloon. Clutching to the side of the basket, his aide, dressed as Fogg's valet, Jean Passepartout, shakes his finger at the despondent actress.
The distraught teen then cringes in fear as her virtual respected senpai paces into view with his manager shadow. The creepy shadow does not really mirror the number one actor in Japan. Instead, it is a Yashiro-shaped black mass whose only true feature is the glint of glasses inside the dark shadow form.
"I can't believe you would behave so unprofessionally, Mogami-san. How dare you keep such a secret like Bo from your mentor. On top of that, you have been fired because of your association with that musician. You have been using your acting as vengeance again, haven't you. You obviously have no respect for me as your senpai so I can no longer acknowledge you as my kohai," bites out her imagined Ren. As Ren's long model legs take him farther from her miserable position, the flat, black shadow Yashiro attached to Ren's feet calls out an apology and wishes her good luck. His black hands wave in the wind in a sad good-bye as they fade from view.
Crying and still clutching the chicken head, Kyoko imagines a parade of fans marching down the street pulling a float with Fuwa Sho on its rose crusted pinnacle. The arrogant musician just points at her and laughs manically.
"NOOOOOOOO!" cries the completely over-imaginative actress. Her imaginary self buries her face against Bo's head but then feels a soft hand on the back of her head. She glances up to meet the same compassionate and warm set of eyes from last evening.
"I'm your friend and I care about you deeply. I really wish you would trust me," murmurs her imaginary Hikaru as he repeats his words from last night. "This is not a pleasant dream, Sweetheart."
Kyoko suddenly stops rolling on the floor and the horrible vision fades from her imagination. Sitting on the floor, the actress pulls her legs towards her and wraps her arms around them. She rests her cheek on her knee as she shudders at the dread produced by her imagination.
"Why did he call me Sweetheart?" she mumbles once more as she runs her hands nervously through her hair. A blush creeps slowly up her face as she tried to come up with a plausible explanation. Her thoughts are interrupted once more by her still unhappy stomach. She pats her tummy and tells it to be quiet and promises it breakfast soon. Recovered from her over-active imagination episode, the actress levers herself off the floor and grabs her bag and escapes the room. In the hallway, she takes a couple calming breaths.
Although still slightly embarrassed and unsure on how to properly face Hikaru, Kyoko raps sharply on the door to the Ishibashis' room. She patiently waits as she hears mumbling and thumping on the other side of the door. Finally, the door swings open to reveal a shirtless Yuusei with a toothbrush in his mouth as he mumbles a garbled good morning around the hygiene tool before heading back into the bathroom. Blushing slightly at his state of undress, Kyoko purposefully avoids watching the dark haired guy return to the bathroom. Through the still open bathroom door, Kyoko can hear both the shower and the sink running.
Kyoko's eyes grow large as she stares at the state of the small room and its occupants. Having been in the room less then twelve hours ago, she can not believe the change. She suspects that Shinichi opened his large duffel bag and did nothing but dig all his packed stuff out onto his bed considering the mountain of clothes and personal care items piled almost eye level on the end of the mattress. At the other end of the bed, the owner of the mess sits dozing with his head resting against the wall. Shinichi only wears one sock, a pair of dress shorts and a sleeveless shirt which upon closer inspection appears to be inside out. His hair is a crazy mess and he is snoring slightly in his sleep.
The floor of the room is littered with open and half eaten bags of snack food and the trashcan is filled to the brim with empty soda cans and discarded snack wrappers.
Kyoko correctly suspects that the only reason she has a clean space on the floor to stand is because Hikaru had his mattress in her spot. Said mattress is now propped along the small space by the closet which is open and filled to overflowing with clothes. In front of the closet and wedged against the mattress sit two empty suitcases.
The sink turns off and Yuusei exits the bathroom packing his toothbrush and other toiletries in a small bag with a towel wrapped over his forearm. With a sigh and a slight shake of his head, he kicks a couple articles of dirty clothes out of his path and grabs a tan short-sleeved dress shirt that will look perfect with his dark green shorts.
The water in the shower stops running.
"Hey, Yuusei," calls Hikaru from the bathroom.
"Do you have the extra tow-AAAHHH!" finishes the oldest Ishibashi as he steps out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel around his waist and shaving cream on his face.
Hikaru's scream scares Shinichi awake. The idol jumps and his forgotten sock flies out of his hand and hits Kyoko in the face. She never flinches or even seems to notice as the sock falls to the floor. Kyoko's cheeks, neck and ears flame red as she mutters that she should probably go wait in the hallway as she stares at the now shut door to the bathroom.
Through the metal door, Yuusei calls his apology that he didn't think to warn his best buddy about Kyoko's arrival. Kyoko joins his apology with her own heartfelt plea for forgiveness.
Hikaru's slightly miserable voice travels back through the closed door as he assures them both that it is fine.
"Just stay there, Kyoko-chan. I'll be ready and out in a couple minutes and you shouldn't be waiting alone in the hallway."
Staring at her feet as she tries to reclaim control of her flushed face, Kyoko murmurs an uncomfortable okay. The oldest Ishibashi then requests that Yuusei hand him his clothes from the bed. Sheepishly, the repentant friend taps on the door and hands the pile of clothes through the small opening that Hikaru maneuvers with the door.
Unable to help herself, Kyoko begins gathering and closing the snack bags. She stacks the remaining snacks on the end of Yuusei's bed since it is the only clean flat surface in the room. Glancing around, the actress suggests that they store the emptied suitcases in her room to help with space. Yuusei agrees that it is a good idea so he smacks Shinichi who this time has fallen back to sleep with his head and arms around his pile of clothes.
Disoriented yet again, the blond idol groggily opens one eye and cusses at Yuusei before closing his eye once again and returning to snoring.
Leaving the blond to his snooze, Yuusei grabs the empty luggage and follows Kyoko to her room where he stacks them on the unused bed. The idol glances around Kyoko's tidy room.
"I swear, I am moving over here with you," he mutters as he realizes how Kyoko's style of housekeeping more suits his own preferences.
"Do you think we could hang our formal wear in your closet?" Yuusei requests as he considers ways of helping with their overstuffed space.
Of course, Kyoko agrees so they take another trip back and forth between rooms to move the dress clothes and shoes. While Yuusei places Shinichi's tuxedo in the closet, Kyoko nervously bites her lip. Clutching the dress shoes in her arms against her chest, she musters the courage to ask her Ishibashi-onii-san a question.
"Would you call your little sister Sweetheart?" she asks with an expression of hope.
"Huh?" Yuusei responds at the seemingly random question.
"You have a little sister, right?" Kyoko confirms.
The dark-haired idol nods.
"Well, would you call her Sweetheart?"
"No way," he replies thinking about his fourteen year old sister and her grating personality. "The only nickname I call her is Brat."
Kyoko's expression of hope fades and she frowns slightly.
"Shinichi-san has a bunch of younger siblings. Would he call any of them Sweetheart?"
Yuusei leans his shoulder against the wall and seriously considers her question.
"He calls his baby sister Princess sometimes. I think that he has called her Baby Doll too, but she is like only four so that's to be expected. Shinichi calls his eight year old sister by Pest sometimes, but mostly he just calls them by their names."
"Hikaru-san only has a younger brother. If he had a younger sister, do you think he might call her Sweetheart?"
Yuusei suddenly breaks into a grin as he stares down at his younger co-star who is still clutching Shinichi's shoes to her chest like they are a security blanket. He reaches towards her and rescues the shoes from her grasp. After placing the shoes in the closet beside his own, the idol stands and answers Kyoko's question.
"No, I don't think Hikaru would use the term Sweetheart for a sister even if he had one. Sweetheart is normally an endearment you use with someone special, like a girlfriend."
"Oh," sighs his younger co-star with a confused frown just before she turns and exits her room.
They return once more to the boys' room just as Hikaru exits the bathroom. This time, he is fully dressed and clean shaven. Kyoko immediately tries to apologize once more which causes the oldest Ishibashi to blush and smile tightly as he assures her that it is fine.
The room falls into a slightly uncomfortable silence as Kyoko stares at her feet and Hikaru tries to look anywhere besides at his cute co-star. Shaking his head, Yuusei mumbles under his breath that he is surrounded by idiots as he grabs Shinichi by the shoulder.
"Come on, Shinichi. It's time for breakfast," he states as he roughly shakes the blond idol.
"Yo, dude. Food. Now," he practically yells as he bends over and picks up his counterpart's tossed sock. He hands it to the groggy idol who is still barely conscious.
With his own shoes now in place, Hikaru grabs Shinichi's shoes from the floor and slams them into the sleepy joker's chest.
"Shoes, man," he orders.
"Okay, mom," Shinichi mumbles as he drops one of the sneakers on the floor while trying to clumsily fight the other one onto his sockless foot.
"I am so not your mother," grumbles the oldest idol. "She deserves sainthood or something for dealing with you every morning."
Kyoko can't help herself any longer. She begins to giggle at the antics and bickering of her friends.
The sound of mirth cuts through the fog of the blond idol's sleepy brain. He finally opens his eyes.
"Good morning, Kyoko-chan," he greets after a huge yawn. "When did you get here?"
The three other occupants of the room stare at Shinichi for a moment before all three dissolve into roaring laughter.
"What did I miss?" he asks in confusion as he glances from friend to friend to friend.
Yuusei retrieves his friend's dropped shoe and hands it to him. He smiles at the tension that is now gone from the other two. "Nothing, man," he assures Shinichi. "You didn't miss anything."
"Right," confirms Kyoko in secret delight that at least one of her friends doesn't remember the embarrassing incident. "You didn't miss anything."
"Except putting on your shirt correctly," teases Hikaru as he grins mischievously.
Pleasantly surprised, the stars of Kimagure Rock discover that the cafe is relatively quiet so early in the morning. In no time at all, Kyoko finds herself sitting at a corner table with a plate of fruit, some yogurt and a muffin. Shinichi sits beside her with his second mountainous bowl of overly sweetened cold cereal and milk. Across the large cafe' dining room, Yuusei and Hikaru stand waiting for individual omelets to be prepared by the chefs.
After a sip of tea, Kyoko decides to double-check Yuusei's information.
"Shinichi-san," she starts as she looks across the cafe to make sure that the other guys won't be back soon. "Would you ever call your little sisters Sweetheart?"
The blond idol stuffs another large spoonful of cereal in his mouth. He chews and swallows and scoops another spoon before he answers.
"Maybe my baby sister but not any of my other siblings. Why do you ask?"
Again, Kyoko glances across the room once more before replying.
"Well, I was wondering why someone might call me Sweetheart and thought that maybe it was a sibling kind of thing, but since I don't have any siblings, I wasn't sure."
Shinichi shakes his head and puts down his spoon. "Sweetheart is more something spouses call each other."
"Did someone call you Sweetheart, Kyoko-chan?"
She nods and blushes.
"Was this yesterday?" Shinichi asks.
Kyoko nods again.
The blond idol sighs. "If it was that guy hitting on you at the mini-golf game then he most likely did it because he was trying to get you to like him. Either that or he was trying to show that he was interested in you. I wouldn't worry about it. After all, it wasn't like it was someone you know real well. That would be different."
Kyoko suddenly stares in concern at her companion. "Why would that be different?"
Shinichi puts down his spoon and rubs the back of his head.
"I'm probably not the best person to be asking this kind of stuff, Kyoko-chan. I mean, I'm not the best with relationship type stuff. Maybe you could ask Yuusei. Or better yet, ask Hikaru," suggests Shinichi as he remembers to plug his buddy who is enamored with their co-star. He figures that maybe if she talks to him about relationships that it will give Hikaru an opening. The joker suddenly grins as he thinks of another way he can help his buddy. Although in Shinichi's mind, help is actually a very loose term for mildly torture.
"By the way, Kyoko-chan," starts the idol. "We've been friends for a really long time now, right?"
Kyoko smiles softly at her co-star and agrees.
"So if we're friends, when are you gonna start calling me Shinichi-kun?"
Kyoko looks startled.
"Um, I'm not sure that would be proper," she stammers.
"Are you my friend?"
Kyoko nods.
"Then what's improper. In fact, if you want, you can call me Nichi-kun like my sisters do."
Shinichi leans over closer to Kyoko and glances around as if he is about to tell her a very important secret. In a stage whisper, he pleads "Just don't call my Shin-kun. That's what my girlfriend calls me, and I don't want her to get upset."
With a solemn face, Kyoko promises not to call him Shin-kun. The idol grins happily.
"Cool."
Shinichi then looks across the room to where Hikaru and Yuusei are returning with their plates. He grins evilly as he contemplates his newest mayhem.
"Oh, and if you're gonna call me Shinichi-kun, you better start calling Yuusei and Hikaru that way too. Otherwise, you might upset them, right?"
The smallest look of panic crosses Kyoko's face before she catches herself. Quietly, she agrees because she would not ever want to offend any of her Ishibashi-onii-sans. After a few moments of logical thought, she decides that she truly does agree. If she treats Shinichi more familiarly, it only seems right to treat the others the same way.
Having set his little plot in motion, Shinichi returned to his now slightly soggy cereal to wait for the culmination of his entertainment genius. Luckily, the joker does not need to wait long. As the foursome stands to leave their morning meal, Kyoko addresses the oldest Ishibashi for the first time with her new, more familiar term.
"Hikaru-kun," she starts and both Hikaru and Yuusei stiffen in surprise. Watching closely, Shinichi delights in their mutual expressions of surprise. The evil joker battles valiantly to contain his amusement. He watches as a slight gleam appears in Hikaru's eyes and a goofy grin spreads across his face. Hikaru still wears the joyful expression when he turns towards his kohai.
"Yes, Kyoko-chan?"
Unaware of the excitement in all three guys, Kyoko asks matter-of-factually if she should go and retrieve the Bo trunk and drag it to the theater.
"No, no," answers the Bridge Rock de factor leader. "One of us will collect it if we need it this morning. For now, let's just get down to the theater."
As if it were the most natural thing in the world and without a thought, Hikaru moves to place his arm around Kyoko's waist to escort her to the theater. Another hand grabs his wrist before he can catch hold of her. He turns questioning brown eyes towards his friend. Yuusei shakes his head slightly before letting go of his friend's arm. Hikaru's happy expression sinks slightly.
"I hate the number three," he mutters as he grumpily turns to follow Shinichi and Kyoko who are already heading towards the exit.
Feeling bad for his friend who he knows would never do anything to hurt their cute little co-star, Yuusei silently echos the sentiment.
Hikaru's normally cheerful nature succeeds in overpowering his irritable snit before the talents reach the fourth floor theater. Winding through the empty casino, the LME celebrities see Officer Wright waiting by the large double doors at the theater entrance. Jason efficiently dives right into the breakdown of the itinerary for the day. They will start with a dry run of the mock Kimagure Rock show they will be performing this afternoon. Today's session is designed to appeal to families with little children while the one designed for the last full day of the cruise is focused more for a teen audience.
After the dress rehearsal, the boys and Bo are to make an appearance at the rock climbing wall for a meet and greet while the ship youth activities director runs a timed competition on the wall. The winner of the competition will receive the honor of being the guest star of the Kimagure Rock program in two days.
They have a short break for lunch and then the three boys are supposed to host a kiddie water Olympics at the pool. Happily for Kyoko, Bo is excused from the water activities to avoid damaging the costume. When the water play finishes, the guys have a short break before they will be performing their program at the theater. Following the show, Bridge Rock has an adult meet and greet on the champagne terrace before dinner in the formal dining room again. After dinner, Bo and the boys are supposed to make a short appearance at the karaoke bar to finish out their day.
As the four entertainers prepare to run through their show, Officer Wright questions Kyoko's lack of a costume for the dress rehearsal. Hikaru immediately explains that the suit is incredibly hot and that it would be dangerous if Kyoko were to spend too much time in the suit without breaks. Given the schedule, Toyokawa had made them promise to keep her out of the costume as much as humanly possible.
Familiar with their skits and musical pieces because of the extensive practices the producer had insisted they attend in the weeks approaching the cruise, the Ishibashis and Kyoko rip through the dress rehearsal without a single blunder or issue. In between Bo appearances, Kyoko sits back stage on a crate with a blanket thrown over it. On stage, the Bridge Rock boys sing and dance through a silly medley of children songs which will be used to close the program.
Although she has heard the ridiculous compilation a number of times already, this time it strikes a chord in the actress. A memory from her childhood bubbles to the surface. Perhaps the thought finds a path to her consciousness because of her discussion with Hikaru last evening or perhaps it is simply a product of sensory memory. Either way, for the first time in years, Kyoko remembers another childhood song being sung to her.
It had been over four weeks since her mother dropped her at the Fuwa Ryokon, and ten year old Kyoko had just overheard Shotaro's parents discussing that they were not able to contact her mother. The telephone number she gave them last time had been disconnected, and they were starting to wondering if Mogami Saena had finally left her daughter with them for good.
Kyoko sat in the garden absently twirling her braided hair as she wondered what the Fuwas would do with her now. Although she refused to cry, she curled her body around her drawn up legs and clasped her knees against her chest as she huddled in misery. A demanding voice cut into her quiet solitude.
"Listen to this, Kyoko," demanded Shotaro as he jumped onto one of the wooden benches in the garden. From his makeshift stage he started strumming his guitar as he sang Momiji in much the same manner as they would sing it in music class in school. As soon as he finished the traditional song he then played a completely different arrangement of the music. Although he used the same lyrics, the children song suddenly had an entirely unique feel and sound. Finished with his rendition, the young musician dropped from his imaginary stage and asked Kyoko's opinion.
"Wow, Sho-chan!" She gushed as her worries scattered. "That was amazing! I've never heard anything that cool before."
The young boy preened under the praise and arrogantly grinned for the first time with the precursor to his now nationally famous smirk. Shotaro played the song one more time for his young audience.
"Feel better?" he asked as he finished his first impromptu private concert.
Smiling once more, Kyoko nodded happily. Without another word, the young musician simply turned and walked out of the garden.
"Kyoko-chan?" calls a concerned voice.
The actress lifts her face. Golden eyes meet warm brown ones.
"Are you okay?" Hikaru asks.
"Of course," she replies with a smile. "Why would you think something is wrong?"
Concern evident in his expression, Hikaru states "because you are crying."
The teen immediately raises her hand to her face and feels the wet tracks on her cheeks. Wiping the tear trails with her hand, she admits that she did not realize she was crying and that she isn't even sure why she was. She assures her co-star once more that she is fine. Choosing to believe her, Hikaru explains that it is time to head to their next job. He offers to walk her to her room to change into Bo. Kyoko politely thanks her older friend.
In silence the pair return to their rooms. Once more, Hikaru unlocks Kyoko's room with the card key he is still carrying. Kyoko steps into the room. Before the door shuts, Hikaru reminds her once again that he has good ears if she wants to talk about whatever caused her to cry.
"Thank you, Hikaru-kun," the actress responds. "Maybe I will later but I think I want to think about it some more first. Like you told me to. Okay?"
Understanding a bit about what is now bothering her, Hikaru smiles tenderly and promises that he will listen when she is ready. He then scoots back out the door to let her change into Bo in peace.
Leaning back against Kyoko's door, he reminds himself to be patient. Hikaru sighs. His desire to help her and make everything all better for her battles with his wish for her to explore her own feelings and to share her plans with him. The twenty-one year old idol runs his fingers through his hair. He smiles tenderly as he reminds himself that they have lots of time. She has been upset with Fuwa Sho for over a year. There is no rush to force a solution now. He can wait; she is worth it.
At the beginning of the climbing wall competition, the three Ishibashis get a chance to race each other up the wall. As his friends climb the wall, Bo scampers back and forth below them holding up his wings in a panic. Yuusei toasts the other two and reaches the top almost a full body length ahead of Hikaru who places second. Shinichi may be the king of the computer games but climbing is definitely not his thing. Half way up the side, the idol somehow gets himself turned sideways and suddenly slips until he is hanging upside down by his harness and safety line. Until this point, Bo has been acting panicked but seeing his friend in such a position pushes real panic towards the surface.
The teen audience finds the antics hilarious and clap and shout as the ship crew acting as balayer carefully lowers the idol into the feathered arms of the upset chicken-girl. Patting her feather covered hands all over Shinchi's body as Kyoko checks for injuries tickles the idol, and he ends up curled on the ground laughing and wriggling in a desperate bid to escape Kyoko's unneeded assistance. While the chicken attempts to determine the extent of any injury to the blond idol, Yuusei and Hikaru rappel quickly down to save their ticklish friend from the overly enthusiastic concern of their chicken buddy. They both unhook their carabiners and set to intervene.
"He's fine," Yuusei expresses to Bo while tapping the chicken on the shoulder as Hikaru rescues Shinichi from the feathered assault. Turning the incident into a joke, Bo begins patting Yuusei with his wings as if making sure he is also uninjured. In turn, Yuusei over-reacts and falls to the ground as if being tickled to death also. Confident that Yuusei is fine, Bo turns to Hikaru and begins running his feathers over Hikaru's body too.
Unlike his counterparts, Hikaru doesn't laugh. He shrieks and valiantly tries to escape Bo. The chicken pursues him through the crowd and around the space until the chicken succeeds in trapping the idol in the corner. Bo proceeds to flutter his wings all over Hikaru's body despite the fact that he is obviously okay. If he wasn't fine, how else did he run away so well?
The audience laughs hysterically as Hikaru continues to scream as if the chicken is physically assaulting him. Finally, he is saved by Shinichi and Yuusei. The three Bridge Rock boys order Bo to stay in place as they back away from the crazed chicken. As if it no longer cares, the chicken raises its wings and waves away the idols.
The LME talents then turn to the crowd and encourage them to try the challenge themselves. Shinichi adds that they promise that Bo will not harass them either.
The rest of the competition is spent with Bo moving through the crowd and shaking hands and pantomiming encouragement to the contestants. Bridge Rock signs autographs and jokes with the teens. When the time for the competition elapses, the celebrities congratulate the participants and award the prize to the winner: a chance to star in the Kimagure Rock program being performed on the fourth day of the cruise.
Relieved to be done in the suit for the moment, Kyoko staggers towards the elevators. Her friends call good-byes before rushing to catch her before she slips into the lift. Unfortunately, the doors slide shut before they can reach them.
Because she is not supposed to reveal that she is Bo, the actress remains in the stuffy costume the entire way to her room. Nausea and a slight headache from the heat remind the teen that she has never spent such a long, active time in Bo's costume without at least a water break and a chance to take off her head and cool for a few minutes. Feeling more ill with each step, Kyoko reaches her door only to realizes that she does not have a key. This time, it is her turn to bang her head on the wall in frustration. Staggering back as she begins to feel slightly faint, the chicken-girl bumps into someone.
Expecting it to be one of the Ishibashis, the actress instead discovers that she has stumbled into an unknown passenger. Without speaking, Kyoko attempts to apologizes for bumping the gentleman, but the passenger becomes instantly angry at her pantomime. Kyoko stops moving Bo's wings and instead bows formally. As she lowers her head, the guest shoves her backwards.
"Just get out of my damn way," he cusses as the big white chicken staggers a couple steps until bumping into another body.
"Hey, what do you think you are doing?" yells the voice behind her.
Struggling to move as she suddenly feels even more lightheaded, Kyoko still tries to turn and bow in apology to the second person she hit. The movement forces a larger wave of dizziness to wash over her. She stumbles and drops to one knee. Instead of crumbling completely to the ground, two sets of hands grab her under her wings and keep her vertical. Seemingly from a long distance, she can hear an angry voice scolding about rude behavior. For a moment she tries to open her dry mouth and offer her apology for her clumsy behavior, but instead, she finds herself slipping into darkness.
The next thing Kyoko remembers is hearing voices discussing the poor job on number one they just did. A cool, wetness settles on her face. The sensation is pure bliss, and the actress sighs in contentment. Blackness surrounds her once again.
"Come on, Sweetheart," a voice pleads softly as Kyoko again becomes aware of her surroundings. A cool cloth travels across her face and down her neck. For some reason, the pleasant sensation doesn't fit with her last stuffy sensory memory so she frowns. Her eyes flutter open to focus on her Ishibashi-senpai's concerned brown eyes. A tender smile spreads across Hikaru's face when he notices her eyes open.
"Hi...Hika...ru," she stutters. "Where am, oh. What happened?"
Hikaru gently helps the actress sit up from her spot on her bed.
"I think you got a bit too hot, Kyoko-chan," explains the idol. Reluctantly, he removes his hands from their positions on her arms. He turns and steps into her bathroom. Hikaru wets the washrag once again with cool water before returning to the bedside. He hands the cloth to Kyoko, and she runs it across the back of her neck.
"I ran into someone," she admits.
Hikaru nods. "Yeah, we took care of it," he responds as he remembers how much he wanted to punch the rude jerk who shoved his co-star. Luckily, Yuusei diffused the situation so that no one got hit.
Shinichi buzzes into the room with a bottle of cold water. He twists off the lid before offering the drink to Kyoko. If the wet cloth on her face and neck are pleasant, the water is ecstasy as it rushes down her throat. Unconsciously, a moan of pleasure escapes from her mouth.
In response to the surprisingly erotic sound, Hikaru shivers and his pupils dilate. Silently calling himself a jerk, the twenty-one year old idol takes two steps back from Kyoko's bedside and busies himself with retrieving all the parts of Bo's costume which the boys had ripped off their friend in a panic. He places all the parts into the storage trunk. The task gives him a chance to calm his breathing and his thoughts.
"Lunchtime," calls Yuusei as he too strolls through the open door. Since they are all inside now, the dark-haired idol casually bumps the door shut with his hip then delivers a lunch bag to each companion.
The thought of food turns Kyoko's stomach, and she fleetingly wonders if this is what Tsuruga-san feels like when she is forcing him to eat. If it is, she vows to never bully him into eating again.
Sitting her lunch bag aside, the actress instead finishes her cold water while she listens to the Ishibashi-onii-sans discuss what to do about their next appearance.
"Should one of us stay here with Kyoko-chan?" questions Shinichi as he glances once more at the still flushed actress.
"Perhaps it would be better if she came to the pool with us. Swimming in the pool should cool her body down," Yuusei suggests.
Hikaru looks at their co-star. "Do you feel up to going to the pool, Kyoko-chan?"
Kyoko smiles. She likes that Hikaru asked for her opinion instead of voicing his recommendations. It is proof that he values her ideas and that he believes she is capable of making her own decisions.
"I still feel a bit dizzy. It might be best if I just wait here until it's time for our show. Is that okay with you guys?"
They all agree. After they finish their quick lunches, the boys excuse themselves from the room to change into their swimming trunks before heading to the pool. Hikaru is the last to leave the room. He turns to face Kyoko.
"Can you do me a favor, Kyoko-chan?"
"Sure, Hikaru-kun. What is it?"
"Do you think you could wait here until one of us comes back to get you? Since you are still feeling a bit dizzy, I would worry about you wandering around the ship and maybe having another fainting spell. You might get hurt or we might not be able to find you in time for the show. Do you mind?"
Not wanting to cause her co-stars any problems, the actress immediately agrees. Hikaru thanks her. He then takes his card key for the boys' room and sits in on Bo's trunk. He explains that if she gets bored she is welcome to go over and play video games.
"Remember to lock the deadbolt after I go," he reminds her. Kyoko nods and tentatively moves towards the door. For some reason, her heart seems to beat a bit faster as she remembers the same actions and conversation last night.
"Good-bye, Hikaru-kun," she calls as she reaches the door. "Thank you for helping me."
"Good-bye, Kyoko-chan," the idol replies with the same tender smile as last evening.
"See you in a little bit," he adds as he slips out the door.
For some unknown reason, Kyoko suddenly feels disappointed as she stares at the closed door. Reaching towards it, she flips the deadbolt into place. The snap makes her frown even more. It is like something is missing, but she is not sure what it is.
Gently shaking her head which she has decided is acting funny because of the heat exhaustion, she peals off her sweat-drenched clothes and decides to shower.
Next door, her oldest co-star glances towards the bathroom as he hears Kyoko's shower start. Pulling on his swimming trunks and grabbing some sunscreen, the idol once again quietly cusses the number three. Both his friends notice his dark and frustrated expression. To show their solidarity and sympathy for their chief, they both join him in the defaming of the annoying number.
After a cool shower and a clean outfit, Kyoko feels significantly better. She lies down for a short nap and wakes feeling completely refreshed. She tackles the previously daunting task of lunch and tidies her room once more. With her limited tasks completed, the actress settles on her bed. Looking around her bare room, she feels a bit at a loss of what to do next. The only thing in her room is a television and she has to admit that watching day-time television doesn't sound appealing. Her eyes fall on Hikaru's plastic card key. Deciding that perhaps playing a video game would be better then sitting alone in her room, Kyoko grabs the white card and travels the couple steps to her friends' room.
Once in the Ishibashis' room, the actress moves to turn on the PS3 but decides that perhaps she should clear a place to sit first. Cleaning a place to sit soon develops into clearing up all the dirty laundry which she places in a mesh bag that one of the boys, most likely Yuusei, packed as a place to store his dirty clothes. She places the bag of dirty laundry in the bottom corner of the closet then decides to tackle the mountain of clothes on Shinichi's bed.
Humming happily, Kyoko hangs his shirts in the closet. Because there are few hangers available, the teen places Shinichi's dress pants on the hangers under his shirts. She then neatly folds his shorts and stacks them on the only unoccupied open wire shelf in the closet. The actress collects Shinichi's undergarments and begins folding them tightly too.
Kyoko reaches along the edge of the shelf to stack her friend's second pair of underwear when her humming suddenly stops. Her hand trembles and her legs suddenly feel weak. She slowly sinks to her knees with a horrified expression on her face.
"I can't believe it," she mutters in astonishment as she stares at the unfolded underwear in her hand. The garment falls from her limp fingers to lay forgotten for the moment on the floor. Kyoko begins to giggle. Her delicate and trembling hand raises to her face to cover the slightly hysterical sound escaping her mouth. Giggles slowly shift to laughter. Before long, Kyoko is lying on her back on the floor with her body shaking with uncontainable mirth. She holds her stomach as the muscles start to protest the prolonged laughter. Kyoko laughs so hard that tears leak from her eyes and streak towards her ears.
"I'm an idiot," she mutters happily as she finally regains control of her amusement. Sitting, she dashes the wet lines from her face. Kyoko breathes deeply. The air fills her lungs and a warm contentment seems to seep from it into her limbs.
The actress levers herself to her feet. After a quick trip to the bathroom to wash her face, she makes quick work of Shinichi's remaining clothing mess. Returning once more to her happy humming, the actress moves from clothes to tidying the bathroom. She hangs up the two sets of towels in the small bathroom which makes her realize that she should bring over the second set from her room for them. Back in the small room with the unused articles, she places them neatly in the bathroom too. Happiness continues to radiate from her body as she neatly organizes all the toiletries and personal care items in the boys' space.
Upgrading to singing slightly off key, Kyoko makes Shinichi's bed and even puts some crisper touches onto Yuusei's already made bunk. She folds Hikaru's blankets and places them at the end of Yuusei's mattress.
The actress is sorting and stacking the video games on the floor when the Ishibashis return. Startled for a moment by the neatness of the room that had been a disaster when he left, Yuusei freezes in the doorway. Neither of his pals expect the sudden stalled movement and both Hikaru and Shinichi bump into the flabbergasted idol. The trio stumbles into the room with Hikaru and Shinichi loudly complaining about Yuusei's sudden stop. They both fall silent though as they too stare in amazement at their now tidy room. Three sets of eyes shift from the room to the cute young woman standing with a game box still in her hand. She tosses the box onto Shinichi's bed.
"Shinichi-kun, you are such a messy slob that I could just kiss you!" states Kyoko as she flings her arms affectionately around the blond idol and hugs him. The young man instantly freezes with his arms locked to his sides. He turns his head to his older friend with a horrified expression that clearly states 'forgive me, I have no control over this situation'.
"Um, Kyoko-chan?" the joker mutters in confusion as the younger actress releases him from her arms and throws her arms around the jealous Hikaru instead. The oldest Ishibashi also stiffens but not in surprise like his friend. It takes all his control to keep his arms at his sides instead of pulling his crush even tighter against his naked chest. He quickly schools his expression of misery as Kyoko meets his eyes.
"You were right," she states with a huge grin on her face.
She steps back from her friend who appears slightly confused.
"You were right. I'm not broken," she states.
Later, the oldest Ishibashi will find his kohai's epiphany story amusing. He and Kyoko will laugh hysterically at the thought that it was cleaning up Shinichi's messy underwear just like she used to do for Shotaro that made her truly understand that she could still feel affection. In fact, it staggered her to realize the she feels the same way about her Bridge Rock companions that she used to feel for her childhood friend.
For now, the idol is content to know that Kyoko has found a solution for herself. A twinkle of amusement and pride glows in Hikaru's eyes as he too smiles.