Crystal Ball (by Keane)

I'm super excited today! The cast for Blood Justice is meeting in a half hour. I tried asking the President about the rest of the cast, but he claimed that many of the roles weren't quite solidified yet. Now I get to meet my new co-workers. I wonder who it could be…

Yoriko-san and I walked into Sunrise TV and started our way towards the conference room where the script reading is to be held. I decided I should go over my mental checklist for Tsukiko once more before I brought her out in full force. She was similar to Natsu, in that she can bully, but she didn't push he victim to the limit. Tsukiko knows how to draw the line and not torture past what she feels is due. Natsu attracts the attention of a number of men, as does Tsukiko, but Natsu never finds herself attracted to a male. Norio and Tsukiko develop a rivalry and coincidentally a romance as they track down the same mobsters. That is something that I need to develop from scratch. I still get help from Ren on my character development since our… relationship… helped me model that part of Tsukiko. She also uses Setsuka's devotion to her brother, in a much more normal manner, but still just as passionate. Another part that I'm looking forward to is the action. I'm a bit unsure of the gun parts. I know they're prop guns, but that doesn't make me less wary of them. Guns are dangerous! But if I need to do that for this project, of course I'll learn how to handle one and do it the best I can. I'm a professional!

*BZZZTTT*

Ahhhh! The vibrating! Are we in an earthquake? I glance around furiously and notice everything else is the same and stationary. Oh… it clicked. It's my phone. Ever since Yoriko-san became my manager, I've receive much fewer calls than before. I start digging through my purse to find my found and come across a folded piece of paper. My face melts into a gentle smile as I read it again.

"I love you."

I woke up the morning after I told Ren everything about my past holding that. It took me a few minutes to put everything together. Initially, I was mortified that a man had been in my room, but I've been in his room before. Actually, I've shared a room with him, granted we were acting as siblings, but still, that time when I barged in on him in the shower… I also was embarrassed that he saw the poster of him on the wall. I had never been so grateful that I had finally taken the poster of Sho down and rolled it up in the closet. And the dolls! I still wonder what he thought of those. I'm not sure if it's a good thing that he hasn't brought it up yet…

Either way, I felt so much better after telling him everything. He hadn't run away from me either. Ren held me close and let me cry. Sho never knew what to do when I cried. He simply stood there, but Ren kissed away every one of those tears. I'm blushing just remembering it. But I'm glad he accepted my past and doesn't think any less of me for it. Actually, he even gave me a key to his apartment if I ever wanted to go there. I tried to refuse it, but he convinced me it's just easier on days I finish earlier and I'm making dinner for us. I haven't even told Moko-san about it yet since I'm embarrassed about it. Symbolically, it's a giant leap in a relationship. I can go there any time I'd like. Even in the middle of the night. Which I wouldn't do, since that's-

*BZZZTTT*

Oh my phone!

"Moshi, moshi?"

"Hi, love."

"Ren…" Yoriko-san waved to get my attention. She rolled her eyes and smiled at the goofy look I must have on my face. She pointed towards the restroom. I nodded and she just continued to smile and shook her head as she left.

"I was wondering when you're free tonight. My manager got too distracted flirting with your manager and forgot to get your schedule for today, so I don't know when I can have dinner with you." I couldn't help but giggle. Yashiro-san's crush on Yoriko-san was rather cute. From what I've noticed so far, she seems curious about him, but doesn't quite seem aware of his feelings or her own. Yoriko-san tends to blush a little when Yashiro-san calls.

"Well, I'm on my way to a meeting at Sunrise TV soon and it should be out by six. You?"

"Huh, same here. What's your meeting-"

Oh no! I know this feeling. The dread. The ice. He's here. Why is he here?

"Kyoko? Are you there? What's wrong?"

Where is it coming from?

"Yiiiiiieeeee!" The icy breath on my neck! I hardly noticed that Ren was still on the phone.

"Kyoko!"

"Long time no see, Kyoko."

"You! You stupid beagle! Why can't you leave me alone? Go back to the depths of hell where you came from!"

"Why are you so convinced that I'm from hell?

"Isn't it obvious? You can see my grudges and you can sense where I am! What do you want this time? And don't ask for chocolates! I'm not making any more for you!"

"But a man likes getting things from the girl he likes."

"Why on earth would you like me?"

"I need reasons? If I told you, would you give me what I want?"

"No! I don't even know what you want!"

"You, Kyoko. A kiss from you."

"Ewww! That's so gross! Why would I kiss a beagle from hell?"

"I'm not a beagle, nor am I from hell. Here, I'll show you it isn't gross." He grabbed my right wrist before I could snatch it away. I tried pushing his chest away but his right arm forced my waist towards him.

"Get off!" I struggled with everything I had.

"You get off my client!" Suddenly the idiot fell away to my left. I glanced at the heap and then back to the right trying to determine the cause of my freedom. Cold air blasted from my manager. It looked like she was resuming her stance from a completed side kick and stalked further away the women's room.

"Don't you dare touch Kyoko." She stood over him separating him form me. I started shivering. It was cold standing next to my manager.

"Kyoko? Kyoko!" I turned and saw Ren rounding the corner and walking swiftly towards us. I watched as he took in the situation before he halted. I thought it was cold before. Ren started again and came closer towards me.

"You." I turned back to look at beagle. "Did I not make it clear that you are to stay away from her?" I felt his arm snake around my waist and pulled me close to him. It was strange that the only warm thing in the room was his arm holding me.

"Kyoko, if you think I'm a demon, he's the lord of them all." I glanced up and saw that same expression on Ren's face. I tried shrinking away from the darkness, but his arm tightened. "You'd be in much less danger with someone who hasn't done such evil things in the past like he has." I turned my head to fully look at him. He watched the beagle with shock. His arm even loosened a bit.

Was the beagle right? I really don't know anything about Ren's past. How could he know about Ren's past? The beagle really must have ESP and saw it. But why would Ren have a dark past? Why wouldn't the media know about it? Why hasn't he told me? Why is he giving me such a worried expression now? Is Ren really a demon lord? No, that can't be right. He can get really angry but Ren's really the nicest and most patient person I know. If he really was the Demon Lord, it wouldn't be possible for him to produce such an angelic smile like the one that melts all the girls, especially me. But that doesn't explain why Ren is so worried at such an accusation. Luckily, Yoriko-san broke the atmosphere.

"The only reason Kyoko didn't want to take legal action against you the first time was that she was worried about Mio's image. Now that Dark Moon is over, that's no longer concern. If you ever come near her again, I'm going straight to the police and setting this so-called Demon Lord on you." His eyes widened and he scrambled to get up and nearly ran out of the hallway. I let out the breath I was holding and watched Ren. Apparently the Demon Lord resurfaced but was quickly replaced again by worry. He slowly released me too. Yoriko-san sighed too before turning to us.

"Man, I can't leave you for five minutes without you getting into trouble." She glared at me before I could apologize. "Nothing you could do about it, Kyoko-chan." Yoriko-san turned to Ren.

"Thanks for coming and scaring him off. I didn't want to use any more force than I had to."

"Of course, Ishikawa-san. It doesn't really seem like you needed my help much anyways."

"Please call me Yoriko-san, it's shorter. I didn't want to hit him anymore, it could have gotten bad. I'm actually worried that I broke a rib or two…"

"That was such an amazing kick, Yoriko-san!" My voice came back.

"Hai, hai-"

"Ren!" The three of us turned to see Yashiro-san nearly running towards us. "I've been looking all over, I was so worried! I caught you calling Kyoko-chan's name before I left the restroom. Then you weren't there, I thought something horrible happened! Are you alright, Kyoko-chan?"

"Hai, I'm fine now." I sighed.

"Now? What happened?" The question marks above his head accentuated his confused expression.

"She had an encounter with her stalker." Ren spoke up. I gave him a grateful glance. I really didn't want to explain. I just want the whole ordeal to be over with.

"Well, I'm glad you're ok now, Kyoko-chan. Ren, We should get going." He nodded

"We need to get you to your meeting, too." Yoriko-san sighed.

"Ah! Right! Tsukiko can't be late! Actually, she wouldn't mind sneaking in late… That would be something she'd do." We started walking towards the conference room again. Ren in step beside me while our managers fell back to walk together.

"Tsukiko? You're playing her?" I nodded. "Oh." His face fell into a strangely blank state.

"What? Is something wrong?" Why is Ren acting so weird today?

"Oh no, I'm actually playing Norio, your male lead." Was that a blush? Oh… wait.

"I'm co-starring with you?" Oh kami! I'm not at the level I could act opposite of Ren. "I can't possibly do that!" His face fell instantly. Was he disappointed? "I'm nowhere near that level yet!" And the co-star killer! I'm going to- oh wait. I don't have to worry about falling in love with Ren. But still! I won't be able to hold my own against him since I'm just turn into putty in even the slightly romantic scenes!

"What?" His voice sounded confused. I didn't see his face since I was on my way to the floor to apologize with a dogeza. Suddenly I was pulled back up. "No, Kyoko-chan. I'm not worried at all acting as your male lead." He thinks he has to lead me. I hated that feeling of being manipulated.

"I don't want to just be led by Ren. I don't want it to be like that time at the tea ceremony… I couldn't help but respond." His eyes lit up in understanding.

"You've acted with me before and held your own well. Once you get into character, things will feel natural. Plus you've grown quite a bit since then, so I won't have to lead you." Really? He doesn't think lowly of my acting skills? He thinks of me more of an equal? I beamed at him.

"Now we really do need to get going, otherwise they're going to think unflattering things of us if we're late and we arrive together." My cheeks blushed at the implications. I looked back at our managers that paused behind us. Yoriko-san rolled her eyes. Then the two of them shared a look I could only describe as "plotting."

"Geesh. Getting through this project is going to be a miracle with you two as the leads." They both smirked. I wonder if that had anything to do with that look they shared.* We finished our trek to the conference room, but not before I snuck in one more look at Ren. Even though the rest of his face smiled, Ren's eyes still seemed a little bit worried. I'll wait until after the meeting to ask about it.

"Ah Ren, Kyoko, right on time." Whew. Glad we planned to get here early. Yoriko-san settled in a corner away from the main table where the rest of the cast already sat. She pulled out her customary magazine and appeared to disengage herself from the room. But I knew better. She's actually listening to everything but if anyone asked he about something in the magazine she'd be able to answer. I bet that's one of the things she's picked up from her detective father. Yashiro-san sat down next to her, closer than someone would typically sit to another. Yoriko-san's eyes flickered at Yashiro-san's knees also noticing the difference in distance. I caught the quick smile that Yoriko-san tried suppressing. It didn't stop her eyes from smiling as she returned to them to the pages. I glanced back at Yashiro-san. I nearly chuckled at him trying to control his breathing and nervousness. Aww, they're cute.

Voices at the table drew my attention away from the corner and back to my reason for being here. I shook my head to rid myself of the sidetrack and focus on the meeting. I'm a professional. A professional that Ren acknowledges as an equal… I looked back up at Ren. His eyes indicated the direction of the corner and he smirked. He noticed too. I'm glad his eyes aren't so worried now.

"Now that everyone's here, let's go around and do intros. Name and the role you're playing should do." Director Shingai called out to the room. I'm excited to be working on a real project with him this time. I'm glad that my short time on the set of Ring Doh made an impression on him. As for the rest of the room, there was a mix between veterans like Ren and new talent like I was over a year and a half ago. It seems like yesterday or ages ago. I'm not sure which. So much has happened since then. Like meeting and working with amazing people like this.

The meeting flew by. I guess I'm that excited about this movie. The conference room emptied, but the two of us didn't drift too far away from the door. We're still getting a feel for each other's characters, but Tsukiko felt natural in relation to the other character interpretations. I'm thrilled to be acting with Ren seriously. I hope he doesn't get worried about me and go easy on me. I want to be challenged and to grow.

Speaking of worry, I watched the worry that Ren brushed aside during the script reading settle back in his eyes. What has got him so preoccupied? I put my hand on his arm and formed a question in my eyes. I want him to know I'm concerned about what has got him worried all of a sudden, but at the same time, I don't want to push him. His face was twisted with a complex emotion. He was grateful, worried, frustrated, fearful, something. It was hard to pin down. Was he changing his mind about co-starring with me? Ren was about to say something before Yoriko-san called from further down the hall.

"Kyoko-chan, we're going to go ahead and eat dinner. Call when you're done?"

"Hai!" She turned and started down the hall before she looked back at Yashiro-san who was still standing there with a silly expression on his face. His jaw looked funny when it was slack like that.

"You coming or what?" His jaw snapped back up and he grinned. He strode quickly to catch up with her. She shook her head. I imagine she was smiling and rolling her eyes too. Maybe blushing as well. I wonder if they'll actually start dating and not go to just "scheduling the clients to be together over dinner" dinners.

A long sigh brought my thoughts to the man standing next to me. A very long sigh. We started walking out, but didn't say anything. I let the hand that I had on Ren's upper arm slide down his and twine my fingers into his.

Ren changed when that demon claimed he did all sorts of evil things in the past. Is that why Ren is so worried? Ren didn't deny it, but seemed like he was shocked that someone knew a secret he held. So, that makes me think that there is something dark about Ren's past. Would Ren be worried that somehow beagle knows what that is and would go to the media about what it is? No, that's not right. The beagle is too afraid of Ren to do anything like that for fear of his safety. How else did he react? He was worried only when he looked at me… Is he worried I know, or if I knew what my reaction would be?

I leaned my head against his arm.

"I know I took Bo from you, but I'm willing to listen if you'd like me to. But only if and when you want to. I just don't you to be worried about how I would feel if you told me about your past." He froze there. I looked up to him. He looked bewildered and fearful. I hate this expression on him.

"It wasn't hard to put that much together, Ren. That's when you started worrying." I squeezed his hand. "I will dress up in the suit if you need me to." He smiled sadly at me.

"No, you don't need to do that. I can talk to you just fine. Actually, it's something I should tell you." He ran his other hand through his hair in agitation. His eyes weren't really meeting mine now. "Well, I want to tell you. I really shouldn't tell anyone, but you've been honest and trusted me with your past, so I want to tell you mine…" His eyes danced their way back to mine. I returned a reassuring smile.

"Only when you're ready, since you've never really talked about it before and it's taking a toll on you just thinking about it."

"Thank you, Kyoko." Ah, that's better. It was like a weight lifted off of him. I don't like seeing him worked up like that. If just being patient and listening when he wants to can relieve him in anyway, I'll do it gladly. I don't want to see him upset. It seems like that's exactly what he needed, for now at least. He was his usual self over dinner and when we met up with our managers again. He even got in a few subtly teasing comments to Yashiro-san about his crush. I only shared a knowing smirk at Yoriko-san who tried looking innocent. We're on to them.

Ren looked down at me as we stood beside his car. Oh hi, Emperor of the Night. I'm getting used to seeing him now. I don't appreciate meeting him when we're in public though. He made a quick glance at our managers, their car, his car and then down at my lips. While thinking was getting harder by the second, I managed a coherent thought. Ohh, that's what he's thinking?

"Yoriko-san?" Must continue breathing and thinking for just a bit longer. Ren, don't lick your lips like that right now! "I'm going to get a ride from Ren…" He leaned closer. "Wait, Ren, what about Yashiro-san?" I put my hands against his chest as if resisting him. I frantically whispered, loud enough that they could hear. Ren's smirk increased as I played along in his plan.

"I'll take him home, Kyoko-chan." I managed to hear Yoriko-san's offer while embraced by Ren. His smirk broadened before he closed the distance between us. Ahhh, I'm melting again. Thank goodness Ren pushed me against the car and continued to ravish my lips and moved down to my neck. My arms slid up and around his neck offering me some more support in this gooey state Ren always puts me in.

"And you're worried you can't act alongside me properly. You did wonderfully just then." I managed an affirmative noise somehow. He continued to kiss me until we were both gasping for air. "I should take you home." I nodded. My head was so warm and fuzzy that it stayed that way even after he walked me to my door. I let out a sigh. I'm glad he's smiling again. Though, I just hope that his past isn't so dark that if he dredges it up that it consumes him. Or consumes him past the point where I can't help him back out…

But that kiss! Whew!

A/N: Sorry this took forever and a day. I went home for Thanksgiving, but was still writing. Then I got sick and haven't really had enough umph to edit. I still can't think of a song for this chapter yet. Mind still hopped up on NyQuil. Song suggestions welcome.

* totally had déjà-vu writing this. But in my déjà-vu, I think I deleted the entire paragraph. Weird.

Speaking of weird – well actually more blonde – I was reading one of the tabs of fan fiction I had open and started reading about how Kyoko was revealing her past to Ren. I thought "OMG! This sounds just like what I wrote! Someone else did the same thing before me and I didn't know! Now people are going to think that I copy other authors! I'm going to lose all credibility!" Then I realized that was the chapter I just posted. Total blonde moment.