Chapter 191: Out of Limbo

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Skip Beat, for if I did, Kuon would no longer be shackled to his past.

It took all of Kyoko's willpower to walk away from Cedric's room, giving her boyfriend the space and time he needed. If Cedric didn't recover, this could be the only shot Kuon had at getting some closure on their past. Kyoko on the other hand would have to live with what she had said in there and pray to Kamisama for forgiveness.

Kyoko had never been in such a position before and reacted the only way she thought would be helpful under these circumstances— rude and callous. She figured his family had been trying to coax him back to the living by being sweet and decided to shake things up a bit. Berating him seemed like a good idea as any at the time. From what she knew of his past with Kuon, Kyoko thought harsh criticism was just the jolt he might need since nice wasn't exactly working. She felt like a complete ass when Cedric gave no response to her tantrum. The thought to continue did cross her mind, but she decided it was for the best that she stop wasting precious minutes and let Kuon have a turn.

When she had returned to the private waiting room, loud panicked voices caught her attention. Cedric's parents had returned and were now engaged in an intense conversation with Flynn and Eltra. At first glance, the couple appeared impeccable. Their hair was neatly groomed and their designer outfits were on point. Looking closer, she noticed the dark circles under their red-rimmed eyes and the slump in their carriage. It shouldn't have thrilled her but seeing the state of this beautiful couple proved one thing— that they loved their son. It would be wonderful if Cedric made a full recovery and his relationship with his parents improved.

No one saw her come in. The thought of slinking out of the room in search of Yashiro crossed her mind to give the family privacy. As she quietly made her way to the door, she was spotted.

"Kyoko," Eltra called. "Any change?"

She gulped as four pairs of hopeful eyes trained on her and her heart started beating erratically. The way she had disrespected their loved one consumed her with guilt.

"I'm so sorry," she wailed, throwing herself onto the carpeted floor in a perfect dogeza.

"Oh, shit," Callister shouted at the same time Karina exclaimed "Oh my goodness!"

"Boy, go get the doctor!" Karina delegated to whom Kyoko could only assume was Flynn. She doubted the woman would ever address her father or husband in that manner.

"She's fine! She's just—," Eltra tried to explain.

"How can you say that, Dad?" Karina interrupted. "The poor thing is distraught. She probably fainted from seeing Cedric in such a terrible state."

"I don't need a doctor!" Kyoko blurted, raising her head from the floor after realizing with horror her big mistake. Flynn was just walking out the door when she spoke and came back into the room, staring at her like she was an alien from outer space.

She forgot that Americans were clueless about the Japanese's propensity— okay, her propensity— to prostrate herself dramatically to apologize.

She rubbed the back of her neck, sheepishly, as heat crept to the tips of her ears.

"Kyoko-chan," Eltra cooed, holding out his hand to help her up. Kyoko's eyes snapped to Eltra, recalling that the older gentleman could converse in Japanese.

"I'm sorry," Kyoko apologized again, sticking with English for the sake of the others in the room and taking Eltra's offered hand.

"Are you sure you don't need a doctor? You hit the floor pretty hard" Karina asked, giving her a once over and dusting invisible dirt from Kyoko's clothing.

Kyoko nodded, masking the look of surprise she had for Karina's concern. It was uncharacteristic of the little encounters Kyoko had with the woman to date. Perhaps, almost losing a child changed something in her.

"I'm fine, please. I'm so sorry," she pleaded as Eltra guided her to a seat. No matter how many times she wished in the past for a hole in the Earth to open up and swallow her, it never happened. This time was no different.

"Can you tell us why you felt the need to apologize like that? Did something happen?" Eltra asked overly gentle.

Flynn came forward handing her a bottle of water and backing up carefully. She wasn't thirsty, but she nodded her thanks to calm his nerves. He still seemed freaked out by her.

She shook her head apologetically, "I'm sorry. I couldn't wake him up no matter how much I yelled at him."

"You yelled at my son!" Karina Exploded. Kyoko winced and braced herself for impact. I'm dead. She wasn't kidding earlier, Cedric might have to wake up and save her.

"Calm down, honey. Let the young lady speak," Callister soothed his wife and pulled her to his side to keep her from getting any closer. Kyoko sighed gratefully for his interference because his wife's manicured nails looked sharp and she probably would have gone for her hair.

"Yes, I'm so sorry. I thought I could get him angry and make him wake up to yell at me," she explained with remorse.

Callister broke out in laughter to the point that he was wiping tears from his eyes. Kyoko gaped as the others joined him including his wife. She couldn't see why they found it so funny, but it took everyone a few minutes to pull themselves together.

"I needed that. Thank you," Callister commented when the final remnants of their laughter died down.

"Um, you're welcome….I think," Kyoko replied, arching her brow in confusion. "I can't understand how me insulting your son could be funny."

"I'm sorry, it's because it's you," Callister informed her. "It's hard to imagine that you did such a thing with how sweet and innocent you are. Thank you for trying to help him. We appreciate it." He gave his wife a little squeeze.

Kyoko bowed her head slightly. It really was a stupid idea. The room grew quiet as everyone took their seats and waited anxiously for Ren to come out. The urge to check on him rose with each ticking minute of the clock hanging on the wall. She was now second-guessing herself for leaving him in there all alone.

What if I misread the whole situation? What if he isn't ready to face his past? What if he needs me and I'm out here giving him space? What if all his hard wo…?

Frustrated by all the what-ifs spinning through her mind, Kyoko was about to stand up and check on her man when the phone in her purse buzzed, vibrating her right out of her seat instead.

"Sorry," she muttered and pulled the device from her bag to shut it off. The only person Kyoko was exchanging messages with was her father and the Hizuris. Between work and the incident, Kyoko wasn't in the mood to engage in idle gossip with her friends from school and other acquaintances. Now if her best friend sent her a message, it was a given that Kyoko would reply at the drop of a hat. Seeing the familiar name flash across the display made her open the message. The two of them had become such close friends in the last couple of months that Kyoko felt it was only right for her to respond. Before she could compose a suitable answer, a loud commotion came from the hallway joining the lounge to Cedric's room. Her eyes flicked up just in time to see Ren barreling in as if something was chasing him.

"He's awake!" Ren blurted out. For a moment, the room grew so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Then all hell broke loose as Cedric's family rushed to

...

Cedric couldn't believe it. He had finally done it. After what felt like an eternity stuck in limbo, he was released from the darkness. At least he thought he broke free. He knew his eyes were still shut, but instead of the total blackness he had been floating in for God only knew how long, he could sense a soft glow of light beyond his lids. Opening his eyes became his top priority. As he focused on the small task, his damn lids wouldn't cooperate. They felt like they were welded shut and for one small moment, he panicked, thinking his eyes were probably open all along and he was just blind. Maybe one too many punches to his head damaged his retinas or something rendering him sightless.

Karma! His brain screamed at him.

Oh, fuck no! Cedric screamed right back. The beeping from the heart monitor intensified, driving him nuts. He made a promise to himself that the first thing he would do when he could move again was throw the damn machine out the window. From the way it was blaring, one would think he had just sprinted a marathon, and in a way, he felt like he did. The simple task of opening his eyes was turning out to be impossible as he felt his small burst of vigor waning.

Cedric stopped exerting himself for a moment to regroup, making his heart slow to a steady beat. If his mind was no longer playing tricks on him, his last visitor had to be him. There had to be no mistaking that man's words unless Cedric was so pumped up with morphine he only heard what he wanted. Of all the things he wanted to say to the guy, Cedric had to go and utter those stupid words. The morphine was going to take the fall for that one. There was no way he would have said that if he was in his right frame of mind. The idea that those would be their last words exchanged brought forth another burst of energy He needed to redeem himself.

With all the strength he could muster, Cedric managed to open his eyes to narrow slits but his vision remained blurry. He just vaguely made out the ceiling tiles before his eyes shut again, exhausted by the ordeal. It wasn't long before cool feminine hands gently brushed the hair away from his forehead. If the machine wasn't so loud, he would have heard this person come in.

The alarm was finally turned off and only the beeping of his steady heartbeat could be heard coming from it again. He had a feeling that this person wasn't alone. He could hear the rustling of clothing, shuffling of feet, and hush whispers not too far away.

"Ceddy," his mother whispered as she continued to stroke his hair. Her face was so close that he could smell the stale coffee on her breath and feel the warmth against his cheek. "It's mom, sweetie. Can you hear me?"

If Cedric had all his faculties, he would have snorted at her use of the casual address It had been a very long time since he called her anything but mother. He was about to answer with a nod but an unfamiliar voice began to talk.

"Something triggered the alarm, but his vitals still look good. You said he woke up?" Cedric assumed he was the doctor by the sound of pen scratching paper

"Yes, this is Ren Tsuruga uh a...friend of our son's," His father explained. "He was the one in the room when it happened."

Callister just confirmed to Cedric that Ren was the last man in his room. He remembered every word that the Japanese man had spoken. Okay, that wasn't true, but he remembered the gist of the discussion and what it meant. Cedric knew that he should announce his change in condition, but he took his sweet time wanting to digest this confirmation. I knew it! The glimpses of familiarity, the animosity, his superb acting, and fighting techniques and so many other odd little coincidences that Cedric had brushed off came forth. Holy shit! The signs were everywhere if he thought about it. The closeness his co-star and her boyfriend had with the Hizuris was the biggest billboard of them all. He had envied the familial way they got along; because THEY were family. For a split second, Cedric had to stamp down the old stirring of jealousy from rearing its ugly head. That was the old him. He was no longer that person.

I can't believe it. Kuon fucking Hizuri has been hiding in plain sight as the Japanese actor Ren Tsuruga. It's fucking genius!

Cedric's admiration came to a halt quickly.

Has he been fucking with me this whole time?

"At first, I thought I heard something. When I checked him over and didn't see anything out of the ordinary I thought I imagined it. Then as I began to walk away I heard something again and I knew it had to be him. So I asked him if he was awake and his head moved. It wasn't much but I saw it move. Then he started to speak. I could barely hear him, but I felt the air escaping his lips as I leaned closer to hear. It was very faint but I did make out some words."

"What did he say?" Karina pressed.

"I could have misheard but I think he said…" Ren hesitated and the whole room but the machines grew quiet.

Oh, God! He heard me!

"What did he say?" His pushy mother snapped.

"Do I really look like shit?" Cedric croaked through his dry cracked lips, reliving the embarrassment of his first words back in the living world.

They must have heard him because a collective gasp filled the room. Opening his eyes to tiny slits was a little easier this go around, but the brightness of the recessed lighting above his bed caused him to squeeze them closed.

"Oh, my baby! Thank, God," Karina shrieked and crushed him into a hug. He barely registered the weight of his mother throwing her sobbing body across his chest; however, he groaned as needle-like pricks erupted at the contact. It felt like one of those times where his foot became numb from sleep and was now trying to wake up. Only, it was his whole body that was suffering at the moment.

"Leslie, can you get the lights. We'll use the bedside lamp until his eyes adjust," the doctor instructed, unphased by his mother's dramatic wailing. Cedric sensed that the lights above were now off and it was safe to open his eyes again. The soft lighting illuminating the room was more comfortable and allowed him to open his eyes a little further.

"Karina, you have to get off him, honey. His body still needs to heal," his father's tone was gentle. He winked at Cedric as he removed his mother from off of him. Shocked by the gesture, Cedric's gaze followed his parents until they were in his periphery. In their place, stood a nurse as she aided the doctor with a quick exam. Once again, Cedric was subjected to the brightness of a medical flashlight being shined into his left eye.

"Cedric, I'm Dr. Gonzalez, but everyone here calls me Dr.G. I am your attending physician for the day. Dr. Owens will be in later to check on you. He was the head surgical attending that patched you up last night...great doctor...a genius with a scalpal."

Cedric was pleased to hear that the doctor that saved him was highly regarded among his peers.

"Do you remember what happened to you?" Dr. G asked, stepping back after examining his other eye.

"I g-got shot," he croaked dryly, sending him into a painful coughing fit. Fuck this hurts!

"Leslie," Dr. G said and the nurse nodded, stepping out of view.

"I'm going to raise your bed thirty degrees so you can drink some water. Tell me if the pain is unbearable and I'll lower it back down to a more manageable angle, okay?"

Cedric nodded and stayed still while the bed lifted at the top. With every inch, the pain in his side intensified, but he kept his face neutral. He didn't want to spend the day staring at the ceiling now that he was awake.

"There we go. How does that feel?" Dr. G asked studying his face.

"Good," he whispered hoarsely. It was weird talking with a tube sticking out of his nose, but Cedric was now able to stare at the others he had sensed in his room earlier. Kyoko was blushing and couldn't make eye contact with him. Her behavior confused him while he caught Eltra dabbing at his eyes with a silk handkerchief. Flynn's presence didn't shock him. The guy could be so pushy. His angry face spoke volumes though. He was pissed. Before his gaze could fall on the last person in the room, Karina caught his attention.

"Here let me," his mother insisted, taking the plastic cup from nurse Leslie and holding the straw gingerly to his lips. He sucked the liquid slowly, ignoring the pain of his battered lips and letting the water coat his tongue to quench his thirst. After several gulps, he pushed the straw away from his lips.

The doctor did a few more checks on Cedric until he was satisfied. Lastly, Dr. G explained how the morphine drip worked should he need to press the button near his fingertips to administer a dosage. Cedric listened closely because he had a feeling he would be pressing the button several times today. As tempting as it was to rid himself of the pain, he needed to stay lucid for what he planned next.

"We'll give you twenty minutes to visit before we come back. No more than two at a time, please," Dr. G instructed, sweeping his eyes over the visitors in the room. They all nodded their understanding. It was a given that everyone but his parents begin filing out of the room.

"Wait," Cedric called out, stopping them from leaving. They all turned to him expectantly. "Mother, father, can you please wait outside?"

"What? You can't be serious!" Karina argued. "I'm your mother!"

"Please, mom. I want to speak to Tsuruga and Ms. Kyoko first." He replied breathlessly. Talking so much had made him tired, but this could be his only chance to speak to the couple. To speak to him.

"Come on, Karina, you'll have him all to yourself soon enough," Callister cajoled as he led his pouting wife out of the room.

As soon as the door closed, Cedric fell into a coughing fit that he couldn't do anything about. His limbs were still so weak that he couldn't even cover his mouth properly and the pain in his side was excruciating. His eyes pricked with tears, widened, as Ren seemed to appear by his side in a blink of an eye.

"Should I call the doctor?" he asked, studying Cedric with great concern. Kyoko was on his other side with a cloth in hand, moving to cover his mouth.

This was not at all how he imagined their reunion to go when he asked them to stay behind. He shook his head to answer Ren's suggestion when his coughs subsided and groaned, closing his eyes as his body relaxed against the goosedown pillows.

"Here, drink some water," Ren urged, picking up the cup from the side table and holding it to his lips. Cedric's eyes watered more from emotion than pain this time as he took a sip of water from the man he used to torment when they were kids.

This part of him hasn't changed at all...still so soft.

"Kuon," Cedric whispered when Ren moved to put the cup back on the table. Kyoko gasped.

"It's you, isn't it?" Cedric questioned when the Japanese actor didn't immediately acknowledge him. Kuon turned his head deliberately and leveled intensely with Cedric.

"Fuuucccckkk," Cedric breathed out, struggling with the need to rake his fingers through his hair.

"Are you going to tell?" Kuon asked, jaw clenching and eyes hardening.

"Tell?" Cedric cocked his head not following his line of questioning.

"The media...the truth about me."

Cedric shook his head, denying the idea as his eyes roamed over Kuon. With his dark hair and eyes, he looked every bit Japanese right now. This guy has been living a double life all this time. No wonder he could easily assume the pseudo-life of Cain Heel. He already had a lot of experience.

"Good, because I'm not ready to be exposed just yet," Kuon admitted.

"I understand," Cedric croaked and was silent again.

"Did you mean it?" They both asked at the same time when the awkward silence had dragged on for too long.

"Sorry, please go first," Kuon offered.

"No, it's okay. You, first."

"I insist," Kuon stubbornly replied. Cedric sighed, understanding that Kuon wasn't going to go first.

"Did you mean it...finding closure...moving on?" Cedric felt so fucking vulnerable asking him. He needed to know if Kuon still felt that way now that he was awake and alive.

"You heard all that?" Kuon asked dodging the question.

"Yeah," Cedric tried to shrug.

"Did you mean what you said last night?"

"Every word," Cedric declared without hesitation. "I'm a monster and I took it out on you. I'm so fucking sorry...f-for that night...f-for everything."

Kuon hung his head and wrung his hands together without a word. He feared that his apology was going to be rejected, and honestly, Cedric deserved it. His eyes flicked to Kyoko to get her opinion on what he just said, but the actress only offered him a reassuring smile. Cedric assumed she didn't know much about their past if she could still smile at him like that.

Cedric decided to fill the silence himself. Even if Kuon never spoke to him again after today, at least he was able to tell him the truth about how he felt. "Thank you...both of you. I would be dead if you hadn't helped. And I'm sorry for getting you guys involved." Cedric's voice was starting to get dry and raspy and his side protested his position.

"Have some more water," Kuon ordered holding the cup again.

Cedric nodded his thanks and took a sip. After he drank, Kuon put the cup down and spoke.

"I meant every word too. I'm in a good place now and for once, I'm truly happy," Kuon confessed as Kyoko came around the bed to snuggle into her boyfriend's side. Kuon in turn smiled down at her adoringly and pecked her forehead.

Yup, I'm still jealous of this lucky bastard.

Cedric secretly hoped that maybe, someday, if it was written in the stars, he could find a great love like theirs meant only for him.

Fatigue set in fast now that his adrenaline rush was gone. Haven't I slept enough? Cedric could feel his lids growing heavy and for a brief moment, he thought he might have accidentally hit the trigger for the morphine. He remembered his mom, dad, grandpa, and Flynn waiting outside to see him, so sleeping had to wait. Cedric felt like there was someone else he was supposed to call. Honoka's beautiful face flashed in his mind, yet the nagging feeling didn't go away.

"We're going to go," Kuon stated. "Look us up, if you're ever in Japan."

Cedric nodded happily, excited about the invitation.

"Do you think you'll ever come back to L.A.?"

"Yeah, I'll be back," Kuon answered and left it at that. Cedric knew that someday soon they would be competing for roles just like old times. Only this time, Cedric would fight fair and square.

"Ms. Kyoko, before you go, can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure, anything," she offered brightly.

"Can I borrow a mirror?"

He was only half-serious with his request, but the way the young Japanese woman's face paled was worth it. She was just a lot of fun to tease that he couldn't resist. He should have since now his torso was screaming in agony from his laughter.

Tina couldn't believe the time. They should have checked out of the hotel a couple of hours ago to avoid getting charged for another day. She couldn't take advantage of the Hizuris hospitality any further. It was odd that housekeeping had not come knocking on the door or the front desk calling as a courtesy reminder. If it wasn't for the warm sunshine filtering through the gossamer drapes and the soft snores of her boyfriend, who knew what time they would have woken up. For a moment, or roughly ten minutes, she had laid on the glorious Egyptian cotton sheets and feather-down pillows watching her gorgeous new beau sleep peacefully.

The early wake-up to deal with her hand and the visit with Cedric had zapped her completely. By the time they made it back to the hotel room to collect her things and check out, Tina's eyes were heavy with fatigue. She was so tired she couldn't even protest when Damian guided her to the bed and tucked her into the sheets.

Damian had been the first man she had ever woken up to since Rick's passing. Although they didn't have sex, being held securely in his arms made her feel safe and loved. She began tracing over the tribal tattoo inked on his skin. His arms tightened around her as he stirred awake.

"How are you feeling angel?" Damian asked kissing her on the temple. His concern for her was doing all kinds of crazy things to her heart. The crazy good kind.

"Much better, but we have to go."

"Five more minutes," Damian groaned and shielded his eyes with his arm. Tina giggled and pushed on him to wake up as she rolled out of bed. He attempted to lunge for her but missed making her laugh as she ran to the bathroom.

Thirty minutes later, they were down at the front desk checking out only to be told that the bill had been settled. She would have to find a way to repay the Hizuris for their kindness.

"Tina," a familiar female voice yelled her name. Tina turned to find the Hizuris exiting the elevator. "I'm so glad we ran into you. How are you feeling? I'm so sorry about last night. We didn't mean to hurt you. Your hand? Is it serious? You must be Damian. Are you guys hungry? We were going to grab a quick bite on the patio come join us."

Julie was positively giddy as she fired off question after question in rapid succession. Tina wasn't sure if she was supposed to answer any of them or if this was just Julie venting. She let Julie drag her toward the restaurant because the woman made it extremely difficult to say no.

AN: Hello dear readers! Thank you for sticking with me! I wish I had the excuse that I went off on vacation again, for this delay. Just work stress and personal commitments getting in the way. I got IPAD-face several times trying to finish this chapter, but I was determined to get it done today *looks at the clock*...shit it's already past 1:30 am here. Technically, it's still Friday on the west coast so I'm still good...LOL. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

Thank you for always reading and for the reviews of the last chapter. I appreciate you all!

Until next time, ja ne! ^_^