Chapter 9
Kyoko found herself in front of Kanae's door, knocking for the tenth time since she arrived. She knew that Kanae was probably gone, out doing some shoot or advertising for some show she was on. She was always very busy through the day, her precious Moko-san. Her phone was in her hand eager to be used. Kyoko wanted to call her, to see if they could meet up and hope that she would be available for a little comfort, but she was afraid to turn on her phone. Would he start calling again? How many messages would be in her voice box?
She shut her eyes tightly, her hands clutching her phone between them, and she bowed her head over her fists. What if he wasn't calling? What if the one message was just to reprimand her for leaving the meeting early? Hearing such a cold and distant response when her heart was hurting due to her past was too overwhelming. What she really wanted was for Ren to see his mistake and apologize, to comfort her and her stupidity for acting like a fool with Cain. Why didn't he stop her when she started acting like her old love sick self with Cain? It had to be out of character for Setsu, and yet she let her true feelings, her love for Ren seep into her character and destroyed Setsu.
Kyoko leaned against Kanae's door and slid down onto the floor. She wrapped her arms around her knees and hid her face from the world. It was no wonder why Sho left her. She truly became a boring, compliant woman when she was in love. The moment her stupid feelings started flowing, she wanted to do everything for him and Setsu allowed her to do that. She was able to cook for him and take care of his needs, wants, all to make sure he was happy.
She only wanted his happiness.
Kyoko groaned and threw her head back, pounding it against the door behind her. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. She groaned hitting her head a little too hard on that last one. A small tear leaked out of the corner of her eye at the pain and soon others began to follow against her wishes. She widened her eyes trying to stop her tears from falling and focused on the area around her, anything to take her mind off of things. As she looked around Kanae's neighborhood, a sense of familiarity came to her. She's been here recently, and not to Kanae's apartment.
She stood up and started walking, letting her instincts led her, she walked north. She sniffed and her eyes still watered as she tried to figure out why this area looked so familiar. Finally she stopped at a small alcove. She blinked letting another tear run down her cheek as she looked at the building before her. Her feet started walking unconsciously towards it, walked up the stairs to the second floor and knocked at the second white door. The door opened immediately.
Hikaru stood stupefied at the gift at his door, but the second his mind processed the woman standing there, his happiness morphed into concern.
"Kyoko, what's wrong?" He asked and ushered her inside.
"Did you know you live about two blocks from Moko-san?" Kyoko told him with a distant voice.
"Moko-san?" Hikaru had to take a moment and quickly remembered, "Oh your best friend. No, I didn't," he said and turned to look into her face. It was blotchy and her eyes were red and wet. She was crying but why?
"You do. She lives the in the apartment buildings south from here. Your place is a little bigger but her apartment is still really nice. Both of you have really nice places," she whispered, her voice starting to give out with her emotional state.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt? What's wrong?" He asked once she finished her babbling.
Kyoko blinked confused but withdrawn eyes to him. "I'm fine," she said and started crying uncontrollably. Hikaru's heart fell as he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close. She buried her face in his shoulder and let herself cry, warmed by the comfort he provided. After what felt like hours, Kyoko pulled away, yet Hikaru tried to keep her close.
"I'm so sorry, Hikaru," she whispered with a thick voice.
"For what?" He asked softly. Hikaru peered at her face, wet and runny and thought she was still beautiful. He lifted his hand and wiped away the wet tracks on her cheeks.
"For coming unannounced, for barging into your home, for interrupting your day with my selfishness," she finished looking down in shame.
"Kyoko, you are always welcomed here, and I would be more upset if I found you suffering like this alone. You have no idea how happy I am that you thought of me in your time of need," he confessed to her with a soft smile.
She looked into his eyes and snorted. "You're happy that I'm upset?"
"What! No! I didn't… That's not… I hate that you're crying," he finally said, "It's just… that…" he stuttered around trying to find the right words to say what he meant, "I'm happy that you came to me, not that you are sad or hurt. I don't ever want you to cry. I mean I rather you come over happy or excited, or even bored. I can help you with that anytime," he stated with a little laugh, and then panicked again, "But I don't mind you coming to me like this too, unless it's my fault," he said sadly, "though, if I did cause this then I would want to fix it, so…"
Kyoko laughed causing Hikaru to stop his rambling. He watched her double over in laughter, and while it is at his expense, he was happy she was laughing instead of crying.
"Thank you, Hikaru," she said between fits of giggles.
He grinned at her and responded, "Anytime." She took a deep breath and looked at him. He was in shorts and a t-shirt, obviously lounging around his place. She must have disturbed him on his day off, lucky for her but not so much for him.
"I should go. I'm really am sorry for coming unexpectedly," she bowed down as she apologized, and he reached out stopping her.
"Do you have to be somewhere right now?" He asked curiously then added, "I mean, I can drive you there if you like, since you are here and all."
She nodded accepting his offer. "You can take me home. I don't have any jobs for the rest of the day," she told him.
"In that case," he started blushing and nervously stuck his hands in his pockets, "would you like to say here for a bit? I'm not doing anything either, and I wouldn't mind spending the day with you."
Kyoko blushed and gingerly looked into the apartment. Her mind returned to the last time she was in his apartment alone and her blush brightened. When she didn't reply, Hikaru quickly spoke up, "Or we can go out. We can do whatever you like, watch a movie. It's nice out. We can take a ride or go for a walk." Anything as long as I get to spend some time with you, Hikaru said eagerly in his head.
She really didn't want to be in public right now but spending some time with him seemed like a great idea. She pressed her lips together and timidly looked up at him. "I don't mind staying here," she murmured and stepped further into the room. She remembered which slippers she used last time and took them from the cubby hole. She smiled as she noticed that everything was in order now but a few pairs of constantly used shoes.
"Great!" he exclaimed as she slipped off her shoes. He walked down the hall quickly looking around. "This really is a great time for you to come by, everything is clean and taken care of. I even have food." He turned towards her quickly, expecting her to be at the entrance but finding her directly behind him. He jumped a little and laughed nervously.
"Did you eat lunch already?"
Kyoko nodded but her smile wilted slightly, which Hikaru caught. He frowned and then perked up. "Then you should have dessert," he announced. He took her hand and walked her over to his couch. "Sit, make yourself at home," he told her and quickly went to his kitchen. She looked around his place for the first time. She really didn't get a chance to do so when she was first here, so she did so now.
It was an open layout design with only a single counter separating the kitchen to the living room. There was a single couch facing a medium sized entertainment center along with a small coffee table between them. At the end of the coffee table was a big Laz-e-Boy chair swiveled towards the TV. It was a very comfortable, lived in apartment with old furniture with bright colors and lots of pictures of family and friends. The place screamed of personality which brought a smile to her face.
He was in the middle of a video game, with a remote on the reclining chair and the game paused on the TV, there were two cans of Golden Cola on his coffee table, both seemed to be empty. Hikaru came back with a two small bowls, handed one to her and sat down next to her. It was cold when she took it and then looked inside.
"Ice cream?"
"Yeah, cookies and cream ice cream," he told her and scooped a spoonful into his mouth. He swallowed nervously when she didn't eat it.
"Do you not like that flavor?" He asked.
Kyoko smiled and shook her head as she spoke, "No, I like it just fine. I'm… thank you, Hikaru. This is perfect." She leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his cheek and sunk her spoon into her cold treat. He grinned at her goofily with a little flush on his cheeks.
"It's my favorite flavor. That one and brownie, but this one was on sale so I got two gallons of this," he told her.
"Two gallons," she burst out. "How long does it take you to eat those?" She asked hoping he said two months at least.
"Well, it depends how many guests I have over. I bought them two days ago, and I just now cracked open the first one. My family likes to come over a lot and Shin'ichi will eat almost half of it if I let him." Kyoko laughed at that.
"I can see why you bought two then," she said and took another bite. It was good, creamy and sweet, delivering everything it promised.
"Do you normally eat sweets?" She asked curiously. A lot of men refused to eat them, or would eat them in private. Sho was the later with Ren the former. She has known a lot of males that don't prefer the taste of sweet things.
"Guilty. Like those chocolates you gave me for Valentines Day, those were good. I wished there was more. To think they were hand made too, most hand made things don't remotely taste that good," he confessed as he ate.
"They were simple truffles, nothing special," she whispered in embarrassment.
"Everything you do is special," he revealed and coughed at his corny statement. They ate and when they were both done, so he took both bowls and stood up.
"Oh, let me clean those for you," Kyoko offered and Hikaru laughed, shaking his head.
"Sit, relax. You're my guest. I'll clean it up later," he said and walked away, rinsing the bowls and setting them in the sink. He walked back and sat on the couch, facing her.
"Feeling better?" He asked with a smile.
She thought about it and had to smile. "Yes," she replied with a nod.
"Ice cream has magical powers. It makes everything better no matter what situation you are in," he told her with a little laugh which made her face brighten and giggle in return. It's very true, spending the day with a friend, going to the movies, getting over a bad day, all better with ice cream.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Hikaru asked her sincerely.
Kyoko sighed deeply and thought about the luncheon. She was a little calmer about it now and found she could reflex back on it clearly, but it still depressed her. She turned towards him to say no, that she was fine but the moment she saw his patient face, looking at her intently with concern; she realized she wanted to talk to him. She couldn't tell him all the details since this role was secret, but she could tell him the parts that upset her. Though that would mean that she would also have to tell him about her past.
"You were right," she started, though she knew that statement would be confusing for him. He didn't even know she eavesdropped in one of his conversations.
"When I asked you out a few weeks ago, I had overheard a conversation you were having with Yuusei-san and Shin'ichi-san. That's how I found out you liked me more than a co-worker," she confessed and then bowed down, pressing her forehead down on the couch.
"I'm very sorry for listening in on your conversation. I am not normally that underhanded," she apologized. She felt him sink his fingers into her hair, sending a little shiver down her spine. She pulled herself up, slowly making his hand slip from her hair to the back of her neck. When she was half way up, he pulled her closer to him and kissed her softly. She squeaked in surprise but kissed him back.
"Because of that night, I get to have you here with me and kiss you whenever I like," he whispered making her blush, which caused him to kiss her again. "See. Well worth it," he grinned and let her go.
"It still wasn't proper," she said as she straightened back up. She took a deep breath preparing herself for the next part. "You mentioned Fuwa Sho in that conversation." She paused to see him nod curtly once.
"You were right," then she corrected herself, "well, half right. We never dated, though I wanted to date him." Kyoko relayed her life with the Fuwas and her involvement with Sho while in Tokyo. She had never seen Hikaru this angry. It reminded her of when they were at the arcade when he got a black eye. He was angry then, but he was also scared, frightened for their safety. This time, however, it seemed like he wanted to murder someone.
"What a prick!" He cursed out, shocking Kyoko. Whenever she told anyone her tale, they all stayed relatively silent or a little light bulb switched on to explain her obsession with the man. No one has ever been outraged on her behalf. She watched him stand up and start pacing the floor, ranting, "What kind of man… no boy, would treat you or anyone else like that. He's such an egotistical, arrogant, self-serving assh…"
"Hikaru," she called out between his words. He wondered behind the couch forcing her to twist around to look at him. He turned to look at her still in a fury until he saw her. She was smiling sadly at him. "It's really oka…mmmm." He kissed her. She yelped as he lifted her up with the couch between them and passionately kissed her. This was another new kiss from him. He worked her lips with his, lightly sucking her lower lip as he held her tightly.
"Kyoko, tell me you don't believe him," he asked breathlessly from his kiss. He leaned in and rested his forehead on her shoulder, arms wrapped around her, hugging her tightly as he whispered, "None of it is true. You are beautiful, sweet, caring, exciting, and I would have given anything to trade places with him growing up with you."
She gave him an astonishing look at the odd wish as he pulled away to look at her face. He smiled softly at her. "Think about it," he told her and then pulled away from their embrace. He crawled over the couch to join her again as he explained, "I don't know how you grew up but lets say you lived with me and my family. You would not only have me by your side but my sisters to play with. I remember all the silly games we use to play together. They loved to dress up and pretend to be captured by some of their teddy bears, and I would have to come in and rescue them." Hikaru laughed and then blushed.
So uncool, he thought to himself. "Um, perhaps I should be letting my mother tell you my embarrassing childhood stories," he whispered shyly but didn't mind his humiliation when she started giggling softly. If it caused her to smile and laugh then he was more than willing to sacrifice his pride so long as she continued to date him.
"Thank you, Hikaru," she said between giggles. "I know that if that were true, I would have fallen madly in love with my handsome hero," Kyoko said with a sweet smile and hugged him.
"You are one princess I wouldn't mind living happily ever after with," he whispered softly making Kyoko blush darkly in his arms. She squirmed out of his arms, unable to look at him in the eyes completely. It seemed that he felt the same way because he suddenly changed the subject.
"Would you like something to drink, Kyoko?" Hikaru asked as he stood up. He picked up the empty cans on the table to throw away.
"Water, if possible," she replied. She didn't think he would have tea here, so water was safest. She watched him stick his head into the fridge and stay there for a few moments. He eventually came back with another soda for himself and a bottled water for her.
"Thank you," she said, taking the bottle and took a quick drink of the cold liquid while he popped the top of his soda.
"So did you see him today? Is that why you were upset?" He tried to get back on topic, wondering how something that happened over a year ago was still bothering her today.
"Ah, no," she started but hesitated. This is where she would have to deviate from the truth to keep the secret in tact. "I was assigned to a new role but it's just a teaching exercise, so it won't be filmed or anything," she said thinking that was partway truthful. "I thought the role was fun at first then I realized today, thanks to my partner, that I re-created myself when I was still with Sho. I know my partner didn't understand what he was saying, but he told me my character was acting like his servant, cooking and cleaning after him, dropping everything in my life for his character."
"And it struck a cord," Hikaru finished her unstated thought. Kyoko simply nodded.
"What is his character to yours?" he asked seriously. Kyoko wondered if it was okay to tell the truth here. It shouldn't hurt.
"He's my brother," she answered.
"How does he treat you?" He asked again in earnest.
Kyoko had to think about that for a moment, her eyes glazing over slightly as she spoke, "He's always teasing me, and he never listens to me. I tell him to eat, and he whines telling me he isn't hungry. I tell him to return things he buys me, but he always comes back with more, just different things. He is always causing trouble, being rude to everyone else but me. If he wasn't so intimidating, I'm sure we would have been kicked out of so many places. He…"
Hikaru laughed and asked, "I gather you two are orphans?"
"Yes," she quickly replied then asked suspiciously, "how did you know?"
"Just a guess, I wouldn't think you would have that type of relationship if the parents are still in the picture. It seemed like you are playing the older sister, but he is the one making the money, maybe twins? It sounds like he wants to take care of you but likes the attention he gets from you so he picks fights with you. I don't know why he is so rude to everyone, unless they are other men. It seems like your brother has a jealous streak in him too, wants to keep you away from men," he stated and then laughed, "thankfully you don't really have a brother like that. I would never be able to date you."
She would have loved to have a brother or a sister, but one that she wasn't in love with like Setsu was in love with Cain. Things like what Hikaru had with his sisters, or the friendly batter between Cain and Setsu.
"While you are playing a role that has you acting like your old self, the person you are with is completely different. He loves, cares and spoils your character every chance he gets. I'm sure if you asked him to do the dishes or the laundry, or even cook something; he would willingly do it because he loves his sister, just as much as the sister loves her brother. Since this is an acting test, I assume this is improvisation?"
Kyoko nodded and Hikaru smiled pleased with himself. "So next time test him, ask him to do something he wouldn't normally do and see what he does and you can judge his response and how you feel about the whole thing after the test."
She let the idea blossom in her head and couldn't help the smile that radiated from her face. She jumped up and tackled Hikaru in a hug and a gleeful laugh. She quickly kissed his lips and thanked him enthusiastically. She stayed for two hours more, their conversation taking a more light-hearted topic of his apartment. He finally showed her everything in it and even offered to make her dinner. She had to decline stating that she wanted to put in some hours at the restaurant tonight. He drove her home on his bike and bid her a pleasant evening after a brief goodbye kiss.
