Chapter 17

"You know, those boys are talking about her." Phobos teased his brother as they relaxed at the little café, waiting for their lunch.

Deimos leaned back in his seat, biting back the possessive jealousy that came frequently lately. "And?"

"Well, she is getting more noticed now. Especially after Fuwa's PV. There was absolutely no doubt in her being the goddess that she is. I'm sure we aren't the only ones that see that now." He threw a glance toward the young men at the other table to drive home his point.

"I honestly don't see that as a bad thing. She's an actress. Being admired is part of the job, is it not?"

Phobos cocked an eyebrow as he took a sip of his iced-tea. "Aren't you just a little worried about her being alone in Karuizawa?"

"And why would I be worried about her being on location? She's takes her career seriously. She's not one of those flighty women that will be swept away by her environment." He kind of winced inwardly when he thought of her propensity to play with the local denizens of the fae variety and groaned inaudibly.

"I honestly don't believe it's her you should be worrying about per se, but perhaps the others that usually use that resort as a playground. It is pretty popular for recording artists you know." He reminded him.

Deimos sighed. "I know, but it's not like we can just teleport there in a flashy entrance like we used to. She and Zeus would throw a fit."

Phobos sighed. "Yeah, I suppose a fiery crater in the center of the forest would be a little too much."

Deimos snorted. "A little?" Deimos smirked wolfishly. "Or, we could just use the method Mother taught us."

Phobos gave him a horrified look. "I refuse to even think about that. It's humiliating and Father would be ashamed to even call us his sons. Really... Besides, all those feathers give me the hives... and the thought of wearing a diaper at my age? No thank you." He shuddered at the thought.

Deimos teased. "Aw... come on, you make an adorable cherub brother. I'm sure Mnḗmē would be beside herself with glee to see you like that."

Phobos narrowed his eyes at him and scoffed. "Yeah right... More like laughing her ass off at me for it. She will NEVER see me like that. Now... If one day you decide that Aoidḗ should see you like that, I promise not to tease you about it... Too much." He smirked mischievously.

"Pfft, yeah... not going to happen... EV-ER." They both chuckled.

The 2 ½ hour bus trip to Karuizawa had actually been quite pleasant. Kyoko had sat with the younger Itsumi Momose and Airi Oohara for the trip. Other than Mnḗmē and Melétē, she had never really had any female friends. It was actually quite a nice chance for her, to get to know someone of her own perceived age-range and just as normal teen girls Kyoko was bombarded with questions about her juicy boyfriend. They would be somewhat disappointed to discover that she was determined to keep the answers as vague as possible. She was afraid that she would slip and tell them something that would either make her look crazy to normal mortals or, braggadocious by touting all of the wonderful attributes of said blond, Greek god.

When they finally reached their destination in Karuizawa, Itsumi brought to her attention a very disturbing fact for her. Karuizawa was the playground for the rich and famous and what she meant by that, was there would be musicians, actors and all other members of the entertainment industry. Which meant...

"What the hell are you doing here?" A familiar annoying voice invaded her ears.

Of course... Kyoko thought. It couldn't be anyone else, could it? Her irritation was bubbling to the surface and she was fighting the overwhelming desire to turn him into a smoldering pile of ash in the center of a smoking crater.

Itsumi noticed Kyoko's change in attitude and decided that she didn't want to get tangled in any complicated situation that would surly come from this, especially if Kyoko's boyfriend happened along, as he tended to do. That was another strange thing that she noticed. How on Earth did either male get access to the Dark Moon set at the studio and how did this particular male know exactly where to find her every time? She sincerely hoped that Kyoko didn't have a celebrity stalker. No, no one would want to put their entire career in jeopardy over something like that. It just didn't make any sense.

"Kyoko-san, I'm going to head to the hotel and have dinner delivered to our room. Is there anything you wanted?" She told her, making a point to make the singer aware that Kyoko had a room-mate and would be expected. She wanted the young man to know she was fully aware of Kyoko being with someone and expected her for dinner.

Kyoko turned to her. "Hm... I suppose anything you order will be fine. Thank you Momose-san. I appreciate it. I'm going to take this slacker back to his manager. I'll see you back at the room in a little while."

Momose-san smiled and waved to her as she left.

Aki Shoko stood in disbelief as she watched the small female shove the taller male at her. Initially she thought that Kyoko-chan had tossed a Tabby Cat at her and told her she had something that belonged to her. Shoko-san shook the cobwebs from her mind and standing before her was her charge in perfect condition, not a cat. She wrote if off as stress and vowed to relax in the onsen at the hotel later that evening.

If Sho would have had any memory of the trip to his manager, he would have remembered being carried by the scruff of his furry little neck and tossed at Shoko-san in the end. He would have remembered the disgusted, angry goddess that had temporarily cursed him and he would be worshiping at her feet, begging for her favor, alas no. He was as clueless about her identity as Kyoko had been about his treatment of her before they separated.

The only thing that Shoko-san could see from all of this mess that was the relationship between the pair, was what she wanted to see. In her mind opposites attract and she couldn't see anyone more compatible with her charge. She thought it was cute how Sho always reacted like a child with Kyoko. She didn't see the abusive side as what it was and she most certainly didn't see the dangers of messing with a goddess whose lover was a very overprotective god that could easily make her charge's life and afterlife an unimaginable hell.

All thoughts stopped as she heard those dreaded words slip from Sho's mouth that would put a kink in all of her plans to make him permanently happy.

"It's because of that gaijin freak you're dating isn't it? You're still that stupid girl that thinks of nothing but love aren't you?" He hissed at her.

Aoidḗ narrowed her eyes at him and Shoko noticed a strange change in that atmosphere around her. "Firstly, it's none of your business who I date and I really don't care what you think about it. You mean absolutely nothing to me. You are just a rock in my shoe on the path to success... Actually, you aren't even that. You're a musician... I am an actress, we have nothing in common and we aren't even in the same branch of the entertainment industry. So... Why don't you go sing your insignificant little songs, enjoy your fans, while you still have them, and leave me to do my own thing?" She told him and turned to walk away.

He grabbed her shoulder. "I am not done talking to you. You are not going to turn away from me. You are mine. You love me!"

She swept his hand from her shoulder. "I never loved you... I am not that girl." She hissed and for a brief moment Shoko saw her. Saw her as she was meant to be seen.

Shoko gasped in fear of the unknown and pulled Sho away. "Sho! You need to stop right now!" She warned and gave Aoidḗ the moment she needed to calm herself and walk away.

Sho slapped Aki's hand from his arm and stalked away in anger. She needed to know more about this girl that was supposed to be his childhood friend. She vaguely remembered the night that he had tossed Kyoko aside and wondered if she really hadn't been hallucinating. Whomever this girl was, Aki knew that Sho was quite possibly playing with fire.