The Shadow's Heart
Disclaimer: I do not own SkipBeat or Ashita no Ousama nor do I own any of the characters from either original story.
Sasaya Yuu is returning to Japan with an armload of new scripts and a gleam in her eye. This time she has set her sights on Mogami Kyoko as her lead actress. How will Kyoko do on stage? And how will she endure six months of separation from the man who taught her to love again?
Chapter 8 – Grateful Party, the Sequel
Part 2
Author's Note: Okay, I lied. I originally intended to spend this chapter on the party, but I realized that more preliminary narrative was necessary. My apologies, but I promise to make the party interesting… to the best of my ability.
"Again!"
Three girls were standing in front of three life-sized polypropylene dummies. In near-unison they began reciting, "Bridge of nose, temple, septum,…" and as they recited the critical nerve and vein strike points they demonstrated with the appropriate strike; a downward palm-strike on the bridge of the nose, a knuckle-strike on the temple, … the girls moved through all twenty-one basic strike-points as they recited. When they reached the final strike,"…back of the knee!" Yumi allowed them a moment to rest.
"Good. You're beginning to get the idea. You need to learn to break your opponent into vulnerable points in your mind. If you look at a two meter tall man who weighs twice as much as you, you will lose the battle of the mind. Focus on that man's weak points instead; he can be hurt just like you can. Most people don't like being hurt, so sometimes you can end things quickly if you teach them that you're a pretty little flower who has a poison sting.
Okay, let's look at your mistakes. Kanae, please step forward." When Kanae stepped forward and bowed, Yumi moved behind her. "When you strike the back of the knee, strike for the tendons on the side. Don't go for the soft flesh in the middle. If your opponent goes down too quickly, your foot may be trapped." Yumi demonstrated, gently but firmly kicking the soft spot in the rear of Kanae's knee-joint. Kanae went down on her knees quickly, causing her legs to fold and capture Yumi's foot. "You can never forget that you are smaller. If you get in a clench with your opponent, it's probably over for you."
Amamiya raised her hand, "Sensei, but what if that happens anyway? What if the person gets us in a clinch?"
Yumi stepped back, exchanged bows with Kanae and allowed her to return to the line. "We'll work on that tomorrow. For today, I want you to practice the strike-point combinations with each other. And don't forget, you all still owe me about one-thousand two-hundred kicks." When the girls groaned, Yumi smiled and cupped a hand behind her ear, "Ahh, the sweet sound of agony in the morning… Oh how I do love that sound."
They called themselves the Hassei, meaning the origination, or the initial point of the outbreak. They might have had an ambitious name; but they had no cause, no mission, and no justification for their existence. In reality all that they were was a collection of misfits who liked to complain and dream of doing something "really big" that would get them recognized. They all knew each other's names, but they thought that it would sound more sophisticated to call themselves by numbers.
Hassei-Icchi was the leader because he was bigger and meaner, and because occasionally he had an idea. Of course, most of his ideas were impractical ones like, "Let's hide in the bathrooms at Nippon National Bank until they lock up, and then grab all of the cash before opening time." Another brilliant idea was to replace one of masterpieces at the Tokyo National Museum with a forgery and sell the original on the black market." Naturally, since they couldn't figure out how they would get back out of the bank, and since they didn't happen to know any expert painters to forge the aforementioned painting, no action was taken.
Hassei-Nii was a bony, tall, unattractive girl whose own brilliance at planning extended to "You distract the store clerk, and I'll grab us some free drinks." Nii's sole positive contribution to the Hassei's was that she was actually from a moneyed family… and she still had access to funds. More often than not it was her contribution that sustained the group while they argued about their "big score."
Hassei-San was medium height, medium build, and of less than medium intelligence. He had a dark mop of hair on his head and a scraggly attempt at a goatee growing on his chin. He was number three for the sole reason that he was there when the group was spawned, and he always agreed with Ichi. He had spent his time in the Army. He had left under questionable circumstances, but he still acted as if he was a super-soldier among amateurs.
Hassei-Shi, Hassei-Go, and Hassei-Roku were basically not worth describing in detail. They were three young men who went where they were told, did what they were told to do, and between the three of them had not had one intelligent thought in over six months. But they were strong and they were willing to do whatever they were told.
Hassei-Shishi, on the other hand, was a relatively new member, and she was displaying definite signs of intelligence… of course, she joined the Hassei's, so one might automatically dismiss any suggestions that she was in possession of any more intelligence than the others. Probably the reason that she did join was because she needed a place to stay, and because she was interested in Hassei-Ichi. She was faintly attractive young woman of twenty-three with black, straight hair, dark brown eyes, and ivory colored skin. She could also cook very well, having been trained in her family's restaurant since early childhood.
It was Hassei-Shishi who pointed out the article in Tokyo Entertainment News about the Takarada's. An enterprising reporter had somehow convinced Takarada Lory to give an interview about his lifestyle and his current projects. In the course of the interview he let it slip that his granddaughter and Mogami Kyoko were preparing for the second annual Grateful Party. The reporter must have found the idea fascinating, because she devoted most of the article to that event. "This is it! This is what we need to get some funds and make a name for ourselves."
Hassei-Ichi read through the article slowly, but mostly he fixated on the photograph. When he was finished reading, he looked up in confusion, "We're supposed to go around dressed up like the Emperor of Persia? How is that…"
"NO!!!" The girl shook her head and asked herself again what she saw in the big brute. "The girl! We could grab the girl! Takarada is rich! He'd pay millions to get his granddaughter back. And with a few hundred people at this party, who's going to notice if a little girl disappears?"
The others were definitely interested now. They scooted forward as the young lady explained her plan.
The limousine pulled up in front of the mansion. Sebastian got out to open the rear doors, but the passengers were already climbing out on their own. Kyoko was waiting with barely-controlled glee.
"Otou-san! Okaa-san!" Kyoko ran forward to embrace and be embraced by her new parents. They were as enthusiastic as she. Julie loved her pseudo-daughter so much that she considered moving her entire operation to Japan just so she could spend time with the young lady. Many times she had regretted not trying to have a second child. Kuon had been a pleasant, wonderful child, but he had always been a daddy's boy; tough, athletic, outdoorsy. Julie had longed for a girl to take shopping, to share girl-talks with, to pamper.
Kyoko stepped back after the hugs. "I'm so glad you could come early. I'm glad you could come at all, but two days early is even better."
Julie laughed, "Kotonami Kanae told us all about the food you've been experimenting with. She said that she and Amamiya have had to hide so that you won't try to feed them any more samples. Of course, when Kuu heard about that, he had to come early."
Kyoko giggled and held Julie's arm tighter, "I'm just happy that you're both here."
Julie heard the strain beneath the giggle, "How are you holding up, Kyoko?"
Kyoko started to dissemble, but one look from Julie stopped her. She answered honestly, "It's crazy, Okaa-san, but I miss him so much that it hurts. Especially…" She didn't say it. She knew that Ren's schedule made it impossible for him to fly back on her birthday, but that didn't keep her from wanting him to be there.
"Especially on your birthday?" Julie said sympathetically. "I'll tell you what; I promise that we will work so hard to make you happy that you won't have the time or energy to be lonely. Does that sound fair?"
"You know you don't have to…" Kyoko felt guilty for putting her burden off on her Okaa-san, but Julie would have none of it.
"Nonsense. I have missed seventeen of my favorite daughter's birthdays and I intend to make up for every lost moment. Don't you dare try to steal that from me, young lady." Julie smiled affectionately to soften the harshness of her voice.
"Okaa-san!!" Kyoko couldn't help it; she let her tears flow and allowed her beautiful mother to comfort her.
Meanwhile Kuu was lagging behind so that he could talk with Yumi. "What are the weather reports, Tink? When we took off it didn't look too good over the east coast."
"It's getting worse. He's done filming tonight. If D.C. is socked in, they may try driving south. But you know how bad it can get there." Yumi looked genuinely concerned. "Ren's not exactly used to driving in those conditions. I just hope he drives careful."
"I do too. We both know he would walk across the poles or try to swim the oceans if that's what it would take to make it here on time for her birthday." Kuu saw Kyoko and Julie turning to wait for them, so he and Yumi stopped talking and extended their strides to catch up.
"Cut!" The director yelled out, "Okay, let's move on to the next set!"
Gunnery Sergeant Hollister watched Ren take a hurried drink from his water. And then the tall man crushed the bottle and threw it aggressively into the nearest recycling bin. Hollister turned to Yashiro, "What's with the kid, Yashiro? He's not usually this tense."
Yashiro found it odd to hear anyone call Ren "the Kid," but this grizzled veteran was certainly entitled. The man had sort of adopted the two men in the last two weeks, showing them around the area and introducing them to people who they wouldn't have met otherwise. "We're supposed to catch a flight back to Japan as soon as filming is over, but the weather is moving in. His girlfriend's birthday is on Christmas Day, and he doesn't want to miss it."
The Gunny looked out of the window and up at the sky. He whistled, "The way those clouds are dumping snow on us, I wouldn't count on getting out of Dulles," He looked over to where Ren was having his make-up retouched, and then back at Yashiro, "This birthday's pretty important to her?"
"She turns eighteen. I think he would build his own wings and try to fly there if that's the only way to get there."
"You got anybody back there waiting for you?"
Yashiro felt foolish as he blushed a little, "I'm working on it. She's too busy with her career to think about relationships, but I'm working on it."
Gunnery Sergeant Hollister nodded, excused himself, and went to stand outside. After a few minutes he pulled out his cell phone, "Hi Major, this is Gunny Hollister... Major, do you remember Swan… yeah, I heard about it too… The reason I asked is that I was wondering if you could do a favor, for the Colonel's sake…"
"Wow! This is incredible!" Julie stood in the tallest turret of the castle walls that had been built in the middle of the great hall. Little Maria beamed proudly. "I wanted to do something special for Onee-sama this year, since it's her 18th birthday. Did you bring the dress you designed for her?
It was Julie's turn to beam, "She'll look like Cinderella at the ball. I took her measurements when she stayed with us last summer. Of course, I hadn't counted on Yumi turning the three girl's into superwomen. I couldn't believe how strong she was when she hugged me."
"Have you seen her drink commercials yet?" Maria was always happy to talk about her Onee-sama, "She's had an amazing stomach; everyone's talking about it."
"I'm not surprised. It was Yumi who kept me in shape for modeling all those years ago. You should see Yumi's stomach, even now. I bet she could crack walnuts with her abs."
While they were talking, Maria had been leading Julie to another, lower tower, "I think that this is where Ren-sama should stand when he lets Onee-sama know that he's here. I can make sure she's standing right over there." She pointed to the center of the room.
Julie sighed, "I just hope that he can make it."
As predicted by Julie, Kuu made a beeline to the kitchen to sample all of Kyoko's creations. He was as vocal and appreciative as he was hungry. While Kyoko was off explaining the nuance of one particularly difficult dish to one of the patisseries, Kuu walked over to the head chef. "So, what do you think of her, Tiro?"
World-Class Chef Matsuhara Tiro cringed dramatically from his old friend, "Who let you in here!?!" He called out, "Everyone, hide the food before it's too late!" As the rest of the staff laughed, Tiro extended a hand, "The Boss told me you were coming. It's good to see you, old friend."
"Same here. Anyway, what do you think of my daughter?"
The chef looked confused, "Your daughter? I thought…"
"More like my adopted daughter… if you get to know her you'd want her in the family too. Anyway, stop distracting me; what do you think about her cooking skills? Isn't she something special?"
Chef Mastuhara smiled and decided to play with Kuu a little longer, "Well, you certainly act like a doting father. Why, I remember the time that little Kuon…"
"Tiro, if you don't start answering my question, I'm going to start getting hungry!"
"Kami forbid! Okay, Kuu, I'll talk. Of course she's good. You already knew my answer. I think that it's a crying shame she chose acting over a real profession. Under my tutelage, she could have her own five-star restaurant in three years."
"But what about the show?" Kuu truly was starting to feel hungry now.
"You have always been such an impatient…"
"That's it!! Where's the refrigerator?" Kuu started to scan the huge kitchen for the refrigerator. He spotted it and started to step around the smaller man.
Tiro laughed and moved to block his path, "Okay, okay! I agree with Lory, she would do great on her own show. Are you happy now?"
Kuu grinned widely, "Great! I knew it was a good idea… but I'm still hungry."
Yashiro was looking a little green and he was trying not to show that he was a little frightened. Ren, on the other hand, was smiling broadly. They were riding in the rear-area of a Marine VH-60 helicopter as it powered through the snowstorm that was pummeling the Northeastern Seaboard. They were dressed in U.S. Marine cold weather gear, not because it was cold in the sealed cabin, but because they weren't supposed to be there.
There are rules, and there are rules. When the aide-de-camp for the Commander of the Marine Barracks in Washington D.C. asked for a "small favor," the captain of the helicopter didn't feel the need to quote rules. And when the men in question, one of whom was clearly a foreign national, were escorted to the flightline personally by Gunny Hollister, a legendary Marine, the flight crew also squashed their questions. One simply didn't argue with a gunny if one was hoping for a long and fruitful military career.
Hollister had shaken both men's hands and told them he would look for them again in one week, God and the weather willing. Five minutes later, the large helicopter was flying south on instruments, since the visibility was nearly zero. Marines are survivors by nature and inventive by training. Ten minutes after the helicopter left the ground, the crew chief was placing steaming hot cups of coffee in the hands of the two mysterious men from Washington, D.C.
Yashiro nodded gratefully, but remained silent. He didn't want his obvious accent to raise questions that would get the Gunny in trouble later. But this wasn't a problem for Ren. "Thank you, Sergeant. I hope that you aren't making this flight just for us?"
"No, sir. We're actually based out of Virginia Beach, Virginia. We were only up north for a training exercise," the young, powerfully built Marine had a pleasant drawl in his voice as he grinned, "Actually, you're doin' us a favor. Those d*mn paper-pushers up in Washington wanted to keep us on the ground. Thanks to you we got the authority needed to fly home after all. That means I get to see my wife and little son for Christmas."
Ren returned the man's grin, "Then I'm pleased. I was afraid that our… mission was going to make things hard for you."
"Am I permitted to ask where you're going?"
"Tokyo, Japan."
The sergeant's eyes got large, "In this weather? Man-oh-man, you must really have something urgent to attend to." It was clear in his eyes that the sergeant wanted to know more. But anyone in the military quickly learned not to ask too many questions.
Ren answered anyway, "What I have to attend to is very urgent, sergeant. So thank you."
It wasn't really that hard for Hassei-Shishi to locate the names of the Tokyo University students who would be tasked with creating the cake for the Grateful Party. She had been in the program herself, before she got kicked out for running the till. She knew that Takarada liked to throw business at the University culinary program. All that was needed now was to find the opportune moment to make the switch and substitute her team in place of the University students.
Notes: You may have noticed, if you were one of the early readers of last chapter, that I changed Hollister's rank. Sometimes I get careless, and I accidentally put in the wrong character at the wrong time. My apologies. Hollister is now Gunnery Sergeant Hollister.
Another important note: The movie filming is not over for Ren, only the filming for that day. The director is giving everyone a 5 day break for the holidays, but they are expected on-set after that. He had specific scenes for winter conditions, so he wants to take advantage of the weather.
Other than that, I'll stop adding notes here and get started on the next chapter. Oh, and this time I will actually write about the party… which might have several unexpected twists.
Please review.
