Brand New You

Kyoko and Ren were both sitting on the mossy forest floor, discussing Ren's crazy plan.

"Who is this Jelly Woods person, Ren? More importantly, what's she going to do to my face?"

"She won't do any thing to your face, apart from putting a little makeup on you. She might give you a hair cut as well. I think you hide behind your hair, sometime." Ren frowned at Kyoko's long black hair, draped over her face like a curtain. It was covering her golden eyes.

"Won't I have to come to your set every day just to get a little makeup then? It would just be a waste of time."

Ren sighed."No Kyoko, I expect she'll give you a bit of make up and show you how to use it, that's all."

"Well can I meet this woman soon, please?" Kyoko was anxious to meet the woman she was going to entrust her appearance in, not because she was vain; she just didn't want to look like a clown.

"Sure," Ren smiled, "Lets just go over the plan one more time, okay?"

As they were approaching the hotel Ren and the rest of the crew were staying in, Kyoko could feel excitement and nerves bubbling up in the pit of her stomach. She clenched her fists and gave a elegant smile. She was going to look like a princess for the first time in her life!

Ren pushed open the door to the lobby of the swanky hotel and strolled to the elevator. It was a few seconds before he realized Kyoko wasn't with him. He whirled around and looked around for Kyoko, hoping she hadn't got lost in the large reception, filled with men and women in sober suits. He should have remembered that there was a business meeting in the conference hall of the hotel. It took a little time to locate her still standing, gazing around her with awe, by the big glass doors. The look on her face as she took the glamour in was priceless. She had always seen the grand hotel when she went into town, but she had never thought about what it would be like inside. Ren didn't notice the bouncy blond coming up behind him; he was focused on getting Kyoko to snap out of her daydream. Her face was rather comical, her mouth hanging open and her eyes glazed over.

"Ren! We missed you earlier. You should cut your walks down a little bit. We were worried about you." When she caught sight of the awestruck Kyoko Jelly danced around Ren to get a better look at her. "And who is this little darling, may I ask? She's gorgeous. Where did you find this one?"

For the first time Kyoko realized there were two people standing in front of her, talking about her as if she wasn't there.

"Mogami Kyoko, Ma'am. Pleased to make your acquaintance. Would you be Jelly Woods?" Kyoko was blushing furiously. She had let herself slip into fairyland when she was with Ren. She was cursing herself mentally, even as she was speaking to Jelly. The petite blond woman smiled warmly at Kyoko. It was a nice smile, dazzling but not cold and scary like one of Ren's gentleman smiles. It was inviting and kind.

"I am Jelly Woods. It's nice to meet you Mogami-san. So why are you guys here?" The last bit was directed at a bored looking Ren.

" We were looking for you actually. Some jokers were being cruel to Kyoko at school, so we would be grateful if you could make her look absolutely amazing so we can shock them with her new look right into next week. You're the best stylist I know and you happened to be right here. Are you in?" Jelly's eyes narrowed as her gaze flickered between the two kids. After a little pause she nodded vigorously and beamed at the two of them.

"Sure, I do love a challenge. Shall we go up to my room now and try out some new looks?"

Half an hour later, they were still nowhere. Every look left Kyoko looking amazing, and amazingly awkward.

"Can we take a break? These wigs are really itchy." Kyoko asked, removing a curly chocolate brown wig from her head. Ren and Jelly sighed. They exchanged a look before frowning.

"Sure Kyoko. I think a little time to relax would be good." Jelly took the wig from Kyoko and carefully set it down on the dressing table. "Kyoko, do you know what you actually want to look like? You've been silent through out the entire evening." The questioning look directed her way made her want to curl up in the corner of the room, like a scared little woodland animal. Kyoko's expression was one of misery.

"No. I didn't think about it at all. Wearing all those outfits felt weird. I like who I am, even if I get bullied for being me."

"Who are you Kyoko? If we knew we could, like, amplify you of something, without having to change who you are. "Ren's tone was exasperated and frustrated. Kyoko was so hard to figure out.

"I don't know, I'm just me." Kyoko was also frustrated, "I like manga and writing stories. I try my best at everything, to make my mom proud of me. I wish I was someone else and I like pretending to be someone else. I hate being me." Kyoko's eyes were rapidly filling up with tears of desperation and anger. While Ren was comforting the sobbing Kyoko, Jelly's mind cogs were whirling as an idea was beginning to take shape in her mind.

Another half hour later Kyoko was starting to look happy and comfortable with her new haircut and the makeup Jelly had put on her. Being treated like a giant Barbie doll was a little irritating, but it meant she could look like a princess then she didn't care. Right now Jelly was demonstrating how to apply blusher correctly, using a disgruntled Ren as a model. Kyoko was content. She was still herself, but now she looked… nice, really nice. She sighed with happiness as she caught sight of herself in the mirror behind Ren.

Her hair was still long and dark, but now it had a fringe cut in just above her eyes, making them the focus of her face, her pale cheeks had just a hint of pink about them. She was wearing a light purple t-shirt over black skinny jeans. Her shoes were a pair of chunky grey hi-tops and a brown leather jacket covered her arms. A gold and black necklace hung from her dainty neck, stopping at her belly button.

For the first time in an age, Kyoko felt pretty. She grinned and realized both Jelly and Ren were staring at her. She blushed scarlet, not having time to think, when Ren spoke out in his deep voice.

"Kyoko, did you hear me. It's nearly seven o'clock. Your mum will be getting worried, you have to go." In a flash Kyoko was at the door. She grinned.

"Thank you Jelly, Ren. I hope to see you tomorrow. Bye for now." As she opened the door she walked face first into a wall of muscle. A tall man frowned down on her.

"Who, may I ask, is this bundle of energy?" His voice was oddly high and Kyoko stifled the urge to giggle.

"M, Mogami Kyoko, Sir." Kyoko's voice quivered as the giggled threatened to break loose.

"Hmm." The man's head tilted to on side, as if he were thinking about something. "Do you act?" The simple question completely stunned Kyoko.

"I never thought of it, Sir. I'm sure I would like it if I tried." Kyoko replied politely, not wanting to offend the big man, as she searched for a way past his bulky frame. He completely blocked the large doorway.

"I just asked because one of the actresses has thrown a tantrum and left. Filming will be put on hold as we try to find someone else suitable for the part. It took long enough to sift through the auditions to find Akane," the muscular man's grimace turned into a grin. "As soon as it was out that Tsuruga Ren was the male lead in a new romance girls from all over the country started to send in audition tapes. I was thinking that Mogami-san looked near enough to the description of Kohoku she could possibly take Akane's role, but if she has never acted before I doubt she could play a role as complex as Kohaku. We will have to search for someone else. It is a shame; she could have solved our problems in the blink of an eye." He shook his head sadly and sighed, "All the previous filming will have to be shooting will have to be deleted and we will be delayed by at least another month." Kyoko felt compelled to cheer him up.

"I could try. Give me a shot, you never know. I might have a hidden talent for acting." Kyoko shrugged her shoulders and smiled upwards, hopefully. The man smiled back at her.

"Maybe, I'll give you a script. Come back here tomorrow, at ten o'clock for a little trial and we can see whether you have the makings of an actress. I will expect you to be completely in character from the moment you walk through the hotel doors, to the moment you walk out of them." He smiled back at her, "And by the way, I am Aramaki Yori." With a smile he handed Kyoko a script and left, leaving the doorway free to use.

Kyoko turned to Ren, a small, bewildered smile present on her face.

"What is the film about, Ren? You never said."

Ren laughed. "It's about a group of vigilante Superheros, like Batman. I'm a superhero in training, and I save you and Mizuki from a mugger. The two of you try to find out who I am because you didn't get a chance to thank me. That's how you find out about the underground Hero society!" He said, his eyes shining as he described what sounded more like a action/comedy than a romance to Kyoko.

"Isn't it meant to be a romance story? 'As soon as it was out that Tsuruga Ren was the male lead in a new romance girls from all over the country started to send in audition tapes.'" She quoted.

Blushing, Ren answered. "Yeah, there's a little romance between Kohaku, and my character, Hiroto." The teen glanced down to his silver watch. "You should go home soon Kyoko. It's getting late."

Kyoko nodded, and shot a small grin back at the pair before swiftly exiting the building.

Deep in thought, Kyoko walked her bike back to her house. It was another hour before sunset, the August sun still high in the sky, shining. Her mother wouldn't be worried, she never was. Kyoko stayed at the Fuwa's house when her mother went away, which was often. Her mom had just returned from a business trip that had lasted three weeks.

After sliding in the front door, Kyoko crept up the stairs, silently, so not to disturb her mother. Once she had reached her bedroom, she opened the script and began flicking through it. After around an hour she thought she had Kohaku's character down, and could even walk the way that she imagined Kohaku would. Over and over, she went through scenarios in her head, imagining how Kohaku would react if she had been subjected to the bullying that Kyoko had been. Kohaku was angry most of the time and she argued with everyone, so people tended to avoid her. She came from a broken home; her older brothers were also rebelling. She was untouchable. No one even tried to talk with her, until Mizuki, the transfer student, came. Mizuki didn't fear Kohaku; she felt sorry for her and tried to make friends with her. At first Kohaku was spiteful towards Mizuki, but then she let her in. They eventually became good friends.

Kyoko only had a small portion of the script, but she had already created her character from the fragment that she did have. She went over the lines in her head, until she knew them by heart. Once she was confident in her character she figured out what she would wear the next day. After digging through her wardrobe for a little while she found her long black boots from last winter. She decided to wear the leather jacket and skinny jeans again with a black vest top underneath. Confident in herself, Kyoko got into bed and fell asleep, after setting her alarm clock for eight the next morning.


Disclaimer: Skip Beat belongs to Yoshiki Nakamura.

Thank you for reading the second chapter of The Day The World Was Mine! I was so touched by your response, and am so grateful!