What else can I say other than that you guys who faved, followed, and reviewed the previous chapter rock?
Disclaimer: I do not own Skip-Beat!
Chapter 12: Present Hunting ~Depicting Sayaka~
"You're that chicken?" Kuon asked, gaping in disbelief.
He's angry! I knew it! Kyoko screamed inwardly, her inner self cowering in fright. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry for keeping this a secret from you!"
It was completely silent in the room, and it scared the hell out of Kyoko. She hid her face in her folded legs, forming a shivering ball.
Kuon sighed while trying to get the facts straight. Alright, so she's that chicken, which means that the one I consulted about 'tentekomai' that time was her. The sudden revelation brought the feeling of shame to him as he reckoned the time when Bo had roared a loud laughter when he had misunderstood the phrase, making his face flush in embarassment – which of course went unnoticed by the girl beside him.
Wait a minute, another thought hit him. I also told her about me falling in love with her, right? So I practically confessed to her! Why was it that she didn't catch the meaning at all that time? Was it because she was so dense beyond reason? He stared at Kyoko. Or did she know already, but chose to avoid me all the same? Wow, if that's the case, I'm feeling like such a lucky guy now.
He slowly reached for her, and Kyoko flinched when she felt the tips of his fingers grazing her shoulder.
Great, Kuon, he groaned inwardly at himself. Now she thinks you're mad at her. "Kyoko," he called gingerly with a small voice. "Kyoko, look at me."
The sweet chestnut-haired girl only lifted her head a little and gave him a little peek. Her eyes immediately widened when she saw him smiling heavenly at her. Inside her head, the little grudges shrieked in terror upon seeing the expression and fled to save themselves.
"Kuon," she whispered slowly, "you're not angry?"
"Why should I be angry?" he asked innocently.
Kyoko quickly straightened up and exclaimed, "I lied to you, you know!"
"But rather than lying, it's more to not saying anything, right?"
Seeing her speechless, Kuon continued, "Seriously, I'm not mad at you. In fact, I really want to laugh. Remember the high school girl I told you about when you talked to me as the chicken?"
She nodded.
"I was talking about you at that time, to you in person! How f***ed up was that?" the man chuckled. "And then at one time you told me to marry the girl, who was you!" He reached for Kyoko and drew her into a hug. "And now that I remembered the first time I met the chicken, now I'm really glad it's you who knew the most embarrassing moment in my life."
"About the 'tentekomai'?" she asked, giggling when she remembered the detailed memories of the incident.
Kuon groaned. "Please don't mention it ever again."
"You're the one bringing it up in the first place!" she retorted, before snuggling further into his chest, relieved that her boyfriend's reaction was far from her extreme anticipation; she had expected herself to be gutted into fillets like fish by the Demon Lord.
The Hizuri nuzzled on her crown. "Why are you suddenly telling me that?" he questioned curiously.
"You deserve it," she mumbled into his pajama shirt. "You told me everything about your past, and braved yourself to tell Papa about it – although you didn't mention Rick, which I can understand – so I think it's not fair of me to keep secrets from you."
The fairy prince smiled and kissed her forehead. He looked at her with sincere happiness. "Thank you."
Sayaka was the epitome of a mysterious, noble young lady.
She had been raised in a European-styled, castle-like mansion all her life. Being the only child of her parents, and one so indescribably beautiful at that – with long, soft brown hair, cerulean eyes, and smooth fair skin, her parents always dolled her up with pretty, lacey, ruffled dresses and accessories. They bought her so many that never wearing the same dress for more than one day became a must for her, else she would not know what to do with her overflowing wardrobe.
Brought up with glamour surroundings and education fitting for royalty, Sayaka saw the world around her with the perspective of a queen. Her conduct was flawlessly mannered, and even often awed other properly-raised rich girls.
On the other hand, she was also mischievous, daring, and tended to be secretive. No one around her knew exactly what was on her mind as she was usually aloof. People, however, noticed that her elegant smiles were always accompanied by the gleam of sick, arrogant excitement in her eyes…
… just like this exact moment when she was dressed in blood red puffy short dress adorned with white lace, sitting on the chessboard-like floor littered with red rose petals like a propped-up French doll, eyes looking at the camera as if silently challenging everyone looking at her if they could be more beautiful than her.
"That's the expression, Kyoko-chan!" Sugimoto Karen yelled in delight. "Now try walking around! You don't have to look at the camera, but please do sometimes, okay?"
Near the already aged blonde female photographer, Fujisawa Eiko, the designer and owner of Atelier Utahime, smiled in satisfaction. When she had first saw Kyoko's act as Natsu in 'Box-R', she had been completely convinced that the young actress would be the only perfect person to model her new gothic designs. The sultry look and smile Kyoko put on her face when she glanced at the camera from her shoulder as she walked around smoothly like a breeze amazed her to no end.
At this rate Eiko might set up a contract to hire Kyoko as an exclusive model for her label, before her brother got to the golden-eyed girl first and ask her to model his Q's more casual designs.
Not far from the thrilled photographer and designer, Kento sat on a chair next to Ren, his face was a mixed expression of pride and astonishment towards his daughter, and annoyance towards the taller young man beside him. Yoshimoto and Yashiro stood beside the actor, silently eyeing the two men.
"Aren't you supposed to be unbelievably busy, Tsuruga-kun?" he asked in a clippy tone, but a small voice so that he did not disrupt the photo shoot. "You're Japan's number one actor, after all. But why are you here in all places, sitting here and having nothing to do?"
Ren grinned at him. "Coincidentally, we're both going to the office after this, so I'm picking her up. What about you, Sir?"
The older man only eyed him suspiciously, as if not believing his words. "Fujisawa-san asked me if I could make a painted background for her label's new advert poster. She told me to look at the photo shoot to grasp some idea that might actually work," he explained, his hands already working with a sketch pad and a graphite stick.
Meanwhile, Yashiro whispered to Yoshimoto, "What's with this heavy atmosphere?"
"Beats me," the silver-eyed manager shrugged. "I guess it's the tension between an overly-protective father and an influential boyfriend fighting for the rights over the girl?"
Ren nodded in understanding at Kento's answer – completely oblivious to the conversation the managers had – before shifting his eyes towards Kyoko, who was acting 'Sayaka', the character she created for this gig. When she had told him about it, he had been mildly astounded that the fairy tale junkie did not name the character 'Belle', 'Cinderella', 'Briar Rose', or other names similar to those.
He looked at his girlfriend's father to find the artist's eyes focusing on the girl. He let out a small smile. "Her talent's breathtaking, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Kento said breathlessly, his gaze still stuck at Kyoko. "It makes me wonder how she got the talent running in her. Neither me or Saena had it in us to act at her caliber."
They did not say anything for a while. Suddenly, the golden-eyed man asked, "What do you think will be a good present for her?"
A bit taken aback by the abruptness of the question, Ren asked back, "Are you talking about her upcoming birthday, Sir?"
"Uh, yeah," Kento stuttered. "I mean, I might be her father, but I just don't know her enough to know her preferences. And to be unexpectedly invited to what looks like a huge party…"
The actor snickered inwardly. 'Huge' won't be enough to describe it if Boss manages to have a say in it like last year. His thoughts flew to his prepared present, pre-ordered just days after he had told Kyoko all about his past months back.
He looked at the older man, who was staring at him in desperation, his face flustered. Kento did not really want to admit it, but he had to accept the fact that this young man was the only one who can help him.
"She's always one who's fascinated with cosmetics," Ren began. "Or to be more precise, she'll over-appreciate anything beautiful, more so if it's anything princess-like or lady-like. And she's always one for fairytales."
"What did she get last year?" Kento asked again, taking notes in his sharp mind.
"Let's see…" Ren racked his memories about the Grateful Party last year. "I gave her a stem of Queen Rosa rose and a piece of rose-quartz she named Princess Rosa. And Kotonami-san – ah, she's her best friend," he quickly explained to Kento when he saw him puzzled, "she gave her a set of princess-themed make-up set. She also got a pair of high heels from her landlords in her previous place. I'm not sure about what Maria-chan – the President's granddaughter – gave her. Kyoko never told me, but I'm sure that Maria-chan at least gave her something."
Kento hummed in a low voice. "All of them describe royal femininity, huh… And did you say she likes something princess-themed?" When Ren nodded, his eyes then flickered in artistic stimulation and he quickly turned over to a new page on his sketch pad and started sketching with newfound fervor.
Sawara Takenori, the head of LME's Talent Department could not hide his amazement of Kyoko.
He clearly remembered the time when the girl once haunted him and his family days and nights, demanding him to let her get into showbiz. Sometimes, he still shuddered in fright because of it. And of course, her rocky start – with her unworldly antics, especially when Fuwa Sho was mentioned – always gave him severe headaches.
But here she was, standing before him as politely and humble as ever, slowly and steadily spreading her wings as a professional and very capable actress at the same level as Tsuruga Ren, Japan's number one actor.
"You're doing really great, Mogami-kun!" he said, smiling widely. "Fujisawa-san from Atelier Utahime called just now, lavishing praise upon your work this morning."
Kyoko blushed at the compliment.
"She even asked to establish a contract with you as Atelier Utahime's exclusive image!" Sawara continued. "This will definitely expand your horizon as a talent in showbiz. You can't miss this! Right, Yoshimoto-kun?" he asked the silver-eyed man standing next to the girl.
"That's irrefutably true," Yoshimoto nodded while pulling out his notebook of Kyoko's schedule. "Have Fujisawa-san sent the contract over?"
Sawara reached for his drawer and produced a bundle of documents. "Here you go," he said, giving the documents to Yoshimoto who immediately flipped them over.
The manager hummed in excitement. "This sure looks like a great job," he informed Kyoko. "It'll certainly give you broader experience in working as a model. What do you think, Kyoko-san?"
The very first LoveMe member was stunned. She remembered the time when Kuu explicitly told her to just stick with acting. But Kuon also does modeling, she thought. Maybe I should discuss this with Kuon and Father… She replied the department head and Yoshimoto slowly, "Please let me think about it."
"Why not?" Kuu asked, casually shrugging his shoulders.
Kyoko's jaws dropped. "Father, weren't you the one who told me to stick to acting?"
"Yeah, I did. So?" Seeing that his foster daughter was run out of words, the veteran actor sighed. "Kyoko, I did say that, but I didn't tell you to be only an actress, did I? Tell me about your photo shoot today!"
Julie's head popped up from the kitchen. "Did I just hear Kyoko doing a photo shoot? Why did no one tell me before?"
"Honey, what are you doing in the kitchen?" Kuu asked warily.
"Cooking dinner, of course," the blonde woman answered in a matter-of-fact tone. "I heard you inviting Kuon and Kyoko to dinner, so I thought I might as well make my signature dish."
Kuu's face immediately paled. He stood up from his comfortable seat on the couch and strode over to his wife, saying sweetly, "Why don't you let me do dinner and talk with Kyoko about her photo shoot?"
"Good point!" Julie quickly warmed up to the idea. Only seconds later, she was already seated next to Kyoko, eager for some girl's talk. "So, Kyoko," she began. "What label did you model for?"
Flabbergasted by Julie's excitement, the young girl stuttered, "A-Atelier Utahime."
"Atelier Utahime," the American hummed. "Never heard of it. Is it a local label?"
"I think so," Kyoko replied slowly. "It's owned by Fujisawa Eiko-san, and specializes in gothic clothes."
Julie's eyes sparkled in enthusiasm in response. "Gothic apparels!" she squealed. "I love gothic apparels!"
"But you never get to wear one, right, Julie?" Kuu's voice was heard from the kitchen. "You're too old for Japanese gothic clothes."
She stuck her tongue out at his direction before turning back to Kyoko. "Don't mind him," she rolled her eyes. "He just said that because he didn't get to wear anything good enough for his style."
"Excuse me!" he yelled. "I have abundant amount of clothes to last me a lifetime, and I enjoy them all the same, thank you!"
The females giggled. "Anyway, don't mind him. I still love gothic apparels," Julie said again. "Do you think you can get me some of the photos? I'd love to see you in gothic! Who's your photographer?"
"Sugimoto Karen-san," Kyoko mumbled. "And about the photos, I'm not sure. Let me ask Fujisawa-san."
The door was knocked and opened to reveal Kuon. "Hey guys," he greeted casually, walking over to the couch and kissed his mother on the cheek before sitting down beside his girlfriend. "Where's Dad?"
"Fixing dinner," Julie shrugged. "Even though I am the one who want to cook something–"
"Mom," Kuon quickly interrupted her with his Tsuruga Ren's gentleman smile. "Why don't you continue your talk with Kyoko before I came in? You looked so into the topic."
The blonde woman's eyes widened. "Your right," she breathed.
"And I believe that before the talk shifted strictly to gothic clothes, I actually wanted Kyoko to tell us about 'Sayaka'," Kuu's voice was heard again among the sizzling sound of the frying pan. "Hey there, son. Our girl over there told me the most hilarious thing I've ever heard."
Kuon raised one eyebrow at Kyoko. "What did you tell him?"
"I just asked him for advice," the chestnut-haired girl replied. "It's about taking the exclusive contract with Atelier Utahime."
"And Kyoko hesitates," Kuu added.
"What's wrong?" the youngest Hizuri asked. "Isn't it a good opportunity to secure a job that promising?"
The man formerly called Hozu Shuhei walked over from the kitchen to sat next to Julie. "I told her once to stick to acting. Apparently, this girl takes what I said literally."
Realization hit Kuon. "She thought you wanted her to only work as an actress," he guessed.
"Bulls-eye," his father confirmed. "Tell her, son. It seems that the only thing that is able to go through her thick skull is your opinions."
"It's not like that!" Kyoko suddenly shrieked and lower herself to the floor, trying to do a dogeza. "I didn't mean to spite you, Father!"
Kuu sighed. "I know, Kyoko," he murmured. "Now stand up. Dinner's ready."
Akatoki Marina was in a big dilemma.
She did tell her lawyer and childhood friend, Kisaki Eri that she would ask Kyoko's opinion on the matter regarding Saena, and against her conscience she had steeled herself to do so.
She had thought she had steeled herself to do so.
Now all the dread was coming back to her in full force. What if Kyoko-san says that she actually wants to meet Saena? What if our efforts all this time was against her will? A lot of 'what-if's quickly flooded her mind, and she finally broke down when a 'What if Kyoko-san doesn't want to see me again after she reconciles with Saena?' flashed in her head.
Marina groaned in frustration in her office at Akatoki Agency, a place she seldom used. Why she was sitting on her chair in the office was beyond her comprehension. She was supposed to sitting in her homy library at home, finishing her latest manuscript on a story about a female poet who fell in love with the archbishop's bastard son.
And here she was, at Akatoki Agency, mulling over her lost courage to ask Kyoko about Saena like a pathetic person.
Her ears perked at the sound of her door being knocked, and a moment later Seijuro came into the room. Marina scowled.
"I've knocked, alright?" the CEO said, noticing her expression.
"Yeah, but I have not let you in, have I?" she groaned, pulling her arm to cover her eyes.
"What's with you?" Seijuro asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "Are you having migraine?"
Marina snorted. "How I hope it is just a simple migraine. Eri-chan asked me to convince Kyoko-san to agree to be a witness in the hearing."
"Hasn't she agreed on that? What's the problem now?"
The vice-president silently stared at the ceiling. "Do you think we are doing the correct thing?"
"What are you talking about?"
"About us not letting Saena meeting Kyoko-san."
Seijuro sighed. "She's not safe for the girl, Marina. So far I think we're doing it correctly."
"But what if Kyoko-san actually wants to meet her?" his sister asked skeptically.
"Then I'll say that she has something wrong with her head."
She once again snorted. "What a convenient way to force your opinion on people."
He stared at the ghostwriter for a while. "Have you talked to Kento about this?"
"I have not met him again after dinner yesterday."
"Then, what you'll do, Marina, is this," he spoke in an undeniably serious tone. "You're scared to tell her; then let me do it. I'll do it before her party."
"So, anything in your mind for your birthday present, Kyoko dear?" Julie asked in the middle of dinner.
Kyoko's eyes widened in surprise. "No way," she gasped. "I'm not that worthy for you to consider giving me present!"
"Bullshit," the American woman retorted. "You're worthy enough. And if you don't want to look at it that way, let's try it this way. It's more for the sake of my conscience rather than your appreciation, how's that?"
Kuon could not help but scoff. "Mom," he said. "Isn't that too direct?"
"Nothing's too direct for her, Kuon," Kuu mumbled. "But she's right in one thing: you're worthy enough as our daughter to receive a present from us. We'll choose for you, okay, Kyoko? But you can't complaint on whatever we decide on giving you."
The girl was on the verge of happy tears.
Additional Disclaimer:
-I do not own Kisaki Eri, Aoyama Gosho does.
-I do not own Atelier Utahime, Q, Fujisawa Eiko, and Sugimoto Karen. Hidaka Banri does.
-The story Marina was writing is taken from "The Lover's Path" written by Filamena Ziani with a few adjustments. It's a very romantic book; if you like love stories like "Romeo and Juliet", then this one is a must read.
And I presented you another filler chapter. I wonder when the story will reach its climax -"
Please review :) Thank you!