It was a good thing Ren had been holding her so close. He was able to catch her, slowly lowering her to the ground.
"Mogami-san? Are you alright?" said Ren. This was turning into a habit.
"Yes, I'm f-, well a little bit dizzy but fine overall." she said, placing a hand to her head. She sat there until the room stopped spinning.
Ren placed a worried hand on her shoulder, concerned. Her face was pale, and she was staring at the ground. He cursed at himself.
He had over done it. Kyoko, pure soul that she was, had no barriers when it came to men. His desires had got the best of him and it had produced this result.
"I'm sorry Mogami-san." he said. "I shouldn't have done that without asking your permission first."
"Don't apologize." she muttered. "Just be more aware next time."
Aware? He thought. Aware of what?
Before he could ask, the butler that had talked to them earlier coughed.
"You have to answer the question young lady." He said, looking at Kyoko. She cocked her head, then remembered what they were doing here.
"Oh. " she said, getting to her feet with Ren's help. "I'm sorry, I didn't even hear what the question was for this round." She had been too engrossed in her own self pity. "Could you tell me the question?"
The butler complied
"What secret have been keeping that might make the other person hate you?"
Kyoko's mouth fell open. What kind of question was that?!
Ren's expression darkened.
"An audience member asked that?" said Ren, eyes hard. That was a very specific question. He was starting to doubt the authenticity of the participants.
"Yes." said the butler. "The older lady over there asked." he said, pointed towards the center of the crowd.
Ren couldn't tell who he was pointing to, but it didn't matter. He was almost positive Lory had planted random accomplices within the crowd. He really was going to kill that man after today. Well, that was assuming Ren managed to live through it first. He was lucky Kyoko had broken the stick first, given the multitude of secrets he didn't want her to know yet. Each one could instantly turn her away from him for good.
"Why are they asking such awkward questions?" said Kyoko looking very displeased
"Probably in hopes of getting rid of the competition." said Ren, trying to reassure her. "Most people probably want the prize, and by asking questions that are hard to answer, it means more people will lie. Knocking out your opponents is a good strategy. Plus..." he studied the room, then pointed out a pair to Kyoko. "We have some married couples that entered the midst. Things like secrets and lies are likely to break them out as well." Though in truth, if people had that mentality, this game was more likely to break couples, not bring them together. Several people were yelling at each other. He watched as a women slapped a man before walking off.
"Wow. You're smart Tsuruga-san." said Kyoko.
"Don't sound so surprised."
"Con artists are smart and devious."
"Who's a con artist?"
They smiled at each other, enjoying the playful bantering before Ren's expression became serious.
"Mogami-san." he said. "I promise; whatever it is you are hiding. I will not hate you."
She blinked. "Promise?"
He grabbed the hand that was bound by the handcuffs. Interlocking her fingers between his, he gave it a comforting squeeze.
"Promise." As long as it didn't involve a certain musician.
Kyoko bit her lip. His hand was both comforting and scaring her. Would he still hold it after she told him?
She looked down at the ground, took a deep breath and then looked into his eyes.
"I'm Bo."
"Bo?" he said, then comprehension dawned on him. She was the Chicken!
"I'm sooooooorrrrrryyyyyyyyyy." said Kyoko. She ripped her right hand out of his left, immediately attempting to go down into a dogzza, unaware she had again brought Ren down with her. Mixed garbles of "sorry" and "horrible human being" could be understood from her tirade of apologies.
"Mogami-san. Please calm down." He said, his mind working frantically. He couldn't believe it. She had been Bo? He ran over the things he had confessed to her. All the little snippets of conversation. Did that mean she knew what he felt about her?
He quickly studied her, gauging her expression. She looked nervous, and upset, even scared, but he doubted even she could act normally if she knew he loved her. No... he had to make sure.
"Do you know?" he said, voice hoarse. "Who I was talking about. The girl I..." The girl I'm in love with.
"The high school girl?" she asked.
He nodded.
"No." said Kyoko. "And I haven't told anyone a thing about what you told me. Well, now that I think about it, I might have told the president a while back that you said you didn't feel like you deserved to fall in love, but that's it! And I didn't tell him why you said that or..."
"Mogami-san." he said. "You're rambling."
Kyoko clamped her mouth shut. She stared down at her hands, clenched and trembling on her knees.
This is it. She thought, tears starting to leak from her eyes. I made him hate me. Now he's never going to forgive me.
But the truth was far from it. Ren was staring at the girl before him, marveling at her again. That chicken had helped him a lot during particularly sensitive moments in his life when he couldn't talk to anyone else. It was because of Bo that he had been able to surpass his father's acting and discover his true feelings. Well, that and Kyoko herself. How many things did he owe to this women?
He smiled warmly at her, placing a hand on her head and ruffling her hair.
"I'm not upset at you Mogami-san." he said. Wiping away a tear with a thumb. "Though I do wonder, why didn't you tell me?"
She stared at him, stunned by the heavenly smile. "That's- well I didn't think you would have consulted with me when you needed help." she mumbled. "And I wanted to do something." He really needed to be more aware of what his looks did to women. Especially when he smiled like that.
Ren thought for a moment then agreed. "No, I definitely would not have told you about my worries." she wilted. "That being said," he continued "I truly appreciate the times you listened to me. Half of the reason it worked was because of the absurdity of the situation. Talking to a chicken about my problems..."
He thought about the moment he had ripped off part of her costume. Or that she had even told him to seduce her.
Ren busted out laughing.
"I don't see what's so funny about this." huffed Kyoko. She wished she could fold her arms, but her shackle to Ren prevented her from doing so. "I really was scared you'd hate me."
"I'm sorry. It's just..." he burst into laughter again, and Kyoko continued to fume.
Ren felt a warm sensation spreading from inside of him. The secret had broken the awkward barrier between them sense the start of the game. They were back to being comfortable with each other again.
"Excuse me." said the butler again. They both looked at the person interrupting their moment.
"But you both need to get ready again. The president is about to hit the gong."
"And what's the question this time?" asked Kyoko.
"Have you ever cheated on a partner?"
Ren then got to his feet, pulling Kyoko along with him.
"Mogami-san." he said.
"Yes?"
"Want to hear something that will make this game easier?"
"What?" Anything to prevent her from fainting again.
Ren bent down, whispering into her ear.
A grin spread across her face.
When I started this I wasn't sure how it would end. But ideas just keep coming, and now that I know the general ending, I realize it's longer then I meant it to be. OH WELL! XD
