A/N: Hi everyone! Once again, thanks to all those who read, and reviewed this story! This chapter is a little longer, more action, so I hope you like it! Please review!
Lory stretched himself as he lounged on his chair. He was dressed extravagantly as usual, with a pile of his favourite games on the table. He stared idly across the room, when there was a sudden knock at the door. He hastily put his feet down and sat up straight before saying, "Come in!", commandingly.
The door opened and in walked a young man, smartly dressed in a black suit. He was handsome, in a roguish way, and his blonde hair was tied back in a pony-tail, giving a cooler touch to his otherwise formal attire. Behind the glasses, were a pair of intelligent looking eyes, sharp and alert, but on closer look, a curious purple flame seemed to be dancing mischeviously in those eyes.
"Mr. Takarada,", he greeted the older man curtly with an extended hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I am here regarding a job."
Lory stood up and shook the young man's hand a little apprehensively. For the first time in his life, he felt intimidated by a young man and this frightened him slightly. Every inch of the man radiated some kind of a power and Lory found himself almost bowing to him.
"I see.", he managed to reply. "So, you are here about a job. And your name please?"
But his 'visitor' ignored the question as he gazed at Lory condescendingly up and down. Lory felt rather uncomfortable, like a naughty school boy being apprehended by his teacher.
"Is something wrong with my appearance?", he asked innocently.
The man's lips curled into a sneer, as he took in the extravagant pink clown's dress and ridiculous looking boots that Lory was wearing. "Everything.", he replied witheringly, making Lory want to crawl under a table and remain hidden forever.
"I expect you to get smartened up in", he glanced at his watch, "twenty minutes. Then we can get to business."
He looked at the President piercingly, gave a curt nod and left the room.
The door opened slowly, and Kyoko's head poked in, looking around the apartment warily. She tip-toed inside and locked the door behind her, before continuing to tip-toe inside as though she were walking through a mine field. She stopped dead in her tracks when she thought she heard a ' creak' and continued on her pace, looking around the apartment suspiciously for spooky apparitions.
The house was still chilly, but that evil, menacing atmosphere that had been there earlier was absent now. She breathed a sigh of relief and drew open the curtains, letting the sunlight flood the rooms. The temperature rose to a comfortable level, and for the first time the apartment attained the semblance of a 'home'.
Kyoko decided to wash her wounds again before getting ready to leave. She had left Ren's apartment early, leaving her note and ring by his side.
As she took off her clothes, she found that her wounds were once again, raw and red. After she woke up, she had felt a tingling sensation on the spots where the monster had touched her in her nightmare. Her bruises had worsened after that.
Kyoko let out a sigh of resignation. Does this mean I won't have any peace even in my sleep now? She thought irritably, mentally cursing the spirit. She gently scrubbed the bruises and dressed up before going to prepare breakfast.
Suddenly, her phone rang. She picked it up, her finger hovering above the 'Answer' button, when she saw who it was.
Ren Tsuruga calling…
"I'm sorry Ren..", she whispered sadly, disconnecting the call. "But I have to do this.."
She prepared a sandwich and was about to sit down to eat when her phone rang again. Kyoko felt her heart clench painfully, thinking it was Ren. But when she glanced at the screen, she frowned in confusion and surprise. It was the President.
Strange.., she thought picking up the phone. He doesn't call so often anymore. Not since I graduated from the Love Me section anyway.
"Mogami san?", the President answered curtly before she could say a word. "I need you here in my office by eight. I have something important to discuss with you regarding your manager."
"You mean Gloria san", Kyoko asked, surprised. But the President disconnected the call. Kyoko listened to the beeping at the other end, stunned. The president had sounded more like a strict principal than his usual jolly self.
If he's in a bad mood I'd better not make him wait then., Kyoko thought nervously. She decided to have her breakfast on the way and was about to pick up her sandwich when she suddenly saw what was on her plate.
Two dead looking hands, bearing a suspicious resemblance to the hands that had tightened around her throat in her nightmare, lay on her plate. They were exactly the same hands, Slashed and horribly bloodied, the veins sticking out at the ends.
Kyoko felt her stomach give a tremendous heave, but flung away the plate as far away from her as she could with a disgusted shriek. She swallowed down the nauseous feeling at her throat, and ran out of the apartment with her bag and phone.
Kyoko stood bent on her knees,breathing hard. She hadn't stopped running until she had reached the President's door, and now she was trying to catch her breath before going in. When she was finally ready, she knocked the door and entered when the President called out "Come in", in a rather domineering tone.
"Ah, good morning Mogami san.", the President greeted her curtly. "Please have a seat, while we discuss the matter regarding your manager, Gloria."
Gloria Cooper was Kyoko's manager of three years. Though an American citizen by birth, her mother was Japanese and so she had been living in Tokyo, employed by LME as a manager. Middle-aged, but efficient, she had a natural gift for being a manager and Kyoko had no complaints with her,
"Gloria Cooper will no longer be working with us.", the President continued. "She has been fired from this agency."
Kyoko blinked in confusion. "Fired?', she asked slowly. "I don't understand President san. Why was she fired?"
"That,", the President replied sharply, "is a matter between Gloria and myself. I have now found you a new manager. Mr. Reino."
Kyoko had an ominous feeling when she heard footsteps behind her. "Please!", she prayed as she slowly turned to see her new manager. "Please don't let it be him!"
But her prayers were unanswered as the former Vie Ghoul member, now smartly dressed in a suit, smirked at her. "Long time no see Kyoko.", Reino greeted her.
Kyoko sprang up from the chair, her eyes blazing with anger and hatred. "You Beagle!", she said contemptuously. "You have been disgraced on television before the whole of Japan, and yet you..you show up here, as my manager? Get out of my sight!"
"Mogami san!", the President interrupted her frostily. "Mr. Reino is a highly competent young man and a much more efficient manager than Gloria. I should know! After all,I hired him."
"Which makes me think you are not entirely in your right mind President san!", Kyoko shot back, forgetting who she was talking to. Her eyes raked over the plain grey suit and black tie that the President was dressed in. He looked more like a strict school principal than the President she was used to, and the cold unrelenting stare of his hawk like eyes didn't help matters.
"I assure you Mogami san, I am absolutely sane and fully in my senses.", Lory retorted. "I have full confidence in this man's abilities, and I fail to understand why you don't, knowing that I always have your best interests at heart."
"President san!", Kyoko said through gritted teeth, "This man is a stalker! A beast! A demon!" The president merely gave her a tolerant smile, that fuelled her anger and she continued ranting. "He..he almost raped me a few years ago!"
The President sighed, as though it was costing him every bit of his patience to carry on this conversation. "Mogami san,", he said with a benevolent smile. "There is a fine line between almost being raped and actually being raped." At this Kyoko's jaw dropped in disbelief. She couldn't believe the President was being so unreasonable! "Reino has told me about your history.", Lory continued calmly, at which Kyoko shot Reino a scorching glare. "And he has assured me, that it was merely a moment of indiscretion on both your parts."
"A moment of-, Excuse me?!", Kyoko spluttered. " That 'moment of indiscretion' was nothing less than sexual harassment President !", she had dropped all honorifics now. "And yet..you assign him-"
"Mogami san!", Lory interrupted her and continued as though she hadn't said a word. "Will you please treat your manager with a little more respect? You should be honored to have him as your manager. I am very disappointed in you. Nevertheless, I shall ignore this childish outburst of yours and pretend that you have thanked me most graciously for my kindness. Now if you please, I am extremely busy today. So I would highly appreciate it if you left now."
Kyoko nearly burst a vein at this complacent speech. She felt Reino take firm hold of her elbow. "You heard the boss.", he sneered. With a nod at the President, he dragged her out of the room.
Kyoko violently shook off Reino's hand off her elbow. "You filthy beagle!", she spat at him. "Who do you think you are, following me here?! This is absolutely the last straw!"
To her fury, Reino buckled up on his knees and started to laugh. "You haven't changed a bit 'Mogami san' !", he said sardonically, in between laughs. "The same anger..the same fury..the same temper..I'm glad to find that my efforts won't be in vain!"
"What efforts?", Kyoko asked with clenched fists. He smiled, only adding to her fury. "Why, my efforts to steal you away from that beast of course.", he replied drily. At this, Kyoko felt her temper finally explode, as she raised her hand to give the Beagle a resounding whack across his stupid grinning face, but he was too quick for her. He caught her hand and took advantage of her momentary surprise, by hoisting her bodily on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"NOOOOOO!", Kyoko yelled protestingly, hammering Reino's back with her fists and trying her best to kick him. "Let me go! I order you to let me go this instant! Help me someone!"
Reino chuckled as they passed several curious onlookers, none of whom stopped to help. "It's no use honey!", he told her cheerfully. "I've got most of the employees convinced that I'm the best thing that has ever happened to you!"
LME employees craned their necks to watch the scene of a screaming girl hoisted on her manager's shoulder. Kyoko was furious. This is ridiculous! , she thought angrily. This has to be bad dream! Yes, that must be it! A-
Kyoko's thoughts were cut off when she caught sight of one of the curious onlookers. A medium height, bespectacled man, was watching the scene before him, his jaw dropped, and eyes widened with horror. "Kyoko chan?", Yashiro cried in disbelief.
Kyoko's mind went blank for a moment. Shit!, she screamed inwardly. Yashiro san! NOOOOO! Please don't tell Ren now! Or maybe you'd better and he'll help out of this situation! But how the hell am I supposed to face him?
Reino unceremoniously dumped his charge on the seat next to his in the car before getting behind the wheel.
"YOU IDIOT!", Kyoko said angrily. "Yashiro san just saw the whole thing! What am I supposed to tell Ren now?", she wailed, her head in her hands.
"Well, it would make things a lot easier for me obviously.", Reino replied matter of factly. " One he's out of my way, my path to you will be clear. He'll probably want to break up with you hmm?", he asked , shooting a sly sidewise glance at her.
At his words however, he felt her mood drop considerably. "Hey, hey, what's wrong?", he asked, surprised by her downcast attitude. She looked so unhappy and sorry looking, he longed to reach out and-
"Kyoko!", he said abruptly. "Look at me." He didn't give her much choice either, as he took firm hold of her chin and forced her to look into his eyes. Kyoko felt his hateful purple eyes pierce through her and immediately averted her eyes, afraid of the power that drew her and at the same time repelled her from him. But that momentary eye contact was enough for Reino.
"I see..", he said finally. "So you've already broken up."
"It's none of your business!"Kyoko said roughly, trying to blink away her tears. The way this man could read her thoughts was fearsome!
Reino said no more, but started the engine and drove her to her shooting location. The drive was silent throughout, with Kyoko occasionally throwing furtive glances at her new manager.
He looked different from the time they had last met. Kyoko noticed that he looked..older. His face was even paler, if that was possible. And there seemed to be a few permanent creases on his forehead. Around his neck, Kyoko saw, that hateful chain with which he had captured her grudge spirit. There was something else different about him, she noticed. He seemed to be emitting some kind of an aura. Power radiated from every inch of his body, or so Kyoko felt. It felt as though he had somehow become less human…
Meanwhile, Reino too felt something strange about the girl beside him. Something's different..", he thought confused. "Something seems missing about her..and she seems downcast about many things..not just a break up.."
The thought continued nag him until they reached the next location. As he watched Kyoko get down and walk dejectedly towards the studio, it struck him.
Her grudge spirit is gone!
"AND CUT!", director Sasuke yelled. Chiori withdrew her hands from Kyoko's neck at the director's call. They were currently working on a show which featured short stories, one story every week. The story they were shooting now was to be a horror one.
"All right everyone, now take five!", the director yelled. He walked over to the two actresses with a smile. "That was very good you two.", he praised them. " Now get ready for the bathtub scene all right?" He gave them a nod and walked away to give further instructions to the camera men.
"Are you feeling all right Kyoko?", Chiori asked, sounding concerned. She was acting the ghost in the drama. She was dressed in a long, blood-stained white night gown and wore a long, black haired wig. "You seem a little jumpy today..Surely you can't be that deep in character?"
"I'm fine.", Kyoko lied. "Just a little tired that's all."
"I can see that", Chiori observed. Kyoko seemed a little paler than usual, and under her eyes were the beginnings of dark rings. "Haven't you been getting enough sleep?"
"It's time for the shoot now.", Kyoko replied shortly, not answering her question. She made her way to the set where a bathtub had been placed, filled with red-colored water.
"Ugh!", Chiori said shuddering. "And I have to float in that!"
The scene was that Kyoko would approach the bath tub and discover the long-haired young woman floating in a 'pool of blood'. The minute she got closer, Chiori would grab Kyoko, pull her into the water and hold her there for a few seconds.
"Ready everyone?", the director asked aloud. "Okay, Amamiya san, get into the tub, and Mogami san, stand back there by the bathroom door..yes! Okay camera men.." The director continued to shout instructions, while Kyoko went to her position and Chiori got into the tub with a grimace.
"Excuse me.", a quiet but authoritative voice interrupted the bustle going on in the studio. Everyone looked up to find an impressively tall figure standing in the set.
Ren! Kyoko realized.
Ren walked towards the director with an apologetic smile on his face. "I'm very sorry to interrupt Director Sasuke.", he said politely. "But can I have a word with Mogami san for just a minute. It's terribly important."
The director gaped at him in awe for a moment and nodded. "Of course Tsuruga san. ", he readily agreed.
Kyoko closed her eyes wearily. Of course he would want an explanation for her walking out on him suddenly. But..did it have to be now? She still hadn't thought of what exactly to tell him when they met. It was one thing to dump him by letter. It was another thing to do so face to face, especially when there was no way she wanted to break up with him.
With a sigh of resignation, she and Ren made their way to an empty dressing room while the director continued with his instructions. She folded her arms and glared at him defiantly.
"Well?", she asked coldly. "What was this 'terribly important' matter you wanted to discuss with me?"
Ren glared back at her. "For a start,", he asked coolly, "What the hell is this,", he held up her letter ,"all about?"
Kyoko raised her eyebrows. "If that is all you came to ask, ", she said archly, "then I suggest you learn to read, Tsuruga san. I want us to break up. It's as simple as that!" She started to walk off back to the set when Ren grabbed her wrist and pulled her back, closer to him.
Damn!, Kyoko thought furiously. It wasn't like she exactly disliked their current position but it was going to be harder to lie to him now!
"I read your letter perfectly well Kyoko.", Ren said in a low voice. "And I had a hard time swallowing it's contents. One minute you're happily falling into my arms telling me you'll marry me and next moment you're backing out for no reason at all! You really had me worried Kyoko! Ever since yesterday, you've been acting strange! What's going on?"
"Ren!", Kyoko said in a stern voice. "I want out of our relationship! There's no deep reason behind it! I..I don't feel happy with you! Now let me go!" She tried to pull out of Ren's grasp but he was too strong for her.
"Then look at me!", he quietly ordered her.
"What do you mean?", Kyoko asked nervously. "Ren, you're disrupting the filming schedule!"
"Look at me in the eyes Kyoko.", Ren repeated , jerking her chin so that she was facing him properly. "Stop gazing at the wall behind my shoulder and look at me! And then tell me that you want to break up!"
Kyoko gulped as she gazed deep into his dark, honest eyes, burning with love and desperation. She was hurting him so much..was it really necessary to lie to him?
"She wants to break up because she has other plans.", a voice interrupted and Reino stepped into the room with a smug smile on his face. "with me..", he added.
Ren felt that familiar boiling sensation within himself. It couldn't be true.. Though Yashiro had told him about the little scenario he had witnessed at LME that morning.
"I don't believe it!", he snarled at the Vie Ghoul singer before him. "And what are you doing with her anyway?"
"It's nothing Ren!", Kyoko interrupted, shooting a glare at Reino. "This beagle is just my manager! And he's not the reason why we're breaking up!"
Ren swung towards Kyoko. "Manager?",he asked incredulously. "Since when?"
"Since this morning.", chipped in Reino. "Your President decided that he could use my talents and hired me after firing Gloria. End of story. Now if you please, Ren Tsuruga, Kyoko has a scene to shoot and you are delaying it terribly. We would be much obliged if you leave."
He looked piercingly into Ren's eyes, who met his gaze unflinchingly. "Do as you please Mr. Stalker.", Ren said in a chilling voice. "But I will never hand her over quietly to you."
Reino gazed at him for a few seconds. He gave a humorless smile as he replied, " Interesting..you're not as easy as the others..and I'm Kyoko's manager now. Not her stalker."
" 'Manager' is just a fancier word for 'stalker' ", Ren retorted. He turned when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was the director.
"You've engaged Mogami san for more than five minutes Tsuruga san.", he said coldly, all the reverence gone from his voice. "Now will you please leave?"
Ren frowned in confusion at the director's change in attitude. Reino gave laughed sardonically. "You heard the old man Tsuruga.", he said. "Leave."
Ren left the studio frowning in confusion. There's something fishy going on..I'd better keep an eye on Kyoko..
The director turned to Kyoko, a warm smile back on his face. "Mogami san, the set is almost ready. We'll start shooting in another five minutes.", he told her.
Kyoko nodded. "I'll just go and fix my make up.", she informed him and walked away towards her dressing room, blinking back tears. She had hurt Ren! Ren, of all people! But she was now even more determined to solve the mystery behind the ghost in her apartment. No spirit was going to keep them apart for long!
She was putting on her lipstick when there was a knock at the door. "Mogami san!", a woman's voice called out. "We'll be doing a rehearsal of the scene first. Please go to room 9 instead of room 3."
"All right!", Kyoko answered, giving her hair one quick brush. She left the dressing room and went to room 9, which was a little further inside the studio. She opened the door and found the tub ready, and filled with red water.
"Chiori?", Kyoko called uncertainly when she saw the white clad figure floating in the tub.Why did she get in now? She thought, puzzled. None of the crew are here yet!
"Chiori, you idiot!", she cried. "You'll catch a cold floating about in there! There's a limit to 'getting into character!' "
Chiori did not respond, and continued to float on her back, her long hair covering her face as it floated in the water. "Chiori?', Kyoko bent down to tap her shoulder, wondering if she had fallen asleep in the tub. She let out a scream as the girl grabbed her inside and pushed her underwater.
Kyoko barely had any time to breathe when she found her head immersed in water. A strong hand was pushing her inside. She opened her mouth for air, but swallowed water instead. She struggled hard, splashing water outside, but the woman's grip was too strong. She heard the woman cackle, a high-pitched laugh, that chilled her to the bones. This was definitely not Chiori!
Kyoko vaguely heard a knocking sound at the door, before blacking out.
...
"KYOKO! KYOKO! OPEN UP!"
Kyoko's eyes snapped open at the frantic yelling and banging. She was standing in her dressing room once again, completely drenched. There was no sign of the mysterious girl and the bathtub at all! The fact that she was soaked to the skin was the only proof of what had happened earlier.
Kyoko now felt terror and dread flood through her. That evil spirit could follow her everywhere! Even outside that horrible apartment!
"KYOKO!", Chiori's panic stricken voice interrupted her thoughts. She went to open the door, and found to her surprise that it was locked. She unlocked the door and swung it open to find a flood of faces before her-some panicked, and many annoyed.
'Kyoko! Are you all right?", Chiori asked the pale, scared looking girl before her. She felt Kyoko's forehead. It was cold and clammy. "Why are you so wet? Kyoko, have you been showering or something?"
Kyoko did not answer, but merely stared at her, too frozen for words.
"Mogami san?", the director asked uncertainly. "Is something wrong?"
It took her a few moments to regain her senses. "I..I'm not feeling very well director.", Kyoko said faintly. In fact, she was feeling positively ill. "Is..is it all right if I take the day off?", she looked pleadingly at him.
Her face was a ghastly shade of white. The director reluctantly nodded. "All right. Take today off.", he said kindly. "We'll be seeing you again in three days then. We hope you'll feel better by then."
"Thank you!", Kyoko bowed gratefully. She changed out of the wet clothes, and hurried out of the studio, avoiding the pointed glares and puzzled looks of the actors and crew. She inhaled the fresh, sweet air deeply, once she was outside.
I still feel a little feverish., she thought. But I can't go on cancelling shoots like this! Is this what she meant by destroying my career?
Hopelessness washed over her. She was so deeply absorbed in her thoughts, she did not hear the footsteps behind her and jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Next time you decide to walk out of a shoot, at least let your manager know!", Reino said irritably.
Kyoko felt her fears disappear as anger, annoyance and a tiny bit of fear took over her at the sight of the 'purple-eyed dog' , as she liked to call him. To her indignation, he took firm hold of her elbow and half dragged her to his car. She got into the car, fuming, and refused to even look his way.
"As my manager, will it be possible for you to cancel my shoots for today?", she asked sarcastically.
"Of course.", Reino replied nonchalantly. He whipped out his cell phone and rang up the concerned people, informing them with a brief apology that Kyoko would be unable to attend the day's shoot. This only heightened her anger. She had been dying to vent out her frustrations on him and fire him if he had botched up the job.
Her angry silence amused him. "Well,well, after a bout of anger, I suppose keeping silent would be spiritually uplifting.", he sneered. Kyoko glanced at him sharply.
"What do you mean by 'spiritually'?", she asked tensely.
Reino smirked and leaned close to her. A bit too close for comfort actually.. Kyoko, to her horror, found herself freezing up at his light touch, and his breath on her skin. She hated it when this happened. For some reason, she felt so terrified of his mere presence sometimes, that she became completely defenseless and vulnerable before Reino.
"What happened to your grudge spirit?", he whispered, his lips moving against her skin. He moved slowly down her neck, feeling anger when she shuddered at his touch.
"Do you despise me so much?", he hissed bitterly, his face drooping downwards, leaning against her chest for support. "Are you besotted with that beast so much..that even your grudge spirit decides not to show up anymore?"
"My grudge spirit .", Kyoko croaked. He lifted his head from her chest, and stared at her incredulously. Kyoko felt her head clear immediately and heaved a sigh of relief.
"Dead?", he asked skeptically. "Spirits don't die baka!"
But Kyoko was now staring at him as though seeing him in a completely new light. Those strange incidents from yesterday..the President's strange behavior and willingness to hire Reino as a manager..It wasn't a coincidence.
She glared at him hatefully. "Just what kind of black magic did you use on the President?", she asked through gritted teeth. He looked surprised at first, and then smiled.
"Black magic? Oh no sweetheart! It wasn't black magic! But I won't deny..I have the power to control people's will if I can.. Except your boyfriend and you of course! He seems to have an exceptionally strong mind..he can block me at will, and without even trying. And you- you have an exceptionally pure mind, one that both repels me and draws me to you at the same time. Annoying isn't it? It would have been so much easier to make you mine then. I wouldn't have to do all this then. An-"
Reino broke off and Kyoko froze when she realized that he had unknowingly managed to slip his hand under her shirt. His fingers were lightly caressing the slashes on her chest. He looked at her curiously. "Wha-". But before he could complete, Kyoko delivered a punch on his face. "You bastard!", she said furiously, roughly shaking his hands off her, before she got off the car. He was responsible for all this!
Reino watched her go, as he nursed the bruise on his face. His hands had felt what was unmistakably a wound..One touch had sent electricity tingling through his body.
It's been a while since I touched something that hurt so much..he mused, remembering Kyoko's 'Corn' stone. The wound was not a normal one..Should I?
After a few moments of internal debate, he made up his mind, but with a rebellious heart. He took out his phone and rang up the agency for the number he wanted.
"I wanted to snatch her away from him!", he muttered grumpily as he dialed Ren Tsuruga's number. "So what am I doing, playing cupid?"
A/N: Hope you liked that! I think I once mentioned I wouldn't be using white-clad ghost woman in the story! XD But well..just been watching Grudge and couldn't resist! ;)
Review please!