A Life worth Living

Disclaimer: I do not own SkipBeat or any of its characters.

Maria was a child lost in bitterness and guilt until the strange short-haired, golden-eyed Kyoko came along and changed her life forever. Now Kyoko is at it again, giving Maria a challenge she just can't pass up. In the process, Kyoko will make her own amazing discovery.

Chapter 12 – Amamiya Chiori

Julie was staying in the same hotel suite that she and her husband had used on previous visits. Ren and Kyoko had tried to persuade her to stay with them, but she had begged off, "You're still newlyweds. You need your privacy. And besides, I need plenty of space to get ready for my show."

All of this was true, but it wasn't the real reason for her decision. Her real reason was the depressed-looking young lady who was sitting, sipping tea at the kitchenette counter. Unlike her fellow former LoveMe members, Amamiya Chiori had not had a good year. The movie that she had gone to the United States to film had been plagued by cost overruns, personality conflicts, and an indecisive director. Her love life had turned into something akin to a nightmare. And she felt like a total failure next to Kyoko and Kanae.

Chiori's mother had been completely opposed to her decision to take the job in America. She didn't feel that it was appropriate for an eighteen year old girl to run off to another country unescorted, especially when there was a young man involved. Now she saw that her mother had been right. But she wasn't ready for the "I told you so" looks from her mother. She knew that her mother loved her and cared for her, but moving back in with her mother would seem like the ultimate admission of failure to her… besides, she didn't want her mother to guess the true extent of her problems with the man she had thought would be the love of her life.

Julie the Wise had seen all of this and understood. Her solution was simple, "Chiori, I'm going to need an assistant while I get ready for the fashion show. If you are willing to take on the job, you'll have to be available twenty-four hours a day. That means that you'll have to stay in my suite with me."

Chiori wasn't fooled, of course. Just like the other girls, she knew that Julie Hizuri had a sixth-sense for when "her girls" were in trouble. When things had gone really bad, it was Julie she had run to. Now she was grateful to the beautiful older lady again. But it still didn't help how she was feeling about her life.

A year ago she had been so happy. She had a debut movie with a promising script. She had friends after years of loneliness and hidden anger. And she had met the man of her dreams. But the movie had been a disaster from start to finish. Her friends were becoming increasingly successful, which made her failure even more pronounced. And her dream relationship had become a nightmare.

At first it was incredibly flattering that Hiraga Akio had thought about her ever since they had acted together as children. But his devotion had turned out to be obsession. At first his attention was endearing. Later, it began to seem stifling. As time went on his obsession took the form of jealousy, possessiveness, and control. If a man looked at her, he became angry. If she spoke to a man, he became enraged. Eventually he started keeping her from going anywhere, checking her bank account, her gas mileage, her cell phone. It was after Ren and Kyoko's visit to the Hizuri's that she knew that she would have to escape. Akio had refused to allow her to see her friend, making up one excuse after another, until he finally just took her phone and her car keys away.

Then one day a teenaged boy knocked on their door to sell chocolate for a fundraising drive at the same moment that Akio pulled into the driveway. In a rage the actor and model leaped out of the car, rushed up the drive and got in the poor terrified boy's face. After less than a minute of Akio's screaming and pushing, the boy ran away. Then Akio proceeded to hurl the chocolate into the street in a paroxysm of rage. It was then that Chiori knew that it was only a matter of time before Akio's possessiveness turned into outright abuse.

She had been shaking on the following day that she snuck over to a neighbor's house and used the phone to call the Hizuris, convinced that Akio would reappear to catch her at any minute. Her escape via airplane had been an epic of mind-numbing terror. She had recovered some of her equilibrium during the flight, yet she was still pale and shaking when Julie and Kuu picked her up at John Wayne International. Kuu made sure that she was safe in their mansion, but she had still been glad when the airplane had finally taken off for Japan. Even here she didn't feel entirely safe.

Why? Why don't things work out for me? She repeatedly had to fight down her old, bitter self again and again in the last few days. Mari and Kyoko were happily married. Kyoko and Kanae's faces were everywhere; on billboards and commercials; on movie posters and advertisements for dramas; and on celebrity news. Aiko Mari, the stunt-woman who had been Kyoko's double in Ronin's Children, had married Kurosaki and was expecting a child. Due to Kyoko's patronage, the wild, fearless girl was rapidly on her way to becoming the sexy poster-girl for the stunt profession.

As far as Chiori knew, nobody even knew who she was anymore. A part of her wanted to pull out one of her trusty old notebooks and write page after page of hateful words. But she knew in her heart that it wasn't her friends' faults she was a failure.

Julie had been wonderful. She would often give Chiori hugs, but she never forced her friendship or advice on her. When Chiori wanted to talk, she always made the time. When she wanted to be alone, she was left alone. And when she suddenly needed to cry, Julie's shoulder was suddenly there for her. The older lady made her feel like she was the most important person at that moment in her life.

Kuu was, as always, the kindly father-figure. He was a bastion of strength and protectiveness, yet he instinctively sensed that it was his wife's motherly gifts that the young lady needed. Nevertheless, his powerful presence was a comfort to Chiori.

It was Julie who sensed that Amamiya wasn't ready to talk with her friends yet. She suspected that the motherly woman had said something to Kyoko, Kanae, Aiko Mari and possibly even Maria, though she trusted that she didn't reveal anything private. Somehow the two older girls and even Maria made her understand that they wanted to spend time with her, but that they would wait for her to be ready. Even in her cloud of depression she was grateful for their love. But for now, Julie was the only one she had confided in.

And so it was a surprise when Julie laid a brand new journal in front of her. In a moment of self-revelation she had told Julie about how she had scribbled hateful words for hours on end before joining the LoveMe section. She had spoken of how she itched to pick up a pen and start scribbling, even now. So why would Julie-san throw temptation in front of her like this?

She looked up at Julie with a hurt expression, but Julie met her eyes steadily, "Chiori, I think that you need to write."

"But I told you…"

"Chiori-chan, I think that you need to write down the truth. Tell your story. Let it all flow out. Don't focus on your bad feelings. Instead, write what happened. I think that the reason that you 'itch' to write is because it's your outlet. Who knows, my dear girl; it may just be your gift."

And so Amamiya Chiori started to write. Her words flowed onto the paper, page after page. She cried. Her hand cramped. Her back ached from bending over. She hardly noticed when Julie brought her food and drink. She wrote, and wrote, and wrote. It became dark outside of the hotel windows, but she continued to write. The pen ran out of ink and Julie had another ready for her. And then she finally came to the end of her tale. She sat there, her pen poised over the page. She looked up in confusion to find Julie sitting across from her.

"Done?"

"I – I think so… only… I don't feel… finished."

Julie just leaned her head to the side and smiled at her, "That's because you're not finished, Amamiya Chiori. You have an entire life in front of you. You will work, and write, and love. You will make money, lose it, and hopefully make more. You may meet several men before you find the one who you truly love; who will treat you in the manner you deserve. You may change careers several times before the end. But you will live."

Amamiya met Julie's eyes. She looked down at the journal in front of her and caressed the cover. Finally she looked back up at Julie. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, I know four young ladies who love you very much and who are desperate to see you. Why don't we call them over for a late-night tea party?"

oOoOOoOo

Julie's comment on the desperation of her friends to see Amamiya proved true. Not fifteen minutes passed before Kyoko, Kanae, Mari, and Maria were there in the suite. Chiori may have felt doubtful about her own value; but her friends did not share those doubts. Amamiya Chiori was their dear friend; a friend whom they had missed. Within ten minutes any awkwardness was dispelled and she was one of them again.

She did notice certain things. Kyoko was more mature, more sure of herself. Kanae was more relaxed, less worried about looking silly or foolish. Mari was just as fun and just as wild, but there was still a more settled feel about her, especially when she touched her belly, which was only just beginning to show. But the most obvious changes were in Maria.

Chiori had been hesitant about including Maria, not because she disliked her, but because of the difference in maturity. The first thing that she noticed about the twelve year old was that she was stretching out and starting to look like a teenager. She had always been beautiful, but now she was becoming eye-catching. She's going to break a lot of hearts when she gets older. The second thing that she noticed was that Maria seemed to have matured considerably in the last year. She still worshipped Kyoko, which was no big surprise. Now though, she interacted with the others in a way that seemed to help her blend in despite the age disparity.

Of course, their talks that night ranged through a myriad of topics, as talks in such a setting tend to do.

Mari was grilled about Kurosaki; she was just as taken with her husband as she was when she first saw him appearing with Kyoko on The Rumiko Show. "You should see how he dotes on her," Kyoko teased, "He can't keep his eyes off of her."

"Oh, and of course Tsuruga Ren never looks at you?" Mari teased back. "I don't know how the poor man drives with you in the car. Must give him a neck-ache." She pretended to be Ren, her hands holding an imaginary steering wheel while her head moved rapidly back and forth. She tried to imitate Ren's smouldering gaze and everyone dissolved into laughter.

"Ah, but neither of us gets poetry in our phone mail all of the time," Kyoko said innocently.

Chiori took the bait, "Who does that?" Then she saw Kanae's flushed face and irritated look, "You're kidding, right? He actually did what I told him? Show me?!"

Kanae respected Hiou too much to share his private haiku's, even with her friends. She would not do so without first obtaining his permission. Besides, they were hers. She was willing to tell the girls about how it all started and how hard he worked to write. She even told them about the leather-bound book of poems. Nobody laughed. In fact they were impressed that he was willing to express himself so openly. "I know he's still young," Julie said, "but he's a keeper." Nobody commented on the fact that Kanae offered no denials.

Kyoko couldn't help but bring up Maria's current love-interest. Rather than be embarrassed, Maria was pleased for the opportunity to sing Shimada Tokoji's praise. "He's really handsome, and he plays violin so beautifully. Did you see him at my party?"

"How could we miss him, Maria-chan?" Julie answered, "For one thing, you barely ever left his side, except to dance. For another, he is handsome. And yes, he plays wonderful music."

Nobody asked Chiori about her ex-boyfriend, though they were obviously curious. Kanae came the closest to discussing him when she said, "I saw that Andy sought you out right away, Chiori-chan. He's a really good guy; he's head and shoulders above… nevermind. Anyway, Andy is here for a year while he's attending Tokyo University. He… well, I know that you don't want to jump into anything, but he's been interested in you for quite a while."

Chiori looked surprised, "He has? Why?"

"Mo! Don't go pulling a Kyoko on us and turn oblivious!" Kanae snapped. Kyoko stuck out her tongue at her friend in response, but Kanae ignored her. "You're cute and pretty and you have a great sense of humor. Andy is the same. He's always laughing and he was the biggest prankster on the set." She laughed as she remembered something, "One day, right before an off-day, he stole Hiou's sword and had the prop-guys replicate the hilt… just the hilt and about two inches of blade so that it would stay in the scabbard. He switched out the real sword and his fake. So here Hiou was, about to have his epic sword battle with me, and he goes to draw his sword… You should have seen the poor boy's face. He's standing there with just a stub of a sword and I'm all ready to go. So Andy yells 'wait' and then runs out with one of those plastic children's pirate swords." When the girl's finally got their laughter under control, Kanae continued, "Another time he glued Neil Grant's pistol into his holster..."

There were many other stories and a lot of laughter among the young ladies that night. Chiori even remembered a few humorous situations from her previous year. The day ended much better than it had begun for her. After they all had excused themselves and headed home she turned and spontaneously gave Julie a hug. "Thank you" was all she said, but Julie understood everything Chiori wanted to say.

oOoOOoOo

The next day was incredibly busy as Chiori performed her duties as Julie's assistant. Never before, even as a LoveMe member, had she had the opportunity to really get deeply involved in the fashion show business. She had never realized how stressful it was, how much had to be done in advance, and how fun she would have! Julie noticed it as well, "Amamiya Chiori-san, you seem to be made for this type of work."

The other girls showed up late in the afternoon for make-up and fittings. Julie wanted to dismiss Chiori to be with her friends, but she wanted to stay in the thick of things. She made her apologies to the girls and then disappeared into the throng.

Just as they had previously, Kanae, Kyoko, Mari, and now Maria stole the show. Even though none were runway models, their beauty and personalities stood out. Julie designed one line of her inventory every year to fit the Japanese woman. The show was very well attended by buyers, media, and public. It was definitely a successful night.

"Do you remember those career changes I spoke about yesterday, Chiori-chan?" Julie asked as they cleaned up.

Chiori looked over to where Julie stood and nodded.

"Well, I want you to consider this: I truly could use an assistant with my business. I would like to do a lot more in the Japanese and Asian market, but I'm very busy in the states. I need someone working for me on this end who knows me and who isn't afraid of a little hard work. Think on it."

oOoOOoOo

Back in California, the entertainment news featured a small blurb about Julie Swan's fashion show in Japan. Featured prominently in the film clip was Julie working through a problem with the help of a pretty, young Japanese lady. Hizuri Kuu saw the clip and thought that it looked like Julie and Chiori were having fun.

In a Tokyo hotel, Hiraga Akio saw the same clip. He tossed his class of whiskey across the room in rage. He had finally tracked his woman to Hollywood, and then Tokyo, but his efforts to stake out Chiori's childhood home had been fruitless. Now he knew why. After he got his fury under control, Akio logged onto the internet to find out where that interfering *%# , Hizuri Julie was staying. Chiori, you belong to me... and when I get you back where you belong I will make sure that you never even think about running away again.

Notes: Short chapter. Still, I hope that it was enjoyable.

One downfall of a sequel is that there are many details that you have to remember from the previous stories. Aiko Mari's story is found in Always With You. Kanae and Hiou's story can be read in Runaway Royalty. Originally I had Kanae show the haiku's, but decided it would be out of character for her to do so. Mari's part was very small in this chapter; I really don't know if she will be featured more later.

Hopefully I pleased a few of the Julie fans out there. She'll definitely be around more later.

Review please. I like to know what you think.