THE SECRET PROJECT.
The moment Kyoko spotted the man in black, squinting her eyes from afar, she knew she had the right person. There was no doubt in her mind.
Ignoring the distasteful looks of the passerbys, she approached him with quick steps. Beads of perspiration collected at her temples and rolled down.
As she hurried closer, the sight of him became clearer and clearer. She could now see his straight dark hair. They were rough and messy. His skin was oddly white, and she could not see his eyes as his pointed bangs were covering the top half of his face. A half-burnt cigarette was perched between his thin and colourless lips, which were stretched into what was probably a full-time sneer.
Dangerous: check, Kyoko thought as she continued to move ahead. Although, her pace now resembled that of a snail. Even though he fitted the President's description perfectly, this guy looked like he was trouble and judging from the way the other pedestrians were straying clear from his path, Kyoko wasn't the only one thinking that.
She wanted to stay away as well and not bother him while he finished his cigarette, but the President's word echoed in her mind:
Remember to be there on time. He doesn't like to be kept waiting. He is the type of guy who wouldn't hesitate to hit a girl.
Unfortunately, Kyoko was already five minutes late. And so she could not muster enough courage to go there and face him, but on the other hand, she didn't want to go back to the agency before doing her job either.
At last, she gathered enough willpower to stand up straight and look at him again, but something she noticed about him left her gawking in shock.
For the first time, she noticed his clothes. His lean muscular torso was wrapped in a black high-collared knee-length summer coat.
What surprised Kyoko wasn't his clothes, but what was underneath them. Since she had started sewing those voodoo dolls, she had been blessed with a special eye when it came to measuring the proportion of a person's physique. There were only two people of whom she had ever sewn a doll, and their measurements were drilled into her brain.
Even from afar, she instantly recognised the man in black, because there was no mistaking that muscular torso since Kyoko had sewn it's smaller version more than a dozen times. It seemed impossible to her that two different people could have such an identical built.
But it didn't make any sense. Why would Ren pretend to be someone else, and why would the President send her to pick him up? To find out the answer, she has hesitantly approached him. "R-Ren?"
He slowly looked up. She could now see his eyes from the little gaps between his pointed bangs. They were sparkling blue, just like the ocean, but at the same time as cold as ice. He narrowed them, widening his sneer as he glared at her. Kyoko stiffened, stepping back instinctively.
With her heart hammering against her chest, she shuddered. He was definitely not Ren, she was now sure. Because up close, she could see his face, which was ghostly pale and unfamiliar.
Even the coldest of Ren's glares didn't hold a candle to the chill that went down her back as she became the victim of his dead cold eyes.
Raising up to his feet, he wildly swung his hand towards her. His fist connected with her chest and the impact was hard enough to make her kiss the floor.
Even after he had pushed her down, he wasn't done, as he mercilessly approached her even still.
Shivering hysterically, Kyoko curled into the foetal position, shrinking into a ball. She hopefully glanced at the passerbys for help even if they did notice her, they pretended not to see and looked elsewhere.
Kyoko had been sure that the President wouldn't send her somewhere truly dangerous, but turned out he had actually sent her to pick up a psychotic thug, because her guest was just about to kick her for being only five minutes late.
Squeezing her eyes tight shut, she embraced herself for the kick that never came. When she opened them back, she saw the rock hard and oddly familiar back of Mr Cain Heel as he walked away.
Wiping her tear-stained face, Kyoko picked herself up, wondering what made him change his mind. Her trembling knees buckled and she slumped down on the nearest roadside bench.
More than fifteen minutes passed, but she didn't budge from her spot, not being sure what to do next. She still couldn't decide whether she should give up and go back to the President or not.
Chasing Mr Cain Heel was suicide, so she made up her mind to do the opposite, even if it meant going back defeated.
As she strolled her way back through the sidewalk, she couldn't help but think of her guest, not believing she had mistaken that nefarious foreigner for Ren. Despite their identical built, those two couldn't be more different.
Suddenly, a dark gloved hand shot out from one of the dark alleys and closed around Kyoko's mouth. Before she could try to scream or even respond, she was pulled away from the bright and crowded road into the deserted alley by her captor, who turned out to be no other than Mr Cain Heel himself.
"Don't scream," he warned, his voice was rough and papery.
She nodded, and he carefully removed his hand from her mouth.
Fear coursing through out her body, Kyoko burst into silent and uncontrollable tears as she hysterically whispered apologies to him over and over again, begging him to let her go.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I won't bother you again I swear. Just let me go this once! I'm sorry I spoke to you. I'm sorry I got the wrong person! It was a mistake! I'm sorry that I'm wearing this ugly pink uniform–"
"Kyoko–" he tried to speak but was cut off.
"–I'm sorry that I ever agreed to join the stupid Love Me Division! I'm sorry the President is so weird! I'm so-"
"Kyoko!" He placed his hands on her shoulders and squeezed. "Shhh. I'm not going to hurt you. Don't be scared."
Her tears instantly stopped and she slowly wiped her eyes, because his voice wasn't rough and paper anymore but it came out familiarly smooth and buttery.
"It's me! You were right. You didn't get the wrong person." He ripped off the dark wig of his messy hair to reveal his own smooth and wavy locks. "See? It's only me. I was in character."
"Ren!" Kyoko shouted with a long gasp. "What the– You scared me to death! What is going on?"
"Hush! Not so loud," he said as he tried to replace his wig. "No one is supposed to know that it's me."
"Why? What's going on?"
"Come with me. I'll explain everything on the way."
"How disappointing," Takarada, leaning on the couch in the middle of his luxurious living room, inhaled from his cigar. His perspective eyes regarded Ren who stood there beside Kyoko with his head hung low. "Are you stupid? This was supposed to be a test to see if you'll be recognised or not. And you deliberately gave yourself away! I thought the contract you've signed clearly stated that the true identity of Cain Heel has to remain a secret?"
"I know, but I trust Kyoko. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't tell anyone." Ren pointed out. "Actually, I frightened her a lot more than I intended so–"
Takarada didn't let it show, but he was surprised and also a bit impressed by Ren's sudden openness. Aloud he said, "you will be scaring a lot of people when you will be in character, but you aren't supposed to come out to everyone!" He cleared his throat. "Let bygones be bygones. While I wasn't expecting you to give yourself away like that, I was going to let Mogami in on the secret anyway, because she'll also be a part of this."
Ren was too startled to react at this new discovery, and the President finally turned his head to Kyoko.
"I take it Ren has told you everything?"
Kyoko nodded. "The gist of it, yeah." The ride from the Hachiko Statue to the President's Mansion wasn't a long one, so Ren didn't have a chance to get into details, which was why he surmised the whole plan to Kyoko as succinctly as possible.
To keep track of it all, she tried to recall everything she had learnt from him, which was: Ren was starting a villain named Black Jack aka BJ in an upcoming psychological thriller movie called the Tragic Marker. The Director was beyond thrilled that Ren had accepted his movie for his debut as a first time villain, and he was also sure that the audience would go crazy as well.
So in order to spice things up, Director Konoe came up with this plan to keep Ren's involvement in the project a secret until a few months after the release of the movie, only to reveal it later, so he could use this situation as a publicity stunt. While being onset, Ren was supposed to play another character: the mysterious british actor Cain Heel who also happened to be a thug. The Director had designed this character himself, and he had given him this unapproachable gangster personality to create stir on the set, and generate as much buzz among the fans and the paparazzi as possible. But this whole plan solely dependen on Ren and his ability to maintain the character of Cain to keep his real identity a secret.
Takarada snapped his fingers, bringing Kyoko back out of her thoughts. "Are you listening? I said that I have a part for you as well."
"Me?" Kyoko cocked her eyebrows and threw an uncertain glance at Ren, who was looking cautiously at the President. His eyes filled with suspicion. Kyoko didn't blame him. She could herself guess how Takarada must have his cooked up his own little scheme to include in this already weird and complicated plan, and it somehow included her. "What do I have to do?" She sighed.
"Well, I'm not really worried about Ren being recognised," Takarada commenced, "as you can see, his stylist had done a perfect job. His transformation is flawless. He's totally unrecognisable. However, I don't want to send him there alone. I think it would be best if there was at least one more person on the set besides the Director who knew about the situation. Since Yashiro can't accompany him there without giving away–"
"I get it! You want me to pretend to be Yashiro, right?" Kyoko exclaimed. "I can do this no sweat! I've got experience!"
"Yes and no. I do want you to go there with him, but not as his manager." A devilish smirk crept up to the President's face. "Instead, I've got another role in mind for you."
Instead of directly informing Kyoko about her part, the President made with leave asking her to go with his secretary.
She followed him upstairs into an elegant and brightly-lit dressing room where a seemingly teenage girl was waiting for her. Her form petite and mousy, and her frizzy brown hair were tied into a ponytail which fluttered when she moved.
"You must be Kyoko," she smiled, offering her hand. "I've heard a lot about you. It's so nice to finally meet you."
Kyoko shook it. "And you are?" Her tone came equally polite and also a bit flustered.
"I'm Jelly Woods. My friends call me J. I'll be your stylist during this project. Let's get you ready for your role."
"Um, I'm not exactly sure what my role is."
"What? Darling can tell you?"
Kyoko blinked with a frown. "Who?"
"I mean the President."
"Oh, no. He didn't give me any details. He said you would tell me the rest," Kyoko answered, trying to keep her face poker and not show her surprise. She was pretty sure that this girl was only a little older than herself, so she was startled to hear her referring to the President as her 'Darling'. Kyoko couldn't help but be curious about their relationship.
"Tsk, tsk." Jelly shook her head. "I should be getting a raise, since he's leaving all the work to me. Well, anyway, we should get started. I'll let you know the details later. For now, let's begin with what I do best." Flashing her teeth, the stylist held her fists up with makeup brushes clasped between each of her fingers. "In the fashion world, they call me the Witch. You know why?"
Kyoko shook her head, her interest perked up at the mention of her favorite topic: which was anything magic related. Even though, Jelly wasn't talking in the literal sense. A small blush crept up to her face, her eyes lost in fantasies.
"You'll soon know," Jelly smiled confidently, "because when I'm through with you, even you wouldn't recognise yourself."
Meanwhile, back in the living room, Takarada continued to smoke his cigar as Ren scrutinized him suspiciously. "What are you plotting?"
"What's your problem?" The President retorted. "Why do you always act like I have something up my sleeve. That's so rude."
"I'm not acting, it's because you always do. Which is why I don't trust you." Ren sighed. "You were all buddy-buddy with me this morning, saying you would send someone to pick me up to see if I get recognised. And you sent her. You knew how hard it would be for me to scare her. Do you have any idea how startled I was to see her?"
"That was the whole point," Takarada exhaled a puff of smoke. "I was testing you to see if you could maintain being Cain Heel even under pressure and in unexpected circumstances. You passed the test since even after Kyoko recognised you, you were able to convince her otherwise. So wasn't this helpful?"
"I guess," Ren admitted reluctantly.
"By the way, how did she recognize you anyway? I'm curious." Noticing Ren's hesitation to answer the question, Takarada probed him even further. "Did something finally happen between you kids?"
"No," Ren let out a resigned sigh. "She told me she recognized me because of my... measurements." The last word came out as a shamefull whisper. "You remember that doll she gave Maria on her birthday..." He explained the whole reason.
To add even more to Ren's embarrassment, Takarada was amused. "That girl..." The President hollered, gasping between chuckles. "Lucky you, at least now she is noticing you, even though the reason is the most unromantic and the lamest thing I've ever heard." And he burst into laughter over again.
Ren hung his head low to hide the pink tinge suffusing his cheeks. This was precisely the reason why he didn't want the President finding out about it, but even if hadn't told him, Takarada would have found it out from Kyoko. And the latter way was much more embarrassing in comparison.
When the President was finally done laughing, he let out a sigh. "I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. She's the first member of the Love Me Division after all."
Before Ren could answer, the door burst open and Jelly hurried inside, her eyes flashing with excitement. "Sorry to keep you gentleman waiting!"
"All finished?" Takarada sprang to his feet, Ren following the action.
"Yes," the stylist answered. "However, she'll be a little different. I know you told me to dress her in black from head to toe, but my imagination took over so I improvised. Don't worry though. She definitely got the Setsuka vibe."
"Setsuka?" Ren raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Who?"
"You'll call her Setsu, okay Cain?" Takarada winked. "Jelly, where is our guest of honour?"
The stylist glanced back. "She was right beside me a minute ago. I think she's hiding behind the door. She had been pretty embarrassed to get in here because of her get up, even though I told her she looked cute. Wait, I'll bring her." With that, Jelly ran back outside to find Kyoko hugging one of the pillars.
Alfter countless attempts of goading and coaxing, the stylist was done trying to get Kyoko inside. Since none of her earlier methods worked, she decided to use her trump card: which was challenging the inner actress within her The President had told her to save it for last.
"Kyoko," Jelly commenced, putting her hands on her hips, "are you really an actress or are you not?"
Slowly, Kyoko stepped away from the pillar, but she was still hiding her face, hanging it low. "Do I have to wear this?" It came out a mumble. Her fingers fidgeting nervously.
"Yes. Now tell me are you going to give up on your character over something like this?"
At the same time, back inside, Ren's eyes suddenly turned cold and he shot Takarada the nastiest glare he could manage when the meaning of Jelly's words finally registered in his brain. "Wait just a minute!" He slammed his palm on the President's shoulder. "Does that mean you made her wear something so embarrassing that she is frightened enough to hide?"
"Frightened?" Takarada snorted. "Once she gets into character, she won't even remember or care about her outfit."
"But still-"
"Why don't you wait and see for yourself." The President winked with a smirk. "I'm pretty sure you'll thank me."
Ren's anger dissolved and he couldn't help blushingly slightly in response. "What are you making her do exactly?" There was desperation mingled in his voice.
"What, you ask?" He nodded towards the door. "That."
As if on cue, they were interrupted by the clatter of boots hitting the tiled floor as Kyoko elegantly sauntered her way inside; her hips swaying with each step.
Ren sharply hissed, forgetting to exhale afterwards as he took in the sight of her with bated breath. His jaw slacked with surprise.