CHAPITRE 14

I DO NOT OWN SKIP BEAT ! Yoshiki Nakamura does.

If i did i would have it my way with this two idiots...

PS: normal dash= dialogue; Italic=thoughts; quotation marks +italic = mails; quotation marks+italic+dashes= flaskback dialogue, dialogue in the past.

One step in the world

Kyoko was staring at the sky full of buildings deep in thoughts. Lost in remembering the incident of four weeks ago. One month.

It was already one month since the last time she saw him. They had talked by phones when they had time but they were mostly busy and after checking on his health the followings days she didn't get much news. She knew he was really busy catching up to the days off she forced him to take. Yashiro-san told her so and then he was working on a confidential project again.

Kyoko sighed, she missed the time where she was in the confidence.

NO. If she was being honest, she missed him. Period.

She knew he was on a loser schedule these last days but she was the one that was unavailable. Moko-san had to leave to meet the producer just a few days following the irresponsible Kijima-Ren-revelation night as she renamed it in her head and Yashiro-san had to be with Ren all the time for this secret project so she was mostly left to her own devise until two weeks ago when Matsushima-san and the president came to ask her some incredible unexpected thing.

Which was the reason why she was currently starring at buildings.

But in her golden awed eyes also reflected a deep blue ocean and a statue. The breeze, the sight, the people. Everything was so different.

People were taller, buildings too. Colours and shades.

Odours were assaulting her with their mystery and curiosity gripped her with a hunger directed to other things than food.

A hunger to explore.

Kyoko shook her head. Maybe she could explore later. She couldn't right now, at least. She was expected.

The temptation was still hard to resist. The city was calling her. Her eyes glazed over and went in la-la-land in front of the magic of the unknown.

Still, she didn't caved and took with determination her case.

New-York wasn't the only thing waiting her. Moko-san was too.

She took a taxi and gave the address of the studio.

Still...She wished she could have told him where she was going...

I wasn't able to reach him for weeks, now...

..I miss him...

He must be really busy...

…

When she entered the studio, things suddenly become really real. People were so extravagant and loud and yet at this very place they were the same.

Professional actors, cameramen, technical party on the side checking every moment or so and directors shouting orders.

All different, but still the same patterns. No matter the country, acting was acting after all.

And for the first time Kyoko stepped on this land ground, she didn't feel as disoriented as before.

She breathed with relief, slipping in familiar skin, surrounding and all.

Inside the studio she could at least feel at ease.

Kyoko looked around for Moko-san and quickly spotted her. She was the only Asian woman she could see at the moment, maybe it helped.

She made her way to her wondering if she was being biased by the familiar atmosphere that studios were usually giving.

Though she would soon discover that her first appreciation of it was correct and that no matter the place people would act, gossip, get angry or gang up on people that displeased them. Even more so in America.

…

…

Weeks went by and with time passing her miss for one certain hidden fairy grew but Kyoko had to admit she liked the place and adapted herself quite easily to it.

Well okay, she had to acknowledge that her very good comprehension of English helped her a lot to blend in and to support Moko-san when she needed it.

But really. They could be professionals all right when demanded on. They could be nice too.

The biggest differences were their manners, some were really rude and trashy in their behaviours when others would be at least polite all proportion given and cultural differences added.

Just more loud in general.

But there was something good to this more casual way of being. You could be more straightforward here. Mainly just be honest without round-about. And most of all, it was warmer. Well, Kyoko didn't really like the complete strangers getting touchy-freely but otherwise people were just more affectionate, warmer in their contacts with people, more relaxed; though in a nosy way sometimes she conceded.

All in all and though there were pro and con, she decided she appreciated what she had seen of America so far.

Ah. But there was one big issue. The food. Kyoko was really having a hard time adapting herself to the food here. Too rich, too big. Just too…Too much.

Since she was here, she had become the shadow of Moko-san. Using what she learned while being Momiji, she made herself as discreet as a wall, followed moko-san around, providing explanations or playing translator in both ways and nurturing her eyes with American acting when she wasn't needed. It was a bit weird at first, sometimes expressed differently than she was accustomed to, sometimes with more special effects, sometimes more extreme but also a bit too artificial time to time. There was good and bad but it was acting and she loved it.

She was currently helping Moko-san to translate a very complexed part of her script when the diva of a man busted through the studio in an angry huff before going straight to his trailer and ordering the kind staff to bring him a coffee you could only find at the side of the city. Again.

Cedric Benneth. Or more like the most arrogant jerk actor-like she has ever met.

He was even beating Sho. Big time.

Because Sho was arrogant and selfish but if you scrapped the surface, you could still find kindness behind his façade. He would never hurt another just for the fun of it. He was all barking, bravado and cool arrogant mask but behind he was an idiot and a bit of a brat. Kyoko realized that now. How could she not, compared to the unspeakable.

Not that this jerk of a man was currently doing was really bad besides being conceited as hell and unprofessional but there was two things.

What Kyoko noticed first was how he treated others actors and staff or just others in general. It wasn't even a question of being rude. He seemed to be able to be polite at times. No. But he would look down on everything and everyone. He could really be rotten vicious in his way of speaking to others. And wouldn't hesitate to put down anyone that displease him or to whispers malicious words in directors or colleagues' ears about any newbie or staff that he didn't like. Worse, he had apparently power in the industry, family in it and was quite aware that no one could really go against him or stop him and knew damn well how to use that power so Kyoko did happen to witness one or two occurrences where he managed to not get fire people but to fire them directly. In short, he was toxic and bad.

Mindful of that and thoroughfully disgusted by his mere presence, Kyoko did her upmost to avoid him and to avoid Moko-san to cross path with him and was successful in it for most of the time until one their shared scene came up. Then, to Kyoko's horror, he tried to flirt with Moko-san in the most gross obscene way. Fortunately, her prideful Moko-san just ignored him and pretended she didn't understand what he was saying.

A few days later.

Beyond joy, Kyoko was reading with relief a mail. From Ren.

"Hello Kyoko,

She blushed again while imagining him saying her first name. Kyoko wasn't sure she would ever get used to it, no matter how much the mere thing made her giddy and how much she loved it.

"Hello Kyoko,

How are you?

I learned from Yashiro you're helping Kotonami-san with something but that as a love me task in which the president was involved, he didn't really know the details, I would love to hear them from you. If you are allowed to, of course.

I'm sorry for being unavailable for so long, my schedule loosened up a bit so I was wondering if we could meet up when you have time?

Ah, I swear I ate all along the time though I'm sure you wouldn't legit the food I got into my organism to work. But I did eat time to time.

Kyoko glared at her phone in annoyance at that.

…Hope to hear from you soon,

Ren."

She was surprised he didn't know she was in the States.

I thought for sure, Yashiro-san would have known and told him…

Bennet's friends, his *gang* and him came closer to her though she was sure they didn't notice her while she started answering the mail.

"Hello Ren,

Double blushes.

I'm glad your schedule is a bit lighter. Hope you have time to rest a bit now, though it's most certainly not the case. Your relationship with food is becoming more and more appalling if I understanding it well, we will talk about it.

I apologize but I'm not in Japan right now. I'm in America, in New-York to be precise. The love me job which I'm in is helping Moko-san in her English and at her new role in the American movie so I won't be able to meet up with you for at least two or three more weeks.

The men around Bennet-san started to laugh very loudly and

I didn't have to sign any legacy secrecy so as long as I don't shout the all scenario out, I think I can talk about it rather freely.

Hope you're well,

Eat! True food! Or the consequences will be dreadful for you. It's a promise.

Mogami Kyoko"

The men laughed again while Bennet-san gloated with a malicious smile plastered on his face and though she really didn't want to hear it, she was too close for it to not happen.

This bragging would be the second and most horrific thing that will raise issues and nightmares in Kyoko with Cedric Bennet-san.

He wasn't the gloating the main issue. Though Kyoko would have expected a bit more maturity from a twenty-two years old guy. But maybe she was biased by the other and closest twenty one years old man she knew. He was one of the more mature men she knew and even him had his moments of childishness after all.

Still, it wasn't the gloating. No, it was the nasty cruel subject of the boast.

His friends had apparently asked him how he got rid of actors or people that wouldn't cave in front of him and were good enough to not be just replaced.

Bennet-san had raised his palm and hit it with his fist.

-"Brutal force. Most people would rather preserve their life or wouldn't want to be hurt than keep a role or even a place in the industry. It's the best way to clean the path. Plus I quite enjoy the activity. Beating them to a pulp is a good stress-release."

His friends had applauded vigorously.

Now, seeing the enthusiasm of his comrades, he continued:

-I do this since I'm a young teenager; some would even say I was still a child when I started using this "method".

-Come on dude. You're kidding.

-Nah. I started early for a very good reason you see. I couldn't stand some brat at that time. The kid had it all and was just using his parents' coattail. Didn't have any talent if you ask me but all directors would be sweet-talking him and just asked him to do the same as his dad. The kid was a copy-doll of his dad at this point. But it was still easy for him to get roles. So I started roughing him a bit, see. Getting fired or bully him on the sides. One or two bruises wouldn't break him even at that age, see.

Bile began to pile up in her throat and a dreadful sickly feeling turned her stomach upside down.

-Seriously? That soon, man you're scary. What happened after that?

Bennet-san grimaced like he tasted a bad thought before answering.

-Bah. Nothing much. We became teenagers and it came to full-straight fights which were fun for a while because he wouldn't answer, he would let himself be beaten and neither would he tell his parents, never understood why though. Then at the end he started to fight back and I used the help of some to shut him down because the dude had become pretty strong and then I don't really remember. It ended badly or something and the guy disappeared.

-Man, was there even someone like that? Stop bullshitting us. With famous parents we would know too.

-There was answered another. You are just too young and too new in the industry to remember. But you can't be seriously talking about him?

-I see you got it said Bennet-san smugly.

The other guy kept going.

-Like for real? The one you bullied was -…him?

-Yeah. It was he said with wicked smile.

-Who? Tell me guys.

-…

-Kuon Hizuri they both said at the same time.

Inexplicably, they started feeling cold and chill run up their backs while they felt least and least at ease so they decided to move away quickly.

…

Rage thick in her stomach and murderous glare, the pain and the anger were so intense her vision was blurring and darkening so kyoko left the studio to calm down.

She wanted to vomit.

Cedric Bennet. No, he didn't deserve to be called by his name. That trash.

That trash of a man was the former torturer of her sweet fairy sempai friend.

She wanted to cry her eyes out for her friend.

How much should he had suffered! Oh Ren.

My poor Corn…

Finally, tears came and she wailed. Wailed in silent, breathy outraged raging screams on the misery people inflicted to the one she loves.

When she evacuated enough of the pain she felt for Ren, rage came back in full force.

She wanted to murder him.

Trashy jerk.

I still have a job to do though…

Moko-san needs me.

She had to control her temper and put a calm front if she ever wanted to go back to the studio and do her job. She had to.

Kyoko gritted her teeth with a last dangerous light in the eyes.

It will be the hardest thing she would have to do in a long time.