As usual, thank you very much for you who faved, followed, or reviewed the previous chapters of 'The Next Episode' and its prequel, 'True Reflection'. The motivation is all thanks to you.
Disclaimer: I do not own Skip-Beat!
A/N: Rewritten a bit to correct grammar mistakes. Courtesy to kaitlynchosenisme (Thanks! I owe you big time)
Chapter 10: Second Chance ~Two Sides of Life~
Aki Shoko had heard that it would be always better not to piss either of her bosses off. Never had she known that the statement itself was an understatement.
In front of her eyes was Sho, forced to double over on the floor in a prostrating position after being kneed with force on the groin by a furious Marina. By the looks of it, Shoko thought, it was not going to finish with just that.
Towering over the young Fuwa was the vice-president, who was looking at him with a narrow, menacing glare. In rage, she stomped her foot onto his back, making sure to avoid her heels from hitting his body and head. Next to her, Lory was making halfhearted attempts to stop her.
"WHAT IN ALL REALMS OF HEAVENS WERE YOU SETTING YOUR MINDS AT?!" Marina growled viciously, stomping down after each word. "I cannot believe that you can be this featherbrained! Imbecile! Now those people will not stop at nothing to hog information to please the media!"
"Marina-chan, stop this!" Lory exclaimed feebly. "Even if you beat up this lad here to smithereens, the milk has been spilt. On the contrary, you can be sued for physical abuse! Having Mogami-kun's guardian brought to court is the last thing I want to happen."
Marina's foot froze millimeters from Sho's already abused back. "You are right," she said, retracting her limb back. "For once, I cannot refute you, Takarada-san."
Sho groaned in pain and straightened himself to stand up, only to fail miserably and thud back on to the floor butt first. He scowled at Marina, who blatantly ignored him and walked away towards the LME president.
"Other thing aside, where is Kyoko-san?" she asked. "I have not seen her since the press conference concluded."
"She's left already right after it," Lory answered, his face a bit puzzled. "Although before leaving, she asked me where Teikoku Hotel was."
The ghostwriter turned her head to him, eyebrows raised in surprise."Did you say Teikoku Hotel?"
"Uh-huh."
"I see…" Marina mumbled, a smile slowly spread on her face.
The moment Kyoko saw the pair of golden eyes alike hers, she immediately lost all her resolve to come meet Kento and talk about their problems.
Kento becoming dumbfounded right after he had seen her at his doorsteps did not help matters.
She fidgeted on her feet, growing anxious of the pregnant silence. Could not bear keeping eye contact with the older man, she decided to look down at the floor.
The artist cleared his throat uncomfortably and said, "Why don't you come in?" He then stepped aside to let her in; all the while he berated himself that he had said the lamest thing he could have managed. That was, if the whole atmosphere had permitted him to do so.
The girl contemplated her decision for a moment, thinking over if this – going over to Kento to give him his chance – was the right one to make. Nevertheless, she walked gingerly into the small room –somehow relieved that this man claiming to be her father was not staying in a hotel suite. She honestly did not know why in the world she could be mulling over such thing. Must be the nerves getting into her already more than nervous heart.
Kyoko heard the door closing softly behind her, and she turned around to see Kento looking back at her awkwardly – as nervous as she was. He gestured to the chairs. "Have a seat; you don't want to keep standing and tire your feet, do you?" he offered, to which she nodded in silent agreement.
As she sat herself down, her eyes caught the sight of the thick phonebook, still opened at the names beginning with 'M'. She raised a skeptical eyebrow at the man. "Are you looking for my mother?"
He nodded. "I told you before that I needed to talk to her about things." He scratched the back of his head gawkily. "And I also need to apologize to her about what happened between the two of us. And about what happened to you, based on what Marina has told me. You've cleared things about the abandonment in the press conference; and yes, I watched it," he said quickly when Kyoko gaped at him in surprise, "and you were amazing in there. Especially when you rejected that boy flatly in front of his face and the press, I couldn't help but laughing."
Kyoko blushed ten shades of red, earning a small humored chuckle from her father. He smiled proudly at her. "It seems that you've found the world made just for you. I'm glad."
"It's thanks to a lot of people; Sho included even when I don't want to admit it," Kyoko said. "If he hasn't dumped me, I doubt I'd have been acting now. I might as well have been staying at the apartment we used to share, waiting for him quietly at home like a pitiful housewife and slaving myself to pay the rent."
It was silent for a while, and then Kento let out a snarl. "When I meet this brat, I'll certainly guarantee his death."
Kyoko was completely speechless seeing him being overprotective over her. He's acting just like Father did with Kuon, she thought, before noticing his once again solemn expression.
"So, back to the thing we were talking about," Kento continued. "The abandonment is clear enough; what about the abuse? Did Saena really…?" He could not continue the question; deep in his heart he could not believe that the woman could do such a thing.
Her brows hooked together into a frown as she relived the memories from her times with her mother. "She… did not exactly abuse me," she began. "I mean, she did not hit me directly or anything, unless slapping my hands away from her can be counted as abuse."
"I wouldn't exactly call that abuse," Kento interjected. "Because she may be intended to make it as soft as possible, but could not control her strength. What else?"
"She simply wanted me to get 100% in all my tests in school, or else she would just scorn me for being stupid, disappointing, or just downright ignored me. She never really showed affection towards me. But whenever she saw my face over the years, she often snapped at me for reasons I didn't understand."
Kento frowned. "Seeing your face made her snap?" he repeated, not believing Kyoko's words. "Wow, she sounds more like a nutcase for me now."
"Does she?" Kyoko sighed. "Perhaps she is, now. I haven't seen her for years after she left me at Fuwa Inn when I was 8."
He was silent for a while, his eyes drooping in guilt. "I'm sorry. If I hadn't been such a coward back then–"
"You know," the girl interrupted casually, "when I spent some time thinking about it and put myself in your shoes, I think I now know why you left."
"Really?" his jaw dropped in surprise.
"Uh-huh. Mom was really scary with her glares and insults. If I were you, I would run with my tail tucked in, too."
Seconds later, the room was filled with laughter. When it died down, Kyoko smiled at him. "I'm so glad we have a chance to meet, Papa."
Kento was caught off guard, and when he realized what the girl had said, he already had her in his arms.
"You don't look good, Mogami-san. Are you sure you're okay?" Kitami Shinji asked the woman sitting in front of him with skeptical worry.
He could see that his newest client was as pale as a corpse and sweating bullets. This sight was a bit unnerving for him. As a lawyer, he had seen many of his previous clients showing signs of panic, but even he would say that this woman was too much.
It uncomforted him even more when Saena did not answer.
Nervously, he gingerly reached his hand towards her, making sure not to startle her. "Mogami-san?"
"I'm fine!" Saena snapped, scaring the poor man. "Just get to the business already!"
"Alright," he gulped audibly before skimming through the papers he had prepared after he had received her phone call two days ago. "You want to press charges due to violent conduct on you, correct?"
"That's what I said."
"Can you tell me the name of the accused?"
Saena's glare intensified. "Didn't you hear me the other day? It's Akatoki Marina."
"Right, Akatoki Marina," Kitami mumbled, scribbling the name onto the paper. "Can you tell me the details as precise as possible?"
She groaned; her frustration as lucid as daylight. "I just demanded that outrageous president of LME to let me meet my daughter, and suddenly–"
"Wait a second," the lawyer butted in. "Your daughter?"
"Mogami Kyoko."
"Mogami Kyoko… As in KYOKO?" he asked excitedly. "Are you saying the Mio from 'Dark Moon' is your daughter?"
Saena frowned deeply. "You know her?"
"Of course I know her!" he nodded proudly. "In fact, I'm a big fan of hers! Ever since I saw her performance in 'Dark Moon', I've been hooked! Ah, great timing!" He noticed the television screen that was facing him, his eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. "There she is!"
The woman turned her head around to see what Kitami was pointing at, and her brown eyes widened. In the television, there stood Kyoko as the ever evilly charismatic Kitagawa Natsu, her pair of golden eyes glimmering with sickening glee as she watched her newest target cried in anguish.
Much to Kitami's surprise, Saena stood up abruptly and left the room, leaving him confused.
"So? Where did you meet Tsuruga-san?" Kento asked curiously.
Kyoko pouted playfully. "Right after I acknowledge you as my parent, you just went straight to interrogate me about my boyfriend. Great."
"I'm not interrogating," he explained with patience. "I just want to know more. He perked my curiosity."
She gasped. "Papa, don't tell me, you're gay?" she asked. "And you're attracted to Ren-san? That's unforgivable! Certainly unbefitting!"
Kento grimaced uncomfortably. "Even I won't forgive myself if that happens," he mumbled. "You know what? You're the second person who assumed I'm gay. Do I really look like I'm not straight?"
"It's not that… Hang on. Who's the first?" she inquired curiously. "Mom?"
"If she had thought I was gay, you wouldn't have been here, young lady," Kento grumbled, pointing out the obvious fact. "No, it was this young man with long silver hair and lavender eyes. His clothes were beyond weird; I won't even call those clothes. Marina told me his name was Reino."
Kyoko could feel a vein popped on her temple. "Why do you suddenly bring up the Beagle?"
"What? Beagle?" the artist repeated, completely baffled. "I'm not talking about dogs. I'm talking about this man named Reino from Vie Ghoul…" His voice trailed with realization. "Oh."
"Yes," she nodded. "That creepy stalker hound from hell. Where did you meet him?"
"In the hotel I was staying at in Osaka before I flew to Tokyo, two days ago," he answered. "I was sitting at the lounge when he just greeted me with a pick-up line–"
His daughter scowled. "Yuck! That's gross. Now I know he's definitely not from this world."
"Anyway, he mentioned things about harassing you, so I socked him on the face and threatened him to not come close to you or else, all forces in this world wouldn't let him see daylight again."
"Cool!" Kyoko exclaimed with innocent glee, her demons rejoicing in her head – Demon B even squealed happily, "I like Grandpa already!"
Kento could only laugh at her remark about the unworldly singer. "So? What about Tsuruga?"
The chestnut-haired girl bit her lower lip lightly, mulling over all the details she had about her boyfriend. Ren still had not decided to reveal his true identity as Hizuri Kuon to the public, and she understood that it was not her place to say anything that could hint the truth to somebody else without his concern.
However, much to her shock, her father was the one who made the revelation. "He's not Japanese."
Her head snapped up to meet his smug and confident expression. She gaped, "Why do you say so?"
"I've been an artist for my whole existence," he said. "And believe me, my dear, my eyes and observation for details never deceive me. His roots were the most beautiful blonde I've ever seen. Where did you meet such a man?"
She gulped. Damn, he's sharp, she thought. "I first met him when I was 6, in the forest behind Fuwa Inn in Kyoto. I met him again 2 years ago, when I was applying for audition at LME. That time I'd never thought that that rude man was the fairy prince I befriended when I was little."
It was quiet as Kento did not utter any comment. Kyoko finally broke the silence with a simple question: "Can you really see fairies?"
"So she is pressing charges against me for doing violence on her face?" Marina scoffed on her phone.
She could almost imagine Kisaki Eri, her lawyer scowling. "Marina-chan, this is no laughing matter! And yes, she is, so you better tell me all about the circumstances behind the fight, or else this can turn into worse shit."
"I am aware of that. I will be at your office tomorrow morning, please rest assure."
"And also," the lawyer continued, "It seems that she might also sue you for not letting her meet with her daughter, if what I heard from her lawyer is correct."
Marina frowned. Wow, after long years and she suddenly decided to act as a supposedly loving parent who only wants to meet her child, she mumbled inwardly. Her train of thoughts were cut off when she heard Kisaki rambling. Feeling sorry for letting her ranting out to not being heard, she spoke sheepishly, "I apologize. What were you saying?"
"You were definitely wandering off, Marina-chan, just like always," Kisaki sighed. "What? The pressing charges thing suddenly sparks your interest in writing a detective story?"
"I am sorry to disappoint you, but no, I am not yet interested, although actually I am quite mystified with the life of that husband of yours," she replied. "So what were you saying again?"
She could hear a huff of breath being let out by Kisaki, before she repeated, "I said, I sympathize with the guy, Kitami. He told me something was weird with Mogami. The moment she set eyes upon the girl on TV, she bolted out of the room like having a demon hot on her trails."
"I have to admit that it is unusual," Marina agreed. It sounds like she did not fancy seeing Kyoko-san. But why did she want to meet her by herself? I do not like this bad feeling. "In that case, Eri-chan, you still have that letter I presented you in your possession, correct?"
"Do you mean the revised copy of the one from Kento-kun? Don't worry; it's safe and secured."
"When the notice of charges for illegally forbidding Saena to see Kyoko-san comes, please do not hesitate to present the letter to the court. We have nothing to lose, anyway."
"Alright. What about the violence case?"
Marina grinned sheepishly, although Kisaki could not see it. "Well, it is partially my fault for letting the rage get the better of me. But we can always counter that, because the injuries are mutual on both, no, three sides."
"Three sides?" the lawyer chocked. "Who else did you beat up, Marina-san? I swear, this time you're shortening my already short life."
"You still have long in your life," she dismissed him. "I already taken pictures of my injuries, and I will give them to you when I pay you a visit tomorrow. By the way, is there any charges pressed onto Kento?"
"So far, he's clean."
Marina sighed in relief. "Good. At least he's not going to add something into the already piling problems. Oh, and can you prepare something for the stupid cousin of mine so that he can appeal for custody over Kyoko-san?"
"I'm already on it. Although I have a hunch that that Mogami woman will be super pissed off when she hears about this."
"And can you ask her lawyer to give me her residential address?"
There was a pause, before Kisaki asked, "What for? Don't tell me, you want to beat her some more?"
"Eri-chan, trust me, I really do not want anything more to do with Saena," Marina deadpanned. "I am requesting this for Kento; that is all."
"He wants to talk to her?" Kisaki ventured a guess in disbelief.
"Unfortunately, yes."
Kisaki was silent in thought for a while before consenting to her a bit weird childhood best friend.
She could not tolerate it anymore.
Wherever she went to, Kyoko's face was showed extravagantly on big screens, zooming in at the moment when she had declared her rejection over the Fuwa brat's rather stupid confession. The girl was featured in the covers of almost all magazines. One DVD rental shop even displayed a large poster of 'Dark Moon', with the actress, in all of Mio's glory, looking at whoever was in front of her with unmeasured hatred.
Wherever she was, she always had that pair of golden eyes she hated staring at her, and that was sickening her, reminding her of the man who had betrayed her.
No, Saena had had enough. She would take whatever it was to ensure that those golden eyes disappear forever from her life.
Additional Disclaimer:
Sadly, the one who owns Kisaki Eri is Aoyama Gosho, not me. For all Detective Conan's fans, I'm really sorry if she seems OOC.
To be honest, I am not really satisfied with this chapter. Personally, I think that Kyoko warms up to Kento too easily. What do you guys think?
Since school is starting real soon, I'm afraid I won't be able to update as often as before. Please bear with me.
Please review :) Thank you!