Another update? So soon?! What is going on?! Rest assured, this streak isn't going to stay this strong, haha. More notes at the end. Onward!


Three fifty-six AM.

The light from the phone's small screen illuminated the dark living room and slightly strained King's eyes as she checked the hour, a little annoyed that she had woken up three times. Her neck was cramping from being in an awkward upright position, and her left arm was almost completely numb, but she didn't dare move: Jean was sound asleep next to her, his head on her shoulder and his arm limply draped over her. The pair had stayed up talking about the assault, the lies, and everything else in between until well after midnight. Jean had all kinds of questions for King, some more difficult to answer than others. Part of her was relieved that she didn't have to lie to her brother anymore, but the other part of her felt an enormous sense of unease over discussing such an "adult" topic with him. While it was true that he was very mature for his age, there was still something intensely disconcerting about talking to a twelve-year old boy about being violently beaten and raped.

On the whole, King had done a good job of holding herself together during the long conversation, but there were a few moments where she felt as though nothing would ever be okay again. It was during one of those instances that she tried to excuse herself, but the second she turned to walk away Jean had thrown his arms around her from behind and declared that he would never let her go. Even as she stepped forward Jean stayed firmly wrapped around her, making the short trek to her sofa awkward, and almost comical, even. He affirmed that he understood why she did what she did; he knew she was scared, but he still loved her no matter what, and he could never see her as anything but his big sister: the strongest woman in the world.

King leaned her head back against the sofa as she used her fingerprint to unlock her phone. She supposed she would spend her time awake sifting through the dozens of correspondences she received over the course of the previous day: Mary, Yuri, Mai, and Sally had all sent multiple text messages and voicemails, each probably asking some variation of the question, "Are you okay?" King frowned at the device, her eyelids suddenly very heavy. She had no idea where to start.

###

It was light outside when King's eyes snapped open. She looked around, momentarily panicked: She was still on the sofa, but she was no longer sitting up, and a fleece throw had been placed over her. Her cheeks were wet, and Marron was asleep at her feet. The distinct smell of scrambled eggs hung heavy in the air.

With a quiet sigh, King sat up and wiped her face with her sleeves. She was so sick of dreaming about that afternoon. Or evening. Or whatever the hell time it was when everything went down. She was sick of trying to sleep only to be woken up by those feelings of absolute fear, and she was sick of recalling how he said her name over and over as he taunted her. "En français, Cécile!" was a phrase she never wanted to hear again.

"Céc!"

Jean stuck his head out of the kitchen. He disappeared briefly before coming out with a plate of strangely coloured, beat up looking scrambled eggs. There was a huge smile on his face.

"I made breakfast!"
"O-oh," King blinked a few times as she tried to adjust to being awake while Jean put the eggs on the coffee table in front of her. She pushed her hair out of her face; several strands clung to her damp skin.

"Céc, were you crying? What's wrong?" Jean asked as he looked into his sister's face.
"It's nothing."
"Céc."
"It was just a bad dream…"

Jean looked at King with a very sad expression as he handed her a fork. "Is there anything I can do?"
"... you can tell me what's in these eggs," King replied.
"Okay! It's onions, cheese, and avocado!"

King looked at the plate with apprehension: the avocado had been mashed and cooked into the eggs, which explained why they looked so weird. She wasn't exactly excited about eating it, but she was appreciative all the same.

"I'm going to use the bathroom, and then I'll come out and eat," King told her brother as she rose from the couch.
"It's gonna get cold."
"I'll be quick."

King ruffled Jean's hair before making her way to the bathroom. She had barely finished up when there was a knock on the door.

"Hey, Céc?" Jean called from outside the room.
"Hunh?!"
"Yuri is on the phone and she's kinda freaking out."
"I'll call her back!"
"She'll call you back," King heard Jean say. There was a pause, and then, "She says she needs to talk to you literally right now or she'll die."

King made a face as she reached for her toothbrush. Yuri was going to have to wait at least two minutes.

"Céc, are you done yet?!" Jean called after about thirty seconds.
"Mrrrmph!"
"No, she's not done."

There was a weird stretch of silence as King finished brushing her teeth. She took a swig of mouthwash before opening the door: Jean was standing with the phone in his outstretched hand. King mumbled a somewhat perplexed thank you as she took it from him.

"Hello…?"
"King-san!" Yuri's voice was anxious and there was a very pronounced background noise that indicated that she was driving. "King-san, I need you to listen to me, okay?!"
"Okay...?"
"I was… I mean - he kinda found out! He kinda found out and he's on his way over there, and I'm on my way, too, but -"
"Who found out what?" King asked cautiously as she walked back to the living room. She had a sinking feeling that she already knew exactly who and exactly what. Almost as if on cue there was a loud banging on the front door, followed by the doorbell, followed by even more banging.

"KING!"

King's breath caught as soon as she heard Ryo Sakazaki's voice. She looked over at Jean, who appeared startled, and then to the door, and back to Jean again.

"Yuri, what did he find out?!"
"Listen! I slipped! I accidentally mentioned Big but -"

There was another loud knock and more shouting.

"What the hell is going on?!" King exclaimed as she pulled the door open. There was Ryo, standing in the hall, looking absolutely pissed off. He immediately rushed into the apartment and turned to face King, who was still holding the phone up to her ear.

"HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME?!"
"What -?!"

King felt her face flush. She was almost immediately overcome by a feeling of nausea as she tightened her grip on the phone.

"You fucking told him?!" She exclaimed as she turned away from Ryo.
"King-san! Listen to me -"
"Yeah, she told me," Ryo cut in. "She told me everything!"

King dropped the phone, completely speechless. Yuri had promised her that she would never say anything to anyone - especially not Ryo. How could she?! King stared at the floor, dumbfounded, as Yuri suddenly rounded the corner and sprinted down the hall, into the apartment, her face red and her hair disheveled. She stuffed her phone, which was gripped firmly in her hand, in her pocket before running up to King.

"Uhhh… hey, everyone," Jean said sheepishly as he stooped to retrieve the telephone from the floor.

"King-san!" Yuri grabbed King's shoulders. "Don't -!"
"Don't talk to me," King snapped, her temper rising. She whirled around to face Ryo. "And how dare you come barging into my apartment like this!? A phone call would have been more than sufficient!"
"I think something like this warrants an in-person conversation!" Ryo replied heatedly.
"It doesn't warrant a conversation at all!"
"How can you say that?!"

King balled her hands into fists: She was so hurt, and so angry, and so embarrassed. She wanted desperately to hit something. Or hide. Or both.

"Honestly, King, why would you keep this to yourself?!"
"Why wouldn't I keep it to myself?!" King asked incredulously. "It's kind of a personal subject, don't you think?!"
"A personal subject?! King! Nothing is personal when it comes to something like this!"
"EVERYTHING is personal when it comes to something like this!"

King's voice cracked slightly. She felt the familiar sting of tears forming and took a deep breath. Jean immediately rushed over and lightly squeezed her arm. "Du calme," he whispered.

"King-san," Yuri ventured. "You have it all wrong! You -"
"You should have told me," Ryo interjected. "I wouldn't have -"
"Wouldn't have what?!" King asked. "Called me weak?! Or called me a whore?! You'd still think it, though, so what does it matter?!"

Ryo quirked a brow while Yuri threw her hands on top of her head, her expression not unlike someone who just watched their favourite football team lose the Super Bowl.

"What are you talking about? Why would I call you weak?! And a whore?! What -?!"

"Hi, Yuri!" Jean practically screamed very cheerfully. It was painfully obvious that he was trying to create some kind of distraction.
"Hi, Jean!" Yuri replied, just as loud.

King felt a pit in her stomach. What the hell was going on?

"Seriously, King," Ryo said, clearly confused. "What are you even talking about?"
"What… are you even talking about?" King asked slowly.
"I'm talking about Big's guys! The ones you fought off!"
"Wh-what?"
"The ones. you. fought. off!" Yuri said through gritted teeth. She discreetly nodded at King, who stood frozen in place as realization dawned on her. Yuri hadn't quite told her brother "everything," as he had said. He still didn't know about it.

But now he probably had some sort of clue, thanks to King's misunderstanding of the situation. She was going to have to start making shit up so she could cover her tracks.

"Oh. That! Yeah, I didn't tell you because I didn't think it was important."
"You always need to tell me when it comes to Big!"
"I beg your fucking pardon?!" King exclaimed, abruptly angered by Ryo's phrasing. "I don't need to tell you anything!"
"When it comes to this, you kind of do!"
"No, I kind of don't!"

King narrowed her eyes; she didn't like being told what to do, especially not by men who thought they knew better than her. And who was Ryo to come charging into her apartment like this in the first place, anyway? When it came down to it the whole reason he was there was because she hadn't told him something, and it was kind of bullshit.

"Look, when it comes to Big you've gotta -"
"Gotta what? You can't make me tell you a damn thing if I don't want to!"
"But why wouldn't you want to tell me about that?!"
"I don't know, maybe it's the same reason I wouldn't want to tell you that I was ra -"

"HEY CÉC!"

Jean jumped between King and Ryo, almost like a shield, his expression manic.

"YOU NEVER ATE YOUR EGGS!"
"Wouldn't want to tell me that you were what?" Ryo asked.
"YOU MADE EGGS?!" Yuri chimed in.
"Eggs?" King echoed in disbelief. That was one hell of a Freudian slip she had just made. She pressed her lips together, thankful for Jean's quick thinking, but how was she going to get out of this one?!

"Here!" Jean grabbed King's hand and dragged her over to the living room, where the plate of sad-looking eggs still sat on the coffee table. "Qu'est-ce que tu fais, Céc?! Tu parles trop!"

"Wait," Ryo said as he followed King and Jean. "What wouldn't you want to tell me?"
"It's nothing!" King said as Jean sat her down.

"Brother!" Yuri grabbed Ryo's arm. "Why don't we leave King-san and Jean alone? I'm sure they want to hang out without us coming in here all crazy-like! Right you guys?!"
"Right," King said bluntly.
"...You're acting really weird lately," Ryo commented. He regarded King as if she was the most foreign, out of place thing he had ever seen.
"Maybe being holed up in my apartment for a month has made me a little weird," King growled as she violently jammed her fork into a particularly large piece of stone-cold egg. "Now do me a favour and get the hell out!"
"But -"
"Va-t'en!" King pointed a finger at the door.
"Come on," Yuri told her brother. "She wants us out, so let's -"
"Non, non," King interrupted. "You stay."

Yuri pointed a finger at herself and mouthed, "Me?"
"Yes, you. Bye, Ryo."
"W-wait! You can't just say something like that and then throw me out!"
"Yes," King said, annoyed. "I can. I did. Now go."

Ryo frowned. He opened his mouth to protest but immediately closed it again. He walked to the door and looked back at King.

"Fine. Have it your way. But, mark my words, I'm gonna get to the bottom of this!"
"Bonne chance."

King watched as Ryo finally exited the apartment. As soon as the door closed she let out a huge sigh. This was the absolute last thing she needed.


You know the drill:

*First off, Yuri was unaware that Jean knew King's secret, which is why she didn't have him relay any information to her while she was on hold.
*En français, Cécile! = In French, Cécile! (But you knew that one already, right?)
*It is recommended by dentists everywhere that you brush your teeth for two minutes.
*Du calme = Stay calm
*Qu'est-ce que tu fais = What the hell are you doing? Tu parles trop = You're talking too much/You talk too much
*Va-t'en = Go away
*Non, non = no, no. (But you knew this one too, right?)
*Bonne chance = good luck

Come back next time for more angsty shenanigans, okay?