A/N: I liked this chapter a lot better than the last one, though I did like that one better after I went back and edited it. SO thank you SO SO much for all reviews and favorites and such. I really appreciate it so much and I hope you enjoy this chapter! :D (2 chapters in 1 weekend! WOW I need to study more. lol. But, time spent doing something you loved is not time wasted as someone famous...sort of said (I think I misquoted that but you get the gist))
Tailed
She didn't want to leave him. The thought of letting go of his hand was almost physically painful, but she knew that she had to pull away and get back to filming, back to her job, and let him get back to his. Her decesion wasn't made easier by his desperate, almost painful grip on her small hand. She gently tugged on his hand to get his attention and he glanced down at her with a small smile, his eyes still subtly frightened, and she gave him a tiny, reassuring smile. "Tsuruga-san, if you'll follow me?" Director Ogata stepped forward and the crowd slowly dispersed, leaving only Ren, Director Ogata, and Kyoko, who was still attached to Ren. He seemed to remember this and released her reluctantly, sending her a small apologetic smile.
"Sorry." He spoke softly. "You'd probably better get back to your filming." She grimaced and looked up at him, then glanced back at the Box R director who was watching her curiously from the sidelines. "It's okay. You can go." She didn't speak, but bit her bottom lip, a distinct frown on her face, her eyes cautious. "Kyoko, you can't delay your filming." It was a gentle reminder, but it made her flinch nonetheless.
Director Ogata gave them a compassionate look. "We just need you to get a quick check up to see if you're okay. Then you can take the rest of the day off." His eyes were kind, but his tone killed any argument Ren might have made instantly. Kyoko backed up a step and Ren took her hand briefly and squeezed it.
"Hey, I'll see you in a few hours, okay?" She nodded, looking up at him for a moment, then turned to go.
Ogata noticed the way he watched her walk away and placed a hand on his shoulder briefly. "She was really worried." He told the actor gently. "But she'll be fine. You can see her later, right?" Ren nodded with a sigh and followed the Director to the ambulance with the promise that someone would drive his car. Yashiro offered to go with him but he told him to go ahead and take the rest of the day off. Obviously worried, Yashiro made him promise that he would call him after he got his check-up, then walked over to the sidelines of the Box R filming.
Yashiro took a seat on the sidelines and watched Natsu terrorize her favorite target with her group of friends for a few scenes, occasionally disturbed at how far the girls took the bullying, and wondered how the sweet girl his friend was dating could be so…joyful while tormenting another person. An hour passed before the girl looked up and realized that he was there, and he watched in mild amusement as the girl's eyes became impossibly wide and she ran over to him, stopping a few feet away and bowing at the waist. "Yashiro-san! I am so sorry for not seeing you before! How long have you been waiting to speak to me? Is everything okay? You could have just called for me!" He chuckled gently and stood, taking her arm and pulling her into a standing position again.
Her vibrant eyes reminded him instantly of the terrified, blank stare in her eyes when he had spotted her speaking to the director after Ren's accident. When he had hurried over, explaining the situation to the director, she had just stood there, empty eyed and trembling, until the director let her go. He wasn't even sure she had seen him as he begged the director to let her see Ren. Now her eyes were bright, her sweet face as friendly as usual, but he could still see the sadness and fear in the depths of her eyes. He smiled sympathetically. "I didn't need anything in particular. I just thought I'd stick around to see your filming since I have the rest of the day off." She nodded, her smile wilting a little, and his eyes softened. "Are you done filming for the day?"
"Um…yes. I mean…I have to meet Ren later for the…um….thing." She mumbled, and he nodded in understanding. He had been told about her role in the dangerous mission, and was glad that Ren would have someone with him.
"Why don't I take you to dinner and I can take you to the hotel." She smiled a little in gratitude and nodded. She didn't want to be alone with her thoughts for the moment, and was more than grateful to Yashiro-san for keeping her company. He sat back down and waited as she changed from her Natsu outfit and, grabbing her bag, walked back over to him. "Anywhere in particular you want to go?" He wondered. She shook her head.
"Anything you like is fine, Yashiro-san." He laughed softly at her overly polite tone and began walking, glancing over to make sure she fell into step with him. As they walked from the set, both were lost in their thoughts. Kyoko felt her mind wander back to Ren and sighed softly. 'I wanted to go so badly.' She blinked hard, not wanting any tears to fall…not while she was in public anyway. 'He's still going through so much…fighting his past, and I feel like there isn't anything I can do, besides just be there, and what is that going to accomplish?' She shifted her bag to her other shoulder and tried to discreetly wipe at her eyes.
"Are you okay?" His voice was soft, and she managed a decent smile.
"Sorry. I'm fine. I'm just…worried about him." Yashiro-san nodded as well.
"I'm worried too." He stopped and opened the door to a small restaurant, holding it open for her, then following her inside. A waiter led them to a table and they ordered, Yashiro discreetly informing the waiter that it was all on one check that he would be paying, and they sipped their drinks. "What time are you supposed to meet him?"
"Well, I wasn't supposed to be at the hotel until seven, but I don't know now." He nodded.
"I'll can walk you to his apartment after this then. He'll probably go back there. I have a key and I can let you in."
"Um…thank you, Yashiro-san, but I…um…I have a key." She blushed at looked down at her drink when he lifted an eyebrow but didn't comment. "And…um…I can walk on my own…" He shook his head.
"Kyoko, surely Ren's told you that it's dangerous to walk around on your own. I'll just take a cab with you." She opened her mouth, then stopped, the took a deep breath.
"I…I can't afford a taxi, Yashiro-san." She mumbled. He smiled gently.
"I was going to pay for it since I'm riding with you, Kyoko-chan." He said kindly, not wanting to embarrass her, but also not wanting her to have to walk.
They had been chatting lightly and eating for a few minutes when Kyoko stiffened a little and cut her eyes to the side. Yashiro, noticing her strange behavior, glanced over and didn't see anything unusual. "Kyoko-chan?"
"Um…Yashiro-san…I think that…that man…I saw him earlier. When we left the set." She murmured. Suddenly spotting the small, professional camera in the man's hand and audio device he had no trouble identifying after years of managing Japan's top talent, he hastily called for the waiter and asked for the check and to-go containers, all the while keeping a discreet eye on the man.
"Keep looking to the side." He told her softly as he signed the receipt. "Don't act like you see him. You can't…" He fell silent when he looked out the window and spotted a sizeable crowd of people, most of them with cameras, and groaned softly. She followed his gaze and paled, shrinking in her seat a little. "Crap." He muttered irritably. It would have been one thing if his only problem was getting her from the restaurant into a car, but there was no car waiting, and he didn't know how long flagging down a taxi while trying to protect her would take. Pulling on a glove, he started to call the President when the reporter suddenly approached their table, striding up to the now nervous Kyoko.
"Hey. Can I ask you a few questions?" He grinned at Kyoko, placing his hand on the table, and Yashiro stood stiffly, stepping between the speechless girl and the sleazy looing reporter.
"No. You may not. If you want an interview with Mogami-san, you may contact LME and request an official appointment." He smirked, stepping into Yashiro's personal space, and Yashiro looked down at him coolly, used to overeager reporters.
"Aren't you Tsuruga Ren's manager?" Yashiro lifted an eyebrow, stepping forward a little and forcing the man to step back and further away from Kyoko, who was still glancing nervously at the door where reporters were waiting, apparently knowing better than to storm the place.
"I am an employee at LME and I am currently seeing that Mogami-san gets to her next location safely." The man snorted.
"Yea, I'll bet that's what you're doing with her." Yashiro's eyes narrowed slightly at the suggestion, wincing when we heard the soft gasp behing him, but he didn't take the bait.
"Like I said, if you have questions for Mogami-san or our company, please contact LME." He stepped back and helped Kyoko to her feet, then, an arm around her, led her to the front of the building, where she distinctly didn't want to go. "I'm calling Takarada-san." He told her softly, glancing back to make sure the reporter wasn't standing nearby. "And then I'm going to just call a cab, and then we're going to walk outside. When people ask you questions, just say 'no comment' and I'll keep you safe, okay?" She nodded and stood stiffly as he called first Takarada-san and then a cab.
Kyoko took a deep breath and felt Yashiro squeeze her shoulder gently. 'He takes care of Ren, the number one actor in Japan…I'll be fine." He let go of her and stepped outside in front of her, shielding her from some of the flashes that immediately followed.
"Kyoko-chan! Are you dating Ren Tsuruga?" One woman cried, shoving her microphone in her face. For a split second she froze, then felt Yashiro-san reach back and pull her forward.
"Ehm…no comment." She kept walking.
"Kyoko-chan!" She picked out another voice from the roar. "Is it true that you are trying to sleep your way to the top of the show business industry?" She flinched slightly.
"No comment." She said simply, following Yashiro toward the cab again. Suddenly there was a hand on her wrist.
"Kyoko-chan! Are you cheating on Ren Tsuruga with his manager?" About to answer, she watched the man pale and release her, then glanced over to Yashiro-san, who was emitting a chilly, forbidding aura. He placed an arm around her and led her to the cab, not surprised when there were no more questions.
"You okay?" She nodded, still a little shaky. He leaned forward and gave the cab driver the address of Ren's apartment and sat back, waiting for them to reach their destination.
Ren sat in his car and placed the phone against his ear. "Are you okay?" Ren grinned and gave a soft laugh.
"I'm fine. Did you get home okay?" Yashiro was silent for a moment. "Yashiro-san? Are you okay?" There was a sigh.
"Actually I waited for Kyoko-chan. We ate…at a restaurant." Ren lifted an eyebrow, not sure why his friend sounded so nervous. He had absolutely no problem with his manager taking her to lunch…actually it made him feel better. Not only did he know that she was safe, he knew that she was not alone, torturing herself and worrying about him.
"Um…alright. Did you have a nice time?" He asked with a half laugh. Yashiro-san sighed and he realized that there was more to the story.
"Ren…there was a reporter at the restaurant…and then a whole swarm of them outside. There are going to be some interesting rumors going around."
Ren pushed his door open and looked around, anxious to find the girl he had wanted to be with since the accident. There was no sign of her. 'She wouldn't leave…not after what happened with the reporters…right?' "Kyoko!" He called her name, hearing the slight echo through his ridiculously large apartment. There was no answer, so he walked through the living room and pushed the guest room door open, looking around. He found her bag on the floor by the bed and smiled a little in relief. 'At least I know she's here.' "Kyoko? Where…" He stopped when he heard a sniff and moved toward the guest bathroom door. Knocking softly, he leaned his forehead against the door. "Kyoko?" This time his voice was gentle. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just a second." He frowned at the strangled voice of his girlfriend and crossed his arms, waiting. When she emerged, he immediately noticed her red eyes and how she was biting her lip. About to speak, he was just able to catch her as she threw herself against him, throwing her arms around his neck and holding on for dear life. Not caring for the awkward angle, he took a few steps back and managed to make it to the bed, sitting down and pulling her against him. "Hey. What's wrong?" She sobbed softly against him and shook her head. "Kyoko? Yashiro-san told me what happened. Are you okay?" She sobbed again, a horrible, painful sound that made him pull away and cup her face in his hands. "Don't cry." He pleaded. "Everything's okay." She shook her head.
"I'm…I'm so…so sorry." She whimpered, opening her tear filled eyes and meeting his surprised, concerned ones. "Y…you are de…dealing with s…so mu…much and…and now..." She sobbed again, her breath catching. "…all the rumors about you…" She shook her head. "I'm…sor…sorry." She placed her face in her hands and cried in earnest, missing his stunned look. She felt his hands on her arms and felt him pull her closer, the he lay on his side, holding her.
"Shh." He soothed her, rubbing her back and wiping at the tears on her face. "Don't cry. I'm not upset with you." Her eyes met his, half hopeful and half fearful. "Kyoko, they were going to find out eventually, and I knew that if they did, they were going to make up rumors about both of us. It's okay. We can release a statement to the press and deal with them later, okay?" She nodded, releasing a shuddering, relieved breath, and he smiled, kissing her cheek covered in salty tears.
"Are you okay?" She asked suddenly, her hand on his face. He smiled, chuckling softly.
"You're the one crying. I should be asking you that." She giggled hesitantly, resting her head on his arm that wrapped around her and slipped under her head. Still, he could see the fear in her eyes and didn't blame her. Despite the fact that she knew about his past, he could still feel it, binding him to Rick's death and his own violence. 'I could have killed that boy.' It was an accident. He knew that. But all he could think of as he slammed on the break was the last time he had caused an 'accidental' death. He could see it in his mind, the car slamming into the child's body, the people standing over the bleeding body, sobbing and crying, the mother as she turned to him. 'Murderer.'
Two arms tightened around him and he was brought back by the soft touch of lips on his cheek. Closing his eyes, he wrapped his arms around her and tried to focus only on her, on her scent, on the feel of skin under his hands, on her soft hair and steady breathing, and most importantly, on her words, assuring him that he wasn't a murderer, that he was someone worthy of love and someone she admired and wanted to be with, someone she obviously trusted a great deal since she was lying in bed with him, holding him like a mother would hold their child.
"It's going to be okay, Kuon." She whispered, her nose against his cheek, her lips so close to his ear that she had to pull back a little so as not to touch it. "We'll get through this." Of course he knew that she wasn't just talking about the rumors and the press. He nodded, pulling away and kissing her cheek, not trusting himself to speak but desperate to let her know how grateful he was. "You're not a murderer." The firmness in her voice made him smile a little, and he wondered how she knew how constantly he needed to be reminded of this.
"I'm afraid." He admitted softly, something he had never done before. "I'm afraid of BJ."
"I won't let him hurt you." He closed his eyes, realizing how ridiculous that statement would sound to anyone else, but amazed at how spot on she was. "No matter what, I won't leave you." With that promise secured, he closed his eyes and let himself drift off, if only for a few hours.
A/N: The fact that I'm not sure how to end this story worries me more than a little…but I know there are a few more things left to include. So….if anyone has suggestions…I have been known to steal them :D (The press thing totally came about because of a comment…you know who you are :D) Anyway, let me know what you think. Reviews are love and Twix bars are joy. Thanks again (bow)
