Sho Fuwa's second episode of Yappa Kimagure Rock went off without a hitch. The chicken behaved itself and didn't go off-script this time. There were no untoward questions, or awkward situations. The only thing that some fans picked up on was his solemn demeanor, as though his mind were elsewhere for the entirety of the broadcast.

The look on his face had gnawed at Kyoko's insides since the show. She was terrified that he would raise the issue with the press. But she had to put all of that to the back of her mind for the moment.

"Kyoko-chan. You're up."

Kyoko approached the front of the room. She was at an audition for a more serious movie role. She had been to several auditions over the past few weeks, and none of them had panned out yet. She was starting to worry. If she wasn't on more equal footing with Ren Tsuruga by the time their babies were born, it wasn't going to look good. The due date was closing in on them. With only 11 more weeks between them and parenthood, Kyoko had begun to sweat. She had to make one of these auditions stick.

She bowed to the producer and director, who were sat at a small table. The producer appraised her over the top of his glasses. "Please begin."

She was auditioning for the sidekick of an action hero, named Harumi. They had given her a sheet of dialogue to memorize, and had shown the actresses in the room some choreography that they had to recreate. The male lead had already been chosen, and so they had to establish which one of these actresses had the chemistry with him that they were looking for. The male lead, an actor by the name of Hideo Tanaka, started the scene.

"Harumi, stop goofing off. We have work to do," he sighed at her.

'Harumi' giggled and turned herself over into an easy hand-stand. "What, you mean like this?" she grunted with exertion. Hideo's character, Kojiro, narrowed his eyes on her.

"If you don't stop, you're going to–!"

She toppled over, landing neatly on her butt. "Ow."

He acted as though he were picking things up off of the floor after she had upended an imaginary table. "Look what you've done! This is why I said you need to stop screwing around!"

She poked him in the forehead and he stared at her. That hadn't been in the script…

"And you," she said, "Need to lighten up." She stuck her tongue out at him.

Their scene ended, and the Director looked over Kyoko's paperwork. "Says here you're with LME?"

She nodded. "Yes sir."

"And you trained with Kotetsu Uesugi?"

"Yes, I have."

He did his best to hide his excitement. They had sat through no less than 20 of these auditions that day, and hadn't been very impressed with any of them… until hers. Her improvised forehead poke had done something to him, and he could tell that it had intrigued Hideo as well. They still had several more auditions to get through, though, before they could make a decision. He tapped the papers in his hands against the tabletop to make them neat again."Thank you, Kyoko-chan. That will be all."

She bowed to them, and bowed to Hideo Tanaka, and then made her exit through a set of heavy metal double doors to the side. Yashiro was waiting for her in the hallway. He got up from his place on a bench. "How did it go?"

Kyoko sighed. "He didn't ask me too many questions. I don't know if that's good or bad."

Yashiro gloved up and pulled his phone out. He flicked through his calendar. "You've got another audition tomorrow if that one doesn't take, and a commercial the day after. And tod– what!? Kyoko-chan, give that back!"

She had neatly plucked it from his hand and stuffed it in her pocket. She shook her head at him. "I'll give it back after and I need to talk, Yashiro-san."

He looked wild-eyed, as though he might come apart at the seams. "I–why!? What is there to talk about!?"

Kyoko settled a hand on his shoulder. "You look like you haven't slept, you smell like beer, and you buttoned your shirt wrong."

Yashiro blinked and looked down at his shirt, bleary-eyed. He had, in fact, buttoned it higgledy-piggledy. He sighed. "Kyoko-chan, I appreciate your concern, but–"

"No buts. Lunch, now."

He drove them to a nearby diner, and a waitress sat them in a booth. It was much less complicated to have a meal without Kuon present. They ordered their food, and then Kyoko looked at him across the table. "You need to let me step in and handle some of the burden."

He shook his head. "I am Ren's manager. I am supposed to be able to handle everything for him. I'm the best in the business! If I ask you for help, then I have failed at my one job."

Kyoko frowned. "Yashiro-san, you are more than just his manager. You're our friend, and we're scared that we've pushed you too far." They had noticed Yashiro's descent into madness over the last few weeks, and Kyoko had finally decided that he needed help.

Yashiro took his glasses off and dabbed at his eyes with his handkerchief. "I'm sorry I've been such a mess lately, Kyoko-chan. I haven't been able to find a nanny that fits our needs. I've got several special orders going, a three-seater stroller that has had to be re-designed THREE TIMES now, several photographers to interview for Ren's paternity shoot, a dozen magazines that want to use the pictures, half a dozen talk shows that want to get an interview with him, and several directors angry that Ren is pregnant and has had to drop out of their projects. Add that to your schedule, the search for a proper minivan that won't ruin Ren's image, which is impossible because any man driving a minivan makes women bone dry, no offense, and trying to manage Ren's weird cravings for everything from chocolate cake topped with anchovies to caviar-filled doughnuts, and I am just… I…" he dissolved into a tearful fit.

Kyoko got up from her side of the table and slid into the booth next to him. She hugged him around his shoulders. "Yashiro-san, it's okay! I'm sorry you've had so much on your plate. You're a manager, not a miracle worker!"

He mopped up his tears and sniffled. "I know, but up until this point, I have been a miracle worker. And I pride myself on that, Kyoko-chan. Whatever Ren needed, I was able to provide, and now…"

"Now you're doing your best. We all are." She pulled his phone out of her pocket and poked around in his calendar. "I'm going to take everything for me out of here and ask the president to get me my own manager. I'm also going to get you a personal assistant." She patted his shoulder. "You're doing the work of at least five people, Yashiro-san. There's no shame in asking for help."

He sighed and nodded. "You're right. I can't keep going on like this. One more midnight run for pickled pigs feet, and I'll put myself in an early grave."

Kyoko nodded. She didn't say it, but that had been exactly what she and Kuon had been afraid of. She handed his phone back to him. "I want you to eat your lunch, and then go home for the day and get some sleep and drink a bunch of water."

Yashiro frowned. "But what about you? You still have a meeting later today."

Kyoko giggled. "It's not a 'meeting'. I'm just going to see Moko-san later and hang out. I'll take a taxi or something, don't worry about it."

When he looked over at her, she could see that his eyes looked a little less tired. He smiled. "Thank you, Kyoko-chan."

They ate their lunch, and parted ways. Kyoko walked back to LME, which was thankfully not too far away from the diner. She walked in the entrance and down the hallway to the LoveMe Room. When she got there, she sat down on the couch to wait for Kanae.

"Mo. Kyoko. Wake up."

"Unh?" Kyoko's eyes focused on her best friend as she lifted her head off of the arm of the couch. She had fallen asleep without warning. "Oh. Moko-san. Sorry about that."

Kanae rolled her eyes. She knew that Kyoko had an audition that morning and was working herself to the bone to help Ren with his pregnancy. "Don't apologize. You said you wanted to hang out, so let's go hang out."

The girls left LME and took a taxi to Shinjuku to go shopping. They went to a cosmetics store and looked around at all of the makeup. Kyoko's mouth watered as she looked at all of the beautiful lipsticks and eyeshadow palettes. Kanae tried a lip stain in a nearby mirror.

"So, Moko-san… I wanted to talk to you about something."

Kanae turned her face this way and that to look at the stain from every angle, and then when she was satisfied, she added the tiny plastic tube to her shopping basket. She moved on to a small container of blush. "Mo. I'm listening."

Kyoko swallowed nervously. "Well… you know you're my best friend. And I really want you to be an influence in the babies' lives. Would you be okay with being their godmother?"

Kanae's eyes went wide and she fumbled the blush. She caught it before it hit the floor, and set it back on the shelf. "I–you want me to be their godmother!?"

Kyoko threw herself on the floor in a dogeza. "I'm sorry! I know you don't like kids, and I know this is a huge ask, and I shouldn't have even asked you to do that when I know you don't like kids! You hate me now, don't you!?"

When there was no reply, Kyoko peeked up at her friend.

Kanae was looking down at her with tear-filled eyes. "Y-you mean it? You want me to be their godmother?"

Kyoko got to her feet, stunned. "Well… yeah! But only if you want to! Please don't be upset!"

Kanae wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "Who's upset!? I'm not crying! It's the fuckin' perfume in the air! It's burning my eyes! Mo!" She turned away from Kyoko, trying desperately to collect herself. "If you want me to be their godmother, fine, I'll be their stupid godmother, okay!?"

Kyoko hugged her from behind. "Oh, thank you, Moko-san!"

Kanae shrugged her off after allowing the hug for several more seconds than she would have normally allowed said hug to continue. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I'm not babysitting. I don't babysit."

Kyoko giggled. "That's fine. I'm sure they will love their Auntie Moko anyway."

They shopped for a couple more hours, each of them coming away from the trip with some new makeup and an article of clothing or two. Kyoko took a taxi to Kuon's apartment afterward to check on him before heading home to the Darumaya for the night. He had given her a key to let herself in, so she was able to let herself into the building. She opened his front door and called out. "Kuon! I'm here!"

When there was no answer, she blinked. Could he be out? She shut the door, kicked her shoes off, and went down the hallway toward his bedroom. The door was open just a crack and she heard heavy panting from within. Her heart dropped when she heard him breathing so hard. What if he were in labor!? She opened the door and poked her head in. "Kuo–oh!"

He was laying in bed under the covers, wearing earbuds and watching something on his phone. His bangs were stuck to his forehead with sweat, his cheeks pink. The cover over him was moving up and down…

He saw the door open out the corner of his eye and he dropped his phone on his face. "Ah! Kyoko!"

She realized what he had been doing and she threw her hands over her face. "I-I'll come back later!" She rushed out of the room, her face flaming. Kuon rolled out of bed, threw his shorts on, and followed her out.

"Kyoko-chan, I'm really sorry!" Kuon had begun to experience what many pregnant people experience; a much-heightened libido. With his and Kyoko's relationship being brand new, and Kyoko being a virgin, he hadn't felt comfortable asking her for any help regarding that particular part of his pregnancy. As such, he had resorted to using every last free moment alone looking at pictures of Setsuka Heel on his phone and reliving their time in the hotel room together, and watching Lotus in the Mire and admiring her… costume…

Kyoko couldn't look at him. "No, I'm sorry. I– I should have texted you that I was on my way over so you at least knew when I would be coming!"

He covered his face. "Yes, but I knew you were coming and I still…ugh. You probably think I'm such a fucking pervert."

She went to him and peeled his hands away from his face. "I don't think you're a pervert, Kuon." She didn't think he was a pervert, but she was starting to think that she might be one. The sight of him, intently watching his phone screen, sweat beading his forehead, his skin flushed with need, had done something to her. She didn't dare hug him or kiss him, afraid that she wouldn't be able to stop herself from wanting more.

He looked down into her eyes. "You're sure you're okay?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. If you need to… you know… go finish…"

He laughed, all the tension going out of his body. "No, I think I'm alright. Did you eat anything while you were out with Kotonami-san?"

She shook her head and he went to the kitchen. "I ordered a pizza. Come have some with me."

Kyoko giggled as she followed him into the kitchen. "You're feeding our babies pizza again!?"

He opened the box on the counter and removed a slice. It was pepperoni, buffalo chicken, black olive, banana pepper, anchovy, pineapple, and bacon with extra cheese. "Your babies wanted pizza, so they got pizza. You want me to deny our children?"

Kyoko took a slice out of the box and picked several of the toppings off to make it edible. "I suppose not. I just wish they wanted more healthy things like grilled fish and vegetables."

Kuon chuckled. "I've been eating as much healthy stuff as I can. But you wouldn't believe the cravings! First it was food, now it's se–" he threw a hand over his own mouth. Goddamnit!

Kyoko frowned. "I'm sorry that I haven't… you know."

He set his slice of pizza down on the lid of the box and took her free hand. "Kyoko-chan, don't be sorry. We need to move at whatever pace you're comfortable at moving. My raging hormones are no reason for you to compromise your morals. I'll live."

Kyoko kissed his cheek. "I love you."

He kissed the top of her head. "I love you, too." He grabbed his pizza slice and moved toward the living room. "Let's go sit on the couch. I want to talk to you about something."

They sat down on the couch and Kuon gestured around the room. "You notice anything about this place?"

Kyoko blinked. "It's really nice. Kind of bare, but it's always clean."

Kuon chuckled. "All of that is true. But, how many bedrooms does it have, Kyoko-chan?"

"Tw–oh!" Her hands went to her cheeks. "WE HAVE THREE. WHERE ARE WE GOING TO PUT THREE BABIES!?" Kuon's apartment was plenty spacious for Kuon and Kyoko on occasion, but Kuon and three children!?

He nodded. "It just dawned on me today that this place is just not going to work for our needs. We won't be able to fit you, me, and the kids."

"Well," Kyoko started, "I wouldn't be here all the time…"

Kuon frowned. "I was kind of hoping that once the babies came… that maybe you would be."

She blushed. "You want me to… live with you?"

Kuon had to bite his tongue to keep from mentioning the diamond ring that was currently hiding in his sock drawer. Pregnancy brain had made him loose-lipped. "Of course. It's what would be best for the kids. It just makes sense so you can see them every day and really be part of their lives."

Kyoko thought about that for a moment. If she and Kuon were going to live together, they would need at least three bedrooms to accommodate their family. Kyoko could have her own room for a short while, but eventually the three children would outgrow one nursery, and that meant… sharing with Kuon. If she were going to share a bedroom with Kuon, several conditions had to be met in order to make that 'okay' in her mind. She realized what she had to do.

"You're right. I should move in with you."

Kuon lit up. "Y-you mean it!?"

She nodded. "It makes the most sense… especially if we're building a family and a future together."

He took her hand and squeezed it. "You're sure?"

She nodded. "We need to get a new place. Do you think the President knows of anything a bit bigger?"

They discussed the apartment situation at length and agreed on several things that they would need for themselves and their babies. Kuon checked the time on his phone finally. "Damn… I should take you home. It's late."

Kyoko wished she didn't have to go. Though she wanted to keep up appearances for the Darumaya couple, it was getting harder and harder to leave Kuon's apartment when she was there late. She sighed. "Yes. But I want us to find a place as soon as possible so we don't have to keep doing this."

Kuon leaned over to kiss the top of her head. "I'm so glad you agreed to move in."

Though she was more than a little nervous about it, Kyoko was glad, too.