Hi everyone, here is chapter thirty-four. I'm sorry that it took so long. I know that I have been saying that a lot lately, but I really mean it. I hope that you enjoy this chapter enough to forgive me for taking so long. I really will try to write chapter thirty-five faster. But please continue to be patient with me.
And I want to thank everyone that has taken the time to read, favorite, follow, and review Laser-Tag Love. I am very grateful and glad that you are enjoying it. Really thanks so much, I love you.
If you have constructive criticism, please share it. Underlined sentences are text messages.
Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat or any of the characters from it. Skip Beat is the property of Yoshiki Nakamura.
Kuon's Announcement
Everyone in the group was quiet, as were some people around them. They could all feel the tension in the air and were almost scared to move.
Sho stood there stunned. He didn't know what to think or do.
Kuon just smirked at Sho before turning slightly to put his arm around Kyoko and bring her closer to him. He leaned down and whispered in Kyoko's ear. "Thank you for giving me the courage to tell people my real name. Thank you releasing me from the chains of my past."
Kyoko gave Kuon a smile and wrapped her arms around his waist.
Takarada was amazed. 'He finally admitted who he is. This is... incredible.' He glanced at Kuu and Julie and saw that they were just as amazed as him. He was about to say something when someone new joined the group.
Yashiro had been watching the group for a while trying to determine what was happening. When he saw everyone go still he decided it was time to make his way over. 'This is strange.' He thought as he got closer. 'Ren and Kyoko are smiling at each other. No surprises there, they've been doing that for weeks. But everyone else looks as though they have been turned to stone. Maybe I should ask Ren and Kyoko what happened. They are probably the only two who can answer right now.'
Yashiro stopped by Kuon and tapped hi should to get his attention. "Ren, could you please explain why those around you look like statues. You are all starting to attract a lot of attention." 'Which is saying something considering what the theme for this party is.
Kuon glanced around and noticed that Yashiro was right. "I just finally explained to Fuwa who he is really dealing with."
Yashiro didn't look convinced. "Then why is everyone frozen in place.?"
During Kuon and Yashiro's conversation the others came back to their senses.
"We were frozen because we weren't expecting what Ren said," Takarada replied. He made sure to say Kuon's stage name, since Yashiro still didn't know the truth.
"Which was what exactly?" Yashiro asked in his deadly quiet voice.
Kuon hesitated answering until Kyoko squeezed him lightly with the arms she had wrapped around his waist. He took a deep breath and said, "I told him my real name."
Yashiro raised an eyebrow waiting for Kuon to continue.
"My real name is Hizuri Kuon."
Yashiro instantly turned to stone.
Kuu laughed, "and he was annoyed with us being statues." He looked around at the rest of the group and then frowned. "Do any of you know where Fuwa is?"
Everyone frowned and started looking. His question even unfroze Yashiro. However, Takarada quickly noticed that Sho wasn't the only one missing. His frown quickly turned into a smirk. "Don't worry. Sebastian isn't here either."
The others knew what he meant and relaxed.
Yashiro turned back to Kuon and studied him for a few moments. "Why didn't you say anything earlier about your real identity?"
Kuon sighed a little and tried to think of the best way to answer Yashiro's question. "I was pretty lost when I came to Japan. I wanted a new start on life and one of the best ways to do that was to stay as far away from my past as possible."
Shoko checked her watch. 'Maybe I should go check on Sho. He can be kind of unpredictable when it comes to talking with Kyoko. He seemed strangely happy when he got the invitation. But I can't understand why. He was furious when he watched the interview the other day. I think the only reason he didn't crash the interview was because we were back in Karuizawa, for another recording.'
She suddenly sat up straight and grabbed her mask along with her invitation. 'I need to get in there! Sho might be trying to pick a fight with Tsuruga-san.' She smiled at the valet as she got out of the car. She put on her mask and made her way to the door of Takarada's villa.
'He seems to still be in partial shock. Perhaps that will keep him from causing any more problems tonight.' Sebastian casually leaned against a pillar close to the table Sho was standing at. He noticed someone making their way towards Sho and eyed them with interest. He was so focused on them that he was slightly startled when he felt a small hand touch his elbow.
He glanced down at the young girl standing next to him. He bent down and picked her up so that they could talk more easily. "What are you doing over here, Maria?" 'I thought you were still dancing with your uncle Tiger.'
"I noticed you following someone over here after you talked with grandfather for a while. So I thought I'd come find out why."
Sebastian smiled even though Maria couldn't see his mouth. "This someone is Fuwa Sho. I'm just keeping an eye on him to make sure that he doesn't cause any more issues tonight."
Maria frowned, "He's already done something?"
'Nothing gets past her.' "He's upset Mogami-san a little bit."
"Is Onee-sama, okay?"
"Yes, she is. Though, I still want to keep an eye on Fuwa." He looked back at Sho's table and recognized who and been coming over. "Maria would you please go to your grandfather and tell him that Aki Shoko-san is here?"
Maria nodded and left to find Takarada as soon as Sebastian set her down.
"You won't be able to keep this a secret for much longer, Re-Kuon. Sorry, it is going to take some time to get used to your real name. But Sho knows about your real name and he won't stay quiet for long." Yashiro said very seriously.
"You're right. I suppose it's time to schedule another interview." Kuon said as he wrapped his arms around Kyoko's waist and brought her closer to him.
"We could set up a funeral for your stage name, similar to the one I didn't for mine." Kuu offered, somewhat excitedly.
"No thanks, dad. I don't want people comparing to the unveiling of my name to yours. I became Tsuruga Ren so that I wouldn't be compared to you, or given jobs just because I'm your son."
Kuu nodded, "I understand, Kuon. Do you have any ideas on how you want to go about announcing your actual name?"
"Not yet. I wasn't exactly planning on telling Fuwa my name tonight. But it had to be done."
Kyoko hung her head. "I'm sorry, Kuon. I know you didn't want to but you had to because of me."
Kuon turned Kyoko around so that they were facing each other. "Don't be sorry, Kyoko. It wasn't your fault." He kissed the top of Kyoko's head and held her tightly.
"You could make the announcement tonight." Takarada said.
Kuon and Kyoko both looked at him. "What do you mean, Boss?" Kuon asked.
"There are a few members of the press here tonight. You could make the statement right now. It would match the theme of a masquerade. You were wearing a mask to hide who you really are and now you're taking the mask off."
Everyone stared at Takarada for a few moments before Kuon shook his head. "Why do I get the feeling that you had this all planned from the very beginning?"
Before Takarada could reply Maria came up to them. "Hello, Maria. Are you having fun tonight?" Takarada asked as he picked Maria up.
Maria nodded. "Sebastian wanted me to tell you that Aki Shoko-san is here. Why is that important? What's going on?"
The adults looked at Maria and then looked at each other. "Well, Ren?" Takarada asked.
Ren looked at Kyoko who nodded. "Alright, let's do it tonight."
"Do what?" Maria asked exasperatedly.
"You'll find out in a few minutes, Maria." Said Takarada as he put her down.
Maria huffed but didn't say anything as she made her way back to Sebastian.
"Sho?" Shoko sighed and took a sip of her drink. 'I wonder what happened. Sho has never been this unresponsive.'
'It's going to take a lot more than that to get a reaction out of him.' Sebastian thought with a bit of a smirk. 'Ah, here comes Maria. She looks annoyed about something.'
Maria came to a stop next to Sebastian and just watched Sho and Shoko with a blank expression.
Sebastian stooped down and picked her back up. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
'No, you're not but I won't press the issue for now. When will she learn that she can tell me when she is upset?' "What did your grandfather say when you told him about the new arrival?"
Maria shrugged, "Nothing really. He and Ren-sama just decided that it was time to do something. But they wouldn't explain what."
"What exactly-" But Sebastian cut himself off when all the lights went out. He and Maria sighed at the same time.
"Well, I guess we're going to find out what they were talking about. But why does grandfather have to be so dramatic all the time?"
Sebastian smiled, "you would get bored if he wasn't, Maria."
"Let's go to the stage. I have a wonderful way to get everyone's attention." Takarada said as he started walking to the stage.
Kuon and Kyoko gave each other dubious looks before following.
"I wonder what Boss has planned." Kuu said to Julie as they followed Takarada.
"Most likely something needlessly over the top." Julie replied shaking her head.
When they got to the stage Takarada pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to L Tiger.
As I predicted, we need to get the attention of all the guests.
He got a reply just a few seconds later.
Leave everything to me. -L Tiger
Takarada stepped onto the stage and just as he got to the microphone all the lights went out.
Several of the guests gasped, wondering what was happening. They didn't have to speculate for long. Just a few seconds after the lights went out a spot light was turned on and was pointed towards Takarada.
Takarada smiled and dramatically took his mask off. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I'm sorry to disrupt the masque but we have a surprise for all of you. Tonight you will see someone that you all know but in a way that you have never seen him before. Please welcome to the stage Tsuruga Ren."
Kuon felt Kyoko squeeze his hand before he stepped up next to Takarada. He took a deep calming breath and let Ren take control. 'Last time, Ren. Make this count.' "Good evening," Ren said with his interview smile in place. "I'm sure that you are all curious as the what President Takarada meant. I hope that I will be able to answer your questions and make this a little less confusing for you."
He glanced at Kyoko and saw her giving him an encouraging smile. "As some of you may have guessed, Tsuruga Ren is a stage name. I started going by it when I moved to Japan approximately five years ago. I would like to show you all who I really am." He slowly took off his mask.
Kyoko came up to stand next Kuon. She took his mask and handed him a contact case.
Kuon gave Kyoko a quick smile before taking out is contacts. He closed the case and handed it back to Kyoko before looking out at the crowd again. "This is my true appearance, and my real name is Hizuri Kuon.
The room was quiet before erupting with noise. The few reporters that were there pulled out pens and notebooks and started writing. All the other guests started talking amongst themselves.
It took a few minutes but Takarada got the guests attention again. "We know that this must be a shock for you all and that you have many questions. However, Kuon won't be answering any tonight, since this is a masque. He will be giving his reasons for using a stage name and I hope that will answer most of the questions you have."
Kuon took over at that point. "Before I give my reasons for having a stage name I would like to introduce two other people who are here this evening. They are Hizuri Kuu and Julie."
Kuu and Julie stepped onto the stage. They had already removed their masks and smiled at the audience.
"My reasons for going by Tsuruga Ren are very simple." 'Or at least some of them are.' Kuon thought wryly. "I won't to prove that I didn't need to use my father's name to get into show business. It would have been rather easy to get jobs just by saying that my father is Hizuri Kuu. But that isn't how I wanted to do it. I love acting and modeling, I want to do them using my own power. I wouldn't be able to call myself a true actor or model if I hadn't done it this way.
"I wasn't sure how long I would keep my true identity a secret but Kyoko helped me to realize that it was time tell show who I really am." He wrapped his arm around Kyoko and pulled her nearer to himself. "Thank you, Kyoko." He leaned down and kissed her in front of the entire assembly.