Chapter 3: The Perfect Plan
"And this is Satoshi Ryuu. The man I have picked for you to marry."
Kimi stared at the man in front of her. She watched as he gave her an eerie look that said he was checking her out. But it was gone a moment later, when he bowed to her and took her hand to kiss it.
She pulled her hand back quickly before speaking. "I apologize, but my grandmother is mistaken. I do not intend to have an arranged marriage."
"Kimi!" she heard her grandmother's stern voice. "Do not tell me you intend to marry that common boy your parents mentioned."
Kimi opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Satoshi.
"Excuse me, Kimi-chan. If you would please just allow me to take you out while you're here. Should you decide you still are not interested by your leave, things will end there."
Kimi sighed, but nodded. She knew if she defied her grandmother completely, her family could be cut off from their fortune.
"If you'll excuse me, I need to go lie down. I'm afraid the heat is getting to me." She said before turning to leave.
As she walked away, she did not see the sinister look that crossed Satoshi's face.
"Cut!" the director called. "Great job! We are going to make some lighting and camera adjustments and then we'll do it once more."
Kyoko gave a relieved sigh as she stepped off the set to get a drink of water. As much as she loved her fancy dress, she was not accustomed to the many layers it forced her to wear.
"That was a great scene," Yukia complemented as he approached his co-star.
Kyoko gave a half-smile. "I'm not sure I captured everything right. I felt like Kimi-chan was still a little far from me. It must be the new surroundings and my nerves from working with Ren."
Yukia nodded. "That's right, you haven't worked closely with him since you were in Dark Moon together, right?"
"Yes," she answered, although we did work as the Heel siblings it wasn't quite the same thing.
Ren approached the pair and smiled at Kyoko. "That was very good acting." He told her.
"Thank you," she said, "But you don't have to lie to me. I know I wasn't doing as well as I've done before."
Ren patted her head. "I have no reason to lie to you about your acting."
Kyoko smiled slightly, and Ren noticed her whole frame relax.
"All right!" the director called over to them. "We're set. Let's start again."
Several hours later, they wrapped up just as the sun was beginning to set.
"Thank you for all your hard work so far today." The director said happily. "We'll break for dinner and meet back here in two hours to film some of the night scenes. The bus will be available to take you back to the hotel should you want to rest there, otherwise there are plenty of nice shops and restaurants nearby."
The cast and crew broke apart into groups as every one discussed where they would go during the break.
Kyoko quickly called over Ren and Yashiro, as well as Yukia and James.
"Should we all have dinner together?" she suggested.
Yukia smiled. "That sounds good to us," he paused, glancing towards Ren. "Unless your boyfriend was wanting to go to dinner with just you."
Ren held up a hand. "No, I think it would be nice to all go together. We could walk down by the shops nearby and see what restaurants there are."
They all agreed and headed down the street. During dinner they discussed the filming as well as the shops they had passed just a few minutes before. Kyoko was surprised to learn that Yashiro had a room adjoining Ren's in the hotel, and Yukia and James' rooms were just down the hall from Kyoko's.
After they finished dinner, Yashiro opted to head back to the set and ensure that Ren and Kyoko's things would be ready for them. Yukia had wanted to go look in some of the shops so he and James had walked away, leaving Ren and Kyoko standing outside of the restaurant.
Ren turned to Kyoko, "Would you like to go for a walk on the beach?" he asked her.
Kyoko nodded and took ahold of his hand. "That sounds fun!"
He lead them down the street until they reached a pathway that led to the nearby beach. Once they reached the sand they each slipped off their shoes and carried them.
"This is so nice," Kyoko said softly as she watched the waves lap the shore.
Ren nodded, "You look beautiful in the moonlight."
Even in their darkening surroundings, Ren could see the blush on her cheeks.
Kyoko turned to Ren, "I'm really glad that I get to be here with you."
"Me too," he told her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
Kyoko stared at the water. "Can I put my feet in?" she asked him.
Ren nodded and released her hand. "Here, I can hold your sandals for you." She handed them to him before stepping forward into the water.
She loved the cool feeling of the water against her feet. Ren stepped closer to Kyoko, making sure to stay out of the water. He found the whole scene enchanting. The girl he loved, standing just at the water's edge with the moonlight washing over her.
"It reminds me of Guam."
Ren was startled by Kyoko's voice. "Yeah, I guess it is similar."
Kyoko continued speaking as she stared out at the water. "This is like the kind of place I found Corn before. I had been looking at the ocean, thinking it must be the type of place where a mermaid could suddenly appear, and then there he was. He was so magical."
Maybe… maybe I should just tell her… Ren wondered, but his thoughts were interrupted by a musical sound coming from Kyoko's purse.
"Oh! That's my alarm." She dug through her purse and pulled out her phone to turn it off. She looked at Ren sadly. "I guess that means we have to head back."
Ren nodded, I guess I missed my chance. But it's okay, it's better to just let things be.
He looked over at Kyoko, who seemed to be stuck by the water trying to decide what to do. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"I just realized that my feet are still wet, so if I walk through the sand, I'll get my feet covered in sand." She smacked her fists onto either side of her head. "I'm so foolish. I didn't even think about it."
Ren chuckled, before stepping close to her. He held out the shoes to her. "Here. Hold these."
Kyoko took them, looking uncertain. Then let out a startled cry, as Ren scooped her into his arms. He began to carry her across the sand, and Kyoko stared away from him in embarrassment. "You didn't have to-"
Ren laughed, "Don't worry, sweet heart." He told her before kissing her on the cheek. "I really don't mind."
That night, Ren lay on his bed staring at the schedule for the next day. Since tomorrow is the only full day we'll be here, I'll have to put my plan into action then. He went over the day in his head.
"Breakfast at seven, then filming until twelve, then we take a break for lunch and are free for a couple more hours. I should be able to sneak away then." He muttered to himself.
He was nervous. This whole plan was tricky, and if even one thing went wrong… he shivered at the thought of how angry Kyoko might be.
The next morning, Ren woke up to a knocking on his hotel room door. It had startled him to not have Kyoko in bed next to him, until he remembered they were on location filming.
Knock knock!
There was that annoying knocking again. He climbed out of bed and moved towards the main door of his room, only to realize the sound wasn't coming from the hall. It was instead coming from the door that connected his manager's room to his own.
He opened the door, trying to force his face into something presentable. On the other side of the door stood Yashiro.
"Good morning, Ren- Ah, did I wake you up? I thought for sure you'd be awake already." He said quickly as he stepped into Ren's room.
Ren closed the door behind him. Yes, come right in. He thought sarcastically. Aloud he said, "What time is it?"
Yashiro saw the messy bed and realized his suspicions were right. "Ren, it's 6:47. We are supposed to meet Kyoko-chan in the hall at seven."
Crap. Ren scratched the back of his head. "I guess I forgot to turn on my alarm."
In truth, he'd gotten rather used to Kyoko setting alarms for both of them to wake up most mornings. Even on days when he had to leave earlier than her, she would get up with him to make him breakfast.
"Well, I'll let you get ready then. We can go over your schedule during breakfast." Yashiro said as he moved back towards the connecting door.
Ren nodded, and after he heard the click of the door closing he rushed to get dressed. Today was certainly not the day for him to be distracted. One little mistake would mess up everything.
He finished getting ready just as his clock changed to read 7:00. He hurried into the hall and found Kyoko chatting happily with Yashiro.
Kyoko smiled when she saw Ren. "I was beginning to get worried. Yashiro-san said you overslept."
Ren smiled a bright smile. "Oh, he did, did he?"
Kyoko laughed. "Ren, don't get so upset about it. I would've found out even if he hadn't told me." She grabbed his hand and began to pull him down the hall. "Let's head down. I told Yukia-kun for them not to wait for us."
Ren followed her and they soon found themselves gathered with their other friends at a table in the hotel's restaurant.
"Kyoko," Ren said as he touched her arm to get her attention. He was speaking quietly so that the others wouldn't hear.
She nodded. "Yes?"
"I'm going to have to do a phone meeting during the lunch break today, so I won't be able to be with you. I'll probably be in my hotel room the entire time." He told her, hoping she wouldn't doubt him and ask Yashiro.
Instead he just saw a sad look in her eyes before she hid it with her smile. "Okay, Ren. I hope it all goes well."
He nodded his thanks. "I hope you'll go exploring while I'm busy. Maybe you can find someplace interesting to tell me about." He leaned closer to her ear and whispered. "Maybe you'll even manage to find Corn."
Kyoko looked at him, her eyes wide with excitement until she saw the twinkle in his eye. Her face changed to a frown. "You shouldn't tease me like that, Ren. I'll get my hopes up and then I'll be too depressed to continue filming when he doesn't come."
Ren only smiled. If he said anything more he'd give himself away.
When they finally finished filming to break for lunch, Kyoko searched for Ren but only found Yashiro.
"Yashiro-san, excuse me. But did Ren already go back to his room?" she asked.
Yashiro looked surprised. "Yes, he did. Didn't he come let you know?"
Kyoko shook her head trying not to feel bad. "No, I guess he was just busy though. Well, thank you." She turned and walked over to the lunch table where Yukia and James were seated.
"Everything okay, Kyoko-chan?" James asked her as he handed her a box lunch.
Kyoko sighed. "I'm just kind of bummed because Ren had work to do during our break so I won't get to spend time with him."
Yukia met James' eyes and the manager gave him a slight nod.
"You could spend the break with us, Kyoko-chan. We were just going to walk around some more of the shops." Yukia offered.
"Oh, no! I couldn't intrude on your time together." She said suddenly. "I'll be fine. I just felt like moping a little bit. But really, I'm fine. I'll probably go exploring nearby."
The two men shared another uncertain look before continuing their meals. When they had all finished Kyoko stood.
"Well, you two have fun! I'll meet you back here at three." She said as she collected her bag and began to walk away.
Yukia waved. "Make sure you set your alarm so you don't get too distracted, Kyoko-chan!" he called after her.
She waved to show she had heard him and then stepped off down a path that led to the beach. She stayed on the path until it ended near an area filled with trees.
There's a forest here too? She wondered. She pushed her way through the trees and was delighted when she saw a clearing that opened up on a secluded shore. She settled herself to sit on a large rock near the water.
"It's so beautiful." She breathed the words. "I wonder if this is how things look in the fairy world."
She spent several minutes staring out at the water before getting up and searching for some flat smooth rocks. Once she had collected a handful she began to throw them one at a time across the water. She watched as they skipped, albeit roughly due to being out of practice.
That's right, she thought as her mind filled with memories. Corn was the one who taught me how to skip rocks. He could make it go really far.
Splash!
She looked up as she heard the sound of something hit the water. She found herself staring as she watched a rock skip far out towards the horizon, before turning to see who had thrown it.
Her whole body froze at what she saw. Standing there, just past the trees, with sunlight dancing across his hair was…
"Corn!"