Chapter 149: New Offer

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Skip Beat, for if I did, Super Manager Yashiro would find more work for them to do together.

Kyoko was back in her flirty butterfly dress helping the staff and models pack up the remaining R'Mandy designs and equipment for the night. There wasn't much left for her to do by the time she finished helping pack up her runway outfit. Fuji ran a tight ship so the clean up was quick. Her feet were still a little sore, but they were the happiest they've been all night.

Earlier, Ren had tried to make a spectacle of her by carrying her back to the secluded makeshift dressing room. She wasn't having it. Here Honoka was injured yet Kyoko was getting the special treatment because her feet hurt a little. That was not going to bold over very well with the already jealous female models. She didn't need to add fuel to the fire though she had to admit that since her return, the models had treated her better. She could only discern that words were exchanged while she was on the catwalk to clear her name of any foul play.

To prove Ren wrong, Kyoko hid the pain in her feet as she walked the rest of the way to her dressing area. She was grateful that he didn't put up a fuss and instead walked close to her while carrying the chair. He was there just in case her feet gave out. When she finally settled in the chair again, he didn't hesitate to drop to his knees in front of her.

"I can do it. You need to change too," she argued when he reached for the hem of her voluminous skirt.

"Can't I?" He asked. His soft brown eyes took on the pitiful look of level two, puppy dog Cainmaru. Kyoko huffed, admitting defeat. It was so unfair that she could never win against that adorable expression. Ren flashed her a dazzling smile celebrating his victory.

"Here, hold this end up," he instructed, flipping over the bottom of her skirt. She complied and held the thick fabric up and away loosely so it wouldn't get ruined. A couple of people that passed by their area did a double-take in their direction. The clothing rack did little to hide her when everyone here stood a head or taller than it. They hurriedly moved on with hushed laughter. Kyoko's cheeks burned as she thought about their precarious position. If it looked provocative from her angle with only the top of Ren's head visible over the dress, she could only imagine what they looked like to those on the other side.

Ren continued unfazed by the commotion and removed her left shoe followed by the sock. His large dexterous fingers took her foot, placed it on his lap, and began rubbing the tired joints of her toes. Kyoko opened her mouth to protest, but a loud moan of unabashed pleasure escaped her lips instead. She jerked one hand off the dress to cover her mouth. The heat in her cheeks intensified, extending down her neck and over her shoulders. She was sure her blush didn't stop until it reached the tip of the very toes he held. His hands were magic.

She felt Ren's deep chuckle rumble through his body and travel up her leg. He kneaded every inch of the underside of her foot until he reached her heel, but he didn't stop there. He continued to apply pressure up her ankle, and midway to her calf before putting her foot down. He was in the middle of massaging the life back into her other foot when Yashiro arrived.

"Kyoko-chan?" Yashiro announced from the other side of the partition.

"You can come inside, Yashiro-san," she responded. She struggled with Ren until he finally released her foot. The man could be so stubborn sometimes. Ren stood slowly and smoothed out his suit.

"I thought you might need these tonight," he told her, pulling out a pair of black fuzzy house slippers. "I'm sure Fuji-san won't mind if you give your feet the rest of the night off. You've earned it."

Kyoko jumped from her seat and bear-hugged Yashiro much in the same way she always did Kanae. Her super manager had once again come through for her unexpectedly.

"Yashiro-san, you're my hero!" Kyoko squealed. He laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck when she let him go.

"This is nothing. I'm glad I made the right decision to buy them this morning in the hotel gift shop. I knew your feet would be aching by the end of the night."

"Yes, how thoughtful of you, Yashiro-san," Ren beamed from beside them. Kyoko pinched him to behave. It wasn't Yashiro's fault she didn't think about bringing an extra pair of comfortable shoes.

"Ouch!" Ren cried, rubbing at the spot. Kyoko giggled an apology. She reached for his arm to kiss the pain away.

They were interrupted by the arrival of Fuji and his assistants coming to help Kyoko out of her dress. Ren and Yashiro left to give her privacy and offer their assistance outside. This was they could clear out of there fast so they could head to the party and call it a night.

"This looks like the last of it," Kyoko told Jay, handing him the list she used to account for all the items in the hard case she rolled to him.

"Thanks, Kyoko-chan, you've been a tremendous help to the team."

"It was my pleasure. It has been a phenomenal experience. I've learned so much about fashion and modeling. I can't gush enough about it."

"You're cute. I'll see you at the party. Oh, and could you please tell Fuji we're good to go and I'll join him over there shortly. "

Kyoko acquiesced and bowed. She went hunting for both her boyfriend and her boss for the week. She found them together. Ren was still wearing his butterfly patterned suit talking with Fuji while Yashiro took notes on a little pad. It was decided that Ren would show off the suit while they mingled and networked among their peers. Kyoko greeted them and relayed Jay's message. Together they all headed in the direction of the hall where the party was held.

"Reino, I brought you a glass of your favorite Cabernet."

Reino moved the arm he had draped over his face slightly to peek out at his friend. Miroku stood above him holding out a glass of deep red wine for him to take. He supposed a drink would help calm his nerves.

"Are you strong enough to sit up?"

It took Reino tremendous effort to scoot up on the black velvet chaise he lounged on so he was more upright. It was a lucky find in one of the empty rooms backstage that afforded him the privacy to swoon. After that run-in earlier with the American actor, Reino needed a moment to recover.

He reached for the glass. His long black pointy fingernails clinked like claws against the cup as his mind overloaded with images of that man's horrific past. His tactics against his prey made Reino's look like child's play in comparison. It was disturbing. The most disconcerting part of it all was that she was one of the freshest images in his mind. It was jumbled with the news that came out this morning and their time spent as co-stars in Japan including that incident. How she got herself entangled with such another horrible man was beyond Reino's psychic comprehension.

"Was it another vengeful spirit trying to inhabit your body?" Miroku asked, sitting on a nearby box.

Reino gulped his wine instead of answering. The ghoul Miroku had in mind was worse, but not by much. He licked his lips to remove the crimson residue from them. Like a spoiled princess, he handed Miroku his empty glass and laid back down. He didn't want to talk about the images that zoomed through his mind when that man helped him off the ground. If anything, he wanted to forget it ever happened. He had not wanted to make the connection, but it was there, ingrained into his mind. He had seen that tortured boy so prevalent in two other memories: one happy and one sad. Just who is Tsuruga Ren?

Miroku sighed. "Fine, keep your secrets, but do you plan on staying here all night? Are you really not going to talk to Fake Angel? This might be your only chance since you kept away from her at the party. That was the perfect opportunity in my opinion. Who knows when the President will let us go back to Japan?"

Reino snorted. No, it wasn't. It may not have been Ren, but she did have another terrifying presence watching over her that night. He could tell the man would not hesitate to rip his throat out, or any man's for that matter, that he deemed a threat to her. Reino wasn't stupid. He knew she wasn't quite fond of him. All she had to say was "Sic him, boy," and the Russian guard dog would have pounced on him. He wasn't about to put his body through that kind of agony. He still preferred death over suffering from physical pain any day.

He didn't need to go out there yet. He would observe the situation from the shadows at the after-party and make an informed decision on whether it was safe to engage her. He convinced himself that it was purely out of concern for her safety that he would seek her out. This time he would be the protagonist of the story and save the damsel.

…

As they walked toward the party hall, Yashiro's phone vibrated. He slipped on his glove quickly and answered the phone. This was the call he had been waiting for all night.

"Hello, Yukihito Yashiro speaking," he excused himself from the group to take the call and held out his pointer for Ren and Kyoko to wait for a moment.

"Yukihito, it's Phil. We saw your clients tonight and want to cast them in our production. As I said, it's time-sensitive so we would need them available this weekend. Can you spare some time for a brief chat?"

"You saw them?" Yashiro asked confused.

"Yes, we came to the fashion show," Phil clarified with a chuckle.

"Wow, I can't believe it," Yashiro blurted. "I mean, yes! We can meet. No problem. Where would you like us to meet you?" His inner fangirl did a series of triple jumps to expel the excitement building up within him.

"Well, we're standing just outside the party-hall. Debbie is wearing an orange coat. You can't miss her."

"Oh, you're still here! We're heading over there now, we'll see you soon."

"Perfect! See you then."

Yashiro returned his phone and glove into his pocket.

"Everything, okay?" Ren asked when he rejoined them.

"Yes, thanks for waiting," he replied excitedly. "That was the American producer on the phone I was talking about. He's here tonight. He saw both of you on stage and wants to cast you in their project."

"Really?" Kyoko screeched with disbelief.

"Amazing," Fuji said with awe. "Discovered on the stage wearing R'Mandy in America."

"What exactly is the job?" Ren asked skeptically.

"Well, it's a music video of sorts for a popular American rock band with worldwide renown. They want to use actors because the song is over eight minutes long and want to make it like a short film," Yashiro explained.

"Wow," Kyoko exclaimed excitedly. "What do you think Ren?" She asked, biting her bottom lip.

Ren draped his arm over Kyoko's shoulder and smiled. "It sounds like a perfect opportunity to work with my favorite actress again." He kissed her temple as they continued to walk.

Yashiro reined in his fangirl, glad that they agreed.

As they rounded the corner, a man standing off to the side ahead of them near the doors called out, "Yukihito!"

Yashiro waved his hand recognizing the orange coat on the woman beside him. That has to be Debbie!

"Yes, Phil," Yashiro returned the greeting with a wave. Phil and Debbie started heading in their direction.

"Fuji-san, I'm sorry to delay them. It should just be a quick meet and greet."

"It's no problem. I'll see you all there. Good luck!" Fuji replied as they parted ways just before the American duo caught up.

"Phil, Debbie, so good to meet you," Yashiro said, extending his hand to the one Phil held out first then shook Debbie's hand next. "These are my charges Ren Tsuruga and Kyoko Morimoto." Kyoko and Ren bowed in unison at the introduction.

"Pleased to meet you both," Phil bowed slightly. "I'm the producer and Debbie is the director. We're here tonight because we found the work Yukihito sent us intriguing. He told us you would be here working so here we are."

"We're so glad we came too; otherwise, we would have missed one heck of a finale. My heart is still pounding thinking about how you entered the catwalk. I recognized you immediately Kyoko. Your emotions were so raw, so real, and your expressions regarding one another. It's hard to describe, but I had goosebumps. I told Phil that you were both exactly what we were looking for," Debbie gushed.

Ren and Kyoko bowed and thanked them for their kind words. When they came up their fingers were linked.

"We have a demo if you want to hear the song," Phil added. He raised the volume on the phone and held it out. Ren took the proffered device while Kyoko crowded around him. Yashiro had already heard the song which is why he pursued the job.

They only had to listen to the first three minutes of the song to get the gist of its meaning and why the Americans wanted to cast them. Ren's cheeks burned, making Yashiro smirk. This single song was the embodiment of everything his male charge felt for the woman he loved. Heck, it even applied to the love he held for Kanae. It was simply perfect.

Ren handed the phone back when the track ended prematurely and said, "this song." He breathed shakily but didn't finish. He gazed at Kyoko. She was wiping tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. Ren patted his pockets for a handkerchief but realized he didn't have one in this suit.

"Don't tug at your skin like that," Ren scolded softly. He pushed her hands away and gently dabbed at the moisture with the back of his index fingers. Yashiro dug in his bag for the pack of tissues he threw in there earlier and handed it to Ren.

"It has to be them," Debbie smiled fondly, but it appeared that she was lost in her little world. She was probably already envisioning the work they would be doing. While the couple busied themselves, Yashiro went into manager mode.

"I think it's safe to say that they are interested in your offer. Do you have an outline or a script that you could share with us? I would like to review it as soon as possible."

"I can send you right now our offer and a script via email. As I said, we're in a time crunch with casting. Debbie is a perfectionist and hasn't been satisfied with any of our prior auditions."

"The universe just knew we needed to find the perfect pairing," Debbie defended.

"We'll be getting out of your hair now. Yukihito, I'm sending you the documents right...now," Phil told him as he finished tapping on his phone.

Yashiro turned to Ren and Kyoko, "I'm going to head back to the hotel and get started on this package. Will you two be okay tonight?"

"We'll be fine. Thanks, Yukihito," Ren replied.

"Here are the keys. I can take a taxi."

"Are you sure?" Ren questioned.

"Yes, but if you have even one drink, please use a taxi," Yashiro warned.

"I'll be careful," Ren promised. The couple thanked the Americans for the opportunity and said good night to Yashiro before heading into the party.

He walked back to the main entrance with Phil and Debbie questioning them for a little more detail on the project. He would need to extend their schedule to remain in America for a few extra days. Thank goodness Linh was in Japan, he could ask her to smooth over the schedule there once he had a better idea of the project's timeline. He doubted he would get any sleep tonight before the start of the Ryu watch party. As the organizer, he couldn't miss that.

He would need another Americano or five to get him through the night. Thank goodness tomorrow was a planned late start.

...

"Where have you been?" Flynn asked, coming up to Cedric as soon as he entered the adjacent hall hosting the show's after-party. "I've made a few laps around the room, but no luck."

"Sorry about that. It's okay, I talked to her already."

"What? So she's here? Where is she? I want to give her a piece of my mind and strangle her pretty little neck!"

Cedric laughed. "Thanks for the support, but it's unnecessary. I said my piece and she said hers."

Flynn sighed. "Fine, if you say so. Let's get you a drink and one of these hot babes to drown your sorrows."

"Pass on the babes, but I can use a drink. I'm going to need it," He glanced around the vicinity as they walked to the bar closest to them. There were a lot of people so he couldn't see beyond the crowd in front. He thought that Ren would stick out of the crowd since he was tall but Cedric realized that only applied in Japan. Here in the States, at a fashion show no less, the average height of those present had to be around six feet including women. Unfortunately, someone as tall as Ren would blend in.

He took a sip from his glass of whiskey and glanced around hoping to spot the Japanese couple.

"I'm going to walk around," Cedric told Flynn and stepped away from the bar. He was once again waylaid as people stopped him for autographs, pictures, and conversation regarding his work. It was strange to have this much attention from fans without being mobbed.

As luck would have it, he finally spotted Kyoko further back in the room. There was just one problem. She was in conversation with the Hizuris and a young woman. He gulped his drink. He didn't dare to approach her while she was with them.

He looked around for Ren and found him on the opposite side of the room chatting with several people. It was weird not seeing them within inches of each other. Cedric's gaze shifted between Ren and Kyoko trying to decide who to approach first. He didn't think it possible twenty-four hours ago but determined that the Japanese actor would be the easiest to approach at the moment. He took a final swig of his drink and placed the empty glass on a passing waiter's tray. He breathed in deeply and moved to do what he came for.

AN: Oof I had to cut this off. My last two days have been emotionally hectic that it was affecting this chapter.

There is still more to come on this fashion night. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! I'm excited about describing Ren and Kyoko's new work.

Thank you for always reading and the reviews of the last chapter. I appreciate all of you!

Until next time, ja ne! ^_^