A bad day
That night Kyoko was dead tired when she fell onto her bed. Emotionally this had been the worst day since valentine, and she had thought that day to be the Day of Hell. Just thinking "Valentine" made her angry.
Sighing she turned to stare into the ceiling. Why had her mother been so angry? Why was she angry?
Kyoko quickly banned those thoughts from her brain.
'Mother is probably stressed,' she thought. 'Sky-kun is obviously more powerful than I thought. Even the president bowed to her! I never thought I'd see him lower his head for anyone!'
"Make sure to thank Ms. Mogami properly."
Kyoko smiled. There was a warm feeling circling around those words. Sky-kun had a strange effect on her. It was calming to be in her presence. She had a small body but a big person. Kyoko would have to ask Tsuruga-san about her the next time they met.
The warmth was gone in an instant.
"I can't get close to Tsuruga-san anymore, can I?"
She couldn't. There were bruises on her body. Darkened patches of tender skin caused by the nails and fists of jealous admirers. There was no way she could go near her sempai again.
Kyoko sat up straight. "Wait! Why does it really matter? It shouldn't hurt like this only because I must stay away from a sempai! What's wrong with me?"
She roughly ruffled her hair and glared into the wall. "It doesn't matter much to me!" she said to it. Then caught the frozen gaze of the Tsuruga-san nailed to the wall next to her. "And don't you dare accuse me for what happened! It was your fault! You shouldn't have insisted on being with me..."
"There really is no problem."
That's what he had said. He had said there was no problem staying close. He had said he didn't believe in the rumours because he knew her better than that, so there was no problem.
"But everybody else believes it. You really are... stupid, Kyoko."
The wall was cold under her forehead. Thoughts and feelings were surging around inside, and the feeling beneath everything she strictly kept away from her consciousness.
She had decided to leave showbiz, so now her mother would be happy, right? If she went back to Kyoto her mother would love her. That's what she had said! As long as she stayed in showbiz her mother wouldn't acknowledge her.
"Why not?"
"Don't start now, Hikaru-san..."
The scream startled the couple sleeping in the next room. The landlady opened the door and worriedly looked inside.
"Kyoko-chan?"
"I totally forgot! I should have been filming for Totally Wild Rock tonight! Why haven't they contacted me? How could I ever forget? I gotta go..."
"Kyoko-chan, please calm down. It's the middle of the night. Don't you think they would have contacted you when you weren't on time?"
Kyoko stared at this woman who was as much a guardian as a friend. "You're right," she said, defeated. "They probably already found a substitute for me."
And with that she fell onto her bed a second time that night. First school, today Mio and Dark Moon and now Bou and Totally Wild Rock. Her life as an actress was fading. Her star was falling.
Not knowing what more to do the Okami returned to bed.
In another room in Tokyo stood Kyoko's mother. The room was dark and she was alone. At least she hoped so. The woman with green eyes, The Black Goddess, had said there were some things she had to look up before she made a move on Kyoko.
"You're the first who comes to this place with such a reason."
Those words rung in her head over and over again. The whole conversation had been bizarre. Goddess knew everything already. All that had happened to Kyoko since she arrived with Fuwa-kun.
"I kept my eyes on them since I thought Fuwa might want to... cut the ties, so to say. Too bad he's got more moral than that."
That's what she had said. Goddess hadn't mentioned what she knew about her, but there had been hints.
Saena sat down on the bed and looked to her shoes. She should take them off, get undressed and go to bed. Showering would have to wait till morning. Nobody would come visit her at night. She must look terrible. The make-up was probably ruined from all her crying. There weren't any tears left now. Goddess would take care of Kyoko and then everything would start over from before that time. Her suffering wouldn't exist anymore.
"Don't think so high of yourself."
Her grip on the comforter tightened.
"You think you're the only one suffering? You haven't seen the dark side of this world."
"I know about the dark side," she whispered into the night. "I saw my sister be killed by his fans, believing she was I."
A morning had never been as terrible. It was easier to count the body parts that didn't hurt. That slimmed down to her tights, toes and secret area. Everything else hurt more or less. The beating she had gotten from Tsuruga-san's fans yesterday had been worse than she had thought. And to think they were working in the business too.
Then there were the emotional wounds. The loss of both Bou and Mio in the same day made her feel empty, and they hadn't even had heart enough to tell her beforehand she wasn't needed in Totally Wild Rock anymore.
Tsuruga-san too. There was no way she could get close to him again. Maybe her mother was right. Maybe it was better for her, at least for her own safety, to return to Kyoto.
Her stomach clenched and she almost hurled. As if she didn't have enough with her confused emotions as it was.
Opening her eyes they sought the daruma doll. It stared back at her with its only eye.
"You're going to leave me as a one-eyed daruma forever?"
That's what the doll thought about her right now: a pitiful, defeated girl.
Her eyes hardened and she stood.
"Who said I'm defeated? I'll show them all! Just because I can't talk to Tsuruga-san personally and that mother doesn't approve of my acting yet doesn't mean I'm down on my knees already. Just wait. I'll force mother to see my acting and she will prise me and take back everything bad she's ever said to me! That's right! I'll do it. L.M.E, here I come!"
She was done dressing and out the door before she stopped moving. Thinking hard she sought inside her bag. It wasn't there. Looking back she saw the miniature purse right beside the daruma doll.
"I'm sorry, Corn. I almost forgot you."
She opened the purse and stared at the blue-purple stone. It was some time since she had held it in her hand. Still, some destructive magic had occurred.
"I know! It's the magic! I've been cursed! That's why I'm feeling this way! My sickness must be a side effect of the curse too. Why didn't I think of it before?"
Corn gleamed up at her and she smiled back.
"Thank you, Corn. We will figure out how to break this curse together."
There wasn't much to do today, but as a Love-Me member she had still to get to work. There were always something to be done as such, and then she would go filming for Box 'R'. Maybe she would have some time to go talking to Bridge Rock. She knew they had been filming last night and she wanted to know who her substitute was.
"Alright, Corn. Let's go to work."
In her office, Mogami Saena was working on the new autumn fashion. While normal people didn't start thinking about autumn when spring had just started, clothing designers always had to be six month ahead of the year. It was hard work, trying to keep track the fashion of the rest of the world as well as any trend in Japan, but it was what she did best. As long as she sat behind her desk drawing, far away from the real world, she was happy.
When someone knocked on the door around lunchtime it was nothing out of the ordinary. A colleague came in with her samples to shortly get a second opinion and some advice. The idea was good, but not really correct. The woman didn't have quite the touch yet, but she weighed it up by having a great dose of imagination and passion.
Being questioned to share lunch was not unusual either, nor was the phone ringing as she rose to collect her coat and purse.
"I'll be there in a minute," she reassured the colleague as she picked up the line. "Moshi, moshi. Polnoch Sana speaking."
"Hi. I am Asami Haruki from Akatoki agency. I have a request about a set of special design cloths."
Morning had been filled with little jobs to left and right. Now Mogami Kyoko finally had a moment to see her friends from Bridge Rock. The fact that they hadn't even called her yesterday – or at all – was upsetting. Even more so after Hikaru-san had been so sweet that other night, lending his shoulder and following her home.
Thinking back, it was embarrassing. She, who cried so rarely, had broken down in front of him. For God's sake, she had been working in showbiz for a little more than a year now, she should be used to most sorts of pressures. Fighting until she crawled in the dirt, banging her head bloody against obstacles way stronger than herself. Shouldn't that have toughed her up enough to be able to withstand any hard feelings?
But seeing her mother and once again be disapproved of hurt something much deeper than that. An old wound had reopened, and underneath the flesh was rotting. Like there was an ogre living there.
NO! No, no, no, no! Can't have that. Can't be all down when I see them. Must act like I'm all right.
Then she ran into someone coming around the corner.
"Hey watch out where..."
Kyoko looked up to apologize, and she would have if the person she had run into had had any reason she knew of to be right there right then.
"Hoshisawa-san. What are you doing here? They aren't filming in this area at this hour, are they?"
"Well, I should ask the same from you, Mogami-chan."
"Eh? But I..."
Hoshisawa-san's hands were busy with the buttons of her expensive-looking blouse. Had she just put it on? Had she come straight from a set? Here?
The other girl snorted. "Whatever. It's none of your business. Will I see you at set later?"
"Huh? No. I'm not going there until tomorrow."
"See you then." And with that Hoshisawa-san walked past her as dramatically as she possibly could, leaving Kyoko with question marks around her head.
"What was that all about?"
And then she heard a familiar voice down the hall.
"THAT KYOKO! HOW CAN SHE BE SUCH A WHORE?"
Bridge Rock had gathered in the Totally Wild Rock meeting room to discuss yesterdays show and Mogami Kyoko's replacement; a male in his mid thirties. Professionally he was good enough. Not on the same level as Kyoko-chan, but he was the best the director had been able to pick out in such a short space of time.
But privately he was a nightmare; a real asshole who thought he was the centre of the show.
But in the middle of the meeting they had been visited by last night's guest; a girl they only knew as "Kyoko". Today she hadn't come for small talk though. What she had done could only be described as sexual harassment, and nobody would believe them if they told that tale.
The guys were stunned for minutes after she left. Hikaru snapped first.
"THAT KYOKO! HOW CAN SHE BE SUCH A WHORE?"
"Really. I can't believe it," Yuusei agreed. "I was shocked yesterday, but still..."
Even Shinishi, who usually was the calmest of the three, was pacing with an annoyed expression. "I admit I had heard the rumours, but I could hardly believe they were actually true."
Hikaru started towards the door, signalling the end of the meeting, knowing they would get nothing proper done in their state of mood. "With the amount of rumours flying around it's hard to know which to believe in. But there is no doubt the ones about that whore are... true..."
He had opened the door. Outside stood a small-looking Mogami Kyoko. Her head was lowered so he couldn't see her face, but a sense of dread settled in his stomach.
"Huh? Leader, what's...?"
The silence from Shinishi and Yuusei told him they were just as aware that Kyoko-chan had just heard them talking as Hikaru was. Judging from her posture she believed they had been talking about her.
"K-Kyoko-chan."
"Even after... working together... for so long..."
Her voice was low, hinting at pain. Hikaru would have done anything for a good advice or a miracle in that moment.
"Um, Kyoko-chan. Well, what you just heard... The thing is..."
If she didn't hear, or heard and ignored him was hard to tell, but she wouldn't hear him out. "Even after... being so kind... and so good to me... This is how you really feel..."
"No, of course not! Kyoko-chan..."
Hikaru had expected tears and a pained expression when Kyoko-chan looked up. Instead he and his friends met Devil Kyoko with minions for the first time.
"IS THIS SOME KIND OF JOKE?"
Kirill Mertvye stopped playing as his sixth sense picked up the "voices" of strong emotions in the distance. Well, "voices" weren't really the correct word, but he didn't know how else to describe the signals he felt from people. One set of signals were getting very familiar to him by now.
"Again..."
"Kirill?"
He felt Yuni's eyes on him and didn't shield away from the soothing "voice" of her understanding and acceptance.
The problem was that they were in the middle of practicing the new song, and their blind keyboarder Ivy had finally joined them earlier today.
"I won't have this, Kirill," her harsh voice cut through the air. "Shut yourself off. Malin already told me you've been distracted more than once already since your arrival to Japan."
Yuni's words were just as sharp. "Ivy, if you don't cool your head soon so help me I'm going to do something regrettable."
Kirill tried to concentrate on the familiar sense of the female in the distance. From time to time she was sending out those strong emotion signals, but they were dulling down now, drowning in the tension between Yuni and Ivy. It was a good thing Malin had taken Elexa and Fuva elsewhere to finish the lyrics.
Yuni was the pillar of his life and the mother of the band, but Ivy was the Big Boss; the one who kept the members in line. Together they were the spine of Mertvye Svjatye. But the two of them weren't inseparable friends. Ivy had been a major in the army – forced to resign after losing her eyes – and still acted that way. Yuni was a former nurse engaged with Red Cross. Their way of treating people were very different, and they had a hard time with the other's ways.
Still they had some sort of strange agreement, for there had never been any scenes or scandals caused by them. Of course the Russian media knew about it, and in the start of their career as a band the lines had been; "Warning for catfight; Mertvye Svjatye about to fall apart?"
That had been ten years ago, before the media learnt that it was only a shagong.
"There is a girl out there who is very hurt, and covers it with extreme levels of anger, maybe even hatred," Kirill said, trying to break through the tension.
"I care little about anything but finishing practice before we go to set next week. The score isn't as advanced as those of Mermaid or even King's war."
"Ivy..." Yuni's restrained voice was ignored.
"I recognize you as a capable musician, Kirill. Now put that capacity to use and start working."
"Ivy."
"I haven't been gone for that long, and yet you've all slacked off as if you're all on some freaking kind of vacation. What if we lose face in front of the Japanese crowd?"
"IVY!"
Kirill flinched, and he saw Ivy do the same, the irritation she had felt and thrown his way dulled. It was rare for Yuni to raise her voice. She had even jumped to her feet.
"However pissed you are, whoever you are mad at, you have no right to land all pressure on Kirill. We are working, and we will be prepared for the filming of the PV next week. We've done this for more than ten years already."
God bless Yuni. He hadn't noticed himself how much tension Ivy's words had caused in his muscles. Without Yuni, Ivy would have been able to boss around to her heart's content – and would cheerfully do so. That's why Yuni was such an important part of the group.
The "voice" of the female he had stopped to listen to had silenced now. He had felt her often the last few days. She amazed him. Yesterday afternoon had had him worried. Tremendous jealousy had caught her in its trap and he had so clearly felt her panic, fear and pain it had left him with nightmares.
But then this morning, the girl, if she was that – it was hard to tell how old she was – had decided upon something and managed to lift her spirits out of a pit of despair. Not many people would be able to manage that in such short space of time. The girl definitely stood out in a crowd.
He thought he knew who the girl was too. The first time he felt her emotions she had been distressed and tried to hide within herself. A weak shell. As soon as he had spoken to her it had shattered.
The girl who had guided them when they were lost. The girl inside the chicken costume that the same night had been caught up in a serious inner turmoil.
"Let's just start over," Ivy said, as usual refusing to apologize for anything. "Tell me my scores again."
He exchanged a look with Yuni. Ivy would just never learn common politeness. It was below her dignity to say "please".
Kyoko was stomping away, still angry but back straight, from her so-called friends trembling in a pathetic heap. Guys like them weren't worth a second thought. And to think she had actually liked that lot.
She gritted her teeth, mumbling curses under her breath without noticing how people stepped out of her way.
"Whatever. I don't need those idiots. Just a bunch of liars. I may have lost my job, but they didn't have to abandon me that quickly."
Was everyone from Dark Moon feeling the same?
She stopped.
It was dangerous grounds, she knew, but she couldn't avoid the thoughts. If Bridge Rock were this fast to change – provided that they actually had changed and not pretended to like her all along – how much of the friendly aura on the Dark Moon set had disappeared?
Kyoko shook her head. "No. They aren't like that. In just a few days they will be finished filming as well and then we will all go to celebrate the success."
The cell phone in her pocket went off and witnesses jumped as she vibrated along with the device.
"Ah, moshi, moshi. Mogami here."
"Kyouko-san. Where are you?"
"Huh?" It sounded like the director of Box 'R'.
"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HERE AN HOUR AGO!"
Kyoko screamed all the way through the building to her bike. She had totally forgotten about Box 'R' in the midst of everything else. If things went on in this manner she would have to make a wallpaper of her schedule for the rest of her time in showbiz and examine it every night and morning. Moko-san had told her that the cell phone had a function that worked as a reminder, but she had yet to understand how that worked.
If she remembered correctly the set would be right outside of her own (former) high school, filming Natsu in the autumn after finishing school – though it was currently early spring.
Everybody was waiting for her when she made a rather dramatic appearance, flying over half the set and forcing staff and actors to throw themselves out of the way as she readjusted the bike so that she could use the rear-wheel for a more effective brake with shorter skidding. It was good she had such a good bike at least. She managed to stop just an inch before hitting into the director.
"I'm so... sorry... I forgot... today..."
The director looked down at her, clearly not pleased. He even had the aura of complete aggravation, like Kyoko was an eyesore he'd rather crush under his foot.
The assisting director helped her up and took the bike.
"Go get your make-up done, Kyouko-san. We don't have all day."
Dislike. Ill intentions. Kyoko could clearly feel them building up around her. The staff was most likely finished with all the preparations for the scene, and since Natsu would be the centre of the single scene they would shot today, they were all irritated with her. Now that she wasn't filming for Dark Moon, not working at Totally Wild Rock, and all the strange rumours running wild, she had stooped down to the bottom of the showbiz society. So much for Love-Me.
But that surely wouldn't stop her from doing a good job during the rest of her time. Today she was going to make the best scene Natsu had ever managed before.
"Kyouko-san, are you angry about something?"
She heard the words, but the one who looked out of her eyes was an indifferent Natsu. "Angry?"
The costume-manager recognized the look and said nothing more. Kyouko-san had proved time and again that once she entered a role she did it all out, and sometimes couldn't even remember to listen to Kyouko-san's name.
Preparing didn't take more than twenty minutes and Natsu was already in the right state of mind when she walked to the bench where she would be sitting throughout the scene. The director had to admit he was surprised, but not enough to be at a loss of mind.
"Scene 67, test take."
Natsu sat there, hearing the voices of the past. Then Kaori arrived.
"Natsu? What are you doing here?"
Kaori was dressed as an adult and had had a haircut.
"I'm trying to remember some friends," Natsu answered. "It feels like a long time... since we walked out of that building for the last time."
"Yes. We have some pretty good memories from there. You want to talk about it?"
Natsu stared ahead. Kaori left.
"Talk about what?"
"And cut. Marumi, try to say your line more giddily. You too, Riku-san. Remember the same feeling you had for the scene, when your voice quivered like you were crying. Makino-san though, you must sound more indifferent."
Kyoko sat still as a stone on the bench, listening to everything.
"Kyouko-san and Amamiya-san, keep it right up. If you can deliver it just like that for the main take it will be perfect."
Amamiya Chiori nodded her head with eyes clear with concentration. Mogami Kyoko didn't even blink. She was obviously in one of her moods when she had a hard time separating from the character's feelings. This was a good trait of hers though, as an actress.
They tested the scene a couple of more times before they took a break while the director went over the changes with the assistant director.
After having been seated for so long without moving, Kyoko was glad to stand and walk around for a bit. This far it had been easy. All of them just had to talk with the right amount of feeling.
"Kyoko-san. Are you feeling okay?" Amamiya-san asked as she came up to her. "Considering how everything is."
"Yes, don't worry. I may not look much like it, but I'm pretty tough."
Love-Me member no. 3 didn't look very convinced. She leaned in and spoke lowly as they continued to walk.
"About that, somebody told the director you've been fooling around in places where you shouldn't be."
Kyoko blinked. "Fooling around" was a term she would never have associated with what she had been through the last few days. "What have I done now? Is it about that yesterday?"
"Is it true?" Amamiya-san said bewildered. "Did you really fuck the producer of Totally Wild Rock?"
If disgust had a face, Kyoko pulled it now, mixed with a lot of disbelief. Her mouth slowly fell open. "Haa?"
"You didn't?"
"Of course not. The producer hates me! He wouldn't touch me with a stick if his life depended on it."
"Is it that bad? What did you do to make him hate you that much if you only appeared in the show yesterday?"
Kyoko opened her mouth first and blinked later, realizing what had just been said. Appearing in the show yesterday? She hadn't even gone to set to see if her substitute was chosen yet or not. There must be some sort of miscommunication along the lines. As far as she was concerned, nobody knew Mogami Kyoko, Hongo Mio, Kitagawa Natsu, was also acting as the mascot, rooster Bou, in one of the most popular TV-shows right now.
"I didn't appear in the show yesterday," she told her friend bluntly, and there was no chance for anybody who listened to not believe in that. She may be an actress, but that line was too filled with utter surprise that it couldn't be mistaken for acting.
Amamiya-san frowned in confusion. "You didn't? But everybody behind the scenes is talking about how Kyoko got done by that guy."
"Well, excuse me, but I'm not the only Kyoko in this industry, am I?"
"Uh, no. I guess you aren't..." She would have said more if the director hadn't called everybody back at that moment.
"Get ready for the main take. Everybody take your positions."
The Love-Me girls shared another confused look and then took their places, Kyoko on the bench and Amamiya-san in the half-circle of people standing behind it.
"Scene 67, take 1. Action."
What am I doing here anyway? It's not like anything will change. Well, mom and dad are expecting something from me. Like I care.
"Natsu, I hate you!"
Likewise. And what are you going to do about it? Kill me? Come and try. I'm waiting. The world is boring without people who hates me, or people to have fun with. Why am I bothering to think?
"Kitagawa-san, I'm so happy you came."
Humph, that stupid girl. It is humiliating that I never managed to break her. It didn't matter what I did, she never gave up on that silly smile. Makes me wanna puke.
"Have your way, Natsu, but I'm out of here."
...Well Yumika, it's not much of a surprise really, is it? You just can't take a stumble in life. Even with me, you were never strong enough to make it through.
"Natsu, stop. You're overdoing it."
Overdoing it? I don't think I overdid anything. I was just so damn bored of all those people. Nobody would have noticed it if they died anyway. You have to admit it was a lot of fun, making them cry. Making them bleed. All of you should know level five games are my greatest enjoyment. I wish we could go back to that time.
"What are you doing here, Natsu?"
Kaori? Where have you been all summer? You look different, grown up. I liked your hair better long. How could you have aged so fast? Are you as bored as I?
"I'm trying to remember some friends." Well, they used to be, no telling what I feel about them today. "It feels like a long time... since we walked out of that building... We'll never return to those days."
"Yes... We have some pretty nice memories from that time. You want to talk about it?"
The wind is chilly. Winter is just around the corner I guess. Now is the time for dying. I can't help but smile at that thought.
"Talk about what?"
"Cut. It's good. Don't move a muscle, Kyouko-san. We'll now film the same route around you again without anybody behind you. Everyone but Kyouko-san leave the stage."
Kyoko and everybody else obeyed silently. This was one of the hardest scenes just because of this; she wasn't allowed to move a single muscle during the entire shooting. The director had said it was to overlap the images later, so that the people standing behind her would fade away, just like images of memories.
"Don't sigh, Kyoko-san! One more time."
Kyoko took the moment of preparations to swallow. Her mouth felt dry and she would love another break. Hopefully they were done soon so that she could get off this uncomfortable bench. It was giving her a feeling of soreness in her butt. But if she could sit still enough this time she would soon be able to move again.
"Much better but don't move yet. Everybody move out of the way. We're taking a shot from behind Kyoko-san."
What was he saying? It would take at least ten minutes before the set was completely emptied and she couldn't move until they were finished shooting. Today was obviously doomed to be a bad day.
07:36 pm.
An odd guest arrived to Daruma-Ya. She was tall like a pole, lithely built and dressed simply in a pair of black khaki pants and a dark red sweater that brought out the intense green colour of her eyes. And she hadn't dyed her hair in a while so her originally blonde hair was half brownish. Even the chef looked when she came up to the desk.
"Excuse me, but I'm looking for this girl, Mogami Kyoko. I heard she lives here."
"She's not in," the chef said noncommittally. "You can leave a message."
"That won't do," the woman said. "Do you know when she comes back?"
"When she's done working," the chef's wife said.
"Alright then." And the woman took a seat. "I'm hungry, so I will use the time to eat here."
The owners of the restaurant exchanged a quick look before Okami-san smiled. "Of course. What would you like?"
"Fried chicken, please. With peanut sauce."
The chef was quick to serve the order, and those strangely green eyes lit with delight. It was interesting to see her eat. While her cloths hinted to a wealthy person, she ate like she hadn't seen food in a week.
"What business do you have with Kyoko-chan?" Okami-san asked curiously.
"Message," the woman answered after swallowing. "I'm an agent of sort, so I must speak to her in person."
"Oh... I'm sorry to say this, but if you are here to offer Kyoko-chan a job, she will not be able to accept it."
"Oh, I know that," the woman said with a wave of her hand. "Mogami Kyoko is one of the most famous celebrities right now, backstage."
"What does that mean?"
The woman's green eyes looked up while the jaws worked around another mouthful chicken and rice. "She never said?"
Now they had attention. The regular customers were eavesdropping to the point the woman should turn and glare at them.
"I shouldn't say either then," the woman said in a way to kill the tension. "It's none of my business anyway." She shrugged.
The chef felt cold shivers run down his spine. There was something cold about this woman, something that sent signals of warning. Though her face was innocent enough, those eyes were sharpened.
"Can I have ice cream for dessert?"
The owners looked to the empty plates and bowls. "Oh, of course. Just a moment."
The ice cream disappeared just as fast as the food, along with two high glasses of water.
"Ah, that was wonderful. You are certainly the best cooks I've managed to find in this town."
"Oh, that is an exaggeration," Okami-san said with a modest smile.
"I've dug through them all, so I know what I'm talking about. You have a warm smile too, Okami-san, so the food tastes all that much better."
Being praised happened every once in a while, but she had never been praised like this.
"And since I haven't eaten since yesterday, it's the perfect combination."
Okami-san smiled. "Well, thank you very much."
"You remind me of my mother. She had the same built as you, and made the world's best Borsjtj."
Everybody who was listening blinked.
"Borst?" Okami-san asked. "You mean the Russian beet soup?"
"Yup. Mother had about fifty different recipes, so it was never the same soup."
"Oh... is that so?"
The woman looked around the restaurant, and everybody who had been eavesdropping became overly interested in their food. Okami-san knew that the woman would be the topic of the regulars once she was out of hearing.
"Is it too much to ask if I can wait in Mogami Kyoko's room until she arrives? Sitting here and not eating makes me feel like I'm just taking up space."
The couple behind the desk looked to each other. They had no idea who this woman was or what she was really after. She obviously didn't know Kyoko-chan from work. But then again, there was little they knew about the people Kyoko-chan worked with.
"The third room to the right," the chef said, nodding towards a door leading to the rest of the house. "Up the stairs."
"Thank you very much. I appreciate your cooperation."
There it was again. Those cold shivers.
"Wait ojou-san. Your name."
"Kirra," the woman answered over her shoulder before she disappeared.
After a moment of silence Okami-san frowned in confusion and went to check. Nobody in the kitchen or living area, and nothing seemed to be missing at first sight. She walked up the stairs, finding the door to Kyoko-chan's room open, and the woman inside. She turned from looking at the daruma doll.
"Is this the wrong room?"
"No, it's Kyoko-chan's. We didn't hear you in the stairs so... I'm sorry. Kyoko-chan may be in very late."
"And I can wait."
Okami-san, taken aback by the authority this woman emitted, nodded and returned to the restaurant.
Kirra, aka the Black Goddess, took another glance around the room. What she knew about Mogami Kyoko was that she was expressive to the extreme, liked fairies and princesses, and had arrived to Tokyo with a today hot name; Fuwa Sho. Mogami Kyoko had loved him, but on the wall in this room that without a doubt was hers was a poster and a screaming piece of paper saying "Kill Shotaro!"
"So that's his real name," Kirra muttered. Of course she had heard about the première of Totally Wild Rock where Fuwa Sho had been the starring guest. And she had, unlike Fuwa's fans, not forgotten about it.
Aside from the one-eyed daruma doll that had gotten her immediate attention, there wasn't much in here, and the belongings the girl had were in a correct order. It brought a smile to her face, albeit a small one. She had been a teenager too once, with a bunch of sisters and a brother, and their rooms hadn't been half as tidy as this one. That probably said it all about them.
She returned her stare to the daruma doll. Its single eye was enough to make her angry. Mogami Kyoko had dreams, but the doll wouldn't have a second eye.
Since it was little she could do about it, since this was her job, Kirra sat down by the table, cross-legged, facing the door. She had two prides; the first was that she always finished a job. The second was waiting.
07:42 pm.
When Kyoko returned to L.M.E. and the Love-Me dressing room, she had developed a new hatred; against benches. She was convinced her butt was permanently flat from sitting on one for so long, and biking back had been a painful nightmare.
But in the dressing room was a sight that had her forget everything about stupid benches flatting out her butt. Moko-san was rehearsing.
"Moko-san! Are you finished for today?"
The other woman turned to face her. "Finished? What are you talking about? I have to film with Hiou-kun tonight."
Kyoko smiled. Whenever Moko-san was talking about Hiou-kun, her eyes got that glint of respect that made her face brighter.
"It's that drama, isn't it? Is it far from done?"
"Yeah," Moko-san answered. "The director is a moron, some of the actors too, so the filming has been delayed more than once. We're way behind schedule."
"Eeh?" Kyoko pitied Moko-san, just a little. She knew her friend usually had a hard time with people. Her best friend. She smiled. "But on the other hand you will have more time to spend with Hiou-kun, right?"
"What are you hinting at? Mo! You're so annoying."
One can say anything about Moko-san, but she was so cute, blushing and getting angry. Seeing through her indifference was hard sometimes, but not when it came to the boy actor. Kyoko smiled brightly. She was so happy that Moko-san was, albeit reluctantly and maybe unconsciously, walking in the right direction.
"What are you smiling about? Mo, you're weird."
"How mean. I'm just happy for you, Moko-san."
"What is there to be happy about? I've been openly accused for having a thing with you."
Kyoko blinked, then mirrored Moko-san's disgust about that particular rumour, but with a shade of guilt mixed in.
"Well, I guess there was no way around it. We were seen in an awkward position."
The other girl made a sound, like she was trying to keep from throwing up. "I can't believe it. Even if it did happen, why are people so hell bent on believing it?"
Once again Kyoko blinked and stared at her friend. It sounded, strange as it was, that Moko-san hadn't heard any of the other rumours.
"Even Hiou-kun considered it as a possibility."
Kyoko frowned, concerned and somewhere in her heart hurt. "Moko-san, do you... know what is said about me?"
"Hm? No. What is said about you?"
If you said A, you had to follow up with B. There was no way around that.
"That Kyoko-san is a whore and that it's because of that she got the role as Mio, Natsu and now the lead as Aiko in that new movie."
They both turned to the door where Amamiya-san stood with an indifferent expression. To Kanae, this was news. The most stupid and unbelievable news she had heard since she became a Love-Me.
"Who? The queen of modesty who dreams to get a fairy role and become a princess?"
Kyoko blushed. "Really, Moko-san. You don't have to put it that way."
"That's just plain stupid. Mo. So that's why they're so ready to believe anything..." she turned to the girl she only thought of as her best friend, "involving you."
"That's pretty much it," Amamiya-san answered. "But now tell me, Kyoko-san. If you weren't the guest at Totally Wild Rock yesterday, who was? And what really happened yesterday?"
The colour of Love-Me no. 1 changed from red to white to whiter to angry red within two seconds. She hadn't told Moko-san about her mother yet, or that she was about to leave showbiz forever, and she couldn't tell what happened yesterday without saying her mother was there.
"About the show yesterday, I don't know who was there..."
"I could ask the same from you, Mogami-chan."
She blinked. Hoshisawa-san. Her stage name was also "Kyoko", but that couldn't be... right? Even if Hoshisawa-san was acting strange and smiled in a way that gave her creeps and cold shivers, Kyoko hadn't sensed any hatred or anger from her. Annoyance this noon, but nothing more than that.
It was probably just people talking, mistaking their similar names, even though they were written with different kanji.
But thinking that would mean that Hoshisawa-san actually had done... that kind of thing with the producer.
Kyoko shook her head. The rumour was probably just that; a rumour. Truth and rumours weren't always the same thing. That was most certainly the case now.
"So..." Amamiya-san broke through by the end of that trail of thought. "What happened yesterday?"
"Eh..." What could she say now? She really didn't want Moko-san to know about her mother. She would have to tell her sooner or later, since she was quitting, but she was far from mentally prepared yet.
"Uh, the rumours. Well, Tsuruga-san gave me a ride, but when we were seen walking together... Tsuruga-san's fans... separated us."
That was true. No need to spice the story with all the glory details.
"That's it?" Moko-san asked, disbelieving.
"Y-yes. That's it."
The taller girl took a hold of Kyoko's chin and turned her head to the side. The blond girl was surprised to feel long fingers in her hair, and a sting of pain.
"So why do you have a bruise here?"
Crap! Kyoko knew she was missing a few hairs, them being the first thing attacked, but she hadn't known it would bruise.
"Um, I guess... the separation was rather violent."
Kanae frowned. This girl was leaving things out. It made her angry.
"Fine. I have to go now. See you later."
Kyoko stared after her with mixed feelings. Moko-san didn't like spending time with her family, but she was loved without having to fight for it.
Maybe, that's why she had a hard time loving; Moko-san was overly loved.
"So," Amamiya-san started. "What are you going to do now?"
"Now? I think... I don't have any more work to do, so I might as well head home."
"Don't you have cram school?"
Ouch.
"No. I quit school."
08:10 pm.
President Lory Takarada put the phone down for the fifteenth time that night. Mogami-kun seemingly refused to answer today.
He was worried, and angry with himself.
"President, have you found her yet?" Sawara-kun asked when he entered the room.
"Not yet."
"I'm keeping an eye on the rumours and Kyoko-chan's mother. Have you heard the last one?"
"Which one?"
"A Kyoko appeared in Totally Wild Rock last night, and afterwards she went to... um, ah. She went to screw the producer. I looked it up, and there were two witnesses, female supervisors coming to inform the producer about the instant reactions about the new Bou."
"Is Kyoko her full stage name?"
"Yes. I believe that's why, with the currently running rumours, our Kyoko-chan was the first one people thought of when they heard 'Kyoko and the producer are screwing!' as the women screamed."
Lory sighed and picked up the phone to try again. It rang three times.
"Moshi, moshi. This..."
"MOGAMI-KUN! WHY AREN'T YOU PICKING UP THE PHONE? I'VE BEEN TRYING TO CALL YOU ALL DAY!"
Sawara stepped back by the force of the president's outburst. He felt sorry for Kyoko-chan. Her ears probably hurt now, getting that roar straight into her ear.
"Mogami-kun?" Lory blinked. There were some strange sounds on the other end. Then he heard the girl's unsteady voice.
"President, I'm on my way home already."
"Then turn around and head back, I must talk to you. Now."
"But..."
Lory used his deepest tone of voice. "Mogami-kun."
"...I'm on my way."
08:15 pm.
Kyoko-chan wasn't back yet. Upstairs the green-eyed woman was still waiting. Okami-san wondered just how long she would wait before she got impatient and left. The better part of her wanted that to happen.
"Calm down," her husband mumbled when her gaze once again flickered to the back of the kitchen.
"I can't help it. We have a stranger sitting in Kyoko-chan's room. She never had friends over before."
That, her husband thought, was a good thing. One of Kyoko-chan's most admirable habits.
"Is there something wrong with Kyoko-chan?" yet another regular asked. Okami-san assumed that her worry was visible in her face.
"No. Nothing at all," she tried to say with a calming smile, but judging from their faces she failed. "She's just had some personal troubles with work lately."
And that was the understatement of the year.
08:19 pm.
Kyoko sat in one of the sofas in president Lory Takarada's office, fidgeting. She wondered about his intentions this time. You couldn't help but worry when it was the president himself that called you out.
"Mogami-kun. There is something I'd like you to tell me."
She looked up, hoping against hope that it wasn't what she already knew he would ask about. That soft, serious tone of voice she had only heard him use once.
"Can you please tell me the truth about your past; your mother, and why you came to Tokyo?"
As expected, but it was a story she hadn't even told Moko-san. Or Tsuruga-san. From when her mother left she hadn't ever spoken of her, except for when Okami-san and boss asked, because they had the right to know. And she had only told the summery. The president wouldn't go with that.
"Mogami-kun."
She glanced sideways towards another eager listener. Sawara-san sat in a chair with a frown of concern in his forehead. He had been kind, said he was proud of her sometimes, and scolding her whenever she was accused for whatever.
"Look at me."
The president was dressed in a shirt and sober pants. All the more reason to worry. His eyes, usually shining whatever mood he was in, were dark.
"I'm doing this so that I can help you, at least be able to offer it."
She swallowed. "You can't help me with anything," she tried.
"Please tell me, Mogami-kun."
That was her last stand of defence. The president was probably just as persistent as she.
"Mother... left me."
Silence. The two men were waiting for her to continue. Her throat felt tight.
"Right before I turned seven... my mother left me... to work, I suppose."
"How did she treat you?"
These were memories she tried hard to forget even though she knew it was impossible. Her mother always beating her hands away.
"She always thought... that I was a... failure. I'm dumb... and stubborn..."
Lory frowned as a cold feeling settled in his chest. Had Mogami-dono actually said those things to her own daughter?
"And then you stayed... where?"
Kyoko refused to look up, keeping her gaze steadily on her hands. The same hands that had never been allowed to touch their mother's.
"I grew up with a friend, and spent a lot of time at his place. When mother left, his mother came and picked me up, saying I could come live with them until mother came back, but they never heard from her again."
"And that friend was Fuwa Sho?"
She flinched, giving herself away. But it wasn't that hard to guess. Whenever she met Sho, even more so when they were fighting, somebody would ask if the two of them were (still) going out, leading to her and Sho denying and saying they were only childhood friends. It wasn't hard to put the pieces together.
Sawara was listening with growing pity. But now he was also confused.
"But Kyoko-chan. If you were a friend of Fuwa Sho's why would you join our agency, if it was him you wanted near?"
"Sho is the cause of my not being able to love," Kyoko hissed, darkness growing around her. "After using me for a year he dared to call me a plain, boring girl with no sex appeal."
"Using you?"
The darkness of rage turned into one of doom. She hadn't intended to let that slip.
The president's blood was running cold as his worst misgivings one after one turned out to be justified.
"Mogami-kun," he started, but got a burning glare, filled with years of frustration and anger to silence him.
"Yes, it's exactly as you think. I entered showbiz in order to get revenge on Fuwa Sho."
The two men stared at her, but she wasn't done.
"I know your opinion already, but you don't know anything. I've tried to love many different people only to be met by a turned back. I gave away everything, all of me, to be with that scum. To be loved by him, but my feelings never came across. They never do. Not to mother whom I could never touch, not to Sho whom I spent almost my entire life taking care of and looking after. My efforts of trying to be loved are all in vain, isn't that glaringly obvious? That's why I decided to never love another person again. Never give away anything, never sacrificing my own happiness only to be near some idiot who only sees me as a tool!"
A sharp sound echoed in the room. Sawara flinched and stared at his superior. It had never crossed his thoughts that the president would raise a hand against another human.
Lory Takarada's face was just as furiously red as Kyoko's.
"Mogami-kun, that's quite enough. You've only been unfortunate to have the wrong kind of people around you. Just because they never made an effort to love it doesn't give you the right to believe everybody will feel the same about you."
"MY OWN MOTHER HATES ME! JUST WHO CAN LOVE ME WHEN SHE CAN'T?"
Mogami Kyoko's face. Lory Takarada's. Sawara didn't know which one of them was more hurt. The girl showed herself out but the president didn't move for a long time.
"President..."
With a sigh Lory went back to his place on the sofa and pinched the bridge of his nose. Sawara didn't know what to say. It was the first time he had seen this man so weary.
"I really screwed that one up, didn't I?" Lory sighed again. "It seems like, from the very beginning, I attacked the problem from the wrong end."
08:57 pm.
Finally the prey was on her way home. Kirra smiled to herself. That had been a very interesting. She hadn't heard anything of course, that being out of her range of ability, but the colourful auras of personality and mood swings made up for that. Right now the prey, Mogami Kyoko, was trying to choke her feelings.
In her business it was bad to know your prey's feelings, and even more so to acknowledge them. But this was a sense she had had since birth, not something she could suppress with sheer willpower.
She opened her eyes, that sixth sense focused mostly on the conflicting colours of her prey, and glanced at the wall with the posters. "Kill Shotaro!", "Defeat Tsuruga Ren!"
Maybe she was about to do just that.
08:59 pm.
The last costumers had left and the closing procedure was at hand. Okami-san left her husband to check on the green-eyed guest upstairs. She hadn't moved at all.
"Excuse me, ojou-san, but we're closing now."
"I know," Kirra said calmly. "I'll only wait for another ten minutes."
Okami-san hesitated, but figured it was just as well. Ten minutes was okay.
09:03 pm.
It was dark out. The sky was concealed behind black clouds giving threatening promises of heavy rain. As Kyoko made her way home thunder made her already crashing heart shudder. She sighed. Today had been a long bad day. Realizing Bridge Rock's true feelings, coming in late to the Box 'R' set, realizing there was another rumour running around, getting her butt flattened by a stupid bench, upsetting Moko-san, and last but certainly not least, making enemies with the L.M.E. president. That had been completely uncalled for. She hadn't intended to say anything but in the end everything had spilled. Maybe she really was the idiot her mother had called her by.
09:05 pm.
The female owner of restaurant Daruma-Ya kept close attention to the ticking minutes. Only five minutes left before the woman in Kyoko-chan's room would leave and she could get some peace of mind.
09:07 pm.
The pray was just around the corner now. Waiting like this was really exciting. This would be the first time she faced a prey head on. She couldn't help but quiver from the suspense.
09:09 pm.
Kyoko parked her bike outside the back door of the restaurant. It was closed by now, but maybe she should help with the cleaning and preparations for tomorrow. That she had done a hundred times already, so at least that wouldn't end in disaster.
09:10 pm.
Okami-san sighed with relief and walked up the stairs. She was halfway up when she heard the door open.
"I'm back."
"Kyoko-chan!" Why did she have to come in the last second?
"Do you need any help?"
The girl looked weary. Her skin was pale and she had shadows under her eyes.
Thunder rolled over their heads and the lamps blinked.
"Kyoko-chan. You have a guest."
"Who? Moko-san?"
Kyoko-chan was moving towards her and the staircase with her eyes just a little brighter.
"She said her name is Kirra."
"Huh? Who is that?"
"An agent of sorts she said, and that she had business with you."
Another roll of thunder and the light died. The chef grunted and picked out candles from a drawer and lit them. He gave one to Kyoko-chan.
"The guest is waiting in your room."
09:16 pm.
The darkness was complete. Apparently the street lights had died as well. Not that it made any difference to her. She felt better in the dark. Outside the rain was coming down hard and the thunder was so loud she could feel the earth tremble with the force.
The door opened and spread a soft, orange light over the room, highlighting the young face of Mogami Kyoko.
She smiled. "Good evening, Mogami-san."
09:32 pm.
Kyoko's boss looked up at a shadow coming down the stairs. It wasn't Kyoko-chan.
"Are you finished?" he asked.
"Yes." Her answer was light and she was smiling, but the candlelight reflected in a pair of cold eyes. "I'm done now."
Her movements were swift on her way towards the back door.
"Take care," she said and disappeared.
