Horror

He survived Ren's visit. Yashiro was sure the president had something to do with his survival. And so when he once again found himself in the President's office, he had resolved to thank the meddling man.

"You've got five more months," said the president before Yashiro could utter more than a greeting.

"Five months? For what, president?" asked Yashiro, his mind spinning with the possibility of being reassigned to Ren. He wondered if there was any way to up Kyoko's fame to the point of her debuting in America in five months. He did not want to leave her behind, and he could and would find a way to balance both stars' schedules. And with Kyoko, five months was not an impossible amount of time to gain acclaim…

"Ren will finish his American jobs in five months and return here."

"What?" exclaimed Yashiro. "He's coming back? Is he not selling well? Is someone harassing him? Did the stupid daimane do something to compromise him?"

"No. He's selling well, no one would harass him and live to tell the tale, and Adam-san is more than a capable manager," said Lory flatly. Yashiro deflated a little at the last words but perked back up in curiosity.

"Then why is he coming back?"

"Because he found out he left something here he needed to take with him to be truly satisfied. And men in love do extreme things."

"Oh, Kyoko." The words came out with less enthusiasm than they would have months earlier. For some reason, teasing Ren about Kyoko had lost its interest for Yashiro. "So I should prepare to be reassigned to Ren's manager in five months."

"No," said Lory, his gaze intense upon Yashiro. "You have five months to take care of Mogami-san, understood?"

Yashiro nodded shakily. The words dug into him and made his mind swirl in ways he couldn't even begin to imagine. His heart squeezed and pounded terribly, and for the life of him he had no idea why.

Hostility

"I don't understand, Moko. He was the Demon Lord! What could Yukihito-san have done to make him so angry?"

Kanae sipped her soda and tried to think of the best way to word her answer. She didn't think her friend would believe the conclusion Kanae had come to. Part of her wondered if she should even try to explain it to this love-oblivious girl. Nope, Kyoko wouldn't get it.

"Perhaps Yashiro kept something for Tsuruga-san that the man had not noticed until now that he had left here and Tsuruga-san came back to retrieve it. Honestly, though, the man shouldn't come back chasing things he left behind, especially if Yashiro is taking better care of it than he was."

"Eh? Moko…could you know why Tsuruga was mad at Yukihito-san?"

"No," said Kanae in her most firm lying voice and proceeded to direct her conversation to more safe areas like work, though her mind was already on ways she could aid the poor frightened manager out. If it was a choice between him and Tsuruga, she would choose the dependable manager. He was safer for her friend's heart.

Hysteria

She walked out as her newest character, a police woman who had gone undercover to catch her prey, one of the most wanted white collar criminals. His eyes stuck to the floating figure, and suddenly a giggle escaped him. He quickly covered his mouth and turned away. Laughter shook his whole body, so much so that a crew member came and asked him if he was okay. He waved an arm to show he was before straightening and looking back at the set. Was that what the president had hinted at? Surely the president did not want Yashiro to die, as efficient managers who could put up with Kyoko's mood swings were few and hard to find. No matter what his heart did every time he saw her, he could not fall in love with Kyoko. For the sake of Ren's heart and his own…

Interest

For the last few minutes, her eyes had flittered between him and the car window. He had had to learn to drive as her manager; driving came as second nature to him now. So he could spare half his thoughts to analyze the girl beside him.

"Is something wrong, Kyoko?"

"N-no, i-it's just…I don't know a lot about Yukihito-san, b-but you know a lot about me. A-and I n-never t-thought about it…But Moko said…"

"It's alright," said Yashiro, keeping his eyes on the road and desperately ignoring the light feeling in his chest. "You can ask whatever you want now."

Jealousy

"Did you see last night? Tsuruga Ren! He's really…"

Yashiro moved out of the hearing range and leaned against the wall. Tsuruga Ren, the actor he had managed for five years, had a secret identity that Yashiro had never even guessed at, that Ren had never even hinted of. Never, not once in all five years had Ren even thought of mentioning Hizuri Kuon.

"Yukihito-san," said a soft voice. Yashiro lifted his head and did not even try to smile. She would see right through it anyway. Her eyes were ridiculously large and stretched with worry. In spite of himself, he recalled the way they had shone with wonder at seeing the beautiful Hizuri Kuon on screen, even before he had revealed himself as Tsuruga Ren, and the quiet whisper of "Corn." His chest tightened and became heavy though his brain insisted it should alight with happiness for his friend. Ren had more claim to Kyoko than Yashiro had previously thought.

"It's okay."

The soft words snapped Yashiro out of his heavy thoughts, and he noticed she had move to lean against the wall beside him.

"He didn't tell me either. I know I'm a kohai and everything, but he could have at least told me he was Corn. I thought Corn was a fairy prince, so I wouldn't have known he was sensei's son. And he was so mean to me too…nothing like Corn. Maybe he really isn't Corn. Maybe Corn's really a fairy and is back in fairy world no matter what Tsuruga-san says—"

"He called you?" asked Yashiro, trying to keep his tone light.

"Yes. He said to watch the Tonight Show if I wanted to know what happened to Corn. He could have just told me. And why did he have to do it like that, and then he doesn't even tell anyone…" Her cheeks puffed and reddened as the words continued as mutterings. As Yashiro tried to dredge up some defense for his friend, he suddenly found he couldn't. He could only lean against the wall and watch the girl beside him.

Loathing

"I want something I shouldn't want."

The words were dragged out of Yashiro's mouth thanks to Kyoko's relentless quest to find out what was wrong with her manager and best male friend. Now she looked at him with curious eyes and a puzzled air. Yashiro had to look away so as to stop a flood of unwanted thoughts and replace them with better ones. He supported Ren. Ren was better for her. Ren had left her in his care to guard her, nothing else. Yashiro would help Ren in the actor's quest to gain Kyoko's heart. Kyoko—

"Is it illegal?"

Yashiro turned cautiously to look at the girl. She looked determined now.

"No," he answered. She was marriageable age in any country now.

"Is it bad for you?"

"U-um…," he started. She herself wasn't but… "It's bad for a friend."

"Bad for a friend. Why?"

"My friend wants it too."

"Then why doesn't he get one of his own?"

"It's one of a kind."

"Oh…" she said. He watched her out of the corner of his eyes despite his brain's constant mutterings. The crease in her forehead deepened and her hands began to twitch and move as her thoughts intensified. Yashiro watched in fascination and praying that the president wouldn't keep them waiting much longer. "Yukihito-san."

"Hm?" he said. The quiet whisper had surprised him.

"What is it?" she asked, her eyes almost twice as wide as before.

"U-um…w-well…," he stuttered, "I-I can't tell you that, Kyoko."

"Oh," she said, her eyes darkening, "I guess I shouldn't be asking…"

"No, no. It's okay, for you to ask, Kyoko. It's just…" The words stuck in his throat as he felt the dark miasma deepening into existence. "M-my friend wouldn't appreciate it! H-he might not want me to reveal so much about him to you, I mean, to anyone. So I can't tell you even if I wanted too!"

"You worry a lot about your friend," said Kyoko after enough of the miasma had dissipated.

"Well, he's a person that's easy to worry about. And not getting this…unique something; it might break his heart beyond repair."

"Yukihito-san's such a nice person for worrying about his friend like that," said Kyoko. The smile almost proved too much for Yashiro. He had to look away. "But Yukihito-san, what about your heart?"

"My heart's too selfish to even think of wanting this thing," said Yashiro, focusing on a spot on the wall. "It will still work if he gets it."

"So you're not even going to try to get it?" The girl's tone yanked Yashiro's gaze back on her. She had stood up and taken what he had dubbed her scolding stance. "That's not fair! You have as much right to get it as your friend! If he gets it, that's fine, but you have to try and at least fight for it! And I'll cheer you on! 'Cause whoever this friend is, he already has Yukihito-san as a friend. If he asks God for anything else, he's getting greedy! So you got to promise me that you're going to try! I'm your friend too, even if it's only because you're my manager, and so you have to do what I want too! Go after this unique something with all your heart!"

Yashiro looked up at her determined face and his heart won the war with his mind. He coughed to hide his chuckle, smiled up at her, and nodded firmly.

Love

"L-love m-me?"

Yukihito-san nodded, the sincere, silly smile on his face. He could have been joking except for his eyes and the redness on his cheeks.

"Y-Yukihito-san l-l-l-l-l….me?" she squeaked, her mouth refusing to form that word. He nodded again. Kyoko panicked. "Yukihito-san can't l-l-l-l-l-l-like me! I'm a plain girl with no sex appeal!"

"You're not. And even if you were, I would probably still love you." The redness spread from his cheeks to the rest of his face, and he looked away. He added in a whisper, almost unwillingly, "Because you're Kyoko…"

She stared at him, willing him to turn and say he was joking or that the president made him do it to test her ability to love. His blush intensified. His eyes closed. But he didn't turn. Why didn't he turn? Why didn't her second best friend (if she called him anything else, such as simply "best friend," Moko wouldn't talk to her for a week and what would Moko think about this?), why didn't he turn around?

A sigh caused her thoughts to brake sharply. His hazel eyes were on hers, and she felt suffocated.

"You don't have to worry," he said, pushing his glasses up and trying to get back into his manager mode. "I know you're the number one Love Me member. I don't expect you to love me back, but I had to tell you. You can forget it if you want. I will still be your second best friend, right?"

Would he? Could he still be…? Yukihito-kun lo-cared for her deeply, but friends, especially best friends, cared a lot about each other. But he implied that the lo-care was different than that so it was dangerous. Not for her. She had no doubt she would ever fall in love, even with such a great guy like Yukihito-kun. But Yukihito-kun's heart might break. Then again even with the obvious rejection of his confession he didn't look heartbroken so maybe Kyoko was thinking too much of herself, thinking she could influence a man's heart so much as to break it, especially Yukihito-san's. He probably only thought he was in love with Kyoko when he really loved Higema-hime* and got confu…

"We need to get to the next job, Kyoko. If we don't leave now, we'll be late, and your record will be broken. We have to get to the Kimegakure taping. And then we have to go meet with Director Date about the mafia wife role…"

The list continued, her feet automatically matched in step with his, and she suddenly felt as if the moment in the secluded TBM corridor had never occurred. She could easily write it off as the results of her lala drugs. Maybe it really had not happened after all.

*Her policewoman role. She added hime to better like the character, like she did with Natsu.