Here is your daily update. I hope your enjoy it.
Note: I don't own Skip Beat!
It was already five thirty and Kyoko insisted on a decent dinner for everyone, seeing as they had missed lunch. Since they had caused such a stir on the news, Ren decided that it would be unsafe to stop at a restaurant to eat, so he had Yashiro order sushi for five from a shop near LME. He then called Lory to let them know they were coming to see him. Kyoko and Catherine led the way into the president's office with Yashiro and Ren following with the two platters of food. It was a good thing that Kyoko's hands were empty when a blonde streak shot out and knocked the woman down.
"NEE-CHAN!" The high pitched squeal of the little girl was almost deafening as she clung to her favorite female. "I was so sacred that you were hurt." Kyoko held the girl lying on top of her and patted her back to stop her crying.
"I am alright." She sat up cradling the child in her lap and soothed her hair down. "See, I am not hurt." Maria sat up and looked at Kyoko's face before wiping away a tear and nodding. The young girl took her pseudo-sister by the hand and led her to the seating area, where she placed the actress on the velvet covered couch and sat down as close to her as she could. Maria did not want to let go of her.
Having been keyed up by all the unexpected things that had happened today, the rest of the party had frozen when the blonde rocket attacked Kyoko. Now that they had all identified the curly haired projectile, they all sighed in relief and continued to where Maria had taken Kyoko. Ren placed his platter down on the coffee table and sat on the couch next to Maria. He gathered the little girl up in his arms and gave her a tight squeeze that she returned.
"Let Kyoko have some space, she has had a hard day." Ren whispered to the little girl. Maria nodded her understanding and let Ren place her back on the couch just a tiny bit farther away from Kyoko then she was. Catherine smiled at the touching scene as she gently sat on the couch opposite the actors and the child. Maria caught the soft look that Catherine had given Ren and glared at her. She had mistaken the look for something it was not and was about to say something rude to the woman when Yashiro sat his plate down and offered to get drinks for everyone. Maria turned her attention back to Catherine when Yashiro left for refreshments. She had already planed the perfect way to teach this foreign woman to stay away from her Ren when her grandfather stepped in.
"Saunders-san, I would like you to meet my granddaughter Maria." Lory waved to the little girl as he fanned out his velvet vampire cape and settled into one of the plush armchairs. Maria paused and looked at the woman. "Maria-chan, this is Kyoko-chan's new manager Catherine Saunders." Maria had heard that Kyoko had gotten a new manager, but she had not realized that this was her. Catherine smiled at the little girl and leaned forwards in a slight bow.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Maria-chan." A light grimace crossed Catherine's face and a pain fill noise slipped from her as the abused muscles in her back protested the movement. She sat back up and slid back so she could lean against the back of the couch. She apologizes for her poor posture before continuing. "I have heard a lot of good things from Kyoko-chan about you." Maria looked to her nee-chan.
"Kat-chan has been taking care of me." Kyoko explained to her. She was not sure if Lory had told Maria about all the problems that she had had, but she did not want to worry the girl any more. Maria hopped up from her chair and bowed to the woman.
"Thank you for looking after my nee-chan." Maria stood up and reclaimed her seat as Yashiro came back with an armload of drinks for everyone.
"The pleasure is mine." Catherine answered the girl as the male manager took the seat next to her. Maria saw the way Yashiro considered the woman's position before passing out the drinks.
The group settled in to eat the sushi before they discuss the events of the day. Lory smiled as he watched Yashiro arranged a selection of bits on one of the lids and handed it Catherine so she could rest her back some more. Maria noticed the way his hands lingered at hers when Catherine took the tray and chopsticks from him. Seeing the possibilities there, the young girl quickly reconsidered her plans for the woman, after all, she was Lory's granddaughter. Kyoko had to stifle a giggle watching Lory try to eat the bits of rice and fish with the large vampire fangs in. He had spent the day sipping on tomato juice pretending it was blood, so this was the only real food he had tried to eat. Sighing in defeat, he popped out the fangs so that he could enjoy the treat without it falling from his mouth when he chewed.
Lory finished his last bite of food and leaned back in his chair before considering the group in front of him. He had thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Maria's offer to help when Kyoko threatened to force-feed Ren if he did not eat more of the food had made him smile. And he loved the way Yashiro kept slipping more pieces of the sushi on Catherine's makeshift plate while she was distracted by the actors' antics. But it was the questioning looks that Catherine shot at Yashiro when she discovered the additions to her plate, and his feigned innocents that almost made Lory burst out laughing. Now that the meal was done, it was time to turn their attention to more unpleasant things.
"That was nice, Thank you." Lory addressed the group. "Now, I have seen the breaking news reports, but I would like to hear from you." Maria scrunched up closer to her nee-chan and Kyoko placed her arm around the little girl for comfort. Lory knew there was no way he was going to be able to separate the two girls so he went on. "Can you tell me what happened?" Catherine proceeded to explain what happened from her point of view up until she saw the truck coming into her lane. She tried to make is as matter-of-fact as possible so she would not scare the smallest of their company. Ren picked up at that point and explained, in the same fashion, what he saw. Maria still gasped and clutched at Kyoko when Ren told how the truck hit the outside wall and tipped over onto the car. Ren was having a hard time keeping the emotion out of his voice, so Yashiro picked up the story. Catherine laughed when Yashiro explained how Ren had tried to call the girls and she told Lory about Ren's repeated phone calls to Kyoko's unreachable phone before apologizing for her interruptions and letting Yashiro continue to the point where they had emptied the truck out and were about to lift it off of the girls. Lory raised his hand to let them know that they don't need to continue.
"We watched live as they removed the truck and pulled Kyoko out of the car." Lory explained. "That was quite a touching scene there Ren." Both Ren and Kyoko blushed as they remembered what happened. He was saved from having to comment when Lory turned his attention to Catherine. "And I saw your statement when you came out of the hospital." Catherine held her head up ready to defend her decision if needed. "It was nicely handled, given the speed at which you had to come up with it. LME will release an official statement along the same lines." Catherine relaxed at Lory's approval. The man turned his attention back to the group in general. "I should expect that we will see an increase in paparazzi for the next few days, so please be mindful of what you say and do." Lory turned once more to Catherine. "I will arrange transportation for you until we can get your car replaced." Lory turned his attention to Ren. "I have received a message from the photographer for tonight's photo shoot, if you do not feel up to it, he has offered to reschedule." Kyoko blanched at the thought of making Ren miss work, and she was ready to answer for him when Ren nodded his head.
"There is no problem, I can do it." Ren answered and Lory nodded once.
"Good man, I figured that would be your answer." Lory paused in thought before continuing. "Should I arrange transportation for the girls for tonight?" Lory looked to the only driver with a car in the room.
"I will be happy to take care of them." The look Ren gave to Kyoko made her blush and Yashiro squee. Truthfully, he really did not want to let her out of his sight just yet. Lory clapped his hands together loudly and stood with a flourish of his cape.
"Fantastic! Then you needed to get moving before you're late." Lory looked at his wrist where a watch should have been to emphasize the need to watch their time. The group removed themselves from the velvet covered chairs and prepared to leave. As Kyoko was saying goodbye to Maria, Lory waved Catherine over to talk with him.
"Could this accident have had anything to do with what we discussed earlier?" Lory tried to keep his voice low as to not show his concern to the others.
"I don't see how. I did not see the car that hit the truck, and unless they had help, there was no way for them to know that we were on the other side of the truck." Concern crossed Catherine's face as she thought about the car in front of her that had been acting weird. She shook the thought away. She did not want to think about the implications of another car's involvement meant. "No, there is no possible way." Catherine stated it again to reassure both herself and the man in front of her.
"Ok, but be careful." Catherine turned at his warning to go back to her charge. "Oh, and by the way," She paused and looked back to her boss. "You look very nice in your yukata." She bowed in acknowledgement and followed her friends from the office.