Practice Time

Yori was just as shocked as Jun was. He crouched down in front of Lyra, a bit scared of what had happened that had caused her to sob so violently. "What's the matter?" he asked carefully.

Lyra, realizing both of them were still there with her, looked up at them with her face beet red and her eyes wet. She sat up onto her knees, wrapped her arms around Jun's neck and buried her face into his shoulder.

"I-I'm sorry" She sputtered, muffled, "That man he-"

Remembering what Zhuyin had said she choked on her words. She didn't want to do anything that might make him angry.

"He didn't hurt you, did he Lyra?" Jun asked, moving in a little closer to her. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable, but he wanted her to know he was there for her. He looked at Yori again, the worry still prevalent in his eyes.

As Jun was comforting Lyra, Yori stared worriedly at the ground. To be honest, he was rather scared.

"What if she was hurt by Zhuyin? I can't really help, since he's a manager. We might all lose our jobs," he thought, as a blank stare clouded his face.

Lyra released Jun and slumped back onto the mirror. She rubbed her face as her sobs slowed.

"N-no he didn't hurt me..." She mumbled, "He said he wanted me to perform a... private show for him..."

She looked back up at the two with big eyes, "He told me not to tell anyone b-but I dont know what to do.... I don't want to lose my job but....." She trailed off not even wanting to think about the alternative.

Jun felt his blood run cold as Lyra spoke. On one hand, he was glad that Zhuyin hadn't hurt Lyra, but on the other, he was disgusted at what had happened. This time it was him that put his arms around her, but it was done protectively. He wanted her to feel safe.

Yori's words rang true, there wasn't much they could do. And that only made Jun more upset. He held back his anger though. He didn't want Lyra too feel like she had upset him.

He gently rubbed her shoulder.

"You're not like that Lyra. And as long as I'm around, I'll make it so that you don't ever have to compromise yourself and do anything you're not comfortable with doing. Yori and I... will stick with you okay? We'll make sure he never gets you alone again. And if we're both working, find someone else you can be around. Just make sure you're not alone." He thought out loud, trying to brainstorm ways in which they could keep the corrupted boss away from her.

"I... I'm so sorry he treated you like that." He said softly after a small silence. He hated to think about what might have happened if he and Yori had arrived any later then they had.

"Maybe you could talk to your performance manager, Daruka. I'm sure he wouldn't let you loose your job because of something like this. He might be able to help you." Jun suggested, still trying to think of solutions and answers.