-Oxford - Wednesday: Part 16-
Keiji sighed heavily as he laid on the couch in Ren's dressing room reading a magazine, not something he normally did and the fact but that seemed to be all they had in the dressing room, he was amazed however at the difference between the ones he found in Japan vs the ones he tended to cross here, mainly due to the fact his mother tended to be better known in the Western World vs the Eastern World. Keiji felt the buzz of his phone and reached into his pocket and sighed at the image of the Amanda and David, Amanda had her nail file holding it up as if it was a knife with David clearly having been the one who had taken the picture who was grinning like a madman. The text below the image said 'Give us Ren.'
"Great," he muttered before looking towards Yashiro who looked back towards the young man laying on the couch. "Seems they really want him..." his eyes turned towards the man who was trying on the adjustments of a suit jacket.
"Why are they contacting you first?" Yashiro said looking down at the phone in his hand. Then again he didn't even know how they got this number, no one outside of LME really would have it or for business, he looked back down at the message: Give us Ren Tsuruga Yashiro-san - AD
"Wonder why they sign off with an AD," he smiled some "Oh Amanda and David... but why not add a little and to it?"
"You would think that but you are wrong," Keiji said looking back towards the magazine.
"Then what does it stand for?" Yashiro asked looking back down towards the text phone.
"Alluring Dreams," Keiji said with a roll of his eyes.
"Alluring Dreams?" Yashiro couldn't help but smile softly as he shook his head as he stood up "Well it looks like if they ever want to join the world of showbiz they got their name already." Keiji raised an eyebrow as he looked back towards the magazine, "Ren, it looks like Amanda and David want you as soon as you are done here..." he said looking down at his phone, "it shouldn't be a problem for a small break. You do have another photo shoot, I have arranged it to take place right before dinner." he said looking up at him, "which you are again having with the Williams and Takardas"
"Did they say what they needed?" he asked as one of Francis interns made a couple more marks before pulling the jacket off.
"No. Only that they wanted you..." he frowned for a moment, "I wonder if they are rabid fans... the text message seemed pretty threatening, somehow." his eyes turned towards Keiji.
"Only if you disobey them. They aren't rabid fans though, he should be safe, he's not a fashion designer" he flipped the pages of the magazine.
"Why doesn't that make me feel better..." Yashiro said looking at his charge for a moment. "I can always tell them you are busy if you don't want to go."
"No. It's fine" he said with one of his gentlemanly smiles, Yashiro looked at him.
"Why don't I believe you?" he muttered before adding them into his schedule, "I can give them at most 20 minutes." he said turning, "Unless they are done with you sooner that plan," he said moving back to the couch.
Ren's eyes turned towards Keiji wondering if he knew something that he wasn't sharing but to be completely honest the young man seemed far to relax without a single care. 'Is this is what I would have to get used to if I want to stay a part of her life?' he mentally sighed 'Most likely' and the fact that he was willing to put up with what he was truly starting to see and understand as a rather unique family unit and something he was starting to miss not being part of anymore. 'I'm still not there yet...' his hand reaching for his watch, 'I might never be there...' he closed his eyes taking a deep breath, 'besides I'm not sure I have a place with them anymore.'
Ren was following Keiji as he walked down the hall. He had been given an additional ten minutes before he would have to leave but he wasn't sure if the thirty minutes would be enough to deal with whatever those two had planned for him. Keiji didn't seem bothered at all. His only comment when Ren asked him was that he would have to wait and find out. So when they entered the hotel room that apparently being shared by Ruto and David.
Keiji knocked on the door and Ruto opened the door. Together they entered the room Ren noticed that both the twins were sitting on the couch, across from Kyoko who was legs were pulled up to her chest, her arms hugging her legs as she buried her face. 'Has they gotten upset with her?' he wondered as he took in her body language that read to him of someone who had been defeated. Ren noted that Amanda was sitting with her legs crossed looking down at her phone. Every now and again she would look towards David showing him something he nodded but his eyes had turned towards Ren and he grinned.
"Still being babysat I see."
Ren's eyes turned towards Keiji was standing next to Ruto, he had taken out his own cell phone, looking at something. He had learned quickly that Keiji didn't really surf the internet or play games on his phone like a normal teenager would do. Ren, however, couldn't get him to give him more information, well actually he could have but it would have required Ren unlocking his phone and letting him see what he did on his phone to see what he did on his. Ren had declined as he didn't want the man to see all the apps that could hint that he wasn't a native to Japan. 'Yet I had allowed her my phone...' he thought to himself as he looked back towards Kyoko.
"You needed to see me?" he figured it was best not to comment about the babysitting thing, he was starting to not mind the man all that much. David shook his head as Amanda showed him something he gave a small nod of his head before looking back towards him.
"You don't seem all that bothered at all Ren-san." to say that Ren was shocked at how perfect he spoke Japanese would not be a lie, he was. His eyes turned towards Keiji who didn't even seem to notice. "What's wrong? Didn't think I could speak Japanese?" he said with a grin. "I can speak few languages, kind of a requirement..." his eyes turned towards Kyoko, "Like she can speak French and Russian." he gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Laura speaks a good what 12 languages now?" he said looking at Amanda who shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah guess it doesn't matter in the end," he said leaning back his arms dropping over the back of the couch. "Point is you seem completely fine to me."
Ren wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to say as he stared at the young man, 'Surprises... this whole family is full of surprises.' his eyes took in two women who hadn't said anything at all. "Should I be bothered?" he figured if the young man was speaking in Japanese then perhaps he didn't actually want Kyoko to know what they were saying. Still, when did she forget Japanese? She had spoken it fluently when she was six years old. Did something happen to her to cause her to push the language away? She never did make any notice of understanding anything said in Japanese, around anyone from what he could tell and Ruto wasn't standing next to her repeating anything either which just hinted more that this was between the three of them right now. Well, five if he counted the fact that Keiji and Ruto were there with him.
Amanda rolled her eyes at him before showing something towards David again who looked down and he smirked some, he didn't bother to look back towards Ren, "Well I'd think being used by someone would be pretty upsetting wouldn't you?" he said looking towards him. His eyes turned towards Kyoko for a moment. "Tell me why haven't you sat down yet?" he said grinning towards Ren, "Is it because you would be to close to her?" his eyes turning towards him once again.
Ren's eyes narrowed, he was positive now that David was trying to get him upset but he schooled his face quickly, "Well it's not like I didn't know she was going to do it." well he didn't know she was going to kiss him but they didn't need to know that. His eyes turned towards Kyoko she had made no notice of understanding him, it was strange but he pushed it away, "as for not sitting down I wasn't offered a place." he smiled "If you are offering... I will be more than happy to sit down."
David smirked, "So you knew?" his eyes turned towards Keiji "Well if not you did thanks to him, in the end, I'm sure." his eyes turned towards Ren once more, "Well as long as you know, now or then it doesn't matter. You seem schooled enough to control yourself without us." he said standing up and holding his hand out towards Amanda "Come along my female self." she lifted her eyes to look at him before taking his hand as he pulled her up.
Her eyes trailed towards Kyoko, "Work it out with him. So we can move on from this to the next stage." she said simply they walked passed toward Ren her eyes narrowed slightly, "and you better behave." she smiled far too sweetly at him. Ren watched as David grabbed Keiji's arm wrapping it around his waist the man pulled away shooting a glare at him. "We're leaving Keiji."
"Doesn't mean I need to be manhandled by your male half," he said with a sigh as he followed the two out the door his eyes turning towards look back at Kyoko for a moment before shutting the door.
Ren noted quickly that the only one who stayed was Ruto, which to him made sense, he was Lory's man and there was no way that he would leave her alone with him when he had issues controlling himself today. No, he would want to assure that Kyoko was safe, not that he could ever see himself hurting her. 'Yet in some way, she's hurting isn't she?' he said looking back at Kyoko who had not really moved not even when Amanda had spoken to her. He sighed as he finally sat on the couch that the twins had been on, resting his arms between his legs. "Kyoko?" he spoke softly to her, but she made no notion of hearing him. His eyes darted towards Ruto, but it was clear he wasn't going to help when he shrugged his shoulders back towards Ren. "Please look at me Kyoko," hoping that she would at least lift her face but again there had been nothing. 'How can I get her to open up?' he closed his eyes thinking about how she was huddled as if protecting herself and he didn't want her to feel like she had to protect herself from him.
Kyoko, "I'm sorry…"
Ren's eyes snapped open looking at her, she was looking at him but the look on her face caused his very heart to hurt. Ren had to fight the urge to get up and pull her to him, mainly because he was pretty sure Ruto wouldn't allow it and not to say he wasn't sure exactly how accepting she would be of him doing such a thing. 'If we were kids again...'
"Don't say it's alright." she was looking at Ren but not really looking at him either. 'It's so not alright, it will never be alright' she hugged her legs tightly for a moment before taking a slow steady breath, "It doesn't matter what the reason was for, it's never alright what I did to you." She buried her face back in her legs trying to calm herself she knew she had to do this. Amanda was right, so was David. It was unforgivable but they were right about him being an actor and while that didn't change what she had done she could at least protect him should this blow up.
"I'm not bothered by it." that was the truth, he wasn't bothered not as Ren and most of all not as Kuon.
Kyoko lifted her face to stare at him, and what she saw on his face bothered her more. "You should be." she said dropping her legs to the floor as she sighed, 'I can do this...' she closed her eyes taking another deep breath, "It can hurt your career, and I don't want to even think about how much it will hurt father and Maria if they knew what I did to you." She slowly rose to her feet and began to pace, "Well I do plan to tell daddy" she paused shaking her head slightly, "and Maria well once it's all been settled maybe, she's going to take it the hardest" she chewed her lower lip.
"I don't mind helping you." Ren's eyes watched her as she paced back and forth, he realized that she was feeling trapped and when she felt trapped she moved around almost restlessly. Though he was worried about the pain she likely was feeling just moving around but he saw no trace of it on her face but he doubted it just looked bad. 'Still, she was holding herself... that had to be just as painful if not more so.' Ren's eyes darted towards Ruto who he knew for a fact knew how bad she looked under that dress of hers, yet he made no notice to want to stop her. 'Maybe it's pointless?' he thought to look back at Kyoko who had stopped moving.
"Don't you get it?" she questioned him, "You were being used. It doesn't matter if you are an actor..." she shook her head holding herself and he actually did reach out for her but she took a step back holding out her a hand, a clear sign to him that he wasn't allowed that. "Don't be nice to me now." She turned from him, "Don't ever be nice to the people who use you, they don't deserve such kindness" she said shaking her head as she held herself again.
Frustration and anger washed over Ren's features. The fact he was being denied to feel what he really wanted to about this matter was pissing him off, not that he didn't understand what she was saying. It was the fact he was not only told off but denied the right to comfort her. "Fine. Then you can pay me for my services," he said leaning back in the chair, not realizing that his true emotions were raging around him.
For some reason the anger and frustration didn't bother her at all at, 'maybe because he's not hiding behind that gentlemanly smile of his' and she couldn't help the small smile that played across her face, turning away from him as she reached and grabbed her phone. "I already planned to do so, should have done that in the first place but I didn't think I only acted," she said looking at him slightly.
To say that he wasn't surprised by what she said would have been a lie. 'Was that the real reason I was called down here?' he mentally shook his head allowing himself to sigh, 'She wants to hire me to protect me?' it felt too simple to easy. Not that he minded but he felt hurt that she just couldn't accept the help he was willing to give her without being hired. His eyes drifted towards her body features, she was clearly still upset but she wasn't pacing anymore nor was she holding herself, that to him proved that she was starting to grow comfortable again. 'Well might as well push for something else' he thought before closing his eyes, "The cost is cooking for me when you are in Japan."
Kyoko head turned towards him, "What?" he opened an eye seeing the confusion that washed over her face.
"Well you seem to care about my eating habits than I do." he had to keep himself from smiling as her eyes trailed over him for a moment.
"Are you insane?" He wanted to laugh the way she had asked such a question of him. He had never been asked such a thing from a female before.
"No, but I have grown fond of your cooking."
"Says the man who always looks sick after I feed him," she said rolling her eyes as she looked down at her phone. "You really must have something wrong with you." she muttered, "Not bothered by being used, wanting to be paid by food..." he couldn't help but smile as he watched her, she looked up at him for a moment, "I'll do it. On one condition."
Ren should have known better, she wasn't one who craved is attention, which in itself frustrating him. the fact that what he desired as payment which honestly was just to make sure he still got to see her after this show was now being bargained with was not something he could have expected. "Depends what it is," he said watching as her eyes narrowed.
"You agree now or you get money for your time. I'm sure that can be arranged through LME and I'm pretty sure Daddy will make you if I ask him too." She looked towards Ruto for a moment, "I'm not mistaken, am I? If I asked Daddy he would do for me right?" Ruto gave a single nod of his head. The truth of the matter she wasn't exactly sure on that but based on how he wanted to buy her things and she had to fight with him on his spending habits she supposed that no matter what Ren asked price wise he would pay for it. Her eyes turned back towards Ren who seemed to be thinking about it before he sighed and nodded his head. "Say it please." That was something her mother had taught her. "I need to make sure Ruto hears the words... to assure the agreement."
"I will agree to your one condition..." he shot her a glare "without knowing what it is."
"Wonderful... When my Lawyer gets here. I'll make sure he draws up the paperwork." she held up her phone, "plus I record it, so don't try to back out now." she said turning towards Ruto, "I think it's time for Amanda and David return. Seeing as we have an agreement now and well it's their plan for the next stage." Ruto gave a bow of his head as he pulled out his own phone and texted them. "We also need to make sure General Brown doesn't do anything until my Lawyer gets here... and the papers are drawn and signed," she said looking at him. "Thank you Mister Tsuruga" she smiled warmly at him. "I really do mean it, and I really am sorry for what I did to you."
"You don't have to keep apologizing now, you hired me. So let it go." He noticed the look on her face, one that said she might stop apologizing but it was something that she would never forgive about herself and that bothered him that he could not ease her mind at all on it. 'I'll do anything for you Kyoko... no matter what happens to me.' and that thought scared him more than he wanted to admit.