A terrifying screech echoed down the halls of LME. Employees froze in fear, most too scared to turn in the direction the noise came from. The screech came again, louder this time as a massive black beast clopped down the hall into the main lobby.
Kyoko dropped her mop and stared in awe at the gorgeous stallion. It was the biggest horse she'd ever seen, and she'd seen a surprising number of them since joining LME. A horse in the building wasn't exactly abnormal, not even one carrying a headless rider. It was close enough to Halloween that she figured the president had several Halloween costumes made to roam the halls in. It was a bit ridiculous to her, for all the office workers to cower in fear. They should be more used to this behavior than she was. It had shocked her a little, but she wasn't so frightened that she couldn't pick up her mop and continue to work. It didn't even bother her when the headless horseman turned his horse towards her, she just continued to clean until he was blocking her path.
Whispers sounded through the room. Kyoko thought she could make out a few of them. Poor girl. Why didn't she run? I hope he never catches me. Shaking her head, she looked up and smiled at the horse. The rider seemed to be looking down at her, but without his head she couldn't be sure. He bowed as best he could in the saddle then produced something black and orange from his coat. Kyoko looked up from petting the friendly horse to see that the rider was offering her the black bag that read tricks and treats in orange.
"Thank you." She accepted the gift with a bow.
The screech came again and to Kyoko's surprise the horseman and the horse vanished in a cloud of smoke. She blinked, wondering for a moment how the president managed to run a company when he spent most of his days playing.
"What character did you get?" Kyoko jumped startled by the sudden voice.
"Chiori-chan?" Her fellow Love Me member was standing beneath a cloud of gloom pointing at the bag.
"Character?" Kyoko knit her brows together, confused as to what her friend was talking about. "Your trick, is the character for Friday night." Chiori held up a slip of paper that read fancy-woman. "I'm a mistress! This is old rich people speech for mistress."
Kyoko opened her bag curiously and dumped it out on the floor she had just cleaned. There was a packet of paper like a script and pieces of candy. The front cover read the Mystery of Love in bold pink letters. She rolled her eyes, wasn't this supposed to be Halloween themed?
"That's a brief overview of what will be required of us. Basically, we have to create the character based on the clues we are given and show up Friday morning to be transported to the location the president has chosen for us. You have to eat the candy to find out your character traits, then you can choose other traits to fill in the blanks." Chiori explained stealing a piece of candy and unraveling it. "Oh!" She snickered reading the name written on the wrapper.
"What?" Kyoko asked feeling a bit excited. It was a game after all, it was meant to be fun. LME employees would get together, mingle for a while as they pretended to be someone else and solve a mystery. How bad could it be? The president wouldn't force them to do anything lewd or embarrassing. She shivered remembering that the man in question was not normal. This was the man who had made a young maiden live with a grown man under the guise of being in an obsessive dangerously inappropriate relationship. Suddenly she didn't want to know who her character was.
"You're going to be our chef." Chiori enthused, voice oozing scandal. Kyoko wondered what could be so scandalous about that. Chiori's smile seemed to imply that she knew something she wasn't going to tell, and it gave her great amusement.
"What?"
"Nothing." Chiori shook her head and zipped her lips. "You'll find out later."
She scanned the overview to see if there were any clues to what Chiori knew about her character.
LME Murder Mystery guests will meet at six in the morning on Friday. Guests are chosen by the love god of Halloween. Participation is mandatory! Unless you wish to anger the love god, in which case punishment will be severe. For example, for every minute you do not attend you will be required to go on a blind date. After which you will draft a report detailing what you liked, disliked, and learned on said date.
Kyoko gulped, getting the distinct feeling that the president was speaking directly to her.
Alliances may be formed prior to the start of the game but be careful who you trust. Some characters are scripted as enemies. Read your clues! Each guest is given two main goals to choose from, and a number of secrets to hide. The overall goal of the game is to either catch the killer or get away with murder. Guests can also choose to conceal the murder if they are inclined to protect the killer. For example, if you discover an ally is the murderer you can help them evade the law. This can be done to show loyalty or to black mail someone, that is up to you. But beware, the killer might choose to turn on you.
Have fun, and please stay safe.
She flipped the page to find a list for her to fill out about her character.
"I think that's mostly for you to develop your character." Chiori gathered Kyoko's candy in a pile. "No fair, you got more clues than I did." She complained counting the little candies. "Ten. I only got five."
Chiori produced her sheet with some areas filled in.
"I didn't get an occupation so I'm assuming I'm a gold digger. You're a suspect too. I wonder if the killer gets to know they're the killer beforehand?" Chiori picked up another candy and began to unwrap it.
Quickly, before she could read it Kyoko snatched it and the rest of her candies. She packed them back into the bag and stood up. Chiori looked a little hurt but shrugged. She had gotten to read through all of hers by herself, why shouldn't Kyoko.
"Let me know if you want to be allies. Even if you're the killer, I'm on your side." Chiori winked standing out of her crouched position. "Kanae and I are already a team. She's playing one of our doctors."
"Moko-san!" The thought of playing this game with her beloved best friend excited Kyoko.
She didn't care what her character was, all she wanted was to act alongside Kanae and help her solve the mystery. If Kanae happened to be the killer she would do everything to keep her out of prison. She'd even be willing to confess to the murder herself. For a moment, it seemed Kyoko forgot it was only a game and played out the scenario in her head. At the trial, she was sure Kanae and Chiori would act as her character witnesses, and the president would try to help for sure. With her mother on prosecution however, she was sure to get the max sentence and rot away in a cell. An unwanted and forgotten child. Even Kanae would probably stop visiting eventually.
Chiori watched as Kyoko went from over excitedly screaming about playing a game with Moko-san to having a pensive yet determined look on her face. Finally, Kyoko appeared to think herself into a deep depression.
"Moko-san!" She cried rubbing at her eyes like a child. "Don't abandon me Moko-san. I did it for you."
"Kyoko-chan?" A familiar voice broke Kyoko out of her trance. She cocked her head at the newcomer wondering what she was doing there. "Are you alright? Did you get accosted by the scary horseman too?"
"Eh? Momose-san what are you doing here?" Her eyes fell on the gift bag in Momose-san's hands. "EH!"
The blond giggled holding her treat bag up. "I came for a meeting. Then just a few moments ago this scary horse and headless man nearly trampled me. He was running really fast and laughing, it was chilling." She hugged herself and shivered recalling the laugh that seemed to be coming from all around her as the dark presence charged towards her. "Do you know what this is?"
"A game the President of LME is playing." Kyoko said sullenly. "He isn't normal and always has to equate everything to love. That was him on the horse probably laughing at all his victims and I just realized he knows too much about me to not include something terrible in this game just for me."
"Something terrible?" Momose-san questioned as Chiori cackled.
Kyoko looked in her bag and picked out the red heart shaped chocolate. "Something dangerous."
With bated breath, she carefully peeled the shiny wrapper off the chocolate to find a pink heart with a message inside, Married to Tsuruga Ren. Her heart sunk, and she fell to her knees. The president was too cruel.
In his office Yashiro-san was giddily rereading ten tiny wrappers. Ren sat on the couch with his head in his hands, fighting back the tears. He didn't know if they were so happy, he could cry tears or so angry he wanted to kill the president but couldn't tears. All he really knew was that the president was cruel.
"Married to Tsuruga Kyoko." Yashiro pushed the wrappers around as he read them aloud. "You secretly owe money to the victim, ooh maybe you're the murderer. Though this one says you think Kyoko-chan is the killer. Your goal options are 1: Conceal her possible involvement in the crime or turn her in to avoid becoming a suspect yourself and…" he laughed wickedly for a long moment. "2: Obtain a kiss from Kyoko-chan. You also have two murder cards; it says use these to dispose of any rivals who would hinder your goals. Simply present the card to the game master and he will take care of your victim. Oh, that's nice of the president."
"What's so nice about killing off a player?" Ren snapped at his manager wishing the nightmare would end. "What's nice about any of this?"
"He could have paired Kyoko-chan with someone else. I hear he caught Kijima-san hitting on an LME popstar and as punishment handed him one of these bags. Of course, knowing the president, he could have been looking for Kijima-san just to torment you. Let's just hope he keeps Fuwa Sho out of this game of his." Yashiro neatly stacked the wrappers together as he filled in Ren's character sheet for him. "You can choose two secrets, two traits and a hobby. You already have a hobby of collecting pictures of your wife, a camera will be provided to you. You are a doting husband. A shopaholic too, which probably explains why you borrowed money from the victim."
"And if I don't play this stupid game the president will force Mogami-san to go on blind dates?" Ren asked paying no attention to his character description.
"Correct. Kotonami-san is your sister. She could be an ally to you." Yashiro continued writing himself a reminder to find out more about Kanae's character before Friday.
Later that evening Kyoko was grumbling to herself as she stirred a simmering pot. "…evil president… we both know why he's doing this… what if people had other plans… how could he even rope Momose-san into this? She isn't even part of LME."
"You'll give yourself a headache if you keep clenching your jaw like that." Kuon said handing her a bowl of potatoes he had peeled and chopped.
"…don't suppose we could just tell him it's pointless… I mean we can't be together anyway…" Kyoko continued to mutter ignoring her not boyfriend.
"Mogami-san." Kuon said with a sigh. As she continued to grumble curses at the president, he came up behind her to rest his hands on her arms. "Kyoko."
"I know. I know. Nobody can know." Kyoko relented allowing her body to lean back into his touch. "Not that there is anything for anyone to know."
There was nothing going on between them because there couldn't be. At least that was what they told themselves. They had spent the two years in limbo as Tsuruga Ren pretended to get closer to Kana. There had never been an official statement, but the fans had made their assumptions. Meanwhile, Kuon had failed at keeping a distance between himself and Kyoko.
It had started innocently enough. Kyoko had made Ren his lunch and left it with Yashiro. At the end of his long day of filming, Ren had sent a lengthy text to thank her. The text was not particularly flirty nor was it suggestive of a deeper relationship. He simply thanked her for the food. Then he gave her compliments on the curry which had been paired with pickled radish and ginger rice. He thanked her again for taking his eating habits into consideration and giving him smaller portions. They spent the night talking about a proper diet for a man his size.
Kyoko couldn't control her blush as she read and reread his texts while snuggled in bed that night. She bit her lip thinking of how to respond and worrying that he might think she was weird. What if she scared him off by texting something too clingy? She had planted her face in her pillow blushing brighter. He wasn't even her boyfriend, and she was this happy over 'thank you' texts.
The day after that she shook as she placed the tiny cucumbers shaped like flowers on top of the rice. She added plenty of green vegetables and teriyaki tofu cubes in to round out his meal. The cucumbers gave her pause as she contemplated replacing them with simple sliced cucumbers. In the end, she left them in hoping that the added touch would make Ren's day.
He sent a text on his lunch break this time barely able to contain his glee. Yashiro had received a lunch with normal cucumber slices, and it hadn't been packed with nearly as much care as Ren's. He couldn't hide the grin from Yashiro as he had messaged her.
Thank you for the lunch. It was almost as cute as you. ^_^
Tsuruga-san shouldn't say things like that. Kyoko replied too quickly clutching her heart. Not wanting to come off as rude she added. But thank you and you're welcome.
Yashiro shook his head practically able to see Ren's tail wagging when his phone dinged.
Things like what, Mogami-san?
There was a long pause and both men worried she wouldn't reply before Ren's break ended but then her ring tone sounded. Yashiro imagined dog ears perking up on Ren's head as he hurriedly answered the phone.
"You know what Tsuruga-san." Kyoko said sternly before he could properly greet her. "Those kinds of things will make people think the wrong thing." She said blushing then added, "you know if anyone ever got into my phone."
"So, other people would think badly about me? Not you though, right? You know exactly how cute I think you are." His silky-smooth voice made her shiver and she had to shake her head to focus. "By the way, just out of curiosity, how did you make the flowers?" He asked as a way to distract her and also keep her talking.
"I used a knife to cut around the edges. Did you not like them?" She asked nervously smoothing out her clothes.
"They were the best part." He said enthusiastically.
Maybe if he praised the shapes enough, she would put hearts in next time. Though he wondered how safe it was for her to carve shapes out of food. Not that he wasn't confident in her skills, but even seasoned chefs sometimes made mistakes and sliced open their fingers. Rather than working himself into a panic he decided to ask.
"Is that safe to do with a knife? I thought you would have cookie cutters or something for that sort of thing." He said imagining her fully stocked restaurant kitchen.
"The Taisho-san doesn't have much use for them in the restaurant. I used to have some." She ended her sentence short hoping his mind wouldn't fill in the blanks. She'd had shaped cutters back when she'd lived with Shotaro.
"Hm." he said after successfully forcing all thoughts of Shotaro from his mind. He filled in the blanks easily but kept calm by reminding himself that she had made him lunch with flower shapes.
"Five-minute warning." Yashiro said apologetically.
"I should let you get back to work." Kyoko said having heard Yashiro.
"Wait, Mogami-san." Ren stopped her not ready to let her go. "We're both done early tonight. Do you want to get dinner together?"
"Do you think that's wise, Tsuruga-san? Think of your girlfriend." Kyoko said slightly teasing but also hurt by her own words. They couldn't be together and all of Japan thought he belonged to somebody else. "We shouldn't be doing anything unusual."
"We've had dinner together before." Ren replied simply.
"Tsuruga-san." Kyoko grumbled in warning.
"Mogami-san." He challenged with a smile. It was true, they had had dinner together before. She had even spent the night at his place on multiple occasions. "If we go by what is usual for us than dinner should be acceptable. We both have to eat after all."
He had her there it was usual for them to eat together by now, or maybe she wanted to be convinced. She thought about it noting all the time she had spent casually eating lunch or dinner with him on set, out in public, and at his place. She supposed it would be suspicious if that suddenly stopped and maybe his fans assumed it was just because they shared a manager. This logic only worked if Yashiro had been her manager during those times, but Kyoko conveniently overlooked that.
"Fine." She finally said. "You're right we have had dinner together before. No one should assume that it means anything and if they do then we'll just explain that I am nothing to you."
"Ouch, don't say it like that." Ren said annoyed by her lack of self-worth. "At least refer to yourself as my close friend and colleague."
"One-minute Ren." Yashiro prodded.
"I have to go. I'll see you later Mogami-san."
"Right, goodbye Tsuruga-san." Kyoko mumbled her reply hiding her blush behind her hand.
"You're not done at the same time as Kyoko tonight." Yashiro said rechecking their schedules to double check what he was already certain of.
"I'll be done before she is." Ren declared prepared to push himself. "I have to pick something up at the store first."
When he arrived to pick her up, he smiled to himself. The plastic bag resting on the passenger seat was from a 100-yen shop so she couldn't get too upset. He could learn to restrain himself and bargain shop if it made her happy. She had been happy to receive the little food cutters and the next day she gave him a lunch with heart shaped carrots. It had been a bold and embarrassing move for her. Not pausing to think he pulled his own bold move and leaned down to lay a kiss on her cheek.
Little by little the innocent behaviors built up. They justified every bold move they made by telling themselves that they had done it before. He had kissed her cheek before. She had spent the night before. They had hugged, held hands, gone out to eat… the little things added up to being together without actually being together. Eventually they graduated to bigger bolder moves. He told her about Kuon and Corn. She admitted to being Bo. She invited herself over to spend the night. He gave her a key to his place.
In the public they were nothing more than colleagues. To their closest friends they were two frustrating idiots who tiptoed around each other never admitting they were in love. That was why their current dilemma amused him and irritated her. Everyone except Yashiro and Kanae would think they were acting and playing the game.
"It'll be fun." He said once he finished eating dinner. They were seated on the floor with the television on for background noise.
"For the president maybe." Kyoko grumbled jabbing at her potatoes.
"For me too." He said happily as he watched her eat. "I'll get to be your husband. In public. I can hug you." he crawled over to her and placed an arm around her. "I can kiss you." He said kissing her cheek. "I can whisper in your ear about how beautiful you look." He said kissing the shell of her ear.
"We're supposed to be solving a murder mystery, not flirting." Kyoko said cheeks flushing.
"Yeah, and I have two murder cards just in case." He said kissing down her jaw.
"In case what? Are you the murderer? Would we know if it's one of us?" she asked holding a potato to his mouth. He took it as a sign to back off and stopped kissing her.
"Just in case anything happens." He said after he was done chewing the potato. "If anyone tries to blackmail or otherwise harm you. I suggest you finish opening your clues. Who knows, you might be the murderer."
"Why would I be the murderer?" Kyoko asked. She stood up and retrieved her treat bag.
He shrugged saying, "I've noticed that the lovemon likes to pick on my princess."
"Because he's desperate to play with my life as though it were one of his dating sims." She said dumping the candies on the table. "I should have let Amamiya-san eat them all."
Kuon unwrapped one of the round chocolates and popped it into his mouth. It was dark and rich, and utterly wasted on him. But Kyoko wouldn't like throwing them away, so he'd have to help her eat them.
"You owe victim one some money too. Evidently you bought a new restaurant, but the second victim hindered its growth and you had to borrow money. Victim number two is found dead shortly after being seen arguing with you. Wow, I'm married to a killer. Don't worry though I'll take your secret to the grave."
"Thank you so much." she replied rolling her eyes and snatched the wrapper. "This isn't funny Corn. Am I supposed to attack this second victim? Does the second victim know they're the second victim?"
Kuon shrugged. "I have two kill cards if you want one."
"What if you're his planned second victim?" She asked and Kuon looked shocked.
"I would never hinder your venture into any career path. I would buy you a restaurant and eat there every day to keep it afloat."
"You can't afford to buy me a restaurant, you owe victim one too much money." She said crossing her arms. "Maybe I will kill victim one for forcing us into this game."
"That's assuming the president is victim one. What if it's someone else?"
"Who else could he have roped into this stupid game?" Kyoko asked and then they both looked up in surprise. "You don't think…?"
"Oh, I have no doubt he dragged them into this." Kuon growled. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if my parents helped him plan the whole thing."
"So, you borrowed money from your father maybe. It doesn't even say you needed money for anything useful."
"What do you mean it wasn't for anything useful? I had to buy my beautiful wife pretty dresses and things." He said leaning down to kiss her shoulder.
"Corn stop." She said pushing on his chest. "Can't you be serious about this? You're going to be in the same room as your parents and other people will be there to see you together. We are going to be portraying a couple out in the open. Someone is bound to witness something and all of our secrets will be exposed."
"Kyoko, love." He said catching her head between his hands before she went spinning out of control. Normally he loved watching her work herself up but sometimes it was counterproductive. "We are actors. We can convince people that our relationship is nothing more than an act. We will fool the president, our friends and coworkers, and my parents just as we have been for two years."
"And you'll be able to stand tall and act as Tsuruga Ren in front of your parents." She said sounding unsure.
"If I have you by my side, I can do anything." Kuon said kissing her forehead. "Besides it's not like we have a choice. I'm not letting that lovemon force you to go on blind dates."
"You think he really would? That wouldn't fit into his scenario of the perfect otome game." She said knowing that the president wanted to force them together.
"He'd do it to force me to confess." Kuon said with a sardonic smile.
Kyoko sighed and picked up another piece of candy. "If I'm the killer then the president will be the first victim."
A/N: I'm posting this to hopefully force myself to finish it. Though I'm not getting my hopes up as it's been sitting in a folder for over two years. I read through it and tweaked some things but other than that I wrote this and a couple other story ideas in late 2019 and well anyway, I have no outline for this or any plan whatsoever so that should be interesting. Yes, I know I have other stories to write.
