Authors Chat: Mid-terms are coming up this next two weeks, so the next release or two may be a little slow in coming. I have it all planned out though, so the only qualm is finding the time to write. Enjoy!

That being said, italics text are direct thoughts of characters, text is in quotes, noises are done with asterisks.

DISCLAIMER: Skip Beat! and it's characters are not my original creation, they are owned and created by Nakamura Yoshiki.

Story Timeline: Y'all know the timeline by now. If not, go back and read it in an earlier chapter! (taken out for length).

Playing With Fire

Act 35

Kyoko mumbled softly in her sleep. It wasn't enough though. This was one answer Kaminari was NOT going to let her get out of answering. Perhaps she WAS prying more than necessary, but as her manager, even her temporary manager, it was her responsibility to help maintain and protect Kyoko's image, right?

If this really happened, she had to know from a business perspective, and from a personal perspective, she just HAD to know!

"Kyoko-chan!" she called louder, going down on her hands and knees beside Kyoko's head.

"Wha' is it Kami-chan?" Kyoko responded blearily as she opened one eye to look up at Kaminari.

"Did. You. Have. Sex. With. Tsuruga-san!?"

"Mm…. Only a little," she rolled her head back to the side and pulled the blankets closer to her face.

"Only a little!? What the hell does THAT mean!? Did you or didn't you?!"

Kaminari moved around the other side of Kyoko's futon so she could see her face without having to twist, then reached down and pulled the covers away from her face to see her clearly. Her eyes remained shut, so Kami kneeled down intending to gently shake Kyoko awake. She brought her knee down on a piece of paper though, and when she pulled it from under her, saw that it was cold medicine.

"Great.. Just great! She's drugged herself out…" Kami dropped the blanket back down around Kyoko's face and stood up, then walked the small piece of garbage over to the garbage bin.

She returned to her seat and nervously read through other parts of the Box 'R' Script before giving up and placing them back in order on the small shelf. She wasn't likely to get any more studying done either, but she had to try. Not only that, if this was true, it would put a huge dampener on her original plan.

"Kyoko-chan… I sure hope it's the medicine talking, but when you wake up and are feeling better? You better be prepared to give me a straight answer…. UGH! I can't take this stress!" Kaminari flopped down on the floor, legs outstretched under the Kotatsu, and attempted to wait out the morning.

Kami found herself being woke up to the sound of her cell phone ringing before dawn though. She realized she had dozed off and as she answered her phone with a whisper, reached over to pick up the washcloth that had fallen off of Kyoko's forehead and carried it to the bathroom to rewet and re-cool.

"Kamichi! I'm glad you're up."

"I am now anyway" she mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing Yukihito. I'm awake. What is it?"

"I just had a call from Takarada-sama. Seems today's shoot has been called off."

"What? Why?"

"Well, last night at a restaurant, Director Shingai collapsed and was taken to the hospital. Seems he was suffering a high fever and dehydration caused him to faint. He'll only be in there for today, but without him, and about half the cast, it just isn't worth it. "

"Why is only half the cast available? What about the Assistant Director?"

"Sick."

"All of them?"

"Yeah. There's a nasty flu bug going around. I'll be lucky if I don't get it. You should take the day off to Rest. I'm sure it'll be good for Kyoko-chan too."

"Alright Yukihito. Take it easy today and rest up."

"I will, but I need to call Kyoko-chan first. I promised Ren I would let her know. "

"You promised Ren-san? Isn't it my responsibility as her temporary manager to let her know?"

"Well yes, but Ren was sick himself, so he didn't want her worrying when he didn't show up to pick her up for work."

"Aah. Okay. That makes sense. I'll let Kyoko-chan know though. I ended up staying at her place last night to take care of her while she's sick."

"Careful you don't catch the bug yourself Kamichi!"

"Yes mother, I'll be sure to take my vitamins."

"Ha ha Kamichi. Very funny."

Kaminari hung up the phone and wrung the cloth out of excess water then hurried back to Kyoko's room.

She knelt down beside Kyoko's head and moved to place the cool washcloth on Kyoko's forehead again, but Kyoko jerked her head away and looked up at Kaminari wildly.

Recognition dawned on her and her face relaxed as she looked at Kaminari.

"It's okay Kyoko-chan, I was just replacing your compress."

"What time is it?" Kyoko struggled to sit up, accepting the washcloth from Kaminari and wrapping it around her neck instead.

"It's still early. You don't need to get up for work today. You need to just focus on recuperating."

"No Kami-chan, they're expecting me to be there. I have to be there!" If I'm not, Tsuruga-san will think I'm not a professional! He made it expressly clear that we work when we're sick! Get through it!

"Stay put Kyoko-chan. The shoot's been called off for today. Too many people are out sick. The director included."

"Th… the director is sick too even?" she looked unconvinced at Kaminari.

"Yes, even Tsuruga-san is sick. Yukihito called and asked me to pass on the message. Tsuruga-san won't be picking you up today because he's ill."

Kyoko flopped back down on her bed, still exhausted from being so sick.

"Of course… When I was in my last year of high school, my then-boyfriend pretended to be sick just so I'd go over there to check on him. When I got there, it turned out he just wanted to skip class and play … well… 'naughty nurse' all afternoon." Kaminari giggled while Kyoko balked.

"Tsuruga-san would NEVER!"

"Mm… you're probably right, but... just the same, I suppose I better go over to check on him. Go ahead and sleep in Kyoko-chan. I'm sure Tsuruga-san's fine."

The gears in Kyoko's brain suddenly stopped and she could do nothing but watch, horror struck, as Kaminari gathered her belongings and headed out the door.

Kyoko sound of the door to the Daruma-ya slamming seemed to jump-start her brain again. She jumped up, ran down the stairs and out the door, but she was too late. She could only watch Kaminari's blue civic speed off down the road.

She stared down the road where Kaminari's car used to be and couldn't help but wonder. Would Kami-chan would really go over to Tsuruga-san's apartment with the intent to… do THOSE things…

No, no, it isn't my business. She can do whatever she wants with him. Especially if they have THAT kind of relationship…

She turned back inside and gathered her clothing for the day. There was no WAY she would get back to sleep now. Kyoko shuffled down the hall toward the bathroom for a shower, but something unsettled her. She just couldn't shake the irritation rising over Kaminari leaving her so quickly to rush over to Tsuruga-san's place.

"It just isn't right!" she said out loud to herself as the cascade of water wetted her hair to its roots. Tsuruga-san just wouldn't do that! If he says he's sick, he's definitely sick!… I can't let her bother him. As a respected sempai, it wouldn't be right to not protect him like that.

She felt quite certain of where her obligations lie, and since she was feeling much better, she hurried to finish her shower, hurried to get dressed, then hurried to the bus stop on her bike in order to hurry to Tsuruga-san's house. She wouldn't be quick enough to prevent Kaminari from doing anything, but at least she could kick her out and get Tsuruga-san to rest and maybe eat something light.

She got lucky. The bus seemed to be waiting for her as she skidded the bike to a halt. Had this driver picked her up before? Who knew. Either way, she was grateful, and loaded the bike onto the bike rack quickly and boarded with her pass.

The streets couldn't pass by quickly enough, and she found herself pulling out a piece of cloth and a needle and thread to try to calm her nerves. She had an entire new outfit done for her Ren™ Doll before the bus came to a stop at the end of Ren's street.

She offloaded the bike faster than anyone had ever done so and was gone before the bus driver had even closed the door she had exited moments ago.

The elevator was large enough to hold eight people comfortably, but not four adults, one large bicycle, and one agitated young lady. Everyone had to ride all the way to the top, to the penthouse floor to wait for Kyoko to exit with her bicycle before they could let the lift go back down to their desired floors.

Kyoko's agitation only grew with each floor they stopped at while individuals wishing to get on the elevator and go to work would see the capacity had been met, then let the elevator close in their faces. The elevator stopped on the way to the 16th floor no less than five times. With each stop, her agitation grew, and her demons seemed to freeze anyone actually attempting to enter.

When the elevator finally dinged the top floor, the air was filled with so many Kyoko-demons, that it was almost impossible to breath, and everyone let out the breath they had been holding as the elevator shut behind her.

Kyoko stood looking down the hallway, and as she realized the situation she may be walking into, the hall seemed to get longer, and her demons dropped off one by one as her nervousness took over.

Each step was laborious as she fought mentally to convince herself that it didn't matter what she saw. She was prepared for anything.

E-even Kami-chan in a white leather nurses outfit with a stethoscope and a-a-a-a syringe. She got the mental image of Kaminari standing over Ren, playing sick in bed. He had that wild covetous look he sometimes got when they had practiced. The same look he had in his eyes when he… When things got out of hand.

Kyoko blushed and realized that that upset her even more than before. Why though? Why?! It's not like that was special for me. If he can bounce back so quickly and b-be with someone else, it wasn't really anything… was it? She couldn't help feel though as if that look was specially reserved for her. Just for her, and the thought of someone else receiving his unmasked desires made her… itch with uncomfortable ness.

She reached the door and reached out her hand to knock, but stopped short. The door was open just a crack, and a soft light escaped into the hallway.

No sounds… She called softly "Tsuruga-san?" and pushed the door open gently to allow entry.

The soft light came from the dome in the entryway, but the rest of the apartment seemed dark. Tsuruga-san's apartment is always dark though. His curtains are always closed. All light usually came from lamps with low wattage bulbs in them. It was possible there was a reading lamp on in the living room.

Kyoko crept in and peaked around the corner, conscious about entering his apartment unbidden.

What she found, was no one. The TV was off, the room was dark. There was a small night-light plugged in an outlet in the hallway, but the apartment seemed devoid of any other light.

Still. Better check all rooms. Just to be sure. If he really is sick, he wouldn't just LEAVE like that.

Kyoko gently pushed open all doors within his apartment, and when she came to the final door, she hesitated. She had saved Tsuruga-san's bedroom door for last, afraid of what she might find.