Sorry it's taken so long for this chapter. It wasn't my plan for it to take so long to write it, at most I thought a week. But I've been really busy and I'm struggling a little with ideas beyond this point. The entire fanfic was created so that Ren could say that line from the last chapter and the situations it would cause. Once you understand the direction I'm heading in send me your ideas. I need them!

Disclaimers apply

Chapter Four Wife?!

Bright! Kyoko had to shield her eyes from the sun when she reached the deck. Upon seeing the view she gasped. It was beautiful, the boat might not have been top notch but the sea was gorgeous. At the corner of her eye she saw fairies at the edge of the boat and ran to them. "Kyoko, over here," they called to her. She started dancing around with them and looked at everything they pointed out to her. At one point she leaned so far over the railing that sea water sprayed in her face, she squealed in her delight. More fairies started appearing towards the center of the deck so she wandered over there.

"…other people to find?" Kyoko heard vaguely. She was too distracted to even remember there were other people on the boat. The fairies started doing a trick and she watched them intently and clapped when their performance was done.

"…pretty little thing?" Kyoko was still lost in her world of fantasy when she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist and pull her away from her new friends. She looked up to see her sempai with a new smile on his face, a mischievous one.

Kyoko snapped back into reality just in time to hear him say, "She's my wife." Kyoko's face visibly paled and she had the look on her face of a deer in headlights. Ren risked a glance down at her to see how she was handling what she said, and if she had even heard it. Well at least she's not flipping out.

Inside Kyoko's head the cogs were trying to work. They couldn't grind from confusion and kept twitching trying to figure out what was said. Eventually the machine in her head broke down and smoke started rising from failure of making sense of the comment and situation.

As Old Man Tucker looked on at the young couple he thought her reaction was that of an embarrassed new bride. He came to the conclusion that they must have been on their honey moon when their ship sank. "I'm on my way back to Cadian Island, I'll take you two with me and from there we can figure out how to get you back home." Ren nodded at him in assent and Kyoko continued her look of deer in headlights, Old Man Tucker chuckled as he walked away.

Ren let go of her waist to grab her hand to drag her back into the dark room they had woken up in. Kyoko was still in shock and had to be tugged a couple times before she budged. Neither one of them could see once back into the dark room, This is it, I've died. I imagined Tsuruga-san saying something impossible and now the Gods have punished me for it. I've been sentenced to spend the rest of my eternity in the dark. Kyoko squatted down and wrapped her arms around her legs to endure the sentence for all of time.

Ren waited a couple minutes to talk so that his eyes could adjust, at least now he could see her outline. He bent down and grabbed one of her hands as he said, "Mogami-san, please stand up." She looked up and stood up only because Ren was pulling her hand.

Once again the cogs in Kyoko's brain tried to figure out how her most esteemed sempai could be punished with her for all eternity. "H..how?" was all she could manage.

Ren wasn't sure what was going on in her head so he figured it would be best to start out apologizing. "I'm sorry Mogami-san. I should have warned you before saying something like that." Ren looked at her trying to search for a reaction but he couldn't see her features in the dark.

"Wait…I didn't imagine that?" Kyoko asked.

She thinks she imagined it? "No, I said you are my wife." Kyoko almost collapsed when she heard his conformation but Ren still had hold of her hand and pulled her close to prevent her from falling and put his other arm around her waist.

Ren couldn't see it but Kyoko's mind was going in circles trying to figure out why and her eyes showed confusion while looking up at her tall sempai. "W-why?"

"Because it was the best way I could think of to protect you." Ren was having trouble keeping himself under control. All he had to do was lean down and he would be able to kiss her.

"Protect me?" Kyoko stammered, she didn't have the ability to say or think a more complicated thought. The machine in her head was still smoking.

Ren sighed as he attempted to explain his thought process in hopes she would accept it and play along. "Ms. Mogami, we don't know where we are. The man who owns this boat is Old Man Tucker, now we don't know who he is either. He says he will take us to Cadian Island, I've never heard of such an island between Japan and California. There will be even more people there we don't know. Judging from Old Man Tucker no one will know us as celebrities and so will have no knowledge. They will believe that you are my wife and it is a husband's job to protect the woman he loves. So while we are in unknown territory this gives me the right to protect you and no one will question it." Plus no men will try and woo you.

Kyoko's brain finally started to work again and she blinked a couple times to clear her eyesight. "Oh, I see Tsuruga-san. Can you please let go of me now, I promise I won't collapse." Ren begrudgingly let go of her and saw her silhouette bow. "I'm sorry Tsuruga-san that you have to do so much to protect me when it was my job to accompany you to America but I can protect myself."

Ren had started to smile at her but then stared in shock when she said she could protect herself. "Mogami-san, don't you remember what happened with the stalker?" Ren would never be able to forget the incident.

"Of course Tsuruga-san," she said straightening up "but after you arrived I was no longer scared. Your presence gave me strength to fight the Beagle." Kyoko couldn't see it but she didn't have to, her sempai was smiling his heavenly smile. All her grudge Kyokos ran in fear of the man before them.

Ren couldn't help himself any longer and wrapped her in a hug. "I will protect you Mogami-san, you have more than the strength of my presence." Ren let her go and went through the door that led back to the deck. Kyoko stood dumb struck looking after him. She felt like she had that time when he had hugged her while they were on location and he had just scared the Beagle off. Her brain had stopped working again, not from confusion but because it was frozen. Seeing his form in the bright doorway got it working again. He reminded her of something…or someone. She followed him out the door trying to figure it out but once she saw the sea the thought left her mind and she forgot all about it.