Chapter 144: Protective Parents

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Skip Beat, for if I did, Kyoko would be popular enough to headline tabloids.

"I have to take this, Jim," Tadashi said as he pulled out a hundred dollar bill from the front pocket of his gray slacks and handed it to his partner. He walked away to answer his cell phone.

"Morimoto," he greeted the caller.

"Yo, Tadashi, I heard the sandtraps surrounding the second hole are a bitch. Make sure to lay up."

"Are you spying on me, Sota?" Tadashi asked unimpressed. The loudness of his friend's cackle was all the confirmation needed. It nearly blew out his eardrum.

"You sound carefree. Did you not see today's...it's today, his time, right?" Sota asked someone on his end. "Yeah, today's headlines?" He asked louder back into the phone.

"I didn't have time to do my usual browsing," Tadashi admitted.

His laptop was currently charging at the hotel since he forgot to plug it in the night before. There was always something about the time zone change that made him unable to sleep. He had stayed up until almost three in the morning, working before he fell asleep sitting up in bed with his computer still on his lap. He didn't wake up until the front desk called, informing him that the driver he requested had arrived. He jumped out of bed in a whirlwind. He was glad he showered the night before because he had no time to do so this morning. He brushed his teeth, washed his face, and ran water through his hair to tame some of the wild strands. He let it go after he realized he would be wearing a hat most of the morning. He got dressed quickly, took one glance in the mirror, and deemed himself presentable as he left the room with his golf clubs slung over his shoulder. A few moments later he was back in the room looking for the pullover he would wear over his polo shirt. The temperature here tended to start cool until the air warmed up.

"What's going on?" Tadashi asked grimly. Sota would only call him if it was urgent.

"Yeah, so do you want to hear the bad news first or the bad news?"

"Those are shitty options," Tadashi responded. He wanted to pull his phone away from his ear and start browsing. If he had remembered to bring his Bluetooth earpiece he could have done just that.

"Oh, I forgot I do have some good news in a sense. Your princess impressed a lot of fans with her performance last night. Details of her movie release were the second most sought after information on the web last night. And I don't know if you care but that son-in-law of yours' new drama was the highest trending. The first episode is tonight. That pretty boy is supposedly playing a Yakuza. This I have to see," Sota told him with a chuckle.

Tadashi smiled proudly into the receiver. He was glad the kids were getting recognition for their hard work. He had to add Ren's drama to his calendar. He might not be able to watch it in real-time depending on when it aired.

He wiped the smile off his face. "What's the bad news?" He asked Sota, cutting to the chase. He looked up as they cheered at the great shot his companion just made into the middle of the fairway. Jim looked at him for his turn. Tadashi shook his head and nodded to continue. He had to forfeit this hole and take the highest penalty on his scorecard, nine strokes. Still talking to Sota, he followed Jim down the fairway on foot. This country club didn't allow golf carts to be used on the course so they had to walk. He was glad he had a caddy to carry his bag this morning this way he could concentrate on his conversation.

"The American tabloids are claiming that your little princess and that foreigner have a romantic thing going on and the fans are going rabid over here. Spectre has been living off energy drinks the last few hours but he's got it covered. The article is out there and the fans are not happy. Most are defending her but the die-hard Tsuruga Ren fans are outraged. And that's not our biggest problem."

"What?!" Tadashi gasped. "What could be bigger than the blow to my daughter's reputation. Are Japanese fans so fickle?" He would need to call Lory or Yashiro to confirm that this was under control.

"I'm afraid so, man. They're crazy! But as I was saying, the biggest problem is that someone is on to us. Some two-bit reporter noticed that any negative posts against the princess have been deleted from the sites. They're accusing the princess of being petty and deleting them. The guy has images to support his claims so he's making a big deal out of it. It's already been printed so we couldn't stop it, but it's bound to get back to the princess. I don't know why this is news. Everyone deletes toxic messages from their accounts on social media, why give the trolls the time of day."

Tadashi swore under his breath. This was a bigger problem. She had no idea that he had Sota monitoring her websites for anyone out of line. What if she ended up hating him for interfering again? Tadashi couldn't bear it.

"There's more?" Sota sighed.

"You're kidding! She's been gone for less than a week. How could there possibly be more?"

"It's not her. It's him."

Tadashi furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Do you mean Ren-kun?"

"Yup, assault charges were filed against the pretty boy yesterday. The video is legit. I'm warning you though, you're not going to like what you see."

"What!" Tadashi exclaimed just as his golf partner swung his club to hit the ball.

"Dammit, Tadashi!" Jim cursed striking the ground angrily with the club in his hand. The ball he hit hooked to the right and landed in the sand trap short of the green.

"Sorry, sorry," Tadashi said, pulling out another hundred dollar bill from his pocket. This was the penalty for any unprofessional disruption while on the course. He was confident that by the end of the round he would get his money back and then some. Jim was always an emotional player.

"Are you almost done there so we can get back to the game," Jim insisted.

"Sorry Jim, give me a few more minutes. Finish up this hole and I'll pick up on the next one," Tadashi told his buddy. Jim nodded and continued down the fairway in the direction of his rogue ball.

"I have to go. I need to make another call. Any other surprises?" He asked one last time before hanging up the call.

"That's about it. We'll keep working things on our end. Good luck with the princess."

"Yeah, thanks for the call. Give my thanks to Spectre as well."

…

In the heart of Tokyo...

Lory glanced up from the papers he was reviewing when Ruto materialized out of thin air. His ability to manifest before him was heightened by the white robe and white triangular headband. Today's theme, in light of the American's obsession to celebrate Halloween, was to dress as a Japanese ghost.

"Takarada-sama," Ruto announced. "You have a call from, Morimoto-san."

He sighed and put down his documents. "Thank you, Ruto." Ruto bowed and disappeared.

Lory already dealt with Mogami-san an hour ago. He expected this call along with another before the night was over. It was only a matter of when they would get wind of it overseas. He picked up the receiver of his phone to answer.

"Morimoto-san, how are you?"

"What's your plan?" Tadashi demanded.

Lory smirked. This man never did have any room for small talk or pleasantries. He always went straight for the jugular.

"Those are baseless rumors. It will blow over in no time. I've instructed Yukihito-kun to have the young love birds place something on their social media page. Photos, videos, whatever they choose. I leave it for them to decide. Fans will get over it soon."

"That's a solid approach, but that's not the only reason why I called," Tadashi explained.

"Oh?" Lory's brows shot up. Did Tadashi know something he didn't? There was an absurd notion regarding the deletion of hateful posts from the media sites, but that wasn't even worth addressing.

"I'm talking about the charges filed against Ren-kun as Cain Heel. I saw the video. I'm going to have my lawyers file a countersuit against these thugs and press charges for assaulting my daughter! I'm going to slap them with every broken law I can think of so they won't even have time to come after Ren-kun: assault with a deadly weapon, sexual harassment, attempted kidnapping, disorderly conduct…to name a few but I'm sure my lawyers can come up with more applicable charges. They're going to wish they never messed with my kids in the first place once I get through with them."

Lory guffawed when Tadashi finished rattling off his plan. He laughed so hard he had to grab a couple of tissues to dry his eyes.

"This is no laughing matter, Takarada-san," Tadashi seethed.

"Ah, forgive me Morimoto-san, but you're too late," Lory began. "Mogami-san called me earlier and proposed a similar plan of attack about an hour ago."

"Sae-, I mean, Mogami-san did?" Tadashi asked incredulously.

"She was quite passionate about the swift justice she would rain down on these men. I'll tell you what I told her. LME legal team is working the case diligently. We've had ample time to prepare all the evidence needed to put the men behind bars for a long time. Though at this rate, it would probably be more for their protection. Last I heard, someone identified Ren's accusers and posted their home addresses online. Fans are now camping outside ready to strike. The men are too afraid to leave without a police escort. In a sense, they're already serving their time."

"Ha! Well, that's something. I was starting to think their fans weren't loyal given the latest gossip."

"Unfortunately, that's the nature of this business," Lory informed him.

"Before I let you go, Takarada-san, you mentioned that you've had ample time to prepare a case. This happened during the Heel sibling time which was before I came into the picture. Did you already know about this incident?"

Lory had no clue where Tadashi was going with this question but answered honestly. "That's correct. Ren and Mogami-kun told me about it before the reveal of Cain Heel."

"So you're telling me that you've known my daughter was assaulted yet you chose to ignore it?"

"Morimoto-san, those two left out some very important details. I didn't have this footage at the time."

Tadashi sighed heavily in acceptance.

"I don't know if things would have been handled differently if I did have the video as evidence. You know how they are, how your daughter would react. Even now, she may not like it, but it's a risk I am willing to take."

"I understand. Thank you for taking care of them. I should let you go. Please keep me in the loop on any further developments."

"Of course, and please pass on my sincere greetings to Ren and Mogami-kun."

Tadashi gasped but quickly recovered. "I'm not even going to ask, but will do," Tadashi replied with a chuckle.

As soon as Lory hung up the phone, Ruto reappeared. "Takarada-sama, Hizuri-san is waiting on the other line."

"Thank you, Ruto." This was the last stressful call he was expecting today. At least this would be the easiest one to tackle or so he thought.

"Can I get you anything, sir?" Ruto offered.

"I'm fine for now. I'll take this last call then take a rest." Lory straightened up white triangular headband before lifting the handset again. Maybe I'll go haunt the music department on my break.

"Kuu! Good to hear from you!"

"I left my son in your care, you lousy kidnapper! I had to find out from the internet that my son was involved in some gang-related fight and that my daughter was attacked by some low life! The whole point of him going to Japan and being away from his family that loves and cares for him was to make a new start now I find..."

Lory winced and held the phone away from his ear as Julie continued to lecture him on what an inadequate job he was doing at keeping her kids safe. This was an unfortunate setback in his bid for Julie's forgiveness after all these years. He sighed and placed the phone back to his ear. He endured the thrashing from this mother bear for another fifteen minutes, but it left a smile on his face. She also wanted to take legal action against these men that dared to try to hurt her babies. Ren and Kyoko were so lucky to have such doting parents.

Yashiro waited in the lobby pecking away at his laptop while waiting for his favorite couple to pick him up. It was more convenient to drop him off first at the hotel last night rather than have him backtrack so late at night. Kuon did invite him to relocate to the Hizuri estate, but Yashiro declined not wanting to intrude on the little family.

He reached for the lidded cup of hot coffee with a latex-gloved hand and took a satisfying sip. The Americano made at the hotel's cafe was heaven sent after the rough start he had today. The president woke him early this morning to inform him of the scandals circulating in Japan. While Lory filled him in, Yashiro grabbed his laptop to check on the news. In the short time he talked to Lory, his phone pinged six times with a mixture of messages and missed calls from Kanae and acquaintances back home. He only responded to Kanae. None were from Ren or Kyoko which made him believe they didn't know what was going on. He considered keeping them in the dark while they were here so they could enjoy the remainder of their time spent here.

Yashiro automatically dismissed the rumor concerning Cedric as baseless and will go away on its own. He compared the American gossip rags to those in Japan and found them to be similar in the news they printed. They would write anything to sell a story whether there was any truth to it or not. Since Cedric was practically the Prince of Hollywood, it was guaranteed to be a hot topic. Yashiro logged into his favorite fansite to check on the atmosphere. The majority of the fans weren't even entertaining the idea of Kyoko cheating on Ren. He did notice that there was an influx of Ren fans on this site. A little more snooping told him that Ren's unofficial fansite was experiencing difficulties and rumor claimed it had been hacked.

The article about the deleted comments on the fan sites was a total non-issue. The fans mainly took care of that and the author of that article was now being bogged down by fans. They could call her names all they wanted, his female charge was made of sterner stuff.

The biggest problem seemed to be the incident involving Cain Heel. The president had a plan to dismiss the charges but the gossip would take time to disappear especially with Ren's new drama. Again the fans didn't seem to care about Cain's use of violence against his attackers; it only managed to increase the excitement for Ryu to air.

Yashiro took another sip of his delicious coffee and closed his computer. At this point, everything was still manageable. While browsing through his missed messages on his phone, it pinged with a new message from Kyoko stating that they were ten minutes away. Yashiro used the time to pack up his stuff then headed outside to wait by the entrance.

"Good Morning, Yashiro-san," Kyoko greeted him when he slipped into the backseat after refusing to sit in the front.

"Good Morning, Kyoko-chan...Ren. How are you both this morning?" He greeted in return assessing their mood. They answered him at the same time. "Good!" "Fine!"

He sighed in the backseat loudly. He hoped they would have answered differently since he didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, but he also didn't want them to be blind sighted by anyone already aware.

The couple exchanged curious looks. "Something bothering you, Yukihito," Ren asked. Kyoko turned in her seat to look at him. He sighed again and lifted his messenger bag. He pulled out the print outs he made using the hotel's computer reserved for guests and handed it to Kyoko.

She looked at him confused before glancing at the article claiming that there were romantic sparks between her and Cedric after last night's interview. She looked up at Ren nervously.

"What is it?" he asked.

Yashiro wished he wasn't in the car for this.

"Um, I think your Americans think Cedric and I make a great couple," Kyoko explained swallowing thickly.

"Of course they do! Bunch of vultures looking for a quick story," He exclaimed with annoyance.

"You're not mad, are you?" Kyoko asked hesitantly.

"Mad at you, never. Jealous, very," he said gripping the steering wheel. "I knew it the moment I saw you showing off your legs wearing nothing but my jacket that no good could come of this."

Kyoko gasped. " I was not only wearing your jacket. I had a full dress on beneath it mister!"

"Look at that picture again and explain to me what you look like," Ren countered.

Yashiro leaned forward to look at the picture too. Legs, rumpled men's jacket, touseled hair, flushed face, and flashing eyes were all he could see. It was probably all any hot-blooded man could see. Things might get tough for Kyoko-chan.

"I bet somewhere in the article they claim that the jacket you were wearing belonged to him even though he's visibly wearing a jacket himself."

Kyoko pulled the papers closer to read the words and looked up in astonishment. "How did you know?" She asked looking at her boyfriend as if he had some unknown superpower.

Ren chuckled. "Typical. Their tactics never change. Is the website to that article on there, Yukihito?"

"Yes, why?" he answered.

"Good, because I want that picture for my phone screen," he said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"You pervert!" Kyoko exclaimed, smacking him on the shoulder.

"I am driving, woman!" He laughed earning him another smack. He could be so American sometimes.

Yashiro took the opportunity to quickly snap a photo of the couple laughing. He had to release his phone quickly because he wasn't wearing any gloves. He would have one of them upload it to their site later. It would put the fans at ease to see them together.

"What's this?" Kyoko asked, confused. She turned towards Yashiro for an explanation. "Is this real, Yashiro-san?"

"I'm afraid so," Yashiro admitted. He launched into explaining the Cain Heel story as he knew it from the president. By the time they reached the office for their meeting, Ren was embarrassed and Kyoko was relieved. Yashiro sneakily took a perfectly timed photo when Kyoko lifted their interlaced hands and kissed the back of Ren's knuckles. He wondered if these two forgot he was there sometimes.

"I want that picture too, Yukihito," Ren said pointedly before getting out of the car. Well, that answered that.

Yashiro nodded apologetically and got out of the vehicle.

…

Ren came around the car and slipped his hand back into Kyoko's lacing their fingers together. He thought it would make him feel more grounded before the meeting. Yashiro walked in front of them toward the double doors of the glass building. The automatic doors swooshed open blasting them with a gust of air so Yashiro went in first.

Ren breathed deeply and stepped inside while still holding his girlfriend's hand. She made him feel grounded. The agency was triple the size of LME which was to be expected given how large the industry was here. The lobby was spacious and modernly decorated in chrome, leather, and marble. It was early enough that it wasn't crawling with people, but those present whispered as they recognized Kyoko then slowly raked over him. From their whispers, he happily concluded that they now knew Kyoko was not dating Cedric.

They approached the marble counter at the center where two young women stood behind chatting with a man in a gray pinstriped suit. One of the ladies noticed them and called out a greeting. The man chatting turned in their direction. Ren sucked in his breath as he stared at an older version of Cedric, leaving no doubt in his mind that this was Callister Bennett.

AN: Thank you for sticking with me. I hope you enjoyed it. I will be picking up on this encounter next chapter. Thank you for always reading and for the reviews of the last chapter. I appreciated it.

You guys I woke up and still hated the title. I suck at titles! But then I saw Clara's review and I was like damn I'm changing it. Thank you, Clara! *kisses*

Until next time, ja ne! ^_^