DARK MOON.
Pacing the floor, Shouko checked her wrist-watch for the third time and groaned aloud. Sho was late again. She had been waiting for him for over fifteen minutes at the reception of their agency. She sank down on a chair as her eyes swept up to the big TV screen on which they were announcing the debut of some TV series in which Ren Tsuruga was starring. She gazed at that screen without any particular interest as the cast team was being interviewed by the press. Her uninterested eyes bulged out from her sockets the moment she spotted a familiar ginger-headed girl sitting beside Ren Tsuruga as a cast member.
She immediately jumped up from her seat. Scurrying closer to the screen to make sure she was not mistaken, she focused on the words of the TV host.
"...We turn now to one of the most highly anticipated television events of the upcoming season, the premiere of Dark Moon. A bold, stylish re-imagining of the twenty-years-old classic Tsukigomori. Dark Moon is being directed by Ogata Hiroaki, and if the name rings a bell, it's not your imagination. Ogata is the son of the Director of the original Tsukigomori, the legendary Date Hiroaki..."
She really is Kyoko, Shouko confirmed once she read her name in bold letters on the screen. This could be a problem. If Sho finds out that she is working with Ren Tsuruga...
"Hey, Shouko."
She almost jumped at the sound of Sho's voice.
"Hey, where are we heading to?" He asked with a yawn.
"Not sure, but we need to hurry!" She dragged him outside before he could even glance at the screen.
The bell rang and the students rushed to their classes from the assembly hall. Mizuki—a 16-year-old girl with straight blonde hair falling softly behind her back, a beautiful face with big, round eyes and pink thin lips, and graceful, delicate features–heard some of her classmates chatting as she followed them to her class.
"You heard the rumour? That new teacher is supposed to be starting today."
"Oh yeah, I heard. The one who got in an accident because of his girlfriend."
"I heard he was hurt protecting her or something."
Mizuki wondered who they were talking about and why didn't she hear anything about it. As she walked up the stairs and turned towards the corridor, a huge gust of wind from the window threw her long blonde hair in her face momentarily blinding her.
When she opened her eyes again, they turned wide with recognition at the sight of a young man standing in front of her. He was the older version of the boy who had saved her life years ago. After all the time she still recognised him because it was not easy to forget those eyes of his. Those deep, dark pools-of-sorrows swept over her body sending shivers down her back, and then ended up fixating on her face as they penetrated her gaze while mirroring the surprise in them and the recognition as well.
Mizuki never saw it coming, to meet him again after all these years in her school as her new teacher. And judging from his reaction, neither did Katsuki.
"Cut! Absolutely perfect!" Ogata beamed. "And that's a wrap for the big reunion scene. Excellent job Ren, Itsumi." He gave a thumbs-up to Ren Tsuruga and Itsumi Momose, the actors who were starring as the main leads in Dark Moon.
On the other side of the school building which was being used as a shooting site for Dark Moon, Kyoko stepped out from the dressing room and rushed out the corridor to greet the rest of the crew. Wearing a casual school uniform, light makeup on her face, and a wig of straight, dark hair with bangs covering her forehead, she might passed for a completely normal high-schooler if not for the hideous scar stretching down from her pale temple to her left ear. The makeup team had really proven themselves by making Kyoko look almost as beautiful as the lead actress before completely ruining it by adding that terrifyingly realistic and ugly scar.
As Kyoko climbed the stairs, she saw a few girls dressed up in the same school uniform as her. They were talking about her behind her back since they hadn't noticed her passing through. They were the extras with minor roles who were playing the classmates in the background. And apparently, they were not too eager about the fact that the girl playing Mio was given a major role despite being as new as them, if not newer.
"Seriously. All the girls they could have picked to play Mio and they had to go with someone so basic."
"She's from LME. They probably called in a bunch of favours to get her the role."
"You know that's how she got that big commercial. Wish I had that kind of relationship with my manager."
All of them chuckled.
Kyoko placed herself in front of those girls and tried to imitate Ren's coldest of glares to the best of her abilities, and then bit out in a dangerously low voice, "you got something you wanna say to me?"
The girls gasped in horror after one look at Kyoko's scar and scurried off with expressions as terrified as if they had seen a ghost. The scar was scary enough as it was, Kyoko's glare only heightened the ominous aura radiating off her.
"Act professional! It's just makeup!" She shouted after them with colour rising to her cheeks. She became overly conscious about her scar.
"Is that you, Kyoko?"
She heard Yashiro's voice from behind and whirled around to face him. Ren, who was also standing beside him, was dressed up like a school teacher in a baggy shirt, trousers and red tie.
"Wow!" Ren exclaimed. "You look fantastic! They did a great job on the scar," he said as he gazed in fascination at the curved, dark-brown, and approximately two-inches-long mark on her temple slanting down to her ear. She was supposed to hide it from her hair but since it wasn't dry yet, she tucked her hair behind her ear leaving it exposed.
"Kudos to the makeup department," Yashiro cheered. "But it's more than that. You completely embody the character."
"You think so?" Kyoko asked uncertainly.
"Absolutely. You really breathed life into her. Mio's dark aura was shining through you when you were glaring at those girls. Completely scary!" Yashiro grinned and gave her a thumbs-up.
Kyoko humphed. After a pause, she continued hesitantly, "honestly... it's been a real trouble trying to get my head around Mio's frame of reference... it's like the deeper I go the more I'm out of my depth. And I realise that I don't know the first thing about building a character like this," she looked at Ren with hope sparkling in the violet contacts on her eyes. "Mio's just sorta beyond me."
"That's surprising," Ren replied with a smirk. "I mean, you were mortified to play her at first, obviously, but lately you come off so dedicated, it almost seems like Mio is your spirit animal or something."
"My what?" Kyoko snapped. "What's that supposed to mean? Mio is nothing like me!" Is she? No! She's the polar opposite of everything I hope to be.
Suddenly her face dissolved into a picture of gloom, as she realized that she needed Mio. As much as she hated it, Mio was her only ticket to rise to the top as soon as possible and to act beside Ren. So she had to accept this job matter how much she disliked playing the bad guy.
"Hey, um..." Ren interrupted her thoughts, his face absolutely serious now.
"Yeah?"
"Let's have a talk."
Yashiro took this opportunity to slip out quietly giving those two some space.
As he stepped down the stairs, he bolted to a stop when he spotted a middle-aged women arguing with the Director. He squinted his eyes before he finally recognised her. She was Hiroko Iizuka, the actress who had played Mio in Tsukigomori twenty years ago.
"I have rights!" Iizuka snapped at the poor Director, her eyebrows creased in an intense frown. "Either you allow me on set as a consultant to supervise Mio's scenes or I go on record denouncing this whole project."
"What?" The usually timid Ogata spat. "You know very well I can't agree to that, Mrs Iizuka!"
"I won't let Mio be made a mockery of," she shouted in a deep, heavy voice with an eloquence that proved she was accustomed to speak and be heard. "That role made my career! I've been synonymous with Mio in the hearts and minds of the audience for two decades. I will insert my creative input. I'm an artist. I won't let some callow-unversed newbie ruin my legacy!" With that, she stormed off.
The crew bustled around the classroom making preparations for the shoot to begin while the cast members including Itsumi Momose–the actress who was playing the lead, Mizuki–Kyoko and some other extras were seated on their respective benches. Ren was also there, but he was on the teacher's desk.
"Action," the Director called and the scene began. The students sat quietly on their desks waiting for their teacher, Katsuki to start the class - all except for Kyoko who was too preoccupied in her thoughts to notice that the scene had already begun. She was pondering on the barrage of advices Ren had pelted at her on how to best play Mio when he said he wanted to talk earlier.
Katsuki started taking the attendance by reading out the names of all the students, who called back when he did, to make their presences known. But when he called out, "Mio Hongo," he got no response. He looked straight at Kyoko.
"Mio Hongo!" Clearing his throat, he called out again a little louder this time.
Kyoko gazed down at her desk, her eyes lost in thoughts.
"Kyoko," Ren said.
That broke her out of her reverie back to the present and jumping up to her feet, she shouted, "present!"
"Cut!" Director Ogata called in his usual timid voice while Iizuka tried to eviscerate him on the spot with the sheer force of her eyes.
The crew erupted into humourous chuckles and Kyoko blushed.
"What was that? Unacceptable!" Iizuka's voice cut through the chuckles like an ice blade as she shifted her glare from Ogata to Kyoko.
She dragged Kyoko out of the class, intending to give her a proper scolding. Ogata and Ren were on their heels following the two outside.
"It's exactly what I was afraid of! Does integrity means so little to your generation?" Iizuka bit out to Kyoko.
"I'm so sorry." Kyoko cried out and bowed.
"I don't want an apology, I want you to do your job! You're turning Mio into a joke!"
"If we could just use our inside voices please-" Ogata tried to speak but he was interrupted by an even louder Iizuka, who barked at him, "your actors would do their jobs if their Director wasn't such a pushover."
Ogata flinched away and took a step back instantly.
"What about your prep-work?" Iizuka squinted her eyes at Kyoko with a glint of pure disdain and conceit.
"I know Mio!" Kyoko blurted out without thinking. Crap! Crap, crap! Why did I say that?
"Oh? Is that a fact?" The corners of Iizuka's mouth slightly twitched up in amusement, as if Kyoko just offered up her resignation on a silver platter. "So let's suppose I were to grill you on Mio's backstory right here and now? If so much as a word rings false young lady, you are forfeiting the part!"
Before Kyoko could respond, Director Ogata interjected, "wait a second. I'm sorry Mrs Iizuka, but that isn't your call."
"Excuse me!" Iizuka shot back. "Do you want this production to be a cheap knock-off or do you want to make art? Your father was a true artist. If any actor dared give less than his absolute best, he was kicked off the set like paparazzi. I take it we are on the same page now, Mr Director?"
Ogata didn't reply.
"Excellent." Izuku looked at Kyoko again. "Your turn, are you ready to put your job on the line?"
Kyoko opened her mouth but no words came out. Too much was happening too fast for any of it to make sense.
Iizuka took her silence as a yes, and shot her first question. "Describe Mio's personality."
"Mrs Iizuka," Ogata tried to intervene again.
But this time he was interrupted by Ren, who held him back. "Shh. Just let her answer." He pressed his index finger to his lips and mumbled to the Director.
"Well," Kyoko began hesitantly. "She is... introverted. Doesn't talk much. Doesn't smile."
"And why is that?" Iizuka demanded.
"Because she feels inferior," Kyoko tucked in her hair revealing her scar in the process. "Compared to her older sister Misao, she is invisible."
"And how did she come by that scar on her face?"
"She was playing by the cliffs." This time there was almost no hesitation in Kyoko's voice. With every right answer, her confidence was boosting. "She fell and landed on a pile of broken glass. At least that's what everyone thinks. In reality, her sister, Misao, was insanely jealous of all the attention Mio got from playing violin. So she pushed her."
"Now," Iizuka put her hands on her hips. "Tell me who does Mio hate?"
"Her older sister mostly," Kyoko replied instantly. "She hates her mom too because nothing was ever good enough. She can't stand her dad as she knows he is a murderer, who killed his young brother and Katsuki's father. She also hates Katsuki and her cousin, Mizuki."
"Why is the reason for her contempt for Katsuki?"
"It's because he and Misao are engaged to be married."
"Fine. And what's her reason for hating Mizuki?"
"That's because Katsuki loves her." Kyoko replied, but as she heard her own words aloud, she realised that her answer was wrong. "No, it's because..." she tried to come up with the right answer but failed. Even when she dug deeper into her thoughts, fiddling in the tiny details of the script she had read a few days ago, their was no answer as to why Mio hated Mizuki.
"We are waiting," Iizuka snapped.
Kyoko still didn't reply.
"You haven't got a clue. It proves that you're not ready for this. I'm sorry young lady but you are no Mio."
Kyoko gasped. Her heart suddenly started feeling as heavy as a mountain, while her body became feather-light. She refused to accept that this was it! She refused to believe that she was fired, that she blew her one and only chance to work beside Ren. She opened her mouth to object but Ren beat her to it.
"With all due respect Mrs Iizuka," he stepped forward and all the heads turned in his direction, including the ones that were peeping through the window of the classroom. "Even if we had known you wanted to handpick the actress for Mio, we wouldn't have had the time. So please, all I'm asking for is that you give Ms Mogami a fair shot. I know she's still finding her way but I think in the end you will be surprised. In fact, I guarantee it."
Out in the playground, Yashiro found Kyoko sitting against the fountain with her chin resting on the heels of her palms. A sombre expression was washed over her face.
He sat down beside her and said, "it seems quite a bit has happened in my absence, but hey, you didn't get fired. That's something positive to latch on to, right?"
"Sure. I guess." Kyoko sighed. Ren's words rang into her mind for the hundredth time and she sighed again. Even before, the pressure was too much for her to handle but Ren's interference just caused it to sky-rocket. It was not like she was not grateful to him for standing up for her and for believing in her but she was scared wondering if she was actually good enough to reach his expectations. Now if she failed, she would not just lose this job, but she would also be letting Ren down in front of the entire crew. "That's just great!" She snapped sarcastically to no one in particular. "Why did he have to guarantee anything? I guarantee that I will fall flat on my face!"
"Don't be like that." Yashiro tried to cheer her up. "He was trying to help you."
"If he really wanted to help me then why didn't he just give me the stupid answer?"
"Huh?"
"Oh, he knows. Mio hates Mizuki with a passion. He just won't tell me why!" When Kyoko tried to ask him, his exact response had been, "you have to explore your real feelings through the character. Just let it come to you."
"Let it come to me? The hell kind of advice is that to give someone?" She bit out. "He was just trying to mess with my head!"
"Or he understands how important it is for you to arrive at the solution on your own," Yashiro suggested optimistically. "If he had spoon-fed you the answer, you wouldn't have learned anything as an actress. Look, if Ren is hard on you it's because he actually cares..."
But Kyoko didn't listen to the rest. Since she got too lost in her head, which was finally leading up to somewhere. Shoveling her thoughts, she dug deeper and deeper into her brain replying every little detail in her mind, which she might have missed earlier. And all of a sudden it clicked. The answered just popped into her mind out of nowhere, and for the first time she felt like she truly knew Mio. Mio was locked inside of her bursting to come out.
But there was one thing Kyoko needed to do before she could completely transform into Mio. And in order to do that, she needed to leave the set. Jumping up to her feet, she started running out like her life depended on it.
"Kyoko, where are you going?" Yashiro called after her. "You can't leave in the middle of the shoot!"
"I will be back." She shouted back. With a confident smile, she thought positively, I've got her. There is my Mio.
As much as Yashiro hated the idea, he had to tell the Director and the others about Kyoko's sudden departure in the middle of the shoot or else things would have gotten a lot more complicated if they found out by themselves.
As soon as the Director shouted, "cut!" Yashiro was on his feet to break the news.
"It's Kyoko, she left!" He exclaimed.
"You're joking, right?" Ren replied casually.
"No! I don't know what happened. She had this ahaa moment and then she ran out saying, "I'll be back!""
"She leaves in the middle of the shoot," Iizuka used this opportunity to the best of her interests with a small smug smile. "I can't speak for anyone else, but I call that a good indication she can't handle the pressure."
"Excuse me," Yashiro turned to her. "I don't believe that's the case."
"This is a separate issue from any question of her acting ability." Iizuka crossed her arms defiantly. "The girl is unprofessional. I agreed to give her a fair shot out of respect for Mr Tsuruga but I am sorry, we're wasting our time here."
Director Ogata's fist clenched and then relaxed again. Sighing, he muttered sadly, "I don't get it. Why would she do this?"
"Sir," Ren, the only person in the room wasn't fazed by the news at all, said to the Director, "let's just continue with the shoot."
"Huh?" Almost everyone from the crew shouted, believing they must have heard wrong.
"But-" Iizuka was about to object but she was cut off by the Director, who completely ignored her.
"But we don't know if she is coming back," he pointed out to Ren.
"You heard what Mr Yashiro said," a ghost of a smile flickered on Ren's face. "Sounds to me like she had herself a little breakthrough. She'll be back, I'm positive. Just trust me on this. She has her quirks but she is definitely not the type to run away from a job."
One look at his eyes and Ogata was convinced. He could tell that Ren not only trusted Kyoko but he believed in her. And if Ren was ready to put so much of his trust in Kyoko, then so was he. He was almost positive that there was more to their story than the average senior/junior relationship between actors from the same agency. "Right," he replied. "Very well. We'll carry on with the shoot."
"What?" Iizuka looked like someone just slapped her. "You're joking? This is no way to run a production. The girl might be gone for good."
"And I'm giving her the benefit of doubt" Ogata shot back.
"Unbelievable!" Iizuka muttered and stormed off.
Still, I hope I am not expecting too much from Kyoko, the Director thought. It's just... Kyoko might be just what I need right now. A strong gust of wind that will part these clouds and lift the weight of the original production's legacy.