Sometimes I look at this story and I can't help thinking there is an overwhelming amount of females in the cast. Then I remember that the main purpose I had when I started writing it was to experiment with creating more varying types of girls and figuring out how they would interact with each other. I've realized I have a tendency to make my characters too philosophical and accepting. If they're not, they tend to come off as illogical and impulsive with not enough settling in the center. I'm going to try and work on that a bit more.
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Kyoko and Kuon's relationship is going well. She's happy being with him and he's absolutely certain that he wants to marry her and start a life with her officially. As Kuon starts to make plans to propose, he's gotten Kanae on board to help assist him to plan the perfect event for it. In the mean time, Kyoko is planning her 'Happy grateful party' with Maria, and the Hizuri parents come into town so they can attend! All seems well until Kyoko meets Kuon's mother who appears to not like Kyoko much. How can she win over the mother of her boyfriend?
Enjoy
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"That will be all for today." the director announced cheerfully. Kyoko realeased a soft sigh of relief. She had been a bit nervous when she realized Murasame would be on this project with her, but it seemed he really didn't recognize her from her time as Setsu. Unfortunately, that did not make him much easier to deal with. He was still a very blunt and outspoken character, unafraid of speaking his mind. She steeled her nerves as she stood, mentally telling herself that even Murasame-san can't cow her. She is a head-strong person too!
"Um, excuse me for a moment!" Kyoko called out with a deep bow as the other members of the project turned their attention to her. "I'm very excited to work with you all and hoped I could invite you to a party this Christmas I host with my friend. If you're interested, please just come ask me for an invitation." She announced quickly. The initial reactions to her invitation were slow coming, a few people accepting one with no promises of making it or not. She understood. It was a little last minute, after all. She held in her amusement when Hiou -playing as a young dragon boy for this project-merely asked if Kanae would be there before taking an invitation and marching out.
"A Christmas party? Like a company thing, or...?" Kyoko turned to find a young foreign woman who was joining them for the project, staring back at her with wide green eyes. They weren't as pretty as Kuon's obviously, but their pure emerald color shone in a way that sung to Kyoko's fantasy heart. It was these features that had helped Tess get the role of a mermaid who would turn into a siren, fall in love with a human, and then resign herself to a life of eating humans just to gain her legs and chase after him on land.
Kyoko quickly fished an invitation out of her bag and held it out to the girl.
"It's a little complicated, but it's actually a 'Happy Grateful Party.' I host it with my friend and we invite people we're indebted and grateful towards. I mostly wanted to invite everyone as part of my request to take care of me, seeing as we'll be working together a lot starting today." She explained. Tess blinked down at the invitation curiously as she turned it over in her hands. "Er... if you have any trouble with translations, I can help." Kyoko went on to offer. The girl quickly shook her head in rejection.
"No, no, there's no need! My brother is a nuisance, but he's actually really helpful when I need it." She explained quickly as she jabbed a thumb behind her. Kyoko wasn't sure if the girl had been aware her twin was actually there, but there he stood, peeking over her shoulder nosily.
"I wouldn't be such a nuisance if you weren't so rude in the first place." He claimed. Tess rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored him. Kyoko wasn't sure she blamed her. Michael had been finding subtle little ways to prank his sister every chance he got, the main one being a surprisingly sour snack he offered her during their lunch break. Murasame hadn't seemed too impressed with the both of them, but luckily hadn't kicked up a fuss like with the Heel siblings yet. Kyoko felt a little guilty for giving him such a bad impression of foreigners, actually. It was clearly effecting how he viewed others as well.
Kyoko glanced over as the man in question packed up near by. He would be acting as the sailor Tess' mermaid fell in love with. Kyoko really hoped it went smoothly.
"Murasame-san, would you like an invitation?" Kyoko offered carefully. Maybe getting him to come to a mingling event would help ease some of the tension between them. The man looked to her with a slight frown before accepting an invitation, looking none too impressed as he gave it a once-over.
"What kind of name is this?" He asked bluntly. Out of the corner of her vision, Kyoko could see Yashiro starting to bristle.
"Well, it was just what Maria-chan and I decided last time, and we didn't see any reason to change it. Does the name matter that much?" She reasoned stubbornly. Murasame's brows furrowed slightly as he seemed to want to argue. Thankfully, he dropped it with a small shrug.
"Whatever. I'll see if I can make it, but don't expect me to rearrange my schedule for it."
"Of course!" Kyoko agreed readily.
A couple other costars accepted invitations as well, including the main star, a long-haired beauty by the name of Tanaka Sara.
"It's... a formal event, right? I've never been to a personal party like this before." She admitted. Kyoko froze as she considered that.
"I'm... not sure." That got her an odd look so she hastily explained. "That is, you should probably wear your nicest outfit, but it's not like you have to wear your most expensive gown or anything. I'll be wearing a chefs outfit due to working in the kitchen for a good amount of it, and not everyone attending are celebrities."
"So... formal wear, but not over-the-top." The girl concluded with a somewhat awkward smile. Kyoko almost wanted to assure her anything would be fine, seeing as the company president would undoubtedly wear something overly flashy, but instead opted to keep it simple. She quickly nodded and Sara covered her mouth delicately as an amused grin started to crack across her face.
"Alright, I look forward to it. Thank you for inviting me."
"Of course!"
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Kyoko groaned as she flopped onto the bed. It had been such a stressful day. She was so glad it was over.
"That bad?" Ren asked with a chuckle, coming to sit beside her. He claimed he was just visiting, but she knew he would stay without question if she asked him to. She was still debating on that for the moment.
"I can't believe I'm having to work with Taira Murasame. I'm pretty sure we traumatized him, by the way." Ren let out a tiny snort and Kyoko looked up at him with a curious raise of her eyebrow.
"He'll be fine. I've dealt with plenty of people like him in the past, and he's far from the worst we could be faced with. He probably just keeps that prickly aditude to make him seem more tough." He explained simply. Kyoko hummed lightly in acceptance as she went back to planting her face in her mattress. "On a better note, I found a lovely gift in my dryer earlier." He stated pleasantly. Kyoko's eyebrows bunched up as she tried to figure out what he was getting at. Shifting to look back at him again, she was further confused by the cocky smirk on his lips. "Cute, about this big, purple, tiny bows on the sides." Kyoko's eyes widened with horror before she snapped her hand out expectantly.
"Give me back my underwear please."
"Hmmm... nah, I think I'll hold onto them."
"What!"
"They were a gift left for me by a fairy after all. I can't just go and give them away so easily."
"Kuon! Give me my underwear!"
"You can have them if you find them." Ren let out a barking laugh as she lunged at him, patting him down in search of the tiny piece of fabric. "I didn't bring them with me, silly. What kind of man goes out with a woman's panties on his person?" Kyoko let out a long groan as she flopped back on the bed, tugging a pillow down to burry her face in it.
"Why do you torture me so? What did I do to deserve this?"
"Well, for starters, you left your panties in my dryer." She shot up and rounded on him, looking far more peeved than he expected.
"I had to wash them! What else was I supposed to do, hang them to dry in your shower?" She asked with a angry pout. Her ire only rose as understanding eased onto his expression and recognition flashed in his eyes.
"Ah, sor-"
"Don't!" She hushed quickly with a hand raised in silence. Ren snapped his mouth shut obediently and she heaved a long sigh. She hated feeling so irritable.
"Do you...," he started slowly, as if testing to see if she would snap at him again, "want some chocolate?" Kyoko blinked up at him, confusion etching between her eyebrows before she quickly shook them away. She didn't want to end up with a permanent revine there like her mother's.
"Chocolate?"
"Or pickles... I think it was pickles." Kyoko eyed her boyfriend as though he had grown a second head and he quickly held up his hands in surrender. "I... thought that was something girls did, eating chocolate when they were on their period and such." Kyoko's eye twitched slightly as the word 'period' escaped the man's lips. It was so strange for some reason, for a man like Tsuruga Ren to speak of such things. "And pickles are good for cramps... though I don't know if that applies to period cramps too. Oh... but I think I've heard Japan's pickles are a bit different." He paused to consider produce for a moment as Kyoko tried to sort through her feelings on talking about this kind of thing with him. There was just something strange about a man of his caliber talking about such a topic, but maybe that was remnants of her idolizing him talking. When she shifted to thinking of him as 'Kuon' instead of 'Ren'... it was surprisingly easy to accept.
"If you can get me some chocolate," Kyoko spoke up, interrupting his mumbling to himself in favor of giving her his full attention, "I think it would help me feel better."
"Of course!" He readily hopped to his feet. "I could get you some hot chocolate, or even chocolate syrup and mix it with milk. Either of those sound good to you?" He asked her eagerly. Kyoko had to take a moment to digest his eager-to-please attitude, slowly nodding as she considered her options.
"It's cold out, so maybe hot chocolate?" She suggested. Ren eagerly nodded his agreement as he planted a kiss on the top of her head and started to head for the front door.
"Then I'll be back in a little bit. Is there anything else you'd like me to get while I'm out?" Kyoko slowly shook her head, doing her best not to flush at the thought of him buying her sanitary products. He flashed her a brilliant smile before nodding his understanding as he slipped into his shoes.
"I'll be back soon, then. Until then, feel free to relax, take a bath, whatever you like."
"Right..."
"Love you."
"L-love you too. Stay safe." With a smile and a wave, he slipped out the door, leaving Kyoko standing awkwardly in her hallway. Had she ever seen someone so eager to help her? She couldn't recall ever having that before, deffinitely not from Shotaro. Mrs. Fuwa had certainly helped her through a lot, but never had Kyoko had someone so... doting? Oh... was that how Kuu acted toward a Julie? Somehow, she could easily imagine that.
She muffled a giggle behind her hand as she headed to her bedroom, pulling out a change of clothes and such before going to wash herself off quickly. She didn't know how fast Ren would be, and she really didn't want to be in the bathroom in that state when he returned. She wasn't quite ready for them to know each other that intimately.
She was just sitting down to go through a script when he returned, toting far more groceries than she expected.
"I though you were just going to get the fixings for hot chocolate?" Kyoko practically yelped as she followed him into the kitchen.
"Yeah, but then I thought you might like something you could take with you in your bag during the day, and then I figured I might as well get you chocolate syrup as well, just in case you decided you wanted chocolate milk, and then I remembered something about heating blankets? Even if you don't want it now, you can use it later for if you get sick or something." He explained quickly. Kyoko stared at her boyfriend for a moment, quietly wondering if he really was going off his rocker.
"Thanks..., I appreciate it." she said slowly, feeling a bit embarrassed for him when he beamed happily, as if she had given him the highest praise he could ask for. Who knew Tsuruga Ren... no, maybe that was just it. It wasn't 'Ren' who doted on and pampered her, it was 'Kuon' or 'Corn'. She kept thinking of them as the same person, but they weren't really, not exactly. Kuon strives to be Ren, to be his ideal image of what a man should be, but he was only truly himself as 'Kuon', if a little more reckless.
"I wonder what it would be like to date Tsuruga-san." She mused.
"Um... what?" Kuon questioned. Looking over to him, she found her boyfriend puzzled and uncertain, causing her to laugh openly at his scrunched-up expression.
"Sorry, I was just thinking that you would probably act differently if you were to date me in the character 'Ren', and I couldn't help but be curious about it." She explained. The man looked away as he considered that.
"Would you like me to try acting as Ren for a while?" He offered, glancing back at her curiously. Kyoko hummed as she looked him over. Did she want him to? Would it be better if they didn't confuse their relationship further? It would probably be bad if she started saying she liked dating him as 'Ren' better. Even if it was still him, it's technically not his honest self.
"Maybe just for a short exercise," she proposed, "just to satiate my curiosity." The man hummed and nodded once in approval before quietly going about putting the groceries away.
"Did you need anything? I can make you some tea or that hot chocolate we mentioned." He offered, looking back at her with a soft smile. Kyoko blinked twice. Were they already starting? The atmosphere changed so quickly, subdued and comfortable but a little less warm than before.
"Ah, yeah, I'd... like the hot chocolate." She said softly. She watched him go about putting the kettle on the stove and preparing her mug before she spoke up again. "I... didn't upset you did I?" She asked a bit nervously. Ren looked back at her, tilting his head slightly in a show of confusion.
"Of course not, Kyoko-chan. Why would you think that?" She couldn't help but focus on the added honorific on her name. Kuon was so eager to drop that formality the instant she gave him permission. She almost wanted to tell Ren the same. She could almost imagine how he would react, smiling that vibrant smile at her as he tried addressing her informally right there.
"I just... wanted to make sure. You're difficult to read sometimes."
"No one reads me as well as you, though." Ren chuckled lightly. They fell into a pregnant silence for a bit as he watched the kettle and she found a comfortable place to sit and hug her legs as she waited. The mug clinked noisily as Ren stirred her drink before setting it before her and finding a seat beside her with a script in hand.
The hot chocolate was watery. She smiled to herself as she sipped at it. Her boyfriend really sucked at cooking, no matter who he was acting as.
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"Sounds like a strange exercise to me." Kanae commented as she helped start up the rice for their dinner. She puzzled quietly over the fact that Kuon had bought Kyoko rice ('in case the heating blanket didn't work') but ultimately decided it must be a foreigner thing. There was probably little use in stewing over the strange behaviors of Hizuri Kuon. Kyoko hummed lightly as she worked on the main dish at the stove.
"It was fun though, in a subdued kind of way. I enjoyed finding all the subtle differences and similarities between them."
"So there wasn't anything glaringly different?" Kanae asked curiously as she crossed her arms and leaned against the counter. She supposed that made sense. Characters created by actors always had at least a tiny part of them in there, and to create a character you played in your every day life was bound to over-lap with your original personality a lot... unless you had some kind of disorder or something.
Kyoko hummed softly. "Ren is... more quiet and calculating. Instead of blatantly asking me for intimacy, he waits and watches and maybe leans in slightly as he brushes back my hair or something. It's like... Ren is a cat and Kuon is a dog, surprisingly similar in a lot of ways with a few key differences in their behavior."
"That's... surprisingly easy to imagine." Kanae laughed out as she thought back to how Ren and Kyoko used to be at odds. He really had acted like a cat back then, temperamental and feisty as he strut through the entertainment industry. The image of a panther strutting along and sitting proudly was the epitome of 'Ren' from back then. She supposed that would make Kyoko his handler, the one person he would let get close as he turned to putty or bristled up to protect fiercely. If Ren is a panther... did that mean Kuon was a wolf? It seemed far too tame, but what canine was more powerful than a wolf?
The older girl shook away the thought, finding it pointless to stew over it any longer. "Anyway," she shifted the topic slightly, "how is the 'boyfriend's mother' situation going?" she asked. Kyoko heaved a heavy sigh as she turned off the stove to signify theur diner being ready.
"I don't know. I haven't seen her at all today. Oh, I talked to Kuon last night about that too..." Kyoko trailed off and frowned iightly, a hint of frustration showing through.
"And?" Kanae urged lightly, gaining a more aggravated sigh this time, almost a growl.
"He claims she doesn't dislike me and that she called me a 'nice girl', so he's convinced we're getting along well." she explained as she scratched at her head roughly, messing up her hair and making her look absolutely wild. "But like..., just because she says I'm a nice girl doesn't mean she likes me personally." Kanae cringed slightly at that. Maybe she should text said boyfriend and remind him to listen to Kyoko more..., but no, that would be a bit strange, wouldn't it? He gave her his contact information so they could communicate and make plans for the ideal proposal, keeping an eye on Kyoko and all that. It would probably be overstepping her bounds to start nag-texting him about how she thinks they should carry out their relationship.
"Maybe... could Mrs Hizuri just be a socially awkward person? I mean, you would think a high-level celebrity like that would know how to handle all kinds of situations, but you never know." She reasoned. After all, if the son didn't see any issue with the mother's behavior, it could very well be in the norm. On the other hand, it wasn't uncommon for children to see their parents through biased eyes, especially within a family like that.
"Ugh, I don't know!" Kyoko whined as she started pacing abou. Kanae watched the eccentric girl patiently as she started to dish out their food. "I don't know what to do. I've never had to try and appeal to a parent. The most I've ever experienced was trying to be praised by the Fuwa parents."
"Then just do that."
"Eh?" Kyoko paused, staring at Kanae with that expectant gaze. God, she really hated that gaze being directed at her.
"Sure, there's the whole 'dating their son' thing going on, but when you get down to it, they're just like any other adult you've tried to appeal to. What did you do to get on the good side of the Fuwas?" she encouraged, passing a bowl of food to the other girl and leading them to the table to eat. Kyoko hummed as she considered that.
"I... learned how to serve guests properly, worked hard to keep from being too much of a burden at the Ryokan, learned how to do special cooking skills, um..." Kanae waved her hands around as she shook her head.
"Okay, stop stop stop! That's just you catering to people and learning how to do your job... except maybe the cooking skills. Didn't you ever, say... give them compliments on how they look nice that day, or maybe you had a fun activity you did to strengthen your bonds? How do you show your strong points?" Kyoko stared at her blankly for a moment before trying to think hard on if she had ever done anything like that. Kanae groaned in dismay. "Look, she's a woman too, right? Maybe we should start with trying to appeal to that. We can invite her to hang out with us some time, that way you won't be left alone and start panicking or something."
"Do you think that would work?" Kyoko asked nervously. Kanae nodded with determination.
"Absolutely. We just need to get her to accept, and we'll get her to accept you as a good match for her son." she scooped a bite of food and ate it, plans already starting to form in her mind.
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Woo, a new chapter! I'm so eager to get to the party. I have some... fun plans. Heh heh heh.
Kaname671- you got that little implication eh? ;) yep, Yashiro's having a good time behind the scenes. Poor man doesn't get enough love in my opinion. As for the parent meeting, I cut it out to keep the flow of the story. Don't worry, nothing of great consequence happened after that. You didn't miss much more than some awkwardness and Kyoko slowly growing more stressed before they finally all left for the day.
Puffinzero- now Kyoko has Kanae as backup as well, haha! It's a long road, but Kyoko's had worse things to deal with. She'll be fine.
H-Nala- if there's anything I've learned from marriage, it's that the balance between in-laws is difficult. It takes a little time to find that balance, but we do what we must for the ones we love.
Kumioko- I actually am a big fan of pairing them together, but it's also sadly true that they don't have a lot of interaction. for now, things are just moving around. Nothing is being set in stone. Don't worry, Kanae is happy to focus on her acting for the time being.
You have so many questions and it makes me smile to see you get invested in my writing. I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait a little longer to find out what Julie's deal is ;)
Thank you to everyone who has been commenting, reading, following, and what have you so far. Thank for being so patient with my slow updates. Your continued loyalty means a lot and I'm eager to see you next chapter.
