Afterword - An Interlude at Narisawa's

Quite unexpectedly, when Ren stood up to escort Mogami-san out of Narisawa's, they caught sight of two distinctive and familiar figures.

"Director?" Kyoko's startled voice had Kurosaki raising his head from his meal and looking around in confusion.

He chuckled quietly when he noticed her and Ren, "Twice in one day, hm?"

Kyoko smiled slightly, "So it seems."

"Well, I believe you two may know my companion here. I've known him since we were in college together." Kurosaki directed their attention to Shingai, who gave them a smile, and a polite nod that they returned.

"What brings you two here?" Ren asked.

Shingai sighed, "A lost bet, I'm afraid. But it's interesting to see you Ren-kun. I believed you were out of town."

"Got back early actually."

"Your typical quickness, eh? Well, good for you. Your manager should have received a certain offer from me, by the way. I've been fielding some casting issues from a particular screenwriter with a bug up their ass for well… a rather large scale production actually."

Ren's eyebrows rose in surprise, but he nodded in confirmation, "I'll see to it that I check it out."

Kurosaki spoke up, "And Mogami-san, I know you had to leave rather quickly earlier, but we did give Sawara-san the scheduling information for our next meeting."

"Thank you so much. I appreciate your thoroughness," said Kyoko, shooting him a relieved smile.

Kurosaki then caught sight of a delicate bracelet on her wrist that he was positive she hadn't been wearing earlier. And it definitely matched the necklace she was wearing. Hmmmm...interesting, so that was what we saw. Kurosaki gestured towards it and asked, "Were they a matching set?"

Kyoko and Ren froze as they realized what he'd seen. Kyoko couldn't seem to stutter out an adequate reply, so Ren cleared his throat and answered, "Ah no, not quite. One was a birthday present, and the other a White Day gift."

Kurosaki raised his eyebrows as he took in their embarrassed countenances, "Pricey gifts huh? Well, everyone's got their-oof!" He shot a glare at Shingai, who'd just kicked him in the shin under their table, "What? A fellow can't be curious?!"

Ren felt a headache coming on as Kyoko seemed so embarrassed as to want to disappear into the ether.

"My apologies you two, my friend here likes to stick his nose where it's not needed," Shingai said. Ren frowned, but nodded as he unconsciously tightened his grip on Kyoko's waist. (Kyoko did her best to not squeak at the action).

The duos parted ways shortly thereafter, and Kyoko tried to not pinch Ren in retaliation on their way out. Ren glanced down and noticed her frustration, and felt that maybe further explanation might help. And maybe an apology.

"I'm so sorry Mogami-san, I just really wanted to do something nice for you. You've had a rough time of it recently, and well, I, I'm not proud to say this, but, rather similar to Cain's behavior, I like to spoil people that I consider close to me." Ren nervously ran a hand through his hair as they waited for the valet to bring his car around. Kyoko wasn't too sure how to reply, but tried anyway.

"It's fine Tsuruga-san. I'm not spoiled often, so as long as you keep it to a minimum, I think we can manage."

Kyoko felt his dazzling smile being turned on her, and firmly kept her gaze on the ground.

"No worries, Mogami-san. You've just done a lot for me these past couple months. It's true that I try to help you out as well with work issues when I can, but I just wanted to do something special to show you my appreciation and gratitude."

Kyoko swallowed hard, too nervous to speak. Friends do this kind of thing all the time, it's fine. Everything's fine. She nodded weakly in consensus with what he was saying, and risked a small glance upwards. His fond look made her let out a tiny squeak, and she returned to staring at her shoes despondently. Ren struggled mightily with not squeezing her tight after he heard the faint squeak come from her direction. Kyoko sincerely hoped no one would be able to notice that it was Ren's dazzling smile that was the true reason behind her flustered state of being.

Unbeknownst to her, the directors had eyeballed the odd couple all the way out the door and were currently watching them wait for the valet. Shingai muttered under his breath, "Do you think Ogata would know for sure?"

Kurosaki hummed thoughtfully, "Maybe…"

Shingai's mind was still half on the meeting he'd come from, but the look that came across Ren's face just then struck him enough for him to pause in his musing. It was such a peculiarly bittersweet expression, and it irked Shingai that he'd never before seen Ren wear such a look on his face.

"Damn it Kurosaki, I wanted a relaxing evening with gossip. Now I can't stop thinking about that damned postwar 50s project that just landed in my lap."

Kurosaki snickered, "It isn't my fault you're a workaholic."