Chapter 2

Unbelievable! Un-fucking-believable! Never in all of her life had she felt like such a complete and utter fool. For over 18 years this man had been in her life and not once did she see through his deception. Now she knew why he had pressed her to give birth to and keep Kyoko. Now she knew why he had shown such a keen interest in her, why he always knew where she was, what she was doing, how she was doing in school, why he was so completely livid when she had come to Tokyo with that spoiled little Fuwa brat.

"Sae-chan?" He murmured nervously.

Saena Mogami held up her hand to stop him and shook her head. "Don't... Just..." She stood, took a deep breath and quietly walked out of her office to gather her emotions. Right now she needed time to calm herself or, she would definitely commit a jail-worthy crime against him... against the father of her daughter. She wanted to scream.

How did she not see or, notice it before? She closed her eyes and opened her mind, for once and saw the similarities. The obsessive observation skills, the golden-eyes, his ears, his chin, the curve of his brow. Did the girl not inherit anything from her? She sighed in defeat and re-entered her office where the father of her daughter sat patiently in shame.

"You will tell me everything." She demanded, barely audibly as she sat behind her desk.

He nodded then began the story. He told her how he had been hired to test the security around the case and take the gathered information if the opportunity arose. How he had been so enamored by her that he just couldn't stay away. How Katagiri-sensei had offered him the job for his impressive skills once his law firm was firmly in place. How he had secretly set up a trust to care for Kyoko in addition to what she was sending. Finally, how he never told her because she didn't love him, that he was happy just being her friend if that was all that she would offer him.

From that moment on, she realized that the man in front of her loved her to the extent that he was willing to stay in the shadows to support her. He was willing to accept being permanently friend-zoned to be near her if that is what it took. For all of those years he had loved her and not once did he ever stray and for once the tears came unbidden to the eyes of Saena Mogami when she realized that she and her daughter both had been loved so dearly.

Lory was in shock. The unflappable Saena Mogami had agreed to his plan and had even suggested that Kyoko's father participate. He couldn't have possibly known that she wanted to spare her daughter the loneliness and pain she and Susumu had suffered all of those years apart from each other. She was not going to allow her daughter to make the same mistakes she had made. She was not going to allow her to permanently file a man that clearly loved her as much as Susumu did Saena, into the category of a friend for life. This was a cycle that was going to end as of now.

Lory Takarada was the recipient of a rare and beautiful event, a smile from the ultimate Ice Queen herself, Saena Mogami.

The only indication that the fates were conspiring against her was the hard chill that had raced down her spine and the lightheadedness that slammed through her body as she finished up her final scenes for the day. She wondered if it was because she had agreed to have dinner with Tsuruga-san and this was just a precursor to disaster. Was he going to tell her about what she suspected? Was he going to let her know that he couldn't be seen with her anymore? That he wanted to spend as much time with the woman/girl that he was in love with and there was no room for her in his busy life?

Well, she would take her medicine. She would face the firing squad and take the bullets that were always meant for her. She would then go off and lick her wounds and hopefully Moko-san would lend a sympathetic ear. At least with this development, they would have something other than acting to talk about and she could steer clear of anything that had to do with Sacred Lotus and the lost part of Chidori.

It had been a month since that fortuitous day. Lory's plans were falling into place with several unexpected helpers. Kyoko had discovered that Ren had wanted to just spend time with her to catch up and give her the Return Gift he had chosen for her and Director Anna had finally made the adjustments for the "Reunion Episode" of BoxR. The date was set and the extras were given the information. Ten was informed of the magnitude of her monumental task and Juli Hizuri had decided to collaborate over a couple of weekends to help things go a bit more smoothly. She and Ten would go over the designs. Ten would provide the measurements covertly and finally Juli would work on the finished product at home, sending pictures to Ten of each phase of the product.

Saena and Susumu diligently worked on gathering information, notifying certain participants and organizing the embellishments for the events to take place. Lory and Kazutoyo arranged for the venue, the staff, filming and other such extras. This would be an event that needed recording for posterity.

Finally, three months after they had signed their paperwork, Natsu was invited back to film the infamous "Reunion Episode" of BoxR. She was a bundle of frayed nerves. Natsu would be getting married. She was no longer the sadistic, childish bully she once was and the man that she was marrying had somewhat tamed the wild vixen. Ren had accepted the part of said husband with gusto, only to have a chance to kiss her once again like he had in Guam. Four months without the feel of her lips was driving him insane. He felt like an addict having withdrawals, he also felt a little pathetic to have to resort to such underhanded means to kiss the woman he was in love with. Well... At least he wasn't forcing himself on her like some people they both knew.

Jelly Woods had spent the better part of the morning with her team of artists, arranging hair, doing makeup and disguising at least 75 people. This is what she lived for and she had heartily volunteered for this particular LoveME Mission Darling had bestowed upon her. Besides, how could she resist dolling up her favorite actress and immortal butterfly? Who at the very moment was shimmying into a white silk corset, beaded with pearls and dotted with light blue ribbons, a sexy-cute pair of lace and silk, white matching cheeky panties, matching garters and white rose-lace stockings. As Kyoko slipped on the last of the embellishments, a pair of cute elastic garters, Ten held out a silk robe for her to wear while she did her hair and makeup.

Ten gasped. "Kyoko-chan, you look stunning in that. You would definitely stop a new groom's heart on your wedding night if he saw you in something like that." She giggled and Kyoko blushed brightly from her scalp to her white, satin peep-toed, platform pumps.

"I don't think that will ever happen in real life Muse-sama." Kyoko answered flustered as she took her seat at the little workstation that had been set up in the dressing tent for her on location.

When all was arranged and Kyoko was fully dressed in the pristine white garment designed specifically for this occasion, she looked in the mirror and saw a queen. She wondered if one day she would ever see herself in such a dress again without the pretense of an act in a drama. It felt as though it had been made especially for her. The soft, flowing white silk fit her like a well tailored glove and flowed over her curves like water. The little crystals sparkled in the sunlight, glimmering with tiny rainbows. The little cut-outs on the back gave the impression of tiny fairy wings and the Cathedral-length train followed her smoothly as if it were a part of her. Her veil was placed and arranged perfectly, then held fast by a beautiful little jeweled crown and her final touch was the engagement ring that was carefully placed on her third left finger. Everything was perfect, from the regal attire right down to the sapphire and diamond bauble that told the world that she was taken.

Deep within her heart, she cried piteously. She bit back the tears and plastered on her best facade, then shoved the new and improved Natsu to the front. This was her day, not Kyoko's. Today Natsu would marry the man that tamed the wild beast and in Kyoko's heart she would cherish the falsified memory as if it were true.