Obligatory disclaimer: fanfiction.
Chapter Twelve
"Mitsu-san?"
"...are you serious?"
"How about the director?"
"Come on, if you're going to ask the director, then you may as well ask one of the cameramen. Honestly, Kyoko."
"...can I?"
"No!"
"Moko-san! I can't think of anyone else."
"Mo! I don't have time for this. Of course you can think of more people; they can't be the only men you know. Ask your senpai!"
"I can't ask Tsuruga-san!" Kyoko's hands shuddered to a halt above the invitation she had been writing, her face mortified. The LoveMe girls were sitting in a backroom that was adjoined to Sawara's office, writing and addressing invitations for an elaborate function that the President was organising for the very important, rich, powerful and hopefully future producers and investors that were associated with LME.
Amamiya Chiori took over from writing the invitation, as Kyoko slowly returned to a semi-functional state. "What's this about?" she asked curiously, as she struggled to copy Kyoko's handwriting in an attempt to keep the invitation looking consistent.
Kanae smirked, but Kyoko was the one who answered, her voice lowered mournfully. "Takarada-san gave me a LoveMe assignment. I have to ask someone out on a date. It's supposed to help me develop my character."
"So I guess it's for your new drama?" Chiori asked. Kanae nodded as she deftly slid the final invitation of her stack into an envelope. The task had been easier for her than it had been for the other girls, as Kyoko and Chiori still had to refer to the guest list. Kanae, on the other hand, not only memorised the entire guest list, but also all their addresses, and as a result, got the whole job done a great deal faster.
Sighing again, Kyoko took another blank invitation off her own gradually decreasing stack, and began filling in the name. "I just don't see how I can ask someone just like that! It's so...shameless! And no one would want to go on a date with me anyway. Maybe I could pay someone."
Chiori smiled. "You're pretty popular now, Kyoko. Maybe you could date one of your fans? They're bound to say yes."
Kanae slammed a hand down on the table. "No! Kyoko, you do not need to sink that low. Trust me; any man you ask is bound to say yes. If you doubt me, you doubt our friendship. If you're my best friend, you'll believe me, and ask your senpai on a date. And look in a mirror while you're at it. Properly. It might help convince you." Asking a fan...nothing good can come out of that. Tsuruga Ren, you owe me. Again.
"Actually..." Kyoko tapped her bottom lip thoughtfully with a slender finger. "I can't ask Tsuruga-san. He plays Ryou. If Nanami went on a date with Ryou, then that would interfere with their reaction within the constraints of the drama, wouldn't it? If they developed their characters outside of the drama in a way that's unnatural. I mean, it's one thing to eat breakfast together as Nanami and Ryou when we're not filming, but if Nanami asks Ryou on a date when we're not filming, then technically we're doing something that hasn't even been written yet."
"...I don't think it works that way," Kanae said, raising an eyebrow. "You can just sort of...block it out. It's separate to the assignment anyway, the filming."
"Nanami can't go on a date with Ryou yet," Kyoko insisted earnestly, and returned to fretting over the invitations. "I don't think that's a good idea for the drama at all, or my character."
"Fine." Kanae shrugged, reaching over to help Kyoko and Chiori with their stacks of invitations. "But still, you have to do this soon. I mean, Nanami's relationship with Ryou is only going to intensify, and not only that, but you've also got that episode about her being a serial-dater, remember?"
"Yes," she said miserably. "I suppose I really should do this soon, then." She brightened. "I had nabemono with Hikaru-san, does that count as a date?"
"Were you the one who asked him?" Chiori asked.
"He asked me," Kyoko mused. "Anyway, I don't suppose it counts even if I had asked him, because I wasn't doing it as Nanami! Besides, that was before the assignment was issued."
"Well, you're right about it being before the assignment, but it doesn't specify that you have to do it as Nanami...in fact he addressed it to Mogami Kyoko," Kanae pointed out, crossing her legs as she leaned back in her chair, satisfied with the invitations she'd finished off alone. "Hey. You two. You haven't done a scrap of work since you started whinging about this. Put them in envelopes, I'm going to get some boxes to put these in."
Kanae slammed the door behind her as she left, as Chiori snapped to attention. She started placing the invitations in the stiff ecru envelopes. They were lined with gold foil, the same that had been used for the engraved, formal script on the invitations. Her eyes widened in awe as she finally took the time to read the contents of the invitation.
"It says it's going to be held at the Takarada Mansion," she read aloud. "It must be really grand there, if he's inviting all the rich producers and investors to his own home. I wonder what it's like there. Would it be like those fancy hotels where they hold wedding receptions and balls?"
"It's really beautiful," Kyoko said eagerly, her eyes sparkling with joyful reminiscence. "There's a huge ballroom; I suppose that's where he'll be holding the ball. The ceiling of the ballroom stretches all the way up three storeys of the mansion, and all around the sides are balconies. That's where the other floors are. But the centre is left clear, so when you're on the lowest floor, in the ballroom, you can look all the way up."
Chiori never ceased to be amazed at Kyoko's surprising revelations. Whether it was erokawa underwear, or her propensity to exude a suffocating black aura whenever certain musicians were in close proximity, Kyoko was definitely never predictable. "You've been to the President's mansion?"
Kyoko nodded, as if it were nothing. "Yep, I used to go there all the time to update him with nii-sa...I mean, uh, sometimes Maria invites me over to play with her." She scratched her head awkwardly, laughing nervously at her own slip-up.
"Right," Chiori said, nodding sceptically. Thankfully, she turned her attention to Kanae, who had just entered, lugging two boxes behind her. Grateful for the distraction, Kyoko hopped up, and began enthusiastically dumping the finished envelopes into the nearest box. Chiori could only shake her head and smile.
/
Thank you to A Midsummer Night's Dreams for reminding me that this existed. I had somehow forgotten. Between all the SACs and exams and outcomes this term, I've barely had time to read a non-school-related book, much less write anything. (How I miss my dear Hemingway and Machiavelli!) So yeah, I haven't updated because of...reasons. Hope you enjoyed this (somewhat bland) chapter, and thanks for all your feedback! (: Hope all you people up there are enjoying your summer. It's freezing down here.
