KUON.
The people that were passing by stopped and turned back to stare at him in awe as he made his way to the hotel. There was something about his vibe, his energy that was so magnetic that it seemed to be pulling others to him.
Politely smiling at the passerbys, he stepped inside the hotel and used the elevator to climb up to the top floor where the VIP suites were situated. He used his key card to unlock the one of the door of once such suites.
Okay, my name is Kuon Hizuri. I'm the son of the legendary actor Kuu Hizuri. I grew up in America and only came to Japan to accompany my father on this work trip, he repeated the words inside his head and with a sigh, opened the door to let himself in.
When he finally passed the last level of his videogame, Takarada groaned aloud. "It's already over? They'd better released the part two of this thing!"
The sudden ringing of the bell on his private telephone startled him for a moment making his back stiffer. Who could be calling at this time? Its the middle of the night for God's sake! He thought. Only after he switched on the lights and glanced at the majestic wall clock in his bedroom did he realise that it was already morning.
Damn, I ended up playing all night again! With a sigh, he answered the telephone, mostly because the shrill, incessant sound of its bell ringing was making his ears hurt. "Hello?" His irritation could be heard through his voice. His tone suggesting, "this better be important."
"Please tell me what you're up to," the voice on the other end belonged to Ren. "Just what exactly are you making her do?" There was desperation in his tone, as if he had thought long and hard about this before calling the President.
Takarada rolled his eyes. "What are you talking about? It's six a.m.!"
"You know what I mean."
With another exaggerated sigh, the President gave in. "I told you that before, didn't I? I only assigned Mogami to that job to take care of Kuu's meals. That's all."
"Don't play dumb with me" Ren hissed, trying to calm his nerves. "I met Kyoko yesterday and she was clearly acting... strange."
"Strange how?"
"She was hiding something, I'm sure of it. She was about to tell me what it was but I guess she changed her mind."
"Oh," Takarada realised that it must have been about that role Kyoko had mentioned when she stopped by the agency last night.
"Didn't you talk to him?" Ren demanded. "Whatever she was worried about, I bet it has something to do with that man. I just know it."
A small smile curved the President's lips. After Hizuri failed to break Kyoko's spirit, the whole plan in which Ren was supposed to see that something was wrong with her so that he might come to see his father to ask about it, was ruined. All because Kyoko was not the least bit affected by Hizuri's condescending attitude. But now, however, whatever Hizuri was making her do, it got the plan back on track. Takarada could see how desperate Ren was to know what was up, so he decided to use it for making Ren see his father. All he needed to do was give him a little nudge.
"If you want to know whatever Kyoko is up to, you can ask him yourself. He is only one call away you know." The President pressed.
There was a long pause. "You know I can't do that."
"Alright. I'll talk to Kuu myself." After the events of last night, Takarada was himself very curious to find out what was going on. Especially after he saw the clothes Kyoko borrowed from the agency. Because once she stepped out from the accessories room, not only her appearance was changed, but her whole vibe had shifted. Everything about her from her clothes to her behaviour reminded him of a certain someone when he was young. "Hmm. Mogami was indeed acting a bit strange last night," the President told Ren to ignite his curiosity even further. "She came to the agency to borrow the clothes worn by a teenage american boy for a role."
"Is that so?" Ren listened intently. "Do you know anything about this role? Does it have something to do with him?"
"Who knows? Probably."
"Don't you go probably on me!"
"Alright, alright! No need to get so angry. I will call Kuu and find out what's up, okay?" The President assured. Only what he didn't tell Ren was that he had no intention of sharing it with him. If he could use this, whatever it was, to reunite the father and son, then he sure as hell wouldn't.
"Dad, wake up. Its morning!" Hizuri was still half asleep when he heard the faint sound of his son calling out to him. His warm and gentle tone, his smooth and buttery voice, and the way he spoke english in which you get a kick of american accent with every word, it was all the same. His voice might have been a bit different, but Hizuri still not fully up yet to notice it.
He heard the curtains being pulled open and the sudden blinding radiance of the morning sun from the glass windows made him squeeze his eyes tight as he tossed in his bed to face the wall instead. "Mmm...I'm up." He mumbled hoarsely.
"Then get up and have breakfast," Kuon said back.
"Hmmm...five more minutes."
"Uh-huh," Kuon answered. "Don't you have that interview starting in an hour? If you don't get up now, we'll be late."
Hizuri smiled a little with his eyes still closed. His son was as careful as ever. Pride swelled his chest.
"Wow, a bird! Look dad, look!" Kuon grinned in excitement as he pointed at the window. "It was close enough to touch! What do we call it in japanese? Suruze or something?"
"Dunno, you tell me." Hizuri giggled. Kuon had already loved nature and animals. Especially birds. Seeing him getting so excited filled his heart with longing for some reason.
"Surume? Maybe." Kuon guessed.
Hizuri finally tore his eyes open. He saw the dark silhouette of his son standing by the bright window and his smile widened. "Wrong," he chuckled. "It's called Su-" All of a sudden, he found himself frozen with shock when his eyes finally adjusted to the light.
For the first time Hizuri noticed that instead of the blazing blond colour that were his son's hair, this person had a ginger head. Upon closer inspection, Hizuri recognised the face of this girl and the events of yesterday came rushing back to him, of the time when he had given Mogami the assignment to play his son. It was then he remembered that it was all an act. The real Kuon, his son was gone.
"Dad?" Kuon turned puzzled. "What's wrong? Why did you stop talking?"
"I, uh..." Hizuri found himself at a sudden loss of words. What was his supposed to say? He was so shaken up after seeing Kyoko's version of Kuon that calling it shock was an understatement. Especially because of how closely accurate she was. It was almost maddening.
Kyoko had gotten every little detail about Kuon right on the mark. She was wearing a blue-black shirt buttoned up to her chest with the collar left unbuttoned. A pair of khaki pants and long, dark boots. They were the exact kind of clothes Kuon used to wear when he was about ten. And it was not only his clothing that matched.
Everything about her from her presence, her energy, her appearance, to her way of talking resembled Kuon's. She was even wearing a silver cross chain on her neck and what was almost terrifying was how Kuon used to wear one as well when he was little. It was almost as if she had met the real Kuon and was only mimicking him
My God, this is insane, Hizrui rubbed away the dirt from his eyes and stared at her. Is this girl supposed to be bad at character building?
"Dad, you're spacing out again?" Kuon took a step closer with a somewhat concerned look on his face. "Are you okay?"
"Um, yeah, I'm fine," Hizuri smiled. "Let's go have breakfast."
While he brushed his teeth and had a quick shower, Hizuri kept wondering how Kyoko managed to create such a precise character of his son. The only logical explanation was she heard about him from someone else. Since nobody in Japan other than Takarada knew the real identity of Ren Tsuruga, the only thing that made sense was that Kyoko heard about Kuon from the President or from Ren himself. But Boss wouldn't, so it must have been Ren who told her, Hizuri concluded.
When he reached the dining room, he was awarded with a welcoming smile from Kuon. "Dad, would you like some coffee too? Without waiting for an answer, he poured another streaming cup.
As they both sat there and enjoyed their coffee in silence, Hizuri gazed at this girl pretending to be his son with wonderstruck eyes. He felt an unexplainable, comforting warmth deep within himself, rushing through his veins. Even though this was not the real Kuon he wondered how come it didn't feel out of place.
"Kuon," Hizuri pointed at a plate with an unsliced loaf of bread on it and asked, "What's this?"
"Obviously, its bread," Kuon blinked cluelessly. "Why?"
"I know that! What I mean is why you didn't slice it?"
"Does it really matter, dad? You're gonna eat the whole thing anyways."
Hizuri almost burst out laughing at this response. The real Kuon also often acted like this at his insatiable appetite. Aloud he said, "yeah I might but.. "
"I didn't have the time to slice it. Since I was busy frying these eggs." Kuon pushed forward a plate which was filled with charred eggs.
Oh, I see. Hizuri smiled. She is creating a scenario where Kuon doesn't know how to cook. Well, she isn't exactly wrong about that.
Kyoko bent her head down to hide the blush burning on her cheeks. Taking in mind how Hizuri was spoiling his son, she assumed that the young Kuon wouldn't know how to cook. But as she glanced at the unsliced loaf of bread and the half-burned eggs, she wondered if she was acting a bit too immature by taking things too far. On the other hand though, that was the whole point of method acting. To not break character under any circumstances.
Kyoko wondering how Hizuri would react, slowly tilted her head back up with a small, shy smile, but it was replaced by a frown when she heard a munching sound as Hizuri chewed on the eggs. "That sound just now, was it an eggshell?" Kyoko had been so engrossed in maintaining her character when she cooked the breakfast that she purposely broke the eggs in a clumsy way as if she was doing it for the first time.
"Yeah," Hizuri took another bite.
"Dad, you don't have to eat it." The young Kuon who so much looked up to his father wouldn't let him eat food like that, so Kyoko tried to do the same. "I'm sorry I cooked it all wrong."
"Its fine," Hizuri grinned. "You did pretty well for your first time. Good job, son. You are such a talented boy," he patted Kuon's shoulder and offered him a big, encouraging smile.
"But..." Kuon hesitated. "It must taste horrible. You shouldn't force yourself just for my sake."
"What are you saying?" Hizuri spooned out another large bite of the eggs. "You woke up early and worked so hard to cook them for me, there's no way they could be horrible." He smiled gently. "They're delicious."
Kyoko's eyes widened to the size of saucers, almost tearing up. She never expected him to actually eat those. A surge of unexpected warm rushed inside her. Having never received the love of a parent before, Kyoko was overwhelmed with joy and rapture when Hizuri went so far as to lie for her sake and force down those horrible eggs, even if it was only acting. Colour painted her cheeks and she stretched her lips into the most grateful smile she could manage.
All of a sudden she found herself wondering about the man who was her own father whom she had never met or seen before. She had no idea what his name was or what he looked like either but for the first time in her life, she missed him. Almost desperately. Because even if it was only acting, she experienced the true bond or connection between a father and a child.
"By the way Kuon," Hizuri interrupted her thoughts. "Didn't I tell you to converse in japanese so that you get used to it? But you always switch back to English."
"Uh, yes da- I mean father."
"You know, I really can't understand japanese at all!" Kuon complained to his father using his sloppy japanese which was thick with an american accent. The two were sitting in the back of a limo which was driving them to the studio where Hizuri's first appointment was held. "All the letters have similar shapes and the words have similar meanings. It's like using a single room for a living room, a dining room and a bedroom," he snorted. "Just what you'd expect from the stinky lifestyles of these people."
Hizuri found this reasoning so hilarious that he barely supressed the rising fits of laughter within him. Aloud he spoke in all seriousness, "its not stingy, son. It's called being rational. Not wasting anything."
Kuon only humphed in reply. His dissatisfaction for being forced to converse in japanese was clearly apparent, and his father found it quite amusing.
"Say Kuon," Hizuri suggested, "how would you feel about learning Kanji*?"
"No thanks," Kuon seemed uninterested. "There is no point in learning the words of a small country like Japan."
The image Kyoko was trying to portray of a rich, young boy from a big country fitted the real Kuon perfectly. These snarky remarks turned out to be so witty and adorable that Hizuri found himself almost bursting with laughter. It was just the right amount of sass. He could totally picture Kuon saying something like that. It was so humorous that he had to cover his mouth to hide his grin as he shook with silent laughter.
"Father, what's wrong?" Kuon asked concernedly, when he saw his father shaking while hiding his face.
"It's just," Hizuri pretended to sound depressed, "it's so sad that you don't appreciate the country your father was raised in."
Kuon streched out his hand probably to pat his father comfortingly but before it could reach its destination, Kyoko resurfaced as a painful memory from her past popped into her mind.
She was only four, sitting beside her mother who was in an equally depressed state. However, when the young Kyoko reached out to comfort her mother, Saena Mogami slapped her daughter's hand away and glared at her with naked hatred, as if daring her to touch her again.
Remembering her last experience trying to comfort a parent, Kyoko's hand froze midair hesitantly and her eyes watered.
When Hizuri looked up, and saw the broken and desperate look on Kyoko's face, he couldn't help but think what was wrong. She looked as helpless as she did yesterday morning when she was looking at the news on the TV, only much, much worse.
So in order to distract her, Hizuri stretched out his hand to her face and flicked hard on her forehead. "Gotcha! Ha!"
"Ouch!" Kyoko blinked her wide eyes questioningly, not being sure how she was supposed to react.
"I lied, you dope." Hizuri smirked. "What? Aren't you gonna fight back, Kuon? I hit you, so as a man you're supposed to try and hit me back." He motioned his fingers to come at him.
Kyoko, or rather Kuon smiled. That flick to the forehead was enough to bring Kyoko back in character and make her forget all about those painful memories from her past. With an impish smile, Kuon threw a punch at his father but Hizuri easily dodged it. He tried throwing another, and then another, until he was throwing a barrage of playful punches at his father, but not a single one connected to the target since all of them were either blocked or dodged by Hizuri.
"Hey, no fair!" Kuon complained. "You said I could hit you!"
"What's the point if I just let you?" Hizuri grinned. "As a man, you're supposed to do that on your own."
Kuon let out a resigned sigh. "You had no intention of allowing me to attack from the start, did you?"
"Okay, so how about a challenge?" Hizuri rubbed his palms together. "I'll let you try anything or even use a surprise attack on me for as many times as you want, but you'll have to get me before the end of the day. How does that sound?"
"And I can try anything?"
"Anything at all," Hizuri promised.
A mischievous grin spread across Kuon's face. "Challenge accepted!"
Hizuri looked at him from the corner of his eyes and one of his lips quirked up into a lopsided smirk. "That's a pretty interesting look you've got there, you little rascal! Let's see what you got."
It was almost evening. Hizuri was giving his last interview of the day at a studio while Kuon waited for him outside.
After pulling on countless pranks to attempt to get back at his father, Kuon had yet to score a win. It was the last appointment of the day so he didn't have a lot of time left but he still refused to give up.
As the interview went on, Kuon retrieved a couple of plastic soda bottles from a vending machine and used his time to make a squirt gun out of them.
He had a blast while he worked on his little project and when he was done, he checked out his handiwork with a proud, broad grin as a fresh wave of excitement surged inside him. I can't wait to see dad's face when I use it on him! He thought with a smirk. "Now all that's left is to fill it with water." He glanced at the clock in the hallway and hurried downstairs to get water so he would be ready with his squirt gun as soon as possible, because Hizuri's interview would be over any minute.
He flew down the stairs three at a time, pushing all the people out of his way. When he was on the third last stair, he hopped down to the corridor floor at once and almost fell face down in the process.
Two men who had been passing through the corridor halted to a stop when Kuon suddenly jumped in their way out of nowhere. They gaped at him with wide shocked eyes.
Kyoko straightened. Their faces were so familiar that she recognized them in an instant. The moment she laid eyes on them, she was so surprised that she would have gasped if she didn't have to maintain her character. It was Yashiro and Ren.
*Kanji: it's a system of Japanese writing using Chinese characters, used primarily for content words.