Title: THE FOURTH LOVE ME MEMBER
Disclaimer: I don't own SKIP BEAT! or Hana No Namae
Setting: After the filming for BJ's movie
Summary: The LoveMe Division welcomes a new member. But why is Kyoko so eager to help her new teammate to graduate? Will they both survive in the end, and possibly find love?
Chapter 3: Ren's First Mission
The coverall was too narrow at the shoulders. The pants' length was also about 2 inches shorter than what he preferred. A pair of size 13 sneakers was provided, for which he was thankful for, because he's wearing his favorite pair of leather lace up dress shoes which will not combine well with this new get-up. Still, after he had donned the entire ensemble, he looked like an overgrown man who tried to put on clothes meant for someone two sizes smaller; even his black socks were showing. But one thing became certain as he walked down that dreaded hallway frequented by the pink plague: the view of the entire LME population and the showbiz industry towards the LoveMe division has just been drastically changed.
Standing in front of his new 'teammates', though looking forlorn, Ren Tsuruga still managed to keep his cool and gentlemanly persona. Even as Kotonami Kanae, Kyoko's overprotective of a best friend, devolved into a human laughter machine and the other LoveMe member Chiori Amamiya stared at him as if memorizing his every pink-clad body part, and even as his beautiful kohai looked up at him with unconcealed concern in her eyes, he remained standing tall and proud. He smiled only slightly when Kyoko asked him 'Why?'. Why indeed? He is asking the same question.
"Now ladies, after you're done with organizing the fanmail, I want you all to go around and introduce – er- Tsuruga-san to everyone and to show him what exactly we do here in LoveMe" Sawara instructed with discomfort. Ren can only pity the man. He wished he could express that he is in no way offended by the man's actions who is only following instructions from the President.
The previous night, as he lay on his bed waiting for elusive sleep to come, he tried to think of the best course of action. He was not thinking about saving his hide. The President knew him well- too well, for them to have ill feelings towards each other. Therefore he took Lory's ultimatum as what it is: a challenge. If there was any other person constantly aware of his volatile other self behind the Tsuruga Ren mask aside from Kyoko, it was the President. The man knew when he lied about why he didn't want to accept the part. Somehow, he knew that Ren had read the works and had read about Mizushima Kei.
He expected the President to confine him in lead roles for mushy romance dramas for a period of time. Now, he just realized that would be too easy. He already knows how to act 'real love'. But he never, not in his wildest dreams, imagined himself in this angry pink LoveMe uniform.
"Well then, Tsuruga-san, I will leave you in the able hands of my LoveMe girls" Sawara advised as he retreated from the room.
Right then, Yashiro (who was just able to control his giddiness) entered the room to greet everyone.
"Hello ladies, good morning!"
"Good morning, Yashiro-san" Kyoko greeted back, momentarily distracted from looking at her tall senpai.
Kotonami Kanae suddenly stopped giggling and raised her eyebrows.
"Good morning, indeed, Yashiro-san" a male voice growled beside the man, a seething, almost subhuman voice.
"Ah er—"
"So, you're not wearing a uniform, Yashiro-san. Does this mean you're free to do whatever while we try to take care of your charge for today?" Kanae asked accusingly.
Everyone looked at her. Only then did Ren realize that indeed, his manager is free from the pink curse. His shock and amusement over the crazy pink ordeal distracted him from asking what Yashiro and the president have talked about earlier. Surely, it was about him and his LoveMe fate.
"Uhm- no, actually, I am still to serve as Ren's manager. He will be able to keep his current commitments, but he cannot accept new ones, aside from the projects approved and given and the President himself. I am to make sure that he reports to the LoveMe Division for his assignments until he graduates" the manager explained.
"And when will that be?" Amamiya chimed in.
"Pardon?"
"When will he graduate? Does he have to fulfill certain requirements just like everyone of us?" she elaborated.
"Oh, that, yes! Of course! He will be treated like any other LoveMe member. He will not graduate, until, as the President put it 'He finds that elusive emotion called LOVE and choose to express it wholeheartedly'. That's what he said" Yashiro looked proud of himself as he recited.
If Ren didn't know who they are talking about, he would have gagged, stripped off the hideous pink uniform and threw it across the room. But he did none of these. He knows that resisting would mean a more serious punishment that may involve a forced confession and a freaked-out kohai.
"That's good. I'm glad that the President is fair to all of us" Amamiya commented. Kanae, however, kept a wary eye on both men. She somehow sensed something suspicious about the whole affair.
"So, what can I do to help you girls today? I guess I need to accumulate those points if I really want to graduate in this lifetime" Ren said with sarcasm.
Kyoko only looked at him with pity. Then:
"I'm so sorry Tsuruga-san!" she exclaimed right before she executed a perfect dogeza.
As she executed her dogeza, Kyoko can only think about one thing: she has to memorize this look: Ren Tsuruga in pink LoveMe coveralls – for her next Ren-sama doll. She had practically developed a new prototype, a project started during her stint as Setsu, and had started creating a new wardrobe collection to fit his many faces and expressions accumulated in her memory vault, and this one – the pink-suited one – is a must for her immediate reproduction.
Cute is not totally accurate to describe him, Kyoko thought. Adorable? Perhaps. Totally, magnificently, priceless, indescribable, dream-like. A Prince in Pink!
"Mogami-san, why are you apologizing?" he asked.
Kyoko peeked up at his face. He had that confused expression, similar to when he wondered about the meaning of 'tentekomai'.
"Ah.. uhmm.. Well, wasn't I the one who tried to enter showbiz forcefully, when I really didn't have any talent? And because of that and because President Takarada was just so kind he established LoveMe to give me a chance – in – er- reformation. So if it wasn't for me there would be no LoveMe and you won't have to be banished here to do some unnecessary chores when you're already Japan's number one star!" she answered with conviction.
Everyone turned silent for a few moments as they all looked at her.
Finally, it was Kotonami Kanae who reacted, as usual, in the manner only she can react: "Mo! Are you brain dead? He's here because apparently he lacks love or he doesn't know how to express it. It's not because of you."
"But- but Moko-san.."
"You mean to tell me I am here because of you too? We're both assigned in LoveMe after we both failed the new talents' test, remember? And Amamiya here joined us on her own accord. Now don't tell me that was your fault too?"
"I – " Kyoko thought about this. What her best friend said made sense. But somehow, she felt she's at fault – in Tsuruga-san's case that is.
"Mogami-san, she's right. My being here is in no way your fault. The president just wants to teach me a lesson" Ren confirmed.
"But why, Tsuruga-san? What did you do exactly?" She knows that her senpai understands love but only chose not to express it because he's too much of a gentleman to court a girl 4 years his junior.
"I turned down a drama offer he picked out personally for me" he answered truthfully but did not dare to elaborate.
"But you can do that, right, turn projects down? You're not exactly mere talentos like us" Amamiya countered.
"Well, you see, the project is very close to the President's heart. The drama was developed due to his own efforts. He even begged a very antisocial and introverted man to approve the creation of the drama based on his life story" Yashiro explained on his charge's behalf.
"Ugh, knowing the President, that must be some overly romantic drama based on some true-to-life pseudo-fairytale" Kanae commented.
On the word fairytale, Kyoko's mood suddenly turned into something akin to awe and excitement "Fairytale? I would love to see Tsuruga-san play the Prince or the Prince of the fairies!" she exclaimed, lost again in her dream world. Tsuruga-san in a fairytale prince costume is infinitely more appealing than the one in pink coveralls.
Yashiro snickered beside Ren. The actor can only glare at him. He loathes shattering his kohai's fantasy, but he answered anyway:
"No. It's not like that. It's a dark story about a very real and troubled man"
Kyoko snapped out of her reverie. "But why did you turn it down?"
Ren hesitated. Because his life reminds me so much of my real life as my real self and my hopeless love for you? He can never say that. He can only sigh. "It was just too much for me – the darkness" he answered vaguely. It was a half truth that he wished she would accept. After all, she'd seen him struggle with BJ being Cain. They had slain the monster together. She was even his talisman.
Once again, Kyoko felt warm, knowing and realizing how close to being human her senpai is, how imperfect and how vulnerable. She'd seen this side of him – the unsure, unreserved side. And it made her feel like she wanted to protect him, to shelter him from the world.
She just nodded. She understands. And for a brief moment, he flashed that smile that made her breath hitch and her throat dry and her heart racing.
"Ehem" Yashiro interrupted the coziness threatening to make everyone inside the room dizzy. "So, where do we start? We have a lot of points to accumulate! We gotta start working now!"
Mizushima Kei had always been a stoic man. He had very few friends – only a handful, really, and most of them barely knew him outside of his professional career. For him, though, his career is not a career. It is his life. Every story he produced, every word and every line, is a reflection of his own existence. He does not consider himself as popular. His novels and short stories do not appeal to the average reader. Despite this, he was hailed as one of Japan's greatest contemporary authors because of his powerful prose and risky themes. He is very traditional; lives in a traditional house, wears a yukata almost all the time, does not own a television, and prefers reading classical works than troubling himself with normal pastimes. And so he was a bit surprised when Tomoji Isaka contacted him. Tomoji is a relatively well-known filmmaker. She had won several awards locally and abroad for her emotionally-charged films. She had read his most famous masterpiece to date: Hana, the book which critics acclaimed to be a shining ray of light in his obviously dark genre of writing. The story was a tragedy – about a mentally disturbed man who fell in love with an aphasic girl. The girl died in the end, and the man lay down on a field of flowers near her grave. That simple yet poignant closing in the novel is what made it famous. Many critics had interpreted Hana to be based on Kei's own troubled life and his relationship with a girl, the daughter of his late half-cousin, who is 12 years his junior. Kei never denied or admitted this allegation. His admirers and critics, the whole community of writers and enthusiasts remained bewildered, until, a few years later, they finally announced their engagement and eventually got married. Right after their honeymoon (which was kept a secret as well), Tomoji visited Kei's self-proclaimed best friend and editor, Akiyama, to propose a translation of Hana into a film. He declined, of course, but then his editor set a meeting with the said director which he reluctantly entertained. The woman had a no-nonsense aura about her, and had said the right words: "I will not change the story, Mizushima-sensei. It will remain as it is – a mystery. I want to bring your mystery into the big screen". They both knew, of course, there was no mystery. Kei was able to see that Tomoji fully understood the meaning behind his story: redemption from a senseless, purposeless life by another life that is given with love.
A year after Hana was released in the theaters and after earning spectacular reviews, Kei was equally surprised when a tall, distinguished-looking man arrived at his doorstep. As he welcomed him and his shadow, the man bowed deeply and said: "It is my great honor, Mizushima-sensei to finally meet you and would be glad for you to hear my purpose of coming to your home". They talked. The man was the most flamboyant and most passionate Kei has ever met. He did not give an answer to the man's prosal. The man said he would wait. Later that day, when he mentioned to Chouko about the visit, her eyes were suddenly on fire which does not happen very often. She was the most behaved, almost too shy, slip of a woman he's ever known. Sometimes he's still afraid of hurting her, of breaking her. But she is also strong. She is his strength, his anchor, his talisman against his darkness.
The next day, after Chouko left for her job at a nursery school, he began his research in the internet. He rarely used this function in his laptop computer. The laptop was a gift from his editor. He was taught by Chouko on how to use the basic functions. Though he is no computer whiz, he is relatively adept in browsing the web. He searched for the name of the man who visited and realized that he is, indeed, quite well-known. Other information provided about him were: eccentric, transformational, successful. His name is also linked to many famous names in the TV and film industry. He said he was a fan of Tomoji's films and when he saw Hana, had searched for the author and read Kei's other works. But instead of Hana, he wanted to turn his, Mizushima Kei's, life into a serial drama. Never, he thought at first. He would never let anyone invade his privacy. But when he mentioned this to Chouko, including the name of the actor and actress that were chosen to portray the two of them in this so-called drama, she jumped up and began to shiver excitedly.
"Kei-sama" she said "please do consider the man's request". That night he was so troubled. Chouko had never asked for anything. She had remained the most giving, most selfless person in his life. Oh, he knew he'd always been difficult, but she never gave up on him. And so as he watched her sleeping face that night, he made his decision.
Now, he is impatiently waiting beside his dear wife, inside the office of LME's President. The building looked very modern outside, but the office is designed and decorated like the living room of a traditional Japanese abode. There is even a small running stream at one side of the enormous room. Instead of an office desk, in the middle, there is a low table. When they entered earlier, a tea ceremony was performed before they finally settled into their conversation.
"I am so pleased to meet you finally, Mizushima Chouko-san" Takarada Lory greeted. He looked good in his traditional yukata. Kei wished he had donned his own. He feels uncomfortable in his dark suit.
"It is my honor, Takarada-san. I am an admirer of some of your talents and I have followed some of your projects" Chouko answered politely.
"I am so glad to hear that Mizushima-san"
"Please, call me Chouko. Mizushima is my husband's name" she answered, bowing slightly and holding Kei's arm.
"Kei, call me Kei" the author added gruffly.
"Then you should both call me Lory" the man exclaimed looking quite pleased.
"Now, Sebastian, have you contacted our LoveMe pair? We do not want to keep our guests waiting" he asked his assistant.
"Yashiro-san advised that they are on their way, Sir" the assistant answered.
"Tell me, Takarada-san, about this actor you chose for the drama" Kei asked.
"Well, I cannot fully describe him, Kei-san, you should see him for yourself. But I daresay, you two have many things in common"
"Am I right to assume you are talking about Tsuruga Ren, Lory-san?" Chouko asked. A slight blush crept upon her cheeks.
Lory nodded. "You know him, my dear?"
"Uhm, yes, I watched Dark Moon. He was – very – uhm—quite talented" she said timidly beneath the growing blush, which somehow troubled her husband. Sensing his discomfort, she immediately composed herself.
"And perhaps you know Mogami Kyoko as well?" Lory tested.
A short and small, but still audible squeal issued from the young woman. "You mean, Kyo – Kyoko-chan, will—she will play"
"She will portray you, Chouko-san" Lory confirmed.
Chouko could not have blushed more profusely. Kei became even more anxious. He cursed himself for never developing any interest in watching television. He is frustrated for not knowing anything. He desperately wanted to know, to share this with Chouko.
A knock issued from the double oak doors. Sebastian opened them and a couple entered. They were both dressed in coveralls – colored angry, deep, absolute pink.
Kei noted that the man who entered was very tall, a good few inches taller than he is. And the girl, with dyed light brown hair cut short, looked much smaller beside him. But what is most striking, were her honey-gold eyes. She looked intense, fierce, yet gentle and graceful at the same time. There is a hidden strength within her, much like his Chou-chan.
"We are your lovable LoveMe helpers. We are glad to be of service for you today!" they suddenly shouted, complete with hand and feet actions that looked like the combined poses of several action heroes.
"Pffft.. "
Kei and Chouko looked behind them at the slowly devolving LME president. But their eyes went back to staring wide-eyed at the pink-clad pair.
"At ease" Lory snorted, finally able to control his giggling.
"That was one splendid introduction"
The young people groaned at the compliment.
"Now, Mizushima Kei-san and Chouko-san, I want you to meet the two lead actors who will bring your wonderful love story to life – Tsuruga Ren and Mogami Kyoko"
The temperature inside the room dropped. A certain, almost familiar darkness surrounded them. Somehow, Kei became convinced that Lory had said the truth earlier. These two do have a lot in common with him and Chouko, and despite himself, he is now quite interested.
End of Chapter 3
If you don't know Kei and Chouko Mizushima, you can try reading about them and their unique love story in Hana no Namae. I was inspired by the darkness from Kei's past and its parallelism with Ren's other half – Kuon (no, they don't have similar childhoods, but they both developed into very troubled individuals). Also, Chouko is 12 years younger than Kei, which is why their story affects Ren a lot. I guess I'm in 'let's-torture-Ren mode'.. kekeke