Author's Note: I would love to take full credit for this chapter, but part of the credit goes to one of my guest reviewers from chapter 12; who suggested the discussion between Ren and Hikaru. Also, I'm very sorry for the long wait. Writers block is a biatch. I got stuck on how to write Yashiro's chapter entrance...it just wouldn't work it's way out of my muse into my mind...
Disclaimer: The ownership papers for these guys have yet to be signed over to me...
Chapter 14: Encounters
That Monday saw Kyoko and Kanae sitting in the Love Me room, looking over their schedules. Neither had a set to be on at the moment, and the Love Me tasks had been surprisingly few.
As the Orange haired talento penciled in a Box "R" filming for the next week, along with a meeting with Sagawa to discuss some offers for roles; her gaze drifted to Kanae. She noticed her best friend was a bit distracted, tapping her pencil without making any actual markings, "Moko-san, this weekend was actually rather enjoyable, thank you for making me go."
There, she had broached the topic. Time to see Moko's response.
The dark haired teen lifted her gaze to her friend, remaining silent for a few moments, "I figured you'd have fun. It was rather enjoyable. The guys did a good job with things."
"Then you'd say you appreciate Yashiro-san's effort?" Kyoko smiled brightly at her bestie, "That's wonderful! It's a great start!"
Kanae blushed at that comment, setting down her pencil and closing her date book, "I appreciate it, yes. Although he did choose a restaurant that didn't allow for my preferred diet...but I suppose he meant well."
"Yashiro-san would be glad that you appreciate it," Kyoko grinned, letting slip a giggle, "You should tell him!"
"Mo! Why the sudden interest in Glasses-kun and me?" Dark eyes narrowed on her, "Little miss romance is evil suddenly seems very keen on it when she's not involved!"
"I...romance isn't evil, per se. It just depends on the situation," Kyoko countered adamantly, "Yashiro-san is a good man! He really cares for you, and I trust that he won't hurt you! I wouldn't have let things get so far if I didn't trust him with you, Moko-san!"
Here her best friend sighed. She knew that the younger teen meant well. Just as she honestly knew she was feeling something, though what she wouldn't or couldn't say, for the manager. But really, it was annoying to watch someone so blind about their own situation try to help hers! Folding her arms over her chest she stared steadily at the orange haired girl, "Alright, fair enough. What about you? Do you appreciate what Tsuruga did for you?"
"Wh-what?" Golden eyes blinked at the sudden shift, "I...The fact that he gave up a free night to pretend to be on a date with me-"
"Pretend?" A well groomed brow arched, "He seemed to think it was real enough. That park was all for you, Miss Fairyland."
"N-nonsense!" With a wild blush, Kyoko shook her head, "Tsuruga-san thought it was a nice place for you and Yashiro-san to-"
"Send you two off alone to search for fairies," Kanae interrupted with a smug look, "He was pretty clever about it. I mean, you were having none of his compliments, so he had to be more sneaky."
"He's only just said we could be friends!" The rising star cried out in desperation, "There is no way he would think of me as anything more!"
"He knows your fragile..." Kanae continued the stare down, "He'd spooked you already, and didn't want to do it again."
"I...I'll prove it!" The orange haired girl leapt to her feet, "He can tell you himself that that's not what he feels!"
With that, Love Me Number One took off in search of her sempai, leaving her best friend in a state of mixed emotion. Kyoko raced down a few different halls, seeking out Tsuruga-san. It was a big agency, but he was proving harder than normal to find.
When at last she tracked him down, she skidded to a halt. She was about to call a greeting, but her grudges swirled to life, halting her, sending a foreboding chill down her spine.
This feeling could mean only one thing.
When Tsuruga Ren and Yashiro had arrived at LME that morning, Ren gave every indication that he planned to follow his manager to his office. At some point, however, the taller man had silently veered away. He had his own mission to accomplish, one that took him out of his usual route through the building.
Glancing around, the actor wondered if he was near were he might find his target. He wanted the encounter to seem casual, though he was sure it wouldn't take much to catch on to the truth. This person seemed perceptive enough. Little had he counted on there being two others with the individual.
"Ah...Ichbashi-san, wasn't it?" Ren put on his best gentleman's smile, freezing the trio from Bridge Rock in their tracks.
The two who weren't his intended encounter didn't flee, which spoke to their character. Instead they stood on either side of Hikaru as he looked up at the idol, "Tsuruga-san, I didn't expect to see you. This isn't part of the agency you tend to visit."
"Yes, well," Ren offered his American shrug, "It seems one misses a lot by limiting what parts of the agency one visits."
"Yeah, I guess that's true," Shifting his glance between his band mates, the leader offered a small smile, "You guys go on. I think I'll stay and talk to Tsuruga-san for awhile."
"You sure?" Shinichi lofted a brow, not wanting to abandon his friend should something happen.
"Yeah, we'll be fine." Hikaru nodded, his focus now trained on the actor before him. His two friends exchanged a glance then meandered off, "Alright, Tsuruga-san, you're here to talk to me, right?"
"As expected, you catch on quickly, Ichibashi-san," Ren nodded, his eye meeting this new rival's through chocolate colored contacts.
"I can also figure out it's about what happened on your date, right?" Hikaru's hands were stuffed into his pockets as he watched the taller man, "So, what do you want?"
"Straight to the point then?" The actor glanced about making sure they would not be overheard, "You seem to be on rather familiar terms with Mogami-san."
"I hope I am," The variety show host smiled with a slight blush, "And I would like to continue getting to know her. You seemed to have her on the run when I last saw you."
"I thought you might say something like that. You seem rather obvious about your intentions," Ren smirked, pocketing his own hands, "Mogami-san isn't keen on romance...I simply attempted to show my interest too plainly. She isn't ready yet."
"Then you are interested, though," The Bridge Rock member filed away that piece of information, "She does seem a bit...slow to pick up when I try to ask her out."
"She goes into denial," The younger of the two couldn't help feeling a measure of sympathy, "I normally let her do the same. That night, I hadn't..."
"Yeah, she always finds a way to make everything from the whole band! Dinner invites and White Day chocolate even!" Hikaru shook his head in a sad but amused way.
"You're rather lucky she's so dense, being so open with you advances, Ichibashi-san," Ren lifted a brow, "She'd have run screaming by now otherwise."
"Why's she so scared?" The variety show host pondered aloud.
"Tsuruga!" A voice laced with malice interrupted their conversation. The two turned to see a bleached blonde musician glaring and pointing at the actor, "What the hell? I'm not supposed to run into you on this side of the building!"
Ren's face morphed into a dark expression, despite the smile plastered over it, "Fuwa Sho...I believe you're the one in the wrong agency..."
Hikaru glanced between the two, sensing the bad blood on a palpable level as the blonde musician narrowed his eyes and hissed at his rival, "If you're here, she must be too. Kyoko's gotta be around!"
And that's when the dark aura hit, even stronger than the malice rolling off the two males. Hikaru paled as a very frightening version of Kyoko stepped into view, glaring daggers at her hated foe, "Shooootaaaaroooo..."
"There she is!" Sho grinned wickedly, taunting the pink clad girl with his gaze, "Still as boring as ever, huh?"
"Out! Get out!" Kyoko began shrieking at her childhood friend turned enemy, all the while the Bridge Rock host wondering how the heck she qualified as boring. "This isn't your agency, you don't belong here! Out, out, out!"
"Relax, Kyoko," Sho reached out to pat her head. Her grudges whirling in a dangerous maelstrom at his actions, "I'm here on business. Shoko's somewhere, looking for a PV actress...one with looks and talent this time."
And all hell broke loose.
Yashiro walked with a spring in his step as he entered the agency that day, Ren following behind. Rarely did he get the chance to gush so over his own love life, but he was just so happy he couldn't hold it in. Still, manager that he was, he tried to remain conscious of Kanae's reputation and use her name as little as possible.
"Oh, it was wonderful, wasn't it, Ren? The girls were beautiful, of course. Little else to be expected!" He blushed merrily, practically skipping. The way he rambled through his musings he gave his charge no time to reply, "You had me worried for a moment when Kyoko ran off, I'll admit, but that park was a brilliant recovery! And it worked out quite well for me, too...the way Kanae-Chan complimented me, I swear I'm still tingling! And I never would have gotten the chance if it weren't for you!"
Stopping just outside his office door he sighed dreamily, blissfully unaware of the odd looks he was getting from other managers, or why they should be looking at him strangely at all, "Thank you, Ren, for encouraging me to move forward! Now, we need to work on your progress, yes?"
As he turned to grin at his friend and client, he was shocked to see no one there. Now he was all too keenly aware of the eyes on him as he began to wonder exactly how long he'd been talking to himself like a fool. His face bloomed scarlet at the thought and he cursed Ren for letting him look like an idiot.
Where could that boy be? The only redemption would be if he had snuck off to do something about his relationship with Kyoko...barring that, Yashiro was thinking he might ask the orange haired girl for tips on being vengeful...he wasn't naturally inclined to it.
Trying to conceal his embarrassment, the manager backtracked toward the elevator, letting out a sheepish laugh which he intended to follow up with a witty remark. Too bad he wasn't naturally inclined to those either. Hanging his head he rushed down the hall before very literally colliding with someone.
With yelps of surprise, they both toppled backwards, Yukihito's glasses cast askew across his face. Quickly fixing the frames as he tried to save himself from any more humiliation, Shoko came into focus.
Climbing to his feet, Yashiro offered her a hand up before dusting himself off, "I apologize. I was in a rush, Ren seems to have wandered off without my noticing. Are you here on business for Fuwa-san?"
Accepting his help to her feet Shoko straightened he attire and mirrored his professional demeanor, "Yes, we came to find a PV actress...I'm afraid he slipped away while I was meeting with some managers, though."
The two sighed at the behavior of their clients. At least Ren was in his own agency, but Sho was just being unprofessional. After a moment their gazes snapped up and met. Ren and Sho, loose in the agency, unchaperoned...And Kyoko unaccounted for. This was a recipe for disaster.
In unison the set off at a brisk walk, not wanting to run and cause a stir. The hopped the elevator, discussing where the most likely places to find their clients are. After a few false starts, they realized they had to be close when the massive wave of killing intent rolled over them from down the hall and they heard several voices shouting.
"GET OUTTA MY WAY, SHRIMP!" Shoko instantly recognized Sho.
"FUWA-SAN, KEEP AWAY FROM-" a less familiar voice rang out in alarm.
"TSURUGA-SAN! WITH ALL DUE RESPECT-" The panicked, yet still somehow polite, demand had to be Kyoko.
"MOGAMI-SAN, PLEASE! STOP-" The commanding and barely painted calm of that elevated tone belonged to Ren.
The managers took off in that direction, now at a full tilt run, unsure of exactly what they would find.
"Relax," Shotaro had teased so cruelly, not clearly sensing the danger of his words, "I'm here on business. Shoko's somewhere, looking for a PV actress...one with looks and talent this time."
Hikaru's expression darkened as he frowned. Ren's features fell into a glare for a full half a minute before he could school them back into an eerily threatening gentleman's smile. Kyoko's grudges went into overdrive, feeding not only on her own vengeful hatred, but the anger of the two men who took offense on her behalf. Swirling ominously the dark cloud of malice seemed to sing out, 'Yes, Yes, delicious anger, yummy hatred!'
Hikaru stepped forward, seething as he spoke, "Listen here, you've-"
His protest was cut short by the loud popping of the lights overhead bursting in the wake of Kyoko's dark aura. A couple plotted plants that dared to line the hall curled in on themselves and withered. To say the Bridge Rock leader was surprised would be an understatement.
"Mogami-san..." Ren glanced at his protege from the corner of his sight, seeing her fists clench as she trembled. He was uncertain of what she would do, having not seen her so...quiet...in response to Sho for such an extended time.
"Sho...Ta...ro..." She mumbled, shaking even more, fighting tears. He kept saying those things. Kept tearing her down. She wasn't beautiful, she knew...not without the magic of makeup and costume...the crew were her fairy godparents, turning her into someone presentable. But if he spokke the truth why did it make her so angry to hear?
Maybe because she wanted to be beautiful, and worthy, and loved. She wanted those things she knew she could never deserve. Suddenly thoughts she had repressed surfaced, fleeting memories of Tsuruga-san's comments over the weekend.
'I didn't say your dress looks lovely...didn't say your makeup looks lovely...without her help, you would still be lovely...still be Mogami-san...'
And, come to think of it...had he said such things before as well? She could almost call to mind that he had nearly said she was beautiful once...maybe...but he'd been interrupted or something. Then all those times she chalked up to teasing...
Normally these thoughts would fry her brain on a good day, and never surface during an encounter with Sho. But with the supposed date fresh in her mind...
"Why?" She growled dangerously, golden eyes fierce as she snapped them towards the musician.
He just looked at her like she was stupid and laughed, "We can't have someone as pathetic as you in the video..."
"That's NOT what I meant!" She shouted, her eyes clenched shut, "Why do you act so horrible? Why? I have people who believe in me, I have talent!"
Her sudden self confidence took Tsuruga and Fuwa by surprise. The former filled with pride, the latter with spite. Hikaru was not as aware of what exactly was going on, but he was starting to get the picture.
"She is talented. You'd be blind not to notice." The shortest male stated confidently, folding his arms in defiance of the cocky blonde.
"Its true. We all know it." Ren chimed in with a smirk of challenge and a shrug before turning to Kyoko, "I'm glad you see it as well now, Mogami-san. Have you come to any other recent realizations?"
"I...I have...maybe..." she tried to maintain her confidence, though her legs trembled at the thought of what she was about to say as the notion spent more time swirling through her mind, "I...might mean, Yes. I have..."
"Really?" Shoutaro was really heated now as the three dared gang up on him, apparently emboldened by Kyoko's ability to claim self worth. Leaning in to leer at the girl in hopes of intimidating her back to submission he boasted, "And what might that be...because whatever you think, you're still nothing without me."
With a huff at his unwanted proximity, the starlet let her hand fly, slapping her former friend firmly across the face, "Stop it! I am where I am because I have a senpai like Tsuruga-san! It's working with people like him and like Hikaru-san that...that..."
"WHAT THE HELL, KYOKO!" Sho could not believe the actual audacity. She had just struck him. And worse, she place Tsuruga and some no account variety show host both above him! No way was she getting away with that, "ARE YOU FORGETTING WHO EVEN BROUGHT YOU TO TOKYO?!"
"Who brought me to...SHOUTARO! HOW DARE YOU?!" She lunged for him, only to be grabbed around the waist by a Tsuruga Ren that would honestly just as gladly beat the shit out of the blond. Kyoto knew that Sho wouldn't have lasted a week in the city without her.
"Mogami-san...you're only giving him what he wants...calm down..." The veteran actor tried to sooth her, though he was hardly calm himself.
"YOU DONT SCARE ME!" Sho refused to let his foe see just how intimidated he was as he stepped forward, only to have his path blocked by Hikaru.
"Fuwa-san, I think you need to go now." The Bridge Rock leader boldly stood his ground, not about to let things get worse.
The visiting musician snorted, "Giants and dwarves protecting you? Just your kind of fairytale...too bad you look more like the hag!"
Hikaru twitched at the remark on his height, but didn't reply. He just took a firm step closer to show he wasn't intimidated.
"Says the evil sorcerer!" Kyoko spat in response, "You know, some people do think I'm...Im pretty..."
For a moment the scene froze. Hikaru and Ren realized their words seemed to have actually registered with her at some point. Kyoto blushed at the fact she complimented herself and desperately wanted to escape as she knew this opened a veritable can of worms. Sho immediately knew who had been filling her with compliments.
An instant later, more chaos erupted
"GET OUTTA MY WAY, SHRIMP!" Shoutaro roared in outrage, his eyes flaring with anger as he locked his sights on Tsugura. He was going to beat that platform wearing phony into a pulp!
"FUWA-SAN, KEEP AWAY FROM KYOKO-CHAN" Hikaru shouted in alarm, misinterpreting the target of the other musician's wrath. In a move suitable for a romance hero, the Bridge Rock leader completely disregarded his own safety and reputation to tackle the angry Sho to the ground, pinning the blond stomach-down and sitting on his back while pinning his arms behind him.
"TSURUGA-SAN! WITH ALL DUE RESPECT..." Kyoko's tone had gone from angry to panicked. She saw Sho charging, and knew that Ren did to despite how the actor still held her upper arms as he regarded her with a cautious optimism. The look he was giving made her uneasy, and she hoped to use the impending attack to distract him, but Hikaru took care of that before she finished speaking. With less volume, she repeated herself, pulling against his grasp, "With all due respect...please...l-let go..."
"MOGAMI-SAN, PLEASE! STOP-" Ren barely managed to keep the inflection of his voice under control. He was aware of the approaching danger; aware that Kyoko was frightened by her own realization; aware that Hikaru was taking action to prevent harm...his mind was in overdrive and slow motion at once, "Stop struggling...I...i-its better if everyone remains here...we'll be wanted for questions about this incident...by the President, I mean..."
They would be, too. Things had gotten physical, it was very out of hand. But mostly, Ren wanted to keep her from running. He wanted to be able to speak with her when things had calmed down.
As he was trying to calm Kyoko, a flurry of footsteps rushed onto the scene. From one direction came Shoko and Yashiro, gaping at the situation their clients were in. From the other arrived Shinichi and Yusei, gawking at the sight of their leader astride a struggling, cursing idol.
Exchanging a look the younger two bandmates blinked, Shinichi murmuring, "We missed all the excitement!"
A quick appraisal of the scenario told Yashiro that Sho's presence wasn't the only thing troubling his two favorite talents. He cast a questioning glance at Ren, who merely offered a subtle headshake to say it wasn't a good time to talk about whatever had happened.
Shoko strode over to where her charge was pinned upon the ground, her heels clicking commandingly against the floor with each firm step. As she drew to a stop, the bratty idol glared up at her.
"Dammit, Shoko, tell this bastard to get the hell off of me!" The blonde boy renewed his struggles for freedom. Utterly indignant at his position.
"I'm not sure what happened, Sho," His manager sighed wearily, "But I'm sure you brought this on yourself."
The idol cursed more loudly, condemning her as a traitor as she looked to the variety show host perched on his back. With a smile practiced for atonement she offered a small bow, "I apologize for Sho's outrageous behaviour, especially seeing as you had need to restrain him, apparently"
"I don't need your apologies. You didn't do anything wrong." Hikaru smiled warmly enough at Shoko before giving the idol a subtle backward tug on his arm that stressed the shoulder joint and made the blonde boy yelp, "He however should apologize to Kyoko-chan. That was some mean stuff you said, Fuwa-san...untrue too. No wonder she was so brutal to you on our show!"
"He can be very immature where Kyoko-san is concerned." The female manager admitted, ignoring the vocal protest from her client, "I'll see that some form of apology is made. Now if you would allow him to get up, I can take it from here."
"Alright, that's all I ask." Hikaru smiled and released Sho, almost being thrown aside as the younger male stood before the older was completely clear. Fortunately the other Bridge Rock members were there to catch him.
Yashiro, meanwhile, had been getting the basic gist of the broader situation (the one involving Sho not whatever happened between Ren and Kyoko) from his charge. Kyoko was helping fill the manager in as well and had take her turn to explain a detail, allowing the top actor to catch a bit of the other group's conversation. He blinked as he heard Hikaru reveal that Kyoko had indeed been on their show, at the same time as Fuwa. Interesting...but, why didn't he know this?
The thought of the chicken flitted to his mind, allowed to linger for only a brief moment before he was pulled from his thoughts, "ga-san?"
"Hmm?" He blinked a few times and turned to look at Kyoko who was gazing at him with a level of mild concern.
"I said that it was unfortunate Hikaru-san was around and got dragged into things. And asked if you agreed..." She bit her lip, silently struggling. Instinct told her to ask after his well being, but that could lead back to the dangerous territory they'd been in before the managers' arrival.
"Oh. Well...yes, I suppose. The fewer people are pulled into Fuwa's childish behavior the better. Of course...Ichibashi-san did subdue Fuwa." He offered a smile to Kyoko before turning to Yashiro, "That's about when you arrived."
"Alright, thank you for getting me caught up. I'm going to talk to Shoko a moment, we'll need to meet with the President to make a deal and keep any version of this incident from the press." The bespectacled man sighed, "Why don't you two head on up to his office."
Ren gave a small nod and put a hand on Kyoko's shoulder, only to drop it quickly when she cringed at what was intended to be a comforting gesture. Turning, they headed toward Lori's office as Yashiro addressed everyone else gathered. It would be a crowded meeting, but they should probably all go give their versions of what happened.