Act 63 – A Sho Fuwa Job Offer

Kyoko stood in front of Sawara-san with her fists by her side and a cold look on her face. Around her the air had turned icy and sharp and her aura seemed to have settled on a heavy black. She felt the negative emotions through her blood but her focus was on the words that Sawara-san had just said.

"Huh?" she asked in surprise, looking a little like a demon, "Sorry. I'm not sure if I heard you correctly. Could you please repeat it again?" she asked her eyes focusing in on him as if she were a hawk with her prey right beneath her. The words that Sawara-san had said. They didn't seem to be true but she was hoping that they were. She was hoping she could play a vengeful part.

"Uh, umm" Sawara mumbled, "What I'm trying to say is someone specifically came to find you and Kotonami-san," he tried to explain, shocked that this was the type of reaction that Kyoko had to the news. He had expected something very different from her.

"Since they saw your commercial, they wanted to try to use you two. It's for their music production," Sawara continued and the words dug into Kyoko's heart.

They were trying to use her. They were trying to use her in the same way that Shotaro had before he cruelly tossed her away with no more respect than if he was throwing away a piece of trash. She wasn't an item that they could use for their enjoyment. She wasn't just some lowly belonging that didn't have human feelings and emotions. She growled again and her eyes went into Sawara's, "Could you please reject it for me?" she asked.

Sawara paused, he was shocked by the way that she was acting. He had expected her to be overjoyed by this and spinning down the hallways and feeling proud that they had chosen her. They could have easily gone with somebody else and yet they had chosen her and she had requested that it be turned down. "Why?" Sawara asked with confusion, "Do you know that's Sho Fuwa's PV. You can see Sho Fuwa in person, aren't you his fan?" he asked trying to get the reaction he thought that she would have, the reaction that she definitely wasn't giving him.

"And," Sawara continued as Kyoko felt the world trying to drag her into hell, "You get the chance to act alongside with the extremely popular, Sho, in his PV. It will definitely help your popularity," he said and Kyoko's eyes held a darkness behind them. Was she ready to sacrifice her own pride in order to get the chance to act more. She had wanted to become an actress and that was what she had told Kuon but this was an unfair trade for fame.

"This is what I don't want to do the most," she said as her demons seemed to get loose and even some glass windows got shattered as she felt the anger and hate burn through her. What had he been suggesting? How could she allow Shotaro to use her as a prop. That was the most insulting thing she had heard for quite some time.

…..

…..

Kyoko yelled as she slammed her locker closed after changing into the summer version of the LME uniform. "He must be joking!" she screamed, glad that nobody else was in the room. "Why do I have to act in that bastard's PV!? I don't want to!" she said as she felt that any good acting she did would only benefit the man she wanted her revenge on. "Even if I really want to become famous, I don't want to be helped by that bastard and I…"Kyoko sighed as she stopped short of finishing that sentence, she looked down trying to take slow breaths.

She wanted to rise to the same position that he was in show business before she interacted with him again so that she could prove herself. Without doing that, even standing before him was going to be difficult. She had only just shot a commercial which was like sticking a toe into a swimming pool. She was going to get into the pool immediately but it was still going to be a long journey. She still had a long distance to go.

As Kyoko heard a click from the door, she turned over to see a stunned Kanae standing there. Kanae appeared to be thinking about something very important and Kyoko had a suspicion that it wasn't just about the music video. Kanae hadn't acted this way about the commercial but then again, she was trying to beat Erika. Maybe she had just hidden her emotions in those moments.

"Moko-san, good morning," she said and Kanae paused. Even when Kanae was angry, Kyoko would greet her in the same way, but Kanae didn't seem angry right now and Kyoko couldn't put her finger on what emotions Kanae had. She seemed distant as if she had stepped into another reality.

"Moko-san," Kyoko continued as she saw Kanae cross the room and sit down at the table, her feet seeming to want to move her to somewhere she could absorb some new information. "Did they tell you about the PV thing?" Kyoko asked curiously, "You know Sho Fuwa's PV. Moko-san what do you plan on doing? You're not thinking about agreeing, are you?"

None of these questions were answered and instead Kanae just stared in front of her at the empty and open space. Kyoko hummed, pausing as she realized the distance that Kanae was still creating between the two of them. Kyoko had hoped that they were becoming closer friends.

Kanae still looked blank as she had her hands in her lap and Kyoko became even more worried. She didn't know if something had happened to Kanae who was often so unemotional. Kyoko tilted her head to the side, trying to make contact with Kanae so that at least she could offer her support. "Moko-san? What's wrong?" she asked and Kanae spoke softly.

"Work," she said, not answering Kyoko but talking to herself, Kyoko blinked confused. Was she really talking about the music video? Was she truly this excited about it when Kyoko wasn't? "Got a job," Kanae continued, "a drama."

Kyoko looked at her in shock. Kanae had been offered a part in a drama already? Well, Kyoko knew her talent, she knew how hard Kanae worked but to think that she was already offered such a part. Kyoko felt her cheeks get red as she felt excitement for her friend who had finally had her talents realized.

"Really!?" Kyoko asked, "It is true, Moko-san!? That's amazing! You're walking towards the road of being an actress already!"

Kanae turned to her. Kyoko might be overreacting about this but Kanae still felt that she had a point. It wasn't something that she necessarily agreed with though.

"No," Kanae attempted to correct her before she got carried away, "It's not a big role and it's only a short two-hour drama. I heard that after they saw the Kyurara commercial, they thought I'd fit the role well," Kanae attempted to explain and Kyoko grew even more excited. However, the next words that Kanae told her shocked her.

"The actress that was supposed to play the role was changed to me."

Kyoko stopped short. They had really done that, they really changed the actresses in these things. As much as she supported Moko, that seemed unfair to the original actress. It reminded her of the acting test that she had had against Ruriko. So those things happened with more than Ruriko, they actually happened to others as well. Kyoko skipped a breath before looking at Kanae in worry, "So cruel," she said, "So things like that do happen in showbiz. Wow."

Kanae turned to her, she shook her head seeing the way that Kyoko was concerned about the other actress. Kanae didn't want to be cold and cruel but acting was like a war zone, you ate or were eaten and she wanted to prove her own talent. The other girl might have experienced an unfortunate situation but it made Kanae stronger.

"I heard that the actress who got fired was a newbie," she tried to explain and Kyoko nodded knowing that it wasn't someone like Ruriko who had newspapers and media talking about her as the next big thing. That role would have been much harder to replace especially by Kyoko. "Must be because her agency is not a big company, according to the main office."

Kyoko paused as she felt a sense of calm wash over her. When she had been rejected by LME at the audition stage, she had considered going to another agency but at that time, her desire was to take revenge on Shotaro and not to act. Her motives had definitely changed since that time but if people from smaller companies could get replaced without proper consideration then she was really glad that she hadn't compromised and had become part of LME. LME had huge influence in the acting world and Ren Tsuruga represented that. It also brought her closer to Kuon and that made her very happy.

"I don't think taking away someone else's role is a bad thing," Kanae suddenly commented as Kyoko was brought out of her own thoughts and stared at her friend. Kanae didn't seem to be considering the toughness of the industry on the first actress, instead she seemed to be reacting to her own good fortune. "Because, I really want to act," she said and Kyoko was drawn by her passion and her happiness. It might have been tough on the other girl but this was a chance that Kanae had been waiting for for years.

"I want to be someone who's acting all day. Who only needs acting as a career. That's why I won't be emotional because I use other people as my stepping stones," she said and Kyoko thought about those words. She would usually feel guilty and want to apologize to the other person unless it was someone like Ruriko who – for the briefest of moments – deserved to be replaced by her.

Kyoko thought about Shotaro. He had used her as a stepping stone. He had tried to further his own career in Tokyo by taking advantage of her but maybe this music video was a way for her to use him. She didn't have to be the object if she took control of her own destiny.

"That's why I rejected Sho's PV," Kanae explained, "because that drama is starting to film next week. So I want to concentrate on acting," she told her and Kyoko stood up with a determined expression on her face which had replaced the anger she had had before.

"This job," Kyoko asked, "Do we both have to accept the role?" she asked and Kanae turned to her.

"What do you plan to do?" she asked and Kyoko smiled. She was figuring this all out now but she had a plan that she could use. Oh, she most definitely had a plan that she could take advantage of.

Kyoko wanted to use him and that was made clear as she passionately looked upwards and yelled out, "Accept! No matter what, I have to accept this job!" she exclaimed and Kanae sighed. In Kanae's mind, of course Kyoko would be acting like this. She was the annoying type of fangirl. She would die before not being able to work with him. It was kind of annoying actually.

End of Act 63

Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated

Thank you to the reviewers of Act 62

H-Nala, Kaname671, Kris XD