Chapter Text
Kyoko Mogami sighed, wondering how exactly she kept finding herself in these situations. It wasn't like she sought this guy out. She certainly never wanted to see him. Besides, she was supposed to meet Tsuruga-san for a late lunch, and she was pretty sure that when she didn't show up, he was going to come looking for her. And if he came looking for her and found her in this hallway with Sho Fuwa, he was going to be mad.
Well...not mad. She didn't see him truly angry all that often, and even when he was angry, it never lasted all that long. But he would be upset. The happy, light mood she was in whenever she got to be around him would be ruined.
Because he was jealous of Sho.
The thought was still too strange to understand. Ever since his confession a few weeks ago, Kyoko had been trying to wrap her head around that part, almost more than any other. How could Tsuruga Ren, the number one actor and bachelor in Japan, possibly be jealous of Sho? Also, why did everyone think she and Sho were close? Hell, some people thought they were together! It was ridiculous, especially considering the fact that they were always fighting. She rolled her eyes at the thought and wondered how much time she had before Tsuruga-san came to find her...and if he'd believe her if she told him Sho had ambushed her.
Kyoko's phone had buzzed in her pocket, and she'd been about to pull it out and apologize for running late, when she'd run into him.
Sho had cornered her as always, the only way she'd deign to speak to him, and had informed her with his typical arrogance that he needed to talk to her. Never mind that she was busy. Never mind that they were in the hallway leading from the parking garage where she'd entered the building and could be easily overheard if someone were to walk in the door behind her, which was the last thing she needed. Bad enough her big break in Dark Moon had come from acting in this guy's PV...she didn't want to be associated with him anymore than necessary. And she absolutely wasn't going to chance answering her phone with Sho nearby. With her luck, he'd steal it from her and say something stupid to the person that was most likely Tsuruga-san.
"Look, I'm late for something. I don't really have time for this." Sho was grinning at her, blocking her exit, and she knew for a fact that if she tried to make a run for it, Sho would catch her. And yes, she had been training for Momoji, so she might just be able to fight him off, but she'd had a long day and she just wanted to have lunch with Tsuruga-san and get to her next job...which was being Bo the Chicken at TBM, so she would also have to hope that he didn't bring up her next job or ask any questions.
"Late for what? A date with your new boyfriend?"
"No," Kyoko told him flatly, mostly because they weren't dating. Not yet. Just that thought made her cheeks heat up a little. Tsuruga-san wanted to date her...at some point. And honestly she was glad things weren't changing just yet. She wasn't ready for any kind of big change. But Tsuruga-san had been around more than before, and she seemed to run into him all the time, mostly at LME, which she suspected Yashiro-san of masterminding.
Not that she minded, Kyoko thought with a tiny, private smile. She didn't mind at all.
Of course, he spent time with Kana-san as well, the two of them going on publicity dates and appearing together for the press. And Kyoko was fine with that. Really, she was. Because Kana-san didn't have any interest in Tsuruga-san. And Kyoko knew that. So she was never jealous when she saw him with his arm around her in magazines or on celebrity news shows. She was never hurt when he kissed her cheek or smiled at her like he loved her. Because, Kyoko told herself over and over, she was mature.
Too mature to kick Sho in the shin and run. Maybe. She'd have to see how this conversation went.
Sho was holding a folder in one hand, tapping it against his leg and looking smug, which was never a good thing. "Well, this has been fun…" Kyoko started, turning on her heel and walking the other way, figuring she could just use another entrance, but found herself yanked back by her arm.
"Just a second," he tugged on her arm hard and pulled her around to face him. "I want to talk to you."
"Well, I don't want to talk to you."
"That's too bad!"
Just as Kyoko was yanking her arm away, she caught sight of the one man she was really hoping would take just a little longer to show up. Tsuruga-san turned the corner at the end of the hall behind Sho, the look on his face letting her know that he'd seen what had happened and he wasn't happy, and she was brainstorming explanations when he started walking quickly towards them.
But then Sho had to open his stupid mouth. "I'll bet you didn't know that the pinheaded superstar you so stupidly let yourself fall for didn't even tell you his real name." The words were blurted out as though he could no longer hold them in, his grin still so smug that she wanted to return the favor and slap it off his face.
Behind Sho, Tsuruga-san froze mid stride.
What was he getting at? Whatever it was, she didn't like it, so she decided to just go with it. "Of course I know that his real name isn't…"
"And that his real name is Hizuri Kuon," Sho cut her off triumphantly.
The world seemed to come to a terrible, screeching halt, and it took every scrap of acting talent Kyoko had to keep her face normal. She knew immediately, just by the expression on Tsuruga-san's face, that Sho was right. She didn't know how Sho was right...how he could have found out something like this. Had he hired someone to look into Tsuruga-san? She shoved the thought away...it didn't matter. Because Tsuruga-san had frozen, mid-stride, and Sho was grinning at her, just waiting for her reaction as the whole world remained silent and still around her.
She knew how he expected her to react...he expected her to yell and scream and demand to know what the hell he was talking about.
He expected her to be angry at Tsuruga-san.
But even if she was...even if his real name and every implication that came with it made a blinding wave of betrayal and hurt rip through her, she would deal with that later. Because right now, in the hallway behind Sho, Tsuruga-san stood frozen, a look of absolute horror on his face. She had never seen him look so afraid...it broke her heart to see it now.
She wasn't going to let Sho hurt him.
So she forced her face to remain scornful. She wasn't a child anymore. Sho wasn't the person who knew her best anymore. She could fool him if she had to. And now, she had to. Because Tsuruga-san was the person she loved.
Kyoko sighed, rolling her eyes and acting with her whole heart as she propped a hand on her hip, borrowing a little of Natsu's attitude. Tsuruga-san had protected her a thousand times. He'd comforted her and he'd helped her with her acting and now she was going to pay him back for all of it, the plan forming in seconds as she turned her bored gaze back to Sho. It was something she'd never wanted to do...but for Tsuruga-san, she'd risk it. "I did, actually," she told him coldly. "Not that it's any of your business."
Sho scoffed. "Yeah? Well did you also know that when he was fifteen..."
"I'm not playing 20 questions with you, Shotaro," she snapped, cutting him off and taking a step closer, forcing herself to focus only on him. "What Ren has chosen to tell me is between him and me." Part of her wanted to throw herself on the floor and apologize for calling him so informally, but, she reasoned with herself as she kept up the cool facade, Sho would need to believe that they were close enough that Tsuruga-san would share all of this with her. So she kept her eyes on her oldest friend and enemy and cocked her head, giving him a cold smile. Right now, she was playing a part. The part of Tsuruga-san's girlfriend. No...Ren's girlfriend. And any woman good enough to be his girlfriend would be composed. She would be calm. And she would take care of this situation before Sho caused any real problems. "The real question is, what are you going to do with this information?"
He smirked, the irritation at being cut off dropping away. "Well, I only think it's fair that the people of Japan know that they've been lied to." He held up the folder, revealing the name Tsuruga Ren written on the front in black marker. "Unless you want to make me a better offer?"
She lifted an eyebrow, but let him continue, not allowing herself to look at Tsuruga-san standing in the shadows of the hallway behind him. She was playing his girlfriend. A woman good enough to be Ren's girlfriend wouldn't let herself be threatened by this idiot.
"Give up on him." Sho's voice was suddenly wheedling, almost whiney. "A guy like that wouldn't give you the time of day anyway. He has a girlfriend. And you belong to me. So I'll let you come back, and no one ever has to see this." He waved the folder. "I won't say a word about that platform wearing asshole ever again."
Kyoko acted as though she were considering that offer...as though she could ever accept anything like what Sho was offering her. She had never felt for him a fraction of what she felt for Tsuruga-san...and Sho had never been as kind to her, or as gentle with her, as Tsuruga-san had. Sho had never loved her. Still, she could practically feel the tension from Tsuruga-san standing a few feet away, so she gave her answer with a scoff.
"In your dreams, Shotaro. I wouldn't come back to you if you were the last human alive."
His eyes flashed with the familiar anger that always appeared when things didn't go his way, his jaw tightening, his fists clenching. "Fine. Then I'll tell everyone who exactly your second rate actor boyfriend is."
Kyoko smirked right back at him. Time for her plan. It wasn't a plan she'd ever wanted to use, but mutually assured destruction had always been an option.
"Fine," she told him with an easy wave of her hand. "Do whatever you want. I can't stop you." She paused. "But Shotaro," she warned, "if you tell everyone his story, then I'll tell them mine."
Both men froze, Sho's face showing the first hints of uncertainty. "What…"
She crossed her arms, tilting her head and feigning an innocent, wide-eyes smile. "My story. Starting with a childhood growing up with my best friend, Shotaro Fuwa, favorite food: pudding. Favorite genre of TV: comedy shows. I'll bring out the photo albums. I'll go on talk shows, and I'll tell the reporters that you brought me with you to Tokyo when I was barely fifteen. I'll cry when I tell them about waking up every morning at 4 am to make you breakfast before leaving to work 3 jobs so that we could live in a nice enough apartment to suit you, all while you slept with other women. I'll tell them how much I loved you, and how I thought you were my Prince Charming, and then, I'll tell them about that day I left work early to bring you lunch."
Sho shook his head, taking a step forward. "You…"
"I think I even remember your exact words to your manager. 'My parents wanted me to marry her...a plain, boring woman who just does whatever I say.' And there was something about me being your maid…" Kyoko waved a hand. "Doesn't matter. I'll get my point across."
"You weren't even supposed to hear…"
"That's just the start of my story, Shotaro," she cut him off with a laugh. "I'll tell them everything. I'll tell them that you forced a kiss on me in front of the entire cast and crew of my first major job. I'll tell them you backhanded me in your dressing room, and how you had Mimori handcuff me to a school gate so I had to talk to you. And then, I'll tell them how that same day, you pinned me to the wall of a parking garage so hard that I had bruises for days, all because you suspected me of being in love with someone else."
"I did not…" he started, practically shouting, but Kyoko just lifted an eyebrow and his words died in his throat. He had. And he knew it. "I didn't mean to…" he muttered.
"The places we work have cameras, Shotaro. Security footage," she reminded him as though speaking to an idiot. Half the time, she felt like she was. This was where her biggest gamble lay. The rest had all been true. This part, she wasn't 100% sure of. "All I have to do is go to the president of LME and tell him everything...everything you've done to me, from the harassment to the actual physical assault. The phone calls where you screamed at me. Showing up at the restaurant where I live whenever you wanted to make me wait on you. And he could get me the evidence I need in no time."
"You're bluffing," Sho hissed, his free hand clenched into a fist.
She smiled, eyes cold, regarding him with all the fury she felt for him. He'd threatened the man she loved. This was the absolute least she could do. "You're welcome to find out. But you listen carefully, Shotaro Fuwa." She took a step forward, pointing a finger and lowering her voice. "If you do this...if you hurt him, I'll burn you to the ground."
He took a step back, face going pale as she felt her grudges swirl in the air around her. "You don't think that story will ruin you too? When the whole country, hell, when your mother sees you for what you are...a pathetic girl that ran away from home because she was in love? Is that really what you want?"
Kyoko's smile softened into one that felt sad. It wasn't what she wanted. But she'd do it if she had to. "Well, I suppose I'll just have to learn to live with that. But I'm not that girl anymore."
"Yeah, right. You honestly think that guy cares about you? You think you're special because he helped you out a few times? He's dating another woman, Kyoko!"
Kyoko didn't answer...didn't let herself flinch at the words. She needed that folder and she needed to get out of this hallway before someone else stumbled upon their conversation. Glancing past Sho, she realized Tsuruga-san wasn't standing there anymore. Good. Now Sho wouldn't see him.
"You'd really ruin both of our lives for him? You really love him that much?"
Kyoko tamped down on the part of her that wanted to run. To hide. She knew the dangers of love. She knew that Tsuruga-san could still break her heart, and it would be so much worse than what Sho had done to her. It would hurt so much more to lose him than it had Sho. But he had looked so scared. She couldn't bear the thought of letting Sho hurt him.
"I love him that much," she confirmed in a whisper, holding out her hand.
Sho glared down at her, his eyes boring holes into her, but she wouldn't waver. And finally, after what felt like an eternity, Sho threw the folder at her, the papers hitting her in the chest before scattering to the floor.
"Fine. You always were a stupid, love-obsessed girl. I thought you were better than that now. I can't believe I ever thought you could be anything more."
He stormed off, stepping on one of the papers as he went, and she remained where she was until he turned the corner. Only then did she drop to her knees and gather all of the papers, making sure she didn't leave a single one before stuffing them back into the folder and straightening.
She found Tsuruga-San around the corner, his back pressed to the wall, fear blatant on his face like she'd never seen before, wide eyes following her every move as she approached. They darted down to the folder she held out when she got within reaching distance, then back up to her face.
"Here," she urged softly, and mechanically, he took the folder from her hands. "You should burn that."
He just stared at her, mouth slightly open, looking lost. She sighed, resting a hand lightly on his arm and lowering her voice to a whisper.
"It's okay. He won't tell. Not now. He won't risk it. You should probably try and find out how he got that information though." It was a strange feeling to be the rational one, but one of them had to be.
"I...I didn't tell anyone…" Tsuruga-san started, but she shook her head, holding up a hand before he could give her any kind of explanation. She couldn't bear it. Not now. Not like this.
"This never happened. I don't know anything."
He blinked, looking torn for a moment. But then he reached out, his arms wrapping around her so gently, her body pulled flush against his just like when she'd been acting as his sister.
But this wasn't her brother. This was the man she loved.
Kyoko stiffened in surprise for half a second, but when he dropped his face into her hair, she hugged him back, letting herself feel warm and safe like she always did when he held her. Burying her face in his chest, she gripped the back of his shirt and pulled him closer, and he responded by tightening his arms, taking a deep, shuddering breath and clutching her like a lifeline.
He was the first to pull away, loosening his grip and resting his hands on her shoulders, staring down at her with something like awe. But before he could speak, they were interrupted.
"Ren?"
Neither of them had noticed Yashiro approaching, and now the man stared at them, looking worried. Tsuruga-san didn't release her, and Kyoko didn't step away. She could feel the folder that Tsuruga-san held in a tight grip against her back and she could feel how his hands shook, but she was sure Yashiro-san couldn't tell from over there.
"Is everything okay?" His gaze moved between the two of them. "Kyoko-chan? Are you alright?"
Kyoko thought fast, schooling her face into a smile. "Everything's fine. Sho was bothering me, but he's gone now." She turned back to the man still holding her, pulling away gently. "Tsuruga-san, I'm sorry to cut our meeting short, but I have to get to my next job." It wasn't actually true...she still had some time before she needed to leave, but she didn't think she could sit through a meal with him right now, and she figured he could use some time to pull himself together.
Tsuruga-san seemed to finally snap back to attention, nodding and smiling at her like everything was normal. "Of course. Yashiro, would you mind giving Mogami-san a ride? I'm actually late for a meeting with the president."
Yashiro-san frowned down at his planner, but something in Tsuruga-san's expression must have convinced him not to ask any questions. "Sure...no problem," Yashiro-san agreed slowly, looking between them once more. Kyoko gave him a cheery smile, bowing quickly to Tsuruga-san and leading their manager to the elevator.
"Yashiro-san?" Tsuruga-san called before they could make it to the doors. "Make sure you stop and get something to eat on your way." He met her eyes then, and they sparkled with just a bit of mischief. "An actress can't skip meals. She has to take care of her body."
Kyoko snorted, rolling her eyes and turning away, her lips turning up automatically when he laughed. Yashiro chuckled as well, following her into the elevator, and it wasn't until they were in the car that he finally asked.
"Kyoko-chan? Are you sure that you're okay?"
Kyoko hesitated. There was no way she was going to share private information about Tsuruga-san, or even allow herself to think about the bombshell that had been dropped on her just a few minutes ago. Not yet...not until she was alone. But she could possibly deal with another issue. "I'm fine, Yashiro-san. But...do you think I can ask you for a favor?"
"Of course," Yashiro-san assured her. She smiled at his tone. He wasn't just her manager...he was her friend. And she'd never been so grateful to have a manager who was so good at being both.
"Sho keeps showing up at my jobs...it's getting kind of troublesome."
Yashiro-san glanced back at her from the driver's seat, looking suddenly serious. He'd been a witness to plenty of Sho's antics, so she knew he was aware of it.
"I know that we work in the same industry...and I can't avoid him completely. But...do you think there's any way we can avoid him a little more?"
"Are you asking me to keep him away from you?"
She smiled sheepishly. "If you can...I mean, I don't want to put you out…"
He returned the smile, shaking his head. "You aren't. I'm happy to make sure Fuwa-san keeps his distance. I'm sure Ren would be more than happy to help too." She had to smile at that...he certainly wasn't wrong. "I'll make a few calls to make sure he can't just walk into LME or other studios where you are filming whenever he wants."
"Thank you, Yashiro-san. I really appreciate it."
"That's my job, Kyoko-chan."
The rest of the drive was passed in near silence, and she knew that Yashiro was worried about her. But she couldn't bring herself to try and assure him that everything was okay. The information she'd learned today had been placed in a very secure box, and it was taking every ounce of her concentration to keep it there, at least until she got home.
Hizuri Kuon...Hizuri Kuu. Father couldn't be her father anymore. The pain of that crept in and she wiped at her eyes, staring determinedly out the window.
And then there was Corn. Because with an American accent Kuon sounded like Corn and Corn always looked like Tsuruga-san and sounded like Tsuruga-san and Tsuruga-san had somehow seemed to know that Corn was okay...and when he'd picked up her Corn stone he'd asked her if she was from Kyoto.
She closed her eyes, biting down hard on her lower lip.
The box. It needed to go in the box because she had to do her job, and she couldn't be a happy-go-lucky chicken mascot if she was crying.
"Kyoko-chan?"
"Hm?"
"What would you like for lunch?" Yashiro-san sounded hesitant and worried and Kyoko struggled to make her voice sound normal.
"Um...anything is fine. We can just get something at the store on the way."
Yashiro-san went quiet in the front sea, then pulled off the road and turned fully in his seat to look at her. Her face must have looked as bad as she suspected because his eyes went wide, and when he spoke, it was in a soft, serious voice. "Kyoko-chan, did Fuwa hurt you?"
She needed an excuse and she needed it now, so she decided to throw Sho under the bus. He deserved it, honestly. "He...he just said some things...he brought up my mother…" She tried to force a smile. "I'm fine. We should get something to eat and get to the studio."
He was quiet for a moment before giving her a slow nod. Without another word, he left the car and went into the convenience store they were parked in front of, and returned with onigiri and a few packaged snacks that she ate without complaint. Everything tasted like sawdust in her mouth anyway.
Yashiro-san dropped her off at TBM as he had for the last few weeks, and she gave him her best smile of thanks before heading for Bo's dressing room, grateful for the extra forty minutes she had to pull herself together.