DISCLAIMER: I do not own Skip Beat! That honor goes to Nakamura Yoshiki.
Tsuruga Ren was on his way to picking up the girl he was in love with.
Unfortunately, it wasn't "picking up" in that sense.
No, they were carpooling.
His matchmaking manager, Yukihito Yashiro was happily seated besides him.
"Kyoko will be absolutely thrilled! I can see it now...Kyoko, staring deep into your eyes with that face. Thanking you profusely and telling you that you shouldn't have gone through so much trouble. 'Especially not since Princess Rosa; oh this is too much, Tsuruga-san!' she'll say. 'But Kyoko-chan, I love you so. I would walk to the ends of the earth for you. I'd sacrifice myself to a ritualistic, volcano-tripping for you, anything for my Kyo-"
"Yashiro-san, it's nothing that extravagent," Ren sighed, though a genuine smile lit up his masterfully crafted face. Yes, the boy had outdone himself this time. Princess Rosa had taken a while to come up with, but this was in return for the dessert Kyoko had specifically made for him for Valentine's Day. Not to mention, he had stolen a kiss from her cheek that day.
Today, he had plans for those lips.
Of course, after he had given her that brilliant gift.
That brilliant gift being a Princess-Prince photoshoot, starring Kyoko as the beautiful, faraway princess and Ren as the strapping Prince in shining armor.
Of course, she couldn't refuse. Especially since the photos were to going to be used for her publication. She never turned down chances to make herself more known, especially if it called for her to be professional alongside her sempai.
It hadn't been too difficult for the photographer to say yes to the Tsuruga Ren, the James Dean of Japan, for a photo shoot with the up-and-coming Kyoko.
Kyoko would have two dreams coming true.
And Ren would have his dream of kissing the Princess as the Prince.
Yes, he beamed, he had done it this time.
Yashiro smiled for his younger charge as they pulled up to the Daruma-ya. However, his smile turned into a gape as he saw how Kyoko looked.
A cleavage-baring red blouse, a skin-tight black skirt, tights, and animal-print heels. Not to mention the make-up and bed-head hair.
Good God.
Kyoko had turned into a Sex Kitten.
Yashiro risked a look at Ren.
If Yashiro was shocked, Ren was stunned. He froze, eyes widened, fists clenched on the driving wheel.
Ren's eyes looked for his once innocent, sweet, and chaste Kyoko, but only found this...this...tease strutting to his car.
His eyes fell immediately at her creamy chest and the long, shapely legs in black pantyhose. And that sultry smile...
His pants suddenly felt too tight.
"Good morning, Tsuruga-san, Yashiro-san," Kyoko slid in to the back seat, completely oblivious to her sempai's pained face and his manager's horror-stricken look her way.
"Um...Kyoko-chan...you do know we're headed to the Dark Moon set, right? Not Box 'R'?"
Kyoko let out a charming little laugh. "Don't be silly, Yashiro-san. I know. I was just...dressing it up a little. It is White Day after all,"
"Don't worry, Yashiro-san. Actors sometimes get stuck in certain roles. Mogami-san will snap out of the character of Natsu soon," Ren reassured him, though he was saying it more to himself. She better not always dress so sexy every White Day.
"Tsuruga-san!" Kyoko pouted a glossly bottom lip, crossing her arms under her chest. Ren's eyes followed the rise of her breasts. "I'm not playing Nacchan! I like wearing things like this,"
Ren began to pull away from Daruma-ya, eyes hardening. "The Mogami-san I know doesn't wear such provacative clothing. Especially to the job that doesn't require such clothing. Mio is not that kind of girl,"
"Tsu-ru-ga-sa-n," Kyoko purred, placing her hand on the shoulder of Ren's seat, nails brushing against his neck, summoning goosebumps. "Don't treat me like a child,"
"Don't act like one," he snarled.
"Do I look like a child?"
Heavens above, did this sex-kitten look like a fucking child? No, no, a thousand times, no! Ren was inches away from stopping the car, finding the nearest Love Hotel, and fucking Kyoko's brains out. She had no right to parade around looking so...ravishing. Especially around other men. Ren could only imagine the ocean of drool the men on the set of 'Dark Moon' would produce, and it made him gnash his teeth.
She knew she had done it when she delivered that line. Her demons were going nuts, bathing in Ren's anger. This time, he didn't bother to hide it at all. He was raging, Kyoko knew, but this new-found confidence made her think she could slip past Ren's notorious anger.