It would be a few more weeks before Kuu Hizuri saw Julienna Duris again. Life went on as usual; he shot commercials, modeled, went on talk shows… learned basic Russian. Finally, they got everything from the casting to the set ready to go for Tsukigomori, and he was called into the studio to begin filming.

He had arrived at the studio early for hair and makeup. An assistant led him to the set, and he smiled. It was the entryway and a drawing room in Hongo Manor. The entryway was simple, but elegant, with a chandelier and hardwood floors. A staircase with an ornate banister led to the upstairs, where there were presumably bedrooms. A large doorway to the left opened into the drawing room. The walls were lined with bookshelves, full of books and antiques. There was an austere-looking straight-backed floral couch with matching chairs, a coffee table, and a piano. Kuu approached it and tickled the keys to find that it wasn't just a prop. He sat down on the bench and played a short classical piece.

"You're a very talented man, Hozu-san."

Kuu looked up to find Eltra Duris watching him in wonderment. He chuckled. "My grandparents had a piano, and my mother taught me to play when I was a boy." He stood to shake the man's hand. "I didn't know you would be here today, Duris-san."

Eltra sighed, "Call me Tora, Hozu-san. Please."

Kuu chuckled. "Tora, then. My friends call me Kuu."

Eltra smiled warmly. "Kuu. I wasn't going to be here, but my daughter insisted upon it."

A warmth spread through Kuu's body. Oh my god, is she here? "Your daughter?" He decided to play dumb.

The elder man nodded. "Julie heard about it and wanted to see the set, so I'm humoring her. I think Lory is showing her the next room over at the moment."

Kuu had to fight the urge to dash into the adjoining set. "This set looks magnificent. I'm very excited to make use of it. I suppose we have you to thank for your contribution."

Eltra waved his hand. "Not at all. It's a fascinating drama starring Shuuhei Hozu. I'll make my 'contribution' back ten fold." He checked his watch. "I need to go over to the next room and collect Julie. I have a meeting in an hour. Please excuse me." Kuu itched to follow him, but decided better of it. It would not do well to hit on the man's daughter in front of him, no matter how friendly he seemed to be.

Instead, Kuu made his way over to the refreshment table to eat his feelings. There was an assortment of doughnuts, pastries, coffee, and tea. He loaded up a plate and turned to find somewhere to sit.

"Oof!"

He looked down at the floor in horror where a girl with a long blonde ponytail and big glasses was splayed on the floor after he had accidentally bumped into her. She wore jeans, a blue flannel shirt wrapped around her waist, and a crop top. Kuu rushed to set his plate down and help her.

"I am so sorry, Miss! Are you all right!?"

As he pulled her to her feet, he took in the magnified emerald eyes behind the glasses and his heart flipped. Julie. She smiled brightly at him.

"Ты милый парень из бассейна! Еще такой позор, что вы не знаете русский язык." The cute boy from the pool! It's such a shame you don't know Russian. She pushed past him to the table and he seized his chance.

"Я знаю больше, чем сейчас, так что вам следует быть осторожным." I know more now than I did then, so you should be careful.

She stopped dead reaching for a doughnut and looked back at him in shock. "You speak Russian!?," she spouted in perfect Japanese.

He blushed awkwardly. How to explain that? "I realized after I met you at the pool that my knowledge was lacking, so I started learning. Would you mind repeating what you said at the pool? Maybe this time I'll understand you."

It was Julie's turn to blush. "I'm not sure I remember what it was that I said." She remembered, especially the part about his potential bedroom prowess.

The blush on her face and the sparkle in her adorably magnified eyes gave him the courage he needed to carry on. "That's okay. I forgot everything I was going to say that day when I looked into your eyes." He held out his hand to her. "I'm Shuuhei Hozu."

His heart flip-flopped in his chest as his pick-up line landed. Her cheeks went from pink to scarlet. Julie shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Hozu-san. I'm Julie Duris."

He almost laughed. She hadn't needed an introduction; she had been running laps inside his head for almost a month. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Duris-san. Are you enjoying Japan?" He hoped that she might let slip how long she was planning to be in the country.

She gave an enthusiastic nod. "It's beautiful! Everyone is very quiet, though. Everyone's louder in LA."

Kuu chuckled. "I haven't been to LA. I'm hoping that it will be the next stop in my career."

"Oh? What is it that you do, Hozu-san?"

Kuu felt like she had knifed him in the kidney. "I'm an actor. The best one in the country." he added, trying to staunch the gaping wound in his pride.

Julie tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I don't recall seeing one of your roles. Though I haven't seen many Japanese films. Father brought me today because I wanted to meet Shino Minamoto. He's dreamy," she added with a wistful sigh.

Kuu laughed good-naturedly, but his jealousy was eating at his insides like acid. Shino Minamoto was his elder by two decades and was still capturing the hearts of young women. He was also working on Tsukigomori as the patriarch of the Hongo family. "And did you meet him?"

Julie nodded enthusiastically. "I did! He's so handsome and kind." Julie saw the look on Kuu's face and had to suppress a smirk. He's cute, she thought, but these types are all the same. Too confident, too self-assured. She, of course, knew who he was, but taking him down a couple of pegs and reminding him that he was only human was thrilling to her. She knew that he was only looking at her like something to be conquered, anyway. Everywhere she went, she left a trail of men slobbering behind her like fools. She hated always being looked at as simply arm candy. I speak four languages, I'm developing my own clothing line, and I'm a Duris. What do you have for me that I can't obtain for myself, Hozu-san?, she questioned coolly inside her own head.

"Julie! There you are!"

Julie looked over Kuu's shoulder. "Daddy! I was just talking with Hozu-san."

Eltra had to suppress a laugh when he saw Kuu's face. He knew from experience that his daughter had been eating the poor man alive. "I hope my Julie has been minding her manners."

Kuu straightened his tie with an awkward laugh. "Your daughter is as honest as she is beautiful."

Eltra smiled and gave his daughter a look. "That she is. Anyway, Julie dear, we need to go. I have a meeting to get to."

Julie nodded and bowed to Kuu. "It was lovely to meet you, Hozu-san!"

Kuu returned the bow, his heart falling somewhere near his stomach. Though she had taken a jackhammer to his ego, he found that he didn't want her to leave. She's made a fucking masochist of me. "The pleasure was all mine, Duris-san."

He watched them leave, and once they were out of sight, he put his head in his hands and mentally kicked himself. Best in the country? Could you have been any more douchey? He sighed. Had it been douchey, though? He was sure that Julie Duris had met hundreds of important and talented people. He was just another face in the crowd. Just one more guy that had taken an interest in her. Did it really hurt to use his celebrity to keep his name in the forefront of her mind? Girls didn't want poor half-breed bastard Kuu Hizuri from Kyoto. But Shuuhei Hozu? Shuuhei was wanted. Shuuhei was popular. He sighed as he realized one more crucial detail; he had failed to ascertain how long she would be staying in Japan.

"Hozu-san!"

Kuu blinked and turned around. Director Date was calling him over to the set. The room had filled with people without Kuu's notice. He cleared his throat, a bit embarrassed, and approached the Director. As they discussed the scene, Director Date told Kuu what atmosphere he was going for. In this particular scene, Katsuki would be stopping by the Hongo household to meet Misao for a date. He would encounter her father while he waits for her to come downstairs, and the two men would have a chat.

They took their places. Kuu in the foyer, and Shino Minamoto in the drawing room, sitting on the sofa near the piano with a newspaper. When Director Date called for action, Kuu melted into character. Katsuki looked through the doorway into the drawing room, where he could see Hongo-san's head and shoulders over the back of the sofa. His fingers flexed into a fist, and he took a breath.

"Tachibana-san, is that you?," the older man called without looking.

Katsuki let his rage go in his next outward breath and put a smile on his face. Let's dance, you bastard, he thought. He entered the drawing room. "I'm sorry if I disturbed your reading, Hongo-san. Misao-chan and I have a date to go look at flowers for the wedding."

The elder man set his newspaper aside and peered at Katsuki through his reading glasses. "You will have her back at a reasonable hour." It was not a question.

Katsuki nodded. "Of course, sir." He would take the precious princess of the Hongo family out to look at different florists, and listen to her prattle on about her perfect wedding, and how wonderful the day would be, all the while not knowing that the gentleman she had affianced herself to had plans to kill her and make it look like a horrible accident. Katsuki bit down on his tongue to hide his smirk. Misao would be his sacrificial lamb to appease the screams of his murdered family.

"Ah, Katsuki-san, you're here!"

Misao swept into the room wearing a pretty floral dress and sun hat. She gave him a peck on the cheek, and he looked abashed. "Misao-chan, your father–!"

She giggled and took him by the hand to pull him toward the front door. "Oh, Daddy doesn't mind, do you, Daddy?"

Hongo-san smiled lovingly at his eldest daughter. He minded a great deal, but his Misao meant everything to him. "Not at all, dearest. Have fun today."

"We will! Come on, Katsuki." She led him out the front door, still talking excitedly about which shops she wanted to look at.

Hongo-san picked his newspaper up with a sigh. Young people, he thought.

"Cut!" Director Date gave the OK sign. "Next scene."

The lighting crew changed it so the set was darker, and the set crew moved some things around. As they did, Shino Minamoto reviewed the scene with Director Date. He chuckled. "Hozu-san, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you actually hated me here. Good job."

Kuu smiled at him, but he did feel a certain amount of bitterness toward the veteran actor. Julie had come to the set to see Shino Minamoto and not Shuuhei Hozu, after all. The young lady who played Misao, Maki Ishii, was shivering beside Kuu. This was her first big role, and she was scared to death of messing up. She was also panicking at the fact that she had just kissed Shuuhei Hozu himself on the cheek. Kuu chuckled and patted her shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

Maki nodded. "Y-yes! I just hope that went well."

Kuu gave her a reassuring smile. "If it hadn't, the Director would have had us do it again. You're doing fine. I couldn't even tell you were nervous."

She bowed to him. "Thank you, Hozu-san!"

The next scene would be the return of Misao and Katsuki, who would be greeted at the door by Misao's younger sister, Mio. Hiroko Iizuka, Mio's actress, entered the set and took her place on the stairs.

Katsuki and Misao entered the foyer. Misao was holding a bouquet of flowers. She slipped her shoes off and took off down the hallway. "I'll be right back," she called over her shoulder. "I have to put these in water!"

Katsuki sighed and stared boredly after her. The day had been exhausting. Keeping a smile on his face while listening to Misao go on and on about flowers had been a test of his patience. He looked around, and his eyes settled on a dark shape on the stairs. He practically jumped out of his skin.

"Oh, did I scare you, Tachibana-san?" Mio stood up and came toward him. With her long, dark hair covering her face and her slow gait, she reminded Katsuki of a zombie.

He fought the chill that was causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. "Not at all, Mio-san. I just wasn't expecting you to be there."

She reached the foot of the stairs, tucked her hair behind her ear, and smiled at him. Her mouth pulled up and to the right in a hideous lopsided grin thanks to the scar tissue she had from a childhood accident. "That's the best part of being ugly, Tachibana-san. You go unnoticed."

Katsuki looked into her eyes. Has this little bitch been watching me? She didn't need to say a word as they stared at each other for him to know that she knew more than she should. She took a few more steps toward him.

"You know, I wasn't sure that you and Misao would be a good match when she brought you home. But the more I get to know about you, the more I realize you're just like her."

"Oh? And how is that, Mio-san?"

She stood on her tip-toes, held his arm, and put her lips close to his ear. His heart thundered in his chest as he fought his body's urge to run. "You're both fake."

She stood back to admire the way he squirmed in his own skin, and then satisfied with the chaos she had created within him, climbed back up the stairs. He watched her go, wondering just how much she knew, or what it was that she suspected.

"Katsuki?" He shook his head and looked down the hall where Misao stood gripping her vase of flowers. "Are you all right?"

He looked to the right where a mirror hung on the wall over a small table. He was pale, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat. He took the handkerchief from his pocket and mopped at his forehead. "Ah, yes Misao-chan. I think something I ate at lunch is disagreeing with me."

Misao hurried toward him and set her vase on the table beneath the mirror. She pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. "Oh, you poor thing! Can I get you some water?"

He shook his head, anxious to be rid of her touch. "That's quite alright. I'll go home and sleep it off."

She pressed a kiss to his cheek and squeezed his hand. "I hope you feel better. Please call me later to let me know how you're doing."

He nodded and smiled at her, his stomach in a knot. "Of course. Goodnight, Misao-chan."

He left through the front door, and Misao watched him go through the window, her forehead creased with worry.

Director Date ended the scene and nodded at Hiroko Iizuka. "Fantastic job, Iizuka-san. Thank you."

She bowed to him when she reached the foot of the stairs. "Thank you, Director-san." She left the set to sit in a chair off to the side and read her script. Hiroko was nothing if not serious about her role.

Kuu walked away as they readied the set for the next scene and found himself back at the refreshment table. They had changed the food from doughnuts to pizza. He piled a plate high with it and ate it standing near the table.

"You know," said a voice behind him, "One of these days, you're going to get old, and your metabolism is going to slow down, and you're going to be fat, and bald, and not a single girl will even look at you."

Kuu rolled his eyes as he chewed his pizza. "Bite me, Lory."

Lory Takarada came to stand next to his friend and crossed his arms over his chest. "I heard you ran into Julie again today. How did that go?"

Kuu blinked at him, deciding to play dumb. "Who, Duris's daughter?"

Lory gave him an incredulous stare. "Тот, для которого ты учишь русский, да." The one you're learning Russian for? Yeah.

Kuu cleared his throat. "Nothing happened. We talked."

"You talked? About what? Did you even ask her out? Did you find out how long she's going to be here?"

Kuu clenched his teeth. "Do you have to meddle in everyone's relationships?"

Lory picked a piece of pizza off of the table. "Only the ones I see are worth meddling in. Anyway," said Lory with a smirk, "They're going to be here for the next six months." He took a bite.

Kuu dropped the pizza he was holding on the floor. "Six months?" He realized that he had dropped his food and stooped to pick it up. "Shit!"

Lory laughed at him. "You heard that right. Eltra has a huge international deal he's working on, and Julie's working on a modeling campaign, and trying to get inspiration for her clothing line."

Kuu stood up. "Clothing line? Damn, she's trying to be a real mogul, huh?"

Lory smirked. "A mogul looking for a nice boy with a cute butt. I don't know if Shuuhei Hozu fits the bill, but Kuu Hizuri might."

Kuu swallowed another bite of his pizza and gave his friend a wicked smile. "Are you saying I have a cute butt, Lory?" Lory laughed and pinched Kuu's ass. Kuu smacked his hand away. "Would you watch that!? That's all I need is for the tabloids to think I'm your boyfriend!"

Lory batted his eyes. "You act like I, a man who is working on founding his own entertainment company, am not an excellent catch."

Kuu laughed. "Somehow I don't think Kouki would approve."

Lory finished his piece of pizza. "Oh, it's 1993, Kuu. Can't a little boy have two fathers?"

Kuu raised his eyebrow. "Are you trying to set me up with Julie Duris, or are you trying to get her to break my heart so you can be my rebound?"

Lory laughed uproariously. "Oh, don't you wish!" He threw out his paper plate and turned back to Kuu. "By the way, I have it on good authority that she's going clubbing tonight with her friend."

Kuu sighed, admitting defeat. "Do you know which one?"

"The Kabuki."

"Thank you, Lory," Kuu said quietly.

Lory cupped his hand over his ear. "I'm sorry, Kuu, I didn't catch that. What did you say?"

"Thank you, you bastard," he said, laughing.

Lory patted his cheek. "Good luck, and remember, if you have kids, I'm the godfather."

I hope everyone is enjoying this so far. :3 I can definitely say, I'm glad I wrote this whole thing instead of trying to write to keep up with a posting schedule. I feel like the story is better for it (and my nerves are better, too). Leave me some reviews, tell me what you think. See y'all next week! LOVE -BO