Short chapter and late update.

This is for all you RenKyoko fans out there. Now that the filming arc is over we can move on to the next one! : )

I can say that it probably isn't the one you think…if you think there is one at all…

Advent '08

December 12th - 13 days to go

Ren had been quiet all day.

In fact, Ren had been quiet the last couple of days. It wasn't overly noticeable to others but to Yashiro, who had known him for so long and so well, his quietness stood out.

Yashiro narrowed his eyes as he stared at his charge from across the table. They were taking a small lunch break in the middle of their modelling shoot and Yashiro was making sure that Ren was actually eating something for once.

Ren glanced up and, seeing Yashiro staring at him, raised his eyebrow in silent question.

Yashiro smiled sweetly in return.

"Ren-san. Is everything ok?"

"Yes. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well." Yashiro paused and pretended to think about it. "You've been awfully reserved lately."

"I'm normally reserved."

Conversation over, Ren went back to his meal and whilst Yashiro was happy he was eating, he was also annoyed that Ren had managed to get out of the conversation.

Things were not going well.

Sighing, Yashiro pulled out his planner and flipped through the pages until he reached December and the schedule that he had set down for himself and the development of his plan.

Time was running out. There was only twelve days left until the actual awards and still Ren seemed unlikely to go, never mind take Kyoko with him.

He had thought that things had been going so well last week. He had manage to manoeuvre Kyoko into talking with Ren about going to the ceremony. He had also managed to plant the idea that Kyoko wanted Ren to take her into Ren's head.

Or, at least that's what he thought he had managed to do.

Now he wasn't so sure.

Ren wasn't doing anything towards asking Kyoko out and he was running out of time. He also hadn't heard anything from Kanae in a few days and that was starting to worry him, especially after she had practically blackmailed him to take her to the ceremony.

If his plan failed then he was not going to be looking forward to telling her that they would be unable to go.

He shuddered and looked back over his plan.

They were only a little way behind schedule. If he could somehow manage to change Ren's mind about the whole thing in the next few days then it could be salvageable. Anything after that and he wasn't sure if he could get all the preparations done in time.

It was going to be tight.

The only good thing about the situation was that the President had not found out about it.

Yashiro wasn't sure, but he didn't think that manipulating his charge was something that was endorsed in his contract. Especially when it was Ren he was manipulating. The same Ren who was the President's favourite and the golden boy of not just L.M.E. but the whole Japanese entertainment industry.

No. He was glad the President didn't know.

The difficult part would be to make sure everything stayed under wraps. Which had become more difficult when Kanae had worked everything out and was now in on the whole thing.

He was pretty sure Kanae wouldn't say anything, she wanted to go to the ceremony too much to risk it.

But there was always a chance that she would let something slip to Kyoko, who would then tell Ren.

It would then either get back to the President where he would be fired or Ren would take it into his own hands.

Not good.

He sighed and put away his planner. He was at a loss at what to do. His foolproof plan had been outwitted and now all he found he could do was wait.

---/---

Ren had been thinking.

Mostly about Kyoko but he had also been thinking about himself and what Yashiro had said.

It had been a tiring few days but he had finally made up his mind on the whole thing.

He gripped the wheel harder and concentrated on the road. It wouldn't do to get in an accident now. Not after he had just spent days agonising what he was going to do.

They would be arriving at L.M.E. in less than an hour.

He had less than an hour to prepare himself.

---/---

Kyoko had been busy all day.

Kanae was still out re-recording some of the script and she had been left to do the jobs needed again. She wasn't upset about it though, it gave her something to work her anger out on.

She was still angry at Sho and what had happened yesterday.

She shoved her mop into the bucket and then slapped it wetly across the floor.

Irritating man. She wished he was the floor so that she could scrub him away.

She was so caught up in her fantasies that she jumped when someone cleared their throat behind her. She turned and tried to calm her racing heart.

Though this wasn't easy when she saw that it was Ren.

"Do you know that you were mumbling to yourself?"

She laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head.

"I…I was?"

He smiled at her and her heart sped up further. What was happening to her?

"Yes, you were."

He fell silent and the smile disappeared from his face. He looked like he was thinking.

After this had gone on for a minute, Kyoko ventured to break the awkwardness.

"Is there something you wanted me for, Ren-san?"

"The Winter Award Ceremony is on the 24th."

Kyoko was thrown a little. Did he mean that as a question or was he just stating it?

"…yes?"

He nodded as if she had said the right answer.

"Would you like to go with me?"

If she had been thrown before she definitely was now. Kyoko stood there completely speechless. Had Ren just done what she thought he had just done?

No…that couldn't be right…

He hadn't just invited her to the awards…

Had he?

She tried to clarify. "W-what?"

"I want you to go with me."

Okay. There was no way that she could confuse that with anything else. Ren's face was completely blank, like he was actually serious about all of this and waiting for her reply.

Kyoko still couldn't believe this.

"You want me to go with you."

"Yes."

"To the Winter Awards."

"Yes."

"Oh."

She didn't know what to say. There must be some mistake.

He must have lost a bet or something and now he had to invite her. He couldn't just have wanted to do it any other way.

"Well I…I don't…"

"Please?"

And just like that she completely drew a blank.

"Okay."

Ren smiled at her again and Kyoko blinked back in her bemused state.

"Wonderful. I'll get Yashiro to arrange everything."

He hesitated for a few second more before nodding and walking back the way he had come.

Kyoko watched him go. It wasn't until he had disappeared around the corner that all the blood drained from her face and she finally realised what she had done. She sat down heavily on the floor as her knees gave out beneath her.

She had agreed to go to the awards with Ren.

She had a bad feeling about this.

---/---

Harumi was already settled into her chair when Lory opened the door to his office. He paused when he saw her before rolling his eyes.

He should have known that she would somehow manage to get in.

Pasting a smile on his lips he sat down in his own chair and greeted her warmly.

"Harumi-chan! How are you doing? It's been almost a week since our last meeting? I didn't think we had another one scheduled."

He made a point of flipping through the pages of his planner as if to check. Harumi smirked at him.

"Cut the theatrics Lory-kun, you were never any good at them."

Lory sighed.

"And you were never good at tact."

"I like points, Lory-kun. And I like to get to them fast."

"How do you manage to turn everything you say into an innuendo?"

She grinned and leant back in her chair.

"It's a talent."

"What is that you want Harumi-chan?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you have any new information?"

"Not so far. Yashiro hasn't come to me to say whether Ren is going or not."

"Interesting. My own Intelligence confirm this."

Lory raised his eyebrows.

"You have Intelligence?"

"Well of course! I couldn't have you holding all the cards now, could I?"

"Just how did you manage to get this 'Intelligence'?"

She smirked at him.

"It's amazing how far you can get with a smile and a bit of money."

Lory was alarmed at the news. She had spies in his company, gathering intelligence? Just how much did she know?

And how deeply was she integrated?

"Well." She rose and nodded to him. "Thank you for confirming what I thought you only knew. I'll be back later on."

Lory watched her leave his room. What she thought that he knew? Was he missing something?

He had to do something. If she new something he didn't then he needed to find out fast. There was money on the line and he was not about to roll over for her and let her play him. With knowledge came power and he was not prepared for Harumi to manipulate things into her favour.

He needed to schedule a meeting with Yashiro tomorrow to find out exactly how far along he had gotten with his plan…without letting the man know that he knew.

Urgh…it was all so complicated.

There you go, a bit more development and stuff.

See you tomorrow.

DS