Part One: Flight Trajectory
"What's your flight number again Mogami-san?"
"Sixty-two," Kyoko answered Tsuruga-san's question promptly and the actor skimmed over the board.
"Ah, Gate A-7, it says that it's running on time still," Ren said.
Kyoko was shocked when Ren said that he'd take her to the airport for her flight after she'd called him about it the next day. She'd asked 101 questions about if he really had time in his schedule to do so. She's been even more surprised when he came on his own and emerged from his car dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a tank top that said 'Made in the USA'. No one had even glanced at the two of them twice beyond a few admiring looks from some of the women who passed by, but they didn't seem to recognize him. Of course they wouldn't, Kyoko almost hadn't recognized him in such informal attire, she could count the number of times she'd seen Tsuruga-san in jeans on one hand and still have a couple fingers left over. "Are you sure you should be out in the open so much?" Kyoko asked, her eyes flashing to a screen that was playing a preview for a drama her senior made a guest appearance in.
The preview was immediately followed by a commercial she'd filmed a few weeks ago and Ren smiled. "Should you be out in the open so much, Mogami-san?" he asked.
"No one ever recognizes a no-name talento like me even if Box 'R' or Dark Moon were on the screen right now," Kyoko said and then realized abruptly that maybe she shouldn't sound so proud of that.
Ren chuckled. "You have your passport, your cell phone, and your charger?" he quizzed as they approached the security check point.
"Yes Tsu-R-ren-san," Kyoko stumbled over his name almost forgetting his request to call him by his first name so as not to draw as much attention in case someone overheard.
"Call me as soon as you land in LAX and get to a place where you can," Tsuruga-san reminded her firmly.
"B-but what if there's a delay and it's late in Tokyo and…" she began.
"I don't care if it's 3 AM here in Tokyo. When you arrive, call me," he stated. "I won't rest easily until I know you're there safely."
"All right," Kyoko said and took a deep breath as the security gate loomed.
"Also, it's requested that you give this to Hizuri-san when you see him," Tsuruga-san added extracting a minidisc from his pocket and handing it to her.
"All right," Kyoko said. "I'll protect it with my life!"
He chuckled and reached out and ruffled her hair. "If it comes down to your life or the disc, Mogami-san, I assure you that saving yourself would be preferable. Have a safe flight. Don't forget to call."
Kyoko tucked the disc in her purse and smiled at him. "Thank you. I won't."
She bowed to him politely before turning and heading to the security checkpoint, her suitcase rolling after her.
Kyoko stirred as she felt the altitude change when the plane started its approach into Los Angeles. Rubbing sleep from her eyes, she picked up her bag and went through it making sure everything was still there to make going through customs as smooth as possible. After ascertaining that the documentation was there and double-checking to make sure that the disc Tsuruga-san entrusted her with was still there, she relaxed, amber eyes going out the window to watch as the scenery below her changed.
Kyoko emerged from the security checkpoint a while later and looked over the sea of people streaming through the airport. She wasn't sure how Kuu was going to meet her without creating a mob—though maybe things were different in the US than Japan when it came to their star actors?
Her eyes finally landed on a dark-suited person holding up a sign that read "Kuon" in both English and the Japanese kanji. She moved towards the sign and the person lowered his sunglasses and winked at her and she realized abruptly that it was Kuu. Her smile lit up the airport as he moved to greet her. "Welcome to Los Angeles, Kuon," Kuu Hizuri said. "We're going this way."
They chatted about her flight and some of the things that she hoped to do while in the US as they made their way through the bewildering labyrinth of LAX. They passed into one of the garages where a sleek black limo waited for them. There was another man in an identical black suit standing by the car that opened the door as they approached. "This is my son Kuon," Kuu boasted.
The driver gave him an indulgent smile. "It's a pleasure, Miss Kuon," he said.
Kuu took off the hat and handed it back to the driver who put it back on his head and the two ducked into the car and the driver shut the door behind them. "Julie, your mother, won't be in until later tonight," Kuu informed Kyoko as they pulled away from the curb. "Her last shoot took longer than anticipated and she had to catch a later flight. I thought maybe we could cook dinner for her?"
Kyoko's eyes widened. "Wh-what kind of food does she like? If I can find a recipe I…" she began.
"I said we can cook dinner for her," Kuu scowling down at her, "Father and son cooking dinner for Mother when she gets home from a hard day at work. I think she won't mind some Japanese food for tonight."
Kyoko felt a rush of warmth at Kuu's words and smiled shyly. "Okay, if you're sure…" she said and then her eyes widened. "Oh! Before I forget! Tsuruga-san told me that someone had requested I deliver this to you when I got to the US."
As her hand made contact with the disc she also remembered something else she'd promised to do. She extracted the disc and handed it over. "I-is it all right if I make a phone call?" she asked hesitantly.
"It's 4 AM in Japan right now," Kuu pointed out.
"Tsuruga-san made me promise I'd call no matter what time it was in Japan when I had a chance," Kyoko replied her eyes dropping to her hands as she fidgeted with her cell phone.
"Oh he did, did he?" Kuu questioned.
Kyoko nodded and the actor chuckled. "Make your phone call, it's a long drive to the house," he said.
She beamed at him and hit speed dial #1 and waited anxiously as it connected. It nearly went to voice mail when a voice rough from sleep answered. "Tsuruga."
"Tsu-tsuruga-san, it's Mogami. I-I made it to LA safely, I'm in Father's car right now. I-I'm sorry I called so late. I…"
Kyoko's words tumbled over each other almost careening into unintelligible and she heard the sound of the mattress shifting. "I told you to call me no matter what time it was," Tsuruga-san reminded her, his voice sounded more awake now. "I also need to get up for work in a few minutes anyway. Was your flight good?"
"I slept most of the way because I had to scramble to film so many scenes for while I was away for the next week so the production wouldn't get behind," Kyoko admitted.
"That's what I usually do on long flights too," Tsuruga-san said, Kyoko could almost hear that gentle smile he directed at her every now and then in his voice. "Do you have any plans yet?"
"Uh, no, not really," Kyoko said. "Father said Mother had to reschedule her flight and wouldn't be home until later this evening and he suggested we make dinner for her."
"From what I understand I think Julie will like that," Ren said. "If it hasn't been brought up already, you should go to Disneyland."
"D-Disneyland?" Kyoko said. "I've never…"
Kuu's eyes widened in horror behind his glasses as he half-listened to Kyoko's conversation with Ren Tsuruga and heard she'd never been to something like that.
"You'll find a lot of fairies there," Tsuruga smiled.
"O~oh really?" Kyoko asked, her eyes lighting up.
"Yes really," he said.
She heard an alarm clocking going off in the background and blinked. "You have to get up this early today?" she asked.
"Yes, I have a photo shoot in Hokkaido I need to catch a flight for," he replied.
"Then I'll let you go so you can be ready for work on time," Kyoko said.
"Thank you for calling Mogami-san," Tsuruga-san said. "Will you call me again later this week and tell me more about your trip?"
"I-if you want," Kyoko stuttered.
"I'll look forward to hearing from you, Mogami-san," he said and Kyoko hung up the phone after the good-byes.
"You haven't been to Tokyo Disneyland?" Kuu asked as soon as Kyoko was off the phone.
"I've never been to anything like that…" Kyoko admitted.
"Your father is shocked by this," Kuu frowned.
"I-I'm s-sorry…" Kyoko apologized.
"You don't need to apologize for something like that," Kuu said. "Your father will make sure you do all sorts of things before you go back so that you can tell Mr. Tsuruga about all of them."
"But—" Kyoko began.
"Family vacations are very important," Kuu said firmly.
The rest of the trip to the house was spent with Kuu talking about various things they could do as a family and Kyoko's head whirled as she tried to imagine doing all of those things. "There's not enough time before I go back to do all of that!" Kyoko protested at one point.
"These are just suggestions," Kuu smiled. "We'll discuss them with Julie and see what we can fit in for the time we have you here."
As they drew closer to their destination, Kyoko's stomach tightened as Kuu continued to carry on about the plans they'd make for the week. Deep inside, Kyoko worried if the woman that Kuu kept calling her "Mother" would really even like her much less want to do anything like go to Disneyland or even eat the food they made.
After all, even the woman who gave birth to her didn't want to acknowledge her existence—why would a woman who'd never even met her feel differently?