A/N: So I had a really hard time getting started on this chapter…and then writing it…for some reason. Anyway, I'm sorry for the delay. I hope you enjoy it.

Let's Talk About It

Kyoko clutched her hands together and stared out the window as the scenery rushed by. All the excitement had drained away, and now she was just scared. Her knuckles were turning white, but she didn't notice. Her leg bounced nervously until a firm hand pressed against her knee and the car pulled to a stop. She jumped and turned to face the man next to her, who was watching her with a small smile. "You're shaking the whole car." He informed her.

A blush covered her face and she looked down at her clasped hands. "Sorry." She mumbled, noticing that he didn't remove his hand. He squeezed her knee gently.

"What's wrong?" The light turned green and he turned his attention back to the road, removing his hand, and her knee suddenly felt cold. Brushing the thought away, she sighed.

"I got the part." She told him sadly. He gave a startled laugh.

"I realize that." He told her kindly. "I told you, remember." She nodded, still drooping. "Why is that bad?"

She turned to him. "I got the part!" She cried urgently. He sighed, and she hurried to explain. "So Moko-san didn't!"

"Ah." He nodded, suddenly understanding.

"She's going to be angry!" The girl cried. "And…and what if she doesn't want to be friends anymore!" Much to Ren's alarm, tears began to fall down her face. "What if she doesn't want to be friends anymore!" She sobbed loudly.

"Uh! No, Mogami-san! Why are you…don't cry!" He glanced nervously between Kyoko and the road. "I'm sure…"

"She's going to hate me!" The girl put her head in her hands, shoulders shaking. "I'm going to lose my best friend!" The car slowed once again and Ren pulled into a parking lot.

"Hey." She froze as he reached over and put his arms around her. "Don't cry." He whispered, managing to hug her despite the confines of the car. She sniffed and leaned her head against his shoulder, her tears dampening his shirt. "She won't hate you. I'm sure she understands that only one person could get the part, and she'll be happy for you if she's your best friend. Wouldn't you be happy for her if she had gotten it?"

"Of course." Her words were muffled by his shirt and he smiled, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of her in his arms despite her sorrow.

"So why would she be angry with you?" She was silent, Moko-san suddenly the last thing in her mind.

'He's hugging me…why does it matter? Why do I feel so…happy when he hugs me? This is bad…' He released her after a second and the gentle smile made her breath catch.

"Okay?" She wasn't sure what he was asking, but the only thing she could manage at the moment was nodding, so she moved her head up and down in agreement. His thumb brushed against her cheek and she was sure he could feel the heat from her blush as he wiped the tear away. Her eyes met his and she felt her heart skip at the look on his face. A spark jolted down her spine as his thumb stroked her cheek again. Whatever it was, she certainly couldn't fight it. He leaned forward for a second, and, hoping that he would explain what was going on, she gave him a questioning look.

'The Emperor.' The thought rose unbidden and made her blush intensify. But suddenly, in an almost abrupt manner, he dropped his hand and turned back to the road, taking the car out of park and pressing on the accelerator.

'I have to get her out of this car. She doesn't understand what looking at me like that is doing to me. I have to get her home, or her first time might be in a car.' The thought made him blush a little, and he banished it irritably. 'I shouldn't be thinking about her like this…not when she doesn't return any of my feelings.' Or so he told himself, but he couldn't deny that there had been something there when she had stared up at him.

Glancing over at her, his heart constricted when he saw pain in her eyes. 'Please tell me I didn't hurt her…wait. Hurt her? How could I have hurt her? I didn't actually do anything I was thinking about. Is she hurt that I didn't…no. No way. She's probably still thinking about Kotonami-san. Right?' It was the only explanation that he was willing to accept, so he went with it.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Kyoko thanked him hastily and nearly ran inside, literally running into the Taisho. "Oh! Taisho-san! I'm so sorry." She bowed, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"You're late." She frowned at him, then checked the time. She had been hanging around LME for a while, and hadn't noticed that it was getting late, which was why Ren had insisted on taking her home. The thought made her blush a little, but she shoved it away.

"Ah. I'm sorry Taisho-san. I got the part though." She smiled brightly, and he returned the smile, petting her head.

"Good job." He told her simply.

"Do you need any help in the kitchen?" She changed the topic abruptly, wanting to clear her mind of a certain fairy prince.

The man shook his head and headed back to the kitchen, leaving her in the hallway. She made her way up to her room and picked up the phone, dialing in a daze.

"Hello?"

"…Moko-san…"

"Hm?"

"I'm scared."

Kanae stared at the phone in shock, then held it against her ear. "What's wrong? Are you okay? Are you with Tsuruga?" There was silence on the other end. "Kyoko? Kyoko!"

"Huh?"

"MO! Don't call me and scare me like that, and then not answer me! What is the matter with you!"

"I'm sorry Moko-san…but you care about me!" Kanae slammed her head against the wall as the girl on the other line went on and on about how lucky she was to have Kanae as a friend.

Finally, when she was sure she was about to give herself a concussion, she stopped. "Mo! I get it Kyoko! Now why are you scared?"

"Oh." Her voice was small and Kanae felt the worry rise again. "Um…it's Tsuruga-san."

"What about him? Did he do something?"

"No!" Kyoko rushed to defend him. "Well…um he hugged me." She admitted softly, but then hurried on. "Well…I hugged him too….before…after he hugged me…the first time. But..Moko-san! I don't know what to do!"

Kanae's mouth dropped open, but she quickly collected herself. "Okay…is that all he did?"

"Yes…but I…" Kanae frowned and pressed the phone closer to her ear, unable to hear her friend.

"What?"

"I…Moko-san!" She cried. Kanae waited, praying for practice. "I…I like…hugging him." She admitted, her voice trailing off.

Kanae lifted an eyebrow. "Well that's nice." She rolled her eyes. "Why are you scared?"

"Moko-san…what do I do? I like it when he hugs me!"

"I heard you the first time. Don't yell. So why is that bad?"

"I can't love!" She cried. "I can never fall in love again!"

"Yea…I think it's too late…"

"What!" The girl shrieked, making the long haired actress wince.

"Kyoko! What is the matter with you? What's wrong with liking Tsuruga? He obviously has a crush on you."

"Moko-san! Don't say that!" She could picture the blush on the other girl's face and smirked.

"What? That Tsuruga-san likes you?"

"That's impos…."

"Kyoko?"

Kyoko let her mouth drop in horror as she was dragged into the flashback. "I kissed you because…I couldn't help it. Kyoko, I really do l…"

'What was he going to say? Was he serious? Oh crap…oh crap oh crap oh crap! Does he like me?'

"MOKO-SAN! WHAT DO I DO!"

"I don't know, since I have no IDEA WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU!" The irate actress screamed.

"He was going to say that he liked me!" Kyoko cried, tears appearing in her eyes. "He kissed me because he likes me!" A tear ran down her face. "Moko-san, what do I do!"

"What do you mean? If he likes you and you like him, what's the problem?"

"I…I can't fall in love! I'm plain and boring and he'll just leave me!"

"Mo! Why would you say that?"

"Because it's true!"

"Kyoko…who told you that you were plain and boring?"

"Sho." She told the girl simply.

"God Kyoko. I thought you hated him."

"I…I do!"

"Then why would you believe anything he said about you?" Kyoko's response died in her throat.

'Why…why would I believe that?' She stood and stared at herself in the mirror on her wall. A small, cute, orange haired girl stared back at her through startling gold eyes. "I'm…I'm not plain and boring?" She asked quietly.

"No…of course not. I can't believe you actually thought that." She could hear the disbelief in Kanae voice.

"Moko-san! What do I do!"

"What is it now?"

"What if…we like each other!"

"I don't know Kyoko. That does sound horrible." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Moko-san! I don't know what to do!"

"Just keep hugging him. Maybe it will lead to something else."

"Moko-san!" Kanae laughed.

"Oh come on Kyoko. Just keep acting the way you always do. He probably won't act on it, since he hasn't yet. At least not for a while. Just calm down." Kyoko took a deep breath. "Oh, did you find out who got the part?"

Kyoko's eyes widened. 'Oh no!'


Ren pulled up to the Daruma ya and tapped the horn lightly. They were in a hurry, or would be as soon as she found out that he hadn't eaten breakfast, or he would have gone in. The young girl emerged from the restaurant and he gazed at her openly as she made her way to the car, her eyes on the ground. She was wearing a skirt about the length of a school uniform skirt, but it seemed shorter, and he couldn't stop watching her legs. When she climbed into the car and crossed her ankles, he tore his eyes away. "Good morning, Mogami-san."

"Good morning." She said quietly, not looking at him. He frowned in concern. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no!" She shook her head fervently. "Everything's fine. Nothing's wrong. Everything is perfectly normal. Hehe. Why do you ask?" He lifted an eyebrow.

"Really? Then why won't you look at me?"

"Um…what do you mean?"

"She asked the steering wheel." There was a hint of amusement in his voice, and she blushed, turning her head a little more and pointing her gaze out the window.

"You're being silly. Of course I'm looking at you." He moved his head slightly, finally catching her eyes, and she blushed.

"Now you're looking at me." He clarified, a concerned smile on his face. "Can't you tell me what's wrong? Is it Kotonami-san?"

"No! I told her about the part last night…"

"And?"

"She was…upset. But she's not mad at me. Shouldn't we leave? We're going to be late if we don't hurry."

"We still have an hour, Mogami-san."

"Not if we're going to get food first." Her pleasant, firm smile was back in place, but she was still avoiding his eyes.


"Did I do something wrong, Mogami-san?" Kyoko whipped her head up to the man across from her. His eyes were sad as he regarded her.

"O…of course not. Why?"

"Because you won't talk to me." She turned her gaze back to her food, hating that sad look on his face.

"I'm sorry." She said softly.

"Can you tell me what's wrong?"

"I…" 'I can't tell him that I just realized that I might like him! What do I do?' "Are we friends?" She wasn't sure where that came from, but she decided to go with it, looking up at him.

"Of course we are." He frowned in confusion, tilting his head a little, and the word cute popped up in her head before she shoved it away.

"Um…then…will you call me Kyoko-chan again?" It came out a whisper, and she didn't look up. 'Hopefully he'll think I was just nervous to ask him that….and he won't guess what's really wrong. She noticed that he was silent. "I mean, you don't have to if you…" Her words died when she looked up at him. His eyes were happy once again, and a sweet smile was lighting up his face.

"Of course, Kyoko-chan." He sounded so much like her fairy prince that she smiled softly and peered at him shyly. "Are you going to call me Corn?" He teased.

She shook her head and laughed. "No. People would think it was strange. I can just call you Ren-san."

He pulled a puppy dog face, making her eyes widen. "San? Why not just Ren?"

She blushed. This wasn't where she had been planning on taking this conversation, but anything was better than him finding out her feelings. "Okay Ren."

A/N: So this ended up being more about Ren/Kyoko than Kyoko/Kanae…sorry if that bothers you. It's kind of fillerish...but hopefully you liked this chapter. Please let me know what you think, and thanks for reading