A/N: Hi everyone! Thanks for all the reviews and enjoy reading!
"Tsuruga san! I'm in the President's YIKES! KYAAAAAAAH!"
Ren jumped at her scream. "Hello! Mogami san!", he said frantically. But all he heard was the sound of a resounding crash and then the phone went dead.
Ren immediately dialed the President's number.
"Hello?"
"Where did you send her?", he asked the President grimly.
"What do you mean?", the President asked innocently.
"I mean where-did –you-send-Mogami san?", Ren asked angrily. "She called me just now sounding absolutely terrified!"
"I have no idea why that should happen Ren. I merely sent her out to my country house on a Love me assignment."
"Where is it?", he asked. The President gave him the directions.
Ren grabbed his car key and sprinted out to the parking.
It's not the ideal weather for driving but it's not stopping me from getting to her! He thought grimly. What was he thinking anyway?! Sending her alone to that desolate house of doom in the middle of nowhere?!
…
Kyoko screamed and sent the phone flying across the room when the lights went off and on again and again and the door was attacked by a terrific cackling had stopped.
BANG! BANG! BLADDAM! BANG!
It sounded like someone was trying to break it open with a club.
Kyoko remained curled up in her couch holding 'Corn' tightly in her fist.
"Please save me Corn! Ward off these evil spirits!", she prayed. As if in answer to her prayers, the banging stopped as suddenly as it had started. Kyoko began to sit up slowly and immediately dived back to the couch when a loud, shrill scream of rage followed.
Kyoko beamed when the screaming stopped. They couldn't get in because of Corn's and Tsuruaga san's magic! Thank you corn! She kissed the little stone and fell asleep exhausted by the night's events.
….
Much later Kyoko was woken up by a sobbing sound. "Whuzzairr?", she asked drowsily. The sobbing continued only it got much louder. By now she was thoroughly awake and highly exasperated with the offending sound.
"SHUT UUUP!", she yelled into the darkness. There was an awful silence followed by a loud wailing and cackling.
WAAAAOOOAOAOAOAOOA! AAAAAAHHHHH HA HAH AHAHAH HIHHIHIHIHIHIHI!
It sounded like a red Indian cry and in normal circumstances Kyoko would have gone upstairs with a broom and a knife to investigate the source of the noise. However, these were anything but normal circumstances and Kyoko , already spooked by what had already happened was positively terrified. Because this time the screams were not from outside, but from upstairs!
She got up slowly. Easy now! She told herself. You don't want to alert them to the fact that you're planning to run for it. They'll lock the door if you do!
The banshee began to scream again.
"LEAVE THIS HOUSE NOW! OUT! NEVER DARKEN MY DOORSTEPS AGAIN!" A white figure began floating down to her.
Kyoko didn't need telling twice. She turned and fled to the door. Luckily she had left the keys in the keyhole. Once she had unlocked it, she sprinted out into the garden. The rain had gone from bad to worse. It was almost impossible to see through the pelting raindrops. Kyoko didn't care as long as she was out of the house.
She heard another cackling sound behind her and ran in another direction. After running around for a few minutes , she slipped and fell on the stone pathway leading to the door. She was back where she had started.
Kyoko vaguely noticed a dark figure running towards her. "I'm dead!", she croaked before passing out due to fear and exhaustion.
….
The next day, Kyoko found herself back in the house, lying on a sofa. She got up still a little groggy. The back of her head hurt a little. She put a hand to it and found a small bump. What happened? Where am I? she wondered. "OW!". she cried out in pain as her knee knocked against another sofa. Shw swayed on the spot and was about to fall when suddenly a strong pair of arms caught her safely.
"There now..relax..that was a nasty bump on your head.", she heard a soothing voice as she was steered towards the sofa. That voice and familiar scent immediatley brought her to her senses. Kyoko's eyes widened in amazement as she pulled back hurriedly to get a better look. "Tsuruga san?", she exclaimed. She looked around the strange surroundings. "Er..what are we doing here..alone?"
Ren chuckled. "That's what I was going to ask you Mogami san.", he replied gently. "When you called me last night, you sounded so terrified. And then I found you lying unconscious in front of the house, and I thought..I was too late." He hugged her tightly. "I'm so glad you're okay!", he said.
Kyoko instinctively put her arms around him. Suddenly she realised two things. She was hugging her sempai. And she was in a haunted house. She quickly wrenched herself away from his arms as memories of the previous night flooded her. "Wha-?", Ren asked, his look of surprise and hurt quickly changing into one of concern when he saw her terrified face.
"Did something happen?", he asked in alarm as she began to tremble violently.
"This place is haunted Tsuruga san!"
Whatever he had been expecting, that wasn't it. "Haunted?", he asked a little surprised. "Er.. you mean to say you saw ghosts?"
She nodded vigorously. "Come on!", she said dragging Ren to the door and out of the house. "We must leave before it gets dark!"
"Wait Mogami san!" he called out in a vain attempt to find out what exactly was going on. But then they saw something that made them stop dead in their tracks. Ren ran to his car and checked. All the tyres had been punctured.
"It's the spirits!", Kyoko wailed in a frightened voice. "They're trying to stop us now because I didn't leave last night! We must walk!"
"Mogami san!", Ren said in a slightly exasperated voice. "The spirits of the dead don't go around puncturing tyres! My tyres were a little worn out anyway. Last night's journey must have finished them!"
"Well then how do you explain what happened last night?",Kyoko retorted and explained her night adventures.
"Mogami san,",he said after having patiently heard her story. "You saw a horror movie didn't you? So naturally you were so spooked, you imagined everything. You have an extremely vivid imagination."
"I-DID-NOT-IMAGINE-ANYTHING!",Kyoko yelled indidgnantly. "I saw them with my own eyes!"
Ren decided to humour her. "All right.", he said conceeding defeat. "Now we'd better go back to the house."
Kyoko stared at him as if he were crazy. "Back to the house?!", she asked incredulously. "But Tsuruga sa-"
"I promised you I'd protect you once didn't I mogami san?", Ren suddenly interrupted in a serious voice. Kyoko stared at him. "Well, yes, but-",she said in a small voice. "And I always keep my promises Mogami san.", he told her took her hand and began leading her back to the house. "Come on. You'll be safe with me. I'll call the president to send us his car okay? But we'll have to wait in the house." Kyoko nodded and allowed Ren to lead her back to the house, a curious fluttering in her stomach that had nothing to do with ghosts.
Ren locked the door behind them. He tried calling the President but got a busy line. He handed the phone to Kyoko. "I'll fix us something for breakfast.", he said."No!", he said as she offered to do that instead."You need a bit of keep trying the president's number, otherwise call Yashiro."
Kyoko took the phone, still a little frightened. "You can come with me.", he added kindly. "I don't want you to strain yourself cooking, that's all."
Kyoko turned red. He must think I'm such a chicken!, she thought mortified. She stood straight and told Ren firmly that she would be quite all right alone. Ren nodded and made for the kitchen. "I won't be long.",he assured her.
Kyoko called the President but with no success. Finally she sent him a text message before calling Yashiro. Yashiro readily agreed to inform the President and inform them when the transport was ready.
When she was done, Kyoko noticed a subtle drop in the room temperature. And it was geting colder. Kyoko shivered as she felt goosebumps rising down her neck. And then, she heard the voice!
The voice was rich and sweet, singing a beautiful song. there was a hypnotic quality about the voice. Kyoko was so entranced by it, she forgot to b afraid. Then just as suddenly as it had begun, the singing abruptly stoppped. The voice began to speak and its tone had changed dramatically. It was a woman's voice. Raspy, menacing and extremely evil.
Kyoko felt a curious tickling sensation in her ears all the time the voice spoke. As though someone were gently blowing into her ears.
Not very wise to leave him alone dearie... such a handsome man..would be a pity if I took him with me hmmm...?
Kyoko's eyes widened with horror and then she felt a terrible fury beyond anything she'd known. She ran to the kitchen, heaving a sigh of relief when she saw Ren. Ren turned when he heard her sigh. She looked a little pale, and there was determination burning in her eyes.
"Is everything all right?", he asked.
No! Nothing is all right! How can they be when spirits threaten to finish you? was what she wanted to say. Instead she told him as calmly as possible that she had managed to inform Yashiro. Ren walked over to her frowning. "What's wrong?", he pressed.
Kyoko didn't reply, as she continued to stare at the ground, shuffling her feet.
"Do you consider me as a friend Mogami san?", Ren suddenly asked. The question took her by surprise. "Of course I'd love t-", she started off, finally looking up. She immediately clammed up and looked down again blushing a little.
Ren bit back a triumphant grin. "So you don't think you'd make a good friend for me?", he asked in his best 'poor l'il friendless me' voice. "Or you think I wouldn't want to be your friend." She gave a small nod.
"Well!", he continued cheerfully. "I'll put an end to that dilemma! I hereby declare, you , Kyoko Mogami, one of the best friends I ever had!
"Now let's make an oath of togetherness. We'll be friends forever and ever and no matter what happens, we'll always be by each other's side. We'll share our joys and sorrows just like..like friends and vow to protect..er no that's it.", he finished his enthusiastic speech a little lamely.
You nearly gave yourself away you idiot! He scolded himself. He started to let go off Kyoko's hand, but she immediately gripped it again. "Don't stop.", she urged.
"What?", he asked in confusion.
"We will always protect each other from any threats, or anything that will act as a shadow on our friendship.", she said firmly. She squeezed his hand gently before letting go.
Ren wondered why she had suddenly insisted on the last 'promise'. Is she worried about me?
"What did you make?", she suddenly asked walking in to take a look. "Coffee and toast.", he said a little apologetically. "It's the best I can make."
As they ate, Kyoko announced that they clean up the rest of the house. "After all, it is a Love Me assignment. We can clean up the rooms upstairs while we wait for the President to send us his car.", she said.
Later, they trudged upstairs, determined to finish everything before leaving.
"We needn't bother with my room Tsuruga san!", she said cheerfully. "I've already cleaned it up!"
He walked into the room, looking around appraisingly. "You did a good job.", he admitted. He suddenly caught sight of the 'moving tree'. "You say that tree magically appeared next to your window last night?", he asked a little skeptically.
Kyoko frowned at his tone. "That was what I saw!", she said a little defensively. "And I certainly did not imagine the woman in white walking towards me!"
"Right, now let's go to the other rooms.", Ren said hastily. The two finished most of the rooms quite quickly. Finally, they were left with Maria's room.
" Well, this might take us some time.", said Kyoko. The room was quite large, and one of the dustiest in the house. There was dust on the floor, the rocking chair and plenty on the soft toys. It was nearly two hours before the room was finally dust free. They talked as they rearranged the toys.
"Have you ever been here before ?", Kyoko asked curiously. Ren shook his head. "I've heard about it plenty of times.", he admitted. "My father had come here a couple of times." A look of pain flashed across his face.
"I'm sorry", Kyoko said gently. Ren looked at her surprised. "What for?", he asked, a little puzzled. Now Kyoko looked surprised. "Well, the way you looked just now when you were talking about your father, I thought he was dead.", she explained.
Ren sighed. "He isn't dead Mogami san! He's very much alive and is an actor like me."
"You didn't get along?", she guessed. Kyoko had never heard Ren talk about his parents before. And she had never seen him look as unhappy as he did now. "If it hurts so much to talk about your past let it be for now.", she said gently.
Just then Ren felt a cold breeze blow around him and die down. And then, a feeling of immense euphoria filled him. Ren felt as though nothing could ever go wrong! He was absolutely bubbling with confidence and happiness.
"Mogami san!", he suddenly said. "There's something I want you to know. I must tell you or I'll go mad!" Kyoko gave him an encouraging nod. "My real name is Hizuri Kuon. My parent s are Kuu and Julie Hizuri." She gave him a blank look, but Ren continued. " As I grew older, I drifted apart from them. My own acting career was going nowhere. I became frustrated, and unstable. I started getting into fights. And the outcome of one such fight-was my best friend's death."
He was talking monotonously,like a robot repeating in reality, he was terrified. Ren felt as though someone was talking through him. And the shocked look on Kyoko's face made him curse this mysterious force. Because now she would never think of being with him- a cruel, cold-blooded murderer.
"Tsuruga san?", she interrupted his thoughts. "Could it be that you blame yourself for this friend's death?" .
"I don't have to. I am responsible for it.", he replied calmy. "I was chasing another guy and Rick, my friend was trying to stop me. But then-", his face darkened, " a car ran over him. Over Rick! I should have been the one to die! He didn't deseve to die like that! He deserved to live till he was hundred. So you see, Murasame has been right about me. The real Ren Tsuruga san is a murderer."
"Tsuruga san, did you push your friend in the car's way?", asked Kyoko. He shook his head . "Did you pay the driver to run over him?" "Of course not!", he snapped. "Were you driving the car?" "No!"
"In that case, my common sense tells me that you are no murderer.", she said simply. He stared at her in surprise. "You don't hate me after what I just told you?", he asked.
"You are my friend aren't you Tsuruga san?", she said with a sad smile. "I think you have been blaming yourself wrongly for your friend's death. I don't care what you think of yourself. In my opinion, you are a good person, who deserves to be happy. Stop denying yourself the right to be happy. That's stupid!"
Ren once again felt that euphoria. It frightened him. He had just gone back to normal after telling Kyoko about his past. Now this unearthly force had again regained control of his body.
"Is that how you really feel Mogami san?", he asked. "If I say I have a girl I love, what would you say to that?"
There was a short pause. "I would advise you to confess your feelings to her.", Kyoko said casually. "You will always cherish her, I know."
"She won't run away once she knows the truth about me will she?", Ren asked anxiously.
"If she does, she will have lost the love of a lifetime.", Kyoko replied dully.
"She'll always be by my side?"
"Forever."
"Like you?"
"Closer than me I suppose."
In three strides, Ren had closed the distance between them and taken her in his arms. "Do you have any idea how happy you make me Mogami san?", he asked her seriously.
"Not as happy as your girl I suppose."
Ren released her for a moment to look into her eyes. "Why, you're jealous! I am so glad she can make you feel like that!"
"Why?', Kyoko asked, her voice now rather icy. "And what makes you think I'm jealous? I'm just a little possessive of my friends, that's all!"
Ren hugged her again. "I love that you can feel possessive about me Mogami san. Because this time I get the feeling that my feelings are not one sided anymore!"
Kyoko pulled herself away and stared at him frowning. "You feeling okay Tsuruga san? You seem a bit..different."
Ren beamed at her. "I am the happiest man alive Mogami san! I am going to tell you something I've never told anyone before!"
"Er…is that so?", Kyoko asked, still eying him warily. "Er..maybe…if you'd just move a bit farther.."
Ren ignored her. "I love you!", he declared. She stared at him. "If that's a joke, its not funny!", she said ."It is not a joke!", Ren continued passionately. " I have been in love with you since last year. Kyoko, please, don't do this to me. If you like, say 'no', but please! Don't hate me, don't run away, don't break our friendship, and pleeease! Don't look at me like that!" He looked desperate and on the verge of a breakdown.
"Ren.", Kyoko said softly. "I love you too." Ren was amazed. It was so easy!, he wondered.
"You-love-me?", he repeated wonderingly. "Since when?" Kyoko shrugged. "Hard to say exactly when. "But I began to realize my feelings when you had that accident in Dark Moon." And I decided to stop running away from my feelings when that hideous voice threatened you. I realized I could never let anyone harm you in any way., she thought to herself.
She smiled at him warmly. "So let me say it again- I love you."
If Ren had been feeling euphoric earlier, it was nothing compared to what he was feeling now. And once again, he felt that invincible power controlling his words. "What must I do to show you my love?", he asked her, with a slight hint of the emperor .
"Anything!", Kyoo replied without thinking. Her eyes widened in horror as Ren's face loomed nearer and nearer, giving her a full blast of the emperor. She immediately realized that he was going to kiss her. But no matter how much she loved him, she wasn't ready to kiss him just yet! She was new to this for heaven's sake! It was too embarrassing!
Meanwhile, Ren was screaming to the supernatural forces to stop. Stop! You'll scare her away! Can't you see, she's not ready for that just yet?!
It took all of Ren's strength to regain control of his body. Instead of kissing her, he gave her another hug. Kyoko sighed with relief and hugged him back. "Thank you .", she whispered. "You scared me!"
Ren laughed softly. "Whenever you're ready Kyoko.", he said. "I don't want to force you to do anything. If you weren't comfortable with calling me Ren, I would have let you call me 'Tsuruga san'." Suddenly, Ren felt that euphoric feeling vanish. He was himself again. He sighed with relief. What was that? He wondered. For a moment I thought I was being possessed.!
As he held Kyoko, Ren could have sworn, he had heard a voice whisper in his ears-Spoilsport!
…
Ren and Kyoko went downstairs when they had finished cleaning. Ren was the first to notice something wrong in the drawing room.
"Is it just me, or is something different?", he asked Kyoko. Kyoko looked around and then it hit her. "The curtains!", she exclaimed. "Someone has drawn the curtains!"
Sure enough, the curtains had been drawn open. But what was more frightening was that there was a thick mist outside.
"Mist?", asked Ren, puzzled. "At this time of the year , and in a place like this?"
"Ren!", Kyoko said suddenly. "The keys!" Ren looked towards the door where she was pointing. The keys which had been left at the keyhole, had disappeared!
They ran to the door and tried to open it. But it was locked. Kyoko began to try and open the windows instead, but they wouldn't budge. They were prisoners!
"We could break the window..", Kyoko said a little doubtfully. Ren shook his head. "I've heard that they're bullet proof.", he said. "There's no way out. I hope the President's car finds us."
Ren called the President. To his relief, the President answered. But apparently the car had been sent hours ago.
"Well?", Kyoko demanded. Her face turned white when he told her. "So we m..must spend the night in th..this place?!", she asked frightened. It had been bad enough in the day
. Ren nodded. "Don't worry Kyoko. There are no ghosts in this place! I'll take good care of you.", he told her, though not entirely convinced himself.
That night, Kyoko refused to stay downstairs. She firmly believed that whatever had locked them inside was still downstairs, waiting 'to strike' as she called it.
So together, the two of them went upstairs to the guest bedroom. "It's a good thing you're still in pajamas.", said Ren.
Kyoko looked at her clothes and laughed when she realized that she had spent the entire day in her pajamas. Then she noticed something else.."
"Ren!", she said in a panicky voice. "These aren't the pajamas I wore yesterday! I told you there's something strange about this hou-"
"Calm down.", he said dryly. "I changed you out of those wet pajamas yesterday. No ghosts involved. And your blue stone is in the pocket."
Kyoko's momentary look of outrage and embarrassment immediately turned into one of delight when she found 'Corn'. "We'll be perfectly safe now Ren!", she said confidently. "I hope so.", Ren said absent mindedly . "Good night!" He hugged her comfortingly. To his surprise, Kyoko kissed him on the cheek.
"Goodnight!", she said brightly, smiling up at him. She jumped into the bed and moved a good way to the edge to make room for Ren. He watched her in amusement. "You'll fall over if you're not careful!", he said as he got into the bed. "Come on,move off the edge a bit. I won't bite you!"
Kyoko moved a whole one centimeter from the edge, her back to him the whole time. Ren narrowed his eyes. He sat up, grabbed Kyoko and dragged her to the middle of the bed. Kyoko gave a squeal of surprise when she felt Ren grab her.
"You are not spending the night in discomfort on my account!". He told her threateningly. "And to make sure, I'm not letting go off you until you fall faaaast asleep!"
Kyoko turned over to face him and glared at him. "You bully! You said you weren't going to force me to do anything!"
"Sure, sure..now go to sleep honey.", Ren said sleepily, pulling her in closer and holding her so tight, she couldn't move even a finger.
Kyoko sighed, feeling both exasperated and amused. Who am I to stop him? She told herself not entirely disliking the situation. Within minutes, they fell asleep.
Much later, Kyoko woke up . She sat up quickly. It was a sound that had woken her up. She looked towards the window, and sure enough, it was the spook tree knocking its branches against her window. Kyoko began to tremble. She suddenly missed being coiled up safely in Ren's arms. She looked down and her heart stopped. Ren wasn't there!
Keep cool now! She told herself nervously. He can't be far off. She listened hard and heard his voice. Kyoko got up and went out of the room. He was in the playroom, talking to someone on the phone. Kyoko shivered as she made her way to the room. Though they had left the lights on, they were switched off again.
When she entered the playroom, she found Ren sitting on the rocking chair, conversing on his mobile in the dark.
"Ren?", Kyoko started nervously. Everything looked so eerie in the dark.
Ren stopped talking abruptly. He got up slowly and turned to the window. "Well?", he asked irritably. "What is it now?"
Kyoko blinked. "Er..nothing..I was just looking for –", Kyoko stopped talking and stared at him transfixed in horror. Ren's face turned a complete three sixty degrees and faced her. Then, his face began to change. His skin started to turn into a hideous , mottled green hue. It looked as though he was speedily decaying. Even his features changed. His eyes turned orange and he began to hiss like a snake. Kyoko stared in horror at the forked tongue.
Then the rest of his body turned. Ren,no- the monster raised one of its arms. Kyoko felt a vice-like grip on her neck and found herself being lifted up. Then she was rotated round and round till she was dizzy. The monster then made a flinging motion and Kyoko found herself being thrown away….
….
A/N: Sorry for the late update everyone! Actually I had a different chapter written out..all cotton candy stuff..but I read it and thought that's not too realistic! Not in a situation like that. So after many rewrites, this was what I came up with. Sorry if you're a little disappointed with the strictly sugar-free romance! Spooks again next time, because its night time!
Any way—please review!