It was not easy for them this strange situation in which they had been trapped for almost a year by now. They both knew that although they had come a long way on their way to reaching their goals, it was still very difficult and complicated for them take that step. That glorious and longed-for step. They were too eager to do it once and for all ... But their reason told them they weren't ready and their hearts accepted it with regret. No, they definitely weren't ready and how much they hated not being ready.
Kyoko was going crazy for many reasons, but the main one was that there were several recent occasions in which she almost launched into kissing him. While, in many others, Kuon had to call Yashiro, or whoever he can think of in his desperation, to stop him from kissing her and who knows what else considering the dangerous look he gave her and the dangerous look with which she responded him. Yeah, Maybe the reaction to the "Emperor of the Night" is now very different from what he had before, when he did not know that his feelings were more than reciprocated. Perhaps an "Empress of the Night" is beginning to awaken and Kuon would not take responsibility for his actions when that happens. Now with the fair he could deal with the fact that he knew very well what that sparkle in Kyoko's eyes was when he lost control: desire for him. Shy, obviously, we are talking about Kyoko after all, but very intense.
But, in the end, what really was the hardest thing, at least for Kuon, was realizing their differences, more and more evident as Kyoko reigned from becoming an adult and her world grew alongside her and her reputation.
«Who would say that a social butterfly like Kyoko-chan would end up with an antisocial like you»
Yashiro joked.
Kuon just smiled in a strange feeling between resignation, concern, pride and relief. In this respect, Kyoko reminded her too much of her father. He was extremely proud of the effect Kyoko achieved with her just walking into the room full of colleagues and another important members of showbiz's who had the pleasure of work with her.
«A box of surprises that changes your life»
He had heard several actresses say about Kyoko on her eighteenth birthday, not plong ago. He couldn't agree more.
Of course, it didn't bother him that Kyoko finally had greater security, self-esteem and brought out the goddess that she always was.
In fact, he enjoyed seeing her smile as she socialized with all those people who surrounded her and watched her with that sparkle in their eyes that he knew how to recognize very well. But, of course, her natural charm attracted not only new friends, but... Suitors. Because that's what they were, as much as Kyoko didn't realize it.
Kijima, ever since Momiji's success, has not stopped giving him advice in their meetings, which consisted of him getting drunk and Kuon making fun of himself and his situation. Some of these whiskey-inspired recommendations were strange, some useless, but others surprisingly very helpful. But, the main thing about those meetings was the part where Kijima was the newscast.
Kuon never expected Kijima to be so gossipy and to have so much useful information.
The point is that that's why Kuon knew perfectly well who was laying eyes on his "friend". Oh, how he hated having to use that term and having to limit himself to so many things that Kyoko's gazes invited him to, while others could openly flirt with her and try to win her over.
"Shit! It's like being chained!"
He always knew, since he became aware of his feelings for her, that this aspect would be a constant headache that he would have to deal with; but even being mentally prepared for it and even knowing who exactly were the ones who were waiting for an opportunity with Kyoko, it was quite difficult to assimilate it when that December night he saw that reality directly, in front of his nose.
He hardly manages to compose his face in time when there was practically a men's race to Kyoko that night; all hoping to be the first to give Kyoko a birthday present, and hoping to be the one who gave the best.
Obviously everyone lost.
First because Kotonami Kanae did nothing but outdo herself on that occasion.
«If Kotonami-san were a man, no one would have the slightest chance with Kyoko-chan»
Kijima joked, changing the clear "you wouldn't have" to something more general. Kuon could only laugh at that and shrug at the thought:
"For something the gods do things, I guess"
Of all he was calm because, just a little while before twelve, he managed to disappear with Kyoko in the gardens of Lory's mansion. So he can give her his gift before someone interrupts their moment and win over Kyoko's reaction while being private.
There was a strong hug and they brought their foreheads together tenderly, closing their eyes to feel the other better.
The downside is that even though he made sure to hide well with her, they managed to find them and interrupted them.
For good reasons, that was the worst.
So it was too frustrating for him to have to return to the party holding Kana's hand and see Kyoko go back through another door to the room to be immediately approached by the gift and seductive smiles parade.
Lory made fun of him like never before but helped him by sending Maria to get Kyoko out of that circle of testosterone that surrounded her with the excuse of making a video call with Kuu and Juliena.
That night was relatively tolerable despite everything, although he could see things in their real dimensions, and these were beyond what he was prepared for.
Sometimes she was a little worried about how things would be when they were a couple and if she could keep up with him. I mean, he was never someone who had so many friends. Kyoko didn't either, but it wasn't her fault or because she didn't want to, and that was noticeable to Kuon now that Kyoko's true nature was showing. And on the other hand, Kuon began to see more clearly how introverted and closed he always was in comparison, although he had never thought of himself that way before.
Well, Kijima and Yashiro were his friends, weren't they?
So he assumed that even if he did not reach her "sociability level" he could handle it and maybe a complementary team made them.
I wanted to think of it like that.
Another thing he kept wondering was how much and since when did Kyoko like him. They never got to properly resume the conversation that day, and he didn't want to push by asking too many questions.
"Does she love me or is it just a treat? Will she still love me when we're ready or is she already losing interest?"
He didn't know that they both had the same insecurity. And that led to another worrisome aspect that he identified and that he hoped he could fix for when they start dating: the slight lack of communication. And he saw it slight only in comparison with the situation before, when she even concealed from him that that insane actress almost killed her. Needless to say, he almost committed a crime that he wasn't really going to regret when he found out.
The point is that everything changed when Fuwa had the nerve to reappear and in the worst of time: the fateful feast of Saint Valentine's Day. That surprising party in which he not only had to give up the idea of having a solo outing with Kyoko to be introduced, more properly, to his disappointed suitors; who, like him, were snatched from romantic expectations with her —expectations betrayed by the ostentatious gifts and flower arrangements they brought— but he also had to make a superhuman effort to compose himself and smile as Kyoko, the only one in the party unaware of the situation, encouraged them to be closer. Lory's laughter in the background and the expressions of Kyoko's friends glancing at him from the corner of their eye let him know that he wasn't doing a good job of hiding.
And then Fuwa Sho came kicking in the door with a chocolate castle coming up behind him.
That was too much for his patience.
He knew Kyoko hadn't invited him and he hated knowing he was the culprit for that terrified look on her, but he didn't know how to regain control of his face to appear again. Also with Kyoko that does not work, she knows very well when he is angry no matter how much he smiles and he could not just not get angry. He couldn't help those poisonous feelings, especially when he could barely control his actions. And even less when Fuwa started spouting his stupid things and threw Kyoko a box that turned out to be of a diamond necklace of a luxurious brand he brought her from his tour in LA. To top it off, the necklace was of the same model that Lion has separated for the occasion when he would ask Kyoko to be her boyfriend.
Kuon was grateful to heaven that Kyoko and Sho didn't have those childish fights in front of him again. He hated those fights because he knew they came just before that detestable atmosphere between them blossomed that he already knew and terrified him.
Sometimes he wondered if maybe his dreams, the one he was living and the one he was about to live, would always be threatened by a simple uninterrupted encounter between Kyoko and Sho. Maybe just one phrase from that bastard is enough for Kuon to lose his sky, his moon, his sun, his everything.
He trusted her but couldn't help having that fear, for which, although he didn't kiss her, he always hugged her in private and caressed her face as if it were the last day in paradise before being condemned to hell for eternity.
Kyoko, after the Valentine's incident, spoke to him and opened up. He told her that his jealousy made him feel bad because he felt that he did not trust her and her word regarding Sho ... In addition to the jealousy about his friends, although what bothered her the most was the the matter of Sho.
Kuon ventured a bit and clarified that it wasn't that he didn't believe in her, but that there were things he couldn't help feeling that hurt him or made him too uncomfortable. Anyway he apologized for his behavior and they kiss —on the cheek— and make up.
Kyoko made it clear that although she would take her distance from them, her friends were just friends and that she doesn't think they see her as more than a friend. Then Kuon, knowing that it is useless to insist when Kyoko closes in on accepting something, decided to deal with that matter in silence and with his best smile. Maybe making "jokes" about it, like the "friendly friend" that he was, clarifying to her that the same he was and would always be jealous of her male friends; so he would need compensation for kisses on the cheek and maybe a while to sleep with his head in her lap. Kyoko, blushing, accepted the deal and thus began a dreamy stage in which Kuon hardly returned from Lalaland to visit the real world.
A stage that had finished with everything Yashiro had just told them.
"Why didn't you mention it earlier, Yashiro-san ?!", Kyoko exclaimed in horror.
"First, because whenever Fuwa-kun is even mentioned you two go crazy!", Yashiro blurted out in frustration, obviously what he really meant was that Ren goes crazy, "Besides, by not knowing about this you handled the situation better, Kyoko-chan, because you are an expert at avoiding things when you are not fully aware of what the innuendos they throw at you imply. Oh, but instead, when you know something or understand what are trying to get out of you, your nerves betray you and make the situation worse, leading to misunderstandings or trusts that shouldn't be known by others..."
"So, in short ...", Kanae started to say what she kept her chopsticks in after she finished her lunch, "Because of the carelessness of that stupid and the naive and impulsive of this girl, the rumor that they were a couple has taken too much force in show business to the point where it is now taken as a «fact that is not talked about but that everyone knows» and everyone is waiting for the least thing that can definitively confirm it to exploit the news?"
Yashiro let out a sigh and nodded.
Kuon's fists were clenched too tightly and they all looked at him suddenly.
"What can we do about it?" He inquired, failing to disguise the overwhelming darkness in his tone of voice. He no longer even cares about keeping up appearances in front of Kanae and that is why he was not surprised when he identified the «you deserve it for being slow and idiotic» in the look of the best friend of his beloved. He ignored her, not without agreeing, to focus on Yashiro and his response. It was not yet the time for self-hatred.
"Eh, here comes the worst ... Fuwa-kun did nothing but feed the gossip with his answers to the questions of the curious who did not dare to ask you more clearly about their relationship. On the other hand, those of the Dark Moon staff and certain actors who were partial witnesses of their visits to the set did something more solid with their comments. So, to top it all, the photo of that time came up, for now it is something that is discussed a lot because a certain Akatoki model, that girl who participated in the PV of Kyoko-chan as an angel, saw the photo before the president of said company burned it and told the story between tears to certain colleagues of hers and their makeup artists... And you can imagine what happens when a story like this reaches the ears of makeup artists! "
"Shotaro!", Kyoko hit the table.
"That's why I don't want you to go, Kyoko-chan, because Fuwa Sho is confirmed as a participant and he...", Yashiro gulped and looked at Ren, "I personally challenge you to participate, that's why the president forbade me to accept you to enter the show whether or not Kyoko-chan agrees to enter... "