The good news is that the short chapters are nearing to a close.

The bad thing is that it's not today.

Today is a short chapter.

Even shorter because I got ill again and it's late and I'm tired and…okay…I'm going to stop with the excuses…

: )

Oh, and if there are a few people who are wondering about why the people were staring at Yashiro in yesterday's chapter, it will be explained in a later chapter.

Advent '08

December 14 - 11 days to go

That afternoon Lory had scheduled a meeting with Yashiro.

He sat behind his desk and waited for the manager to arrive. He was nervous but tried not to show it, the only thing that showed his outward agitation was his playing with his silver letter opener.

He had to plan this right.

He had to, somehow, get the information he wanted without letting Yashiro know that he knew about his plan. He also had to keep the fact that he had ulterior motives a secret.

He groaned to himself and tapped the blade against the desk.

He had to plan this right…and he had no idea how to go about it at all.

A knock came on his door.

…and he was out of time now.

Ah well, nothing like winging it to get the blood pumping.

"Come in."

Yashiro poked his head through the door. He looked nervous.

Lory wondered if there was something that he should be worried about too but brushed the thought away. It wouldn't do to assume anything at this stage in the game.

"Please, have a seat."

He watched with narrow eyes as Yashiro carefully made his way across the room and sat down delicately on the edge of the proffered chair.

"Do you know the reason why I arranged this meeting with you Yashiro-san?"

"No President Takarada."

"Well…mostly, it's about Ren. How is he doing?"

Yashiro smiled, obviously relieved about the question. Lory stored the information away.

"He's doing well. I think that the short…break…did him the world of good."

"That's wonderful. No matter how much the boy wants to work, everyone needs a break now and then."

"I completely agree with you, Sir."

They lapsed into an uneasy silence.

Lory cursed to himself. After the conversation had been started so well, now they were stuck at an impasse.

He cleared his throat and started to, once again, toy with his letter opener.

"So…speaking of breaks…."

Yashiro was eyeing the blade dancing in his hands.

"Yes…?" He asked, definitely sounding nervous.

"I was wondering if Ren had made up his mind on the Winter Awards? I need to know so that I can reply to the R.S.V.P."

Yashiro smiled brightly.

"Actually. Yesterday Ren said that he would indeed be going to the Winter Awards."

"Oh?" Lory asked carefully "That's wonderful…"

Yashiro narrowed his eyes.

"Yes…"

"Did he say…whether he would be taking anyone?"

"No…no he did not…"

"Will you find out for me? So that I can…reply…"

"Of course, President Takarada."

They fell into silence, each eyeing the other warily.

"Will you be going as well, Yashiro-san?"

"I will."

"And will you be taking anyone."

"Actually, I will…"

"Oh. Well that's wonderful…"

"Yes…"

Silence once more.

"Well. It was nice meeting with you Yashiro-san."

"You too President."

They both stood up at the same time and Yashiro edged backwards to the door. Lory never took his eyes off him.

"Wait!"

Yashiro froze, one hand on the door handle.

"Don't forget to find out Ren is taking anyone."

Yashiro nodded and then quickly escaped. Lory sat down with a sigh and put the letter opener down.

He thought he handled that pretty well and he was sure that Yashiro didn't guess he had any other motives.

---/---

Kyoko was tired.

She had spent the entire night fretting over what Ren might be thinking about her and how she could fix it.

She had decided, after hours of tossing and turning, that the only way that she could make everything right again was if she showed Ren that she hadn't actually been angling towards being taken by him to the awards.

That's why she had decided to cancel.

This morning she had thought that it would be more polite to see if she could find him on Tuesday and tell him personally. That way she could explain why exactly she was doing it.

However, as the day had worn on she had become more and more worried about leaving it any longer.

That was why she had decided to phone him right now to cancel and then try to avoid seeing him for the rest of the week.

Her mind made up she searched her room for her school bag. The last time that she had saw her phone it had been in her bag.

It took her a few minutes but she finally found it and it was with relief that she pressed the on button, glad that this would all be over soon.

It didn't switch on.

She frowned and pressed the button again becoming increasingly frantic when it wouldn't switch on at all.

The battery had died.

Biting her bottom lip she searched through her bag for the charger desperate, now that she had made her decision, she didn't want to put it off any further.

After an hour of searching she had to admit defeat.

She must have left her charger in her locker at L.M.E. meaning that she was going to have to wait until Tuesday to cancel because she was in school all tomorrow.

She sighed and ran her hands through her hair.

This was not good. Now she was going to spend all day tomorrow worry about it as well.

Sorry about the shortness and the general…ness..

Siiiiigh…

DS