Author's Note: Holy CRAP! It's a day away from December? Where has this year gone? I've been busy re-writing and consolidating my drafts for Affliction into one notebook. Yes, I'm still old school and I draft with pencil and paper. Hey, gotta keep it classy and vintage! So I finally got this latest installment up for you guys. (for the ONE person probably still reading this drivel!) We'll see where this takes us. When introducing the detective, I'm using my vast knowledge of Law and Order re-runs to depict police procedure. i.e. I'm not a cop. My cousin is, but she's too busy to pick her brain over proper investigative procedures... so this is what you got.

Please let me know what you think! Again, any questions, comments, snide remarks, I take them all! Thank you much!

~SW

They finished most of the meal in companionable silence. Kyoko was too absorbed in the bento and Ren was lost in thought. He wanted to ask her so many questions, but knew that this wasn't the time. He was also pleasantly surprised by how right this felt; her sharing a meal with him. They had done as much while on location for different projects, or while on the set of Dark Moon, and they'd gotten takeaway and brought it back to the agency. However, they were always surrounded by other cast members or Yashiro. This setting was much more intimate with just the two of them. He looked over to where she sat, quietly drinking the rest of her water. The sunlight streaming through the window highlighted the fiery auburn strands of her hair. The dark circles that seemed to be ever-present under her eyes seemed a little lighter, but the ugly scabs on her chin and yellowing bruise on her cheek stood out in stark contrast.

"Are you in a lot of pain?" He asked softly.

Kyoko looked up at his question. She must have seen the concern in his gaze because she smiled softly at him, "A bit. It hurts worse to move around, though."

Ren cursed himself for a fool. Of course she was in pain. What a stupid question! And sitting upright in a hard kitchen stool probably wasn't helping any. He stood up and approached her chair. "Well, I'm sure you'd like to rest for a while. Let's get you more comfortable. Would you like to go to your room, or sit on the couch?" He held out a hand to help her stand.

"My room, please." Kyoko placed her hand in his larger one and accepted his strength as she stood up, wincing in pain. Internally, she was grateful that he was leading her back to her room. Now that she had eaten, she was getting tired. The ups and downs of the morning's revelations, plus her injuries had completely worn her out. Kyoko kept one arm wrapped around her middle, supporting her ribs, and her other arm was held securely in Ren's grasp. She risked a look up at his face as they slowly shuffled through the apartment, and was shocked at the tender smile and soft gaze he bestowed upon her. She swallowed audibly. That caring look and soft smile had the same intensity as one of his 'Gentlemanly smiles', yet she knew he wasn't mad at her. Furthermore, she should be feeling like a burden or bother for having to stay with him, but if she were to be completely honest with herself for once, she felt content...and safe? She chewed on her bottom lip at this thought as they reached her room and bed. Gingerly, she climbed onto the mattress and laid back onto the soft pillows. She let out a breath of relief at being able to lie down.

Ren knelt down beside the bed and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. "I'll just be out in the living room if you need anything. The remote for the TV is right on the nightstand here."

Kyoko adjusted the blankets around her. Shyly, she met his gaze, "Thank you." She said simply.

Ren smiled, "You've nothing to thank me for. I'm glad that I can be here for you. Truthfully, I'm surprised that you're even allowing me to help you." He played with her hair again and slowly straightened to his full height. "Now get some rest and don't worry about anything, Kyoko."

Her name sounded like a caress coming from his lips, and Kyoko found herself smiling up at him, "Good night, Ren." She closed her eyes and settled back into the pillows.

Out in the living room a while later, Ren stared mutely at the TV that was on, but largely ignored. Instead, his mind was filled with thoughts of her. The fact that she was sleeping soundly in his guest room was enough to get him to grin like an idiot. But what to do now? Oh, he knew what he wanted to do, but it wasn't even remotely a possibility at this point. Oh dear God, what was he even thinking? He got up from the couch and began to pace. How could he be thinking along such lurid lines when she was clearly in danger? He narrowed his eyes and continued his pacing, pausing every once in a while to stare out the window and rake another hand through his hair.

Who would do something like this to her? He'd asked himself that question a million times throughout the night and he kept coming up blank on possible suspects. The only enemy she had was Fuwa, but that showoff was no actor. The mixed look of surprise, confusion, and concern on his face when the doctor revealed her injuries was genuine.

So who did that leave? Kyoko made friends wherever she went, not enemies. With her over-dramatic flights of fancy and hugely exaggerated dogezas of apologies, he had yet to see anyone remain mad at her for any given length of time.

Most people thought her a bit odd for her exuberant antics and very old-fashioned propriety, but Ren couldn't help but see the little girl with wonder in her eyes and magic in her heart. However, he couldn't see her as a child any longer. His childhood friendship had morphed over the time he'd been re-introduced to her. True, he still saw that wide-eyed innocence in her gaze, and he wanted to do everything in his power to protect that part of her. After all she had been through with her mother, then Fuwa, the fact that that part of her spirit had survived was nothing short of miraculous.

Be that as it may, her subtle mannerisms never failed to drive him wild. And the killer was that she had no idea of the effect she had on him. He was hyper-aware of her every movement when they were together. The way she'd tuck her hair behind her ears, or the fact that she bit her bottom lip in thought as she was reading through a script. Those simple gestures had him yearning to do the same to her. He'd get goosebumps listening to her cheerful laugh when Maria would visit them in the studio, and the pure pleasure she got from enjoying her lunch would make him smile stupidly until Yashiro teased him.

Ever since that chicken-Bo- Ren stopped his train of thought right here and grinned at the realization that it had been Kyoko telling him this. So yeah-ever since Kyoko told him that noticing these little mannerisms and the happiness they caused meant he was in love, he was screwed. It had seemed that was all he could do. Which was why these past several weeks had been so torturous for him. He could clearly see that she was suffering, yet she hadn't come to him for help like she normally would. Ren was surprised that that little fact hurt as bad as it did. Absently, he rubbed his chest as he continued to wander aimlessly around his living room and kitchen. His musings had settled his anxious pacing and now he just meandered about, deep in thought. He was tired, but knew he'd find no sleep if he were to lie down.

A shrill ring startled him out of his thoughts and he frantically searched his pockets for his cell phone to hurry and answer it before the noise woke Kyoko. "Hello?"

"Ah, Ren, glad I could get a hold of you. How's our girl doing?" President Takarada asked.

"Good. She's resting right now. Yashiro had some bentos delivered. We ate and she's been in bed now for," he looked up at the clock and was surprised at the time, "a couple of hours."

"That's excellent! It's imperative that she gets as much rest as she can. Maria was worried about her big sister. She'll be calling later this evening to talk to her. It was the only way I could keep her here and not storming over to your place to take care of Kyoko." Lory sounded exasperated.

Ren chuckled, "That's fine. When Kyoko wakes up, I'll make sure she calls her little sister."

"Good. Now that we've settled that, I wanted to let you know that the police have assigned a detective to Kyoko's case. Detective Moriya, first name is Katashi. He's already visited me here at the agency. I told him what I knew, which wasn't much. He asked where Kyoko was, because by the time he got to the hospital, she'd already been discharged. Ren, I told him she was at your place, so if he stops by..."

Just then Ren heard his buzzer for the security desk down in the lobby. "Hold on, Boss." He walked over and pushed the intercom, "Yes?"

The doorman's voice was tinny and scratchy, "Yes, Mr. Tsuruga. There is a Detective Moriya down here wishing access to your apartment. Do you want me to let him in?"

To the doorman Ren responded, "Yes, let him up. Thank you." To Lory, he chuckled a bit, "Your timing is impeccable as always, Boss. As you no doubt heard, Detective Moriya is here. I'd better go wake Kyoko and let the man in."

President Takarada hmmmed his agreement, "Yes, I'll see you at work tomorrow?"

Ren thought about it for a moment, "If Kyoko doesn't need me here, then yes, I'll be in. Until tomorrow, if you need anything workwise, please call Yashiro and leave a message. I want to see what this detective has to say."

"That sounds fine, Ren. Take care." Lory rang off.

Ren placed the phone back in his pocket and walked to the door just as a crisp knock sounded on the paneled wood. Ren pulled the door open to reveal a stern faced man in his late thirties, maybe early forties. Short black hair displayed shrewd brown eyes at the detective looked up from his approximate 5'10" frame to look Ren in the eye. "Mr. Tsuruga?"

Ren nodded. "Detective Moriya, I presume? President Takarada just called to inform me that you'd be by. You made good time. Please come in." Ren stepped aside and watched the shorter man walk into the condo. The man wasn't fat, but rather stocky and well muscled. He carried himself confidently into the space, eyes taking in the details of the room before facing back to Ren.

"Miss Mogami is here?" Moriya asked bluntly.

Ren had closed the door and joined the detective in the living room. "She is sleeping in the guest room. She was rather worn out after her ordeal in the hospital. I can go wake her for you?"

Ren was relieved when he saw a flicker of warmth flash in the older man's dark gaze. "In a little while. We can let her rest while I take down your statement." He made himself comfortable on the couch, placed his card on the coffee table, and took out a small spiral bound notebook.

Ren glanced from the other man to the kitchen, "Would you like something to drink?" He thought he had some tea left. He really needed to go to the market, especially now that Kyoko was going to be staying with him.

Detective Moriya looked up, "No, thanks. I'm good. Please, have a seat."

Ren sat across from the older man and stared intently at him, "Where would you like to start?"

Moriya looked at his notebook, "Well, your president filled me in on a lot of the backstory concerning you and Miss Mogami. As well as Miss Mogami's motivations for joining LME. I mainly want to focus on what happened last night and get your perspective, so to speak." He pulled out a pen and looked at Ren expectantly.

Ren nodded, "Very well."

Moriya glanced at his notebook, "Your manager, Mr. Yashiro, told me that you had been booked for that TV appearance for approximately a month now?"

Again, Ren nodded, "I believe so. He usually handles the details on that end. I just go where he tells me." Ren laughed lightly.

Moriya smiled slightly, "Yes, a popular actor such as yourself must have quite the workload. Did you know that Miss Mogami was going to be playing Bo the Chicken? Your surprise seemed quite genuine on screen."

Ren's eyebrows rose, "I had absolutely no idea that Kyoko was in that suit, or that she'd ever played Bo in the first place. Were you watching the show when it happened?"

Moriya waved a hand in dismissal, "I watched a recording of it this morning at the precinct while waiting for results from the rooster suit." he stared levelly at Ren, "That lead host seemed to have it out for you."

Ren blinked, the abrupt topic change startled him somewhat, but he went with the direction of the conversation, "Yeah, that was a bit odd. But I'm a very private person and he seemed very intent on digging up personal details that I'd rather not divulge."

"Such as your feelings for a certain sixteen year old girl?" Moriya smiled and watched Ren's face as it lost all color.

"I respect Miss Mogami as a fellow colleague and she didn't deserve to have her misfortune paraded on live TV for the sake of ratings." Ren replied evenly, yet his right hand had unconsciously clenched into a fist.

Moriya just looked at the taller man, "I've been working the homicide beat for close to fifteen years now. I can read people extremely well, Mr. Tsuruga. You love that girl. Your reactions were too unguarded to be anything other than genuine. You honestly didn't know she was in that suit or even on that show."

Ren didn't bother to deny it a second time, he just hoped that he wasn't that transparent in everyday life, "Your point, Detective?"

Moriya smirked, "My point is that you couldn't have had anything to do with her incident. Now," he held up a hand forestalling Ren's attempted outburst, "before you get all worked up, you know it's my job to rule out any and all persons of interest who had contact with the victim."

Ren relaxed back into his chair and sighed, "I understand. I would do anything to protect that girl."

Moriya smiled, "I hear she was pretty happy to see you when she briefly regained consciousness."

Now Ren was confused, "What do you mean? Are you referring to this morning in hospital?"

Moriya rifled through his notepad, "No, I mean last night as the EMTs arrived. Bystanders remarked that she reached up to caress your face and called you...Corn?"

This time Ren couldn't hide his shock. He'd completely forgotten her bleary-eyed utterance. "Oh! Well, she was delirious from the insulin shock. She had confused me with a childhood friend." The fact that he was that childhood friend need not be mentioned.

"Oh? Was she referencing a Fuwa Sho?" Moriya sifted through the notepad again.

Ren clenched his teeth, "You really have done your homework, haven't you, Detective?" he said ruefully then continued, "To answer your question, no. She wasn't referring to Fuwa. She had another childhood friend that was in Kyoto for a couple of weeks before he and his father had to go back to the United States." Ren remembered how hard Kyoko had cried that day he'd told her. She had been completely inconsolable until he had fished that blue stone out of his pocket and gave it to her. The simple fact that she had kept it after all of these years warmed his heart.

"Mr. Tsuruga? Hello?" Detective Moriya snapped his fingers in front of the taller actor.

Startled out of his thoughts, Ren smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, "Sorry. I got lost in thought there for a moment."

Moriya smiled, "I noticed." He cleared his throat, "Now in regards to last night, did you notice anything out of the ordinary?"

Ren thought about it, "Other than the lead host being uncharacteristically rude and obnoxious to me, and mean to Bo, no. I didn't notice anything. Of course, they kept me in the green room until it was time to go out on stage."

Moriya scribbled some in his notebook and without glancing up he replied, "That's fine. I appreciate your information. I think I'm ready to talk to Miss Mogami now."

"Of course." Ren stood up when a voice behind him said evenly.

"I'm right here."

Ren froze. Just how long had she been standing there? He recovered swiftly and turned to where Kyoko leaned casually on the doorframe to the glass wall that separated the bedrooms from the common areas of the flat. "Kyoko. You're awake. How are you feeling?" He moved to where she stood in order to help her walk to the couch. He narrowed his gaze when she refused his offered hand and watched as she walked flawlessly to the couch and smoothly took her seat. He was beyond confused. Her ribs must be hurting, so why the act? Wordlessly, he followed and sat next to her.

"Miss Mogami, it's good to meet you. My name is Detective Katashi Moriya, how are you feeling?"

Kyoko smiled warmly, "A little tired of everyone asking that question, Detective."

Moriya nodded sagely, "I can only imagine, Miss Mogami." He looked down at his notebook, "This incident last night was not isolated? You've had other things happen?"

It was Kyoko's turn to nod, "Yes. I had received three threatening notes. One at home, one at school, and one at work. And I also got a bouquet of dead roses delivered to the Dark Moon set. They contained a card that read, 'In Memory of Mogami Kyoko'." Kyoko paused because she could feel Ren's weighty gaze on her, "And then there was last night." She glanced at Ren with a serious look in her eyes wordlessly telling him not to mention the assault with the guys behind Darumaya. His brow furrowed in displeasure, but he kept silent.

Detective Moriya was writing furiously in his notebook, "Three notes, you say? And dead flowers? Miss Mogami, why didn't you notify the authorities sooner?" He looked up and pinned her with a stern glare.

Instinctively, Kyoko bowed her head and stared at her hands that lay limply in her lap. "I'm sorry. I thought it a prank at first. I mean, I'm a nobody in the showbiz world. No one knows me, so why would they care so much about me working on Dark Moon? When the notes kept coming, I started to worry. I started to realize that this was no joke, but at that point, who could I tell? President Takarada would have made me quit, and I can't do that!" She looked up sharply and pinned the detective with her fervent gaze, not noticing that tears trailed silently down her cheeks. "I can't quit this project or any others! I refuse to give in!"

Flustered, the detective halfway raised an arm in Kyoko's direction, realized his movement, and lowered it again. He blushed slightly and cleared his throat. "Miss Mogami, I completely understand your dedication to your work. And while it's admirable, in this instance it was detrimental to your personal safety."

Kyoko barked out a harsh laugh, "Yes, Detective. This one has already read me the riot act about being needlessly reckless." She jabbed a thumb in Ren's direction.

Ren narrowed his eyes at her antics, "As reckless as working at Darumaya?"

Kyoko's eyes widened and flicked over to stare at the stoic actor. Meanwhile the detective's gaze passed between the two in confusion. "Is that how you got those bruises, Miss Mogami?" He spoke up.

Kyoko reached up and touched her scabbed cheek, "Oh this was a misunderstanding." She ignored Ren's snort of disbelief.

"Helluva misunderstanding," Moriya commented dryly, clearly not buying her line, "care to elaborate?"

Kyoko met the detective's challenging stare levelly, "A drunk customer at the restaurant I work at part time got out of line. He became belligerent and didn't agree with me when I asked him to leave. This," she gestured to her bruised cheek, "was the result." Her tone was final.

Ren was shocked. She had deliberately lied to the detective! What the hell was going on? He saw the older man nod at Kyoko's 'explanation'.

"You didn't feel the need to press charges?"

Kyoko arched an eyebrow, "Over something like this? Please. The man was under the influence for whatever crappy thing that drove him to drink. I'm certainly not going to make his bad day worse. I called him a cab and escorted him off the premises."

Detective Moriya scribbled in his notebook. "That's your decision, I guess." His tone revealed his true feelings about her choice, "I don't suppose you happen to have those notes with you?"

She, in turn, looked to Ren, "I don't know. Did Yashiro grab my purse in the locker room at TBM?"

Ren dug out his phone, "He didn't give me anything but that change of clothes for the each of us. Let me call him and ask?"

Kyoko turned back to the detective, "As soon as I can get my purse, you'll have all three notes and the card that came with the dead roses." She had taken to carrying them with her in morbid attachment.

Detective Moriya stood up, sensing that the conversation was over. He looked from Ren, who was on the phone with Yashiro, to Kyoko who had slowly stood with him, "I appreciate your help, Miss Mogami. We'll get to the bottom of whoever's giving you trouble." he walked to the door with Kyoko.

She bowed slightly, "I should be the one to thank you, Detective. I'm sorry I didn't come forward sooner." She said serenely. Inwardly thought, she was cringing for telling such outlandish lies! She was a horrible, terrible, freakish waste of space! An insolent and naughty girl! Ren was going to kill her! He was-talking to them?

"-said he would stop by TBM and pick up Kyoko's purse this evening. He apologizes that he didn't think of it sooner." Ren said smoothly.

Detective Moriya nodded, "Perfect. Have him drop the items off at the precinct after he retrieves Miss Mogami's effects."

"Certainly, Detective." Ren fired off a text as Kyoko opened the door.

Moriya pinned Kyoko with a direct look, "I gave Mr. Tsuruga my card earlier, so if you think of anything, please do not hesitate to call me."

Kyoko struggled inwardly to not fall into a complete dogeza under that steely glare. She swallowed once and replied, "Of course, Detective. You'll be the first I call."

"Hmm..." The detective wasn't convinced and left shortly after. Kyoko shut the door with a soft click, turned and was met by the furious Demon Lord, whose searing gaze pinned her on the spot.

"So," he crooned softly, making her blood run cold, "why exactly are we lying to the police?"