DISAGREEMENT.
"Cut!" The word cut through the air like an icy blade, after the Director shouted it the fourth time in a row.
Kyoko felt herself stiffen.
"Again?" One of her co-stars, Honami, groaned aloud, as her eyes settled on Kyoko's face, as if she was the reason for the delay. Which she probably was considering how the Director looked straight at her every time he shouted cut. And there was also the fact that it was right after her Natsu entered the scene when he said it.
"Kyoko," the Director called, confirming her suspicions. "Could you come over here for a second?"
Watching the smug smirks of her co-stars from the corner of her eyes, Kyoko felt their heavy gaze upon her back as she trudged up to the Director. All of her previous confidence drained out of her system leaving only tense edginess is it's wake. She tried to gulp the lump in her throat.
"Y-yes?"
Kazutoyo stroked his chin thoughtfully as he pondered on something. "I know I've said this before, but could you relax a bit?"
Kyoko still didn't understand what he meant by that. Even if she was not relaxed right now, she had been completely fine when they were recording the scene, but for some reason, the Director kept insisting that she was not. He cut the scene again and again, and asked her to loosen up, saying that she was too stiff. Which ironically made her tense up even more.
Taking a deep breath, Kyoko tried to be relaxed again.
"I know I've told you to portray your Natsu exactly like Mio, but I only meant it about her darkness, and that too only during the bullying scenes. For the rest of the scenes, just act normal. You don't have to turn into Mio for the whole time."
"But I'm being normal!" Kyoko protested, still not understanding what he was talking about. She did not even try being Mio.
"Then how come you look so stiff? You're still carrying yourself like Mio does." Kazutoyo informed her. "Let's just take it from the top. This time, try relaxing a bit more," he repeated.
The fifth take of the scene started. And this time as well, the minute Kyoko entered the scene, there was another cut.
"Kyoko," Kazutoyo sighed her name as he shook his head in disapproval, not knowing what to say to her. "Everyone," he announced, "we'll take a five!"
Kyoko tried not to react to the disappointed sighs of her costars, but she still didn't feel any less guilty. It was her fault that they were stuck on the first scene. And the worst part was, she didn't have a clue what she was doing wrong. One of her co-stars, Yuka, rolled her eyes at her.
Director Kazutoyo crossed his arms across his chest. He did not have much experience as a director himself, and so he found himself at a loss in trying to explain to Kyoko where she was wrong in her performance. But considering what a brilliant actress she was, it was surprising how she did not see it herself.
"Listen to me," he began at last after a long, thoughtful sigh, using the most soothing tone he could manage. "Mio is your first major role in a big drama, and you've spent months building her character. What I mean is, I understand that it's hard to maintain a new character suddenly, specially when it's so similar to Mio. That's why you keep turing back into-"
"But I'm not! That's what I'm trying to tell you," Kyoko interrupted him to protest. Desperation carved on her face and etched into her voice. "I was not acting Mio at all!"
The assistant director, who had been listening to their exchange, stepped closer to join them. The Director looked at him for his insights, but he only shrugged.
"I know that you were not trying to play Mio," Kazutoyo said patiently. "Perhaps, you did it without realising. Mio's character is so much drilled into your brain that you acted her out subconsciously."
"I'm pretty sure that's not it," Kyoko was adamant. It was because Mio was so much drilled into her brain that she was pretty sure she wasn't acting her out. If she were, she would have noticed by now.
"Is that so?" The Director stroked his chin again, glancing at his assistant, who finally looked like he just had a breakthrough unlike his superior.
"Sir, I think I'm starting to get what's going on," he said. "Kyoko, could you show us a bow?"
Kyoko first blinked at his own unusual request, but then obliged anyway. Her back bended effortlessly at an exact angle of thirty. The movement was as supple as the lithe gait of a peacock. At that moment, anyone would have believed Kyoko to be a young heiress from a prominent family. She maintained her bow for a few long seconds before straightening up again, just as gracefully.
"Do you see it now?" The assistant inquired.
Realisation struck on Kazutoyo's face, and he replied instantly. "Yes! Kyoko, could it be that you're from a rich family?"
"No! I mean, yes...it's complicated." When she thought about it, she realized that she couldn't exactly say that the Fuwas weren't loaded, but she couldn't call herself rich, since none of their wealth ever belonged to her as she was never a true part of that family. The main reason why Mrs Fuwa worked so hard on her was because she had hoped for her to marry Sho and take over as the hostess. "Actually, the family that I grew up with, they had been running an inn for generations. Which was why I was trained to be a hostess from a very young age."
"Ah," Kazutoyo nodded in understanding. "Now that you mention it, it does make more sense. You do give off that vibe of a hostess. But you still have to work against this habit of yours, however perfect it may be. We can't have our Natsu looking different from her friend, can we?"
"I still don't know why I look different," Kyoko confessed. "Do I stand weird?"
"No, absolutely not! In fact, your posture is quite perfect. But Natsu's isn't. So when you're standing with the rest of the girls, you don't seem to fit in and you look way too stiff. For now, just try standing more comfortably."
Kyoko didn't know what she was supposed to do. Because she was already perfectly comfortable the way she was.
"Let your shoulders droop from your neck, hang down your arms. And slump your back too." The Director instructed.
She tried doing what she was told.
"No, not like that! You're doing it all wrong! You look like you have a stomach ache. Try relaxing your back. Don't just bend it."
But whatever Kyoko did, she could not succeed. As she kept trying different poses to stand with the help of the assistant director, who was guiding her, Kazutoyo clapped his hands twice and announced, "everybody, let's evacuate and move to Studio B. We'll shoot the classroom scene for now." He looked at Kyoko. "We'll start with the bullying scene, the part Kyoko is good at."
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.
While the crew was busy setting up the shooting equipment in Studio B, the cast members were sent to one of the conference rooms to wait. The leading lady, Rumi Maruyama, along with her three costars who were a part of the supporting cast, occupied the large table in the middle of the room. When Kyoko started to join them, Yuka pushed her chair away before she could sit.
Kyoko took the hint and decided not to bother them. She picked her chair up and shifted to the corner, trying not to pay much attention to them, which wasn't so hard, since she was used to being left out while having a group of girls for company. It wasn't anything new to her, so she didn't mind it much.
But her co-stars we're kind enough to just let her be. First they neglected her, and then take talked about her as if she wasn't even present in that room.
"Seriously, why the hell are we adjusting for her?" Honami snapped furiously. "First, the Director lets her off after being late and now this?"
Yuka nodded in agreement. "Rumi, you should say something. You are the lead. If the Director gives anyone special treatment, it should be you. Not her."
Rumi look troubled. She didn't know if she should be making a big deal out of this. Personally, before her co-stars instigated her, she didn't mind at all how the Director was treating Kyoko so long it didn't concern her, but now she wasn't so sure.
"I'm pretty sure it's nothing to worry about," Chiori Amamiya chuckled her angelic laugh to lighten the mood. "The Director just expects a lot from our Natsu, that's all."
Rumi frowned. "Are you saying that he doesn't expect much from me?"
"No, I didn't mean that!" Chiori waved her hands in dismissal. "I think that if you want your Chitose to be of more impact, then you need a stronger villain. You need Natsu to be at her best in order to make Chitose shine. We are a team, girls. Don't forget that." As usual, Amamiya had snaked her way up to the hearts of her co-stars using her sweet and innocent words. Even Kyoko looked at her with hope brimming in her eyes, as she thought that maybe not all of her colleagues were bad, and that she might be able to get along with at least one of them.
"Even if you are right," said Yuka, "that doesn't chance the fact that the Director is compromised. He's definitely showing her favoritism."
"You're right about that," Honami agreed. "Besides, just because the Director didn't yell at her, she thinks it's alright for her to not even apologize to us. We also wasted an hour waiting for her!" She crossed her arms tightly across her chest.
Kyoko stiffened even more at the last part. Maybe she should have apologized to them the moment she had gotten a chance like she had been intending. Somebody had to make the first move to clear the air as soon as possible, or it would only get more difficult to work along with each other. And Kyoko wasn't ready to let her pride get in the way of her career. Besides, it was technically her fault which started all this, when she made her co-stars wait by being late.
Better late than never I guess, she thought with a sigh as she raised to her feat. "Um... Listen."
All four heads turned to her.
"You're right. It was my fault. I should have apologized." She bowed. "I'm sorry-"
All of a sudden, Honami shrieked out loud, as she started flailing her arms around. "Get it away! Get it away!"
"Get what away?" Yuka was astonished by her unexpected and sudden outburst. Rumi and Chiori were just as startled.
"It was a fly!" Honami exclaimed, still pretending to be scared. Her tone dripping with sarcasm. "A very big, nasty fly was buzzing right in my ear."
Yuka, who had finally caught on, threw her head down and the roared with laughter. Holding her stomach, she cackled aloud. "Oh my God! Stop!"
Even Chiori couldn't help a smirk from forming on her face, despite of her nice girl called act.
The only one who was still oblivious was Rumi. She ducked down in her seat, her eyes darting around the room fearfully. "Where is it? I hate flies!" Apparently, she was too naive to get Honami's cruel joke and her fear of flies was too great for her to understand the meaning behind their laughter.
Kyoko's face burned with anger and embarrassment. This was something she used to experience on a daily basis in her school back in Kyoto, but she never would've thought she would be treated like that ever again, especially in a place like this. Which was why her first instinct was to throw some shade right back at these stuck-up mean girls, but before she could come up with a smart comeback, a man from the crew interrupted them.
"Excuse me. Sorry for the wait," he announced, "we're about to start."
"We're coming," Amamiya said and one by one the girls filed out. Kyoko was the last to leave.
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The bell rang and Chitose entered the classroom with her usual sunny disposition apparent on her face in the form of a cheerful smile. She waved to her new friends at the back of the class and hurried to them. She scuttled forward from between the desks when her hand accidentally knocked down a pencil case on one such desk, and it's contents scattered on the floor.
"I'm so sorry!" Chitose exclaimed to the girl who was sitting there, as she scooped down to pick up her stuff.
"Here you go," she smiled apologetically before returning the case to it's owner. "Sorry again."
"It's alright." The girl smiled back. It was Natsu.
Chitose inspected the ground again, in case she had missed something, and turned out she did. It was a small pocket mirror which had earlier dropped from that case. As she bent down to pick it up, she noticed a small fissure on it's earlier smooth glass. "Oh, I broke it. I'll pay for it, of course."
"Don't worry about it. I don't mind," Natsu replied sweetly.
"But-"
"I have lots of mirrors anyway."
"Well, if you say so," Chitose nodded to her, before she turned to join her friends in the back again.
Natsu picked up the damaged mirror and stared at her broked image on it's now uneven glass. Her lips upturned as a devious smile tugged on her face. She let her gorgeous eyes slowly wander to the back of the room before they settled on Chitose. Her smile widened ominously and an evil glint sparkled in her mischievous blue eyes. Because she had just found herself a new toy to play with.
"Cut!"
Kyoko cocked her head at the Director to give him an inquizzitive frown.
"Kyoko, this was the part where you were supposed to use Mio. I told you to smile darkly as you glare at Chitose, just like Mio glares at Mizuki."
Kyoko hesitated. "Er, I didn't smile like Mio on purpose... I know you told me to do it, but unlike Natsu, Mio hates Mizuki with all her heart. But in this scene, Natsu is like 'I'll bully Chitose now, whatever'. She doesn't hate her yet. So comparing those two... it just feels wrong somehow that-"
She was cut off by an ear crunching thud as the Director rolled the script in his hands and struck it loud on Natsu's desk.
Startled, Kyoko jerked back in her seat, her earlier attempt to share her views forgotten. It took her a long moment to get over her shock, and when she did, she looked up at the Director for an explanation.
For some reason, Kazutoyo looked mad. There was an angry frown on his forehead, his friendly smile gone. There was no hint of his usual carefree and easygoing attitude anymore.
"If I'm telling you to use Mio as a reference, then you use Mio!" He snapped, carefully pronouncing each word with a pause, through clenched teeth. "Let me give you a word of advice, since you're so new here. In this world of acting, even if it's black, but the director tells you to play it white then you act it white no questions asked! You get me?"
Kyoko was too stunned to react, yet she didn't fail to notice the smug, satisfied smiles on the faces of her costars from the corner of her eyes.
"Since you're too stiff to perform the other scenes, then at least act out the part you're good at properly without causing problems! I don't need your advice on how to do my work. Just do your own damned job!"
With the weight of the eyes of the entire crew upon her, Kyoko suddenly felt the lack of oxygen in the perfectly ventilated room. They were looking at her with varying degrees of compassion, some with surprise and some with pity. The Director was still waiting for her to answer, and all she could managed to give him was a single nod.
"Good. Now let's start the scene again. And this time, you do exactly as I tell you."
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.
"Natsu," Chitose called out to her. A shy smile tugging on her soft lips. "Um... Do you have a minute?"
"Yeah, sure." Natsu got up from her desk.
"There's something I'd like to give you."
"Me?"
"Yeah. I know you told me not to worry about it, but I felt really bad, so..." She offered her a small packet.
Natsu took it. "Can I open it?"
"Sure."
Upon unwrapping it, it turned out to be a new pocket mirror. Natsu smiled amusingly. "It's for me? Thanks!"
"You like it?" Chitose blushed.
"Yes! It's very cute!" Natsu said cheerfully. All of a sudden, that evil glint returned in her blue lustrous eyes, and the malicious aura radiated off her in waves. Her smile widened, depicting a fraction of her inner cruel thoughts out for everyone to see.
Chitose froze, being the victim of her murderous glare.
"It's so... Very... Cute!" Natsu muttered in a breathy voice. She placed her palm on Chitose's cheek and stroked it, but the other girl stiffened upon the contact.
All of a sudden, Chitose disappeared as Rumi materialized back, who jerked away from Kyoko.
"Cut!" Kazutoyo shouted. "Rumi, what's wrong? Why did you jump back? The scene was going perfectly."
Rumi's heart was pumping like a drum. She knew it was only acting, but she was now genuinely afraid of Kyoko. As she looked at her costar again, unwanted tears welled up in her eyes without permission. "It's just... She's so scary!" She confessed.
Kyoko humphed. Almost all of the crew surrounded Rumi to comfort her. And the rest came to her.
"Kyoko, you were really amazing in that scene!"
"I was actually scared of you even though I was so far away. Poor Rumi."
"Just what you'd expect from Mio of Dark Moon!"
"No wonder you got a chance to costar with Ren Tsuruga."
Kyoko should've been happy to receive such compliments, but she wasn't. Instead, she felt helpless and frustrated. The more she thought about the scene, the more wrong it felt. Yet, she had no choice but to keep her mouth shut, and bear it.