Thanks to Toyoko for being my guest-beta this chapter and making me write better!

"Despite the…um…questionable circumstances, this is a large opportunity. This is about close as a debut President Takarada will allow while you're still in LoveMe. Just stay to the script, and you'll have all the publicity you'll ever need.." He paused, watching her carefully as she stood up to leave. "...And try not to look so…unhappy. I'm sure Mogami-san will call in soon."

Unhappy. To say she was unhappy was the understatement of the century, but Sawara couldn't think of any other words to describe her condition as she shuffled away.

Actually, there were a million words that described her emotions at the moment. Concern. Irritation. Shock. Worry. Exhaustion. And now to add to the list…annoyance.

She thundered down the stairs to the LoveMe locker room, sending LME employees screaming and darting off in any direction that wasn't towards her. The usually straight black hair had an abundance of rogue stragglers, sticking up in every which way. Barely covered dark rings encircled her red eyes, itchy and droopy from the all-night, non-stop, unsuccessful searching and calling. Kyoko was missing for only roughly 12 hours, so Kanae knew the police wouldn't help looking. Her pink jumper was creased and disheveled, put on haphazardly when Sawara-san called her to the media conglomerate's headquarters and up to his desk.

Taking in the mini-script with a flurry of shuffled pages, the girl read and memorized her part by the time she made it to their customary hallway. Kanae tossed the useless book into the trash bin, having already memorized the disgusting words in a flash.

It had to be now that the stupid President sent this damn LoveMe assignment. Damn President and his stupid ~love~ ideas. All three of the bastards could go to the seventh circle of Hell for all I care. I'm not going to save him from his nuclear media meltdown. If the President wanted to kick her out of LME, well she'd just make it somewhere else. Her resume and connections were already made.

AND THAT GIRL ISN'T ANYWHERE!

Kanae rubbed her head furiously at the roots, a bad habit she had picked up from the missing LoveMe member. Kotonami had spent the entire night on that red bike, looking, calling and recalling, leaving message after message, all fruitless. She hadn't heard anything back from the usually clingy girl. The unusual silence was nerve wracking. Kanae had only wanted to warn her of their dirty scheme, she had had no desire to actually hurt her. It was suppose to be for Kyoko's sake, and she had failed in more ways than one.

That bastard... Kanae's blood boiled, remembering all the things that Fuwa had said to crush the girl further. It was lower than low, a last grab for power and control the stupid boy attempted to have over her friend. Moko cursed herself all night for not putting two and two together before leaving the building; for not realizing the musician's pride and jealously was the cause why he would actually look forward to his plot being found out, and why he had wanted to come for the ride. She was just too angry to look at it logically.

Having been subjected to many men's desires and desperation to have her, Kanae could read into Fuwa's actions as plainly as she could with a book now that all the cards were on the table. It definitely wasn't anything original. More often than not, pathetic schoolboys had called her more than a few bad things (bitchy ice queen was one of the more common names) suggesting that there was something wrong with her and not them for turning down their "confessions of love."

The singer was really just another second-rate brat, realizing he couldn't have what he wanted anymore, and that he was no longer her number one. So he wanted to both hurt her, and force her back.

She would have thought Kyoko would have realized something wasn't right as well…but then again Kyoko didn't have as much experience with foolish men as she had. She had admitted to Kanae long ago that the only person she was close to as a child was Sho, and her imaginary fairy prince.

Moko knew Kyoko had held Tsuruga in high esteem but Kyoko had never spoken about her mother before.

Apparently her mother wasn't much of one at all, and that two-faced jackal...THIS WASN'T SUPPOSE TO HAPPEN! AHH!

Frankly, it was easier to describe the few emotions she wasn't feeling, and the number one emotion she was lacking was happiness. And the root of all her scrambled emotions (as well as her raccoon face) knelt right in front of her locker, picking up her sneakers as if nothing had happened the night before, a neatly folded set of neon pink uniforms stacked on top of one another.

"Where the hell have you been?" Kanae stomped into the designated LoveMe room, a place where she usually started the day fending violently for her personal space. It unconsciously rattled her; today's lack of normalcy. Kyoko barely moved as the heavy door violently slammed shut. "I've been calling you all night!"

As she turned, Kotonami caught the look of heartbreak in her deadened eyes. The pained look hadn't eased at all; it had only intensified with a sort of resignation.

"You're leaving," Kanae said simply. It was a statement of the obvious, not a question. The words even caught herself off-guard, spoken aloud without a conscious thought. Kyoko nodded slowly and lowered her eyes, putting her work shoes into the over-sized duffel bag.

"Well then what other agency are you going to?" Kanae asked sternly, crossing her arms, her signature look. Kyoko said nothing, she only started packing her LoveMe pink jumpsuits one at a time. The lack of an answer made the pace of Moko's heart increase.

"Where are you going to go?" Again, there was no response.

"Do you know what you're going to do?" Unnerving silence. Kanae's voice grew higher, more worried and inquisitive.

She wouldn't…

"Are you even going to keep acting?"

Kyoko winced, confirming the taller LoveMe member's building fears.

"So you're just going to pretend you're worthless and disappear for a couple of idiots!" The world was going to end now, Kanae was convinced of it. The Queen of Grudges, throwing away all she had because of them? It was unimaginable. Kyoko wasn't the type to be hurt or broken. She was supposed to a blaze of revenge.

"I'm not pretending Moko-san." Kyoko stopped folding her ex-work clothes, and looked back towards Kanae with a sad smile. "I've known for a long time how little I'm worth."

Her tiny hand stung at the slap, and she could feel the tears well up. The little girl bit her lip, determined not to cry again in front of her mother. She was well aware of what her mother thought of showing weakness, which was why the scene in front of her confused her even more.

"How often must I tell you to leave me alone?" Sanae hissed angrily, pulling her head up to look at the disappointment in front of her.

"But Mama…" Kyoko whimpered with a soft and uneasy voice. "You're crying."

"So? What does it have to do with you?" Her mother brought a tissue to her eyes, and rubbed the tears away. She looked at her daughter through her fingers. "Foolish child, do you think just because you cry, people will come and comfort you? I have no desire to deal with the ridiculous whims of a stupid girl coming to state the obvious."

Kyoko hesitantly reached her hand out, wanting to touch her mother but knowing that the cost of it would be another slap. Her mother was a beautiful flame, and all she wanted to do was hold it. An impossibility. "I want you to be happy Mama. I promise to try harder to make you happy. Just don't cry."

"You always promise, but you always fail. You're obviously flawed. No better than average. No use to anyone. I can't believe you're my daughter." There was no venom or anger in her comment, only a tone of resigned recognition. The woman said it all in the same truthful simplicity she would if she were explaining the color of the sky.

"I can be useful Mama…" She couldn't hold the tears back now, silently spilling down her youthful cheeks. Though she was used to the verbal onslaught that went with her mother's beauty, it still pierced her growing heart. Kyoko turned around and headed to her room, ready for a full night study session. She would prove herself worthy of her mother's love.

"I bet no one could love her." Sanae whispered, returning to her tears. She didn't notice the small hand stiffen around the doorknob.

"My mother taught me long ago I'm unworthy of affection Moko-san. My mother said it. Shoutaro said it. R-...Ren..." Kyoko's throat clenched, and the tears she fought off began to defy her, falling like a river beginning to flood. "I'm better off..."

Kyoko bobbed towards the floor, the force of the strike catching her off-guard. Life flooded back into her molten eyes, barefaced shock. Kanae's hand was imprinted perfectly on her cheek.

"You're such an idiot." Kanae's face was streaked with tears, as her long arms encircled Kyoko, "I don't care who tells you that you're not worth anything. You're worth something to me! You're my best friend and I won't let you say such stupid things!"

"Mok-" Kanae hugged her best friend for dear life.

"Kanae-chan! My name is Kanae and you can't call me anything else but Kanae-chan! Baka! Baka! Baka! I'll never forgive you if you worry me like that again!"

For the first time in her life, the ice princess fell apart, sobbing into her best friend's shoulder. It felt strange; Kanae vaguely questioned how she had become the one to fall apart, when it was the other girl who had experienced so much. Kyoko even rubbed her back, trying to soothe her, even though she just been slapped by her best friend.

So this is how A-ko felt…

Even with her never-ending siblings, whenever her parents made it home they were able to show all their children some form of kindness. She figured Kyoko's parents would be like an older version of the girl: fanatical, overly adoring, and star-struck with their own child. Kanae wondered how the intolerable girl managed to show such stubborn compassion despite her past, putting others before herself, taking all the abuse experienced by others and internalizing it while always trying to meet others' expectations. The dumb girl was so perfect. She wondered how any mother could not love a child like Kyoko - how anyone could not love her.

"And don't you realize…That bastard! …Did you not hear that bastard last night?" Kanae pulled herself away, face to face with her best friend. Like her tears, all of Moko's ideas came pouring out, unable to contain them. She mimicked Fuwa's words. "I'm the only one who will help you. I'm the only one. Like it's meant to be! I'm your prince!" He's saying that not because he thinks you're worthless! It's because he doesn't want to lose you. He's saying it because he likes you!"

"Sho…like me?" Kyoko voice was shaky and hesitant, unsure of what was just said. She cocked her head to the side, looking at Kanae like she had grown a second head. "There's no way, Moko-san." Kyoko shook her head, letting the concept penetrate her mind even further. "It's absolutely impossible."

Moko threw her head down, sighing dramatically. Of course she wouldn't believe me! She's in LoveMe for a reason. Still, that's the only thing that would make sense! But then...what about Tsuruga…where does he come into this?

"As for that other idiot..." Kanae continued her string of thoughts out loud. "He's been hogging your attention for a lot longer than one week. He drives you home. He purposely looks out for you. He gave you that mutant rose for your birthday. No senpai treats their kohai that well..." Slowly, Kanae got up. She started pacing slowly, trying to put together the jigsaw pieces in her mind. "Something is missing...The whole story doesn't sound right. What would Tsuruga get from winning the wager? Why would the man even make the bet? Why would he even care about Fuwa Sho for that matter? He's a bigger star than the musician…and they don't even share the same field."

The actress paused, and looked at her friend, who looked back at her from the floor. Something flickered in the back of Kanae's mind, but she just couldn't grasp it.

"Come on..." Kanae took Kyoko's hand, helping her so that they were both on their feet. "We're going to get to the bottom of this. I know how to get to Tsuruga. If you still want to leave, then I'm coming with you. I can't let my rival get ahead of me."

This is a bit shorter of a chapter than I've been writing lately, but since we're getting close to the climax, I want all the juicy parts to come out at the same time. Still, I don't want it to be long enough that you find yourself scrolling to see how much is left, or having to read the second part at another time.