THE STALKER.
"Come on now, fess up!" Itsumi entered the dressing room with a giggle, just as the stylist was about done adding the finishing touch to Kyoko's makeup.
"About what?" Kyoko inquired, her hazel eyes wide and oblivious.
"You know! Sho Fuwa! You two are going out, right?" Itsumi dropped her voice to a whisper and cupped her hands around her mouth when she said the words 'going out'.
Kyoko groaned painfully. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"
"I heard from the staff that he came to visit you at the set a few days ago," Itsumi slumped down on a chair beside Kyoko and rested her face on her balled-fists. A cheerfully hopeful smile on her lips.
"He did, but not for anything serious! It was only a trivial matter!" Kyoko desperately tried to explain.
"Is that so?" One of Itsumi's blonde brows quirked up as a mockingly suspicious smile suffused her lips. "Huh? Then how come he knew your favorites this morning at the breakfast?"
"Anyone you've grown up with will know that. It's only natural."
"Wait, you two grew up together?"
"Yes! That's what I had been trying to say! He's only what you'd consider a childhood friend. Not even that, now. Because, we don't have anything to do with each other anymore."
"Hmm." Itsumi stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Then he must have some important business with you."
"What do you mean?" Kyoko cocked her head from the mirror to shoot a questioning look at her new friend.
"You probably don't know this, since you have been in here getting your makeup done, but he's been outside the set the whole time."
The curtains of his eyes slowly drooped and sleep began taking over his exhausted mind. Staying up the whole night was finally taking its toll on Sho. He rubbed his eyes and once again turned his attention back to the small notepad in his hand, scribbling some words every now and then, which he would probably use in the lyrics of his new song.
Suddenly, he heard the clickety-clack sound of approaching footsteps the roadside bench on which he had made himself comfortable. Lifting his sleep-deprived eyes, he found Kyoko slowly making her way towards him. A juniper green, full-sleeved gown was tightly hugging her torso, it's shade so dark that it almost looked black. Below her waist, it fell to the floor in elegant curls which heaved and fluttered as she moved. A see through fabric withdark roses embroidered on it was stitched to her square neckline, suffusing between her throat and her cleavage. It partly revealed her pale skin in contrast to the dark fabric of her dress and the shadowy makeup highlighting the contours of her face.
Even though she was quite a vision wearing that ravishing dress and aesthetic makeup, a grotesque scar stretching down from her temple to her ear drew all of Sho's attention to itself.
He could almost feel the cold and terror-stricken aura against his skin, emanating from Kyoko. After getting a single glare from her arctic eyes, he failed to resist a chill going down his spine.
"What are you doing here?" She demanded, when she stopped in front of him and crossed her arms sternly.
He raised himself. "Wow, you look... Scary! Did you make a deal with the devil or something?"
Unbidden, colour rose to her cheeks. "It's for my role, okay?" She snapped. "Anyway, you have recording to do. Stop goofing off and get back to work!"
"I'm not goofing off!" He picked up his notepad from the bench to prove his words "I am working. On my new song."
"What do you mean, new song?" Kyoko's brows drew together in a suspicious frown. "Why would you be writing a new song now? While you're in the middle of recording."
"It doesn't matter!" He put the notepad back on the bench as he glanced towards the set. "Anyway, isn't there someone else whom you should be telling the same thing."
"Who do you mean?"
"Who else, Tsuruga! I didn't see him enter." Sho shook his head disappointedly. "Tsk Tsk. Such a shame, for the lead actor to be late to his own set. He must be still sleeping back at the hotel. Better go and kick him awake."
"Don't you dare compare him to yourself!" Kyoko's eyes turned sharper than the tip of a knife. "He is in Onikawa right now for a different shoot! He won't be coming here until tomorrow!"
"What a useless guy," Sho muttered under his breath. When I don't want him, he is always around. But now that I can't leave Kyoko alone, he's gone!
Suddenly, a car approached and it halted beside them. Shouko stepped out.
"Sho!" Judging from her tone, she seemed pretty angry. "Do you have any idea how long we've all been searching for you! You can't just disappear..." She ranted on and on for a long while, lecturing Sho about being irresponsible and careless. " It's a relieve that Kyoko mentioned her set location to me at the hot spring, or we all would still be looking for you." Her tone turned soft. "I know you have to write a whole new song, but please don't leave the studio again without saying anything! We're going back now!"
Sho knew that there was no point in arguing. Shouko rarely got pissed, but when she did, she was almost as terrifying as his mother. He had brought this on himself because he really had been getting a lot on her nerves lately.
Turning back to Kyoko, he said one last thing before he followed Shouko to sit in the car. When he spoke, his eyes were stern and his tone sincere. "You, don't leave the film unit and go wandering around by yourself."
"You're the one to talk!" Kyoko shot back. It was really frustrating to hear something so obvious from him of all people.
As Kyoko made her way back to the set, after Sho had left, she couldn't help but reflect on his words. The way he told her not wander off almost made it sound like he still cared for a bit. Like he was worried about her safety.
The question was if there really was something to be worried about. It was not like Reino could find his way to the set. That was impossible.
What if he does? A pesky little voice in Kyoko's mind pointed out
An inkling sense of forboding washed over Kyoko making her body almost quake with fear.
"There is no way! He doesn't even know where the shoot is!" Kyoko said aloud, trying to assure herself. "It's not like he will find it from the staff. Besides, if he did come, people would make a ruckus. Surely, he won't go through all that trouble just so he could see me."
Once Kyoko made it back to the set, she was surprised to see only a few people at the shooting area. The Director was one of them.
"Where is everyone?" She asked.
"Kyoko," Ogata smiled. "It was getting late and the next scene is quite lengthy, so we decided to have lunch first. You should come too."
"Alright," she followed the Director to an al fresco restaurant in the garden, near the back entrance of the set building.
"Why don't you ask Fuwa to join you?" Ogata suggested. "He had been waiting outside the whole time you were getting your makeup done."
"Forget about him!" Kyoko snapped. "Just how nice do you have to be?"
The moment Shouko started the car with Sho sitting beside her, she inquired, "what were you doing there?"
"Not much. Just getting a change of pace," Sho replied impassively. "I bumped into Kyoko this morning and I just ended up following her."
"Why though?"
"I always wanted to see a real movie set."
"Huh!" Shouko raised an eyebrow. It was clear that she wasn't buying any of his bullshit. Yet she didn't press him. "What about the song?"
"It's done."
It took a good moment for Sho's words to sink in his manager's mind. When they finally did, she screeched the car to a halt, and slowly swivelled her head to look at her client with shock-filled eyes, bulging so much that they could've popped off her skull any moment. "What? When? How?"
"It's no big deal," Sho said. "I already had a stock of extra songs piled up in advance. I only had to polish one of them, enough to make it publishable."
Shouko gasped. "But when...?"
"Last night, I didn't sleep because I had been working on it."
Before Shouko could remark, her phone started buzzing. She glanced at the screen. "I gotta take this. It's from the agency. I should let them know that I found you." She stepped out of the car. Turning back to Sho for one last glance, she muttered, "you, stay here!"
Sho leaned back in his seat, relaxing his shoulders. With his eyes closed, he rolled down the glass window of his car to let the cool, fresh breeze of Karuizawa tickle the skin of his face
"Oh my god! It's Sho Fuwa!" Sho's eyes fluttered open when he heard the enthusiastic squeal of a fangirl.
A couple of girls stood a few paces away from his car, gazing at his face with wonderstruck eyes. One of them had short dark hair and the other one was a brunette. When he looked their way, both girls blushed hard and squealed with delight.
"We're so lucky!" The girl with the short dark hair warbled.
"We sure are! I'm gonna tell everyone that I saw Sho and Reino on the same day!' the brunette chuckled.
The last part of what the brunette had said captured Sho's attention and he jumped out of the car, leaving it's door open.
"What did you say?" Sho roughly grabbed the brunette by the shoulders and demanded.
The girl didn't seem to mind, instead, she almost fainted with little hearts sparkling inside her eyes.
"Reino of Vie Ghouls, you saw him, right?" Sho tried again, speaking each word slowly and carefully. "When? Where?"
She somehow manage to move her hand enough to point at the building of the Dark Moon set.
Without even thinking, Sho sprinted back towards the pointed direction at maximum speed.
"Sho, where are you going?" Putting her phone away, Shouko tried calling after him, but it was too late. He was already gone.
"Kyoko, you've got a visitor."
Kyoko looked up from her plate and found one of the staff guys, who had been put in charge of watching the set props while the others ate.
"Again?" She groaned, but only after she had gulped down the contents in her mouth. She followed the watchman towards the main entrance as she cracked her knuckles, preparing to give a taste of her wrath to Sho for repeatedly disturbing her at the set, if it turned out to be him again. She was almost sure it would be him. What does he want now? She wondered.
"It's kinda amazing!" The watchman smiled enthusiastically at her. "You know quite some famous people!"
So it really was Sho, Kyoko rolled her eyes. "Where is he?"
"There." He pointed at the entrance where a tall guy was standing, facing the gate, with his back towards them. He was wearing a jet-black, funnel neck coat, which drooped down to his knees; a pair of black tight-fitted jeans, and black shoes. If not for the flashy argent shade of his long, wavy hair falling beautifully around his shoulders, he might have looked a little terrifying.
In Kyoko's case though, that hair was what freaked her out even more than his dark clothing, because those silver threads were like a mark of Reino's identity. If not for those hair, he would have been just some random guy dressed up in black.
Kyoko's heart almost jumped out of her chest as she immediately ducked beneath the wooden railing of the staircase to hide herself.
"What's wrong?" The watchman inquired with a puzzled look.
"Please send him away!" Kyoko whispered frantically, as she gasped for air. For some reason, there wasn't enough oxygen for her to breathe in. "Tell him I'm not here! Tell him I will never be here! Tell him I was fired!"
"But why?"
"He's stalking me!" Kyoko rasped.
"But he is the lead vocalist of the Vie Ghouls..." The watchman's brows drew together as if he wasn't quiet ready to believe that someone so famous could actually be a stalker. He still nodded though, and walked over to him.
Still duckling behind the railing, Kyoko slowly controlled her breathing, trying not to be so loud as she clutched her chest.
After a minute or so she heard a couple of footsteps hurrying inside.
"Hey!" The watchman shouted. "You can't just barge in here! Even if you're a celebrity, you still need a pass first or the permission of someone from the inside!"
The footsteps didn't slow down. Instead, they turned louder as Reino straightly walked towards the railing behind which Kyoko was hiding, as if he already knew she was there.
"I'm telling you she is not here! Stop!" The watchman tried to no avail.
He just barged in here like he owns the place! Seriously? Is he gonna copy Sho in every aspect? Kyoko cringed. Does he have a Sho-Fetish or something?
As the sound of his dark boots stomping against the ground echoed in her ears, Kyoko desperately searched for a way to escape without him noticing. She found one when her eyes drifted up to a nearby door. Crawling beside the wooden railing, she hurriedly went in.
Unfortunately, there was no other exit. The place turned out to be a dead end. Kyoko huffed as she looked around the dark, dusty room for a suitable place to hide, when she noticed a window with a view of the forest. She took off her elegant, black, heeled-sandals from her feet and climbed up.
"Where... is... she?" Sho managed between gasps as he sucked in huge puffs of air, holding his knees for support. All the heads turned at him and silence reigned over the small al fresco restaurant, which had been bustling with lively energy before his arrival.
"Are you okay?" Ogata was the first one to speak.
"Kyoko...!" Sho panted.
"Well, um..." the Director glanced at the faces of his team before turning back to Sho again. "She is not here. I think she left to meet a visitor."
"What?" Sho was too late. His features twisted with anxiousness. The niggling nerve-wracking suspicion he had, turned into a reality right before his eyes, yet he failed to stop it!
"Director!" The watchman scurried there with Kyoko's sandals in his hands, his face perplexed. "There's been a problem."
Ogata glanced at the sandals he was holding. It took him a moment to recognise them, but when he did, he demanded, "where's Kyoko?"
The watchman hesitated, glancing at Sho.
"Go on," the director urged.
"Well..." He took the Director and Sho to the same room where Kyoko was last seen, as he explained the whole situation with Reino on the way. He pointed at the window. "This is where I found her sandals when the Vie Ghouls guy and I got in. But there was no sign of her."
"Where did that guy go?" Sho demanded.
"He exited through the same window, probably to go after her." The watchman answered. "That's when I came to get the Director."
In a flash, Sho grabbed the window-sill tightly and propelled himself upwards. Once he was outside, he unhesitatingly sprinted towards the thick forest without once looking back, or bothering to explain anything.
"What is going on?" Ogata wondered aloud. "What would a member of the Vie Ghouls want with Kyoko? And why did Sho Fuwa look so terrified? Nothing is making any sense."
"Er..." The watchmen answered hesitantly. "Actually... Kyoko did mention something about that Vie Ghouls guy... stalking her." He only whispered the last part, looking down.
"What? And your telling this now?" Ogata snapped. His eyes went wide with disbelief. "You already knew, then why on earth didn't you stop him from chasing her outside?"
The watchman's head drooped even lower. "I'm sorry! I didn't think she was serious. I mean he's a celebrity! Why would he be stalking someone?"
Through the thick dense forest, Kyoko ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Her sore feet kissing the muddy uneven ground dragged her tired body ahead. Except for a few sounds like the chirping of the birds, and the screech of monkeys hanging on the tall trees, and the sound of her wheezing as her lungs desperately begged for more air, all was silent.
Ordinarily, she would have been too tired to keep going but the fear of letting that silver-haired monster get a hold of her pumped her with enough adrenaline to run farther.
She cocked her head in all four directions to choose her next path but it didn't matter because it all looked the same. Holding up the dark skirt of her gown in her tight fists to keep it from getting beneath her feet, she ran blindly through the forest without a clue to her destination, until one of her feet got caught up in a broken branch and she tripped.
She was fast enough to hold out her hands to prevent from falling face-down on the ground but her palms ended up taking the damage. They bled when the tiny and the wickedly sharp pebbles and the broken branches on the floor punctured her skin. Biting her tongue to stop herself from crying out, she winced sharply.
Kyoko knew she could not get up again. Her torso slumped as her back pressed against a cold tree as she examined her legs. Her dark, now ripped, stockings were wet with blood around her calfs, as it seeped from her newly gained scratches. She wished she had enough sense to not leave her sandals behind.
Spreading out the dark skirt of her gown across her feet, she hugged her knees tightly, fighting back tears. Fear gripped her heart with such ferocious intensity that her body trembled like a withered leaf as she looked around the empty forest and prayed he would not follow.
As if the whole universe was against her, in a flash, someone suddenly appeared in front of her. She raised her head only a little to see his dark boots and the tail of his coat fluttering in the cool breeze. When she looked up, she saw his silver hair glistening stunningly under the orange light of the sinking sun. A small amused smile spread on his lips when his dark eyes witnessed the features on Kyoko's face twisting in terror and her body quivering in fear.
"I found you!" His smile widened.
