AN: I hope you guys are enjoying this story and enjoy this chapter 😊 Thank you for giving me your support.
Chapter Eleven – Homosexual Tendencies
When Kyoko arrived at LME the next day, she had one item on her agenda. Find Ren and force him to explain the photo that the paparazzi had taken. She knew that there had to be something more behind it, but it had become the news of the day and she wasn't going to take this lying down. She had to find out where Ren was and then yell at him until he told her what he was thinking.
If he wasn't her boyfriend then she would feel scared to approach him about this, but he had given her the option to by being in a relationship with her.
As she paced through the LME corridor, she saw Yashiro sitting there with the same celebrity gossip magazine open in his lap with the same picture. Maybe he had done this as revenge or maybe it was a publicity stunt. He was rather nervous about the fact that people had been able to see this. It was definitely out of character, but maybe there was some big secret he didn't know about his client.
Ren was full of secrets.
"Oh, so you've seen it Yashiro-san" Kyoko said as she approached him and saw his confused look. She gripped to her upper arm and looked down, "I don't think it's what they say it is. I don't think that Ren has suppressed homosexual feelings especially for someone as flea ridden as him."
Yashiro sighed, "I don't think so either, but I would really like to know what is going on in his head. This," he slapped the magazine, "is something that I'm going to have to explain to the media and I have no idea what is going on."
Kyoko shifted uncomfortably, "Is it okay if I sit down?" she asked and Yashiro nodded, sliding over to give her room. "I can't help but feel that maybe he was trying to protect me," she said weakly. "I think that he knows I want to keep our relationship private, but I didn't think that he'd be capable of something like this. Besides, Shou's the type of asshole who might sue for damages to his reputation."
"I thought about that as well," Yashiro said, "when I suggested the option to Ren he just said that he would sue Fuwa back for damages to his vehicle, that and assault."
Kyoko laughed weakly at that, "Assault? Shou wouldn't last one minute against Kuon, trust me I've seen both of them fight and as much as I'd want to see Shou get hurt, Ren is definitely the clear winner."
Yashiro looked at her suspiciously, "Kyoko, may I ask who Kuon is?" he asked. He had a gut feeling that by agreeing to date him, Ren, who he didn't know the real name of, had told her his real identity. The idea of him being Kuon Hizuri…was that really such a laughable idea.
Kyoko tensed and then looked to her side to see Yashiro staring at her. "Could you please keep that a secret," she said with wide eyes before standing so she could drop into a bow. "Please, he told me that in confidence. I'm sorry, please ignore that I said that. Please forget that I said that name or I might not be able to…"
"So, is his last name Hizuri?" Yashiro asked as he saw Kyoko freeze. "Really?" Yashiro asked excitedly as Kyoko looked up at him in dread. She knew that Yashiro was a huge Kuu fan, to know that after so many years he had been working with his son and keeping care of his career. Still, it was too late and he had read her.
"I won't tell anyone," Yashiro said with a smile as he looked up. He couldn't believe the family connection between the two great actors. "However, this I do need to find a reason to explain," he gestured to the magazine. "Do you think that he was just trying to protect you?" he asked the actress in front of him.
Kyoko shifted nervously, "Perhaps…or perhaps he really did want to teach that moron a lesson. Ren's American and kissing guys is something that everyone must do over there."
Yashiro raised an eyebrow, "I don't think it's a very common occurrence for guys to kiss other guys unless they are in a relationship and if these two are in a relationship then I'm actually Kuu Hizuri himself."
Kyoko sighed, "They're not…where is Ren by the way?" she asked and Yashiro looked down.
"He was called in by the president, most likely to discuss the photo," Yashiro admitted wondering how things would be going in the president's office.
….
….
Ren kept his head bowed as he waited for Lory to speak first. He knew that kissing Shou was both a mistake and had left a bad aftertaste in his mouth but he had felt pushed into a point where he had to attack. He hadn't wanted to attack even after Shou had tried to attack him first. Therefore, he had tried to hurt his pride and his judgement of other people.
It was a mistake…a very impulsive mistake.
"I know that Japan has a stigm-" Ren began before seeing Lory staring at him in a very sad and angry way at him saying this.
"Do I seem to be a person who cares about sexual preference?" Lory asked, "Is that what you think of me? I'm not such a person. I think love is love no matter the age, gender, race, or any other factor. You can't help who you fall in love with and I support those with large age differences as well as those of the same gender. If this was you falling in love with another man in an honest gesture, I would be supportive of you and I would make sure to use my best assets so you were not attacked by the media. I also know that your parents would be very supportive. However, this is you wanting to use love as a weapon."
Ren looked down weakly, "Since neither he or I love one another, I don't think it was really using love as a weapon. I don't think either of us are going to -" Lory's look cut him off again.
"Do you know that you have a lot of male fans who suppress these tendencies?" Lory asked as he raised an eyebrow. "I think that if you've given them hope, there will definitely be a backlash if you say that you used this as an attack or a joke. It'll look that you're homophobic and use it as a weapon."
"You know that I'm not!" Kuon quickly said, alarmed that that might be a possibility. "I'm not from one of those parts of California that openly preaches against gay marriage. I've had friends in middle school and high school who weren't straight. Maybe if we go with that kind of an angle it wouldn't look as if I was turning my back on people who have been hurt."
"And again…the noble part of you comes out," Lory sighed before sitting down in a chair, "Have you ever felt that you could be bisexual?" he asked as Ren shook his head.
"Does it count if it's just one man though?" he asked as Lory sat up straighter, he looked at Ren as if just realizing some kind of truth. He hadn't expected that response especially since Kuon had dated so many women in the past. Was there really one man who had slipped through the cracks in that and who on earth was he?
"I don't think you need to label yourself, aren't you and Kyoko enjoying your relationship?" he asked and Ren nodded guiltily. "So, try not to think about it. We will have to say something about you being a supporter of gay rights, though that would be easier to do if we revealed your identity and it feels to me that you're not ready to do that."
"It doesn't matter if I'm ready or not," Ren attempted to argue, "Fuwa knows my true identity and he's going to take it to the press no matter what, the only way of beating him is to get one step ahead of him. I kissed him so that he would try to avoid the press out of humiliation," Ren sighed. "I guess my days of being Ren Tsuruga are over."
Lory sighed, "You're doing the interview with Bridge Rock, aren't you?" he asked. He felt glad that it was someone inside of the LME agency that Ren was working with tonight. He had spoken to Bridge Rock numerous times and since LME supported them, he could get them to agree to not dig into any deeper questions about their past. In fact, that's how Kyoko ended up with her mascot roll as their rooster. If it had been another agency she wouldn't have even be able to pass.
Lory knew everything most of the time, but tonight would be the night the biggest truth would be revealed.
A lot of the agency's success rested on Ren's shoulders and he brought in a lot of financial income compared to other actors on file, but tonight would either be where his stock would soar or it would plummet and Lory was not excited about this. He had known that the truth would have to come out eventually though.
"Are you ready to do it tonight?" he asked as Ren sighed.
"No time like the present," he admitted and Lory nodded.
"In that case, the front desk has contacted me saying that Kyoko is looking for you. She's on the first floor and if I were you, I'd try to get a few apologies prepared. Even though Kyoko seems to want to keep your relationship a secret, it looks as if you are affectionate towards a man who hurt her. I only hope for everyone's sake that she is able to forgive you for your idiocy."
Ren nodded. He was nervous about her reaction as well.
…..
…..
When he saw the anger on Kyoko's face, Ren knew that he couldn't hide. He just hoped that she would be able to forgive him. "Hey," he smiled very weakly as he approached her and Yashiro before finding her to stand up and face him head on. He knew how blunt she could be and he knew how she had found it hard to love. Had he screwed all of that up in just one night?
"Tsuruga-san," Kyoko said with a deep breath in, "I'm mad at you."
"I know, I know there were other ways of shutting Fuwa up than with a kiss," Ren said sheepishly as Kyoko sighed.
"You should be glad that I like you so much and that you are Corn because if you weren't," Ren took a quick look at his manager before concentrating more on his girlfriend. "I mean, now I just have one thing to deal with because as much as I'm angry at you, I do love you."
"So, what's the one thing?" Ren asked. He had hope that she wouldn't break up with him because if she was, she would probably tell him that they were through and that she was done with him and he could shack up with Fuwa and they could make fun of her together.
"I need to know what the strongest type of mouthwash is," Kyoko frowned as Ren blinked. "I don't want to taste any Fuwa from your lips."
"You're willing to stay with me?" Ren asked with a weak smile and Kyoko pointed a finger at him.
"I'm willing to be the girlfriend of an idiot," she nodded, "but don't you ever kiss Shou again, if you really need to kiss a guy, then kiss Yashiro-san,"
Red weakly laughed, "I don't think he'd be up to it," he said as he noticed the horrified expression on his manager's face.
Hopefully tonight would offer some good results.
AN:
Thank you of course to all of my supporters, but a special call out to Ashenvale for reviewing the previous chapter.