Well, Hello there :3

Long time no see?

English is not my first language, but I did try my best.

This is not proofread and barely edited. So, if you find mistakes (what kind soever) or something seems confusing to you then please tell me. I will try my best to fix it.

Have fun :3

"You said Ren-sama would come to visit us, Grandfather!" Maria asks with a pout, her agitation growing. "Why isn't he here yet? Do you think something happened to him? Ren-sama is never late! So there must have been something!"

"Calm down. Nothing happened. They just have to take a little detour. I'm certain they will be here soon."

Lory and Maria are waiting for quite some time already. Lory of course knows that Kyoko and Ren will need a while. Even if the charade had been perfect, they can't say for sure that nobody was watching them.
And since they can't rule out the possibility that they might be followed, they need to take a more complicated route to get to the mansion.

"You better be right!" She tries to sit still and fails miserably.
Maria's overactive imagination just won't let her calm down.
Her paranoia has grown persistently since her mother's death 6 years ago.
When she was younger her fear only related to airplanes, but now it's getting to involve all kinds of vehicles.
And at the moment Lory can't do anything to help his beloved granddaughter. She lets no one get close enough, let alone trusts them sufficiently to open up.
But it's not that she just sits there and not talks with therapists and the like. No. She actively scares them off. Grown-up, professional doctors refuse to work with a scared child. If it wasn't so bad, he would be proud of her strong will.
For now Lory just lets her be, in the hope that she will calm down enough one day to see reason.
He is prepared for a long ride though.

Sebastian appears next to them. "They will arrive shortly."

"There you hear?" Lory asks Maria who had jumped from her position even before Lory's aid had finished to speak. "Let's see what we've got there." He says, following the other two to the parlour.

Lory doesn't even get to sit down again before the voices reach his ears.
He hears a deep voice saying something and then the rather loud voice of a female, demanding something quite vehemently, but he can't make out what exactly. Maria looks at him confused. Maybe he should have mentioned to her that Ren was accompanying their female guest.
Or she just hasn't heard her beloved Ren-sama sounding so annoyed yet.

It's not long before the doors to the underground garage are held open by Sebastian and in comes a sight nobody would have imagined.

A displeased looking Tsuruga Ren with a struggling girl in his arms, carrying her bridal style.

For a split second Lory wonders if that entryway counts as "threshold", but discards that thought right away. For now anyway. Maybe later.

"Tsuruga-san! Please set me down! We're here already! Just put me down! I can walk just fine on my own! Tsuruga-san!" The man in question seems to ignore what she's saying and without a word passes Lory and a stunned Maria. He only stops right in front of the settee to finally fulfill her constant request.

It's not lost on Lory how gently he puts her down even though she tries to fight him off.

"That really wasn't necessary, Tsuruga-san. I can take care of myself." Kyoko says a second later after having calmed down with a slight huff. "But thank you."

He looks at her, all the annoyance had fled from his face in an instant. " You're welcome."

He only allows himself a second to memorise her face before placing her shoes next to her feet on the floor. Straightening up he turns to greet his boss.
The looks on the faces he encounters could rarely be more different.
Sebastian isn't showing any expression at all. Maria wears stunned silence mixed with shock and a hint of annoyance. Whereas Lory practically gleams with calculating excitement. Oh, Ren really doesn't want to know what's going on in that head. It's rarely something good.

As Lory introduces Kyoko and Maria with each other, Ren notices that there is something missing. He looks at Maria and only then he realises that she didn't jump into his arms as she normally would.

"Hello Maria-chan. How are you?" He greets the girl.

The look she gives him is one he isn't used to receiving, not from her anyway - a fake smile. "Hello Ren-sama. I'm well, thank you."

Even Lory looks at her oddly. Though he at least has an idea why she behaves like that at the moment.
As it seems she hadn't missed the expression on Ren's face as he looked at their new guest. It was guarded, no question, but Ren isn't one for lingering glances.

That one did linger.

And Maria is a sharp observer, especially concerning her beloved Ren-sama. The actor hasn't shown interest in a woman as long as Maria knows him. The girl is probably still living her illusion that Ren will one day marry her.
But now she might have seen something she wasn't prepared for.
She won't be happy about it, but Lory knows that it will only help her grow. Even if it will take a while. She had lived her illusion for quite some time after all.

"Maria, Kyoko-san will stay with us for a while. I hope you two will get along." Even though he doesn't peg Kyoko as one to get scared off that easily. It wouldn't do anyone any good if his granddaughter started to play pranks on her.

"Can I go to my rooms now, grandfather?" Maria doesn't even wait for an answer. She looks him straight in the eyes and then turns around and walks off.

"Is she alright?" Ren asks surprised. He has never seen her so quiet and reserved before.

"She just needs to work through something. Don't worry." Lory answers. "So, may I inquire why the two of you arrived in such a manner?" He asks, trying to lift the mood.

"I apologise for my poor behaviour and the tumult I caused, Takarada-san." Kyoko is bowing as deep as she can without throwing herself on the floor and for a second Lory doesn't know what to make of her. One second she is this strong woman taking on everything on her own and the next she is meekly bowing to a person she barely even knows. "Tsuruga-san was so kind to help me, since my ankle is still hurting."

Neither man is saying anything to that, since it's technically true. Even if the situation didn't appear to be as harmless.

~o~o~o~o~

Ren being the stupid idiot he always seems to be around her hadn't thought much of the walk they had to perform to get to the car. He was way too absorbed in his own little problems as they marched down the shiny hospital hallway, out the door and down the three steps to get to the sidewalk.
He had been so impressed by her act and the way she walked so effortlessly in the same manner Kotonami Kanae always did. If he hadn't known that person to be her, he would have been fooled like everyone else. It wasn't only her appearance, it was in her whole demeanour. She was radiating the same icy haughtiness the real actress exuded normally.

But he knew and therefore was caught in his sad little mind thinking about her being right next to him.

And then pondering what he should say to her, trying to remember if he had even greeted her in the hospital room. Or if he had played the silent fool all the time.
He couldn't tell.

It was then that the car jerked suddenly. The driver had apologised for not being able to avoid the pothole.

Only then did Ren look at her without too much overthinking and noticed how pale she was. The way she avoided to put her injured foot down.

He had asked her then if she was alright, if she wanted anything to drink or if she wanted to get some fresh air.
Rejecting his offers and saying she was fine was only the beginning of the struggle.

No matter how often Ren tried to get her to take that shoe off, she declined. It didn't matter what words he chose and how he reasoned it, she wouldn't even drop the act.

Until finally the point for him came when he couldn't take it anymore. And with the speed and precision of an experienced fighter he carefully snatched the offending item from her foot while apologising profoundly.

She had asked him only once to give it back and as he refused she looked at him with the most 'Ice Queen'-esque annoyance possible.
A certain Kotonami Kanae would have been proud.

If it hadn't been for his quick reflexes he would've probably been knocked out by the other shoe that came flying, but he could dodge it just in time.

"I don't think they fit you, but when it makes you happy. Keep them. Just stop bothering other people with your little hobby."

Ren has been stunned at that moment.
Was that herself or was she still acting her role? Because that would have been something the original would have said in such a situation. He was so surprised that he had to chuckle. Whereas she ignored him for the rest of the ride.

When they finally arrived at their destination, Ren was out of the car as soon as it stopped. He waited for her at the car door to help her out, which she - of course - declined. She had barely straightened up as he picked her up and carried her inside. She did not seem to like that.

Ren was afraid he would hurt her. She was struggling so hard that he had to hold her tighter and with more force than he normally would in such a situation. Not to mention how light she was and how fragile she looked.
But there was no chance he would drop her - accidentally or otherwise - before they met Lory.

He figured, if she really wanted to be put down then she wouldn't have a problem to get her will. As strong as she was, she could hurt him quite seriously if she set her mind to it. And since she neither hurt herself nor him, he kept on going until they arrived at the next soft surface.

Hallöchen! as some of us say in Germany :) Hasn't it been quite a while? Again? Oh well...

This chapter was strangely odd. I couldn't write it. I wrote and rewrote it like 20 times, but it just didn't work. I put it in time out then... (I tend to do that quite often... with stories... hmmm...)
And then one fateful day, I just went on with the story. Putting everything I wrote in the past - literally - and then it somehow worked. So there you go.

Though if I'm honest I could be a lot further in the story... If there weren't those other 2 stories who dearly want to be published...

It's a struggle, I tell you. I started both a while ago and I really want you guys to read them (don't ask me why... not that I think they're good or something)
But I told myself that I won't put anything else out here, if it isn't finished. *sigh* the struggle is real

Did anyone watch "Strange Magic" (2015)? Because I have no idea what to think of it. I love the animation- it's awesome. Marianne reminds me of Kyoko and Roland is an ass (and quite like Sho) ... But the insta love? Ugh! And then that kaleidoscope thing at the end! UGh²!
But that fight scene between Marianne and Bog is awesome! Love that one. ( Youtube: Strange Magic Straight On - HD ; if you want to take a look) Don't bother with the movie though...

Do I have more to say? Hmmm...

I started on the next chapter. Needs quite some work still... And I really need to get Kyoko and Ren in one room alone, for whatever reason! But they just don't want to! Grrr!

OK... *calms down*

Thank You for all your kind reviews! They make me unbelievably happy.

And Thank You for reading this and for staying with me all this time.

I really appreciate that!

Love you guys :)

Ja ne

Kia