Chapter Three: In a Rather Dangerous Fashion
Kyouko felt like a princess. Her gown was red and flowing, made of satin and sparkles that glimmered in the evening light like stardust. Her throat dripped with diamonds and precious stones and she could not even begin to describe the elegance of her hair. It was longer. Not her bleached and cropped pixie cut, but dark and flowing, the way she had always imagined her hair would be like in her childhood day dreams.
She entered the ballroom shyly, trying not to draw the attention of the dancing crowd. She recognized faces in the sea of people. There was Kanae and Sorata next to her. The President and Maria twirled about to music only they could hear, laughing. Yashiro sidled up to Kanae with a glass of wine in his hand. Slowly Kyouko spotted others. Co-workers from every drama she'd ever been in.
But as she looked around, there was someone who was glaringly missing. "Where's—" she began.
"Looking for me?"
Kyouko spun, weaving a trail of red satin behind her. "Tsuruga-san!"
He smiled at her, adding an extra glow to his classic black and white tuxedo. "Would you like to dance?" he asked, holding a long-fingered hand out to her like a pretty jewel.
She slid her hand over his. "I would love to."
Ren swept her up and they seemed to glide onto the dance floor. They spun to the music in a never-ending spiral. Kyouko felt her breath becoming quicker and shallower with each step. And with each step she seemed to grow closer to Ren. It was a subtle change and she only realized it had happened until she was pressed flush against his chest.
Kyouko felt the color rising in her face, but she didn't want to leave her place so close to Ren. She could hear his heart beating. "Tsuruga-san," she whispered.
She glanced up into his face and became locked in his eyes. Kyouko blinked. Ren was looking at her as if he could see into her soul and in the next instant she realized that that was exactly what he was doing.
"Kyouko," he breathed.
She felt her heart hammering in her chest. But this wasn't like the other times that Ren had acted strangely. The Emperor of the Night frightened her, but she wasn't afraid. This wasn't the Emperor of the Night at all, she realized. This was Ren. And she felt oddly comfortable and pleased with the way he was looking down at her.
Kyouko leaned even closer, nestling her head against his chest. She felt his arms circle around her back. She tilted her head up again at the same time that Ren had tilted his face down to meet her.
The kiss was sweet. If Kyouko had felt like a princess before then now she was certainly a queen.
"Kyouko-chan!"
Kyouko frowned. What was Sorata doing interrupting her while she was kissing Ren?
"Kyouko-chan!"
Her eyes flew open. Sorata was standing over her in the dim morning light that seeped into her bedroom. Kyouko rubbed her eyes and smoothed down her bed-head. "Sorata-san?"
"Kyouko-chan, you overslept. You need to hurry or we'll be late for Antigone!"
In her panic, Kyouko forgot her dream.
Duty Binds Us—Part One—Scene Six
[Akio settles down in a large arm chair in the officers' lounge. He looks exhausted but alert]
Captain Takeda Hikari
Rough day, new guy?
[Akio smiles]
Akio
Just a long one. And rather cheerless. [Akio extends his hand to Hikari] Madara Akio.
Hikari
I'm Captain Takeda, though feel free to call me Hikari. I don't do rank bullshit.
Akio
Same.
Hikari
I imagine your day was cheerless as you put it because the Colonel had Moyami-san meet you.
[Akio looks alarmed]
Akio
No, I wouldn't say—
[Hikari holds up a hand]
Hikari
It is common knowledge that Moyami-san can suck the life out of any happy situation here at the base and no one is going to hate you for recognizing that fact. To be honest, the faster you understand that the better.
Akio
What do you mean?
Hikari
Moyami-san wasn't always like this. She used to be rather bright and enthusiastic believe it or not. The change is rather recent. You recall that you are the replacement for a certain Lieutenant Ichirou who was killed in combat three months ago?
[Akio nods]
He was a good man. And Moyami-san served in his platoon. He was her mentor and she really looked up to him. Some people say she even loved him. I don't speculate. But everything changed the day he died. I don't know what happened to him. I wasn't there. But when Ichirou's platoon returned to HQ, they were one man short and Moyami-san was not the Moyami-san that had left us.
Ren put the script down to take a bite of his sandwich that Yashiro had insisted on him eating willingly at risk of it being shoved down his throat. Ren highly doubted that Yashiro could manage to shove anything down his throat, but he humored his manager and ate anyway.
"Are you almost done?" Yashiro asked him.
Ren nodded. "Two or three more scenes left I think." He paused to flip through the last few pages. "Yeah, three scenes."
Given how slowly Ren was reading it, Yashiro concluded that the actor was probably already imagining himself as the charming Lieutenant Akio. That was a good sign. "And what are your thoughts so far?" Yashiro asked as Ren took another bite from his sandwich.
"I like it," Ren said honestly. "I just want to finish it to be sure, but I think I'll be accepting the role."
Yashiro smiled. "That's good. Judging by the script they gave us I think it'll be a good mini-series."
Ren nodded and took up the script again. Yashiro could swear he saw the man's lips moving. He was no great lip-reader, but it looked suspiciously like Akio's lines. Yashiro smirked and gazed off into the distance dreamily. All was going according to plan. Pretty soon, Hakimori would be filming Duty Binds Us and Ren and Kyouko would be set on the sure path to love!
Yashiro grimaced at his thoughts. He was starting to sound like a trashy teenage romance novelist. Unbeknownst to him, Ren had been watching his rather expressive manager. "What's with the faces, Yashiro?"
The spectacled man jumped. "Nothing."
"It didn't look like nothing," Ren pushed.
"Never you mind." Great, now he was sounding like somebody's grandmother, quite possibly his own, though he didn't remember Granny Yashiro that well, except that she was a severe sort of woman who had a tendency to wave around kitchen implements in a rather dangerous fashion.
Ren merely raised an eyebrow. "Alright then. Don't tell me." He did believe in reverse psychology, but alas no such luck.
To say that Kyouko was nervous was an understatement. She was freaked out, terrified, and the like. Never in all her eighteen years would she have suspected that she would spend her Tuesday afternoon, holding three or four kilograms of cool steel, trying to hit a perfect bull's-eye with a gun!
"You need to relax your grip a little more, Kyouko-chan," Sorata called helpfully. She was seated a few meters away, snacking on something that looked unhealthy and positively delicious.
"How do you know?" Kyouko replied, a little too loudly and dripping with panic.
"I've lived in rough neighborhoods. I had to have some measure of insurance for my children," Sorata said matter-of-factly.
"What?" Kyouko screeched—in the ear of the rather helpful and bemused shooting range attendant—her eyes widening in horror.
Sorata broke into a grin. "I'm joking. I've just worked with a lot of crime dramas, Kyouko-chan."
It took a little while for Kyouko's eyes to return to normal. Or at least to the point they had been before Sorata had "joked around." She smiled apologetically at the shooting range attendant, a boy about her age, whose name she had already forgotten (and felt quite guilty about for that matter). The boy adjusted her grip on the handle of the gun.
"Don't close one eye," he advised. "You'll never hit the target like that." Kyouko quickly reopened the eyes she had started to shut. "Now hold it level and pull the trigger."
Kyouko had finally gotten used to the noise so that she no longer jumped when the gun fired. Judging by her Swiss-cheesed target, she was improving steadily. The latest bullet was only a few centimeters off center.
"Alright, now do that again," the boy told her.
She nodded and, this time reaching for the character of Moyami Rin she was starting to bring together, she pulled the trigger. Bull's-eye. Moyami Rin quickly slipped away as Kyouko began to cheer her success.
Sorata grinned. "You might just pass for a soldier now, Kyouko-chan."
"I should practice more before we start filming," Kyouko said.
"You're already scheduled to come back tomorrow night."
Kyouko grinned and turned back to the target. It helped to act out Rin while she was shooting. She gathered together her thoughts on Rin. She was a broken woman. Her heart was torn and she was too proud to try and fix it. She blamed herself for the death of Lieutenant Ichirou. Rin was angry all the time and the sight of Akio trying to replace Ichirou made her burn with fury and shame.
But try as she might, Rin could not suppress who she used to be before Ichirou's death. Every now and then a glimmer of her old self was brought back to life, but when Rin caught herself being happy she receded back behind her barriers and her gun.
She trained furiously, as if becoming stronger would do something to forgive what she called her weakness when Ichirou had died. Kyouko dragged up the raw feelings that Rin lived with every day. Her throat felt thick and sore at first, but then it faded into the background—a dull, ordinary pain. Her usual smile slipped away and the corners of her mouth dripped downwards.
Sorata watched from a safe distance away as the layers of Kyouko fell away and became replaced by Rin. It was times like these that Sorata was particularly proud to be Kyouko's manager. She was an amazing actress to watch and Kyouko didn't even really know it. She reached over into Kyouko's bag and took out the script. She had already read it at least twice, but she admittedly liked the story.
Duty Binds Us—Part One—Scene Eight
[Scene opens with a flashback. A crowd of soldiers fill the mess tent and Rin sits at a table with Ichirou and a few other soldiers]
Ichirou
Your shot was a bit off today, Rin-chan. You should hit the target range and practice before it gets dark.
[Rin blushes]
Rin
Yes, sir.
Tenshou
Ne, Lieutenant. Are you blind? Her shot was perfect today.
[Ichirou rubs the back of his head]
Ichirou
Right that was you, Tenshou-kun. I don't think I was blind though.
[Tenshou becomes flustered. Rin and the others laugh. Ichirou catches Rin's eye and her expression visibly softens. They look as though they're about to speak.]
Over the PA
Lieutenant Ichirou report to the Colonel.
[Ichirou smiles]
Ichirou
I wasn't kidding about target practice, Tenshou-kun. The rest of you should get some sleep.
[Ichirou gets up to leave, casting one last glance at Rin. She holds his gaze for a moment and then looks away. A faint blush is on her cheeks while she listens to Tenshou tell a joke. Ichirou leaves the mess tent. It is dark outside and his path is lit by sporadic electric lamps. Eventually he arrives at the HQ building and knocks on the Colonel's office door.]
Colonel
Come in!
[Ichirou enters and salutes the Colonel.]
Ah, Lieutenant. You still hold the record for quickest response to a call.
[Ichirou smiles faintly. The Colonel's expression turns serious.]
I've just received an order from Central Command. There's a town harboring insurgents about twenty kilometers northwest of here.
[The Colonel points to a location on the map on his desk.]
You and your platoon are to infiltrate their base and clean them out. Capture is ideal, but deadly force is authorized for this mission.
[Ichirou takes a closer look at the map.]
Ichirou
Sir, I mean no disrespect, but that's a suicide mission for just one platoon. This town's in the center of a highly volatile pocket of insurgents. We could make it in just fine, but it would be hell to get out.
[Colonel looks solemn.]
Colonel
There are always casualties in war. It's your job to avoid them as best you can. I have strict orders from Central Command to send in just one platoon. There's nothing I can do. It was a difficult choice, but your men are the ones best capable of this mission and most likely to survive.
[Ichirou looks angry.]
I know my answer isn't good enough for you, Lieutenant, but there's nothing I can do. You leave at o-six-hundred hours tomorrow morning.
[Ichirou seems to struggle with himself. Colonel looks at him with pity. There is a long pause.]
Ichirou
I understand, sir.
[Ichirou salutes and leaves.]
Author's Note: Hey, Everyone! Sorry it took a little longer to post. I sorta went on a mini-vacation from fanfiction to read books, get addicted to Tokyo Crazy Paradise (lame name, but a very good manga), and finish up scholarship applications (lots of 'em). But anyway, just in case you thought I wasn't being productive there was a reason for my absence. I'll try to be more timely with my updates next time. So probably Monday or Tuesday next week! So I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was some more set up and minor jokes, but the good stuff will be starting next chapter so isn't worth it? Read and review. Oh and thanks to the enormous amount of people who are reviewing and alerting and favoriting. I've never had this much of a response for a story before (I suppose I've found my calling in shoujo fanfiction?) and it's really flattering. Love you guys!
