Act Twenty Eight – Family Drama
Kyoko stared in front of her still not fully understanding the situation that was going on in front of her. This girl, Kanae Kotonami, had been a favorite of the judges and she had great potential but now she was on her level. When it came to talent this didn't make any sense. This woman had the power to audition and be accepted into the acting classes and prove that she was bigger and better than any of them so why was she looking at the same brochure with the same reaction.
She turned to Kanae who was holding her head in agony and Kyoko could relate to this, this had been her reaction to.
"Love-Me…argh, change the name for goodness sake," she moaned.
Matsushima nodded, he understood the agony at being part of this group. Dropping his head, he sighed and then replied, "Only this part, I'm afraid, I can't help with that because this is the interest of the President." Kyoko nodded along with that. She had had the same feelings when the name was involved but she could now say it, definitely not with pride but she could admit to that being the name that they had chosen to use.
Kyoko looked between the two of them once again and this time tried to focus on ridding herself of this confusion. If Kotonami-san was as talented as she was, was there a reason as to why she was put in this group. "I still don't understand," she admitted, "during the first round, the words she said on the phone, didn't she have a great reaction? I don't think she is lacking in love for or from others."
She watched Kotonami-san fall even deeper into her depression. Matsushima turned to Kyoko sadly. "This is because after she successfully passed the second round, the people auditioning were asked to read a script meant for the acting section. It was only given to those pursuing acting because it was on managing to understand a script. The contestants were questioned on how they understood the love of the family and the feelings that Kotonami portrayed was of foolishness and false happiness. It was devastating to me to see someone who was my front runner be so jaded about the love of family," Matsushima explained and Kyoko nodded.
She could imagine the same tragic expression on the president's face as when she had broken the phone. Despite her heart not being broken by a man, this girl had problems in her own family that had caused her to act with the same kind of recklessness that Kyoko had. There must have been some painful issues for her.
"In addition," Matsushima continued, "During the first reaction test, she said that she 'acts because she wants to be an actress' and from those words, you can tell that there isn't even one percent of emotion in her but it was very hard for us to ignore her talent so it's been decided to let her join Love Me section and let her cultivate her inner feelings."
Kyoko felt in shock that such a person who could give an amazing reaction to that false phone call would also lack in the elements needed to gain love. It was hard for Kyoko to grasp that there were others who struggled with that same acceptance of love and that she wasn't alone any longer. Despite this girl disliking her, Kyoko wanted to bond with her. They were prisoners of the same section.
Kyoko moved towards Kotonami-san who had fallen onto the floor in despair. She got down beside her, being careful of her injury and patted her shoulder. "Don't worry," she told her trying to seem calm and gentle, "Love Me section, although just the sound of it is embarrassing. However, as long as you bear with it, it won't turn out to be that bad," she tried to assure the brunette and heard Kotonami growl at her.
"What the heck do you know?" she asked as if she were some wild animal who could tear off Kyoko's face. Kyoko withdrew, trying to act like she did when there was a violent customer or someone who had a bit of an edge who had come into the ryokan. She looked like a sales woman who was attempting to convince her opponent to join a cult or buy an unwanted product. "Don't think that just because it doesn't affect you, you can talk about it so easily."
"Love Me section is a very good department," Kyoko said as she looked a little brainwashed. "It's very fun. You can get to expand your connections in the industry and a lot of other advantages."
Kanae stared at her feeling that this woman was trying to drag her into some kind of cult as a ritual sacrifice. She looked unnatural and strange. Were people like this the members of such a stupid sounding group? "You, why do you wish me to join Love Me section?" she asked but just the look on Kyoko's face caused fear and anxiety for Kanae.
Kanae stood up, trying to break free of Kyoko's clutches. "I think I better return to the training class and start over again," she tried to rise dramatically but it was much harder this time. She felt as if somehow she had been trapped in a cage and she took a look to the floor where Kyoko was desperately clutching onto her as if nothing else mattered.
"Hey!" Kanae yelled as she tried to get Kyoko to leave her leg but the chestnut haired girl was far too stubborn for that. "Let go of me! Just the title, "Love Me Section" makes me lose my appetite. I don't want to be on the same standard and in the same department with an idiot like you! I want to find a different high standard department that can change me into a fresh and bright star!"
Kanae tried to walk away but it was a struggle and she wound up dragging Kyoko on the floor. "Let me go!" she yelled, drawing more attention to the two of them. What was this girl's problem? Why was she like this? Kanae suddenly felt as if it wasn't only her leg that was being held down but something gross was attaching to her whole body. What the heck was the power that this girl had. It definitely seemed abnormal, super natural even. She couldn't move.
"No way," Kyoko laughed as Kanae felt even more afraid by this situation. Kyoko looked up with a dark look in her eyes, something that told Kanae that Kyoko had definitely caught her as "her prey". "You can't escape," she announced and Kanae felt her stomach plummet. Somehow she had been caught.
The atmosphere around the two of them became even darker, so dark in fact that Kanae felt as if she were cast in some horror movie. She felt as if snakes had wrapped around her skin and were feasting on her. How could she have slipped out of reality in such a manner. "I want you also to wear the Love Me Section uniform together with me."
There was a tense shift as if the area around them had dropped in the temperature. This was going to be a nightmare for Kanae Kotonami and Kyoko wasn't going to let her go so easily.
…
…
Kyoko had gone to the Daruma-ya after she had finished her work at the agency that night. She had brought her Love Me uniform as well as her work uniform but had forgotten her other clothes. That meant that she had to return to the apartment wearing the bright pink outfit. She hoped that Ren wouldn't be too angry at her.
She should have been home earlier. Corn had asked her to make him food and to do housework and instead all that she had was left overs from the Darumaya. They had been good enough for Shotaro but she had wanted to make Corn feel that he was special. Would this be enough to make him feel special?
She looked around as she entered the apartment and caught him sitting on the sofa looking over a script with a troubled expression on his face. Was he having difficulty with his new role? She saw that he had his phone just beside him. Had he been expecting a call?
He got up and put a bookmark into the script before approaching her. "Hi," he said as she smiled weakly, "How was your day? You're getting home a little later today."
"I'm sorry," Kyoko whispered and Ren tilted his head to the side, "I went to work at the restaurant and they asked me to stay a few hours later as one of the servers called out for their shift. I really enjoy working there but I feel that I should have been here." She saw his confusion and then held up the bag with the soup in it as well as a few pieces of chicken cutlet. "I managed to bring this back for you."
Ren grinned and went to take the bag from his hands, he gave a princely smile and Kyoko could hear her heartbeat pounding in her chest. "Thank you," he told her as she felt faint just looking at him. "Your uniform, I think I'm getting used to it. You look cute in it," he told her and Kyoko stared at him unable to move or speak.
"You shouldn't say that to somebody, Corn," she said and he looked at her surprised. "They'll think that you are teasing them. I know you mean well but the words from a fairy can't carry the same weight since you are unaccustomed to human fashion."
"I'm not trying to be rude," Ren replied as he looked at the uniform. "It really has grown on me," he said and Kyoko stopped herself from saying that she felt that it had grown on her too, well not so much grown on her but it was weaving its way into her body, causing for it to become like a second skin to her. She froze as she looked at him with a weak smile before she smiled.
"They've had a new girl join the Love Me section," she told him and Ren tilted his head to the side with a soft hum. "This means that I'm not alone any longer. She had some difficulty with the uniform, I mean, I don't really like it but this means that there are other people who have difficulty with feeling love."
"I think it's a learning process that everyone has to go through," Ren replied. His eye twitched a little and he sighed. It was time to renew his contact lenses and he really hated to do so because it meant revealing a little bit of the inner him. "I'll be right back," he told her and Kyoko nodded.
She went to her bedroom to change into something that wouldn't make her feel as self-conscious as wearing this uniform. She looked at her reflection. She needed to stop the words that were forming in her head. She didn't want to dress in anything special to impress Corn because they weren't meant to be together and that thought made her feel sad. Corn was a fairy prince, he was attractive and intelligent and kind and talented and he would have no use for a human who fell in love with him. She felt a tear appear in her eyes and she shook her head. It would be ridiculous to fall for him so easily.
She got dressed into pajamas, hoping that he wouldn't mind and when she came out, she was stopped short and fell silent. As Corn looked towards her she could stare into those piercing emerald eyes that always looked so magical to her. She didn't know what to say. If he had his blond hair then words wouldn't be able to describe how gorgeous he truly was.
"My eyes felt a little dry, I'll put new contacts in in the morning," he explained and Kyoko shook her head. She found it a little strange how a fairy prince would have to use contacts to conceal his eyes color but maybe magic couldn't change eye color. She smiled at him and then thought about Kanae. She had had trouble with her family and maybe Corn had difficulty speaking to his parents as well.
"Corn," she whispered and he hummed, "Your mother and father," she said and then saw a look of pain on his face, he tried to hide it quickly but she knew that there was difficulty there. "I'm sorry, I never really asked you about them before and…"
"They don't want the son that disappointed them," he told her and Kyoko walked over to him before wrapping her arms around him. Had they been disappointed by the fact that he had left the fairy kingdom. She closed her eyes and felt him shake as if it brought up painful memories to them. "They don't love me, they don't want me as their son. I'm sorry. I shouldn't be so weak about this but people tend not to ask."
"I'm sure that they love you," Kyoko told him, "Even though you're human. I'm sure that they love you," she said and Corn drew away from her. We went to look at the food that she had brought back for him. He opened the lid as she watched him carefully.
"It looks delicious," he told her and Kyoko nodded. She shouldn't have asked him about his parents, she wouldn't make that mistake again.
End of Act Twenty Eight
Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated
Thank you to the reviewers of Act Twenty Seven
H-Nala, Kaname671, Kris XD, misherukuro, MWEH,
Author Response
I'm actually omitting the acting test, I have another way of Kyoko being influenced to act and of her bonding with Maria so I added the last scene. The next scene is the beginning of Bo and Bo vs. Sho. Glad that people enjoyed the last chapter though 3
