I can finally update! Thank you so much for you guys who faved, followed, reviewed, and patiently waited for the new chapter of 'The Next Episode'!
Please read the important Author's Note at the end of this chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat!
Chapter 16: Announcement ~Havoc Wrecked by Angels~
"Merry Christmas and happy birthday, Kyoko-san," Yoshimoto greeted over the phone. "I hope you had a lovely party. I start regretting not going."
Kyoko just laughed it off. "You had a wife and newborn child to spend time with; going to my party was nothing compared to that. How's the baby?"
"She's healthy as a bull; thank you for asking," he answered. His silver eyes were focused on a baby girl sleeping soundly in the incubator on the other side of the glass pane window. "She was born prematurely, so we had been worried, but the doctor said she's great."
"That's good to hear," Kyoko said sincerely. "Congratulations, Yoshimoto-san! Have you decided on a name?"
Yoshimoto was about to answer when he was suddenly tackled from behind. After collecting himself back with surprised gasps, he turned around to see his 2-year-old son, Natsuno, grinning a toothy grin at him, his equally silver orbs shining with gleeful excitement.
"Natsu-kun," the manager sighed, squatting down to be at the almost same eye level as the toddler. "What did I say about tackling people?"
The little boy stared at him for a while, clearly thinking of the answer, before saying sheepishly, "Daddy don't like?"
"Yes," Yoshimoto replied. "And Daddy's on the phone with a friend, so it's more dangerous."
"But I want a lift! I want to see Fuyu!" Natsuno nagged.
The adult man heard Kyoko chuckling on the phone. "So her name's Fuyu, huh?" she asked in amusement over the father-and-son conversation.
"It's Fuyuka, actually," he got up and scratched the back of his head before lifting his son up into his arms. "'Fuyu' as in winter and 'ka' from 'kaori' as in scent. By the way, sorry about my son, Kyoko-san."
"That's alright. He sounds so adorable," came her reply accompanied by small giggles. "Once again, congratulations! Send my regards as well to your wife."
"I'll make sure to let Madoka know." Yoshimoto looked at Natsuno with a smile. "Natsu-kun, don't you want to tell Kyoko-oneechan 'happy birthday'?"
The boy beamed. He grabbed the cell phone in his small chubby hands and put it close to his ear with the help of his father. "Onee-tan, happy birthday!"
He smiled even wider when a gentle voice of a girl answered him. "Thank you very much, Natsu-kun!"
"Onee-tan, are you going to eat cakes and open presents?" he asked innocently.
The girl on the phone giggled. "I already did, Natsu-kun."
To Yoshimoto's surprise, Natsuno suddenly yelled in tantrum. "Why did Onee-tan not invite me? Not fair! I also want to open presents and eat cakes with Onee-tan!"
The manager quickly took the phone back and said quickly, "Sorry about his behavior, Kyoko-san!" He then bowed apologetically to people who stared bewildered at him in the hospital hallway. "I think it's time to hang up for now. I just want to remind you that all of your schedules for tomorrow and the day after that have been pushed back, so you're free to go to the court hearing for two days. And on the 28th, you have 'Box-R' at 7 am and a photo shoots for 'Atelier Utahime' at 4 pm. Any question?"
"Are you going to pick me up?"
"Yes, don't worry about that. Have a good day, Kyoko-san. I'll talk to you some time later." With that, he abruptly ended the phone call with a sigh. He then narrowed his eyes at his fretting son. "Natsu-kun, you know you can't speak that loudly in the hospital."
"But I want to open presents!" the little boy nagged.
Yoshimoto let out a huge huff of breath. "I'll ask Kyoko-oneechan later if she still needs help with opening presents, and if she does, I can bring you to meet her and help her open presents."
Natsuno quickly calmed down and grinned. His father grasped his hand and led him away from the basic neonatal care floor. After a while walking, Yoshimoto opened a door of a patient room and immediately caught sight of his beautiful black-haired wife, Madoka. Although her face was clouded with tiredness, happiness was still clearly shown. However, there was also skeptical worry in her expression while her cobalt eyes were fixed on the television perched on the wall in front of her.
The boy pulled his hand out of his grasp and ran towards the bed before climbing onto it to his mother's side. Madoka's attention was quickly shifted to the cheerful boy with a startle. Her hand found its way to the top of his ebony-haired head before ruffling it affectionately.
"How are you this morning, Madoka?" Yoshimoto asked as he walked towards his family.
"Better than ever," she answered while her husband leaned down to give her a quick kiss. "Did Natsuno behave well?"
"He did most of the time," he shrugged. "I might bring him to meet Kyoko-san later this afternoon if she's available. He's dying to meet her and open her birthday presents."
Madoka suddenly frowned lightly in concern. "Speaking of KYOKO-san," she said while pointing at the television. "Isn't it her? All gossip programs are talking about her at the moment."
Yoshimoto turned around to have a look at the screen. True to his wife's words, there the chestnut-haired girl was, shown dancing a waltz with Tsuruga Ren, while two girls hosting a gossip program talked about a possible love triangle between her, Ren, and Fuwa Sho.
This is so not good.
Kyoko flipped her phone close with a smile. She almost laughed aloud when Yoshimoto's son yelled at her for apparently doing something he enjoyed without him.
Her golden eyes shifted to the sleeping dark-haired man lying down on his right side beside her. I wonder if we'll have a future much like Yoshimoto-san's: that Kuon and I will have a family and live in a comfy house with our children running around... Wait, why am I thinking this?
Her left hand gently stroked Kuon's dyed locks. She loved the softness of those locks, and playing with them always calmed her nerves down. She then glanced at the clock.
"Kuon," she murmured near his ear. "Wake up. It's 8 already."
He groaned and stretched his long body before looking at her lazily with one opened lush green eye. "Let me sleep some more," he mumbled, slipping his left arm around Kyoko's shoulder and pulled her to him as she squeaked.
"But Kuon, don't you have work today?"
"Kyoko, today's an international holiday and everyone knows it. How cruel of you to have me working during my deserved holiday? Now let's go back to sleep. Aren't you tired after the hullabaloos of the party last night?"
She sighed in defeat and let him enveloped her in a tight embrace as they lazed around on his bed. Unfortunately for her, wide awake as she was, she could not easily go back to slumber. So instead, she played again with Kuon's hair.
"I love it when you do this," he sighed in content, his eyes tightly closed.
"You do?" she asked in surprise.
"Uh-huh. It chases away bad feelings."
They were silent for a while, until Kuon asked teasingly, "Aren't you going to try the lingerie Amamiya-san gave you to see if it fits?"
Kyoko instantly blushed deep red. "Kuon!" she exclaimed, completely embarrassed at his remark.
He only chuckled while pulling her flush against him and flinched when he felt her slapping him on the chest. "I'm sorry, Princess, I was joking!"
"You'd better stop those kinds of joke or else," she threatened, obviously unhappy.
Kuon lifted his left hand. "I hereby solemnly swear, again, that I won't do or say anything inappropriate," he said before adding, "Unless you are the one insinuating." That earned him another slap from his adorable girlfriend.
"Kyoko," he spoke again, opening his eyes and looking at her seriously. "Won't you consider moving in with me? You're 18 already."
"For your record," she replied as seriously as him, "I have a father who is now actively involved in my life and doesn't approve of you."
"I'm sure we can convince him somehow."
Kyoko stared at him as if he was talking non-sense. "Are you kidding?" she asked. "Don't you see the way he threatened you on the stage last night?"
"He always says that whenever he sees me," Kuon shrugged with one eyebrow raised. "And now I'm almost convinced that it's become a habit of his, whether he really means it or not. I'm even wondering if that's his own affectionate way to regard me with."
She sighed in defeat. "Seriously, you really have no shame, do you?"
The man grinned. "That, my darling, is called optimism." He then gave her a peck on the lips.
He was going to kiss her deeper when his cell phone suddenly rang. Groaning, Kuon flailed his unoccupied left arm and fished around for the damned device. Once he touched it, he grabbed it and flipped it open before snapping, "This better be good, Boss."
Kuon swore he could sense Lory cringed at his tone. "Actually," his employer began, "I'm calling about a bad news. Is Mogami-kun with you?"
"She is," he answered, glancing at a puzzled Kyoko. "What happened?"
"Good. I'll be at your apartment in one hour. See you." And the phone call was ended, leaving the couple pondering upon it.
On the next second, Kyoko's phone rang aloud. She quickly snatched it from the bedside table and flipped it open, only to found Yoshimoto calling her again. "Hello?"
"Kyoko-san," her manager hurriedly greeted her. "Have you seen the gossip program?"
"Gossip program?" she repeated in confusion, her ochre eyes locked with Kuon's emerald ones. He immediately switched the television on, and 'True Reflection' PV was on the screen. Kyoko raised one eyebrow in skepticism. "They're fussing about 'True Reflection', that's what I can see."
She had to swallow her words, though, when the hosts said something she had never imagined being mentioned on TV the next moment.
"That, our dear viewers, was Fuwa Sho's 'True Reflection', released today, 25th December. Is it really a coincidence that Sho-san's ballad songs are always released on this date?" one of the gossip hosts asked.
"Not only that, viewers," the other host added. "Can't you see the lovey-dovey chemistry between KYOKO and Ren in this PV? Look at the angel and the halfling? Their 'love' is that touching I can't make myself believe it's only acting! Furthermore, a lot of people mentioned that they saw pair dancing intimately in a party hosted by KYOKO last night!"
"Does that mean that KYOKO is playing with the two's feelings?"
Kuon turned the television off with a snarl. "They're talking bullshit," he told Kyoko whose face was completely pale. "Don't take them seriously."
"But this matter is really serious, Kuon," she replied, her voice quivering. "This can affect your image and reputation!"
"No," he retorted back. "This can affect your image and reputation. Kyoko, the one being talked bad about was you! They made people assuming that you're a player! I'm not having my girlfriend being looked down upon like that!"
"Then what should we do?"
He smirked confidently. "Leave it to our president extraordinaire."
When Kyoko had agreed to leave the matter completely to her employer, never had she thought that it would ever get big.
And here she was, still stunned from the moment Lory barged into Ren's apartment, sitting once again at the long table and facing the flashing cameras. The flamboyant man himself was dressed in a pinstripe suite not unlike Al Pacino. His usual entourage was similarly dressed as American mafia underlings and currently acting as bodyguards around the stage.
Ren squeezed her clammy hands firmly. "It'll be alright," he mouthed to the girl, trying to get her to relax. "Let me do all the talking unless they ask specifically for you. Trust me."
"Fellow journalists," Lory's baritone voice boomed across the hall. "I am pleased to have you all present here to clarify a rumor about two of my dear children. Now I'll just let Tsuruga Ren have his say in this matter straight away."
The actor squeezed Kyoko's hand once again before releasing it and reached for the microphone. He exchanged a meaningful glance with his girlfriend and nodded curtly. Ren then turned his face towards the press.
"Once again, thank you very much for being present," he said calmly with a smile. "And in this occasion, clarifying the rumor of a love triangle between Kyoko, Fuwa, and I, Kyoko and I are more than happy to officially announce that we have been dating before we were involved in Fuwa's 'True Reflection', even before the rumor between Kyoko and Fuwa started."
Shoko was completely shocked to see Sho's 'Deva mode' glaring at the blaring television. "Sho!" she panicked. "What happened to you?"
"That happened," he growled, pointing at the television.
She quickly turned around to see the live broadcast of the press conference confirming the rumor between Tsuruga Ren and KYOKO. The female manager spotted the tall actor standing next to the sitting Kyoko.
From the television, a journalist was heard asking. "So Fuwa didn't know that you two were already a couple when he made the statement a month ago?"
"Well," Ren cleared his throat before replying. "That time, both of us decided to keep our relationship a secret from everyone but our closest acquaintances, and as we're not that well acquainted with Fuwa, of course he didn't know about us."
So the cat's out of the bag now, she sighed inwardly before looking at her charge from the corner of her eyes. True to her expectations, the bottle-blonde was seething with rage.
"About his declaration of love during the press conference a month ago, Tsuruga-san, do you have anything to say about that?"
Ren looked a bit perplexed before showing his trademark gentleman smile towards the press. "I have to admit that he's a huge rival for Kyoko; I won't deny that there's a bad blood between the two of us because of that, but out of it all, I respect him for bravely declaring his feelings towards Kyoko to the public."
In Sho's mind, an imaginary Ren – mini-devil version – smirked at him and continued what his real counterpart in the television had said, "But, unfortunately for you, she chose me, not you, so suck it up, asshole."
Shoko, of course, had no idea what was conspiring in his head when she saw him turning further into a form she would henceforth call 'Super Saiyan'.
Another journalist was heard. "KYOKO-san, there are some people speculating that you decided to date Tsuruga-san only to spite Fuwa-san. Can you please confirm that?"
Kyoko looked startled. The girl changed glances with Ren in a flash before reaching for the microphone in front of her and standing up. "Thank you for your question and I do agree that this has to be clarified," she said calmly. "Contrary to everyone's belief that me being in a relationship with Re – Tsuruga-san is only to ride on his fame or to spite Fuwa-san, I have to tell you that I'm pretty much in l… lo…"
The female manager giggled quietly in sympathy when she saw the chestnut-haired girl struggling with her words. I guess the word is still taboo for her, even when she has managed to have the most wanted bachelor in Japan to be her boyfriend, huh? Poor thing. She then glanced at Sho and deadpanned when she noticed him still seething. And the culprit has no remorse whatsoever.
"… genuine affectionate feelings towards Tsuruga-san," Kyoko managed to finish as her face flushed heavily, although every one of the people in the same room as her sweat-dropped in confusion over her wording. Ren chuckled in amusement under his hand, while Lory's eyes were tearing up at his favorite LoveMe member.
Why did she change the most beautiful word and syllable into three words that successfully reduce the intensity of the feeling?! The flamboyant man screamed in his mind. Is she going to die if she says the word?! "Femagz."
"Tsuruga-san, KYOKO-san," the reporter began. "As KYOKO-san is already considered of legal age to marry, do you two have any plan to tie the knot soon?"
Ren was about to answer when he felt the chill on the back of his neck. Nervously, he glanced towards Kento, who stood at the backstage – together with Yashiro, Yoshimoto, and the little sweet Natsuno – openly glaring at him as if saying, "Say whatever it is you're ready to say, boy, and I'll make sure to castrate you right here right now in front of the press."
After gulping several times and calming his nerves down, he let his gentleman smile out and said, "No; we both think it's still too fast for us to progress to marriage." – Of course, with his crossed fingers hidden safely from Kento. I hope that appeased him, he hoped inwardly.
"That went pretty well," Yoshimoto sighed when they had arrived back at Ren's condo. "When Madoka showed me the gossip talk, I thought my heart stopped for seconds."
The tall actor grinned sheepishly as both men slumped into his comfortable couch. "Sorry about that," he apologized sincerely. "I've never thought someone would snap a picture of Kyoko and I. I'm really sorry to drag you away from your family in such times."
"For your record, Tsuruga-kun," the silver-eyed manager corrected Ren, "you didn't exactly drag me away from my family, as I can still see one before my eyesight." His gaze fell onto his son, who had begun fussing about Kyoko's pile of unopened present with excitement that could only be managed by toddlers.
"Onee-tan, why people ask you questions?" Natsuno asked his father's charge curiously.
Kyoko took a moment to consider an appropriate answer for a two-year-old, before finally settling on "Because they want to be friends with me and know me more."
The reply was said cutely, making her heart swoon. "I too want a friend like Onee-tan, because Onee-tan has lots of presents."
She laughed heartily. "Well, go on and open them for me?"
The boy did not have to be told twice. He quickly ran to the pile and started unwrapping the presents, sometimes stopped in awe by the sight of the lavish gifts Kyoko's friends had given her. However, after a moment he grabbed Kyoko's sleeve and showed her a particular box wrapped in ordinary oil paper. "Onee-tan, this present's weird."
"How so?" she asked in puzzlement.
"Because, it's a present, but the paper's so ugly," he said with a pout. Nevertheless, his hands began to open the box.
Yoshimoto had never been this shocked when he heard Natsuno screaming in pain. He and Ren quickly bolted up from their seat and strode over in urgent hurry towards Kyoko, who was trying her best to calm the screaming boy down. "What happened?" he asked in panic.
"I'm not exactly sure myself," she replied in exasperation. "He was opening that box," she pointed at the ordinarily wrapped box, "and suddenly water squirted out and wetted his hands. Not a moment later, his hands burned badly."
Ren carefully lifted the box up. True to his expectations from Kyoko's story, he quickly felt his fingers stung. He immediately threw the box into the currently empty rubbish bin. "It's corrosive," he told everyone as he reached for his home phone. "A pretty strong one at that. I'm calling the police and the ambulance."
"As Tsuruga-san has informed us, it was sulfuric acid; a very strong corrosive," one of the police told them with a loud voice, trying not to be overwhelmed by Natsuno's wail during the treatment of his rather dire burn. "Did you say it squirted out of one of the presents you got, Mogami-san?"
Kyoko could only meekly nod her head.
The forensic staff returned and handed a plastic bag containing a card to the officer as they spoke in hushed voice. The officer turned back at them and asked seriously while showing them the card. "Mogami-san, by any chance do you know this person who wrote this? It was found in the box together with the intricate device containing the corrosive."
She and Ren looked at the card, and she gasped in shock, while her boyfriend clenched his jaws in fury.
Dear my daughter,
I hope my present gets nicely into your sight.
I think I don't have to tell you again who the sender of the box was.
A/N: I am currently looking for a beta reader for my newest story (still in the progress of being written, but I think it will be put on hold until I can escape my pile of assignments and exams. I personally expect to work on it again starting from the end of June). I am especially looking for someone who has great knowledge on slangs used in the police force in the areas of human trafficking and modern slavery. Anybody up to the task? PM me! ;)
Please review :) Thank you!