Act 94 – If Tsuruga-san can't do it

Kyoko had truly considered asking Ren if she could borrow the videos of Tsukigomori that his father had appeared in but she had decided against it. She wanted to test herself by trying out new roles but she wanted to prove to him that she could do it. She didn't want him to be disappointed in her before she could even make an attempt to prove herself. However, when she had decided to try to play Mio, she had gone to Sawara-san and asked to borrow the book.

He had been happy because she had been so enthusiastic about it and he said that he was impressed at her for wanting to read into the depths of the work in an attempt to create the character she had been requested to play. She knew that there were most likely many actresses who wanted to play the role but since she had been given the opportunity, she wanted to do her best to make everyone proud.

Most of all she wanted Ren to be proud.

That might be the reason she hadn't told him yet. He knew that she was completely inexperienced and the connection between himself, his father, and this work also seemed very very important. Kyoko grinned as she looked at the cover of the book. If she worked really hard then maybe she could be there to support Ren whilst he tackled this. She also hadn't expected for them to retrieve the work so quickly but that's what a top entertainment agency would do, always be prepared.

Kyoko grinned happily as she looked over it, remarking out loud with a playful grin, "Well, I can't wait until the script is done." She kept reading as she walked along, flicking through the pages. "Hmm, if I'm not wrong they said my role was the little sister of the woman who's disturbing the two main roles. I know she's a young later from a good family. I wonder what her name is and what she does."

Kyoko thought all of this aloud as she flicked through the pages hoping to find the introduction of her character. She looked through the book again before she heard a sobbing coming from nearby. It sounded like the crying of a frail woman. She was sobbing about something and Kyoko couldn't help but to conjure up and image of a woman wearing a white kimono. Maybe there was a ghost who was haunting LME or maybe it was something different, a fairy come to life maybe.

She looked to where the noise was coming from and saw a frail man in a suit, he still seemed fairly young but he was crying in a way that made Kyoko think of his possible fragility. Who was this man?

The man's hair wasn't exactly long but the way that it seemed to fall made it seem longer and more elegant than it was. He had a small frame that seemed to fit perfectly into the suit that he was wearing. His skin was almost transparent with the paleness of it. He appeared to be coming from some Gothic romance. One of those British Gothic novels perhaps, the ghost from some garden. He really did look like a ghost or as if even exposure to harsh light would make it so he would fade away. Kyoko slowly looked around feeling like she was the only person there. If she was then didn't that mean that the idea of him being a ghost was even more likely?

As Kyoko fell deeper and deeper into her own thoughts, she heard the familiar voice of Ren's manager and paused as she watched him approach the man. So, he wasn't a ghost, other people could see and interact with him.

"Director Ogata," Yashiro said as he stepped forward handing a drink to the young man, "Please have a drink and calm yourself," he offered.

The man, the director looked up, his face still showing a sense of innocence but also of tragedy. He had tears in his eyes, something that many men would feel ashamed to show. He took deep breaths in, "Ah, thank you," he smiled with relief.

Kyoko sighed, so he was a real person. He was just a very rare type of person with his white-colored and neat suit and his fragile appearance, he was one of the men that seemed to come from classical literature. In fact, the way he was almost bestowed the title of princess upon him. Kyoko paused and shook her head quickly. It was rude to say that about a man. She didn't want to be rude, maybe it was better to lea-

"It's okay, director," Yashiro said as he tried to comfort the director, "Ren himself is saying that he accepted this job, so…"

Kyoko paused as she heard Ren's name and stopped. She had been intending to walk away so that she didn't become an eavesdropped but this seemed something to seriously concern Ren and she wanted to support him. Corn mattered a lot to her and she wanted to help him however she could especially since he would tend to prioritize her own concerns above his work. He had pretended to be a fairy because she had wanted for him to be a fairy.

"No matter how much Tsuruga-kun wants to participate, if President Takarada opposes it then…"

Kyoko blinked hard. There was something that was blocking Ren's path to his dreams and it just so happened to be the president? For what reason would the president have to not permit Ren the chance to follow his dreams. It didn't make any sense to Kyoko.

"I'm also shocked, you know," Yashiro commented as the two talked in a very calm way but Kyoko could hear the pounding of her heart from inside her chest. She wanted to protect Corn's dreams and sacrifices. "He didn't say anything and I've already put the drama work into his schedule." Kyoko thought of how much Ren had been haunted by the success of his father and how she had her mother's disappointment be a source of her disliking herself. If she had the chance to prove to her mother how strong she was and that was taken away then Kyoko would feel pain in that as well.

"What's the reason for the president's opposition?" Yashiro asked and the director sighed, he cast his eyes downward as if he had lost hope in what was going on around them.

"He said, I won't lend out Ren for your drama, he didn't exactly say the reason," the director commented. The director sighed in a very pained manner, "If Tsuruga-kun cannot take part it will be impossible," he stated.

All of this was too much for Kyoko, she wanted more than anything to protect the dreams that Ren was fighting so hard for. She walked over to them, putting her bag on the floor and kneeling in front of them, doing it without hesitating. She would usually have been asking to join the conversation but this involved Ren and she wanted to make sure that his sacrifices were worth it.

"I'll be unable to make a Tsugigomori which is better than twenty years ago," the director commented but as he looked up, he was completely shocked to see Kyoko staring back at him. Kyoko looked down, the book in front of her and her bag at her side as Yashiro stared at her as well. She looked ahead of her again and then up at both men who were staring at her in complete confusion.

"Uh…" Yashiro said awkwardly and Kyoko knew she had a determined look on her face which might make her seem cold or like a brat but she wanted to be able to help Ren and becoming a part of this conversation seemed like a good place to start. "Kyoko-chan? What's up?" he asked with a weak laugh showing his discomfort.

Kyoko took a deep breath before replying, "I'm sorry. I was about to go away because you were talking about a serious matter but I'm really curious and I thought it's no good if I'm eavesdropping until the end so I'm asking you to let me hear you talk openly, so I'll sit here."

Yashiro stared at her again. He had been told that Kyoko and Ren were not going to be disclosing the fact that they were friends because Kyoko was trying to get started as an actress, he couldn't use that to explain the behavior to the director. Kyoko knew that's what he was thinking and she tried to plead with her eyes that he didn't give away that important piece of information. She was interested in the drama, that's why she was there, that's what she was going to explain it as. She was a fellow actor who had been asked to perform in the same drama.

"Besides," Kyoko said with her hands together and resting on her knees, "It' not that I'm completely uninvolved in the talk at all," she said with a certain level of boldness that the former version of her would have never guessed for her to have had when addressing a director.

Yashiro looked at her and then at the book on the ground next to her. Kyoko knew he wanted to know why she was carrying that around, if she hadn't said anything then he probably would have believed that she was doing it for Ren. Well, she definitely would have read it of Corn if he asked that she do it for him but that was different than any kind of love.

"Kyoko-san?" the director suddenly asked as he sat up straight and looked at her seeming shocked about who he was addressing. Kyoko couldn't blame him, she would be shocked too by looking at her but he had met new actresses before, right? Would he tell her that she didn't look glamorous enough and then throw her out before they even began reading their lines?

No. She had to try to help Ren. This was something that she could do for Corn and she wanted to help him fulfill his dreams. She really hoped that this could be a way of doing just that.

End of Act 94

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Kaname671, luv2readgirl, SpiritedRanger