MIO.
"Cut and print!" Ogata shouted and the actors relaxed. "Moving on, for the next scene, I need Mizuki leaning back on the window sill. We'll take it from when Katsuki enters the room."
As the crew made preparations for the next scene, Ren exited the classroom to take some fresh air in the open corridor. Outside, he halted with a surprised gasp at the sight in front of him.
"Everything alright?" Ogata asked as he joined him outside. "You seem distracted." He followed Ren's eyes to the person sitting cross-legged on a small folding chair beside the staircase, and whispered her name in surprise. "Kyoko?"
But it wasn't actually Kyoko. Something was very different and wrong. Her wig was replaced by dark, short hair up to her neck clustered together into wisps which were tucked behind her ear. Her scar now completely visible for the whole world to see. And the despondent air surrounding her, it was filled with gloom, eerie despair, and unforgiving anger.
Even when the Director called her name, her eyes remained glued to the scriptbook on her lap.
"What have you done?" Ogata, in a voice which contained a mixture of worry and confusion, inquired solicitously.
"Your hair..." Ren was equally puzzled. "I don't understand."
More and more people noticed the commotion outside and came out to see the show. And everyone was equally surprised and horrified when they laid eyes on the creature sitting casually on the folding chair, whose face suspiciously resembled to that of Kyoko Mogami, but it was obvious that it wasn't actually her.
"That's not a wig." Ren took a step closer to her. "You actually dyed it?"
"What is this?" Ogata demanded. Is that how you're planning to play Mio?"
But all they got in reply was sullen and profound silence.
"Is this your idea of a joke?" Iizuka, who had joined the others to find out what was happening as well, started lecturing Kyoko the moment she came out. "You can't hide her scar with that hair. This is way too much! Mio's hairstyle is an intricate part of her character. Are you mad? Exactly what were you hoping to accomplish with this little stunt?"
Kyoko still didn't look up from her script as if Iizuka's words were nothing more than the buzzing of a pesky fly.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!" She raised her voice.
Ren crouched down on his knee in front of Kyoko. "Is something the matter?" His voice wrapped with concern, he inquired softly, solicitously. "This isn't like you."
Still, no response whatsoever.
"Kyoko," he reached out to touch her face in order to illicit any kind of reaction from her. Soon he got his wish when she finally moved but not in a way Ren was hoping.
She raised her hand to slap his hand away before it could reach its destination. In a painfully slow speed, she looked up to face him. And when she did, her eyes bore into his face with the fervour of chilling and unmistakable hatred. A disgusted scowl twisted her features as her eyes stared daggers at him with such intense hostility that even Ren was almost tempted to step back.
No one understood why Kyoko was suddenly acting this way, except for Ogata, who recognised the look in Kyoko's eyes. Her eyes! He thought. She's not Kyoko anymore.
"The man asked you a question. What is is your problem?" Iizuka demanded but she was interrupted by the Director who shushed her with a hard look.
Turning to his lead actor, Ogata asked in an almost excited whisper, "Ren, you feel this?"
"Yes," Ren replied in an impassive tone like it was obvious as he raised himself up again. "This is Mio."
Ogata nodded in agreement. Those eyes are burning with hatred. He scratched his chin as he contemplated on Kyoko's interpretation of her character. That's how Mio would look at Katsuki. But she is way too intense. Nothing like the previous Mio. That version failed her contempt. We only ever got glimpses of it. Yes, Iizuka chose to play her as an introvert. But the way this Mio flinched from Katsuki's touch, so brazen! Such an outright gesture of disdain. And her scar, Kyoko's Mio makes no effort to hide it. A radical departure! Her interpretation of the character turns everything upside down.
What was I thinking? That she'd be a wind to disperse the clouds. I couldn't have been more wrong. I underestimated her, Ogata rubbed his arms to suppress the shivers he got from facing her cool gaze head on. She is no wind, this is a tornado!
The Director voiced his thoughts on the subject to his leading actor, Ren, to get his opinion on the matter.
"I'm inclined to agree with you, sir." Ren replied when the Director was done sharing his opinion on Kyoko's Mio. He was clear that no matter how impressive she was, it was way too risky to put her on and Ren had to agree with that. He said, "I do have doubts about Ms Mogami's interpretation of the role. After all, she has never built a character before. Who knows where her instincts would lead?"
Ogata's mouth twitched down in dismay.
"But she has certainly done the work," Ren pointed out. "So why not see what she has come up with? Just give her a chance to convince us before we dismiss the whole idea."
Ogata knew he was not about to stake his whole career on Kyoko's Mio, no matter how compelling she was. But out of respect for Ren, he decided to give her a chance. She would improve a scene with Iizuka as Mio's mother, and based on her performance he will decide weather to cast her or not. But deep down, he knew already that nothing would be able to sway his mind. It was just too big a risk to cast Kyoko.
Iizuka's gritted her teeth when she was told that she was supposed to improvise a scene with Kyoko to test out her Mio. I see no reason why I should have to go through with this, she scowled at Kyoko, who was still reading casually from the script resting on her lap while sitting on the same folding chair beside the staircase. The girl doesn't need a test, she needs a pink slip! Why don't they fire and be done with it? She shifted her glare to Ogata. Our Director is too soft.
"You may start the scene," Ogata said.
With the boom of the clapper-board, the scene started.
Mrs Hongo slowly approached her daughter with light, uncertain steps. "Mio," she called out.
Mio's eyes remained glued to the book she was holding. She made no reaction whatsoever to her mother's call.
"Mio!" Mrs Hongo raised her voice angrily, determined to get her daughter's attention.
Still not bothering to reply, Kyoko slapped shut the book. Raising herself from her chair with the grace of a highborn princess, she slowly started climbing the stairs while completely ignoring her mother's existence.
"Y-young lady!" Her mother tried to shout but it came out as an unsure, horse, and desperate whisper. "What are you doing?"
Regaining her composure, Mrs Hongo bit out to her daughter while stressing on every word in a precise, eloquent way, "don't ignore your mother! I'm talking to you. What is this? Mio!"
The Director nodded. This was exactly how Mio's mother would reacted if she was ignored. Iizuka's acting was spot on.
Mio finally stopped. Turning back in a leisurely pace, she faced her mother with an impassive look and eyes cold enough to freeze the sun. "Were you trying to get my attention, mother?" She asked in an even colder, yet soft voice, using equally precise and eloquent words as her mother. "I didn't notice."
"Don't you dare..." her mother spat venomously. "I know when I'm being ignored!" What is she doing? Iizuka thought. This isn't remotely the Mio I played twenty years ago.
The Director was just as confused about how different this Mio was from it's predecessor. What happened to being shy and reserved? He wondered. She has Mio on the verge of being roguish. She's supposed to act withdrawn. This is too much...
"My apologies. Forgive me, mother. I just assumed that you were calling out to Misao." In a voice dripped with sweet sarcasm, Mio went on in her cool, smug tone. "But in my defence, it was an honest mistake. I think the lesson here is not to give your children such similar names. As it is, mine sounds like someones choking. I'm not really sure if people are talking to me or stammering. People can be cruel. They hear 'Mio' and all they could think is there's someone destined to fail. Just a sad copy of her sister. So unfortunate. Wouldn't you agree, mother?"
Iizuka gasped in surprise and then in anger. She is being sarcastic? How dare she address her mother this way? This is the polar opposite of what my Mio used to be.
Ogata slowly understood where this interpretation of Mio was leading. Wait! Mio's pride, maybe it is there. Maybe it's taken a different form. Did her complex with Misao and Mizuki happen because of pride?
The more he compared the two Mios, the more he realised that this version made much more sense than the old one. All of the unanswered questions of Mio's behaviour in the previous Tsukigomori were explained by Kyoko in just one scene.
No! He shook his head vigorously. Stop it! This isn't right! What is wrong with me? I can't criticize the original. Kyoko's take is compelling. It even makes more sense. Still, I can't go in this direction.
Iizuka also understood what Ogata was thinking but now she was even more set on firing Kyoko. She felt like her Mio would be in danger if Kyoko's version made it out. I'll not allow my Mio to be vulgarized! She swore. She'll honour the source or she is out.
"Darling, you're inviting people to judge you with a haircut like that." In a voice as sweet as poison, Mrs Hongo snapped at her daughter. "Ridiculous doesn't even begin to describe it. Do you want everyone to see your scar? Please, for your own sake, grow it out again."
"Please mother, there is no need to mince words," Mio spoke with her scary sweetness as she streched out her hand to point at her scar. Let's be blunt. It's not a scar. It's a blight on the Hongo name."
Her mother scowled at her for being so disrespectful. She spat bitterly, "yes, well, as long as we understand each other, why dance around it? There is no excuse for you to parade our shame like that for all to see."
Ogata was so captivated in the scene that he almost clapped. Not only because Kyoko's Mio was over so irresistibly powerful but also because Iizuka's acting was incredible. Perfect! That's how you would expect her to respond, he thought. But then, where is this leading?
He couldn't figure out why would this Mio choose to show her scar. The scar is a source of shame for everyone. Why let it be so visible? The family is drowning in money. They could easily afford plastic surgery.
After pondering on it for a few heartbeats, the answer finally dawned on him. There's only one explanation. Mio is defiant. She won't let them. The scar is their punishment.
Before answering, a corner of Mio's lips twitched up into a half-lopsided smirk. "That's right. Take a good, long look at our shame," she breathed out in amusement. In a dry, horrid sound without a drop of humour, she chuckled. "Every time you see it you can't help but think of Misao." She squinted her eyes and her smile vanished. "I'm her twisted shadow. The embodiment of everything she tries to hide."
The temperature dropped as she gave her mother a dark look which was colder than any iceberg. Everyone present in the room took one step back instinctively as they felt the goosebumps rise on their arms and the chill going down their bodies. The black, ominous aura seeping out of her was thick enough to be touched.
What has she done? Iizuka pressed her hand to her mouth as she shifted back. "This is..." No words were enough to describe what she had just witnessed.
Yes, Ren smiled proudly, in a way which said, 'I knew it all along.' This is acting.
Ogata tightly pressed his elbows to stop himself from shaking hysterically. It didn't help much, and he sank down to the floor on his knees.
The worried crew immediately hounded him from all sides, pelting him with questions.
"Director what's wrong? "
"Are you okay?"
"Are you alright?"
In a shaky voice, Ogata replied as he panted. "I'm just...feeling a bit dizzy...and shivery...and like my heart's about to explode..."
"I'm sorry" Ren squatted down beside the Director and offered his apology in a genuinely upset tone. "Her Mio, it's just... It's too in your face."
"You can definitely say that. This isn't a Mio I can use," the Director raised himself and continued with a small smile. "At least that's what I thought at first."
Ren frowned.
"When she first started of, all I could focus on was how different she was," Ogata explained. "Her approach was so novel, I couldn't see how to incorporate it. And yet, dead set as I was against it, her commitment resolved every contradictions raised by the previous Mio. Her conviction makes this Mio entirely convincing. I'm watching an actress take a risk. She's making me see a character from a whole new perspective. I've never felt this way before. I feel like I'm caught in a whirpool of conflicting emotions."
"Is that good?" Ren wondered aloud.
"Absolutely! I understand now just how much I want to direct this show. And it hit me, this is our Mio. This is not the Mio from twenty years ago. This is a new reborn Mio. This version has to see the light of day. I want nothing more than to create a world for her to thrive in."
A man from the crew slapped the clapperboard right in front of kyoko's face, who was still glaring coldly at everyone in silence. "Cut!" He shouted and slapped the board a second and a third time just to be safe. "Are we speaking to Kyoko now?" He raised an eyebrow.
Something snapped in Kyoko's eyes and the coldness in them was replaced by her usual playful glimmer.
And then it dawned on Kyoko. She was too caught up in maintaining her character that she didn't even consider how much trouble she had caused to everyone on the set. The playful glimmer in her eyes was replaced with trepidation. "I'm so sorry! I just don't know what came over me!" She kept apologizing over and over.
Ogata said, "look, I get it. You're absolutely mortified."
"Sorry," Kyoko purred again.
"Real talk, what you pulled would normally be grounds for dismissal but what I saw was a vision of what I want this project to be. That took guts."
"R-really?"
"Your take on Mio is the one I want to commit to film," the Director confirmed.
"So that means-"
"Outrageous!" Iizuka screamed. She was shaking from anger. "Have you gone mad? Her Mio is a travesty!" She shouted at the top of her lungs at the Director while pointing an accusing finger at Kyoko.
"I'll grant you she's a departure, in appearance and in attitude," Ogata's tone was surprisingly calm and collected. "But the deeper aspects are still intact. The differences between hers and your Mio are superficial. At heart, they are one and the same. Her Mio lives and breathes just as yours. Don't you feel it?"
I can feel her poisonous hate, Iizuka shivered at the memory of the intensity with which Kyoko's Mio glared at her.
"Mrs Iizuka, the dynamic between the two of you just now was electric. I was completely riveted. Tell me she didn't make your blood run cold?"
"Well..."
"The hair on the back of my neck are standing straight up. I was horrified and elated. When I announced this production, I said I wanted to create a Tsukigomori different from twenty years ago. We changed the title, we updated the plot, sure, but for this to be truly unique, the characters have to be reinvented. Watching Kyoko's performance made me realise it." His eyes were burning in a bright flame of passion.
He stepped back and faced the whole crew as he continued in a louder voice which was audible to everyone present. "I don't intend for Dark Moon to be as good as Tsukigomori. Far from it. I won't let them say that the original was better. There will be no comparison. Our version will surpass the old one. Not just because of Mio I want all my actors to make bold choices. Especially you," he looked straight at Iizuka. "That's right, you are not just competing with the original, you're competing with yourself! I need your all. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Iizuka, was too fazed by the Director's speech, managed a croak. "Sir."
"That's the spirit," Ogata smiled. "I look forward to seeing your work."
The shoot continued on the set of Dark Moon. When Ren finally got a break, stepping out in the hallway, he looked out of the window at the sky with a deep, faraway look, like his eyes were lost in deep thoughts.
Till now, his scenes had been perfect but as Katsuki's love for Mizuki was slowly evolving, the President's words rang in his mind more and more often.
If you expect an audience to buy that you're in love you're gonna have to dig a lot deeper than that. You'll be a lifeless copy of the original Katsuki at best.
Ren sighed.
Yashiro joined him with two cups of black coffee in his hands. Offering one to Ren, he nodded at Iizuka, who was sitting of you paces away from them, quietly reading her script. "Well," he grinned. "The Director has certainly put Mrs Iizuka in line."
Snapping out of his reverie, Ren plastered on a smile to give to his manager, before he could read the sombre look on his face. "Eh? It's nice to see him so confident. His head is swimming with visions of what Dark Moon could be. He's all fired up. It's quite inspiring to be honest." His smile slowly disappeared. "I've got no choice but to bring my A-game. My performance needs to be spot on. Our Director won't settle for close enough."
Yashiro narrowed his eyes with a small smile. "If I didn't know better call I'd say you are starting to sound a little nervous. Second guessing yourself?"
"Nah," Ren lied. "It's just... The pressure's just starting to get to me a little."
He gazed out at the sky again, but he noticed the reflection of a girl with the huge scar, standing right behind him on the glass window, and he whirled to face her. Yashiro turned with him as well.
Kyoko fixated her angry, yet somewhat scared eyes at Ren.
"Just a wild guess," he said mockingly. "You've got something you wanna say to me."
"Oh, you bet I do, Mr Tsuruga!" She spat. "Yes indeed. I fully braced myself to get scolded from you for the stunt I pulled. At the very least, I thought you would be disappointed. And you didn't even have words with me!" She said the last part like Ren did the most unfair thing in the world by not scolding her.
This is how she braces for the worst, Yashiro suppressed a giggle.
"You don't have to save it for later, just get it over with!" She flinched. "Come on, scold me!"
"I'd...really...rather not." Ren replied. "Thank you."
"But aren't you the least bit mad at me?" Her voice became soft.
"Sure. For taking off. That was incredibly unprofessional of you." He inched a step closer to her and smiled gently. "You can't disappear and expect me not to worry. Thankfully, you came back with a stunning Mio." His gentle smile transformed into an evil smirk as his eyes glinted cruelly. "If you hadn't, we would be having words. After that, you would have cried for three years and still not run out of tears."
Kyoko shuddered and took a step back. The worst part is, he is not even joking. I can tell from his eyes. "No!"
Yashiro, who was quietly enjoying the show from the back, turned a chuckle into a cough.
"It's okay," Ren flashed his pure, angelic and one-hundred-percent genuine, smile again. "You got us a Mio better than anyone could have imagined. And that took guts. You did great."
Kyoko gaped at him with her jaw hanging from her mouth, and her heart rate picked up. He actually likes my Mio!
