Chapter 55: A Cinderella Tale

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Skip Beat, for if I did, we'd see Kyoko get her happily ever after with Kuon, of course ;).

Saena sat across Susumu that afternoon in the Vivian Cafe having a late lunch as usual. It was a day off for most, but she had to work overtime for her latest case. All unpleasant thoughts were pushed aside as she immersed herself in work. Now that they had some downtime she would have to talk to him. They often came to this cafe because it was so close to work and the food was decent. Still stalling, she sipped her tea and looked at him curiously as he read a gossip magazine.

"Susumu, I didn't peg you as a fanboy that read those types of articles," Saena remarked, curiously.

"Sorry darling, that was rude of me," he said, putting down the magazine. "I was just interested in this new actor that erupted overnight." The English couple he saw here the other day seemed oddly familiar. It could have just been a mere coincidence at the time.

"It seems his new movie is quite a sensation. It's about a detective trying to unravel the mysteries of a serial killer that keeps popping up decades later. Even though he has been reportedly 'killed' and captured many times, the killer's corpse often disappears from the morgue. The murders begin anew decades later in a similar fashion," Susumu gushed, explaining the movie and possible theories.

Saena smiled. The movie's premise must have hit his Detective switch. He took great pleasure, like a closet sleuth, in unraveling the plot for these murder mysteries. "Shall we go see it then?" She suggested making an effort to appeal to his interests. She didn't like gory movies but she was willing to endure it for him. She feared he would keep talking about this plot if he didn't find out whether his theories panned out.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to force yourself. I'm used to going to these movies alone," he said, patting her hand. "I appreciate the thought though." He knew something was bothering her since this morning, but waited patiently for her to tell him.

Saena frowned. "You want to go alone? We're always working so it would be nice to do something different."

He took her hand in his and smiled. "I would love to spend time with you. I'm just afraid you might have nightmares. According to the reviews, it's pretty gruesome."

"Then I'll just hide my face during those parts," she told him stubbornly.

"If you're sure…" he said, giving her another opportunity to back out. Saena raised an annoyed brow at him. "Okay, it's a date. On our next free night, dinner and a movie it is. If you end up having nightmares I'll just comfort you," he promised, placing a kiss on the back of her hand.

He used this opportunity to ask her what was wrong rather than wait for her, "Is everything okay? It's not like you to agree to something this frivolous if you could be working? Not that I'm complaining. I enjoy my fiancée's company, but I wish you would willingly share with me without me prying. Is it because of the calls you got earlier?"

He always saw right through her. She blushed at his use of the word fiancée. Hearing it made her feel like she had butterflies fluttering about in the pit of her stomach. They had carved out some time this week to head down to the local ward's office to register. She didn't want a ceremony or any of the frills that came with a wedding. She just wanted him. Saena clung to the hope that he would still want to marry her after her past came to light in the media.

She gave him a small smile and explained the particulars behind the calls from Yayoi and the LME President. It seemed a reporter had caught wind of Kyoko's background thanks to her connection with Shotaro and was writing an article about her daughter. Yayoi thought she deflected most of the bad news to soften the blow, but he was still a tabloid reporter. They tended to write whatever they pleased.

Saena took another sip of tea. This was exactly why she told that President she didn't want anyone to associate her with Kyoko. Katagiri sensei would be troubled all over again. This article would only be the beginning. The press would hound her relentlessly, especially after her public denial on live television that she was a mother.

"Are you going to talk to Kyoko-chan and try to appeal to her?" Susumu asked. Just when things were aligning, a wrench was thrown into the mix. He contemplated their course of action.

"I wonder," Saena said simply as if that was an acceptable answer to his question.

"What are you thinking?" He asked.

"I don't think there's much I can do until the article is released. The LME President said they were having a meeting today. From what I know of Kyoko, which is not much, she is intelligent and selfless. It's about time I put my fate in her hands."

"Maybe he called you in hopes to provide support to Kyoko-chan," Susumu asked.

Saena's frown only deepened. "I wasn't sure. I felt like if I went I would only look like a hypocrite."

"So you felt like Kyoko-chan would think you were only there to ensure that your reputation was not tarnished," Susumu said with a soft smile. This woman is so hopeless when it comes to her daughter.

All Saena could do was nod in response.

"I doubt Kyoko-chan would think that way, not after you have explained properly. Perhaps you can call her later. I'm sure she would be happy to hear from you," Susumu suggested.

She nodded again. His words didn't give her the encouragement he was hoping for since she seemed so down.

Susumu felt that nagging feeling that she was going to tell him something terrible, "So we leave it to her and deal with the fall out just like last time. As always, I will be right by your side," Susumu promised. I hope after all this, Saena would stop torturing herself with the remnants of her past.

Saena stared into her teacup. She was going to suggest they take a break until this all blew over. She didn't want him to get dragged through the mud with her. She glanced at him through watery eyes.

"Are you okay with staying with someone like me?" Her voice trembled.

"Don't be silly, you can't get rid of me that easily. I'm never letting you go," he told her as he intertwined his fingers with hers and watched her smile grow. He turned their conversation to possible approaches to countering the media. A simple libel lawsuit might be the best course of action, but even then, those were difficult to win. He would need to do some research.

Sho pressed the send button on his phone for the umpteenth time. He didn't know why he kept calling as if she would miraculously answer the phone. It was clear to him that she changed her number a long time ago. Sho sighed heavily. Is this her ultimate revenge?

"Sho, is Kyoko-chan not answering her phone?" Shoko asked walking into the dressing room. Just looking at his frustrated face was enough of an answer.

Their agency's president had surprised them with news of the impending article. Sho had denied having anything to do with it. He defended Kyoko and explained why his childhood friend would never stoop so low, especially now that she had moved on with her life.

Sho tried calling his mother to ask for Kyoko's new number. The woman gave him a tongue lashing instead. His usually sweet mother told him to only call her again when he finally learned to stop being an idiot and be a decent son then ended the call. He wondered what the hell he did to make her so angry. Sho didn't even have a chance to ask her for the phone number and she refused to answer his call when he tried again.

"Well, the President did say he talked to LME so I'm sure they're working things out. Kyoko-chan's career is at stake as well, so I doubt it would be published," Shoko assured him, trying to convince herself as well. She didn't think this was Kyoko's doing. If it was a tabloid, neither agency would have much say in what gets printed, truth or not. This sort of thing was typical in the industry.

Koki stepped out of the taxi in front of LME and stretched. He had sent his stories off in the wee hours of the morning to the LME Public Relations email address reserved for the media. He had written two articles. One was finished with minor tweaks remaining. It was the kind of destructive article that Queen B would be expecting. Kyoko had to be her target. The girl was fascinating and seemed to have endured a lot growing up over the years. It amazed him that she endured such a past and was now one of Japan's rising stars. It was often said that those who suffered adversity usually ended up successful. She was a testament to that.

He wondered if Kyoko was even aware of the overflowing feelings that her guardians held for her. Yayoi had proved a formidable opponent. At the end of the conversation, it was she that helped Koki formulate a plan of attack that would work out in favor of both his magazine and Kyoko. She had no qualms doing so as long as her loved ones were not exposed so harshly to the world. She had opened old wounds and re-ignited his flame as a writer. When he was younger, he wanted to be a reporter for a reputable newspaper, bringing the truth to the people. Somehow, life didn't work out that way and he found himself writing about the dirt on celebrities, albeit the truth, to sell magazines.

Koki was hoping this story would redeem him somehow. His editor wanted a draft pronto, but Koki refused to give him one. The man would immediately print the one with all the dirt regardless of who it may hurt. The President of LME himself had called Koki later that morning to schedule a meeting, but it had to be today because of busy schedules.

Koki was tired. He was not expecting such a quick response and had been up all night writing. All he wanted to do was sleep. He told the President that he would catch the next Shinkansen out of Kyoto and be there as soon as he was back in Tokyo.

It was a disheveled looking Koki that entered the office that afternoon. He had cleaned himself up before leaving the Ryokan but that didn't last long as he journeyed. Now he wished he had taken the soldier's offer to freshen up. He was wearing his frumpy writer's attire that consisted of jeans, a t-shirt, and a pair of zoris.

The Roman soldier had startled him in the lobby that he couldn't think properly. He turned to the receptionist manning the front desk in question. He just smiled at Koki as if there was nothing weird about the armored clad man approaching him. He had heard rumors of the eccentric behavior of the elite agency's president, so he guessed this cosplayer was a common occurrence here. He stood there mouth agape at the office full of beautiful people all staring at him with curious eyes.

The reporter had not been expecting to go before the firing squad right off the train. He thought he would first discuss with the President then hopefully interview Kyoko and as a bonus, Ren at a later date. Koki gulped and shuffled behind the soldier toward the enormous desk. He could feel their eyes bore into him as he passed.

Caesar? His eyes widened with shock at the LME president draped in a white cloth. It would make sense given the Roman soldier. Did "Caesar" wear a toga? His history was a bit spotty when it came to the Roman Dictator. Regardless, he was confused by the man's attire.

The President's outfit had managed to calm him down. It served as a good distraction as Koki tried to scroll through his limited knowledge of ancient Rome in his mind. Images of Julius Caesar's clothing floated through his head. He was a general so he often wore armor. Koki's mind was drifting like it usually did when he latched on to an interesting topic. He was pulled from his thoughts when Lory cleared his throat. His attention was jerked back to the man in front of him.

"Kagayama Koki-san, I presume," Lory greeted, amused. Koki nodded and swallowed hard. "We've been waiting for you. I figured we get all the players in the room and hash this out, no? This is the best day for everyone since it's a day off. I hope you don't mind."

Lory had thought he had more time to discuss the article amongst themselves before the reporter made his way to LME. He had talked to Kyoko's mother but was unable to reach her father. Saena seemed to have resigned herself to the inevitable and placed the decision on her daughter's shoulders. Was she trying to be a martyr?

"No, not at all, please call me Koki. I should be thanking all of you." He bowed to Lory and then turned to bow to the trio. "Thank you for sparing me some time. I never thought I would get this lucky to have both Kyoko-san and Tsuruga-san here."

Kyoko's upbringing dictated she be polite and assumed he was the writer of the articles. She stood and bowed even though she was upset with him. Ren on the other hand was not so polite and just nodded to the man. Yashirofollowed Kyoko's lead and introduced himself with a bow.

"Shall we just jump right in? Please have a seat," Lory said pointing out the single chair near the trio. Koki took his seat nervously. At least he was near the manager and not the celebrities. They both looked like they wanted to throttle him.

"I think everyone in here would like to ask you questions, Koki-san, regarding the two articles you have prepared. One is certainly damning and would hurt Mogami-kun's reputation along with her parents. While the other is, dare I say, written in her favor? We all know Fuwa-kun could bounce back from this easily either way. It's just the nature of the business, especially when you're at the top of your genre."

Darn that Shotaro even now that I moved on he was still such a thorn in my side, Kyoko thought to herself as Lory talked. She didn't even have time to assess the situation. This idiot President always did things as he pleased.

"Yes, the first article is the one I initially meant to publish. It's the kind of story that the public would eat up instantly. Even if it's hard to believe, I do prefer to research my stories thoroughly before releasing them. People tend to be less offended when the truth is written. I went to Kyoto to provide credibility to my article. While there I simply had a change of heart as I unraveled the story of Kyoko-san's past. Well, it was more the chat I had with the Okami-san at Fuwa Ryokan that swayed me," Koki explained trying to answer Lory's question.

Kyoko gasped at his revelation. Did Yayoi-san talk to this man? Is that why he had so many details of her and Sho?

"Are you saying that Yayoi-san was your source?" Kyoko asked surprised. She didn't think the proprietress of Fuwa Ryokan would ever talk to a reporter.

Koki nodded. "She wasn't my only source though. There was your middle school principal, several high school students that went to your middle school, the local grocer, and the karaoke box manager to name a few. I found out some disturbing things about how cruel kids could be these days. Almost makes me glad that part of my life is over," he chuckled but stopped when no one else laughed.

"Fuwa-san and her staff were the most difficult to deal with. No matter what tactic I applied to the staff, none of them talked about you two. They were all fiercely loyal to their employers. It was only when I forced her hand that she relented," Koki assured her.

"What now, Koki-san? I don't want that first article printed. It was inevitable that my past with Fuwa-san would come to light, but I didn't think it would happen so quickly. My parents, especially my mother, have been through way too much. I don't want her being targeted by the media. She shouldn't have to suffer anymore because of me."

"I have no problems throwing out that article if that's what you wish. Fuwa-san was right about you," Koki said with a smile.

"Wait, so just like that you're dropping the story," Ren asked suspiciously. This kind of scandal would have magazines flying off the racks. Why would he drop it so easily?

"I still plan on writing your story, Kyoko-san. In exchange for dropping that story, I'm hoping to get more insider information on how Kyoko-san came to be. How did you start in show biz? How you two met? And where you are going from here? As you can see, I have many questions that my readers would love answered. Would you please allow me to print your story? A sort of Cinderella tale, I suppose." When Koki finished his last statement, Kyoko instantly perked up at the mention of Cinderella.

"I will agree to answer your questions on two conditions you leave my parents out of the article, and you refer to Fuwa-san not by name but as my childhood friend like you did in the other article. I understand we can't omit him from the story completely," Kyoko recommended, turning to the president for his support.

"It's a deal," Koki told her. "Thank you so much for agreeing to this. Can I ask you one thing? Why wouldn't you want everyone to know the truth about Fuwa-san? You could be doing woman-kind a favor by sharing your story," he asked curiously.

"It's simple for me. I've already had my revenge. I moved on and found my true love," she confessed, her cheeks heating up.

Koki nodded somewhat placated by her answer for now. "Takarada-san, is it okay if we start now?"

"By all means, if this is the route Mogami-kun is willing to take." He turned to her for acknowledgment. Lory continued when she simply nodded. It was such a good chance too to get all the unpleasantness out of the way, but he knew she would choose this route. "Ruto will show you to another room with a table," Lory told them.

Ren stood with Kyoko. She loved that she didn't even have to ask him to tag along. It was like they were a packaged deal. Ren smiled down at her warmly and held her hand as they followed Ruto and Koki out of the room.

The pair sat across the reporter as he nervously set up his recording device and notepad. He had never been this close to Ren before so the actor's intimidating presence was making him fumble more than usual. All his peers mentioned that Japan's most desirable man was a joy to work with. He wasn't feeling any of that joy right now despite the actor's dazzling smile directed at him.

The tension was broken when he heard the actor say, "ouch!" and the actress hiss "behave!" Koki glanced up from his notepad and found Kyoko looking at him with an "Okami-san" professional smile plastered on her face. She must have learned that from Fuwa-san. His gaze shifted to Ren who was now rubbing a spot on his arm. What did I miss?

Kyoko felt almost sorry for the reporter as he nervously tried to prepare under the heavy pressure of Ren's ultra-gentleman aura. The man probably had no clue what was causing him to be so nervous. Many outsiders didn't know the true meaning behind Ren's smile. It was something she picked up early on when she first began at LME. To the world, his smile was heart-stopping making many swoon; however, it was his way to distract the audience from guessing his true feelings. He often used it on her in the past whenever she made him angry. The more he didn't want anyone to figure him out the brighter his smile. He was using full wattage on Koki.

"So shall we start from the beginning of your journey? I have the gist of it but would like to hear it from your point of view," Koki suggested. His earlier nerves were forgotten as he went into reporter mode.

"It seems you already know the basic story of my parents and I don't plan on sharing more. The Fuwa's raised me. My mother left me in their care when I was six years old. I hope you can understand what that could do to a young child. Fuwa-san was my saving grace up until I was sixteen. Like a naive girl, I thought I could endure any hardships as long as I had him by my side. Everything I did up until then was for the Fuwas. I didn't want them to send me away and be left all alone," she explained rather calmly despite the dull ache in her chest. The pain was hardly noticeable now, thanks to Ren and her friends. She finally found a place where she could belong and was appreciated.

"If they sent me to school, I studied hard to get the best grades. If they gave me a place to live, I made sure to pay them back by helping at the ryokan. If they gave me food, I made sure to learn how to cook it properly for them and learn how to make their favorite dishes. I do enjoy cooking though. Seeing their happy faces when they ate something I prepared was heartwarming. When I think about it calmly, I wanted to please Yayoi-san so she could praise me. It was something my mother never did."

Kyoko sat quietly as Koki scribbled notes on his pad. He nodded for her to continue when he was done.

"Fuwa-san and his parents were constantly at odds towards the end of middle school as they pressured him with the responsibilities of running the business. Once we graduated from middle school, he decided to fulfill his dream as a singer and run away to Tokyo. When he asked me to come to Tokyo with him, I was so happy. Out of all the girls who loved him at school, I felt special to have been chosen. I didn't even hesitate when I said "Yes." I was so lost in my delusion that I didn't realize I was being used."

"Can we talk a bit about your school life? The principal had some disturbing things to say regarding the treatment of you from your peers."

Ren stiffened. He had never heard the details regarding this aspect of her life and wondered what Koki uncovered. She glanced at him nervously. He squeezed her hand gently, reminding her that he was there for her. He had his fair share of suffering due to his heritage and could only guess what she endured herself.

"It's true," she said dejectedly. "My whole school life I was bullied and alienated by my classmates. I never wanted to cause trouble for the Fuwa's. I made sure I was on the good side of the teachers and studied diligently to keep my scores up. The main reason I was bullied was due to the closeness I shared with Fuwa-san. His fans, all through primary and middle school, tormented me, making my school life quite difficult."

Difficult was an understatement, Koki thought, recalling some of the hateful things that the principal recounted. Even the high school kids boasted about the harsh treatment she received. He had shocked them to silence when he told them that the celebrity was indeed the same Kyoko they used to bully. Koki stared at the brave girl in front of him. Her strength amazed him. School bullying on that level, for that many years often resulted in severe depression or suicide, yet here she was defying all odds.

"How did you overcome that phase in your life? I'm curious. In cases like yours, it usually doesn't end well for the victim. Many kids are bullied each year, perhaps your story could help them persevere and give them hope. You'll make an excellent role model."

Kyoko smiled. She had never thought of it that way, but she was still very insecure to be a role model for anyone. She had Shotaro to make her forget those unpleasant moments at school. When he wasn't enough, she also had another guarantee to make everything right again. She looked at Ren for permission and reached in her bag, pulling out the little pouch that held her most treasured possession.

AN: Thank you for sticking with me and continuing to read. I hope this wasn't too much of a letdown. I have a limited imagination so of course I went the easy route and let Kyoko pick the story that would hurt others the least. I love that you awesome readers can predict where I'm going with future chapters. I meant to have this out last night but I kept falling asleep as I was trying to proofread it. Having my phone fall on my face several times was enough to make me stop...LOL. I'm sure there are still many errors despite my efforts this morning.

Thank you to all that left me a review. I appreciate you guys dropping me a note. It pushes me to continue.

Until next time, ja ne! ^_^