Disclaimer : I don't own Skip Beat
Chapter 10 : Boyfriend and Girlfriend (part 4)
Three weeks had passed since then. They looked more like a real couple now. They went on dates several times when both of them had time. Kyouko was starting to get many interviews since the award ceremony. She had also started to have several CM offers and even several modelling gigs. She sighed deeply when she saw the drama offers. All of it was still antagonist roles. She hadn't had time to review it since she was still busy with Box R shoot, Tragic Marker as Setsuka and her commercial shoots. She was reluctant to accept the modelling gigs. She viewed herself as plain and didn't think herself as model's material. Ren has talked her into it and she considered accepting some of the offers soon. It decreased their time together for the roles but since they were playing siblings, they met almost every day. Sometimes, they even slept together in one bed, mostly when Ren had nightmares.
She wasn't terrified anymore when he asked her to get into one bed since she was used to it. They had been at it when they played father and son. She wasn't thinking anything bad about him for current roles as well. He had always been a perfect gentleman in her eyes, even though she used to curse him as playboy and con artist. What they did was just sleeping and no more. No talking, no cuddling, nothing. He had her in his arms and hugged her tightly whenever something bad happened on Tragic Marker set. She felt like a human bolster sometimes. Kyouko was worried about him but he didn't seem want to talk. She thought that she'd wait till he opened up to her and let him do as he wished for now. He didn't try to touch her inappropriately like the last time as well which made her feel really at ease being with him.
She found that being with him was natural. She started to feel lonely when she couldn't meet him. They embraced and kissed each other passionately when they met up in the hotel room, especially when they didn't get to meet each other for one or two days. She started to miss his kisses and his warm chest and wondered why.
Ren realised that she was still playing the role. She was a method actor who would immerse herself completely into a role. She was still treating him politely outside the roles. Worse, she called him senpai sometimes. He sighed deeply but he didn't want to move on from current roles for now. What if the next roles were something she wrote again? She wouldn't write couple roles. No, I don't want to pick new roles. I can't helped it if she wants to change the role, but it seems that she is at ease with me now. What should I do to move our relationship to the next stage without involving roles? Ren sighed and sighed again.
As Ren had promised her before, they went on a picnic in Inokashira Park in the broad daylight at the weekend. There weren't really more Sakura to view at but the couple were happy nevertheless. When in the park, they had a little hard time enjoying their picnic because some people recognised Kyouko as Mio from Dark Moon.
"Look! That girl… she is Mio, right?"
"Eh? Where? Oh yeah… she looks like that in that award ceremony."
"Let's go get her signature!"
Most of them tried to get close to the couple and asked for her signature. Kyouko cringed. She never thought that people would recognise her. She was confident that her plain look when she wasn't playing any role wouldn't attract attention.
"Kyouko-san, can I get your signature?" one girl asked.
She cringed more and turned to look at Kuon.
"Just sign it! I can wait," Kuon said in English. He smiled when he saw her suddenly getting busy with some people who wanted her signature.
What they didn't expect was that the group was getting bigger. Most of them, whilst waiting for her to sign, turned their attention to the handsome foreigner beside her.
"That guy is Kyouko's boyfriend? Uwah, she's taken? Too bad," some guys were whispering around.
"Wow, Kyouko got a foreigner as boyfriend and he's so handsome."
"So that rumour wasn't true? Did you see the live broadcast? I was really disappointed at that time. I thought she was Tsuruga Ren's girlfriend. They matched though… but well… turned out she's got a foreigner boyfriend. Yay! Tsuruga Ren is still available then."
"No one said Tsuruga Ren's got girlfriend."
"Uwah… I like her. She's really nice in person. Totally different with Mio," some girl squealed in glee.
"She looked so cute. Did you watch Box R? She's in there too."
"I watch it. She's drop dead sexy there."
"Too bad she only plays antagonists. I want to see her play a good girl next time."
Kuon twitched when he heard the guys talking about Kyouko's sexiness in Box R. He smiled brightly and Kyouko could sense the Demon Lord was about to surface. She turned and looked at him. "What's wrong, Kuon?"
"Nothing." Kuon smiled brighter.
He's angry about this commotion? I'm such a bad girlfriend. Is this an NG? No! I have to do something. Kyouko smiled to him and said, "I'm sorry, I'll be fast."
"I'm not angry about them. I just have something occupying my mind."
"Oh…" She smiled. He's not angry… but why is Demon Lord appearing?
After several minutes past, they finally could get their own space. Both of them huffed in relieved.
"You're great," Kyouko said.
Kuon was startled with her sudden exclamation. He tilted his head and asked, "Define great!"
"You have so many fans and you can survive them. I'm feeling a bit tired now."
Kuon chuckled. "Yes, I knew that feeling. It doesn't mean that I'm great or something. You'll get used to it. You're rising, honey… of course people will recognise you."
"But I'm plain and boring especially if I put on this black wig. I'm just my old self," she protested.
"Whoever said you're plain and boring had no eyes. You're beautiful," he said and smiled gently.
Kyouko blushed. "Um… but…" she tried to protest again.
"Kyouko, you're an actress. An actress should be confident with herself."
Kyouko was stunned.
"I'm not telling you to be a self-centred actress, okay? I just want you to be more confident," he continued.
"I wish I could but..." She sighed. "I don't know how to."
"You won two awards, honey. That's a big achievement. That should do," he reminded her. "Did you read those newspapers? I didn't recall any of them stating that you were boring and plain." He raised his hand and caressed her cheek softly. "Your fans will feel terribly disappointed if they knew the actress they idolised is calling herself plain and boring. Imagine if I call myself ugly, what will you do?"
"I'll curse you. You're very good looking, why do you want to call yourself ugly? You made me regret calling you my respected senpai," she said immediately.
He laughed. "There… Can you see my point now? It's the same." And no, I don't want to be your respected senpai. He desperately wanted to say it but he knew he couldn't. What did I do wrong? I want to be your official boyfriend.
She stayed silent and tried to digest his words. She smiled and nodded. "I understand."
"So, is it okay now?" he asked. "Should we continue our picnic?"
"I'm sorry that I ruined our picnic. I should have put on disguise," Kyouko said regretfully.
"I agree." He leant down and about to kiss her when he felt her hands on his lips.
"Don't! What did I tell you about kissing in public?" she asked sternly.
He pouted. "Can you blame me for that?"
She giggled then protested. "But we're in public, Corn." He shrugged as an answer and her face darkened. "I hate it when you do that."
"Do what?" Kuon asked confusedly.
"This…" Kyouko imitated his way of shrugging. "I felt that you were mocking me when you did that."
Kuon was startled. He chuckled at it and enveloped her in a tight embrace. "Sorry, honey… I won't do it again if you hate it."
She wrapped her hands around his waist and leant against his chest. "Thank you. I'm glad that you understand."
Three days later…
"Um, Bistro CMAP? What is that?" Kyouko asked when Sawara told her about the invitation from CMAP.
Bistro CMAP was a popular celebrity cooking segment. CMAP was a group of 5 singers who were also great chefs. They invited celebrities to their cooking show. The bistro's concept was cooking battle and one theme cooking. One of them had a task as the maitre'd. The maitre'd would conduct some interview and light chats with the celebrity invited. The other four would be divided into two groups. The invited celebrity would determine the winner at the end of the tasting segment. The food cooked by the chefs came from the celebrity order, mostly one theme. If the celebrity was a woman or girl, they had to kiss the winning group's members on their cheeks. If the celebrity was a guy, the celebrity would present the winning group's members with gifts.
"Ah, it's like that?" Kyouko laughed. "Sounds interesting, Sawara-san."
"Yes, and you'll go with Tsuruga-san," Sawara added.
"Oh… well…" Kyouko smiled. Why with Kuon-san? I don't understand.
When she got back to the hotel that night, Kuon told her the same thing.
"I had never been invited before," Kuon said.
"Yes, you hate eating. Maybe they knew about your horrible eating habit?" Kyouko said with a smile.
"Maybe… Their cooking show is really popular, you know," Kuon said again. "I wonder what to order. I have no idea. You'll do the ordering." He grinned
Kyouko laughed. "Just as I predicted. You're hopeless."
"I'm not. I love eating but only if you cook for me," Kuon said slyly.
"You can cook perfectly fine by yourself. You're getting better. Why do you need me to cook for you? Being lazy are you, Kuon-san?"
"Yours is delicious than mine and I simply love your cooking the best. I'm not that good in baking as well."
"Ah… the cake was still a little bit hard. The cream was still a failure. I wondered why you failed that again." Kyouko shook her head.
They still continued their cooking lesson even though their roles as teacher and student had finished long time ago.
"I don't have talent at all in baking perhaps," Kuon said. "By the way, are you okay with it?"
"What do you mean?" Kyouko asked confusedly.
"You have to kiss the winning group on the cheek."
"It's for program purposes, I guess it's okay for me. I'm going to cook something for dinner. I'm hungry now."
"Okay," he answered half-heartedly. He watched her walked away and went into the kitchenette. And she freaked out when I first kissed her on her cheek? So not fair… Kuon sighed inwardly. I was happy I taught her that rule I made up to calm her down, but now I regret it as well. He sighed again deeply.
All eyes were on the set. Every one's eyes widened. They gaped at the scene before their eyes. They saw BJ killing his victims fast. He smiled when he killed them. The victims' blood was everywhere. Setsu watched the scene taking intently. She watched her brother with ghost smile plastered on his face while he was doing the scene. His eyes were bloodshot red. He seemed to enjoy the mass killing he was doing. Director Konoe's face paled, so did Murasame. In fact, most people ran out of the room. They couldn't stand seeing the brutal scene before their eyes.
"CUT!" Konoe finally called for a cut.
The scene for today was wrapped. Everyone seemed to be relieved. They were really terrified when they saw BJ moved fast from side to side with knife in his hand. The extras that played victims stood up and hurriedly left the set. They were terrified as well. They thought that they were going to be killed for real.
BJ still stood in the middle of the set. He panted hard. His sights were blurry. Murderer! He heard Tina's voice inside of his mind. He froze in place. He was startled when he felt assuring warm hands he knew perfectly on his arm. He turned and saw Setsu. She smiled coldly and said, "Good job, niisan. Brutally done!" She giggled.
Most people in the room cringed upon her reaction. Konoe smiled a little upon the view. What an actress! She managed to stay calm after seeing that brutal scene and even praised him for that. She's going to be a big actress someday.
The siblings left the set and head to Cain's dressing room. They entered his dressing room. Cain locked the room and sat down on the chair. Setsu smiled. She walked and sat down as well. She poured warm tea from the bottle and handed it to Cain.
"Thanks, Setsu."
Setsu stayed silent. She knew he was struggling inside himself.
"Did you…" Cain began.
"Hmm?" She looked at him in his eyes.
"Find me disgusting?"
Setsu's eyes widened. She smiled, "No. Why should I be? You're my brother." What is it with him?
He didn't continue and sighed. He closed his eyes and dropped his head on the table.
He sighed for umpteenth time when they arrived in the hotel. He dropped his coat on the floor and went into the bathroom.
"Gee… Niisan is so messy. He should put it on its place," Setsu grumbled and took his coat.
When Cain got out from the bathroom, he was Kuon. He removed his coloured contacts. Kuon proceeded to his bed and sank himself in it. He stared at the ceiling, thinking. Meanwhile, Setsu got into the bathroom. She was worried. She hurriedly finished her bath and returned back to Kyouko. She found him nowhere to seen when she got out of the bathroom.
"Kuon-san, where are you?" She walked and opened the wardrobe, hoping to find him there. She went to the door and saw his shoes there. She walked to the balcony and found him there. He was smoking. Kyouko raised her brows when she saw cigarette butts scattering around on the floor. "There you are," she said sternly.
He froze and turned to see her. He dropped the cigarette he was smoking just now and stepped on it. "Um…" He was caught red handed breaking their agreement. He promised her not to smoke when he was Kuon. She told him she hated smoker. "This is not… and…" he stuttered.
She smiled. "It's okay. Just for today. I know you need that, but please…" She pointed down at the cigarette butts. "Don't be so messy! You aren't Cain right now."
He looked guilty. "I'm sorry," he said. "Come here, honey!"
"No. I hate cigarettes, you know that."
"Please?" he pleaded to her. He gave her his maximum level of puppy dog eyes.
"You're cheating. You know I can't resist when you show me that face." She turned away from him.
He chuckled. He walked up to her and hugged her from behind. She let out a squeak and tried to break free from him. "Please, I need you now, my perfect talisman."
She stopped and stood still. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked carefully.
"Um… will you please promise me that you won't be disgusted?"
That again…why is he so afraid that I'll find him disgusting? He isn't disgusting. She nodded. She was confused but she wanted to help him.
They settled themselves on the chair. She was sitting on his laps, facing him. They stayed silent for a while.
"Kyouko… the reason I came here to Japan was to find myself."
She nodded. "You said that before."
"I was screwed big time at there. In the states, I meant. I…" he sighed deeply, "was a delinquent."
"So? It's not a problem, I think. Murasame was one, I heard. He didn't feel bad about it," she said with a smile. "Everyone must have one or two ugly past."
Kuon was startled. "Um, he might not. As for me, I was responsible for my friend's death."
Kyouko froze. What? "Define responsible!" Don't judge him yet! I need to listen.
"As you might know from my father, I'm not pure Japanese. My father is half American. My mother's Russian American."
She nodded.
"I was insulted for my nature as a mixed blood."
Ah, so that's why he looked really pissed off when Murasame insulted Cain as half British…
"My friend, Rick, taught me to stand up for myself. I cooked Maui omurice once for both of us and it resulted as lump of charcoal. Rick taught me that ketchup magic. Remember?"
"I remember that." She smiled softly. "Then?"
"I'd always endured all the insults till one day I snapped. I kicked and punched those who insulted my Japanese blood brutally. Rick tried to stop me," His voice started to tremble. "I chased after those people. Rick chased after me and… a car ran over him. He died on the spot. His girlfriend called me murderer. I couldn't do anything. I froze." His tears rolled down his cheek. She was startled. She raised her both hands and wiped his tears out.
"Kuon-san, I don't think you were responsible for his death," Kyouko said softly.
His eyes widened. "But he died because of me…"
"He was hit by a car right?"
Kuon nodded.
"Who drove the car at that time? Was it you?"
He shook his head. "But the car was targeting me."
Kyouko huffed. "Then, you weren't at fault. Even though you weren't in a fight, if it was his fate to die by a car crash, then it would happen sooner or later. It's called fate. We can't go against fate."
Kuon got confused. She got a weird way of thinking but… somehow makes sense. "It still didn't change the fact that I was responsible."
"No, it was not fully your responsibility. You were part of the accident as well. And…did you regret it?"
He nodded.
"Then, isn't that enough?" she said again. "Now I know the reason you did such a great job on this movie…" She smiled.
He cringed. He felt much better now. He laughed softly. "You really have a twisted mind."
"I was comforting you, saying all the logic I could from your messy story, and you said what? You really have a twisted mind," she imitated him. "I think if murder was legal, I'm going to kill you now."
He smiled truthfully.
"But well… it's good that you stopped being a delinquent and moved on with your life. Isn't it great to know acting?" she said with a smile.
"Yes, it is… but I still have a linger feeling about this in…" He stopped. "Here…" he pointed to his chest. "It's not easy to forget it."
"It must be painful if you have to see your friend died in front of your eyes," she said and cried. "I will feel devastated too if Mouko-san died in front of me. Mouko-san!"
Kuon cringed and tried to shush her. "Kyouko… no! Please don't cry! Please…"
She stopped and blushed. "Sorry, suddenly her image popped out in my mind and…"
Kuon chuckled and nodded. "I know."
She wiped her tears and said, "Now, don't blame yourself for that again, okay?"
He looked at her, not saying anything.
"Kuon-san, you're still at it?" Kyouko sighed. "I know you feel guilty. If I were you, I would too but… it was in the past. I concluded that he saved you. Then how are you supposed to thank him for saving your life? Live your life to the fullest, without regrets. He would be happy in there," Kyouko pointed up. "As for his girlfriend, I can't blame her for yelling murderer at you. That was grief talking. Okay, so now let's imagine us. I was run over by a car, you weren't there beside me. I was trying to save Mouko-san and I pushed her away. What'll you do when you arrive and saw me on the road, bleeding to death and with frozen Mouko-san?"
Kuon imagined it in his head and said, "Murderer! Give me my Kyouko back!" and Tina's continuation of words appeared in his mind. He gasped. Yes, I would say the same too. If only the one who died was her Mouko-san, not Kyouko.
"There… do you understand now? That's the most spontaneous reaction under that situation! It was a hit and run. Who is to blame if not the closest one at there? People tend to blame someone for their misfortune," Kyouko said and with serious face continued, "If I were her, I would say the same thing."
"It didn't change the fact that I was a…" He stopped when he saw her stern face. "I understand."
"As long as you regret it, it's okay. And if you want to thank him… you know what to do. And the most important thing…" She smiled.
"Yes?" Kuon was a bit intimidated when he saw that Mio-like smile.
"Don't repeat that again!" she continued.
"I won't!"
They stared at each other in silent.
"Thank you, Kyouko."
She smiled. She blushed red when her stomach growled loudly. He laughed out loud.
"You dare to laugh at me? I decided that you are responsible for today's dinner," she pointed to his chest.
"Hmm okay… how does hamburger sound?" he asked. He could see that her eyes lit up. He chuckled and said, "Let's go shopping!"
That night, when Kyouko woke up at the middle of the night, she smiled contently when she saw the man beside her was sleeping peacefully. He shall have no more nightmares. She closed her eyes again and drifted into dream land.
One week later…
"I'm nervous," Kyouko said.
"I'll be with you too," Ren said.
They were in the backstage of Bistro CMAP. Kyouko wore the red dress Kuon gave her. She raised her brows at first when he handed her the dress. She recognised the dress as the one she had tried on before. Kuon smiled meaningfully when he told her to wear it. He told her that the dress was for celebrating her achievement in recent award ceremony. She accepted it unwillingly at first. She told him she didn't like him spending money on her. He pouted and gave her puppy dog eyes. She gave up and thanked him for his thoughtfulness.
"Good evening! Today we have two celebrities here with us. Ah, they are coming," Nakamura Masahiro said. He was playing the waiter for Bistro CMAP.
"Good evening," Kyouko and Ren said in unison. The two of them bowed to Nakamura.
"Good evening, may I know your name?" Masahiro said.
"I am Tsuruga Ren, please be favourable to me. Thank you for inviting us," Ren said.
"I am Kyouko, please treat me favourably. Thank you for inviting us," Kyouko said.
There were several screenshot displayed, introducing Kyouko and Ren as the award winning actors. It also displayed their past and current works. The audience cheered gleefully over the two actors.
"Ah, you two match each other well," Masahiro said with a grin.
"Eh, really? Wow…" Ren said with a wide smile.
Masahiro nodded with a smile.
Kyouko blushed. She smiled nervously.
Masahiro escorted them to their seat.
"I will take your order, okyaku-sama!"
Ren and Kyouko looked at each other. "I'll leave it to Kyouko."
"Eh? Is it okay?" Kyouko asked him.
"Sure." Ren smiled.
"Then, please make Japanese food using the seasonal items," Kyouko said with a smile.
"ORDER! Japanese food with seasonal items," Masahiro said and made a 'clink' voice with a glass using a spoon.
"YES!" 4 voices answered from below.
Masahiro then sat down beside Kyouko. "Ah, hello Kyouko-san, Tsuruga-san, this is your first time on Bistro CMAP?"
The two nodded with a smile.
"Kyouko-san, from the information we got, we know you cook," Masahiro stated.
"Yes," Kyouko confirmed and the audience was cheering again.
"May we know what do you usually cook?" Masahiro asked.
"Um… Kyoto style food, several desserts I had learnt and simple home style cooking."
"Wow, that's amazing. You can cook Kyoto style food. You're from Kyoto after all," Masahiro said and turned his attention to Ren. "What about you Tsuruga-san? Do you cook?"
"Yes, I do," Ren answered. The audience cheered loudly upon the answer. Most of them didn't expect the answer.
"Heh? That's unexpected. We heard that you have horrible eating habit," Masahiro chuckled. Yes, Tsuruga Ren learnt how to cook? Now, that's a scoop.
Ren laughed softly. "Yes, actually. I don't really like to eat till I learned how to cook."
"Heh… So what do you usually cook?" Masahiro asked, interested with the news.
"Kyoto style food, one type of dessert, and simple home style cooking."
"Eh? That's the same with Kyouko-san," Masahiro commented.
Ren chuckled. "Yes, it is. She's my teacher."
"EH?" The crowd was cheering louder.
"WOW! Kyouko-san, you're a… cooking teacher?" Masahiro said. I can tease them later. As the rumour said, it seemed to me that they have something between them.
"No, Tsuruga-san is too kind," Kyouko said.
"Heh… that's very nice. Maybe you can show us some of your skills later, Kyouko-san, Tsuruga-san," Masahiro said slyly. I heard she can do Katsuramuki. I want to see it.
They stopped the taping half way since the chefs needed time to get their cooking ready. When they were almost ready, the taping continued.
"Let's head to the kitchen and meet the chefs, Tsuruga-san, Kyouko-san!"
Ren and Kyouko followed the waiter and went downstairs. They were introduced to the four chefs, Kitsukawa Takuya, Kusanami Tsuyoshi, Inamori Goro and Kanda Shingo. They had some light chats about the recent drama and movies.
"Eh? Katsuramuki?" Kyouko asked confusedly. Why the sudden…
"From the information we gathered, you performed katsuramuki for your audition," Nakamura said. "Can we see how you do it? Please?"
Kyouko smiled nervously. "Okay."
She chose one knife offered by Takuya and asked for a daikon. She smiled and her knife moved fast elegantly. She tried her best to not dirty her dress. The audiences ooh and aah. Even the four chefs and the waiter gaped at her. Ren smiled when she did that. When she finished, she said, "Here, I tried making a rose. Maybe it's not as good as it should be." She handed the daikon rose to Nakamura.
"Wow, that's really GREAT!" They gawked.
After Kyouko's performance, the taping was stopped again. They moved back to upstairs. After the chefs, the waiter, Ren and Kyouko settled themselves, the taping was continued. The Takuya Shingo team made Hinachirashi a la Takuya and Ichigo Daifuku a la Shingo. The Goro Tsuyoshi team made Sakura mochi a la Tsuyoshi and Takenoko gohan with clam miso soup a la Goro. Both Kyouko and Ren enjoyed the fresh ideas of the chefs. It wasn't something classic. They improvised the recipe and made it their signature dishes. They were surprised when the host asked them about how the food tasted. When they said 'oishii desu', Masahiro repeated after them and Shingo appeared with Mio-like appearance. He even imitated her acting very well in comical way. Ren and Kyouko laughed at his antics.
The winner was Tsuyoshi Goro team. Both the actors found the Takenoko Gohan very authentic, the miso was clear and easy to drink. They loved all the dishes and found it hard to choose the winner at first.
Kyouko kissed Tsuyoshi and Goro on their cheeks. Ren smiled brightly and Kyouko noticed that. She shivered a bit because of the smile. Why is he angry anyway? I don't understand him.
"Thank you for coming, Tsuruga-san, Kyouko-san. Good luck for your current work, and may you two always be a happy couple," Nakamura said slyly.
Kyouko froze. Pardon? Happy couple? We aren't playing the roles now. Did I slip into the role? "Eh!" she exclaimed in surprise.
"What? You found me not desirable and not okay for you?" Ren decided to tease her. "Oh I know, you found me too old for you," he continued slyly.
"No, it's not that," Kyouko said with a nervous smile. It's not that, you stupid Corn. We aren't playing roles. How can you risk your image like that?
The hosts smiled slyly. The crowds cheered the couple up. Some said, "No, Ren."
"Isn't that okay, Kyouko-san?" Takuya said.
"Yes yes… you two match each other," Tsuyoshi added. "Handsome guy and pretty girl."
"Agree! You two should be together," Shingo complemented.
Kyouko cringed. She smiled awkwardly till the program ended. She didn't know how to reply them.
Another week passed. Kyouko avoided Ren whenever they weren't playing roles. She was afraid she'd slip into her role inadvertently like last time in Bistro CMAP. It was lucky for her that her jobs were increasing since she won the award. She even started to avoid him when they were playing roles. She turned away when he tried to kiss her and gave him bunch of reasons when she did that. She started to feel she was falling for him and it terrified her. She didn't want to fall in love. She didn't want to feel miserable again. Ren was too good to be true to her. Still her locks clicked furiously when he smiled to her.
Her attitude confused Ren. He thought that he had been close to her and his goals. He sighed when he realised their relationship returned to before they played boyfriend and girlfriend. What went wrong?
Kyouko was inside her Bou's costume. The past week had been hectic for her. She got a lot of job and she was tired avoiding Ren. She was in denial. At one time, she admitted she was kind of falling for him. At another time, she stated many reasons that why he made her felt that feeling. She decided it was because the role. When she was about to lift up her Bou's head, she saw Ren walked towards her. Oh shoot! I forgot we agreed to do the cake today. She quickly composed herself.
"Hi, Bou-san," Ren said. He didn't look well.
"Tsuruga-kun! Let me guess! You're picking up your teacher again?"
"Ah, that's right," he answered with a weak smile.
"What's with you? You look dead."
Ren sighed. "I'm a big failure."
"Huh? Want to talk about it?"
"Remember the girl I told you about?"
Pain! That's right. He's got a girl he likes… Kyouko felt her heart clenched tight and it hurt. Bou nodded. "What's with her?"
"I'm dating her… well sort of…"
He is dating the girl now? Kyouko raised her brows. Good grief! Did that girl see me and him and thought that… oh NO! That's the worst! I don't mean to ruin their relationship… "Um… then, what do you mean with big failure?"
"I thought that our relationship was going well, but she suddenly avoids me."
"Did you do something bad to her perhaps?" Yes, it must be because of me… NO! I must end the role soon.
"I don't think I did something bad to her. We don't even get anywhere. We got to the first base?"
"First base? What's that?"
Ren looked at Bou in awe. "Are you really a guy?"
"Of course." I'm not a guy though. What's first base anyway?
"Then, you must know the four bases of relationship. Most guys know that."
"Um… I'm not most guys. I helped you so you might as well return some favour. Tell me!"
Ren laughed. "What a weird guy. Well, it was 4Fs in English but to say it simply…"
"Hanayori Dango?" Bou asked.
"Hanayori Dango?" Ren repeated after Bou.
"You said F4."
Ren laughed louder. "You're funny, Bou-san. I said 4Fs not F4."
"Well whatever… so what's 4Fs?" Bou asked. Last time I heard about 5Cs. Gee, people sure know how to mess around.
"French, Feel, Finger, F*ck."
Bou froze. "I don't understand, can you please explain?" I know the last one though. Go all the way, right? SO VULGAR!
Ren gaped at him, "Ah, okay. French means French kiss, well… you might know about it. It's a deep kiss involving tongue."
Kyouko blushed inside her Bou's head. I think we kissed like that all the time. So he is in this base with his girlfriend?
"Feel as in touching intimately, um… you know…"
Kyouko blushed more. I don't think I want to hear the continuation. "I think I know all of it now. You don't have to continue."
"Really now?" Ren looked at Bou funny.
"Yes," Bou said. I really have to ask to move on to the next role the next time I met him. It wouldn't be good if I play around with other girl's boyfriend even if it was just a role. "Didn't you say that you have to pick your teacher?"
"Oh, that's right. I'm sorry I have to cut it short. See you around, Bou-san."
"See you around, Tsuruga-kun. Cheer up!"
"Yeah, thanks."
When Ren was out of her sight, she dropped her head. She felt the pain inside of her heart. Why do I have to feel this? I don't like this guilty feeling.
The next night…
"Kuon-san, let's pick a new role," she said with a smile.
Kuon froze. Why the sudden change? He sighed inwardly. So, it failed? "Okay."
"I'll pick it this time, is that okay?"
"Sure," He tried to smile but ended up with flat expression. He was disappointed.
Kyouko poured the glass content onto the table. She closed her eyes and picked one of the papers. "This!" She handed out the paper to him.
Kuon smiled and opened the paper. His eyes widened. Maybe I have a bigger hope with this role. "It was…"
A/N : Sorry for the cliffy! Well, this was an extremely long chapter. This was the end of these roles. We are moving on to next roles. It is getting closer to the prologue. ^ ^ Ah and I made Ren told her the 4Fs. LOL. Kyouko was still stubborn, I'm very sorry. Please don't curse me for that! ^ ^ Hanayori Dango, should I explain about this? I think most people know F4. :D
As for Bistro CMAP (taken from Yakitate Japan's parody), this one is a fact too. It's Bistro SMAP actually. It's my favourite cooking segment. I deliberately changed their names. The members are Kimura Takuya, Nakai Masahiro, Inagaki Gorou, Kusanagi Tsuyoshi and Katori Shingo. They are actors, singers and chefs. And the segment was really like that. When the guest said 'oishii desu' and Nakai-san repeated after the guest, Katori Shingo-san would appear with the guest' trademark habit or such. LOL. For the reader from Japan if any, you might recognise this segment.
Goodness! I messed up the names. Fixed :D
Thank you for reading. Review if you'd like to tell me what you think. I will try to update soon. I have many manga translation projects :D
Note on Japanese terms:
Hinachirashi : This is chirashi sushi actually, and was specifically made for Hina Matsuri. :D
Ichigo Daifuku : Mochi with strawberry and anko filling.
Anko : Red bean paste
Daikon : white raddish
Oishii desu : It's delicious.
Takenoko gohan : rice cooked with bamboo shoots