Moving Forward

Chapter 1

Friends, family and fans from all over the world watched as a new couple were joined in holy matrimony in front of the world and God. Hosted by Lory Takarada, it was the fairytale wedding of the century, every girl's dream and it was all for her. They pledged their vows. Her eyes trailed up his strong masculine torso to his chiseled features. She caressed a lock of his soft dusty-blond hair and stared lovingly into his light blue eyes with outer edges of the irises rimmed in a darker sapphire. Her fingertips caressed his partially shaven tanned skin and her lips smiled gently as he leaned into her caress. He leaned forward and claimed his hard fought prize. She was his now... Only his and he wasn't about to let any other man touch a single hair on her beautiful head... Ever.

Her lips were soft and plump like a perfectly ripened fruit with equal sweetness. Her skin felt like warm silk and her scent was intoxicating and calming. Had there not been an audience he would have gladly taken her on the spot.

Japan's Sweetheart Officially Off The Market. That was the headline the moment he kissed her in the church. Many hearts were broken the morning Kyoko Mogami was finally claimed.

...And This Is How It Began.

Ren looked up at Lory in disbelief. How the hell did this happen? Why was she kissing that arrogant ass? Didn't she hate him? Didn't she promise revenge? Ren felt an uncomfortable burning in his mind and chest. It had felt like someone had hit him in the chest with a sledge hammer. Lory then reminded him that the picture was taken the night she saw her mother on television. It calmed the inner beast temporarily.

Lory had then informed him that he was assigning Yashiro to her. She would be making her debut very soon and she needed the guidance. She had been getting an insane amount of offers since BoxR and could no longer make decisions that would be beneficial to her career. She was just turning too many of the good ones down.

Ren understood, he agreed with Lory's decision but the fact that he had seen the picture just could not be erased from his mind. He wanted to know how in hell that happened and why. So he did what any not-boyfriend would do; he made arrangements with their shared manager, who gladly obliged, to meet her later on in the evening and catch up on current events.

After so long away from him and he being the only man on her mind, she could hardly wait to see him, to just be around him. She had finally accepted that she was in love with him. Never in a million years did she ever think that what had happened, would happen.

For the first time she saw him... She really saw him and knew. First she noticed the familiar behavior. The identical scent of him. After closer inspection, the way he carried himself and finally his eyes. His color contact lens covered eyes. She held back the feeling of utter betrayal, but only until he started to pick and prod for an explanation of Sho's behavior on that very painful night that she more than wanted to forget. Granted she had forgiven her mother and Sho both, but she didn't want him reminding her of the raw pain she had felt. Then she let slip the knowledge her grudges were hiding from her.

Kyoko looked at him with hurt and pain in her eyes. "Excuse me Kuon." She whispered and it shocked him to silence like a verbal dousing of ice water. "I don't believe that is any of your business and I don't appreciate you reminding me of painful events." She coldly informed him, picked up her coat and purse and regally left the small restaurant with what little pride she had left. Leaving Kuon behind to absorb what he had just caused.

For months after their little restaurant encounter, he was air. To her, he was less than air. She knew she couldn't avoid him, merely for the fact that they unfortunately shared a manager. When he tried to speak to her, she would politely dismiss herself and walk away. When he would corner her and demand she speak to him, she would look past him until he finished his rant, then calmly walk away. It was raw and painful being lied to. She hated nothing more than being lied to and made fun of and to her, that's exactly what he had done... Her entire life and never once tried to explain himself or, apologize.

It was after one of these little ranting encounters of his that she was found in a quiet little corner of a room at Fuji TV Studios by a tall, fair-haired and very handsome American singer that was there for an interview also. He was in Japan for a tour and he was being interviewed for the whose who of music on one of the entertainment shows.

Sean Briggs. The very moment that he saw those enchanting golden eyes, he was mystified. Why was such a beautiful girl sitting in a corner, by herself, looking so completely broken? At that very moment he made a personal vow to cure whatever had caused this. It was a crime to leave her that way. He grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler, stood and walked to her. He stood before her and offered the icy water with a soft concerned look.

"You look like you could use this." He gave her a small smile and held out the water then sat next to her on the sofa.

She looked up into his interesting blue eyes and they caught her for a brief moment. "Th-thank you."

He chuckled lightly. "You look like you could use a drink. Hope the water will be enough for now."

She let out a half-hearted small laugh. "You have no idea." She told him as she removed the cap and took a long drink.

"Wanna talk about it? I've been told I'm a good listener." He offered.

She gave him a small smile. "I can't really think about it right now." Her eyes fell to her lap.

He felt a little tug at his heart as he watched her long dark lashes flutter on her flawless cheeks and her small pink tongue moisten her perfectly plump lips. "Um... My name is Sean. What's yours?" He introduced himself.

"Oh... I'm so sorry." She blushed thinking of her rudeness. "Pardon me for being so rude. My name is Kyouko. I'm an actress with LME." She told him, only giving her stage name.

"Wow... I haven't really met many actresses or, actors. It's nice to meet you Kyouko." He paused. "Um... I know it might be too much but... would you like to join me for dinner after the show? I don't know many people around here, except for my band and honestly you're actually the first person that's talked to me like a regular person. It's kind of nice."

Who is this? Yashiro thought to himself as he spied the very interesting and most certainly not Japanese, well muscled, blue-eyed, dusty-blond, young man resting casually against the wall near the LoveMe locker room as if he were waiting for someone.

"Hello..." Yashiro greeted him.

"Hi..." Sean reached out to shake Yashiro's hand. "Sean Briggs, nice to meet you." He introduced himself cordially.

"Are you waiting for someone?" He asked.

Sean smiled. "Um... Yeah, I'm waiting for a friend of mine. We're going to dinner in a little bit." He explained.

Yashiro nodded. "Oh... Well Briggs-san. It was certainly nice to meet you. I hope you have an enjoyable dinner." Yashiro told him and then entered the room to speak to Kyoko, go over her schedule for the next day and let her know about her new offers.

He was a little bit surprised by what he had found. She was smiling. He hadn't seen that smile for months. It was her natural radiant smile and he wondered what had caused it. Maybe she and Ren finally made up. "Hi Kyoko-chan."

"Good afternoon Yashiro-san." She sounded happy too.

He was relieved. He absolutely knew it couldn't go on forever. He was glad her melancholy was at last over. They went over her schedule and he gave her the new modeling contracts to sign, along with two PV offers. One from an American band named Knight Moves and another from Bridge Rock. He was certain that the American one would give her some exposure to that market and the offer from Bridge Rock would cheer her up. She hadn't been able to work with them for some time.

"Well... I suppose that's it for today, Kyoko-chan. I need to go back to my office. I'll be there if you need anything." He didn't mention that he would be taking care of Ren's business, just in case he wasn't responsible for her upbeat mood. He didn't want to ruin it. He would ask Ren tomorrow about it.

He nodded to the young man as he left and Kyoko grabbed her things, then headed out for the evening with her new friend.

"So... got any ideas on where you want to eat?" He asked with a smile as they made their way to the elevator.

She pressed the button to go down and looked up at him. "What kind of food do you like?"

"Hmm..." He thought for a moment and the elevator doors opened. "I'm not really picky." He told her as they entered and she pressed the button for the parking garage. "I actually haven't really met a food it didn't like." He chuckled while rubbing the back of his neck a little shyly.

"Well..." She turned with her back to the doors as they began their descent. "I know a good place we could go." The doors opened to allow a familiar male passenger on. She continued, not paying attention to their fellow rider. "That is if you don't mind Sean... It's actually not very far from here and it is pretty good. I know the owners." She smiled shyly with a light blush dusting her cheeks.

The elevator stopped on the first floor and the tall, imposing brunet exited without a greeting or, sound.

Still thoroughly engrossed in her new companion, she never turned to notice his arrival or, departure. One could say that he had been blocked out, almost like a bad experience that one wants to forget.

Sean gave her a mischievous grin. "I don't mind at all Kyouko. My driver can take us there... if it's okay with you."

She nodded and he led her to the limo that the two of them had taken to LME.