What I'm Missing
Sariah Loire
Chapitre Thirty-Six
A few people asked the same thing about the Kuon/Corn situation, so here's what I based Kyoko's reaction off of: In the canon manga, when Kuu told Kyoko about his son Kuon, he used unclear words that Kyoko interpreted to mean that Kuon was dead. So I believed that Kyoko would recall that, if ever the situation I wrote arose.
Skip Beat! and its characters, locations, terms, etc, do not belong to me.
This story began on the day of Act 151, February 15th. It follows the first 151 Acts exactly, and is a direct continuation of Skip Beat!'s main story. If you need back info, please read the official story.
Ren stepped out of the shower, feeling the cabinet until his hand found the towel he had set out. Ever since he had turned his cell phone off several hours ago, he had gotten the quiet he wanted. No peace, but he would accept the silence. He had barely managed to stop himself from drinking enough to be dangerous to his state of mind; the only thing that held him back was the thought of his shadow coming after Juli or Kuu. Despite his misgivings towards some of their actions, he wanted to have control of his senses should anything happen to them. 'Or to Kyo-' He shook his head, not letting the thought finish. 'No, nothing's going to happen to her. That's why I made her go, if they don't see us together, then there's no reason for her to have to deal with this.'
It would have helped if he could have convinced himself of that line of reasoning, but nothing was letting him get over the guilt he felt over putting Kyoko in any amount of danger. 'You knew better than to try and have a relationship, much less fall in love.' He made his way to the kitchen, drying off his torso with the thick, black towel. 'I told the chicken the truth. I couldn't afford to have anything precious, no matter where I was.'
He flipped open his cell phone, staring at the blank screen before his fingers moved to the power button. He sighed, watching the phone's logo display across the screen. 'I supposed I should at least check in with Mr. Yashiro. He must be ready to have an aneurism by now.' The phone had barely finished turning on before it started ringing in his hand. His heart stopped beating for a few moments after he read the words blocked number on the phone's screen. "Hello?"
"KUON!" The scream was almost enough to deafen him, especially coupled with the anxiety in Juli's voice. "Kuu, he answered, quit trying to call! Kuon, where have you been?!? I've been redialing your number every minute for the past half hour, why didn't you answer? I thought something had happened-"
"I'm fine, why are you calling this phone? This line isn't secure, anyone could-"
"Kyoko's gone." Ren almost missed her quiet words, it sounded like they were spoken through sobs. He was sure he misheard them; Juli had a penchant for overreacting, after all.
"What do you mean, gone? Is she at work?"
"Do you even know what time it is, Kuon?" Her shriek let Ren know that actually, no, he didn't know the time. A quick glance at his watch let him know the hour was far too late for Kyoko to simply be out, especially on a job. "I was over at the restaurant, the one Kyoko lives at, after I found out what you said to her-"
"Wait, what I said to her?" He was getting impatient now, not to mention more than a little annoyed. 'Everyone just helps themselves to my life, don't they?' "How do you know about that?"
"Later, Kuon." Now that was the no-nonsense voice of his childhood that he was used to. Juli had been a kind, loving mother, but Ren always knew when the line was drawn, and when he was in danger of being on the receiving end of her temper. "I was in her room, trying to help comfort her, when I saw that stone. The big blue one, that got chipped that time I was trying to dust your shelves."
Ren felt his face pale a little, but he tightened his mouth slightly. "Her Corn stone." His voice was flat and emotionless, but his mind was reeling. 'Of course they would recognize that stone if they saw it. How could they not? I carried it everywhere with me, they were sure to have seen it at least a few times.' "She counts on that stone to absorb her unhappiness."
"The stone a boy named Corn gave her. You gave it to her, right?" Juli sounded calmer, but Ren knew better than to let his guard down just yet. She was prone to bouts of anger when she was upset, especially at times like this. "She told us the story, about how you met each other so long ago. We weren't trying to meddle, but Kuu thought it would be best to tell her that the Kuon boy she admired so much was the same boy as the Corn she still misses."
Ren thought his heart really would stop at those words. 'Of all the people in Kyoko's life, the ones she trusts the most are the ones who took away the one thing she's held onto for all these years?' "Why?" He could barely form words through the anger he felt seeping into his tongue. "Why did you tell her? Do you know how much Corn meant to her?"
"All I knew was that she needed something to help her through what you did to her, Kuon. I thought it would be best to-" Ren heard muffles, and the sound of whispered words that he couldn't quite make out.
"It's my fault, Kuon." This time it was Kuu on the phone, which drew out even more anxiety from Ren's heart. "I thought if I told her that her Corn was fine, she would feel better. I didn't count on her running before I could explain anything else."
Ren almost let out a sigh of relief at the calm words from Kuu. 'She ran. That doesn't mean she disappeared.' "If she left on her own, she probably went to Miss Kotonami's house. How long has she been gone? Try calling-"
"We have." He cut Ren off, effectively silencing the younger man. "I've called everyone I know, the couple at the restaurant has, too. They're worried as well; they said Kyoko has never done this before." He sounded anxious again, an emotion Ren was becoming well accustomed with. "It's been over an hour. I've even drove around everywhere in walking distance, just in case she was nearby. We can't find her, Kuon." Kuu cleared his throat, hesitating a bit before he spoke. "We have to consider that this could be-"
"I know." Ren closed his eyes, willing himself to stand against the fear that threatened to take him over at any moment. "I know. I'll meet you at the President's Estate as fast as I can get through the traffic." His phone beeped, signaling that another call was coming through. "I'll be there as soon as I can." He hung up, switching to the other line. 'Let it be Kyoko.' "Yes, hello?"
"Good evening, young Mr. Hizuri. It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
Kyoko fought hard against the throbbing in her head, trying to pull herself out of the darkness that enveloped her. She ached, and her eyes squinted against the light shining from a nearby lamp. 'W-Where am I? What happened?' She tried to remember the events that led her to this place, but the pounding in her skull only threatened to make her sick.
"Ah, you're awake!" Kyoko jerked her head at the male voice, and then cursed herself for moving so fast. When the room stopped spinning, she spotted a well-dressed, older man seated across the almost empty room, his black hair shining in the dim light. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Miss Kyoko. I was almost afraid I had hit you too hard."
Kyoko stared at him for a few moments before it came back to her. She had been running, running with no direction in mind. She knew she had to get away from the Daruma-ya, even if she had nowhere else to go. She had just made it to a nearly-empty park when she had felt a hard blow against the back of her head. And then, she had woken up in the… well, wherever this place was that she was at. 'It looks like a house, even if it's empty. But why would someone bring me here?' "W-Who are you?"
"Oh, that's the question of the day, isn't it?" He smiled jovially, as if Kyoko had just given him a terrific gift. "I'm a dear, old friend of someone you know very well. Actually, of more than one person, if you think about it." He crossed his arms, looking noble. "They might not think of me as a friend, but I am, you know?"
"W-Who do you know?" Kyoko was trying to wrap her mind around everything that had happened in the last few days, and tried to forget about her conversation with the Hizuris. 'I-I'll talk to them again, when I get back. Maybe they were mistaken, or they could have just had similar names…'
"Ren Tsuruga, of course!" The man clapped his hands together, crossing one leg over the other. "Oh, I've known him from way back. From before he was Ren, even."
"What does that have to do with m-me?"
"A good deal, I'm afraid. You see, you're going to force your darling Ren here to tell us some things we really need everyone to know. Understand?"
Kyoko shook her head, thankful that the pain was easing up some. "N-No, I don't. I only w-work with Mr. Tsuruga, why do you think he would tell me anything?"
The man leapt up, pacing happily around the room. He stopped in front of a large TV, one of the few items the room hosted. He patted the device lovingly, smiling brilliantly at Kyoko. "Dear, it's not you I want him to tell it to." He flipped a switch, paying no notice to the deafening static that filled the room. "He's going to tell the world."
"Y-You mean you are their son, Ren?" If Yashiro's eyes bugged out anymore, Ren was certain he would have to be searching for a new manager, one that could see. The man was whipping his head back and forth between Ren and the Hizuris so fast that his glasses were about to slide off. "But h-how is that possible? I mean- they're famous actors in America, and you-"
"I was nothing in America." Ren leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms and staring at his feet. They were at the President's Estate; Yashiro had been called in for Ren to tell him what was going on. He vaguely remembered someone mentioning the need to call Kanae Kotonami as well. "I tried, but nothing I did was good enough when it was the 'son of Kuu Hizuri' that was acting. I would get hired right away, but once they discovered that my talents were much less than their favorite star's, they let me go without so much of a second chance."
"But why did you give up?" Mr. Yashiro seemed to be more upset that his precious charge had been fired, than he was at being blatantly kept in the dark about Ren's personal life. "You became a hit here, almost instantly. Why didn't you stick with it in America?"
"I needed out. After working so hard, only to be met with defeat time after time, I couldn't do anything. I couldn't move." Ren raised his head, looking imploringly at his manager. "Do you remember when I was in that slump with Katsuki? I tried over and over again, but could only fail. That's how my career was from the time I realized my desire to act, up until I was fourteen years old."
Juli and Kuu had left the room while he was speaking, Ren was thankful for the privacy. It was hard enough to recount the events without having to worry about making them regret the past. Yashiro leaned forward, adjusting his glasses. "And what happened to make it stop?"
"I gave up on acting." Ren remembered the feelings he had felt that day, when he finally had enough of the un-fair directors with their unrealistic expectations. "I went home after another failed filming and told my parents that I would no longer be involved in the acting world. I wanted nothing to do with the torture I had been faced with for so long."
"And did things get better?"
Ren shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "Sadly, no. I became more and more angry, and I began lashing out at anyone and everyone I could reach. When hateful words weren't enough, I resorted to physical measures." He rubbed his head, wishing he could take away the memory of what he had been like back then. "And things escalated until… I carried them too far. One of the guys I got a hold of went to the hospital; he was in critical condition for weeks. He didn't tell anyone who had done it, since he was guilty of the same thing, but my parents felt responsible for my actions. They took care of the bills, believing it was being done anonymously. But… that's when the trouble started."
Yashiro was on the edge of his seat, like a kid listening to a fairy tale. His eyes had gone back to their normal size, but Ren knew he was nowhere near calming down. "What kind of trouble? Did you get arrested?"
"No, but that might have solved everything if I had. My parents wouldn't have hid me, if the police had come looking. But they never did." Ren glanced at the clock; it was getting later and later with still no news on Kyoko. If he hadn't been locked in the President's private room, one with no windows, he would have escaped long ago. The only reason he hadn't went out on his own after receiving the phone call earlier was because Juli had called him again and begged him to come to the Estate first. "But… someone else did. They started sending photos to my family, ones of me fighting. Every member of every gang I faced was pictured, along with the boy I had caused to go to the hospital. My parents were worried about it, to say the least, but with nothing to go on, the police wouldn't help us. I believe they thought it was just a celebrity's attempt to get publicity, or something to that effect. It continued until we finally found one detective that would help us. He-"
The door to the room he was in burst open, Ren jumped to his feet, expecting to see his unknown follower coming after him. Instead, he was nearly pulled to the ground by a very furious Kanae Kotonami. The woman grabbed his shirt and forced him down to her level before either he or Yashiro could think enough to react. With his eyes at the same height as hers, the rage she felt was quite obvious to Ren.
"This is your fault, isn't it?" Her voice was almost a shriek, much different from the usual calm demeanor she portrayed. "She trusted you, and you hurt her! And now she's gone, and it's your fault!" Ren glared at Yashiro, who was standing a few feet away, watching the exchange with interest. His manager had confessed to listening in on his and Kyoko's conversation, and to spreading the news of Ren's error.
"I know, Miss Kotonami." 'I know that, even more than you do.' Her hand relaxed, and Ren was able to straighten up. "I'm going to do whatever I have to in order to get her back."
Kanae glared up at Ren, he almost thought he saw tears brimming in her eyes. "If anything happens to her, I'm going to hold you responsible." She swiped an angry hand across her eyes. Yashiro stepped forward, trying to diffuse the situation.
"Miss Kotonami, it isn't Ren's fault. Someone is-" He reached out a hand to her shoulder, but she moved away.
"Mr. Hizuri told me that there's someone after Mr. Tsuruga." Kanae pushed back her hair with a shaking hand, tucking it behind her ear. "I know he's not to blame, but… but, if something happens to Kyoko, I'll-" Ren lifted his head to see Kanae crying for real, quite unlike the tears she shed at will on camera. He lifted an eyebrow at Yashiro, and the manager put a hand on Kanae's back, and led her out of the room.
When the door closed behind them, Ren let himself fall back into the chair. 'She doesn't have to tell me it's my fault; I know that better than anyone. I let her be put in danger. This is happening because I couldn't control my emotions enough to keep pushing her away.' Ren dropped his head in his hands, wishing desperately that he was the one who was taken instead of the girl he had come to love so dearly.
They had checked with everyone they knew of. The Daruma-ya couple were on the lower floor of the mansion, after one of the President's cars had picked them up earlier. Itsumi Momose, Chiori Amamiya, all of the people Kyoko was friends with had been called again, by Lory this time, under the guise that she was needed for an urgent assignment. Everyone Ren knew to call, he had given their numbers to the President. 'All but one…'
Before he could change his mind, Ren flipped open his cell phone and dialed Yashiro's number. "Mr. Yashiro, I need you to find a number for me. Check with Director Ogata if you have to, he'll know how to get it."
Sho Fuwa knew the feeling of fear; he had experienced it, like every other person had in some time of their life. He liked to think that he was above it, and could handle it with great care. The times he was afraid of losing his position the Vie Ghoul, for example. Any of his fans would have had no clue about the gnawing dread he had felt for weeks. But the panic that had blinded him ever since Ren Tsuruga called a half hour before threatened to take over.
He got a taxi, not wanting to wait for Shoko to get ready and bring him. His demeanor let the driver know he wasn't in a mood for small talk, and the ride to the Takarada Estate went by in silence. They let him through the front gates, despite the security that was stationed along the entrances. He shoved a fistful of bills at the man driving, and the car had barely come to a stop when he opened the door and stepped out.
Ren had explained to Sho what was happening over the phone. He had told him enough about his past for Sho to get the picture that it had a great deal to do with whoever was following the man now. Sho understood, better than Ren probably thought, the feelings of regret over things he had done in his younger days. But even after being given almost an hour to cool down, when he walked in the private room Ren was staying in, his anger and fear got the better of him.
Sho's fist clenched as it made contact with the actor's face. Kuu, who had led the boy up the guarded hallways, yelled his name, and proceeded to pull the boy off of Ren. Instead of fighting back, Ren gingerly touched a finger to the blood trickling from his lip. The actor looked as if he was going to begin apologizing, but the shrill ring of a cell phone stopped him. His eyes met with Kuu's, and he flipped open the phone.
"Hello?" After a few seconds, his eyebrow became furrowed, and he nodded at Kuu. Sho watched the exchange, his arm still trapped behind his back by the much older man. "Yes, I'm listening." Kuu let go of Sho's arm, stepping around the boy, to Ren's side. Ren looked as if he was getting more distressed with every word he heard.
"Don't hurt her." Ren's words were so quiet, Sho wanted to let the man have it again. But at that moment, a cry of pain came out of the phone, reaching even Sho's ears. Ren grabbed the phone with both hands, almost dropping it in the process. "Kyoko! Kyoko?!?" A loud tone sounded, and Ren dropped the phone as the line went dead.
Sari*