Author's note: So I was reading the latest chapter discussions on mangafox and I realized that I messed up Shou's company in this story (and probably all of my stories). Apparently he works for the Akatoki talent agency, not Queen Records... I am so sorry for my ignorance.

Chapter 4: Where have you been?

Kyoko's phone started ringing as soon as she turned it back on. The call display told her it was Tsuruga-san; but after going against his wishes only a few minutes ago, she felt uneasy about taking the call.

"Hello?" she answered cautiously.

"Kyoko!" Ren shouted, clearly upset. "Are you alright?!"

"Umm, Tsuruga-san, I'm fine…"

He didn't give her time to finish, "Where have you been? Why did you turn off your phone? I've been trying to contact you for over an hour!"

"Huh? Why? We didn't have plans tonight," Kyoko said in confusion. The depth of his worry caught her off-guard. There was no way he could already know she'd visited Shou… So why was he so concerned?

"..." the line went silent for a moment.

Today, Ren had finished filming early and, with Yashiro-san's assurances, he knew that Kyoko had nothing scheduled after school. He'd figured it would be the perfect opportunity to surprise her with a special date for their one-month anniversary. But when he'd tried to call her, he was met with an automated message. Knowing how rare it was for her to turn off her phone, he couldn't help but worry. He'd called her manager, who assured him that she was picked up by the company car after school. So he drove down to the Darumaya, holding on to the hope that he was just being an overprotective boyfriend, but the Okami-san told him that Kyoko hadn't returned yet. He'd even called Kanae and the President, in hopes that she was off on a secret LoveME assignment. Finally, when it was clear that she was missing, he couldn't help but fear the worst: Shou.

Whether she went to him or if he kidnapped her didn't matter. If they were together… Ren couldn't control his jealous anger anymore.

"Do I need a reason to call my girlfriend?" he asked lightly, his voice sparkling with gentlemanly charm.

He's angry! Kyoko panicked. She hastily came up with an excuse that didn't involve Shou.

"Of course not, R-ren. I'm sorry I made you worry! I decided to go shopping after school because there was like this dress that I really liked… but the store had like a "no cell phone" policy so I had to like turn mine off or something…"

They were both professional actors, so Ren was quick to pick up on the change in her tone. The bubbly inflection was probably something she picked up from a high school soap opera. Plus, she'd used his first name, almost as if she were trying to placate him.

"Oh, is that so?" he said, his voice ever so sparkly. "And what is the name of this shop?"

"Tee hee, I'm like not too sure, Ren! I've been to like 10 shops already, so I've totally lost track of which one's which."

"So did you buy it?"

Kyoko faltered at his question. "Buy what?"

"The dress you liked? Maybe you could show it to me tonight after you get home?"

"Uh…" Kyoko was floundering. She hated lying to Tsuruga-san and she had no idea where to buy cute dresses or what kind of stores wouldn't allow cell phones. However, she had no intention of telling Tsuruga-san the truth. She tried to convince herself that it wasn't a big deal. As long as she bought a dress on the way home, he wouldn't need to find out. "S-sure, Ren, sounds good! I'll be home in about an hour. Can you pick me up then?"

"Of course." Ren's voice deepened. "Don't keep me waiting."

Hanging up the phone, she told the taxi driver to take her to some nice dress shops. He looked back at her skeptically, asking if she could be more specific. When she didn't give a clear answer he just drove around randomly, looking for a shop with a dress in the window.

Kyoko was trying to stay calm, but she couldn't ignore the feeling that she was getting herself into a huge fight with Tsuruga-san. The problem was that she didn't understand how things had gotten so complicated. Now that they were dating, it felt like she had no privacy. It annoyed her that she needed to explain to him every little thing that she did, but at the same time she felt guilty that she'd gone behind his back and lied to him about it.

The taxi stopped in front of a normal-looking shop in a normal-looking commercial area. It wasn't the high end fashion that she'd been hoping for, but at this point it didn't really matter. All she need was a dress. She paid the fare and asked the driver to wait for her to return. He smiled but sped off as soon as she closed the door.

Inside the shop, there was only one middle-aged man standing behind the counter. He welcomed her with a smile that was a bit lopsided but Kyoko figured it was sincere. The small store was crowded with mainly black and red dresses and tops, all of which could easily be imagined in Setsuka Heel's wardrobe. It was edgy and risque and there was no way she could buy anything from here as Kyoko without being totally embarrassed.

"Are you looking for something in particular?" asked the shopkeeper, stepping out from behind the counter to help her. He was surprisingly short and his black hair was greying above his ears.

Kyoko sighed. She didn't have time to be choosy. "Yes, a dress."

The man nodded and started making his way toward a strappy red leather item that might somehow be loosely considered a "dress".

"Ah, sorry, but… is there anything a little less…"

Sensing her discomfort, the man nodded again and started pawing through a rack on the other side of the store. Kyoko fidgeted uncomfortably, not sure if she should follow him or not.

"Miss?" he called, waving her over. Thankfully he'd found the one dress in the whole store that didn't make her blush instinctively. It was a rather plain two-piece dress, where the bottom layer was a white slip dress and the over-layer was entirely black lace that cinched the waist and emphasized the bust. "Once you find your size, you can try it on in the change room," he said, pointing to a door on the back wall of the store.

"Thank you very much!" Kyoko quickly grabbed the dress and headed to the back.

Closing the door of the middle stall behind her, she stripped off her school uniform. The dress was a little more complicated than she'd expected, because the two layers didn't want to line up. Not knowing how or if she could separate the two pieces before putting it on, she fiddled with it for a moment in her underwear. As she struggled to undo the shoulder clasp in front of the mirror, she caught a glint of reflected light out of the corner of her eye.

Click.

Kyoko's blood froze at the sound of a camera's shutter. Plastering the dress against the front of her body, she used the mirror to inspect the change room behind her. All she could see was the frightened orange-haired girl of her reflection, her pale skin emphasized by the harsh overhead lighting. She tried to tell herself that she was imagining things, but she was too scared to turn around. After a few seconds of holding her breath and straining her ears, the silence convinced her that the noise had been a stress-induced hallucination. She slipped into and out of the dress quickly, hardly even caring if it looked good. Reaching for her school uniform, she received another shock.

My blouse… Kyoko panicked. Where is it?

Shifting her skirt and jacket around, thinking that maybe it was just underneath, her heart started racing. Her eyes darted around the stall, checking the hooks on the wall even though she knew she hadn't hung it up. She even looked under the dividing wall into the next change room, but there was nothing. Her shirt and bow tie were missing. She felt like she was going to throw up.

This can't be happening...

Hastily putting on her skirt and jacket, which she buttoned all the way up to her collarbone, she exited her stall and inspected the area. There was no one around. Her head was on a swivel, looking back and forth and checking behind her, in constant fear of being photographed or attacked. When she tried to open the other stalls, the one to the left was locked. Peeking under the door, she didn't see any feet on the ground. Still, she banged on the door with her fist.

"Excuse me, is anyone in there?!" she shouted in a squeaky voice.

No one answered. Her ears were buzzing and her body was shaking with shock and fear. She banged on the door a little harder. "Excuse me? Have you seen my blouse?"

Tears collected in the corner of her eyes while she continued to pound on the door with all her strength. To be photographed like that… she was still in high school… Her fist-falls got softer as she pressed her forehead against the change room door, cringing as she cried. No one, not even Ren, had seen her like that before.

"Miss?" called the shopkeeper as he walked over from the counter. When he saw her huddled against the door, he rushed over. "Are you alright? What happened?"

Kyoko tried to catch her breath enough to speak, but she didn't know what to say. If someone had really been peeping on her, she couldn't prove anything. The chance that some pervert had her blouse and inappropriate pictures of her made her angry, and the fact that that person might get away with it made her angrier. The only hope she had was that the pervert was still locked inside the change room.

Grudge demons exploded around Kyoko. She stepped back from the stall, aiming her foot for a heavy kick to the dead center of the door. If she could just get in... that kind of depraved scum needed to be punished.

"Hey, what're you doing?!" the shopkeeper cried, grabbing Kyoko under the armpits to stop her. "You can't just kick my doors in!"

"Don't touch me!" screamed Kyoko, jumping out of his grasp. Being in Grudge Mode didn't change the fact that she was still in shock.

"Ah, look at the damage you've done already!" he lamented, his hand running over the dented surface of the change room door. "You're going to have to pay for this!"

"B-but!" Kyoko stuttered, frantically trying to explain, "He… or s-she, I guess… perverted, you know? My b-blouse…"

"Who?" the shopkeeper demanded. "You're the only one back here!"

"No, but…" Kyoko pointed to the locked stall with her shaking hand, trying to get the shopkeeper to understand. Someone had to be in there. The doors were the kind that only locked from the inside. The pervert was probably crouching on the bench inside so their feet didn't show.

The shopkeeper didn't believe her. "Come with me to the front desk and I'll sort out how much you owe for the damages," he said, turning to walk back to the counter.

Taking her chance, Kyoko leapt at the change room, grabbing the top of the door and started lifting her body over the top. The shopkeeper spun around and quickly grabbed Kyoko around the waist, pulling her down.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" he shouted as she struggled against him, still trying to climb the door. "That's it, I'm calling the police!"

Finally, Kyoko sighed, relaxing a little as the shopkeeper dragged her over to the front desk. However, she quickly realized that she'd misunderstood.

"You can't call the police on me! I'm the victim here!"

"The only victim I see is my door," the shopkeeper muttered as he picked up the phone.

Kyoko grabbed his hand to stop him. This was shaping up to be a really bad day, but if she got arrested, it would surely be the worst day of her life. "Don't call the police. I'm fine now, see?" she said, giving him a calm smile. "I'll pay for the damages, I swear."

The man wouldn't let her off the hook so easily, so Kyoko gave Kimura-san's name and number. When she arrived, she immediately noticed Kyoko's missing blouse and bow tie, as well as her red-rimmed eyes. The matter of the damages was dealt with swiftly and Kimura-san made sure to inspect the change rooms both inside and out before paying up. They didn't find Kyoko's blouse nor the person who might have stolen it.

Kimura-san made sure Kyoko bowed and apologized, and they left the shop. In the end, Kyoko didn't even buy the dress she came for.

Once they were in Kimura-san's car, she turned her soft brown eyes to Kyoko and asked, "So what really happened back there?"

With a wave of shame, the entire night played back in her mind. How could she admit to her manager, whom she'd just promised she'd be more careful and self-aware in public, that she had visited a boy in a hotel, might have been photographed in her underwear and had been nearly arrested? Tears of guilt welled up in her eyes and all she could say was "I'm sorry" over and over.

Kimura drove her home to the Darumaya. There was nothing she could say that would stop her charge from crying and she couldn't get any more information out of her. The fact that Kyoko wouldn't even tell her worried Kimura the most.

Tsuruga-san's Porsche was parked in front of Kyoko's place. Seeing it, Kyoko froze, her face twisted in wide-eyed horror.

"Hey, Mogami-san." Grabbing her shoulders, Kimura shook the younger woman. "Breathe, Kyoko! You're alright now. I'm here and Tsuruga-san is just inside. You'll be okay!"

But Kyoko refused to move at all. Seeing the Porsche reminded her that she'd begged Tsuruga-san to take her out for a long drive some time soon and that he'd promised to take her on their one-month anniversary. Their anniversary was tomorrow. Was that why he'd been so upset; had he been trying to surprise her?

Is he going to break up with me? She'd steeled herself for the inevitable fight they were going to have, but she'd never considered that she might have done something unforgivable.

Kimura helped Kyoko out of the car. With an arm across her shoulders, she steadied the trembling teen as they walked into the shop. Ren, Taisho and Okami-san were waiting in the living room, but Kyoko begged Kimura to bring her straight to her room. When she came back down, Ren was waiting at the foot of the stairs.

"What happened?" he questioned, his voice tense. His mood had been teetering between anger and worry all night and, after getting a glimpse of Kyoko's puffy eyes, worry won him over.

Kimura shook her head, motioning to the front door. She slipped her feet into her black stilettos, buying herself some time to come up with an appropriate answer.

"I don't know," she said as they walked outside. "As soon as I picked her up she started crying and wouldn't stop."

The cool spring air nipped at their cheeks. Kimura shoved her cold fingers deep into the pockets of her white pea-coat. She'd promised Kyoko that she wouldn't tell Ren where they had been and what had happened in the dress shop even though she believed he deserved to hear the truth.

"Where was she?" Ren asked lightly, afraid of what the answer could be.

Again, Kimura shook her head. "I'm sorry, but that's something you'll have to ask Mogami-san."

Ren stared at her in disbelief. "I'm her boyfriend. You mean you aren't going to tell me?"

"Good night, Tsuruga-san." Reluctantly, Kimura turned away.

"Touko," he called to her retreating back, "Was it Fuwa?" His voice was brittle, as if the wrong answer would cause him to fall to pieces.

Walking to her car, Kimura ignored his question and forced herself to stare straight ahead. If she looked back, she was sure that the number one heart-throb in Japan would be giving her the saddest puppy dog eyes ever, and that her resolve would crumble and she'd tell him everything.

Just go home, Tsuruga, she prayed. There's nothing we can do tonight.

The next day, Kimura-san called the President to report what had happened. Cancelling all of her appointments that day, Kimura brought Kyoko to LME for an emergency meeting. The actress still hadn't said a word about what had happened the night before, but Kimura knew enough to put the pieces together. It was just as she'd feared, Kyoko was too unaware of her fame when she was out in public; and this time she'd paid dearly for it.

"Mogami-san, Kimura-san, please be seated," said the President, motioning to the couch. "We are just waiting for a few more before the meeting can start."

"Huh?" Kyoko piped up. "Who else is…"

Just then, Ren barged into the room, followed closely by Kanae. The tension of the office went up at least twenty notches. Yashiro-san entered quietly behind, shutting the door with care.

"Kyoko!" cried Kanae, rushing to her best friend's side. "Are you alright? I heard from the President that something happened to you last night."

Shooting an angry glance at Kimura-san, Kyoko nodded stiffly.

"Mogami-san," the President soothed. "It's fine if you don't feel like talking just yet. From what Kimura-san tells me, you ran into some trouble with a stalker, isn't that right?"

Kyoko nodded, feeling that it was okay for the others to know that much, at least.

Both Kanae and Yashiro-san immediately expressed their condolences with sad faces, but Tsuruga-san crossed his arms and looked away.

"The reason I called everyone here today," the President continued, giving Kyoko his full attention, "Is because all of these people care about you. We are all worried that your current living arrangements aren't sufficient to keep you out of harm's way."

"Wait a minute," Kyoko interrupted. "What happened last night had nothing to do with the Darumaya."

Kimura-san patted Kyoko's hand reassuringly. "Mogami-san… we're just trying to look out for you."

Even Yashiro cut in. "The shop you live in is a restaurant, Kyoko-chan, so anyone can come and go as they please. As much as you enjoy living there, you must be able to see that it isn't very safe. There are many private buildings that have their own security force, you know. Ren's building is like that. I think it would be helpful to be sure that, even if someone followed you home, they wouldn't be able to get inside. Right?"

Everyone nodded. Kyoko just stared at them in disbelief. "Does this mean that all of you came here today to convince me to move?" When their faces answered for them, that familiar annoyance bubbled to the surface again. "Why does this feel like an intervention?"

"That's because it is," answered Kimura-san. Adjusting her blazer as she shifted on the couch to better face her charge. "I can see that it hasn't been easy for you to come to terms with being such a popular icon. It makes me feel anxious every time you go out on your own because I know that there are bad people in the world who will want to hurt you."

"Kimura-san, I think you're being a little overdramatic..."

"No. Mogami-san, I'm not. That kind of attitude that will get you kidnapped or raped. I know because it happened to me."

The room fell silent. Kyoko was shocked because her manager had never spoken about her past before. With that heavy burden, all of a sudden Kimura-san's warnings and actions made a little more sense.

"I'm not telling you this to get your sympathy, I am merely stating a fact. There are people like that in the world, and if you go about your life pretending they don't exist, you will become their perfect victim."

No one knew what to say after that. There was no way Kyoko could disagree anymore. Ren coughed loudly to break the atmosphere. Kyoko looked up at him for the first time since the meeting had started. He offered her a small, reassuring smile that made her heart jump in her chest. It meant a lot to her that he still cared enough to do that.

"President, I agree that Mogami-san should move out of the Darumaya, but finding suitable accommodations will take at least a few weeks. Like Yashiro said, my building has excellent security. So, in the meantime, I have a spare bedroom…"

"Absolutely not." said the President and Kimura-san at once. Kanae and Yashiro chose to stay out of it.

"But, we just agreed that it wasn't safe…"

"Ren, she's still underage. We can't tarnish her reputation just because she ran into a little trouble. Am I right, Mogami-san?" he said with a wink. "No, I think the safest bet is to get Mogami-san a hotel room for the time being. I think we can leave the selection of the hotel to her manager."

Kimura-san nodded once.

"Yashiro-san," he turned his attention to Tsuruga-san's manager, "If you could pass on any information about high security apartment complexes to Kimura-san, I'm sure it wouldn't take much time at all to get Mogami-san settled in a place that she can afford."

"Of course, President."

"Alright. Now if everyone is satisfied," he said, pausing for a moment in case anyone had something else to say. Kyoko fidgeted but remained silent. "Meeting adjourned."

Still curious about what happened the night before, Kanae attached herself to Kyoko's right arm. "We're going for coffee." Ren shot her an angry glare, frustrated that she'd gotten to Kyoko first.

Their power play didn't go unnoticed by Kyoko but, because she still didn't feel ready to talk to Ren, she ignored it.

Kimura and Yashiro had begun discussing the pros and cons of renting compared to condo ownership, leaving Ren to tag along behind them sullenly.

By the end of the day, Kyoko had packed up all of her belongings and waved goodbye to the elderly couple of the Darumaya. It was amazing that everything she owned in the entire world managed to fit neatly in Kimura-san's compact sedan.

"So where am I going to live?" Kyoko asked, still pouting a little for being forced out of her own home.

"The Tokyo Palace Hotel!" said Kimura-san cheerfully, taking pride in her selection. "I bet you're surprised!"

"Yeah… That's… great."