Disclaimer: I don't own, guys, so, lawyers, put up your cell phones. You're not getting a damned cent out of me!

A/N: Wow, sorry for the lack of updates, guys. I really have no excuse except for that of zero imagination and laziness. Please forgive me! Even though school has started up again, and I'm going to be really busy with homework and varsity sports, I'll try to keep updating this. I warned you guys in the beginning that there would be no consistency with the postings, so please put up with me for a little longer. I'm also in the process of an Inuyasha fanfiction, Time Aplenty, which takes place after the manga, since I believe Rumiko-sensei kind of copped out in the end. Anyways! Onto the story, since no one actually reads this note, anyway.

Enjoy!

Floodgates

Chapter Three

Changes

Yashiro stared wide-eyed at the man before him, completely at loss for words. After a few moments, however, he was able to splutter indignantly. "Ren! J-just what did you do to your hair?!"

Ren frowned, tugging at his bangs. "What? I'm just back to my original color. I need it for a new drama."

"B-b-but it's… blonde!" Yashiro was practically pulling his hair out as he made his way to the car. Ren sighed as he climbed into the driver's seat, and he turned out of the parking garage to make his way to LME and, unfortunately, its eccentric president. His manager continued to prattle on about the new coloring until they reached the doors to the office building and entered, making their way down the hall until they reached the elevator lobby.

"…It's just so bright! I know it's for a drama, but did you have to wash it out so far in advance? I mean, think of all the people it will confuse!" Yashiro nearly screamed with frustration when Ren gave one of his very-American shrugs. "Ren, please,be serious. Have you even thought of the media?!" he gasped, the realization dawning on him. "The media! What will the press think?! What will the president think?! Oh, no!" He turned to his employer with a horrified face. "What will Kyoko-chan think?!"

Ren rolled his eyes, pressing the "up" button. "Sometimes, Yashiro, I wonder just which one of us is the actor. You're too dramatic for you own good. Besides, the press won't be a problem, and Lori will think of it as good publicity for the show." Despite his assurances to the (still spastic) manager, he did dwell on the last person Yashiro had named. I'll just avoid her for the time being. What if the color change reminded her of a long-past "fairy prince"? He tugged at his bangs again in concern.

The Lord almighty, however, did not seem to smile down upon the actor today, as, when the elevator doors slid open, he came face-to-face with the one Love-Me jumpsuit-clad girl he had wished to avoid seeing at all costs.

Kyoko's usual "good morning" immediately stuck in her throat as she examined her slightly shocked mentor. She soon regained her composure and gave her cheery greeting. "Tsuruga-san," she continued slowly, as if trying to come up with the right words, "are you a natural blonde?"

Ren replaced his stunned expression with his gentlemanlike smile. "Why would you say that, Mogami-san?"

"Well, it doesn't look fake on you, I guess," she admitted. "It doesn't look bleached. Why have you changed it back to blonde, though?" The actor noticed a confused frown work its way onto her pretty lips, but he tried not to dwell on it for very long.

He stood straighter. "I'm going to be starting on a new drama, and they requested that I change it for the role that I'll be playing."

"Oh!" Kyoko clapped her hands together eagerly. "I can't wait to see it! Anyways, Tsuruga-san, I have a mission to do, so, if you'd excuse me!" She stepped out of the elevator and bowed to her sempai.

Ren still wore his smile. "Of course. I'll see you later, then." He shooed her off and watched her pink form scamper across the lobby. He entered the elevator and turned to his unusually silent manager. He nearly jumped at the furious atmosphere surrounding the smaller man.

Yashiro slowly turned and looked at him with an angry disappointment in his gaze. "I can't believe you," he spat, venom in every word.

Ren awkwardly broke eye-contact with the man and pressed the floor button on the elevator panel, secretly hoping that they would reach the offices (and, assumedly, witnesses) before his manager throttled him out of pure frustration.

Kyoko wiped her brow and settled her hands on her hips. Mission complete! She had just taken on the arduous duty of cleaning one of the many studios the building held, and the Love-Me worker knew that it was to be the stamp of approval on her notepad. She spoke briefly with the director who laid claim in the once-anarchic workspace before setting off to her office to eat lunch.

As she could not find her dear Moko-chan, she ate alone, but her thoughts were far away from her solidarity. Her mind, ever since her intrusion on Tsuruga-san's hospitality, kept wandering to thoughts on her sempai. This morning's little surprise also continued to plague her thoughts.

She bit into her rice ball, too distracted to notice the pieces stuck to her face. "Who does he keep on reminding me of…?" Kyoko muttered aloud. She didn't like how she could not get her mind away from him; it seemed so much like the situation with Shotaro. The worker silently fumed at the idea.

Still, despite her dislike for the occurrence, the actor lingered on the outskirts of her mind for the rest of the day, the golden hair and its nagging nature annoying her to no end.

Ren dropped his keys on his kitchen table. He gracelessly stumbled over to the couch and fell down onto its waiting cushions, clearly exhausted.

Lori, despite his theatrics (he had been a circus ringmaster for the day), had been very quick in his meeting with the younger man. The president of LME had actually complimented the actor on his decision to revert to his natural hair color, rather than berate him like Yashiro had been hoping he would. He did, however, emphasize that the change was only for the filming of the new show and that the press was to think that it was a promotional move only. He had then bid Ren farewell, claiming to have some business to attend to; Ren knew not what that business was, but he was sure that it had something to do with the president's outgoing outlook on life. The rest of the day had been spent rather peacefully, aside from his aggravated manager, who constantly badgered him about one thing or another.

When exiting the building, however, he had run into several reporters who had caught wind of this "exciting new change" for the actor. He had done as Lori said, mentioning only the drama, Aside from Heaven, as the reason for the change. When asked about changing it back, he assured them that, as soon as the filming ended, he was going back to his "natural" color, the mention of which brought his thoughts back to Mogami-san...

The man groaned, his frustration beginning to build again. "I just can't get her out of my mind, can I?" he chuckled, maybe a bit darkly, definitely very bitterly. Although his mind seemed to register the thoughts that the younger actress was off limits, his emotions could not seem to care less, and those emotions were quickly trying to deteriorate or, at least, override his common sense. He tried to focus on other things. Like his ceiling.

He moaned his boredom.

Ren noticed that he was beginning to feel hungry, but he felt too tired to get up and make something. The man sighed and grabbed the remote control, flipping on the television instead.

He wasn't very good at cooking anyway: that was Kyoko's department.

Ren groaned again.

Kyoko hummed happily to herself as she wrapped her scarf around her neck and shrugged her purse onto her shoulder. She had remained focused on her work all day, pushing thoughts of Ren to the back of her mind, and she'd gained several more stamps of approval.

As she moved to exit the room, however, she heard a buzzing, followed by a happy tune that she recognized as her ringtone. Kyoko quickly dug through her purse, managing to pull out the object just in time.

"Hello?"

"Kyoko-chan! It's Yashiro."

"Ah! How are you, Yashiro-san?" the young woman happily began.

"Just fine, but I'm a bit concerned about Ren. You see, he hasn't been eating well again, and I'm simply too exhausted to go check on him right now."

Kyoko rolled her eyes. Again? Tsuruga-san would probably rather starve than attempt a meal, but… her mind rolled back to when she was in his care, when she'd awoken to a still-warm plate of fried egg and toast. "I'll go check on him, Yashiro-san!"

"Thank you so much, Kyoko-chan! I'll make it up to you soon. See you tomorrow!"

"Bye!" Kyoko hung up the phone with a small sigh. It looked like she would not get him off her mind for a while. She marched forward with a determined spring in her step. "To Tsuruga-san's apartment!"

The receptionist in the main hall merely shook her head at the younger woman's energy and continued her work. The president was planning a party, after all, and she had plenty of contacts and addresses to sort through before the night was finished.