Chapter 9
Awards season was quickly approaching, as was the time of the premier, and her birthday. Now the public was seeing ads that she had starred in practically everywhere, and the teasers were finally showing in the theaters, on the internet and on television. She was now, officially the new Bond Girl and her producers, directors and the companies she was the face for, loved it. She was being noticed now more than ever and Kuon stood by her proudly, even when he was asked about her in Japan.
No, his revelation didn't cause the uproar that he'd thought it would, but the fact that he was dating a Bond Girl and Centerfold, did. Some talk show hosts were polite and respectful when it came to questions about his girlfriend, but there were others that weren't, by any stretch of the imagination, with questions like: "How do you feel about her being touched so intimately by other men?", "What do you have to say about her exposing herself to the world in those photos?", "How can you stand being around such a loose woman? One that's willing to show other men what's only meant for your eyes?" (That one pissed him off more than the others.). His answers were always honest and to the point. "I think her photos are tastefully done and she looks beautiful.", "I don't mind them looking, she's with me and I'm with her. I love her and she loves me and that's all there is to it. I trust her and have faith in her, just as she does me."
He really wanted to get a ring on her finger, soon. However, he wanted to do it after he had a firm foothold in Hollywood. He didn't want anyone saying that he wasn't worthy of her, even if he felt she deserved better than him. He wanted to be her equal in all of this and he was hoping that with the awards coming up, he would prove to be worthy internationally.
It was quite amusing actually. Lory could safely say, he'd never seen so many blondes in front of LME in his entire life. Kuon's female fans were trying desperately to look and act like Kyoko. Nothing's better than the original though and his most fervent fans, that actually cared, knew this. She was a model, an actress and a sex-symbol. She was still polite, friendly and they hated to admit it, stunningly beautiful with an amazing sense of fashion, thanks to Juli Hizuri and her image consultant. They just couldn't compete with something like that. He could now safely say that she was a jewel in the crown of LME and he had found her.
He was amazed when he discovered that they had essentially worked night and day to make sure that 007: Rise, was finished just in time for the judges of International People's Choice Awards and other high profile potentials to attend a special viewing. Usually, a movie from the 007 franchise took up to 11 months to release after the initial filming was finished. Lory was ecstatic to discover that Kyoko and her movie had been nominated for a good portion of the categories that it could be nominated for: Best Actor and Actress; Best Breakout Artist; Best Female Artist, and Best Action Movie. The people were definitely letting everyone know who and what they liked and it was the Immortal Butterfly. The mere fact that they'd been nominated, spoke volumes about her talent and this was only the start of Awards Season.
The thing that excited him the most about all of this was the fact that Tragic Marker had made it onto the list of nominees. It had been release too late last time. It was actually pretty rare for something like that to happen since it really wasn't that fresh in the memory of the public, but Konoe and the producers made it a point to try and keep it fresh by dubbing it and re-releasing it in several other countries, most importantly, the US. Kuon was ecstatic when Lory informed him of his nominations: Best Actor; Best Action Movie and Best Breakout Artist. Lory's two favorites would be competing and they absolutely loved it. He could actually hear Kyoko squealing for joy in the background as he informed the pair of their nominations. What made things even better for him was the fact that he was the one that discovered them both.
This was so much better than a love sim. The two were so completely unpredictable. Not at all what he had expected out of either of them regarding the magazine articles, interviews and commercials. Kyoko and Kuon had taken to the international entertainment world, like ducks to water. He'd been worried about them both, initially dealing with Hollywood. Kuon, due to his past experiences and Kyoko, due to the fact she was, at the start, so modest. He never dreamed that she would take the steps she needed to change, but she did. She took them by leaps and bounds, landing on her feet each time, and Kuon was taking it all in stride. Not how he would have expected him to react even six months ago. He wondered what had caused that, and could have never guessed that it was one little email entitled: The Beauty of Monaco.
"Even bad girls want a little something good." She purred seductively as she sipped the dark libation and winked into the camera as an unseen male caressed her neck up to her cheek and she turned to him for a kiss, before the bottle, a filled martini glass and the name emblazoned on the top of the screen flashed in red on a black background.
He felt the back of his neck and ears heat up with a blush, as if she had been speaking directly to him. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and quickly averted his eyes from the commercial for the black vodka that he'd just seen on television and quickly turned it off.
His eye strayed over to the movie poster on his wall. She was in the arms of the actor that played James Bond, with one hand beneath his blazer and the other holding a dagger behind her back, looking up at him with the most enticing sexed up look he'd ever seen on a female. Even the girls he'd bedded hadn't looked as scorchingly hot as she did in that photo and yes, at this point he considered them only girls. Kyoko on the other hand, was as full blown woman and looked every bit the part. When exactly did that happen?
He couldn't help, but think perhaps now she might be a bit out of his league. Everything about her now was intimidating and he believed at this point, inaccessible. Well, maybe for him, but not for Kuon Hizuri. It had been leaked through the grape-vine that she and Tsuruga/Hizuri were up for an ass load of awards this season and he didn't have a single one. He'd allowed his obsession to curtail his creativity. What made things even worse, was the rumor that Tsuruga was actually Hizuri. He never saw the announcement. He avoided anything that had to do with the actor. His face made him want to put a shoe through the television.
The more he thought about the rumors, the more irritated he became. He wanted to hop on a plane to wherever she was living at the moment, and drag her back to Kyoto where she belonged. He deserved all of the attention, not her! He'd worked on his career more than she had and everything just seemed to fall into her lap. She was supposed to stay in his shadow and take care of him. That's why he brought her to Tokyo. Now she was out whoring around in Hollywood and breaking the promise she made to him.
He needed to do something and do it quick, before she got too big, but what could he possibly do? A thought came to mind and he wasn't sure it would work, but hey... why not? He pulled out his phone and dialed. The first call didn't go quite as planned and only served to increase his irritation and inform him that he was no longer welcome in Kyoto as a family member. The second? Well, he managed to get an appointment with the woman, perhaps he could manipulate her into vetoing her daughter's career. After all, Kyoko wasn't exactly behaving like the ideal example of a Japanese woman. Oh, how the world actually works. Sho would find out very soon what Saena Mogami's opinions on how independent single women were viewed in Japan truly were.
