Authors Chat: So I'm just realizing how truly long it's been since I put out a new chapter. For that I apologize. School is a little calmer, but I have more homework and harder assignments this semester. I've also been doing some travel for work (leave again tonight actually), so the schedule's no less busy than last semester really. I've felt seriously burnt out some nights. BUT! Thank you to all who have sent me note of encouragement and wishes to continue my story. Sorry it's been so long coming!

Dedicated to Whydoyouwanttoknowmyname – Because she dreams about this fic.

That being said, italics text are direct thoughts of characters, text is in quotes, noises are done with asterisks.

DISCLAIMER: Skip Beat! and it's characters are not my original creation, they are owned and created by Nakamura Yoshiki.

Playing With Fire

Act 52

"Moko-san! He'll notice if you move all his magazines on the end table!"

"Oh relax. I'll be sure to place it EXACTLY as I found it. Not like I'm oiling a lock, or doing something permanent" Kanae flopped herself down onto the sofa and began flipping through the magazine on Men's fashion. "There are a lot of photos of Tsuruga-san in here."

"Let me see!" Kyoko was instantly leaning over the edge of the sofa, looking over her shoulder, but Kanae folded the magazine over, blocking her view.

"Aren't you supposed to be checking the bedroom now?"

"…aren't you supposed to be helping me?" Kyoko pouted.

"*sigh* Yes, but I've checked every nook and cranny in this room, and I'm not about to go digging through some man I hardly know's bedroom."

Kyoko's face flushed at that. It was exactly what she was about to do. No matter how much she liked Yashiro-san, he still had not once invited her into his home. Instead, she was entering on her own, trying to steal an old planner from him. Not to mention, keeping secrets from him – secrets that he really SHOULD know about, with Tsuruga Ren as his charge and sole responsibility.

She felt guilty, yeah, but she was already there, and hardly about to turn back now. Steeling herself, she pivoted on her heels, and took that first nervous step down the hall to Yashiro's bedroom.

Silence grew in the air. It made Kanae wonder if Kyoko was truly looking, or just glancing over things in an attempt to not invade the poor man's privacy. She turned another page of the magazine, then another in agitation.

"At the rate you're going, we'll be here all day!" she hollered down the hallway.

A muffled sentence was her answer, followed by a short "kyaa!" and the sound of books tumbling off of a book shelf.

Kanae could only shake her head in disgust. Great. The klutz just extended our stay. She grabbed a second magazine, knowing she would need it to get through the next half hour. "Whatever fell, I hope you know exactly where it was! Make sure to put it all back how you found it!"

"Hai Moko-san! It's fine, just some books!"

As Kanae sat down, a faint buzz sound began to emanate from Kyoko's discarded bag.

No WAY am I telling her about her phone. She'd feel obliged to answer it, and then this would just take even LONGER. Then it occurred to her, "…and Mogami! You had better not be stalling so you don't have to tell me what's been going on! You already owe me for this!"

"Whaaaaat! Of course not Moko-san! I promise I'll tell y-" her words faded into nothing as she dived back into the bedroom.

Kanae flipped another page in agitation.

Fifteen minutes went by, and Kanae was running out of magazines, even with taking the time to analyze the composition of each photo. "You're taking too long Mogami!" she called down the hall. Honestly, why do I put up with her! She hardly noticed the smile forming on her own mouth. In truth, Kanae knew EXACTLY why she put up with her, though she was lax to admit it.

She returned the magazines to the exact place, angle, and order she had originally found them, then looked around to find something else to occupy her time. Yashiro's walls were lightly decorated with black and white photographs, some were Ansel Adam's work, some appeared to be his own. One particular photograph caught Kanae's eye, and she stepped closer to get a better look.

The woman in the photo was naked and the lights were dim except for a strong light focused on the left side of her back, and highlighting the angles of her face as she glanced back over her shoulder.

It seemed like such a staged photograph, but at the same time, held the quality of surprise. For a photograph, it was really quite good. The artist's mark indicated again that it was one of Yashiro's own works.

Yashiro-san doesn't seem like a person to take nude photos. He'd probably blush, and gush profusely about putting clothing on. …He's a little like Mogami that way, seems very old fashioned. Though, he did surprise us with a modern apartment… Still. I wonder if he knew the woman. If he was in a relationship with her, he probably would not have had a problem with this shot. Then again… I wonder what kind of women he prefers…

Her thoughts took her farther around the room as she observed the photographs, until she came back to the entry way, where framed awards were hung.

This peak into Yashiro's life was very intriguing to her. Before, Yashiro Yukihito was just a man who managed Tsuruga Ren's daily life. Hardly someone worth her interest, but now, after seeing his apartment and getting a glimpse into his life, he suddenly, somehow, became human rather than a walking planner.

Kanae was reading the fourth award on the wall when Kyoko came back out of the bedroom.

"It isn't there either Moko-san! I guess we're going to have to check the last two doors. I just hate to go into a closed room though. He must keep them closed for a reason, right? Well, one of them must be the wash room… the other's probably were he keeps his confidential files. A study maybe? Or a guest bedroom I guess it could be."

"Mogami!" Kanae had to stop the babbling before it got worse. "Just go check! Who cares what it is? We're probably running out of time-"

Right on cue, they heard a scraping and jiggling of the door lock. That could only mean one thing. Their time really had run out.

Their eyes widened in unison as they looked from the door to each other, then the harsh whispering started of what to do and where to go as they frantically ran back into the living room. Right as they rounded the corner, they heard the lock scraping and handle jiggling stop, and the door clicked open, followed by a disgruntled sigh.

The panic caused the girls to freeze in place, then Kyoko dropped to the floor behind the couch, in earthquake-protection position. Kanae, having nowhere to hide to be even out of sight, Turned around to face the entry way and calmed herself outwardly to appear as if she belonged right where she was.

Yashiro looked up into the living room as he hung his jacket on the coat tree just at the end of the entryway. He was so startled that he half-turned to flee out of the apartment. Recognition dawned on him though, and he turned back to his apartment invader.

"You're Kyoko-chan's friend Moko-san, right? What are you doing in my apartment?"

"Yes, though that isn't my name. I am Kotonami Kanae. She calls me Moko-san because of a rather harsh beginning to our… friendship. She thought I was rather like a tiger." Better to just admit it at this point I think…

"You're okay with that?"

"I guess. But you, I'd prefer if you called me Kanae."

"B-b-but, this is the first time I've really met you! Hardly familiar enough to call you so closely. …and again, what are you doing in my apartment? How did you get in?"

She was silent for just a moment as her brain worked overtime to explain how she was in the apartment. Yashiro started to speak again, but was cut off before he was able to get even a word out as Kanae gave her answer.

"The maintenance staff let me in. I told them I was your girlfriend, though, I was actually intending just to leave you a note and ask you to call me."

"M-my girlfriend?"

"Yes, well, I couldn't very well tell them that we barely knew each other yet. They'd think I was a stalker or something!"

"I suppose, but we DO barely know each other. …And you ARE entered into my apartment without permission!"

"It's alright Yashiro-san. I really am here because I wanted to get to know you better. I've heard about you from Mogami-san, and quite frankly, you interest me."

"So you broke into my apartment!" he was either angry, or scared. Kyoko couldn't tell without popping her head up to look at his expression.

"Well, yes, but only with good intention. I have just about everything in my bag," she walked over to the kitchen counter where Kyoko's large bag was sitting, plain as day, "but I was out of paper. The only notebook I have in here today is filled completely with notes on acting and my current productions."

"So you broke in to find a piece of paper."

"Well, when you put it that way… yes." She smiled at him apologetically. "At a part of the Love Me division, our schedules can be rather hectic. I only had a limited time to come down here, so it was now or never."

"Right. Okay. Okay. So… what do you want then?"

"I want to go on a date, Yashiro Yukihito-san."

Yashiro felt a little like he had hit a brick wall. He was stunned. "N-now!"

"If you're free." She smiled. "Now is good. We could get some coffee, or an early lunch."

"Actually, I apologize Kotonami-san, but I am not free. I have to go back to LME to the tech department and get a new phone." Kanae gave him a crestfallen look. "…but, I suppose we could go together at least?"

For a moment, Kanae thought her attempt to cover their break-in was a loss; she would have been asked to leave, and Kyoko would have been left in the apartment alone with Yashiro for any length of time, and she was NOT a good enough liar or actress to be able to wiggle herself out of that one!

"I'll be just a few minutes Kotonami-san. I need to get some information for Tsuruga-san's schedule. Please… uh… make yourself comfortable?" He gave a slight bow then turned down the hall and opened one of the two remaining, closed doors.

As soon as he was out of sight, Kanae leaned back over the couch.

"You SOOOOooo owe me for this one Mogami!" Kyoko knew by the harshness of her whisper that she was irritated and would NOT let her forget this incident for a long time. Kyoko, in truth, was just grateful Kanae didn't turn around to tell her she hated her!

"He's gone into the closed door on the right side of the hall. I told him your bag was mine since you so obviously left it on the counter. I'm going to take it with me, so get what you need out of it now." She dropped the bag over the back side of the couch as Kyoko whispered repeated apologies and hastily pulled out two scripts, a pen, her wallet, her phone, and a tin of mints.

"Alright Kotonami-san." Yashiro closed the door behind him, then moved down the hall back to where Kanae stood. "I'm ready. After you?" He motioned toward the entry way."

Once the door closed, Kyoko popped up from behind the sofa, blushing to herself as she whispered again, to no one, an 'I'm sorry'. She didn't expect to need one, but she was truly grateful she had Kanae come along as a look-out. Then again, the reason for a look-out is to be watching just in case something DOES happen. This time, something just did.

Of course, now she had no reason to worry about Yashiro showing up, AND she knew where to find his planner. She made a bee-line for the closed door on the right of the hall, opened the door, and found herself facing a cozy home office.

The planner was setting directly in the middle of his very clean desk.

This is nice. I'd like a place like this I think, when I have the money to live on my own again that is. Maybe I'll see if they have any openings then. Ren-san wouldn't have to travel so much to drop me off after dropping off Yashiro that way.

Sitting down at the desk, she opened the planner to the current week. The planner was just a neat and organized as the rest of Yashiro's home. Everything had its place, everything was tidy, and his script was neat and easy to read.

Kyoko opened the desk drawer and pulled out a legal tablet and pen and began writing down every bit of free time Ren had for the next month. After having to break in like this, she didn't want to miss even a single moment when they could potentially have their date.