Kyoko wanted to be left alone. She loved her friends and appreciated that they were worried, but she was exhausted from having to reassure them that she was alright. She asked if she could go to bed but Yashiro insisted on taking her to have an emergency meeting with Lory. On the way there he picked up Kanae for moral support.
"We should never have allowed them to fake date." Kanae said pacing the floor and glaring at Yashiro and Lory. "We all knew he would do something like this. I should have put a stop to this before it got to this point. I saw how miserable he was making her and I didn't do enough to protect her."
"Moko-san sit down please. I'm honestly alright." Kyoko said wishing her friend
"It's my fault Kotonami-san. I was supposed to be protecting her but i didn't get to them fast enough. Now she has a bruise on her face and Ren is going to go on a rampage. Dear lord Ren is going to kill me. I sent him a text message explaining what was going on but i didn't give him all the details. I should have called him. This is the kind of thing you call people about." Yashiro was panicking. Ren would kill Fuwa and then come back to punish him for letting Fuwa hurt Kyoko.
"Yashiro-san please. I'm sure it'll be fine." Kyoko tried to soothe his nerves but her own were frazzled. there was no doubt that Kuon would come hunting down Shotaro for that slap. "First things first, we should issue a statement right?"
"Of course, we are issuing a breakup statement." Lory said, "Fuwa-kun already confessed to cheating."
"What?" Kyoko asked surprised by the oddly nice gesture.
"Shortly after you left, he addressed the paparazzi." Lory explained and Ruto brought a tablet over to her with a video playing."
She watched Shotaro slap her in front of all those cameras. She wished they hadn't seen that or her pushing him and screaming. Their stupid fights were embarrassing. People would probably blame her for starting the fight and she would be ostracized in the industry. To his credit, Shotaro looked horrified by what he had done. He stared long and hard at the hand that had hit her then he looked up at the paparazzi unshed tears brimming his eyes.
"I've been seeing different women behind her back. I…I had to tell her that tonight. She's forgiven me in the past because she's just a really forgiving person. She gave me all her love and I took her for granted. I used her to boost my ego, but I never showed her any affection unless it benefitted me." Sho said in the clip with all the remorse he could muster. It was easier to say kind words about her when she wasn't around. If he wasn't looking at her his irritation melted away into pure regret for how he treated her. "I am very sorry to Kyoko-chan and to my fans who were rooting for us. Please treat her kindly as I know I've hurt her deeply." He hadn't meant to ruin her relationship with the Takatsuki. All he ever wanted was to get her away from Tsuruga and the couple were the only people who liked him.
The clip ended and Kyoko handed the tablet back to Ruto.
"Is this another ploy?" Kanae asked looking to Kyoko for answers. Kyoko would know if Shotaro was lying to get back in her good graces.
Kyoko shook her head. "He sounded sincere." She said not really caring what Shotaro said or did. It was the Taisho-san and the Okami-san she cared about. They hated her now and there was nothing she could do to change that. There was no way for her to take back her words and they would never accept that her and Kuon were together.
"Mogami-kun…" Lory started but Kyoko's phone began to ring, and her eyes lit up. "You may answer that." He said but Kyoko already had the phone to her ear and was greeting Kuon as she stepped out into the hall.
"Hi." He greeted breathlessly. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm ok. Kuon why are you out of breath?"
"I'm packing." He said and she heard clothes rustling.
"Packing for what?"
"For my trip home." He replied as though it should be obvious.
"What? Kuon you can't come home." Kyoko protested and Kuon sighed.
"I can and I am. That bastard had hit you and I intend to make him pay. Even if you beg me to leave the little worm alone there was no way I can. There's no saving him this time." Kuon said and Kyoko frowned.
"You will not touch him, Kuon. You can't have anything to do with this."
"That's the beauty of it, I have everything to do with this. Fuwa-san has been sleeping with Kana you know. If I don't show up to kick his ass, then my relationship with her will come into question." He said a little too gleefully. He couldn't wait to have the scrawny whiny musician in his grasp. He could already feel his knuckles smashing into the boy's teeth.
"You still have work to finish."
"It can wait. I'm coming to see you now." Kuon said with finality.
"No!" she shouted. She couldn't be the reason he left a job. He would get in trouble and possibly lose out on other roles in the states. They would say he was difficult to work with and call him unprofessional. "Kuon, you can't come home until you're done shooting. Besides I might not be here when you land."
"Where will you be?" He asked hoping she was about to say she was coming to him.
"Mom and dad messaged and asked if I wanted to go see them." She said with a sad smile. At least his parents still loved her.
"So, you can leave work, but I can't?" He asked. She would be in LA but there was no way he could go see her. Not at his parents' house. The fans and cameras would be lined up at their front gate and there was no way he could sneak in as Ren.
"I finished filming Oh! Darling earlier and I the only other jobs I had lined up were interviews and talk shows. Yashiro-san cancelled them. He said it would be best to let Lory handle the media for now. My relationship with father is already pretty public. He said it would make sense for me to go there after being cheated on." She explained.
Kuon paused for a moment taking a seat on his bed. He couldn't argue that she needed to get away from the media circus and the best place would be with his parents. There was no need for her to add fuel to the fire by talking to the media. LME could issue a statement about her needing a break. Plenty of celebrities took breaks and avoided talking about it after public break ups.
"Why can't you come here?" He asked wanting her in his arms. That was where she would be the safest. Not that he didn't trust his parents, but he needed to feel her.
"I will." She said causing him to perk up. "After I visit with your parents for a few days." He deflated again. He didn't want to have to share her with them. He could comfort her better then they could.
Wait, why did she need comforting? The public fight wasn't ideal, but she was rid of Shotaro now. She no longer had to put up with him hanging all over her or going on dates with him.
"I kind of don't want to see you just yet. I don't really want to be around anybody right now, but they won't let me be alone." Kyoko said tears pricking her eyes. "All of you have parents who love you and I have nothing. It makes me jealous, and I really hate feeling that way about my friends."
"Kyoko, you have parents who love you. Kuu and Julie adore you and Taka…"
"He called me a whore." She interrupted not wanting him to say that the Darumaya couple loved her like a daughter.
"Who?" Kuon asked ready to murder Fuwa all over again.
"Taisho-san, or a common prostitute I think those were his exact words. He said I was disgusting and kicked me out." She was sobbing now and shrinking to the floor.
"Oh, princess I'm so sorry." He said his voice thick with pain. "You know Kuu and Julie love you. They'll be overjoyed to have you at home with them. I don't normally allow this but while you're with them you should ask to see their photo albums. Tell them I said to show you all my embarrassing baby photos."
Despite her heartache she laughed imaging what could be in those albums. Kuon sighed unpacking the suitcase he had been carelessly filling with clothes. He took his sheep pillow and hugged it to his chest.
"Don't cry over people who don't deserve you, Kyoko." He said though he knew she couldn't help it. "Hold your head up." She did as he said despite knowing he couldn't see her. "Stand up tall and don't let those vultures see you shed another tear. You are Kyoko and anyone who doesn't love you is not worth your time."
"Yes, senpai."
"That's my girl. I'll still see you on my birthday, right?"
"Yes," she enthused with a pink tinge on her cheeks.
"Good. I should probably head back to work then. I want to finish filming as quickly as possible. Maybe I can return home with you." He could be with her and get away from his co-stars.
"Kuon don't overwork yourself." She said appalled by the thought of him pushing himself to finish sooner.
"I won't." he said a slight smile on his face.
"And eat properly." She ordered.
"As my princess commands." He said smirking now. Her voice sounded light and happy again.
"I love you." She said feeling that her heart was ten times lighter after talking to him.
"I love you, Kyoko." He said closing his eyes and wishing he could teleport to her.
At Akatoki, the president sat in glaring at Sho. How many times could the boy screw up in one year? Anyone else would have been fired by now but Sho made the company a lot of money. He made in a month more than their other stars could make in three. Sold out stadiums and merchandise that flew off the shelf earned Sho some leniency but enough was enough. Sho was going to sign a new contract and stick to it this time.
"I'm sorry president." Sho said bowing to the head of his company. "I acted foolishly and compromised out relationship with LME. Please forgive me."
"I knew you had a heart, Sho-chan." Kana said in a sickly over flirtatious tone.
"Yeah, whatever." Sho said jumping up from the floor. This woman didn't need to see him humiliate himself for too long.
"Come now this will benefit both of us. I'll have a younger boyfriend to take me out and you'll have an older woman to boss you around. You like that don't you?" Kana said signing the contract that had been placed in front of her.
He eyed her suspiciously. What exactly did she get out of dating him? There would be people who called her a viper for stealing Kyoko's boyfriend. Even more people would hate her for cheating on Tsuruga. Their contract was filled with even more rules than the one he had with Kyoko. He had to take her out to eat every Friday and to the club on Saturdays. Her best friend would tag along on all their dates and Kana would not be expected to stay with him once they were out of the public view. There would be no kiss, hugging, or generally any touching at all. He wasn't even allowed to speak to her without permission. Not that he wanted to talk to her. He partially blamed her for him losing Kyoko. Her and all her friends had worked hard to grow the wedge between them.
"I'm glad you're doing this last favor for her, and you did it well. You said some pretty nice things to convince the public that she was the best girlfriend and that you are a piece of shit. Even your most devoted fans will think she deserves better than you. Now all you have to do is leave her alone for good. You owe her at least that much."
"I doubt it." Shotaro said annoyed. "My fans will find a way to make this her fault. I'll probably come out with more fans, and she'll be forced out of the industry. I wasn't doing her any favor. I was getting ahead of that LME president and all of your schemes. If I hadn't confessed, you would have and then I look like even more of an asshole."
"Right. So, you were being selfish and lied about cheating to save face." Kana said dryly.
"Yep, that's me a selfish jerk. Except it wasn't a lie. I've been cheating on her since we were fourteen. She took care of me and showed me endless love and kindness and I," he paused to control the hurt in his voice. No matter what he wouldn't let Kana go running back to tell Tsuruga about how pathetic a loser he was. "I chased after voluptuous gorgeous women who she couldn't hold a candle to. I only pretended I wanted her because I was taking pity on the ugly wench."
Kana nodded not believing a word he was saying. "You chased after the love you thought you deserved. The fawning, doting love of your fans who would never look too closely and see you for who you really are. Distant and superficial lovers who wouldn't have given you the time of day if not for your looks and talent."
Sho scoffed, "What else is there? People date others for their looks and the things they can do for them. Tsuruga can have her. She can be his little maid for all I care." Though the thought of Tsuruga mistreating her like that pissed him off.
"Oh, whatever Fuwa. I was trying to compliment you, but I guess you are just a selfish little bitch." Kana drawled rolling her eyes. "You wanted that girl because you wanted to feel loved again, but you don't deserve that kind of love. Someone like you deserves the shallow relationships you've taken the little time to carelessly cultivate."
"I could have gone out there and told them that she broke my heart!" Sho said irritated by her very presence. "I could have cast the blame on her and let the vultures rip her apart! I spared that idiot the full wrath of our overzealous monstrous fans. I should get a prize but instead all I get are Tsuruga's leftovers. Didn't it even bother you a little that he was ignoring you, a sexy voluptuous woman, for that plane boring little girl?"
"No." Kana said with a shrug. "I didn't want him, and he didn't want me. That is always best when entering these kinds of arrangements." She motioned to their contracts. "Which is why it's perfect that you and I can't stand one another."
"Except I have to actually spend time with you and your friend. I think I'm starting to understand this arrangement. Kijima-san told me though didn't he, everyone at the club came with one person to secretly be with another." He smirked everything starting to make sense. "It was the woman who danced with me right? She wanted to keep Kyoko and I apart too. Tsuruga has you all wrapped around his finger."
Kana smirked unable to deny it. There was something about Ren and Kyoko that made her feel overprotective. She wanted to believe that their love could endure anything.
"Were you really going to propose to her?" Kana asked but there was no harsh tone to her voice that indicated she was judging or mocking him.
"Let's go Shoko-san." Sho said standing and turning away from Kana.
There was no way he was going to admit that he had been prepared to beg Kyoko to love him again. He was going to promise her the moon if she would give him another chance. He would have told her he would be attentive and learn to control his temper. He would have said that she would be his top priority and that they would spend time together. He wouldn't be late anymore, and he would call her to check in on how she was rather. If she would only give him a chance, he would promise to quit his playboy ways. They would all have been empty promises. He knew himself well enough to admit that.
A/N: Sorry this chapter was short.