Chapter 13
He absolutely hated this. All because of her, he had to go back to square one in promoting himself. Everyone was focused on Kyoko and Kuon. Kyoko this. Kuon that. It was disgusting. She was just using him to advance her career. She absolutely wouldn't be the stupid lovesick girl again, she made a vow to him.
"Why are they treating those two like their the Royal Couple or something?" He groused.
Aki ignored his comment and shook her head, then went back to looking over his schedule.
~xoxo~
Fuwa is in the building for an interview. The text from Ruto read. He had sent the text to Yuki as they stood together watching their charges being interviewed by Bridge Rock. He wanted to make that particular tidbit as discrete as possible to avoid any reactions from the pair.
Yuki groaned a little. What would you like to do about this? He replied with the question.
We should stay alert and try to avoid any contact at all. Hopefully he's busy enough to stay away. Ruto responded. Yuki glanced at him and nodded.
~xoxo~
"Wow Kyoko-chan, I didn't know you knew how to ski! You look like you're having so much fun!" Shinichi gushed excitedly after they watched a clip from the movie that took place in New Zealand.
Kyoko giggled a little. "I really didn't at first. I had to learn quickly before the others showed up." She told them a little embarrassed.
Kuon just stared at her a little then shook his head with a chuckle.
"Is something wrong Kuon-san?" Hikaru asked a little confused.
He smiled brightly. "Nothing really. I just realized how quickly Kyoko-chan learns everything."
Yuusei too was now a little confused. None of her former cast mates had really thought about it before. "Why do you say that?"
"Oh! Sorry... I was just remembering when she learned stage combat for Sacred Lotus In The Mire. I was told she was only in training for a couple of weeks." He paused a little and shook his head. He needed to explain. "Usually something like that takes a couple of months to get to the level she needed to do the fighting and stunts properly for the part of Momiji."
"Wow, that's something I never realized." Hikaru turned back to Kyoko. "Did you do all your own stunts for Chamille in 007: Rise, too?"
She nodded a blushing a little. She almost felt like she was being boastful. "I really can't take full credit though. I have to give credit to the stunt coordinators and my trainers. They were very patient and helpful in the process. I wouldn't have been able to do it without them."
Kuon shook his head inwardly. Some things would never change.
The boys turned their attentions to Kuon and got ready to cue the scenes for Two Steps Ahead, an action movie about an assassin looking to change his ways and having to escape being a target himself. "Did you do all of your own stunts in Two Steps Ahead, too?" Hikaru asked, now a little inwardly jealous and somewhat defeated. There was no way he could compete for a girl like her, he realized.
Kuon chuckled a little nervously. He honestly didn't want Kyoko to worry for him, even though she knew about the stunts in Tragic Marker, the stunts in his most recent film were far more dangerous and complicated. "I actually did. Like Kyoko, I really want to keep the continuity of the filming. There's so much involved when you have someone take over for you in situations like that and so much extra time spent setting up the scenes." He chuckled a little. "I suppose I just do it because I'm impatient and want to get things over with, instead of having to stand on the sidelines and watch someone else have all the fun."
Kyoko nodded her head in agreement with a heart-stopping smile. She was so proud of him and just a little of herself. "There is the added bonus of getting to learn something new too." She added.
Kuon agreed.
The trio nodded in agreement. "I can definitely see the appeal in that." Shinichi commented.
~xoxo~
He stood just off stage watching the couple as she had done with him, years ago. He watched the movie clips that had been shown and was dazzled by her glow. Yes, now that he thought about it, she glowed. Why did he never actually see this before? She reminded him of one of those starlets in an old Hollywood classic and Kuon matched her perfectly, he hated to admit. He could never compliment her like that. He could never stand on his own next to her as Hizuri did. They were like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that fit together perfectly, to complete the picture. She and he were on the opposite ends of the entertainment spectrum. She would always be the award winning actress and he would always be that singer from Japan. She was making millions in Hollywood and he was still trying to claw and scratch his way into the international market. It was depressing.
"First question from Bo's nest... This one's for both of you." He heard Hikaru Ishibashi ask. "Do you get jealous when Kuon-san/Kyouko-san has to kiss someone or do a love scene for a movie or drama?"
He heard the male chuckle and the female giggle. "I think we both get a little jealous, but it's just work. There's no feeling behind it and we both know that, so it's just not the same as when we're at home with each other." Kyoko answered and Kuon agreed. Sho knew for certain that he would never be able to see it that way. True it was her job, but he just couldn't fathom separating that type of fiction and reality.
He stared off into the distance in thought. So that's why she was able to move on. That's why she was able to lock me out of her life. He looked down at the floor. To her, I'm just another fan. Shoko-san's right... I really need to stop all of this. He turned and noticed Aki standing behind him. Any thoughts he had of approaching her after the show had quickly dissolved the moment he saw her blindingly happy smile. Why did he ever do and say those things to her? Did she ever feel this way about him? Did it hurt her this much?
"Sho... Don't do anything you might regret." She warned.
He sighed and gave her a wry smile. "Don't worry Shoko-san... I think you were right. I need to focus on my music more."
She gave him a sharp, surprised nod. "May I ask what brought this about?"
"Just a personal revelation. Something that I noticed, that wasn't noticed before. Maybe I'll tell you sometime." He sighed and turned to leave. "What else do we have left for today?"
~xoxo~
"So we're going to end this show with Kyoko-chan's new single "Rise". We'd like to thank you for joining us tonight and don't forget to go see Kuon-san's new movie "Two Steps Ahead" and Kyoko-chan's new movie "007: Rise"." Hikaru announced as the music began and the music video for it played in the background on the large screen.
"See you all next week!" Shinichi and Yuusei cheered and Bo flapped his wings in excitement as the audience cheered for the show.
"And... We're clear! Great job everyone!" The director called and Bridge Rock, along with Kyoko and Kuon, waited to greet their fans and sign autographs.
