AN: With the publish of this chapter, I've reached 2.5M words on my account. Yay 😊
Act 59 – Schoolgirl
Kuon didn't really understand why he was taking so much care cleaning the home and preparing it for Kyoko to come over and cook for him. She had only been here three days ago, she knew what the apartment looked like. What was she going to do? Demote him for having crumbs on the counter? Tell him that she hated him for having soap residue in the sink? Okay, maybe he would demote himself for those things but Kyoko knew what the environment looked like.
He had asked her if there were any ingredients that she wanted. She had said that she would want to go shopping with him, for him, and he had insisted that they could go shopping but he would pay for the ingredients. He put some flowers in a vase and prepared some tea so that he could offer Kyoko some. He had also bought a present for Kyoko – not something too extravagant – that was wrapped and sitting against the wall.
Yashiro was right. People usually only did these types of things for people that they loved. He cared about Kyoko and their friendship very much but he wasn't in love with her for real. He was just reacting to emotions that he had tried to push away for a very long time.
As he heard his cell phone, he went to grab it and saw that it was Kyoko's number. He didn't understand the smile that reflected on his face as he studied the number, she had called him in the past. Those feelings that he had buried far beneath the surface were coming out and he was misreading them, misdirecting them.
"Hi," Kuon said as he picked the phone up, "Tsuruga Ren speaking."
"Tsuruga-san," Kyoko said in a flustered state and Kuon smiled as he heard her. He kept thinking about how cute she sounded as she tried to speak to him. Somehow her innocence made her even more attractive but was that wrong when it came from a man so much older than her. "I'm here. Did you want me to come up?"
"I'll meet you outside," Kuon said as he grabbed his card key, wallet, jacket, and shoes and went downstairs. The tea might be a little cold when they returned but he could make her some more. He went down the steps before his eyes widened in surprise and he smiled with a chuckle as he saw her. Kyoko was standing in a very formal position, as per usual, but the difference was that she was wearing her school uniform. She really did look adorable in it.
"I like it, Mogami-san," Ren said as he got into character and Kyoko nodded.
"I like it too," she announced. "I feel that I want to earn this uniform. I know that a lot of my classmates have acting and singing assignments and that's not me yet," she said as she rubbed her upper back with a weak laugh, "but I'll do my best."
"I'm sure that with your talents you'll land jobs quite easily," Ren told her and Kyoko turned a deep red. She bowed her head, shaking her head as she became even more flustered.
"No, don't say that, there are lots of talented actors out there and I'm only beginning, I can't get a leading role or an important role just yet," she said quickly before looking up at Ren and saw that glorious smile on his face that made her heart stop in her chest.
"I believe in you. Remember that it's important to stand out and set yourself apart from everyone else," he winked before gesturing to the area where the convenience store was. "It's over here if you want to follow me," he said and Kyoko quickly followed him.
As they entered the supermarket, Ren grabbed a basket and Kyoko looked around. There were so many high priced items here. This wasn't the usual type of store that she would even gain entrance to without Ren. People still kept glancing at Ren but she could tell from the designer clothes and also from magazines that she had seen that these were people of Ren's class level. She was a little conspicuous here.
"So," Ren smiled, "What did you want to make?"
"How about sukiyaki," Kyoko said before trying to think if Ren had all the cooking equipment for that. Ren nodded and Kyoko looked around for the ingredients. She would make extra and when she made extra she could put them in the fridge for him to eat later. At least he would have some proper food to heat up.
"That sounds delicious," Ren told her and Kyoko went to look at the beef. She saw Ren pick up the more expensive one and her eyes widened. Did he know how to cook? Well, maybe since he didn't really pay attention to what he ate, he didn't really know how but it seemed like the rich jerk thing to do to expect the more expensive to be better.
"Here," Kyoko said as she took it out of his hands. "This one might be better," she said as she picked up another packet. "This is cheaper but it's a more well known brand," she told him and Ren blinked. Even though the second packet was a similar price, Ren felt that Kyoko knew more about food than he did and was willing to trust her.
"Now," Kyoko said as she put the meat in his basket, "Let's think about the different vegetables, which way is that?" she asked as she turned to scan the store hoping to locate them.
Ren laughed and led her in the direction where they were, "I would say that they are over here," he said and Kyoko saw them, she picked up some produce bags and carefully selected which ones they could use. He chuckled as he studied her picking up the different food items, turning them over in her hands to inspect them and then putting them into the basket with a wide grin.
"What?" Kyoko asked as she heard his laughter and Ren shook his head, the smile still plastered on his face. "Seriously," she said as she raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"
"I really enjoy spending time with you like this," he told her and Kyoko's eyes widened before she looked down and nodded.
"Me too," she said and Ren walked over to her. He studied her. Who could ever say that this beautiful and unique girl was ever plain and boring when in his eyes, she was anything but that.
…
…
After the meal was finished and they had both felt like they had eaten enough, Kyoko jumped up. She was ready to put it in the boxes to store in the fridge. However, Kuon stood and looked at her with a meaningful expression in his eyes.
"Could you sit for a moment?" he asked and Kyoko slowly sat down.
"I don't mind doing the dishes," she said quickly, "I mean, I said that I would cook for you. I want to be able to clean the dishes as well. I don't want to cause you to have extra work just because I wanted to eat here rather than -"
"It's not about the dishes, we can do those together," Kuon commented and Kyoko looked at him. Kuon stood up and went to the side of the room where the wrapped box was positioned. He picked it up and then returned to Kyoko's side. "I know that it's not much but this is to say congratulations on passing your test."
Kyoko's eyes widened and she turned a little pale. "No, you didn't have to give me a gift. It's okay," she said and Kuon handed it to her. Kyoko held it in her hands before leaning forwards in a deep and respectful bow. "Thank you so much for this. May I open it now?"
"I'd be honored if you would," Kuon told her and Kyoko opened the box to see a school bag in there with a princess charm on it. Though it looked nearly identical to what the rest of the student body would be using, there were different fairytale pictures that you could see but only if it was in the exact right light. The administration wouldn't see this unless they inspected it carefully.
"Thank you," Kyoko said happily as she hugged the school bag close to her. It was such a personal gift and one that truly could only come from Corn. She had tears in her eyes and she put the bag down but only so she could hug him. Her arms wrapped around him. "Thank you, Corn," she said.
Kuon smiled. He didn't know why this girl's smile made him feel the way that he did but he truly felt that he could now conquer the world. Nobody had ever made him feel like that before. That was Kyoko's own special magic.
…
…..
Every morning when it came time to school, Kyoko would look at the bag and think of him. He would be returning from his international shoot pretty soon and at that time she would ask him for her stamp for being his manager. Still, he had been the one to use his magic once again even if he wasn't fully aware of it. He had a special type of magic, Corn's magic, but he had become so pained that he didn't seem to believe in it anymore.
He had been the one who had led to her getting the full marks though. He had been the one to inspire her to live for herself and follow her own path. He had destroyed the armor that she had protected himself with. Even if he had just said it off hand, her mood was lightened by the idea that she could just be the best Kyoko that she could be. He had given that to her.
Kyoko got dressed into her school uniform in front of the mirror, she made sure that her ribbon was straight and that her clothes had been pressed well, she smoothed down her shirt before turning and admiring herself in the mirror. She loved the way that as she turned she could feel the breeze from her skirt.
She was now able to enjoy life and not only her life with LME and with Daruma-ya but she was able to live life as a regular high school student. It was something she had always dreamed about. As she went down the stairs, she found Okami-san and Taisho in the kitchen and bowed to them.
"Taisho, Okami-san, I'm going to school now," she told them energetically.
Okami-san turned to her with a smile, "Okay. Go On and Be Careful," she said as she treated Kyoko as if she were her own daughter. Kyoko nodded eagerly, she was happy to have their support. As Kyoko left the restaurant she went towards her bike and cycled to school. She was happy about the life that she was living, it was a life that she was always meant to live.
What she had trouble with were the facts that she couldn't make friends since everyone else was famous and had their own groups. No. She had Moko-chan, she didn't need to be surrounded by her own friends and she didn't need to relive the past. If these people found out her friendship with Ren then the isolation would begin all over again. They didn't need to know about that.
End of Act 59
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Thank you to the reviewers of Act 58
Erza, Kaname671, Kris XD