Chapter 23. Best Friends.

"Ready?" The casting director held out his stopwatch and asked the Love Me duo before starting the countdown.

"Pardon me," Kyoko gritted her teeth. "Could we also borrow some Kyurara? We'll need it in our performance." Even her voice sounded a little deeper than usual. Akin to her eyes, it had the same burning intensity and the vibe of veritable determination radiated off her.

"Sure," the casting director said. There were no more fresh bottles present so Kyoko followed him outside to fetch some.

When they returned, the contestants were whispering about how they were so very unfortunate to have the same idea as Erika.

"Sorry for the wait," Kyoko's icy tone cut through the voices and once again total silence consumed the air.

She joined Moko, who frowned at her hands which were occupied by a bottle as well as a can of Kyurara. "You brought two of them? What are we gonna do with those?" She wondered aloud.

At first, Moko had concluded they were going to do the same routine despite the fact that Erika stole it, but her eyes popped in confusion when she saw Kyoko bringing two drinks instead of one. How were they supposed to share two of those? She wished she could ask these things directly from Kyoko and for the first time ever, regretted agreeing to this performing-without-rehearsing thing.

"Take this," Kyoko handed her the bottle and kept the can for herself.

The confusion Moko felt was apparently visible on her face because when she took the bottle, Kyoko gave her an assuring smile. "Hey, Moko. Just follow my lead. Trust me, 'kay?"

And she did. She realised it was her trust in Kyoko that fueled her with determination. She had no idea when she started trusting her in the first place, but now it was strong enough for her to believe that Kyoko will somehow safely pull out both of them through this.

"The timer is set for one minute," the casting director reminded them. He touched the button of the stopwatch and asked once again. "Ready?"

Kyoko nodded before taking her position as she stood facing the wall and placing her back to her partner. Before Moko could think what to do, the scene started.

The casting director shouted, "and... go!"

Kyoko whirled immediately and pointed the Kyurara can at Moko like a gun. She snapped it open and it's contents sprayed out like a fountain drenching Moko in the process.

For a moment, Moko looked even more confused like she couldn't comprehend what was happening, but soon her jaw clenched in irritation when she looked at Kyoko staring daggers at her.

"They're still fighting?" A murmur came from the general direction of the contestants' seats. "I thought they were supposed to make up."

"Me too," a reply can soon in an equally confused tone.

"A little payback," Kyoko spat, anger dripping from her voice.

The fire in her eyes, it's real. I had no idea, she could act this way, Moko tried her best to hide her surprise and reflect the hatred which she received from Kyoko's glare.

She clashed her gaze with an equally detestable look and they glared at each other for a few moments more. She didn't know what else to do. After all she was supposed to follow Kyoko's lead. Her grip tightened around the bottle of Kyurara. Maybe she was supposed to drench Kyoko in return but how would have that helped them make up? She decided to go with her instinct and wait.

All of a sudden Kyoko's frenzy of rage was dissolved and it was replaced by a playful smirk. "Just kidding!" She squealed.

"Huh?" Moko was confused again.

"You actually thought that was real?" She grinned.

Moko finally took the hint. She realized it was supposed to be a playful fight not an actual one. "I can't believe you did that," she scolded her best friend in mock anger.

Kyoko didn't reply but instead stuck out her tongue and winked.

Moko received it as a sign, finally realizing why Kyoko had given her the bottle. She was supposed to drench her, after all. "Well, take this." She smirked as she opened her own bottle of Kyurara in order to return the favour to Kyoko.

She unwound the cap hurriedly but the moment she opened it, the soda sprayed out like a fountain drenching her all over again. Apparently, somebody had shaken the hell out of the bottle before hand causing the drink to sprinkle out.

"What?...No, stop!" Moko muttered under her breath with a flustered face as she tried to cover the bottle but it was no use, since she was already soaked.

She narrowed her eyes at Kyoko, who was snorting and struggling hard to suppress the bubbling laughter. Moko was so amused by the sight that instead of staying angry, she joined her and both girls roared with laughter.

Just like a contagious disease, their laughter suffused through the room causing everyone else to join in.

Even Kurosaki turned a chuckle into a cough but he soon found out that the other judges were giggling along with them, without a care in the world.

The gloomy silence that was consuming the air only half a minute ago seemed like a distant memory as the merry chuckles rang like bells and filled the place.

Once the laughter finally subsided, Moko knew exactly what to say. "I am really sorry. I hope you can forgive me." Her sad smile flawlessly demonstrated the guilt she felt.

Kyoko just smiled back and raised her can of Kyurara. Moko did the same with the bottle. They bumped their half-empty drinks in a toast to their sustained friendship and gulped down the the rest of the soda.

"Still besties," Moko mumbled.

"That's time ladies," the casting director spoke up after he heard the beep from his stopwatch. And the scene came to an end, but the smiles were still stuck to the lips of the people present in the hall. With one exception, Erika.

Those rotten thieves, Erika's lips twitched downwards. She was fuming inside. How dare they end their skit with my line? It was like they did it just to spite me-

"...Ms Koenji's line." Her ears pricked up at the sound of her name from the other contestants. "I kinda almost feel sorry for Erika. Even though they used the same ending line, there was so much more heart into their performance."

"I guess that's the difference between good actors and great actors,"

No words were enough to describe the turmoil inside Erika. She experienced something she had never felt before. The bitter taste of defeat. Her eyes met Moko's and she sensed a glint of contempt from them, a smug smile crept up to her lips which only gave rise to the storm brewing inside Erika. But there was nothing more she could do, she had lost.

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Inside the judges' cabin, the producers were busy in a lively conversation. Kurosaki quietly smoked his cigarette, while the casting director was listening intently to the producers. They were supposed to be discussing all the performances, but all they could talk about was the Love Me duo.

"The pink duo's routine was exceptional. I was on the edge of my seat as soon as she cracked open that can."

"I had no idea what they were going to do until it started happening, and without any rehearsal, neither did they."

"Maybe it was that kind of dynamic energy that pulled me into their performance. And when they made up, I could actually feel a weight lift off my own shoulders."

"That short haired girl - Mogami, I think - was better than I expected"

"I certainly agree. She wasn't as good as Ms Kotonami. That girl's instincts were perfect. But she did a fine job."

That's all you idiot can think to say, Kurosaki rolled his eyes at the producers' naivety, which they didn't notice. He was still amazed by their performance. They thought of a brand new routine in a matter of moments. I almost told them that they could wait, that I'd rearrange things to let them go last. I had no idea they could create something in a moment's notice.

"To be fair, however, I wasn't quite happy how they treated our product. But I suppose it was an audition and those girls decided to take a risk. It's a good thing it paid off, isn't it?"

"It surprised me," the casting director joined in. "I didn't know what to think when she came to get extra Kyurara and started going crazy. The second I handed them to her she started shaking them like her life depended on it. Now that I'm thinking about it, she asked if she can have a bottle and a can specifically. That girl had the entire thing planned out from the beginning."

"Alright everybody, looks like we've made our choice." Kurosaki finally interjected to end the meeting as quickly as possible. "Are we all in agreement in who we wanna cast?"

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The contestants were sent back to the waiting room while the judges were evaluating the results. While the others had grim and nervous visages, the Love Me duo was bursting with excitement, or at least one of them was.

"You feel it, right? It's totally not my imagination." Kyoko chirped, flashing her teeth in radiance. "All that emotion blossoming between us rising to the sky! I know it in my heart, we're gonna be best friends!"

Her squealing made all the faces turned towards the Love Me duo, but that did not affect Kyoko one bit. She kept struggling to give Moko a big, bear hug while continuing her blabbering, despite the fact that her partner, who was pushing her away with a flustered expression, didn't appear to be keen at all to hug her back.

"Cut it out. You're embarrassing me!" Moko shouted.

"Say it with me loud and proud! Say it with me! Let all the love flow through you, Moko!"

"Why are you so obsessed with this? All this friends forever crap is starting to freak me out in the worst possible way."

"But-" Kyoko finally stopped struggling and let go of her attempt to hug her new best friend.

"Shhh. They're gonna tell us who got cast any minute now."

"I know. And everything is gonna work out fine." A triumphant smile crept up to Kyoko's lips. "There's just no way you didn't get cast."

"Thank you. But two people will be chosen today, remember?"

"Wait, what?" Kyoko turned serious.

"Didn't the director say he will pick two girls?"

"He did?!" The apparent shock in Kyoko's eyes made it pretty clear it was news to her.

"Didn't you pay attention?" Moko rolled her eyes and sighed hopelessly. "Lemme guess, you were daydreaming again?"

Kyoko's shock burned out as she finally digested the news and it was replaced by exhilaration. She squeaked as the realisation came to her. "That means-"

A beep from the intercom interrupted the low buzzing inside the waiting room and silence consumed the air. "It is with great pleasure I'd like to announce the results of today's audition," the casting director's cheerful voice cut through the gloom and silence. "After carefully analysing and  speculating on the acting skills, scenarios and teamwork of each contestant, the judges have chosen - Ms Kanae Kotonami and Ms Kyoko Mogami."

For a few moments, Kyoko and Moko froze as they gave the news a chance to set it. Then both the girls sprang up to their feet and shouted, "we are gonna be in a commercial!"

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It was almost evening when the Love Me duo made it out of the audition building after a short interview from the judges. Most of the questions were about how they planned their scenario. Their answers only made the judges even more impressed when they found out how intuitive both of them were.

They leisurely strolled down the street with huge smiles suffusing their lips as they took in the view of the hectic and lively city.

"So, this is great, huh?" Kyoko was the first one to speak. "I bet you and your friends come and wander around the city all the time. I never get the chance to come out here. Especially with a girlfriend or someone fun to hang out with."

"Seriously?" It was hard for Moko to believe that Kyoko, who was such a cheerful, bubbly chatterbox, didn't have friends to hang out with.

"The girls from my school kinda never talk to me."

Maybe we have more in common than I'd admit, Moko thought.

Suddenly, Kyoko grabbed her hand and dragged her to a showroom window. "Look," she pointed at a mannequin in a frilly summer dress. "Oh my gosh, isn't it perfect? That would look so amazing on you."

"Yeah, I'm not so sure." It was too frilly for her taste.

"Hey!" She warbled with a hurt look. "I am supposed to say it would be beautiful on you. And you have to say," - she continued in a falsetto voice, - "'oh no, it would be so much more lovely on you, Kyoko.'"

"Only crazy people talk that way."

"But I thought that's what girlfriends were supposed to say to each other."

"Girls who flatter each other are shallow. They would never be real friends." Moko stated coolly and casually ambled away.

"No way!" Kyoko sprinted after her to catch up. "Come on, it's not true."

"Of course it is. When girls get together all they do is talk dirt about the one who didn't show. It's nothing but gossip. Which is why I hate spending time with other girls in the first place."

"I am so sorry." Kyoko looked down. Maybe it was the look in Moko's eyes, but Kyoko could tell that she was talking from experience. "It's never right for your friends to spread rumours behind your back."

"Those liars were never my friends!" Moko snapped. It was a sore spot for her.

"Wait, hold on." She grabbed her shoulder before Moko could march off. "So that means you've never had somebody you could call a best friend?"

"You got a problem with that?" Her face turned flustered.

"No, in fact it makes me happy."

"It makes you what?"

"That didn't come out right," Kyoko chuckled. "What I meant to say was, it makes me happy that I have the honour to be your very first best friend."

It was the first time someone had said something like that to Moko. Oddly, it's filled her with a warm, fuzzy feeling. If someone else might has said that, it would have sounded cheesy as hell. But coming from Kyoko, it felt true.

"Tada," Kyoko trilled. While Moko was busy daydreaming, she had brought a couple of ice cream cones from a hawker. She passed one to her. "A delicious commemoration of our friendship."

Moko didn't want to accept it because she usually avoided sweets in order to maintain her figure, but she didn't want to upset Kyoko either, so she reluctantly took it and had a small bite.

"It's funny" Kyoko said. "I've always had this image in my mind of getting to do something silly and fun like this, just stopping for ice cream with my friend."

Moko knew it was going too far. Sooner or later, she would have to push Kyoko away. They were rivals. How were they supposed to be friends and compete at the same time? It was impossible.

But why? A little voice said inside her mind. Why can't you be friends and rivals? Are you sure that's the reason or you're just too much of a coward to let people in your life?

"Would you look at that?" Kyoko grinned. "Looks like someone enjoyed their ice cream."

Moko snapped out of her thoughts and noticed that her hand was empty.

Why ice cream? She screamed inside. How can I devour every last bite. I knew it was bad for me, but it was so good!

"Have you ever noticed how food taste so much better when you are with someone whose company you enjoy?" Kyoko snatched the words from her mind.

During the rest of the long and pleasant walk, they talked and talked, until they finally made it to the bus stop. Then they climbed in and settled quietly, since both of them were pretty tired. It was then Moko started pondering on the subject of 'best friends'. She thought about all the things Kyoko did for her. How her words gave her so much courage that she actually stood up to Erika and fought for herself. Maybe it was not such a bad idea after all to have her as a friend.

She suddenly realised how oddly quiet Kyoko was. She cocked her head away from the window and found that she had drifted off. For some reason the sight of her sleeping with an infinitesimal smile was strangely comforting to watch.

She is really something special, isn't she? Moko though. Before her, I was looking for any chance to slip away from the things I needed. But now that she is here, I am finally ready to move forward.

She took out Kyoko's Love Me diary from her purse and wrote how much she had helped her in the audition. In the end, she pressed the hundred points stamp and smiled.

Thank you, Kyoko. I couldn't ask for a better friend.

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"Cut! Very nice." Kurosaki shouted on the umpteenth take. The commercial was set to shoot in a school playground on a sunday. The Love Me duo was dressed up in high school uniforms for the scene. By the end, both of them were beyond exhausted.

"Some of the best brawling I've seen, girls. You did great today." Kurosaki remarked. Then he added a little louder, "that's a wrap, people."

"I am so exhausted," Moko groaned.

"Nothing like running circles around a field all day to wipe you out," Kyoko grinned. Part of her still couldn't believe that it was actually happening, that she was on her first real set. She had to pinch herself from time to time to make sure it was not a dream.

"Big Sis!" She heard a familiar voice calling out to her.

"Maria! Hi! What are you doing here?"

After they settled on the folding chairs near the set camper van, Maria explained how she was here. When she learned about Kyoko's first commercial, she persisted to come here and watch, so she dragged the President with her. She also told her that Ren was here.

"What?" Kyoko was surprised to hear the last part. "Tsuruga was here too?"

"Yeah. Grandpa invited him to watch. He was shooting something really close by so he came by in his lunch break. Too bad he had to run back right afterwards though."

"That's great." I guess if he knows already there is no point in telling him I booked a commercial gig. Bummer!

Wait! What am I saying? It's not like I want to see him. Why would I want to see him? I don't want to see him at all!

"Kyoko," Moko's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Why are you still in that uniform? Hurry up and change into your jumpsuit so we can leave."

"I, um... I..."

"Oh no" Moko giggled and stifled another laugh. "You actually wanna keep wearing it, don't you?"

"Why would you say that?" Kyoko's face tinged into a bright shade of red. "Crazytalk, ridiculous. I mean, totally untrue."

"Oh yeah! Totally untrue. I mean, there is no way you were secretly excited to wear a school uniform." Moko chuckled sarcastically. "That would be absolutely crazy. You do know I saw you playing pretend classroom all by yourself that time?"

Kyoko's face was now as red as a tomato. "Super creepy Moko was spying on me," she bleated, hiding her flustered face and made a run for the camper van to change.

After she left, the President, who had been listening to the exchange, came forward to take Maria back home.

"Is big sister okay?" Maria asked Moko. "Maybe she just likes wearing the school uniform?"

"I don't think it's about the uniform in particular." Moko replied. "Kyoko dropped out of high school. She doesn't talk about it much, but I think for a little while, she just wanted to feel like a normal girl."

Meanwhile, inside the trailer, Kyoko neatly hung the uniform on a hanger and put on her Love Me jumpsuit. Before stepping out, she hugged the uniform one last time and muttered, "I got to experience something new today. Got to run around and have fun with my friend like a regular girl. Thank you for that."