New beginnings

Hizuri Kuon had been standing on the stage for 37 minutes and he was already exhausted. Happily exhausted, he felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders so much that Atlas should be jealous, but he thought he'd had enough media exposure for one day. He was used to being in front of cameras and having questions shouted at his face but the moment his girlfriend had stepped off the stage he had felt his strength draining from his body.

He followed her with his eyes as she left backstage, he had noticed her attention shift to someone in the back of the room and he had his suspicions as to who it could be as their group of friends was still sitting in their row. He looked at his parents once more animatedly answering the reporter's questions as well as Lory reassuring them that all questions would be answered in due time with his scheming smile on his face, he looked to the side of the stage where Kyoko had just left and saw Yashiro going after her, his best friend truly knew him very well.

Yukihito had almost walked in on Fuwa yelling at Kyoko, he stopped right in time to remain covert and smiled proudly at how nice she handled the man without raising her voice. He was ready to throw punches at hearing the singer call his best friend a criminal but he saw Kyoko handling herself and defending her man. He knew this conversation was coming and didn't want to meddle but knew Kuon would like to be there to support her. He walked into the backstage area once more and looked at his charge and mouthed "Fuwa" to let him know who now was with his girlfriend. Kuon looked nervously past his manager as if trying to see the woman who held his heart and the fight she must be having with her childhood friend.

He still was not a fan of the singer, Kyoko might have forgiven him but he would never forget the broken girl with twisted motivations he had thrown out of LME almost 3 years ago. Sometimes he still had to reassure her she was beautiful and he wasn't leaving her, although those days were becoming fewer and far between recently, but he could still see her hesitate sometimes before accepting a compliment. He was ready for this impromptu press conference to be over and took to the podium.

"It seems crazy to me that just a few hours ago I was sitting in this same room looking at the stage as you all are right now thinking if this was the right thing to do" he softly smiled at the audience, "I know it will take time for all of you to trust me and get to know me, but seeing the faces of my friends, costars, directors and film crew, everyone who has ever had an influence into shaping the man I am right now, I can proudly stand in front of you as my real self, I can call my parents mom and dad and know that I have done them proud" he grabbed his mother's hand as tears shone in her green eyes. "I know you still have questions and I will try to answer as many as I can, but right now I honestly think we all need the night off" he laughed along with the audience. "It's been a big day for all, and I know tomorrow will bring it's new challenges, but all I can ask of you right now is to please take care of me going forward" he said while bowing to his audience once more. With one last blinding smile to the people in front of him he turned around and went looking for his woman.

Kuon turned around the corner to the hallway leading to the ballroom and clearly saw his girlfriend caressing Fuwa's cheek. He tensed instinctively, he trusted her more than anything, but Fuwa had kissed her before without her consent and he wasn't about to watch it happen again. He strided with determination towards his girl until he heard her words and froze on his tracks "I win Sho. I've had my revenge. I've grown past it and want more in life than our childish rivalry. I'm going to continue growing to be an even better actress, and I will do it because it's my dream and I want to see how far I can go. I will continue to challenge myself and continue to create my own goals, and I will do all of that with Kuon by my side."

Her words shot straight through his heart, and if he wasn't already head over heels in love with her, he would have fallen deeper in that instant. With that statement she had convinced both men and herself that she had healed from the damage the singer had caused. That she was closing a chapter of her life and ready to begin a new one and he was the luckiest man in the world to be able to live it alongside her. For a moment he even felt bad for the singer, he could clearly see his face having walked behind Kyoko and could perfectly see the devastation the man was feeling. It wasn't long ago that he had also thought to have lost her forever and knew how the darkness could consume a man.

The young actress could feel her boyfriend standing behind her, even if he was trying to give them some space, and continued on so both men could hear her "This isn't goodbye Sho" she said softly while wiping the tears from his face. "I'm not walking out on you and leaving you behind" she reassured him. That had been Fuwa's biggest fear, that having realized her revenge she would drop him like he had thrown her away and truly make him feel as she had that day. "You will always have a place in my heart, but i need you to understand what that place is" She dropped his hand and looked towards her boyfriend motioning over for him to join them.

Two sets of eyes focused on the girl next to them expectantly. It was no secret the men hated each other and neither could see where she was going bringing them face to face. "Sho, this is my beloved boyfriend Hizuri Kuon'' she said motioning to the taller man with her hand, "Corn, this is Fuwa Shoutarou, my childhood friend" the musician glared at the use of his name but looked the other man in the eye as she continued "After today, there will be no more animosity between the two of you. We are all industry professionals who will have to continue working with each other. We will see each other at events, we will collaborate on projects, and who knows, maybe one day you can even become friends'' she smiled sweetly at the men who had made her childhood less lonely.

They stared at her like she was crazy for her suggestion, but Kuon would try if it made her happy. He was sure they would continue to butt heads but he understood his girlfriend's hidden meaning. She didn't want to cut Fuwa off, he had been an important part of her life and he had seen her be friendly with him on multiple occasions both work and personal. She had truly moved past their rivalry and was looking forward to being friends with the singer again. He sighed and shrugged at the same time, noticing the small vein on her forehead pop up in irritation. "If you continue shrugging like that you'll sprain your American muscle" she scolded him with annoyance.

"At least I'm not the only one she nags," said Sho with a small chuckle while crossing his arms in fake indignation. He was relieved, even if still heartbroken, that she wasn't simply abandoning him. The fear of losing her was still there, but having her as a friend was better than not having her at all. He could see it though, a future in which they were friends again as they had been for so many years before he screwed up. He could even see him being amicable with the green eyed man staring at him intently waiting for him to make up his mind and accept the offer she was posing. "I still think you wear inserts in your shoes" he said while extending a hand to the actor.

Kuon smirked and grabbed his hand with a little more force than necessary, feeling the need to assert his dominance "I assure you Fuwa-san, all 190cm (6'3") of me are 100% self grown. Perhaps if you drank some more milk you'd grow past your 179cm (5'10")?" he said with his gentleman's smile. "Behave you two!" she scolded them both as Sho muttered that it was actually 181cm (5'11").

Kanae was observing the two men shaking hands with some incredulity, she never imagined the day the two of them would be civil towards each other having seen them in the past. She approached with her other friends as they had all gone searching for the couple "You have some explaining to do" she said pointing at Kyoko's chest while Kijima side hugged Kuon with enough force that the blonde actor could feel how relieved his friend was to see him alive. "That was some evening man!" the shorter of the two said while laughing.

Kyoko was ready to throw herself into a dogeza and beg for her friend's forgiveness for having deceived them but Kanae hugged her first taking her by surprise, she had been worried for her friend and was glad that everything had turned out well. Chiori joined in the hug while Koga looked at the now uncomfortable musician. The girls were about to stumble due to the strength of their hug, but with 3 extra pairs of hands, as it rightfully was, they stayed in balance.

Sho looked at Kyoko laughing with her friends and felt jealous and lonely, she had never laughed like that with him, or with anybody for that matter. He realized she had never had friends of her own apart from him. He was happy for her and for the first time in the day he sighed in relief. Hiromune Koga patted him in the back with enough strength to startle him and before he could turn around and start yelling at the man the actor smiled at him and said "I guess we will be seeing a lot more of you now, huh?" Kanae glared at Fuwa having heard Koga's statement but she could also see the spark of hope in Kyoko's eyes.

"I suppose we'll have to tolerate you but I will be the first one to kick your shin at the first sign of your childish antics Shou-ta-rou" said kanae with a smirk "Who the hell gave you permission to use that name!" he shouted in embarrassment while the other members of the group laughed seeing his flustered cheeks. He was slightly fuming but he could also feel the camaraderie between the people surrounding him, perhaps this is what having actual friends felt like instead of fans pretending to be his friends to impress him. He could get used to it, he thought as he saw Kyoko smiling at her boyfriend with stars in her eyes as their friends continued to laugh and chat around them. Perhaps he'd even find someone to look at him like that someday.

Seeing her son laughing with his friends had Julienna in tears, they had gone searching for their children and had stumbled upon this image. She had never seen her son acting his age, he had been the perfect child when he was little, trying to cause as little trouble as possible, and then he had pushed them away while he was a teen. It was heartwarming to see him just be and laugh with his comrades, even if she did not approve of the newest addition to their friend group. As a proper mother she would not be forgiving Fuwa for the heartache he had caused her daughter.

As Kuu and Julie approached the animated group, everyone fell still as a loud grumble silenced their conversation. Kyoko was turning the deepest shade of red as everyone suddenly broke into laughter at her noisy stomach. "I think we have all had quite a day and I must second Kyoko's sentiment, I'm starving!" the auburn haired actress smiled at her adoptive father with gratitude. "Why don't we go grab something to eat? I'm sure none of you have had dinner yet." Kuu was smiling radiantly at the young group in front of him, he was happy his children had such an amazing and talented group of friends and was looking forward to getting to know them further.

Lory, with his granddaughter in his arms, was walking and talking to Akatoki when they heard the Hollywood actor offer dinner. The Takaradas gladly joined in on the evening plans, Maria recommending a restaurant to the surprise of the visual kei artist. "I see you've found my wayward artist" said Akatoki with an icy glare towards his rebellious musician. Sho flinched remembering how he had just run out of filming that morning and had been avoiding manager's calls. "As much as we would love to join your for dinner, I'm afraid that Fuwa-san needs to go finish his projects if he intends to continue his employment with my agency" Akatoki was not messing around, as much as he saw the longing look in his employee's eyes he still needed to enforce some semblance of professionalism in the young artist, particularly in front of his friend and rival.

"I can't believe you just ran out of your MV! What were you thinking! You are not the only person who works, you just wasted everybody's time and now they're going to have to be troubled to set up everything all over again!" Yashiro had just walked into the group to hear the female half of his favorite couple scold the musician. "I actually just spoke with Aki-san, the MV was rescheduled for Monday. She is on her way here though, so i wouldn't make any plans just yet Fuwa-san." he mentioned as he pushed his glasses up. The manager had called Shoko after seeing them together knowing the musician's tendency to just run out of things when Kyoko was concerned, and the stressful time his manager had trying to find him. He usually helped her when he could and she always bought him a drink in thanks.

Sho tsked in distaste but after seeing Akatoki's double glare he had no other option. "I'm not hungry anyway, my fans would be disappointed if I started getting fat" he mumbled slightly disappointed. He had actually been looking forward to spending the night with this odd group of beautiful people, because he had to admit every single one of them was gorgeous. He'd have to make sure not to be seen in public with all of them because he wasn't sure he could rival them together, even if he had been above Kijima in this year's most desirable man list.

After saying goodbye to the not so little group, sending Maria with them and promising to meet at the restaurant later, Takarada Lory sat in his home office with his old nemesis turned friend while Shoko Aki lectured the musician in the adjacent waiting room. "I should have seen this coming" sighed Akatoki into his drink. "I thought you had, based on the conversation you had with her earlier today" said Lory playing oblivious. "You know damn well what I mean Lory, having your top star reveal their secret identity as the child of Japan's favorite actor turned hollywood star and the proclaimed most beautiful woman in the world is definitely not something I can top" he said with frustration.

"We are still waiting to see the amount of backlash they will face, the Americans are the type to forgive and forget once they get a bigger scoop, but the Japanese will not welcome him so easily, particularly with his past" the LME president sighed, he was happy his friends were a family again but the amount of work coming his way was big enough to put a damper in his good mood given the arrival of the newest otome dating sim game that was made for him as a thank you present from the developers of his favorite game as he had financially backed the production of a second and third installment in the franchise.

Akatoki wished he had brought the bottle of scotch Lory had given him earlier, he definitely needed another drink but he knew it was poor manners to have a fourth drink in a business setting. "They'll accept him alright, he's japan's #1 actor, dating the most promising actress of this generation, he is an american, and a Hizuri. The public will love him again after a few interviews. Him coming out like this was a shock to the whole industry. Every single actor is going to have to step up their game, every single entertainer actually. Every project from now on will be held to much higher standards and expectations are going to be through the roof" Lory smiled at his friend placing a brand new bottle of scotch in front of him "I certainly hope so".

Next chapter: Dinner plans