Title: What Eyes Cannot See
Pairing: Kyoko x Ren
Genre: Drama/Romance/minor Angst
Rating for this chapter: T
Words: 1997
Warnings and Author Notes: General warnings? This chapter is quite harmless minus some very minor slapstick humor and violence. It is the next chapter, I believe, that the warming on the first chapter will apply to. As for spoilers: I don't think there are any in this chapter did not apply to the last chapter. So you should be in the clear if you read chapter 1 without any surprised gasps. Haha. Oh, and by the by, the small italicized quote at the beginning of this chapter is the translation for the kanji/hiragana/romaji quote from the last chapter alluded from the song "Serenato" by Kalafina.
Thank you all so much for your reviews for this little piece of mine. _ I honestly don't know how to thank you enough, so I tried my best to crank out this chapter as fast as I could for you. Please know that this chapter was dedicated to all of you!! :3 Enjoy this chapter, everyone, and let me know what you all think, please. =] I look forward to seeing you all in chapter 3.
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Chapter 2
After the sun hid, our souls froze and
the two of us, not believing, but wanting to,
were roaming around love
If i could go on like this, staying in your arms, my love
One day, I'll be able to call back light to the lonely lands
Kyoko's bloodshot pupils and puffiness of the bags under her eyes were the first thing to greet Kotonami Kanae the next morning. Kyoko had spent the good part of the previous night crying and coming up with ways to get into character for An Overture to Heaven but had drawn a blank time after tedious time. It was as if the harder she thought, the more clouded the mind became and, soon, the only thing that she could see was the mocking face of Fuwa Shotarou as he would poke and prod at her with his plastic microphone threw caged bars, like she was on display at the zoo. "Ahhh~ So this is what a failed soul looks like. I wouldn't know since I only surround myself with the best. This is the face of a looooossseeerrr~!" He would then make faces at her repeating the whole scene over and over again.
She couldn't remember when it was when she actually fell asleep but morning greeted her with warmth from the sun beating down on Tokyo city and the bitter taste of a terrible morning breath.
Kanae wanted to comfort her poor friend (not knowing what it is that was getting the ever optimistic Kyoko down) with words of reassurance and kindness but what came out instead was: "How I could I call someone who looks like a zombie squirrel my rival? Get your act together, woman! The hell is eating at you? Rabid dogs?"
Kanae made a mental note to work on her comforting skills.
"Mooookoooooo!" came the rasped voice of Kyoko as she proceeded to sulk into vegetation in a corner of the Love Me Section lounge. "I cant... I can't do it... I can't take it anymore. I have to figure it out; I have to beat this thing! But its like friggin' Jason! No matter how many times you try to kill that guy, he just get reincarnated again for another blasted Friday the 13th movie! Let the man rest in peace already, damnit!"
'Ah. It must have something to do with work,' Kanae concluded mentally. "Or she could just have a minor case of paraskavedekatriaphobia.' Ruling out the latter idea as unrealistic, Kanae had the sudden urge to pat herself on the back for figuring it out without having to actually ask Kyoko what it was that was bothering her. She didn't want to give the girl false hope into thinking that she actually cared about her, after all. "What is it now? You should be happy that you even have work nowadays. So, what is it? A drama? A PV? A commercial? More mascot work?"
Nothing but sobs could be heard from a darken corner of despair and eminent death by seppeku.
"Oi! Are you even listening to me? I'm talking to you damnit!" Kanae gave her a nasty sneer and then took a step towards her to give Kyoko a piece of her mind when her foot contacted with a large packet of papers. Picking it up gingerly into her hands, Kanae read the title of Kyoko's new movie script and turned the page to the interior flap to see her character's description and history written out in meticulous detail; the neat script could only be Kyoko's own handwriting.
'If she has already done this much of a close read for her character, I wonder what it is that's holding her back.'
And then she spot it.
Lifting one elegant eyebrow, Kanae can see how this role might be a bit difficult for a relatively simple minded person like Kyoko but it wasn't impossible. She could probably give her a hand but she had to go off soon for her promotional photo shoot. Her internal struggle must have been apparent on her face because it was enough of a predicament to snap Kyoko out of her depressed state and ask, "Moko-chan? Are you okay?"
The next thing Kyoko knew, her script sprouted wings and few across the room. But young wings have little control of their new found freedom and thus slammed flat against Kyoko's confused face.
"Kyoko, you dimwit! You aren't approaching this correctly at all! You have to take a more physical approach to this character! And I mean totally embodying her to the very essence of her soul! How could you ever excel as an actress if you don't take your characters seriously. You have to treat them like they are real people! Breathe life into them. If you can't do that then you have no right calling me your best friend!" And with that impassioned monologue, Kanae grabbed the wretched poisonous pink uniform and stormed out of the lounge.
"Moko~chan... this love of yours... is a bit... painful."
But then something that Moko said began to seed in Kyoko's mind as she begrudgingly put on her own uniform, placing on UV protected sunglasses to protect her eyes from the neon brightness of the color. Moko had said that she needed to embody her character and breath life into her. That she had to take a more physical approach...
"AH! I GOT IT!"
Inspiration hit her like a thousand aftershocks coursing through her veins and erupting fireworks atop her hyperactive nerves. It was almost as if she had been reborn and all the world her was a blur.
- - - - -
Adjusting his car into one of the parking slots at his apartment complex, Ren was not in the mood to do anything more than sleep after very long a strenuous day hitting two magazine interviews, three photo shoots, and a variety show taping. And not ONCE did he get a phone call from his kohai.
To say that Tsuruga Ren was stressed was an understatement.
Having to deal with Yashiro-san's relentless teasing all day could drain just about anyone and it nearly drove Ren to actually strangle the grown man. So what if Kyoko did not call for any type of advice. This was probably a good thing; it means that she is finally growing on her own as an actress, and that very thought effortlessly brought a smile to his face.
And yet, as he walked into elevator and saw what actually displayed on his face, he can see that that warm smile did not reach his eyes as a whisper of pain tugged in the depths of his heart, a heart that had been long sealed away from the world, unworthy of the heavenly light from the sun to ever reach it. And, he, Tsuruga Ren will see to it that it stays that way.
Reaching his floor, Ren began walking towards his room on the far end of the building when he saw a figure standing in front of what seemed to be his door. As he approached, the figure became more and more apparent. The living, breathing, form of the one and only Mogami Kyoko patiently standing with her back against the wall, her eyes burned with a fire that was nonexistent just twenty-four hours earlier. His heart involuntarily did a small tumble in his chest.
"Mogami-san, good evening. Is there something I can help you with?" Ren asked trying to compose himself.
A tiny blush crept across her cheeks (and that nearly done him in) as she said, "Well, I was on my way out of LME, since there wasn't any Love Me work for the day, when I got a phone call from Yashiro-san saying that you have been looking a bit pale lately and that he is convinced that you have not been nourishing yourself properly. So I brought sustenance for you." She said producing a basket full of fresh vegetables, meats, and packets of herbal tea.
'Yashiro, you scheming-!' Ren thought as he sighed exasperatedly under his breath.
That tiny pang of pain began to blossom as he placed on his most divine smile for Kyoko before inviting her in. This was to be like any other evening with her. He would shower, she would cook, they would have dinner together in his living room (perhaps catch a show on TV), squabble over trivial things, finish cleaning up, and then part their separate ways for the evening. She would return to the world, her radience too great to shared with only one person; the way things were suppose to be. He would return once again to his empty apartment, completely alone and cold, where his large bed would be equally as empty and cold; the way it will always be. Yet, for those few stolen moments of heaven, Ren will drink up every drop like it was the only thing that will sustain his very being. Every precious minute he had with her will be stored it away until he climbed into bed. Only then will he pull it out to replay in his mind hours into the night like a lullaby as he would drift off into the abyss of a dreamless sleep.
"Tsuruga-san? Did you hear me?" came the voice that broke him from his revelry.
"Uhm..." Removing his necktie to keep his hands busy, Ren spoke as he draped it lightly on the recliner, "I'm sorry, Mogami-san. I seem to have drifted off thinking about work again. What was it that you were saying?"
A worried look passed over her face before she replied, "Ah... the thing is, I also have a bit of a request, but it seems that Tsuruga-san's mind is completely and whole heartedly focused on his current work. I didn't want to ask for your help because I didn't want my trivial problem to cloud your own work. I always feel like such a nuisance when I am around Tsuruga-san." Her sad eyes fell to the ground where her feet were shifting uncomfortably.
'Is that the kind of man she takes me for? Someone who could completely push her to the side simply because I was busy. Oh, this is not good for my image. This girl-'
"Mogami-san..."
"Tsuruga-san should go and take a bath while I get dinner ready. I promise I will make a meal that will surely re-energize Tsuruga-san!" Kyoko said with a sweet smile and then disappeared into the kitchen, arms full with groceries.
What she did not know was that, with just one of her smiles, she could have easily brought him to his knees once again.
- - - - -
Drying his hair as he left the bathroom, Ren walked into the living room and was greeted with the warm aroma of a freshly cooked meal.
"Vegetable soup garnished with crispy garlic flakes and diced spring onions, open grill tempura on steamed rice topped with wasabi and ginger and dowsed with a special sweet bean vinaigrette sauce and, to accompany the meal, the best herbal tea on this side of Tokyo: the new Elixir Green Tea with sakuranbo extract." came the voice from the kitchen reading off the menu of the dishes on the glass coffee table. Kyoko walked in carrying a tea tray, her personal pink apron donning over her day clothes. The scene was so hauntingly flawless and, thus, the pain in his chest once again returned momentarily as the sight was so painful to witness; someone like Ren did not deserve such an image of completeness and earth shattering perfection in his life. He was not worthy of such.
"Tsuruga san?Are you okay, you seem to be spacing out again?" Kyoko asked, waving her hand in front of him.
'Ah. It seems as though I'm really not getting a hold of my emotions tonight. This does not bode well...' Ren thought taking his usual position at the table, the flat screen television to his right.
"I'm fine, thank you, Mogami-san. The meal looks impeccable and I am sure it will taste just as good as it looks. Ja, ittadakimasu."
The rest of the meal was spent relatively in silence, both occupants of the table lost in their own thoughts with the occasional small talk that took place to fill the awkward void but even that eventually fizzled into nothingness.
Finally once she served him his third cup of tea (which he seem to enjoy with zest) and began piling up the plates to be taken into the kitchen for washing, did Kyoko apprehensively looked up at Ren and quietly asked, "Tsuruga-san... what would you do if you had to take on a character that was blind?"