Chapter 2

He hadn't seen her since that night the paparazzi caught the photo of him and the older actress. At first, he felt justified in what he had done as he pulled her closer to him and leaned into her kiss. His mind told him that he had every right to do as he pleased. She wasn't his and he wasn't hers. There was no relationship other than Senior to Junior in the world of entertainment. It didn't matter what those painful feelings told him.

At no point did he ever reveal his feelings to anyone, not her, not his godfather, not his friend and manager, so why were they looking at him like he'd cheated on his wife? She was nothing to him and he never implied so. He lied to himself with that one to ease the pain. Was she playing the victim with them? Was she telling them there was something there that wasn't, and that's why they gave him that disgusted look with a sigh? He was finished with the little pursuit that left him pining over her constantly and they had no right to judge him for moving on, or was this feeling just his own guilty conscience?

He noticed the very person that he had been thinking of, enter through the employee entrance. From her look, it seemed as though she was preparing for her new role. Her raven black hair, fell below her hips and her walk was more relaxed. She didn't seem as reserved or as modestly stiff as normal. She was wearing all black. Her appearance had become something closer to a female Cain Heel, more than anything else, at least that's what she reminded him of. It was a very gothically emo Kyoko, with her hair, makeup and clothing.

He watched as she walked to the end of the hall and left through the door that lead to the smoking area. "What the hell?" He murmured as he lengthened his stride and quickened his pace. She was not going to avoid him this time. Had she really been avoiding him or was he avoiding her? He swept through the door, angrily, ready to give her a piece of his mind and find out what was going on. Have her answer all of his questions once and for all.

He stood there in shock as he watched her light the cigarette without the aid of anything but a kiss from her lips. She glanced at the intruder and deeply inhaled as if she had been smoking her entire life. "Can I help you with something Tsuruga-san?" She asked emotionlessly with dull eyes, that he had only ever seen on her once before.

"Mogami-san? What are you doing out here?" He asked, trying to hide his anger.

She took another puff and exhaled calmly, creating strange smoke images to amuse herself. Why did his anger not bother her like it usually did? "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm relaxing before I have to go back to work. It's called a smoke break." She told him as if she were teaching a class of small children, slowly and meticulously. "May I ask why you're here?"

"I just wanted to talk to you." He refrained from spitting that one out. He had many things he wanted to get off his chest.

She sighed boredly. "About?"

Her lack of emotion was starting to severely piss him off. How could she be so calm and apathetic when he was boiling over right now? "I want to know why you're avoiding me." He spat out.

"I haven't been avoiding you, Tsuruga-san. I've been busy. Was that your only concern?"

He was almost speechless. "But you have time to play tonsil hockey with that hack singer?!"

She smirked evilly at him. "No more time than you have to slip into bed with that cadaver you picked up a few weeks ago at the bar." She took a final drag from the cigarette and put it out on the palm of her hand. She nodded at the stunned actor and tossed the butt in the trash. "Have a nice day Tsuruga-san."

Honestly, as he thought more about it, it really was none of his business who she decided to be with. He'd never really come out and told her anything of consequence. He never told her how he felt. She'd been the one that'd been burned by love, why would she suddenly decide to spill her heart to him when he had women doing that to him daily? Of course he would need to be the first one to confess, yet he just wasn't grasping that concept. Only a fool would expose themselves to that type of pain more than once.

He watched stunned as she casually walked back in to start her day. He wanted to follow, pull her back, but something was holding him firmly in place.

Something was very wrong. She shouldn't be feeling this way. She shouldn't be feeling anything at all. She shouldn't feel a tiny, distant glimmer of anything at all. She had ripped it from her body and disposed of it that night. She wasn't supposed to feel satisfaction at making him squirm or, the desire for vengeance. She wasn't supposed to feel that little spark of pain that came from hearing his voice or, seeing his face.

~xoxo~

Maria flinched a little in surprise as the box on her desk lightly pulsed. "Onee-sama..." She whispered sadly. She gently caressed the box and the small tear that fell on it sizzled, then disappeared. "Don't worry... I'll take care of it for you." She kissed her small fingers and placed them on the box. "I love you. You aren't alone." She whispered to the heart it contained, after opening it to check its safety. Another crack in the stone could be seen and Maria's tears fell on it freely. She closed the small box and wiped away her sadness. "I'm so sorry, Onee-sama. Please don't give up." She murmured.

Kyoko clutched her empty chest as she felt the pain ripple through her body and fell to her knees. Why is this happening?

Yashiro rushed to her side and helped her up. "Kyoko-chan! Are you alright?"

She closed her eyes and the pain ebbed away. This shouldn't be happening! She turned her gaze to Yashiro, and he could feel the heat of her stare. He shivered. "Where is it? Where did you put it?" She hissed low.

He swallowed nervously. He had been warned by Ruto that this could be a very dangerous mission. Powerful witches were not to be trifled with. They weren't the frilly little pretenders that history had painted them as. A true witch was extremely hard to flee from if they wanted revenge, difficult to deal with, and nearly impossible to kill. Anything short of burying her in a salt mine with a holy relic would not do if they needed to dispatch her to protect themselves, and others. Honestly, they weren't really sure they'd be able to do something like that to her anyway. He had also been warned that he should do everything in his power to keep her from those that had caused her awakening in the first place: her mother, the Fuwas, Sho, and possibly Ren.

"It's in a safe place Kyoko-chan. I promise." He told her solemnly.

She examined him closely for signs of falsehoods, then nodded in satisfaction when finding none. "I trust you, but it irritates me that you didn't destroy it like I instructed."

He nodded letting out a quiet sigh of relief. He wanted to lie to her and tell her he tried, so she wouldn't ask about it again, but Ruto had warned him about lying to her too. At least this way, she could be a little upset with him and think it was just a sentimental weakness on his part. "I'm very sorry, Kyoko-chan. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I'm certain that one day, you'll need it again."

She nodded emotionlessly. "I doubt that's possible. Just keep it away from me. The small amount that I'm feeling right now is causing an unnecessary discomfort."

He nodded quietly. At least Maria-chan has it right now. She'll know what to do, to keep it safe. He thought as he watched Kyoko don Momiji and sail through her scenes. He had to admit, for someone that didn't have her heart with her and was basically without emotion, she did a really good job of acting it out without that troublesome organ. Maybe she's feeling it more than she realizes. He would need to discuss this with Maria at the end of the day. He needed to find out what exactly had elicited the response that brought her to her knees.