Chapter 7 – Her smile
The week passed as did her third date with Sho. He took her to a very expensive restaurant that most of the rich and famous would go. He was wearing a very bright white long leather coat that buckled around his abs, leaving his chest bare. Once he sat down, she saw black leather pants with more buckles and black boots. The restaurant was a lot quieter then the club he first took her to, but throughout the whole dinner he talked about himself and his music. She quietly ate the delicious food and played with the three roses he gave her till the night ended.
It was Sunday night, and Kyoko finished her ritual that she did after leaving her dates with Sho. She would take the ripped pieces of paper and burn them outside on the small a balcony of Kanae's apartment. Then she would undress and shower thoroughly. She had another ritual that hand nothing to do with Sho. It usually happened every night around 10 and tonight wasn't different. Her phone rang, and she curled up in her futon engulfed in one of Ren's shirts.
"I've missed you, Kyoko." It was the first thing he always said. He'd call every night sometimes during the day if he didn't see her at all and they'd talk. They would talk about their day, she would make sure he ate and he would ask if there was anything she needed.
"You're leaving tomorrow, right?" She asked. Ren was heading to Ōita for a shoot hence the reason she was able to schedule three dates with Sho this week.
"Yes, I should be back next weekend, and I'll take you out again, ok?" He sounded lonely or perhaps she was merely projecting her feelings onto him.
Kyoko nodded to the phone and asked, "You'll still call right?"
She could hear him smile as he spoke, "Nothing could stop me."
They ended all their phone conversations the same, "I love you. Good night."
Monday morning came, and she had a shoot for Toradora. They were to arrive at the apartments where Taiga and Ryuuji lived at. They were going to shoot most of their morning outdoor scenes if they could squeeze it all in. They applied the long light brown hair, and she was dressed in cute light pink pajamas.
She came out of the trailer wearing a robe to keep her warm and found the actor who played Ryuuji. His name was Genda Shichiro and he was an up and coming actor. Kyoko found it funny that he would call her senpai.
"Good Morning, Kyoko-senpai," Shichiro greeted her. Kyoko smiled at the taller man. He was definitely perfect for the role, he actually didn't look mean till he started filming. She thought he was a wonderful actor, but he often made silly mistakes. Ryuuji is pretty much exactly like Kyoko was with cooking and cleaning and Genda-san wasn't that great at it. Kyoko had helped him learn some tricks to help him with his character. What was interesting was that Taiga was the exact opposite of Kyoko's personality, she was extremely messy and couldn't cook worth a damn. Ryuuji started to take care of her after finding out she lived alone.
"Good Morning, Genda-san. How are you today?" He too was wearing a robe and drinking coffee to keep him warm.
"Good. I'm eager to start."
"Did you practice the tricks I showed you?" She asked. He blushed lightly and nodded. The director shouted out and everyone gathered together.
"We are doing Episode 7, Act 4 first if you didn't already guess from your attire. Get into places and let's get started." Director Komatsu was a man of few words, but he always got his point across.
Genda removed his robe and was wearing only a pair of red boxers. Kyoko blushed lightly and turned away heading for her room. She heard quiet whispers as everyone appreciated the young actor's body then laughed lightly. She couldn't help but wonder what they would do if Ren was wearing that. Kyoko stopped for a moment and truly thought about it and jealousy flared through her. Not a chance in hell!
The director's voice cut through her thoughts, "Action!"
Ryuuji woke up and glanced at the clock. 8:07. In a panic, he gets up and grabs the long broom and starts banging the head of it on Taiga's bedroom window.
"Taiga, wake up!" He continues to bang on the window looks back at the clock.
"There's no time lef-" Taiga rubbing her eyes opens the window sleepily.
"uh?" then without noticed he hits her on top of her head with the broom knocking her down.
"Ouch… huh?" Her voice thick with sleep.
"S-Sorry," he mumbles.
"What?" Taiga spoke but the camera was still focus on Ryuuji
"Speaking of which, we've overslept!" He yells out to her as she stands up rubbing her head, "Anyway, just hurry up and get ready!"
With her eyes till closed, "What's for breakfast? Why are you waking me up like this today?"
"There's no breakfast, nor lunch! We'll be late if we don't leave within five minutes!" He yells at her again.
The camera then switches to the neighborhood street where they are running to get to school.
"God… If we don't go to the convenience store, we won't have any lunch!" He looks back at her running behind him, "Hey, are you listening, Taiga…" Irritated at him rushing her, she jumps up, flips and kicks him with both feet.
"I am listening, you perverted dog! The convenience store, right?" She yelled back.
"What are you doing? Just because you didn't have brea- OW" he whined and she smacked him again.
"Cut."
Kyoko turned to look at Genda, "Are you alright, Genda-san?" She watched him rub his side, and he laughed.
"I'm fine and now we are even." Kyoko laughed and rubbed her head. The morning went on without a hitch, and they finished the morning scenes on time.
"Please come back tonight, there are a few night time scenes we need to do." Kyoko left to her dressing room where Shoko was waiting.
"We have an hour till your lunch with Sho at 2." Shoko was reading off her blackberry.
Kyoko groaned, "Why does he have lunch so late? I'm starving."
She laughed. "That's because he gets up so late that he has breakfast at 10:30 or so." She shuffled through her purse for a moment. "I learned to carry snacks around with him." She handed Kyoko a trail mix bar.
Kyoko took the bar like it was a gift from the gods and devoured it. "Is that because everything he gets scheduled for is only at night?"
"No, that is just him," Shoko said in a bored voice. "The studios prefer if you start recording bright and early, but he doesn't sound good unless he sleeps in so they let him come in for the afternoon and into the night."
"Lazy good for nothing musician." Kyoko was irritated by his work ethic but was quickly distracted by Shoko's next remark.
"Do you remember the show you did with Wake Up, Tokyo?" Shoko asked changing the conversation.
Kyoko nodded. "That was a lot of fun. Did it bring good reviews?"
"Yes, so much so that they would like to give you Platter Chatter."
Shoko didn't hear anything from the girl and had to look up. Kyoko was shocked.
"So I would get to teach people recipes and how to cook?" Her eyes were in a dream like state.
Shoko nodded. "I gather that is a yes?" She smiled as the young girl nodded vigorously.
"I have to call Ren!" Kyoko picked up her phone and dialed as Shoko continued.
"They say you didn't have to stick with that name or theme. That they were willing to discuss any ideas you may have if you would do the cooking segment every week," Shoko explained. Kyoko froze. She didn't notice as her call went straight to voice mail.
"A new theme?" She hung up the phone, thought about it and drew a blank. She could whip up recipes like nothing but having to have some sort of theme surrounding them, one that would appeal to the general public.
"Ok, they don't need an answer now. I can let you think about it, but I need an answer by Wednesday." Shoko looked at her watch and said, "I need to drive you to the restaurant, and Sho will be dropping you off back here, ok?"
Sho arrived early. He had been doing that a lot. He wanted to be there so she wouldn't wait for him. He wanted to show her that he would always be there for her from now on. The place was a simple ramen shop in the down town area. He sat in a back booth facing the door. He was dressed rather casually this time, nothing over the top flashy since he was only recording today. A simple dark green long sleeve shirt, a pair of faded black jeans and sneakers.
Nothing on his last three dates went well. Kyoko did what she was told and never said a thing. The only time she ever spoke to him was for a polite agreement and for the damn file. He re-arranged the four roses lying on the table trying to find a way to get her to open up when he heard the door open.
She stopped at the front and looked around. She spotted him but her face didn't make a single expression, not a smile, a frown, nothing. She saw him and started to make her way over to him. He watched her as she moved elegantly around the tables and chairs. How did he not notice how beautiful she was. She wore a light tan woven skirt that fell loosely to her knees, the edge of it was embroidered giving glimpses of her knees when she walked. It bounced around her thighs as she walked, her hips making it move around. She wore a small dark grey jacket that cut off where her hips stopped, it was sleeveless and it seemed to give off a metallic sheen. Under the jacket looked to be a basic black top, sleeveless and it hugged the subtle curves of her waist.
She slipped in front of him and the waiter came over and gave her a menu.
"Hello, Sho," she said very matter of fact.
Sho sighed and placed the four roses in front of her, wondering if she will ever open up to him like before.
Kyoko looked at the flowers and finally had to ask, "What's with the roses, Sho?
He shrugged. "I don't know, I thought of it while I was thinking of where to take you, and thought it was a good idea. Kind of celebrating the number of dates we've been on so far. This is date four so four roses."
Kyoko was looking at him like he had sprung a second head. "That's actually kind of sweet, Sho. Do you do this with all the girls you dated?" The question should have been said with jealousy, yet with her it was stated more as a fact.
Sho looked irritated. "No! This is the first time. It wouldn't look good if I bought things for girls." Kyoko really didn't know what to think of that. He was buying her flowers and never bought anything for anyone else but another thought occurred to her.
"How long would that last? Say we did date for longer than 16 dates? If on our 100th date, you would buy 100 flowers?" She wasn't looked at him but scrolling through the menu when she asked.
"For you, yes," his voice was soft and sounded so sincere she had to look at him as he continued, "if you truly had a 100 dates with me, I'd buy you roses for every single one of them."
She blinked and her lungs didn't seem to work, she was looking at him and he at her. There was a cough next to them and they looked up to the waiter. "What would you like today?"
Sho ordered first with a bowl of Tokyo-style ramen, and Kyoko followed with takayama ramen. She took a drink of the iced water and waited.
Sho watched her and finally broke the silence, "It would be easier if you talked sometimes." She looked at him again.
"You want me to talk? You always talk."
Sho pressed his lips together, frowning. "Perhaps I'd like to hear how you are doing?" This time Kyoko gasped and started to look around the room, to the next booth, the table over, up to the ceiling, under the table.
"What are you doing, Kyoko?"
She continued looking as she spoke, "I'm looking for the camera. This has to be some sort of joke show or something. Maybe you signed up for one of those comedy shows you enjoy so much, and I'm your first victim." She sat straight up and looked at him with a suspicious eye, "unless you are pod person!" She went over and pinched the back of his hand hard.
"Ow!" He yanked his hands away from the table. "Geez! You act like I think I'm the center of the universe." He rubbed his hand easing the pain away.
"You do," Kyoko confirmed with absolute certainty.
Sho rolled his eyes. "C'mon, tell me what's on your mind." He stiffened and made a retraction, "Anything but him."
She scoffed, "I wouldn't do that." She tried to think of something to discuss but the only thing she could think of was her new proposal.
"I got offered a new job today. A cooking segment on Wake up, Tokyo. I did a guest appearance on it almost two weeks ago, and they liked the food I prepared so they offered me the chance to take over it." She spoke to the glass of water rather than Sho, but she looked up and he was smiling.
"That's great," Sho cheered. "I've always liked your cooking. You're a great cook." Kyoko frowned again, that was a true smile. She hadn't seen that in years.
She licked her lips and continued, "The problem is I have to think of a theme for the show. It has to be short and feature a recipe. I really don't have any idea what to do for it." Their food came as she spoke, and she picked up her chopsticks and stirred her food. They sat silent for a bit then Sho spoke up.
"You've always been good at getting people to eat things they normally wouldn't like. Why not make something with an ingredient that most wouldn't like every week. If you get kids to eat it on the show, and they say it's good, then the parents at home would be likely to try it too." Sho was looking at his food, playing with the noodles. She probably won't like it, since it's my idea. He sneered at his bowl at his thoughts, if it was from him she would probably think it was brilliant.
Sho was waiting for her to say "What a stupid idea! That's horrible." But nothing came from the other side of the table. He took a chance and glanced up at her and his heart stopped. Kyoko was smiling at him. His lips parted slightly, her face seemed to glow brighter as she thought the idea through. She was smiling at him. He made her smile that smile not Tsuruga or her best friend, he did. Fuwa Sho.
"That's a wonderful idea, Sho! Thank you!" Sho coughed and looked back down trying to hide a blush.
"Yeah, no problem," he mumbled, but she didn't hear him. She started talking about the different things she could do or try. Ingredients she didn't like and needing to find some time to find a good recipe for them. For the first time in a long time, Sho sat there silently and absorbed everything his date spoke about as he ate. She was so animated as she spoke it was hard not to be enraptured by her.
They finished lunch, and he paid and drove her back to her shoot. She didn't even have to ask this time, he took the folded piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to her. She opened it up, promptly ripped it up and slipped it in her purse.
She looked at Sho who looked normal, almost like the old Sho she had known. She really didn't know what had gotten into him today, perhaps he wasn't feeling well. Either way she really did like his idea and had to give credit were credit was due, "Thank you for your idea. I hope you don't mind me using it."
"No, of course not. I hope they like the idea too." Again, Kyoko didn't know what to think of this person. She was lost as to what to do about it so she simply said good bye and left to her shoot. Shoko was already there, on the phone.
"Kyoko, you can call Tsuruga-san now. Yuki said they landed and that he couldn't answer because their phones were off." Kyoko quickly pulled her phone out and dialed.
"Kyoko? How are you?"
Kyoko smiled cheerfully. "Ren! I got a new offer…" Kyoko told him all about it and the idea of the show. She started talking about having kids help her, "maybe Maria-chan will join me for one!"
"That sounds perfect for you, Kyoko." Ren sat and listened to his love's voice and wished he was there to congratulate her in person.
"You'll get to try so many new things! You will try them before my show right?" Ren paled and was thankful she wasn't there to see it.
"Of course," he agreed with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. Thank goodness it was only once a week. They said their goodbyes and hung up. Shoko made an appointment to see the producers of the show and Kyoko left to change for the rest of her scenes. The day went by without a problem.
Notes:
Tokyo style ramen consists of slightly thin, curly noodles served in a soy-flavored chicken broth. The broth typically has a touch of dashi, as old ramen establishments in Tokyo often originate from soba eateries. Standard toppings on top are chopped scallion, menma, sliced pork, kamaboko, egg, nori, and spinach
Takayama ramen noodles which came out have a thin color of soup. To be sure, the ramen noodles in a city are nice. But various things are contained just because it pursues only a skill. When it travels in rural areas, there are ramen noodles cultivated in the district. It is simple, is tasted, is deep and is felt fresh.
