Hey guys! Can I just say once again how much I love all this feedback? You guys are incredible and you really inspire me to keep writing! I'm also holding an art contest!. If you can draw something from this story (that's not too spoiler-ish) I'll post the winners in the next chapter (which should be up in about a week or two). Just PM me with your entires!

But for now enjoy this new chapter!

Chapter 11

"So what do you expect me to do? Waltz right back into Kaito's life as if he didn't break my heart and humiliate me?!" Kyoko cried as Yui's spirit enveloped her with rage and disbelief.

"Look don't shoot the messenger alright? Like it or not you're part of this operation now and you've gotta do what they say. Or would you rather more innocent lives were lost?" Her acting partner shot back fiercely, a stern look in his light grey eyes.

Kyoko scoffed and turned away from him. "So what, they want to- to use me to get to him? They want me to pretend that I still love him? I can't do that; I can barely stand to look at him! The thought of him makes me sick."

"Well then that's something you're going to have to get over quickly because Kaito and his men are planning another heist soon and we need to find out when that is. He's already come crawling back to you; all you need to do is..." He seemed to be having trouble getting out the last part of his sentence.

Kyoko sneered and span back around, marching right up to him. He was much taller than her but Yui was far from intimidated. Her rage clouded everything at that moment, but it was a quiet rage now. Her voice was low and trembling. "To what, Takumi, to seal the deal? And how far will I have to go to do that, huh?"

Takumi swallowed hard and turned away from her gaze, visibly distressed "That's- that's not something I- you'll have to figure that out, I can't decide that for you."

Yui chuckled humourlessly "So you don't care? You don't care if I have to kiss him?"

"Yui" There was a warning tone in Takumi's voice, but Yui ignored it.

"You don't care that he might have to touch me?"

"Stop it!" Takumi sounded desperate and angry now and, deep inside herself, Kyoko felt visibly moved. She would have stopped long before this point, but Yui wasn't going to. No- Yui was far from done.

"What if he still doesn't believe me? What then? Would I have to sleep with him? Would it take our hot, naked bodies writhing in ecstasy to convince him that-"

"I'M BEGGING YOU TO STOP!" Takumi roared, grabbing Yui's arms and pulling him to her. The tension and the silence around them was palpable, both were breathing heavily. This was it; this was the moment. Kyoko's heart began to slam in her chest, her body shook. You can do this Kyoko, you can do this! They leaned in close, their lips about to touch-

"CUT!"

The actor playing Takumi, a rapidly rising star by the name of Hiro Akiyama, groaned and released Kyoko from his grasp. He turned to the director with a glare, his messy black hair falling into his eyes as he did so. "Oh come on! This is the fifth time! How many times do we have to do it until you're satisfied?"

The director folded his burley arms and stared right back at him with a look of thunder. Kyoko, feeling wretchedly helpless, watched from the sidelines nervously.

"There's no need to get defensive Akiyama-san." The director said calmly despite his more aggressive-looking countenance. "As I've said before, the scene is very good up until that last moment. You need to realise this is a woman Takumi is falling in love with, you're falling in love with her and you can't stand the thought of her being with another."

"I know." Hiro growled, gritting his teeth as if he'd been told this a million times. "And that's why he's angry!"

The director shook his head. "Yes but that is all I'm seeing, you can't kiss somebody passionately if you're one hundred percent angry. I need to see more from your Takumi; he is feeling more than angry at the prospect of Yui being with another and when you take into account that it is her former fiancée, it adds even greater depth to the complexity of the situation. Mogami-san" The director turned his balding head towards the suddenly terrified actress, who gave a start.

"Ah, y-yes Yamasaki-san?"

Director Yamasaki's more mature face began to soften, and he smiled lightly "I know this is your first romance role, and I am very pleased with the amount of depth you bring to the character. However the moment before the kiss I can see the nerves on your face and I don't believe they are Yui's. I know you must be nervous about the prospect of your first screen kiss, but you have to push those fears aside and truly become Yui like you have before. I know you both have great ability and you have some time before we start shooting for real." Yamasaki stood up and began packing away his things. The writers and producers overseeing the screen test started filing out of the conference room, many shedding disapproving looks in Akiyama's direction as they left. "We have one more screen test, same time next week. I want to go over this first kiss scene again. I fully expect you two will give outstanding performances. That is all I have to say on the matter. Good day to you both."

"Good day Yamasaki-san." Kyoko replied bowing politely, Akiyama grunted a non-committed response and the two of them were left alone in the conference room, a painful silence hanging over the pair.

Kyoko, not knowing what else to do, went and packed her script into her satchel bag. She felt uneasy in Akiyama's presence. The young actor had a lot of pride in his work and an ego to match it. Kyoko knew he was a perfectionist- he seemed to get angry any time he had to take the tiniest hint of constructive criticism.

"Hey, Newbie!" Akiyama called out to her, causing her to jump. She turned around nervously.

"Um, yes Akiyama-san?"

"You better improve and do what the director says, and I'm going to do the same and we're going to come back here and it's going to be perfect, alright?" He said fiercely, pointing his finger towards her like a commander to a lowly cadet. Kyoko didn't know what to say, torn between shock at his rudeness and nervousness because he was technically her superior. He seemed to take her silence as agreement and stomped out, muttering angrily as he went.

Kyoko sighed, feeling emotionally drained and more tired still at the prospect of having to go to work. But more than anything she was beginning to feel the tension and nerves kick in for her new role. They'd had their first screen test a week ago, this was their second and both times things hadn't exactly gone smoothly. Kyoko hoped everything would turn out well despite that. But for now she needed to concentrate on getting to Bridge Rock or she'd be late for work.

Hitching her bag onto her shoulder she made her way out of the conference room and back down the corridors of LME. Maybe she would see Moko or Chiori on her way past the LoveMe changing rooms, the sight of her two friends would surely bring her new waves of energy. She tried not to hope for seeing him, but the second he entered her mind a large smile erupted onto her face.

Ren, Corn, Kuon. Three people she respected and cherished somehow wrapped up into one person. At first she'd been completely thrown to say the least, but now whenever she thought of him happiness enveloped her in its warm glow. It seemed so perfect that her friend, the Fairy Prince, had grown up and kept a close watch on her from afar as the King of Actors, guiding her and showing her the way, helping her find her own brand of acting magic. It almost seemed like fate.

Kyoko shook her head, trying to rid herself of such silly words as fate or destiny or anything even remotely related to the thing she was trying so hard to hide. But fate was funny in that sense, no matter how hard she pulled away from those thoughts something would always manage to yank her straight back into them. It seemed like there was no escaping them, not this time.

"Kyoko-chan!"

Kyoko looked behind as she heard a familiar voice calling out to her. From across the hallway she spotted a tall bespectacled man looking at her, trying to wave despite having his arms full.

"Yashiro-san!" Kyoko cried out cheerfully and her heart leapt despite herself, for if Yashiro was here then Ren couldn't be too far himself. She went over to him. "It's been a while hasn't it?"

Yashiro grinned, trying to adjust his glasses whilst keeping hold of the large stack of papers he held at the same time. "Yes it has, how have you been? Ack!" Yashiro cried out as the papers fluttered out of his grasp, falling all about the place.

Kyoko knelt down with him, scooping up loose bits of paper and handing them over. Yashiro took them gratefully. "Um, Yashiro-san, what are all of these?"

At first Yashiro stilled, as if unsure of whether he should say the words waiting on his tongue. Kyoko watched him curiously. "Fan mail" He said eventually "all for Ren as you can imagine...can you keep a secret?" He leaned in and whispered the last part into her ear.

Kyoko had a sinking feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. "I- you mean from Re- Tsuruga-san?"

Yashiro blinked for a moment, as if surprised, before nodding his head rapidly. Kyoko couldn't help but be reminded of the bobble headed action-figures that often sat on car dashboards. It was quite an unusual connection, almost surreal, and she fought a sudden barrage of laughter before she remembered she was about to be told a secret. Just when she thought she'd heard enough secrets to last a lifetime.

"I've recently started taking large bulks of Ren's fan mail from his post box here at LME, and recycling it before he notices it all. I know that sounds horrible but I have to think of his health." Yashiro looked rather ashamed of himself and hung his head sadly. One moment he looked like a bobble head, the next he looked a bit like a kicked puppy. Kyoko narrowed her eyes in confusion, a touch of fear clung to her and her heart went out to Ren's hard-working manager

"His health? What's wrong with him? He isn't sick is he?!"

"No no!" Yashiro hastened to calm her panic before it started. "But you see ever since he played Katsuki in Dark Moon, his popularity has skyrocketed and the amount of fan mail he gets has quadrupled. Obviously Ren doesn't have enough time to reply to all the messages and whenever he sees the pile of letters he knows he'll never be able to answer, his face... he just gets so despondent. He feels like he's disappointing his fans. Early on in his career he would often stay up late into the night answering fan letters, but he can't do that anymore. So would you mind not telling him?"

Kyoko felt a bit uneasy at the prospecting of concealing something from Ren, she was sure he'd be angry if he found out. But at the same time Yashiro's cause was a noble one and she could help but smile at the fact that Ren cared so much about his fans and didn't want to disappoint them. It was a softer side that not many people got to see behind that calmer exterior.

She was glad she got to see it. She felt lucky that she was able to, and she cherished that knowledge deeply.

"Don't worry Yashiro-san, you can count on me. I won't say a word."

Just at that second, the man in question rounded the corner of the hallway. Yashiro gave a small, very high pitched squeal of fear and pushed all of the remaining papers into Kyoko's arms. Before she even had a chance to react, he helped pull her back up to a standing position.

"Just play along!" He muttered to her. Kyoko looked on, both stunned and outraged. He was going to sell her out! Here she was with evidence to someone else's deception in HER arms and Ren had spotted them both, he was getting even closer by the second! This is it. This is how I die.

"Sorry for making you wait Yashiro-san." He stated before locking eyes with her. "Mogami-san" he greeted, a knowing smile gracing his face. The slightly mischievous twinkle in his eye made her momentarily forget the stack of incriminating evidence in her arms and she grinned right back at him.

"Tsuruga-san, it's good to see you." It was like one big game they were playing with the rest of the world and she couldn't help but revel in the feeling of it. It was secret and fun, just like their special place back in Kyoto.

Two weeks had passed since the night they'd spent whispering secrets together in a hotel room, two weeks since they created a new world entirely their own. They'd woken up the next morning on the same bed, not remembering ever falling asleep to begin with. Their eyes had met and it was like everything had changed and yet somehow nothing had changed. Kyoko had never experienced something so wonderfully bizarre, and she wouldn't change it for a second.

Yashiro watched the pair suspiciously, not that either of them noticed. No, Yashiro was quite certain the two wouldn't be pulled out of their conversation even if a meteor suddenly struck outside.

"It's good to see you. Where are you heading?" Ren asked noticing her bag and light jacket wrapped around her slight frame.

"I have one more job tonight."

"Ah I see. As a matter of fact I do as well." Ren grinned and the twinkle in his eye now matched his expression. He seemed to be greatly amused and Yashiro had no idea why. "Well, not exactly a job so much as an interview. At Bridge Rock."

Yashiro noticed Kyoko's eyes widen for a split second before regaining her composure and smiling back in a way that had Yashiro's eyebrows heading for his hair line. Since when could Kyoko, shy and sweet little Kyoko, look at anyone- especially Ren- like that?

Yashiro tried to inhale deeply, to calm his nerves but he couldn't help it. He suddenly felt, however absurd it was, that he was intruding on what could only be described as foreplay.

"You didn't tell me about that." Kyoko's voice turned deep and slightly accusatory, but in a playful sense. It was like a cat that had caught a particularly sneaky mouse.

Yashiro was on the verge of having a heart attack, his brain was in overdrive. WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THESE TWO?! He thought as his mind swirled in confusion. Am I hallucinating? I'm probably hallucinating.

"You didn't ask." Ren shot back in a silken voice completely equal in tone to hers. "I thought I'd surprise you. Would you like a ride?"

Kyoko smiled more innocently this time and to the point where Yashiro was wondering whether the double-entendre Ren had sent her way had flown straight over her head, or he'd completely imagined that it was a double entendre. It was most likely the latter, because he was clearly losing his mind. Ren would never say something so daring in public. In fact he'd never heard Ren make any kind of statement like that before. So the suggestive nature was most definitely in his head.

"I would very much." Kyoko replied.

"Kyoko-chan!" Yashiro choked out suddenly, sounding very much like a strangled goose did they SERIOUSLY not realise what they were doing?! "Before we go the papers-"

Ren and Kyoko looked at him with slightly blank expressions. Both of them seemed to be a little dazed- as if they had completely forgotten his presence, or rather forgotten anything outside each other. That didn't surprise Yashiro but at the same time he felt incredibly and strangely guilty, as if he'd interrupted something far more intimate. He tried to keep the blood from rushing to his ears.

Kyoko looked down and remembered the stack of fan mail in her arms, blushing hotly when she realised she'd completely forgotten herself. It was completely and utterly mortifying, how could she be so wrapped up in her feelings for this man? It was ridiculous!

"Oh! Yes, don't worry Yashiro-san I'll take care of it. I'll go to the recycling bins, it won't take me long! I'll meet you in the foyer in five minutes!" And with that she took off faster than a speeding bullet. Yashiro's eyebrows rose in shock once more, he was sure he noticed a dust cloud in her wake. He wondered if Kyoko possessed supernatural abilities. But that was not the most pressing matter that needed discussion. He turned to Ren.

"Just what was THAT?!" He cried incredulously.

Ren's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as they made their way down the floors of LME into the foyer "what was what?"

"You and Kyoko-chan, you looked like you were about to- to" tear each other's clothes off!

Ren gave him a schooled expression and Yashiro grew indignant, fully expecting the response Ren was about to give.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Yashiro scoffed "I'm not a fool Ren! You don't think I've seen the looks you two send each other?"

"You're imagining things."

"I am not."

"You most definitely are." Ren shot him a look that made Yashiro's insides freeze. It was a stern look, a look that said this isn't something I want to discuss. Drop it. Now. What surprised Yashiro the most was he thought he saw a hint of pain behind that expression, which only furthered his confusion.

Just then his phone rang. Yashiro used the excuse of putting his gloves on to relieve the sudden tension hanging in the air before answering.

"Hello?"

"If you are still in the building, come to my office immediately." The Presidents voice commanded and he hung up before the young manager could even take a breath. Yashiro stared at his phone, baffled over everything that was happening and feeling more and more like he'd stepped into an alternate universe.

"The President- he wants to see me, right now it seems. Will it be alright if I left you for the rest of the evening, seeing as you only have your interview left at Bridge Rock?" Yashiro turned a guilty expression over at Ren and was relieved to find the pained yet stern look absent from his features.

"That's fine Yashiro, no need to worry." Ren stated and Yashiro sighed gratefully. He didn't seem angry with him. "Did he say what he wanted?" And now Ren's tone was suspicious, which only made Yashiro himself question the President's motives. Just what exactly was going on? Why was everyone acting so strangely? Had something happened at the masquerade party? Yashiro hadn't been able to attend that evening...was there some huge event that he'd missed? No surely not or he would have heard about it by now, the Entertainment industry wasn't famous for its tight lips after all.

Still, something was definitely strange about the whole scenario. There was no way something hadn't happened between the two. Yashiro wasn't an idiot; he'd noted Kyoko's slip earlier. She'd almost called Ren by his first name. Since when were they on a first name basis? No there was definitely something going on.

"No. But it sounded urgent so I should get going. I wouldn't want to evoke his wrath." He said and made his way out of the foyer back down the halls of LME. "Give my best to Kyoko-chan!"

He would get to the bottom of this, Yashiro thought as he rode the lift up to the President's office, whatever it was that was happening.

At last they were alone.

It was odd, that Kyoko and Ren had no idea they shared the exact same thought at that moment, in Ren's car as they drove to Bridge Rock.

"How was your day Kyoko?" Ren said feeling so much better the moment her name slipped from his lips. It was fun, pretending to still be in a solely professional friendship but he did enjoy the moments where they could be themselves once more. It was something that had been missing from his life the past two weeks. They'd barely seen each other. A brief image flashed through his mind of one day being by her side in public, of not caring if the world knew he felt so much more towards the orange haired beauty beside him. He wiped the image quickly from his mind.

He could practically feel Kyoko wilt in the passenger seat beside him. "Alright I suppose."

"Huh." Ren said lightly, playfully, as if he had just casually discovered a forgotten yen note in his wallet. "That doesn't sound like somebody who had an alright day."

Kyoko sighed and began playing with the zipper of her bag idly. "Well we had our second screen test today for Entanglement, where I'll be playing my new romance role. The director was very kind as were the producers but I was nervous. I couldn't help it."

"That's to be expected." Ren said keeping an eye on a wayward looking messenger bike in his rear-view mirror. "It's your first romance role. I was nervous to play Katsuki, although for more than one reason."

"Because your father played Katsuki in the original Dark Moon!" Kyoko cried out, sitting up straight as if she had only just now made the connection in her brain. Ren couldn't help but chuckle. "Stop laughing Ren, it's not funny! I'm learning so much about you, there's bound to be more surprises along the way. I can't realise them all at once you know! I was just so happy to have found Corn again, happy that you trusted me with your secrets, it was hard to focus on anything else."

Kyoko realised she said more than she'd originally wanted to in her outburst the moment Ren's eyes met hers and she felt it once more- that electricity, that spark, which drew her in like a moth to a flame. Her breath hitched.

The bike messenger rang his bell, alarmed that the car beside him was starting to swerve slowly toward his direction.

Ren broke the eye contact and went back to a more centred position on the road, both of them fixed their gazes away from each other, neither of them noticed they both wore the same embarrassed redness on their cheeks.

After a moment of awkward silence Ren cleared his throat "so is there any particular reason why you were so nervous? You told me over the phone that the first screen test had gone well for the most part. Why the sudden change in attitude?"

Kyoko hoped he wouldn't ask that question, but luck was never on her side. Still she wouldn't lie to him. "Well...today we were practicing the first kiss."

Kyoko didn't notice Ren's hands grip the steering wheel tighter, how desperately he tried not to be jealous in that moment. He told himself it was acting; he had told her the very same thing- that it wasn't true kissing if it was acting. And yet he couldn't help it, the images flooded in no matter how he hard he tried to concentrate on the road ahead; Kyoko spending hours kissing another man over and over again, in a number of different ways- passionately, softly, shyly- all the ways he could only ever hope to kiss her in his wildest dreams. Lucky, unworthy bastard.

"Only we never got to the kiss."

At first Ren felt his bruised heart soar at her words, before feeling utterly disgusted with himself. Instead, he focused on her and tried to keep his voice as even as possible. "Oh? Why was that?"

"The director, he said that I came across too nervous the moment just before the kiss. It's part of what Yui is supposed to feel but he knows that it is my own fear, that I'm breaking character in that moment because I'm too apprehensive of the kiss. I can't allow myself to just be in the moment." Kyoko sounded furious, frustrated and tired with herself and all Ren wanted to do was reach out and hold her. "I've told myself what you've stated over and over again, that the kiss does not mean anything unless there are true feelings behind it and truth is I'm not nervous about the kiss itself."

"Well what are you nervous about then?"

Kyoko seemed unsure of whether to say her thoughts out loud "You can tell me anything Kyoko, you know that."

"I know, it's just..." She sighed "I know it's something that nobody can help me with so I would only be complaining for complaints sake. It seems rather foolish."

Ren grinned "But better to complain to someone with a listening ear as opposed to letting the anxiety fester. I think we've both learned that the hard way." He briefly glanced her way again and caught Kyoko smiling faintly at him.

"Yes you're right about that. " Kyoko nodded before pausing a brief moment, trying to carefully word her next sentence. "Well, I'm nervous because I don't think I will act out kissing well. They say the best acting comes from experience" She blushed "and I've never experienced kissing someone in that way before. How do I know what makes a good kiss or a bad kiss? How would I know where to even start acting that out?"

"Hmm. That is a dilemma." Ren said as they pulled into the parking bay of the studio and Kyoko got the strange feeling he was teasing her. "But I suppose there are ways around that."

"Huh? Is that so?" she asked making sure to make her suspicions apparent in her tone as they both got out of Ren's car. Ren chuckled, walking over to her side and leaning down towards her as he had done so many times before. And like each time Kyoko felt her heart beat quicken under the spell of his gaze.

"You can always practice." He stated simply with a teasing grin. Ren inwardly wondered when he'd become so bold with her. He supposed he had the flirting lessons to blame for it; he really ought to rein it in though, despite how fun it was to tease her.

Kyoko meanwhile was having flashbacks to that night so long ago, lying on a bed in a hotel room. Cain and Setsu, he had said something similar to her then too. And once again she was reminded of how far above her Ren was. The reality came crashing down on her that it didn't matter if they were childhood friends or not. Things had changed so much since those days.

She would never be on his level. He was unobtainable in every way possible. And no amount of practice would ever change that.

Ren realised he'd said something wrong the moment her expression turned to stone. She seemed to be in another world, her entire body language changed. He leaned in a little closer.

"Kyoko? Hey...are you alright?" He asked worried, before Kyoko turned around and began walking into the studio. This only served to heighten Ren's concern "Kyoko?"

Kyoko stopped. Without looking back at him she said, in a small voice that made it seem as though daggers were puncturing him from every angle "I need to go get ready, my boss will chastise me if I'm late. I'll see you on the show. Thank you for driving me here."

She made to leave but Ren hurried after her, grabbing her shoulder gently "Wait. Look at me?"

All Kyoko wanted to do was run, run far away. But when he asked her with that vulnerable voice how could she refuse. She turned around and glanced shyly up at him.

"I'm sorry." Ren said. "I didn't mean to upset you. I should have realised this is a genuine concern for you and I shouldn't have taken it lightly. Can you forgive me?"

Kyoko's heart twisted painfully but she used every arsenal in her acting ability to smile at him, despite the reason he thought she was upset having absolutely nothing to do with the real truth behind her pain.

And she much preferred it that way. She would guard that truth with her life.

"Of course I can forgive you." She replied.

We're building towards the climax of the story now! Exciting stuff! Let me know what you think :)

Until the next time!