What I'm Missing
Sariah Loire
Chapitre Three
My goal is for everything in this fanfic to fit right along into the main story line, as if Nakamura herself wrote it. Of course, once more Acts are released, that won't be possible. But when that happens, this could be an 'alternate story' of types. And seeing as how the name of the movie starring BJ has not been released, my title for it is Falling Death. The Director's name will also be fabricated until an official name is released.
Skip Beat! And its characters, locations, terms, etc, do not belong to me.
This story began on the day of Act 151, February 15th. It follows all previous Acts exactly, and is a direct continuation of Skip Beat!'s main story. If you need back info, please read the official story.
Lory Takarada sat in his office, twirling his black moustache. He was quite proud of himself, despite the obvious roadblocks of the day. Spinning around in his desk chair, he stared at the ceiling, going over his plans.
'Miss Mogami and Miss Kotonami preformed well, after a few hurdles.' He thought back to the look on Kanae's face when she was about to go face-first into the giant self-made mud hole. As if his precious LME grounds would have ever been in such a state naturally. 'They'll soon forget their ideas of torture, and come to understand the joy of such a lovely holiday.'
Grinning, he twirled himself dizzy until the phone on his desk rang. Expecting it to be his secretary, informing Ren's arrival, he picked up the receiver happily. "Yeees?"
"President Takarada, I have Director Annaka on the phone, wishing to speak with you."
"Thank you, put him through, please." Sitting up, Lory waited until he heard the familiar click of lines switching over. "Sutoyo, how do you fare today?"
"Good evening, President Takarada." The director was a friendly man, on good terms with LME. "I need to get back to my photographer, so I have to make this quick." He cleared his throat. "Have you gotten an OK from Ren Tsuruga yet? Our special was made with him in mind; I won't be able to film it if he rejects the offer."
"I'll have an answer within the hour, but if my intuition accounts for anything," Lory smiled, thinking to himself. "I would go ahead with the scheduling. Getting my actors to cooperate is something I can take care of."
Quick thanks and goodbyes were exchanged, as the two men had other work to do. The President stood up to go look for his prodigal Ren, but was quickly stopped when his direct line rang. Only close friends held that number, and would only use it when they felt the need to bypass his secretary. "Takarada here." His brows furrowed slightly, listening to the information that was being passed to him. "So, the role of BJ is finally going in that direction? Glad to hear it! Do you remember what we discussed before?" He nodded to himself, listening to the response. "I'm glad we see eye-to-eye, you have my permission to make the call."
A smile broke out on his face. 'Ren knew what he was doing when he took this role, after all.'
"A letter came for you today." The President said evenly, as if letters came to his personal address for Ren every day. "It's from a friend." He held out the envelope and a letter opener.
Ren held out a hand, taking the envelope. He moved to open it until he saw the name on the return address. He glanced up at Lory, then back down to the letter. Recognizing the handwriting of his father, he opened the letter cautiously.
Scanning the letter quickly, he closed his eyes before finishing it. Without opening them, he folded the letter closed and slid it into his inner jacket pocket. Only once the letter was safely tucked away did he trust himself enough to look at the President.
In that small moment, Lory saw regret and pain in the young actor's eyes, the same pain that was threatening to take over the young boy when he made the decision to bring Ren to Japan five years ago. Hopelessness, despair, guilt… they were all well shown by Kuon, but Ren hid them behind his facade.
Ren sighed deeply, holding out the envelope. The President took it, stowing it away in his desk. It wouldn't do for Ren to be found holding an envelope with Kuu's name on it, even though it had been addressed to the President. "Thank you, sir," Ren spoke quietly, as if it took all this ability to keep his voice calm. "I'll look it over once I'm at home tonight."
Lory nodded, understanding. He cleared his throat. 'Time to change the subject for now.' "Ren, has Director Annaka given you a call?"
"The director of Box "R"?" Ren's mind switched over to work, all traces of the past few minutes gone from his face. "He hasn't contacted me, what is this about?"
"The director wishes for you to appear in Box "R". Your talents are wanted for their 'Valentine's Special' episode. Apparently your love scenes as Katsuki have left quite a mark on the acting community, and they want to have you appear in a brief relationship in one episode." Sticking a cigar in his mouth, Lory searched his desk for a lighter.
"'Valentine's Special'?" Ren repeated, noncommittally. "I've watched the premier; I can't imagine Rumi Maruyama's character being thrown into a romantic relationship with a strange character."
The President stopped digging through his desk to peer at Ren. He waggled his cigar, with a teasing expression on his face. "You're not going to be the love interest of 'Chitose'." He looked down at the announcement on his desk, as if pondering over the character names. "You're going to be the love target of 'Natsu'."
Ren carefully kept his face expressionless, but his mind was screaming warnings at him. He had seen Kyoko's acting as the cruel, yet very sexy, bully Natsu in the premier. Natsu had the aura of a young woman who was willing to stop at nothing until she got what she wanted. "I see, well, that makes more sense." And in that episode, she was going to want… him?
"Normally I would give you time to think about the role, but I'm afraid that Director Annaka is in a bit of a fix." He passed the filming schedule to Ren. "As you can see, they want this episode to help build the excitement for Box "R", so the promotional photo shoot is tomorrow."
"I thought the few episodes released had received rave reviews?"
"Oh, they have, to be sure. But with Dark Moon still airing, there's a lot of competition for the biggest audience." Lory took back the schedule, tucking it away. "Which is another reason they turned to you. It would be a letdown to the staff if you turned down this offer."
'And a few months back you were the one telling me to refuse to act in Dark Moon because of it being a romance drama.' Ren smiled wryly, remembering the terse words that had cut him so deeply.
"Not to mention the fact that Miss Mogami would probably be very nervous having to act opposite a stranger in her first romantic scenes."
Ren nodded his head, "Yes, that would be quite a shock to any new talent, especially one in the LoveME section."
Lory propped his feet on a nearby chair, leaning back to stare at the ceiling again. "While you're in here, let's talk about some new changes being made to another role of yours." He grinned happily, much to Ren's worry. "Apparently your," he mouthed the words 'BJ', "role is going to be getting a bit more fun than we thought."
That night, Kyoko scrubbed her hair with more intensity than she ever had in her life. She took the greatest care while washing her face, then applied some of the face crème given to her by Moko. She dried her hair with a soft towel, brushing it until it shone.
She had borrowed a 'big-sister' outfit from Moko, to wear to the set tomorrow. Kyoko was counting on that outfit to put her in a calm state of mind. She went ahead and slipped it on, and her shoes, and stood in front of the mirror. Flashing what she thought was a 'Natsu-like' smile, she cringed.
"MOKO, I CAAAAN'T DO IT." Wriggling out of the nice clothes, she flopped onto her futon, writhing around. Ever since Moko had read the assignment to Kyoko, a deep worry had worked its way into Kyoko's stomach. The more she thought about it, the worse she felt.
Kyoko had been told that Box "R" was filming a special episode, where Natsu would take the day off of bullying in order to hunt out a man she set her eyes on. Despite being a bit worried over having to act out being in love, she hadn't minded much.
Until Moko broke the news that Mr. Tsuruga was going to be acting opposite of her. They were to be the 'stars' of the 'Valentine's Special'.
"MR. TSURUGAAA, I'M SORRY YOU HAVE TO ACT WITH A NO-NAME SUCH AS ME." Kyoko was flat on her face in front of her Ren doll, which was propped against the wall. It was wearing the 'shock and disgust' mask, fitting the expression Kyoko had in her mind that Mr. Tsuruga must have had when he was offered the job.
"Miss Mogami, please try not to mess up the photo shoot too badly." She said in her Ren voice, moving the doll's arms.
"Yes, Mr. Tsuruga!" She bowed her head. "I will do my best, I promise!" Her one person cross-examination was interrupted by the chirping of her cell phone. She dug the phone out of her purse, aware of the blocked number on the caller ID.
"Hello, this is Kyoko."
"Miss Mogami, this is Sawara. I hope I'm not bothering you?"
Kyoko felt her heart drop a little, but she didn't let on. "No, sir, it's perfectly fine."
"I have an offer for you for a movie that is currently being filmed. It's a small role, but the movie is getting huge speculation already."
"W-Will I be playing a bully?" The question left her mouth before she could stop it. Wanting desperately to beat her head against the nearby wall, she stopped when she heard her supervisor's chuckle.
"No, Miss Mogami, you'll be playing a normal, happy woman." Kyoko heard papers rustling. "Could you come into the office after your photo shoot tomorrow, so we can go over the details?"
"Yes, I'll be happy to!" After a word of thanks, Kyoko flipped her phone closed. Looking in the mirror, she saw a spark of excitement in her eyes. 'Getting an offer has to be a good sign, right? Yes, a sign that my task tomorrow will go well! I won't allow myself to cause Mr. Tsuruga trouble!"
Kyoko wriggled under the covers of her futon, aware of the early hour. Now that her excitement had overrode her nervousness, tomorrow couldn't get here fast enough.
Ren sighed, watching the letter go up in flames in the sink of his flat's kitchen. He could take no chances, and seeing how Kuu had sent one other letter since leaving Japan, he had to take the necessary precautions in getting rid of them completely.
Some days, like today, he wanted to give it all up and go home. Back to his father and mother, the people who knew everything he had ever done in his past – and still loved him, despite of it all. They didn't act as if he hadn't mistakes, it was quite the opposite. He had been adequately punished in his youth, but after the punishment, he was held in their arms where he could feel their love.
The letter had been what he expected; it was what the President told him every year for the past five years. Hollow words of not blaming him, of comfort, and of reassurance that the same thing would never happen again.
He couldn't take that chance. He wouldn't take that chance.
"It's been two days, Mr. Hizuri. Surely you haven't forgotten me yet?" Kuon nodded to the detective in the corner, assuring him that it was the same person.
"Of course I haven't." He put on a fake voice of boldness. "I was hoping you'd call, I-"
"Let's not be foolish, Mr. Hizuri. I know you have people there with you, hoping to trap me. They're telling you what to say, what to think, what to feel."
Kuon flicked his eyes to his father and the detective nervously. They were listening and taking notes.
"But you need only to listen to me. You see, I have the advantage here. Would you like to listen to this… advantage?" A sharp slap rang out, followed by a girl's muffled sobs.
The action and suspense will be picking up soon, so please bear with me as I continue to lay ground work for the story. From all appearances, this fic may be quite a few chapitres, but I'll try my best to not lose sight of my plot goal.
Sari*
