Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat! or anything relating to it. *sob*

This is my first fanfiction, so feel free to review.


Chapter 4: Kyoko's Newest Windbreaker

There were two days before the shooting for Harikeen no Chuuoo began, and Kyoko was determined to get her character down. There was no way that she was going to let her esteemed sempai down.

She was sitting in her room, looking over the folder that the President had given her earlier in the week.

Shizuka Kaho, age 25. She works as a P.E. teacher at a high school in America. Originally born in Japan, she is bilingual. She has a low tolerance for mistakes but becomes happy when things are done correctly, which makes her a favorite among teachers and students alike. Kaho was a Varsity Scout as a young girl, and is very independent. She has a young adopted daughter, who she cherishes.

I think it's about time to explain a little more about Kyoko's abilities. To help me, I have asked for the assistance of several of Kyoko's personas.

Please welcome Mio and Natsu.

"I do hope this is worth my time," Natsu sighed. She was a sophisticated teen with her hair swept to the side, a beautiful necklace, and wore designer's clothes. She could have been mistaken as a model.

The other girl, Mio, merely nodded. She wore dark clothes, and had a large scar running on the right side of her face, uncovered by her short jet-black hair.

Could you tell our readers about how you were created?

"Fine," Natsu reluctantly agreed, "It's like this. Kyoko will imagine our situations by reading through the script. By examining every single aspect of the story, Kyoko is able to construct a 'soul' out of these facets."

"Think about it like this," Mio spoke up. "You have a sphere. This is the 'core,' or the plotline. It represents the memories and events that have happened to each character. An actor must make a 'soul' to cover this 'core.' The better it fits, the closer the actor can become the character. Our creator has the ability to create a perfect 'soul' of any 'core' she comes across."

I thought we were talking about acting, not video games.

"Ara, I could talk about it in a much more…sensual way." Natsu gave a seductive smile.

I think I'll pass on that offer. Please remember the ratings.

"Actually, if anyone should be remembering things, it should be you." Mio interjected. "Don't you have a story to narrate?"

Shoot. I forgot.

Kyoko was compiling all the information she had read into her head.

No nonsense, yet kind…Varsity Scout…daughter…adopted…

Wait…adopted?

Kyoko had an idea.


Ren woke up to the sound of a ringing phone. Expecting it to be from Yashiro, he lazily got up and flipped open the compact cell.

"Ugh…whas-iz-it?"

"E-eh? Ts-Tsuruga-san? Is that you?"

Crap. He had answered like that…to Kyoko.

Trying to save face, Ren quickly got a hold of himself. "A-ah! Mogomi-san? What's the matter?"

"U-um…I was wondering if you do something with me…"

With? Ren was becoming dangerously hopeful.

"Could you, um...well…actually, could I come to your apartment?"

Calm down, Ren. You already know what's going to happen.

"Sure. What time? I can pick you up."

"Don't worry, Tsuruga-san. I don't need a ride."

Before he could ask why, the doorbell rang.

"As you can see…I'm already here."

Ren jumped out of bed.

It was 7:00 in the morning, for Pete's sake; why would she be here so early?

After getting everything ready (it should be noted that the clothes that had been chosen were one of his better outfits that he didn't usually wear), Ren unlocked the door to his apartment and opened it.

Kyoko was standing on the other side, with a large smile on her face. She was wearing a light brown jacket, slightly baggy jeans, and was holding a (very) large bag in her hands. It was cute, but not quite what Ren had expected.

"A very good morning to you, Tsuruga-sempai!"

Ren was having trouble taking all this cuteness in the morning. He quickly locked away his feelings and straightened up his face (he had learned from Yashiro's auto-teasing that his normally serious face would slip during moments like this).

"Good morning, Mogomi-san. Do you need something from me?" Ren hoped he didn't sound too blunt.

"Well, I was actually wondering if you could help me with my part." Kyoko blushed a little.

This response was a bit surprising for Ren. Normally it would be:

"I'M SO SORRY, TSURUGA-SEMPAI! I'M USELESS! I CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITHOUT YOUR HELP!"

While kneeling in a dogeza and crying.

"Could it be…that you already have your character down?"

Kyoko gave a small nod. Ren was surprised. It hadn't even been a week since they had been given the assignment.

"That's impressive, Mogomi-san. But didn't you say that you needed help?"

"Well," Kyoko fidgeted a little at this, "since you must have gotten your role down as well, I kind of wanted to practice a little."

I see, Ren thought. Of course she wanted to practice. There's no other reason she would want to come to my apartment.

It's best to be prudent with your emotions.

"What's with the bag?"

"Well…" Kyoko fidgeted even more at this, blushing slightly. "I was wondering if you had eaten yet and…"

Ren had a feeling his day was going to go quite well.


Yashiro was waiting in front of his apartment, waiting for Ren to pick him up. Since he didn't have a license, Ren was the one who had to drive the car.

However, Ren was late. This was rather unusual for him. Was he sick? Yashiro couldn't call him (he had run out of rubber gloves) and it was too far to walk to his charge's high-end apartment.

As he felt a cliche wind whistle through his hair, Yashiro had a growing suspicion that he had been forgotten.


As Kyoko cooked in his simple, but well-stocked apartment kitchen, Ren couldn't help but think that he had forgotten something.

However, this was put in the back of his mind as Kyoko placed a magnificent spread of dishes before him. There was miso soup, rice, eggs, slightly-seasoned fish, and more. It appeared that she had also randomly alternated between western dishes and traditional ones. Just like the layers of sediment in the earth, there were layers of differently styled dished that she built up before Ren.

"Itadakimasu!" Kyoko chirped, obviously pleased with the outcome.

"…Itadakimasu." Ren tried hard not to get caught up in the waves of happiness radiating from the young high school girl across from him.

Kyoko was worried that Ren might be annoyed somehow, but his face lit up when he took his first bite, and the rest of the meal was spent in cheerful conversation.

"Thank you for the meal, Mogomi-san. It was very delicious."

"It's the least I could do, Tsuruga-san. After all, you help me all the time."

At this, Ren remembered why she had come. The relapse dampened his enthusiasm just a little.

"You said you wanted to practice, right? Do you have anything in mind?"

Kyoko seemed to have forgotten as well, and at this she became flustered.

"O-oh dear, I completely forgot! I-I-I'm so SORRY TSURU–"

Though it was a bit later than expected, it came. Whatever mood they had before had been completely and effectively shattered.

Ren silenced her by quickly placing his finger on her lips.

"If you are a true professional, then you shouldn't make such a big fuss over everything. You'll just waste more time."

Kyoko nodded in confirmation, and stood up from her half-dogeza.

"Alright then. If you could lend me a minute and your bathroom, I'll get ready."

Going over to the large bag she had brought with her, she pulled out a smaller cloth bag (how much room does that bag have anyway?) and walked over to the bathroom.

Kyoko had been to Ren's apartment before. The first time was when Kyoko acted as Ren's temporary manager. He had gotten sick, and Kyoko had taken care of him as he rested at home. In addition, she had come over several times before for situations similar to this one.

Whether you take this information like a Yashiro (extreme overreaction) or a Kyoko (oblivious deflection) is up to you.


After Kyoko had retreated into the restroom, Ren was left staring at his finger.

Why did I do such a thing? I'm happy she didn't freak out, but…

Ren thought back on the soft feeling of her lips. Even without kissing her, he could tell how good it would feel if they…

Wait, what am I thinking? She's in high school!

Ren struggled to purge his thoughts of the angelic feeling.


- Messing around with Kyoko's personas is actually less fun that I thought it would be. The explanation that Mio gave was weird too. It wasn't even paying attention, and it just came out like that. The reaction that the narrator gives to the explanation is actually my real reaction to what I had written.

- If you noticed in Chapter 1, Kyoko greets Ren differently than Ren greets her. The 'A very good morning to you' is how I decided to portray the more respectful Japanese way of saying good morning, which is 'Ohayo gozaimasu.' Ren and others use the more casual manner of saying it, which in Japanese is simply 'Ohayo.'

- The thing with Yashiro was completely conjecture. I know he can't drive, but I don't know if he really does live that far away, or if Ren does pick him up. I would assume he does, but if anyone finds evidence suggesting otherwise, please tell me.

- Since the narrator usually only comes out to crack jokes, during plot-saturated scenes, he won't pop out as much. I don't want to make the narrator seem forced.

Next Chapter: Kyoko reveals her newest persona, Ren snaps, and Yashiro is forgotten some more.