Chapter 4

Kyoko woke up feeling worse than she ever had. After taking a shower and eating breakfast, she headed off to LME. Walking, she had found, made her feel better, and since the loft was only a few blocks away from LME, it was a perfect time for her to get her exercise.

Since her only call, she hadn't been very happy, and she was stressing over it. It wasn't helping that she had been sitting at a desk for an hour now, looking through offers that had been gathered via the president. She rummaged through the papers, looking for something that had minimal contact with people. She wasn't quite ready to let people in on her secret yet. Even though she would have to tell people eventually, before they found out on their own, she would have to plan it out. When the press had found out that she and Sho Fuwa had grown up together, they had a field day making up exactly what they wanted to and playing to the sound of their own drums. It had taken her almost two months to set the record straight. Yes, she would definitely have to tell them herself and not let them find out on their own.

She paused on a movie, looking it over more carefully than the rest of them. It was about a young, rich girl from a small town that was being trained to work in an inn. When she gets pregnant by an unfortunate event, her life is changed. She is no longer first in line to inherit the inn as she's always dreamed and is cast out due to the shame placed on her family. On her journey of rebuilding what life she has left, she faces many trials such as judgment, poverty, and love.

Kyoko was unsure why she was drawn to the movie, but couldn't find herself interested in anything else that was on her desk. She flipped through the excerpt of the scrip that was provided along with the plot and the list of potential leads. The more she read of the script, the more she could picture herself being Nakata Asago.

Brbrrrrrz. Brbrrrrz.

Kyoko quickly dug for her cell at the prompt of the vibration coming from her bag.

"Hello?"

"Kyoko, It's Kanae."

"Moko-chan, are you ok?"

"Mo, why wouldn't I be? We finished filming early today, come eat with me."

"Of course! Where did you want to eat?" Kyoko smiled at the picture forming in her head of her and her true friend eating lunch together.

"There is a café down the street from LME. I should be there in an hour or so. Does that give you enough time to finish what you're doing?"

"It does! I'll see you then, my most wonderful friend!"

"Mo, do say stuff like that, people will think we're dating. See you then."

Kyoko hung up the phone gently and quickly placed the papers on her desk into two categories; offers that she would accept and those that she would not. She only kept the movie and a few modeling offers, discarding everything else. I should probably keep my schedule pretty open for the next few months anyways. The less that I'm working, the more I am able to hide form the press and focus on…more important matters.

After locking up her office and turning in the direction of the nearest stairwell, Kyoko smiled in excitement to see her beloved friend. Noting the time, she pulled her phone out and made a quick call, anticipating the same voicemail that she had received for the past few days.

"You've reached the line belonging to Tsuraga Ren. Please leave your name, contact information and a message. Beeeeppp."

"Hey Ren, It's Kyoko. I was Just calling to see how you're doing. Please return my call whenever you get the chance. I Love you, bye."

As she approached the café, she began to realized how hungry she was. She hadn't had many cravings yet, but she could definitely tell that her increase in appetite had already arrived. Clutching her bag close to her, she sped up until she could smell the delectable aromas coming from the outdoor seating perched up on the sidewalk. Choosing a table close to the windows, Kyoko sat and waited as patiently as possible for the waitress and her friend.

Again her phone buzzed, this time from an unknown number.

"Hello, Kyoko speaking." She said in a professional tone, careful to only use her stage name.

"It's Me Kyoko, Ren "

Her mouth dropped open when she heard her name in his voice. Almost forgetting to respond, she instinctively sat straight up and responded.

"Ren! How are you?"

"I'm great! We just finished for the day. I'm getting ready to head back to the hotel. What about you, an you know…the baby. I haven't talked to you in as week, I've been so worried, I-"

"Maybe you shouldn't have hung up on me then. Or called me back. I've tried to call you every single day." Kyoko interrupted.

"That was my temporary manager Kyoko. Her name is Melanie. She been really strict on when I talk and who I talk to. I've been trying to get them to loosen up a bit, but it's apparently the director that's calling those shots."

Ren's emotions were clearly conveyed over the conversation. Kyoko could assume that he was more than unhappy about it, but was trying to keep a cool demeanor about the stipulations in order to keep the filming running smoothly.

"Well, she shouldn't be monitoring everything. It sounds like they're trying to set you guy up or something. I don't like it." Kyoko pouted a little bit. If it were a year ago at this point she would be sending demons straight to the states to take care of this Melanie woman promptly. Since then however, she had learned to control them and although they weren't locked away in her Pandora's box, they were simply circling overhead.

"I know, but that's not the important matter to discuss right now. How are you taking everything? Are you alright, do you need me to come home? I'm worried since I haven't received any kind of information since we talked last."

"I'm just fine, Ren. I'm just at five weeks so it's really early right now. The doctor said that she was surprised that the test even picked up on it since it's so early. I've talked it over with CEO and he says that this shouldn't affect me career wise, as long as we head in the right direction as far as the press is concerned. But I'm okay. Are you okay?"

There was a pause. It wasn't tense, but It was extremely thoughtful. It came to Kyoko's attention that this would be the first time that she would be hearing how he felt about them having a baby- creating life- together.

"Honestly Kyoko, I'm scared, but theirs this tingly feeling that I get every time I think about it. I'm upset with myself because I know that you really wanted to be married first, but I can't help but smile when I think about a tiny human that we get to call our own. I'm really nervous, but I'm happy. I'm really excited about this. As long as you are, that is."

Kyoko's hand drifted to her face and slightly covered the smile that had erupted on her face. All of her worry over Ren being upset was starting to fade, just with him saying that he was excited. Some of the worry stayed with Kyoko because of course, things do change, but for the moment, she felt content. "I'm really excited too."

"That's good to hear. I'm going to call you as soon as I can and as often as I am allowed, but I have to step in on a cast meeting. Unfortunately I need to cut this conversation short. I'm sorry, especially because It's been so long since I've talked to you."

"It's okay; just phone me when you can."

The two hung up, and Kyoko placed the phone on the table. Soon after, Kanae slid into the seat across from her and the two ordered. The meal was normal, and it delighted Kyoko. Every bight she took received another exclamation on how it was better than the previous bight and even though she pretended to be annoyed, Kanae inwardly took joy in the cuteness of her good friend.

As they finished up, the two made plans to go shopping soon for Kanae's debut as a model. Kyoko would be her number one VIP and that of course called for a new dress and possibly some shoes to complement. They embraced and went their separate ways, Kyoko back to her office and Kanae off to her flat to get ready for a hot date with her co-star from her recently finished movie, Till Dawn. Although she was sure that there would be absolutely no chemistry between them, she couldn't help but give the poor sucker a try.

Kyoko practically pranced down the sidewalk as she returned from her lunch. She was definitely in a better mood from hearing from her fiancé and having a great lunch with someone so special to her. Her sparkling mood however was interrupted by a blow to her left shoulder, knocking her back a few steps and throwing her off balance. Before she knew it she was falling and instinctively grabbed the force that had knocked into her, bringing him down as well.

"What the hell! You should pay attention and not be so clumsy, idiot! Do you know who I am?"

"I could say the same! You almost fell on me!" Before even attempting to figure out who her assaulter was, her hand instinctively went to her still flat stomach. "Oh man," She thought to herself, "Good think I didn't land too hard.

"Kyoko?"

Kyoko snapped out of her thoughts at her name and finally took a moment to picture who was now trying to help her up. When she saw that awful looking blonde hair of his, she flinched and took a step back as soon as she was back on her feet.

"What are you doing here, Sho?" She asked in an irritated tone, attempting to be polite since they were on a public street and had already made a bit of a scene.

"Well, I was walking and then some idiot just decided to no pay attention while walking on the sidewalk, without having the common sense to move out of the way."

"You could have hurt me!" Her hand was still on her stomach. When she realized, she quickly dropped her hand down to her side and excused herself. The less that she had to speak with him, the better.

"I have to be somewhere."

"Kyoko wait!" Sho yelled, grabbing her right arm.

Kyoko pivoted sharply on her right foot and with her supernatural force giving Sho an unpleasant feeling, she said bitterly, "Let go. Don't touch me again." Shaking her arm free from his grasp, she returned on her path back to her building.

Sho stood there for a second stunned. She never ignored him like that and he always was able to illicit a better reaction from her than that. Something was off today.