Paths

Chapter 1


He wanted to punch Murasame in the face when the drink came to the table for Setsuka. Instead Kuon slammed it back and gave him a big grin. The look on Murasame's face was not what he had expected. He expected anger, not shock and nervousness. Kuon shook his head and blew the reaction off as Kyoko sat back down next to him and snuggled under his arm as Setsuka. God she felt so good next to him.

He felt a little bit woozy and chalked it up to the effects of the alcohol he had been consuming throughout the night.

"Are you okay Nii-san?" She cooed, while pressing her soft hand to his forehead and feeling the temperature of his cheeks.

He nodded. "Just a little warm, Beautiful." He murmured with a soft smile.

"I think we should get back to the hotel. You might be getting sick again." She stood and pulled a passive Kuon behind her, stopping only to let Director Konoe know they were leaving a little early.

"I will go anywhere you lead, my Queen." He leaned in and breathed into her ear, leaving behind an affectionate little kiss, just below her ear.

She shivered a little and fought the blush.

"Are you cold, My Love?" He asked as he removed his jacket and draped it over her shoulders as they waited for their cab.

Kyoko was so stunned she honestly didn't know how to respond. Ren certainly didn't have enough to make him drunk. He only had two drinks at the cast party. One of which, Murasame-san had sent over for him and that had been water as far as she saw. She couldn't explain the strange behavior. Perhaps he was a little too into Cain and she needed to step up her Setsuka. She nodded internally. Yes, that was probably it.

That night, was the night that he told her everything. Including who the woman was that he was in love with. He was Kuon and her Corn and he loved her with all of his heart, he told her. They kissed and kissed again. One thing led to the next thing, soon they were making out for the first time in her life. The make out session led to the next step and the next step led to her giving something that she never dreamed that she would give to someone.

At first it was uncomfortable, then it felt heavenly, and since it was him, she didn't care. He loved her. It was the best night of her life. At some point during this night, the night she would never forget, she had migrated back to her own bed and when she awakened, he was already dressed as Cain, waiting for her so they could end the act at LME and discard Cain and Setsuka. He never said a word about their night and neither did she. He went back to being Ren Tsuruga and she would never again be the same. It was like it never happened for him. It hurt. Had he just said I love you, so he could have one night with her? It seemed so. She called in sick for three days and for three days, she would cry and get him out of her system. At least enough to be able to go back to work. She wasn't sure how much time she would need in order to actually face him or talk to him again. She had lost all self respect from allowing herself to be used in an even bigger way than Sho and she couldn't bring herself to hate him. That's what hurt the most.


One month from their night together and he was just happily going around like nothing had ever happened between them. With each day, she grew more sullen and morose. Neither he nor, Yashiro could figure out what was wrong with her. Her filming for Sacred Lotus was coming to an end and she was being inundated with offers for new films, dramas and modeling jobs. She should be happy, right? No... She wasn't happy. She had no reason to be happy as she stared at the three little sticks with pink plus signs on them. How could I have been so incredibly stupid! One night! That's all it took! One fucking night, literally!

She stared at the idiot in the mirror and rubbed her face. She splashed cold water to clear her mind. She was not about to make the same mistakes her mother made, but she most certainly was NOT going to end it. She had to think. There were so many things wrong with this situation, she couldn't even begin to list them all. Well, at least she would be 18 in a few months. Hopefully she could complete most of her work before she started showing, take a hiatus or something. She panicked. How would she be able to keep acting? What would her friends say? What would Takarada-san say? What would Taisho and Okami say? Single mothers just didn't do well. How would she be able to fix any of this? She wanted to keep it, but how would she provide for it if her reputation was completely ruined by this? She sure as hell wasn't going to tell Kuon about it. He obviously didn't really love her like he had declared.

She had to tell someone. She obviously couldn't talk to Sho. She had fallen into the biggest pitfall of all time. He could try to send her back to Kyoto, but his mother most certainly wouldn't have anything to do with her after this and Sho definitely wasn't the type to help take care of another man's child, especially a rival.

She was going to have to tell Takarada-san at some point, even if it meant giving up her job. He would want to know why she was taking time off and where she was going for her "vacation". He would also want to know who the father was and she wasn't quite sure she could hide it from him. She wasn't able to hide that she was in love with Kuon in the first place and Lory had seen that coming from a mile away. So yes, she was going to tell President Takarada first. She had absolutely no choice in the matter.

She would figure out later who else needed to know. Maybe Mōko-san and Chiori. Definitely not Yashiro-san. That would be a disaster. She nodded to the woman that was no longer a girl in the mirror of the bathroom, in the LoveME locker room and made her decision. She wiped her face dry, straightened her clothing and stood straight. She took in a deep breath to still her nerves and left for her punishment right after she discretely disposed of the evidence.


Lory sat in shock as he listened to the young female before him. Pregnant? With Kuon's child? Dear Lord how on Earth did something like this happen?

"Kyoko-chan... Haven't you said anything to him about this? Don't you think he should know?" He asked worried.

"Why? He acts like it never happened. It's my fault for falling for it and my responsibility. I should have never believed him when he said I love you. I should have known it was only for one night. It's the story of my life. Fall for someone and they use me. I was the idiot that let it happen. So no, this is my mess and I only ask that you allow me to keep acting after everything is said and done. I love acting, but I'll also need a way to provide for my child." She told him in tears.

Lory sighed. He didn't want Kyoko to travel down the same path as her mother and resent her child for ruining her career. He wanted her to be able to proudly admit that she had a child one day, if asked. "Kyoko-chan, don't worry. I'll speak to Ten and we'll figure something out. Okay? Will you be able to complete Sacred Lotus?" He asked with concern.

She nodded. "But I don't think I'll be able to accept anything long term after that."

He shook his head. "I'll take care of that. First, we need to get you into a new place to live. We don't need any gossip or paparazzi finding you at your current place of residence and exposing you."

"But..." She started and he stopped her.

"It needs to be done anyway. Especially after those photos in the Spring. Not to worry, LME has housing for singles and families that can't afford to live in Tokyo. We'll draw up the lease under a pseudonym. That way if they try to dig anything up, they won't find you. I'll have Ruto take you over there today to take a look... Do you have a specific name you'd like to use?" He asked softly, handing her a tissue.
She closed her eyes. "I suppose I could use Misonoi. Yes, that sounds appropriate considering my father used a fake name." She mumbled that little tidbit. "Maybe something a little foreign for the given name... I like princess names, but that didn't go too well last time, did it?" She gave him a small, sad smile.

He chuckled and gave her a little smile. "May I make a suggestion, if it's a princess name you'd like?"

She nodded. "Anything is better than what I am right now." She said wryly.

He nodded sympathetically. "Very well... How about one that's been slightly altered. No one else needs to know where it came from and you can ask others to call you by however you choose to adjust it."

She looked at him curiously. "What do you have in mind?"

"I was thinking maybe Ariella or, maybe Isabelle." He told her, hoping it would cheer her up.

She nodded. "So I could be Ari or, Izzy or, maybe even Belle?" She asked a little hopeful.

He chuckled and nodded. "Exactly. Then when you decide to step into the mask and take on the jobs under your new name, you, me, Ten and Ruto will be the only ones that will know your identity."

She looked down at her hands. "You mean like Kuon..."

He sighed. "Unfortunately yes, but you have someone you're protecting other than just yourself." He reminded her. She wouldn't be running from something, she would be protecting her child from the media.

"That doesn't take care of the problem with me being a single mother." The tears started again.

"Well, I really don't think they'll bother with you since your husband passed away in the jungles of South America. After all, poisonous snakes, wild animals, insects and whatnot can be very hazardous to one's health when interning for a degree in zoology. Wouldn't you say?" He smirked. "Maybe we could make up a more foreign surname, Stevens perhaps? That way it would be a little more difficult to draw the line from point A, to point B." He really is good at manipulating people, Kyoko thought.

"I suppose that would be better than a Japanese surname. Less suspicious, I suppose. Why am I in Japan?" She asked.

"You are recovering from the emotional trauma. Technically it's not a lie." He commented passively.

She sighed. "Fine..." She shook her head. He was going to get what he wanted anyway. "Let me know what you come up with... Just... I can't be Setsuka anymore."

"I understand. Would it be too much for you to be a blonde? It's quite likely you may need to be when your little bundle arrives." He reminded her.

She closed her eyes and groaned. She had forgotten about that little goody. "I suppose green eyes are in order too."

He nodded. "Unfortunately. That's the only way you'll be able to explain something like that. If the child has dark hair and your eyes, you can just claim it looks like it's father."

Kyoko leaned back in her seat. "I really don't have much of a choice in the matter."

He gave her a sad smile. "I'll be sure to take care of everything for you. When the time comes, I will let Ruto know. I think from this point on, it would be a good idea to transfer management duties to him. Yashiro is just too risky. After you are fully immersed in the persona of... Isabelle Stevens?..." She nodded. "Ruto will be your full-time manager and Yashiro will be informed of your hiatus."

"When will I be required to move?" She asked a little worried. Wouldn't Yashiro-san be suspicious of living in the same place after everything?

"You can move as soon as possible. I don't see any problems with it. After all Kyouko will be moving and it's not uncommon for those apartments to fill quickly. Yashiro-kun won't suspect anything, because he won't be your manager. Ruto will be. Now, I'm going to have him take you over there so you can find the one you like, sign the lease and move in as soon as possible. It doesn't have to happen today, but it would be preferable in the next couple of days. You can give Ruto a call and he'll help you. You don't need to be doing any heavy lifting. Expect me to have all of your paperwork ready in the next couple of days also. I expect you'll want to bury Kyoko Mogami?" He asked hoping she would say no, but that wasn't likely. Kuon had really botched this one epically.

"Yes... The moment I'm finished filming Sacred Lotus next week, Kyoko Mogami will be dead to me and everyone else... Except maybe Mōko-san and Chiori." She told him, filled with a little relief. She should have done this from the beginning. Maybe it would get Sho off her back too.

"Well then, I'll let Ten know of the changes and she'll contact you about your new look." He told her, handing her Ruto's information. "You'll want to add that to your contacts list." He reminded her and she nodded.

"Thank you, Shachou. I appreciate everything you're doing for me. I'm sorry I've put you in this position." She stood and bowed deeply to him.

"Kyoko-chan... You didn't do this to yourself. It takes two to dance." His anger just thinking about Kuon's behavior was bubbling under the surface. "Go ahead and go with Ruto. I will have your new papers and identity ready for you next week. Oh! You may want to hold off on seeing the doctor until then. That way you will be registered under your new information." He warned.

"I really didn't think of that. Thank you for telling me or I would have made another stupid mistake." She sighed in resignation. "This is going to take some getting used to." She murmured the last part as Ruto led her out the door.