I DO NOT OWN SKIP BEAT!
"So, are you sure you want to go with your natural look for this?" Jelly asked as she got done dying my hair back to black. I could tell she didn't mind dying my hair back, because then that would mean less for her to worry about.
"It'll be a hassle to wear a wig for when I'm Tsuruga Rosa. But, I think this will be the most beneficial." I told her as I took my colored contacts out and put them in a safe place. "Besides, my husband and I have already gone over this and we think we're ready. So, if anyone happens to put two and two together, it will be fine."
"Alright, you're the boss on this. Shachou has given you full power over the LOVE ME Section." she said with a sigh as she left the new LOVE ME Section room.
Pretty soon I could hear whining outside the door that sounded familiar. "L-Love... Love Me... oooh... at least do something about that name..." it was Kanae, my only student. I wish we could, and the uniforms.
"No way... shachou chose it." I could hear Matsushima responding so I decided to take pity on him and save him.
"What's going on out here? Moko-san you made it! Welcome to your first day!" I said with a smile, already wearing the LOVE ME uniform.
"Wh-what is this shocking pink work uniform?! How can I wear this in public?! And why are you calling me "Moko-san?! Where is Tsuruga Rosa?! She's supposed to be our supervisor! I was told that she was already here?!" She screamed in disgust at the uniform and started frantically looking for the person who was right in front of her.
"It wasn't my decision to have us wear these. But, they are staying as requested by shachou. And, I'm calling you Moko-san because it seems to be your favorite thing to say. Also, the one you are looking for is right here. You will call me Mogami Kyoko from now on." I told her adamantly told her as I held out her uniform.
"Mo!" was all she could say as she snatched the uniform and went inside to change, shutting and locking the door behind her.
"Oh! before I forget, shachou wanted to see you. It's about Maria, apparently she's causing trouble for the acting classes." Matsushima said as he was leaving.
I knocked on the door "looks like I may have found your first assignment." She opened the door and looked at me warily. "Shachou wants me to look into something and your mission is to observe until I say otherwise." She nodded her head and followed me.
"Kyoookooo! Please help! Maria is making a mess of the acting students play! She doesn't like 'Flora' the character being portrayed by a student in a fantasy-type way! She says 'it's too fake! Onee-sama didn't act like that when she slapped some sense into me!' Oh! I need you stop her before things get too out of hand!" shachou cried as soon as I stepped into his office.
I sighed, "alright. Where is she now?" I said already sensing the answer to the question and walking out.
"She's in the acting class! Please hurry!" shachou cried for the final time. He always has to make things sound so dramatic.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~IN THE ACTING CLASS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Onee-sama!" Maria shouts as she comes to hug me.
"Hey Maria, what's this I hear about you causing trouble, because you don't like some play?" I ask as I bend down to look her in the eye.
"It's this stupid play! They got it all wrong! It's so stupid how everyone is acting so sappy. It's like they don't even care about Angel's feelings! They just want her to get over it so everything can be happy again!" Maria told me defiantly.
"Hmm, let's see this play. I'd like to see what she's talking about." I said to the instructor as I stood up. The instructor agreed and had everyone run through it. "Hmm, I see what she is talking about. Flora is too sappy, her sister has been hurt and yet she shows no anger about it. And Angel just excepting it after a small bit of banter doesn't seem real. The wound is far too deep, Angel just lost a very important person to her, and knows that her father blames her for it. You're all underestimating the size of the wound that the situation has caused. I mean think about it, Angel is a young girl, her livelihood is centered on her parents, to lose one and be the center of hatred even if wrongly placed by the father, and she's going to feel as if she is living in a world of darkness. And Flora, you are her elder sister, you are supposed to protect her. Where is your anger against your father for taking out his frustrations on her, where is your irrational self-anger for not being able to keep her safe from the things that have hurt her. These are the feelings you should be having, these are the feelings you should be portraying, not just simply wanting to fix things. Only someone who doesn't actually care does that. The first step to becoming an actor/actress is to understand a person's feelings, not just the situation, and to make that knowledge apart of you for whenever you need it. That is the biggest part of acting. Put yourself IN THEIR shoes." I spoke with authoritative anger as everyone looked away guiltily even the instructor did for not catching the obvious error. Maria looked star-stricken again she was listening to me.
"Well said, KYOKO! The supervisor of new section, LOVE ME!" shachou's voice boomed as he came in. I ignored him and turned to Kanae.
"Alright Moko-san, since I overheard your dream is to become the best actress in Japan. I want you to show them what I am referring to as 'Flora'." she blushed and did what she was told. Looks like her first thoughts on portraying 'Flora' were wrong as well. The play looked much better and more natural with the improvements.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~AFTER THE PLAY~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So Maria, have you talked to your father recently?" I said as we sit in the lobby waiting for Kuon, and looked at her knowing that she hasn't.
"But, he's so busy, I can't disturb him!" I giggled at her flustered state.
"So, it's nice just to hear someone's voice. You should call him tonight." I smile at her cute blushing yes.
"Kyoko! Are you ready to go home?" Kuon says as he comes to get me to leave.
"Ren-sama! I got to see Onee-sama direct a play!" Maria said with the biggest smile as she ran to give him a hug.
Kuon looked at me questioningly as he picked Maria up. "I didn't know you were into directing?" I gave him that 'yeah right' look.
"I'm not, SOMEONE was making a mess of the acting students play, and I had to go sort it out." We both gave Maria disappointed looks as I stood by Kuon. "Maria, you shouldn't make such a big deal out things just because you don't like them. You should have told the instructor when she had a free moment." I scolded her while placed a comforting hand on her leg.
Just then we all heard a squeal. "You two look like parents!" it was Yukihito with Shoko and a camera, probably filming everything.
"I'll go get ready to leave." I said as I went to get changed. "Parents, huh?" That reminded me of my sixteenth birthday, mom and dad forced us to get marriage papers signed JUST IN-CASE something happened. I kind of like the idea of becoming parents, but I don't think we're ready for that.
"Rosa, Sawara-san just called and said that he needed someone to replace the person for the chicken mascot. Shachou told him to get the LOVE ME Section for it." Shoko told me as she sat down handing me a water. I noticed with my keen eye that she has been acting a little off for the past week or so. "What do you plan to do about it?"
"Shoko... Are you pregnant?" I asked offhandedly. Her eyes went big and she paled. "I might be, I don't know. What am I going to do if I am? Do you think Yuki will be happy?" She pleaded me with a very worried face.
"Yuki-san will be over the moon, you have nothing to worry about just get yourself some tests and/or just make an appointment. As for the chicken mascot, I will either have Kanae do it, or I will do it myself. It's not a big deal." I comforted her. She can be so insecure sometimes, it reminds me of when I was little, before I met Kuon.
"You're right, you always are. How do know these things? On second thought, don't tell me, you're a psychic and you already know what I'm having, right?" Shoko teased with a laugh.
"I'm not that good. Haha." I laughed at the accusation.
"Just checking, you are well-known for your great understanding of things." She was definitely feeling better after that. So, as we left she decided to call Yuki-san and tell him the possible new. He, of course was ecstatic and even teased Kuon and I about it, saying that since we are already married, why not put those papers to good use. "Yuki sure knows how to put the pressure on, huh? Although, he's right you know, about you two making excellent parents." Shoko said after she got off the phone with him.
"We are going to think about it when things actually start to settle." she gave me a disagreeing look that said 'You know can't control that stuff, right' and I sighed knowing she was right.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~THE LOVE ME SECTION ROOM~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well Moko-san, it looks like we've been hired for an official job this time. The mascot for a talk-show needs to be refilled." I said as I walked into the room, Kanae spit her water when she heard me say that.
"WHAT?! But that's not an acting job for the future number 1 actress in Japan!" I gave her a glare when she said that.
"Acting jobs are NOT ALWAYS glamorous. BUT, they are still ACTING JOBS. Now, are you going to take the job or will I have to?" I was still glaring at her when I replied.
"Yes ma'am." she responded with a pale face. I smiled at that as I handed her the file.
"Oh, by the way how are your endurance levels with a lot of exercise while dealing with extreme heat?" She paled again, I knew that had to be part of the real answer as to why she refused at first. There is something oddly familiar about her, the way she reacts to things, it's like she reminds me of someone.
"Very well, I shall take the job instead. I will not endanger your life like that." I grab the file back and headed to the tv studio where they were filming it, with Kanae and Shoko following.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~AT THE TV STUDIO~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hello, my name is Kyoko, I am the supervisor of the LOVE ME Section and I will be the one to take the job of being the mascot for the show. Please take this book and rate your experience of working with me after the job is complete. Also this is Kotonami Kanae, an aspiring actress and my student, and the Love Me Section manager Aki Shoko, who is pregnant." I said in perfect respect to the show producer. He nodded understandingly and waved over two stage-hands. One was for me, the other was to direct them to where to sit in the audience.
Once the suit was on, the show began. I was surprised to find that it was Shotaru that was the first guest star. But, I ignored him instead of letting his little comments get to me after all, he has a MAJOR crush on Tsuruga Rosa. I wouldn't want to disappoint him by revealing the truth on LIVE television regardless of how priceless the look on his face would be, I am a HIGHLY respected actress, and I'm NOT going to let some punk ruin that. So, after the show, I confronted him in costume and all, I wasn't a coward.
"Hello Fuwa, I see you're still lying to everyone about who you truly are." I said as I pulled off the head of my costume.
"Hahaha, you're a chicken! That's great! That's just where you belong!" I was very tempted to roll my eyes. Then, all of a sudden Shoko and Kanae zipped over to him.
"How dare you! You dare to look down on someone who is highly respected and a lot of friends! You! Who has only been in this business for a year! You do not rank!" Shoko and Kanae said together in perfect sync. It shocked everyone that they did that and even they were even more surprised to see Fuwa Sho acting that way. Of course once he realized what he had done he ran like the coward that he was.
"Well, I don't know about you but I have a husband to visit after I change. Join me, Shoko?" she didn't hesitate once I asked.
"Apparently Fuwa still blames you for everything." Shoko said with a sigh. I could only nod, he is THAT petty.
"Wait... You're MARRIED?! And why does Fuwa Sho blame you?" Kanae was freaking out, probably because of my age.
"Yeah, we revealed that quite a while ago. As for Fuwa, He and I spent 2 years of our childhood together and I guess he never thought that I would change as much as I did. Once he figured it out he started to have a crush on me, and since I was already married and didn't have any feelings for him, I rejected and now he blames me for any and every thing. Even though Shoko left because she wanted to have a more serious relationship with who is now her husband and has always worked for LME, which she did not, so she transferred. Now, if you'll excuse me I have make sure someone has their fairy wings." Shoko laughed at that last part, she knew what I meant. Ever since Kuon discovered that I had a birth-mark on my right butt-cheek in the shape of a pair of fairy wings, he always makes a joke out of it every morning, saying he needs to make sure to grab his wings before he leaves. Kanae, however, did not get the gesture, as she looked at me incredulously.
Once we got there, Yuki-san zoomed to his wife, Kuon and I smiled at the two. Kanae had decided just to leave after I went to change.
"Are you still tentekomai?" Kuon glared playfully at me when I used that word, he's still embarrassed that he thought it was a dance the first time I said it.
"No, you have great timing because we just finish, I was just on my way to get you." He smiled that "you're still not going to get away with that" smile. After that we all left to go home, and I, to my punishment, a tickle fight that became something more.