CHAPTER 86

I do not own skip beat! Yoshiki Nakamura does.

First Trip and Its Wonders: Part 10

She made a detour on purpose, enjoying the cold night of the evening and frosty air coming out of her lips each time she breathed. It started to snow as she walked in all indolence. Her light feet made the snow crunch under her steps, creating a wandering sluggish atmosphere in the penumbra of the falling night. Flakes fell all around, twinkling and shiny in contrast to the darkness. Some caught in her lashes and she closed her eyes, spinning on herself. Smiling. At this minute, this second, this instant, she was free. Chains of life slacked around her, unable to contain her. As she progressed on a brisk white ground, in a cold evening and pulled further her bonnet on her head to cover her ears, she was no one and everyone. Just a person amongst countless others, meandering through a thick snowfall in the evening of the night. No limit, no reality check. No, can't do this, can't do that. No, can't be this, can't be that. Just fresh tingling air on her cheeks and in her lungs, and footsteps smashing softly the white powder to the rhythm of numerous gaits.

That was the freedom only nature could give her.

When she finally came back, she was so cold her nose hurt from the frost's bite, and a tint tired from the walk. But she was also beaming and fully relaxed. At last.

She breached open the wood log door carefully, trying to not let enter the windy snow inside and wiped her shoes on the doormat, before removing them and grabbing a pair of slippers. She hung her coat and cap in the entry closet.

She could hear easy banter instantly, coming from the living room. It was softly spoken, however, and it made her realize some of Ren's friends might be already sleeping. Thinking she should pay attention too, with the creaking planks of the cabin, she set her mind on taking a shower and thread carefully on the ground without passing on the slippers. She was certain she was smelling awfully with all the smokes, and wanted to wash it off. She thought she would bid goodnight to the awoke ones once she would have cleaned some. Sniffing her clothes discreetly made her regret smoking so much. She had never taken so much of them at once. She knew why but she still wasn't happy with herself.

She padded her way towards the stairs, trying to not bother anyone and stepped on the first step when a huge hand landed on her shoulder, making her jump a good inch in the air with a barely contained shocked yelp when she remembered last second she was still supposed to be quiet.

Next instant was enough for her to recognize who owned that hand, and she glared softly at Ren as she turned around. His laid-back comfy pullover made him look too cute, especially with his messy hair caused by the black hood she could glimpse at his back, and her scowl slipped from her face.

"You nearly made me jump out of my skin." She whispered at him.

"Sorry." He said with a small smile but it was replaced with concern soon.

"I'm glad you're back. You were gone for a while. You okay?"He asked.

She nodded.

"I'm alright. I just met an old friend and it took a while." She explained before sniffing herself again. "I'm going to take a shower and change, I must smell awful, right now. Are many of the others still awake?"

"It's just me, Koga, Kijima, and Taku, the others went to bed."He said and closed in on her to scent her.

"It's not that bad but you do smell like cigarettes," He said after a second, "did you meet your friend in a bar or something?"

She waved in the negative, stepping up the stair to place some distance between them. She did not want to incommode him, despite how polite he was, and honestly she had already had too many close quarters with him for today.

"No, I'm the guilty one. I smoked a little earlier." She admitted, and didn't know how to take his surprise when he heard this.

"You smoke?"

"Not regularly."

And it's your fault I broke my limits.

"Hmm…"He said, staring at her for a prolonged time.

" … anyway, "she began again, "I'm going to change. Would you prefer I'd let you stay with the others for tonight? Or are you all going to bed soon?"

He frowned and shook his head.

"You're tired?"

She frowned back. Only a little from the walk but she was not ready to rest her brain yet. She thought she would read some before sleeping if they preferred to be left alone.

"I'm good, why?"

"Then, please come back down."

"But, won't I bother?"She inquired. "If you are having a guy's evening, I can let you be, you know."

He pulled out the puppy eyes, and she stepped back with raised hands.

"Okay-okay, I'll come back down, don't pull out your weapons!" She grumbled in a hushed tone.

"Weapons?" He questioned with a tilted grin and some puzzlement seeping in. She ignored him, however, and directly climbed two-by-two the stairs, anchoring herself to her shoulder bag while she did so.

She came back twenty minutes later, all freshened up and having thoroughly rubbed away the stench of smoke from her clothes and hair. It wasn't the best for her hair but it was better than keeping the smell. She slipped on as comfy clothes as she could find that weren't PJ. Smooth long white pants that felt good on her skin and kept her warm and a dropped shoulders V-neck midnight blue sweater that fell under her butt but was thin enough to not make her overheated by the fireplace. She had grabbed one of her books, just in case, and she tiptoed down towards the living room, crossing paths with Taku coming out, and wishing her a good evening.

She peeked inside, finding Kijima and Koga having a drink on the couch, and Ren reading a script in the chair.

"Kyoko-chan."Exclaimed Kijima when he spotted her. "You are joining the beasts."

She snorted. She grabbed a plaid and dropped both on the side of the fireplace.

"I hope you didn't drink too much, Kijima-san, I don't want to carry you again."

He groaned and turned just the slightly bit paler.

"Please, I do not want to remember that night."

" … me neither." Said Ren, his eyes riveted on his script. "A song has been haunting me ever since, and I could never find the origin of it."

Kyoko chortled.

Koga's eyes bored into all of them with an intense gleam.

"It seems to have a very interesting story between those lines, care to share?"

Kyoko grinned.

"I think I should if we do, I must be the one with the best recollection of events out of us three."

Both Ren and Kijima groaned.

Koga's expression turned into a feral grin.

"Please do."

She arched a brow in direction of other two in question, and they nodded, resigned.

"I'm going to make hot cocoa. Anyone interested?"

Kijima and Koga accepted. Ren declined but went with her to the kitchen. They came back a few minutes later with hot mugs.

"Since we are talking about it, maybe you know about the song?"Ren asked her as they sit back.

"I do, actually."

Quoting it, she asked, carefully avoiding to sing it, "Does it start akin to this: What a day, what a day … it's a good day to carry a potatoes' sack?"

"Yes. That's it." Ren said, eyeing her suspiciously. "You wouldn't happen to know who sang it and how I happen to know it, by any chance?"

"Well, of course, I know. I invented it." She told him, and added with a big smile, because she knew she was threading in dangerous waters and needed to set things clear before he would get ideas. "I sang it very wrong, as you now know how limited I'm in that area, but I invented the words when I was pissed and carrying you during that time." She told him, innocently.

He was pale.

"Come again?"Koga said.

"You invented it?" Ren asked, confirming, slowly, eyes fixed at her like an eagle. "You invented those words? Words that had been haunting me for years?"

She nodded, pinching her lips in a suppressed smile.

"I'm afraid so."

Ren dropped his head backwards with a groan while Kijima and Koga chuckled.

Koga came to sit on his knees in front of her by the fireplace, startling her. He was hugging his mug like an eager kid. He put it aside carefully. Then, he bowed to her, respectfully, deeply.

"Ô Kyoko-sama, please do retell this story, I will die if I don't know what happened." With an overexcited twinkle in his eyes.

She eyed the other two again, checking they were still okay with it, before she started.

"Well," she said, "all started when I received a call from an inebriated Kijima…"

" … then came the struggle to enter the club…"

Koga bobbed his head patiently, drinking her words, and waiting for the pin to drop.

" … then, there was the issue of getting him out, without people recognizing him to avoid a scandal…"

"What did you do, then?"

She grinned.

"I transformed into a raccoon."

Koga blinked at her, while Kijima was shaking, in remembrance. The sight had been something after all.

" … could you please repeat, Kyoko-chan, I don't think I heard you right.."

"You heard me right."

"A raccoon?"

"Huh-huh."

Koga looked at his friend – the one pretending to not be embarrassed and reading his script – then back towards her. Then again. He twisted his head. Looked at her again. Very seriously.

"Could you please tell me … what exactly "transforming into a raccoon" entails?"

She pinched her lips.

"A punk raccoon, to be clearer."

Koga's eye twitched.

"Please."

"Make-up and shredded clothes."She succinctly said.

"Please, tell me you have a picture." Koga said.

"I do."

"You still have it?"Kijima asked.

She nodded.

"You kept it? After five years?"Ren asked. "I told you I was keeping it. And you are far too cute on that to erase it."

Silence followed her comment. Until.

"Show me!" Koga demanded with delight in the voice.

Ren groaned. She looked at him with an arched brow, and he sighed.

"He will never let me hear the end of it."

She nodded, readied herself to deny Koga but this one was having none of it.

"Please, dude. Knowing you, I'm even sure you were able to pull it off." Koga said, waving it away and actually begging, begging Ren to let him see.

Kyoko snorted. She had forgotten how much Koga liked to gossip. She remembered he could be very snappy but she had forgotten that part. Between him and Kijima who was a true playboy, she had to wonder where Ren fit in. She knew he hated gossiping, he was just not like that, and she could even guess it was even worse because of his childhood. And while she had tried to blame his behaviour on a playboy attitude, she knew it was never on purpose and that at heart, he really wasn't the type. And she knew Ren didn't share much of the interests of Kijima. On the other side, she also knew both other men were kind and very dedicated to acting. So, she guessed it was there Ren had found common ground. And while they could be goofy, it was never in the intention to cause harm. Once again, she felt glad he had found true friends, friends that he could trust, no matter how different.

He sighed and stood, walking to Kyoko and sitting crossed legs by her side.

"Let me see if it's as bad as I remember."

She pulled out her phone, unlocking it and fishing out the pictures of years ago until her screen finally showed it. A drowsy Ren, with dark painted lips, heavy make-up around the eyes, black nails, and clothes cut in shredded stripes around the knees and thighs.

Ren looked at it for a good second, shaking his head.

"You had really outdone yourself, honestly."

"Fine," he said at last, "you can show him. But you'd better behave." He added towards Koga.

Koga swore, with stars in the eyes, before jumping to the other side of her. She tilted her phone in his direction.

The man stared. And stared, and stared. Then, he began to shake.

"Some people are still sleeping." She warned when she saw what was about to happen and he stuffed his fist in his mouth as he bent, cackling madly.

" … you … did-d … this." He said between hiccups, and she nodded with a smile.

" … and the song?"He asked after a little while, not quite calm but better.

"…"

"…"

She looked back at Ren, and he waved his hand as if he were saying it wouldn't change anything now. She patted his knee.

"...I was carrying Ren and was kinda pissed he wouldn't wake up so I started to invent a little rhyme." She explained.

"Please, retell the whole thing."

She spoke the whole silly song she had invented to them.

Tears were streaming down Koga's face by the end of it. He looked at Ren, briefly, mumbled raccoon and fell back in a fit.

Ren sighed, leaning the side of his head on her shoulder.

"… I should have made you erase that picture, years ago."

She gasped in mock outrage but could not help a little laugh to come out.

"No way, it is my treasure."

He hummed in response, looking distracted. But then, he said.

"Okay, then."

Next day started easy. They all skied until mid afternoon, then her and Ren trained Ken-san some more. Naturally, everyone learnt about the picture and asked to see it. And after many sighs, Ren resigned himself, as sitting for a break on one of the slopes, they all laughed at it. He let it go humorously. The end of the first week finished faster than Kyoko had imagined, and she finally managed to get that special move right on Sunday. Sho proposed her to see each other again so she could meet his girlfriend. But she was left unsure if it was a good idea. Quite frankly, it has been so long, and she still had a hard time wrapping her mind around this new version of Sho. On top of it, she really didn't want to upset said girlfriend. So, she had told him she would think about it for the time being. He had proposed Saturday, two days before their own group would leave, so she had ample of time to decide herself.

As today was only Tuesday.

They had skied in the morning but weather had got rawer and icier as the day progressed, and they had decided to come back to the cabin and see if it was better again later. For her part, Kyoko was planning to not go out on the slopes again for today. The wind was too stingy and strong to her taste. Ren and some of his friends were really hoping to be able to get back on them later, however. The machines had groomed all the slopes, and since it was cold, no many people had skied on that day, making the condition to ski on them much more enjoyable. Both because they would not that many people sliding on them and because the frozen streaks made by the machines after the grooming would have remained. She understood the feeling, and had to agree those kinds of conditions made it better, but maybe she was just not as big of a fan of skiing as they were, or it was her lack of more comfortable experience. In any case, she'd rather stay in and try again the next day.

She had settled by the fire to read under some warm cover and she heard the group saying they were going to shop for next morning breakfast and have a drink in the meantime. She thought she heard them say they would be back in a couple of hours but she must have been already napping at the time because the words jumbled in her head, hardly making sense.

When she woke her from her nap, it was slowly starting to darken outside, and still lying down, she blinked at her phone, seeing the digits telling her it was five p.m. something.

She put her fingers on her face drowsily, trying to hide her eyes from the light, it was too bright. Wait, that didn't make sense. She just saw it was darkening outside the cabin.

That's when the flashing lights came back, with red and yellow coloured tones, and her eyes eventually cleared, making out the lit screen of the TV from her upside-down position.

She blinked again, trying to make sense of what the screen was saying. She looked at it for a while, not awake enough to care to turn her head. But then, it tilted. She jumped sit with a start, eyes locked on the screen. She sent a few messages to ask where they were but no response came. She rushed upstairs, rubbing her face to remove the sleep of it, and knocked on doors. When no reply came out, she peeked inside but the bedrooms were empty.

She came back downstairs, making a beeline to where she had been to grab back her phone and see if anyone had responded. But no matter where she looked she couldn't put her hand back on it. Come on, where had she put it?

She peeked at the window showing the outdoors. It was snowing big time.

"Kyoko-san." Someone called, and she jumped high before turning around with relief. Mei-san. She will know where everyone is, so that she can warn them.

"You scared me. But I'm glad you here." Kyoko said, approaching her. "Do you know where everyone is?"

Mei-san smiled at her, and it made Kyoko paused for a second, it had looked genuine.

"I came back earlier with Ren-san and Ken-kun," she told her, pulling at the coat she had on, "The others are at a cafe down the station, having a hot cocoa. Ken-kun must be in the soundproof room right this moment, playing music. I'm glad you are here too, to be honest" – she added – , "I'm a bit worried, and I thought you might have an idea." Mei-san said. "I was preparing myself to go back out but since you are up-"

Kyoko frowned at her, not getting it.

"What do you mean?"

Mei looked at the door leading outside, biting at her lip.

"When we came back earlier, Ren-san said he would go take a few slopes, before they would close for the day."

A seeping feeling, sour syrupy at the back of her tongue. A shake in her extremities.

"When was it?"She demanded.

"One hour ago. He isn't replying his messages."

An emotion as old as time filled her veins like corrupted poison. Terror.

"Did you try the others? There is a storm and a risk of – "

She nodded and cut her.

"I know. I saw the announcement. That's why I'm worried. And don't you think I tried?"She asked harshly but Kyoko nodded. Not the time to argue.

"I've got a response from Kijima half an hour ago," she added with a faraway look, "saying they were still all at the cafe, I can only hope it's still the case."

Kyoko nodded again.

"But Ren-san not responding is-" Mei-san said again, and Kyoko returned to her search of her phone, not wanting her to finish this sentence.

"Did you happen to see my phone, by any chance?"

The petite woman shook her head with a worried frown.

"Do you want me to look for it with you?"She proposed but Kyoko stopped, realizing it was useless to pursue this when there was more important.

"You have your own, right?" She asked Mei-san as she stood back, and the girl nodded, showing it to her. "Yes, I have it."

"Can you keep trying to join them, warn them there is a risk of avalanches and that a bad storm is coming? Send it to all of them."

The girl nodded quickly, and began to type on her phone.

Kyoko looked back outside, witnessing as the snow kept falling more and more. She turned back to the screen, hoping to have more news about it, but there was nothing.

"We are going to wait for a little." Kyoko said, trying to control herself, and Mei frowned but nodded. "See if they reply or know where he is. Keep messaging them." Mei-san nodded again.

Seconds ticked by, minutes passed. A quarter had passed and still no answer.

Kyoko began to look at Mei-san every few minutes in hope one of them would have responded to her messages. But each time, she would shake her head.

When she wasn't looking at Mei, she was looking outside, keeping a keen eye on how the weather was evolving or worsening.

They reached 45 minutes, and Kyoko looked back at Mei once more. And once again, she shook her head.

"I'm getting really worried, Kyoko-san." She said, as she started to pace. "This is not normal."

"I agree." She admitted, staring again through the window, and trying to keep her calm for the Mei sake. It wouldn't do if they both panicked. Was it her or was the snow falling less?

"It will be okay." She added, for both of them, trying to be convincing and slowly counting down in her head.

"You don't know that!"Mei-san cried out.

She didn't answer. It was true. She didn't. She refused to hear it, however. He could only be alright.

She looked at Mei again.

"Still no message?"

"Stop asking me this all the time. I already told you there wasn't."She said, and Kyoko felt bad for her. She must be feeling so frustrated, right now.

She nodded at her, and stared back at the window. It hadn't been her imagination. It was barely snowing now.

"I'm going."She said suddenly, and looked at her with teary eyes and a shocked expression.

"It might not be the best – "

But Kyoko cut her.

"I know. But considering the conditions, we cannot wait to see and just hope everything is fine."Kyoko said, already moving.

Mei-san nodded, relief in her eyes, despite her previous word. The girl must be so worried for Ren, right now. She left bad for her jealousy of a few days earlier.

"I'm going to look around if I find him," she started, "He might very well have taken shelter in a restaurant or something and his phone is dead."

She slipped her coat, her boots and her gloves on.

"Keep messaging them, and try calling them too. Ask them if they know where he is." Mei-san nodded, clenching her phone in her hand. "I will."

"We never know, he might have joined them back, seeing the weather was too bad."

"Yes."

She slipped on her scarf.

"But are you sure you'll be fine, Kyoko-san?" The girl asked. "What they said earlier was – "

"The snow stopped." She cut with a reassuring smile that was just for Mei, as she was not feeling it, "Look," – she said as she opened the cabin's door – , "snow has mostly stopped, I'll be fine".

Mei nodded, smiling a little, and Kyoko was glad she had managed to reassure the girl.

"Okay. Be careful, Kyoko-san."

She nodded and stepped outside, and the cabin's door closed.

It was now or never.

Please be safe and inside. She thought.

In the cabin, a finger pressed hardly on two buttons, and two phones went out. Pocketted in some pants, they lied there, unknown and deaf to anyone.

PS: Forgive me because i have sinned. I committed the crime of drama.

People said they liked it. I wasn't going deprive those faithful ones and me a little spice.

Also, i know, the cliffhanger is properly immoral. But The Duckie and The LadyJirachi whispered in my ear I should do it. And you know, it's like Kyoko's minions, no chance to escape it.

Respectfully yours.

And besides that, i hope you are all healthy, perky, happy, and not dying.

Kisses to everyone,

Mimagfan.

AUTHOR OUT.