DISCLAIMER: Skip Beat! belongs to Yoshiki Nakamura.

A/N: This takes place sometime after the incident where Reino touched the Corn stone, but while they are still in Karuizawa. It's before Kyoko meets Kuu, so she has no clue about what Ren's real name being "Kuon Hizuri" might actually mean.

-- The Fairy Touch --

"Um... Tsuruga-san..." Kyoko began nervously. "Will you... walk out to the forest with me...?"

"What?" Ren asked in surprise. "Why?"

Was she saying that she wanted to spend time alone with him?

"Because, you told me not to go by myself," she replied. Her mood instantly darkened and Ren knew she must be thinking about the stalker incident.

"Of course I'll go with you," Ren answered, extending his hand to her with a soft smile. A smile that melted Kyoko's demons, if not her heart.

"Okay, let's go," Kyoko said in a dreamy voice, her mind already halfway to La-La Land as she reached out to grasp his outstretched hand.

Of course, once she realized that she was actually holding Ren Tsuruga's hand, she let go.

"You don't need to hold my hand, Tsuruga-san, I'm not in kindergarten! Do you think that after making the effort of asking you to accompany me, I'd go wandering off without you like a small child?"

Ren sighed. The human mind's ability to rationalize things truly IS amazing, he thought to himself, and not in a good way. Out loud, he said with a devilish smirk, "I wouldn't put it past you, actually. I don't know what goes on in that mind of yours, but you get lost in it and lose track of the things around you sometimes."

"That's mean, Tsuruga-san!" Kyoko exclaimed, her face now set in her I-can't-believe-how-mean-you-are expression.

It would be so much easier if she were a normal girl who could understand that he just wanted to hold her hand, without blowing every little thing out of proportion...

Ren held out his hand to her again.

"Just take my hand," he said impatiently. "I promise I don't have cooties," he added teasingly.

"Stop treating me like a kindergartner," Kyoko pouted, reluctantly taking hold of his hand once more. She hated to admit it, but he actually had a point about the thing with her losing track of reality.

And, just as he expected, she perked right up as soon as they were in the forest. Her eyes went sparkly and unfocused. Ren closed his hand more firmly around hers as he felt Kyoko's grip slacken.

Kyoko seemed content to wander aimlessly, so Ren took the initiative and led her to the river where they'd met yesterday morning. He forced himself not to think of the second stalker incident, which had also happened yesterday.

At the river, a beautiful golden-haired male fairy appeared in front of them.

Ren blinked. Was Kyoko's wild imagination contagious? Because he shouldn't be seeing her delusions...

"Hello, Kyoko-chan. It's been a long time," the fairy said, smiling.

"Hello...?" Kyoko answered hesitantly. She knew this wasn't something she was imagining because she could see Ren staring at the exact same spot... so there must be something actually there. Also, her wonderful daydream had been shattered just moments before when she felt a creepy aura approaching. So, of course she had to be cautious. What if this fairy was a part of that Beagle's nefarious trap?!

"Don't you remember me?" the fairy asked sadly. "We met when we were children. I'm 'Corn'."

Ren didn't know who was more started by this announcement, Kyoko or himself.

"Actually," the fairy continued, smiling, "my full name is Cornelius, Prince of Fairyland. Corn, for short."

Ren didn't know what was going on, only that something was very wrong here.

"Corn," Kyoko breathed, in her dreamy la-la voice.

Warning bells went off in Ren's brain as Kyoko pulled her hand free of his and moved toward 'Prince Cornelius of Fairyland'.

Kyoko could hardly believe it. It was Corn, her fairy prince, who she thought she'd never see again...

And then suddenly the creepy aura from before enveloped her full-force, and she found herself being swept up into the arms of not her beloved fairy prince, but the incredibly Goth lead singer of Vie Ghoul - Reino.

Ren didn't even have time to feel alarmed by Reino's sudden appearence before the singer was shoving Kyoko into the actor's arms.

"Don't let him touch her!" Reino snarled. "He's Gancanaugh!"

"He's what?" Ren asked, making sure to keep a tight hold on Kyoko despite his confusion.

Kyoko, still seemingly entranced by 'her fairy prince', struggled to get free.

"Gancanaugh," Reino repeated. "An Irish fairy, the male equivalent of a succubus. He seduces human woman and drains their life force. Even a single touch can make a woman addicted to the feel of him. And him pretending to be the stupid 'fairy' that she met before isn't really helping the situation!"

Ren didn't know why Reino was trying to protect Kyoko, but that didn't matter right now. She was already under the wicked fairy's spell, and he and Reino both knew that Ren was probably the only one who could free her.

Ren put his mouth against Kyoko's ear and said quietly, "Kyoko-chan, I never corrected you that time because I thought your mistake was cute, but my real name is actually Kuon Hizuri. Ku-o-n." He pronounced each syllable carefully, so she could hear the difference.

And the puzzle pieces suddenly fell into place in Kyoko's mind. Ren had only really started being nice to her after the incident with Corn-the-stone falling down the stairs. And that time, he'd asked her if she used to live in Kyoto. And just yesterday, the Beagle had said that weird thing about "Ren Tsuruga" being an alias...

"That was you?" Kyoko asked, looking up at him curiously. "But if you figured out who I was, why didn't you say anything?"

"Well, that would have been awkward," Ren said uncomfortably. "And besides that, I didn't want to ruin your magical childhood memories by letting you know that the fairy prince you met was actually just some random boy."

While these two were lost in their own world, the other two were...

"Aw, shit," the Gancanaugh cursed. "And she looked like such an easy catch, too. Damn it."

Reino pulled out a paper seal.

"Evil spirit, begone," he intoned, sticking the seal to the Gancanaugh's forehead.

"... that doesn't work on me."

"Oh," Reino said. "What does?"

"Nevermind, I'm outta here!"

And the wicked fairy flew away.

-end-

A/N: Reviews are love.