AN1: Sorry for the delay in writing and updating my fics, I've been pretty busy which has led to me getting a bit exhausted and having writers block. I didn't even realize a week had gone by. Well, I hope you enjoy 😊 (I hope there's some development in the manga soon but we all know how slow it goes)

Chapter Fifteen : Return to Set

Kyoko pulled her knees to her chest as she sat in her bedroom. She needed to get up and get ready for work but she was terrified about the previous night. Technically, the name Kuon Hizuri was a new name and it already had attached to it a murder charge and a rape charge. She didn't know if he could climb out of that pit despite them not being true.

She took another deep breath in and closed her eyes. She just had to think about Kuu and the way that he would want her to act whilst performing her scene. She was a great actress and acting was something that she knew and felt confidence in. It just didn't have…Kuon in it, right?

Her phone rang.

Without even checking it, a rare move for her, Kyoko picked it up. "Hello, this is Kyoko –" she began before hearing a laugh that always seemed to comfort her.

"It's Kuon," Kuon grinned as Kyoko grabbed to the phone.

"Hey, are you okay? Are you – is this your one call do you need me to come? I don't have mu—" Kyoko began but he quickly cut her off.

"My dad came down to meet me. I'm cleared of all charges, thank you for your testimony as well that really helped them release me so fast. I can't even believe that they had enough so-called evidence from that guy to keep me there for as long as they did." Kuon said and Kyoko wondered how much sleep he had had the previous night. "Thank you for being my princess."

"You're welcome, Kuon" Kyoko said quickly. "They didn't…they didn't hurt you…did they?"

"I'm fine and my career is fine too," Kuon told her as he looked away, "Well according to the president my career is fine, do you know that Fuwa actually came to my dad's hotel room and tried to sign himself up as my replacement," he sighed frustrated.

"I'm sure that Kuu-sama loooved that," Kyoko responded with a smile, "That jerk is such…I'm done with him. I make his name taboo. I don't even want revenge, I just want him erased."

"That's good," Kuon grinned, "Let's just forget about him. So, I'm going to take a quick bath but should I come over to pick you up or is that not a good idea after last night," Kuon said trying to think of the couple who owned the restaurant

Kyoko looked down, "We'll have to call to them together, I'll wait for you outside though," she grinned as she put the phone down and quickly went to get changed into something that would make her feel good especially with Ren's arm around her.

Once she had washed, changed, and said goodbye to the couple who she was so grateful to, she ran outside and saw Kuon's car parked across the street. With a smile she rushed over to him and saw him getting out of the car. Once she could stand opposite him and saw that he was alright, she ran towards him and wrapped her arms securely around his waist. He wrapped his arms around her, surprised that she was crying.

"Hey there," Kuon smiled weakly before kissing the top of her head, "What's wrong? Don't tell me something happened this ear—"

"I'm so glad that you're safe," Kyoko said as she pressed the side of her face as close into his chest as it allowed. "I was so worried about you," she looked up and placed a hand on his cheek. "I knew that you could survive but I didn't want any more emotional scars. I worried about you all night," she told him before taking deep inhales. "You're here now though. You're here and everything is going to be okay."

Kuon smiled and let one hand rub her back. "Yes, they realized there was nothing that they could pin on me. Thank you, my princess," he said as he placed a kiss on the top of her head. "I hate to say it but I was a little scared myself."

Kyoko grinned as she pulled away from him although there were tears in her eyes, "Now I can concentrate on my role."

….

….

"So, how is he doing?" one of the makeup artists asked Kyoko as she sat in front of the mirror. Kuon had already been in makeup and was doing one of his scenes that she wasn't in yet, therefore the makeup artists had extra time in making her look glamorous and appealing. Kyoko closed her eyes. Was she an idiot for falling so in love with him. "I'm glad that people are so understanding about what happened, it would be terrible for his reputation to plummet."

Kyoko took deep breaths in, "I think it's his charm that has been helping him, but I'd prefer not to talk about his feelings. He's the Ren Tsuruga, he can handle himself," she attempted to remind the crew member. She didn't want to say how worried she was for him and it wasn't just him being locked up she was worried about. She had a sneaky suspicion that Kuon dealt with something else but she had never had confirmation.

Maybe she could ask Kuu or Julie, or maybe she could be brave and ask Kuon himself. 'Hey, Kuon. Do you suffer from undiagnosed and un-medicated depression?' Yes, that was the perfect question to ask her boyfriend. She had seen signs of it though and she was scared that because it hadn't been part of Ren's character, that was the only way he had gotten through it so far.

Would she be with Kuon if he had been locked up? Yes. It would have been hard for her to see him so little and only behind glass, but she would have stayed loyal to him. He was Corn. He had given her so much that she couldn't imagine being with somebody else.

So, if he did tell her that he suffered from depression on a medical level, would she love him? Yes. She would try to figure out how to help him though. Even if he was ill she would still want to marry him one day and they could discuss children. She blushed.

There was no way that Kuon was thinking about marriage and children with her, they had just started dating, she couldn't fall down that rabbit hole just yet. What if she was going to become the same as with Shoutaro? She knew that Kuon wouldn't hurt her. His bad feelings were directed towards himself and not the outside world. He had grown up wealthy, but he always thanked her for her hard work and he accepted her financial situation. Still, if she forced too much on him then he could get scared off.

"And we're done," the makeup artist said as Kyoko went to the set where Kuon's solo scene had just finished. She came over to Kuu and looked at the way they had made her boyfriend up to look adorable.

Kyoko blushed again, she was already referring to this blond haired, emerald-eyed, wonderful actor as her boyfriend. She stayed still as she listened to his words.

"If that wasn't alright, please tell me. I can take my father giving me an NG, please treat me like any other actor here," Kuon seemed to plead as Kuu frowned. Kyoko could already remember that frown from when Kuu was with someone he liked but was feeling a little annoyed at their words. She laughed as Kuu poked Kuon's head.

"Listen to me, you may be my son but I don't accept acting that doesn't excite me from anyone. You are being treated like everyone else. From your attitude you must get NGs all the time," Kuu pointed out as Kuon looked down sheepishly.

"He rarely gets an NG," Yashiro pointed out as Kyoko nodded. She stood still until the three of them realized she was there.

Kyoko pouted as she looked up at Kuon, "I missed it?" she asked, "I was looking forward to seeing you act but now I get to play across from you," she said with an excited smile. Kuon paused and then nodded.

"You look amazing," he grinned to her as Kyoko felt her heart beat grow stronger in her chest. She needed to concentrate on acting and not the way that her hair and makeup made her look like part of the elite crowd and that she was wearing a designer blouse, skirt, and heels. She had to calm down, she couldn't allow herself to depend on him too much.

"Well, should we start the scene?" Kyoko asked as Kuu nodded.

"Let's do scene number 12, the second meeting between our leads," he called out and Kyoko took her seat at the table that was part of the 'office lobby' scene, they had decided to create the set inside so that they could easily reuse it. She took deep breaths, calming herself enough to get into her character.

…..

…..

Pandora was looking over some papers with a smile on her face, she placed her finger on some of the notes that she had written down and grinned. She hummed as she looked up, "I don't necessarily have to kill him, I just have to burn him out," she said thoughtfully. She grinned coldly as she placed the papers in the file. "After all, he'll get burned out either way, men really are pathetically stupid."

Pandora sat quietly for a few moments before spotting a man enter the building and raised an eyebrow. She smiled patiently as if a predator waiting for her prey. "Nobira-san," she said before she relaxed her expression into a calming Tsuruga style smile. "Fancy meeting you here."

"I was told to scout out the area, are you not working today?" Nobira asked as Pandora stretched her arms out.

"In my position, sometimes work can be a chore. I'm meeting someone here," she said already feeling that he was trying to make an investigation on the wrong person, sometimes her skills really did work the way she wanted them to. "So, Mr. Police Officer," she teased him, "Not playing the role of a civilian today," she said as she gestured to his uniform.

"Unfortunately, I don't feel the luxury to not protect the law. I take it that I can't arrest you today," he joked as he held up the handcuffs. He chuckled as he grinned to her, the playfulness in his eyes.

"You know there are a lot of other ways to use them," Pandora smiled as she leaned closer to Nobira and walked her fingers up his shirt. "A lot of women like to roleplay with those especially with a man in uniform."

"Is that one of your fantasies, a police officer?" Nobira attempted to tease her. "Well, I should be getting on with my job. I hope that you have someone special in your life who could wear this outfit for you." Nobira saw Pandora blush. "I'm going to have to leave, criminals to catch, paperwork to file –"

"Young ladies to take out on a date?" Pandora asked as she looked down at the cup of tea in front of her and swirled her spoon in a seductive way.

"Only if you're agreeable," he grinned to her and Pandora leaned forwards.

"More than agreeable," she said as her eyes roamed to his pants and then back to his face. "Mr. Officer-san."

Nobira took a steady inhale and then nodded, "How about tonight?" he asked her. "Although I might not be able to…"

"Tonight is perfect," Pandora smiled, "Well, I'll let you return to the line…of…duty," she said slowly and Nobira nodded nervously before bowing to her and leaving. Pandora licked her lips as he walked away. She was really interested in catching her prey.

…..

…..

As the scene ended, Kyoko froze as she saw someone blond and definitely unwanted out of the corner of her eye. How dumb was that Shotaro!?

AN2:

Thank you to all of those people who support me. I wanted to also send the special shout out to my reviewers of the previous chapter: brennakai, DreamIdol, KetiraTM, ktoll9, mangalover5

I'm planning on going through the supporters of my fics and reading their stories soon too 😊 I'm glad so many other creative writers like my work, it means a lot to me.