Woo! Thanks for sticking with!

Thanks to WriterofShadow for beta-ing both this chapter and last chapter...and hopefully every future chapter...even though it was last minute...

Any mistakes left are probably my own.

Advent '08

December 2nd – 23 days to go

Kyoko woke with a smile on her face. It took her a moment to figure out why, but when the events of yesterday morning came back to her, her smile only widened.

This was great!

She jumped out of bed and pulled on the uniform that she had laid out ready for that day, before staring at her room. She only had morning classes today to worry about, now all she had to figure out was what she was going to need to pack for her afternoon at L.M.E. When she thought about it, she was unsure of what she would be doing. The President had only said that this month was the busiest in the year, he had told her nothing of her tasks that she would be doing.

What exactly would she be doing?

She shrugged and grabbed her bag from the corner she had dumped it in last night. If she couldn't figure it out, she guessed she would just have to take what she would usually take and hope that nothing too extraneous would be asked of her.

Going over to her desk she packed the books that she knew that she would need and then folded up a cleanly washed work uniform and put that in the bag as well.

She frowned. It wasn't much to look at really. Was this all she would need to get her through the day? She was nervous, now that she knew that the President had specifically asked for her to be taken out of school to help she didn't want to disappoint him.

After a moment or two of contemplation, she sighed. It was all she could do really. She would just have to hope that it was enough. Zipping up her back she swung in onto her shoulders before checking her watch.

Perfect. She still had plenty of time before the school started. Besides, it was a shorter distance from her home to school than it was from the L.M.E. building to the school. And she wouldn't even hit morning traffic.

Making her way downstairs, Kyoko waved goodbye to the owners of the inn before grabbing her bicycle and heading off towards school, too excited to eat breakfast.

---/---

School that morning was a slow torture, stuck inside when all she wanted was for this morning to be over so that she could go do work.

It was a little insensitive and Kyoko did feel a small pang of guilt for thinking this way. After all, she had wanted to go to high school and the President had gone out of his way to get her a place here. It was also a little disrespectful to the teachers, they were here to teach and she wasn't giving them the courtesy of listening.

But really, all she wanted to do was get outside.

Her eyes drifted towards the window. Her desk was right next to it and the outside kept taunting her. She snapped to attention when her teacher slammed her hands down right in front of her.

"Kyoko? Is there something interesting happening outside?"

Kyoko grimaced at the smile her teacher was giving her. "No?"

"No?" Her teacher repeated. "Well then, maybe you would like to read out the next passage?"

"Y-yes..."

"Wonderful!"

Suppressing a sigh that she knew would get her into even deeper trouble, she took one last lingering glance through the window before she stood and found the passage in her book. She had been so caught up in her own musing that she had lost her place.

Panicking slightly, she flicked through the text, trying to ignore her teacher's world weary sigh and the snickers from her class mates.

It was with great relief that she found the paragraph and started to read. As the words left her lips she allowed her mind to wander.

---/---

When the bell for lunch finally rang Kyoko almost gave out a yell of joy. Stuffing the last of her school books into her bag she swung it onto her shoulder and quickly raced out of the classroom, desperate to get outside and on her way.

As soon as she stepped out of the entrance she shivered, the biting wind cutting through her.

What had she been thinking? It was December after all. There was no way that it would have been hot. In the classroom she had been fooled into thinking that it was going to be warm outside because the sun had been shining.

Stuffing her hands into her armpits for warmth, she made her way over to where she kept her bicycle, her teeth chattering loudly.

It was with great reluctance that she gripped the handles, mourning her fingers loss of warmth she started on her journey to the L.M.E. building unsteadily.

---/---

Yashiro had not been having a good day so far.

Ren's complete unwillingness to change his mind over anything was beginning to annoy him. Yes, he had allowed some room in his plan for this type of behaviour. What he hadn't allowed was for Ren to not even consider the possibilities.

He had worked on Ren all yesterday about changing his mind and going to the awards ceremony. But all Ren had done was smile that infuriating smile of his and kept up with his 'No.' Coming up with different excuses every time he brought up a valid reason as to why Ren should go.

In the end, Ren had turned to him and said 'Why Yashiro-san, it's almost as if you're deperate for me to go.' and then walked off, leaving Yashiro with his mouth hanging open and his plan in tatters on the first day.

He had gone to bed scheming though, and all he had to show for it this morning was a headache.

Yashiro let his head fall to his desk, pressing his cheek against the cool wood and closing his eyes.

How on earth was he going to convince Ren to go? His whole plan hinged on Ren's consent. He could manipulate the rest to his liking, he just couldn't find a way for Ren to say that initial 'Yes.'

He sighed in irritation and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Stupid Ren.

What he needed was for Ren to say yes. What he needed was to somehow show Ren why he should say yes.

...What he needed was a miracle.

His eyes snapped open. Miracle? He sat up. That was it! He didn't need a miracle, he needed Kyoko!

Laughing at his own brilliance and studiously ignoring the flickering lights, he flipped through the small cardholder on his desk until he found the extension number for Takenori Sawara. Slipping on his latex gloves, he punched the number in and calmed himself down as the phone began to ring.

"Hello? This is Sawara-san speaking."

Yashiro grinned. "Ah, Sawara-san. This is Yashiro-san."

"Ah, Yashiro-san! How are you? What can I do for you?"

Yashiro bit his bottom lip, forcing down the urge to laugh at how easy this all was. "Well," he started "I was wondering if I could borrow Kyoko-chan for a while?"

There was a small hesitation on the other end of the line before Sawara started talking again, this time with regret.

"I'm sorry Yashiro-san, Kyoko-chan is at school now."

"What?! But I thought that Kyoko was working here all month?"

"No, it's only certain times that she's working here. The rest she's at school. Was it very urgent that you needed her?"

Yashiro could only sit there in surprise and increasing dismay at what Sawara had told him. Kyoko wasn't going to be working at L.M.E. all the time? He had planned around the fact that Kyoko would always be available.

Urgh. This time it was Kyoko who was messing up his plans and not Ren. They were both as bad as each other. They practically deserved each other for putting him through this.

Yashiro was about to give up completely when Sawara's last question finally registered.

Urgent? He could do urgent...

He sighed hard. "Yes. Yes, it really was urgent. I don't know what I'm going to do now..."

Leaving the sentence open he waited, smirking into his empty office. It didn't take long as Sawara practically tripped over himself to reassure him.

"Ah! Don't worry Yashiro-san. Kyoko isn't at school all the time, in fact! I think she's supposed to be coming in this afternoon!" There was the sound of rustling over the phone "Ah, yes. I have her timetable here. Yes. Kyoko's in this afternoon."

"She is?" Yashiro sounded hopeful down the phone "When else is she going to be here?"

There was a pause before Sawara spoke.

"Well...would you like me to fax over a copy of her timetable?"

Yashiro laughed silently for a few seconds before sounding downtrodden but grateful.

"If you would...? Thank you so much Sawara-san, you have no idea how grateful I am."

"Oh...er...it was nothing, really..."

Yashiro could practically hear the man's embarrassment. He smirked as the fax machine screeched into life on his right and decided to lay it on a little more.

"Oh no, it wasn't nothing. I was really in a fix there and you've saved me from it. I owe you a lot Sawara-san. If there's anything you need me to do, just name it."

"Er..."

"Oh! Sawara-san, there's one more thing."

"Yes? What is it?"

"Could you send Kyoko-chan over to me straight away so I can give her the details for what I need her to do?"

"Yes. Yes, of course. I'll send her to you as soon as I see her."

"Great. I'll be in my office in the beginning of the afternoon."

"Okay then, bye Yashiro-san."

"Yes, bye. And you really have been a big help. Thank you again."

There was a click and Yashiro put down the phone, staring at it for a second before bursting into laughter. Yes! He had done it! He had acquired Kyoko's timetable for the entire month and...when he was done with talking to her this lunchtime...he was pretty sure he was going to have her services as well.

Things just couldn't be better!

Reaching over, Yashiro snagged the copy of her timetable from the fax machine and took a quick glance over it. Well...it wasn't the best thing that he had to work with, but he could work with it. All he's have to do was make a few adjustments in his plan here and there.

Having her timetable also meant that he could add in extra meetings that he hadn't been able to plan originally.

He smirked.

Oh, how he loved his job.

Now all he had to do was wait through the rest of the morning until Kyoko turned up at his office.

He checked the clock on his desk. Perfect. Just enough time to plan what and how he was going to say to 'convince' Kyoko that doing what he asked was going to be best for herself and everyone around her.

He rubbed his hands together. This was going to be good.

---/---

When Kyoko finally arrived at the building she was out of breath. Mainly because she had cycled as fast as she could because she was so excited...well, that and the fact that she hadn't been entirely sure that she wouldn't have frozen to death if she had taken it any slower.

Chaining up her bike in the bike rack at the front of the building, she quickly made her way inside, sighing blissfully as the warmth washed over her.

Her bliss was rudely interrupted when the receptionist at the front desk, the same one as yesterday, caught sight of her and waved her over.

Curious, Kyoko made her way through the crowd of people that were loitering in the entrance hall, all of them putting off having to brave the cold outside. Unlike other times nobody was staring at her but this was because she hadn't got round to putting on her work clothes yet. At the moment she was still just an ordinary girl.

With a little pushing and shoving she managed to get to the desk and returned the smile of the receptionist.

"Was there something you needed?"

The receptionist rummaged around on her desk for a moment. "Hang on one moment please. Ah! There it is!" She pulled out a small note that had been tucked between other pieces of paper of the same size. "I have a message for you from Yashiro-san. He's asking that you go to his office immediately when you arrive."

Kyoko frowned. "Yashiro-san?"

"Yes."

"Is there a reason?"

The receptionist re-read the note that she had been given before turning back to Kyoko. "No, only that he wants to see you when you get in. I think he has a job for you."

Kyoko's eyes cleared. "Oh, well in that case..." She went to move away before a thought struck her and she turned back. "Would he be in his office?"

The receptionist nodded and Kyoko smiled in thanks before making her way over to the staircase, following the exact route that she had taken yesterday.

---/---

When the knock came on his door Yashiro took one last quick glance around the room, making sure that everything was in place before he settled back down in his chair. Pulling a completed form from his outbox he made himself look busy whilst he called for whoever was on the other side to enter.

It was all he could do to stop himself from bursting into laughter. As such it took him a few minutes before he could straighten his face into something that resembled calmness. By that time, of course, Kyoko had already entered the room and had stood waiting patiently in front of his desk not saying anything.

Obviously she thought that he had been absorbed by the 'important' piece of paperwork in front of him. Not wanting to disappoint, or let on that there was any external manipulation going on, he grabbed a spare piece of paper and wrote something meaningless with a flourish and paperclipped it to the piece in front of him.

By that time Yashiro had managed to regain control of his features and looked up at Kyoko with a smile. He was pleased to note that her eyes had been drawn to the poster that he had carefully positioned on his desk. The one that his flourish had drawn attention to.

"Kyoko,"

He had to fight really hard with himself to not grin manically and scare her off.

"Yashiro-san." She nodded in response. "You wanted to see me?"

He moved the form back into the outbox and acted like he was thinking for a moment, trying to remember what exactly he had called her for. It would not be a good idea to pressure her into anything at this stage in the game.

Both she and Ren had to believe that they were controlling all the shots.

Amateurs.

While he was 'thinking' he couldn't help but notice how her eyes were drawn to the poster once again.

His face lit up as if he had just remembered and he nodded as if to himself. "Ah yes! I was hoping you would get my message."

Kyoko looked at him in complete innocence and Yashiro had the strange desire to crush it. He shook his head slightly to rid himself of the thought.

"Kyoko." He started again, completely serious. "I need your help."

Kyoko, for her part, only looked taken aback at the abruptness of his statement for a moment before eagerness to prove herself took over.

"Yes, really? What do you need me to do."

"Well," Yashiro leaned back in his chair. He had her in the palm of his hand now. "There's something very important that I need you to help me with. But..." He leant forward and caught her gaze. Kyoko seemed to hold her breath. "but...and this is the important part. It's Top Secret."

Kyoko let out her breath explosively but the wonderment and excitement didn't leave her face. "What?" she asked breathlessly, "What is it."

Yashiro took a moment to look over her face, seemingly to weigh up her trustworthyness. Inside, though, he was smirking with glee. He nodded to himself in a satisfied manner. "Well, as you may have seen there is an award ceremony at the end of the month." He motioned towards the poster that was on his desk and watched as Kyoko glanced, once again, at it.

Kyoko nodded slowly, still staring at the piece of paper.

"As you may not know, this ceremony has been cancelled for over a decade and the decision to bring it back was not made lightly." Yashiro paused to make sure that Kyoko was following him. "It is going to be announced on television in the next few days and it is going to be one of the most high profile events this season."

Kyoko frowned. "Are you wanting me to help with the setting up?"

"No, I have a more important job for you."

Kyoko looked up from the poster and stared at him.

Yashiro continued. "As I just said, it's going to be a high profile event and everyone in the whole of Japan will be watching and cheering on their favourite stars. The problem is," here he paused and pinched the bridge of his nose, miming a headache. "Ren has taken it into his head not to go."

Sighing, he let his hand drop to his side, inwardly congratulating himself when he saw Kyoko's horrified look.

"But! Yashiro-san, what about the fans?"

Yashiro shook his head in mock consternation. "I know, Kyoko. I know. I even asked that same question but he just didn't seem to be bothered."

Kyoko gasped.

Yashiro inwardly sniggered.

"But if he doesn't go then he might lose some of his fans!"

"That was what I was worried about."

"No!"

Yashiro bit his bottom lip and nodded sadly. "Yes. You see my problem now."

Kyoko was staring into the middle distance with horror clearly evident on her face. Yashiro bit his lip harder to help school himself.

Kyoko snapped herself out of her thoughts and turned back to Yashiro with a determined look upon her face. "What do you need me to do?"

This time Yashiro let his smile show on his face. "Well Kyoko, this is what I was thinking..."

---/---

Yashiro grinned as the door closed behind the retreating form of Kyoko. All had gone to plan and everything was set. He had just started the ball rolling. It had taken a few hours with Kyoko to work out everything but now she knew what she had to do.

Well, now she knew what to do so that she could help him, or so she believed.

Ripping off the extra sheet of paper that he had attached to the form earlier he crumpled it into a ball and threw it in the direction of the waste paper basket. It went in on the first try and Yashiro let out a chuckle at how well everything was going for him today.

Even his headache from this morning had disappeared completely.

Pulling out his planner he marked the progress he had made and snapped it shut.

This was wonderful. All he had to do now was schedule a meeting with President Takarada for tomorrow and let him know that he was monopolising Kyoko for the month...

...without saying that he was monopolising Kyoko for the month.

Hmm.

Yashiro shrugged to himself. He would ponder how to approach that problem this evening, for now though, he was just going to enjoy the rest of his free day and marvel at the brilliance of his plan.

Interesting...

Oh, um...I was thinking about continuing last years Advent but decided against it. Meaning that this story is just a story on its own. That and I've only read up to book...13-ish...so don't expect it to show any characters or situations after that.

:)