Chapter 4: Date: Beyond Imagination
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Skip Beat, for if I did, Ren would definitely plan a magical first date for Kyoko.
Ren licked his fingers clean and smiled at Kyoko. "That was tasty." Kyoko snorted. She had to admit the juices from the tangerine gave it a tangy flavor making it palatable.
Ren took all the dishes and walked it down to the river to wash them. While he was cleaning, Kyoko took the time to really rummage through their supplies. Why are there so many cans of beans? When he returned, she held up two cans towards him and nodded her head to the others
"Breakfast, lunch, and dinner?" he grinned. "All I have to do is open the can with my trusty swiss army knife, dump it in the pot and I have a nice hot meal."
She glowered at him. He would have definitely lost weight out here if she didn't tag along. He chuckled and doused the fire with dirt. "Let's secure all this stuff in the case."
When they were through packing up, Ren retrieved their shoes by the river. His pair were mostly dry but he changed his socks to dry ones. He didn't want to get any blisters while they walked.
"Are you ready to go?" He asked her after he finished lacing his shoes. He stood in front of her and adjusted her crown. It was cute so she continued to wear it.
"Umm, well you see..." She was doing that nervous action where she tapped both of her pointer fingers together. Ren waited for her to continue. She sighed. "It's fine we can just go," she said walking away.
"No, wait. I want to know what's bothering you," he told her grabbing her wrist before she walked away.
Kyoko turned back toward him her face scarlet. "It's nothing, I just really want to get away from the river at the moment."
Ren looked at the river not sure what she was afraid of, maybe she saw a wild animal perhaps even a bear. He scanned the banks but didn't see anything. He'll indulge her for now, they were heading toward the mountain ridge anyway but he couldn't help the river being nearby.
Ren consulted his map before they set off with her hand once again secured in his. So far neither of them had broached the topic that she started at fairyland. Holding hands like this was a nice start. There was no hiding behind roles just Ren and Kyoko facing each other as themselves. So she thought.
"Can you tell me where we are going?" Kyoko asked him while they began to ascend deeper into the forest. She was glad the sound of the river was fading.
"We're going on our first date!" Ren told her looking down at her with a warm smile.
"We are?" She sputtered. She would be lying if she said she never dreamed about going on a date with him. Of course in all those scenarios, she never once imagined it as backpacking through the woods. She had envisioned herself in a beautiful dress, him in a well-tailored suit holding a bouquet of red roses, some gourmet dinner and dessert, maybe even dancing. So far, this date was beyond her wildest dreams. The best part of it all, was experiencing firsthand the man behind his well cultivated public persona.
"We are." He said firmly in response to her question. "I'm sorry it's not more romantic. When we get back to the city, I promise to take you out properly. We can go to din-"
Kyoko shook her head vigorously making him stop in the middle of his sentence.
"Ah, I see. So you don't want to date me," he said solemnly.
"No! That's not it! So far this day has blown away all my expectations of first dates out of the water. I doubt anyone can top this." She leaned up on her tip toes and kissed him on the cheek. She was rewarded with a blushing Ren. She tugged on his arm to continue their trek.
About forty minutes into the hike, the sound of water once again had Kyoko sweating. They were nearing the base of the mountain so the river had to be near again. She couldn't hide it any longer. She stopped walking yanking back on Ren's arm. "Tsuruga-san..." she said timidly. He turned around. She was sweating profusely and dancing from one foot to the other. Ren had an inkling of what her problem was.
"I can't hold it anymore!" she cried out in mortification. She had been trying to distract herself with the beautiful scenery but nature eventually came beating down her door. "What do I do?" She asked him swinging her head back and forth frantically. She knew she would have to go in the woods, eventually.
"Don't panic," he said. "I prepared for this." He took off his bag pack and placed it on the ground. He started to dig through it until he found what he was looking for.
"Do you have to go number 1 or number 2?" he asked her holding up a clear zip bag of supplies and a small trowel.
"What?! Oh my god! This is so embarrassing!"
"Well you see if you need to...um take a crap! I read that you should dig a hole first so you can bury your excrement...and then seal..." he continued his explanation.
She let out a scream of anguish sending any furry animals in their vicinity scampering away. Kyoko snatched the bag of supplies and stomped off into the woods. Her bladder was about to burst. She could hear Ren calling out to her not to go too far off the trail. "Yeah right," she muttered to herself as she stepped deeper into the woods until she couldn't see him anymore. How was she going to face him after this? She ducked behind a bush and pulled down her jeans. It's a good thing she was accustomed to squatting when using the toilet. The Fuwa Ryokan was very traditional and only had a few western toilets for their guests.
She let out a loud sigh of relief as she emptied her bladder. She picked up the supply bag. It was filled with moist towelettes, hand sanitizer, disposable baggies, tissues and more. He really did his research, she thought, shaking herself dry. She used the tissues sparingly and placed the soiled ones into one of the baggies to carry out. She didn't want to be the one responsible for ruining this beautiful environment. She stuffed the dirty baggy into her pocket. She would rather die than let Ren see it.
…
Ren was shaking himself dry when he heard Kyoko's scream. He zipped up quickly and darted in the direction he saw her walk off to earlier. It wasn't long before she came crashing through the trees at full speed. "Runnnnnn!" she screamed as soon as she saw him. Something was chasing her. He ran towards her to intercept whatever was after her. He would protect her. A wild boar was closely on her heels.
It stopped when it spotted Ren or more accurately Kuon. Kyoko panted trying to catch her breath a few feet behind Ren. Her grudges instantly sensed the change in him. Dark Kuon gave off an intimidating aura that caused the animal's survival instincts to kick in. It stood there sizing up its new enemy. It growled and snorted toeing the ground in front of it.
The boar had to weigh at least 70 kilos. If Ren was to get struck down by its tusks, his little magical adventure would be over before it began. Without moving his head, he looked around the ground for anything that can serve as a weapon. Ren and Kyoko's attention shifted to the thrashing sounds that were coming from the right side of them. A drove of six piglets came waddling through the brush without a care of the show down going on. The boar squealed and charged thinking that its babies were in danger. "Oh shit!" Ren yelped. He pivoted on his foot, picked up Kyoko and started running away.
He found a low sturdy branch on one of the trees and lifted Kyoko on to the limb. He grabbed on to an adjacent branch and easily lifted himself on to it. They laughed with relief once they were safe. Their laughter died down as the boar rammed at the tree trunk several times, grunting and growling. Kyoko called down to it saying she was so sorry and to stop hurting itself. After a few more head butts, it finally gave up and moved on following its curious litter.
"Oh I wish I could have taken a picture of the babies. They were so adorable," Kyoko gushed. "Thanks for saving me Tsuruga-san."
Ren nodded and looked at Kyoko sitting cutely across from him. Ren and Kyoko sitting in a tree... K-I-S-S-I... came the sing song voice in his head from his childhood. Ren shook the song out of his head even though he really wanted to kiss her.
"Tsuruga-san...Tsuruga-san didn't you think the babies were cute too?" She asked, her golden eyes flashing excitedly locking with his. He had to agree with on that one. Any other time, he would have loved to play with them.
Ren scanned the area below to make sure the boar and her babies were finally gone before hopping down. He reached up for Kyoko. She leaned into his arms, the length of her body sliding down his until her toes touched earth. Her whole body tingled from the action. She stared up at him, anxiously hoping for something. Still in his arms, he reached a hand up to caress her cheek. She closed her eyes and puckered her lips. It was all the invitation he needed. He cleared his throat and kissed her forehead. He needed to tell her the truth before he made any moves on her. He pulled away from her, taking her hand in his and led her to where he thought their bags were. She followed him with a frown.
Once they had retrieved their bags, they were back on the path.
"Mogami-san," he said her name so formally as if deliberately trying to create distance between them. In the clearing, he had called her so intimately her heart had stopped.
"Yes, Tsuruga-san?" She replied, keeping her tone cool.
"Did you try to play with that mama boar's babies?" Kyoko's face turned crimson. It was while she was walking back to Ren when she spotted the babies. They were so cute. She had to at least pet them. It had been such a great idea until their mama had arrived. Kyoko instantly realized her mistake and took off running her hand clutching the toilet supplies. She didn't want to entertain the idea of cleaning herself with a leaf.
"They looked so cute. I couldn't help it!" Kyoko admitted biting her lower lip.
"Please don't do that again. Taisho would chop me to bits if you got hurt. Remember, this isn't a Disney cartoon. Wild animals are not friendly nor can they speak."
"I got it!" She pouted.
His tone softened. "Please be careful next time. I don't want you to get hurt." She nodded. During the hike they saw more animals along the way. Kyoko especially loved seeing the mama deer with her baby. They saw a few rabbits and even a fox. After hiking for another hour the trees started thinning and finally opened to a big open field. The wild grass was almost knee high on Kyoko.
"Come on," Ren called out tugging on her hand we're almost there. He started running excited to show her what he had seen in the magazine. Kyoko laughed at his excitement. He was just like a child sometimes. She chased after him as fast as her short legs could carry her.
"Hurry up, slow poke!" he called back to her already halfway across the field. Kyoko distractedly spied some wild flowers still blooming. She bet that this place was usually covered in flowers. She finally made it to Ren's side and stopped. The view was magnificent. They were overlooking a large lake at the base of the mountain. The water was so serene that the surrounding trees and sky reflected off its surface like a painting.
"Wow! It's so beautiful!" Kyoko whispered. Ren agreed. He sat down a safe distance from the edge and reached up for Kyoko to sit in front of him. She sat down stiffly unsure of what to do. Ren chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind pulling her gently to lean against his chest.
"Thank you for coming with me," he whispered near her ear. His breath tickled her making her giggle. They watched in fascination as a hawk swooped down into the water and snatched up a fish. Kyoko could make out flocks of ducks and geese on the water. She wondered why they didn't migrate south yet. As the minutes ticked by, Kyoko became more relaxed. So relaxed that the soft vibrations of Ren's voice, telling her stories of his childhood, soon lulled her to sleep. Ren could have stayed like this forever. This trip had become more than he could have ever imagined.
There was so much he needed to tell her. Like a coward, he decided tomorrow was another day. Just for today, he wanted her to continue to look at him, unguarded and vulnerable, like he meant the world to her. Tomorrow, he would be more prepared to face her. He had to be, because there was no going any further until he faced her as his true self.
Kyoko woke from her short slumber screaming out Ren's name causing flocks of birds to flee from their perch in the nearby trees. She looked around frantically with eyes unfocused. It took her several moments to determine what was real. Ren whispered soothing words and kissed her head lightly to calm her down. She was still shivering from her nightmare. It had felt so real.
"Hey..." he cooed softly. "I'm here, you're safe." He wasn't sure what had spurred it on but he did have experience with horrible dreams. Kyoko clung to him afraid he would disappear. His arms wrapped tighter around her. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked quietly. He felt her shake her head "no" into his chest. She just wanted to forget it.
"I'm so sorry. Was I asleep long?" Kyoko asked trying to hide her embarrassment. How could she have fallen asleep on him like this and on their first date! She was ridiculously hopeless.
"It was more like a power nap, about fifteen minutes. Are you ok to continue? There's one more thing we have to do before heading back." He pulled out his map. This time Kyoko really looked at it. Her nightmare forgotten, she asked Ren questions on the places he marked. She pointed to the spot nearest to them marked lake side. He told her he didn't want to ruin the surprise and folded up the map.
Kyoko stood and stretched. Ren did the same thing but let out a few groans in the process. Kyoko turned her head away in shame when she heard a few of his bones crack while he stretched. "I'm so sorry! Because of me you were uncomfortable!" she apologized. Ren assured her that he didn't mind.
"Come on, it's this way." He motioned for her to follow him. The trek down was narrow and steep so Kyoko had to follow him. Every now and again he would turn to help Kyoko step through loose terrain. Once they made it to the bottom, Ren took her hand in his again. They walked along the shore talking naturally about the surroundings. Kyoko's face lit up as several cranes flew passed them and settled onto the surface of the lake. From the shore the lake was teeming with life. Fish were breaching the surface and ducks were swimming on the surface.
"Look over there," Ren said pointing further down. Several deer were drinking water from the lake. Kyoko excitedly took pictures of them.
Ren steered her towards a dock hidden in the tall reeds where a row boat sat bobbing in the water. Her eyes went wide as saucers when he climbed into the boat and helped her in.
"When? How?" She asked unable to articulate a coherent question. She couldn't believe that this was here for their use. He told her that it was something the landowner used.
Once she was seated, Ren removed his jacket and pushed them away from the dock using an oar. Kyoko unabashedly stared at Ren as he expertly pulled the oars through the water. His arms tensed from the exertion showing off his rippling muscles. He looked too perfect.
Kyoko couldn't help pulling out the camera and taking his picture. He looked just like Prince Eric from Disney's The Little Mermaid. She could hear the little red crab's song Kiss the Girl running through her head. She turned quickly and started taking pictures of other things on the lake to hide her blush.
Working up the courage, she stunned Ren by sitting on his lap for a selfie. She turned her head to be cutesy like she had seen other girls her age do with their "boyfriends." She wanted to take a picture while kissing his cheek. To her surprise, Ren had the same idea. He turned his face to kiss her cheek just in time for their lips to collide. Both their eyes went wide in surprise. When Kyoko didn't shy away, Ren took control. So much for waiting until I told her the truth. He released the oars, wrapped one arm around her waist and buried his other hand in her hair. He tilted their heads to gain better access to her lips. With bridled control, he kissed her softly savoring her sweetness. Kyoko closed her eyes, losing herself in his kiss, but not before thinking how much it felt just like Corn's.
AN: Hi hi everyone! Today's prompt was Date; Therefore, I tried to make our lovebirds go on one as much as they could in the woods. I hope you enjoyed.
Thanks always for R&R'ing. I appreciate you all!
Until Tomorrow, sayonara! ^_^
