Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat. This amazing anime was created by Yoshiki Nakamura. I am only borrowing the awesome characters for now.

Editor / Beta Reader: Waffle (Thank you)

Rated Teen for mild violence, coarse language and / or sexually suggestive scenes.

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Catch Me If You Can

By: Swanna

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Chapter 6: First Day

It was already ten past nine on a Sunday night by the time Kyoko returned from her part-time job at the fast food restaurant. It was her last day working there and guilt flooded her for quitting her position so suddenly, leaving her coworkers behind. Although she had only worked there for a month, she got along with her coworkers very well and already felt really close to them. That was why they were both shocked and saddened by the unexpected news but they still wished her all the best.

On her way home, she couldn't help but wonder if she had made the right decision in agreeing to work at LME Agency. Did she say yes to Uncle Caterpillar too quickly?

Kyoko was exhausted when she got home. She quickly showered and retired to her bedroom for the evening, trying to push the doubt and guilt from her mind. She went through her nightly routine and changed into her cotton pajamas, and wrapped herself up in the warm quilt as she crawled underneath it. She was so tired that she could barely keep her eyes open.

Shortly after Kyoko dozed off, she was jolted out of her sleep by the sound of her ringing phone. A groan escaped her when she reached over to her bedside table. Her hand felt around on the bedside table first, hitting the alarm clock, then the light, before feeling the familiar shape of her smartphone. Easing her eyes open, she hit 'answer' and let the phone rest on her ear while she laid back down.

"Kyoko," the man on the phone exclaimed before she could say a word. "I've been trying to reach you for the past hour."

"Un-uncle Caterpillar?" She asked groggily as she sat right up in bed. Hearing his voice made her suddenly wide awake – very wide awake. "You have?"

"I just spoke with Takenori on the phone and he said that you never showed up for the orientation on Friday. What happened? Didn't you go straight to him after you left my office that day?"

Oh crap! Kyoko smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand and cursed herself silently. She'd been so badly frightened by the incident in the dressing room that day that she had completely forgotten about the orientation.

"I…uh…I couldn't find his office…" she lied, scrunching her face up.

"What do you mean you couldn't find his office?" His voice was sounding slightly exasperated now. "I specifically told you that his office is on the sixth floor, third one to the left."

"No, Uncle Caterpillar. That was-" Kyoko paused as she remembered something else. "Wait a minute…You told me it's the third room to the right."

"No I didn't. I said left."

"No…! You said right!"

"Why would I tell you right when it's located on the left side?"

It was her turn to be irked. "I…I don't know! You tell me!"

There was silence on the phone.

"Did I really say his office is to the right?"

"Yes!"

"I guess I'm getting old, my memory isn't what it used to be," he said sheepishly.

"Uncle Caterpillar…" Kyoko flopped face down onto her pillow, her open palm slamming the mattress, feeling utterly embarrassed and defeated. "You have no idea what you put me through…"

"What are you talking about? What's the third room to the right?"

Kyoko refused to speak or move. She just wanted to disappear from the face of the Earth as she continued burying her face into the pillow.

"If I remember correctly this time, the right side should be where the closet rooms and dressing rooms are loca-" All of a sudden he broke into an evil chuckle. "Did you walk in on someone changing and saw something that you shouldn't have?"

Panicking, Kyoko bolted upright into a full sitting position, clutching the pillow to her chest. "Wh-what? N-no! Of course not!"

His chuckle became a full-throated, gloating laugh. "Then why are you overreacting like this?"

"Who says I'm overreacting?" Okay, she totally was. But she'd rather be run over by a bus than admit she'd made a shameful mistake.

"You know you can spill the beans to your Uncle Caterpillar. I can keep secrets."

Not that she didn't trust him enough to tell him about it, but some secrets shouldn't just be kept quiet, they should be buried!

"There are no beans to spill. I'm just nervous about my first day working at LME tomorrow." Kyoko abruptly faked a yawn, trying to cut the conversation short. "Anyway, it's getting late and I'm really tired, I'm going to sleep now. I will see you tomorrow!"

"Wait, Kyoko-"

"Goodnight, Uncle Caterpillar!" Kyoko ended the call hastily and tossed the phone on the bed. If they'd continued their conversation then he would've definitely seen through her lies. That was too close of a call for her.

With a heavy sigh, she plopped onto her mattress again, her mind racing as images from the incident flashed across her brain involuntarily. She wasn't able to see the guy's face clearly from her angle under the table that day, but she remembered his body with painful clarity. She'd seen many topless men before, especially at beaches; he shouldn't be any different. Unfortunately she couldn't be any more wrong about that.

The tall, young man was all male and more impressive without clothes than she could have possibly imagined. He was muscular without looking like a weight lifter. Kyoko had to confess, she did have a very difficult time looking away from the smooth skin of his shoulders, over the broad plane of his chest and down the hard, ridged muscles of his abdomen to his navel…

STOP!

Her mind screamed at her, completely taken aback in utter confusion at her own indecency and shamelessness. She had never fantasized about a man's body, until now. No, tonight she'd simply let her animalistic feelings get in the way of her common sense. Just like a wild animal driven by pure primal instinct. There was nothing more and nothing less.

Kyoko squirmed, hugging a pillow in both hands and rolled over to stare up at the ceiling as she tried to convince herself the embarrassing moment was best forgotten. Besides, she believed the odds of running into him in such a large company like LME Agency were very small. Though she could be wrong. But if her luck was against her and they did run into each other, she doubted he'd recognize her. That's right. It wasn't like he was paying attention to her anyway. And if even he did recognize her face, she would simply apologize and be on her way.

Kyoko's self-reassurance lifted her spirit and her rumination on that day gradually diminished. She should focus and prepare for her new job instead. Kyoko closed her eyes and soon she started falling asleep on her last, and pleasant thought – that tomorrow would be a good day and a new beginning for her.

X X X

By the next morning, Kyoko woke up feeling enormously better. She had a plan for succeeding in her new job and knew how to accomplish it. The first thing she had to do was to show up for work early, properly dressed and then put in extra hours if necessary. Putting on a pair of black skinny dress pants and a white, cotton blouse, she headed downstairs to tell her landlords that she'd be gone for the rest of the day, and then rode her bicycle to work.

Kyoko was thirty minutes early by the time she arrived at LME Agency. Drawing a deep breath, she walked into the company. The inside of the building was bright and clean as always. It was a fact that always struck Kyoko the moment she walked into the place, but this time she entered as an employee and it made her nervous. There was something hopeful about it, something cultivating. She really liked LME Agency, and she was genuinely glad to be granted an opportunity to be a part of this amazing company.

With a smile she approached the all too familiar front desk and from behind it, yet another charming secretary with long blonde hair greeted her. Just how many secretaries were there for this one front desk position?

"May I help you?"

"My name is Kyoko Mogami. I'm here to see Sawara-san," said Kyoko.

"Did you have an appointment, Mogami-san?"

"No, it's my first day working here and I've been told to contact Sawara-san once I arrived."

The secretary nodded, looking relieved that it was nothing complicated. "I'll inform Sawara-san right now. Please have a seat first."

Kyoko walked towards the waiting area and positioned herself in a plushy, leather seat. The lobby was already busy with staff and visitors, despite the early hour. After another five minutes, a middle-aged man with a gentle and kind face walked up to her.

"You must be Kyoko."

Kyoko didn't know if she was thrilled or alarmed that this man knew her name, but assuming that he was Takenori Sawara, she quickly stood up and bowed. "Yes I am, and I'm truly sorry for missing our orientation last Friday, Sawara-san."

"Ah yes, I was expecting you that day but you never showed up," he eyed her critically for a moment. His expression was stern, like a teacher who thought he'd caught a student skipping class. "I hope we won't seeing this type of behavior from you once you start working here."

She became perplexed and only a lie would do now. "No, no! Of course not. I…I just had an emergency that day so I missed the orientation but I promise it won't happen again."

"I certainly hope so," commented Takenori as he started walking away. Kyoko quickened her strides to catch up nervously when he continued. "All LME Agency employees are incredibly hard-working and dedicated. If you don't share the same level of commitment to your role then you will be replaced by someone more competent, do you understand me?"

She stepped in front of him, blocking his path and eager to rectify the situation that she had put herself in. It grieved her to know that she'd made such a bad first impression on her first day already.

"Absolutely! I will give 120% in everything I do and I will also work very hard until I drop dead! I promise!" Kyoko sounded desperate even to her own ears.

"I don't need you to work until you drop dead." He was clearly taken aback, lifting his eyebrows. "You're no use to us if you're dead."

Realizing that she was invading his personal space, she took a step back and bowed again. "Once again I apologize for all the inconvenience I caused."

He waved his hand dismissively. "My schedule is quite packed today, so the orientation will have to wait until another day. But I will show you the way to the change room so that you can get changed before you start your first assignment."

They continued walking alongside each other again as Takenori led the way towards a well-lit corridor. He then spoke again, "The President mentioned you to me."

"Oh," said Kyoko, hoping that Uncle Caterpillar had kept his promise.

In fact, he should have said very little about her since she'd forced him to keep their relationship under the radar. Kyoko wanted to prove herself without aid from him, but most importantly she didn't want his employees to start spreading rumors about him in the offices. As the President of LME Agency, Uncle Caterpillar had a reputation to uphold and protect. Although he would do all he could to protect her, at the same time she must keep his reputation in mind.

Takenori grinned. "He only told me that he saw lots of potential in you during your school play in New York two years ago, so he decided to recruit you to LME Agency."

"Ah yes, the President was invited to our school as a special guest for our school play at the time." It was a story that they'd made up together about their past in case anyone asked.

"But one thing I don't understand," he frowned. "He also mentioned that you refused to work in front of the camera, so why did he hire you and even establish a new section just for you?"

"He…he didn't explain why?"

Takenori shook his head. "No. He told me to ask you if I really want to know."

What a way to put the ball in her court, forcing her to be deceitful again. "I can explain…the reason why I can't be on camera is because…"

"Because…?"

"Because of my stalker."

"St-stalker?!" he gasped, eyes becoming large at the shocking revelation.

"Yes, stalker." Kyoko inhaled deeply before continuing her fabricated story. "Back in New York, I had a psychopath stalker who was head over heels obsessed with me and he was watching me all the time. He tormented me with perverse notes and creepy phone calls."

Takenori listened very attentively to her, showing astonishment at times and exclaiming frequently with indignation. "One night he even broke into my home and left a love letter and a bouquet of roses for me. That was the last straw for me and I left New York."

"You didn't try to get help from the police?" he asked with concern.

"Of course I did but they kept telling me they had no clues that could lead them to the perpetrator and eventually the case turned cold."

He finally nodded as if he understood her predicament and remained quiet. "That is why I can't work in front of cameras in case my stalker finds me."

Takenori sighed, his eyes filled with sympathy. "I understand…It must've been very frightening for you. I'm sorry to hear what you've gone through, Kyoko."

"Yeah, me too," Kyoko replied quietly, her attempts to hide the truth turned into a huge, pounding guilt.

"Don't worry," he said, smiling and placing his hand on her shoulder. "In that case, I will be more selective of the jobs that I will accept and assign to you."

"Thank you so much, Sawara-san...I-"

"You need to say no more," he said again, soothingly. "Your uniform is prepared for you inside so go on ahead and get changed. I will wait for you out here."

She nodded and complied before entering the spacious, empty change room. Her descriptions of her stalker was intricate and detailed because half of them were true. Murasame had always been following her like a stalker and had left her flowers and love notes, though he had not broken into her home. So not everything she said just now was a complete fabrication, though she did create some lies on the spot and expanded them as her wild imagination got the better of her.

At the same time, Kyoko wasn't pleased with her own peculiar little tales that she had to tell. She really shouldn't get used to lying. In fact, she hated it. She felt guilty for lying and she wanted nothing more than to tell the landlords, Uncle Caterpillar and Sawara-san the truth. But then she would feel guilty for wanting to tell the truth because she promised to herself not to talk about her past and Murasame as it would get others involved into her nightmares.

It's all Murasame's fault! Kyoko thought grudgingly as her eyes fell upon the hot pink jumpsuit placed on top of the metal bench. She could only hope that she wouldn't face divine punishments for all her lying in the afterlife.

X X X

Ren's morning was going quite well. He had just finished a conference call with a reporter to advertise the upcoming new drama series, Love of Fortune. But judging from what the reporter had shared with him, it seemed like the audiences' positive response to the series was greater than he'd expected. Along with the mass-marketing hype and the crew's combined efforts, Love of Fortune could become a huge success and a true phenomenon for the year.

Since the call took up almost an hour of Ren's time, Yukihito had suggested him to have a quick breakfast at the LME Agency's cafeteria before heading over to the filming set. Today was the first day filming for Love of Fortune and he was rather excited and energetic about this project; he felt confident in his ability to create this story and to portray his character with vigor and accuracy.

He just bit into his chicken salad sandwich when his manager entered into the cafeteria filled with employees. Hurriedly he looked around, spotted Ren and purposefully marched towards him.

"You came," Ren said as he slid the food tray towards Yukihito. "I bought you coffee and a ham and egg sandwich."

Unfortunately Yukihito's interest seemed to be centered on something else when he asked, "Have you seen the President's memo this morning?"

"What memo?" Ren was unsure what to make of his manager, who looked like he was about to explode from the excitement of conspiratorial gossip.

"I knew you didn't read it. I forwarded the email to myself. Check my phone," he managed to say in between his panting and quickly took out his smartphone.

"Have some water and catch your breath first." Ren surveyed him with solace. "You should go back to the gym, Yashiro-san. You're out of shape."

Yukihito took a big gulp from the glass of water before continuing. "I ran all the way here. Everyone upstairs is buzzing about it. Here it is."

He opened the email file and showed it to Ren on his phone. After quickly skimming the message, he asked, "Are you talking about the new Love Me Section? I already know about it."

"And?" Yukihito urged as if he was unsatisfied with Ren's lack of reaction.

"And while I think it was a ridiculous plan, I'm sure the President has his reasons for establishing a new department," Ren spoke the truth.

Lory's plans were inscrutable to them, but he was known as an eccentric man and inaugurated many impractical measures. So this news did not come as a surprise to Ren. From the start, he had pegged the President to be even more unconventional than he'd been. Therefore he couldn't understand what all the commotion was about since the sudden whirl of activity rousted the entire company.

"Oh I see," Yukihito suddenly leaned back with a triumphant grin on his face, as if he knew something that Ren didn't. "So you don't know yet."

Ren almost cringed, knowing that he wasn't going to enjoy the conversation he was about to have with his manager.

"The President hired Kyoko Mogami to be the first and only Love Me Section member," his eyebrows shot up to somewhere around his hairline, a small smile playing on his lips. "And I'm pretty sure that is the same girl who's been seeing the President."

Ren absentmindedly took another bite of his sandwich even though his appetite was gone now, thanks to Yukihito.

"Sometimes the President can be sly as a fox huh?"

"Maybe he just wanted to promote a new artist by using an unorthodox method," Ren said, trying to mean it, but he didn't even sound convincing to himself. He sounded uncertain.

As if sensing his weak willpower, Yukihito decided to deliver the final blow. One that would permanently crush all opposition. "Or this whole Love Me Section is only a cover for the President to keep her close by him so that they can have a secret affair without others knowing it. Only he's able to hatch a plan like this to hit two birds with one stone. You have to admit, even the name of the department is quite scandalous-"

Thinking that he had heard enough, Ren rose from the table rather abruptly, pushing back his chair to cut Yukihito off. His manager's eyes flew to his instinctively, confused. "You're done? But you haven't finished your breakfast yet."

"I have an elaborate scene to film today. It's going to take me some time to prepare for it. I'll eat there," Ren picked up his water bottle, already heading for the exit without waiting for his manager.

He strolled out of the cafeteria, feeling his body reacted suddenly to the new disclosure. He tried to ignore the staggering sensation, the seeds of frustration that started growing like a tree to rise up from his stomach. Ren had already told himself to stay out of it. He might be close to Lory as he understood Ren's circumstances as nobody ever had, but that man's personal life was none of Ren's business.

Not my concern, Ren told himself again, but soon he grew distracted at the sight of Takenori and the girl who stepped out of the locker room.

"Ren, maybe we should-" Yukihito's sentence was cut short as soon as he saw her. "Is that the girl, Kyoko Mogami?"

"Yashiro-san, can you please get the car first? I will join you in the underground parking lot shortly," he asked, without looking away from her.

Yukihito appeared surprised but didn't pose further questions, even though he evidently wasn't aware of Ren's impending plan nor his reason for the request. Ren waited until his manager got into the elevator before walking towards Takenori and the girl.

X X X

"What do you think?" asked Takenori, giving her an assessing look from head to toe the moment she came out of the change room in her hot pink jumpsuit.

"The uniform makes me look like a piece of walking, talking bubblegum," Kyoko replied, not bothering to hide her embarrassment. Somehow she knew he would understand and empathize. She was just glad that she wouldn't be seen wearing this on the streets.

"Well, the President does have a flashy fashion sense but you will get used to it in no time."

She squinted her eyes at him. "It's easy for you to say that when it's not you wearing a hot pink jumpsuit."

"Good morning, Sawara-san," the voice was soft, the tone amused. "This must be the new member from the Love Me Section."

The man came to stand behind her so silently, she wouldn't have known he was there if it wasn't for the words he uttered and the way he smelled. There was nothing else like that masculine, woody scent.

She took a deep breath and a step forward before turning to face him. The impact hit her like a physical blow. He was handsome. No…beautiful. His brown eyes were so warm and his gaze was so penetrating, as if some heavenly artist had crushed smoky quartz into paint and then colored in his irises with the finest brush.

Kyoko was still reeling from the visual shock when strands of his black hair fell forward slightly as he tilted his head at her. But black was too tame a word for it. It was so pure that it held echoes of the moonless night, vivid and passionate. His hair was cut in careful layers that stopped at the nape of his neck, it framed the sharp facial features of his face; hair that looked so silky smooth, it made her fingers curl with the urge to touch it.

"Or am I mistaken?" he asked, breaking her out of her trance.

She blinked, then felt her face color, having no idea how long she'd been gaping at him like an idiot. "Yes. I…I mean no, you're not mistaken."

"Yes, this is Kyoko Mogami and today is her first day working here," Takenori added before turning to Kyoko. "And I assume you already know who he is."

"Huh?" Kyoko became puzzled. Was she supposed to know who this man was?

"Mogami-san and I met before," his smile bore a hint of mockery that she didn't understand. "The last time we met, Mogami-san already mentioned that she didn't know who I am."

Now it was Takenori's turn to drop his jaw in amazement. "You don't know who Ren Tsuruga is?!"

"Re-Ren Tsuruga…?"

The name rang a deafening bell in Kyoko's head, it sounded very recent. Yes…of course, she'd heard that name only a few days ago. Her eyes opened wide in shock; all color drained from her face as she tried her hardest to avoid eye contact.

"You're probably the only female in Tokyo who doesn't know who Ren is," Takenori mocked with a chuckle, rubbing more salt into her wounds before glancing down at his watch. "Okay, enough wasting time. I have to quickly explain your first assignment and how your performance will be evaluated since I have a meeting to attend soon."

"Sawara-san, I can do that and explain to Mogami-san if you like," Ren was quick to offer.

"Not that I don't appreciate you trying to jump in and help, Ren, but I don't want to take up your time knowing that you always have a busy schedule."

"I have some free time now so it will be fine," Ren reassured him good-naturedly.

"If that's the case then yes, please explain everything to Kyoko." Takenori took out a small plastic box from inside of his suit coat's pocket and handed it to Ren. "Her first assignment is to buy lunch for Mori-san."

"No problem, I will see that Mogami-san is taken care of."

With that being last said, Takenori walked away, leaving Kyoko alone with Ren. His warm presence filled her senses and she became very aware of him standing beside her. He peered at her face, making her heart race.

"Shall we?" he asked, gesturing towards the end of the corridor.

Kyoko only nodded, not trusting herself to speak, afraid that she would say the wrong thing to embarrass herself again. They started walking side by side down the long hallway as Ren began explaining more about the Love Me Section and the point stamp system, which would be used by others to evaluate her performance based on their satisfaction. While she was listening attentively, she couldn't stop a weird thought that came to her mind – she liked his voice. It was deep, soothing and relaxing, each word confidently enunciated, as if he were in no rush to finish it off before heading to the next one.

Soon silence fell as he finished speaking and Kyoko thought that perhaps she should take the initiative and opportunity to apologize for her mistake. Ren had been kind enough to provide guidance to her. On this occasion, she felt that an apology was in order.

"Tsuruga-san…I apologize for not knowing who you are. I grew up in the States and so I didn't really follow Japan's media in the past decade. I'm sorry, please don't take any offense."

It wasn't that Kyoko didn't want to follow Japan's media and entertainment industry while she'd lived in New York, email and internet was a luxury that she didn't have. In fact she didn't even own a computer, though how that was possible in this century, she didn't know. But she'd used the computers at the library for writing papers and research before she'd finally dropped out of school. However, not wanting Ren to have the wrong impression about her, she decided he didn't need to know all the details.

Ren was gracious and smiled. "I am not offended. Saddened, yes, but no offense taken."

Wait…did he just say what she thought he said? He was saddened that she didn't know of him? What did that even mean?

He continued. "In fact, I hope we can get to know each other better in the near future since we both work for the same company now."

Yes, so did Kyoko. She wanted to know more about him personally too. She wanted to know what his favorite color was, what kind of food he liked, if he liked listening to music. She wanted to know more; she wanted to know everything about him.

But doesn't that make me a female version of Murasame? She slapped herself mentally, self-loathing thoughts quickly spiraling through her mind. While she was bashing herself in disgust, she remembered that she also owed him an apology for something else.

"By the way, about that day…I didn't mean to walk in on you changing," Kyoko stopped her steps and bowed deeply at him. "I'm very sorry!"

"Please don't concern yourself over it, Mogami-san," he replied, smiling. "By the way, what made you decide to join LME Agency? Do you have a passion for acting?"

Although Kyoko was grateful for the change of subject, she wasn't sure what to tell him besides the truth. "I actually have no interest in acting or becoming an actress."

It was sudden but Kyoko thought she saw anger flash across his face, sending a chill of terror down her spine. "Then why did you join show business?"

She swallowed. It was a legit question, and one that she had to pause to consider. "I was curious…?"

"Curiosity, you say? Careful though, there are times when curiosity has to be put on hold, times when curiosity could get you into trouble." His tone was a blade that whispered warning. Then the same friendly smile returned again as he held the door for her. "This is the cafeteria. After you, Mogami-san."

It all happened so fast that Kyoko found herself wondering if she'd imagined his hostility towards her for that very brief moment. But she quickly shook it off and focused on the task at hand. Her attention was centered on the wide variety of food selections on the lunch menu, amazed at the options available. Ren stood next to her, looking up at the menu board.

"I'm not sure what to get," she confessed timidly.

"The chicken teriyaki rice is pretty popular here," he stated. "It's one of my favorite dishes from this cafeteria."

"Oh really? Then why don't I just get that for Mori-san?" she said with excitement and was already placing her order with the female cashier, who seemed to be too preoccupied ogling Ren to accept Kyoko's money.

Kyoko couldn't blame her. Ren Tsuruga was a very handsome man, with a genial smile that was likely to cause love at first sight. The probable inevitable remark of everyone who chanced to meet him for five minutes was, 'what a delightful man'.

She stole a glance at him. His eyelashes were long and thick; she could only imagine how soft his lips were. Her gaze soon traveled down to his neck and she was instantly reminded of his topless body, his curved back and lithe muscular form. Ren Tsuruga was definitely God's favorite.

"Mogami-san, are you okay? Your face is turning red," he suddenly asked with worry in his tone.

She had to push the breath through her lungs as she saw him looking down at her. Their faces were so close, his eyes direct and warm at the same time. Happiness was swelling in her chest, making her smile meekly at him, but it emerged with shyness. She knew she was blushing scarlet red now but she was struggling not to give away her feelings.

Her voice dropped an octave and swiftly she fanned herself. "It's really warm in here."

"Your order is ready," said the cashier as she passed Kyoko the lunch box.

"I can carry it for you," Ren offered his assistance with grace and took the lunch box from her hands.

"Th-thank you."

They started leaving the cafeteria to deliver Mori-san's lunch. During their quiet walk, Kyoko's heart started racing again, thinking about Ren, of how sweet he had been with her. He was such a gentleman, she wasn't used to such courtesy. Before long, they arrived at what appeared to be a talk-show set and they waited outside the glass door. A woman who appeared to be in her late thirties saw them and came out of the room to meet them.

"You must be the Love Me Section member. I can spot you from down the hallway," she ridiculed Kyoko's uniform. "Where's my lunch?"

"I have your lunch here, Mori-san," Ren passed the lunch box to her with both hands.

"Oh my, Tsuruga! You're looking good as always!" Kyoko was expecting such a reaction from the woman, but what she didn't expect was the death glare she received next. "And you! How dare you have Tsuruga carry my lunch for you?!"

"I…"

"What did you get me for lunch?" Mori-san opened the lid to peer inside the box. Although her expression was unreadable, her voice sounded a lot calmer. "You got me chicken."

"Yes…yes I did!" For a moment, Kyoko felt hope rise in her heart as she didn't fail her first assignment. "I got you chicken teriyaki rice! It's one of the popular dishes in the cafeteria!"

"A popular dish, huh? Guess I really should give you a score now. Where's your notepad and stamps?"

Kyoko eagerly passed the plastic box to Mori-san, excited to receive her first score. She felt like a student waiting patiently for her homework to be marked by teachers all over again. The moment she received the mini notepad back, she saw the first page stamped with '-10% You're No Good'.

"Huh? What the heck! Why did I get a score like this?!" she yelped.

"You want to know why?" The woman crossed her arms.

Kyoko wasn't only baffled, she was livid. "Yes the hell I do!"

"It's because Mori-san is a vegetarian." Ren's unexpected response made her inhale sharply again, but with irritation this time.

"So you knew!" Kyoko gasped breathlessly. She did not believe, even in the face of all the evidence, that she had been tricked.

"Exactly! I'm a vegetarian and you bought me chicken! Do you even have a clue of what you're doing? You are completely useless!" The woman shouted before storming back into the room.

"Mo-Mori-san," Kyoko tried to call after her. "I'm so sorry! I really didn't kno-"

A chuckle caused her to look up. Ren gave her a satisfied smile. "You deserved it."

"You tricked me on purpose, didn't you?" she said, annoyed, feeling her cheeks flush with chagrin.

"How did I trick you? I only made a comment and never once did I tell you to get the chicken teriyaki rice."

"The way of how you insinuated it was the same as tricking me!"

His mouth curved, as if she'd said something funny. "It is your responsibility to take your work seriously. Even for a task as small as buying lunch, you should have done your research and found out Mori-san's preference and dietary restrictions first."

"Y-you…you!" Kyoko stuttered helplessly, she was at a complete loss for words.

He turned on his heels and waved his hand in the air dismissively as he walked back in same the direction they had come from. "From now on, pay attention and do your best…so you don't earn any more penalty points."

She watched his retreating back with a mixture of bewilderment and anger. But she loathed herself even more for even being attracted and drawn to him in the first place. Why did he pull a prank on her anyway?! Was it because she hadn't known nor heard of him before? Was his pride hurt? Had he felt humiliated and so reacted with rage? Whatever stupid motives he may have had, he was acting childish about the whole damn thing! Truly, Ren Tsuruga was the devil in disguise.

And it would be best if she stayed out of the devil's way from now on.

X X X

AUTHOR NOTE:

I am truly sorry for the long delay. I really have no excuse to justify myself. I've simply lost the motivation to write due to my busy personal life and work, and I apologize for that *sweatdrops*.

But thank to my recent trip to Japan, I found the inspiration to write again! Visiting castles and shrines have really helped me to get back into the mood lol. It was my first time visiting Japan and I will definitely go there again.

I do want to sincerely thank the readers who have been following this story patiently. I may update the chapters out slower than many authors but I can promise that I will not give up my stories. I will also try to post new chapters more frequently, no more long breaks like the last one. In fact, I will be updating the next few chapters of this fic soon as a compensation!

At last, Kyoko and Ren finally met but I guess it wasn't what you guys were expecting, huh? Lol sneaky Ren.

Sho will also make his appearance in the next chapter and that means hell will break loose! Stay tune and find out what will happen next!