Chapter 25

This was getting completely ridiculous. Nothing that he did was worthy of recording and that stupid hack band was holding their position at #1 for the fifth straight week in a row. Well, actually it had been a lot longer than that, but he wasn't about to admit it. He wasn't about to admit that they actually made more public appearances than he did or, that they had actually gone out and did free concerts in the park, talked to their fans and openly admitted that they revered and worshiped some goddess called Aoidḗ. What the hell was that about? How could those freaks admit something like that and not take a severe hit to their fan-base just for being weird?

He was bored and tapped out of ideas. The thought to pay a little visit to Kyoko had crossed his mind; however, Shoko had strongly advised against it. Ever since Karuizawa, she'd been acting strange whenever she saw something about her or, she was mentioned, but she wouldn't say a word to him about it. She seemed more worried than anything. He wondered if it had anything to do with Kyoko's fame whore boyfriend. Hell, what did he care? Why should he care if that plain, boring woman had a boyfriend? It didn't concern him. It wasn't like he wanted to take up that odious position. He'd dodged that bullet when he left Kyoto.

He pulled out his phone. Maybe have just a little bit of fun. He smirked at the thought of her face twisted in anger. He dialed.

RING... RING... RING...

"We're sorry, but the number that you have reached is no longer in service. Please check the number and try again." The recorded voice told him emotionlessly.

His face twisted in anger at her perceived slight of locking him out of her life. He slammed the phone onto his coffee table and began pacing the room, too angry to think of anything else. "How dare she! Who the hell does she think she is, that she can change her number like that?!" Not taking Shoko's advice on leaving her alone, he made plans to get her new number, address and scheduling information. He was not going to allow her to shut him out of her life so blithely. He didn't care if she had a so-called boyfriend. He was just for show, right? So why would he care if a "childhood friend" decided to pay her a visit?

She was at a loss. Director Anna was telling her just be Mio, yet again and it was driving her insane. Natsu was not a copy of Mio! Mio was Mio, not Natsu. It would be an insult to her own ability if she accepted that. She sighed.

"Kyoko-san, sometimes you have to fight for what you want. I think the director is being unreasonable and I support any decision you decide to make." Chiori told her with a false sweetness, thinking that it would help oust the wannabe.

Kyoko looked up at her in surprise. "You really think so?" Why does this feel so familiar?

Chiori nodded knowing that her plans were going to work in getting this part all to herself. "Of course."

Kyoko sighed in relief. "Thank you Amamiya-san."

"You're welcome. Good luck." She smirked inwardly and walked away to go grab a tea from the vending machine down the hall.

She's kind of cute. Not usually my type. The blond thought as he watched the petite little ravenette in the school uniform ponder her drink choice. There was something familiar about her. It wasn't her looks or, the way she was dressed. It was more like an aura about her, but it seemed a little clouded. Like she was hidden behind a mist or a dark veil. It was certainly intriguing.

He watched as she straightened. A nostalgic look fell over her and he saw her shake it off after a few moments. He wondered what that was all about. He smiled. He really couldn't throw stones, he had been doing the same lately, according to his best friend.

"Hey, we're gonna be late." His best friend told him.

"Yeah... Sorry." The blond followed him to their appointment.

~ΑΩΑΩ~

{She blushed brightly as he caressed her face and presented her with red and white, perfectly bloomed rose. He sat on the chaise lounge with her and pulled out his lyre, began gently strumming and sang the song that he had composed exclusively for her.

"I love you Melétē. I love you more than I thought I ever could." He told her nervously. He never dreamed that he, the god of love, could ever feel this insecure around another.

She threw herself into his arms and snuggled him. "I love you too, Eros." She sighed and he felt his heart swell more than he ever thought possible.}

Chiori stared at the vending machine and shivered. She quickly looked down the hall from where she was and watched as two young men turned the corner away from where she was, leaving. The one that caught her eye was blond.

"How strange..." She murmured turning back to the machine, noticing that she had made her selection without thought.

Shoko was at her wit's end with him. Haruki Asami had come to her again, letting her know that Sho was trying to dig up Kyoko-chan's information again. How was she going to get him to listen to her? She had told him more times than she could count that he was playing with fire. His harassments of the little goddess were going to get him killed or, worse and yes, she most certainly knew that there were things far worse than death at this point. One didn't need to be a scholar to know what a god or, goddess was capable of.

She wondered if perhaps she should get his uncle involved. The man did sign his contracts and took responsibility for him. Maybe Sho would listen to him if he told him to back off, but what would she tell him? That Sho was stalking Kyoko-chan? At this point he was just obsessing over her, maybe if she let it go, he would just give up. The girl did change her number and her other information was being closely guarded by LME. Hopefully telling Haruki an embellished version of what was going on, would prevent her from giving him any information. She certainly couldn't tell her the truth of the matter, Haruki would never believe her. What was she supposed to say? "Oh, by the way, Kyoko-chan is THE Goddess of Music. Please do not allow Sho to harass her or she'll turn him into a pillar of salt." She kind of snorted mirthfully at the thought. He would probably be easier to handle that way.

She shook the thoughts from her mind. Why tempt fate? She knew how much he had pissed that girl off and hoped that Kyoko never really felt the need to do something like that. The prospects looked pretty bleak at this point though and Sho was having a major issue with keeping his temper and hands to himself. She winced at the thoughts of the slapping incident and his lack of self-control in Karuizawa. She wondered if how she felt about controlling Sho, was how Heracles felt when presented with his 12 tasks.