CHAPTER 36

I do not own skip beat! Yoshiki Nakamura does.

You

Kyoko was being assaulted by Kanae with questions. She had been talking with Maria when suddenly an angry beautiful woman had appeared in front of her. Once she had grabbed Kyoko and hardly hugged her with awkwardness for a few seconds, to Kyoko delight and happiness, she had relaxed her as quickly bombarding her with angry questions. Kyoko missed the contact and was so happy so see Kanae but a bit of unease was still there. Even with the calls, kyoko had never told her all the reasons for leaving. Plus, with the hindsight of the years passed she could now see she had rarely asked before attacking Kanae with hugs. She had been too pushy and far too often. With what she had now lived, she felt it was inacceptable to do that if her friend wasn't comfortable with it.

Well, okay, even if she didn't feel that way and that it hadn't been so long since she had seen Kanae she wouldn't have been able to act that way exactly anymore. She would never refuse to hug her and would have under other circumstances but she couldn't imagine herself running in halls shouting Moko-san everywhere. Kyoko chuckled inwardly. No wonder, Kanae had felt uncomfortable. She crooked a smile. She would have still crushed her in a hug if it had been possible.

"I missed you Kanae. I'm so glad to see you again" She said with a loving smile to her friend.

Said friend blushed and grumbled.

"You won't escape the explanations like that, I warn you! What sort of thing-…And what happened ? Look at you! If you think you won't have to tell me anything, you can go back in a plane! Moh!" Said a friend in a huff and Kyoko felt the desire to call her Moko-san coming back for a bit.

She grinned at her.

"I will talk, I will talk" she conceded and she could hear Maria giggling under the bickering.

"How is Hiou-kun?" Kyoko asked, teasing her a bit and hoping it would divert the subject when Kanae started to ask about relationships and such.

"Oh, you, don't you dare!" exclaimed Kanae with a fierce blush and an outraged glare in her eyes. Kanae had told her a bit about Hiou-kun and apparently it was-… complicated. So, now, Kyoko was teasing her by phone when they were calling each other.

Kyoko coughed in front of the hilarious face of Kanae.

"Hai hai" she said to appease her.

"He did weird things again" whispered Maria to her in a conspiring tone.

"Which sort of things?" questioned Kyoko as she bent to hear Maria better.

"He's completely confusing her, continued Maria, one week he offers her presents, the next one he's playing cold and parading with other girls and now he's doing flirty jokes and getting a very slightly touchy with her" Explained Maria as she shook her head.

"He's getting desperate and did absolutely everything he could but in the wrong order, Kanae-san never stopped grumbling these days" Maria finished with kind of pity in the eyes.

Kyoko's sides shook with repressed laughs. She knew from Kanae herself her friend wasn't indifferent but the poor boy was in front of a woman who didn't get moved easily and it was most probably wearing off on him. Apparently it was since a scene two years ago that he had started acting weirdly out and freaking out her friend sometimes because she didn't understand him anymore.

"I'll talk to him, Kanae" Kyoko suddenly declared after turning to her.

Relief passed briefly in her eyes until her gaze hardened again.

"Don't think it will dispense you from our talk" she threatened.

"Of course" Kyoko said and pinched her lips, touched that Kanae had missed her that much but controlling the desire to hug her again.

She sighed but then her cat miaowled.

"Oh boy" grumbled Kanae.

She shifted her eyes to look at Snow and heard her friend but her gaze landed on the way on the most unexpected unsettling thing and completely unprepared she gaped as her body started to shook. The violence of her feelings threatened to engulf her as every little memories, every sensations, every feels came back rushing like it was as fresh as dew.

"He's going to-…began Kanae.

"…And he lost it" finished Maria for her.

Someone was coming.

Kyoko's lips murmured his name before she noticed she was even talking.

"Ren…"

He hadn't change.

Still as handsome.

Still as intense.

The sound of his walk seemed to be howling in her ears to each step he took to her. He was running. Why was he running? His hairs were a complete mess, unusual for his habits. But she hadn't seen him in years so, he surely had changed. In one way or another.

On her peripheral view she could see people watching, wondering.

He looks taller than before. She snorted internally. She just hadn't seen him in so long her head was pulling pranks on her.

He was only a few steps away now.

He was so fast. His long strides seemed to make him fly. She grinned. Only one person could make her feel like they were flying.

Did he loose weight, his face looked more angular than before.

She couldn't move. She felt trapped. By her feelings rushing like they had replaced the blood running in her veins by emotions.

She felt stuck. Captured.

By the expressions on his face. Not that she would run, she wanted nothing more than to see him now that she was actually seeing him, but she wasn't used to see such intensity on him.

There was something in his face. Was it despair? Sadness?

Nonsense.

Need?

Of what? It was ridiculous.

Joy?

Maybe…

It looked like…

He had lost reason.

…And found it back.

Air was expulsed from her lungs and elongated arms circled her as a warm strong body enrolled itself around her with such a force she thought absent-mildly he might break a bone but didn't really care at the moment.

Ahhhh…This scent…

Musc, santal and aqua…

Ren's special scent…

Such a nostalgia. It was all coming back.

The warm that erupted from this firmness. The gentleness contained in this strength. How many times did Kyoko wished to be in this embrace. To feel and be in the safety of those very arms. To hear him whispered and hold when she was cold, when she was lonely. Her tears crept up and she hide them in his neck. Though it seemed like an eternity for her it didn't even take her a second to answer his hug.

Some days had been so cold. Some had haunted her so much.

The lack of his smile,

his voice,

his teasing,

of his existence in her life crushing her from the inside at time.

She grabbed at the cloth on his back. This was the most precious feeling for her. It was him.

Him.

She had promised to keep her distance. She had promised to reign on her feelings.

Not now…

I want to feel him…

I missed him so much…

Just once…

She crushed him back and a trembling tiny chuckle escaped her when he folded her against his body even more. If she didn't know better she could have think he was trying to merge her body with his. It was so hard to not believe in what wishing for when he was holding her like this.

She didn't care anyway. Not right now. It was a stolen moment but it was hers.

Just this once…!

Her feet left the ground and she felt him shaking a bit. She wondered what was wrong. She could have swear she felt something humid in her neck before calling herself delusional for even thinking it was possible.

She sighed internally. It was time to let go. She knew it. She had already abused her time in the situation.

She took a big breath, a light pain tugging inside for a second when she finally found the resolve to let go.

She loosened up her hold on his back at last and kissed his cheek lightly according herself this last thing as she murmured to him.

"Hi Ren"

He didn't utter a word in answer. Just hold her tighter.

Until after another long moment he released her and let her down.

She looked at him for a while. She had longed to see this face so much. To look into those eyes.

She couldn't get enough and took advantage of the fact he seemed to still be lost in thoughts to observe him as much she so wished for.

Contrarily to what she first thought, against reason if she calculated the length of the muscles, the length to the waist to the head, the waist to the feet; he was indeed taller. By three centimetres. Not that much but he still looked even more of a giant than before. How? Why? She grumbled inwardly.

Upon closer look though he didn't seem in good shape, he had dark circles under his eyes and seemed indeed a bit thinner in the face. And with the messy hair… It was a bit scary and if she wasn't that happy to see him she would start to feel angry. What the hell did he do to himself while she was gone?!

She will have to scold him or yashiro for not taking care of himself once more.

Kyoko tried to smile at him lightly to clear the tension knowing she still had lost control in this but he just kept staring at her silently and with such intensity that even after all this years and so much more experience a blush begun its ascent to her face. But he suddenly blink. Several times.

And tilting his head, he spoke.

"Kyoko?" He asked, seeming puzzled.

PS: Soooo…Hope you're liking the reunion part. Ren's side will come next don't worry. I have ton of ideas for what will happen next, kekeke…And well you will have to follow…

For the one and only Kaname: There, let's be sappy. I hope it will satisfy you a bit.

Kisses.

Reviews are food for writers. Feed me!

Author out.