"I know you don't want my pity" Kuon was chatting to Yashiro through Skype "But I mean it" he hadn't received the award at the end, but the movie had won its own, so he already felt good about it. Also, the response he'd got from a lot of Hollywood actors, directors and producers that were in the awards had been really good. Most assured him he'd only lost for a few votes, blaming those Academy members who never watched the whole movies they had to award and never put their feet out of their houses, which Kuon valued.

"I really don't feel defeated" Kuon assured "They awarded the movie at least" he wanted to quickly change the subject "And I connected the Skype because you haven't replied to me yet" Kuon had tried messaging him once Valentine's Day had passed. Yashiro had greeted him for his birthday, but he avoided to face that subject that Kuon and Kyoko were interested with the most "Come on Yashiro!" he was tired "we knew you got her chocolates!"

"We know" Kyoko's head popped up behind his shoulders "Kanae's dying to know your answer" she said "How do you handle to meet everyday after this?" Kyoko was enjoying that as much as Kuon was.

"Kyoko-chan you too?" Yashiro felt cornered.

"Do you know how much courage it took Moko-chan to give you those chocolates?" Kyoko's eyes were fierce "And this time it wasn't a mission… She deserves a proper answer"

"Why are you both gangin up against me?" Kuon shrugged, just to make Yashiro suffer more with his indifference "All right!" he yelled, but Kuon and Kyoko stood still "I'll admit it! I like Kanae!"

"That's what I thought, right Kyoko?" Kuon turned his gaze to hers.

"Exactly" Kyoko also decided to ignore Yashiro's presence at the screen "I wonder why he didn't admit it earlier"

"Hey!" Yashiro protested "I'm still here" both, Kuon and Kyoko turned their faces to the screen, gazed at Yashiro and then continued speaking as they hadn't seen him "Fine!" he yelled "I'll give her an answer!"

"Good" Kuon decided to stop ignoring him "Just let the president know it was our win"

"You surely are in high spirits" Yashiro complained "And you know that old man pretty well" Kyoko gave Yashiro a smile "Good luck with that audition"

"Thanks" they both replied at once, but Yashiro had disconnected the chat. They cracked up as soon as his face disappeared.

"That serves him right for not trusting me" Kuon switched off the laptop "Come on, I'll bring you back home" Kyoko had spent another night at his hotel room. He accompanied her to his parent's home, but didn't enter this time "I don't want to face them right now" Kuon wasn't disappointed for haven't won the Oscar, but he knew that his mother might be sad, because that meant she still had to wait to get him back. He kissed Kyoko and returned to the cab that had lifted them there.

When he got back to New York, he still received messages consoling him for haven't won the prize, but encouraging him. It was the same at the movie set "Will still waits your audition" Kuon thanked Sarah for the nice words and assured her that the audition would take place soon. Mr. Lawrence had scheduled it right after he wrapped that film.

On March, he got ready to fly to Brasil to shoot for that movie where he'd play a mercenary and Kyoko started preparing to film that pilot "Can you believe it?" she told Kuon right after he'd returned from the Oscars "the director wants to make me the lead" Kuon told her that might've been the promotion she'd got after winning the Golden Globe and having starred in a movie awarded with an Oscar, but he also thought that she had impressed the director for sure. However, it was risky to take a Japanese girl who'd hardly appeared in small roles at some regular series and get her to play a lead. He tried preparing her in case the pilot got rejected "You told me the same father did" Kuon was shocked, as every time she remarked how much he resembled his father.

It took him two months to wrap the filming in Brasil, and yet, when he got back in May, he still had to shoot some scenes at the set. He longed to end that soon and see that other romantic movie disappear, so he could concentrate on the super-hero's role "Ren" Sarah Woodman had called him knowing he'd be back "How was Brasil?" she was excited because her husband had casted him on his upcoming movie "Will told me he'd had to work out the schedule with your manager and that other movie's producers, but he's really looking forward to direct you" Sarah updated him on her upcoming jobs as well.

That other movie he had to film, had more than one lead role, so it wouldn't take him that much to shoot his parts, or that's what he thought. Once he'd seen his fame burst out a little, even after not winning the Oscar, the writers and the producers had decided to expand his role a little. Kuon tried concentrating on the job and finding the parts he could enjoy from the plot so he would still kill with his performance. It was tedious working under that director, and his co-star was trying to hit at him every time they had a break, but Kuon endured it and spent another two months and a half wishing to wrap it up and start to film for the super-hero's movie already.

Kyoko had gone to Japan at the end of May to start preparing her summer drama "I am fine" she assured him "Since they don't see us together ever since the Oscars, the audience even questions we're still together, after all" Kyoko laughed, but Kuon was annoyed. Was it that hard to believe? "But you missed the scene Sho performed the other day" Kuon's wishes to leave everything and fly to Japan just to punch that jerk were so big "He even accused me of putting on an act, just to get his attention" as expected from that Fuwa "I don't know what annoyed him most" Kyoko seemed amused, though "My indifference, or the fact he knows it's true and that he cannot do anything to change it now" Kuon laughed. Kyoko had learnt how to take care of herself "Oh, by the way, the pilot got chosen, they will air it this summer, just to tease the audiences" Kuon congratulated her, but he was cautious "I know" she prevented his words "It still can get discarded or cancelled later"

He wished that any of those possibilities wouldn't happen.

Kuon wrapped up the romantic film at the end of July and shot his first scenes for the super-hero movie when August begun. He would have until October, before he interrupted the filming to start working under Will Woodman's orders. Just then, Kyoko would be flying to Australia to premiere that sci-fi movie. Kuon wondered when they would have time to actually start living as a couple.

The super-heroes' movie was the best he'd shot that year so far. There were a couple of already established actors in the cast, and the plot had been carefully written, all the characters were well constructed and it was easier to grasp the emotions of his role, which was the main one. He suggested the director to get rid of his contact lenses "I didn't know those were colored" Jeremy Mathews was surprised to know the lenses were to cover his real color and not to correct his sight "Let's see how you'd look" he asked him to come back once he'd removed those, and then he gave his approval "That will help make the audience forget your Asian features" Mathews laughed. He'd risked a lot to take Kuon for the lead despite his looks. Of course, they'd tried using the best make-up to adapt his features to the role, and because that comic had suffered changes through the years, people weren't expecting a determinate look, but some fans had already complained about the lead's choice "Let's get you to the dressing room and leak a photo on the Net" Mathews suggested "I bet the fans will start hesitating now"

Working with him was a complete new experience for Kuon. The man was extreme with his decisions and pulled the actors to their limits, something that made Kuon's stamina rise up "Let's aim for the Oscar!" he used to cheer up the cast and the crew with those words "GREAT!" he yelled anytime he'd liked a take, mostly after having done one hundred that got discarded before "Let's make those fans wet their pants!" he was a fierce man who liked to take on challenges. But his methods kept Kuon motivated.

Kyoko was still popular in Japan, despite of their announcement "the drama's done pretty well so far" he talked to her before leaving to Alaska, where he would start filming Will Woodman's independent movie "I might be back soon, depending on how the ratings go for the American drama" her pilot had got a good acceptance and the channel had decided to schedule the series among their autum new releases "It will be troublesome to fly to Australia while filming this, though" Kyoko also told him that her fans were still supporting her and praising her hard work "By the way, Yashiro and Kanae send their regards" they had started dating as soon as Yashiro had answered her confession. It had only been a day after they've pestered him through Skype. Kuon dedicated her one smile and wished Kyoko luck with the American series.

"Welcome to Alaska!" Will Woodman went to greet Kuon at the airport "Are your eyes a different color?" the man noticed the change. Kuon explained he had got rid of the contact lenses he used to hide his original color "I always thought you had troubles with your sight" Woodman shrugged. It took Kuon a few more minutes to explain he had just used an image that suited the Japanese audiences better "So it's true you're half American, after all" Woodman joked. That fact had already been revealed a while ago.

"To be honest" Kuon decided to trust Woodman "I am just a quarter Japanese" that seemed to surprise the director "I am actually half Russian, a quarter American and a quarter Japanese" he waited for Woodman's shock to fade away.

"That's quite a mixture" Woodman said when he regained his speech "So the blonde's truly yours?" Kuon nodded and laughed "If I'd known that earlier, I'd added some Russian lines into your role" Kuon thought he was joking at first "Wait" Woodman was getting excited with his own idea "We can still do that, do you speak Russian too?"

"No, I am sorry to disappoint you" he shrugged "When I was a child, only my father taught me his mother's language, but my mother was already too used to speak in English, and that was also the way she communicated with my father, so…" Kuon saw a bit of disappointment on Woodman's eyes "I can always try" he found himself committing to something he wasn't sure of.

"Would you?" Woodman's eyes were sparkling "I can give you the lines your role could say in Russian, and you can come out with the translation" he was speaking so fast "I hope your mother's still alive" Kuon was a little bit embarrassed, he'd never spoken about his parents with anyone but Kyoko or Takarada-san "Is she?"

Kuon smiled "She is" Woodman sighed with relief "Don't worry, just give me the lines and I'll try my best"

My mother just got a great excuse to keep in touch with me daily…

Of course, he'd used the Skype, just the thought of having Julienne rushing to become his Russian teacher made him shiver. Of course he'd love to see her, but it wasn't the time to blow up his cover yet.

| Just in case anyone wonders it... I changed my mind several times about the Oscar's part a long ago. At first, I planned it as the finale of the fic, then I realized it couldn't be rushed. One thing is that I am skipping time fast because I cannot make an arch of every single role they take on, because then the story would never end XD and another is to just place things magically on its place. Nah. I am deluding a little with this story, that's not a lie, but I still like it to be belieaveble, even with my grammar mistakes and my lack of some knowledge (such as haven't ever been to USA), I still want it to be following a well schemed path.

I used different references too. Just the Golden Globe things or the Oscars... I recalled other similar cases, only those were from actors and actresses from my own country XD or the fact sometimes the Golden Globes award movies and actors that later don't get awarded at the Oscars. Then there's the teen series Kyoko will star in. I am an ABC-Family's series fan, after all XD but yeah, I am using Kyoko's magic to make her become the lead Just this time, in case it wasn't understood, the writters and the producers decide to expand her role and made it the lead instead. I'll try detailing it better when I focus on Kyoko ^^

I am not basing on a certain comic for Kuon's super-heroes movie XD just take it as something in between Marvel and DC, maybe similar to Heroes, maybe similar to Watchmen... I don't know, I only want to focus on the aspects of his experience with the director, I'll leave the plot and character to everyone's imagination. I couldn't just bring up a fictional comic without making it look lame compared to already existing ones and, I am trying to only use classics from reality, already old novels or stage plays. Copyright issues appart, I am not comfortable using contemporary works into a fic that's already using an existing manga.

Oh, and the Russian thing it came on its own, just when I was finishing the chapter. I am not sure that Kuon doesn't know his mother's language, so I had to guess he wasn't taught that.

It's funny that they reveal they're a couple when they're more appart than ever, so I chose to make people back in Japan be unsure that they were still dating. You all know how mean public opinion can be sometimes... that also gave me the perfect excuse to still keep Kyoko's good results in Japan's industry. If she's not hated, she can still expand her audience.

I plan to use the sci-fi movie as well, but I am not going to give details on the plot either, I guess. I just saw a perfect excuse to introduce another path to stardom XD

Well, it's really late, sorry for any mistakes, writting up till late makes my sight become blurry z but I really wanted to get these last chapters done.

Thank you for still being here,

Rei |