Chapter One: Tell Him It's a Personal Matter
The LME offices were still pretty empty in that morning. A few other early-risers occupied the building, but they were so few and far between that Ren might as well have been alone. Even his manager was probably still asleep. But Ren didn't mind. There was something oddly calming about the empty building that let him sit alone in peace by the humming vending machines.
His body quickly turned from relaxed to tense when he saw her walking down the hallway towards him. Her stride was like a model's and brief scenes of when Ren had swallowed his manly pride and taught her to walk like that flashed through his mind. But he focused mostly on her.
She was still walking confidently and he wondered why. She had definitely seen him and he was staring far too obviously. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her and that ought to have thrown her into a panic. But instead a small smile graced her lips and after an eternity she stopped directly in front of him.
Even sitting down, Ren was nearly at eye level with her. "Good morning, Mo—"
She stopped him by putting a finger to his lips. "We both know," she said quietly, "that that is not the way you wish to greet me." She paused for dramatic effect. "Ren."
His heart began to thud so loudly he was sure she could hear it. "Ky-Kyou—"
She shook her head. "No, no." She leaned in closer and Ren became intoxicated by her smell. "Like this." Her lips pressed firmly over his own.
Ren felt hot shivers running through his body. This couldn't be real. It felt too good and too painful. He lost control and pulled her small body closer to his. She was on his lap. It was so wrong and he didn't care. Her mouth had left his and her lips ran wildly over his face and neck.
His senses were entangled. The vending machines seemed to be humming louder. Louder. And louder.
Ren's eyes snapped open and revealed not the hallways of LME but his own dimly lit bedroom. The humming was the persistent buzz of his alarm clock. He closed his eyes again, wishing that he did not feel so tortured, so pained, and that he did not enjoy every minute of his dream. He was really, truly hopeless.
Normally Kyouko would have found it a very odd day indeed to have her biceps inspected by Sawara Takenori, but as the event had taken place once a week for the last few weeks, it was about as eventful as watching paint dry.
"Yes, I think you've probably built up enough muscle for the role," Sawara muttered aloud.
Kyouko's eyes twinkled happily and her manager looked on with solid approval. "Have you heard anything knew about who my co-stars will be?" she asked, trying not to sound too anxious.
Sawara shook his head. "No, Director Hakimori has not informed me of any new additions to the cast yet."
Kyouko tried and failed to mask her disappointment.
"Now, now. Cheer up," Sawara urged her. He had not seen Kyouko fall into one of her voodoo fits in quite awhile, but he was still wary of her dark tendencies. "I hear that they'll be selecting a Lieutenant Akio soon."
She instantly cheered. Over the past few weeks Kyouko had been rapidly building up her muscle mass for her latest role. She was to play Moyami Rin, a female soldier with more than a chip on her shoulder.
Princess and fairies were great and all, but Kyouko had quickly discovered she enjoyed playing strong female roles. She had accepted the part, even though very little of the script had yet been written for the TV mini-series. Sawara seemed convinced that she could do it and that was enough for her.
"Kyouko-chan?"
"Huh?" Kyouko snapped out of her thoughts to glance strangely at her rather amused manager.
"I said that more of the script has been written if you would like to read it," Sorata told her.
"Oh, sorry," Kyouko said blushing profusely. "Of course!"
Sorata smiled broadly and handed Kyouko a thin stack of paper. The script might have been more complete, but it still wasn't much. She wasn't scandalized by any means, but she was certainly disappointed. "Alright, time to get you to the studio."
"Right, it's the script reading for that Greek drama… now I've gone and forgotten the name! What's wrong with me today?"
"Antigone," Sorata supplied.
"Right, sorry," Kyouko said, blushing.
"Better make the mistake here instead of in front of the director," Sorata said matter-of-factly. "Let's go."
"Hello?" Yashiro Yukihito asked his cell phone, or rather the unidentified person on the other end of the call. "Yes." He was silent for a moment listening and Ren tried to keep his eyes on the road, but he always found himself curious when Yashiro was taking calls in the car.
"Yes, that does sound interesting. Send us what you've got of the script and we'll think it over. When do you need an answer?"
There was another pause.
"Yes, that'll be fine."
Yashiro hung up and started scribbling notes down in his day planner. Perhaps it was passive-aggressive, but he extracted a bit of fun from making Ren wait. But Ren was rather impatient with his lack of sleep and bad mood. "Well?"
"Another role offer and considering that your schedule's pretty loose, you could probably take it if you wanted to," Yashiro said.
"What sort of role?"
"A soldier. The script isn't quite done yet, but they'll be sending over what they have."
"A bit unprofessional isn't it?"
"Yes, but it's Director Hakimori. You know how he is."
Ren smiled. Hakimori was a brilliant but slightly scatterbrained director known for gambling on unfinished projects. Somehow he always seemed to pull it off with aplomb. Ren had worked for the man before. It was an intense but rewarding experience.
"Sounds interesting," Ren said after a moment of reflection. "I'll think about it."
Yashiro nodded, though he was already starting to worry. Acting for Hakimori was one thing. Being the manager of one of Hakimori's actors was an entirely different level of hell. He glanced down at the time on the car radio.
"Ren, you better hurry if we're going to make it to your photo shoot on time."
Yashiro's phone rang again as he and Ren walked down one of the long, sparkling white hallways of the photo studio. Ren tried to pretend he wasn't interested, but he was watching Yashiro closely. Yashiro gave the actor a sideways glance and answered the cell phone.
"Hello?"
Hello, Yashiro-san, said a voice as familiar as the rising sun. He recognized the speaker immediately.
"Oh, P—"
Don't say my name, President Takarada Lory of LME interrupted. I don't want Ren to know. Is he there with you?
Smiling a little Yashiro replied, "Yes, of course."
Alright. Don't give anything away. Have you been called about the Hakimori film? Is Ren interested?
"Yes, it just requires some looking into," Yashiro replied, enjoying the experience of choosing his words for maximum vagueness.
It's going to be a love story, Lory began.
"You aren't worried about the capabilities are you?"
No. I'm worried Ren won't accept the role when he hears who his leading lady is.
Yashiro could think of only one person who would give Ren pause, mostly because the man was unreasonably stubborn. "Ah, I see."
Yes, it's Kyouko-kun. I suspect that he would refuse the role if he knew this.
"You're right, of course."
So I'll be taking some initiative as far as my actors are concerned, Lory said. Yashiro could picture the older man's smile and twinkling eyes. He knew it wasn't possible to convey such things over the phone, but if it could be done it was certainly happening now. You will not reveal the identity of Ren's co-star until it is too late. His pride as an actor and his need to guard Kyouko-kun's feelings will keep him from refusing after that. I have no doubt that he will take the role otherwise. It's the sort of thing he would like.
"Yes, and a gentle nudge never hurt," Yashiro agreed.
So, is Ren watching you to try and figure out what you're talking about?
"Always," he replied.
Lory laughed. Tell him it was a personal matter when he asks. It will infuriate him.
Yashiro laughed. "Take care then."
Good luck!
Yashiro snapped the phone shut and tucked it away from his dangerous bare skin. "What was that about?" Ren asked almost immediately.
"A personal matter," he replied vaguely, using all his willpower to keep himself from smiling like an idiot.
"Personal matter?" Ren parroted incredulously.
"What? You don't think I have a life beyond planning yours?"
"And meddling in it," Ren added. "No."
Kyouko's day had been exhausting. Thankfully she hadn't made any more silly errors since forgetting about Antigone. Sorata had kept her sorted out. Still her day had been ridiculously busy and she was very grateful to wave goodbye to Sorata at the door of her apartment and sink down onto her couch, with her feet throbbing slightly from her run on the treadmill. Kanae had gotten competitive and Kyouko, trying to figure out the character of Moyami Rin had taken up the challenge.
After resting her eyes for a brief moment, Kyouko opened them again and reached into the bag for her script and began reading from the beginning.
Duty Binds Us—Part One—Scene One
[the scene opens on the military base with soldiers in uniform and military convoys driving through]
Colonel Jira
Private Moyami!
[Moyami Rin turns to see the Colonel following her. She stops and salutes.]
Moyami Rin
Yes, Colonel?
Colonel
At ease, soldier.
[Rin relaxes]
There's a new lieutenant coming to replace Lieutenant Ichirou.
[Rin bows her head because the lieutenant was killed in combat]
His name is Madara Akio. He'll be here at thirteen-hundred hours. I want you to greet him and show him around the base, Moyami-san.
Rin
Yes, sir.
[She walks away from the Colonel, clearly displeased.]
Kyouko put down the script when her stomach growled. The rest would have to wait until she had eaten. She had made a solemn vow that although she was going to take her work seriously and aspire to the same intensity as Tsuruga Ren, she would not neglect her body as he did.
Author's Note: Hey there! I'd like to thank everyone for the massive interest that just the Prologue generated. Readers, reviewers, favoriters, and alerters. You guys are the best. And I'd like to thank my English teacher, because thanks to him making me read both Antigone and Waiting for Godot in the last two weeks, and now Hamlet, I feel confident enough to attempt writing a screenplay of sorts. That's right, Duty Binds Us is some original work of my own. It'll probably end up being cliche, but I don't care. And while I'm not the topic of Duty Binds Us, I'd like to make it known that I'm a sheltered suburban teenager. All that I know about the military comes from M*A*S*H, Fullmetal Alchemist, and a quick Wikipedia search. If anyone knows better than I do please tell me because I'm rather ignorant. With that said, I'd like to thank my beautiful (yes you are beautiful) readers one more time and urge you to review (it's an addiction, okay?).
