Chapter 4

T -9 Days & Counting


Yukihito Yashiro, exceptional agent, loyal friend and surprisingly enough licensed bodyguard. The perfect man for any occasion, always prepared for nearly everything. However, what he saw this morning, he was not prepared for by any stretch of the imagination.

Last night, after going through Kyoko's wardrobe, Kanae had helped her "re-purpose" and redesign her entire selection of everyday attire. What she was wearing at the moment was a pair of jeans they had altered with lace inserts from the hem to the waist and tightened them to fit more snuggly, with a pair of cute ankle boots that she still had from her time as Setsuka. They had taken one of her old, oversized t-shirts and made slashes and cuts in strategic places, that showed her beautiful shoulders (minus bra-straps). The back was a series of strips that had been re-tied to tastefully show her beautiful back and on the front, a lace heart-shaped insert to show her cleavage (no bra in sight). He felt like he was going to burn in hell for thinking about that. Her makeup was light, but tastefully done to make her best features stand out, her eyes and lips. Her hair, that had been lengthened with extensions for Momiji, had been swept over and to the side, down the front of her left shoulder.

She looked dazzling, amazing and Yukihito's mouth went dry. What had happened to make this change? Did she have an interview or, audition he didn't know about? Then he realized... His day was going to get 2,000% more difficult.

"Good morning Yashiro-san!" She chirped brightly as she and Kanae entered the backseat.

Yashiro cleared his throat and missed the mischievous look Kanae gave Kyoko. "You look very nice today, Kyoko-chan. What's the occasion?"

She glanced at Kanae and blushed a little. "Nothing special. Just decided it was time for a little change." She said shyly.

He and Kanae nodded. "Well, you look very nice today Kyoko-chan." He smiled and missed the tiny, secretive, high-five Kanae gave her.


Kanae smirked as she secretly recorded the reactions with her smart-phone. She couldn't have gotten a better response if she had actually set it up. Faces of men and women ranged from interested glances hidden in a casual turn, to the more obvious. There was moments of silence when she passed and the occasional blush and looks of female jealousy.

Kanae was thanking her lucky stars that she had reminded Kyoko to carry herself with the modeling walk she had learned, that Kanae had no idea how she knew. It was the perfect topper for it though, almost like putting a cherry on top of a sundae. Of course, it was actually more like adding the cherry, chocolate sauce, and many other things that weren't really needed. Her look alone would have knocked more than half these men dead from heart failure. She chuckled at that thought.

Thankfully she had been planning this for awhile. She had called off for a couple of her jobs for this today. To her, this was very important and someone needed to do it. She had been upset for quite some time that no one else had taken the time to help her like this. It actually angered her that Takarada-san had allowed it to go on for so long. Well, today would be the first day of the new Kyoko and the end of the self-conscious little mouse that hid under frumpy clothing, without makeup.

She didn't expect her to change her personality or anything that drastic. She just wanted her to see herself as everyone else did. Well, well... What do we have here? She thought as the new guy walked up to Kyoko. Very forward. Looks like he likes what he sees. Hmm... She continued to film as the "new guy", Taira Murasame, walked up to Kyoko and started a conversation with her. Time to step in, don't want her drowning on the first day. Kanae smirked and pocketed her phone.

"I'm really a big fan of yours, Kyoko-san. It's the reason why I finally decided to go with LME when Takarada-san asked me." He admitted sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Kyoko blushed. "Well, thank you Murasame-san. Welcome to LME. I'm looking forward to working with you." She told him sweetly, deciding to cast aside her knowledge of how he behaved on the set of Tragic Marker.

"If you're free sometime... Maybe we could get together?" He offered.

"Kyoko! Mo! You only have about 30 minutes before you have to be on set. I think Yashiro-san might be looking for you." Kanae interrupted and grabbed her friend's hand to drag her off before she got herself in too deep.

Murasame sighed in disappointment as he watched the raven-haired goddesses walk away from him. "Well, maybe next time." He grumbled at his lost chance, before walking off to the elevators for his meeting with Matsushima-san, the head of the acting department.


Lory was ecstatic as he watched the footage for the morning's security cameras in the lobby. His LoveME #2 was obviously helping to instill confidence in his LoveME #1. Why didn't I think of something like this? I wonder how she did it. He wrote a note to remind himself to ask her later. Maybe it would help others in Kyoko's situation. Oh ho... It looks like there may be more competition for Mogami-kun's heart. He smiled mischievously as he watched his newest acquisition approach LoveME #1. He nodded in approval as he watched Kanae sweep her away from the young man and take her to Yashiro-kun's office, without protest.

"Ruto, I need you to keep an eye on Kotonami-san and Mogami-kun today. Take the camera with you and stay out of sight. I would like you to document their activities today. I think they are very close to graduating." Lory told him.

Ruto nodded and left for a day of surveillance and Lory pulled out a stack of offers that had recently come in for his two girls. Hopefully, nothing would stall this progress. It had come pretty close to happening when Ren had that scandal with that older model the night of Kyoko's audition for Sacred Lotus. Fortunately, it had been cleared up by the bartender at the lounge and Kijima-kun. Lory shook his head at the thought. It was definitely a hard lesson for Ren to learn about women. Lory thought that he would know that they weren't as innocent as he believed, especially with all of the crazy aggressive fans he had. Can never let your guard down. Not with Mogami-kun's heart at stake. He shook his head and wanted to kick himself for ever showing Ren those particularly distracting photos, now that he knew the truth behind them.

Hopefully Yashiro-kun will be enough to keep that boy at bay, after what she told me and I found out. He shook his head at the security photos, footage and witness statements he had collected in such a short time. The instance that irritated him the most was that the boy had hit her and then had her evicted as a dangerous fan with his own manager there. No, no that wasn't it. It was actually the instance where she had been kidnapped from school grounds, handcuffed and physically restrained at the television station, the same day by the young man. Thank you security cameras. Lory smirked as he read over the document in front of him, signed a letter and stapled it to the document, then placed everything neatly in a large manila envelope.