A/N: Hm...short chapter. I'm not exactly thrilled with it...but...well I hope you like it anyway.

Car Chases

Kyoko stared at herself in the mirror, watching in detached fascination as the blush spread from her cheeks, down her neck, and covered most of her body, disappearing under her camisole top and the panties that hugged her hips. 'No. There is no way. I am NOT walking out there, in front of my boyfriend whose…thing I just saw, in these clothes. No. It is indecent…and embarrassing. And…even if he did like it…STOP THAT!' She scolded herself severely. 'If he likes it or not had nothing to do with this. It is completely indecent behavior for a young Japanese woman!' She crossed her arms, standing resolute even as she enjoyed the feel of the high quality silk against her skin. 'So…what am I going to wear?' Visibly deflated, she sighed in irritation. 'Why didn't I look at the clothes before I grabbed them!'

Ren glanced again at the bathroom door, a bit worried. She had been in there for a while, and he was no longer finding the situation amusing or cute. 'Is she okay in there?' He hadn't heard the water running for a while, and had been expecting her to emerge at any time. Still, another half hour had passed and there was still no sign of her. 'Did she fall and hurt herself? Did she fall asleep in the tub?' Just as the image of her drowning in the tub flashed before his eyes, he saw the doo knob turn. Immediately his eyes closed as though he had been asleep, and he waited a minute before he peeked. Nearly choking at the sight of his small girlfriend in nothing more than panties and a camisole top, he bit his lip and closed his eyes, not wanting to tempt fate, or his hands, by looking any longer. Waiting a few more seconds, he couldn't fight the temptation to look again, and was greeted by her small butt in the tiny, barely there panties. 'Oh crap.' He swallowed hard and, closing his eyes again, rolled over so that his back was to her. The worst thing he could imagine was her finding out that the very sight of her in such revealing clothing was doing wonders to his…ahem….lower body.

'Thank god he's asleep.' She mumbled, turning off the lights and slipping into the other bed. 'I hope I can get up before he does…I don't think I can face him wearing these clothes.' Closing her eyes, she drifted off to the sound of his breathing under the thick, warm hotel comforter.


Kyoko jerked awake when she heard a loud chime. Across the room, she heard a soft groan and managed to force her eyes open, wincing at the bright square of light on the bedside table. Groping for the object, she checked the Caller ID and frowned when it said 'Unknown Caller.' Flipping it open, she placed it against her ear and managed a rough 'hello,' wondering who could be calling her. There was silence on the other end, and she blinked in confusion. "Hello?" She spoke up and checked the phone, checking that it was connected. It was. "Is anyone there?" She peeked over at the concerned face of Ren who was peering at her, his face bathed in a dim, ghostly light from her phone. She pressed the end button and checked the time. It was only 3:30 in the morning. "I guess they dialed the wrong number." She said simply. He nodded, but even in the dim light put off by her little phone, she could tell he wasn't convinced.

"No number?" She shook her head and lay down, placing the phone back on the table.

"Sorry." She mumbled, letting sleep overtake her again.

"It's not your fault." He murmured, watching her for a moment, then rolling over.

Ren stared up at the ceiling in silent contemplation as her breathing evened out, then flinched when the phone rang a few minutes later. Looking over, he saw her jerk in surprise, then reach over and grab the phone. His eyes narrowed a little, and a bit of protective anger began to surge. Taking a deep breath and reminding himself not to jump to conclusions, he waiting.

"Hello?" This time her voice was louder, and he could see the exhaustion and irritation in her eyes, making his frown deepen at whoever was bothering her. Propping himself up on his elbow, he waited. After a few minutes, she hung up again with a sigh.

"Still nothing?" She shook her head tiredly, already closing her eyes again, and he waited, body tense.

The third time it rang, he threw his legs over the bed, grabbed the phone, and opened it irritably. He barely registered Kyoko's shocked expression and reaching hand before he placed it against his ear. "Hello?" He snapped. She winced slightly. There was nothing on the other line. "Who's there?" He demanded. He caught a slight intake of breath. "Whoever you are, don't call this phone again." He snarled, shutting it with a snap and placing it back on the table with controlled gentleness. Kyoko didn't comment as he threw himself back onto the bed and closed his eyes.


Sho stared at his phone in shock. 'What…that was…that was…what is she doing with Tsuruga…at 3 in the morning!' There was a soft knock on the door and he looked up as Shoko walked into the room.

"Sho? What are you doing? It's three in the morning." He shrugged and pocketed his phone. Standing, he stomped past her to the bedroom and threw himself into the bed, ignoring her as she lay back down beside him.


Kyoko strolled through the store, glancing over at the panties on the rack. A bit of red crept up her neck, but she stayed firmly in Setsu's character. 'I need new clothes and even though Cain keeps buying me clothes, I still have to shop for underwear on my own. I could not ask my boyfriend to buy me underwear…even if he is playing my brother.' She sighed and picked up a little pair of black underwear, then froze when a familiar voice called her name. Turning in horror, she met Chiori's wide, embarrassed eyes.

The two girls headed back to the set as Kyoko tried to explain to Chiori that the panties were a gift for a 'friend' of hers. About to ask Chiori not to tell anyone about this little misadventure, Kyoko looked up as the loud voices of her coworkers exploded on the sidelines. Looking in confusion at Chiori, she led the girl over to the giant mob of Box R crew and cast members as they pointed excitedly and pulled out their camera phones. "What's going on?" She asked loudly from the edge of the group, speaking to no one in particular but not wanting to elbow her way to the front.

"It's him!"

"Look! I can see him!"

"Is that…"

"No! Where is he! He's got to be…" At that moment, there was a collective gasp and excited squealing. Sighing, Kyoko tried to stand on her tiptoes to catch a glance at whatever her costars were so avidly looking at and saw nothing.

"It's him!" There was another squeal and Kyoko waited patiently.

"Oh…my…god…I just saw Ren Tsuruga!" Kyoko nearly laughed aloud, but restrained herself.

'Oh. I guess Ren's filming nearby.' She glanced over and realized that Chiori was looking at her strangely. "Um…"

"What? Aren't you excited to see him?" Chiori wondered with a slight smirk.

"Ehm…I…uh…" Chiori snorted.

"Don't worry about it. I already know." Kyoko's eyes widened.

"How did you…."

"I've seen the two of you at LME." She shrugged it off, but smiled a little more genuinely. "But are you going to say hello?"

Kyoko blushed and nodded shyly, turning and slipping past the group of screaming girls to walk over to the Dark Moon group.


Kyoko clasped her hands and stood outside the bus; aware of the awed looks she was getting from her costars as they admired her dramatic change in appearance. She wasn't sure what was going on, or what they were filming. She had heard something about a car chase, but it didn't involve Mio, so she hadn't been told any details. Ren appeared at the door of the bus and his eyes widened, then lit up in pleasant surprise. "Kyoko." He spoke her name softly as he stepped off the bus, moving toward her with a smile. "What are you doing here?" He was careful not to touch her or get too close, but Kyoko could see the desire to hold her in his expressive eyes. Bowing slightly, she smiled.

"Box R is filming nearby." He stiffed slightly, glanced to the side, then suddenly they were at the edge of the small cluster of trees nearby. 'How…how did he do that!' "Um…anyway, I'm on break and I heard that Dark Moon was filming over here. So…what are you filming?" She prayed that he didn't catch the nervousness in her voice. If he did, he gave no notice. He slowed to a stop and turned to stand in front of her, giving her his full attention.

"We are going to do the car chase scene. I'll just have to do a quick stunt and we can wrap it up." He was obviously downplaying the facts for her, and she looked at the ground, fear suddenly constricting her heart.

"Ren…" She whispered to the ground. "You…did you train for it?" He was silent and she wondered if he was put out or irritated with her for asking such a dumb question, but didn't glance up.

"I've had experience doing this sort of thing." He said carefully. "And it will be pretty simple." She only nodded, closing her eyes.

'I have no right to ask him not to do it.' She told herself firmly, despite the growing panic. 'I won't lose him.' "Ren, you wouldn't allow yourself to be put in danger, would you?" She asked in a tiny voice, peeking up at him, and was almost able to feel the desperation and fear in her own eyes. His eyes softened as he stepped closer, glancing around for a minute to check that no one was nearby, then encasing her in his arms.

"No, I wouldn't. I'll be fine." He promised, nuzzling the top of her head. "As soon as I'm done, I'll come watch your filming, okay? You can see me as soon as I'm done." She nodded, swallowing hard and praying that he was right. "Everyone from Dark Moon was talking about how different you look." He mumbled with a smile, trying to distract her. She shook her head with a rueful smile.

"That's just Princess Rosa. She's magic." He grinned and shook his head.

"No." He said gently. "It's you. You really are beautiful." He pulled away and cupped her bright red cheek, then kissed her sweetly. "I think I'd better get back." She nodded shyly and hurried over to where Chiori was grinning, waiting for her. Suddenly, she reached up and touched her next, catching the necklace as it fell into her hand.

"Kyoko?" Chiori walked over to her and looked at what was in her hand.

"The…the clasp broke." She looked up at Chiori and frowned.


Kyoko stood in front of the director, smiling and nodding as he talked to her about the next scene. The excitement had finally died down and they had finished a few quick scenes, mostly involving the main characters minus Natsu's little group of bullies. Kyoko had been waiting on the sidelines, a bit anxious about seeing Ren later, and wondering if he would be impressed by her acting. Blushing, she had pushed the thought away. 'Of course he won't. He's a world class actor, and I'm just a newbie actress who's only had two roles.' She smiled a little at the thought despite herself. 'Two roles. I was able to escape from Mio's shadow, and take on this new character. I wonder what I'll get to do next...after Setsu of course.'

She blinked and tried to focus on the the director was telling her. "I don't think that we…" Suddenly the air was filled with the loud squealing of breaks and the far-away screeches of frightened people. Everyone around her froze and Kyoko felt her heart stop. 'Ren.' The thought was instant and involuntaryThe quiet voices faded into the background as everything around her seemed to shut down.

'Ren…" The word bounced around in her mind as she felt the blood drain from her face. Her hands shook and she clenched them into fists, closing her eyes and swallowing hard.

'Isn't Dark Moon filming nearby?' The director's blurry form raced pass her and she felt someone touch her shoulder.

"Kyoko, why don't you go see if everything's okay?' Chiori's concerned face appeared in her field of vision and she managed to nod, running in the director from which she had come a half hour ago.

'Please. Please let him be okay.' The fear threatened to choke her and she swallowed a sob as she ran, her tear filled eyes making the landscape blurry. 'Please.' She pushed past a few crewmembers until one of them recognized her and took her arm.

"Kyoko-chan!"

"Is everyone okay?"

The man gave her a hesitant look, then sighed. "There was almost an accident when a kid ran out into the road, but he's fine. Um….the stunt driver is fine, but Tsuruga-san…he isn't responding to anyone." She swallowed hard and looked past the man to the crowd gathered around a car. She brushed past the crewmember and nearly ran into the director. She was sure he was trying to talk to her, but she couldn't hear anything past the roaring in her ears. She shook her head and tried to get closer, but the director held her arm, and Yashiro appeared near her. Finally the director let her go and she ran over to the car, managed to find her way to the front.

She stiffened as she stood outside of the car door. Ren was slumped against the seat, his eyes anguished and blank, his hands limp at his side. 'He's thinking about Rick.' She took a slow step forward and, resisting the urge to throw her arms around him, she knelt down and took one of his large hands in her own, squeezing gently. "Ren." She spoke softly. Forcing her voice to be more forceful, she repeated his name. "Ren, can you hear me?" She waited, feeling as if every second was an hour as the man slowly turned his head and looked down at her, his eyes clearing until he was smiling softly down at her.

"Loud and clear." He answered gently, opening his arms just in time to catch her as she threw her arms around his neck and trembled, fighting sobs, barely aware of their audience. She couldn't hold back the tiny whimper and the tears that briefly wet his neck until, taking a deep breath, she pulled away with a shuddering breath.
"Are you okay?" He nodded, blinking a few times and taking in the various knowing and surprised stares from the cast and crew and his manager who stood behind her.

"I'm fine." He assured everyone, but especially her, as he sat up a little. She nodded and took a step back, but he kept a hold of her hand for a moment. She wondered if anyone else could see the fear in his eyes and squeezed his hand gently, wishing she could be with him in private to comfort him. Focused on his voice as he assured everyone again that he was fine and apologized to everyone for the inconvenience, she missed the flash in the corner of her eye.

A/N: Let me know what you think. Thanks for reading.