STOP! If you haven't read 'Break Through' then please do so before reading this so that you can know what the heck is going on. Other than that, here is the looooong awaited sequel you've all been waiting very patiently for! I'm sorry if you have been notified that I updated twice. I've just had some difficulty uploading this. It may start off slow in this chapter, but believe me when I say I have a LOT in store for your two favorite characters. Oh and can I just express how excited I got when Kyoko's mom entered the scene in the manga? It was like a dream come true... Or I guess a story come true ;) Enjoy! And please review!


Recap of 'Break Through':

After growing closer in Guam, Kyoko and Ren's relationship took a leap forward after the sudden appearance of Kyoko's mother, Saena Mogami. Saena wanted nothing more than to make Kyoko leave the spotlight of the entertainment industry and move back to Kyoto where she where she could no longer be an embarrassment.

Ren did what he could to protect Kyoko from her mother's evil intentions, such as asking Lory to give her a manager, Ryouta Sato, and being by her side as often as possible. In the beginning it worked, but when Saena gave Lory an ultimatum to either fire Kyoko or be exposed for employing an underage girl without her parent's concent, he was forced to fire Kyoko. He informed Ren so that he could do some damage control but before Ren could even react to the news, Kyoko left the Tokyo highlife behind for a quiet life in Kyoto at the Fuwa Ryokan.

Fuwa Sho's mother, Sayuri, graciously took Kyoko under her wing as the next heir to the inn, but she hesitated when she saw the conflict in Kyoko's eyes. Regardless, Sayuri set up an arranged marriage meeting with Arata Imai. On the surface he and the Imai Family seemed to be the perfect match for Kyoko and the Fuwa family inn, but little did they know that he was employed by Sayuri to give Kyoko every reason to never leave Kyoto. Things went well for Arata until Ren showed up to bring Kyoko home with him after confessing everything to her: his real name, his past, and the depth of his love for her.

Kyoko accepted his love and his help along with Sho and Ryouta's, who showed up at Fuwa Ryokan after hearing the news of Saena's plans. With their plans foiled and his family suffering from it, Arata sought revenge on Saena by killing her and making it look like Sayuri was the one who did it. The team easily straightened things out and returned to their lives in Tokyo... With a few relationship changes intact.


"U-um… Ren…?" Kyoko's voice shook as she failed to focus on what she was trying to do. Normally her ability to craft excellent food was so easy for her she could do it blindfolded, but the situation she was in hampered this.

"Yes?" his voice was laced with a fake innocence.

"D-do you think you could b-back up? You're too close!" Her eyes tightly closed as she squeezed the knife in her hands and nearly shouted her words. She was standing at a counter in Ren's kitchen trying to prepare dinner for the two of them. Ren had initially thought that she had done this on her own accord, but when he found out that Yashiro had suggested it he decided to tease her mercilessly. He was standing directly behind her with a hand placed on the counter on either side of her. Standing as close as he possibly could without touching her directly, Kyoko was hyperaware of his breath coming down on her neck from above.

"Hm? I'm too close now? But surely we've already been much closer than this." Ren smiled broadly as he leaned down closer to her. Kyoko could feel heat radiating from his body and goose bumps littered her arms as a shiver rose up in her. All of their past kisses ran through her mind and she got lost in the memories until she felt something press against her neck. Having realized that it was Ren's lips, she jumped and accidentally dropped her knife. It clattered to the floor noisily and she hastily tried to bend to pick it up, however Ren was still too close to her for her to move freely. Once she realized she was facing him, she froze. It was then that Ren gave up on his teasing as he observed her dear-in-the-headlights look on her face and he crumpled with laughter. Anger caused by her embarrassment rose up in Kyoko as she crossed her arms and pouted like a child, which only made Ren laugh more even though he tried to stifle it.

Ren wiped a tear from his eye as he bent to pick up the fallen knife. "I'm sorry. I couldn't resist," he placed the knife in his sink and strode over to where she was still pouting. "Here I thought you loved me enough to force feed me all on your own. I didn't know you still needed Yashiro to tell you to do it." He used his grade A acting skills to act wounded by her actions, and of course it worked.

Kyoko stepped closer to Ren in a panic as she waved her arms and shook her head. "W-what!? No! That's what this is about? I'm so sorry, Ren! You know that's not true!"

His façade instantly fell away and a mischievous smile took its place as he grabbed her waving hand and pulled her to him. "Which part isn't true?"

Kyoko's heart nearly pounded out of her chest and her breath was stolen away by his caressing her face. She was obviously dazed as she stared back into the dark eyes of the emperor of the night. "U-um…? W-w-what?"

He leaned his face down to hers, narrowing his eyes. "You said that I know something isn't true. What did you mean by that?" He already knew, but he couldn't help but want to hear the words he had waited a lifetime to hear from her. She had said them time and time again already, but it was never enough.

A lightbulb went off in Kyoko's head as her minions fought to fix her malfunctioning brain. "U-uh… You said that I didn't l-love you enough…" her voice trailed off at the same time a blush rose up on her face.

"And?" Ren asked.

"W-well… T-that was what isn't true… I do l-love you…" She looked down and again her words trailed off to the point that her words could barely be heard. Barely.

Ren's heart sped up at the whispered words, but he did not drop his act. "What was that? I couldn't hear you."

She snapped her head up and shouted, "I said I love you!" Ren could feel her trembling and she forced herself to look at him. She knew she was being ridiculous for being so embarrassed after everything they had been through and all the times she had already said those three words in the two weeks since they returned home from Kyoto. The realization of what it all truly meant had not hit home until they had returned. It was as if she had woken from an amazing dream to find out that it was all reality. So when Ren lifted her chin and lowered his face to hers, her heart stopped beating altogether when their lips met.

It was a short yet sweet kiss and when Ren looked down at her again, his expression had changed once again to one of pure exaltation. He understood how she was feeling as he too felt like he was still living in a dream, but he enjoyed watching her reactions as he teased her. He could hardly believe she hadn't run away in fear and disgust like he had so often imagined her doing. "I lo-"

His words were cut off by the shrill ring of his phone. The atmosphere between the two of them was instantly destroyed and Ren sighed as he answered his phone. "Hello?"

He waited but there was no response on the other end. Perplexed, he hung up the phone. "There was no one there."

Kyoko had just finished washing off the knife that had fallen earlier and started chopping vegetables once more. "Maybe it was the wrong number." It was good timing though, Kyoko thought, any more of that and I'm sure I would have had a heart attack.

Suddenly his phone began ringing again and he decided to check the number before answering. He slightly recognized the number but could not remember where it was from. He had received several calls from the same number earlier in the week but had been too busy to respond to them. Work had picked up significantly once he and Kyoko had returned from Kyoto. "Yes, Tsuruga Ren speaking." Normally he would not give his name, but he decided it would be okay for a number he knew. Even if he didn't know how he knew it.

"Ah. He answers this time. Hello, Ren." A deep voice rang out on the other end and Ren instantly recognized it.

"Kuu?" Ren could almost imagine his father getting ready to flick his forehead with an intense look on his face. "I mean, Dad!"

Hearing this, Kyoko stopped what she was doing instantly. She looked over at Ren who was looking at her with wide eyes that reflected her own.

"That's more like it…" Kuu threatens. "So I'm guessing you're alone right now or I'm sure you'd never have actually said that."

Thinking that Kuu doesn't know about his new relationship with Kyoko, or that fact that she knows everything about Ren's past and his relationship to Kuu, he decided to go along with it.

"Yeah, I am. Why? Do you need me alone?" Ren asked.

"No. I was just wondering if my adopted son is there too and if I was interrupting anything."

Ren pauses a moment longer than normal and Kuu waits smugly for him to respond. "I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about." He decided to pretend not to know anything for fear that he was just misinterpreting his father's words.

"Oh? You mean to tell me that Mogami-san isn't at your place and cooking you dinner?"

H-how!? Ren's thoughts shouted.

"Oh calm down," Kuu said, practically reading Ren's mind. "That boss of yours still contacts me, unlike a certain son. He might have let it slip."

A heavy sigh escaped Ren's lips and Kyoko puts the stove on low heat so that she could go over to Ren. "Is everything okay?" she soundlessly mouthed to Ren.

He just gazed at her, but his happiness outweighed his exasperation. He placed his hand on her head and ran his fingers lovingly through her hair, twirling a lock around his fingers while he contemplated his next words. "Yes… She's here." Kyoko was shocked to hear him say this and she wondered what Kuu had asked him.

"Good. Because I have something to ask you two," Kuu stated.

"What?" Ren asked as he continued to play with Kyoko's amber hair.

"Come to America."

Kyoko's soft strands fell from Ren's hand, "What was that?"


A man throws a newspaper down on the table in front of him with a headline reading 'Bachelor No More'. The news of Ren and Kyoko's relationship was slowly building in popularity, and this gave anyone who was interested the ability to easily keep tabs on the two of them. The man's chuckle resounded throughout the otherwise silent room. "Interesting choice in title… I guess I have to make that true in more ways than one."

A knock on the door to the man's room broke his scrutiny of Ren's picture. "Imai-sama?"

"Yes?" the man responded to his subordinate.

"The car is here for you, sir. Your plane is waiting on the tarmac," the younger man said with a bow upon entering Kiyoshi Imai's room. "Also, your son has sent a letter from prison for you." He placed the letter addressed to Kiyoshi down on the table in front of him. Kiyoshi gazed at it with a slight interest, looking at the name of the return sender with disappointment – Arata Imai.

"Thank you," Kiyoshi said as he rose from his seat. "What's my ETA?"

"You should be in Tokyo by 10:00 tonight, sir."

Kiyoshi's sinister smile was illuminated by the dim lights of his hallway as he headed toward his car, "Very good."


Thank you for reading! Please review and let me know what you think! :)