I do not own Skip Beat!
A/N: Bit of a short one, but it's more of an introduction chapter than anything. Thank you for reading, favoriting, following, and reviewing!
"Ren, stop it," said Yukihito Yashiro. "You don't have to do this."
Tattooed fingers gripped the syringe tighter, "Really? Are you sure? Because time just keeps passing us by and you know this could be our only chance."
"You've been at this for seventy-two hours and nothing has happened. You should get up, exercise, and most of all eat something for heavens sake!"
Ren thought about it, he did feel slightly hungry and his legs were beginning to cramp up from being still for so long. Settling for a compromise, he reached for one of the fast-food sandwiches that his friend had placed on the nightstand. He knew he needed to take care of himself, but another part of him, a stronger part, knew that if he didn't continue sedating himself, waiting for one of them to nap or accidentally nod off on the job, then he would miss another opportunity to see what their next move was.
"We've been grasping at threads for over a month now, Yukihito. And we would have continued to know next to nothing about their current plans if that little demoness hadn't taken that thirty minute nap last week. Even you know that they're more likely to show me something useful during the day, I can't just ignore that." Ren said, in between bites. "Now help me with my IV."
Yukihito grabbed the bag of saline off the desk inside the low lit makeshift bedroom, and moved towards the edge of the bed that his friend was now laying back on. There was no changing the stubborn mans mind when it was set, even when Ren himself knew that the incident a week ago was a random happenstance. He supposed that the small sandwich and him requesting the IV to prevent dehydration would have to do for now, noting that even without proper nutrients, he still somehow looked healthy enough.
Ren watched as nimble fingers, the kind that could only move so carefully and confidently from years of experience, searched for a vein along the tattoos and injection scars that riddled his inner left elbow. Yukihito's glasses were slipping ever so slowly down his nose when he finally found one that wasn't too scarred, he was just about to stab the needle in when the door to the room flew open, revealing their extravagant boss.
Lory was dressed in his usual hoodlum attire. Ripped black jeans, leather vest zipped half way exposing his muscular arms and chest. His thick dark curls were gelled to lay out of his sunglass covered eyes.
A frown marred his handsome face as he took in the activities happening in the room, "Yukihito, you can go. Ren, a word in my office?"
After both men had left, Ren laid still for awhile, the frustration rising in his chest like a brewing storm. Mentally preparing for the inevitable berating that was about to come as it always did. Lory had been protective since the moment he had dragged Ren's lifeless body from the riverbank years ago, and it had only gotten worse as they both got older. He had begun making his own choices that rarely aligned with the bosses orders, and in return he often found himself being chastised by the boss more often than not these days.
Knowing full well that Lory only approved sedation for forty-eight hours, he had gone a whole twenty-four over that. For the second time this month. The first time had been successful, more than successful in his eyes. Ren had slipped into the dreams of Cedric's lover, Kimiko.
It was thickly black. The ink of it swirling, seeming to have a mind of it's own. Slipping up and around him, caressing his arms, feeling like a shy lover taking his hand it gently twirled between his fingers. Ren shook it off, if anything it was making his skin crawl, his arms breaking out into a fit of gooseflesh. The cunning mind he was inhabiting would test his patience, he didn't know how long he would last, the seductive yet sinister strokes of the darkness already causing his pulse to skip.
He was used to the darkness of a mind, but hers was slightly different. It was playful, like a cat that just saw a mouse skitter across it's path, she was eager and oh so willing to chase and torment until her preys final breath. Ren dreaded her dreams as much as the rest, but they always seemed to be the most useful. Unsure how long she would be asleep, as it was only midday, he began to search.
It was like watching a movie, one moment Kimiko was dreaming of her and her lover, nude and intertwined in the blackness. Next she was reliving a moment from not long ago, she was perched on Cedric's knee as he sat behind a large oak desk, two members stood before them, speaking quickly. She wasn't paying attention, only focused on the large hand resting on her thigh, and the long fingers that fondled languidly with the hem of her skirt just under the desk and out of sight from the two men in the room.
Thankful that despite her lack of attention, she still heard what they were speaking about just enough that Ren could listen in. Something about a warehouse and its location, the crews concerns of the times being too close to rush hour, the amount of drugs they were handing off, the cost. Cedric commenting and confirming, his deep voice as cocky and sure as ever, causing the hair at the nape of Ren's neck to stand up and his jaw to clench.
Once the two men left the room, Cedric stood up abruptly, yanking the woman off his lap and slamming her face down on the desk before him. The memory of pain as her hipbones caught on the edge of the wood vibrated through her subconscious, and Ren could feel the excited sizzle of heat that zapped through her.
"What did I tell you about distracting me at work?" Leaning over her he whispered softly into her ear. Confusion coursed through her, Cedric himself was the one who told her to wear the skirt this morning. Hiking the thin cloth up her hips with one hand, the other came up and wrapped tightly around her slim neck, and her heart began to race in suspense. "If anything goes wrong with this drop, it'll be you I'll blame."
Realizing that nothing else remotely helpful was about to occur, Ren took the hint and left the disturbed girls dream, evaporating into the darkness like he had never been there at all.
That time, after relaying the information, Lory had been almost forgiving of the extended sedation after the successful sabotage, still reprimanding him extensively and threatening to cut his time allowed on the job if he did it again. Ren had then sworn to keep to their agreement of time after the argument, but now he had been caught red handedly breaking that promise. He couldn't help but feel disappointed in himself, Lory had taken him in, taught him everything he knew, treated him like a son, and this was how he repaid him — by rebelling almost constantly.
Sighing, Ren sat on the edge of the bed, his face in his hands. He dreaded what Lory would say to him now, but he supposed he had stalled enough. Finally rising to his full height, he left the small room and headed for his boss's office.
The door had been left open, Lory was lounging on a blood red leather sofa, a cigar between his teeth and his gaze locked on Ren as he sat across from him.
"Do you have something to tell me?" Lory asked.
"I apologize. Time seemed to slip by… no, that's not right." Ren replied, looking down at his clenched fists. "I lost control. I couldn't seem to see reason. Yukihito tried to stop me, I just didn't listen, so don't take it out on him."
"Yashiro is a good man, and most of all he isn't an idiot. He knows I favor you, and he knows how dangerous it is for you to use that sedative for such a long period. I doubt he'd be okay with standing by while your heart stopped — let alone being the one to tell me about it afterwards. He won't be held responsible for your stubborn incompetence."
"Did you happen to gather any information?" He questioned.
Ren swallowed loudly. His tone gave it away — Lory already knew that he had found nothing. That he had acted recklessly once again only to have nothing to show for it. And he was as livid, possibly even more so than Ren originally thought he would be.
"No." Ren answered. "I didn't."
"Hm," Lory hummed. "Then I guess it is settled then. Since you can't seem to remember orders, I'm cutting you off — no more drugs. You'll have to make do with the old way of lucid dreaming, and since you can only naturally sleep so much I assume you'll have ample free time on your hands. I'm sending you to care for the club for the next few months." Lory said.
"But—," Ren tried to say, but was cut off before he could protest.
"No. No buts. You've overstepped too many times now, and you're just getting cockier. You're going, and maybe managing something other than yourself for once will teach you something. I'll have Yukihito send you the apartment address." Lory said, blowing cigar smoke from his nostrils.
"Apartment?" Ren asked.
"Of course. It's far too long a commute from here, plus you need to get out of here." Lory confirmed, leaning forward to stomp out his cigar in the ashtray on the table between them. "It's a nice place, and maybe new scenery will get your head on straight."
There was no room for argument, he knew that by the stern look in the eyes of the man seated across from him. He hated the club, the loud music, and the people it attracted.