Always with You

Disclaimer: I do not own SkipBeat! or any of its characters.

Chapter 29 – Opening Night

Four weeks of long filming days; out-takes and re-takes; commercials and talk-shows and pre-planned spontaneous appearances at public events. At the end of it all Ronin's Children was in the can, copied, distributed, and ready for opening night.

Originally the story, intended as a launch-pad for Choshi Kazu, was not expected to make a big splash in the movie world. But then Kyoko brought Enoki Masami to life. Her character was so vibrant, alive, and powerful that they had re-written much of the story to match her character and Kyoko's abilities. Now the producers expected their movie to become a box-office hit.

Nosaka Miki, normally a daytime reporter, had won the draw to cover this event. She was pleased because she was a big fan of Kyoko in her television drama roles. Tonight she gave a running commentary as different celebrities and cast members arrived. Already the celebrity turn-out was amazing for a young star's debut movie. It seemed that she was an almost universal favorite on any set that she had worked.

[… oh, from the reaction of the crowd, it's clear that someone else it arriving. There is the sound of multiple motorcycles… It seems that one motorcycle is pulling right up to the red carpet… It appears to be the President of LME Talent, Takarada Lory. Tonight he is dressed as a biker with black chaps and a leather jacket. Takarada-san has been described as the most flamboyant man in Japan, and the self-styled King of Love.

Now the stars of Bridge Rock, the Ishibashi brothers are walking the carpet. Japan was shocked last month when they revealed that Bo, Japan's most beloved chicken and the comedic relief for their show has been none other than Mogami Kyoko. Since the show started two years ago, Bo became so popular that he has his own comic book series and talks are underway for a Saturday morning cartoon show. We have no news at this time if Kyoko will continue to don the suit or if she will be too busy and have to be replaced.

Somebody else is being dropped off… it's Kurosaki Shio, the Director of the Always with you commercial drama that has recently shaken Japan's entertainment industry. As you know, Mogami Kyoko and Tsuruga Ren were the leads for that ground-breaking project. Word on the street is that there are talks about turning the drama into either a movie or a serial television drama. Walking with him is the young lady who has been described by Mogami Kyoko as "the real Masami," Aiko Mari. Aiko-san was Kyoko's stunt-double in Ronin's Children. She and Kyoko are also good friends.

Walking the carpet now are Chiori Amamiya and Hiraga Akio, the lead actors of My captive soul, a romantic movie currently being filmed in the United States. Rumor has it that the two stars first met as child actors in the show The Scarlet Dice.

The group that is now walking the carpet is the cast of the movie Runaway Royalty which is currently filming in Australia. Most people in Japan can recognize the young lady with the long raven hair as Kotonami Kanae. Kotonami-san was recently listed among Japan's Ten Most Beautiful Women in a poll given by Tokyo Premiere Magazine. But you may not recognize the young man who is walking beside her. He is none other than Uesugi Hiou. That's right! The child star who has performed in over fifteen different television dramas and movies. He's grown up; in fact he has grown twenty-five centimeters in just over a year. We haven't confirmed the rumor that he has a crush on his beautiful co-star; but word on the street is that there have been several confrontations between him and certain hopeful Australian men.

And… they've arrived! The cast of Ronin's Children (Nosaka Miki speaks about each person as they walk the carpet until it is time for the star to enter) …Tsuruga Ren is escorting Mogami Kyoko, the star of Ronin's Children along the carpet now. These two stars are without a doubt the most talked about couple in Japan today. All of Japan followed the news about the attempt on Kyoko's life by her former co-star. Tsuruga Ren's shocking revelation of his true identity also rocked the world. But if any of the ladies watching were hoping to catch Tsuruga-san, I'm sorry to tell you that his eyes are firmly fixed on the young lady being honored tonight…]

Kyoko was amazed and gratified at the turn-out for her movie debut. She also felt as if she had cheated; she knew that it was the news of the attempt on her life that had made people pay attention. Ren told her that she was being foolish and gave her the same advice as he had before her first Curara audition, "Your job is to capture the attention of the world… anything that can grab attention should be used." Then he told her that she just needed to make sure that Ronin's Children was worthy of all the attention.

Maria waved as she saw the couple walk in. She had been assigned the seat next to Kyoko by her onee-sama's own request. Kyoko had only recently learned from Sawara-san that it was Maria who insisted that Kyoko be given another chance after her disastrous LME audition. This was Kyoko's way to reward her. Besides, she really did think of Maria as her little sister now.

(Author's note: the full story of the movie would take entirely too long to present, so the next portion will only be important scenes from throughout the movie. I'll try to provide enough that you will understand the story.)

The following scene is the one immediately following Enoki Masami's visit to her family's grave. Kihara Genjo has just dropped her off at the warehouse she has converted into her home.

[Enoki Masami stood in front of the warehouse door and watched Kihara Genjo drive away. A wind gust blows her dress tightly against her legs and ruffles her hair. Shaken from her reverie, she turns to unlock her door. The door opens without a key. She throws herself against the wall, her face set and ready for action. When she doesn't hear any sounds she turns to face the door again.

Scene switches to inside. The warehouse is dark except for light leaking through various openings. The door swings open with a slight squeak and Masami's form is silhouetted in the doorway. She cautiously reaches over and flips the light-switch.

The camera pan's the room. Bookshelves are knocked over with books an papers thrown everywhere. Her dresser drawers are broken and her clothes are spread across the floor. The cushions on all of the chairs are slashed, with all of the filling pulled out.

Masami assumes a 'ready' horse-stance and moves 'en-guard' through the room, moving from side-to-side. She moves to her motorcycle. It has been kicked over and it's seats are also slashed. Her face is a mask of rage.

She steps to the office door and flips the switch. As she does, she hears a noise. She looks up as a body comes over the ceiling and Masami is brutally kicked into the office and against the far wall.

Camera gives her vision. The scene is blurred as a figure moves toward her and growls, "It's my turn now."

Masami blacks out.]

[Masami wakes up to find herself taped with duct-tape to a column. Five members of the Shoguns are digging through her things. They are angrily searching and clearly frustrated.

"Well, well; sleeping beauty finally wakes up." Ako Juhei sauntered up to Masami, "do you remember me?"

Enoki Masami glared up at him, "I remember you lying unconscious on the ground, If that's what you're asking."

There were a few chuckles, which were immediately stifled when he yelled, "SHUT UP!" His voice echoed through the empty warehouse and caused Masami to wince.

"You didn't want to play then. But maybe we'll get to play today, little one. You don't seem so spirited tied up here in a dress." He ran a huge, dirty hand along her cheek. When she tried to move away he grabbed he chin roughly and leaned toward her face, "But first you're going to tell me where you hid your brother's sword."

Masami tried to jerk her head away, "So now Makada sends his lackies to do his work."

Ako gave a deep ugly laugh, "Makada? He's nothing. He's not strong enough to hold the territory that your brother grabbed. The Shoguns need a strong leader. I want that sword for me. Now, you're going to…"

There was a knock on the warehouse door, "Masami-chan? You left your books…"

"Run, Genjo!! The Shog…" Ako backhanded her across the face.

"Get him!" But as the other four ran to the door it burst open and Kihara Genjo ran in.

He sidestepped the first attacker as he ran forward, tripping him and taking the second with a short side-kick to the mid-section. The other two took a more cautious approach, trying to work around him and find a weak spot.

(camera shows Masami working on the duct tape binding her hands)

The first attacker recovered and threw himself towards Genjo. Genjo catches him with a knee to the chest and then an elbow drop. This created an opening and he received a kick in the ribs from one of the other two.

(The first strands of tape are broken and her hands continue to work. Ako Juei watches the fight with his back turned to her. He shouts insults and orders.)

Genjo held his side and breathed hard as the two un-hurt Shoguns tried to circle him. They attacked from either side. He reacted quickly, delivering a front kick to one and immediately returning a back kick to the face of the other. As he spun to confront the first man, he was body-checked brutally by Ako, who sent him smashing against the large wooden doors of the warehouse.

Ako thumbed his nose and bounced like a boxer as he waited for Genjo to rise. Just as he started to move in there was a "Kei-yah" and he was kicked in the back. He staggered forward and turned to face Masami, who was pulling the remnants of the sticky tape off of her arms.

One of the other Shoguns ran at her and she spun in a crouch, sweeping his legs. As he tripped forward she delivered a back-punch which clothes-lined him into the air and onto his back. By then Ako had moved in his fist caught a glancing blow off her face. As she tried to keep her feet Genjo moved in, flying over the prostrate body and kicking Ako in the side.

Ako, still upright, roared in anger and charged at Genjo. One of the other Shoguns was trying to rise and Masami gave him a flying front-kick which sent him backwards over her fallen motorcycle. She continued forward and fumbled with the license plate in the back of the bike.

Genjo was losing ground and Ako was landing blows. Genjo fell to his knees as the bigger man grabbed his collar and raised his fist for the finishing blow. Suddenly Ako Juheii was looking at a bluish blade laying with its sharp edge against his neck.

"Would you look at that? I found it." Ako looked over the length of the blade into Masami's angry golden eyes. Behind her one of the Shoguns tried to rise. Masami's eyes held Ako's, "If he gets up and comes over here, I'm going to have to remove that ugly growth on top of your neck. Are we clear?"

"Don't move!" Ako Juheii commanded. The other man wobbled back down to his knees.]

[The scene switches to the outside of the warehouse. Four police cars and an ambulance are parked in front of the warehouse. As policemen lead the Shogun's away in hand-cuffs, paramedics treat Masami and Genjo's visible injuries.

Genjo looks over at Masami, "They know where you've been hiding out. You won't be safe here anymore. Stay with me tonight."

Masami looks over into Genjo's eyes. "I thought we talked about this."

"No, I mean… look, I'll sleep on the couch and you take the bed. You know I'd never..."

"I know, I know." Masami winced as the paramedic treated the cut on her cheek, "Ok, Kihara-san, I'll stay there tonight."

"Since when am I Kihara-san to you?"

"Since I decided to stay in your little apartment; it will help to keep things in perspective. By the way, why weren't you carrying a handgun?"

"Who would have thought I would need it to go visit my friend's gravesite?"

"Around me you always need to be ready."]

(Following is a summary overview of the rest of the movie.)

Masami was able to start her motorcycle. Genjo shook his head in wonder as he watched her replace the ancient sword in its hiding place. She slid the license plate aside to reveal a pipe running the length of the bike.

She followed him to his apartment. They shared a dinner. Genjo was driven crazy as he heard Masami in the shower and imagined too much. They said their good nights. Genjo slept on the couch and Masami laid on the bed.

When she was unable to sleep late in the night she got up and started wandering the apartment. She gazed at his sleeping face for a long time. She poured herself a glass of juice and then wandered over to his office desk. On the wall were pictures and articles all about her family tragedy. There were notebooks full on scribbles all over the desk.

She saw a small cork-board behind the desk. Pinned to it were notes. "Who had the most to gain?," "Access to explosives," "Want's leadership." Also pinned to the board was a criminal profile sheet. Masami saw two items highlighted: trained explosives expert; known connections to Yakuza. The top of the sheet read "Makada Kurei."

Genjo woke to find Masami gone. On his desk was the criminal profile sheet. He swore and grabbed the phone, "Hello, Chief?..."

Makada stepped out of a late night party and stretched. He headed to his motorcycle and started it. As he began to roll forward the lights of another motorcycle blinded him and an engine revved. He heard Enoki Masami's voice, "MAKADA!"

Makada held his left arm over his eyes to shield against the glare. "Enoki Masami?"

"So you're an explosives expert, hah Makada?"

Makada's eyes widened in fear as Masami surged forward, her sword held in a cavalry charge position. A motorcycle chase followed. Several times Masami caught a chunk of his bike, but missed Makada. The chase screamed through the main and back streets of Tokyo until they came to a long dock. Their motorcycle tires hit each other and caused both riders to lose control and wreck. The sword fell between them and came to rest equidistant to the fallen bikers.

The scene switched to Genjo in uniform driving his police car as other cars did the same, scouring the streets for the fighting pair.

Slowly, through the early morning mist, the two slumped figures began to crawl towards the sword. Just when it looked like Makada had gotten onto his knees and was prepared to grab the sword, the point of the blade touched his forehead. Masami stood before him bleeding and ready to kill.

Makada closed his eyes and waited for the killing blow. When it didn't come he opened his eyes to find that Masami had lowered her sword and was walking away. With a look of triumph Makada started to surge forward to grab the sword. Masami wheeled and delivered a spinning crescent kick to the side of Makada's face.

The police cars raced up to find Masami sitting on the unconscious form of Makada. Makada was hauled away. As Kihara Genjo prepared to give Enoki Masami a ride home she asked him to wait a moment. She walked over to the side of the dock with her sword. After a long minute she let the weapon slip from her fingers and fall end-over-end into the water.

As they rode away, she asked him if he could still get her an application to join the force. He reminded her that she would then be working for him. She snorted at this, "In five years I'll be your boss." They were still arguing as the car fades off into the early morning Tokyo traffic.

* * *

The opening night crowd applauded enthusiastically as the credits rolled. They had enjoyed the show immensely. Kyoko started to squirm and sink into her seat until Ren leaned down and whispered to her. He face took on a challenging smile and she "became" Enoki Masami. She looked confident and proud as she joined the other cast members at the front of the theater.

Next, the entire filming crew, including the stunt people, joined the cast. Aiko Mari leaned over to Kyoko and asked quietly, "I saw you trying to hide until Tsuruga-san whispered to you. What did he say?"

Kyoko looked at her friend and smiled, "He said that my future mother-in-law would never hide from her fans."

Mari's eyes widened and both girls smiled beautifully.

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Notes: This chapter is not all that I hoped it would be. I hope that it still helps you to visualize opening night and the movie.

As I wrote at the beginning of the movie narration: there would, of course have been much more to the movie. Still, I hope that enough was written to help you visualize the basic movie.

Thank you to everyone who has been reading. I especially appreciate those who have reviewed, clicked 'favorite,' and set alerts. You have helped me to push through what started out as a simple idea that just kept growing.

On to the final chapter! (Ok, there may be an epilogue later).

One final note: In the first scene, where Masami is attacked from above: Picture a high-ceilinged warehouse with an office in the corner. Rather than build the office walls up to the ceiling, the builders stop the walls at normal height and leave the top flat (sort of like a building within a building.) Ako Juheii was hiding on the "roof" of the office.