Of Strength and Grace

by artloife

Kyoko despairs over whether or not she can grow up more kind than cruel. In other news, if you give Ren an inch, he'll gladly try for the mile. (Sequel to Five Times Ren Slipped...) Rated T for language.

3. Chapter 3

So this is the longest installment yet... Ehhehe... Pls someone let me know if something feels like it could have been edited out... I'm not great at figuring out that kind of stuff. In any case, enjoy!

...

Kyoko was running through her Sacred Lotus in the Mire script the morning after the locker room blow-up and pondering how to phrase her apologies to Chiori-chan and Moko-san. To her surprise, she heard her text notification sound chime as she wondered this and thought that maybe someone else had just had a similar thought.

She flipped her phone open in curiosity and indeed saw a message from Chiori-chan. She smiled a little to see it. Chiori must have been on break from her job and felt as bad as Kyoko herself did right now. As was often the case, if she and Chiori-chan had a disagreement, they also very quickly made up. It was kind of a nice change from past times in how she'd had to cajole or coax or use other, more persuasive methods on others so they would forgive her.

She and Chiori-chan were quick to make-up and Kyoko let her in on the hastily thrown together plan she and Ren had thought of. Chiori-chan was happy that they had an idea, but did need some reassurance that it could actually be pulled off.

Please trust me Chiori-chan, I promise Tsuruga-san and I can pull this off for us. She sent the message but fretted as she did so. She had the confidence it could be done because of how she and Ren had worked as Cain and Setsu, but Chiori wasn't privy to that information.

You've pulled it off before, so I do trust you. I just thought some extra help wouldn't be amiss, you know? Kyoko's phone chimed again as Chiori replied and Kyoko once more felt her guilt from the night before resurfacing.

I promise I get where you're coming from. Tsuruga-san helped explain it to me. Even though I've been in this industry a year and a half now, I still don't know all of the unspoken rules yet. He was very helpful in informing me of them. Kyoko responded and not too shortly thereafter, she got sent back a smiley-face and Kyoko felt confident that she and Chiori had smoothed this over. But, that left Moko-san to apologize too.

Kyoko hung her head a little. She may have to persuade Moko-san of her seriousness in apologizing with some makeup or do something else to really smooth things over with her. Maybe take her out for tea? Kyoko giggled as she daydreamed about what could be the best way to go about making it up to Moko-san, script left to the side, momentarily forgotten.

…

"Hiou-kun, what a surprise to see you here." Kyoko waved slightly as she caught sight of the young man near the vending machines at TBM. She had just finished Bridge Rock's taping for the week, and was on her way home to rest up to prepare for commercial shooting the next day.

Hiou swallowed the sip he had just taken and nodded shortly at her. It was rather late in the day for him, so Kyoko could only smile slightly at the familiarly brisk behavior.

Hiou cleared his throat, "Tea the other day was really nice."

"Good. I'm glad you had a good time."

"You're good at that ceremony thing. I can see why gramps praised you for your ability with it."

Kyoko blushed slightly, "Oh did he really? Oh gosh." She tried to hide her flustered reaction but Hiou caught it anyway.

"Actresses should have more pride you know. You work hard. Let people compliment you for it." Hiou scolded as he finished off the last of his drink and tossed it in the bin near the machines.

"Oh I'm trying to work on it. Hopefully it'll come to me sooner rather than later." Kyoko, self-effacing as always, tried to reassure him. Hiou sighed gustily in impatience and Kyoko had to hide her amused reaction. As much as she considered him a sempai in some ways, he was still such a kid in others.

They both turned slightly as they heard a heavy tread on the tile and a familiar figure came around the corner of the hallway, headed their direction.

"Tsuruga-san! I didn't expect to see you until tomorrow on set." Kyoko was quietly delighted at this unexpected encounter and bowed in greeting. Hiou did the same next to her as Ren also said his greetings.

Hiou checked his watch, "Well, it was nice to see you, but my manager was waiting on me. Tell Kanae to text me next time you guys go out. It was nice." Kyoko waved him off, thinking that was the end of it but she stopped as Hiou turned around again.

"Hey, Hiromune-san was looking for you on the training grounds today. Were you supposed to meet him or something?"

Kyoko cocked her head to the side inquisitively, "No, not at all actually. That's a bit surprising."

"Well, now you know. See ya." Hiou waved and was off, leaving Ren and Kyoko alone.

She looked up at the man standing next to her, rather curious about why he was there so late, "What brings you this way Tsuruga-san?"

"Just looking for you actually. Yashiro-san suggested I give you a ride home as we were done for the day." Ren said.

"Well thank you very much for taking the time to do that. Tell Yashiro-san I appreciate his thoughtfulness."

"You have his number don't you? Just shoot him a text. He'll answer."

"Ahha, yes, I suppose that's true." Kyoko couldn't believe she'd fumbled like that. Maybe she was more tired than she thought. Internally reprimanding herself for her silliness, she didn't actually notice Ren was asking her a question until he snapped his fingers in front her face.

"Mogami-san! Did you hear me?"

"Ah! I apologize! I was lost in thought!"

Ren looked down at her in slight concern, "It is rather late. Let's get going shall we?"

Kyoko nodded and quickly fell in step behind him as he lead her out.

"I was asking about Hiromune-san. I know you enjoy working with Kotonami-san, but have you and Hiromune-san gotten friendly as well with your work on Sacred Lotus?" Ren glanced down at her, curious about what Hiou had mentioned.

"Ahh, maybe? He asks me lots of questions so I think we're friendly? Or maybe he's just got the curiosity of a cat…" Kyoko replied, trying her best to distract Ren from a potentially uncomfortable subject she really didn't want to delve into.

Ren chuckled lightly as they got situated in his car and they pulled away from TBM, "Well in any case, I hope work's been going well otherwise and everyone's been getting along. That girl at the audition did have me rather worried at the time."

"I think maybe Producer Kuresaki-san's scolding on top of yours made her decide to behave. It's been a few weeks now and we haven't had any problems."

"Good. I'm glad to hear it. Now, anything I should know for tomorrow?"

Much of the rest of the ride went in a similar fashion and with a heart wriggling around in excitement for what was to come the next day, Kyoko said goodbye to Ren. Before he pulled away he called back out to her through the rolled-down window.

"Mogami-san."

"Yes?" she leaned down to catch his gaze better.

"I'm not going to go easy on you. You had the advantage as Setsu since Cain wanted to spoil you senseless all the time. But, I promise you, I'll be bringing my A-game." He smiled at her as he fired off his challenge. He couldn't help but shiver a little at the thrill that went down his spine as she straightened to her full height and smirked back at him.

"Don't worry Tsuruga-san. I'll show you what I can do. In fact, I've been wanting to do this since that time as Bo. You're taking me to dinner if I make you stumble tomorrow. My Hime-sama is not to be underestimated."

Ren grinned back up at her, entirely too entertained by her boldness. He swept her a little mock bow as best he could while sitting, "As Hime-sama wishes. Good night Mogami-san."

Blushing slightly, Kyoko murmured the same and quickly escaped into the Darumaya. She put both hands to her face to cool it slightly. Oh I am such a silly little fool. That man gets me too worked up. But she knew for a fact that her Hime-sama wouldn't let her down. Just you wait Tsuruga-san, just you wait.

...

Ushio Kurosaki had a fondness for people that were quick on their feet. People that instinctively figured out a successful path forward through either intelligence or brute force of will, either one had the tendency to catch his eye. Kyoko was one such individual. From the start she'd been a quick thinker, smoothly avoiding problematic entanglements throughout her audition and excelling to a surprising degree for a beginner. Kotonami-san had been a diamond in the rough waiting to plucked out of obscurity, but Kyoko. Well, she'd had a fierce, raw magnetism that demanded you look her way, and if you did, you would not be disappointed.

When Saishi had approached him and asked him to direct and he'd asked for what and with whom, Sakichi-san's assistant Chisato-san had smiled slightly.

"We actually approached you because, well, you're a director that's worked with her before."

"It wouldn't be an understatement to say that we might have been keeping an eye on her work." Sakichi-san had said, glancing down at his assistant, amusement apparent on his face.

"LME's Kyoko. We think she'll be perfect for what we want."

"You might say she's got a fan." Sakichi-san had teasingly hinted to Kurosaki in a tone that had made Chisato-san blush.

Kurosaki could only grin back at them. They weren't alone in that. It'd been nearly a year since he'd last worked with that girl. But seeing her as Mio, then as Natsu, well, his expectations for where she could go had only grown. He'd had no idea who'd done it, but somebody had polished that fierceness and that fire until it had become a blazing charisma. Naturally, he took Saishi's offer in a heartbeat.

He'd tempered his expectations as best he could in their first round working with Saishi. For all that he'd been impressed with what she'd done, he'd known she was still quite the beginner. That had shown in how the photographer had had to pose her for the advertising shots that were to go along with the commercial. She had a good walk and stance, but clearly didn't have a lot of experience with modeling aside from that. The photographer had had to seriously coach her through the poses. She'd had serious guts though; she'd never given up and she'd made sure that her work was satisfactory.

Akutagawa-san, one of Ushio's more experienced photographers that he liked to work with, had murmured on a brief break, "She's being even more thorough than I am. If I make the slightest noise, she's all about assuring me that she'll fix what she's doing wrong."

Ushio had patted his shoulder, "She's a thorough one. You get used to it."

Akutagawa had shaken his head in slight disbelief, "And she's only been in this industry for a year? Makes you wonder who taught her her focus and discipline."

But then, on the second day, when they'd gone and done most of the principal shooting, she'd come in with her head held high, confident and with a poise beyond her years. Ushio wasn't sure what had changed, and so quickly, but Kyoko had performed well beyond his expectations in their first Saishi production.

Ushio contemplated this as he watched his tech crew get things set up. He was expecting his stars any moment now and he was keeping an eye out so he could direct them to wardrobe. But, as he waited, he couldn't help but wonder at how Kyoko would work around Ren, who was such a polished and experienced actor. Shingai had mentioned how he'd led her well when he'd been working with Ren on the Ring Doh set.

It made Ushio wonder if she would be led again. He knew he would be satisfied either way as the people he chose to work with never let him down, but he couldn't help his curiosity. Tapping thoughtful fingers on his crossed arms, he had a niggling suspicion that whatever Shingai was expecting to see when he observed today, he was going to be surprised.

He was drawn out of his contemplative thoughts as Kyoko came onto set. They greeted each other quickly and Ushio directed her into wardrobe. That one tended to come in early if she could, which he greatly appreciated. Shingai and his companion, that Takashi-san from their hallway encounter, were the next on set. He directed them to an area that they had a good view to observe from, with some privacy so they could discuss what they liked about it without being interrupted. Ushio watched the clock, and right on time, Tsuruga Ren and his manager came strolling in. Ushio snickered a little. Shingai had told him about that little facet of Ren's personality and he'd been waiting for it. Tsuruga Ren was never one to disappoint on that front.

He directed Ren to wardrobe and his manager lingered to introduce himself.

"Yashiro Yukihito, very nice to meet you."

"Kurosaki Ushio, nice to meetcha."

"So, is there anything I need to concern myself with that might need doing while I'm here?"

Ushio shrugged, "We're a pretty well-oiled machine around here. Catered lunches and a lunch break about 1. Dinner, if it runs long, will be about 6 or 7."

"Good to know. Has Kyoko-chan already come in?"

"Sure has. She's already in wardrobe. As that group adore her, and she adores them, just between you me, I think she comes early on purpose." The glint of humor in Ushio's eyes startled Yashiro into laughing.

"Ah, she never changes. She's such a delight. I sure wish she'd hire me for her manager. Our president keeps suggesting it and she keeps turning it down."

Ushio's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Doesn't Tsuruga-kun keep you busy enough?"

Yashiro shrugged, "He's a well-oiled machine too. I was only hired by him because he started taking on too much work. He was working too hard to prove himself. You know how youngsters can be. He's slimmed down his work some more since Dark Moon has wrapped. I think he's satisfied with the acclaim he's gotten for it and he's not so desperate to work himself to death now."

"Yeah, that makes sense with a guy like him. He's pretty intense."

"Tell me about it!" Yashiro laughed lightly, "So, yes, working for Kyoko as well and getting her name out there, that'd be quite the feather in my cap!"

"Her charisma is crazy, hm?" Ushio's contemplative mood was returning as he returned his attention to the crew scurrying about.

"Well, yes. That's a good way to phrase it. She doesn't market herself much and it's a damn shame. Her charisma and force of will, well, they're the makings of a bright star indeed." Yashiro and Ushio shared an understanding glance. Ushio then took his leave as his assistant director motioned for him to assist them in moving some heavier equipment. Yashiro settled into a seat, excited to see what the day would bring.

…

Kyoko hurried into her dressing room, excited to meet with her makeup and wardrobe staff. She was hoping that they were mostly the same as before. She entered the designated area, and got a chorus of "Good morning! Let's work hard today!"

She gazed around the room, happy to see so many familiar faces and returned the greeting. One of her favorite stylists strode up to her, "Kyoko-chan! So good to see you! This is Emi-chan! She's my newest assistant!"

"Good morning Sato-san! Emi-chan! I'm happy to be in your care!" She bowed and popped back up, grinning with cheer.

"I got a new dress Sato-san! Moko-san convinced me it was a good idea. I think I'm going to wear it to a party soon." Spinning into a whirlwind of action with the stylists, Kyoko kept up her cheerful chatter and showed them a picture of what she had mentioned, and got several reassurances that the dress in question would be absolutely lovely on her, especially at a party.

Kyoko's favorite thing about being Hime-sama was having her very own team of stylists to work with her. While Sato-san and Emi-chan worked on her hair, others worked on her nails and pulled out clothes. And then Kyoko got to pick which outfit she thought would look best from a selection provided by Saishi's fashion team. Kyoko loved the entire process. Once she was declared to be done, Kyoko slowed the excited swirl of thoughts in her mind and centered herself to find Hime-sama.

"Kyoko-chan, we'll let the director know you'll be out shortly." Sato-san said as she led the others out of the room.

Once out of the room, Emi-chan turned a questioning look on Sato-san, who chuckled to see it, "Kyoko is a bit method. She'll walk out of this room as Hime-sama and most likely will stay that way for as long as she needs."

"Hime-sama?" Emi-chan questioned.

"Well, there's no set name for her character so that's what she named her."

Emi-chan laughed a little, "She's cute, huh?"

Sato-san laughed with her, "Oh yeah. She reminds me of my little sister in that way."

Back inside the dressing room, Kyoko was asking for the Queen Rosa's blessing. It was a ritual she found had worked exceptionally well the first time around and she expected it do the same for her again. Queen Rosa, please lend me your power. She imagined the Queen Rosa speaking. Who are you?

"I am Hime-sama."

And what is she? The playful tone made Kyoko's brow furrow in thought and she tried to dig deeper and get more serious.

"She is kind. She is respectful."

And?

"She is smart, and she works hard."

Who are you?

"Hime-sama."

What are you?

"I am kind. I'm respectful and polite."

And?

"I work hard. I'm smart."

And what draws your attention?

"People that are gentle and polite." Kyoko frowned a little as she found herself saying that. She supposed it was relevant to consider this type of behavior as she may need to change moods depending on how scenes played out. She knew she would be splitting her attention between extras and her new costar. Not only would she need to focus on them, but she'd also have to put a lot of her focus on what Tsuruga-san did and said so he wouldn't lead her in the scenes like what had happened on Ring Doh. Queen Rosa's voice came again, asking another question of her.

And what do you like?

"I like people that are respectful. I like people that are kind and wise. I like people that help others."

And what do you despise?

"People that are hateful. Gross boys that try to get my attention because they think they deserve it."

Who will you not give your attention to?

"People that are discourteous. People that dismiss me as just a pretty face and don't regard me with the respect that I am due." Kyoko's eyes were closed still but she felt herself straightening her spine as she stood and stepped away from her chair.

Who are you?

Her eyes opened, "I am Hime-sama." She whispered to her reflection in the mirror. Queen Rosa's last whisper was faint. What are you?

"I am made of grace." Her hands fluttered to their resting position and she took one last look at herself and smiled. The reflection of Hime-sama smiled back at her, flashy pink stones glittering at her wrist and neck. She was ready.

...

Ren was done with his wardrobe staff in a timely fashion, which he appreciated. He wanted to get familiar with the set and what was on the agenda to get done for today. He and Yashiro had managed to wrangle two whole days straight free for his schedule so Kurosaki could get everything he needed from him for this production. They might have also been a bit inspired because that also meant spending time with Kyoko for two days straight in a row.

Ren smiled fondly as he thought back to their challenge from the night before. Honestly, he couldn't wait to begin. He strode out to the set, where it seemed the crew were finishing up with the final touches of the office setting.

Kurosaki waved him over. "Hey there. We're starting with just some interior shots. We'll start with a couple short scenes where you two will just get comfortable with each other. Make your body language a bit playful and charming, alright? But like I said, spoken dialogue isn't really necessary for this, so no need to get wired up with a mic or anything like that."

Ren nodded along as he viewed the set. "Do you mind if I go ahead?" He asked as he motioned towards it. It was a typical setup with a couple rows of desks and chairs, with some extras lounging around, ready to get into motion when action was called.

"Oh not at all, make yourself comfortable."

Ren headed that direction, eyes on a swivel chair. He didn't know any definition of playful in an office setting that didn't include spinning around in a swivel chair. He chuckled to himself a little as he plopped down on one and spun a bit to prop his feet up on a desk. Leaning back and getting comfortable, he saw a couple extras tossing a squishy stress ball between them. Now that's fun.

"Hey!" He called out, startling them a little, "Let me in on that."

The taller, dark haired guy let out a bit of a disbelieving laugh, "Alright, sure. Catch!"

The sandy-haired one laughed with him as Ren caught it with ease and tossed it back to the pair. The other extras, distracted from what they were doing, began watching them, amusement filling their faces. This started an impromptu game of catch that entertained the people on set as they waited for their last star to show.

Kurosaki could only watch, more impressed than he wanted to admit that Tsuruga-kun could so easily create a comfortable environment. He tapped his assistant director's shoulder and told him to get a camera rolling; this would be great filler footage. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Kyoko's wardrobe staff spilling out from their designated area, looking between the fun on set and behind them, chattering amongst themselves in a bit of an excited fashion. Kurosaki stood from his chair, knowing by now that this type of behavior meant that Kyoko was about to step onto set. Her transformation seemed to constantly amaze his wardrobe staff and it never failed to entertain him.

Indeed, he was correct and Kyoko strolled onto set, head lifted regally and smiling gently at others she passed. He noticed Shingai and Takashi-san observing her and his staff's behavior and wondered again what they thought. His curiosity was getting the better of him again and he instead focused on what he had to tell Kyoko as she walked up to him, pleased to see her Hime-sama mask already in place.

Behind them, Emi-chan, as an aside to Sato-san, spoke in awe, "You were totally right! How does she do that?"

Sato-san could only shrug. She and the rest of Kyoko's team were then distracted by a sudden burst of laughter from the office setup. Sato-san looked in that direction and could only see an embarrassed looking Tsuruga Ren quickly retrieving a ball from under a desk. She strained to hear the comments being passed around, but only caught a couple that were to the effect of, 'Smooth move!' and 'Hey, we're over here you know!'. Sato-san shook her head in amusement. Today looked like it was going to be one of those days. She couldn't wait.

...

Takashi wasn't sure what she had expected when she accompanied Shingai today, but she was already glad she had come. Seeing Tsuruga-kun in a different environment than closed auditions made her realize that he easily had the charisma to be a leader among men. She supposed she could have watched more of his work and gotten the same impression, but this worked just as well. And, more entertainingly, he fumbled just like everyone else. He wasn't as perfect as he led everyone to believe.

She suppressed a quiet chuckle as he lost focus for a split-second, and missed the little stress ball coming right for him. She and Shingai had a great view of the set, but something else had happened that she hadn't quite gotten a view of yet. She craned her neck a bit, but furniture, lights, cameras and crew kept getting in the way of her seeing Kurosaki and this other person they'd come to see. Harrumphing slightly, she settled back into her chair and waited for action to be called. She had the patience to wait. Shingai glanced down at his huffy companion in amusement.

Before too long the call of "Places! Ready! Action!" were barked out by Kurosaki and the people on set began to act like they were going about their daily office routine.

Takashi kept her eyes peeled and her first glance of LME's Kyoko did not disappoint. She walked with poise, her gestures were refined, and her face was beautifully serene. Takashi wasn't too sure what direction this segment was supposed to go in, but Kyoko approached a desk, settled into work, and a couple seconds later, Ren approached her with a sheaf of paperwork that he laid on her desk as he leaned against it. His posture indicated obvious interest as he cocked his head towards hers in an invitation for her to look and admire.

Takashi had to smother another chuckle at the obvious peacocking. She hadn't a clue if Tsuruga was being deliberate in his body language or if he was just so comfortable in a role like this that it was subconscious behavior. He hadn't the chance to show off his prowess too much to her yet in that arena, so the ambiguity was doubly entertaining.

She turned her focus back on the scene and was not disappointed. She felt a smirk growing on her face as Kyoko glanced up at him, smiled prettily, said something too quiet to catch, and turned her head back to work, body language obviously signaling disinterest. Swiftly hiding his chagrin at the dismissal, Ren quickly straightened and stepped away.

"Cut! Excellent! Just what I was looking for! Well done you two. Kyoko, Ren, step back out here, wardrobe needs to make the necessary changes."

The two stars stepped away and Takashi settled back into her chair, deeply satisfied.

"Thoughts Takashi-san?" Shingai asked as he looked at her.

She smiled, "I'm looking forward to the rest."

…

Ren was eyeing Kyoko as wardrobe changed them out of their suit jackets and pulled out different shoes and other little things to show that the next segment was on a different day. He hoped she was too deep in her role to notice how embarrassing his behavior had been when he'd first caught sight of her. After their discussion of who would bring their A-game the most, he'd already lost. He should have caught that ball he'd been tossing around with the others, but had lost focus for a split-second when he'd seen her walk in. But damn it, that walk is damn distracting.

His introduction to her Hime-sama had been rather enlightening to say the least. Her team had fit her for A-line pencil skirts, low heeled pumps, bright and natural lipsticks that accented her jewelry pieces, and the different tops they put with the rest of the ensemble varied between tight and button-popping tight. His pulse was skyrocketing just standing a few feet away from her team switching her into a different jacket. They'd even gone so far to gel her hair and style it so it was more similar to how her Natsu hairstyle was like and that one stubborn lock of hair that kept falling in her face was seriously causing him to lose his focus. His fingers itched to touch the more he looked and he stubbornly denied the sensation.

He closed his eyes to try and help settle his jumpy pulse as wardrobe finished up with him. As much as he tried to settle it though, he kept finding himself nervously fiddling with stupid things, like his tie, or his cufflinks. He pulled his fingers from them with great effort and forced himself to focus back in on the job. But it was a bit easier said than done when his character was supposed to be as distracted as he really was. No, focus. She's already made me stumble. Don't you dare let her do it again. Focus. Setsu's outfits were way worse. You got this. His competitive spirit thusly recharged, his stepped back onto the office setup and settled back into a swivel chair.

He took the stress ball and started squishing it as Kyoko stepped back to her desk. This segment was just supposed to be him catching her as she was leaving for lunch and offering to go with her. No matter what, he had to get her to follow him out.

"Places? Ready? And action!" Kurosaki's voice cracked through the air and Ren quickly stepped into the row between the desks that Kyoko would have to walk through for her character to head to lunch. He saw her hesitate a couple steps away from her desk as he moved too quickly for her to realize what he was doing before it was too late. He watched as she silently debated with herself whether or not to walk right past him, or to go around him.

"If you're heading to lunch, shall I go with you? I know a great place if you're not too familiar with the area yet." He said softly to Hime-sama.

Hime-sama gazed back out at him through Kyoko's amber eyes before smiling sweetly and walking past without answering. It stumped Ren for half a second. I know she knows that the dialogue, whatever we say, won't matter, so why not answer? Before he thought too much about it he stepped in her way again.

Lowering his head slightly nearer her ear, he spoke again, almost whispering this time, "Hime-sama. I would be delighted to entertain you during your lunch hour. May I?" His sharp ears and eyes caught a faint hitch in her breathing before it smoothed back out. He had to suppress a smirk. Bingo.

He bowed slightly and reached out and brought the wrist that had her bracelet towards his face, acting like he would kiss the back of her hand. He stopped just short, but due to the angle of how he glanced at her, he caught a slight crack of the Hime-sama mask in Kyoko's gaze as she struggled to hide her fury. He knew that she would be reminded of their dinner date where he had gifted her this bracelet. It had been a split second decision, but he knew he had to catch her gaze to keep her attention or she'd have just politely ignored him again.

"Hime-sama," he whispered, breath ghosting over the back of her hand, "Please let me treat you. I very much wish to show you how much I appreciate you and what you do."

If he hadn't been so near, he might not have noticed, but he caught goosebumps dotting the skin on her arm and couldn't quite hide his pleased smile. Hime-sama mask firmly back in place, Kyoko took her hand back from him and finally spoke.

"As you wish then. It seems you are, if nothing else, persistent."

He smiled down at her delightedly and put an arm around her and escorted her back out past the rows of desks.

"Cut! Well done! How was the lighting people? I thought I saw an odd glare." Kurosaki went and consulted with some of his crew, motioning for Ren, Kyoko and the extras to stay put for the moment before he got an okay. Kyoko took the chance to shake off Ren's arm without the others noticing.

She sniffed and turned up her nose as she crossed her arms.

"Back with me I see." Ren teased. "Where's the darling Hime-sama?"

"She's taking a break." Kyoko responded haughtily.

"Oh don't tell me she's tired? We've hardly even begun." He smirked down at Kyoko and that had Kyoko winging a dangerous glare his way.

"Oh don't worry Tsuruga-san. Hime-sama has plenty of energy and focus. One could even say she has so much of it she could catch a ball that was thrown at her and not miss it completely." Kyoko's triumphant look at her zinger of a remark poked a hole in Ren's ego that had him sighing despondently.

"Okay, yes, you got me. Yes I'll be treating you to dinner." Ren tried his best not to sulk as Kyoko smiled in satisfaction.

Some few feet away, Yashiro watched Ren tease Kyoko and pondered the implications of him being so free with his attention towards her in public. Hmmmm, quite an interesting change in behavior. He'd been startled by it throughout the Bridge Rock taping, suspicious after Ren's kerfuffle with the Fuwa kid, curious after Ren met with Kurosaki and Kyoko for the proposal meeting without him, and now he was almost positive. Something was up with those two. Something had definitely changed after the Bridge Rock taping.

He hadn't known what to expect from their roles in this commercial either. He had had no idea where Kyoko had gotten the confidence to just dismiss Ren's forward behavior and move on like it meant nothing. He knew those two were professionals, and Kyoko demanded nothing less than the best out of her own behavior while working, but he had kind of expected her to at least blush some. Isn't that kind of normal for a role like this? Ah, but he'd answered his own question. Kyoko never did what he would normally expect.

He chuckled a little to himself as he settled back into his chair to continue watching the shooting. It would do Ren some good to be taken down a peg or two. If he didn't get challenging work, he tended to sulk. Ah, Kyoko, you truly never disappoint me. Yashiro smiled to himself.

Kurosaki once more called for a wardrobe shift and shooting continued in much the same manner as it had been going. The next segment just had Kyoko as a focus of a group, while Ren looked on like a lovelorn puppy, and Ren wanted to sigh at how pathetically easy and quickly it got done. They did have to do it twice however, as it was found after the fact that a light had been giving off too strong of a glare. Much of the interior shots went similarly. The following day was just going to be a couple of location shots, such as where his character took Hime-sama to lunch at, and where the group of them were supposed to have a work dinner.

Once they'd come back from their lunch break, they only had a couple more scenes to go. Currently, Kyoko was stuck on a scene that just had Hime-sama rejecting a sweet offered to her from Ren's character. It had her having to kind of delicately play it so as to show she would have liked it, but wanted to tell him no just because. It was a 'playing-hard-to-get' kind of feeling, as Kurosaki had explained to her, but Kyoko was woefully inexperienced in such ways. While she'd tried to incorporate some of the confidence of Natsu and Setsu into her Hime-sama, that type of feeling wasn't quite fitting into what she was doing now. And Kurosaki had already NG'd her first run at it, saying she was too meek in the body language she was utilizing.

She sighed as the lighting crew redid the lights so they could set up the scene again. She rubbed the back of her neck to try to ease the tension there and she tried to gather Hime-sama back into her and wipe away the meekness of Kyoko. Who am I? Kyoko closed her eyes as she sat at the desk and waited for action to be called. I am Hime-sama. And Hime-sama didn't approve of people that didn't work hard. And that even rang true for the people trying to court her. Pay me the respect I am due Kyoko thought hazily, knowing she was onto something. That cupcake was obviously bought on your way back from lunch, at that little cafe down the street. Like an afterthought. Kyoko sniffed haughtily as she flipped back her hair.

She settled back into her chair, crossing her arms as she gazed at the man in question, who was leaning against a desk across from hers. Hime-sama was coming back to her, ever so sure that this man hadn't thought this through. Put some effort into this. Hime-sama told the man with her eyes. She was still waiting for the Director to call action, but she knew she had the man's attention. He might have been laughing along to a joke someone else had just told, but she knew. She slowly crossed her legs and smoothed down her skirt and saw him squeeze the stress ball he had in his hand as he darted a glance back at her, seemingly unable to stop himself from doing so. A slow, satisfied smile spread across her face as she caught the glance.

A muscle twitched in his jaw as he flicked his gaze away again, squeezing that poor ball to death. You poor thing. This was so not well thought out. You should have known better. She vaguely heard the call of, "Action!" but she was already in place and didn't move. She clicked her pen and gazed at him in amusement as he approached with the cafe box in tow.

He placed it on the corner of her desk, mumbling quietly, and looking a bit embarrassed, "I thought I heard you say you felt like some chocolate today, and I saw this and well, here we are."

Hime-sama raised an incredulous eyebrow, clicked her pen, clicked it again, and on the third click, he blushed and cleared his throat, "Ah well, I could have been mistaken. My apologies for interrupting your work." He went to step away but she crossed her legs again and tilted her head. His blush deepened and he seemed unable to stop himself from glancing at her legs again. She smirked.

"How presumptuous. What if I'd already eaten a candy bar while you went to lunch? Do you still expect me to eat this too and be happy you got it for me?" Her sweetly sardonic tone of voice mocked him and his efforts.

Ren stiffened as he heard it and he felt Kuon slowly begin to stir to life. He thought he'd been laying it on pretty thick with the blushing, and had thought that trying this method would work for finishing the scene. Clearly, that was not going to be the case.

He spoke between clenched teeth, "My apologies for being presumptuous. Shall I just toss it then?" He thought he might have her there. The segment was supposed to finish with it left on the side of her desk, as she was supposed to be secretly charmed.

Hime-sama raised another eyebrow, "Still making all the decisions yourself about what I want hmmm? How far do you really think you'll get with that attitude?"

Ren swallowed hard as he saw the fire blazing in her eyes. Goddamnit. She keeps wrapping you around her little finger just like Setsu did. Raising his head from its meek posture, he stared her down, not finished with this challenge yet. He placed a hand on the corner of the desk, leaning in slightly to speak quieter as he had no wish to scandalize the others with what they might overhear. He was relieved, and not for the first time that day, that they were not required to be wired up with mics.

"Tell me Hime-sama, what it is you want then. I assure you, there's nothing more that I wish than to know what will satisfy you."

Hime-sama stopped clicking her pen. Ren felt a surge of triumph run through him that had him hiding a victorious grin. It was small and minor in the grand scheme of things, but it was a victory and he let out a low laugh that had her eyes flashing.

She sneered and slammed the pen down on the desk, "What would satisfy me, would be you leaving me alone. I have work to do."

He gave her a mocking bow and swept one more heated gaze over her that her ears reddening, "As Hime-sama commands." He turned to leave and heard the clapperboard snap shut.

"Cut!" When Ren looked back over his shoulder in surprise, he saw that Kurosaki seemed thrilled to bits.

"Excellent work Kyoko! Excellent! The pen was a beautiful way to show the subtext there! Well done!"

Kyoko flushed to the roots of her hair but bowed and mumbled her gratitude for his patience. Ren had to close his eyes and let out a slow breath. Dear god, this is more difficult than I even imagined. But they had one more scene left for the day. He was going to finish this with a bang if it was the last thing he did.

The last interior shot to be done was where Kyoko was to find the bracelet on her desk as a birthday gift, and she was to approach Ren's character to have him put it on her. After a pretty full day of being Hime-sama, Kyoko was gathering the last of her strength to pull off this scene. She had to be quietly charmed, slightly hesitant, and she had to show that she was attracted by what Ren's character was offering. Playboys and their gifts she thought to herself grumpily before her Hime-sama took back over and smoothed out her grumpy brow.

"Places! Ready? And action!"

Hime-sama strode towards her desk, files in her arms, and stopped just short as she noticed the jewelry box on the desk. She slowly set her files down and stepped a bit closer. Biting her lip, she quickly glanced around but saw no one watching her, so she reached out a tentative hand and let her fingers linger for a moment on the case. After taking another look around, she gathered up her courage and flipped the case open.

Bright and sparkling, a bracelet with three rows of gems and delicate filigree gleamed up at her and she brought a hand to her mouth in awe. She knew this bracelet. She'd seen it while at lunch with...her gaze shot up and landed on the man in question who had been so persistent in asking her to lunch. He was kind and helpful, if more forward than she was used to, but that he'd go so far...He seemed to feel her gaze on him and peeked up at her over his desk divider.

The gentle smile that came over his face as he looked at her made her decision for her. She found herself walking over to him, case in hand. He leaned back in his chair, tilting his head a little in question as she approached.

She presented the case and softly asked, "Would you be so kind?"

"As you wish Hime-sama." Ever so gently he grasped the bracelet she was already wearing and unclasped it. She felt goosebumps pop up on her skin at the graze of his warm fingers and had to firmly keep her mouth shut so as not to have any embarrassing sounds come out.

She bit her lip to keep it from happening as he took the new bracelet out and fastened it onto her wrist. She was far less successful when he brought the same hand to his mouth and kissed her ring finger gently and his gaze shot up to hers in surprise as she gasped quietly. She knew she was blushing and she was struggling to keep other embarrassing noises from escaping, but what made him stare at her in utter fascination for as long as he did, she didn't have a clue.

"Cut!" They sprang apart, startled as they heard clapping. "Well done you two! And on the first shot! Well done!" Kurosaki was clapping hard in appreciation for their work and Kyoko blushed but bowed in gratitude and Ren did the same. Others around the set began clapping as well.

"Alright people, tell me we're good to go and nothing needs readjusting!" Kurosaki bellowed. Ren, Kyoko and the extras stayed in place long enough to get the all-clear and stepped off when they did. Kyoko handed off Saishi's bracelet to its handler and quickly refastened her own back onto her wrist. Kurosaki then cleared them to start wrapping it up and with one last reminder to be back bright and early tomorrow, he let them go for the day.

Several of the extras came by to offer their congratulations for a job well done and Kyoko grew so flustered by bowing so many times in thanks that Ren eventually just placed a hand on her shoulder to keep her still. Kyoko gained some relief from him as she got to squirm away when her wardrobe staff came to get her so they could get her back into her everyday clothing. But, they were just as effusive in the approval of her work that day.

"Oh gosh Sato-san. I'm glad it looked so good, but please, I'm going to be red as a tomato the rest of the night if you guys keep going on like that." Kyoko murmured to her as the others kept complimenting her as they fixed her up in the dressing rooms.

Sato-san laughed but patted her shoulder comfortingly and motioned for the others to quiet down, "We're just amazed we got to witness somebody holding their own with the Tsuruga Ren. He's not called the co-star killer for nothing."

Kyoko flinched slightly at the comment, "Ahha, well, I'm glad we worked well together then."

"It was more than that Kyoko-san!" Emi-chan piped up excitedly as she undid the few pins they'd put in Kyoko's hair for the last scene, "I've seen every episode of Dark Moon! Even that one girl that was his costar didn't really hold up like you did. You're amazing!"

"Ah, well, those are very different roles, and Momose-san and I act very differently, but thank you, that's very sweet of you." Kyoko was quick to shoot down overly-excessive praise. She was already uncomfortable enough. About three-quarters of the way through the process, they got a knock on the door. Everyone craned their necks around to look in confusion but Kyoko wasn't undressed yet so she went ahead and called for them to enter.

She was surprised to see it was Director Shingai at the door, with an unfamiliar individual.

"Good work today Kyoko-san." Shingai-san smiled at her.

Kyoko stared, utterly flummoxed, "Um, thank you. I didn't realize you were on set. Ah, what can I do for you?"

Shingai glanced down at his companion and raised a brow. The woman stepped forward, pulling out what looked like a script from her purse. Kyoko stared in confusion.

"You don't know me Kyoko-san, but I'm a scriptwriter. My name is Takashi Chiyo. Shingai-san here is helping me with my current project and he and Kurosaki-san were gracious enough to let me into this set today."

Kyoko got up from her chair and bowed, "I'm very happy to meet you."

Takashi smiled back, "Thank you. It's nice to meet the esteemed Kyoko-san of LME. Shingai-san here says you might be able to help me out with a problem I'm having."

Kyoko titled her head inquisitively as Takashi-san handed her the script. Takashi readjusted her purse on her shoulder before gesturing to the script. "I'm missing a Yoneda Yayoi-sama for my production. I'm very confident that you'll do. Please read that and get back to me about whether or not you'd be interested. I wrote my cell phone number on the inside cover. Wait to get back to me until you've read it all the way through though. That's the important bit here."

Shingai spoke up, "It's not necessary for you to sign an NDA to read this, but be aware you're not to disclose it to anyone else."

Stunned, Kyoko could only stare at them blankly while nodding along with what they were saying. Shingai-san and Takashi-san then said their goodbyes and left. She stared at the script in her hands, then back up at the empty doorway, then at the silent team of stylists around her.

"Did...Did I just imagine that?" Kyoko asked faintly.

After a couple agonizing seconds, Sato-san responded, seemingly as thunderstruck as she was, "No, no that did just happen. A writer just handed you a script, with a director's permission, and asked if you would be so kind as to look at it and see if you'd like their part. Yeah, no, I just witnessed that."

Emi-chan stared at the doorway and then back at Kyoko. "Just saying, I cannot wait to see what happens tomorrow if this is what the first day of my new job is like."

That promptly broke the stunned silence as the rest of stylists started laughing at her amazed tone and Kyoko's stunned expression.

Sato-san plopped Kyoko back in her seat and ruffled her hair, "Girl, I tell you what, life is never dull around you." Kyoko's face turned pink as she stared down at the script in her hands. Somehow, she had a feeling this was going to get her another discussion with Sawara-san.

…

Yashiro thought he was mostly used to his client's temperament by now. Ren liked to work nonstop, was pushy (to put it nicely) if he wanted something, but did a wonderful job of being considerate of the people he worked with and his surroundings. In recent weeks, his personality had, well, shifted slightly.

Yashiro eyed Ren warily as he slumped over his dressing room table, propped his head up on the tabletop and groaned theatrically. His stylist fluttered around him in concern but Ren brushed her off impatiently. Yashiro took it upon himself to dismiss her, patting her shoulder lightly in sympathy and shut the door after her.

He cleared his throat, "Ren?"

Ren's gaze caught his and really, that look on his face was just pathetic and Yashiro winced.

"She got me Yashiro. She got me." Ren thumped his head against the table and groaned again.

Yashiro had to smother a snicker, "Well, we could always chalk it up to exhaustion. You've been working nonstop this past week so you could clear your schedule for these two days. Would that make you feel any better?" Some of the mirth Yashiro was trying to stifle came out in his tone anyway and Ren shot him an irritated glare

"No it wouldn't." He snapped back waspishly and Yashiro held up his hands in a placating manner.

"I kid, I kid."

Ren sighed gustily as he tried to reconcile the fact that he had genuinely done the best he could but Kyoko had gotten to him anyways. It was times like this he missed being able to ask his dad for advice. His dad always knew good tips to go off of to keep your focus while you worked. Although, to be honest, Kurosaki seemed thrilled with what we did. Maybe I'm just overthinking this. Ren pondered that for a moment but decided he'd have to think on it later. He owed a certain kouhai dinner.

He quickly changed back into his street clothes and dismissed Yashiro for the night. After calling ahead to a place he liked to let them know he was coming, he went in search of said kouhai. He didn't get much more than halfway to her dressing room before he saw her leaving it and heading his way.

"Good job today Mogami-san."

She bowed and said the same before peering back up at him hesitantly, "I apologize if I acted out of turn with you Tsuruga-san."

A bit bemused, Ren assured her she had nothing to worry about, "And I'm just curious, but some of what you did seemed so similar to what Kotonami-san does sometimes. Was there any inspiration there?"

Kyoko's face lit up with a smile as he asked her, "Yes actually! She's so elegant isn't she?! I knew I had to study her, especially her Chidori, so I could do this right. I really wanted to do a good job with you and she helped me out so much with it!"

"I'm glad she helped you grow some more. It was quite the sight to behold, you acting so confident and sure of yourself. It was delightful." He smiled back down at her, "I do believe I owe you dinner, shall we?"

Kyoko blushed as he escorted her out but she didn't protest, so Ren counted it as a win.

…

"Ah… Tsuruga-san, am I really allowed to be in here?"

"It's more a pub than strictly a bar, I promise, they're not gonna kick you out." Ren laughed lightly as he saw Kyoko gazing around the establishment in confusion.

It was run by a guy Ren had known for a few years now, and it was located in a far enough out of the way place that if Ren asked for him to close it for the night, Maru-san was happy to do so. Maru-san had known Lory back in the day, when he wasn't in charge of a huge talent agency. Lory still loved his martinis to this day, and that was how Ren and he had gotten acquainted. Lory would just drag him along whenever he felt like it, and Ren was always happy that Maru-san let him smoke as he pleased back when he hadn't kicked that habit yet.

It was a comfortable place, and Maru-san also made a mean philly cheesesteak (which baffled Ren and he still hadn't managed to get the man to answer where and why he'd learned how). Ren had also been meaning to introduce Kyoko to some more of his favorite places for a while, so he jumped on the opportunity.

"The usual then Ren?" Maru-san asked gruffly after he and Kyoko had introduced themselves to each other.

"Yes please Maru-san. For me and my companion here."

Maru-san nodded affably and went back to his kitchen grill after pouring them some drinks while they waited.

Kyoko fiddled nervously with her napkin. "I feel like this might be a place where other people would bother you though. Are you sure it's ok that I'm here with you?"

"Not to worry, I called ahead and Maru-san said it was fine to close up for the night until we leave. It doesn't get very busy til later in the evening this time of the week he said. So, no one will be coming in to bother us."

Kyoko squinted at him suspiciously. "That can't be good for business."

Ren shrugged, "I tip generously for his trouble."

Kyoko paled, "Tsuruga-san! Don't you have better things to spend money on?"

"Oh not this again. Look, Mogami-san, I'd have done this anyways this evening because Maru-san makes a damn good martini. I tend to not want to be bothered if I'm drinking out, and Maru-san has no problem waiting on one person that tips him generously enough to make it worth his while." Ren rubbed a hand over his face aggravatedly when Kyoko's appalled look didn't waver.

"Tsuruga-san, please be more conscious about how you spend your money! Poor children in children's hospitals could use it you know!"

Not even thinking about how it might look, Ren reached out and pulled her cheek, "Is this the mouth that speaks sass to me?"

Kyoko could only stare in horrified fascination at this spoiled behavior. Honestly… can rich people even fathom how difficult it is for the little guy to get by? Ren pulled on her cheek some more and she finally got past her shock enough to swat his hand away.

"That's rude Tsuruga-san." She shot him a frown that he ignored.

"You're too quick to judge. We wouldn't be here if Maru-san minded in the least. Enjoy his hospitality." Ren returned his attention to his drink as Kyoko muddled through that perspective.

She eventually gave it up as something she would just need time to understand better.

She glanced around the bar and noticed a jukebox, a dartboard setup, and a billiards table. And that got her thinking. Before too long, her curiosity got the better of her. She turned to Tsuruga-san and asked, "Do you enjoy this place because it reminds you of the familiar comforts of home?"

Ren flinched a little and set his glass down on the bar. "Ah, probably. Haven't thought too much about it."

Kyoko contemplated that for a bit before holding her hand out.

Ren looked at her hand, then back up at her, "I'm sorry?"

"Coins for the jukebox please."

Ren smiled a little. He figured that was the closest he was gonna get to an apology from her about overreacting. He pulled out some change and handed it to her.

"Let me know if you need any help. They're in English." He watched her fondly as she began to peruse the options available.

"Sweet girl." Maru-san's quiet murmur startled him from his musings.

Ren smiled back at him, "Thanks for doing this. I appreciate it."

The older man nodded and pushed a pack of cigarettes over the bar. "Had a feeling you wanted a smoke."

Ren looked between it and the owner in surprise before he chuckled a little, "Sure."

Ren had just finished taking a drag when Kyoko twisted to face him.

"Tsuruga-san, what's your favorite Billy Joel song?"

Ren blinked a little, startled by the question. "That's a bit of a throwback. Why that?" he asked her instead of answering.

Kyoko shrugged, "Heard him once somewhere. Wanted to hear it again." She stared at him expectantly.

Ren sighed and blew out some smoke, "I'm not very familiar with him, but I do enjoy New York State of Mind."

She smiled back at him, pressed a few buttons, then came back his way to hop back on her barstool. Some old classic rock began to play, Sympathy for the Devil if he wasn't mistaken, and Ren was more curious now about what others she might have chosen.

"How'd you start smoking?"

Ren shot an aggrieved look upwards, This is divine mischief, isn't it? Maru-san shot him an amused look when he caught his eye before he stepped back into his kitchen.

"Do you want an answer for how, or do you want to know why?" Ren asked as he tapped his ash into an ashtray.

Kyoko pondered that for a moment, "I'm more curious about the why I guess."

"It's a very boring answer. A girl I liked thought it was cool." Ren blew out some more smoke as he glanced at her from his peripheral vision to check her reaction. He didn't get much from her downturned head.

Kyoko was in a conflicted state at the moment. She was beyond pleased that her acting had made Ren stumble and that she'd manage to wrest a victory from him, finally. She had been tickled pink to have the chance to get dinner with him. She was appalled by his lackadaisical approach to his wealth that was so similar to Cain, if now growing amused that he could be so spoiled at times. And she felt cautious about approaching topics from his past but was so eager to know more. She'd won their challenge though… Maybe he'd give her a little leeway because of that and it would be ok to ask.

She peeked up at him, "And why did you like her?"

"You're bold this evening." He swept his gaze over her, curious to see where she was hiding all that bravado.

"It's my victory dinner, right? Shouldn't you do what I want?"

My problem my dear, is that I want that very, very badly. Ren squeezed his glass to stop himself from reaching out to her.

"I liked her because she had courage." He said, willing to distract himself, "She was yelled at by a fellow talent once and just started yelling back. She didn't want anyone disparaging her work. I thought it was a helluva brave thing to do. In fact, you could say those types still catch my eye." Ren teased her lightly. Kyoko cocked her head in confusion.

"You mean like how Momose-san or Murasame-san were?"

Ren deflated quickly as his suggestive words flew over her head. He then noticed Maru-san approaching with their dinner and so stubbed out his cigarette.

"Nevermind all that now, time for dinner." Ren then caught the sound of Nirvana coming through the speakers and he had to hide a chuckle as he tucked into his food.

"Has your music taste been influenced by Fuwa?" Ren caught her unawares and she just stopped and stared, bits of cheesesteak dropping back down to her plate.

She cleared her throat a little, "Ah. That's kind of relevant, maybe? I didn't want to hear any kind of stuff he might be making, so I avoided Japanese music for a while besides like, Enka. We had a lot of tourists at the inn where I grew up and I got to listen to a lot of different stuff, so it was kind of the first thing I thought of. Just, go ahead and listen to foreign music instead of having to worry about it."

Ren nodded thoughtfully. "This Momiji role. Is she helping you overcome any of those kinds of feelings yet?"

Kyoko looked at him questioningly so he elaborated.

"Well, Fuwa betrayed your trust, right? You guys knew each other for so long, were at the very least childhood friends. And he tossed that aside. But, how you've behaved always made me wonder about the rest of it. Having now had this role with this character truly pining after another, being so pained by their feelings… Can you say with any certainty that what you felt for him was actually love?" Ren glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, heart beating wildly as he asked this.

Kyoko slowly set her sandwich down, completely caught off guard and reeling from the question. What? What is he saying? What?

Ren eyed her with no considerable amount of wariness. Was I out of line to ask? He bit his lip as he worried over it. But it's reasonable isn't it? He's been the only one she's thought she's loved. I'm not trying to imply she doesn't know her own heart, but different loves mean you love differently.

Kyoko slowly looked back up at him, full of uncertainty about answering such a question. She did owe him some reciprocity though, what with everything she'd been asking, "I know Momiji isn't like how I used to be. I was enraged at Shotaro's behavior. I cried so many times because I didn't understand why. But what has remained is my rage at his dismissal of me as a person. My anger at myself for my own naivety, that remains also." She hesitated and fiddled with her silverware but Ren was so absorbed by what she was saying, he didn't give that nervous tic a second thought.

"Momiji… Momiji is scared. Momiji desperately wants to stay by Shizuma-sama's side. She is terrified that whatever she does, if he knows, that he'll see her as unworthy of his company. She knows she won't be able to withstand that and so she hides. The old me… I don't think she thought about stuff like that very much.

"Shotaro pulled the same tricks, over and over, but the old me willingly blinded herself to it. The old me made up this fantasy, where it was her and Shotaro, forever, no matter what. She really believed that that type of behavior just wouldn't matter and that he'd eventually see things her way. Looking back I can see that, and how bad that was for me, but did I love him?"

Ren didn't realize he'd held his breath until he was forced to release it as she stopped again.

Kyoko looked back down at her dinner and rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "I mean, I wish I could answer this, and it might do me some good if I could… But I just don't think I can. My feelings of friendship for what Shotaro and I did have are so tangled up with what I thought I loved about him… I think all I can say for sure is that I know Momiji isn't what I used to be. Momiji is frighteningly aware of the risks of her feelings being known. Playing her is tough, and scary, and maybe by the end I'll be able to answer that question… is that ok?" Kyoko glanced back up at a surprised looking Ren.

Ren was so relieved that he hadn't actually angered her that all he could do was nod, while he still processed everything she'd just told him. They moved to finish their dinner, each filled with their own questions and thoughts, but happy enough to keep quiet for the moment and enjoy each other's company, the good food, and the music coming from the jukebox.

As Ren took a swig from his glass as he finished up his meal, the first notes of New York State of Mind began to play. He laughed a little to himself and Kyoko noticed.

"Tsuruga-san?"

"I don't know why, but my parents love this song. When I was kid, I caught them dancing to it more than once. It just, it always takes me back, you know?" He smiled at her, but Kyoko was struck by the complicated expression on his face and it sent a pang through her heart.

She clasped her hands tightly together, trying to gather courage and as she saw him tap along softly to the beat she made her decision. Maybe she was trying her luck, but being bold had gotten her a lot already today. She got up from her stool and held a hand out to him. Shocked at her behavior, he just stared at her.

"I won right? I want a dance along with my dinner." She was terrified that he'd just laugh and call her a silly kid, maybe even take back his compliments from earlier after the shoot. But, he did none of those things. He just smiled, stood up, accepted her hand, and brought her in close.

"Do you know how to dance then Mogami-san?" He asked softly, amusement filling his gaze as he looked down at her in his arms.

She could only shake her head no, too embarrassed to speak. Placing a hand on her hip, he began to move her.

"You have to match the beat." She stumbled a bit to try to keep up as they started, and he laughed. My god, is there anyone else as adorable as her? Ren was positive that there definitely wasn't. He could hardly believe his good fortune of how his evening had turned out. Divine mischief or not, I'm going to treasure every bit of this I can.

"Just let me lead. Feel the beat, watch where you're going, and leave the rest to me." Kyoko did her best to follow these instructions and not squeak at his hands on her. She was grateful for the swiftness of his steps, as she quickly grew more preoccupied with keeping up.

It was an exhilarating feeling, having someone guide you so smoothly that you felt weightless. She caught herself partly giggling and partly breathless as they swung by the jukebox and the billiards table. She caught him smiling down at her and she had to quickly turn her face away so he wouldn't catch on to what she was feeling.

With Kyoko's hands on him, and his hands on her, Ren was the happiest he'd been in a very long time. His one struggle was making sure to keep an appropriate distance. So caught up in her, and the song that always made him nostalgic for home, he was completely unaware that if anyone had looked at his face right then, the jig would have been up. All too soon, the song ended, and Ren released her, bowing politely and thanking her for the dance.

"Thank you Mogami-san. That was a very kind thing you did for me."

"Ah, you're welcome Tsuruga-san." She mumbled, her face burning as she stepped away from him and back towards her stool. Kyoko already wanted his warmth near her some more and she forcefully reminded herself that it was not only inappropriate, but dangerous to give into that feeling. Kyoko curtsied back at him and put on her best mask to make it through the rest of the evening. Under no circumstances was she going to let the time she had with Ren be marred by her own frustrating feelings.

"Maru-san, thank you so much for your hospitality!" Kyoko turned away from Ren to thank the older gentleman cleaning up the bar and Maru-san smiled back at her.

"It's my pleasure. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. It was nice to meet you Kyoko-san."

Ren finished settling the bill, (with a very generous tip) and said his goodbyes as well. The ride to Kyoko's place was mostly silent, with only a brief conversation about the work to do the next day. Once out of each other's sight, Kyoko in the Darumaya entryway and Ren in his car, they both paused for a moment, smiled at the memory of the evening, and then continued on. They still had another day of shooting to do after all. And then, a party.

…

While Ren waited to be called on set, after finishing with wardrobe the following morning, he wondered to himself about the possibility of Kyoko being as bold that night as she'd been the night before. He was curious how her Natsu self would handle the wrap party. Or if she'd even use her Natsu self to make it though. The plan they'd cobbled together didn't necessarily require it. He'd just told her to be as confident and assured as she could manage. A smile crept onto his face as he thought of the night before. So much had happened that he was still trying to process. He knew better than to think too much of it, but he was confident that their friendship at least was making progress.

He pushed those thoughts out his mind as people around him started taking their places as his costar arrived. The scene they were about to shoot was fairly simple. He and Kyoko were to just stroll along a relatively quiet boulevard. He didn't really foresee any difficulties with it, or with the following couple scenes that came after it.

With the exception of a mild rain shower threatening their shoot for a brief moment after lunch, Ren's predictions were correct. He and Kyoko smoothly worked through the few scenes they had with little difficulty. There may have been a slight kerfuffle of a standoff in a scene where Ren's character tried to pull her chair out for her and Kyoko's character stubbornly resisted, but one reshoot later, and they continued their smooth sailing until they wrapped up for the day.

Kurosaki stopped Ren briefly afterwards to express his gratitude for clearing his schedule.

"Honestly Ren-kun, when Yashiro told me you were able to clear two whole days for this just so you could be thorough, I gotta say I really appreciated your work ethic in that moment. I'm really glad I was able to work things out so I could do this with you and Kyoko-san. You guys work wonderfully together."

"Thank you Director. I appreciate that." Ren smiled back at Kurosaki.

"I'll have to keep you two in mind I think." Kurosaki hummed thoughtfully as he watched his crew gathering up their equipment.

"Well, I'd be honored." Kurosaki waved him off gruffly and Ren continued on to where his dressing room was located so he could change out of his clothes.

He and Kyoko were going straight from the shoot to dinner, and then to the Box 'R' wrap party and they had a very particular look that they'd planned out together. Ren hadn't really thought much about where Setsu's clothing had ended up after their run as the Heel siblings, but much of it had apparently been given to Kyoko. She was certain that, with the right costume pieces of Setsu's, she could pulled off a confident and self-assured facade that was perfect for their plan.

That type of look suited Ren just fine and he'd pulled together some smart black dress pants, his typical black leather dress shoes, a silvery-gray button down dress shirt and a black blazer. According to Kyoko, the look would mesh very well with what she was going for.

Once he was done changing and had let Yashiro know he had the rest of the evening off, Ren strode over to her dressing room and knocked on the door. One of her stylists from her team opened it and ushered him in.

Kyoko smiled up at him as he entered from where she was located on her dressing room couch, next to her shoe rack. The sage green dress on her suited her well but she appeared to be debating which type of boot to wear while her team tossed out opinions.

"Do you have an opinion Tsuruga-san? The black leather or the grey suede?" Kyoko asked him, cheerful as could be, which was typical for her when it came to these kinds of decisions.

He smiled down at her fondly, crossed his arms and leaned against the wall next to her door, "Well, are you wearing anything else with this?"

"Just the jewelry you gave me and a blazer I think, just in case it rains." She responded.

"Hmmm, what color is the blazer?"

One of her stylists pulled out a black one that was sharply tailored, but looked like it was made from very soft, cozy material. He looked between it and the shoe options thoughtfully then answered, "Definitely the black."

"As expected from the model Tsuruga-san!" She teased him as one of her stylists started unlacing the boots, fitting them on her feet, and then lacing them back up.

"Here, let me." He pushed of the wall and held a hand out to help Kyoko off the couch. She took his hand and stood and he nearly swallowed his tongue as he saw her bare back. Smothering his internal screaming, he smiled his trademark gentleman smile at the stylist holding her blazer and was sure to grab hold of it and help Kyoko into it. He wasn't about her to let her walk out onto the street in public without covering up as much as he could.

He patted her arm gently before stepping back out of her space, "Are we all ready then?"

Kyoko nodded, waved goodbye to her team, and somehow didn't notice the sly looks some of her stylists shot Ren. He fixed his gentleman's smile to his face as he stepped out of the trailer behind her. He would absolutely blow right past anyone that tried to stop them with the bare minimum of courtesy if it meant they didn't pay too close attention to Kyoko's outfit. Thankfully, they made it back to where he'd parked his car with only being stopped the once. (An extra complimenting the choice of boots).

"So where's dinner tonight Tsuruga-san?" Kyoko asked as they settled into his car.

"Oh there's a sort of restaurant/cafe near the hotel your party is in, so I thought we could check that out."

Kyoko also thought that sounded good to her and they spent most of the rest of the ride in quiet, taking the time to try to relax a little.

Once they were shown their seats at the restaurant and had ordered, Ren spoke up.

"How's your confidence so far?"

"Bolstered by this dress, mostly," Kyoko laughed a little nervously as she replied.

"Do you think this will take Natsu or Setsu to help you make it through?" He asked, curious about where her head was at and wanting to be as prepared as possible. He didn't get much from her however, as she just shrugged a little helplessly. He pondered this conundrum for a bit as their waiter returned with their drinks and appetizers. Maybe if he took her mind off of what she was worrying about...With that in mind he spoke again.

"I've got an idea for a bet." He smirked a little as her gaze shot to his face, startled by what he said.

"Wait a second...there's no way I could pay you if we made a bet. What do you want out of this?" She eyed him suspiciously and he snickered a little.

"Would you let me just ask for a favor?" He questioned, wondering if that'd fly with her after their recent challenges to each other.

She mulled this over for a second, taking a sip of her drink. "If it's within reason, I'll allow it."

"Alright. Then what would you want?" Kyoko tried her best to not duck her head completely behind her drink to get away from his perceptive gaze.

"I want to be able to ask you questions that you'll answer, within reason, naturally," She hurried to add.

Ren stared a moment, a bit surprised. "You've already been doing that haven't you?"

"Well, I would feel better, as your friend, if I thought you didn't mind me asking about your past. For the moment, I'd be happy with you letting me if I win our little bet here." Kyoko jiggled her leg nervously underneath the table as she brought this up.

Ren smiled a little, a bit appalled at his past behavior. "How about this. Feel free to ask me what you like, in the name of friendship, as you put it. How about I treat you to something you don't typically get to do if you win instead?"

She squinted at him suspiciously once more, "That sounds awfully like spending money recklessly."

"Ahhh, Mogami-san, please, will you just let that go? Do you judge your other friends this harshly if they ask to treat you?" His disgruntled question made her wince.

"Ah, no, that's fair, that sounds fine. I'm sorry Tsuruga-san." He waved it off, more relieved she'd agreed than really caring about her harsh attitude in that area.

"So, this bet then. What are you thinking?" She asked, once assured that everything had been smoothed over.

Ren smirked at her and leaned forward a little, "I bet you more people will compliment you on how you look this evening then they will me. What do you say? Wanna take me up on that?"

Flummoxed, Kyoko just stared at him a moment. Then what he said fully registered and she shook her head. "Oh Tsuruga-san, this will be an easy bet for me to win. You poor thing."

Ren tossed his head back as a burst of laughter tumbled out of him at her brazenness. "You're more entertaining than you know Mogami-san." The waiter then brought out their dinners and they tucked in.

Once they were finished and Kyoko was nibbling on the last bit of dessert, Ren thought it was time to repeat the plan they'd thought of so it was fresh in their memory.

"Mogami-san, what are some of the key tenets of confident women?"

Kyoko dropped the last bit of dessert as she focused in on the plan Ren brought up. She thought quickly while she watched Ren pay the check and leave it on their table for the waiter to pick up.

"They dress well. They carry themselves well. Oh, and um, they're not as reserved in their speaking or in their behavior."

Ren nodded along with this. "Now, remember, I'm going to be challenging your personal space bubble all night. I don't want to make you uncomfortable, so do you trust me with that? I was hoping you might have gotten a bit more used to it these past couple days. Am I wrong?"

Kyoko shook her head, "No. That's correct. I can trust you with that."

"Good, good. Now, most importantly, whatever happens, do whatever you must to keep your cool, but remember this. You're cool. You're edgy. You're above the pettiness of stupid little boys. In fact you are superior to them. Your typical humbleness will not work for this. Do you understand Mogami-san?" The challenging look he sent her made her raise her chin in stubbornness.

"I do Tsuruga-san."

He raised an eyebrow and she hastily corrected herself. "I mean, yes, I understand Ren."

He appeared pleased by that response. "Alright then. I think we're set." He drew himself up out of his chair, putting a hand out to help her up as well. As he escorted her out with a hand warm on her back, Kyoko couldn't help but lean into that warmth a little.

…

Marumi Maruyama had come to learn many things as she became an idol in the industry. Number one: Always appear more stupid than you actually are. Always. Number two: Social media is a great way to build a fanbase. Number three: Always be kind and polite, especially when you haven't made a big break yet. And even then, still be kind and polite. You always caught more flies with honey than with vinegar, as her grandma always liked to say.

While working on Box 'R', all of this had come in handy. The core cast had had a very rocky beginning. She fully believed her and Kyoko's temperaments had seriously helped to smooth that over into something that had become a wonderful working relationship she was eagerly hoping to return to with a season two of their show if they managed to get one. And since the show was a slow starter, utilizing her social media had made the production company that invested in it happy that she was paying such special attention to it. Truthfully, she was hoping it became a cult sleeper hit so they got that season two, but if others were happy with what she did for other reasons, eh, it all worked out.

Her social media prowess came in very handy the evening of the Box 'R' wrap party. She, Makino-san, and Yuka-san had pre-gamed at a nice restaurant near the hotel and tweeted about it with some selfies. Well, Yuka-san had put it on her instagram, but same thing.

As they giggled about whatever came to mind as they walked towards the hotel, Rumi suddenly stopped dead as she saw who was walking towards the hotel entrance. Yuka-san did the same so as to avoid running into her.

"Oh my god, Tsuruga Ren?!" Yuka squealed as she asked and Makino-san was alarmed to see her eyes about to pop out of her head in shock.

"No way!" Rumi wasn't far behind her in expressing how stunned she was to see him. A few other people moved out of the way, and she craned her neck to get a closer look.

She knew it! He was totally escorting Kyoko-san.

Rumi thought fast about the possible implications behind that, and in the interest of saving Yuka-san from an early heart attack, she spoke again.

"Oh gosh this is so exciting! Do you think Kyoko-san invited him so we could meet him? She must have remembered how worried we all were for Dark Moon that one time! How nice of her!"

This slowly seemed to take root with Yuka-san and Makino-san and three of them started chattering excitedly about maybe getting a picture with him.

Mini-crisis averted Rumi thought with relief. But her mind was whirling with the possible implications of this. She knew Kyoko and Chiori had been struggling to figure out how to deal with Aoki tonight when he came by and she wondered if they'd brought in reinforcements.

If that's the case, all the better, she thought, trying to shove the other, more distracting, possibilities out of her mind so she could focus on what was more important to her that evening.

…

Inside the ballroom where the Box 'R' wrap party was in full swing, Chiori couldn't help but watch the spectacle in front of her in awed amazement. It was one thing for Tsuruga-san and Kyoko to waltz in, appearing supremely unconcerned with the shocked looks that his presence drew at a freshman show wrap party, and entirely another to act the way they currently were. Tsuruga-san shamelessly ignored the attention of others when people came up to them to greet them and/or make idle conversation, drawn as they were by the surprise of his appearance. If he did speak, it was with short responses. He appeared to be there simply to hold Kyoko's blazer, and whisper into her ear commentary that drew amused smirks from her that she attempted to hide behind her clutch purse.

So self involved with each other they were, that Chiori had neither the courage nor enough curiosity to approach the pair as they entered the main part of the ballroom. So there she stood, near the banquet table, appetizers left forgotten on the plate in her hand, and acutely astonished as Kyoko lazily raised a hand to gently grasp Ren's jaw to draw his attention to her and to whisper something in response into his ear. Kyoko's back arched slightly as she did this and that brought a great deal of attention to the snug, sheath dress she was wearing. The typically gentlemanly Tsuruga Ren clearly appreciated the view as his gaze flitted over her chest and down her long legs and back up to her smirking face. Just being a witness to this made Chiori want to die of mortification. With Ren's hand on her waist and Kyoko's on his jaw, they painted such a gorgeously sensual picture that Chiori blushed to see it and it made her direct her attention back to the plate in her hand for something less embarrassing to look at.

She hoped they realized soon what kind of spectacle they were making. She was pretty positive that it wasn't part of their plan. At least no reporters are here, she thought, trying to console herself. Glancing back up at the entryway, she noticed Rumi, Yuka, and Makino entering, peering around as if they were looking for someone. Her previous relief vanished. Rumi is a social media icon! Shit!

She quickly rushed over to distract them, grumbling to herself that Kyoko had better thank her for this later.

…

By the third time Ren pulled her in close when another man approached and said in an amused whisper near her ear, "I'll bet you I'll get another point from this one," Kyoko's temper was skyrocketing.

In all honesty, she wasn't too sure where all this attention from others was coming from. Or why Ren wasn't getting more of it. She had been positive that women were going to mob them as soon as he'd stepped in. Which had been true for about the first half hour. But his discourteous, bordering on haughty attitude throughout the evening had quickly stopped the women in their tracks. This anomaly in behavior seemed to have stopped their advances on him even as the night wore on and yet more arrived. Did he trick me? Was it his plan all along to not act the gentleman at all? Is that why he was so confident he would win? These thoughts plagued her mind as the man approaching them greeted them and promptly complimented her on her outfit matching her pretty face.

Kyoko did her best to hide her angry twitches as Ren huffed a soft laugh near her ear and said, "That's eight to me, my dear."

Her confident, unfazed facade was swiftly disappearing under the avalanche of attention Ren was showering her with. Being the sole focus of his attention, and then the focus of the scrutiny of the others in the ballroom as he acted more impolitely than was his norm with them, but acted the perfect gentleman with her, was wearing thin on her. She clamped down tight on the hand on her waist when the man left them alone again and hissed furiously up at him, "I get that I'm your greatest source of entertainment this evening as you love to leave me hopelessly embarrassed, but if you don't cool it with the grabbiness, I'm leaving you at the mercy of your fangirls that accosted us earlier."

Ren stiffened and slowly eased up on his grasp. He eyed her warily, but it was true. He'd not been so entertained by an event such as this in years. Recklessness was riding high in him tonight and he was struggling to keep himself under control. Tearing his gaze away from her attractive appearance once more, he cleared his throat, "I haven't the foggiest idea what you mean. I'm simply here to help after all." He replied loftily, focusing on rearranging her blazer in his grasp as if to show a lack of interest.

Kyoko wasn't fooled and she glared, "Bullshit."

Ren couldn't help the snicker that escaped him as she grew so frustrated she cursed. His challenge for her this evening to distract her from the greater Aoki issue seemed to be working. But the fact that he could still get under her skin even as she tried to maintain her cool throughout this bet they had going was too amusing to him. Quickly trying to get his mirth under control, he instead said, "Well, I certainly don't want to be at those girls' mercy, so no worries, I'll be on my best behavior."

That seemed to soothe the worst of her temper and he smiled at her serenely. They'd not even been there an hour yet and the disrespectful whelp of a boy hadn't even shown up yet. They hadn't even gotten to the best fun he'd be able to have tonight. So really, what was he to do but behave at the moment.

As he thought this, Amamiya-san striding their way, with a couple of the other cast members in tow, caught his eye and he tapped on Kyoko's shoulder to let her know. The girls greeted each other brightly, swapping gossip back in forth for a few moments as Ren let himself fade into the background. He was content to peek at Kyoko's gorgeous form out of the corner of his eye without being judged for a bit.

"I'm glad you were able to come Tsuruga-san." A soft voice spoke at his elbow and he craned his head around to see who it was. The girl held out a hand. He shook it bemusedly, stuffing Kyoko's blazer underneath his arm and out of the way.

"You can call me Rumi-chan. Everyone else does."

He nodded and tucked his hands back into his pockets, trademark smile in place as he wondered why she had approached him. Maybe she's braver than she looks? He'd deliberately cultivated an unfriendly persona for the evening. He was there for Kyoko, not anyone else, and he didn't particularly care if anyone else figured that out.

They stood in silence for a moment and Ren got the feeling that the girl might be smarter than she typically acted. He had a vague recollection of her from when he'd visited their set, but didn't know if she could recognize him from that. He pushed the thought away as he watched her measured gaze flit between he and Kyoko before she cocked her head curiously but said nothing. Another moment passed and she raised an eyebrow as she looked between them again. A wily one, eh? Ren was amused.

His only response was to let a smirk come over his features as he let his appreciative gaze rake over Kyoko's appearance again before returning it to the girl at his elbow. She let out a soft chuckle as she tapped her phone against her leg. Quickly moving back to where she'd been with her other castmates, her perky voice made him snicker.

"Guuuys! Selfie time! I gotta get one with us for sure! Oh, Tsuruga-san, won't you please join us?" She sent him a weighty look over her shoulder and his lips twitched as he smothered a chuckle.

He stepped closer to Kyoko and placed his arm around her waist while the others crowded in around them and Rumi handed her phone off to her manager to snap the picture. As the manager oriented herself with it, Ren leaned down to whisper in Kyoko's ear.

"Let me guess, two points to you, three to me?"

They wouldn't know it until later, but Rumi's manager caught the exact moment that Kyoko tried to hide her smile with her clutch, while Ren grinned at the look on her face.

Once the picture was taken, Rumi stepped back out of the group to grab her phone from her curiously blushing manager, and said her thanks to the pair. She, Chiori and Yuka whisked themselves away quickly as they saw others coming in to try to catch Ren and Kyoko's attention. Hiding her phone screen from the others as they bandied about some other gossip, Rumi glanced down at what her manager had caught and the looks on Ren and Kyoko's faces made her stop and stare. She looked back once more at the pair of them, questions buzzing about in her mind. I guess those implications might be right on track?

…

Thankfully, Ren and Kyoko only had to endure a couple more groups of curious people after Rumi, Chiori and Yuka had come by before a certain disrespectful whelp stumbled upon them. Aoki was accompanied by an assistant director and his manager and nearly fell over himself in excitement to shake Ren's hand as he greeted them.

Kyoko gazed at him coolly, internally repeating the confidence mantra Ren had had her repeat so many times. Natsu was hovering on the edge of her subconscious waiting for the sign that she'd need to utilize her attitude. But, just as planned, Ren ignored Aoki's greeting, politely nodded at the other individuals with him and then just returned his attention to Kyoko and whispered in her ear, "Definitely emmental."

She snickered, raising the hand that was holding her clutch purse in an obvious effort to mask her amusement. Aoki's embarrassed flush only deepened, until he looked remarkably like a ripe tomato.

That didn't stop him from trying again, "Er, Tsuruga-san, I'm really excited to see what you're doing next. What will it be?"

Ren shifted his gaze from the delightful woman in his arms and sneered at him in response, "I don't care to associate with pathetic boys who like to force their attention on people, especially while acting in a professional setting. It disgusts me. If you can't get the hint, I'll make it more obvious. Leave."

Aoki turned an ugly mottled color as the men with him gaped at Ren in shock at his rudeness. Kyoko, right on cue, let out a little cruel laugh, "My, my, what an expression." Quite fed up with how Ren had been winning their bet all night, she then turned to him, pressed in close, so her chest pushed obviously against the arm she was holding into, and drawled, "Reeen. I just smelled something terrible. Won't you take me outside to somewhere more pleasant?"

Ren stilled, acutely aware of Kyoko's sultry tone of voice and the warmth of her body as she pressed against him. His eyes got hotter as they met hers and she struggled to not melt into a puddle at the look he gave her.

"Certainly." He replied, his voice husky. Leaving the men staring in astonishment after them, he grabbed her hand and led her out to the hotel balcony, her blazer in his other hand. It was a conveniently private balcony with voluminous drapery and heavy doors.

Quickly closing the balcony doors behind them, and making sure to not catch the drapes in the doors, Ren then turned his attention to the woman in front him. As he'd been speaking mostly English in her ear all night, he did the same then (and boy did that still entertain him to no end that they could speak that together so freely), "God, what a prick that boy is." Interestingly, something about that sentence seemed to cause Kyoko to flinch slightly.

Kyoko tried to hide her overheated face from Ren as she hunched over the balcony railing. The coarse English phrase made her feel strangely and she didn't really want to focus on the reason why it did and instead cleared her throat nervously.

"Well, I certainly hope he at least got the picture." Her voice was a little higher pitched than normal, a testimony to how nervous she was made by the events of that evening. And there's was no little amounts of shame and embarrassment mixed in as well for behaving so rudely and brazenly… how unprofessional.

Ren gazed at her slightly hunched back thoughtfully. "Does it matter if he did or not? People like that either learn or they don't." He met her at the railing, placing her blazer on her shoulders. He looked down at her inquisitively as he waited for response.

Kyoko stiffened as she felt him come closer, and then felt the warmth of her jacket "Well it'll be bothersome if he doesn't, right?"

Ren shrugged, even though she could only feel the motion and not really see it as she was looking out into the city that they could see from the balcony. "Why would it matter to you anyway?"

"Well, I guess it doesn't really. It's just so frustrating that the directors like the ones that were with him are just fine with that type of behavior. I mean, if I show the slightest hint of unprofessionalism, I'm scolded, or like when I first got fired as Bo, when I went completely off script. If I do anything out of line, there's repercussions. Where are his?" Her hands tightened on the railing as she angrily voiced her thoughts

Ren gently covered one hand of hers with his own, "It's a terrible double standard. And I'm sorry you've had to put up with it. It's definitely not fair."

Kyoko blew out a sigh and she looked up at him, brimming with curiosity, "How'd you come to think like this anyways? Have you just been in the business so long that it's what you've learned?"

The hollow laugh Ren let out at that made Kyoko slightly alarmed, "No. Actually, not at all. It's because of some stuff that happened to me as a kid in this industry. That Hiou kid, he's probably experienced similar issues to what you have also. Ageism and sexism are rampant in this business."

Kyoko's brow furrowed and she hesitated to ask but there was a burning curiosity in her that couldn't be quelled. "How did you deal? How did you come so far when you've been so frustrated by this?"

He shot her a self-deprecating smile, "Ever heard of fake it til you make it?"

A dawning comprehension came over Kyoko then as so many odd quirks slotted into place to form a more fully complete Tsuruga Ren picture in her mind. She nodded silently and he patted her hand as he withdrew his own.

"I thought you might have. But, you keep at it, and keep at it, you work your ass off, and then you get the good jobs. I mean, you've gotten Momiji now, yeah? And that was a helluva difficult thing to get."

Kyoko nodded along with what he was saying. "I worked so hard to be able to play her and play her well. The validation I felt when I won that role...I think something in me might have changed then. Ogata directly scouted me, so did Director Anna, and I feel like I stumbled upon my other roles. The Curara audition felt similar, but getting Momiji felt like nothing I'd ever felt before."

Ren smiled down at her, "That's what Katsuki and BJ were like for me. And boy did I struggle to get through those. It was rough."

"Yeah. Momiji has been really rough, that's true. But the better I get at playing her, and the more compliments I can wrangle out of the producer and director make it worth it. It kind of me makes want to shake my past self and slap some sense into her."

Ren's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the turn in conversation, "I don't think I follow."

Kyoko sighed wearily, "My old self was so concerned with fairytales and marriage and had no thought to what she could possibly accomplish except gaining her fairytale ending like it was something she was entitled to. It's frustrating to think back on. I feel so much more accomplished now and validated by how well I do my work and how much my hard work is appreciated by others. Does that make sense?"

"More than you know." Ren replied, smiling down at her. "But Mogami-san, just one thing there."

"Yeah?" She peeked back up at him.

"Just because your dreams have changed, that doesn't make what you felt then any less important, you know? You've made so much progress figuring out what you want, and that had to come from somewhere right?"

As he looked down at her, Kyoko felt a blush coming over her face at what he was saying. He always stirred up the emotions in her that were complicated. But whenever he said anything like that, whenever he proved that he knew her better than probably anyone else, all she could feel was the confidence he had in her. And somehow, that made her believe that she could do anything, that she could be anything.

"I have to thank you again for your wisdom Tsuruga-san." She sent him a grateful smile as she readjusted the jacket on her shoulders.

He chucked her under her chin and teased, "And here I thought you could just keep calling me Ren. You'd been doing so well all night."

She smiled back.

"Thank you Ren."

And divine mischief it might have been, but Ren's heart skipped a beat.

...

Well, hope you guys liked this. Fun fact, I tore my hair out over most of it because I couldn't decide whether or not it felt natural for the two of them. Ah... The difficulties of writing... TT_TT As always, feedback is welcome!

Cheshire2313 and brennakai, please ramble more. I'm very much deprived of good Kyoko/Ren discussion. And in all seriousness, thanks so much for the wonderful feedback. It's nourishment for my soul. ;)