AN: I added my own scene onto this part 😊 Hope you like the addition
Act 26 – At a Better Time
Ren made his way over to where Kyoko was sitting with the director and he saw her frown at him in disapproval. Did she know about the lies? He was expecting a bigger reaction from her but if this was her way of telling him that it was okay, he'd take it. No matter how long she frowned at him in disapproval, it was much better than losing her companionship.
As they looked at one another, the director pulled Ren away to the side and whispered to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Could I ask something of you?" he requested and Ren nodded. "I'm worried about certain people at the hotel, do you think you could take Kyoko-chan back to her room."
Ren took a nervous breath before nodding, at least this was an excuse to spend time with her. He didn't know what people were being discussed but he did want to spend some time with her.
…..
…..
As they were walking down the hallway, Kyoko turned to Yashiro with a smile, her eyes sparkling and Ren tried to look away so that he wouldn't fall into the trap of having feelings for her. He wasn't allowed important people after what had happened in the past, what he had caused to have happened.
"I feel bad," Kyoko told Yashiro, "I have to impose on you to go out of your way to escort me back to my room. Thank you very much. Yashiro-san is so nice," she said with a grin and Ren looked at her for a moment. Was she reacting this way because he had been lying to her? Was saying that he was only wanting to protect her going to do more harm than good in this particular situation?
"Erm," Yashiro said as he looked at Ren who seemed to be searching the hallway for something, "Not really, I'm just in charge of accompanying Ren." Yashiro tilted his head to the side and Kyoko paused. She was trying to act as if there were some kind of distance between herself and Ren so she didn't bring down his career but Yashiro knew the truth. She wondered if this was necessary but there were other people watching and Ren didn't seem to be speaking to her.
Had something happened that day which had caused their relationship to sour? He couldn't picture Ren being cruel or unkind to her but there did seem to be a weird tension. Yashiro paused, he wanted to change the subject so it felt less awkward being there.
"Er, well…oh, yeah, Kyoko-chan, at what age did you start learning the art of the tea ceremony?" he asked and the aura around Kyoko turned a little darker and she began grumbling to herself. Yashiro wasn't sure of what she was saying but there seemed a little more darkness in the area.
Little did he know that Kyoko was reflecting on her past with the Fuwa family. She was thinking about all of the training that she had received from Sho's parents. Since she was twelve-years-old she had been taught how to do many of the tasks that Shotaro's mother had. She froze. As she had been taught these things, she had been told about how these things would help her in the future. That meant that she was being prepped to be Shotaro's wife. She hadn't been in charge of her relationship at all, it had all been controlled by the Fuwas.
As Kyoko fell to the ground feeling like the earth would swallow her whole she didn't manager to hear the sounds around her. Ren however seemed to know what to do and he walked towards her. The past was haunting to her and he knew what it felt like when you wanted to rid yourself of your own history, shed it off as if a dead piece of skin. Kyoko continued to shiver as Ren came towards her and sank down so they were more at level.
"Are you all right?" he asked her, the concern and affection for her not hidden in his voice. He hated to see her brought back to painful memories and even if she would begin to hate him, he still wanted for her to be okay. He would always prioritize that when it came to her.
Kyoko continued to think back to all the things that she had achieved so far in her acting life and as short as it had been, everything she had used had come from her wanting to impress the Fuwas. That was a part of her life that she didn't want to repeat and that meant that she wasn't going to indulge in her feelings for Corn. She wasn't going to let Corn be her focus, she needed to work independently and not rely on anybody else otherwise all she would become is a human being with an empty shell.
Kyoko heard footsteps beside her but she wasn't able to acknowledge them due to the flood of self-doubt and doubt in her own abilities even as a human. She heard Ren shift focus though.
Ren glared at a man who approached them. He had his face hidden and was wearing a long coat, hat, sunglasses, and ordinary pants and shoes. He definitely was trying to become part of the background and Ren felt his protective instincts take charge. He looked at the man and his eyes became dark.
"I have a question to ask of her," he said and Ren felt his own dark aura surrounding the area. He wanted to protect his friend. She had always beheld him as an inspiration, a comfort, he didn't want to let anyone hurt her.
"We're currently," Ren said as his face became firm, his mouth turning into a straight line and his eyes challenging the other man with a burning fire in them, "busy."
The man turned away nervously. Ren's look was enough to scare anybody and Kyoko felt his protectiveness over her. He was loyal to his friends, right? That was all it was. Only two people knew that he was actually a fairy and this was his deep secret, to somebody who guarded his secret, he was going to be kind and affectionate. Ren reached forward a hand to her and Kyoko looked at him with a soft smile.
"Your leg is still hurting?" he asked her and Kyoko felt her heart beat at the way he spoke. He was so gentle. So giving. "Are you able to stand?" he continued and Kyoko nodded and let Ren help her up. She wanted to work hard so that she could be as good an actor as Corn was. Her taste buds had just been dampened and she wanted to be as happy as Corn seemed in his role as Ren Tsuruga. Plus, if she continued to act then she could work with him in the future.
Corn had developed his own skills and had cleared a road ahead of him that he could use to walk down in the future. Maybe finding her own passion could help her to do that. She wanted a happy life and more than anything she wanted to be herself.
As Ren brought her back to the makeup room where they were waiting to help bring her from Choko-san to Kyoko-chan, he stopped at the doorway and put a hand on her shoulder. He took a deep breath in and then looked down. "Mogami-san?" he asked and Kyoko looked up at him, holding her breath a little. "Could we talk tonight, I'd like to…we can get some dinner as friends," he said uneasily as he rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't really want to tell her the truth but it would be wrong not to.
Kyoko nodded and Ren gave her his room number before he and Yashiro said goodnight to her.
Kyoko watched his back as he left. She wondered what that was about and she hoped that he hadn't just asked her out on a date. Being a fairy prince, Corn didn't really know anything about human relationships. Kyoko was trying to figure out the meaning behind his words before one sentence broke into her mind.
"Kyoko-chan, come and remove your makeup."
…..
…..
Ren tried to stop pacing as he thought of various lines that might work when he told Kyoko the truth about him actually being an American and not a fairy. Well, he was an American but only half American with some Russian and Japanese thrown in and as unique as that was, he was not a fairy prince. He took a deep breath as he sat down at the side of his bed.
He pushed a hand through his hair and then heard a knock on the door. He stood to answer it and saw Kyoko there, still relying on her crutches. He quickly held the door open for her, a troubled expression on his face.
"Take a seat," he gestured to the chairs. Kyoko walked over slowly and sat down.
"Corn," she grinned as he closed the door behind her, "You might not know this but it's not really seen as polite for a man to ask a woman to his room in the middle of the night. It's not respectable in Japanese society but because you're a fairy, I won't comment on it too much," she said and Ren looked at her.
"What if I wasn't a fairy?" he asked as he pulled out a seat opposite her, "What if I was human?"
"Well, I know that you're human now," Kyoko continued to smile as Ren looked around. Should he offer her a cold beverage, cup of water, iced tea? "But you have a fairy upbringing so you are given a little bit more leniency than if you had a human upbringing."
Ren laughed nervously, "And what if I told you that I did have a human upbringing?"
"I think that you should know better on the rules of social engagements," she smiled as if this was a hypothetical situation. Ren opened his mouth to argue with her but what she said next made him pause. "You know, as strange as today was, I think it was a really really good day for me."
Ren stopped as he looked at her. His eyes widened for a moment before he looked down. If this was a good day for her then the last thing he wanted to do was ruin it and telling her the truth right now would probably lead her to a lot of heartache. He watched her sadly before smiling.
"I'm glad," he said as he abandoned the idea of telling her the truth that night. "I'm happy that you were able to enjoy acting even if it meant that you did get hurt. Do you think that you'd want to continue acting?" he asked her, "there are some courses at LME at the training center."
"I think so," Kyoko grinned, "A chance to make a new me, just like you did."
Ren nodded before going to make them some tea. He didn't want to argue with her and spoil this day for her. He would tell her soon but obviously right now it wasn't the right time. He took a deep breath in before looking at the kettle as he heated the water. He'd just have to pick a better moment to tell her.
…
…..
The next morning Kyoko approached the director as he was having his breakfast. She felt refreshed by the conversation that she had had with Corn in his hotel room and relieved that nobody knew that the two of them were there together. Now it was her turn to head back to Tokyo. She saw Seiji's surprised expression and she tried to smile professionally.
"Really, you're heading back today?" he asked her and Kyoko kept a professional expression on her face.
"Yeah, Ruriko-chan has also given me a stamp," she announced and Seiji nodded slowly. Kyoko had more to do for her job at Daruma-ya and she didn't want to leave them shorthanded when they were paying her and had given her a job. "Thank you for all the care and concern I've received from everyone," she told him and Seiji paused.
"Don't say this," he laughed, "We should be the ones thanking you." Kyoko looked at him puzzled and Seiji laughed, "Ah, nothing at all," he told her attempting to brush it off. Kyoko smiled at him confused before giving a half bow, relying on the crutch to keep her balance.
"Then I'll take my leave now," she said before smiling. As she walked down the hallway, she saw Ren and Yashiro approaching her and smiled. She looked at Ren before blushing slightly, "Thank you for last night," she said. Yashiro nodded believing that it was because he and Ren had taken her home.
"It's nothing," Yashiro told her and Ren looked at her concerned.
"Oh yeah, is your leg better?" he asked and Kyoko blinked confused.
Yashiro stared at her before tilting his head to the side, "Ah, while sending you back to your room, you suddenly knelt down on the ground and was unable to move. I was thinking that you couldn't tolerate the pain any longer. Ren and I were really worried," he explained and Kyoko shook her head before laughing.
"Both of you were mistaken," she told him, "That was because of the tea ceremony which reminded me of a man whom I hate to the core," she told them before seeing Ren's frown. He really didn't like when she brought up Shotaro and she really hadn't meant to bring about bad feelings between the two of them. She looked at him apologetically. Hopefully someday she would forget him, at least Corn was starting to make that easier for her as well.
"So," Ren asked leaning forwards, "You worked so hard for your little revenge?"
Kyoko nodded and saw a gentleman's smile appear on Corn's face. Maybe she shouldn't have told him that, it was definitely not the whole truth but she wasn't ready to tell him that she wanted to impress him.
End of Act 26
Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated
Thank you to the reviewers of Act 25
Kaname671, KrisXD, misherukuro, paulagato, The Real Jackie-O, TracesofFreedom,
Author Response
I'm glad that you guys like and support this story so much. As for when certain events occur, I'm basing it on the manga so there will be a while between the total forgiveness for the lie and the lie reveal. Also, he will tell her his proper name but it's going to come to a particular point so everything is kind of based around the manga.