A/N: Hello. Just a warning. Some events in this chapter (and maybe the next few) are going to be out of order from the original story. Just go with it ;)
Friends
Kyoko stiffened and stood still, her arm going limp in Ren's hand. He bit his lip, hoping that hadn't just come out of his mouth. When she didn't move, he felt his heart sink. 'Does she understand? Does she hate me now?' He dropped her arm, and it hung limply by her side. He took a step forward and touched her shoulder, but she didn't react. "Mogami-san?" He said her name softly. Walking forward, he stepped around her and peered into her face. She was staring at the door with a pained look on her face. "Mogami-san…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…" She looked up at him with tear filled eyes.
"You…aren't a fairy?" She whimpered. For a minute, he considered saying that yes, of course he was a fairy.
'No. I've hurt her enough by lying to her.' "No. I'm sorry, Mogami-san."
Heartbroken. She was absolutely heartbroken. 'All my precious childhood memories, my best friend….my Corn stone…it was all a lie.' A sob worked its way out of her throat, and she hugged herself, wishing that she was holding her stone, that it could take away her sadness. 'He lied to me. Nothing special happened to me. I never had a magic friend that cared for me. It was just….this man.' She peaked up at him through tear filled eyes. He was staring at her helplessly, his arms hanging at his sides.
"Mogami-san…I'm...I'm sorry. Please…don't cry. Please? I'm sorry." He whispered, finally reaching out and touching her arm. "Please?" She sobbed again, tears running down her face. She shook her head.
"You lied to me." She whimpered. "All this time…I thought…someone cared about me."
His heart broke and he put his arms around her. "I'm sorry. I know I lied, but I did it because I did care about you…and I still do. I found out who you were when we were in Kyoto, and I wanted to talk to you…"
"But instead you kiss me and don't say anything about it, and then just act like it never happened?" She glared at him. "Playboy." She accused angrily.
He groaned. "Okay, we have to talk." He said quietly. He led the still crying girl back over to the sofa. She sat against the arm of the sofa, but he pulled her over to his side and hugged her. "Kyoko, I'm sorry I lied to you, but I did care about you. You seemed so exited about me being a fairy that I couldn't bear to disappoint you. Trust me, I've regretted not keeping in contact with you for a long time, but I didn't know how to find you again. Then I got involved in acting, and changed my name." Her tears were slowing down and she pulled away a little, regarding him quietly. "I kissed you because…I couldn't help it." He said softly. She frowned in confusion. He smiled at her and touched her hand. She blushed a little and started to pull away, but he held her. "Kyoko, I really do l…"
"No." She jerked away, her eyes darkening. "Tsuruga-san, please don't finish that sentence." He was startled by the chilly look in her eyes. "I'm sure that you just hit your head, or were getting sick, and you weren't thinking clearly." Her voice was cold and flat, and her hands were clenched in her lap.
He made a quick decision. "Okay. If you say so, Mogami-san." He spoke sadly, but with a small smile. 'I'm not going to argue with her about this. She's obviously still hurting. We work in the same agency now…I'll have plenty of chances to open her to the idea of me being in love with her. I'll just have to wait.' "But, I do hope you'll forgive me for lying to you when we were children." Her eyes thawed a little and she gave a small smile.
"I forgive you, Corn." She told him quietly. He smiled at her gently, and her grudges screamed in pain. The ones who weren't injured fled the scene, leaving her flinching at the brightness. Honestly, she couldn't not forgive him. They had both been so young when they had met, she couldn't blame him for lying. "But…why would your parents name you Corn?" She cocked her head and stared at him.
He laughed softly. "You were mispronouncing it. It's Kuon." He pronounced it the Japanese way and she blushed a little.
"Oh. I'm sorry." He laughed.
"Don't be. It was cute." His eyes were soft and he touched her hand. This time she didn't jerk away, but he didn't push it. He ruffled her hair, then moved his hand away. "I changed it when I started acting. Um…it's actually a secret…"
"Oh. I won't tell anyone." She promised. He grinned.
"I trust you."
Kyoko sat across from President Lory, her hands folded in her lap. He held a form in his hand, covered in her perfect handwriting. "Kyoko-chan, it says you live at a restaurant. The Darumaya?"
"Um, yes. I rent out a room there."
"Okay. Where do your parents live?" Her eyes widened, and she looked down at the floor. He caught her sad expression and went on. "Kyoko-chan, you have to have a parent give permission for you to join LME, since you are underage." He told her gently. Her return expression was so heartbroken that he flinched.
"Um…so I can't work at LME without a parent's signature? Even if she doesn't care where I am, or what I'm doing?" She looked up at him, a plea in her eyes. "Do I still have to have her signature?"
He was silent for a moment, thinking it over. "Um…not necessarily…" She was obviously speaking of her mother, and since she never referred to a father, he didn't want to chance bringing it up. He sighed, going over the rest of the form.
"Good afternoon, Kyoko-chan. I'm Sawara-san. I'll be your department head." He smiled when she bowed to him.
"It's very nice to meet you, Sawara-san." She chirped. "It must be bothersome for you to be in charge of a department with only one person. I apologize. Please take care of me." He laughed softly.
"Actually, there is one more Love Me member." He informed the girl. They were now outside the new Love Me room, and he pushed the door open. A young woman with long black hair turned to them with a disgusted glare. Kyoko's eyes widened at her bright pink jumpsuit. "Kanae-chan, this is Mogami Kyoko. Kyoko-chan, Kotonami Kanae." He smiled and backed away. "Well, Kyoko-chan your uniform should be in the other locker. I'll let you two get acquainted." He smiled and shut the door behind him.
Kotonami Kanae stared back at the orange haired girl. "What are you doing here?" She snapped.
"Hm? Oh. I'm in the Love Me section too! We're the only two members…I'll bet we're going to be the best of friends!"
"What?"
"Well, I've never had a female friend before! And I've always wanted one. We can have sleepovers and pillowfights and go shopping together and…"
The woman stared at her in horror as she went on. "Mo!" She cried. "What is the matter with you! "
"What do you mean, best friend?" Her eyes were dreamy and she was smiling into space. Kanae glared at her.
"MO! Do not just decide that we are going to be best friends! I've never had a best friend before and…"
"Moko-san! I'm your first best friend!" Tears poured from her eyes and she threw herself at Kanae, wrapping her in a death grip
"MO! WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU! You are insane!" She shoved Kyoko off and backed away. "Who let you in this place?" Kyoko stared up at her from the floor, tears falling from her face.
"Moko-san…"
"And why do you keep calling me that!" She screamed.
"Moko-san….I thought we were best friends."
"You decided that on your own! I don't need anybody! I'm going to be an actress. I can't be held back because I'm friends with the competition!"
Kyoko cocked her head, staring up at Kanae with her now dry eyes. "But Moko-san, wouldn't being friends with the competition make you do better?" She wondered.
"What?"
"Well, you can challenge each other and help each other get better." She answered simply, and Kanae stared down at her.
In his office, Lory chuckled as he watched the two girls interacting on his large flat screen TV. ''This was a great idea.'
Ren turned the corner and felt someone slam into him. Surprised, he wrapped his arm around the small, obviously female, body and steadied her. Yashiro looked at them in surprise, and came chest to face with another small female body. Steadying the girl, he looked down at a mop of bright orange hair. The small girl jumped out of his arms and squeaked. "Yashiro-san! I'm sorry! Are you okay?" He laughed softly, letting her go.
"I'm fine, but I should be asking you that. Why are you in such a hurry?" Looking over Kyoko found Kanae stiffly pulling away from her very tall fairy prince.
"I'm sorry. Are you alright?" Ren stepped back with a gentlemanly smile and Kanae stiffened.
"Um…I'm fine. Sorry." He chuckled.
"It's fine. Hello Mogami-san. Why the rush?"
"Hello Tsuruga-san." She bowed and Kanae looked back and forth between the two. "We're going to a Love Me assignment."
"Oh." He smiled. "What kind of assignment?" He slipped a hand in his pocket and watched her with a soft smile. Yashiro's jaw dropped at the gentle look on his client's face. Kanae was still confused.
"Hm? Oh, Moko-san and I are going to play as extras on a variety show." She grinned. He nodded.
"Moko-san?" He looked over at Kanae in amusement.
"MO! Kyoko! I told you to stop calling me that!"
"OH! I'm sorry. Tsuruga-san, Yashiro-san, this is my new best friend, Kotonami Kanae." Kanae glared at Kyoko, then bowed to the men.
"Nice to meet you." She mumbled.
"Nice to meet you." They both greeted her. "New best friend?" Yashiro asked.
"Yea. Whatever." Kanae rolled her eyes and Kyoko beamed.
"We're both members of Love Me!" Both Kanae and Yashiro stared at Ren's indulgent smile as he listened to Kyoko's incessant chatter about the Love Me Department. "Oh. We should probably let you get back to work. I'm sorry." Kyoko bowed. He laughed softly.
"I'm on break anyway. But you should probably get going."
"Mhm. I'll see you later."
"Alright. Nice meeting you, Kotonami-san. Mogami-san." They said their goodbyes and Kanae turned to Kyoko when the men were out of earshot.
"You know Tsuruga Ren?"
"Huh? Yea."
"How!"
"Well, it's kind of a long story…and I can't really say…"
"Oh. I thought I was your best friend. I guess not."
"NO! Moko-san! Don't be angry! I'll tell you! But…I can't tell you everything…" Kanae nodded and they headed off to work, making plans to meet up after the show.
"Sho Fuwa huh? Never would have guessed." Kyoko nodded glumly and Kanae wondered briefly how she had gotten suckered into this in the first place. Then she saw the sad expression on the girl's face and realized that, on some level, she hated it when Kyoko was upset. The strange girl had decided that they were best friends, and no one had ever shown such an active interest in any kind of relationship with her, minus her family, whom she despised, and a handful of perverts. But this girl…there was something about her that, much to her irritation, tugged at her heart. Deciding to analyze it later, Kanae focused her attention back on said girl. "So you met Tsuruga Ren while you were working at a hotel?"
"An inn. But yes. I use to work there."
"Hmph. So how did you get into LME?"
"The President sort of interviewed me…but I don't know why he put me in the Love Me section…it's a useless emotion that can only lead to heartbreak!"
"Hm. Tell me about it."
"Moko-san!" Kanae didn't have the chance to move before her new 'best friend' had thrown her arms around her and began squeezing the life out of her.
"Let go!" She screamed, shoving the girl away and into the wall with a bang. The girl squeaked and slid to the ground.
"What's going on in here?" Sawara-san threw the door open and stared wildly at the girl. "Mogami-san, are you okay?"
Kyoko was sobbing loudly and for a second, Kanae was afraid that she had actually hurt the girl. "Moko-san…won't let me…hug her!" The girl on the floor wailed, and Kanae groaned, wondering if it was too late to change her name and try to become an actress in America.
"Um…alright." He looked down at the girl sobbing on the floor and at the irritated woman leaning against the wall. "Well…um…there are some offers…for both of you. Kanae-chan, they need an extra for an episode of a popular drama. If you are interested…I have the papers here." He handed them to the young actress and she thanked him. "Um, Kyoko-chan, an actress named Ruriko requested an assistant to accompany her to her filming on location on the set of Ring Doh."
Although she was a little disappointed that she hadn't gotten an assignment like Kanae, she was still happy that she had a job to do. The girls both accepted their assignments and got started on their new mountain of paperwork.
