With "When We Were Young" now complete, I'm moving on to cross-posting another one of my projects. This one focuses a bit more on Kyoko and Kanae's relationship, though there is still heavy involvement with Ren. Spoilers for ch 260 at the very least.

Without further ado, enjoy.

Kotonmi Kanae brusquely walked down the hall, ignoring the wailing girl that was trailing behind her.

"Moko-saaa~n! Please don't be like that! I'm not hiding anything! Please don't stop being my friend. Mokooo-saaaaaaaaaaannn!" No, she would not give in. Not only had Kyoko been hiding something in relation to her relationship with Tsuruga-ren, but she had used that obvious fake customer service face in an attempt to lie and hide it! Hide it from HER! The supposed best friend! She would not stand by and be blatantly lied to in such an obvious and insulting manner! "I yield! I'll Tell you everything! Please!"

Ten minutes later, the two sat across from one another in the safety of the Love-me room, Kanea's arms crossed as she stared down as a withering Kyoko.

"Mo! Spit it out, already! I don't have such a free schedule that I can sit around doing 'girl talk' with you whenever!" Kyoko's head snapped up, eyes sparkling with excitement that told Kanea that she probably should have chosen her words better.

"MOKO-SAN!" Kyoko attempted to spring forward for a hug, only to be stopped with a hand on her forehead and a pointed glare from her beautiful friend.

"What did I just say? Stop stalling already, and explain to me why I was assaulted by such an unexpected sight!" The sight she was referencing was Kyoko looking hurt and unstable behind Tsuruga Ren's back while the tall actor was talking to Yashiro about something. Kanae had noticed a definite change in Kyoko's interaction with the man as of late, but this was the last straw. What was worse; when Kanae confronted Kyoko about it, the younger girl had lied to her face and in such and obvious way, that she hadn't been able to keep her cool. This girl knew exactly what she had been talking about, and kept it from her! Best friends, her ass!

"I..." Kyoko fiddled with whatever she could, the edge of her skirt, the lines on the floor, her own fingers. It was driving Kanae crazy! Still, she stayed silent, determined to get an honest answer from the girl. "I don't want Moko-san to hate me..." She mumbled sadly.

"Mo! Then tell me what you're hiding already!"

"But Moko-san! It's not so simple! I can't easily talk about such things!" Kanae instantly tensed up at that.

"Such things... What did that bastard do to you? I'll destroy him!" she stood up, fire and despise in her eyes as she imagined destroying the man that seemed to have done something to disturb Kyoko.

"Wha-! No! Moko-san, it's not because of Tsuruga-san! I mean, it's nothing he did!" The black-haired beauty snapped her head to look at Kyoko, her expression wild like a starving lion. "It... I might... I might have developed... feelings... for Tsuraga-san." she explained timidly, poking her pointer fingers together as she avoided Kanae's gaze. The older girl stayed silent, her mind quickly trying to process this information. Sure, she had somewhat suspected that Kyoko was starting to have some deeper feelings toward Ren, but she had been more concerned that she wold end up having to compete with the man for Kyoko's friendship. If she was looking at him romantically, however... This was something she hadn't expected to happen any time soon. Kyoko was always so adamant about not falling in love and what not, fiercely denying any suggestions of someone seeing her that way. What had happened for this drastic change of heart? She hadn't said she loved the man, but it was certainly implied that she was headed down that rout. This could be good for her. No, wasn't this really a good thing? They were in this cursed section for this very purpose, weren't they? For matters of learning to love? Kanae couldn't say she expected to graduate from the pink curse before Kyoko, but she certainly hadn't thought she would be left behind so quickly. This girl was frightening.

"So, you love him?" She spoke, gauging the reaction. Kyoko turned bright red as she held up her hands defensively.

"L-lo... I don't know if I could..." Kyoko's brow lowered as her mouth pursed into a conflicted frown. She couldn't complete her denial, but she was also incapable of fully admitting to her feelings, it seemed. Kanae supposed she could forgive Kyoko for not telling her about it yet. But wait..., this topic didn't seem entirely unfamiliar.

"What about Chiori-san?"

"Eh? Chiori-san?" Kyoko echoed innocently. Kanae frowned unhappily. Suspicious.

"Yes, Chiori-san. You told me before that she had feelings for that guy. You had been so distressed about her problems with an unrequited love, that you..." Realization dawned on Kanea's face before she leveled a glare on Kyoko once again. "You lied! That wasn't about Chiori at all, but about yourself! That's why you were so distracted during the auditions, because that girl had seen through you and used your feelings in an attempt to overtake you!" Kyoko cowered as every accusation hit home.

"It's truuuue! It's all true!" Kyoko cried, throwing herself at Kanae's feet. "Please don't hate me, Moko-san!"

"Mo! I don't hate you! Would yo calm down already? I'm annoyed that someone else noticed something so major before me, and you really shouldn't let outside feelings effect your work, but I'm not mad at you. Sly people like that are everywhere. You should learn to guard yourself from manipulative tactics like that. Actually no, if I recall correctly, those annoying followers of Koenji Erika had mentioned something about her even being able to weave a scheme for Tsuruga Ren. There's no way that man was an easy target, which means she might be more formidable a foe than she looks. I'm not sure I can completely fault you for going up against a strong foe." Kanae huffed in frustration as she thought more and more on the subject.

"I agree," Kyoko mumbled sadly, looking down at her lap. Kanae looked over to the girl with surprise. What was with that reaction? "I don't think Tsuruga-san is easily tricked like that. I can only guess... that he knew and loved her enough to allow her to manipulate him." Kanae stared at the gloomy girl in silence. Didn't Ren like Kyoko? She was was almost 100% positive that the man in question was constantly pursuing her friend. Kyoko had been adamant that it wasn't possible when Kanae suggested it in the past, but the man was constantly doing things that gave him away. So annoying.

"Mo, why are you getting all depressed like that? Even if he did let that girl do as she pleased, hasn't she shifted her focus to someone else already? Even if she hadn't, are they already in a relationship? I don't care for this kind of thing, but you should go after the things you want. Aren't you the one that told me to fight when I had that demon Erika attacking my dream of being an actress?"

"But Moko-san... to act on these feelings with so little hope for me. I don't know if I could handle the rejection. I don't want to ruin the relationship we have over something hopeless."

"Then don't confess to those feelings." Kanae huffed in annoyance.

"Eh?"

"There are other ways to grab someone's attention rather than outright saying it. What do you think flirting and seduction are for? Seduce him. Make him yours that way."

"Ehhhhhhh?!" Kyoko was bright red now. For one, this was oddly similar to the advice she had given Ren all that time ago. 'Seduce her!' spoke the voice of Bou in her mind, the mental image flashing of him giving Ren a thumbs up. How foolish of her, really. For two..., "How would I even seduce someone like him?" she whimpered. Kanae stared, a little shocked at how quickly Kyoko seemed to be considering it.

"Mo, I'm not getting involved further than this. Figure it out yourself." Kanae said as she swiftly got up, grabbing her things as she walked out.

"What? No! Moko-san! You got to help me! How am I supposed to do that?" she calls as she quickly follows the other girl out of the Love-me room.

"Like I said, figure it out yourself. I don't want to get any more involved. This isn't my business!" she huffed in annoyance. Why should she have to tell the girl how to seduce that man? She would support Kyoko going after the things she wanted, but that didn't mean she wanted to make things easy for him.

"Mokoooo~" Kyoko whined, clinging to Kanae as the older girl continued down her path. "Please help! I don't know anything about the art of seduction!" Kanae stopped abruptly and Kyoko smacked into her, dazed a bit as she backed up a couple steps and rubbed her nose. Looking up, she was horrified to see the reason for the abrupt stop. Ren and Yashiro stood before them in the hallway, shock clear on their faces. Ren's face slowly shifted into a bright sparkly smile, making Kyoko shiver in freight.

"What's this about seduction, Mogami-san?"

'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!' Kyoko screamed in her mind, her face frozen with fear and dread.

Just a little something I'm trying out. I've been trying to put myself in the shoes of a lot of different characters lately to help my original work, but something I'm seriously lacking in experience with is positive female interactions. Luckily, Kyoko and Kanae are nowhere near normal, so I think it might be a little easier to pick up on their personalities while exploring this new realm. I really like the idea of Kotonami being a supportive friend. There's a lot of fanfictions that depict her as possessive of Kyoko, but I don't think that's quite right. She's more competitive than possessive, in my opinion, though still very concerned for the well-being of her "rival". She's cute like that.