THE HOLLYWOOD LEGEND.
As the crew bustled around the set of Dark Moon to prepare for the next shoot, Ren Tsuruga waited around the corner with his manager Yashiro and a fellow cast member, Hidehito Kijima.
Kijima had starred with Ren on a bunch of different projects during several occasions through out the years, so the two actors were already acquainted with each other before Kijima was offered a role in Dark Mode as a recurring cast member.
"Check it out," Kijima pointed to Ren through his eyes towards the small crowd of fangirls that had gathered outside. A flirty smirk crept up to his face and he winked in their direction, evoking a shrill, delighted squeal from those girls. "Quite a sight!" He clicked his tongue.
Ren glanced at them uninterestingly before his eyes wandered back to the stage where the crew was still working.
"But to be honest, it sucks that there are also some guys among them," Kijima added.
Ren chuckled knowingly, giving his head a little shake. "I see you haven't changed at all."
"I should be the one saying that. You're still so boring when it comes to the ladies. Seriously, such a pretty face is wasted on you!" Kijima shot back, but his tone was friendly.
A little while later, glaring at the guys among the fangirls, Kijima muttered, "they're probably here hoping to see Itsumi." With a sigh, he added, "but who can blame them? She is so hot. Which reminds me, Tsuruga, do you have her number?"
"No,"
"Okay, then what about Airi?" Airi Oohara was also one of the main cast members of Dark Moon, though she has comparatively lesser scenes in the first season. She was playing Misao Hongo, Mio's older sister.
"I don't have hers either," Ren replied flatly.
"You're as useless as ever, man," Kijima sighed. Having seen Kyoko only when she was in character, he remarked, "I would have asked you for Kyoko Mogami's, but she's more scary than beautiful."
Yashiro, who had been listening to this whole exchanged glanced at his client uneasily fall. But instead of the fake, signature smile the manager was expecting to see, he found Ren chuckling in amusement.
"Nevermind," Kijima got up. "I'll go ask myself." As he turned to leave, a loud murmur from the crew captured his attention. "What's all that about?" He asked Ren pointing a thumb at the people that had gathered in the middle of the stage.
"Let's find out," Ren followed him, and two actors along with Yashiro made their way through the crowd.
When they reached in the middle of the stage, Ren found Ogata there and the poor Director was almost shaking. Placing a hand on his shoulder, he asked "are you ok?"
"Um...yeah... I'm fine. I just don't know whether I should be glad or scared..."
"Why? What happened?"
"You haven't heard?" The Director grinned and his tone became thrilled. "It's amazing. Kuu Hizuri, the former Katsuki from Tsukigomori, after all these years he's coming back to Japan!"
"You want me to do what exactly?" Kyoko spat, glancing sideways at her best friend to make sure she did not hear wrong. The shock on Moko's face was proof enough that she didn't.
"Kuu Hizuri, I want you to attend to him during his stay in Japan," Takarada answered simply, as if it was the easiest task in the world.
"No way...! You want to me to take care of some super VIP?"
"Yup." The fur attached to Takarada's hat fluttered when he nodded.
"I can't! That's impossible!" Kyoko protested. "Besides, isn't he like super rich? He should have brought his own attendants."
"Normally, yes. But, you see, Kuu is not exactly normal."
Kyoko had never met a person who was even close to being as wierd as Takarada, but the President himself claimed this Kuu Hizuri to be "abnormal". She could only imagine how much of a weirdo he would turn out to be. After hearing that, she didn't even care anymore about the fact that he used to play Katsuki in the old Tsukigomori. "No, I don't wanna!" She pleaded.
"You don't need to get so worked up about it," the President advised. "Basically, he's like your mentor. Just think of how much you can learn from observing him. Besides, if you act natural everything will be okay."
Before Kyoko could try to refuse again, Takarada patted her shoulder. "I'm gonna leave it to you then," he said before striding off.
Kyoko bore the judgemental and contempt-filled gazes of the onlookers with an incredible patience, which she thought she did not possess anymore. But the annoyed scowl stubbornly remained on her face. Standing there in her Love Me jumpsuit under the broad daylight of the afternoon sun, with her head held high, she crossed her arms across her chest.
As she waited for her cue, a thousand fans waited along with her outside the airport. They passed her the occasional envious glares, part of the reason being her on the other side of the security wire that restrained them from entering inside, and partly because of the shiny, black and expensive looking limo she was leaning on to. Needless to say, it was provided by President Takarada along with a personal driver so she could receive Kuu Hizuri in a proper way, which was befitting for a Hollywood Legend.
It was bad enough that despite her strong reluctance, Kyoko was forced into doing this job, but the worst part was Takarada made her wear that pink nightmare of a uniform. The neon colour of her outfit was extremely repulsive to the eye, almost like a cursed burn mark on her dignity.
With her hair dyed ginger again and the ridiculous excuse for a uniform, not a single person among the fans recognised her to be the one playing Mio Hongo in Dark Moon. Kyoko was grateful about it since she did not want people to know it was her while the Love Me logo was still branded on her chest and back, but deep down, she was also slightly offended by the fact.
It was her fault in the first place for being stupid enough to believe that just because she had starred in Dark Moon, the President will let her out of the stupid Love Me Division. She sighed.
All of a sudden, the fans erupted into a cheer so loud that her ear drums almost burst. It was then she finally saw him. The person she had been waiting for.
Kuu Hizuri, slowly making his way down the long lane from the airport. The crazy fans were screaming their lungs out calling his name, stretching their hands out so they could maybe touch him through the wired fence. Some were even throwing flower petals at him. All the while, a seductive smirk was etched into Hollywood Star's face. He winked at his fans and also rewarded them with a few flying kisses as his sauntered his way ahead.
Kyoko regarded him with genuine curiosity. His brownish-blonde hair were slicked back on his scalp, and were glistening gold under the sunlight. His soft brown eyes were covered with dark sunglasses, and a flirty smile was stretched across his triangular, chiseled face. His features were sharp and handsome. A stylish trench coat was draped around his broad shoulders that fluttered as he moved.
Well, at least he seems friendly, Kyoko thought when she saw him shaking hands with a fan.
When Hizuri reached the end of the lane and found Kyoko there waiting for him, he jerked to a sudden halt and his smile ebbed away.
He was so tall that Kyoko had to tilt her head up in order to face him. As he stood there towering over her, she blinked before plastering on a polite smile to greet him. "Hello. How do you do? I am..." Her voice trailed off midsentence as Hizuri flicked off his sunglasses and narrowed his light brown eyes at her in a disapproving manner. As she looked at him, she was almost sure she sensed some hostility coming from him because of the way he cold eyes were regarding her. It almost felt like a glare. "You've got to be kidding me!" He snapped in english, his voice was cool and smooth, and thick with a rich accent. "They sent you to pick me up?"
"Um..." Kyoko tried to speak but found herself at an unexpected loss of words.
"What is wrong with you?" His eyes disdainfully travelled down her jumpsuit before coming back up again. "Is this supposed to be a prank?"
When Kyoko still didn't answer, he let out an exaggerated sigh before adding, "don't walk beside me. I don't wanna be seen with a bubblegum freak show."
Setting alone in his dressing room, Ren pondered on Takarada's words from when he met him this morning.
I'm sure you already heard that Kuu is coming back to Japan, the president had said. I'm not gonna force you, but I think you should go see him.
Before he could even consider the suggestion, Yashiro hobbled inside. "Ren! You won't believe what I just saw on the news!"
"What is it?"
"Its Kuu Hizuri..." The manager panted, as if he had run here all the way from the set.
"I know already. He's back in Japan," Ren tone turned a little irritated.
"That's not it," Yashiro said. "You wouldn't believe who was there with him on the airport. I only saw her for an instant, but there is no mistaking those ginger hair and that blazing pink jumpsuit! It was Kyoko!"
The Tokyo Imperial Herald Hotel was so ridiculously expensive that commoners could only admire its ostentatious and magnificent structure from the outside, since they could never afford it's luxury. On its top floor, the VIP suites were designed specially to elucidate its profligate opulence with rates even more exorbitant comparatively, so much so that common people could only hope to get a glimpse of them. Inside the humongous kitchen of one such suite, there was a single commoner working her butt off to prepare a dish so delicious that even Hollywood Legend would end up licking his fingers.
By the time she was done, there was a painful tinge in Kyoko's back as she had been at it for two hours straight. The reason she worked so hard to make it good was partly because she loved to cook, and partly because he wanted to make Kuu Hizuri regret ever looking down on her and for insulting her back at the airport.
"Oh, I'm so gonna make him admit that it's delicious," she cracked her knuckles and muttered with an evil grin spreading across her face.
Kyoko had always been proud of her cooking skills and she had good reason for it. Ever since she was little, she possessed a natural talent when it came to cooking. And now she was planning on using her food to make Hizuri regret being mean to her.
Not that she had much of a choice in the matter. It was the very reasons the President had assigned her to do this job. So she could cook for Hizuri, since she was good at it, and also because Hizuri had very clearly stated that he wanted nothing other than homemade traditional dishes from Kyoto for his meals during his stay in Japan.
When they had reached the hotel, Hizuri had silently glared at Kyoko with an air of annoyance around him. Like she was a bug he wanted to step on so badly, but he just couldn't. He ordered her to be prepared with dinner at seven sharp while he takes a nap. Before entering his bedroom, he had warned her not to make any sound or to wake him up under any circumstances. Now it was almost seven so Kyoko served her dish on the dining table just as Hizuri stepped out of his room in a silk night-robe.
Kyoko smiled at him. "Mr Hizuri, your dinner is ready," with icy sweetness, she announced through clenched teeth. She even went through the trouble to speak in English.
"Good grief, so you do know english?" Hizuri snorted. His fake thick accent was gone now and he spoke in plain, old japanese. "You seemed so oblivious back at the airport that I thought you didn't understand me. What are drag, I had planned to use this excuse to fire you and throw you out."
The angry scowl returned to Kyoko's face. She bit back her tongue to keep it from sprouting something nasty and somehow succeeded in keeping her mouth shut.
Hizuri made his way towards the dining table. But after one glace at the delicious dishes kept on it, his face cringed. Wordlessly, he picked up the telephone attached to the wall and spoke in a rather friendly tone. "Yeah it's me... Would you please get me the best room service this hotel has to offer?" he waited as he heard the reply on the other end. "Oh no, I don't mind western at all... Thank you so much."
"What?" Kyoko almost shouted. She knew she might come to regret her tone later, but right now her face burned with anger. After giving her best to prepare him dinner, he didn't even bother trying it.
Hizuri ignored her. "And one more thing," he spoke into the telephone. "There's some trash in the kitchen here, could you please send someone to get rid of it?"
Kyoko gasped. Surely he wasn't talking about her food. He couldn't be, could he? But what else was there which he could be referring to?
As if he had read her mind, Hizuri put down the receiver with a click before turning back to her. "You weren't seriously expecting me to eat that, were you?" He scowled.
Kyoko took a deep breath to calm her nerves but it didn't help much. "I was told you had specifically ordered only homemade Kyoto-styled dishes, so what the hell? How come you're ordering western now? And what's wrong with what I made? You didn't even try it!"
"Ah yes, I did say that. But I never said anything about eating a load of junk from an amateur's failed attempt at making high class cuisine." An infinitesimal smirk curled Hizuri's mouth.
Kyoko looked down, so she could hide the fury in her eyes. "You had no intention of eating it in the first place, did you?" She whispered, her tone dangerously hushed. One thing was already clear to her. For some unfathomable reason, Hizuri hated her.
"So what?" The ghost of a smirk on his face turned into a full grin. "You've got a problem with me? Let's hear it. Infact, you can just say it to your boss. You can tell him that job is too much for you to handle." He reached for the telephone again. "I'll call him for you."
As Hizuri started to dial Takarada, Kyoko placed a hand on his arm while gently taking the receiver from his hands. When he turned to her, after one look at her face, he was caught off guard from shock and found himself at a sudden loss of words. His voice died down in his throat.
The reason being the smile on Kyoko's face. Half a minute ago, she was literally shaking from anger. But now, all of a sudden, she was smiling at him. And it was not a forced smile either. It was one of the sweetest and most cheerful smile he had ever seen.
Not being able to speak, Hizuri blinked questioningly.
Kyoko's smile turned ever brighter before she answered his silent question. "If you're gonna call the President then let me do it for you."
Staring at huge screen placed on the wall of his room, Takarada groaned aloud. Coming back home early tonight so he could play this new dating simulation game had been so worth in the beginning, but now as the President was leveling up, it was turning more difficult. Whoever told him that dating games were easy was a dirty liar!
He had been stuck at this particular level for more than ten minutes, yet he still had no clue how to proceed. The President sighed as she slumped down on his chaise longue.
A knock on the door made him sit back up again. "Come in." He said while clearing his throat.
A liveried butler entered the room. "There's a call for you, it's on your private line."
What? Mogami is calling already? Takarada was surprised. Isn't it too early for her to be giving up?
"Hello?" He said placing the receiver on his ear.
"What are you plotting?" The voice from the other end sounded way too masculine to be Kyoko's. It was also quite familiar.
"Ren?" Takarada sighed. It's only him. "What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb!" Ren shot back. "I know you're up to something. Why else would you assign Kyoko to attend to that... man?
"Don't be so disrespectful. Do you think I'm always scheming something?" Takarada scolded. "I only assigned her to that job because she's from Kyoto and she's an exceptional cook. That's all. Kuu had expressed that he only wanted homemade Kyoto cuisine." Although, I didn't exactly warn Mogami about how picky he is, because that will only ruin my plans. "Is that all you wanted to ask? If so, then I'm gonna hang up. You have no idea how busy I was!" Takarada said, glancing at his paused game on the screen.
"I... didn't mean to interrupt your work. I'm sorry about that," Ren apologized. "I'll talk to you later."
After the call disconnected, Ren pocketed his phone. He was still unsure about the President not plotting something. But there was no point in pressing Takarada because trying to trick the President into telling the truth was a waste of time.
Ren sighed. Maybe he was reading too much into the matter and it was nothing at all.
Meanwhile, back in the President's room, Takarada glanced at the telephone one last time before he got back to playing his videogame. He was sure Kyoko Mogami would be calling him pretty soon to cry about her job. After all, it was a part of his carefully crafted plan.