Disclaimer: What does this word imply?
Authoress' Notes: Sorry I took so long after my exams finished to get this out. I was drained, stressing about my marks, and uninspired. I think my muse is back though.
This chapter goes out to you, all of my readers and reviewers. This story is on 114 people's alerts list, on 83 people's favs list, and has almost 10000 hits...all in a few short months. I'm so happy that you all enjoy it and I hope this chapter meets your expectations. And to Asukai101, whose review made me laugh, I have no intention of abandoning this story...I actually have a plan and everything! I'm so proud of myself =D. I just can't update as quickly sometimes because of other obligations. Like my exams that sucked up the last month of my life. But I should hopefully update more frequently now that I'm on Summer vacation.
And just to let you all know, I've had an idea for an original story, so that will take up some of my time this Summer - but I'm still dedicated to this fanfiction.
Kyoko's Fairytale is live in 3...2...1...ACTION!
"Are you sure you can't come out for dinner, Kyoko-chan?"
"Sorry, Hikaru-san," Kyoko told him, shrugging into her sweater, "I have to be on set really early tomorrow so I really need to get home to get some sleep. I don't want to be getting sick."
"Bye, Kyoko-chan!" Yuusei called out while Shinichi patted Hikaru sympathetically on the head.
Kyoko waved goodbye to the Ishibashi boys, oblivious to Hikaru's sadness at her rejection, and then headed out of the building into the night, where she took a deep breath of the crisp, chilly air. She could see a few stars shining brightly in the sky between the tall buildings, and she thought it looked absolutely beautiful - but she couldn't enjoy it. Kyoko's mind was a mess because she was freaking out about being on set with Sho tomorrow.
She sighed loudly and went to get her bike from where she had parked it. Once she had unchained it, she hopped on and started pedalling for the Daruma-ya, all the while bothered by her thoughts.
Kyoko had been putting on a brave face since she had realized her role in Sho's music video, and at first she had believed that maybe she could handle it. Ren had seemed to have faith in her anyways, and she wasn't a quitter. But that night, when she had gone home to the Daruma-ya and thought some more about it, she had started freaking out. She couldn't handle playing a girl in love with Sho.
A girl who had broken up with him or was heart broken? Sure. That would be easier. She knew the sting of rejection and she knew how to be angry at someone. But if she had to shoot any scenes where she had to look like she was crazy for him...she didn't think she would be able to keep her composure, let alone put on a convincing performance - it would be too much a reminder of her past and with how scarred she was...it would probably look very forced and fake.
"Stupid jerk. This is all his fault," Kyoko mumbled under her breath as she approached her home. She wasn't going to back out now though. She meant what she had said to Ren about taking advantage of every opportunity and getting to love a character she had to play opposite Sho - even if it was only in a music video.
Finally, she was right around the corner from her destination, so she hit the brakes and hopped off her bicycle, opting to wheel it next to the restaurant, instead of riding it, to enjoy the extra moments in the night air.
It was when she was in front of the building next to the Daruma-ya that she finally noticed the man waiting outside the restaurant that was her home. He had been reading a magazine, but now he was looking right at her and watching her wheel her bike closer to the establishment. Kyoko felt a little nervous as she felt his eyes take her in, but she kept her mouth shut and focussed on the pole where she usually locked up her bike.
"Excuse me, miss. But would you happen to be Kyoko-san? The actress working in Dark Moon and Box "R" and who starred in the latest Kyurara commercial and Fuwa Sho's video for his song Prisoner?"
Kyoko looked at the man, who had moved from his position leaning against the restaurant wall and come a few feet closer to her. She took a second to scan him, from his polished shoes, to his very obvious toupee. He had the air of a business man, but she didn't think he was one.
"Who's asking?" she replied cautiously. She didn't think she was in any danger, but she was a young girl, alone at night, and even though she was right outside the Daruma-ya, where her first yell would bring the taisho running, it didn't hurt to practice being careful. "It's polite to give your name first before asking for someone else's, isn't it?" She was bordering on rude, but she was also right.
"Ah yes. It seems I must apologize for my rudeness. I am Harada Tsutomu, a journalist from Celebrity Beat. I stopped by here a couple of days ago and left my card with the okami of the establishment," he explained.
"Oh," Kyoko said slowly. She remembered the name of course - and that she had ripped up the card that he had left. Kyoko didn't feel inclined to talk to him, especially in light of her suspicions that he just wanted to try to get some dirt on Ren from her, but she couldn't be rude to his face. "Yes. I am Kyoko," she declared after a momentary pause, and then, "sorry I didn't call you." She bowed her head in apology quickly before straightening up.
"Oh, that's fine," Tsutomu chirped happily, waving his hand in the air as if to say "let bygones be bygones". "I just wanted to see if you would give me an interview," he continued.
"An interview?" Kyoko asked, her suspicions that he wanted to get dirt on Ren from her rising.
"Yes. I have a feeling that you're going to be very big in the business, Kyoko-san, and I would like to have the honour of being the first to profile you in a magazine."
It sounded a little less like he wanted information on Ren now, but Kyoko didn't think that stalking her home was the proper way for this man to get an interview with her - that was suspicious enough. Shouldn't he have called her agency and tried to make an appointment or something? What did it mean that he hadn't? And how did he know where she lived anyways? Kyoko wanted to become a recognized actress, and having a profile written up about her in a very well read magazine, even if it was trashy, would undoubtedly boost her popularity. Still, she felt like this was definitely something she should contact Sawara about.
"I'm sorry. I don't think I'm supposed to give any interviews without my manager's okay," she answered. "I'd be glad to give you my agency's information so you can contact him there and set up a date and time," she suggested politely. She would feel much more confident if Sawara okayed the interview and was with her while she gave it.
"It's alright. I already have LME's info. I was just in the neighbourhood and I thought I would take advantage of the opportunity," Tsutomu explained, heading away from the building and towards the sidewalk. "I hope that we'll meet again soon. I'll give your manager a call to arrange that interview," he said in farewell before waving to Kyoko and walking away.
Kyoko watched him for a bit, and then turned and walked into the Daruma-ya where she greeted the okami and taisho before heading to her room.
The entire encounter with the "journalist" had put her on edge, but it had taken her mind off of her job tomorrow. Now that she was inside and Harada Tsutomu was gone however, she was once again focussed solely on the next day. She tried not to think too much more about it and decided that some music would be a good distraction. She grabbed her CD player, put on her headphones and hit play.
That was a mistake. Kyoko hadn't taken Sho's CD out yet.
She grabbed her pillow, pulled it over her face, and screamed into it to vent some of her frustration.
The next morning, Kyoko was talking with Kanae on the phone while she waited for someone to come escort her from the lobby of the building she was in to the set for the video.
"Relax, Kyoko. You'll be fine," Kanae said.
"I'm going to screw it up, Moko," Kyoko said nervously. "It's hard to stay in control of my anger around him."
Kyoko had finally broken down last night and called Kanae to tell her all of her worries - she couldn't call Ren and risk disappointing him since he had said he had faith in her. But for Kanae to fully understand what was going on, it had required telling her friend all about what had happened with Sho in the past. If Kanae could be honest with her, she could be honest with Kanae.
It had been a very long conversation that had completely shocked Kanae. She had always thought that Kyoko was obsessed with Sho, but now that she had heard the truth, all of Kyoko's reactions to Sho and interactions with him made a lot more sense. Then, when her friend had asked for help, she had given her the only advice she could think of, which she repeated now.
"Kyoko, you're good at getting into character. Just do what you always do. When you're acting in the video, treat Sho like any other actor. So as soon as the camera starts rolling and you have to interact with him, it's not you interacting with the actor - it's your character interacting with his character...even if his character just happens to be himself," Kanae told her. "Remember, the girl you're playing doesn't hate Sho."
"You make it sound easy, Moko. I mean, I know that's what I have to do, but seeing him just makes me so mad sometimes. They haven't given me the sequence of scenes that we'll be acting out yet, but I'm sure that there's going to be some sort of scene where I need to act out love - how can I do that with him? Even if I get over the fact that it's me and Sho, I don't have a clue what love would look like," Kyoko explained quickly.
Kanae was silent on her end for a moment, speaking up again after a minute. She was about to step into what was, for her, an awkward conversation to hold.
"Kyoko, what do you like about us being friends?" Kanae asked hesitantly.
"Huh?" Kyoko responded, feeling very confused by the direction Kanae had taken.
"I said, "what do you like about us being friends"," Kanae repeated patiently - she couldn't get annoyed with Kyoko now, not when her friend was counting on her.
"It makes me very happy that we're friends," Kyoko got started, getting a sort of starry eyed look that luckily Kanae couldn't see - it may have freaked her out. And then Kyoko was going off: "I like that I can share things with you. I like that I can ask you for help and talk to you about my problems. I like having someone to get together with and have fun with. I like having someone who cares for me and trusts me. I like-"
"That's enough," Kanae cut Kyoko off - what her friend was saying was actually making her get a little teary eyed - something she would never show Kyoko. "All those things that you like about us being friends and how it makes you happy - just base your interpretation of love on that. The way you feel about me is not exactly how you'd feel about a boyfriend I'm sure, but it's a place to start. Someone you love would make you happy. You'd want to share things with them and spend time with them. You would feel comfortable with them and able to rely on them. You would know that they cared for you."
"You know that I'm no expert in love," Kanae continued awkwardly, but with purpose, "but it seems to me that love is a lot like friendship."
"Hello, Kyoko-san."
The voice that had just greeted her did not come from her phone. Kyoko looked up to see Sho's manager, Aki Shoko, standing in front of her.
"Thank-you so much, Moko - for everything," Kyoko said in a way that could only be described as heartfelt. "I have to go to set now. I'll give you a call later...if that's okay?"
"You can call me whenever you need me, Kyoko," Kanae said, responding to Kyoko's earnest thanks. And then she snapped back to herself and gave a more characteristic response, "Mo! Just don't call me every five seconds or you'll become annoying."
"Goodbye, Moko," Kyoko said happily before hanging up.
Kanae was pretty sure Kyoko hadn't even heard the second part of her response.
"So, how's the filming for your new drama been going?" Shoko asked Kyoko as the two walked together through the hallway to the set.
"Umm, it's been going well," Kyoko replied, looking at Shoko curiously. Shoko had posed her question almost nervously and was wringing her hands in front of her. "Is everything okay Shoko-san?" Kyoko asked after a moment's pause.
"What?" Shoko asked, startled out of the reverie she had been in. She had been thinking about how Kyoko was looking much happier than she had expected - she couldn't possibly know it was because of the conversation the girl had had with her best friend. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm just a little distracted."
"I know the feeling," Kyoko said sympathetically.
"Anyways, first we'll meet with Sho and Asami-san to discuss the concept of the music video and what we'll be filming. Then, you'll go to wardrobe, hair, and makeup," Shoko explained as they got closer to the set. She looked to see if Kyoko had any reaction to hearing Sho's name, but Kyoko was still walking down the hallway rather unfazed. "Have you listened to the song by the way?" Shoko asked.
The mentioning of the song had done what the mentioning of Sho's name had not - Kyoko now looked unhappy. "Yes," the young girl grumbled, her mind finally fully back on the task ahead.
"And what did you think?" Shoko asked. She knew she was pushing it, but she wanted to know if Kyoko had figured out that Sho's song was about her. Shoko herself had figured it out - how could she not when she worked with Sho every day and knew better than he did that he had feelings for Kyoko?
Kyoko grumbled something under her breath.
"What?" Shoko asked.
Kyoko sighed and then said out loud, reluctantly, "The song is actually pretty good."
"I know. Sho's been writing some great stuff ever since Karuizawa. I'm really proud of how far he's come," Shoko babbled, as they rounded a corner and came in sight of the set that had been constructed for the music video. She couldn't believe that Kyoko didn't have any other reaction to the song. Shoko could only conclude that Kyoko didn't realize Sho had written the song with her in mind or else surely she would be acting more...violently?
Kyoko meanwhile was taking the set in. There was a raised platform with two different rooms constructed on it - one clearly a girl's room, the other a guy's. The girl's room had a pale purple carpet and mostly white furniture. The walls were painted a deep purple and they were decorated with some generic pretty pictures. Over the bed, that was covered with a white bedspread, there was a corkboard with some pictures of Sho pinned to it from magazines, a picture of her and Kanae smiling together from the Kyurara commercial, Kanae's picture from her LME dossier, a picture of Kyoko dressed in her school uniform from Box "R" with Chiori, Sudo Yuka, and Makino Honami, and more - it made it look like it was a teenage girl's room and on the board were pictures of her boyfriend, her friends, and herself.
The boy's room was much darker - with the walls painted a navy blue and the carpet matching. The furniture was all made out of a dark wood and the room was very sparsely decorated. Even the bed, decked in a navy comforter, had only one pillow on it compared to the six or seven on the girl's bed. The only noticeable decorations in the room were a guitar in one corner, a bunch of song sheets on the desk, and an empty silver picture frame sitting on a table next to the bed.
"Kyoko-san, it's good to see you again," a woman's voice called out.
Kyoko turned away from the set to look at Asami, who was clutching a clipboard to her chest.
"Hello, I'm very happy to be working with you again," Kyoko replied.
Asami thought the "you" came out with a little more emphasis, but she could have just been imagining things.
"I'd like to get started as quickly as possible since we have quite a bit of work ahead of us today. We need to get outside for a quick photo shoot and to film a few scenes before lunch already," Asami continued, getting down to business. She turned and started walking towards an open door. "If you would just follow me into the room we've set up right here then we can get to it," Asami said, motioning Kyoko into the room ahead of her.
The first thing Kyoko saw as she stepped through the doorway was Sho, sprawled out on a couch, apparently sleeping. He actually looked sort of peaceful, and Kyoko had the sudden thought that this might not be so bad. But then Asami and Shoko came into the room behind her and shut the door, startling Sho out of his sleep and breaking whatever spell had come over her.
"Finally," Sho yawned, "I've been waiting for hours."
How could she have thought for even a second that this might not be so bad. Sho was a first rate pain in the ass.
"It's been five minutes since I left you," Shoko said as if she were talking to a toddler.
"Whatever," Sho mumbled, sitting up straighter and crossing his arms over his chest. "Oh. You're here." Sho had finally noticed Kyoko standing in the room.
Kyoko ignored him and took a seat on the couch opposite his, Shoko sat next to her charge, and Asami took the seat next to Kyoko. A little table separated the two couches and Kyoko was thankful for it - it was a physical barrier separating her from Sho.
"I'll just get right into it then," Asami said after a minute passed and neither Sho nor Kyoko said anything. Actually, they were studiously ignoring one another which was surprising considering Sho's insistence that they hire Kyoko. Asami suddenly felt like the whole day was going to be a disaster, but she continued dutifully, knowing she had a job to do, "The story we're going to tell is of a couple in love, who break up and fall in love again. We're going to start with some fun, lovey scenes in the park behind the studio, and we're also going to need to get a cute picture of the two of you together for the picture frame on the desk in your room, Sho, and for the bulletin board in your room, Kyoko-san."
Still no reaction from either, Asami noted. So she kept going: "These scenes from the park are going to play as memories while the two of you wallow in your respective rooms, depressed since you have recently broken up. Kyoko, you'll also be angry at Sho, and Sho, you'll be angry at yourself for ruining your relationship. Eventually, Kyoko-san, you'll pick up a call from Sho, and then you'll meet him back at the park. He'll apologize for whatever happened, and at first you'll be reluctant to accept and you'll walk away. He'll call you back and he'll grab you and hold you close to him, whispering into your ear, and then you'll kiss when all is forgiven. And that's how it'll end."
That finally got a reaction.
"Kiss!" Kyoko exclaimed. Everything else that Asami had said was exactly the story Kyoko had been expecting given the song. But she hadn't expected a kiss. Clearly, she had been in denial and very, very wrong.
She couldn't kiss Sho again - even if it was only for the music video. It was just too...painful. Earlier in her life, she had always hoped her first kiss would be with Sho, and then he had stolen it from her in the most unromantic way possible when that was no longer what she wanted. Even if Ren had said it only counted if she decided it counted, that didn't change the fact that Sho had assaulted her lips.
"You have a problem with that Kyoko?" Sho scoffed. "It's not like we haven't kissed before."
This was news to both Asami and Shoko, whose mouths dropped wide open.
"That wasn't a kiss!" Kyoko hissed furiously, oblivious to the two women watching them with wide eyes. "That was an attack!"
"Well we have to kiss for the video to resolve correctly. So if you won't kiss me, we'll just have to get someone else," Sho said smugly. "I guess I'll see you later, Kyoko."
Kyoko was silent. She didn't want to be a quitter - but she really, really didn't want to kiss Sho again. Even if it would be for the job - and Ren had said that even if you hate the other party, you must treat it like a job and with a serious attitude.
She wanted to scream into a pillow like she had the night before. Instead, she glared at Sho. He was staring at her with a self-satisfied look, as if he wanted her to quit and was happy that he was succeeding. That was the final straw. She wanted to be a professional and expand her experience, and with Sho just daring her to back out - now there was no way she would say no. Even if she didn't want to kiss him, she would, and she would treat it like a job, nothing more.
"I'm not going anywhere. If we have to kiss, we have to kiss. It's part of the job and I'll treat it as such. Asami-san, could you please tell me where wardrobe is? I'd like to get ready so we can get started as soon as possible, just like you wanted."
"Out the door and to the left," Asami answered, still in shock.
"Thank-you," Kyoko said politely before opening the door and striding out of the room purposefully.
While Kyoko was getting ready in one room, Sho was getting dressed in a room nearby - and he was very happy with himself. He had known there was going to be a kissing scene. It was right after Asami had told him the plan that he had demanded they hire Kyoko. Not only would he get to kiss her again, possibly multiple times if he could screw up the takes, but he would also have the chance to act like a couple with her in their very first scenes this morning.
He would give her what she had always wanted and make her think all about her fantasies again. He was going to be the only man on her mind.
Plus, when Ren saw the video, it would piss off the actor. Sho smiled happily.
When they finished touching up his hair and face, Sho left his dressing room and went back to the room where they had discussed the shoot to relax on one of the couches. Surprisingly, only fifteen minutes later, he heard the door open again and was greeted with a beautiful sight. It took a lot of control for him not to drop his jaw and stare openly at the figure in the doorway like he wanted to do.
Kyoko had been surprised to learn that they weren't putting her in a wig, but then she realized that they wanted her to look like how she looked in the photos they had up on her corkboard. They had styled her hair so that she looked absolutely primped, and they had done her makeup so that it accentuated how lovely she was. Her hair and makeup matched the simple, casual, strapless, white dress she was wearing, that hugged her tightly until her hips, where it flared out and descended until her knees. She had a pair of white flip flops on her feet, that she was extremely thankful for, especially given how comfortable they were compared to all the heels she had had to wear of late. They had even given her a manicure with a matching pedicure.
The whole look had not taken much time, and she was already heading back to the meeting room. She had hoped that she might have some time to herself to try to fully get her composure back, maybe fire off a call to Kanae, but sadly, when she opened the door, she saw Sho already waiting. And even more disappointingly, he was looking good.
He was wearing jeans and a sleeveless, open, red shirt - much like the shirt he had worn when not in costume at the Prisoner shoot. It was simple, but it's what Sho looked good in, and whoever was in charge of costumes knew that. He had a pair of black sandals on his feet and looked as casual as Kyoko did in her cute, summer dress.
Neither of them spoke. Finally, Kyoko was about to turn out of the room to go tell Asami they were both ready, when Sho's voice stopped her.
"Well, don't you look good."
She looked up and locked eyes with Sho. Her breath caught in her throat. For the first time in a long time, she didn't see any cruelty there. And she didn't know how to respond to that.
It was because Sho was stunned by how beautiful Kyoko looked that he had spoken at all. He had been determined to play the arrogant jerk until the scenes in the park just to add more fuel to the fire he figured was burning in Kyoko. But the sight of her in that white dress...it did him in, and before he knew it, his mouth was open and he was speaking, complimenting her. He was as shocked with himself as Kyoko was.
Kyoko was saved by Shoko, who came right then to fetch the two of them.
"Come on you two. We're going to take a golfcart into the park to get to where the camera's are set up," she told them.
They both followed behind Shoko in silence - one that was very uncharacteristic for Sho, Shoko thought. When they exited the building and reached the golf cart, Kyoko immediately sat in back, leaving the front seat for Sho.
"You know your place," he commented snidely as he took the seat next to Shoko.
And just like that, the mean Sho she was used to was back and Kyoko once again knew how to respond. "Please! I just knew you would whine if I sat up front and that's something I don't need to hear. I'm saving my poor ears," Kyoko quipped, pulling her cell phone from the small backpack she had brought with her. She had one new message.
Sho started saying something to her, but she held her hand out in front of her in the universal gesture for "back off a second" while she held her phone up to her ear with her other hand and listened attentively to her message.
"Kyoko-san," it began, and she immediately recognized Ren's warm voice. "I hope that everything is going well so far. I just wanted to remind you to focus on the spirit of the girl you'll be playing and not on who's acting opposite you. You'll do great. I have faith in you."
Kyoko smiled as she put away her phone, ignoring Sho's spluttering from in front of her. It was really nice that Ren was thinking about her enough to remember that today was the day she was filming with Sho. And his words, resembling Kanae's, made just as much sense to her ears. He still had faith in her and she wouldn't give him a reason to lose that faith. She would do her best and she would overcome this challenge - even if it meant kissing Sho.
I know it's short, but it feels like a good place to end it. Hopefully I'll be back on track with the quick updating. I hope to have the next chapter up by this time next week.