Always With You
Disclaimer: I do not own SkipBeat or any of its characters
Chapter 8 – Pieces and parts
Yashiro had fully expected Ren to be hurt or angry after Kyoko announced that the only person she had ever loved was a boy she met for a short time in her childhood. He couldn't understand the almost blissful smile on the young man's face. I don't understand him at all.
Kyoko was back to her normal self, apologizing dramatically to Tsuruga Ren as they drove away from the studio. "Please forgive me, Tsuruga-sempai. It must be humiliating to have your name tied to a newbie such as myself in such a fashion."
"Not at all, Mogami-san. Didn't we already talk about this the other day? Humility is a good thing, but you take it too far. You are an excellent actress, a serious professional, and a wonderful person; I would be proud to have my name tied to yours."
Yashiro was practically squirming in his seat at Ren's open admission of interest. Kyoko, as usual, missed his meaning completely, "All the same, I wish that talk show hosts would stop trying to add drama to their interviews."
Yashiro rolled his eyes. He looked over at Ren, expecting to see anger or hurt. Instead Ren still had that little smile.
"May I ask you a personal question or two?"
Kyoko met Ren's eyes through the rear-view mirror. After a long moment she gave a hesitant nod and said, "yes."
"First question: is the boy who you mentioned 'Corn,' the same one who gave you the blue soul-stone?"
Kyoko smiled, "Yes."
"And the other person you spoke about… the one you never truly loved; was that Fuwa Sho?"
Her smile was gone, but she didn't have the powerful reaction that used to come at the mere mention of that name. "Yes."
"Your explanation about love was very thoughtful and mature. How did you come to such a strong conclusion?"
"Tsuruga-sempai, do you remember when Hizuri Kuu came to Japan last year?"
Ren was surprised at her non-sequitur response. Why would she be changing the subject? "Um, yes. I also remember a certain boy jumping down the stairs in front of me."
Kyoko blushed prettily and Ren had trouble focusing on the road. "Well after Otou-san… he asked me to call him that… after he returned to the United States he and I started emailing. Pretty soon his wife, Julie-san… um, she asked me to call her either that or Okaa-san… anyway, she started emailing back-and-forth with me as well."
Ren had been totally unaware that this was happening. He fought to quench a feeling of alarm as Kyoko beamed happily and continued, "She's absolutely wonderful! She treats me like I'm her own daughter and there's absolutely nothing we can't talk… or write about. I told her the whole sordid story about Fuwa Shotoro and what happened…"
Kyoko paused in alarm. Ren seemed to always get into a dark mood whenever Sho was mentioned. But this time he seemed perfectly calm. "Please continue, Mogami-san."
"Well she asked me a lot of questions. She's really good at that; she could be a detective. She helped me to see that what I felt for Shotoro was never really love."
Yashiro was amazed at how freely and comfortably Kyoko was discussing her past. He felt like an eavesdropper in Ren and Kyoko's conversation. He tried to make himself smaller in the seat.
"She also has helped me to understand that a part of my anger at Shotoro was really because he treated me in the same way that my mother did. Julie-san has been helping me to see that un-forgiveness and revenge are part of a two-edged sword that will destroy me at the same time it destroys the person I target."
Ren was frowning slightly as he asked the question he didn't want to ask, "Does this mean that you're ready to forgive Fuwa Sho and get back together with him?"
"I am ready to forgive him, but I'm not interested in re-building any sort of romantic relationship with him."
Ren realized he had been holding his breath as he let out a shuddering sigh of relief. "Do you think that you might be ready to take a chance on love again?"
Kyoko looked into the mirror and saw a look in Ren's eyes that made her look away, "Maybe… I just don't know yet."
* * *
Kyoko sighed, Another interview. Only, this interview was with Bridge Rock, so it was safe. The problem was with her co-star. This evening Kyoko was appearing with the star of Ronin's Children, Choshi Kazu. Choshi was a former Olympic swimming competitor who was making his break into acting. Ronin's Children was meant to be his debut.
Kyoko remembered Tsuruga-san's statement about chemistry in the Rumiko interview. That was her problem now: Choshi Kazu was everything that she hated in a man. He was self-centered, arrogant, and condescending. Worse still in Kyoko's mind, he was completely unprofessional. He didn't show up on time. He didn't have his character developed. He didn't have his lines memorized. And he spent more time flirting with the female staff than getting ready for his next scene.
The interview with Bridge Rock was going relatively well. She was supposed to be in-character, so Kyoko had her hair spiked and was in her full leathers. This caused some appreciative raised eyebrows from the Ishibashi brothers. But they were still pleasantly respectful to her. Even poor Ishibashi Hikaru, who was completely infatuated with Kyoko, keep his eyes mostly to himself.
The interview was going well until the final ten minutes. Originally the majority of the questions were supposed to be directed to Choshi Kazu as the star of the movie. But his answers were so banal and self-promoting that the brothers lost interest in him and turned most of their questions to Kyoko. Even a young man as dim as Kazu could recognize when he was being ignored. He decided to take drastic measures to bring the focus back to himself. "So, I watched that interview with Rumiko this morning. It's ridiculous how she was trying to pair Kyoko with those two goofs. Now that I'm on the scene, they won't stand a chance."
The stunned brothers looked rapidly back and forth between Kazu and Kyoko. If they hadn't been on camera they would have run for their lives. As much as they liked Kyoko, they feared her darker side. They were just glad that she hadn't brought out the sword she had been practicing with before the show every time for the last few weeks.
Kyoko's eyebrows twitched and she switched internally from Mio, to Natsu, and finally to Enoki Masami. Her ice-cold gaze held Kazu immobile, like a panther sizing up her next meal. "So you're wanting to spend some private time with me, hmmm? Maybe you and I need to practice our Karate later this evening, Choshi-san."
Kazu gulped. He had watched her full-contact sparring with the stunt-man Hizami Saki earlier in the day. His voice came out with a bit of a squeak as he answered. "Oh… um… I'm kinda busy tonight."
In a measured and slightly seductive voice Enoki Masami finished him off, "And here I thought that you wanted to play."
Kazu remained silent and fuming for the last few minutes of the interview. For the sake of the movie, Kyoko behaved herself as well.
* * *
Security permitting, an international airport can be a fascinating place to sit and watch people all day. The good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful can be found there everyday.
Sit a spell and you will witness the seasoned traveler and the nervous first-timer; the lonely old geezer and the overwrought single mother of three; the jaded metropolitan and the country bumpkin. They are all available to see as a moving sociological display.
Beautiful people are commonplace in an international airport. It is reasonable to assume, therefore, that one more would just fade into the background. But when a woman has been listed among the "Worlds Most Beautiful People" for many years running, there is really no place that she can remain anonymous.
That is why Julie Hikuri, a.k.a. Julie Swan, was sitting sitting in a small private room of John Wayne International Airport. Julie was a world class model, the owner of a makeup and clothing empire, and the President of International Models Inc.. None of that mattered to the unseasonal storm that raged outside. Until it abated she would remain earthbound; held back from her son and the young lady she was so anxious to meet in person for the first time.
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Notes: This is just a short chapter to fill-in-the-blanks for later in the story.
The number of other characters is growing rapidly. I will try to keep them from being flat characters. So far all but OC will be important at some point in the story.
Thanks once again for all of the reviews, etc.
