Title: Can't Help Myself

Author: El Scribe

Rating: K

Summary: Ren is determined to save Kyoko's career... really, that's his motivation. This is going to be a short one. I'll finish it tonight when I get home.

Disclaimer: I don't own Skip Beat! or anything associated with Moulin Rouge, or Can't Help Myself by the Four Tops.

Can't Help Myself

Rumor Alert!

Sources at LME have leaked the biggest movie news of the year! On a visit to the set of hit series 'Box R,' famous Australian director Baz Luhrmann was so impressed by the acting of rising star Kyouko (LME; Dark Moon, Box R) that he has finally agreed to allow a remake of his most famous film,'Moulin Rouge' (2001). What's more, the lead role is rumored to belong to none other than Japan's number one musician and number two most kissable man, Fuwa Sho! (Akatoki; Top Ten Most Kissable Men – April 2010 issue)....

The table shook as Yashiro slammed the tabloid down with more force than seemed possible, given his somewhat delicate frame. Ren looked up, startled, to see his manager practically foaming at the mouth.

"What are you going to do about this ... this!" Yashiro practically hissed the last word. Combined with his narrowed eyes and agitated writhing, he reminded Ren of a snake about to strike.

"What are you talking about?" Ren asked slowly, carefully, edging away from the table. He tried to think of what could have possibly upset his manager to this degree. Surely there was nothing the paparazzi could have dug up on him that would cause this much concern. Images of his mother, father and Kyoko flashed through his mind in quick succession and he felt a bead of sweat form on his neck. "Let me see that."

He picked up the magazine, but before he could read it he found himself shivering as the temperature in the room dropped twenty degrees. Wiping away the imaginary icicle that had formed on his neck, he turned to find Kyoko trudging into the Dark Moon cafeteria, winter pouring off her in waves.

"Mogami-san?" he asked, concerned.

Kyoko stopped mid-stride, her right leg suspended two inches above the ground. She looked up and met Ren's eyes nervously, suddenly joining the rest of the room in shivering.

"Ts- Tsuruga-san!" she wailed. Snapping out of her reverie, she missed her step and collapsed in a pile at his feet. "I don't know what I'm going to do!"

Ren glanced around at the room full of curious cast and staff members. Straightening his tie, he gave a charming smile and a shrug as if to say "a sempai's work is never done." He made sure the curious stares had turned to sympathetic smiles before he gestured for Kyoko to follow him into the hallway.

Yashiro followed as well, his hands on his hips, nodding righteously like a mother who has just told the children's father what mischief they'd done while he was at work. Ren shot him a beaming smile and Yashiro found himself suddenly compelled to watch from afar. He strode down to the other end of the hall, rubbing his burning retinas.

Kyoko hadn't missed the fake smile either and she was staring at him with a strange look on her face - a mixture between fear and worship. The air seemed pretty thick and he considered moving the conversation elsewhere, but Yashiro was in front of the doors and the parking lot had plenty of vehicles for him to hide behind and eavesdrop, so Ren decided to just talk where they were.

"What's the matter, Mogami-san?" he began, patiently.

Kyoko instantly came back to reality, looking up at him with undisguised fear and guilt.

"I don't know what to do!" she said again, speaking rapidly as if the more words she got in the more likely she was to convince him of something. "I told Sawara-san but he won't let me out of the part! I can't do it. I really can't!"

"What part?" Ren asked, trying to piece together what she was talking about.

Kyoko seemed to shrink before him and he had to lean over and ask her to repeat her response, so quiet was her answer.

Panicking, she blurted it out. "Director Annaka wants me to play the lead in a Japanese adaptation of the American movie 'Moulin Rouge.'" She bit her lip.

"Well, congratulations, that's a very big honor." Ren couldn't help feeling there was another shoe waiting to drop. "Are you worried that you won't be able to play the part because Satine falls in love with Christian?"

"Ye-yes, there is that. I hadn't even thought of that! Oh my god!" Kyoko looked as if she'd just been informed that she had terminal cancer on top of leprosy. Her eyes unfocused and he could tell she was envisioning something because she suddenly landed a flying kick at a "Caution Wet Floor" sign that was standing innocently nearby. He could see a flaming hole in the center of the heavy duty plastic as it landed lifelessly at Yashiro's feet.

"Stupid Shotaro!" She shouted, then slapped both hands over her mouth.

When she looked up, Ren was gone and the demon king was staring down at her. "What does Fuwa have to do with it?" he asked coldly.

Kyoko cowered against the wall, struggling to respond. Nothing was scarier than the demon king (besides maybe the Emperor of the Night) and she knew her answer wasn't going to make Ren any less angry.

"He- that idiot came to bother me at Box R. He was nominated for a music video award for Prisoner and he was trying to make me go to the awards ceremony with him." Her eyes narrowed in fury. "He just wanted to be able to rub my face in it if he wins! There's no way I'd want to go anywhere with him."

Ren noted the intensity of her dislike and it did nothing to sooth his anger. Kyoko shouldn't be getting involved in arguments with Fuwa. She should just let him say whatever nonsense he wants and then coldly dismiss him. Fuwa would get bored eventually, but Kyoko kept rising to his challenge. Why couldn't she ever just leave the bait floating in the water? She snapped it up like a starving fish every time!

"So... the director, Luhrmann-san, overheard our argument and he decided for some reason that he wanted us to play the parts. I was so shocked I didn't know how to react and then everyone got so excited, especially Director Annaka, and by the time I could think clearly, they were already gone and on their way to see President Takarada." Kyoko stopped to take a breath and looked up at Ren with such pleading eyes that the demon king instantly vanished. "I told Sawara-san that I don't want the role, but he said there's nothing I can do because it's already been decided. What should I do, Tsuruga-san?"

Ren sighed heavily, collecting his thoughts and schooling his features back to their customary concerned-sempai expression. "I understand exactly what you're saying, Mogami-san. It's obvious what must be done."

Kyoko drooped but answered obediently. "I have to be a professional and do the role, even if I hate my stupid revolting arrogant.... costar and the thought of acting a love scene with him makes me want to vomit every one of my internal organs out onto his stupid face so that my stomach acid burns holes in his stupid perfect skin and he's permanently disfigured..... I mean – a professional does not let personal opinions interfere with work." She twitched, but seemed determined to do the right thing.

Ren was startled. "What? No!" Collecting himself, he continued more reasonably. "While it is very true that a professional cannot allow their personal feelings to influence their work, part of that is knowing when they are not capable of taking on a role. Only a very seasoned actor could pull off love scenes with someone they truly hate, and while you've definitely come a very long way in a very short time, you're simply not at that level yet. Taking on this role knowing that you aren't able to deal with Fuwa on a regular basis will mean disrupting the filming and possibly ruining the whole production." He explained, ignoring the twinge of guilt that he felt as he saw Kyoko's shamed look.

"You're right, Tsuruga-san," she sighed, feeling guilty towards the cast and crew of the film that hadn't even begun yet. "But Sawara-san said I can't turn it down. How can I stop myself from ruining the whole movie and wasting everyone's hard work?"

She looked up at him with perfect trust and Ren felt his stomach tighten with guilt and several other emotions. He really couldn't stand himself for giving her advice that was the opposite of what he would have done – what he had done, in fact, for his current role of Katsuki. He really believed that an actor should rise to every challenge, even if everyone around him says he'll never succeed. He felt like a hypocrite, but when he thought of Kyoko singing love songs to the man she had loved for so many years, it just didn't seem like there was anything else he could say and still retain his sanity.

"Go over Sawara's head, then." Ren shocked them both by suggesting it. Sawara had given Kyoko her chance to audition – she wouldn't even be a Love Me member of the agency if it weren't for him. Seeing her doubt, he hastened to qualify. "I bet the President is the one who really wants you to take the role. If you convince him that you can't do it, then you will be allowed to drop out."

Kyoko saw the sense in that, but there was one major flaw in the plan. How was she supposed to convince the President of anything he didn't want to be talked into?

Author's note: Just a ridiculous little plotlet that got into my head. I issued a challenge for someone else to write it, but it keeps surfacing in my mind and making me laugh and I was getting distracted from the next chapter of Sho Business, so I just did it myself. Hope you enjoy!