First off, let me apologize. I know I said I'd update the fanfic regularly but I have failed to keep that promise. I won't give you any excuses, because honestly, I have none to give. I am sorry and I will do my best so that this doesn't happen again. I promised myself that I'd stick with this fanfic till the end and I fully intend to keep that promise.
I've got more that 50 followers (56 to be exact)! I'm so happy and thankful. You guys are the force that drives me so please keep following, favoriting and commenting.
Also, there is a little surprise in this chapter for my 50th follower, Violet Masen-Clearwater. I hope you like it :)
There's also a little prize for the first person who correctly guesses who said the last sentence in this chapter. Good luck :D (read the rest of the chapter first!)
One answer per person accepted, because otherwise it's just too easy. If you write multiple answers, I'll ignore all except the first one :p
This one is for all of you!
Kyoko takes a deep breath and accepts the call.
"Hello? Where are you? I've been waiting for an hour!" a woman's voice shouts in English.
Kyoko is stunned. She didn't recognize the number so she was prepared for a couple possible scenarios, like Yashiro breaking Ren's phone again and Ren calling from someone else's phone, or the President trying to catch her off guard by using a number unfamiliar to her, but she wasn't prepared for this.
"Hello? Are you there?" the woman asks.
"Who are you?" Kyoko says in clumsy English.
"What do you mean who am I? It's Violet." the woman answers and puzzles Kyoko even further. Kyoko's mind is trying to find a reasonable explanation, but it isn't successful.
"Ah!" Kyoko hears the woman shout suddenly. "I've dialed the wrong number!"
And just like that, the mystery is solved.
"I'm so sorry, wrong number!" she quickly apologizes and before Kyoko even got a chance to say anything, the woman hangs up the phone.
Kyoko sighs, out of both relief and uneasiness. She's relieved because it wasn't Sho or his manager, but she's feeling rather uneasy when she thinks about the conversations that she's yet to have.
"Hmm." the President mumbles to himself while listening to a woman recite those familiar words "The number you're trying to reach is currently unavailable. Please try again later." into his ear for the second time in a row. "I guess I'll have to try again later." he says, his expression betraying his disappointment. He's been very excited since 5 minutes ago when his assistant brought him something of great importance, and he really wanted to share it with Kyoko as soon as possible. Actually, he brought him two things of great importance, and one of them is his new costume, but that is meant to be a surprise.
His extravagantly dressed assistant serves him tea, but the President is too busy sulking to notice. He's wondering who Kyoko could be talking to and trying to resist the need to call her again immediately, since he's hurt because Kyoko is too busy to talk to him. His efforts fail once he catches a glimpse of the papers on the coffee table that remind him why he was trying to reach Kyoko in the first place.
The four words on the first page instantly spike up his excitement and he reaches for the flashy cobra-shaped phone.
"The number you're trying to reach is currently unavailable. Please try again later."
Yashiro sighs. He was hoping that Kyoko would answer right away, because he can't risk getting caught by Ren. He's been trying to slip away since they arrived at the studio, but after a couple of hours of trying, this is the only time he's succeeded.
"Yashiro." Ren's menacing voice suddenly rises from behind him.
"Ah, I was just-"
Ren stretches out his hand, palm upwards, in front of Yashiro. He looks at his phone and reluctantly hands it over. Ren takes the phone and puts it in his pocket, but stretches out his hand again.
"But-" Yashiro tries to counter. Ren's expression remains unchanged so Yashiro just sighs and complies. He takes off his glove and places it in Ren's palm.
"I told you not to bother her." Ren tells him.
"It's because you won't tell me anything."
Ren doesn't respond to Yashiro's complaint. He turns around and walks away with a smirk on his face. Yashiro follows, his emotions split between intense curiosity, disappointment because he didn't have a chance to satisfy it, and excitement, because there must be a good story hiding behind Ren's good mood.
It's ringing again. Kyoko's phone is ringing again.
Kyoko stares at it for a few moments, unsure what to do. Carefully, she reaches for the cell phone and reads the caller ID. It's an unknown number. Again.
She answers it, completely prepared for yet another foreigner to shout at her.
"Hello?"
"Hello? Mogami-san?"
Kyoko gets another shock. This time, she wasn't expecting anyone she actually knows.
"Sh-Shoko-san?" she says, not believing her own words. She issued the challenge, but it turns out she didn't really believe that Sho would comply.
"I'm really sorry for bothering you, Mogami-san, but I don't know what else to do." Shoko says. She doesn't think it's fair to Kyoko to be asking her for help, but she it was either that or letting Sho continue spiraling out of control. If he keeps acting like a spoiled child and lets his temper control him, it might not just be Shoko's peace of mind that is at risk, but his career as well.
"What-What are you talking about, Shoko-san?" Kyoko asks. It doesn't sound to her like the call is about arranging her meeting with Sho.
"I really am sorry for bothering you with this, but did you, by any chance, meet with Sho three days ago?"
Kyoko called Sho three days ago to tell him she wants to meet with him. "Three days ago?" Kyoko asks, feeling like she already knows the whole story.
"Yes. Sho's been acting strange since then and when he's out of control, it's usually related to you somehow, so I just thought… If you didn't, forget I said anything." Shoko says, more puzzled than before. If it isn't Kyoko, then what is it? It crosses her mind that it might be something related to Ren, but she hasn't heard anything special about him either. She usually keeps an eye on news about Ren and Kyoko so that she can prevent Sho from hearing it.
"Where is he right now?" Kyoko says, her voice much firmer than before.
"Excuse me?" Shoko asks, confused by this sudden change in Kyoko.
It's very clear to Kyoko that Sho didn't tell his manager anything, and it's also quite clear to her that he isn't planning on keeping his word and meeting her, but she is going to keep her word.
"Sho, where is he right now?"
Leaving Sho alone was a risky thing to do, but Shoko had no choice. She keeps telling herself that. But why did Kyoko ask her where he was? She couldn't seriously be thinking of coming to see him… Could she?
"Ah, Shoko-san." a timid, fragile looking woman approaches her.
"I'm sorry, I had to make a quick phone call." she quickly replies. Judging by the expression on the woman's face, Sho has been creating trouble again. Shoko sighs and hurries towards the studio, the timid woman following close behind.
She arrives at the studio just in time to witness Sho shouting at the musical producer.
"What do you mean do it again? Who the hell are you to tell me that it's not good enough? You-"
"Sho!" Shoko shouts, already at her wits end. "That's enough." she tells him firmly. She usually lets him have his way, not that she has much choice, but this is simply too much. She must have aged at least 10 years in the last three days.
"I'm sorry, Takeshi-san. Please excuse us for a moment." she apologizes and bows.
Sho is about to voice out a complaint, loudly and disrespectfully no doubt, but Shoko pulls him out of the studio before he gets a chance.
"What the-" Sho begins, but Shoko interrupts him.
"Enough!" she shouts, surprising even herself. Sho unconsciously takes a step back.
Shoko takes a deep breath and composes herself so her next words sound less aggressive. "Do you think you're the only one who can scream and shout? Do you think that that producer doesn't have any complaints? Even though you keep acting like you know everything and don't need anyone's help? Do you really believe that I don't have any complaints? Even though I have to listen to your constant whining, tolerate your mood swings and repair the damage you continuously inflict on your career. You're talented, we can all see that, but that doesn't give you the right to just do whatever you want. When will you learn, Sho? When will you grow up?!"
Shoko looks at Sho and sighs. He's shocked, but that's all. It's not like she expected her words to have a serious impact, if she thought that it was in her power to change him, she would have done it years ago.
"It's difficult, for all of us, to be true to ourselves. I'm not going to force you to do anything, but in the end the person who will be hurt the most by your behavior is you, Sho. Do you realize that?" Shoko says, the bitterness in her voice gone.
She gives Sho a sad smile. "I'll go talk to the producer. Come back when you're ready. Please, try to get through this recording without any more scenes. After that… After that, I'll figure something out."
She leaves him alone in the empty hallway. He just continues to blankly stare ahead, not really seeing anything. He's been scolded before by countless people, and this isn't even the first time Shoko scolded him seriously, but why does it feel so different?
He doesn't even realize that he's not alone.
"The number you're trying to reach is currently unavailable. Please try again later."
The President sighs as he looks at the papers on the table. The four words on the first page now seem to bring out more worry than excitement.
He has a bad feeling about this situation. It seems to him that something he didn't take into consideration could create problems and disturb his master plan, despite all the effort he's putting into keeping himself from meddling. While he's busy agonizing over these thoughts, someone enters his office.
"'"Seven years" audition schedule'. What is this?"
