Chapter 8: Can You Stay Forever?
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Skip Beat, for if I did, Ren would have given her a white day gift by now.
Kyoko bowed to the team of Yappa Kimagure Rock after the show, thanking them for their hard work. Hikaru stopped her on her way to change out of her Bo costume and asked if she wanted to have dinner. She respectfully declined like usual, stating that she had dinner plans already. The other Ishibashi brothers teased their leader for once again failing to get Kyoko to notice him. Kyoko was oblivious to all this since her state of mind was actually in chaos. She was so nervous about the upcoming dinner with her senpai that she kept missing her cues as Bo.
She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that he would be doing the cooking. His behavior all day had been different. It wasn't a bad different but she wondered if she should be worried. There was only one occurrence when his dark side seeped out for a brief second. She recognized that aura as BJ then but she still had a feeling that it was Ren's other-self. She let out a frustrated sigh, there was no way she could ask him about it. He had something deeply hidden within him that he wasn't ready to share with anyone. She was saddened by the thought that he would never trust her enough to become his confidant.
Kyoko rendezvoused with Yashiro in the lobby of TBM. The manager still had no clue what she actually did there since he easily accepted her excuse that it was boring behind the scenes LoveMe work. In the car, Yashiro handed her the card key that Ren mentioned in his text earlier making her realize she had never texted him back. She pulled out her phone and sent him one quickly, I'm on my way.
Kyoko examined the card in her hand closely. It resembled those cards used in hotels to gain access to the guest rooms. She couldn't contain her delight when she flipped it over in her hand and squealed. The picture on the card was from Walt Disney's Beauty and the Beast animation. It was a screen capture of the scene where Belle and the Beast danced in the ballroom to the magical song Tale as Old as Time.
She covered her mouth embarrassed by her outburst and looked at Yashiro with an incredulous expression. "Yashiro-san, have you made some sort of mistake? Is this really Tsuruga-san's key?" As many times as she went to Ren's apartment, she never paid attention to how he actually opened the door.
Yashiro squirmed in his seat trying to contain his glee. He wanted to confess that Ren made that especially with her in mind when he found out he could customize the cards. Earlier, when Ren passed the card over, Yashiro couldn't stop himself from snickering. He wanted to tease Ren with every fiber of his being but the look in his charge's eyes made him bite his tongue.
"Your love of fairy tales must have rubbed off on him somehow," Yashiro responded keeping his eyes glued to the road. "Ren said he would be too busy with preparations to retrieve you from the lobby, with this you can just let yourself up. You need to use it in the elevator to activate Ren's VIP floor and then on the door with the code 1979." This was just Ren's sneaky way of giving her a key to his apartment.
They rode the remainder of the drive in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Neither one knew just how nervous the other was regarding tonight's dinner. Yashiro was so anxious about this cataclysmic event that his inner fangirl was having a panic attack, he prayed that Ren didn't screw it up.
Yashiro had an epiphany while he waited for the traffic light to turn green. He turned to Kyoko, "You know it's really late and it will probably be even later when dinner is over. Maybe you should let your landlord know that you will be staying at a friend's house. I'm sure Ren wouldn't mind opening his guest room for your use." He said it in such a way so as not to alarm Kyoko oh his underlying intentions. His inner fangirl pumped her pom-poms in the air cheering him on for doing his friend this one solid.
I might go to hell for depositing this innocent girl straight into the wolf's den. Yashiro convinced himself that Ren wasn't the type of guy to take advantage of an innocent girl like Kyoko. Even if he was in love with her, as Yashiro greatly suspected, he wouldn't try anything dubious like that with her, not this soon anyway, would he?
Kyoko nodded at the idea, "I'll clear it with Tsuruga-san first. I don't want to impose." It wasn't the first time she stayed the night in his apartment but now that she confirmed her feelings for him, she feared giving herself away. It was easy to disguise her feelings when she was hiding behind a role like Setsu but tonight she had to face him as herself.
Yashiro dropped her off in the parking garage where she could take the elevator up directly.
"Thank you, Yashiro-san. Please drive safely," Kyoko said as she bowed outside the car. "I will see you tomorrow morning."
"You're welcome, Kyoko-chan! Have a good night. Gambatte! " He drove away with an anxious heart. He did his part, it was now up to them. He had a feeling he wouldn't get a wink of sleep tonight.
Kyoko stopped outside of Ren's door trying to steady her nerves. You can do this Kyoko! You are an actress! Your Senpai is in there right now slaving away at the stove on your behalf. There's no running away. She took several deep breaths before lifting her hand then knocked on the door. Nothing. She knocked harder, still nothing. She pressed her ear against the door and heard a faint sound like music playing. He probably couldn't hear her because the music was too loud or what if he had an accident?
Her thoughts took a turn for the worse as she imagined him passed out on the floor in a pool of his own blood from a severed digit. Nooooooooooooooo! You can't be dead! Taking a deep breath she scanned the card, punched in the code and pulled open the door slowly. Loud music filled her ears as she peeked her head in doing a quick scan of the living room and finding it empty. She removed her shoes and dropped her bags by the door. She clutched her phone in case she needed to call emergency services. The song playing caught her attention since the instrumentation sounded like it was about to reach a crescendo. They had listened to a lot of English songs as the Heel siblings but she didn't recognize this one.
"Tsuruga-san?" she called when the lyrics started spewing out from the speakers. She made her way to the kitchen praying she didn't find his body lying cold on the floor. How would she be able to live with herself if she was responsible for his death? His fans would string her up for sure and she would welcome death. Living in a world without Tsuruga Ren was not worth it. She froze from shock at the entrance of the Kitchen and witnessed something priceless.
Ren slid the last egg onto the plate then raised the spatula in his hand towards his mouth in time with the song and lip-synced the words, "I'm in love with a shooting star, But she moves so fast, When she falls then, I'll be waiting..."
Kyoko unconsciously lifted her phone and pressed the camera button to take a picture of the scene before her. What she failed to remember was that her phone made a shutter noise when a picture was taken.
Ren's body went rigid for a second then he whipped around towards the sound. His whole face flamed up a furious shade of red, embarrassed at being caught. Kyoko pressed the button again capturing his blushing expression.
Kyoko's body trembled trying to hold in her laughter but it came out as a snort. Overcoming his embarrassment, he stalked towards her making Kyoko scurry away in retreat. She didn't get far. Ren snaked out his arm and caught her by the waist before she could make it to the middle of the living room. They tumbled to the floor with Ren maneuvering his body so it would take the brunt of the fall. She was in hysterics fighting to keep her phone out of his grasp. What she had was pure gold and no one was going to take it away from her. As punishment, Ren began tickling her in hopes that she would drop the phone.
They came to their senses when the song ended followed by a chorus of Kyoko's stomach growling loudly. It was her turn to feel embarrassed by her rowdy stomach. Ren chuckled and reached out a hand to help her up. "Come, my lady, your dinner awaits. I'll be right back."
Kyoko made to follow him but plowed into the solid wall that was his back when he stopped abruptly. "Sit!" he ordered her pointing at the coffee table.
Kyoko grumbled but did what she was told. She sat on the floor and started giggling as she recalled the scene she interrupted earlier. Ren's cool image was totally shattered in her eyes but her heart hummed with happiness. She was able to witness another side of Ren. I'll treasure this memory forever, she thought, stuffing her phone in her pocket in hope he would forget about the pictures she took tonight.
Ren placed their drinks and chopsticks on the table then went back into the kitchen. He returned with the main dishes setting Kyoko's plate in front of her. Her eyes widened and her mouth hung open in a wide "o" when she saw the meal he prepared. On her plate was a perfectly cooked hamburger steak with an egg on top along with white rice and a side salad.
She looked at Ren in astonishment, "You cooked this?" Ren nodded, very pleased with her reaction. "H- how, when?" she asked in amazement.
"Well, technically Cain did back in Guam. It was out of character but I had a lot of free time at night." She didn't need to know that he had attempted this meal every night with the aid of cooking videos until he got it right.
"But why?" Kyoko asked.
"For you, it's your favorite right?" he asked, unsure if he had made a mistake. He assumed it was her favorite based on her delighted face over this particular food when they played as kids and when she was his temporary manager.
She nodded unable to trust her voice and ducked her head to hide the blush dusting her cheeks. No one had ever gone through the trouble for her like this. She knew his skill level at cooking so to have improved so much to produce such a dish must have taken a lot of effort on his part. She was overflowing with happiness again.
"At least try it first," Ren teased seeing her elated expression.
With an "itadakimasu," he watched her take a bite. She closed her eyes as she savored the flavors and said, "delicious!" She was suddenly ravenous and attacked her meal with more gusto. Ren laughed with relief then picked up his chopsticks and dug into his own meal.
"Tsuruga-san, um…would it be okay if I stayed the night in your guest room. I promise not to be a nuisance and I will clean up after myself. I don't want to impose on you but I know you will insist on dropping me home at this late hour. This way Yashiro-san will only have to make one stop in the morning."
Ren was drinking when she asked the question and started choking on his tea. He was blindsided. Never in his wildest dreams had he once thought she would take the initiative to stay over. He had planned on thinking up excuses for her to stay anyway. When he was finally able to inhale normally Ren replied in a voice that wouldn't betray his true feelings, "You're always welcomed here. You can stay the night, or you can stay forever. Those rooms are practically yours anyway since you're the only one that uses them."
Kyoko latched on to his words feeling somewhat special, then she chided herself. It could just mean that other women don't use the guest room when they come over. Instead of getting lost in her dark thoughts she nonchalantly asked him with a curious expression, "Really Tsuruga-san? Nobody else, not even family visitors?"
He shook his head no, "Yashiro-san, and now you, are the only two that have ever been in here. I prefer my privacy."
Kyoko tried not to get excited by this new information. There were plenty of other places he could meet up with women, like a fancy hotel or even some love hotel.
Ren knew allowing her to stay the night wouldn't change anything between them. She wouldn't have had the courage to ask if she didn't feel safe with him. She was probably comfortable in his presence due to their act as the Heel siblings. She saw him as nothing more than her Senpai or big brother. He sighed mournfully, recalling the moments she walked in on him in the shower as Setsu. She really doesn't see me as a man, he thought with a slight shake of his head.
When they were finished with dinner they cleaned up together. Kyoko argued that since he cooked, it was only fair that she do the cleaning. He disputed that since he made the mess it was only fair that he helped. When they were done cleaning, Ren gave her a knife, plates, napkins and forks for the dessert.
She sat patiently at the coffee table as he brought out a small cake box.
"For you," he said, pushing the box towards her.
She opened the box and unveiled a cute cake of white chocolate and strawberries. There was a little banner that read, Congratulations, Kyoko! She looked at Ren confused.
"For clinching, Momiji," he said with a proud smile. Kyoko could no longer fight the tears that had been threatening to come out since she sat down to eat.
Ren shifted nervously at a loss, wondering what he possibly did wrong to cause such a negative reaction. He only wanted to make her happy and celebrate her accomplishments. "I apologize, Mogomi-san, if I did anything to make you sad. Is the cake not to your liking? I'll be honest, I tried to choose the one that didn't look too sweet. That was selfish of me," he admitted. I should have bought the chocolate one with all the frills.
She shook her head and said, "No the cake is perfect, thank you. I'm just so happy. Nobody has ever done this for me." She dashed at the tears that strayed down her cheeks. Why was he being so kind to her? If he kept doing things like this she might misunderstand his intentions. She rearranged her thoughts that made more sense to the situation, he's probably treating me as he would his precious little sister. That thought made her sad but she didn't let it show on her face.
After they had their dessert, Ren excused himself to get something from his room. He opened his top drawer and pulled out a wrapped box. His eyes lingered on the handcuffs he had purchased earlier then sighed. He couldn't bring himself to actually use them as he intended right now. If she wanted to run, he would just have to chase her. He went back out to the living room and placed the box down in front of her. Kyoko looked at the beautifully wrapped box then back at him with another puzzled expression on her face.
"I'm sorry it's so late but this is your white day gift. Since I was on location, I couldn't pick it up sooner when it was finished," he sheepishly apologized.
"Ehhhhh!" Kyoko exclaimed, "But I didn't give you chocolate, isn't that the rule?!"
"Yashiro-san usually takes care of return gifts but I wanted to choose yours personally. I'm not too sure about the rules since this is my first time giving."
Kyoko was surprised by his response. Was it okay for her to hope that she was unsettled all this time for no reason? "May I open it?" she asked and Ren nodded.
She carefully removed the beautiful washi paper from the box and wondered if he had wrapped it himself.
"Do you like the paper? I didn't wrap it but I chose the paper with you in mind," he added watching her remove the tape with care so as not to rip the green paper adorned with gold flakes, butterflies, and flowers. He had a feeling she would probably reuse it to make some other craft with it. She was talented like that.
Ren looked like an eager puppy waiting for her to open his gift. She ducked her head to hide her giggle because he looked just like Cain nii-san at the moment. When all the paper was removed, she slowly lifted the lid to the box. Sitting on a bed of blue velvet sat a silver bracelet with three very detailed charms. Ren made it a point not to mention that the bracelet was actually made out of platinum. If she knew the price she would definitely refuse it. He didn't want to make up some elaborate story as he did with Princess Rosa just so she would accept this from him. He was betting on her love for the gift to make her selfishly keep it for once.
She lifted the bracelet from the box and looked at the intricate detail of the charms. The first charm had the delicate features of a male fairy, wings and all. The other charm was of a princess in a long flowing gown wearing a tiara. Between the two charms hung a heart with blue crystals that reminded her of her corn stone. She wanted to cry again. He had obviously wanted to preserve her love of fairy tales with this gift. In lieu of crying, Kyoko gushed at the cuteness, at the beauty, at the detail, and then she thought about the price.
She looked up at Ren ready to scold him for buying something so extravagant when all she did was give him gelee made with cheap wine. Her senpai had such a look of contentment that she lost all passion to get angry.
"Thank you, Tsuruga-san. I will always cherish this gift." She held out the bracelet to him and lifted her wrist. He took the bracelet from her and wrapped it around her wrist, his fingers tingled as they grazed her smooth skin.
He sat there a moment and watched her lift her wrist to admire the bracelet as it caught the light. It's now or never Kuon!
"Mogami-san," he said, grabbing both her hands in his. "There's something important I need to share with you." Kyoko gulped nervously and looked at him willing herself not to pull her hands away from his. She could tell by the clamminess of his hands that whatever he had to say was making him nervous. "I don't want you to hate me. I couldn't bear it if you hated me but I still have to tell you, otherwise I, no, we can't move forward."
Dread filled Kyoko's entire body. Is this where he tells me we can't be friends anymore because of his love for that high school girl?
Ren released her hands wondering how to start this difficult conversation. He had replayed this moment in his mind several times yet here she was right in front of him and he was drawing a blank. He inhaled a shaky breath and then released it slowly. "I need some liquid courage!" he exclaimed, chickening out and disappearing into the kitchen leaving a dumbfounded Kyoko in his wake.
AN: Thank you for continuing to read and I hope you enjoyed. Big thanks to those that left me a review, I appreciated hearing from all of you.
The song use here is called "Shooting Star," by Bag Raiders.
Until next time, ja ne! ^_^