Chapter 2: The Vision
Kanae is mad because she dropped her bento box at the entrance of the LME. What she prepared shouldn't really be called a lunch, but she is mad either way. She is on a diet for about a week and knows when its about to backfire. Now she is sleepy, tired, distracted and hungry. For the time being she is going to remedy "sleepy".
Kanae arrives at the canteen and orders the mega cup of coffee of salvation. She takes a gulp, and begins trembling of caffeine and anger... I mean hunger... The trembling is a side effect of a bad habit of dieting to the extreme and she got used to it along the years... but today there are other effects showing too. This already happened sometimes in the past, very occasionally her vision goes full blank, in other times she begins to see things that are not there. There was once a occasion she saw little spirits around Kyouko. Today she is so hungry she considers if is possible something else might happen. After calming down a little she stays resolute. Just because she sees things, doesn't mean the others need to know, it is just a matter of ignoring what isn't real. She is not giving up her diet right now just because of that, she just need to calm down, act it out and carry on!
After a while Kanae stops at Love-me section entrance, she needs a script at her locker there. While she is looking through the door, she sees Ren talking to Kyoko. As she begins to hallucinate, in her vision the man transform into a dog.
"Mogami-san, If it is something like this...then I really want it". The puppy says with a serious look.
"But... but! Tsugura-san! Not this one... this one is... It's embarrassing! Think about your image as the lead male actor! What will other people think!". Kyoko is jumping around trying to get the THING back.
"..When I saw Kotonami-san with one this morning, I couldn't help but think It would be "handy" to have something like that around..." Puppy Ren continues as he playfully evades her pounces, she keeps trying to get the mysterious object back. Kanae can't tell precisely what the object is, it seems blurred to her.
"Anyone taking a look would know it's "me" on that! It's very personal, it has the love me pink! It can be recognized even by a satellite photo!"
Puppy Ren is evading Kyoko easily - "If it bothers you, I would keep near me in a place only I can see, I could even bring it on a daily basis so that I won't lose sight of it."
Kyoko grabs the THING on one end, Puppy Ren holds it on another. BAD DOG! Now Ren looks like a Siberian husky with a toy on his mouth, the master is pulling the toy but the dog won't let it go! - This is not an obedient dog, this is clearly an alpha dog, leader of the pack.
Ren continues teasing Kyoko, Kanae is still trying to tell what is the object they are holding. Her visions gets worse instead, now chibby Kyoko is being dragged around by doggy Ren, and she won't let go by any means. The dog get's excited and goes on a sprint, Chibby Kyoko begins to wave in the air like a flag (or a kite maybe?) The dog finishes happily dashing around chibby Kyoko in circles, she tumbles on the floor completely dizzy.
Seeing Kyoko being bullied in third person is something new to Kanae, normally she is the one doing it. From time to time she hears from Kyoko how Ren likes tease, but now, seeing it live, she can completely quantify the fun this dog is having.
BAMMMMM -
Kanae enters the room bashing the door. She takes a closer look on the object.
"Why don't you give it to him already!" - she says, now knowing what the object is. She feels relived, it was not what she was thinking initially, it's something else... she gives it to the dog and goes on to take the last chair in the room.
Doggy Ren, like a Golden retriever, proudly carries the mysterious object around the room and looks for a place to sit. He stops near a big box on the floor. The box didn't mind his approach at first. Then the dog sits, now the box seems annoyed. That doesn't mater, Totto is happy.
Kanae, ignoring her visions, continues the talk with Kyoko "(Mo).. I find it embarrassing to walk around carrying this thing, so I never shown it to anyone, but you tread it as if it were some kind of sacred relic, if he likes it that much why don't you give it to him already?" -
Ren is sitting on a cardboard box holding a little "Kyoko doll" made of cotton cloth. The little Kyoko doll is wearing a LoveMe pink attire (limited edition) exactly like the real one. Kanae has one doll very similar she dropped when arriving the LME that Ren saw earlier. Kanae finds using a little doll of a friend very disturbing and never shown it to anyone. Ren finds it disturbing that both Maria and Kanae were given one and he wasn't, and he wants to show it.
After a while they hear a crack coming from the box the dog is sitting, something inside it seemed to have snapped. Kanae stands up to take a closer look, puts the mega cup coffee on one end of the big box, and goes to to check around it from all the sides. She does not want to be blamed if something breaks because of this dog. Seeing nothing wrong on the outside she looks back at the dog. Now he looks like a Shiba. Properly sitting, with eyes closed, and toy in the mouth, "arffing" lightely, tail waving, silliest face ever.
*Damn it, the visions are getting worse, my mind can't even decide what breed of dog this guy is, (maybe he is mixed breed?... no nevermind that), I have to finish this quickly and go eat something*
She opens her locker and gets the script. She got what she wanted but before leaving, maybe it would be interesting to know more about what is happening there. She says directed at Kyoko:
"Besides... it might be that Tsuruga-san just realized these dolls true meaning..."
Eh...?" Ren attention is captured by this. He stands up and approaches the girls, spilling the cup of coffee on the top of box in the process. For the luck of everyone it didn't spill on the floor, it got completely absorbed by the unlucky box's cardboard.
*Could it be? Moko-san knows the doll's true nature!? No way ... she is not the type to care about this kind of thing... for her this would be something like... yes! It would be...* Kyoko was about to reach a conclusion to her though.
"A proof of FRIENDSHIP" - the girls say together!
"Yeah you gave me this one when we barely knew each other, and I even tried to give it back once... If it is not that important you should give this one to him already"
"No!" Kyoko exclaimed;
Ren feels a little shot in his heart. Kanae takes a look at the poor guy. Ren is falling sideways in slow motion, sparkling.
"But isn't it a proof of friendship?"
"Yes"
"And you two are friends right?"
"Right"
"So give this one to him..."
"No!"
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to!"
This is taking longer then Kanae though... Kyoko has some ulterior motives to not want Ren to have it. Ren has just died a scene worth an Oscar prize.
"This one doll is special, I wouldn't give it to anyone, not even a childhood friend or even a fairy" Kyoko concludes... (Arg!" Kuon lying on the floor is shoot too. Double kill! Mogami Kyoko is on a rampage!)
Kanae is starting to feel sorry for the empty body on the floor.
Suddenly the room goes dark... some kind of wind pressure blows the air around her. The power is emanating from the body on the floor. As the aura gets stronger, Kanae gets pushed backwards, the room starts to shake and crack around her. The powerful being lying on the floor stands up emitting a glowing light. Ressurection!"
Unfortunately Kyoko is unable to notice this - she is thinking of something else.
*Wha-what is this? Where did this fighting spirit comes from? Am I seeing things? Blondy hair!? Green eyes!? OH MY GOD! THAT GUY WENT SUPER-SAIYAN!* she is confusing a TV program with reality. Whatever that entity is called, he looks powerful, menacing, overflowing with rage. No words are necessary, just his body language is enough. *So you want to fight serious for that doll now? Good luck! From the look on that girl's face you are digging your own grave" , Kyouko does not get this atmosphere at all. (Ladies and gentleman, Mogami Kyoko's mind had just left the building).
From his gaze it seems he wants some private time with Kyoko, she is happy to fulfill his request.
Before leaving Kanae looks back to confirm what she just saw and get something else from Kuon's gaze: "This is not even my final form".
"Argh! Have to get something to eat!", Kanae, lacking over 9000 calories by now, walks away stomping the ground.
After a while later Ren leaves with Kyoko for a walk and the room is silent and empty.
A voice comes from the empty room:
"Maria" the voice says...
"Maria!"
But nobody came...
"Maria!" The box says again louder.
"Come help me get out of this box... my back hurts!"
Maria suspected something was going the moment her grandfather asked her to play hide and seek. She knows she is getting too old for that, and normally she hides and he seeks. She thinks he was trying to spy on someone instead, but knowing the old man's exotic nature, she doesn't mention anything.
"Don't worry Maria, this won't grow into an habit... I'm not hiding like this ever again..." The old man says while getting out of the box.
"Also, while you are helping me out, bring me one of those pink LoveMe attires..."
"Eh? Why" Maria asked puzzled, this old man is very eccentric.
"It seems someone spilled a cup of coffee on me..."