Chapter 86: Heart and Soul

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Skip Beat, for if I did, Kyoko would have a talent for music.

Jiro placed his hand over the trembling hand of his wife. This was stressing her out. First, their daughter and now the family's way of life was being threatened. Hayashi Kento, their cousin and family lawyer, was giving the members of the Morizumi clan a breakdown of the fallout they were facing after this morning's broadcast.

Several sponsors were in the process of dissolving new contracts. Others had suspended funding on a few projects pending any legal action that would be taken against the Morizumis. They had to either redirect funds or prioritize current projects. Fortunately, some projects were heavily invested in and near completion that sponsors were willing to see them to the end. Jouji was informed that the Sacred Lotus would press forward thanks to Koenji Group's continued support.

What the Morizumis didn't know was that Koenji Katsumasa was ready to cut his losses and scrap the whole project. Tadashi knew how his friend's mind operated and immediately intercepted Katsumasa after seeing the broadcast this morning, imploring him to continue with the production. He told Katsumasa that if he was not going to continue, then to at least let him take over funding the project. His daughter and the rest of the team had worked entirely too hard for Morizumi Kimiko to get the last laugh. He knew that it would look like nepotism if he went down this path, but Kyoko's happiness was more important. In the end, Katsumasa understood his friend's feelings and decided to continue forward.

Jiro was relieved by the news. The continued support of the Koenji Group spoke volumes within the industry. Kento told them that there were still several companies not willing to compromise their long-standing relationship with the Morizumis so they would continue to support future projects associated with them.

"We can turn this all around right now. First and foremost, we have to formally apologize to the people, bow down for our arrogance, and admit that we were wrong in taking advantage of our positions. At the very most, several members of the family will have lawsuits filed against them for personal grievances. We can handle those easily, but..." his voice trailed off looking at Jiro apologetically. Jiro straightened his spine for the blow. Kimiko's case was a whole different animal.

"Just give it to me straight, Kento. Do they have a valid case against the girls?" Jiro asked him seriously.

"I'm afraid so. I was told by my contact that they have irrefutable evidence on both of them but more on Kimi," Kento answered grimly.

"Didn't that man Hanazawa, or whoever, work in secret. What possible evidence could they have besides his word and eyewitness accounts? No one was seriously injured by those acts," Jiro stated, his voice rising in frustration.

"I can't tell you for sure, but it seems they have undoctored footage of Kimi. I have put a request in this morning to obtain our copy. It's in our rights to know what we're up against."

"And Yuri? What do they have on my Yuri?" An older gentleman sitting a few seats down from Jiro's right inquired.

"I'm sorry, Etsuji, I was told she was in it too. The police said that she became a delivery woman so she could get close to the actress Kyoko-san," Kento said, explaining the nature of his daughter's involvement with the incident.

Jouji hung his head low when they glared his way. They blamed him. He blamed him. This had happened right under his nose. They already had that discussion. There was no point rehashing it here.

Knock! Knock!

"Come in!" Kento snapped, annoyed by the interruption.

The young female receptionist entered the room carrying a large brown envelope. "I'm sorry for the interruption, Hayashi-san. This was just delivered by courier."

Hayashi held out his hand for the package. He read the label and thanked the receptionist. When she was gone he ripped open the seal and spilled out the contents. He scanned the top sheet; his expression turned to surprise with every new word.

"Jiro, please put this in. It seems we already have our evidence. That woman doesn't waste any time to comply with a request," Kento told the room. He started flipping through the rest of the documents. The file also contained several photographs and a toxicology report. There was no denying the still images of the girls. He glanced up from the papers when Jiro switched off the lights and wondered what could be on the disc?

Tadashi was responding to a work email in the lounge when out of the corner of his eye, he saw a whirlwind of his daughter being dragged by a girl not much older than her. Feeling instinctively protective, Tadashi jumped to his feet with lightning speed and chased after the girls. He should have never thought that she would be safe just because they were in the confines of the agency. He couldn't underestimate anyone, even young girls these days.

"Stop right there, young lady! What are you doing with my daughter?" Tadashi demanded, grabbing the girl by the shoulder. The girls were startled to a standstill. They didn't hear his approach until he spoke. Ruriko dropped Kyoko's arm, terrified by the anger in Tadashi's eyes.

"Ah, father! It's okay. This is Matsunai Ruriko-san. She's part of the musical division of the agency. She's a singer here and very forceful, but she's not bad...anymore, at least. We did have a bad beginning, but I think we moved past that," Kyoko explained, trying to calm her father down. Aside from that time with Koki, she had never seen him so angry.

Ruriko nodded erratically, agreeing with Kyoko. Her fear ebbed just a bit after learning that the man was Kyoko's father.

"Sorry, Matsunai-san, was it?" Tadashi smiled sheepishly, removing his hand from the girl's shoulder and bowing in apology. "Did I hurt you?" he asked the singer, examining her when he straightened back up.

Ruriko bowed in return to the distinguished older man in front of her. She blushed as his golden eyes softened with concern for fear of having hurt her. She shook her head no, vigorously, unable to form an audible response.

"Ruriko-san, this is my father. Morimoto Tadashi-san," Kyoko said, completing the introductions. She was glad her father was back to normal. When Ruriko just stared dumbly at him without responding, Tadashi took it upon himself to break the tension.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Matsunai-san. I'm very sorry for my behavior earlier," Tadashi apologized again, rubbing the back of his neck with a boyish grin. He had overreacted and felt stupid right now.

"Eh, Ruriko-san is everything ok?" Kyoko asked, concerned by Ruriko's behavior. Did her father scare her that much?

"I'm fine," Ruriko barely squeaked out, finally pulling herself together. She blushed again before walking down the hall to the elevators. Why are you being such a spazz? He probably thinks you're a mute right now!

Tadashi and Kyoko quickly caught up to her. Stepping up to the elevator first, Tadashi pushed the button, then held the door to let the ladies inside. He smiled warmly at Ruriko, hoping to give off a friendlier vibe, but the girl could barely look at him.

Ruriko pressed the button to the floor that would take them to Nakazawa's office.

"Can either of you fill me in on what's going on?" Tadashi asked as the elevator ascended.

"Oh, sorry, father. I'm actually surprised that Yashiro-san was able to handle everything so quickly. I accepted a cameo in a new singing drama. It's a small part, but my character is supposed to have a positive influence on the protagonist. I'm excited that it's not a bully role again," Kyoko said with a gleeful smile. Her smile dropped when she thought about the other part of her character. She had to sing. A dark aura started to fill the tiny space of the elevator. Ruriko was feeling faint from the oppressive atmosphere.

"It sounds like a good opportunity," Tadashi praised, wondering why her mood had changed. Kyoko nodded but still looked depressed. "Is there a part you don't like in the script?" He asked curiously. If he had his way, Tadashi would negotiate whatever was making her unhappy out of the contract.

"I have to sing. I'm not sure if I'm any good," she explained, sinking further into despair.

Tadashi had never heard her sing before, so he was unable to give the concrete criticism that would help her out of this slump. He didn't want to lie to her, but his gut told him she would be amazing at it with a little practice. If need be, he would hire the best teachers for her. Before he could offer any fatherly advice, Ruriko managed to speak up.

"Are you stupid? Why would you think you would be offered this job if they thought your singing was terrible. You still kinda piss me off with that attitude. It was the same with Ring Doh, acting like you didn't know anything...and to think, I almost lost the part to such a newbie like you," Ruriko huffed, folding her arms across her chest.

Kyoko brightened at the singer's words but was still confused. "Ruriko-san, coming from you. I feel so happy, but you have never heard me sing before."

"Nakazawa-san has a recording of you singing," Ruriko declared. Kyoko's eyes widened again, still not understanding her statement. "There was also that karaoke competition. Eye witness accounts said you were good. I'm sure with a little vocal training, you will be able to do a good job."

Kyoko's eyes filled with hearts at having been praised by her senpai. Before she could ask more questions, the elevator door dinged and opened to their floor.

Ruriko stopped in the middle of the hall and turned to Kyoko. "Things won't go as well as last time. You are technically on my turf. I won't lose to you this time. I want this to be successful so be prepared to work."

Kyoko smiled with determination, "I am looking forward to working with you!" Ruriko-san has really changed since Ring Doh. She's taking her work more seriously.

...

"Ruriko-chan, you found her! Kyoko-chan, I'm so happy you decided to accept the part. Have you had a chance to look over the draft script?"

Kyoko bowed in greeting to the section chief, "yes sir! The part interested me greatly. I will do my best with the singing portion so as not to disappoint anyone."

"No worries, Kyoko-chan, I heard your voice while you were singing in the LoveMe room. With a little training, I'm sure you will be successful," Nakazawa assured her. Kyoko flushed red with embarrassment. Was she so loud that others could hear her in the hallway?

"Excuse me, Nakazawa-san. I am Morimoto Tadashi, Kyoko-chan's father, and acting manager today. I will do my best to represent her in Yashiro-san's stead. It seems like this job was accepted just today so I was not briefed on the details. What exactly do you have planned today? Kyoko-chan has another engagement in..." Tadashi paused to check his designer watch for the time, "under two hours."

"Pleased to finally meet you, Morimoto-san. Yashiro-kun had mentioned your involvement. He shared with us, me, and the other section heads, Matsushima and Sawara, Kyoko-chan's schedule so far. That's how I knew she was free for a bit today. Please come with me!" He motioned for them to follow. They went out of the hall and took the elevator up again.

Nakazawa took them to a room Kyoko didn't know existed in the building. It was a music studio filled with instruments, speakers, microphones, and other equipment necessary to produce music. Ruriko plopped down onto one of the black leather couches lining the back wall, clearly at ease with the place. A large desk full of computer monitors and more equipment sat before a large glass window. Beyond the double pane glass were more instruments in the adjoining room. There were a variety of guitars hanging on the walls, a complete drum set, a baby grand piano on one side, and several other instruments, including a large harp. They also had a secluded booth in one corner with a microphone hanging from the ceiling.

Kyoko's eyes strayed to the man sitting in the other room with a guitar propped on his lap and headphones over his ears. She watched him strum a few chords then pause to scribble on the sheets in front of him. He repeated the process of strumming and scribbling for a few moments without noticing them.

When he took a long pause, Nakazawa clicked on a button on the large equipment panel sitting on the desk in front of them and said, "Kei, I brought Kyoko-chan." His voice startled the man inside the other room, causing him to curse and drop his pencil. They watched quietly as he gathered his stuff and came out of the room.

Kyoko took in his appearance as Nakazawa made the introductions. Kei had straight messy black hair that flowed down to his shoulders. His skin was pale, almost translucent as if he rarely saw the sun with soft brown eyes framed by thick black-rimmed glasses. The way he was casually dressed in jeans and a band t-shirt made him look to be in his early twenties, but she couldn't be sure. Nakazawa explained that Kei was one of LME's top music producers. He was a composer for the drama and in charge of Kyoko's song.

Kei studied the actress in front of him. Initially, he wasn't familiar with any of her work. When he heard that they were pushing for her to fill the role, he immediately did his research. Being part of LME, he was familiar with the hardships she was facing right now. He ignored the issue that was happening with the other girl and focused on her interviews along with her recent article in Boost magazine. He wanted to know her, not the characters she played.

He was immediately drawn to the feelings that she had for Ren. It was obvious to him from the way she spoke about the actor and her reactions that he was her first true love. Using those feelings, he was able to compose a song that he hoped would suit her voice. The recording Nakazawa had given him was shoddy, but he heard potential in it. She came highly recommended by the chiefs so he couldn't argue with their choice. The director had readily approved when the Diva now sitting on the studio's leather sofa agreed to the arrangement. Apparently, she had some sort of rivalry with the girl and had something to prove.

The voice he heard didn't match her overall appearance. Kyoko looked like a normal pretty girl in her school uniform. She had a slight figure, but it was her eyes that captivated him. They were large and expressive with a very unique color for a native Japanese girl. Her look would fit the role as "Rika Sterling" really well with the right outfit and makeup. He would never have guessed that she was Ren's type. From the rumors he overheard from the female staff members, it would seem that this slip of a girl had Japan's hottest male wrapped around her little finger.

"If you're through ogling her, old man, can we get on with it?" Ruriko commented sarcastically and rolled her eyes.

"I was not ogling. I'm observing and we're the same age, you know. I'd like to get an idea of her overall appearance and determine if the song would fit the image she's trying to portray," Kei replied smoothly. "Why are you here anyway, and where is your manager? Don't you have some work to do?" He asked, annoyed by the singer's presence.

Ruriko stuck her tongue out at him. "She'll be along shortly to collect me, so hurry up. I want to hear Kyoko-chan sing."

"Ugh, fine!" he agreed, reluctantly. "Kyoko-san, can you tell me a bit about your knowledge of music? Can you play any instruments? Read music? That sort of thing."

"I've had no formal training. It was just something I was interested in during middle school," Kyoko began explaining. They didn't need to know that she had done it all to help Shotaro. She was glad she no longer held a grudge against him. She could now look upon things she did in the past as a learning experience to help her achieve her dreams. "I'm familiar with notes, but as for an instrument, I tried the guitar. I'm not very good," she confessed, feeling a bit dismayed. She thought of Ren and how he had practiced hard to learn the piano pieces for Katsuki. It somewhat cheered her up and gave her confidence.

"But I promise to work very hard so that I can grasp my role," she vowed, fired up with renewed determination.

"That's right, Kyoko-chan! We all have confidence that you can pull this off!" Nakazawa cheered, giving her a thumbs up.

"Well, at least that's something I can work with. For starters, how about you show me what you can do with this." Kei reached for the glossy black acoustic guitar he was using earlier. "If you tried the guitar then I assume you practiced a song?"

Kyoko nodded shyly, reminded of the song she played over and over, secretly in the music room at school, until she got it right. It had been years since then. She gave it up when Shotaro had made fun of her singing.

"Good! Find a comfortable seat and I want you to try," Kei told her. He handed her the guitar once she took her seat. Tadashi took off his suit jacket and handed it to his daughter. It seemed she was a bit uncomfortable with her school skirt. Kyoko smiled at him gratefully and covered her legs with it. She pulled the strap over her shoulder and settled the guitar comfortably. She took a few practice strums before glancing up at her audience in the room.

Kei nodded encouragingly. Her hand placement and movements looked good so far.

Kyoko took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to visualize the right chords. She positioned her left hand over the frets and began plucking single notes. When she had run through the song twice, she strung more notes together on the third try. Once she got the hang of it, her fingers flew confidently over the strings. She went through the song once more and surprised everyone by adding her voice, "Twinkle, twinkle, little star; How I wonder what you are; Up above the world so high; Like a diamond in the sky..."

When neared the end, she slowed down the tempo and added her little twist to the song before looking up. She was met with wide eyes and gaping jaws. Tadashi clapped enthusiastically before the others joined in. It was a beginner's song, but the way her fingers moved through the chords was impressive. His daughter was truly amazing!

Kyoko blushed, stood, and bowed her thanks. "I'm sorry that's all I can do," Kyoko said, apologizing for her lack of skill.

"Are you kidding? That was more than I could hope for," Kei shouted, enthusiastically. He had prepared himself to start from scratch on the guitar. She was obviously being modest earlier. He had watched her struggle at first trying to get her rhythm, but once she found it, she was unstoppable. If he showed her how to play this new song, she would catch on quickly.

"Your voice is good. You were on pitch the whole time. This is the song I have in mind for your Rika, but it's not quite finished. I've been working on it all morning. I'm sure you already know it's in English since Rika is an international star," Kei said, handing her the music sheets he had been writing on when they first walked in. He took the guitar from her and settled it on his lap.

"I'm going to run through it for you once. Then we'll try it again with you singing along. This will give me an idea of how to arrange the music to best suit your voice. Okay?"

"Yes!" Kyoko agreed, excitedly watching his fingers strum out the new song. Kyoko looked down at the sheets he had given her to follow along with when he started singing. His voice surprised her since he started in falsetto. From speaking with him, she didn't think he was capable of singing so high. His voice fell an octave or two, but he continued singing in perfect pitch and only rose on certain parts of the song. The melody was slow and the lyrics were powerful. He stared at her as he sang, making Kyoko blush.

She felt like she was intruding on something very personal. Her heart squeezed with every lyric. She could feel the raw emotion behind it. It was as if the song was broadcasting what she felt in her heart. The spell was broken when he stopped abruptly at the end of the second verse. He still had to work on the ending.

Kyoko blinked rapidly when a tear dropped onto the music sheet she held in her hands. She swiped at her eyes. Kei handed her a box of tissues, apologizing for making her cry. It was a common thing in this studio to have strong emotions when it came to music.

"I'm sorry that was just so...so moving. If it's not too personal, may I ask what inspired you to write this kind of song?" She wondered if he would tell her. Sho never told her no matter how many times she asked. He would always say something arrogant like he just thought of it on a whim.

"You did, actually," Kei confessed.

"Me?" Kyoko squeaked, blushing again.

"Yes! I mean, I draw inspiration from what is currently going on in a singer's life. This way, the songs I write are meaningful and relatable to the artists singing them. While listening to the song, did you ever think that this is exactly how I feel? Can he see into my heart? How in the world does he know?"

Kyoko's amber eyes widened with surprise. That's exactly what she was thinking as she followed along with him. He had to be a descendant of the God of music himself to have that kind of insight into her very soul.

"I've researched you. Not any of the characters you played, but you, yourself. There was one recurring theme throughout your recent interviews and that Boost article. Do you know what it was?" He paused, waiting for her answer.

Kyoko took a moment to think about her most recent interviews. There was the Heel reveal, then the one with Ren and Sho. She wasn't sure exactly, so she shook her head no, hoping he would explain.

"It's your love for Ren-san. I could tell right away that he is your first real love so I wanted to capture that emotion in the song. I think this song will be a mega-hit once you're able to pour your heart and soul into it," he confidently admitted.

Kyoko blushed scarlet. Was she so transparent in her love for Ren that this stranger had noticed? Was she becoming a love idiot again? She glanced at her father. He smiled at her warmly. No one was making fun of her for it. I will be just fine, she thought, smiling back at her father.

"Now, let's hear you sing along this time," Kei told her, readjusting the guitar. Kyoko nodded with a smile towards Kei. She looked down at the sheets. As Kei stated, she would pour all the love she had for Ren into this song.

AN: Thank you, my dear readers, for your patience. I've once again added a new OC to the bunch *facepalm* so I hope he is believable. I'm not a musician nor have I ever taken any lessons long enough to count (but I used to kick ass at Rockband and Guitar hero XD) so if I used terms wrong, please don't hesitate to correct me. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it.

Thank you for continuing to read and for the lovely reviews of the last chapter. Thank you for giving me confidence and putting up with this beast. Oh and if you didn't know Kyoko sang/played the lullaby/nursery rhyme Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star which I think is a common beginner's song unless you play it like the OG Mozart! LOL

Until next time, ja ne! ^_^