This... what? Could it be? YES IT IS! THIS IS THE VERY LAST CHAPTER OF THIS FANFICTION! I want to thank all of you who have followed and read this story to this very end.

Malin; It's not a definite end, is it? There will be an epilogue.

Me; Depends on the response.

More than anyone I want to thank PSYCHOplusLOGIST who helped me with the Russian. A million thank you's, roses, hugs and kisses honey. I love you greatly!

Special thanks also goes to Resha Tsubaki who offered her help with the Russian. I am so very grateful for your offer even if we didn't have a lot of contact!

I'd like to thank all of my reviewers personally, but this chapter is long enough as it is. I'm sorry for taking so long, but once you see the sheer LENGTH of this chapter I hope you will forgive me.

Now, please go on and read. And do review. The epiloge depends on it ;)


The sun will always rise in the morning

Kyoko had very little motivation to do anything at all at the moment. She didn't even know for how long she'd just sat on her bed since her mother left. A nurse would come in to check on her once in a while but Kyoko couldn't find the will to talk to her or even answer her gentle and well-meant questions. In the end the nurse would leave with a soft pat on Kyoko's hand.

However, quite suddenly there was a cry of "Onee-sama!" running feet and something grabbing her arm.

Startled out of her numb state Kyoko gave a shocked cry of "Who's there?! Who is it?!"

The darkness before her eyes was still as impenetrable as before, but it didn't keep Kyoko from trying to catch a glimpse of what... or maybe who was attacking her. She realized the touch on her arms was hands. Small hands, and Kyoko tentatively touched them, hoping that would give her a hint on who this was. It had to be a child at least. The hands were way too small to belong to a grown person.

"Onee-sama?" a young girl's voice sounded beside her. It was definitely familiar. But before she could investigate further the door swung open to let in a person who wasn't Dr Kaji and not a nurse.

"Maria-chan, I asked you to take it easy."

Well, that was a voice Kyoko knew for certain; the president, and he had just revealed who was clinging onto her arm.

"Maria-chan?"

"Are you okay, onee-sama?" the little girl asked worriedly. She had asked her uncle a few hours ago where Kyoko was, and it had taken her all those few hours to pry it out of him.

"The doctor said you were feeling out of sorts," the president added with concern.

The blind girl managed a smile she hoped was reassuring. "I'll be fine, boss, Maria-chan. It was only an unfortunate accident."

"Really?" The younger girl let out a small breath of relief. But there was an extended silence from the president that made Kyoko uneasy.

"Really," she assured Maria.

There was another silence where Kyoko couldn't find anything to say. It felt like everyone was looking at her but she couldn't be sure and she couldn't meet anyone's eyes either.

"Onee-sama, are you angry?" Maria asked out of the blue.

"Of course not, Maria-chan. Do I look angry? I'm sorry."

"But you won't look at me."

There it was. The proof it was obvious to the world outside the darkness that Kyoko actually couldn't see. For some odd reason it hurt more that she couldn't pretend she was alright. She felt vulnerable.

"Maria-chan," the president spoke slowly. "I believe Mogami-kun isn't looking at you because she can't see you."

"But I'm right here!" the little girl protested and tugged at Kyoko's arm. "Onee-sama, I'm right here. You can see me, right?"

She swallowed hard and closed her eyes. Even though it was just as dark as with her eyes open it still felt like a good way to hide. Kyoko wasn't entirely sure what she was trying to hide from though, so she opened them again.

"I'm sorry, Maria-chan," she spoke with a thin voice. "I've gone blind. I can't see anything at all. It's just dark."

The little girl was quiet for a moment as she let the words sink in, and then hell broke loose. Maria cried. Kyoko didn't know what to do or exactly where to turn because the little girl cried so loudly and appeared to be running around.

It took a minute for Lory to catch his granddaughter. Really, the girl was just like her mother when she entered a state of hysteria. Kaji didn't bother trying to interfere in the chase of the young girl who very almost was running up the walls like a little insect.

"Maria-chan, calm down," Lory ordered sternly once he got a hold of the little girl.

"But, but, but, but, but!"

"This is a hospital, ojou-san," Kaji pointed out, his voice heavy with both authority and touch of disapproval. "There are people resting in the other rooms. Please refer from bothering them."

It was harsh, and the little girl got hurt, but Kaji wasn't lying either. Outside the room nurses were running around trying to calm the patients who had gotten worried when the girl screamed. Mogami-san herself was near an attack and the doctor quickly strode to his patient's side, placing a hand on her forehead and prepared to take care of her. It seemed she had learnt to recognize his touch though and was near immediately taking steadying breaths.

"This is also a hospital," Kaji continued with a gentler voice, "where people get better." He smiled at the little girl in Lory's arms.

Maria nodded quietly. She was fully aware she had caused trouble, even to Kyoko, something she definitely hadn't intended.

But blind?! What did that even mean?

"Will onee-sama get better?" she asked quietly.

"For the most part, yes ojou-san. About her sight though, I cannot tell for sure, but rest assured we do all we can."

The little girl nodded, hoping the doctor was right and her idol would be cured.

"Maria-chan. I need to talk to Mogami-kun for a moment. Can you wait for me outside?"

She hesitated.

"Don't worry, ojou-san. I'll keep you company," the doctor said kindly and held out his hand for the girl.

Lory smiled reassuringly when his granddaughter gave him a look. "I won't be long, I promise. Be with you in a moment."

"Okay."

Kaji took the girl's hand and exchanged a look with the president. Lory had the grace to blush in slight shame. Visiting hours were long over and Kaji was violating policy rules he really shouldn't. Maria's reaction also meant that this was the absolutely last time he did this, even for Lory. Kaji did have a boss and she wouldn't be pleased to hear about this. Lory was well aware of this, and hopefully this would be the last time he had to visit a ward at a hospital like this.

He looked at Kyoko. The girl sat still, but her eyes moved as if she tried to see, even though both of them knew she couldn't. It was a relief to see her though. Her skin was a little pale and there were rings under her eyes. But she was alive. Going through the possibly worst time of her life, sure, but she was alive, and that meant she still had a chance to live.

"Mogami-kun?"

She flinched a little, probably hadn't expected the sound of his voice.

"Yes?" she answered, her eyes looking for him.

"You said this was 'an unfortunate accident'."

"...yes?"

Lory sighed silently. "I'm afraid it wasn't an accident."

The girl on the bed froze. "But... mother said..."

"No," Lory cut her off quickly. "This has nothing to do with your mother. When you took the drugs she believed you had already returned to Kyoto. It might be for that reason we haven't seen much of her lately."

Kyoko let out a breath and slumped back on her divan-shaped bed. She was relieved. Lory couldn't help but smile a little. Dr Kaji had said the girl's mother had been here, and as a doctor that was all he could say about it. He could however share that Kyoko hadn't been very motivated since the mother left, and it led Lory to believe Mogami-kun was trying to digest the information her mother had shared. It was Saena who had sent Kirra-san after the girl and she had most likely confessed. Lory couldn't even begin to imagine what Kyoko felt about it.

"If it wasn't an accident... then what?" Kyoko asked, much sooner than Lory had expected, but the faster he got this said the better. He couldn't stay here too long.

"It would seem Hoshisawa Kyoko intended to pull a cruel joke on you."

The girl on the bed looked up with eyes wide with surprise. "Hoshisawa-san?"

"Yes," Lory nodded. "Apparently she has targeted you, in a sense. Some of the rumours about you a while ago were actually caused by her, and about her. She however did a great job in turning all the negative attention towards you. During filming that day Hoshisawa-san sneaked into the lounge and searched your bag to have something on you, that's how she found the drugs. You did keep them in your bag, didn't you?"

Kyoko nodded, eyes still wide. Hoshisawa-san? Well, Kyoko had had an odd feeling about her, but this? This was almost too outrageous to believe. "What have I done to Hoshisawa-san?" she asked, because she really couldn't think of anything she'd done that was bad enough for the other girl to target her. They were in showbiz after all, and Kyoko was still a newbie as well as a Love-Me member from beginning to end, meaning the president had never found her rehabilitated enough to release her.

"Nothing, rest assured," Lory spoke bluntly. "When you took the drugs Shiva Io-san accused Hoshisawa-san for putting the drugs among the placebos you were using, the girl clumsily gave away she had indeed put something in the pillbox though denied knowledge of exactly what it had been. I couldn't do anything about it at the moment and Hoshisawa-san was handed over to the police."

Kyoko's mouth fell open. An actor had been arrested? ...wait a second. "The media. What... what are they writing about this?"

Lory made a face. "It's all over the news," he admitted reluctantly. "Hoshisawa-san spilled the beans and confessed everything during the police interrogation. Now the media is all over Tokyo trying to find out just where you are. I had to take extra safety measures to bring you to this private hospital in absolute secret. The good news is that it isn't commonly known Polnoch Sana is your mother or this hospital would have been surrounded right after your mother left today."

Kyoko blinked owlishly. "Mother...? What?"

"Polnoch Sana is the most famous designer in Japan," Lory explained. "She has her own crew of stalkers and was caught walking out of here when she left you."

The president paused to let the girl on the bed understand the new information. As an upcoming star Kyoko had made a few interviews before, but all of them had been well planned and prepared for. It was nothing compared to the flood of reporters and photographers that would tear down the building for an interview now. Kyoko was nowhere near ready to face the outside world the way she was right now.

"So what happens now?" Kyoko asked weakly.

"I'd suggest you stay here a few days extra to let the worst commotion die down."

"But I..."

Lory looked up at the start of a protest from the girl. What, did she want to go through the tsunami of reporters in the state she was in? "But?" he pressed.

Kyoko had stilled and was slumping, her shoulders rising towards her ears in a show of shame. "But I wasn't done filming. I had one more scene to film for Always a child."

It took a full thirty seconds for Lory to regain enough control of himself to open his mouth again. This girl. He'd thought it before and now he thought it again; ambition had to have limits!

"I can ask director Sou for you how important that scene is for the movie," he said and stood. "I have to leave you now. I am here long after visiting hours after all."

He turned to leave. He had a shitload of work to do and he was tired.

"President."

The voice was weak and on the edge of breaking. The girl on the bed hung with her head and her fingers twitched.

"What happens to me now?"

She was scared. Mogami Kyoko was scared. Lory had fully expected this, and still it broke his heart to see it happen right in front of his eyes and know he could do absolutely nothing about it. Damn. How was he supposed to catch any sleep like this?

"I don't know, Mogami-kun," he answered softly. "All we can do right now is to wait and see."


"The actress Kyouko was poisoned by a fellow actress; Hoshisawa Kyoko, and sent to the hospital. President of L.M.E Lory Takarada himself is said to have handled the matter of the actress's health care and insists she be left alone. There is no news about Kyouko's state but as the days roll by the hope for her survival is slipping away. Actress Shiva Io was there at the incident..."

The rest of the article was illegible since Kotonami Kanae had gripped the paper so tightly it tore in her hands. She sat in Love-Me's dressing room, leaning over the crumbled up newspaper and tried not to throw up. She'd lost weight lately. Ever since she lost Kyoko she hadn't had much appetite, and when she did eat the food didn't taste good, and now that an attempt of murder on the girl had been all over the news for three whole days Kanae couldn't eat at all. She had arrived to her filming set this morning, but they had declared she looked too bad for work and sent her away until she'd gotten her act back together.

And that idiot... the idiot she'd been thinking about when she said that acted like nothing at all had happened...

Kanae buried her face in the paper, curled up on the seat and trembled. How? How could it be this easy to lose a friend? Why did it hurt so much? She'd never had friends before and been perfectly fine. She'd never regretted a word she said to anyone. How could one slip be so regrettable?

The door opened and light feet slipped inside, quietly closing the door behind them. Amamiya Chiori hadn't spoken much since the news got out either. She was shocked mostly, but at the same time there was a part of her that wasn't surprised at all, that felt like she had almost expected something like this to happen. Chiori wondered over that part of her. What in recent history could possibly have prepared even a small section of her for Kyoko-san's current situation? Well, of course there was the incident involving Fuwa Sho, but he had no apparent connection to the case. According to the culprit herself it had been a spur of the moment. And Kyoko-san herself wasn't a weakling. Chiori knew for a fact that the girl could handle a lot of pressure and obstacles.

That's why the incident with Fuwa Sho was so shocking. Whatever had been said or happened had brought Kyoko-san to the very hair before her breaking point. The fact that the incident was so recent was also an issue. Kyoko-san hadn't got enough time to fully recover, and so a push in the wrong direction was probably all it took for the girl to lose her self-control.

Now that's not what had happened, hopefully, but Chiori figured it was good enough an explanation to that part of her that felt like it had been waiting for something like this to happen.

And now Chiori couldn't figure out anything else to occupy her mind with. Damn, that solution had come to her way too easily. Couldn't her thoughts have taken at least a hundred or so more turns in her head before arriving at a destination? Now she just stood here in the middle of the room like an idiot and Kanae-san avoiding her didn't make things easier.

"The reporters keep pointing out the president took care of Kyoko-san," Chiori said to the back of Love-Me section's second member.

At first the other girl didn't react, but after a long enough while and Chiori was just opening her mouth to say something else, Kanae-san moved, the ruined newspaper slowly falling to her lap and head turning just slightly.

"What are you inkling?"

Wow, Kanae-san's voice was really hoarse. What was wrong with her?

"The president knows where Kyoko-san is," Chiori continued instead of questioning the other girl.

Kanae's head turned forward, away from Chiori again. "I would think so," she replied at length.

"I want to see Kyoko-san," Love-Me's third member said and she herself heard how childish she sounded. "I was told she was quitting, so Kyoko-san won't come back even if she recovers. If we don't go to see her now we will never see her again."

Kanae sat still and silent. Amamiya-san had a point. If they wanted to see that girl, they would have to go to her now. But what could she possibly say to her? It was okay for Amamiya-san to say she wanted to see Kyoko; s didn't have this problem of having been a total bitch and asking her to die the last time they spoke to each other. Kanae wished she could apologize for it, but how?

Annoyance gathered in a hard knot inside the tall girl's chest. She was angry at herself, at that idiot who had annoyed her so badly, at Kyoko who had been right there at the wrong time, at the whole world for being so stupid. She wanted more than anything to see Kyoko again, and right beside that desire was the fear of Kyoko's response. Even if she had been wrong once before, this was nothing like that time.

Chiori grit her teeth. So this was how it was going to be? "Fine. Do whatever you want. I'll go see Kyoko-san on my own then."

She turned to leave, and let out a shrill, startled scream that awoke even Kanae from her depression. Sebastian stood in the room. When Chiori turned she had been an inch from walking straight into the man.

"The president apologizes for neglecting you for the past few days," Lory's assistant said, completely unfazed while poor Chiori sat where she had fallen on her butt, grasping at her heart to make sure it stayed inside her chest, still too stunned to talk. "I'm sure you have been worried about Mogami-san," the man continued when nobody else spoke. "If you need to speak with the president he will be in his office for another couple of hours."

And with that the dark man bowed gracefully to the mute girls and left without a sound.

After a long pause Kanae stood. She was still trying to set her mind, but the side of her that wanted to see Kyoko was winning, and it was best to move while the fear wasn't consuming her completely.

Chiori watched the other girl. For a moment she just stood there, indecisive and rigid, but it only took a moment for her chin to adopt a hard line and Kanae strode out of the room with long strides. Love-Me's third member smiled, got up from the floor and hurried to follow.


Yashiro Yukihito made a face as he skimmed through yet another article about Kyoko-chan's case. It said nothing new and as long as the president refused to say a word on the matter there would be no news before Kyoko-chan was out of the hospital.

The manager growled and threw the newspaper into a trashcan. As if it wasn't enough to worry about Kyoko-chan, he was worried sick about Ren too. The actor was acting his normal, calm and polite self with the difference that now he didn't even try to hide the fact he wasn't eating. Yashiro wondered if he even slept properly as his charge's eyes had become so dull ever since Kyoko was poisoned. He hadn't said a word about it though.

Yashiro sighed again and shook his head, unseen by Ren who was walking up to him after finishing a scene.

As he stepped off the stage, Ren felt how his mask slipped and his character's feelings simply faded away. Hopefully nobody noticed the way his hands were shaking as they wished they could grab the character and bring it back. Being somebody else than Tsuruga Ren was better. They didn't feel this guilty hopelessness about a girl his heart fluttered for every time he saw her or heard her voice.

Wordlessly the tall actor went over to his manager to sit down and wait for his next act. Normally he would concentrate on his lines at these breaks, but at the moment his thoughts were on anything but work. Kyoko, and her mother too, were dancing across his inner eye and wouldn't let him forget.

Ren would give a lot to be able to see the young girl again, to apologize for not being there to help her. He cursed himself for being so conceited. He had told Kyoko's mother that he wouldn't stop the girl from coming to him for help. He had forgotten that Kyoko never asked for his help unless it was work related. Everything else was him noticing her mood, pushing her buttons to pull the truth out of her.

Now look at him; his secret revealed, Kyoko knew he was the boy she spent a lot of summer days with and thus her trust in him was gone. He'd lost a game he'd been playing for years, all because of a sharp mind.

The actor leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and hands folded in front of his face. No, he didn't blame Captain-san for being so sharp to have seen through his act at the wrong place at the wrong time, even though it still unsettled him. Kyoko always moved quietly, making her hard to detect when she wanted to stay out of the way. She was one of few how could still walk around the stage when a scene was played and not make a single disturbing sound. A girl who moved so quietly and only made her presence known if she was asked for, of course the leaves or bushes wouldn't rustle to announce her arrival. They hadn't heard her come and they hadn't heard her leave.

Sighing quietly to himself Ren looked to the floor, frowning lightly with indecision. He couldn't, definitely couldn't, absolutely didn't want to risk his work for anything. He loved to act. It was the one thing in the world he truly loved to do. He'd given up on a lot of other things in order to live for his work.

But was he ready to give up on Kyoko?

His heart screamed out a loud and painful NO!

Sighing again Ren resisted the urge to hide his face in his hands or pull his hands through his hair, glad he still had enough control to know he shouldn't upset his make-up or hair as it would take unnecessary extra time to get it back in order when he was called up for his next scene. The make-up artists would always take a second to dust a brush across his face to ensure he looked good enough before he went on stage. Rubbing away the make-up and they would have to redo the whole thing.

"Ren."

The actor almost didn't hear the soft voice of his manager. He turned around and looked to the other man. "Did you say something?"

Yashiro gave him a look. "Yes. Are you not going to see her? You want to apologize, am I right?"

So typical of Yashiro-san. For someone who knew little to nothing about Ren's private life and past, he often managed to put words to the very core of the problem. Something Ren shamefully admitted, albeit only to himself, he'd tried hard to avoid.

"I don't know," he drawled quietly and looked down at the floor once again. "I wouldn't want to draw attention to her by visiting."

Yashiro made a face. Every hospital and health care centre in Tokyo probably had a reporter spying at the entrance and attacked any visitor who was even slightly involved in showbiz.

"Isn't that what the president is for?"

Ren gave the man behind him a look that questioned Yashiro's sanity. Sure, the president was the closest to a parent Ren had in reachable distance, but running to him with this? No, not a good idea. Lory Takarada had X-rays instead of actual eyes sometimes and Ren really didn't want to tell the elder what had happened the last time Kyoko spoke to him.

Yashiro was about to say something else, but just then Ren got called to go on stage. Ren's manager huffed at the hurry in which Ren got up and left. The star was beating around the bush again and Yashiro didn't like it. If you had a fight with someone you didn't want a fight with you must apologize once the steam is gone. Sure, Yashiro knew nothing about what had actually happened at Kioku, but for Kyoko-chan to slap Ren, an actor across the face, an unforgiveable sin in showbiz, she must have been seriously upset. The manager wondered if it was something Ren had said. It sounded both likely and very unlikely. Ren was the uncrowned master of smooth talking. On the other hand Kyoko-chan was highly unpredictable and never fell head over heels in love with anything that had nothing to do with fairies or princesses. There was also the case that Kyoko-chan appeared to have mentally tucked Ren up on a shelf where she could admire him from a safe distance and from where Ren simply couldn't reach her.

The manager heaved another deep sigh. It was a mess. In his opinion Kyoko shouldn't be alone right now. An attempted murder wasn't something you just forgave and forgot about. She needed as much reassurance as possible and therefore she should be able to find it in her to forgive Ren for whatever had happened at Kioku. At least that's how Yashiro reasoned. The mess was caused by Ren clamming up and refusing to bulge.

It didn't matter, the manager suddenly decided. His reasoning might be wistful, but if Ren wouldn't visit Kyoko-chan then Yashiro would. That way he could figure out if Kyoko-chan wanted to see Ren or not and so he would have an easier time pursuing Ren. Hopefully.


Yashiro Yukihito was not alone in trying to get someone to pay Kyoko a visit. Kirill's methods were however not quite as friendly or well-meaning. Sho Fuwa was by now well familiar with the Russian man's blue eyes drilling into him from the other side of the room.

They were working on their next song as the contract they'd all agreed on and signed said they would do. The Dead Saints had done their half of the deal, now they were waiting for Sho to get his half of the arrangement done. But when someone was staring holes in you Sho found was very hard to be anything near creative. He hadn't plucked a single cord on his guitar for the past two hours and the stares hadn't lessened even for a second.

As if the Russian wasn't enough Sho was fighting an emotional war all on his own.

At last he couldn't take it anymore. Sho abruptly stood and turned to yell at the other occupant of the room. "Even if I go to see her nothing will change!"

Kirill didn't even bat an eye. "Wrong," was all he said and that with a very flat voice. All in all he wasn't being very helpful.

"Bah!" Sho spat and sat back down, facing away from the other man. "What do you even know?"

"I know things always are different after every meeting and talking, no matter how slight the different is."

The Japanese teen snorted. That had to be the stupidest thing he'd ever heard in his life. Things didn't change just because you talked; they changed when you made a decision, and Sho had way too many contradicting feelings to make up his mind about anything. On one side was his own life, his career and his music. On the other side was Kyoko.

Sho had made a serious effort to be even more ignorant about the news than he'd ever been, but not all of him was in on that effort. Every time he heard Kyoko's name on the TV his mind would immediately zero in on the sound, trying to make out what had become of her, and even when he caught himself doing this he couldn't find the strength to turn away and shut out all sounds. Sho hadn't even slept properly since Kirill had scared him by saying Kyoko was dead.

It was those very words that scared him. That Kyoko would die. It was what his nightmares were all about. And as the days passed without a word from either L.M.E's president or from anywhere at all the worse Sho found his hands shaking.

Kyoko. The girl he'd grown up with, whom he'd always turned to for comfort, who he'd always thought didn't matter that much to him was now about to disappear out of his life forever, and Sho found a large portion of him absolutely didn't want that.

Shoko entered the room with lunch boxes in her hands. "Sho, let's take a break. Did you manage to get anything done today?"

The teen gripped the neck of his guitar until his knuckles turned white, controlling the temper that any moment now risked to slip and hurt his manager. He couldn't do that he knew. Wasn't that exactly what had started his continual realization of Kyoko being someone important to him? In fact, he could still feel it, the sting on the back of his hand from when he had lashed out at Kyoko, hurting her. His emotions hadn't been under his control then. What would happen to him if he lost control now?

"He will make very good music," Kirill suddenly spoke up from his corner, causing manager and star to turn and stare at him.

"He will?" Shoko asked as if Sho wasn't even there. "How would you know, Kilill-san? Has he told you anything?"

"He will make good music," the Russian repeated before once again drilling his blue gaze straight into Sho's grey ones. "Once he has talked to her."

Shoko didn't understand right away. It took almost ten seconds before it dawned on her. "Oh. Kyoko-chan?"

As soon as she'd said it out loud the female manager froze. She knew Sho was aware of Kyoko-chan's case and that he must be worried. Actually she had gone through great pains to not mention a word that could possibly relate to the case. She'd probably failed in a few or perhaps a lot of ways seeing as the teenaged star only had gotten worse over the days. Not for the first time Shoko wished the Russian man (whom she still had the hots for mind you) to be cooperative instead of so obviously working against Shoko's every effort.

It was the biggest difference between Kirill and Shoko, Sho thought silently to himself. Shoko was the typically modest and avoid fighting sort of woman. Kirill was a lot more like... Kyoko.

"Ki-Kilill-san," Shoko stuttered in a most pathetic attempt of scolding the man. "You should be more considerate of Sho's feelings."

"I am thinking of his feelings and of Mogami's," the Russian said easily. "The only way to get out is to go through. Standing still will not take one anywhere."

"Now listen to me here," Shoko tried again, even though the other man wasn't even trying to appear like he was listening, and Shoko very much didn't want to be ignored by him, so her embarrassing scolding of his lack of tact quickly turned into a firm one picking on his manners.

Neither man was listening. Kirill only had ears for the voice of Sho's feelings as the younger was finally starting to make up his mind.

Sho was staring at the wall, guitar still in hand as Kirill's words replayed themselves over and over in his head. They were true. If he didn't make up his mind about what he wanted to do with Kyoko Sho wouldn't be able to write a single chord for his song. Right now the girl was a block on his road that he couldn't simply skip or walk around. Unless he wanted a big black spot on his career he had to clear things up with Kyoko.

Now if his mind could just stop throwing around a big fat "But" and get to his doubts and have him chicken out.


It hadn't been hard to get the hospital's address from the president, or the day off. In fact the tall man had nearly ordered them to spend the day away and had given them an extra free day to... well, Choiri wasn't sure if she knew what "things" she was supposed to "think over" and hadn't wanted the extra day off, but alas, the president would always get his way.

Kanae and Choiri stood outside, wearing normal cloths and just stared at the building. Speaking frankly; it looked plain, the kind of house you'd normally just pass by without taking notice to unless you had actual business here. There was no big sign anywhere on the walls that shouted out this was a hospital. The only one thing that did was probably the entrance itself; the wide, automatic doors were adapted for wheelchairs. And of course the guidance chart standing there to help visitors find their way around.

Lowering her gaze to the door Kanae felt her legs lock and refuse to listen to the brain's order to move. Inside those doors Kyoko waited, and she was most likely not happy.

"He's smart ne, the president," Choiri voiced quietly as she too looked to the doors. "The media would probably never think to look for her here."

Kanae nodded, trying to swallow the lump in her throat at the same time. The last time she saw Kyoko... or the last times actually, their friendship had been torn apart and scattered in the wind. There was the kiss. There was the slip of tongue she hadn't gotten the chance to apologize about the last time she saw Kyoko.

The moment the girl had explained how she had nobody.

"I'm not like you! I don't have anyone at all!"

No, Kanae still couldn't understand it. She'd been trying to, but every attempt to put herself in Kyoko's situation and not have anyone but a mother who appeared to not want her, all Kanae could feel was relief and a touch of envy. Because she came from a poor family with a lot of children that wouldn't give you room enough to breathe. As a child she had had to find ways to find food for herself because there just wasn't enough to go around at home. She'd never bothered to care what other people thought of her because what did they know anyway? Her parents hadn't given much of a damn as long as she did well in school and most of the time she had wished those two weren't her parents.

But Kyoko didn't think like that. That girl had always wanted friends while Kanae hadn't thought it was nothing but a bother even trying to make any friends that would want to come over and make snarky comments on her family and house. Kyoko, while she had never said anything, Kanae had figured that the girl had always wanted a family too.

They really were worlds apart.

"I'm going in."

The tall girl jumped, startled out of her thoughts at the voice of the other girl she had completely forgotten was in her company.

"Wa-wait! I'm not mentally prepared yet!" Kanae squeaked and hurried after Choiri, intending to stop her, but once she caught up they were already inside those wide automatic doors.

Latched onto the shorter girl's arm Kanae stood stiff. They were inside, and behind the desk a young man had looked up from some papers.

The actress inside her came to her rescue. She had always wanted to appear as classy as possible because it earned her the respect she'd always wanted. So now, in front of the eyes that had turned to give her strange looks, Kanae straightened, pulled her jacket straight with a firm tug and put on a mask of indifference.

Choiri watched it happen and felt just a tad bit challenged. No, her acting spirit felt like it was dying to take the challenge. Unfortunately this wasn't the time or place to do so. Kanae didn't even give her a chance since she was already walking up to the front desk and slapped down the card the president had given them, because Kyoko was a secret patient and according to the hospital reports not even there. Lory Takarada had really thought of everything.

The young man behind the desk looked startled and slightly nervous as he looked up into the visitor's coldly glaring eyes that were clearly daring him to deny her entry. Was this really the same young woman who had rushed in crying she wasn't prepared? Maybe she was...

Before his imagination could run away with his head the man picked up the card, not breaking eye contact until he held the note up in front of his nose where he could keep half an eye on the woman.

The note had a six digit number and Dr Kaji's signature written on it.

The man behind the desk frowned in confusion and turned to his computer, entered Dr Kaji's name and added the numbers. To his great surprise a floor and room number appeared on the screen, but still no name of a patient.

"On the third floor, room 321," he informed the girls and handed the card back.

"How do we get there?" the shorter one of them asked.

"Take the elevator over there and follow the room numbers from there."

"Thanks a lot." The girls bowed respectfully and went over to the elevator pointed out to them. The man behind the desk made a mental note to ask Dr Kaji about this later.


Kyoko was doing some rehabilitation under a nurse's watchful eye. They'd started doing it this morning since Dr Kaji had deemed her safe enough. So now Kyoko sat with a child puzzle in her lap, trying to fit the pieces into their right slots. To be fully honest, Kyoko had felt really stupid at first. She'd never played with his sort of toy as far as she could recall because she'd found them too easy. Now here she was, taking minutes to fit a piece into its slot.

The nurse had told her there were four animals; a dog, a cat, a horse and a goat. The only thing Kyoko had figured out about the pieces since she started this morning was that the smallest piece had to be the cat. The nurse had confirmed that part of the information, but otherwise she was rather useless since she wouldn't give a single clue about which piece was which. To make matters worse the nurse turned the board all the time so Kyoko didn't have a clue about what was up and down on the pieces or could learn where they fit.

That's when Kyoko's evil side had awoken. This was a challenge that was taking its toll on her pride, and that was, according to Evil Kyoko, an unforgivable act, and so she'd started to lose herself in the game.

This is the sight Choiri and Kanae walked in on; Kyoko with a stubborn and determined face feeling around the large puzzle piece in her one hand and the other running over the board where one piece was already in place.

The nurse noticed them and silently motioned to them to stay quiet.

Kyoko found the right slot and fitted the piece in it before her hand searched for another piece and repeated the process of feeling over it and the board, her eyes staring ahead of her rather than on her hands.

Both Love-Me members wondered why. Kyoko acted as if she was blind. Kanae didn't want to think she was. Kyoko had excellent eye sight. She recognized people from a mile away, long before Kanae had even seen them.

Choiri on the other hand wondered why. Why was Kyoko blind? How could she be? What had really happened to her?

With a grunt Kyoko fitted the last piece on the board, crossed her arms and appeared to wait for something to happen.

"Mogami-san. You have visitors," the nurse said instead of reaching over and messing up the finished puzzle again.

The teenage girl blinked, her pissed expression turning into one of slight surprise. "Really? Who?"

She turned her head towards where she had figured the door was, more out of habit than hope to actually see anyone.

"I'm sure you have things to talk about. I'll leave the puzzle for you, Mogami-san," the nurse said kindly, bowed to the visitors and left.

"Who is it?"

No response. Kyoko frowned confusedly and tilted her head, trying to hear something.

"Is somebody there?"

"Kyoko-san," Choiri answered hesitatingly. "What happened to you?"

The blind girl frowned as she tried to put a face to the voice. She knew she'd heard it before, many times, but who could it be?

"Kyoko-san?"

Blinking, Kyoko realized she'd been asked a question before. "Oh, that's kind of a long story," she explained absently, still trying to figure out who this was.

"You have gone blind."

Kyoko sat up straighter. She'd know that voice anywhere, and for a second she forgot herself and cried out a happy; "Moko-san!"

Kyoko couldn't deny she had missed the taller girl terribly. Ever since it had started to crack between them. Being stuck here she had also gotten a lot of time to think once her head cleared.

She should apologize. The last time they talked Kyoko had said some really bad things, and she knew she should apologize, because it wasn't Moko-san's fault. Nothing was her fault. In fact, Kyoko didn't want to blame anyone or even come up with excuses. She just wanted to say how sorry she was for everything that had gone wrong.

Choiri looked between the two girls. In front of her Kyoko-san's face was slowly falling the longer it took for the long-haired girl to get out of her petrified state and answer. In the end Choiri placed a very unfriendly elbow in Kanae's gut, causing the taller girl to cry out and double over in both surprise and pain.

"What was that for?!" she demanded, holding her abused stomach.

"Moko-san? What happened?"

"She's fine, Kyoko-san," Choiri replied with a sing-song voice. "Her breath stuck in her throat and I had to help her."

Kyoko frowned. She knew that voice, so why couldn't she figure out who it belonged to?

It felt like the rudest thing she'd ever done, but between waiting until she finally figured it out herself, if she did, and knowing who was here to see her, Kyoko thought the latter at least felt better.

"I'm terribly sorry," she started with a grave voice, gaining a confused noise in response. "I don't recognize you. Please tell me who you are."

If Choiri said she wasn't offended she would lie. But then again, she and Kyoko hadn't been friends for that long, and she had gone blind. At least that's how Chiori reasoned with herself. Too bad it didn't make it easier to tell Kyoko her name as if they were strangers.

"It's okay, Kyoko-san. I'm Amamiya Chiori."

The blind girl instantly hit her fist into the palm of her hand, eyes lightning up as she finally had a face to the person in front of her, but almost immediately she felt bad.

"I'm really sorry, Amamiya-san," she apologized quietly.

"It's okay, Kyoko-san," Chiori said again and sat down in front of the girl. "If you're blind then you can't see me, so of course you wouldn't recognize me right away."

Kyoko looked down to her hands, torn about what to do and say now. She still hadn't apologized to Moko-san, but she wasn't sure if it was right to do that in front of Amamiya-san without shutting the newest Love-Me member out more than she already had. No, that would be unfair.

"Kyoko-san, why are you doing this puzzle thing?"

The bright-eyed girl looked up and then towards her left where the table was and instantly frowned at herself. She was getting annoyed at her automatic response of turning her head to look at someone/something when it was mentioned even now that she knew she wouldn't be able to see anything.

"Rehabilitation," she muttered sullenly. "Because I can't see some of my contact with the world has been lost, limiting me to mostly hearing and touching. The doctor said this would help me seeing with my hands by feeling a shape and drawing it in my mind. But it's hard."

As Kyoko spoke Kanae had inched closer. Her thoughts were scattered all over the place. There were too many things she simply couldn't comprehend, about what Kyoko was going through. At the same time there were things she regretted, not only her stupid slip of her tongue. She also realized she probably should have brought some sort of get-well gift. But she had never done anything of the sort before. Still, a gift of some sort maybe would have made it easier to initiate Kyoko to talk to her again. Then again... Why had Kyoko smiled at her just now?! It didn't make sense! Wasn't she angry anymore? Was she forgiven? Just like that? But she hadn't even apologized yet!

Groaning in frustration, at first not realizing she attracted the attention of the other two in the room, Kanae rubbed her forehead. "Why do I have to be bothered by this?" she grumbled at her growing headache.

"M... Moko-san?"

Freezing once again, Kanae cursed herself for forgetting Kyoko was still in the room, and she could so easily misinterpret her.

Chiori snarled soundlessly at the taller girl who once again stood stock still as if she wanted to avoid all attention. That was it. Chiori refused to watch this spectacle another second. Kyoko-san obviously wanted to talk to Kotonami-san and Kotonami-san just as obviously had something to say.

"Well, I'm sure you two have some personal business to settle, so I'll wait outside. Do call for me when you're done. I want to talk to you some more, Kyoko-san."

Both girls looked like they wanted to stop her from leaving; Kyoko even reached out as if to grab her, but Chiori had moved out of her reach already.

"Don't start a fight again," she called over her shoulder with a somewhat chirp voice, waved and was out the door.

Once out of sight Chiori headed for the corner where a sofa and an armchair were located in front of a small, old-fashioned TV. A coffee table offered some magazines but Chiori ignored them and just sat down on the sofa and took out her notebook.

In Kyoko's room the blind girl was staring in the direction of the door, blinking owlishly. She was really considerate wasn't she, Amamiya-san, she'd been angered by something before she left though. Mogami Kyoko's anger-radar never lied. Well, she'd said for Kyoko and Moko-san to settle their personal business and then call her back, and Kyoko was determined to follow that advice.

The table was to her left, so Kyoko turned her body more to the right, hoping Moko-san was at least somewhat in front of her. "Moko-san," she spoke with a firm voice.

Kanae flinched at the sound of Kyoko's tone. She knew it. She wasn't forgiven after all. What now? Was she going to ask her to leave and never come back? No! It couldn't end like this! She didn't want it to! She had to...

"Please forgive me, Moko-san."

And once again Kyoko did the unexpected, saying exactly what Kanae wanted to tell her and completely haltered her train of thought and thoughts in general.

"Wh-what?"

Kyoko was bowing down with her forehead almost against touching the floor. She'd always been exceptionally good at bowing. Because she had been raised with the old traditions, she was good at a lot of those things. Now she lifted her head and sat straight, but never opened her eyes.

"Last time I saw you, Moko-san, I said a lot of cruel things, and I am truly sorry. I hope you can forgive me, because I miss you, Moko-san."

Straightforward. Kyoko had always been honest and straightforward, and pushy when she wanted to. But then again, wasn't that exactly what had made Kanae trust her? Well, Kanae wasn't as honest, but she did want her friend back, she realized that much at least.

She sat on her knees right in front of the blind girl. "I am sorry," she started. "It was my fault from the start, wasn't it? Because I'm not good with people, and I say whatever I want because I never cared about others before, and I hurt you. I'm really sorry about that."

Kyoko's eyes were open, staring straight at Kanae, and the taller girl blushed. She was just opening her mouth to tell Kyoko to stop staring at her, and she would have, because she can't control her mouth, but Kyoko beat her to the punch as a wide, happy and so very relieved smile spread across her features.

"Thank you, Moko-san."

"...Eh?"

A tear dropped from the blind eyes. "I thought... no, I was sure you hated me, Moko-san, and I was so scared. Because I never had friends, I treasure you a lot. I'm so glad... you don't hate me after all."

At that moment it felt like a heavy pressure she hadn't even realized was there lifted from Kanae's chest. It was suddenly easier to breathe and she felt so light. And at the same time her eyes welled up.

It was a very female thing, wasn't it? The urge to cry out your relief. To Kanae this was a new experience, and she quickly wiped at her eyes. Kyoko was good at a lot of things, and she was probably the only person in the world who could make Kotonami Kanae cry for real.

"Am I forgiven, Moko-san?" Kyoko asked quietly.

"'course you are," Kanae mumbled. "I'm sorry that I... took so long."

Kyoko smiled and reached out her arms. "I want to hug you, but I can't really tell where you are so..."

Okay, that was taking things one step further than Kanae was comfortable with. Actually, she doubted she'd ever be ready to willingly hug anyone at all, even if it was Kyoko. But they'd just become friends again...

Love-Me's second member took her best friend's hands and held them tightly. And shut up, this was as far as she could stretch.

"Let's call Amamiya back," she mumbled, because now she was so embarrassed she could hardly stand it.


Lory put the pen down and stretched his stiff back. Sitting at his desk for so long wasn't very good on his body and he decided he could afford to take a break for some yoga. Without a word Sebastian started preparing tea in a corner. It was very rare for the L.M.E president to sit still for this long, but granted, he did have a lot of work to catch up with that had been neglected due to the case with Mogami Kyoko, and then Lory had even called around to call back some of the work he'd actually done and asked to do it over. Indeed, Lory was very determined to do his work properly.

The president sighed in relief as he removed the bright blue dress shirt to allow full flexibility and sat on a yoga mat against the wall. He wanted to go back to his cosplaying and dancers and actors and all the other things that made his life wonderful and where he only spent three hours top on paperwork a day. Granted, if he wanted his life to go back to that, he had to finish the pile that had been building on his desk, and that would probably take him another day. Funny, Lory had never thought paperwork to be a pain before, but then again he'd never before let it pile up on him. He'd worked pretty fast these last few days though. He'd managed to properly finish reading three scripts in one day and thereby made all their deadlines. He'd called Akira Sou, the director of Always a Child, who had been soundly relieved to hear Mogami-kun was going to be alright, and confirmed that yes; there was another scene Mogami-kun was supposed to act and they could shoot it now, but it had to be soon since the movie was already in for cutting. Lory had also gone over the economical situation of the company, made a few adjustments (given his secretary a well-deserved raise) and been on two meetings on the matter before he let the one in charge of the economy who was now busy making ends meet with the new adjustments. Lory had almost given himself a day off once that was done, much faster than he usually took care of those things.

And even if all that sort of stressed him out he knew it did some good on other areas too; staying holed up here with only his private phone on if someone needed him was discouraging the pestering reporters who wanted to know as much as they could get about Mogami-kun.

It wasn't very much like Lory to wish for a horrible scandal to occur, but it would be great if it did so that his poor little girl could leave the hospital in peace once Dr Kaji released her. The hospital wasn't a hotel after all.

Lory was halfway through his yoga program when his phone started beeping. Not feeling like picking it up right away the president sent a glance towards his assistant who immediately walked up to the wide desk to answer.

"Hello, this is Lory Takarada's assistant speaking. Can I help you?"

Slowly twisting his body the other way Lory listened with half an ear, in case it was important.

"I see. I will inform the president right away," Sebastian said, not missing a beat as he turned to his boss. "Tsuruga-sama wishes to know how Mogami-kun is."

The stretching Lory sighed deeply and held his hand out for the phone. He had half expected this call, but at the same time sort of hoped the man would be too bummed out to come with the request.

"Ren," he answered the phone with a voice that was deep both in tone and meaning.

"President," came the slightly nervous response. He didn't like it when Lory used that tone on him. Most of the time it meant something negative.

"Mogami-kun is fine and will be able to sign out of the hospital within a couple of days."

There was a pause, then; "Oh. That's good to hear." And another pause when Lory just waited for the words he knew Ren would speak next. "President, is it possible for me to talk to her?"

The president rested his elbows on his knees, thinking. "It might be possible," he drawled, "but not face to face," he finished more firmly.

"What do you mean, president?"

"I mean that Mogami-kun needs to be kept away from the attention she has on media right now. A number of people, including myself, have already paid Mogami-kun a visit. The doctor is tired of the secrecy and reported to me earlier today that the people working in the reception are getting curious. If you, who are a well-known face in all of Japan, were to show up where Mogami-kun is, reporters are bound to follow you."

Lory knew he needn't explain further. Ren was a little selfish, but the president was confident the actor wouldn't do anything that could put Mogami-kun at risk.

"Then... you said it might be possible for me to talk to her, but not face to face," Ren started.

"Yes," Lory confirmed and switched his position to continue his yoga. Ren was being quite easy to deal with today, something he rarely was, and the president was rather glad for it. "I'll give the doctor a call and see if it is alright for you to give the girl a call. Give me ten minutes to get back to you."

"Y-yes. Thank you, president."

The elder man smiled tenderly at the relief he could hear in his charge's voice right before the actor hung up to let his superior do as he'd said. Lory would do it. Just five more minutes of yoga.


Tsuruga Ren sat in his longue with his cell phone in his hand and thumb hanging just above the last digit in the number to the hospital where Mogami-san was. The president had kept his word and Ren had worked extra hard to finish his scenes early to allow himself an extra long lunch hour. The director had looked a little puzzled when he requested to do all his scenes for the day before lunch but hadn't protested. Now Yashiro was out to call a different location to fill up Ren's evening schedule so that, if Ren kept working like this, he would have a whole free day later; the manager's own suggestion, and Ren was genuinely happy. He knew he needed time to sort out his jumbled thoughts.

Thoughts he were about to willingly mess up even more if he could just muster up enough courage to hit the last button and make the call. But he HAD to talk to Mogami-san.

Hitting the button and the call button right after Ren put the phone to his ear.


"Mogami-san, there's a phone call for you."

The blind girl blinked and looked up from her new rehabilitation; recognizing personal stuff, in this case; dolls. When the president had visited her he had apparently had brought her bag that she'd left behind and that Shiva-san had asked for it to be delivered to Kyoko. The nurse in charge of her had been baffled to find out Kyoko had made every doll by hand, and silently heart-broken because she wouldn't be able to make dolls again now that she was blind.

"Thank you," she said hesitatingly and held out her hand. Kaji took the hand and secured it around the portable phone so that she wouldn't drop it.

"Call for me when you are done," Dr Kaji said and left with a pat on his patient's shoulder.

Kyoko held the phone to her ear and hoped the doctor wasn't pulling a prank on her. "Hello, this is Mogami Kyoko speaking."

A long silence. Damn, the doctor really was pulling a prank, or was this a prank call?

"Mogami-san. How are you?"

The girl very nearly dropped the phone. She knew who this was, and she had tried to avoid thinking about him all this time because it hurt so much.

"Mogami-san, please talk to me."

Huh? She hadn't been quiet for that long, had she? But what did this person want her to say?

Cursing silently to herself, Kyoko figured that being rude by not talking wouldn't get them anywhere, her least of all.

"Tsuruga-san," she acknowledged. "What do you want?" Well, she never said she wouldn't be rude at all.

She heard a short sigh on the other line, or was Tsuruga-san only letting out his breath for some reason? It was very quiet though. Maybe Tsuruga-san hadn't intended for her to hear that. Though even Kyoko had noticed her hearing had become sharper these last few days. She'd dismissed it as a result of boredom though, that she'd strained her ears to pick up sounds from outside her room and down the hall.

"I was hoping you'd tell me the media are exaggerating when they speculate whether you're dead or not," Tsuruga-san's voice said with guarded casualness.

"I'm not dead," Kyoko protested, highly offended. "What makes them say that?"

"Well, there hasn't been any form of news from you since the incident and the information they have is getting old."

His voice sounded light, but Kyoko could almost see him for her inner eye, how his eyebrow tweaked at his own attempt to lighten the mood and that awkward and equally fake smile meant to hide what he really thought. It was odd, Kyoko mused. To be able to so clearly picture his face when she had troubles remembering facial details about others, had she really observed him to the point she knew his face by heart? How stupid was she not to realize that? On the other hand she could probably have drawn a perfect portrait of Sho in her sleep long before this happened, but there was a whole different reason behind that and Kyoko wasn't about to go there.

"What do you really want?" she asked slowly, carefully even, because she felt she wasn't ready to deal with whatever this man wanted to say. On the other hand, is there really a way to prepare to face a broken dream and a memory that used to be your comfort?

"Please forgive me, Mogami-san."

Kyoko swallowed. Why? Why was she suddenly filled with that familiar bitter feeling?

"I wasn't trying to trick you. It was never my intention to hurt you."

Oh really? Whether that was true or not Kyoko couldn't find it in her to believe him.

"That was a cruel joke, Tsuruga-san," she told him.

"I know, Mogami-san. Please forgive me."

What was this? What was this cruel feeling? For some reason Kyoko wanted Tsuruga-san to hurt. The demons were dancing all around her telling her to yell and spit and scratch and claw and stomp the man's apology into the ground.

But this was Tsuruga-san. Tsuruga-san wasn't like Sho, because Tsuruga-san always made sure to sincerely apologize when he was wrong. Wasn't that exactly what had gained Kyoko's respect in the first place?

Kyoko closed her useless eyes. "Why did you lie?" she asked quietly. "Why did you deceive me for so long?"

Hearing her voice Ren clenched his fist and all his instincts told him to lie. Lie to her again. Keep the walls high and don't let anybody in. Why? Why did every cell in his body want to keep her in the dark? She'd already seen him through. And she was asking for a honest answer.

"It was a dream," he told her quietly, forcing the words out even though his entire existence seemed to protest. "When I met you in Kyoto, I was looking for an escape. So I started to live your dream and tried to become the fairy prince you thought I was."

She didn't say anything, and panic started to rise in the back of Ren's throat. The temptation to lie was still as strong as before, and now it was joined with a need to make up a really good excuse for his behaviour and he opened his mouth and quickly closed it when he caught himself about to again.

"I didn't do it to hurt you," he said again. "If anything, I wanted to make you smile, because somehow it made me feel better inside. You were... you left such a heavy impression on me."

Silence. Ren swallowed thickly.

"I didn't recognize you when I met you again in Tokyo, not before I found the stone I gave you. To be honest, I was kind of flattered you'd held onto it for all this time. Then, subconsciously, by behaviour towards you changed. You probably noticed it but you never said a word, I didn't though, not until Yashiro-san pointed it out to me."

She was still quiet and Ren bit his tongue to stop himself from saying anymore, because in his way right now stood his pride that wouldn't allow him to rant. Then his heart almost jumped out of his chest when he suddenly heard her voice again.

"Why did you... still lie to me, even after I told you about Corn?"

Ren had the shame to blush. He'd hoped she wouldn't bring that up. There was one thing he simply couldn't tell her. The reason he had lied to her and to all of Japan was...

"To create a new me."

Ren's eyes snapped open. That's what Kyoko had said. That was the reason she was studying acting, and the reason she had gotten so far, why she put in so much effort into her characters.

Maybe he didn't have to lie to her after all.

"I..." he started and paused, carefully choosing his words. "I came to Japan to... create a new me," he finally admitted and used her own words. Because Ren was sure Kyoko would understand. "And once I had, I didn't want to go back to the one I was before, so I couldn't be honest with you. And even if I wanted to, I didn't know how, and I didn't want to... lose your trust."

Once again, for a long time, Kyoko stayed silent. But this time Ren wouldn't break it. Since Kyoko usually took a long time to think things through he didn't want to interrupt her with another rant, even though he did feel tempted to do just that, or at least ask her to speak.

In the end Ren heard a quiet sigh. "I see." She said.

"Will you forgive me?" asked again, forcing himself to talk slowly, because if he sounded too enthusiastic she would probably get angry again.

Another moment of silence before he heard her groan in what sounded a lot like frustration and it put Ren on edge not knowing if it was a good or bad sign.

"I lied too."

Ren blinked. "Huh?" What in the world did she mean by that?

Kyoko continued. "At first I just didn't want you to know it was me, because you didn't like me, so I couldn't say anything. The next time I wanted to help you, but I knew you wouldn't want Mogami Kyoko to help."

If it was physically possible for question marks to appear around your head you would see more than one hanging over Ren at the moment.

"Mogami-san?"

She groaned again, louder this time. "I am Bou, the chicken who helped you with the script. I can't talk anymore, the doctor wants his phone back. Bye." She continued in a tone of controlled hurry.

In her room Kyoko turned towards the door where she had just heard Dr Kaji walk in. The aging doctor was actually only on routine check-up of the patients and poking his head in. His patient seemed to have been looking for an excuse to cut the call though, judging from her tense expression, so he didn't argue and pressed the End Call button the blind girl couldn't find by herself. It wasn't good for the girl to get worked up after all.

Ren Tsuruga heard the click that broke the call. The silence that followed echoed inside his skull as one image suddenly overlapped another. Right behind the image came one feeling and one single thought.

'An act.'

The "chicken" who had laughed straight into his face, who had taught him the basics of love, who he felt he could confide in and whose name he'd never cared to ask for.

'An act.'

Mogami Kyoko; the girl he was in love with, who he thought he understood, who was straightforward and honest and who was so easy to read.

The same Mogami Kyoko, a rookie actress, had completely fooled Tsuruga Ren, whom she herself called her senior, with such a simple act.

Ren still sat with the silent cell to his ear when he slowly became aware that somebody was knocking on his door.

"Ren? Are you okay in there? Can I come in?"

It was Yashiro-san.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Ren quickly scolded his expression and patted his face back into its normal, airy look. "Yes, Yashiro-san. Please come in."

The manager opened the door with his face a mix of concern and slight disapproval. "Ren, are you alright? I was knocking for almost a minute. Didn't you hear me?"

"Ah, I'm sorry, Yashiro-san. I must have been drifting off."

The other man's frowning expression softened and he gave his charge a worried look.

"Couldn't you talk to Kyoko-chan?"

"I could talk to her. She seemed fine. A bit bored perhaps, being confined to the hospital and all."

Yashiro wasn't sure what to think. Ren wore his smiling mask, trying a little too hard to hide his true feelings. The actor wasn't going to talk about it though. However, Yashiro had been this wayward man's manager for two years already and privately considered himself an expert of making him spill. But that could wait until they were in the car.

"So she's alive at least. That's a relief," the manager let out a deep breath and smiled brighter than he had in days. It wasn't a lie that Kyoko-chan alive and kicking was indeed a huge relief after all. The disappointment over the president's refusal to let them see her was still there, but Yashiro completely understood the eccentric man's reasoning, so he could bear with it. "Then I only hope things will cool down so that she can be dismissed from the hospital."

"Yes, she hoped so too," Ren lied before changing the subject. "Are we leaving?"

"Ah right. There is that interview for "Stars" magazine booked tomorrow. The reporter could do that right away so I called the next location to tell them we will be in an hour later," Yashiro starts ticking off the list as they head out towards the elevator. "That pre-shot talk-show you were supposed to shoot in three days, they'd be happy to do that tonight after the one they were supposed to interview is stuck at the airport in Kyoto."

The elevator doors closed behind them and Ren pressed the button for the basement where his car is parked. He listens intently to Yashiro's voice, hoping it would drown out the overwhelming feeling Kyoko's confession had caused him.

"Oh right. I turned down a commercial proposal for you."

Ren frowned slightly, but not at his manager. "Thank you," he told the older man sincerely. He did not do commercials anymore. Sure, he did them when he was younger and wished to never do them again.

"Anytime. Imagine it was a chicken soup commercial too. No offence Ren, but the day you can sell food is... Ren? Ren, what happened?! Your face is beet red!"


Malin had to say there was something special about embarrassed men, especially men who normally wore such calm, smooth and always intriguing expressions. Sure, she didn't know a lot about this Tsuruga Ren, Japan's no.1 actor apparently, but every single headline shouting out this very man was in love said something about his popularity.

"There is a large part of me that very much pity this man," said Kirill who was reading over the dark woman's shoulder.

"I hear you," Malin acknowledged and turned to face him with a smirk and a glint of mirth mixed with pure sadism in her purple eyes. "But do agree with me; his face is pretty damn cute like this."

"If you're into men, he probably is. I can't tell," the Russian man answered without missing a beat.

Malin wasn't discouraged. She had expected the answer and instead put the magazine back on the table where she found it. The bassist did send the man a thought of sympathy though. Media had this way of tearing couples apart, especially if only one of them was famous. For this reason Malin also sent the actor a good luck wish.

The clock just ticked past eight o'clock as Malin cast a look at it. They were currently sitting in the foyer of their hotel waiting for Sho to show up so that they could finally go pay Miss Mogami a visit. Malin was comfortably curled up in the cushions of the foyer's few loveseats while Kirill restlessly paced around with slow steps.

Ivy had been surprisingly easy to convince to let them off this time. She had even encouraged this visit. For the first time in their career Ivy was willingly letting them off, and while Malin knew she should be perfectly shocked, she found herself almost laughing as she knew why the blind woman was doing this; to kick some action into the too slow Japanese musician. After all, in Ivy's world they should be done with the recording by now and they didn't even have a song yet.

Kirill was deep in thought. He'd received a call this morning from none other than Kirra. She'd been as cryptic as ever and teased him a lot through the brief call. The only thing she had said that Kirill understood was most important was "I thought I should inform you the effects I leave behind are always temporary." He didn't understand what that meant, but was certain it had something to do with Mogami. In fact there was nothing else connecting him to his twin anymore, as painful as that might be.

In the middle of the foyer he stopped and looked up. Malin recognized his "here they come" look and sighed as she had to leave her comfortable spot. She would have liked to stay behind and look after the girls instead of doing this, but since she for one; was the only one who knew where Miss Mogami was, and two; was the only female of the group who knew Japanese, she had to go. Kirill was coming along for a lot of reasons, one of them being that this was his cousin everything revolved around, another was to keep Sho from chickening out. The Russian singer, who normally could let things slide, was getting increasingly irritated by their Japanese co-worker. Malin could only hope today wouldn't end in any broken bones since they still had to work together until the new song was done and recorded, then they were free to go back to their own studio in Russia to continue to work on their next album.

Ivy was gonna work them to death once they got back. Another good reason to get this Mogami business settled today once and for all.

It was Shoko who walked in to get them and as usual she only had eyes for Kirill.

"Kilill-san, good morning," she said with little enthusiasm.

Malin smirked to herself. Oh yes, Shoko had been very much against this idea. All week she had acted all funny trying to keep all magazines and newspapers away from Sho and keep him away from TV-shows talking about the "Kyoko-incident" as she had labelled it. Watching Kirill go the opposite way and making Sho's manager tear her hair out was Malin's greatest pleasure at the moment.

"We're ready to go," Kirill said and opened the door for the Japanese woman.

The manager sighed "Kilill-san, are you sure this is a good idea? Sho hasn't slept very well tonight, and we don't even know if the hospital will let us in."

"I'd like to see them try and stop us," Malin called over her shoulder as she stepped outside. Shoko pursed her lips as she took in those firm, tanned legs under a plain, short white skirt, the Lee slim rider jacket over a dark purple strapless top to match her eyes. Hair held back by a blue headband. Shoko was still a little jealous over both Malin and Yuni's lack of effort in looking like they needed hours getting ready when in reality they spent twenty minutes each in front of the mirror (she'd watched them do it). They were going to a hospital for crying out loud. That woman didn't have to look like a superstar all the time just because she was one.

Sighing to herself in quiet exasperation Shoko followed the Egyptian woman out the door Kirill was still holding up for her and took the lead towards her car where Sho had sunk so deeply into the front seat and his jacket he seemed to have shrunk. Or at least made a gallant effort to do so.

Sho did not want to do this. He didn't want to visit Kyoko. She'd just be angry with him again and ask him to go away. Her family was good at that after all; pushing people away. Kyoko's mother had always pushed Kyoko away, and now Kyoko was doing the same thing to Sho. Him who had always been her best friend, who had lived with her and done his best to involve her in games wild enough for her to forget everything about her mother. Him who had worried about her and not wanted her to cry.

Krill didn't need his sixth sense to know what the Japanese pop star thought. He ignored the pleading look the manager woman sent him to not do this and instead leaned forward and wrapped his long arms around the back of Sho's seat. The teenager stiffened when he felt the hands on his shoulders.

"If we not do this you will stay this way," the Russian man informed the younger. "You wish to stand tall before your fans, I am right?"

Sho stubbornly turned his face away from the elder and decided it was best not to answer. It should be obvious anyway.

"Good. Then we go. You have the map, Malin."

"I'm looking for it," the dark-skinned woman said from where she was digging through her purse. She picked up something, realized it was only a flyer she'd picked up somewhere and dropped it back. Next try was luckier and she made a sound of triumph as she held the map in front of her before showing it to Shoko.

"Here we go," the bassist couldn't help but say as their car joined the late morning traffic.


Dr Kaji was fifty-eight years and seven months old and had spent the past year thinking about when she should retire. When the singer of his son's favourite band came up the staircase pulling a Japanese celebrity with him Kaji couldn't name right away, he thought that right now would have been a nice time to just hang up his coat and go home for good. All these uptight stars walking around as if they believed they owned the world... Kaji wished his life wasn't full of them.

Taking on his role as head of the department Kaji planted himself in the middle of the hallway. "I'm sorry youngsters, but visiting hours haven't opened yet," he told the men, managing the difficult act to look reproachfully up at the blond man with tattoos on his face who stopped in front of him.

"I'm very sorry we bother you," the tall man said with a foreign accent and a respectful bow. "We hope to see Mogami."

Kaji was about to deny them access when two men from security suddenly hurried up behind the men and grabbed their arms. One of them turned to Kaji.

"We're terribly sorry doctor, these people just walked right in. We were so surprised we couldn't catch them right away."

"I have yet to change my opinion about this hospital."

The aging doctor blinked and looked around for who spoke because it couldn't be any of the men before him.

"I am sorry, jou-san, but you will have to follow the rules," the other security man said to someone who stood behind the two celebrities.

Kaji glanced around them and found a young woman with dark skin, pale blond hair and darkened purple eyes. He remembered her very well. She was the one who had come looking for Mogami-san the day after she was brought to this hospital.

"I see, so you brought your friends along this time around," the doctor said with a tired sigh.

The woman blinked surprised at him. Well, she hadn't been perfectly attentive last time she was here, so it was no surprise she wouldn't recognize him right away. It actually took her several seconds.

"Oh! You're the doctor who helped me last time." She gave him a lopsided, apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for my behaviour back then. And for barging in today."

Kaji huffed tiredly. "I'm the one who said you could come back to visit your friend, so I suppose I just have to let you see her now don't I, or I would be dishonest."

"We will be real quick. I'm sorry to bother you. How is she doing?"

The security men fidgeted, glancing uncertainly at each other and at Dr Kaji. The old man sighed and made a calming gesture with his hand.

"I gave this woman permission to come here before. I will take responsibility. Please go back to your posts. I'm sorry for the trouble."

They immediately let go of the two men and bowed to their superior before leaving, although not without glancing over their shoulders.

"Mogami-san is doing fine," Kaji answered the woman's question. "She's slowly coming to terms with her situation. However, I suggest you see her one at a time. She easily grows confused."

"I..." she started a protest but a nudge from the foreign man made her changed her mind. "We will do that. Thank you for your help," she said instead.

The old doctor nodded and showed the visitors to the waiting room where Malin stayed.

"Only one, if you please," Kaji repeated when both the men started to follow him.

"Of course, I just shove this coward inside and I leave."

By now Sho's face was white and his eyes widened in slight panic. "I can't let her see me like this," he blurted out and tried to take his arm back from Kirill's hard grip. How could such a delicate-looking hand be so strong?!

"That is not a problem. The poor girl is blind," the doctor calmly informed them.

Sho's face paled further, but this time for a different reason. His voice was very quiet when he spoke again. "What did you say?"

Instead of answering the doctor stopped by a window and looked inside. In there, sitting by a low table sat Kyoko with a child's puzzle. Sho watched as his childhood friend felt around the large piece in her hand and over the board as if she really couldn't see either of them. Her face was sent in that familiar frown of concentration as she tried to fit the piece into a slot, not managing right away as instead she felt around the edges again.

Kyoko was blind.

Finally fitting the piece into its slot Kyoko only let the frown slip for a second, the only show of victory she felt before she picked up the next piece to repeat the process with her eyes staring at nothing.

She was really blind.

Kirill wondered if this is what Ivy had looked like after she lost her eyes. It was a scary thought. Ivy wasn't this vulnerable. Kirill didn't want to think of her as such, but seeing Mogami like this, with eyes uselessly staring right ahead as she tried to use her hands to see for her, the Russian singer had to realize Ivy must have looked like this too at one time.

Mogami had almost died with her eyes the prize to pay for her life. Maybe, Kirill thought, just maybe... well, he'd thought about it for all this time, but maybe he would dare suggest it after all?

The doctor moved towards the door and pushed it open. Through the window Sho and Kirill saw Kyoko stop moving and lift her gaze, not to look at the door, but show she knew someone had just walked into the room.

"Mogami-san you have some early guests," the doctor informed her.

The girl smiled. "Moko-san?"

"I'm afraid not. Will you see them?"

There was a flash of disappointment on her face, but it was gone as fast as it appeared.

"Okay. Who is it?"

Kirill pushed the younger man through the door and Sho let out a yelp and a protest.

Kyoko's eyes widened considerably. She knew this voice. She'd spent most of her life listening to it. But why? Why?

"Sho?" she called quietly. A large section of her existence wanted to think she was wrong. But for some reason, some unexplainable and painful reason, she hoped that it really was him. It didn't make sense. It sickened her. But a tiny little part of her desperately wanted to see him.

Sho couldn't even find it in him to curse anymore. Not Kirill, not Malin, not that doctor... he couldn't even curse Kyoko. She was the only person in the world who could make him feel helpless, and then what had made him angry didn't matter anymore.

"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly.

"I try not to dwell on it," she answered just as quietly, but with a bitter edge.

Once again the room filled with silence. Both wanted the other to talk, say anything at all, because even if they somehow wanted to reach out for each other there was a wall between them none of them could penetrate.

Sho remembered the news. Poisoned by an actress she worked with. Attempted murder.

"Mogami is dead."

The teen shivered. "What happened?" he asked, because he couldn't stand the silence anymore and he had to hear her voice, because he didn't have the courage to look at her.

Kyoko thought for some time. Was it really worth it to tell Sho what had really happened? Everything about her mother, the Black Goddess and the drugs? She didn't think so. Sho had nothing to do with her family matter. After all, even if she had wanted to become his family, a dream was all it was, and her dreams were all dust now.

"It was a misunderstanding," she said instead. Because wasn't that what it was? Wasn't that what her mother had said?

"I never wished to hurt you."

"A misunderstanding?" Sho parroted with disbelief. "You nearly died due to a misunderstanding?!"

Kyoko blinked. It sounded like Sho was getting seriously upset, as if this that had happened to her had actually bothered him. Why? Wasn't he the one who had thrown her aside and left? All the times they'd run into each other and his every attempt to bother her as much as he could…

But then there was that time in Karuizawa. Sho had acted like he cared back then too.

"Why do you care?" she asked warily.

"Of course I care!" Sho retorted loudly and finally turned around. "You're my best friend! We grew up together dammit! I don't want you to disappear!"

Only after Sho registered what he'd just blurted out he realized he was looking straight at Kyoko's face. It was almost funny how she could look amazed, suspicious and absolutely disbelieving all at the same time.

Feeling how hot his face grew, Sho was suddenly, if only for a moment, happy his childhood friend couldn't see him. She'd always been able to tell how he felt no matter how hard he tried to conceal his feelings. She always saw through his walls with a single look.

"Are you really blind?" he asked, wanting to hear her confirm it herself, because surely she wouldn't lie to him.

Kyoko no longer knew what to think. Blurting out such a thing, claiming she was his best friend and didn't want her gone. What was this utter frustration she heard in his voice? But his last question... she could easily see his ashamed face through the sound of his voice. He really wasn't playing games with her, even though he had the perfect chance now that she had lost everything.

Everything...

"Yes," she answered quietly. "All I see is darkness."

"Why? What does your mother have to do with all this?"

Instantly Kyoko flinched, and the horror on her face shocked Sho too. "What do you know about that?" she breathed.

Sho bit his lip. He realized Kyoko thought he was completely unaware, and in all honesty he wished he was. But where did he begin? What did he really know anyway? And why was he asking when he really didn't want to know any more?

"For the past month, I've been working with that Russian band. You know? The Dead Saints?"

Kyoko nodded. She knew them. Sky-kun was one of them. And that woman with dark skin and pale hair who had also been there to pick up their child after… After she'd seen that man with a heart that was as broken as hers.

"Their lead singer is named Kilill-san. He told me recently his uncle is your dad, and he's been keeping an eye on you, or something."

It wasn't the first time this year Kyoko heard somebody speak about a father she'd never even known. But this was Sho, and to hear him talk about her father was just plain strange.

Wait. Sho was working with someone whose uncle was Kyoko's father? Wouldn't that mean she actually had family besides her mother? For real? Wait, if her dad was someone's uncle then that someone would be…

"I have a cousin?"

Sho looked back at his old friend. He hadn't really thought of it before, but now that he heard Kyoko say it he suddenly realized it too; if Kyoko had family besides her mother then…

She wouldn't need him anymore.

Well, wasn't that what he'd wanted? And even if it was true it didn't change anything. Even if Kilill-san got to know Kyoko now and became her friend it didn't change the fact it was Sho who had grown up taking care of her and been her friend.

"Apparently," he said at last. He didn't want to mention that the Russian man had mentioned he had a sister in town as well. Two was more competition than Sho could take at the moment.

For Kyoko, knowing she had a cousin at all was a little overwhelming. "Who is my cousin?" she asked.

This was not what the teenage pop star wanted to talk about. Well, he hadn't known what he'd want to say to her at all this morning but that was beside the point. This was about him and Kyoko, not Kyoko and someone else!

"He's here too; he'll come to see you later. More importantly Kyoko, you didn't answer my question."

It took a moment for the girl to try to think of what Sho had asked before, and even then she was ashamed to say she couldn't recall it.

"What question?"

She heard Sho growl deep in his chest. What was troubling him now? The only times he sounded like that was when the attention was brought away from him… Oh right, she'd started to ask about another man. Of course Sho would react like that.

"What does your mother have to do with all this?" Sho repeated his question with emphasis.

"What do you even know about my mother?" Kyoko retorted.

"She was assigned to design the outfit for my PM with The Dead Saints and she gave me a letter from my mom."

"You ran away from home! Of course your parents would use any means to give you a piece of their mind!"

"Ha! They only asked me to come home if I ever grew tired of this life. They only asked me to send you back."

They were heading straight for another argument and they both knew it, and to be frank they welcomed the fight. While Kyoko wasn't normally a person who argued with others she couldn't deny that fighting with Sho like this made her feel more alive than she'd felt in a long time. Sho had spent the past week digging a hole inside himself where he could hide every frightened feeling the thought of Kyoko's death caused him. Fighting with her now, hearing her answer to his voice and tone and see the way her nose scrunched up and mouth dropped and the spark in her eyes as her temper got the better of her, it was all the reassurance he needed. Kyoko would be fine. Her cursing him was just as imaginatively obnoxious as it had been before. At this very moment she was her old self.

They had just started making jabs about their different food habits when the door opened and a less than pleased doctor Kaji cleared his throat. "I must ask you to lower your voices, or for you to leave, young man. You are scaring the other patients."

The enemies glared at each other. For a blind woman Kyoko's glare was just as hot as it had always been.

Sho sighed and sat back. When had he gotten down to the floor? He wasn't sure but it was better than bending over to look Kyoko in the eyes.

Kyoko had half a mind to tell her doctor Sho was just leaving, another part of her hoped Sho would just get up and leave. But that microscopically tiny little part of her that had been happy Sho had come had now grown in size and kept her mouth shut.

It was Sho who spoke up. "Sorry. We're almost done. Five more minutes."

The doctor gave a long sigh that sounded as much as a growl.

"I'll clock you," he warned the pop star before he left.

Left alone once again with the tension still crackling like electricity around them Sho fought to remember what it was he wanted Kyoko to tell him.

Kyoko hadn't forgotten though, and she still wondered if it was a good idea to let Sho in on it. After all, it would trouble him…

The girl let out a long-suffering sigh when she realized exactly what she was thinking. After all this time she still didn't want to trouble Sho with her family business. All this time she'd thought she'd made progress and grown away from her feelings for this man and this was as far as she had come?

"Kyoko?"

Her useless eyes glanced up at his voice. It sounded as if he wouldn't he resting well unless she eased his mind. Why did she even want to soothe him? Did she still nurture that stupid habit? She really hadn't gotten anywhere.

"The misunderstanding was between mother and me. She said she wanted to protect me, but it backfired."

"That's it?"

A muscle in Kyoko's eyebrow twitched by a sudden feeling of déjà vu.

"She wanted me to leave showbiz. We had a few arguments and at last I lost my breath to fight her anymore."

The boy in front of her was silent for some time, probably thinking. Kyoko hoped he wouldn't ask about the poisoning. She didn't want to tell him anything about it. Whatever the media had thought up about it was all he needed to know, and she was going to be alright, wasn't she?

"So what are you going to do now?"

Before Kyoko got the chance to even think of an answer the door opened again.

"Your five minutes are up."

Sho glared over his shoulder, and immediately regretted it. The doctor's mismatched eyes were too strong and displeased for Sho to dare go against him. That's why he reluctantly stood and dusted off his pants before he went to leave.

"I don't know."

He froze in the door. Of all the things she could have told him. He couldn't even come up with any sort of comeback, so he just left without a word and went back to the waiting room where Malin and Kirill waited for them. Malin only glanced up from her magazine but Kirill stood.

"If you upset her more I must ask you to leave," the old doctor warned the Russian man.

"I understand. Don't worry. I only need a short time."

Kaji looked into the man's blue eyes and decided he did believe him. This man seemed more mature than the other one.

"She is upset already, so don't test your luck, son."

"Certainly. I will be careful."

Not completely convinced, Kaji still showed the way. Hopefully this one wouldn't start an argument with the poor girl. Getting her angry and more frustrated than she already was about her situation was very much not what she needed.

She hadn't moved since he left her, and it seemed the aftermath of the argument had settled in.

"Don't worry doctor," the tall man suddenly spoke. "I will try cheer her up."

"Please do. The rest of us have already failed."

The man just nodded and knocked on the door.

"Come in?"

Stepping inside Kirill didn't hesitate to walk right up to the girl and sit in front of her.

"Good day Miss Mogami. My name is Kirill."

She blinked and frowned slightly with a glint of recognition in her eyes.

"Are you my cousin?"

"So Fuva told you about me?" Kirill smiled.

"Mentioned you," the girl corrected quietly, suddenly appearing to be shyer and averting her gaze even though she obviously couldn't see anything. Old habits die hard it seemed.

"I see. Well, have your mother informed you of what happened to your father as well? My uncle?"

She only nodded.

"Good. That saves me the trouble of telling you the story again. So? Do you want to know why I am here?"

Kyoko looked up. Yes, she did want to know why this person was here. Actually, she wished she could get a good look at his face. She wanted to know who this person was.

"I am used to blind people," he suddenly told her. "You can use your hands and touch my face if you wish. If it makes you uncomfortable though, will you take my hand instead?"

The girl let out a breath she'd been holding since this person suggested she touched his face. She had never met this man before, how could he suggest something like that! It was way too bold for a modest Japanese person. The hand felt a lot safer and she lifted her own hands to accept his.

It was a big, warm hand that landed in her hands, with the same calluses as Sho got from his guitar playing.

"So you're a musician?" she asked timidly. Sho had said something about it. Right, Sho was working with this person, so of course he would work with music, but it was something else.

"Yes. I am guitarist and vocalist of our band, Mertvye Svjatye. Though you might know us as The Dead Saints."

Mertvye…

In a flash Kyoko realized she had seen this man before. He wasn't a total stranger. He and a young girl with mismatching eyes had appeared at Totally Wild Rock when the band first came to Japan.

"Do… do you have tattoos on your face?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"And you are blond?"

For Kirill this was actually a pleasant surprise. So she did have some sort of memory of him. Of course every Japanese person reacted to his tattoos. Some make-up artists flatly refused to go near him.

"Yes. I am blond," he answered her.

She smiled, seemingly revealed about something, and she hadn't let go of his hand yet. Well it didn't bother Kirill in the slightest.

"I would like to meet you under different circumstances though. I am sorry this happened to you," he said sincerely.

"No, it's okay. This isn't your fault. Please don't apologize."

Oh of only she knew how wrong she was. Kirill decided to go straight to what he had really come to say. "I am aware you have trouble now. You are blind from the poison, yes?"

"Y…yes," she confirmed quietly.

"What will you do now? Your mother take care of you?"

Her mother? That was a possibility Kyoko hadn't even contemplated. Would her mother take care of her? She hadn't come back since her confession.

"I don't know," she answered after a while.

"I understand. Then… I have a suggestion."

"Huh?" What did he say?

"Of course, you are free to do as you please. Me and my band would like to take care of you. After we finish business here in Japan, we go back to Russia. You can come too."

To Russia? Her mother's story rung in her ears and Kyoko fidgeted.

"Mother won't like that," she told her cousin. It felt strange to think of him like that.

"I know," Kirill nodded. "I understand her feelings. But I think it will be good to you."

"I am blind," the Japanese girl blurted out next.

Kirill smiled. "The one who gave you the drugs, her name be Kirra, am I right."

Kyoko froze and once again her eyes widened with horror.

"Yes, I am aware," Kirill said softly. "It doesn't really matter, but Kirra is my twin sister."

The information gained him a look of pure shock mixed with the lingering horror in the girl's eyes.

"Yes, I know. Very long story even I don't know. But she called me this morning. She said the effect is only temporary."

"The… effect?"

"Yes," Kirill confirmed. "It might take some time, maybe even a year, and you might not fully recover, but your blindness is temporary. So, knowing this. What will you do about your future?"


END

If there will be an epilogue or not depends on your feedback. Reviewing is easy and don't cost you anything other than the time it takes to write it ;)