Auditions

Kyoko woke up to her mother's voice. It was loud and tinged with anger. The clock on her floor read 9:35. Frantically, Kyoko realised that her alarm clock was broken.

"Kyoko! Wake up and pack your bags. You're going to the Fuwa's again; I'm leaving for Tokyo this afternoon and I don't want you in the house." She called.

Swiftly, Kyoko climbed out of bed and grabbed the emergency overnight bag she kept for situations like this. Sometimes her mom would order her to leave, and the only place Kyoko had to go was Shotoro and his parents' Ryokan. It wasn't often that her mom was home, and Saena locked the doors meaning Kyoko couldn't get in, and it was rare that she would get to sleep in her own bed. Once, when she was eight, her mother had left her with the Fuwa family for so long that they thought she wasn't going to come back.

Kyoko quickly yanked on the clothes she had set aside the previous night, and swung the backpack onto her shoulder. She would come back in to collect some more things- toiletries, clothes, books through the window of her bedroom. It was a loose window and there was a ledge that was about a meter or so under it. Kyoko had more important things to do right now, like go to the audition that Aramaki-sama had arranged. It would be so impolite to miss it, especially as Aramaki-sama had set it up just for her.

Hurridly she scurried down the stairs, and swung into the kitchen/dining room.

"I'm leaving now, Okaa-sama. I shall send the Fuwa's your regards." Kyoko said quietly. Saena did not look up from her newspaper.

Kyoko let out a sigh of regret, and her features shifting into an expression as dismal as the grey sky. She took out her battered old second-hand bike from the back of the house and began to pedal manically to the Fuwa's Ryokan. It was situated amongst a cluster of trees, their leaves a vibrant green, and blossoms springing up all over it. Kyoko rested her bike on a tree and walked towards the entrance of the Inn. Her heart beat faster as she contemplated maybe seeing Shotoro when she informed his parents that her mother would be leaving to Tokyo. Shotoro always made her feel... strange. Kyoko couldn't quite put her finger on it, but when ever she saw him she'd blush or smile too much.

Maybe you love Shotoro? A voice whispered in her mind.

Kyoko shook her head, as if she was shaking the thought away. It was already 9:48, according to her watch. She needed to hurry. It wouldn't do to be late. The steps leading to the Ryokan seemed to be miles long, and when Kyoko reached the doors, she rushed inside, knowing that Ren would be waiting for her at the hotel.

Shotoro's Okaa-san was arranging a vase of seasonal flowers on the polished wood table.

"Ohayƍ gozaimasu, Kyoko." She smiled. "What's the matter?"

"Sorry for the inconvenience, but my mother is leaving tonight and I was wondering if I could stay here?" Kyoko said, out of breath from her bike ride. "I'll work for you until Mom returns." She added hurriedly. Fuwa-san nodded kindly.

"You can stay as long as you like, Kyoko. You know that."

Kyoko breathed in relief. "I'm so sorry, Fuwa-san, but I have an appointment," she glanced at her watch, "five minutes ago. I will be back later. Thank you so much." Kyoko bowed low and waved goodbye.

Her bicycle took her to the hill the hotel sat atop. There wasn't anywhere obvious to park her bike, so Kyoko lay it down behind a bush so it couldn't be seen by passers-by. As she put her hand on the glass door, she remember the words Aramaki-sama had spoken yesterday.

"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."

Kyoko reached into the pocket of her jeans and drew out a clutch purse. Clicking it open, she took a small blueish stone from it. It was already quarter past ten. Clenching the stone tight in her fist, Kyoko pushed the door open. She shouldered her way through a crowd of American tourists, and rudely pushed her way to the elevator. Once inside the lift Kyoko took out a piece of gum. Noisily, she began to chew it.

The doors opened at the fifth floor: the floor Ren was staying on. With a walk almost like a boy's, Kyoko strolled over to Ren's door. Her (or rather Kohaku's) knock was quick and sharp, as if her anger was being thrust onto the door through her knuckles. Slowly the handle turned and Ren's face appeared, soon followed by his muscular chest and long legs.

"Kyoko? Weren't you supposed to be here twenty minutes ago?" he asked, shocked.

"Kohaku's my name," Kyoko spat, "and I'm looking for Aramaki. You seen him?"

Ren seemed confused with Kyoko's reaction, but he lead her to room number 5G nonetheless.

"Good luck," he said, and opened the door, to reveal a comfortable looking living room with Aramaki, a teenage girl with long, dark, reddish brown hair piled in a bun on the top of her head, and a short looking man wearing glasses.

"I have, er, Kohaku here to see you Yori-san." Ren announced. Aramaki looked up, and smiled slightly.

"I see that you remembered what I said about staying in character, Mogami-san."

Kyoko looked away. "This is Kyoko, Hotaru, Osamu. She's the girl who I mentioned would be auditioning for the role of Kohaku." Aramaki said to the man and the girl. They nodded, and the girl, Hotaru, stood up.

"Hello, Kohaku." She said shyly. "I'm... Mizuki." Hotaru picked up her script from the coffee table but didn't open it.

"Why don't people talk to you? I've noticed that everybody ignores you, even the teachers." The red-head said, curiously. Kyoko recognised this as the first line of the script she'd been given.

"People care too much about appearances to be seen talking to a freak." Kyoko replied in an offhand voice.

Hotaru took a step towards her, lifting her arm as if to put her hand on Kyoko's shoulder, but faltered and it dropped back to her side.

"Why do they call you a freak?" Hotaru asked quietly. Kyoko turned away.

"None of your business, new girl." Kyoko turned back to the teen. "Maybe you should keep your abnormally large nose out of other people's stuff."

Without realising, Hotaru's hand went to touch her nose, uncertainly.

"I was just trying to be nice." She said desperately, as Kyoko turned back around.

"Yeah? Well I don't need your pity." Kyoko hissed, as her eyes shifted from gold to a darker, amber red. The girl stalked off, leaving Hotaru staring after her as Kyoko slammed the door that she had come in only a few minutes ago.

Aramaki stood up and smiled at Osamu. "I think we've found our Kohaku."


Disclaimer: Skip Beat belongs to Yoshiki Nakamura.

I'm back! This chapter wasn't half as good, or long as I'd hoped, but I'm just glad that my computer's finally working! Thank you for all your reviews last chapter; I've updated the previous two, so you might want to take a look at them because of the changes I've made might make you confused.