DISCLAIMER: SKIP BEAT! and its associated characters are the creations of Yoshiki Nakamura. This author claims no ownership of Skip Beat or any of its characters. All other rights reserved.
Word: Foolish. This was supposed to be part of the one-shot collection but somehow it ended up being a 4,000-word behemoth. Wtf, Parker.
Post-confession.
'Lovely Princess Heart'
"Ooooh—Shinichi-kun, it's so beautiful!"
Hikaru's head turned towards her voice. Kyoko Mogami was holding Shinichi's phone, apparently enthralled by something on the screen. She had that dazzled look in her eyes—the look she reserved for fairies and princesses. She was still wearing Bo's body, but the chicken's head had come off, and he could see the copper-bright locks of her hair still flattened under the wig cap she wore. Shinichi and Yuusei were looking over her shoulder, peering closely at the screen.
She held up the phone so that the others could see. "'Lovely Princess Heart,'" she read, "'a confection of raspberry mousse with a heart of lychee-rose gelee, served on top of a Tahitian-vanilla infused sable Breton and surrounded by a dusting of delicate white chocolate. Decorated in pink and gold to look like the noble hearts of the Princesses of Long-Ago France. Available for a limited time only.'" She looked up and handed the phone back to Shinichi. "It sounds wonderful, doesn't it?" she asked.
"It sounds really fancy," Shinichi said.
"But totally up your alley, Kyoko-chan," Yuusei added.
"Ohhh, I want to taste it!" Kyoko exclaimed. "But…" She sighed. "I don't know whether I'll be able to."
They nodded solemnly. "They say it's extremely popular," Yuusei said.
"Yeah—I saw the line of people outside the cafe on our way here," Shinichi added. "They all looked really excited."
"Well, maybe I'll just admire the pictures, then." Kyoko was like that. She loved hearing about the newest dessert fads—the best taiyaki in town, for example, or that monstrosity of a french-toast-okonomiyaki-bean-paste sandwich that had been making the rounds on social media a few months ago. Whenever she could, she was glad to try them, too. But she was too thrifty and too responsible to chase after them. Nine times out of ten, food fads came and went and Kyoko kept on with her jobs and her classes, never having had the chance to taste whatever it was that made her eyes shine.
Hikaru hesitated from across the room, not wanting to interrupt whatever they were doing. But Shinichi looked up at him, smirked, and then winked.
Uh oh, he thought. They're planning something.
Kyoko saw him looking and then she saw him, and he felt the butterflies in his stomach flutter and come alive as she smiled. "Hikaru-kun!" Excited. She was so excited, and he wanted to be just as excited over it with her. "Look—look!"
Shinichi handed over his phone and Hikaru looked. "Isn't it lovely?" Kyoko asked. "Isn't it so dreamy? Just like something a princess from Versailles would eat, right?"
It was lovely. Exactly the thing Kyoko would love. It was a little heart-shaped cake, surrounded with a shell of pink chocolate and decorated with gold-foiled filigree. "It's very pretty, Kyoko-chan," he said. He felt a blush rise to his cheeks and saw Yuusei roll his eyes in exasperation.
"Neh, Kyoko-chan," Shinichi interjected. "Why don't all four of us go try it? You have some time after tomorrow's show, right? The cafe is pretty close, and if all four of us go, then the line won't be so long, will it? We can just meet there so you can get Bo squared away with the costume department—we'll get in line before you and you can join us."
Kyoko sat and thought for a second. It was true—her schedule had opened up a little bit with Box R on break and her Lotus scenes done. "I'll have to check with Yashiro-san," she told them. "But I'm pretty sure I do have some time—I have to work at the Darumaya tomorrow, but not until seven, and if we go right after the show…hmm." She was counting out the hours on her still be-winged fingers. "Yes!" she said. "Yes, I think that'll work!"
"That's great, Kyoko-chan," Yuusei said. "We were beginning to think you didn't want to hang out with us at all—"
"That's not true, Yuusei-kun," she said. "It's just that I've been very busy, with school and—"
Hikaru glared at him. "That's alright, Kyoko-chan! We know! You're a busy girl," he said. He smiled shyly at her, and she beamed back at him.
He almost choked on his breath when she did, but she didn't notice. "I'm really looking forward to it, guys!" She was bouncing. "Well, I guess I'd better take Bo's costume off," she told them. "I know that Takarada-san wanted to see me for some reason."
"Oh!" he said. "Oh, yes. Of course. We'll see you later, Kyoko-chan."
"Later!" his bandmates echoed. They all watched her squeak off to her dressing room with her oversized chicken feet.
When he was sure she was out of earshot, Hikaru turned to them. "You guys are planning something," he said. "I'm not sure what, but you know that I really don't want to make things awkward with Kyoko-chan—"
"And we're not."
Yeah right. He gave Shinichi a look.
"What?" The innocent look on Shinichi's face only made Hikaru more suspicious. "We're not planning anything. Just a nice little outing to get some dessert with Kyoko-chan."
Hikaru couldn't get anything more out of them for the rest of the day.
=.=.=
He knew they were going to pull something like this.
Shortly after they finished the show for the day, Yuusei had walked off to the tech department with one of their amps. "I think one of the tubes is going bad, Hikaru," he said, "I'm just going to go take this over to tech and see if they can diagnose it. Might be a bad pot, too, I can't tell. Probably should get it looked at before tomorrow's show. Why don't you and Shinichi go over to the cafe to meet Kyoko-chan? I'll meet up with you later."
He hadn't thought anything of it then. Yuusei generally wasn't the type to make something like that up.
It was when Shinichi had come along holding his bass that he began suspecting something might be happening. "Oh, hey, Nii-san," Shinichi said. He was worrying at one of the machine heads. "Hey, something's wrong with my bass—I'm going to restring this first and then join you and Yuusei over at the cafe."
"Oh no," he said. Shinichi only ever called him 'nii-san' when he was plotting something. Bridge Rock was close, but they weren't truly brothers—and the fact that Shinichi was calling him 'nii-san' today meant he needed to be on-guard. "No no no. You guys said—"
"Huh?" Shinichi looked at him, all innocence and confusion. Hikaru gritted his teeth. It was so obvious—and it infuriated him. "What are you talking about? Look, this won't take me long at all. You and Yuusei should head over to that cafe and get a place in that line. I'll be over as soon as I can."
"Yuusei? Oh, you mean Yuusei with the sudden problem with the amp? Look, I know what you guys are doing—"
"What, making sure our gear is good to go for our performance tomorrow?"
"NO. You guys are—"
But they were interrupted before he could accuse them of anything tangible.
"Hikaru-kun! Shinichi-kun!" And there she was, bright and bouncy, her hair freshly brushed out of the wig cap and wearing an adorable little outfit all done up in pink.
"Kyo-kyo-ko-chan," he stammered. "Hi."
"Hello!" she said brightly. "Are you ready? I'm so excited! I think we might make it before they sell out!"
"Well, Kyoko-chan," Shinichi said. "Unfortunately I have to get my bass re-strung."
"Oh," she said. She deflated a little bit, and Hikaru was willing to do just about anything to keep her from deflating even more.
"And Yuusei had to take an amp to get the tubes checked," Hikaru added.
"Oh," she said. She looked disappointed, and then she perked up.. "Well, your gear is important!" she said brightly. "Definitely more important than dessert. I can go home and help Taisho-san with tonight's dinner service, then, and I'll see you guys—"
"Wait!" Hikaru interjected. He could see Shinichi smirking out the corner of his eye and vowed to strangle his bandmate later. "Wait. I think we can still make it, Kyoko-chan. Shinichi and Yuusei can join us in the queue after they're done—I know it won't take Yuusei that long to drop off that amp, and Shinichi's really fast at restringing his bass, right, Shinichi?" He glared at him.
"Right." Shinichi was winking at him. "I'll join you in a bit—you guys should go ahead and save us a spot in line. I'll make sure Yuusei makes it, too."
"OK," Kyoko said. She was still bouncing. "Hikaru-kun, shall we? I read that if we're in line by 4pm, we're safe from having them sell out!"
Hikaru's stomach did flip-flops as he followed Kyoko's brisk walk out into the TBM lobby and then onto the busy Tokyo sidewalk. Truth was, he was terrified of being alone with Kyoko. He'd never had the chance to hang out with her on his own—his bandmates had always been there to take the edge off things. His anxiety was ratcheting upwards—he found himself wondering what he'd talk about. What would he say? Should he say something about how cute she looked? Would that be creepy? It would be creepy, wouldn't it? Maybe he should talk about her last Bo segment—the way she'd gotten the audience eating out of the palm of her hand without saying a single word was masterful, right? Or maybe he should ask her about how Lotus was going.
He tripped and nearly fell just as the TBM doors whizzed shut behind them, and then turned around and gave one last glare.
Shinichi grinned when he saw him and then gave him a thumbs-up, and then Hikaru had to do a double-take.
Kyoko was already halfway down the block.
=.=.=
He'd caught up to Kyoko when she realized she'd left him in the dust, circling back and apologizing profusely for being so thoughtless. He'd smiled and told her it was his own clumsiness and she'd slowed down, walking beside him instead of dashing on ahead. They'd been companionable and friendly while waiting in line—Hikaru had complimented her, on both her outfit and her work as Bo. The compliment about the outfit had gone over her head, but she'd latched onto talking about Bo—and soon the two of them were talking animatedly over Bridge Rock's plans, a potential new album, more ideas for Bo's segments.
She'd only wondered where Shinichi and Yuusei were once or twice, and he'd made a show of texting them, knowing full well they weren't coming.
Sorry, Nii-san, the text said. Things are apparently more messed up with that amp and I'm helping Yuusei troubleshoot it. We're running late. If we don't make it, just have fun and enjoy! We'll hear all about it later.
Hikaru shook his head at Shinichi's—well, both of his bandmates'—gall. Shameless. They were utterly shameless. Their manipulation was so obvious. And yet he couldn't deny how wonderful it was to have Kyoko's undivided attention. Getting her alone like this was a rare opportunity. She was always with someone. If it wasn't Kanae, then it was Yashiro, or Chiori. It was so nice to walk beside her and shield her from the traffic on the street, so nice to laugh with her, and plot with her, even just to do nothing but wait with her. There was a quiet voice in his head that whispered jubilantly, saying "Hey, Hikaru, this is a date! It's a date!" He didn't want it to end. Already he was envisioning a cute little tete-a-tete as they sat at one of the cafe tables, imagining her giggling at something he'd said as Edith Piaf sang in the background. He was considering asking her to dinner after dessert—unconventional, sure, but since when was Kyoko ever conventional?
Her voice brought him back to reality.
"Maybe we should just bring back the cakes and eat them at TBM?" He saw his Kyoko-at-cafe daydream vanish in a little puff of smoke. It was a logical suggestion, and Hikaru saw no way of countering it. Of course she would want to make sure the others got Princess Hearts too."Oh, you have to eat them in the cafe," one of the other customers said. "That's why the lines are always so long! They don't let people take them to-go because otherwise they'd sell out even faster."
Thank you, innocent bystander, he thought. The daydream was back in full force. The music was swelling and the Kyoko-in-his-head smiled and blushed daintily. Out loud, he said "It's OK, Kyoko-chan. It's their own fault they're missing out. And we can always come back again if they want to!"
Kyoko looked doubtful, but all of a sudden, they were up at the very front of the line.
"Irasshaimase!" said the girl behind the counter. "Oh! Ishibashi-san!"
A surprise. Hikaru beamed at her—Yappa Kimagure Rock was a fairly popular show, but people rarely recognized him without the rest of Bridge Rock in tow. Meeting a fan out like this…it felt nice. And being treated like a celebrity in front of the girl he had a crush on? That felt awesome.
"I'm a huge fan," the girl said.
He was wondering whether Kyoko might like dating someone who had fans.
"Thank you—" he said, flustered.
"And you're here on a date!" the girl gushed. "Oh we're so happy you came here—what can we get for you?"
Hikaru was blushing, looking at Kyoko from the corner of his eye. How would she react to being called his date?
"Oh!" Kyoko said, eyes wide. She gave the girl a smile. "We're not here on a date," she said.
Squelch went the daydream in Hikaru's head.
"Hikaru-kun and I were supposed to be here with Shinichi-kun and Yuusei-kun, but they had to take care of a few things and couldn't make it," Kyoko added. "We wanted to ask if we could take the Princess Hearts with us, but I heard we needed to eat them here at the cafe."
"Oh, yes, Miss," the girl responded. "The Princess Hearts are very delicate. We fear they wouldn't stand up well to being carried around."
Kyoko sighed. "I understand," she said. "Those delicate mousses—they deflate so quickly."
"Two, then?" the girl asked. She was looking at Hikaru, but Kyoko had already taken out the money and given it to her.
Hikaru wanted to protest, but the transaction had happened so quickly—instead, he just berated himself. How could he ever hope to win Kyoko over if he hadn't even managed to pay for a simple dessert?
"You should've let me pay, Kyoko-chan," he said, pouting.
"Oh I couldn't possibly, Hikaru-kun." She lifted the little tray with their Princess Hearts and coffee. "You got the taiyaki last time, remember?"
"That doesn't even count," he said.
"Well, maybe you can get next time," she smiled.
Next time! He couldn't help smiling back at her. Next time meant they'd do this again. "Oh, look," he said. "There's a table over there."
=.=.=
How had everything gone so wrong?
Everything had been going so well. He'd thought they were finally connecting—he had hopes she might finally see him as a distinct, discrete entity separate from his 'brothers.' Despite her unceremonious dismissal of him as her 'date,' their little outing still felt like one to him and he was determined to enjoy it. Later, he was going to ask her out on an actual date once he managed to get his courage up.
And then he messed up. Minutes after they sat down, he'd made the rank error of asking Kyoko who inspired her.
He'd been hoping to have a conversation with her about childhood heroes, maybe steer them to discussing their hopes and dreams. But he probably shouldn't have been surprised when the answer was Tsuruga Ren. She wasn't trying to be obtuse or cruel, but she'd been talking about him non-stop for the last ten minutes. He wasn't sure whether she'd even noticed how she was gushing about the actor, because even once he'd told her who his own heroes were, she found ways to draw parallels between them and her beloved Tsuruga-senpai.
He would've given the world to see her eyes shine like that for him.
There was nothing in Kyoko's words that told him she was yet another of Tsuruga-san's conquests. It was what she didn't say. Her expressions, her excitement, her joy at telling him all the ways Tsuruga Ren had made her a better actress—all of that made it clear that perhaps—just perhaps—she was in love with the actor.
Hikaru fought against the sinking feeling that was dragging him down. He was jealous, and he knew he shouldn't be. Tsuruga Ren was so far above them all—he was untouchable, a god, a megastar. He clung onto hope, because many, many women were in love with Tsuruga Ren and yet he'd only ever been rumored to date Kana Kusunoki. Kyoko might be infatuated with him now, but what were the chances of her feelings being reciprocated? He could share her heart with Tsuruga Ren, he supposed. How many of Japan's husbands did the same?
He'd calmed himself with this thought just as he heard a commotion in the cafe. Kyoko had stopped talking, turned pale, and then flushed as she looked at something behind him.
"It's Ren! Ren!" he heard. "Tsuruga Ren!"
He turned around and there was the actor, impossibly handsome, impossibly tall, and impossibly perfect.
"Tsu-tsu-tsuruga-san!" The girl behind the counter was beet-red, bowing a welcome as she tried to collect herself.
So much for having fans, Hikaru thought. She hadn't been tongue-tied and blushing on his account.
Ren smiled, and Hikaru could almost see all the women in the cafe turn to stone. "I've heard so much about the Lovely Princess Heart," Ren said. Even Hikaru had to acknowledge how seductive his deep voice was. "I was hoping I could pick one up to-go," he said. "I'm afraid I can't stay at the cafe."
Hikaru had been steeling himself against the possibility of Tsuruga Ren eating a Princess Heart at a table nearby, but now he was looking forward to hearing the girl tell him "no"—he figured it was a word Tsuruga-san rarely heard.
But instead the girl was nodding. "Hai!" she said. "Normally we do not allow our customers to take the Princess Heart in a to-go container, Tsuruga-san. But for you, of course we'd pack it!"
The girl was clearly flustered, and Hikaru felt another pang of jealousy. She hadn't been willing to pack Princess Hearts for him, but all Tsuruga-san had to do was show up and now she was bending over backwards to accommodate him. The girl was handing him the box and he was handing over payment, but Hikaru saw a shift in his demeanor as his attention shifted away from the counter. Tsuruga had spotted them. Suddenly, the room was twenty degrees colder. And though nothing on the actor's face changed, Hikaru shivered.
Tsuruga Ren was looking over at him.
No.
Tsuruga Ren was looking over at Kyoko.
And Kyoko was looking back at him.
Hikaru felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. Even as an outsider, he could feel the electricity between them.
The moment lasted for a mere second; Kyoko looked away quickly and tried to hide her blush as she took a drink of her tea. Tsuruga-san turned his attention back to the girl at the counter and gave her his patented pretty-boy smile, picked up his Princess Heart and then.
And then.
Hikaru gulped as he stepped over to their table, gliding through the crowded cafe as if he were a jungle cat stalking its prey. Kyoko, he saw, was utterly calm.
"Mogami-san, Ishibashi-san," the actor said.
"Tsuruga-senpai!" Kyoko said. "It's good to see you."
"Of course, Mogami-san," he said. "It's good to see you as well." The man was smiling. Sparkling, even, but Hikaru could sense a hostility lurking beneath his surface.
"Sorry to interrupt your date," he said. "I just wanted to say hello to my kohai—"
"It's not a date!" Her calm facade shattered. Kyoko's voice was a high squeak; the tips of her ears were starting to turn pink. "Hikaru-kun and I were supposed to meet Yuusei-kun and Shinichi-kun but they couldn't make it and—and—"
"Oh it's quite alright, Mogami-san," Ren said. "You don't need to explain yourself to me."
Something in his voice told Hikaru that Tsuruga did, indeed, want an explanation. Badly. Kyoko and Tsuruga were looking at each other again, and Hikaru felt his date-daydream with Kyoko die for good. Kyoko was in love with Tsuruga Ren. But he'd been wrong earlier—there would never be any sharing of Kyoko's heart with some distant ideal. No, he'd never had a chance, because Tsuruga Ren was definitely in love with Kyoko.
What a foolish, foolish thought to think he'd even had a snowball's chance in hell to win her over.
"—we were going to ask if we could take the Princess Hearts to-go so we could take them back to TBM but they said no—"
Ren chuckled and held his own Princess Heart, carefully wrapped in a box. "I'm sure they didn't want the commotion of having me around," he said.
Hikaru almost huffed in frustration but refrained.
"Anyway, Mogami-san, Ishibashi-san—" Ren gestured towards their empty plates. "Would you like a ride? Back to TBM, maybe? Or home? I've got my car outside."
"Oh we couldn't possibly, Tsuruga-san," Kyoko said. "Hikaru-kun is going back to TBM, right, Hikaru-kun?"
"It's a short walk," Hikaru said helplessly.
"What about you, Mogami-san? Are you going back to TBM too?" Ren asked.
"We-e-ll." She twiddled her fingers together, fidgeting. "I'm going back home," she told him. "To help at Darumaya."
"I'll give you a ride," Tsuruga said. "You too, Ishibashi-san—TBM's on the way so you might as well."
And that was how he found himself sitting in Tsuruga Ren's passenger seat, with Kyoko tucked behind them in the back. Now that his eyes were opened, he could see it—how Kyoko softened around him, how Tsuruga seemed to reach towards her with a protective arm. The two of them moved together without intending it, leaving him to consider how long he'd spent too blind to see it.
'Subzero' would have been a generous way of describing the commute, and Hikaru was glad when his five-minute ride was over. "Thank you, Tsuruga-san," he said, giving the man a small bow. "I appreciate the ride." Kyoko was shifting from her back seat to the front. "Goodnight, Kyoko-chan," he said.
"Goodnight, Hikaru-kun!" Kyoko called out. She was putting on her seatbelt as if she'd done it a hundred times before.
Hikaru swallowed his disappointment and trudged back to their dressing room. Shinichi and Yuusei greeted him with a large cheer, which quickly faded into silence when they saw his face.
"How was it?" Yuusei asked.
"Did you ask her out for a second date?" Shinichi added.
But all Hikaru could do was shake his head. "Tsuruga Ren," he said. He sat down at one of their desks and placed his head on his hands. "Freaking Tsuruga Ren."
Shinichi and Yuusei looked at each other, and then patted him on the shoulder.
"Too bad, bro," Shinichi said.
"Yeah," Hikaru said. He sighed. "Too bad."
=.=.=
Epilogue
"Tsuruga-san?" Kyoko was looking over at her senpai, wanting to clear the air between them. Her grudges had spiked immediately when their eyes met in the cafe. She could feel his…anger? Was it anger?
Whatever it was, he hadn't stopped smiling his evil, lying, too-cheerful-to-be-real smile. "It wasn't a date," she said again, pouting.
"You don't have to explain anything to me, Mogami-san."
"But you're mad!"
Ren froze and then pulled over, and Kyoko saw a blush spread across his cheeks. He turned to look at her and inadvertently fried a few more of her remaining grudges in the process.
He sighed. "I'm not mad, Mogami-san," he said. "I'm…jealous."
"Jealous!?" Kyoko exclaimed. How could he be jealous? Wasn't he the most beautiful man in the world?
"Jealous." He took her hand. "When I saw you with Ishibashi, I was ready to flip over every table in that cafe. Why can he sit out with you in the open and I can't?"
"Because your fans would kill me," Kyoko told him. "And I'd prefer to stay alive."
He was silent, and then he reached between them and picked up the box with the Lovely Princess Heart he'd bought. Quietly he reached for her hand and then closed her fingers over it. "I bought this for you," he said. "Because I knew you would love it. And I hated that someone else had beaten me to it."
She was staring at him with her own face aflame now—the dazed pigeon that he'd grown to love bringing out of her. "Will you share it with me?" she asked. Her hand came up to cover her mouth as soon as she said it, but however embarrassing the moment was, there wasn't a trace of regret in having asked.
His face beamed and she had to avert her eyes. "I would love to, Mogami-san," he said. Kyoko knew they'd end up in his condo; there was nowhere else for them to go. He turned the car and started heading to his place, and when they got there, he turned to her and said, "Oh, Mogami-san?"
"Yes?" she replied.
He grinned. "This is definitely a date."