A/N: Thanks for your patience. Enjoy!
After Kyoko had joined Kanae, who was waiting for her, the hairs on the back of Kyoko's neck stood up and she experienced an unknown, slightly pleasant tingly feeling. Kyoko turned back to look for the source but didn't see anything or anyone. The movement attracted Kanae's attention and she too paused to look over her shoulder.
"What is it?" Kanae asked.
"Nothing, I just felt a strange sensation and turned back to look for the source, but there's no one there," Kyoko said slightly perplexed. "It wasn't killing intent; it felt just as intense, but different."
It must have been Tsuruga; it was most likely love-intent, if that's even a word, Kanae thought, noticing that they were looking in the direction of Ren's closed dressing room door. And she's still as clueless as ever; so much for progress. Kanae felt slightly relieved; as much as she wanted Kyoko to succeed, she didn't think she could stomach watching Kyoko and Ren fawn all over each other and be lovey dovey in front of her. Just the idea of it made her feel like gagging.
"Must have been my imagination," Kyoko concluded. Turning back around, the two of them continued walking side by side toward the parking lot. They caught up with the Taisho and Okami-san next to the entrance/exit of the studio where the two were talking with Director Shingai and Watanabe-san. Kyoko and the group said their farewells and headed toward the Taisho's car. Once in the car, Kyoko turned to her two guardians and asked what they thought of the movie set and how they liked the tour; then eventually the conversation got around to her costars.
"What did you think of Kijima-san?" Kyoko asked.
"He seemed like a nice young man, very cheerful and pleasant. I'm sure you enjoy working with him," the Okami-san stated, fishing a little to see if Kyoko had any particular attachment to him.
"Yes, we have a lot of fun together. It's very easy to play my role with him; I could see why Kagami would be so attached."
Kanae knew what the Okami-san was doing and was waiting to see what Kyoko would say about Tsuruga. Okami-san needs to be more direct or she'll get roundabout answers, Kanae thought.
"And Tsuruga-san was everything I heard he'd be; so charming and polite. And quite good looking too, don't you think?" Okami-san asked.
Uwah, a straight shot, Kanae thought with some amusement, and looked at Kyoko from the corner of her eye.
"Hmmm, I guess so," Kyoko replied.
"Doesn't he make your heart beat faster when you see him, and when he looks at you? During the cafe scene, the way he looked at you made my heart beat faster," the Okami-san persisted.
"Not really, no," Kyoko replied immediately and bluntly. Both Kanae and the Okami-san inwardly flinched and thanked God that Ren wasn't there to hear such a fatal blow; the Taisho gave a slight, imperceptible smile. "But even if he did make my heart skip a beat, it'd be because he's such a great and experienced actor. Yashiro-san said that he can really make his female costars fall in love with him if the script calls for it, so if my heart beats faster because of him, it's because Kagami is falling in love," Kyoko said finishing her thought.
"Isn't it hard to separate yourself from your role like that?" the Okami-san asked.
"I don't think I've ever had a problem with that. My Mio and Natsu characters took over as soon as I got into the role," Kyoko replied. But for some reason, I can't fully get into my role as Kagami. There are still a few missing puzzle pieces that don't quite fit that I don't understand. Kanae noticed how the sentence seemed to have been cut short, but decided to ask when the two of them were alone together.
"Yashiro-san is such a nice and capable man, don't you think Kanae-chan?" the Okami-san asked.
"Yes, he seems to excel at his job. I hope to find a manager as reliable as him," Kanae replied.
The Okami-san finally realized the girls were not going to engage in normal "girl talk," so the rest of the car ride was spent talking about how nice they found everyone who worked there, and the possibility of the Taisho and the Okami-san throwing a post-production wrap party at the Darumaya for Kyoko and her costars.
Once in the privacy of Kyoko's room, Kanae let out her pent up frustration. "Mo! Why is everyone asking us about love, relationships and getting married! Just because you're good at cooking doesn't mean you're ready to get married! Nobody gets married at the age of 17 anymore, especially not in Show-Biz."
Kyoko smiled at Kanae's outburst; she must have been holding it in all this time, Kyoko thought. "Moko-san, you don't think about boyfriends or marriage either?"
"What's there to think about?! You've met my family, what makes you think I want to have that for myself?!"
"Eh? But it's such a nice environment," Kyoko said, recalling the visit to Kanae's house where Kanae had been lovingly tormented by her siblings.
"Which part of it is nice?!" Kanae asked. Sighing, Kanae sat down grabbed the script for Destined and flipped through the pages. "What scene are you shooting tomorrow?" she asked.
"The scene at the ice rink," Kyoko replied, flipping the pages to the scene for Kanae as she sat down next to her. Kanae read through the scene at her usual quick pace and was surprised to see Kyoko watching her with an anxious look on her face.
"It's an important scene in the movie, don't you think? Where Kagami starts to open her heart up to Katsutoshi," said Kyoko.
"I suppose so. Are you having problems figuring out how to act it out?" Kanae asked. "Usually there's no stopping you once you get into a role, but you're still uncertain. Why?"
Kyoko struggled to put her thoughts into words, but couldn't come up with a way to describe them. "I'm not sure; something about Kagami falling in love with Katsutoshi doesn't seem to make complete sense to me."
"Hmmm, I guess I can understand since Katsutoshi and Hideyoshi are so different. But a person doesn't need a reason to fall in love with someone…or so people claim," Kanae replied.
"I think it would be good if I could at least figure out the reason why Kagami falls in love with Katsutoshi so I could portray it accurately," Kyoko replied.
"Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out in the end," Kanae replied. "We were able to land the Kaindo Curara soft drink commercial because you were able to think on the spot so you'll be fine."
"But that's because it was you Moko-san!!!" Kyoko exclaimed, responding to the faint praise she heard in Kanae's statement.
"That was because you trusted me and just reacted to what I did. Are you saying you don't trust Tsuruga's acting?"
"No, I trust Tsuruga-san," Kyoko responded immediately. Kyoko's swift response surprised the both of them.
"Then you should be fine," Kanae said.
Kyoko nodded her head but didn't look very convinced.
"Mo! Stop thinking about it so much, it'll make you more confused. Just focus on the scenes you have to do tomorrow," Kanae exclaimed in exasperation. "The scene is shot at the ice skating rink. Have you ever ice skated before?"
"No, but it's like roller skating so how hard could it be?" Kyoko asked.
"Famous last words," Kanae said with a smile.
The rest of the evening was spent talking about Kanae's first time ice skating, any tips she could give Kyoko, as well as discussing her new role for the drama she was staring in.
The next day, Kyoko arrived on set to film the office scene where Katsutoshi asks Kagami to ice skate with him. After going to wardrobe and changing into a dark navy blue skirt and jacket over a pastel pink blouse, Kyoko went through make up and put on the long haired wig, which was styled so that the hair was pulled off her face by a pink tortoiseshell clip. She then made her way over to the set where Watanabe, Ren and Yashiro were standing by, and greeted them.
"Did Taisho and Okami-san enjoy their day on set yesterday?" Watanabe asked.
"Yes, very much so," Kyoko replied.
"Are you looking forward to ice skating, Mogami-san?" Ren asked.
"Yes, I've never been ice skating before so I'm looking forward to it," Kyoko replied.
"Well, Kagami is supposed to have never ice skated before either, so I'm sure it will be easier for you to appear to have difficulty this way," Ren responded.
"Is ice skating really that hard?" Kyoko asked a little worried.
"I'm sure you'll be fine Kyoko-chan, Ren will be there to help you should you start to stumble," Yashiro said with a kind smile.
Before Kyoko could respond, Director Shingai called for everyone on the set to get ready to film in 10 minutes. As Kyoko and Watanabe headed towards their office set together, Ren and Yashiro were left to walk to Katsutoshi's office set.
"What were you trying to do back there?" Ren asked.
"What are you talking about? I was simply reminding Kyoko that she can lean on you when she is feeling wobbly on her skates," Yashiro said. "Come on, Ren, ice skating is one of the best sports for couples to touch each other. Are you saying you aren't going to take advantage of Kyoko's inexperience in skating?"
"I think we both know what would happen if I try to hold her when she doesn't want to be held," Ren said.
In both their minds flashed an image of Kyoko, clutching herself and looking horrified in a very clichéd young maiden fashion. That would be very bad. Kyoko would never get close to Ren again and Ren will be… Yashiro thought.
"Are you willing to take responsibility for the fallout that would likely occur after that?" Ren asked in a too polite tone that sent shivers down Yashiro's spine.
"No, of course not; but who knows, maybe if the mood is right, Kyoko may awaken to feelings she thought were lost," Yashiro said.
"Yashiro, I'm surprised. You're ever the optimist. You do know we are talking about the Number One member of the Love-Me Section," Ren replied, adjusting the cufflinks on his already immaculate suit.
"Well you're right, after your numerous attempts so far, nothing much has changed so it's not likely any huge breakthrough will be made. But it seems to me there has been some slight amount of progress. Surely you won't let someone else reap the rewards of your hard work," Yashiro said, causing Ren to recall there were two potential threats out there.
"Of course not, but the script already has a fair amount of touching involved, anything else would be too obvious," Ren replied.
Before Yashiro could remind Ren that Kyoko was the most oblivious girl in the world, Ren hopped onto the set to take his place for filming.
At the end of the long work day, Kagami sat back in her chair and spun around to look out the window at the skyline. Stretching her arms in front of herself, trying to stretch out the tense feeling between her shoulders, Kagami wondered what she could do to ease the toll a full work day had taken on her body. Relaxing at home held no appeal to her. For the first time in ages, Kagami felt like going out and be 'in the world' and not just 'of the world.' The thought brought a smile to her face, but as she relaxed her hands and started to bring them down, the light caught on her engagement ring, still on her finger.
Hideyoshi. The weight on Kagami's shoulders seemed to feel a little heavier and her shoulders hunched forward a bit in response to the imagined weight, and a ball of lead formed in the pit of her stomach.
"How long has it been now? One year? No, it hasn't been that long but it still feels like it's been a long time," Kagami said to her ring. "I still remember you, I still miss you, and I'll mourn your loss till I join you in Heaven. But what do I do until then?"
The only answer she received was the twinkle and shine of the stones in her ring. Kagami touched the ring lightly and her fingers gripped either side of the band, but she couldn't pull it off as she had meant to. As Kagami's vision began to blur with tears of confusion, someone knocked on her office door. Wiping vainly at the unshed tears, Kagami called for the person to enter.
"Kagami, are you done for today? Want to get dinner on the way home?" Kaito asked as he stood in the doorway.
"Ah, yes, dinner sounds fine Otou-san. Where should we go?" Kagami asked, not quite meeting her father's eye as she stood up from behind her desk.
Immediately Kaito heard the strain in Kagami's voice and saw the brightness of tears still in her eyes. Closing the door behind him, Kaito walked over to Kagami who was still behind her desk, and gently grabbed his daughter's shoulders. Kagami looked up surprised.
"What's wrong? Don't want to accompany an old man like me?" Kaito asked jokingly.
This brought a smile to Kagami's face. "Yes, but I couldn't think of a polite way to decline," Kagami said.
"I knew there would come a day when you would rebel and ignore your Otou-san," Kaito said in a false forlorn voice. Wiping away the small tears that had leaked out when Kagami smiled, Kaito asked "Thinking about Hideyoshi?" in a kind voice.
Kagami nodded. "Otou-san…Hideyoshi is…he's really gone, isn't he?"
"Yes."
"You know, for the first time tonight, I thought I'd like to go out somewhere," Kagami admitted.
"That's a good idea. So then you thought you'd like to go out with Hideyoshi?" Kaito asked.
"No, well yes, but then I saw my ring and thought maybe I should switch the ring to my right hand. But, I just can't bring myself to," Kagami replied.
"That's because in your heart, you know it's too soon," Kaito said.
"But I'm okay now. I can talk with my friends and I'm beginning to want to have a life outside of work again, so why..?" Kagami let her question go unfinished.
"That ring is one of the few things that bound you to Hideyoshi. Of course you wouldn't want to get rid of it. Hideyoshi himself put it on that finger," Kaito said. "You're no longer mourning, but you still grieve your loss. One day you'll be able to move that ring by yourself. There's no rush."
Feeling a great sense of relief at her father's words, Kagami felt the weight lifted. "Well since I couldn't think of anybody to go out with, would you like to go out on a date with me Otou-san?" Kagami asked.
Before he could answer, Kagami's phone rang. "It's my direct line, I wonder who it is. Hold on a second Otou-san," Kagami said as she reached for the phone.
"Hello, this is Kagami."
"Good evening, Hirohata-san. Otsukaresama deshita," said a deep voice on the other end.
"Otsukaresama deshita, uhm…" Kagami's voice trailed off.
"Sorry, how rude of me, this is Narita Katsutoshi. You helped me pick out a tie," Katsutoshi said.
"Ah yes, of course," Kagami said. "Could you hold for a moment please?"
"Yes."
"Otou-san, I'm going to take this call," Kagami said to her father.
"Alright, I guess I'll take your mother out for dinner instead," Kaito said as he turned to walk out of the room. When the door had safely shut behind him, Kagami took the line off hold.
"Sorry for the wait," Kagami said.
"I hope I wasn't interrupting anything."
"No, I was just talking with my dad. I told him to go ahead of me."
"Well then, if you're available, would you like to go ice skating with me?" Katsutoshi asked.
"Ice skating?" Kagami asked in a bewildered voice.
"Yes, ice skating. Is there something strange about that?"
"It's just that I can't picture you as someone who ice skates Narita-san," Kagami said with a smile in her voice.
"It's a great way to clear your head and refresh yourself," Katsutoshi replied, smiling at the smile in Kagami's voice.
"I see. I've never been ice skating before so I wouldn't want to slow you down."
"It's fine. It'd be just the two of us, and I can teach you if you'd like."
"Just the two of us? None of your coworkers?"
"Well, I don't exactly broadcast that I ice skate to my associates. I rent out the ice rink for the whole night for myself. But I thought you might enjoy ice skating."
"I'd be honored to join you," Kagami replied in a serious voice, feeling oddly happy to be allowed to see an unexpected side to the man she had met.
"Great. Shall I pick you up at your office in 10 minutes?"
"Actually I would have to go home to change my clothes since you can't really ice skate in a business suit. Can I meet you at the rink in 30 minutes?"
"Certainly. I'll see you then."
The scene was cleared and the cast and crew began preparing to leave for the ice rink. A large ice rink had been rented out for filming, and the props department began loading a couple vans with different rigs to attach to the skating rink. Everyone who was going to be on set was taking a passenger van to the location and back.
Kyoko and Ren headed towards wardrobe to change into the casual clothes chosen for the ice rink scene. Kyoko changed into a black V-neck sweater, light blue jeans, and black sneakers. Her makeup was retouched and her wig was switched with a wig that had the long wavy hair arranged in a ponytail. The weight of the ponytail took some getting used to, as most of Kyoko's roles had had short hair. She was still fiddling with it when she walked out of the make up room. To her surprise Director Shingai, Yashiro and Ren were all gathered together talking in a group.
"Sorry, have I held everyone up?" Kyoko asked when she approached the group.
"No, they're still packing up the equipment. Ren and Yashiro were telling me you've never ice skated before. Is that true?" Director Shingai asked.
"Yes, is that going to be a problem?" Kyoko asked worriedly.
"Not really, but I think I'll give you extra time to try to adjust to being on the ice," Director Shingai said.
Is ice skating really that hard? Kyoko thought to herself. She glanced at the expressions on the three men's faces and stopped on Ren's. Ren had been staring blankly at her since she joined the group.
"Is something the matter Tsuruga-san?"
Ren blinked a few times to get himself back to reality. "You look different with your hair styled like that," Ren managed to say.
"It's been a long time since I had long hair. I hope the wig will be alright while I'm skating," Kyoko said, self consciously raising a hand to the wig.
"People from hair and makeup will be coming with us. I'll go check to see if they're ready yet. You three make your way over to the vans," Director Shingai said as he walked towards the makeup rooms.
As the three of them walked toward the vans, Ren looked down at Kyoko, her ponytail swishing gently from side to side. The hairstyle emphasized her long slender neck, made longer by the V-neck sweater she was wearing. All that exposed skin at her neck and nape will make her cold at the ice rink, Ren thought. And to keep her from feeling cold, Ren would gladly volunteer to cuddle her to him. Ren could feel his body temperature rising at the thought of holding Kyoko tight. We can't get to the ice rink fast enough. Hopefully the chill will cool me off, Ren thought as he climbed into the van, ignoring Yashiro's knowing look.