Forgive me for being late! I had a lot of work and a nasty case of writers block. But I SMASHED that wall down. So here it is. I'm thinking the next chapter might be the last but I'll see how it goes. I've already got ideas for other stories though so, Watch this space! Enjoy this chapter and please review! If you want a song try Glitter in the Air by Pink.

Disclaimer: I do not own Skip. If I did own Skip Beat, things would be very different and it would probably lose a lot of readers.

There was no denying that hearing her tearful voice over the phone had angered him, but it was nothing compared to what the sight of her curled up on the pavement made him feel. That jerk would pay; he would make sure of that. The car had barely stopped before he rushed over to the dangerously weak little girl. He resisted the urge to crush her to his chest and never let go and instead reached out to stroke her hair. Flinching away from his touch she whimpered and pressed herself into the concrete further. What had that bastard done to her?

"Kyoko," He said quietly "Kyoko, it's me."

Her pitiful little voice was less than a whisper, "Ren?"

"That's right. Come on. Let's get you off the street." Carefully, he scooped her up into his arms and held her close to his chest. She was shivering and sparkling, silent tears ran down her face and dripped off her chin. It broke Ren's heart to see her this way, broken and helpless. Burying her face into his shirt she clung to him as he cradled her in his strong arms. Gently, he placed her in the car and she gasped from the loss of heat. Looking at her for the first time another wave of soul crushing sadness hit him. She had the start of a black eye coming up on her usually perfect face. Her ripped-open blouse showed there were red and purple marks from his teeth all the way down from her neck to her waist and there were large hand shaped bruises on her throat and arms. The way she winced when her head was touched also suggested bruising under her hair. It took all the self control in the world to stop him from tracking down Fuwa and beating him to death. No, right now he needed to be there for Kyoko. He was only sorry he couldn't have been there for her before.

"Do you want to go to the hospital?" he asked, looking over at her, conscious of her injuries. She shook her head.

"Do you want to go to the police?" This resulted in violent head shaking and another wince. "Careful," he said "Even if you don't get treatment you're still hurt."

"You will tell me what happened though." That wasn't a question. He looked over again to find her resting her head against the window staring blankly at the rushing scenery. That's right she would tell him what happened and then he would have his revenge.

When they finally pulled into the garage below his apartment, she tried to get out the car herself but he dashed over and picked her up again. Unexpectedly there was no complaint; she only snuggled into his warmth. She only got down when they got to the door. Ren rushed off to get her a glass of water and the first aid kit. Handing her the glass of water he noticed she was looking down and blushing furiously. He followed her gaze and looked up again quickly. She was still only wearing her jeans and ruined shirt, leaving her chest exposed completely. Even her bra he noticed was only staying up because she was holding it there. He tried not to think about what he had seen and quickly went to get her some of his clothes.

"Why don't you go take a shower and change?" He asked her softly handing her the clothes and first aid kit and taking the now empty glass. "Treat all the injuries you can." He swallowed thinking about the location some of the marks. And as she turned around and he imagined the further handprints down her thighs his temper rose again. Not only had that man had the chance to touch her intimately but he had abused it. A girl as beautiful as Kyoko should be caressed not crushed. Stroked not struck. He would pay.

Ren sat on the floor next to the door and put his hands over his face. How could he have let this happen to her? He knew that Shou was a no good piece of trash but still he let her run back to him. But then she would've hated him for stopping her from pursuing want she wanted. Nothing was paramount to her safety however. He would rather have her hate him forever than know that she was being hurt. Hearing the water stop he stood up and was standing by the door when she emerged from the bathroom, holding an ice pack. He'd carefully wrapped it in a thin towel so it wouldn't be too cold for her delicate face.

"Here," he said lightly pressing it to her bruised eye. Even when she took it off him he let his hand slowly linger by her face, stroking her hair a bit.

"Thank you," she mumbled another blush spreading across her cheeks.

He caught himself and coughed, turning his head away from her face only to see how good she looked in his clothes. The oversized t-shirt impossibly made her seem even cuter. He abruptly looked up again before his subconscious led him places his mind told him were wildly inappropriate. A muffled sob caused him to snap his head back again. Kyoko was bent over in a bow and Ren could see the tears falling onto the carpet. "I'm so sorry Tsuruga-san. I don't deserve your kindness. I should go. I.."

"No!" He couldn't stop himself from shouting. "I mean, no you can't. Your hurt and you haven't told me what happened."

"But I don't deserve... After what I did...I couldn't..." She seemed to fighting back even more tears and the look of terror on her face scared him to his very core.

"Kyoko, What did he do?" Ren's voice was deadly soft and left no room for argument.

They sat on the sofa; close together but miles apart. Fixing her with a politely demanding gaze he listened to her story. He noticed how she skipped over how she and Shou had started arguing and what they had been arguing about, which annoyed him a little. However when it got to the point where Shou threw her on the floor he clenched his fist so hard his nails broke his skin but his rage wiped out all sense of pain. The story continued and the fire burned even more fiercely.

"And he licked me and bit me and I screamed and screamed at him to stop but he wouldn't..." Fresh sobs came and the little drops left tracks over the bruises that stained her face. He pulled her over into a soft warm embrace. Wrapping her arms around him she whimpered and wailed into his body and he tried to absorb her sadness; tried to take it as his own like the stone he'd given her so long ago. She sat in his lap and he rocked her back and forth, stroking her hair and back. It crushed him he could do nothing to save her from the torment of this. No amount of hate could free her from this, only love. He had to know once and for all if he was to help her though.

Ever so gently he tipped her head up with his hand. "Kyoko, did he rape you?" His head pounded with the onslaught of emotions. Fury, fear and heartbreak for the girl sat before him. The tension was killing him; she rested her head against his chest again. "No." She said quietly. "No he didn't." The look on her face showed she expected rejection, expected to be shoved from his arms and kicked onto the street. Sighing with relief, he held her tighter and rested his head on hers. "Thank god." Honestly, he didn't know what he would've done if he had. "So how did you get away?"

"I hit him. With a lamp." In the depths of their despair just a flicker of a smirk could be seen on both their faces. "Good." he felt he could at least say that.

"I wonder how he is." Ren looked at her incredulously.

"Kyoko..."

"No, no. I don't care if he's in pain or not. It's just I hit him over the head and the glass shattered everywhere." Her face became clouded with worry. "If he is pretty badly hurt he'll come for me and... Oh!" Ren had grabbed her shoulders and crushed him to her knocking the wind out of her. "Just let him try."

And that's how they stayed. Time passed but the ticking seconds and minutes didn't affect them. Wrapped in each other's touch, the picture looked complete. The missing piece to the puzzle had been found and Ren wondered if it would ever get better than this. She would probably leave him after this and he was wrong for taking advantage of the situation but seeing her like this had smashed the dam he'd built in his mind. As an actor he'd been a fool to underestimate the power of this emotion called love. There were so many roles he felt now he could go back on and say 'No I got it all wrong.' His Katsuki was the only one based on his love for Kyoko, his one true love. He could see why the president had created the Love Me section. No person should live their life not experiencing this emotion. Her breathing had slowed and she finally looked peaceful in her sleep. He would love to just sit here and hold her but there was something that had to be done first.

Shou was standing in the alleyway by his building, leaning against the wall, tendrils of smoke curling round his head. "It'll stunt your growth y'know." The voice came from the shadows soon followed by its owner. Shou leapt to attention, the fag nearly falling from his fingers. "You can't tell me what to do," he said trying to regain his cool but failing with a little childish break in voice. Ren's face came into the light, the false gentleman smile on his lips. "I know just some friendly advice from a fellow star." Shou glared at him and took another drag. When the smoke cleared Ren could see blood mixed with his blonde hair and a small mark on the side of the boy's head and silently praised Kyoko. "So, you come to beat me up?" He was trying to sound calm but the fear resonated in his voice. "No. I can see Kyoko did a good enough job and I would like to keep my slate clean." In truth, Ren knew his slate was probably anything but clean but he didn't know that. The smile vanished and was replaced only by the demon lord's glare. "Some more advice for you. Should you touch Kyoko again I will personally make sure you suffer and I'm nowhere near as kind as she is." He turned and began to walk away "You think about it."

"I'll go to the police. She hit me." Ren turned again, this rat was starting to annoy him.

"You wouldn't stand a chance. You're guilty of attempted rape and that was self defence on her part. Plus my lawyers are very good. You'd gain more by keeping quiet."

Shou had obviously noticed that no immediate danger would befall him and smirked thinking he had won. "Yeah well she deserved it the little bitch." Ren spun round, a fire blazed in his eyes. "What did you say?"

"Oh I wish you could have seen it." Shou grinned at this new reaction "The way she screamed your name for help and the look on her face when she realised you weren't coming. You let her down." Ren entire body was shaking but he focused on putting one foot in front of the other. "Her little face as she begged me to stop telling me she loved me over and over. You could taste the delicious fear on her skin. How could you like such a..." Ren's fist hit him so hard he was knocked to the floor.

"You thank your lucky stars I'm feeling generous." Ren spat at him. "Cause you could be dead right now." Ren stood on the hand holding the cigarette, putting it out. "You remember that." Without giving the petrified boy another look he turned and walked back to his future - Back to Kyoko.

Authors Comment: I DO NOT PROMOTE SMOKING! It seemed to me like Shou would smoke so I put it in anyway. I don't know about the law in Japan but assume it's like everywhere else concerning Sexual Assault. Please check my profile for more updates. Thank you so much for all the favourites I have received. Thank you thank you thank you! Please keep reviewing with anything you would like to say. THANK YOU!