Kaorin71: Another story! Damn, I'm going to go crazy. I'm writing too much ongoing stories. But that's my imagination running wild and I think that's a good thing. This is my first shot at a sci-fi/romance fanfic so please take care of me, guys! Actually, this story has action and drama plus some humor but I decided to put it under the first two genres. It's been bothering me for at least two months now and I've made a solid plot so I decided to publish it. I've got my math notebook full because of this story! Well, that's life. So R&R, guys! I need to know whether I should continue this or not 'cause I have a lot to work on…

Disclaimer: I don't own Skip Beat!

"The past and the present are two different things that could never be changed. Or are they?" -Kaorin71

● Chapter 1…

Tokyo, Japan. Year 2024, December 24. 9:45 p.m.

Another cold winter night. It's all too quiet…

Inside the huge condominium room, the television was on. Somehow, it showed some of the features of the room with its light. A tall, oak shelf stood in the far left wall. There was a silhouette of an old fashioned lamp in one corner. The other pieces of furniture pretty much looked expensive as the plasma screen.

The air is cold. The atmosphere in this room is humid. The darkness is eerie…

A loud cough came from the woman sitting on the plush red sofa. Her raspy breathing echoed throughout the dim, empty room. Her faded brownish hair sagged on her shoulders, clearly unkempt and tousled up. Despite the moisture in the air, her skin felt awfully dry, not that she cared. Her nightgown, too big for her body frame, hung on her arms and hips. Her tear-stained face showed no emotion whatsoever. And her lifeless amber eyes stared directly at the screen before her as she watched the reporter announce the news.

"Christmas seems to be coming fast," the young reporter declared enthusiastically. "A lot of snow has piled up ever since the first snowfall last week. All of you folks should get going and shovel up the driveway. Only one day left till Christmas…"

One day. A small lump suddenly formed in Kyoko's throat. It was tomorrow again. That horrible day again.

"Yep, it's going to be jolly, alright," she continued blabbering. Do they really pay this woman just to tell stories on TV? Kyoko thought. "And tomorrow's not just Christmas, as everybody knows. It's also the special day of Japan's topnotch actress, Kyoko Mogami!"

This time, Kyoko felt a knot in her stomach as she scoffed. So what if it's my special day?

"It's been ten years since the rise of the star. In one day, Kyoko miraculously snatched all the awards away from all the veteran actresses in the industry. And such a beautiful girl also had the voice of a goddess. In total, she had already made fifty albums, having 263 songs all in all. Out of these 263 songs, 100 got in the top thirty, 20 in the top twenty and 57 in the top ten charts. More than half of these became number one in the charts. Not only did her singing turn out to be phenomenal but she also got scouted by America's most popular talent manager, Robert Johnson!"

She continued to rattle on. "On top of that, she had starred in 87 movies as well, all of them becoming box office hits! Those movies had raked in trillions of cash. And her most remembered project is the movie entitled 'Sonnet Of A Broken Heart' wherein she co-starred with the late Tsuruga Ren!"

At the mere mention of the name Tsuruga, Kyoko twitched, feeling her eyes becoming teary once more.

On the television screen, the reporter's face softened, almost grieving. "Speaking of Tsuruga Ren, it is also tomorrow, folks, that we celebrate his fourteenth death anniversary. As we all remember, he died in a horrible massacre during Christmas day years ago by some unknown mafia gang. Along with Tsuruga Ren, let us also pray for the departed souls of Kotonami Kanae, Amamiya Chiori, Saena Mogami..."

Kyoko had enough. She hastily reached for the remote and pushed the off button. The television screen turned black, the room becoming dark and silent once more. Only the sounds of her gentle sobbing and sniffing became apparent in the room.

"Fourteen years ago, I was no one," she whispered, kneeling weakly on the floor. "I was a nobody. Years ago, I had them. I held them. I laughed with them. I loved them."

Her fists tightened into knuckles, crying even louder. "It seems like just minutes ago, I was holding them. Only minutes ago, I was laughing with them. Now…" Kyoko closed her eyes. "That event… It feels awfully fresh in my mind although I know it has been a decade ago since it had happened."

"Now I've reached the top. The top of the industry. They all love me. All of them adore me. It's like I'm being worshipped…"

A gust of cold wind came in the room through the open window. The curtains billowed softly, as if to comfort her. She felt the wind pushing at her back, as if to encourage her to move on. It was such a nice sensation despite her grief.

Maybe if I saw my past in the sky, it'll look like a beautiful glowing star, she thought, clutching the hem of her nightgown. It will sparkle and shine brightly, just as my dream had. Yet, that same past haunts me. I'm tired of seeing it. It's as if I'm watching myself make the same mistake all over again. It hurts even just to think about it.

Standing up, Kyoko wiped some of the tears away from her face as she walked towards the open window. She glanced up to the sky, seeing hundreds of dots glimmering across the horizon. Kyoko smiled weakly, her heart aching as she recalled the memory of that day.

That fateful day.

Flashback…

They were celebrating her party that day. All of them were gathered at a reserved area in the Emerald Hotel which the president especially chose for that party. The sun was still up as they started the celebration. All the special people in her life were there. Even him.

When Kyoko saw him, she thought he looked charming. He seemed so enchanting with that heavenly smile of his. It radiated with warmth and passion, the same feelings she had when she caught a glimpse of him. Kyoko suddenly shook her head as she tore her gaze away from him. Why was she thinking about how good-looking her sempai was?

"Tsuruga-san," she greeted the man, pushing her earlier thoughts away. She wore a cream colored gown, layered elaborately and perfectly. Her hair was dyed back to black just for that occasion and styled back in a way that made her appear enticing. The president made sure that she looked her best at that particular day.

"Happy Birthday, Mogami-san," Ren told her, giving her a large bouquet of exotic flowers. He raised his hand to her face, tracing a small curve down her cheek. "It's an honor to be here with you today."

Somehow, that touch on her skin made her heart thump faster. Her face also reddened at the action he had done. "I-It's a-a-al-so an ho-nor t-to ha-ve you here," Kyoko stammered. Then she looked down to her feet, wanting to avoid eye contact.

"Mogami-san," Ren called her once more, his tone getting serious. It was weird to hear him say her name with that tone. "If you have any time later - tonight - maybe you can meet with me. I have, um, something to tell you."

"Later?" She asked, foolishly innocent. "Uhm, something to talk about?"

Ren nodded at her. "It's very important so please don't refuse."

Hearing him begging at her made her face even hotter. She felt so confused about her feelings and excited at what he was going to tell her. What is going on with me? She thought frantically. I shouldn't be feeling like this!

"Kyoko," he whispered gently beside her ear, calling her by her name just to catch her attention. Kyoko could've jumped away if not for the fact that Ren was gripping her hands soothingly. His face came closer to hers. "Will you meet me later at the park? You do know where it is."

"Yes, I know where it is," she breathed, looking away. His breath made her skin tingle. It felt good to her, strange enough. She shouldn't be getting intimate with her sempai. Well, half of her believed that. The other half of her, however, wanted to reach out for him and -

Her own thoughts surprised her. Reach out and what? Had she been crazy, she could've just forgotten that she even thought of doing illicit things to her sempai. But, no. She was healthy and sane. Yet what the hell made her want to kiss her sempai?

Seeing the display of emotions on Kyoko's face, Ren smiled faintly. However, in his mind, he was trying to calm his emotions down. He was afraid that Kyoko might refuse his offer and then hate him forever. But he just has to take that risk. She's already eighteen, after all. She was already a young adult, as Yashiro described.

He squeezed her hand. "Kyoko. Will you or will you not go?"

Startled, Kyoko nodded vigorously. Better get it over with before she looses her sanity and start acting on her thoughts. "I'll come."

"Good. Then please meet me at the center of the park at exactly four in the afternoon." He let go of her hand, reluctantly. Slowly, he broke the intimacy between them, but not before planting a quick kiss on her cheek. Smiling, he left her, mingling with the crowd.

Kyoko stood there completely still for five whole minutes. One can see her flustered expression from the distance. She couldn't understand herself anymore. His touch excited her. His breath on her skin made her heart skip a beat. Her voice felt like fine silk against her skin. His smile made her heart melt. And him calling her by her given name made her want to hold him. Now, what was wrong with her?

I'll figure it out later, she decided, finally recovering from her shock. I'll get it over with later.

After making that choice, Kyoko snapped back to reality and went on to hunt for her friends, still confused with her emotions for the actor.

But that later never came.

Kyoko went back to reality. She felt her face wet with tears. She didn't bother to clean it. Over the past fourteen years, she never cared for herself. It was her fault, after all, why Ren and the others died in that incident.

Everyday, she was bothered with 'What if?' questions. What if she just heeded all those warnings she got? What if she didn't get all her friends involved? What if she acted faster? What if… what if..?

Exhausted, she headed to her bedroom. Nothing much to do anyway. That was when the telephone rang, echoing inside the walls of the creepy room. She made a resolve not to answer it and went on to the bedroom. It wouldn't stop ringing, however. Whoever was calling her sure was persistent. Annoyed, Kyoko walked back to the living room and picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Hey," a familiar voice greeted back. Kyoko sighed deeply. "What's wrong? Are you crying?"

She took a piece of tissue form the desk and cleaned her face. "Nothing's wrong. No, I'm not crying. A while ago, I was. Anyway, that's not important. What made you call me at this hour?"

"Yeah, right. If I believe you I might as well pretend not to hear that strain in your voice." He paced back and forth in his room, concern crossing his face. The girl had been keeping a lot of secrets from him. "Really, Kyoko. I know it's hard to forget what happened between the two of us in the past. But I've changed, you know. And now, I'm your manager and I deserve to know the truth."

Groaning, Kyoko touched her temples. "Yes, you're my manager. About the past, I've already forgotten about it. Well, you begged me to forget it." A grunt came from the other line, making Kyoko grin a little. "I bet even if you're still in the business now, I would've stomped you. Either way, I won over you. I'm not letting you forget that, Sho."

A small smirk came to his face. "You're doing a pretty good job about that. But you're steering me away from our conversation. So what's wrong, really? I can feel it in your tone. You've been grieving?"

No point lying to him. "Yeah. It's tomorrow, you know. Do you remember?"

A pause came. Clearing his throat, he said, "Yeah, well, how could I forget it? You almost got killed that day. I would've killed myself if you did die. And…" He trailed off, knowing what he's about to admit will surely hurt himself. "I know you're thinking about him."

She nodded. "Ren shouldn't have died. He didn't deserve to. I was supposed to die…"

"Okay, I get it," Sho interrupted. He knew Kyoko was still hurt over the death of that bastard (he still won't give up on his feelings for Kyoko). But once she gets started, there's no telling when she'll finish. "There's no way to change the past. That's what they say. But actually, there is."

"What?" Curious and surprised, Kyoko suddenly paid attention to what he said. "A way to change the past?"

"Look. It sounds crazy but believe me, there is a way."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. There was a way to right her mistakes. A way to turn all of this around. She can still fix everything. And she could probably bring all of them back. Kanae. Saena, Chiori, Yashiro, Rin. Especially Ren.

"Tell me," she urged Sho. "Tell me how it is. Tell me how I can go back."

"Wait. Listen first." Sho said, a little glad that Kyoko was interested. "I have a friend who's here in Japan now. He's an American sort-of scientist but he's here to visit for a short while. His name is Taichi Hikari, a physics professor at Harvard. You see, he has this gadget called the time traveling watch. He claims that it can send a person back in time not exceeding forty years."

"Does it work?"

"I don't know for sure," Sho admitted pathetically. "But there's nothing to lose, right? There's no harm in trying. I phoned him just now and he said he'll be glad to lend you his invention. His place isn't very far. It's probably around eleven blocks away. If you want, I'll fetch you. I'm ready to go anytime. Are you in this?"

Time traveling watch, huh. Kyoko thought of the possibility. All these years, she had thought of wanting to go back and change everything to avoid the accident. The massacre. Now, opportunity was knocking at her door. Will she take it? Or not?

"Kyoko," he called from the other line. "Are you still there? Do you want to go or not?"

After a long, agonizing pause, Kyoko stated, "I'll go."