Final Takes
Kyoko fidgeted in her position high over the set. It was her last shoot as Momiji - the timing coincided perfectly with the trip, more proof of fairy godmothers. Or fairy godpresidents. President Takarada had pulled several strings with his cadre of producers to shift hers and Tsuruga's schedule back by two weeks. Ren would still be busy late into the night every day before they left as Yashiro had rescheduled as many projects as possible before the trip to avoid tripping some production deadlines. Tonight he was only free after ten, and only then if everything went perfectly at his third commercial shoot in a row. Her schedule was much simpler, as befitted someone yet to debut. Only Bo required an actual substitute— easy enough to find for a masked chicken. Her heart ached a little at the thought of someone else handling her eggs.
She rubbed her thumb along the hilt of her sword. Four days from now and she'd be meeting his mother. Her dead-end plan had worked a little too well, perhaps. Was she ready to meet his mother? Was he ready? Mothers. Kyoko had so very little experience. Julie has seemed nice enough on the phone, and she was married to Hizuri-san— but she'd also willingly not contacted her only child for years now. Kyoko knew exactly what type of mother could accept such separation.
The idea of traveling as the Heels made slipping fully into character a tempting relief from the stress of meeting Kuon's mother. There was no script for it, but surely the Heels had a dysfunctional family dynamic. They could let it all pass over as a storm cloud of Cain and Setsu reactions. Hizuri-san was already used to interacting with her inside of a role; this would merely be a gender swap from the last time he'd adopted her. Her heart clenched at the thought of not seeing him as herself. She'd practiced saying "daddy" for months now until the word rolled easily off Kyoko's own tongue, with or without the Kuon role to hide behind. Kyoko's mind wandered. How long had it been since Kuon had called him "daddy" to his face? Maybe they should practice together.
Director Morizumi called "Action!" and Kyoko snapped alert, her body triggered into full-blown tension. All thoughts of Hizuris vanished as Momiji slowly let out her breath, her twin swords held out to her sides with uncharacteristic slackness. Down below, Shizuma and Chidori wound their way on horseback through the valley. She cried out with a single call in the sharp, mocking tone of a raven. He pulled up his horse, cocking his head to listen.
Her swords flashed, their blades whirring as she spun them around with a flick of her wrists. She drew them up straight in front of her face, then slammed them down into the rock with a grunt, sheathing the blades in the mountainside itself. The grating of metal against rock resounded down into the valley.
Below, Shizuma's hands convulsed around the reins. He drew in a shuddering breath and spurred his horse forward in a burst of speed, Chidori following after.
Momiji waited until they were lost in the twists of the mountain route before turning away. The fog enveloped her like a slow embrace until all that could be seen was her formless shadow. A lone black headband strip whipped out of the fog, carried by the heedless wind until it snared around the twin sword hilts.
Momiji was gone.
The director wrapped the shoot with a yell of "Cut" and a proud smile as the crew exploded in applause, surrounding Kyoko with eager praise and congratulations. Akami-san, the actress who played Chidori, emerged and bowed to Kyoko before clasping her hand joyfully. "Come and celebrate with us tonight, Kyoko-chan," she said. "We want to thank you for your hard work!"
Still two hours before Kuon could possibly be done. Kyoko smiled shyly and agreed. Time with her coworkers would be a welcome distraction from the flow of her own thoughts.
The group assembled chaotically outside the studio, locations and menus bantered around while accumulating taxis for transportation. She found herself plopped in a taxi next to Koga-san heading to the late-night Italian diner Fungo. "Sempai," she greeted him. "Thank you for all your help."
Koga merely nodded, scratching at a smudge on the door handle.
"I know you and Akami-san will wrap up even better than we started!" Kyoko said with a fierce bow at the waist, just missing whacking her forehead on the back of the passenger seat. She had come to truly respect Koga. His habit of brutally calling her out and challenging her acting reminded her of Tsuruga-san when they first met. It was uncomfortable- but she grew stronger and knew Lotus would be a better movie because of his efforts.
Koga flicked unseen dirt particles from his fingertips, brushing them off on his pants leg.
"Thank you." His gaze remained fixated on his hand.
The taxi fell silent except for Kyoko's occasional fidgets. She tried again at conversation. "No phone tonight, sempai?" she offered, laughing softly. Koga looked over at her sharply.
"What do you mean?"
"You usually have your phone out when we are together," she said meekly. "I've gotten used to it."
Koga's hand twitched. "Nothing to search."
"Oh, you were doing research! That makes sense. It was difficult for me to fall into full character at first too; their world is so different from ours. I have Uesugi-sama to thank for helping me overcome my failings. If I hadn't had him…" she trailed off, gesturing at Koga. "I'm impressed how much you could learn from Google-sensei."
Koga just watched her silently before turning away to look out the window.
"Will Tsuruga-san join us?" he asked.
Kyoko smiled, glad to see Kuon's efforts at friendship were paying off. "Eventually," she said. "He won't wrap up work until late."
Koga nodded, then lapsed back into silence for the remainder of the ride. Kyoko was thankful when they finally pulled up at Fungo, slipping quickly out of the strangely oppressive cab environment to join the raucous crowd of actors inside.
An hour or so after her first bite of delicious bruschetta, Ren arrived. Cheers of "Rusu!" exploded across the room as actors and actresses raised their glasses in toast. Kyoko beamed at him as he accepted a full glass from Akami-san and raised it in return, downing the contents. The group exploded in joy at his gesture, with more rounds for all passed out. Kyoko gracefully turned down each offer, pleading her age while sipping on fruit juice.
She watched him circle the room, a genuine smile gracing his face as he commended each group for their teamwork and effort. He left a residual glow of louder conversations, broader smiles, and reddened female cheeks. Only one person seemed unaffected by his praise. Koga nodded brusquely before throwing back the shot he held and immediately ordering another. His eyes followed Ren after he left before glancing over and catching Kyoko's stare. Flustered at being caught, she ducked her head in apology for watching him.
Ren's arm brushed hers.
"Good work, Mogami-san," he said quietly, his deep voice thrilling her inside. She tried not to blush, but couldn't help it when she glanced up to see his brown eyes studying her joyfully.
"Thank you, Tsuruga-san," she replied, glancing around at the other actors. "It was a group effort."
Ren hummed under his breath, his hand dropping to rest next to hers on the table. His pinky finger lightly traced her skin. How could such small contact feel so intimate? "Ren," she whispered. "We haven't told anyone."
"Told anyone what?" a man asked from behind them. Kyoko jumped away from Ren in shock, turning to find Koga gripping another full highball glass. He was looking at Ren's hand where it still rested on the table, his eyes dark.
Kyoko silently begged Ren for help. He smiled, turning to lean nonchalantly against the table. "Information about her next job," he said calmly. "We currently share a manager, so I have the privilege of getting some advance tidbits on her career."
Koga smiled without shifting his eyes from their focus on Ren's hands. "Oh. And here I thought you two were dating."
Her heart leapt into her mouth as she looked up at Ren in alarm.
"But it would be strange to see so senior an actor involved with someone still a mere… what is your division called again, Mogami-san?" Koga asked, taking a sip of his drink as he finally made eye contact with her. His eyes were cold, betraying any indication of actual interest his words suggested.
"L-LoveMe," she said, blushing pink at the title. Koga barked a laugh, raising his glass in a toast to Ren.
"I can only imagine," he said with a slight sneer. "How enjoyable you find that title, Tsuruga-san."
Tsuruga nodded. "It is certainly an interesting one," he said. "Though I confess it typically makes me think more of our beloved President Takarada, who created the position and its title." He paused, waiting a beat before continuing. "And you, Koga-san?"
"Me?"
"Anyone in your life?" Tsuruga's eyes glinted. "Surely someone ranked as number two in Japan would have the comfort of a companion." Kyoko could hear Koga's teeth grinding from where she stood. She started to speak, wanting to smooth over the sudden aggression she felt in the air. Her grudges were popping out everywhere, thrilled by the influx of darkness. It's been too long, they sang in her subconscious. Too long since we've tasted this anger! Oooooh, how delicious!
"No." Koga replied firmly. "No one." He threw back his cocktail and reached between her and Ren to slide the glass onto the table, wiping his mouth with his hand. "Enjoy the party, Mogami-san. I think it's time for me to leave."
Ren bowed his head ever so slightly as Koga turned to leave. Kyoko could feel tension radiating from his side. She desperately wanted to touch him, but was afraid of the consequences if she did anything that showed off their relationship right now. As her senior in this arena she wanted him to lead in how and when they revealed all. She was fine with waiting. In fact, she preferred waiting. As long as possible.
Ren's eyes met hers and he blinked, his tension dissipating immediately. "I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have let him provoke me. But his assessment of you-" he stopped, turning to the room.
"Everyone, a toast!" Ren raised his glass to the room as the group of actors quieted. Koga paused, glancing back over his shoulder before continuing out the door. "To Mogami Kyoko's creation of a Momiji so thrilling she captivated Rusu completely!"
The group cheered and threw back their glasses. Akami-san raised her own voice over the crowd. "She captivated Chidori too, but unlike Rusu they refused to alter the script for me!" Rowdy laughs filled the air as actor after actor raised their glass, proclaiming their character enslaved to Momiji. Ren stood beaming next to Kyoko, carefully not touching her, but his presence still filled her senses. She bashfully raised her own glass, then bowed as the reality that something beautiful had happened on set for all of them because of Momiji sank in.
Akami called for a group picture, nabbing the bartender and herding the whole cast into a huddle. Ren used the opportunity to lean in close to Kyoko, whispering in her ear. "My place next, Momiji." Kyoko turned to look at him in surprise just as the bartender snapped the first photo. She turned back, certain her face was pink and aching to cool her hot cheeks with her hands. Click, a second photo. Kyoko nodded imperceptibly in reply. His hand gently pressed into the small of her back as the bartender tapped for a third and final take.
A/N: Part Two starts officially with the next chapter, #80! The main fic will ALL just continue here and in EMYM-Makes Me Want You. The only change will be that the M-rated stories in EMYM-Makes Me Want You are no longer AU to EMYM but canon, so to speak. If a fanfic can have "Canon" haha. Thank you for sticking with our beloveds (old and new) this far; I'm excited for where we are heading and hope you are too! Persie loves you XD