The next morning when Ren arrived on set, he was greeted by a cheerful Kyoko. Ren gave a sigh of half disappointment and half exasperation earning him a somewhat worried look from Kyoko. So there was no deep meaning to what she said last night. Her attitude towards me is the same as always Ren thought. I thought as much, so at least I didn't lose too much sleep over it.
"How does the filming schedule look today, Mogami-san?"
"The director said it wouldn't be as long as yesterday, but to expect a full day of filming."
"Are you prepared for your scenes today? The scene when you find out about Hideyoshi's death is today right?"
"Yes, I'm ready. It's getting easier to understand Kagami the more I act her out."
Ren wasn't surprised; Kyoko was becoming a better actress with each job that she succeeded in completing. As the two of them were ushered to wardrobe, Ren looked forward to watching the scene where Kagami found out about Hideyoshi. Ren was curious as to what Kyoko's interpretation of Kagami's reaction would be.
After Kyoko had changed into the ice blue blouse, charcoal pencil skirt and black pumps she approached Director Shingai. Kyoko had some ideas for Kagami's reaction to the news of Hideyoshi's plane crash that she wanted to run by the director. The stage directions in the script were vague at best; instructing that Kagami should display a profound grief that went beyond simple loss and pain. When Kyoko reached the director, he simply told her to act it out how she interpreted it, and they'll go from there. With that, the filming began.
Kagami sat at her desk, gazing out the window, counting the hours until Hideyoshi was back in Japan. He had called from New York two nights ago, saying he was getting on the plane for California where he had a layover. Kagami couldn't wait for Hideyoshi's return; there were plenty of plans to go over for their wedding, different shops to visit and possibly cakes to sample. Not to mention Hideyoshi would sneak her out to some of the best food stalls around town, and Kagami had been craving ramen for quite some time. Hideyoshi promised to take Kagami out on a date in the city, and a ride in the big ferris wheel, as soon as he got back. Sighing, Kagami looked down at the paperwork waiting for her review. Although she was competent, the business aspect of the company sometimes bored her. She wasn't sure how Hideyoshi was able to enjoy it so much. But after trying to concentrate, Kagami couldn't shake the uneasy feeling she had. At first she thought it was just restlessness but something was still gnawing at her brain; why hadn't Hideyoshi called yet? He should be in California by now. Standing up and going around her desk, Kagami planned to go to her father to see if he had heard from Hideyoshi. But as soon as she was in front of her desk, the door to her office opened after a short, sharp knock. Her father walked in looking haggard.
"Otou-san, I was just coming to see you. Have you heard from Hideyoshi yet?"
"Yes, I just got word now…" Kaito said. Kagami sighed in relief, but then her father grabbed her hands. "Kagami…Hideyoshi's plane crashed in Nevada during an emergency landing attempt. They haven't found any survivors."
"No," Kagami whispered as tears began silently falling down her face as she sinks to her knees; "Hideyoshi" she whispers. Kneeling in front her, Kaito notices the loss of color in her face, and fears she might faint. As he gently grabs her arms to steady her, Kaito notices tears were no longer falling down her face; Kagami was just staring blankly ahead, her pain too profound for tears. Pulling his beloved daughter to him, Kaito holds her close trying to console her, but Kagami remains staring ahead, her eyes full of pain and anguish.
Director Shingai called "cut" across the eerily silent set and the props crew began preparing for the next scene. Everyone had expected Kyoko to cry uncontrollably, but what they had just witnessed tore at their hearts more than her crying could have. It was an intense scene to film and an intense scene to watch. The director was talking with Kyoko and Watanabe just off the set, reviewing the next scene and praising them both for the scene they just finished. Just as Kyoko had surpassed Ren's expectations for the Mio role, Kyoko had surpassed his expectations for Kagami. The change between the happy, expressive childlike Kagami and the grieving Kagami was so great that anyone would understand that Kagami had lost her innocence in that one moment and would never be the same again. In spite of himself, Ren felt a tinge of pride. Kyoko had come so far as an actress, if only she could make just as much progress as a woman and fall in love again, but this time with him.
After Kyoko and Watanabe underwent another wardrobe change, shooting resumed at the Hirohata penthouse set.
It had been four days since the news of Hideyoshi's crash came and Kagami was in her room, sitting at her vanity and gazing at the dried flowers from that day so long ago. Kagami was not conscious of how many days had passed; the days that had run one into another were colorless and empty. She vaguely recalled standing with Hideyoshi's parents and her own at the press conference announcing his death. Her father had checked in on her every night, coaxing her to eat and sitting with her until she fell asleep. Kagami was tired of passing each day in such a painful stupor; the more free time she had, the more she thought of Hideyoshi and all she had lost. Touching the daisy chain gently one last time Kagami got up, slipped on a black suit jacket over her black dress and walked out of her room to have breakfast with her father.
"Good morning Kagami. You're not planning on going to work are you?"
"Of course I am Otou-san. I can't allow you to pick up all the work I've neglected." Kagami replied in a carefully modulated yet toneless voice.
"You shouldn't push yourself Kagami," Kaito said sternly but gently.
"I'm not. I just can't stay home any longer," Kagami replied, her voice wavering.
Kaito felt it was still too soon for her to return to work, but it was better than to remain home and be haunted by memories, so he agreed. But he was unsettled by the lack of color in her voice and appearance; her once animated and lively manner had become quiet and subdued.
The first day of Kagami's return to work was marked by broken conversations and sympathetic or concerned murmurings every time Kagami passed by; it seemed everyone was surprised to see her return to work so quickly, and questioned her ability to work during such a painful period. But as the week progressed, and Kagami appeared to be regaining some of her coloring, the people in the office admired her gentle strength of character that allowed her to take up the position her fiancé had left behind. Unaware of the romanticized view her coworkers and employees had taken of her return to work, Kagami lost herself to the hectic pace of work that kept her mind occupied until she was alone in her room, and eventually the pain that Hideyoshi's loss caused diminished to a manageable dull ache. The physical exhaustion from each day allowed Kagami to fall asleep right away, and she no longer had nightmares of a fiery plane crash.
After peaking in, Kaito quietly closes the door to Kagami's room and returns to the living room where his wife is waiting.
"Is she sleeping soundly? Not tossing and turning, or crying out in her sleep?" she asks.
"Ah, she's sleeping soundly. Do you really think it's a good idea to let her go to the charity ball tomorrow night?"
"Of course it is! It'll be good for her to interact with others outside of work again. She's overcome a lot to get where she is now, if she sees her friends, maybe she'll be able to smile and laugh like she used to."
"Yes, that's true. But have you noticed? She doesn't wear colorful clothing anymore. All she wears are beige or gray suits."
"I think that's Kagami's way of mourning Hideyoshi's loss. I'm sure she thinks he wouldn't want her to wear black for him for too long." When her husband still looked uncertain, she continued. "You'll see Kaito, being back in her social circle will do her good."
Director Shingai called "cut" and the cast and crew were allowed to break for lunch. Kyoko sat with Ren, Yashiro, Watanabe and his assistant eating the bento she had prepared for all of them. Watanabe had tactfully hinted that he wished he could have tried some of the bento Kyoko had prepared for the outdoor shoot, and so Kyoko had especially prepared a bento for him to sample. While enjoying the food set in front of him, Watanabe would frequently put more food onto Kyoko's plate telling her to eat more in order to keep up her strength. Ren received the same treatment as well, with a stern warning that a man with as busy a schedule as Ren's should make sure to eat a lot. This launched Kyoko into a tirade of Ren's poor eating habits with Watanabe shaking his head reproachfully and expressing horror in all the right places. Ren antagonized Kyoko by feigning innocence and interjected that onigiri have fillings so it could constitute as a very minimal basic meal. Before Kyoko could explode like a firework, Director Shingai called that lunch was over and asked them to head to wardrobe. Kyoko being the consummate professional quickly dropped whatever scathing reply she had in mind and cleared their table. After the three changed into their outfits for the scene, they made their way to the charity ballroom set and took their places.
Katsutoshi leaned against the wall and scanned the crowd looking for Hirohata Kagami. He had discovered her identity when he saw the press conference about Asai Hideyoshi's plane crash and had stopped aggressively buying stocks of Hirohata Enterprises in respect to the ordeal her family must be going through. What he saw on the news conference had shocked him; she looked completely different, like the light inside her had gone out. Katsutoshi now understood why last time he hadn't recognized Kagami as same girl at the airport; at the airport her spirits had been dampened, and while still beautiful, she had lacked the inner light and vitality that had drawn Katsutoshi's eye. While Katsutoshi had attended the last charity event to keep an eye on Hirohata Kaito, he was attending this charity ball in the hopes that he'd see Hirohata Kagami. Katsutoshi was surprised with himself for caring so much about a stranger, not only a stranger but the daughter of the man he was targeting. But his surprise disappeared as he watched the Hirohata family enter the ballroom together. Kagami was looking subdued in a black sleeveless column gown, her wavy back in a loose chignon. Kagami was instantly surrounded by the same group of friends she was with at the charity event. While Kagami smiled at her friends, the smile didn't quite reach her eyes and looked strange on her face as well. Deciding that it would be inappropriate to approach her so soon, Katsutoshi hung back and simply mingled, always keeping Kagami in his periphery.
Kagami felt like she was suffocating under the sympathy and concern of her friends. Her friends had avoided mentioning Hideyoshi or anything that might remind Kagami of Hideyoshi; there wasn't much to talk about, which only emphasized how large a part of her life and identity Hideyoshi had been. While acting as if it was business as usual at the office was easy, pretending that a part of her hadn't died with Hideyoshi to her friends was not. However, Kagami found it irritating that although her friends were clearly trying to be comforting, they refused to acknowledge the loss that caused their sympathy in the first place. Hideyoshi's absence was the elephant in the room that no one mentioned but clearly noticed. But what really grated on Kagami's nerves was that her friends clearly wished to dance, had in fact brought dates, but weren't dancing since Kagami didn't have a partner. Kagami urged her friends to dance as they had paid so much to attend this ball, but none of them had. Kagami wanted to dance, but she didn't know many other men and was contemplating asking one of her friend's dates to dance just to get the ball rolling. But before she could a tall gentleman appeared before her.
"Good evening" the man said to Kagami.
"Good evening" Kagami replied, trying to remember where she had seen the man before.
"I'm Narita Katsutoshi, we met briefly at the children hospital's charity event a few months back," the man explained.
"Ah, I see. Nice to meet you Narita-san, I'm Hirohata Kagami" Kagami replied, not quite recalling the encounter.
"Hirohata-san, would you do me the honor of dancing with me?"
Before Kagami could answer, one of her friends answered "No, it wouldn't be proper." Turning a cold look at the friend, Katsutoshi said "I believe Hirohata-san can answer for herself. Besides, with the death of her fiancé, it may do her good to at least feel normal and dance at a ball." He then turned an inquiring look at Kagami. Kagami merely stood up and put her hand on his elbow and walked out onto the ballroom dance floor. Careful to make sure there was a respectable distance between them, Katsutoshi and Kagami began dancing.
"I'm sorry if I offended you" Katsutoshi said in a lowered voice.
"No, it's alright. My friends meant well" Kagami replied.
"They may mean well, but returning to a semblance of normal life helps the healing process."
"Being asked to dance by a total stranger is not something I experience in normal life. Why did you ask me to dance when there are plenty other young women here?" Kagami asked in slight annoyance. Her friends refused to talk about Hideyoshi, but this stranger seemed to want to talk of nothing else.
"Without dead fiancés you mean?" Katsutoshi asked with a smirk, knowing what her irritation stemmed from. "I guess I asked you out of pity."
"Pity?!" Kagami exclaimed, a flash of anger and outrage in her eyes.
"Yes, I thought you might take pity on me. I came here without a date."
"I can see why," Kagami replied without thinking. When she realized what she had said, she was so shocked she began to stammer an apology, but Katsutoshi had started laughing. It was a rich, genuine laugh and Kagami felt some of the tension leave her.
Katsutoshi felt the rigidity of Kagami's frame loosen as he laughed and felt as though he had truly accomplished something. He had gotten her angry and brought some life and spark into her beautiful amber-brown eyes. He really enjoyed her company and she could sense it. Her friends had been unsure how to act around her and had added to her tension. However, all good things had to come to an end, and the band finished the song they were playing.
"Would you like to dance again or perhaps take a breath of fresh air on the balcony?" Katsutoshi asked.
"No thank you. I think it's still too soon" Kagami replied. Katsutoshi didn't need to ask what she meant by that; she was still grieving her loss and didn't want to be seen as moving on already with another man.
"Thank you for dancing with me Hirohata-san. I really enjoyed myself. Perhaps I will see you at another charity event?" Katsutoshi said as he escorted Kagami back over to the table she had been sitting at.
"Yes, maybe we'll meet again" Kagami replied with a polite half smile. Katsutoshi thought that the smile he received was more genuine than the smiles she had given her friends. Although the smile didn't reach her eyes, her eyes didn't look as haunted as they had when he had asked her to dance. Katsutoshi had to tear himself away from her side, he didn't want to leave her in fear another man would come and ask her to dance. The feeling of having her in his arms had been too fleeting and he didn't want some other man to experience it. As he walked away, he noticed her friends leaving the dance floor to return to Kagami's side.
"Kagami, are you alright?"
"Yes, why wouldn't I be? We just danced."
"He was so rude before, casually mentioning Hideyoshi's death like that."
The rude ones were you, who didn't mention his death at all thought Kagami. "Well, Hideyoshi's death is fairly common knowledge in the business world. I expect he saw the press conference."
"We're sorry Kagami. We tried to avoid talking about Hideyoshi because we didn't want you to upset you; but it upset you that we didn't mention him, didn't it?"
In spite of herself Kagami felt tears sting her eyes, and she nodded. Before she knew it, she was enfolded in a group hug, and they were all laughing and crying. They spent the rest of the evening telling their favorite stories about Hideyoshi. By the time Kagami left with her parents, her spirits were lifted and she felt like the weight her grief had eased a bit more. As she was walking out, she saw Katsutoshi standing by the coat check. Their eyes met and he inclined his head; Kagami smiled shyly in response. She felt she owed him for the way the evening had turned out.
Katsutoshi knew what brought out that smile; he had seen the interaction with her friends after he left their table and was glad that she was able to communicate with them again. Although she wore a bittersweet expression most of the time they were talking the atmosphere was more relaxed. Hoping that she would look back at him, Katsutoshi watched Kagami leave, but she didn't turn back.
Director Shingai called cut, and had Ren and Kyoko redo the dance scene for a different camera angle, so this time they were the only two on the dance floor. Shingai then had Kyoko and Ren dance further apart so as to capture Kyoko's facial expressions during their exchange about pity and the reason Katsutoshi was dateless. After the shots were finished, they were done for the day.
After they changed back into their street clothes Ren drove Kyoko to Darumaya where she had to work the evening shift. When she found out that he was on his way to another job, she told him to wait at the curb for a few minutes. Confused, Ren did as she asked and was surprised when she came running out in her work yukata, a bento and two bottled green teas in her hands. Shoving these into the car through the passenger window, Yashiro accepted them.
"It's nothing fancy but still better than onigiris. Eat it now while it's still warm. Good luck on your next job Tsuruga-san!" Kyoko said as she bowed to them.
"Thank you Kyoko-chan, I'm sure it's delicious! You'd better head back in" Yashiro said. After Kyoko gave another bow, Ren and Yashiro drove off. Yashiro counted to ten then said wryly, "Your face, Ren. It's slipping. It's been slipping ever since Shingai had you dance with Kyoko-chan three more times."
"What are you talking about Yashiro?" Ren asked with his gentlemanly smile.
"Will you be able to sleep well tonight Ren? The feel of having the girl you love in your arms lingering on your fingertips and in your mind." Yashiro asked with a smirk. That wiped the smile off Ren's face. "Here, eat up. It's easier to fall asleep with a full stomach."
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A/N: SORRY FOR THE WAIT. I'VE PRETTY MUCH DRAINED ALL OF MY CREATIVITY GETTING THIS CHAPTER OUT, SO THE WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL TAKE EVEN LONGER. I HAVE RIDICULOUSLY HIGH STANDARDS FOR MYSELF, SO I HAVE TO APPROVE OF THE CHAPTER BEFORE I PUBLISH IT. THANKS FOR THE COMMENTS, I LOOK FORWARD TO THEM AS MUCH AS YOU LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT CHAPTER, SO KEEP THEM COMING.