The Okamisan of the Darumayu gently maneuvers her young border to the table in the kitchen. She clucks over Kyoko as she sits across from her and tells her to take a little break since the dinner rush is over. Kyoko counters that she really wants to keep helping.
"It's already after eight. Most of the folks still here are regulars. It will not be a problem if you take a little break," the older woman assures her. She reaches out to pat Kyoko's arm.
"If you want to tell me what is bothering you, I would be happy to listen."
Kyoko looks horrified. "I could not burden you with my problems."
"Kyoko-chan, you are never a bother."
"But the customers..."
"They will be fine for the moment," stresses the Okamisan. "I want to know if there is anything I can do to help you."
Kyoko looks at the older woman who has treated her more like a daughter than her own mother ever did. Kyoko is tempted to explain the entire issue to the older woman but realizes that she can't keep her from the restaurant that long. She smiles for the Okamisan and decides to tell the truth but in a way that minimizes the issue.
"I'm just having guy problems. Kind of like every other teenage girl has."
The older woman smiles and pats Kyoko's shoulder once more before standing up to head back into the restaurant.
"If you want to talk about it later, just let me know."
Kyoko watches her landlady bustle back to work and wonders if this is what if feels like to be a real daughter.
In Kyoko's mind's eye, hidden in the shadows away from all the grudgy chaos and the tumultuous excavation site, the smallest angel suddenly glows slightly. A shower of glittering light cascades around her as she magically grows from the size of a little finger to almost the size of the hand that was holding her. All the angels giggle as they cast glances over their shoulder to make sure that no one noticed the transformation. When they realize that they are still safe, the little band goes back to their quiet celebration.
Still in the kitchen, Kyoko sits softly smiling as she thinks about being like a real daughter. Suddenly, she jumps from her seat.
"Like a daughter!" she squeals as she has a brilliant thought. She clamors up the steps to her room. Grabbing her phone in one hand, she digs around in her bag with her other one. Finally finding the small white card, she flops onto her futon. With a quick apology in her mind to President Takarada for using her phone for personal issues, she starts to dial.
Across the ocean, a slender elbow digs into her husband's side.
"Kuu, get the phone," his wife mumbles hoping the noise will stop soon so she can go back to her happy dream of her little blond haired son.
"Huh?" he replies as his large hand thumps around on the nightstand trying to encounter the bedside phone. Finally finding the handset, Hizuri Kuu puts the phone to his ear and tries to make as intelligent a greeting as can be expected at four-thirty in the morning.
"Good evening, father," Kyoko greets in an excited voice. Kuu grins and opens his eyes.
"Good morning, Kyoko," he emphasizes in Japanese as he fluffs the pillows behind him and pulls himself into a sitting position.
For a moment, Kyoko panics and apologizes. She admits that she didn't think about the differences in the time zones because she isn't used to making calls outside of the country. Kuu just chuckles and assures her it is fine. He reminds her that his son can call anytime.
At the word son, his wife opens her blue eyes.
"Actually, father," Kyoko admits sheepishly. "I was kind of calling as a daughter." She pauses for a long moment as she summons her courage. "Is your wife available?"
Kuu frowns but answers yes as he hands the phone to Juliena. Feeling left out and jealous, he watches his wife and listens to her side of the conversation.
"Hello?" Juliena answers.
"Um, Hizuri-san, I was hoping..."
"Juliena. Please call me Juliena," the older woman prompts.
"Oh. Okay. Well, Juliena-san, you had mentioned that you wished you had a daughter and that you wanted to hear about my romances, right?
Kuu's wife murmurs assent.
"Well, would you be willing to help me with a problem that I seem to have, well, about guys.
Excited, Juliena shimmies into a sitting position as she gushes about how much she would love to help with her problem. Kuu reaches over and turns on the bedside lamp. He then pokes his lovely sleeping companion on her silk clad side and demands that she put the phone on speaker because he wants to help too.
She gives her husband a stern look and waves away his request.
In the background, Kyoko can hear Kuu whining that he should be allowed to help his son too. Juliena answers that she is not speaking to his son but to her daughter so he needs to hush. Pouting, Kuu crosses his arms over his pajama clad chest and tries to overhear as much of the conversation as possible.
Having thwarted her husband's attempts to butt into their girl's only discussion, Juliena prompts Kyoko to tell her all about the problem. As Kyoko starts her tale of woe, Kuu begins moving closer and closer to his wife. By the time his son has finished relating her almost fifteen minute tirade, the veteran actor is leaning against his wife's shoulder sharing the headpiece which Juli has kindly turned just enough for him to hear but not enough that he can claim control of the mouthpiece.
As her tale comes to an end, Kyoko ask Juli what she should do about the situation. She has sworn off love but it seems that it is creeping after her and she can't escape it.
"What is so bad about being in love? It's the most wonderful feeling in the world," exclaims the blond model as she thinks lovingly of the handsome actor beside her in bed.
In a haunting voice, Kyoko relays a short history of her and Shotaro. In the end, she concludes, "I had thought of him as my prince for almost all my life and he crushed my feelings. I didn't matter to him. I was nothing but a convenience."
"Well, there is your first problem," warns Juliena. "You are looking for a prince but you are blaming love that you discovered a toad in a princely costume. Just because one boy treated your love poorly does not mean every man will do so. Not every model wears their clothes the same way even though they are all dressed. It's how they fit with the clothes which determines how well the model will do. You could not dress a tall woman who normally wears a size eight in a size four petite dress and expect her to be beautiful. It doesn't mean that the size four dress is ugly nor that the woman is unattractive. You just need to find the right fit for it to happen. It seems to me that you were trying to force your little friend Shotaro into an outfit that he should not wear. Don't blame the clothes. You just need to find the right model to fit the outfit you have."
"Thinking along those lines, why dont you consider these two men who have kissed you. You are not sure if they will fit the outfit you have, right?"
"Ah huh."
"Well, then the only way to tell is to keep fitting them into pieces until you are sure which one fits better. If they both want to wear your outfit, they will be willing to be patient and try things on with you until you are both sure that the fit is correct."
Kyoko finds that talking in the terms of clothes and models to be so much easier and less intimidating than speaking about love so she continues with the thought line.
"But how do I tell if they want to wear my outfit?"
"Sweetheart, if they try to spend time with you outside of work and they have initiated physical affection, which they have, then they are interested in your outfit."
Kyoko contemplates Juli's comment. She thinks about how painful love has been in the past. "What if I don't really want to share my outfit? After all, it's still kind of ripped and torn at the seams."
"Kyoko-chan, you make changes to your outfit every day of your life. Changing the design, fixing seams, and adding accessories. Perhaps your outfit seems frayed now but having someone else wear it will help you see where you need to patch the outfit to restore it's charm. If you keep it balled up in a corner, you will never be able to repair the clothes. On top of that, if you leave it unattended for too long, moths and other vermin might invade it and that just makes it all the harder to repair and clean."
"But why can't I just wear my own outfit?"
"Do you want to be a prince or do you want to be a princess?
"I've always dreamed of being a princess," admits Kyoko.
"Then why would you want to wear a prince's outfit?" counters Juli. "You need to find someone who has a princess outfit for you that will keep you warm and make you look like the beautiful woman you are. Although there are many people who are happy with their own clothes and do not feel the need to share their outfit with others, you don't really seem suited for that type of self-styled solitude. In fact, didn't you tell the Boss that you wanted the emotion you were missing back and that's why he let you into the LoveMe section. So you do want to share your outfit with the right someone. You just need to find him."
Kuu taps Juli on the leg and begs to be given the phone.
"Your father wants to tell you something, it that okay?"
Kyoko agrees and Juli tilts the mouthpiece towards her husband.
"Son, now, I'm not sure I can follow the whole clothes and model analogy well enough to explain what I want to say so I am just going to be has up front as possible. I need you to know that from what I have seen and heard, there is nothing shabby or worn about your love. You already share so much of it with everyone. The Boss has told me of the wonderful things you have done for his granddaughter. You've encouraged her to re-establish a relationship with her father and you helped her see that her birthday can be a time for joy, not only sorrow. I've witnessed your caring first hand and enjoyed every minute of it whether is was through the food you fed me, the way you listened to my suggestions on acting, or the fact that no matter how it made you look, you wanted to share that last moment with me before I left. Even with your characters, when I watch you act, I can see the feelings of love you share with them. All those things are examples of ways I have seen the love you have inside of you. You have an abundance of beautiful love inside you. You just need the courage to share it with someone in a romantic manner."
Her father continues, "I know that you are determined. You need to use that stubborn streak and a dose of self worth and you can be brave. You can do it. After all, you are my son."
There are tears streaming down Kyoko's face as she listens to her respected father tell her how proud he is of her and that he knows that she can accomplish anything that she sets her mind to do and that includes being brave enough to love again.
Juli moves the phone back towards her mouth as her husband falls silent.
"And remember, Kyoko-chan," the beautiful model states, "that if things ever become too much to bear, that there are many people who love you and will support you through those time. Your father and I are always just a phone call away, no matter what time of the day or night."
Kuu grabs the phone and adds "and if either of those guys do anything to hurt you, just let me know and your father will come and make them sorry."
"Kuu!" scolds Juli as she pulls the phone back from her husband. "Violence will not solve anything," she warns him to which he grumbles that it would make both him and Kyoko feel better. Juli sighs.
"Kyoko-chan, do you feel better now?"
Kyoko wipes away her tears but there is a smile on her face as she affirms her improved mood. With a promise to call again but hopefully at a better time, Kyoko wishes the couple love with her goodbye. They remind her to take care of herself and echo their own love.
At the end of the call, Juliena reaches across her husband and places the phone on his stand. She flicks off the light, as she slides back across Kuu's chest.
"Back to sleep or do you want me to make an early breakfast?" asks Kuu as his wife snuggles tight against his side.
"Hmmm," she murmurs then giggles. "I think I prefer door number three."
An hour later when the alarm starts to buzz, Kuu raises an exhausted arm to switch off the intrusive noise-maker. He chuckles as he catches his wife's hand which has been trailing small patterns across his bare chest with her nails. Kuu lifts her hand to his mouth and places a gentle kiss on each fingertip. He chuckles again in a contented manner as his arm hugs her closer.
"Our kids needs to call home more often," he jokes. With a sated purr, his wife wholeheartedly agrees.