If you need a refresher on the OC's, check out the intro note in the previous chapter.
Step one; Dress to attract.
It was days like this that had Kyoko wishing she had access to the internet. While it was not often she indulged in the bountiful knowledge easily accessible on her phone, today would have been one of those rare days she used it. She could verify if what the other girls had told her last night was accurate. Unfortunately, with all phone and internet access blocked save for supervised special use, she was stuck relying on their expertise to win over a man.
This piece of advice was obvious. No need to second guess it, she'd just never done it before. Thus, it hadn't occurred to her until Salon-chan had pointed it out.
She stood in front of her wardrobe, wondering just which of the many ridiculous costumes Maria had provided was appropriate to wear. Should she dress more casually? Wear a dress? What kind of dress? What were they even doing today? There hadn't been an itinerary.
"Probably best to be on the safe side." Kyoko pulled out a random dress. It had a very low neckline, one that would show cleavage on even the most unfortunately blessed of women.
"Wear what makes you comfortable. But don't be afraid to be bold."
Well, Kyoko wasn't that bold. Muttering to herself, she pulled out a few other dresses, tossing those she'd never wear into a "burn these later" pile. Was that a dress with a completely sheer back? Who would wear this? Not this pure Japanese maiden, no ma'am.
Finally, she found an acceptable outfit. A high-waisted floral print skirt with a ruffle eggshell blouse. It was still comfortable but dressier than anything she'd worn so far. A perfect fit.
Now for the makeup.
She hesitated here, holding her brow liner between forefinger and thumb. Did she really need to do this? Ren had seen her in makeup before. It really didn't matter, did it?
Come on Kyoko, are you doing this because you have to? Or because you want to?
It was a little of both. She needed to seduce Ren, but she also wanted to. Dress up that is. Since when had she hated the idea of dressing up? It was fun. A delight she'd never indulged in until she'd entered the show business. A whole world had opened to her because of her career, and much of her joy had come directly from Ren's tutelage and friendship. She wanted this. She wanted him. And she wanted him to look at her with surprise, shock, and maybe the hint of a blush.
And now she was blushing. Great. Hopefully, that nonsense would stop now.
She slapped her cheeks a few times, swallowing her pride and applying some light makeup. Just lip gloss, coverup, and some brow filler. Enough to add a little clarity to her face without completely changing her looks. That should be enough, right?
"Ahhh, makeup really is the best," said Kyoko wistfully, staring at the mirror. "I need to thank Muse for teaching me those makeup techniques."
She was about to leave when something caught her eye. It was the jewelry case where she kept Princess Rosa. The beautiful necklace only came out when she acted as Natsu, but Ren had been the one to give it to her, and Natsu's soul would provide a little bit of courage she'd sorely need.
Or create problems. I can't forget what Setsuka did in the brief moment she was released.
But dang, she really could use that courage.
Swallowing, Kyoko grabbed the box and put on the necklace, refusing to second guess herself. The pendant sat perfectly above her collar, as wonderful and beautiful as ever.
"Alright Kyoko," she said to herself in the mirror. "Don't you dare back out of this, or else you'll regret it for the rest of yourself."
Breakfast was a quiet affair when Kyoko arrived in the dining area. Most of the women were absent save for two seated together in the corner. The slumber party had probably caused most to sleep in late. That left mostly men at the tables, some dozing bleary-eyed over a plate of breakfast with others outright skipping it in favor of a pot of coffee. She scoffed as a contestant passed her, drinking his supposed "breakfast".
The man noticed, pausing on the raised mug when he saw her.
"Don't you know breakfast is the most important meal of the day?" she said. If she remembered, his name was Akane and he was a body-builder nut. He should definitely know better! "How do you expect your body and mind to make it through the day when all you feed it after an eight-hour fast is caffeine?"
"Uh." The man gave a helpless chuckle. "Is that you, Kyoko-san?"
She gave him a look. "Of course it's me."
"I was just making sure. You look different." Based on his smile, it seemed like a good thing. He eyed his cup of coffee for a moment before looking back at the breakfast buffet. "I guess I could eat something. Want to join me?"
She nearly declined, wanting to sit by one of her friends. A quick look around the room showed that neither of the females were ones she had ever talked to and Ren wasn't in the group either. There was no reason to decline.
She followed Akane to the buffet and filled her plate with a proper breakfast. It wasn't until she took a seat next to him that she realized her mistake. Akane had chosen a table already occupied with some of the other male contestants. One of those was Dino.
He gave a wide smile as she sat, adjusting his glasses in an obvious fashion. Would it be too rude to get up and leave?
"Good morning, Kyoko-san," said Dino. "You look lovely this morning. Did you do something different with your hair?"
Kyoko tugged at the end of her flyaway bob, checking to make sure it wasn't a mess. "I don't think so."
"Well, it's something. Not that you don't always look pretty, but you look especially nice today."
It didn't bring her any pleasure to hear him say that. She hadn't put on makeup for him to notice.
"Yeah, I noticed it too," said Akane. "It took me a moment to recognize you."
At the other men's vocal agreement, Kyoko raised an unimpressed eyebrow.
"I just put on some basic makeup," said Kyoko. "It shouldn't have made that much of a difference."
Dino gave a sound of surprise. "Are you saying you haven't been wearing makeup before?"
She shook her head, earning some impressed looks and others she couldn't identify. Dino especially looked like he had struck a jackpot.
It started a whole conversation about makeup, a strange one if Kyoko was being honest. She knew girls talked about this sort of thing together with their friends, she just had never imagined men talking about this.
"I thought all women wore makeup," said Akane. "You couldn't catch my sister's dead outside without theirs on."
"They don't need all that stuff on their face," said one of the other men. "Unless you're Mitzuki-chan or something."
One of the other men gave a noise of agreement, the conversation moving to female celebrities and admiring their beauty. Kyoko just watched, fascinated by their comments until one of the men seemed to remember she was there. Rather than looking sheepish at the improper way he'd been vocally admiring a certain celeb, he turned eagerly to Kyoko.
"Have you ever met Mikki before? She's a model."
"I wouldn't have had much opportunity," said Kyoko. "I don't model."
"That's surprising," commented Dino. "I bet the camera would love you."
Kyoko was slowly becoming more uncomfortable with every second. She couldn't identify what exactly it was that was making her—no. She could. And it involved a certain Doctor continuing to make overt comments about her appearance. It encouraged the other men, making Kyoko squirm inside.
Over Akane's shoulder, she spotted her escape. Sakura had entered, taking a seat with her breakfast at an empty table.
She jumped to her feet, taking her tray with her. The sudden movement turned every eye in her direction.
"I, uh, see Sakura-san over there," said Kyoko. "Thanks for letting me sit with you Akane-san."
She saw Dino start to protest, but she scurried away before he could say anything. Kyoko nearly collapsed in relief next to Sakura.
"Thank goodness you're here," said Kyoko. "You are a lifesaver."
Sakura gave a smile. "Whatever I can do to help."
Kyoko took a bite of her food before she felt it. Something was off about her friend. Rather than her usually sunny self, Sakura was staring morosely at her food, pushing it around without care.
"Are you okay?" said Kyoko.
It wasn't until Sakura looked at Kyoko that she saw it. Red and puffy skin surrounding Sakura's eyes. Even the makeup she'd applied couldn't completely cover up the evidence of a night of crying.
Oh.
That was probably Kyoko's fault.
"Sakura-san I'm so—"
"Don't"
Kyoko clamped her mouth shut. Sakura continued to push her food around her plate until she gave up, setting down her chopsticks with a sigh. Kyoko had to silence her impulse to reprimand her for ignoring breakfast.
Not the time Kyoko.
"I'm not sad," said Sakura. "I was for a night, and maybe a few moments more, but it won't last. Just… Give me a little more time. Then we can be friends again. We can still be friends? Please?"
"Of course, we can," breathed Kyoko.
Sakura gave a shaky laugh. "Good. I have to see how it works out with you and 'Tsuruga-san' after all."
Kyoko didn't stop her as Sakura grabbed an apple from her plate, dumping the rest of her breakfast in a bin. What a waste of food.
Still not the most important thing right now.
Kyoko finished her breakfast alone, putting the empty dishes in their proper place. Maybe she'd go back to her room before the events of today started. Meeting with Sakura had reminded her what would happen if everything with Ren didn't work out. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.
"Are you fished with breakfast?"
Her heart sank. She turned to see Dino standing behind her, looking at her expectantly he pointed to one of the doors leading outside. "They said we still have another half hour before we need to gather. Want to take a walk outside in the garden?"
"No thanks," she declined.
"Oh, come on. We can stick to the shade. Make sure the sun doesn't darken your complexion."
Apparently, he couldn't take 'no' for an answer.
"I'm not really—"
Then she saw him. Kyoko waved her hand to the man who had just entered, raising her voice and catching the attention of almost everyone in the room. "Good morning Tsuruga-san!"
Ren stopped where he was, giving her a quick look over. If he noticed her dress or makeup, he didn't show it. His gaze focused instead on Dino.
Then he smiled.
Oh hell, it was that smile. While dampened by the large glasses and messy hair, it was still shiny, polite and sparkly enough to make heads turn and women catch their breath, Kyoko included. For her, it was out of fear that movement of any kind would have him turning that smile on her.
"Good morning Kyoko-chan, Dino-san," said Ren. He still was focused on Dino. "I hope you slept well."
Dino squinted through his glasses at Ren as if confused by something he saw. He dismissed it quickly enough, donning his own challenging smile.
"I did, thank you." He reached for Kyoko's arm. "Kyoko-san and I were just about to take a stroll through the gardens."
Kyoko dodged Dino's arm, taking a step toward Ren for safety.
"I'm actually going to stay here with Tsuraga-san," she said. "Make sure he has a decent breakfast."
Dino's smile faltered. "But Kyoko-san, I need to talk to you for a moment. In private."
Goodness man, take a hint! She was nearly standing on top of Ren at this point to stay out of Dino's reach.
"We can talk later," she said.
"But it's about— " Dino made a pointed look at Ren, who continued to smile, sparkles blaring.
"What about Tsuruga-san?" said Kyoko.
Dino had dropped the smile at this point, throwing away pretense.
"That's just it. You call him Tsuruga-san and I know you told people it was just a nickname but both of us know that's not true."
Did he know that Ren really was Tsuruga-san?
This had the potential to get messy. Their conversation was already drawing attention from the other contestants, a cameraman turning his focus in them. Sensitive as everyone was to the pull of drama, they felt it instinctively around Kyoko's group.
Kyoko was just about to give in and go talk with Dino to make him shut up when Ren ruined that option. He took hold of Kyoko's hand, tugging so that she was even closer to him.
"We would be more than happy to discuss this at another time," said Ren. He had completely dismissed his character at that moment, and Kyoko could feel some of the possessive parts of Cain peeking through. "But I'm currently starving-" Kyoko nearly snorted at the idea. "So we're going to get some breakfast first."
Ren took Kyoko with him toward the buffet, making it impossible for Dino to follow them without it being awkward. Judging by the look on his face he had considered it seriously.
This wasn't over.
Ren kept hold of her hand until he had to let go, piling food on his plate.
"Thanks," said Kyoko once she was sure Dino was out of earshot. "He's been bothering me all morning."
It was sweet of Ren to look out for her, even though he didn't have to be so upset about it. At this point, he had traded his dangerous smile for a flat stare. He plopped food uncaring into his plate, already loaded more than he could handle.
"He cornered me to talk about you yesterday," said Ren. "And when you called me Tsuruga-san, he put it together. I asked him to keep it quiet, confirming it before the story of the 'nickname' got around." He gave her a measured look. "He wanted me to stay away from you."
"Did he really?" She snuck a glance back at Dino. He was sitting back at his table, looking dejected as his friends spoke in low whispers. She noticed a few of them sending glares in Ren's direction.
"I told him not to do that," she grumbled.
"He talked to you about it?" He looked surprised.
"Yeah. Back when I was avoiding you, he mentioned that it looked like you were chasing me and offered to talk to you. Obviously, he didn't listen when I told him to back off." She peered at the food on Ren's plate, mentally calculating the calorie count. "You do realize I'm going to make you eat every bit of that, right?"
Ren paused, as if only now noticing the monstrous load of food on his plate. His irritation melted into chagrin.
"You're as bad as my mother," he mentioned. "Will you at least help me eat it?'
Kyoko puffed out her chest. "I already had a healthy-sized breakfast, even under distress. This is your punishment for losing control of your temper." She grinned to show him she didn't mean it. For the most part.
He understood the expression, ducking his head in embarrassment. It threw her off for a second until she remembered his "Ren" character. It looked like the nerd was back.
"I wouldn't have lost my temper if it hadn't been for…" Ren trailed off, glancing at her. "You look very lovely this morning."
"Oh."
It took her a moment to remember the effort she'd put in. Then she smiled proudly, doing a mental fist pump. This was a good sign. She'd succeeded in making him notice. Now she had to figure out if he just thought she "looked lovely" or if he thought her attractive. Very big difference.
Embarrassment colored her cheeks, but she touched a hand to her necklace, drawing strength from the stone's power to push through.
"I wanted to try something different." She tried swishing her skirt, hoping she didn't look like an idiot. "So, would you say you find me attractive?"
Ren's lips and hands twitched, rattling his utensils against the plate he still held. "Of course."
This time Kyoko couldn't help it. She raised both arms in the air in victory, feeling quite proud of her accomplishment.
At least until Ren had to kill it.
"I've always found you attractive."
All the air in her sails suddenly died. It was such a Tsuruga Ren thing to say. "I've always found you attractive". Just as he has always found many other superstars and models attractive. It felt disconnected from his personal feelings on the matter. Someone could be attractive without Ren himself feeling attracted to them.
"Guess this tactic won't work either," she muttered.
She hadn't meant for Ren to hear, but he had snuck up on her as she thought.
"Did you put effort into your appearance for my sake?" he said.
She cast him a furious glare, its heat cooled by the flush in her cheeks. "It seemed like a reasonable thing to try, but I guess I forgot who you were. I'd have to try a lot harder to compete with the models that throw themselves at you on the daily."
"What do you mean? I said I found you attractive."
"No! You said you've always found me attractive. Like you're a loving father who is doting on his daughter." She clapped her hands together, channeling Kuu's ridiculous wriggling pose and tone as he gushed about his "perfect" son, Kuon. "Oh, of course you're the most special girl on the planet. Beautiful and talented and perfect. Everyone else just can't understand your charm."
She straightened herself and her tone. "That. That is what you just sounded like."
"I didn't mean to be insincere." He sounded defensive. "I really have found you attractive."
"Sure you do."
Ren gave a sigh. The sigh that he did when her acting got an NG. "One of the more difficult things about you is that you don't take what I say seriously."
That kind of hurt. "I always take what you say very seriously." Otherwise, she would be an awful kohai.
"No, you—" He clamped his mouth shut, chewing on his thoughts for a moment before trying again. "You do if it's about acting. But anything else, you willfully misconstrue my meaning." She opened her mouth to retort, but he kept going. "And since we are trying to be more honest with each other, I don't want you misunderstanding anymore."
She folded her arms in a defensive barrier against him. Fine. If he wanted to be serious, she'd listen. No matter what the truth was. Good or bad.
It would be nice if it was more good than bad.
Ren walked to an empty table and took a seat, Kyoko following. Already done and with nothing to do, she waited as he took a few bites of his breakfast. After about the fourth bite she realized what was happening.
He's upset
But not in an angry, mad way where he wanted to yell at her. Judging by the tightness in his brow and eyes, he was in deep thought. Annoyed. Just where did he get off being upset at her? He was the one offering empty platitudes.
"Is that all you're going to say?" said Kyoko.
"I already said my bit," said Ren. "You're the one who won't believe me."
"That you've always thought I was attractive?"
He nodded.
Kyoko frowned, now confused.
"Why would I believe that?" she said. "I know I'm plain Tsuruga-san." It was part of the reason she could transform into so many different people with the magic of makeup. "And besides, if you had always found me attractive like you claim, then— um."
"Then what?" he said.
She struggled to find the right words. "I don't know. You would have acted differently or something."
"Or something?" he deadpanned.
"Yeah."
The sigh that came out of him held the weight of a suffering man. This whole conversation was bizarre and uncomfortable. Any confidence she'd gotten from her makeup this morning was gone, stewing in an embarrassed mess in her stomach.
As if my minimalistic makeup could match the beauty of any of Ren's previous love interests.
"I'm not being polite when I say I find you attractive," he said. "You are very beautiful, Kyoko-chan."
Her knee-jerk reaction was to dismiss him again. She readied herself to do just that when she spotted how he was looking at her. Dead on, dark hair somehow tangled into a perfect mess of endearing.
It would be easy to assume he was acting, lying for the sake of her feelings and ego. But she knew him better than that. Trusted him more now than ever. If they were going to make this work and fall in love, they had to be honest and open with each other. Kyoko would have to be honest.
And honestly, the thought of Ren finding her attractive scared the heck out of her. Which was why she had denied it so hard.
But continuing to deny it would be spitting in the face of what they were attempting. So she let it be truth, shifting the slots in her mind to allow it to be.
"Oh." Her voice came out tiny and awed. She clapped her hands to her cheeks, wishing she could push back the burst of heat that had come with this revelation.
Oh!
"I'm glad you finally get it." Cool triumph crossed Ren's smiling lips. "It's a relief to finally let you know."
It wasn't any relief to her poor heart. The thought that Ren had always been attracted to her was just... Boom. Done. That was her brain.
"Tsuruga-san!" she wailed. "You c-cant. It isn't fair! I said no more flirting."
"Why not?" His smile was kind, the type of smile that warmed her heart and made her feel important to him. "I don't see how it's out of bounds. If we're going to fall in love, I feel like these things would make it easier."
"Easier, yeah." Maybe for him! He was the sexiest bachelor alive.
Wait a second.
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"You didn't choose me because you like my face, did you?" she said.
Ren blinked at her, nonplussed. "Can't I like both you and your face?"
That was a distinct possibility. Very distinct. So far out there and unlikely that she couldn't be embarrassed by it. She felt more mystified than anything.
She rested her face in her palm, elbow bracing her head as she stared up at him. What strange tastes, to find someone like her attractive. But, it would be rude to continue to doubt him. It would just take some time to let this properly sink in. Sort of like rewiring her brain to see Ren and Corn as the same people.
Ren's chopsticks clicked softly against his breakfast bowl. His focus was on his food, but she could tell he was watching her as well.
He gave a teasing smirk. "See something you like?"
"Yeah," said Kyoko absently. "Turns out, I like your face too, Tsuruga-san."
Ren choked.
The famous heartthrob of the romance genre thumped his chest, trying to clear his airway. The confidence she'd lost earlier reared back to life, roaring with pleasure in her chest. Maybe she had a better chance than she thought at making Ren fall for her.
"Oh, also," said Kyoko. "I wasn't joking, you're going to eat that whole plate. It's not good to waste food, Tsuruga-san."
Thanks for reading.
I know, it has been forever. I will be focusing on TPC this year to try and finish it, so expect these updates to continue to be slow. That being said, who knows what's going to happen in the near future. I, along with many fellow Americans, have been asked to stay home. No work for me for at least 2 weeks. Probably longer.
In the meantime, everyone enjoy reading, call your friends and family to make sure they're okay, do your part for those that are older and have underlying conditions, don't panic, we will all get through this, and I'll enjoy the extra cuddle time with my 3-month-old son. :) Yes, I had my son. Everything went well and he is the cutest little baby in the entire world! No contest.
Thanks again for all your kind thoughts and love. I have lots of fun planned for the day's events. Bwahaha.
-BW