The Shadow's Heart
Disclaimer: I do not own SkipBeat or Ashita no Ousama nor do I own any of the characters from either original story.
Chapter 36 – Shadow Sightings
In order to keep the chapter numbering from becoming confusing, I am making this Chapter 36, even though Chapter 35 was only a Lexicon. Hopefully this will help.
The first sighting was on a billboard advertising The Shadow's Heart. At least fifty different commuters who passed the towering sign between 6:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. were ready to swear that they had seen a figure in black ninja-style outfit doing a sword-kata on the top of the platform.
The next sighting was on a water tower which, coincidentally, also had the advertisement pasted to it. At least one-hundred middle school and high school teens reported seeing a figure in black standing at the epicenter of the tower, facing the horizon.
Later on the same day the dark figure appeared on yet another billboard. The town of Tokyo was abuzz. Kyoko was exhausted. Between her training, rehearsals, interviews, and now this, she hardly had time to breath. Still, it was her own fault. When Sasaya Yuu had come up with her "brilliant idea" for generating interest in the upcoming play, Kyoko had responded with starry-eyed enthusiasm. After all, who wouldn't become interested when a dark, masked figure kept popping up all over town? It was just another example of Yuu's brilliance… but it was Kyoko who was having to climb up these structures to demonstrate her art.
It was working too. Already there were calls pouring in from every news agency and talk-show to gather information about the play, and about the mysterious figure who kept appearing. Naturally, with all of the press coverage Kyoko had received lately, many of the reporters quickly concluded that Kyoko was the mystery figure, but neither she, LME, nor Garandou were answering the question. Thankfully Yumi pointed out that it wasn't really necessary for Kyoko to be the one climbing the billboards. After all, Tokyo was swarming with martial artists who could do what was needed. "Kyoko should conserve her energy for rehearsals and interviews, not to mention that her drama Stage Dreams will start filming next week."
Thankfully, Sasaya Yuu agreed. Now all that was left was for Kyoko to smile mysteriously whenever she was asked about the "Shadow Sightings." Kyoko was called upon to participate in numerous martial arts and sword demonstrations during talk shows. As much as she enjoyed what she was learning, she felt like a fraud performing in front of an audience, since she still considered herself to be a novice at-best. It was true: she had begun her training at the end of November and it was now only March. She had fully expected Yumi at least to stop the demonstrations, lest it reflect poorly on the Egami family. And yet Yumi never did stop her. She stood on the sidelines and smiled benignly as Kyoko either performed complex katas or sparred with an opponent. If Kyoko made any mistakes, Yumi would patiently chide her later, but she never stopped the demonstrations.
Kyoko finally asked her tiny sensei about it one night. Yumi looked surprised and answered, "Kyoko, perhaps you don't realize how far you've advanced. You are more than ready to give demonstrations, as long you don't become cocky. I wouldn't throw you into a fighting ring yet, but you are definitely ready to hold your own."
"But I feel bad, Yumi. I shouldn't be the one demonstrating the Egami Style. It should be a family member. I feel like an intruder caught in a place where I don't belong." Kyoko had matured in the last year or she would have been on the floor in a dogeeza, apologizing profusely for her presumption.
Yumi looked up at the girl with an enigmatic expression and then answered the girl in the only way she could, short of revealing her brother's secret. She stepped forward and hugged Kyoko. Kyoko was startled at first, but then she returned the hug enthusiastically. Yumi kept her hands on Kyoko's waist as she looked up and said, "Kyoko, I think of you as if you were my own daughter… or at least a close niece. To me you are family, and besides, I already told you that I chose you to be my student. That makes you the perfect person to represent the Egami family."
Kyoko could only nod, not trusting her voice to work at that moment. So much had changed in such a short time. She was accepted now by so many truly remarkable people, and it was sometimes hard to believe.
After Kyoko had excused herself to prepare for the next interview, Yumi pulled out her cell phone. A deep male voice came on the line and she spoke quietly, "Katsu, I think that it's time for Kyoko to meet the family… "
Sebastian closed his cell phone and held it in front of him as if, somehow, it could impart some words of wisdom. It pained him that Kyoko, the rightful heir to the Egami legacy, should feel like an intruder. For all of her life she had been made to feel second-rate, and by his own stubbornness he was perpetuating that feeling. Still, how would she feel if he revealed himself as her father? Who would want such a father? Worse still, what would happen to her career if the media became aware of their association?
It was difficult. The more time that he spent with her, the more he wanted to declare himself. Never before had he known such joy as he felt now in knowing that wonderful young lady was his child. The temptation was at its highest when they trained with swords. His heart thrilled whenever she drew the Egami Sword from its scabbard. He longed to say, "That sword is yours now, Kyoko. It belongs to you, just as it belonged to me before I disgraced myself; just as it belonged to my father, and his father, and your ancestors for six generations. You are Egami and you never need to feel inadequate again."
Perhaps he should say it. Perhaps it would be better. Even if she was shamed by him, she would surely be proud to be a part of Yumi's family. He knew that she used to fantasize about being a rich young lady, spoiled and loved. How would she feel if she knew that she was exactly that? Sebastian didn't know the exact figures, but he knew that the family estate had continued to prosper under Yumi's conscientious management. That meant that Kyoko was actually a member of one of the 500 richest families in Japan. Surely that would please her, even if it meant that she was related to such a pathetic father?
"The doctor will see you now, Mr. Sebastian," a middle-aged nurse said as she nervously pushed her hair out of her face. Though this patient didn't come often, all of the nurses looked forward to his visits. He almost never spoke, but they loved to look at him. He was not only devilishly handsome, but he projected an animal-magnetism that drove them all to distraction. She sighed as he disappeared into the doctor's office. I wish he'd notice me, just once.
Doctor Niyomato rose to greet Sebastian and gestured for him to take a seat. He always felt slightly nervous when this patient visited. Most of his patients were wealthy and famous. They lived mostly soft lives, free of injury except for the occasional skiing accidents or carpel tunnel. This patient was different. His body bore the scars of numerous injuries, including bullet and knife wounds. He had suffered breaks, contusions, concussions, and even severe organ damage… which was the reason for today's visit. "The tests came back, Mr. Sebastian. Your kidney is holding up, but there are some concerns. The years of heavy drinking took their toll and your organs are paying the price. I don't like your electrolyte count, but it isn't at a level that requires intervention. Your fluid tests indicate that your remaining kidney is still functioning properly. Still, I'm not happy with the numbers. Even though you've changed your lifestyle completely, the past may still come back to haunt you.
Sebastian's mouth twitched momentarily; the only sign that he was moved by the Doctor's oft-repeated warnings. "In other words, Doctor Niyomato, what you are saying is that there is nothing alarmingly wrong with me, but I still need to stop in every six months. Am I correct?"
Niyomato nodded grimly, as if expecting his patient to die before he made it out of the building. Truthfully, the doctor often wondered how anybody could be alive with scars like this man's. "Just be careful, Sir."
Sebastian nodded and let himself out, ignoring the longing looks that several nurses threw after him. He was a mess, and he knew it. He had played hard and fast with his own body from the age of seventeen until the Takaradas pulled him into their lives at the age of twenty-nine. Between fighting, drinking, and drugs he had done almost everything possible to kill himself. Until recently he had thought that his only positive contribution to the world would be his support for the Takaradas. Now he knew that he had given something much greater to the world, something much greater than himself.
The question was: would it be better to tell her or not to tell her?
The young lady in question was actually thinking about wealth at that moment; her own, not her family's. She was riding in the van provided by LME down the highway and reading over the second sales report on her jewelry line. Despite the popular belief that all television and movie stars are well off, the reality is actually quite startling. It is very true that top stars like Hizuri Kuu and his son make very good money, but they are the exception, not the rule. Even with Kyoko's growing popularity she was still making less than an average salaryman. Her compensation offers were growing along with the type and breadth of roles she was playing, but not quickly. It was a great surprise to her then to see the sales figures on the spreadsheets… essentially they informed her that she was well on her way to doubling, and possibly even tripling her yearly income.
Kyoko looked over at Yumi with wide, questioning eyes. Yumi smiled, happy for her charge, "How does it feel to be wealthy, Kyoko?"
Kyoko shook her head in wonder and then glanced down at the figures again, "After we're done with our schedule, can we swing by LME? I think it's time to pay off my school bill."
"Okijima Tomoji, please report to the Principal's Office," the intercom blared out, interrupting the sensei's lecture.
The rotund gentleman raised an irritated eyebrow, but he said nothing more as Tomoji put away his notebook and stood up. Several class members made snickering remarks about him being in trouble. He couldn't retrain a quick glance at Nanako, the girl whose cute face and friendly mannerisms had tied him up in a knot for the last two months. She gave him a concerned half-smile which warmed his heart and gave him a surge of hope. He must have paused for too long because his reverie was interrupted by the sensei clearing his throat.
"I trust that you will rush to answer your summons, Master Okijima. Hurry back now." Tomoji blushed as he hurried out of the classroom followed by the laughter of his classmates.
This was Tomoji's first year in high school and things weren't going real well. He was small for his age and even though he was athletic, he didn't stand out. Part of the blame for his lack of friends fell on his parents. His father had taken them to the United States for the last two years and then his mother had insisted on bringing the children back before they became too attached to foreign soil. She wanted her children to grow up and plant roots in Japan. As a result Tomoji and his sister had come back as strangers.
He got to the end of the hallway and reached tentatively for the door to the Principal's outer office. The secretary, a short, bird-like woman, was pacing the outer office looking flustered. "Oh! You're finally here! Oh my goodness… you should have told us… who knew you had such acquaintances… after all… "
"Ma'am, I don't understand?"
Before the fluttering secretary could say anything else the Principal's door opened, "Mrs… Oh, there you are Master Okijima! Come in… come in!"
Baffled, Tomoji stepped through the open door and his eyes grew large with alarm and wonder. There were three women sitting on the Principal's couch. The first one he recognized vaguely as the woman from the airplane trip… the writer/director who had told them her story. The second was a tiny yet beautiful white-haired lady. It was the third person, however, who immediately captured his attention. "A… are you?..."
Sasaya Yuu stood and stepped around the coffee table to extend a hand toward the boy, "Okijima Tomoji, do you remember me?"
Tomoji gulped and nodded repeatedly while snatching glances at the pretty actress. "H..Hai. You were on the airplane…"
When he didn't finish his answer, Yuu spared him further embarrassment, "Good, you do remember. Then you probably remember what I promised you at the time? Tickets to The Shadow's Heart and a chance to meet Mogami Kyoko? Tomoji-kun, I always try to keep my promises. Please allow me to introduce you to my friend, and the star of my play, Mogami Kyoko."
Kyoko put on her most friendly smile as she bowed to the flustered boy. She was not used to having anyone act star-struck in her presence, and she actually felt quite embarrassed, but she hid it for his sake. "Sasaya-san tells me that you are a fan, Tomoji-san, so I thought that I should meet you before the assembly." She turned and took the photo that Yumi was holding out, "I thought that I would give you this as well."
Tomoji took the photograph and looked at it with awe. It was signed, "To Tomoji, thank you for supporting me, Kyoko." Without thinking about it, Tomoji hugged the photo to his chest and smiled brilliantly. Then he realized what he had done and he turned beat red, "I… I'm…"
Kyoko, looking a little pink herself, laughed it off. Both Julie and Yumi had worked with her to create her public persona, and it was this that saved her from completely dying of embarrassment. "I'm glad that you like it, Tomoji-kun. Now, as I understand it, there's going to be an all-school assembly in about forty-five minutes. At the end of the exhibition portion we will be taking questions. We will need someone to carry the cordless mike to students who have a question. Would you be willing to be our assistant?"
Tomoji was more than happy to oblige. After Kyoko and Yumi put on what seemed like an amazing display of martial arts and swordplay, Kyoko sheathed her sword and walked to the front of the stage, "In just a moment, after I catch my breath, Director Sasaya Yuu and I will be taking questions. I've asked my friend Okijima Tomoji if he would be willing to assist us. Tomoji-kun, could you come up now?"
By the time that Kyoko, Yuu, and Yumi had left that day Okijima Tomoji was no longer an outcast in the school. In fact, everybody suddenly wanted to know him. Only one person seemed to be displeased with Kyoko's visit that day, and that was only momentary: Kojimata Nanako was decidedly unhappy when Kyoko thanked Tomoji for his help by giving him a kiss on the cheek.
The other school visits, twenty in all over the course of three weeks, went just as well. Sasaya Yuu also made a point of calling out Tomoji's little sister, Minami. Minami, unlike her older brother, had slipped easily into her new school. She was too outgoing and too full of life to allow anything petty to hold her back. On that visit Yuu made sure that Sawamura Fukinosuke came along. As expected, most of the young students had no idea who he was, though several recognized him from his supporting roles in two dramas. Still, even though he was not as well known as Kyoko, the schoolgirls universally agreed that he was "dreamy." Even though Chiori Amamiya had done much to draw him out of his shell, Fujinosuke was still far too shy to give the little sister a peck on the cheek. He did sign autographs for every child in the school however.
It was a very exhausted, and yet totally exhilarated Kyoko who stood in the private waiting area of Narita International Airport at 9 p.m., just two days before the play was set to open. News of Ren's return visit had been kept closely guarded, but Kyoko was still grateful for the late-evening arrival. Somehow two or three reporters had obtained the news and they were just outside of the private waiting area, waiting for a photograph.
Kyoko saw the airplane arrive; she knew which one to look for because she had cajoled the attendant to inform her as soon as the airplane touched down. It hadn't taken too much to persuade the poor twenty-two year old male attendant; those golden eyes had melted him in moments until he would have willingly become her loyal servant for life. Yumi had watched with fond amusement because Kyoko had been completely unaware of her impact. All she cared about was seeing Ren again.
Kanae was in the airport as well, but she had chosen to brave the public waiting area rather than endure Kyoko's "kyokoness." That wasn't entirely true, of course. The truth was that she didn't want her friend to see just how anxious she was to see the other man who was with Ren. Despite all of her pretended nonchalance and disdain for anything resembling romance, Kanae had written to Yashiro at least twice every week. It was odd that neither used email in this technologically rich era. Somehow the letters seemed more personal, more private.
Of course, she was regretting her decision to wait in the public area now. Even those who wouldn't recognize Kotonami Kanae as a rising star could still recognize her as a rare beauty. The last two years had also been good to Kanae and she was growing in beauty each day. It helped that the hardness which used to characterize her had faded from her eyes in recent months. She was still a tough person to approach, but her relationships had softened her and added to her allure. The result was that every person in the waiting area was noticing her, even those who didn't recognize her as a star. She saw the interest she was generating and quickly rose from her seat. Seeing her moving, those who had been thinking about approaching her began surging forward. She walked, then fast walked, and then almost ran past the reporters at the door in order to make it safely into the private waiting area. Perhaps "kyokoness" wasn't so bad after all.
Then, finally, the tunnel was connected to the airplane and the passengers began to disembark. Unfortunately, while the people waiting for their travelers were unaware of the presence of Mogami Kyoko or the arrival of Tsuruga Ren, the passengers on the plane were not. Halfway across the Pacific Ocean, while Ren was sleeping, his baseball cap had fallen off. Normally Yashiro would have quickly fixed it, but he had fixated on his screen at that moment. The advertisement for Kyoko's "Princess" jewelry was on the screen… or more specifically, the advertisement featuring Kotonami Kanae and the tigers was on the screen. While he was busy adoring the woman of his dreams, a young Japanese teen left the bathroom and walked by. One glance was all it took.
The girl was a part of a high school symphony group that was returning from the United States, and her favorite male star in the entire world was, naturally, Tsuruga Ren. Within five minutes every teen from her symphony group knew Ren was on board. Within twenty more minutes almost everyone on the airplane knew. By the time that the plane had taxied to a stop and the tunnel had been pushed into place, the flight attendants were at their nerves-ends trying to keep the rest of the airplane from surging forward into First Class.
What it meant for the two couples was that their private reunion would have to wait. Ren could only escape the loading and unloading area after he had signed so many autographs that he could hardly hold a marker. It was Yumi, with the assistance of Yashiro, who finally called the impromptu fan-gathering to a close, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Tsuruga Ren has had a very long flight, and if you really care about him as much as you claim to, then you will be polite and allow him to go home now. Thank you for your gracious understanding."
Surprising everyone except for Ren and the two girls, the crowd complied. As small as she was, Yumi seemed to project an aura of power and authority. As soon as the crowd had disbursed, Kyoko and Kanae stepped out of the private waiting area to greet their men. Even though the two young couples were desperate for private time, Yumi wisely pointed out that the crowd would not hold back for long. With the help of airport security they quickly made their escape.
Two hours later, after their bags had been collected and they had all stopped for a late meal, Ren escorted Kyoko into their apartment. As before, Amamiya and Kanae had made alternate arrangements, so that the two could be alone. Ren seriously questioned the wisdom of this as his large hands held Kyoko's slender, muscular waist. The reason was that Kyoko was being more responsive, more aggressive, than she had ever been before. As he held her up, feet dangling, she attacked his mouth and practically wrapped herself around him. She felt so wonderfully soft and warm, and her kisses were so sweet, that he didn't know if he could stop himself. Finally, when he knew that even a minute more would push him past the point of no return, he held Kyoko's smaller body back. "Kyoko… wait."
Kyoko looked at him with such hungry eyes that he almost tossed away his restraint. This was the look he had always wanted to see… to know that she wanted him as much as he had always wanted her… and yet… Kyoko relaxed slightly and expelled a deep, shuddering breath, "You're right… d*mn!" she looked like she was in pain for a moment, "Oh, Ren… I know we only have two months left, but…"
Ren pulled her into a hug, his face in her hair, "I can't tell you how happy it makes me to know that you feel the same way."
"You have no idea, Ren," Kyoko said without a trace of embarrassment. "I'll tell you one thing: You're marrying me in May, as soon as you get home. I'll give you a day or two to unpack and get your bearings… and then you're mine… all mine."
Across town Yashiro was enjoying a very pleasant, though less… energetic… reunion. Perhaps it was watching her commercial that set Yashiro on fire; perhaps it was the memory of his previous visit or the long separation. For whatever reason, Yashiro had thrown away his previous nervous restraint and had kissed Kanae without holding back. More importantly, in his mind at least, Kanae had responded in-kind. Though their kissing did not reach the same all consuming level as the other couple, it was sweet and memorable for both of them. If Yashiro was still entertaining any doubts about Kanae's feelings, they vanished on that evening. As with Ren and Kyoko, they stepped away and said their good nights before progressing any further.
Only, this time they did not part before Yashiro Yukihito made a final declaration, "Kotonami Kanae, I have read and re-read every line of every letter you sent me. I have looked at the poster your friends gave me until I've burned a hole in it. You are all I think about day and night, and… and I love you."
He was gone before Kanae could form a reply. She stood outside of her apartment in the brisk cold and frowned after him as he drove away*, "Mo! Idiotic man! The least he could have done would be to wait for my answer." She shivered as a chill breeze flowed across her. Only her lips still felt warm as she muttered, "Idiotic man" one more time and stepped inside.
Notes:
I hope that the readers will forgive the slightly out-of-character depiction of Kyoko as the aggressor. Truthfully, I don't consider her to be OOC in this. Kyoko is passionate about everything except love in the manga. I believe that she would be just as passionate, if not more, if she ever begins to love again. Between the long courtship and the separation, our young couple is ready to follow the natural progression of their relationship.
The teen-aged boy and his sister are the two characters introduced in the very first chapter of this story.
*I decided to have Yashiro begin driving in the first half of this story, "Patience is its own reward." Having already made that decision, I will stick to it here.