English is still not my first language, so whatever this is - I tried my best.

This is not proofread. So, if you find mistakes (what kind soever) or something confusing then please tell me. I will try my best to fix it.

Have fun :3

"So you know as much as I do?" A rather annoyed Kotonami Kanae asks her current companion on the way to a brand new mission designed by their very own boss.

"I was told what to wear and at what time the car would arrive to get me, Kotonami-san. Everything else will be disclosed as necessary. You know his games."

She barely looks at him throughout the ride. Nothing new. She usually stays on her own. "It's the first time for him to use the both of us."

That was true. Lory rarely constructs 'missions' that involve more than one of his 'underlings'.

And yes, even a Tsuruga Ren isn't more than a pawn in the greater game that his boss is playing.

Ren certainly has an idea where they are taken, even if he can't figure out what Kotonami-san has to do with it.
He suspected it the moment he got the message. And even though he had the last two days to think about the whole situation he isn't a bit closer to anything.
He doesn't know what happened, he has no idea who she is and although he told Lory again and again that he wouldn't do anything. He isn't so certain anymore.

It's not that he could just walk away. Not from her anyway. But even if he wanted to, really wanted to, Lory has a plan now. And when Takarada Lory puts his mind on something… You know the drill.

There isn't much he can do except play along and look where it takes them. Clearly a sensation he doesn't like.
For the last years now Ren was calculating all kinds of things. In fact everything he had the slightest bit of control over. Despite repressing the memories with all his might he still remembers the times when he wasn't in control. Not a time he wants to repeat.

So he is trying to think of what is going to happen to him this day. Hard to tell. Since Lory is involved there really isn't much that couldn't happen.
Well, except maybe that she would throw herself at him. Not that he wants that. Why would he want such a thing?
After all she isn't what he thought she was like.

...Right?

She is so different to what he had imagined. It's not as if he had a firm grasp on her character after those few minutes in the same room with her. Who could?
She seemed to be a polite and friendly person. But the moment the doctor asked her about that evening she closed up instantly.
Not surprisingly, really.
Given the circumstances everyone would try to forget what had happened. But it wasn't like it would be for 'everyone'. It wasn't just one bad thing that had happened to her that night. One misfortune that would be a part of her life from now on. Probably even change her.

The way she talked… like her whole life was a bad dream she couldn't wake up from.

'It will never be safe.'

Those words still ring in his ears. Branded in his mind.
Together with that sad, resigned smile on her face as she said them.
They will be another one of those unwanted trophies inside his head he will have to carry around with him from now on.

And then those things she had under her skin. Things she didn't even know of as it seems.

But she knows the people who did it - the attack, those metallic items. She knows who did those things to her. That much was obvious.

What else had they done to her?

Stop it!

He can't go down that rabbit hole. He wouldn't find the way back out again.

The car stops in a place he is fairly familiar with now. Holding the door open the driver lets them exit the vehicle and gets then back to his seat, waiting for their return.

Takarada's always present aid greets them inside the hospital, awaiting them just far enough from the entrance so they wouldn't be seen from the outside. Following him through the hallways it doesn't take long until they reach the one room Ren would have found even without any help.

Not that Ren hasn't been there only two days prior. He still doesn't know and honestly, can't even imagine what Lory had to say to her that day, but maybe he would find out in a few moments.

Lory sits in a chair in the middle of the place, looking out of the window. He only turns around when the door is closed securely behind them. With her legs dangling from the side of the bed she scans them as soon as they enter the room.
It's still unsettling.

"There you are." Rising from his position Lory indicates from the sitting girl to the new arrivals. "Kyoko-san, Kotonami Kanae and Tsuruga Ren. They will aid you out of this place."

With a friendly smile she gets down from the bed and bows deeply. "Kotonami-san, Tsuruga-san. Thank you for helping me out. I am grateful for your kind offer and feel deeply indebted to you."

With a deep frown Kanae looks from her to her boss. "What exactly would it be we're supposed to 'aid' here, shachou?"

A smile is playing on his lips. "You see Kotonami-kun, there are people following Kyoko-san around and we need a way to get her out without anybody noticing who she actually is."

Kanae comprehends this for a moment with knitted brows. "You mean I took hours out of my packed schedule to come here and play a walking clothes rack?!"

"So it seems." He says smiling fully at her. She is so quick! One of the reasons why Kanae was one of his best.

She doesn't even glare at him so used to it she is already. Honestly, he had given her way worse "missions" before. This would be a piece of cake compared to some unmentionable ones. "How long do I need to stay?"

"At least an hour I would say."

With a nod she looks around. "Where can I change?"

He motions to the bathroom. "There is a set of clothes prepared for you."

Of course there is. With another nod she turns and walks past her strangely quiet colleague.

"Excuse me, Kotonami-san?"

She stops and turns to the girl. "Hm?"

"Before you change could you show me how you get into a car?"

Three sets of eyes are on her.
Kanae is confused for a second before comprehending what she wants.
Lory, calculating something in his head, steps away from the chair to make room for her. This girl is surprising him again and again. And he knows her only for two days!

Kanae finds out that it is surprisingly hard to imagine to get into a car. A chair is not a car seat. And honestly, who thinks about how you enter a car? Except when you wear a certain kind of clothes, but even then, the only thing you do consciously is keeping your knees together or not twisting too much when your dress doesn't have straps. That kind of things.
She tries it a few times until the girl thanks her with another bow and nice words.

Honestly, when she is about to copy her to get out of here she shouldn't bow that much. Kotonami Kanae is not that submissive or humble. But how would she know? They don't know a thing about each other.

After Kanae is done Kyoko goes changing. She wonders silently how this girl will be able to walk the whole way to the car, since her ankle is still bandaged and she needs to use crutches. They should have told her beforehand what was going to happen, so she could have faked an injury and limped her way to this place.

"How is this supposed to work? She can barely stand, let alone walk. In those boots nonetheless?" Kanae asks looking at her boss. He really should've talked to her before this.

"That won't be a problem, Kotonami-kun. She will use Ren to lean on. A bit crying and people will think you visited a dying acquaintance of yours or the like." Kanae visibly bristled just thinking about such a fake act. Her, doing any of those things in public! And with him! If the media got wind of this whole scheme she would be branded as 'Tsuruga Ren's girlfriend' forever. No Kotonami Kanae anymore, only 'The girlfriend of...' and of course nobody would believe her refusals to be true! All her hard work to be recognized would be for naught!

"That won't be necessary, Takarada-san. I can walk just fine." Kyoko says closing the bathroom door behind her. Walking like there is no problem at all. "It probably wouldn't be a good idea anyway, since Kotonami-san certainly isn't the kind of person to cry in public." All eyes are staring at her again. This time in wonder.

She has completely changed, not only the clothes, but her whole appearance. Her stance, the way she moves. Her aura. It's like there is a different person standing in front of them.
A person that seems eerily similar to the only other woman in the room.

Hi guys :) Long time no see...

How are you? I'm fine I guess. Quite a lot of work to do and not much free time... But hey, I got a bit of this thingy written!

Isn't that awesome?

So I'm sitting here, listening to the Doctor Who soundtracks (because I totally love Doctor Who! Who else?) and try to get my mind in order to continue this one. Because it needs to be finished some day... doesn't it?

in the far far future... ;)

But it's really not easy. I'm a bit out of this story since I haven't worked on it in quite a while. I haven't worked on anything if I'm honest.

I will continue it anyway! What better way is there to get back into something than just doing it. Right?

Thank You for all your kind reviews! They make me unbelievably happy. (I'm just going to ignore that one rambly one, which didn't say more than I should be grateful for every 'Update UPDATE!' thingy I get... do you think it is possible for you to use some kind of punctuation? at least one period every few words? It's really hard to read, you know...)

Thank You for reading and for staying with me all this time.

I really appreciate that!

Love you guys :)

Ja ne

Kia