THE PAST FIVE YEARS.
There was an unmistakable sharpness and hostility in his features as he treaded inside the President's living room. His dark eyes were cool and arctic which remained glued to Hizuri as he walked up to him, not even glancing at Takarada.
Hizuri sprang up to his feet from the sofa upon his arrival.
"I only agreed to come," Ren began once they were standing face to face, "because I want to ask-"
"About that girl's performance as Kuon?" Hizuri guessed.
Ren's eyes narrowed. His face devoid of any emotion. "There is only one thing I want to know. How much have you told her?"
"Huh?"
"She knows what your son was like when he was all pure and innocent. What about the rest? You asked her to act out Kuon for you because you loved him when he was young, right? Because you miss him before he transformed into this wild, hateful rogue with a twisted mentality, who sees this crooked world for what it really is."
"That's not-"
"I understand." Ren cut him off. His eyes burning with cold fury. "I know how much you want your old son back, when he used to be all bright and sunny, but he is gone now. So-" he was interrupted when Hizuri reached out to him and flicked on his forehead. "Ouch!" Ren exclaimed, more from surprise than from the pain. "What was that for?"
"Loved?" Hizuri spat through clenched teeth. His anger apparent on his face. "Would you stop using the past tense?" His voice turned pained and desperate. "I still love my son with all my heart, and it shame that he can't see it. I don't care what people say about him. No matter how roguish he has become, I'll always love. He can never be replaced by anyone else."
"I don't understand," Takarada, who had been sitting back quietly and watching the show, finally intervened. "Why are you talking about Kuon in the third person? It feels so odd."
"You're the one who started it, Boss!" Hizuri complained. "Putting that idea in his head to ditch his past and build this new identity of Ren Tsuruga. I know how persistent he is. He'll not break character no matter what."
"When you two met at the studio, there were ears everywhere so it's a good thing Ren didn't break character then," Takarada replied. "But right now, there's no risk of anyone overhearing us. So you two can have a normal father and son conversation here."
They both glanced at each other before looking down. They had a thousand things to say, yet neither was quite certain at where to begin.
At last, Hizuri broke the silence lingering between them. "I want to make sure that you are not pushing yourself too hard. Just take it easy."
Ren's had drooped down even further. After a long pause he spoke, "I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize. Because I understand," Hizuri seated himself and motioned for Ren to join him. "You came to know about Kyoko Mogami, then I'll tell you. I did not ask her to act out Kuon because of me. It was just her performance for her special training. She was having trouble getting into character of a new role. But thanks to that exercise, her doubts have been cleared."
Hizuri told him a gist of the day's events, and also Kyoko single weakness which she needed to overcome in order to rise through her ranks.
"It's all about her preference," he explained. "If the role she is playing is suited to her choice, she'll slip into it like a chameleon. She is a pretty scary type of actor, the same as you."
"Me?"
"Yeah. The type who totally lose themselves when they get too attached to the character. Honestly, weren't you surprised to see her Kuon right before your eyes?"
"Yes, I was."
"How much she resembled you!"
"But, how did she come to know all those things about me? She even called the President Boss like I used to."
"That's what I would like to know."
"I thought you told her. About my past, I mean."
"Do you think I'm stupid?" Hizuri snapped. "Why do you think I went to the trouble of acting like a stranger when we met? To keep your identity a secret! You started from scratch and worked so hard to sell this image of Ren Tsuruga just so you could let go of your past and rise up on your own. Do you really think I would just hand out details of your true identity to outsiders and put all that you've been working on in jeopardy?"
"I..." His voice trailed off.
"I purposely gave her contradicting details about your personality to make her work, yet she was so much on point. She certainly did not hear about your past from anyone of us. So the only explanation is that she liked the role of Kuon," Hizuri concluded. "When she's given roles that are suited to their preference, she is almost scary good as she slips into their character. This explains why her Kuon was so accurate. She must have really loved the character of Kuon to play it so perfectly."
"So she loved it, didn't she?" Takarada discreetly winked at Ren and passed him an ugly, mocking smirk.
Without permission, colour tinged Ren's cheeks and he faked a cough to cover his face. Before his father could notice Takarada's mischievous attempts to tease him, he abruptly changed the subject. "So how is she doing?"
"Who?"
"Who else? Your beautiful wife, Julie." With a pause he added, "or my mother."
At the mention of her name, Hizuri's face turned pale.
"What's the matter?" Ren demanded concernedly.
"Actually," Hizuri answered after a hesitant pause. "The reason I came to Japan, it's to do with Juliena. She asked me to pass along a request to you."
"Request?"
"I know I said I would protect your secret and not ask you to break character, but for once, even if only for five minutes, can you give us our Kuon back? The way we remember him. Without this... disguise?"
Ren did not show it but the sudden change in Hizuri's expressions scared him.
Hizuri opened his mouth to explain further but no words came out. At last, like the ripping of a bandaid, he decided to just out with it. So he blurted, "Julie told me that she has only three months left to live."
It was nearly midnight when Kyoko was done with her Bo shoot at the Kimagure Rock studio. As she set out for home, she couldn't help but think about young Kuon and the advices Hizuri gave her. In fact, ever since she returned from the hotel, even during her performance as Bo, those thoughts barely left her, and her mood remained dejected. The more she thought about it, the more it hurt that the role of Kuon, which she had worked so hard to create, was over.
She recalled what Hizuri had told her, that once she experiences the true joy of being in character and living the emotions of another, she'll be hooked. After Kuon, she did feel addicted. But what disturbed her was the fact that it wasn't the case with her Mio.
She had never felt so alive, or thrilled, or excited, or happy, or sad enough to be driven to tears while playing any other character beside Kuon, specially Mio. It was not like her Mio wasn't good enough, it was just that Mio's role wasn't rich in emotions for her to be obsessed with it.
As she strolled through the dark and empty streets of Tokyo on her way to Darumaya, she couldn't help but sigh with remorse.
The weather was getting colder, and so the nippy wind pierced through her clothes, sending delicious shivers down her back, but even that wasn't enough to distract her from her cynical thoughts.
She wondered how long it will take before she does get the kind of role she desperately wished for.
"Three months? That's a lot!" Ren rolled his eyes. "It sounded so true that I almost believed you for a second."
"I know! I did too when she told me," Hizuri agreed.
"What's going on? Would someone care to fill me in here?" Takarada cocked his head back and forth from Hizuri to Ren.
"Whenever Julie doesn't get her way, she has this habit of joking about having little time left to live," Hizuri explained. "But she has never gone further than a day. She is always like, 'I've a minute, or an hour, or a day left.' She is so depressed right now that even her jokes don't sound like jokes anymore."
Ren tilted his head down to avert his eyes bashfully. "I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault. Julie doesn't blame you either. She blames him," he pointed an accusing thumb at the President. "If this kidnapper hadn't whisked you away then and at least waited until Julie returned from her work trip like I asked him to-"
"What did you call me?" Takarada lunged at Hizuri and grabbed him by the collar, shooting him a nasty glare.
"Lory, Julie didn't talk to me for six months after you took Kuon with you to Japan, only because I let you get away with him! She still makes me feel guilty that I at least had the chance to say goodbye to him but it all happened so fast-"
"And that's my fault?" Takarada's grip tightened. "Your son was falling apart right before your eyes and you had no idea what to do! Neither of you did! And who was it who came crying to me for help in the first place, huh?"
"Well, that's different..." Hizuri looked down. "But still, if you had only waited for Julie to come back, she wouldn't have had so many fits of flying to Japan. If I hadn't stopped her, she would have dragged Kuon back to America with his ear if she had to! Since I stopped her, she would cry and tell me that she hates me. Boss, do you have any idea how much it hurts when someone you love tells you that they hate you? She even told me she doesn't care about me as long as she gets her son back!"
Takarada let go of his collar and sat back in his seat. "It might have been partly my fault since I rushed things," he admitted with a sour face.
"Anyway, what Julie wants is the reassurance to see you with her own eyes that you are safe and well," he said to Ren, "considering how the last time she saw you was when you were going insane. She won't be satisfied with just a photo, she asked for you to come back, and if that's not possible then she at least wants a video message. But not from Ren Tsuruga. She wants to see you without this disguise, as the Kuon we remember."
Hizuri waited for Ren to say something, but all he got from him was hard, brooding silence.
"But I know how you have promised yourself that you would not break this character and become Kuon again until you've achieved all your goals, so I wouldn't force you."
"What do you say?" Takarada inquired. "If you want to do it, then I can get things prepared," he offered generously.
After what seemed like a forever-long pause, Ren smiled. "I don't think Ms Woods would appreciate us interrupting her vacation in Hawaii."
"I'm sure she wouldn't mind." The President chuckled. "I can bet she's tired of the Hawaiian men by now."
Hizuri cocked his head back and forth from Takarada to Ren. "I don't really follow what you are saying."
"You dimwit," Takarada shook his head. "He's saying he'll do it! Ms Jelly Woods is Ren's personal Makeup Artist, who is in Hawaii right now."
But Hizuri wasn't listening. His jumped up to his feet and threw his arms in the air victoriously. "Yes!" Letting out a long sigh of relief, he slumped down in his seat again. "Actually, Julie made a fuss about sticking with me on this trip. I dissauded her by promising her to bring back a video letter with me. If you had refused, she probably would've never spoken to me again."
Hiding the guilt he felt for taking out his frustrations on his parents and blaming them for the things he had done himself, Ren looked down to hide his face while remaining silent.
"Ren, you have Dark Moon shoot tomorrow morning, right?" Takarada asked. "Once you're done there, come back here. I'll call Jelly Woods."
"Boss, can I come too?" Hope shimmered in Hizuri's eyes.
"No! Jelly knows that Ren isn't a native japanese, but she has no idea that he's your son. We can't risk anyone finding out that you two are related because the whole point of Ren going to the trouble of hiding his identity is because he wanted to do this on his own, without being under your shadow."
"Alright," Hizrui turned to face Ren and smiled. "Thank you for doing this."
"If a message is all it takes to put her mind at ease, then I'd be glad to."
The next morning when Yashiro and Ren arrived at the set of Dark Moon, they found Kyoko waiting for them by the entrance. She was already in her Mio costume with a dark wig on her head. She asked if she could talk, and so the three chose a quiet corner where they settled.
Kyoko began by apologizing to Ren for calling his Katsuki "lame" the other day. And then she explained to them the whole situation with Hizuri. She told them that she was in character of Hizuri's son, which was why she had to pretend to not know them.
"Wow! I'm so surprised!" Yashiro exclaimed. Though he tried to hide it, it was obvious that he was a little startstruck. "You're actually taking care of Kuu Hizuri and he even gave you acting advice!"
"I know," Kyoko smiled warmly. "I feel so lucky."
"So, did you get a grasp on Kuon's feelings?" Ren asked. He recalled yesterday when he had seen Kyoko as the younger version of him. There was an air of confidence around her Kuon, and his respect and admiration for his father could be seen through her eyes. Ren couldn't help but think that he was seeing himself. Because when he was young, just like Kyoko portrayed it, his father was his hero.
"I'm totally confident that I did!" Kyoko flashed a wide smile. "I'm sure Kuon loved his Dad from all his heart. In fact, he father was his hero!" Kyoko kept on ranting praises for Kuon and Hizuri until they were called back to the set.
Do you really want to break out of here? The President had asked Kuon firmly. If you do, then I will set the stage for you. Just cover up your background and start a new life. Try and become a better actor than your father in the same country where he was raised. You will be anonymous, so you can start from scratch and rise up on your own like you wanted. I'll not use my power in any way to fuel your career. And return only when you've stood up on your own two feet.
It had been five years since that day. Ren recalled those words and he remembered that desperate look on his father's face when he tried to stop Takarada from taking him away. There was pleading in his eyes, but Kuon was not swayed enough to stay. With only the clothes he was wearing and his passport in his hands, he had followed the President to Japan in order to escape. The alternative was to stay and face what had happened, but he was a coward. He knew if he stayed, he would lose his mind. So he fled.
And from the moment he arrived in Japan, he was so engrossed in maintaining the character of Ren Tsuruga all the time, that he did not even consider the feelings of the parents he had left before.
Two years passed without any contact from them before he finally realized it, and then he assumed that his parents had already given up on him, so he never bothered to get in touch with them.
After he was done recording the video, he studied himself in the mirror of the guestroom in the President's mansion. His blond hair covered half his forehead. They were as bright as sunshine and as yellow as the color of corn. He smiled remembering this nickname Kyoko had given him.
And then he looked into his eyes. Those emerald orbs were as sparkling as before. Their lustre hadn't faded. It was hard to believe it had been five years since he actually looked at himself without this disguise.
With those memories still ringing in his head, he stepped out in the living room where Takarada was waiting for him. His stylist, Jelly Woods was also there. She was a mousy and petite woman, with brown curly hair and a outgoing, charming personality. Due to her appearance and her childish behaviour, people often mistook her for a teenager, but she was actually in her late-thirties.
The President heard him enter. "Is it done?"
"Yes," he handed the camcorder to him.
"Good. Jelly, you can put the colour back now."
"Already?" Her eyebrows popped up.
"Our work is done," Takarada answered. "Didn't I tell you that he's dyeing it back for sending a message to his family."
Jelly fumed. "So you're saying I flew here all the way from Hawaii for the sake of only fifteen minutes?"
"I'm so sorry, J" Ren smiled at her apologetically. "I didn't mean to interrupt your vacation."
"It's alright. Anything for you and Lori," she sighed. "My darling personally asked me to come, I couldn't refuse, can I?" she put her elbow on Takarada's shoulder, and leaned on him with a flirty smile. "Since I'm such a good girl, don't you think it's about time you asked me out."
"In your dreams," Takarada snorted. Before Jelly would start rambling on about him being mean, he popped a candy in her mouth. "Enjoy. It's caramel," he smirked. Turning to Ren he said, "get your hair dyed back, and I'll go give this to Kuu." With the camcorder in his hand, he took his leave.
