As always, thank you for you guys who faved, followed, and reviewed the previous chapters. I absolutely can't go on without you.
People seem to hate Kento now, but I am happy that readers receive my OCs just like what I intended to. Thank you for a lot of comments on them!
JeremyVD: Did I read you advertising my story? Gee, thanks a lot! ;D
Disclaimer: I do not own Skip-Beat!
Chapter 7: Father and Daughter ~The Two Queens~
Kento was not really sure whether he was really standing face to face with his daughter.
First of all, her hair was a nice shade of chestnut brown, not black like in the picture of her he had seen in the newspapers.
Second, the girl in the picture he had seen had had a long scar running on the left side of her face. The girl's face, however, was clear of any flaw; not even a blemish.
Lastly, Marina had told him that Kyoko had been a caring and loving person. What part of this girl is caring and loving? He wondered as he studied the girl fuming with black aura full of rage and hatred. She's even scarier than Saena. And what's with those flying spirits around her?
His eyes then spotted a dark-haired giant of man standing beside Kyoko. The man he presumed as Tsuruga Ren put one of his large hand on her shoulder, looking at her worriedly. The girl lost a bit of her tension, and the black aura receded, making Kento released the breath he had been holding.
Kyoko smiled thankfully at Ren and then turned to face Kento. This time, her smile was a complete fake. "Good morning," she greeted the older man with a professional tone. "I was not aware that Marina-san is having guests this early morning. Pardon me for my late introduction. I am Mogami Kyoko, and I am staying here for a while. Please to meet you." With that, she bowed.
Ren had to stifle a laugh watching his girlfriend act like that. D***, she's mimicking me. Is that how I look whenever I gave her that kind of smile? Now I know why she was always so frightened whenever I did that.
Kento looked at her, gaping and flinching at the same time at the honey-dripping politeness. Not knowing what else to do, he bowed back. "Uehara Kento. I'm Marina's cousin. Nice to meet you as well…" He assessed the girl's expression once more, before adding in defeat, "Mogami-san."
Marina sighed. Part of her wanted to sympathize with her poor cousin, yet another part of her just wanted to mock him and remind him to no end that he deserved it. She leaned into his shoulder and murmured, "I am sure now you understand why I told you to not glomp her last night."
He nodded slightly, frowning, before walking away to the couch and sitting down facing Yoshimoto, who in turn stood up.
"Good morning, Kyoko-san, Tsuruga-san," the manager greeted the lovebirds, while Kyoko bowed and greeted him back with less tension than when she had done to Kento. "We will have to go at 9, Kyoko-san, so we have plenty of time for breakfast. No rush. I'm not sure about Tsuruga-san's schedule, though."
"I believe I don't have anything until 11 today," Ren murmured, eyeing the silver-eyed man with interest. "You must be Yoshimoto, right?"
"Yes, I am," Yoshimoto replied with an easy smile. Ren instantly liked this guy, especially when he spotted a simple gold wedding band circling the man's ring finger. "I feel honored that Japan's number one actor knows me. Where did you get to recognize my name?"
The tall actor laughed. "Well, Kyoko told me about the new manager last night. And adding to that, my manager, Yashiro-san, mentioned you several times. Man, I think he'd love to see you."
"Your manager's Yuki? Yashiro Yukihito?" Yoshimoto repeated in disbelief. His expression then changed to one of sympathy, surprising Ren and Kyoko a little. "It must be hard on you."
A bit amused, Ren asked, "What's wrong with Yashiro-san? So far, he has done his job very well."
"I'm not questioning his capability," the manager shook his head. "What I'm talking about is that alien ability of his. It got me a lot when we were in college. Never happen to you?"
"A lot, actually. He even used it once as a resort of threat."
"Poor you," Yoshimoto sighed. "I know he's one of my best friends, but when we graduated I was really glad that I didn't really have to lose a cell phone because of him. Praise the Lord."
Ren laughed again. He then glanced at Kyoko and noticed her staring at Kento uneasily from the corner of her eyes. He leaned down and whispered to her. "Why don't you get changed before breakfast?"
The pair of golden orbs flicked to his brown-covered one. She nodded and walked into her room. Sighing inwardly, Ren turned to face Kento. He bowed politely to the older man. "Please excuse her behavior just now. She was a bit jittery and I have no doubt she was surprised to see you here."
Kento assessed the tall actor before him with critical eyes. "So you're the boyfriend?" he questioned the 21-year-old man. "From the way you're talking, it seems like you know a whole lot about the situation, don't you?"
"Yes, Sir," Ren murmured.
"You know, I haven't approved of your relationship," Kento said.
Ren's eyebrow twitched. "I'm sorry for being rude, Uehara-san," he replied calmly, trying to reign Kuon's rage in, "but as far as I know, Kyoko hasn't acknowledged you as her father. From the way I see it, I still don't need your permission to date her."
Kento eyed the young actor for a while more, before leaning back into the couch and sighed. "True enough," he mumbled. "I haven't even had a decent conversation with her. I hope I'll be able soon, though, and have her acknowledge me, or things can become real difficult in the future."
Confused, Ren wanted to ask what he had meant by that. However, one look from Marina left him speechless.
"The reason I insisted on calling you here, Yoshimoto-san," Marina began once all of them were seated comfortably in the living room, with plates of pancakes and omelets, accompanied by mugs of coffee, on the coffee table, "is because I believe that all of you have to know something that have to be paid attention to."
She looked at Kyoko uneasily, making the young girl feel that what she was going to talk about was related to her.
Her face instantly was drained of blood when Marina continued. "Mogami Saena came to LME last night and demanded Takarada-san to annul the work contract between LME and Kyoko-san."
Ren and Yoshimoto were immediately alert. Judging from the grim but unsurprised look on Kento's face, Ren could easily guess that the older man had been informed well about what had happened at Lory's office. He had to stifle his laughter when he remembered the image he had imagined when Kuu had been telling him in detail about the cat fight involving his mother, his girlfriend's mother, and the vice-president of a friendly rival company.
His gaze wandered to Marina's arm, which was covered with white gauze near the wrist, before going back to Kyoko, who was as pale as a ceramic statue and trembling. Marina chewed her lower lip guiltily, while absentmindedly rubbing the gauze covering her arm.
"Takarada-san decided to tell me first instead of Kyoko-san because legally, I am her guardian, and a contract between a talent agency and a talent cannot be annulled without both parties knowing the cause. Therefore, I came to LME yesterday to talk to Saena, and that ended up… Let us say, in a violent way.
"That is why, Yoshimoto-san," Marina glanced at Yoshimoto, handing him a picture of Saena she had gotten during their college years – why she had that was even beyond her understanding – "I would like you to prevent Saena from meeting Kyoko-san without my, or Tsuruga-san's presence. Steering the mad woman away from Kyoko-san will be even better."
"Marina," Kento said in a scolding tone, narrowing his eyes at his cousin. He then looked at Yoshimoto. "When you catch sight of her, contact me or Marina as soon as possible. I have to talk to her first if I want to appeal for custody."
Kyoko's eyes widened in fury. "So you want custody now?" she snapped, gripping Ren's hand tightly. "Why didn't you do so before?"
Kento, feeling as guilty as ever, stammered, "Kyoko, I–"
"It's Mogami-san for you, Mister," she hissed angrily. "And let me ask you; where were you when Mother had to raise me alone, while she had to work hard to support us at the same time? Where were you when we needed you the most; when I needed you the most?" Kyoko paused to take a deep breath, trying to reign in her tears. "Can you imagine having yourself mocked around because you don't have a father and are left alone to fend for yourself by your mother?"
The room was filled with uncomfortable silence, safe Kyoko's almost inaudible sniffles. Ren drew her into his light embrace, trying to comfort her. Kento stared at the ground beneath his feet, not able to say another word that did not sound like an excuse. A minute later, he stood up.
"I'm leaving to look for a hotel to stay at," he informed a frowning Marina, knowing that his cousin was thinking that he wanted to run away again. "I'll be back here later for sure for my luggage. See you later, Marina."
Yoshimoto cleared his throat uncomfortably while also getting off his seat. He glanced at Kyoko. "Kyoko-san, if you still feel unfit to attend the shoot for Box-R, I can call them and inform them that you'll be late. Would you like me to do that?"
"No," Kyoko croaked, wiping her tears roughly with her sleeves. "I'll go."
"Wow, you have an unusual face, Nacchan," Makino Honami commented. "Did something happen?"
Kyoko, as Natsu, reacted to her comment with a dramatic surprise. "Eh? Kaori, do you want to say that I've done my make-up wrong?"
The tall, curly-haired actress was taken aback with the reaction. "Ah, no, that's not–"
"Oh, well," Natsu talked again dismissively. "I'll take it that the new colors just did not suit me that well. I should throw it away the moment I get back home."
What the hell are you saying, Nacchan?! Kyoko shrieked in her mind. Which new colors were you talking about?! And are you really intending to throw away my only make-up?!
Her train of thoughts was cut off when she heard a new voice said, "I think Makino-san was talking about your red eyes, Senpai. Did you just cry?"
Kyoko – or rather, Natsu – turned around to see Amamiya Chiori, already dressed up as Yumika. The shorter girl looked up at her with sincere concern clear in her eyes.
A smile started to creep up on Kyoko's face, only to grow further into a Natsu-patented cold smirk. "No way, Yumika!" Natsu exclaimed. "What did I cry for, anyway?"
"I don't know," Chiori replied slowly. "But may be something troubling happened before you went here?"
"Such as?"
"A problem with your new manager, perhaps? Or maybe, the article?"
Natsu frowned instantly. "Of course not. It's a totally dumb article, for goodness' sake!"
"If you say so," the black-haired girl mumbled with a small smile. "But just to remind you, whenever you have problems, Kotonami-senpai and I are all ears."
Kyoko's eyes widened as realization hit her, Natsu's soul leaving her. That's right, she thought. Why didn't I talk to someone about this? Why didn't I think about this sooner?
The first person to come up in her mind was her best friend, Kanae. Surely Moko-san can give me some advice like that time with my problem with Kuon, she cheerfully smiled inwardly. A second later, she had to completely eradicate the idea, remembering Kanae's feelings about a concept of family.
Talking to her next best friend, her 'sister' Takarada Maria, was also out of question, since she felt that her problem was far more complicated than the little girl's problem with Takarada Kouki, her father, had been.
She knew she could always talk to Chiori – the fellow actress even had offered to – but she was afraid of inconveniencing her. Also, Kyoko just did not know how to address the problem from the very beginning without telling the girl about how her mother had mentally abused her only to abandon her in the end.
Kuon and Marina knew exactly what the problem was, Kyoko figured, but both of them would do everything to comfort her. She knew that they might as well tell her to forget about it if it only hurt her, but that was not what she wanted. She was tired of running away and hiding behind the comfort people gave her. And she sure did not want any pity.
She had not known much about her uncle Seijuro, but in their first meeting, it had been clear to her that the man had a special soft spot for Kento. Talking to him was scratched off the list.
That left her with Lory, Yashiro, Yoshimoto, the Daruma-ya couple, and the Hizuri couple.
Kyoko sighed. Why do all my problems have to be this complex?
"I heard about it from Kuon," Kuu said, rubbing the back of her neck warily. "But do you really have to sulk in the corner like that? It's a bit unsightly, you know? Kyoko."
In front of his eyes, a really gloomy Kyoko was crouching in the corner of the Hizuri couple's room at the accommodation Lory had provided them with an expression not unlike a dead person. Kuu was instantly reminded of the same expression she had worn during his visit to Japan at the end of last year.
Julie, absolutely confused, stared at her foster daughter before approaching the girl and hugging her. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked softly.
Still not saying anything, Kyoko shook her head feebly. In the end, she had decided to approach the Hizuri couple, but once she had seen them, her resolution had wavered like dried leaves. She had come there to talk, yes, but at the moment she felt like she did not know how to speak.
The phone then rang.
"It must be Kuon," Kuu said, standing up from the bed and reaching for the phone. Meanwhile, Julie did not release Kyoko from her embrace.
"…to be true," Kyoko whispered.
Julie was intrigued. "Eh?"
"It seems so much like a fairy tale that it's too good to be true," the golden-eyed actress repeated. "After all this time, my father came back here and claimed that he wanted me to live with him. Even though he didn't even know that he had a child before coming back to Japan, and he did nothing to help me all these years, he suddenly came here–"
The blonde goddess stroked Kyoko's chestnut tresses. "Calm down," she murmured. "I know it's really sudden, and there's so much for you to take, but you need to calm down. Now, honey, why don't we get up and sit down on chairs or the bed instead of the floor? It's uncomfortable, right?"
Julie carefully led Kyoko to stand up and go to the nearest couch in the room. They sat side by side, with the girl still snuggled to the older woman. "Alright, now that we're comfortable," Julie sighed. "Tell me about it."
Tears flowed slowly but steadily down from her eyes to her cheeks before dropping onto her lap. "I just don't know how to react," she murmured. "I was happy to know that I have a father, I am, but I'm just not ready to let the fact sink in and to meet him face to face. I'm afraid of the possibility that when I meet him, he will receive me warmly and have my hopes up, only to be disappointed of me in the end and regret his decision of acknowledging me as his daughter. Adding to the problem, now I feel guilty for snapping at him."
"Okay, now hush a bit," Julie said in a voice only slightly above a whisper. "You're a really good girl, Kyoko, you know that? If I were you, I would just smack that guy for good. You have every right to be pissed of him. But why not give him a one-and-only chance?"
"But Mother–"
"And if he rejects you in the end," Julie butted in, "you still have your parents here." She suddenly had a rather cute pout on her face. "Or do you not consider us as your parents?"
Kyoko giggled. "Of course I do, Mother," she replied.
The blonde goddess grinned at her answer. "Good," she gave the chestnut-haired girl a thumbs-up. "Kuu'll be so elated to hear that. And speaking of mothers, I met yours last night," she finished with a growl, surprising Kyoko whose face had started to get pale. "My utmost regret is that I couldn't yank the life out of that wretched woman."
The actress looked up at her boyfriend's mother with wide eyes. "You did what?" she gasped in disbelief.
"Oh, well," Julie explained nonchalantly, "She was punching the hell out of that other woman, your guardian… Miss Akatoki? And your mother called her a whore and demanded to see you, can you believe that? I admit I couldn't think straight that time when I found out she was your mother, and when I realized it, I've had my hands trying to crush her throat and my elbows done giving Kuu hell on the ribs.
"Not really a nice thing to talk about, I know," she admitted, raising her eyebrows with a little embarrassment before continuing with fervor, "But she hurt my daughter! No one has the right to hurt my babies!"
She was surprised when the girl suddenly hugged her tightly. The blonde could not help but smile.
Please review :) Thank you!