When they pulled up at the restaurant Kyoko almost fell out of the car in her rush to get inside. When the others caught up to her she was in the kitchen with the couple, giving a detailed and animated account of what had happened.

Taisho grunted at them when the stepped into the kitchen. Okami bowed.

"Thank you for catching the person who did this."

They all waved her off with platitudes and grateful denials.

"We really didn't do anything. She confessed to it without even meaning to."

Okami began to insist on feeding everyone and looked sad when Kyoko said she had plans.

"Kotonami-san invited me out to lunch," she explained.

She looked at the others, who after seeing Okamis face and Kyoko nodding over her head, and they agreed to stay for lunch.

Kyoko ran upstairs and looked over her boxes. She found the one she had left open this morning and grabbed a sweater from it before sealing it and placing it with the others. She checked all her other boxes were sealed, straightened the bed and gave everything a wipe down with a damp cloth.

"You don't have to do that Kyoko-chan."

Okamis voice came from behind her. She spun seeing Okami standing in the doorway.

"I know. I wanted to. You've been so nice to me all this time, letting me stay here and…"

Okami cut her off with a hug.

"It was nothing Kyoko-chan. It was a pleasure and we love you. I don't want you to leave but I suppose every bird must leave the nest eventually."

She sniffled.

"You'll come back and visit us right?"

"All the time Okami. I can even ask Ryu-san to schedule it so that I can have dinner here at least once a week? If that's okay?"

Okami gave her a squeeze stating that she'd love that before releasing Kyoko and wiping her face.

Kyoko looked at her.

"I'm sorry I got you hurt."

Okami looked confused.

"If I hadn't angered Misako-san, then she wouldn't have felt the need to come and graffiti the shop and she wouldn't have attacked you."

"Kyoko-chan. That wasn't and isn't your fault. You had no idea what she'd do. What she did is on her own hands, not yours."

"I just.."

"No Kyoko"

Kyoko was shocked. Okami never raised her voice and she looked so angry.

"What that woman did is nothing to do with you. It was entirely her own fault. You didn't do anything to her."

Kyoko nodded but the weight of the guilt had her shoulders slumped and what-ifs were running through her head.

Ryu knocked on the door.

"Kyoko-chan. It is time to go meet Kotonami-san for lunch."

This perked her up slightly.

She gave Okami another hug who patted her on the cheek.

"It's not your fault" was the last thing she said before heading downstairs.

Kyoko gave the room another once over before moving to follow but Ryu blocked the door.

"She's right you know. None of this is your fault. Misako chose to let her anger blind her and she made some very poor decisions but they are not on you. She blames you because otherwise she would have to face up to what an awful person she really is."

Kyokos jaw hit the floor and she could do no more than mutter an astonished "Ryu-san".

Ryu simply shrugged and moved away from the door.

Kyoko couldn't form a response, the realism of what they were saying warring with the what-ifs in her head.

When she went downstairs Ren was waiting for her.

"Come outside with me for a moment?"

He looked at the indecision on her face.

"Go and say goodbye first."

She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek before running to the kitchen.

She gave Okami another hug and received a grunt from Taisho when she gave him his.

"Thank you both for taking me in. You didn't have to but I'm grateful you did. Thank you. And thank you for supporting my career."

"It was our pleasure. You know this. Just don't forget us."

This came from Taisho, shocking everyone in the room. She left Okami explaining about weekly dinner because she feared if she stayed she'd cry.

Ryu exited and went straight to the car to give Ren and Kyoko a moment.

He looked at her for some long Kyoko started to wonder if he was actually going to say anything.

"When that car hit Rick… was that my fault?"

"Of course not!"

"so why are Misakos actions your fault?"

He said it so quietly and with such simplicity that she didn't know what to say.

He kissed her.

"Think it over and I'll see you later. Have fun with Kotonami-san."

Then he turned back inside for his lunch. Kyoko slid into the car in silence. As if sensing Kyoko needed it Ryu didn't say a word until she reached the restaurant Kanae had chosen.

"We're here Kyoko-chan. Message me when you are ready to leave. I will head back to the Darumaya because Okami-san did promise lunch and I'll keep an eye on the movers."

Kyoko just nodded.

Inside she was led to a private dining room where Kanae waited.

Kanae had braced for the inevitable Kyoko launch but it never came. Instead her best friend muttered a hello and took a seat.

Kanae turned to the waited, placing their order, and as soon as the door was closed,

"So what's wrong? If you don't tell me then I won't speak to you for a week."

Kyoko looked at her in horror, bursting to tell her. She couldn't say anything about Ren, Julie or Kuu but she already knew about the incidents.

"I can't tell you everything because it's not mine to tell."

Kanae looked at her before nodding.

"I can respect that."

With a deep sigh of relief, Kyoko let loose the torrent in her head, only stopping when the waited returned. Once he was gone, she resumed.

"For someone so smart, you sure are stupid."

That was the first thing Kyoko said.

"Moko-san!"

"What? You let that stupid bitch into your head and are letting your self doubt and negativity blow it out of proportion."

Kyoko gaped like a fish. Kanae just looked at her with a smirk that blatantly read 'hahaha I told you so'.

Then with a triumphant look on her face she pointed at Kyoko and proclaimed,

"SILVER LININGS!"

Kyoko headbutted the table and groaned.

"Really Moko-san? Of all the things?"

"Worked though didn't it? Imagine if that crazy old geezer could hear you right now. In fact, with Sebastian on his pay roll, I'd be surprised if he didn't already know."

She waited for that to sink in.

She was not expecting Kyoko to shoot up out of her seat and shout,

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT!"

Kyoko glanced around but all seemed safe.

"Feel better now?"

And oddly she did. Then she leveled a gaze at Kanae.

"What would the President say if he heard what you called him and that you're using him as a threat?"

Kanae just threw her a wink and shrugged.

As they drank coffee, the old Kyoko returned and conversation turned to New Years, filming and gossip.

When Ryu picked her up after lunch Kyoko was almost back to normal. OR as normal as someone who is Kyoko and who is being stalked can be. Kanae was still stood by the roadside when they prepared to drive away so Ryu pulled up and wound the window down.

"Can I give you a ride Kotonami-san?"

"Thank you Itawa-san. My taxi never showed and Shoko-san is busy."

She slid in next to Kyoko and gave her destination as LME.

"Where's Shoko-san?"

Kyoko asked belatedly, realising that Kanaes new manager was no where to be seen.

"She had to go to the Akatoki Agency. Seems Sho, the dipshit, forgot to mention to anyone that he had fired her and was trying to blame all his recent bad publicity on her lack of ability to do a job. She's setting things straight."

Kyoko went to tell her about his restaurant visit, but realised she couldn't without explaining why Kuu and Julie were there. She resolved to ask Ren is she could tell Kanae. When they pulled up at LME Kanae asked if they were coming in.

Both Ryu and Kyoko shook their heads. They could not be dealing with Lory today. Kanae nodded with a knowing grin on her face and waved them goodbye.

When they pulled up to the apartment building, Kyoko felt strange that she had given him no heads up. Then she mentally scolded herself and reminded herself that it was also her apartment now too.

She stopped, turned around and stalked into the shop connected to his building.

~Their building. Theirs now~

Aoi was on the tills with a new girl. Ryu was going to ask her what was wrong before she realised she was throwing ingredients into a basket.

"Hello Aoi-san." she said upon reaching the tills.

"Hello Kyoko-san. How are you today?"

They tossed some small talk and pleasantries around, the new girl stood gaping. Aoi gently closed her mouth with one finger.

"This is Yuma Shita. She's the replacement for the other girl."

"Did you ever find out why she left? The other girl?"

Aoi shook her head.

"She claimed 'personal reasons' but I'm glad she's gone. She was scary. Very intense."

Kyoko was going to ask more about how she was scary when she realised the huge queue forming behind her.

She thanked the girls and apologised to the line behind her. As she exited she heard Aoi lecturing the new girl on proper protocol when dealing with their more A list customers.

Ryu and Kyokos jaws hit the apartment floor when they opened the door.

Ren and Yashiro had changed. Both were wearing sweats and t-shirts. They watched as muscles bunched and flexed as they each picked up another of Kyokos boxes.

"You're drooling."

Both women flushed bright red after being caught staring. Ren had smug satisfaction on his face while Yashiro looked both pleasantly surprised and embarrassed. Ren threw Kyoko a wink before taking the box through to her room.

Yashiro, flushed pink, followed him.

Kyoko headed for the kitchen to drop off the ingredients and began giggling when she caught Ryus eye.

They put away the shopping as the men moved the last few boxes.

Ren came out of her room and disappeared into his. When he came back out he was carrying a huge box that he placed in her room.

She handed drinks to everyone while thanking them for her help before disappearing into her new room.

When Ryu had said they had made the room ready for her, she was expecting them to have removed everything but the basics.

"I wanted you to be able to make it yours and I didn't think you'd be able to do that with the spare room stuff in here. Though you can use it if you wish. Or we can go shopping or order online or something."

Kyoko wasn't paying a lot of attention because she had noticed the huge box and 3 bags on her bed that were most definitely not hers.

"What are these?"

Cut off from his rambling, Ren did something she never thought he'd do. He blushed.

"I umm… I was out on a shoot and I had a break and I was flicking through a magazine and I saw these and I thought of you and I thought you'd like them for your bed."

He gestured to the bags.

She gave him a shrewd look.

"Okay. And the box from your room?"

"Hangers. I didn't realise how many clothes you owned now. There weren't enough hangers in your closet for them all."

Looking in the box she could indeed see the box was full of them. She moved it aside and reached for the bags. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ren tense.

The first bag contained a forest scenery bedset and when she shook it out fully she saw a fairy sat on a toadstool staring at the stars in the middle.
The second bag contained a galaxy bedset and an astronaut cat bedset.

The last bag was full of plain colour bedding.

"Oh Ren. You shouldn't have."

"Yes I did. The spare bedding is boring and so not you. I had to do something."

He caught her as she threw herself into his arms.

"Thank you Ren. I love them. I love you!"

"I love you too."

They went to kiss but were interrupted but a not so subtle cough from the doorway.

"If theres nothing else, we have to head to the office. Lory wants to see us. There's probably a mountain of paperwork to."

"No. Thank you for all your help today Yashiro-san. Here and at the studio."

"It's not a problem Kyoko-chan, not at all. Ren, I'll see you tomorrow. 9am."

Ren nodded.

Ryu popped her head around.

"Kyoko-chan, I'll be here to get you at 12."

"Okay. Let me see you out."

With many thanks and goodbyes, she saw them out and as the door clicked shut, she suddenly felt awkward.

She looked at Ren who was leaning on her bedroom door frame.

"Would you like help unpacking?"

She looked at the table in the middle of the living room, knowing thats where he put his work. There was quite a stack.

"Don't you have work to do?"

"Damn I was hoping you'd miss that."

"I can unpack my own things. Work or I'll tell Yashiro-san."

He put up his hands in mock surrender, sauntered over to the sofa and threw himself down and picking up a script from the table. He waved it at her and made a great show of opening it as she turned back to her room.

Her room!

She was living with Ren!

She took a deep breath to clear her mind and hopefully the beacon red from her face.

Mio, Bo and Natsu were sat on the remnants of the old Kyoko who was yelling about how inappropriate this all was. Setsu and Kuon descended on her with duct tape.

Shaking her head from this internal battle, our Kyoko got on with unpacking.

Clothes in drawers and her new huge closet. Hangers rattled. She pulled a box up from the floor. It had Queen Rosa and Corn in it and she placed them both on the dressing table, turning them until they were just so.

In the bathroom she covered shelves and covered the counter with neat lines of make up, a couple of yukatas went in a drawer and she filled cubbys with towels.

As she was unpacking her last box, she looked around. Her walls were still bare. She hit the bottom of the box and found something she knew she had not put there.

It was a picture of Okami, Taisho and Kyoko, taken on her birthday. Okami and Kyoko had huge smiles and even Taisho had a raised lip. A small note was attached.

'For your new, a little bit of old. We love you.'

She left it attached to the frame and put the frame on the wall.

She was putting her craft/curse stuff away in a box under her bed when a cough from the door startled her.

"Bring that box out here."

She gave him a raised eyebrow. He simply nodded and gestured. She picked up the box with a grunt and followed him out.

In the corner by the window was a desk with built in shelf storage and flanked by storage towers. It was all empty. She gave Ren a quizzical look.

"What is this?"

He waved at it.

"Yours. A crafty cursey space. To do whatever it is you do."

"You didn't have to. I was going to set up a space in my room. I don't want to encroach on your space."

Ren ran a hand down his face.

"Our space Kyoko. Our space. You live here now and you don't have to be confined to one room. This is our apartment Kyoko. Ours. I don't care if you take over this entire side of the room for it because it's something I know you love doing."

He kissed her on the top of the head and went back to his scripts while Kyoko put her supplies away on her new craft table.

A few hours later Ren was still reading scripts while Kyoko was cooking dinner. Or attempting to. She was crying.

Rens arm came from behind and wrapped around her waist, chin on her shoulder.

She wiped her face.

"What's wrong?"

"I just… For so long it's been me, in one room. Having to be minimalistic, unobtrusive and tidy. Now to be sharing with someone who's giving me so much space in their home."

"Ours" he barked out from her shoulder.

"Yes Ren. Ours. It's just going to take some time to adjust."

He huffed.

"What are you making?"

She simply stated food and swatted him with the spoon when he tried to steal some from the pan.

"What are you reading?" she asked Ren who had retreated to the safety of the sofa.

"Script re-write for Ever After. Shin is killing off Misakos character because its to late to recast and refilm everything we've done. She'll be allowed back for the one day to film then she's gone and it's unlikely she'll ever work in this business again."

"Any major changes?"

"Not really. Just adding a death scene for Misakos character and introducing one of the other peasant characters who will step in to fulfill the rest of her characters storyline."

Ren saw the downward spiral Kyoko was heading down at this news and distracted her with his other scripts and offers, asking advice and when dinner was ready he switched on the tv as his box had recorded a show Chiori was in.

He kept her as distracted as he could until she told him she was going to bed. He just hoped he had distracted her enough.

Later he cracked her door slightly after knocking and getting no reply. She was fast asleep, curled up in the middle of her bed.

He closed the door quietly and went into his own room. He fell asleep with a smile on his face, glad she wasn't dwelling on it.


Another Authors note...
I'm sorry! This story is really kicking my arse, and with christmas and family and everything.
But i am getting some solid work done so within the next week or so i plan to have more up.