Chapter 17

She sighed. Why could he not just leave her in peace? Here he was again, but this time he had dragged her into the stairwell and now he was trying to say that he had feelings for her?

"I will never be your slave again Shotaro. I don't understand why you keep doing this." She told him irritably.

"But that's not what I'm trying to say to you." He pleaded in frustration.

She rolled her eyes. "Look, I served you. I gave you all that you asked for. You no longer have anything to barter with. I have no interest in charity with you. You are not a friend, you are not a relative and you most certainly will never be a L...lover. I do not trust you nor, will I ever."

"But you're so much more than that to me! I... I... To me you are my..." He was interrupted by Ren when he came down the steps.

"Ah... Kyoko! There you are. I was looking all over for you." He smiled and wrapped her in his arms and she flushed. "Are you ready for breakfast? We have to be on set in 30 minutes." He kissed her cheek and she blushed.

She nodded. "Oh, I almost forgot. We should go now."

He looked over to Sho. "Oh! I'm sorry, did I interrupt something, Fuwa-kun?"

Sho shook his head, but he wanted to scream yes.

Ren sighed inwardly in relief as he escorted his favorite Djinni to breakfast and later to the set. He was definitely going to regret eating a second full breakfast, but it was so worth it.

He was wound tight from his little encounter with Fuwa and discovering that there was possibly another in the running for her affections. He had been able to get past the fact that she was able to get rid of the one in the forest, but the fact that Fuwa kept hanging around her was getting on his last nerve. He needed time to think and let his overstuffed stomach settle, so Yashiro had sent him to the trailer to take a nap during his lunch. It would have worked to calm his nerves; however, his nosy manager decided to guilt-trip his favorite little Djinni into taking care of him.

"Kuon... Kuon? Are you alright?" She whispered worriedly into the trailer to him.

He made the mistake of groaning. It wasn't out of pain, it was more out of his own frustrations with his jealousy. How could I think that she felt anything for him? He scolded himself. Not after how he treated her.

"Kuon, are you okay?" She asked as she knelt next to him. "Is there anything I can do to make you feel better? Comfort? Food? Wine?"

He felt his stomach lurch when she mentioned food. He looked deep into her pleading eyes and a thought crossed his mind. "Could I use your lap?" He just wanted to be near her, feel her.

She gave him a confused look. "Eh?"

"As a pillow... Do you mind if I rest my head?" He asked quietly.

She smiled softly. "Of course you may, Kuon." She sat next to him and gently pulled his head into her lap, then conjured a light, colorful wool blanket and covered him.

He sighed in content as her scent calmed him and permeated every corner of the trailer and relaxed him. He dozed off with her fingers gently caressing through his hair.

He wasn't exactly stalking the couple... Okay, maybe he was. Maybe if he informed her guard-dog what she was doing to him, he would step away from her and let him step in. Maybe if he told her what he was going to tell him first, she would push him away and run to him. Not a very good plan, but worth a try. Most humans enjoyed their humanity and Reino was kind of counting on that assumption and the fact that he thought he knew more than most about her kind.

So here he was standing before her smugly, carefully choosing his words and keeping his distance from her. He didn't want a repeat of four days ago. "You do realize that being around you so much is actually changing him... What do you think he will think of you when he finds out what you are or, what you'll make him? Do you actually think he'll enjoy being something lower than a human? A servant?"

His words hurt. She was no longer what he claimed she was, and she was definitely proud to be Djinn. She stood staring at the ground contemplating. "So... You desire me, yet you think I'm inferior... Is that what you're telling me? That I'm not good enough for anyone else? That no one else will accept me as I am?" Her voice was low, even and unreadable. "You can belittle my heritage all you want, but don't think for a moment that it will make me fall into your arms... As for him... I will let him make his own choices, so by all means, tell him anything you want, but know this... If you lie to him on purpose or, by accident... I will make sure that you are punished by my own hand. And trust me, there are many ways that I can make your life a living hell." She smiled at him sweetly, but falsely.

"Kyoko-chan?! Oh, there you are." Ren called to her as he entered the atrium without noticing Reino. He looked to where she was looking and saw him. "Ah, you must be Kyoko-chan's stalker that I was told about." He commented holding back the desire to strangle the little punk.

She turned to Ren and gave him a sad smile. "Tsuruga-san... I believe he has something to say to you that he believes you should know about my nature." She felt her heart clutch in her chest and wasn't sure exactly why.

He hated seeing her this way, she looked so emotionally beaten. What could the freak possibly say to him that could affect her in such a way? Kuon took a chance and pulled her into his arms to comfort her as Reino looked on. "Farasha, please don't worry. There's nothing that he could say that would make me turn from you. I really wish you could see that." He whispered to her and gently kissed her temple and Reino's eyes went wide.

She looked up at him in surprise. "How...How did you?..." She whispered to him in shock and felt a slight itchy, burning feeling on her wrist that still displayed one of her runes of sealing. She would check later, right now there were more important things to worry about.

He smiled at her mischievously and shushed her with an index finger to her lips. "So Stalker-san, just exactly was this important information that you wanted to give me?"

Reino was still trying to decipher what language Ren had been speaking to her. He looked up at the tall actor, strode forward and placed a hand on his arm to get a read on him and what he found repelled him. "You... You already know! You've known she would change you into something inhuman the moment you met her." Reino whispered in shock. "Are you really willing to give up all that you are?"

Kyoko couldn't take any more of his nonsense, even if it was true. She had completely missed Kuon's reaction to the questions posed. She decided that didn't want to stick around for what would be his inevitable negative answers. Reino had been right. Most mortals did see her kind as inferior. She didn't want Kuon to look at her that way.

"I don't have a problem with that." He turned to her. "I don't mind at all. For her I'm willing to make that kind of sacrifice, which I really don't see as one. It really doesn't matter to me." He told him in a nonchalant tone.

She turned to him in surprise as he took her hand. "Come on Kyoko-chan... We have filming to do. If we don't leave now, we'll miss our ride to the set." He smiled gently and pulled her back to the lobby with him as she willingly followed him in shock. What did he mean? How long has he known? This was something that definitely needed to be discussed in private. She had forgotten the incident with her little brother.

Reino tried to shake off the hidden images of a broken man that was behind the mask of Ren Tsuruga. Tsuruga was only two years older than him, but the experiences that flashed to him in that brief encounter were the images that would leave a normal human broken, battered and willing to leave life. Reino was steadily beginning to see that Ren Tsuruga was the type of man that would make any sacrifice needed if the end result gave him his heart's desire and from what it looked like, the little Djinni was just that.