Hi! So here is part four of my story and I hope you all enjoy it. As for the previous chapter, I'm so glad you all liked it. At first, I thought the hangman game was kinda weird, but it registered well with everyone so I'm really happy. Anyway, thanks for the support and please review!
Disclaimer: I do not own Skip or any of its characters.
"Alright, now that we are all checked into our rooms, I think we should meet each other down by the pool in about an hour, just for a little bonding time. But before we do, I realize that it was a pretty long flight, so I'm guessing that most of you want to get some rest before we have fun. Then afterwards, everyone is more than welcome to go their separate ways. What do you guys say?" President Lory said with a beaming smile as he stood in the main lobby of the Aria Hotel.
"Sure!" everyone exclaimed in unison.
And so, after his little speech, Itsumi, Ruriko, Kanae, and Kyoko broke off from the group and took the elevator to the highest floor where they were going to stay for the next week. The President booked a large two bedroom penthouse for each pair of girls. Itsumi was to stay with Ruriko, while Kanae and Kyoko were partnered with each other. The men, on the other hand, stayed on the floor just below and were also partnered off in pairs.
As the four waited patiently inside the elevator to their suite, Ruriko gave a loud yawn and stretched her arms.
"I've never felt so stiff in my life," she said with a slight groan as she brought her arms upward. "I can't wait to hit that all-access spa."
Itsumi nodded as the elevator let out a small ding as it reached the 45th floor. "I'm sure we're all pretty tired. A good hour of relaxation would do wonders."
Ruriko smirked. "Well, maybe not all of us. I'm sure at least one of us is well-rested."
She turned to Kyoko who was coincidentally enough facing the other direction, staring at the buttons of the different floors.
"You're so lucky, Kyoko," Ruriko continued with an evil smile as she ran a hand through her hair. "It must have been such a good sleep. After all, you looked oh-so-comfortable."
But before Kyoko could say anything, the elevator doors slid open, letting them off on the 61st floor. They all stepped out and made a left, walking down a golden corridor with red carpets. Kyoko kept her eyes downward, refusing to meet any of the girls' gazes.
"You really do have some nerve, Kyoko," Ruriko replied with a grin as she walked behind her. "I don't think I would ever have the courage to do what you did."
Itsumi laughed nervously. "Come on, Ruriko. Don't say it like that."
"What ever do you mean, Itsumi?" she asked with mock innocence as she raised a delicate eyebrow. "All I'm saying is that Kyoko definitely has no fear. It's not necessarily a bad thing though."
The soft thuds of their footsteps echoed down the deserted hallway as the four girls continued their walk. Kanae walked beside Kyoko, peeking at her friend out of the corner of her eye and hoping that Kyoko wasn't taking Ruriko's words to heart.
"I personally thought it was cute," Itsumi said as she looked at the door to her left. It seemed that they hadn't reached their room yet.
"Cute?" Ruriko repeated with a twisted grin. "Sure I guess so, or maybe it was a way of getting attention."
Then suddenly Ruriko clapped her hands together in applause and laughed. "Well, well, Kyoko, you sure know how to make it in this industry don't you? Are you trying to grab all the attention you can get?"
Nobody said anything as they finally reached their room. The one on the right belonged to Kyoko and Kanae and the one on the left was assigned to Itsumi and Ruriko.
"Here we are: 61143," Kanae said as she grabbed the card-key from her bag.
"And we're right across," Itsumi said with a smile as she inserted her card into the door lock. With a slight whirring sound, the button on top of the door glowed green and a loud click signaled that they were allowed to enter.
Just as Kyoko stepped foot inside the doorway of her room, Ruriko suddenly turned and said, "You know, it's too bad Kyoko that President Lory said only girls can room with girls. I'm sure you would have chosen someone else. Sleeping at night would probably be easier for you, wouldn't it? But of course, asking Tsur—"
"Give it a rest!" Kanae snarled as she swung herself around to glare at a surprised Ruriko. "Haven't you noticed that no one is responding to you? That's our way of saying to you to shut your damn mouth."
Horribly offended, Ruriko stomped her foot and dramatically swept inside her room, slamming the door shut. Unfortunately, the weight was so heavy that she only managed to trip over her own feet as the door slowly closed by itself.
Itsumi sighed with a shake of her head.
"Sorry about that Momose-san," Kanae replied with a sniff. "I couldn't take it anymore. She was driving me insane."
She smiled wearily. "No, I get it," Itsumi said as she stared at Kyoko's back. Throughout this whole entire time, Kyoko hadn't said a word nor did she even look at any of them.
Kanae noticed the awkward silence immediately and cleared her throat. "I guess we should go get ready."
Itsumi nodded understandingly, but before she left, she quietly walked over to Kyoko and patted her on the shoulder. "Don't let Ruriko get to you," Itsumi said warmly as Kyoko raised her head. "Everyone else thought it was sweet. You don't have to worry."
Then with one last smile at Kanae, Itsumi left the two friends alone. Kyoko still hadn't moved and she only had one foot through the door. Kanae sighed and nudged her in the back. "You planning on going in or staying out here all day?"
Kyoko gave a slight nod and fully walked through as Kanae shut the door closed.
When Kanae finally looked at the place before her, her jaw dropped to the floor. The suite was AMAZING. They had their own kitchen, living room, game room, bathroom, two bedrooms, and even a balcony that looked out to the city. There was a large flat screen television in the family room and a mini bar in the spotless kitchen. Each bedroom had a queen sized bed and had its own walk-in closet and bathroom that consisted of both a shower and a white, porcelain tub.
The whole entire penthouse was spotless with marble counters, oak floors, glass doors, and white fluffy carpet that made you feel as if you were walking on clouds. The view from the balcony and every window in the place was absolutely breathtaking. They looked out to the entire city and even to the large, dusty mountains surrounding the desert.
Kanae shook her head in disbelief. "If we ever go on vacation, this is the kind of place I want to stay in."
Kyoko nodded, keeping her eyes on the floor.
"Mo, you're not even looking."
"It's nice," she murmured quietly as she walked forward and stood in the middle of the living room.
Kanae narrowed her eyes in frustration. "This has gone on long enough," she thought angrily as she grabbed Kyoko's wrist and dragged her into one of the bedrooms. Thankfully enough, her luggage was already there, sitting neatly on top of her fluffy white bed. Kanae then pushed Kyoko on top of it, watching her friend bounce on the bed slightly before raising her head with hollow eyes.
"You're ruining my vacation," Kanae said darkly as she crossed her arms. "And I don't appreciate it."
"Sorry," Kyoko mumbled.
Kanae scoffed. "I don't want your apology. I want you to snap out of it."
Kyoko sighed heavily. "I can't," she replied quietly.
"Mo! Ruriko's an idiot! We all know that! Even you know that! Why are you listening to her?"
"Because she's right," Kyoko said as she placed her head into her hands. "That was the worst mistake I have ever made in my life."
When Kyoko finally woke up on the plane, her eyes were still fuzzy and her mind was slightly groggy, but her body felt oddly well-rested. In fact, she had never felt so comfortable. She even remembered thinking, "This pillow smells nice."
But when she fully opened her eyes, Kyoko suddenly jumped at least twenty feet into the air when she realized exactly who she was sleeping on! He was awake of course, with a small smile upon his face as he politely greeted her. And although he acted normally, as if nothing serious had happened, Kyoko knew immediately that something was wrong. Everyone was smiling at her with these large, perky grins and she knew for a fact that they all saw what she had done.
And once they finally got off the plane, Kyoko quickly made a run for it, not even bothering to look back. Thankfully, there were two black limos that picked them all up to take them to the hotel and Kyoko was able to avoid him for an entire car ride. But that luck didn't last long because everyone in the limo kept talking about it! Most of them reacted like Itsumi, saying that it was adorable and sweet, but Kyoko thought it was anything but! She was absolutely horrified.
Kanae growled as Kyoko let out a wail. "I'M SO STUPID!"
"You're completely blowing this out of proportion."
"Moko-san!" Kyoko cried as she raised her head with puffy eyes. "I slept on him! ON HIM!"
"SO?" Kanae asked back loudly. "What's the big deal?"
"The big deal is that he is my mentor and I treated him like my own personal bed!"
Kanae shook her head. "You took a nap and your head coincidentally fell upon his shoulder. That's all. Stop being such a drama queen."
"Am not," Kyoko mumbled pathetically.
"Are too."
"Nu-huh."
Kanae suddenly laughed in amusement and plopped herself beside her. "Yes, you are."
Kyoko turned the corners of her mouth upwards and shook her head. "You're mean," she whined.
"And you're stupid," Kanae replied simply. "Feel better now?"
Kyoko nodded. "I guess."
"Good, now hurry up and get ready. We're going down to the pool."
Kyoko shrieked like a banshee. "ARE YOU CRAZY? HE'LL BE THERE!"
"So what?"
"How am I supposed to face him after what I did?" Kyoko exclaimed in exasperation as she stood up and began to pace back and forth.
"Like normal," Kanae replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Kyoko shook her head vigorously. "No, you go. I'm staying here."
Kanae glared. "You do realize that you're going to make it worse if you do that right?"
She stopped right in her tracks. "What do you mean?" she murmured.
"Well, if you make a big deal out of it, it becomes a big deal. If you recall, he didn't say a word about it after it happened, now did he? He brushed it off as if it was nothing. And if you come along and turn it into this huge issue by not coming down to the pool and avoiding him, he's going to think that you thought of it as something more."
Kyoko brought a hand to her mouth in terror.
"Therefore," Kanae continued as she stood up in a huff. "You have to act like nothing's wrong."
She sighed. Kyoko knew that her friend was right. If she didn't go down there, everyone would know that she was bothered by what had happened and they would turn it into an even bigger issue. And Kyoko didn't need more people talking about it. Besides, she would also be causing problems for him as well. He didn't seem to be fazed about it, so why should she?
"Because you slept on him," her subconscious retorted, but Kyoko ignored her.
She knew that the best way to handle it was to act as if nothing was wrong, even though she felt as if her whole life had turned upside down.
"You're right," Kyoko mumbled as she leaned against the marble dresser in her bedroom. "I have to go."
"Exactly," Kanae replied in a satisfied voice. "I'm glad you finally woke up."
Kyoko smiled sheepishly.
But just when Kanae was going to walk out, Kyoko suddenly said, "There's a small problem though."
She turned around in exasperation. "What now?"
"I don't have a bathing suit."
Kanae smirked. "Well lucky for you, I brought an extra pair."
"Really?" Kyoko asked with bright eyes.
Kanae nodded. "Although," she began with a suspicious tone. "It's not exactly a bathing suit you would pick out."
Kyoko's eyes widened. "W-w-w-what do you mean?" she stuttered.
Kanae grinned widely. "Oh, you'll see."
"Ren, you do realize that there are people all around us right?" Yashiro asked with his eyes closed as he linked his fingers together and brought them behind his head. "You're going to scare them away with that murderous look of yours."
Ren growled as he leaned back against the chair, watching people play around in the pool and sun bathe on the grassy floor. The rest of the group was scattered all around and they didn't pay much attention to Ren and Yashiro, who were lying down on the lounge chairs. In fact, Ren didn't even seem to notice how every person that passed him gave him these awed, amazed expressions as they stared at his face and broad, bare chest.
"Give me the picture, Yashiro," he demanded with a glint in his eye.
"Nope," he replied with an easy smile as he turned his head to the side to look up at an angered Ren. "I shall not."
"You know, you won't be this confident when we go back up to our rooms later."
Yashiro grinned as he got up in a sitting position again. "You're not going to hurt me."
Ren glared malevolently. "What makes you say that?" he asked in a sinister voice.
"Because, you know just as well as I do that I can't delete the picture, even if we wanted to."
Ren swung his legs to the side of the chair, facing Yashiro. His eyes were filled with confusion as Yashiro chuckled and said, "You saw how Kyoko reacted right?"
He sighed darkly. "How could I forget? She completely ignored me as soon as she woke up."
Suddenly, Ren ran a frustrated hand through his silky brown hair as he said in a louder voice, "That's why you need to delete the picture, Yashiro! If she sees it, she's going to think—"
"—that you are ashamed of such a picture and want to delete all evidence that it ever happened," Yashiro replied smoothly as Ren froze in surprise.
"Ren," he began in a gentle tone. "Think about it. She was absolutely mortified when she realized what she did and she will feel even worse when she finds out you deleted the picture that captured it because obviously she's going to think that you hated what happened too. If you deleted it, it's like you're saying that you're ashamed and that you never want it to happen again."
Yashiro grinned as he saw Ren look down at his feet in defeat.
"And we both know that that is the exact opposite of what you're wishing for," Yashiro finished triumphantly.
Ren sighed heavily. "So what you're saying is that we have to keep the picture for her sake?"
Yashiro nodded.
"How about we delete it without telling her?"
"Aren't you the one who hates liars, you hypocrite?" Yashiro asked with a mocking sneer. "Besides, you and I both know that you only wanted to delete it to keep her mind at ease. If she told you she liked it, would you still want to get rid of it?"
He sighed. "I guess not. Did she see it yet?"
Yashiro turned his head away, oddly interested in the napkin on the floor. "Sure, you can say that."
Ren growled under his breath, feeling his resolve dying. Yashiro was right on all counts. Ren knew that he was thinking irrationally and right now, if he made any wrong moves, it would be detrimental to his and Kyoko's already shaky relationship.
Knowing that Kyoko was upset at what she had done, Ren had to pretend that it meant nothing to him, even though it actually meant the world. "Although," he thought silently. "I hope her horror has nothing to do with the fact that it was me she leaned her head on, instead of someone else."
Remembering the smell of her smooth hair, the warmth of her cheek, the soft sounds of her every breath, Ren could feel his heart throb as he clenched his hands together at his sides. In truth, he didn't want Yashiro to delete the picture. He actually wanted it for himself, proof to him that there was really a small possibility that she could see him as more than just a mentor. And that's all he wanted for now.
Yashiro stretched and looked up at the sky. "Now that we have that settled, why not try to relax, Ren? It is your vacation."
Ren chuckled. "I guess you're right."
And in one fluid motion, Ren stood up from his chair and stretched. Everyone in the area immediately turned their heads around to look at him, the girls with the same googly-eyes and the guys with a look of pure admiration and just a splash of jealousy. Ren was just about to lower himself into the icy pool when the doors of the hotel suddenly pushed opened.
At first, he spotted Kanae, walking in with a black halter, two-piece bathing suit. Her hair was held up in a neat pony tail and she had a fluffy white towel draped over her arm. But when Ren tried to look for the girl he was actually waiting for, he didn't see her at all, just a large group of people following Kanae. Narrowing his eyes, Ren scanned the area and realized she wasn't around at all.
"Ren," Yashiro called in a strained voice.
"What?"
"Do you see what I see?"
Ren turned his head around to see his wide-eyed friend, surprisingly in a sitting position. "What are you talking about?"
Yashiro pointed back into Kanae's direction with his mouth gaping open.
"Kotonami-san?" Ren asked curiously. "Yeah, I saw her, but where's—?"
"No, Ren," Yashiro replied in a shaky voice. "Look to her left."
And just as Ren turned his attention back, his whole body tensed up as he stared into her face. No wonder he couldn't see her because she was surrounded by an entire group of men, drooling like maniacs. She stepped out with a blushing face and slowly met his lustful gaze. Kyoko smiled shyly as she softly murmured his name.
But Ren couldn't register anything in his mind, not a single thing could go through…because all he could see was his sweet, innocent Kyoko, dressed in an-all-out white bikini.
