A/N So this came out of nowhere. The time line format here is a little mixed up but I hope it's not too complicated to understand.

See I can't wake up I'm living a nightmare
That keeps playing over again

Hope you like it.

An intricately decorated box fell to the ground. Within the box was an expensive present that Kyouko would have, no doubt, attempted to refuse and only accepted reluctantly after scolding him about spending too much money on her. His vision blurred as a wave of nausea rushed over him. The scene before him was too much for him to take in. This wasn't something he wanted to see but he was paralyzed by the nightmare unfolding before his eyes. Inhaling a deep breath, he felt his heart cracking at the sight of her in the arms of another man. In the arms of that man and allowing his lips to descend on hers.

Bending down he hefted the present into his hands, it felt heavy, as if he had no strength left within him. Shamefully he had allowed himself to hope that she had missed him. When they spoke on the phone earlier she sounded excited when he told her that he might stop in to eat at the Darumaya. Her voice had even swooned sweetly when she suggested that he get a private room and she could be his waitress. Of course she couldn't have guessed that she had painted a rather erotic scenario in his head, still it made his heart jump to think she would be happy to see him. However, when he had showed up he spotted her calmly speaking with Shou. As they walked towards the singer's car he took her hand and stopped her. Ren waited for her to slap her arch nemesis away. He waited for the curses and threats, for her to become sickened by the mere notion of sharing the same air as him. But then she smiled up at him and said something in what looked to be a sad, consoling manner. Ren watched as Shou pulled her closer to him and said something that made her blush a light pink. To his relief Kyouko did back away from Shou and shook her head negatively looking a little pained.

If that had been all there was, Ren would have let it go. Later he might have asked and been fine with an explanation like, 'we decided to be friends. I no longer want to hold a grudge.' Or even better, 'I can't hate him anymore because, if it wasn't for him I'd have never met you.'

However, in an instant of insanity perhaps, or a moment of being manipulated, Kyouko nodded to some request that Shou had made. Then her eyes had drifted closed and she waited for him to kiss her. Bile rising to his throat Ren fell back and dropped the present he had intended to give her for white day.

To Kyouko's surprise the lunch with Shou and his parents had been pleasant. It was awkward at first to sit and listen to Shou being scolded, though she had imagined it would be enjoyable it was actually really scary. They screamed about the consequences of running away and how worried they had been, and that made her feel guilty. She wanted to prostrate herself before them and beg for forgiveness but when they finally turned the conversation to her, it was with smiles on their faces.

They spoke at length about upcoming projects she had and they questioned her about her health and eating habits. She assured them that despite her increasing workload, she hadn't been slacking in taking care of herself and that her agency would assign her a manager soon. About halfway through their conversation Kyouko excused herself to take a call. Her phone had vibrated in her pocket a few times before she noticed it and she worried that the agency was trying to contact her.

"Tsuruga-san?" Excitement filled her when she saw that she had two missed calls from Ren and he was calling her again. "Hello."

"Hi, Mogami-san, is this a bad time?" His voice made her smile as she replied that she was only able to talk for a few minutes. "That's strange, Yashiro-san informed me that you had the day off today."

"Did you need to see me for some reason?" She asked unaware of the smile that the thought of seeing him brought to her face.

Shou, on his way to the bathroom came across her and saw the look on her face. For a moment he thought about interrupting her call. He could walk right up to her and snatch the phone out of her hands. What would her beloved sempai think of him being at the restaurant where she lived? Shou wanted to tell off the older man and force him to finally accept that she belonged to him, except the look on her face was unlike any he had ever seen. He didn't know that Kyouko could look so, "happy," he whispered sadly. It wasn't an easy sight for him to see, because even when she was with him there had been a constant sadness in her eyes.

"Shoutaro, can I speak with you?" His mother asked sneaking up behind him. Taking note of the forlorn look on her sons face she steered him away from the scene. It served him right, she thought, still she didn't want him to stand around suffering and spying on Kyouko.

By the time Shou's parents decided to leave, they had shared nearly every detail of their lives in Tokyo with them. Kyouko had tried to gloss over some of the things about Tsuruga-san but she suspected Yayoi had seen straight through her.

"I'd like to meet him someday. Next time we visit can you try to bring him with? And Kotonami-san, since they're both important to Kyouko, I want to know them." Yayoi decided before they left the two childhood friends behind.

"I bet your sempai would love that. Meeting the parents as if they were his in laws or something." Shou gagged.

Kyouko rolled her eyes choosing to ignore his remark. "Have a nice evening, Shoutaro. Thank you for attempting to be tolerable today." She turned to walk back into the restaurant but Shou called out to her.

"Walk with me to the car." His words were formed as a demand but his tone made it sound like a request. There was a first time for everything, Kyouko thought raising an eyebrow at him.

"What are you scared some stalker fan of yours will jump you again. That was a hilarious story by the way, thanks for telling me." She gave him a smile that said she'd find a way to use the story against him someday.

"No, I wanted to talk to you about something." He raised his hands up innocently. "No tricks, I just have something to say."

"Then say it." The happy mood she had been in was beginning to sour, until she looked up into pained blue eyes. "What is it?"

A/N I find myself liking Shou a little more every time he shows up. I always saw him and Kyouko as siblings, he's like a toned down version of Cain. He wants Kyouko to belong only to him, but he doesn't seem to actually want to do anything with her. More like an overprotective brother than a man realizing he likes the girl he took for granted. I dunno maybe his feelings are deeper than that but I just don't see it. On another note, I looked up his eye color because I figured I was mistaken thinking they were blue but it turns out that they actually are blue. I wonder why?