Disclaimer: I don't own Skip Beat.
Note: So sorry for the delay, I had writers block…. I couldn't write anything without sounding completely weird.
(This means authors note in the story)
Chapter Seventeen
"This is going to be fun," Ren said looking at the tiny room, which consisted of a queen bed, a bedside table, a small bathroom, and a fireplace in the corner. Kyoko looked at him oddly. "Never mind," Ren added.
"Do you want to change first or should I?" She asked, Ren motioned of her to change first. Kyoko slipped off into the bathroom leaving Ren to his thoughts. Ren turned to stare out the small window. He couldn't help but believe that Lory had something to do with his car breaking down and then removed it, not some silly fairytale. Ren couldn't see Lory pulling such a stunt, but he did sound happy that Kyoko and he were stuck in a hotel together. Then again Lory loved messing with Ren's love live. So how did you explain the car breaking down and then disappeared?
"Ren?" He hear Kyoko say he turned to see Kyoko pulling down the rather shot bathrobe she was given. It must have been for one of the little mans girlfriends. The sleeves for some reason were cut off and the bottom of the bathrobe was cut and then hemmed. "I've been calling your name for several minutes, you can go change now." She said pointing to the bathroom.
"Sorry I was just looking outside," Ren said pointing.
"It's very beautiful," Kyoko said looking dreamily outside. "Now go and change before you catch a cold." She said pushing him in to the bathroom. He smiled and closed the door behind him. Kyoko moved back to the window and looked out. Through the rain you could see a clearing much like the one she had first meet Koun. She smiled at the memory.
"What are you smiling at?" Ren said wrapping his arms around her middle. Kyoko squeaked and jumped away.
"Don't do that!" Kyoko said sternly to the smirking Ren.
"Dear Kyoko are you ticklish?" Ren asked.
"No," She said, Ren raised his eyebrow and stepped forward. "Okay I am." She said, Ren grinned happily. "Are you?" She asked his smile fell quickly.
"Of course," Ren said "I think all people are ticklish," He said, "But I am curious what were you smiling at?" He asked.
Kyoko walked back and stood beside him and pointed out the window. "Do you see that clearing over there?" She asked. Ren nodded
"It looks like the place we first meet." Ren said smiling at the memory. Kyoko looked up at him and smiled before turning to inspect the room.
"So we have a bed a fireplace, and a deck of cards and a bible," Kyoko said opening the drawer in the bedside table.
"Fun," Ren said moving away from the window. "Do you know how to play poker?" Ren asked.
"No, and don't you need money to play that?" Kyoko said.
"Not of you not gambling," He said sitting down in front of the fireplace. "Come on I'll teach you." When Ren saw Kyoko's hesitation He added, "What else do we have to do untill to tomorrow?" Ren asked. Kyoko sigh nodded and sat down; making sure that her bathrobe covered her.
"Okay then," Ren said he explained the rules and what wins over other things. "Do you have it?" Ren said after a few test runs.
"I believe so," Kyoko said nodding.
"And to answer your question about the money how about we play for secrets?" Ren asked.
"What exactly do you mean?" Kyoko asked.
"If you win a hand you get to ask me a question, and if I win I get to ask you a question." Ren explained.
"Okay, I can do that," Kyoko said smiling. Ren dealt out the first hand.
"I win," Kyoko said, laying down a full house.
"I see," Ren said looking at her cards. "Now ask away," He added smiling.
"Why did you change your name?" Kyoko asked, Ren's smile dropped, "I'm sorry that's a rather personal question," she said blushing.
"I don't think I would mind telling you," Ren said looking at her. Kyoko looked up and meet his gaze. Kyoko turned an even redder shade. "As you might have connected Kuu Huzuri is my father," He started, "And it was quite hard to get out of his shadow with the name Koun Huzuri, I tried and tried but it seemed that people expected me to be like him. So I started going out late at night," Ren said, "And lets juts say there is a reason that I could play Cain Heel so well." Ren said instead of explaining, Kyoko looked up at Ren who looked rather ashamed of himself. Kyoko reached out carefully and took his hand and smiled at him. He looked at her and smiled. "That's when Lory appeared, he had heard from my father what had happened to me and offered to give me a new life, and a new name." He said, "On the day they died my hair black I promised that I wouldn't tell the world I was Koun Huzuri untill I could surpass my father." He said finishing his story.
"Well I'm glad that you told me you were my Corn," She said using the mistake she used when pronouncing his name as a child. He looked a little shocked when she said 'my' but he recovered and smiled at the petite girl, no woman, in front of him.
"I am too," He said smiling gently down at her, knocking out her demons for the rest of the evening. Kyoko blinked slowly getting used to this old new feeling that she discovered on the highway.
"Come on my turn to deal," Kyoko said letting Ren know that the information she just learned wouldn't change her idea of him. She dealt out the cards and then followed the respective rules.
"I win," Ren said grinning laying down his hands.
Kyoko looked a little nervous but said, "Ask away,"
"The song you sang at the Presidents Halloween party," He said she looked confuse that he mentioned it. "Most people who know you fairly well might think that it was just about Sho Fuwa, but I think there was another person. Who is it?" He asked watching her reaction.
"The song might have been a little about Sho," She started, "But Aya said to reach down and find that something that had been eating at me. Sho was half of that song but the other half was for the woman that left when I was little, leaving a huge hole in my life." She said as if she was just realizing it herself.
"Kyoko," Ren started, "It has been my experience that some times its best to put that behind you. And if you look around you will notice that you've made yourself a new family in Tokyo." He said she looked at Ren confused.
"What do you mean? I don't have the ability to lo-"
"Not romantically but you've helped so many, and gained a huge family. Lory acts like your one of his own grandchildren, Maria acts like the little sister. Kanae is the sister that tries to be above it but still ends up caring. You have two sets of parents, the restaurant couple, and Kuu and his Wife, trust me my mother, from the brief things Lory told me is already taken with you. Aya and Rowan are like the two older siblings that everyone wished they had." Ren added causing Kyoko to laugh. "The director of new moon is like a cousin that you don't see often. Kyoko if you pause and look around at the good in this world, especially what you have done, you will be able to move on from the past," He said.
She looked up at Ren and smiled a tear running down her cheek. Ren reached forward and rubbed it away. "Do you know what?" she asked him. He shook his head. "I think there is magic in this place." Ren laughed slightly.
"I think you are right," He agreed. She smiled up at him a few more tears escaping. "But now I've made you cry," he said pulling her into a close hug not caring if she would hate him the next morning, or run screaming from the room. He allowed himself to play the part of Corn once again, the boy who made Kyoko feel better. After several minutes of just sitting there Kyoko pulled out of Ren's hug.
"I feel like I'm little again," Kyoko said wiping her face. "Always pushing my problems on to you," She said.
"I never said that I didn't mind," Ren said for her defense "Not then and not now," He added to make his point. She smiled up at him, when there was a knock on the door. Ren got up to go get it seeing how Kyoko looked a little like a mess.
"Hello," The little man from the desk said, "I thought you might be hungry and I found some pizza in the freezer so I cooked some up," He said offering two plates of it and two cans of soda to Ren.
"Thank you," He said accepting the pizza and the soda.
"Also if you get bored there should be a pack of cards in the drawer," The little man added before turning and leaving.
Ren balanced the pizza and two cans of soda as he shut the door with his foot. He made his way back to where Kyoko was. "Dinner," he said. "We have pepperoni pizza and pepperoni pizza, which one would you like." He asked with a grin. Kyoko smiled back and accepted the pizza.
The talked lightly while they ate. Then Kyoko looked out the window and yawned. "I think I am going to sleep," She followed by Ren's agreement, they both took separate sides of the bed far away from each other. After Ren convinced her that there was no need for her to sleep on the floor, they fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow, (I guess a day of amusement park rides and crashing into a tree will do that to someone)
Chapter Eighteen
Kyoko woke up the next morning once again in Ren's arms. Somehow they had moved from the separate sides of the bed to the middle. Kyoko looked up at Ren who had also just woken up.
"Good morning," He said looking down at Kyoko rather surprised. "I think I should stop waking up to your face, or I'm going to get used to it." He commented still half asleep. Kyoko blushed and then rolled over to look at the clock.
"We have to get up," Kyoko said jumping up. Ren groaned, "Ren it's already 11 o'clock you said Lory would be here at 11:30." That caused Ren to jump up and both of them ran in and out of the shower. At 11: 20 there was a knock at the door.
"Yes," Kyoko asked ringing out her hair as she answered it.
"Miss, there is someone at the front desk for you and your friend," A little old lady said.
"Thank you," Kyoko said returning the lady's bow before turning to call to Ren, "Lory is at the front desk."
"I heard," Ren said coming up behind her. The little old lady looked from Kyoko's wet hair to Ren's wet hair, and her eyes narrowed glaring at Ren. "I think we will be leaving now," Ren said scooting past the old lady. Kyoko smiled at the lady and followed Ren. They arrived in the Lobby and saw Lory dressed as a Norse God. Lory looked from Kyoko's wet hair and then to Ren's wet hair and came to the same conclusion as the little old lady in the hallway.
"So how was your night?" Lory asked raising an eyebrow.
"Okay," Kyoko said calmly. Handing over the bathrobe to the little man behind the desk, Ren passed the pants that he used. "Except for the fact that we crashed in to a tree," Kyoko said, Lory's eyebrows shot up even higher.
"And then the car disappeared," Ren added, "You wouldn't have anything to do with that would you?"
"No if you car had broken down 40 miles further along the road then yes." Lory said.
"President what were you up to?" Kyoko asked unbelieving.
"What were we up to," Aya said popping up from behind the desk. "We were going to play a practical joke on you."
"We had a nail strip that would only pop your tires," Rowan said popping up from the other side of the little man behind the desk.
"Then we were going to spray your car so that it looked like a 70's mobile while you walked to the gas station to call one of us." Aya said.
"But you didn't appear so we figured you went somewhere else pulled up the nails and then went home," Rowan said. "We waited 3 hours by the way,"
"Then we went home,"
"And then I got Ren's call," Lory said, "And by that time it was already raining too hard to drive so we waited to pick you up till this afternoon though." He added explaining on why they waited.
"So just because it was raining hard you didn't come pick us up?" Kyoko asked.
"Well you were at a hotel so we figured you were okay," Aya said.
"Ren are you sure those two are the siblings everyone wants?" Kyoko asked him, the two 'siblings' in question exchanged glances.
"You don't always get along with your siblings," Ren whispered, she laughed.
"Come on I need a change of clothes," Kyoko said walking out to the gold stretch limo and climbing in ignoring the weird glances they were given by their friends. Ren followed her shrugging.
"What was that about?" Rowan asked.
"Maybe were related?" Aya supplied trying to figure out why she and Rowan were considered 'siblings'.
"Were do I fit in?" Lory asked sadly with puppy dog eyes.
"You're the exotic grandfather/uncle," Rowan said after thinking for a moment.
"I can go with that," Lory said watching Aya crawl over the desk rather than walking around it.
"Come on Loki time to go," She said walking out to the gold limo.
"You got it!" Lory exclaimed happy that she knew who he was dressed as. (Loki is a Norse God…I think….) It was a not so silent ride back into Tokyo. Aya was sitting in the front seat and for some odd reason was driving. She was singing alone with an oldies station from America she somehow managed to get.
"So seeing how you missed your read through today, you two get to go in blind tomorrow." Lory explained. "The next episode is on site so all four of you with the rest of the crew will be taking a train-"
"Why a train?" Ren asked cutting him off.
"John gets air sick," Lory said "And I have arranged a little excitement for the train ride." Everyone in the room went pale.
"Why didn't you tell us about this?" Rowan asked Lory.
"And ruin the surprise?" Lory asked, "Never, any way while on bored you will be taking part in a game. You will be reacting an era and acting something out, and that is all that I will tell you." He added. The four pleaded with him to tell more but they already arrived at LME. Lory slipped out of the car and into the studio.
"Come on we should pack today, the shooting tomorrow is going to be long." Aya said.
"Is it a longer episode?" Kyoko asked.
"No," Rowan said, "A lot of extras," He said. Rowan and Aya dropped the two off at Ren's apartment. They walked in through the front doors and stopped to get Ren's mail.
"You have a package, Mr. Tsuruga." The door man said handing Ren a large box. He grabbed it rather awkwardly and the two made their up to Ren's apartment. They stood in front of his door and looked at it.
"Kyoko do you have your key?" Ren asked referring to the key he gave her. Kyoko shook her head no. "Mines in my front pocket will you grab it?" He asked Kyoko reached forward and took out his key and opened the door.
"Now let's see what this thing is," Ren said setting it down after he entered his apartment. He pulled out a pocket knife from a table drawer. He opened it to see packing peanuts. He searched through it and pulled out a smaller box. And in side that was a smaller box. Ren and Kyoko passed the box back and forth seeing who would get the last box. Finally a small velvet box fell out on to Kyoko's lap. She handed it to Ren. He opened it.
"Oh my God," Ren whispered. Kyoko crawled over to see a beautiful ring in it. "It's my parent's engagement ring." He explained. "Why they think I need it is beyond me." He said getting up.
"Where are you going?" Kyoko asked following him.
"There is a reason that my parents sent this to me," Ren called "It's probably called Lory but I'm going to put it in a save place." He said just as his phone rang.
"I'll get it," Kyoko said bouncing off to get it. "Hello," Ren heard her say. "Father!" Ren heard her exclaim. "What? Ummm… did you hear that from Lory?" Ren hear her say. He put the ring away and headed back out. "Just a second," Kyoko put her hand over the receiver.
"Koun, It's your father and for some odd reason he thinks were getting married."
So end of this chapter keep reading and hopefully I up date with in the week!
Please keep reviewing, I bacome happy when I see that the number goes up!
