I would like to apologize for the short chapter. I have used up my stock of writing so I am putting it up as I go now. I plan to keep up with the rapid pace of updates, but there has been a kink in my plans. It has been brought to my attention that the legal age in Japan is 20. I would like to thank Sumi031885 for this information. I really do appreciate that you would care enough to correct me. Thank you. Unfortunately, this fact blows a BIG hole in my story line as it is. After a LOT of online research I have not been able to come up with a good alternate ending under the given conditions. So after sleeping on the issue, I have decided to take an artistic license and, for the story's sake, I am going to let the legal age be 18. I apologize to anyone that takes offence that I changed the rules to suit my needs, but I can promise a much better story in the end.

Thank you for your continuing support.

Note: I do not own Skip Beat!

Yashiro hung up his phone and smiled up at his charge with that 'bird fed cat' look on his face. Ren had listened to Kyoko and his manager agreed to a small café near where the filming was going to take place. It was all he could do to suppress the smile that threatened to cross his face. He did not have to work on it for long as he watched the road before him. Catherine was being very cautious of the driver in front of her. Ren watched the erratic behavior and backed off so that Catherine could get away from the vehicle. His heart stopped as he witnessed the small car speeding up the ramp and ram into the front end of the semi next to the LME car. Ren slammed on the breaks while horror took over Yashiro as the two men watched the truck slam the much smaller car into the center divider and dragging it along before swerving away. Ren had a moment of hope that Catherine could get away from the truck, but this was short lived as the truck swung back towards the girls. Both men screamed out, unable to do anything, as they watched the truck teetered up and come crashing down on top of the car containing their loves.

Ren tore from the now stopped sports car as his mind tried to make sense of the scene playing out before him. The back doors of the now toppled truck had popped open and what appeared to be gray foam cascaded forth. Ignoring the mess, Ren ran to where he had seen the small car just a few moments before, praying that he had been mistaken and the girls had made it passed the truck before it fell over. His heart fell when he cleared the truck and the LME car was nowhere to be seen. The car had disappeared, completely crushed under the heavy box truck. Not thinking right, Ren screamed his kohai's name and pushed on the truck about where the car had been to see if he could shift the enormous thing. When this did not work, he dropped to the ground to see if he was able to locate the car and its occupants under the twisted metal. His vision was only met with more of the gray substance leaking from a crack in the side of the truck. Ren shoved his hands into the cold pebble like material to clear it, but only more of it skittered out with every swipe. Seeing the futility of his work, Ren stopped and looked at the cold chunks clinging to his arms, shrimp. Hundreds of pounds of frozen shrimp were flooding out in the expressway from the toppled truck.

Yashiro sat frozen as Ren rushed from the car to the fallen truck. Unable to handle what had just happened, the manager's emotions shut down as he slipped into business more. Things needed taken care of before he could allow himself to breakdown. He pulled out the phone that he had just finished talking to Kyoko on and called the police for an emergency crew. Once he relayed as much information as he could, he called the director of Ren's drama and informed him that there had been an accident on the expressway and Ren and Kyoko would be very late. Unable to go into the details again, Yashiro hung up the phone and went to the actor trying to move the large truck. Yashiro dodged the handfuls of flying shrimp as he approached the frantic actor slinging the mass from the edge of the truck. Ren paused in his pursuit long enough for Yashiro to get to him.

"Ren! Stop!" Yashiro pulled the actor up from the ground and away from the truck. "An emergency crew is on the way." Unsure of what else he could do, Ren let his manager lead him back from the truck and seat him next to the center concrete wall. A few other witnesses had approaching the truck to check on the driver. They pulled the shaken and bloody driver from the cab and laid him on the roadway. One bystander came to check on the condition of the distressed man slumped against the divider.

"Are you ok?" The woman asked as she approached the men. Yashiro stood protectively over his charge while Ren covered his hung head with his hands, trying not to think about what had become of his love trapped under the truck.

"No." Yashiro answered honestly. "Some friends of ours are trapped under the box of the truck." There was no life in the manager's voice as he explained the problem to the woman. Shock filled her face as she whipped around to look at the trailer concealing the car. The first of the police cars was just arriving on the scene and she went to inform them of the tragedy. Ren looked up at the sound of the sirens hoping that they had not come too late for the actress trapped in the wreckage. The actor looked at the man standing next to him and wondered how his manager could be so calm while he fell apart. He studied the man's hand for a second before he registered the tremble that Yashiro was trying to suppress. Yashiro clenched his fist around his phone as he tried to find the calm spot inside him. He needed it just long enough to get through this and make sure Ren would be ok. To his surprise, Ren shot up and ripped the electronic devise out of his hand. Before he could say anything, the actor dialed the number engraved on his heart and waited for the phone to connect. Ren chewed on his bottom lip and paced as the phone range several times before going to voice mail. He tired it several more times with the same results before he switched numbers. Finding Catherine's number in Yashiro's phonebook, he called her hoping for better results.