Disclaimer: La la la. It's there...somewhere. Look carefully for it. I'm sure you'll find it.
Authoress' Notes: I suck. This always happens to me. I write a chapter, I know where I want to go with the next chapter, I write half of that, and then I freeze up. So there went the month of June. Then all of July I was at camp. Then August was two weeks of family vacation, meeting friends, and other fun stuff. I tried to write, but I just didn't have the time or the inspiration. Now with school starting, I have suddenly been inspired again, and I have found a little bit of time to write.
I warn you now. It's going to be hard to update for the next little while, but I will try.
Now, this chapter is not as exciting as some of you might want, but filler is always necessary. Don't worry. Things will pick up again soon. We still need to get to America don't we?
After a three month hiatus, we now return to Kyoko's Fairytale in 3...2...1...ACTION!
"Kyoko-san, that's not necessarily true," Ren rushed to tell her. He was trying to comfort her, trying to bring a smile to her face, despite the fact that he knew how very right she was.
"Ren-san, it's okay. I know that I can't go back," Kyoko answered, a sad little smile coming to her face. "It's nice of you to say that, but you know better than I do that it won't be good for people to know where I live, especially if I'm ever the center of attention again. And if I were to continue living at the Daruma-ya, the okami and taisho would feel the consequences too. I mean, they're the ones who had to deal with that crowd outside all evening...not me...and I feel just terrible. It's not fair to them, and I won't put them through something like that again when they've been nothing but kind to me." Kyoko sighed. "I was going to have to move out someday anyways."
Ren really wanted to wrap his arms around Kyoko, to keep her safe and protect her from the rest of the world. But he couldn't. He wasn't sure how Kyoko would react to his embrace - it might even just upset her more.
"Where will you live then?" Ren asked, crouching down next to her chair so that he could look her in the eyes.
Kyoko looked thoughtful for a minute, then she closed her eyes and let out a slow breath. "I've saved pretty much all I've earned so far, and as long as I keep working, I should have more than enough to rent a small apartment somewhere. I should probably start looking around for one as soon as possible."
Kyoko had straightened in the computer chair as she spoke, and now she was poised on the edge of it. It was almost as though she was ready to stand up and rush out the door to begin her search right that very minute.
"You can't go anywhere until Sawara-san has sorted this out," Ren reminded her as he continued to watch her carefully, more than ready to stop her if she decided to flee.
"But what if they can't sort it out quickly? Where am I going to live until then?" Kyoko asked as she slumped back down in the seat.
"You'll stay here, of course," Ren said, hoping that the happiness he felt was not obvious in his voice. "Sawara-san told you to hide out here, didn't he?"
"For tomorrow! I can't impose on you any longer than that, though," Kyoko said, her voice picking up the panicky edge she had whenever she was worried or nervous about something.
"Kyoko-san. I'm saying that it's alright. Remember, I wouldn't offer if it was any sort of bother. You're already spending tonight here anyways. If it takes a few more days to get things sorted out, then you'll spend a few more nights here. That's all," Ren explained calmly. He was more than happy to let her stay with him, and he wanted to convince her that it was fine. He was even more than willing to endure Yashiro's teasing once the man found out that Kyoko was staying at Ren's place - as long as it meant that he could spend more time with Kyoko.
"Okay," Kyoko said quietly after looking back at the article on the computer screen. "Thank you, Ren-san."
"You're welcome."
Kyoko could hardly believe that she was spending the night at Ren's place. Again. And she might be spending the next few nights here if she didn't find somewhere new to live quickly. It was something that would have made many other girls very happy, but Kyoko was just sad. She had lost her home, she had lost her relative anonymity in the entertainment business, she had most likely caused the people who had taken care of her so well distress, she had put up with Sho all morning, and she was imposing on Ren again. It really wasn't a good day.
Now, she was sitting on the couch in front of Ren's television, watching some absolutely meaningless variety show and nursing a glass of cool water that Ren had gotten for her. She was trying to relax and just accept the things that had happened to her, reasoning through them in her head in the hope that in that way they would come to feel less painful.
She had lost her home.
Well, she was going to have to move out someday, just as she had told Ren. The circumstances for the move, and how soon it would have to be were unfortunate, but this wasn't necessarily a horrible thing. And it's not like she would be unable to visit the Daruma-ya, and more importantly the okami and taisho. She just wouldn't be staying with them...the people who had become so much like her parents.
'No. Don't dwell on the sad parts, Kyoko,' she mentally scolded herself before going on.
She had lost her anonymity.
That was also bound to happen someday. She wanted to become a famous actress. She wanted to work doing what she had come to love for the rest of her life. Of course she couldn't remain just another girl in the shadows. She just hoped that she wouldn't screw up or embarrass herself in any way. She wanted to be like Ren. The cool, composed celebrity who never did anything wrong or humiliating in the media's eye. But could she really be like that?
She was drifting into sad territory again.
'What else happened today?' she questioned herself, trying to get her thoughts moving into a different direction.
She had kissed Sho.
And that was when she froze, the glass of water almost slipping from her hands. She had kissed Sho and that had really sucked...but she had thought of Ren when she had done it, and that was confusing. She asked herself, yet again, the same questions that she had thought about earlier. Why had she been able to kiss Sho when an image of Ren popped into her mind? Why hadn't she freaked out? Why hadn't she frozen up?
Kyoko couldn't explain it.
She glanced at Ren out of the corner of her eye. He was sitting at the other end of the couch, his eyes fixed on the screen in front of him. Why had she thought of him when it was supposed to be her imaginary Prince Charming?
'Why him?' she wondered.
"Huh?"
It was Ren's voice that questioned her, and she realized that she had asked her final question aloud. Ren's eyes were now locked on her's, and she couldn't stop the furious blush from rising to her cheeks.
"Nothing. It's nothing," she muttered, shaking her head to free herself from the weird mood she was in. Thinking about it was only making her more and more confused, and no answer was coming to mind. She would just have to accept it as something that had happened and move on - especially if it made her blush so much in front of Ren. She already did that enough without having yet another reason.
She suddenly felt exhausted from the day's events and her own mental reasoning.
"I think I'm going to go to bed, Ren-san. I'm sorry to be such bad company, but I'm exhausted," Kyoko told the actor, a yawn escaping her body.
"Don't worry about it. Just get some rest. I'll be here until about noon tomorrow, so if you think of anything that you might need in the morning, we can go pick it up then," Ren replied.
Kyoko yawned again and stood up to take her leave, planning to drop the glass in her hand in the sink before heading to the guest room Ren had made up for her, a pair of his pyjamas included since she had nothing to sleep in.
"Goodnight, Ren-san," she said over her shoulder as she walked towards the kitchen.
"Goodnight, Kyoko-san," he answered her.
Ren couldn't sleep.
Why?
Because Kyoko was in his apartment, only a short walk away, and he couldn't stop thinking about her or what she had told him earlier. She wanted to see her Corn again, and that was the one thing that only Ren could give her. But at what cost? He had been hiding the truth from her for a long time now. If he did tell her, would she lose faith in her fairy prince? Would she be hurt that he had kept that secret from her? Would she not want to see him anymore?
He really just had to tell her, but could he do it when that might mean revealing to her the one thing he was supposed to keep secret - his identity? Ren supposed that it was possible that he could tell her about being Corn without revealing to her that he was Hizuri Kuu's son, but she would likely have questions, and he wouldn't be able to lie to her anymore to answer them.
He knew that Kyoko would understand why he had waited if in the future sometime he told her that he was Kuu's son. But would she understand if he waited to tell her that he was Corn? That was a secret that involved her as well, and he almost felt like he was betraying her in keeping that from her. Would she feel the same way?
She was so important to him already. He was well and truly in love with her, and he was ready to fight for her heart. Already he had made progress in getting her to acknowledge him as a friend, and she was slowly letting him be more and more involved in her life. And even if he couldn't tell her that he loved her now, he hoped that maybe one day, she would be ready to hear it.
Ren sighed and rolled over in his bed. Who was he kidding? He was too scared to even hug her now, afraid that it might make her freak out, like when he had kissed her on the cheek on Valentine's Day. And yet she had been able to kiss Sho, who she was so upset with, easily enough today apparently.
Ren rolled over again. That was another thing that bothered him. Sho had kissed Kyoko twice, once forcefully, and once through trickery. And even though Ren knew that Kyoko hadn't enjoyed it, he was still jealous. That was when he realized that he would also have his chance to kiss Kyoko. He was a boy vying for her attention in their new drama, and the director had hinted that he would be the one to eventually win her affection, but even if he wasn't, he would still likely end up kissing her. That was how these things went.
And then Ren groaned, because his reasoning meant that even if his character was going to end up with Kyoko's in the drama, Daisuke's character would probably still have a kissing scene with Kyoko. Ren smacked himself on the forehead. He was a professional actor. He knew that kisses in front of the camera meant nothing, but with Kyoko, it was different. With her it was always different.
Ren rolled over and shut his eyes, determined to shut off his brain as well. He couldn't keep thinking. He would never get to sleep.
When Kyoko woke up in the morning, it was to the smell of coffee brewing. She climbed out of bed and adjusted the blue pair of pyjamas Ren had given her, which involved rolling up both the pant bottoms and shirt sleeves, and tightening the drawstring on the pants so that they wouldn't fall down. Then she smoothed her hair into some semblance of presentable as she headed towards the kitchen.
The sight that greeted her eyes was enough to make them fly wide open, and to fully wake Kyoko up.
Ren was cooking.
Or attempting to anyways.
It looked like he was trying to make an American style breakfast of pancakes and bacon, but he was trying to do both things at once and it looked like he wasn't sure exactly what he should be attending to. Plus he had pancake batter on his nose. Kyoko wanted to laugh, but she tried to suppress it out of her respect for Ren. When he tried to flip a pancake using a spatula and accidentally sent it flying out of the pan though, she couldn't help herself anymore. She burst out laughing.
Ren looked up from the pan he was staring at and saw her standing in the doorway, a huge smile plastered on her face that she immediately tried to cover up. It was no use though. Ren cooking was a strange enough sight. Ren doing funny things while cooking...well, Kyoko's composure was toast.
As she tried to calm her laughing, she strode over to stove where she picked up a set of tongs and quickly flipped over the frying pieces of bacon. Then, she grabbed the bowl of pancake batter and poured some more of it into the now empty pancake pan, gently easing the spatula out of Ren's hand and placing it within her reach. Finally, she reached for the dish towel on the counter next to the stove and stretched her hand up to wipe the batter from Ren's nose. Those tasks completed, and her laughter suppressed to mere giggles now that Ren was cleaned up and she had taken charge of breakfast, Kyoko urged him to sit down, insisting that she would finish what he had started.
"Do you often prepare breakfast for yourself?" she asked as she expertly flipped the pancake over with no need for the spatula. "I thought you never ate properly which was why Yashiro and I always had to make you."
"I do try to at least eat a decent breakfast if I have time in the morning. Usually I don't go through such lengths to prepare it though. The simpler, the better," Ren laughed.
Kyoko glanced at him and saw that he was smiling at her. She smiled back, glad that he didn't seem offended that she had taken control in the kitchen when he had attempted to make breakfast for her.
"What motivated you this morning?" she asked curiously as she grabbed each piece of bacon out of the frying pan, placing them on a paper towel and using it to sponge off the grease.
"I had the time and the food," Ren shrugged.
"Well, you did a good job for someone who I thought ate only packaged foods," Kyoko told him as she dumped the pancake in the pan onto a plate. "This shouldn't take too much longer."
"You seem much happier this morning," Ren commented as he watched her work in his kitchen wearing his pyjamas. He would never admit to anyone how much that brought a smile to his face.
Kyoko couldn't help but agree with Ren's statement. She had exhausted her sadness and confusion the night before, now she was just ready to move on as best as she could and take on the world. She told Ren this and he offered her another smile.
"I'm going to start looking at a few places online while I'm cooped up here if you don't mind me using your computer," Kyoko told Ren her plan for the day.
"No problem. By the way, do you need me to get anything for you before I leave for work?" Ren asked as Kyoko brought their breakfast to the table. Ren had already filled up their coffee cups.
"I'll be fine, but thanks for asking. If it's alright, I'll just wash my clothes and surf the net. Maybe watch some television. Hopefully I'll hear from Sawara-san sometime today because I have to go to work tomorrow and I'll need things from my room."
"Just do whatever you need to make yourself at home, Kyoko-san," Ren told her sincerely.
It was weird.
Kyoko was in Ren's apartment without him...as she had been for the last hour already. He had left for work after asking her for what seemed like the hundredth time if she needed anything. Now, so far, she had already washed her clothes from yesterday and put them in Ren's dryer, made her bed, watched a little television, and searched unsuccessfully for a new home online.
She still hadn't heard anything from Sawara.
So, taking a necessary break from her apartment search, she picked up her phone from its place on the desk in front of her and dialled a friend. Kanae picked up on the second ring.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Moko," Kyoko answered her friend.
"What's wrong this time, Kyoko? You don't sound cheerful," Kanae commented in her usual blunt manner.
Kyoko gave a little laugh. "You could say that," she began before she explained her entire situation to Kanae.
"Oh, Kyoko. And you haven't heard anything from Sawara-san yet? What about all your stuff? Is someone going to get it?" Kanae was ever practical.
"I don't know," Kyoko mumbled. "All I know is that I'm supposed to stay at Ren-san's place and that I need to find somewhere new to live."
There was a momentary pause before Kyoko heard Kanae's voice again. "Um, well, until you find somewhere new to live, you could stay with me...I mean if you're uncomfortable at Tsuruga's place, or whatever," Kanae babbled trying her best to sound neutral.
Kyoko felt the warmth of happiness flooding her body. And then her call waiting went off.
"Um, I have someone on the other line, Moko," Kyoko told her friend.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Just hang up on me and call me back after. It could be Sawara-san," Kanae instructed.
"Okay. Bye for now, Moko," Kyoko replied. And then she did exactly what she was told and hung up on Kanae, turning her attention to her incoming call.
"Hello?"
"Kyoko-chan, I'm so glad to get in touch with you so quickly. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that we've found somewhere for you to live." Kyoko immediately recognized the quick speaking voice as belonging to Sawara.
"Really? Already? Where? How much is it going to cost me?" Kyoko fired her questions off rapidly after a brief pause. News about a potential home was great news, and she was eager to hear more.
"First of all, I think you'll be pleased to know that it will be absolutely free. Takarada-san decided that it would be in our best interests to keep a watchful eye on our three newest and most promising talents so that something like this doesn't happen to you again, or to your fellow Love Me members Kanae-chan and Chiori-chan. So, we've purchased a three bedroom apartment where you can all live," Sawara explained.
Kyoko dropped her phone and stared at the wall stunned for a minute. She could hear Sawara calling her name through the tiny, tinny speaker, and finally regained her senses enough to pick up the phone.
"I'm sorry, Sawara-san. Did you say that LME bought an apartment for me?" Kyoko asked incredulously. Her heart was racing. This was too good to be true...right?
"Not just for you," Sawara reminded her. "Kanae-chan and Chiori-chan will be encouraged to move in as well. I'll actually be calling them after I'm done informing you of the situation. Also, if there are any other Love Me members or young talents in the future, they may also be moving in there. It's more of a temporary housing until you're a big star or can support yourself easily."
"But I have somewhere to live?" Kyoko continued on, wanting to confirm and reconfirm what her manager was telling her. "What about the electricity, hydro, and all that?"
"Those bills will be sent straight to our offices. You girls will only need to worry about food and other personal expenses."
Kyoko could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. This was more than she had ever expected when she had resolved to break into show business. The agency was treating her so well.
"Then, what about my stuff? I mean, it's all at the Daruma-ya..."
"Don't worry, Kyoko-chan. Someone picked it all up late last night without being seen. It should already have been delivered to your new apartment," Sawara continued happily.
Kyoko was overcome by joy at how this awful event in her life had been resolved. She had somewhere to live - and it would be with her best friend Kanae and her new friend Chiori. She imagined that soon this whole business around her would die down and then she could visit the Daruma-ya again and properly thank the okami and taisho for all they had done for her. And she wasn't even worried about any of the things that had plagued her yesterday because she couldn't be bothered to stress herself out right now.
"Wait," Kyoko said after having digested this news. "Where is this apartment?"
There was a moment of silence and Kyoko guessed that Sawara was confirming the address. "Um, it's actually located in the building you're in right now," he finally told her.
"What?" Kyoko spluttered. "You mean I'll be living in the same building as Tsuruga-san?"
"Actually, you'll be living right above him," Sawara said.
Kyoko couldn't say that she was displeased by that revelation, but she was definitely shocked. This time she managed to keep a hold on the phone in her hand though.
"Well," she said after she gathered her thoughts together, "that'll be easy then. I guess I'll move in as soon as Tsuruga-san gets back and I get a key. Thank you so much, Sawara-san. And tell Takarada-san the same thing. I don't know when I'll see him next."
"I will. And Kyoko-chan, someone will come drop off the key later this afternoon, so just lie low at Tsuruga-san's place for a while," Sawara told her before saying his farewell and hanging up, presumably to contact her friends.
Kyoko left the computer desk and settled into the couch, unable to believe what had just happened. LME had bought an apartment for her and her friends. One in Ren's gorgeous, expensive building. She wouldn't have to worry about finding an apartment she could afford for a while, and she wouldn't feel lonely in her new apartment. She had never thought that anyone except the taisho and okami would look after her so well, but here the company was, proving her wrong. She had a suspicion that Lory had something to do with the current situation. A whole lot of something. He was the only one who could approve such a decision.
She would have to thank him in person the next time she saw him.
She considered calling Kanae back, but knew that Kanae would call her as soon as she heard from Sawara, so she settled in to wait.
"Kyoko-san?" Ren called as he opened the door to his apartment.
Kyoko turned away from the television set and watched as Ren came into view.
"Hi," she said while smiling brightly. "How was your day?" It almost seemed like she was a housewife awaiting her husband's arrival. Ren stifled his grin.
"Fine. But I'm more interested in knowing how your day went. You look happy. Did you have any luck today with your search?" Ren asked.
"You could say that," Kyoko laughed, holding up the key to her apartment upstairs that Sawara-san had personally dropped off when he had finished up at work earlier that day.
"How?" Ren questioned, completely stupefied. Lucky for him, he was able to prevent his mouth from dropping open like a fish.
"Well you see..." Kyoko began her explanation, telling Ren the whole story as he took a seat on the couch next to her.
"And then Kanae and Chiori-san both agreed to move in and they'll be coming over tomorrow with their stuff!" she finished her tale excitedly with the latest info she had received from Sawara.
Ren was at a complete loss for words. Kyoko would be living in his building. In the apartment right above him. She would be so close to him...all the time. He could offer her rides nearly every morning, run into her in the elevator, visit her... He was getting ahead of himself. And this was all because of Takarada Lory... He couldn't even be mad at the man for his interference this time.
"So, will you be staying there tonight?" he finally asked, returning to the present and addressing the girl in front of him.
"Well, it's already furnished, and all my stuff is there...and I have the key, and I'd hate to impose myself on you any longer," Kyoko answered quickly.
'It's not an imposition,' Ren thought, but he bit back his retort. Instead he asked, "Would you like me to come with you? I know it's only upstairs but-"
"Oh no! I couldn't ask you to do that!" Kyoko was quick to interrupt him.
Ren sighed. He had expected this answer, and he couldn't really think of a way to insist otherwise.
"At least let me give you a ride over to the set tomorrow morning. You're filming Mob Daughter first thing right?" Ren already knew the answer to his question. He was supposed to be in a scene with Kyoko first thing tomorrow morning.
"Ah, yeah," Kyoko answered him. "A ride would be really helpful," she added with her trademark sweet smile. "Um, then I guess I'll get going now, it's already pretty late, and I haven't seen the apartment yet."
She stood up from the couch and collected her bag. Ren walked her to the door.
"I'll meet you tomorrow down by your car at seven?" she suggested as she passed through Ren's front door into the hallway.
"Sounds good. Goodnight, Kyoko-san," Ren told her.
"Goodnight," she answered back over her shoulder, already walking towards the elevator.
Kyoko stood outside the door to her new, shared apartment with a certain sense of excitement building up in her.
"Well, I guess I might as well just get this over with," she mumbled to herself, extracting her key from her pocket.
She slipped it into the lock mechanism without any further ceremony, turned the key, and opened the door. It was dark inside the apartment, so she looked for a light switch on the lefthand side, remembering that's where the switch was in Ren's home. She felt an extreme satisfaction when her hand connected with the small switch. She flicked it up, and suddenly, her new home was illuminated.
The place seemed huge, compared to her old room at the Daruma-ya. It was also really tastefully decorated, much like Ren's apartment downstairs. It was also really sparse. Presently, the only indication that someone was living there was the pile of Kyoko's things on the couch in the living room.
'I guess I have my pick of the bedrooms,' she thought, going to inspect them.
They were all in a back hallway, next door to each other, with already made up queen sized beds, large closets, dressers, empty bookshelves, and night tables. Kyoko picked the room in the middle, and quickly moved all her stuff there, not bothering to unpack anything except her toiletries and her pyjamas.
She quickly got ready to go to sleep, visiting the nearest of the two bathrooms in the apartment, and climbed into the unfamiliar bed.
This place wasn't her home yet - it was just an apartment. But tomorrow, Chiori and Kanae would be joining her. And Ren was just downstairs. Kyoko hoped that soon this place would begin to feel as lived in, and as dear to her as the Daruma-ya.
With her friends living with her, how could it not?
Things will pick up, just like I said. I mean, Kanae and Chiori are moving in with Kyoko. Into Ren's building. Plus we're back on set for Mob Daughter. And what'll happen when Kyoko gets over the whole moving thing and starts to think of kissing Sho again...and imagining Ren? Poor girl.