Chapter Nine: "Shall We Go? Let's Go. They Do Not Move."
Kyouko emerged from the make-up trailer dressed in a tank top, baggy pants, and combat boots (she was really starting to like combat boots) when Ren and Yashiro arrived. She smiled faintly and nervously when she saw the two men.
"You're looking rather… dapper… Tsuruga-san," Kyouko said.
The corners of Ren's mouth twitched. "Thanks. Are you ready to go?"
She nodded emphatically and fell into step with Ren and his manager. "Sorata-san should be over at the set already," she said, hoping to fill the silence for conversation's sake.
"Yes," Ren said. "I believe we saw her there when we arrived. Right, Yashiro?"
"Absolutely," Yashiro said. He glanced back and forth between Ren and Kyouko. "So it's Part Two Scene Two, right?"
"Right," Ren and Kyouko said in unison, followed by perfectly timed blushes.
"Well, that should be rather quick and speedy," Yashiro continued, knowing that their walk would be utterly silent without him prodding them along.
"It depends on whether I portray Akio's expressions correctly," Ren mused.
"Of course you will," Kyouko said immediately, looking up from the dirty ground she had been studying for the last minute or so. "You are the greatest actor in Japan," she added truthfully.
Ren watched her for a moment, as if a closer examination would reveal a lie or flaw in her argument. She gazed back at him unflinchingly. He smiled at last. "I wish I had the same confidence in myself that you seem to have in me," Ren said.
"Then you better work on it," Kyouko told him.
They had arrived on set and Sorata came and whisked her away after saying a quick hello to the two men. Yashiro snickered, which drew Ren's attention away from the retreating object of his affection.
"What's so funny?"
"Kyouko-chan has spent the better part of her career expecting to be scolded by you and now she's just told you off," Yashiro replied.
"You're a jerk, you know that?"
Yashiro pretended offense. "I'm the only jerk that can manage your stupid schedule so I suggest you get used to it."
Ren threw him one last dirty, patronizing look before wandering away.
"He looks angry at you," Kanae said, having stealthily and silently appeared at his side.
Yashiro glanced at her. "Nah. He doesn't even know what he's angry at," he concluded after a moment of thought.
"So I'm to assume he wasn't really glaring at you?" Kanae pressed, intrigued now.
"Oh no, he was glaring at me. I suppose I'm just the outlet for his anger."
"That hardly seems fair."
Yashiro smiled. "It's what a manager does. I'm sure Sorata-san is at her wits' end with Kyouko-chan at times." He paused to laugh. "But you actors would go crazy without us."
"We actors?"
"Um, what I meant was—" He could feel himself growing damp with sweat. "Why is the 'shut-up filter' in my brain not working today?" he thought.
Ren was having difficulty paying attention to Director Hakimori's instructions. Not more than a few meters from where the actor stood with the enthusiastic director, Ren could see Kyouko. She was smiling. At the moment Ren did not want to be listening to the ramblings of a mildly insane director but standing next to that happy, smiling girl where perhaps some of her joy might rub off on him. No, not might. It surely would. Because that was the effect she always had on him.
"Are you listening, Tsuruga-kun?"
"Yes."
"What did I just say then?"
"…Something about acting?"
Hakimori rolled his eyes. "Not quite. I was saying that your expression at the moment is rather like the one I'm hoping to achieve in this scene. Though a little less intense. More embarrassed, perhaps?"
Ren blushed.
"Yes, that's it!"
His heart gave off nervous, horrified palpitations as he struggled to regain his composure. "I… I don't know what you could possibly mean, Director."
Hakimori smirked. "I'm sure you don't." He turned away to glance at the set which was nearly ready for shooting. "Well, I'm expecting very few NGs, if any."
"I'll do my best," Ren replied.
"I have no doubt."
Ren was rather annoyed with Hakimori's ominous tone. 'Hehe, he knows what I know!' his inner voice sang.
"Go away," Ren thought, knowing better than to start talking to himself again. He walked away from Hakimori, feeling vexed and unsettled. He had a hard time keeping a slur of curses from pouring out of his mouth. He lifted his eyes to glance at Kyouko—smiling, happy.
A warm, gentle feeling tugged at his heart. 'Pull yourself together,' his inner voice said kindly. 'For her.'
"For her," Ren agreed silently.
"The set's clear. Where are my actors?"
Date. Check.
Gift. Check.
Dress. Kyouko paused to twirl and watch the mesmerizing swish of fabric in the mirror. Check.
Her cell phone rang and interrupted the moment. Kyouko bustled around, looking for the device finding it at last where she should have been looking in the first place (her purse).
"Hello?"
"What took you so long?" demanded an irritated Kotonami Kanae.
"Sorry," Kyouko whimpered. "I had a hard time finding the phone."
Kanae sounded like she wanted to say more on the subject but didn't. Kyouko suspected that in all likelihood, Yashiro was with her best friend and had prevented her from going off on long, nonsensical tangents about putting your cell phone where you could always find it.
"Yashiro-san and Tsuruga-san just came and got me," Kanae said shortly. "We're on our way to your place so be ready."
"Of course," Kyouko replied brightly. "I just need to find my necklace…" She trailed off and started looking around her room with Kanae still on the line. A minute or so passed.
"Hey, did you forget about me?"
"No, I just… I got distracted is all," Kyouko stuttered.
Kanae bit back an exasperated sigh. To be honest, it was because she didn't want to seem like a nasty shrew in front of Yashiro. She bitterly wondered why that mattered to her at all. "We're almost there, so bye."
Kyouko hung up her cell phone and turned her attention to more important matters: Finding her Princess Rosa necklace. It was, of course, absolutely necessary.
Ren pulled his car up to the curb in front of Kyouko's apartment and, glancing briefly in the rearview mirror, wondered how he had gotten stuck with freeloaders such as Yashiro and Kanae in his backseat. And then he remembered that it was because neither Yashiro nor Kanae knew how to drive, and they guilt-tripped him into offering them the extra seats in his car.
"I'll be back," Ren said, getting out of the car.
"Wait, Ren," Yashiro called, leaving the back seat in an instant.
"What?"
"Your tie's crooked."
"No, it's not."
"Come here," Yashiro insisted, grabbing his arm and then his tie. "Let me fix it."
"No, really, it's fine," Ren protested.
"No, it isn't."
Ren finally shook him off. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Kanae trying and failing to hide her grin. "Get in the car," he muttered bitterly and headed into the apartment building. His tie was now most definitely askew.
He got into the familiar elevator at the end of the lobby and pressed the button for the third floor. He moved confidently, knowing exactly where he was going from the few occasions he had tread this path before. Ren didn't like to mention it, but he had visited Kyouko's apartment several times on strictly chauffer business. Yashiro went loopy every time the topic came up, so Ren tried to keep it under the nosy manager's radar (very difficult indeed).
Ren cleared his throat and nervously tried to adjust the tie Yashiro had rendered askew, but without a mirror Ren was hopeless.
Despite Kanae's warning call, Kyouko was still unprepared when Ren knocked. Her frantic shout of "I'll be right there!" told Ren that she was probably in the midst of putting on her shoes and trying to answer the door at the same time.
A small smile slipped onto his face.
She was half bent, fixing the strap of her metallic silver sandals when she answered the door. Ren's jaw dropped a few centimeters as Kyouko straightened and unfolded before him. She was draped in pale blue, strapless silk. Her bare shoulders beckoned him in a way that was far too tempting. Ren tore his eyes away, trying to find something else to look at.
And this was how he noticed the hemline. The fabric floated breezily about her knees. Ren struggled to stop gaping at her legs and close his mouth.
Kyouko cleared her throat ever so slightly, which was enough for Ren to get a hold on himself and notice that she was clutching something in her hand. "Um, Tsuruga-san, could you help me with something?"
He followed her into the apartment. "What is it?"
She opened her palm and he recognized the Princess Rosa necklace she had made nearly a year ago. "I don't know why, but I'm having trouble with the clasp today," she said. "Could you…"
Ren nodded and took the necklace, their fingers brushing slightly during the exchange. Kyouko turned and lifted her hair out of the way. She could feel Ren's warm breath on her neck. They were close. An involuntary shiver ran up her spine. Ren bit his lip. It was miraculous that he managed to work the necklace clasp with his nerves frayed as they were.
He pulled away as soon as he could. It was a close call. He had nearly given in. He had been so close. He had smelled her perfume—whatever it was she wore—lilies—lilacs—he didn't even know what it was, but he liked it.
She turned back towards him with a smile on her face. "Thank you, Tsuruga-san."
"Y-you look lovely," he choked out.
Kyouko gave him a radiant smile. "Really? You look—hold on a minute. Your tie is crooked."
Ren's heart almost stopped beating. His. Tie. Was. Crooked. Down in the back seat of his car, Yashiro was being struck down by Ren's evil intentions. But Ren quickly became more preoccupied by the fact that Kyouko was walking towards him and taking hold of his tie.
"Hmm," she muttered. "How did you let this happened to your tie? Am I going to have to be on the lookout the entire wedding? There. Now you look fantastic."
"Wasn't my fault," Ren mumbled, going red. Kyouko was close enough for him to count her eyelashes.
Unconsciously, he stopped breathing. Kyouko noticed and gave him an odd look. "Are you alright?" she asked, stepping away.
Air rushed back into his lungs. "Quite," he replied tightly. He offered her his arm stiffly. "Shall we go?"
Kyouko nodded. "Let's go."
They rode the elevator down in a comfortable silence. Yashiro and Kanae were watching them leave the apartment building from the back seat of Ren's car, lacking subtlety in every aspect. Even so, Kyouko was oblivious. She smiled when Ren held the car door open for her and said a friendly hello to the spies waiting in the back seat.
Needless to say the pair of them were immensely disappointed and were left to wonder in vain as to how Ren's tie had righted itself—whether it was by hand of its owner or one of the female persuasion—and why fetching Kyouko had taken more than ten minutes. Kyouko's lip gloss was woefully un-smudged and she was not at all flustered. Therefore whatever had happened could not have been too interesting.
Kanae sulked and leaned her head against Yashiro's shoulder. Yashiro was inclined to agree.
"I've never met this Moriyama Sakura that Director Ogata is marrying," Kyouko said. "Does anyone know her?"
"Nope," Ren said.
"Not at all," Yashiro added.
"I do," Kanae said.
"Do tell."
"Sakura-san guest-starred on that drama I did last year," Kanae said.
"What was she like?" Kyouko asked.
Kanae smiled a bit. "She was a very interesting woman. She's one of those personalities you tend to remember. She was…" Kanae paused to fine the right word "…lively."
"Lively?" Yashiro echoed.
"Like, you knew she wouldn't take crap from anyone. Everyone on set really liked her."
Ren laughed a little. "Then I'm sure she'll do for our Ogata-kun." They all laughed with him, until…
"Holy shit," Kanae said ungracefully. "Is that where they're holding the wedding?"
"Welcome to showbiz," Yashiro said.
Author's Note: First off, a big thanks to my Beta Reader, Runadaemon, who helped me tons with this chapter and with where I want to go next chapter (Funnily enough I had a bit of writer's block for the big wedding I've been alluding to forever. Go figure.); it's going to be epic, I promise. And as hilarious as it would be, she helped me decide that it's really not okay for Hayate to bring his mother to the wedding as his date. Who will it be? Oh-ho! Cough. And second, I would like to apologize for taking almost the entirity of my two-week limit for updating. Somehow I ended up with something to do just about every night this week, which is strange because I'm usually a little nerd holed up in my room. Anyway, going to cut this note short, so I can start writing Chapter 10 for you guys. There's just one thing I'd like to clarify since it stumped Runadaemon too. The Chapter Title is a quote from this strange play about hobos called "Waiting for Godot." It's odd, bizarre, oh and Godot never shows up. And for some reason Ren and Kyouko made me think of the play. No idea why. But thanks to all you readers and reviewers. I appreciate you... LOTS!
