'Skip Beat!' and its original characters are the property of none other than the marvelous Yoshiki Nakamura.
Chapter 7: Trials of Patience and Pouncing Tigers
Now, Mary was a writer, so she could create characters…but she didn't have the ability to cast herself aside and live as them. It was a talent that she really admired in actors.
As she watched Rina Kaminari's dance class that afternoon, she found herself thinking that Kyoko Mogami was just the sort of actress she loved working with the most. Though she apparently left the studio under the false impression that she didn't get the part, here she was, living as Kaya in her own everyday life. It almost brought tears of joy to Mary's eyes.
This girl might love her character as much as she did.
"She's an odd one, isn't she?"
Mary nearly jumped out of her skin as she spun to glare at LME's famous green-eyed dance instructor.
"Rina—you scared me!"
"That's what you get for skulking around," the older woman replied sternly, joining Mary at the giant one-way window that looked from the dance office into the studio. "Why are you here, Mary?"
She caught the disapproval in Rina's voice and frowned. "You're mad at me, too?"
Rina lifted a disdainful graying brow "Should I be? You know I hate favoritism."
"Yeah, yeah…" Mary rolled her eyes, adjusting the strap of her new satchel as she transferred her weight to another foot "…I tell Mundy the same thing all the time, and he doesn't believe me, either."
Rina snorted. Mary smiled.
"Do you think she has promise?"
"She has an impressive imagination and knack for absorbing physical data—as well as being a determined perfectionist," Rina answered, her sharp gaze warm with approval, but narrowed a bit in wry concern "I'd say she's promising enough to spoil my trainee."
Mary blinked and bounced happily on the balls of her feet. "That's really something, coming from a dancing demon like you."
Rina shrugged gracefully. "Acting often attracts people with a high awareness of themselves and their bodies—it isn't that abnormal … … Though, with her learning speed, and the way she brings her character into the classroom, she reminds me a lot of Hizuri."
Mary's eyes widened slightly. The significance of the comparison was not lost on her—she and Mundy had worked with Kuu Hizuri a little in America, so Mary had a healthy admiration and respect for the man…and Rina was most famous for having taught him to dance for his performances in 'Savanah Starlight' twenty years ago.
They watched the child in companionable silence as the young woman with her—the aforementioned 'trainee' she imagined…a tall girl with short, black hair that framed her face prettily and dark eyes—demonstrated a series of simple controlled movements, which Kyouko imitated almost perfectly on the first try, Kaya's own distinct poise coming through strongly. The young woman nodded sharply in approval, correcting a few things that were out of line in the technique, and led Kyouko through the movement again. This time the two moved in perfect synchronization.
Kaya's eyes (and Mary knew it was Kaya) were as intense as she had ever seen them, lit with contained inner fire as she moved. The blind, unfocused aspect of the gaze only served to accentuate the feeling, making you feel as if part of her were not really quite here with you; but instead lost in another dimension of grace and power… Though her movements were still characterized by that special gentleness, you got the feeling from the precision and focus of them that there was something wild hidden underneath that was being restrained. It was exactly as Kaya should be while she danced—hinting at the strength, passion, and potential for violence that she usually kept so well hidden in everything else she did.
It gave Mary goose-bumps. Seeing this, she wished that they had allowed Kyouko to complete the second half of the interview. If she was like this doing simple exercises, what would she be like when she actually performed something?
"…So you know she's in character?" Mary asked, hoping to distract herself from her own impatience as she shifted her weight again. Rina's look of elegant distain was enough for her to forget about it for a bit. She lifted her hands up in a small gesture of mock surrender and laughed. "Alright—that was a stupid question."
"I'm glad you can see that." Rina said dryly. They watched Kyouko go through the newly mastered movements on her own before she spoke again "…She usually practices with a blindfold on during the last half hour of class. She was starting to make some good progress with it—"
"She got the part."
Rina turned to eye her narrowly. "Then what were the hysterics about?"
"Apparently there was a misunderstanding."
"Hm." She stared at Mary for another long moment. "I trust you'll clear that up properly."
"That's why I'm here."
"Good," Rina nodded sharply and turned away from the window, headed for her desk. "What kind of dancing does this new series of yours involve?"
Mary followed behind her, glad to have something to distract herself from her itchy disruptive impulses. "A little bit of everything—traditional dances, a good bit of ballroom, a freestyle that's a bit of a mix between modern dance and rhythmic gymnastics, and even a little street and break dancing in some episodes…"
She fidgeted slightly as Rina took a seat and waited for Mary to continue. "…There will be a few scenes in the series where her dancing style becomes very … aggressive. We might be able to find a suitable stunt double for some of it, but…"
Rina nodded, taking a small stack of files from her cabinet. "I'll have Wakana put her through the diversity wringer once we've finished polishing her base, and she'll probably be more than happy to lend her assistance to whatever choreographers you'll have working with Mogami. In fact…once she hears about it, she might very well demand to be involved, by the looks of it."
Mary grinned, bouncing on the balls of her feet happily. She assumed this 'Wakana' was the tall girl working with Kyouko, and she was happy that the girl seemed to have Rina's approval as Kyouko's instructor—if Rina approved, then it meant that this 'Wakana' was serious about dancing and up to the task.
This is so exciting!
If they were alone, she might have done a victory dance, but she restrained herself admirably. "You really are the best, Rina."
Rina gave an exasperated snort and picked up her desk phone. "If you are hoping that I'll give you permission to interrupt my class, then you are wasting your time. If you can't wait patiently, go do something else to distract yourself."
Mary winced. Rina had seen right through her. She sighed, chuckling a little as she tugged off her hat and ran her fingers though her hair. That had been a rather vain hope. "Alright, alright… I'll be patient."
After a moment of thought, she settled into a chair along the wall behind Rina's desk and dug into her satchel for her sketchbook, turning to the section she'd dedicated to 'Kaya'. After seeing Kyouko's performance yesterday, she'd pulled out her drawings and made some revisions (along with all those notes in the middle of the night). She often found that sketching out her characters helped give her notes life. Seeing 'Kaya' in the flesh had a similar effect, and brought an even brighter clarity to her sketches as well.
As much as she trusted her own creative genius, she also trusted her ability to recognize good ideas from other sources. She wasn't particularly fond of small-talk, or crowds, but she found that brainstorming with the other artists involved (who shared her passion in bringing new characters and worlds to life) created an empowering and exciting synergic energy that was fun…and rather addictive.
She had the feeling that Kyouko was going to be one of the people that she'd be bouncing around ideas with a lot, and it really tickled her that it was the girl who'd be playing Kaya… Though Kaya wasn't the main character of the series, she was certainly a pivotal member of the main cast—as a member of the 'Department of Divide Management', and as a factor that influences the other characters.
For the most part, 'The Divide' would follow Agent Takeshi Kazuo and his new partner—who are assigned to form and head the new generation of a covert government agency (the 'DDM') after the previous generation was wiped out (ominous? yes). In the beginning, the brilliant Emiko Tatsuaki—Kazuo's new partner—seems to be adjusting well to their new work and very unperturbed in the face of the supernatural… that is, until she and Kazuo cross paths with Kaya and Aki in the middle of a job.
We learn shortly after the introduction of Kaya that she is Emiko's little sister, who mysteriously vanished—along with Emiko's terminal heart disease—eight years previous. It was a 'coincidence' that had haunted and driven Emiko ever since. She gave up her musical career (and the approval of her family) in favor of applying her considerable intelligence to researching and tracking supernatural disturbances, paying her bills with the money she earned writing articles on the supernatural for a small magazine, hoping that she'd eventually find her sister… By the time the government had recruited her as an agent, eight years later, she'd all but given up hope.
Through the complex and strained relationship between the sisters we (and Agent Kazuo) come to a much better understanding of what Emiko is really like under the armor she wears.
Also, Kaya's ambiguous, unclassified status between human and mythic, her gentle but determined nature, and her connection to a powerful immortal make her a useful ally for the DDM. She inadvertently ends up playing the role of mediator between humanity and the supernatural world often enough (and even more often between the members of the department itself) during the series to say she's the department's 'critical asset'.
And the relationship between her and the immortal 'Aki' was one that would begin looking fairly straightforward, but would be revealed over the course of the series to be quite the opposite… in what had the potential to be the most poignant and compelling romance Mundy and Mary had brought to life yet.
Yes—'Kaya' was certainly a big part of this project.
She sighed, flipping to the next page of her sketchbook. It was important that her relationship with Aki be misunderstood at first—so Aki would actually spend the majority of the time in the guise of a human child. Mary was pretty sure who she wanted to play his child form, too…but Aki's adult human form was proving to be much more elusive and frustrating…
She wanted someone with an almost overwhelming presence and a very strong scent of the otherworldly… someone who could convincingly play the part of a god that had been darkened by betrayal and labeled a demon by humanity.
The most likely of the candidates certainly had a bit of the 'otherworldly' about him, but whether he had the acting ability to express the emotional depth of such a powerful and misunderstood being with his heart in such fragile hands (both literally and figuratively) …and also keep pace with an actress like Kyouko…was yet to be determined. Mary had her doubts.
If she couldn't find a cast that could support each other in the needed ways to reach brilliance, she'd have to reign in the brilliance of those who could for the sake of those who couldn't—sacrificing the impact of individuals in order to preserve the artistic continuity and structural integrity of the whole project.
Since Mary really didn't want to have to do that, she'd have to be very thorough and selective in her search. Kyouko's intensity and ability to firmly grasp the supernatural aspect of her character had raised the bar, and now Mary had to find actors and actresses who could meet that new standard.
A flash of curiosity lifted Mary's head from the task of supervising her hand as it doodled a myriad of question marks on the blank page.
"Rina…" she turned in her seat to look at the elder woman, who was currently updating student records and notes, by the looks of it. "…What kind of impact has Kyouko-san's characterization had on your other students?"
Rina crisply tapped the papers in her hands on her desk to straighten them. "This has been the meekest beginner's class I've had in years."
"So…she has a calming influence on the other students?"
Rina's green eyes narrowed slightly as she stapled the packet "You could say that, yes—but I also think that many of them feel a little uneasy around her. With your creative mind I'm sure you'll have no trouble understanding why."
Mary pursed her lips in an effort to keep a rather evil grin from making an appearance. "She does give off the feel of something a touch unearthly, doesn't she?"
"That is one way to put it," Rina answered dryly, opening another drawer in her file cabinet to insert her newly updated file. "But, in another sense, Mogami's approach to her character's style of movement makes gives a very natural feel, though not particularly normal."
"Sort of animalistic?"
Rina paused briefly "… Yes… but it has a little more to it than just that."
"Elemental?"
Rina started scribbling something on a sticky note in another file "…Wakana has told me that Mogami pictures herself as a plant when she practices blind-folded, imagining that her connections to the ground are secured by roots. Apparently it gives her the confidence she needs to make progress with it."
…That's a rather interesting thought… Mary shifted in her seat a bit, and remembered something else.
"Rina—did Wakana-san happen to mention what Kyouko-san imagines when she's looking at people?"
Rina paused slightly in the reading of a form, her eyes taking on an amused glint. She knew what Mary was referring to. "She hasn't, but I'm certain it plays a factor in the discomfort the other students experience around her. As does her voice."
Mary nodded. Sasaki, their casting director, was generally a very composed and businesslike man—but he had been clearly flustered by Kyouko's interview, and had taken a while to get his usual composure back afterwards (as did many of the producers). Kyouko's 'Kaya' was open in her movement and expressions in a way that made the people around her feel like they were seeing a lot about her without her having to say a word—even though she was the one that could actually see into souls.
And when she did open her mouth, with that voice that was bizarrely gentle and almost hypnotic in resonance (almost like it emitted alpha waves or something)—combined with those disconcertingly tender eyes—you felt like she could say even the most confrontational, offensive things and still not come off as being confrontational or offensive.
Mary got giddy just thinking about it—a Kaya like that had so many possibilities!
"Class has ended, Mary—you can go talk to Mogami now."
Ren Tsuruga pocketed his keys as he climbed out of his car, looking around as he shut his door quietly. It was eight-thirty in the evening, and the parking garage was beginning to look a little sparse as more people started to trickle out. He heard Yashiro's door shut behind him.
"I have some paperwork and calls to make before I'm ready to head out." Yashiro said as he rounded the car, eyeing Ren with a speaking gaze as he stopped beside him. "Why don't you find ~something interesting~ to do around here while I finish those?"
Ren watched him scurry off with a lifted brow. His manager was really about as subtle as the President at times.
However—he had a point. Ren was finished putting this off, anyway.
He smiled with his usual gentlemanly charm as he made his way from the garage, through the lobby, and around a corner, greeting and nodding where he ought.
After yesterday's chat with The Chicken, which had allowed him a little much-needed unwinding (though it was at The Chicken's expense), he'd been better able to take an emotional step back and regain a little perspective.
This wasn't the first time that girl had blown things to absurd proportions—and she was humble enough to actually consider it if he told her she had done so… If he did it right, she'd eventually get angry and scold him for his so-called 'indecent playboy ways' and that would be that. They'd be back to where they were before. This was nothing to get depressed about.
He paused on the doorstep of the LoveME lounge.
…nothing to get depressed about…
Well… What more did he expect from her? That her allergy to everything love-related would take a hike and she would suddenly start asking herself the right questions about his behavior? Knowing her, she'd chop up his intentions neatly and chuck them in a meat grinder without even realizing what they were. She was good at that sort of blithe ignorance and misconstruction to the point of it being uncanny—allowing himself to harbor hopes where LoveME #1 was concerned was just asking to be merrily butchered.
Going back to the way they were before was better than where they were now, at least.
After a brief glance at the ceiling he knocked on the door.
There was no answer. He knocked again.
Though Ren knew Yashiro kept tabs on Mogami's schedule (he had to—that or he had a tracking device on her) it didn't necessarily mean that she had to be here. Schedules change, LoveME requests show up…
Ren let himself in, since the door was unlocked (He still had some time before Yashiro's excuses ran out, and it might keep Yashiro off his case for a bit if he saw that Ren had at least made an effort to see her)… and paused.
Mogami was sitting at the table in a pink chair, her back to him, posture as upright as ever…though it seemed a bit brittle to him for some reason.
Did she not hear my knock? It wouldn't be the first time. He dismissed the idea that she'd known it was him and had ignored it on purpose in hopes that he'd go away—that was just being paranoid.
"Mogami-san?"
She didn't run away, she didn't scream, she didn't cower or apologize, or even shiver—all things she had done before after he'd done something stupid ('honest' in Tsuruga speak). In fact… she didn't do anything. She hadn't even heard him.
He crossed over the threshold to the LoveME room and took a few silent steps toward her, leaning forward so that he could see her face.
She didn't look upset. Just… absent.
Even though he knew she'd probably not be happy to see him when she came back from wherever she was, he felt some of the tension that had slowly been coiling inside him all week gradually release at the sight of her …even though that sight wasn't particularly "pretty."
She'd cried at some point in the last twenty-four hours, probably some of it last night—the skin around her eyes was a bit inflamed, and there was a darker tint to it and a tiredness in them that suggested a lack of sleep. He wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but she looked a bit drawn and a little thinner, like she might have lost weight since he saw her last. Her clothes didn't really help much with that look—she was wearing a full-bodied black leotard and matching black sleeveless sweater, which paled out her skin a bit and certainly made her limbs look skinnier.
He supposed she still looked pretty, in a fragile sort of sense (aside from the puffy eyes). But it didn't look healthy, and it didn't look like Mogami, and that worried Ren.
I really hope this isn't my fault…
He frowned. As disheartening as it was, it wasn't very likely that Mogami thought about him enough while he wasn't around to look like this because of him. It had to be because of something that had happened after he saw her last.
He noticed that there was a thin booklet—a script, by the looks of it—on the table in front of her that her fingers were clinging to as her elbows hung off the table. He took a step closer to read what it said.
'The Divide'
Her fingers were covering what lay under the title, so he reached out and started sliding it out from under them so he could read the rest.
The movement seemed to jolt her from whatever world her mind had been wandering in, and she turned to look up at him blankly. He smiled, ready for the worst.
What he got was not what he had expected.
Her eyes locked on him and widened…and then brightened, as if she were actually glad to see him. He took a startled step back as she turned on him and leapt to her feet, her cheeks flushed, the script held up for him to see and given an emphatic shake as she literally glowed with excitement, voice giddy with laughter and a bit of joyful disbelief:
"I GOT THE PART!"
It was in moments like this that Ren was desperately grateful that he was an actor. For one, he managed not to look like a tiger had pounced on him out of nowhere, and two, he was able to keep himself from doing something very 'stupid' at the sight of her looking at him like that—as if there was no one she wanted to share this with more than him.
He didn't know what she was talking about, but she sure was happy about it, and it was doing catastrophic damage to his reasoning capabilities.
Her smile slowly faltered as she seemed to realize what she was doing, and his brain—which had momentarily gone on strike at the dangerous outburst—returned as he realized that she might not have really known it was him she was talking to…and that it was very likely that the reaction he had prepared for was going to happen now.
As he feared, she paled, her eyes widening in horror as the script in her hands slapped her in the face forcefully, making a rather belated attempt at gagging her.
It occurred to Ren that this expression was slightly off—rather than it being one of hopeless despair in the face of impending death, or even of mortification or awkwardness over what had happened between them, it looked more like the expectation of a disaster to come. As if she had just confessed some horrible secret that she expected him to go into a rage over.
"…Mogami-san…"
She flinched, eyes pinched shut, and lifted the script to hide the rest of her face—definitely guilty behavior. His eyes narrowed.
"…You were saying?" he prompted, his voice low and quiet.
Her small voice traveling out from behind the script "I…got the part… that I wanted?"
"What part, Mogami-san?" He clarified. Surely she wouldn't expect him to be unhappy with her getting more work, especially work she was excited about—it had to be an aspect of the work that he would not approve of…
She peeked up at him over the top of the script, her golden-brown eyes uncertain and a little guarded. "…Kaya?"
He lifted an expectant hand, into which she hesitantly placed the script before taking a rapid step back, as if she thought he might hit her over the head with it or something similar.
He pulled one of those plastic pink chairs out from the table and sat down, opening the script to leaf through it, wondering just what he had done to give her the impression that he was such a devil. Even if there was something here he wouldn't approve of, he would never hit her for it—he'd never hit a woman in his life, and it certainly wasn't a record he wanted to break with her of all people.
From first glance, he couldn't see anything to be unhappy about. In fact, it was quite the opposite—it was a great part in a work with a world-class director, a very popular writer, fantastic funding, and good producers. He looked up at her where she was sitting across from him, wringing her hands nervously. "Do you know anyone else in the cast?"
"…N-no—not yet, anyway—I'm supposed to meet some potentials this coming week at the first round of callbacks… Edmunds-sensei wants to see how well they respond to my 'Kaya'."
"You've already signed the contract? The part is yours?"
She nodded, her cheeks pinking happily, her eyes fairly glowing as she stared at the table, lips caught between her teeth in what appeared to be an effort to control her smile.
Ren was finding it a little difficult not to smile with her. She was clearly excited about the part, and her having the part given to her before the first callbacks, as well as them requesting that she aid them in the selection of the other cast members, was a sign that she had made a very favorable impression …but…
"Mogami-san… is there something you aren't telling me?"
Her expression went rigid, completely frozen as her entire frame stilled. He'd seen her do this before when she was rethinking what she had said, or trying to figure out what to do next… so the answer was obvious. There was something she wasn't telling him.
Not that he expected her to tell him everything…but if she was that afraid of him learning about it, then it either involved something dangerous, something immoral or immodest (both things she was very prone to feeling shame over), …or a certain musician.
He tried to reign in the anger that thought provoked. She had a knack for noticing the shifts in his temper, and he really didn't want to push her away right now.
In spite of his efforts, she flinched, burying her face in the hands folded on the table in front of her as she mumbled something into them.
He frowned. It didn't make sense that someone so blind could be so extraordinarily perceptive at the same time.
"I didn't quite hear that, Mogami-san."
"…I didn't study."
"…What?"
Ren folded his arms on the table as Mogami's finished clarifying and lifted a brow. This 'terrible confession' had turned out to be something relatively harmless compared to what he had thought. "So…you were so excited about creating this character that you neglected to study, and you think I should be angry with you because of this?"
"…Well…" she fidgeted guiltily. "That's the whole reason I was given time off from…you know."
"Hm." That was why she had been given time off from 'Setsu', and it was fairly consistent for Mogami to feel like she had betrayed her work by not using that time for what it was intended… "But your work as an actress comes before your work as a LoveME member—which is what your role as 'the sister' is—I doubt the President will fault you for having used the time off for this."
Mogami blinked, her eyes clearing as she seemed to remember something. "The audition for this part was a LoveME assignment from President."
Ren smiled, leaning back in the seat as he opened the script in his hands again.
"Then there is nothing to worry about, aside from finding time to finish your exam preparation." He turned a page, reading through the first scene. There was a lot of flexibility in the script—it seemed to be specifically for the upcoming callbacks, and gave the actors a lot of room to improvise based on their interpretation of their characters. "You didn't miss much anyway—"
He glanced at the empty doorway. The hallway outside was very quiet.
"Tragic Marker's shooting has been experiencing a few delays. I don't even have to go back until the week after next." He went back to perusing the second scene. "Your exams are this week?"
"Yes—I have exams Wednesday through Friday."
He nodded. "So…who is 'Kaya', exactly? All her lines are left blank, and her description only states her relation to 'Agent Tatsuaki' and a person called 'Aki'."
Ren spent the next twenty minutes contentedly listening as Mogami gushed about 'Kaya', giving him a history and a look into the character's mind, her eyes bright and alive as she dove into the character's world with a variety of interesting facial expressions and much enthusiastic and creative gesturing.
He leaned forward, resting his cheek on his palm.
It was at times like this, when the cynical shield around her heart was down, that she was most like the 'Kyoko-chan' he remembered—that boundless imagination, energy, and optimism that had drawn him to her as a child coming through loud and clear. Ready to believe that magic was real, that miracles happen, and that the impossible was possible if you only tried hard enough.
Thinking back on it, she'd been the first and the last to steal his heart.
She had thought he was a prince—not because she knew about his father, or even anything about his life… but because she saw him, and him alone, and thought that he was magical of his own right. She had seen him, outside of his father's shadow, and saw the makings of a king.
Of course… she'd never really seen him as her 'prince charming'…
But if it meant she could open her heart and be herself with him, maybe he could keep the balance between being her 'fairy prince', her 'sempai', and her 'playboy' for a little longer.
Kyoko Mogami was in a bit of a pinch.
If she didn't look him in the eyes soon, he was going to realize that she was avoiding them…and if she did look him in the eyes… well…
She could feel it—that aggravating angelic light that was piercing her peripherals, a holy light that melts all security systems and fries all grudges. If she looked directly at him now, she wasn't sure what traitorous things her face would reveal…
She'd been too excited to share the news (that she actually had gotten the job she wanted, a thoughtless outburst that put her identity as Bo in a very dangerous situation) to realize that she hadn't quite prepared herself to face him without a mask to hide behind. Now that the realization had sunk in, she was beginning to remember all the little awkward things that made it hard to look at him right now.
As hard as her little minions were working to throw the images away, it was kind of difficult with him sitting right there in front of her.
"Mogami-san…"
She stiffened, sitting upright in her seat and focusing very intently on his sweater. He looked very good in green. Then again, The Tsuruga Ren looked good in everything. The cosmos was unfair like that.
"Yes?"
"Is something wrong?"
She glanced up at him now, since that innocently curious look he was giving her was a great deal safer than the Devine Demon Dehydrator (or DDD for short).
"I guess I'm just nervous about the callbacks…" she fudged—it was true anyway, though it wasn't really what was bothering her most at the moment "…Edmunds-sensei seems to have a lot of confidence in my ability to portray Kaya correctly without very much guidance."
For a second she thought he was going to call her bluff—there was a slight hard glint in his eyes, as if he could see right through her—but he didn't.
"That doesn't surprise me."
He smiled wryly at her expression, which had frozen in surprise at the unexpected response, but there was a slight sharpness in the way he was watching her that made her feel like something dangerous was coming…
"You've shown the mettle to keep in character under pressure repeatedly, Mogami-san—" He looked down, casually turning a page in Kyoko's script "—even in situations where your interests and boundaries are pushed beyond where you would normally feel comfortable."
… … Is he… …referring to…?
Kyoko had the feeling her burning face must look like she was impersonating a stop sign, and dearly wished he would obey said traffic signal. However, Tsuruga-san seemed oblivious to her discomfort as he turned another page "It's something that takes a lot of dedication to the craft… and one of the reasons acting with you is so much fun. As long as you can keep in the right mindset, you should be just fine."
…wait… …did he just say… …'fun'?
Two sides of Kyoko clashed as she watched him read.
One of them was immensely flattered that her highly respected senior would enjoy acting with her… Beyond flattered, more like pink from head to toe about it… and another side of her was tempted to inform him, with violent enthusiasm, that he was a perilous hazard to all maidenly hearts and ought to be exterminated. The combined effect must have given off an interesting aura, since he didn't look up before he started choking on suppressed laughter, which tipped the balance from flattered to angry in an flash.
"…Tsuruga-san…"
He looked up at her, all traces of laughter gone in an instant "Yes, Mogami-san?"
Her eyes narrowed dangerously. Her minions were out, whispering all sorts of things in her ear about how she ought to do the women of the nation a favor and let them teach him a thing or two about messing with patriotic Japanese maidens—his sense of humor was far too brazen for a man living in this country!
And worse—that brazenness was tainting his junior! Had he no awareness as a senior? He ought to have verbally cut her into a thousand pieces and fed her to the hounds of hell by now for sexual harassment of the worst sort! Was he just going to let her get away with this sort of horrifying indecency?
She had engaged in criminal behavior against him, and he was right there pretending that he wasn't laughing at her about it! This man—!
She pushed herself up from her seat, rage and embarrassment turning her skin a very interesting shade of purple.
"This is Japan, Tsuruga-san—people here have these things called 'reservations' and 'modesty'!" She folded her arms over her chest, an aura of righteous indignation raging around her as she glared down at him, her eyes blazing "You can be indecent if you want—you're an adult and can make your own choices about those things—but don't let me get away with it! You're my sempai, for crying out loud!"
"Mogami-san? Are you alright?"
Kyoko sighed heavily, wishing with all her might that she had the courage to actually say something like that—but considering the terrifying true nature that she knew lay beneath this man's benign gentlemanly mask, she was just too chicken to dare.
"…Mogami-san… I've been meaning to ask this for a while…" she lifted her brows, her curiosity piqued at the reproachful look he was wearing "…What exactly have you been doing since I saw you last?"
Kyoko blinked. "…Why do you ask?"
He lifted an incredulous brow. "Because you look terrible."
"…Oh…"
She touched her face, realizing that she really ought to have taken a bit of time to freshen up after dance class—she'd been in a bit of a daze since the discussion with Edmunds-sensei and had forgotten that tearful explosions and sleep deprivation wreak havoc on a body's appearance.
"Do you really need me to remind you that it's unprofessional it is to neglect your health?"
She felt her ears reddening in embarrassment at the slightly ironic look to his smile.
"And I hope you'll have the good sense to accept the ride home I'm going to offer you—as a fellow actor under LME, it wouldn't be acceptable for me to allow you to go out on the street looking like that, would it?"
"BWAH-HA-HAHA…!"
Yashiro rocked back on his heels, startled at the sound of a resonant burst of laughter that traveled down the hall toward him. It was completely unfamiliar, in that he'd never heard it before…and yet, he got the itchy feeling that he should know who it was that was making that sound…
His eyes tightened in suspicion as a strange idea occurred to him. He crept down the hallway and squatted down next to the door to the LoveME lounge, leaning over to peer in with one eye so as not to disturb the curious scene within with his presence.
He was right—it was Ren! He gawked in disbelief and amazement at the sight of his charge, the most calm and restrained young man he knew, trembling with a vain effort to stifle the bubbles of mirth that were obviously waging war inside him. It was a sight he'd never been able to imagine before, the sort of thing that turned into a pixilated image with an 'ERROR!' sign on it in his head whenever he tried…and yet, there it was! Ren was genuinely laughing.
"…I'm sorry, Mogami-san, it's just…"
The young man's briefly reestablished poker-face contorted, in an almost painful-looking effort, before he buried his face in the arms folded in front of him when another spasm of laughter got the better of him.
Sitting across from this bizarre scene was (of course) none other than the worker of most strange miracles where Ren was concerned—Kyoko-chan.
She did not look happy. In fact, she looked far from it. If Yashiro didn't know any better, he might think his charge was about to receive critical damage, compliments of Mio.
"I fail to see why this is so funny, Tsuruga-san."
Ren lifted his smiling face from his arms, and Yashiro winced. Kyoko-chan did too—though more violently, her expression one of flustered and pained irritation as she blinked her eyes repeatedly, as if some bright light had blinded her. Yashiro didn't blame her. To a girl who was so vehemently opposed to all things love-related, such a look would certainly inspire horror and discomfort (though in most girls it would cause the brain to overheat and their pupils to mutate into heart-shapes).
How this girl succeeded in not realizing what that look meant was beyond Yashiro.
"Let me get this right—you this writer that you imagine you're looking at, and talking to, 'little good fairies' inside people while you act this character…and you don't know why she laughed?"
Kyoko's scowl was indignant and defensive. "I thought it was a good idea! I can't see spirits like Kaya can, and I certainly can't look at strangers like I care when I don't even know anything about them—!"
"—If it works, it is a good idea, Mogami-san," Ren interrupted calmly, having finally realized that Kyoko-chan might really hurt him if he didn't restrain himself "She probably was just a little… startled, is all."
"So in other words, she wasn't laughing so much at the idea itself…" Kyoko clarified darkly, apparently not soothed in the least by Ren's reassurances, "…as she was laughing at me."
"Basically," Ren agreed, not really helping his cause much.
Yashiro sighed—why was his charge so hopeless?
As if he could feel Yashiro's disapproval, Ren turned then to glance at the door, frowning at the disgruntled pout on his manager's face. A still seething Kyoko-chan followed his gaze before Yashiro could make an escape (to leave Ren to enjoy the inconsequential progress of having gotten Kyoko to glare at him, of course).
"Good evening, Yashiro-san," Kyoko's bow was as immaculate as ever… though a little more fragile. Looking at her closely, he realized that she looked like a stiff breeze could knock her over. "I'll be troubling you and Tsuruga-san for a ride home tonight…"
Yashiro blinked, thoughts of Kyoko-chan's appearance momentarily put on hold at the realization that his charge might be a little less hopeless than he gave him credit for.
"Tsuruga-san was kind enough to remind me that I represent LME, and that I am to reflect upon my negligence on the way."
Yashiro lifted a brow at Ren, who just shrugged.
Nope. Still hopeless.
[Ack… this chapter was hard …for previously mentioned reasons… but I'll keep working on that.]
[Somebody pointed out that Kyoko's encounter with Fuwa was a little off—and I totally see what they were saying. Whoever you are, thank you! I went back to fix it a bit ago and (hopefully) it is more in keeping with the original and what I had intended to convey.]
[Also, special thanks to amusingmurff, who caught some inconsistencies for me that allowed me to fix some problems! Thank you! I went back and altered some of the information on Kaya's sister (pretty slight changes), and hopefully this chapter offered some enlightening clarity for 'The Divide'.]
