A/N: I do Not own Skip Beat! or the inspired Song.
This was requested by Alessa. I think I got a little carried away with Ren's movie. LOL. I love revenge movies. The song for this story is Sweet Dreams by VAMPS. Please enjoy.
Ren felt himself wake up. His body was slowly becoming aware and losing that heavy sleeping feeling. He reached out to feel that heavenly familiar sensation each and every morning only to come up empty. He frowned as his hand searched the empty sheets beside him. He cracked opened his eyes and saw her through a sleep induced haze. She was smiling at him, warming him all the way down to his toes. She was looking at him with those large golden eyes, sparkling with happiness and love.
"Good morning, Kyoko," Ren said warmly and returned the smile, his eyes still unfocused as he reached out to cup her cheek. Before she could respond, his hand reached the point of touching her, and she shimmered away. His hand clenched in thin air and then fell onto the bed where she would have been. He sighed and buried his face in his pillow.
It's getting worse. He's gone into full blown hallucinations of her now. He chuckled to himself, thankful that no one was there to see him losing it only after three weeks of being away from home. Ren twisted his head to look at the alarm clock. He awoke twenty minutes before he had to. It had taken a while for him to get use to the time change, and the production company was more than accommodating filming all the night scenes first. That was the easiest time for him. They were able to talk during his breaks, with her at home after her long day at work. So technically it hasn't been three weeks but one, one week of not speaking with her, only having pictures to look at.
Ren was filming in America again for two months. Two months was really nothing for filming, but it was the first time in a long time being away since his international stardom. This was the first time that Kyoko couldn't come with him, and in all honesty, he preferred she stay home anyway. He sat up and immediately reached for his phone. This was one of the few highlights of his day.
Flipping it open, his smile widened at the sight of two texts waiting for him. The first message was just after midnight. He quickly did the math. It was after 5pm for her.
Just got home. Today has been hectic. The interview I told you about went badly, the interview asking unnecessary questions, but Hayashi-san was able to deter him. The rest of the day went well, and I'm happy to be home. Emi waves hi with a big silly smile. I miss you. Love, Kyoko.
The last message was at 5:30am which is 10:30pm. That was a little odd since she normally went to bed around 9.
Good morning, Ren. I hope you slept well. I'm finally getting to bed myself. I hope you have a wonderful day, and don't worry about things here. Everything is great. I hope to talk to you soon. Also, please don't get hurt. I miss you. Love, Kyoko.
Ren took a shaky breath and wanted so badly to call her. He glanced at the clock, it would be midnight there and while Kyoko would never say so, he knew she was exhausted without him there to help. He would let her sleep. If they took a late lunch, he might be able to make a quick call. He took a quick shower and dressed in a suit. They would have him change into his costume as soon as he arrived, so jeans and a shirt would have been better in this heat; however, old habits die hard. Yukihito was waiting downstairs in the restaurant the hotel had which has become their custom spot to meet up every morning.
"Good morning, Yukihito-san," Ren said gracefully. Yukihito smiled up at his client and friend with a cheery smile.
"Good morning, Ren. I ordered for us, since the only thing you ever order is coffee. Kyoko-chan would have my hide if I didn't get you to eat. Don't worry though; it's something light and meatless. I promise," Yukihito said smugly, knowing that all he had to do was mention Ren's wife, and he would surrender and eat something.
Ren groaned and sat down. "Please tell me you didn't order crapes for me again."
"No… well, yes, but they aren't sweet. Though, why you don't like them I will never understand, they are absolutely delicious!" The said meal came to them as Yukihito was squealing about it. Yukihito fell in love with crepes almost two weeks ago. He was hesitant to try the western style foods when they first arrived in America but quickly overcame that fear. Anytime they were overseas, he never once had the same breakfast. Once he had all the American styles, he went to Mexican which was too spicy for him until he found a fusion dish, banana nutella crepes. He was in love. He's been ordering every single crepe combination available. Ren was forced to join whenever Yukihito ordered for him.
The plate in front of him looked alright. There was a single rolled up crepe with a sprinkling of lightly sautéed baby spinach and cherry tomatoes on top. Ren took his fork and cut into it as Yukhito took his and relished the first bite of his mixed berry crepe. Inside was pretty much the same but with goat cheese. Overall it wasn't that bad, for something Kyoko didn't cook. However, the sounds coming from the person beside him should never come from any man, but Ren couldn't be angry with him since it reminded him of Kyoko.
She would make those cute little yum sounds every time they tried something new. They traveled a lot once they got together, and Kyoko was very animated with all the different dishes she ate. He was sure that she would love the sweet dessert crepes just as much as his manager. Perhaps, they could take a trip to France, no doubt, the food would be better there.
Breakfast was soon over, and it was almost 8am, 1 in the morning in Tokyo. The days were always so very slow for him unless he was acting, so he was more than eager to get the day started. They arrived at the studio after an hour. The traffic in the city was absolutely horrible. Given his professionalism, they were always on time and thankfully so were his costars. They tend to start shooting early on most days.
The movie he was working on was an action flick called, Departed. It was a revenge movie with Ren as the wronged hero, Sam Tamura. Sam served his country in the military since it was either that or go to jail. Everything was fine until he met a woman in between missions. He promised to behave if they let him go which they were fine with. There are always others to take his place. He got married as soon as he could. Going to his new desk job on base, he witnessed an illegal transaction between some higher government officials. They noticed him and told him to play the "obedient solider". As soon as Sam got the chance, he went to report the transaction to his commanding officer.
Sam returned that night with his newlywed wife dead, having been raped and murdered on the living room floor. What the Army base didn't know about Sam was what his previous job had been, a Delta Force solider. The operatives that joined the Delta Force group came from all branches of the military. Most were put there because of their exceptional skill and their lack of respect for traditional military life, in other words, the people who were too good to let go and too difficult to handle in normal branches.
Sam was willing to let things go, play into the system if they had just left him alone. The movie was about him using the hate in his heart and the skill he learned to bring down the people who killed his wife and hopefully get himself killed at the end. It was easy for Ren to get into character. Just picturing his actual wife, Kyoko, on the floor dead, the light in her eyes cold, her body broken and tainted made him insane with fury and pain. The director couldn't be happier with his acting as the movie progressed. The hardest part was the love part of the story.
Yes, there was a love interest. No one wanted the hero to die. Sam was supposed to live on happily. This was the one part that Ren didn't like about the script. If he was in Sam's situation, he couldn't forget about Kyoko that easily. She's everything to him. If he lost her for any reason, he didn't know what he would do, but the script had him falling for another woman so he would do so. The character's name was Maria, which Ren thought was sort of funny as he often thought of the Maria back home. This Maria was Sam's intelligence helping him find the people he needed to find and often got him out of troubling situations. Maria was played by Ana Florez, a lovely Hispanic woman just getting started. This was her debut role.
Ren found her easy to like. She was as short as Kyoko was, but with a fuller body true to her Hispanic blood. She often came up and spoke to Yukihito and himself, even had lunch together. Yukihito was weary of her when they first met, with the woman instantly hugging both of them in a friendly way. Ren had to swallow his laughter as the smaller voluptuous woman hugged his red faced manager. Now, Yukihito was rather eager to see her again after getting to know her.
Ren smiled looking at the reflection of his manager nervously sitting on the couch in his trailer. The make-up artist just started putting make-up on him so it was going to take a little bit since they still had to do his hair.
"Yukihito-san, why don't you go out to the set and make sure there are no changes today," Ren said casually, trying to help his manager out.
"There are no changes," Yukihito said immediately, "They would have notified me yesterday if there were any. I told them not to make any more surprise changes, and they've been good after the first few times."
Ren sighed with a small smile. "Well, then just go out and talk to Ana like you've been wanting to," he said as Yukihito was writing something in his book. Ren watched his manager's hand draw a long line down his planner as he snapped his head up to Ren in shock.
"Why would I need to talk to her?" he said nervously, his face flush. "Unless there is something about her you don't like, which I couldn't imagine, since you've been able to work with her all this time." He paused. "She is a very good actress," Yukihito said softly.
"Yes, she is. She is very friendly and sweet with a nice body," Ren teased, making Yukihito burn dark red.
"REN! What would Kyoko say?" his manger threatened.
Ren laughed and states, "She agrees with me. She also agrees that you should just ask her out."
Yukihito looked at him like he was insane. "She's 27!"
"And?"
"And, I'm 33! Not to mention the fact that we live in Tokyo, and she lives here. There is no way we could have any type of relationship," Yukihito explained.
Ren smiled into the mirror as they were finally fixing his hair. "Ah, so you've already thought this through. Yukihito, we are going to be moving here as soon as Kyoko debuts next year. You'll be in her neighborhood soon."
Yukihito licked his lips nervously and replied, "I'll ask her out then."
"Coward," Ren mumbled loudly enough to be clearly heard.
Yukihito stood up with an annoyed look. "I am being logical. She is 7 years junior and…"
"6 years. Her birthday is like two months away from yours," Ren interrupted.
"Fine 6 years," he conceded, "but that doesn't change any…"
"Doesn't that mean her birthday is in like two weeks," Ren interrupted again with a coy smile, "You should take her out on her birthday."
"You're all done, Ren," Susie, the cosmetologist told him and started cleaning things up.
Ren thanked her as Yukihito spoke, "She's busy so let's just drop it." Yukihito started for the door, eager to get the day started. Taking love advice from Ren, I would never be so low. Why if it wasn't for me, he would have never gotten to see Kyoko-chan. He still would have been waiting for her to open up. She would have ran back to that Fuwa boy with how long he was taking.
"So you already asked her?" Ren said, his voice expressing obvious shock as he asked.
Yukihito nervously licked his lips as he straightened up his tie. "Yes," he said curtly.
Ren watched him for a moment as they walked to the set and then laughed. "You are a terrible liar." He looked around and found the darker girl talking to some other actors waiting for the day to start. Ren raised his arm in the air and called out, "ANA!"
"Ren," Yukihito hissed out, "What are you doing?"
"I'm getting you a date," He stated as the girl in question started walking over with a friendly smile.
"NO!" Yukihito said angrily, "Don't do this. Look, I'll ask her out. I will, just let me do it."
Ren looked at his manager who was pleaded with him with angry panicked eyes. He chuckled and leaned down to whisper to him, "Okay, but if you don't do it soon, you'll find a certain woman knocking at your hotel door wanting to cook you dinner." He grinned and turned to Ana as she approached.
"Good Morning, Ren, Yukihito," she said cheerily. Ren noticed the smile widened just a bit when she turned towards his manager. Ren quickly asked her a silly question about a scene they were going to do today allowing his manager to sigh in relief.
Teasing Yukihito with this crush made the time go by. Ren was never much of a matchmaker, but after years of Yukihito's meddling, he was entitled to a little revenge. Every little victory he had made with Yukihito and Ana, made Ren want to tell Kyoko, to hear her laugh as he described what happened and have her plot nefarious things for his manager with him.
They took lunch at 1 in the afternoon, 6am in Tokyo. Lunch wasn't something he could choose from a menu. It was actually a little catered buffet line for everyone. Today, they were serving a garden salad, steamed rice, a vegetable medley, dinner rolls and a choice of marinated sirloin beef tips or grilled chicken breast. Ren had never been so happy to see rice. His plate was mostly white, with the smallest piece of chicken he could find and a little bit of the steamed vegetables.
As they sat down, Ana asked to join them. Ren was more than happy to say yes. She sat down next to Yukihito with a large salad and a chicken breast on top with a lot of Italian dressing. They started talking about random topics and in the middle of their meal Yukihito pulled out his phone and took a picture of Ren eating.
"Okay, I have to ask, "Ana started, "Why do you take a picture of Ren when he eats? Is that for a blog or something?"
"Ah, no, it's for my wife," Ren confessed, "though I really wish he didn't do that." He glared at his manager who ignored him as he sends the picture.
"Aww, she misses you," Ana cooed.
Yukihito coughed. "Actually, it's they only way I can get him to eat. More like she is the only one who can get him to eat. If I don't take a picture and send it to Kyoko every meal, he will skip eating, and that means my head when we got back to Tokyo."
"Well, I can understand that," Ana said but then made a face, "sort of. There is no way I could ever skip a meal though. If I don't eat, I get whiny and no one wants to see me act like a child."
"That would be kind of cute though," Yukihito admitted as he cut up his beef and then blushed as soon as he realized what he said. "Um… I mean… It's better than getting angry which is what my sister was like. If she didn't eat, her temper would flare and no one better crossed her."
Ren snorted softly as Yukihito fumbled over his words. Ana smiled, laughing softly and changed the conversation. While they spoke about something else, Ren continued to check his cell phone. He sent out a good morning message to Kyoko hours ago, but hasn't gotten a reply.
"Why don't you just call her?" Yukihito said casually.
Ren shook his head. "She isn't up yet. It's only 6 am there. She'll reply to me as soon as she is up."
"You know she wouldn't mind if you called earlier. I mean I wouldn't mind if the man I loved called me anytime, day or night," Ana said softly, as if giving a hint.
Ren smiled sweetly, his fingers running over the buttons of his phone. "She would never say it's a bother, but she would run herself ragged with a smile on her face. She is so selfless that I need to remind her to relax." He smiled at his background picture and then put his phone away. "No, I don't want to wake her up."
The rest of the day went without a hitch. They were able to complete a complex fight scene with several choreographed changes to make it look as realistic as possible. Around 3pm, they had a break where he found his message from Kyoko.
Good afternoon! I don't really have much time today. I overslept but don't worry. I'm still going to make it to my set. Thankfully, Maria came over today, so I don't have to stop by Takarada's mansion first. I love you and miss you dearly. Kyoko.
He smiled and noticed that the message was only ten minutes old. Ren quickly dialed her number and waited as it rang. His face brightened as it picked up rather quickly.
"Hello, this is Kyoko's phone. I am so sorry, but I can't answer right now. Please leave your name and number, and I'll call you as soon as I'm free. Thank you." The message ended a little beep sounded. Ren felt the wind in his sails die down but left a message.
"Ah, I was hoping to catch you before you started your day. We are on break and everything is going smoothly. There isn't a scratch on me. We should be finished by 6 or 7 tonight. I hope your day goes well. I love you and miss you both so much."
"Ren!" the director called out as soon as he finished his phone call. Back to work.
Sam sat in what can only be considered the city dump. It was dirty and falling apart at the seams, but they accepted cash with no ID requirement. It had a bed and a table with a small chair - more than he required.
"Where is he?" He asked directly as soon as she picked up the phone.
"Hi, baby. I'm good. How are you doing?" Maria said huskily over the secured line.
"Where is he?" Sam repeated.
She sighed. "Ten o'clock tonight at the Ritz Carlton, Room 501. Sam, he's not alone. Word has spread and they are taking more precautions. This one is more dangerous than the others. Stop tempting fate and just move on."
Sam clenched his jaw; a bitter taste filled his mouth as the image of his wife flashed in his mind as if he just saw it.
"I can't." He stated and hung up.
"Cut!" Director Hamilton yelled out and approached the stage, "Ren, can we have just a little more hesitation from you on the last line, almost as if you were thinking about quitting."
Ren wanted to argue with him. His character is far too wounded to hesitate or even consider quitting before his revenge was complete. He didn't say a word though, knowing that this was integral to the plot. Instead, he tried to achieve a happy medium. He did hesitate longer, his mind reflecting on the pain in his heart longer than he would have normally done. His face wasn't has hard as before, but still showed the emotional ache he had still within him.
When he finally said the last line, the director shouted out, "Perfect."
It was a little before 6 when they finished the day, almost 11am in Tokyo. He preferred to call her over texting, wanting to hear her voice even if it's just a recorded message.
"I'm done for the day. The next scene will be done on site at the hotel, and today would end too soon for us to shoot it properly. Call me if you get the chance. I love you." Ren hung up just as Yukihito finished talking to Ana.
Yukihito came up to him with a small flush to his cheeks so Ren found a perfect opportunity to tease him. "What did she say?"
Yukihito straightened up and licked his lips to speak. "May I borrow the car once we arrive at the hotel?"
Ren raised his right eyebrow. "Are you sure you are comfortable driving here?" Ren asked Yukihito to move down with him once they decided to move to America. Better pay, more opportunities and learning a new industry, Yukihito couldn't say no. As soon as he agreed, he took the effort to get his license, but he still felt unsteady driving on the other side of the road.
"Yes, I'll be fine, plus we aren't going far. Besides this was your idea so you have to sacrifice the car," he scowled as if he was unhappy with this development.
Ren laughed and nodded. "Then let's hurry up to the hotel so you can change and pick up your new girl."
"She is not my girl. It's one date." Yukihito blushed but a hint of his happiness slipped through in his voice. "Why would I have to change?" He looked down at himself, he was wearing one of his better suits, which was tailored made for his frame.
"You look very nice for work, not a date. Really, Yukihito, how long has it been since you had a date?"
Yukihito looked insulted but had to think about it, making Ren laugh. "If you have to think about it, it's been too long. I'll help you."
His look didn't change much. They took off the tie and changed from his light blue shirt to a coffee colored long sleeved shirt. Ren had his sleeved rolled up for a more casual look and a much cooler feel, and then left it half open to reveal some skin. Yukihito promptly buttoned everything but the top button. Ren was the model, not him.
It was 7pm by the time, Ren settled down to relax. He showered, dressed in a pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt, and settled down on the couch with his script with a cold beer beside him. He groaned as he lay down on the couch. Actions movies always pushed him, holding back his moves and performing awkward positions, reshooting fight scenes. He was always in the best physical condition when he did an action movie, but at night with his body aching from the day, he missed the simplicity of a romance.
Ren hasn't breached that market in America yet. They saw him as the action star like his father which was fine. His father never left that genre, but Ren was sure that he would push out of that box. It was the same cycle he had to perform in Japan. Once they settle here, an opportunity will arrive and maybe he will be able to do one with Kyoko. He opened his script and found where he last left off and groaned.
"Stupid 'love' scene," he grumbled. This was towards the end of the movie when he saves the meddling Maria from trouble. She finds out there was more to the last mission than she reported to him and goes on location to try and warn Sam. Of course, she gets in trouble. Sam had set up the bomb and was about to blow himself and the head of the organization up when one of his men brings her out, slightly abused but whole. Sam forgoes his plan; a fight ensues, the bad guy dies and saves the girl.
Oddly enough, Sam doesn't get the girl at the end, or more like Maria doesn't get Sam. He rescues her but leaves, disappearing into the world to recover from his loss or whatever the audience wants to imagine. After reading the ending, Ren felt a little better about the writers and directors. At least, they didn't have him recover from his wife's death like he lost his dog.
Ren felt his eyes grow tired, and he tossed his script on the little coffee table. He yawned and looked at his watch, it was a little after nine. He looked at his phone for a moment and sighed. No message or voice mail from anyone. Kyoko won't get off till midnight again or maybe even later. He liked to wait as long as possible, in a vain hope that she would call, but his body often made him fall asleep. He called her one last time, hearing her sweet voice before bed.
"Goodnight, my love. I'm going to pack it in early tonight. I have some good news. Right now, Yukihito is out on a date with Florez-san," he smiled as he pictured her laugh. "I guess I can't tease him much anymore. He had more guts than I did with you." He paused for a moment, thinking of her and their earlier years. "I really miss you, Kyoko. Can we come up with a time or day where we can talk? I'll schedule some time off in the afternoon or something, and make sure to bring Emi too. I love you."
Ren hung up and cleaned up a little. He turned off the lights and changed for bed. As soon as he sat down, his phone rang.
"Hello?" He answered without looking.
A bell like giggle flooded his phone with a faint voice in the background speaking softly, "Say hi to daddy, Emi."
Ren's face split into a smile brighter than the sun, "Hi Emi, how is my baby girl?" He cooed into the phone. A baby's laugh along with baby talk flooded his phone as his daughter responded to his voice.
"Daddy misses you so much. Are you being good to mommy?" He asked knowing that she didn't understand anything but his tone.
"Mommy is just fine, thank you. Emi is as much as a handful as her father," Kyoko teased lightly. She sat back against the couch as Emi played with her toys in the middle of the floor. "How are you, Ren?"
"I'm feeling much better now. It's so good hearing your voice again," he confessed as he pulled out a picture of his wife and newborn.
"I'm sorry. My show has been running late this last week. Today was the first time I was able to get out early. I have the whole night free with Emi. I was in the shower with her when you called. I'm happy you didn't fall asleep right away."
"Me too," he smiled, "though I'm really jealous of our daughter. Getting to spend the whole evening with you, and she even got to shower with you. When was the last time I got to shower with you?" His voice went low and seductive.
Kyoko blushed but thought about it. "It's been a while. What if I promise to take one with you when you come back?" She whispered softly to him, still a little shy about talking about such acts with her husband.
"You promise," Ren huskily whispered.
"Yes. I promise," she murmured softly and then raised her voice, "I'll let you go so you can sleep. I just wanted to hear your voice, make sure you are okay."
"No," he almost shouted and then lowered his voice, "stay on the phone with me. I got a second wind."
Kyoko laughed. "Okay, but not too long. You need to take care of yourself when I'm not there. I don't want you getting hurt in those stunts you are insistent in doing yourself just because you were sleepy."
"Okay," Ren smiled and settled into bed comfortably.
They talked for hours. When Kyoko finally got him to say goodbye with a promise of another call tomorrow, he had nothing but the sweetest dreams.