Chapter 157: Missed Opportunity

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Skip Beat, for if I did, there will be others to spoil Kyoko.

Yashiro entered his hotel room after returning from using the hotel's state of the art gym facilities. After the episode of Ryu, he was tempted to burn hours chatting but opted to get some much-needed exercise instead. Kanae was right, American meals were too heavy and the portions were entirely too large for one person. He didn't want to return to her with extra flubber on him.

He glanced at his laptop sitting on the unmade bed beckoning him to come and relax. It reminded him that he needed to put the do not disturb sign on the door so housekeeping wouldn't come barging in on him. He put the sign on the door and ignored his computer. It would still be there when he was finished taking a long hot shower in his luxurious bathroom. Besides, he was still waiting for a response to the MV contract. Bringing his phone to the gym had been unnecessary; there was still no call. It was still too early in the day, but at least the sun had risen.

As soon as he stepped out of the shower, he tapped on his phone sitting on the counter to view any missed messages. There were none, not even from Kyoko or Ren since the congratulatory text he sent this morning. The time on his phone indicated that his long luxurious hot shower took no more than a measly ten minutes.

Yashiro sighed and decided that he had abstained long enough. He grabbed his laptop and a bottle of water then headed for the balcony. The palm trees and salty blue sea would be a nice view for conducting work, but first, he would check out what everyone had to say about Ren's performance after he left the chat party.

VoodooPrincess1224: Ren-sama was incredible. I am still a devoted fan even if Ryu is a big meanie!

RenFan1: Meanie? LOL, What are you, like five? This show is not suitable for children.

VoodooPrincess1224: *sticking out tongue*

LotusLover1: That was an emotional rollercoaster. Anyone else had invisible ninjas chopping onions in their room?

LotusLover2: I bawled like a baby from start to finish. Yes, I still cried during the shower scene. Happy tears of course.

RenFan2: bwahaha I'm glad I'm not the only one that was moved to tears watching that part. I'm so grateful for the fan service.

KyokoMyGoddess: Damn! No man stands a chance against him! The odds of having my Goddess fall for me is now less than zero. I'll admit, the man had me questioning my sexuality on more than one occasion. His acting was not bad either.

VoodooPrincess1224: *Pfft* Not bad?! Are you out of your mind?

RenKyoFan1: Seriously, KMG? I know your jealousy is clouding your judgment, but did you even watch the show? Ren-san's acting was brilliant.

LotusLover2: I thought his performance as Katsuki was amazing and then I watched Tragic Marker. His portrayal of BJ blew my mind and he did it without words. Then on top of it all, he was Cain freaking Heel, WTF? Can this man be any more incredible? Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Yashiro smiled to himself reading that one. If and when his fans ever learned of Ren's true identity he supposed the blood banks would run dry triaging all the nosebleeds. He couldn't wait for that bomb to be dropped.

KyokoMyGoddess: Fine, I get it. He's awesome. Deep breaths over there LL2, you too can survive the Tsuruga Effect.

LotusLover2: I don't want to! Let me just bask in his godliness.

He scanned through the older posts, stopping occasionally to fully read the good stuff. He was glad that Ryu served as the perfect distraction to stop them from criticizing Kyoko over the most ridiculous things. He hadn't come across any negative posts about the couple so far.

KyoFan1: OMG, you guys! I just found something awesome on Cedric Bennett's social media page! Click the link to see. I promise it's not a virus.

The post was about fifteen minutes old since he was catching up with past messages. Yashiro quickly clicked on the site, worried about what Cedric could have posted that had fans here excited. The link brought him directly to Cedric's social media page with everything in English. At least he could read English better than he spoke it.

I just wanted to take the time and give some props to two incredible people I met while in Japan. For all those that are still speculating that my co-star, Ms. Kyoko, and I make a good couple, please take a look at this video from last night's fashion show. #CongratsKyoko #CoupleGoals #ThisIsLove #LAFashionWeek #RMANDYtrends

The post had an insane amount of "likes" and "shares" for the short time it was up. Yashiro approved of this tactic though he couldn't say how the couple felt about the attention. It was a clever way of telling fans and the media that the Sacred Lotus co-stars were nothing more than friends. It also gave positive exposure to his charges which was always a plus in his book.

He slowly but giddily read the English comments posted by fans around the country and even the world. Many people were asking for the identity of the "hunky" male model. Scrolling through the comments, he came across responses to that question accompanied by pictures of Ren either topless or with his shirt half undone. It was only now, seeing the images collected en masse, that Yashiro realized people would probably think his male charge didn't own a single decent shirt.

The manager chuckled to himself. Cedric was in for a big surprise whenever he popped back in to check things out only to find his page flooded with images of a half-naked Ren.

He went back to reading the comments and decided to take a few screenshots to share with the couple later. There were several good ones that he couldn't stop gushing over. Suddenly it occurred to Yashiro to turn on the entertainment news channel to see if anyone was talking about them. It was such a big deal when they thought Cedric was dating Kyoko. Would they make a big deal out of this as well since it involved the American star again?

Yashiro came back into the room and started flipping through channels. He didn't find any discussion about this particular subject; however, he found something more shocking.

What am I seeing? He blinked several times, but the image showing three people he never expected to see together remained. Well, two he thought he would see some time in the near future, but the other person with them was baffling.

How did this happen?

Yashiro turned up the volume so he could hear the commentary from the host and hostess properly.

"I was wondering how long it would take before the police showed up at one of these events. This has to be a new record Sydney, a whole four days."

Sydney laughed at her colleague's comment. "You're not wrong. I mean, can it even be considered fashion week if the LAPD isn't called at least once, Frank?"

Frank chuckled along with his co-star. "Drunk and disorderly conduct...is this news? This often happens in Hollywood and normally doesn't make headlines. What's the big deal here?"

"We probably wouldn't have heard about it either if the megastar, Kuu Hizuri, wasn't involved. That's the big difference! Sources say Kuu and the other man on the right were assisting the young man who has been identified as the lead singer, Reino, of the Japanese visual kei band, Vie Ghoul. According to the report, Reino had collapsed twice during the after party and these two gentlemen went to his aid."

"Ah, if I recall Kuu is a Japanese-American. Is it possible that he was an acquaintance of the singer?"

"That's possible. Our investigative reporters have reached out to Kuu for a statement but have yet to receive a response."

"That's too bad. Do we know what happened to the vocalist afterward?"

"His agent released a statement and claimed that the singer suffers from bouts of anemia. They have been putting in long hours this week to release their new album and fatigue finally caught up to him after last night's performance. They say that with a little rest he should be back to work in no time."

"That's good news. I'm sure the fans would be happy to hear that he's doing well."

Yashiro muted the TV and grabbed his phone. What were the odds? It was shocking to see Reino in LA after the stunt he pulled in Karuizawa, but it was even more shocking to see the singer sandwiched between Kuu and Tadashi. That was clue enough for him to know that the vocalist had somehow involved himself with Kyoko. Why didn't anybody call me?

His call to Ren's phone went to voicemail after several rings. Yashiro frowned and decided to try Kyoko's line.

"Hello? Yukihito, can you hear me? That's strange it didn't even ring," the producer said confused on the other end.

"Hello! Phil, is that you? Yukihito here. I was trying to make an outgoing call and I think our wires crossed."

"That explains it. Is this a good time to talk about the revised contract you sent us? I have Debbie in my office here so you're on speaker."

"Yes, of course. Now is perfect," Yashiro responded. He pushed up his glasses and entered Super Manager mode.

"Will this do?" Kuon asked, handing Kyoko several sheets of the blank paper he removed from his dad's printer tray.

"That's perfect," Kyoko beamed. "Thanks, baby." She tiptoed and kissed him on the cheek before taking her seat on the floor at the coffee table where the tall vase of flowers and the gift that were delivered earlier sat.

Kuon shook his head and chuckled to himself in order not to sulk. It sucked that he missed the opportunity to be the first one to spoil her after such a monumental career accomplishment, but he loved seeing her overflow with happiness. She was so ecstatic by said gifts that he reaped the benefits of their receipt in the shower.

He sat down at the large mahogany desk and turned on the computer. The idea was for him to print out the contract and script Yashiro sent over last night to review it with Kyoko. This would allow them to prepare for the work ahead.

Kuon looked over the monitor to watch his girlfriend place her phone call.

"Good morning, sweetie," Tadashi's voice filled the quiet room when the video call connected. "Did you have a good night?"

"Good morning, or is it afternoon there? Am I interrupting?"

"It's afternoon here and I'm between meetings. Say hi to Mya!" Tadashi turned the phone to face his friend. Kuon could just make out Mya waving to the camera from his point of view.

"Hi, Kyoko-chan. I saw the video of your modeling and all the pictures from the fashion show. Your dad has been bragging non-stop to anyone since he's been back. You looked gorgeous, my dear. Anyway, I'll get out of here so you can talk to him. Tadashi you have fifteen minutes before the budget meeting."

"Thank you, Mya-san."

"You're welcome," she winked and left the room.

"I'm sorry I don't have much time right now. How are you and Kuon?" Tadashi told her regretfully.

"It's plenty," Kyoko replied. "We're both fine." She turned the camera unexpectedly toward Kuon. He felt like a dope greeting his future father-in-law with a wave. It was nice of him to say hi and wave back.

"He's working on printing the documents for our new job, but I just wanted to thank you for the flowers and the pen. They're both so beautiful."

"Yay! You received them. I'm so glad Kuu trusted me enough to share his home address."

"Oh, I didn't even think about that," Kyoko glanced over in his direction. He could see the tears brimming in her eyes. He hadn't thought about that little obstacle either and was pleased his father came through. He would have to thank him later.

Kuon turned his attention back to his email and left Kyoko to gush over her presents with her father. He had to hand it to Tadashi, the man already knew what tickled his daughter's fancy. The flowers even came dotted with crystal butterflies and honey bees tucked inside that Kyoko squealed over more than the jewelry.

"The pearls are certified and could be draped as a multi-layered necklace," he heard Tadashi explaining and snickered to himself. It was thanks to his hard work that she was able to accept the gift without demanding its return because of the cost.

Kuon returned his attention back to his email. The first one he opened was from the director of Ryu. He congratulated him on the success of the first episode, taking the top rating for the week. Attached was an updated script for the next episode to be filmed upon his return. The director was worried that his schedule slip could delay the editing process if there were too many retakes. Kuon flagged that one for follow up to study later. He would make sure there were no issues during filming because of him. Next, he responded to a group email with the Ryu cast members congratulating everyone on a job well done then deleted himself from the thread without reading the other responses.

As soon as all the Ryu business was handled, Kuon eagerly clicked on the email from Kei.

Let me know what you think of this verse. I'm willing to change whatever you want.

Kuon saved the verse so he could view it on his phone. Butterflies fluttered in his stomach as he read the words in his head. He would mull it over and give Kei some constructive feedback later, if necessary. Right now, it sounded perfect.

Another email caught his eye that he was eager to open. He glanced up sneakily over the top of his monitor and peered at his girlfriend. She seemd to be fully engaged in her conversation with Tadashi.

"Do you see how pretty the ink catches the light as it runs down the glass tip?" He spied her holding the phone at an angle so she could demonstrate how it worked.

This was Kuon's chance. He opened the email and let his eyes zip over the contents.

Hafa Adai, Mr. Hizuri,

Thank you for choosing the Watanabe family to aid you in the pursuit of your dream en…

"I love you, honey. Give my love and congratulations to Kuon. I'll talk to you soon," Tadashi interrupted his reading as he said goodbye to Kyoko.

Already? Has it been fifteen minutes?

Kuon never clicked the "x" in the top right corner of the window so fast as he did at that moment. He would have to find time to read it in secret which probably meant while she was sleeping. He resumed the task of printing the MV information. While the printer went to work, Kuon brainstormed gifts for Kyoko.

The sound of a piercing scream echoed throughout the room. Kuon bolted to his feet and rushed to Kyoko. It was quiet for several moments until the same scream rang out around them again. Kuon frowned. No two screams should ever sound alike in his opinion. It took him a moment to realize that it was coming from the obnoxious doorbell his father installed for Halloween. He let Kyoko go and came around to the computer to pull up the footage at the front door. Sure enough, a guard was standing there with another bundle of flowers. He exchanged glances with Kyoko.

"Still not from you?" She smiled weakly. Kuon sighed and shook his head.

"Let's go see who these are from," she said cheerily tugging him out the door.

"Is this a joke?" Kuon asked suspiciously when the same guard from the poolside incident handed her the bouquet of roses.

"We assure you sir the sender has been vetted and cleared with Mr. Hizuri. He claimed that it was a close friend of Ms. Kyoko."

Kuu's statement made her curious. There weren't many people that knew the Hizuris address. Kyoko took a closer look at the flowers and smiled at the bouquet of two dozen black roses. She knew exactly who had sent them without consulting the card.

"Thank you," she told the guard shyly, embarrassed that they had to cross paths so soon. The guard smiled with relief and retreated to join his partner back at the gate.

Kyoko rubbed a rose petal between her fingers to test the color as she walked into the kitchen with Kuon trailing after her. When they came away clean, she inhaled the sweet scent of one of the buds happily.

How was this color achieved without compromising the natural characteristics of the flower?

"Are you going to check the card?" Kuon asked, curiously.

"I'm guessing they're from Maria. This fits her aesthetics and since President Takarada is her grandfather...I'm assuming he would know where to send them."

"Let's see," Kuon said as he plucked the card from the flowers. He sighed with relief when he read the card.

"Well, you're partly right," he smiled, turning the card to face her.

Kyoko's smile brightened as her eyes scanned the card's message.

Onee-sama, congratulations! You were beautiful. Give Ren-sama all my love. Maria misses you both.

Mo, congrats on a job well done. This can only improve your career! Forget all the haters!

You literally and figuratively rocked that runway, a true immortal butterfly. Hurry up and come home. I want all the juicy details.

Kyoko was overwhelmed with emotion. Her friends had unexpectedly pooled together and sent her this wonderful surprise. They probably left Maria in charge of procuring the actual flowers because she doubted her other friends would have agreed to something so morbid. She loved them nonetheless.

"Let me take your picture holding them. You could send it to the girls," Kuon gestured with his phone.

Kyoko beamed and nodded, assuming a pose that showcased the beautiful flowers.

"Okay, ready. On three. One, two, three, say cheeseburger," Kuon exclaimed.

He made Kyoko giggle just as he snapped the picture. Kuon looked at the photo on his phone and laughed.

"Not fair! Delete that one," she pouted, jutting out her bottom lip cutely. "Take another one."

"I'll take one more, but I refuse to delete this work of art," Kuon teased. "I might have a knack for this photography thing."

"Fine, but it's for your eyes only."

"Deal," Kuon agreed and sealed it with a kiss.

After taking the photo, Kuon led her to the large storage room down the hall from the garage.

"Wow, it's like I'm in a store," Kyoko shouted as she stood gaping at the shelves full of miscellaneous household items, decor, and boxes.

"I suppose it is...my mother has a propensity to not only buy things but also save them. You could say she's an organized hoarder. The vases should be down this way. Thanks to my dad, my mom has plenty for you to choose from."

Back in the kitchen, Kyoko arranged her bouquet in the tall glass cylindrical vase while Kuon prepared drinks and snacks for their study session.

"Those roses are so Maria now that I think about them," Kuon mentioned.

"You looked relieved when you read the card. Who did you think they were from?"

Kuon stopped arranging the leftover fruit from breakfast on the serving tray and set his jaw stubbornly.

"Is it easier if I guess who you thought they would be from?"

"Fine, I thought it was from the Beagle or…"

"Or," she prodded.

"Or Fuwa," he admitted with what looked like shame shining through his eyes.

"I see," she responded.

"I know it's impossible and I'm ridiculous for even bringing them up, but after seeing Beagle last night...well, you know," he shrugged.

"I do," she smiled and took the tray down to Kuu's study before he could protest.

While Kuon made sure he had everything they needed to get started, Kyoko sent an email thanking her friends for the flowers. Just thinking about them made her feel slightly homesick. After sending her message, Kyoko glanced at Kuon.

"Everything, okay?" Kyoko asked, noticing his frown.

"Yes, I'm just printing out another copy for us."

"Good thinking."

Kyoko decided to browse her email while she waited. There was an influx of mail that came in overnight from several of her current and past co-workers.

The first one she clicked was from Kijima with the subject titled, Congrats.

"Ooh," Kyoko awed making Kuon raise his eyebrows.

"Kijima-san sent me this." She faced the screen toward him. Like the fish emoticon, the actor had sent her a sparkling bouquet of red roses.

"Damn," she heard Kuon hiss, but let him be. A small smile played on her lips. He was probably annoyed that Kijima had sent her flowers regardless that it was only a picture.

The Ishibashi brothers and other colleagues' also sent emails containing similar content of congratulations. More often than not, a cute emoji was attached to the message she opened. Kyoko was overjoyed and embarrassed by all the attention. It meant somewhere in Japan, her runway story was already circulating.

She put away her phone when, Kuon sat down next to her. He was all business wielding a handful of documents and pens.

"First thing's first, we have to go over the contract. I don't want you to get roped into something you don't want."

"Just me, what about you?"

He flashed her his heavenly smile that always made her weak in the knees.

"I'm satisfied with whatever you decide."

Kyoko grumbled but smiled, "you should take some responsibility too."

She followed his example and began to read the contract in earnest. Kuon explained that it already contained changes from both Yashiro and her father. The pair before them was so thorough that Kyoko found nothing that needed changing. Her father had added a generic clause that left it exclusively up to Kyoko to decide her level of comfortability.

"What does that mean?" She asked Kuon just in case she was misinterpreting the statement.

"In a nutshell, you could be a complete diva and refuse to work simply because you find the air offensive."

Kyoko gasped. "You can't be serious?"

Kuon laughed. "You're big-time now, baby. You do what you want."

She gave him a funny look which made him laugh harder. There was no way she was anywhere near "big-time" nor would she ever become an actor that behaved in such a manner.

They spent the next half hour going over the script. It wasn't a long one but it provided a detailed enough synopsis of each scene for the actors to visualize what was expected of them.

Kyoko glanced over at Kuon from the corner of her eye as he flipped through the script, barely pausing on a page to read it.

He's such a pro! Will I ever be able to reach his level?

She concentrated on her page hoping to absorb everything she could about her character on paper and figure out how to act her out.

"I knew it," Kuon said with a soft chuckle and shook his head. "Turn to page 18."

Kyoko did as he instructed and found the page. Majority of the text was lined out and a comment from their super manager was added to the top. The following scene cannot be executed as written; it violates Chapter 117, US….

"I'm sorry," Kyoko said, apologizing after reading Yashiro's justification for replacing the scene. They probably wouldn't want to cast her now because of this exclusion. Her face burned fire engine red thinking about the deleted scene. It would be difficult for her to think that it was only acting when placed in such an intimate setting with him.

"This isn't your fault," he smiled, gathering her in his arms so she could sit on his lap.

"It is. It's because I'm underage. I don't want you to lose this job because of me."

She felt the deep rumble of Kuon's laugh course through her body.

"I wouldn't have been considered for the job in the first place if it wasn't for you. Yukihito said he's working on it."

"If I have to be replaced, promise me you'll continue without me." She didn't want to be the reason he lost this offer.

"I refuse," he replied with a playful smile on his lips.

Kyoko huffed and scrambled out of his lap.

"Kuon Hizuri! This isn't a laughing matter. This is your career!" She wagged her finger at her stubborn boyfriend. "You can't refuse! This is an amazing opportunity for..."

"For both of us," he said, cutting her off. "There's no reason for me to make such a promise because we're in this together. I have a plan...do you want to hear it?"

Kyoko nodded meekly, unable to deny hearing him out. She felt herself swaying as he explained his idea to her. It was doable. It would be easy to trick their audience because they were already so in love with each other. No one would doubt their chemistry even if they held back. When they had worked out all the kinks using words, it was time for physical execution.

Kuon's lips sought hers as he pushed her up against the door of his father's office. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Kyoko thought that this was an entirely inappropriate place for them to be rehearsing such a scene. His heated lips on her neck and his hands kneading her behind left her little room to think rationally. Kyoko moaned and ground herself against the thick muscular thigh that conveniently nudged itself between her legs.

The bloodcurdling scream echoing through the house had Kuon swearing and separating himself from her immediately. The lust coursing through her body cooled rapidly as she followed Kuon to the computer.

Who could it be this time?

She watched over Kuon's shoulder and found the guard, once again, at the door bearing more gifts.

"Let's go see who these are from now," Kuon glowered making Kyoko giggle. Kyoko helped him gather up the documents to bring upstairs. She was relieved they weren't going to be using Kuu's space anymore. The guilt would have overwhelmed her if they went beyond kissing in that room.

She felt so terrible for this guard, when Kuon slammed the door in his face after retrieving the deliveries. Kyoko didn't even have time to thank him.

It was only when Kuon returned from the storage with the vase Kyoko described, that she slid the box across the counter. He looked at it confused until he recognized his name on the card.

Kyoko smiled at her boyfriend over the bouquet that she managed to arrange in the vase while he sat stunned, staring at the open box.

"What does it say?" Kyoko finally asked, eyeing the little contraption resting in the box.

Those dazzling gem stone eyes flashed up to meet hers briefly before glancing down again. He cleared his throat and licked his lips.

"Kuon- For those small moments when we aren't around to lend a helping hand. We are so proud of you son. Love you always, Mom and Dad," he finished with a shaky voice.

"That's beautiful, but what is it exactly?"

Kuon went on to explain the usefulness of the tools found in the Swiss Army knife his parents had gifted to him. She was intrigued by the way the handy little tools slid in and out of place in such a tiny case. It was the most convenient thing she had ever seen.

I want one!

They spent the remainder of their time on the main floor studying the rest of the script. There were still some critical errors in Kuon's plan; such as how to keep their hands from roaming beyond the PG rating. It would take a lot of work to break that habit, but she was willing to put in the effort if it would help her keep the part. Kuon claimed that an audience would quite easily put a damper on the mood.

AN: Excuse the delay, I hope everyone had a wonderful Turkey day despite all the issues surrounding it. I didn't get as far in the day as I had liked. Thanks for all the guesses on the flowers, I simply had to keep them coming. I hope you enjoyed it!

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

PS Shamelessself-promotion if you haven't read already: Please check out Collaborative Beats' latest story, Once Upon a Convention, some of your favorite fanfic authors once again banded together to give you more Ren/KuonKyo cuteness. I contributed chpt. 4 ;).

Until next time, ja ne! ^_^