DISCLAIMER: Full credit goes to Nakamura Yoshiki, the creator of Skip Beat, Emily Bronte's Wuthering Height's, and Yoshishige Yoshida's Arashi ga Oka. A full bibliography of works cited will be included with Chapter 10. The only thing I own is the character O'Hara Cho (an OC).

My thanks to the wonderful OnePlotThickens for their help Beta-ing this story.

They've helped to give it a finesse I couldn't achieve by myself.

!Completely disregards the 'Dangerous Mission' Arc!

STORMY HILLS

1| Kinu

Kyoko Mogami was once again stumped by the things life threw at her.

She been mobbed by the flash of the paparazzi that morning, the camera men and women gathered outside of the entrance to LME's headquarters as she made her way inside. They had yelled and cajoled her with cries of 'Mio!' and 'Natsu!' as she ploughed her way unsuccessfully though them, dizzied by the vibrant flashes. Eventually, a security guard manning the main doors worked his way through the frenzied paparazzi and pulled her past the entrance to safety. This was of course after the camera men and women had frazzled her hair, rumpled her clothing, possibly blinded her, and tugged her every which way selfishly between them as though they had been siblings squabbling over a new toy.

However, this incident was not the only issue she would encounter on this day.

Worse for wear, she had seated herself in the LoveMe staffroom while contemplating, and in her hand, she held a script. This time, it was not for a minor role, or a supporting role in a serialised drama. It wasn't even a brief for a role in a promotional video or a commercial.

It was a legitimate movie script.

And the directors had picked her to be the leading lady.

This was the crux of Kyoko's problem. While she was flattered to be offered such a role, in her own opinion there were far more talented actresses who could play the part better. Kotonami Kanae, for one, would most likely embody the figure that the character of Kinu evoked in Kyoko's mind. From what she had read so far, Kinu was delicate, gentle, beautiful, ladylike.

Kyoko shook her head wildly to clear the dangerous tempting thoughts away. It would do her no good to dream of playing such a role until she'd earned it. Still, from what she had read so far into the script, Stormy Hills was a torrid tale of two star crossed lovers who were isolated from one another, but fought to battle through the obstructions keeping them apart. It would also do Kyoko no good to agree to a role in which she could not commit herself wholeheartedly.

She placed her hand contemplatively over her heart. Kinu had absolute confidence in her affections. Kyoko? Not so much. Her heart couldn't– no, she wouldn't let it pulse with such vibrant, uncontrollable emotion ever again. How could she accept the role of Kinu if she couldn't portray it justly?

It was simple.

She could not.

But the offer was incredibly tempting. The directors had assured her that without her name on the cast list, the movie may well be considered a flop before they'd even begun filming. Well, one of the directors had said as much. Ogata Hiroaki, who Kyoko had worked under in Dark Moon, had begun work on Stormy Hills shortly after they'd wrapped the last episode of the drama remake. He'd been secretly chipping away at the script with his co-director– who had yet to be revealed, unfortunately– and had approached Kyoko and some other actors with a working script. Should the roles be cast convincingly and the new project pitched to sponsors, it was likely the film would be accepted. Considering that this was an ambitious project, despite Ogata's success with Dark Moon, there would be little turnaround and budget. Therefore, the more groundwork both directors laid now, the sooner they could begin shooting after sets, costumes and staff were all arranged.

Kyoko didn't want to turn down the role. She really didn't. Hizuri K—, Kyoko violently shook her head again and corrected herself. Otou-san had scolded her about turning down roles, and she still felt the sting of ungratefulness when she considered how much she had grown through becoming Natsu. Would she be the same today if she had said no to her role in Box-R? Definitely not; and that was why she was so carefully deliberating over Stormy Hills.

Could she really allow the chest she had locked her heart away in to be breached by Kinu's desire and obsession?

She wasn't sure.

Kyoko felt very lost at that moment. Dark Moon was well passed filming and airing, and there had been talks of a DVD and Blu-Ray release appearing on store shelves and internet shopping sites soon. Box-R would surely follow suit, as Kyoko only had a few more sessions on set before filming and pick-ups wrapped. She would surely need something in between to work on, unless she was pushed into other available choices- yet none had arisen. Not even one audition, which at that point she would gladly put herself forward for. Still, Stormy Hills loomed over her. She flicked through the script's pages idly once more.

Kyoko sighed, again. Drug her fingers through her cropped hair and hung her head miserably. Her aura darkened as she moped. She contemplated ringing Moko-san, or even Tsuruga-san, but whenever her eyes glanced to the script- now set on her lap, her hand would still its hesitant reaching motion.

She supposed that she could nail Kinu's character. Kinu was an elegant young lady, raised in a reserved and severe environment. The weather oppressing the mountain-side estate, in which she, her father, brother, step-sibling and a select few servants lived, was volatile. The family line was steeped in tradition; a strong connection to the mountain spirits ensured that the men of the family never left the highlands. Only the women were delivered in their early womanhood to a local temple's doorstep, where they would train as priestesses and never return to their home.

Tradition, poise, submission.

These were three qualities that Kyoko could embody perfectly, though she was chagrined to acknowledge it. Her teeth ground together as unwanted memories of her childhood flashed through her thoughts.

Perhaps the directors would be lenient if she couldn't quite get Kinu's passion and desire across on screen just yet. After all, she had helped Tsuruga-san through his love troubles as Katsuki, and more privately as Bo. What was there to stop her from spending a little more time investing in emotions (both Kinu's and her own) that Kyoko could no longer understand? What if she could convey them convincingly without getting herself hurt again?

Perhaps she should have decided against doing this. Perhaps her sempai, her colleagues and her superiors would know she wasn't giving her role one hundred percent unlike other characters she had born into the world. Interestingly though, Kyoko decided not to fret on the consequences yet. Kyoko's inner demons preened themselves with the glint of pure mischief running through her.

She was an actress after all, and acting was what she did best. If she could lose herself in characters, she could convince herself that she was a whole, pure, human being- untainted by heartbreak and neglect. Instead of wearing one mask as she stepped on to the set, this time she would be wearing two.