Chapter 10

Hm… She seems okay with those parts. He thought as he prepared for bed, after his afternoon with Kyoko. After dinner she had decided to relax for a little while and watch his newest drama with him. She'd finished most of her paperwork that dealt with her identity before he'd brought dinner to share. He was proud of her. Her condo was beautiful and every little corner had her touch. She was obviously a very hard worker and she'd been able to rise above the difficulties she'd had when she was younger; however, he was completely unaware of her thoughts and views on her own romantic situation.

She wasn't as explosively against it as she was even three years ago, but she was still of the firm belief that there wasn't a sane male on the planet that would actually wish to be with her. She'd just been burned way too many times. Sure, after Sho she'd tried to get back on the horse, so to speak, but that obviously did not go well for her. It did however, point out to her that what she'd felt for Sho was possibly a childhood crush on someone that could easily be classified as a relative. Although, what she was developing for Kuon… Well, that felt immensely different than anything she'd felt before. It worried her.

He wasn't too worried about her leaving Japan before he was able to tell her how he felt or start dating her, she wasn't planning on going to LA for at least another six months. Once she did though, he wasn't sure when he would see her again. Perhaps it was a good time to start considering on going back if this particular drama was a success, and it wasn't like Cain Heel was a complete failure as far as Tragic Marker was concerned. He was just a failure on a personal level. Lory had paid him more visits to the hotel where he was staying more times than he'd cared to admit. There had been moments when he'd nearly killed that little ass Taira Murasame due to his stupid comments and over-enthusiastic desire for everyone on set to "get along". He rolled his eyes at that thought. Try doing that in Hollywood. He groused cynically as he brushed his teeth.

"Oh, ho-ho…" Lory smirked as he read through the new report that Ruto had placed before him. He glanced up at his faithful companion. "What does this make this? The third, fourth time?"

"Fourth time making an effort, Sir. First time for him to actually contact her at her own residence." Ruto clarified.

"How wonderfully convenient that she lives in the same building. I wonder why they haven't met at least in passing before…" He looked up at Ruto again. "How long has she lived there?" He asked, thinking that perhaps she'd recently moved there.

"A bit over a year, Sir." Ruto answered. "I've discovered that she keeps very long hours. Usually she leaves at around 5 am and doesn't return until about 11 pm." He explained. "There is at least one day a week where she doesn't return at all."

Lory nodded. "A very hard worker." There was no way for him to know or find out that she was planning on making a trip to Los Angeles; however, he would suspect something later in the week when Kuon came to him to discuss his future plans and possibly accepting one of those roles that he'd been avoiding for the past three years.

"You really didn't need to come with me for lunch, Yukihito." Ren practically hissed in irritation. His manager had been hounding him on where he was going for some of his meals and was pretty close to discovering his guilty pleasure of spending time alone with Kyoko. He was close to making a breakthrough with her, he could feel it. She was very perceptive, but it seemed a little like she had an aversion to romantic advances or should he say an allergy to them whenever they personally involved her. He certainly didn't want Yukihito to accidentally blurt something out, thinking that she was like all of the other women that he'd been around over the years. She was special and she certainly didn't throw herself at him like all the others. It was comfortable to know her. It was a feeling she'd brought out in him that he'd not felt before.

Yukihito just sighed. "I promise to not embarrass you." He wasn't going to just embarrass him, he actually liked Kyoko-chan. He felt that she was one of the few women that saw beyond the mask that Ren wore. Yukihito only met her a couple of times; although those were so very formal, he could clearly see Ren's affection written all over his face. He wanted to get to know this woman that had enchanted his little brother.

Ren chuckled and shook his head. "I know."

"I still don't understand why she turned down the position and prestige that being an Iron Chef brings." Yukihito pondered. Not many talented chefs actually would turn something like that down.

He nodded. "She didn't wish to have to divide her time between her restaurant and the show, so she took the prizes and the money. She wants to use it to expand. She's making plans on opening The Meadow in Los Angeles and maybe Miami or New York." He explained. Well, there was a possibility of her expanding beyond just the United States, too.

His manager grinned mischievously. "Ah… I see now. That explains everything."

Ren turned to him once he parked his car and prepared to exit. "Explains exactly what, Yukihito?"

"Your change of heart regarding that project involvement request that you received from Director Herbert and Producer Kurosaki. You've been avoiding them for the past two years, Ren." He commented with an almost worried look.

Ren looked at him a bit sheepishly. "Yeah… I suppose I had someone explain to me that sometimes things happen for a reason and that all experiences make you who you are, be they bad or good."

Yukihito nodded in agreement. Of course he knew what Ren was talking about, he'd told him his identity and a bit of his past less than a month after his harrowing Cain Heel experience. "Well, it's good that you finally see that. That person was right." What is this woman to him, exactly? Why would he put so much stock into her opinion and not others that are closer and have known him longer? She must be very special to him. The thought gave him hope for his charge. Kuon had yet to tell anyone exactly what she meant to him and who she was in his past, his present, and hopefully his future.