Chapter 6

She had to wait a whole week before she could try anything new since she was under house arrest. She thought to try and work on Ren telling her how he felt, but she really didn't know how to do that. Grandfather said they had to be alone and then something would happen.

So the question was how do you get them alone and keep them alone for a long time?

Once she was free and back in LME, she started her scavenger hunt of a proper place to put them. The sad thing was that every office or meeting room all locked people out, not people in. She tried to play with the door to try and keep it locked from the inside but with no luck.

She went to the LoveMe room and found nothing different. Feeling defeated, she started her trek back upstairs to think of a new plan. She slunk back in to Lory's office, sat on the couch and turned on the TV.

Lory was on the phone and only noticed her when the TV came on. He was thankful that the volume was on low and continued his conversation. After a grueling debate, he finally got off the phone when his secretary came in.

"Sir, some of the smokers got lock out on the roof again. You need to get maintenance to replace the locks up there so they can't get out."

He sighed. "I can't! It's illegal to lock a fire exit. Just have Yokoyama give them a written warning. There are smoking areas all around the grounds, tell them they need to go downstairs."

"Yes sir." She walked out.

Maria became curious and surprised Lory with a question, "How are they locked out if the door can't have a lock?"

Lory gasped and his hand went to his chest. "Oh Maria." He took a deep breath. "The door has to be open to those leaving but not to those coming back in. So it is always locked to stop people from coming in, not going out. Though the smokers take a brick or even a book to keep the door from locking, because they are too lazy to go downstairs and smoke."

He sighed in thought. "Maybe a smoking room might be beneficial or we can build a patio area for them so they won't go on the roof." He was thinking out loud but Maria already left with a plan.

Three days later…

Tonight, Ren was free and Kyoko didn't have to Bo. They were both free! Well not for long. Maria smiled. She took her phone that she never used from Lory's desk. She had one just in case she ever needed it. She didn't mind it, but she didn't like carrying it around so she always had it there. She mostly had it to call. She never got any calls from it.

She ran upstairs all the way to the roof door at 6:15. It was closed, but she saw the brick that the people would use to keep it open. It seems that they only kept it open when they were actually smoking and then they would close it when they were done. She looked around and found no one up there and then hid in the small corner across from the door. There were some big pipes for the air conditioning that she was sure she could hide beside.

She called Ren first.

Ren was driving home after dropping Yashiro off. He had the whole night free, and he was going to enjoy it. It felt so long since he was able to do absolutely nothing. His thoughts wondered to a certain girl when his phone rang.

Unknown Caller

He frowned. Most people that called him he had listed and would show up on his phone. He flipped open his phone one handed, "Hello?"

"REN-SAMA! I CAN'T GET OUT. I'M SCARED. HELP ME, HELP ME, HELP ME," she cried, and Ren almost ran into a parked car.

"Maria? Wait, calm down. You can't get out? Out of what? Where are you?"

"I…I'm at LME. I went to the roof and the door locked behind me and now I can't back in and it's getting dark and I'm scared. Grandfather won't answer his phone. COME GET ME!" She filled her voice with tears and fear.

Ren made the quickest u-turn possible, leaving behind a lot of angry drivers. "I'm on my way, Maria. Stay calm, nothing will happen to you. Stay on the phone with me and I'll be right there," he said soothingly.

"Okay," she sniffed and then whined, "my battery is dying! Ren-sa…" *click*

Maria hung up with a smile and then dialed Kyoko.

Even though Ren was the first person she called, Kyoko was upstairs first.

"Maria!" She yelled out and practically flew up the stairs. Maria was shocked at how quickly she came up but stayed hidden as Kyoko opened the door.

"Maria! I'm here, it's Kyoko! Come out!" She watched her stay at the open door. When there was no answer she came back through and Maria was worried she would get noticed, but she never turned around. Kyoko stepped back and picked up the grey brick. She dumped it and sure enough it held the door open.

"Maria! Where are you?" She yelled out and went to look for her. Then not a few minute later she heard more foot steps, they seemed slower and heavier, not at all like Kyoko's. Maria peeked behind the piping and found that Ren was taking about three steps at a time up the stairs.

Ren hesitated as he found the door already open. He pulled out his phone and frowned. No one had called, but she would have come back out if the door was opened. He shut the phone. He still had to make sure she wasn't up there.

"Maria?" He called out, projecting his voice. Nothing.

He stepped through and heard noise but couldn't see anything. It was simply getting too dark. It must be her though. He followed where the noise was coming from.

"Maria?" He called out again softly as to not spook her.

"Ren-san?"

He looked up and found Kyoko appear from around the air conditioning vent.

"Kyoko? What are you doing up here? Is Maria-chan with you?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No. I can't find her. She called me a few minutes ago saying she was stuck up here. The door was closed, but she wasn't near it so I came out looking," she said all this while still looking around. She turned back to him. "Why are you here?"

"She called me too. I was driving home when I got her call. Then her phone died. She must have called me after you."

Kyoko frowned. "She said her phone was dying to me." They both looked at each other oddly then suddenly they heard a door close. They looked at each other and both of their eyes widened. Ren turned and headed for the door with Kyoko following close behind.

Ren reached it first and turned the knob. Nothing. It wouldn't bulge. "Looks like we are locked out."

Maria smiled. She had her ear pressed against the door to try and hear what was happening. She shrunk back as they tried the door then thought herself silly after they couldn't open it. That was the whole point of it. She stood up pleased with herself. They will be up there till morning and by then they will have told each other their love and it will all be over.

Now was the time to figure out how to get out of the trouble she was going to get in when they came out. Still it was worth getting yelled at when they come out holding hands happy.

"I'll call Moko-san and see if she can come get us." Maria heard Kyoko say. She smacked both hands on her forehead. Their phones! Of course they would have their phones. Maria, you are so stupid! If she was able to call them up here, they would be able to call for help.

"She's not answering. She is probably on a shoot at the moment," Kyoko sounded worried and disappointed. Maria cheered, but she wasn't safe yet. She pressed her ear to the door again and waited.

"Maria-chan said that Takarada-san wasn't answering his phone. I will call Yashiro-san, but it will take a bit for him to get here. It should only be about 20 minutes or so," Maria heard Ren say and slumped on the floor.

"Oh, good." Kyoko paused, "I'm going to look around for Maria one last time to make sure she isn't hiding while we wait." Maria heard the crunch of her foot steps and felt a little guilty for this.

"Okay…. Yashiro-san, we are stuck on the roof of LME." He paused. "No, I didn't start smoking again, Maria-chan called Kyoko and me saying she was stuck up here. Hey when you get here see if you can find her in LME, because she isn't here," another pause, "Yeah, we will be fine. Just find Maria-chan."

"Kyoko, he's coming. Any luck?" He yelled out and went the direction she went.

"Kyoko?" He called out and nothing. He sighed. All he needed was another girl missing. He turned the corner of a shed and Kyoko ran into him.

"Agh! I'm sorry, Ren-san!" Her warm hands braced herself on his flat stomach. "It's hard to see you in these dark clothes." She laughed softly and slid her hands down the fabric of his shirt and off of his body.

He smiled down at her and wished she had continued touching him. "Sorry, I should invest in some brighter clothes like yours." He smiled and lightly touched the bright hot pink overalls.

She laughed. "You would look great in this color." He smiled and then laughed since he couldn't keep it in. Her laughter died down but the smile didn't.

"Besides you look nice in dark clothes anyway," she whispered shyly making Ren's heart start to race.

Kyoko was relieved to know that he couldn't see her blush. She shifted her weight and started to move around him. Still she couldn't see well and her hand touched his arm. Her breath hitched as his hand came up and grasped her elbow.

"Hold on to me till we can get out, there are a lot of obstacles up here and I don't want you getting hurt," he whispered and it felt too intimate in the dark.

"O…okay," she stuttered and held on to his forearm. She felt him move with her. She was so overwhelmed by his presence that she stumbled on nothing. She gripped his arm and felt his hand around her waist.

"Are you okay?" She felt his breath right next to her ear. The heat from his body seemed to press against her even though he was still a respectable distance from her.

"Yes," she whispered breathlessly.

"Maria isn't up here anymore. She must have gone back through the door when you left it open. Let's wait by the door till Yashiro-san comes back." They walked back and unwillingly separated and then waited.

Meanwhile, after Maria heard that Yashiro was coming to open the door for them she tried to make herself scarce. If she heard correctly, he was supposed to find her before he got them out. Still she made sure to still be within the path leading to the roof's fire exit.

That worry proved worthwhile. After looking around for about 20 minutes, Yashiro came down the corridor for the third time and headed towards the stairs for the roof. It's been about 40 minutes since they have been up there. Was that enough? She was planning on them being there till morning though.

She didn't want to announce herself to the manager, but then she remembered the funny way he was acting when he was around Ren and Kyoko. Perhaps he could help.

"Yuki-san!" She jumped out from behind a large potted plant, and he turned around in a flush.

"Maria-chan! I was looking everywhere for you. Ren and Kyoko-chan was too. Were you here this whole time?" He kneeled down and checked her over to make sure she wasn't hurt.

She started to shift around nervously. "Um… I sort of made it up."

Yashiro paused and looked at her face. "Excuse me?"

"I made it up. I, um, wanted to trap them on the roof together till morning so they could tell each other 'I love you'." She smiled brightly and then slowly wilted as he did not look happy about it.

"Maria! That was not a nice thing to do. Funny, but not nice." Yashiro was fighting an urge not to smile or laugh. "You got three people extremely worried about you and dropped everything they were doing to come help you. One day when you really are in trouble they won't come and help. You can't lie to get what you want." He lectured and she looked guilty.

"Remind me to tell Kyoko to read you the story about the boy who cried wolf. But now we have to let them down." He stood and Maria grabbed his hand.

"But, can't we leave them there just a little longer. Maybe something good will happen?" She didn't want her efforts to go to complete waste. Yashiro paused for a moment thinking.

"How long have they been up there?" He asked curiously.

"Um, a little under an hour," Maria replied still holding on to his hand.

Yashiro thought about it. Ren would be furious if he knew what was happening. Granted his concern right now was about the little girl that was currently lost. It wouldn't be right to leave him up there worrying about Maria. But… he was with the girl he loves… alone… in the dark.

Yashiro turned to Maria with a small smile. "Okay. But I need to teach you about not lying like that. Let me tell you a little story and then we will let them out."

"Can't it be a long story then?" She pleaded.

He laughed. "I'll make it as long as possible." He led Maria to a small bench and he started to tell the tale of The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

Back on the roof….

Ren was now sitting on the roof watching Kyoko pace back and forth.

"I'm sure she is fine," Ren said for the tenth time. "She probably ran back inside and went straight to Takarada's office. She knows this place like the back of her hand. It's her second home."

"Then why hasn't Yashiro-san found her? Why hasn't anyone come and opened the door for us? It doesn't make any sense." She was sweating in the heat even though the sun has already gone down. She unzipped her pink overalls letting herself breathe a bit.

"I'm not really sure. Perhaps in the panic of everything, he touched and broke his phone and now he won't answer. I did tell him to find Maria first," he told her.

Kyoko stopped and seemed deep in thought. She turned to Ren who watched her with a small smile on his lips and asked, "I hope this isn't rude of me, but what is with that? How do you break a phone by touching it?"

Ren laughed. "I've been trying to figure that out for years."

She smiled, walked over to him and kneeled beside him. "I mean, that's so odd, he touches it and then *ftzz* *poof*!" She made the little sounds and animations with her hands making Ren chuckle.

"10 seconds," he said and she looked at him waiting for more.

"What is ten seconds?" She asked.

"He told me how long it takes. He took my phone and told me, "If I handle a phone for ten seconds with my bare heads, it'll definitely break. It's truly a headache.'" He did a perfect imitation of his manager and then smiled like him.

"Just ten seconds, Ren." Ren finished his act and then returned to himself continuing, "I didn't understand why he repeated it but then he put my phone in his bare hand and I freaked. I felt like I was trying to talk a guy from jumping off a building to save my phone."

Kyoko laughed. She knew how important his phone was, that he looked up things on it and such. He probably had a lot stored on it and then it was all gone.

"What did he want from you?"

"Ah, um…" He really didn't want to break the good atmosphere they were having by bringing up her past. So did he lie or did he say the truth and hope for the best? He smirked a little as he told her, "he wanted to know the story behind Fuwa and you." He watched her smile disappear and so did his.

"I was trying to tell him that I couldn't say such a story. That he had to ask you about it. Since I didn't speak, he broke my phone. It wasn't until you told him that he found out." He wasn't looking at her. He didn't want to see the hate in her eyes, to see the obvious facial expression she had when she thought about him.

He jumped lightly when he felt her warm hand on his. He turned wide shocked eyes to her and she was smiling.

"Thank you, Ren-san, for keeping my secret." She squeezed his hand lightly and then pulled away. He was tempted to try and keep it there, his fingers lifting and almost catching hers but he stopped himself.

"I know the story will come out if I debut successfully, but I hope to keep it behind me until I have to face it from the press." She laughed sadly. "I actually hope it will never come to surface. I don't want to be pitied." She was looking away and Ren couldn't stand it.

He lifted his hand and very lightly caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. She turned and faced him slightly surprised. "The only one they are going to pity will be him for losing you," Ren said softly.

She blushed hotly. She turned her face away shyly but didn't force his hand down. He curled his fingers over her cheek, his finger tips lightly sliding back over her ear and into her hair. She looked utterly enticing with the soft light illuminated her soft features. She felt so warm and soft... inviting.

Kyoko was trying to think past her beating heart. One moment they were laughing and talking and next his face was so close, his hand was so warm and comforting. She felt herself leaning towards him. Her eyes seemed to close on their own and she felt his breath kiss her skin first and then the door hit her feet.

"Ren? Kyoko-chan? Are you guys here?" Yashiro called out not seeing anyone.

"We are behind the door, Yashiro-san," Ren called out pulling away first and even in the hot night, Kyoko felt cold. She blinked trying to regain reality as he stood up and brushed off his backside of dirt.

"What took you so long?" He asked and then turned to Kyoko who was still sitting. He offered her a hand up and a normal smile. She smiled softly and took it then let go.

"Sorry, I spent the whole time searching for Maria, and Maria was searching for her grandfather who is currently out entertaining some guests." He gestured to the little scared girl behind him.

"I'm so sorry! I saw the door open but no one there so I ran through and I wanted to go home." She was clinging onto Yashiro's pant leg. Yashiro and she talked it out and both agreed it would be smart to continue the lie she first started. Still if she did it again, she would be forced to do some very unpleasant things as punishment. Maria was now quite frightened of the man with the glasses. There was this whole other side of him that made her appreciate and yet fear him just a little.

Kyoko stepped inside and then opened her arms to Maria. She ran into her arms and Kyoko hugged her fiercely. "What were you doing out here?"

"I…I don't remember anymore. I was curious about something and then the door locked behind me and I got scared. I won't ever come up here again. I promise." She panicked a little and played dumb. Thankfully, Kyoko seemed to have bought it.

She ran over to Ren who hugged and picked her up and Ren drove them all home. Maria was the first to be dropped off and Yashiro assured her that Kyoko would be dropped off last. That was the norm. Still, Maria felt like nothing happened, after all that troublesome work and nothing.

She decides enough was enough. Maria walked into the back of her closet and started to pull away the mountain of stuffed animals she has gotten over the years. After five minutes or so she pulled out a large leather bound book.

The Complete Book of Spells, Curses and Charms