Tea and ego
The anticipated butterflies in Ren's stomach have rudely metamorphosed into a squadron of angry hornets bent on destruction. The anxious actor parks his sleek silver car along the side of the Takarada mansion. When he exits the vehicle, Lory's aide ushers him through the side entrance into Lory's private home office. The always proper gentleman then escorts Ren to the large, extravagant bathroom off the office and leaves him alone in the bright, mirrored room. A few moments later, Jelly Woods' petite and pretty form slips through the doorway.
"Ren-chan!" the Witch calls exuberantly as she prances into the bathroom. "Darling said that you need to go native this evening for a few hours so I am here to work my magic."
Jelly whips back one of the thick curtains in the bathroom to reveal a professional hair studio cubicle. With a flourish, the professional make-up artist spins the barber chair around to face the actor. Jelly wiggles her ten magic fingers at Ren as she beckons him towards her throne.
"Come on, Ren-chan, my handsome man, let me get to work. Darling has promised to take me out for dinner so the sooner we start, the sooner I'm done, and the sooner I can get to my date."
Smiling in thanks for the talented and youthful woman, Ren settles into the chair while Jelly works her magic to return him temporarily back to Kuon.
"So is your hot cocoa good?" Hikaru asks nervously to the cute girl across the small table. His brown eyes stray from Kyoko's golden eyes to a small drop of whipped cream resting on her upper lip. His breath hitches lightly and he swallows as he watches her pink little tongue slip out to catch the small white dot. Kyoko giggles as she affirms that it is it is divine.
"Everything is wonderful, Hikaru-san," gushes the young actress as she glances around the delicately decorated cafe'. Tiny tables with lacy tablecloths are scattered around the European style tea room. At most tables, china tea pots and service sets in soft pinks, yellows and blues are being enjoyed by young women and high school girls. All around the room, silk flowers adorn small shelves on the walls between framed prints of European impressionist paintings.
Kyoko selects a small orange scone from the tiered serving dish in the center of the table and places it on her small china plate. The plate has a tiny yellow rose pattern entwined around the edge of it and matches the cup and saucer in which her hot cocoa was served. Kyoko delicately nibbles a bite of the foreign treat and gives a soft sound of approval. Hikaru's body immediately responds to the innocent yet sensual sound. Blushing, the idol tries to distract himself with a treat of his own. He selects a raspberry snow bar and takes a large bite before placing the rest on his plate.
Hikaru quickly follows his bite of sweet with a large gulp of dark tea. Kyoko giggles.
"Too sweet?" she inquires and Hikaru nods. Kyoko serves him a blueberry scone instead. "Try this one. They are a bit buttery but not near as sweet as the cookie bars."
The scone agrees with the idol more and he thanks Kyoko for her suggestion.
After another sip of her cooling hot chocolate, Kyoko asks her co-star how he found this quaint shop. The cafe is lovely but not at all the type place she would expect any of her Ishibashi big brothers to visit. In fact, the only males she could image visiting this place are President Takarada or her father Kuu. The first would of course feel right at home in this setting by simply dressing as a French or British aristocrat and the latter would be comfortable strictly by virtue of the access to food. The teen smiles as she wonders how many crust-less cucumber and mint finger sandwiches would be needed to fulfill her father's famous appetite.
Blushing slightly, Hikaru admits that Yuusei's girlfriend forced him to come with her to the tea room for their anniversary. After Yuusei described the cafe', the older idol decided he had to bring Kyoko here at least once. He thought it sounded just like the type place she would love. Kyoko assures him that she does.
Kyoko finishes her cocoa and her scone. A waitress returns and asks if she would like any more to drink. The teen requests an empty cup so that she can share some of Hikaru's pot of tea. The waitress promptly returns with another cup baring yellow roses and gilded edges. She fills the cup and Kyoko thanks the waitress before she leaves the table. As she sips from her teacup, thoughts of her father remind Kyoko why Hikaru brought her here in the first place. A sad smile settles on her lips.
"Kyoko-chan, do you want to tell me about your parents?" inquires Hikaru when he notices her mood slowly slip. "I've never heard you speak about them before now. If they work overseas, is that why you live at that restaurant?"
Kyoko suddenly appears embarrassed.
"Oh, Hikaru-san. I am sorry. I guess I am not making any sense. I haven't explained things properly. You see, father and mother are not really my real parents."
The actress sighs. "My real mother left me when I was a little kid. I lived with a family friend and his parents until I moved to Tokyo. I moved into the Daruma-ya after working there for about a year. The Tashio and Okamisan let me stay for minimal rent in exchange for helping at the restaurant."
"So who are your visiting mother and father?" Hikaru asks with a slightly confused expression.
Kyoko grins proudly. "Do you remember about a year ago when Hizuri Kuu came to visit and I got to take care of him as part of a LoveMe job?"
Hikaru nods and teases, "yes. You were Hizuri-sensei this and Hizuri-sensei that for weeks afterward."
A blush creeps back up Kyoko's cheeks which distracts Hikaru enough that he misses her next comment. After a few moments with a slightly idiotic yet blissfully blank expression on his face, Kyoko falls silent.
"Um, Hikaru-san?" the actress prompts as she stops her tale about playing Kuon for Kuu as an acting exercise. "Hikaru-san?"
The small frown of concern that settles across Kyoko's features rouses the idol more than her calling of his name. The oldest Ishibashi blushes and apologizes for his wandering thoughts. The idol does his best to forget his daydream about kissing Kyoko until her cheeks flame as Kyoko repeats her tale about how Kuu and Juli became her surrogate parents. As she ends her story, Hikaru expresses that he now understands why she was so upset. He pats her hand when he says that he hopes that she feels a bit better now. He then falls silent in thought as Kyoko finishes her cup of tea.
Hikaru also finishes his cup and sets the saucer aside. Their waitress approaches the table and asks if they need anything else. When they both say no, the staff kindly offers to box their remaining treats and return with their bill. She quickly returns with the check and the box. Having long ago figured out the best way to distract Kyoko from offering to pay for their before production snacks is to distract her with another task, Hikaru asks Kyoko to hold the box of treats and grab their coats while he takes the bill to the cashier. He has already paid by the time Kyoko meets him by the door. As expected, Kyoko protests him paying for her treat when they walk out the door.
"You know, Kyoko-chan, I am kind of old fashioned about some things. I really think if a guy and a girl share food that it is the guy's responsibility to pay."
Of course, the actress tries again to argue her responsibility but Hikaru finally finds what he thinks is the perfect counter.
"Well, you are always telling Shinichi that he shouldn't harass me about my height, right?"
Not sure what Shinichi's teasing has to do with paying her share, Kyoko still nods.
"Well, one of the things you always tell him is that his constant teasing is bad for my self worth. To be honest though, your constant desire to pay is an even bigger blow to my male ego."
"What?" exclaims Kyoko.
Hikaru nods solemnly. "Yeah, you wound my ego every time you do it. After all, I can't be much of a male if a cute, talented, and sweet girl doesn't think I should do the guy thing and pay. If you won't let me be a guy around you, then I might as well be shorter then you and let Shinichi harass me even more."
Although Hikaru's compliment doesn't truly register with Kyoko, she readily believes he is serious about his desire to treat her being linked to his male ego. In fact, she wonders fleetingly if that is the same reason why Ren always wants to pay for her too. As expected, Kyoko begins to worry that she has been insulting not only Hikaru's male ego but also Ren's male ego.
"I'm such a horrible kohai," laments Kyoko before she apologizes to Hikaru. This makes the idol even more flustered as he repeats that she doesn't need to worry about it. She then promises to do better in the future. Patting her hand after they climb into a cab, Hikaru tells her how much he will appreciate her effort and consideration for his fragile male ego.
Hoping to drop the embarrassing topic, Hikaru inquires as to what time she has to be at LME tomorrow afternoon for her LoveMe work and what kind of jobs she has assigned. The rest of the trip to her home is spend with her describing the rather mundane filing that she has scheduled along with the preparation of the goodie bags for the Bridge Rock Party in three weeks.
The cab pulls along the pedestrian walk near Kyoko's home. She scoots out of the vehicle and tries to tell Hikaru to stay in the warm cab. He just grins and tells her that they both have his coats today so he can walk her safely to her door.
"That's silly, it's right there," Kyoko replies with a wave to the Daruma-ya entrance half way up the block.
"Ah, remember, male ego, Kyoko-chan," Hikaru replies with a grin.
"Now you're just making that up," she mutters.
"Well, yeah," the idol replies as they reach the entrance to the restaurant. "But I got you home safe anyway. Oh and Kyoko-chan..."
Hikaru pauses and so Kyoko looks up at him. She is startled when the older boy presses just the quickest peck of a kiss on her lips.
"Good night," he states as his cheeks flame red. The idol then flees back to the cab as a slightly confused Kyoko touches her lips with her fingertips for a second before calling her own good night to her friend. Hikaru turns and waves before he climbs into the cab. The vehicle pulls away and Kyoko stands there in the cold for a little while as she tries to figure out why her senpai just kissed her. The cold begins to seep into her bones before she finally decides that his little sister must want kisses after she is sad too. In Kyoko's mind, this reason makes perfect sense. It isn't until she is in her futon when a passing thought arises.
"Siblings don't really kiss on the lips, do they?" she wonders.