Disclaimer: Nothing of Skip Beat belongs to me, only the original parts of the plot for this fanfiction.
Warnings: Implied m/m, but nothing bad. I hope. ;-)
Notes: Thank you for reading and reviewing. I'm aware that this is a rather slow-paced, drawn out story but I like it that way. Please bear with me, I just have to set the stage before the fun parts can begin ;-)
The Harem Flower
Part III
July 2010
July, as hot and sunny and lively as it was, was a sad month for Kyoko. The last two weeks of Dark Moon's filming were passing too quickly. Her character Mio had a few last, very emotional scenes, most of them together with Momose Itsumi and Tsuruga Ren. It was great fun testing her limits and experiencing so many new things, but it was also sad to have the show end.
"Is something the matter?" Ren asked when the last week had begun and the filming of one of her very last scenes would begin shortly. "You look so down."
Kyoko hastily tried to school her face into her usual polite expression but Ren saw right through her, as usual. She gave up and sighed.
"Nothing really," she mumbled. "It's just that filming will end in a week and then Dark Moon will be done."
"Ah, I understand." Ren showed Kyoko to a chair and settled next to her. "You're experiencing the 'Empty Stage Syndrome', ESS for short. It's a common affliction among actors." He smiled encouragingly when her face wouldn't lighten up. "It will pass eventually, Mogami-san, I promise."
"I'm not sure if I want that." Kyoko frowned and then looked up at the tall actor. "I mean, I've really come to love Mio as a character so it'll be hard to let her go."
"I see." Ren leaned closer and looked deeply in Kyoko's eyes. "But you must know that every character you create is also a part of yourself. Even if the time on stage for a character comes to an end they'll still stay with you, as a part of your own character."
"Is it like this for you, too?" she asked, squirming under his unblinking, earnest gaze.
"Of course it is. I remember each of my roles. They are a part of me and I can make use of them at any time and even develop new characters out of them if need be."
Kyoko mulled this over. "Are you trying to tell me that I'm really as scary as Mio?"
Ren chuckled and uffled her hair in an affectionate gesture. Since her days as Cain Heel's little sister she was rather used to these and had come to even like them. "Yes, indeed. But of course you're not only scary, Mogami-san. You have many other facets and they all deserve to be explored."
"Kyoko-san, Tsuruga-kun! Would you come over, please? We're ready for you!" Director Ogata called, waving them over.
"Come, let's give Dark Moon our best, even if it's our swan song," said Ren, getting up and stretching his long limbs.
"Yes, sempai." Feeling a bit better, Kyoko followed his example and stood. In her opinion, Tsuruga Ren really was the best sempai one could imagine, and even something akin to a true friend. Of course he would never hold a place in her heart like Moko-san did, but he was there all the same.
Strange how these things happen, she mused.
Only a short year ago she couldn't stand him and now she relied so much on his opinion and advice. So far he had never let her down. Also, he was always honest with her, and he would scold her when she deserved it and not beat around the bush. Very few people could do that and still raise her spirits instead of crushing them completely.
But what was even more important was his willingness to let her talk and rant if she needed to. Even Moko-san would be annoyed more often than not when Kyoko wanted to rave about something. Tsuruga Ren truly had the patience of a saint when it came to her. And when she was done he would say his piece and she would inevitably feel better, almost as if she had spoken her sorrows to her Corn stone.
She shuddered when she caught the implications of her mind's ramblings. Now that was a spooky thought!
Determined, she pushed these alarming things into the back of her mind and slipped into Mio-mode. Feelings and thoughts that were not her own flooded her mind and pushed everything else away.
For the moment Tsuruga Ren, Corn and any other person in Mogami Kyoko's life were forgotten, and they would only be remembered when the clapper board sounded.
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Coming to Maeda-sensei's dojo was like a trip into a time bubble. Time seemed to flow differently here, more smoothly and without the usual hectic influences of city life. After one week of training Kyoko was still the only client and she enjoyed the solitude and Maeda-sensei's lessons.
Since it was still very hot she couldn't do much more than easy muscle exercises and workout for a better condition but she didn't mind. Maeda-san had even encouraged her little lessons with his wife to pass the time.
"You stretch just fine under her guidance. Lord knows you need it," was his only comment. It was enough for Alimah to adopt Kyoko as her student and introduce her to oriental dancing for real.
"This is more fun than just running, yes?" Alimah asked, smiling. She had Kyoko use a hula hoop ring to loosen up her waist muscles and watched her efforts like a hawk.
"Yeah. As a child I could do this without problems," Kyoko replied, panting a bit. Today she could already spin the ring around a few times. The last times had been a complete disaster, so this was a definite improvement. "I don't know why I forgot, though. As a child, such things were much easier."
"It gets easier with time. Now change direction."
Kyoko did as she was told and tried to spin the ring without letting it fall immediately.
"You can learn at home, too." Alimah took a ring herself and started to spin it round her hips … and round and round and round. "Just pretend. Do it every night, a few minutes to the left and the right each, yes?"
"Okay."
Alimah let Kyoko try a few more minutes and then had her stretch carefully. After that she started another lesson of movements. She never asked too much of Kyoko but she seemed to know perfectly well how far she could push.
"It goes like this. Swing, swing, swing, swing." Alimah demonstrated and then directed Kyoko through her moves. "Slowly, like you want to paint an eight with your hip bone."
Following the dark voice, Kyoko again simply forgot the time. This was the third time that Alimah had worked with her and every time a few more minutes had passed. Even though it was hard work she had a lot of fun. Sure, the sore muscles (Most of them in places she hadn't even known existed!) were annoying but the stretching afterwards always felt wonderful.
After showering and dressing, she said her goodbyes and left for the Daruma-ya. For the next three days her schedule was packed with work for both Dark Moon and Box 'R so she couldn't come for her lessons, but she planned to do a few exercises at home before bed.
As she sped away from the dojo, she guiltily wondered if President Takarada would be mad at her for almost liking the dancing more than her assigned training.
End of Part III
