Chapter 2
Acknowledgments: Jhiz for soundboarding and Runadaemon for marathon soundboard and beta-reading.
I don't own Skip Beat.
"Here you go, nii-san," Setsuka handed Cain his mug of coffee before settling down for breakfast. "Please eat breakfast while you're doing that."
"Thank you, Setsu." He answered without turning his attention away from the script he was reading, but obediently reached out for a slice of toast. Even though BJ doesn't have any lines, it was still important to know his cues and where he will need to move so he could improvise properly. Setsuka left him alone and turned to the newspapers and other mail that the hotel staff delivered earlier.
President Takarada mentioned that he would send some necessities for their other work through the hotel mail since neither of them would have a reason to stop in LME for the next few days.
She sifted through the pile. She opened an unlabelled manila envelope and found a script of Box "R" for the next episode. She laid it down on the table and proceeded to opened another envelope and saw some paperwork for Tsuruga-san, which made her uneasy because those were meant to be his private documents. If she let her eyes rove over it, she would see just how much he'd be making for a commercial he's due to shoot in a few days.
"This is for you, Tsuruga-san," She laid the contract near him, distinguishing items meant for Tsuruga Ren from the ones for Cain Heel. Things like contracts had to be sent back to the office as soon as possible and it would be a waste of time dilly-dallying on their characters to work that conversation.
Without missing a beat, Tsuruga-san turned to the paperwork and said, "Thank you, Mogami-san." He turned it over and started reading through it so they could leave it at the front desk for an LME courier before they headed for the Tragic Marker shoot.
In another envelope was a weekly celebrity magazine. She raised an eyebrow and took it out. She doesn't read them, and she was sure Tsuruga-san didn't either. It had never been part of the daily delivery before, so it was strange.
She scanned the cover and found one of the features for the issue was exclusive pictures from the Dark Moon Send-Off Party. She started flipping through the pages and smiled at the pictures of the cast and crew.
"Look, Tsuruga-san," She held up the publication to show him. "Some of the pictures from the party!"
Tsuruga-san raised his head a bit in her direction, quickly scanned the glossy pages and said a quick "Oh, that's nice" before turning his attention back to the contract he was going through.
Kyoko suddenly felt a little foolish for being overly enthusiastic about it. Of course Tsuruga-san was sure to have been in many magazines before - even ones that featured him alone.
Well, she thought, feeling kind of indignant. She was a newbie so being featured on a publication was still quite a big thing for her. It was pretty nice of the President to send this. Pouting slightly, she rested her chin on her hand as she flipped to the next page.
"Ah!" she perked up at the next page. Now she knew the real reason why the President sent the magazine. Again, she raised the magazine to her senpai and happily smiled. "Tsuruga-san, you're at number one again."
This time, he didn't even raise his head! He just gave the weekly poll a quick sideways glance and said, "That's good."
What the hell? Kyko puffed her cheeks in annoyance that he didn't even react. Then again, she should know by now that this was because she was now acting as Kyoko. The one who commanded his attention was Setsuka Heel. Anyway, he's always been in number one so that probably wasn't even news for him. Maybe the big surprise would be if he wasn't.
She put the magazine back down on the table, then jumped when Tsuruga-san suddenly raised his head and turned to her.
"You're in number 10," he suddenly said.
"Huh?" she asked cluelessly. "What do you mean?"
Tsuruga-san stretched his arm and pointed at the thing that she didn't read - the female popularity poll. "You're at number 10 in the overall female popularity poll, Mogami-san."
She heard the words, but it hadn't sunk it. She was blankly looking at the name Tsuruga-san was pointing to until she could focus on it better.
"Eeeh?" She half-rose from her sitting position. "What? Why?" Dark Moon just ended, and sure, Box "R" has already been doing promotions for the spring season show but she hadn't done anything that would warrant her a place in the ranking! She simply just wasn't that popular. And this just wasn't any magazine... There are several publications which creates their own polls, but this one has a nationwide scope!
Tsuruga-san smiled and answered, "The poll's cut off was probably the day the special aired or the day after."
"Eh?" She confusedly looked at him.
"You could have probably gotten a much higher ranking if the cut-off was later."
"Wh-what do you mean?" she exclaimed.
He turned to her with a quizzical look and asked, "Why are you so stunned by it? You were very beautiful during the party and it really got you the attention of a lot of people."
She suddenly froze at the comment he gave. He thought she was beautiful the day of the party? Was that his own opinion or just a repetition of the seemingly-endless compliments she received in the days after the party? Either way, it simultaneously unlocked every single lock inside her heart and the clicking echoed in her ears.
Kyoko panicked and thought of what she could do. She wanted to get back into the character of Setsuka but she was kind of busy putting back and fortifying the locks again.
Now she finally understood why she never wanted to hear those kinds of words from him. With other people, she always believed it had something to do with her belief that the Princess Rosa was rubbing off on her. With Tsuruga-san, she just believed it. She believed it, until she lets her rational thinking take over. But now that she thought about it, why would he say something like that? He was obviously displeased about the way she was fixed up and acted the night of the party. So much so that an esteemed senpai from their agency thought what she was doing was an embarrassment.
Now he was giving her comments like that?
Why doesn't he just give her senpai advice like he always does? It was always helpful, and became quite a big factor on the decisions she would make in her career. Now he was giving her off-hand compliments that caused her locks to come undone for the second time in two days.
It was just annoying.
Ren looked at Mogami-san and waited for some kind of reaction from her... because she always has a reaction for anything.
Anyway, it's not like it was much of a surprise.
"Well," she let out a small smile. "If I was really like that the night of the Dark Moon party, I know that I owe it all to Kijima-san."
"Kijima?" Ren's spirits drooped and he let out a slight frown.
"Of course!" Mogami-san nodded. "I'll have you know, if it wasn't for him, I would have worn my school uniform to the party."
"Eh?" Ren looked at her, slightly dumbstruck. "Your school uniform... Why?"
"Why not?" she asked defensively. "A school uniform is a perfectly appropriate outfit to a formal occasion. Sawara-san said that it's no problem if I attended in it."
It was acceptable, but "Not if you're an actress, Mogami-san," Ren answered.
"Eh?"
"Mogami-san," Ren sighed, putting on his wise-senpai hat because the situation called for it. "Remember what I told you the night you camped out my apartment in the middle of winter because you needed help with Natsu?"
"Yes," she nodded. "Everything you taught me that night was patterned after the most beautiful model in the world."
"N-no... that's not it," Ren rewound and said, "I told you that because you are a celebrity, you shouldn't be running around all by yourself so much. Considering the kind of popularity that you acquired now, if they saw you in your school uniform, they'll know what school you go to and they may start to follow you around. Then, I wouldn't know what to do with you..." Well, he was happy for her because popularity is very important to a celebrity.
"Eh?" she looked alarmed. "I'm sorry!" Then despair shadowed her face. "You're right! I can't stand out too much right now. They might get so far as discovering you play Cain Heel if I make a wrong move!"
"No, Mogami-san," Ren raised his hand. "That's not what I mean." He didn't have any doubt about her ability to act. She was a chameleon-like actress where all the characters she played are different from each other. His statement was actually taken completely out of context.
She stopped freaking out and let her shoulders sag. "I really did something that caught myself and LME unwanted attention, didn't I?"
"No..." Ren shook his head. Oh God... now everything he said was biting him back. He really did think she was very beautiful the night of the party, and this definitely was not unwanted attention. He just couldn't get himself to say it because of who she was with and that the makeover was all thanks to Kijima-san. "You didn't."
She straightened up from her crouching and asked, "I didn't?"
"No."
Mogami-san let out a faint, relieved smile. "Well," she shrugged. "I guess I shouldn't really get too excited. This fluke only happened because I was interviewed alongside you. There's no way this could have happened just because I put on a dress. I'll probably be out by next week."
"What are you talking about?" he frowned. True, Dark Moon has ended and Box "R" wasn't due to start until the spring, but it's not like she didn't have fans, he thought as he recalled that guy from Okinawa who thought she was cute. "Why do you want yourself to be taken out?"
"I-I don't!" she exclaimed. Suddenly flustered, she stammered, "I mean... I don't, but..."
Ren let out a small smile. She was trying so hard not to be so excited about the whole thing. He could tell that she was. He knew that she still believed that she wasn't someone who deserved to be there. But she had the talent, and from the party, she now had the 'look'. "Well, whether you want to or not, as a celebrity, you just have to use this momentum and make it go on. Opportunities like this do not come easily."
"Yes! Yes!" she nodded her head profusely. "I will." Then she jumped when her phone rang.
Bridge Rock was waiting for their manager to finish talking to one of Sawara-san's assistants before heading to their first interview for the day.
Hikaru however, had something else on his mind. It was actually proposed by one of the talents from the department and he and the guys readily agreed. It was a great idea. However, a lot of them were very busy- most, if not all, were willing to contribute money or bring food and drink, but not the time to organize everything and everyone.
Actually, he and the guys were the same. Then earlier, he bumped into some of the talents and a lot of them commented how no one was coordinating the whole thing, and they were worried that nothing will be done. Sawara-san's 43rd birthday might end up being in the Talent Section office with documents from the shredder for decorations and whatever was left from L.A. Hearts for food, and nobody wanted that.
Hikaru slid his eyes towards Sawara-san and found him on the phone.
"...I know you've already been to Japonet Scoop, Mogami-kun," Sawara-san answered. "But considering that you don't have any work other than the two shows you're currently working on and your Love Me tasks, it's the perfect opportunity to keep yourself in the spotlight and you can also use it to promote Box 'R'."
Kyoko-chan! Hikaru thought. True, she was more of a Love Me Section member than of the Talent Section, but all her work comes from Sawara-san. And she did have the free time... she could help with organizing it... Did she even know about the party?
"OK," Sawara-san nodded. "Japonet Scoop will shoot tomorrow afternoon... At 5 o'clock. There's no conflict with your work, is it?..." He paused. "OK, I will contact them. ... Alright, have a good day."
Hikaru turned to Shin'ichi and Yuusei and whispered, "How about we get Kyoko-chan to help organize the party? I mean, she isn't really doing anything other than Kimagure Rock and Box 'R', right?"
"Dude," Yuusei whispered. "She got into number 10 in the popularity charts this week. LME will likely try to get her a slot for a lot of interviews and appearance. She'll probably be a lot busier than you would think."
"Well, it's not like anyone will know unless someone asks her," Shin'ichi countered. "It's not like you're willing to be the organizer, Yuusei. Kyoko-chan throws great parties, remember the Happy Grateful Party? Everyone knows that it was organized by just her and Maria-chan." Then he grinned at Hikaru and said, "Go ahead, leader. Ask her."
He has always regretted that he commented to the guys that he thought Kyoko-chan was cute, a long time ago, around the first few weeks of Kimagure Rock. The guys - specifically Shin'ichi - have become his biggest helpers and hinderers.
"You guys ready?" Toyokawa-san asked when he appeared in front of them.
The four of them filed out of the Talent Section, and once there, Hikaru pulled out his cell phone and scrolled through the phone book to find Kyoko-chan's number.
She answered after three rings. "Hello? This is Mogami."
"Kyoko-chan?" he smiled.
"Hikaru-san! Good morning!"
"'Morning. Listen...I have a favor to ask you..." When the guys grinned widely at him, he added, "Sort of like a Love Me task."
"Sure," she answered almost immediately. "How can I help you?"
"You know that Sawara-san's birthday's coming up, right?"
"Yes, on the tenth of March," she answered.
"Eh? Someone already asked you?"
"Asked me what?" Kyoko-chan answered in a clueless tone. "No, I got that info when I was trying to get into LME."
"Eh?" That was... stange. And a little scary. Before she got into LME? It wasn't like Sawara-san was a celebrity, where that kind of information is announced. "Anyway," he shook his head. "The talents want to throw him a surprise birthday party..."
"That's nice..." she commented.
"Yeah, you're invited of course," he said. "Everyone's willing to pitch in food, drinks, decors, presents, but we're a bit lacking in the coordinating side... Everyone wants to help, but no one is free. Anyway, since you did such a great job at that party last Christmas, I'm just wondering if you'd be able to help with that..."
There was silence on the other line.
This was not looking good, Hikaru thought with his stomach sinking. "I mean, only if you have the time. Otherwise, we could always ask another person from the Love Me Section-"
"No!" Kyoko-chan exclaimed. "I'll help! it's an important occasion, why shouldn't I? If it's just organizing everything together, I'd be happy to do it."
"Great!" Hikaru exclaimed happily. "Um... I'll talk to some of the people from the Talent Section to let them know that you can help coordinate and I'll get back to you."
"Alright," Mogami-san answered enthusiastically. "Please keep me posted, okay Hikaru-san?"
Ren watched Mogami-san curiously as she ended the conversation with someone she referred to as Hikaru-san. He knew a lot of Hikarus, but which one and why was he talking to her?
"What was that all about?" Ren asked as she plopped back on the table.
"Well, I got a spot in Japonet Scoop for their 'In The Scene Scoop' segment again," she answered, smiling.
Japonet Scoop is a trends show that features several upcoming stars, movies, music, and everything that had anything to do with the entertainment industry. Ren has been there several times, especially when a drama or movie he worked on became really popular. At least, Japonet Scoop would only tape segments of the show, which is less preparation time compared to sitting through and entire half-hour or so of an entire show. Cain Heel's schedule was a little tight for the next few days.
"That's nice," he smiled, remembering the conversation they just had. She was at number 10 - there was no way LME would ever let something like that pass for any of their celebrities. "And what about the other call?"
"Eh?" She looked at him questioningly.
Ren worried that he may have been intruding on personal business and it would look like he was prying so he added, "Well... you said that you were going to work on something and I'm wondering if this might be hard on our schedule..." They'd already ironed out their schedules to integrate their other work, but because of this unprecedented event in Mogami-san's career, they may have to sit down to discuss the schedule again.
"Ah, Sawara-san's birthday is coming up," she answered. "The talents are chipping in for a surprise party."
"Oh, that's really nice of everyone," he smiled. Was it almost March already?
"Anyway, everyone's busy so it's sort of a Love Me task to organize everyone," she explained. "Nothing big that will distract the schedule. I may have to meet with Hikaru-san or some of the other talents to talk about it, but I'll try to squeeze it in on my free time. Maybe I can even do that over the phone."
"Oh, OK." Nothing highly irregular, Ren thought.
"I'm sorry," she apologized meekly. "I know that I could have refused because I have the Setsu work, but it would be suspicious because Hikaru-san is kind of a friend of mine so it would sound strange if I told him I was going to be busy with work when I should only have Box 'R' and-."
"Don't worry about it," Ren cut her off. Mogami-san was a member of the Love Me Section so it was natural that she gets assigned tasks. Also, she loved parties and was great at organizing them. Not to mention, Sawara-san was a friend of his. The head of the Talent Section often complained how he has a seemingly thankless job. "I'm sure Sawara-san will appreciate what everyone in the Talent Section is doing for him. I'm sure that with you organizing it, Sawara-san will be really touched and happy."
Again, Mogami-san looked at him, slightly confused. Ren just smiled resignedly, knowing that Mogami-san was never the type to take compliments well. Ever. That happened just earlier when he complimented that she looked beautiful at the party.
"Anyway," Mogami-san looked down at her phone and checked the time. "We should finish breakfast. I know that we're scheduled to be late again, but we don't want to be that late."
Ren looked down at the clock of her phone and saw the time. "You're right!" He quickly reached for the envelope where the contract came from, signed it, and placed the document back into the envelope.
"But you should finish your breakfast," she instructed.
Ren quickly switched back to the Cain Heel character, reached out and pinched her cheek. "Of course, I'll finish it. My little sister will never let me hear the end of it if I don't."
The shoot ended late in the afternoon.
The last scene involved BJ cornering Manaka-san's character. He chased her around, forcing blood-curdling screams out of her with his vicious murderous aura before she managed to get away at the last moment. Everyone in the cast and crew were holding their breath, rooting for Manaka-chan to actually get away from BJ.
Taira watched the scene from the side, half-impressed that despite being late yet again for the shoot, Cain Heel managed to pull off the scenes without any NGs caused by him. Yet the other half of him was annoyed because despite his handicap of language barriers and what-not, he was very, very good.
"Are you alright, Manaka-chan?" he asked the lead actress as she walked towards him with her knees shaking.
"Yes," Manaka-chan nodded. She took a deep breath and exclaimed, "I was really scared!" Then she let out a nervous laugh. "At least tomorrow I don't have to be on the shoot."
"Oh yeah," Taira remembered. "You have an interview tomorrow to promote the movie, right?" Now that they were getting closer to completing the movie, the rounds of promotions were starting. Mostly for him and Manaka-chan. Not so much on the rest of the cast and none for Heel-san, who was being used for his dark and mysterious nature.
"Yes, three of them," she cupped her cheeks and said, "I'm kinda nervous. This is the first time I'll be interviewed as a lead actress in a movie." Then she let out a smile and looked up at him. "You also have interviews tomorrow."
"Just one for Japonet Scoop," Taira shrugged. Unlike Manaka-san, he still had to show up for the shoot in the morning. "Anyway, time for some Murasame blood. You want anything?"
"Oh!" she smiled. "Orange juice please. But I don't have my wallet. It's in the dressing room..."
"Don't worry about it," he answered, staring to move away. "You get it the next time, okay?"
"Alright!" Manaka-san let out an adorable smile. "Deal! Thank you!"
Taira moved out of the shooting area into the hallway where the vending machines were. On his way, he crossed paths with Cain Heel's sister who was heading back from where she came. She walked past him without any kind of acknowledgment of his presence.
Taira felt a little slighted. He did like her - a little - and he wasn't really used to being ignored. He turned around, saw her retreating back and called out to her, "Hey."
OK, he thought. This was like the start of the conversation they had yesterday. What the heck was he doing calling out to her as though he didn't know her name. And anyway, even though they were alone again in the hallway, she didn't even seem to notice what he just said.
"Setsu-san!" he said in a firm voice. Now that he'd already called out, he wondered why he bothered. He really didn't have anything to say to her, he just didn't like not being acknowledged. Then he got the funny feeling that he was acting like a childish, clumsy lovestruck boy. It couldn't be. He just met her and the only things he knew about her was that she was cute and had a scary older brother.
She stopped in her tracks, and Taira straightened up, surprised that he managed to get her attention.
His astonishment grew hopeful as she slowly turned around to face him.
However, she was glaring at him when she said, "Don't address me like we're buddies or something."
Eh? Too much? "I would also call you Heel-san, but that would be confusing because people call Heel-san that."
"Well then, you could just think that he and I make up one person." And with that, she turned and left.
Reino was seated in a waiting room with Vie Ghoul, waiting for their turn in Music Heaven.
There were some delays on the shoot and Reino got bored. He resorted to reaching for a magazine that Kiyora was leafing through earlier and opened it without preamble. When he got to the page where the pictures of the Dark Moon Party were, he scanned it to look for the picture of the scary girl with the scar he adored.
His eyes widened at the picture with Kyoko, looking so... so...
"What the hell is this?"
Chapter Notes:
Cain Heel was due on the set of Tragic Marker on the last week of February according to Act 123 of the manga.
Sawara Takenori's birthday is March 10th.
I'm not really sure what the format of Japonet Scoop is like, but for some reason, my brain has it somewhat in the format of J-Melo from NHK. It's not a variety show where there's a panel of celebrities lined up together, but as a segment-by-segment show of pre-recorded interviews. Not sure, but I don't think it's totally inconceivable. Well, I hope.
Next chapter: Akazame.
