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Ren looked up at the sky and sighed. His manager, a diligent man who obsessed over his charge's moods, jumped. Ren never sighed. Something must be wrong.
"Ren, are you alright?" The tall, dangerously handsome actor smiled politely and shook his head.
"Of course, Yashiro. I'm fine."
"Are you sure? You seem…" Yashiro struggled for the word. Depressed was much too strong, but Ren never projected the full intensity of his feelings, "… despondent." Ren's smile brightened suspiciously.
"Relax, Yashiro. There's nothing wrong."
"Was it that girl?" Ren paused mid-stride and frowned- actually frowned! Ren did frown on occasion, but it was not a frequent occurrence. Yashiro's breath caught in his throat.
"She was… a hindrance. But we won't be seeing her again."
"Okaaay," Yashiro said with a sidelong glance at his star. Ren looked down and smiled again.
"She was just being funny."
Yashiro snorted. Ren had not looked amused.
"You're charging how much?" Sho growled at the girl in front of him. She shrugged.
"He's in the limelight, and I work best in the shadows. I've got people after me, you know, for my gift. And he's got security at work."
"Then get him after work," Sho growled.
"He's even safer then," she sighed. "Look, cursing is imprecise. It works with the things around it. An accident on set, no one looks twice at me, or you. Car accidents are harder since the curse has to manipulate people, rather than objects. And other people might get hurt."
"And they won't get hurt on set?" Sho pointed out coldly. Her eyes narrowed.
"Look, I take my risks where and how I want. You pay the fee if you choose to. Are we clear?"
Sho looked the girl over once more and nodded. He was handed a piece of paper with information for their next meeting on it and he exited quickly, making sure no one noticed him. It was hard to have meetings like this, what with being nationally famous and all that. But he had pulled it off. Maybe that was part of her powers, protecting her potential clients. He might give her a bonus if that were the case.
Or maybe not. She was not really his type.
"Tsuruga Ren."
Ren turned and frowned as he noticed the girl he had met several days earlier sitting on a planter box outside his apartment complex. Her sneakered feet swung back and forth, her jeans hanging loosely on her legs. They were not stylish in any way, but nothing about this girl really was. Her hairstyle was a modern short cut, bleached into a fake looking auburn color, and her eyes were a flat gold in the light of the streetlamp. Her oversized hoodie had the word "forget" emblazoned in capital letters across the chest. Or what should have been the chest. He could not really tell where exactly it was sitting on her, and he lacked any enthusiasm to find out.
"What?" he demanded in a short tone. He had tried being polite last time, but the girl had pushed all his right buttons and he was done being nice. A part of his head thought she should feel honored. He did not cut loose for just anyone.
"I wanted to know if you had considered my offer," she answered cheerfully, her feet still swinging. She had an engaging smile. A pity that he hated her.
"Your offer," he hissed back, "required me not only to pay you an extortionate amount of money to prevent you from doing something that I don't believe in, but also required me to inflict said imaginary horrors on my supposed attacker."
"Pretty much," she smiled even bigger. The smile was really what got to him. He was the actor. He should have been the one smiling.
"No." The grin disappeared and he thought he saw genuine disappointment in her eyes.
"Not even if it would really help me?" she asked in a tiny voice, glancing up at him from under her eyelashes and making him want to wring her neck. Feminine wiles were some of his least favorite tricks, and she looked so freaking natural doing it.
"Look, whatever guy you got yourself involved with isn't my problem," he snapped. "If you used those tricks on him you got whatever you deserved."
Why did he have to sound like his old self now of all times? Threats, dirty suggestions, aggression? Why?
She seemed to regard him thoughtfully for a moment, a look of concern on her face. She studied him then, really studied him. Looked him up and down, like she was memorizing him. She stared at his face for a while, never meeting his eyes but studying. She slid off the planter box and strode up to him, measuring where she reached on his chest with one slim hand. She did not touch him, but he felt himself recoiling as her hand approached him just under his collarbone. For some absurd reason she giggled at that.
"You know, you're really attractive," she noted absently. Ren did not feel like she had just given him a compliment. "That's probably why he hates you so much."
Ren blinked.
"You're saying some guy sent you to, supposedly, curse me because he was jealous of my good looks and probably wants his girlfriend back?"
"No," she answered coolly, and he felt a pressure building around them. "He's single. Well, he doesn't have a girlfriend. Not a steady one in any event."
"Sounds like you don't like him very much," Ren prompted, wondering if he could turn this to his favor. She looked up and smiled a smile he could not imagine such an innocent face producing.
"I loathe him," she said practically. "Or at least, I hate his type. Visual keis have been the bane of my existence, and he's a pretty lousy guy on top of that. Still, he'll pay."
"And I won't," Ren said firmly. She sighed.
"Okay. You won't." Then she smiled again, confidently. In a very quick movement she had stepped back and was pointing one thin finger at him.
"You're my target," she told him. "From here on out, I'm going to hate you with all my power, and you're going to fall." Ren wanted to roll his eyes at the cheesiness, but in the darkness he almost thought he saw a small figure floating over her shoulder, grinning wickedly and pointing at him as it wriggled with evil pleasure.
It was… creepy.
"Right," he responded, ignoring the twitching feeling in his gut and pretending to be completely unfazed. "Good luck with that. I suppose some people in this world have to hate me." She seemed almost depressed by his reaction, so he took courage and brushed passed her into his building, not even looking back once. The girl's eyes followed him until he was out of sight, her hand now stroking the small creature on her shoulder.
"I know," she whispered to it. "He's scary. But if we finish this job and everything goes well we'll have enough money to leave the country. We'll have escaped." The tiny grudge shuddered in horror and glanced around. Kyoko would have copied it, but she knew too well the price of showing fear where someone could see her. So she pushed down her doubts and her horrors and strode off down the street, ducking her head and pulling up her hood. Her stride lengthened and she slouched, an uncomfortable position for one who had trained to have perfect posture, but necessary. No one bothered her on her way back. She looked like some wannabe delinquent boy, and that suited her perfectly.
He was untouchable. At least, that was how he felt.
Ren had run away from his old life and wrapped himself up in various securities, some figurative and others literal. His personality was a figurative protection. No one who had know him as a delinquent teenager would see that bloodstained, harried idiot in the professional that he was now. He was famous, and that brought security to go with danger. People worried about his safety and his image and went out of their way to protect him. And he lived in a really nice, expensive apartment sitting above the ground level and with high tech security features.
Like his key card and password lock. And the lock on the front door of the building complex. And the cameras in every hallway.
So why some tiny little scrap of humanity had come in and told him that she was going to curse him into ruin was completely beyond his comprehension. If she wanted to ruin him, she could at least have the decency to try and do it through acting or something.
What on earth motivated a girl like her?
"Found you."
Kyoko shot bolt upright, breathing heavily as she struggled to escape from the covers. A quick glance around her room told her no one had broken in to her small apartment, but she ran to check the door and window anyway.
He had a scary knack for showing up where she least wanted to see him.
Since her sentries were still at their posts, she knew he had not come. Reino's uncanny ability to see her grudges made them flee to her whenever he was around. She was a cautious person now, though she had been trusting enough at one point. Reino had changed that. He had changed many things.
With her room as safe and secure as she could delude herself into believing it was, Kyoko started getting ready for the day. After cooking a substantial lunch, she slipped back into her hoodie from the night before and stumbled out the front door.
Today, she was hunting.
Yashiro's stomach growled. It was a quiet sound. He doubted anyone had heard it. Yashiro might not have been very successful with cellphones and computers, but working with Ren had given him an unusual amount of control over his body. It would be bad for Ren's image if Yashiro let on that he was hungry or tired. Overall, he was pleased with his efforts.
"Wow, you must be starving." Yashiro nearly jumped, but settled for whipping around. Behind him was a young ma- woman?
"I don't think I know you," he said slowly, ignoring the statement. She, yes this was a girl, smiled and held out her hand for him to shake. He was surprised at how masculine she made the gesture look. And by how she seemed familiar.
"My name is Kyoko. I'm here representing a client."
"Oh." Yashiro shook her hand and felt a chill go through him. He eyed her nervously, but she only smiled reassuringly in return.
"Don't worry. I'm just examining you. Since you're so close to Tsuruga-san, it would be bad if anything happened to you on accident. It will be easier to make sure you aren't involved now."
He blinked.
"Um, Kyoko...chan?" She smiled and accepted this title. "Who are you representing?"
"I can't tell you that," she said calmly. "I'm only here this morning because it's on my way to my next appointment. But I can tell you what I'm doing. Tsuruga-san already knows, but he doesn't believe me, so he rejected my counter-offer."
"Oh. You're that girl from about a week ago. And what are you doing?"
"Cursing him. I'm hoping that it won't come to injuries because that will mean an investigation, but I've been asked to remove him as the number-one actor in Japan. I'm afraid this project of his isn't going to go very well. And you should probably start looking for another job."
Yashiro stared at her, a blank look on his face. He could see why Ren had not liked her. Ren was serious about his work, and he did not enjoy being threatened. The fact that this was a tiny and plain sort of girl probably had bothered him as well. Wounded his manly pride and all that. Still, she was going to curse him?
"I don't think I really believe you either, Kyoko-chan," he said apologetically, hoping he did not offend her. For all that he could not take her seriously, she made him feel awkward and brutish. She shrugged.
"That's fine. A little warning will still help you long term, I think. And you might be able to convince him to step down, if things start to get dangerous." She looked over at the actor on set, regarding him seriously as he spoke to the director. "He seems like a stubborn kind of guy, and I'd prefer that no one got hurt."
"I'll keep that in mind," Yashiro promised as he mentally started making a list of people to call. Ren had a fundamental aversion to bodyguards, so Yashiro's job required him to be super aware of danger. He would need to contact the president right away, and make a few very polite requests to people they would be working with. Yashiro did not believe in curses, but he believed in ingenuity. Accidents on set were dangerous for everyone.
His stomach growled again, and he winced. The girl was definitely close enough to hear it. She gave him an apologetic smile, then rifled through the backpack on her shoulder.
"Here," she said, holding out a couple of carefully wrapped homemade onigiri. "This should hold you over until lunch."
Yashiro smiled and thanked her sincerely has he accepted the food. It was more likely this would be his lunch, and he felt he could trust this girl to not poison him or anything. She really did not seem like the kind of person who could "curse" anyone, or would get involved with hurting others. It was strange. She demurred his thanks, glanced up, and in a moment was gone.
"Yashiro, what are you doing?" Ren asked in an eerily even tone as he approached. The manager turned around, displaying the food.
"Fraternizing with the enemy, I think," he admitted as he studied the snacks. "You want one?"
"No thank you," Ren said, turning to head back towards the set. "I'm not hungry. Did she tell you why she was here?"
"To curse you," Yashiro answered, his voice explaining clearly what he thought of that. "She said she gave you a counter-offer?"
"Pay her a bunch of money and have her curse her first employer instead." Yashiro winced.
"Well, I got a free lunch," he said simply, unwrapping one of the onigiri and taking a bite. He figured it had been made with some sort of leftovers, but it was good. Not to die for tasty, because ultimately it was leftovers and lunch food. But better than what Ren normally got them. "You sure you don't want one?" he asked, after he had swallowed. Ren was smiling. "What?"
"Sorry. The look on your face. Is it that good? I'll try it when we finish the next scene."
"Better hurry. I might not save it for you." Ren shrugged, not really caring one way or the other.
"What do you mean weeks?" Sho demanded of the girl who sat in front of him calmly sipping her soda. Her taste appalled him and he was ashamed to be in public with her. And now, she had the audacity to tell him he had to wait.
"The reason I come highly recommended," Kyoko said slowly, "is because I'm untraceable. I don't have a foot in any business and I'm not known to anyone. And my methods have the same anonymity. Sometimes investigations happen, but they never reach me, or my employer. You stay far away from him and let me work, and things will happen naturally. So naturally in fact, that you won't want to pay me my fee. At that point, I will have to hunt you down and point out to you that I have more than one trick up my sleeve."
Her smile was devious and Sho gulped. She hoped he was intimidated enough to take her seriously. She hated hunting down her money more than anything. It was the quickest way to get caught. Explosions of dark energy were how Reino had found her in the first place.
"What do you mean 'naturally?'" Kyoko sighed.
"Actors fall in and out of popularity for a thousand reasons. Good actors can smooth talk crowds and avoid unsavory situations. I take that away. He's in an interview and his tongue slips and he says what he's really thinking. He's in a deserted hallway with an actress and people walk by just in time to hear something suspicious or see something questionable. He forgets his lines or loses his character. His reputation breaks down and the media blames it on stress, or him reaching his limits, or maybe a woman in his life."
"So he hits more tabloids and gets more famous," Sho growled. Kyoko shook her head.
"That's another place where the curse comes in. His aura becomes tainted and people lose faith in him, lose interest. They instinctively pull away from the darkness that's eating him. That's why I said weeks. I would actually recommend a few months, if you'll let me. I won't charge you extra for the time. I know it isn't very fast, but the slower this happens, the less likely that things will reverse themselves once I leave. Once I take the aura back, he can start climbing again. The more natural and corrosive the fall, the better for you."
Sho considered this with a gleeful hatred on his face. Kyoko fought back unpleasant feelings. She had hoped Ren would take her offer. It was much easier to hate Sho, and she was going to have to hate Ren for this to really work. Fortunately, she already despised how he treated his manager. Anyone with a heart would not leave a man hungry.
"I'll give you three months," Sho said at last, his voice businesslike. "That will be pretty good timing for me, and should make things easier for you." Kyoko nodded. "Alright, when do we meet next?"
"After the job is finished. The only way you can track my work is by watching him. That way, you don't get caught. I already told you how much I want up front. It's not even close to the final fee, and it shouldn't hurt your pockets at all. You have to trust me from here on out."
"Alright. Here you go."
An envelope slid across the table and in a minute Sho was gone. Kyoko waited for a little while, finishing her drink and slipping into her jean jacket. She wanted to get home and back into boys' clothing before she went to hunt down the jealous ex-girlfriend that had not paid Kyoko for a job she had done the week before. Dressing like a girl made her feel uncomfortable now.
Another thing Reino had taken from her. Once upon a time, she had wanted to be a beautiful princess.
She had gotten his manager. Yashiro was completely gone. Ren was not sure how she had done it. She barely showed up around them, no one else seemed to notice her, and she never spoke to him. But somehow, his manager had fallen to her wiles.
"I'm worried about Kyoko-chan, Ren," he said one day as he sat munching something out of a small lunchbox. Ren grunted noncommittally. "No, hear me out. I know you don't like her very much, but she strikes me as a good kid. So, why is she going around threatening to curse people?"
"For money?" Ren said coldly, then bit down on his tongue. His image had been slipping a bunch the past few weeks. He tried to hold everything together, but sometimes something would slip and he had to make some hasty and overt covers. He had even been suckered into a date because of one of them, and that dinner had been harder than everything else.
Yashiro looked over at him, frowning. "You know, Ren, I don't really believe in curses, but I don't think that girl is good for you."
"I noticed," he responded dryly. Yashiro hesitated.
"Do you… have something you use to control your temper? Not at home," he added as Ren smiled ironically. "I know how much alcohol you keep, and I've got a pretty good idea of how quickly you go through it. But when you're outside."
Ren thought for a moment and his mind drifted to a small blue stone he had hidden away with all his personal belongings when he had come here.
"Yeah. I think so."
"Good. Because I really don't want to lose my job." Ren smiled.
"Neither do I."
"Maybe we should talk to Kyoko-chan," Yashiro said thoughtfully. Ren merely grunted again and turned back to his script.
Kyoko wanted to scream. She was getting too involved. She had meant to stay firmly in the shadows, unseen after her first offer, but Yashiro's plight had called to her and she could not let any human being starve. She had avoided Ren, which was why things had been progressing so smoothly up till now. It was easier to hate someone you knew nothing about. Now he had apparently gotten some sort of talisman and she needed to find it and remove it. This was getting complicated.
"Hello," she smiled, walking up to him outside of TBM studios. Yashiro seemed startled, but Kyoko knew she needed to approach Ren openly this time. She had to provoke the talisman, which meant putting him as quickly as possible into an unhappy situation. His hand immediately slipped into his pocket and Kyoko made sure part of her focus was there. "How are you doing today, Tsuruga-san, Yashiro-san?"
"I'm sorry, miss," Ren said calmly, "but the studio is only for work. Security has strict rules about how to deal with exuberant fans."
Not a very diplomatic answer, but she did not mind. That her existence was so provoking helped her mission. Her grudges began moving, circling. One or two dashed off to collect an audience.
"I'm not your fan, Tsuruga-san," Kyoko said calmly. "I think I already explained quite clearly that I have to hate you."
"I don't think you ever said that you have to," Ren countered with a gentle, coaxing smile. Kyoko blinked and Yashiro repressed a sigh. And here he had thought the girl could resist Ren's charms.
Kyoko had not been fazed by Ren's smile, though an analytical part of her mind memorized it for the doll she was making. Well, dolls. Having a medium to work with helped enforce her curse when she was not present. No, what had stunned her was the sudden whirl that had grabbed her grudges out of thin air, even the ones that had run off, and forced them into Ren's pocket. Talismans did not trap grudges, they destroyed them.
She knew only one person that could trap her grudges.
Both men blinked in surprise as Kyoko's eyes widened a little and she stepped back. Ren had not been trying to be frightening and Yashiro was not sure why Kyoko was reacting this way.
"Kyoko-chan, what wro-"
"Do you know Reino?" she cut Yashiro off, her sharp question directed at Ren. He frowned.
"Who?"
She visibly relaxed, but her eyes darted to his pocket and she shivered suddenly. She was in way over her head. "Never mind," she whispered, turning around and striding off. In her agitation she forgot that she was dressed in boys' clothing.
Ren could not decide what was the strangest thing, that her walk was so fundamentally different, and female, or that she seemed to be fleeing.
"Ren, what was that?" Yashiro asked nervously.
The actor shook his head. "I have no idea."
"Why was she looking at your hand?"
Ren pulled his hand out of his pocket and showed Yashiro a small blue piece of rock that shifted colors slightly. "This is kind of like a worry stone," Ren explained. "I've been doing better since I started carrying it again." There was an elongated silence.
"Ren, I hate to say this, but something about Kyoko seems supernatural."
"I don't believe in curses," Ren said firmly.
"Did you tell her you were carrying the stone?" Another silence.
"Yashiro, I need you to do me a favor."
"Sure."
"Find out who this 'Reino' is. I think you were right about there being something wrong with Kyoko."
"I thought you weren't going to contact me again until the job was done," Sho grumbled as he took a seat beside her on the bench. They were at a park this time. Kyoko was starting to feel caged every time she was indoors. She had been in one place too long, and she knew what it was like to be pinned in a corner. That had been a close call.
"Things have changed. I'm cutting your fee in half."
"You're what?"
"Cutting your fee. I'm going to have to change my method of approach, which will put me in direct contact with the target more often."
"Not to criticize your business model, but don't people usually charge more when they have to put themselves on the line?"
"Trust me on this one. You'll be in some danger too."
Sho frowned. "How much?"
"Danger might be the wrong word. I'm going to need your anger and hatred to fuel a curse that I'm going to lay down more directly. He has something absorbing the curses around him, and I want to break it by overloading it. Since I'll be drawing on your strength, you're going to get tired. I'll try and plan around major things for you, like concerts, but I need your schedule, and that will be physical evidence. What they could prove I doubt would mean much, but that's how it is."
"Fine. I'll have the schedule ready by tomorrow. Do you need anything else?"
"Just for you to brood about how much you hate him in your free time." She did not mention that her grudges were already busy collecting pieces of his aura and nibbling on them.
"Okay. Here again, same time?"
"No." She handed him a piece of paper. This time she left first. She was going to be late to her next appointment.
"You know, you're an amazing cook," Ren commented as he stared at Kyoko across the table in his dressing room. She had told him she wanted to try a face off, see if they could end things in one go. Ren had agreed. He wanted to end this farce. Yashiro had found nothing about the mysterious Reino, but Ren had interacted with Kyoko a little more since her startling flight, and he too felt that something was wrong. Her switch between masculine and feminine behaviors was interesting as well. He had tried flirting with her, just to see what would happen, and she had immediately shrunk into her boyish shell. The girl he had caught a glimpse of suddenly seemed very fragile and scared. Scared of some man named Reino.
Call him a sucker, but Ren had his dad's weakness for damsels in distress.
"I just try to do the things that I can well," she answered calmly, watching his every bite. She had made him a lunch as well a few times and seemed to be adopting a motherly attitude towards him. Yashiro had revealed not only how little he ate, but how much he drank. The look of condemnation on her face as she scolded him for not taking care of his body, his tool of his trade, had hit him where all his parents cajoling and Yashiro's pleading had not. "Eat the meat. You need protein."
"Is the new strategy to fatten me up?" he asked cheerfully. "My fans would be very disappointed, I'm sure, but I do exercise you know." Her face fell suddenly and she looked away. She seemed to be concentrating very hard on something. When she turned back, her polite smile had returned.
"No. Getting you fat is not my intention. But if you seriously exercise on only the food I've seen you eat, it's a miracle you haven't killed yourself yet."
"Good genes," he supplied mildly. He wondered when Yashiro would be back. The man had gone to get drinks, but he was taking a while.
"That doesn't change how you should be taking care of yourself," she scolded. Ren just smiled in return. "What do you have in your pocket?" she demanded suddenly. He blinked, his next bite of food hovering inelegantly in front of his open mouth.
"Why?"
"Professional curiosity," Kyoko answered. It was funny how he trusted her answer. He still was not sure that he believed in curses, but he found that he did believe that she believed in them. He figured he could humor her. He pulled out the stone and set it on the table between them.
"My secret weapon," he said in accents of mock solemnity. Kyoko laughed, but it was a breathy little thing, and he thought she was frightened again. She reached out as if to touch it, then flinched away again.
"A gift?"
"From my father." He stopped, surprised that he had told her even that much. He really did trust her, in spite of all of this. That was a scary thought.
Kyoko swallowed.
"Does your father… love you?" Ren laughed.
"So much that I ran away to escape it," he answered with more of that frightening honesty. "I think the only person he loves more than me is my mother. But he loves us both a lot."
"Oh."
This was going to be hard. Kyoko was not fully aware of the rules of devices that trapped negative energy, but she had done some research in the past week or so and knew that they tended to rely on the amount of positive energy that had gone into them. Professionals who made them were rumored to be either massive philanthropists, or people who charged tons and loved money. But their depth was only so far. And while it should collect Ren's own negative energy, her grudges almost had a life of their own. Nothing static should be able to hold them. From the look of things, a gift from a father with a huge heart would have the carrying capacity to potentially kill her. Even with Sho's feelings, this was going to be hard.
"Kyoko-san?" She came back to reality with a jerk. The genuine concern on the face in front of her startled her. She had seen enough of Ren's acting to understand him fairly well, and his sudden interest in her well being complicated things. "What's wrong?"
His hand reached out to her impulsively, but retracted when she flinched. There was a sudden cold look in his eyes and though she was fairly certain it was not directed at her, it still made her shiver.
"Sorry," she said hastily. "I was just thinking about my own parents. I… never really knew them."
He looked at her skeptically, but nodded an acceptance of this speech.
"I'm sorry. Has it been hard?"
She shrugged. "I survived." Barely. "Are you going to pity me?" she asked archly. He smiled. A warm smile that burned her eyes. And a few of her grudges.
"No. I think I'm going to have to admire you."
Ooops.
"Even if I am here to curse you and ruin your career?"
He chuckled. "Well, since you're being so forward and honest about it, I find it difficult to hate you. Besides, now I know who to hunt down if things go badly for me." This smile was dangerous. Not the same heart flip-flopping dangerous of his last smile. More like huge beast about to devour small prey dangerous.
So why was it just as attractive?
"I'll keep that in mind," she answered in a small voice, poking at her own food. Suddenly, she was not very hungry. It was a very good thing that she was leaving the country as soon as Sho paid her.
"Kyoko-san." His tone had softened again and his hand covered one of hers. "I won't hurt you. Not even if you do ruin my life. I promise." His coaxing tone was hard to resist and she smiled a little.
"Sorry I'm late," Yashiro interrupted almost falling through the door. "All of the vending machines on this floor are out of order." Kyoko winced. That was probably her fault. Coming here to do battle, a few random grudges had probably escaped.
"It's fine," Ren answered. "We were just talking." Yashiro looked down at the hands and a very creepy smile flitted across his face for a moment. Ren's hand released hers.
Lunch was quiet and Ren did not bring up Kyoko's purpose for having come. Which was good, because she was trying to concentrate on sending grudges at him. The small stone on the table gathered them all, but she kept pressing. She added Sho's hatred to her own fear. When she could not hate enough, fear was an acceptable substitute, and she was terrified of what would happen to her if she did not collect her money and leave soon. By the end of the meal she was feeling lightheaded, but slightly triumphant. The stone seemed to have slowed down, as if it were getting full. If she took a break for a few days and came back-
"Why don't we give you a ride home?" Kyoko jumped as Ren's voice interrupted her thoughts.
"What? Oh no. That's fine. I can walk. I'm sure you're busy."
"Not really. We'd be happy to help." This smile was not as warm as his other had been, but it was honest. Kyoko felt herself sinking into the floor.
"You shouldn't help me," she said quietly. "I'm really your enemy." There was an uncomfortable silence and Kyoko stood to leave, gathering the dishes she had brought. In a moment she had everything put away and was ready to make her escape.
Which was when her treacherous legs decided to give out under her.
"Kyoko-chan!"
"Kyoko-san, relax," Ren commanded as she stiffened reflexively in his arms. How he had caught her she had no idea, but his closeness was terrifying. "I already told you, I won't hurt you. Relax."
"I'm fine," she managed to get out. "I'm really fine."
Ren ignored this and briefly examined her face. He must not have liked what he saw because he scooped her up into his arms. "We're driving you home."
She fought and argued all the way downstairs. A few people saw them, but the advantage of being in the studio was the respect other workers had towards stars and their secrets. There were odd looks and a few whispers, but most of it would not leave the building, and what did leave the building would hardly be credited. An underground parking garage also helped.
"I don't need your help!" Kyoko growled as she pushed against his chest. "I can walk on my own."
She was dumped unceremoniously into the back seat. A quick glance at Ren's face and she wondered for a moment if he was angry. Was that possible?
"Where do you live?" he asked as Yashiro slipped in and Kyoko buckled her seat belt. She gave him some basic directions and he took her to her apartment. The complex was old and rickety. Ren frowned as he looked at it.
"It's only temporary," Kyoko explained as she unbuckled. "I have plans for where I want to go after this, and I wanted to save money while I was living here. The roof doesn't leak," she added as if this was a piece of particularly good fortune. Ren said nothing as she made her escape.
"You know what Ren?"
"What?"
"I think it's a good thing that you met Kyoko." Ren stared at his manager in confusion.
"I thought we agreed that she was a baggage, and regardless of supernatural powers was a danger to my health and my career."
"Well, you were having a hard time at work, but if you don't believe it was her fault you kept slipping up, that is irrelevant," Yashiro pointed out. "And she certainly isn't a danger to your health."
Ren looked down at the food he was eating, which had been delivered by Kyoko to Yashiro earlier that day.
"I suppose not," he agreed reluctantly. "Have you found anything out about Reino?"
"No, not yet. I'm worried about her, Ren. She looks… haunted."
Thinking about Kyoko's paling features and wan smiles, Ren had to agree. "Well, we can keep an eye on her as long as she keeps coming around."
Ren was sitting in a hall waiting for Kyoko. She had promised to bring him lunch today and he wanted to talk to her. She had seemed exhausted over the last week. He hoped she was alright. She was not, but if she had tried to tell him that she had poured so much of herself into his gem that it was slowly calling to the rest of her and draining her life away he probably would have been upset. Especially since her lack of energy prevented her from working, which prevented her from earning very much money to buy food, most of which was still being used to feed Yashiro and Ren. Yes, it was a good thing that Ren did not know about the talisman.
The stone in question was being tossed up into the air repeatedly as Kyoko did not arrive. A sudden greeting made Ren drop it.
"Hello." The speaker was a man around Ren's age with silver hair of all things and purple eyes. He was dressed in a fashion that was as absurd as it was interesting and the guy actually had sharpened his fingernails into something like claws.
Definite freak.
"Hello," Ren answered calmly, standing to pick up the stone. The other man got there first.
"So it was all a ruse," he noted with a sigh, turning the stone over in one hand. "She's gotten much more clever. Making a distraction like this."
Ren frowned. Visual kei, freak, fascination with the stone. He could not be sure, but-
"I'm impressed," the man continued. "She could have killed you with that much hatred. I wonder why she didn't." He turned to regard Ren at that point, studying him closely. "Was this a gift? From someone who cared for you?"
"Yes." Ren did not feel nearly as comfortable telling this stranger the things that had so easily slipped out when talking to Kyoko. But he was interested when the man's face became frustrated.
"How careless of her. Better cut the connection first." He moved his free hand in a whimsical gesture over the palm containing the stone and nodded satisfactorily. "Honestly. She's so careless. Or maybe she'd rather be dead."
The thought seemed to amuse him more than Ren found comfortable.
"Look, could you please give that back? It's mine."
"Give me a minute? Seems like you've got some stuff in here that you could really do without. And I could really use it."
If he was trying to look harmless, he was failing. Ren opened his mouth to retort.
"I'm so sorry! I got held up at a crosswalk. The light was broke-" Kyoko froze in her tracks after having sprinted down the hallway, her skin going from pallid white to sickly pasty in a single second. She had come from behind Ren and so had not spotted Reino until she was close. Too close.
She started backpedaling.
"It's been a while," Reino smiled. Kyoko whimpered and stumbled over her own two feet, barely managing to keep her balance. Ren, positive as to who this man was now, stepped between him and Kyoko, cutting her from Reino's view.
"I need my stone back," he said quietly, holding out his hand. Reino smirked.
"Trade? I'll take her off your hands and you get this? It would be more than fair, you know. She has been trying to kill you."
"I have not," Kyoko croaked with fury. Reino shrugged.
"Fine. But you have been cursing him."
"I know that. She already told me," Ren interrupted. "Now, give me back the stone."
"Sure. Just a second. Come here, Kyoko." It made her sick, the way he voiced her name. It was not a caress, but there was something stroking about it. It made her feel invaded. She had always hated his voice.
In the next moment, her feet were moving forward. She let out a shriek of protest, but knew there was nothing she could do. Ren's stone held the better part of her soul. While Reino had it, her demons would call to her in terror, and she could not refuse them. An arm clamped down around her waist, dragging her back.
"What do you think you're doing?" Ren growled. She just shivered.
"Oh, she just can't help herself," Reino answered for her. "Besides, I'm already holding her." His fingers petted the stone in his hand and Kyoko whimpered again, leaning back into Ren.
"Give it back," Ren commanded, shifting until Kyoko was half hidden behind him, his arm preventing her from stepping forward.
"No, I don't think so," Reino answered calmly. "You see, as long as I have it, she'll be the one chasing me. It will be an excellent change."
The time for diplomacy was over. Ren moved quickly, startling the other two, and grabbed Reino by the wrist. Before he could voice a threat, there was a crackle of energy and Reino had flung himself back out of Ren's reach. Now his eyes were afraid. He glared at Kyoko.
"What kind of guard dog is this? Do you have any idea what he-" Reino stopped suddenly, looking down at the stone in his hand. Kyoko felt his power moving around her grudges, looking beneath them. He threw the stone quickly, and she blinked as Ren caught it. "Keep it. I'll be back for her later."
"No, you won't," Ren answered, working to keep a growl out of his voice. "You're going to stay away from her."
Reino looked between them for a long moment, weighing his odds. Then he shrugged back into his usual calm demeanor.
"Oh fine. I'll leave her alone. I wouldn't mind if you killed me, but you seem more like a mauling type. I'd prefer not to have to deal with pain."
"Go." Ren's answer was short and left no room for argument. Kyoko, noting the dark aura that she had sometimes seen around him in a much less potent form when she had made him angry, shivered.
Reino waved as he disappeared down the hallway, giving Kyoko one last long look. Her arms curled around her waist, but she glared at him as best as she could. Then he was gone.
Ren turned around to demand to know what had just happened, but succeeded only in catching Kyoko who had just fainted.
Kyoko woke surrounded in plush comfort. There was a feeling of security around her that was foreign, but comfortable. She curled up a little, nuzzling the soft pillow under her cheek and had almost fallen back asleep when a warm hand brushed across her face and made her eyes shoot open.
Ren had been watching her, thinking she was rather pretty when she let her guard down, and was startled to realize she was awake. She sat up and leaned away from him, glancing around the room. She did not recognize it. It was nice and finely furnished with two beds. It was probably twice as big as her entire apartment.
"Relax," Ren said, leaning back in the chair he was sitting in. "I didn't feel like searching through your pockets for your house key, so I brought you to my place. This is my guest room."
Knowing exactly where she had put her keys, Kyoko was grateful for his consideration. Now that the initial shock had worn off, that feeling of security came back. Maybe it was the high grade locks she knew had to be on the door, or the high rise view from the window on the other side of the room that told her only an insane idiot would try and climb up here. Or maybe it was Ren.
Probably the locks and the high rise.
"Thanks," she said, sliding over to the edge of the bed. "I'm sorry to have caused so much trouble."
"Any time." He meant it. That was the weird part.
"Are you deranged?"
Ren smiled. "Not really."
"You do realize that I have been spending the last three months cursing you out of your job."
"I would say 'trying to curse,' personally," Ren answered. "And I told you, I don't believe in curses." Kyoko snorted.
"Well I do." Her look grew distant. "Reino is mine."
"He isn't going to bother you anymore," Ren said firmly. She gave him a crooked smile.
"He has his own brand of honesty," she explained. "His own logic, straight from hell. He'll leave now, but he'll come back again. Someday."
"We'll see about that."
"Well, I will," Kyoko corrected him. Ren ignored this.
"How did you get mixed up with him?" Kyoko sighed.
"I worked at an inn. Lots of classic training meant lots of repressed emotions. Turns out I had the genetic quality needed to turn that into a force I could use to basically do whatever I wanted. I left when I realized that the people who were making life hard for me were starting to get into more and more dangerous situations. Reino was staying there the night I decided to run away."
She paused, remembering something that made her frown. Ren was conscious of a desire to hold her and tell her everything was alright. "He told me about my abilities and that he could see them. He didn't tell me that he could hold them, trap them, but I figured that out soon enough. He thought I was amusing, so he followed me when I escaped."
She hesitated, considering how to continue. "We were both stupid runaways. I was really young then. He didn't start to scare me until later. He found ways to make me angry, make me hate him, so that he could watch my powers. They entertained him. And then… he realized that I was growing up." Ren's fist clenched at the cool, factual tone of her voice. "I was already in the habit of trying to escape him, but more than hating him, I started to fear him. I've been trying to escape for a while. I was planning on leaving the country. He has even less money than I do and would have a hard time following."
"Get out how?" Ren asked.
She smiled guiltily. "This job. It was easily going to be my most profitable, and I had managed to loose Reino back in Kyoto. But I don't think that will work out anymore."
"Why not?"
"Because I really can't curse you if I don't hate you, and it's really hard to hate you when you went out of your way to protect me."
Ren smiled. "Oh. How unfortunate."
Kyoko smiled in return, but it was weak. "I guess I need to extend my lease." She winced. "And get a job. And return the money for this one."
"Will you have enough to cover your rent?"
She glared at him. "That is not a polite question."
"So you don't. Why don't we got to your apartment and grab your stuff and bring it here?"
"Because we have no good reason to," Kyoko answered with a confused look.
Ren laughed. "Well, since you're going to be staying here, it would make sense for your stuff to be here."
"I'm what?" she demanded.
"Staying here," Ren answered. "I have plenty of space and I won't charge you rent. No, don't get all angry. I don't mean you won't pay for it. Your payment is going to be making sure I get enough to eat."
"That is hardly fair to you," Kyoko pointed out.
"Maybe," Ren agreed. "But there are a few simple facts in this matter. One, you don't have a place to live. Two, at some point Reino is going to come back and it looks like he's scared of me."
"Why is that?" Kyoko asked suddenly.
"I know why I should be scary, but I couldn't tell you how he knows."
"He can see peoples' pasts sometimes," Kyoko mentioned lightly. "Though they have to be pretty strange to jump into him. What did you do?"
"We can go over my history some other time," Ren hedged tersely. "Third, I need someone to cook for me. And for Yashiro. And fourth, I want you to stay."
Kyoko stared. "You want what?"
"I want you to stay. You'll need to get a job of your own at some point, and I'm sure you'll have your own life. But I want you somewhere I can find you easily. It's important."
"Why?"
"I have no idea. I'll let you know when I figure it out."
"What will your girlfriend say?"
"I don't have one."
"You will someday."
"Maybe. We can deal with it if it happens."
"No, seriously, you will. It's a miracle you don't have one now."
"More like a choice."
"Fine. But you can't have me living in your apartment. Technically speaking, I'm a young single female."
Ren's voice colored with amusement. "Technically, yes." She was definitely female. A small, delicate, soft female. Carrying her to his apartment after having smuggled her onto all of his locations that day had taught him that much. Which was reason number five he was not letting her out of his sight. Such a soft creature needed to be looked after by a hard man. But he would not tell her that. She might not like it.
"So I can't live with you."
"I wouldn't worry about it too much. My apartment was chosen specifically to keep out rumor hunters and you're smart enough to not get caught."
"I tried to curse you," she pointed out.
"Yes. But you already said you weren't going to do that anymore."
"I could end up staying here a long time," she tried.
"Probably."
"Forever," she threatened.
"Only if I want you to," Ren stated. "Grab your sweater and your shoes. Let's go get your stuff."
Kyoko followed with a grumble. As she tripped into her shoes, Ren made a mental note to tell the president and Yashiro about this. Yashiro would probably tease him, but that did not bother Ren. He was more worried about what his boss would say. With Lory, you just never knew how he would react. And he had been after Ren to make his life more interesting for ages.
And Kyoko was a girl...