Always With You
Disclaimer: I do not own SkipBeat or any of its characters
Chapter 3 – Leather and Lace
Kyoko leaned into the curve, grabbing her turn and then carefully accelerating into it. Forty K, forty-five, fifty… she straightened and then repeated her actions as the next curve wound in the opposite direction. Her pulse was racing and she was grinning wildly behind her visor. As she straightened out of the last curve her instructor, who had been riding his own motorcycle beside her, gave her the signal to decelerate and pull off the road. After weeks of practice she was able to shift down easily, bringing her Yamaha Sportbike to a smooth stop.
Without the cold air of movement to cool her she began sweating immediately. Her short hair felt wonderfully damp and cool in the slight breeze as she removed her helmet and shook the droplets of sweat off. This helped quite a bit, but it did nothing to dispel the heat of the sun on her tight leather jacket and leggings.
Her instructor, Hizami Saki, had also removed his helmet, taking a moment to watch the pretty teen shake her head in the breeze. Oh, to be young again, he thought. "Mogami-san, I have to say that I am impressed. You took to riding like you were born on two wheels."
Kyoko smiled broadly; she was having too much fun to even let memories of her time spent supporting Fuwa Sho ruin her day. All of the time she had spent making deliveries on her bike were paying off now.
"Well, you have your license and I think that you're ready for your first motorbike shots on Friday. Still, I would feel better if you got in some more practice," Hizami-san kept his face stern, even though he was tempted to smile, "So why don't you just keep the bike over this week and ride it to wherever you need to go." He gave her a fatherly smile as her eyes lit up.
"You mean I can keep the bike all week, Hizami-sensei?"
"Yes. But mind you, Mogami-san, ride carefully. If you get hurt the director will have my head in a basket."
Kyoko surprised the older man with a quick hug before sitting herself back on "her" motorcycle, "Ja-ne, Sensei."
With her helmet safely fastened, she accelerated back on to the road and quickly disappeared down the mountain toward Tokyo.
When Sawara-san had shown her the offer for a role as a tough motorcycle-riding rebel, she had been ready to reject it immediately. Only her promise to Hizuri Kuu had made her reconsider. He had cautioned her against turning down roles just because they weren't her ideal. Now she was glad that she had accepted.
Her character, Enoki Masami, was a rebel who mixed with the toughs in Tokyo. She rode fast and fought mean, until the day that she saved Chino Ryoichi, a down-and-out college student who had accidentally crossed paths with the local gang leader. Over the course of the movie, Masami would fall in love with the young man, saving him several times. In the final struggle, however, she would be fatally wounded. The story was about the young man's walk on the wild side and return to his proper place, but the story of Enoki Masami would definitely have a strong impact.
And best of all, after a crash course with the head stuntman (no pun intended), Kyoko had both a license and a motorcycle; at least temporarily.
* * *
Tsuruga Ren was feeling slightly out of sorts as he turned into the park where several of the first scenes for Always With You would be filmed. He had been looking forward to picking Kyoko up on their way to work. But last night she had apologetically declined, with just a hint of what sounded like amusement in her voice. "I appreciate the offer, Tsuruga-san, but tomorrow I already have a ride. I'll see you there promptly at 9am."
Both he and Yashiro remained in his car now, waiting to see who it was who had offered Kyoko a ride. Ren saw Director Kurosaki walking by the actor's tent and felt slightly relieved that the man was already there and by himself. He had noticed how the equally tall rebel-looking director had looked at Kyoko as they spoke together. There was no doubt in his mind that he had a new rival for the girl's affections. Yashiro was right. Girls grow up fast these days. And she's just too cute for her own good!
"Ren," Yashiro spoke his name for perhaps the third time, "look what's coming down the drive."
With a small cloud of dust rising behind her, a definite female form maneuvered a powerful and fast-looking sport bike up the dirt road. She turned onto the grass and into the space next to Ren's car. The whole cast and crew was watching as the petite rider pulled off her helmet and shook out her short blond hair in the breeze. Ren and Yashiro were speechless as the leather-clad girl, her mind fully in the character of Enoki Masami, dismounted and set the helmet on her seat. Then Ren glanced over to where the director had stopped walking to stare. Ren didn't like the look on the man's face one bit.
* * *
Imada Kure was having serious doubts as he stalked back and forth on the edge of the set, waiting for the makeup artists and the costume people to finish their jobs. A biker chick!! If it isn't bad enough that she plays high school bullies, now she's going to play a biker chick!! What kind of image will that be for our company!
And it wasn't like Director Kurosaki was going to change his mind about the girl. He saw how the young man was drooling as the girl walked across the lawn to the makeup tent in her tight leather suit. He probably chose the girl just because he was infatuated with her! What is this, a dating service!!
Imada-san was so distracted in his fuming that he didn't notice what every other man on the set saw immediately. Perhaps it was the sudden absolute silence that caught his attention. Whatever it was, he looked up to identify the problem and his jaw dropped. There, walking gracefully across the lawn toward him was an angelic creature in a pristine white flowing wedding dress. Her hair was brunette now, and it flowed down to her shoulders. Her eyes were sparkling in pure delight and her mouth had the prettiest smile that he had ever seen (discounting his own wife's smile, of course). With perfect posture and a dancer's grace, she flowed by him in a cloud of lace. She gave him only the briefest nod as she passed, but it was enough. His doubts were dispelled instantly.
Director Kurosaki, Tsuruga Ren, and Yushiri Kei, the actor who would play the unfaithful groom, were all standing in suspended animation on the wedding set. Ren recovered first, promptly stepping forward to offer his arm to the beautiful blushing bride. She smiled prettily at him and took the proffered arm. Kurosaki, a moment too late in his own recovery, growled inwardly and regretted offering Tsuruga Ren the male-lead.
Poor Yushiri Kei, when he saw the looks passing between the two taller men, chose the wise course and resigned from competition. In the three times that he had seen the girl, first at the script reading and now twice this morning, she had been an entirely different girl each and every time. Wow! Would the real Mogami Kyoko please step up?
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Notes: The actual commercials will start on the next chapter. I hope that you like it so far. I was going to use Enoki Masami in a different story, but then the idea of the contrast between leather and lace was just too difficult to resist. I haven't decided yet if the two stories will merge or remain essentially seperate, but within the same time frame.
