Loveless (Book 1) [Completed]

Chapter 12.

THE TEA CEREMONY.

The next scene was supposed to be shot outside, in the garden. It was a large, bright place with short, cropped grass and beautiful flowerbeds surrounding the field. There were tall trees and decorative marble statues as well. The chirping of the birds added to the natural vibes.

It had a raised platform in the middle with tatami mats laid on it. A couple of stairs were built leaning on its edge to climb on it.

The crew was busy in preparing the set for the scene, despite the cruel heat from the sun burning their skins.

Kyoko was sitting on a small folding chair beside the platform, her mind engrossed in the script book which she was memorizing.

Ruriko was rehearsing the tea ceremony on the hard tatami mats. She sat on her knees and prepared the tea, her movement a lot more graceful compared to the last scene.

"Amazing, for having never done this, Ruriko, you picked it up pretty quick." A complement came from one of the crew guys.

She smiled at him in reply. I suppose I don't have to tell them that I was forced to learn tea ceremony as a kid.

"Hey Kyoko," he turned his head, "while we are here, do you want a quick run through the set as well?"

Kyoko looked up from the book, "Nah, thank you though. I think I'd rather rest my ankle."

"Oh, right."

She closed the script and looked at Ruriko, who was still practicing despite the harsh heat.

"To be honest, I am surprised, you are able to sit out here, Ruriko." She said innocently. "I could swear that you said you were allergic to UV rays."

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.

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"Ruriko went outside and without a single complaint." Mr Shinka told Ren. They were on their way out to the set. "After what Mr Takarada told me, I was positive she'd throw some kind of a fit."

"I don't know." Ren replied.

They arrived and were surprised to see a mob gathered around some commotion from where two girl's shouting could be heard.

The Director immediately ran there to find a very grotesque and bizarre sight. Two extremely beautiful ladies, dressed up in kimonos, were pushing each other and trying to knock the other one out like sumo wrestlers. They were shouting at each other like fishwives.

"You made up that story of being allergic to UV rays to take advantage of me! What kind of an idol are you?" Kyoko shouted.

"It's not my fault you assumed it was a big deal, you were too busy to suck up," Ruriko screamed back.

"You told me that you couldn't go out in the sun. I carried you up here on my back, I can't believe that I twisted my ankle protecting a selfish jerk like you."

"Except that I never once asked you to carry me up that stupid mountain. Moreover, you would have noticed if you weren't a crazy person."

"What did you just call me?"

They gritted their teeth at each other.

"Hey, hey now! Calm down." Mr Shinka shouted. "Save it for your performances."

"Fine!" Ruriko shot back and retreated. "See you on the set."

Kyoko lost her balance and fell down.

Ren rushed to help her, "you know you're kind of being an idiot right now. Just-"

"Tsuruga." Ruriko grabbed his arm and pulled him, "we need to get ready, we are about to shoot."