Kyoko left the meeting exhausted. Not only was it a lot of information that she had to remember, it took a lot of energy out of her to keep her grudges under control during the meeting. Sho had been making snide and sarcastic remarks throughout the entire meeting. Shoko had tried her hardest to get him to behave but his not so subtle comments about being extremely popular had really irritated her. She sighed and rubbed her temples. She was so tired.
"Mogami-san, are you alright?" Kyoko looked up into Ren's face, which was gentle and slightly concerned. She schooled her face into a polite smile.
"I'm fine Tsuruga-san, just a little tired." She laughed. "That was a very informative meeting."
Tsuruga nodded in agreement. "It was, but I believe that Paradise Murder will be a very popular drama."
Kyoko nodded vigorously, eyes shining. "I get to play a beautiful and powerful woman who tries to root out all the evil in the world. She is like an angel!" She gushed.
Ren chuckled. "This role is also your first leading role, isn't it?" Kyoko nodded again with even more enthusiasm.
"Waaah, Kyoko-chan congratulations!" Yashiro gushed as they walked towards the exit.
"Thanks Yashiro-san. I will be sure that I make this drama a success!" Kyoko declared, eyes blazing slightly.
Ren smiled and was about to reply when he heard a soft voice call his name.
"Excuse me, Mr. Tsuruga, Mr. Tsuruga!" He turned and saw Kailani Kalakanuali striding towards him, her cheeks slightly pink from the speed at which she walked. Behind her strolled Carlita Monterro, looking extremely bored.
"Yes, Ms. Kalakanuali?" Ren asked, sparkling slightly.
"Please, call me Lani, everyone does. Kalakanuali is a mouthful to keep repeating." Lani smiled gently and held out her hand. "If I am not being too forward, may I call you Tsuruga-san? Mr. Tsuruga sounds a little formal for coworkers."
Ren shook her hand. "Not at all, Lani-san, not at all."
She looked at Yashiro next. "You are Yashiro-san, correct?" Yashiro nodded and shook her hand. "I look forward to working with you and the other managers. Perhaps you could show me the ropes here?"
"I'd be happy to."
Lani turned to Kyoko next. "I am sorry that we were never properly introduced. I'm Lani. You're Kyoko, right?" Kyoko nodded and bowed slightly. Lani bowed in return. "Should I call you Kyoko or Kyoko-san? I have been told that calling a new acquaintance only by their first name is extremely rude when you do not know them well. But I don't seem to know your surname."
Kyoko frantically reassured the foreigner that being called Kyoko was just fine, but the young woman insisted on an honorific. They finally settled on Kyoko-san.
Carlita Monterro had taken a seat on the floor against the wall during Lani's polite reintroduction. She popped her bubble gum, an almost bored expression on her face. "So you guys work for LME?"
Yashiro nodded. "Yes Ms. Monterr-"
"Call me Cara. No chan, no san… sama is fine though."
"CARA!"
"I'm kidding. Just call me Cara. Anything else makes me seem old and stuffy." Lani raised an eyebrow in disapproval, which Cara replied by sticking out her tongue.
"Cara, then. And yes we work for LME, why do you ask?" Yashiro continued.
The woman popped her gum again and ignored his question. "Y'all have more work after this?"
Yashiro frowned slightly at her bluntness. "No, this was our last meeting of the day."
Cara looked at Kyoko. "And you?"
Kyoko shook her head. "I don't have anything until tomorrow morning either."
"Good." Cara stretched and held out a hand to Ren to pull her to her feet. "Then you guys can take us to dinner."
"Cara, manners!" Lani scolded. "I apologize for her crass behavior, she doesn't react well to jet lag and to top it off she hasn't eaten a proper meal since yesterday. If it would be alright, do you think that we can all go to dinner? It will be our treat, but we just don't know where to go for good food here."
Kyoko nodded enthusiastically. "I would love to. How about you, Tsuruga-san, Yashiro-san?"
Ren smiled. "It would be our pleasure."
"That's great and all, but can you please help me up." Cara asked, slightly irritated.
Ren, apologizing, pulled the woman to her feet and was surprised that he had to look up to look her in the eye. She was at least five inches taller than him.
Yashiro gaped. He had rarely met anyone taller than Ren, let alone a woman. The size difference was astounding.
Cara's stomach growled and she winced. "Food sometime today would be nice." She began to walk towards the parking structure.
"I'm so sorry for her attitude."Lani apologized. "She is not in the greatest mood and formal and business like settings like this make her somewhat cranky."
"Come on! MERDA!"
"Cara! Language! Please!"
Ren chuckled as Lani turned to apologize to him again. "It's all right Lani-san. We will be happy to join you for dinner." Lani smiled and threaded her arm through Yashiro's, surprising him. "What a polite charge you have. I'm envious." Yashiro laughed slightly as the four of them began to walk towards the overly annoyed actress.
"Glad you could all finally join me. Now let's get going, I'm starving and my- OOF" As she rounded the corner, Cara promptly crashed into someone and staggered back, falling on her butt.
"Oye! Watch were you're going, you-" Sho looked up, and broke off mid-sentence, seeing who he had crashed into. He smirked when he realized it was Cara. "Watch where you're going woman. You could do some real damage if you don't keep your eyes ahead of you."
"Sho" Shoko warned, "Don't start anything."
Cara grinned at the singer. "I did keep my eyes ahead but I guess I just didn't see you, you little runt." She got to her feet and stood toe to toe with the singer, smirking back down at him. "I mean, maybe if you were a little taller than I would have."
If the size difference between her and Ren had been surprising, the height difference between Cara and Sho was astounding. She towered above him, his head not even reaching her shoulders. Kyoko inwardly grinned at the look on Sho's face. His height had always been a soft spot for him because he wasn't as tall as Tsuruga-san, and now, to have a woman towering over him like her was a child, made her almost burst out laughing.
Sho didn't back down, however. "I guess a freakish giant such as yourself has to pride herself on something, since your femininity seems to be lacking."
"Just like your manners, little boy. Now run along and drink your milk, this party is for grown-ups only."
Sho glared at her before turning his gaze on Kyoko and Ren. "I guess that you both are so free that you can goof off this evening. Unlike you, I actually still have appearances."
"Then, Fuwa-san, you had better stop wasting your time here and get to them." Lani's voice cut in smoothly, her tone still soft with an almost reprimanding edge. "You will bring shame to your name and that of your manager and Agency if you were late because you were delayed by us." She smiled serenely at Shoko, who smiled back, looking somewhat surprised at being addressed. "We are sorry to have interrupted your journey out of here. We too have places to be tonight. I hope that the next time we meet I will be able to get to know you better."
Shoko nodded. "I would like that. And she's right Sho, we have to get moving or we will be late." Grabbing his arm, she dragged the crimson faced singer down the hall and around the corner. "See you later Kyoko." Sho drawled right before he turned the corner and was no longer in sight.
Kyoko's grudges were out now and it was taking all of her willpower to keep them under control. "Damn that Shoutaro!" she inwardly yelled. "Must you always try to pick a fight and humiliate everyone? Why can't you-" Kyoko's thoughts were interrupted by Lani tapping on her shoulder.
"Kyoko-san, are you alright?"
"Oh, Lani-san, I'm fine."
Lani's kind green eyes were skeptical, but she didn't push it. "Well, alright then. Back to what we were talking about before, Kyoko, what is your favorite thing to eat here?" Lani threaded her arm through Kyoko's this time and steered her towards the parking structure, Yashiro and Ren following along behind. Kyoko brightened up immediately and launched into a conversation with the woman about hamburgers with a fried egg on top. Lani giggled and listened attentively, asking lots of questions as the young girl went on and on about her favorite food.
"She's something else, ain't she."
Ren and Yashiro jumped slightly. They hadn't noticed that Cara had fallen in step with them.
"What?" Ren asked, confused.
"Lani." Cara nodded to the slender woman who was now discussing favorite fairy tales with Kyoko. "She's good at diffusing situations. That's why she is filling in for my real manager; with my spicy nature, god knows I get into a lot of arguments."
"Your real manager?" Yashiro looked between her and Lani. "You mean that she is not your manager."
"Naw, she's just filling in. My manager Bobby Evans dropped a bowling ball on his foot last week and broke it in three places. He wouldn't be able to keep up with me on such a hectic schedule so I gave him time off and called Lani in to assist me."
Ren chuckled. "She seems like a good person."
"She is. She's a great friend and a terrible enemy." Cara grinned. Ren had to admit that her smile made her actually seem approachable. "Well, now that we've had the show, what about dinner?" Cara's stomach growled again. "I need food and if I don't get it soon, I'm going to eat my belt."
Lani laughed at Cara's comment when the three of them drew close to her. "Well you are in luck. Kyoko really wants to get a hamburger with an egg on top and I really could go for anything quick. What do you say?"
"I say Hallelujah!" Cara sang. "Where to? I can't read any of the signs in this town."
"Do you have a car?" Ren asked, unlocking his. Lani nodded. "Good, then you can follow us." Ren helped Kyoko into the back seat of his car as Cara danced towards a silver jeep. "Food, food, food!" She sang.