Warning! All fluff! Might cause cavities! Story is meant for those who want that.
With the mess cleared and the injury bandaged, both occupants returned to their original seats under the blanketed table. Remaining toasty and comfortable, they both ignored the way the storm continued to rise and beat against Ren's high rise window. Instead they went back to watching the show in the darkness of his living room.
As a young girl, Ren knew that the first time Kyoko was introduced to anything from the realm of fantasy, she'd be so mesmerized that her whole essence would shimmer. Like in the forest, when he had agreed that he really was a fairy prince, her happiness was like glitter in the sunlight. Her golden eyes would imitate the sun, and she'd be nothing but smiles.
As the movie went on, becoming more about the blooming romance between the beast and his prisoner rather than the magic punishment the prince had been under, Kyoko eyes became less and less enchanted. She still watched the film, just as captivated, but her smile had all but wilted.
Opening her eyes at his approval, the scene pulls back to reveal the gigantic library filled with books. Her face in awe, she turned her head side to side to take it all in. "I can't believe it. I've never seen so many books in all my life!"
"You-you like it?" The Beast asked, unsure but excited at her feelings towards his personal library.
"It's wonderful!" Belle cried out, assuring him of her conviction.
"Then it's yours." He said without a moment's hesitation, smiling at her gleeful expression.
Noticing the way she rung the cloth of the table within her small hands, he broke the long silence. "Is something wrong Kyoko?"
Not turning away from the scene, she made a small 'no' sound, barely audible and sounding slightly disparaging to him. When the silence hung a bit longer, she turned to him. "How are you Tsuruga-san? How is your hand feeling?"
"It doesn't sting as much." Ren responded lightly, flexing his hand for her approval. "I'm sure it'll be healed by morning."
The room fell back into silence, as they returned to the television set.
"There may be something there that wasn't there before."
"What's there, mama?"
"I'll tell you when you're older."
He could see her hand clench tightly, as the movie faded away, into its first line of commercials. "What's wrong Mogami-san?" For the first time since dinner, Ren stepped fully into his disapproving senpai mode. "Don't tell me nothing is wrong."
"I..um…no…Well, it's just that this story is setting up little girls hopes Tsuruga-san! It's horrible!" Kyoko apparitions slowly spilled out behind her, crawling out from their mother. Weakened from the romance story, her darkening aura gave them a weak breath at renewed life.
"While of course there're fairies and spells and magic out there…reciprocated love and romance like that simply doesn't happen! Not for normal, plain girls!" Her hands continued to wring the cloth in anger. "It's building up false hope in foolish girls who dream for their own attractive prince and instead get blond, stuck-up, first-kiss stealing toads…"
~Mama! Mama!~ The demons cried gleefully, starting to hover off the floor. ~You've come back!~
"If I saw the love fairy, I'd tell her exactly right where to go!" Fired up, Kyoko held her fists tight and close to her chest. "I'd teach young girls not to fall in love! To be modest about everything! And most of all, not to trust handsome young men. Unless you're a princess, it will only leads to bad outcomes! No one ever comes to sweep you off your feet."
~That's Right! Ganbatte! Mama! Ganbatte!~ The demons cheered, waving spiritual pompoms in the following silence.
"…Don't you trust me Kyoko?" Ren asked simply. He looked directly at his kohai, caught by surprise from his query.
She was surprised to see such a lack of confidence in a man who had everything. His face was still the same as it had always been, but his eyes were raw, unsure, and almost pleading; she got the feeling he was asking for a response to something more than just a fleeting curiosity to her rant.
The teenager paused to look back at his handsome face. Her own words circled in her head as she took in his feature. There was no doubt he was handsome. Every poll for the past year had had him as the top bachelor. Naturally, what she said would have to apply to him too. If she were to teach young girls not to fall in love and not to trust handsome young men, Ren would have to be exhibit number one. But…he didn't fit against what she wanted to fight against. In fact, if she hadn't been more aware of the pain of heartbreak…
The pause lasted just a moment. Sensing their defeat, her ghosts clung together as Kyoko's amber eyes caught Ren's chocolate gaze. "…I trust you…" Kyoko drawled lightly. Even she was unsure when her lips continued moving, finishing her approval with one more word, "Ren…" With that, the spirits went up in a flash of smoke.
He stood up, bowed low and offered his hand to her in the most regal of poses. Kyoko knew factually Ren was only wearing a simple black sweater and some classic designer jeans, but the way he held himself erased all that was routine about his dress. It didn't take any imagination to see Ren as a prince, trapped within a costume and a society he didn't belong to. She took his hand on an instinct she thought she lost. The high rise apartment faded in the background, and instead left the impression of a large glass ball room. The glow of the television commercial and swirling hail outside made the light flicker in an old fashion ambiance.
"I'm not a prince Kyoko. In fact I'm as despicable as a beast. But you're anything but a plain girl. We're not characters in a story, but if I have to sweep you off your feet for you to believe again, I'll become a prince-like beast to compliment who you really are."
The smile he wore put all the smiles he ever wore in front of her to shame. It banished all the fear from his eyes, and in response it assured her as well. Helping her to her feet, he guided her away from the living room area and towards the middle part of his apartment, where there was the least furniture around.
Ren repositioned and rewrapped his lengthy fingers around Kyoko's tiny hand, tucking his injured hand snugly around her waist. He could tell by her fierce blushing that dancing ballroom style had been something only the young lady had dreamed of doing. Still, she did not pull away, nor stutter her disagreement. To hold her in such an intimate way, even under the guise of a movie marketed to him over ten years ago, was filling his heart in such a foreign but yet so natural feeling. Surely, he couldn't have lived without experiencing this before.
"Just follow my lead Kyoko, left foot first…"
Slowly, after stepping on his feet a few times, Kyoko picked up on the dance.
The set of long commercials ended, as the movie faded back in. The Beauty took the Beast's hand, as he escorted her down the grand ballroom staircase. With a few unsure glances, and awkward handling, they begun to twirl in the fanciful ballroom. The singing in the background didn't faze either party, as they danced to the tune.
Tale as old as time
True as it can be
Barely even friends
Then somebody bends
Unexpectedly
Just a little change
Small to say the least
Both a little scared
Neither one prepared
Beauty and the Beast
Ever just the same
Ever a surprise
Ever as before
Ever just as sure
As the sun will rise
Tale as old as time
Tune as old as song
Bittersweet and strange
Finding you can change
Learning you were wrong
Certain as the sun
Rising in the east
Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the…
A irritating buzzer suddenly sounded from the TV, cutting off the end of the song and turning the room's glow an angry red. Scaring apart the unsuspecting dancers, the Japanese emergency broadcast system came to life.
I've to admit I'm guilty of one of my own pet peeves. I put in (pretty much) the entire song in lyrics in a story. But I couldn't help it! They fit so well!
Be happy, I've finally found the poor sap who'd take the fall and beta my story before I slop it up, mistakes and all! So sometime in the near future the updated story will be posted, and the final few chapters should be beta'ed before I put them up. Still, thank you everyone who's reviewing and/or have taken the time to correct me.
And all those who have this on alert but refuse to review...I've my eye on you -.-