Chapter 25: Cold

Sighing heavily, Ren realized that he couldn't wait any longer. Dropping his folded hands to his side, he pushed off the wall and walked over to his father. Gently placing his hand on the elder's shoulder, he smiled down at him. "Why don't we head out now?"

Kuu recognized the sadness and concern in his son's voice, but he also knew how stubborn and private he was about his feelings. So, he just nodded and pushed to his feet. Grabbing his small black duffel bag off the seat beside him, the duo made their way out towards the president's private jet.

They were greeted by the pilot and the two air hostesses, who bowed graciously to them. They mumbled some sort of pleasantries, but it fell on deaf ears as Ren became lost in thoughts of his beloved. As he began to ascend the stairs to the cabin, the wind rustled around him. The whistle of the approaching rain made him shiver.

"Ren!"

Halting his steps, the actor held absolutely still. Don't tell me I'm hearing things, he thought trying not to get his hopes up. But then…

"Ren! Wait!"

"I knew it," he whispered to himself and then turned around swiftly, the heavy breeze lapping his hair aside. Raking it back, the actor smiled handsomely and skipped back down. Seeing her running towards him, her short auburn tresses being whipped around her face, all he wanted to do was scoop her up and take her away with him. Kuu smiled at them and then asked everyone to board so the lovers could have their privacy.

Kyoko was running so fast that she collided into him, her heart pounding in her ears as her lungs strained to breathe. "I'm… I'm sorry… I'm late…"

"Sssh," he said softly with his lips upon her head. Tenderly, Ren stroked her hair and rubbed her back. "I'm so glad that you made it, Kyoko." Feeling a light tug upon his dress shirt, he reluctantly pulled away from her and cupped her cheek. But Kyoko grabbed his wrist and pulled him away from her. His eyes widened with surprise. "What is it?" Thin brows were furrowed so intensely that the actor felt his chest tighten, an uncomfortable knot settling inside of him. Ren tried to reach out to her again, but she turned her head away. "Kyoko, please tell me—"

"Are you my fairy prince?" She asked blankly, braving her eyes to his.

His whole body ran chillingly cold, his voice lost, and his mind awake with heightened fear from his nightmares. Opening his lips, Ren found that he had no answer for her.

"Well, are you?" Kyoko asked again, her amber eyes pleading with a desperation that he couldn't decipher. "Please, tell me the truth, Ren… Ren… Is that even your real name?"

Swallowing, he took one step closer to her and willed his body to speak. The result was a voice weak and vulnerable, dripping in guilt and a mounting sense of dread. "Wh… Why are you asking me this…Kyoko?"

"Just answer the question, please." She begged.

The strain in her delicate voice shattered Ren. Memories of his past suddenly became keenly evident before his eyes. The childhood recollections of the time spent with Kyoko, as her fairy prince. The many theatrics of adolescent Kuon. Then there was Rick.

"That boy I met in Kyoto with the sparkling eyes and golden hair… is it really you?" When she saw that he no answer to give her, Kyoko could feel every inch of her body becoming possessed with a sense of déjà vu. "Answer me dammit!"

Closing his eyes, Ren wrinkled his brow and licked his lips. After taking a ragged breath, he spoke. "Yes."

Tears pooled heavily around her eyes before escaping down her cheeks. Kyoko grabbed at her heart with both her small hands and shook her head with disbelief. "Then it's true…" Biting her lip to keep from bawling, she held on to her strength and pushed onward. "And you've known… you've known this entire time that I'm… that we…"

Looking away, Ren nodded. "Yes, Kyoko." He could not bear to see her in such pain. But he could no longer run away and hide behind the façade of Tsuruga Ren either. Keeping his tears tucked tightly away, the actor faced her and grabbed her arms, bringing her closer to him. "Kyoko, please. Let me explain. I'll explain everything to you."

"No!" She shouted. "I don't want to hear it! No more lies!"

"Please," he beseeched. "I swear that I can explain everything to you honestly, if you would—"

"I don't… I can't!" Raising her chin, Kyoko looked deeply into the celebrity's dark eyes. What stared back at her were nothing more than masks of his true stare, his beautiful blue stare. "If Tsuruga Ren is your stage name, than what is your real name?"

The look he gave her made her realize that this was something that was very difficult for him to talk about. It was something that brought him anguish and quite possibly much worse.

He's a murderer.

Reino's words played on repeat over and over again.

"I… I can't answer that right now, Kyoko." Ren said honestly.

"Is it…" Twisting free of his arms, she began to step away from him. "Is it because… you… killed someone…?"

The actor's eyes grew unbelievably wide with shock, as his jaw went slack. "How… How did you—?"

"So it's true?!" Kyoko shouted much louder than she wanted to. "Y-you're a murderer?" Her feet picked up pace in their desire to flee.

"Kyoko, don't. Don't do this, not here, not like this." Ren tried to approach her, but to no avail.

"Don't touch me! I don't even know who you are. You're nothing but a liar."

"Hmph, meanwhile you were nothing more than a conquest, a stepping stone on his path to fame. I can only imagine the humor he must have found in your blind faith in a silly blue stone. It's probably what made it so easy for him to manipulate his way into your heart."

"I bet you never even loved me," Her tears fell uncontrollably down her face to the ground below her. "I was nothing but just another toy for the playboy Tsuruga, wasn't I?"

"No, you weren't! Don't you see how much I love you?"

"Love me?! Is that why you've been lying to me for these two years? Tell me, Ren, how funny was it to watch me talk like a starry-eyed idiot about my fairy prince? I bet… you must've enjoyed every second, watching me play the fool."

"Kyoko…"

"I promised myself I would never love anyone ever again. And then I met you and I… I succumbed so easily. I should've seen it. I should've known that you were just…" Her sobs were becoming wild and untamed. "Just like Shotaro… But you're worse than him. You… I gave you everything I had, Ren. My heart…" Looking away from horrible shame, Kyoko shook her head. "I gave you my body…"

"Tsuruga-san!" The pilot called out from behind them as the wind grew fiercer and more impatient. "We must leave now or we'll be delayed until tomorrow!"

Dammit, not now! His mind screamed with irritation.

"Go, Ren. Go live your merry little life,"

"Kyoko, I can't just leave everything like this! You don't understand anything!" Once more his arm stretched out to her. "Please, don't do this. I'm begging you!"

"Don't touch me! Don't come near me! You're a liar and a murderer! Just leave me the hell alone!" Kyoko spun around and fled as fast as her feet could carry her, leaving Tsuruga Ren to the troughs of the oncoming storm.

It was a couple hours past midnight when the president received an urgent call. Struggling awake, he fetched his cell phone from his nightstand. Seeing the caller ID, he narrowed his eyes with concern. Tapping the green button, he cleared his throat, and answered. "Yes, Kuu. What is it?"

"Boss, we have a problem," the best friend answered, uncharacteristically serious. "And it's very bad."

"What happened, tell me everything." Lory pulled himself into a straighter position and listened with his undivided attention. Beside him, Ten-san stirred lightly. Glancing to her, he lowered his voice a notch. "I assume it's in regards to your son. Otherwise you wouldn't call me so blasted late."

"You assume correctly." Kuu sighed loudly. "He's frozen up, Boss. I'm afraid you will have to cancel whatever projects he had lined for tomorrow. There is no way in hell it's going to happen."

Thick brows furrowed with confusion. "Just what the bloody hell is going on?"

"It's Kyoko-chan. She knows, about everything. Somehow she found out things about Ren's past, including Rick. I doubt she knows the whole story, but it was enough. She left him, and she didn't look too well herself."

"No…" Lory whispered with surprise. "This is indeed a very serious problem." He stroked his goatee and pondered how to handle such a situation. "Ren needs to snap out of it. He cannot jeopardize everything he has worked so hard for over this."

"Yeah, you try telling him that. He refuses to listen to anything I have to say in that regard and he sure as hell won't listen to a damn thing you gotta say."

"Where is he now?"

"He left shortly after she did. If I had to guess, I'd say he went in search of her." Kuu sighed again. "I don't know if he can recover from this, Boss. He… He's truly crazy about her. This is why I told him to be honest."

"His feelings for her did affect him in ways that even he could not realize. But the real question here, Kuu, is how the hell did Kyoko-kun discover this?"

Kuu remained silent as the implication of the president's words sunk in.

"Someone out there knows his secrets, and it's obviously in the wrong hands. Just what will they do with it next?"

Next one's gonna be a long one! Thanks for being patient with me. Work has been kicking my ass yet again. Take care everyone.