"Well then what am I going to do?" Kyoko exclaimed.
"The only option you have left." Ren held up his finger to illustrate.
"What's that?" Kyoko asked warily.
"You cannot leave my house. Ever. Not while the perp is at large." Ren's eyes had taken on a smug, predatory glint that made Kyoko's heart race—and for once not from fear.
Kyoko calmed herself and adopted an arch air, channeling a little Mio into her stare. "I see. And what is it that I'm supposed to do all day?" She quirked an eyebrow and folded her arms in front of her.
Ren leaned back in his chair, warming to the topic. "Well, you'll have your studies, time to do any of your other hobbies, and eventually when you're feeling up to it, we'll see about getting you back in the agency to continue working on Dark Moon. Lory says he can arrange after-hours shooting in order to minimize the amount of people on set."
Kyoko wasn't mollified; however, she kept her gaze pinned on Ren. It seemed like he had everything neatly figured out. Instead of reassuring her, it only intensified her feelings of helplessness and of being burdensome to Ren. She kept her defensive posture as she looked at him, "And you? What are you going to do?"
Ren leaned forward in his chair as he looked at the uneasy girl—no woman—in the bed. "I will keep on with my regular responsibilities at the agency and elsewhere. Meanwhile, Yashiro and I will do some digging and see if we can ferret out any information about this situation." His eyes softened and he raised one hand to rest lightly on Kyoko's left shoulder, "But enough of that, how do you feel? Really?" He looked intently at her.
Kyoko froze, both at the touch of his hand on her shoulder, but more at the concern so evident in his tone. She stammered and looked down, "Uh…fine. I don't see why everyone's so worried." Even as she said it, she realized it was the wrong thing to say.
"Don't see…?" Ren's eyes widened and he reeled back. "Kyoko, you almost died last night! You were seizing right in my arms as we waited for the ambulance to get there. I was scared to death—we didn't know what was wrong. Then the medics are asking me why you'd been beaten. I didn't know what to say!" He broke off suddenly and looked off to the side.
Kyoko was shocked as she took in his reaction. One statement stood out from the rest of his little rant, "You were scared, Mr. Tsuruga?" She said in a small voice, "Why?"
Ren looked at the figure huddled on the bed in front of him. Her eyes were huge pools of amber that pulled him in and she held herself with both arms wrapped around her middle. She gazed at him with such vulnerability that if he hadn't already loved her with every fiber of his being, he would have fallen at that moment. He smiled, she was guileless and completely unaware of her true worth. He reached out tenderly to tuck a lock of her chestnut hair behind her ear, "It's Ren, remember?"
He was mildly surprised that she allowed the gesture and the contact, but he saw her eyes glint stubbornly before asking again, "Why were you scared, Ren?"
Kyoko regarded the man in front of her as she asked the question again. She saw a shadow flit across his eyes and it looked like he was about to answer when a knock sounded at the door. Both of them turned to look at the sound. It was Kyoko's nurse, Makoto, who was pushing a wheelchair and she was followed closely by Yashiro. The bespectacled man looked curiously between Kyoko and Ren trying to discern the atmosphere in the room.
Makoto parked the wheelchair in the corner and approached the bed, "Well Miss Mogami, you're being discharged into the care of your manager here, Mr. Yashiro. Your labs came back stable and in range so you get to blow this popstand!" She said cheerily before continuing, "Now, your ribs will still bother you for a couple weeks yet, so I would suggest taking it easy with activity. But other than that, a few days of rest and a regular diet, and you'll be back to work in no time!" Makoto smiled brightly as she disconnected Kyoko's IV bag from the catheter hub in her arm and wrapped the site in clear plastic. Once finished, she turned to the two men who were watching the process, "Now if you gentlemen would please leave the room, I'll get Miss Mogami cleaned up and dressed."
"Of course." Ren readily agreed. He seemed eager to leave the room and Kyoko watched as a puzzled Yashiro trailed in his wake. She was still confused over their conversation. She understood the severity of her condition from last night, and she would most definitely freak out over almost dying later when she had some privacy. But why would Ren do all of this? She was his kouhai, nothing more. From his talks with Bo, Ren cared for another girl, so why all this attention on her?
"You're a lucky one, Miss Mogami." Makoto's comment snapped Kyoko out of her musings as the older woman helped Kyoko to stand. Kyoko sucked in a breath as her right side protested the movement, and the effort it took to stand fully. The older woman kept an arm around Kyoko's waist and Kyoko had her right hand resting on Makoto's shoulder as she stood for a moment and caught her breath.
"You all right, Miss Mogami?" Makoto looked to the younger girl in concern.
Panting, Kyoko nodded briefly, "Yes, Ms. Makoto, I just needed to get used to standing again." She smiled at the nurse, "I am looking forward to a shower, so let's move that way, k?"
Smiling, the nurse led her into the bathroom and made sure Kyoko was all right with standing and taking off her hospital gown by herself, while Makoto got the water running and adjusted the temperature.
Kyoko shuffled underneath the hot spray of water and wet her hair down and just let the pressure of the water beat into her shoulders. She couldn't get the nurse's earlier comment out of her head, so she turned to the woman in question. "Why am I lucky, Ms. Makoto?" She was genuinely interested in the answer.
"Well," Makoto looked thoughtful as she gathered some shampoo in her hands and drew Kyoko out of the main spray to start massaging the shampoo into her scalp. "The fact that Ren Tsuruga stayed the entire night with you to ensure your safety." She pondered as she worked the soap through the rest of Kyoko's tresses, "And the night girls told me that one of them caught him holding your hand during the night. It's obvious that he cares for you." She helped Kyoko to rinse her hair and started in on the conditioner.
Kyoko was silent in thought as she soaped the rest of her body, allowing the conditioner to sit in her hair for a bit. Movement was painful, but the shower felt great, and Kyoko was grateful to get clean again. "No," She said after a while as she was rinsing the conditioner out, "Ren only stayed with me to make sure I wasn't attacked again. I am his kouhai after all, nothing more. Mr. Tsuruga has feelings for another girl." Kyoko missed the nurse's confused look as she rinsed her body off one last time.
"Oh, I see." Makoto said. She wasn't convinced though, and thought for a moment while she fetched a towel. She grinned as she turned back to Kyoko and helped her dry off, "Well if that was the case, why didn't Mr. Tsuruga or your manager just hire a security guard?" She helped Kyoko to step out of the shower, and picked up a comb to run through Kyoko's hair. "Mr. Tsuruga didn't have to be the one to stay."
Kyoko didn't answer the nurse as she picked up a toothbrush and paste provided by the hospital. She narrowed her eyes in thought as she stuck the toothbrush in her mouth. The nurse had a point and Kyoko realized that Makoto knew that Kyoko knew it as well. Because the older woman didn't offer up any other info, just got Kyoko's clothes ready. Kyoko kept brushing her teeth as she deliberated. Why didn't Mr. Yashiro, or Mr. Tsuruga just hire a guard? She spat into the sink in frustration and plunked the brush down on the sink before turning towards Makoto.
The nurse helped her into the sweats that Mr. Yashiro had procured from LME. The t-shirt was soft and gray with the letters L.M.E printed across the front in navy blue letters. Conversely, the pants were navy blue, thick and soft, with L.M.E. printed in the same lettering only in gray across the left hip.
Makoto gently ran the comb once more through Kyoko's hair, and she studied the young woman in the mirror. Miss Mogami seemed to be taking her earlier words about Mr. Tsuruga to heart, if the furrow in her brow was any indication. Makoto smiled as she led Kyoko back to her bed, once again assuming the mien of an efficient nurse, and not the romantic matchmaker that resided under the surface.
"Now then, I wanted that IV hub to stay in your arm throughout the shower because if I had removed it and you had fainted, we'd have had to put another one right back in. I've had cases where that happened and it's never fun." Makoto said matter-of-factly.
Kyoko had perched sideways on the bed, allowing her feet to dangle off the side and she faced the doorway. She had listened to the nurse's story and stared down at the tube in question in her arm. "Well, I didn't faint, so what now?" She felt drained after her shower and mildly hungry. Her hunger was a pleasant surprise, she hadn't had an appetite for weeks now.
Makoto looked kindly down on her young charge, "It means I can take that thing out and soon enough you'll be going home. How does that sound?" She placed a reassuring hand on Kyoko's shoulder.
Kyoko found herself smiling up at the older woman, "That sounds great."
"Well all right then, Young Miss. I'll just go out to the station and grab the stuff I need. If I see your boys out there in the hall, are they okay to come back in here?"
Kyoko nodded, blushing slightly at the 'your boys' comment, "Of course, they can come in."
Makoto gave a smile and left, and it wasn't even a minute before Mr. Tsuruga came strolling into the room. He spotted Kyoko sitting up on the bed and idly swinging her feet off the side. He smiled and approached. "Well, she got you all cleaned up, huh?"
Kyoko returned his easy grin, "Yep, no more bed head, morning breath, or B.O."
Ren laughed, "That's good, but I don't think you had any of those beforehand either. Especially the B.O. part." He sobered, remembering what name those two letters spelled, "Kyoko, have you always played the part of Bo the Chicken, or were you filling in last night?" He asked cautiously, yet with genuine curiosity.
Kyoko felt her cheeks warm as she looked down at her slipper clad feet, "I've always played Bo." She said softly, feeling better now that the confession was in the open, yet apprehensive that Ren was now going to call her out on all of Bo's 'advice sessions'.
"I see," Ren mused, "and that's why you had that attack. The stalker knew your routine—so he tampered with the costume."
That train of thought brought Kyoko's gaze up and focused fully on Ren's face, "What?" She was confused and had fully been expecting Ren to ask about more personal matters. An unexpected bitter feeling grew in Kyoko's chest. Looks like she was right, it really was all business between them. She couldn't explain for the life of her why that thought made her feel so depressed and…lonely? Yeah. Lonely.
"Yes," Ren continued on, not noticing her sudden melancholy, "Yashiro had dropped off the suit at the police department last night. Due to the high profile of the case, their forensics team took a look at it first thing this morning and they called Yashiro when you were getting dressed. Apparently, they found a small syringe carefully placed in the right wing of the Bo costume. It was positioned in such a way that the plunger was right where your fingertips were so that if you clapped your hands—like Bo does often in the show—your right hand you depress the plunger, thus injecting the solution into your left hand." He had walked around the bed during his explanation to regain his original seat beside her bed.
Kyoko didn't feel like getting completely back into the bed to face him, so she stayed where she was and kept her back to Ren. She stared down at her feet which were still swinging idly. She didn't have anything to say to Ren's revelation. She was strangely numb about the whole thing. Kyoko just watched her feet swing back and forth and picked absently at the tape on her IV port.
"Who would have access to that costume?" Ren persisted.
She ground her teeth together in irritation and silently counted to ten. Slowly. All she wanted to do was get out of this place and go somewhere—anywhere—so she would be alone. But no, now she was stuck with Mr. Tsuru-Ren. And staying at Ren's apartment. How come she wasn't shocked senseless by this arrangement? Sure, she'd stayed there before-but only as his temporary manager. This time he would be taking care of her. Wouldn't he? Did she want him to?
"Kyoko? Did you hear me?" Ren asked impatiently.
"I don't know!" She snapped at him from over her shoulder.
"Easy now, Miss Mogami," Makoto the nurse came back just in the nick of time, "your blood sugar must still be a little low. You're awfully snappy."
Ren chuckled softly, "No ma'am, I was badgering her. She has all the right to put me in my place." He stood and walked around the bed to stand directly in front of Kyoko. His small smiled remained as he folded his arms and watched the nurse's every move with intent gray stare.
Makoto took no notice of the vigilant young man as she gently peeled the Tegaderm tape off of the plastic catheter hub. Then, with one hand holding the now loose hub, she gathered some gauze in her other hand. She looked up quickly, "Ready, Sweetie?" She asked, noticing that the girl had locked eyes with the tall actor. "One…two…three!" The nurse pulled the catheter out of her arm and immediately placed the gauze down, putting pressure on the small wound.
Kyoko didn't even feel the needle leave her arm. She was lost in the turbulent and stormy gaze of one Ren Tsuruga. For such a calm expression on his face, his eyes were a riot of emotion. Anger…compassion…confusion…warmth…they all flickered through the shadows in his stare. Yet his aura was steady and radiating with an unfamiliar feeling to Kyoko. Was this what security felt like? It was warm, constant, calming and something she's always felt when being around him. Kyoko felt her earlier irritation fade away in the presence of that warmth.
"Ready to go home?" Ren spoke softly as he held out a hand.
Blinking, Kyoko looked around the room to find her arm bandaged and the nurse waiting near the wheel chair. She hadn't even realized that the nurse had finished with the IV removal. She looked back up and saw the older woman smiling knowingly at Kyoko, her dark eyes twinkling with mirth. Kyoko turned back to Ren and timidly put her hand in his. "Yeah."