Chapter 2


A week before her birthday, she saw the balance in her bank account and nearly had a stroke. ¥222,000,000. She doubted anyone that she knew had ever seen that much money in one place. Thankfully, Takarada-san had referred her to a trustworthy accountant, a very good lawyer and they had helped her arrange everything so that her finances would be properly invested and she could access it internationally. Her bills were paid off. Her contract with LME was adjusted so she could work internationally, now that she was over 18. She was moved to a more secure apartment and Yashiro had basically forced her to see an image consultant.

Mercifully, she and Yashiro had kept her so completely busy, she didn't have time to think on matters of the heart and it had hurt considerably less than it did over the summer. Sadly, Sho was still up to his old tricks and she could hardly wait until she was on that plane and far away from Japan. This also meant that she wouldn't be seeing Ren's face for awhile, not that he'd made any contact with her. She supposed that ship sailed long ago and decided that if she ever had strong feelings for someone again, she would definitely follow her heart. He was her biggest regret, even if he had someone else.


"I didn't see you at Mogami-kun's going away party." He commented to Kuon as he took a deep sip of the amber liquor in his glass, searching for the boy's reaction.

Kuon furrowed his brow. "She left?"

Lory nodded and sighed. "Well, it's not like you cared anyway, with the way you avoided her." he commented casually.

"I was staying away because she was with Fuwa." He groused.

Lory shook his head. "You mean that VK singer that's been stalking her for the past few months? I thought Yashiro and Ruto got rid of him." They did. They had finally been able to keep him away from her the last few weeks she had in Tokyo, with diversionary tactics and misinformation fed to all of his contacts.

"Well, it really doesn't matter. She'll be working on her international debut with this next project." He took a drag of his cigar and blew out a large cloud of smoke.

Kuon looked up at him a little shocked. "International? What is she working on?" He was genuinely curious.

Lory shook his head. "Can't say. We all signed NDAs for it. You'll just have to wait until she does the promo tours next year."

"How long will she be gone?" He was now really worried. It was quite possible, with her talents, that she would never return, unless it was for a vacation. Just like Dad... He thought a little saddened.

Lory sighed. "I really don't know. I think it depends on how well she does, the impression she leaves on the cast and crew, and whether she actually wants to come back or not. Judging from her last couple of months here, I seriously doubt we'll be seeing her anytime soon. It was made quite clear she had no one here for her, except Kotonami-san and Amamiya-san. Yashiro-kun has gone with her. That's why Ruto has been handling your scheduling lately."

Kuon looked devastated. He held his face in his hands and let out a deep, shaky breath. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry."

Lory shook his head and sighed. "Kuon... All I can tell you is, put yourself in order and the next time you see her... Apologize. If she ever meant anything to you at all and if you really want to keep her in your life, apologize with all your might and pray to every god you know of that she hasn't moved on without you. If you love her, tell her."

"What if she's moved on by then?" He asked in a small, sad voice as he spoke into his hands.

"Well, I suppose you'll have learned your lesson. You'll have closure and you'll have to move on too. That's all anyone can do." Lory moved to sit next to him and rubbed his back to comfort him. "I will try to get you opportunities. You will have to do your own footwork though. Seeing that I will only know the general area she'll be in, you'll have to seek her out yourself."

Kuon nodded. "Thanks."


The read through for her new film, that had yet to have the name released, was held at the director's home in Los Angeles. It had gone quite well and Kyoko was amazed at all of the wonderful actors she would be working with. They were all so... normal. If one were to actually just meet them on the street, they probably wouldn't notice that they'd met them. It made her feel good that most of them were somewhat plain without all of the makeup and clothes that one associated with superstars at events.

Her handsome, older co-star, that would play the protagonist to her villain, had arrived kind of scruffy, wearing board-shorts and a grey hoodie. The female protagonist had her hair bunched up in a ponytail. She was wearing her thick reading glasses and she was completely devoid of any makeup. She had decided to wear a pair of bright green yoga pants and a black racer-back tank with a pair of sneakers.

Kyoko was glad Yashiro had talked her out of dressing up for something like this. She would have been so completely out of place. Instead she had donned a pair of skinny jeans, a comfortable, off the shoulder tan sweater and a pair of ankle boots she had purchased when she was portraying Setsuka. She had swept her hair back, Natsu style and put a little makeup on as her image consultant had suggested a couple of months ago. She was told to never leave her apartment looking anything less than professional, even if it was for something casual. She had an image to uphold while she was just starting to be noticed.

"The photography studio for Cygne Noir said it's okay for you to drop by today if you still have time. They wanted to do a few test shots for the evening collection before next week." Yashiro told her as he drove them to their next destination. Of course she would say yes, she'd been running from dawn to dusk since she set foot in LA.

"Mmhmm..." She hummed as she read the notes she had taken during the meeting.

Yashiro glanced at her and smiled. "Did you want to stop and get something to eat first?"

Kyoko looked up at him and sighed. "Not just yet. We can pick something up on the way home. That is, if you don't mind. I mean, I don't mind if you have dinner at my place."

Yashiro smiled at her. "I don't mind. I actually like your cooking. As long as it's not too late. I still have a few callbacks, and the paperwork for them are at my apartment."

Kyoko nodded. "Great. Think about what you want and we'll get the stuff for it on the way back." She told him as she swiped through the script's notes on her tablet. Some of the scenes were still a little unnerving, but she didn't feel the nervousness she probably would have felt if her co-star in this would have been Ren. Thoughts of him were still there, but now that there was distance between them and she didn't see or hear of him on a daily basis, the little twinge of pain had ebbed away. It was also pretty relaxing that she hadn't heard or seen Sho in several weeks. A little thought that she'd never see him again danced in the back of her mind and cheered her a little. I wonder what happened. Maybe he got bored finally. She smirked a little and checked her email.