Dear Sempai

Disclaimer: I do not own SkipBeat! or any of the characters from the Manga.

Summary: Lory has conceived yet another devious scheme, wrapped in the guise of a LoveMe assignment. All the girls have to do is to write at least one letter a week to the person they respect the most. Simple… right?

Letter 10

Dear Ren,

I will surrender to your persistent insistence, while I am here in America, and call you by your given name; though I still think it is inappropriate to address my sempai in this manner. Of course it also seems silly to be writing you a letter today when we just talked for more than an hour yesterday and you told me to expect another call tonight. As to the issue of using given names: Once again, I only called Tiffany, Gabriel, Maria, and Samuel by their given names because that is how they do things here in America. They thought me silly and foolish when I tried to add honorifics, or when I tried to use their family names. So now I will surrender to your insistence (or should I say pouting) and address you in the same way, though it does not seem right for me to do so (how do you manage to give me Cain's puppy-dog face over the phone? It isn't fair!).

Nevertheless, I don't think that it would be a good idea if I continued in that practice when I return to Japan. It would seem so… ["personal" crossed out] ["intimate" scribbled out and barely legible] inappropriate.

And no, I still can't recall the specific instance when you told me that you had a problem with Kanji. Perhaps I only read it somewhere. Perhaps Yashiro told me. Maybe I am mistaken altogether and never heard such a thing at all. Please forget that I ever mentioned it. I'm sure that you read Kanji perfectly well.

Do you really think that I am a too formal? Okaa-san tells me that I need to learn to relax. That is most likely a byproduct of being raised up to be an Okami-san someday. Please notice that I can write about the Fuwa's without brooding now. Okaa-san, being the wonderful mother that she is, helped me to put away that aspect of my past and to realize how grateful I should be; and I am grateful to the couple who raised me. They were so kind to take in someone like me and to teach me life-skills, even if their ultimate goal now makes me cringe. In some ways they are like the Hizuri's, though the Hizuri's aren't trying to marry me off to their son (please don't get angry. You seem to become angry whenever I mention a certain someone, though I don't understand the reasons behind it).

Speaking of the Hizuri's son, another funny thing happened at the bar-b-cue party that Okaa-san and Otou-san threw today. Samuel, who seemed to be so friendly to me during our previous meetings, seemed to be avoiding me. Not just Samuel either; Gabriel, the son of the producer of Otou-san's last film also seemed to be acting odd. I felt as if I had done something wrong; or perhaps they simply lost interest in befriending me? It was Tiffany, Gabriel's sister, who finally talked to me. She said, "We had no idea that you were… close… to Kuon. The boys will be more careful now." Isn't that odd? Actually, she was acting sort of jealous, or skeptical. When I told her that I had never even met Hizuri Kuon, she asked, "then why did he call Samuel and…" Unfortunately, she didn't get to finish, because Samuel ran over and covered her mouth. He almost seemed… frightened. Unfortunately, nobody would explain what she was talking about.

What do you suppose that it was all about? I can't imagine that they could be frightened of Otou-san's son. After all, how frightening could the child of Otou-san and Okaa-san be? I asked the Hizuri's about him again, but they kept telling me that I would find out everything "eventually." I suppose that I should just respect their wishes. Do you know, there doesn't seem to be a single photograph of their son in the entire house; isn't that odd? I was curious about this as I was wandering around one day, so I asked Rachel, the head housekeeper. She acted oddly for a moment, but then simply replied, "I'm sure that they will be put out whenever the Master or Mistress decides." She wasn't unfriendly, but she did seem to make it clear, by her tone, that I shouldn't ask any further. So the mystery continues. You lived in America for a while, right? Do you know anything about Hizuri Kuon?

Tomorrow the Hizuris are both taking the day off and we are going to go to Disneyland! They have been so gracious to take so much time off for me, and now they are taking me to "the greatest place on Earth," just as if we were a true family. I am going to miss them so much when I leave.

I will close now. This letter should reach you at just about the time that you return to Japan, since Williams insists on sending everything by priority mail (rich people do things differently, don't they). I hope that all went well and I wish that I could be on-hand to welcome you back to Japan.

Sincerely,

Kyoko

Dear Moko-san,

I think that you are just being paranoid. There is no reason to suppose that the Hizuri's are intentionally hiding anything from me specifically. The mystery of their son's whereabouts has been going on for almost seven years, long before I met Otou-san, so my presence here can have nothing to do with it. Still, I admit that it does seem odd that there is not a single photo album, or even photograph or Kuon anywhere in the house.

I asked Otou-san about this one day and he became all fidgety. He is such a doting father that I assumed that he could hardly wait to show off pictures of his son… but he only stammered. Then Okaa-san gave him an odd look before telling me that everything had been put away for "safety." You don't suppose that Kuon is in trouble with the law, do you?

I wanted to look it up on the Hizuri's computer, but decided not to out of respect for their silence on the subject. I also thought about going down to the local library and using their computers… but I am reluctant to go behind their back as well. I told you about how the young people at the bar-b-cue reacted to that mysterious phone call; they almost seemed frightened. Well, actually, the boys seemed frightened, but the girls were almost acting jealous; though, jealous of what I do not know. It is probably only my overactive imagination.

On a more important note: Tsuruga-sempai is still trying to find out how I knew about his issue with Kanji! I can't believe that I made such a serious blunder! What if he figures out that I am Bo! Please don't laugh again, I don't think that there is anything wrong with him talking to a giant chicken, but he might be very angry if he discovers that he shared personal information with his talentless kohai! What if he doesn't want to speak with me ever again!

I trust you, as my best friend and close confidant, to NOT tease him about this while I am gone.

I'm glad that Chiori-san was able to take a break from writing out of consideration for her grueling movie schedule, though I was honestly looking forward to her next letter. She is being amazingly forthright in her correspondence. How are your letters to Hiou coming along? Is he receiving them well?

Thank you for worrying about me. Please take care of yourself,

Sincerely,

Mogami Kyoko

p.s. I don't see how you could make the jump from distrusting the Hizuri's to suspecting Tsuruga Ren. What can he possibly have to do with them? Just because he asked me to use his given name in my letters does not mean that he is plotting against me with people he barely even knows.

Dear Maria-chan,

Do you like the postcard? The castle was smaller than I imagined, but it was still wonderful!. The princesses were all so beautiful! I saw younger girls all over the park dressed in similar costumes and I thought of you. You would look so perfect in a Cinderella dress! Sadly, I don't have enough money left over to purchase one for you. I would like it if you and I could go to Tokyo Disneyland after I am back in Japan,

Missing you, your Onee-san,

Mogami Kyoko