A/N: Okay, so I took a few liberties with Sho and Kyouko's past. A few of these things are made up by me, and not in the original, though I tried to keep it as close as to what is the most probable as possible. Thanks everyone for reading, subscribing, favoriting and reviewing! Please, enjoy. :)
Honestly, what was it with big stars and empty kitchens?
When she had prepared food for Tsuruga-san when he was sick, she had had to run out to the store in the middle of the night, just to buy what she needed to make breakfast. Thank God it had been a 24-hour store. And then when Yashiro-san had asked her to cook for Tsuruga-san when he was having trouble with Katsuki, she had planned ahead and bought ingredients beforehand. But every time she thought of that first occurence, when she couldn't find anything remotely connected to breakfast in his apartment, she got a little ticked. How on earth did that man survive? Didn't he realize just how important breakfast was to concentrating during the day? That nutrition was not something to be taken lightly? That his kitchen was a near crime? And Sho's kitchen was hardly any better.
The fridge had a ton of beer, which Kyouko expected, and a lot of junk food, which was also predicted, and a few of the necessities, like bread and cold-cuts. But looking at the rest, she knew Sho didn't touch any of it, only Shouko-san. Sho didn't eat fruits, thinking they were too sweet, so the apples and bananas were out, he didn't like yogurt or any cheese in the fridge, and he only ate eggs when he had to, on a side, not as a meal in and of itself.
Absentmindedly wondering what Sho did eat now that Kyouko wasn't cooking all the meals for him, Kyouko set up the pan and got out the ingredients to make the dough for the okonomiyaki. While she was waiting for the pan to get hot enough to cook the food, she prepared the dough.
Taking the knife down from the cupboard, she tossed the ball of cabbage into the air, like the beginning of the katsura technique, and slashed through it twice, creating three pieces of cabbage. But instead of continuing on with the katsura and thinly cutting the edges off and around, creating a rose, Kyouko caught all three in midair and laid them on the cutting board. Then she began her cutlery wizardry.
Shouko, who had opted out of joining Sho in the living room where he was working out the bridge to one of the new songs, had stayed in the kitchen, curious to see how a professional prepared okonomiyaki. Sure, she had gone to a restaurant with some girlfriends and ordered it before, even having the food prepared in front of her. But she wondered if maybe this was different. After all, there was a huge difference in preparing food for strangers for money than when you prepare food for people you know, if maybe not necessarily like.
The question is, though, thought Shouko, does Sho like okonomiyaki or not? Did Kyouko-chan prepare something that Sho would enjoy, or did she make a point to tell Sho just how different things were and so was purposefully spiting him? In the car, the only thing Sho seemed to care about was money, and hadn't reacted at all to the okonomiyaki itself. So frustrating, Shouko continued, not knowing these two's emotions. How am I supposed to do anything, unless I learn to read their minds?
So she was there, absorbed in her own thoughts, sitting on one of the bar stools at the counter behind Kyouko-chan, where she had been assured she would be out of Kyouko-chan's way, when Kyouko-chan took as step back from her workstation and threw the head of cabbage up into the air, cutting it neatly into three pieces with all the skill of someone who's done this a thousand times before, before she caught them. It had been done so efficiently and without ceremony that Shouko, at first, couldn't believe she just saw what she just did. The girl had just, what, thrown up a cabbage into the air before slicing through it, and then neatly caught it again and returned to her work? Was that really what had just happened?
And yet Shouko no longer had any time to contemplate that, because Kyouko-chan was at it again, chopping the lettuce into little pieces, so sure of her blade that she didn't even seem to realize just how close her delicate hands were to the wickedly sharp silver arc. Because that's all it was. A silver arc glinting in the overhead light of the kitchen, here then gone, there then gone again. Shouko couldn't fathom being that fast with such a sharp object. There was no miscalculation, no suspicion of failure of the girl's art. She probably considered it no more than chopping cabbage, something she'd done so many times before. To Shouko, who watched with growing shock as the large pieces of cabbage quickly diminished to a pile of slips and slivers, it was like watching a man juggle pure fire. There was only one thought in her head--How can it be done?
Without pause, Kyouko-chan pushed aside the cabbage and reached for a bowl, deftly picked up an egg from the open carton, snapping it in two with one hand and adding dashi with the other. She then leveled off a cup of flour and added that in as well, beating the thing with a wire whisk for a few minutes. After the first minute, Shouko's eyes widened a bit more. How could the girl keep up the original pace? Shouko had cooked before in the kitchen as well, and hated whisking above all else. Her wrist had ached after the first bit, with the repetitive motion and so had cheated by using her entire arm. But Kyouko-chan just kept going, the movement made up entirely of the wrist. Such professionalism in a seventeen year old! If this girl didn't make it to the pinnacle of the entertainment industry, no star had the talent to do so. This amount of discipline was beyond that of a girl who just laid around home and only worked for money. Filled with sudden envy, Shouko watched hungrily as Kyouko-chan moved onto the next part.
Having already added the cabbage to her dashi-flour-egg mixture, Kyouko-chan checked the temperature of the electric frying pan briefly, before nodding to herself and taking out another cutting board. This time she took the raw meat and a new knife, and sliced it with such precision and confidence that Shouko, who had retained a tiny bit of doubt as to how much the girl had worked in a traditional inn, was now convinced that Kyouko-chan had been born into an old family, and had been raised like this, from the time she was able to sit up straight in her high chair and hold a knife. How else could she know exactly how the meat was marbled, so as to cut through it straight, never having to fight the meat at all? It cut like warmed butter, as if it had no sinew or resistance at all.
Kyouko-chan moved, a brisk side-step motion, to the sink. With a snap of her wrist she turned on the faucet to hot, and waited a few seconds before the stream of water was as warm as she wanted before washing her hands, cutting board and knife in the water.
Using the time to center herself again, Shouko blinked, finally aware of something other than Kyouko-chan. The guitar music in the other room had turned different, so much so that Shouko wasn't sure it was the same song Sho had been working on before. This one was more poignant, more introspective. An electric guitar should not be able to make such soft, heartfelt music as it was now. Wasn't that what an acoustic guitar was for? But then she realized that Sho, having heard the motions of Kyouko-chan making his dinner, for the first time in God knows how long, had finally appreciated the situation and had grown reminiscent of the time when this was probably the norm. What was coming out of his guitar wasn't for anyone's ears, especially not Shouko's.
But then movement caught Shouko's eye again, and she watched in amazement as Kyouko-chan began chopping the other vegetables that would serve as toppings and then grilled the meal that Shouko was sure was going to be the best she had had in a long time.
How long has it been?
Since Kyouko was in the other room, while he lounged on the sofa, listening to her in her element, her medium, her art--the kitchen. Because Kyouko had always been at her most beautiful while she was cooking. The dedication, the accuracy, the skill, the joy. The joy that was present on her face every time she made something spectacular. He could remember when he had been standing in the doorway, watching as she bustled around the kitchen, seemingly no more special than any of the other employees at his parent's inn, when he had realized that maybe marrying her someday wasn't such a horrible thing after all.
Of course, now, even if he wanted to marry Kyouko, to get down on one knee, into the most humiliating pose ever conceived by womankind, to lay himself bare for her consideration, he still wouldn't marry her. She hated him now, and there was probably nothing in this world he could do that could change that. She wasn't even making this food willingly, just cutting a deal; you don't tell anyone I did this, and I'll cook for you. That's why she was doing this, as a way to buy his silence. And it just might be working.
Not that he would even consider talking about this. In addition to his own embarrassment as having that girl, a childhood friend, in his apartment, and admitting to her cooking for him, like some stupid, sappy couple from a chick flick, he'd also have to deal with the fallout from Kyouko herself. And he couldn't give Reino more room to work, because if he knew that Kyouko was cooking for Sho, he just might get ideas for his next torture of Kyouko. He hadn't spent his time in Karuizawa protecting Kyouko for nothing; he'd never willingly let Reino have more leverage against her. It still angered him that she had been able to be tricked out of one of her demons, whose fellows were now loitering in the air, keeping an eye on Sho while he was out of their master's sight, and had to be blackmailed into doing this to begin with. So talking to anyone about this was out of the question. If Shouko-san brought it up, he'd end the conversation early, no matter the setting around them.
Still, even though he was planning and plotting and drawing sadistic, though a tad righteous, pleasure out of visualizing Reino's hideous and gory end, the smells that slowly starting wafting out of the kitchen as Kyouko started grilling were driving him mad. They brought back thousands of images of Kyouko, smiling and happy, glad that Sho liked her food, and of Kyouko working in the kitchen, playing for an audience of one, Sho always slipping in and watching her, Kyouko herself oblivious to his presence. It was one of the only times he had managed to be near her without her being constantly aware of him. Normally, and it didn't matter where her back was turned or where he entered or how quiet he was, she would immediately pick up on him entering the room, or sometimes the building itself. He had thought it was a sixth sense, and his parents had gotten that look in their eyes when they saw her exercising this power. The look that said, See? She will become a worthy wife for our Shotaro. We can leave him in her hands, she will never let anything happen to him. Look how conscious she is of him already!
So to trump both them and her, he had made it a point that it was possible for Kyouko to become so absorbed in something she wouldn't register his presence. He stood behind her, watching her make the food for the guests, sometimes able to get within inches of her before she turned and looked at him, smiling. A few times he had startled her when she turned around too fast for him to get out of the way, and had dropped things. Once she had nearly impaled him with a knife she was carrying. That didn't deter him from trying again, though she didn't sink herself into that cooking-trance for months after the incident. He had never spoke a word of this to his parents, but they both knew what he was doing; trying to rebel a bit more each time.
And now, he, as Japan's soon-to-be greatest star and ultimate bishonen, had often scorned normal men's lives. A nine-to-five job, getting nothing done in a day, then going home every evening to a wife or girlfriend who made a meal, lovingly, for you every single night was the depths of boring to him. Becoming spoiled by so many heavy meals and gaining weight was out of the question for Sho. Long ago he had decided to never again be influenced by the comforts of a home. He had left his own in Kyoto to that end. And now, the temptation nearly on his lips, he would simply not allow himself to be swayed by her and her cooking. Not again. Not even by those goddamn good aromas.
But, sweet Jesus, it was like coming home again.
"Itadakimasu!" Shouko-san nearly sang as she snapped her chopsticks open.
"Itadakimasu," Sho echoed, not meeting Kyouko's eyes.
"I hope you enjoy it," said Kyouko politely, more out of courtesy than any real feeling. She watched as both Shouko-san and Sho dug into the food, Shouko-san realizing she didn't need chopsticks and heartily tucking in to the okonomiyaki with her bare hands. Sho, however, began with the white rice that Kyouko always served with the meals she prepared. She eyed him for a moment, trying to gauge his emotions, before lifting her own piece of okonomiyaki to her mouth and eating it.
Using long-since-practiced skills, Kyouko analyzed her own cooking. She hadn't lied to Shouko-san earlier; it had been a long time since she had prepared okonomiyaki, a few years in fact. And so she knew the presentation would be less than flawless, which was what she had always striven for at the inn, andso to do anything less bothered her.
The dough on the outside was a bit undercooked and so it had an unattractive consistency in the shell. The ingredients within were cooked well enough, but the pork and the dashi weren't as compatible as she had thought; a drawback she hadn't anticipated. But the crisp spring onions, retaining just enough of the snap to give the dish a bit of variety and yet not near as sharp as it normally was provided a nice balance. Coupled with the near perfect cabbage-to-egg/water/dashi ratio, the meal wasn't all that horrible at all.
After a few bites of the okonomiyaki, she reached for the rice, hoping Shouko-san's rice cooker had brought the rice to the perfect fluff and taste. She hadn't had much time to check it, though, as the okonomiyaki had drawn most of her attention during the cook time. Bringing it to her mouth, Kyouko decided that, though not perfect, it wasn't terrible, and so she had to be content. All in all, for a meal she hadn't known she was making until a few hours ago, it was fairly good. And she could be satisfied with that. Next up, though, were the chocolates.
"So, Kyouko-chan, what are you working on now?" ventured Shouko-san, having realized after several minutes of enjoying the wonderful meal Kyouko-chan had made that they were eating in silence, had decided to open a conversation.
"Uhm, nothing new," said Kyouko carefully, having just been brought out of her critique and still wary of Sho's presence, "I mean, no offers have come in yet for a new drama, but I'm still doing Dark Moon and Box "R", and I'm thinking of another commercial. There were some flyers at the Talent Section I picked up."
"Really? What product is it for?" asked Shouko-san before taking another big bite of the delicious food. Really, what couldn't this girl do?
"Cosmetics, mostly," Kyouko said, shrugging. "Though one was for a new movie theatre opening soon." Kyouko didn't know if she had the time to even audition for them yet, considering her schedule, and she wasn't sure if it was appropriate for Mio and Natsu to appear for a garden-variety commercial. But Otou-san said a young actress like her couldn't afford to be picky, so she was considering it.
"Don't take them," came Sho's voice.
Both Shouko-san and Kyouko looked at Sho in surprise. He hadn't said a word beyond the usual politeness since the car ride. Now, he was looking down at his food, and both women noted he was eating less than usual, but he raised his gaze to levelly meet Kyouko's. His face was unreadable.
"What?" asked Kyouko, surprised and a bit taken aback, "Why shouldn't I?"
Sho sighed, and took another bite of rice before he answered.
"You've already been on TV, in one of the most popular dramas of the year, as a scary little witch of a girl. Now you're in another one, as the sadistic bully. One, the images of those two girls aren't what the producers of the commercial want, and that'll reflect poorly on the product. Two, you shouldn't have to stoop that low for jobs. Whatever happened to you being one of the newcomers to keep an eye on? Wait for deals to come. If you're in the spotlight too much, the audience grows bored with you. Stay low for a while and wait for the new seasons to start at the beginning of summer. If you haven't gotten more offers by then, go ahead and do a few commercials. But give it some time first. Half this game's knowing the right time, anyway."
After this little speech, Sho held Kyouko's gaze for a few minutes before dropping it to resume eating.
What the hell? thought Kyouko, staring at Sho in disbelief, Is he...looking out for me? Giving me advice? Mentoring me?!?! No way! This has got to be another one of those "Fuwa Shotaro Moments Not Understood by Mogami Kyouko" situations, right under that time he was about to say something at that staircase in Karuizawa when Tsuruag-san interrupted. There's nothing to explain this! Why would he help an enemy? Or does he consider me such an insignificant existence that I'm no threat at all? Wait, calm down, Kyouko. Don't let 'em see you sweat. Just act like you know what's going on. And as soon as possible, wipe that smirk off Shotaro's face!
What was she thinking?
She may be a newcomer in show business, and in need of the celebrity to get her career off the ground, but she had a PV and two dramas under her belt. She had no reason to pay her dues anymore, not with her career as it was now. If she was going to have a smooth ride to the top, then she should take full advantage of it and not worry about jobs. Jobs would come if she could pull off the roles.
Jobs…what about that pink uniform she was wearing when she was working on his PV? Shouko-san later told him that the uniform was part of some stupid section in LME, and the work was fairly embarrassing. Not to mention the stares she got whenever she went anywhere in that outfit. What could she possibly tell the interviewers someday when they asked her about it? That wouldn't forever condemn her as an incompetent and naïve girl? What was she thinking, getting to the top that way?
This was intolerable…honestly, what was he supposed to do, hold her hand all the way up to the top? He had hoped, even though it was never his plan for her to hear those words that day at Akatoki, that when she had sworn revenge on him that she would become more independent, able to think and act for herself and not worry about other's permission. And yet the moment he turns his back on her, she's running off to Tsuruga Ren, probably spilling everything about Sho and all the secrets they shared as children, and depending on Tsuruga instead of learning strength for herself…and that bastard fell for her. Back in Karuizawa, Tsuruga made it fairly apparent to everyone but Kyouko (and that was only her own unobservation skills kicking into effect) that he thought of Kyouko as more than a simple kouhai to him. Yet the extent of his feelings for her was unknown to Sho. What if she spilled her heart to Tsuruga, the way she had done for Sho so many times, before she realized that crying in front of Sho freaked him out? What if Tsuruga was able to deal with her tears better than Sho ever would?
And because of that, she'd never develop her own strength. Didn't that arrogant gorge-star realize it would be better for her to learn on her own for once? No, he probably didn't think that, because he couldn't see what Kyouko could be. He didn't see the shining gem she could be if she could just learn to stand on her own without anyone's arms waiting to catch her if she fell.
What was he thinking? Now he was acting as possessive as an older brother or an ex-boyfriend, of which Sho was neither. Yeah, at one point they lived together like siblings, and yes, she loved him and he betrayed her like an ex, but he wasn't either of those. He technically wasn't even a childhood friend anymore. He was simply a foe, an enemy. And an enemy shouldn't want a foe to stand on their own two feet. He should feel glad that his rival was codependent. Even though Sho never hated Kyouko, he shouldn't want her to get too far. So why was he so concerned about her career?
Because he was so deep in these thoughts, he didn't catch himself until the words were already out of his mouth, and that irrevocable promise was already given. Sho kicked himself later for this one moment of preoccupation. But he couldn't take the words back.
The words were: "And if you ever get so worried about your career, I'll let you be in a PV again. As a leading role, if you want."