Disclaimer: I don't own Skip Beat and its characters...

Sorry for the late update... Enjoy!

Chapter 9

Ren put all what they bought into the trunk except for the car seat. He carefully put it on the back seat. He turned to Kyoko and she handed baby Ren to him without looking at him. He sat the baby down to the car seat, locked him tight and strapped the seat belt to it. She settled on the front seat silently, her expression was blank. Kyoko was still very mad at him and Ren was noticing it. Ren also quietly climbed in the driver's seat and pulled away. The car ride was very silent. Ren didn't try to talk to her either. The baby was just making small noises. Kyoko looked out the window dazed. She was lost in her angry and embarrassed thoughts, she didn't noticed where Ren was going. She only noticed her surrounding when Ren turned the car off and opened the car door.

She looked around her surroundings and right in front of her was a restaurant. "R-ren? Why are we stopping in front of a restaurant?" She asked confused.

"To eat, of course. It's already almost 1pm." He replied obviously. He closed the car door for the privacy of their conversation. "Or do you not want to eat? I'm not going to eat, too."

"I-it's not that." She replied. "What about you're work? You still have a lot of work scheduled for today." She was beginning to forget that she was mad at him.

"President cleared all of it, so I'm free for the rest of the day." He happily smiled. "The president also instructed us to go somewhere today after we eat." Baby Ren started crying, so Kyoko immediately unbuckled her seat belt and quickly went to the backseat to attend to baby Ren. Since it was almost 1pm, she guessed that the baby was hungry. Hurriedly, she searched for the already mixed formula bottle. She put it on his mouth and he instantly shut up. Ren went to help her. He unbuckled the seat belt and carried the car seat with the baby out. Kyoko took the baby bag and closed the car door. Before they went in to the restaurant Kyoko put a baby blanket over the car seat to cover Baby Ren.

They went in the restaurant. There were many people because it was lunch rush. But people hadn't really noticed them because they were busy chatting with their companions, enjoying what they eat or just didn't care at all. They found a secluded booth. Kyoko put Baby Ren on the seat of the booth first then sat down across Ren. She open the blanket cover on the car seat a little for fresh air to go inside. Ren had began reading the menus. A few minutes later, a young male waiter came to their table and they ordered.

He especially eyed Kyoko who was, as always, oblivious and it turned on Ren's dark aura. Kyoko softly kicked Ren's shoes and this made Ren more annoyed at the guy because Kyoko stopped him from giving death glares to the guy. But he stopped though, and turned on his fake smile which turn the girls' eyes nearby to heart-shapes. This bruised Ren's ego a little because the girls nearby was like falling for this smile but Kyoko was afraid of it and she didn't even felt or at least acted jealous over having made the girls nearby fall for him. But this was Kyoko, who swore off love, and Ren was getting used to her reactions. Ren didn't know that even with Sho's fans before, Kyoko had never felt jealous.

When they're almost done eating, Kyoko told Ren that she was going to pay for the bill, but Ren just smirked at her. She really hated that smile because it was mocking her, but when she found out that she hadn't had her purse with her, she sighed feeling so frustrated. "I'm going to pay you back in the car." She added, desperately trying to win this issue.

Baby Ren was soundly asleep by the time they finished eating and when they were in the car already. He was tightly settled at the back seat. Kyoko quickly searched for her purse and wallet to pay Ren back. She held to money in her palm and was handing it in front of him. She wasn't acting as his wife anymore, it was plain real Kyoko, Ren noticed. Too bad, I'm still your husband right now. Ren thought and smiled mischievously. "Love, I'm going to take that after you'll give me…" He said as he leaned so close to her face. He lifted her chin up with his hand. "A kiss…" He finished looking at her intently in the eyes and traced her lips with his thumb. Kyoko was Kyoko at the moment so she was so vulnerable right now. So, all she could do was froze. "No? Then I'm not going to take that." Ren concluded smugly as he pulled away from her. He started the car and drove to their final destination for the day.

The drive was silent as Kyoko recovered herself from Ren's Emperor of the night bullying. Ren parked into the underground parking lot and they went out of the car to the first floor. They went to the front desk and an elderly man happily greeted them. He recognized them immediately as Mr. and Mrs. Hizuri and gave them the key to their apartment. When they were alone at the elevator, the confused Kyoko turned to Ren.

"Tsuruga-san, why are we here? And why do our fake couple name has an apartment?" Kyoko aked Ren. Ren looked at her and then looked away.

"The president said that we'll be living here from now on to avoid public attention while we take care of the baby." Ren answered. The elevator dinged and they got off. Kyoko was speechless. She opened her mouth to voice out her protests, but no sound come out, so she closed it again. She didn't know what to say about what Ren had just said. She wanted to protest but the person to protest this to wasn't there. But at the same time she was grateful at the President for doing all of this for them and the baby. So she couldn't really be mad at the president for this because he was only thinking of their reputation and careers. But she would have prepared it to be only her and not involve her respected sempai anymore. But she knew that she hadn't had the right to complain because it was all her selfish action that caused all of it. She sighed in surrender.

They silently went into their new place. Ren turned on the lights because the windows were closed so it was dark inside. When their eyes adjusted to the light, for a second they thought that they went in the living room of Ren's apartment before. All the things were exactly the same as Ren's but as they looked closer, they realized that all the things were really Ren's things in his living room before. When the president said all of my things, he really wasn't kidding. Ren thought. They continued onto the kitchen, where it also has all of Ren's thing in it. Then to the masters bedroom. It was still the same. Ren's huge bed were in it and there was a large walk in closet and a door to the bathroom. There was only one bathroom but with two doors. One from the masters bedroom and the other one was for the guest on the other side. But the different things were a baby's cradle on the far side of the wall to the side of the huge bed and a cabinet that has a little of the baby's things.

It had a laundry room with a complete washing machine and dryer. Then, they went to each room again, searching the corners for a another door that would lead to another bedroom. Half of Ren wanted for them to find another bedroom for Kyoko but half of him didn't want to. After circling and searching the corners of the whole apartment for another door to magically appear before them and lead them to another room, they gave up. There wasn't such a thing. So they went back to the masters and only bedroom. Kyoko put Baby Ren on his new and expensive looking cradle. Ren opened the walk-in closet and it was huge. I think this was the other room that we were looking for. Ren thought, sighing mentally.

All of his clothes and shoes and everything were there on the left side. Kyoko's things were on the opposite side. But he could tell that about a quarter of the things on her side were the only things that were originally hers. All the rest were the clothes the president bought for her disguise and maybe for her daily use too. About 1/8 of the same wall were all of Kyoko's all new variety pairs of shoes. When Kyoko finally noticed the closet, she stood by the closet door with her eyes bulging out and her jaw dropped to the ground. Her mouth shaped into 'o' as she slowly took in the things on her side of the wall. Their were a lot of cosmetics and expensive clothes in it and she was like in la-la-land. A hand was coming out of her mouth and was on its way to touching the cosmetics but she stopped short. No-no-no-no… She shook her head furiously. I can't possibly use those. Then she noticed the wall of gorgeous designer shoes and her eyes widened again. And she noticed that a lot of it were four to six inches heels. "I'm not wearing those."

"You're not." Ren replied as he went to her back. "But I think my wife will have to wear those." He whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He felt Kyoko jumped and shivered in his arms and she stilled. I think my leash was bit too loosely because I'm really going to hell for this. And I hope she won't be frightened and run away screaming from me. He sighed softly. Alright, I think this is enough. Any more of this and I won't be able to control my self anymore. He placed a light kiss on her hair before he pulled away and decided to go to the living room and gave her some space to recover.

But when he passed near the bed, something sparkly caught his eyes on the bedside table. He went to it and sat on the edge of the bed. There on his (now their) bedside table was a black box, similar to the one Jelly Woods handed to him in the car that morning. It was already open and in the center was a familiar, a bit old-looking but still beautiful silver ring with a diamond sitting on top of it. He would recognize that ring anywhere. He saw it everyday for over half of his life. It was the engagement ring of his mother, which was passed down from mother to daughter or the son's wife and so on. Why it was sitting their, he has no idea. Well, actually he does have an idea of why it was there but didn't want to acknowledge it.

He quickly shut the box off before Kyoko noticed. After he took the box and put it in his pocket, he noticed that something was written on the small square light blue adhesive notes where the small box sat on top of it before.

IF I DON'T SEE MOGAMI-KUN WEAR THIS TOMORROW, YOU'RE FIRED.

Ren snorted. You're just joking. He pull the paper out and crumpled it. But something was written on the paper under the one he crumpled.

I'M NOT JOKING, REN. IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME, THEN…

Then what? He plucked it out to continue reading the one under it.

I'LL FIRE HER INSTEAD. WE'RE SERIOUS, REN.

He crumpled the last paper and he really wanted to punched the wall right at that moment but he didn't want to scare Kyoko and wake the baby. "F***!" He cursed under his breath, in English for the first time since he mastered his Tsuruga Ren character.

The door bell rang, which startled both Kyoko and Ren. Kyoko ran out the bedroom to get the door, Ren followed behind her. When she opened, an old couple greeted her. "H-hi. Good Afternoon." Kyoko greeted and bowed clumsily in surprise. They smiled gently at her.

"Sweetheart." Ren called his wife, so Kyoko wouldn't be surprise by his presence, as he stood beside her and wrapped his arm around her waist. When he noticed the old couple he greeted them and bowed.

"Welcome! We are Mr. and Mrs. Tachibana from the next room to your right. Nobody has moved in here in this aparment complex in a long time, so all of us here are very happy to hear someone moved in. And newly weds at that." Mr. Tachibana said.

"Thank you. I'm Hizuri Ren and this my lovely wife Hizuri Kyoko." Ren introduced.

"Don't they remind us of when we were newly weds? You were so full of energy back then, just like this young man." Mrs. Tachibana chuckled and her husband coughed in embarrassment. Ren who got the innuendo, blushed a little but Kyoko who was oblivious just smiled innocently at them. "Here, take this welcome present. I thought you might like it, newly weds." Ren took the basket. Before the old couple bid their goodbye, they invited Kyoko and Ren to dinner that night in their room. Of course, Kyoko agreed immediately before Ren could refused the offer.

After they closed the door, Ren looked at the contents inside the basket. In it were a bottle of wine and bowls of strawberries and chocolate. Great… Aphrodisiacs. They really must enjoy torturing me.

Yeah, I really enjoy torturing Ren... Who doesn't? LOL