Dear Sempai

Disclaimer: I do not own SkipBeat! or any of the characters from the Manga.

Summary: Lory has conceived yet another devious scheme, wrapped in the guise of a LoveMe assignment. All the girls have to do is to write at least one letter a week to the person they respect the most. Simple… right?

Letter 24

Dear Sempai,

I will not, I cannot apologize for my absence over the past two days. I desperately needed time to think and to attempt to understand everything that you have revealed to me. You cannot berate me because I have not missed any work due to my absence. I requested and received permission for this time off. When you arrive on set in the morning I will be there and prepared to work.

I do apologize for taking this tone with you, but I do not know yet how else to respond. I simply can't seem to wrap my mind around this revelation. From a logical point of view I understand why you have kept this secret from me, Corn (the last word was written erratically). This secret and your reason for having it is far larger than our relationship as sempai and kohai, or our relationship as friends, or even our relationship as two children who met and shared an adventure so many years ago.

I know all of that logically, but it still hurts to know that you have been nearby me for so long and yet you have chosen not to identify yourself to me. I feel foolish for not recognizing you and even more foolish for how I have behaved in front of you since we met again. It seems safe to assume that I have been a disappointment to you. That hurts perhaps more than anything else.

Still, if you have any respect left for me then I make this humble request: please do not try to remonstrate, explain, or console me when I return to the set tomorrow. I sincerely promise that I will give the best performance that is within me. I will not disappoint you further with my unprofessionalism nor will I allow my own personal feelings to impact the filming of this movie. More than this I cannot promise.

Although it seems impossible for me to believe at this moment I know that I will eventually be able to regain some measure of control over my warring thoughts and emotions. Until that time, please allow me the time I need.

Sincerely,

Mogami Kyoko

oOoOOoOo

Dear Kanae,

I will leave this letter in your bag so that you will probably find it and read it as you fly to rejoin Hizuri Julie in Milan.

I am sorry that I was unable to properly express my gratitude to you for taking the time out of your busy modeling tour to fly here and speak with me personally. It may not have seemed so at the time, but I listened to everything that you flew here to tell me. I promise that I will ponder your counsel very carefully.

You are correct, of course: this entire deception was created in order to save Hizuri Kuon from his youthful mistakes and it had nothing to do with me. But in a way that is the worst blow of all. More than anything else I wanted to be the support and strength to my childhood friend, Corn. Instead I created a fantasy image of him and I depended upon him for my support. Worse still, when we did meet again I was unworthy to help him. And, worst of all, when he was secretly in need of help I was too weak to support him and I ended up needing his support instead (a portion of the paper after this was water-damaged. Kyoko began writing again on a fresh sheet of paper)

Moko-san, more than anything else I want to be a help to him… but how? For the past two days I have been working on-set with him, but when the cameras turn off I cannot make myself interact with him. I can see the hurt in his eyes, but I don't know what to do!

I am very sorry for burdening you with this. It seems that I am the needy one in all of my relationships. Somehow I have to become strong again; for him, for you, and for everyone else who I care about and who I want to support.

Please tell Hizuri Julie that I do not hate her, even though I have not returned any of her phone calls. Eventually I will be able to reconcile everything in my mind. Until then I am not ready to speak with anyone. Please help her to understand?

Sincerely, your very unworthy best-friend,

Mogami Kyoko