AN: Seriously one of the shortest chapters I have ever written but I feel it still has a completeness to it. I'm sorry that I made you wait for so long but classes seemed to take over and work seemed to pile up. I WILL continue this fic tomorrow however as I hope to spend the rest of the day working on school work. Thank you

~Myst

Chapter Twelve :: Head First

Kyoko held her breath as she landed in the water, she felt the cold water hit her in the face and then took a deep breath and swam away from the rocks that were near her. She felt fortunate that she had managed to land safely and had learned how to swim. Moving as skilfully as she could she got to the coast and started to get up on the sand, it was at that time when she realized the loud splash behind her. Looking back she wondered if Ren had jumped in after her, that would make sense because he was always protecting her or trying to help her but to risk his life.

She stopped for a moment before seeing that he hadn't resurfaced, her heart stuck in her chest and something in her gut felt wrong. Seeing the fall Rachel had come over and looked straight at the panicked Aiko. She looked to the sea and blinked again, "Are you alright Aiko?" Rachel asked before seeing Aiko head back towards the water, "What is it?"

"Ren," Aiko choked, "He jumped in after me but he hasn't resurfaced."

At this she ran back in to where she had heard the splash and paled as she noticed blood on the rocks. Swimming down as deep as she could she saw Ren's body without movement and pulled at his arm, his head was bleeding and the blood was covering the water.

Rachel seeing this swam over quickly and supported most of the twenty one year old's weight as she slung his other arm over her back. She looked at the wound on his head and frowned, it looked serious and she saw Kuu with a pale face run over to them looking horror struck. Kyoko saw this and then something in her eyes told her that Ren's accident wasn't just a random person's accident to Kuu it meant more.

Kyoko looked at Ren before remembering something she had learned at the ryokan, CPR, it was strange that she knew CPR from just being a child but it was a useful skill to have. Letting her lips touch his she tried to resuscitate Ren but it wasn't working. As she tried again Nick came over and looked at him before giving Kyoko some advice on what to do.

Finally Ren coughed, his eyes though looked dead and they could hear the sound of the ambulance and medics that were on hand. Kyoko paused before seeing Ren close his eyes again and then forgot the way she was dressed, her hair and everything, at that moment it was just her, Kyoko, and Ren that mattered.

As Ren was carried away she saw Julie start to break down looking around worried about what was going on. She then saw Kuu walk over to her as the other girls were talking between themselves. Kyoko froze, was Julie-san really sensitive to these issues since she seemed completely scared about Tsuruga-san, however she heard Kuu's voice next, "Don't worry...I'm sure the gash was nothing, I'm sure that he's going to be alright."

"But Kuon..." she choked as Kyoko tilted her head to the side as she watched from behind them where they couldn't see her. Was this something that brought back memories of their son? Had their son died in the same way when he was fifteen years old...it did sound like something he would do. "Our baby Kuu..."

"Ssh," Kuu whispered, "Not here, wait until we're alone," he told her, "No one needs to know until he says so."

"But...he's not Tsuruga Ren," Julie whispered although Kyoko was still able to hear her, "He's Hizuri Kuon."

Kyoko froze allowing those words to work their way into her mind. Ren is Kuon? She asked before tears started to gather up in her eyes but she didn't know whether it was from the shock of everything, from the feeling of being deceived or from the worry of Ren. She just knew at that moment she was not being Aiko but instead herself. Her heart pained in her chest with want for news of Ren.

End Chapter Twelve

AN: I'd also like to thank one of my favorite people on this site, Cindersarah for her input into what could happen, she inspired this chapter with her review.

So do you think Ren should come out okay? Have brain damage? Do you think the contest should still continue until Kyoko wins?

Please review and let me know your thoughts

~Myst