Kyoko's life has calmed down considerably ever since she moved into her own place, but things are never perfect in this world. There will always be something that isn't quite right or needs to be addressed.

I know a lot of you hate Sho. He's a manipulative slime-ball that knows just how to steer things the way he likes, but not all characters are meant to be liked. I'd go so far as to say that despicable characters are what allows the good to really shine through. It would be nice to just kill him off, but the easy way out doesn't make for good writing, so expect to be enraged in the future, because pests are annoyingly persistent.

Enjoy

"Kyoko-chan's birthday is coming up pretty quickly, you know." Yashiro hinted at as he walked with Ren into LME. The actor slid his gaze down to his manager quietly for a moment, already knowing what the man was up to.

"There's still a couple months, but yes I suppose it is coming fairly quickly." He stated slowly. Yashiro's mouth split into a grin. 'Here it comes'.

"Have you thought about what you're going to get her?" The manager pried shamelessly. Ren could only imagine how much worse this teasing could be if he knew the couple's promise to talk about their boundaries again with this event. He quietly shoved the thought aside for the time being.

"I have a number of ideas, but I'm still trying to figure out which one would be best." With that, the conversation seemed to close. Yashiro didn't mind it. He already had his favorite couple together. As long as they were happy together, he was happy. He just liked to poke fun at Ren every now and then. It was too fun.

Yashiro was practically bouncing as they walked to the Love-Me room. Kyoko had insisted on staying there until it was officially out to the public that she was indeed dating. Leaving now would only fuel the publicity, and staying helped keep the speculation to a minimum for now. She honestly probably shouldn't have even admitted her relationship to Sho, but she just couldn't stand him talking crap about the people she cared about. Talking about her was one thing. She couldn't care less what that guy thought anymore, but talking about Father and Kuon that way? She was not going to let that kind of thing slide. Kanae looked up from her phone as the two men entered, her eyes shifting over to their newest love-me member quietly. Yashiro had only had a small brush-in with her when she first arrived, and Ren hadn't met the girl at all yet. After that little fit she had last time men came up... the second love-me member was a bit concerned about how she would react to two men coming into the room. Thankfully, and perhaps a bit surprisingly, Aika simply sized the two men up for a moment before going back to her filing work, completely undisturbed.

"Good evening love-me girls. Good evening Kyoko-chan, ready to head out?" Yashiro asked as the girl in question quickly picked up her bag and nodded happily. "Good, here are the new offers I received for you today. You can give them a quick peak on the road if you like." he explained as he handed a stack of four folders to her, each labeled for their respective offer. Kyoko perked up at the top one instantly.

"The Mermaid's Dive? I got such a magical offer?" she asked eagerly, her bright and happy smile falling when she saw Yashiro and Ren cringe and look to her pitifully.

"Sorry, Kyoko-chan, but it's not as magical as you may think. I knew it would catch your interest, so I went ahead and got a copy of the book it takes after." Yashiro explained as he fished out a paperback from his bag, holding it out to her. On the cover, she could already see that the mermaid in question was in for a painful experience. She looked like she was drowning rather than swimming or diving happily, hands clawing at her throat as bloodshot eyes gazed at a barely visible bright spot in the corner of the cover. On top of the pained and drowning expression, she wasn't breathtakingly beautiful, but almost monstrous in appearance, black irises, scaly skin, an eel-like tail, sharp nails, and razor sharp teeth lining her openly gasping mouth. Kyoko's eyes watered at just the sight of it all.

"It... it's another evil role?" she asked sadly. Ren smiled apologetically as he saw her downtrodden mood.

"It's a tragedy. From what I understand, the writer took inspiration from the witch trials of the past, where victims of prosecution were bound and tossed in the water to see if it would reject them or something. Unfortunately, that's also a good way to drown someone." he explained. Yashiro nodded beside him.

"The main character actually had abilities of some sort and was betrayed by her lover when he found out. This resulted in her being put under trial by water, and she ended up cursed in her attempts at survival. You would be acting as one of the many that came after her, ones that she helped to save through the same curse." the manager elaborated. He had known it would be handy to look into this particular one due to Kyoko's usual interests. It was a shame that it ended up being one of the darker versions of fairy-tales, but those were the kinds of roles Kyoko would be getting until she expanded her horizons a lot more. Aika gave a snort, drawing the attention of the room.

"What? It's ridiculous. What did she expect, trusting a man like that?" the girl rolled her eyes in annoyance. The two men frowned with concern as they looked to the other two love-me girls in the room. Kanae was busy scowling at the culprit, so Kyoko took on the task of explaining, albeit timidly.

"Hasegawa-san... doesn't seem to think too highly of men." she explained, shuffling her feet lightly. Ren felt a bit concerned about Kyoko's body language, indicating that something had happened on the subject to upset her. He would have to address it later, however.

"That's understandable." the actor stated instead, getting looks of shock from all of them. He held up his hands in surrender at the odd looks they started to develop toward him. "I don't think it's a good idea to go about with that kind of cold approach, but it's not necessarily uncommon. There's a reason the president made the love-me section, and a reason why it's mostly girls that enter this section."

"They're all girls, Ren." Yashiro corrected. The actor gave a shrug, annoying Kyoko and raising Kanae's eyebrows.

"For the time being, sure, but I don't see President Lory being biased about it should the opportunity arise. The point is, us men are known to cause problems in the emotional field. There are entire movies and dramas centered around girls who hate men for various reasons. It's easy to imagine that it relates to a number of people in the real world." Yashiro blinked a few times and adjusted his glasses on his nose as he gathered himself.

"I see. Well then, we're very sorry for disturbing your peace, Miss Hasegawa. Good day." the manager stated before bowing and heading out of the room. Ren gave a courteous goodbye before steering Kyoko out as well, the girl merrily giving her own farewell before returning her attention to the offers and book as they walked.

"So, if the story is a tragedy, that means the main character will die at the end?" she asked as she turned the book over to look at the back.

"Not necessarily," Yashiro corrected ahead of her, glancing back to make sure she had heard him, "That's a typical end for a tragedy, but it could also end in a type of eternal torture or retribution. This is a person being cursed into a demon, so it could likely end in her endlessly wandering or never reaching fulfillment, living a life of regret, remorse, pain, or any number of things." Kyoko pursed her lips lightly as she took the information in, flipping through the book quietly for a moment. There were a few small illustrations put in, depicting significant moments of the story, but they didn't give her any hints of the character's ultimate fate.

"But there's no happy ending." She finally concluded. Ren and Yashiro nodded somewhat solemnly as they let her contemplate this particular offer.

"Ren also got an offer from a tragedy, from the same author in fact, though it's only a single film instead of a short series like that one." Kyoko's head snapped up in shock at that.

"Really? Does this author write nothing but tragedies?" she asked with an unhappy look on her face before slipping into the car as the actor held the door open for her. The other two joined in their respective seats before Yashiro responded.

"No, actually. The series he's most well known for has a lot of painful and tragic elements to it, but they mostly focus on growth and healing in the mists of the toughest of times." he explained.

"I don't think the offer I got was necessarily a tragedy, though." Ren explained, instantly pulling Kyoko's attention back to him. "It starts out with the death of the main character, a young girl at that, but the God of Death took pity on her and gave her a new life. In exchange, she must aid him in guiding the dead for eternity. I had to meet with President Lory for the job, because they had actually been looking for Cain Heel." He explained. Kyoko's eyes bugged at that news.

"Did you take it?" Kyoko asked, anxious to hear the verdict. Ren shook his head and she felt a mixture of relief and disappointment. "I guess that role was really hard on you..." she amended softly. Ren gave a small smile and reached out, petting her hair softly until she looked back to him.

"That role was difficult because of who I had to become. The Reaper in this one seems like a fairly decent character, actually." Ren admitted thoughtfully. It warmed his heart to see his girlfriend thinking about him and worried over his well-being. He still couldn't figure out how he had gotten so lucky.

"So why didnt you take the job?" She asked incredulously.

"For lots of reasons, but the main ones were because Cain was created for the BJ project, and because they were focassing a lot on the appearance rather than my actual acting record. I think I could have done a good job of course, but I'm being a little selfish in wanting to be requested because of ability rather than just aperances. Things like that are so easily fixed by makeup and image manipulation after all.

"The president and Director Konoe gave their permission, but it didn't feel right to raise Cain from his grave for something unrelated to Tragic Marker. They'll be given the information of the makeup team in charge of BJ, though. Worst case, they can just do CGI to get the look and effect that they want." Kyoko nodded thoughtfully at that. "It's not really our concern, though. What other jobs did you get?" Ren urged.

Kyoko's second offer was for a bratty sister of the main character, fueling the story to make the audience sympathize with the character more as she dealt with absent parents, the cold older sister, a boy that showed his interest by bullying her, and a longing for a boy that hardly noticed her presence. It was a fairly typical love drama, but Kyoko thought it might be interesting to try another sibling role, and this one would actually be professional and on camera.

The third offer was a PV for Sho's video, which Kyoko promptly tossed on the floor to throw away later, and the forth was for a roll as a haughty spirit that the main character has to deal with in his new home. She would get to pull all kinds of pranks, tease and make fun of him, and slowly warm up to him to help in the end.

"This one will give the most positive light to my acting ability." Kyoko observed, flipping through the demo script given to her for the job. "It's the most different from the roles I played in the past, though maybe a little similar to Momiji in a few aspects." She said, looking over to Ren. She was confused to see one of her folders in his hands, huffing in annoyance when she recognized it as the one she had tossed on the floor. "Tsuruga-san, you don't need to give that garbage even a second's glance." she told him, reaching out to take it. Ren moved the folder out of her gasp, continuing to read it.

"The writers did a good job with the script. Even if we don't need to give Fuwa any mind, his company certainly knows what their doing. I wonder how much he told them just to line it up with your interests." he stated. Kyoko rolled her eyes and finally plucked the folder out of his hands, returning it to the bottom of her pile.

"It doesn't matter, because I'm not taking it. I'm not letting him goad me any more." she huffed with a raise of her nose. Ren hummed lightly as he looked away.

"I heard he did a pretty good job of it when you faced him at the restaurant, though." he jabbed lightly. Kyoko snapped a fiery gaze to him in half a second.

"That was different! He was saying whatever he liked concerning the people I care about!" she defended, causing the man to peek back at her curiously.

"Oh?"

"Indeed!"

"Would I happen to be one of those people you were defending?" Kyoko huffed and looked away again, tightening her crossed her arms.

"And why would I defend someone that makes such cocky grins?" She grumbled out. Ren's grin only widened as he reached out and snaked his arms around her waist. Kyoko squealed as his fingers wiggled against her soft tummy, tickling her without mercy.

"Hey! Calm down back there, you two!" Yashiro warned, though he couldn't repress the giddy smile on his own face. He just loved seeing them so cute together.

"It's a bit weird, isn't it?" Chiori asked as she and Kanae hid around the corner from the main entrance. Kanae frowned lightly in reply, clearly annoyed.

"Not to mention, incredibly unprofessional. Does he think the people in the entertainment industry have so much free time on our hands that we can just send people off to him?"

"Do you think he's really her father?" Chiori wondered aloud. Kanae peeked back out at where the business-looking man was waiting, staring at his phone in one hand while the other shuffled his fingers impatiently on his knee. Before he could look up again, Kanae slipped back under the cover.

"I don't know, but I think we should take this matter to the president. Hasegawa Aika is pretty heavy on her hate for relations with men, even for the love-me section. If he is her father, something tells me that it's not a very good relationship, and I can't throw someone to the wolves, no matter how bitchy." Chiori nodded her agreement before the two of them slipped off as quick as they could in search of their company president. They hadn't exactly been expecting to pass the girl of the hour, crouching behind a potted tree and furiously tapping at her phone. Love-me 2 and 3 looked to each-other to make sure they were seeing the same thing before shuffling over to crouch next to the girl.

"What the-... what are you two doing here?" Aika bit out as the sound of a text being sent chimed from her phone.

"Trying to unravel a mystery." Chiori stated with a smile, placing a finger over her lips. Aika looked at her oddly as Kanae rolled her eyes.

"Some guy came in asking to see you." the older girl explained, watching for her reaction. Aika scoffed and went back to typing on her phone again, sending something fairly quickly this time.

"Yeah, I know, though he got here pretty fast. My sister sent me a warning a few minutes ago... you didn't lead him here, did you?" she peaked out from the plant, scanning the area before shrinking back to cover with a sigh of relief.

"We told him to wait while we see if you're in the building today." Chiori explained, gaining an approving nod from the girl. "Is he really your dad?" she asked, causing Aika to gag.

"Ugh, as if I'd accept that." when all she got were confused looks from the other two girls, she heaved a heavy sigh. "That man, if you can even call him that, decided to walk out on us months ago. He thinks he can just march back in and claim to be a father again? No way." she hissed out, sitting down against the wall like a pouting child. Chiori sent Kanae a worried look.

"How do you think President Takarada is going to react to this?" Chiori asked nervously. She had to think on that for a moment before she shook her head.

"He'd probably say that family is meant to stick together, and that you should be willing to accept your family that comes back to you." She still didn't like the girl for upsetting Kyoko needlessly, but even she could relate to family issues, especially ones where people just ran off and did as they pleased.

"That old man is either an idiot, or more naive than a newborn baby." Aika spat. The other two girls looked on with concern. This girl seemed pretty troubling to deal with.

"Still," Chiori starts slowly, "If he finds out, it's likely that he'll press the issue." Love-me #4 let out a harsh curse between her teeth. "It will probably be in our favor to confront President Takarada first, before he sees your father waiting in the front lobby." The girl looked far from pleased about the situation, but she finally agreed with a heavy sigh. Just her luck.

"Are you sure, Kyoko-chan? I can quickly drop Ren off at his job and sit at a nearby table here if you like." Yashiro offered outside the small cafe. The girl shook her head with a little smile.

"I'll be fine, Yashiro-san. Stop worrying so much. I already suspect what she wants to meet with me about." she assures. Yashiro peeked over at Ren, the actor leaning somewhat stiffly against the car as he waited. It was clear that he was also worried, but he wouldn't press against Kyoko's decision to accept her mother's invitation.

"If you're sure... just give me a call if you need me... or when you're ready to be picked up or... just call me." he urged. Kyoko giggled at Yashiro's mother-henning, giving a spirited bow before she slipped into the cafe. The manager heaved a heavy sigh as he trudged back to the car and got in as Ren slipped into the passenger's seat.

"...She's a strong girl. She'll be fine." Ren spoke up after a few minutes of silence. Yashioro nodded quietly. "She dealt with her last time on her own..." it instantly became apparent to the manager that Ren was trying to assure himself through this, disguising it as persuasion for him. Knowing that he had an ally in his concern for Kyoko eased Yashiro's nerves a bit, the older man relaxing his shoulders as a small smile pulled at his lips. "Maybe I should check on her after work tonight..."

"It'll be late, but I think I agree. I'll drop you off at her place instead. Do you need me to grab you a change of clothes between trips?"

"No, I have a couple spare outfits at her place just in case."

"Ah, moving in already?" The light scowl of disapproval Ren sent him in response was worth releasing a bit of the tension they were feeling.

"I see you're at least punctual." Saena spoke as she sat across from Kyoko. The girl gave a pleasant smile and courteous bow in response.

"It's good to see you again too, mother. Is it okay if we get right into the subject I do have a job after this." Kyoko said as politely as she could. Her mother hummed and looked her over for a moment before sitting down. They quickly bought tea for each of them before Saena jumped right into the main point of their meeting.

"This man you were photographed together with, I noticed there wasn't any responding explanation other than a short interview." Saena folded her hands together in front of her, resting on the table. "You stated that you two were childhood friends, and he wanted to spend time with you while he had the opportunity, that you are not seeking for a relationship at this time, and that you are currently choosing to focus on your work." she summarized quickly, not even having to look at the article or anything. Kyoko gave two affirmative nods.

"I see you've been keeping up with the news around me."

"I think I would remember such a child being around." Kyoko pursed his lips as she held her tongue, instead reaching into her bag and pulling out her favorite stone. Saena glanced at the blue rock as it was set on the table between them, then looked to Kyoko questioningly.

"This is a gift I got from a boy I met while playing around near the stream behind the Fuwa Ryokan. I thought he was a fairy because of his light hair and green eyes, and continued to believe so up into this year." she explained soft and slow. Saena scoffed at the information, clearly unimpressed with Kyoko's naivety even in young adulthood. Kyoko ignored it and continued onward, thumbing the stone lightly for strength. "I was made a fool of, for sure, but he had to leave after only a few days of meeting since he's an american and he was happy to play the part for my own benefit. He was surprised when he met me again only to find I still believed that little fairytale, but it was this stone that allowed him to recognize me ten years after that time, so I will continue to believe in it's magic." Saena quirked her furrowed brow upward, still looking unimpressed.

"Alright, so he was a friend of yours. I'll accept that. Let me ask this, did you sleep with this man?"* she asked, watching Kyoko blush brightly as she gripped the stone and shook her head slowly. She needed to be careful about how she answered, especially with her mother being a lawyer.

"That isn't really something I'm comfortably discussing with you, but I can at least assure you that I have retained my integrity." she answered.

"I see. So long as you do not break your promise to me, you can continue on. I simply had to check on the situation." the woman explained simply. "Being in the public eye so blatantly, you ought to know that people could easily find out should you become pregnant." her brow wrinkled to it's full potential and Kyoko watched with wonder. How did she pinch her eyebrows so tightly? "Judging from your reaction, you are not against being with this person intimately. Should such a thing happen, make sure you know exactly who you are interacting with..., and use protection." Kyoko stared at her mother openly. Was she truly attempting to give advice? Sure, it was probably to ensure that Kyoko did not bring her shame, but it was still very surprising to the girl.

"I... I understand mother. If it puts you at ease at all, I am already well acquainted with his parents, and I've seen his passport so I know exactly who he is." She explained confidently. Saena was quiet for a moment before she nodded in acceptance.

"Very well. I won't take up any more of your time then." She says as she stands, pausing to allow Kyoko to stand and bow to her as she said farewell. Saena looked contemplative for a moment before she gave a responding bow of her head and walked out.

Kyoko heaved a long sigh as she fiddled with her cup. When had she finished drinking it? She had been so nervous and engrossed in the conversation that she didn't even recall taking a sip. Shaking her head quickly, she pulled out her phone and sent a quick notification to Yashiro that she was done and that things had gone well. The manager almost instantly sent a reply telling her that he would be there to pick her up shortly. Boy, was she happy that was over.

Lory hummed lightly as he steeples his fingertips together, tapping them against his chin in thought.

"It's a good opportunity, you know. You say that your father left some months ago, but if he's returned and wants to talk with you, perhaps he wants to fix his wrongs." he explained. Aika clenched her fists at her sides in frustration.

"No, he does not want to fix anything. He's here because he's a control freak. He knows that while I have this job, I have a way to do what I want!" she insists. Lory pouted lightly, his obsession with family and love clearly being the driving factor here.

"You can't know that. It may feel like our parents only want to control us and keep us from doing what we want, but you have to understand that we only want what is best for our children. We want them to be safe and secure. He's worried about you."

"You... don't know anything." she hissed back. Kanae and Chiori took a couple steps back, looking at each other nervously at how disrespectful the girl was being to their president. Lory took it in stride however, clearly used to problem-children at this point. "I've lived with that man for practically my whole life. You may have known him briefly, but you don't know a thing about him." she insisted. That got Lory's attention, his steepled hands finally lowering to the desk before him, one clasped over the other.

"When did I meet your father?" he asked as the room went quiet, the small company looking between the others for information. Even Ruto showed a bit of surprise in his usually passive expression. Aika crossed her arms defensively across her chest as she looked down and away.

"You attended my mother's wedding. She was a singer at your company and she really looked up to you... She went by Suzuki Chiaki until she retired." recognition shone in Lory's eyes at the name.

"Yes, I remember Chiaki. She was a lovely singer. I believe she decided to retire so she could focus on her family." he recalled pleasantly.

"She retired because my father wanted her to." Aika ground out, glaring at the president in annoyance. Lory frowned lightly at that.

"I'm sure it was a decision they made together." he urged.

"Like I said, you don't know anything. Mother loved singing and writing songs. There was hardly ever a day she didn't sing or write out new songs to share with my sister and me. You really think she couldn't have done that while continuing to work here? With a boss like you? Don't be daft." Aika's eyes burned and she cursed the feeling instantly. She was usually fairly skilled in holding her tears at bay, despising the thought of showing weakness in front of others, but that was considerably more difficult to do when she was actually facing the issue and talking about it instead of just ignoring it.

Lory's hands finally separated in favor of crossing his arms across his chest as he leaned back in his chair. The girl was making some good points, even if she was a bit boorish about it all. He could see the tiny flickers of pain in her expression, despite her desperate attempts to push them down. The aggression she was showing was likely a defense she put up to hide how much she was hurting. He had seen this kind of thing hundreds of times already, though each case had various details that made them unique. The Love-Me section was truly a genius creation of he did say so himself.

"I suppose we could have easily made an arrangement if she truly wished to..." Lory started, thinking through the issue at hand in pieces. Chiaki had indeed been a very passionate girl during her employment here.

"She wouldn't ask for it, because father convinced her to stay at home, to not continue her work as a celebrity."

"She retired far before you were born, though" he pointed out. Hopefully, this was just a misunderstanding on Aika's part. There could be a logical explanation for why this appeared worse than they were...

"You think I didn't ask my mother why she stopped doing the thing she so obviously loved? She told my sister and I that she did it for our sake, that our father was soooo worried that we would be lonely and feel ignored without our mother around as often as we should. It wasn't until he left us without even looking back that I saw what a load of crap he had fed all of us."

"He could be back and wanting your forgiveness." Lory tried, though the argument was admittedly starting to sound a bit week in light of the new information.

"If you make me go with that man, you might as well fire me right now, because he'll find a way to keep me from moving forward. That's the kind of person he is. You're in the entertainment industry! Are you seriously telling me that you've seen nothing but honorable and upstanding people through all these years?" Lory fell quiet at that, pushing a few files around before he pulled out a folder that she quickly recognized as her personal file. He flipped through the her papers for a moment, likely making sure that everything was completely legal.

"The signature for your guardian isn't your mother's name."

"My older sister took over as my guardian when mother passed away." Lory looked up to her quickly, surprised at the news. He hadn't heard of Chiaki's passing. Just as he was about to ask, Aika answered the question "three months ago." His mouth snapped shut and he looked down at the papers again, contemplating his choices. "I came here because mother spoke highly of LME and it's president. She said it was like the family she always wished to have. I came here because I thought you could help me... Please." Lory closed the file and tucked it back away in it's place, holding his hands together and pressed against his lips thoughtfully. The children he takes in could be so troublesome at times...

"I understand." He sighed as he placed his hands on the desk, as if needing that little extra support to help him stand again. "I will talk to this man for you. Ruto will ensure that your sister's guardianship holds even in the reappearance of your father." Aika took a moment to understand before she bowed deeply, holding it a bit longer than strictly necessary to show her gratitude.

"Thank you President Takarada." she spoke softly, holding the bowed pose as she let her hair hang to cover her face. It wasn't difficult for the seasoned man to imagine she must be feeling a flurry of emotions at the moment. Lory gave her a small pat on the head as he passed, thanking Kanae and Chiori as he left the office to take care of his promise to the girl. What troublesome, troublesome children he has.

*In the part where Saena asked if Kyoko "Slept with" Kuon, it was phrased in a way that implied sex as publicly appropriate as she could. English has a tendency to be a bit vague or blatant in how we word things, especially when it comes to sex. We don't have a lot of middle-ground phrasings like some languages and cultures do, so I went with a polite way and am adding this note to clarify. Kyoko may have slept in the same bed with Ren/Kuon, but she was able to confidently and truthfully state that she had not had sex with him... at least not yet. ;)

No sexy stuff in this chapter, sorry. I hope you enjoyed reading all the same, however.

As I had promised, I gave just a little more insight to our newest love-me member. I have more to her hiding away currently, but I didn't want to get too deep into it if people aren't really interested, so this is a little bit of a feeler on how you are reacting so far. On another note, Kanae is quickly becoming the "Big Sister" character for all the love-me girls, though there may be a little influence from Lory for that. Kanae is easily bribed after all, though I think she would be especially mindful of Kyoko's privacy. *shrug*

I did little research on body language and gestures for this chapter. Who caught Lory's confidence on the matter with Aika and her father wavering? (hint: it's his hands) Also, guardianship laws are so long and research is exhausting. There's a reason I didn't go into law, despite my own father's instance. I could probably do alright in it, but it has absolutely no appeal to me.

What did you think of the new offers Kyoko got? I'll admit that "Mermaid Dive" is one of my own threatening to spill over into this, but I'm not really thinking of having her take that one unless people seem REALLY interested in it. I'm already pretty sure most of you are firmly against her taking the PV, and I don't see her taking that one either. That leaves the sister and ghost offers. Maybe she could even take both now that she has someone managing her schedule and driving her to her jobs? Tell me your thoughts if you would.

I went back and fixed some misspellings for this chapter. I imagined those who commented to have cringed every time I messed up Kyoko's mother's name. Sorry about that. I'm bad enough with keeping track of real life people, let alone fictional ones. I used to have digital sticky-notes on my desktop, some for this series, but my stickies have disappeared somehow, and things are getting all scrambled in my head as a result. :( It's these moments that I think I'll grow to be one of those people with Altimeters. I just hope I finish writing my books before it takes hold of me. Death and such isn't all that frightening to me, but I'd like to accomplish at least that much before I go...

Anyway

Author Responses

Kaname671- thank you for your vote of confidence. I might try writing a few short lines but mostly rely on descriptions when I do get to those points. As for Sho and Kanae, I completely agree. I actually got a bit of inspiration from a song called "Bruises" by Transviolet. I tend to listen to a lot spotify a lot when brainstorming. I have public lists under the username "ofdragonsandlore" if you ever get curious, but don't expect to like everything on there even if you enjoy a few. I haven't found a person yet that does. _(ツ)/ thank you for reading.

puffinzero- I had considered having Ren show up, but I felt it was more fitting for Lory to contact Kanae... maybe Yashiro. Lory's a very calculating and cautious man when you get down to it. He might be a bit cautious of sending Ren after a boy he knew Ren could easy bring himself to harm no matter the place. Kanae with Ruto in tow was the safest bet for this situation, though there is a reason that Kyoko's new place is so close to Ren's, and it's not ONLY because Lory wants them to hurry up and be a happy family together. :P With Ren coming after Kyoko with her toy, it's coming (haha) I promise. His control is already wavering, and it'll only be harder on him when she's 18 (which is the legal adult in America, even though Japan considers them miners until 20). Look forward to it. ;)

Hairy Friend-I'm sorry that Sho is so unpleasant. I understand wholeheartedly. I hope I cleared it up pretty well in this chapter, but Kyoko has grown. Sho can still get under her skin, but not with the same tactics as before. Yeah, his degrading words toward her can still sting (because words like that still hurt even when you know otherwise), but he really got her riled up by attacking the people she cares about like, Kuu and Kuon. About the Darumaya owners... I may be letting a bit of my own spite through on that one. I'll clear up that the Taisho didn't glare at Ren for coming to check on Kyoko. He started glaring at Ren when he gave his "sissy smile" which instantly told the man that Ren is two-face/holding up a facade. The Darumaya couple keep enabling Sho purely because they got the impression that he's a old (true) good (false) friend of Kyoko's with a straightforward personality. I don't think they would be totally fine with Sho making Kyoko run up the stairs all upset, but they don't exactly see her tears as a cause for major concern unless it seems really serious (based off the beginning of the series when she was crying after being rejected). I don't like people that enable those kinds of people to get close to their loved ones. It's that kind of blindness that has allowed people I care about to be hurt in broad daylight. The Darumaya couple are great people, but I hate seeing them so easily deceived by Sho over and over. ... Rant over, sorry.

I'm glad you liked the direction I took with Kanae and Ruto's assistance. I'd like to see them in the series more, honestly, and I'm curious what's going to happen with Kanae's new job (idk how far people have read, so I'll try to keep from spoilers). Thank you for the panty information. I'll keep that in mind for the future. For now, we'll say her panties were elastic enough for it to be less of an issue? I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thank you for your continued RRs

Erza Tsuruga-sorry about my bad spelling. u_u At least it was amusing though? Thank you for reading, and I promise there will be more smut in the next chapter. ;)

MWEH- er... Sho can still find ways like the pest he is, but it's certainly becoming more and more difficult. They ARE both in the entertainment business after all. For the time being though, he's going to mostly be a nuisance with his job offers and blowing up her phone, though I can see her getting a number change in the near future, especially once he starts being overly insistent.