AN: I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter. I'm not sure whether it's because of the heat or because of politics, but I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter. I hope that it's okay and that you enjoy it though 😊
Chapter Eight – New Openings
Kyoko's eyes widened as she entered TBM and turned to the Ishibashi group. She wasn't sure where their excitement was coming from. They had been this way about guests before, of course they had, but this was different. She wondered who they had scheduled. "Hi," she said with a nervous smile not sure what she was to expect. "How are you guys…"
"We got him to come on!" Hikaru grinned widely as he looked at the younger woman. Kyoko tilted her head to the side. Why didn't people just come out directly when they had news that was apparently very big? Why didn't these guys just say the name of the person that they were going to be interviewing. "I can't believe it, he's a…"
"Leader is a very big fan of Tsuruga Ren" Yuusei grinned as he gave a thumbs up to Kyoko who smiled softly.
"Oh," she smiled feeling a sense of relief. If she hadn't had gathered up the courage to let Ren…Kuon know that it was her inside the Bo suit then this situation might have become incredibly awkward. As it was, the fact that Kuon knew exactly who the mascot was made it so that Kyoko was as excited as the Ishibashi boys seemed to be. "That's great that Tsuruga-san said yes."
"I've been telling you that we should have invited him on for a long time," Shinichi grinned. "Guy kept politely turning down our invitations and then he says that he might have found time in his schedule and he'd love to come on if we would have him."
"Of course we would have him," Hikaru said as his smile widened even more, "He's Ren amazing Tsuruga."
Kyoko blushed a little as she looked down. Due to her worry about how to address Ren herself, she had forgotten the big deal that he was to other people. She felt happy that Corn was so beloved. He deserved that. After all Corn had spent so much time listening to her and helping her, this was only right to happen to him. "I think Tsuruga-san will enjoy being on TV."
"Are you going to ask him to spill on his new girlfriend?" Shinichi asked and Kyoko looked up at the group.
Had Ren really told reporters about their relationship? He wouldn't do that, would he? He had promised to try to be patient with her and show her support and understanding. Why would he change his mind and not even let her know?
Kyoko looked down trying to remain very still as the ideas circled around in her head. Was this a test to whether or not she could actually be his girlfriend? She wanted to, but it was scary committing to somebody else. Why would he do that without -
"That would probably be very rude, wouldn't it?" Hikaru asked, "He always denies that he's going out with Honoka-chan despite how much she says she loves working with him. I don't know if there's anything going on there and I don't feel comfortable asking about it."
"Imagine the ratings if we were the first in the whole of Japan to expose it," Yuusei said as he looked up with stars in his eyes. That would bring their show a lot of attention. Not only would they have star power but they would have revealed a celebrity couple before anyone else had confirmation.
Kyoko had her hands to her side and she looked down. "I doubt that Tsuruga-san is dating Honoka-san," she said as she kept her eyes trained onto the floor so the three men couldn't see her tense and mixed up emotions. She didn't want anyone to know she was Ren's girlfriend just yet, but the idea of people thinking that someone else was hurt even more.
"Oh, that's right," Yuusei said with a grin, "You're really close with Tsuruga-san, aren't you?"
Kyoko nodded silently, still unsure what words to use in response to them.
"So you'd know who he was referring to on that interview, that special person he cares for deeply," Shinichi grinned as Kyoko smiled, her cheeks turning redder. He had actually said he had someone special. "Although he didn't really say whether they were a friend or a partner."
Kyoko nodded before looking down and taking deep breaths to steady herself. "He'd be talking about…me…" she looked up quickly to see the surprise on Yuusei's and Sinichi's faces and the disappointment on Hikaru's. "If you could please keep it a secret, then that would mean a lot to me," she dropped into a bow. "We're not ready for the general audience to know. I'd really appreciate it if you didn't tell people that he's my boyfriend."
"Of course not," the three men all said together as Kyoko looked down with a happy smile.
Maybe if she could trust them, soon she could trust Japan and that would make Kuon happy.
…..
…..
Ren looked up at his manager as Yashiro showed him the latest scripts for him to check out. These were different though, two of them were in the United States and the second was in the United Kingdom. He looked up at his manager. "I thought I was already working on a…"
"None of these roles start until March, but I thought that I'd surprise you with these international offers. I'm not sure I trust these producers, but finally the Western world seems to have noticed your talent, Ren," he commented as Ren felt a smile spread over his face.
He couldn't believe that his dream was so close to fruition, but then again, what would happen to his relationship with Kyoko if he just decided to head overseas and put so much distance between them. Maybe if he and Kyoko had been dating for a while or maybe if they were married or if he had never told her, then the choice would be easier.
As it was though, this was no easy decision.
"So," Ren smiled trying to pay attention to his career. He knew that Kyoko would act the opposite of most women about this. He knew that if he told her that he hadn't even heard about the offers because he was so dedicated to staying at her side, she would get angry with him instead of find it a sweet and romantic action.
He valued her independence, but he was worried about how he could cope with a long distance relationship so early on. Of course, if it had been anyone else he would have broken up with them, but this wasn't another woman, this was Kyoko.
"Well," Yashiro smiled, "The first one is the second lead male role in an American independent film. The main story is about a psychopath, which fortunately for everyone there isn't the role that you've been offered and a young man who tries to make a name for himself by writing about it. The second is an audition for a Michael Bey film, not a very significant role but it'd be good to showcase some of your talent. The other is for a miniseries for the BBC. It is actually conceivable that you could do all three but with your new relationship."
Ren sighed, "I'd love to take all of them if that's possible, however…" he looked away. He could justify saying no to one of them, after all one of them was just an audition, but he had to have a backup in case Kyoko wasn't the girl who was meant for him.
Hopefully that didn't sound too rude.
"Well," Yashiro sighed as he handed Ren the paperwork to look over and decide upon. "I would talk this over with Kyoko. Don't try to act on anything without talking to her, there might be some things that can get arranged," Ren caught a playful smile on Yashiro's face and chuckled.
"Who knows," the actor thought aloud, "If I stay here, I might be able to get onto a cooking show about eating pudding." Yashiro stared at him completely puzzled by all of it.
….
….
Kyoko was walking down the street towards the Darumaya. She felt glad that she could work a little that night as she would have felt guilty being one of those girls who didn't put in a hard day of work just because they were dating someone talented who they had found out had been their childhood friend. No, she wanted to be able to do some shifts as a waitress and thankfully nobody knew who she was even now.
That might change in the future however.
If she announced to Japan that she was the person who Ren Tsuruga loved then there would be many many people who could recognize her face and for all the wrong reasons. Just as she had been bullied at school for her infatuation over Shoutaro, if Japanese women found out that she was in love with Ren, and worse that Ren loved her, they would constantly be upset with her.
Some women were stupid like that.
Then there was the fact that she had told Shou that she wouldn't fall in love with Ren. If that idiot found out that she was happy in a relationship, she feared that he would try to purposefully mess it up. Although Kyoko had been trained in dealing with drunk and disorderly customers and could take criticism silently, depending on his mood Ren sometimes couldn't.
She wondered how Shoutaro would want to play his cards to make Ren break up with her. The thing was that Shou didn't know about Kuon. By just knowing his real name, Kyoko could hopefully patch things up with him more easily, she had his trust. She just had to make sure not to lose it.
"So, you look lost in thought," Shou laughed as he stood in her path and Kyoko looked up with a glare.
"Shou, I advise that you get out of my way right now before I force you out of my way," she looked from side to side. Even with her growing popularity, this idiot was more recognizable than her. She needed to figure out which cards in her hand would make up the best move.
"I saw your love speech," Shou said as Kyoko shook her head.
"What on earth are you talking about? I didn't make a love speech, you need to go to a pharmacy where they can save your brain from rotting out your head. I suggest the sooner the better, there tends to be a foul odor when things start rotting."
Kyoko had a feeling that she knew exactly what little love speech Shou was talking about. She couldn't let him win. She did not want to go back to Kyoto.
Shou raised an eyebrow, "You mean, that you didn't declare your love for Tsuruga Ren during that interview that you were on?" he asked as Kyoko smiled proudly. At least she could circumnavigate this situation.
"No, I didn't announce my love for Tsuruga-san. I'm not in love with Tsuruga-san," she said proudly and Shou was caught off guard by the honesty on her face.
"You're just a stupid woman who is giving into the feelings of love. All of this just because of your withdrawal of me," Shou said as he placed a hand to his chest which led Kyoko to scoff.
"And how am I doing that? Plus, I'm not getting withdrawals, don't think you're anything special. I don't even feel my usual enjoyment from my anger when it comes to you," she said. "You're insignificant to me, Shoutaro."
She saw Shou look both ways to check to see if somebody could have overheard them. He didn't want his precious name to be found out.
"I'm going to find that man you're in love with," Shou grinned smugly. "After all, one of my connections gave me a name of a place or an item and I'm going to look it up."
Kyoko stared at him in disbelief, "Well, I hope that you didn't pay them but if you want to waste your money on them at least it's not as if you're stringing along a poor girl."
"So tell me," Shou said with a look that mirrored the cat who ate the canary, "What is a Kuon?"
Kyoko's back stiffened and she said the first thing to enter her mind, "It's a dance."