To all of you who reviewed, I cannot express in words how grateful I am to hear that my writing has moved you. This story is far from finished, and if I could offer you tissues and hot chocolate to warm your souls after reading I would. As it is though, I cannot, but I will continue on with this tragedy. I am extremely sorry for the long delay between posts, but here is the next chapter of Wedding Dress.

Wedding Dress

Chapter 8: Sunrises and Sunsets

Lory Takarada rarely abused his privileges of having a private jet, but he figured the death of Kyoko Mogami warranted him the right to use the high class private jet to fly quickly to Kyoto. He hadn't expected it so soon- they had said she had more time. He could only guess that she had lost the will to live, and no matter how much time a doctor predicts, if the patient doesn't have the will to fight, then that estimation is useless.

Lory looked out of the window; the sun was just setting in the distance. It had been a while since he had stopped to watch the sun set… as crazy as people considered him to be, no one would doubt that he was a busy man. Even still, Lory took the time to rest his eyes on the setting sun as it cast colors across the sky that seemed all too bright and cheerful for such a sad day.

Turning back to face his desk, Lory went to one of the draws and opened it with his key. He removed a file, one he hadn't opened in years, and put it in his briefcase before picking up his phone to make a few calls.

Kanae Kotonami didn't like to be disturbed during her work, and her manager knew that. It was for this reason that Kanae was quite irate when her manager interrupted the director to ask permission for Kanae to leave work. Kanae's furious onslaught of words were not sedated until the manager finally explained that the President had requested her presence immediately at his private residence. Kanae understood instantly. Kyoko.

Kanae didn't bother waiting for her manager- she'd apologize later. Right now, the only thing that mattered was getting to Kyoko. Things must have gotten bad; I hope we make it in time. There are so many things I have to tell her still… so many things that I've left unsaid… but she knows, she has to know that she's my best friend… she has to know that she's like a sister to me, right?

Kanae returned her focus to the road as she swerved in and out of traffic. The sun was just falling beneath the horizon and the light that glared off of the tall glass buildings of the city made it hard for Kanae to see. While muttering under her breath about the idiotic drivers on the road with her, Kanae made the final turn into the President's residence.

Yukihito Yashiro was just finishing straightening up some files in his office when the phone rang.

"Yashiro-san speaking."
"Yukihito, it's Lory." There was a pause. "I'm going to need you to come to my house as soon as you can. It's Kyoko… Maria found her… I'm leaving in twenty minutes if you want to come."

"I understand."

Yashiro sighed. He knew this was coming. Lory had spoken to him a few weeks ago. Kyoko's illness had taken a turn for the worse, and the doctors didn't think she had much time left. But this was too soon. None of this would be happening if Ren hadn't died all those years ago.

The streets below his office were filled with traffic. The changing colors of the sky as the sun set signaled to some the end of another work day in Tokyo- but to Yashiro, and the few others that knew of the events of that day, it signaled the end of the final day of Kyoko's life. Kyoko… how long ago was it that she had come to the agency? Yashiro had lost count of the years, but he could still remember Ren grumbling about some clumsy new girl who was never going to make it. Who knew that Ren would eventually propose to her- the girl who had run around in that flaming pink uniform? Sometimes he wondered if that time of his life had ever happened, or if was all part of some intricate dream that his mind had fabricated. Alas, it had to have been, or else he would not be feeling this horrible…

The honking of a horn in the traffic brought Yashiro back to the present. If he left now, he could probably meet the President in time. Ren would want me to go. Hell, I want to go.

Yashiro grabbed his bag and shut off the lights in his office. He closed the door, and locked it. It had been years since he had seen Kyoko face to face… it had gotten too difficult for them to see each other. Both of them had trouble with Ren's death, and seeing the other just reminded them of Ren. They still talked on occasion, but they were never on the same level that they had been before Ren had passed. Yashiro hit the elevator button and waited. He glanced at his watch, the seconds ticking by. Yashiro grew impatient. It was taking too long.

Staring down the elevator door one last time, Yashiro gave up, and went for the stairs. He didn't have much time to get to the President's house, and he most certainly wasn't going to waste any waiting for an elevator.

Most men would ignore a phone call so early in the morning. Kuu Hizuri was not like most men. The barely audible vibration of his phone on the table next to him awakened him almost instantly. He knew what that call was going to be about before he even answered it. Not bothering to look at the caller ID, he answered quietly, in an attempt to avoid waking up his sleeping wife.

"Lory, is she…"

"Maria found her. I'm on my way to Kyoto now. I'm bringing Yukihito and Kotonami-san. I want to release the presentation tomorrow. Is that okay with you?"

"That's fine. Is Kotonami-san okay with doing this? We probably should have told her Kyoko was sick… but we can't change that now."

"Maybe, but Kotonami-san was about to have a major break in her career, and Kyoko did not want her health status to affect her friend. Anyways, I'm thinking we should have the funeral soon." Lory sighed, "Will you be coming?"

"Of course. I'll start packing immediately. We'll be there by tomorrow morning." Kuu replied before ending the call. Setting the phone back on the bedside table, Kuu fell back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. First his son, and now his daughter. The world truly was a cruel place. Weren't the parents supposed to die before the children? Julie would be hysterical when she woke up. She had wanted to fly to Kyoto as soon as they found out the Kyoko was sick. When he told her that Kyoko had asked that they didn't come, she had freaked out, and stormed around the house for hours muttering things to herself. It was going to be a rough few days, and he wasn't sure what the end result of it all would be.

Kanae stormed out of the car and up to the President's door. She didn't care if it was rude or impolite to bang on the door—she had to know. She had to know if Kyoko was alright, if Kyoko was hurt, if Kyoko was sick, if Kyoko was… No! She would not even consider the possibility that Kyoko was dead. That was impossible. Why, she had just visited her last week!

Kanae was surprised when Lory answered the door instead of one of the servants. "Kotonami-san, please, come in… we have much to discuss and very little time," Lory spoke seriously.

"Yes, President," Kanae replied almost inaudibly, looking behind her when she heard the sound of footsteps.

"Yukihito, thank you for coming on such short notice. The jet is almost ready."

Kanae eyes widened at the mention on the jet. "President, what's going on?"

"Kotonami-san, I'm afraid Kyoko has…" Lory began, unsure how to phrase it. "Kyoko is… Kyoko has passed away." Lory concluded looking away, avoiding eye contact with Kane.

"Passed away…" Kanae spoke the words to herself once before her whole body began to shake and the tears that she had tried so hard to prevent since she'd been told to come here began to fall. "No… no… you must be mistaken! This has to be some kind of sick, cruel joke! I don't believe you! You're lying… there is no way she can be… dead! I just saw her last week! She was fine, she was laughing. She told me that she would come to my premier!"

"Kotonami-san, you need to calm down," Lory interrupted.

"Calm down? You expect me to calm down after you tell me that my best friend, the girl… the woman who has stood by my side since I entered this business, is dead? What kind of person are you?"

Lory sighed, maybe Kuu was right, maybe they should have told her sooner. But still, it wouldn't have changed much, and they were just following Kyoko's request…

"Look, Maria is there with her right now. I plan on going there, whether you want to or not. I'm not going to have you accusing me of being a heartless man, when I so graciously offered to take you with me. Now, if you would excuse me, I have a flight to catch!" Lory decided to take the angry approach, hoping to get through to Kanae somehow. He felt bad for yelling at the woman, but they would probably be here for a while if he tried to talk to her calmly.

By the time that President's words hit Kanae, Yashiro and Lory were already on their way to board the jet. Kanae took a deep breath and quickly followed the two men.

Maria sat wrapped in a blanket on the porch next to Kyoko. She knew that she should move her inside, or do something besides leave her there in the chair, but she did not think that she had the strength- physical or mental- to move Kyoko at the moment.

Now that the realization of Kyoko's death had finally settled on Maria, she had trouble looking at the motionless body that sat just a few feet from her. Instead, Maria concentrated on the growing dimness of the sky. Kyoko's house faced the west, as Kyoko always enjoyed watching the sunrise from her back porch. Maria had once asked Kyoko if she preferred the sunrise or the sunset. Kyoko had been silent for a few moments before replying that she liked the sunrise better.

"It would be wrong of me to say that the sunset is not beautiful, for it truly is, but I much prefer the rising of the sun. I like to think that every time the sun rises it's like the beginning of something new- something that has yet to be touched or tarnished. I like to believe that the sunrise shows a glimpse of what it's like to begin with a fresh start. It's such an exciting experience to watch the world come alive as the sun brings light and warmth to our Earth... Sunsets bring the day to a close, and I'm not too fond of endings, especially if they don't conclude in the way that I wished they would," Kyoko was silent for a moment before continuing, "Ren always liked the sunrise too. We were going to visit the ocean during our honeymoon, but well, things just didn't work out."

Maria could still hear the sadness in Kyoko's voice, as if she had actually just spoken the words to her. Looking over at Kyoko, Maria was reminded once again that the woman was no longer with her. Closing her eyes, Maria managed the first smile, though faint, since she had found Kyoko earlier. "Of course Kyoko wouldn't wait for the sun to set… because that would mean that it's the end… and she never liked endings."

And so I guess I'll end it here for now. This is more of a filler chapter, but I tried to add some stuff in there to make it more interesting. I'm hoping to update sooner rather than later!

-Tohru12