A/N: OMG 20 CHAPTERS! Lol. I can't believe it! :D It is twice as long as my last story. Yay. I hope you guys are enjoying it so far. All reviews are so appreciated and I am trying to respond to all of your reviews. Please forgive any errors! I'm trying to fix them all!

Chapter 20: Communication

Kyoko began looking over the script as soon as she finished reading the book. Thumbing through the pages, she wondered at the amount of narration she would have to do. 'Most of the book is made up of her thoughts. Will I be speaking aloud during the scenes or will I be acting it all out and recording the words separately ?'

The book had been easy to finish since she had been unable to put it down. She found herself captivated by the characters and this fantasy world she would be temporarily living in. The script was a little less interesting, but she was enjoying building her character. 'This girl…she's so strong and I admire her. I would like to be like her…and she ends up happy with her beautiful new friend! Like me and Moko-san!...not to mention a Prince!' Kyoko slipped into her dream world, which now included both Moko-san, dressed in a beautiful princess dress, and Ren, the handsome prince.

Ren sat at his computer, blowing the dust off of the top, and brought up his new email account. He had only one contact and didn't plan on adding any more. Clicking the little envelope next to Kyoko's bolded name, he opened the message.

"Dear Corn,

I'm so sorry to have worried you and father and mother! I promise that I would never do such a stupid thing again. I needed to act like I was in a club and…well it was the best I could think of. I will be more careful from now on.

Did you have a good time visiting with your friend? Was it a girlfriend? I don't mean to pry, but I was curious. Father said you liked a girl you worked with. You should tell her! I'm sure she likes you back. Who wouldn't?

My acting is going well. I just got the lead in a movie called "A Thousand Days" based off of a book which is based off a fairy tale! I was so excited to hear that it was based off of a fairy tale! Those are my favorites! (Please don't laugh). I really enjoyed reading the book and I can't wait to start filming. I love my new role and look forward to bringing her to life. Are you an actor? I don't mean to be presumptuous, but I sort of assumed you were because Father is. Or are you a model like Mother? I'm sorry, but I just can't imagine you doing something boring like accounting. But maybe you do. Can you tell me what you do? Whatever it is, do you enjoy it?

I love acting. I am so glad that things ended the way they did with my exfriend and that I found LME. I will always be grateful to the President for allowing me to join his agency and to my friends for supporting me. Speaking of my friends, they just visited me for a few days! I was so happy to see them, and I had such a wonderful time with them. Especially Ren. Actually, I wanted to tell you about that.

Ren and I…well he…(the words here were in a tiny font) kissed me. And…I am so embarrassed to tell you this, liked it. I think I'm in love with him Corn! But…there's something wrong with him. He was telling me that he's been lying to me and keeping a secret from me. He's worried about telling me his name…but why? What could be so horrible about his name? Is he an ex-con or…maybe the son of a drug lord or something! I wanted to ask but he seemed so scared that I would be angry or reject him and…I know what it feels like to be rejected. I couldn't do that to someone, especially not him.

I have to say that I'm scared, Corn. What if this doesn't work out and he loses interest in me? What if he changes his mind? The thought makes me cry. I can't bear it. I couldn't take it if he hurt me like Sho did. I couldn't do that again.

Anyway, I shouldn't be bothering you will my problems like this. I really do like America, and am having a good time. I dislike the people I work for, but hopefully I will warm up to them. I feel like my English is improving, and I am learning my way around. I do dislike the fact that I have so little work, and that I cannot attend school here. I have considered asking Father if I can join the actor's school…but I'm not sure. Ren told me that Father would gladly help me pay for it, but I don't think he understands. All my life I've been a burden to people who didn't want me. It just goes against everything I know to ask for money from someone. But…maybe Ren is right. I may do it. What do you think?

Well, I hope that you are doing well. (By the way, I haven't seen Will in a while, but I don't think you are being fair. He did apologize.)

Sincerely,
Kyoko"

Ren couldn't keep the smile from his face. Despite knowing that he would have to tell her the truth soon, and that he had no idea if she would accept him, he couldn't stop the joy that made his heart race in excitement. 'She loves me. She let me kiss her and she loves me.' He frowned as he looked again. 'She's scared though. Scared that I'll hurt her like that idiot Shotaro did. I'll have to prove to her that I would never intentionally hurt her.'

He looked at the end. "I'm so proud of you." He told the computer quietly. "You're going to be the lead in a movie at the beginning of your career. You are so amazing. I love you." He leaned his head against the screen, closing his eyes and pretending that it was her. Opening a new message, he began to type.

Kyoko looked up from her script in the den as the computer dinged. Kuu had left a few hours ago and she realized that she had been staring at the script, lost in her dream world, for at least an hour. Looking at the screen, she saw Corn's bolded name in her inbox. 'That was quick. I just emailed him two hours ago.

"Dear Kyoko,

It's fine. You don't have to keep apologizing. I'm sure you'll be careful from now on. I'm just glad that you are okay. I'm also glad to hear that you are happy. Ren sounds like a good man. I'm sure he would never hurt you. Do you miss him now? I'm sorry you don't get to see him for a while. I hope that he is able to visit you again soon. What did you do with your friends when they came?

As for your guess, I can tell you that I am an actor. But you won't find any information on me. I act under a stage name. I do love it. However, you were right that I also model. I love both of my jobs and am very happy here, although I miss my family more than I could tell you. I cannot wait for the time when I can return to them.

About the acting school, I can understand your reluctance. I'm sorry that you had such a hard childhood, but I assure you, you are not a burden on our parents. They love you so much and it makes them happy to help you. I'd advise you to go for it. It could really help you better your acting and even your English. If you do register for the school, let me know how it goes.

I can't believe my father discusses my love life with you, but I will tell you that I told the girl how I felt about her and was happy to find that she feel the same way. I will not see her again for a while due to work circumstances, but I miss her very much and will be excited to see her again. Hopefully it will not be long.

I have never heard of the movie, but as soon as it comes out I will be getting a copy from my father. Please keep me updated about filming as you go along. I can't wait to see you act in a movie. I will also be sure to read the book. Do you think I could get a copy of the script? I think it would be interesting to look over. Also, please don't feel like you are ever troubling me with your problems. I love hearing from you.

Your Friend,
Corn."

"Your friend." Kyoko smiled as she said it. "I hope I get to meet you soon Corn." She whispered.

"Hey. How's the script coming?"

"Um actually…" She blushed as she looked up at her father's tall figures in the doorway. "I haven't really gotten very far."

Kuu laughed. "Did you get distracted?"

"A little. What do you have?" She looked at the bag in his hand warily. On the side was a store logo she didn't recognize.

"A present." He grinned and placed a wrapped box on her lap.

"Father! Why did you get me a present? It's not my birthday or Christmas or…"

"Kyoko." Kuu's voice was firm. "I missed your birthday and Christmas, so I owe you one more. This one can be for whichever you choose." Kyoko rolled her eyes and glared at him.

"Father I don't need…"

"Kyoko!" He cried. "Please, just this once, just accept something I give you." He clasped his hands dramatically and fell to his knees. She couldn't help the giggle at his over done acting. "Please. Just once. I swear, next time you can throw a fit."

Kyoko sighed and shut her mouth. "Sorry." She said quietly, then started tearing into the paper. "Thank you." She froze when she reached the actual box and found a picture of a slim, silver computer. "Father…you can't…how much…"

"You don't wanna know how much." Kuu laughed and sat next to the girl, helping her open the box. "I didn't think you wanted to come in here every time you wanted to get on a computer."

"Father…" She looked over at his excited face and couldn't argue anymore. 'He's so happy about giving me this…it would hurt him if I refused.' With great difficulty, she managed a 'thank you.' Wrapping her arms around his next she let him hold her. "I really appreciate this. You didn't have to, but thank you so much."

"I'm glad you like it. I know you're stuck here all day when you don't have work, so I thought I'd give you something to do." Kyoko laughed, then remembered her conversation with Ren earlier, and Corn's advice.

"Father…can I talk to you about something?"

He looked at her, surprised at the quiet, almost fearful look in her eyes and her serious voice. "Of course. What's wrong?"

"Um…I wanted to ask you…I wanted to know if I could…there's a…" She took a deep breath. "The acting school." She finally managed. "The one at my…I mean your agency. I was…I was in the acting school at LME and…" She looked up and met Kuu's eyes. They were soft and gentle.

"You want to join the acting school?" He asked softly. She nodded, staring at her lap. "Of course you can."

"But, it costs a lot of money…"

"I can afford it." He said confidently.

"But…you shouldn't have to…"

"Kyoko, let's try this one more time." He took her hands in hers and turned toward her, staring into her eyes. "I am your father. It is my responsibility and my pleasure to take care of you and to get you everything you need want. Do you understand?" He knocked on her head a little and she giggled, nodding.

"Yes Father."

"Good. It's about time. We'll go over there tomorrow and see if we can get you in."

Friday evening, Kanae closed her door behind her and shivered a little in the cold, empty apartment. Contentious of her heating bill, she turned up her heat a few degrees and hung her coat up on the hook by the door. She then padded into her small kitchen and heated up some water for tea. As she sipped the hot beverage and leaned against her counter, she thought about sunny California and her silent, cold apartment. 'Why did I ever come back here?' Suddenly there was a knock at her door. 'If it's one of my family members, I'm going to scream.' She sighed and sat the cup down on the table. Leaving her kitchen, she glanced at the thermostat. 'Maybe I can turn it up a few more degrees...' Opening the door, she was dumbfounded to find a tall man with fair hair and glasses. He offered her a half smile.

"Hello Kanae." She realized that he was shivering and went into autopilot.

"Um…Hello. Come in." She stepped back and let him in, closing the door behind them. She hurried to get him a cup of tea and sat down across from him at her kitchen table built for one. "Um…what can I do for you?" She glanced around, a little embarrassed that this (probably) rich man was in her shabby apartment.

"Uh…actually…I was wondering if you wanted to go to dinner or something." He offered her a nice smile, but she only stared at him in shock.

"Yukihito Yashiro…are you asking me on a date?" She cried incredulously.

He smiled but colored, embarrassed. "Well…yes. Sort of."

"No!" She cried.

"Why?" He looked more curious than upset, which irritated her.

"Because…because I don't want to."

"Why? Are you not hungry?"

"I am...but…"

"Do you not like eating out?"

"Well…sometimes…but…."

"How about me? Do you dislike me?"

His eyes were so sad that Kanae couldn't help the honest answer that slipped out. "No. I don't dislike you."

"Okay then." He smiled cheerfully. "Let's go." He pulled her up and wrapped a coat around her. Gently, he led her out the door and into the taxi that he had waiting.

Once in the taxi, Kanae's senses returned. "What do you think you're doing!" She cried, ignoring the tiny seed of happiness that was trying to rear its ugly head. "I didn't agree to this!"

"Kanae, just let me take you to dinner. Please. Do you think that you could spend one evening being pleasant?"

"How…what….you think….you…ugh!" She spluttered, glaring at him, unsure which insult she wanted to use. Yukihito only laughed, causing an involuntary smile to tug at the corners of her lips. "Fine. Whatever. Where are we going?"

He named a nice restaurant in the area and she only nodded. 'If he's going to force me to go out with him, he'd better make it nice.'

"So how was your day?" He asked with a smile.

"Fine."

"Oh come on. Remember. I asked if you could be pleasant?" He sighed when she only glared at him. "Fine. My day was rather hectic. I followed Ren around all day, trying to rearrange his schedule and get him where he needed to go. I was also mauled by a crazy fan…" He paused when he was sure he heard a soft laugh. He looked over and she was staring ahead with a straight face. "Of course Ren apologized to me, but I had to tell him not to worry. He hates it when stuff like that happens, despite the fact I can usually defend myself. Some of those women are pretty determined though." He paused. 'Ha! There! She smiled a little.' Then went on. "Then we get to an interview and that went over about twenty minutes, so we had to rush to his filming. I don't think I've ever seen him drive that fast." Yukihito shuddered and Kanae smiled fully this time, trying and failing to hide it with a hand over her mouth and his exaggerated reaction. "Oh, then he spilled coffee all over his sweater so we had to rush to wardrobe and find him a new sweater. However, you would be amazed at how few people carry clothing in his size." Kanae laughed a little. "So it was either this horrendous brown thing or a purple one with a cat on it." Kanae laughed out loud, and Yukihito joined her. "You should have seen his face."

"So what did you do?" Kanae couldn't help but ask.

"I ran to the store and got him a new sweater of course." He shook his head. "Luckily, that was about as eventful as the day got."

"Really? It gets worse?"

"Several fangrils and some injuries worse. Those are the worst. When an actor gets injured, it can delay everything. Once when one of the sets collapsed where Ren was working, another actress broke her wrist and we couldn't film for a few weeks. The director had to get a new lead actress, and everyone felt horrible for her. Especially Ren. He sent her flowers for a while." Kanae's eyes widened, then she winced at the thought.

"That sucks. Get injured on the job and then fired."

"They would have had to delay filming for several months and it just wouldn't have worked, so he negotiated her contract. She did another movie with him later. It worked out really well, but it could have ended badly."

They were now sitting in front of the restaurant and Yukihito paid the driver and led Kanae to the door. Several people were standing around, waiting for a table in large groups, but Yukihito walked up to the woman at the podium. "Hello. I have a reservation for Yashiro."

The woman flipped through her book and nodded, motioning for a waiter, who came right to her side. "Good evening. Please follow me." Yukihito placed his hand on Kanae's back and she fought not to wiggle away. Instead, she let him guide her as they followed the waiter, and she frowned as she saw the nice outfits that everyone else seemed to be wearing.

The waiter stopped at a table in the back and Kanae sat in the chair he held out for her. The waiter left them with menus and Yukihito pulled his coat off and hung it up on his chair. "Kanae? Don't you want to take your coat off? It's hot in here."

"Um no…I'm fine."

"Are you still cold?" He frowned and her heart warmed a little at the concern there.

"No…I'm just not dressed for this." Yukihito chuckled gently.

"You're fine." He said with a smile. "No one cares how you're dressed. This place is nice, but they aren't going to throw you out. You look beautiful." She blushed and looked at the menu, trying to decide what she wanted to drink. "Come on." She realized that he was standing behind her, holding her coat. She sighed and pulled her arms out, letting him take it and hang it on her chair. When he returned to his seat, he saw Kanae's face was a soft red. Hiding a smirk, he returned his attention to his menu.

"What can I get you to drink?" The waiter asked softly, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

"Um…water please." Kanae said softly.

Yukihito frowned in thought. 'Will she be upset if I order wine? She's not old enough to drink…I'd probably better not.' "I'll have the same." He smiled at the waiter who nodded and disappeared.

"I had to start extra early today." Yukihito thought he was going to have a heart attack. 'She…she's trying to have a conversation with me!' "I hate getting up so early, but the filming for the drama that I just started had to be delayed a few days because of an emergency in the director's family, but he wanted to catch up for lost time. So we get started, and the moron he hired as a lead actress STILL didn't know her lines! Even I know her lines!" Yukihito smirked. "Then I had to do paperwork for three hours! Three hours of straight paperwork!" She shook her head. "And then the President has me fill out these stupid love surveys! Ugh. Then, to top it all off, before my filming at 3, I had to decorate the LME lobby... for Christmas!"

"Um…it's only April." He said with a laugh.

"Yea. Christmas in July he calls it."

"But...July isn't for another three months."

"I don't argue with the President anymore." Yukihito laughed loudly and Kanae noticed a few people looking over at them with small smiles. She looked at Yukihito as he laughed and realized that her heart was speeding up. She grabbed her water glass which, at some point, had materialized in front of her, and took a sip. 'Don't do it, Kanae. Don't give into this stupid emotion. I can't do this. I can't! It's just…he's really nice. I don't meet many nice guys.'

The waiter appeared again and pulled out his notepad. "What can I get you this evening?" Yukihito motioned for Kanae to go first and she opened her menu.

"The grilled chicken and a salad please."

"Hmm…" Yukihito skimmed the menu again. "This steak. Medium well. And the mixed vegetables. Thank you." The waiter nodded briefly as he took their menus and left. "So, have you ever done this before?"

"I've eaten at a few nice restaurants." Kanae affected an offended tone and Yukihito laughed a little.

"No. I meant going on a date."

"Um…." She looked away. "Not really. Never when it wasn't for acting."

"Really? Why not?"

She sighed. 'I might as well just tell him now. He's going to keep asking.' "I'm an actress, Yukihito. It's what I've wanted to do since I was little, and I will not let anything stand in the way of that."
"Kanae, my entire career revolves around supporting an actor. Why would I stand in the way of that?" His smile made her heart skip and she had to fight not to smile back.
"You don't get it, do you?" She sighed and took another drink. "I'm NOT a trophy, Yukihito. Nor am a some man's servant. I'm not spending my life picking up after someone else."

"Hmm. Well I don't blame you there, but I tend to pick up after myself."

"Yukihito, I don't want a family." The girl finally cried. "And no offense, but you're a lot older than I am. Don't tell me you want to start getting serious about a girl who is a workaholic and who has no interest in children."

Yukihito gave her a small smile. "Kanae, I wanted to take you out because I like you, and because I was interested in getting to know you better, which, I must say, is quite difficult." He ignored her offended glare. "I'm not planning our wedding or making a list of names for our children." Kanae blushed. "I just wanted to take you out. The rest can wait, but I must say that I would never expect you to quit your job if you didn't want to, nor would I want you to. Is that okay?"

'He…he's serious? He…he doesn't care that I don't want a family? Well, he's still here, so he must be serious. "That's fine." She smiled a little, and talk turned to lighter subjects for a while. Much to Yukihito's relief, there was no more fighting. She even let him pay without complaining or insisting that she take care of half. When he dropped her off at her house, she invited him in and pulled a pie out of the freezer. "It's not much, but I bought it a while ago because it looked good." He waited for her to heat it up and they ate it on her sofa.

At the end of the night, Kanae saw him to the door. "Can we do this again?" He asked softly, and she almost laughed at the fear in his voice.

"Sure. I'll fax you my schedule and you can just stop by without telling me anytime." He laughed.

"It's a deal." He hesitated once the door was opened. "One more question." He looked down at her. "Can I kiss you?" It was nearly a whisper, but Kanae heard perfectly. She gave the tiniest of nods and, to her surprise, he kissed her cheek gently, then stepped outside. "Goodnight Kanae."
"Goodnight Yukihito."

A/N: Mostly Kanae and Yukihito...but I wanted them to go out sometime. I hope you like it! :)