The following day, Kyoko rolled off of her futon, thankful that she didn't actually have to work that day. She hadn't slept at all. She wanted to call Sho, to be sure that he was okay, but she knew that doing so might make things worse. She had thought about her relationship with Kuon over and over as she tossed and turned during the night. She couldn't believe that he had done something so reckless. When she went down to eat breakfast, the Okami noticed something was off.

"Kyoko-chan, you aren't eating, dear. Are you okay?"

Kyoko frowned, putting her plate to the side. "Okami-san, if someone you care for hurts someone else you care about, how do you deal with that?"

The Okami considered that for a moment. "Well… I suppose it would depend on how apologetic they were for what they had done. If they genuinely felt bad about what they did, I would feel inclined to be forgiving."

Kyoko remembered how upset Kuon had been. He did seem contrite about what he had done to Sho.

The Okami continued, "But, I wouldn't let them keep hurting others without consequences. There comes a time when enough is enough, and it might be better to walk away from that person before they hurt me, too."

Kyoko nodded. "That makes a lot of sense. Thank you, Okami-san."

The Okami smiled at her and patted her shoulder. "Finish your eggs before they get cold, Kyoko-chan."

Kyoko finished her breakfast and went back upstairs to her room. A light was flashing on her phone, denoting a missed call. She picked up her phone and pushed the button on the screen for her voicemail.

"Kyoko," Kuon started, "I'm really sorry. I don't know how to make things better between us, but I don't want to lose you. I'm a colossal fucking idiot, and I don't deserve you, but you're still the most important person in the world to me. I understand if you don't want to speak to me anymore." His heartbreak was palpable, and it brought tears to her eyes. "I'll stay away if that's what you want… I'd be scared of me, too. But I'll always love you… goodbye."

Kyoko wiped her eyes on her sleeve and scrolled through her contacts. She pressed the call button.

"Kyoko-chan! Are you feeling any better today?"

She smiled. "I feel much better, Yashiro-san, thank you. I was just calling to see what Tsuruga-san's schedule was like today."

Yashiro swallowed hard. He could tell she had been crying. He wasn't sure if giving her Ren's schedule would bring a positive or negative outcome. "He's scheduled to be on set for InuYasha from 10:00 to 6:00 today. After that, he'll be free at home."

"Thank you, Yashiro-san." They hung up, and Kyoko checked the clock on her phone. 9:07. I have to be fast.

Yashiro picked Kuon up at 9:30. It was clear that his charge hadn't slept a wink. Kuon slid into the passenger seat looking like a zombie. Yashiro passed him a coffee and a bagel, but he didn't show any interest in them at all. "Kyoko-chan called me this morning." Kuon's head snapped up and he looked at him like a dying man in need of water. "She wanted to know your schedule."

Kuon swallowed hard. "And?"

"And that's it. I told her you get off at 6:00."

Kuon stared ahead as though he could see nothing at all in front of him.

Yashiro pointed at the food he had given him. "She's already mad, you know. You shouldn't give her any more reasons to be upset with you."

Kuon begrudgingly began to eat the bagel and drink the coffee. Admittedly, by the time they got to the studio, he was feeling at least less sleep-deprived than he had previously after the influx of caffeine. As they walked down the hall, Kuon did his best to slip into the Ren Tsuruga character, though it was definitely hard to do that day.

When Yashiro and Kuon got to Ren's dressing room, they found Kyoko leaning on the wall beside the door, windswept from a long bike ride. Kuon's heart thudded to a stop. Yashiro patted him on the back.

"You're up, lover boy." He walked past Kyoko, nodding at her in acknowledgement.

Kuon and Kyoko stood staring at each other for a moment before Kuon opened the door of the dressing room. "After you."

They went inside and Kuon shut the door behind them.

"Kyoko-chan," he started, "I-" She cut him off.

"You can never do anything like that again. It doesn't matter what Sho said to you. It doesn't matter what anyone says about me. If you love me, you won't hurt anyone else." A tear ran down her cheek. "If you do, I will have no choice but to leave you."

His arms broke out in goosebumps. "You mean you're not leaving me now?"

She cupped his cheek with her hand. Her eyes were full of tears. "I'm giving you this one chance to get your act together, and I am begging you to take it, because I can't bear to lose you. I won't have you using me as an excuse to get violent and get yourself in trouble, Kuon."

He hugged her then. "You have my word, Kyoko. I promise I'll never do it again. Never."

She sighed heavily, terrified that he wouldn't be able to keep that promise, and hugged him close. They left the room to go to hair and makeup so Kuon could get ready. To their surprise, Murasame saw them coming and approached them quickly. He dropped onto the floor in a dogeza in front of them.

"I am truly sorry, Tsuruga-san, Mogami-san." He sat up in seiza and looked Kuon in the eyes. "I completely lost my temper yesterday. Our interactions on the set of Tragic Marker were… something, and I let it color our interactions now. I took some time to think about it yesterday, and I now understand why Ren Tsuruga could not play BJ. And before you ask, I will keep my mouth shut about it." He looked to Kyoko next.

"And you." His eyes were shining, "You might be the best actress I've ever worked with." Kyoko was glaring at him, but Kuon put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head. He did his own dogeza before Murasame.

"I am also sorry. The character I portrayed cannot excuse my violent behavior toward you. All I can do is assure you that you will see no further behavior like that from me." Because if you do, the only woman I've ever truly loved will leave my sorry ass, he added silently. They got to their feet, and Murasame bowed.

"I'm glad that we can get past this and work together. The acting that you displayed as Cain Heel was beyond anything I've ever seen before, and…" he blushed, "It made me jealous as hell when I realized I am unable to perform so well. You have pushed me to do better, and I thank you."

Kuon bowed to him. "Thank you for that compliment. I appreciate it."

Murasame turned to Kyoko. "Can you ever forgive me, Mogami-san?"

She considered it for a moment and nodded stiffly. "I suppose I can."

He nodded, relieved, and turned back to Kuon. "Let's do our best today, Tsuruga-san." Kuon bowed to him, and they parted ways. Kyoko let out a sigh of relief.

"I don't think that could have gone any better."

Kuon nodded, feeling 100 pounds lighter. "Let's hope nothing like that happens again."

"Mogami-san! Ren-kun!"

They both froze. No. God no. They both turned slowly in horror to find the President of LME, Lory Takarada, coming toward them, dressed in a Freddie Mercury-esque getup… with Kuu Hizuri in tow. Kyoko's mouth fell open.

"FATHER!?"

Kuu smiled widely and raised a hand in greeting. "It's been a while, Kyoko-chan. You haven't called."

She bowed to him. "I'm sorry I didn't call! I just… I…"

Her voice died in her throat, and then she was rubbing the stinging spot between her eyebrows where he had flicked her. When she looked up, she found him smiling.

"What kind of child bows to their own father?" He pulled her into a hug. She hugged him back, trying not to get teary. He pulled away and extended his hand to Kuon. "Tsuruga-san." They shook hands.

"What brings you to Japan, Hizuri-san?"

Kuu smiled, "I needed to come and retrieve my wife. She's been here on vacation for a while, and I was starting to miss her dearly." Kuon's Ren Tsuruga mask slipped a fraction.

Kyoko saw Kuon's face and froze. "Your wife is st- here?" She caught herself, hoping he hadn't noticed.

He nodded. "She's out having lunch with a friend today, but we should do dinner together soon. She's dying to meet you, Kyoko-chan."

Kyoko did her absolute best to hide her smirk. Oh, but Sarah and I have met… she thought. Beside her, Kuon was panicking internally, but managing to hang on by a thread. He turned to Lory. "So what brings the two of you here to the set?"

"ONEE-CHAN!"

Kyoko dropped to one knee and caught the little girl in a hug. "Maria-chan! What are you doing here!?"

Lory smiled. "Maria has her debut role in this picture."

Kyoko's mouth fell open. "Oh my– are you Rin!?"

Maria nodded excitedly. "Grandfather said I could be!" She looked adoringly up at Kuon. "I get to act with Ren!" She went to him next and hugged him around the leg. "Isn't that exciting!?"

He patted her head and gave her a warm smile. "Very. I can't think of anybody else I'd want to be my Rin." He picked her up and put her on his shoulders. "Let's go get our makeup on." He walked away with her, and Kyoko bowed to Lory and Kuu.

"Sorry, but I really should join them!" She followed Kuon to makeup. Maria chatted animatedly at both of them as they walked, and even as they had their makeup applied. "So, what made you want to act, Maria? I didn't know you had much interest."

Maria turned her sparkling eyes on Kuon. "I've been watching Yashahime with Grandfather!"

He blinked. "Yashahime? What's that?"

"It's a show about Lord Sesshomaru's daughters!"

Kuon's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Sesshomaru has kids?"

She nodded enthusiastically, causing her hair dresser's eye to twitch. "Towa and Setsuna! Their mother is Rin!"

Kuon's eyes went wide. "What?" Kyoko blushed. She had forgotten to mention this new piece of lore to Kuon; she didn't think this would come back to bite her. Maria was positively vibrating.

"Yes! I was so jealous of whoever would get to play Rin in your movie, and then Grandfather explained that Lord Sesshomaru had known Rin since she was little! And if I'm going to marry Ren later anyway, I figured that only I could be Rin!"

Kyoko took a look at Kuon's face and had to resist the urge to double over laughing. He looked as though he had just been dragged into his worst nightmare. The makeup artists were giggling at the girl's antics. He smiled nervously down at her, trying to figure out a way to somehow make himself okay with this. After Kuon and Maria got their costumes on, Maria followed Kuon and Kyoko to the set. She skipped up to her grandfather in bare feet and showed off her orange and yellow kimono.

"What do you think, Grandfather? Does it look good!?"

Lory patted her on her black wig, grinning. "It's perfect! You look just like her!"

Kuu looked his son up and down, taking in the mokomoko and puffy pants, and hid his laughter behind his hand. Kuon narrowed his eyes on him.

"Is something funny, Hizuri-san?"

Kuu disguised the last of his laughter in a cough. "Not at all, Tsuruga-san. Not at all." He turned his eyes on Kyoko. "Are you not filming today?"

She shook her head. "Not today."

Lory fixed her with a cheshire cat grin. "Then why are you here, Mogami-san?"

She searched her brain for a convincing lie. "Oh… I came to see Kotonami-san and work on a scene that we have tomorrow. I ran into Tsuruga-san on my way to find Kotonami-san, and then we ran into you. And now Father's here, so I guess my time with Kotonami-san will have to wait."

Lory frowned. "Well… that's no fun."

Director Nakamura called for everyone to take their places. Kuon, Maria, and Murasame took their places on the set. The Director took a few extra moments with Maria to make sure she was comfortable and knew what to do.

After the Director called for action, Kuu nudged Kyoko with his elbow and whispered to her. "Did you just lie to Lory? Is there something up with you and Tsuruga?"

Kyoko's cheeks flared. "I–no! There's nothing going on between Tsuruga-san and I." That part wasn't technically a lie; her boyfriend was Kuon.

Kuu shrugged, very reminiscent of Kuon. "You two would be cute together, that's all I'm saying."

"Father!" she hissed under her breath.

He smirked. "So when are we having dinner? You work at a restaurant, right? We could come there."

She side-eyed him. "Shuhei Hozu himself gracing the Darumaya with his presence. Are you trying to get the place swamped?"

He pouted, and Kyoko kicked herself once more for not recognizing that Kuon was his father's son. "Can you blame me? I just want to have a nice family dinner with the daughter I haven't seen in months."

This gave Kyoko a wild idea. She smiled. "I'll figure out a time and let you know, okay?"

He grinned. "Perfect."

"CUT!"

The Director sighed and called out. "Kuu, could you please leave the set so Murasame-san can concentrate?"

Kuu blinked and looked up at the set, where Taira Murasame was staring at him, beet red with embarrassment, his mouth opening and closing as he tried desperately to recall his soul to his body. He laughed. "Apologies, Masahiro." Kuu winked at Kyoko. "We'll talk later."

Later that day, after Yashiro dropped her off at the Darumaya, Kuon called her.

"Hello, Princess."

"Hello, Corn. I assume you're home?"

He looked around his apartment and sighed. "If that's what you want to call it. It's not home without you."

She smiled sadly. "About that. I was thinking maybe we could have dinner with your parents at your apartment." Silence. "Kuon?"

"Why?"

"Because I saw the look on your face when your father said your mother was still here. I know you want to see her."

"How do we pull that off? Why would Kuu Hizuri and his wife visit Ren Tsuruga at his home?"

"Who says they have to be visiting you? Maybe they're visiting someone else in the building. You're not the only celebrity that lives there."

He considered that for a moment. "I guess."

"You don't have to. I don't want to pressure you into something you don't want to do. If you're not ready for that, I understand."

He paused, considering all the events of the day and how happy this would make Kyoko, and then, "Let's do it."

Her eyes lit up. "Really!?"

"You're right. I do want to see Mom, and… I think I'm ready." She could hear the smile in his voice.

"I'm so proud of you. By the way, Father told me he thinks we'd be cute together."

Kuon laughed. "The old man is trying to stir the pot and doesn't even know what's cooking in it. Typical. So, when do you want to do this?"

They planned out the dinner. Kyoko decided that she would cook for them. Kuon told her he would buy the supplies; he knew it would be unfair of him to put the cost of the mountain of food to feed the bottomless pits that were his parents on her. When they finally hashed out all the details, it was getting late. Kyoko yawned and stretched. "I have to go get a shower so I can get to sleep."

"...A shower huh?"

She blushed. "Pervert."

He chuckled. "Can you blame me? My beautiful girlfriend mentioned that she's going to be nude, and I'm supposed to just ignore that fact?"

She rolled her eyes. "Like I have much to look at anyway."

The Emperor answered her. "There is no other woman in this world that I would want to see naked."

She was suddenly red from head to toe. "I worry that you'll be very disappointed…"

"Disappointed? Why, because you're only going to let me look and not touch?" He took a breath. "Even if all I could do was look, I could live with that."

"Kuon…" She was smiling, but her sanity was going to pieces.

He chuckled. "I'm sorry, Princess. I got carried away trying to assure you that I do actually find you to be very sexy."

She pressed her hand to her cheek. She was burning up. "Ineedtogetreadyforbed!" she squeaked.

He laughed. "Goodnight, Kyoko-chan. I love you."

"I love you, too."

When they hung up, he looked at the time. He scrolled through his contacts and pressed the call button.

"Jelly. Sorry for the late call, but it's urgent. Would you be available…"

The following morning, Kyoko called Kuu.

"You actually called! I thought for sure I was going to have to just show up where you work."

Kyoko giggled. "No. I couldn't do that to the Taichou and Okami. The shock would be too much."

At that, Kuu laughed. "So, have you ironed out dinner plans?"

"Yes, actually. Tsuruga-san has been gracious enough to offer up his apartment for our dinner." Silence. Kyoko almost laughed. The apple didn't fall far from the tree. "Father?"

He cleared his throat. "Tsuruga-san's apartment? Will Tsuruga-san be joining us?"

"No, he'll be out for the night." Not quite a lie.

"Oh. Well, that's nice of him." Kuu was doing his best to hide his disappointment and failing miserably at it. "When are we doing this?"

"Thursday at seven, if that's okay with you?"

"Sounds lovely… are you cooking?"

Kyoko chuckled. Judging by the tone of his voice, his disappointment at not seeing his son had seemingly been outweighed by his love of her food. "I can't have my Father come all the way to Japan and not cook for him."

On the other end of the line, Kuu punched the air. Maybe he wouldn't see Kuon, but if Kyoko was cooking at least… "Perfect. We'll be there."

"Great! I'll see you then." They hung up, and Kyoko fell back on her futon and wiggled back and forth excitedly. The plan was going off without a hitch.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU everybody for all the awesome reviews last week! :D Y'all know how to make a girl feel loved. :'D I hope you all enjoy this latest chapter! ALL OF MY UNDYING LOVE AND GRATITUDE - BO