Chapter 4: A Perfect Proposal Part 1
By the time Saturday arrived, Kyoko was feeling very concerned. It seemed like everyone around her was acting strange. Ren was always busy, yet Yashiro claimed to know nothing about what was keeping him so busy. Kanae had been jumpy, when asked for advice. Maria had been avoiding her. And the President had been… actually he had been pretty normal. Kyoko had even noticed that Sho seemed a bit more grumpy than usual, but when she asked what was wrong, he only responded with "just work stuff."
Saturday evening found Kyoko and Ren relaxing in front of the television. It was on some variety show that Ren wasn't really watching. He cleared his throat and Kyoko looked at him. She paused the show and turned her attention to her boyfriend.
"Everything okay?" she asked.
Ren nodded. "I was just thinking of something. How would you feel about going on a day trip to Kyoto?"
Kyoko raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Kyoto? That's pretty sudden. When did you want to go?"
"How about tomorrow?"
Kyoko stared at him. "T-tomorrow? But that's such short notice."
Ren laughed as he took hold of Kyoko's hand. "It's just a day trip. You don't need to pack or anything."
She nodded, "I guess you're right. When would we leave though?"
Ren smirked in a way that made Kyoko regret agreeing to go.
"Kyoko… Kyoko, wake up…"
Kyoko rolled over in her sleep trying to block out the voice calling to her. I don't want to wake up.
Ren chuckled. "I'm sorry. But you have to if we are going to spend the whole day in Kyoto."
Kyoko opened her eyes. "Did I say that out loud?" she mumbled.
Leaning down, Ren kissed her lips before getting off the bed. "Hurry and get dressed. You can sleep in the car."
She sat up and glanced around. "It's still dark outside. What time is it?"
From the closet, she heard Ren's voice. "It's 3AM. I told you we would need to leave early."
She groaned and threw herself back onto the bed. Why does my boyfriend have to be crazy?
As they climbed into Ren's car, Kyoko shot a glare at him. "You know, just because you don't need sleep, doesn't mean other people don't."
Ren laughed at her attitude. He was fairly certain she wouldn't regret this trip by the end of it.
Thirty minutes into their five hour drive, Kyoko was asleep. Ren watched her out of his peripheral. Dozens of memories crossed his mind. Memories of meeting her that first day in the lobby of LME.
Back then, I never would've thought she could become such an amazing actor. And I would've never imagined that I'd fall in love with her.
He remembered when she had taken care of him that first time he had ever caught a cold. He stifled a laugh at the thought of what he had put her through. Glancing at her as he was stopped at a light, he reached out a hand and tousled her light brown hair.
"I really hope you'll say yes." He whispered. "I don't know what I'll do if you don't."
By the time they arrived in Kyoto, it was nearly eight-thirty in the morning. Kyoko had woken up an hour before and she and Ren were talking about what to do while in Kyoto. Now that she was well-rested, Kyoko was much happier about their sudden trip.
"Well, I guess we should get breakfast first." Kyoko suggested.
Ren smiled, "Any place you'd suggest? You know the area better than I do."
She nodded. "Um, well there's a bakery that sells some delicious breads and cakes. We could go there. They have a restaurant."
"That sounds perfect."
Ren followed Kyoko's directions and they soon arrived in front of a large bakery/restaurant. He parked on the street and helped Kyoko out of the car. Once seated inside, they ordered their drinks. A coffee for Ren and an iced coffee for Kyoko.
"There's even more choices than the last time I was here." Kyoko said excitedly as she read through the menu.
Ren glanced at her from over his menu. "Did you eat here often when you lived in Kyoto?"
She shook her head. "No, I've never actually eaten here. I came here every week though to buy some bread for the inn." She looked as if her thoughts were very far away. "I've always wanted to eat here though."
He reached out a hand and touched Kyoko's. "Then order anything you want. And we can order some extra bread to take home."
Kyoko shook her head. "You really don't have to do that. Eating here today is good enough."
Ren couldn't help but roll his eyes. "I haven't gotten to spoil you in a while. Let me enjoy myself."
She blushed as she nodded in agreement. "All right, we can take a little bit home."
After breakfast, they placed three loaves of specialty bread in the car. Then the pair began to walk through town, window shopping at all the stores Kyoko remembered but had never gotten to really experience.
As they walked, Kyoko looked into the window of a high fashion store. In the display sat a perfume bottle that had a little figure of a ballerina on top. The card in front of it read "Swan Lake".
"That is so beautiful," Kyoko barely breathed the words, but Ren heard the desire in her voice.
"Let's look inside," he suggested, innocently.
Kyoko followed him into the small shop nervously. Even now that she was a somewhat famous actress, she didn't feel important enough to be shopping in a store like this. Especially with The Ren Tsuruga standing next to her.
Ren approached an employee while Kyoko wandered through, admiring the fancy clothes. A few moments later, an employee approached her.
"Hello, Miss. Can I help you find anything?" the girl asked.
Kyoko shook her head. "Oh, thank you. I'm just looking around. My boyfriend came in to look at something."
The girl smiled and went to step away but then she stopped. Her eyes went wide as she stared at Kyoko. "A-Are you Kyoko-san? The actress from Keishi? And Dark Moon?"
A blush colored Kyoko's cheeks. "Um, yes. I am."
"Oh my gosh! Can I get your autograph? I'll go get a paper or something." Before Kyoko could respond the girl ran off.
After the girl had disappeared, Ren returned to Kyoko's side carrying a small shopping bag. "You ready?" he asked.
She shook her head. "One of the employees… she asked for my autograph." Kyoko was in shock. This was the first time she had been recognized in public by someone who wasn't famous.
Ren chuckled at her shocked expression. "Well, that will happen more often now. You are becoming more and more famous."
Kyoko blushed. Just then, the girl returned carrying a notepad and a pen. "I'm sorry, this was all I could find-" the girl froze when she spotted Ren. Apparently it hadn't occurred to her who Kyoko's boyfriend was. She blushed dark as her eyes dropped to stare at the floor. "Tsuruga Ren is here too?" the girl chanced a glance at the tall actor. "Could I get your autograph too?"
Ren flashed her a charming smile. "I'd be happy to."
The girl handed the notepad to Kyoko first who signed it before handing it to Ren. Once she had both autographs she skipped away, excitedly.
Outside of the store, Kyoko giggled. "That was really fun!"
Ren reached out to touch Kyoko's hair. "You're very cute when you get excited."
Kyoko blushed at his compliment, then her eyes caught sight of the shopping bag again. "What did you buy?"
He held it out to her. "Why don't you look?" he offered.
She carefully took the bag and peeked inside. She gasped when she saw the contents. "Ren! You didn't have to buy me it. It must've cost a lot of money." She held up the beautiful Swan Lake perfume from the window display.
Ren leaned down and kissed her cheek. "I know. But I wanted to see the look on your face if I did." He laughed as her shock turned into a pout. "If you want it to be worth my money, you'll just have to be sure to wear it."
She placed the perfume back in the bag. "Fine. But only for special occasions. It's too special to be worn every day."
They continued walking around for a while longer before deciding to stop for lunch. The pair entered a small café and bought some sandwiches before heading back outside to find a place to sit. After a couple of minutes walk, Kyoko spotted a large fountain. "Let's go sit over there," she said leading Ren along.
As they sat eating their sandwiches, Kyoko turned to Ren. "Why did you suddenly decide we should come here?" she asked.
"I just thought that you might miss the place you grew up. And I figured it was a good opportunity to learn more about you." He answered honestly.
Kyoko blushed. "There isn't much that's interesting about me."
Ren leaned in closer, "I think everything about you is interesting."
Kyoko blushed darker and looked away. "All right, then what do you want to know?"
He smiled triumphantly. "Anything. What was it like growing up in Kyoto? Aside from the one visit, I never came here until now."
He watched Kyoko shrug. "Most of my childhood was at the inn with Sho's family. My mom didn't have time to take care of me so she sent me to live with them for long periods of time. I mostly helped out, learning everything there was to learn about running the inn." She stared down at her hands. "The only times that we really came into the city were the special shopping trips his mom took us on once a week."
Ren was surprised. He had never really thought of Kyoko spending all her time at the inn. "From the sound of it, you didn't have much of a childhood." He commented softly.
Kyoko looked at him but forced a smile. "It wasn't so bad. At least I wasn't alone. I had people who looked after me. And I had you. For those few days. I had a little boy who made me believe in everything all over again."
Ren watched Kyoko's smile turn genuine and restrained himself from embracing her in public. The way her eyes lit up when she talked about him made his heart skip.
They soon finished their lunch and continued walking. By three o'clock, they both were carrying ice cream cones and Ren was carrying another shopping bag that held a pair of decorated sandals. Kyoko had asked him not to keep buying her things so the sandals had been their compromise.
They passed by a small pet shop that had several adorable puppies playing near the window. Kyoko and Ren peered in at them. "It makes me want one." Ren admitted. He pointed to a white one with a black ear. "That one's cute."
Kyoko laughed and shook her head at him. "How would we ever take care of a pet? We both work too much." She reminded him.
Ren sighed as they continued walking. "I guess you're right. Maybe some day though." He took a bite of his ice cream cone. "What do you want to do now?"
Kyoko looked thoughtful. "Do you think maybe…" she trailed off uncertainly.
"What is it?"
"I'd feel bad if I didn't stop in to see Sho's parents. Especially since they came to see me last year." Kyoko finally said. She watched Ren's face, trying to gauge his reaction.
After a moment, he nodded. "I think you're right. It would be rude not to stop in while we are here."
Kyoko released the breath she'd been holding.
"What?" Ren laughed, "Did you think I'd say 'no'?"
Kyoko smiled. "Honestly, yes."
As they drove to the Fuwa's inn, Ren hoped he wouldn't regret agreeing to it. He had said yes because it got them closer to his final destination, but if things became awkward or turned disastrous as a result of the visit, it would ruin everything.
When he pulled up in front of the inn, Kyoko stepped out and took in the scenery. It was as beautiful as she had remembered it. A tiny pang of sadness hit her as she realized this had all almost been hers. They had offered to take her in still. But she pushed away that thought and focused on Ren. The second half of the reason she had refused, the first being her love of acting.
"Shall we go in?" Ren asked her.
Kyoko nodded and took his hand as they headed inside.
A/N: Hi everyone! First, I am so sorry for the delay. I started writing this chapter completely different ajd had 1300 words before i realized it wasnt working. So i erased it all and started over. Im hoping to post part 2 of this chapter tomorrow night so be on the lookout. :) thank you for faithfully rreading my stories and i hope you all enjoyed the first half of this.
