Chapter 14

T -1 Day & Counting

Yashiro was growing more and more antsy as the day wore on. It had started out a calm morning and Ren had the day off, but Kyoko's schedule for Friday had been insane. She had three interviews scheduled for the morning, a few scenes for her new drama from 10 am until 2 pm, from 3 to 5 she had a few scenes for Sacred Lotus, a little time for dinner and then an evening photo shoot from 7 until 10 for a line of evening wear and perfume line.

It was already 8:30 am and he felt like something the cat dragged in. He was definitely more worried about her date with that animal than she was. He was sending her flowers again and this time he had included an expensive box of chocolates from one of the finest chocolatiers in Japan. The guy was going all out. He did have to admit, the young man had really good taste and style to boot. Poor Ren... Poor, poor Kyoko-chan... He shook his head as he stared at the new arrangement of lilies and roses and the large brown box, wrapped with a beautiful silk ribbon, that contained an assortment of 20 different little bonbon chocolates. The look on Kyoko's face when she tasted the first one almost blinded him. He sighed again. Poor Ren never had a chance. He pouted and flipped through their schedule to find out where they would be meeting for her scenes for Sacred Lotus. He really hoped that they wouldn't have anything waiting there for them too.

He whipped out his phone after donning a trusty glove and sent a text.

[He sent her flowers and chocolates this time... -Y]

Ping... (Ten minutes later.)

[Oh, that was nice of him. Did she like them? -R]

"D-DID SHE LIKE THEM?!" He howled and then quickly looked toward the door of the lounge to make sure no one heard his outburst. "What the hell?" Yashiro sputtered in a whisper.

[Yes, she liked them you dolt! -Y] He growled as he was typing. "Of all the things..." He grumbled.

Ping... (Another five minutes later.)

[That was nice of him. I'm glad she liked them. -R]

Yashiro growled and huffed indignantly. "He's an idiot! A snail and a clueless idiot!" He grumbled again as he pocketed his phone in a huff.

By the time they had stopped for a quick lunch, Yashiro looked like he had spent the night sleeping in the mosh pit at a heavy metal concert. Kyoko was starting to feel a little sorry for him, but he just would not tell her what was bothering him. He had only replied that he had trouble sleeping last night and he would be okay once he had a little more coffee or something sweet to eat. At this point, she offered one of her delicious little chocolates, but he refused stating that he preferred a more wholesome treat like a piece of fruit or some juice. There was no way he was going to enjoy one of the "Chocolates Of Doom".

He had sisters, cousins, aunts, female friends and even his own mother. He knew all of them had admirers and even dated some of them at some point and received gifts from them, but never in his life had he harbored such an intense hatred for a stuffed animal, as he did the innocent little tan fairy-bear, sitting on her makeup table at the moment. He wished that his icy gaze worked on the little "Thief Of Hearts".

When they entered her dressing room, on the set of Sacred Lotus, they were greeted by a cute little plush teddy bear with fairy wings, holding one red rose. Yashiro groaned inaudibly and Kyoko squealed with delight, hugging the little invader. Yes, that's what Yashiro had called it mentally, an invader. A home-wrecker. A little Lothario that was stealing Kyoko-chan away from Ren and from what Yashiro could tell, very successfully. The thought to put the little demon into the incinerator had crossed his mind more than once, but he refrained. He didn't want Kyoko-chan to be sad. It seemed as though she really liked the little Casanova. The guy wasn't even there and he was winning her over. Oh he was good, really good. He shot the little upstart a scathing glare at the thought. She was already putty in his lecherous hands and he was on order from Lory not to do a thing. Not that he could actually do anything at this point anyway. It was far too late, apparently.

By the end of the day, Yashiro had looked and felt like he had spent the last 14 hours in the roughest parts of a hurricane, holding onto a palm tree for safety. He was exhausted, pale, bags under his eyes and his five o'clock shadow had decided to surface at around three in the afternoon, thankfully he had brought his electric razor with him and taken care of it before anyone else noticed, and finally his cow-lick had decided it didn't like the hair gel he was using and popped up, leaving him with a curl in the center of his forehead.

He sat down on his sofa to enjoy a nice cup of relaxing tea and the evening news. He sighed. Thank goodness Kyoko-chan and Ren have all day off tomorrow. He took a few more sips, his eyes popped open and he grimaced in irritation. They both have off tomorrow?! Why that sneaky little... He looked at his watch and groaned, it was too late to call either of them and they probably wouldn't answer. He seriously doubted that he would be able to reach them in the morning either. He groaned.

"So what time should you be ready by tomorrow?" Kanae asked tiredly. She had demanded that Kyoko give her a call as soon as she got home, so they could go over their attack plan.

Kyoko sighed. "The limo will be by to pick me up at around 4:30 pm for an early dinner. I was told that I needed to dress formally." She yawned.

"God, I hope it isn't that god-awful gold thing that Takarada-san always uses." Kanae groaned.

Kyoko shook her head. "No, he's sending a regular black one... Thank goodness."

"So, what time do you want me over tomorrow to help? Remember, we'll be doing your hair and makeup." She reminded her.

"Oh! Come over at about noon. You remember that spa that Takarada-san sent us to last time? He sent me a message saying that he made us another appointment for them at 12:30." Kyoko told her a little excited to go again. After this week, she needed it. Yashiro had been acting strangely all week and it had been stressing her out a bit. She thought about it as she stroked the little bear Ren had sent her. She smiled softly.

"Did he ever find out who your blind date was with?" Kanae asked.

Kyoko sighed. "No... But I am going to do as you suggested. I don't want any misunderstandings between the two of us. I'm dating Ren."

Kanae giggled. "It's kind of weird hearing you say something like that. Good, but a little weird. It seemed like you were a lost cause for awhile."

Kyoko groaned. "I know... Well, thanks to my excellent best friend, I really don't need to worry about that anymore. Thank you Moko-san." She yawned again. "I better get to sleep or I'll have bags tomorrow. See you at noon." The girls ended their call.

That night four people would sleep restlessly for different, but similar reasons... Hopes of what the future held.