Kyoko finds herself in a challenging situation when a certain someone makes a guest appearance on Box "R" and forces her to deal with unwelcome and overwhelming feelings.
(Takes place shortly after the Guam arc)
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"Mo, so what's so important that I had to come all the way here?" Kotonami Kanae demanded. "If it's just an acting problem, we could have talked about it in the Love Me Department. Or better yet, over the phone." She glared at her self-proclaimed best friend, who had insisted on meeting in a karaoke box for secrecy purposes. She was half-convinced it was just a ploy to spend time together.
"No, Moko-san," Kyoko said, shaking her head dejectedly. "It's...worse than an acting problem." Sorrowful tears pooled in her eyes, and she clasped her hands together as if in prayer. "It's the worse thing that could possibly happen to anyone, ever."
"Stop being so overdramatic," Kanae snapped irritably. "Just tell me what happened. And stop slouching!"
Kyoko sat up obediently, and launched into a breathless account of what had taken place on set that day.
"...And then I saw the script and it says that Natsu—my character, I mean—has to kiss this guest character and when I wanted to know why it turns out I—Natsu, I mean—have to steal the main character's love interest and kiss him in front of her so that she feels like she's all alone in the world and like I've taken everything from her and Moko-san I don't know the first thing about kissing!"
"So that's it," her friend said finally, tired herself just from listening. "What's to know? You put your lips up against his lips. Didn't you learn about it in acting class?"
Kyoko shook her head. "These days I'm lucky to get to class once a month," she said sadly, thinking of all the money she had spent on something she hardly went to. "And anyway it's more than that, see?" She pulled out the script and opened it to a dog-eared page, pointing to the offending line of direction:
"NATSU, noticing CHITOSE'S presence, pulls SAGARA in for a long, sensuous kiss."
"Long and sensuous, Moko-san! An adult-type kiss! And knowing Nacchan, probably even a" she shuddered "DEEP kiss. Plus, she's the one who has to initiate it!"
"Huh," Kanae said, choosing to ignore the fact that Kyoko had a nickname for her own character, "That could be a problem. Girls usually just have to be kissed, not the other way around. And tongue-kisses can be disgusting when done wrong," she said, thinking back to the annoying couples she had followed when researching for her side job. "Even I haven't learned how to that yet, and I've been studying acting for way longer than you have." Not that you'd know it from watching her act, she thought, mildly irked.
"RIGHT?" Kyoko said. "What do I do?!"
"Well, you need to learn how to kiss someone," she said matter-of-factly. "Go to the acting school and ask for special tutoring or something."
"But Moko-san, I only have two days!" She half-cried. "And the school isn't in session over the weekend!"
"Did you discuss this with the director? Tell him you can't do it? Maybe he'll give you extra time to...y'know, get some practice in."
