A/N: So a lot of people said read Skip Beat on Manga Reader. Net. And I do, but there are often pages missing from older chapters (I am using it to reread and get material for this story.) Are there any other places that I can read it that are really good and don't miss pages? I loved One Manga…but sadly they are no more.

Anyway, thank you for you patience with me. I was writing my other story and although I am on spring break, I am still busy. Still this chapter was a lot of fun (I enjoy the grateful party chapters) so thank you all for reading!

The Party

Kyoko raced out of the studio, throwing her bag over her shoulder and dodging the other employees that looked over in varying degrees of amusement and curiosity. Her long coat billowed around her as she pushed the door open and the wind ruffled her hair. 'Okay, I've got to hurry. I probably won't be able to ride my bike to the president's house quickly enough…I should probably take a train or a bus instead.' She shoved the thought of her usual handsome ride aside when she came to stop in front of a tall man with dark hair and unusually dark skin who had been leaning against an antique car. 'Wow. I wonder what kind of person rides in such a nice car! Probably a rich young lady…' She drifted off into lala land, her eyes sparkling and her hands clasped dramatically.

"I've come to fetch you, Kyoko-san." He bowed deeply and she froze. "The Master asked me to escort you."

She remained in her strange pose, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. "Um…uh…master? Wha…" He laughed softly, and she turned in surprise as his smile.

"Daddy Long Legs." Kyoko nodded at the name of the strange mystery patron that was financing their party 'instead of' the president.

The man moved over to the back door and held it open for her. She climbed in with a soft, embarrassed 'thank you' and sat stiffly, imagining herself as a princess for a minute. 'This must be what a rich young lady feels like…' She giggled quietly, missing the amused expression in her driver's face as he glanced at her through the rear-view mirror.


Maria glanced at the clock and grinned, racing through the groups of workers and laborers in her grandfather's large ballroom. Ducking under a construction area, she made it to the door in time to find her 'big sister' strolling toward the entrance, her escort a few steps behind. "Onee-sama!" She cried, waving.

"Hello Maria-chan!" Kyoko smiled happily.

"Come quick!" She cried again, motioning her sister over.

"What?"

"The chocolate stream is here!" Kyoko's eyes lit up and she ran toward the door.

Kyoko looked around the transformed ballroom in amazement. "Wow! This is so amazing! You've already finished the backdrop so quickly! And the stream is almost finished!" Maria smiled.

"Uh huh. Daddy Long Legs sent a lot of professionals to work all day, and since I'm just a kid, all I can do is wear a uniform and tell them what to do." Kyoko giggled.

"Still there must have been a lot to do. Now that I'm here, I'll work hard as well!" She pushed her sleeves up and turned to Maria. "What is there still to do?"

Maria thought for a moment. "Well, there's the manmade grass for the animals."

"Okay! Let's start on that!" Maria laughed at her enthusiastic big sister and nodded in agreement, missing the tender smile the older girl gave her.


From around the corner, Lory grinned at the girls got to work, laughing and running around with boxes of materials, pulling a giant sheet out of the box. Glancing over, he smiled at the young man. "I haven't seen it in so long." His eyes widened and he moved closer.

"Hm?"

"Her smile. I've been watching her for so long…and I've never seen her so happy." Lory smiled softly.

"Yes. Maybe this party will change her outlook on her birthday." He said softly, watching Kyoko play with the young girl as they worked. "Mogami-san is very clever.


"MO!" Kanae screamed, glaring down at the little girl, trying to brush confetti from her new dress. "What kind of welcome is that?"

"It's a European Royal Court style welcome. Hello Moko-san." She grinned at her big sister's best friend.

"European royal court? Let me guess; your grandfather's idea." Maria nodded in resignation.

"Yes. It's his hobby. We just let him do what he wants." Kanae rolled her eyes.

"And those strange people?" Maria glanced over at the group of foreigners dressed in a variety of strange dresses and robes.

"Those are friends of Grandfather's…and people from work." Kanae nodded and crossed her arms.

"I guess I got here too early. But where is Kyoko? I haven't seen her."

"Onee-sama is working on the front lines."


'Done!' Kyoko grinned at the little cake as she put the last icing swirl on top. Doing a small spin, she started to relax when voices from the other side of the kitchen assaulted her.

"Please check the main course for salon number 2!"

"Number 5 too as well please!"

"We need you to look at number 3!"

"Oh! Okay! I'm coming!" Kyoko darted around the kitchen, tasting and checking entrées and deserts to make sure they were good enough to serve.

"Kyoko-san?" Kyoko jumped and whirled around.

'He didn't even make a sound!'

"Kotonami-san wishes to see you."

"Oh!" Her eyes lit up and she started to follow him when another worker called out to her. "Please tell Moko-san I'm so sorry!" She cried, running back to finish working.


Finally released from the kitchen, Kyoko glanced over to find the couple from the Darumaya pulling confetti out of their hair. Smiling brightly, she ran over, hugging them happily, then showing them to their table with a bow. From across the room, Maria grinned up at Kanae.

"Onee-sama looks so happy!" Kanae nodded. "And there are still more guests coming."

"Really? This late?"

"Yea! The party has been extended…until the end of the 24th." They were interrupted by the shouting of the announcer.

"We would like to welcome Tsuruga Ren-sama and Yashiro- Yukihito-sama!" The trumpets blew and confetti showered down onto the two men. Kyoko whipped around, balancing the tray of food for the Okami-san and Taisho-san in her hands, smiling softly as Ren laughed, pulling confetti out of his hair. Yashiro glared at his friend, trying to do the same.

"Yashiro-sama? What an embarrassing welcome!" He cried, his face red.

"Ren-sama!" Kyoko looked over as Maria spotted him. Ren looked up as well, and smiled, opening his arms as the girl raced over. A few feet away, she froze, her eyes wide. He frowned in confusion and stared at her. Smiling softly, she curtsied in her ruffled dress. "Welcome. Thank you for coming to our party." Ren smiled softly, making Kyoko's heart skip a beat, then took a step forward.

"Thank you for your hospitality." He bowed deeply, an arm crossed in front of him and another behind him. Maria blushed and smiled. "I'm honored." He grinned up at her when she giggled.

Kyoko forced her heart to continue beating as she stepped forward with a tray. "Please enjoy these drinks." Ren turned with a smile and Yashiro looked down in surprise at the girl in the white chef's outfit. "Thank you very much for taking time to come to our party."

"Kyoko-chan? Why are you dressed like a chef?"

"Oh. I'm in charge of the chefs and the pastry chefs."

"Yea!" Ren turned back to Maria. "All the deserts and entrees were made my Onee-sama!" Ren's eyes widened as did Yashiro's.

"Wow. That's great."

Yashiro looked over at Kyoko in amazement. "Really?" Kyoko nodded, blushing a little.

"Yea…but only the first batches. I don't think anything I actually made is still around…but um…here are your drinks." She held out the tray to Yashiro who stood closer. "Since you can both drink alcohol, I made you cocktails. Yashiro-san, yours is called 'Curtain of the Night.'" He thanked her and took it. She turned to Ren, who was suddenly very close. "Um…and Ren…yours is called 'Golden Star at Dawn.'"

"Thank you." He took with a smile that made her think he wasn't thinking about the drinks at all. She fought a blush at the deep voice that made her shiver and started to turn away when the lights went out. Turning in surprise, she looked around the now pitch black room filled with nervous chatter. A hand caught at her sleeve in the commotion, then slipped down to take her hand, tugging her gently. Recognizing the hand holding hers, she took a step closer, then gasped when two lips pressed against hers briefly. She smiled against Ren's mouth, feeling her face catch fire at the sort of public display, and then wrapped her arms around him for a moment, kissing him back. Just as quickly, she pulled away and turned back toward the stage, when suddenly a deep, booming voice filled the room.

Ren sighed to himself as the President began with his usual antics. 'I spend the whole day looking forward to seeing her….and then I just get one kiss.' He pouted irritably as the President jumped onto the stage, the lights flashed back on, revealing the satisfying sight of his beloved with a very red face who kept glancing over at him, and then the room filled with paper butterflies. Of course, watching her drift off into fairyland was always amusing, but the biggest surprise was the Mystery box and Maria's father.

Freezing at the sight, he glanced over at Maria, who was approaching her father in shock. Feeling pity for the young girl, he watched anxiously as she approached the man on the stage. 'I hope that she can sort things out with her father.' He remembered his own recent experiences with his father and smiled a little. 'My own reunion was also because of that girl.' He glanced over at Kyoko who was grasping her hands anxiously. 'She brought myself and my father closer after so many years away….just by being herself. And now, I hope she can do the same for Maria through this party. It was obviously just an attempt to cheer the girl up…and yet she put so much time and effort into it. It's a pity that she doesn't have any real family of her own…'

Silently he watched as the little girl began sobbing. His heart clenched once again in pity and sadness. 'Of course she would be afraid that her father would have the same fate as her mother if she requested his presence at her party.' He sighed. 'I can't blame him though. If something so terrible occurred in my own family…' He glanced over at Kyoko, only mildly surprised to find her now sobbing with Maria, tears flowing down her face. 'Is it just pity for Maria?' He had to wonder. 'Or maybe…a reminder of her own conflict with her mother.' Either way, her tears seemed to pierce his heart like tiny swords.

As the father and daughter made up, he glanced at Kyoko who was smiling softly, wiping her eyes. Unable to hold back any longer, he closed the distance between them quickly, pulling out his handkerchief. "Here." He offered softly. "Use this." He watched in barely veiled amusement as she stared at the high class item, obviously afraid to use it. "I hope that Maria will allow her father this chance to show her how much he loves her." He said softly. Kyoko smiled and nodded.

"Yea…" He blinked when the clock chimed loudly. "Oh! It's 12 o'clock. The 24th is over." There was a bit of regret in that statement, and Ren smiled a little, turning to the man that appeared and thanking him softly, then turned back to the girl.

"Kyoko?"

"Yea?" She turned around, then gasped as she came face to face with the giant rose.

"Here." She looked up at him in shock. "Happy 17th birthday."

"Uh…what?" He grinned at her shock.

"December 25th…it's your birthday." About to ask how he could know that, she remembered her conversation with Corn and blushed.

"You….you still remember that?" She mumbled. He laughed.

"Of course." He held out the flower again. "Let me try again. Happy birthday."

She bit her lip, smiling brightly, her eyes filling as she reached out. His hand brushed hers as she took the flower and she smiled up at him lovingly, taking his breath away. "Thank you." She whispered.

"You're welcome. After all…it's so ordinary." She blushed and giggled, pressing her nose into the flower. 'If no one was around…what would I do?'

"This is amazing." Her soft voice brought him out of his musings. "It's the biggest rose I've ever seen! It's the king of roses!" She smiled brightly up at him. He stared at her in surprise, then smile.

"You are close. Actually, it's…" He jumped in surprise when her black haired best friend appeared in front of him, hands clenched.

"It's your birthday?" She snarled, towering over Kyoko. The girl clutched her flower and took a nervous step back.

"Um….yes…" She whimpered. Kanae looked down at the flower for a second, then stormed away.

"Be right back." She called over her shoulder, storming into the coat check, then reappearing in front of the girl. "Here!"

"Um…what is this?" Kyoko stared at the bag.

"MO! What does it look like? It's your gift."

"Um…Moko-san…I thought you didn't know it was my birthday." Ren almost laughed out loud at the strained look on his love's best friend's face.

"Um...I didn't really think about it. I just…thought you would like it."

As Kyoko threw herself onto her best friend, still screaming about the cosmetics, he suppressed a laugh at Kanae's smug smile. 'I should get her some cosmetics some time…she really seems to like them.' He stored that away and glanced at his manager who was smiling smugly as well.

"Yes yes. You're right. I lost."

"I haven't said anything yet!" Ren chuckled.

"Yes. I know. Still, does it really matter?" He watched Kyoko wipe a tear away. "If she's happy, does it matter who wins? Besises…" he trailed off, much to the confusion of his manager. He remembered the stream in Kyoto, the tiny girl sitting across from him.

"My birthday is on December 25th, but since we are always so busy on that day, we always celebrate the day before during the Christmas party." He remembered feeling that this was strange.

"That…that's a little sad."

"What? I get to celebrate Christmas and my birthday at the same time." The little girl in his memory smiled up at him as Kyoko turned and faced her landlords who held out a box. Crying, the girl laughed through her sobs and threw her arms around them. "Compared to being left alone…I am much happier and I have a lot of fun!"

"If it's just one person…or a lot of people celebrating with you…it will make you happy." He told his manager softly. Yashiro turned and watched the girl hug her landlords, tears flowing from her eyes. The Taisho grinned and rubbed her head gently as the Okami-san enveloped her in her arms.

"You're right." Yashiro said softly, a smile on his face. As they watched, a man with a fake beard came forward and tapped her shoulder.

"Happy birthday. Are you ready for the next stage of your party?" Kyoko cocked her head a little.

"Huh?"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" She jumped and spun around, eyeing the giant cake being rolled out with her name on it. Her face turned bright red and she hid her face in the flowers suddenly in her hands. Everyone around her began to sing, clapping and smiling as she blushed and tried to hide her smile. Suddenly the voices around her seemed to fade away as a hand touched her face. Ren stepped forward and, tilting her head upward, pressed his lips against hers. She wasn't sure what happened to her flowers as the threw her arms around him, tears still falling from her eyes.

'I feel so warm...and cherished…I've never felt so happy.' Applause broke out as he pulled away, wiping her tears with his thumb with a loving smile. 'Everyone knows now.' The thought really didn't bother her as he cupped her cheek, the pulled away a little, dropping his hand to take hers.

"I love you." He whispered, and though she was barely able to hear the words over the applause, she didn't have too.

"I love you too." Staring into his eyes, she missed the delighted grin of the President.

A/N: Another chapter. I'm not really sure how long this will be...please let me know if it is getting boring. I try to take the really long events and either tell them from a different perspective, change them a bit, or shorten them to make it more interesting. Thank you all very much for reading, adding me to your story alert list, author alert list, favorites, etc. I appreciate it so much!