LEARNING TO BUILD CHARACTER.
That evening, the ride back to the hotel was a silent one. It had been a long and tiring day for Hizuri, so he wasn't feeling particularly chatty since meeting all those acquaintances after so many years. On the other hand, Kyoko also had a lot to deal with in her mind, so she silently pondered on Hizuri's advices about accepting her job offers.
When the two finally reached the suite, instead of setting out for the Dark Moon location like she was supposed to, Kyoko sat down on a chair and shared her thoughts about her career with Hizuri.
"You're saying that I should just accept those roles," she began, "but I don't think I can create a character with more depth than Mio."
"What's your point?" Hizuri asked straightforwardly.
"The thing is," Kyoko tried to assemble the tornado of thoughts in her mind and put them into words. "I've poured my heart and soul to breathe life into Mio. Personally, I don't think I could have played her any better. So if I accept a role similar to her, I wouldn't be able to portray it any better either. Then how am I supposed to learn anything new playing it?"
Hizuri slapped his forehead. "You still don't get it." He let out a sigh. "Let me put it very clearly. You think that just because those roles have a darkness in them like Mio does, they're the exact same. Well, you're wrong. What you don't see is that there's a variation. A quality that every single person has which is unique to them. It's like the spirit of the character. If you can learn to differentiate this detail between two similar characters, then you will be unstoppable. You can play any villain with the same darkness and intentions as Mio, but as long as you can't show the variations between the two, you will fail."
"But I," Kyoko looked down to avert her eyes, "don't know how to do that."
"You learned to create Mio, right?"
"Yeah." Kyoko remembered all the advices Ren had given her before she was finally able to play Mio. If it wasn't for him and his guidance, she would have never succeeded at building her character.
"If you already know how to create a role then this shouldn't be too hard," said Hizuri. "You want to know how? Well, the only answer is to use your imagination."
Hearing such a plain response from him, Kyoko slumped down in her chair and put her arms on the top of her head. She was even more discouraged now. "I really can't do it," she cried out.
Hizuri scrutinized her for a long moment of silence. At last, while stroking his chin, he reflected, "it seems that your talent is remarkably inconsistent. How can we help that?" A small frown appeared on his forehead as he brooded long and hard about something. "Hmm. The role should be suitable to use as an example and it should be easily explainable," he muttered quietly, more to himself that to Kyoko.
"Um... what role?" She tried asking him but he didn't reply. He wasn't even talking to her anymore.
"It can't be too lenient either, or it wouldn't help her," he muttered again.
Kyoko did not bother asking this time.
A short while later, breaking out of his reverie, Hizuri snapped his fingers. "You," he pointed at Kyoko. "I'm going to give you an assignment for tomorrow, that is if you're up for it."
"An assignment?" Kyoko was puzzled.
"You have to construct the character of a role I'm about to give you. And you have to do it in your own style." Hizuri explained. "You will show me your acting skills."
Kyoko blinked questioningly. "What's it for?"
"This is a special training for you to improve your character building and your power of imagination. I'll give you a few details of the role you will be playing. The rest you'll have to imagine yourself. And then, for the rest of the day tomorrow, you will become that person. Under no circumstances you're allowed to break character, understood?"
Kyoko couldn't help but think of the last time she did method acting in which an actor had to totally embody a character without breaking it for even a second. The last time she did it was with Ren when she improvised as Mizuki to help him find his Katsuki. And boy had it been fun! Excitement soared into her chest and she stated with a determined smile, "I'm ready!"
"I'll give you the role of someone you've never met or heard about, so you'll have no choice but to imagine the details. And then, I will see accurate you were."
"What do I have to act?"
"My son."
"Your son?" Kyoko exclaimed with disbelief. "You want to me to act a boy?"
"So? Just because you're a girl, there's no guarantee you'll only get parts for female characters. Besides, surpassing your limit by acting beyond your gender and age is the sign of a true actor."
Kyoko thought hard about what he said.
"Now listen," Hizuri went on, "your job is to figure out how a teenage boy acts and speaks. And the only way you can do that is if you observe the real thing. Observation is one of the most important qualities required to be an actor. If you want to succeed, then everything you see, everything you hear, and everything you feel, pay attention to it all and make a habit of recording it in your mind. So when you're acting, you'll use these little details as hints to gain a sense of realism in your performance."
Kyoko stood very still for a long moment with a thoughtful expression on her face, as if she was repeating his words in her mind to memorize them. At last, she spoke, "you said you would give me a particular trait of your son?"
"That's right," Hizuri nodded. "I'll give you only a single detail so you have to think the rest and build his character on your own."
"Just one is enough," Kyoko smiled resolutely. She was dead set on giving this test her all.
"Well, my son he's..." Hizuri thought about it for a moment before he answered, "he's smart." A soft smile made its way to his lips and like a devoted father, he continued babbling about his son. "He's always been a good kid. He's just so cute and adorable and tender-hearted, but at the same time he is also quite manly. He's a very hard worker and an honest young man. He prefers to act rather than talk-"
"I...only asked for one," Kyoko tried pointing out but Hizuri wad enjoying himself way too much while rambling about his precious son to pay any attention to her.
"-Like me, he has superb reflexes and acrobatic skills, and his talent for martial arts is enough to make even me jealous!" In his excitement, he jumped up to his feet and pressed his palms on the living room table. "Like my wife, he too has exquisite and graceful features, they're indeed a sight to behold. They both are the most gorgeous people I've ever seen. Their beauty is so ravishing that it's almost inhuman. My son, he's always had an air of dignity around him which is just incredible..."
"Uh..." Kyoko tried to speak but she pretty much got it that there was no stopping Hizuri's bragging. She knew his son couldn't possibly be that great, and he was only being affectionate, but there was a limit to being a doting parent and this guy had apparently crossed it.
Judging from how rude Hizuri had been in the beginning, Kyoko would have never pegged him for the doting type, but maybe that's just how stars like him treat their kids.
Not that she would know anything about loving parents. As she stood there listening to him rant about his son, Kyoko couldn't help but think of her mother, the only parent she had never known. The same mother who abandoned her to be fostered because it was too much of a hassle to raise a kid. A bitter feeling crept inside her and her heart shrunk a little.
"...you get it, right?" Hizuri slumped back in his chair as he huffed. He was clearly too exhausted to go on. "Basically, my son is awesome," he grinned, but it disappeared just as soon and his expression suddenly saddened. "He was only fifteen when I last saw him. If he was here, he would've been twenty by now." He sighed. "I wish I could see him again."
Kyoko took it that his son must have passed away at the age of fifteen. That explained the doting behavior. She immediately felt bad for thinking earlier that this guy was a nutcase for getting so worked up. "I'm so sorry about your son," she apologized.
Hizuri didn't bother correcting Kyoko and telling her that his son was still alive. In the heat of the moment, he had already said too much.
"You didn't tell me his name?" Kyoko asked.
"His name is Kuon," he answered. "For tomorrow, you're my son and your name is Kuon Hizuri. So go and create your character. Create your own version of my son, Kuon."
From the moment Kyoko stepped out of the hotel, she kept thinking about Kuon and how to build his character. Turned out this job wasn't as easy as she thought. Because when she reflected on Hizuri's words she realised that he had deliberately told her contradicting personality traits of his son to confuse her even more.
Dauring the whole way to the Dark Moon set, and then the whole time they put on her make up, she kept trying to create a single image of Kuon in her mind in order to portray him, but kept failing each time.
Even after countless attempts, she still couldn't decide how she was supposed to go about it. Hizuri had said that his son was cute and adorable but at the same time manly. He had also said that his beauty was beyond human. Kyoko knew that most of it was just plain old bragging, but she still didn't know how to approach someone who was so beautiful and tender but at the same time was strong and manly.
"Earth to Kyoko," someone snapped his fingers in front of her face and her mind finally jumped at the present moment.
Kyoko turned and found the seat beside her occupied. And the one sitting there was Ren. She had been so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice when he came. Having captured her attention, he asked her with a somewhat worried look on his face, "are you okay?"
"Yeah," she answered. "Why?"
"Well, you look kinda..." Ren thought a little before choosing the right word, "distracting. Does it have something to do with him?" Leaning a little closer, he whispered, "I mean, Kuu Hizuri."
"Wait, how do you know about that?"
"Um...from the TV. Yashiro spotted you on the news," Ren answered. "Anyway, what on earth is the President making you do this time?" He tried to sound not too inquizzitive. This was his only chance to figuring out if Takarada was really being honest about not plotting anything, so he was careful not to blow it.
"I'm taking care of Mr Hizuri during his stay in Japan," Kyoko explained. "My main job is only to cook for him though."
"Is that so?" Ren narrowed his eyes with suspicion while he stared at her intently. As if he he could figure out if something was up by just gazing deep into her eyes. "Isn't that hard? Since he eats like a horse." He only realised that he had spoken aloud after he said the words.
It was Kyoko's turn to stare at him blankly. "How do you know that? That he is a...um, foodie person?"
"Well," Ren hesitated, "he has a reputation. His stomach is often compared with a black hole."
"Oh, I didn't know that," Kyoko answered Ren's earlier question. "Well, it is kind of hard to manage my schedule, but I'm also having fun." She thought about all the advices Hizuri had given her today and a small smile curved her lips. "I was sure surprised when he ate all the servings of the food I made and still asked for more. I figured he has a big appetite so today, with dinner I've left him a huge bowl full of desert." She put a finger on her chin thoughtfully and looked up. "I wonder how much will remain by tomorrow."
"Not even a scrap," Ren lowered his head and muttered unintelligibly.
"What did you just say?"
"Nothing," he cleared his throat and shook his head with a smile. "Anyway, I'm just glad you're doing okay. You seemed a bit troubled at first, that's why I asked. Maybe the President wasn't lying after all, Ren thought. I was worried for nothing.
As Kyoko sat there, an idea bubbled up inside her. She had been getting so worried about her role as Kuon that she almost didn't thought of it. Why was she getting so worked up when she had Ren with her. She should just take his advice on the matter. He would sure help her.
The moment she opened her mouth, something struck inside her and she snapped it shut again. The whole point of this exercise was for her to learn to build her characters on her own. It was not like it was a real role anyway so if she took Ren's help in it, she will only grow more dependent on him. She was glad she realised it before she ran her mouth in front of him like an idiot.
Ren sensed that Kyoko was about to tell him something but decided against it. So he inquired, "what were you gonna tell me?"
"Nothing!" She shook her head briskly. Considering what a bad liar she was, she thought it best to leave before Ren probed the truth out from her.
With great timing, a member of the crew interrupted them to call her, "Kyoko, we're ready to shoot your scene."
She jumped to her feet and used this opportunity to excuse herself. She made her way to the stage leaving an utterly frustrated and suspicious Ren behind, who was wondering what she was keeping from him.
On her way back home from the set, Kyoko stopped by the agency so she could request Takarada to let her borrow some clothes for the audition of a role the next morning. She didn't give him any details regarding that role, but told him that she needed something that a teenage american boy might wear.
The President was intrigued and curious to know more but for once he decided not to pry. He left her in the accessories room and told her to take whatever she needed.
Once she was alone, she recalled Hizuri's words in her mind: He's just so cute and adorable and tender-hearted. Following his description, she tried becoming a shy version of the young Kuon.
She put on a light-coloured shirt, tied a bow around it's collar, wore a brown sleeveless sweater, and a pair of round glasses. With her hair combed neatly and parted at the side, she looked like an innocent little man.
"H-hello. My name is Kuon Hizuri," she muttered to her reflection with a small, timid smile. The young boy that stared back at her through the mirror was cute, adorable and shy. It didn't take long for Kyoko to reject this version of Kuon because in no way he seemed strong, confident or manly. So she took off her clothes to try something new.
This time she put on a casual t-shirt, a pair of khaki shorts and a sports visor on her head. With the sleeves of a sweatshirt tied loosely around her neck, she winked at her reflection.
"Hey there! The name is Kuon." The boy that stood there facing the mirror looked smart and confident, but he seemed way too sassy and discourteous to be the soft-hearted Kuon that Hizuri had described.
The next outfit that Kyoko tried on was a full chalk-white martial arts uniform with a black belt tightened around her slender waist. Considering how Kuon was exceptional in martial arts, Kyoko assumed that this outfit just had to work and there was no way it wouldn't create the desired impact in her character. But as she stood there gazing at her reflection in the mirror while extending her arms to flex her non-existent biceps she realised that this was just not right. No matter what she tried, something stayed missing.
It was the same thing she experienced when she first tried to build Mio. But at that time, she had Ren with her to walk her through it. Now though, she had to do it alone.
You can do this! She told herself. Just think of everything Mr Hizuri told you.
She recalled that the only way she could build a character is by observing the real thing. But she had never met someone so young and beautiful with such a strong presence. So how was she supposed to portray him?
As she thought about it, she remembered something. She had met someone like that. Someone whose description fitted exactly with that of the young Kuon. He was also just as kind and soft-hearted, and strong. He also had a demanding presence with an air of dignity surrounding him. His beauty was also extreme enough to be considered inhuman. But in his case, he actually wasn't human, because he was a fairy. It was Corn.
Kyoko almost laughed aloud that she didn't thought of him before. Because everything she heard about young Kuon seemed familiar to her somehow. And she realized it after all evening that it was because he reminded her of Corn. Even their names sounded similar. Almost as if Kuon was Corn's human counterpart.
No, that's impossible! Kyoko snorted. He might act like him, but in terms of looks I doubt he can be anywhere near Corn.
But at least she now had a vague idea in her mind on how to approach Kuon's character. And it was possible only through becoming Corn. Nobody could ever become as good as Corn, but as for getting a little close to him...
She turned back to the closet and began fiddling in it.
