A/N: Hi, friends. Do you mind if I do a little venting at the end of this? Because I need some catharsis. Yesterday was not pretty and I could use a hug. But for now, let's lose ourselves in the fictional worlds that bring us the comfort we could all use on a daily basis.

In the heart of Shinjuku, there lived a man and his tebori needles. A talented and well-respected artist and a true master of his craft in every sense of the world. I've never seen someone take so much pride in their work. Except for maybe my sister. But they are in the same craft. Anyway, he stays holed up in his cozy shop in Shinjuku, waiting for someone to come in, appointment or not. Yoshi welcomes all kinds. A bit reclusive, but I understand. If anyone understands, it's me. It's no wonder his favorite mentee happens to be my equally as reclusive boyfriend.

When the eight of us walked into Yoshi's shop, he peeked over the partition between the front and the back. Never in my life have I seen his face so aglow, "Welcome home, Kyoya. I was wondering when you were going to grace my shop again."

"I couldn't come all this way and not say hi," Kyoya smiled, completely and one hundred percent in his element. I haven't seen him this evened out in a long time.

"In that case," Yoshi ushered us all back, "There's no way this is a mere social call."

"No," Kyoya shook his head, nudging me forward, "Her first."

"Excuse me?" I gave him a look, "What do you mean, her first?"

"All I need to do is draw what I have in my head on your skin, Lana," Kyoya pointed out, "Then, because Yoshi is so kind and Rhiannon is a sizable distance away, he'll put it into your skin. I thought you said you were ok with this."

"I am," I nodded, "I just didn't think it'd be happening so soon. Nor did I think I'd be the one going first."

"Do you have any idea what you're doing for me?"

"No." Although, I started talking about it with Rhiannon. She's working on something.

"Alright then," Kyoya stood his ground, "Yoshi, you're not busy, are you? You don't have an appointment coming in?"

"No," Yoshi checked his appointment book, "Why?"

"Hold on," Haruhi started putting two and two together, "You guys are getting tattoos?"

"What?!" And Tamaki's regularly scheduled freak out. Right on time, "Lana, as your father, I refuse to allow this!"

"Tamaki," I giggled, slowly but surely rolling my sleeve up. Kyoya had to get at it anyway, "You act like I don't have tattoos already."

"I got one, too," Kyoya lifted his shirt up, showing off the rose on his ribcage.

"Wow, Kyo-chan," Honey looked it over, "I never thought you'd be the type to get tattoos, too."

"We can chalk that up to peer pressure," Kyoya winked at me.

"No, no," I stopped him, "Don't try and throw me under the bus. You made that decision all on your own."

"What made you get one…"

"…In the first place, Kyoya-senpai?" the twins asked.

"It started as a simple act of rebellion," Kyoya grabbed a Sharpie off Yoshi's station and got to work on my arm, "But then, once someone goes under that needle, they get hooked on the feeling of the needle buzzing into their skin. That little twinge of pain. That numbness that goes on a few minutes after it starts. It's incredible."

"That was beautiful, Kyoya," Yoshi applauded, "I've never heard it summed up so perfectly."

"Thank you, Yoshi," Kyoya switched colors, "My language class comes in handy."

"Since when are you taking a language class?" I wondered.

"Since the beginning of the semester," Kyoya pinned my arm down, "You have to stay still, Lana. I know it tickles, but if you move, it won't come out good. Then, Rhiannon's going to have to fix it and it'll be a mess. You don't deserve that."

"Thank you, Kyoya," I watched and kept myself under control as much as I could. Slow, even breaths. Between my naked arm and the little tickle from Kyoya's drawing, this was killing me. I can do this. I got this.

"Lana," Yoshi asked, "Rhiannon's ok with this, right? She'll be ok with me tattooing you, instead of her?"

"I sure hope so." Hell hath no fury like Rhiannon when she's been cheated on. I checked the time on my phone. Ten o'clock…That puts it at…That'd probably be a good idea, "Hold on. Let me call her."

"Good idea," Haruhi agreed, "Something tells me Rhiannon can get territorial."

"Oh, hell yeah," I shuddered. She should be up.

"Hey, sweetie," Rhiannon chimed on the other end while I kept my arm still.

"Hi, Rhiannon." Without another thought, because I knew they would, I held my phone up.

"Hi, Rhiannon!" the twins squeaked.

"Hi, Rhi-chan!" Honey beamed. They always had a weird, but close relationship. They'd probably take bullets for each other.

"Hi, Rhiannon!" Tamaki, too. I feel like those two left unattended could cause damage. And possibly split the Earth in two.

"Hi, Rhiannon!" And that's what we had Haruhi for. She keeps Tamaki in line. I'm sure she could with Rhiannon, too.

"And Mori, the man of many words as always," Rhiannon jabbed, "Hi, guys!"

"Hello, Rhiannon," Yoshi chimed in.

"Yoshi!" she squealed, "Konbanwa, watashi no tomodachi."

"It's so nice to hear your voice," he awed, "How have you been?"

"Better," Rhiannon admitted, "Connor's keeping me on my toes and I swear, if I didn't have Elliot, I'd come apart at the seams."

"How's the shop coming along?"

"Working on it," she reported, "We should be able to start putting money into it soon, but every spare dime I've had lately gets sent to those sons of bitches at the Pampers company. But other than that, everything's been great. Especially with the newest apprentice."

"You've taken on an apprentice?" Yoshi awed, "It feels like yesterday you were my apprentice."

"He hasn't told you, has he?" I could hear the smirk in Rhiannon's voice. I knew who she was talking about and going by the stiffness in my boyfriend's hand, he knew, too.

"Rhiannon," Kyoya begged, "If you value our friendship in the slightest, you'll stop speaking."

"Kyoya…" But it was too late. Yoshi knew, "You're Rhiannon's apprentice, aren't you?"

"Yes…" Dammit, Rhiannon…

"If there was anyone in the US I'd want you to study under," Yoshi smiled, "I'm glad it's her. Carlos is good, but honestly, I'd trust her to put a needle on my body any day of the week."

"Aww…" Rhiannon gushed, "Thanks, Yoshi. Love you, too."

"Now that we have that out of the way," Yoshi fought back, "You owe me. You did steal my apprentice."

"Alright," she let it go, "I'm in your debt. What do you want?"

"I'm tattooing your sister shortly."

The phone went completely silent. Not a good sign, "Lana…"

"Yeah, Rhi?" Crap. I'm screwed.

"What are you getting?" Maybe not screwed.

"Kyoya's drawing a dragon around my cherry blossoms," I told her, "And I'm going to need to do draw something up for me."

"I'm doing that on you then," she put her foot down.

"It's not for me," I clarified, "It's for Kyoya. I'll text you details."

"And if you could have it done by tomorrow," Kyoya requested, finishing a few details on my arm. Jesus, he works fast, "I'd really appreciate it."

"Can do," Rhiannon chirped, "But you're really getting another tattoo in Japan?"

"Yeah," I bit my lip, hoping she wouldn't take me over her knee too much.

"Alright," she allowed, "Go ahead, Yoshi. You have my blessing."

"Awesome," I relaxed, admiring what Kyoya had on my arm, "I can't wait for you to see what he's done, Rhiannon. I really can't."

"Who's that, bean?" Rhiannon spoke softly, "Who's in there?"

"Hi, Connor," I assumed, a warmth in my heart.

"Auntie Lana's in there," she told him, "She's all the way in Japan on the other side of the world and needs to get her ass back to the States, doesn't she?"

"Oh, come on, Rhiannon," I whined, "Don't use the kid as a guilt shield. I need some time in Japan, too. We got family here and not all of them can drop everything and come see us."

"That's true," Rhiannon let it slide, "Go get your arm worked on, sweetie. I'm going to finish feeding my son. Let me know what you need me to do, ok?"

"I will," I promised, "We'll be home around New Year's."

"Good. Love you, Lana."

"Love you, too."

Click.

"I miss your sister," Yoshi got his inks all set up to his liking.

"I miss her, too," I let out a heavy sigh, "She should be here."

"She's got a baby to take care of," Haruhi pointed out, trying to offer me some sort of comfort, "And Elliot."

"Elliot's been taking care of her more than she takes care of him," I readied myself, getting comfortable on the table, "I hope he waits until we get back home to propose."

"What?" Tamaki gasped.

"Rhiannon's getting married?" the twins shared his sentiment.

"Hold on," Kyoya chimed in, "When did this happen?"

"After Rhiannon had Connor," I explained, "Elliot asked me if that would have been a good time to ask her. He's got the ring and everything. He's just waiting for the moment. While she was looped up on painkillers didn't seem like a good idea."

"Lana," Yoshi gave me a nudge, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," I took a deep breath in. It's been a long time since I got a tattoo. I almost forgot what they felt like. But I knew one thing was for sure. They hurt. And having a pain on my wrist wasn't always a good thing. Yoshi began etching in the outline while I did all I could to keep myself from having flashbacks. Happy place, Lana. Happy place.

"Wait," Kyoya stopped him, picking up on my apprehension. Immediately, Yoshi put his gun down, "Lana, get up."

"Ok?" I wasn't sure where he was going with this, but I wasn't going to say no.

Kyoya sat in my spot and patted his lap, "Come here."

"What's this all about?" Far be it for me to turn something like that down. I nestled myself between Kyoya's legs.

"Lana…" He knew. He knew what kind of hell was raging in my head. And he knew what me doing this meant. Kyoya wrapped his arms around my waist and brought my head to his chest, "You're alright, sweetheart. You can do this."

"Aww…" a chorus of Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki sang out. To which Kyoya's response was a very sharp glare. Making the others scurry.

"Kyoya-senpai," Haruhi begged, "You have to teach me how to do that."

"It's the same thing with Tamaki and the chocolate," Kyoya explained, "Find a system of rewards and punishments that works and you're fine."

"Can I go back to work now?" Yoshi asked.

"Yeah," I allowed, perfectly content, "Go ahead. Kyoya?"

"Yes, Lana," Kyoya looked down at me, "What is it?"

I hid a smile in his chest, keeping my arm still under Yoshi's gun, "You really are my dragon, aren't you?"

"What do you mean, sweetheart?" he asked, pushing my hair out of my face.

"You protect the princess," I pointed out, "You make sure she's safe. You take care of her no matter what."

"That is what I signed on for," Kyoya kissed the top of my head. I really don't deserve him some days. To think, in a few years, I'll get to marry him. And this will be my life. Not that it's not now, but the permeance of it would be there.

I shut my eyes for a brief moment, "I love you, Kyoya…"

"I love you, too."

The numbness from the needle and the steady beat of my boyfriend's heart lulled me into a nice security, pulling me under. I could handle pain. Pain didn't bother me. Everything was alright. No flashbacks. No dissociative spells. No panic attack. Hell, I even got to talk to my nephew while he was having breakfast. Everything was fantastic. Although, I had no intentions of falling asleep in the chair. When I woke up, I wasn't in the chair anymore. I had plastic wrap on my itchy arm, but I wasn't in Yoshi's shop anymore.

"Hi there," Kyoya smiled down at me, "Sleep well?"

"Where are we?" I wondered, taking a quick look around the room.

"Back at our hotel," he filled me in, "Everyone left a little while ago."

"Oh…" Dammit. I was hoping we were all going to have a moment like we did the last time we were in the music room. I miss those days more than anything. At least like we did in London.

"Go back to sleep, sweetheart," Kyoya ordered, bringing me back down to our bed, "It's not going anywhere. We'll be out and about tomorrow. You had a long day. Go to sleep."

"Ok." He didn't have to tell me twice. I curled into Kyoya's chest and shut my eyes. It's time for Lana to go back to bed. Good night, world. Good night, Kyoya. Good night, Lana.

A/N: You have no idea how badly I'm resisting the urge to draw out Lana's tattoo right now. On my own skin. I'm in such a mood. Speaking of…Also why this is up so late…

I've been bad lately, guys. Really bad. Like…I damn near broke an almost eight year streak. For the last couple days, I've been in and out of rolling anxiety, severe depression, and my head has not been kind to me. I'm a walking mess right now. Writing this week has been an uphill climb on ice. The thought of people is an absolute hell. I've been blamed for people's problems. I'm sitting here thinking, look, my dude. There is a difference between venting and taking your shit out on me. I don't want to be dragged into someone else's problems, let alone blamed for them. I just…For things to be relatively good would be so nice. Screw it. I need to do some drawing. See you next chapter! xx