Thought unrelated to the story, do you think Kuon/Corn might be pronounced "Colin" in English?
"Eh?"
Kuon Hizuri, that was Hizuri Kuu's son. She thought he was dead.
In her silence, Ren continued. Kyoko was feeling guarded, so she listened in silence so she wouldn't miss any information. When he was done she would make her decision.
"I know you were under the impression Kuon Hizuri died, and I suppose in a manner of speaking that may be true. I left home at around fifteen and severed contact with most of the people in my life, with the exception of a family friend whose care I went into. This was after… an incident…"
He took a deep breath.
"My best friend when I was a teenager was almost an older brother figure in my life. He came from a different world than me, it was exciting and I quickly got caught up in it. Well, an over romanticised version of it. He taught me how to fight and I loved it. It was… a release. I don't know, I just needed that. Eventually, I actually went looking for fights. First it was amongst friends, but they would get tired and I'd still want to go. So I made some enemies. Over time, these enemies became older and… more dangerous."
He wasn't looking at Kyoko anymore, his gaze was just fixated on his half emptied glass of water. His voice raised a pitch.
"One night, I had a run in with a whole gang of these enemies. I had such a bad temper. I took on most of them, but one was getting away. Rick and Tina had been looking for me and found me when I was going after that guy. They begged me to give it up but I… I don't know why I just wouldn't. He crossed a street and I went after him. Apparently Rick tried to follow after me, but a car came…"
Ren's face was pale. He sat, still, focusing on the condensation rolling down the sides of the cup. The puddle at its base pooling like Rick's spilt blood that night.
"There was so much blood," he whispered.
Kyoko had started crying. She was trying to be quiet, but sniffed noisily. The sound brought Ren back to her.
"I'm tired," he said. He was. He was completely emotionally drained, Kyoko could see it in his face. She went to his side and helped him to a standing position. He was looking at the glass again.
"How far from here do you live? I can walk you home," she offered.
Ren did some thinking.
"I know somewhere that would be good."
Kyoko had hesitations about letting Kuon lead the way; he did not seem in the right state of mind to be oriented. However, since he was obeying pedestrian rules and navigating around other people unassisted, she relaxed and allowed herself to instead ponder the new information. The story hadn't been completely clear, he especially stopped making sense near the end. A theory was coming together in her mind. Fragmented pieces coming together, beginning to spin a web. It was completely mad, yet the pieces were clicking perfectly together…
Kuon tugged her hand in the direction of a hotel. The final piece clicked.
"You playboy! I cannot believe you would try to take me to a hotel! I'll have you know, sir, I am a PURE maiden and-"
Ren resisted the urge to either face palm or laugh. They were both good options, however, he spoke instead.
"My parents are staying here. I thought you would like to see my father again."
He winced when he noticed his slip up. See my father again. She didn't seem confused however. They "playboy" comment made sense now. He let out a small, sad laugh as he let go of her hand.
"Sorry Mogami-san."
"I think I understand."
They stood silently looking at their feet for a few moments.
"Let's go see your- our parents," Kyoko smiled at him, breaking the tension. Sure she was disappointed her long lost friend hadn't made contact with her when he could have, but she couldn't push her sempai when he was clearly vulnerable.
When they arrived at the Hizuri family's hotel room, Tina and RJ were both in bed already. A surprised Kuu opened the door.
"Kuon! What are you doing…" he noticed Kyoko.
"Uh… I mean Tsuruga-san! Um… Julie!"
Kuu wasn't sure what Kuon had told Kyoko, and the best actor in the world wasn't at his best after midnight.
Julie arrived casually armed with a frying pan.
"Oh! Hello dear. Eee! You brought a GIRL!"
She handed the frying pan off to her husband and rushed to Kyoko, pressing a kiss to each of her cheeks.
"I want to hear all about you! How did you too meet? What do you do? Does he eat enough? Does he take you on proper dates?"
"Moooooom," Kuon said in an ever so mature voice that brought tears to Julie's eyes. How she missed this! She imagined what prom could have been like- no. No use thinking about what might have been. Come to think of it, had Kuon even finished high school?
"Mom?" Kuon said again. Julie hadn't noticed how distracted in her thoughts she had become.
"Sorry dear, it's late, your father and I were going to head to bed. Um, let's see, there aren't enough beds for everyone, but the couch in the living room folds out into a pull out. You can sleep out here and we'll talk in the morning?
Kuon was startled by this and opened his mouth to explain that the arrangement suggested would not be proper, but before he could Kyoko gave and affirmative. He shot a questioning look her way and saw she was asleep on her feet.
"Alright," Julie said, "We'll see you both in the morning."
She gave both Kuon and Kyoko a hug.
"Come on, Kuu."
Kuu stared at the frying pan questioningly a few moments longer, then put it away and followed his wife to their room.
Kyoko, practically sleep walking, made her way to the living room, where she looked around in confusion.
"Here, I'll set up your bed," said Kuon with slight emphasis on the word "your." Kyoko nodded and sat down right on the floor.
Kuon chuckled quietly at her behaviour. Sleepy Kyoko was adorable! A short while later the bed was set up with just the pillows missing. He went to the closet but he only found one pillow.
"Hey Kyoko, I only found one pillow…" he blushed at his words, they seemed like a conversation a real couple would have. When he returned Kyoko had already tucked herself in. She sleepily raised her head, hair already messy. His blush deepened. Silently she pulled back the blankets so he could sit down.
"Um," Kuon said aloud, before sitting down. She took the pillow from him and threw it behind him. Then she pushed his head down into it and laid her on head on his chest, one arm wrapped around him.
"Um," Kuon repeated eloquently.
"Shh Ren I wanna sleep," Kyoko whined. Kuon believed her. He decided to just sneak out in the morning so she wouldn't be upset. Sleepy Kyoko was certainly interesting.
Sorry about that haitus! I will try to be a nicer author. :p