The lazy sun crept down the horizon, casting lengthening shadows over the city of Tokyo. Golden sunlight died on the face of mirrored buildings. Citizens and tourists alike made their way in every which direction. Few take notice of the scenery around them. Most subconsciously hold their hats and skirts down, bundle up their jackets and overcoats, and grasp their bags and children tighter, as the fierce wind blows through.
"Slow down!"
People, stores, and signs whizz past. Crouched low in an aerodynamic position, the two riders pelt furiously toward TBM Studio. A sonic boom sends pieces of litter and earth flying through the miniature, girl-caused vacuum.
"What?"
Opening her eyes for the first time during the ride, the passenger's eyes filled with tears. Cold air continuously whips her face. Nervous at the thought that the slightest move might send her careening off the bicycle bullet, she shifts her head just a bit to yell near her friend's ear.
"SLOW DOWN!"
Instead of giving in, the driver pedals faster, shooting through lights and weaving through crowds no stuntman could ever hope to pull off safely. The tires began to smoke, and a trail of light rubber melts on the road.
"I can't Moko-san! I won't let you be late to a job because of my selfishness!"
Kanae clenched onto Kyoko's handlebars for dear life, as the speed demon shot in the direction of LME's branch studios. The frigid winds ribbons her long hair back as they launch at inhuman speed.
"YOU WANT IT TO BE BECAUSE OF MY DEATH INSTEAD?"
"NOOOOOO!"
Howling with despair at the thought, the bike immediately slows down to more typical speeds. The gears change from a molten red to a glowing shade of orange, as a few stunned bystanders notice the wild wind solidify into two humans and a bicycle.
Relieved at the return to normalcy and exasperated at the typical overreaction, Kanae painfully uncurled her stiff fingers from the handlebar, frozen in place from fear and the cold. She leans up, stretching her spine back into place, and giving Kanae a moment to wipe the reassured look off her face. Crazy speeds was a Kyoko she knew.
"Can't you ever just do things normally!"
"But Kana…"
"Why can't you do anything at less than 200 kilometers an hour!"
"Moko-s…"
"Ah mo! Just stop the bike and let me walk!"
Kyoko winced, knowing that if they weren't on the bike, her best friend would be glaring daggers, hands on her hips. "…I just wanted to get you there. You said you had a job." Kyoko still stopped to allow both of them to dismount. Her young, hesitant voice returning. "I don't want to hurt your LoveMe score…or cause any more trouble to anyone." Kanae watched Kyoko grab the handle bars, and wheel the bike forward with her head down.
The relief she felt at her friend's return drained away, seeing Kyoko walk so timidly. With no counter emotion to relieve her this time, Moko's ire began to manifest.
Disgust bubbled in the back Kanae's throat. It scratched at her consciousness. It riled her temper. It caught her off-guard, making her stop.
"If you don't want to cause me trouble…go back to the Kyoko I know." Kyoko stopped abruptly. She said nothing, but as she turned, the reflection of emotion in her eyes stirred her friend to continue brusquely. "I don't like who you are now."
She was still seeing herself as a bother. Not only to her friends, but to that man as well.
"You came into show business to defeat the guy that broke your heart and used you! You don't take things lying down. Yet you ran away! You ran like some love-sick puppy in a shoujo manga! My Kyoko wouldn't do that." Kotonami's chest weld up, writhing indignation on her friend's behalf. "I'm doing this job for you. You deserve answers. You deserve revenge. I know he'll be there. I want you to march up to him and slap him!"
"Moko-san!" The idea caused so much such distress that all color from Kyoko's face bled away, leaving her standing there like a 3D coloring sheet. "You want me to hit Tsuruga Ren, the number one actor?"
"No, I want you to hit a jerk who deserves it!" Each question was purposefully punctuated in venom. "Would the senpai you know allow rumors to fly around about him?" She baited the other expertly, with the insight only a cunning best friend could use. "Would he use his co-workers as a stepping stone?" Moko assured herself that twisting the knife would be the best way to get the strong Kyoko back. "Would he act like that jerk-face musician did!"
Kanae closed the distance between them and took Kyoko's face in her hands. She swiped away the tears on her friend's cheek, and bore into her with a tone of finality. "Get back to the vengeful girl that's my best friend!"
Infectious righteous anger flowed from one woman to the other. The color ran back into her. She fell silent as Kyoko's dark look sucked away her consciousness to the real world. The mental cogs became visible, cranking back up after a long time lacking the rage to do so. The air became heavy, as the stereotypical dark atmosphere began to enclose them both. For the first time, Kanae was relieved to see it.
"You're right Moko-san." Kyoko's eyes narrowed as the ghostly breeze swept her hair up and blew at the edges of her open LoveMe uniform. The neon pink caught both their eyes, a physical reminder of the emotion they were ostracized for lacking. "This is my battle suit. No more love…"*
Ren stepped into one of the many prop hallways, peeking his head around the corner first before taking refuge. He felt quite relieved at its desertion, reliably empty when he needed time to think around the Bridge Rock set. Yuki the boy toy was currently changing back to the ever-reliable Yashiro, his older and straighter manager. A change he greatly welcomed. There was only so much cream you could lick off your same-gendered friend before it became awkward (an infinitely minuscule number – with lots of decimal zeros and negative mathematical powers), even in acting terms.
Knowing better than to come into the studio together, he had come before his manager so that Yashiro could fix himself up and appear innocent and far removed of the day's events. Rarely had Ren dealt with massive crowds without his manager's freeze fan glare, and he appreciated it more than ever. It had been pandemonium even just getting into the building.
Now that he stood inside TBM studios, everything felt much more real. The reminder of what he would lose came from every direction. The cries of the crowds being seated made it deep into the building. The clatter of stage hands working on props and equipment. The mats on the prop cart he customarily sat on when he was having acting problems; where he had first run into 'The Advice Rooster.' It all existed. He was here. His plan was actually coming to fruition. Ren nervously ran his hands through his dark locks, letting his mind think to the near future. The very near future; less than an hour, judging by the nearby clock.
He certainly hoped that the three Ishibashi hosts were going to give him free reign over the first part of the show. The best thing he could do was to collect his courage and confess as soon as the camera started rolling. From there, he wasn't sure how anything would go. His whole life would become blank again. And judging by the crowds, there would be a lot of unhappy, unsure fans as well - prepared for the official announcement of his homosexuality.
At least one person is happy about this whole thing…
The director of Bridge Rock had been ecstatic. He had shaken the actor's hand more than a few times, thanking him for coming on during this monumental event and that there was nothing wrong with what he was doing. Of course, the small fact that network ratings were already estimated at 60% and would likely continue to rise as the start of the show grew closer, probably had a little something to do with it. Sixty percent viewership was already near record breaking numbers.
Ren vaguely wondered if the information had jumped over the ocean division by now, and to his parents. Since his dad knew his stage name, it wasn't impossible that his parents already knew what the Japanese industry was talking about.
"Kuu…Not only have you taken our son, we're not going to have any grandchildren to dote upon! Please…Lord…just take me now! I can see the light!"
He could just imagine his mother crying about her impending death, since the possibility of biological grandchildren would be mote. Then again, his parents knew of his various "girlfriends", so they'd likely not believe it. Still...
The phone was out in a matter of moments, dialing his home number. His real home number. A home he hadn't thought of as home for a number of years. He just hoped that the private number was still in use.
There was a rumble of noise in the distance; Kanae's ears perking up like a fox sensing danger. Her body slid into a conditioned protective walk. It sounded recognizable, like the shuffling of people fighting for a confined space. It was a very familiar noise, bringing back memories of the original Kotonami residence.
The chilly autumn evening did nothing to deter the ever-growing crowd. Two pink LoveMe girls, and a tired red bicycle skidded to a stop, barely a few feet behind the last members of huge hoard of people. Using a nearby pole, the bike was locked and they approached.
The commotion around TBM took over the entire street, zeroing in around the large production building. Kyoko looked around in bewilderment and Kanae in amazement, as fan groups held visuals and candles, next to big mounted posters of Tsuruga Ren.
"How will we get through?" Kyoko asked in shock, peering at the mass like an impenetrable force field."
"Easy." Kanae took Kyoko's hand. "We plunge in."
Finding a small gap between the bodies, Kanae angrily shoved her way through, making her way deeper and deeper into the crowd. Kyoko practically plasters herself close behind; afraid the sea of people would close up, and render her lost. Like two small fish in a sea, Kyoko and Kanae swim through the crowd to get to the only entry that wasn't closed off, the official employee entrance.
Tripping over trash in the crowd, Kyoko slips and collides into a crying middle age woman, then into a group of high school students. "Hey! Watch it you pink monstrosity!" One of the teenage mourners hissed, holding a lit white candle by her fingertips as the hot wax dripped onto the pavement.
"I'm sorry!" Kyoko yelled hurriedly, trying to bow in apology, but being too packed in could only vaguely nod her head down. Kanae reached back and grabbed Kyoko's collar, tugging her away. Kyoko heels dragged as she cranned to look over her shoulder. "I didn't know TBM would be so crowded. What's happening?"
Kanae didn't even pause to respond, shouting over the buzz of the crowd. "Of course it's crowded. All these idiots are here to see if Tsuruga admits to being gay. Probably to revolt too."
"What?" One pulled away from the other, looking as if she had heard wrong. "Why would Tsuruga say he's gay? I thought it was just rumors?"
Kanae stopped too, amazed. She turned to Kyoko, exasperation reaching its unbelievable peak. "Where have you been? What else do you think I'm hear for? Tsuruga's been prancing around with some boy toy all day. It's been on every channel imaginable! It's been on newspapers, the radio! There's no way you could have missed it!"
"I've been packing…" Kyoko said weakly, looking down at the concrete with mournful eyes. It suggested that she was doing more than just packing, but Kanae didn't want to dwell on that thought. Instead, Kanae shook her head at the way obliviousness seemed to be interwoven with her best friend's very existence. "…but why would Tsuruga be with a boy?"
Kanae stuffed her hand into her pocket, and pulled out her work required pink cell phone. She did a few hurried searches, and pushed the screen in front of Kyoko's nose. Kyoko watched as the familiar Emperor of the Night seduced the not-as-young-as-he-seemed man sitting across from him. Kyoko leaned in close, rewinding and watching the screen with eagle eyes. She paused the movie as the young man deeply blushed.
"That's not a boy! It's Yashiro-san!" Kyoko said, pulling away. "Although looking very strange..."
"What?" Kanae pulled her arm back and watched the screen. Now that Kyoko mentioned it, the similarities were all there. She was amazed that she hadn't spotted it before. Then again, Kotonami had never really paid attention to managers unless it was a LoveMe task. "You're right. That is him! What the hell have they been doing?"
"I can't believe Ren's dying of cancer!" One of the nearby girls sobbed, as she held her handkerchief to her nose. "It's the only reason why he'd do this!"
"He's not dying! He's being controlled by LME! We have to fight for his freedom!" Another girl yelled over her, pumping her fist into the air. She was dressed in a militant uniform. A small group of women cheered behind her, also dressed for battle.
"It's dark magic I tell you! I bet his eyes are going to glow red when the show starts!" A robe clad crowd member muttered loudly, holding a crudely made straw doll.
"No, he's being drugged!"
"It's an impostor! Probably some American spy!"
"He's just an actor. No wonder they weren't let in. These people are crazy…" Kanae muttered in disgust, looking at the swarm around her. "We need to go. Now!" She tried to shove herself ahead, but they started to push back against her, denying her the very entry she needed.
"It's too crowded Moko-san!"
"HEY! THEY'RE LOOKING FOR AUDIENCE MEMBERS FOR TONIGHT'S SHOW BY THE FRONT ENTRANCE!" Kanae's voice bellowed, echoing audibly as the unruly mob went pin drop quiet. She pulled Kyoko to the gate as most of the mass stormed to the front of the building, where the screaming grew louder.
Taking the chance, Kanae ran through the few stubbornly remaining mob, through the hired guardsmen, and to the single painted shack. It held a stern, porky young guard, as well as the controls to the currently closed fence. Both teenagers knew that this guy wasn't the type to wave anyone in. Neither was surprised as he barked at them.
"Get back in the crowd. Only employees are allowed in."
"We're in LoveMe." Kanae barked right back, her temper starting to overflow at the madness of the whole day. "We're LME employees and we're assigned to work here today."
"Oh really?" The heavy set guard asked suspiciously, peering doubtfully over at the bright pink jumpsuit both girls were wearing. "I haven't heard of your division."
"Well you're probably not important enough to be told anything other than where the lunch line is!"
"What? Look here little girl!" The bite in his voice increased, incensed. "Only people on this list are allowed into TBM studios today!"
"Her name is Kotonami Kanae. She's the actress scheduled to appear." Kyoko spoke up, for the first time. She smiled politely at the guard, as her partner scowled deeply. The plan was to ambush the actor together. Kanae had no interest in going in without Kyoko. She was doing this for her friend. Frankly, all she wanted to do to Tsuruga was to verbally rip him limb from limb.
"Actress eh?" The guard frowned, but picked up his clipboard. Running through the pages, he put his finger along the line "...Kotonami.. Kotonami…I see you." The guard said coolly. He rubbed his porky finger on the guest sheet in confirmation, making sure the name wouldn't smudge and prove its counterfeit. reaching over to press the small button that allowed the gate to open. Before he pushed it however, he looked towards the other girl and pointed .
"And who are you? I can't allow you in just because your friend's here."
"What are you? Stupid?" Moko said angrily. She pointed to her pink jumpsuit, then to her friend's. "Look at our uniforms. We're obviously both here with LME. If I'm on the list, she's obviously on the list too. Kyoko's worked here more often than I have."
"Wait…Kyoko?" He hesitated, getting out of his booth to look closer at the plain little girl. "The actress that plays Mio on Dark Moon?" The sedative guard leaned over to examine her face closer. She obviously didn't appear to look anything like he had expected, and his doubt was apparent.
"Yes, you numbskull." Kanae's voice rose louder, catching the other guards' attention as they blocked the returning crowd. "Kyoko's been working at TMB studios since Yappai Rock started. Of course she's here to play Bo. It's a special episode!"
"Lee, let her in!" One of the guards said, trying to lean closer to the gate while keeping an eye on the sneaky, candlelit fans who edged nearer. "I know Kyoko-chan. She's worked here before."
Outnumbered, the gate-keeper reluctantly pushed the rise button. The entry slowly opened, and they both ran in.
The phone rang several times. He held his breath. With each ring, he dually wished that his dad would pick up, and the call would not go through.
It was so strange; there was a familiarity even in the country's ring tone. He had to fight to keep himself from hanging up. He hadn't called for anything at all the past 6 years. Now he was calling for advice on a girl?
Ren sighed as the word "Clumsy" perched itself on his head. It was pretty pathetic. But she had gotten along with his father. He might have some more insight on what to do. Maybe she contacted him? His parents would have loved to host her and treat her as the daughter they never had. Actually...she would be the son they never had...
Right before he could shut the phone, the receiver clicked.
"'lo?" His English was gruff and somewhat sleepy, but it also had a strange out of breath quality. "Hello?" Kuu tried again.
"Dad?" Ren whispered, swallowing lightly. The voice that came out was nervous and uneven; a native speaker using an out of practice tongue. He felt like the past six years hadn't happened. "Dad, it's me."
"Kuon?" All sleepiness left his voice, as his father's voice cracked. "Kuon? My God, it's really you?"
"...Hi Dad. I..I hope this isn't a bad time..."
"Are you kidding?" Kuu laughed heartily, sounding amazed. "You could never call at a bad time. Your mom already had me up."
The underlying message was more than Ren wanted to know, but since his parents were always madly in love, that fact wasn't nearly as embarrassing as it had been when he was a teen.
"...but I'm guessing you didn't call to find that out."
"No..."
"And I'm guessing you didn't call because you want to come out of the closet to your dear old dad first, right?"
Well that answered that question.
"No dad... "
"Well that's good. Your mother set a new record last night in near death experiences." They both chuckled at the reference. To top her previous record would have taken at least a couple of hours of miraculous medical near tragedies and miracles.
"So… you knew before the tape?" Ren asked, not surprised.
"Of course. I may not know Tsuruga Ren personally, but your mother and I have been Kuon's biggest fans since before you were born. Not Uncle Lory, nor any amount of dye or make-up could fool us." His father replied back simply. The comfort of his parents unyielding love stroked his nerves, calming them.
"…But if it's not that…then it's something to do with a girl, right?"
The clairvoyance of his dad was frightening. Ren sighed, but he smiled too, something he hadn't done for years in regard to his mom and dad. He didn't even need to confirm it, for his father to confirm his suspicions.
"I'm not going to flatter you endlessly, or tell you anything that isn't true. Lory said that that was our mistake when you were younger. I want you to know though, that you've grown a lot as an actor. Not as superior as me yet, but you're become fine enough that people will follow your career no matter what you do in your personal life. Do what you need to do to show her you care. As long as you're sincere, you've enough talent to survive anything."
The balloon that was Ren's spirit rose and fell accordingly as he listened. For the first time in his acting career, his dad didn't coddle him. Kuu didn't say his son had become a better actor than him. All the obsessive love was too much before, and now, finally, his Dad could see him as something other than just his son, and look to him as a real professional.
It was a short-lived happiness. Knowing that he was about to give up when his sub-main goal was finally accomplished made his choice bittersweet.
"Actually Dad...I'm going to quit."
He waited for the gasp to come, which didn't. What came was more surprising - a thoughtful, understanding hum.
"Ah... You're going to show her how much she means to you by quitting? I had to do that with your mother too."
"What?" Ren sputtered.
"You know, I used to be a photographer before I got into acting."
"You didn't tell me that story. You just told me it was meant to be."
That wasn't exactly true. He had asked his parents how they met, but they both rarely got a sentence into the story before it deteriorated into a sort of sweet talk no one in their right mind would want to listen to. Then they'd look at him, and he'd be trapped between his dad's famous "Kuu-ala" bear hugs and his mother's twelve course love meals.
"Well your Papa was a skilled photographer when he was your age. He was already famous and handsome, and there were always women around him. Julie was just starting out in LME as a foreign talent, and no one really paid attention to her except Lory. One day Mama was running late to a shoot and she bumped into him." Ren part laughed, part sighed. His father still had the tendency to slip into third person when talking about him and his mother; talking to him as if he were a child.
"We were very angry at each other, and I admit I insulted your mom. I said 'there's no need for models who can't act as pretty as they look.' Mama swore revenge and said some not so nice words."
The image of Kyoko flipping him off suddenly came to Ren's mind. He wouldn't have been surprised if his mother said the verbal equivalent. His Mom was beautiful, but she had a strong personality too.
"The funny thing is that your Papa was shooting a running advertisement for a perfume and cosmetic company at the time, and the director chose Mama to be the model to promote them. Papa and Mama would glare daggers into each other, but Papa was impressed by the way Mama could turn off her hate and pose beautifully whenever the camera faced her."
Sunlight cosmetics. He knew which company and which photos his dad was talking about immediately . It was his mother's favorites, part of her professional portfolio when she had literally thousands of portraits to choose from.
"He had to plead with her to talk to him. He offered her everything, but she didn't want anything. It wasn't until he said he'd quit photography and become her co-star if he had to, that she finally spoke to him. She challenged him to give up everything in order to catch her. So...Here I am today, an actor."
Ren could barely take in the story's implications. All he had known his dad for was his acting. The entire story made him more confused, rather than less. His dad had quit and found something else he loved, while obviously winning over his mother. So the whole plan could work out.
Still, there would have to be something else. A whole new life he would have to create. It wouldn't be so bad, if she were in it though. If she believed him.
"Kuon? Kuon? Still there?"
"Yeah Dad…thanks for telling me this."
"I'm happy to just hear your voice son. I can't tell you how much I've missed it."Ren smiled lightly, thinking of all the times he missed talking to his parents."Good luck. We'll be watching."
"Have a good day Dad."
Ren fingers brushed the End key, but he could hear his name being called out faintly. He pulled the phone back up to his ear.
"Yes?"
"I just wanted to let you know, in this case and this case only, Dad thinks there's nothing wrong with a little bit of incest."
He sighed into the phone and disconnected the call.
Ren turned the corner, wishing he had someone else to confide in. His father and his manager were both supportive, but they were biased. They both adored Kyoko, and wanted to see them together. What he needed was a neutral party. Someone he could talk to that knew about his feelings, but was also somewhat in the dark about who she was.
He needed the chicken.
That's it. The whole stupid world is coming to an end.
Kanae struggled to keep her hands to herself; they were just itching to strangle the umpteenth crying woman they passed as they walked down the hall.
"Moko-san…" An impatient glance made Kyoko correct herself. "Kanae-chan…none of this is making sense."
"Not so loud Bo." Kanae warned the chicken, leaning into her shadow. "You're not supposed to be here. TBM is in lock down for the Tsuruga special since he's gone off the deep end. Women are beating down the door like it's some kind of Armageddon."
"You're Kotonami Kanae, right?" The tiny staff member asked curiously. Her wavy hair and bright ensemble made the taller girl look down to see her. "You're here for the secret mission?"
"If that's what the President's calling it."
"Okay, then we have to get you to wardrobe. I brought a large collection because I haven't had a chance to work with you before. Sweety surprised me by calling you."
The bird wildly flapped its wings, trying to point to the fashionable small lady in recognition. Kanae's harsh glare silenced her.
"Aww...pretty bird." The petite woman went over to the chicken costume, and hugged it happily. Stunned, Bo quieted down and patted the magic makeup artist on the top of the head. "You are such a good rooster." Kanae watched on, unsure which one was treating the other as a docile pet. It was a tossup between the child size woman & the monster male hen.
"There you go hunny. Now you run off Bo, while we get Kotonami all dressed up."
Nodding happily, Bo turned around and obediently walked down the other way, pinfeathers sticking proudly in the air.
"Hey, don't go yet dummy! You're not a pet chicken!..."
"Oh no worries. I'm sure Kyoko-chan will be just fine. We have to concentrate on you now Kotonami-san."
"I can do my...wait! You knew it was her? Who are you?"
"Me? I'm just your friendly neighborhood witch." Jerry said with a sweet, innocent laugh. She gave a friendly wink as she took Kotonami's hand "Now we mustn't keep people waiting."
The two women turned down one hallway, as the rooster went down another. A particularly familiar hallway, where a man's prayers had just been answered.
*Chapter 151 - One of my favourite cover pages. The image Ren's referencing about Bo - the one that solidified my SB! love - shows up first in Chapter 23
Yashiro's Badge is a reference to Special A. Good job to those who noticed it. I love strong female protagonists.
I know, I know... ¬.¬ You all probably hate me for various reasons. "Why did you take so long," "Why did you stop there?" and "Why did you make Kanae spur Kyoko's hate instead of helping her fall in love? T_T" Well...um...
Thanks for the patience! Especially Runa, who I made beta-read over and over with tweaks and additions.