Forever More

24. Chapter: Revelations

Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat! nor any of its characters!

Published: 22nd November, 2015

Ren didn't know why but the longer they were fitting the more the girl reminded him of Kyoko. But it wasn't until the last maneuver he was to eighty percent sure that Shizuka could as well be Kyoko. It was one of the tricks they had developed together. Now laying beneath her he looked up and before he could stop himself he muttered a few words in Japanese: "I missed you!"

Kyoko froze. It couldn't be that Ren had recognized her? How could he even assume that she was indeed his former protégé? Her thoughts were racing through her head. Her body hasn't gone lax, her hold on his arms as strong as ever. She suppressed the shiver that threatened to run down her spine and fought hard to not openly show her surprise and panic… at all. This moment only lasted for a few milliseconds but to her it felt like an eternity. "What do you mean? I can't understand you!" She said while breathing heavily. She clenched her teeth, knowing the time was finally come to talk to him. She leaned down boldly, breathed into his ear and whispered a few chosen words in Japanese, making sure nobody could hear or see that she talked to him. "Oh, really? Play along now, talk later." She said in her demanding tone, a threatening edge in her voice. Her face was hidden behind her braids, so nobody could see that she talked to him. To the others it may look like she was licking at his neck or something like that but it was far from that. The cat was out of the bag, nothing could change that now.

Ren was worried. Had he assumed wrong? It would be a bitter disappointment. With every ragged breath he took his worry grew. The next words coming from the girl didn't do anything to reassure him in any way. He closed his eyes in resignation. He nearly didn't notice the redhead bending down but the next words spoken in a nearly voiceless tone into his hears let his heart stutter and his eyes snapped open. "Kyoko, is it really you?" He whispered, the girls' braids tickling at his lips. He tried to move, but the delicate hands had his hands pinned above his backs. He didn't get an answer to his question, only a heated glare as the girl put herself in an upright position. He gulped and nodded as his opponent only continued to glare at him and received a minimal, for their onlookers' unnoticeable, nod in return.

The sound of clapping snapped them both out of their private moment and Kyoko released Ren's hands and stood up swiftly. Her breathing had already started to slow down but it was ragged and she propped her hands on her upper legs for a few seconds before she straightened up. Sweat ran down her face and her clothing was glued to her body, darker spots clearly showing her bodily exertion. She needed a shower.

Ren shook his head to clear his thoughts. Right now it wasn't time to ponder on the fact that he had found the wayward actress. A thousand questions were running through his head but Shizuka, or Kyoko as he knew her, had expressed her wish to discuss her identity at another time. Inwardly he growled, however he respected her wish and didn't start firing questions at her. Instead he stood up, his eyes never leaving the actress. She had done a quite number on him, he winced as he felt the sore spots which surely were going to bruise in the next day. Kyoko herself should be sporting a few sore spots herself although it looked to him as if she didn't have any. "I really underestimated you…" His tone was rough and a bit unsteady due to his labored breathing.

Kyoko turned her head around as she heard his voice. She smirked happily and it soon turned into a quite vicious grin. "That's what ya get for underestimating me. Not my fault if ya don' listen to me, I did warn ya." With one last look she turned around and joined the girls. Everyone was looking at her with astonishment. Even Mirella and Miranda had grudgingly to admit that she was indeed good. Richard was nearly drooling and it was safe to say he had a crush on said actress. His sister looked at him and poked him in the side with her elbow as if to order him silently to behave himself and stop drooling. Somehow she had the feeling nothing would ever come from his crush on Kyoko. Ravenna, Dawn and Shani looked at her in awe. But nothing could have prepared them for the reaction of Sir Thomas.

The man let loose a deep, rumbling laugh and went over to her. The next thing she knew was that she nearly fell face first to the floor as the king clapped her on her shoulder. Hard. For someone so important he sure had muscles and strength. She winced silently and only Ren noticed her apparent discomfort which the second the man's hand left her shoulder. "You would've made a nice bodyguard. If you ever consider changing jobs, please tell me. That was one hell of a match. Same to you." He said and looked at Ren.

Who was rather surprised to be directly spoken to by the man. He only nodded, his character wasn't really talkative and even if it was the king in front of him he wouldn't slip out of it. Not like before during the match. He reached down to take the hem of his shirt and swiped his sweat of his face. He better shouldn't have because half of the female population started to swoon in adoration.

Kyoko pried Eleanor away from her form since the princess had hugged her tightly as soon as she had reached their side and Sir Thomas had let her go. "You were great. Will you teach me?"

Kyoko had a hard time to resist the puppy dog eyes Eleanor was looking at her with. "Maybe, I don't know. Ya'll have ta talk it over with yar father first and only if he agrees an' there's enough free time for me I'll eventually teach ya, okay?" She tried to weasel her way out of it. It was the best answer to have given her since someday she'll go back to Japan and her father has really to agree to it first. She wasn't the person to be overly fond of traditions, not anymore, but she knew she had no chance in hell to override a decision made by a father, more so as the king was her dad.

Eleanor looked pleadingly at her dad who nodded. "As she said. If you want to learn however, with any instructor, I would be willing to provide someone. As it is, you and Richard should really learn some self-defense, one time it could save your lives." Why he hadn't ever thought of that he didn't know.

Ren looked at Kyoko, happy to have finally found her. But somehow she seemed more out of reach as a few minutes ago. Surrounded by her friends and – dare he say family? – she looked really happy. Would she even want to return to Japan? His stoic and cold mask showed no signs of the emotional turmoil which raged inside him. So he simply nodded at Kyoko and left the room with the intention of taking a long, hot shower. He stank. And he was exhausted. A few moments of quiet would do him well, to think things over and come down from his high.

Kyoko watched him go. She herself needed to shower too. And she needed to think about a place and time where both of them could talk freely without the fear of being discovered. She looked at the time. They had been fighting longer than she expected. Nearly forty-five minutes. This was to say taxing. She had kept up with her training but an all-out sparing match was something else. With Ren too since it was emotionally taxing. She sighed inwardly. She needed time.

"Guys, I need help ta clean this up and restore the room ta a normal state. We wanna eat here in two hours' time, so who's up ta help me?" Some guys from the crew came forward and started to pick up the mats. She too picked up some with the help of Richard. It wasn't their weight which bothered her, it was the size. They were nearly as tall as her and double in length. Quickly they maneuvered them on the far end of the room to leave them there. It was no use to remove them fully from the room. She intended to have a few more sparing matches with Ren as long he was here. It was good training for both to them and a way to familiarize themselves with each other's again. It had been a few month since they had seen each other. This work done she thanked them all. "So, whoever disturbs me during the next hour will have the honor of training with me." She wouldn't do that ever. Only a few of them even had the remotely chance to keep up with her. The audience shuddered and let her through. No one would disturb her.

Up in his room Ren took off his clothes and went into the shower. It was small, nearly too small for him but it had to do. Thankfully it seemed there was enough hot water to shower for half an hour. He stood under the spray, head raised towards it while he washed himself. Afterwards he only enjoyed the hot water washing away all his thoughts and troubles. After thirty minutes he left the shower, clad only in a towel and stepping out on the balcony. The cold wouldn't start to bother him that soon and till then his smoke would've finished. The smoke caressed his lungs. He furrowed his brows as he looked at the cigarette in his hand. He did enjoy his cigarette but he came to the conclusion it was the false reason he enjoyed it. Smoking wasn't going to resolve all his problems. Disgusted with himself he extinguished the cigarette in the snow and threw the rest of it in the rubbish bin in his room. He started to dress himself, black clothes and all. He had half an hour left till diner. He sat down and tried not to think of the talk he'll soon be having with Kyoko. He couldn't, otherwise he would begin to think about the different outcomes and some of them would leave his soul in pieces.

Kyoko went to her room. Before she went into the shower she stripped, leaving her clothes pooling in front of the bathroom door. She had too much to think about to put them away properly. Should the other girls see them, it didn't bother her at the moment. She started the sower, lathering her body in shower gel and shampooed her hair. After doing that and cleansing herself she just stood in the spray of her shower, not knowing Ren had left his in that moment. Thinking back to their fight she beat herself over her silly actions. To give herself away with this signal move! It was just silly but she reconned she had some minor slips before this big one. She had promised herself that Ren wouldn't recognize her! To Jelly too and now she had revealed them both. She hoped Jelly wasn't too upset and angry with her. Now she needed to do damage control. She needed to talk with Ren, preferable after diner and well into the night to avoid all other persons around here. She didn't know what to tell him, or what to tell Jelly. She sighed. It was going to be a hard night. She toweled off her hair which would take an awful long time to dry with it being so long, braided and an additional hair mass of two thirds which weren't her own but necessary due to her braids and cornrows.

She thought about it and dressed herself. Her red tartan trousers, a simple black tanktop which was really tight fitting and showing of her belly button and her warm, grey hoody jacket inlayed with a similar tartan fabric. She chose a few accessories, mainly leather wrist straps, a leather choker and black studs as earrings. She forwent her shoes and chose a pair of warm, black woolen socks instead. She put on make-up, not heavily but enough to see eat and only accented her more heavily with black eyeliner. Satisfied with her appearance she grabbed her iPod and went downstairs. In her mind she went over the tattoo designs again. She had a few she liked but they were all good and she needed to choose. Luckily she won't be leaving Britain quite soon, since she had both contracts for Bloody Blossoms and The Poet and the Pendulum tying her to Britain for at least half a year. After that… maybe she was going to accept other roles. Yes, she missed Japan but she liked the life here. Maybe she could split her time in half, half a year in Japan, half a year in Britain if it was agreeable with her work. She grinned. She liked that idea. She looked after the kittens and set herself down at one table on the end of the room near the windows and her training mats. It was snowing again, big fluffy flakes falling down from the sky. She whistled out of tune to the song she was listening. After only a few minutes a shadow was falling over her and she looked up. She grinned at Ren, or rather Cain Heel who was standing over her. "Hey there. If you want to sit, please, don't mind me, Blacky."

Ren sighed inwardly, outwardly he wasn't moving one single muscle in his body. He stood there, unmoving, for a few mere seconds before he sat down on one chair opposite of her and crossed his arms.

What followed was a staring contest between him and Kyoko, or better Shizuka. Long minutes elapsed and they continued to stare at each other, only disturbed by Kyokos out of tune whistling and her clacking her painted fingernails on the table top. It was unnerving to watch and the air seemingly started to crackle between them. None of them moved a muscle, they only sat there, staring at each other, forgetting the world surrounding them. They didn't notice the others trickling into the room, watching them with uneasiness. Nobody wanted to go near them. Somehow it seemed that both of them needed to clear something between them. Nobody even attempted to go join their table. So it came that both of them started to eat in silence. Their colleagues ignored them and soon the chatter started to reach their ears. Not one single word fell between them until their main course.

"How're ya? Did I hurt ya earlier in the spar?" asked Kyoko. It would seem wanted to talk about their spar but her words had an entire hidden meaning. 'Did my leaving hurt you?'

"Just as few bruises." Ren answered roughly, thinking her words had a hidden meaning to it. Either way he didn't want to answer it right now. He wanted to talk with her alone quietly without anyone having the chance to decipher their conversation. And without anyone having the chance to interrupt them.

Kyoko raised one eyebrow. Maybe it was for the better to talk later. Well, she would play along for now. "Maybe next time I should be harder." Arse, she thought. Maybe he hasn't missed me that much. Anyway, diner is good, no need to waist it. "Latharn, want to bring me another portion?"

The young boy turned around and grinned at his favorite guest. "Sure, Shizuka, want an extra salad too?" After he got a nod from the actress he hurried to the kitchen to get another plate of smoked haddock and grilled pilgrim's scallops with sunchoke puree and orange sauce and a bowl of lettuce with cucumbers and sweet peppers. Swift as a weasel he left the kitchen and delivered the food, only to return and bring her an extra pot of green tea.

"Thanks, man. Ya think ya're up for some pranking?" She asked him quietly while her eyes gleamed with excitement. She had a new plan. Cutting of their hot water supply every morning was getting a little lame. But she wouldn't ever stop that since the twins got up later than her roommates and showered after each other every time. Maybe it was time to step up her pranks a little bit. Not terribly much, she didn't want to hurt them too much.

Latharn glanced at Cain, shrugged his shoulders and climbed on the chair beside Shizuka. He ignored Cain completely and nodded excitedly. "Sure, what do you have in mind?"

The actions of the young boy startled Ren and the rest of the crew. Heads turned to look at the scene and then all of them went back to eating. Except Ren who was quite puzzled over the fact this child didn't seem to fear him. He watched the two while continuing eating. It was really a sight to see and it reminded him of Maria and Kyoko together.

"Look here." Kyoko pulled out two translucent lighters which were already empty. "I'm going ta break them apart. I only want the igniter. If pressed on the little button it'll release a small electric jolt. It hurts, only a little bit but it has a shock value. So, after they went to sleep I need ya ta help me smuggling their beauty cases out. I've seen them before and they need ta push a button to open their cases. I'm going ta install the igniters behind them so for one day they won' be able to open them. Are ya with me so far?", she asked the little boy who nodded excitedly. "Good, afterwards when they're eating breakfast I need ya ta go into their room again and remove the igniters. You won' get shocked if ya're wearing your mittens. You need to open their cases and pull them out. In the next few days we'll going to play this little play. Then we'll give them a few days off until we start again, okay?"

Latharn nodded excitedly. "I'll get Ailsa to help. We'll get in and out of their room faster than me alone and much less risk of me falling to the floor. Have you seen their beauty cases? Their bloody big!" The boy explained with a grin.

"Latharn, language!", Kyoko hissed out. Only because she had started to curse and it wasn't that often connected to her character but pretty often her own personality, didn't mean that children should do it. At least not in her presence. She didn't want to be the one to taint their personality. Although with Latharn she wasn't at fault, the young boy did that pretty much by himself, learning swear words and cursing.

An apologetic looking smile was the answer to her words but the gleam in his eyes said that he didn't mean to apology at all. He then left the table to disappear into the kitchen. He wouldn't meet the actress until eleven o'clock p.m. or so.

Ren raised an eyebrow as the boy disappeared and looked questioningly at Kyoko. When are we going to talk? He asked himself. Kyoko seemed to understand him. She was the only one who could understand him without voicing his thoughts or questions.

Kyoko turned around and started to eat again. No point in letting the food go cold. Pilgrim's scallops tasted horrible when they were cold. She moaned, the food was really good here. She needed to ask the cook for the receipt of this meal. That she knew for sure. She looked at Ren and tilted her head to the side. "We'll talk afterwards. I'll come ta yar room", she mouthed silently at him.

Ren was taken aback by her lack of abashment. He had noticed her bold behavior before but had thought it was her public persona talking and acting. But if it came to eating and meals part of Kyoko came always to the front. So, how had his Kyoko changed in the few months she had been away from Japan? He was starting to wonder. He only nodded once in agreement and finished his meal. He stood and left to hole himself up in the room to wait for their coming confrontation.

Kyoko observed him as he left and her shoulders slumped a little bit. What should she tell him later? She shoved her thoughts to the side as well as her empty plates. She grabbed her chair and sat herself down at the table were her roommates and the royals sat. She joined their conversation and soon the topic changed to her being an animal trainer and her how she came to be the owner of Aki. She told them a half-truth as story since she didn't want those who didn't know she was a rather well known actress in Japan.

Later she pulled of the prank with the siblings. All of them were grinning from ear to ear and bit each other good night. She watched as they went down the stairs and vanished in the family part of the hotel. She turned around and went down the corridor. She stood in front of Ren's door. It was time to talk. She knocked twice and opened the door and vanished into the room.

Hello again!

I'm soooo sorry to only update now, after nearly one year and some odd months months of not having written anything! I'm not going to make excuses, it was really horrible from me not to update. I'm even going to admit that I thought of abandoning the story due to not having any idea of how to continue the story. But I couldn't.

So here's the new update and I'll start to write the next chapter immediately to hopefully update the story before Christmas, but at the latest before the New Year!

Enjoy and thank you sooooo much for sticking with me!

P.S.: Yes, I updated the story yesterday but somehow due to deleting both of my author notes I somehow accomplished to delete this chapter too. I'm sorry!