A/N: One of my major predictions for the coming chapter is that Kyoko's box has been opened. She's been starting to recognize her feelings for Ren, her locks (down to the last one!) have been coming off... The story has been building up to this for a while, and we're now at just the right moment in the arc. Anyway, I tried to imagine how that could play out, and this came out, albeit a little more dramatic than I originally imagined or predicted.
The sound of the door clicking shut behind Kyoko announced that he had gone. As though the sound signaled the tripping of some internal switch, she halted mid-action, about to reach into the open drawer before her. Her shoulders slumped as she let her hand fall gently to rest on the drawer's edge, a dark aura slowly spreading out to engulf her.
What had she just done?
Kyoko didn't dare check on that most dangerous of boxes, buried deep within her. She already knew what she would find. When the box had popped open, she had heard it, vaguely, like some far-off harbinger of doom. Truthfully, she had been half-expecting it, fearfully fighting a losing battle against this very eventuality ever since the day the last lock opened. The box had come so close to opening that day, and she had put all her strength into replacing her defenses. Every lock was relocked, every guard strengthened. If desperation alone could hold that box shut, it would have stayed locked tight for all eternity—and yet tonight it had been opened at last, as surely as though it had never been closed in the first place. Truly, Tsuruga Ren was the scariest of men.
What did she do now? Supposing she could re-lock the box this time, how long before it was reopened? A day? A week? She was almost afraid to try. How long until it refused to close at all? Worst of all, she could already feel a familiar yet frightening feeling welling up from the depths of her heart, spilling ceaselessly over the walls of its prison. It spread through her veins like water through a desert, and a part of her welcomed it, soaking it up like so much parched earth.
"No." whispered another, more stubborn part of her. "Not like water, like a drug; as dangerous as it is seductive."
The thought brought her back to herself. Desperately, she bore down on the lid of the box, but it would not shut, pushed back by the flood of emotion she dared not name. It was like trying to stem the flow of a river, and she found she didn't have the strength left to fight it. Silent tears sprang from her eyes to stream over her cheeks.
When Cain returned to the room, he found Setsu asleep in her bed, her face buried in the pillow. He watched her for a moment, a tender look on his face, before preparing for bed himself. Only when his breath had settled into the deep, slow rhythm of sleep did Kyoko dare give a tiny sigh of relief, turning her head so that the fresh air might cool her flushing cheeks. Tomorrow, she could face him again as Setsuka; that much she had remaining to defend her. Tonight, she needed to find herself again, amidst the turmoil that disturbed the safety of her heart.
A/N: Reviews are super awesome. Seriously, if you write a single word in response, I will be happy. :D Also, I'd love to hear your predictions for Ch. 197.