Yay. More story. I hope you like it.
Note: I do not own Skip Beat!
Having removed the one thing that would definitely give her identity away, Kyoko slipped into the rest of the costume and steeled herself for the long show. It was only 40 minutes, but it would be one of the longest 40 minutes she would have to endure. She gathered her white board up and went to talk with the Ishibashis brothers before she had to collect the guest.
"Please, whatever you do, don't call me by my name around the guest today." Kyoko pleaded with her costars. Shinshi and Yusei looked at each other with confusion at the odd request. They knew that Kyoko had worked with Ren on several projects, so why did she not want him to know that it was her playing Bo.
"Playing Bo is nothing to be ashamed of," Hikaru tried to comfort her, misunderstanding her meaning. "You do a wonderful job and should be proud." Seeing that he did not understand Kyoko tried again.
"I am happy to be Bo, but I just don't want him to know. PLEASE!" Kyoko begged again. Seeing the young woman's distress, the three young men agreed, but decided to press Ren to see if they could find out why she was so distraught about it.
Making sure her head was on securely, Kyoko wrote on Bo's board and knocked on the guest dressing room door. Yashiro opened it to find a fat chicken dressed as a cop bowing to him. The board it had in its hand read "Hello I'm Officer Bo. It's time to head to the set Tsuruga-san." Yashiro turned to the actor behind him.
"The police are here for you Ren." Ren moved to see the familiar fowl and read the little sign.
"So you do have a name." Ren smiled at his friend. Bo nodded his head. Yashiro turned an odd look to his charge. "No words today?" Ren asked. Bo shook his head and wiped his board clean before writing 'I'm on duty.' "Ah, I see. Then please take good care of me today." Ren laughed and followed the chicken out the door. Lost, Yashiro followed the confusing pair to the set. Bo motioned for Ren to wait before proceeding onto set. Yashiro took this opportunity to ask Ren who the chicken was. Ren just smiled and watched his costumed friend goof around exciting the audience. He was saved from further inquiries when Hikaru began his introduction.
"And now, we have with us tonight someone that you all should know. He started in the chart topping drama Darkmoon and is currently playing a detective in one of the season's hottest TV shows. Here he is TSURUGA REN!" The crowd went wild as the police chicken came over and escorted the tall actor to his seat. He thanked Officer Bo before turning to his hosts.
"Thank you for coming Tsuruga-san." Hikaru greeted his guest warmly. The four entertainers talked about some of Ren's past achievements before turning the conversation to the new series he was recording.
"I understand that you will be costarring in this upcoming episode with an actress you played with in Darkmoon, Kyoko. How was that?" Ren was unable to keep the smile he was fighting from turning up the corner of his mouth at the mention of his love. Kyoko froze inside of Bo as she wished for the Ishibashis brothers to change the subject away from her. The three boys shuddered as they felt her glare pin them to their seats.
"It was fun." He admitted and pulled on an amused smile to hide his deeper emotions. "She is a great actress to work with. She always does her best and her characters are so deep." Any further praise was ended when a very irritated Kyoko tried to make a happy Bo bring out the question eggs for the next section. A few eggs dropped out as she deposited the basket a little too hard on the table.
"Easy there Bo." Shinchi cautioned as the rooster bent to pick up the rampant eggs. She placed them back in the basket before bowing her apology and escaping from the stage. Ren had watched his chicken friend's antics with a smile, they strangely reminded him of someone else, but he could not put his finger on it. "It looks like Bo is excited by your visit tonight Tsuruga-san." Ren laughed as they started into the next segment.
"This is the question and answer part of the show." Hikaru explained. "These eggs have been filled with things the audience wants to know about you, so go ahead and pick one." Ren reach out and took up an egg from the basket. Tapping it lightly on the table, he split the shell in half and removed the slip of paper inside.
"What is the best thing you have ever eaten?" Ren read the question out loud. It was an odd question for this type of show, but he thought about it and could only come up with one answer. "A few weeks ago, a friend of mine made the best Obanzai Ryori that I had ever had. It was amazing the way she teased the flavor out of the simple dishes." He admitted. Kyoko was stunned by his answer. How could her cooking be the best thing he had ever eaten?
"Oh, so there's a woman in your life?" Yusei teased the older actor. Ren tried hard not to blush at the teens teasing.
"I am not dating anyone at this time." Ren tried to side step the question. Shinchi picked up on Ren's evasion and took him where he really did not want to go on live TV.
"SO, you're not DATING anyone, but is there anyone one you like?" Unable to sidestep this direct question Ren took a sip of his drink before answering.
"This is someone I like, but she does not know it yet. So I will decline to say who it is." Ren composed himself by picking up and toying with the next egg. Even with the prompting from the hosts and audience, he still refused to reveal anything about his hearts affections. Seeing that they were getting nowhere, Hikaru suggested that he break into the next egg. Ren groaned inwardly as he read the next question.
"Describe your perfect woman." Ren could hear the squee issuing from Yashiro just off stage. It was joined by additional chorales of joy from the audience as they realized they would get to hear more about the mystery girl that Ren was infatuated with. Glad that Kyoko did not watch this show, she had turned it off every time it had come on, he went on to describe all of the good qualities that she could not see in herself. "I would have to say that she is fun-loving and dedicated with a good heart. Sometime she is a little complicated to understand, but aren't all women." Light chuckle issued from the men in the crowd. "But she makes me smile…." Ren left the rest of the description to the audience's imagination. He did not want to give too much away or else someone would be able to make the connection between him and Kyoko.
"That is so sweet." Hikaru started, but was interrupted when Bo brought out the next guest in handcuffs. The idol struggled a little for affect before the chicken released her as Hikaru introduced the musician. Ren caught Bo's wing as he took the egg from his hand. His eyes held an unvoiced thank you to the chicken. He was grateful that the costumed actor had not mentioned anything to anyone about his affections or dilemma. Kyoko bowed Bo's head and pulled away from the actor with the eggs before anyone noticed the exchange. Well, almost anyone, Yashiro's eyes chased after the retreating chicken. How were Ren and the chicken connected; and what did this bird know?
While the entertainers conversed with the new arrival, Yashiro slipped backstage to find Ren's feathered friend. It was high time he confronted the poultry. He was easily able to find the chicken heading into the prop room with the basket of eggs. Stopping in the doorway he watched as the mascot stow the basket and pull off the head of the hot costume. Shock took over when the performer shook the sweat from her familiar auburn hair.
"Kyoko?" Kyoko's heart stopped as a voice called her name. Whipping around, she nearly died when she came face to face with a very surprised Yashiro. He was slowly advancing on her trying to figure out what was going on. Kyoko dropped into a dogeza bow and begged Yashiro's forgiveness for not acknowledging him before. Yashiro levered the girl into a sitting position and tried to make out the distraught teens explanation. All he really caught was that she did not want Ren to know she was Bo. A stage hand interrupted her rambling to let her know that she only have a few seconds till she was needed on stage again. Yashiro got her to her feet and promised not to tell, if she would give him a detailed explanation later. Kyoko thanked him, replaced Bo's head, and went out to finish the show as Yashiro returned to Ren's waiting room to think about what he had just discovered.
After saying a farewell to his chicken friend, Ren returned to his dressing room to find Yashiro with a 'cat that just ate the canary' smile on his face. Something was up and Ren did not like it.
"So how do you know the chicken?" Yashiro questioned. He wanted to hear Ren's side of the story. He had puzzled out most of what Kyoko had said while waiting for the show to end.
"I've met him a few times here in the studio." Ren admitted he could see that there was no way that Yashiro would let this slide. "He is a good listener." That mischievous grin on Yashiro's face widened slightly.
"A good listener huh." This put a little more light on what Kyoko had been talking about. He now understood why she did not want the actor to find out. Ren had told the chicken things that Kyoko was not supposed to know. He felt a little twinge of jealousy that the man he had known for so long felt more comfortable talking to a guy, or in this case a girl, in a chicken suit then he did with his friend. "Anyway," He changed the subject. "We need to get over to the lobby or we may miss picking up Kyoko." Ren agreed; glad to not have to answer any more questions about the chicken. The two friends gathered their things to go wait for Kyoko in the lobby.
Kyoko was almost glad that Yashiro had found out her secret when she saw the speed at which he removed her problem from the studio, now she could tend to her props properly without worrying about being found out. She had to hurry to make sure they did not keep them waiting long.