A/N:*sighs* I'm really sorry for having you wait for a long time. This is officially my last time uploading before my finals, so please forgive me! I'll come back again once I'm finished with the exams, which is like what, 11 Nov? Yeah, basically that's the last day, but I guess with all the Graduation Night and all, I'll be officially back by 13/14 Nov.
Disclaimers: I do not own any of the Skip Beat! characters, but I do own my characters. Contains OOC elements and mild gore/vulgarities/blah blah blah. You know what I mean.
Please enjoy the sixteenth chapter!
Chapter 16: Spoken words
"And… that's about it." Ren had just finished explaining why he was behaving oddly, to Kyoko's simplest description, that morning.
The aforementioned actress sat on the couch, blinking dumbly at her senpai. He mentioned something about a woman who knows about her. If anything, she would've thought that it would be Shotaro's mother, but that couldn't be true. After all, Fuwa-san never liked going to places like Hawaii.
The next one on her mind is… but, that can't be true! She left… she left when I was six! Why would Shion-kun know about her anyway? He doesn't even know me when we first—huh?
She remembered that phrase he used before she mistook him as one of the Beagles. Now that I think about it, he sounded like he knew about me…
"Kyoko?" Ren was waiting for some sort of response from his lady love. She was so silent that he suspected that she stoned halfway throughout his explanation.
"Ah… um… I don't know how to respond to that, but Ren-san, didn't you say before?" Kyoko looked down at her lap.
"Huh?"
"Shion-kun will tell me everything when the time comes."
There was an awkward silence as Lory and Kanae exchanged expressionless stares. Both of them stood up from their seats, attracting the attentions of the couple-to-be (according to Lory).
"Well, have a nice chat." Lory smiled, "I will pick Shion up."
"Eh?" Kyoko looked at him in confusion, "Do you know where he is?"
"No. But I'm sure we'll work it out, isn't that right, Kotonami-kun?" Lory looked at Kanae, who sighed.
"That's the plan."
"But Moko-san—"
"No buts! I'll give you a call when we get him." Kanae patted on her head before heading out of the room with Lory.
An even more heavy silence settled in now that they are alone. Kyoko felt like her heart would jump out of her mouth any minute. W-Why is this happening?! I-I'm not ready to be alone with Ren-san yet…
Ren, on the other hand, was kind of nervous. He wondered if it's the aftereffect of 'behaving like an unreasonable teenager' as Lory had said, or is it because of the unintentional confession he made in public this morning.
I have to say something.
"Kyoko." He called out softly, catching the girl's attention.
"Y-Yes?"
"About this morning…" He swallowed dryly. How am I supposed to go about this?
This morning…? Kyoko tilts her head to a side for a short second before she realized what he was talking about. I-It must be about the confession!
"I want you to know that it wasn't intentional." Ren said, avoiding eye contact. He had a premonition that if he made eye contact with the cutie honey before him, his restraints might just snap like a twig.
"Eh?" Kyoko felt a prick at her chest, where her heart is. She didn't know why, but she was upset. "It's fine, Ren-san! I'm sure that was just a means to stop that idiot from exposing our identities!"
Ren looks at her incredulously. That's how she took it?
"P-Plus…" She felt ridiculously angry with the idea that she unconsciously whispered. "You just see me as a sister, right?"
Ren wanted to scream in frustration, but alas, this is Kyoko: the denser than the densest object in the whole world living thing. He needed to approach this matter in a roundabout way, without alerting her too much.
"No, that's not it." He leaned forward, gripping his knees, staring at her intently, "That was also a part of the act. I would never see you as just a sister."
When Kyoko blinked in confusion, Ren knew that if he did this in the usual way, he will never get her to see him as a man.
"If you don't man up, then Kyoko-chan would be taken by someone else."
His eyebrow twitched ever so slightly at the remembrance of Shion's words.
"I won't say that I regret it." He continued, reaching out to take her hand in his, "I love you, Kyoko."
Kyoko froze with her eyes wide and shocked. What…? D-Did he just say…
"I know you're still hurting, I know you're still not ready, but I can't bear to see you thinking about another man in front of me." He figured that since he came this far, he might as well make his feelings clear to her.
"Eh?"
"I won't need you to answer me right away." Ren tightened his grip on her hand, his brown eyes blazing with determination, "I will wait for you, no matter how long it takes, so…"
Snapping out of whatever that was clouding her mind, Kyoko withdrew her hand from Ren's unusually warm one, willing herself not to show any obvious expressions.
Ren felt as if a sword struck him deep in his chest, killing him. Of course she's going to run away. There were many times she did that, but this time, she's going for good. She'll never come back…
"Um… I…" Kyoko stood up and shook her head, "E-Excuse me!" With that she turned and ran out of the room.
Ren sat there, hopeless and miserable. He heaved a year's worth sigh and dropped his head into his hands. He wished he never said that. If Kyoko rejects him from her life, he will never be able to stand up anymore.
What should I do now? I don't want to lose her…
Meanwhile, a group of grown men cornered a girl into a dark alley, trying to hold her down when she started thrashing against their grips.
"Hey." A boy's voice called out from behind and they turned back with irate expressions.
Standing at the entrance was a figure with the hood of his sleeveless white top pulled over his head. The darkness shadowed his face as he started approaching the group, "It's a crime if the feeling's not mutual."
"Hah? Mind your own business, brat." One of them slurred.
The boy lifted his head slightly, showing them the dangerous slits of blue glinting murderously, "Sorry, I'm not in a good mood now. It's either you leave quietly or you die here."
With those words, he riled the men up. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"
"…" There was a brief silence before the boy raised a finger and wiggled it provocatively, "Enough chit chatting. Come at me if you don't intend to leave."
"You asked for it!" The five of them charged at him.
Dodging the first strike, the boy jabbed a fist into the first attacker's ribs, effectively cracking the bones and sending him back to the ground. The man coughed out blood painfully, cradling his chest.
The next attack swept the hood off his head, revealing his gold ochre hair. The boy smirked, showing his ivory set of pointy teeth as he ducked the lariat and smashed his head into the second attacker's jaw. A few filthy yellow teeth flew out from his mouth together with thick crimson liquid as he stumbled backwards, holding onto his fatally injured part.
"Damn it!" Shion heard the cry and glanced to the side just in time to see the silver flash from the third man's hand just as he lunges the pocket knife at him. The blade stabbed into the heart of his palm when he lifts it up to grab the weapon.
Closing his fingers over the fist, Shion applied pressure, fracturing the bones beneath the skin with his inhumane strength. The man yelped in pain, trying to retrieve his breaking hand.
Shion positioned himself and flung the man into the wall to the side, forming a miniature crater before lowering his bleeding hand to the side. His cold and expressionless face directed towards the remaining men, cowering together with shaking knees. One of them even formed a puddle at his feet.
They started apologizing incoherently for their insolence, not that Shion paid attention. He formed a mock-gun with his fingers, and pointed at them, "Get lost. The next time I see you again, you'll not leave alive."
With manly shrieks, the men fled, leaving their unconscious comrades behind. Scoffing, Shion pulled out the blade sticking through his palm and tossed it onto the concrete ground.
When the metal hit the ground, he heard a frightened gasp. Turning his gaze to the teenage girl cornered by the cowards, he flashed an assuring smile, "Go on. You shouldn't be loitering out here."
Nodding frantically, the girl stumbled and sped out of the alley.
Shion sighed. He was inwardly glad that he hadn't killed any of them. He bent down and started looting the wallets.
He clucked his tongue, "Just this much with the three of them combined?"
And then he heard the sound of things dropping along with plastic bags. He turned around and saw Yashiro standing by the entrance of the alley with wide eyes and gaping mouth.
Right, with the suspense. Hang on for approximately one month and it'll be lifted. Entertain yourselves with other fanfics, mangas and animes! Oh, I'll introduce some animes to watch!
- Gingitsune (One of my current favorites: caught my heart the first time I watched it)
- Kuroko no Basket 2 (Another of my favorite)
- Strike the Blood (This is not that bad, honestly)
- Magi: The Kingdom of Magic (Yeah, another favorite)
- Golden Time (RomCom :D)
- Log Horizon (MMO anime like SAO)
- Tokyo Ravens (Not that bad...)
- Machine-Doll wa Kizutsukanai (I like the main guy. Strong, doesn't blush easily when approached by girls sensually, namely his doll)
- Kobato. (Makes me cry every time I watch it. It's too beautiful)
Well, yeah, basically, that's all I have atm. Most are new animes, but they are good.
Hope you enjoyed it!
Please R&R!