For anyone that missed it, I took some advice from shizuhoe and changed the location were the girls had their talk. After thinking about it, I do agree that it would be better to have them at least separate from the guys for that part. Thanks for the input. If you don't want to reread the chapter, just know that they walked over to a quiet corner to talk. I did think about having either Yashiro or Lory point out the volunteer, but I figured they were both having fangirl fits so I picked the only other character available.
Now, let's get on with the story.
Oh ya, here is your lime warning. The second half to this chapter is a little suggestive.
Note: I do not own Skip Beat!.
Catherine folded the last of Kyoko's clothing and laid it gently in the box before adding a few of the Ren dolls in on top. She had left the injured actress downstairs with the Okami and the Taishou of the Darumaya after explaining to them the girl's delicate situation. They were not happy to hear that she would be unable to stay with them any longer, for they had come to love her like the daughter they never had. The Okami hugged their young boarder and told the actress that she would miss her presence, but it was the Taishou that surprised them all when he sat his work down and pinned Catherine with his eyes.
"If anything happens to her, you will have me to answer to." The serious tone made Catherine stand taller and bow to the man.
"You have my word. As long as I draw breath, no more harm will come to her." Catherine held the bow for a moment more as the man nodded his head and returned to his knives. Kyoko stared at the man that had threatened her manager.
"See, he does like you." The Okami smiled and teased Kyoko before pulling the girl into the kitchen to help with tea. Catherine used this excuse to escape to Kyoko's room to start packing. They needed to move the girl into the safe location as soon as possible. Catherine had just started to fill the third box with unbreakable items that she knew were Kyoko's when the actress came in to help. She was surprised at how fast Catherine had filed her things away for shipping.
"Can I help?" Kyoko asked. Catherine nodded to a smaller empty box and the bubble wrap.
"Anything that is special, wrap in the plastic and place it in that box. We will keep that one in the car so that it is treated carefully." Catherine continued packing. Kyoko nodded and started clearing away her life.
It did not take the two women anytime at all to clear away all traces that Kyoko had lived here. The boxes were stacked and ready to be picked up by the movers tomorrow morning. Kyoko was saddened that everything she owned would fit into six boxes, and most of that was clothing. Catherine took the box of Kyoko personal affects and carried it down to the car while Kyoko said one final goodbye to the couple that had treated her so well. She promised to come visit them when everything was over. Catherine came up and bowed one more time to them.
"Thank you for your understanding in this matter. If something should happen, I will personally come to inform you. If I can't, my boss will. Due to the nature of Kyoko's position, there may be rumors of her wellbeing. I would ask that you only believe what is told to you directly." Catherine pulled out a LME card with Takarada Lory's personal information on it and held it out to the couple. "If you need anything, please contact us." Kyoko watched in amazement as the stoic man took the card from her manager and pocketed it before the girls bowed their goodbyes and left.
"Why did you tell them that?" Kyoko studied her manager as she negotiated the streets of Tokyo.
"So they would not worry if rumors of your death reached them." Catherine explained. Horror tore across Kyoko's face.
"My DEATH!" Kyoko gasped at the thought.
"I am not going to let anything happen to you." Catherine reassured the young girl. "You never know what is going to happen, so I thought I would give them some way to get the reassurance that they need if rumors spread." Kyoko calmed down at Catherine's explanation.
"Now what?" Kyoko asked. After all the arrangements had been made with Lory, Catherine had dropped Ren and Yashiro off to pick up Ren's car with instructions to go home and rest while they picked up Kyoko's things from the 'Box R' set and then packed her out of the Darumaya. Ren had wanted to come help them move, but Catherine was adamantly against it. She was sure that Kyoko would not want him to see all the little versions of him lying around. She settled the debate by agreeing for them to stay at Ren's apartment for the night. Tomorrow they would both be moving into Lory's villa, and the time they would get to spend together would be limited at best.
"Now we pick up food and head over to Ren's apartment." Catherine smile.
"Umm. What about your things?" Kyoko was sure that Catherine would need to pack to go to the villa also.
"I'll worry about that later." Catherine pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store. "Besides, do you want to keep the guys waiting?" Kyoko shook her head and got out to get the supplies they would need for dinner.
Ren smiled when the girls knocked on his door with two big bags of groceries. He opened the door and relieved Kyoko of her parcel and led the way into the kitchen to set the bag on the table.
"Good evening Kyoko-chan, Catherine-san," Ren peeked into the bag too see what the girls had brought. "Did you get everything taken care of?"
"Good evening Ren-san." The tall man's heart skipped with the easy his name had come off the girl's lips. He was now glad that he had made her repeat it so many times. "I have everything packed up for the movers tomorrow." Kyoko pulled the bag away from him and started removing things from it.
"What about you Catherine-san?" Ren turned his attention to the older woman rummaging in the other bag. She made some noncommittal sound as she shifted the contents of her bag. Ren looked back to Kyoko.
"We haven't been over there to pack." Kyoko admitted. Concern filled Ren's eyes, he knew that they would be moving tomorrow morning, and with the girls staying here, she needed to have it packed today. Catherine looked up to meet his face.
"Don't worry, everything will be fine." Catherine reassured him. "Kyoko-chan, is the whipped cream in that bag. Kyoko looked through the items she had and shook her head.
"No, but I'm sure I got some." Kyoko poked into Catherine's bag to see if the woman had overlooked it.
"Well it's not here." She sighed. "You go ahead and get started on dinner, and I will go get some." Catherine turned from the kitchen into the living room. Yashiro sat on the floor at Ren's coffee table working on his computer. "Hey," Catherine called to him, "I need to run to the store for some whipped cream. Want to come with me?" Yashiro looked up from his document and smiled.
"Sure." He shut the lid of his laptop and dropped his gloves on the table before following her to the doorway.
"We'll be back in a little bit." Catherine called to the couple in the kitchen. Kyoko waved as they passed. Catherine made sure the door was shut behind them and followed Yashiro over to the elevator. As the lift's door slid shut behind them, Catherine pulled out a red and white can and shook it hard before popping the top off it. Yashiro looked at the suspicious item in her hand.
"What is that?" Yashiro asked. Catherine lifted the can up and sprayed the white foam into her mouth.
"Whipped cream." Catherine muttered around the mouthful. She giggled at the look on Yashiro's face.
"But… I…um…." Yashiro pointed back up towards the apartment as he tried to wrap him mind around this. "I thought we were going out to get some."
"We can get some more if you want." Catherine teased. Yashiro's eyes widen at the woman's audacity. She pressed the nozzle just enough for a little to ooze out. She wiped it up with her index finger and sucked it off suggestively. Yashiro's jaw dropped. "Or we can find something else to do." She added more cream to her finger as she swayed closer to him and slipped the cream covered digit into his mouth. He closed his mouth around her finger and she pulled it out slowly as the whipped cream slid across his tongue. His brain did not fire until she licked the traces from the finger she just withdrew from his mouth. Before he knew what he was doing he had her wrapped up and was chasing that last bit of cream into her mouth.
Yashiro tried to calm his heart as he sat on the floor leaning against his couch. He surveyed the wreckage that was his living room in a vain attempt to locate where his glasses had gone as the girl curled against him emptied the last bit of whipped cream from the can. Catherine sat the can down behind her and laid her head down on his chest and rubbed her hand across his stomach. Several things skittered across Yashiro's mind until the image of Catherine with the whipped cream can made something stick.
"Weren't we supposed to bring whipped cream back for dinner?" He petted the girl's side as he spoke. Catherine shrugged.
"I left a can on the chair in the kitchen. They will find it eventually." Yashiro chuckled at the girl's cunning.
"You think we should at least let them know where we are?" Yashiro suggested. Catherine giggled before she pulled away from him to fish her phone from her pants pocket. She leaned back into him and slide her phone open to send a message.
"Naked on Yashiro-san's floor. Not coming back. See you tomorrow." Catherine teases as she typed a message into phone.
"DON'T SEND THAT!" Yashiro grabbed for her phone, but he was not fast enough.
"Too late!" Catherine giggled as she chucked the phone to the far end of the couch. Yashiro lunged for the object knocking Catherine over under him. She laughed at his futile attempt to stop the text.
"You are so going to regret that." Yashiro grinned as he tickled her sides making her screech with laughter.
"YASHIRO STOP" She giggled as she fought to end the torment. Catherine stopped trying to get away from him when Yashiro's hand stilled on her sides. He considered the lovely creature before him.
"Yukihito." The manager said to her. Catherine gave him a considering look. "I want you to use my given name, Yukihito." Catherine smiled up at him.
"Alright Yukihito." Catherine said his name slowly savoring it. A pang of desire shot though the man's body as she hit each syllable just right. As she finished, he leaned down to capture the lips that had formed that sweet word. Somewhere in the night his name was shortened to Yuki in a very loud tone.