Zero stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist before exiting his boss's room to head towards his room to get dressed for the day. Slipping into a pair of black slacks and a light blue dress shirt Zero checked his watch.
Quarter to six.
He frowned as he noted Kuran hadn't come home last night. Had he completely forgotten about the meeting?
Just as he finished his thoughts he heard the front door opening. Walking out of the bedroom he watched as the famous actor took his shoes off his shoes and stepped into the kitchen.
"Good you're up." The brunette said. Behind him stood a tall handsome blonde that Zero recognized as Takuma.
"Good Morning!" The cheerful blonde greeted.
"I'll change." Kaname said to Takuma before disappearing down the hall towards his room. The two remaining people stood awkwardly in the kitchen before Ichijou walked towards the coffee maker and turned it on. "Did you want a cup?"
"Sure." The silverette nodded as he regarded the man, curious about his relationship with Kaname. Were they friends? Lovers? The man in front of him certainly didn't come off as someone that played around, but Zero did find it odd that they had shown up together.
As they waited for the coffee to brew Ichijou grabbed an apple before speaking to Zero. "How're you settling in?"
"Good. I hadn't done much yet."
"Don't worry, you'll be beyond busy for the next while. Kaname's schedule is always packed. I don't know how he does it."
"Have you known him long?"
"Kaname?" Takuma asked, trying to recall the first time they had met. "Yes, practically my whole life. Our families are close."
Nodding in understanding Zero didn't bother to question any further. Childhood friends. That explained it. No wonder someone as kind as Ichijou would hang out with Kuran.
"Although we don't get to see each other very often anymore, he's a good friend. You're in good hands." The blonde reassured him and Zero wondered if the man would say the same thing if he had seen the things Kuran had put him through.
"Thank you."
A few moments later the coffee finished and Takuma pour three cups out. "How do you take it?"
"Hard." Zero heard from behind him and turned to see Kaname fully dressed as he struggled to tie his tie. "I mean hot, right?"
Glaring at the man, Zero ignored the comment and answered the blonde. "With cream, please."
Nodding, Takuma prepared the cups, before handing it to the two. They quickly drank the coffee as they regarded the time. They had about ten minutes to make it for the meeting, but from the unconcerned look on the two actors faces, Zero guessed the place must've been close by.
"Shall we go?" The blonde asked as he place his cup into the sink before grabbing his car keys.
"We'll go in my car, you can meet us there." Kaname informed him before they exited the apartment and descending to the main floor. Once they exited the building and had the valet pull up the car Kaname finally informed Zero about the meeting.
"We'll be attending a meeting with the council of Kuran Productions. Most of them are partners with the company or head executives so I expect you to act accordingly."
"Alright." Zero nodded, knowing something like this was important for both Kaname and himself. He needed to make a good impression.
"Is there anything else I should know?" Zero asked.
"No, our schedule is busy today. After the council meeting we will be eating breakfast and heading to another promotional interview for Shameless. We'll be dropping by an acting class in the afternoon before attending a variety show." Kaname listed off as he pulled into the parking lot of Kuran Productions. "I expect you can keep up."
"Of course." The former student nodded, finding it surprising at the amount of work Kaname had in one day. Then again, considering the actor was one of the hottest in the industry at the moment, it made sense everyone wanted a piece. More publicity meant more attention to Kuran's newest works and ultimately his ratings would go up.
Exiting the car the two men entered the building through a side entrance before making their way to the elevator to top floor. He felt nervous as he realized Kaname had gone silent as they ascended to the top, obviously composing himself for the meeting. Eventually the doors reopened and the two men stepped out to see a large secretary desk in front of them with a pretty girl behind it.
"Good Morning, Kaname-sama." She stood and bowed politely before shifting her attention to Zero. "A pleasure to meet you, Kiryuu Zero-sama. My name is Kurenai Maria-san."
"Nice to meet you." Zero smiled politely before she walked around the desk. "Follow me, it's right this way."
Silently following behind the short girl the silverette found it oddly unnerving as the grew closer to the conference room.
"You may make your way inside." She said before leaving the two. Moments later Kaname grabbed the door handle and pushed his way into the large room, all eyes turning towards the new people. Zero's eyes scanned around the room to take in the different people seated around the table. Most of them were unrecognizable, but the silverette did see a few familiar faces. The first one was Director Cross who was seated next to a man that had his face turned away from Zero's point of view. As the man turned his head to regard the pair, his eye landed upon the silverette and immediately frowned.
Yagari Toga.
He never expected to see his former teacher at a place like this, not after years of no contact. Toga had been his teacher during his teenage years due to his parents being close friends with the former actor. The man, although still relatively young, had retired from the big screen after a successful acting career and back then had taken a liking to Zero and Ichiru. He believed they could be very successful in the industry if they honed their skills and had worked with them diligently through their high school years.
Around the same time, he had decided to pursue a new route of becoming a producer and director in upcoming projects which turned out to be successful. Back then, Zero believed he could actually make it, but then he left home after graduation and realized if he wanted to make it on his own he needed to get an actual degree. If he tried to become an actor and failed he would have to go back to his parents and start all over again. That was something he wasn't willing to do.
He hadn't bothered to tell Toga-sensei about his decision until he had moved to Tokyo. When he finally broke the new, the conversation consisted of a lot of arguing and yelling but in the end Toga had told him he was wasting his talent if he didn't pursue an acting career and Zero had told him it was his life and he would do with it as he pleased. That was nearly two years ago.
Now, Zero could feel piercing eyes staring him down, obviously wondering what had happened.
The only other people in the room he recognized was Ichijou who was seated next to an older blonde man that shared a resemblance to him as well as Kuran Rido who was seated at the head of the table.
"Glad you could join us, Kaname."
"The pleasures all mine, Uncle." Kurna replied as he sat on the other side of the long conference table. Zero took the seat to the actors left before the meeting commenced.
"I believed that is all we needed to go over today. The meeting is adjourned." Rido finally said. Everyone nodded as they stood from their seats and begun to file out of the room. Slowly getting up, Zero wanted nothing more than to escape the room before he was caught by Yagari. The man was mad, he could tell just by looking.
The meeting itself had gone rather smoothly as the council discussed upcoming projects and current topics of interest within the company before addressing the guest in the room. Kaname had introduced him to members and Zero greeted the men with a polite bow before thanking them for the opportunity. Moments later another matter was brought up and the attention was shifted elsewhere although Zero could feel a pair of lingering eyes still on him.
"Kaname." The former student suddenly heard and watched as Rido approached the pair. "A moment please?"
"Of course." The brunette nodded. "I'll be right back." He said before exiting the room.
It didn't take long before the silverette realized that he had been left alone and before he knew it he heard the gruff voice of the man he had been dreading to confront. "Kid, what the fuck are you doing here?"
"Senseiā¦" Zero said as he turned to regard the man. "Long time no see."
"Don't give me that bullshit. What happened to taking the practical route? Did you finally realize you were wasting your life away?" He frowned down at his former student, wondering how the man had ended up working under Kaname Kuran of all people.
"Didn't you tell me I could make it? That's what I'm doing."
"With Kaname Kuran?" Yagari questioned, knowing the actor had a but of a notorious streak.
"Is there something wrong with that?"
"Are you that desperate to make it big?" The older man scowled.
"What are you implying?"
Rolling his eyes the long haired man brought his lips to Zero's ear to explain himself. "You're sleeping with him, right?"
Shocked at the statement Zero replied through gritted teeth. "Do you think I'm a slut?"
Finally taking a step back the brunette sighed. "No, but you do realize the reputation Kuran had made for himself, right?"
"I'm becoming aware." The silverette reluctantly admitted. "But he will not become the reason I don't make it. If I end the contract now I lose any chance of signing with Kuran productions which makes it ten times harder for me to land a decent role in this industry."
"He's bad news, brat." Toga warned again before walking past him and exiting the room.
Sighing, Zero whispered under his breath his response. "I already know."
After a few second he recomposed himself and left the room.
"You know Director Yagari?" He heard and turned his attention to Kaname who was leaning against the wall to the room.
"How long have you been waiting there?"
"Long enough to see him walk out of the room." He said as he pushed off the wall and approached the silverette, lifting one his hands to caress Zero's face. "I don't like secrets being kept from me, explain yourself."
