THE BACKFIRED ATTACK.
"...and that's the whole story." His grip tightening around Kyoko's arm, Kijima chuckled, which neither Ren nor Kyoko shared, as he narrated to his friend how the two of them ended up together at the party. "Kyoko got a makeover, and I got a beautiful date for tonight. Since both of us were getting something out of it, we just went for it."
Instead of passing some polite remark, which Ren would've generally done, his lips stretched into a smile, and to Kyoko's horror, it wasn't any ordinary smile, but his deadly cold perfect signature smile!
She couldn't resist a shiver. What? Is he mad? Why? What did I do now?
Kyoko became absolutely sure that it was her Ren was angry with as he directed his blazing fake smile straight at her. "Good for you."
Fortunately, before Kyoko could get even more tensed up, a small crowd of girls approached Ren and surrounded him, and so, following Kijima's lead, she quietly slipped away from there.
They had not ventured very far and were probably still close enough to Ren and Yashiro to be in hearing range when they ran into a couple of Kijima's friends, and him being totally oblivious about Ren's mood, he started chatting with them right there with Kyoko still at his arm.
"Aren't you gonna introduce us to your date?" One of the men asked Kijima, and they were absolutely thrilled to find her to be Kyoko, since they have known her already since the beginning of Dark Moon, and still not recognized her.
Once more, Kyoko was showered with compliments because of how beautiful she looked, which she gratefully received.
"So, what do you guys think about us?" Kijima smirked. His arm snaked around Kyoko's waist and he pressed her to his side. "Wouldn't we make an awesome couple?"
His friends nodded and offered encouraging remarks, but Kyoko knew that Kijima was a man with a sense of humor, and assuming it to be one of his many pranks, she laughed aloud. Her action being perceived by others as willingness on her part.
Ren's ears had already been perked up since he had been trying to eavesdrop every word uttered by those two, but if he felt anything by this new turn of events, he didn't show it. He just continued to entertain his admirers with his usual smile.
His manager wasn't as calm or collected though. Yashiro's jaw was hanging. Throwing a quick glance at Ren, he stared at Kyoko in part horror and part anticipation.
Meanwhile, being put on the spot like that, Kyoko realized how everyone within a five metre radius was staring at her to hear her response.
Why're they all acting so serious? He was only joking! She thought. Turning to Kijima, she offered him her brightest of smiles before answering his question, "why not?"
A few people clapped, while some patted their backs to congratulate them, which finally made Kyoko realize, that maybe, just maybe Kijima wasn't actually joking and she had just accepted to go out with him in front of half a dozen people. Biting her lower lip, she let dread take over her.
Meanwhile, if Yashiro's jaw was hanging before, now it touched the floor and a choking sound escaped from his throat. He finally dared to look at Ren, and to his surprise, his client was still entertaining his admirers, his smile slackened not even by an inch.
Maybe he didn't hear them, the manager figured. Turning to look at Kyoko again, he sighed. I'm sorry Kyoko, but this time even if can't help you. You've brought this on yourself, and so you'll have to suffer the wrath of Ren by yourself.
Not a long time passed when Kyoko finally found herself alone with Kijima. She used this opportunity to clear her doubts.
"Listen," she tugged at his arm. "When you said those things about us going out together, you were joking, weren't you?"
Kijima halted, cocking his head to stare at her. "Of course not. Why would you think that?"
The colour drained from Kyoko's face. "Y-you are always flirting with girls, so I assumed..."
"You thought I was joking? I'm perfectly serious about you. You're totally my type."
"B-b-but..." Kyoko blubbered, her panic evident.
With a sigh, Kijima took her hand. "Kyoko, answer me honestly. Do you hate me? Or do you have something against me?"
"No. I don't hate you..."
"It's settled then. Why don't we give us a shot? Let's go out."
Like the ripping of a band ain, Kyoko thought it best to just let it out. "I can't go out with you!"
This was Kijima's turn to have the colour drained from his face. "Why? Barely an hour had passed, don't tell me you're already dumping me."
"It's not you... It's just..." She tried to explain, but failed miserably. "It's me. I can't go out with anyone."
"Why?" He frowned.
"It's complicated to explain. All I can tell you is that it's a promise I made to myself."
"That you won't go out with anyone?"
Kyoko nodded.
Kijima narrowed his eyes, dubiously. "You're not pulling my leg, are you?"
Before she could respond, someone called out to her. "Kyoko! There you are!"
Both of them cocked their heads at the familiar sound of Ren's voice.
If Kyoko had been trembling before, now she froze up into a fit of horror. The timing couldn't have been worse for Ren to join them. Very slowly, she turned, daring to look at him. Fortunately though, she realized his smile to be genuine.
Instead of asking what they were talking about, Ren turned to her. "Kyoko, they're waiting for you."
"Me? Why?"
"Your interview is about to start." Turning to Kijima, he apologized, "sorry for interrupting. Excuse us."
"It's fine." Kijima looked at Kyoko one last time before striding off.
Ren then ushered a very frantic Kyoko away from the crowd, who besides being worried about the whole Kijima thing was also trying to decipher from Ren's expression if he was still mad at her for whatever reason he was earlier. As far as she could tell from his poker face, his mood had recovered.
When the two made it to the stage, she found someone else already occupying the seat on the podium, so she shot Ren a questioning look.
"You'll be next," he explained, leading her to a smaller sofa below the raised platform of the stage. Besides that sofa, there was a very odd looking wooden historical statue.
Kyoko silently took her seat, and Ren also joined her without a word.
While the two waited there in awkward silence, Kyoko wondered why Ren was waiting there with her. Since he was the protagonist, he should have already given his interview in the very beginning and be done with it. Why else would he be waiting there?
As if reading her mind, Ren answered her silent question. "The order have changed. You and I are supposed to go together, because Takarada said so. Since it's your first TV interview, he did not want to put pressure on you. Of course we were supposed to go first, but you arrived late."
As he spoke each word, Kyoko was sure she sensed some waves of suppressed anger and it was enough to convince her Ren was still mad. She gulped.
"You and I need to have a talk," his glare turned dark and Kyoko had the sudden urge to shrink into a ball. "What were you thinking?"
"What do you mean?" She tried to sound courageous, but it came out as a hoarse whisper.
"What were you thinking accepting Kijima's proposal like that? Don't you know that it's against LME's policy guidelines to date someone you work with?"
If such a rule existed, Kyoko had no idea. She now at least had an excuse to give to Kijima, that was one problem down. However, there was still the biggest one left, and it was sitting right beside her in a crisp white tuxedo, staring at her with an aura full of rage emanating out of him.
Squeezing her eyes tight shut, she crossed her hands. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please don't be mad, okay? I didn't know about this rule. And I thought he was joking! I didn't have a clue he was serious about asking me out!"
Ren regarded her coolly. "Are you saying he bought you a dress and paid for your makeup, and you had no idea of his true intentions?"
"No," she shook her head.
"Don't you know that when a man buys something for a woman, there's a pretty high chance he wants something from her in return?"
"Technically, he didn't give me this dress. I borrowed it just for the party-"
"As long as he paid for it and you put it on, does it matter?" Ren's face darkened. "The only reason he spent all that money was because he wanted to have his way with you! And you even foolishly agreed to be his date. Honestly, I almost thought you were encouraging him, and you say you didn't know."
"I honestly didn't!"
"Do you know how disappointed President Takarada would be when he finds out how you were so ignorant of the company policies?"
"Please don't tell him. This won't happen again, I swear!" All of a sudden, something occurred to Kyoko. "I don't think the President will mind, because technically, after the last episode of Dark Moon airs tonight, Mr Kijima and I wouldn't be co-stars anymore."
Fury flashed in Ren's eyes, his face darkening even more. "And what if after you had started going out with him, Dark Moon renewed for a second season? Wouldn't you be co-stars again then?"
Kyoko looked down once more. "I wasn't gonna go out with him anyway. I told you, it was all just a misunderstanding!"
"Fine," Ren sighed. "Since you realize your mistake, and as long as it won't happen again, I won't tell Takarada about it."
"Thank you." Relief flooded on Kyoko's face.
"And If you ever run into a problem like today where you need someone to help you out, instead of going to any other man, you come straight to me."
Kyoko was about to nod, finally relaxed for Ren not being mad anymore when something occurred to her. She had been worried for days to attend this party since she knew she would have to face Ren here. And with those sirens blaring in her heart just from the memory of him, it was quite dangerous for her.
However, because of this argument, she almost forgot about all of those unnecessary feelings and had a normal conversation with him without her thoughts steering into any unholy direction. Realizing this, she started panicking again since their argument was over, and her mind was now free of pressures to run into dangerous territories.
Desperate to keep the argument going, so that her heart might not take a turn for the worse, she decided to say something provocative to Ren in order to make him mad again.
With a playful smile stretching on her lips, she rested her cheek on her closed fist and asked, "why should I come to you with my problems? Didn't you just say that a man only spends on a woman when he wants something from her in return?" Her smile widened. "Does that mean you want to have your way with me as well?"
At first, Ren failed to hide the clear and evident surprise on his face, but as soon he regained his composure, his lips twisted into a mocking smirk. "Well, judging from how the conversation was going, I could see how you would have gotten that impression. But since I'm a man, I should take responsibility for my words and back them up, no?" Leaning his head on the headrest, he traced his first two fingers on his lips in a seductive manner giving Kyoko's heart a tug in the process. "Shall I have my way with you right now then?"
It was a usual morning for Shouko. With a cup of steaming instant coffee, she sat on the sofa in front on the TV, while she waited for Sho to take his shower.
The two were currently touring all over Japan to attend Sho's live concerts.
Following her morning ritual, the manager flipped through the channels when something caught her eye and she was left gawking at the screen.
It was an interview from last night including Ren Tsuruga and some girl. But the part that left Shouko shell-shocked was when she realized the girl to be Kyoko. Once again, her appearance was altered like she was some shapeshifter. Or a chameleon.
"So, that's how I ended up looking like this," she was saying to the interviewer with a light chuckle. "It's all thanks to Mr Kijima."
"You look absolutely beautiful, and I'm sure your fans think so too." The interviewer turned her attention to Ren. "Any thing you'd like to add?"
"Yes," he flashed his smile to the camera. "Tonight's telecast will contain some special exclusive content with some behind the scenes bloopers as well, so don't miss it."
"And make sure," said Kyoko, "that you enjoy the show. We'll be waiting for your reviews."
Shouko's jaw slackened. I cannot let Sho see this! She decided. As if on cue, she heard the shower being turned off in the distance. Her hand snapped to the remote and she quickly switched off the TV.
"The shower's empty now, you can go in." Sho said, wiping his head off into a towel.
"What are you gonna do?"
"I'll just watch some TV."
"I just remembered, the manager of the hotel strongly urged us to have breakfast with him in the restaurant." And before Sho could object, Shouko almost dragged him down, away from the TV.
Kyoko was returning from the Dark Moon studio, where she had gone over to pick some of her stuff, when she ran into Itsumi and the two girls began to chat.
Itsumi revealed to her how the last episode of Dark Moon had just aired last night but it already broke it's previous records with it's rating turning sky high.
Kyoko was absolutely thrilled to hear the news. The girls congratulated each other for the show turning out to be such a huge success.
"Anyway, Kyoko, did you see the news?"
"No, why?"
"You know among all the cast members of Dark Moon, you seem to be the hot topic on TV right now." Itsumi winked. "Specially after your transformation. Your interview is getting the most attention."
Kyoko blushed. "That's probably because I did the interview with Ren."
"No, they're covering your part. Give yourself some credit. You really did look beautiful."
"Thank you."
The girls departed on their separate ways, and Kyoko went over to the Kimagure Rock studio to shoot Bo the mascot's scenes in advance, since her schedule will be jammed soon because of the Setsuka part. The shoot lasted pretty much the whole day.
After she was done, she came straight back home. Now that she was alone, within the privacy of her room, her thoughts drifted back to Ren again. She wondered where on Earth she got the courage to pull that stunt on him. Remembering how brutally Ren had countered her attack by backfiring it straight at her, she blushed into all shades of red.
Shall I have my way with you right now then?
To make it worse, his words constantly echoed in her brain. Of course, he had only been trying to mock her but she ended up playing right into his hands by giving him the most expected reaction. Breaking into a fit of panic, she had shaken her head hysterically and apologized for being so forward. She was so startled that she had bumped into that weird looking wooden statue beside her and almost knocked it over.
Although, Ren didn't seem to be enjoying her panic. Instead, his deep eyes settled on her with what could only be deciphered as desperation.
"It was a joke obviously," he had said. "There's no need to get so flustered. I know you're not that kind of girl, and how much you value your beliefs. So of course I would never do anything to you that would make you cry."
However, instead of making his sincerity known, his words had the opposite impact on Kyoko, who thankfully didn't show it at the moment since they were interrupted for their interview which was about to start.
So in other words, if I was a mature girl who wouldn't cry at these provocative lines, but instead, handle them with grace because of her high spirits, then he wouldn't hesitate to do 'somethings' to me? Is that it? Her face contorted into part anger and part jealousy. I knew it! He's definitely a playboy!
Her thoughts were halted to a stop when they were interrupted by the sudden ringing of her cellphone. When she picked it up, it turned out to be an unknown number.
Curiously, she answered it. "Hello?"
"Ms Mogami!"
"Mr Takarada?"
"What's with the tone? Don't tell me you haven't saved my number?"
Her silence was answer enough.
"How cold! I called you before, didn't I? Save it this time."
"Sure," Kyoko pretended there was nothing odd in the President of the entire agency asking her to save his personal number. Indeed, he had called her before from his private cell, but she assumed it to be a one time thing and didn't bother saving it.
"Anyway, I called you because I wanted to make sure everything's ready for tomorrow? You were informed of all the details, weren't you?"
Kyoko's face lit up at the mention of her upcoming job. "Yes. Everything's good. I'm ready to act. You can leave it to me."
"Just hearing you say that makes me so relieved. However, if you run into any kind of problem, whether big or small, do not hesitate to let me know. I want you to call me. You can reach me anytime on this number, so make sure you save it."
"Okay, I'll keep that in mind." She smiled.
"I'm counting on you, Mogami. At long last, it'll be the true beginning of the act of the Heel siblings."
To be continued.