Act 23 – The Tea Scene
It was astonishing how quickly Kyoko managed to pull herself together and sit up as if she were in no pain at all. She looked like the perfect Japanese hostess. Sure, when he was growing up and he thought back on his short time in Japan, Ren had thought of Kyoko as a perfect Japanese girl but now he was seeing the perfect Japanese woman and he hated to admit it but he felt a little uneasy. He tried to keep a neutral expression and match her acting but he knew that both he and Seiji were impressed.
Ren was also concerned though. Her ankle must be in a lot of pain and she was just ignoring it. He hoped that she wouldn't get hurt but she was too stubborn to be reasoned with especially by someone who had lied to her over and over again.
Kyoko had such a radiant smile on her face that it gave Ren pause. There was no way that her pain was magically taken away from her. She had to be suffering and he wanted to stop the scene but he was a professional, one wrong move and his career might go in an unexpected and unwanted direction.
Kyoko looked at Ren, she knew that Corn was suffering underneath his gentle smile and character but she wanted to prove to him that she could act and that she wouldn't need to rely on revenge. This was her chance of showing him her skills and she didn't want to let this opportunity pass without giving it everything she could.
Ren smiled as he decided just to meet her on this as actors. She had amazing determination and he had to give that to her. His eyes showed that he was ready to treat her as an equal at least for this scene. If he could encourage her to do more roles then maybe she would want to continue as an actress and not let the pain and anger cloud her happy life. He wanted to lead her as much as possible and see how she would respond to him.
There was a soft pause and Kyoko reached forward for the props to make the tea, recalling the times when she had done it as a child. When you grew up with that type of environment, these things became second nature to her and she could hear whispers of how this was amazing and she had skill and acted like a professional who did this for a living. Well, she had been raised to do this from an early age so of course she could do it near professionally.
Making tea was something that she could do and if it won her this role she would continue to do it so that she could show how skillful she really was. It was the person in front of her who she truly hoped to impress. Corn had given her so much and all he had asked her to do were household chores and making him food. If he enjoyed the tea that she made then that was just another way of making it up to him and repaying him for his kindness and generosity. She would have to see his reaction when he drank the tea that she had prepared.
"This morning," Ren said as he turned the tea in his hand and Kyoko noticed that even the way that he did that was in character. He made all these small gestures and all of it was done in character. He was truly impressive and Kyoko wondered whether he was happy with his choice and his sacrifice to leave the fairy world. "I've been there. The sound of the wind there really does sound like bell tolls."
Kyoko watched him with interest, sinking into her character as she did so. She was lost in his acting and she had to admit that she was incredibly proud to be his friend. She continued to watch him, her face never betraying her character. "It is probably like that," Ren continued before looking at her and gripped by his talent, Kyoko opened her eyes amazed. Her heart beat heavily in her chest. He had told her not to fall for him and she might be failing at that already.
Ren ran his thumb over his lips which cause for Kyoko to stare at him. She had to concentrate on the scene but really she was concentrating on the man opposite her and trying hard not to fall for him. The relationships between fairies and humans were forbidden, she had to remember that. "Haven't you been there?" Ren asked her and Kyoko opened her mouth just watching him.
She froze as she realized that she had a line to deliver. The emotions of the line, if she remembered correctly, were lonely and calm and she had been a bit forceful because she wished to be noticed. Maybe she could turn it around for herself just a little. She continued to try to figure her line but he continued and she realized that he hadn't finished.
"Not at all?" he asked her, "It is hard to come by, getting to live of this piece of land. Is there some kind of reason?" he asked. He gently placed the tea cup down and stared at the ground a moment longer before looking up at her. His expression almost dared her to answer as if he were a bandit and she were the robber who was chasing after him. Kyoko continued to stare at him stunned. This look must be how he felt trying to flee the palace guards in fairyland. He must have been pretty arrogant, maybe she was too blinded by his generosity to notice his arrogance. Well, it wasn't his fault, he was a prince after all. He was royalty.
Kyoko felt that she couldn't really help but to gasp as she saw this. He had such power in his expression and she wondered if she had ever faced him like this. He was using his own emotions in his character and being separated from his homeland like this, it must be hard to create these moments. She looked at him in wonder, almost forgetting that she was supposed to be acting. It was just such a shock to see that kind of look from him. Hopefully this wouldn't affect her performance in the end.
As she continued to see his look she wondered if he really was challenging her and her mind scrambled, why would Corn be challenging her? Why would he feel the need to challenge a human? He was the prince of the fairies and even if he was in a human body, Kyoko couldn't out perform a fairy prince. Kyoko felt her sweat run down her cheek. How was she supposed to answer a fairy challenge. She saw a glint in Ren's eyes and her breath stopped again in her chest.
Kyoko had to put herself together again. She coughed, "Since I was young, I have been warned not to get close to that cape," she said as she tried to withdraw into herself so that she could deliver the lines to the best of her ability. She felt that he had caught her and she was trying her hardest to resist him. He had told her not to fall in love with him and she couldn't fall in love with him. No, that wouldn't be fair to either of them.
"Ahh," his character responded before looking into the distance a little mournfully and Kyoko wanted to see what he had reacted to. His face looked curious but also pained. Were these Corn's inner feelings? He was pained because he was away from his royal family and living the life of a human? She couldn't blame him, the human world probably wasn't as great as the fairy realm.
"Rings of the bell," Ren said and Kyoko gasped. He could hear something? Maybe the fairy court, the royal family wouldn't come and appear in front of everyone would they? No, it would be far too dangerous for something like that to happen. Kyoko tried to listen, if they were coming then she wanted to know of their arrival.
Ren continued to speak, "Are you afraid of being enticed by the bell rings, aren't you?" he asked her and Kyoko's eyes widened. So it hadn't been the fairy family here on earth, they were still acting the scene and Kyoko had forgotten that for a moment. The cup that she was holding fell from her hands but she continued to stare at him. He had been able to pull her along with his acting, everything that she had said and done had been in reaction to Corn. He was so talented and she was glad she got to see it up close.
Kyoko tried hard to fight against the pain in her ankle as it returned. She tried to force herself to think of when she had pain in the past but there were guests at the ryokan and she had tried to give a good impression to the other people, trying to bring them the same joy that she got from Shotaro. She wanted to prove to Corn that she took him seriously and that she took his sacrifice seriously.
She had to endure the pain until the guest had left from the set. Just a little bit more. She noticed that Ren had stood up and walked to the other side of the staged area just looking into the distance.
Ren sighed, "Looking at the way you are now. Do you already know reasons surrounding the sea cape?" he asked as he tried to show the withdrawn character reaction. He tried to continue with his acting before turning around and his eyes showed his shock at seeing the way that Kyoko was. She was incredibly pale and it seemed that she was suffering. He shouldn't have pushed her too far knowing how stubborn she was.
Seiji ran towards the scene telling them to stop but Kyoko wasn't moving. Seiji climbed onto the stage, facing Kyoko who seemed to be completely out of it. "We can stop here! Please, stop acting!"
Ren felt his heart weaken as he stared at her. It was as if she were completely paralyzed and he had never felt this level of fear whilst in Japan. Of course, when he was in the area of his birth, he had had something worse happen than this because at least Kyoko was alive but somehow it felt like he imagined a husband would feel losing their wife. No. That was stupid. Friends. They were just friends.
"Kyoko, it's already over, did you hear me?" Seiji asked and Ren wanted to grab her and hold her to him. He wanted to connect with her but she seemed at a complete disconnect with the world around her.
Kyoko felt that she was falling into the darkness and she whispered the only words she could hold tight to. "No, not yet, it's not over yet," she told them and Seiji looked at her not knowing what to do. He hadn't seen an actress lose it like this for a very long time and especially not someone who this was their first time acting.
"I can understand your feeling," Seiji stressed, "but the current condition of your body is not good."
Kyoko had the words register in her head but she still was caught up in the messiness of her own past. He didn't understand. They couldn't understand how it felt to be like this, to need to keep the customer happy.
"No," she whispered although her face was covered with sweat, "I…until the end, I absolutely will not leave this spot."
Ren stood facing her. He wanted to yell at her to think more about herself and that the scene was over and more than anything he wanted her to be okay. He wanted her to be less pale and more aware of where her limitations were. He wanted to tell her that he cared about her health and safety. He wasn't sure if any of those words would even make a difference at this point.
"Kyoko-chan," Seiji said uncomfortably, "You have already done your best," he tried to reason with her but Kyoko continued to stare at Ren.
"The guest is still…is still here," she said and Ren blinked at her. Was this because he was here? He didn't understand. She didn't need to prove anything to him, he had already recognized her and he hoped that she didn't think he was angry at her because he wasn't. Kyoko grew even paler as if she were becoming more and more possessed. "Before the guest leaves his seat, I absolutely cannot leave," she told them and Seiji tried to think of what to do. Had she actually lost herself in the scene.
As Seiji ordered Ren to get off the set, he quickly did so although he felt like a little boy as he watched her. Just as he had wanted to do when he was a ten-year-old, he wanted to help her, he wanted to protect her from the sadness and he couldn't believe that it was because of him that she was suffering. As he looked at her, he saw a little awareness on her face but he just wanted to hold her close to him.
Seiji returned to Kyoko, "Kyoko-chan," he said slowly, "There's no one here."
Kyoko's eyes flashed her recognition of the fact and she allowed herself to faint, collapsing onto the stage. It was over. The guest had gone and now she could rest. She didn't have time to see the crushing blow on Ren's face or the concern and agony he was going through as she fainted. Yashiro looked at him, Ren looked so guilty as if he had caused for this to happen and that he couldn't protect her.
That was the look of a man in love but Yashiro didn't know how quickly this love would be interrupted once Kyoko learned that Corn wasn't a fairy prince in the slightest.
End of Act 23
Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated
Thank you to reviewers of Act 22
EmmaLasagna, Guest, Kaname671, Kay, Kris XD, misherukuro
Also, special note mainly for me. I've nearly reached one of my goals. I'm about 2,000 words away from hitting 2M words posted on this account