Disclaimer: I don't own Skip Beat! I also don't own the song towards the end. It isn't an accurate version either. Altered on purpose. hey, Ren can't be perfect in everything you know.
This idea's been in my head for a while now. Still working on others. Hope you like! Or titles are fun!
Sing a Song Ren!
OR
Why Tsuruga Ren Does Not Sing
When Tsuruga Ren dismissed himself early to his hotel room, Mogami Kyoko immediately assumed he was feeling ill again. It took Yashiro Yukihito stepping in front of her to get her to not follow him to his room (again). She was worried, but he immediately laughed it off for her.
"Ren's just tired, really," he stated simply. He looked just beyond her worried face to the crew setting something up, donning coming to his face. "Or rather he's faking he's tired in order to avoid that."
"Eh?" Kyoko looked behind her to where some techs were setting up a karaoke machine. She was surprised they managed to bring one to their location shoot, but she really didn't understand what was going on. "Avoiding karaoke?"
Yashiro nodded and started to lead her out of the room to keep the secret/rumor down. "I've seen it before. A lot. Ren doesn't like to sing in front of people. I've never heard him sing before. Not once in all these years. And other than one time, I can't find anything of his remotely showing his interest in music. It's a mystery."
"Are you saying Tsuruga-san can't sing?" The concept of this amazing man being unable to do something Shoutaro could was just horrifying. No! Tsuruga-san absolutely could not fail against that guy! Kyoko could sing well enough to accompany people, and it was a tossup between her and Moko-san who was better when they went singing. Karaoke was a way of life among the youth of Japan! He had to-
"I don't know if he can or not," Yashiro assured her, trying to ease her panic. "I've never heard him sing one note, not even in the shower. Come to think of it, I've never heard him whistle either. Maybe he can't carry a tune..."
"This... this cannot be!" In a snap, the young actress turned towards the elevator. "I must get to the bottom of this! Good evening Yashiro-san!"
The manager just gaped at the girl's hasty departure, wondering to himself why it mattered if Ren could sing or not. Oh well. At least this way these two could have a moment away from the cast and crew.
Ren was actually too wired to go to bed yet, so he decided to stand on his balcony and watch the scenery for a while. There was a good strong breeze that night and he liked the feel of it against his skin. That and the rustle of the trees, and he could imagine he was back in the states hiking the Rockies. His night hikes used to scare his former manager/babysitter there a lot, but they were well worth it to get away from the atmosphere of his home town.
He heard the shutter of a camera seconds before he heard knocking on his room's door. Sighing slightly, he thought of some good excuse as to why he ditched karaoke with the rest of the cast as he made his way to the door. Really, was it too much to ask for privacy for a few hours? And what was with the Japanese obsession with singing-a-longs? He wasn't five years old being asked to follow the bouncing ball anymore.
All too soon he was peeping through the door and getting a light shock from the visitor outside it. Wasn't Yashiro going to curb how often she came to his room so no scandals came out? Still he could not resist her, especially with that anxious face. Ren took a moment longer to prepare his heart for what would be both bliss and a beating before opening the door. At least his smile was genuine. "Mogami-san. What brings you here tonight?"
"Please tell me you can sing!"
Ren fell into his poker-face, stunned at the demand. "What?"
Serious and determined like a kid, Kyoko explained. "You left the room just as they were setting up the karaoke machine. I thought you might be ill again from your breakfast, but Yashiro-san said you always run out claiming to be tired whenever you might be asked to sing. I need to know! Tsuruga-san! Can you sing?"
That was what drove her to his doorstep? The mere possibility that he could not sing to save his life? More worry and dread came to her face. "Or is it worse? Are you tone deaf?"
"Mogami-"
"Oh no! You're tone deaf!" Dread became panic, her imagination somehow going wild at the strangest conclusion known to man. Her face kept changing into the funniest expressions, all of which for panic and sadness on what she imagined without getting any more details. It took all of Ren's willpower not to burst out laughing at the scene before him. "How can this be?! The great Tsuruga Ren done in by music! Impossible! How can anyone recover from such a drastic illness! This is horrible! Tsuruga-san!"
"I'm not tone deaf."
"Eh?!" Kyoko finally stopped, somehow kneeling on the floor with teary eyes during her panicked rant. Man she was cute. Whenever she looked at him like that, he just wanted to pick her up and hold her tight. Funny how many times he was the reason she ended up in that position. Maybe that was why he loved teasing her all the time.
"I'm not tone deaf," he repeated, looking behind him to his room. He wanted to take her inside again, but after hearing a camera go off, and remembering Fuwa's lecture a couple nights ago, he decided against it. It'd be safer all the way around if they weren't secluded for a while.
Besides, he lied best while moving his feet. Taking two seconds, Ren grabbed his room key and headed into the hallway where a very confused girl was staring at his doorway. "I actually have a fairly good ear. How else could I start playing Cat Steps when I was just learning Chopin from watching my teacher's hand movements? I was playing by ear, and not very well."
Helping her to her feet, Ren motioned for her to walk with him for a while. The hallway was pretty much deserted so no one was listening to them right then. Settled down a moment, Kyoko nodded and asked the question he wanted to avoid. "Then... why did Yashiro-san say you never sing? Or whistle?"
"I haven't had a need to whistle," the man stated frankly. He wasn't much of a whistler really, and if he did, it was a short tune that clearly marked him as an American. Actually that was the same reason why he didn't sing. Despite his best efforts, his American accent came out every time he sang, no matter what language he was singing in. This was why he had to leave before people pestered him to sing. He'd be exposed if he did.
"As for singing..." He sighed. How best to cover his faults this time... Took him a moment to think more, then came up with his half-truth. "Mogami-san, do you know how many languages I speak?" She shook her head. "Five."
"FIVE?!"
"Japanese, English, Russian, French, and Spanish," he rattled off quickly. "And two forms of sign language."
"No way!" Speechless, the girl bedside him reminded him of a codfish. "How-"
"School, my parents, a part or two, and French really helps with the modeling industry." He sighed for her, showing his internal frustration. It was kind of fun impressing her with his lingual tongue, but that wasn't what he was aiming to do. "Problem is, even if you learn a language, if you do not master the accent, you will not be able to convince your audience you are a native. I may not be tone deaf, but even linguists have difficulty speaking other languages without exposing their nationality.
"So you come up with tricks. Practices..." Scratching the back of his neck, Ren prayed this worked. "I learned to master an American accent through music. Unfortunately it left me with a problem. I can't sing in Japanese without sounding like a foreigner."
"EH?!" It was clear the girl did not want to believe it, but believe it she did. Her gullibility was a lifesaver for him. "You sing-"
"Like an American trying to be Japanese." That was the truth. He just twisted the how this time. "I can either focus on the notes and lyrics, or try to get my accent right. The first time I realized this, was in front of a class and I don't want to repeat that incident."
Last bit was a total lie, but it could have happened. His story had the desired effect though. Kyoko was straightening her face in a determined fashion, likely making the decision to not share this information or planning on making him relearn how to sing in Japanese. Really, it was useless to try. It wasn't like he was going to be in a Japanese musical. Did they even have those? "I understand. No one would want such an embarrassing scene to repeat itself, especially among coworkers."
"Thank you for understanding Mogami-san." Going back to the elevator, he pressed the button that would lead her back to the floor her room was on. With that stalker somewhere in the hotel, he wasn't about to let her go wandering off alone (again), especially at night.
Still she sighed. "It's too bad though. I really wish I could have heard you sing something tonight..."
His heart lightening for a moment, Ren came up with a response. "I may not be able to sing anything in Japanese very well, but I am capable of singing something perfectly in English. I became quite fond of Country songs, if you're willing to listen."
"Country?" Kyoko had little difficulty saying the word in English (and her Japanese accent wasn't very strong).
"The songs if you play backwards you get everything back." The dumb American joke flew right over her head, making him just a little more homesick than usual. "I also know a little Swing and older tunes..." Kuon didn't like a lot of the music around him growing up, but back when he was becoming violent, Hard Rock started to become interesting. Pushing that aside, Ren looked at her cautiously in the elevator. "If you want, I can sing one for you."
"Can you?!" Excited, the girl almost sparkled up to him. She must be expecting something grand.
Sadly... "I must warn you though: without backup music, I can only remember some of the words. Is that alright?"
"Yes!" Slightly red that she believed in him so much, the young man took a deep breath and started to sing the first piece that came to his head.
I remember trying not to stare when I first met you
You had me mesmerized
3 weeks later on the front porch taking 45 min to kiss goodnight
I hadn't told you yet but I thought I loved you then
Now you're my whole life now you're my whole world
I just can't believe the way I feel about you girl
Like a river greets the sea
Stronger than it's been
We've changed since that day
And I thought I loved you then.
I remember taking you back where I first met you
You were so surprised
There were people around
I didn't care I got down on one knee right there
And again I thought I loved you then
Now you're my whole life now you're my whole world
I just can't believe the way I feel about you girl
Like a river meets the sea
Stronger than it's ever been
We've come far since that day
And I thought I loved you then.
I-
Ren stopped there, realizing he was confessing his feelings and his really stupid daydreams all in one go. He practically told her they met before too! It was bad enough he was messing up the song, but that it suited them that well...
Covering it up with a weak laugh and awkward smile, the actor started to apologize. Hopefully she didn't pick it up. How good was her English? "Forgive me, I seem to have forgotten the rest."
"You're really good!" The elevator doors opened before them, letting them offon her floor. Kyoko was shining at the idea of being sung to in such a way. How much had she understood? "It's really hard for a man to hit all those notes, and you wouldn't think you could reach them just by talking to you."
"You think?" He felt a little awkward singing again after so long. Five years at least. He really should practice on his own again. Maybe when he got back to the states he'd hit up Broadway. That would be a challenge actually...
"I know it! You're forgetting that I lived with a musician for a year Tsuruga-san." And here was the bruising he knew was coming. Being compared to Fuwa and their past... "I may not know everything about music, but I do know a thing or two about good voices and picking something that suits your voice. You did a really good job Tsuruga-san."
"Ah..." A slight blush came to his face, and for once he let it happen before her. It was perfectly appropriate for this situation, wasn't it? "Thank you."
"Not a problem Tsuruga-san. Ah!" They were at her door much faster than anticipated. "How did..."
"It really isn't appropriate or safe for you to be wandering up to a man's hotel room Mogami-san," he scolded her lightly. "Especially with Stalker-kun somewhere inside the hotel. Though I greatly enjoy your company, it is better if we are not seen meeting in our rooms. Someone took a photograph of me on the balcony not that long ago."
"Eh?!" Glad now that he heard the shutter earlier, Ren watched Kyoko mentally work out how bad this could be for their reputations. Her imagination was going wild again. Chuckling, he decided to ease her worries. She had accepted his singing problem after all.
Softly, he patted her head like he would a deserving child. This was safe contact. He could get away with this. "Don't worry about it too much. Go get some sleep. You can scold me for eating badly in the morning."
"Are you going to eat a mountain of candy bars when no one's looking?" The look on her face was so comical and Mio like, he had to snort. Candy bars?
"No, just anticipating the morning breakfast rush. Sleep well Mogami-san."
"Good night Tsuruga-san." With that, she used her keycard and slipped into her room. As soon as the lock clicked into place, Ren breathed a little easier. That was a really close call. Just how much could he get away with before she cried foul? Hopefully her heart would be more open to his subtle advances before she put two and two together.
Soon he was striding back to the elevator to get back to his room. The rest of that song played in his head, skipping two lines he had to ignore for the moment. A smile came to his face anyway.
What I can't see is how I'm ever gonna love you more
But I've said that before.
Now you're my whole life now you're my whole world
I just can't believe the way I feel about you girl
Well look back some day at this moment that we're in
And I'll look at you and say and I thought I loved you then
And I thought I loved you then...
Yeah... that was his mental state in a nutshell. Just how many times was he going to fall in love with that girl? The future both thrilled him and scared him. Who knew that one emotion was such a rollercoaster ride?
END
A/N: Song - I thought I loved you then by Brad Paisley. I picked it because I thought it suited them rather well, and that was when I only remembered the chorus. Anywho, I made sure Ren screwed up the lyrics a few times, and he's singing completely in English. I think this is why Ren doesn't sing in public, or at all. It would give him away. I read somewhere that it is possible to lose your accent if you speak another for so long, but I thought it'd be fun for Ren to have a problem keeping up accents while also concentrating on the song. My dad somehow got a Chinese accent while speaking Samoan so I know people can have an accent from something not their own while speaking another language (Dad's very European and Cali bred). Also gave Ren the ability to speak a lot of languages. We know he speaks three fluently due to his parents, but French and modeling works well together, and growing up in LA, he must have learned some spanish. I don't see Kuon doing anything in halves either. Fun times.
Enough about languages, Kyoko was cute being overly dramatic adn I thought the last bit where he pats her head was a nice touch. ren was really looking out for her then. So cute. Hope you've liked! I'll go back to homework and Check now...