Chapter 154: Paranoia and Popcorn

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Skip Beat, for if I did, the Hizuri parents will always be extra.

Three hours, twenty-two minutes, and 38 seconds was how long Reino spent in the custody of the LAPD before Miroku showed up. When the police officer entered the holding area to retrieve him, it was eerily quiet. He found Reino sitting comfortably on the bench, alone, while the other unruly men in the cell huddled nervously on the floor, opposite from him.

The officer stared at Reino with a mixture of awe and curiosity. The question, how did he manage that? was written all over the officer's face.

Reino thought he was a goner the moment he nabbed the attention of the bulkiest guy in the bunch. It didn't take much for him to terrify those men into submission by utilizing his gift and harnessing the residual spiritual energy in the cell. A drop in temperature or a soft breeze from an unknown source was enough to raise the little hairs on the back of their necks and spook them. It helped that they were a superstitious lot which was rare in western society. He was relieved that it worked, and he could recuperate in peace.

He found Miroku waiting for him in the lobby, pacing back and forth in the small space. He stopped once he noticed him. The processing officer had Reino sign some release forms then returned his personal effects. He was released with a stern warning to stay out of trouble.

"Reino! Are you okay? They didn't try to make you their bitch in there, did they?"

Almost.

Reino tucked his stuff in his pockets along with his hands and strolled out of the precinct without a word.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to get here. I was previously engaged and didn't hear my phone. How did you end up in there anyway?"

"I was attacked by a white tiger."

"Another ferocious beast? How did you get away?" Miroku asked as he guided Reino across the street to where the car waited to return them to their beachside condo.

"The police saved me this time."

"Wait, then how did you end up in jail? Don't tell me you were stuck in the cage with the tiger?"

"No, but I'm sure I'll cross paths with him again."

"How can you be so sure?" Miroku asked once they were in the car.

"A hunch," Reino replied cryptically. He never did explain what he did in Karuizawa to his bandmates. If Kyoko told her father the truth, he could kiss his pain-free life goodbye. There was no telling what that ruthless man had in store for him.

"Did you manage to make Fake Angel yours this time around?"

"I'm giving up on her." He couldn't contend with a tiger and the pride of lions that were protecting her. It was for the best that he cut his losses. His happy vision of playing the good guy for once and having her deep hatred for him after ruining her relationship turn to love was nothing more than an illusion.

"That's a shame. She was the first warm-blooded woman you ever showed interest in."

"Miroku, after this album is finished. I'm going on a retreat." He needed to lay low in case he was hunted. The idea of jumping at shadows didn't sit well with him. Paranoia does not look good on me.

"Will you be coming back?"

"Who knows?" His return was dependent upon what that man had in store for him.

Honoka yawned in her seat across from Cedric as the waitress refilled their mugs of coffee.

"Thank you," he said, flashing their waitress what he hoped was a grateful smile and not an invitation. He already took a picture with her and gave her an autograph.

He glanced at his phone to check the time.

"I didn't realize it was so late." Time always flew when he was in her company. It was relaxing to talk to her about work, food, and what they loved about their home cities. As a model, she had visited many places he had not and several that he had, giving them plenty to talk about. He could hear it in her voice that she loved to travel and her work.

"Or early," Honoka replied with a tired smile. That was an optimistic way of looking at things.

Cedric chuckled. "I should let you get to bed. I'm sorry for taking up so much of your time. I seem to be doing that a lot."

Honoka shook her head. "I enjoy talking to you."

He blushed as his blue eyes met with her hazel. "I'm glad. I thought you would be upset with me because of yesterday?"

She tilted her head cutely in confusion.

"The other models?" He clarified. She didn't know the nature of his relationship with those women, but it was easy to guess by their interaction.

Honoka laughed. "That's your business. Who am I to judge?"

His lips quirked into a nervous smile. You shouldn't have brought them up, you dumbass! Now it's awkward.

"I'm glad you cheered up," she commented, changing the subject quickly as she took a sip of her coffee. "You actors could be so hard to read sometimes."

"Sorry."

"No need. It's still great news to have your father believe in you, though the role sounds very complicated. Are you nervous about auditioning?"

Cedric could only nod. The euphoria he had felt leaving his parents' house with the script had withered after reading the synopsis and the character profile. His father had to be testing him with this psychological thriller or he was just being a dick as usual. It was no wonder he recommended him to audition for this role, he was probably expecting Cedric to tap into more of his personal experience to pull it off.

Denial, check. Guilt, check. Paranoia, check. I have all the ingredients to whip up a batch of perfect psychotic breakdowns.

"It's late. We should call it a night," he said abruptly before he became too lost in thought over the role. He stood up and dropped a high dollar bill on the table. It was more than enough to cover their order and a generous tip. He picked up Honoka's crutches and held out his hand to help her out of the chair. It was only when she was upright that he handed them over.

"Is it still painful," he asked, watching her hobble beside him as they walked.

"No, the painkillers are working."

Cedric nodded thoughtfully and kept his pace slow to not overtax her.

"Will you be okay with work?"

"Yes, the runway portion is over so I can keep off of it. I do have a photoshoot in the afternoon, but that shouldn't be too strenuous.

"Thanks for walking me to my room," Honoka said, smiling shyly as they stopped in front of the door. She fished out her card key out of her pocket and unlocked the door. Cedric held it open so she could hobble through.

"Good night, Ric," she whispered and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. "Look me up if you're ever in Tokyo again.

"Good night, Honoka," he managed to reply just as the door slammed shut in his face. He had released it absentmindedly, stunned by her little peck.

"I will!" He exclaimed to the closed door. "Have a safe flight!"

She opened the door slightly. "Shhh! You'll wake everyone," she hissed through the two-inch gap.

"Sorry," he whispered. "Good night and safe travels."

"Thank you." She said good night again and closed the door, securing the deadbolt.

Cedric smiled thoughtfully as he made his way back to the lobby to catch a taxi. While he waited, he glanced around his outdoor surroundings. Overall, the place was deserted at this hour except for a man standing in the shadows across the street smoking. The headlights of his taxi arriving flashed on the man giving Cedric a better view.

Is he staring at me? Of course, he is! You're a freaking celebrity. When is no one ever staring at you?

Cedric shook the weird feeling off and focused on the approaching car. He stepped forward and opened the door, before stepping in, he took one final glance in the direction of the man. He was gone. Searching up and down the street yielded no one. He shook his head in disdain and got inside the car.

See, perfect. I'm being paranoid again.

The blaring of his phone ringing startled Yashiro out of his uncomfortable slumber. He had fallen asleep on his comfortable bed amidst a laptop and papers. He rubbed his face roughly with a latex covered hand sending the glasses he still wore flying across the room.

"Shoot!"

Meanwhile, his phone was still ringing, demanding his attention. The clock on the end table told him it was still early. The alarm he set wasn't slated to go off for another twenty minutes. He pushed aside the papers trying to locate his phone. He found the device wedged beneath a pillow.

He panicked when he saw the caller ID. He was a hot mess and she was requesting a video chat. Yashiro quickly ran his gloved fingers through his hair and he rubbed his face on the sleeve of his pajama shirt to ensure there was no sleep residue on it.

He had been up most of the night reading and redlining the contract and script sent over to him for the MV. There was no way Kuon or Tadashi would go for some of the scenes expected of the couple. One scene was borderline softcore porn in Yashiro's opinion. He was afraid that if Phil and Debbie didn't accept his changes, he would have to make his charges bow out of this one. He had read it several times over, making sure he removed anything that would make Kyoko uncomfortable and keep Tadashi from signing the release form as her guardian. Yashiro sent off the corrected package to the American producer and director, Tadashi, and Kyoko and Kuon as soon as he was satisfied that he triple checked the changes. He was playing the waiting game now.

He realized he had spoken out of turn regarding their schedule this weekend. At night, they had Tina's exhibit and the Hizuri's gala. The schedule change was another factor that may be a dealbreaker. He knew their capabilities better than anyone and did not doubt that they could wrap this up in one day.

Yashiro breathed into his hand to check his breath and berated himself for being ridiculous. It wasn't like she could smell the rank coffee through the phone. He swiped his phone to accept the call.

"Hel," he cleared his throat. "Hello," he tried again.

"Mo, what are you doing? Why am I staring at the ceiling."

"Yeah, about that," he laughed. "I just woke up."

"Don't be stupid. Hurry up and let me see your face."

"You've been warned," he replied, holding the phone in front of him.

"Oh," Kanae replied, flushing red on the screen. She turned away quickly, but Yashiro already spotted the blush on her cheeks.

"That bad, huh. You can't even look at me." He pouted.

"Mo, stop it!"

"Stop what?"

"Teasing me! Where are your glasses? Put them back on."

"They flew somewhere." He rolled off the bed, bringing the phone with him to hunt down his glasses.

"Switch the video around so I can help you look. Your poor eyesight will prevent you from finding them."

"Good idea." He moved to the general area of the room where he thought he heard them fall and crouched low holding his phone out.

"I think I see them!" She exclaimed. "To the right beside the desk." Yashiro followed her directions until he found his glasses on the floor. A quick inspection showed him nothing was broken, so he put them on.

"Much better," he said, smiling at her. "I can see your pretty face again." His compliment sent another blush blooming across his girlfriend's cheeks. "How is your day going, beautiful?"

"Wow, who would have thought Yashiro-san could be such a ladies man," he heard a familiar female voice interrupt.

"Mo, what are you two doing sneaking in here," Kanae said, turning abruptly from her phone to confront the intruder or intruders.

"Who's sneaking? We just entered at the right moment."

Kanae groaned in irritation. The sound of giggling from another source could be heard in the background. Chiori popped into the camera's view behind Kanae and waved. Maria snuck in beside her and greeted him too with fresh giggles.

"Nice hair!" Chiori commented.

Yashiro self-consciously pushed down on his bed head. He could tell by his small camera view of him that it wasn't working.

"Hello, Amamiya-san, Maria-chan. I hope you both are well. Please take great care of my girl until I return. She won't admit it but she gets lonely."

"Mo, that's partially why I'm calling. You'll be extending your trip?"

"Yes, sorry to drop the news on you by email. Ren and Kyoko-chan have an opportunity to star in a music video here. Filming will take place over the weekend."

Maria squealed and clapped her hands excitedly. "Onee-sama and Ren-sama are going to be incredible. I can't wait to see it."

Yashiro chuckled at the little girl's enthusiasm. Maria's devotion to the couple probably rivaled his.

"I'll be sure to give Maria-chan some behind the scenes footage."

"Yay! Thank you, Yashiro-san."

"Mo, okay. We're getting off-topic. The main reason we're calling is to ask you what's going on over there? Kyoko's main fansite has been hacked or something. Some hate comments are filtering in again. Is it because of that bogus article that came out?"

"What do you mean?" Yashiro asked confused. He had spent all his time working on the new offer that he didn't have time to indulge in his favorite past time.

"Log in and see for yourself. Maria-chan contacted me about it and I told Chiori. I sent a mail to Kyoko but she's sleeping. I thought you would be awake to host Tsuruga-san's watch party so I called."

Yashiro propped the phone up with a pillow and grabbed his laptop pulling up the site. A quick read showed bickering between loyal fans of the couple and the die-hard Ren fans from the old site.

"You might want to scroll up to see what sparked it."

Yashiro scrolled up for what seemed like an eternity through the endless list of messages until he found what he was looking for.

LotusLover1: Ever since I've learned that Hizuri Kuu-sama was the original Katsuki, I've been following his American fansite. LOOK WHAT I FOUND!

The image provided by this person portrayed Kuu embracing Kyoko with a loving expression. To anyone that wasn't aware of their father-daughter relationship, it could be easily misconstrued.

LotusLover1: This reaffirms my belief that she is using men to gain fame. She already had Ren-sama here now she's going after the big fish while in the States.

LotusLover2: *WOW* I can't believe her! She really is a piece of work! She's so awful. Ren-sama can do so much better.

KyokoMyGoddess: You jealous bitches need to take a hike and leave my Goddess alone. Your Ren-sama is lucky, LUCKY! to have her. He wouldn't even look once at any of you ugly old hags.

Back and forth quarreling ensued as each side defended their favorite celebrity. Yashiro grimaced at the accusations being thrown around about Kyoko which resulted in her fans badmouthing Ren. It was not looking good until he came across a post that seemed to mute the initial instigators.

RogueSpectre01: LotusLover1 how do you explain this? I went to Hizuri's fansite that you mentioned. Did you conveniently fail to notice that his gorgeous wife of twenty years was right there with them?

This new person posted a similar picture portraying Kyoko wrapped up in a loving embrace with Julie. They didn't stop there and proceeded to add two more pictures showing her posing with the two American stars with a caption that read: Supporting our lovely young Japanese friend, who is like a daughter to us, tonight in her accomplishment as she conquers the catwalk wearing stunning R'Mandy.

Even after that, some fans continued to engage in criticizing Kyoko listing what they thought were her shortcomings. The latest one asking how she could be a runaway model with her height.

RenKyo#1fangirl: That's easy, learn to walk in skyscraper heels as she can, and you too could defy genetics.

The fans went on the defensive claiming they were all experts in the high heel wearing department. He was sure their boasts were nothing over 15 centimeters.

Kanae groaned on the phone beside him. "Mo, stop playing around. Why do you think these posts are showing up all of a sudden?"

"I'm not sure but I'll find out later. I'm going to start the watch party even if it won't start for another five minutes. That should give fans something more positive to talk about and change the atmosphere. Are you going to watch?"

"I am," Maria chimed, enthusiastically raising her hand.

"Little kids like you should study and go to bed," Chiori teased.

"Hmph," she sulked folding her arms. Maria hated it when adults treated her like a child. A soft knock on the door revealed that Ruto had come to collect the little girl right on cue.

"Good night, Yashiro-san. Please give all my love to Onee-sama and Ren-sama."

"I will. Good night, Maria-chan."

"So are you ladies joining me this morning, this evening, or is it night. It's too much to keep straight without coffee."

"Pass!" Chiori responded lethargically.

"No, thanks," Kanae added with a dismissive wave.

Yashiro gave her his best pout. "Fine, I'll watch it when I have more time."

"Eww, I'm out of here. You two are too lovey-dovey. Would you like a ride home Kanae-san?"

"You don't mind?"

"It's on the way now that you moved."

"Thanks!... Yuki, I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, I lov-"

He sighed heavily. Kanae had hung up on him before he could finish his sentence. Rather than let it go, he decided to text it to her anyway. Her reply was instantaneous, I love you too. Have fun at your party.

He grinned and hopped off the bed. Yashiro still had time to wash his face and order some much-needed coffee and sustenance. He found the station's website that would be streaming the pilot episode of Ryu and linked it to the chat party. Many users began filtering in as soon as he went live.

"Is everything all set?" Julie asked anxiously as she straightened the candy boxes resting on the glass counter.

They had spent their free time yesterday, before the runway show, setting up the media room into a movie theater. They already had comfy seating and a jumbo screen. All they needed was the miscellaneous goods that made a theater, a theater. They had purchased a popcorn, soda, and slushy machine just for this and future occasions. Julie and Kuu were already looking to the future where they could share the space with their grandchildren. The candy bar was Julie's idea. She remembered in the past how she used to take Kuon to matinee shows and allowed him to pick out a box of candy for them to share as a treat. She didn't know the kids' favorite candy yet, so she stocked it with popular American and Japanese sweets.

"Just about," Kuu replied, pouring popcorn kernels into the machine to get it going. Julie even found red and white striped cardboard boxes with the word POPCORN in red font to hold the snack while they watched.

"Should I go check on the kids? I don't want them to miss it," Julie suggested, making sure she had enough cream and sugar for the coffee.

"That would be a horrific idea! You have no clue what state they are in at this hour. Give them time. I'm sure they'll show up eventually."

"Fine." There were some things a parent just should remain ignorant about when it came to their grown children. Instead, Julie busied herself with restocking the minifridge with bottles of water while Kuu went to set up his laptop so it could cast to the television.

…

Kyoko leaned over and turned off the alarm she had set to wake them up to watch Ryu. The plan was to meet his parents in the media room for them to watch it as a family. She rolled back over to gaze upon the beautiful man snoring softly beside her. He had not said anything about it recently, but judging by his reaction to them at the runway show, he had to be nervous with them watching his show.

She pushed back the strands of hair that always drooped to the middle of his face for a better view. She tucked her hand back under her cheek and watched his peaceful face. His lips curled into a smile but his eyes didn't open.

"How long are you going to stare at me, baby?"

"Until eternity. Does that bother you?"

He shook his head but kept his eyes closed. "Eternity sounds pretty damn good to me," he replied, broadening his smile.

Finally, Kuon's lids fluttered open revealing those intense green eyes that always made her heart skip a beat. "Please don't ever stop looking at me."

"I won't," she said, sealing her promise with a sweet kiss. Her hand had moved to thread her fingers into his hair and encountered something crunchy. She sat up leaning over him to inspect his hair. Kuon groaned and ran his hands across her naked backside.

"Stop it," she scolded and pulled out whatever was in his hair. She brought it closer to her face and rubbed it between her fingers.

"What is it? A bug?" He asked opening his hand for her to place whatever she had in it.

"I don't think so," she told him as she put the dried pieces on his hand. They needed better lighting since the soft glow of the lights in the canopy weren't cutting it right now. She leaned over and turned on the lamp.

"Can you see?"

"It looks like a leaf," Kuon said looking up at her then toward the glass wall that led to the balcony. More pieces of leaves shook out of his hair as he ran his fingers through it.

"I guess, I'll have to wash our sheets again," Kuon chuckled and rolled off the bed.

Kyoko gasped and covered her mouth as peals of laughter threatened to escape from her. She could not hold it in much longer and burst into a fit of giggles.

"What?" he asked, turning in her direction.

"Look at your back," she wheezed out as she tried to breathe between her laughter. Kuon walked over to the full-length mirror making crunching sounds with each step. He stopped and looked at the sole of his foot. There were a couple of leaves stuck there too. There was a trail of them that led from the balcony to the bed. He dusted his feet quickly and moved to the mirror. More leaves clung to his back, glutes, and thighs. He looked like a poster boy for the nature channel in all his naked glory covered in fall leaves. He turned to Kyoko with an incredulous expression.

"Didn't you feel that on you last night?" Kyoko laughed.

"I was too busy feeling other things, you little nymph," Kuon lunged for her, tickling her ribs. Kyoko squealed and curled into a ball trying to protect herself from his barrage. He only stopped when Kyoko begged for mercy.

"Come on, let's go take a quick shower before the parents come knocking," he said, scooping up her tiny frame easily into his strong arms.

"Do you smell that?" Kyoko asked as he carried her past the exterior door and into the bathroom.

"Yeah, it smells like…"

"Popcorn," they finished in unison.

AN: Hiya! Thank you for sticking with me. There wasn't much of RenKyo in this chapter but I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be picking up on the Ryu premiere next time.

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

Until next time, ja ne! ^_^