Kotonami Kanae had had friends before. When she was younger, almost all the girls in class use to play with her hair, and tell her how pretty she was. They would go window shopping together, and sometime stop after school for tea. She liked school, because it was so much calmer than being home in that mess of family members. Of course, it was annoying constantly being compared to her older siblings all the time, but it was something she could handle. Besides being from an unusually large family, and not taking part in drama club as much as she wanted to, Kanae was pretty at ease with her normal school life.
It had all turned when Naoto had a crush on her.
She had been walking with a stack of florescent orange cones the teacher asked her to return to the storage closet, when she caught the sound of crying at the bottom of the steps. Kanae could hear her classmate Mina's sob at the bottom of the stairs. However, it was the sound of her friend Ai's voice that made her stop.
"Don't cry Mina. Naoto is just immature. He's not use to liking girls yet."
The sniffling voice stopped a bit. "That's not true. He said he likes someone else. I've seen him staring at Kanae-chan…" Mina returned to crying, cut off by her sorrows. A group of girls awed and tried to help shush their depressed classmate.
Kanae debated on going down to meet her friend. She didn't know Mina well, but it seemed only right. She put the gym cones to the side and took a step down the stairs, when her best friend Rina's annoyed voice caught her by surprised.
"Kotonami thinks she's so cute."
"Yeah, just because she's pretty she thinks she can take all the boys for herself." Ai agreed, sounding frustrated. Mina began to wail louder.
"Shush shush, don't cry Mina." The new voice sounded mothering. She realized that it was Chinatsu. Kanae didn't know her very well, except that she was the class president.
"I say we find out who she likes, and tell him." Ai said suddenly, determined. The agreeing echoes of several female voices swept up the stairs.
"We should say she's been kissing older guys after school." Chinatsu replied, her voice sounding sly.
"You know her family is really poor from all those kids. She told me once." Rina said, proud to be able to dish something on her classmate. "I bet she she'll do anything to make money."
The group of girls giggled.
She hadn't had a friend since then. Especially female friends. They were phony and untrustworthy. At home she never had a moment of peace, at drama club that rich snob took all the good roles she deserved, and during school there was no relief. She found herself acting when her classmates asked her anything.
"Who do you like Kanae-chan?" Ai asked her, as they had they ate their bentos during lunch break. She looked over at the group of boys, and nudged in their direction.
"I don't like anyone." Kanae said confidently, as she picked up a small piece of omelet.
"That's such a waste! You could pick any guy you want!" Rina cried, pointing her chopsticks at the pretty girl in their group.
"Rina-chan, that's rude. Don't point with your chopsticks." Kanae scolded.
"But it's so frustrating!" Rina smacked her chopsticks to the desk, and pouted. "Plus, you sound like my bossy sister."
She acted innocent when her teachers had asked her about how her siblings were doing. She acted happy when her parents asked her how school was. There almost wasn't anyone she failed to act around. She stayed attentive, picked things up as she went, and studied people. Kotonami Kanae was determined not to be tricked by anyone's acting again. She would become the world's best actress herself.
She felt a small nudge to her side by her companion. Kanae outwardly showed no change, but she returned her focus to the front of the class. "Now T" the professor shouted, looking away from the raven-haired Love Me member. Kyoko smiled brightly at Kanae before she turned back to the front of the class.
"Torawo torunara torawo toru yori toriwo tore, toriwa otorini torawo tore." (1)
Kanae scrunched her eyebrows together. That girl was so annoying. She had no right to save her from the teacher's wrath because she wasn't paying attention. She didn't want to be friends with the weirdo, but she wiggled her way into Kotonami's life.
"M next!"
"Sumomo mo momo, momo mo momo, sumomo mo momo mo momo no uchi." (2)
Despite her simple-minded nature, she was a better person than most. Even "Moko-san" was kind of cute in its awkward, obnoxious, immature, silly way. Kanae stole a glance at the Love Me member standing next to her.
"Last one! O!"
"Kono otoko no hontou no kokoro wo tokou to omou no yo kono otoko o korosou to omou no. (3)"
She realized something was very wrong.
Kanae turned and stared at Kyoko as the class was told to take a break. She watched at her embarrassing co-worker wipe her forehead with the back of her hand as the class shuffled out of the empty, mirrored room.
Kyoko noticed she was staring. She turned and smiled brightly back.
"Moko-san?"
Kanae crossed her arms. Her face darkened.
"Again! O!"
Kyoko stood up to attention like a soldier on a drill line. "Kono otoko no hontou no kokoro wo tokou to omou no yo kono otoko o korosou to omou no."
Kanae started circling her. "Now just the last part."
"korosou to omou no?" Kyoko said, her voice questioning her friend's antics.
"Yes. One more time."
" koro- (I…)"
"Sho" Kanae said simply, interrupting.
The room's atmosphere dampened immediately and considerably. The fluorescent lights began to flicker. Long sinister shadows emerged from the corners of the wall. The smaller actresses' face twisted into a furious sinister grin. "SOU TO OMOU NO (THINK I WANT TO KILL HIM)"
~Will kill him! Kill hIm! Yes yes, that man, we're sure we want to kill him…~ Her demons emerged around their master, encircling her and chanting.
Kyoko snapped back when she noticed her friend's furious face. She looked fearful as the spirits abandoned her, and joined their new mistress.
"Moko-san?" She squeaked. The look did not dissipate.
"You're hiding something from me again." Kanae whispered, her anger bleeding from each word of her cold, beautiful voice.
Kyoko continued to look fearful, but with a touch of confusion. Kanae sighed angrily and went on.
"That's your favorite line. I can usually feel the emphasis you put on those words. Yet, today nothing changed when you said it. It's like you've forgotten your goal. What's gotten into you?"
Kyoko brought her fingers together, spinning them around each other. She looked down at her hands as her cheeks lightly blushed. Kanae raised an eyebrow at this sudden evasive innocent act.
"You like him again?"
"NEVER!" Kyoko's face temporarily became a mix of a horned demon and furious siren, hair standing on end.
"Then tell me what's happened. Now." She left no argument.
"Well…" Kyoko brought her fingers together again, tapping them. "Tsu…" The classical ring of the school announcement system sounded from the ceiling speakers. They both looked up in curiosity.
"Will Mogami Kyoko, please come to the teacher's lounge? Again, Mogami Kyoko, please come to the teacher's lounge."
He scratched at his chin as he spun on the desk chair, unfamiliar with what it was like to not shave in the morning. Spotting a lollipop on the teacher's desk in front of him, he quickly snatched it. The few professors that remained in their lounge stuttered politely. He paid them no mind. Instead, he ripped off its protective plastic and popped the sucker into his mouth. He winced inwardly. He was not a sweets fan. Still, the look served him well. He didn't want anyone to spot him under the disguise.
The elderly teacher coughed, and tried again.
"You're…Mogami-san's manager?"
He ran his knuckles against his chin, bothered by the whiskers. Chewing at the stick, the tall man leaned back and smiled crudely. He put his feet up on the desk.
"That's what I said lady. Work came up, and I need her."
The old woman huffed, glancing angrily at the unwanted guest . There was a knock at the door. A fuzzy female shadow stood on the other side of the tapered glass.
"Ano…I was called?"
"Yes yes, come in Mogami-san."
Two figures slipped into the typical teacher's lounge. Both LoveMe member looked around the room, and caught the lethargic man in the corner. His hair was messy, he wore old, strangely cool looking torn clothes , and his eyes were shaded by green sunglasses. His army boots sat on the long wooden table. Still, the height and build was unique to only one person they knew.
"Tsuruga-san?" Kotonami said, before catching herself.
The man in the seat snorted in mocking laughter. Kotonami's face start to colour in anger. It did look a lot like the famous actor. His dialect was Kyushu though, thick, from the southern tip of Japan.
"That's new. Usually I hear that I look like that Kurusaka director guy."
The teacher bristled angrily at man, liking him even less. "Director Kurosaki is quite a talented director."
"Yeah, whatever." The man stood up and waved the teacher off with the bat of his hand. "Come on Kyo, we've work."
The tall man with coloured sunglasses opened the door and swept past all the figures in the room. He caught Kanae's eye for a split second. Kyoko stood frozen to the spot.
"KYO!" The voice barked.
"Hai!" Kyoko jumped, and ran out of the room behind him.
Kotonami frowned. That body screamed Tsuruga Ren. However, it was in the middle of the day. Even with the rumours, she knew the famous man should be booked through. The best actor in Japan had no time to be running around, playing manager. Especially not manager to his much less experienced kohai. Kanae thought back.
"Well…Tsu-"
Something was up, with both of them. For her only friend, she knew she had to find out what was going on.
(1)" Torawo torunara torawo toru yori toriwo tore, toriwa otorini torawo tore" "The reason I have leaned this bamboo against this bamboo fence is that I just wanted to lean a bamboo against it!"
(2) "Sumomo mo momo, momo mo momo, sumomo mo momo mo momo no uchi." "A Japanese plum is a kind of peach, a peach is also a peach, both Japanese plum and peach are kinds of peaches. "
(3) Skip Beat 20 - page 11
Ugh…I hat e writing but I wanted to get a new chapter out. I know I'm probably leaving more questions than answers, but it'll all wrap up. This day would be too long if I included it all at once.