Hi all! So, erm... This is a new chapter, much shorter than the others. Don't read my story if you want quick updates, because I really don't have the time to write, and I'm an extra slow writer. I want to complete this story though, so those interested, please bear with me. So after 4 years, here's the latest chapter of DYFS! Enjoy! (oh, and I'm still looking for a beta...)

Chapter 10: The Beginning of the End

Ren looked out the window. It was the middle of the night, and he couldn't sleep. Something was bothering him. If his manager was there, he would have linked his state to Kyouko, but for once, it wasn't about the girl. Although, it was about a girl. A woman, to be more precise: his mother.

Ever since he met with his father, and did the video tape, thoughts about her kept plaguing him. Was she okay? Was the video enough to put her at ease?

He now understood that his parents never contacted him out of respect for him, so he wondered… Would it be risky to try to get in contact with them once in a while? After five years, he knew his determination wouldn't be crushed. Moreover, when he accepted BJ's role, he had decided that he would face his fears head on, that he would not run away anymore. Didn't that include not running away from his parents too? To tell the truth, he really missed his mother's voice...

He sighed. Guilt was creeping inside him, eating at his guts. There were so many things he lost because of his poor choices in life. All the anger, the hatred, the despair that had trapped him made him lose his ability to hear his parent's pleas. They had been as paralyzed as he, not being able to do anything as they watched their beloved son sink into the darkness.

Ren tightened his fist around his glass of water. How much had they suffered because of him? How much was he making them suffer, even now?

The encounter with his father had made clear that they didn't want to forget about their wretched son. They still loved him. They were still his parents. And he, their selfish son, refused to keep in contact with them.

He put his glass down, and took his cellphone. The number had always been on speed dial, the president had made sure of that, and each time his phone was replaced, that was the first thing the president did. Making sure Ren knew he could contact them.

His fingers hovered above the number that would send him to their private line. If he called, it would be the end of the afternoon for them. Precisely the best time to catch them before they could go out to some social event.

He took a huge breath and lowered his finger.

BEEP BEEP BEEP.

"Hello?"

"Good evening, Mother."

Kyouko was nervous. She was at the edge of a cliff, and shadow-like figures were approaching her menacingly, making her retreat even closer to the edge.

"You will fall, yes, you will fall!"

"There is no use figthing back, it is too strong…"

"No!"She said, despair clear in her voice. "I can do it, I will not fall! You can't make me fall!"

The dark figures stopped.

"Oh, we can't, but he can…" And they parted like the sea before a pure, bright, tall figure. Kyouko watched in horror as he swiftly came right next to her, smiling that heavenly smile.

"Don't worry Kyouko-chan, I will catch you."

And then the ground crumbled under her feet, and she felt herself fall.

"NOOOOOO !"

Kyouko woke up screaming. She was breathing heavily, and it took her some time to recognize her surroundings. She was back at the Daruma-ya, in her own bed.

"Just a dream…" She mumbled, and checked the time. She still had an hour before she had to get up and start preparing herself for the day. She would be filming in Box R in the morning, and then would go to Sawara-san. He wanted to talk to her about the offers she got.

Clumsily, she got out of bed, still shaken from her dream. She couldn't fool herself. She knew who the bright figure was. She refused to acknowledge the meaning of that dream, determined to avoid him at all cost.

She should have known better than to hope for a quiet, nice day free of him. The second she entered LME that afternoon, she heard a way too cheerful voice.

"Kyouko-chan, good afternoon! Such a coincidence, meeting you there!" She cringed. They both worked there, of course they were bound to meet from times to times. Resigned, she turned to the owner of that joyous voice.

"Yashiro-san, good afternoon." She bowed. It didn't escape her that the man was alone. Could it be…?

"Ah, if you were wondering, I'm waiting for Ren. He should be here in a minute, so let's wait for him with a coffee, shall we?" Not waiting for an answer, he took her arm and dragged her to the vending machine in the hall.

"Yashiro-san, I'm sorry, I can't stay, I have to go to-..."

"To work, I know. I talked with Sawara-san, and he said that you could go meet him tomorrow. For now, I have a favor to ask." Kyouko froze. Oh no, this was not good…

"W-What kind of favor, Yashiro-san?"

His smile was frightening.

"I want you to stay with Ren today." Here it was. She knew it would be something like that. Somehow, Yashiro always asked her to do things like that.

"Why is that, Yashiro-san?" He would have a good excuse to ask this of her. He always had, and she could never turn him down.

"Well, you see, it seems that Ren is going trough some hardships right now. He didn't say anything, of course, and I don't expect him to, but he looks really… UnRenish, if you get what I mean."

'No, I don't, and I don't want to either' she wanted to reply, but her concerns (there were only concerns, not feelings!) for her senpai forced her to ask in a worried tone:

"What happened to him? Is he alright?"

Yashiro knew he had won. Everytime he tried to ask her to do something related to Ren, he had to corner her some way or another, because she never complied right away. He knew the magic words however. He only had to drop a hint about her senpai's health, and she would do anything he asked. Yashiro didn't know if that was a good sign or not. The girl could feel it was her duty to do everything she could to help her senpai after all.

"Truth is, I don't really know. At times he looks almost happy, with a little smile on his face, and less than five seconds later, he looks totally depressed. Of course, it doesn't affect his work, Ren is a professional after all. But with you near him today, I'd know he is in good hands."

"Yashiro-san, I don't mean to be rude, but I don't think I can do anything about…"

"Good afternoon Mogami-san. I hope Yukihito isn't forcing you into doing something for me again, is he?" Yashiro cowered. Ren had joined them, at last.

"Good afternoon Tsuruga-san", Kyouko bowed. "Of course not, Yashiro-san never forces me to do anything." All three of them knew she was lying through her teeth. Yashiro was thankful for the attempt though.

"That's good then, because I have something to ask of you, Mogami-san." Yashiro turned to his charge, astounded. Was Ren finally making a move? He quickly discarded the thought. It probably was a small favor, as usual.

"How can I be of help to you, Tsuruga-san?"

"I was wondering if you could accompany me today, as Yukihito has some paperwork to do." Yashiro choked on his own saliva, earning a warning glance from his charge. Ren was lying. Well, Yashiro was planning to use the same lie on Kyouko before he interrupted them, but Ren didn't know that. He was more than willing to help him however, so he went with it.

"Ah, yes, I do indeed. I have to go right now in fact. I'll see you both later!" And then he disappeared, a wide grin plastered on his face.

Ren silently thanked him, and turned to Kyouko, who had yet to answer.

"Mogami-san?" She jumped out of her thoughts.

"Ah, yes, yes, of course. I have nothing to do this afternoon anyway, so I can do some LoveMe work." Inside her mind, she cursed. Why wasn't today a school day? She could have used that excuse to flee.

"No, Mogami-san, this isn't a mission. I was asking for a favor, not assigning you work." Ren smiled weakly.

"Oh…" She frowned.

"If it's too much of a bother, then…"

"No, no, it is no bother at all Tsuruga-san! But… Didn't you say that you "wanted me to accompany you because Yashiro-san couldn't?"

Ren smiled sheepishly. "Yes, I did say that, but it was a lie to keep him away."

"A lie?"

"Yes. You see, his birthday is coming soon, and your happy grateful party from last year has inspired me. Will you help me create a surprise party for his birthday? Please?" The look he gave her undid her completely. She could swear she saw lost puppies looking right back at her.

She felt her blush coming, so she quickly averted her gaze. "S-Sure, I'll help."

Luckily for her, she didn't see his dazzling smile as he thanked her for agreeing.

'But wait a minute...' she thought, as they walked toward Ren's car. "Tsuruga-san?"

"Yes, Mogami-san?" She frowned at him.

"You said that Yashiro-san had paperwork to do… But that was a lie, right?"

Ren froze.'Uh oh…' "Y-Yes?"

"Then… why did he say it was true?"

He gulped. "Well… Maybe he really had some paperwork to do afterall?"

'Oh, that would explain why he was asking me to stay with Tsuruga-san today...'

"That's probably it", she agreed. Ren sighed in relief. Of course, he knew his manager had just jumped on the occasion to leave Ren alone with Kyouko. His schedule was very light for this afternoon, so Yukihito probably wanted him to spend some quality time with her.

They drove to his next job while chatting about the meddlesome manager's birthday party.

"And then, maybe we could accompany this with some lemon ice-cream, I've always liked to eat lemon ice-cream after that kind of dessert. It leaves me with a light taste, which is pretty nice considering the heaviness of it all."

Ren 'hmmed' his consent, his eyes fondly fixed on his crush. He had completed his jobs really fast, and then had asked her out for a drink before dinner. She agreed wholeheartedly, as they had started to think about the party. Kyouko was full of ideas, and very enthusiastic. It was fun to watch her make all those cute faces as she kept on talking.

"There you are sweeties, please enjoy your drinks! Oh, and this is on the house, for being such a cute couple!" The middle-aged waitress laid down their drinks, plus one big cocktail with two straws. It was a dark shade of pink, with a little umbrella above it, and a freshly cut slice of orange on the glass.

"O-Oh… T-Thank you, but we're…"

"We're really grateful to you for this nice gesture, ma'am." Ren rewarded the lady with a very warm smile.

"Oh, you're welcome! Ever since you entered our café, the customers've kept flowing in. This is very good for our business, I must say. Celebrities don't come here often, especially not couples as cute as you two! Enjoy your drinks!" And with a wink, she left. Kyouko was beet red, while Ren chuckled softly. Before she could open her mouth, he shushed her.

"Don't," he warned her. "I'm not offended by her assumption, and neither should you, unless you think I'm unworthy of being seen with you and mistook for your boyfriend." She blanched at this.

"Of course not! I-"

"Then let's simply enjoy this drink." And with that, he took one of the straws and began sipping.

Kyouko felt petrified. He wasn't really expecting her to drink from the same glass as him, was he? This was so wrong, on so many levels… The look he sent her warned her of an upcoming scolding, as if he could read her mind. 'I don't want to upset him… If I refuse this, I'm sure it'll ruin the mood. I want to keep talking with him like we've been doing for the past hour… At least for now.' So for once, she indulged herself, and took the other straw. 'Just this once, what harm can come from this one time?'

Of course, she didn't know that this small gesture would take so much meaning later.

For now, it only made Ren smile brighter at her. But as her little grudges died from the powerful light that was his true smile, she had a fleeting thought. If it made him even slightly happy, then it was worth it. Too bad she wouldn't remember this thought when the consequences of this small action would come banging on the door later...