I came up with the title because throughout the manga Ren knows who he is, but is known as many different people. (For those who are fans you know what I'm talking about, for those who haven't read the series I won't ruin it for you with that particular spoiler)

Everything about Skip Beat (storyline, characters, etc.) is owned by Yoshiki Nakamura. All the events in my fanfic should follow the same order as the manga.

So here it is Ren's story…

Everything starts with a beginning, the same old routine of waking up in the morning as one person and going through the motions of the day as another. Every celebrity knows that this is how it has to be. In order for the job to go unaffected by personal emotions, one must create a separate persona. Whether that persona is an extension of your true self or someone you wish to be is up to you to decide. Looking in the mirror is Ren Tsuruga, Japan's #1 male idol, but even with the amount of "love" and respect that accompanies that title, emptiness is still the underlying feeling that I know. Running a hand over my hair, I thought of the fans for which I was grateful for and the roles I was continually being offered, but it still didn't feel like enough. I can't even think of the reason for the emptiness. *ring* "Yashiro-san…yes, I'm up, I'll pick you up in an hour." These thoughts would just have to wait; after all I was one of the fortunate few who really loved what they were doing. It wasn't for the money, favors, or connections that I loved it…it was a job that I had always wanted to do, in fact a dream that I was able to make into a reality, and the satisfaction of knowing a job well done at the end of the day.

One hour later

Looking over at my personal manager, I realized why we got along so well. Yukihito Yashiro, probably the only person I could ever accept as my manager now, was a quirky yet responsible sort of person. I had watched Yashiro take out a completely different phone than the one he was using yesterday to check in with the office. Honestly, the man must be an alien; his uncanny inability to touch any electronic device for more than 10 seconds without reducing it to an empty shell was unreal. We were making really good time as we were already 30 minutes ahead of schedule, but for some reason I couldn't shake this uneasy feeling of change.

Is Yashiro still upstairs? I thought we would be out of here by now. And what's with all this noise so early in the morning? Isn't that Sawara-san? He's usually a mild-mannered man, what could be going on that he could be in such a huff? A girl? He's arguing with a girl? I suppose I should go over and help him out if the situation changes. As I got nearer, I was able to pick up more of their conversation and it seemed that the girl wanted to get into show business. After taking a closer look at her, she seemed to be a little more natural than the fluffed up girls that usually walked through LME's doors, but that didn't work entirely against her. In fact, I prefer women who are more comfortable in their own beauty rather than a painted mask. But this one seems to be a star chaser. She doesn't show any interest or enthusiasm for the industry except for who she hopes to meet. These types of people will never make it in this business, but she does have guts to state her true intentions out loud. She'll soon give up for sure since her feelings are so weak, plus no one would ever be able to take a girl with those kinds of reasons seriously….Pfft..she doesn't even notice Sawara-san and I are carrying her outside. It should be about time for my meeting, I'll probably meet up with Yashiro-san at the door.

Later that Day

It seemed that the entire day, I couldn't think of anything else, but her. That weirdly determined girl that knelt in front of LME the entire day. After returning to the office, the frequent topic of conversation was about her. From what I gathered, she knelt in the same spot without moving an inch from the moment Sawara-san and I brought her out to sunset. Then with a quiet exit she vanished.

4 days later

It's already past two in the afternoon and I haven't even gone through half of the things on my schedule. I really have to hand it to Yashiro-san, when you tell him to keep you busy, he really keeps you busy. Oof…that girl from before? Why in the world is she here and…what's this? "The new-comer casting? I see so Sawara-san gave in after all." What in the world is that man thinking? We're not in some desperate need for new talent that we would need to even consider a girl like her. *sigh* "Wh..what's with this 'why stress yourself, in the end, she won't pass and she'll regret it' sigh?" Huh? That's weird I know I made my annoyance apparent, but she just said the exact same words I was thinking in my head.

That girl is even more interesting than I originally thought. I couldn't even imagine that her reason for joining the industry wasn't to chase a star but to take revenge on him. What was his name again? Sho Fuwa? Apparently he's a rising and talented musician in the Akatoki Agency, and from my sources he has an attitude that says 'I've always belonged in the spotlight' to match. Pshh…I've never much cared for people like him. Now back to my present musings, that girl's reasons and feelings for joining the industry is still too shallow for me to accept. I already learned long ago that it doesn't matter how strong your determination may be, a lack of discipline for your craft will throw you into a pile of already-forgotten actors and actresses. If she were ever allowed to enter the industry she will be one of many hopefuls who will always wait to make their debut, one of the many overlooked for parts, and one who will always be forced into the background. But enough about her for now, if I don't sleep soon I'll receive a lot of grief from Yashiro tomorrow. Besides, I can always find out what happened to her at the new talent audition another time.

I hope you enjoyed this first chapter on Ren. I think his and Kyoko's characters go through the most transformation throughout the series and I wanted to portray Ren as the stiff person he appeared to be when we as readers were first introduced to him.

Also please forgive the constant change in scenery; it's just fast-paced for now since that's how the manga started trying to acquaint us with all the characters. You may have guessed by now that any words that are italicized are Ren's most private thoughts when he's around other people. While all of the words in normal text are in a way a sort of narration and those thoughts which aren't kept under lock and key.

Please review because I won't be able to improve if I don't hear your comments. Oh an only constructive criticism please, I really want to hear your opinions. Also, any form of cheering helps, too! =)

Thanks for reading!

~Kaede Itsuki~