The following day, Kuu and Julie found themselves at the channel 8 studio for an interview on the show Entertainment Scoop. Julie wore a blue floral cap sleeve dress. Her hair at the crown of her head was braided on either side and finished in a ponytail, while the rest of her hair cascaded in waves down her back. Kuu wore a light gray suit with a tie that matched Julie's dress. As they waited for their turn on stage, Julie's palm was slick with the sweat from Kuu's.

"Kuu, it's okay. It's going to be fine." She ran her thumb over the back of his hand. "Daddy's got the bodyguard you asked for waiting just outside."

Kuu sighed. "I'm terrified that it won't be enough. Julie, if you get hurt because of me–"

"Kuu," she rubbed his back, "I can't stay hidden forever. I married you, this comes with the territory. I'm ready." She kissed his cheek. "Now, wipe your palms. You're on in five."

Though he was stressed by the situation, the determination in her eyes still turned him on. He kissed her forehead. "I'll get my shit together, I promise."

They watched the monitor. The host of the show, Ami Nara, was addressing the audience from her bright red sofa.

"Now, I'm sure everyone saw the crazy footage two days ago of Shuuhei Hozu and his co-star Aine Yamada." There was an excited round of applause, which Ami promptly hushed. "I know, we all think we know the story. But, I have been informed that what we think we know and what is actually going on are two entirely different things. Hozu-san is here today to clear things up for us and explain what on earth was going on. So, please welcome, Shuuhei Hozu!"

Kuu strolled onto the stage as though he owned it. The applause from the audience was deafening. He bowed to Ami and they sat down on the sofa.

"Welcome, Hozu-san!"

"Thank you, Nara-san. I'm glad to be here."

"So," she started, "You say that what we saw is not what it seems to be, is that right?"

"That is absolutely correct."

"Would you mind setting the record straight for us? What is going on between you and Yamada-san?"

Kuu smiled. "There is nothing going on between Yamada-san and myself. Yamada-san surprised me by pranking me with a kiss in the parking lot." Kuu was still angry with Aine Yamada, but he also recognized that she was young, and if he threw her bodily under the bus, it would ruin her career, and could jeopardize Tsukigomori. He decided that yelling at her had upset her sufficiently, and that ruining her career before it had truly begun would be too much.

"But why would she do that? And why didn't you clarify what was happening at that moment?"

Kuu chuckled. "I'm asking myself why she did what she did. I didn't clarify what was going on because she didn't let me in on the joke, so I was quite shocked."

"And how do we know that you aren't just covering up your relationship, Hozu-san?"

"Because I've brought the person that I'm truly in a relationship with today."

The audience ooooh'd and Ami gasped. "You brought your girlfriend!?"

Kuu ran his hand through his hair with a nervous chuckle. "Actually, Nara-san, she's my wife."

The audience gasped in disbelief. Ami blinked at him.

"Y-your wife!? You're married!?"

Kuu swallowed his fear and stood up from the couch. He extended his hand toward Julie who was offstage. "Julie, can you come here and help me out?"

Julie took a breath and strode across the stage. She bowed to Ami and took Kuu's hand. They sat down on the couch together. Ami clutched at her chest.

"JULIE DURIS?" Julie wasn't as well-known as Kuu in Japan, but she did have some media presence.

Julie giggled politely. "I know, it's a surprise."

Ami clutched her chest. "I'm in shock! How long have you been together!? Is this marriage recent!?"

Kuu nodded. "We've been seeing each other since May, and we've been married for three days."

"Four months and you're married already!" Ami laughed in disbelief, "Are you pregnant or something?" she joked.

Julie smiled. "Our baby is due in a few months."

Ami smiled. Then she laughed. Then her eyes went wide. "Oh my god. You're not kidding!"

The audience lost their minds. Ami stood up and clapped her hands to get their attention again. "Please, please be quiet everyone! We only have them here for a short time, I need the details!"

The audience laughed and then got quiet again. Ami sat back down. "I… I can barely speak. This is a bomb you've dropped on us, Hozu-san!"

Kuu chuckled. "It's quite the bomb I've dropped on myself, I assure you."

Julie and the audience laughed. Ami collected herself. "Was this planned!?"

Kuu nodded from side to side. "Yes and no. The plan was certainly to marry Julie at some point, but the baby was a surprise."

Ami noticed the ring on Julie's hand. "My god, that is just beautiful, Julie-san. Can we see it better for the camera?" Julie extended her hand over Kuu so Ami could see the ring better. Ami whistled under her breath. "That is gorgeous. Hozu-san, you have good taste."

Kuu smiled at Julie. "I like to think that my wife is proof of that."

Julie blushed. "Oh, thank you, my love."

Ami shook her head. "Well, I think you two have given me the story of the year. I don't see myself topping this."

Kuu and Julie laughed. "I'm glad we could be of assistance, Nara-san," said Kuu.

Ami fanned herself comically. "Anything else you'd like to add? Is it triplets perhaps?"

Julie laughed and patted her belly. "Only the one, I'm afraid." They had both decided not to go into detail about Kuon to protect him as best they could. As far as Kuon himself was concerned, the public would be on a need to know basis.

Ami chuckled. "Trust me, my dear, one is plenty to start with. On behalf of myself and the audience, I'd like to wish you both the best of luck with your new marriage and your baby!"

They got up and bowed to each other and Kuu and Julie waved to the audience and went backstage. When they got backstage, Kuu let out a huge sigh. Julie patted his back. "Are you okay?"

He smiled at her. "I will be eventually. What would you like to do now, my love?"

Julie's eyes lit up. "Shopping!"

He laughed. "You want to announce that we're married and expecting a baby, and while that's fresh in everyone's minds, you want to go out and shop? In public?"

Julie nodded. "Yep. I feel like putting my bodyguard through his paces."

Kuu shook his head. "Mrs. Hizuri, you're fuckin' wild."

She laughed and pulled him down the hallway toward the dressing room so they could get dressed in their street clothes. After that, they headed for the parking garage. Her bodyguard, a sharp-dressed Japanese man in a black suit, black tie, and black sunglasses named Hiiro, followed them out. He would follow them in his own car. They reached the Jag and Julie pulled a piece of paper with an address out of her purse. She passed it over to Kuu.

"I got this address from one of my friends in the industry. They're supposed to have really cute maternity clothes here."

Kuu looked at the paper and nodded. "I know where this is. Let's go."

He drove a few minutes away and parked in another garage. Kuu put his baseball cap and sunglasses on. When they got out, Hiiro kept a respectable distance, but he was still right there in case of trouble. This made Kuu feel a little more at ease.

They arrived at the boutique and went inside. Kuu felt entirely out of his depth. The mannequins were all sporting large bellies with big poofy dresses. The back of the store was full of baby items; cribs, car seats, clothes, mobiles, toys, high chairs, and other miscellaneous items, all in bright, happy colors. He looked over at Julie, who was looking at one of the mannequins with a look of disgust on her face. She held the skirt of the dress on it between her fingers as though it were made of something nasty.

"Oh. This is hideous."

Kuu chuckled. "I'm glad I wasn't the only one having that thought."

She frowned. "This won't do. I can't go around looking like a fucking circus tent for the next five months, Kuu." Julie went to the service desk and found an attendant there, putting tags on clothes. The lady waved at her.

"Hello there! Is there something in particular you're looking for!?"

Julie nodded. "Do you have anything more… form-fitting? Or not quite so… tent-y?"

The lady chuckled into her hand. "Oh, you must be newly pregnant, huh? Unfortunately, tent-y is what we have to work with. Everyone's looking to hide their bellies, you see."

Julie blinked. "But why?"

"Oh, because nobody wants to look sexy when they're pregnant, darling. Nobody feels sexy when they're pregnant."

Julie raised an eyebrow. Though her belly had gotten a bit bigger, and she had gained a bit of weight, she still felt quite sexy. Quite in fact, her libido had skyrocketed over the last few weeks and she had almost been worried about exhausting Kuu, who was perfectly happy to sate her every sexual desire despite his heavy schedule. She looked at the mannequins and shook her head. This won't do. She thanked the assistant and went to the back of the store to browse. Kuu and Hiiro followed in her wake.

She fawned over the baby furniture. "Oh, Kuu, can we buy some of this today?"

He chuckled. "If we buy everything for ourselves, then no one will be able to buy us anything for the baby shower, my love."

Though it wasn't a tradition to have baby showers in Japan, Julie had wanted one anyway to celebrate the baby with their friends and family.

She gave him a sad smile. "Mama would be upset with me if I didn't let her buy something for the baby." She sighed. "I wonder if they'll be able to come to the baby shower or if they'll just send gifts."

Kuu took her hand. "I know you're upset that your parents are leaving soon. But your mother did say they would be back for the birth."

She nodded. "I know. But I'm going to miss them. Not that I haven't done things on my own before, but I'm usually with either Mama or Daddy. All of my things are in their house in LA." She sighed and rubbed her belly. "Not that any of my clothes there will fit me now."

Kuu kissed her forehead. "My love, if you don't like anything in this store, I'm sure we can have things made just for you."

Julie's mouth popped open. "Oh my god. Kuu, you're a genius!"

He blinked. "What did I say?"

She laughed. "I came to Japan originally to get ideas for my line! This is it, Kuu! Maternity clothes that are cute and trendy instead of," she gestured at a nearby mannequin, "Whatever the hell that is!"

He smiled at her. "That sounds amazing." He looked around. "So, is there anything you want to buy here?"

She laughed nervously. "Uh… I do need some pants, actually. Mine are getting too tight."

They went to a nearby table with maternity jeans folded on it. Julie picked up a couple of pairs and took them to the dressing room. When she came out, she lifted her t-shirt to show Kuu the band that went up over her belly. "These look weird."

He shrugged. "With the shirt down, I couldn't tell the difference between those and your regular jeans. Are they comfortable?"

She nodded. "My other jeans are too tight now. These actually feel really nice."

Kuu kissed her cheek. "Get as many as you want."

She blushed. "Are you sure? They're kind of expensive."

He shook his head. "Nothing is too expensive when it comes to you, my love."

Julie picked out three pairs of jeans and a pair of coveralls. The assistant rang them out and bagged the clothes up. They walked hand-in-hand down the sidewalk as they made their way back to the Jag. Suddenly, though, their peaceful stroll was interrupted by a disturbance from behind.

"Ahh! Please let me go!"

They turned to find Hiiro subduing a man on the sidewalk. He had the man's arm bent up behind his back and his cheek pressed against the concrete. The bodyguard looked up at Kuu. "What should I do with this one, Hizuri-san? He's been following us for a while."

The man wriggled in Hiiro's grip. "Please don't hurt me! I work for Takarada-san!"

Kuu rolled his eyes. "Hiiro-san, let him up."

Hiiro let go of the man's arm and hauled him to his feet. Upon further examination, the man turned out to be a fresh-faced 18-year-old, complete with acne, and the ghost of a mustache on his upper lip. He was wide-eyed and pale.

"T-thank you, Hozu-san. I-I'm really sorry! Takarada-san said to follow you around and report back to him!"

Kuu listened to the young man's nervous rambling and shook his head. "What's your name, kid?"

The young man gave him a nervous bow. "Sawara, sir! Takenori Sawara!"

"Listen, Sawara-san," Kuu started, "I appreciate that Lory is nuts and that it is hard to work for someone who makes you do stupid things." He pulled a wad of cash out of his pocket. "So, I'm going to give this to you. You're going to go back to Lory, tell him the absolute most boring things you possibly can about us, and I don't want to see you around us again. Okay?"

Takenori Sawara counted the wad of cash and his eyes went wide as saucers. "I–yes, Hozu-san! Thank you!" The young man bowed multiple times as he walked backward away from them and then turned and ran away.

Kuu sighed and rubbed the space between his eyebrows. "I'm going to kill Lory."

Julie giggled. "I feel bad for that guy. Do you think Lory's even paying him?"

Kuu shook his head. "He's probably interning for him." He turned his attention to the bodyguard. "Thank you, Hiiro-san."

The man bowed to him, and they continued on their way back to the parking garage. On the way, Kuu started feeling better about having the bodyguard there to protect Julie. It was clear that the man knew what he was doing and could handle the job. He knew that Julie was right, and that he couldn't possibly keep her and Kuon under wraps forever. I guess the sooner we adjust to this life the better, he thought as they got into the Jag.

They went back to their apartment, and Julie made an excited beeline for their bedroom. Kuu went to the kitchen and started on their dinner. He pulled three packages of chicken thighs out of the refrigerator. He opened them, put the thighs on his cutting board, and cut them into bite-sized pieces. When he finished, he put the pieces into a bowl with soy sauce, sake, grated ginger and garlic. He mixed it up and left it to sit.

He went down the hallway and knocked on the bedroom door. "Julie? May I come in?"

"Of course!"

He entered to find her sitting at their computer desk with a pad of drawing paper and a pencil. He looked over her shoulder and smiled. She had drawn the outline of a woman with a big pregnant belly and was working on designing a summer dress. It had butterfly sleeves, a sweetheart neckline, and a ribbon that tied in the back that rested under the breasts and above the belly.

"That is much cuter than the ones we saw at the store."

Julie reached up and patted his cheek. "Thank you, love. I'm sorry I just disappeared when we got home. I had so many ideas and wanted to get some of them sketched down before I forgot."

He kissed the top of her head. "Not a problem at all. I'm happy to see you working on what you love. I know it's been hard to do that since you've been pregnant."

That was, unfortunately, an understatement. As Julie had begun to get a belly, she had to cancel many of the modeling jobs that she had lined up to do. It had broken her heart to do so, but ultimately, she decided, her baby was much more important. Her thoughts had also been very baby-centric, leaving little room for planning her line or enjoying fashion. When her thoughts had turned to fashion, she had found herself too exhausted to brainstorm anything or sketch anything down. Many times, she had curled up on the couch with her sketch pad with the intent of getting work done… and promptly fallen asleep. She rested her hand on her belly. Growing a kid is really hard work.

Kuu kissed her temple. "I'm going to go back to the kitchen. I just wanted to check on you. Do you need me to bring you anything?"

She brightened. "Actually, could you bring me some mochi?"

He blinked. "You want… food?"

She giggled. "Maybe I'm feeling a bit more myself at the moment."

Kuu rushed out of the room to bring the snack to her before her hormones kicked back in and changed her mind. When he brought the plate to her, she kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Kuu."

He almost floated back to the kitchen to finish making dinner. After coating the chicken in potato starch, he fried it in oil until it was a delicious golden brown color.

"Is that karaage? It smells amazing!"

Julie had wandered out of the bedroom when she smelled the food cooking. Kuu was tickled pink that Julie was finding anything appetizing. It had been weeks since her appetite was anywhere close to normal. She sat down at the dining table and he set a plate of karaage with vegetables in front of her. When she tucked into it with a certain amount of gusto, he almost cried with relief.

Julie happened to see the look on his face and she set her chopsticks down. "Kuu, are you okay?"

His smile warmed her to the core. "I'm just so happy to see you eat something of your own free will. I've been so worried about you."

"Oh, Kuu." She pulled him down to kiss him. "I'm okay, I swear. You don't have to worry."

"I know that, my love. It's just been weirding me out."

Julie giggled and patted her belly. "Kuon just… isn't very hungry."

Kuu raised an eyebrow. "And you're 100% sure he's mine?"

She gave him a look and he backed away from the table laughing. "I'm joking, I'm joking!" He retrieved his piled high plate from the kitchen and sat beside her to eat. When they finished, they sat down on the couch together, Julie with her sketch pad, and Kuu with his script.